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criminalmindswhore · 6 months

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Playlists Tell All

Tara finds your playlist titled Prentiss and looks through it while you drive. She and JJ tease you about it until Emily finally finds out.

BOTH HANDS ON THE PHONE AT ALL TIMES 🤨 Also, this is long bare with me, also not proofread, oops.

TW: SMUT SMUT SMUT SMUT SMUT SMUT SMUT SMUT SMUT

It was no secret you were gay. It was apparent from the day you walked into the BAU wearing docs and a septum ring. Tara was the first to notice, lesbians find each other. You were never closeted to them but never shouted it in the bullpen either. If they asked, you told.

"Hey, Y/n can I ask you something?" Emily asked as you two went down the elevator. "Sure, what's up?" You smiled at her. "Are you gay?" She looked puzzled, "Miss BAU Unit Chief was the last to notice?" You chuckled and she looked offended, her mouth falling open. You were almost too distracted by your thoughts, 'I wonder if that's the face she makes when she-', to notice the elevator stop. "So like only women or?" She stepped out of the elevator, you following suit. You cringed at thinking of being with a man, "Only women." She chuckled, "I knew it." She stopped walking signaling you were parting ways for the night. The cold Virginia air made a chill run down your spine, or maybe you noticed the few shirt buttons undone on the way to the parking lot. "I'll see you tomorrow Y/n." She smiled at you and grabbed your bicep for a moment. The touch lingered in your brain, your skin on fire, "See you tomorrow Unit Chief of the gayest FBI unit." She laughed loudly at your comment as she walked away, her grey hair swaying with which step.

Your talks with Emily to your cars became a nightly thing, on purpose from your end but she didn't need to know that.

After a case in Northern VA, Tara, JJ and you were in an SUV driving back to Quantico. Tara deemed you the driver as you were a 'young sprite who would stay awake longer'. Your phone became the AUX phone and Tara sat up front scrolling through your music creating the perfect queue. Her eyes widened as she came across a playlist titled, 'long talks with Prentiss'. She sat straight up and looked at you. You turned your head to glance at her, then back at the road, "What?" She leaned back against the seat, "Nothing." JJ's interest was now peaked, "Tara, you gotta tell us now." Tara scrolled through the songs:

She - Dodie

girls - girl in red

1950 - King Princess

She's My Religion - Pale Waves

I Wanna Be Yours - Arctic Monkeys

Call Out My Name - The Weekend

and on and on and on...

Tara came up with a genius plan, queuing up all the songs. The second girls came on, it clicked. "Tara, I can explain." She just laughed, "Explain that you have a huge crush on someone almost 30 years older than you?" JJ put down her Cheetos, "Wait? Emily?" Your grip on the wheel tightened and your cheeks turned bright red. "Can you two just not?" Tara chuckled, "Oh no miss thing, you have to spill now." JJ laughed from the backseat.

You weighed your options, either tell them and they tease you about it, or you don't and they tease you even worse until you spill, "Fine," the two women high-fived, "but it doesn't leave this car. Clear?" JJ saluted at you and Tara nodded. "She's just so hot dude. How could I not find her attractive and she does that stupid thing when she's focused where she licks her lip and then bites it." You were gushing like a high school girl at this point. "And don't get me started on her hands." JJ cringed slightly. "Okay, but she's 1, your boss, and 2, old enough to be your mom." You sighed and grimaced, "Why do you think it lives in my head? I have a playlist and that's it. She will never know and no one else will." Tara shook her head, "Honey she probably already knows. Emily is one of the best profilers in the world, not only that she's got those super-secret spy skills. Has she been acting differently towards you?" You shook your head, "No, I mean we've been talking one-on-one a lot more but that's just because we usually leave at the same time." Tara hummed and JJ laughed loudly, "What JJ?" You were still horrified at the current situation and her finding it humorous was not helping. "She did mention how she knows someone in her inner circle is attracted to her but didn't wanna bring it up." She leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms. "JJ! You can't just tell me that!" Tara was losing it, doubled over in laughter. "You both suck."

It didn't get brought up again during the case. You thought it had blown over until you were all standing in the bullpen after the case chatting while people packed up bags and files. "Hey guys, what are laughing about?" Prentiss asked as she joined the group, bag in hand. "Reid is so oblivious to how much his neighbor wants to get in his pants," Luke explained while still laughing. Emily licked her bottom lip before pulling it between her teeth, Taras's head shot around to look at you wiggling her eyebrows. You scoffed and smacked her arm. "What's going on there?" Emily asked while smiling at you two, "Oh god are two?" Tara laughed and you nearly threw up in your mouth. The whole team was now looking at you and Tara with their mouths open, "God no! Tara and I are not sleeping together!" The team erupted into laughter except for you and Emily, staring into each other's eyes. She smiled sweetly at you and your face got hot. "I am going home, you guys enjoy bullying Reid." You grabbed your bag and stood up off your desk, "Wait, I'll walk with you, let me grab my cup from the kitchen." Emily took off swiftly to retrieve her mug and JJ gave you the 'I know something they don't' look. You glared at her and went to wait for Emily by the elevators. She approached you and pressed the down button, "Ready?" You nodded and stepped into the elevator.

The following week was full of being teased by JJ & Tara and Emily knowing something was up. Emily entirely said, "If someone made a playlist based on me I would be honored," while working a case. Which earned a stare from JJ and a muffled laugh from Tara.

One night you and Emily were heading down together like you usually did, "Hey, have you been seeing someone? Tara and JJ seem to know something about you no one else does." As you unlocked your car you froze. "Um, no, there's just a running inside joke going." You shrugged your shoulders trying your best to control your microexpressions. She seemed happy with your answer and wished you goodnight. You got in the car and turned on the playlist, your phone screen still open to it when someone knocked at your window. You rolled it down and Emily glanced at your lap, "Hey did you notice if- is that my name?" Her face was shocked, yours was pure fear. You flipped your phone over, "No." She saw right through you, "Y/n, let me see." She was smiling in a way you've never seen before. You didn't budge until Emily reached through the window and snatched your phone, turning away from your car. You unbuckled yourself and jumped out, "Emily please." It was too late.

She turned around, mouth agape, "Y/n, is this how you feel about me?" Her voice was low and dropped an octave. It shot shivers through your body erupting your core. You didn't know what to say, the damage was done. She stepped closer, reached behind you, and slid your phone into your back pocket. She went to move her hands but you grabbed her arms, holding them on your ass. "Emily." Your desperation showing in your voice. It set something off in her. Before you could process it, Emily's lips were on yours and your back was hitting your car. Her hands are on your hips gripping you tight. You snaked your arms around her neck gripping her hair. Her lips moved furiously on yours, her tongue swiping against your lips. The action made you whimper giving her access to your mouth. You could feel her chest moving on yours as she breathed heavily. She pulled away but kept her face inches from yours, "Y/n," she sighed, "This can't happen." You dropped your arms from her neck, she didn't move. "Fuck it." She said in the hottest fucking voice you've ever heard, you moaned at the sound before she attached her lips to yours again.

As her apartment door closed, bags were dropped, jackets discarded. Her lips moved against your neck as you gripped her shirt, "Emily, please." She chuckled, "Already begging for me pretty girl?" You moaned at the praise and Emily lifted a brow, "Oh you liked that huh?" Her arm reached around you to harshly grabbed your ass, "You like being praised by your boss huh? Like the slut you are?" Your knees buckled under you and she gripped your hips to keep you upright. Emily continued her attack on your neck as she pulled you to her bedroom, dropping you on the bed with a thump. "Pretty girl I need you to verbally consent for me before I fuck you senseless." She unbuttoned her shirt as you spoke, "Yes Emily, please. I need you." She slipped her shirt off exposing her black lace bra to you and you stared in awe. She laughed at you and took a finger under your chin pulling your eyes back to hers, "Up here." She spoke sternly and you didn't dare disobey at the risk of her leaving you high and dry. She straddled your lap and started undoing your shirt at an agonizing speed. You squirmed under her from impatience, "Ah, patience sweet girl. I'll get there. Although I understand why you're so needy after months of wanting me exactly like this. On top of you getting ready to make you scream my name." She slipped off your shirt and leaned in close, "I believe it was, call out my name I saw on that playlist of yours?" She left a wet sloppy kiss behind your ear. You could feel the pool of wetness growing between your legs.

She kissed down your collarbones as she unclasped your bra, throwing it somewhere in the room. She kissed down to your chest until she reached your left nipple, swirling her tongue around it, "Mhm, fuck yes." You gripped her hair harder than you planned on eliciting a moan from her. It was music to your fucking ears. She discarded her slow and steady pace and reached down to unbuckle your belt, undoing your pants and slipping them past your ankles. They hit the floor with a metallic clink before she kissed down your stomach. She pulled off your underwear with her teeth, the sight nearly making you finish right then and there. "Emily, you're wearing too much, I wanna see you." Your voice was slurring, you were so drunk on every single thing you were feeling. She sat up and undid her bra, slipping it off, her perfect breasts falling against her chest. She was perfect. She stood for a second taking off her pants, revealing her perfectly toned legs.

She positioned herself between your legs and licked up your slit. The sensation making your head spin. Your hands gripping her sheets as she took your clit between her lips humming at the taste of you. "You are so in for it Y/n." Hearing her say your name like that was music to your ears. She started flicking her tongue against your clit and your back arched off the bed. She reached one of her hands up grabbing yours giving you something to ground yourself to this moment. You gripped her hands tightly as she teased you with the other hand. Emily removed her mouth from you looking up at you making eye contact, "Beg for it." Your words got caught in your throat causing Emily to completely move her hand away from you and harshly grip your thigh, "I told you to do something Y/n." You swallowed, "Please Emily. Please fuck me. Emily, I need you, please." She smiled devilishly before slamming two fingers inside of you setting a rough pace. "That's my pretty little slut." The cockiness apparent in her tone of voice. She maintained eye contact as she reattached her lips to your clit, pulling it between her teeth softly.

Emily's pace showed no mercy as she fucked you roughly. Her tongue and lips worked against your clit as she pumped her fingers in and out of you roughly. You were so close to coming undone and she could tell. She removed her mouth from you, still fucking you with her fingers, "Do you want to cum?" You writhed under her nearly screaming from pleasure, all you could muster was a nod. "I need words." You opened your eyes and looked into hers, "Yes. Please. I'll do anything." She smirked and let go of your hand, wrapping it around your throat. You moaned her name so loudly you swore the whole building would hear, but neither of you cared. She whispered against your clit, "Cum for me Y/n." She licked your clit once more before you came screaming her name and a slew of curse words. She continued her pace fucking you through the high until your body fell limp. She slowed her pace and slowly pulled her hands from you. She kissed up your stomach, "Such a good girl. You did so good pretty girl." She pressed a sweet kiss to your cheek before disappearing into the bathroom and returning with a warm, wet washcloth. She sat down at your feet, "Is it okay if I clean you up?" Her tone was gentle and slow. You nodded, not having feelings in your face. Your whole body felt like it was vibrating. She was soft and gentle, discarding the cloth into the dirty laundry.

