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bitter-sweet-farmgirl · 1 year

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The Wormhole, Part 1

Long time no see, Tumblr friends! To put it simply, college and real life have been my focus for these past few months and now that things are (hopefully) slowing down a bit for the summer, I hope to maybe scroll this hellsite more often than once a month.

Writer’s block has also been defeated (for the moment) and I’ve got a fun new story in the works. This one here is just one I’ve been sitting on for awhile. Enjoy!

Character Relationships: Thorin Oakenshield x Modern!Female OC

Content Warning(s): Mentions of manipulative behavior from an ex-boyfriend and his appearance.

Summary: Reverse of the “Girl falls into Middle Earth” trope. Thorin finds himself mysteriously transported to the modern world after surviving BOTFA and winds up in the care of a New York Academy of Arts teacher, Estel Cavanah. She has no idea why this man is so incompetent with the day’s technology.

“…And as you can see, the honey shade matches up pretty well with Nashville blue. The darker tones cool the orange.” I paused to glance at the clock on the other side of the room. The neon red numbers signaled the looming end of my class period.

Or, by the way my students were shuffling in their seats and surreptitiously packing away pen and paper, perhaps it was more of a couldn’t-come-soon-enough.

“Seeing as we are almost out of time, I’ll let you all go. See you on Friday!” I smiled as the room immediately erupted into a flurry of movement. The students, all eager to head home to relax at the end of a long day, feverishly packed up the last of their things and filed out of the room. It was almost insulting how quickly they wanted to leave my class. But I could understand their hurry; I had been a student once, and no matter how much I loved art, sometimes I couldn’t wait to get out of the classroom.

I turned to my own desk to pack up my stuff for the day, only to pause when a knock broke the silence. Annoyance sprung to life at the thought of having to spend more time here when I could be at home.

Slowly, I turned around, wondering what student had dropped by. But it wasn’t a student. The person wasn’t even a resident of the state!

“Zach, what are you doing here?!” I asked incredulously, unable to believe that the man was even standing in my doorway. “You live in North Carolina!”

“I came here to talk with you,” he said. I shot him a look.

“Zach, there is a reason phones were invented. Besides, what is so important that you come up to New York without calling me?” I asked, propping my hands on my hips. Then another thought occurred to me. A much darker and more disturbing thought. “How did you even know where I was? We haven’t talked since high school!”

Zach just shrugged, shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans as he walked further into my classroom. “That’s not really important, Estel—”

“Oh, I really think it is…”

“…I just wanted to see if you wanted to get back together. I think we made a mistake when we broke up.” Zach kept walking, and I began to feel the cold chills of anxiety trickle down my spine. I stepped behind my desk, putting it between me and him.

I really didn’t think he would do anything, but at the same time, it felt like a very real possibility.

“Zach, we dated in high school. We’re adults now. If it didn’t work out then, I don’t think it will work out now. Now, get out of here before I call security.” I made a show of picking up my cell phone and unlocking it.

He stopped walking, finally taking his hands out of his pockets to raise them in the air. “Woah, slow down girl. Let’s just talk, okay? Just because we didn’t work out in high school doesn’t mean we won’t work out now.”

“I really don’t think it does… And don’t tell me what to do, Zach. You’re the one who’s shown up out of the blue after stalking me!” My finger hovered over the keypad on my phone, waiting to dial the campus police.

“I’m not stalking you!” The words burst out of Zach like an avalanche. Immediately, his face became apologetic, and he took another step towards me. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me, Estel…”

Instantly, I was brought back to my days as a high schooler trying to figure out both my life and manage a boyfriend at the same time. Everything pointed towards us becoming high school sweethearts. Then one day the daydream shattered. I was introduced to just who my boyfriend really was, and he wasn’t the man I had thought he was.

Early on in our relationship, he’d stood behind me in my goals and dreams. When I said that I wanted to be a teacher, he told me to follow my heart. But when the topic came up again a few months later, he wasn’t as supportive.

To put a long story short, he wanted to get married young and start a family. My going away to college in a different state would put a damper on his goals. That made me the selfish one in the relationship.

And he didn’t want that. He did his best to hold on to our relationship and convince me to stay with him, but in the end I had to be true to myself and follow the path my heart was leading me on.

I wasn’t sad when it ended; I felt freer than I had felt in what seemed like forever. And the saying about hindsight being 20/20 was a constant presence in my mind as I went over our relationship. I noticed manipulative behaviors that I hadn’t picked up on before. I realized how lucky I was to get out of it early. To be true enough to myself not to give up my dreams for a guy.

Gathering my courage, I slipped my laptop into my bag. “No, I don’t want to hear anything from you. We aren’t ever getting back together, Zach. I don’t even know why you would think that. Now, I have to go.” Grabbing my bag, I slung it over my shoulder. Holding my phone—keypad at the ready—I marched past Zach.

I left him behind just like I had all those years ago. No glances over my shoulder for one last glimpse. I just wanted to go home where I felt safe.

The walk to my car had never felt longer, even in the broad daylight. Clicking the button on my fob to unlock it, I pulled open the door and threw my bag in before climbing into the driver seat. As I sat and collected my bearings, a niggling thought rose in my brain.

If Zach knew where I was teaching, chances were he knew exactly where I lived. Right down to the apartment number.

All of a sudden, home no longer felt as comforting. It felt dangerous to go back to, despite how much I wanted to. And I had no choice.

Scanning the parking lot, I pulled out of my space.

~~~

I showed up early at the stable I worked at part-time, not feeling safe at my apartment. Coincidentally, it was also owned by my brother who was too busy managing the family estates down in Havana to spend much time managing it. That job fell to me as his little sister.

The black sheep of the family.

I could only hope that Zach didn’t know about it. Maybe I could buy a sleeping bag and camp out in one of the empty stalls for the night… Or text Ash and see if I could crash at her apartment for the night. She wouldn’t refuse me.

At least, not if her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Mike, wasn’t around. Then I really didn’t want to be in the same flat.

Pulling out my phone, I unlocked it and began typing out the message to her when the bugling of a stallion ripped through the air. I frowned, the noise out of place at the normally serene stable.

Then I heard the screaming.

Shoving my phone in my pocket and throwing open the door, I bolted out of my car and towards the one pasture that contained a stallion. The most ill-tempered beast I’d ever had the displeasure of handling. Although, given that I didn’t get involved too much with horses, wasn’t really saying much.

Quickly catching up to a teen who was also hurrying towards the commotion, I grabbed their arm to stop them. “Grab a lead rope!” I gasped before taking off again. I could only wonder which cocky new teenage boy had decided that he would be the one guy Ferrari—the stallion—liked.

And exactly how much legal trouble I was about to get into.

Turning the corner to the gate of the paddock, I stopped and did a double take. The man currently dangling from the mouth of the bay stud definitely was not one of the kids employed here. Nor did he look like the sort that frequented prestigious stables like this one. He looked more like a well-kept hobo than anything.

“GET THIS BLOODY HORSE OFF ME!” The man bellowed, catching sight of me standing like an idiot on the outside of the paddock.

I snapped out of the daze I’d gone into and looked around wildly for the stable hand I’d stopped earlier. “Where’s a lead rope!?”

I was answered only by a stream of curses from the man as Ferrari shook him like a ragdoll. Then pounding footsteps heralded the arrival of the kid with a lead rope.

Snatching it out of his hand, I jumped the fence and sprinted towards the grappling pair. “Ferrari!” I screamed, trying to get his attention on me and away from the unknown man. “Ferrari!”

But the stallion paid no attention to me and continued to grind his teeth into the shoulder of the man he had cornered.

As Ferrari tightened his grip, the man swung at him, calling him a variety of colourful names as he tried to pull away from the stallion.

I darted in, clipping the lead rope onto Ferrari’s halter. Then I swatted his rump with the end of the rope to get his attention. Instantly, Ferrari dropped the man and went after me. Jumping out of the way of his teeth, I waved my hands at the man now crumpled on the ground.

“Get out of the pasture! Go!” I yelled at him, dodging Ferrari again. “He hates men!”

The man didn’t move, and I began to worry about what it would mean if he was dead. Probably more legal troubles than if he was injured, that was for sure. Beckett was going to be absolutely thrilled.

“Estel, I’ll take him!” A feminine voice called, and I shot a quick glance over my shoulder towards the stable. Chelsea—one of the most experienced horsewomen employed here—was jogging towards me.

As she approached, Ferrari began to calm down. Chelsea had a way with him that none of the other female employees had. His ears were stilled pinned tightly back and he danced in place, but he wasn’t trying to bite me anymore.

“Hey, Ferrari…” She cooed, taking the lead rope from me, and stroking his nose. Ferrari snorted suspiciously. “Come here, boy. Let’s get you inside, huh?” She pulled gently on the rope and led Ferrari away.

That left me with the unfortunate man who had found himself in Ferrari’s pasture. As I ran over to him, he suddenly pushed himself up off the ground, clutching his shoulder and grimacing in pain.

“Sir, are you alright?” I asked, dropping onto my knees beside him. From a distance, he’d looked like one of the bums that littered the streets of New York, but up close was a different story.

He obviously had some concept of hygiene—he certainly smelled nice—and his beard was neatly trimmed. And as he raised his head to look at me, he revealed startling blue eyes that pierced me with a distrusting gaze.

“I’m fine.” He spat in a voice that carried the thickness of an unfamiliar accent. “Where am I?”

“Blacktop Stables in New York. Now, I think I should take a look at your shoulder. Ferrari is a man-hater, and it looked like he had you good.” I reached out to gently pull his hand away from his shoulder.

He let out a short laugh. “Horses have never liked me. You have healer training then?” He asked, resisting my attempts to pull his hand away so I could look at Ferrari’s handiwork.

“If by healer training, you mean medical training, then yes, I know a little.” He dropped his hand, revealing a slobber-soaked fur vest. “Umm… I think I’ll need you to remove your shirt…”

He grunted, unbuckling the belt that held the vest closed before shrugging it off. A dark blue, velvet looking coat followed directly after. The movement of his arm caused him to grimace and let out a hiss of pain. Beneath it was a metallic sort of shirt that looked like some sort of armor. He pulled the armor shirt over his head, leaving him in only a blue shirt that reached almost to his knees.

“Blast…” He hissed through clenched teeth. Gingerly, he lowered his injured arm back to his side.

By this point, I felt like I was watching the clothing version of a clown car. I couldn’t help but wonder if he had another two shirts underneath this one.

Unbuttoning what I guessed was called a ‘tunic’, his upper body was finally revealed. And it made the artist in me want to weep tears of joy.

If ever there was a perfect body, he had to have it. Thick, muscled arms hung from broad shoulders. There wasn’t a speck of fat on his torso to hide the chiseled abs this man possessed. And he was able to make it look like the most natural thing in the world, unlike some of those shirtless male models I had tried to use as inspiration in the past.

“You said you have healer training?”

The distinctly masculine voice broke me out of my…reverie. Quickly, I focused my gaze on his face. Away from the abs that I was itching to sketch.

“Uh, yeah. Let me take a look here…” I peered at the bite mark on his shoulder. Ferrari had left him deep indents of his teeth, but the skin hadn’t been broken. Already I could see the purple bruising characteristic with horse bites forming in a wide circle around the bite marks. His excessive layers of clothes had saved him from a much worse injury.

Not that he wouldn’t go through hell in the coming weeks. Bites of this severity literally made you unable to move the arm without excruciating pain for weeks.

“Will I live?” The question was quiet, and I glanced up to see a whisper of a smile on his face. Oddly, I got the sense that this wasn’t an unfamiliar question for him to ask.

“I can almost guarantee you will,” I shot him a small smile. “Just put some ice on it, take some ibuprofen, and try not to use that arm much for a few weeks.”

He frowned. “Ibuprofen? What is that?”

The fact that he was unaware of one of the most basic over-the-counter drugs was baffling. Everybody knew what ibuprofen was!

“It’s a medicine you can take if the bite hurts too much. And from what I’ve heard, a bite like yours hurts like hell.” I explained, leaning back on my heels. “If you aren’t able to get any, I could give you some.”

“No, I’ve had worse than a horse bite.” He dismissed my offering. “Now, you said we were in someplace called New York? Is that on the Anduin?”

I stared at him. “The Anduin? I’ve never heard of that. New York is a state in the United States. East coast?”

The look I got back told me he’d never heard of any of it.

This whole thing was weird. First he showed up out of the blue in Ferrari’s pasture. The same pasture that had seven-foot fencing supplemented with electric wire and was surrounded by private ground. And somebody would have stopped him inside the stable.

Second, there was the whole deal with his clothing. It looked nothing like anything made today. That and he wore armor. To be quite frank, it didn’t even look like it was from this world.

Third, he had never heard of the US before, and he was living in it.

Or maybe I was turning into one of those off-the-grid hippies who believed in UFOs. There had to be a logical explanation for all this. It wasn’t like he actually had come from a different world. That was preposterous.

He probably just hit his head or something when Ferrari was slinging him around. I reasoned with myself. He’s probably just a little confused right now.

Standing up, I motioned for the man to join me. “Follow me and I can get you a bandage for your shoulder…” I paused, waiting for him to introduce himself.

“Thorin,” the man supplied with a nod of his head. “At your service.”

“Estel, uh, at yours.” I fumbled, hoping I hadn’t just entered into some deal with the man. Turning around, I took one look at the stables and felt my heart stop beating in my chest.

Zach was standing at the gate of the paddock.

“Oh, no….” I whispered, frozen in place. I’d felt so sure that he’d had no idea that I worked here. Beckett certainly didn’t advertise by using me. “He followed me…”

“Is something wrong?” Thorin asked from behind me. I looked back over my shoulder at him, taking in his broad frame. He had his clothes bundled up in his arms, hiding his torso from the world. Dark brown hair sprawled across his shoulders, untamed by any sort of hair tie.

“Um,” I looked back over at Zach. He was staring at Thorin; a small frown on his face as he took him in. Automatically, I began formulating my “it’s not what you think” speech in my head. I knew what it looked like. A man and a woman out in a field, alone.

Except…That was exactly what would get him off my back. If I was a taken woman, he couldn’t come after me.

“Thorin, I know this is asking a lot, given that we don’t know each other, but I really need you to pretend you’re my boyfriend. He,” I nodded over in Zach’s direction, “is my ex from a long time ago and he’s been stalking me, trying to get back together. I just need you to pretend for like a day and then we can part ways.” I pleaded, looking up into light blue eyes.

Thorin stared back at me, then glanced up to look at Zach. “You don’t want his attentions?” He asked, and I nodded.

“Yeah, I just want him to leave me alone,” I sighed. The defeat I felt over my helplessness must have carried into my voice, because the iciness began to fade from his eyes.

“You’ve told him this?” His voice took on a gentler tone.

“I made it very clear, and he obviously didn’t listen.”

“Then I will pretend to be your…boyfriend.” He agreed, a small smile turning up the corners of his mouth. Instantly, his tough, rough-hewn aura faded to be replaced with a sense of security. “He will not lay a finger on you, Miss Estel.”

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Tags:

@kumqu4t @pixierox101 @elvish-sky @ladylouoflothlorien @lothloriien @shadowhuntyi @hellonogblogstuff @justfollowtheroad @fizzyxcustard @thewhiteladyofrohan @xxbyimm @legolasbadass @elles-writing @lathalea @saltstatic @i-did-not-mean-to @middleearthpixie @mrsdurin

*I know there are probably some of you not on this taglist that would like to be on it, so just shoot me a message!

#the wormhole #au #thorin oakenshield x oc #thorin oakenshield #thorin #romance #slow burn #fluff #new york #estel #reverse girl falls into middle earth #the hobbit #modern au #fanfic #fanfiction #thorin fanfiction #thorin fanfic #modern thorin fanfiction #modern thorin fanfic

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river-lethe-tears · 1 year

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DC x DP Prompt

Sam gets Summoned

So instead of Danny being the one summoned, this time it’s Sam. Like, being possessed by Overgrowth (or whatever he’s name is stupid plant ghost :/ ) , made her get some cool plant powers and stuff.

So the cult is trying to summon Overgrowth to return Earth to its former green glory or whatever. But instead gets this small goth girl. Who is suddenly looking very pissed off and angry. And oh no. They try to be really respectful and stuff because what if this is Overgrowth putting them through a test? So they toss their sacrifices into the circle because of course the entity is not happy until it gets what it was promised.

The sacrifices are probably either Poison Ivy who they somehow got (most likely through threatening Harley than knocking them both out to use as sacrifices) or Red Hood since Jason was dead and all plus Lazarus Pits. (Or Batfamily if you’re more partial to that but I did not think of this prompt with them in mind as the sacrifices lol)

So Sam is really confused and pissed off cause she was in the middle of something with Danny and Tucker and both of those idiots are probably freaking out, so she needs to get back as soon as possible. So she just gives a nasty (burger) glare and just waves her hands. Plants start sprouting from the ground and knocking the cult out. Once Sam done she just rolls her eyes in all her goth glory and walks over to the sacrifices to untie them. Poison Ivy then just watches everything play out with amusement as Harley tries to cheer Sam on. If the sacrifices are Poison Ivy and Harley or Red Hood than they compliment Sam on her skills. If it’s anyone else it’s up to your imagination.

So yeah that happens. Depending on who the sacrifices are, after an undetermined time talking Sam just walks back to the summoning circle. She knows all about this stuff due to all the rants Danny goes on and on with about people being so inconsiderate when summoning him. So she just concentrates and taps into either her liminal status, powers due to Overgrowth, or ectoplasm residue in her system and reverse summons herself back to Amity.

The rest of the bats burst in just as Sam starts to reverse summon herself. And are freaking out or shocked before she is just gone. They only get a few glimpses at her and they can’t grasp the colours since the summoning circle starts to glow bright green. Poison Ivy and Harley won’t really tell them anything since they are amused at the bats frustration. (Bats knew to rescue them cause Selena told them that they were missing; Sirens are reformed(?) in this AU)

So the bats are trying to find out more information on this being the cult summoned and the Sirens aren’t really being that helpful. Selena finds it hilarious after Ivy and Harley inform her what happened.

Just imagine a few months later there’s a Wayne Gala going on and the Mansons were invited so of course they came and dragged Sam along. Who also ended up dragging Danny and Tucker along. And the bats casually freak out when they see this girl who looks kinda like the being they saw in that warehouse a few months ago. Oh gods above. Poison Ivy please pick up. Please don’t let this be another Gala being crashed. They can handle their rouges, not inter-dimensional beings they have no information about.

Danny and Tucker naturally finds this hilarious.

Until Tucker gets summoned a month later.

~~~ Please excuse the horrible everything. I am writing this very late, but I had to do a brain dump since this was haunting (haha) my brain. I literally had this idea pop up and not go away while trying to fall asleep. There are so many run off sentences, but I can’t bring myself to care anymore. Sleep waits for no man, woman, or in between before claiming their conscience for a few hours (or days). I might come back later to fix this up and fill plot holes. But that’s a huge maybe. Also I couldn’t be bothered to actually searched up Overgrowth’s real name lol or to fact check anything. My brain is gone. Into the wind. :p

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turndecassette2 · 24 days

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I do remember those magic knight people! Every once in a while I go back on your blog to try to track down those drawings because I like them and the concept in the description so much. I would love to hear more about them. Do you have a story planned out?

yeah, vaguely. so for the cosmology; there's this dystopian city I desperately need to draw a map of built above the fossilised remains of an ancient hell. the city mines the hell for 'hell-flesh', a semi-sentient magical substance that's kind of the physical container of the souls of the damned. I suppose this is like fantasy rare earths for fantasy compute or w/e. this has been going on for a while and the city is, kiruna-style, gradually falling down the pit. also as more of the hell is laid bare, semi-autonomous demonic creatures are let loose, maybe as a kind of immune response against human incursion.

(imagining this sort of thing + branching passages. but in the middle of an italian intra-feuding city-state w a population ca modern day singapore)

a kind of grid of bridges and fortresses has been built above the pit to protect the fancier, upper parts of the city from the decaying/descending bits below. the lower city is mostly miners etc & due to the fucked up mutagenic influence of living near a hell & touching hell stuff all day the people in the upper city treat them with suspicion. there's a 'join the US navy-army-whatever to get health insurance & education & basic human dignity' or like french foreign legion situation where by joining the elite magic army manning the little fortresses, ppl from the lower city can gain some access to the upper. in the reverse I guess for the upper city ppl it functions a bit like 'the wall' in asoiaf where criminals, noble bastards etc go to maybe redeem themselves or die horribly.

the fire magic used by the guards to fight demons etc is derived from the burning corpse of a god that is said to have been there since before the founding of the city (presumably the entity responsible for the hell situation in the first place). by swearing fealty to this dead(-ish) god one gets the ability to summon his divine flame but you forfeit your chance at an afterlife, or maybe you go to hell (no-one is quite sure). everyone kind of assumes once the body is fully burned the god will return/reincarnate (and either save or destroy the city, depending on who you ask).

the politics part; at its founding the city was part of some empire that has since collapsed (pretty recently). the city is dependent on trade to stay viable/fed and to appease the new warring states/mini-empires that have sprung up around it. the current ruler is a reclusive young queen & she has her favourite lord/advisor, an ageing academic who is sort of trying to liberalise the place or make it superficially less fashy. other lords dislike this & are working to either find her a proper king or hasten the return of some deity or other that will return the place to its former glory.

