#I tried doing a bit of perspective but it isn’t really obvious enough :P

[functionaleaty]

:3

[imasimpforshanks]

Hi there!

I hope you're doing great. Ehm... May I requests Law for either the romantic or the Angst alphabet? I just can't decide that and would like you to choose from it.

I'm really looking forward to your work. Other than that have a nice day/eve. ♡

Fluff Alphabet - Trafalgar Law

a/n: hi there!!! thank you for requesting and for your kind words 💓 I chose the fluff alphabet because our man has suffered enough and I couldn’t handle writing out angst for him 🙃 ANWAYSSSS pls enjoy x

A-Activities (what do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them?)

During the little free time he has, Law loves to spend it with you doing anything lowkey. He’s usually pretty exhausted from everything going on, so taking some time to wind down and read a good book with you tucked him next to him reading you’re a book of your own is his ideal way to spend time with you.

That being said, if you are a person who prefers to do something active, Law won’t say no to that (so long as it’s not Luffy level active).

B-Beauty (what do they admire about their s/o? what do they think is beautiful about them?)

Law admires your way of thinking. You always seem to bring a fresh, unique perspective and now he can’t help but ask for your input on everything. This is also what he finds the most beautiful about you. He’s never been one to care that much about what is on the outside. To Law, it’s what is on the inside that counts (who knew law was so cliché;)). Your mind and the way it works is a wonder to behold and Law counts himself very lucky that he is the one that gets to see you in action the most.

C-Comfort (how would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.?)

Law takes a very pragmatic approach when it comes to comforting his s/o. He’s a doctor, so its only natural for him to think in this way. He asks you directly what’s wrong and how he could help – it’s the most logical thing to do and the quickest way to ensure you are feeling comforted.

D-Dreams (how do they picture the future with their s/o?)

In the future Law wants to live a simple, quiet life with you. Somewhere secluded and far away from all the noise and chaos of the world. You’ll live in a nice house (nothing too fancy), with a child or two running around acting out their parents’ infamous pirate adventures.

E-Equal (are they the dominant one in the relationship or rather passive?)

He tends to take the more dominant role in the relationship. For the sake of your safety and his sanity, he prefers to be the one to take charge with you following his lead. But, he does still value your input in almost all decisions.

F-Fight (would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting?)

Your fights tend to be pretty short lived resulting in forgiveness and apologies from both sides relatively quickly. He really doesn’t like to stay mad at you for too long – he’d much rather have you two on the same page.

Most fights are caused by stress and concerns of health and safety, so Law does a lot of eye rolling and using his title as a ‘doctor’ as justification that he knows what he’s doing so you just need to chill – but like I said these fights are very short lived.

G-Gratitude (how grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them?)

Before he met you, Law’s life was very dull. Yes, he has his fair share of adventures and fun with his crew, but there was something missing from his life. But then you came along, bringing a little more colour into his life. Instead of being exhausted and tense from dealing with everything alone, you forced your way in and pried him open, allowing him to share his burdens. For that, Law is eternally grateful.

H-Honesty (do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything?)

Initially, Law tried to hide quite a lot. He was very selective about the information he shared with you. It’s not that he didn’t trust you, he just struggled to share things with others – his past has made him very closed off. But, before he knew it you managed to weasel your way in, and soon he found himself confiding in you about everything. The only time he ever keeps a secret is if knowing it will jeopardize your safety.

I-Inspiration (did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helped them overcome personal problems?)

I touched on this a little bit before, but you were able to teach Law the relief and comfort that comes with trusting and relying on others. Because of you, he was able to learn that its important to not deal with everything on your own.

J-Jealousy (do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it?).

It’s not often that Law gets jealous. It’s an ugly emotion, plus he feels no need to be jealous since he trust you with his whole heart. However, if he was to get jealous, he is definitely the quiet jealous type. His fists clench a little tighter, his frown deepens ever so slightly, and he just doesn’t speak. He doesn’t ignore you though, rather he chooses to curt replies until he eventually gets over it or if it’s really bothering him he may bring it up with you.

K-Kisses (are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?).

He is a very inexperienced kisser, not having (or wanting) many romantic relationships in his past. Even so, he’s surprisingly not horrible (but not great either) at kissing. Maybe it has something to do with his deep knowledge and understanding of the way the human body works. Unfortunately, during your first kiss he tried to rely a little too much on his ‘knowledge’ rather than melting in to it. It wasn’t a horrible first kiss, it just felt a little stiff. The desire was there, but it was as if he were afraid to give in to the emotions he was feeling and reading your signals. However, after a little communication and guidance he’s now an expert.

L-Love confession (how would they confess to their s/o?)

It was in the heat of the moment after you had done something completely and utterly stupid, that almost cost you your life. He wasn’t intending on doing it right then and there, in fact he actually had a whole plan of how and when he was going to tell you how he felt. But seeing you lying in the infirmary after having to operate on you was more than he could handle and before he knew it the words just slipped out.

M-Marriage (do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like?)

Marriage is indeed something Law wants. You wouldn’t expect it but after you two officially got together, it wasn’t more than a month before Law started thinking about marriage. He knows now isn’t the time for marriage, but it’s definitely in his plans for the next few years or so.

His proposal is going to be low key. The two of you would have to be alone with no other people around – maybe while you two are lying in bed one night, he just pops the question. And as with the proposal, your wedding would also be low key. No big party or ceremony, just you two and the people closest to you (bepo definitely officiates).

N-Nicknames (what do they call their s/o?)

‘Babe’ or your name are his usual choices for when you are around other people. But occasionally when he’s on the verge of falling asleep he’ll let out a yawn followed by a sleepy “babyyyy”.

O-On cloud nine (what are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings?)

When Law is in love he tends to keep his cool and collected façade. But on the inside he’s a babbling, nervous mess. He doesn’t do anything particularly out of the ordinary other than making a bit more of an attempt at conversing with you. He loves hearing you talk and rambling on about things you’re passionate about so he does try to find any excuse to talk to you.

P-PDA (are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching?)

PDA is something Law isn’t the biggest fan of. He’ll stand next to you and be in close proximity while sharing a few glances, but other than that he won’t engage in PDA. Law considers that sort of thing to be private and intimate so he likes to keep it between the two of you. Occasionally, if you are feeling a little extra needy he may give in to a quick hug or forehead kiss.

Q-Quirk (some random ability they have that is beneficial in a relationship?)

It may not come as that much of a surprise but, Law can make one hell of a cup of coffee (actually any hot drink really). His perfect brew definitely comes in handy.

R-Romance (how romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative?)

Oh boy, he is way more romantic than anyone would ever realize. He loves doing little things for you just to see that sweet smile on your face. It makes his heart swell with happiness.

S-Support (are they helping their s/o achieve their goals do they believe in them?)

Rather than being the consistently positive support, Law provides you with constructive criticism and things that can actively help you achieve your goals. He’s a realist, so doesn’t think only saying “you can do it” or “it’s only a minor setback” is the way to go. He still says those things because they are true – Law honestly believes you can do whatever you set your mind to, however, constructive criticism is needed in addition to this.

The key take away here is: YES. Law believes you can achieve all your hopes and dreams.

T-Thrill (do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship or do they prefer certain routine?)

Law needs routine, especially in your relationship. You have continued doing the same things in your relationship since you first got together because it works. Why would he want to change what works? It’s safe, it’s familiar, and it’s comfortable.

That being said, he’s not opposed to the idea of spicing things up. If you ever felt like trying something new (or even if he starts to feel bored about something), he would be open to the idea. Who knows, maybe the new thing you try could even become a part of your routine.

U-Understanding (how good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic?)

It’s no surprise that he is very adept at reading people, he’s on to it and has exceptional observation skills. He uses these skills with you as well.

He knows what it’s like to be consumed by emotions (in fact he knows that too well), and while with most, he’s the type to keep his emotions hidden, when it comes to you he shares his emotions to help you realize that he also knows how it feels and that you are not alone.

V-Value (how important is the relationship to them? What is its worth in comparison to other things in their life?).

Your relationship is a top priority in his life. He’s lost everyone he ever cares about (other than his crew) and there is no way he is going to lose you too. The only thing that may potentially rival your relationship is his goal of taking revenge on Doflamingo.

W-Wild card (a random fluff headcanon?)

There’s nothing he loves more than you running your hands through his hair while his head is on your chest or stomach. He automatically leans into your hand every time. He feels the safest in this position.

X-XOXO (Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle?)

Like I said before, he is affectionate but it’s mainly when the two of you are alone. Those displays of affection are for the two of you and no one else. But, when the two of you are alone he absolutely loves cuddles (especially lying with his head on your lap or chest).

Y- Yearning (how will they cope when they are missing their partner?)

He gets stressed when you’re not around for more than one reason. Firstly, you can’t help to calm him down and force him to take a breather. Secondly, he’s constantly worried about your safety and wellbeing.

Honestly, the only way he copes with it is by stressing (I know it’s not coping at all but I mean that’s Law for you LMAO).

Z-Zeal (are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind?)

Law would put his life on the line for your relationship. He doesn’t want to lose someone he cares about – not again. He can’t handle that sort of pain, so if it was required of him, he would gladly give his life.

[cicelythereaper]

Hello! I was wondering if you had anything on Y Gododdin 😃

hey! fellow gododdin enthusiast! what a delight

i presume this is a request for reading recommendations - i don’t know exactly what you’re looking for, or how accessible these will be, but i’ve tried to cover most bases here. i WISH there were more literary criticism, maybe there is in the welsh-language scholarship and i just haven’t found it? 

it’s entirely possible that i will have missed some obvious things here, i’m mostly sticking to stuff that i personally have read. if something mind-blowing has come out since the last time i did gododdin reading then it’s not here, i’m afraid! 

but enough disclaimers. on to the recs!

text and translation:

for a translation, i cannot recommend enough joseph p. clancy’s translation as found in the triumph tree: scotland’s earliest poetry, 550-1350, ed. t. o. clancy (1998). this is fantastic. it’s poetic, it’s a joy to read, and having used it as part of a deep read last year where i went through the welsh text in detail i am honestly AMAZED regularly at how well clancy handles the many translation issues that arise. it’s loose, and it doesn’t translate every single stanza unfortunately, but for the spirit of the poem you really can’t do better

that said, if you need another translation to check against/to fill in the gaps, i’d recommend kenneth jackson’s the gododdin: the oldest scottish poem (1969). it’s a prose translation, so it’s harder to use in conjunction with the text, but it’s pretty clear and accurate

text-wise... things get complicated. honestly, the best edition is probably still ifor williams’ canu aneirin (1938), in terms of faithfulness to the words on the manuscript page. (i also really enjoy his textual commentary, but it is in modern welsh so not accessible to everyone.) the major problem with it is that you are not going to get the stanzas in the order they appear in the manuscript - he reorders them into groups of perceived variants. this also makes it harder to distinguish between the A-text and the B-text. AND it means that the stanzas are not in the same order as in any of the translations!

if you can get hold of it, i really really think it is worth having daniel huws’ llyfr aneirin: a facsimile (1989). the introduction is SO useful for understanding the manuscript context, and it comes with gwenogvryn evans’ transcription of the book of aneirin, which you can compare with williams’ edition if need be to work out where a stanza actually goes.

there’s a conspectus of editions which i think thomas owen clancy put together but i cannot for the LIFE of me remember where it is - if you think you’ll need it, PM me and i’ll see what i can do

dating, textual criticism and historicity:

t. m. charles-edwards, wales and the britons, 350-1064 (2013), chapter 11 - this is from more of a historical perspective than a strictly linguistic/palaeographical/dating perspective, but it’s a really good general introduction and i definitely recommend starting with it. if you read nothing else, read this. this whole book is a godsend

t. m. charles-edwards, 'the authenticity of the gododdin: an historian's view', in astudiaethau ar yr hengerdd, eds. bromwich and jones (1978), pp. 44-91 - this kind of lays out the standard view which everyone has been deconstructing ever since. we don’t know anything about what’s going on with y gododdin, but at one point we thought we did know something and this was what it looked like

d. n. dumville, 'early welsh poetry: problems of historicity', in early welsh poetry: studies in the book of aneirin, ed. b. f. roberts (1988) - and HERE is the deconstruction! a pretty good overview of the issues with “knowing anything” when it comes to y gododdin

p. sims-williams, 'dating the poems of aneirin and taliesin', zeitschrift für celtische philologie 36 (2016), 163-224 - i don’t have any notes on this and haven’t read it recently, but i remember it being good (it’s sims-williams so of course it is). almost certainly contains linguistics, but is probably also written readably

o. j. padel, 'aneirin and taliesin: sceptical speculations', in beyond the gododdin: dark age scotland in medieval wales, ed. a. woolf (2013), pp. 153-75 - if you can stand linguistics talk, padel does his best to make it understandable here and gives a good overview of the linguistic arguments for and against suggested dates for y gododdin. this whole book is actually very useful

g. r. isaac, 'canu aneirin awdl LI', journal of celtic linguistics 2 (1993), 65-91, AND 'readings in the history and transmission of the gododdin', cambrian medieval celtic studies 37 (1999), 55-78 - DEEP IN THE TEXTUAL CRITICISM. honestly, my poor attention span means i find it hard to pay attention all the way through these two, but if you want a really in-depth look at the possible relationships between the A and B-texts of y gododdin, this is the way to go

historical discussion and background:

charles-edwards in wales and the britons chapter 11 again

j. rowland, 'warfare and horses in the gododdin and the problem of catraeth', cambrian medieval celtic studies 30 (1995), 13-40 - this is a pretty cool look at the role of cavalry in y gododdin and while i don’t agree with all of it, i think it’s really useful reading if you’re going for a historical take on the poem

p. m. dunshea, 'the meaning of catraeth: a revised early context for y gododdin', in beyond the gododdin again, pp. 81-114 - makes some ESSENTIAL points re the question of: is catraeth catterick? moreover, IS CATRAETH A PLACE?

c. cessford, 'northern england and the gododdin poem', northern history 33 (1997), 218-22 - a historical perspective on the poem with some very useful points, comparing the situation as sketched out in y gododdin with what we know of the area at the time

m. wood, 'bernician transitions: place-names and archaeology', in early medieval northumbria: kingdoms and communities, AD 450-1100, eds. petts and turner (2011), pp. 35-70 - a welcome look at the archaeological and place-name evidence for what was going on in bernicia as it changed from a brittonic to a germanic-dominated area. really useful to have in mind both when reading the poem and when reading more literary history

r. collins, 'military communities and transformation of the frontier from the fourth to the sixth centuries', in the same book, pp. 15-34 - pretty fascinating look at the earlier background running up to the time period depicted in y gododdin, and the possibility of continuity between the roman occupation of hadrian’s wall and the post-roman era there. useful social/archaeological perspective!

f. h. clark, 'thinking about western northumbria', in the same book, pp. 113-28 - an early medieval english perspective on the area at the time, useful for comparison and completeness’ sake 

literary discussion:

ifor williams, lectures on early welsh poetry (1944) and the beginnings of welsh poetry, ed. bromwich (1972, 2nd ed. 1980) - THE CLASSICS. an old-fashioned, not to say outdated, viewpoint, but that’s because this is the guy who INVENTED the viewpoint back when it was new! even now there’s a lot of good stuff packed into these and ifor williams’ prose style is a real pleasure to read. not to be missed

a. o. h. jarman, 'the heroic ideal in early welsh poetry', in beiträge zur indogermanistik und keltologie, ed. meid (1967), pp. 193-211 - likewise somewhat old-fashioned now, but lays out the classic viewpoint well and makes some good literary points. it may also be worth reading the introduction to his edition/translation, aneirin: the gododdin (1988). (i don’t recommend using it as an edition because he conflates the A and B texts and renders the text into modern welsh - this means it reads very smoothly but is quite a bit further away from what’s on the manuscript page.) 

h. fulton, 'cultural heroism in the old north of britain: the evidence of aneirin's gododdin', in the epic in history ed. davidson, mukherjee and zlatar (1994), pp. 18-39 - a pretty interesting read, about the mindset expressed in the poetry, its purpose and its construction

this isn’t lit crit but i’m putting in my favourite g. r. isaac quote from his article ‘gweith gwen ystrat and the northern heroic age of the sixth century’, p. 69: ‘Koch writes that the Book of Aneirin’s ‘immediate milieu is… not the Celtic Heroic Age, but the High Middle Ages’, as if the ‘Celtic Heroic Age’ were a period of comparable historical status to the High Middle Ages. This is not the case, however. A ‘heroic age’ cannot be the ‘immediate milieu’ of any literary production, a ‘heroic age’ cannot produce literature, because a ‘heroic age’ is itself produced through literature (taken in the broadest sense). It is a literary product. The Homeric epics are not the product of  a Bronze Age Achaean heroic age, but vice versa. The Irish Ulster Cycle is not the product of an Iron Age, pre-Christian heroic age, but vice versa. And the medieval Welsh poems of ‘Aneirin’ and ‘Taliesin’ (and Triads, sections of the Historia Brittonum, and much else) are not products of a sixth-century North British heroic age, but vice versa.’

honestly there just is not nearly enough lit crit for y gododdin, in english at least, especially to explain cool shit that the welsh text is doing that isn’t visible in the translation, and/or things that could be subversive or ambiguous about it - so, i don’t know what your level of engagement with the medieval welsh text is, but if you’re curious, if you want to know more about what’s going on in a specific stanza (or which stanzas are extended puns), or just which things i’ve been dying to yell about all year, PLEASE message me and I! WILL! YELL! 

articles which are almost certainly good and useful but it’s been too long since i’ve read them to say:

t. o. clancy, 'the kingdoms of the north: poetry, places, politics', in beyond the gododdin again, pp. 153-75

m. haycock, 'early welsh poets look north', likewise in beyond the gododdin, pp. 115-52

FINAL NOTE:

one of the problems with translations is that they give an impression of way more certainty about the meaning of the text... than is actually there. you’re pretty safe with clancy or kenneth jackson, but tread carefully. again, i don’t know your level of engagement with medieval welsh, but if you want to know if there are any major textual issues with a stanza, hmu and i will gladly consult my copious textual notes! but in general, BEWARE of basing anything too heavily on the following groups of stanzas:

A40, A41, B5, B6 (Am drynni drylaw drylenn; Clancy ‘For the feast, most sad, disastrous’)

A42, B25, B35 (Eur ar vur caer; Clancy ‘Gold on fortress wall’)

A48, B3, B24 (Llech leutu tud leudvre; Clancy ‘Standing stone in cleared ground’)

A62, B14, B15, B16, B36 (Angor dewr daen; Clancy ‘Anchor, Deifr-router’)

the Gorchanau if you’re interacting with those, especially the Gwarchan Maeldderw - if anyone tells you they know exactly what is going on in these, do not believe them. isaac has a full translation of the gwarchan maeldderw in cambrian medieval studies 44, and it’s useful, but i’m not by ANY means completely convinced by it, so tread carefully.  

the more stanzas there are in a group of variants (or at least a group that shares lines), the more likely it is that those stanzas are going to be SUPER DUPER TEXTUALLY FUCKED UP, is a pretty good rule of thumb.

[rwby-nwbe]

Just Finished RWBY Volume 2...

...and HOLY HECK IT GOT BETTER.

[Warning: Spoilers for Volume 2 and Long Post.]

New antagonists! More huntsman action! More characters and interactions! And the fights, tho. THE FIGHTS!

*Ahem* Okay, clearly I just need to start from the beginning...

Episode 1

We start the new season by being reintroduced to our new antagonists, Emerald Sustrai and Mercury Black. They may be villains, but they're also obviously teens (Mercury radiates prick energy) and they're dynamic is entertaining. Also, RIP Tukson, he seemed like a nice dude...

We then cut back to Team RWBY and JNPR, who are apparently on break at the moment. It's also nice to see Sun again, and we also get to meet Neptune. Anyways, someone throws a pie in Weiss face, and you know what that means...

FOOD FIGHT!!!

