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kouomi · 4 years ago

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Misunderstandings

Summary: after miscommunication and many misunderstandings, you feel it is left up to you to end things with Bokuto for both of yours sake.

Warnings: slight angst, sad Bokuto :(, fluff at end!

Word count: 2,837

A/N: this is based off a dream I had lol so it might be a lil iffy. (Akaashi is rly a life saver in this that mans is a god(it has a good ending don’t worry))

Posted: March 4, 2021, 10:05 PM EST

Despite the scheduled time for the training camp being long over, the lights in gym three were still on and there was the constant sound of a volleyball being smacked to the ground accompanied by shoes squeaking on the wooden floors. Loud yells could be heard every time there was a successful spike or block from any of the boys who were practicing, no hints of fatigue present though they’d been at it for hours. All of these noises were silent to you as you approached though, your thoughts too loud in your ear for anything else to make it past. You nervously tossed your hands back and forth as you approached the familiar gym, having to drag your feet along to your destination as if they were made of concrete trying to hold you in place.

Somehow you managed to make it to the open door, your eyes widening as you peer inside and see many more people than you’d expected, glancing around before you catch the gaze of the person you’d come to see. He’s midair when he sees you, his hand that’d raised to spike a ball dropping as he smiles and lands early. You don’t return the happy expression that usually sparked so much joy within you, instead you turn and quickly flee the overwhelming scene. It was all too much, you just wanted to come and talk to him but seeing how happy he looked and his friends turning to see you had easily spooked you off with your mind already going haywire.

“Bokuto, what was that?” Kuroo calls after his friend though he’s already following you out the door, “Who’s that?”

“His girlfriend.” Akaashi answers, picking up the ball he’d set and ducking under the net to stand next to the other boy.

“Didn’t look like it.” Tsukishima blinks, Kuroo punching him in the shoulder.

“She did look different.” Akaashi says, “And she ran away, it’s probably not anything good.”

“Does that mean that’s the end of practice?” Hinata asks, the other three turning to glare at him.

Outside Bokuto had caught up to you further down the lit pathways along the back of the gym, each heavy step of him jogging towards you making you want to sprint away.

“Hey, Y/n, slow down!” He calls out.

Reluctantly you stop though still keep your back to him, biting your lip as he walks in front of you. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, you should go back to practice.” You say quietly, finding yourself unable to look him in the eye, “We can talk later.”

“They’ll be okay without me for a second, what did you wanna talk about?”

It hurts. It hurts to hear his positive tone and be in his warm and bubbly presence when you just felt so wrong. You knew you needed to do this, that you’d been keeping it to yourself far too long and lying to him wasn’t going to help anyone, but something in you was pulling you back and begging you not to be the reason that his trademark positivity diminishes. He was looking at you with sparkling loving eyes the same way he had since you’d met and instead of making you feel warm it only broke you even more.

“Y/n/n?” He asks, slight worry slipping into his voice as he reaches out for your hand. You take a step back and look down at the sidewalk, noticing him visibly droop at your rejection.

“I’m sorry Koutarou it’s just...” You start, having to stop to swallow the bump in your throat before continuing, “I can’t do this.”

“Huh? Babe, what do you-“

“Us. This isn’t working, and I know you know what I’m talking about. I think it’d be better for both of us if we just call it quits now.”

He stops, any light heartedness he’d carried before now gone and being replaced with a chilling atmosphere. His sudden change and knowing you were what was making him feel this way made the stinging in the back of your eyes worse, tears beginning to pool and slide down your cheeks.

“Is it because I missed our last date?” He asks, a sad and almost desperate tone to his voice, “I can make it up to you, we don’t have to break up.”

“No it’s not your fault Bo.” You say, your heart breaking when you look up and see his eyes shining with unshed tears, “I’m sorry.”

You pull the white oversized jacket off of your shoulders, the slightly chilled night air nipping at your exposed arms as you hand it to him. He takes it in a robotic movement, watching as you turn and practically run away from him, disappearing back towards the main building and leaving him standing alone.

What did he do wrong? Did he not give you enough attention, too much? Suffocate you with too much affection? Spend more time on volleyball than he did on you? What wrong path did he go down to have lost you along the way? He tried to work through your relationship in his head and figure out what happened but his thoughts are buzzing by too fast for him to focus on one. His fist clenched around his jacket in his hand as finally the first of many tears fell on to the fabric. Bokuto found himself unable to move, too frozen by your words to will his legs to move and unsure they’d be able to support him if he did.

“Bokuto? What happened?” Akaashi asks after walking out to find his friend as he’d been gone for so long.

“Y/n she’s... gone.”

The next day of the training camp Fukurodani only won one game when their star ace was benched, everyone taking notice to the mood Bokuto was stuck in that not even Akaashi could pull him out of. Word had traveled fast amongst the teams as to what had happened, the topic less gossip and more curiosity and then pity for him.

“Bokuto, you can’t sit around and sulk all day.” Kuroo says, lightly hitting a volleyball into his friends back.

He doesn’t react when the ball hits him, staying slouched after recovering from the hit.

“What did I do wrong?” Bokuto mumbles to himself, eyes focused on his palms in his lap.

“This could not have happened at a worse time.” Sarukui pants, joining his teammates where they stood after finishing the penalty lap. “It’s throwing everyone’s game off.”

“Do something Akaashi.” Konoha says, shoving the setter in the shoulder as he speaks.

“I’ve been trying since last night. The only way he’d get out of this is if they got back together.”

“Why’d she break up with him anyway? They seemed fine.”

“I haven’t asked, I think it’ll just make him worse.”

“We can chase down the girl after camp.” Kuroo suggests, the other boys turning to look at him, “I’m sure you know where to find her, Akaashi.”

He sighs, resting his hands on his hips. “I’ll go to her house later. Knowing Y/n if we all went she’d shut us out.”

“Two peas in a pod.”

“Get back inside for the next round of games!” A coach yells out, all of the players exclaiming a quick “yes sir!” Before walking through the open double-doors.

Even though you’d pulled into your driveway almost an hour ago you still sat in the drivers seat of your car, the radio playing quietly in the background as you sat with your head against the headrest. Your cheeks were stained with runny mascara and dried tears and though they’d finally stopped falling you were still left with the pit in your stomach that was threatening to consume you whole. You were glued to your seat, but even if your body allowed you to move you weren’t sure you would. It was all just empty, no matter what you did in the day, homework, spending time with friends, going shopping, nothing changed. Everything had gone dull without him.

A sudden knock on your window makes you jump, your heart skipping a beat when you turn to see a tall figure looming next to your car before you recognize them to be your friend. With a heavy sigh you drop your head back against the seat, lifting your hand and unlocking the car doors as you do so. Akaashi opens the passenger side door and sits down, silence enveloping you both as he takes in your broken down appearance.

“What do you want, Akaashi?” You ask, words quiet as you try and make sure your voice doesn’t waver.

He’s quiet a moment before he responds, taking in your appearance with an almost surprised expression. “What happened? Why’d you break up with Bokuto?”

“It was for him.” You sigh, feeling warm tears follow in the path of your old ones, “Things changed- it just seemed like it’d be better for him if we weren’t together anymore.”

“What’re you talking about? If anything he’s better with you.”

“I was holding him back from really being himself. Even without that we hardly saw each other and recently it’s like we’re more acquaintances than anything it was just... not what’s right for either of us.”

“Why can’t you just talk through it? He’s tearing himself up over this and none of us can get through to him, I’m starting to get worried.”

His words work another wedge into your heart as you flash back to the look he’d given you a few days prior.

“I’m sorry Akaashi.” You sniff, dragging a hand through your hair as you spoke, “I didn’t want to but I just couldn’t do that to him anymore. H-he’ll be okay eventually.”

“You and I both know that-“ He begins, voice slightly rising.

“Please leave.” You interrupt, his brow slightly raising in surprise, “I just can’t deal with this right n-now.”

He’s stiff for a moment before obliging, opening the door again and stepping out. He moves his hand to the outside of the car to shut the door again, turning away from you and beginning to take a step away.

“Akaashi wait.” You call out, the brunette stopping and looking at you expectingly, “Can you give him a hug for me?”

“You can do it yourself when you get back together.” He states before closing the door and walking down the driveway, leaving you alone feeling even worse than you did a few minutes prior.

What did he mean “when you get back together”? Hadn’t you made it obvious you thought it’d be best if you stayed apart? Sure it hurt, it felt like being stabbed in the heart every time you were reminded of him, but you just wanted what was best. He’d be happier without you even if he was sad for a few days - right?

“Bokuto.”

The captain doesn’t move at the sound of his name, his head still stuck under his blanket as he sat in the dark of his room.

“I talked to Y/n.”

This catches his attention as he peaks out of the fabric of his comforter and to his friend, a slight sliver of hope shining on his otherwise dim expression.

“What did she say?” He asks.

“That you’d grown apart, she did it to make you happier, and you’d be better without her.” Akaashi answers.

“What?!” Bokuto exclaims suddenly, catching the other boy by surprise as his mood does a complete 180, “Why would she think that, it’s-it’s-it’s just wrong! I need to go talk to her!”

“You should wait a little bit for that.” Akaashi replies, placing a hand on his friends shoulder to stop his dash for the door, “She’s not exactly in a talking mood.”

He frowns at this, his hair slightly drooping as if connected to his expression. He springs up again, an almost visible light bulb appearing above his head.

“I have an idea!”

“Kenma?” You call out as you walk into the gym, peering around the room for the setter. You check the texts where he asked for you to meet him here for a charger for his Switch to make sure you got the right place and time, even sending him another text though he doesn’t respond. Confused, you turn around to go back to your house wondering why he’d ask you and then not show.

“Wait, Y/n!”

You freeze when you hear his voice, your face falling when you realize he’s now standing in front of you.

“Sorry, I have to get home.” You whisper, moving to walk past him though your stopped by a gentle hand around your wrist.

“Can we talk please?” Bokuto asks.

If it were anyone else you’d already be gone. If it were anyone else, the pleasing tone in their voice wouldn’t be enough to keep you standing there. If it were anyone else you would’ve pulled your hand away already. But it wasn’t anyone else - it was Bokuto; the one person who you always found yourself unable to say no to.

You let out a sigh and remove your hand from his grip, standing a few feet distance between you as you waited for him to speak.

“I just don’t understand why.” He starts, “I know you told Akaashi it was for me but that just doesn’t make sense.”

“I... I noticed how stressed you seemed trying to balance everything with school, us, volleyball.” You respond, unable to bring yourself to look him in the eye, “And you tried to hide it but I could tell. We started drifting apart and we hardly saw each other I just... I just want you to be happy, Bo.”

“But I was happy with you.” He says, taking a small step forward, “There was a lot going on, but I have it all under control. I don’t think I can do it without you though; I need you Y/n.”

“I was just holding you back. This is for the best.”

“What?! You weren’t holding me back! If anything you’re helping!”

“But we were...”

“Hey, I’m sorry if I made you think you were just another problem.” Bokuto says, voice venturing into a more serious tone that finally makes you look up at him, “We can work this out together yeah? I think I’ll explode if I go another day without you.”

Your eyes look back and forth between his own and you feel a tear grow pregnant and slide down your cheek as he looked back at you with hopefulness and anticipation. His golden eyes that you’d fallen in love with shone with the reflected, intense fluorescent lights above and had a sparkle to them that you hadn’t seen in so long. You missed seeing him everyday and this aura of joy and excitement he carried around, the way he looked at you with such love and kindness. Was it possible to salvage your relationship? Could you find a way to balance everything out with each other?

