#I do like big squares now 😂

[raplinenthusiasts]

in bloom 🌸 {old version}

[steeleyespan]

im never on here atm because am addicted to knitting and ye canny knit and scroll or post. Really amazing cos now i just get stuck knitting for hours at a time instead of getting stuck my phone (massive improvement btw). Am on those damn needles too much

[helloalycia]

𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐀𝐃𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐑 [𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄] // 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐘 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐘 𝐁𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐃

summary: with everything left in limbo between you and Lucy Gray, there's no chance to talk about it because reaping day is finally upon you.

warning/s: usual warnings that come with the Hunger Games, such as death and violence and all that jazz. Also cheating, again.

author's note: and this is the final part! it was a fun one to write so i hope you all enjoyed it! kinda have an idea for another lucy gray one but whether it’s fully thought out is another thing, so stay tuned! 😂

one / two / masterlist / wattpad

As if things weren't bad enough lately, the Hunger Games reaping day was finally upon us. Every year I tried so hard to forget it existed, knowing the results would be inevitable and I should just make the most of my life without worrying about it, and every year I found myself growing scared the few days leading up to it, mainly because it meant it was one year closer to Y/S/N being old enough to have her name in the mix.

My parents, Y/S/N and I were approaching the square where the reaping took place, neither of us saying a word, but I could see their fear in their eyes. Y/S/N was holding my hand, trembling slightly, and I hated that there was nothing I could do to put her at ease.

My eyes raked over the residents of District 12, all getting in line as the peacekeepers kept guard, and then Y/S/N tugged at my hand, making me look down at her with concern. She nodded to the left of me, where the Covey were getting ready to line up. Barb Azure was the eldest at nineteen, so gave them all a big squeeze with Maude Ivory before leaving them to go. I caught her gaze and she gave me a sad smile, nodding reassuringly, and I did the same. Maude Ivory seemed to spot Y/S/N and lifted her hand in a slow wave. I noticed the only person who was missing from their group was Lucy Gray. Where was she?

"Why don't you go stand with Maude Ivory?" I encouraged Y/S/N with my best attempt at a smile. "Her and Barb Azure are probably lonely."

Y/S/N glanced at our parents, who seemed to understand what I was doing and nodded with approval.

"Good luck, Y/N," Y/S/N mumbled as she hugged me tightly once more, and I almost didn't let go.

After she ran to join the others, I gave both my parents a final hug, pretending I couldn't notice the tears in their eyes, and watched as they joined the rest of the crowd at the back, made up of those either too young or too old to take part.

As I turned to find my place in line, Lucy Gray suddenly appeared, startling me. I hadn't seen her since a few days ago when she kissed me, and it had ended so awkwardly that I still wasn't sure what to think. But right now, it was the last thing on my mind.

"Just wanted to see you before it starts," she said kindly, and my heart warmed at her words.

"How are you feeling?" I asked her, noticing the frown on her lips, and it looked like something more than just everyone's usual fear of the Games.

She sighed, looking down at her fumbling hands, before avoiding the question and instead saying, "I'm sorry about the other day, Y/N. I really am."

I lifted my brows slightly, not expecting her to bring it up, especially not now.

"Thanks for everything," she continued, a tight smile on her lips. "For being there for me."

"What?" I asked, because she wasn't making any sense. "Lucy Gray, I–"

She hugged me suddenly, arms wrapping around my shoulders briefly, but long enough for me to smell the spritz of an old floral perfume on her neck and make my head go cloudy. Leaning back, she kissed my cheek before I could react, and gave me a knowing look as my skin warmed where her lips just were.

"Remember to stay away from Billy Taupe and Mayfair," she reminded me sternly. "You promised, remember?"

I furrowed my brows, searching her eyes for some sort of explanation to why she was acting so strangely. "Lucy Gray–"

"In line, both of you, now," a peacekeeper interrupted, pushing between us and shoving me slightly to the others.

I tried to look at Lucy Gray once more, but she offered me a slight smile before joining her line. I told myself I'd have to talk to her afterwards, but then as the reaping took place, I realised why she'd been so confusing.

She was to represent District Twelve in the Hunger Games.

I could hardly believe it, not when the mayor called her name out on the stage, not when she threw a snake down Mayfair's dress, not when she sang her song of defiance, and not when they whisked her away, never to be seen again.

She knew she was going to be chosen. I wasn't sure how, but she'd figured it out, already prepared to go out with a bang, in typical Lucy Gray fashion.

It wasn't fair. All because Mayfair held a pathetic grudge, she'd made sure Lucy Gray paid the price – it had to be that, otherwise what was the need for the snake? And now I was never going to see her again. After everything, I couldn't talk to her, hear her voice, see her pretty little smile, ever again.

Why?

I was hurting, still in disbelief but knowing the Covey were even worse for wear, definitely unable to accept that their sister was truly gone. Unfortunately, I had to work that evening, but the Covey weren't performing tonight. There was nothing to celebrate, and even the Hob itself was emptier than usual, nobody quite in the mood to remember the stolen life of another.

Instead, the Covey were sat at a table in the corner, saying nothing and looking distraught. I wasn't sure what to do to make them feel better because how could they? All I knew how to do was be a waitress, so Miles let me bring them some fruity, non-alcoholic drinks on the house, a rarity and a treat, but one they definitely needed right now.

"Hey, guys," I said, tray in hand as I approached their table. Setting it down, I began to share out the drinks one by one.

"We can't afford that," Barb Azure mumbled, and neither of them touched it.

"It's my treat," I said sympathetically. "Thought it might make you feel a bit better."

"How are we supposed to feel better when she's gone?!" Maude Ivory snapped in a broken voice, before jumping off her seat and walking away.

I swallowed hard, suddenly feeling stupid as I looked to the others. "Sorry, I– she's right. I didn't mean it like–"

"Don't, it's okay," Tam Amber cut me off with an apologetic glance. "We're just missin' her. It's hit Maude Ivory hard."

I pressed my lips together, nodding sadly.

"Thanks, Y/N, we appreciate it," Barb Azure added, offering a small smile, before taking a sip.

"If you need anything, just let me know," I told them earnestly. "I'll be here for you."

They nodded, and I reluctantly left them to it, knowing they probably wanted some space.

There had never been a winner from District 12, and I hated that that's all I kept thinking as I thought about Lucy Gray in the Games. She could still win, there was a chance she could, but she was a performer, not a fighter. Her chances were slim. There, but slim.

We couldn't watch the Games, the Covey and I – nobody in District 12 could. The reception was simply terrible, no matter how hard we tried to tune in. There was one evening however, when Y/S/N and I were at the Covey's home. We'd been visiting them often the past few days, both to cheer Y/S/N up and to simply be there for them, but this night was different. Tam Amber had been able to get some signal on their small TV, using a lot of tinfoil and taking advantage of the clear night.

"It's on! It's on!" Maude Ivory shouted, pointing at the screen. "Don't move!"

Tam Amber held his position on the antenna, tilting his head to get a good look at the screen. Clerk Carmine turned up the volume and I wasn't sure what we were watching at first, unfamiliar with the Hunger Games as we rarely had access to it. And then I noticed the expensive clothing, the bright lights, the witty presenter – it was in the Capitol. Some sort of interviews were taking place between the tributes. A girl from District 11 was finishing up her interview and we all watched with slight amazement, rarely seeing anything like it.

A spotlight shone onstage and the audience fell quiet. It was quiet, before the familiar sound of a guitar strumming sounded, and to everyone's disbelief, Lucy Gray walked out into the centre of the stage.

"Lucy Gray!" everyone said with realisation.

It was her! It was really her! Only a few days had passed since she'd been stolen away, but it felt like forever without her energetic presence alongside us. My heart was beating exceptionally fast as I studied her. She was wearing the same dress she wore on reaping day, but it looked as if it had been cleaned, ironed and made brighter – a white dress with vibrant rainbow ruffles at the bottom, only the brightest for someone who loved colour. Her lips were painted red, eyes dusted blue, and she looked as well as could be, though a little slimmer. I wondered if they were feeding her, concerned it could hinder her in the Games.

Her voice started soft, gradually growing strong as she sung about herself and a mystery lover, whom everyone soon realised was Billy Taupe. And as she finished her hauntingly beautiful song – "Too bad I'm the bet that you lost in the reaping. Now what will you do when I go to my grave?" – we realised she'd only confirmed our suspicions of it being because of him and Mayfair that Lucy Gray was chosen as a tribute.

"It's their fault," Clerk Carmine said what everyone was thinking, upset as it dawned on him what kind of brother he had. "He let this happen."

Y/S/N wrapped an arm around his shoulder comfortingly as we all watched the screen, the cutaways to the audience cheering after her performance. And then as we were all savouring the sight of Lucy Gray for a little longer, the signal cut out.

"Sorry," Tam Amber said with a sigh, stopping his stretching and sighing. "It's not gonna work."

"It's fine, thank you," Barb Azure told him.

Nobody spoke for a moment, the sound of the static the only thing to fill the room. If it was interviews today, then the Hunger Games would officially begin tomorrow.

She'd be fighting for her life tomorrow, and there was nothing we could do about it.

The Games ended yesterday, that's what rumours around town were saying, but nobody knew for sure since nobody could watch them, and so nobody knew who'd won either. I was trying not to think about it, unsure whether to believe it they'd truly ended or not. For all I knew, they could have still been going on, or they could have ended days ago. Either way, the last thing I wanted to imagine was Lucy Gray battered or bloodied or bruised.

Instead, I tried to distract myself with the job at hand – working. In particular, throwing some old beer crates out back in the bins as Miles had asked me to. I was on the third one, carrying it from the backdoor of the Hob and to the bins next to it when I felt someone's presence behind me. Curious, I turned around and my jaw dropped, the crate almost slipping from my grasp.

It was Lucy Gray.

"Hey, darlin', what's with the long face?" she asked, tilting her head and smiling playfully.

I blinked, certain I was imagining this – it wouldn't have been the first time she'd infiltrated my dreams. But when she didn't disappear, I found my voice.

"You're back," I said hesitantly, afraid I'd be mistaken. "You're here. You're– how? How are you here?"

"Why, I won the Hunger Games, of course," she said like it was nothing, an easy accomplishment, which we both knew it wasn't. "Turns out I wasn't finished here after all."

Her statement was so insane that I couldn't help but let out a quiet snicker, tears filling my eyes when I accepted that she was finally home. She'd done the impossible – she'd won.

Setting down the crate, I swallowed the lump in my throat before approaching her suddenly, pulling her in for a hug. She was here, she was real, she was home.

Her arms wrapped around me, squeezing me tightly, head tucking into my shoulder and curly brown hair blinding me. Every part of me was ignited by her touch, unable to believe she was actually here.

I wanted to say so much to her, and yet nothing came to mind because I was too overwhelmed with her presence, my senses invaded by her scent, her warmth, her touch. Just when I tried to pull back to truly look at her, she pulled me closer, tighter, and I couldn't do anything other than let her embrace me a little longer.

After a moment, I pulled back, eyes scanning her worriedly. She looked a little tired, circles under her eyes covered by makeup, and her hands were tougher than usual – I felt them through my shirt – no doubt a result of what she'd endured in the arena. But she was alive, and that was all I could have asked for.

"When?" I asked, voice embarrassingly thick with emotion. "When did you get back?"

"Midday," she answered, brown eyes bright as they flickered between mine with focus. "I went straight home after they sent me here on a train. Reunited with the family. Counted my lucky stars."

I smiled a little, still in disbelief, and hung onto her every word.

"Then I wanted to come 'n' see you," she continued lightheartedly, though there was some truth to it. "See if you'd forgotten about me."

I began to laugh, wiping away my stray tears. "I could never, Lucy Gray. Nobody could."