Seriously, THESE KIDS ARE CRAZY. Ruby can apparently surf on lunch trays! Weiss used ketchup and a freakin' swordfish like Myrtenaster! Blake used baguettes and a sausage link like Gambol Shroud! Freakin' YANG was punching things with TURKEY! JAUNE... threw a melon, that was cool; nice to see that he's losing the noodleness of his body. NORA RIPPED OUT A PIPE, STUFFED IT TO A MELON, AND CALLED IT MAGNHILD! Note to self: never challenge Pyrrha to a fight near a vending machine (or anytime, really). Ren can kick WATERMELONS, and fight with LEEKS. HOW CAN THEY EVEN DIGEST ALL THAT FOOD!?

RIP Neptune's hair though, I hear grape is hard to wash out...

Then we cut back to the White Fang and Torchwick, who are then met with Mercury, Emerald, and later the great Cinder Fall herself. I'll admit, Mercury's funny but a jerk, and Emerald... I'm pretty sure I was mentally screaming "YOU'RE BEING MANIPULATED" when I saw her and Cinder. First she doesn't give Emerald a hug, then she tells her to not think and just obey? RED FLAGS. RED FLAGS EVERYWHERE.

Oh, speaking of Cinder, while she does radiate boss energy, I'm glad that I don't personally like her. I don't know what it is, but it might be the fact that she's treating everyone else like her pawns (and considering she used a chess piece later in this volume, I wouldn't be surprised). I mean, good villain, but like any good villain, I want her to get roasted, though that might not work given her Semblance.

Also, Roman Torchwick, you beautiful jerk, never change. I love ya, but I also love seeing you get dragged, which is what Emerald did to you at the end of this. Yep, I'm on board for this season!

Also, the new opening. I thought nothing could top "This Will Be The Day." I was wrong. Haven't listened to all of it yet, but "Time To Say Goodbye" SLAPS.

Episode 2

So, several things. There's board games, insert Yu-Gi-Oh reference here... Yang has too much power. Also, if I remember the lingo right, then this is also the episode where the White Rose shippers got crumbs, the White Knight shippers were once again denied, and where the Iceberg shippers were born (while the rest of us were titling our heads in confusion with Jaune). Jaune continues to be a social dork (what's with the blonde boys blowing Blake's secret? Don't think I've forgotten about Sun...). Blake is being consumed with the burden of RESPONSIBILITY. I feel that Blake. Oh, and the ending...

Why do out villains have to be clever enough to infiltrate the actual school!? And Weiss' "We're doomed." I hope that's not secret foreshadowing...

Episode 3

Jaune fails yet again at wooing Weiss (at least Yang comforts him at the end), and the gang begins their espionage. We meet Penny again, Weiss deals with her past, albeit briefly, and Penny... oh boy. She's hiding something, and the hiccups make it obvious. What could it possibly- oh...

Episode 4

Most of us had our suspicions, what with Penny's awkward demeanor and ludicrous super strength, but yep, she's a robot! Aw, get yourself a real one like Ruby. Oh, and Neptune's useless with Yang around. Speaking of, HEY, good to see you again, Junior! So Blake and Sun intercept the White Fang rally and... oh fudge they got giant robots. BAIL! We also get to see Neptune's weapon and Sun's semblance (before they nope off the road and leave the rest of the fighting to RWBY, while they go off and get ramen, the jerks...). Also, nice to see that they have team attack names (I believe some of them double as ship names), and this is where we get to meet the Ice Cream Queen Neopolitan (not to be confused with the now officially dubbed Ice Queen Weiss Schnee. If even the villains are calling you that, then congrats, you have a new title)! Neo then proceeds to give them the slip, and I personally believe that Yang only disliked Weiss' pun because it highlighted her failure.

C'mon Yang, at least she's TRYING!

Episode 5

Pyrrha is a combat queen. 'Nuff said. Suck it, CRDL.

Oh no. Mercury is both a smart aleck AND smart. This will not end well.

Blake, take a break. No, seriously, working yourself to death just because you think you can doesn't mean you should. You will only feel worse. TAKE A BREAK.

Well Jaune, mission failed. You'll get her next time.

Pyrrha Nikos. Sweetie. We're talking about Jaune Arc here. He's not gonna get the hints you're dropping unless that "hint" is a full blown irrefutable confession so obvious that even he can't screw it up. I know you want to help him because you like him (and yes, even like like him), but it's clear Weiss isn't interested, at least not now. Capitalize on that!

And our villain group continues to be dastardly. *Chuckles* We're in danger.

Episode 6

The dance draws near, and it seems that both Blake AND Jaune could use a pep talk!

Poor Blake. It appears your faunus trait makes you more cat-like than just the ears.

Also, poor Ren. He just wants a nice bath, but alas, the power of bromance.

Oof, tough love from Yang. Pretty good flashback, though. Also, Pyrrha, your selfless nature will be your undoing, listen to Nora.

...oh God, if I'm saying "listen to Nora" when the world isn't ending, we might ACTUALLY be in danger.

Aw, the dance looks fun. Poor Jaune, tho. Don't worry, at least Yang, Blake, and Sun are having a good time (and this is the part where I realize I'm becoming a SunnyBee shipper, crap). Poor Ruby, having to wear heels. Don't worry, Ozpin will keep you company.

Oh crap, the villain kids are here! What are you up to!?

Episode 7

This one gets the runner up for my favorite episode. Alternatively, I give it the title "Team Leaders Know What's Up."

Jaune, you may be a dumbass, but you're the rare "Surprisingly Competent Dumbass With A Heart Of Gold," and you get my respect for that. Being socially awkward with Ruby? Comedy gold. Putting things into perspective for Neptune? Props, my dude. Comforting Pyrrha? Friendship goals (even though it should be more than friendship goals, but hey, you put on the dress, I'll give you that). Nice dance moves, by the way, JNPR.

As for Ruby... drinking Jaune's punch? Iconic. Noticing Cinder sneaking away? Nice. Fighting her in heels of all things? You, my dear red reaper, are on another level. A shame that Ironwood couldn't get there faster and that Cinder had to bail, but oh well.

Also: Penny continues to be heckin' adorable. I will never NOT stan.

Episode 8

HEAR YE, HEAR YE, THE NOBLE DOG ZWEI HAS GRACED US WITH HIS ADORABLE PRESENCE. Tremble before his ability to fit in boxes and melt Weiss' heart. Oh, and RWBY gets exposed to Ozpin, but surprise! Even Ozpin doesn't have to play by the rules! Though that could get him in trouble with Ironwood later...

Why does this show keep showing me characters that I want to get to know better in record time!? Team CFVY looks so interesting, and it's nice to see Velvet again! Ooh, I hope we see them more later...

Also, Professor Oobleck, I know we saw a bit of you in Volume 1, and I wish we got to know you better. You seem delightful.

Episode 9

Okay, my previous statement of DOCTOR Oobleck still stands. I love this chaotic fast man.

He's both funny AND deep! His reaction to Zwei? Comedy gold! Him picking apart RWBY's motives and the Grimm? Disturbingly thought provoking, but enjoyable. Also, Ruby, you're great, but you're not entirely a genius, you're just a little bit lucky.

In conclusion: there are a lot of characters to stan in RWBY. Dr. Oobleck is one of them.

Episode 10

We learn about WBY's motivations, now excuse me while I go crying in the club right now.

OH NO, RUBY GOT KIDNAPPED! AND SHE DOESN'T HAVE HER SCYTHE! FRICK, it's a mindset kind of deal! Without her scythe, she thinks she's useless! Oh, and Roman's there too, that's not good.

...that is REALLY not good, Oobleck! Get down there, all of you! Wait, is your thermos... your WEAPON!? HOW THE FU-

(Sidenote, I looked up the name, since most weapons have them and I'm impatient for them getting name dropped. "Antiquity's Roast," eh? Fitting...)

Episode 11

So... this episode.

Poor Ruby. She failed to fight back, she almost ran away but then it turns out Melodic Cudgel is also a GRAPPLING HOOK. Thank god Yang and company finally busted their way in.

...why are Roman and the White Fang going kamikaze with those train car bombs? Oh right, the Grimm. Crap, that ain't good.

Ah, Oobleck. You may have accidentally repeated Ruby's line, but a swig of your thermos/club/flamethrower and then using it to bat Zwei into a cannonball of death redeemed you!

So Neo's back. She's skilled, sassy, has something going on with her eyes... Oh boy, Yang's getting outclassed by a pipsqueak. That's gotta suck.

Does every faunus (baring Blake, Sun, etc.) hate the SDC? Seriously Weiss, what did your father DO!?

Roman, do not get flirty with Blake. Junior tried something similar with Yang way back in the Yellow Trailer, and he got socked in the face. You deserve that kick in the head.

Oh look, Yang's mom is here! Nice, now Neo can't kill her (don't you dare, you little ice cream, I swear...). Oh. OH. That's a big sword. Yeah, ya better run, Neo. You ain't winnin' this fight. Great, now I want to know what Yang's mom's deal is. Figures she just warped away afterwards...

And now the Grimm are above ground. Yeah, seems like a good time for the season finale.

Episode 12

Now THIS is my favorite episode.

Look at that, Jaune's getting good instincts! And it's nice that Team JNPR was able to help RWBY. Also nice that Jaune can actually kill a Grimm now. Good job, man. You earned Pyrrha's smile of approval.

As much as I'm wary of the antagonist trio, I'll admit, they can fight good. Especially Emerald, her guns are sick. Why am I warming up to her so fast? What is this magic!?

...CFVY. CFVY. WHY ARE Y'ALL SO BADASS? Seriously, Yatsuhashi's carying an entire sword and a half. Fox just pulled a Ren and caused a Grimm to explode. Coco... God, Coco- WHY DOES RUBY HAVE SO MANY QUEENS, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!?

"You just destroyed my favorite clothing store. Prepare to die."

I-FREAKING-CONIC!

And she just murders Grimm with a BRIEFCASE. That turns into a GATTLING GUN. BECAUSE OF COURSE IT'S ALSO A GUN. (BTW, Gianduja is a really cool name for it.)

And now I want to know Velvet's weapon! It doesn't look like much now, but apparently it took a semester to build. And we know that Velvet can fight based on what we saw with her and Fox, so how does she ADD to that!?

THAT TRACK IN THE BACKGROUND, TOO! "CAFFEINE~" HELL YEAH!!!

Ooh, Port and Oobleck teamup! Oh no... THE GLYNDA IS MAD PEOPLE. I REPEAT, THE GLYNDA IS MAD! SHE HAS NO PATIENCE FOR YOUR GRIMM BS!!!

Welp, Roman got handled, though I doubt it's for long... Yay, RWBY finally gets a break! Oh boy, trouble brewing between Ozpin and Ironwood, that ain't good.

...bull man's back. Uh, guys, Adam's back! And he's helping the bad guys! THIS IS REALLY NOT GOOD.

...oh, so your name is Raven? And that's what you look like under the mask. There's the resemblance... Oh boy, where have you been all of Yang's life?

...

So all in all, Volume 2 was even better than Volume 1, in my opinion. It's like they took the first volume and amped it up to 11. Longer runtimes, great comedy, great action sequences, great CHARACTERS. It's just a complete trip! 10/10, would ride again. Welp, it's getting late, so I can't immediately start Volume 3. But what Volume 2 gave us is good enough to tide me over.

...I am so glad I started this series. Well, this is goodbye for now. Cheers, internet!

-Mathewton, the RWBY Newbie (22 March 2020)

[homenum-revelio-hq]

Welcome to the Order of the Phoenix, Christie!

You have been accepted for the role of non-biography character DEDALUS DIGGLE with the faceclaim of Amadeus Serafini! We love reading about your Diggle! He was such a delight. We especially enjoyed the family section, which has been less-than-thrilled with his activism, along with the prejudice section that showed Dedalus not always taking the time to listen to those with less privilege. It shines a particularly real light, right now especially. So happy to have you apart of this roleplay!  

Please take a look at the new member checklist and send in your account within 24 hours! Thank you for joining the fight against Voldemort!

OUT OF CHARACTER:

NAME: Christie

AGE: 20

TIMEZONE: GMT+3

ACTIVITY LEVEL: I’m a uni student who’s almost done with her deadlines so very soon I’ll have a lot of free time and I’d love to dedicate it to further developing Dedalus in this group. This might be subject to change if I actually manage to get a job (fingers crossed) but I’m sure I’ll still have time to do replies and just interact with people in general at least a few times a week. Plus my weekends are free for the foreseeable future so there’s always that!

ANYTHING ELSE: Nope

CHARACTER DETAILS:

NAME: Dedalus Diggle

AGE: 26

GENDER, PRONOUNS, and SEXUALITY: Cis male, he/him. He uses no labels for his sexuality – purely because he’s not currently aware of one that accurately describes him – but is very openly interested in people of all genders. Bisexuality is the term he’d consider closest to accurately describing his orientation, though it’s not quite right either. In modern terms, I’d say he’s pansexual.

BLOOD STATUS: Pureblood

HOUSE ALUMNI: Ravenclaw

ANY CHANGES: –

CHARACTER BACKGROUND:

PERSONALITY:

Less is more has never been a philosophy that applies to Dedalus, not in any way, shape or form. He talks big, dreams even bigger, and the catch of it all is that nobody believes in what he says more than he himself does. Optimism or naivete, it’s hard to tell, but he has a great deal of both and somehow, for better or worse, the world hasn’t managed to run him down just yet. He’s open, and friendly, and so very excitable, and as much as that can be a strength, he’s also no stranger to taking things too far. He’s very familiar with social faux pas, whether as a result of not reading the room or simply of a miscalculated attempt to raise people’s spirits gone wrong.

It comes as no surprise that as a former Ravenclaw, his mind is his greatest weapon. Dedalus is very intelligent, though that might not be too obvious just from the way he behaves. Most people would probably perceive him as rather silly, really, if not downright bonkers since most of his ideas are very much outlandish. To say he struggles with expressing his ideas in a way they would make more sense would imply he actively tries to, which simply isn’t the case. He’s perfectly content in saying his piece and letting people dismiss him as somewhat of an oddball if they so wish.

Since his head is so often up in the clouds, however, it’s hard to keep track of what goes on on the ground. Dedalus is very much off in his own Dedalus-land most of the time, seeing and perceiving things purely the way he wants to, and in a sense, there’s definitely a disconnection between him and the rest of the world. He’s not necessarily aware of it either, but that doesn’t make it any less present.

BRIEF OVERVIEW OF FAMILY: 

The Diggle family currently consists of Delia, Samuel and Dedalus, not accounting for a variety of cousins whose names, quite frankly, Dedalus cannot remember for the life of him. Lots of D-names, he’d say at a guess; those always seem to be a hit within his family. And as far as his relationship with his parents goes, he tries not to think about it too much. It’s strained, without a doubt, though Dedalus doesn’t want to consider exactly how strained. They’ve always had their differences, ever since he’d been old enough to express an opinion, but for the past few years, he’s been slowly but surely distancing himself from them and they don’t seem to mind terribly much. They’re letting him live out his ‘rebellious phase’, they say and for Dedalus, that further solidifies the fact they don’t really know him at all. He’s always been somewhat of a disappointment, anyway; it’s no surprise they wouldn’t mind if people stopped associating him too much with the Diggle family.

Thinking back, they’d liked him much better before he’d started thinking for himself – back when he followed etiquette, when he spent time only with people who meant something in the Wizarding World, when he didn’t think too much about muggle-borns, and half-bloods, and all those little things he so likes to talk about these days. Delia and Samuel are much too dignified to publicly admit something as crude as the belief muggle-borns are less capable, less worthy, less, but, well, it’s true, isn’t it? They certainly wouldn’t bring up the topic in polite company, but facts are facts.

OCCUPATION: 

Owner of Dedalus Diggle’s Delights, a candy shop in Diagon Alley that he founded with his parents’ money back when he was twenty-one and they were becoming particularly unbearable with their admonishments and lectures on responsibility. It was simply a clever way to say ‘screw you’ at first – starting and running a proper business is hard work but Dedalus also takes immense pride in the fact that his parents could hardly say they’d expected this; after all, what said childish and irresponsible better than candy? In the past few years, however, Dedalus Diggle’s Delights has developed a bitter rivalry with Sugarplum’s Sweet Shop, though it is unclear whether Dedalus is the only one who really perceives it that way. Grudgingly, he will admit Sugarplum’s seems to be doing better at the moment but, he will also be quick to add, that is, of course, only because he hardly has the time to invest into his shop as he is just so very busy with his other job.

For the unenlightened, ‘other job’ refers to his little experiments, which isn’t really a proper job. Dedalus fancies himself a bit of a tinkerer, an innovator, and he spends most of his days crafting magical items with varying degrees of success. One you might be familiar with if you’ve spoken to him for longer than thirty seconds is his pocket watch. Quite the handy little thing, he won’t hesitate to let you know. Always knows your schedule and reminds you if you’re late for an appointment!

For the enlightened, however, ‘other job’ refers to his work for the Order – also not exactly a proper job, come to think of it. Dedalus is very dedicated to the cause and always eager to help even with the smallest of jobs. Newer members might appreciate the help at first, though conversations with Dedalus rarely end once the job is done so perhaps they’ve ought to know better by now than to accept his help unless they’ve got time to spare. His main job, the way he sees it, is to provide a different point of view, the more outlandish the better. No one can spark a conversation quite like Dedalus Diggle and he takes great pride in that.

ROLE WITHIN THE ORDER/THOUGHTS ABOUT THE ORDER: 

Stepping out of character for this one – because while Dedalus has a lot of thoughts on his role within the Order, he does tend to see things in his own Dedalus way – I’d say that outside of helping wherever he’s needed and filling out empty roles on missions, the biggest asset he brings to the Order is his mind. He’s very good at taking a step back and providing a different perspective – granted, it’s usually a fairly outlandish perspective, but once stripped of its more fantastical elements, other members will often find there’s a lot of value in his input. He’d be perfect for an advisor if he only he was less… extraordinary in his ideas which often err on the side of impractical if not impossible. He personally calls it ‘dreaming big’ but you can see how that line is so easily crossed.

And speaking of big dreams and idealism, Dedalus very much believes the Order will prevail. He finds it easier than most might to shake off the small losses and disadvantages because in his head it’s simply impossible that the Order would lose. He’s very much a good versus evil kind of guy and in his head, the Order represents good and thus will always prevail. It would be absolutely fascinating to explore how bigger losses (ex: the death of James) might change things as far as Dedalus’ belief, certainty and, to a degree, naivete go, and how those potential change might manifest.

While I imagine his dedication and input are enough to qualify him for the Inner circle, Dedalus, unfortunately, is also much too absentminded to be trusted with the most important of the Order’s secrets and decisions. He’s no stranger to slipping up and admitting things he’s not supposed to be sharing, and while it’s usually small things and he’s pretty good at playing up the ’I’m just a random weirdo, don’t mind what I’m saying’ card, I can’t imagine the Order would be willing to risk it. And so he is a mid-level member, but the higher-ups are probably still careful and quite possibly only ever tell him the bare minimum he needs to know.

SURVIVAL: 

As mentioned, Dedalus very much lives in his own world to a certain extent. He sees things the same everybody else does, but his interpretations are almost always positive and optimistic in favour of himself and the Order. This is more in terms of mentality, as far as survival goes, but I do feel that’s also something very important to consider. At the moment, I’d say he’s in a pretty good mental state in the sense that he’s mostly content and the horrors of war haven’t managed to quite make an impact. If he were to become disillusioned – which I personally think is really only a matter of time – that would certainly change things and survival might just become a whole lot harder.

Outside of his own head, he’s got it pretty easy when compared to most. His parents are wealthy and mostly happy to let him have his ‘rebellious phase’ for a while longer which as far as they’re aware consists purely of Dedalus foregoing all pureblood etiquette and expectations. Hardly anyone suspects his affiliation with the Order due to how absent-minded and irresponsible he comes across as, though he himself has had a few close calls with accidentally exposing himself; luckily, people are used to him talking nonsense and it’s not hard for him to cover up his near slip-ups as more mindless prattle.

RELATIONSHIPS: 

If Dedalus had his way, he’d spend days and days just chatting with people. They wouldn’t even need to say anything back – he has more than enough to say on a multitude of topics and he can absolutely hold an entire conversation, an argument even, all by himself. All the better if there’s someone to nod along.