She pulled a t-shirt over her head and laid one out at the end of the bed. She laid next to you, pulling you into her. You wrapped your arms around her waist before snuggling your head into her neck. She wrapped her arms around your shoulders and pressed a kiss to your head. "Emily, that was." You couldn't quite form the words as your nose was still tingling. "Awesome, amazing, perfect, I know." She giggled at her joke and you smiled. "Who would've known badass Unit Chief Prentiss likes to cuddle after sex." She scoffed, "Shut up! I can be soft!" You chuckled, "There's a shirt at the end of the bed if you want it. You can go to sleep, I'll get you up in the morning." You sat up and looked at her, "I'm kind of hungry." She smiled, her eyes wrinkling, "I'll grab you a snack." She left the room and you slipped on the shirt, never leaving the bed.

The playlist you regretted making, just got you the best sex ever.

#criminal minds #emily prentiss fanfic #emily prentiss x reader #emily prentiss #criminalmindsxreader #emily prentiss smut #smutwithprentiss #very gay

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dem-obscure-imagines · 5 months

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Merry Little Christmas

Druig x Reader

Fandom: MCU

Prompt: @the-sunflower-room “can’t stop thinking about druig and have yourself a merry little christmas- so cozy 😭🙏🏻”

Note: This was actually requested last year, I believe, but I’ve always wanted to write it. I’m sorry it took me so long to get around to it, but I hope you like it! Happy Holidays, everyone <3

Warnings: None! Just cozy Christmas celebrations <3

Word Count: 1.6k words

Reader Is: Gender Neutral!

Druig was never one for holidays. He wasn’t a scrooge, per se, but, as an Eternal, the seasons came and went so quickly. Years were mere blinks to a being who was thousands of years old. However, the look on your face as you put the ornaments on the tree made something stir around his heart, he had to admit.

He was sipping cocoa from a mug with a snowman on it, one from your vast collection. Kingo was in the kitchen, mixing up beverages, which was why he sensed a bit of liquor in the chocolatey beverage. It was still good, obviously, but he definitely blamed that for the rosy hue his cheeks had taken on.

Definitely not the cute little reindeer antlers you were wearing. Definitely not the way your laughter sounded from across the room.

All of the Eternals were there. A rare feat, but with the danger defeated, for now at least, it was cause for celebration, a time to be with family. It was your house you were all celebrating in, a large place tucked away in Northern Michigan, which, at this time of year, was absolutely covered in a thick layer of snow, more and more fluffy flakes coming down as the moments passed.

You spent your time as a writer. One of the most prolific of your time, the reviews said. But then again, you did have a thousand year head start on the rest of them.

Druig would never admit to it, but he had read them. All of them, every single one. He’d borrow them from libraries, read excerpts in bookstores, but Makkari had a collection of them, too. She was your most loyal beta reader. Therefore, when one went missing, she always had a pretty decent suspicion of who the culprit was.

And he wasn’t positive, but he was pretty sure most of your love interests shared a certain resemblance with…well, him. He didn’t like the way it stirred around in his chest, the way it made him feel so warm and…hopeful. But then again, he’d never asked you what you felt.

“(Y/N), where are your Christmas records?” Phastos asked, standing over with his husband, Ben, as they dug through a crate of records.

“Oh! I forgot to bring them down, I think. I’ll go grab them. I needed to get the topper anyway.” You stepped down from your stepladder and handed the ornament in your hand to Sprite, who was sitting on the floor under the tree, shaking gifts. Typical.

Druig watched as you left, eyes glued to you. Which was why he didn’t notice when Sersi had joined him, standing right beside him.

He gasped, mug rattled, but not to the point that he spilled any on his sweater. He cursed and looked over at her. “What?”

“You look rather festive, Druig. I thought you didn’t care for holidays.”

“I thought so too…” He muttered into his mug, taking a long sip.

“Right. Well, I think I saw some mistletoe in that box of decorations. I can put it up if you’d like?” She asked, that glimmer in her eyes that she got when she wanted to meddle.

Druig thought on it, as he heard your footsteps coming back down the stairs. He met her eyes and that was all that was needed. She nodded and set across the room, plucking it out of the box, along with a length of fishing line.

“I found it! The Muppets and John Denver!” You said excitedly, presenting another crate of records, this one all Christmas. “And some other stuff.”

“May I?” Phastos asked.

“Yeah, of course.” You handed them over and walked back over to the tub of ornaments, searching for a very special one. It was a large mug of cocoa with eleven marshmallows in it, each one etched with the name of an Eternal. You smiled softly and tucked it into the branches of your artificial tree, curling the fake pine to support its weight.

“Where did you find one with so many slots?” Druig found himself asking as he crossed the room to stand behind you.

“Had it custom made.” You replied, turning to face him.

“It’s beautiful, (Y/N).” Ajak complimented warmly from her seat by the fire.

“Thanks. Thought we needed something like that.”

“What are these?” Sprite asked, digging through the other box and pulling out a stocking with Thena’s name embroidered on it.

“Stockings.”

“You had those made, too?” Ajak asked, getting up to see for herself.

“Well, I did them. The embroidery, at least.” You admitted with a shrug, motioning to the hooks under the mantle. “We can put them up, if you want.”

Makkari nodded and grabbed the stockings, putting them all in one clean row in a blur of red and green. She stood next to Druig, elbowing him and tilting her head towards his stocking, which she’d put on the end.

Right next to yours.

He nearly choked on his cocoa. So did everyone know, then? Sersi, Makkari, who else? Kingo, no doubt.

“You alright there, Druig? Looking flushed.” Ikaris jabbed, that wicked gleam in his eyes.

Alright, then, yeah, it was everyone. Everyone but you, it seemed.

It was as if a stormcloud manifested above his head. He shook his head and stalked off towards the kitchen. He didn’t know much, but he did know a cookie would make him feel better. Snacks always seemed to. And there was no shortage of them, especially now, when you and Gilgamesh had baked nearly twelve dozen batches of them. Gingerbread, snickerdoodle, sugar cookies shaped like trees, chocolate chip, oatmeal no-bakes.

He reached for a sprinkle-covered tree and bit off the tip of it, the frosting sweet. The oven started beeping and you rushed in, arming yourself with an oven mitt before reaching in for what he assumed must be one of the last trays. Oatmeal raisin, it looked like.

“Do you need any help?” He asked, staring as you straightened up and brushed the hair out of your face.

“Oh! Thank you, Druig. I’m all set, though. Are they good?”

“Are what—” He looked down at the half-eaten tree in his hand. “Oh, yeah. They’re great.”

“Awesome.” You grinned. “New frosting recipe.”

“Well it’s perfect, whatever it is.” He leaned against the counter, that boyish smirk on his face. He wasn’t sure what came over him, then, but he had to get it out. “It’s great, by the way. That new book of yours.”

“You read it?”

“I read all of your books.” He confessed. “I think this one’s your best.”

Your heart raced as you met his eyes. Surely he knew, right? He had to. That you’d been writing about him for centuries. When he’d left all those years ago, hundreds of years ago, he’d taken a piece of your heart with him, a piece you’d only found in fiction, it seemed.

“Thank you. It…it means a lot to hear you say that.”

“Can’t wait for your next one.” He winked, plucking up a second cookie and leaving the kitchen before his tongue got him in any more trouble than it already had.

***

Later in the night, when almost everyone had gone to sleep, you were up, wrapping presents in front of the fireplace, folding the paper neatly, complete with name tags and perfect little bows.

You’d switched records. It was an older one, the Rat Pack.

Have yourself a merry little Christmas…Let your heart be light…

The words were smooth, glided right out of the speaker. Snow was still coming down in droves. It was good you had nowhere to go, otherwise you’d be snowed in. Well, if your family didn’t have every superpower known to man, you would be anyway. You were glad they were there.

You were glad they were home.

“Can’t sleep?” Druig’s voice startled you from your reverie and you turned around, grateful his present was already wrapped and under the tree.

“Not until I get these wrapped.” You told him.

“Christ, you really do go all out, don’t you?” He chuckled, crossing the room and sitting on the floor beside you, yet another cookie in his hand.

“I think I’d lose my mind if I didn’t. Keeps me…in synch. The routine of a year, you know?”

“Mmm.” He hummed, nodding, face alight in the warm oranges of the flames. “I didn’t see it that way until…recently.”

“Until right now?”

“Yeah, something like that.” He chuckled, watching as you carefully wrapped the last one, taping every edge perfectly and putting a tag on top, printing Sprite’s name with a pen. “What’d you get her?”

“You’ll have to find out tomorrow morning.” You told him, shifting to slide it under the tree with the others. “What did you get her?”

“It’s a surprise.” He grinned as you settled in next to him.

“Is it a surprise to you, too?”

He gasped, offended. “I got presents for everyone!”

“I believe you.”

“Sure you do.” He shook his head, laughing softly. “Say, ehm, (Y/N), I’ve been wondering…”

“Mistletoe!” You gasped, staring straight up at the ceiling where, sure enough, a string of mistletoe hung, glittering in the low light. “Who put that up?”

“Well I’ll be…” He breathed, staring up at it, too, heart racing faster than it had in any battle. “What…do you suppose we do about that?”

“I have a few ideas.” You slowly brought your gaze down, meeting his eyes.

He may have been the telepath, but you could tell the only thing on his mind was you as he leaned in, thick eyelashes fluttering shut as his lips met yours, pink and plush and warm. You kissed back, not leaving a single doubt in his mind that you wanted this, wanted him. Your hand rose to his flushed cheek, holding him close as his arm wound around your waist.

The grandfather clock struck midnight, and he pulled away to rest his forehead on yours, noses flush, eyes on you, glimmering with a million words unspoken. He did have a few, though. “Merry Christmas, (Y/N).”

“Merry Christmas, Druig.”

#druig #druig x reader #druig imagine #marvel #barry keoghan #christmas #fluff #eternals #eternals imagine #marvel imagine

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kipxan · 1 year

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ohh my god ok so i love clangen and the WONDERFUL Nimaereth created a mod that lets you customize and import your own cats into the game and i’m obsessed. i’ve had zero time to draw so i’ve been creating characters from my own personal warrior cats ““worldbuilding”” project (plus my beloved lightningclaw of course).

the folks working on this game are incredibly smart and do all this work for free, and i respect the hell out of them for bringing together such a lovely fan project! definitely show them support if you can!

credits: mod by Nimaereth (linked above), merle and abyssinian coat patterns by MagiBaxter, extra pelt colors by Eragona (no github link but can provide link to her thread in the discord server), just-some-cat for the original sprites, and ofc the clangen team itself! if any one of you want me to take this down, just lmk! :)

more about these characters:

row 1: eclipsestar, murkmist, frostmoon

row 2: riverhaze, silvertongue, nightstep

row 3: wolfstorm, ashfrost, lightningclaw

except for lightningclaw, who is the SkyClan deputy, all of these guys belong to PineClan, which is one of the four clans formed far in the north after several lake clan cats were wrongfully chased from their home. their territory borders MountainClan and ValeClan, while CavernClan makes their home in the cave system underneath the three territories. they make their camp in a pine forest, but their hunting grounds also include a muskeg dubbed The Frozen Mire by the cats. most of their ancestors come from either ShadowClan or SkyClan.

their territory also includes the outer edges of the Fox Hollows, home to an intelligent fox pack that long pre-dates the Clans. PineClan maintains an uneasy truce with the foxes over the strip of their territories that overlaps, and as such all PineClan apprentices are taught to speak a little bit of fox. while it doesn’t always stop natural predator conflict, they live in peace most of the time.