She smiled appreciatively, before looking down at her hands, long eyelashes casting a shadow across her face as she blinked. I could have watched her for a while, merely existing, glad that she was back, but she needed more than just another admirer right now.

"I won't ask you what it was like over there," I said gently, making her look up again. "I can imagine you don't wanna talk about it. But if you do, well... I'm here."

She exhaled through her nose, smile widening. "You haven't changed a bit, have you?"

I didn't know what to say, suddenly embarassed under her stare, and she chuckled at my reaction.

Clearing my throat, I changed the subject and pointed over my shoulder to the Hob. "Are you staying tonight?"

Her eyes flickered over to it, lighting up excitedly. "I might perform a few songs, why not?"

At this, I suppressed the urge to smile and admitted, "That would be nice. I missed hearing your voice. I– I missed you."

Her eyes fell back to mine, smile faltering a moment. "Even after how we left things?"

Our last encounter before the reaping came to mind, and I nodded honestly. "Especially after that."

She hummed, smile fading completely, and I wondered if she was thinking about it too.

"I've been so worried," I admitted, my heart beating a little quicker in my chest with each word I spoke. "We all have. But the TVs didn't work and the peacekeepers wouldn't tell us anything."

"I didn't mean to worry you," she said sweetly, taking my hand and squeezing it. "The Covey said you and Y/S/N checked in with them whilst I was gone. You didn't have to do that."

"Of course I did," I said, placing my other hand on hers and taking it between mine.

She glanced at her hand, making me realise I was still holding it, and I let go gently.

"I should go home and get ready," she said with a nod. "But I'll see you in a few hours, Y/N."

"Can't wait." 

Her smile widened and she turned to leave, my eyes unable to look away from her retreating figure for fear she'd only be a dream.

As promised though, she returned to the Hob a few hours later, and by then, word had spread fast about her victory and return. The Hob was bustling with people, all unable to believe Lucy Gray was finally back. Even Mayfair and Billy Taupe were there, mainly in disbelief that she'd survived, but I tried not to focus on them since they didn't matter anymore. They couldn't do a thing anymore.

The Covey hadn't performed since Lucy Gray left, so everyone was in for a real treat when they kicked off with her introduction. Spirits were high, drinks were flowing and I couldn't have been happier than when I saw Lucy Gray back onstage, where she belonged.

We'd left things in a strange place, but it all seemed so futile now. My heart was full of adoration for the Covey girl, and maybe it was time I just started listening to it instead of overcomplicating everything. 

It was a long evening, and by the time I'd finally finished cleaning up with Miles, we both left and waved goodbye to one another, my feet hurting from standing on them for so long. Only, as I was about to start my walk back to the Seam, I spotted Lucy Gray waiting outside, startling me.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she said between a laugh. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Hand to my chest as I regained composure, I said, "No, it's fine. It's... what are you still doing here? It's been half an hour."

When her and the Covey had finished performing for the evening, it had been too busy for me to spare a moment to say goodbye to them, so I'd just assumed Lucy Gray had gone home with them.

"I was waiting for you," she said simply, and I instantly felt bad.

"If I'd known, I would have hurried," I said, stepping towards her.

"It's okay, I didn't want you to rush," she assured me, before shrugging. "I missed you. It's been too long and I just wanted to walk you home."

My expression softened at her words, a warmth spreading in my chest. "You don't need to," I told her.

"I want to."

I pressed my lips together, exhaling quietly, before nodding and readjusting the strap of my bag on my shoulder. She flashed me a stunning smile before joining my side and leading the way.

"You did great tonight," I said to her, glancing over and trying to ignore the flutter in my chest at her profile. "Your songs, your spirit – everything."

Her smile grew. "Thank you, that means a lot. I guess I just really missed performin'. It's not the same as singin' for the Capitol."

"Tam Amber managed to get signal one night," I said without thinking. "The night of the interviews. We just about caught yours. Your song."

She sighed, her smile fading into more of a grimace as she remembered, and I felt bad for bringing it up.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you," I quickly said, frowning. "I– never mind that."

"It's not so easy bein' back after everything," she admitted, looking to me, before stopping walking all of a sudden, I stopped too, and then she continued, "but I've realised a lot of things."

I furrowed my brows slightly. "Like what?"

She clenched her jaw, before her dark eyes met mine with conviction. "I didn't kiss you because you were Billy Taupe's replacement."

Surprised she'd bought it up, I asked, "What?"

She didn't dare look away as she answered, "Back before the reaping. When I kissed you at the bonfire. It– it wasn't me confusin' my feelings or usin' you, and I'm sorry if I made you feel that way."

I wasn't sure what to say at first, unable to make sense of what she was admitting. Because if that was the case, then that meant she liked me, and how could that be?

"It's okay," I said slowly, heart rate beginning to speed up as she held my gaze. "It's history now."

"I don't want it to be," she said desperately. "I missed you so much, Y/S/N. I was there and– and all I was thinkin' about was the Covey, your sister and you. All of you, and how I had to get back to you all." She swallowed hard, stepping closer. "With you, I need to clear the air. Because after everything, I've learnt that life is too short and too tender to let things slip by. And I've fallen for you, Y/N. Deeply. And you just– you need to know that that's why I kissed you. Nothin' more, nothin' less."

Frozen in place, I hoped she couldn't hear my heart hammering in my chest, or feel the shivers on my skin from the warmth emanating from hers. She was stood so close, enough for me to make out the tears pooling in her eyes, and I didn't know what to do. This whole time, she liked me. I wasn't a fool for thinking so – Billy Taupe had been wrong. All this time, I'd had a chance and it was almost ruined because of my own stupidity and insecurities.

"What are you thinkin'?" she asked between a halfhearted chuckle, a tear slipping from her eyes. "You're stuck in your head again, darlin'."

"I'm sorry, I–"

"Don't be sorry," she said, taking a step back, and she'd misinterpreted where I was going with this.

"No, I mean, I–" I began, but the words were lost on my tongue, and the more she looked disappointed, the stupider I felt. "I didn't know, Lucy Gray. I didn't expect it. Billy Taupe, he–"

Another of her tears fell, and I groaned quietly to myself, shaking my head. Why would I have ever listened to him in the first place?

"I'm sorry," I repeated, meeting her gaze with the utmost sincerity and guilt. "I should have never listened to the likes of him."

It was her turn to be confused. "What do you mean?"

"I let him get in my head," I admitted, cheeks heating with embarrassment. "He convinced me that you were using me as a replacement for him. That you only liked me because–" I stopped myself, it sounding stupid when I said it aloud, especially to the girl in question. "It was stupid. You would never do such a thing, I should've never listened to him."

She frowned, trying to find my eyes, but I was too embarrassed to look at her. "That sounds like him. I'm sorry he did that."

"No, I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head and getting stuck in my own head again. "I ruined this, and then you left, and all I kept thinking about was how I let you go, and if you didn't come back then–" I paused, frowning to myself, before finally lifting my eyes to meet hers. "I've always liked you, Lucy Gray, but so does everyone else. And I didn't wanna be just another Lucy Gray admirer. But you saying this– meaning this– it's just– you're just– it– you can't–"

She began to smile, nodding. "I get it."

I stopped talking, flustered and embarrassed and unsure what else to say or do, because after so long, the girl I liked actually liked me back.

She stepped toward, hand lifting to my cheek and cupping it gently, and I practically held my breath as her glassy eyes met mine. Then, she looked down to my lips and leaned in, kissing me.

Unlike last time, I let myself enjoy it, closing my eyes and kissing her back. Her lips were soft, sweet like her lip balm, and fit perfectly against mine. This couldn't be real, she couldn't be real. After everything that happened, she was here and I was getting a second chance. How?

After a moment, we both pulled away for air, though she didn't let go of my face just yet, nor I with my hands on her waist. I opened my eyes, submerged in pools of brown, and forgot how to speak, lips tingling where hers just were.

"I've wanted to do that for so long," she said quietly, thumb tracing my lips gently, and sending shivers all over my body. "I thought I ruined it, the last time. Lost you for good."

I shook my head. "I don't think you ever could, Lucy Gray."

A smile formed on her face, and then a laugh escaped her lips, and she looked at me once more, making me feel like the most important person in the world.

She kissed me again, and I wondered what I'd done to be so lucky.

[venuscnjunctpluto]

Astrology Observation pt. 2

(Thank y’all for all the support on my first one❤️🙌🏾)

*as a sag Venus sag mars pls stop asking me why I’m laughing…I’m not laughing at YOU I’m just insane😝

*moon in the 1st synastry is so therapeutic you just feel really comfortable opening up to the 1st house person and as the 1st house person I feel honored someone trusts me enough to share their feelings🫶🏾

*people w aqua and libra in their big three are the chillest mfs you’ll ever meet. Even though I’m very chaotic anytime someone describes me “chill” just seems to be thrown in there. We space out ALOT and it’s honestly embarrassing😭 Ex: Alicia keys, lil Wayne, Harry styles, Rosalia. Harry gives such himbo energy in interviews and they drag him for it in the comments but he’s probably just thinking about multiple things at once. Alicia keys didn’t even realize lil mama was on that stage and went on performing lol. Obviously lil Wayne smokes but something about his energy…he’s on cloud 9. And just go watch Rosalia’s chicken shop episode💕😂.

*honestly Aries mars aren’t that bad when it comes to temper because usually they find ways to manage it. Now mars-Uranus aspects is a completely different story. I have late mars-Uranus and it takes me a while to get mad but when I do I can’t even think anymore. My old roomie had a tight square and she would blow up on people for no actual reason like girl sit down😭

*something about Scorpio mars men is just😮‍💨 they have such a sneaky energy to them that makes them stand out. Virgo mars are fine too they’re just so skinny and no matter wtf they do they’re always nerdy ugh (ex: Matthew gray gubler, Lucky daye, Dylan O’Brien, Jeff Buckley)

*i noticed Aries moon don’t really get along w each other. They find their own energy to be too mf much (which it can be) so they prefer being around more calmer people *coughs* libra moons like me. They wanna be bouncing off the walls 🤪 while their friend is just like 🙂.

* fire risings do a lot of things fast. As an Aries rising, I walk fast, get happy fast, eat fast, workout fast. My cousin is complaining her sag rising toddler eats and drinks way too fast.

*venus in 11th…how many tiktok drafts do y’all got😭

*i talked to this guy who had similar placements as me (Venus in 8th and moon in 6th plus Aquarius and Aries placements) It was so chaotic it was literally us going back and forth obsessing over eachother while trying to keep it lowkey. But also the amount of anxiety we are naturally incline to have made the whole situation too mf much.

*i have mercury conjunct my friends mars and for years she tells me the things I say can take people there and make them wanna fight me. It’s in Capricorn and so I was confused before I knew we had that aspect

* i noticed rappers whose lines always stick out to me have Gemini mars or mercury- mars (central cee, king von, tupac, kendrick , j. cole)

*i was talking to this guy and I had Venus and mars plus pluto in his 4th house. Months after we stopped talking our friend groups meshed and he would tell me non-stop I reminded him of his mother. He said she was the same height as me and y’all I was scared to ask what she looked like cause 😫 y’all remember that episode of family guy when Chris dated that girl that looked like Lois yep 4th house synastry.

*im a true crime whore and two women who killed their bfs had sun-Uranus aspects. Their energy was erratic and very off putting in videos. I can’t remember the other one but Courtney tailor/clenney was one.

* More spilling my business on the Internet😍 i think I’m done entertaining people my age. Pluto in the 8th, Lilith in 1st, and Venus conjunct Pluto synastry has been hell. Where’s my sugar daddy/mama?? It’s ghetto out here

*gemini Lilith generation whose a year younger than me is nasty asf😭 esp the tauruses they have their Lilith conjunct their Gemini Venus and opposite their Pluto. One said he had a slept w two girls at separate times. He didn’t know they met until the girls posted a selfie together and tagged him. They later told him they wanted a threesome and he did it😭 knowing astrology I believed every word

* sidebar Neptune-asc people and trying to give off innocent vibes ugh annoying asf to me. I can see right through their bs but they’re able to fool most people.