That said, here are some ideas I had after browsing some bios/apps (that are of course just my interpretation and completely a subject to change after chatting with the other writers!):

Gideon Prewett: With how people seem to go to him for advice and how he brings stability to the Order, I think he could be someone to balance Dedalus out. Dedalus has good ideas and even better intentions, but in reality, his ideas are only worth executing after they’ve been sufficiently dialled down and their more outlandish elements have been worked out.

Amos Diggory: Just based off of their jovial, friendly personalities, I think Dedalus and Amos would get on like a house on fire. Dedalus would certainly enjoy his presence, be it for a quick chat or a smoke, and I think they have the potential to be great friends.

Emmeline Vance: Emmeline and Dedalus seem to share an interest in figuring out how things work and it would be so cool to explore their dynamic especially since I also love the contrast between her, who is so easy to overlook, and Dedalus, who doesn’t let people look anywhere but at him.

Hestia Jones: With how good Hestia is at thinking outside the box, I feel she and Dedalus are definitely kindred spirits in that sense. But while her ideas might get shot down, people listen to Dedalus and maybe that can cause some friction between them.

Ndulue Travers: I came across the “Do they have money? Flair? A sense of humour and an ability to hold their liquor? Let’s be friends!” part of their app and Dedalus definitely has all of the above, even if his ability to hold his liquor is a bit questionable. Oh, well. He’d argue it makes things more fun anyway.

Edgar Bones: Similar to Gideon, I feel like he’d be a good foil for Dedalus. Dedalus spends more time with his head in the clouds rather than his feet on the ground so he definitely needs someone who leans more towards the opposite to keep him grounded – or to clash with, though Dedalus rarely if ever looks for confrontation.

OOC EXPLORATION:

SHIPS/ANTI-SHIPS: Oh, man, I’d be open to exploring just about any ship with Dedalus. He’s very much a ‘try everything at least once’ type of guy so honestly, he himself is very open to all kinds of romantic and sexual relationships too.

WHAT PRIVILEGES AND BIASES DOES YOUR CHARACTER HAVE? 

Dedalus likes to think of himself as a very progressive wizard indeed; he almost makes it a point to always be the most open and accepting he can be. His intentions are good and his actions are genuine though I do imagine it might not come across this way to some – after all, if he’s trying that hard to show everybody how open-minded he is, surely he’s got something to hide or make up for, no? Then there’s also the other side of this double-edged knife – at what point does he become too progressive? For example, he might be pretty quick to forgive a person for calling a muggle-born a ‘mudblood’ if they show some remorse – even if it’s not his place, as a pureblood, to forgive such a thing. Dedalus would be the first to shake hands with a werewolf, the first to loudly point out and draw attention to the accomplishments of muggle-borns – but in a weird way, the last one to think to double-check with them if his ‘activism’ is even wanted.

But come on, does he really mean all that? At his core, Dedalus has very much grown up in a pureblood society, as much as he might’ve been a black sheep in a lot of ways. He’s trying very hard to unlearn those prejudiced ideas, but often they would still be very present in his initial reactions. In a way, his avid desire to always be almost excessively open-minded is indeed trying to make up for something i.e. his previous pureblood habits and values.

This is, naturally, also very connected to the privileges he already has. He is a white man from a pureblood family. Although his behaviour is a far cry from what would be expected of him, he, without a doubt, still retains a big part of those privileges, with his parents and I imagine fellow purebloods assuming the mentality that this is his ‘rebellious phase’ that he will soon grow out of. That said, I do think quite a few people might find his promiscuity quite distasteful – not only does he not hide his dalliances with wix and muggles alike but he almost seems to flaunt them.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? I’ve had so many ideas about Dedalus Diggle for such a long time, but unfortunately, I’ve never really had the chance to properly explore and develop him as a character. I think this rp will be a great fit both for the sort of dynamics I would like to explore with Dedalus and for what he has to bring to the table too. I think he’s got very particular energy about him and I also think it would mesh well with the general vibe of this rp.

PLOT DROP IDEAS (OPTIONAL): Generally speaking, Dedalus is always down for a good party and it would be very much in-character for him to host one at some point.

ANYTHING ELSE? –

EXTRA FOR NON-BIO CHARACTERS:

PAST: 

Born as the sole heir to Delia and Samuel Diggle, Dedalus was no stranger to getting pampered while growing up. The newest, shiniest toys, the most expensive, highest quality clothes, pretty much everything he owned had some sort of a superlative attached to it. He revelled in it all, took to luxury like a fish to water, and was perfectly happy to play the role of the polite little heir as long as it got him what he wanted. “What a charming boy,” distant and not-so-distant cousins would exclaim and pinch his cheeks. “How well-behaved, how polite!”

Unfortunately, good manners lost all appeal by the time left for Hogwarts. It was just so boring, being nice and perfect all the time, and Dedalus began to push, trying to see how far he could go before his parents had enough. Apparently, quite far. It was incredible what Delia and Samuel – and, to an extent, their entire society – would excuse as ‘normal teenage boy affairs’.

With time, his clothes turned more extravagant though no less expensive. His circle of friends widened much beyond fellow purebloods and even included a muggle or two. His sexual and romantic experiments were practically public knowledge – his mother had nearly had a heart attack when one of her closest friends had once brought up his muggle-born boyfriend during brunch.

By the time he graduated, Dedalus had more or less solidified his status as the rebellious son of the Diggle family. So, he figured, might as well take it a step further. His beliefs had changed over the course of the past few years and Dedalus had no intention of hiding that. In fact, it was quite the opposite – he spoke up, often and loudly, about how muggle-borns weren’t treated fairly, about how werewolves were misunderstood, about how pureblood ideals were outdated and unfounded. It was easy to dismiss him, with his purple top hat and his fancy waistcoat, and his natural joie de vivre didn’t help his quest of being taken seriously either. But eventually, the right people took notice of him and the Order welcomed him.

PRESENT: 

Currently, Dedalus spends his days one of three ways. If he is needed at the Order or something of particular importance is happening, he dedicates all his time helping. He’s still very eager and enthusiastic about the cause and while some might believe every day brings them closer to victory, Dedalus thinks it’s quite the opposite. But of course, he’d reassure people, every revolution has its troubles and complications. You lose some and then you win some, that’s just how life goes.

And if his services aren’t needed with the Order, he tinkers. He’s always had a quiet passion for tinkering – just about the only thing quiet about him, really – and he’s been slowly but surely perfecting his craft through trial and error. He has grand plans for his creations, from helping the Order to mass-producing some of them one day, and he’s perfectly happy to let his hobby consume all his free time.

Lastly, he doesn’t do this often although he probably should, but Dedalus is known to pay some attention to Dedalus Diggle’s Delights every now and then. Mostly, he just lets other people handle the different parts of the business, but occasionally, he takes some interest in it himself. On these days, he’d be manning the counter and taking every chance to chat more to his customers and get some valuable feedback.

FC CHOICES: Amadeus Serafini, Jack Falahee, James Bay

[xxwritemeastoryxx]

Monster - Part 1

Author: xxwritemeastoryxx

Pairings: Damon Salvatore x Reader

Word Count: 2.8K

Warnings: Not much in this one. A little day drinking, mentions of dad issues, and old vampire murders.

Author’s Note: I apologize for the time it has taken to get this first part out. Between getting that damn respiratory virus that was going around, the holidays and my visit to Mexico, writing was just difficult for me. But here it is and I hope you guys enjoy it.

"You've got to be kidding." Damon said as he looked at Elizabeth Forbes.

They had currently been standing in the middle of the Salvatore living room. It had been just hours after the new Mayor had taken over the office. In that time alone things had already been quickly changing. From Officer Forbes' perspective things were about to become interesting with these new found changes. She believed it was better to keep Damon in the loop than him find out later when the Mayor requested a meeting with him.

"He's doing this his way and creating a whole new council. There is nothing that I can do." Liz said as she placed her hands on her hips. "Founding families mean nothing to him in this moment or their status in this town."

"We must still have some kind of pull in this." Damon said trying to think of anything that they could possibly do to keep them all in the loop without having to sit around and wait.

"Unless you are extremely close friends with any of the Y/L/N Family, there is no way to get into any of the council meetings. I, thankfully, have known and been friends with his sister for some time and she trusts me." Liz said with a slight nod. "I'll try to keep you guys as updated as possible, but I have no idea how this is going play out."

"Y/L/N. Besides the obvious, why does that name sound familiar?" Damon asked. While it wasn't a name he had heard on a daily basis until Y/D/N came into town, at that moment it was sticking out in his mind but couldn't quite place where he has heard or seen that last name.

"His daughter was raised here in Mystic Falls. She's been the secretary to the Mayor's office for almost five years now. Mayor Lockwood had been the one to hire her in." Liz informed him. "You may know her name just by looking at some of the paperwork you come across from the office."

"Y/N?" Damon asked with a sigh. He remembered her from the occasional times he had seen her in passing. While he never actually spoke with her or gotten to know the woman, he knew who she was.  “Why am I willing to bet anything that she was probably feeding her dad information that he needs to know about this town to make these changes?”

Liz shook her head. "Lets not jump to conclusions. I've known Y/N for a long time and I am certain she knows nothing about the supernatural world. Her Aunt has kept her in the dark for a reason."

"There is only one way to find out for sure." Damon said as he thought for a moment before he grabbed a hold of his jacket.

"Damon." Liz said with a warning tone.

"What?" He said giving her a small smirk. "It’s not like I'm going over there to kill her. Just to talk with her and see what I can possibly get out of her."

Liz sighed as she shook her head slightly. "Don't do anything stupid to draw more attention to yourself."

"I make no promises." Damon called out as he made his way out the door. Just as he was about to reach the door, Stefan and Elena walked in. “Liz has some news for you.” He said walking past them. “And she’ll fill you in on where I’m going.” He said before Stefan could ask.

Y/N had been sitting at the bar of the Mystic Grill. She held a drink in one hand, a pen in the other, while she looked over the pile of paperwork that had been sitting in front of her. Her Y/H/C hair had still been pulled up into a neat bun that she had yet to pull out since she had left the office over an hour ago. The heel of her black pumps tapped against the stool as her leg bounced slightly.  

While she was all for her father becoming the Mayor of Mystic Falls, she hated all the paperwork that now needed to be done. All the paperwork that Mayor Lockwood had left unfinished needed to be compiled and on his desk by tomorrow morning. What also made things a bit difficult was her father’s request for specific files that she was going to have to track down. Many of those files were decades old and lost with in the archives.

From the corner of her eye she could see someone walk up to the bar beside her. “The last time I seen someone sitting here working away as hard as you are, he became a drinking buddy of mine.”

Y/N’s head turned slightly to look at the who had been speaking to her. “That position for me has been filled for quite some time.” She said before looking back down at the paperwork in front of her.

She knew exactly who had been speaking to her. Damon Salvatore definitely wasn’t a stranger to the town and she knew that. He was good looking and she was sure as hell he knew that about himself. While she did have a weakness for the man with gorgeous blue eyes, he had never once actually took the time to notice her as she had hoped he would.

Even at one of the recent Founders Party, she had tried speaking with him. Just a way to introduce herself and to try to get to know the man. He had only given her a vague answer before walking off to speak with Elena Gilbert. While Y/N wasn’t a jealous type, she knew when a person only had eyes for someone else. Before she could even try to get to know him, she decided against it.

“You can always have more than one drinking buddy.” Damon said as he took a seat on the stool next to her.

He watched as her Y/E/C scanned over the documents before her, before placing a ‘sign here’ post it sticker on the page before she continued on reading. The hand that held the glass slowly lifted, bringing the glass up to her lips as she took a drink.  “Not interested.” She said once she had swallowed the amber liquid.

Damon had actually frowned at that and Y/N hadn’t missed it. A slight smirk pulled at the corner of her lips as she tried to focus on the paperwork in front of her. While she may have been acting as if she wasn’t at all interested, there was a part of her that had still been interested in the man sitting beside her. She just wasn’t going to give in, for fear that this was just something he was wanting to pass the time.

“Is there something I can help you with, Damon?” She asked, finally looking over at him. She placed the glass down and turned slightly towards him. She watched as his mouth opened slightly and closed soon after when he couldn’t get the words to pass his lips.

This definitely wasn’t what Damon was used to. He was used to women hanging on his every word, without compulsion needed. Of course he knew he could be an ass and just compel her for the information or to even just have her tell her father he needed to be on the council. But the necklace she was currently wearing, he was almost positive that it had vervain hidden with in.

“How about just having a drink or two with someone other than your drinking buddy?” He asked. When he saw her eyebrow raised, he lifted his hands up as if surrendering. “Just until you are done with work. I could really use an outside opinion on a few things.”

Y/N chuckled slightly. “Isn’t that what the bartender is for?”

Damon looked over at Matt and grimaced slightly. “About that, he knows all about the problems. Wouldn’t really help with needing an outsider’s opinion.”

Y/N looked over at the paperwork before looking back at Damon and sighing. “Fine you have until I am done with this stack.” She said as she patted the paperwork in front of her. “And you’re paying for my tab as well.” She said with a grin.

_____

“You’re kidding right?” Y/N asked as she laughed. The paperwork had been finished for quite some time, but the conversations they kept having had made it hard for her to decide it was time to leave.

“Not at all, there are several stories I could tell you about how easily it can be to embarrass my brother.” He said with a slight shake of his head. Damon had been telling her stories of his past that had kept Y/N laughing.

While it was completely off subject from what his ‘problem’ was, Y/N hadn’t seemed to mind. It didn’t hurt that she was slightly buzzed from the alcohol she had been consuming. It made things more interesting.

“That’s still not as bad as falling face first into a crowd at a festival in Richmond all because you were drunk enough to believe you could go crowd surfing.” Y/N said shaking her head with a smile on her face. Her hand absentmindedly reaching up to run her finger along a small scar that rested along her right temple.

“Oh I would have paid to have seen that.” He said giving her a smirk. “Now how exactly did the rebel child become the Mayor’s secretary?” He asked curiously. The whole time he hadn’t brought up her job at the Mayor’s office until now.

The smile she had from laughing fell slightly. “I was having a lot of problems out in Richmond and I when I came home, my Aunt had a job interview lined up for me. Surprisingly, I’ve been great at my job.”

“And how do you feel about your dad becoming Mayor?” Damon was sure that the way she answered this question would give him some of the answers he had been hoping for.

Y/N scoffed. “Not looking forward to it.” She shook her head slightly.

Damon’s eyebrow raised. “I take it the relationship between you isn’t a good one.”

“Nope.” she said popping the ‘p’. She looked down at the empty glass in her hand for a moment. “He was never around. To busy caring for his other family in some other state. But after news reached him that Richard Lockwood had died and that Carol took over, he decided to come here and try to ‘make the town better’.” Her finger ran along the rim of the glass. “Doesn’t help that he’s only been Mayor for a few hours and the mountain of paperwork I have to get to him by tomorrow morning is rather annoying.” She rolled her eyes slightly. “Both Richard and Carol both never gave me this much work in one night.”

There was a slight relief in Damon at her words. Liz had been right. Y/N had no clue about the secrets this town had hiding in its closet. He could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice that there was nothing off about her previous bosses.

“How can I help to take some of the workload off?” He offered. While it had been mostly for the purpose of wanting to know more about the new Mayor’s plans, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to gain her trust in the process. If she was his possible ticket into the council meetings, he’d help in any way he could.

“Um,” Y/N bit down on her lip for a moment, unsure how to respond to the offer. She had always been one to get her work done on her own, never really needing help. Her eyes moved over to the clock hanging on the wall. Her shoulders sagged slightly as she took in the time and sighed as she looked over at him. “Unless you know someone in Archives that would be willing to let me stay after closing, there really isn’t much.”

A smirk grew on his lips. “Believe me, I can get you all the time you need.” He said as he stood up and pulled out his wallet, placing down a few bills to cover the drinks they had.

“Seriously?” Y/N asked hopeful.

“Seriously.” He said with a nod. “Come on, grab your stuff. As long as we get there before closing, we’ll be fine.”

A smile grew on her lips as she stood up from her seat and collected her things. She really hadn’t expected to be spending hours speaking with Damon. She had almost cursed at herself for not just finishing up her work and heading over to Archives to get the files she had needed hours ago. But with Damon wanting to help, she believed it wasn’t so bad.

It didn’t take long for them to get there and for Damon to compel the employee to let them stay until she had gotten the files they needed. Y/N had been grateful that she even had a chance to do this. She knew her father would be upset if she hadn’t gotten the files for him by tomorrow morning like he wanted them.

“What is it that we are looking for?” Damon asked as he stared at the several aisles of shelves that were filled with boxes.

Placing her bag on one of the tables, she pulled out a sheet of paper that held a long list of old case numbers. Folding it half and carefully tearing it to avoid any of the numbers and letters her father had written, she held one half to Damon.

“Old case files that for some reason my dad wants to look over.” She said as she watched him take the half she offered to him and looked at the numbers.

“He didn’t say why he needed them?” He asked as he began walking down one of the aisle, looking at the numbers written on boxes.

“Something about needing to check if the case files were done correctly.” she said shrugging slightly as she walked over to a different aisle, searching for the ones on her half of the list. “My uncle was a cop here in Mystic Falls before he retired. He used to complain that someone never did the paperwork right. Guess dad just wants to check in on that now that he has the power of being a Mayor.”

That had made Damon suspicious. Even as he found the first file on the list, he knew that Mayor Y/L/N was definitely checking in on things. The file that he currently held in his hand was an old case file for an ‘Animal attack’. While Damon had killed his fair share of people throughout his lifetime, he knew he wasn’t responsible for that death.

Closing the file, he tucked it under his arm and moved on to the next file. He was definitely going to be keeping a close eye on the new Mayor, if he was looking into old case files. He had just found the next one when he heard a gasp leave Y/N’s lips and files drop onto the floor.

“What is it?” He asked turning in the direction she had went to and tried peering over the boxes. When he couldn’t see her right away, he began looking down each aisle until he found her.

Y/N stood in the middle of the aisle, several case files surrounded her on the floor while she held one in her hand.  As he walked closer to her, he could see tears flowing down her cheeks as she looked at the file.

“Y/N.” He said softly trying to get her attention.

She looked over at him, her Y/E/C eyes filled with tears as she did. “This is, um, my mom’s case file.” She said as she held up the file. “My Aunt always told me she had been in a horrible accident.”

“What happened to her?” Damon asked as he looked towards the case file. He could see that she was currently looking through the images that were attached to the file.

“The report says it was an animal attack.” Y/N shook her head slightly, trying to process the words she had read. “What animal does this?” She asked as she handed him the file. “I’ve never seen something rip someone’s head off like that.”

Taking the file from her, he looked down at the images, official statements and the reports. If there was one thing that Damon could tell from any kind of ‘Animal attack’ that Mystic Falls could try to cover up, it was the very thing he was looking at in the photographs. This was done by a vampire, no doubt, and he knew exactly what relative of his that had done it.

Part 2

Monster Tag List: @rissyrapp20 @taylordrunkonwhiskey @thewolf-and-thesheep @butifulsoul125  @this-is-mycrisis @writingsoftheunderworld @voidnarnia @fandom-princess-forevermore

If you would like to be added or taken off, please let me know. ♥♥

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day One Hundred Sixty-Four: Make a List ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Hatake Kakashi ] [ SasuHina, NaruSaku ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

He never imagined something like a wedding would take so much...planning. It’s just a little ceremony and a party, right?

Wrong, apparently.

Ever since they finally agreed to tie the knot, Hinata’s been working overtime during her spare hours from the force to get everything ready. There’s flowers, food, cake, decorations, music, a venue…! Good gods, is nothing simple?

Sasuke tries to offer his help, but...in all reality, he has no idea what he’s doing, and figures Hinata knows what she wants best. Because, in all honesty, none of the details matter to him. All he wants is to be married. The rest is superfluous...to him. But it’s important to her, and so he’ll try his best to be patient, and just...stay out of her way.

One evening, dozing at the table, he snaps awake as she sits opposite him, a pad of paper now on the surface before her. “...what’s that for?

“We need to make a list.”

“...a list?”