I guess the story? has this noble child bastard protagonist from a shady family* of word-mages who is sent to the 'centre' fortress & works her way up to become the apprentice of some hero-knight demon slayer guy with a possibly shady past (I think rn the name I have for the guy is Chaimé & idk if this is a good name? like the spanish jaime but w more e, & the tiny bastard is Myia I think). I imagine her being the sasuke to a happier, more popular girl who saves her from a demon (embarrassing) then is outed as a half-demon herself (she's the redhead in the drawings) & Myia warms up to her as she (demon girl) becomes increasingly isolated from the outside city (being supposedly dangerous or too powerful? I don't think Myia has much natural magic or w/e in her aside from being a nerd & very persistent).

sorry there's a lot here that would be SPOILERS if I ever actually made this into something coherent enough to be an actual comic ha ha. the knight/mentor guy gets dragged into a kind of fantasy 'business plot' & I guess part of that would be like, seeing to what extent he goes along with it & if he's actually a good person ha ha. + there's a bunch of other characters w stuff going on that I haven't figured out the looks of yet but. they're important in my head. the big bear-ish bf guy who gets sent on an expedition down the pit etc

* I have a distinct image of these people living hidden away in some gormenghast-style estate. they've habsburged themselves into being mostly deaf but the only ones around who can fully read/write the divine language that lets them do word-based magic & the other houses kind of have to put up w their weirdness. also scheming nobles in dune using sign language is 1 of my favourite things in the new film adaption & I like the idea of outsiders being forced to learn to sign (or else being cut-off from higher level magic) as some sort of power move? I don't think they involve themselves that much in politics since that's below them but are def part of the 'bring the gods back' thing, for better or worse. anyway after 'avas demon' (GUILTY PLEASURE I know it has such pretty colours but comes from such an unhinged part of the internet, will never stop apologising for this) started posting again I realised it had a character w the same look & vibe so will try and re-design protag girl to look more like this cute person I saw in a fashion post on IG

... let's see how this goes. came up w all this BS after some viz lady at comicon asked me if I wanted to make them a manga but it's grown from being too little to being too unwieldy to pitch. will see after I finish up my current projects. how much blood, swearing & genocide can a story have before it stops being YA. I think chainsaw man is sort of YA but dorohedoro isn't

#I started reading dorohedoro as a teen & I turned out OK #I mean I draw comics I live w my parents in the woods like a medieval peasant etc but that's no worse than the rest of society #these days #god this is a mess #16 yo me loved the bas-lag books #an ask #sorry abt grammar etc this is a lot of words

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sugar-petals · 2 years

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sub!stray kids | 𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚖 (18+)

⇢ sub training (v.) :: the learning of sexual techniques between the dominant and their submissive

pairing. ot8 x femdom!reader

WARNINGS. ⚠️ rated m, hard kinks, restraints, first times, reverse size kink, vocal subs (duh, it’s skz), puppy/kitten play, marking, dumbification, poly fantasies, toys, fetish wear, brat taming, oral (f receiving), pegging, mommy kink, groping, orgasm control, subdrop, burnout mention, masturbation, cbt, dacryphilia, striptease, aftercare

wc. around 1k each member. we’re keepin’ it long like hyunjin’s legs

↳ [ // 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑'𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄. ] sub skz beloved. 💦 this group is truly populated by harness models, catboys, cuddle bugs and pretty visuals only. get ready for a #fifty shades of stray party up in here 😂 every member got their own flavor so each imagine/hc is going to be a slightly different genre soo— enjoy!

read it on ao3 | 💋 masterlist 💋

♡ FELIX 필릭스

the real question is. what on earth is there left to train? felix is the consummate example of a good freckled boy from down under. #theoriginalbabychick. the template for all angelic subs in town. the archetype. the blueprint. the role model. the symbol. the epitome.

perfection is spelled y.o.n.g.b.o.k. and we all know it. why’s he so popular? because he sets off the sub radar of all touch-deprived tops around, yours included.

like.... he wears his metaphorical cat ears even when he’s not physically putting them on. he’s soft and sweet and pliant and follows your lead (…cuz he’s lowkey excited at the prospect of a choking, he’s got a much naughtier side to him ya know). he wears thigh-high stockings just for fun because it’s cute.

and this ain’t all about him, of course. felix takes one glance to know what you want. and that is being his mommy, and getting a big loving hug from your baby boy — don’t deny it.

i mean. who can’t imagine this cheeky flirt chirping ok, yes mommy in his girl’s direction. it’s far too easy to picture. he has all kinds of these lil’ responses up his sleeve just to endear you. who’d ever want to let go of felix anyway.

in return, you buy him popsicles, gelato, soft serves and sorbets so he can look cute and sexy and just… put the licks i mean lix in felix. just a joy to watch, felix going down on an ice cream. the ultimate turn-on technique. who wants to live vicariously through a cotton candy flavor scoop? i volunteer.

if that doesn’t get you wet, i don’t know what will. before he’ll get problems eating too much sugar though, he’s frequently gonna eat the real treat which is? you. get ready for felix treating your clit like a hot fudge sundae in the middle of august.

felix can be sensual and sensitive alike. he falls apart under your touch and punishments as beautifully as he collects himself again during aftercare. which, needless to say, is his favorite thing. he’s very needy for it, but hell. who doesn’t want to cuddle all night long with lee fucking felix. as the sacred text says: and when the world was seven days old, god formed lee felix from clay to create the immaculate little spoon.

actually resilient. he’s the `okay, let’s do it!´ type. all while expressing a lot of love to you, and being close to you emotionally and physically. that balance is hard to pull off and felix might be the member who’s the expected best at it.

so, it’s not all bdsm, though. plenty of leisure and healing time there, your relationship is rather built on being a two-person snuggle pile than you pulling his hair all night. every other night is fine. duh, only the absolute lifestyle players can maintain a 24-7 d/s relationship.

when he throws his head back and moans — how satisfying is that voice. honestly. felix is not the ultimate painslut, but some nipple clamps or firm ass pinches do have him panting and winding in agony.

how he sounds like, it’s quite significant in your decision to commit. once you’ve heard his most desperate horny cries, you’ll never want to hear anyone else's voice in your bedroom again. you don’t know why.

maybe because sunshine is the real-life manifestation of a hardcore hentai femboy sub. the groans, the favorite accessories, the kinks, the squeals, the begging, the faces. you know, the kind of guy that ends up perched between his domme’s breasts (…or thighs) and blushes excessively from shyness.

he asks you to start controlling the way he dresses and speaks sometimes as part of play. he likes your single-minded character.

he knows you mean business when calling him lee yongbok. it either means you’re about to eat his ass whole or rock your hips all over his gorgeous face. either is heaven for felix who has a thing for skilled tongues, and being skilled with it himself. the absolute tease.

such a fit and flexible guy. felix makes it easy to adjust things for you. he can squeeze it good for some decently tight and painful anal session, or the complete opposite. having the strap just slip in and out of him like he’s a bottomless pit. felix is the first in line for a proper head down, ass up pounding late at night. until he’s dizzy, but then again, he begs you to enter him again and again. the amount of lube he’s using up is just astounding and expensive.

when lix wants to prank you a bit, he lists you cringey australian slang for kinky things, which you will rebuff pretty much immediately because who names these things like that. australian nsfw words need to be kept closed away from society. the rest of his nicknames and trend words is cute. but 18+ aussie vernacular is banned at your house. the prank is definitely successful, so you tickle his feet to get back at him.

whenever lix is acting unlike himself, you know he’s hiding a dirty thought. it takes several months of trust work until he admits the following, but it doesn’t really surprise you what’s on his mind. since felix has a bit of an overpower-me fixation and a serious size kink, he fantasizes about several fangirls meeting with him in his room and having their way with him. like literally being all over his body and destroying this sweet little boy for fun’s sake.

and… he’s imagining like seriously well-endowed baddies who have a lot that they can put on him. he literally wants several girls to just grind him into the mattress until he turns to dust. you’re like, hey maybe we can ask some girls from tiktok or instagram. felix is shocked that you’d go along with it, he thought you’d disown his subby ass. you say hey, you count yourself among the felix fangirl and fanboy nation, so!

now it depends. is he too introverted or disconnected from his fantasy to agree on really living it, so it would winds up being a roleplay between the two of you? or is he daring enough, then. you say, when he’s ready, he’s ready. those things have to be planned carefully, with the right people.

chances are, he will say yes and buy the condoms. he wants to get fucked absolutely dumb. you agree he can get his dick wet while getting passed around like the salt at dinner, and these girls can rub themselves all over felix at your permission. damn, he’s gonna be sore the next day. all those heels digging into him, so much heat, so much pressure and facefucking. felix is totally a masochist undercover, and you’re starting to realize it’s very trainable: congrats and g’day mate.

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♡ HYUNJIN 현진

riddle me this. why does mister `hotter than your ex better than your next´ never leave his room? …because you’re busy running ice cubes over his stomach to say the least. or swapping them from your mouth into his. don’t act like you wouldn’t do the nastiest things to him.

like what do people think this sex pot is doing? he can’t paint 24/7. hyunjin is a guy of passion and he’s the body. not to mention in love with the pervert that is you. so he’s in there preoccupied with sex stuff obviously.

after he finally admitted how desperate his crush on you was, and it’s not like he could ever hide those things, there was no stopping him, and no stopping you with the body oil to grease him up. the rest is history.

you can bet he’ll be your personal strip tease dancer once he’s all oiled up. nothing will ace hyunjin enjoy more. not to mention your own blessed eyes. water is wet, i know.

so what’s it like domming the most beautiful, handsome, fascinating, and chic man in the world? nothing short of an extraterrestrially good experience. because subby hyunjin truly is out of this world kind of sexy with the right dose of being a maniac, reference fully intended. yeah, he’s a lil’ crazy. so what. makes things even more intense. hyunjin is obsessed with exploring his sexuality to the very fullest, what’s not to like. he’s very comfortable being erotic. and smitten. and masochistic.

no matter what he does, no matter how klutzy he becomes, he does not fail to impress his top. even in his messiness, he is gorgeous… okay — i’ll stop waxing poetic. but yup he’s hot. a pretty romantic elven prince in some super sultry lingerie. a god of lace and fishnets.

let’s be honest. hyunjin just wants to be grabbed and squeezed from all directions. that’s why he’s bothering the whole of skz all day and keeps talking chan into writing such physical songs for him. cuz he wants something to come back.

has his experience with chain bondage, doesn’t he. hyunjin goes down the rope bunny rabbit hole faster than anyone. if he’s not down there already, waiting for a proper rigger dominant. he has the perfect body to do rope. small waist, long legs, sturdy arms, and wrists. he’s tall, that’s lots of space available. don’t think a rope bunny has to be small and lithe.

hyunjin is a huge fan of taemin’s work. that tells you what? basically everything. everybody knows taemin is the king of bondage, resourcefulness, and hard subbing. and, like in hyunjin’s case, taemin got the biggest ever oral fixation and touch deprivation going for him. these two are about the same in terms of er... severity. hyunjin would not survive without getting kisses. before work, coming home, after dinner, for the night.

because he whines pretty easily, it’s not hard to find out where his limits are and what things to try with hyunjin or not. `complaints´ don’t make a bad sub, in fact, they make a good one. feedback, you know. better a lot of it than none at all. it’s good if a sub uses the safewording system.

on his fours, hyunjin looks so sexy splayed out on his underarms and knees exactly because he is so damn tall. and yes, stark naked, even half-suspended, with some electric toys in his ass as the cherry on top. you might stay clothed during the whole thing, it’s about him as the artistic centerpiece. while he’s going through it, you point your phone cam at him to immortalize the staging.

loves his brain disintegrating from extreme pleasure and pain. which he will cry out like he’s on a rollercoaster indeed. the deeper the moans, the more profound you know it will be. watch his experiences turn into paintings in real-time the next day. hyunjin gets major inspiration spikes from sub training.

even though he might seem super stubborn, hyunjin’s talent of self-improvement should never ever be underestimated. never. if you point something out, he only needs to be told once. a man who’s glowed up this stunningly is always to be reckoned with.

hides his crazy toys, but not for long. he’s so embarrassed asking if you could be the one to apply them on him, but he does ask. which speaks of him really confiding in you. he would not leave those things to a perfect stranger. hyunjin is very unlikely to request sub training from a hookup anyways. he needs a domme he can absolutely lose him mind about day and night. he thinks about you every time he cums, there’s no other fantasy in his head. he definitely wants to be your husband in the future. he wants a wife who is possessive and take-charge, and picks out the skirts for him to wear.

you talked about this together. he loves being denied blowjobs to torture him for real. the fantasy in his mind will drive him insane like... he will cower in his bed at night with thoughts racing and turning. any orgasm denial is right up hyunjin’s alley. vice versa, he is eager to please you with his amazing hands.

shakes it all off pretty quickly during aftercare. hyunjin is not the sub drop kind of submissive at all, it’s gonna surprise you. most of the aftermath quickly turns into him eating you out instead. that’s his favorite way of coming down. lazy as they come (not indifferent or anything, but you know what i mean), without a drama in the world. he can’t be “disgusting, do it again!!” all day.

already vowed to spend the majority of his waking life and sexually active years on this planet with you sitting on his face. he doesn’t lie, and it’s too otherworldly gorgeous to go to waste, look at those lips, so.

his head is easy to control and teach because his hair’s so long. just saying. he loves it grabbed and secured. what else. he’s a pisces. pisces love to be pulled by their lovely flowing locks. hyunjin’s prettiness has no limits. nor does his sloppy mouth.

even for the pickiest dom in the world, oral training slave hyunjin will do it for them. he’s that good. strap sucking? very much included. porn stars step aside and leave it to the stray kids pet boys: hyunjin is the absolute throat goat. he can muscle through the biggest calibers with his eyes closed. and you know there are lots of options with that silicone in terms of shapes and sizes. hyunjin is gonna show up in the studio with one raspy voice and very puffy lips. this might be your favorite thing to do with him. he has the best gagging noises EVER.

you really delight in having him dress all dolled up, gauze faux leather bowties pearls everything, training him to let go and just enjoy it no thoughts head empty — but there really aren’t that many steps left until complete bimbofication like. come on. it’s hyunjin. he’s already there, he’s got the lip gloss supply, he’s serving it. which brings me to my next point.

a mutual marking. you, with love bites. him, with said lipstick. this is gonna be a mess, but there’s nobody better suited to be covered in hickeys than hyunjin. not to mention just how much of a turn-on it will be to lick and nibble on him everywhere, aggressively or softly, or both.

dare i say his face is smackable. hyunjin is a sucker for heavy slaps. but it takes a lot more to finish a horny slut of that degree. hyunjin needs to be told to jerk himself off furiously with a vibrating fleshlight until he’s overstimulated, screaming, crying — and then kissed until he’s tired and dizzy and clinging from so much love.

very well, i told you. he’s fascinating.

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♡ CHAN 찬

let’s face it. daddy bang needs a break from all that business, and all the feral barking directed at him. cozy chris has some major needs, too — and, as you found out early on into your relationship — they are all of a gentle nature.

he can’t foster seven mischievous kids, produce all night, look that buff, talk his ass off on lives and during interviews, be a fitness/sports king, the wisest person on earth, make beats nonstop, and then also play the big bad wolf in the bedroom with you as well. that just doesn’t work.

this mf would probably burn out at some point.

hyung life is just so damn hard. and take it from me, dom life kinda is, too. it’s about coordination alike. someone dominant has a huge portion of responsibility when it comes to knowledge, to handling props, protocol, safe sane consensual, and tying everything back into the rest of the relationship. we gotta look after ourselves but also keep our minds clear about the when and how and why. chan does that with stray kids as a leading figure, he knows how it works with several people. bangchan is charming incarnate, and he can demand something.

the question is, would chris go the extra miles of extra miles of all extra miles to be the absolute boss of his girlfriend for reasons of kink? sure, he’d do anything for her. no question. he is prone to sacrifice. but in practice: the ole man would break his own back yanking a whip at someone. what he could use is some hugs instead. like proactive ones, where he doesn’t have to chase. that gives him such a fuzzy feeling inside. when someone goes out of their way to put in the work. he already shoulders a lot professionally, so a responsible dom in his private life makes for a surprisingly perfect match. he’s a libra... any circumstance needs to be tipped into a needed equilibrium. chan at home has to be the glaring opposite of chan at work for things to feel even to him.

even more real talk. how would he even sound intimidating with that much aussie dripping from his pronunciation. oi, how we feelin’ with yer buttplug, buddy?

...give me a break. and him. especially him. he needs it.

the guy would be out there... apologizing for every little thing. dominant chan is just not on god’s menu for humankind y’all. he’s already overworked all day and night, where would he even draw the energy from to properly spank anybody. the guy people think wants to called sir will `yeah ma’am´ his girlfriend by sheer `accident´.

which means? pillow prince chris — here we come.

although he can be easygoing, chan has a tendency to overthink subbing just like he overthinks everything else, but it also makes him neither reckless nor overly reliant. which is a good thing.

then again, he has something so authentic about him (i mean come on, that dimpled baby smile), he’ll always do well.

he’s a talented submissive physically. sensual and good-looking in all positions and blindfolds. not to mention that it’s so relaxing to toy with his curls between your fingers after sex.

guess who will worship his domme. that’s right, the one who knows the value and strain of leadership himself the very most.

chan, no matter how awkward he thinks he is, always says the right words of appreciation at the right time. not to mention that his voice has such a comfortable tone to it. he tells you in what ways he thinks you always do a good job with him, and how attractive you are in his loving eyes. call him a cheeseball, but that’s bang chan for you.

he doesn’t like hierarchy as much as people would believe. he prefers organization over social stratum. chan is trying hard to be a good feminist which naturally entails putting on crop tops in your presence. but seriously now. he could ‚awh, my good girl‘ you technically and be decent (because what can’t he do), but submissive channie is just the more interesting variety of chris’ sexy alter egos.

is the `reading yourself into the topic’ kinda guy. instead of leaving the verbal input to you, he takes that task off your shoulders and consults his PC instead. god, the blogs he’ll land on.

you have to remind him it’s not workload, it’s leisure. nevertheless, you credit him for being responsible and intellectual about it. that way, you can advance pretty easily with discovering new kinks.

despite his vast research, chan is easily shocked by things that are considered more extreme. he’d be like oh my god... sounding?! chan makes for a better soft than hard sub, even if there are exceptions for some toys and techniques you would use on him.

casual domination in his studio? you biting his neck while riding his thighs? why not. lee know, who delivers random take-out into the room at one point since chan forgot to eat dinner, is totally unimpressed nor fazed at all. having sex? nothing special. who cares. here’s your pizza. extra funghi and cheese. seconds later, he took off again.

chan is shaken by your composure, and lee know’s, and will totally lock the door next time, or put a sticky note on there. which the members do respect, but they really don’t make a big deal about you fucking at his place. hell, they hear hyunjin moan all day.

talk about others watching. chan dreams of several doms running a train on him and pulling out the peak degradation scenarios, but he’s too afraid to try an actual #wolfgangbang.

in many regards, he’s similar to felix in his sexual fantasies, although they are much more `orderly´ if that makes sense. people are set in their ways, adhere to their roles, do their thing in a prescribed way. it’s all very lawful good. chan sticks to letting that fantasy be a fantasy, however, knowing he’s all very new to this.

all in all: chan is a gentlemanly new school sub. man, i’m not sorry, i’m dirty… that was a lie. he’s pretty clean. compare him with hyunjin’s chaos-causing aura and you know what i mean.

and besides his tidiness, he’s also a good pillow talker, which you treasure. god, this man is so loveable.

chan should really be the one receiving a big protective bear hug for a change. chris protects everyone, but who protects chris!

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♡ SEUNGMIN 승민

a wise choice of sub, my friend. you have picked well.

seungmin lived the subby life before it was cool, and will live the subby life after it was cool. period.

at this point, seungmin might as well be called submin. should be his whole second name.

no gimmicks and trendy shit to be expected here. he has his own established philosophy that he wants to share with you.

and he’s a stamina monster, you wouldn’t believe it. he really doesn’t get exhausted easily, nor does he shy away from the more demanding set-ups that an advanced dominant would come up with. expert-level shibari and the like, knife play and the like. medical play, even.

his body is ready.

seungmin might be a humorous guy, but he takes subbing seriously. especially because he’s no longer a beginner and wants to pick up some final touches during the training you lay out for him. that requires focus.

the one true closet freak. uh-oh. no matter how good you are at reading people, you could not have possibly fathomed how far he was willing to go when you first met.

it took some time until you realized okay, he really wants to step it up a notch. his requests seem innocent enough in his tone of voice, because seungmin can make anything sound innocent, but wow... the degree of humiliation he can brace himself for is pretty intense. pretty daring for a puppy i reckon.

breaking news: someone might have a corruption kink.

you got yourself one of the most courageous subs right there. people who want to top seungmin aren’t exactly touchy-feely either. they surely have a strict, punitive, ice-cold side with a stinging wit — which he enjoys the most in a dominant.

he wants to be put in his deserved place. he wants to be pushed and pushed and pushed some more until his dirty mouth no longer grants him the upper hand. this whole process... might involve some candle wax.

he wants that fatigue, and see you smug because he’s been subdued after all. that’s pretty gratifying. he for sure does not need a service top. he needs somebody to tread all over him, call him names, and leave him drooling like a filthy little thing.

human furniture everyone? he’ll be your seat, your table, whatever your mood says. you can sit on him until he no longer begs.

training him merely means bringing him from a high level to the highest level. he’s either a natural about certain kinks or doesn’t need to be taught at all, he’s already pulling it off. less effort needed on your side, you’re grateful he’s being such a pro.

seungmin is definitely a rational thinker about improving himself as a submissive, which is most certainly a rare find.

but the emotional side... let me tell you a secret. you think han and changbin yell their soul out… oh no. should you demand it of him, seungmin is the screamer. like real authentic organic stuff going on, that makes you feel it in your bones. any sadist attracted to stray kids should immediately turn to seungmin. he’s no coward. seungmin is the final boss of letting it out. five stars.

you wish people would see his potential, but you also want to keep his kinky side to yourself. gatekeeping your pup, are you. good for you.

takes orders with flying colors, he is excellent. he’s very trusting but also doesn’t switch his brain off. that makes him a near-perfect play partner.

has about the smoothest moans you can think of. his vocal talent absolutely translates to hitting it off in the sheets… and the improvised home dungeon.

of course you have one. how could you not. it’s filled with all kinds of fetish collections and risqué polaroids that should never make it out of that room.

he likes spending lots of time there to say the least. as a couple, that room is your dirty secret and you’re proud of it.

and he’s surely the guy you wanna put to the test there. seungmin flinching? hardly ever. he’s unafraid, with many eccentric soft limits to try out. definitely not your regular sub is what i wanna say. that’s what it boils down to.

and to be certain we’re mentioning this. do we really have to establish the fact that he’d be into puppy play? no? okay, figures. put those ears on him already. scratch that, glue them onto seungmin permanently or something.

and let’s face it, which animal is more suitable and in need to be trained than a cute little puppy dog? he can let go and start from zero, that’s why he loves it. seungmin on a leash is just an amazingly pretty sight, it needs to be photographed.

in terms of more hidden talents, he’s the god of doing everything extra slow. which is not easy at all. seungmin has remarkable self- and body control in bed.

slow licks, slow back arch, slow tears, slow everything. he cries pretty silently from pleasure or pain, but it makes for a wonderful sight always. i’m telling you, seungmin is something else.

a delicacy for every domme who’s into proper dacryphilia. how can someone cry this beautifully, like an antique painting.

long story short. he is not to be underestimated, nor does he have to be trained by any means unless it’s just play-pretend.

roleplay is definitely high up on his bucket list, by the way. he looks sexy in all kinds of costumes.

and handcuffs. uh-huh.

seungmin’s softer sub side is balm for the soul, too. he likes his praise especially, guy’s so sensitive to it. and he will crawl on the ground to fulfill your every wish, tell him to bring you a plate with cake and there he goes, you get any delicacy you want.

yes, yes. he appreciates getting his smooches. and head pats. he can really go far with the rougher kinks, but don’t you ever think he doesn’t.