* mercury-Pluto aspects are in fact LIARS and throw a Scorpio placement in there😮‍💨

[mirrorthoughts]

Found

Sooo, @flashfictionfridayofficial has currently a roll to provide me with prompts that fit to what I want to write for the Teen Wolf Bingo 😂 This time it's "#FFF277 Silver Sparks" that fit beautifully to my idea of @twbingo's prompt "Lost". So just like last week, this fic's got exactly 1k words to fit into both minimum/maximum word requirements 😂 So, have fun with the story! (also readable here on AO3!) And be kind 💕

(Teen Wolf, Pre-Peter Hale/Stiles Stilinski)

Branches broke below his feet as he ran through the darkness of the woods. The air was burning in his lungs, his cheeks and hands were hurting from twigs scraping over his skin and clinging to him as he broke through the undergrowth, stumbling, trying his best to keep on his feet, to not get caught in the brushes, to not fall and hurt himself even more.

There had been a monster. Something monstrous. Large like a horse, bulky like an ox, covered in fur, and staring at him with glowing red eyes. It had to be something monstrous, something no one could escape from, something that would hunt, hunt, hunt him down and rip him to pieces if he didn't get out of the woods. The only reason he hadn't yet fallen prey to it was luck, the full moon in the sky and, as scary as the thought might be, that the monster was probably toying with him.

It probably was herding him deeper into the woods, too.

He'd lost orientation a while ago, hadn't recognized any of the animal paths he had crossed in his escape, if he'd seen them at all. He'd never been this deep into the woods even with his ever expanding curiosity. Wherever the monster was herding him, he didn't have much chance to survive. Not if he didn't find a place to hide and keep safe. A burrow big enough for a teenager like him to hide in, maybe. Or a cave small enough the monster couldn't follow. As of yet he hadn't been lucky enough to see either, nor a tree he could climb up without the beast following.

He tripped and jumped into a bush to keep his balance, breaking through it's twigs and ignoring the continuing burn and ripping of fabric and skin as he stumbled onto a large clearing with an even larger oak tree in its midst.

Suddenly everything was silent. The buzzing in his ears was gone, his breath came still in hard and short breaths but he couldn't hear it any longer. There was no rustling of night time creatures, no owls calling each other. He stepped forward, listening intensely for the sound of his steps, but there was still nothing. Not in front of him, not behind-

Stiles swallowed and turned around. A pair of glowing eyes met his. Fuck. Stiles froze and the creature huffed soundlessly.

In the light of the moon, no longer hidden from the shadows of the trees, the wolf was even larger. Or maybe not, Stiles realized as he stumbled back. The creature was standing on two legs now, towering over him as he made his way back until he was stopped by bark. A glance over his shoulder told him it was the huge tree he'd seen before, not that it mattered much right now. It was too large to get around before the wolf would be on him.

There was no way out anymore.

Stiles took a deep, shaky breath and looked back to the wolf who was watching him in return. He pressed himself closer to the tree, slightly confused when he could feel the bark crackling below his fingers, but he wasn't able - or willing - to take his eyes off the creature again. There was still absolute silence around them, no other way to track the wolf that had started stalking towards him, coming closer and closer and closer. He threw his hands forward, fully aware that it wouldn't help against the beast, but not knowing what else he was supposed to do to keep the beast away from his tender bits, to keep himself safe, and suddenly, silver sparks were flying - sizzling, hissing - through the air, their sound loud in the deathlike stillness as they jumped from his own hands towards the wolf.

The beast howled deafeningly when the sparks hit it square in the chest and Stiles flinched back at the intensity, pressing his hands over his ears a moment later to save his ear drums. He almost missed when everything around them cracked and shattered like glass, sound and something else biting sharp into Stiles body and brain. And Stiles screamed through the pain, screamed until his throat was hoarse and everything went dark.

When Stiles slowly regained consciousness, he felt warm and safe. There was light movement like the sway of a very firm and warm hammock. He could hear the rustling of leaves and small animals around him and the almost inaudible steps of a person. Probably the same person that was carrying around the woods right now. Not someone he knew, though. No one he knew was this strong and smelled like this. And no one he knew would walk topless through the trees.

Slowly he cracked one eye open, vaguely sure that he had been alone in the middle of the woods with a rather hairy wolf monster, though whoever was carrying him was decidedly fur-less as far as he could feel where his hand was laying against the chest of his savior. The face of the man carrying him wasn't wolfish or monstrous either - rather the opposite. Neck and cheekbones to die for, slight stubble in all the right places, and the bluest eyes Stiles had ever seen in his life. Stiles had no idea where the man had come from - and was still decidedly too exhausted to think about it - but he trusted his gut to tell him if he was in danger. His gut told him this good looking guy was the best thing to happen to him since curly fries, so he would probably be alright.

The stranger looked down at him, a smile verging on a smirk on his lips as he hugged Stiles closer. "Sleep," he hummed in a velvety voice. "I'll make sure to get you home safe."

Stiles couldn't help but believe him and closed his eyes again. Whatever would happen, he was sure this stranger would keep him safe.

[slafkovskys]

we need a full fic of Jamie and Y/N “adopting leo”.

also i feel like if someone was picking on leo Y/N would definitely throw some hands 😂💀

“you didn’t think this was something that you needed to discuss with me first?” you question your boyfriend, crossing your arms over your chest. you cast a glance towards your living room where the boy was now typing away on his phone, unaware of whisper-shouting match taking place in the kitchen.

“he was in a hotel, y/n. when they told me to look for somewhere permanent to stay my rookie year, i didn’t know what the hell i was doing,” jamie sighs, “he’s a nice kid. quiet. i just want to help him out a little bit, make his year a little easier.”

“where’s he gonna sleep?” you raise an eyebrow. with the signing of his new contract, you and jamie had made an agreement to move out of the apartment you’d been staying in for the past two years. a house with a backyard away from the hustle and bustle was calling your name and thankfully, you were able to get papers signed relatively quickly while jamie got reacclimatized with the team. honestly, the house was barely furnished because the four bedroom, three bath two story was a big upgrade from the 1200 square foot situation you had been living in.

“he can pick out his room and we’ll go get him a bed. c’mon babe,” he moves towards you, placing his hands on your hips, “he’s not as annoying as trevor.”

you sigh glancing into the livingroom again to find leo staring at the tv screen. you call out, “have you ever watched gilmore girls, leo?”

“never,” he says and you hum.

“well, if this is going to work out, i guess we’re going to have start from the beginning. it gets played a lot in this house,” at your statement, jamie cheers and a grin breaks out across leo’s face. you roll your eyes as jamie presses a wet kiss to your cheek, “but first we need to go furniture shopping because you are going to need a bed.”

“again?” jamie whines and you cut your eyes to the man. he clears his throat, “i’ll go get my shoes.”

“c’mon, leo. we’re going on our first adventure.”

[aclowntiny]

Unstoppable Forces and Immovable Objects- Mingi x Female!Reader

Song Mingi is an incredibly special man & I hope he never forgets it 😤 I love he immensely. Pink Mingi is, frankly, a cornerstone of this year. An icon. A legend. The moment. Also shhhh I took some dorm layout liberties for this 🤫😂

Word Count: 2620 | Idiots to Lovers, Humor | Warnings: only if you're bothered by smooch talk hehe, but one note: 노래방 = noraebang aka what most of us English speakers think of as karaoke 😄

"(y/n)! (y/n)! Watch this!"

"What now?"

Completely ignoring Yeosang's interjection, Mingi continued to call for you, grin of whimsy widening when you made your way over as if he wasn't sure he'd actually see you.

Which he totally would, always, because you had the biggest, fattest crush on him, heart leaping up and hitting a big carnival bell every time Mingi sought your attention. He was the biggest ray of sunshine smiling through just about any cloud in your life.

Shuffling past Hongjoong and Seonghwa's conversation at the sidelines, you made your way back to the bouncy center of the trampoline park you'd gone with the boys to. There stood Mingi with a hand raised, waving as he bounced ever-so-slightly on his heels, the dark netting rippling beneath him.

"Let's see," you tell him with a smile, heart fluttering at his waves and jumps.

"Ok! Get ready!" Steadying himself, Mingi hunkered a bit from his upright stance, run-jumping across three squares of trampoline, hurtling himself up into the air on the fourth toward the giant obstacle pad set a little bit left of center. He did not clear it, sailing right into the side of the firm structure with a small oof.

Smacking his forehead, Yeosang took a few steps away. Yunho joined you in running toward the tall man and his unfortunate collision, asking his friend if he was ok. It looked like he almost nodded, but you met his eyes as he ended up shaking it no instead. Your eyes widened. Had it started hurting?

"Where does it hurt? Do you think you bruised something?"

"Just his ego," Yeosang muttered.

You, of course, did not want to make Mingi feel any worse, choosing not to respond to that. "Do you need help up?"

Mingi nodded, eyes still looking into yours as he held out his hand to you. Face warming, you grabbed it, unable to suppress a smile even as you pulled the big man to his feet again.

"That was really cool, though," you told him, just to see the smile return to his face, "you went really far. I bet the others couldn't get that far."

"No, they couldn't, could they?" Contagious joy indeed came back to Mingi's face. "I'm going to jump so high I finally hit the punching bag they hung! Watch me, (y/n)!"

"I will," you giggle, stepping back and bouncing in place as he goes long for a running start.

~

(POV: Mingi)

"This has to stop before you break anything. Don't you think there's any other way?" Yeosang cajoled, sitting down next to Mingi and handing him a freshly chilled water bottle.

Mingi, for his part, took some of the cool condensation on his hand, running it through his short pink hair to combat the sweat of exertion before frowning in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"These insane attempts to get (y/n)'s attention!"

"Insane attempts?"

"Last week, Mingi, you borrowed my skateboard and proceeded to skin your arm when you fell off the grind rail. You have never skateboarded in your life."

"I wanted her to think I'm cool," the pink-haired man responded with a pout, "she's so beautiful and awesome."

"And notice," Yeosang commented, shaking his head as black hair fell all over, "she has never fallen off a skateboard."

"Well, what do you think I should do?"

"Um, maybe consider confessing to her? Seeing if she likes you too?"

"No way! What if she doesn't even want to be friends anymore?"

"Well, I suppose that's a risk we all take," Yeosang responded, tone softening, "but if you're respectful about it, I'm sure you won't lose her completely."

"That's the last thing I want," Mingi said intensely.

"Yes, of course not, so why don't you just-"

Right then, you happened to saunter by, crossing the sidelines near the center to head to the foam pit, glancing over at the two of them with a faint smile. A gorgeous one. Mingi smiled back, tossing the water bottle his hyung gave him immediately aside and walking after you.

"Hey, (y/n), let's jump in at the same time and see who can climb back out faster!"

That's what you guys did, Mingi diving in facing the side so he could watch with a twinkle in his eye the way you flipped in. Amazing. He managed to get his footing on the way out, scrambling up not too clumsily for once, but when he turned around he saw your hands clutching at the side, floundering a bit.

His heart thudded. "Hey, you helped me earlier. Do you need me to return the favor?"

"Yes, please," you replied with a nod, loosening half your grip to take Mingi's proffered hand.

He yanked you free of the cubic foam menaces in no time, and soon you were standing right in front of him. "Guess you win," you remarked with an amused smirk.

"Yeah, I guess so, but your jump was way cooler."

"I can show you how to do it if you want, but only on one condition."

"What's that, (y/n)?"

"You keep helping me out when I get stuck."

"Of course."