“Of guests! Remember? I asked you to be thinking about it a few days ago…?”

Oh...right. He...totally didn’t forget. “...I think all my picks are obvious,” he answers, trying to stall for time.

“Meaning…?”

“My family.”

“...and?”

“And...what?”

Hinata deadpans at him. “You don’t think you’re...forgetting anyone?”

“Nope.”

“Sasuke!”

The Uchiha heaves a sigh, head bowing as he runs fingers back through his untamed hair. “...the smaller we can keep it, the better, in my opinion.” He’s a private person, after all. And he’d rather keep something so intimate and important to those who he also considers important.

“But what about your team…? I’m inviting mine!”

“You also like your team better than I like mine.”

Hinata devolves into a full-blown pout. “...I thought things were getting better…?” After all, they’d gone to Sakura and Naruto’s wedding last year.

“They are. And it’s slow work. You forget I’ve only been back a few years, Hinata. And what they did - the way they treated me? It’s not that quick to heal.”

Her expression falls, glancing to one side. “...I’ll...put them down as a maybe.”

“...all right.”

“Um...anyone else?”

“I really don’t have anyone else.”

“Well...I wanted to invite Neji-nīsan’s team. He’ll probably have Tenten come, anyway.”

Sasuke groans at the thought of Rock Lee being at his wedding. “Just...keep Lee out of the sake. In fact, maybe don’t have any sake at our wedding.”

“...you might have a p-point. Um...Ino-chan is doing the flowers, so...I thought it polite to ask her to come. And that means having her team -”

“So our entire class is going to be there?”

“You say that like it’s a horrible thing!”

“Well it’s not what I had envisioned.”

An ever so slight edge tints Hinata’s eyes, and Sasuke realizes he probably overstepped a line. “...they’re our classmates. We’ve known them since we were children! Is it really so bad to have them celebrate with us?”

“I still hardly know half of them,” Sasuke mutters, chin in his palm. “I didn’t really...socialize when in the Academy. I was too driven to learn to bother with it. It seemed...unnecessary. Sure, I talk to them a bit now, but...they wouldn’t be my first pick for a wedding if it was just me. That’s all.” He does remember some things about their classmates. Most either neutral or negative. The gossip after the massacre, Ino being just as obnoxious as Sakura, most of the boys being morons with Naruto. None of them had really been what he’d call a friend.

“...I understand that,” Hinata admits. “...but this isn’t just your wedding, Sasuke. It’s mine, too -”

“I know that -”

She cuts off his interruption with a look. “...it’s one day. You said yourself you’re not that invested in the event itself, just its outcome. So...would you please grin and bear it? For my sake, if n-nothing else?”

Oh that’s not fair, playing the ‘for her’ card…! But...if he has any reason to go through with it...it’s her. “...all right. Just...warn them I might not be the most...friendly.”

“It’s going to be a very emotional day,” she replies lightly, writing down more names. “I’m sure they’ll be...cautious.”

Tch, they better be.

Once they have everyone accounted for, it’s time for invitations. Thankfully Hinata has them made - he’s not sure he’d trust his handwriting. They’re a pretty sapphire and lilac theme, and...Sasuke will admit, they’re impressive. Printed on glossy paper with a picture he begrudgingly dressed up for they had done professionally by some guy named Sukea. He’d seemed very...familiar, but in the end Sasuke blew the thought off. They’ve got all the details: time, place...and they even get to mail back a little form saying what food they want.

“They should just be happy they get free food,” Sasuke sniffs, earning a giggle.

“Hey, they’re also going to be buying us wedding presents, so...we’ll call it even, ne?”

“...hm...fair enough.”

Of course, they don’t mail the little envelopes: Hinata insists on handing them out themselves. They do so together, earning a generally-ecstatic reaction, especially from all the women.

One reaction that admittedly surprises him...is Kakashi’s.

They find him at home, answering the door to his apartment and looking at them curiously. Handing over the invitation, Hinata bows and beams. “Kakashi-sensei, this is for you!”

“Hm…?” Opening it then and there, his brows lift in surprise. “...so, it’s finally happening, is it?”

“Like you haven’t already heard,” Sasuke retorts.

“I figured you’d get cold feet.”

“You should know well enough I don’t back down from my decisions.”

The Rokudaime, rather than rebuke with another joke, observes his prior student carefully. “...no, you don’t.”

Sasuke can’t help a hint of a frown at the unexpected reaction.

“...well, I’ll be glad to attend,” Kakashi then goes on, eyes closing as he smiles. “I suppose it would be bad taste to skip inviting the Hokage that also happened to teach you, hm?”

“For a few months at best,” Sasuke reflexively counters. It’s funny: banter with Kakashi comes so naturally.

“I think they were a very pivotal few months.”

“You still owe me a spar.”

“Ah, well...you know. Hokage duties, and all that.”

“I’m used to your excuses by now. You’d blow me off even when I was a genin.”

“I have to stay in form, you know.” Giving a cheery goodbye, he lets them on their way again.

Noticing Sasuke’s disquiet, Hinata can’t help giving him a glance. “...are you all right?”

“...yeah. Just thought it was odd how he got so quiet there for a moment.”

“Hm…” She mulls that over. “...I think...you really are surprising him.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. You’ve come a long way, Sasuke...and I think…” A moment to ponder her words. “...he’s seeing your efforts from a very...unique perspective. From what Naruto-kun has told me, Kakashi-sensei saw a lot of himself in you when you were younger. Which is why...he took it so hard when you...walked the path you did.”

...he...never considered that.

Taking his silence in stride, Hinata offers, “So...I think he’s glad to see you come back around. And maybe...get a little further than he did. He lost his best friend, and…” A pause, and then a soft giggle. “Well...I guess the odds are slim he’ll get married at this rate, ne?”

Sasuke in turn gives a breath of a scoff. “...guess you’re right.”

“So...I think you’ve just given him a lot to think about. In a good way, you’re surprising him. You’re...surprising a lot of people.”

“...I suppose you have a point.”

Hinata gives him a soft smile. “...well, we better get going, ne? We still have invitations to deliver!”

“Right behind you.”

                                                            .oOo.

     Very late, very tired, so I'll be very brief lol      Just some pre-wedding fluff. Hinata is definitely a lot more excited about the actual wedding than Sasuke is. He just...doesn't really mind the details. All he cares about is getting married. Properly. The rest he'll grin and bear for her sake. Like having his teammates attend.      You'll live, Sasuke - I promise x3      Anyway, that's all for tonight~ Thanks for reading!

[unproduciblesmackdown]

@lanvinlouis THANK YOU for these beautiful truthful asks and the chance to talk more about how Jeremy Is Valid

honestly i'm h e e r e .......................................................for jeremy...like from the opening number it makes it obvious that what jeremy's after isn't really anything like popularity or coolness in and of itself, he just wants like, the chance to be okay lol....really he's like, actively suffering, and he wants whatever it is he needs to change that. it isn't that he's like, inherently jealous of popularity or coolness or whatever and he's just interested in status for the sake of his own ego, it's that he feels like whenever he's just existing and trying to get from point A to point B, he's drawing this antagonism and contempt and he can't manage to change his situation on his own. and like it's not just that school is fucked up for him b/c he's already like "everything sucks" before he's even left his bedroom at the start of the day like. he's unhappy with his whole life, and now he's basically at this point where he doesn't feel like that's going to change either thanks to or independently of his own efforts, and like, that's bad....just like, in general, when somebody feels like their life NEEDS to change but that there's no chance it will, they're pretty much having an ongoing crisis for as long as that lasts. and like yeah jeremy's dealing with all these issues and is like, taking it day by day trying to go through it like it's a routine, but not only is the "things will change eventually" in doubt for him but like also his ability to actually just tolerate it indefinitely is also in doubt, even though he's been dealing with it for a long time, the problems have probably gotten worse and more numerous and then yknow meanwhile he's probably feeling less hope about things than he might've back in say middle school and such

like, he's desperate enough to actually consider the super weird advice of the guy who bullies him i guess every day. cuz like he sings right off the bat that he wants someone to help him after his own efforts fail yet again and rich is telling him about the squip right after his lowered expectations have fallen even further and, yknow, jeremy definitely is feeling like things can't change even if he tries and that he does need some external source of help and as far as he can tell, the possibility of getting a working squip is the one chance he has...and like even though it's mentioned fairly briefly i think it's efficiently established that his parents' fairly recent divorce is really pushing him to feel even worse / more desperate for something to change things up cuz like, his mom's left and his dad's not literally absent but like, is more absent. and then also jeremy's seeing his dad as being in a similar place as he is and seeing that as evidence that yeah, things might not ever change. and jeremy wants to (tell himself he can) just move on and skip being upset and just accept it as is and his dad's not facilitating that facade and jeremy resents that a bit too

anyways yeah michael!! i know ppl have already talked abt him maybe not being very empathetic and it sure does seem to fit just fine w the material and the sorts of patterns of him engaging w jeremy.........like it definitely seems as though probably the situation he and jeremy are in is that like, they're both p much settled in to the routine of high school and the approach is to just get through the day and then they can retreat to either of their houses and hang out and have things be fine there. and i think the way michael sees it is that since he's the one who's not really stressing out about things being miserable and he's got the perspective that it's all okay since they appreciate each other and college will be way better, that means jeremy would be able to feel the same way about things if he just listened to michael and adopted that same perspective. whereas jeremy's feeling like those things aren't enough to make him feel okay, and when he complains and michael has the advice to just pretty much forget about it, that's just gonna seem like michael's not offering him anything that could actually help, because their friendship alone can't make up for everything else, and he can't tolerate two more years and knowing that things might be better then don't change what he's dealing with currently. like, i think the both of them just feel like the other just isn't listening to him lol....but like i do also think that michael sort of suspects that jeremy's really not doing so great and that his own advice is inadequate, because he does seem to understand pretty easily how/why jeremy wants to actually try to get a squip.

oh yeah and that even michael's light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel Guys Like Us Are Cool In College thing is of limited comfort because it's really just more of the same. like, that they'll still just be at the mercy of this social judgment, but when they get to college it'll happen to be in their favor. and that comes up when they fight and jeremy points this out how michael Loves To Feel Superior based on his own set of coolness standards. and, you know, speaking of what they Say with regard to how some of michael's shortcomings / weaknesses played into the squiptuation, even in mitb the lyric "but through no fault of mine" suggests more that this is defensive and he maybe does suspect that he factored into it a little bit, versus the lyric just being there to be interpreted as an objective peer-reviewed Fact in the middle of this purely emotional one-person-perspective song. it's not as though it's michael's fault or that it's a bad thing that he didn't know how to help jeremy perfectly or that because he might've been selfish in some ways he deserves to lose jeremy entirely. and tbh the stuff michael said even played into jeremy's decision to block him out / leave him behind, because of how michael's take on the problem of them being Uncool was that all they could do was embrace being losers and wait it out. so when jeremy was trying to change things, michael was set up to not only be a symbol of how things used to be, but based on the things michael always told jeremy, he's also seeing michael as a symbol of things being unable to change. and he does still care about him and all and like, doesn't even want to cut him out, but he's so convinced that his own judgment and feelings are useless that he's ignoring the fact he doesn't want to. and when he fights with michael at the party, jeremy's defensive b/c his misgivings abt his squip are kind of only making him more desperate to believe it's still okay, and also he's just in a bad place for anything much less to have an argument, and michael's kind of adding in this bitterness just about being left behind that isn't helping his other points come through as mere genuine concern. like, of course he's right to be hurt, but jeremy's also right to feel hurt by michael even if michael wasn't making the choices that led to the situation. they're mad at each other and they end up fighting once again in the play Because of the fact that they love each other and they want more than to be disappointed by the other.

and ugh yeah loser geek whatever............just kill me, every time i listen to it it's such a fuckin journey through the emotions of it all and. yknow it's like they say, it's sort of a Victorious Powerful Anthem because jeremy's definitively choosing to take action to change his life, even if he's feeling swept up in that change. but he's also only able to make that choice because he really thinks so little of himself that he's taking the self-contradictory stance of "i have to entirely stop caring about how i feel if i want to achieve my goal of Feeling Good About My Life" and deciding that yeah, his own thoughts and judgment are worthless, and he's choosing to totally accept the guidance of this entity that tells him that his life sucks because everyone sees him as disgusting and awful and they're right to feel that way about him. like he's finding it that easy to accept that he just objectively sucks and that even something so inherent as his sense of what's painful or bad is just wrong, because that's how deep his flaws run. and like yeah again he acknowledges that he's being selfish right there in the lyrics, but that's not exactly meant to be like, he's acknowledging that he's also being Evil And Wrong, because technically wanting himself to be happy is selfish, and that's not bad. he just thinks that the squip is the only way he can maybe be happy, and the only way for the squip to work is if he listens to it, and he can only listen to it if he accepts that it's right about everything including how he's horrible and he can never do things right on his own etc etc etc etc. like, he obviously didn't really expect the squip to be like "you're too gross to live" but it was really not that difficult for the squip to convince him that it was right. he hates himself a lot lol.....

also just, as something generally applicable, it's also no wonder that jeremy's often frustrated with everything and that it bleeds into stuff he says and does and the choices he makes being possibly not the most thought-through or Objective, and how can lose his patience sometimes. like he's out here with his flaws and weaknesses just like anybody else, and it's miscommunication too that's leading to Conflicts / making him feel alone

anyways sorry it took me a few days to answer that and frankly this Could be longer.......neither has anything to do with how much i like getting long messages and answering with long messages and supporting and discussing jeremy heere, b/c i like all of that A Lot, @ me about it at absolutely any time and at any length

[v-hope]

Staring at the sun

Pairing: Jung Hoseok x Reader

Genre: College!AU, angst, fluff, I think

Word Count: 2.4k

Request: No.

A/N: Idk if you've noticed but I've been fucking W H I P P E D for Hobi these past few weeks and I wrote this when it first hit me. I wrote it for me and my needs only but I actually liked it hahah so I wanted to share it with you guys. I hope you enjoy it 💗 (this is not my gif btw, all rights to its owner).

“Guys, she’s looking over here again” Jin informed the rest of his friends, making them all turn their heads to look at you in a not very discreet way.

“Who do you think she has a crush on?” Yoongi asked, taking a sip from his cup.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Jeongguk barged in, “Jimin-ssi. She only speaks to him out of all of us”.

Hoseok looked away, taking a sip from his drink as well. He talked to you, too – Why couldn’t you look at him the way you looked at Jimin?

Jimin’s attention instantly turned to his hyung, worrying about his reaction. He knew Hobi had the hugest crush on you, and he’d feel terrible if what Jeongguk thought ended up being true.

You were in their same university and, despite being a year younger than Jimin, you shared a few classes. It was when you were assigned together for a couple dance project a few months ago that you had started talking. One day you had gone to his dorm to practice your dance routine when Hobi entered the room you were in, being completely stunned by the way your body moved to the beat. And when the two of you noticed him staring and you introduced yourself with what he thought was the cutest smile ever, he knew he wasn’t getting you out of his head that easily.

After that, he had ran into you a few times on campus, and he didn’t miss any chance he could get to talk to you. One day you even ended up in the same cafe at the same time and he treated you to coffee, having a really nice talk over it that ended up lasting hours – he even would’ve called it a date if it weren’t for the fact that… it wasn’t.

The few times you had talked were enough for him to notice how easy it was to speak to you and how comfortable he felt around you. He died for getting to know you better, but, just like Guk had pointed out, he, too, thought you had a crush on Jimin. Everytime he caught you staring, he was with his friends, more importantly, he was with Jimin, so it did make sense that you were looking at Chim. That’s why he held back and thought it would be better not to try anything just in case Jimin liked you back – he had met you first, after all; he was the one who constantly spoke to you and it seemed like you guys had a lot in common.

It was one day, though, when Jimin and Hobi were walking to their dorms, that you ran into them. You exchanged a few words and the younger one couldn’t help but notice the way his hyung listened to you with such admiration he made it seem like you were telling the most interesting story ever, when in reality you were just informing them what was for lunch at the university’s cafeteria. The way his eyes lit up whilst looking at you and he shyly smiled when you smiled in his direction before, only confirmed Jimin’s suspicions. His hyung was whipped for you.

So now, having his friends thinking you liked him instead, made him worry about Hoseok. He didn’t want him to feel like he was losing you to him.

“You really think so?” Chim asked, his voice uncertain.

“I agree with Jeongguk-ie here” Namjoon nodded, “she’s always looking at us whenever you’re here”.

Hobi bit his lip before practically chugging down what he had left on his cup.

“You should talk to her!” Taehyung nudged him, a smirk making its way to his lips.

Jimin looked at Hobi once again, before turning his attention to where you were, no longer looking at them but to the friend you were talking to.

“Yeah, I think I will” he said, handing his cup to Yoongi.

His friends loudly cheered as he made his way over to you, thinking he was going to make a move on you – he was not. However, Hoseok’s heart was beating so fast he felt like it would go out of his chest any minute. He needed a drink.

“Hey, Y/N” you heard someone call from your back. Turning around, you smiled when you saw it was Jimin. “Can I talk to you?”

“Sure, Chim” you excused yourself to your friend, going a few meters away from her, following the boy. Staring at him, he took it as his cue to start speaking.

“Look, I…” he ran his hand through his hair, “I don’t really know how to say this, but… I don’t… like you” you raised one of your eyebrows. “I mean, I like you. You’re really beautiful, but I only see you as a friend. What I mean is, I don’t have a crush on you”.

You giggled. “I don’t have a crush on you either. Why are we stating the facts?” you asked amusedly.

He frowned, clearly confused. “Wait, you don’t like me like that?” you shook your head no. He was going to kill Jeongguk. “Ah, sorry, this is so awkward. I’m so embarrassed” he hid his face in his hands, making you laugh once again.

From Hoseok’s perspective from the other side of the room, it seemed like his friend had just confessed and you were oh–so–happy for it. He didn’t know how much longer he could presence that.

“Jimin, it’s okay!” you honestly said, reaching to touch his arm. “Why would you think I did, anyway?”

“It’s just– You’re always staring at my group of friends whenever we’re together and they thought you liked me since you’re the closest to me”.

“You’ve seen me staring?” you asked, feeling the heat go to your cheeks. Jimin couldn’t help but notice how they indeed turned a reddish colour.

“Yeah” he informed. And then something clicked inside his mind. “Wait, so, if you don’t like me… that means you like one of the guys! Who is it?” he urged, getting closer to you out of excitement.

“I don’t like any of them, I don’t know what you’re talking about” you tried to avoid the topic, shyly looking to the side.

“Come on!”

“I don’t like any of them!” you repeated, but you knew he wasn’t letting it go anytime soon. “I just… enjoy staring at the sun” you shrugged, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

His eyebrows furrowed. “The sun?” he looked at you like you were crazy. “What does that have t– Oh my God! You like Hobi hyung!” he jumped up and down. “You need to tell him”.

“What?” you half laughed, half scoffed.

“Y/N, you have to tell him. I’m serious”.

“Jimin–”

“Honestly, you’ll thank me later” he grabbed your hand so he could drag you to where his friends were.

From the other end of the room, though, seeing Jimin take your hand in his was all Hobi needed to practically run out of there and into the kitchen. He sure as hell needed another drink.

“Okay, wait” you made him let you go, “let me go grab something to drink first and then I’ll talk to him” you negotiated. “I’m too sober for this”.

“I will be watching you” he pointed his finger to you, making you roll your eyes at him.

Walking towards the kitchen after he let you go, you laughed to yourself. You were not telling a thing to Hoseok. Why would Jimin want you to tell him anyway?

You stopped dead in your tracks the moment you entered, seeing the man who drove you crazy leaning on the table as he chugged down a cup filled with God knows what kind of liquor.

“Woah, someone wants to get drunk” you teased, getting closer to him so you could pour yourself a drink.

He almost choked when he heard your voice, instantly turning his head to you. “Y/N” he said, kind of ashamed you had caught him in such situation.

Looking at him from the corner of your eye, you smiled to yourself – just being by his side put you in such a good mood. He looked so nervous for some reason, you found it cute. Besides, the white shirt he was wearing along with his black hair falling to the front of his face did things to you.