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♡ HAN 한

seriously. who doesn’t want jisung whimpering for mercy in their ear?

this guy is literally perfect to train. where he has the question, you got an answer. when he is curious, you can show him something. when he has an idea, you have a way to implement it. when he could use a hint, you have one ready.

on top of that: jisung has a propensity of admiring his girlfriend a lot, so... you can see where this is going. i’m not saying it’s a dynamic of worship but that’s exactly what i’m saying.

because han is very much afraid that it will be one-sided or he will look utterly desperate, or stupid even, he held back on it until he realized that you have no problem with him holding onto your every word. why’d you not like han being dumbstruck by you. you enjoy the amount of respect behind that.

and that feeling of jisung being struck by cupid’s arrow so hard, it’s utterly cute how he acts when he’s in love.

the thing is, whatever he does, he can’t hide it anyway. han projects everything outward, he’d have to really get his head in the game to hide how he wants to relate to you.

it’s clear he wants to submit, though he doesn’t exactly know how, he can’t name it, his cluelessness makes him rely on you more than most of the other members would, although he’s similar to felix and chan. and, covertly, lee know, who also sticks like glue so to speak, jisung has the same type of ‘hooked on you like velcro’ personality.

han, often the confused and worried type, really needs the clearest instructions of them all. orders, direction, highly engaged leadership. which sounds more difficult than it really is.

once he’s begging to show you how to put the full body harness on properly, you’re already deeply immersed. still, you ask him just to be very certain two times, does he want to do this for real, is he bracing himself enough. you are sure, and you want him to be sure.

come to think of it, 3racha might actually be the members most nervous to submit, becoming suddenly talkative and overly observant. they’re familiar with presenting themselves as larger-than-life personalities with a lot of grit and coolness, so taking that leap won’t come to them as naturally as for members like seungmin or felix.

not that subs can’t be cool and gritty, lee know is the walking example. and hyunjin remains a larger-than-life personality even when he subs. but 3racha has more of a dominant image imprinted on them for being so extremely buff and hip-hop based, with faces and voices and skills that scream ‚top of their game‘.

however, you can watch that beefcake crumble once the handcuffs are on and the bamboo cane comes out.

for those who don’t know: canes are typically the kinds of impact tools that come with the most vicious sting. they’re slender and flexible, hence they really dig themselves into those thighs and booty, all without causing a cut. while most whips look far more terrifying, they’re not as high up on the pain scale. sure, they’re not paddles, but you get the gist. canes are sort of the non plus ultra.

if you use bamboo to discipline a sub, they’ve been a really bad boy. which might just happen with… not jisung.

he’s lovely to you anyway, what are we even saying. hannie is the goodest bestest sweetest loveliest submissive. that’s right. i hope you didn’t hear it here first, but yes.

in fact, anticipate him being shy and restrained. though he can be all over the place, han is a polite sub.

he’s not that much of a forward character like hyunjin throwing himself into a hug, or seungmin saying which way he wants to be spanked up front.

han will actually be unsure what to do, but that might be connected to his character in general. in order for him not to get lost kind of `spiritually´ and physically, you have to guide his hands and mind alike.

if it’s too much for him, you have to make sure not to speed up the learning process like it would be appropriate for say, lee know. han is a different breed here, repetition is key.

it’s better if his dom doesn’t hold his need for slow memorizing against him, he doesn’t do it to be deliberately bratty or anything.

he wants to be trained in seriousness and see how it’s done properly two or three times rather than just once. he enjoys the quality time that comes with it, that’s important to him as well.

talk about restraints: if your darkest fantasy involves tying jisung to your bed from all directions and going full sensory deprivation, only to tease the shit out of him so he’ll go nuts: you’ve come to the right place. jisung is thoroughly fascinated by constructions like that, the whole tools and toys and trivia of it. he’ll also be down for some more provocative positions you’ll tie him into. no problem.

reaction king number one. so, that’s satisfying.

you don’t have to give it to him raw to get noise out of him.

the poor ass neighbors, though. this needs some precautions. as with changbin: a gag will work some miracles to tame him: or any type of dildo will do, his throat will become really flexible and unhinged with practice. just imagine those wide eyes and teary sobs. top tier shit. han is a hidden deepthroat legend.

you’ve never heard screams and moans as varied as his. every day he comes up with something new. honestly, how does he do it. from “ah, ah, please, ah” to loud frickin’ “spank me harder!” screams.

han will never fail to tell you how good it is, and he’s not demanding of ‘great sex’. he evaluates things according to how stimulating a scene is emotionally rather than physically. where hyunjin would do both or felix would look at how comfortable (and amicable, you know him) it is, han begs to differ and makes the atmosphere priority. even awkwardness is something to go off of, and silly mistakes. not severe ones obviously, but you get the gist: anything happening is something happening! han just likes the eventfulness of it. it’s actually precious. he doesn’t make a big deal out of it when you have an insecure day or don’t feel 100% confident about some technique.

as long as there is any activity, han will be energized by it. although he can be high maintenance sometimes, he’s very easy to please and a rewarding, easy sub, somebody who won’t judge you as harshly as he would clock his members for acting shady. and to be fair, you’re certainly not as scheming as jeongin to say the very least, he cannot be surpassed. so, han wouldn’t even have a reason to call you out for something, even when you prank him harmlessly. again: all fun is good fun, as long as the fun is present!

han is most definitely a dark horse as a sub, but it’s no wonder he likes to please his partner very much.

jisung might come off as a jokester who doesn’t want to get too close, but just you wait until you put some candles on, some music on, and you take a bath together.

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♡ CHANGBIN 창빈

since sub changbin is a world on his own, i think it’s time to give an analogy.

leo might be the king among the zodiac, loud and roaring. imposing, even, bursting with physicality and their very own brand of authority. this animal is very hard to challenge, in fact. compared to other inhabitants of the desert, a mighty lion among its pack is often recognized first despite its laid-back way of moving, and the way it takes its status and power as a given.

but at the end of the day? a lion still belongs to the family of felines and has the cuteness instinct of any cat. no lion goes without affection of his loved ones, nor does he move a singular paw to get something done sometimes. although agile, other animals are much more direct in their brutality, speed, and the way they claim territory. lions are actually chill most of the time, what makes others fear them is merely size and volume rather than real voluntary attacking power. lions only get going when they really have to since their stamina is low, and most of their standing rather depends on pride and need for attention than active domineering all day.

lions would rather stroll, sit, munch, and have their mane stroked than wander around in the heat to get some heat. when shit hits the fan, one lion always need the help of others. you won’t see a lion fighting on his own, while a single gorilla could absolutely clobber him in jungle dense enough. in other words: lions are overestimated in their power. they’re more relaxed than you think. they’re snoozing cats, but slightly bigger. well... changbin is pretty similar. he unleashes his entire grind within the group, but as a partner it’s a whole different game.

soon as you cup his cheeks palm in palm, it’s over. he just melts away. like c’mon. as if he’s gonna say nooo i’ll switch back immediately! ain’t gonna happen.

he’s the guy who acts so big and bold, but the little voice in him tells changbin hey… let her take some care of you there for good measure. so to speak — he doesn’t have to be the one on the steering wheel. changbin is kind of running into a mental conflict though, because he’s not as experienced with dating.

he doesn’t want to burden his girlfriend either by being overbearing or acting overly needy. you tell him, chances are, at home he’ll be neither. there’s no camera rolling and no expectation. and you give him attention whenever, it’s not like he has to plead for it. “be natural” and trusting his gut sounds like an utterly lame pinterest board advice, but it’s the gist.

it’s something new to him, and peanuts to you. at the beginning, it’s all about bridging that gap.

what’s easier than patting changbin’s hair and telling him how cute he is, though? biting into an apple or something.

which is also the topic of your relationship since you go a little pervy sometimes and bite his ass. you know, as a treat.

the binbooty is a jiggly mystery on its own and deserves to be explored. be honest, you grab it to release stress like it’s your religion. damn, it’s really soft and comforting indeed. bless his ass.

and while we’re talking soft things versus hard stuff.

sure, you could go like yeah… hate sex… let’s yell at each other.

but hey, thinking outside the box? you have lots of fun turning things upside down by having him bite down on a rope gag. what unusual silence. this probably wouldn’t work on a sub like hyunjin, he’d only whine even more, but changbin is pretty consistent.

but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

he’s rather romantic, very sensitive in front of his partner. changbin respects them for topping him very expertly and reliably. he’s impressed by her knowledge and skills if she’s in the game for longer, or wowed by her dare if she’s new to it.

as for himself, changbin thinks he’ll still have to catch up. where other people in the rapper scene would have to catch up with him, your boyfriend feels the need to sit down in seriousness and research what that bdsm stuff is all about. that’s all a whole new world for him, you know. his epiphany being, this works like this, and that works like that.

often clumsy in bondage, but you make up for it by coaching him through the whole thing. changbin gets confused which rope end goes where, and how to unfasten the entire construction properly if need be, so you take some time studying it rather than just jumping the gun. he’s more involved than you think, changbin wouldn’t like being an all-too passive sub.

and if we’re talking masochism. he can take less than you think, so you gotta work him into it. unlike with seungmin, you can’t just crank out a whip or paddles and go ahead. changbin is a very step-by-step submissive. next to a good relaxing bath, reassurance is his best friend.

this is exciting: he’s totally into fetish wear from the very beginning. that’s where his zone of confidence is. bdsm fashion on such a built guy, let’s go, man. i mean, who wouldn’t say somebody like felix looks great in harnesses. or seungmin. but with changbin, you know... he has a kind of silhouette and natural fashion sense that makes it easy to dress him sexily, with a lot of skin reveals.

changbin without his gear is like stray kids without chan: the essential thing would be missing. i know, the whole group — stray kids? more like latex men — already looks like they’re about to bust it open for a strapped-out dominatrix, but changbin takes it to the next level.

harnesses in all shapes and variations are neatly stacked and hung right in his closet for the world to see. he doesn’t care. changbin is the primordial bdsm fashionista. what can’t he pull off?

in fact, he’s the type to accompany you to an actual bdsm party, you know, to be shown off. he might even make a name for himself in the community, he definitely rolls that way.

that this aegyo and rap machine on two legs can make jay z look boring and he’s got an aggressive voice doesn’t disqualify him from subbing well. changbin’s soft and adorable side is well-documented. he’s gonna be a good boy and massage you how you want it. unlike that bitchy lil’ tease jeongin, he actually deserves resting on your lap without first earning it, and humming to himself, if you’re not the one doing it.

him being chronically honest makes it easier to grow and improve. if the knot is too tight, he’ll let you know. if it’s too loose, same thing. changbin would both be entertaining and sexy to train. and adorable to tuck in with his stuffed animals.

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♡ JEONGIN 아이엔

who knew maknae on top could also bottom.

why? he’s long been spoiled from head to toe and sat on top of the world. this guy thinks everything belongs to him, huh. people throw it all in his direction. they are the metal, he is the magnet. hell, he claims the center of attention more than god, does he. enough is enough. men from busan in general have been an infestation of daringness for far too long. he got ‘em all under his spell with all that cuteness.

this boy needs to put some work into it and bow down in humility. the universe needs balance, my friends. his divine maknae powers and privileges need to be ripped away from him for once.

hence: training sub jeongin — and taking his virginity — is such a juicy topic.

it’s about time this pretty mf gets owned by his girlfriend. he knows he deserves his booty to be stepped on, face to the ground (... on a sufficiently fluffy carpet, this divine skin needs to be protected from any gravel, wood splinters, and concrete).

even in other circumstances, with enough punishment and reward, jeongin is the sort of sub that can most likely be found on the floor. he is down for you to bend him into any shape. forced to kneel, forced to crawl, made to kiss your feet. a leash most often helps to have him memorize the movements, and he has to get his head in the game. no disobedience: in theory.

you need to put him in the kitchen and have him bake. all your favorite stuff. every day. all while wearing the tightest apron in history. with a time limit set. maybe that will teach him not to beg you pleasing him here and there and everywhere. he’ll focus on a task and you watch on with hawk eyes. he needs to follow the recipe correctly, every bit of flour, every grain of sugar. you’re gonna make a whole service sub out of him.

never forget, although you already know: you’re dealing with the quintessential giggling brat. he’s trying to make you simp, he invented the term. he wants you like a puppet on his strings, ‘inspiring you´ to give him the supposed `heavy punishments´ he himself came up with.

sigh, he’s an aquarius. it’s to be expected. jeongin loves to mess with his top just to break their poker face. at the end of the day, that’s literally all this blushy boy wants.

fair enough.

maybe, um, you give that reward to him, only to be able to resume play without any further problems. if we’re honest: winking and smiling at your sub works wonders. because they love to know how much you enjoy being in charge, after all. and he delights in being flirted with. in obnoxious amounts, that is. jeongin could sit on your lap 23/7 without ever feeling the need to leave somewhere.

and jeongin is a black hole when it comes to your flirtation. he wants to take it all in, baby. and he wants to have a monopoly on getting your attention and smirky smirks. he can’t stand the idea of you ever looking at any other cute subs so he’ll make an effort to dress himself well. which definitely doesn’t go overlooked. he doesn’t even have to blink and he has his first time with you. this snack looks too good to be ignored, and you have a huge soft spot for him. out of one tentative time develops a constant stream of steamy date nights.

a highly affectionate and doting mistress sounds like it, but she also needs to train his consistency and rule-abiding at the same time. like seriously make him stick to a code of conduct.

and: she needs to be rough enough to kick him if he so desires and is confident to take it. training jeongin into some ballbusting madness? hell yeah. that’s his thing. a lot of people would not dare raise their foot, so: jeongin is on the lookout for tops who go the extra mile and tend not to hesitate.

spanking, mhh… that’s his favorite, though. he will bend it over and shake it for you like you’re about to make it rain on him, so let’s get this baby bread. jeongin often finds himself hunched across your lap, but also the edge of a bed or a chair. a kitchen counter if you’re nasty. or the backseat of a car.

jeongin has no problem with your butt fixation, he knows he looks good head to toe. he even thinks it’s cute how you crave him.

greedy boy. very. greedy. excessively craving. smiles through his punishments because you know he succeeded. which results in even more severe discipline. which makes jeongin smirk. which makes you go even harder on him. the list goes on. just like that, you’ll find yourself in hard domme territory faster than you think, without even noticing the transition. probably means it was supposed to be rougher bdsm in the first place.

mouth gags won’t do the trick. he’s not han, and he’s not changbin. jeongin is better tamed by a proper dose of chastity. the one that turns a please… please… into a please, please! tough luck for him, you go strict on your sweet honey boy. a little tickle to the thigh is all he’s getting. which makes jeongin extremely clingy to get his affection otherwise.

on the other hand, you can dress him up all pretty, jeongin is very welcoming when it comes to a change of wardrobe for personal playtime.

since he’ll watch his mouth at some point, cute jeongin takes over. his duality is just fascinating to a dom to watch.

put it on his tombstone… death by tiddies. annihilated, in fact. in jeongin's version of bdsm, cbt can mean both cock and ball torture or crushed by tiddies.

because you can’t spell suffocation without I and N. like what in the everloving hell makes jeongin crave breath play so much.

and if we’re talking physical affection by the way.

he’d only let someone this close if his heart was really, and i mean like really touched by them, like enamored. he’s very comfortable being a real maknae there.

you got yourself the prettiest baby and man, you’ll be happy with him. he keeps you on your toes, but he’s also a softie to hug and squeeze.

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♡ LEE KNOW 리노

saving the best for last, are we. handsome satan incarnate, a seemingly unbreakable guy. someone with several cats he can learn inscrutable hacks of badassery from. which might be his secret, or is he a rebel without a cause looking for somebody to drag his sassy demon ass out of hell? hmm... time to find out.

many a domme would absolutely not be able to crack this tsundere’s code to his heart (and how to make his eyes roll back in a way that’s not sarcastic). lee know is truly picky about who he’s gonna allow to dominate him. in fact, he’s this close to staging a talent show to find the one and only, like with actual critiques and rankings and shit. what the hell, though.

lee know is the excalibur of stray kids. you really have to be worthy to get through the stone-like exterior.

at first, he might even seem like a cruel top with a glare in his eyes. but once you’ve seen him in sub drop, you know what he’s up to. lee know is protecting his inner submissive like a dragon sitting on a pile of gold. he’ll only gift it to someone with a good character and some life experience.

it could be someone younger or older, though preferably, he needs a woman who has seen it all to match him. he’s very open to dating dommes who have been in the bdsm scene for a little longer than him. he’s been swiping himself through some promising suggestions, and he’s tried stuff, but... it needs something less casual at some point.

he’s grown too frustrated and confounded by his experimenting, and the nervousness is killing him every time meeting a new play partner. settling becomes more and more of a goal as time passes. he’ll look toward people who have more knowledge under their belt.

people would wonder why, but you gotta remember, this bun’s only 23. lino has more interest in being guided than his demeanor would suggest.

upon first meeting him, you suspect he’s had some bad experiences, but he’s secretive and shy by nature. it takes a while until he’s less closed off. it needs many a nickname and some heartfelt affection. especially feeding him with snacks or kissing his lashes. which are wonderful by the way, he’s actually like a doe rather than a cat.

lee know finds it challenging to talk about any deep traumas, so an open ear and empty shoulder to lean on are very much appreciated. that his domme isn’t the judgy type is pretty important to him.

a feeling of being in safe hands, that’s his priority. he wants to look up to you. and feel like he can really pour himself into that relationship, that every meeting is really precious.

let’s be honest. minho’s brand of cuteness hits different. even when he’s grumpy, it’s effortless. when you put your big scarf around him and only his eyes are visible, he’s the most adorable lil’ muffin.

and now listen. for those who think he makes a better top. this lying cheating girlbossing ass should never be allowed anywhere near a shelf of spreader bars and a latex gimp. okay? okay. lee know gotta learn some manners, predictability, and patience for his domme to apply those things on him. a huge part of sub training with lino actually means making him wait. that one breaks even the craziest brats. you gotta know how to play with your sub’s intensity of desire.

his opinion is this. lee know can’t be bothered to do endless discussions about how to stage a scene. he doesn’t want it to be a performance of sexiness like hyunjin, or a wholesome snugglefest like felix, but a more spontaneous power exchange. no more strict protocols, although safety is never out the window of course. but more like... just living in the moment. what does that tell you, though? again, he really already has had a lot of sexual encounters of the bdsm kind. lee know has met a lot of different dominants and characters to see what he’s dealing with. at one point, yes, he saw a new person every week.

you need to be the type to respect his past and not worry that he’ll move on. you met on a different accord and during a different phase in his life. when he says it’ll only be one night, it’s gonna be like that. and if he says he wants to commit, he means it. you’ll be having great sex all the time and be really domestic.

ironically, pretty babe is totally laissez-faire about the whole thing. maybe he’s subbing out of spite, that’s what you suspect. you’re like what, is he trying to flex? reality is, lino developed a lot of resolve. it’s not just for tops, okay. subs can have their share of swag. to a certain degree. you gotta rein `em in there. especially lee know. but then, also: you gotta be aware that he might not have the much more subtle esteem or confidence in relationships that is more read between the lines. you gotta be the one being his rock.

once you really got under his skin, he surprises you with very passionate masochistic noises just when you thought he couldn’t act any more indifferent about the latest kinky stuff you wanted to try. at the end of the day, he’s not as bitchy and tough as he pretends to be: lee know is a sensitive hoe at heart.

lino doesn’t really care about 100% categorizing himself according to bdsm mores. at the beginning, you think okay, he’s a bit of a lawless one, but he has a certain kind of logic behind that. minho has no fixed preference for what type of sub he is, and limiting himself for the future does not make a lot of sense to him. he knows his states of mind are always changing, and he can grow into some forms of intimacy he doubted before. think seungmin’s versatility, but times two.

lee know experiments, he has strong moods going into either direction, soft and hard and also vanilla. one time he just wants gentle femdom, the other you’ll find him down for putting on the cat ears and getting railed into a wall like there’s no tomorrow. he will keep his teeth clenched and enjoy the ride.

face it: your boy is a full-on scorpio. he’ll only feel truly alive when he’s eating ass and getting fucked hard into a witless delirium, and when you hurt him. he’s not afraid of some nails digging into his tender skin, or getting roped up in a hogtie. the opposite is true. he’s not uneasy about pain.

just like seungmin, lee know hardly ever safewords. this is not about his pride or something — it’s just not necessary. it’s gonna surprise you how comfortable he is with the most varied kinks. to begin with, he doesn’t have as many hard limits as the other members. he also tends to have outstanding endurance. he hikes a lot with you, dances diligently, and masturbates pretty frequently. that definitely builds up to something.

he’s very much into you pinning him anywhere, kitty loves the challenge of a good kabedon. it’s the first bold move, what’s he gonna do? be shy or kiss back? it’s an adventure every time.

often, he’s simply offering his body for you to do what you want. „you can like fistfight god or just take it out on me“ is an all-time favorite shitpost sentence you’ll hear from him.

needs a top who always has the right clapback. lee know can only be trained properly if his domme is verbally quick to the heavens.

she also needs to have a propensity to physically overpower him to keep that dynamic going. this bae enjoys the struggle of having his wrists grabbed, to get pushed down onto a bed, to be carried around, to be choked out with good technique, to get sandwiched by thighs, to be sat on so he can’t move, to be flipped around when needed, to be womanhandled completely. he gets pretty excited when someone is rough in their grip. if his domme is working out, she already understands what he’s all about.

crazy thing he’s doing some „yay opposite time“ on some days. lee know becomes very cozy and doesn’t want to leave your side at all. no more brutality, he just yearns for eye contact.

you will not know how much lee know is rooting for you, with one big crush that is, until you run into your ex-sub at a house party. since said guy is making you so uncomfortable and a leveled approach just won’t do, minho’s inner lucifer resorts to flaming your ex with vicious cutting words about how undeserving he evidently is. like, this is getting sinister.

once the altercation comes to who has the better face card, minho can do anything but lose. you know your tastes, and you know you upgraded. before they battle out who has the best pain tolerance, the host of the party, rosé, sends your ex flying into the pool. if anything, lee know’s true colors have been showing through his loyalty. he was ready to like, go until the break of dawn in that debate. he’s still disgruntled about the guy harassing you months later.

like damn, he’ll stress-eat and be glued to you for weeks. he can’t stop hugging you in his sleep.

yup, what an edgy guy. but then again… watch how much effort this beauty puts into cooking for you, like double the amount of care. tells you a lot. minho really loves you, man.

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for more: sub!idols m.list ♡

sub!skz orgasm faces/bondage scenario | sub!hyunjin oneshot | sub!felix oneshot

💕 likes, rbs, comments v much appreciated let’s talk 💕

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fanficimagery · 1 year

Text

Once a Weirdo, Always a Weirdo

After finding yourself in a normal living situation, HYDRA has to go and ruin it by targeting the local school for outcasts and weirdos.

Words: 8K Author's Note: I take no credit for Reader's rant towards the Avengers. It all belongs to Marcel Gerard of The Originals. Wednesday AU where *SPOILERS* Tyler's Hyde was never activated and Miss Thornhill doesn't work at Nevermore. Also, it's canon that Xavier falls fast and it's no different here lol.