~

(POV: You)

Jump time over, you made your way across the arena to the exit, taking the long way as you, San, and Jongho sprung across every single central trampoline. Giggling, you landed, shuffling over to the locker where the park had you lock up your shoes. When you got there, Yeosang had lowered himself onto the bench by your locker, so you dropped down next to him to lace yourself back up. Out of the peripheries of your vision, you saw him fixing you with a look.

"Really?"

You blinked. "What?"

"Fake falling into the foam pit?" He asked in response, one eyebrow raising.

"You mean the dive?" Pulling your right foot into your shoe, you fixed the dark-haired singer with a look of your own, this one conveying a lack of understanding.

Or so you thought. "No, I mean the way you obviously didn't even try to get out and the little drama performance as you feebly grabbed the sides."

"Hey, I'm not feeble!"

"No, you're just into Mingi, aren't you?"

"Because I had him help me out? In case you haven't noticed, he's pretty tall and strong, and he's so nice I really didn't think he would mind if I-"

"Yeah, you hear yourself, don't you?"

Busted. "Ok, please don't say anything, I mean there's no way he likes me back and I don't want to make things weird, so it's just something I get to live with as you guys' friend."

Yeosang just chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, man."

"What?"

"Nothing," he grabbed his bag, "just...look, I know Mingi very well, and let me just tell you he'd rather get hit by a bus than make the first move. If you're into him, the best thing you could do is tell him. Very, very directly."

Your mouth fell open. "What? Confess?" Heat bloomed across your face. "It's ok, I don't need to hear him reject me, I know we're just friends, it just...he's just...he's just so..." You trail off with a sigh.

Yeosang just elbows you, rolling his eyes lightly. "Handsome? Dreamy?"

"Shut up," you shoot back in a drawn-out giggle as you make your way to the rest of the group at the lobby, where you surreptitiously popped open the doors on one of the little ice cream coolers, sliding a bar out and taking it up to the desk to purchase. Giving people food, after all, was a flirtation method in your mind. Like hey, hello, please like me, I can feed you. You weren't sure if it worked on Mingi or not, but hey, worth a shot.

You strolled up to him, pulling the strawberry cream bar out from behind your back. "Look what I got you! It matches your hair!"

With that big, bright smile you loved, Mingi pulled an ice cream bar out from behind his back, too. "I got you an ice cream!" He exclaimed, though he trailed off as he glanced at his offering. "Though this one doesn't match your hair."

A smack sound at your back had Mingi starting and you turning around, only to see Yeosang with his face in his hand.

~

(POV: Yeosang)

"This is stupid."

"Oh, you think?" Yeosang, frankly, was over the moon to have someone who sympathized with him, that person being his longtime friend Wooyoung.

Wooyoung who stood at Yeosang's side taking in the very same scene that laid out before them: you and Mingi had jointly chosen a very particular 노래방 song, your favorite romantic movie duet to be exact. You two were gripping your microphones like lifelines, both absolutely belting the song at each other for the bit, key and perfect notes be darned. Your eyes never left each other's except to dart ever-so-slightly down every now and again as you grinningly deafened everyone else, whose rolling eyes you were blind to thanks to that focus on each other. Mingi let his jacket slide down his shoulders as he dropped down to really yell a note, revealing the tank top he was wearing underneath, and boy did your eye contact falter then.

"Uh, yeah," Wooyoung's eyes slid upward so hard they practically disappeared under their lids as he crossed his arms, "My God, I feel like a third wheel. Are they-"

"Deeply convinced they have torturous one-sided crushes? Yes, they are," Yeosang replied, mirroring his friend's posture.

The sputtering that followed was very satisfying to what little bit of Yeosang's sanity remained. "Wh- What? How? Can they not see themselves doing..." Wooyoung extended a black-sleeved arm, palm flat out and pointing incriminatingly at you two, who were now giggling over some dumb mic twirling contest. "That?"

"That's what friends do," Yeosang asked facetiously, falling back against the red plush bench the inactive singers sat on, "right?"

"I mean," Wooyoung commented, hands wringing, "I'd do that with you, but just with a drinking song or something, sheesh."

"And even then I'd contemplate slapping you."

"That's why I love you." Wooyoung slid a little closer to his friend with a teasing grin. "See? That's so easy, why don't Mingi and (y/n) do that?"

"Good luck, they're like an unstoppable force and an immovable object." Yeosang quickly motioned to the duo with a sweep of his open hand, directing Wooyoung's eyes off him and back to the antics, which this time consisted of Mingi trying to coolly toss his microphone and catch it, totally missing and sending it flying to the floor, making the two of you laugh.

"Is that why Mingi was practicing juggling in the dorms?"

"He what?"

"Yeah, one of Seonghwa's legos got knocked over...not a pretty afternoon."

Yeosang ran a hand through his hair with a sigh. "Yeah, we'd practically need to trick them into getting together to stop the carnage."

Suddenly he felt a slap to his shoulder. Starting, he swiveled his head from the Mingi-(y/n) train wreck to meet the devilish eyes of one Jung "Schemes" Wooyoung.

"Well, I think that can be arranged." Leaning in, he whispered a plan to Yeosang, who nodded and shook his hand in agreement. "Alright then! Celebratory song?"

"Sure, why not?" Yeosang replied, rising from the couch and coaxing the thrice-tossed microphones from (y/n) and Mingi. "Anything to stop the showtunes."

"Hey," you pouted, "that's a classic, you know!"

"Yeah!"

"Mingi, my friend, you've never even seen that movie," Wooyoung chuckled, wrapping an arm around his friend, who flushed.

"I can appreciate lyricism, you know."

~

(POV: You)

Yeosang was not letting you breathe. Ever since you admitted to liking his friend back in the trampoline park, he wouldn't stop wiggling his eyebrows at you after you brushed hands with Mingi, elbowing you and making jokes in the kitchen, and now just straight-up playing devil-on-your-shoulder telling you you needed to practice confessing.

"No, I don't," you griped back, "I've already ruined my life enough by even falling for a friend in the first place, I don't need to creep him out, too."

"Sheesh, what do you think you're going to say, that you've got names for all three of your kids or what?"

"Well for starters, how does Song Minseo sound to you?"

Yeosang looked like he was going to puke. "Oh, God."

"That was a joke!" You waved your hands back and forth wildly as if very inexperienced-ly directing a plan landing. "I was kidding!"

"You came up with that way too fast," he said, shaking his head, "but, see, it's hard to get the white picket fence if you never share how you see him, right?"

You crossed your arms. "I guess."

"You had no problem telling me how tall and strong and nice he was," Yeosang pointed out, leading you further down the dorm hall and shooting a brief look into Wooyoung's room before stopping you in his, "just say all that to him instead of me."

Your hands shot up to cover your reddening face. "That would be so embarrassing."

"I mean, he probably already knows he's tall, strong, and nice, so you should be pretty safe with that one."

"I'm not just going to say that, that's, like, basic stuff! I'd tell him how happy he makes me just by being happy himself, how he's pretty much a ray of pure sunshine and I love the way he calls my name and I can't imagine being half as comfortable with anyone else as I am with him. He has eyes, he can tell he's hot or whatever."

Yeosang got an absolutely catlike smile on his face. "And who are we talking about again?"

Glaring daggers into those pleased-looking eyes, you bit out "Mingi, you idiot! You were the one who made me admit I liked him in the first place, what do you mean who?"

Before your long-haired friend could answer, his silence starkened a not-so-subtle "Really?" from outside the door, through which Wooyoung and Mingi suddenly came barreling, the latter practically shoving the former aside to get next to you. Your eyes widened, heartbeat speeding up multiple times its normal pace.

"Yes!" Those dang sparkly eyes you wanted to stare into forever. That deep voice. Excitement in that deep voice. Mingi's gaze traveling all around your face as he reached clumsily for one of your hands, the other pumping like he'd just won a football game. "Yes!"

You couldn't take it; flushing and grinning a winning expression of your own, you felt your heart burst and soar as you stepped forward, carnival bell ringing over and over again. It rang so loud, in fact, it practically possessed you, Mingi's victorious shouts and even the way he started bouncing started to drain away in the swell of your heart, your eyes and brain only seeing him. More specifically... without a single forethought, as you did most things when you were around Mingi, your hands reached out to grab his collar, yanking him forward until he crashed into your lips, responding as soon as physically possible. Arms sliding around his neck, you picked up the pace, feeling Mingi smile and totally coming undone, knees almost buckling until you felt a hand steady you around your waist. When you pulled away, Mingi tightened his grip, keeping you in place as your foreheads connected, both of you giggling like schoolkids who got caught passing notes as you began whispering all the once-secret feelings you shared for each other.

"Hm, this might get annoying, too," Yeosang commented.

"Yeah, totally," Wooyoung agreed, leaning against the doorframe he'd just been pushed against, "but at least they'll break less stuff now."

[jerseyshoresy]

Can I request one with either goody or hitch? Maybe even Sanger where the reader plays hockey and got into a brawl before a game and dented one of their rings and is on the warpath since their grandpa gave then the ring but they were caught offguard (the the tunnel brawl) and they go fucking feral and hitch or goody bends the ring back into shape?

(My brother stood on my hand ages ago and my ring my granddad gave me of my nanas is still bent a little and I'm still pissed)

Oh man that’s brutal about your ring!! I’m sorry to hear that happened to you, that always sucks when something you love gets messed up :( in this story, your ring gets pretty much fixed and all is well so I hope this brings a smile to your face😁 thanks for the request! I decided to write this with Hitch because I could see him taking pride in fixing something for you; I hope my dialogue for him isn’t too bad😂

Really Big Team, Really Big Ring

Slice of Life

Hitch x gn!reader

Warnings: fighting, cussing

You and the rest of your team were all geared up, sticks in hand and helmets on. You had been looking forward to this game for a long time; the last time you played this team, they were much too cocky and you blew them out of the water with your win, having scored 6 to their measly 1. You hoped to do the same thing again, but this time send them home with a big ol’ goose egg next to their name.

“You guys ready to hit the ice?” you addressed your team. You were met with roars from your teammates, each person hyped up and eager to play.

“Go get lined up in the tunnel. I’ll meet you out there.”

Everybody headed out the locker room, leaving you on your own. You looked down to your hand, spying your favorite ring as it reflected the bright overhead light. You smiled, looking at it lovingly. It was your prized possession, having received it from your beloved grandpa. You always wore it, especially before a game since you felt it brought you luck. You were about to slide it off, not being able to wear it on the ice, when all of a sudden, you heard yelling from the tunnel.

“That doesn’t sound good,” you muttered, peeking your head out. You gasped, surprised at the scene unfolding in front of you. The rival team had infiltrated your tunnel and started a brawl!

You ripped off your helmet and growled. “Not in my fuckin’ barn!”

Without hesitation, you jumped into the action, grabbing the first person you saw with your rival’s sweater. You pulled them off your teammate, your fist connecting with their nose. You wanted to know what exactly happened and why they thought taking you guys by surprise would be a good idea, but you didn’t have a chance to ask, letting your punches do all the talking instead. You were dodging flying fists as much as you could while still doling them out, wanting to finish up this mess as soon as possible. You loved a brawl as much as the next person, but in the tunnel before the game? That was just a waste of time.

“Hey, hey, hey! Stop it right now!” your coach yelled, absolutely fuming. You turned to look at him, which ended up being a huge mistake; someone’s knuckles landed on your cheek and you fell to the ground, landing square on your back. You saw their flaring nostrils as they leaned over you, about to try to land more blows on you. You quickly rolled out of the way and stood up, grabbing them by the collar and delivering a strong punch to their face. Your attacker scurried away, nursing their bloody nose. You were satisfied with their reaction, grinning at the sight of their defeat, when you felt a strange sensation on your finger. You didn’t think you punched them that hard that you broke anything…

No—it was your ring!