You sat there for what felt like hours as he waited for your answer, tossing the ideas and options over in your head before you finally came to a result. You closed your eyes for a moment before opening them again with a small nod, watching as an infectious smile spread across his face from ear to ear. He’s quick to wrap you in a hug tight enough to squeeze all of the air out of your lungs and pick your feet off the ground but you don’t pay any mind, your arms going around his shoulders as you bury your face in the crook of his neck. He spins you both in circle emitting a small giggle from you as you hug him tighter, only slightly pulling away when your feet are back on the ground. Almost as soon as you’d pulled your face away from his neck Bokuto catches your lips with his in a passionate kiss, both of you being forced to stop when your smiles get to wide.

“Wait!” He suddenly exclaims, pulling his arms away and shrugging his jacket off of his shoulders before eagerly placing it around yours. You melt into the fabric as your enveloped in his scent, slipping your arms through the sleeves with a content smile.

“Sleepover?” You ask, laughing when he quickly nods.

“That was almost too easy.” Kuroo says as he watches you and Bokuto walk out with your arms around each other. He rest his chin on the railing of the platform above the court, glancing sideways to where Akaashi and Kenma sat beside him.

“They can’t stay away from each other long enough to actually break up.” Akaashi sighs, pushing off from the railing he leaned on, “I wouldn’t be surprised if something like this happened again though.”

“They seem happy together.” Kenma comments before viciously pressing buttons on his phone.

“How would you know? You didn’t look up at all!” Kuroo exclaims, tapping the top of his friends device.

“Hey, I was paying attention.”

“Sure you were.”

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scaredyships · 4 years ago

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Renegades (Din Djarin x gn!Reader) | pt. III

summary: Mando picks out the planet Sorgan for the three of you to lie low on. Things get complicated, Reader gets a glimpse of how hectic Mando's life can be as a bounty for hire, and everybody is confused about feelings.

word count: 14.5k (...help)

author’s notes: Good LORD I was stuck on this for way too long. Between my creative focus being elsewhere and just being completely stuck as to how I wanted some scenes to play out, it took a lot for me to do more than a sentence or two at a time and then forget about it for days or weeks at a time.

This was also hard to write bc I am very uhhh put off by Omera and her original role as the possible love interest and I was trying very hard to remain believable/respectful about her. Cara Dune was also hard to write because of certain actions by her actor, so she's got a little bit of a lesser role.

I'm saying this now, with future chapters I am not going to be going episode-by-episode like I originally intended. I might jump around and have some "filler" things, I may completely skip over some episode happenings, I may diverge from canon here and there, but generally the outcomes will be the same as the show. I cut out the actual battle of Sorgan too bc this is already too long and I am terrible at writing action scenes. :v

Part 1 / Part 2 / Part 3 (you are here) // ao3 link

---

It had been a couple days since you’d set yourself up a space in the hold. At least, it felt like a couple days. You weren’t accustomed to space travel and dealing with the lack of solar cycles to indicate the passage of time, so it was difficult to tell exactly. It didn’t really matter, in the end, but it was still a little annoying.

In that time, you spent most of your time getting to know your way around the Razor Crest’s small layout, what panels and buttons did what, and making sure the child on board was cared for and didn’t get into anything he shouldn’t. Easier said than done, as that kid was surprisingly sneaky and far too curious. He seemed well-behaved, right up until you weren’t looking, and the next thing you knew he was doing something like rooting around in a pile of netting and getting hopelessly tangled, or trying to put things in his mouth to teethe on.

Right now, the kid was up in the cockpit with Mando. Even though you were on board to help out, Mando still seemed to feel better when he was in the same room as the kid versus you being the one supervising, and to be honest it was nice to have a break from babysitting. You had never wanted kids of your own to begin with, and though this kid wasn’t exactly your standard child, it reinforced that at the end of the day, the factor of being able to give the child back to their actual caregiver played a large role in just how tolerant you were of them.

The entire ship suddenly jerked to the side and sent you crashing into the hull wall, your shins narrowly avoiding smashing against the edge of one of the crates lying around. To say you were shaken was a bit of an understatement, despite not a moment later, the normal smooth flight pattern returning and the ship righting itself. Did Mando hit something? Was some part of the ship on the verge of breaking down completely? You did a quick sweep to make sure none of the weapons lockers were damaged and that nothing was in danger of going ogg. You swore, this man had far too much firepower on board and one day it was going to come back and bite him.

Fortunately, everything was where it should be and the only things really out of place was your now-askew space, and your frazzled self. Huffing, you sped over to the ladder and clambered up to the cockpit to see if you could find out what was going on. On your way up, you could hear the low, modulated voice of Mando speaking, very likely to the child with the tone you could pick up.

“Ready to lay low and stretch your legs for a couple months, you little womp rat? Nobody’s gonna find us there.”

“Nobody’s gonna find us where?” Your head and shoulders were poking out of the ladder hatch, arms folding over the edge as you gave the pair a pointed look. You weren’t about to let Mando decide where you were going to camp out for months without you giving some input.

The Mandalorian turning to face you with the child in his lap was almost comical, like they’d been caught doing something they weren’t expecting to be called out on. You didn’t see any sign of concern over whatever had shaken you down below, so you figured you could bring that up later.

You could see a holomap beyond Mando, though it was too far for you to make out any of the text on it. You dragged yourself the rest of the way into the cockpit, righting yourself and coming to a halt just far enough that you could read the screen.

“An outer rim planet.” He leaned aside and let you read the screen’s details. Sorgan, huh. You vaguely remember that name from when you were compiling planets for Mando back when this whole mess started. The details past that escaped you, though. You squinted as you read on. No populations outside of small settlements to speak of, no starports or anything industrial… and it was one of those planets made up of a single biome - swamp.

To be honest, you weren’t thrilled at the idea of actually camping out for so long in such a place. You were so accustomed to being in places that had somewhat larger settlements, and absolutely more tech than this planet likely had, not just for business but simple things like staying entertained. But you were even less thrilled at the fact that this was a swamp planet. You knew not all swamp planets were the same, but the simple holomap readout didn’t indicate any further details about what kind of swamps it was made up of.

You hope above all things it’s not a bog planet like Nal Hutta. Gaseous atmosphere, skies choked by sickly green clouds, brown water, hardly any land to speak of.

You turned and gave Mando a look. “No information about the biome past ‘swamp’?”

He shook his head in that slow, deliberate way of his. You exhaled through your nose.

“Not a fan of swamps?”

“You could say that.” You turned back to the screen, like staring at it might make it give up more information. Maker , you missed your database.

“How far away are we?”

“Not very, maybe an hour or two.”

You stepped back and fell unceremoniously into one of the passenger seats further back in the cockpit. The child, who had been watching you through this whole exchange, seemed to lose his interest once you sat down and went back to looking curiously around at the controls laid out in front of Mando. You could almost see the cogs turning in his head, and you started to suspect he had something to do with the ship going sideways earlier. Probably got a hold of the controls somehow.

“I guess I’ll have a better idea of where we’re going once we get a look at the planet.”

The Mandalorian nodded, and turned back to the controls to pilot you all there.

You had been closer than you anticipated, though it was still not a very short journey. Instead of going back down to the hull, you opted to stay in the passenger seat and simply wait. Jumping to hyperspace was something you had yet to get used to, but after so long of the smooth traveling with the smears of light streaking past the windscreens, you found you could relax a little and rest your eyes.

A jolt in the ship as you exited hyperspace shook you awake. Blinking and sitting up in your chair, you peered out the window at the planet taking up the view.

Deep green. Streaks of blue. White cloud cover. You breathed a sigh of relief and slumped back against the chair back.

“Acceptable?” There was a hint of amusement in Mando’s voice. You smirked at him.

“Yeah, I’m fine with it.” You actually were looking forward a little to seeing just what kind of plant life was on this planet. You could see a fair amount of tree coverage, which meant forests. It had been far too long since you’d seen proper forests, let alone been out in one. You had tried to replicate it with your plant corner back home, but it was never the same. Some time amongst real trees would do you good.

The descent had you watching out the window the whole time, surveying the landscape as its features came into view. It had its marshes and rivers, but equal amounts of coniferous forests and solid land. This place could almost pass for an arboreal biome planet in places. You spotted very few settlements on the way in, too, and what you did see looked to be the most basic of small villages.

Mando landed the Razor Crest some ways away from a small market, hidden amongst ample tree coverage. He locked down the controls and lifted the kid with one arm, removing a small silver ball from his clutches to attach to one of the levers in the array.

“I’m going to go out and find us some lodging. Wait here with the kid. Don’t let him touch anything. I’ll be back.”

He passed the child off to you, with such surety that you’d take him that he nearly dropped the little one on you before you could respond. You grabbed him with both hands in a slight panic, thinking he was about to fall, and in doing so your fingers gripped into the gloved ones already supporting his weight. Even with the barrier between skin-to-skin contact, it was awkward and had your face heating with embarrassment that you’d accidentally touched the bounty hunter. He, however, made no indication of any such reaction, damn that helmet making him unreadable. His hands withdrew once it was certain the child was in your grasp safely.

You and the child stared at each other as you held him out before you, like you weren’t sure what to do with him now. He looked back at you with a similar expression, and you swore there was a hint of some sort of mischief underneath it. Oh, he had definitely been the one to make the ship go off-kilter, no doubt now. And knowing your luck, he was going to do more of the same once Mando left. You’d already experienced him trying to eat trash despite you actively watching him, you knew he was capable of more.

Mando descended the ladder into the hold, and the sound of the ramp opening up reached the cockpit. You looked out the windscreen, watching as the Mandalorian appeared in your field of view just as the sound of the ramp closing itself back up sounded.

And that was all it took.

The child turned into a complete nightmare the instant it was clear Mando was gone. It didn’t matter what you did - first he fussed and squirmed to be let down, so you did, and the second you turned your head he had somehow managed to get into the pilot’s seat and was attempting to mess with the controls. Every time you picked him up, he fussed again, wriggling and whining loudly, and whenever you set him back down he went straight for whatever he knew he could get in trouble for. You tried to keep this up as long as you could, which proved to be a pathetic five minutes or so. It was like having an extra-smart, extra-naughty loth cat with thumbs on board.

“Okay, kid. We’re going down to the hold. You can’t accidentally start the ship up down there.” You snatched the kid up under his armpits, and though he continued fussing, it was much less, like perhaps he wanted to be in the hold. You knew that the hold had just as much, if not more, for him to get into trouble with, what with the armory down there, but it was better than possibly starting up the engines and taking off.

You awkwardly climbed down the ladder with one arm latched around the child, and once you reached the floor you set him down, hoping he’d behave a little more. How wrong you were. It was like the kid instinctively knew where the controls for the ramp were, because he made a beeline for that panel - knocking whatever he could out of the way just to accentuate his point - and reached his-far-too-short arms into the air like he could possibly reach it if he just tried hard enough. No amount of you trying to redirect his attention or picking him up to set him down elsewhere worked, he would cry and go straight back to the panel and give you repeated looks with big, desperate eyes, like you were a monster for not understanding he wanted to open the door.

“Mando told us to stay here. So we’re going to stay here until he gets back.”

It was when the loud crying started that you knew you had lost the battle.