PineClan prides themselves on their wisdom and history. they have strong oral traditions, and some stories claim to date all the way back to the old forest. elders are revered to a greater degree than in other clans, and their stories are a favorite among apprentices of other clans at gatherings. PineClan also has a role called the Lorekeeper. they hunt but do not fight or patrol borders, however their main role is to record Clan history. a large stone wall, sheltered from the elements in an abandoned burrow, is painted on to record births, deaths, and changes in position (think kinda like Paleolithic cave paintings).

their build is lean and elegant, their fur kept sleek and well-groomed. dark coats are valued for nighttime hunting, while tabbies and tortoiseshells are great for hunting in trees. many of them, oddly enough, have large and pointy ears, which legend says they developed to listen for prey in the silent woodland. their scent is reminiscent of pine needles, with a muskier undertone from the wetland.

i won’t get into it too much here but it is important to note that all four clans have a special warrior called their Guardian. this warrior is stronger and wiser than the average clan cat, and their soul is continually reincarnated. though not technically a Guardian, the “original” soul comes from Moonchaser, who led the clan cats to their new northern home. there is a LOT of lore surrounding this bit but think like a mix between the avatar and the nerevarine.

anyway cats.

Eclipsestar (Eclipsestream): current leader of PineClan. she’s chill. has a very relaxed and open policy to outsiders (the northern Clans usually do to prevent inbreeding, but even by these standards she’s very welcoming). was very young to be appointed deputy by the previous leader, Wolfstar, so her inexperience and the need to grow up quickly does sometimes still show. however, she’s overall seen as a wise and peaceful leader.

Murkmist: eclipsestar’s deputy and longtime best friend. while she disagrees with some of eclipse's policies, they’re overall a good fit for each other. sly and crafty, she’s usually the first cat to send when dealing with the Fox Hollows. not above causing drama with the other clans, but she will do so in a manner that makes her seem completely uninvolved.

Frostmoon: the senior medicine cat, very old by the time most of these characters roll around. strict, cold, and deeply rooted in tradition. as an apprentice she was considered a prodigy, but like eclipse, she also lost her mentor at a young age, which led to her developing a deep desire to prove herself. this led to her severely mishandling a situation involving the Clan’s previous Guardian, and many cats (perhaps wrongfully, perhaps not) sadly ended up losing their trust in her.

Riverhaze: frostmoon’s former apprentice. nervous, a bit flighty, and eager to please. not a whole lot to say about him, but he’s a good healer and a nice dude. despite his mentor’s failings, he’s still close with her.

Silvertongue: the current Lorekeeper. not a kittypet since humans are gone in this world, i just thought the collar looked nice. though he probably does have outsider roots. clever, sassy, good-natured, and takes his job VERY seriously. also nightstep’s mate, which means he puts up with a lot of nonsense haha.

Nightstep: the current Guardian and main character of this hypothetical story (and also the cat iteration of my beloved skyrim character, teravyn, though they’ve kind of evolved into separate characters). adventurous, impulsive, and gets into more trouble than what’s good for him. kind to the point where some might call him naive, but to his credit his heart is in the right place, and he’ll grow into the role. however, his impulsivity is again a problem, because he can be absolutely terrifying in battle. very close with wolfstorm and considers her a sister, and his mate is silvertongue whom he loves very much. his other best friend is a former loner called mireclaw, who’s not featured here.

Wolfstorm: young warrior, found by the Clan as a kit. assumed to be a loner kit, but her mother is actually the MountainClan deputy Magpieshadow, who secretly left her kit with PineClan after her mate died and she felt unprepared to raise a kit alone. due to her MountainClan genes, she’s HUGE (and fluffy) compared to the average PineClan cat. to wolf, the warrior code is...more of a suggestion than a rule set. she’s sneaky and not above stealing prey to feed her own clan, but by starclan is she good at staying hidden. some believe her blessed by the (currently unnamed) patron of stealth. very close with both nightstep and silvertongue, as well as another warrior called mireclaw (not featured here).

Ashfrost: a background warrior. also not much to say about her, but i like her a lot. you will never ever find her in the midst of any drama--she is too laidback and too chill with everyone for that nonsense. however, gossip? she is MORE than happy to listen to it, just don’t make her get involved.

Lightningclaw: my baby. my boy. go here.

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scarletsaphire · 10 days

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Danny knew that he wasn't supposed to follow the wisps, but when you're a child, lost and alone in the forest, you don't have much of a choice.

---

I took a small break from @phicphight but I'm back with a fill for @jackdaw-sprite! The prompt I used will be at the bottom.

There were lots and lots of rules that Danny needed to follow; don't try and use the stove by yourself, don't wander into the lab without supervision, always wear his welding mask when helping his mom or dad with their work, and most importantly of all, do not, under any circumstances, follow the will o' wisps.

His parents had spent a very long time hammering that rule into his head, ever since he was a baby. "They may look friendly," his mom would say, as they cuddled on a sofa watching Brave . "It may seem like they're trying to help her. But they are not. If they hadn't appeared, than none of this would've happened in the first place."

"They're going to be beautiful," his dad had said, while hammering a sheet of metal into the shape he needed. Danny was standing on the stool next to him, a significantly smaller, less effective hammer clasped between his tiny hands. "They might even be the most beautiful thing you've ever seen. But that's a lie. They just want to trick you, and take you away from us. You can't trust them, just like you can't trust any ghost. Do you understand me, Danno?"

Danny had nodded, and his dad had ruffled his hair just like he always did. "You're such a smart kid, you know that? I wish I'd had half the brains when I was five!"

Now, lost deep enough in the forest that Danny couldn't see the sky, Danny didn't feel all that smart.

He hadn't meant to wander off; the rest of his family was still somewhere in the park, setting up the picnic blanket and basket for lunch. Jazz had been playing hide and seek with him, but knowing her, she was using his absence to read the book she’d brought. That was okay; as long as Danny hid well, they’d all have to find him eventually.

Danny had thought hiding in the trees would've been a good idea; he’d be able to see everyone, but they wouldn’t see him. There was the added bonus of being able to climb a tree, which was always a plus. He'd needed to go a few trees deep to find a good one he could climb. By then, he'd seen a flower, a lovely soft purple color that he thought would match his mom's eyes. But if he got his mom a flower, he had to get his dad one too, cause that was only fair, and there was a pretty yellow one only a little further in...

The next thing he knew, he'd been stumbling around the trees, tripping over protruding roots and dead logs that could've been there for centuries. He had no idea which way he'd come from, or which way led back to the park, and all he really wanted to do was sit down and cry.

His bottom lip had just started to quiver when the will o' wisp first appeared.

His father had been right; it was beautiful, a kaleidoscope of colors all mushed into one creature, constantly shifting and flickering in the air, as if someone had taken a chunk of the northern lights and left it right here, in a random park in Illinois just for him to look at.

Danny recognized it instantly. He should’ve looked away; he knew what the rule was. Do not, under any circumstances, follow the will o' wisps. But...

Danny glanced back up at the sky, completely covered by the canopy above him. He couldn't tell if the sun was starting to set or not. He had no way of knowing just how close to, or even how far past lunch time it really was, but by the growling of his stomach, he was fairly certain it had been a little while at least.

Surely it was better to follow the wisp than sit here and starve, right? It wasn't like they could lead him into any more danger than he was already in.

Danny took one, hesitant step towards the wisp. It stayed exactly where it was, circling through a dozen different colors. Danny took another step.

It did not disappear when he got close, like it did in the movies. It hovered inches in front of his face, close enough that if he just stretched his hand forward, he would be able to touch it. This close, he could see that he'd been wrong to compare it to the northern lights; those were probably beautiful, sure, but it didn't hold a candle to this.

It was like peering through water at the bottom of a pond, if the only thing on the other side was a rainbow. It rippled and flowed from one vivid color into the next, constantly changing and shifting and yet never once was it muddied. The temptation was too strong, and Danny couldn’t help but reach out. It was only then, just as his fingers were about to brush against the top of whatever it had instead of a head, that it disappeared, reappearing a few feet away.

Danny didn't hesitate this time. He was off as fast as his little legs could carry him, running towards the wisp. This time, the roots did not catch his feet, the weeds did not scratch his legs, and the logs did not break his stride.

He chased the wisp through the woods with reckless abandon, running as fast as he possibly could. Danny needed to touch that wisp, needed to catch it between his hands like a lightning bug. He didn't know why, he just knew he needed to know. He needed to know how it felt beneath his fingers.

He was so focused on the will o' wisp that he didn't notice when the ground beneath him became more level, when the sunlight streamed through the leaves in larger gaps. He didn't even notice that he'd emerged out of the forest until the wisp disappeared for the last time, and he couldn't find where it had reappeared.

Jazz grabbed a hold of his arm, and the memory of the will o' wisp was knocked out of his head all at once.

"There you are!" she said, dragging Danny over to where the picnic blanket had been laid out. "Mom, I found him!"

His mom and dad rushed over to him, pulling him into a hug. "We've been worried sick about you, kiddo!" his dad said, pulling away to look at his face. "We've been calling your name for fifteen minutes now!"

"You must've wandered pretty far into the forest, huh?" his mom said with a smile and a laugh. "What were you doing in there?"

Danny looked back at the woods. He hoped to see the wisp among the trees, one last glimpse of the beautiful, cascading colors. All he saw was the browns and greens the forest always had.

"I was climbing trees," he lied.

He was quiet for the rest of the day. His parents never bothered to ask why.

Danny was eight when he next saw the wisps. He'd almost forgotten about them entirely, so many years had gone by. He probably would have, if his parents warnings didn’t serve as near constant reminders.

He was supposed to be in class, but he wasn’t. Dash had been picking on him again, and the teacher had looked the other way, just like she always did. That was normal. Most days, Danny dealt with it.

Unlike most days, however, Danny didn't have Tucker to help distract him; his friend was home sick with some kind of stomach bug, so for this day and probably the following week, Danny was going to be all by himself.

Danny thought his solution made perfect sense. He’d waited for the teacher and Dash to turn their attention away, and slipped out into the hallway. He knew he wasn't supposed to be wandering around without permission, but it was probably fine. Dash wasn't supposed to be insulting him and his parents like that, at least not according to the signs on the walls everywhere, so Danny deserved a little bit of rule breaking here and there. It was only fair.