In a flash, you ripped the ring off your finger and inspected it. Much to your chagrin, it was no longer in its natural round state, instead taking on an odd, oblong shape. You were so upset you felt like crying, your anger pouring out of you. Your treasured keepsake became ruined in the blink of an eye, all because some idiots couldn’t stand losing a few months back. You furiously shoved it into your pocket, ready to exact revenge on this team. Your rage was certainly felt by them as you tore through their members, yanking them off your own teammates and shoving them to the floor, throwing as many punches as your body could. You were seething as you held up someone else by their collar, about to unleash another round of hits when you were pulled from your aggression by another voice.

“What’s going on here?”

With the way the rival team halted, you assumed that it was their coach.

“We wanted to teach them a lesson not to mess with us,” the team’s captain said, holding a fist above your teammate.

“I don’t care what you were trying to do,” he said, sounding just as upset, if not more, than your own coach. “Get the hell back to your own locker room. Now!”

You let go of the collar of the person you were holding and they hurried away. You had never seen a team run away from a fight that fast, and considering they were the ones that started it, you let out a laugh.

“Quit laughing, L/n,” your coach told you. “Get back to the locker room. You better have an explanation by the time I get in there.”

You were about to argue that you didn’t have a clue either, but the deadly look he shot you was enough to keep you quiet for now.

“I’ve ne’er seen a brawl quite like that one,” chuckled Hitch, having shown up behind your coach sometime during the fight. “Glad I heard the commotion and ran in for a show. What’d ya do to piss ‘em off?”

“Won the last game,” you smirked, Hitch letting out another hearty laugh. Your expression quickly changed into one of deep sadness when you remembered the state of your ring, feeling the outline of it in your pocket.

“Whats goin’ on?” Hitch asked, noticing your abrupt change in attitude.

“This.” You pulled out the misshapen metal. “I didn’t have time to take it off before fighting and I… it’s…”

You couldn’t finish the sentence, not wanting to face that your ring was misshapen, probably permanently. Hitch’s face fell when he saw how distressed you were.

“Hey now, don’t be sad! Lemme give it a look.”

You passed him the ring, nervously fidgeting with your now empty finger.

“Tell me where ya got it from,” Hitch said, trying to distract you as he got to reshaping it, keeping your mind from running away from you in your anxiety.

“It was from my grandpa. It really means a lot to me, it’s my favorite ring and my good luck charm. I can’t imagine not being able to wear it anymore.”

“Well you can tell gramps he pick a good ‘un,” he said, holding up the ring and smiling proudly. “It fixed up great. Not perfect, but a helluva better than before.”

You inspected it, seeing that Hitch was indeed correct. Slipping it back on your finger, you could tell it was still bent slightly but it was wearable. More importantly, it wasn’t broken. You pulled Hitch into a bone crushing hug.

“Thank you!” you said, relief washing over you. “How did you manage to do that so well?”

“It’s a secret, m’friend,” he teased, flashing you another grin before clapping a friendly hand on your shoulder. “And if y’don’t get the game stick later for that performance, let me in there and I’ll vouch for ya.”

You laughed. “I’ll hold you to that. Wish me luck with coach.”

“You’re gonna need it.”

You waved goodbye as he sauntered back to his seat, waiting for the hockey game to start. As you walked toward the locker room, you rubbed your fingers over your ring once more, grateful you had such caring friends like Ted Hitchcock.

[wolfawaycamp]

I am humbly requesting LauraMax fluff, maybe including an ever growing number of pets because they keep bringing home strays? Y'all know where to find me if you have any questions 😂

🐰 Someday, Max told himself, he’d learn to say no.

To say no to a pair of sad puppy dog eyes, whether they were Laura’s or those of an actual, literal puppy dog. And Laura didn’t do sad eyes often, that was the thing that really got him about it. It was always a sneak attack when Max’s headstrong, self-assured girlfriend pulled out the big, sad baby blues, batted her eyelashes at him, and actually said, “please?” It was unfair, really, because it worked every single time. It was just giving Max the illusion of choice when he inevitably gave in and let Laura have whatever it was that she wanted.

That was how, across multiple separate occasions, they’d ended up with their current menagerie. Max had known that cohabiting with a veterinary student would expose him to a number of critters, but he hadn’t expected it to turn out quite like this. Certainly, Max hadn’t expected to turn into some kind of creature himself the summer before Laura embarked on her graduate school studies, but with what they now jokingly called ‘Wolf Boy Summer’ squared away (they had to laugh, you see, to keep from crying), the creatures had at least been smaller and more manageable.

They’d moved to San Francisco with only a tiny cage with two tiny mice inside, for their tiny apartment. The mice, which Laura had liberated from a science lab she’d worked a few shifts at in undergrad, were champion puzzle-solvers and cheese-finders named Trillian and Cashew. Max didn’t even get consulted about these guys, given that Laura had lived in her own dorm at the time she’d acquired them, but she did let him name one, which is how Trillian ended up named after a character in The Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Laura named Cashew Cashew because that was the flavor of nut milk she was testing that week. (Max thought Cashew was lucky the two mice hadn’t shown up during pea protein milk week.) Laura was “pretty sure” they were both female, until Cashew ended up pregnant and blessed them with baby mice Frankie, Benjy, Ford, Hazel(nut), Almond, Pecan, and Peanut. Max told her this bode poorly for her career in animal care, but Laura took it in stride, saying she’d have to spend more time studying sex differences in mice in the future. They got two larger enclosures and separated everyone out by sex, properly this time, and now Max has to turn the sound up on their white noise machine when he and Laura snuggle up in bed, or else he hears the Galaxy-Nut siblings running in their wheels all night long.

Then, Laura fell in love with a stray cat with a severely matted coat that had been hanging around their doorstep for days, and Max found his loyalty to his mouse family strained. Should they really bring a predator into their happy little home? But Laura was absolutely certain she could make it work, even in the limited space their apartment provided, and the cat really was pitiful-looking. So Max capitulated and the Kearney-Brinly household expanded to include ten mice and one cat.

The pathetic ginger cat, Westley, luckily, turned out to be utterly uninterested in the mice. He got his name because he showed up for the final time on movie night and meowed pitifully through the first half of The Princess Bride (both Laura and Max’s favorite) until they brought him inside. Laura took him the next day to check for a microchip and, finding none, she had the matted orange furball completely shaved. In the middle of winter. And sure, it was a relatively mild San Francisco winter, but Max still thought Wes looked cold.

“I’ve already ordered him a sweater,” Laura said, “but I know you’ve been working on your knitting, maybe you can make him another?”

Max had scoffed at first. Then he’d taken a second look at his pitifully nude cat and stayed up late researching cat sweater patterns. Now Wes has an entire wardrobe of knitwear and Max, Laura, and Wes have matching Christmas sweaters for their Christmas card photos. Max drew Emma for the Hacketteer gift exchange, but he traded with Abi for Dylan and now he’s working on another set for Dylan, Ryan, and Schrödinger. (He knows Ryan will be especially delighted.)

Then it was Max’s turn. He found a large bedraggled dog of indeterminate breed tied to a stop sign in an abandoned parking lot and the dog let him know immediately that Max was his chosen father, riding home with his head in Max’s lap the entire way. Westley liked Laura best anyway, why shouldn’t Max have his own cuddle buddy (you know, other than Laura)? Laura agreed it was only fair, and now Inigo stretches out between them on movie night and he has to get his fill of both scritches and popcorn before he’ll allow them to cuddle with one another.

“Hon,” Max told Laura, who was sitting at her desk with Westley perched on her shoulder like a pirate’s parrot, “you know I love all our kids, but we really cannot have any more animals in this apartment. We might actually get evicted.”

“Couldn’t agree with you more, honey,” Laura replied, and Max had thought that would be the end of their animal acquisition. He could admit that was pretty naive of him.

The next day, Laura had a list of rental houses for them to visit a little further from the city. Sure, she’d have a longer commute to her classes, and Max would to his job, but wouldn’t it be worth it for the ‘kids’ to have more space? Max couldn’t exactly argue with that, so they moved into a two-bed, two-bath with a small fenced yard.

And that was where Max was, cutting up a salad for dinner, when there was a knock at the door. Max answered to find Laura on their doorstep holding the saddest-looking beagle Max had ever seen, her own face mimicking its hangdog expression perfectly. They were both whimpering. “She was released from the surgical program at school and needed a home, I said we’d take her on a trial basis but baaaabe, just look at this faaaace.”

He sighed, but couldn’t help smiling a little, both at the wriggling dog and at his girlfriend. Her big pretend sad eyes, her genuinely huge heart.

Someday Max would learn to say no. But today was not that day.

[venusinpiscestmarsinscorpio]

Astrology Observations, Part 1 (Mostly synastry)

I had heard it before, but it is SO true: a Venus in Aries guy will tell you if he likes you 😂😂😂 If he doesn't, he doesn't like you. I'm thinking of an Aquarius Sun, Sag moon, Aqua Mercury, Venus & Mars in Aries.

Gemini risings learned how to adapt their personality when they were little kids to fit in better & make friends. It breaks my heart to realize I had to do this because I didn't vibe with a lot of people born my birth year.

Sun square moon has to be one of the hardest things to overcome in a synastry chart. Remember, a synastry chart is when we overlay two natal, or birth, charts on top of each other and see how they match up. I had this with my ex-roommate (there's a reason why she's an ex-roommate haha), and our Moon trine Moon couldn't overcome that. We were both Libra moons and Gemini risings. She's a Virgo Sun, and I'm a Capricorn Sun. (Both earth suns) You'd think we'd be best friends based on that, but yeah...sun square moon...

Sun square Sun is also very difficult, especially when the aspect is even tighter. My older self finds it hard to believe I was chasing a guy who I had a Sun square Sun with not too long ago. He was a 1-degree Taurus Sun (April 21), and even out of sign, that squared my 26 degrees Capricorn Sun (because it acts like a late Aries Sun). To be fair, we had Venus in the 8th house synastry and a Venus conjunction. But not even his Venus in Pisces conjunct mine Venus, Eros, Juno, & Sappho could save that. (Of course, there were other hard squares.)

Oh, and before I forget: Mercury square Moon is so hard. I had that with another guy. Our communication was excellent at first because my Mercury was conjunct his Aquarius Sun & his Capricorn Mercury was conjunct my Capricorn Sun.

Mercury square Moon synastry: "This aspect indicates that there may be a communication barrier between both parties, where emotions and ideas are not readily expressed. The Moon person may feel especially vulnerable and stop providing emotional care and communicating their own emotions altogether if they feel too threatened. The Mercury person in turn may get frustrated at not being able to establish contact with the Moon person. This aspect may generate quite a bit of tension as a result."

-too accurate lol, thank you, AstroSeek

I had Eros trine Eros with that same guy. (His Eros in Scorpio was trine my Eros in Pisces. And my Venus, Juno, & Sappho because I have that nice conjunction going on in my natal chart.) Nothing ended up happening between us because of an unfortunate situation (and that Mercury square Moon & Moon square Pluto didn't help), but it was still so sexy. We turned each other on very easily, which makes sense because Eros is sexual desire.

Now Moon square Pluto: that one is a big red flag, lol. Don't do it, people. Or maybe date that person if the aspect isn't too exact. He & I had a 0 53' degree moon (him-Pisces) square Pluto (me-Sag).

"There is a struggle for power in this relationship. On the mental level, these two people confront and inspect each other.. Sexual intensity is high, but the same can be said about rivalry and jealousy. Over time the relationship can be resolved if they both face their internal struggles." -AstroSeek

[peaches2217]

Updates! Updates updates updates~

TW: mention of needles and injection

Confession: I said I would wait until my appointment next week to start taking T… but I’ve already taken my first shot. Mom if you’re reading this please hear me out: I sought out advice, and the advice was that it’ll be easier to regulate my conditions medically if I’m treated as I am, as someone taking T, rather than regulating it pre-T and then risk T throwing everything off-balance and putting me back at Square One.