At the Avengers Compound, you sit on a barstool at the bar and watch as all the superheroes and their scientist friends continue to mingle even after all the paparazzi have left. You had been summoned to attend an event for some good publicity after helping reverse Thanos' snap, and to be honest you would rather be anywhere else but here.

When they had first brought you and your brother in, you'd been ecstatic to leave behind all the experimentation and poking and prodding some evil organization put you through. You'd gone in a normal teenage girl and came out a weapon who had no control over her abilities. The Avengers took the both of you in, shielding your identities from the government and even the papers, and helped you adjust to everyday living.

But just when you thought you had found a group of people who could understand you and possibly keep you company, you realized they merely thought of you and your brother as children who needed training here and there. Invitations to hang out or even to just talk were brushed aside, and you only ever got to spend time with the older superheroes when they needed your help.

Losing your brother during a mission you never should have been on was strike one, ignoring your cries for help after his death was strike two, and being pushed to the back burner yet again even after you did a lot of the work in helping them defeat Thanos is strike three. So, when the superheroes all laugh at some stupid joke Tony Stark no doubt has just told them, you down the rest of your Cherry Coke and decide to finally take a stand.

Walking towards the central core group of Avengers, you pull your compound clearance badge out from your back pocket and toss it on the glass coffee table that's in the middle of the group. Talking and laughter ceases, and everyone glances at you. "I'm out." You say.

As you turn to walk away, Tony huffs and draws your attention back. "What do you mean you're out?"

"It means exactly what you think, Stark. I quit. I'm done."

"You can't just quit."

"And why not?" Against your will, your eyes start to fill with tears and Tony's jaw drops in surprise. The tension thickens as you glance between every so-called Avenger. "I've done everything that you have asked of me. And for what?"

"Excuse me?" Tony asks, offended you'd say such a thing.

"I joined your stupid team," you say, glancing between him and Steve. "I left what little friends I managed to make in the dust because that's what you all needed."

"YN…" Natasha softly calls out to you and you stare at her with your bottom lip trembling.

"I fought for Earth. I kept Peter breathing," you cry, angrily swiping at your tears as your emotions finally bubble over. Then glancing at Doctor Strange, you sneer at him. "I even kept Ebony Maw from piercing your cold… black… heart. I did everything!"

"Sweetheart…" Bucky takes a step towards you in hopes of calming you down, but you take a step back with a shake of your head.

"Anyone who's not an official Avenger is nothing to any of you. Nothing."

"That's not true." Peter Parker steps forward then, his earnest expression giving you pause. "YN, you are an Avenger. You're my- you're my friend. You're one of the best of us."

"No, I'm not." You take a step back. "Not anymore."

As you turn to walk away, no one utters a word.

No one dares to interrupt you when you're packing your bags, and no one stops you when you walk out the front door.

Only when you're outside the compound gates do you allow yourself to exhale in relief, but that relief is short-lived when you realize you have no idea where you're going to go.

"Oy vey," you mutter. You really should have thought this through more.

Six Months Later

When you'd left the Avengers, you thought you'd travel the states for a while before you found a place to settle in. Instead, you found yourself in a small town by the name of Jericho that was only a few hours away from where you left and found a little Bed and Breakfast whose owner gave you a deal for a semi-permanent room when she found out you had no family and no place to go. All she asked in return was that you help her out since she was getting up there in age and couldn't move like she used you. You easily agreed.

For a half a year, you never strayed too far from Josie's B&B. The older woman was surprised you knew your way around leaky faucets and could replace the inner workings of a toilet, and you nearly gave her a heart attack when she found you on the roof replacing missing shingles, so the ceiling didn't leak when it rained.

The B&B didn't get many visitors, but you noticed an uptick in people willing to stay there after you started tackling the overgrown lawn and making the place look more inviting.

"I'm heading out," you tell Josie one morning. "Do you need anything?"

"No, my dear. I'm fine."

"Well, I have my phone on me. If you need anything, just call. I'll pick it up on the way home."

Home.

You never thought you'd have a home again, but that's exactly what Josie's given you. And if her pleased little smile is anything to go by whenever you refer to the B&B as home, she knows it too.

"Alright. I'll see you later."

Jericho is such a picturesque little town that it never ceases to amaze you when you walk around town. You've wandered around every now and then, but you always kept to yourself. The only place you did visit was Weathervane Cafe, but only during the nighttime hours when most locals would be safely tucked away in their homes.

The cafe is the exact place you're heading to this morning, though, intent on getting a hot cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich.

When the bell jingles upon your entrance, the barista glances up from the book he'd been reading.

"Hey!" Tyler, who you'd gotten to know a bit since you started visiting, smiles as you walk up to the counter. "You're here early. You want your usual?"

"My usual coffee, yes," you say while taking a seat on a stool by the front counter. "And can I have a breakfast sandwich?"

"Sure. Coming right up."

It doesn't take Tyler long to get your order ready and you're surprised when he joins you at the counter with his own sandwich. Then again, there was only two other people in the cafe and Tyler obviously wasn't busy.

"So, what brings you in this morning?" He asks.

"Hunger." You take a bite out of your egg, ham, and cheese sandwich, groaning in delight as you cross your eyes. Tyler huffs in amusement, watching you wash the food down with a careful sip of coffee. "And I just wanted to get out. Stretch the legs, y'know?"

"Yeah. How's Josie?"

"Josie's good." You eat a bit more, wiping the crumbs away from the corner of your mouth. "She's enjoying the B&B now that people are booking her rooms."

"None of that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for you."

You shrug. "Maybe." You eat the last of your sandwich, frowning when there's no more. They really needed to make their sandwiches bigger. "Hey, can I have another?" You ask him.

"Sure." Tyler chuckles as he quickly finishes off his sandwich, moving back behind the counter to grab you another one.

When he hands it over, you happily dig in while he refreshes your coffee.

You're halfway through with your sandwich when Tyler's wiping down the counter and the bell above the door jingles. You watch as Tyler glances up and don't even need to turn around to know who it is. Tyler's smile tells you all you need to know.

"You're here earlier than normal."

"Hello, Wednesday," you muse. She takes a seat to your left and you smile at her. Her deadpan expressions were something that threw you off when you first met the girl, but you grew accustomed to her sometimes-morbid humor and the odd threats here and there. "What brings you in?"

"Coffee."

"Her boyfriend," the person to your right says at the same time. You turn towards the voice, surprised to see another guy around the same age as Wednesday and Tyler. When he gets a good look at you, he seems to sit a little straighter while running a hand nervously through his shoulder length hair. "Uh, hi. I'm Xavier."

Your lips twitch while you give him a quick little nod. "YN." Then looking at Tyler, you ask, "Can you get me Josie's special to go please?"

"Sure."

"Why are you here?" Wednesday asks.

"Hunger and fresh air. Why are you? Shouldn't you be in class, young lady?"

Wednesday's eyes roll. "We're the same age."

You chuckle and then Xavier's drawing your attention once more. "I'm sorry, but are you new here? I've never seen you around before."

"I got in a few months ago. I just prefer to wander when the moon's out, but I was extra hungry this morning."

"She's totally a vampire," Wednesday says.

And while you find amusement in her words, Xavier's eyes widen as he apparently takes her seriously. "She's joking. See?" You flash him your teeth. "No pointy teeth in sight."

Before either of your companions can say anything, someone passes behind you with a scoff. You glance over your shoulder to find an older woman sneering at Wednesday and Xavier, and then turns a softer look towards you. "You wouldn't want to be hanging out with the likes of them, dearie. There's lots of weirdos around here thanks to that freaky school who allows them out and about."

Your eyes subtly narrow as you turn on your stool, plastering on the most condescending smile you can. "Ma'am, I am the weirdo." She frowns at you, and you quickly lean forward, snapping your teeth at her. She gasps and dramatically backpedals away from you, and you roll your eyes while turning back around. Tyler is shaking his head in amusement at you. "What?"

"You're a menace." He pushes forward Josie's usual order and you take out a twenty to cover both your and Josie's breakfast, then shoving a ten into the tip jar. "Thanks."

"No problem." Taking one last gulp of your coffee, you grab up Josie's order and then stand. "Well, it was nice meeting you Xavier," you smile at him. Then glancing at your friends, you say, "Tyler, I'll see you next time. Wednesday…" you trail off, grinning, "don't make anyone cry before lunch time."

"No promises."

You laugh as you take your leave, heading back towards Josie's. You've had enough socializing for the day.

On rare occasions, Josie likes to leave the B&B and walk around Jericho. Even more so now that she has you to escort her around. The locals are happy to see her, even if they have to paste on smiles for you. Apparently, your little confrontation with Mrs. Clementine inside Weathervane was hot gossip for a couple of days and now everyone was quite skeptical of you.

You're walking down Main Street with Josie's arm hooked through yours when she stops you in front of a salon. She stares up at the salon name, lips pursed.

You stare at her, softly grinning. "Are you looking to change things up, Josie?"

"Yes. I believe I am." You see her reach up with her other hand, lightly touching at her salt and pepper colored hair. "I'm thinking of a new color and cut."

"Well, you deserve to pamper yourself. The B&B has been doing great."

"It's all thanks to you, dearie." Josie looks at you, patting your hand with a smile. "Now why don't you go hang out with that Tyler boy while you wait for me. It'll take a while."

"Yes, ma'am."

You escort Josie inside the salon, making sure she's taken care of before you leave her alone. Then walking back outside, you head towards Weathervane Cafe to bother Tyler. Only before you get there, you nearly run into Xavier as you turn the corner. His hands loosely wrap around your biceps, trying to steer you to the side as he immediately apologizes.

He glances at you and then does a double take, and you grin. "Xavier."

"YN." He slowly smiles, letting his hands fall away to sheepishly tuck away in the pockets of his jacket. "This is twice in one week. Tyler said it's rare you're out in public."

"Tyler said, huh?" You ask, arching an eyebrow. "Been asking about me, have you?"

"Maybe." His lips twitch in amusement. He glances around and sees you're alone. "Are you grabbing lunch this time?"

"I was just going to annoy Tyler, but I think I can eat. I just dropped off Josie at the salon, so I have hours to kill."

"Cool. Do you, uh, do you want some company?"

"Sure. Let's grab a burger somewhere and then take it to Weathervane. I like the atmosphere there best."

Side by side, you and Xavier head towards the only diner on Main Street to buy your lunch, and you can't help but chuckle whenever you glance up at him. You knew he was tall, but the height difference between the two of you is very obvious when you're this close to one another.

The two of you get the same thing- a cheeseburger and fries- and take it to go.

At Weathervane Cafe, you and Xavier take a seat in a booth near the door and wave at Tyler when he notices you're there. The two of you unpack your food, splitting the ketchup packets and then digging in.

"So, YN…" Xavier muses. "Why Jericho?"

You take a bite of your burger, chewing thoughtfully. "It was just supposed to be a pitstop," you settle for saying.

"Oh? Where were you supposed to settle then?"

"Anywhere." You shrug. Xavier meets your gaze then, chewing slowly. You say, "I was staying in Upstate New York for the last few years. These people had taken me in and… I don't know. It just felt like I overstayed my welcome with them or something, so I left."

"You left?"

"Mhm. I for sure thought I'd end up traveling further, but I stopped by Josie's B&B to figure out my next direction, and I just never left. I think Josie realized I had no home, so she gave me one. I'll never be able to fully repay her for it."

"I don't know about that," he muses. "I'm pretty sure Josie was only months away from shutting down the B&B, but then you walked into her life and completely transformed the place. I don't think any of us have seen her as happy as she is now."

You blush at his slight praise, and he grins. You busy yourself with your food before asking, "So Nevermore Academy? What year are you in?"

He seems to perk up a little, probably happy that you're interested to talk about his schooling rather than putting the place down. "My last year, actually. I'm pretty bummed I'll have to leave soon. I'm hoping the principal offers me a teaching position for the art program."

"You any good?" You wonder.

Xavier huffs and turns to open the bag on the seat next to him, pulling out a sketchpad. He sets it atop the table and quickly flips through the pages until he lands on one of his sketches.

And wow. He really can draw.

On the page is a charcoal drawing of who you assume is a group of his friends (you're only assuming they're his friends because the uniforms are a bit of a dead giveaway, plus Wednesday is there so yeah) sitting around a concrete fountain. "Oh wow. Xavier, this is amazing."

You study the sketch a bit more and when you look up at him, you fight off a grin at his reddening ears and neck. "It's nothing."

"You're talented. Own it." He huffs and eats a bit more since he doesn't know what to say. "Now I just want to get this out of the way, so don't think I'm digging or poking fun or…"

"Go on."

"Nevermore Academy." Xavier grins, wondering when you were going to bring it up. "Is it really a school for gifted children or are the locals just a bunch of assholes?"

"Are you really asking me that after you just rolled with the punches when Wednesday called you a vampire the other day?"

You shrug. "If aliens and deities exist, why can't vampires and werewolves and other beings?"

"Fair enough." He takes a sip of his drink to clear his throat. "Nevermore is a school for outcasts. There are vampires, werewolves, sirens, psychics, and people with other special abilities."

"Cool." You smile and toss a fry into your mouth.

Xavier, however, stares at you in shock. "Cool? That's all you have to say? You're not even going to ask what I am or what I can do?"

"If you want to tell me, you'll tell me on your own time." He can only blink at you while you continue eating. You watch as he carefully tries to read your expression, gauging your reaction to what you just learned. Then he glances around to make sure no one is paying him any attention before holding his hand out over his sketchpad. His eyes close and you frown, and then sudden movement on the paper catches your attention. You gasp as you stare at the sketch that's now come to life- his friends on page, with the exception of Wednesday, laughing at something that had been said. "Xavier," you then breathe in awe. You chance a look at his face, his eyes now open as he sheepishly smiles. "You're amazing, you know that?"

He chuckles. "It's just a moving picture. I can actually bring animals and insects to life to where they crawl off the page, but I didn't want to freak you out."

"You'll have to show me one day," you say.

"Yeah. I will."

You and Xavier continue to talk even after your food is gone, and he ends up buying pastries for dessert. Tyler joins you every now and then when he doesn't have a customer to tend to, and before you know it Josie is entering Weathervane Cafe to show off her new do.

Gone is the salt and pepper hair that fell to her mid-back in a low ponytail.

Now, she sports an edgy bob with an undercut and her hair dyed platinum with just a hint of purple at the ends.

Your eyes widen. "Josie?!"

She beams at you. "Do you like it?"

You gape and Xavier chuckles. "I- I love it! Are you kidding me?! You look great."

"Stop it." She laughs, bashfully waving off your words.

"She's right, Miss Josie," Xavier says. "You look great."

Josie glances at him, eyes lighting up. "Ah, young Mr. Thorpe! Hello there. You were not the boy I was expecting YN to bother."

"Josie," you grumble.

She laughs at you. "I'm only teasing, dear." She winks at you, and you quietly whine in embarrassment. "Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know that I have plans right now so you're free to do as you please."

"Are you sure? I can always-"

"It's a date, dearie. I doubt you want to chaperone Mr. Sinclair and I."

You're back to gaping and you only snap out of it when you see her glance out the window. Outside is who you assume is Mr. Sinclair, a handsome man in his late sixties and is beaming and waving at Josie. "Oh. Go Josie," you then cheer her on for bagging a handsome one.

Xavier snorts as she lightly swats the back of your head. "He's too old for you." You laugh and she wrinkles her nose, chuckling with you. Then, "Well I should get going. Have fun you two."

"Bye, Josie," you and Xavier muse. As Josie takes her leave, you notice a pep in her step as Mr. Sinclair meets her halfway and leads her to his car.

"Huh. Who knew a haircut could bring forth all the confidence in the world out in her."

"See? I told you," Xavier says. "You gave her a new outlook on life. You don't have to repay her for anything. The two of you are good for one another."

You shake your head at his words, watching Josie laugh in the passenger seat of the car. "Maybe."

"No maybes about it." You huff with a roll of your eyes before glancing over to meet his gaze. "Now come on. I hear there's a fair going on. Let's go see what hideous stuffed animals we can win."

Though you continue to claim that you're not a social being, Josie finds herself hiding her smiles whenever Xavier shows up to see if you're free to hang out. More and more you find yourself roaming the town of Jericho with the boy, hoping that your slight attraction to him stays just that. A slight attraction.

But the more time you spend with him, you knew it was going to be a losing battle.

His smile was far too adorable to not completely fall for.

Then one night, after having dinner at an Italian bistro, Xavier's chuckling over how full you are. You pushed it when you had dessert and now he's laughing at your pain.

"Why didn't you stop me?" You moan, pulling a beanie down atop your head.

"I did! I told you to stop."

"Should've tried harder."

Xavier waits until you're settled before offering you his arm, and you're quick to hook your arm through his and practically lean all your weight against him as you walk down the sidewalk. You're moaning and groaning, and he's more than content to listen to you whine.

"I'm never eating dessert again."

"No?"

"Nope."

"But what if it's cheesecake and has that strawberry glaze you seem so fond of?" You open your mouth to retort but let it snap shut a moment later. "Or chocolate covered strawberries?" You groan a little. "Or-"

"Okay! I get it." You pout as he smirks down at you. "I'm a sucker for desserts. It's just my choice in dates that's apparently abysmal. What kind of lousy date doesn't stop me from overeating?"

Xavier's quietness surpasses a moment longer than usual, but before you can ask what's wrong, he asks, "Date? So, I wasn't reading too much into us?"

"Do you see me hanging out with any other guys?"

"Well, there is Tyler."

Your eyes roll. "As if I'd want to get on the bad side of Wednesday." Xavier huffs a laugh as you press into his side, knocking him off balance. "And besides, he's not my type."

"That's good to know."

"I'm sure it is." You mockingly tease him.

The streets of Jericho are quiet, locals coming and going from their own nights out on the town. You're about to turn the corner of one of the streets when the screaming starts, slowing you and Xavier. The two of you tense and look around, backpedaling a few steps when you see people running.

Then gunfire rings out.

"Get down!" Xavier pushes you towards a car, ducking behind it. "What the hell is going on?" He wonders while peeking over the trunk.

"I don't know."

Though your heart is beating rapidly, and you don't want to deal with whatever is going on, you know you need to get to the bottom of whatever is happening. As long as you've stayed in Jericho, nothing has ever happened that would make you out yourself. Now, however, you're not so sure you can walk away from tonight with your secret intact.

With the lull of gunfire, you slowly crawl out from behind your hiding place.

"What are you doing?! Get back here!"

"No. I need- I need to see," you say. Glancing over your shoulder, you meet Xavier's wild gaze. "Trust me."

"YN-"

Not letting him finish, you hurriedly make your way behind another car on Main Street. Xavier is quick to follow, staying close to your side. People start screaming again, glass shatters, and more people run off. The glass windows to Weathervane Cafe have been completely shattered and you see a handful of men in dark clothing and face masks milling about.

"Shit. They have Kent and Divina," Xavier mumbles. And sure enough when you look, you see that two men have each knocked out individual tossed over a shoulder as they walk out.

There are some older locals that get caught in the streets, but after being looked over, they're threatened to keep moving.

"Nevermore students," you realize. "They're taking Nevermore students."

"But why?"

You frown as the militarized men bind the students, placing a metal contraption over each of their mouths. One of the men turns just right and the emblazoned logo on the side of his helmet makes your stomach drop. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. This isn't good," you mumble.

"What?"

"Xavier, every student at Nevermore is gifted. What are Kent and Divina's gifts?"

"They're, uh, they're Scales. Sirens."

Sirens. Hydra just got their hands on two sirens!

"You need to get back to the school."

"What? Why?"

"Xavier, just trust me." Your hand reaches for the necklace that you rarely bring out from under your shirt, the miniature arc reactor hanging rather innocently from a silver chain as you yank it off. When you squeeze the arc reactor between your thumb and forefinger, it glows blue and you're quick to shove it into his hands. "Take this and get back to the school as soon as you can. Tell your teacher there's a dangerous threat and they found out about the gifted teenagers. Lock the school down."

"What are you-"

You reach for Xavier's face, grasping his face between your hands and pulling him in for a kiss. You linger there for a few seconds before pulling back, gaze darting between his eyes as you watch him try to catch up. "Go. The necklace is an SOS beacon. When the good guys arrive, give them my name. Tell them Hydra's taking gifted children. They'll help protect the school."

"W-What are you?" He asks.

Smiling sadly, you tuck the left side of his hair behind his hair. "I used to be a superhero. Now I'm just… lost."

"YN-"

You quickly peck his lips once more, grinning softly. "Go. I'll explain everything later."

"What are you going to do?"

"Distract them." A small explosion has you and Xavier ducking even lower. "Go, Xavier! Get back to the school now. Protect your friends."

Another explosion sounds, sending debris raining down over you and Xavier.

Xavier falls to his stomach, watching the feet of scurrying people on the other side of the vehicle you're hiding behind. But when he glances back for you, you're gone. He wildly glances around only to find that you're nowhere in sight.

"Well shit."

. . . .

Xavier bursts into Principal Weems' office, panting and heaving and shrugging off the hands of coach Vlad.

"Mr. Thorpe!" Weems stands tall, aghast at the behavior of her usually well-behaved student. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Lock… lock down the school," he says. "Jericho- it's under attack."

"What?"

"Lock the school down!" He then shouts. He shrugs off coach Vlad's hands when he tries to restrain him again. "Kent and Divina have been taken. They're targeting Nevermore students. You need to gather everyone somewhere safe and lock the school down!"

Principal Weems looks to coach Vlad, eyes widened, before addressing Xavier again. "Are you sure?"

"Pretty damn sure. I saw it with my own two eyes. They sedated Kent and Divina, bound and gagged them, and threw them into the back of a van. Other Jericho locals got caught, but after a quick look over, they were released. They were also setting off bombs and shooting up Main Street."

"Vlad, gather the teachers and round up the students. I want a head count of who's here and a list of names of those missing. I'll contact the sheriff."

"Done."

Xavier's left alone with Weems, and he stumbles forward, showing her the necklace before she can reach for the phone. "There's one more thing."

Her eyes land on the pulsing blue light. "What is that?"

"Emergency beacon. My… friend activated it. She said the good guys will come here and that we needed to explain that Hydra is taking gifted children. She said they'd protect the school."

"Do you trust her?"

Xavier takes a moment to think on it before he nods. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"Okay then. Gather the archery team and anyone capable of handling a bow. Get those with telekinesis while you're at it. We'll leave the sheriff's department to handle Main Street and hopefully these good guys will be here soon. We'll hold off any threat until then."

"Yes, ma'am."

Xavier rushes off to do as he's been told, finding his friends along the way. He finds Tyler with Wednesday and Enid, and fills them in about what he's seen. They're shocked and Tyler hurriedly gets his dad on the phone to let him know he was okay.

They find Bianca and Yoko, and the two girls are livid when they realize their friends have been taken. Enid rushes to find Ajax and Wednesday grabs Eugene by the back of his shirt to drag him along with the group.