This staircase went to the roof, supposedly, but since he didn't have the key, and neither did any of the other staff as far as he knew, it was pretty much just a dead end. This worked perfectly for Danny's purposes; no one would come up here for any reason, which meant he had as much time as he wanted. At least, until someone realized he was gone, but that probably wouldn’t be for a while.

Now the problem was what he was going to do. He hadn’t thought to grab his backpack before sneaking away, so he didn’t have all of the random goodies he’d accumulated over the past few months. He didn’t have any homework or studying that he could do, not without his worksheets, and even if he did, he probably wouldn’t; that was something Jazz would do, and Jazz was boring.

Danny dug through the pockets of his jacket and jeans and came out with two halves of a purple crayon, a small container of extra pencil lead for a mechanical pencil, and a form he was supposed to give to his parents last week that he’d forgotten about.

It looked like he would be drawing.

He was halfway into a doodle of some kind of space monster eating a planet when he saw the light out of the corner of his eye. At first, he'd thought it was the door opening; the light was soft and natural, like sunlight would be, but that didn't make any sense; no one had come up the stairs, Danny was sure of it, and there was no way anyone was on the roof; they’d need to climb the side of the school, which was way too much work.

It was once he looked up that he recognized it: a will o' wisp, hovering above the stairs, just out of reach.

The crayon fell out of his hand. It was just as beautiful as he remembered it being, just as ethereal, and completely out of place with the bleak surroundings of the elementary school staircase.

Danny didn't bother packing up his things. He left his drawing unfinished on the floor, the pencil lead spread out against the tile. He climbed to his feet as if in a trance, hand outstretched, just like he remembered doing in the forest three years ago. Just like it had done then, it let Danny get close enough to almost touch it, close enough that he could almost feel it against his finger tips, and then it was gone, floating above the landing just below him.

He hesitated. The first time he saw the wisps, he'd been a dumb, scared, lost child, who didn't have any other options. It was different this time; Danny was older, and smarter, and most importantly, he wasn't

It was weird, for the will o' wisp to appear here, of all places. In all of the stories Danny had heard, either from books or movies or from his parents, the wisps had always appeared to people who were lost, or in danger, and (depending on who was telling the story) they would help or hinder whatever traveler happened to stumble across them. Danny wasn't in danger or lost, unless you counted Dash being mean, but if that was the case, the wisps would've appeared years ago.

Everything about the situation was wrong. Danny knew that it was all wrong, and that he should park his butt back on the floor and finish his doodle. He also knew that if he didn't investigate now, than he would never get the chance to investigate again.

The doodle could wait; it wasn't that good anyway.

With the initial shock and awe of seeing it gone, Danny approached the wisp cautiously, making sure to watch his step. The wisp stayed in place, glinting in the artificial school lights just as it had in the sunlight three years before. It was only once Danny had landed solidly on the landing, with his hand outstretched to the wisp, that it vanished, reappearing on the next landing down.

It brought Danny down to the bottom floor before disappearing. That was weird; It hadn't brought him anywhere, but it was definitely gone. Unless...

Danny pushed the door separating the stairs and the hallway open just a crack, then breathed a sigh of relief. The wisp danced in the hallway, just a few doors down from where he currently was. With a quick look glance for any wondering teachers, Danny was out in the hallway, chasing after the wisp again.

The chase didn't last much longer. He'd barely gone halfway down the hallway when it disappeared for good this time, leaving Danny standing right outside his own class's door.

"But-" Danny started, talking to empty air. He shook his head instead of continuing his question; he wouldn't have gotten an answer, even if the wisp was still here.

He opened the door to the classroom and slipped back amidst the students. As far as he could tell, nobody noticed he was missing.

The intercom crackled to life barely two minutes later. "Attention teachers and students. There is an active shooter inside of the building. This is not a drill. Stay calm and commence lock down procedures. I repeat, this is not a drill."

The class immediately panicked.

(Later that night, safely in a chair at home, Danny would overhear the news on the television. "It had been lucky that the shooter hadn't injured anyone, as a children's drawing was found next to the point of entry," the reporter was saying. "In the future, the Casper Elementary School will make certain that the roof access door is locked from the inside, hopefully preventing an issue like this from arising again.")

---

Fires were no rare occasion at Fentonworks. Between their positively abysmal cooking skills, the amount of faulty inventions that were tested in the laboratory, and the Fen-Toaster which was probably a violation of the Geneva conventions, the Fenton's were single-handedly keeping the fire hydrant companies in business. The fires were never a big deal, hardly more than a scorch mark on the ground or wall. They were always caught early, and proper fire safety had been ingrained into Jazz and Danny since before they could walk.

This fire was different. It hadn't been caught early, if the smoke that woke Danny up was anything to go off of, and it certainly wasn't something that could be tamed by a standard fire extinguisher.

Danny held the back of his hand up to his door. It wasn't hot; that was a good sign.

The hallway wasn't on fire, at least not that Danny could see, but he couldn't see much through the thick smoke that clogged the air. He fumbled his way towards the staircase, eyes squinted against the burn.

"Danny!" It was his mother's voice, raspy and punctuated with a cough.

He turned back around towards their bedroom, and could just barely make out the silhouette of both her and his father. Before he knew it, they had reached him, pulling him into a quick hug.

"We need to get Jazz and get out of here!" his dad said.

"Right here," Jazz said, her blurry figure joining the rest of them.

"Good. Good." His mother's relief was palpable. "We need to get going."

She was right. They didn't have much time, and the fire was only going to grow worse as time went on. They needed to get out of Fentonworks, and fast. The front door was the easy answer; they could all get there with their eyes closed. Danny should've been following her down the stairs, as fast as his aching lungs could carry him. Instead, he found himself reaching out and stopping her descent.

"We can't go that way." He was certain of it. If the door was clear, than the colorful light, distorting through the smoke in the air, wouldn't be at the end of the hallway.

"Danny, we-"

He didn't wait for an answer, taking off towards the end of the hallway. The wisp was there to help , he was certain of it, just like it had helped him those times when he was younger. They'd proved that they were here to help, and despite his parents' warning, Danny trusted them.

His family was close behind, calling his name between coughs, but he didn't turn around.

The wisp lead him into the bathroom, which was surprisingly smoke free. With the wisp hovering in the window as it was, it wasn't hard to see why; the window had been left open, and the door closed. The rest of the family funneled into the room while Danny approached the window. Peering out, he could see the reason the wisp must have brought them here; his parents' old mattress, just recently replaced for a new, upgraded one, lay on the ground directly beneath the window. It wouldn't be the comfiest fall in the world, but they wouldn't get hurt. Probably.

Danny didn't think about it. He blocked out the protests of his parents and sister, heaving himself up over the windowsill and out into the clean, cool air. The fall was quick, not enough time for him to regret the decision even as his stomach flipped. The mattress did not completely cushion his fall - he'd probably be dealing with bruises for the next week, maybe more - but he was able to roll off the mattress and onto his feet without an issue.

The wisp was gone when he looked back up at the bathroom window, replaced with the worried faces of his family. He tried to shout up at them, but all he managed to do was trigger a coughing fit. Instead, he waved, beckoning them to follow. They seemed to understand. Jazz came down first, letting out a ear piercing shriek on her way down. She was grabbing onto Danny's shoulders mere seconds after she'd landed.

"What were you thinking?" she cried, shaking him back and forth. "You can't just run off like that! You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"But we're fine," Danny argued.

"And we would've been just as fine if we had gone downstairs! And you wouldn't have given all of us a heart attack and made us jump out of the window!"

"We can talk about this later." His mother had joined the conversation, and his father had just landed on the mattress with a big puff. "And we will be talking about this later-" she narrowed a glare at Danny "-but right now we need to make sure the fire departments been called. You two run over to the Pallay's house to borrow their phone, we'll see if the Kennywood's will let us."

Danny and Jazz nodded their head, before taking off around the corner. The moment they were out of earshot, Jazz started again. "What were you thinking?"

He didn't have an answer. What was he supposed to say, that he followed the wisp? Jazz wouldn't understand; she didn't believe in ghosts at all, and even if she did, she wouldn't trust them, not like Danny did. Luckily, he didn't need an answer.

The contorted, melted in mess of a front door was answer enough.

---

"It's a bummer that it doesn't work," Tucker said, making himself comfortable on the one empty spot of workbench. "Your parents have been working on it for like. Forever."

"Yeah they're not happy," Danny said, staring at the shell of what should've been a portal. "Jazz had to basically drag them out of the house today, they haven't left at all this week."

"I don't blame them," Sam said, raising the camera around her neck to her eye. "At least it looks cool, right?"

"I guess so," Danny agreed.

Sam hummed. "It doesn't photograph well."

"I can try and get another light on?" Danny offered.

Sam shook her head. "That's not the problem. It's just too... static. I think it'd look nicer with one of you in front of it."

"Not it!" Tucker called quickly, lifting his hand to his nose. "Too slow!"

Danny, who was midway through the same motion, lowered his hand back down with a sigh. "Fine, I'll do it. But I'm putting on my suit! It's still a dangerous machine, even if it doesn't work right."

Sam nodded while Danny got into the suit "I think it'll look better anyway. More thematic than jeans and a t-shirt. Though, maybe without the sticker of your dad's face."

Danny's face heated up as she removed the sticker. "I didn't put it there."

"Yeah, yeah, get in front of the portal," Sam said.

Danny listened, standing just beyond the lip of the metal. A chill traveled down his spine; there was something... disconcerting about it all. He knew what was actually behind him; he knew the portal almost as well as his parents did, years and years of talks about it over dinner, family time in the lab spilling over blueprints that should've been far above his comprehension. He knew that, when it lay dormant and dead like this, it was nothing more than metal and machinery, just like every other thing in the lab.

And yet he could feel it's exhale, cold and sour on the back of his neck. He could see stray wires on the corners of his vision, and he couldn't help but see them as teeth, closing in around him. This was the portal to the afterlife, supposed to bridge the gap between life and death itself. Maybe his parents were wrong; maybe it did work, and they just couldn't see it. Maybe he was balanced on the edge of death itself, and one more step, one slip of his foot, and he'd go falling backwards into whatever endless nothingness the afterlife had for a living soul.

Sam's camera clicked, chasing away to foreboding feeling in an instant. She grabbed the polaroid, shaking it out, before squinting at it. "Something's still missing."

Tucker leaned over her shoulder. "Yeah, it still feels kinda bland."

"Maybe you should go into it more?" Sam asked, glancing up at Danny, then back down at the picture.

"I don't know..." Danny said. "I don't think its safe."

"Come on, it'll be fine," Sam said dismissively. "Your parents said its not working. And besides, its a ghost portal. Don't you want to see what's on the other side?"

He wanted to say no. He wanted to walk away, take off his stupid jumpsuit, and go back upstairs to watch whatever stupid show Tucker had found them earlier today. Her words had hit a little to close to home, a little to close to that nagging fear he'd felt before, and he spared one glance behind him, just to assuage his nerves before shutting her down.

The wisp danced in the maw of the portal, brilliant, blinding, dazzling colors reflecting off the sheer metal surface of its mechanical innards, and Danny's worries washed away. "Yeah," he heard himself say. "It would be pretty cool."