So: ya boygirl’s officially started testosterone! 🥳🎉

I spent a solid hour trying to hype myself up, because while I don’t have a fear of needles, I still don’t particularly like them. I was of course given options, but right away I was like “Yeah, I can take the shot, no problem!” It’s not a problem until you’re staring at the needles that came with your prescriptions and realize Oh, I have to stick one of those into my own fucking leg.

But to my shock, it was… surprisingly easy? I had a harder time just getting the medicine into the vial. The infographics I was given all said to stab it in fast, but while obsessively Googling how to minimize the pain, several people suggested inserting it slowly. So I tried that, and I… didn’t feel it. Little pinch, then nothing. Tiny bit of leakage, so I put some pressure on it then slapped a bandaid over it. And that was it. Got a bit sore at the injection site that night, it was still tender to the touch the next day, and today I have to press down with a fair amount of pressure to feel that same soreness at all.

I got a huge burst of energy for the first few hours then crashed HARD, like I had a full-fledged cold. Thankfully I found a subreddit for early-stage T users, and they verified that it’s totally normal! You’re so excited about the big changes coming your way, and your doctor’s so intent on ensuring you know how to do it safely, that neither of you think to discuss what happens immediately following the injections. And the answer just so happens to be “You may or may not feel like you’ve been hit by a truck the first few times.” 😅😂

Today is Day 2 in Full, Day 3 Overall. The first effects started showing up today: random bouts of weakness, stronger-than-normal hunger, occasional weird feelings in my throat, some other stuff y’all don’t wanna know about so I won’t overshare — so I’m bringing a nice big stash of peanut butter crackers and cough drops to work tomorrow. I intend to not only survive, but thrive through this second puberty!

My body feels a bit strange and when I’m tired, I’m TIRED (right now, for example, I can’t find the energy to get off the couch), yet I’m really happy. This is happening. 🥹

[ff6webcomic]

Hello everyone! How are you all doing? ^_^ I came to give you an important update about Final Fantasy VI Webcomic!

You guys may have noticed that we got an unplanned full month break in March, and we didn’t get any new pages for two weeks during June. The gap between chapters 7 and 8 has been longer than chapters 6 and 7 as well. There’s a reason for all of that and I’d like to explain it to you!

FFVI Webcomic came back with full force in May 2020 after some extensive hiatuses. One of the biggest reasons for that strong return was the COVID pandemic. Everyone had to stay at home and a lot of people were short on jobs. With that, there was plenty of time to entirely dedicate myself to the comic. With a steady schedule, more and more patron supporters came along and the comic could continue successfully. Our Patreon has grown a lot over these last three years! However, as the time passed and life returned to normal, new goals and new expectations were beginning to show up in my life once again.

As these three years passed, new opportunities were emerging and I’ve been finding less and less time to work on the comic. Even with a tight agenda, I was always doing my best to have FFVI Webcomic have constant updates because this comic and its readers are really important to me. However, I need to be aware that FFVI Webcomic is a VERY big and VERY ambitious project. We’re talking about 10 years of project and at least 10 more years to be concluded, if we’re lucky lol xD And, as much as I love this comic, I can’t sacrifice other aspects of my life to be able to fulfill the comic’s goal.

So with all of that explained, it is with great sadness that I’m announcing that FFVI Webcomic will now be updated with one page per month instead of the usual one page per week. 

I know, I know… This was not an easy choice to make and my heart even feels heavy as I’m writing this…This was not a sudden choice either, I’ve been considering the idea for a while and had to make an ultimate decision.

I’m IMMENSELY grateful for all the support, comments and positive feedback that you guys give to this comic! If I could use all that hearty energy to fuel my livelihood I would be rich and wouldn’t have any more financial worries xD FFVI Webcomic is my dream project and if I could make it full time, I would, but we live in a capitalist system and that means you gotta make money to pay up your bills.

Does that mean that FFVI Webcomic will continue with one page per month until it reaches its end? Well, not necessarily. Is that same old thing: The more support the comic receives, the more pages are possible to make. We can still increase the release of new pages but, as its current state, making one page per week as it used to be is unfeasible.

Rest assured that FFVI Webcomic will continue, regardless of how small or big the financial support is! You guys have no idea how many scenes like the Phantom Train, Battle for Narshe, Floating Continent, “Searching for friends”, etc are already done in my head! And as long as Square Enix doesn’t give us a FFVI remake, I’ll be making this comic lol 😂 There’s still plans for that physical book as well! And I’m even considering turning FFVI Webcomic into a collaborative project in the future, instead of being a one person team 👀

With that, I thank you all for your understanding and continuous support throughout these years! This is not the end of FFVI Webcomic. It’s just a different path that this project is taking!

[zeldamomoe]

Let's do a little bit of a Flashback Friday, shall we? Some of you might remember me as "that Lana cosplayer" from Hyrule Warriors! Back in 2014 before the game even came out in Japan, I swiftly created this costume as my "comeback to cosplay" after a few years hiatus to focus on paying my way through college. It really opened my eyes to how mainstream cosplay was becoming at that time, because of my first photoshoot with PialVisions getting viral thanks to ZeldaInformer sharing it everywhere. Unfortunately, the racists came out of the woodwork like it was their job and ridiculed my skin tone. The ones that stood out to me the most were:

the person who tagged their friend and said "your Arab cousin ruined Lana for me"

and the person who asked if I was Hispanic (in Spanish, mind you), and I said no I'm Lebanese from America, and he said "well your skin should me milk white" again, in Spanish lmao fuck you 😂

I was really sad about all of it that I almost decided not to continue cosplaying. Seeing all that hate after such a long hiatus was difficult (and I wasn't even very good at cosplay or photo editing yet, I just was the first Lana, so it made WAVES 🙈). But I made so many new friends thanks to me getting viral like CinnamonNeutrality (Cee), ChibiTifa, LayzeMichelle, just to name a few. I'm sure I would've ran into Cee eventually since we went to the same GTA cons, but you never know! Nowadays, I stay humble and thankful for the opportunities Lana gave me. I took her to Fan Expo 2014, and shot with Herbiecide there. We took some gorgeous photos on the roof, and I'll remember fondly that we ran into a trio of Perfume cosplayers. Because I hadn't been to Fan Expo since 2009 at that point, and it was my first big con since then, I was so excited seeing Perfume cosplayers XD I was a big fan of them in high school and college. I posted some of his photos of my Lana cosplay on Tumblr actually and got viral again! I do remember that was a good viral though, not much harassment came from that, and if it did, I forgot all about it. My username used to be SMZeldaRules, so it was on that Tumblr, which has long been deactivated. In 2015, I made her staff and brought her to Pax East. And in 2017, I had one final photoshoot with Z is Eternal. I then ended up giving it to my friend Ayla at Antipode Geek Bellydance. It's 2023 now, and big companies and websites STILL don't moderate their comment sections well at all (looking at you Square Enix when you shared my Rachel Amber cosplay in 2020 and people were acting a fool lmao). We gotta stand up for all marginalized groups in cosplay! Keep making your stuff and have fun! FUCK RACISM 😤😤😤

photos: Pial Visions, Herbiecide, Z is Eternal & edits by me

[rikerssexblouse]

Oh my God, Rikerssexblouse! That salamander embroidery is just stunning!

Did you do it freehand? Or did you have some kind of instruction because if I wanted to take up embroidery before - I now need to do it! 😂🦎💕

Thank you! It was not freehand, and this was actually my first attempt doing one that wasn’t out of a kit. Before this I’d only bought kits on amazon or Etsy, which is nice because you get everything you need, plus instructions. But for a while I’ve wanted to do something of my own design, but I hadn’t quite figured out how. So since it would have been useful for me when I was trying to figure this out, I’m going to explain the whole process. And to be clear, I’m just figuring this out, so maybe people have other strategies, but it worked for me.

First, I took a screenshot of the salamander babies poking out of the hole and opened it up in Procreate. I am not at all experienced with Procreate (my 9 year old is better with Procreate than I am), but I created a second layer, and then drew on the second layer to outline the image. That looked like this:

Then I hid the layer with the screenshot, so you only saw the outline. It looked like this:

Then I printed it out.

Michaels has little squares of fabric for embroidery, so I bought two of those, one white and one purple.

It’s probably overpriced for the amount of fabric you get? But it’s a very convenient size for one embroidery project and it’s just two bucks.

But then I had to transfer the pattern to the fabric. This meant that I had to lay the fabric on the printoff and trace it with a special pen. I used this one.

It’s water soluble, so you can rinse the marks right out when you are done.

The problem I ran into, was that the purple was much too dark to see through to be able to trace, so I had to use the white (I just thought the purple would be more fun but dark colors won’t work well with this strategy). Then I was just filling in the shapes from my pattern. After I was done, I took it out of the hoop, rinsed it in water to rinse away the blue pen marks, pressed it between towels overnight, then put it back on the hoop and tied it up the back.

I think figuring out what stitches to use were might actually be the hardest part. It’s a combination of your vision/creativity and just enough experience with the stitches that you can visualize what they will look like. I used satin stitches (to fill in the big spaces like the salamander babies’ faces and the rocks), lazy daisy stitches (the nostrils), stem stitches (for the outlines), and about a thousand million french knots (the moss). Oh and straight stitches for the letters.

The salamander babies’ heads were hard, because I had to work around the spots and eyes and everything. The hole might be the part I’m most proud of, because my plan to give it depth actually worked. Instead of doing a satin stitch to fill it in smooth, I did straight stitches and arranged them directionally (into the middle and then down) to try to give it shape so you could see how the the hole goes down into the ground. I also used a little gray in between the black to give it some dimension.

The french knots that made up the knots aren’t particularly hard (although I do suggest finding a YouTube video to see how to do it, I could NOT figure it out from written instructions when I first started) but it used up SO MUCH more thread than I ever anticipated. Doing a kit, you get everything you need, but I didn’t know what I needed. Whoops. So I had some last minute panic about running out of thread (literally the night before Threshold Day). So a lot of the color variation is a matter of necessarily rather than my plan. But it worked out well.

If you look closely, the moss on the left has a lot more color variation than the moss on the right, and that is because I was running out of thread. But it’s not too noticeable (hopefully). I do love how the moss looks though! French knots are usually used for little details, but the mass of them gives it so much texture. I love it.

I will say, if you are trying it for the first time, don’t start by doing your own design. Follow a kit and figure out what you are doing first. And don’t be afraid to look up YouTube videos when you can’t figure out how to do something. Video is a MUCH better teacher than words can ever be, in this context. But at the same time, there really isn’t anything that difficult about embroidery. You mostly just have to be patient. I find it quite relaxing.

[that-gay-jedi]

Really loving this vanilla extract saves Anakin and therefore the Galaxy storyline you've got going on in your polls 😂

Thanks! I got this ask and started writing what I thought would be a few paragraphs and uhhh:

Once upon a time, there was a Jedi named Anakin Skywalker. He was the messiah but he was also a very naughty boy. The fate of the galaxy sat on his shoulders and probably it should have gotten up and sat somewhere else.

Anakin's tastebuds were utterly warped from not cooking bugs before he ate them and from too many years eating ration bars, Obi-Wan's cooking, and unidentified beige squares (the beige squares were, by all accounts, not vanilla flavoured).

Now in those days there was a big ol' war on and nobody was very much pleased. The galaxy had already been circling the drain before the war but now there were overwhelming numbers of droids clanking around everywhere and saying the absolute stupidest shit imaginable or simply repeating "Roger roger" ad nauseam and there was only one way to shut them up (it was with violence).