Clearing his throat, he tried to make small talk. “How did things go with Jimin?” he asked, torn between wanting to know and not wanting to at all.

“He said I should talk to you, for some reason” you took a sip from your drink. He frowned.

“But... You’re together now or…?”

“Okay, why does everyone think I have a thing for him? I do not have a crush on him and he doesn’t have one on me either”.

His heart skipped a beat. “You don’t?”

“I don’t”.

Hope. That’s what he was feeling at that moment.

“But you’re always staring at him whenever we’re together?” confusion was clear in his voice. You sighed.

Was there anything worse than having your crush think you were into someone else? That completely blew off all of your chances with him. You couldn’t let that happen.

You didn’t know if it was the alcohol already taking over your senses or if you just had a rush of confidence out of not wanting to give Hoseok the idea you liked someone else, but you let your next words out without giving them a second thought.

“You must be blind then because I’m clearly staring at you”.

And that’s when he stopped breathing. He literally choked on air, not expecting that confesion at all.

“You’re serious?”

You shrugged.

“I mean, you’re so handsome and I think your smile is the most precious thing in the world so, yes, I can’t bring myself to stop looking at you. I’m so sorry if I made you uncomfortable” you were rambling, getting shy as you saw his lips start to curve up in that beautiful smile you loved so much. “And can you please stop looking at me like that? You’re making me more nervous than I already am” you placed your cup down on the table so you could hide your face behind your hands. You had said too much.

His laugh would’ve been music to your ears if it weren’t for the current situation you were in. You really didn’t know why you had confessed like that – so out of nowhere. The only thing you knew was you wished you could just disappear.

“Can you look at me?” he asked, receiving a shake of head from you as his answer. Rolling his eyes, he tried to remove your hands from your face, but you weren’t giving in. “Y/N, please look at me. I want to talk to you”.

“No. Please forget everything I said and let’s not talk about it ever again” you begged. God, you really didn’t have it in you to look at him.

“Yah!” he scolded you. “I don’t want to forget, I want to kiss your pretty face” he whined, yet he was so amused and happy by the whole situation it didn’t really sound like it.

That made you remove your hands out of surprise, your heart beating faster than ever. Did you hear right?

“You w–?”

His hands cupping your face and his lips on yours stopped you from finishing your sentence. You instantly missed the contact as it only lasted for a brief moment before he broke it and looked at you to see any sign of you not wanting to be kissed by him. However, when he saw the way your eyes were smiling, he wasted no time in hungrily pressing his lips against yours once again, taking your breath away. Your hands went to his shoulders, later moving them up to the back of his head and tangling your fingers in his hair, as his hands were now firmly placed around your waist.

Pressing you against the table, he picked you up and placed you on top of it, positioning himself between your legs in an attempt of getting closer to you. You sighed in content, feeling his tongue touch yours sent shivers down your spine. It amazed you how slow yet literally breathtaking the kiss was. Wrapping your arms around his neck after a while, when you started to run out of breath, the kiss finally became more tender. You felt him smile against your lips, his hands moving up your back and bringing the kiss to an end by softly pecking your lips a few times, not being able to contain a smile yourself.

His forehead rested against yours – your breathing mixing and your lips lingering as the two of you tried to catch your breath. Not wanting to be away from your lips for too long, though, he leaned in to kiss you once more.

“I told you guys she didn’t like me�� you heard Jimin’s voice coming from the entrance of the kitchen.

The two of you opened your eyes before your lips could touch again, directing them to where the voice came from, finding out you had quite an audience – six smirking boys, to be more specific. Well, them and a couple strangers who happened to have been in the room as well. The crimson colour didn’t wait to cover your cheeks, hiding your face in the crook of Hobi’s neck, which he responded to by tangling his hands in your hair.

“You guys are gross” Yoongi complained.

“Have some decency and please get a room” Jin whined, faking to be grossed out by what they had just pressenced. Deep down they were all happy for their friend.

Hobi looked at you, cocking one of his eyebrows as his lips curved up. “You want to get out of here?”

You bit your lip. When you had walked into this party a couple hours ago, you would’ve never thought you’d leave it with the man who made your heart skip a beat. “I would love to”.

[redorblue]

An ode to Musa Yeswi (from The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, by Arundhati Roy)

(This was originally a part of this post where I talk more generally about The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, Tilo’s character and the peculiar structure of the book. But that post got way out of hand, so I decided to split it up.)

So, Musa. On the surface, his life appears to be nothing but a string of tragedies, with him as a simple vehicle that the author uses to tell us about how fucked up the situation in Kashmir is. After all, he was pretty much forced into the underground after Amrik Singh made him his newest source of entertainment, and “underground” in this context means that he’ll have to join the rebellion. But I think that is a very superficial view on his character. For me, the two defining aspects of his personality are his sense of justice and his bond to the people and the valley of Kashmir. Sure, he could have fled to some faraway place in India, or elsewhere, kept his head down and hoped that Amrik Singh’s network doesn’t stretch that far. That wouldn’t have been easy, but theoretically doable. In reality, however, going someplace else wasn’t really an option. He’s tried that already with studying in Delhi, and even though he obviously knew how bad the situation was back home, he still chose to return after he graduated because he doesn’t want to live anywhere else. He loves Kashmir and his people with all his heart. So the underground it is - because he can’t bear the injustices done to them, because he owes it to his daughter to be brave, because he can’t run away from his grief and this might be the only way to work through it.

And it takes a toll on him, of course it does. It’s heartbreaking how both he and Tilo remark on how he has become less substantial (smudged, as Tilo calls it) than he used to be, which is such an on-point metaphor for what being in a war (and a pretty hopeless guerilla war at that) does to a person. But in his thought processes and his interactions with Tilo (and briefly with Garson Hobart - I can’t remember his real name for the life of me) show that he’s - maybe not the same person as before, but a person, a complete human being, which is a lot more that what you usually get. I mean, let’s face it: he’s a Muslim in a rebel organisation, which is more than enough to get you labels such as terrorist, fanatic, extremist etc. I was a bit afraid that someone in my book club would call him that, because my reaction would have probably got me banned from the book shop. There are so many instances where you can see how kind a heart he has, how intelligent he is, how caring - and yes, also how much he suffers from seeing his people suffer and how he puts everything he has into make it right, but what’s important here is that it’s not his only defining feature. There are so many scenes that I could cite here, but I’ll try to restrict myself.

“The meal was delectable. Musa was a relaxed, accomplished cook.” (p. 431) I know it doesn’t sound like much, but that was the one line that drove home how much I adore his character. It’s from his last visit to Delhi when he accidentally meets Garson Hobart. Theoretically, they’re on diametrically opposed sides of the conflict that has been eating Musa’s life for years, and he’s still able to see his old friend from uni days instead of some guy who used to be pretty high up in his enemy’s hierarchy. They spend time together, they talk, and in the end Musa cooks for Garson Hobart which says so much about his character - how he sees people instead of sides, how he has at some point in his life taken the time to learn how to cook (and getting good at it) instead of relying on some female relation to do it for him, as the stereotype demands, how he still wants to spend some time with an old acquaintance even though he already got what he came for. Maybe I’m reading too much into this scene, but for me it just really encompasses much of what I love about him.

“This is the worst part of the Occupation… what it makes us do to ourselves. This reduction, this standardization, this stupidification… […] if and when we achieve it… will be our salvation. It will make uns impossible to defeat. First it will be our salvation and then… after we win… it will be our nemesis. First Azadi.Then annihilation. That’s the pattern. (p. 371) This scene is taken from when Tilo visits Kashmir for the first time and watches Musa pray - also for the first time. Superficially it might read as him saying Islam/religion in general = stupidification, but I think there’s more to it. First of all, as this passage clearly shows, Musa is not stupid, and second, in a room alone with Tilo he has no need to perform uniformity, so he must actually enjoy the ritual of prayer - maybe as a way to bring him some peace of mind, but definitely not because he wants to eclipse his personhood or something. What he does comment on, I think, is the way that Islam/religion/ideology (not sure which) is used to turn ordinary people into a fighting force. He doesn’t use any of the essentialistic, short-sighted allegations on Islam that are frequently thrown around (the book in general has a very positive portrayal of Muslims), but he looks at it from a functionalist perspective from where it’s indistinguishable from any other ideology ever invented. But this instrumentalization of Islam is clearly separated from the spiritual/personal dimension encompassed by him getting up early in the morning to pray.

“We’ll win this war, and then we’ll be together, you and I. I’ll wear a hijab - although you look lovely in this one - and you can take up arms. OK?” (p. 389) This scene takes place a few pages later, when Tilo prepares to go back to Delhi and she and Musa have to say goodbye to each other. On the one hand, it’s very romantic - not because of the “and then we’ll be together”, but because it’s a white (and very obvious) lie that Tilo needs to hear at that moment (just before that, she witnessed Gulrez’ murder and was interrogated at the Shiraz). On the other hand, it shows that the two of them have a great dynamic that’s not stuck in gender roles. He uses gendered images here to convey that the current situation is a reversal of their normal dynamic where Tilo is more of a revolutionary than he is, but at the same time he shows that he doesn’t really care about the conventions attached to those images. He’s an armed fighter and a commander, which is as manly as it gets when it comes to jobs, but he doesn’t attach any intrinsic value to his role. He doesn’t feel the need to constantly reaffirm his masculinity because his sense of self is not as fragile as that. And if that’s not attractive, I don’t know what is.

Babajaana - do you think I’m going to miss you? You are wrong. I will never miss you, because you will always be with me. (p. 342) This is another snippet that could be cheesy if taken out of context, but here… it really isn’t. These are the first two lines in a letter that Musa writes to his dead daughter the day after her funeral. The whole letter is a work of art, it’s that beautiful, and he never finishes it, which breaks my heart into tiny pieces. It also ties nicely into one of the big topics of this book: the issue of borders and borderlands. In this book, the stories of all the characters deal with the things that separate people and put them into categories, be it gender, religion, caste, physical distance our, as in this case, life and death. However, the book doesn’t stop at criticizing those borders and revealing their artificial nature, it also transcends them. For the gender divide, there’s Anjum who doesn’t really feel at homereally on either side of the gender binary and finds a solution in the liminal space that’s occupied by Hijras. For religion as well as caste, there’s Saddam Hussein who was born a lower caste Hindu and looks for a way to escape both logical frameworks by pretending to be Muslim. For physical distance, there’s Tilo and Musa’s relationship that regularly bridges years of separation and vastly different experiences in life. And for life and death, there’s the graveyard that is turned into a ministry of utmost happiness when it’s inhabited by people who have found a home in each other. And this. This beautiful sentence that a grieving father writes to his daughter who was taken from the world in an act both utterly random and and frighteningly systemic. The same sentiment is mirrored at the end of the book, when Tilo gets the news of Musa’s death, and although it’s hard for her, she has the same feeling: that he isn’t really gone, that she can still be with him on the other side of a border that is, like so many others, not as unforgiving as it seems.And that view, that lesson is definitely the opposite of Musa’s life being nothing but a string of tragedies.

[hufflepirate]

Prompt: During Crystal Venom, Corrupted!Alfor and Coran are canonically on the bridge together. What would corrupted!Alfor say to him?

Ok, so since I actually know this was @reidluver now, I’m gonna go ahead and tag you.  :P  Also, sorry for how long this took, only no, I’m not, because it’s also like twice as long as I’d planned.  But the actual canonical scene started with Corrupted!Alfor ordering Coran and the others to stay away from his daughter and how could I not?  I mean, holy crap, Voltron, are you trying to kill me?  Anyway, I hope this is at least half as much fun to read as it was to write, because I am a not-so-secret drama queen and I definitely needed this.

“Stay away from my daughter!”

The words hit Coran like a blow to the gut.  Allura’s voice, too dreamy and too high and too unreal, was bad enough, but this - he stopped in his tracks, clenching his jaw as he breathed in through his nose and tried not to let the pain show.  After a breath, he could work out what was happening.  "The crystal must have corrupted King Alfor’s artificial intelligence. It’s taking over!“  

His chest felt tight, but he’d be lying if he didn’t admit he’d been uncomfortable with the AI even before.  He’d been Alfor the way he was when he knocked Allura out and put her in a pod, not Alfor the way he was at the very, very end, and it had hurt to watch him, to know that the Alfor in front of him wasn’t just artificial, but incomplete, to know that this Alfor wasn’t the one who had finally, finally run out of hope and gone back into the fight anyway, leaving him behind.

At least the unreality of this AI was obvious.  Alfor had gone to face Zarkon alone, but first he had looked him in the eye, holding his elbow steadily, in the grip of a brother-in-arms, and made him swear to take care of Allura.  Even the old AI Alfor had never done that, had never committed him into her service, had never committed her into his care.  Perhaps the old AI had known he would, or could, or might, but he hadn’t.  This new Alfor - no.  This new AI wasn’t Alfor at all.  Not if he was trying to keep them apart.

The dying star appeared suddenly, and Coran gasped, lungs filling painfully fast as his mouth dropped open.  It was horrifying.  Heartstopping.  Slightly less frightening than the particle barrier that sprang up, just as suddenly, around the princess.

“Father, I can see Altea.”

A pang of something sharp ran through Coran’s chest.  "Allura!“ he shouted, leaning into the barrier to get closer to her, even though he knew it could shock him, if the AI wanted it to. “Allura, wake up! What you’re seeing isn’t real.”

She turned to the side, reaching up to touch something he couldn’t see, and Coran’s whole body felt ice cold, watching her.  She bent down, reaching toward the floor, and said something about juniberries, which had always been her favorite, which had been in the AI chamber with her before, which had always been part of this AI’s plan, and he felt his hand clench into a fist.

“Allura, please! You’ve got to listen to me!”  Keep breathing, he told himself, keep breathing.  Keep your anger in check.  Stay focused on Allura.

He’d always been angry when someone hurt Allura.  Always.  And right now, that couldn’t be enough.  Because right now, she thought she had her father and she couldn’t see she didn’t, and the pain was all in the future.  He had to make her see.  And that was going to hurt her, but he couldn’t let the anger sweep him away.  He couldn’t.  Not when her life depended on him making her realize her father’s form had betrayed her.

He took a step back, away from the barrier, and he took a deep breath, trying to think his way out of this.  He needed perspective.  Space.  Time.  All things he could hardly afford right now.

“Is this real?”

He could hear Alfor tell her it was, but it wasn’t, and that wasn’t Alfor, and he just needed to make her see.  He just needed her to hear him.  He just needed to make her - to make her smell!  "But where is the fragrance of the sweet juniberries?!“ he asked, shouting at the top of his lungs and hoping she could hear him.

Surely, the original AI had built a space for him in its world.  Surely, it remembered he belonged beside her.  Beside them.  Surely, if he kept trying, it would let her hear him.  If it wasn’t too far gone.  If she wasn’t too far gone.

Allura raised a hand to her nose and - "That’s not Altea.”

Coran closed his eyes, letting relief wash over him for just a moment, and Pidge jumped into the silence, telling Allura to turn them around.

He could hear her step forward, toward her handholds, and he opened his eyes again just in time to see her flying backward, electricity zapping in the air around her.  Shiro caught her faster than he could, but it didn’t matter, because she didn’t stay down for long.

Allura flung herself up against the barrier, begging her father to turn them around, and when he told her no, when he told her he had every intention of plunging them into the heart of the exploding star, Coran didn’t know how to tell her that wasn’t her father.  If she couldn’t see it for herself, he couldn’t fix that.  He didn’t know how to poke holes in the vision, anymore, when the vision was wrong, all by itself, and so obviously.

Allura argued back, like she always had, and Coran stood back and watched, because that’s what he would have done before.  Because he didn’t know how to tell her there was no use.  Because he didn’t know how to tell her about that last, awful varga on Altea, when she was already frozen and her father, her real father, had faced the end for real and nothing he’d said had been anything like this.

“You don’t have to live a lifetime of war,” the AI said, and Coran had to force himself to keep breathing, because that was almost, almost real.  It was everything he wanted for her.  It was all he thought he still had a right to hope for, one day, if they got lucky.  But not like this.

The wave of relief he felt when the old AI broke through the new one, just for a moment, was strong enough that he suddenly understood what Allura must feel when she looked at it.  He could feel the reality of the AI, the Alfor-ness of it, and those few quintants the AI didn’t remember seemed smaller now, less important, right as it became too late for that to matter.

Allura turned toward him just as he was stabilizing himself, again, from his sudden certainty that one of the AIs was somehow really Alfor.  Her eyes were full of fire, as much as her father’s had ever been, and Coran felt a surge of something in his chest that wasn’t relief at all.  Everything was too much, and too mixed up, and Allura shouldn’t have to fight like this.  She shouldn’t have to do this.  "I’ve got to get into the A.I. chamber to disconnect my father’s power source manually.“

She’d lost everything.  Everything.  And she hadn’t even had Alfor’s eyes burning into her own, giving her a new mission, swearing her to a new purpose before he was gone.  "But that means losing King Alfor forever!” he said, words slipping out before he could think better of them.

She knew that already.  It was in her eyes.  It was in her voice as she gave orders to the paladins.  And then she was moving, and he couldn’t do any less.  Not even when it had just hit him how much she was sacrificing.  Not even when it had just really hit him exactly how much it would hurt her to do it.

“I can try to override the system to open the hangars,” he told her.  And then she was gone, and the paladins were rushing out behind her, and it was just him, with the AI at his back, trying to open the doors.

“You would let her destroy me,” the AI spat from behind him.  He didn’t have to turn around to see the AI’s twisted snarl across Alfor’s face.  He’d seen it when he walked in, when it shouted at him to stay away from Allura, and he’d thought that had hurt, but he’d been wrong.  It was nothing compared to this.  "Her own father, and you would make her destroy me herself.  Didn’t I tell you to protect her?“

He kept his mouth shut, focusing on the screens in front of him.  "I gave you an order, soldier!” the AI barked behind him.  He hadn’t.  Even the old AI was from before Alfor had given him that one last mission.  That last trust.  That last calling.  This wasn’t Alfor.  It wasn’t real.  It didn’t know.  It never had.  Coran opened the hangar doors.

“I gave you everything,” the AI spat, “I made you what you are.  And this is how you repay me?  By letting my own daughter murder me?”

The paladins were pushing against the Castle, trying to slow its descent, and even if he wanted to try to fight his way through the particle barrier, he couldn’t.  All he could do was keep the AI distracted, keep its attention divided between Allura and the ship’s controls and himself.  He turned around and took a step toward the false Alfor.

“You gave me nothing,” he spat back at it.  "You’re not him.  He’d never stand there and watch her die.“

"And yet, you would stand there and watch her murder her own father.  Or is that what you want?”

The AI’s eyes were cruel, much crueler than Alfor’s ever were, and Coran felt himself shaking, but he kept his chin up.  "You’re not her father.“

Suddenly, the machine laughed, harsh and cackling and almost Galra, and that voice coming from Alfor’s throat sent another wave of cold through Coran’s body.  "So that’s it.  You want to see her kill me.  You think you can replace me.  You are a fool.  She’ll never love you like she loved me.”

“I’m no king,” he answered, keeping his chin up, “I never tried to be.”

“You’re no father.  You never were, and you never will be.  Allura is mine.”

No, he thought, Allura is mine.  He couldn’t say it.  Didn’t say it.  Bit the words back.  

“She fought you off,” he said, “She wasn’t fooled.  She knows you’re not her father.”  He took another step toward the AI.  "She’ll never belong to you.  She’ll never let you use her again.“

"She’ll never love you like she loved him,” the AI said again, poking at the part that hurt, the part he’d tried to ignore and deflect, and even its admission that it wasn’t Alfor, that it couldn’t be Alfor, wasn’t enough to stop the words from stinging.

“She doesn’t have to,” he answered. “She shouldn’t.”

“She doesn’t,” the AI said, “She won’t.  You can’t hide forever.  You were a terrible soldier.  The Prince only kept you around to make jokes and fix machinery.”  It was slipping.  Maybe it could only really pretend for one person at a time.  Coran knew full well that if it was pretending, the person it was pretending for wasn’t him.  But it still had Alfor’s memories, and that was still enough to make it dangerous.