The portal wasn't deep, so when the wisp disappeared, it didn't go far. It hovered alongside the portal wall, so very close. He took one step further, and then another, and was already in touching distance of the wisp. Danny reached out his hand slowly, cautiously, expecting for it to disappear just like always.

It didn't. It was silky and cool under Danny's hand, and yet it seemed to float away like water or mist, allowing him to put his hand further and further in. He let out a disbelieving laugh that echoed through the tunnel, and he almost thought he could hear the wisp laugh with him, a tinkling of bells, mischievous and soft, echoing just behind his own. The wisp seemed oddly happy to have Danny's hand through its not quite face, it's colors shifting swifter and more vibrantly than ever before. With reckless joy, Danny pushed his hand in further.

His hand met metal with a soft click, and the wisp disappeared, bringing its colorful, kaleidoscope lights with it. Danny was plunged into darkness before his world went green.

Prompts: jackdawsprite - Danny knows better than to follow the will o' the wisps. But the rules are different now, aren't they?

#danny phantom #danny phantom fanfiction #danny fenton #pre canon #will o' the wisp #phic phight #phic phight 2024 #team human

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theskeptileptic · 1 month

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Chapter 10 includes:

- Zesti (1)

- Sprite (1)

- threatening little brothers

- little brothers being little shits

- condescending flight attendants

- threatening big brothers

- A Goofy Movie

- flashbacks

- crying but trying not to cry

- hand holding

- ignoring feelings

- freaking out

- interfering butlers

#batman #bruce wayne #tim drake #batfam #dick grayson #jason todd #damian wayne #fanfic

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diabolus1exmachina · 11 months

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Innocenti C coupé

Born in Piscaia, Tuscany in 1891, Ferdinandi Innocenti started his business career by establishing a hardware store in Rome. The business grew, and in 1920 Ferdinandi established a factory in northern Italy in Milan, in the Lambrate district. The factory produced everything from soccer stands to railways, and the reconstruction boom in Rome in particular boosted demand.The factories suffered in the Second World War, but Innocenti had kept them up and running productively for wartime needs even through difficult times. After the war, the factories also started producing for the vehicle industry, inspired by military motorcycles. Enrico Piaggio had introduced the Vespa in 1946, and Innocenti introduced their first scooter, Lambro River by Lambretta, just a year later. The scooters became a huge success and were manufactured under license in Spain, India, Argentina, Germany, France and Brazil.At the end of the 1950s, another economic boom followed in Italy, and the working class could for the first time get their own car, such as the Fiat 500. Ferdinando's son Luigi had taken over as vice president of the company and began to explore the possibilities of manufacturing passenger cars. A cooperation partner was first found in Germany, and a small Iseria passenger car was born in cooperation with Goggomobil. However, production was very marginal until the early 1960s when Innocenti entered into a cooperation agreement with the British BMC and began to produce Innocenti Austins and Mini Minors under license.Innocent's first in-house model followed just a year later when it introduced the Austin-Healey Sprite-based 950 Spider. Encouraged by Innocenti’s first sports model, the collaboration with Ferrari also began, and two 186 GT prototypes equipped with the V6 from Maranello were completed, until Ferrari decided to bury the project in 1966.

Innocenti was not discouraged, and developed their own small Coupé model, which was presented later in the same year. Ghia used the earlier Spider model as the basis for the design, and Sergio Sartorelli, who has made a name for himself with models like the Karmann Ghia Type 34 and the Fiat 2300 S, was given the main responsibility for the design. The wheelbase was extended and the rear of the car was completely redesigned. Special attention was paid to the quality of the materials in the interior, and the GT spirit was also exuded by dashboard including five gauges, the oil pressure gauge was straight from the Ferrari 250 GTE. New Innocenti C was powered by BMC's A-series 1098cc engine, producing 58bhp with two SU carburettors – enough for a coupe with a curb weight of just 695kg.

#Innocenti C coupé #Ferdinandi Innocenti #Enrico Piaggio #Goggomobil #British BMC #Ferrari #186 GT #Fiat 2300 S #Ferrari 250 GTE #Fiat 500

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focusontheheart · 5 months

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Meet the Team - Pseu

You can also find @picksleydust on: Twitter @ pseuboo

Ahoy friends, from the Land Down Under. I’m a fandom artist who spends my days as a barista and painter and nights hunched over my computer drawing or my ps5 playing something. Should I get more sleep? Yes. But we all know it doesn’t work like that. In 2017 a good friend of mine was constantly insisting I had to play Horizon, and that I would enjoy it, but I was so down the BotW rabbit-hole I was a bit blinkered. I also didn’t have my own PlayStation. But in the year 2020, my then GF had a PS4 she wasn’t using and let me borrow it and that’s when I played Zero Dawn. I adored it and the story but I never fell into fandom because I personally didn’t see Aloy with anyone in the first game (maybe Petra…?) and so I continued on until I caught the Spicy Cough on the release week of HFW and played it endlessly while hacking up my soul. And of course, at one point I was sucker punched by my sweet, earnest and rather poetic Marshal of the Tenakth and the rest is history.

See the Q&A with Pseu below the cut!

Q: What is a favorite piece of work you've done (i.e. completed, working on, in concept)?

I think my commissions and my comic adjacent pieces are my faves, but honestly, I don’t think I’m the best to judge, I can be a little harsh on myself. Most of my work is inspired by the strange goings on in the different channels over on the Kotaloy Server. I really enjoy drawing facial expressions and fun poses as well as funny comics and tableaus that amuse me.

Q: What are some of your favorite tropes to write, draw, or read?

My old desire for enemies to lovers is strong, but this fandom has further kindled a love for subservient men who love their feral wives. I’m also very keen on accidental marriage and “oh no there’s one bed” tropes, but who isn’t >_>

To draw? I’m basically one big rubber arm, if you can make it appeal to me then I will draw it with gusto.

Q: What is an unexpected thing or fun fact about you?

I live in one of the HOT parts of Australia but I’m originally from the frigid Northern hemisphere in Scotland. Ironically though, I feel like it was my destiny to be Aussie. I love beaches (including the sand), hot weather and vegemite with all my heart.

Q: What has been your favorite thing about working on this project so far?

Honestly, I have really enjoyed working on the sprites for this game. My main inspiration here is the other incredible artists and writers in this fandom. I’ve never been part of such a kind and encouraging one before and while I can only speak for the Kotaloy crew, I have found a frankly staggering number of amazing people in the general fandom. Y’all keep me going, I swear.

#focus on the heart #foth #foth dating sim fangame #foth visual novel fangame #horizon forbidden west #meet the team: artists and writers #artist: pseu (picksleydust)#aloy x kotallo

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the-midsummer-masquerade · 1 year

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Welcome to the Midsummer Masquerade.

A month-long celebration of all things sexy in the Arcanaverse.

That’s right - where this event has only (officially) lasted for one week in years past, in 2023 the Midsummer Masquerade will last for the entire month of June. Think of it as a summertime Kinktober, and this time around, without stressing out about trying to speedrun it.

With that announcement out, some FAQ and rules beneath the cut, because while we’re all here for a little subversive fun, there are some important guidelines to follow.

FAQ

What is the Midsummer Masquerade?

Simply put, it is a concept born of conversations amongst Arcana fans who enjoy creating smut, all based on one important question: what if Masquerade, but sexy?

Okay, so masquerades are inherently sexy, but in a fandom where plenty of our OCs are out here getting up to getting down, we wanted to create an event dedicated to celebrating smut and kink.

As always, the event is run by @vissentasenadz, with moderator assistance from @nvvermore and @devoraqs.

Isn’t the canon Masquerade basically already at midsummer, and isn’t midsummer in Vesuvia in December?

Correct. However, the event creators and moderators are located in the northern hemisphere, and so our event takes place in June. As for the canon Masquerade… well, do we really think there wouldn’t be double the party with double the fun? We’ve seen all the LIs’ horny faces. Search your feelings and you know it to be true.

So a month long, huh? Do we have to do all of the prompts?

Of course not! And truthfully, you don’t have to do the prompts on the exact day, though we will release the prompt list a month in advance to give folks adequate time to plot and plan and create. The prompts are a guide and are there for you to pick and choose as you please.

Is this for OCxLI ships only?

Definitely not. Lots of people have OCxOC ships around here, and the point is for everyone to have fun. If you’d like to do a little LIxLI, or OCxLIxLI, or OCxOCxLI… well, you get the point. Just keep it linked to the Arcana, and anything goes.

Is this only for artists and writers?

It’s for fandom creatives of all types. If your thing is moodboards, playlists, headcanon lists, sprite edits, whatever, we encourage you to participate however you can!

Rules

The rules are largely the same as last year and the year before, which will also be copied here, but there are some notable additions (in bold), so please read carefully:

This event is not affiliated with the official Arcana game or its parent company/developers, and is solely fandom-based.

Minors are not allowed to participate and will be blocked without question. If you do not have your age in your bio or on a pinned post where it can be easily found by a moderator, or if it has not been discussed with a moderator in advance, any contributions to the event will not be reblogged to the event page.

Please use Tumblr’s Community Labels. This is a mature event, and we will label posts accordingly. If your post is flagged for violating community guidelines, we encourage you to reformat, censor, or adjust as needed in order to remain within guidelines, but we will not be appealing content that is flagged.

There will be a no tolerance policy for: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, whorephobia, or kinkshaming. With that last point said, there are some topics that are not kinks and will also not be tolerated, including but not limited to: rape, incest, pedophilia, and bestiality. Please use your common sense.

Mods reserve the right to not reblog any content that we feel is not in keeping with these rules or with the spirit of the event.

#the arcana #the arcana midsummer masquerade #the arcana event #the arcana fandom event #minors dni #vesuviaafterdark

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sanjoongie · 8 months

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Love will Find you when you're not Looking

🌳Apart of the ghibli collab held by @daesukiii 🌳Genre: romance, angst 🌳Trope/Au: love triangle, established relationship, s2l, fantasy au 🌳Pairing: San x Nari (OC) x Seonghwa 🌳Fandom: Ateez 🌳Movie: My Neighbor Totoro 🌳Warnings: mentions of illness, death, heartbreak, cheating! 🌳Word Count: 7,060 🌳Rating: 18+ MDNI 🌳Summary: moving into the countryside had two purposes: one, to put Seonghwa in a state-of-the-art facility to see if there's a chance he might survive this illness, and two, so that you could enjoy your life while being without Seonghwa. What you never pegged was how magical the forest was surrounding your new home and finding comfort within it. 🌳A/N: Mathieu is the youngest, four years old boy, and Seongnam is eight (first born, means south star, after hwa's nickname for Nari, which is northern star) 🌳Dedication: @mejuii & @downtoamagicalland who wept when i first told them of my plans for this story and wept after they read it too 💔 i'm sorry i broke your hearts, my beta readers

“Seongnam, please watch your brother!” I called out as the two raced out of the moving van and tore across the wild grass that was now my new yard.