A lot of very young people who had done absolutely nothing to deserve it died a lot of very gory deaths, all in the name of shutting the droids up. Peaceful civilians turned to refugees and some of the less peaceful ones, or even the simply unlucky, turned to corpses. Oppression and exploitation ran rampant pretty much anywhere that sentients who had anything worth exploiting lacked sufficient money, political clout, or military power to fight back.

When they weren't busy fighting droids, the very young soldiers, doing what young people with too few rights and any shred of free time tend to do, discovered that a number of common baking ingredients had intoxicating or otherwise interesting effects when ingested in unreasonable quantities.

Megnut, for example, one of the central spices in flumpkin spice blends, could in its powdered form be used as a powerful hallucinogen IF one were willing to eat enough of it to hate flumpkin spice until the eventual heat death of the universe. And a spoonful of ground binnamon, though utterly lacking in viability as a drug, was a common enough dare once more conventional intoxicants had already been passed well around as its immense dryness and the immediate violent reactions to its taste were how the physical manifestation of regret entered one's body, hilarious to everyone but the eater.

It was in this manner that the cheapest brands of vanilla extract gained a dubious place of honour on the roster of family-friendly flavourings with a side gig. These contained vanillyl alcohol, ethyl alcohol's gayer, more evil, and more melodramatic cousin, and could get a person blackout drunk within a fairly short amount of time.

Anakin's own legion, the 501st, were no strangers to this sort of experimentation. There were strict orders not to let Anakin set foot in 79's because of an incident that shall remain classified but this did not stop various members of the 501st from getting hammered with him (Anakin also liked to get nailed, but the 501st did not typically join him for it).

Now at a certain point a terrible liquor shortage shook the Republic, and I mean shook. From the most influential senator to the lowest ranking shiny, enough people had been lubricating their sanity with alcohol that Chancellor Palpatine, who was secretly Darth Sidious, who secretly liked spinning in his office chair and tormenting his bodyguards in horrific ways that certainly won't come back to haunt him later, feared rioters on Coruscant would burn the Jedi Temple to the ground before he got a chance to.

And so it was that one fateful evening there was drinking to be done- important drinking, mind you- between battles, but not a drop of drink to be had. No one had flodka, nowhere was selling kniskey, every smuggler was cleaned out of bequila.

There was not, however, any shortage of vanilla extract.

Anakin eyed the bottle more critically than someone who's slurped up a wriggling worm without chewing has any right to, and the men who fought and bled with him appraised him with morbid fascination.

"It's not as bad as you think, sir," said Echo.

"It's worse!" Fives called.

"Quiet, or he'll never drink it."

"Ha! You don't know our general!"

"It can't be any harder to swallow than General Kenobi's-"

"Boys," Anakin cut them off, flattening and raising the palm of his mechanical hand in a gesture for silence.

He unscrewed the white plast cap, the underside of which was stained by the liquid inside. Anakin was pretty sure they were pranking him, but after how bad the last campaign had been, he'd drink it anyway if that's what it took to take their minds off this karking war.

With one last glance sidelong at the label, he tipped the bottle straight to the ceiling and downed its contents in about three expert gulps, then brought his gaze back down to survey each of the men he faced in the dingy little storeroom that currently doubled as command center, rec room, bunker and now bar.

"Whaaa...?"

"I told you!" said Fives.

"You crazy son of a gundark," said Rex.

Having discovered early on that one type of unwanted mental image was an effective cure for another, Anakin gave a satisfied sigh and wiped the corner of his mouth with his gloved right index finger, in a manner juuust provocative enough to invoke the suggestion of having something of General Kenobi's running down his lip instead. The raucous calls from his clone companions assured him he'd hit his mark.

"Get a room, General!" barked Fives, throwing a heavy synthwool sock square against the right side of Anakin's face.

"But Fiivess," said Anakin, suddenly moving and speaking a little more slowly as he took the sock off his face, "you're in it."

Echo stood up rapidly. "Oh kriff, where?"

"Di'kut! Do you actually want to know?"

Rex facepalmed.

Anakin swayed.

He staggered to one of the stacks of boxes, sitting down abruptly on them, knocking over a stack of smaller boxes as he did.

He giggled.

***

Supply lines of normal alcohol had long since been restored by the time Anakin was asked to spy on Chancellor Palpatine, whose hobbies were orchestrating wars in which his dual identities led both sides, using the dark side of the Force, and croquet (he was good at two of the three).

Anakin, however, whose troops had severely underestimated just how warped his tastebuds were, had actually taken a liking to the more flamboyant, eviler alcohol. He still occasionally drank vanilla extract when he wanted to get wasted, sometimes even when there was actual liquor available. It just felt different than being regular drunk, there was no tipsy stage and he'd developed a sick sort of nostalgia for the godawful taste.

Obi-Wan, who had already had his own liver replaced twice due to (non-vanillyl) alcohol consumption since the war began, had very little room to criticize him on it, and even less so while they were busy doing things that would convince Echo his armor would never be clean again if he sat on the same surface. Which they did on nearly every available surface.

Anakin drifted through the streets of a Coruscanti shopping district in a daze. He had been actively avoiding sleep due to the nightmares about people he loved dying, which began whenever he arrived back on Coruscant and receded whenever he was sent to the Mid- or Outer Rim (Darth Sidious arranged these nightmares in the Force during valuable time he could have spent spinning in his office chair, but Anakin didn't know that).

The 501st were currently deployed without him, Obi-Wan and the 212th had already left for Utapau, and the senators Anakin had loosely dubbed "the chaos club" (led by Padme and her friend Bail Organa of Alderaan) were all busy doing senatorial things. Anakin was adrift in a sea of inner conflict and doubts.

The entire row of shops he currently wandered along was too upper class for him, situated in kind of a liminal zone between the Mid Levels and Upper Levels.

He stood out terribly in his plain black and brown Jedi robes and the leather additions that resembled his battle armor just a bit too much for polite company, an uncomfortable reminder to the citizens of Coruscant of the war they'd just as soon block out of their minds with a curtain of shimmersilk and a dozen social calls. But he was enough of a war hero that nobody was daring to say anything.

He kind of wished that at least his weird father figure was in the mood to get drunk. No doubt Palpatine's discerning tastes would involve whiskey that was older than Anakin was and cost a mound of credits equivalent to the GDP of a small planetary system, but all Anakin really wanted was that dreadful cake-making liquid. He smirked at the mental image of offering some to the Chancellor of the Galactic Republic.

Anakin had a lot more trouble releasing anxiety into the Force than some Jedi, but his friends had lovingly taught him techniques they themselves used.

He had Obi-Wan's lessons in moving meditation. The combat skill of situational awareness was taught to clones provided him an easier segue into awareness of the present moment. Padme Amidala, a Nubian to the bone, liked to deal with stress by looking at something beautiful and contemplating the features that went into its aesthetic appeal.

By window shopping, he could combine all three.

The first shop was mostly baby clothes, and he looked away with a jolt in his gut- my fault, dying, dead, all my fault- but the second consisted entirely of upscale cosmetic parts for service droids, which was more up his alley. The third, however.

Home baking supplies.

Coping techniques and anxiety alike forgotten, Anakin's sleep-deprived brain lit up with the brightest idea he'd had since the glorious victory of Kenobi and Skywalker aboard the Invisible Hand.

Using a minor Force trick to make himself appear not invisible, but unremarkable to observing eyes, he stepped into the cute little shop and briefly pretended to scan the 63 different kinds of diced nuts and a bright crimson filling that reminded him just a little too much of a red Sith blade. He reached the aisles of concentrated flavourings.

Quickly and quietly, Anakin used the many swaddling layers of his tunics and oversized robe to help him be a disgrace to the Jedi Order in the pettiest way he could think of.

He bought a pack of Ahsoka's favourite candies at the till to cut down on suspicion, pocketing them in the hopes of seeing her again when all this was over. And then he left, straight faced and still holding up the Force impression of undistinguished mediocrity as his disguise.

Only a few minutes and a few shop doors later, he dropped the Force impression and took off at a run when he realized he was running late to meet with Palpatine.

***

Disheveled after arriving unfashionably late, Anakin settled into his seat in the Chancellor's private box with its premium view of the Mon Calamari water ballet. He'd never been to the Opera House before, and once Palpatine ordered his hangers-on away, it wasn't so bad.

As Palpatine elaborated on his distrust of the Jedi Council, Anakin grew slowly more concerned. Finally, with meaningful eye contact: "They asked you to do something that made you feel dishonest, didn't they?"

Caught off guard, Anakin froze. He wanted out of this conversation.

Palpatine continued. "They asked you to spy on me."

"Excuse me." Anakin held up his index finger in a 'wait' type gesture, left hand rummaging in his robes. He found what he was looking for and, pressing and twisting off the childproof cap, sucked back about 3/4ths of a bottle of vanilla extract.

Palpatine's expression slid gradually from mild surprise to intense curiosity to dawning horror. "My boy, are you quite-"

"Want some?" Realizing he could, by his own actions, turn the deliriously irreverent vision of earlier into a reality, Anakin tilted the remainder of the bottle in Palpatine's direction. "There's more where that came from."

***

An hour and an unspecified amount of vanilla extract later, staggering out of the speeder from the Opera House and back toward Palpatine's office, Anakin was trying to listen to the tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise.

Trying to, but Palpatine kept losing the thread of the conversation while attempting to rein in Anakin's drunken antics. The Sith lord had never realized how quickly The Hero With No Fear could become The Hero With No Volume Control.

The Republic Executive Building was nearly deserted at this hour, but it never truly closed- least of all to the Chancellor himself. Anakin's ambulation could scarcely be labeled "walking" along the fine crimson carpet of the corridors, but he kept up with Palpatine easily, if clumsily.

"He could use the midichlorians to create-"

"Life, yeah yeah, you got to this part already. A HUNDRED TIMES!"

Palpatine pursed his lips. "Anakin, if you would let me finish-"

"HE COULD SAVE THE ONES HE LOVED FROM DYING BUT NOT HIMSELF, RIGHT?"

"Yes, that's-"

"WAIT!"

The gaze Anakin fixed on the leader of the "free" galaxy was oddly lucid for one so far from sober. "I GET IT! I GET WHY YOU'RE TELLING ME THIS! YOU KNOW! YOU KNOW ABOUT MY NIGHTMARES! HOW DO YOU KNOW?"

"-I want what's best for you, my boy-"

"DO YOU HAVE THE FORCE?"

Anakin had never reached out to probe the Chancellor's presence in the Force for Force sensitivity before. Had never had reason to. But even Obi-Wan, whose deductive reasoning caught Anakin's secrets more often than anyone's, did not know about the recurring nightmares he had been having.

Now he did so, his focus as uncoordinated as his body, but still enough. Chancellor Palpatine didn't feel Force null, nor was his connection to it minor, but he didn't feel like any Jedi. He was the cold at the peak of the tallest mountain, power solely for power's sake, all the merciless quiet of the ice of Ilum and none of its promise of peace.

Anakin stumbled back.

"YOU DO!"

And.

"YOU'RE! THE! SITH! LORD!"

Anakin wanted to reach for his lightsaber, but the threads of the war were unraveling before him. He laughed, but even suffused with the unnatural levity of intoxication, it wasn’t a pleasant laugh. This was not like the tricks the 501st pulled on him, nor Obi-Wan's snark.

The war was the worst joke anyone had ever told.

"You're were BOTH SIDES!" He hiccuped. "THIS WHOLE TIME!" Painful laughter broke the cadence of his words. "IT... IT WAS YOU!"

"Anakin, please. You're shouting."

Anakin doubled over, clutching his ribs as if to keep them from falling out of his body. This wasn't funny at all, but he couldn't make the laughter stop. "THE WHOLE WAR... WAS YOURS! YOU... YOU WERE FUCKING THE WHOLE GALAXY..."