Coach Vlad and a few other professors are directing students to the main dining hall, urging the older students to barricade windows. Xavier picks out those who can help defend the school and has them load up quivers with arrows to prepare for a fight.

Principal Weems takes those prepared to defend Nevermore out front, and everyone spreads out. The evening is eerily quiet so it's easy to hear anything out of the norm. So, when a sudden whooshing sound gets louder and louder, everyone tenses and looks upward.

"What is that?" Bianca asks, silver eyes scanning the sky.

"I'm not sure." Xavier's eyes dart all across the sky, his gaze catching something glinting. "There!"

But just as everyone pinpoints what he's seen, the object lands right in front of them.

It's Iron Man.

"Holy shit," Eugene utters. "Iron Man!?"

"Uhhh…" Iron Man's face mask dissolves, and Tony Stark frowns at the assembled group of teenagers and a handful of adults. "I gotta be honest. I'm at a complete loss here."

"YN." Xavier blurts and Tony's gaze immediately zeroes in on him. "YN said you could help."

"Help with what, kid?"

He digs the emergency beacon out of his jeans' pocket, showing him. "W-We were on a date and Hydra attacked Main Street. They took two of my classmates and were setting off bombs! She thinks they're coming here."

"Okay. Time-out." Tony gives the universal gesture for a time-out. "You were on a date with YN?"

Wednesday, Tyler, Enid, Bianca, and Ajax all look at Xavier and he blushes under everyone's stare. "So not the point right now, Mr. Stark."

"Right. You're right," he smirks. "We'll talk later." And then glancing at Principal Weems, he asks, "You in charge?"

"I am." She smooths down the invisible wrinkles in her skirt, clasping her hands in front of her. "I am the principal here at Nevermore Academy."

"Alright, so care to share with the class why Hydra would be taking your students?"

"Nevermore Academy is home to children with… special talents," she settles for saying.

"Mhm. Just how special are we talking?"

"The two students they've taken so far are sirens," Xavier says. "They have the gift of persuasion."

"So, in other words, Hydra's got their hands on two future weapons. Any other talents they'd be after?"

"We have vampires, werewolves, gorgons, psychics, and students with other special talents," Principal Weems says.

"To someone like Hydra, it's like Christmas has come early." Tony sighs and taps at his ear. "Park the jet and meet me out front. It's a school and Hydra has their eye on it."

Everyone stands around in a tense filled silence until around the back of the school, Captain America, Hawkeye, Black Widow, the Winter Soldier, and Spiderman all jog forward.

Tyler watches everyone in fascination before leaning towards Xavier. "YN knows Avengers?"

"Apparently."

When all the adults are gathered, Captain America takes over. He speaks plainly with Principal Weems, telling her all she needs to know. Hydra has a habit of kidnapping people, torturing them until they break, and then wiping their minds clean to make the ultimate weapon. They had been in possession of a stone that would give certain individuals powers, but ever since they lost that stone there's been chatter that they'd moved on to finding children with powers already in order to mold them in their favor. And up until now, Hydra hadn't made a move.

Enid suddenly perks up, brushing her hair behind her ear. Glancing towards the main road leading up to the school, she says, "We have company. Several vehicles are heading this way." All the Avengers glance at Enid, wondering how she could possibly know that when she flicks her nails, letting them turn into talons.

"Cool!" Spiderman exclaims.

Enid beams at him while the other Avengers shake their heads at him in fond amusement.

One, two, three- a total of seven Humvees roll up outside of the school gates, but only one is brave enough to drive their Humvee through the gate to knock it down.

"Here we go again," Tony mutters right before his mask covers his face once more.

Individual after individual unload from the Humvees, weapons grasped in hands.

"That's alien tech," Clint says.

"Of course, it is," Bucky utters.

"Bianca." Principal Weems beckons the girl forward. "If you will." She gestures towards the oncoming threat and the younger girl nods.

Stepping forward, Bianca takes off her necklace before inhaling deeply. She can feel her vocal cords slightly vibrating as she says, "Stop."

But the men merely chuckle, one of them tapping at his ear. "Not gonna work on us, girlie."

She blinks in surprise and Xavier quickly tugs his friend behind him.

"Sirens, get inside the school," Principal Weems says. "Hide."

Five students break off from the group, rushing back towards the school. The Hydra men chuckle, shrugging as if that were no big deal. As if they'd get to them sooner or later.

"The Avengers are an obstacle, but it is an obstacle we'll overcome," the Hydra goon in charge says. "Gentlemen, take your aim."

Weapons on both sides are raised, but just as Hydra pull their triggers, another individual is landing in front of the Avengers and Nevermore students.

"YN?!"

Hands and eyes glowing red, you raise your arms in front of you to shield the barrage of bullets and energy beams that had been let loose. You're panting and heaving and have to blink blood out of your eye from a gash above your eyebrow.

When Hydra ceases their attack, you lower your arms with a sneer. "Did you really think it was going to be that simple? You made a mistake coming after my friends."

"Little witch," Hydra goon number one coos. "You're coming with us with all this is said and done."

"Like hell I am. My mind is my own now and Hydra will never make me do their dirty work again."

"You say that now."

Before you can shield yourself again, a bullet catches you in the shoulder. The force of the bullet sends you whirling back with a yelp and then a piercing howl rips through the air.

The sound of gunfire and energy beams fill the air, as well as shouts from Captain America for the kids to get inside the school. Hands steady you and when you glance upward, Xavier is staring down at you with wide eyes.

"What are you?"

The question comes from your left and see Wednesday staring curiously at you. "I. Am. Pissed. Off."

Ripping yourself out of Xavier's hands, you turn around and throw up a shimmering red shield between the two groups. Then marching forward, you start tossing energy ball after energy ball at the Hydra goons, uncaring if they're knocked unconscious or dead. Your feet start glowing and with one large stomp, a wave of red energy shoots outward in front of you to knock the Hydra men off their feet.

"Enough!" They immediately try climbing back to their feet and you wrap red energy around them. Squeezing your hand shut makes the energy wrap tighter around them, and you only let up when a hand falls onto your shoulder.

"That's enough, YN. We'll take it from here."

You can hear voices telling you to stop, but your blood is running hot. After the confrontation on Main Street and getting knocked around, being shot, and having Hydra get beyond the gates of Nevermore, you're absolutely livid.

"YN, stop! You're killing them."

Words aren't registering and the gathered Avengers and Nevermore students shift uneasily.

Xavier doesn't like the expressions the Avengers are starting to sport, glancing at each other warily and having an unspoken conversation, so he takes matters into his own hands. He boldly rushes in front of you, hands grasping your face before he's leaning down to press his lips to yours.

"Ho-lee shit."

Xavier keeps his mouth pressed to yours, turning you little by little until your back is to the Hydra men, and he only lets up when he feels your hands fist into his shirt near his waist. Slightly pulling back, he keeps his face close to yours as you try to catch your breath. "Are you back with me?" He murmurs.

You gulp. "Mhm."

"Good. You scared us there at the end."

"Xavier?" You blink slowly.

"Yeah?"

"I don't feel so-" But you never get to finish your sentence because your eyes roll into the back of your head and your body goes limp.

"Shit." Xavier easily catches you. "I need some help over here."

The Winter Soldier steps forward, and it takes everything in Xavier to not shrink back at the intimidating man. He passes YN over to him and the Winter Soldier easily hoists her into his arms. "That bullet needs to come out," he grumbles.

"The infirmary." Principal Weems steps forward then. "We can take care of her there."

"Show me."

Principal Weems nods and then looks over her students. "Children, with me. Let the Avengers do their job in peace."

Everyone follows Weems towards the dining hall, but Xavier, Wednesday and Tyler follow her and the Winter Soldier to the infirmary to keep an eye on their friend.

A consistent beeping wakes you and your eyelids flutter open. You groan at the brightness of the room and then groan again when you attempt to roll over and your entire body aches.

"Easy. Easy," a voice soothes. You turn towards the sound of the voice and are surprised to find Xavier sitting there. "Welcome back. You've been out for a few days. It's probably why you feel like shit."

You grimace as you raise your hands to rub at your eyes. "What happened?"

"You got shot and lost a lot of blood while you demolished those Hydra guys."

You wince. "You saw that, huh?"

"Oh yeah."

"I'm sorry."

"For?"

"Not telling you about me."

Xavier chuckles as he leans forward in his seat, reaching for your hand. "You're a complete badass. Why would you be scared to tell me you could do all that?"

You shrug and then glance around the room you're in. "Can I have some water?" Xavier quickly finds a pitcher of water, pouring some into a cup for you. He helps you drink a few sips and then lets you lay back down. "What do you already know?"

"Just that you used to be an Avenger. Spiderman, the Winter Soldier, Black Widow and Hawkeye were really worried about you."

You smile softly before it slowly falls. "They rescued me and my brother from Hydra," you tell him. "We were orphans Hydra had kidnapped off the streets. They pumped us full of serums and then made us hold a glowing stone that eventually gave us our powers."

"A stone gave you powers?"

"Yeah. We were one hundred percent normal until Hydra got their hands on us. They used to say my brother was fast and I was weird. I guess I'll never outgrow that label now. Once a weirdo, always a weirdo, I guess."

Xavier huffs a laugh, his smile slowly falling at something you said. "Your brother was fast?"

"Oh. Uh, yeah. He had super speed. When the Avengers took us in, they showed us how to be the good guys. We were on a mission and my brother sacrificed himself to save Hawkeye and a child."

"I'm sorry."

"Thank you. I kind of lost myself after he died, and I never really found my way back. The Avengers were supposed to be a family, and they are, but it was a family I didn't quite fit in with. The only time they really acknowledged me was when they needed something. I couldn't live like that anymore."

"So, you came to Jericho."

"Technically I was just passing through," you tiredly muse. "But then I met Josie, then Tyler and Wednesday, and finally you. This place is the first place that's felt like home since my brother died."

"Well hopefully Jericho continues to feel like home. They really did a number on Main Street."

"Yeah. That was partially my fault," you guiltily admit. "I got a little carried away flinging the bad guys around and trying to catch their bombs in order to lessen the damage." Xavier chuckles as you wince. "Is everyone okay though? Your friends?"

"Everyone's good," he assures you. "The Avengers think they came here looking for the sirens specifically, but they were no match for you. You're scary when you're pissed off."

You laugh and then groan, pulling your hand from his to lightly swat at him. "Don't make me laugh."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Xavier smiles as he leans forward, capturing your hand once more to press a kiss to the back of it. "Now do you think you're up for some company? Principal Weems would like to speak with you. As well as the Winter Soldier and Spiderman."

Your nose wrinkles. "They the only ones that stayed behind?"

"Yeah. The second Iron Man and Captain America started talking over the merits of training the Nevermore students, Hawkeye and the Black Widow marched them out and told them to not stick their noses in a school that was perfectly functional without government supervision."

"Good." You manage to fight off a wince as you sit up, groaning only a little. "As grateful as I am that they rescued me, they are not the greatest mentors. I would advise anyone with stars in their eyes for the Avengers to really do their research before committing to become a superhero."

"I think the only ones who were super impressed by their presence were Eugene and Ajax. You have nothing to worry about," Xavier tells you.

He ends up calling a nurse and she situates your bed so that you can properly sit up. Then after adjusting the blanket over your lap and getting you another cup of water, Xavier leaves to retrieve your guests and Nevermore's principal.

The tallest woman you've ever laid eyes on walks in behind Xavier, and you have to remind yourself that it's not polite to gape. But something in your expression must show your awe because when you glance at Bucky, he's smirking at you.

"I am going to make this quick and simple so that you may converse with your friends and get back to resting," Principal Weems says. Her no nonsense attitude makes it so you can only nod at her. "I thank you for keeping my students safe. Nevermore Academy will always welcome you should you find yourself in need of a place to go."

"T-Thank you."

Principal Weems smiles at you and then glances at Xavier. "Mr. Thorpe, classes start back up in five minutes. Do not be late."

"I won't." Principal Weems takes her leave and then Xavier glances down at you, eyes wide. "Shit! I have to go. I'm so sorry."

You grin at him. "No worries. I'm not going anywhere it seems."

"Mhm. Yeah." Uncaring for the two Avengers at his back, he rushes forward and gently grasps your face between his hands. The kiss is short and chaste, but makes you blush nonetheless. "I'll see you after classes are done for the day."

"See you." You watch as he collects his purple and black striped blazer from the chair he'd been sitting in earlier, quickly donning it before grabbing up his bag and practically running from the room. When you glance at Bucky and Peter (who quickly lets his face mask dissolve as soon as Xavier is out of the room), your eyes narrow at him. "Not a word."

"Look at you," Bucky muses. "You leave us and you get yourself a boyfriend."

Your head falls back a little as you quietly groan. "I didn't plan to. It just... happened."

Bucky takes Xavier's vacated seat and Peter sits on the edge of your bed. "How did you even find this place?" Peter asks a little too excitedly. "This school is crazy!"

You shrug. "I only knew about it because of Wednesday. She told me the school's name, but I never knew it was a school for gifted individuals. I only found out that fun fact after I started talking to Xavier."

"And Xavier's the boyfriend?" Bucky asks.

"He's… something," you say. At both their knowing expressions, you sigh. "We've been hanging out, but tonight was the first time we really called it a date. Then Hydra got kidnap happy and you saw how that ended."

"Yeah. He totally kissed you to bring you out of your murderous rampage." Peter huffs in amusement. "You're lucky Clint didn't stay behind. He kept looking at that Xavier guy distrustfully and mumbling about teenage boys and hormones. Natasha had to remind him you actually weren't a kid anymore."

"Clint's a good guy, but if he tries to pull the dad card, I'm kicking his ass."

"Fair enough." Bucky continues to stare at you until you squirm under his gaze. Eventually, he asks, "Are you happy here?"

"Yeah."

"You find what you were looking for?"

You can't help but smile. "Yeah. I did."

"Good."

You smile at him and then look at Peter who looks close to bursting. "Anything else, Petey?"

"Can you introduce me to the gorgons?" He blurts. "I really want to meet one!"

"You're going to have to wait on that, unfortunately," you say. "I only know Xavier, Tyler, and Wednesday."

"And what are they?"

"Tyler's a normie, as far as I know. I'm not sure what Wednesday is because I've never asked, but Xavier can draw something on a piece of paper and then bring it to life. It's so cool."

Peter deflates just a little. "Well, if you get to know a gorgon, can you introduce me then?"

"Sure, Petey."

"Yessss."

Bucky shakes his head at the teenaged Avenger before looking back at you. "Well now that we know you're good, we should be going. We've all got paperwork to complete and Hydra to interrogate."

You grimace at him. "Have fun with that."

"I will."

Bucky and Peter both hug you before they leave, and then when you're left alone you settle back down in the bed.

You're sure your other friends have questions after witnessing what they did, but that's a problem for another day. Right now, you need rest. And food. But Xavier will most likely bring that later.

Until then, you were going back to sleep.

#xavier thorpe x reader #marvel gen fic x reader #xavier thorpe imagine #xavier thorpe fanfiction #wednesday imagine #wednesday fanfiction #marvel imagine #marvel fanfiction #xavier thorpe #tyler galpin #wednesday addams #bucky barnes #peter parker #tony stark #wednesday #wednesday on netflix #marvel #avengers

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essenceofarda · 4 months

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Once i had a fic idea (that I still wanna get back to writing one day) that was the REVERSE* of the "Girl falls into middle Earth" trope, so instead it was "Prince Eldarion of Gondor falls into modern day Earth", and lives for a very confused time in modern day America, where he falls in love with a modern-day woman who he ends up taking back with him to Middle Earth when he Does manage to return, and so the fic would cover two timelines so to speak, or more...

take dual place in both like,,, modern day Earth where he's grappling with the craziness that is technology and modern day... everything, and then also in Middle Earth where she is grappling with "holy shit he was telling the TRUTH about where he came from????????" etc and it was... yeah sure, ridiculous, cliche, and probably something no one would be interested in reading, LOL, but it would satisfy that itch of mine to write a SUPER Self-Indulgent lotr fic 🤣🤔

#lotr #lord of the rings #tolkien fics #lotr fic #lotr fanfic #lotr fanfiction #my writing #I still might write it 👀#tbh i've decided 2024 is the year i finish some fanfics 👀👀#but also like... just get invovled in fandom more bc i kinda strayed away from it from 2021-2023...#and i feel like i'm happier when i'm creating fandom stuff #I don't know if it's bc it tends to be more unapologetically self-indulgent...#or whether the constant feeling of 'if i'm not monetizing this its worthless' isn't applicable to fandom stuff #but yeah.. i want to do more fanfic writing and fancomic writing and #just all in all more fanart #i mean it kinda IS still a girl falls into middle earth but more it's a 'girl follows her husband to a magical land and suddenly realizes #he's not crazy' lol #but you get the drift haha

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erisluna35ocblog · 1 month

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Last one for this set! It's my OC Keagan! Now this guy presented another challenge: hands. Because this style is supposed to keep line art to a minimum, I had to rely on shading to get his fingers detailed out. And of course, that spiky hair. It was tricky to figure out how it works. I need to map out his hair flow before I could render uuuugh.

Introducing the reverse world's closest thing to a Ladyblogger, Keagan Gerald Aurelio-Ashworth! Much like Reverse!Alya, he gets an undershave... and that's pretty much it. I guess the gold accessories and the sunglasses could be taken as a stronger referrence to Chloe as being the rich mayor's son has more emphasis in this AU. He's not exactly based on anyone from canon when he's like this, his design is based on making him as opposite to his og design as possible with very mild referrences to akumas and his og akuma form, Scorch, embracing the power the butterfly grants him rather than being averse to it. He's not exactly a reporter, he hangs around the upper echelons of society hence the semi-formal design instead of his og counterpart's more down to earth casual wear. Next to Fiona, he's like the second most altered compared to how he normally looks.

Why is he like this?

The short answer, it's cause the Supreme has his family under their thumb.

It started with a bad deal, his uncle died trying to dig their family out of it, his aunt Lorelei and cousin Leo ran off, and being overprotective with what family he had left, Mayor Julio Aurelio had Keagan locked up in their castle for his safety... And now what's left of the Aurelio-Ashworth Family are stuck under the Supreme's thumb. They're a political puppet and a goldmine rolled into one.

Keagan is not the sort to keep his head down. He's aware of what's happening, try as his family might to hide it from him. He still developed his hacking skills and had eyes and ears everywhere. He knows how fucked they are. For the longest time, Keagan felt so untrusting of everyone new... Never know if one of those people are under the Supreme's influence. He's heard they're eyeing him and his elder sister for their potential in wielding a Miraculous, and he's seen what happens to underage wielders after a while. Their life expectancies aren't that great, but that's why they use kids for it. They're easier to control. Sooner or later, it'll be Keagan's turn. Try as he might to find a way out, he couldn't find any. The most he could do was disrupt whatever dealings he could find - honestly, he doesn't want the same thing that happened to his family happen to anyone else. He was a minor annoyance at best. For the longest time, he felt trapped.

Then one day, his cousin reached out to him through a butterfly that landed on his watch. He wants him to join the Resistance as an insider. Through butterflies, Keagan can relay what he learns of the Supreme and in emergencies, they can either give him the power to transform or call out for a hero to save him. All he has to do is continue to play the fool and keep his ears up. His cousin heard his rep, the hedonistic party prince. While it wasn't a complete lie, he fools around to forget he's in deep shit, it wasn't the quite true either. It was the easiest way for him to be as disruptive as possible. But now, with his cousin as his life line, Keagan went from a minor annoyance to a potential back door for the Resistance. There's finally some hope he can pull him and his family out from under the Supreme's thumb.

Eventually, he met her.

He didn't think much of her at first, just another rich girl from new money. She's pretty fairy tale princess cute, he'd give her that. Her father was desperately trying to climb the social ladder... And was gonna fall for the Supreme's scam. As expected, they were hella annoyed with his interruptions but what else could he do to save them? Keagan knows this isn't necessary, when there's more effective ways to put a middle finger up at the Supreme, but he can't help it. Keagan just had to save them, even if neither of them would see it that way.

The girl was persistent. To Keagan's genuine surprise, she wasn't chasing him cause she's mad at him, she was following him to warn him that the Supreme goons are gonna mess with him for disrupting one too many deals that night. Aww. He's touched. Really. That's why he was covering her head with his jacket so the Supreme wouldn't target her too. He hopes his cousin heard all that and sends someone to save their butts.

That night was also the first night he properly met the Resistance. To his surprise, his aunt Lorelei decided to let the girl be the new Ladybug. If anyone asked him, he wasn't too thrilled about it. This girl had nothing to do with the Supreme nor the Resistance. She could've been free... much like he wished he was. Yet she chose to wear the earrings.

Contrary to his expectations, this is where the girl truly blossomed. The pretty princess turned out to be more of a knight in shining armor. Maybe she could save him.

#ml au #ml oc #mlb oc #reverse au #kaji aurelio ashworth #this is how kaji would be without shizu as his impulse control #and fuyu being his rock #he's rebelling in any way he could #even without a miraculous #crazy guy got nothing to lose

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vavialdavi · 3 months

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I just wanna talk about how blind I was about my lesbianism. My comphet pals, my shot to you!

1- I used to read a lot NaLu fanfics when I was 14-15 on Wattpad (don't blame me, I was bored and delulu (I still am)).

There were always those being-in-love things description, especially butterflies and I was staring at my screen thinking "wow that's bullshit, I don't feel any of this about my crush." Of course when I first got a conscious crush on a girl, it turns out any of this was bullshit- these butterflies, man-

2- Basically, no one ever explain med to me what romantically loving smb means. So younger me, who had been told multiple by guys how ugly she was, thought thinking often about some mid boy who didn't treat them like crap was love (lmao)

3- I used to pick crushes during elementary school. "Oh, he's pretty, that means I now love him", "Now I'm gonna love him!"

4- I was exagerrating my fictional male """crushes"""(I thought they were cool) because I apparently was hyped enough

5- I thought I couldn't blush about love- For context, I'd almost never turned red outside of when I was lacking air and I'm somehow black (in my one of those light-skin carribean that are in fact mixed with everyone on that earth but mostly africans) since blk ppl don't blush that has my head messed-up.

But in junior year, my friend was making fun of me about the girl I was smitten with and she yelled "OMG you're blusing!". Here was the moment I realized my cheeks had this ability...

6- I didn't get why ppl (men-lover girls) would get crazy over yaoi/bl but def got it about yuri/gl (bfr)

7- At 13, I once asked myself how can gay men not being attracted to women... but never have I ever reversed that question for lesbians

8- I stared at lingeries ads/posters but rolled my eyes and feel sick at any image of man's 6 packs

9- I liked the idea of having boyfriend (I mean by that havung smb in love with) but whenever I tried to picture life together that would stress me out and gimme distgust

10- I never felt anything when I kissed my ex-boyfriend I was apparently in love with but after all this time I still remember the sensations after the first two girls I kissed. I even spent hours with a butterfly in my stomach about one of them even though all my feelings for her were entirely platonic!