“Okay Mama!” Seongnam, my eldest, called out. “Mathieu, stay by me, okay?”

“‘Kay!” Mathieu, my four year old, echoed back.

I let myself watch them as they zoomed around for a moment before turning to the moving van. There was a lot of stuff to move and it was only day one.

I had moved to the countryside to remain closer to my husband, Seonghwa. He had always had a delicate disposition when I had met him but it seemed to only get worse once we got older and began a family. Eventually, when Seonghwa became bedridden, the city doctors recommended a state of the art facility that was located in the middle of nowhere. I wrote for a living so it was nothing for me to move my life for Seonghwa, but I worried about the kids. Seongnam had some best friends already and I loathed to pull him from his life in the city, but he insisted he wanted to be wherever his Papa was, so here we were, moving into a fixer-upper with the intentions of staying within biking distance of his father.

Mathieu squealed in fear as Seongnam lifted up a log, revealing creepy-crawlies, and it made my own fear zip through me. I dropped a dresser I had been attempting to pull onto the built-in dolly on the moving truck and moved outside of the van.

“Park Seongnam, stop torturing your poor brother!” I shouted.

“Yes, Mama,” Seongnam said dutifully but stuck his tongue out at his scaredy cat brother.

I sighed. Seongnam promised me he was going to try to take care of his brother, who was still very sensitive to his father being ‘in that sick place’ but Seongnam had too much of my teasing nature in him and Mathieu was also too much me in being the perfect victim. It was going to be a mess keeping those two from aggravating each other this summer.

The boys zoomed around the house, searching every nook and cranny for old folklore creatures. They claimed they found soot sprites and one of the grannies from the small community in these hills even confirmed it to them, leaving them wide eyes about tales of the small creatures in our house and in the forest.

"You would beware of the forest spirit the most, however," Granny wagged a finger at me, "many a maiden have fallen to his charms. As kind and warm as his heart may be, he is still a forest spirit."

I rolled my eyes. "You don't have to worry about me, Granny. With these two gremlins, I have enough to worry about."

"Gremlin!" Mathieu cackled at the new fun word to say.

Seongnam began to growl, crouching and forming claws from his fingers. He chased Mathieu around the house, while Granny instructed me how best to heat up all the welcome dishes she brought with her. And through all this, I just wished Seonghwa was here.

Seonghwa always used to be able to put the boys to bed best. He would gather them in his arms, one on each side of him, and he would lay in Seongnam's single bed. His feet would awkwardly lie off the bed but his eyes would remain on me.

"Tell us a story, Mama," he would say, eyes full of hearts instead of stars.

Our boys would fall asleep to the sound of their father's even breathing but Seonghwa always listened to every last word until I said "The End."

Each boy would get a kiss on the forehead, Mathieu tucked into his big boy bed, and we would continue the evening. It used to be that Seonghwa would say "One more time, I think we can get a little girl." But then Seonghwa couldn't make it through a single story without coughing and his sleep included an oxygen mask. I loved Seonghwa but I missed him so much.

"Boys, please, I've a new story to tell you," I pleaded, currently having a hard time without Seonghwa.

Mathieu frog hopped over his brother who was crouched putting Legos together on the floor. "New story?"

I nodded my head. "Remember the spirit Granny warned me about earlier?"

Seongnam laid on his bed, with his brother dutifully beside him, and they both watched me with the same eyes their father stared at me as I weaved a tale for their bedtime…

Once upon a time there was a maiden and she had to travel to far away lands because her father was sick--

“Do even princesses have sick father’s too, Mama?” Seongnam interrupted me.

Mathieu had the beginnings of a pout on his adorable lips. Seongnam looked like he needed to relate to someone; that he wasn’t alone in the world with a sick papa.

I tickled Mathieu to get a big grin from him and I leaned in to kiss Seongnam’s nose. “Yes, my star, even princesses have sick fathers.”

The princess was very lonely, stuck in a castle all by herself, with her father sick in a tall tower that was guarded by a powerful wizard. But the castle was surrounded by a magical forest, so she spent her days picking flowers--

“Mama,” Seongnam interrupted me again, Mathieu blew a raspberry.

I narrowed my eyes down at my boys, giving them the best Mama Glare I knew. Seongnam stayed strong, however.

“Why does the princess pick flowers? What did they ever do to her?”

I had to laugh. “Do you want to hear the story or not Park Seongnam?!” I demanded, putting my hands on my hips.

A small smile, a ghost of his father’s, pulled at Seongnam’s lips. “Sorry, Mama.”

--she spent her days picking up acorns and pinecones, hoping to recreate some of the magical forest within the walls of the castle. For the princess knew that soon she would be caught playing in the forest and that was not allowed.

The magical forest was neither good nor evil, it simply was. There were happy fairies but there were also dangers in the magical forest that even a princess could not defeat. So every day, the princess made sure she was back home before sunset; before it became dark in the magical forest.

Mathieu clung to his older brother, burying his face into his older brother’s airplane pattern pjs. Seongnam hugged his brother back, ‘too big’ to admit that he might be scared as well.

Luckily enough for the princess, the forest enjoyed her company. She bowed to the deer and said good morning to the bunnies. So the forest sent out a messenger, for it could see that the princess was indeed very lonely.

The forest spirit was a big but fluffy creature, with gray fur and white spots. The forest spirit loved to sleep in the sun, having found the perfect burrow in the hollow of a tree. The forest awoke the spirit with a great shaking of the tree’s branches and the spirit yawned loudly.

The noise scared the princess, who had been below the tree, collecting acorns. But, she was a brave and curious princess, so she followed a hole into the tree and found the spirit.

“Did the spirit eat her?” Seongnam demanded. Mathieu squealed as his brother grabbed his arm and pretended to nom on him.

“You sir, are a troublemaker,” I scolded my eldest.

I scooped Mathieu up into my arms and cradled him to my chest. “The forest spirit does not eat princesses,” I assured my youngest.

Mathieu nodded like he knew better this entire time and continued to listen to my story.

The princess climbed upon the forest spirit because he was larger than a bear but much more cuddly. She curled up and napped with the forest spirit, who was very happy to go back to sleep.

She slept and she slept. And she slept and she slept. And when she woke up, she found that so much time had passed. The castle had been looking for her far and wide and thought she disappeared! But the forest was looking to help the princess who sought comfort in it. So by the time the princess woke up, her father was healed!

By the time I finished my story, Mathieu was sound asleep, sucking his thumb. Seongnam looked like he had half a foot in sleepland and half a foot in the waking land.

“Mama?” Seongnam inquired sleepily as I tucked Mathieu in.

“Yes baby?” I answered absentmindedly, gently tugging Mathieu’s thumb out of his mouth.

“I wish I could sleep and wake up and Papa was better.”

My heart dropped into my stomach. I had wanted to give my children hope with that story but it seemed like Seongnam had my logic. I turned to my first born and sat on his bed. “Well, Seongnam, in a way, it’s kinda true. One day, we will wake up and go visit your father and the doctors will tell us he’s well enough to come home.”

“Promise?” Seongnam asked, rubbing his eyes.

“On a shooting star, let it go far,” I added our family’s extra mantra when we promised things.

“ ‘kay,” Seongnam replied, turning over and falling asleep.

Sleep did not come to me as easily as it did my sons, unfortunately. Nighttime was usually when I was free of my hoodlums and could write a bit but my mind and body was exhausted after the move. Instead, I grabbed a blanket and sat outside on the porch to look at the stars. Perhaps Seonghwa was also looking at the same stars I was. But I hope he was sleeping, just like our babies.

I pulled out my phone by instinct but there wasn’t any cell service in the remote area we lived in. Hell, the internet company wasn’t coming out for another week because it was satellite internet and they were already booked up. All I wanted to do was send a text message to my love to tell him I missed him. I didn’t want to be a single parent anymore.

“There’s a star in this sky around this time of year that we call the lonely star,” a voice comes out of nowhere, scaring me half to death. “I don’t see it in the sky though. Perhaps it’s you?”

I turned my head slowly and there was a dark haired man, hair sheared close to his head, with a gray shirt that had cut-outs on his massive shoulders. His smile pulled only half of his lips to the side, showing dimples. His dark eyes glowed merrily, clearly teasing.

I tried to calm my beating heart. “Nope, I’m not a fallen star,” I stated. I moved to get up, scared for my children but the man sat down beside me.

“The babies are asleep. There is no danger to them,” He reassured me.

I swallowed nervously. “Is there any danger to me?”

The man shook his head. “No,” he replied simply.

“What brings you out here at the dead of night?” I couldn't help but say sarcastically.

“Your heart called out to me,” The man said, turning his head slightly.

I scoffed and then brandished my hand with my wedding band to him. “Didn’t you hear that your new neighbor is married?”

The man cocked his head curiously and then examined my engagement ring on top of my marriage band. The diamond sparkled as he moved it and I held my breath. “Are you sure you’re not a fallen star and this is how you contain yourself until you can get back up into the sky?”

You’re my northern star. I always follow you to find my way home.

My throat suddenly became tight and my heart ached with love and loneliness. The man, as if responding to my own pain, put a hand to his heart. “See, your heart calls out to me even now.”

“How do you know?” I whispered into the night wind.

The man turned to me fully, half serious, half joking. “You’re the princess from the story from earlier. And I’m the forest spirit.”

I shook my head slowly. “How did you…that’s not possible!”

The man giggled musically. “The forest sent me because you were lonely. You all are.”

My heart hurt even more, thinking that my children were lonely because their father wasn’t here with us in this new place. “That’s not true.”

The man put a hand on my shoulder and I felt all the tension and loneliness melt away. Instead, I felt comfort and warmth. “Now it’s not true.”

My eyes felt heavy and before I could realize it, my head dropped and the last thing I remember was my body leaning into the stranger’s shoulder as he hummed a song under his breath. It sounded like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.

I jolted awake the next morning when the door slammed open behind me. “Mama!” Mathieu yelled at me, “Why are you sleeping outside?”

I blinked rapidly, dazed and confused. What had happened? I came outside because I couldn't sleep and--

“There’s a star in this sky around this time of year that we call the lonely star.”

I shook my head. I had to have dreamt that. "Mama couldn't sleep, love," I replied, standing up with a groan.

"Mama, can I have eggs?" Mathieu asked politely, small hand clinging to my pant leg.

I smiled painfully. "Only if I can find the frying pan."

The morning was a bit of a mess. Mathieu cried in frustration when I couldn't make his eggs the way Papa made them. Seongnam scolded his baby brother, saying he should grow up, which only made Mathieu cry harder. I yelled at Seongnam and then his lower lip began to quiver.

"Come here, loves." I bent down and threw out my arms. Both of my boys came to me and we had a group hug and a small cry together.

Seongnam wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and then Mathieu wiped my cheeks adorably.

"Now, Mama needs to unpack some more. We don't want the sneezies, so be big boys and find all the windows and throw them all open for your silly Mama, okay?"