“The King,” he answered, taking another step forward.  "Alfor was my king.”  Allura must be doing well.  She must be.  She had the AI on the ropes.  He just had to keep its focus divided for a little bit longer.

“As soon as we have destroyed the Galra, I will see Allura crowned, too,” he declared.  "I will put the crown on her head myself, and I will make whatever is left of your empire watch.  And then whatever she wants me around for, she can have.”

"You will die, like he did.  Alfor was weak.  A fool.  A coward.  Like you.  He fled, and then he died, and he left his daughter to fight his war, with nothing but a fool to guide her.  And still, she loves him more than she loves you.  She loves a shadow of him more than she loves you.”

“She’s supposed to!”  It came out sounding convincing.  That was good.  He’d said it enough times to himself that it ought to.

She was supposed to love her father the most, even when her father was gone.  He was supposed to step back and go where she sent him, even when that meant waiting outside, alone with his grief, while she spoke to a computer program over and over and didn’t see the missing pieces in it.  Just because he could see the ways it failed to be Alfor, could see them until he couldn’t see anything else, didn’t mean Allura didn’t have the right to love the father she’d lost.

“You’re going to die knowing you’re less than nothing to her,” the AI spat.  "You’re going to die knowing she’d rather watch you die than kill me.“

He’d rather have died than watched Alfor die, but it was too late for that.  Alfor was already dead.  This wasn’t real.  It wasn’t real.  He stepped forward a fourth time.  "Do you think I’m afraid of dying?” he asked the AI.  "I swore to protect her with my life.  I accepted the thought of dying a long time ago.“

"Then you will die knowing you have failed.”

He had no more words.  He needed more words.  He needed to keep its attention.  Just enough of it to keep it distracted.  Just enough to give Allura time.  His mind was blank.  Too blank.

A sick feeling settled into the pit of his stomach as the AI grew silent, its eyes softening their glare as it seemed to look inward.  He had to think of something.  To say something.  His throat was getting thick and tight and he had to think of something.

Alfor and the barrier flickered, and flickered, and disappeared, and suddenly he could breathe more easily again.  "She did it,“ he murmured, before the soft sounds of his computer whirring back to life and the Castle’s alarms going off called him back to his station.

It was hard to stare into the heart of a supernova and feel like the danger was over, but as he started to turn the Castle around, he felt very little besides relief.  It was over.  It was over.  And now he could pick up the pieces, like he’d sworn to do before the real Alfor passed away.  He closed his eyes, remembering.

”She’ll be sad, Coran.  You both will, but she won’t be expecting it.  She won’t know about this.  About - the end.  Not like you do.  So she’ll need you.  I’m sorry to put that on you, but - I didn’t mean for it to come to this.“

He hadn’t told Alfor, back then, that the AI would be enough for her.  He hadn’t lied, not even to make him feel better.  They’d both known it wouldn’t be enough.  Not forever.  Not when the universe kept going, kept changing, and the AI couldn’t change with it.  But he’d never thought this day would come so soon.

Allura stepped back onto the bridge, shouting orders and stepping up to the wormhole generator to get them out of there, and Coran kept his chin up and followed orders, being the soldier she needed him to be.  And whatever else he was to her, whatever else he would ever be, would be right there beside her when she needed him.  It would have to be enough.  He would have to be enough.

It was hard knowing it was really just the two of them, now, but it was also clarifying.  It was nice to lose the last of the pretenses.  He’d sworn to be there for her, and he was going to be.  And if all he could ever hope to be was enough, it was still the highest calling he could imagine.  ”I’ll look after her, Alfor,“ he whispered in the wormhole, too softly for her to hear.  An old promise.  A new promise.  The only promise he needed.

[geniuscloud]

Bad Liar- Chapter Four (JB GOT7)

Here is the long awaited chapter four! This series won’t be extremely long, but decently lengthed!

Genre: Fluff, Angst, and a little suggestive.

Jaebum/JB (GOT7) X Original Character

Collage/University AU

Warnings: Swearing. May cause slight heart break, and rage towards characters.

May contain: Brief mentions of BTS members.

“Uh, hey…” JB said awkwardly pulling away from Amie quickly.

“Um, sorry I didn’t mean to intrude. I was, uh… Sorry.”

“No-no it’s okay we were just, you know… It’s okay,” Amie stammered out looking at the floor as she brushed past me to get inside.

Suddenly I was left out in the hallway, mildly embarrassed, with JB. His hands were now buried in his pockets, lighting kicking the ground as he too, had his face to the ground.

“I really didn’t mean to walk in like that. It wasn’t my intention to disrupt you two, I was just going to give Jimin his headphones.”

“Oh yeah, how was your date?”

“It was good.”

“Just good?”

“I mean, not too much happened. It was a pretty normal date.”

“Are you going to keep seeing him? Like, are you going on a second date?” JB asked, smoothing a fly away strand from his face, slicking it back with the rest of his hair.

“Yeah, probably.”

“Anyways, I should probably get going. Have a good night okay? We should hang out soon, just the two of us. Are you free on Friday?.”

“I’ll check my schedule. Get home safe, okay?”

“Aren’t I always?” He winked, walking back to the staircase.

I rolled my eyes, smirking to myself before walking back into the dorm room. I saw a flushed Amie, sitting on the couch while scrolling through her phone. “So, you and JB… Are you guys an item?”

“Huh? An item. No, I don’t really do boyfriends. You know?”

“What?”

“I just don’t think I’m ready to be tied down quite yet.”

“Oh? Well, does JB know? Despite the bad boy look with the leather jacket, and the piercings, he’s really loyal… He likes having one girl to spoil.”

“Really? He’s so hot that he looks intimidating. I would never suspect that he could be a big softie.”

“The only thing intimidating about him is his temper. Seriously, watch out for the clench jaw. That means he’s pissed. Give him a pillow, walk away, and leave him for 5 minutes. He’ll beat the crap out of the pillow, and then he should be good,” I warned, grabbing some food from the fridge.

“Oh really? Hmm, maybe I should snap him up while I have the chance then. It’ll be my first real relationship.”

“Seriously? You’re like 23.”

“Hey, I said I’ve never really been the committed type” she grinned, shrugging her shoulders.

“Wow who hurt you…?” I laughed walking back to my room.

I closed the door behind me and flopped face first onto my bed. With a loud groan I started rocking my body side to side in frustration. I hate that I keep inserting myself into awkward situations. I decided to make the best of my situation by just taking the time to be alone. I grabbed some cookie dough ice cream from the freezer, ran a hot bath, and “read a book.” By reading a book, I mean I opened it, put it back down, and then basically took a nap in the tub.

“Hey Micah!”

“Yeah?!” I yelled through the door.

“Do you want to go shopping with me tomorrow?”

“Sure! What time?”

“Just after your class!” Amie called back.

“Okay, I’ll meet you by the main bus terminal.”

“Cool, good night! Don’t take too long, you’ll turn into a prune.”

It’ll be nice to spend some girl time together, since we haven’t gotten to do much since we moved in together.

I waited by the bus terminal, hands in my pockets. The air was a little chilly today so I decided to wear a comfy sweater-dress. I was excited to go shopping with Amie today, because taking a look at my closet… 50 Shades of Grey wasn’t an erotic novel, it was my closet. Every shade of grey, black, and white, as well as the occasional olive/army green could be found there. Amie often wore cute pastel clothes, or just some kind of color. I hardly ever saw her wear black or grey.

“Micah! Are you ready to go?!” A voice yelled.

“Yup! If we take the 181 we’ll be there in about 20 minutes.”

“Forget the bus, JB’s driving us. I called him last night and asked if he would take me to the mall but he said he didn’t like shopping, but that he’d still drive me anyways.”

“Oh.”

“He’s waiting for us by the south campus entrance, let’s go,” Amie said tugging on my hand.

Now I was in the backseat of JB’s car, feeling like the third wheel. Amie interlocked her hand with one of JB’s while he drove with the other. “It’s a safety hazard, you idiots” I thought to myself. Though I know saying that out loud would make me sound like a jealous bastard, even though I was soaking in self-pity. Oh, what I would do to hurl myself out of this car right now.

“Hey, hey Micah! Are you listening?” Amie asked, peeking her head back at me.

“Huh? Sorry. I was just thinking.”

“That’s okay. Anyways, I was thinking what if I helped you pick an outfit for your next fancy date with Jimin?”

“Oh, you don’t… You don’t have to do that. I don’t think we’re going on a fancy date soon anyways. I mean, we’re both university students.”

“I want to pick you out an outfit. It’ll be a thank you gift since you had to lease out the dorm by yourself since I didn’t have my registration completed. It’s a big deal having to put down the entire deposit by yourself” Amie smiled.

“Okay, fine. You lead the way” I sighed getting out of the car. Amie instantly linked arms between JB and myself, leading the three of us inside.

“I didn’t know I was coming inside too” JB replied.

“You’ll be our bag boy for the day. Right? Won’t you do that for your new girlfriend?” She pouted.

“Fine baby, I’ll do it” he smirked before kissing her cheek. I looked away and rolled my eyes so hard, I could have probably seen my brain if I tried hard enough. The first store we went into Amie was instantly pulling things off the racks. If there was one thing you needed to know about Amie was that if shopping was an Olympic sport, she’d take home the gold metal every time. She could shop, sow, and DIY herself into the next life time. Most of her clothes had some kind of vintage feel to them, and some kind of alteration.

“Why don’t you look for something?” JB asked.

“I don’t really have the money for anything. I just wanted to spend some girl time with her but…”

“But I’m here, and it’s ruining the mood, right?”

“A little. It’s okay though. You’re her boyfriend after all…”

“Hey, I’m still your best friend. I hate that you’ve been acting a little awkward with me recently. Are you okay?”

I wanted to say ‘No, it feels weird having my ex-boyfriend/best friend dating my friend/roommate. I hate that I still have a little bit of feelings for you when it’s obvious that you’ve moved on.’ “Yeah, I’m fine. Just, now that I’m dating Jimin, I feel a little guilty hanging out with you. Since you’re my ex after all. Most guys would be pissed if they found out they are still hanging around their ex’s. It’s not really normal.”

“Oh, okay. Well we both moved on, so I don’t see how it’s a problem. I respect you staying loyal to him though.”

“Yeah…”

“Micah, you have to try these on right now.” Amie squealed while thrusting a bunch of hangers at me. I saw dress, after dress, in every color of the rainbow. Purple maxi dresses, pink satin dresses, and even blue velvet ones as well.

“Come on out!”

“Yeah, one second. Can you help me with the zipper?” I opened the door slightly while Amie stuck her hands in the change room to assist me. With the same hand, she tugged on my wrist to pull me out of the stall and into the walk way where JB was sitting on the couch surrounded by her bags.

“Well? Isn’t it perfect?!” Amie said stepping back, while drawing JB’s attention to me. His mouth went agape, and locked his eyes on my torso.

“It’s beautiful,” I exclaimed looking into the mirror.

“Can I pick a dress or what?! It’s red-wine colored, which means dark, and it’s suitable for evening outs. It has long sleeves which makes it modest and elegant; plus, the sleeves compensate for the shorter skater skirt. The lacey material also adds both sex appeal and class, and finally it has an easy glide back zipper, which means it’s easy to take off… If you know what I mean” she winked. I started blushing at her last comment a little; staring at my bare feet against the wooden floor.

“What do you think JB, from a guy’s perspective?” Amie asked.

“I think you take too much time thinking about the meaning of clothes.” Amie smacked his shoulder, while he laughed it off.

“Seriously though, you look good.”

“Perfect, you should get it!”

“You know, I work hard. I deserve to treat myself a little bit! I am going to get it, even though it’s… Oh my God, $120?! FOR THIS LITTLE AMOUNT OF CLOTHING? I HAVE SWEATERS WHICH COSTED LESS THAN HALF THE PRICE AND COVER MORE OF ME!”

“You’re such a stingy girl. Just buy the damn dress, and then we’ll get you some shoes to go with it. If you want, I’ll buy you the shoes. You should buy the dress, it looks really good on you” Amie suggested.

“No, you don’t need to buy me anything. This isn’t 'Pretty Woman’ and I don’t need your money.”

“Stop being a shit and let me buy you some damn shoes. I saw some really cute black strappy wedges that would look so cute with almost any outfit! You’re a size 8, right? I’ll be right back, okay?”

I just waved her away before going back into the changing room and getting back into my normal clothes. “Oh, you’re still here? Why didn’t you go with your girlfriend?”

“Too many bags, I don’t feel like walking, so I thought I’d wait for you instead” JB shrugged as I purchased the dress.

“Why don’t we go put her bags in the car? Here I’ll help you,” I said while grabbing a few bags. “So, how have the guys been?”

“They’re doing alright. They miss you a lot. You should stop by and hang out with the rest of us like old times.”

“Meh, I doubt that they even miss me. They just miss me walking around in booty shorts around them.”

“Oh, just shut up, and in the defense of those booty shorts… I never let you walk around in those things around the guys.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about jealous and overprotective JB. Haven’t seen him in a while, next time he’s around, tell him I say hello.”

“Hey! You know how I feel about girlfriends. I don’t want anyone trying to make a move, being disrespectful, or even having a single unclean thought about someone I love. My girlfriend, means that she’s mine. I’m not sharing with anybody!”

“Hey, haven’t seen you in a while Jelly-bum, how’ve you been doing all this time?” I laughed.

“Shut up. I’m trying to be less temperamental, be nice,” JB pouted while putting the bags in the trunk.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Come on, let’s just get back inside.” I spun around on my heels, walking faster towards the shopping mall.

“Hurry up slowpoke! We got some more bag carrying to do!” Jaebum yelled while running after me, grabbing onto my waist, spinning me around a little before taking off ahead of me. I couldn’t help but dizzily laugh and start sprinting after him. With all the power I lack in my legs, I sprung up onto his back, and forced a piggyback. “Oh my God, it’s like deadweight on me!”

“Hurry up my noble steed! For we must partake in the act of "shopping” once again!“

"I was going to go along with this, until you said that…”

“Go fuck yourself, my noble steed!”

JB finally put me down once we got through the parking lot to be greeted by a half smiling Amie. “Sorry, we went to go put your bags in the car.”

“Yeah, I saw, I walked outside and saw you guys by the car. I just had to use the washroom so I went back inside.”

“Oh okay.”

“Oh uh, by the way. The store didn’t have your shoes in your size at the moment. Sorry, maybe next time, okay?” Amie said, stroking my arm lightly.I’m not sure how someone petting your arm could be condecending, but that’s how it felt.

“That’s totally fine!”

“Um, I don’t mean to be a total ass but would you mind if JB and I spent some time together alone?”

“Don’t worry, that’s okay. I understand, I can just bus home. I’m just going to go look around a little bit before. I’ll see you later?” I asked.

“I can just drive her home quickly before, it’s a little rude to just ditch her like this when you invited her out in the first place” Jaebum added.

“No, it’s okay. You guys go and do your couple things. I’ll see you guys later.”

Amie smiled at me, and took JB’s arm, leading him away from the entrance and towards the chain of restaurants. I’m not going to lie, I felt a little shitty getting ditched like this, but I understand at the same time. She just wants to be with her boyfriend. Rather than feeling shitty, I decided to just go into the shoe store and look around for some heels on my own.

“Hello, how are you doing today?” The sales clerk said.

“I’m doing fine, how are you?”

“Doing just lovely, what brings you in today?”

“I’m looking for some heels to go with this dress I just bought, but also with other outfits too.”

“So black is probably your best bet. What kind of heel do you prefer and what size?”

“Any one that is easy to walk in. I’m clumsy. I usually go for wedges, and size 8” I admitted.

“I have the cutest pair of black strappy wedges! You’re also, very lucky. We sold the last pair in that size to a young blonde girl a few minutes ago, and she came back about 2 minutes later looking angry and returned them. They are perfectly fine, she basically walked out of the mall and came back in and decided she "wasn’t feeling” the shoes anymore. As long as you don’t mind someone owning them for like 2 minutes, you can purchase them. She didn’t even try them on.“

"Was the girl who bought the shoes wearing a pastel pink dress by the way?”

“Yes, she also had a cute leather purse, which I adore! is she a friend of yours?”

“Yeah… She is.”

Wait, why did Amie lie to me? Was she angry that JB and I went to the car without telling her?

[survivorbouvetisland]

Lily’s Responses

QuilLynn:

Hey QuilLynn! Glad to see you’re still opinionated as ever. I didn’t expect you to put on any sort of fake niceness for this. Thanks for the question.

So, first, let me address the part about how giving credit to my competition makes me look pathetic. I’m simply showing respect for my fellow players who made it to the finale with me, even if it isn’t 100% deserved, and I think that that’s, like… the baseline expectation for a good finalist, the way I see it. It’s unfortunate that some people can’t even meet that, but I digress. Second, I’d like to address your comment about the idol play. Yes, I know that from an outside perspective, it may have looked like I just gave it to him and asked him to play it on me. It makes sense why you’d think that, honestly, but it wasn’t the actual story behind this, so let me tell you what actually happened. So, I figured, upon hearing that my name was out there, that an idol was all that could save my ass. Obviously I was wrong, but whatever. Anyway, I managed to actually find one soon after hatching my plan, and I managed to do the puzzle and get that done. But once I had the idol in my hands, a new problem came to mind. Looking at my past seasons (or at least, the ones where I’ve had idols and was deciding for myself what to do), I saw the pattern that I wouldn’t really play idols very accurately, and I wanted to take that personal flaw into account. So, my way of making sure things wouldn’t go to shit was to give Andrew the idol, and I told him not to play it. I mean, he didn’t listen, but I digress. So, that wasn’t really my plan, for him to play it on me and negate a whopping one vote, but I see why you’d assume that and it’s a fair enough question. To address the complaint about me “hibernating up Andrew’s ass”, this might just be due to how I was somewhat clueless when you ended up leaving the game, and also potentially in terms of how I ended up playing after your vote. It may look like I was just playing things in a “boring” manner, but then again, it wasn’t like many big moves were made at all this game after the super idol. Things were rather mundane, even if votes weren’t unanimous, going forwards. However, I don’t think my gameplay can be painted as me just sitting in the sidelines and sticking like glue to the majority, even if I managed to stay in that aforementioned majority. A good portion of my moves had to do with both jury management and keeping myself safe, whether it was making myself less of a target to the opposing side or making sure that my allies were on my side. And, just as one last note, I find it a bit funny that when my game was largely social and had to do with jury management, you drag it for being pathetic, and yet you also end up dragging Andrew for his lack of jury management. Hm.

Jacob:  

Thank you very much for your question(s)! I appreciate them, and will answer to the best of my ability.

In terms of the three pillars of Survivor gameplay, I’d say I probably value the social game quite a bit, despite some people potentially thinking that I relied on my immunity wins to make it to where I did. Like I described in my opening statement, the first swap was where I began to work to establish various alliances with players who I would find myself working with as the game went on (mainly you, Jay, and Andrew), which obviously relied on very good social skills. Then, once the merge came, I found myself on the bottom for a short while, but was able to once again utilize my social skills (and those past connections) to pull myself into a majority that let me make my way to the end of the game where you see me now.

On the topic of #Furbygate, people who were there that first night probably remember that I was closely sticking by Trixie’s side. I didn’t initially realize or even suspect that it was faked, and I’ve seen lots of people being made fun of in the past for special interests or things that traumatize them. I didn’t want to be one of those people thinking “lol it’s probably just a joke” and teasing her over it, in case it was real and I might’ve created a divide between us. It’s best to err on the side of caution in these scenarios for that very reason. And once I found out it was fake, I was shook.

When it comes to my immunity wins, it really depends which one you’re looking at. The plan might’ve been to vote me at Final 9 had I not won there, but it might’ve ended up somewhere else (like the super idol with Andrew and Nehe) regardless of my immunity, so that’s really a bit of a toss-up, although I have a slight suspicion that I might’ve been one of the early merge targets. As for the Final 4 win that guaranteed my seat here in the finale… I definitely feel as if that was a moment where I needed it. Not only would it leave Nehe as a threat to win, but I’d probably be left as the one on the bottom, either in a fire-making challenge or in just a straight up 3-1 vote.