That alone was one of your top reasons for not desiring children - you couldn’t handle the noise that came with an upset child. Not for any good parental reason like not wanting to see them sad. You genuinely couldn’t stand the screaming, it set you on edge and made you want to scream in turn. And here one was, cries bouncing off the hull walls and drilling into your eardrums with far more force than you could have imagined possible for something so small.

You rushed as fast as you could towards the control panel and slammed the button to open the ramp.

“OKAY! Okay, okay, you win, we’ll go find him.” You glared down at the kid, whose clear face and perked ears indicated the crying had all been an act. You sighed heavily. He’d only known you for maybe a few days and he already knew how to get you to do what he wanted.

“He’s not going to be happy, you know that, right.” The child just tilted his head at you, smug little face seeming to say “no, he can’t get mad at me”.

You wandered back to your area not too far off to get some of your outerwear on - your belt, your ear piece, your blaster, whatever you might need in the immediate future. The neck gaiter you loosely wore got pulled up to securely cover the lower half of your face - it made you feel more secure, somehow, when you were venturing out into strange places. You picked the kid up and awkwardly shifted him to one arm, making your way down the ramp, and hoping you wouldn’t get into too much trouble with the bounty hunter. The kid, meanwhile, happily burbled in your grasp.

With a deep sigh and a roll of your eyes, you marched out onto the planet’s surface in the direction you had seen Mando go.

You were right. Mando wasn’t happy at all.

He had been trudging along, lost in his thoughts about what kind of lodging he should be looking for now that there wasn’t just him, but you and a child to account for, but still attentive enough to his surroundings that when he heard what sounded like distant footsteps crunching through the undergrowth he paused.

It was when he heard the sounds of the child babbling and you calling out to him to wait that his wariness turned to mild panic, and he rushed towards where he could hear your voices, hand staying within reaching range of his blaster. What had happened? He told you to stay back at the Crest and yet here you were, with the child. Had you been discovered, and just barely escaped? Was the Razor Crest captured?

He came to a halt just a few feet from you, surveying you and the child for any signs of distress or damage, stance wary and ready for a fight.

“What happened?” His tone was terse, apprehensive.

You looked wryly down at the bright-eyed child in your grasp, and back up at the bounty hunter. Or rather, somewhere in the general vicinity of him, as you found you couldn’t look directly at him.

“He, uh. Was very upset at you leaving without him.”

Mando’s defensive posture deflated and he tilted his head in a way that you knew he was giving you a disbelieving look.

“I told you to stay put, and the kid throwing a fit is all it took for you to leave?” He didn’t miss the way your mouth tightened into a thin line and your brow furrowed.

“He wouldn’t stop trying to be destructive, and when I tried to move him he’d just scream and go for the ramp! Look, I told you I wasn’t the best out there with kids.” You snapped, glaring into the blank visor.

Honestly, he could tell you were disappointed in yourself for caving so easily, and he probably wouldn’t have fared much better with his own lack of experience with children. But you could have been followed, and now the ship was unattended. The child, however, looked content as ever, his plan having worked. He sighed. It was what it was at this point. At least he was still in range that could lock the ship up remotely with his vambrace controls, which he set to doing immediately.

“Come on, then.” He motioned with a hand as he turned back to the direction he had come from, cape swirling around his form dramatically. You exchanged a tired glance with the smug kid, having half a mind to set him down and make him walk the rest of the way to wherever you were going.

“You’re lucky you’re at least a little cute.”

By the time you get to civilization, you’d let the kid down to walk - just beside Mando, and you just behind the child. Two unlikely bodyguards for an equally unlikely “dignitary”. The towering trees thinned out on the edge of the small market center, man-made structures beginning to appear. The buildings were small, mostly made of wicker and wood, with very little in the way of tech. The people were equally simple, their dress and presentation reflecting their rural occupations.

With the interest of the child in mind, Mando led the three of you into a common house, the busy sounds of kitchen work and the smell of grilling food easily reaching you before you even got to the entrance. It would have been more welcoming, if it wasn’t also accompanied by nearly everyone turning their eyes to your odd trio and whispering amongst themselves. On one hand, you couldn’t completely blame them, as the three of you were like the lead-up to a bad joke come to life. But it still made you very uncomfortable, knowing without a doubt that you were being watched and discussed. You hated the feeling. You self-consciously adjusted the fabric masking your face and furrowed your brow to try and give off the most “do not approach” energy you could, glancing around at the tenants. Not many of them returned your gaze, save a few, including one woman who didn’t at all look like she was from there. Strong, wearing armor and weapons - not to the extent of the Mandalorian, of course. But you could still feel that she wasn’t to be messed with. You averted your gaze quickly.

The child, meanwhile, was bright as ever with this new place he was in. He looked around the establishment, taking in the new scenery and the light filtering in through the gaps of the woodwork with his big eyes. You in turn watched him, as Mando located a table for the three of you. You followed suit and sat at the table, and as you turned to see what the kid was up to, you noticed the little one had locked eyes with a tooka cat beneath the chair of a nearby tenant. The child was curious, but you knew enough about tooka cats to know that the way it was looking back meant it was interpreting the child’s staring as threatening to its peace. Very few animals took maintaining eye contact as anything but a challenge, and this was no different.

“Leave it alone, kid.” You murmured just loud enough that you hoped he’d hear. Your words were too late, as the cat’s lips pulled back and revealed its enormous maw of teeth in a menacing hiss. The child flinched back with a frightened noise, and next thing you knew you were snatching him up by the ruff of his oversized coat and plopping him in the seat beside you.

There was barely any time for any of you to exchange glances when a proprietor approached the table, face weathered but welcoming.

“Welcome, travelers. Can I interest you in anything?”

“Bone broth, for the little one.” Mando motioned with his hand towards the child. You suppressed giving the armored man a skeptical look for ordering the most basic of things for the kid, when it was obvious they had more substantial food in this establishment. It was fine, you told yourself, he had the final say and this wasn’t the place to call him out on his decisions.

“Oh, well, you’re in luck. I just took down a grinjer, so there’s plenty. Can I interest you in a porringer of broth as well?” Mando shook his head. The proprietor turned her gaze to you expectantly.

“No, thank you.” You put your palm out in a placating gesture. Even though the aroma of food filtered through your face covering and had a tempting quality to it, somewhere as public as this was absolutely not somewhere you’d be comfortable trying to eat at. If you could take it to go, maybe. But you had no idea where you’d even be staying at this point, or how much longer you’d be looking for such a place. No, you could wait.

The proprietor nearly began to speak again when Mando cut her off. “That one over there, when did she arrive?”

So, you hadn’t been the only one to notice the intimidating woman across the room. Well, it wasn’t that difficult, with how much she stuck out amongst the residents of the planet. You three were equally as noticeable, and you didn’t miss how the woman was still watching you, though she was trying to be discreet about it. There was wariness coming off of her, you could feel that much.

The proprietor glanced towards where Mando had indicated the strange woman to be, seemingly confused. “Uh, I’ve seen her here for the last week or so.”

Mando continued pressing her for answers she didn’t have. “What’s her business here?”

“Business?” The proprietor looked as confused as ever. “Well, there’s not much business on Sorgan, so I can’t say…” The sound of credits clinking onto the countertop reached in your ears as Mando casually tossed some onto the tabletop. You were too busy watching the woman out of your peripheral vision to pay too much attention to what he was up to. The proprietor mentioned the woman not being a log runner, and offered complimentary spotchka before she left to retrieve the order.

The moment the woman stood and moved to leave the common house, you discreetly rapped your knuckle against Mando’s vambrace. The black T of his visor turned towards you, and you vaguely twitched your fingers in the direction the woman had been moments before. “She’s leaving.” You murmured as lowly as you could so Mando could hear but others couldn’t. You didn’t get any impression of real danger or malice from her, but knowing that the three of you had prices on your heads, you had a feeling the bounty hunter would try to follow her and make sure she wasn’t about to report on your whereabouts to anyone.

Mando stood from his seat, gaze trained on the doorway to the establishment. “Stay here with the kid. I’ll be back.”

And there it was. You exhaled through your nose and looked down at the kid, comically small in his chair and watching as the beskar-clad man made his way to the exit and out of sight.

You wondered how often he went out of his way to pick possible fights like this.

The proprietor returned to the table and placed a small bowl in front of the child, breaking you from your thoughts. The complimentary bottle of spotchka made an appearance, too, but you didn’t pay much mind to it. Alcohol was never something you liked, between it being an acquired taste and dulling your thoughts. You still nodded appreciatively at her before she left to tend to the next table.

Before the kid could finish picking up his bowl, the faintest of sounds reached your ears. While you normally wouldn’t pay much mind to such things in a public place, there was some notion in your mind that it was the buckethead getting into a fight with the woman from earlier. You looked over at your tiny companion, who looked up at you over the brim of his bowl and towards the doorway Mando had left through moments earlier.

“He doesn’t need our help, we’ll just get in the way.”

The kid seemed to take that as a challenge, and hopped down from his seat and began to toddle off.

“Hey, no, we are not going out there-” You jumped up and tried to herd him back towards the table, and you almost succeeded, but the little green thing was surprisingly determined and avoided your awkward movements, both of you caught up in a ridiculous dance. The tenants were watching you and your face heated with embarrassment. You finally scooped up the rapscallion with one arm, narrowly avoiding some of the broth sloshing from his bowl and onto the floor.

“Fine, we’ll go see what’s going on. Just stop trying to run off on me.” You pointed meaningfully at the kid with your index finger, peering into those big dark eyes and hoping he actually listened. He looked back at you with those big bright eyes and perked ears in a way that somehow told you he understood.

You carefully set him back on the ground. “Stay close.”

Exiting the establishment and turning the corner was as far as you needed to go to see just what you suspected - Mando and the woman scrabbling to get the upper hand against the other. It was almost comical, in a way, even though blasters were involved and the situation could very well turn dangerous.

And it nearly did just that when the two fell on the ground with blasters pointed at each other’s heads - causing you to pull your own blaster from its holster - except everything was interrupted by a very loud slurp from the child as he watched from beside you, bowl of broth clutched tightly. The slow turns of their heads and prolonged look from both of them was enough of an announcement of a stalemate as any. You snorted and shook your head slightly at the scene.

“I take it you don’t actually want to kill each other, then.” You slightly lowered your blaster from where it was aimed at the woman. You didn’t miss the way Mando paused in a way that you imagined he was rolling his eyes under his helmet. He turned his attention back to the woman he was still vaguely pointing his blaster at.

“Would you like some soup?”

You all returned to the table you’d had back in the common house. The woman - named Cara Dune, you learned - told you her story. She was a former shock trooper for the former Rebel Alliance working on Endor, with no additional support, and as soon as the ex-Imperials were gone the politics got out of hand and she found herself working to “keep the peace”. Beating rioters and favoring delegates wasn’t what she’d signed up for, so she left, and now had a price of her own for desertion. She recognized Mando as being part of the Guild and suspected he’d come looking for her. She kept glancing curiously at you throughout her explanation, like she wasn’t sure what to make of you tagging around with a Mandalorian bounty hunter and why he was even letting it happen. Sure, the child was an equally puzzling factor, but she seemed to sense he was a touchy subject.

She eventually turned to you after her explanation was finished. “So what’s your story?”

You shrugged, idly adjusting one of your wrist pieces. “He got my house blown up and put me on a wanted list, so this is his way of dealing with the guilt.”