Mathieu squealed and ran off to find the first window. Seongnam looked at me seriously for a moment and then bopped my nose with his forefinger. He had seen his father do that to me numerous times and for some odd reason it stopped me from sneezing.

I almost teared up again but kept it together for my oldest. "Thank you, Southern star."

Seongnam grinned at me. "Welcome, Northern Star."

"When you're done with the windows, go play outside with Mathieu, okay?" Seongnam nodded solemnly. "You can go into the forest but only as far as you can still see the house. No farther than that."

"Yes, Mama," Seongnam agreed and then he was gone.

I spent the day unpacking and cleaning our fix-me-up. I noted most of the repairs in a notebook, thinking I could do a lot myself minus the roof. Before I realized it, it was lunch time. I leaned out the kitchen window that looked to the forest and called out the boys' names. Soon, they were running out of the forest, squealing and giggling.

"Mama!" Mathieu practically threw himself into my arms. "We made a new friend!"

"Did you say good morning to some bunnies like the princess?" I asked, burying my face into the crook of Mathieu’s neck.

"Noooooo," he giggled, pushing away my face. "It's the forest spirit like in your story!"

My stomach dipped and my hold on Mathieu tightened. Seongnam must have seen my face fall as well because he came and grabbed my hand. "What's wrong? Didn't you say the forest sent the spirit to the princess because she was lonely?"

My own story was starting to really bite me in the ass. "It was just a story, star."

Seongnam frowned. "No, it isn't. We met him today! He showed us the hollow and the view from the top of the tree!"

I shook my feeling of anxiety and played along with Seongnam. Clearly they really had latched onto my story. I had even dreamt of the story. They were my children after all, they'd be good at playing make believe.

"Did you get a name for the forest spirit?" I inquired.

"San!" Mathieu declared, throwing his arms up in the air. "He throws me high in the air and I float on toys!"

"Well that does sound like a lot of fun," I agreed.

I settled Mathieu on my hip and started to pull out the ingredients for sandwiches. "Did you nap too? The forest spirit does love a good nap."

"No, San said he wasn't tired because he had a nap with you!" Seongnam answered while he sat at the table.

I tried not to falter at Seongnam’s words. I put Mathieu in his raised chair and started making sandwiches. I had to do something with my hands to stop them from shaking.

"Well, let's make sure the forest sent the same spirit to me as it did to you, huh? What if it's playing a trick on us? Your San, he had short, dark hair? A gray shirt with silly cut outs?"

"Yeah!" Seongnam nodded his head so quickly his glasses fell down the bridge of his nose. "And he had these." And my eldest proceeded to poke both of his cheeks.

Shit, this just got real.

That night, after a story about a car that spoke to its owner, I was outside on my porch quicker than if my ass had been on fire.

"Forest spirit, who gave you permission to play with MY children?" I hissed into the darkness.

I was met with silence.

"Oh, so now you're playing shy, huh?!" I said, putting my hands on my hips.

“See, your heart calls out to me even now.”

Fine, two could play this game.

I thought of when I met Seonghwa. He had been staring at me in the library for over half an hour and it had been bothering me. So I gathered my bag and books and walked over to his desk and slammed a hand down in front of him, making him jump and yelp in fright.

"How am I supposed to read when I can feel your eyes boring into my back, just between my shoulder blades?" I whispered angrily.

"Actually," Seonghwa blinked up at me. "I was trying to figure out if the barrette under your bun was a shooting star."

I slapped my hand on my shooting star barrette. "Oh. I'm sorry," I apologized lamely.

Seonghwa smiled, crooked but kind. "That's interesting because my name actually means 'to be a star'."

"It doesn't mean anything, it just means I really like stars," I mumbled under my breath. I was embarrassed and I just wanted to get out of here now.

Seonghwa tilted his head flirtatiously. "Then you must like me too."

I sighed and curled a fist over my heart, back in the present. Seonghwa had been sick then but it barely affected him. If I had known… no. I loved Seonghwa fiercely and proudly and I wouldn't give up my sons for the world.

"Hello again, fallen star."

"San--"

San's eyes lit up with excitement. "So they did tell you about me!"

"I've never seen them so happy and glowing in a long time," I said wistfully.

"They just needed to have someone look at them and acknowledge that they are here," San said, nodding his head sagely.

I shook my head. "I don't understand this."

"You don't have to understand it." San leaned back against one of the porch pillars and it creaked.

I stared worriedly at the roof of the porch. "Am I gonna have to fix you too?"

San giggled, the melodic noise dancing through the air. "The house has good bones. It was built from the trees from the forest, freely given."

I pursed my lips. "I don't want more of your gifts."

San cocked his head curiously. "You couldn't sleep. I helped you."

"I'm not a forest spirit, I can't sleep outside without getting cold and stiff," I replied, rubbing a shoulder with one hand.

"You weren't cold!" San frowned, "I kept you warm."

I began to rub my eyebrow. "I don't need any more help."

“Then why did your heart call out to me?”

San’s gaze felt a little too heavy for my liking. “Because I wanted to yell at you.”

“For taking care of the little ones?” San blew a raspberry, “Humans are funny.”

My throat tightened and tears burned my eyes. San was right. I was just as bad as my children, lashing out when I didn’t know who I truly wanted to be angry at. I felt warm hands grasp my upper arm.

“Do not cry, fallen star,” San reassured me.

I bent my neck so my head could lower. I didn’t want him to see my tears for some reason I could not fathom. “I’m not crying,” I sniffled.

San pulled me in for a hug and the dam broke. All the walls I had up, all the meticulously built support to stay strong for everyone in my life gave out and I began to sob into San’s chest. My face was buried there and his arms were around me and I wept for my life. I wept that I had to make promises I couldn't keep to my children. I wept for my sick husband. I wept that I was tired and sad and neglected--

With tears pouring down my face, San released me and tipped my head back with a finger under my chin. “You are beautiful,” he beamed down at me with such a radiant smile.

My shoulders still shook as my sobs wracked through my body. “I’m not,” I said stubbornly.

“Your heart is beautiful, therefore you are,” San insisted.

And just like that, my heart started beating out of my chest. San seemingly responded, grin only getting wider and bolder. He leaned in and I put a hand on his chest to halt him from getting too close. “Don’t.”

"I just want you to feel loved," San sighed, his warm breath flirting with my lips.

"My husband--"

"Your heart is sick, Nari."

"San, I can't!"

"Then let me."

His lips descended onto mine. He kissed me softly, he kissed me gently, and with kindness that made my heart melt. I was like fragile glass in his hands but he knew exactly how to handle me. His tongue touched my lips and my mouth opened up for him with a groan. It had been ages since I had been kissed this way. Since--

I pushed San firmly back, palms to chest and San let me break the kiss. "No."

San watched me with solemn eyes and said nothing until I reached my door. "You know, while I kissed you, your heart wasn't crying anymore."

The next day we made our first trip to Seonghwa's room at the hospice. I had a buggy attached to my bike and Seongnam had his own bike, training wheels taken off as the last service his father had performed for him.

The boys were so excited to see their father and to tell him about the move. I let them run into his room while the doctor snagged me for a talk. It seemed like the move to the hospice had put quite a lot of stress on Seonghwa’s body.

"Are you saying the move was bad for him?" I demanded incredulously.

The doctor shook his head. "Not at all. We are already seeing the change the air is having on his lungs. His heart, on the other hand--"

And then I heard the word San.

Seongnam was talking animatedly with his hands, that he took after me in regard to. Mathieu bounced on the bed, excited to blurt out his adventures with the forest spirit. And all I could think about was how I had kissed a man other than Seonghwa.

"Thank you, doctor, but I would like to see Seonghwa now." I nodded curtly and then pushed into the room.

“And how is my northern star?” Seonghwa smiled, his eyes twinkling like stars themselves.

“I’m fine, Hwa,” I murmured, pushing my hair behind my ear.

“Your hair is getting long,” He mentioned, rubbing a strand between his thumb and forefinger.

“Mama hates it Papa, but she says it’s for you,” Mathieu blurted out, not truly understanding what he was repeating.

Seonghwa’s smile grew and my cheeks became warm. “Is that so?”

I pulled Mathieu closer to me, avoiding eye contact. I started to absentmindedly comb his hair down. “Well, it’s not like the hairdresser is nearby anymore.”

“Did the doctor say you could come home now?’ Seongnam asked solemnly.

“I’m sorry,” was all that Seonghwa could offer to his eldest son.

Mathieu bursted out crying at the announcement that Papa wasn’t coming home. Seongnam teared up too and I knew it was time to take them home. I ushered them out before they could exhaust Seonghwa; he needed all the energy he could muster to focus on healing. Except when I turned my head one last time to see Seonghwa, he was crying too. I had to remain strong for the males in my life and not shed a single tear.

The next following days were full of dark clouds, metaphorical and literal. The boys were either silent with their thoughts or burst out in anger. They fought with each other, Seongnam lashing out verbally while Mathieu usually responded physically.

I had to start sleeping with Mathieu in my bed to keep them separated at night. I slept better, oddly enough, with Mathieu drooling on my stomach as I stroked his hair until he slept.

The day the rain actually started was the same day I left the kids off with the local granny at my house. They promised to behave and listen to Granny but I was still worried. I didn't have much of a choice. My editor demanded I meet her back in the city.

The train into the city came at an ungodly hour in the morning but my appointment with my editor wasn't until late afternoon. I didn't have any friends to meet up with, taking care of Seonghwa for the past couple years had made me out of the loop of their lives and caused it to be awkward. And even once I met up with my editor, she only had bad news.

"Your stories need a new main love interest, Nari," she said, slamming the top of her laptop down with finality.

"What?!" I asked, rubbing my eyebrow.

"It's always a gentle man, with a kind smile and growly voice. The readers need something new to sink their teeth into," My editor insisted.

"How about an infuriating man who insists that he knows your heart better than you do and kisses you because of that," I grumbled under my breath.

My editor's eyebrows shot into her fringe. "That's perfect, actually, are you working on something I don't know about?"

I opened my mouth and closed it. I had said that flippantly, thinking of San, I hadn't meant that seriously. "I was kidding!"

My editor gave me a look that said she didn't believe me. "Well, if you do work on something, let me know, before you even write a first draft. No use working it all out if it's just a copy and paste of the last one."

I was dismayed to see that the rain was still going strong as I made my way home. The grayness of the day suited the way the day had gone but I felt like I needed some sunshine to brighten up my day. Alas, that didn’t seem like it was going to happen. The rain and the wind picked up so suddenly that once I walked off the train, the wind pulled my umbrella into a dance amongst the sky and left me at the mercy of the rain.

I rode my bike from the station, cursing the dark country roads. What was my editor thinking? A love interest like San? My readers would be outraged. They love my characters who always ask if they can kiss their beloved. They love the men who point up at a shooting star and then give a reason to put their arm around their beloved. They loved the love interests who kissed their pregnant wife's protruding belly, promising to be there for all of the unborn baby's life--

I squinted but the light coming from my bike was barely helping, and with the rain continuously and relentlessly whipping into my face and my glasses, I was bound for a crash. It happened almost instantly, my bike barreling into the ditch and sending me over the handlebars. I braced for impact and should have hit the ground hard, or a tree for that matter, but all I heard was an ‘oomph’.