If there was a final 3, and I was the one who was unable to make it (despite Bodhi being kinda absent now), I don’t think there’s any question in my mind that I would vote for Andrew. Not because I’m his puppet or anything, like SOME people might tell you, but because Bodhi was a fucking mess throughout this merge, constantly trying to play every single side in the early votes and throwing my vote away into the void as if I was just a pawn. It completely severed my trust in him, and if he thinks that that’s MY fault, then obviously he doesn’t have any awareness of his social game and how it affects others. Andrew, meanwhile, actually played a decent game and stuck to his alliances, keeping loyal and actually telling the truth when asked for it. I mean, sure, he did have that one silly idol play on me that I tried to talk him out of, but that’s really nothing much in retrospect. As for who I’d vote for from the jury to win… My choice would probably have to go to Jay. He was an obvious threat to win (as evidenced by the fact that y’all voted him out for that very reason), and if he had managed to get further I think he would’ve been a serious threat. And for Fan Favorite… Trixie. Furbygate was honestly iconic. That’s all I gotta say on that subject, especially when I look back on it, knowing it was fake. What a shookening move.

Trixie:  

Thanks for the question! Looks like you and QuilLynn are still kindred spirits, just as I remember things. I would say I’m happy to answer your question, if not for the fact that most of your concerns were already addressed in my answer for QuilLynn. If you read that over, things might become clearer. Thanks again!

Nehemiah:  

Hey Nehe! Thanks for the question!

So, loyalty means a lot to me too, which is why you won’t often find me flipping on alliances too often unless I think it's the optimal thing to do in order to further the game. In this game, I think my greatest display of loyalty was, in all honesty, towards you, up until final 4. You were part of the main alliance that I was in, even if you didn’t seem fully on board with me being there, and despite your constant votes against me, I always stuck by your side, keeping you on board even when I could’ve flipped things around and taken you out.

Nicholas:  

Hey Nicholas! Thanks for the question, and thanks again for not letting your dislike of me factor into your vote. As for your question, I have to thank you yet again, because I've already answered it and won't have to answer another time :P You can consult my answer to QuilLynn for that.

Jay:  

Hey Jay! Didn’t expect much else from you with this question :P Thanks, btw. I’ll be basing most of my answers off of side games (mostly Pokémon Mystery Dungeon) that actually give personalities to the Pokémon, for the sake of making this somewhat easier. Jay: Not even in regards to your profile picture, but I’d label you as Grovyle, due to your constant perseverance in games like these, being viewed as a threat, and your unbreakable loyalty to your allies. QuilLynn: My choice for the Pokémon to represent you, QuilLynn, would have to be Skuntank, due to how he constantly chooses to remind the main characters (or in this case, the finalists) that they’re weak and puny (or in this case, incompetent and/or egotistical). Trixie: Trixie, if I had to pick a Pokémon to represent you, I’d go with the great Dusknoir. You manage to paint yourself as being in the right at all times, but no matter how much you try, your scheming (Furbygate) all comes crashing down in the end, being exposed to everyone else. Kinda fitting, too, since you were one of the ones that orchestrated the plan to take out Jay. Jacob: Jacob, I’d say you’re most comparable to Bidoof, due to how you can be a bit of a worry wart on occasion (that idol play, for example, and your worry that Bodhi would be working with the other side and a desire to blindside him), but you’re still trying your best. Roxy: If I had to make a choice, Roxy, I’d choose Wigglytuff. You’re overall a pleasant personality, even if you may seem a bit aloof at times, and although you can get rather serious if you want, you’re often a more light-hearted person. Nicholas: This one’s a bit of a tough choice, honestly, but if I had to pick a Pokémon to represent you, I’d have to go for Uxie. You took on a more menacing personality, like Uxie did with the Groudon hologram, in order to try and keep yourself secure, but it didn’t end up working in the end. Nehemiah: Nehemiah, my choice for what Pokémon best represents you would have to be Nuzleaf (the one choice that’s NOT from the Explorers games), even if it is due mostly to my personal experiences. You made me believe that we were on the same side of everything, despite you having ill wishes towards me, and it never really made me view you as anything less.

Roxy: 

 I wish I had the time to actually write up a proper Furmit fanfiction, but unfortunately, I don't. So just imagine that I wrote you a story where a Furby named Jake Paul dumped his boyfriend Nick Crompton in order to pursue a relationship with famous actor Kermit D. Frog.

[thewritelycampix]

No Pokeballs Allowed

Chapter 3: Graveyard Shift

Town pride is a commonplace thing in any world. People and Pokémon alike seem to have a need to protect what they believe is theirs, even though in reality, it is just a big plot of land with a variety of rectangles and triangles built on top of it. Why humans had developed these enamoured attachments and why Pokémon decided it was a good idea to follow, we will never know. Some may argue that the concept of a home is a comforting prospect for people to come home to. But it is not the question of having a home, but simply having an attraction to the land itself, rather than the sense of security it brings. Most people would usually think this does not make sense, developing an emotional or even romantic attachment to a large square-ish chunk of dirt and rocks, but many do it anyways. This is not a good idea, because like many things that people love, there are other people that exist only to take that beloved thing, knock it off its cone into the sand and drive over it with their fancy Diesel-chugging ATV. And all the hours those people had spent figuratively making out with the local bar will be put into perspective as all the things they loved become roadkill.

Nuzlocke was a beautiful town. It was incredibly obvious by looking at the town that it was a labour of love that had lasted decades, perhaps centuries to make. Nuzlocke was thriving. An item shop, jewellery, outdoor mall, a town square, Technical Machine and Relic shop, daycare; the town seemed to have everything. This statement wasn’t entirely true.

“Everyone here seems kind of cold,” Coran noticed. By this, he did not mean that everyone in Nuzlocke was uncomfortable with the temperature; rather, he meant that nobody quite seemed to appreciate his presence that much.

“…Really? I’ve never noticed.” Squirtle (the Eevee) said, looking around.

“That was sarcasm, wasn’t it?” Coran said, crossing his arms. “Honestly, I’m really new here, so I can’t tell. Sarcasm is not a good idea when you’re introducing people to places and such.”

“No, it isn’t sarcasm,” Squirtle reiterated. “I’ve really just kept to myself. My only contact with these Pokémon is through the Bulletin Board. They post problems, I solve them. End of story.” Squirtle shrugged. “But now that you mention it, everyone does seem kind of quiet and reclusive.”

“Yeah, it’s like everyone here is an adolescent teenager who takes pride in being an introvert.”

Squirtle stared at him, confused. “…what?”

“Forget it,” said Coran, mentally reeling from the words that had spilt out of his mouth. What had he even said? He couldn’t remember it exactly. It was foggy, as if the sentence had been said months ago rather than moments.

Squirtle, who, by this point, had begun deliberating on what Coran had pointed out about Nuzlocke’s general attitude, tried to start a conversation with a passing Breloom. “Hi there!” she said, uncharacteristically cheerily.

Breloom gave her a confused look, before narrowing his eyes. He seemed to be trying to discern what it was Squirtle wanted. “Um…Hello.”

“Nice day, isn’t it?” Squirtle asked.

Breloom simply looked up at the sunny blue sky. “No.”

Squirtle wasn’t expecting a negative answer. She drew back in surprise. “What? Why?”

“I am a part mushroom. Mushrooms like dank, dark places. It’s too hot for me.” Breloom said, before walking along his way without another word.

Squirtle frowned deeply. “I…wasn’t expecting that. Maybe he’s just an outlier,” she mumbled, giving Coran a curious look. “Anyways, we didn’t come here to socialise. We came here to shop. Come on, let’s go.”

Squirtle led Coran up to a nearby booth built into the front of what looked like a warehouse. It was currently empty - nobody was there. “Hello?” Squirtle called. “Is anyone there?”

A bored looking Shuppet came to the front of the booth. Her half-lidded eyes took in the pair of Pokémon in front of her. She let out a quiet sigh and took a deep breath. “Hello, and welcome to Banette’s Bazaar, how can I help you today?” The words came out of her mouth so monotonous and easily it seemed as if she had been saying them for the past ten minutes before Coran and Squirtle had come to the booth.

“Yes, I’d like to peruse some of your wares, please,” Squirtle replied.

Shuppet raised an eyebrow at Squirtle’s eloquent vocabulary and gestured behind her. “There’s shelves upon shelves back there. Take a look at our…extensive selection of merchandise and commodities.” Shuppet said, smirking a bit.

Squirtle, a bit put off, nodded her head curtly. “Thank you.”

Coran, while Squirtle and Shuppet had been talking, was checking out the shelves. It wasn’t a very big store, but there still was quite a selection. Many, many berries, a few TMs and HMs, rocks, sticks, thorns, seeds and some very expensive vitamins. Squirtle walked up to him. “What do you see?”

“Just gonna put this out there, but…” Coran’s voice quivered as he looked at the plethora of items with nothing short of overwhelming fear. “I have no idea what any of this stuff does.”

“Y'know, I would explain this to you, but I feel I’ve done enough explaining to last me a lifetime, so I’ll just take some of these,” she said, grabbing some of the blue berries and putting them in her bag. “…and we should probably have some of these,” she finished, putting two reddish seeds into her treasure bag. She took it back to the front of the shop.

Shuppet, without even looking at the bag, told them the total was 900 Poké. Squirtle paid the right amount, then left. “Coran,” she said. “I believe it’s time for you to take your first trouble.”

Coran wasn’t so sure he agreed with her about that, but he realised that he would have entered a losing battle if he tried to challenge that, so he decided not to resist. They headed back to the Bulletin Board and looked at the possible jobs.

“Here. This one looks good for your first time,” Squirtle announced. Coran looked at where Squirtle was pointing. It read:

Get my pendant back!

Rank: E Dungeon: Sorrowing Meadows

My name is Yamask. I was travelling through the Sorrowing Meadows on my way to my friend’s place. I came through without incident, but when I got back to Nuzlocke, I found that my pendant, which had been handed down through my family for a long time, was missing! I would go back to get it, but now I hear rumours of suspicious Pokémon roaming around. Please, get it back!

Reward: 1000 Poké

Coran bit his lip. A shiver ran down his spine at the name. “Sorrowing Meadows?” he said, unable to banish a whine from his voice. “I-is that somewhere between Blood-Death Gulch and Endless Pain Hill?”

“Oh, hush. The Sorrowing Meadows aren’t that bad. And besides, it seems like he was only on the main path, so it’ll be easy to find the pendant.” She let that hang a bit, then continued. “I’m coming with you, of course. This is your first job, and you didn’t really pass the Sanity test, so I’m going to be keeping an eye on you.”

Normally, this would have struck Coran as an attack on his ego. But the thought of tackling such a sinister-sounding place such as the Sorrowing Meadows alone was even more of an attack, and on something a little more vulnerable than his ego. He agreed.

“Here it is! The Sorrowing Meadows,” announced Squirtle, nodding in what she was sure was an official manner.

Coran looked at her in confusion. “How can you be so chipper in a place like this?”

The Sorrowing Meadows looked quite sorrowing indeed. The thickly laid trees were dead skeletons, reaching out to scratch and scrape anyone who passed by, as if they were being controlled by a deranged puppeteer. The pale moon rising up along the scraggly horizon of gnarled branches made tinted everything below its light a sickly purple colour, draining the forest of any sign of life. The worn dirt path had stone bricks scattered about, half buried in the dirt. It was as if someone had tried to civilize the woods, but had died when he had just started the act. Even this path the poor soul had made seemed threatened, as if the purple grass was extending its tendrils to choke it out. If he looked hard enough, Coran could see the outline of a steeple in the background. A holy building in an unholy place was not a good thing for a genre savvy Pokémon like him. Overall, this was not first stage material.

“And why did we have to come here at night? Why can’t it wait till the morning?”

“Because, Coran,” Squirtle answered, “That notice was posted today, and it detailed suspicious Pokémon about-”

“Wouldn’t that mean going at night was a bad thing?!” Coran blurted.

“Let me finish!” Squirtle snapped. “Suspicious Pokémon are dangerous, yes, but they could also steal the pendant. It’s best for us to get the pendant as soon as possible so it isn’t stolen. The client comes first.”

Coran hesitated. “Okay, fine. Let’s do it. But when we get back, I’m going to make a mattress and you’re going to help me.”

“…No I’m not.”

“Come on!”

“Yes, come on, that’s a great idea,” Squirtle said, flicking her tail and taking her first steps into the Sorrowing Meadows.

Things did not get better when they entered the dungeon. Almost immediately the moon at their backs was blotted out by the skeleton-like trees. The path, though worn enough to be seen, became more and more choked by ivy and grass as the two Pokémon ventured further into the forest. It was getting truly hard to see, and Coran was beginning to doubt whether he would even be able to spot a tiny pendant at all in the darkness. He did note that he didn’t see any of those aforementioned ‘hostile Pokémon’, which he was grateful for. But he would much rather be sleeping right now. This was not an enjoyable pastime and his entire body recognized this.

"Well, farther up and further in!” Squirtle chirped in an excessively happy manner, as if trying to mock him.

Coran simply sighed and followed her. That was before he tripped on a tree root.

“Ow.” Coran was not in the best of moods, and this did not help. Therefore, he had to convince himself to get up. He spent one long minute on the ground, trying his very hardest to tell himself that going further into this forsaken land was a better idea than lying here in the dirt. When he did get up, however, he was faced with a rather prominent problem.

Squirtle was gone.

One hour later…

Coran ran frantically through the quickly darkening forest, trying to find any sign of Squirtle. Or any sign of an exit.

Or any sign of hope.

Terrified at every single sound he knew he wasn’t making, he dashed across the path, confident that Squirtle wouldn’t have strayed from it. But the longer he ran alongside the road, the darker things became, and the more hopeless things seemed to be. The ground somehow felt unfamiliar beneath his paws. This was a strange thing to note, Coran realized, considering that he’d never been here before. This entire place was unfamiliar. Then he remembered he was also apparently an amnesiac. So not only was this place unfamiliar, but also literally everything he’d ever experienced since waking up in that field. His throat was getting scratchy from thirst. He didn’t have a bag on him. No berries grew here. There was only sorrow.

This is my first job! I can’t die here! Where is she? Where is anything?!

Coran was getting delirious. Why…why is it even called Sorrowing Meadows…? It’s a forest. Not meadows. If…if anything, Nuzlocke should be called Sorrowing Meadows. Would that mean this place was Nuzlocke? What does Nuzlocke mean, anyways? Is there a secret in Nuzlocke? Is there a thousand year old door locked with a key you can only get by winning a racing tournament with foxy items off destination? Where can I get a nuzkey? Is there a town called Nuzkey, and if there is how do I get it to Nuzlocke so they can kiss and unlock the foxy tourney door….? He chuckled nervously. He had slowed down, and was simply walking across the path absentmindedly. After a while of sauntering along his merry way, he heard a sort of metal scraping along with his footsteps. He looked down, and saw a pendant and chain hooked around his foot. He picked it up, and guessed it must have been the pendant he was here for.

“…I…I win,” he said, teetering on his feet. “H-hey…hey, Sq-Squirtle…H-how many points is…” Before he could finish his sentence, Coran fell flat on his face, unconscious.

“He’s out cold…”

“What do we do now? Can we?”

“It’s fine…he doesn’t need it.”

“It’s so shiny!”

“He won’t mind, right?”

“Right.”

And the pendant was gone.

Link to Chapter 4

Start at the beginning

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day One Hundred Forty-Seven: Sugar Coated ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: A Light Amongst Shadows ] [ AO3 Link ]

If there’s one thing Sasuke can consider a pet peeve...it would be people sugarcoating things. If you’re going to tell him something, just...tell him! Don’t beat around the bush or talk in circles in an attempt to soften whatever you’re trying to say. He himself has always been rather...blunt. He’s got no time to dance your dance for the sake of niceties or social decorum. He’d much rather get to the point, and move on. Life is short, and he’s got things to do.

But not everyone feels that way.

When he met Hinata - or rather...when he met her again - he could immediately tell she was one of those people. Both because of her nature, and her upbringing. It’s not a Hyūga’s way to simply talk plainly. Oh no. They have to obfuscate and speak in circles as to avoid being too direct. To be direct is to be rude.

Too kind to simply speak her mind, too diplomatic to risk offense, and with a slight stutter that further slows her speech, Hinata takes her time with her orating. At first it threatens to bring about a kind of irritation. Is she really going to be the sort to drag out every conversation they have?

But, to Sasuke’s honest surprise...she doesn’t. The stutter is, admittedly, hard to avoid. But he can’t fault her for that. He’s certain it’s born from a meek nature...which in turn, he soon learns, was brought about by her father’s treatment of her when young. True, she’s grown a lot since then - and he’ll soon learn just how much. But a lifelong verbal tic isn’t something one can simply drop.

Look at Naruto.

One of the first times Sasuke speaks to Hinata after the war is after his brother’s revival. Given Itachi’s rather...precarious position (he’s still an S-ranked missing nin, after all), it’s been suggested that the Hyūga lend their strength and standing to the remnants of their cousin Uchiha.

In all honesty, Sasuke’s pride is...rather stung. He’s one of the two most powerful shinobi in their world. To suggest that he needs help - especially from a clan as haughty and stuck-up (in his opinion) as the Hyūga - is a major insult.

But...he’ll admit, there’s some logic to it. They’re cousin clans. And the added numbers might spare them some agony. Sure, Sasuke (and once he’s recovered, Itachi) can take care of himself just fine. But it would still be nice to avoid the little squabbles from people stupid enough to insult him to his face. Did he make mistakes? Yes. Both brothers did. But they’re also moving forward. Being stuck in the past and harassing them about something they’re making amends for is a one-way ticket to pissing him off.

Besides, Hinata’s friends with Itachi’s...well, he might as well call her wife. She was one of the medics that helped save her life after Neji’s assault back in the chūnin exams.

...weird to think back that far. It’s almost like another life.

She also helped heal her friend after Pein’s assault. Add in her hand in reviving Neji, and she’s got pretty good standing with the Hyūga. In more than one way, the main house owes her debts.

Something she hints at taking advantage of. Which...shocks Sasuke, in all honesty. She doesn’t seem the type to do that. But she also knows that the Uchiha need all the help they can get...especially with her children so young and so vulnerable.

And Sasuke will do anything to protect his brother’s son and daughter.

So...he swallows his pride, and takes up the Hyūga on their offer.

Which means speaking to Hinata.

She’s not heiress anymore - hasn’t been for a number of years by now, if he remembers right. Hanabi’s taken that mantle. But that doesn’t mean the elder sister isn’t involved in clan politics. Still trained in diplomacy, it’s she - not her precocious sibling or haughty cousin - they send to speak with him.

Wise. The former Sasuke wouldn’t be able to take seriously, heiress or not. The latter he’d almost certainly butt heads with. Neji’s too...staunch for his liking. Too far up his own ass...though he’s gotten better since they last spoke.

Dressed in her typical attire, Hinata meets Sasuke at the Hyūga compound gate. “Hello, Sasuke-kun,” is her soft greeting, given alongside a bow.

Managing a nod in return, he just replies, “Hyūga.”

“Um...given that arrangements are still being made, and official terms drafted, this isn’t an official meeting. That will have to wait until the Uchiha clan head is...is present.”

Clan head referring to Itachi. It’s a position he’d have inherited anyway, had the clan lived. And Sasuke sure as hell doesn’t want it.

“Understandable. Aniki is still recovering.”

“Yes, I...I heard. But...given that we’re going to be in talks for...quite some time, I wanted to formally introduce myself.”

“Hyūga, we were in the Academy together. I know who you are.”

Her cheeks pinken. “I - y-yes, that’s true. But...we rarely spoke, and...it’s been q-quite some time since we’ve really, um...been acquainted. I thought it would be - would be wise to have a sort of...clean slate? To start over, and build anew.”

Her nerves are starting to make his itch. All her starting and stopping, and all these...formalities. It’s such a waste of time. “Listen, Hyūga -”

“Please, call me Hinata.”

Ignoring her cut in, he goes on. “I get what this is. But you don’t have to be so...stiff. I’m not about to rip your head off. Don’t be so nervous. I’m not a crazy nukenin anymore, either.”