Cara visibly bites back a laugh and tries to hide behind her own cup of broth. You glance over at your companion, whose stiff posture tells you he’s not sure how to react, but he’s definitely embarrassed to some degree.

The ex-trooper downs the last of her broth, and stands from the table. “Well, this has been a real treat. But unless you wanna go another round, one of us is gonna have to move on, and I was here first.” She gives you all a curt nod, and walks away.

Mando leans back in his own chair and looks between you and the kid, who’s working on his second helping of broth. “Well, looks like this planet’s taken.”

The walk back to the Razor Crest was a somber one for you. Now that you had spent some time on the surface, you’d actually taken a bit of a liking to the place. But Mando was right - as remote as this planet was, it could likely only handle one fugitive at a time. Looked like it was back to the ship directory to root through whatever systems it could access. You tried not to let your mind wander off to mourn your lost database again. This was exactly why you compiled lists of multiple options, in case something like this happened and one of those choices fell through.

A tug on your pant leg dragged you from your mulling. You looked down and were met with the concerned face of the child looking back up at you.

“I’m okay, don’t worry about me.” The kid burbled quietly at you in response. That seemed to catch Mando’s attention, as he was now looking questioningly back at you.

“Something wrong?”

You exhaled through your nose, trying to come up with a brief answer that wasn’t too revealing. You weren’t big on talking about your feelings, and you got the impression that neither was Mando, so between the two of you it would be better if it was kept to a minimum.

“Feeling a little useless on the front of hunting for a planet, that’s all.” It was the first time you’d felt this useless in a very long time, to be honest, but you weren’t about to let that part out.

Mando turned back to continue the trek back to the Razor Crest. “We’ll figure something out.” His tone was superficially dull, but you could tell he was trying in his own way to sound reassuring. That counted for something.

Once you made it back to the Crest, which was safe and sound amongst the trees, the two of you got to work - the Mandalorian using the dying daylight to look over the ship for maintenance, while you took up the task of sifting through the planetary database for your next options. Originally Mando wanted you to take the child up with you so he’d be better contained, but after a pitiful look from those big, dark eyes, it was over and decided that he’d watch him. The “watching” very quickly turned into “put the kid to bed”, thank the maker.

It felt like you’d had barely any time to really start your search when you saw what looked like lights on the ground from your view in the cockpit. You slowly stood, watching the lights as they drew nearer. That couldn’t be anything good.

You clambered your way down the ladder and into the hold just as whoever it was pulled up. It was a small cargo sled, one that barely seemed to be holding itself together, with two men of seemingly modest origins on it. Mando wasn’t the least bit concerned about it, as he continued his repairs and ignore them as they tried to get his attention.

“Excuse me, sir?”

Mando didn’t stop working. “There something I can help you with?”

You slowly made your way towards the ramp, taking care to accentuate the sound of your boots hitting the floor and make your presence known, Mando could take care of himself, but if they knew you were here they were less likely to try anything than if he were alone. You shot them a warning glare when they glanced at you, but watching their already-anxious expressions deepen almost made you regret doing so.

“Uh… yeah… raiders.” “We have money.”

You raised an eyebrow at them.

“You think I’m some kind of mercenary?” Mando still made no indication he was going to stop his work for them.

That was enough to get them stammering. First about how they’d read about Mandalorians, and how they thought he was one based on his armor, and if half of what they read was true then they could recruit him for help. One emphasized again, that they had money.

“How much?” Mando had paused his working, turning more attention to these strangers.

“Everything we have, sir. Our whole harvest was stolen.”

“Krill… We’re… krill farmers.” “We brew spotchka. Our whole village chipped in.”

You don’t know what else you were expecting from locals of the planet, but the coin purse one of the men held up as proof of payment was sad to say the least. Krill farming and spotchka brewing didn’t strike you as a very lucrative business anyways, but if that was all they could muster…?

“It’s not enough.” And there was Mando, confirming your suspicions about what his rates were. You didn’t recall him being picky about his bounty, but thinking back, he did go for higher bounties more often than not. It looked like he still held onto that standard despite no longer being part of the Guild. Hell, if you were going by your own rates, what they appeared to have on hand wouldn’t even cover half of your cheapest services.

Mando finished what he’d been doing and made his way up the ramp towards you. The men following him up the ramp was unexpected, but not frightening. They were desperate, and you were getting a better sense of just how much.

“Are you sure? You don’t even know what the job is.” One of them tried to look to you for support. You stared back apprehensively.

“I know it’s not enough. Good luck.” Mando brushed past you, using your form as a barrier between him and the strangers as he retreated further into the hold.

“This is everything we have! We’ll give you more after the next harvest!” You stayed where you were, crossing your arms and staring the men down. You knew you should feel bad for them and try to convince Mando to do something, but with the last time you extended help ending with your entire life up to that point being destroyed, you were too wary to do so.

The two men looked between each other and your standoffish presence. Defeated, they slowly turned to return to their sled, talking to each other as they did.

“Took us the whole day to get here. Now we have to ride back with no protection to the middle of nowhere.”

Mando had only made it a few feet past you by then, so he was definitely within earshot of their conversation. He stopped and turned on his heel, coming up behind you and stopping just behind your shoulder. It took everything in your power to appear unbothered by just how close he stood.

“Where do you live?”

The men paused, turning back to look at the man that had just dismissed them.

“A farm, weren’t you listening? We’re farmers.” The hurt was apparent in the man’s voice.

“In the middle of nowhere.”

“…yes?” The confusion was palpable. You knew where this was going and you weren’t sure you liked it.

“You have lodging?”

The men started to realize where this was going, too, and jumped to provide answers he wanted to hear.

“Yes, absolutely.” Mando briefly glanced at you, as if he was about to ask what you thought. Unfortunately for you, that never happened and he made the decision on his own.

“Good.” Mando motioned to them. “Come up and help.” He motioned to you as well, and began pulling out cargo crates to have them start loading.

You approached the man, once the other men had carried one of the crates far enough that they’re out of hearing range.

“Mando, I don’t know about this. Middle of nowhere or not, Dune’s right, this planet can’t handle more than one fugitive at a time.”

Mando continued moving crates to the ramp. “If it took them all day to get here, they’ll be isolated enough.”

“That kind of distance from civilization, however small, hasn’t stopped bounty hunters before. You of all people know that.” You glared into the T-shape of his visor. You also knew that all it took was enough time for word to get out about sighting a certain beskar-clad Mandalorian traveling with a green child to reach interested ears. For all you knew, it could be happening right now.

Mando stopped his actions to turn and face you fully.

“We can always move on after the job if it doesn’t seem right.”

You sighed heavily through your nose. That seemed to be him trying to tell you he wasn’t about to change his mind. He had been doing this longer than you, you supposed. You glanced towards the closed door of his bunk, where the child was sleeping.

“…fine. But I’ll hold you to that.”

You briskly moved to where your makeshift corner was and started gathering up your own things for whatever sort of stay you were in for. Behind you, you heard Mando exchange a few more words with the men as they loaded the last of the cargo he’d pushed on them onto the sled.

His heavy footsteps approached you. “I’m going back into town for a while.” You turned, and noticed the pouch of credits that one of the men had shown you earlier clutched in his hand. “Stay here to keep an eye on them and the kid. I’ll be back.”

You stared at him for a moment, then nodded slightly. “At least he’s not awake to make me come chasing after you this time.”

You swore you heard a slight snort from beneath that helmet.

He’d returned some time later with Cara Dune in tow, and after rousing the kid the four of you joined the two men on their journey back to their village. The cargo sled, thank the maker, was the only part of the ride, no connections made with another transport like a boat like you were fearing. You didn’t like boats much, the swaying made you anxious. Five people made it a little crowded and awkward, and try as you might to sit as far as you could on some strapped-down cargo, to try and preserve some sense of personal space, you found yourself nearly falling off one too many times.

“That’s a good way to fall off and get left behind.”

You narrowed your eyes as you stared at the beskar-clad man that had basically just talked to you like a parent.

“It’s fine. I don’t want to get in anyone’s way.”

The way he tilted his head was enough for you to practically see the skeptical look he was no doubt wearing on his hidden face. The kid, sitting beside him, watched you intently.

“Nobody’s doing anything but waiting out the ride.” He pointed to a spot on the cargo just in front of him, where there was definitely enough room for you to fit, though it meant if you tried to stretch your legs out they’d be right alongside his. Clearly, he didn’t care about that if he was doing this.

You stared at the spot like it was a trap. Almost as if to prove a point, the sled went over a particularly pronounced piece of terrain and jostled you. You very nearly fell just like Mando had said you would. The only thing that kept you from going completely overboard was your grip on the cargo’s ties, but you still flopped embarrassingly around. You saw the man’s head tilt to the side as if to say “see?”

Defeated and embarrassed, you clambered down into the open area. Thank the maker Cara Dune had decided to try and get some sleep earlier, and the two farmers transporting you were busy navigating. You didn’t think you could handle having them involved in this, admittedly silly, exchange. You kept your gaze down, not daring to even look up at the Mandalorian. The kid, however, earned himself something between a glare and a smirk when you heard a small giggle come from his direction.

You drew your legs up into your new space, both to keep from invading even more of Mando’s space, and to keep out of the child’s space as well. Mando could handle an accidental kick if you absent-mindedly shuffled; the little green one probably wouldn’t fare so well.

Once you’d settled, you leaned back onto the cargo packed behind you and tried to get as comfortable as you could manage. Which wasn’t much. Mando, however, seemed capable of doing it, as he slowly fell backwards and folded his arms behind his head. You didn’t realize how broad he was until now, seeing up close how much space he took up just by doing that. And all over again, you felt like you were in his space, and needed to get out of it out of respect. But there was nowhere to go.

You had to snort to yourself when the child mimicked the bounty hunter and tipped backwards onto his much-softer surroundings, peering up at the dark sky with equally dark eyes. At least he was content to do that.

The sled ride stretched on for the duration of the night and into the morning, the farmers switching shifts partway through. You’d never really fallen asleep all the way, just dozed in the same position you took when you initially settled in. Your eyes had closed, and you became somewhat less aware of your surroundings, but the slightest of unusual sounds or movements still drew enough attention that you’d crack an eye open to see what was happening. All through the hours of darkness and through the light breaking over the land. So when the sled began to approach the village, you could hear it. The sounds of people working, distant voices. Opening your eyes and pushing yourself upright, you turned to look up ahead. In the distance you could see the beginnings of some sort of settlement.

You shifted your attention to the others on the sled. Cara Dune was still sleeping, though you didn’t know how. Mando and the child seemed to be out, as well. It was harder to tell with the bounty hunter because of his helmet, but the way he laid there was convincing.

Reaching over, you lightly grabbed one of the child’s clawed feet and shook it to get his attention.

“Get up, kiddo.”

He blinked awake, eyes squinting in the morning light and mouth working to remedy having gone dry while he slept with it open the night before. His big eyes shifted around to look for his Mandalorian guardian, body relaxing once he located him.

You weren’t going to try and use touch to see if he was awake, though. That could get you stabbed or shot, what with the combination of his reflexes and waking up in a strange place.

“Mando.” You raised your voice, hoping volume alone would do the trick. Fortunately for you, it did. The man shifted and groaned like he had just come alive, his helmet shifted ever so slightly and you could tell he was looking at you.

“We’re there.”