"That's not how you fly, fallen star."

"I wasn't trying to fly, San!" I cried out in frustration and anger.

"Could have fooled me," San chuckled.

I was cradled in the forest spirit's arms, one arm under my back and the other under my legs. "Put me down."

San jutted his chin out in the direction of my bike. "You're not getting home with that anymore."

My bike was a mangled mess, the chain broken and a wheel bent. How much could I have hurt myself if not for San catching me? What would have happened to Seongnam and Mathieu? Angry tears began to fall down my cheek. Why did life have to be so hard right now?

"I can help you get home," San murmured.

"Are we going to float on toys?" I asked sarcastically, recalling what Mathieu had said.

"No." San began to climb out of the ditch, water running down his hair and down his face, eyes forward and determined. "Cat bus."

"Cat bus," I said with disbelief. "There are no buses around here, San," I deadpanned.

"Cat bus only reveals itself to people in need," San replied.

"This is ridiculous," I muttered under my breath.

San stood in the rain at the side of the road, without letting my feet touch the ground, like he expected something to pull around the corner--I jolted when two beams of light turned the corner of the road.

"Shut up," I whispered.

A bus in the shape of a cat with many legs ran to us. It had tiny rat's eyes as its red lights and it--it truly was a Cat Bus. San put us both on the bus and it ran across the hills and leapt over the forest and before I realized it, I was screaming. Not in fear, but in exhilaration. The speed raced through my veins and made me feel alive.

San lifted me once more when we arrived at my fix-it-up house and only put me down as he said, "My princess, your castle."

"Were you listening at the window when I told them that story?!" I demanded.

San simply shook his head like I was the silly one. "Of course not. The wind carries your stories to me. But more importantly, your children believe that you're the princess in that story. They believe that I was sent here so that you're not so lonely now that Papa is sick. They don't even think of themselves when they play with me. They are always thinking of you."

"Thank you for today," I said instead.

"Your heart called for me and I answered," San said simply.

I entered my house, soaking wet and instantly scared to death as Granny shouted at me. "There you are!"

My heart fell to my stomach at the look of worry on Granny's face. "Are my boys okay?!"

"They're fine--but Seonghwa!"

My legs gave out on me. Here I was, having an unbelievable experience with San and my Seonghwa was suffering. "What?"

"The hospice sent someone an hour ago!" Granny held my hands between her own. "Seonghwa's heart is weak. They want you and the boys there, in case--"

"Oh, God."

We rushed to the hospice, Granny calling her son to bring us in his UTV. I had Mathieu on my lap and Seongnam clutched to my side the entire ride. I didn't say a word to either of them but I think they knew exactly what was happening. They didn't know what this truly meant but it was like we had all been bracing for impact, like I had been when I fell off my bike. I winced. I don't think San could save us from this.

The nurses and the doctors rounded up the children and allowed me to go into Seonghwa's room first.

"Hwa," I whimpered.

He looked so fragile in his bed with all the wires attached to him and the machines beeping. He even had an oxygen mask over his face. And yet he still managed to smile at me. "How's my Northern Star?"

"Park Seonghwa," and then I started to cry.

I lied on the bed and sobbed because I was terrified to even touch him. Seonghwa's fingers ghosted the top of my head, the most he could reach. "Don't cry, Nari. I love you."

"I love you too!" I sobbed. "You promised when I was carrying Seongnam that you would be with us forever."

"Nari." I sat up but it only made it worse. Seonghwa was crying, biting down on his bottom lip in an attempt to stop it from quivering. "I don't want to go either."

The tears wouldn't stop streaming down my face, and down my chin and down my neck. "You were supposed to get better."

"The doctor's tried their best," Seonghwa insisted, swallowing his tears. "The boys?"

"They…" I began to shake my head, "No, they can't see you like this, Hwa."

"Nari." I winced. Seonghwa rarely used his no-nonsense voice towards me.

I wiped my tears away as quickly and as best as I could and turned to leave. I gathered up Mathieu in my arms and took Seongnam's hand wordlessly.

"Mama?" Mathieu said my name like he was terrified.

"We need to have a family meeting," I said.

"I don't want to have a family meeting," Seongnam whimpered.

"We have to," I insisted and then re-entered Seonghwa's room.

Seonghwa shakily pulled off his oxygen mask. I heard the nurse begin to protest but the doctor shushed her. "Come give Papa a kiss," Seonghwa held open his arms to take Mathieu first.

"Papa," Mathieu whimpered. He gave a large smacking, wet kiss to Seonghwa's cheek. "Why do you look like a robot?"

Seonghwa smiled shakily. "Because they're turning me into one."

"Papa!" Seongnam really couldn't take his father's silliness, just like me. "Be serious."

Seonghwa patted the bed and Seongnam let go of my hand and went to his father. "I am serious, southern star."

Seonghwa was the one that told the bedtime story tonight. He spun a tale of a boy who was born with a heart that was too big and lungs that were too small. The boy had a long journey to find the wizard, and along the way he met two stars and a tiny cat. By the time the boy got a heart of diamond and lungs of steel, Seongnam and Mathieu were fast asleep. I didn't have the heart to move anyone but the nurse did insist on putting Seonghwa's oxygen mask back over his face. Eventually, they were all asleep and it was just me.

The doctor made sure that I had all the legal precautions in place for when, not if, Seonghwa's heart finally gave out and that was all I could take for my very, horrible day. I fell asleep, head on the bed, bent over in a chair pulled up to Seonghwa's bed, holding Seonghwa's hand.

🌳🌳🌳

The funeral made me feel like I was the one that passed away. I felt numb. I felt like I was floating. Nothing seemed real. Seonghwa’s happy face was at the front of the church but he wasn't here any longer. Countless people gave me their sympathies and cried but I had no more tears. The last ones I shed were on Seonghwa’s deathbed.

Going home after it all was the worst part. Seonghwa had never seen our house and now he never would. The house would never know of Seonghwa playing with his sons. The house would never hear Seonghwa’s laughter after he embarrassed himself. This house would never hold any memories of my husband and my boys Papa. This truly was a new fresh start for us all.

Everything seemed to be more gray after Seonghwa passed. I was numb for so long, only raising my head above water to take care of the children but the rest of the time my mind was empty and void. I could think of nothing, because if I did, I would break and not be able to provide for my boys.

The boys were devastated for days, I barely heard them play or laugh. They simple went about their days like they were required but I missed the days of hearing them squeal with happiness when I bid them home from the forest for lunch.

Eventually, I had to stop simply raising my head out of the water but to pull my body out completely.

"Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey," I shouted as I brought down a wooden spoon several times on a pot.

"Mama?" Mathieu rubbed his eyes with his chubby fists.

"Mama!" Seongnam groaned, pulling his blankets over his head.

"The princess is summoning her most championed knights. Her highness has decided that there will be an outing to pick mushrooms and berries and to take a picnic with the forest spirit!" I shouted, leaning over Seongnam's body and making Mathieu giggle.

"Wait, a picnic? In the forest?" Seongnam ripped his blankets off himself and stared up at me. My heart almost broke at how excited he was.

"San?!" Mathieu screamed in glee and almost fell trying to get out of his bed.

"But first, the finest cooks in all the land have made bacon and eggs. We must consume the royal breakfast in order to leave the castle!" I declared.

After breakfast, I found a pink diaphanous scarf to dramatically throw over my shoulder. Mathieu acquired a bucket as his helm and Seongnam tied two sieves along his shoulders as his armor. My most trusted knights followed me into the forest as we sought out the forest spirit.

I thought about a time right before Seonghwa got very sick. Mathieu was around two, starting to learn how to walk and talk. Seonghwa had gotten sad that Mathieu didn't want to be held by his father as much anymore. So Seonghwa had declared that the floor was poisonous for the entire day and if anyone but an adult touched, they would hate their favorite food. Seongnam and I spent the entire day on our couch, snacking and watching movies. But Seonghwa spent the entire day dutifully carrying Mathieu everywhere his little heart desired. And when we all went to sleep that night, Seonghwa declared it the best day of his life.

"What do we have here?" San stepped out of the dappled forest shade.

Seongnam jumped in front of me, brandishing a stick he had found on the way and Mathieu mimicked him only with a tall flower he had found. "We are the princess' most trusted knights. Are you the fabled forest spirit?"

"Hmmm, depends on who is asking?" San pretended to think about it. "I know two boys who are my best friends. Are you the same knights?" San's eyes danced with amusement as he stared straight at me.

"San!" Mathieu pushed back his bucket. "It's us!"

San crouched in front of Mathieu. "Oh, Matty! There you are!"

"San?" Seongnam solemnly said the forest spirit's name.

"Is that you, Seongnam?" San exclaimed.

"Mama has never been to the Hollow." Seongnam's eyes slid to me, as if he felt guilty for never bringing me there.

San slapped his hands to his cheeks in shock. "You're right! How did this escape me?"

"Hollow! Hollow!" Mathieu chanted.

San put his hands under Mathieu’s arm and raised him to sit on his shoulders. San offered one hand to Seongnam, who clung to San's pinky and ring finger. San's other hand went to hold Mathieu’s leg to keep him in place on his shoulders. Seongnam looked up at San and there was hope and a smile on Seongnam's face. Mathieu was still chanting 'Hollow!' when he had been as quiet as a mouse for weeks.

At last San turned to look at me. "Aren't you coming, Princess?" San lifted his eyebrows in question.

I lifted my chin stubbornly and made a small 'hmph!' noise. "A princess leads, she does not follow!"

Mathieu giggled. "You don't know where it is, Mama!" Seongnam insisted, rolling his eyes, just like me.

I felt my heart burst. This moment felt normal. This felt real. I felt present and grounded and truly here. Something I haven't felt since…

"Come back, Fallen Star," San murmured.

"Mama?" Mathieu frowned.

"Mama isn't a fallen star!" Seongnam insisted stubbornly, "Papa always said, she's the northern star, she's how you find home!"

"She does feel like home, doesn't she?" San tilted his head.

Mathieu clearly didn't understand what was going on so he started changing Hollow again and I knew we had to move on. "Knight Star, lead the way." I motioned towards Seongnam.

"Follow me everyone!" Seongnam shouted.

As we walked, the four of us along the forest path, I wondered if it was possible that life could perhaps be less hard right now. Perhaps my lonely heart, and my son's, had summoned San. Perhaps… perhaps I could go back to being a Northern star; not a lonely star nor a fallen one. Perhaps, I would find love when I wasn't looking for it.

Taglist: @hijirikaww @mingsolo @starlitmark @starillusion13 @flurrys-creativity @stardragongalaxy @k-pop-ology

#ghiblicollab23 #kvanity #cultofdionysusnet #kwritersworldnet #pirateeznet #ateez angst #park seonghwa angst #hi it's just me in my sanhwa shit again #topaz's work #ღatz #choi san scenarios

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