11- I first rejected my ex-boyfriend but two days later I had made-up feelings in my head bc as middle-ugly person I was so flattered smb was finally interested in me and didn't to waste my only chance to be in relationship.

Turns out I was into his girl bsf the whole time

12- I prefer the guy pov in romance stories bc it was "mOrE iNtErEsTiNg AnD iT hAs SmTh MoRe"

13- When I tried to write romance I always made the guy fall first but I had to drop them bc I couldn't get the girl to love him back, I didn't know how to- (help)

I now am completed multi sapphic fanfics writer

14- I was unable to explain why I like this or that guy outside of "he is nice and pretty" (which weren't even true) Meanwhile, I easily wrote those +400 words long poetic text about that girl who friendzoned me and that love inspires to write a 120k words romance novel

15- I kinda like fanservice for the boobas

Btw, I'm asexual so even more confusion lol

#comphet #lesbian #wlw post #nmlnm #sapphic writing #story time #ace lesbian #lgbtq community #fairy tail nalu #fanfic authors #coming out

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permafusion-stevonnie · 3 years

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So this idea isn’t leaving my head. While I’m not going to get it started for now, since I want to concentrate on my current Stevonnie comic, ideas are still ticking away and I just really wanted to draw this cover for the idea.

Maybe I’ll get its own page started in time. I’ll let you know if I do. But even if I did, I wouldn’t expect regular updates to it, not while I’m working on Together Forever.

I want to quickly say something that I think some people may have gotten confused about when I was talking about the Fallout Universe before:

Crystal Gems are still called Crystal Gems, but their role is similar, but not the same as the Brotherhood of Steel. In that they are isolationists, who will try to protect humanity from dangerous gem technology, and corrupted gems. they aren’t bothered with human mutants, human problems, or human technology. But I feel that, ove time, Steven will help their character growth away from this and help them, at least, start opening up to the local comminuty and helping where they can.

Homeworld Authority is still called Homeworld, or The Authority, but take on a similar role to the Enclave. They view themselves as the rightful masters of earth and they’re automatically more superior to any other lifeform by birthright.

I have been thinking over what could have occurred to create this world, how’s this for a (work in progress) backstory: (ended up a lot longer than I thought it would, so I’m space saving by putting in this break)

The Gem colonisation of earth happened later than it did in canon. A couple of thousand years, maybe. Unlike the 6000 years ago in canon, it was perhaps 5000, or maybe 4000 years ago. Enough for a bigger human civilisation to take part in the gem war for earth.

Pink still gets her colony started, still changes her mind about it, and finally chooses to become Rose Quartz to lead the rebellion. I think the human zoo will still be made, because I like the idea of that being around to give a mash-up of the human zoo and the mother ship zeta dlc from Fallout 3.

What really diverges from the timeline is when the rebellion starts fighting back with larger groups of human allies. 4000 (or 5000) years ago we are talking some good military strategies, chariots, bows and arrows, cavalries and tactics, etc. Some research will be needed to really flesh out the lore.

Homeworld, facing a bigger threat than a hundred or so rebels, puts a little more effort into research and development of newer technologies to counteract the human strategies. Nothing develops technologies quite like war.

Rose and the others start capturing some technologies from Homeworld and start studying them to not only understand them, but even attempting to reverse engineer them. They obviously won’t be able to replicate the weapons in form, but hope to do so in function.

This is where Scribes would come in for the Crystal Gems are the replacement for the Brotherhood of Steel that I’ve talked about before. Some Gems and some clever humans, would dedicate themselves to trying to understand the newer Gem technology they’re starting to see.

With inventive people like Bismuth to build their own version of it.

The actual Gem Technology will be locked away in the temple- or whatever name I may give it- but the remake versions that the Crystal Gems turn out will be spread far and wide.

I’m just thinking off the top of my head, but it’d be like- if they tried to make their own version of the gem destabiliser, it would be like a giant tuning fork hooked up to something similar to a large Baghdad Battery (google it, it’s kinda cool) that they would carry in a backpack.

The war would carry on like that, with Homeworld making new tech to combat the threat, sooner or later the rebellion captures some, they make their own version of it, and Homeworld makes new tech to combat the threat.

This drain on resources does take its toll on Homeworld though, and their war against earth is perhaps much shorter, between 300 and 800 years, I haven’t decided yet.

Things do play out similar to canon though. Homeworld decides to abandon earth as a lost cause, implant the Cluster so they’ll get something out of the deal and the three Diamonds blast the earth with their powers as a final middle finger to the rebels.

Gems are destroyed, except for the original Crystal Gems, and Bismuth! Canon Bismuth made a lot of regular weapons and armour and the rebellion was still losing. She was driven to making the Breaking Point because she didn’t think they had a chance of winning any other way. In this new canon, however, because Bismuth was working on newer and newer weapons all the time, each one she was confident would help turn the tide of the war, she never had chance to work on the ultimate weapon of the Breaking Point. She may have designed it, or may have the idea kicking around the back of her mind, but never got around to building it.

Rose does her thing of finding somewhere isolated to live in both peace and regret for the war. This is where the Crystal Gems become isolationists

With the Gems gone, humans are left to their own devices with all this more advanced technology than they should have in this point in history. Tech continues to develop with this head start.

Fast forward to the year 1929 and people are living lives as you’d see in the Fallout universe in the 2070′s. Nuclear fulled cars, robot assistants, laser rifles and power armour and all that other stuff.

The reason I chose 1929 is two-fold. The first Fallout game was set 84 years after the nuclear war, and 84 years after 1929 is the year 2013; the year Steven Universe first aired.

The failing of the world is the same reason the Fallout universe failed. Resources started to become scarce, wars started over what remained and the whole thing was escalated by a race that may have been too young to fully understand the forces they were really dealing with, having come a long way, but still too fast, thanks to the ancient interference.

Nuclear hellfire rained down and some people took their shelter in the vaults, while everyone else had to find ways to survive outside.

Rose and the Gems stick to their isolation as humanity all but wipes itself out. Rose is heartbroken to see the beautiful world that she fought so hard for, so easily destroyed. There can be a lot to explore there. Maybe Rose will leave the group, maybe she’ll just wander off and be alone a lot but still return to the temple eventually. I haven’t decided yet.

Perhaps all the gems will have some additional guilt, knowing that their old tech is what pushed humanity so far so fast.

Fast forward 70 years and Rose meets a travelling wastelander named Greg. They fall in love. I’m not going to go into a lot of detail here mostly because I haven’t really thought too much about it, but partly because I know I want it to be explored within the story itself to show how different from canon it would be. Not just the flashback elements from “Story for Steven,” and "We Need to Talk," with a Fallout flair. I want to work out some other nice adventures to bring them together.

Rose and Greg come back to Beach City with Rose expecting their baby.

Steven is born and the Gems immediately take custody, with the logic that their secure base is a better place for Steven to grow up than the harsh wasteland. Greg is allowed to visit as often as he likes, but not stay there. Nor is Steven allowed off the base. They want to protect the legacy of their leader, Rose.

I’m going to say that Steven starts showing hints of Gem powers around 10 years old. Nothing he can control. Perhaps his Gem glows when he’s really happy, if he falls down some steps his bubble forms but immediately pops so it’s just enough to save him from injury. Little things like that.

But this serves as a point where The Gems start “encouraging” Greg to visit less and leave the raising of Steven to them, as his upbringing has now become “Gem Business”

Steven may have snuck off the base once or twice to see the world beyond the base, but after this he’ll do it a lot more often to see his dad and the Beach City settlement.

I think Bismuth suspects he sneaks off but both can’t prove it, and doesn’t want to try and prove it, Garnet knows but says nothing, both of them are letting Steven have his fun, and Pearl has no idea he does it.

Amethyst is not part of the group in the beginning, she’s out as part of a raider gang somewhere. Thank you to theyarheeguy for giving me that idea, and many others, to work with.

A total of 84 years after the bombs dropped, Steven is now 12 years old, sneaking off the base for another visit to town, when he spots a pretty young girl dressed in a strange blue jumpsuit, emerging from a hidden trapdoor that was underneath the old Beach City water-tower.

Steven is 12 because I believe that’s how old he was when the show started. Based on the timeline, the passing of the seasons and so on, he has to have a 13th birthday that we don’t see on screen, before we do see his 14th birthday.

#art #my art #cover #fallout #Fallout AU #Steven Universe AU #long post #lore dump #work in progress #wip

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bamfdaddio · 3 years

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X-Men Abridged: 1980 - The Dark Phoenix Saga

The X-Men, those enduring mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. Want to unravel this tapestry? Then read the Abridged X-Men!

(X-Men 132 - 140, X-Men Annual 4) - by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, John Romita Jr. and Bob McLeod

Go on. Name a more iconic X-Men panel. I’ll wait. (X-Men 134)

If you were born in 1980, you were born under the sign of the Phoenix. This means you will have great hair, but you’ll also be absolutely corrupted by power. Don’t worry, as long as you don’t consume any stars and/or galaxies, you should be fine.

This year hits the ground running, introducing Emma Frost, Kitty Pryde and Dazzler in one fell swoop. The White Queen is the first of the Hellfire Club to make her move, but Phoenix is quickly able to dispatch of her, as you can read here.

Cyclops, worried that the rest of the Inner Circle will soon come in for the kill, decides to abscond to Angel’s Aerie in New Mexico to throw their pursuers off their scent. Jean decides to make the most of it and has sex with Scott on top of mesa. (Kinky!) She also shuts off his uncontrollable destructo-beams, nbd. This somehow inspires Scott to go from reactive to proactive and lead an ill-advised charge straight into the Hellfire Club on the night of their big ball… soirée... thing. Call it a Hellfire Gala-avant-la-lettre.

Fine, he might have been inspired by the raw power of the Phoenix. She’s the biggest gun on their side and, if there's one thing you can be sure of, it´s that reliable powerhouse Jean won´t switch sides in the middle of battle.

Oh wait, that's exactly what she does.

As soon as they enter the Hellfire Club, Jason Wyngarde, who reveals he’s actually Mastermind, takes control of Jean, finally turning her into the Black Queen. With the power of the Phoenix and the patriarchy on their side, the Inner Circle makes short work of the X-Men. They consists of:

Jason Wyngarde, aka Mastermind.

Sebastian Shaw. Often shirtless. The Jeff Bezos of mutantkind. Has the ability to absorb kinetic energy, which means punching him only makes him stronger. (Colossus and Storm figure this out the hard way.)

Harry Leland. Ability of mass manipulation, which has got to be one of the dopest powers ever. Uses it to dunk Wolverine three floors down into the sewer.

Donald Pierce. 25% robot, 100% asshole, 100% useless in taking out X-Men, 225% the worst.

Wolverine is the only one who escapes, resulting in another iconic image:

Apparently, this picture is solely responsible for the fact that Wolverine became the face of the X-Men in the zeroes. It also lit my cigar from the other side of the room. (X-Men 132)

Needless to say, stabbing ensues.

Meanwhile, Shaw pontificates what he wants with the X-Men. He means to use them as guinea pigs to isolate the X-Gene, which he’ll then reverse engineer to give everyone (with money) super powers and all of a sudden, I want Shaw to do a team-up with John Sublime. Jean is not all there, however: she’s trapped in the astral plane, cultivating a cruel streak a mile high.

And suddenly, Jean-turning-evil is not all that funny anymore. (X-Men 133)

Cyclops traverses the mental link he shares with Jean to confront ‘Sir Jason’ and challenge him to a duel. Guy can’t catch a break: in Jean’s mindscape, he is stabbed and he promptly collapses in the real world. Ruh-roh!

Wolverine, meanwhile, has done a passable impression of the Bride against the Crazy 88 in Kill Bill, and he interrupts the Hellfire Club and their gloating. That’s when Jean resurfaces as well, snapping out of her voluptuous Victorian fantasy and, playing a dubious tango with everyone’s trust issues, switching sides once again. The Phoenix is like the golden snitch: as long as your team holds it, it’s enough to win.

Colossus snaps Pierce’s robo-arm, Shaw gets punted through a floor and Leland uses his powers to increase Wolverine’s mass - just when Logan is jumping on top of him. Oops! Should have made him lighter than a feather, Leland.

Jean, meanwhile, is doing her own passable impression of the Bride and goes on what the advertisements would refer to as a ‘Roaring Rampage of Revenge’. (Oh, she roars, and she rampages, and she gets bloody satisfaction.)

This is what happens when you fuck around and find out, Jason. (X-Men 134)

Phoenix makes Mastermind’s mind touch the infinite. His tiny human mind can’t cope. And, just like me when I’m at Pride and surrounded by a bevvy of shirtless gym bunnies, he becomes a dribbling mess. A shell with nothing inside. For those of you paying attention: this is where your Lit teacher would shout “dramatic irony” and underscore Emma Frost vs. Storm on the chalkboard.

This is also the moment where she officially Breaks Bad.

We see powerless people become heroes all the time. The reverse, where the angel falls? That happens far more rarely. I think that is the reason this story was so shockingly effective in the eighties. The reason why it’s still so effective? I think because, like the One Ring, you can read the rise and fall of the Phoenix in a myriad of ways. Is this a victim, reclaiming power? Is this a woman, trying to rise in a man’s world? Is this someone who was always buttoned up, daring to embrace her own power, her sexuality, her dangerous side -- only to get promptly beat down? The ambiguity of the narrative gives it strength, which is why I think it keeps resonating even now. This counts especially in the X-Universe, inherently designed to appeal to the underdog.

Anyway, the X-Men try to flee, but it’s too late. Jean can’t hold it in any more. She explodes in Phoenixesness and vaporizes the X-Men’s aircraft over Central Park. Relishing in her power, Jean easily defeats her friends, before flying off into the galaxy.

In the Avengers mansion, Beast gets the report that the X-Men are trashing the Hellfire Club. Ignoring his duties as an Avenger, Beast chooses his old family and hops off to investigate on his own.

The report, by the way, comes from Shaw, who knows when to turn tail and cut his losses. Among the confused, scared refugees of their party, he begins working a politician on the importance of a Sentinel program. That politician? Senator Kelly. Remember that name.

Jean can’t talk, she’s doing hot girl things. Nomnomnom that star system, sis. (X-Men 135)

Originally, Jean wasn’t meant to die. This one panel, the one showing the inhabited planet, is the reason why she eventually does: Jim Shooter, editor-in-chief, felt Jean shouldn’t be able to get away with a literal genocide. Claremont and Byrne, who had planned to strip Jean of her powers at the end of this, had to change the end of their story within days before it went to print. Additionally, this stoked the adversarial fire between the two: Claremont claims that he hadn’t originally intended there to be an inhabited planet, but felt his hands were tied when Byrne drew one. I wonder how true this is, considering how embedded it is in the narrative, but that’s neither here nor there.

The Phoenix’s genocide alerts the Shi’Ar - and therefore Lilandra - to her presence. Lily says that Galactus is nothing compared to the Phoenix: he merely eats planets, she will consume all that exists.

A hungry Jean, meanwhile returns to Earth, not sure what she’s looking for. She pays a visit to the home of her parents, but when they warily come to greet her, she can’t help but read all the innermost thoughts of her family. Nothing is secret, nothing is sacred. (Imagine knowing all those little thoughts your parents had about you, all those little terrible human things they did in their life. Imagine knowing all their sexual fantasies. Brrr.) It sours the Phoenix against them and she is about to start familicide to her list of sins, when the X-Men attack!

Nightcrawler slaps a psionic scrambler designed by Beast on her, but she’s still too strong. Wolverine tries to end her, but he isn’t ruthless enough to do the deed. When the scrambler overloads, Scott tries reasoning with her, appealing to her love. This causes the Phoenix to waver and Charles Xavier (airdropped in by Warren), bolts Jean telepathically.

Drinking game rule for the Phoenix saga no 6: shout “ca-caw” and take a sip every time the raptor appears. (X-Men 136)

Xavier feels Jean helping him out from within the Phoenix and together, they slowly trap Phoenix in the same sort of energy-matrix as Jean did with the M’Kraan-crystal. The Phoenix finally lays dormant, the X-Men have Jean back and Scott, overwhelmed by emotion, sort of awkwardly proposes to her. Happy Ending! And then, pulling the rug out from under our feet, the X-Men (including Beast and Angel) are whisked away.

They appear in front of Lilandra. The Shi’Ar hold Jean accountable for her planet-killing ways and Lilandra orders her Imperial Guard to take her away! But Charles invokes an ancient law with the same relish of someone who invokes an obscure board game rule against the person who is about to win: he demands a trial by combat.

The rules are easy:

X-Men win: Jean lives

Shi’Ar win: Jean dies.

The trial will be on the dark side of the moon. The Shi’ar are way too strong and, one by one, the X-Men fall, until only Jean and Scott are left. In their last stand, Jean loses control and becomes the Phoenix again, wiping the floor with the Imperial Guard. Technically, they win, but she knows now.

Suicide by abandoned-machine-of-a-long-forgotten-civilization-on-the-dark-side-of-the-moon. (X-Men 137)

She dies. Phoenix dies. The X-Men lose. Scott, bereft, leaves the X-Men.

One detail I love is the holempathic crystal that Lilandra bestows on Jean’s parents.

Without becoming too maudlin, the idea of this is beautiful. A condensed image of a person you love, one you can touch when you feel memories slipping away so you can remember who they were. (X-Men 138)

And with that, season 2 of the X-Men ends. Without Cyclops and Phoenix, the X-Men have to readjust. While Beast returns to the Avengers, Angel takes up residence in the mansion again. He confesses to liking most of the new X-Men, except Wolverine. (To be fair, Wolverine is an acquired taste.) Kitty Pryde also formally starts attending the school and slowly, the Jean-and-Scott-shaped void is filled.

Patriarchal Charles is thrilled to finally have a new teenager in the house who will hang on to his every word. It’ll be like the sixties all over again! (X-Men 139)

There are so many beautiful touches in the few panels:

Wolverine calling Charles ‘Chuck’

Nightcrawler getting drinks (and a beer)

Most amazingly of all, Storm becoming the leader. (I give Chuck a lot of flak, but this decision is Right.) Not just because Storm is the best X-Man for the job, but also because she was a black woman leading one of premier Marvel superhero teams for, what? The better half of a decade? The eighties had barely started, so this was a big fucking deal.

Storm also takes up a motherly role for Kitty, who takes up her suggestion for a codename: Sprite. (This after Kitty rejects Charles’ suggestion of Ariel, which is only fortunate, considering that name would soon be associated with redhaired mermaids.)

The rest of the year is dedicated to two adventures, both of them starring Kurt. The first is depicted in the annual: on Kurt’s birthday, he receives a mysterious package with a mysterious figurine that mysteriously explodes in his face. Professor X calls guest star Dr. Strange for aid, who deduces that his soul has been stolen. What follows is a quest to regain Kurt’s soul in an adventure that feels a little too I just read Dante’s Inferno, check how smart I am.

Hell is a little too pedestrian and boring, though we do get a King Minos hitting on Kurt and Ororo. A man of wealth and taste indeed. Anyway, at the end of this side quest, it turns out all of this was a convoluted revenge scheme concocted by one Margali of the Winding Road. She turns out to be Kurt’s (adoptive) mother, who’s getting revenge for Kurt killing her son.

Kurt, racked with guilt, reveals he had no choice. Stefan had always feared the darkness in his soul and he’d made Kurt pledge to stop him if he should ever succumb to it. After Stefan killed a child or two, Kurt had no choice but to end him. Stefan perished and Kurt was blamed for all of the murders, having to flee an angry mob.

Margali forgives him, with some help from Jimaine, Kurt’s foster sister. In a twist that is a little too soap opera for my tastes (and I watch Riverdale), Jimaine turns out to be Kurt’s squeeze, Amanda Sefton. I’ve always disliked this twist, and not just because of the incesteous vibes: I like the idea of Kurt dating a regular lady who is into him despite his appearance and his being a mutant. Making Amanda Sefton his sorcerous half-sister dilutes that message a lot.

The tail end of 1980 involves Wolverine going to Canada so Wolverine can make amends with Alpha Flight. Kurt joins him, ostensibly to flirt with Aurora, but in fact this shows that Kurt and Wolverine are establishing a rapport. A deeper friendship.

In a pretty paint-by-numbers adventure, Wolverine, Nightcrawler and the worse half of Alpha Flight take down a Wendigo. We don’t get Northstar or Aurora, but we do get more Snowbird, who can change herself into Canadian animals, with the danger of being consumed by her animal side.

We get this delightful panel out of it:

Scared Nightcrawler almost makes me forget how full of shit Jimmy MacDonald is, considering last time Kurt saw them, they tried to kidnap the fuzzy elf. (X-Men 139)

This whole arc is meant to show the softening of Wolverine. Not only does he share his name with Kurt (well, sort of: “Logan, is that your name?” “Yup.” “You never told us.” “You never asked.”), but when they fight the Wendigo and Snowbird turns into a white wolverine to deal the final blow, he talks her out of being consumed by her vicious animal nature.

The year ends with two details worth mentioning:

The Canadian government dissolves Alpha Flight, which I can only find a prescient move that highlights their good taste. A realistic note I like is the minister referring to the mutant problem as ‘an American problem’ even though they employ the Beaubier twins. Wankers.

Fred Dukes escapes prison to join the New Brotherhood of Mutants!

We’re now entering a run of the X-Men which I haven’t read much of yet, but Freddy mentions he was helped by some lady lawyer. That’s gotta be Mystique, right?

I can barely contain my glee.

Ugliest Costume: Despite that godawful hooded thing Kitty wears, I have to give this to Dazzler. There’s no salvaging that costume: I’m sorry, but she’s wearing a disco ball around her neck. It's a boot from me.

Best new character: Emma Frost. Fight me by the bike rack near the parking lot if you disagree.

Turns evil: Jean Grey, famously so.

What to read: X-Men 129 to 137, the Dark Phoenix run.

69 notes · View notes

beann-e · 3 years

Text

“ let’s go“

“ excuse me “

“ I said let’s go . “

Your eyes creased as you leaned back into your desk chair —leg moving to cross over the other as your hands landed together in a hold on your lap. Eyes looking up at the male in front of you.

“ look at you looking everywhere but this messy ass desk I see “

you scoffed “ if it’s so messy why do you keep coming down here just to add on to it ? “

his head shaking a bit at your comment he had to admit he was a bit interested in your words even though he originally came here for a purpose. He had to see how this would play out. So yeah he’d play your little game.

“ huh mister prohero “ your face lit up in sadness to mock the male in front of you “ aw wait I forgot I have to be exact with my words when it comes to you because your emotionally challenged“

you stood up placing your hands on the desk in between you and the blond haired male.