The armored man slowly drew himself upright into a sitting position. As much as he’d tried to get comfortable, he knew he’d be fighting with a back ache for a while after sleeping like he had. It wasn’t anything he hadn’t already dealt with before, with his longer bounty hunts taking him far from his ship and civilization and requiring him to put comfort to the wayside. You, however, had probably not had to relegate yourself to such circumstances. You looked like you hadn’t actually slept, bags present beneath your eyes and a subtle, narrow-eyed scowl he hadn’t seen before on your face. You probably didn’t even know it was there.

The approach to the village was quickly noticed by the villagers, and before you knew it there was a crowd forming to welcome you.

And a lot of them were children.

You could see and hear them immediately. You squeezed your eyes shut and exhaled through your nose for a moment to steel yourself, both for the crowd and the large percentage of it being so young. You hadn’t even had a chance to really get used to the green child you were tasked with helping out with. And these kids could talk .

The sled came to a stop, the slight jarring motion shaking Cara Dune awake. She looked around, mind working to remember the circumstances that landed her in a strange vehicle with equally strange company.

The first thing the children of the crowd did, was fixate on the child companion of yours in the sled. They were all murmuring and giggling amongst themselves, and the kid looked back at them with equally curious intent. None of you had any idea when he was last around anyone of his mentation.

“Looks like they’re happy to see us.” You heard Mando’s voice crackle through his voice modulator. Cara Dune smiled, but all you could do was blink tiredly. You weren’t ready for this.

One of the children, a girl, broke away from the crowd and got closer to the smaller, green child, greeting him personally. You watched the interaction carefully. She seemed to notice, as she quickly made eye contact and ducked away back into the safety of the other village children.

With that, everyone disembarked the sled and began unloading cargo. You slowly rose from your spot, knees protesting from staying folded for so long and making you grit your teeth. You grabbed the pack you’d brought with you, slinging it over your shoulder and hobbling off of the sled to join the others, who were carrying their respective luggage. The child had been surrounded by the village kids, the curiosity on both sides still strong and outweighing the apprehension of the strangers with him.

It was time to be shown where you’d be staying, though. Without any words exchanged, Mando shuffled over to gather up the child, kids scattering, and you, Cara Dune, and he were led to your accommodations.

The village was modest, but cozy. The huts all had a distinct charm to them, with the same woven look as the common house, and reminding you of fishing baskets. Smoke rose from some, and in the distance you could make out man-made ponds where they likely farmed their krill.

You were all led to what appeared to be a building other than a hut. There’s a woman there, apparently putting the last touches on preparing it for guests. When she sees you approaching, she stops fussing with the blinds and turns to face you. You don’t miss how she’s focused in on the Mandalorian, with some sense of hesitation, like she wasn’t anticipating how meeting a Mandalorian in person would be. You couldn’t blame her, honestly.

“Please, come in.” You let Mando lead, watching him walk in and put his cargo down onto the floor. The woman turned and seemed mildly surprised when you entered as well, like she hadn’t really seen you before when you made your approach. Again, you couldn’t blame her - if you’d never met a Mandalorian before, it would be hard to notice anything else. That, and it made sense that should word get out in the village about a Mandalorian arriving, the last thing anyone would talk about would be his companions.

“I apologize… I didn’t realize how many guests there would be.” She glances briefly at you and the child individually. You began to feel guilty about being there at all. Of the adults that were there, you were by far the least useful for the job involving the raiders, and of the resources available for guests you felt like it would be better to distribute them amongst the others before you. The child, too, you felt deserved things before you did. You didn’t miss him looking up at you with his big dark eyes, as if he could sense your discomfort.

“Is, uh, there anywhere else available—“

“This will be fine.”

You give the beskar-clad man a perplexed look when he cuts you off. You were attempting to give the man his space back, surely he would like that better than having you hole up in the same small building?

“It’s not any different from the ship. We’ll make do.” He was looking back at you through that dark visor as if he had heard your thoughts. You blinked.

“Are you sure?”

The curt nod he gave you told you the conversation was over. Well… as long as he was okay with it.

The woman took that as her cue that she could speak again. “I’ve stacked some blankets over there, I can get more should you need them.” She indicated the area she meant. You nodded appreciatively at her.

There’s a very slight sound from the doorway, and both you and Mando turn to see the girl from before that had been talking to the child. She attempted to hide behind the doorframe, bashful about being noticed, but the woman goes to gently pull her back into sight and gently hold her to her side.

“This is my daughter Winta. We don’t get a lot of visitors around here, she’s not used to strangers.” That explains the extra feeling of being watched you’d felt on top of the village at large watching you, this girl must’ve followed along. The woman turned to face her daughter. “This nice man and his friends are going to help protect us from the bad ones.”

Winta looked shyly at you and Mando, and politely whispered a thank you. The woman took her daughter by the hand, leading her outside. “Come on, Winta, let’s give our guests some space.”

Just like that, you were left alone with your usual companions.

You glanced around, seeing that it was essentially just one open room. That wouldn’t do. Whatever Mando told you, you knew he would appreciate having a space to himself. You, also, would appreciate some semblance of privacy.

Speaking of Mando, he hadn’t moved to unpack at all, he continued to stand in place as he tried to process what he’d gotten himself into. He’d done plenty of jobs, with plenty of clients, but he wasn’t at all used to being treated like a “nice man”, as the woman had put it. He didn’t know how he was supposed to fee about it.

His buffering was briefly interrupted when you pushed past him into the barn, and began to root through the blankets that had been left and other supplies that had been pushed off to the side to make space.

“I’m going to build some sort of divide for the room. To at least make it feel like there are two rooms instead of one.” You began draping things over your shoulders and arms as you found them, and looking up at the ceiling and the walls to see what you had to work with. Part of him wanted to tell you to just sit down for now, since he could tell you weren't rested at all from the night before. But he also felt like he wouldn’t be able to stop you from your current activity until you’d finished it. He resigned himself to getting his cargo unpacked.

What he doesn’t know, is you were also trying to distract yourself from your own thoughts. You had noticed how the woman had briefly paused in the doorway as she left to look back - at Mando, and only Mando. You didn’t know why, but something about it bothered you. Was it a look of apprehension and were you offended on his behalf? No, that wasn’t it. It was some other expression that was subtle and layered and happened too fast for you to read. But it still bothered you. You tried to brush it aside and get to working on your new project instead.

Before long you had constructed a simple set of walls from various things you’d found around - you’d taken some sheets from the pile of blankets, and used them in conjunction with some netting and poles to fix them to the walls and ceilings similar to what you had done with your space back on the Razor Crest. A crib had been provided for the child, and you moved that onto the “half” that you’d designated Mando’s space - the larger section, and the one with the window. Your “half” was more like your “third” of the bar’s interior. Really, you didn’t mind. Mando had been busy unpacking and reconvening with Cara Dune to offer any input until it was done, anyways.

Later in the day, you’d more or less finished unpacking what little you’d brought, and Mando was tending to his rifle. You sat on a crate, idly fussing with the settings on your blaster, musing to yourself if you could possibly bother the bounty hunter in the future for something more substantial.

“Knock, knock.”

The woman from earlier stood at the door with a tray of a few plates of food in hand, her daughter in tow. You could see them, but their attention was turned to Mando and the child, who was standing in his crib. “Come in.” Mando’s voice sounded from beyond the divide in the room.

The woman entered, setting the tray down on a nearby surface and picking up a plate from it. Winta stepped forwards shyly, asking if she could feed the child. Mando wasn’t quite sure what to make of that, but he didn’t see a problem with it. “Sure.”

You watched from just around the edge of the divide, as the girl first knelt to feed the child, and then asked if she could play with him. Mando seemed just as fond of dealing with kids as you, hearing his sigh and flat “sure” in response. You smirked at that.

Once Mando had set the child on the ground, Winta immediately darted out the doorway with the child in tow. Mando started to protest, but the woman held him back. You didn’t know why, it was such a simple thing and she was coming from a place of experience where he had none, but for some reason… it made you bristle slightly. You felt like she was overstepping her bounds somehow. You shook your head briefly. She didn’t know any better, it was fine.

The woman then reached for one of the plates of food, to set on a surface closer to where Mando had been maintaining his rifle. “I brought you some food, I noticed you didn’t eat out there. I’ll leave it here for when I go.” Mando awkwardly thanked her, and moved to turn away.

You were hoping she would leave, then, but she didn’t. Instead, she asked if she could ask Mando a question. With his approval, she continued.

“How long has it been since you’ve taken that off?”

Oh, the helmet question. That was bound to happen sooner or later, honestly. You hoped she didn’t say anything too intrusive or insensitive.

“Yesterday.”

“I mean in front of someone else.”

The air felt heavy. You couldn’t quite see from your position where he was looking, but you saw him motion through the window towards what might have been the child and Winta, and other children based on the sounds of play you could hear.

“I wasn’t much older than they are.”

The woman sounded almost horrified that he hadn’t shown his face to anyone since then. The bounty hunter protested, saying that after his parents had been killed, the Mandalorians had taken him in and cared for him as their own.

It’s not like you knew what his past was, or what you expected it to be, but hearing it like this was like a punch to the gut. It was a horrible thing for him to have gone through at all, let alone as a child. You arguably had only just been getting to know him, but the fact that this woman he had never met before was able to get this fact out of him at all, let alone such a personal fact, stung. He had told you earlier that he’d trusted you. That should’ve been enough, and should’ve stopped you from having your thoughts run loose like they were.

“...I’m sorry.” The woman sounded genuinely sad.

“This is the way.”

“Let us know if there’s anything you need.”

Finally, she left. It did not escape you, though, that she hadn’t stopped to see if you had been there to let you know that she had brought you some food, as well, as you also had not left to go get food since arriving. That hurt a little bit, but with the way the prior exchange had gone it probably just slipped her mind. It wasn’t her fault. She was being a good host, she still brought it, didn’t she? You could swear, though, that she seemed to feel some sort of draw towards the bounty hunter and was acting on it in small ways. And you could not figure out why it bothered you.

Once she had left completely, you quietly crept out from behind the divide to retrieve your own plate. Mando was still standing before the window, watching the kids playing with the child. The woman now approached the crowd, no doubt to supervise and make sure they weren’t being too rough. You felt his eyes turn to you slightly.

“I uh… I’m sorry. About what happened in your past. I didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I couldn’t not hear that part.”

Mando inclined his head for a moment, and then looked back up at you. “It wasn’t anything I wouldn’t have told you if it had come up.”

That lifted your mood a bit. Plate in hand, you wandered over to stand before the window, not too close but beside where Mando stood, to watch the kids.

“Looks like he’s having fun.” Mando hummed in agreement, arms folded.

You don’t notice, but the Mandalorian had turned his head ever so slightly to look at you without giving away that that’s what he was doing. He’s usually not the best at reading people, but he could tell that something about the interaction he had just had with the woman had upset you somehow - he also had not missed how she had left after speaking with him and hadn’t tried to see if you were around to speak to you, as well. This was a different kind of upset than what he had seen when you were first on his ship, after your home had been destroyed. He didn’t like it then, and he didn’t like this now. He realized didn’t like seeing you upset, or to be linked to the reason you were upset.

The two of you stood there for a few more moments, watching the villagers and the child play. You cleared your throat.

“Well, I still don’t like eating around others. I’m going to my ‘room’.” Mando felt a small smile flicker on his face at that, as you left and went back to your area.