Everything that had been fought for, everything Jedi and clone and civilian had endured, everything Anakin had survived, everything he'd done, everyone who'd died- a pointless, cruel joke, like a middle finger from the Force itself.

No, not the Force. The middle finger was from Darth Sidious, Chancellor Palpatine, his so-called friend.

"Quiet!" Palpatine's voice had faded from exasperation to genuine fear. "Please, you're going to get us both killed."

Anakin's laughter had turned to convulsing, and he didn't have enough air to speak anymore even if he'd wanted to. His diaphragm was going to break, his lungs were going to shatter his ribcage from inside, his chest was going to implode. And he hoped they would, because he was going to jail for murdering the Chancellor as soon as his body let him.

There were footsteps in the hallway, but Anakin didn't care.

Behind the laughter, a howl of rage was clawing its way up his spine to reach his mouth. His left hand was trembling and in the dead of the Executive Building, hearing the lights buzz, the fingers of his right hand were tearing the fabric of his robes. Hot tears were already springing from Anakin's eyes.

He fixed Sidious with a glare of such naked, undiluted hatred that Sidious reached into his luxurious robes for his lightsaber.

As if in slow motion, he watched red swell behind the foolish Skywalker boy. The white and crimson of the Coruscant Guard first, then the scarlet robes of his own Royal Guards. They filled his field of vision like a spreading bloodstain, flowing until the worst of all the Jedi and the last Dark Lord of the Sith were surrounded.

Holding his blade in front of himself in preparation for electro-staves and countless blaster shots, Sidious regretted not replacing the Royal Guard with Sith acolytes.

And to think, red had always been his favourite colour.

Skywalker had managed to regain enough control of himself to stand up, and Sidious didn't like the blue of his lightsaber much better than the sea of red. Anakin dropped his robe to the floor in a way reminiscent of his master and grandmaster.

"He knows the ways of the Force." Anakin's voice was sluggish, the words coming slower than frozen molasses, but he didn't slur his consonants. "He's been trained to use the dark side."

Security cameras would later reveal that all Corries present gave the slightest of nods, in almost perfect unison, before opening fire.

***

After the death of the Chancellor, Anakin couldn't tell whether he was sobering up or getting drunker. He cried until he laughed, laughed until he screamed, and screamed until the ceiling shuddered and bits of rubble crumbled down around his ears.

Before the foundations could be split apart by his Force scream, someone shoved a hot cup of tea into his hands, awkwardly tucked his discarded robe around his shoulders like a blanket that smelled of blaster vapor and promised him Obi-Wan would be returning from Utapau very very soon.

Their presence was familiar. Fingers numb on the teacup, he looked up into the tired face.

"... Senator... Organa... ?" His voice was hoarse. The long lights that lined the hallway were too bright.

"Interim Chancellor-Elect Organa," said Bail.

Anakin blacked out.

~FIN~

[darcyfangirlsfrequently]

My thoughts and reactions while watching 16.10

Spoilers below

Damn, we starting with ANOTHER flashback? Wait, is this one gonna be Krystall's funeral? I'm gonna cry

Wait no it said 2020, and she's still alive, is this when she tells him she's sick? I will cry

it's gonna be the last time you celebrate your anniversary at all

WORLD'S TINIEST VIOLIN I ADORE HER

This scene is pulling all my heartstrings THIS ISN'T FAIR

Ah shit is Rossi gonna run out of air? Is the air being poisoned?

A profiled delivery scene!!! Have we had those yet this season? I don't think so. I feel like this is a square on someone's bingo card

Did Luke just call Rossi the Unit Chief??? Rossi got demoted in like... episode 3 and is currently supposed to be suspended

Garcia is losing her mind and I know Luke is going to comfort her and I know I'm gonna cry

Is Rebecca going to get her job back> Are they going to try to put Tebecca back together? I don't know how I feel about that

Emily is going off on EVERYONE in this episode and I am here for it

Oh Bailey is so gonna die

"You're definitely the one who likes the gold star" is that what the CME Instagram Bingo was talking about????

Wait, gold star means something. Tf does it mean???

Luke with his hand on the back of Garcia's chair just like old times 😭😭😭

"Why don't Penelope and I coordinate from here" I'm getting Garvez CRUMBS but I am living for it

WHAT IS GOLD STAR

"extralegally speaking" 😂😂😂

The AG, Bailey, and Rebecca working together? I don't like this, although it feels like the AG is manipulating Bailey and Rebecca

IS GREEN DEAD OR ALIVE COME ON TELL ME

Luke filling up her water bottle for her besties i am so unwell

Tyler's only going into surgery now??? That was the big reaction??? Huh???

So far this episode Luke and Garcia have only been calling each other "Luke" and "Penelope" and idk what it is but it pulls on my heart every time it happens

The way he kneels down and takes her arm... it reminds me of "Saturday" 😭😭😭

"Penelope, I don't know, I'm just... but maybe if we lean on each other, we'll have the strength to get through this together." ARE YOU KIDDING ME. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME. THAT IS THE MOST ROMANTIC SHIT EVER. I'M ACTUALLY CRYING. HOLY SHIT HE'S SO IN LOVE.

Well, I can cross "Luke initiates a hug" off my Garvez bingo

I'm sorry, if someone looked at me like that, said those things to me, and then held me like that, I would be falling in love and potentially proposing marriage

"Yeah, we can do that, I want to do that" this sounds like every "I still love you" Garvez fic any of us have ever written

HE DID NOT JUST STROKE HER CHEEK I'M UN FUCKING WELL

"Me and you." I'd love that, actually STOP PLAYING WITH MY FEELINGS

"Have some tea, careful it's hot" LUKE ALVEZ THE WORLD DOES NOT DESERVE YOU

This is going to be a scene I come back and watch an UNREASONABLE amount of times. It added YEARS to my life and soothed a part of my soul I didn't realize was hurting. That might have been the most romantic Garvez scene... I think ever. It's going right up there in my favorites with the asking out scene and the entirety of "Saturday"

"His heart is in the right place" ma'am he's a serial killer

Okat, so Sydney's seen Voit on his phone now, so she knows something is up

Shiiiit she found the dog collar

Go OFF Rossi!!!

Rossi, wtaf are you doing????

Did Rossi set up a bomb to break himself out? If so, legend

L E G E N D

Ohhhhhhhhh nevermind, this might have backfired

The fury in Emily's face... Paget's acting is SLAYING this episode

Luke and Tara playing off each other and building on each other's ideas.. I AM SO HERE FOR IT

Krystall!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean I knew she was coming, but I still love to see her. I still do kind of hope she's not the missing character cameo, but if no one else shows up, I will be using her to cross it off my CME bingo

"I've missed you so much" goodbye I'm c r y i n g

Rossi being so accepting of death 😭😭😭

Voit used his mother's maiden name as the new last name for his wife, this will probably end up being key to finding them

Every time I see Garvez working together... goddamn I love them so much

Ooh, we got the whole Voit background

Okay yeah we were all right when we said Will and Bailey are going to get shot and Bailey's going to die. I'm positive of it.

Ah shit Voit just snapped at his wife

Oh shit's about to go DOWN. The cops have arrived and Voit's brandishing a gun AT HIS FUCKING FAMILY

Okay so we have JJ, Will, Luke, and Bailey at Voit's house... and two of them are getting shot. If Luke gets shot I'm going to sob uncontrollably, and if these are my death options, I am also going to sob uncontrollably

Bailey, the best boy in the world (Luke Alvez) warned you, and you didn't listen to him. You should always listen to him. He's always right.

WHAT. IS. GOLD STAR???

I am stressinggggggggggggg

Luke/Will/JJ is not a trio I realized I needed

"Are we sure Bailey and this cat Voit don't have some history together?" I was wondering the same thing, Will

PENELOPE YOU ARE SO STUNNING I'M STILL MAD AT YOU FOR THE BAD CHOICES YOU'VE BEEN MAKING THIS SEASON AND FOR BREAKING LUKE'S HEART BUT THAT OUTFIT IS GORGEOUS AND I ADORE YOU

There are 20 minutes left and still so much needs to happen, idk if there's the time

Oh, Will's getting shot for SURE

Yep, Bailey just got shot, and if I saw correctly: in the head. He's dead. I think we all knew this was coming.

Ah shit, Voit grabbed Sydney before she could escape. Idk if she's making it out of this alive.

Aaaaaaaand there goes Will.

So you're telling me the only reason Sydney is still alive is because Voit used all his bullets? GodDAMN

YES LUKE!!! GO LUKE!!! SAVE THE DAY!!! I LOVE YOU!!!

I completely love that it was Luke who ended up arresting Sicarius. I'm so glad the writers finally gave him his big moment. I would still like to know his backstory, though

Is Voit Mirandizing HIMSELF? Why does that make me laugh?

Tara is doing the I'm-so-mad-my-hair-is-moving power walk and I am HERE FOR IT goddamn she's so stunning

Rebecca I'm going to need you to shut the FUCK UP with your "I feel for you" and just tell Tara what she needs

"I didn't ask for any of this!" Do you think anyone did??????

So are just never going to learn what Gold Star is???

"I'm sorry I hurt you" BITCH YOU HELD A GUN TO HER HEAD AND TRIED TO SHOOT HER

I frankly have no idea how they're going to get Rossi out of this on time

Not how I thought I'd get to cross "a dance scene" off my CME bingo card, but I'll take it.

OH MY GOD IT'S "CHANCES ARE" I'M SOBBING UNCONTROLLABLY

I am not well

Luke's overjoyed, "DAVE?" and his fucking smile I'M CRYING

GODDAMMIT YOU'RE GOING TO RUIN THAT EMOTIONAL SCENE WITH GREENCIA?

Greencia breakup??? Greencia breakup????

"is this heaven" *gag*

"Where we keep hurting each other. Or... where I keep hurting you." GOOD. ADMIT IT.

Okay, I am really glad that she is realizing that Tyler is bad for her and is ending things.

GREENCIA BREAKUP!!!!!!!!!!! FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Luke placing his hand on the back of Penelope's shoulder as he guides her out of the elevator 😭💗 WAIT I CAN COUNT THAT AS AN ELEVATOR SCENE ON MY GARVEZ BINGO

ROSSI HUGGING PENELOPE AND KISSING HER ON THE CHEEK 😭💗 HE MISSED HIS DAUGHTER (and, okay, @penelopeminded, I will admit that the Rossi/Emily hug scene was also very cute, but I still stand by the fact that Penelope is his favorite)

BAU group hug!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Them toasting Bailey 😭😭😭

garvez scene at the end of the episode??? maybe???

If I hadn't already crossed of "they have a conversation about their feelings" last episode with the date flashback, this scene would have totally qualified

Okay if you try to tell me Penelope wasn't at least a LITTLE heart eyed when she was looking at Luke as he poured them drinks, you're lying. It's getting crossed off the bingo card

"The heart wants what it wants, or else it doesn't care" are we about to get a Garvez confession right now??? Because he said that looking SO IN LOVE WITH HER

"You know Emily Dickinson," she's so impressed (and a little heart-eyed, fight me)

"I know that quote" HE'S STILL IN LOVE WITH HER

Dammit no confession, but he's still in love with her

I'm sorry... they show Garvez... then Willifer... then Tara and Emily??? Are they hinting at something here???

"I don't mean to intrude" ROSSI SHIPS TEMILY

So, I'm guessing "Gold Star" is going to be the plot of the next season

"Oh, WHAT???" (my actual, out-loud reaction to seeing swat people or whoever they are storm the BAU)

Are they breaking Voit out???

Oh god the missing character is about to open that door aren't they

AND WE DON'T GET TO SEE WHO THAT WAS????

Okay, so I'm DEFINITELY going to be watching the next season. I am losing my mind /pos