“ the only thing ‘ challenged ‘ here is this crusty ass run down building I had to buy glasses to find “

“ ouu where are they? maybe they could also help you see this“ you smiled before reaching into your suit jacket only to pout “ crap hold up it’s not in there it’s something I picked up specially for you hold on “

“ what the hell are you looking for in there your taking awhile “ he spoke louder after a couple minutes seemed to pass and you were still searching around

“ huh that’s weird — hold on I can’t seem to find it “

“ find what ? “ his face made up in confusion as his eyes followed your body that was looking through your desk only to turn and rummage through the drawers behind you“ fuck is it really that bad —you’ve gotta clean y/n “

“ yeah I know hold on I swear I know where it is I keep a lot of them just in case “

“ is it important or some shit ?— if not I can wait I swear i’ll just come back down here tomorrow“ he sighed still trying to look over you shoulder “ I just came down here to fuck with you before heading ho—“

“ yeah no you’ll want it a lot of people seem to want it these days — it’s hot on the market “

“ well what the hell is i— “

“ AHA “ you screamed your hand stuck in the drawer as he tried to peek over your back to see what it was his body shrinking when he saw your eyes whip around to lock with his. Him going back to the cool, calm collected guy he was minutes ago as he ran his fingers through his hair

“ here look it’s limited edition these days “

“ what is it like an all might collectable or some shi— “

His heart stopped when he seen you fully turn around and smirk your eyebrow slightly raised as his eyes slowly went downcast on your hand showing off the freshly painted middle finger.

It straightened to perfection as it stood tall only causing the male to fume silently and speak under his breath “ what the hell “

“ look baku it’s the fuck you so desperately want me to give “ You pushed it towards him as you walked around your desk to get closer seeing the upset face he held “ aw what you don’t like it “

you sucked your teeth reaching into your back pocket “ here i’ll exchange it for you “ you brought your hand out from your pocket and back into his face as he started to shake slightly. You knew you’d went too far. Your jokes always went further than a person wanted you to.

You were fucking with him

He didn’t like it

He wouldn’t like it this time

.. He liked it

— he liked it

wait he lik—

Your eyes widened as you stared up at him face going stone when you finally seen that his lips were pressed harshly on yours. His moves were rough hands fast and quick already knowing what to do while you struggled with yourself over where to put your own.

No matter how many times the male before you kissed you it always felt differently each time. Your body relaxed into his as he smiled into the kiss only to laugh and bring his forehead to rest against yours “ your so fucking stupid “

“ but I beat you in class ranks in high school “

his smile widened he couldn’t even find it in himself to be upset not when you were having fun with your joke “ yes yes you did “

you smiled softly only to have it wiped away when he opened his mouth again “ but I beat you in jobs you asshole “

“ hey prick I enjoy my job “ he nodded his head as he moved to sit in your work chair “ yeah no no of course “

his hand moved to pull a cup of old coffee from behind your computer as he looked at you “ I would totally be able to tell— babe all id need is an everyday trip to your luxurious work place“ he lifted the coffee cup and held it to his cheek smiling softly to mess with you

he swiveled your computer monitor to the side to show off the millions of coffee cups you had hidden from his and your employees eyes

“ god so many— how would corporate feel about this knowing you’ve got all this shit piled up back here— it’s screaming that you overwork yourself y/n “

“ uh i’m mostly worried about my bosses opinion “

he smiled up at you only to shake his head with a small laugh whispering under his breath “ fucking stupid—you’re your boss “

he laid his cheek onto his palm as he looked up at you anytime he was around you it was like he was completely swallowed whole by your vibes. You were such a down to earth person and that’s what calmed him no matter what argument or how many there were you always found a way to calm him and the situation down.

no matter what you said or did he would always find a way to look at you as though you were holding the whole world in your eyes “ and what does your boss say y/n ? “

you perked up “ ouu good thing I have em on call let’s see “ you reached out to grab your husbands phone hand wrapping around it tightly feeling the many scratches it had on it’s back from the slams of it on the table after one too many documents he’d filled out the night before at work.

He was always so angry and mean—even to objects

Your fingers moved to put in the password as he looked at you head leaning back to rest against the chair as he moved the chair from side to side you having his full attention before he reached out to grab your phone sliding over to answer the call

“ hi is this big bird ? or also known as red from angry birds ? “

“ Ill let you slide with your comments because your voice sounds kinda hot right now and i like your suit — but yes this is your local prick hotline how may I assist you today “

A smile made its way onto your face as you watched his own just grow larger and larger over time “ oh I see so this is the one and only katsuki bakugou hmm “

you tapped your chin “ so tell me what’s someone as unimportant as yourself doing answering your bosses phone “

“ ouuu hard question “ he played with his keys that laid on your work desk “ I came here to ask em out for lunch maybe go out to go karts y’know since there’s a little brat at home who’s been dying to ride one ever since they’ve seen that shitty commercial “

“ mmhmm so please enlighten me what does this have to do with you answering your bosses phone “

“ nothing “

“ oh ? “ your eyes widened “ well I heard several complaints that you were just telling your boss what to do as if their not head of your company or in other words your “ you whispered “ boss “

“ yeah I guess i’ve fucked up huh ? should have actually dressed up instead of coming to get em’ in sweats serves me right— here i’ll pass the phone to my boss since they seem to look more business professional today — I don’t feel worthy enough to answer my bosses phone “

“as you should — nice to know you’ve finally learned your place“ you bit your lip at his quietness expecting him to go off or say something snappy but he only encouraged you to continue with a small smile and a head nod.

Honestly he was enjoying you he loved your jokes even if they sometimes went too far or if they hurt his pride he loved to see you enjoying yourself.

He’d rather you be open and comfortable with him and tell your horribly stupid jokes versus beating yourself up and thinking you have to watch what you say around him

“ fuck it’s gotta be the pantsuit is that why your letting me do all this—you douche your probably paying more attention to my suit than me “

“ correct smart girl —role reversal? “

“ we’re switching back? “ you laughed confirming his statement “ role reversal “

“ fine by me “ you smiled as he held out your phone to you and you held out his to him.

“ yes may I speak to y/n bakugou ? “ he stated as he spoke into his phone

“ mm i’m not sure I know them could you be more exact “

he scoffed “ yes my boss — i’m looking to speak with my boss please “

“ oo a boss —wife —plus a mother that’s a lucky catch you should be greatful — le asshole“

His smile faded as he stared at your eyes that locked with his . In this moment nothing could compare to the happiness he felt except for when he took his child to their first quirk appointment and received the good news of them not only having his quirk but yours too. Happily he wouldn’t have to deal with his kid getting bullied sadly he had a mini icy hot running around.

This was why he married you and this is why he loved you because what felt like hours of conversation had only been 10 minutes. He felt like he’d been transported to another world when he was talking to you. What originally started out as him just coming to take his wife and daughter on a lunch date turned into him on the phone with his boss.

You,

yet again being reminded that he’d always fall under you in status , in authority , at home, in the marriage , at work , and in his heart. Youd always be the one in power

“your fucking funny — a comedian really —always keeping me on my toes so yeah—yeah a real lucky catch— ‘m fucking lucky “

131 notes · View notes

lupically · 3 years

Text

#97DB88 | BENNETT.

genre | angst, (unofficially) soulmate au

word count | 1885

warning | none

note | hello anon (ˊ•͈ ◡ •͈ˋ) thank you so much for requesting! i hope this is what you are going for (even though... soulmate aus are usually more fluff than angst...)!

request | from anon

the portal stood in the middle of the storm, swirling, haunting, tempting.

the stormterror had descended without a warning, creating a massive storm in mondstadt that was impossible to miss even from miles away. you and bennett were lucky enough to have been able to head back behind city walls before the wind barrier took over and created a dome around the living space.

it was not safe inside the city, but compared to being stranded outside, you two would much rather be with the others on the inside.

your first plan was to find fischl just in case that girl would get herself stuck in some trouble. you two made it past the stairs, which took some mighty effort because of the strong whirlwind, and you were about to follow bennett and head to one of the residential buildings when a familiar fight caught the corner of your eye.

you stopped to take a closer look at it.

a portal.

no, not just any portal.

it was the same portal that appeared on the roof of your apartment building back on earth, it was the same portal you recklessly entered before you found yourself in mondstadt, your body hitting the head of an unfortunate boy you have now come to know as a loyal friend.

clutching your fists together, you huffed out a breath of immense disbelief as you glared at the blue-black object.

you, and bennett, have been through heaven and hell trying to find a way back to where you belong. for a while, after all the errors and failures, you had even thought about waving your earthly life a farewell and simply settling in mondstadt for the rest of your life.

the thought of staying in mondstadt was not too bad of an idea, of course. the future you could pursue in teyvat with a vision and a sword was infinitely more interesting and exciting than the future you could have chased on earth with a textbook and a degree.

not to mention your friendship with bennett was surely an irreplaceable one. you two have ventured into dark forests together, solved ancient puzzles, and held your hands through dungeons with each other. but, most importantly, whenever night flows and you two would giggle in his bedroom, with you sleeping on his bed and him laying on a mattress set on the ground just next to it.

you have shared nights with him for so long now, you were unsure if you could ever fill the hole of his shape in your earth bedroom.

but, still, you could never abandon the thought of leaving your family and your friends behind; people who have raised and loved you, as well as people you grew up with. your heart would not let you forget the memories you have made with them. whenever you are close to giving up, reminiscence brushes past your body and brings you the smell of your mother's smell and the sound of your best friend's laugher.

ah... just when you thought you were returning home again, here you were, standing before the gateway back to earth in the middle of a dragon's tantrum. if you had plans to go back to earth now, this would be your chance.

flashes of your childhood memories occupied your mind as you took a brave step forward, then another, and another. visions of your friends and your family flooded into your head as you made your way against the stormterror's wind; you were smiling and thinking about the exciting reunion with your pets, or even the disbelieving looks you would get from your best friend when you tell them about mondstadt, about teyvat, about archons and dragons.

just a few more steps and you would be home. just a few more—

"[name]!"

a hand curled around your wrist and halted your movement. you turned around immediately, your gaze shaking with returning light when you found bennett behind you.

he has his hand up to his face, a poor attempt to block out the wind that continuously blew dust and air into his squinted eyes. looking at you, his gaze was nothing short of urgent. "what are you doing? we should head home and take cover! we can't fight the stormterror!"

"i... bennett... i found..." you looked at him, then you nudged your head behind your shoulder at the blazing portal, "the portal... i found the portal..."

he stared at you for a second. his eyes moved between you and the oval-shaped portal emitting vividly behind you. the gears turned in his head before, against all odds that burned in his chest, he perked up and tightened his grip on your wrist excitedly.

"the portal!" he exclaimed, his eyes deadly focused on the floating object. "like the one we have been looking for? the one that can send you home?"

"yeah." you nodded.

"that's good, isn't it? we have been searching for it for so long!" he said, shaking your arm excitedly as the concept of departure took its sweet time to settle in his head. "you can go home!"

you softened. "i can go home."

you felt a heavy churning in your stomach as soon as you saw bennett—the first person you met on this unthinkable journey. albeit you actually dropped onto him when you fell from the sky so the first encounter was against both of your will, he was still your first friend in teyvat, and he has stuck with you ever since.

your journey together replayed like an adventure movie in your head. his willingness to look for an exit with you, his selflessness in choosing to take care of you, his protectiveness whenever you both encounter danger along the way—bennett has truly been the kindest to you, and you weren't sure if you could deal with missing him when you leave.

as if he could read your mind (you would not be surprised if he actually could), bennett flashed you a bright smile—always, always a bright smile—as he took your hands in his carefully and held it before his chest. there was laugher in his voice, a form of boyish relaxation that only he would be able to exude underneath the wrath of his unfortunate destiny.

"now, now! you better not be hesitating about going back home, [name]!" he said in a scolding manner. "as much as i want you to stay in mondstadt with me, i don't think i can be selfish enough to hold you back from being with your family again."

"well, i for one know that... if the situation is reversed and i was in your family's shoes..." he hummed and rolled his eyes up in thought, then he returned to his grin. "it would be great that you met new friends somewhere else, but ultimately, i would still want you to come back home, so i think your parents may be thinking the same thing too!"

you pursed your lips together.

you knew he was just saying it to make you feel better about wanting to leave. you knew him just as much as he knew you, and you could read him just as clearly as he could read him.

there was a glassy plain of tears before his eyes, wobbling in front of the beautiful jade windows. he was not smiling with his eyes, either, like he always does whenever he was with you.

it took minimal cues for you to understand that it was straining him to pretend as if he was happy and dandy about you going home, but somehow he kept on the happy facade even though it was tearing him to shreds.

because bennett saw in your hesitation that you were not having trouble deciding because you wanted to be with him more than you wanted to go home, but because you were worried that he would be left alone after your departure. it was not because of him, personally, that you felt reluctant, and that alone was enough for bennett to let you go.

if you had hesitated because you wanted to be with him, he would have fought for you to stay with all he could. but you didn't, he could see; even though you two were so close, even though the proximity of your souls were vivid and warm, there was a more familiar home for you somewhere else.

bennett only wanted you to be comfortable and happy back where you could feel like you belong. if it was eath that could provide it, he can let you go. he can do that.

"you're not leaving me alone, [name]," he said, "so don't worry. i'll be okay."

you two have talked about it once. the unlikely coincidence that he was the person you fall onto out of everyone else in mondstadt, and the uncanny chance that you two managed to hit it off so well too. you two were like souls that were crafted together and got lost on the path to existence; soulmates separated by time and dimensions, but soulmates, nonetheless.

if bennett could just remember that.

"it's your home," he whispered.

"it's my home," you repeated softly, gripping his hands back.

taking a step forward, you released his hands and reached up for your hair. you took off the clip you have been using to keep your hair away from your eyes, then you moved forward and carefully placed it into bennett's hair. your hand slowly glided the side of his face, your eyes focused on his features to engrave his face in your memory. when your finger reached the tip of his jaw, you leaned in and planted a chaste kiss on his cheek.

"thank you so much for everything, bennett," you said.

"i–ah! you're wel–welcome," he mumbled as he fidgetted nervously.

ah! this is the worst circumstance to be kissed for the first time!

he was quick to collect himself and grinned at you. he was smiling from his eyes this time. "well, what are you waiting for? off you go, now!"

your lips quirked down into a bitter smile. your legs felt heavy when they knew they were to walk away from bennett. standing on your spot, you gently pressed your forehead against his, bumping against his goggles lightly as you whispered a tender farewell.

and he stood in the middle of the storm to make sure you left with the portal before he could dare himself to find shelter. bennett smiled to himself when the portal disappeared from before the water fountain; he was officially standing in a mondstadt without you.

as he turned around to look for shelter, he reminded himself to remember the soulmate theory you two established playfully together.

soulmates who are separated, soulmates who are far away, but all is well despite that, because he will kiss you from a thousand worlds away if he has to, and he will hold you through all the time and spaces the universe could offer. if given the chance, if one day the universe decides to fight for your reunion again, he will run, fly, crawl to you.

"soulmates," bennett whispered under his breath, and before he made his way to someone hiding in a restaurant, he wiped away the tears that rolled down his cheeks.

#genshin x reader #genshin imagines #genshin impact imagines #genshin x you #genshin impact x reader #genshin scenarios #genshin impact x you #genshin impact #genshin bennett #genshin bennett x reader #genshin impact bennett #bennett #bennett imagines #bennett x reader #genshin impact scenarios

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stayevildarling · 3 years

Text

How the Sarah Paulson AHS Characters react to reader dying their hair in a vibrant color: (One Shots/Headcanon)

Cordelia Goode: 💛

-All day Cordelia has been pacing back and forth in her office, waiting for you to return home from wherever you are. At first she didn't really notice your absence because she was in her office all day, expecting you to be in the greenhouse or with the girls somewhere but when she couldn't find you in the afternoon she started worrying and calling you. You couldn't pick up the phone however because currently you are hiding in your old room at the academy after one of your genius ideas and spells failed miserably

-All you wanted was to change the color of a rose for Cordelia because you have been watching the other girls all do it before and you wanted to surprise her by learning this spell. What you missed was that on the table where you focused your magic on wasn't just a rose but also a strand of your hair. So instead of only the rose changing into a nice pink color it turned your hair pink as well

-At first you didn't notice until you saw your reflection in one of the big windows of the greenhouse and you have been embarassed about this all day. Instead of talking to anyone about this you decided to just hide in your old room with some books trying to figure out how to reverse this spell and get your natural color back. In the meantime Cordelia double checked around the entire academy and eventually she found a pink rose and pink strands of hair on the table in the greenhouse and she connected the dots after asking Zoe who was last in the greenhouse and her telling the supreme it was you

-Finding you in the end wasn't that hard either because all Delia has to do is close her eyes, imagine you and boom she will be right there, teleported by your side. You were just in the middle of reading your book, sitting on your old bed when Cordelia suddenly appeared. ''Delia'' you squeal and you say ''I hate it when you do that'' but suddenly you remember your hair. Cordelia stands in front of the bed, looking at you with a little smile ''What did you do to your hair sweetheart?'' she questions playfully and you look down feeling embarassed. She approaches the bed and sits at the end of it ''Well I tried to do a spell for you to enchant a rose and I also changed my hair color instead of just the petals'' you say with a frown

-Cordelia just smiles the entire time and shaking her head playfully before saying ''I really like the rose and the pink hair'' and you furrow your eyebrows and look at her ''Really?'' you ask and she nods. ''I could change it back you know'' she says after a few moments of silence and you say ''Really?'' and she nods. ''Can you then because I don't like it'' you say with puppy eyes and Cordelia chuckles and with a flick of her wrist your hair is back to normal. ''Oh thank you Delia'' you say and breathe out feeling relieved that your hair is all back to normal. ''Next time Darling just come to me straight away and I can fix it'' Cordelia scolds a little with a raised eyebrow ''Dinner now?'' you ask feeling hungry from hiding away all day ''Yes sweetheart come on'' Delia chuckles and takes your hand while pulling you into a kiss

-Will never stop joking about the time you tried to enchant a rose and ended up with pink hair, always makes jokes or sometimes playfully threatens to turn your hair pink again when you don't listen to her or you are disobeying

Ally Mayfair-Richards: ❤️

-Your wife is currently preparing breakfast in the kitchen when she hears a loud high pitched scream coming from you in the bathroom. ''Oh my god'' you scream and Ally is quick to drop everything she is doing and run upstairs. As she enters the bathroom she sees you standing by the mirror your hair a bright blue color. ''What have you done?'' Ally asks slightly shocked and you shake your head in disbelief ''Nothing I just washed my hair'' and Ally furrows her eyebrow in confusion before you see a little someone standing by the doorframe giggling

''Oz Mayfair-Richards I swear to god'' you say as you see him and Ally is quick to turn around and look at him. She raises her eyebrow at him and he instantly starts apologizing ''I'm so sorry it was supposed to be a prank for mom''. Ally's jaw drops a little and she huffs ''So this was for me just wait you'' and she chases him across the entire house. You stand in the bathroom unsure what to think of this sudden change in your appearance. After changing your clothes, you walk downstairs to the kitchen only to see Oz sitting by the table with a frown. ''I'm sorry Y/N'' he apologizes again but you just ruffle through his hair and tell him ''Payback just wait buddy'' and he smiles

-Ally walks over to you with the bottle he used ''It's just temporary it should come out in a few washes'' she says relieved and you also feel slightly relieved although part of you actually really likes this color. You take the bottle out of Ally's hand and say ''Come here Oz'' but Ally is quick to chase after you and scold ''Don't you dare put this on his head'' and you argue ''You said it was just temporary, just a few washes'' mocking her words from seconds ago. ''Please mom we can all dye it'' he suggests and you nod your head and both of you and Oz look at Ally full of excitement

-She takes a deep breath and thinks about it for a moment, considering it's the holidays and you all have a few days off she ends up agreeing ''Fine but I will do Oz's hair and my own'' and you and Oz squeal and run to the bathroom, Ally following with a chuckle and shaking her head playfully. The three of you end up with blue temporary hair but you all love it, you take a thousand selfies, Oz doesn't stop talking about it to his friends on the phone and Ally just loves her little adorable family

Wilhemina Venable: 💜

-You walk into Kineros Robotics with your head held high, carrying some lunch for your girlfriend ready to surprise her at work. The last few days she has been so stressed and busy with work that you thought it would be nice to cheer her up a little. You decided to wear her favorite skirt on you, some tights she loves and bring her favorite lunch plus you as dessert if she is up for that. However the biggest surprise isn't the food, you or you showing up at her work unannounced it's the fact you just came from the hair dressers with your new hair color and Mina's favorite- purple of course

-Already from a few steps away you can hear her typing on her computer and you knock on her door gently. It takes a few moments before she replies ''Come in'' and at first she carries on working on her computer thinking it's her assistant or just someone getting on her nerves again but her jaw drops completely when she sees you and the hair. ''What on earth have you done?'' she asks her jaw still dropped. ''Don't you like it?'' you ask while closing the door and putting her lunch on the table. ''I do but why?'' Wilhemina asks, now a smirk visible on her face

-''Well you have my favorite color as a hair color- red and I thought I could have yours, I could tell you will like it'' you reply with a smirk and Wilhemina looks your body up and down. ''Besides this way everyone knows now that I belong to you'' you say with a smirk. ''Did you lock the door?'' Wilhemina asks while licking her lips ''Always Miss Venable'' you reply and she pulls you closer and sits you on her desk

-Wilhemina will be very shocked at first and unable to even speak about it because the gesture of you dying your hair purple just for her is something so special and no one has ever done anything special for her. Mina being Mina she is a bit awkward but soon enough will fall in love with the idea and your hair. Often strokes it and praises you for picking that color ''Good girl for choosing such a pretty color, little one'' she will say to you

Audrey Tindall: 💚

-You both have been talking about it for a little while now dying your hair in a more brighter color and what you didn't know was that when Audrey left for ''Work'' this morning she actually went to the hairdresser and when you told her you were gonna go to the ''Store'' you actually did the exact same

-Audrey decides for a turquoise color and you go for mint green. Once you both get home that night you stare at each other with the same hilarious expression. ''Oh my gawd you didn't'' Audrey says and you just start bursting out laughing that you both had the same idea, on the same day and even lied to what you are spending your day with and almost the same color

-''I love it'' you tell her as you actually take a proper look at her hair and you stroke through it. ''Yours is amazing too love'' Audrey says and she kisses your head and the two of you being adorable dorks you both walk around with very vibrant colors for a while, getting you strange looks wherever you both go especially when you go somewhere together

Billie Dean Howard: 🖤

-As soon as Billie Dean returns from work tonight she is so excited to see you. She unlocks the door and kicks off her heels while trying to find you. When she sees that you are not in the kitchen she frowns a little. Billie doesn't expect you to be her maid or anything and make her dinner every night but you usually do it so she is a little sad especially because you had messaged her in the morning you will cook for her