Once you were there, you had been about to pick up a piece of the food when you heard the tell-tale sound of Mando’s helmet being removed. You didn’t know if it was the closer proximity or the conversation that had just happened, but you retreated even further into your area until you were as far away as possible, like somehow even being too close while his helmet was off was just as bad as seeing his face.

The job turned out to be much more complicated than any of you had thought. Surveying the woods showed that the raiders were in possession of an Imperial AT-ST, a formidable weapon to have even against trained troops, let alone a defenseless krill farm. Cara Dune was especially off-put by it, having seen the mech in action and barely escaping to tell the tale. Mando, blunt as ever, tried to tell the village’s occupants to just leave and find another place on the planet to farm, but that went over horribly - everyone was angry, saying that he’d agreed to the job and that he should keep to it, that they had lived there for generations and it took so long to even get the farm established, and so on. They insisted they could be taught to fight and help take on the raiders, stubborn in not wanting to leave their homes. Somehow, their desperation won over the bounty hunter and ex-shock trooper, and it was decided that the entire village of twenty-odd people would follow Cara Dune’s instructions to modify the village grounds into a battleground to take down the machine, and the raiders in turn.

The biggest hurdle was teaching the villagers how to fight to begin with. Nobody knew how to deal with hand-to-hand combat. None of them - except the woman, whose name was Omera - knew how to fire a blaster.

That also meant that Mando’s entire arsenal he’d brought along with him would be put to use arming everyone.

While Cara Dune was working with melee training her half of the adults, Mando was overseeing the target practice. You were more familiar with firing a blaster than you were with physical fighting, so you were attempting to help in that department, as well. You had certainly fired off your fair share of one-in-a-million hits in the times you’d even had to use your blaster, but you had no idea how you were able to do it. It was just… an instinct, somehow, that kicked in right at the moment it was needed, and would vanish just as quickly before you could even try to comprehend it. Still, though, you could try.

They were terrible.

Shots were flying and only a small fraction were landing anywhere, and of those, even less were hitting their intended targets. Except for Omera. Every shot she fired landed square in the middle of her target, one after the other. You could see Mando watching her closely, nodding when she turned to look expectantly at him with a slight smile.

It makes you grit your teeth and you don’t know why. He’s allowed to be impressed by someone from a backwater planet being good with a blaster. He was allowed to be impressed by her tenacity to defend her village. He was allowed… and whatever this strange feeling was that you had, wasn’t allowed to get in the way. That was up to him.

You had been walking between the villagers, giving them pointers on how to better aim, but once you’d noticed what you had with the widow and Mando, something shifted in you. And unbeknownst to you, Mando was watching you, probably more than he had been watching Omera. Your eerie accuracy with your own blaster when you fired off and hit the targets, the way you went from person to person to curtly correct their poise, the way your eyes flashed as you stood back and looked from trainee to trainee with a calculating, concentrated look to determine who needed fixing where. This was a new side of you he hadn’t seen. It was intimidating… but in a good way. He caught himself being confused by his own thoughts, and reminded himself sternly that he needed to concentrate on training everyone and getting things ready.

That night, the plan would be executed. Luring the raiders out, having the villagers go hand-to-hand with the raiders while Mando and Cara Dune took care of downing the AT-ST. You hoped it would work.

In the weeks following the successful defeat of the raiders and destruction of their AT-ST, you stayed put in the village. You and Mando and the kid didn't have anywhere better to be, and Mando still stood by it being a good place for waiting out the hunt going on for the kid. Unlike Mando, though, you didn't feel completely safe. You still felt like it was only a matter of time before someone came looking. The raiders didn't all get killed, and though they probably hadn't laid eyes on the child, let alone the village's children in general, it would have been difficult for them to miss the beskar-clad man that they went up against. Word was going to get out.

Mando wasn't convinced. There was nothing besides your sense of unease to indicate that sort of thing would happen, and he needed more substance than that to act. And so, you were stuck there for the time being.

So you tried to make do with living during that time.

Mando spent his time being the quiet watchman of the village, keeping his weapons he'd brought along in top condition just in case. It couldn't hurt to stay vigilant. And it helped you be more at ease to know he hadn't completely shrugged off the possibility of danger.

And when he wasn't cleaning his weapons for the millionth time, or making sure the child wasn't getting into too much trouble with the village children, he was watching you.

He noticed the way you'd go sit out at the far edge of the village clearing, by the edge of the water beneath the shade of the trees, scribbling things in the odd flimsiplast book you'd brought along with you. He got curious one day and wandered over to where you were, making the excuse that he was patrolling the perimeter and just happened to be passing by you on his way. He got to see what it was you were doing - you were sketching the huts and ponds, as well as the trees and animals, making notes beside them. You didn't limit your note-taking to sitting out on the edge of the village, either, sometimes you stayed amongst the buildings and watched the locals and made notes about them.

There were more than a few times that the child would break away from the village kids and watch you, too, and there were times you'd tear a page out and let him scribble on it alongside you. It was endearing to watch, though he'd never admit it, how intensely focused the little one would be on mimicking you during those times. He saw you do your best to be social when the rest of the kids would inevitably crowd around the two of you and watch what you were doing, and begin asking questions. They did that to him, too, with his weapons, and he would try to tell them stories he remembered hearing as a child himself. You didn't seem to tell them stories, so much as just facts about how this or that worked, or how things are different on other planets in this or that way. They still seemed to take it in just as well.

When you weren't note-taking, or trying to avoid being swarmed by curious children, you'd be in the village kitchens, taking advantage of having proper cooking facilities outside of the makeshift space on the Razor Crest and trying out local ingredients and recipes. The child was frequently your taste-tester, and he loved every bit of it. There were times that he'd take a bite of something you'd made, and instead of downing the rest of it, he'd look around for Mando, and upon spotting him he'd hurry over with the food in hand, waving it up at him as if to say "try it". He would, of course, wait until he was in the privacy of his own space, but he'd always try it. He had to admit, though he knew the locals had been working with the ingredients for generations and were by no means bad cooks, there was something about your cooking that he liked better. He knew you'd brought along some of your own spices and that you put your own spin on things, but it was deeper than that and he didn't know why.

He notices that though you try to converse with the locals when appropriate, you frequently retreat to be in his presence and just sit quietly. It starts as you just going back to the barn and him happening to also be there, but over time it evolved into you actively seeking him out in moments where he was apart from the others, wherever that may have been. It was… nice.

It was also nice that, on some nights where neither of you could sleep, you would wind up quietly talking about this or that through the makeshift wall in the barn that divided your sleeping areas. The conversations were about mundane things, never lasted long, and were always quiet because of the sleeping child nearby. But it was a new thing for him that he found he liked. For so long he had traveled alone and in complete silence, and while there was still a degree of silence and separation between the two of you, it was different.

The villagers seemed to act like you would just stay there forever. Names were learned, bits and pieces of life stories were swapped, some degree of familiarity was established.

There was absolutely no way anyone could miss how attentive Omera had become to ensuring you all were still tended to, but especially in regards to Mando. He was civil in return, and you swear he had started to open up to her and go beyond just being polite. You, also, did your best to be civil towards her, but it was difficult for some reason. It was not your place to decide who was allowed to be friends with who, or how they responded to such actions. Not your place to feel put off by another person getting close to arguably the only person you knew beyond vague acquaintance-ship.

And this didn’t just feel like someone building a friendship, either. You did not know why it bothered you as much as it did. But here you were.

One day, you, Mando, and Cara Dune were all on the porch of the barn, lounging for lack of a better word. Cara Dune sat reclined in a chair, you on the edge of the porch, and Mando casually leaned back against the wall of the barn. He looked very relaxed and it took you a little more effort than normal not to just stare at the rare sight.

And then Omera appeared.

She had been in the barn doing some tidying up, as hosts do. As she exited, she handed a cup of spotchka to Cara Dune, who thanked her, and then she turned to Mando.

“Can I set you something in the house?” She briefly turned her vision towards you, to indicate the offer was extended to you as well, but it went right back to the bounty hunter before you could answer.

“Uh… thank you. Maybe later.” He mumbled his answer, awkward as ever. The woman looked back at you, and you shook your head to her offer, not daring to try and open your mouth. She seemed satisfied with that, and turned to watch the village children playing with the child. He’d captured a frog, and wasted no time in stuffing it into his mouth and trying to swallow it like a vine snake. The children laughed and groaned in amused disgust. The frog turned out to be too big for the little one and he spat it out, and everyone cackled as the frog hopped away, no doubt startled by nearly being eaten.

“He’s very happy here.” Omera’s voice broke the silence on the porch.

“He is.” The bounty hunter’s voice responded.

“Fits right in.” And with that, the widow walked away. You watched her leave with narrowly-disguised distaste on your face. The kid was still a target for all you knew, and that little comment implying he should continue to stay just made you realize how little they understood about the consequences that could come their way should the hunters find him. Being able to actually be a child was good, yes, but not at the expense of having another event similar to the raiders, one they wouldn’t have time to plan for.

Apparently, Cara Dune had some thoughts of her own.

“So what happens if you take that thing off?” She nodded at Mando, indicating his helmet. “They come after you and kill you?”

Your distaste turned to her next.

“No, you just can’t ever put it back on again.” Cara scoffed at his answer. She looked at you to see if you thought it was as ridiculous as she did, a smirk on her face. You narrowed your eyes at her, and her smirk faded a bit. You’d known, and you respected his cultural beliefs not to badger him like she was trying to do.

“I was gonna say, if that’s it, it wouldn’t be any trouble at all for you to just slip it off and take up living here, raising the kid and sipping spotchka.” She motioned in the direction Omera had left with her glass.

“The beautiful young widow would be more than happy to help with that.” She looked back at you. “Am I right?”

Your skin felt like it would scramble right off your body.

Somehow, hearing Cara Dune confirm that she, too, had seen Omera’s interest in Mando made it all too real in your mind. And she wouldn’t be making such comments if she didn’t think Mando had similar feelings, either.

Why did it bother you so much?

You heard your name, realizing she was actually waiting for an answer from you.

“Yeah, sure.” Your voice was quiet and clipped, a poor attempt to keep your feelings veiled. Cara Dune finally noticed your tense posture, the discomfort very apparent in the line of conversation she’d started up.

She immediately regretted her teasing about the widow. Unlike you and Mando, she was actually able to read people. Mando may have been oblivious to it, but she could see now that you were more fond of the bounty hunter than she initially thought. She’d sensed some sort of dislike towards Omera from you, with how brief you kept your interactions with her, but this made it make sense. Kriff, you were probably oblivious to it, too.

Mando’s modulated voice brought her back to the present. “You know, we raised some hell here a few weeks ago. It’s too much action for a backwater town like this. Word travels fast. You might wanna cycle the charts and move on.”

You leaned your head back, rolling your eyes. “Finally.” You’d only been trying to convince him to do that the moment you’d chased the raiders off. “I thought it was going to take bounty hunters actually showing up to get you to make that decision.”

You swiveled where you sat to look at the man pointedly. He shook his head lightly. You could almost hear the good-natured smirk under his helmet. You couldn’t help but quirk the corner of your mouth yourself.

As forward as Omera was with hinting her interest towards Mando, Cara Dune thought, you weren’t too bad of a companion choice for him, either. You might not be the worse of the two, either, as far as the dynamic between you. As long as the buckethead wasn’t alone.

She looked back to where the kids were all playing. “I wouldn’t want to be the one who’s gotta tell him that it’s time to leave.”