She jolts a hair in surprise. “I…” Her demeanor softens. “...I never thought you were...crazy.”

A brow perks, finding that hard to believe.

“Granted, we weren’t...friends. But everyone knew what happened. And that you wanted revenge. If I were in your shoes…” She trails off. “...well, I don’t know if I - if I could have gone that far. But I understand. As someone with a clan, and...knowing what I know...I think you were more than justified. Especially given the hand the village had in it…” Hinata’s head shakes somberly. “...you had e-every right to be angry, and want justice. You...you might have taken things a bit far, but...given the actions taken against your kin, it only seems fair. Because...that was too far. Far too far. It never should have happened.”

Single dark eye watching her, Sasuke...doesn’t sense any deception from her. She’s not kissing his ass. She’s just...being honest with him. “...you don’t think I’m dangerous?”

“No.” Her answer is too firm, too certain to be a lie. “...well, true, you’re very powerful. But...I don’t think you’re going to hurt anyone. Only...only if they hurt you, o-or your family, first. And in that case...I think you’d have every right. I would do the same if someone tried to harm my sister, or my cousin.” Pale eyes look up to him, and Sasuke sees a kind of...firmness that wasn’t there when he arrived.

Something about the subject has...shifted something in her. The formalities of his visit are forgotten as they discuss something else entirely. Here, and now, they’re just...people. Reminiscing over something neither of them have to be shy about.

Should be shy about.

“...well, you’re about the only one who thinks that way,” he sighs, tone a tinge bitter. Even his own teammates have been treating him like an explosive tag: just one spark from igniting. It’s...exhausting, really.

“Well...to be fair, I’ve been given perspective some people don’t have.”

“My teammates know the truth.” Sasuke’s brow hardens, and for a moment, he forgets himself and speaks a bit too openly. “...they knew before the war even started. About the council, and the coup, and the massacre. And what did they do? Not a damn thing. Still thought the best course of action was dragging me back to the place of my clan’s sanctioned genocide.”

At the blunt truth, Hinata can’t help a small flinch. “...I-I think...Naruto-kun and Sakura-chan lack a bit of...um...perspective. Sakura-chan doesn’t have a clan. Neither does Naruto-kun...he doesn’t have any family. It has to be hard to...fully comprehend. But you and I...we both come from long-standing, powerful clans. And…” She ducks her head, somber. “...while yours may be gone, you still had that world view. That...experience. As I did. While I can’t fully c-comprehend what you’ve gone through...I’m in a position very similar to what yours once was. It could have been my clan that was mistreated, a-and eliminated when we tried to stand up for ourselves. It’s...easier for me to imagine that loss, given that I have that much to lose. They...they don’t.”

...he...hasn’t thought of it that way. “...hn.”

The air suddenly tinges awkward, and Hinata goes pink again. “...I-I’m sorry, we’re...so off-topic -”

“It’s fine. You’re right. You…” A pause. “...you have the perspective few do. Between being part of a big clan, and also knowing what you know...you’re about the closest person to understanding. It’s…” Another hesitation. “...refreshing. To be understood.”

Large eyes blink, expression a bit taken aback. Then Hinata gives him a soft smile. “...I don’t want to treat you any different, Sasuke-kun. It’s clear you’ve changed. And...I hope that you’re going to get the closure you need. Something should still be done about...about those who orchestrated the massacre. Until then...you have e-every right to be wary of Konoha. But...I hope you know that the rest of us? We’re rooting for you. Even if some are...worried. I’m sure that will fade in time. We all just...need to reacquaint ourselves with each other. A lot of time has passed...and a lot has changed. That can’t be undone so quickly.”

She’s...starting to get a bit long-winded again, but he finds he doesn’t mind - she makes a lot of good points. “...I’ll try to be patient.”

“So will we. But...that’s p-part of why the Hyūga want to stand with you! To show solidarity. So...hopefully others will follow our example in welcoming you back.”

“And have less incentive to mess with us,” he adds, smirking a bit in amusement at the obvious point.

“I...y-yes,” she admits sheepishly. “N-not that many would dare, I imagine. But...yes.”

“...well, I guess this counts as an introduction?” Sasuke then offers. He’s anxious to get home and check on his brother. See his niece and nephew, too.

“Oh, y-yes! Um...well, this wasn’t exactly what I had planned,” she laughs nervously. “But, um...I suppose it did acquaint us…?”

“Yeah. Well enough. Besides, something tells me I’ll see more of you soon.”

“I’m sure you will.”

“See you around, Hyūga.”

To his surprise, she puffs a bit. “Please, call me Hinata! There’s too many Hyūga to just call me that!”

Before he can stop it, Sasuke chuckles. Rather than answer, he turns and waves.

Maybe they’ll get along better than he’d feared.

     This is...kinda random xD Wasn't really sure what to do with the prompt, and tbh not...sure I pulled off the idea I had as well as I wanted. Buuut I tried lol      Poor Hinata just wants to be polite! But Sasuke has no patience for formalites. He just wants to talk, and talk quickly. He's got better things to do than sit and blab! But it seems he doesn't mind sitting and chatting with Hinata. She just...gets him in ways others don't. So I'm sure they'll be talking a lot more ;3c      Anywho, it's past this nerd's bedtime! Thanks for reading~

[blonde-bottlerocket-blog]

Score one for Whistler

Teagan gripped the champagne flute as the arm slipped over her shoulder handing it off in a race against the count down of the clock. It felt like slow motion as she eased her free arm around Luke, the clean cut college boy who'd captured her attention during the New Years trip, and even as she glanced over to see her best friend counting backwards with the crowd, she felt the drag of the seconds. "10....9....8....7..." Teagan shouted in unison with them, a bounce with each number as 2017 approached, the mere seconds disappearing as each number rang out, and the blonde felt everything sink in. The last 48 hours had been a whirl wind, but had been exactly what the blonde had needed to end the year and start the new on a good note.

2016 had been a roller coaster for Teagan. No, it had nothing to do with the crazy that was America at the moment. No, it had nothing to do with the world at all, it was personal. It was the rise and fall of feeling so high and so low, sometimes even at the same time. From an outside perspective someone would think her life was charmed. The young blonde had been blessed with so many things in the past year. Getting chosen to be the Revlon spokes model for their newly released collection, getting picked from millions of Youtube submissions and winning was everything to the young girl. It jump started a career she wasn't particularly ready for. Teagan was young, she was still in school, and yet she was living in a fantasy land, a dream that she feared she'd wake up and it would all be gone. She'd step out of the wardrobe and realize she wasn't in Narnia anymore and she was just her, Teagan Trafficante, a Florida native who was barely old enough to drive, and spent her school year in her English boarding school with those who were her home away from home, not the blonde bombshell who made her fashion debut on the Victoria Secret runway for the 2016 fashion show. She was no longer just a high school girl, she had a career, one that came with fans, a taste of fame, and a lack of privacy if you weren't careful.

The trip had been a present from her father, something spur of the moment he planned to get the moping blonde out of his house. Seeing your daughter and only child heart broken is never a sight a father wants to endure. She knew that was why he'd surprised her with the trip, wasting no time to send her and Cherish off to Whistler for some skiing and a chance to get away from everything that was bringing her down. He wanted his daughter happy and little did he know how right he was in his plans. The trip had brought life back to the young Trafficante. The spark inside her that was fading had been reignited and she felt hopeful for the incoming year.

--------Flashback: Saturday Afternoon December 31, 2016 ---------

When the girls arrived in Whistler their plan was simple. They wanted to ring in the new year with a relaxing ski vacation, no boys, no drama, just two best friends embracing the farewell of 2016 with an exciting anticipation for the new year. There were no plans beyond that. It was a go with the flow vacation with the sole purpose to say good bye to the baggage that was holding Teagan back. Teagan knew her best friend wanted that for her, she wanted her to be genuinely happy again. She wanted her to feel joy without guilt, to fully say good bye to the past and allow herself to move on and move forward without the constant peering over her shoulder to see if he would chase her, and the equally constant feeling of disappointment when he didn't. It was a merry-go-round and it was time to get off the ride.

Teagan's arm linked with Cherish as the girls headed to the lodge to be fitted for their ski's. The level of euphoria she'd just endured had her on a high like no other. She'd never been recognized before, let alone asked for autographs, but as one girl noticed her from her YouTube and another from the Victoria Secret show, before she knew it she was lost in a sea of people holding out anything they could for her to sign. It was exciting and crazy, the fact that she'd found herself with fans. She didn't feel worthy and yet as she saw her friend sipping her coffee waiting for her, she could see the look of pride from her and that meant more than the fans or the autographs. Knowing those she considered family supported her touched a piece of her heart that was left empty by the loss of her mother. She'd never get that look from her, but seeing it from her best friend had brought a genuine smile to her lips.

"That was crazy" she beamed to her best friend who nodded as they entered the lodge, pointing out that they didn't have to wait in line and the instructors were already waiting on the two to get fitted. Teagan coyly bit her lip at the perks from the little bit of fame.

The instructors were by definition cute, two college aged, clean cut, Canadian guys. They were built and strong, showing their obvious hours spent on the mountain by their stature. It didn't take them long to get fitted for their ski's and find themselves on the snow. Teagan had been a skier for many years, she wasn't knew to the slopes, but had no problem playing up the damsel card for the instructors, the guys who had since introduced themselves as Matt and Luke. " Where did they go?" Teagan asked rhetorically as she looked around for their escorts. They were told to meet them at the chair lift while they retrieved their ski gear, but had not been seen since the girls walked out onto the soft powder. Cherish shrugged and started heading for the lift with Teagan moving to follow, but as she took a step, her ski boot came unlatched leaving her ski a step behind. A frustrated groan left her lips as she dropped her ski poles and bent over to try and get her boot to lock in place when she heard Cherish call for her, but as she felt the blow, and her body hit the snow with a thud, and the pressure of the additional weight holding her to the ground, she was sure her friend was saying something along the lines of 'look out'

The blonde groaned as she felt the wind momentarily knocked out of her and a small throb from her head hitting the ground behind her. "oh my god."

" Are you ok?" Luke questioned, concerned even, as he laid against her, keeping her body pressed firmly into the snow. Her blue hues caught his and for a moment she let herself take notice of his features. Her eyes darted back and forth between his lost in his equally blue eyes. She didn't hear him ask a second time if she was ok, but it seemed as if her body knew the question and forced her head to nod.

" Head..body" She'd never been so instantly attracted to someone. Of course she'd been attracted to guys, she'd had boyfriends, she'd been in love before, but this was different. This was something that made her feel instantly giddy, though she was sure it was just from the impact, at least that was the lie she was telling herself. Trying not to be too much of a girl about it, she took a breath, double blinking to get out of the hypnotized state. " Yea.. Yea I'm ok, just can't really move." Teagan admitted, a flirtatious smile gracing her lips.

Luke ducked his head as he looked down the length of their bodies and back to her with a sheepish grin on his lip, though his expression read he understood why she couldn't move, he remained a moment longer before following up his smile with a chuckle. " My bad, let me help you" He stood and reached down for her hand, grasping it, and lifting her with ease. "Sorry about that.. though would it be bad to say I don't really hate that it happened?" His smile was ear to ear as his pearly whites beamed at her and as much as she tried to hold back her own smile at the flattery she couldn't.

She looked to Cherish as she got her barings taking note of the amused smirk on her friends lips after watching the exchange. Teagan made her way over to Cherish trying not to blush, doing anything to hide the crush like feelings that were trying to flood her face.

"Shut up.' she whispered cooly to Cherish resulting in an almost inaudible Mhmm from her best friend as the four made their way to the chair lift and the two girls took their seats together to recap the little incident while they had a moment away from the guys. " So I kind of think you should go for it" The brunette stated rather honestly.

Teagan pulled her eyes from the breathtaking view and looked to her friend. " Go for what? Luke? It's.. He's our instructor and we're here for two days. There isn't really a 'Go for it' kinda time." Explaining that nothing would come of it, but honestly not sure she was ready to even entertain the idea. Having just had the last straw, forever closing and locking the door on her ex even though the two had been over for months, she wasn't sure she was really ready.

"I'm not saying marry the guy, but it is ok to let yourself have fun, Teag." Reaching over and grabbing her friends hand to show her support for her well being. " But.. this is your chance to get your feet wet without having to fully dive back in." Shooting her a 'what could it hurt' expression. "Like you said. We're leaving in two days, so chances you'll ever see him again are slim, so why not?"

Teagan looked at her and knew her slight pushing was only out of love. Cherish out of any one knew that even broken up, Teagan was still holding onto those relationship strings, still hoping that maybe he would finally run after her instead of running away. "Whatever, you don't even know if he's interested." Brushing off the idea completely.

Cherish practically snorted as she adjusted her gloves, seeing the summit approaching. " He's interested. That's so obvious." The two girls looked over their shoulders to the guys behind them to see Luke give Teagan the 'nod'. Turning around with a cocky smirk at being right, the brunette nudged Teagan with her elbow.

"Maybe.." Teagan exhaled to shake off the nervous butterflies that took flight at mere thought of it. "Just.. lets ski." she pushed the feelings away as she slid off the chair letting her skis touch the snow. She didn't even remember what it was like to be free to focus on someone other than Ry, it was her feelings for him that held her back. Guilt that being with anyone would hurt him, hope that maybe they would find a way to work it out, and love because her heart still felt like his, but now that he had made it clear there would never be a them, she had to let it go. Hard or not, ready or not, it was time.

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

The last few hours of the day had been spent on the slopes, multiple runs down various difficulites kept the small group entertained. The instructors leading them through exclusive trails and hidden spots on the mountain. It was an adventure that made for various snap chat posts and Instagram stills, showing off the time of their lives the two friends were having. This was one of those trips the two would talk about when recaping their lives together. About the time they were lost in Canada on their first solo trip when they were teens, embarking on adventure, and getting their first real taste of freedom.

As they group made their way back to the lodge, Cherish excused herself to go call and check in with her boyfriend, though she covered the boyfriend taboo word with snow in her pants. Teagan knew better, but appreciated the sensitivity. It was never fun being the one without a boyfriend, though the roles had been reversed before. She knew it also didn't hurt Cherish's get your feet wet plan to leave Teagan alone with Luke for even just a minute.

It wasn't until they were alone that she realized she'd spent all day with Luke, lost in laugher, and fun; lost in just being happy, but most important, she hadn't thought of Ry even once. It was a weird feeling once she let herself realize it. So many days she'd spent all day in bed at Chadwick thinking of him, what he was doing, what he was thinking, was it about her? Did he think about her? Did he wonder about her? Questions she let plauge her mind over and over and yet, here she was in a forgein country continuously finding herself lost in the crystal blue eyes of her ski instructor and she didn't think about him. What that meant she wasn't sure, but maybe Cherish had been right. Getting her feet wet might not be so bad.

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

"So where is your friend? I hope I'm not pulling you away from her." Luke stated with concern for Cherish. It was afterall a girls trip and it was kind of cute that he cared enough to question pulling her away.

Teagan smiled over to him as they made their way to the large bonfire the resort put together for guests. She was hesitant to agree to hang out with him for the night, and Cherish was definitely an excuse, but since her brunette bestie practically kicked her from the room to 'face time' phone sex with Aiden, she was sure she probably didn't wanna be there for that anyway. " She's skyping with her boyfriend. So actually this is like a rescue mission." she chuckled as her boot lightly kicked at the snow as they approached the crackling fire.

Luke moved around placing a blanket over the heated bench for her to brace the wet of the melted snow for her. " And they say chivalry is dead." She teased as she took a seat and crossed her right leg over her left, keeping her hands tucked into her pockets for warmth. She wasn't sure about this, but she was going for it. Like easing into the pool, just one step at a time.

He took the seat next to her and glanced over to Teagan. She could feel his stare lingering and like a magnetic pull, it sucked her attention in forcing her to turn her head just as he spoke, a bit nervous in his delivery. "Your boyfriend doesn't want to skype?" He asked. The obvious implications of his statement hovering over the question.

Teagan's smile grew as she looked to the fire before turning her attention back to him. "Smooth.." nodding without futher explanation, but she knew they both understood the compliment. "No.. I don't have one" she chuckled lowering her eyes to the slow as she felt her cheeks blush. There was just something about him that forced the heat in her cheeks to rise.

"Good. I was hoping that was the answer. Didn't want you getting in trouble for spending all day with me." He nodded as his grin grew and she was sure she could hear the ping of his smile like he was staring in a toothpaste commerical.

"Spending all day with you? That's your job. I doubt if I had a boyfriend he could be upset about that." Teagan replied as her nerves seemed to slowly disappear as the conversation grew.

Luke looked at her almost guilty in his expression as he tousled his short hair and took a moment to confess. " Actually today is my day off, I just... when I saw you in the lobby, I was interested." Luke's eyes met hers and she could tell he was anticipating her to feel slightly stalked, but she hadn't. It was actually flattering to have someone spend their day off just to get to know you. Her pause in response seemed to trigger a slight panic as he spoke before she could reply. " I'm not a creep or anything, you're just... Wow.. and I dunno, just wanted to meet the girl with the beautiful smile. Cheezy I know. I'm trying to turn it off" he laughed making light of his words, but Teagan couldn't. She wasn't used to this and it felt really good to be chased. It felt good to feel like someone was interested, and like she was worth the pursuit.

With her cheeks now burned a bright red and the smile plastered on her lips she found it hard to speak, pulling her hand from her pockets as she looked at him, shook her head as she wreathed in smiles. " That's very sweet and ... refreshing... your creepy side" she added with a playful sarcasm trailing her words. "Really though, It's nice. It's been a while for me..."

He almost scoffed as if he didn't believe her words. " A while? I don't know if I believe that. You're..." he paused as he tried to find a word. "I'm really not trying to boost your ego or anything, but you really are beautiful"

"It's kind of a long story." Teagan nodded with an uneasy smile.

" I don't mind hearing it if you don't mind sharing." Luke offered.

The conversation between the two flowed so easily, but she knew she was making a serious faux pas as she spoke of her recent break up from Ry. The recent ending of what she thought would be forever. As she told him of the guy she left behind she felt the sting in her heart. Maybe she wasn't ready to let him go yet. She could tell herself all day she was, but in the quiet moments when her mind was allowed to wander, she thought about him. What was he doing? Where was he? Was he ok? Was he thinking about her? All questions that would continue to go unanswered. Teagan and Luke continued their talk, getting to know more about each other as the sun went down and that darkness began to fully surround them. She had to admit, it was nice to have someone so interested in her. Even if it wasn't anything, even if it was just to pick up her spirits, maybe Cherish was right. It was ok to let herself have fun.

--------End of Flashback---------

" 6....5....4...3...." The count down continued to drag as Teagan looked to Cherish with a wide grin on her pink lips. She could feel the excitement of the New Year building for that moment of release. She could feel the thick air of anticipation hug her tightly, clinging as she looked at Luke and it was in those final seconds as 2016 approached that she felt more nervous than she had in as long as she could remember. The look in his eye, the way it all was headed. She grippped her champagne flute as the last numbers were called. There was a deafening silence that hushed over the buzz she was feeling from the pre-drinks they'd had.

"HAPPY NEW YEARS" the crowd erupted in cheers as Teagan turned to delay the moment and hugged Cherish, kissing her best friend on the cheek. Her stomach knotted as she felt the tug of her hand. Luke's arm snaked around her resting against the small of her back as he stared at her as if asking for permission and as if on cue she gave it. He leaned in and so did she. Their lips touched. It wasn't anything special. It wasn't passionate or filled with tongue. It was just that. A simple, sweet, happy new years kiss, but in that kiss she learned so much. She learned that she would be ok. That there could be a life after Riley and that she could maybe move forward when she was ready. She pulled back and looked at Cherish with wide eyes as they exchanged a moment of best friend nonverbal communication before downing the champagne in their flutes and taking pictures to send to their friends.

The trip had done it's job. At least she thought it did. The recent break up was heavy on her heart, and while she learned she wasn't fully ready to move on yet. She also learned there was more out there for her to see. When she'd be ready to let go she wasn't sure. Maybe right now she just needed to focus on her and the person she knew who'd always be there. Cherish.