-She carries on looking for you and she can't find you anywhere at first. She was about to go back to the kitchen to get her phone and call you, thinking you might have gone somewhere when she hears silent sniffles coming from the bathroom. She instantly walks in there without knocking, worried why her babydoll would be upset. When she walks in however she sees you sitting on the floor with dark dirty green hair. She tries to hold in the chuckle and she kneels down in front of you ''Honey what happened?'' she asks and you try and fight the tears ''I was just trying to dye my hair blonde again and then this happened''

-Billie shakes her head and tuts ''Babydoll I have told you so many times don't use box dye and go to a hair dresser with me'' and you frown. ''I just wanted to surprise you that's all and I couldn't get an appointment anywhere until weeks so yeah'' and you cross your arms. ''Well you definitely have surprised me babydoll'' Billie says with a smirk and she offers her hand to help you up. ''But I'm ugly now'' you frown and Billie lifts up your chin and looks into your eyes ''Kitten you could never be ugly don't say that'' and you simply nod and mumble ''Okay''

-She leads you out of the bathroom and into the living room ''Alright you go ahead and order us some food and I will call Constance I think she has a good hairdresser and she might be able to get us an appointment for tomorrow'' Billie says and you smile, take the phone and thank your girlfriend. ''Thank you Billie'' you say shily and Billie walks off swaying her hips and answering ''Anything for you babydoll'' and you feel all warm and loved that Billie is taking care of you like that. You end up ordering Billie and your usual order and Billie gets you an appointment for the next day

-She takes you there and insists on staying with you and thankfully the hair dressers are able to fix it and you end up with pretty blonde hair. ''So pretty darling'' Billie praises as she takes you back home after paying for your new hair as well. ''Thanks for everything Billie'' you say and give her a kiss on the cheek while she takes you both home ''The green didn't look too bad'' she jokes and you roll your eyes and playfully punch her arm

Sally McKenna: 💙

-Your girlfriend has been waiting for you to return from your appointment all day. You didn't exactly tell her where you are actually going which only caused Sally to be suspicious and just a little jealous and also scared you won't come back due to her abandonment issues. What she didn't know however was that you are sticking to a weird dare that Sally found on social media. The post said ''Your first @ has to dye their hair in a vibrant color'' and of course Sally tagged you but never expected you to go through with it especially because it was a few days ago

-Considering you spent most of your days with Sally and in the hotel you thought why the hell not. So you ended up going to the hairdressers across the street from the hotel and you picked orange. It has always been one of your favorite colors and you just really wanted to go for orange and a short hair cut. As soon as you walk back into the hotel Liz sees you and approaches ''Looking good girl'' she says and you blush a little ''Well Sally is gonna love that pumpkin'' she says with a wink knowing all too well about how Sally always calls you by that pet-name

-You find Sally sitting in a booth by the bar and just drinking something. She sees you and looks away again before realizing you just walked into the bar. She spits her drink out seeing the color and she approaches you. ''What the fuck did you do?'' she asks shocked and you smirk and reply ''The post you tagged me in remember?'' and it takes a few seconds for her to reply ''Pumpkin I didn't think you would actually do that, it's orange'' she says while stroking through it gently ''Oh my god you are actually my little pumpkin now'' she says with soft puppy eyes and your heart melts at her words. She pulls you into a hug before dragging you to the bar to get a drink with her and show everyone your new hair color

-Will take selfies with you and photos of you, showing you off all over social media. She will edit a photo of you with a little pumpkin emoji and post it with the caption ''My little pumpkin'' and the hashtags ''my little pumpkin'' and ''hands off-mine'' Will never shut up about the orange hair and always forces you to get it dyed again once the color starts to fade and you both love it

Lana Winters: 🧡 (AU -now time)

-Your girlfriend is so excited to pick you up for your day together today because she agreed to take you to pride. You both have been preparing for ages, buying matching rainbow outfits, little badges and flags. What she didn't know yet is that she is in for another rainbow surprise as soon as you open the door. When you hear the doorbell you are a bit nervous of her reaction considering you have dyed your hair from your natural color to rainbow color, even though it will be temporary you are still nervous about her reaction

-As soon as you open the door Lana's cute smile turns into her jaw dropping slightly and eyes going wide ''Oh my god'' she chuckles after the initial shock and she asks ''Is that permanent?'' but you quickly reassure her it will wash out in a few days. ''Okay good I love it then'' she says with the most adorable smile and you can't help but smile at how adorable she looks with the rainbow t-shirt, pride pin and little rainbow face paint and her hair in a cute ponytail

-She will take your hand ''Ready sweetie?'' and you will both spend the best day together, dancing with people, singing to the music and enjoying your day at pride. A LOT of people mention and compliment your hair and Lana smiles every single time, proud to be your girlfriend

A/N: I have more stories on my wattpad- check it out ✨

#ahs #americanhorrorstory #sarahpaulson #sarahpaulsonxreader #ally mayfair richards #cordelia goode #wilhemina venable #audrey tindall #sally mckenna #lana winters #cordelia goode x reader #headcanons #billie dean howard

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southslates · 3 years

Text

still with hearts beating

for the @grishaversebigbang reverse mini bang 2021!

i was lucky to work with the amazing @erandraws and @fricklefracklefloof :)

tags: nina/inej, sleeping beauty inspired

summary: The girl raised an eyebrow at her. “You don’t strike me as one who’s keen to abide by rules,” she teased. Nina blushed. The girl was right— she typically wasn’t. “I don’t know how to get to the palace,” she said. “Well,” the girl smiled, “I’m here, and I do.”

ao3 link

Nina grew up with Grisha. She loved them and all their edges— life with them was strange, but she was one of them, and she knew she belonged to their ways. She could not control the air like Zoya Nazyalensky, nor the earth like David Kostyk, but she learned from the orders of the hearts and heads, and she learned of blood and life and human features.

And yet she always knew she was different from the rest. While the others might have been content to live in the outskirts and cottages of Ravka, practicing in harmony and ruling a secret kingdom, she longed for more. But Zoya had told her, from a young age, that the life of the ordinary mortals at the palace was not for her.

Nina felt uncomfortable in her own skin sometimes, uncomfortable in the cottages. There was more written in the stars for her than she had, she knew this. And she felt that Zoya and Alina and Genya knew this too— she could feel their heartbeats when they hovered over her at night, whispering underneath their breaths. She could sense their eyes on her back, the way they paid her just a bit more attention than the rest of those her age.

One day, Nina had a dream— a dream about a girl wearing purple and a knife to her throat, and of leaving the Grisha’s cottages and houses and going to the palaces and towns of the normal humans. The girl made her heart race, and she woke up after it with stars in her eyes.

The next day she turned sixteen, and she was in the forest. Malyen had led her out to it, to show her the animals of the forest. He always wanted to convince her to hunt, but she could not hurt innocent animals. The rest of the Grisha were throwing a party for her in the cottages, she knew. They’d wanted to distract her by sending her out amongst the foliage.

Their plot worked. Nina left Malyen with his sticks and stones and wandered across to the streams of the forest. She loved sitting in the middle of them, feeling the life in the trees and on the earth all around her.

“I feel like they’re all anticipating something,” she said aimlessly into the woods. “They’ve never celebrated a birthday like this before, even if it is my coming-of-age.” She paused. “Do you think they’d let me go now? They seem to be in a good mood.”

It was at that moment someone dropped out of a tree. Nina shrieked before that person placed a warm hand over her mouth. “Don’t say anything.”

Nina moved her eyes up and took in the figure that had just jumped up on her. It was a girl who couldn’t be much younger than her, with deep Suli skin and beautiful eyes. She was wearing a purple gown and had the slightest smile on her face. Nina knew, immediately, that this was the girl from the dream.

She nodded a bit and the girl removed her hand from Nina’s face. “I couldn’t help but overhear,” she said, “that you’ve never gone to the palace or the towns before.”

The girl let her hand drop until it was clutching Nina’s, almost as though she was about to kiss it. Nina didn’t know why her heart was racing. “I haven’t,” she said.

“Why?” the mysterious girl questioned.

Nina shrugged. “I’ve just never been allowed to.”

The girl raised an eyebrow at her. “You don’t strike me as one who’s keen to abide by rules,” she teased.

Nina blushed. The girl was right— she typically wasn’t. “I don’t know how to get to the palace,” she said.

“Well,” the girl smiled, “I’m here, and I do.”

“I don’t even know who you are,” Nina swallowed.

She only received a slight wink back in turn. “And why should that stop you?”

The girl’s name was Inej. She bounded through the forest like her feet were made of water and fire all at once, her hand clutched in Nina’s. Nina didn’t know why she was following a virtual stranger out of all she’d ever known, but she couldn’t think straight around Inej.

In half a day’s time, they came to a road. The large palace was clearly in sight from it, and Nina looked up at it in wonder. “I had no idea it was so close.”

Inej murmured something Nina couldn’t quite understand and then tugged her closer. “You’d like to go, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course,” Nina said.

The streets were empty on the way to the palace, a walk which took them quite a few more hours. Nina questioned why, and Inej smiled at her. “The King and Queen are awaiting the Grisha today.”

“For what?” Nina questioned.

Inej shrugged. “I don’t quite know. But there’s a big celebration planned for the evening. We’ll run across it soon.”

Eventually, they did run across it. Plenty of peasants and nobles alike were in front of the palace— a festival of sorts was taking place. Inej walked Nina through the crowd definitively, but Nina held back after a moment.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“To the palace,” Inej said.

“But why are all these people here?” Nina asked. Inej’s beautiful face suddenly creased in worry.

A shop vender had heard Nina’s last words, and bent next to her and laughed. “The Queen is sick. Supposedly she can be healed by only one of ‘em Grisha-witchies, that’s been hidden for years from the druskelle, yer know.”

Nina looked at the shopkeeper with wary eyes. “You mean a Healer or Heartrender?”

“Yeah, yeah,” they said. “Not really liked around here, yeah. Plenty of druskelle trying to get into the city. They don’t like the Ravkan Queen, they don’t.”

Nina knew enough of the world to understand what the druskelle were, and she was intelligent enough to put the pieces of this puzzle together. “No,” she whispered, looking at Inej, whose face had fallen. “Is this why you’ve brought me here?”

“I’m sorry,” Inej said, and the last thing Nina knew there was a man standing over her and the world went black.

Nina dreamt.

She dreamt of the druskelle, of large men with dogs.

She dreamt of a palace and of Inej, a girl with knives.

In her dreams, Inej wore black armor and a cape and went into armor. She saw the druskelle attempt to come to Ravka— she saw Inej bring them down, with four men at her side; one with a cane and a frown, one with an angelic face and bombs in his hand, one a pale druskelle standing against the odds, and the last a Durast she had never seen before.

And then one day, Nina woke up.

At her bedside sat Zoya and Alina and Genya, and to the left was Inej. The first thing she did in her sleepy haze was raise her hands and move the blood in Inej’s veins. “What have you done?”

“Nina!” Zoya said. Nina let Inej fall and fell back on her bed. “Leave her.”

“She brought me here—”

“She saved us,” Zoya said. “All of us.” At Nina’s confused stare, she rolled her eyes and continued. “All of Ravka has been asleep for the past however many years— it was Inej who brought the fight to the Kerch and got rid of the druskelle and whatever strange magic they had used to keep you entranced. We must be thankful for her crew.”

In the next minutes, the entire story unraveled. Alina and Genya spoke of what had occurred in the time past, and Nina’s heart softened for the girl who had betrayed her— who had truly just been forced to do the unspeakable under a terrible, terrible contract. Inej looked at her with soft eyes.

And then Genya tugged the other women away. Nina sat up a bit and stared at Inej. Inej looked at her with the slightest hint of a dark blush on her cheeks. “I’m sorry,” she said.

“I know,” Nina said.

She wasn’t sure who initiated it— all she knew was that a moment later they were kissing, Nina in the bed and Inej to the side. Inej tasted like freedom and secrecy at the same time, and Nina wanted to be in that moment forever.

“Thank you for saving me,” she said earnestly. “And Ravka.”

Inej nodded at her and pressed both of their hands together. “I would hope we can get reacquainted in better circumstances.”

“Yes,” Nina laughed. “Most definitely.”

#gvbb21 #gvbbminibang21 #grishaverse mini bang #gang 10 #i think #ninej #nina zenik #inej ghafa #wlw #sleeping beauty #six of crows #shadow and bone

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itsmoonpeaches · 3 years

Text

The Ocean Meets the Sky

Chapter 4: Reversal

Please note: Every prompt for this Kataang Week connects into an over-arching story.

Prompt: Role Swap

Story summary: After his battle with Fire Lord Ozai, something lingers within Aang's spirit. Katara is the one that pulls the seams back together. No matter what, Aang and Katara find each other.

Chapter summary: No one had yet noticed what was happening, how the air seemed to thicken and crackle with something visceral all at once. Katara could feel the power underneath his stare, roaring against her body. Whatever it was, it was waking from a sleep that thundered and threatened. She should have been used to the kind of power Aang possessed as the Avatar, but this time it was different.

Or, Katara makes a choice.

Written for @kataang-week

Read on ao3 or ffn.

---

First, her gaze was locked on his eerie one. The vice grip around her hand was starting to cut off her circulation. The blood pumping in her veins stuttered there, pulsating on the oxygen that was left. Like a river’s mouth about to burst into the ocean.

No one had yet noticed what was happening, how the air seemed to thicken and crackle with something visceral all at once. Katara could feel the power underneath his stare, roaring against her body. Whatever it was, it was waking from a sleep that thundered and threatened. She should have been used to the kind of power Aang possessed as the Avatar, but this time it was different.

This time, she sensed the anger of someone else.

Katara could not react fast enough when the explosion of pure unadulterated energy burst forth. She along with the crowd shouted in shock when they were blasted away. She skidded to a stop only when she was forced to. Her back slammed into a pillar on the other side of the courtyard. She stumbled to her hands and knees. Her head ached, and she was sure that she was bruised, if not a little concussed.

When she looked up, she saw Aang at the center of a perfect circle with fallen people around it. All of them were groaning, and many had already sprinted off to call for help.

The ground was cracked, more lines spreading out from the middle like branches on a leafless tree. The sky above had turned dark with looming storm clouds above them, a contrast to the hopeful clear blue that it had been mere minutes ago. There was no sun in sight, and the gloom appeared to stretch on for miles.

It was cool, dank. Katara felt the joy seep away from her body almost as if someone had squeezed it from her until it dribbled into an abyss. Her mind was full of negative thoughts and emotions. She could only think of destruction, of unfairness, of the way that there were children who would come to a home devoid of life even after the war was ended.

She thought of her mother, of Yue, of Jet. Of Aang falling from a pillar of light, smoke trailing from his back after lighting had arched through him. All of them coming to crash together and against her like a boat sailing upon harsh waves only to break upon the jutting rocks.

Someone grabbed for the crook of her elbow and yanked her upward so that she was standing up. It was Sokka, still wobbling against his crutch which he had somehow managed to hold onto. He turned to her, worry and fear in his eyes. “What’s going on?” he asked. “Why is Aang in the Avatar State?”

Before she could respond, it was Zuko who broke the silence. “Everyone get out of here!” he yelled the command. He was near the stairs, crown askew atop his head.

A switch seemed to click and there was sudden movement. Everyone who attended the coronation ran away from the center, some into the palace, and others toward the streets of the capital. Katara saw her father give her and Sokka a meaningful look from nearby. He had been forced aside by the explosion and ended up somewhere near Sokka. An understanding passed between the three of them before he departed with the others.

Aang remained standing there, unmoving in the middle of it all. His robes were flitting upward with an invisible force. Wisps of air filtered around him, as if in a warning that it would all detonate again.

It was just enough time for Katara to realize that she, Sokka, and Zuko were not the only ones that remained behind. Toph and Suki stayed too, and the friends began to converge to where Zuko stood at the front in a kind of unspoken agreement.

It was them, always. Even when it was most difficult.

The air rumbled, shaking the pebbles and bits of debris that was caused from the initial burst.

“Everyone brace for impact!” screamed Toph who had widened into a horse stance. “I don’t think I can do much for this one!”

Sure enough, all she could do was erect a large enough stone barrier that blocked most of the waves of debris from hitting them, but it did not stop them all from toppling backward onto the palace steps over each other. Toph did not lower the shield.

“What the heck is going on?! Did someone attack us?” she bellowed with effort. The courtyard shook with wind again. “Is Twinkle Toes going to get his butt over here and help us out or what?”

It was then that dread pooled into Katara’s stomach. She whipped around to face Toph, a wild and frantic emotion rising into her throat. “That is Aang!” she hissed. “He’s the one who attacked us!”

Toph’s eyebrows furrowed together. “That doesn’t make any sense! Aang isn’t anywhere near us!”

It was Suki who looked terrified next. Her fans were clutched at her sides, and she looked ready for battle in her Kyoshi Warrior uniform. “If that isn’t Aang,” she started, “then—”

“Then he’s in trouble,” Zuko finished. He had a determined expression on his face. “Whatever this is—”

But he did not have enough time to finish his sentence. The rock shield that Toph worked so hard to keep steady was ripped apart down the middle with a slice of air alone. She could do nothing to hold it together and grunted as she was pushed back. They were lucky that they were not torn to pieces.

Before them, Aang stood, glowing purple eyes and all. A stark crimson pattern with complicated lines and curls beamed through his skin from his shoulders to his midsection and showed even through his clothes. There was an orange diamond burning through where Aang’s heart was.

A tornado of twisting wind rested casually in one of his hands. It was storm-like and menacing, and not at all like Aang.

He laughed in a deep, unfamiliar way. As if he were mocking them. “It was almost too easy to take this body from Raava, especially when her newest incarnation was so weak,” he said. It was a voice Katara did not recognize. It sounded like the voice of nightfall itself. “That boy was a typical human…pathetic to a fault. It was his stupid choice really that led to this…trying to bend another one’s energy. No one has done that in eons, not since before the age of the spirits.”

Katara tamped down her fear. “Who are you and what have you done with Aang?” she demanded.

Aang’s form glared at her. The tornado in his hand dissipated, but there was still a power that radiated from him that kept them all stock-still. His mouth twisted into a smirk. He walked forward and stopped close to Katara. Too close. He leaned so that he was observing her.

Katara opened her sealskin pouch, and she commanded a tendril of water to hover in front of her. It separated them, if only in an infinitesimal amount.

“I’ve simply switched places with him, girl,” he said. “He has taken my place in the prison that his original incarnation trapped me in. He had a moment of weakness in battle you see…when he was facing that Fire Lord. It was a mere second when his energy was entwined with Ozai’s, but a mere second was enough.” He let out a spiteful laugh. “You have to be careful when your energy touches such a wicked man’s, you see, because even one mere second of thinking that you want a little more justice for what your enemies did to your people—when they wiped their blood across the face of the earth—and even the spirit of light can be stolen by the spirit of darkness and chaos.”

He tilted his head, and the world shifted. “Now,” the spirit said, “Where was I?” He leered. “Oh.”

A gale blasted them back again and they screamed. The walls of the foyer began to fracture. Katara barely held her own. She had to bend the water back to her side lest it spill across the tiles.

The spirit sauntered toward them again as they struggled to stand. His hands were clasped behind his back. “It’s a pity that I couldn’t take the power of the other elements from Raava, but no matter,” he spoke. He raised his hands. “I can still remake this world in my era.”

A ball of swirling air surrounded him. He laughed as he rose, shooting his arms outward, collecting rubble and wreckage. He spit it out everywhere he could.

Toph and Katara tried to defend them while Zuko shot out flames to disintegrate what he could. Suki held Sokka up, cutting her fan out to slash the air that ravaged them.

“What do we do now?!” screamed Sokka, blocking dirt from his eyes with his arm. “We can’t even attack him!”

It was impossible to find an opening. Katara tried everything she could from icicles to water whips, but there was nothing that could distract or deter the spirit.

All she could see was the form of the person she loved, so far out of reach.

She saw Aang as he was, vengeful and shuddering and different. Katara reached out to him, arm stretching across the expanse. “Please, Aang,” she shouted to him with conviction, “This isn’t you!”

The Avatar turned his attention toward her with a knowing, menacing voice, and said, “But it is.”

His hand cut across the space and a gust came rushing toward them. Toph broke it with another boulder.

Katara trembled, lost in herself, not knowing what to do. The others were whispering plans behind her, plans that she knew would go nowhere. She could not stop looking at what used to be Aang, how he was drifting further and further away from her, tearing up the palace and going toward the city.

She had to stop him.

She had to get him back.

Without thinking, she dashed out into the open. She heard Sokka call for her, but she ignored him and the call of her friends. She halted just under the swirling ball of air, just as it was about to escape into the rest of the world.

She knocked her head back until she was looking at soles of Aang’s shoes. “I’ll make you a trade,” she belted, "My soul for Aang's!"

Aang’s possessed body jolted, lowering just in front of her. His feet still hovered a meter above the ground. He looked down at her. His eyes were bright and frightening, and he grinned.

It looked wrong.

“All you need is a body, right?” she asked. She did not stop quivering. “Take mine. Give Aang back. I’ll take his place.”

“Katara, no!” she heard her friends protest, but she would not dare answer them.

“And what do I get out of this, little girl?” asked the spirit, unfazed.

“Your freedom, my bending, and the chaos you want,” she said. She spoke in half-truths, in promising lies. “If you live as me, no one will suspect you. You can hide in plain sight. If you’re Aang, there’ll be too much attention on you. It’s better to cause destruction when no one suspects anything.”

The spirit laughed the same guttural, horrible laugh as before. He did not hesitate when he floated closer to her. The air around him dispelled, and he alighted on the ground.

He grasped her forearm, and she grasped his. His nails dug into her skin, biting into the scratches already there, and blood beaded along the surface. She tried not to show how scared she was. She knew, above all else, who she was doing this for and why.

She would not lose him. Never again.

“We have a deal,” said the spirit. “I can assure you that I need no assistance nor strategies from you, but I have never seen such naïve foolishness at the cost of someone else in all the eons of my life.” His glowing eyes lowered to meet hers. “If there is something chaos does love, it is a good tragedy,” he finished.

When he let go, it was as if all her energy left her at once. Her vision blurred, and she was taken over by colors and night beating in tandem with each other. She gasped as she rushed through them.

Abruptly, she appeared in a field of tall, emerald grass. She was wearing an indigo dress that reached her ankles, just above a pair of soft boots.

There were white cumulous clouds that covered the sky in mountains and eddies. She stood at the crest of a hill of some sort, looking out over a piece of land with a forest of trees and the shore of the sea.

“Want to go inside?” someone asked her. It was a pleasant tenor.

She looked up to see an eclipsed figure of a tall man that strolled toward her, the sun a large disc at his back. A ray of sunlight obscured his features. He held out a pale hand to her, palm open and inviting, waiting for her.

“It’s been a long day,” he said.

Katara’s fingers curved around his, and she let herself be led away.

#kataang week 2021 #kataang week #itsmoonpeaches fanfic #kataang #kataangtag #katara #aang #atla #atla fanfic #avatar the last airbender

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