“I’m leaving him here.”

You and Cara Dune stared at him.

“Traveling with me… that’s no life for a kid. I did my job, he’s safe. Better chance at a life here.”

No. You weren’t going to let him decide that easily.

“Mando. Do I need to remind you that the kid is being hunted as much as you are?” He started to protest, but you continued, standing up from your seat to face him fully, crossing your arms. “And, like you said, the fight with the raiders will have drawn attention. We sure didn’t kill them all, some got away. ‘Word travels fast’.”

Mando stared back, at a loss for words, and looked to Cara Dune for backup. She only shrugged, indicating you had a point.

“...if anyone was going to come, they would have done so by now.”

You dropped your arms to your sides, an incredulous expression on your face. Really? Really?

“Mando-”

He held up his hand to stop you. Such a simple motion shocked you enough to derail your thoughts. He really wasn’t changing his mind, was he…? Was he that ready to leave the kid behind?

Was he that ready to be rid of you …?

Leaving the child here meant your current “job” would no longer exist. It meant having to figure out where to go next, how to start next.

You weren’t ready for that.

You looked down at the wood flooring of the porch. You couldn’t figure out how to argue back in a way that didn’t sound selfish. Defeated, you turned away from the beskar-clad man and faced away, looking at the children playing again.

Mando truly felt like this was the best option for the child at this point. He wasn’t anywhere near an acceptable parental figure, and per your own admission you didn’t do well with kids, either. The kid needed other kids to be around, adults that were willing and happy to raise him. You needed to be able to actually settle down somewhere you could rebuild. This tiny village, with its lack of technology, wasn’t it, and it wasn’t on his cramped ship with his stubborn self, either. You deserved better. He didn’t want to say goodbye to the kid, or to you, but it wasn’t about what he wanted.

The three of you solemnly watched the child play with the other village children.

“It’s gonna break his little heart.” Cara Dune muttered.

“He’ll get over it. We all do.”

You didn’t want to agree with him, on that last line. But he was right.

Everyone had finished packing, all that was needed was for it to be loaded onto the cargo sled. The air felt weighted, and it wasn’t from the humidity of the surrounding swamp.

For you, the air got even more oppressive when you saw Mando approach Omera and lead her slightly away from the others to speak to her. You knew he was just asking her to watch after the child. But you could see the way she was looking at him. You could see Mando fidgeting, almost shyly. You could feel your face get tingly. Why was this so hard for you? It wasn’t about you.

You couldn’t hear the exchange, but you could tell Omera was saying something back at him, and the way her expression changed, you almost felt like she was asking him to stay, too.

But then, pulling you from your wallowing in self-pity, you felt the same thing you’d felt back at your old home, just before the bounty hunters broke through and your life as you knew it ended. The intense, physical feeling of wrong, of something in your head thrashing about telling you to run. Telling you to grab the kid and run.

They were here.

You sprinted towards where the village kids were, focusing in on the child, drawing your blaster.

"Mando!”

Whatever had been happening between Mando and Omera was forgotten, the widow spinning around to see what the shouting was, and Mando falling into a defensive stance, hand going to his blaster handle.

Your timing couldn't have been better. As you skidded to your knees to grab the frightened child, the village children scattering in confusion and fear, blaster fire rang out and a scorched blast marked the earth right where he had been sitting. You ran in a crouch to hide behind the nearest barrier you could get to, in this case some of the cargo that had yet to be loaded. The child whimpered and clutched at your clothing, and you clutched him closer, blaster raised in your other hand in case you needed to peek around and return fire.

You heard chatter from the other adults, and peering around the corner of the cargo, you see Cara Dune and Mando rush off int the trees. Omera is quickly herding the children to safety. You stay where you are, slumping against the back of the cargo, knowing Mando won't let whoever's out there get away. You look down at the kid in your grasp, who is looking back up at you with those dark eyes you'd gotten used to.

"I told him it wasn't safe here."

Just as you had warned him, the shots had come from someone carrying a tracking fob for the child. Cara Dune had seen to the demise of the hunter, and the tracking fob was destroyed. If it had been a different situation, you would have been more smug about being right.

But as it currently stood, you needed to get out of there as soon as you could.

The cargo sled was fully loaded, with additional supplies beyond what you’d brought with you, and the child was seated up where he could see out. You sat close by, not wanting to chance having to make a dive for him again. You hadn’t anticipated being so protective, but here you were. The village gathered around to see you off. Cara Dune offered to escort you back, but the decision was made to completely bypass going through town and just go straight to the Razor Crest. For once, you agreed with this decision.

“Well then, until our paths cross.” the two exchanged a firm handshake. She looked back and nodded at you, and you returned it with a raised hand. It was good to know you had an ally out there now.

You’d anticipated leaving by then, but when Winta rushed forward you had to suppress a groan. You were so ready to leave behind the other kids and yet here they were again, prolonging the goodbye process. With little regard for any sense of personal space, she wrapped her arms around the child in a hug. You leaned away a little to give them room. You didn’t expect her to release the child and give you a hug, too.

“I’ll miss you so much.”

You were frozen, your mind having drawn a blank and your body unsure of what to do. It took you a few moments to regain your senses, and you awkwardly put your hands on her shoulders.

“Uh… us too.” She pulled back and gave you both a shy smile, and scampered away back to stand by her mother.

Omera smiled and nodded at you in farewell. You tried to do the same, but you couldn’t guarantee your smile looked anything other than awkward and forced. You were terrible at this.

“Thank you.”

Mando nodded at her as well, and finally, he boarded the sled, and you left the small village.

It was strange, you’d only been on the Razor Crest for a few days before the stay on Sorgan happened and took up the following few weeks of your life, but somehow the ship felt more like home than the village had.

The three of you all sat in the cockpit area of the ship, Mando at the controls, you sitting in one of the chairs with the child in your lap, you idly letting him mess with your hands.

Now that it was just you three, your curiosity was getting the better of you.

“So, Mando… what was Omera saying to you before the bounty hunter attacked?”

Mando flipped a few more switches and dials on the controls and sat back in his chair. “She was suggesting we stay, too.” You mean she was suggesting you stay, you thought to yourself.

“...if the hunter didn’t show, would you have?”

He turned to look at you. “Would you?”

You huffed. “I liked being in the trees, but… too remote for my taste. Too closely packed. Too many kids trying to see what I was doing.” Too much of Omera trying to be friendly with the Mandalorian. You didn’t say that part, though.

He turned back to face the windscreen. “If I had wanted to settle down somewhere, I would have done it years ago.” He folded his hands over his stomach. “I’m not interested in living the sedentary family life.”

Somehow hearing him say that took a huge weight off your mind. But that still didn’t answer the selfish, nagging question you still had.

“Did you like her?” You still didn’t know why you cared so much. But while your courage was up and you were on this train, you had to get it out. Mando’s head tilted in your direction slightly.

“She was… nice. But I don’t think I liked her at all the way she liked me.” He turned back to look at the expanse of space before the ship. He didn’t want to say it out loud, but he was glad that you all got out of there before he had to tell her that. He wasn’t as oblivious as some thought, he could definitely tell that the widow was harboring some kind of affection towards him. He just didn’t feel the same way back, though. He never did. Besides, even if he did, his idea of how to live was so different from hers that it just wouldn’t work. Living on a farm, having and raising kids, staying in one place? Absolutely not.

You looked down at the child in your lap, tugging on his claws that clutched your fingers, trying to hide the little smile of relief on your face. He perked his ears at you and babbled, seeming to sense you weren’t as weighed down as before.

“You could’ve been free to go start your infochanting back up somewhere, though.” You looked up, a little surprised at the slightly quieter tone to Mando’s voice.

He had come to appreciate your company, but he wasn’t about to directly admit it.

You shook your head and huffed. “Honestly? I don’t mind.”

You looked back down at the kid, gently grabbing the ends of his long ears and fussing with them, making him squeal.

“I’m kind of glad to be back on this bucket of bolts with you.”

You hadn’t made any indication of it, but Mando liked to think you were talking to him just then, and not just the child. Hearing those words stirred something in his chest, and though he couldn’t pin down what it was, he wouldn’t mind feeling it again.

#the mandalorian #din djarin x reader #mando x reader #gender neutral reader #din djarin #mando #reader insert

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suganovakawa · 5 years ago

Text

𝐒𝐀𝐔𝐃𝐀𝐃𝐄 .

PAIRINGS : tooru oikawa x fem! reader

GENRE : angst , romance

WARNINGS : cursing , implied car accident

SYNOPSIS : tooru doesn’t understand how special you are to him until he comes close to losing you forever . as he struggles to comes to grips with his feelings and balance it with his future , you still have to recover from your own injuries , but without your memories to assist you .

𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐖𝐎 < [ 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄 ] > 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐓 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 .

it wasn’t your fault seijoh lost to karasuno . . . so why did tooru look so mad at you ?

word count : 2.3k

saudade masterlist.

SAUDADE

( 𝐧 . ) a nostalgic longing to be near again to something or someone that is distant , or that has been loved and then lost ; “ the love that remains ”

⠀you were right.

⠀karasuno did practice a lot.

⠀holy shit, when did they become this good?

⠀goddammit, why did you have to be right?

⠀you could see the struggle your team was going through with the first set. oikawa told them to not underestimate the underdog team, but you could tell there was a subconscious feeling of pride in their chests from beating them in the preliminaries months ago. but like tooru said, there was no point in you making any interjections; just be the cute little manager, and everything should go smooth sailing from there.

⠀the karasuno first years were noticeably better. everyone in the gym, players and regular spectators alike, could see it. namely, the setter and that peculiar middle blocker. you remembered them vaguely from the prelims; oikawa disliked them, the setter in particular. number nine - tobio kageyama, from kitagawa daiichi.

⠀you watched one of kageyama's middle school games with tooru, before you two started dating. the infamous "king of the court"; you didn't realize it was meant to be derogatory until you witnessed the setter in action. tooru seemed somewhat smug with his actions on the court, bossing everyone around and setting without much thought for the other players' preferences. the court was a kingdom, and kageyama was at the top of the monarchy - that kingdom would soon be his downfall.

⠀you've never heard of the short middle blocker until the start of the preliminaries. you originally thought he was a water boy or an assistant to the team until you saw his jersey. your next assumption was a pinch server or even a defense specialist.

⠀no, he was on the starting lineup.

⠀right in the middle block position.

⠀you were beyond surprised with the kid. their quick attack was a force to be reckoned with. you weren't there the day of the practice match, so this was your first time being exposed to karasuno's secret weapon. those crows were no longer flightless. you still sometimes marvel at the fact seijoh managed to seal the third set. the next loss against shiratorizawa felt more disheartening than usual, after having to fight so hard for it.

⠀the entirety of the last set had you on the edge of your seat. for the entire game you were doing something; whether you joined in on the audience chants, handing out water bottles and towels, or even giving some friendly words of encouragement. you attempted to talk to your boyfriend during timeouts, but he was completely uninterested, his focus only on the game.

⠀by now, the other players caught onto his neglect towards you, and did their best to support you in any way they could. yahaba mainly kept you company during the game, since he was a pinch server. during timeouts, makki and mattsun would give you pats on the shoulder during timeouts, taking every opportunity to thank you whenever you did something for them. as for iwaizumi - he gave you the most attention during timeouts. the ace hardly left your side, even while the captain explained something to the entire team. you were thankful for hajime's friendliness, but there was still a sharp pain in your chest from tooru. the wall that separated the two of you grew more with each day, and you still hadn't figured out a way to break it.

⠀"you got this, seijoh!" you raised an enthusiastic fist in the air when the whistle called for the end to another timeout. the lineup turned to face you, each of them giving you a thumbs-up and a smile in acknowledgement. you looked to your brunet boyfriend, who mustered a small smile and a nod of his head before returning to the court.

⠀aoba johsai was already at match point - victory was so close, couldn't they just push for one more?

⠀the opposing school looked like they reached a second wind at the very end, something that seijoh did not need at a moment like this. karasuno pulled stunt after stunt; the players could hardly keep up with every move. your eyes are locked on oikawa, pupils shaking with fear as kageyama scored a deuce with a notorious setter dump - you felt the apprehension as tooru's jaw grew physically taut for being bested by a first year.

⠀and just when you thought it couldn't get any worse -

⠀your mind went blank when your eyes witnessed tooru's arms miss the final receive.

⠀your brain went numb as the gym went silent, eyes on the ball that flew out of bounds, with no possible way of passing back into the game. karasuno screamed for joy but your ears blocked out the sound like a busted speaker, watching the cloud of disappointment rain over the players on your side of the court, one by one.

⠀aoba johsai... lost.

⠀and it wasn't to shiratorizawa.

⠀you could hardly process the information as you stood up to join the team in paying respects to the game, watching as seijoh thanked their audience for coming to support them. a lump caught in your throat as you watched the team walked back with little to no pep in their step, grabbing their belongings silently and walking out the gym. their eyes were glossy with disappointment.

⠀you jogged up to the brunet as he came back from searching for any other teammates lagging behind, swallowing the nervous lump as you spoke, your voice filled with concern.

⠀"tooru, you did great out there," you reassured him. by the look in his eyes, he didn't buy it. "you did amazing today, and i'm so proud of you."

⠀"please get out of my way, y/n." he shrugged you off and continued to walk towards the bus, his hands shoved in his pockets as he trudged along. he's upset, it's understandable. even so, the painful heaviness in your chest came back as you made your own way to the bus.

⠀the ride back home was a quiet one, the vehicle driving to aoba johsai quickly. the disheartening atmosphere was suffocating your lungs, your eyes fighting back your own share of tears as you watched the players step out onto the pavement, their eyes sullen and dull. kyoutani and kunimi were the first to leave, the latter wishing the rest a goodnight before turning heel and walking home. as for the former, he hardly did so much as grumble before sprinting off. the remaining ones stood there in silence for a few moments, their next plans unclear.

⠀the ramen restaurant was supposed to be a joke - the captain wasn't supposed to treat them to anything but a trip to nationals. but with defeat hung heavy in the air like a dark fog, even ramen couldn't bring them back up into their spirits.

⠀kindaichi and the rest of the second years were the next to leave, their wishes of departure nothing more than mutters as they braved a strong facade in their eyes. it was a general agreement amongst the players that the ramen date would come another day; for now, everything that happened today just needed more time to settle.

⠀"tooru, we should get going soon - " after waving a few people goodbye, you spun to where the third year previously was, only to find that he was no longer there. you turned to hajime, who pointed to the doors leading into seijoh. you looked quick enough to catch a glimpse of brown hair disappearing into the school before the door shut. you and the other third years collectively agreed to follow oikawa into the gym - god knows what he was planning to do there.

⠀you walked into the gym first, watching with a solemn expression as you watched the setter attempt to put up the net all on his own. he seemed hardly fazed at the sound of the gym doors opening, ignoring the others as he continued.

⠀iwa was the first person to step forward, and you watched as the ace moved to help oikawa in setting up the net. makki and mattsun followed suit not long after him. you didn't exactly know how to help with the net, and thus had to sit to the side as the four began to play two on two, their voices gone and the scrimmage as good as mute. you sat on the side, spectating the match with your arms around your knees. you felt no obligation to go home - not yet.

⠀about an hour had passed, and the third years had enough. two on two was much more work than six on six, and everyone besides oikawa was ready to call it quits. his eyes were focused even when the rest stepped off the court, grabbing a ball to serve again.

⠀"oikawa, that's enough." no answer.

⠀"oikawa."

⠀hajime clenched his jaw as he was blatantly ignored by his teammate, but you stood up before he could do anything else. he watched as you made your way over to your boyfriend, wanting to actually talk to him after the stressful day. step by step, you approached him as he practiced his jump serve, his brown eyes flamed with frustration and anger as he moved to pick up another one.

⠀"tooru, please." you stopped him before he could grab another ball, your voice gentle as you addressed him. the others were silent. "it's been a long day. please, let yourself rest. after an amazing match like today, you deserve time to - "

⠀"amazing? amazing?" you jumped back instinctively as he gripped the ball, turning his body to face you entirely. this glare was more intense than any other nasty look he's given you in the past. "what about that game was amazing? the fact that we lost? you think that part was fucking amazing, huh?"

⠀your stomach dropped. "no, tooru, that's not what i meant - "

⠀"you fucking tell me what part of that game was amazing then, y/n!" he slammed the volleyball he held towards the ground, his voice raising higher by the second. "i failed to take us to tokyo. i failed to lead our team to victory. i failed to secure another god forsaken match against shiratorizawa!" he stormed towards you, his eyes ablaze and uncontrollable. "and you have the audacity to tell me that it was amazing? are you stupid?"

⠀"i just want you to rest! you're always pushing yourself to the point of exhaustion! is that so wrong of me to care about your wellbeing?" you found a voice to yell back at him, but retracted it oh so slightly when you noticed his mood worsen. "listen, tooru! you have to take care of yourself, dammit! you did the best you could, and that's all that matters! seijoh's loss against karasuno doesn't take away from the fact that you're an outstanding player!"

⠀the ball that he threw to the ground somehow found its way to roll against his ankle. "if i had just mastered my serve, maybe we'd be the ones playing shiratorizawa."

⠀"what?"

⠀"you." oikawa pointed a finger at you, his jaw tight. "if it wasn't for you being such a pain in my ass all the time, i could've improved my serving. but no, you had to drag me out of the fucking gym every time i found time to practice by myself." bringing his hands down to his sides, he smiled - something maniacal. "you wanted us to lose, didn't you?"

⠀"what the fuck, oikawa?" enough was enough, and iwaizumi finally broke between the quarrel. "you're just being delusional at this point, leave y/n alone - "

⠀"no, iwaizumi. you need to shut up." tooru's eyes never left yours, and yours began to quiver in sincere fear. "you, y/n, you wanted us to lose, didn't you? you never let me practice, and in turn that would prevent us from winning. you didn't want us to go to nationals! you were pissed off that i was paying attention to something else! what, being a fucking brat that you didn't get what you want?"

⠀"tooru, i don't even know what you're talking about!" your vision blurred at his raised voice, your heart constricting with every accusation. "i know how much volleyball means to you! i would never do anything so selfish, i wanted seijoh to go to tokyo just as much as you guys!"

⠀"you are such a bad liar." pressing a single finger to your chest, his teeth seethed as he hissed his next words. "it's your fault we lost. not mine, not the others. you. it's your fault for being a pain in my. fucking. ass."

⠀"t-tooru - "

⠀"get the fuck away from me. i don't want to see your face."

⠀a shot to the heart.

⠀the resolve to hide your tears shattered, as you turned heel to grab your things and leave. leave, run, do anything. to get out of there.

⠀"y/n, wait!" you felt a hand on your wrist, your eyes fairly forming hajime's outline. "don't! i'll just drive you home, okay?"

⠀you shook your head furiously as you yanked your hand out of his grip, reaching for your bag and sprinting as fast and as far as your own two legs could take you, out of the gym, and out of the school.

⠀you paid no mind to where you were running, as your mind memorized its way back home all the way in your first year. large, wet tears decorated your face like poison, your voice blubbering sobs and incoherent apologies to the wind as you carried on.

⠀then, out of the blue, headlights appeared.

⠀where even were you?

⠀you stopped abruptly, wiping your eyes to get a sense of your current environment.

⠀there was a voice in the distance. hajime?

⠀"Y/N, GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE ROAD! YOU'RE GONNA GET HURT!"

⠀your head turned...

⠀crash.

a / n : so this came out much longer than i originally planned— i just wanted to get to this part as soon as possible so i could start getting into the juicy parts . now that we’ve finally established this , expect much much more drama , because this is angst , after all . 👀

btw, if you wanna be tagged whenever i update this series, just send an ask! i’d be happy to start a taglist.

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autumnsart22 · 4 years ago

Text

Oikawa x reader ch. 6

Oikawa jumped, spiking the ball in a vicious set across the net towards Matsuwaka, who grunted as he tried to receive. The volleyball spun to the left, hitting the wall and bouncing off, out of bounds.

“Great set!” I yelled, pumping my fists. Oikawa grinned widely, giving me a thumbs up. To most people watching the practice, the serve would have looked almost exactly the same as any other one. But I knew that there was a slight variation in the spin on the ball, making it much harder to receive, and giving the setter a lot more control over the direction the ball went. I had been helping Oikawa practice it for over a week, tossing him balls and cheering him on. It had taken a lot of frustration and whining, but the hard work was finally paying off.

Iwaizumi jogged up to me from the court, and I passed him a water bottle, which he took gratefully.

“How’s it going?” I asked, surveying the ace.

He shrugged. “Good. I think our offense has really been improving.” I looked up at him, analyzing his expression. “Iwa, are you ok?” The wing spiker looked momentarily surprised, and he awkwardly rubbed his neck. “Uh, yeah. I just have some stuff going at home right now, so I haven’t been as focused as I would like.”

I stood up, eyebrows lowering in concern. “If you want to talk about it, or you need help in any way, I’m here ok?”

Iwaizumi nodded, giving me a small smile. “Thank Y/n-chan.” Abruptly I reached out and hugged him tightly, feeling his muscles flex as he returned my hug a bit awkwardly.

“Hey!” Oikawa strode towards us, an odd look on his face. As I dropped my arms from around Iwa, the setter stopped in front of us. “Why don’t you ever give me hugs, Y/n-chan?”

I rolled my eyes and flipped him off, hoping my blush wasn’t showing on my cheeks. “Maybe you don’t deserve them.”

“You’re so mean!” He cried, and I bumped him with my hip.

“Both of you, get back to practice.”

“Oikawa!” I looked up to see a group of three girls standing in the stands above the court, waving at our setter frantically. I crossed my arms in annoyance, rolling my eyes as they all swooned when he waved back with a fake smile. I had realized very early on that Oikawa’s fangirls were one of the most annoying issues I ever had to deal with. They seemed to show up everywhere, wanting pictures or confessing their love at the worst moments.

The rest of the team hated them too, but they were used to the high pitched shrieks at this point and didn’t pay much attention. I, on the other hand, could barely resist marching up to the stands and sending all the dumb girls to detention on the grounds of disrupting official practice times. I had no idea how Oikawa dealt with it all the time.

The girls were still there after practice, and they intercepted Oikawa outside of the gym as Iwa and I walked with him to the student parking lot.

“Hi Oikawa-san!” One of the girls stepped forward, smiling prettily. “Do you have a second?”

I glanced at Iwaizumi who shrugged, and we continued walking, leaving Oikawa to deal with the girls. As we left, I heard him laugh at something the girl had said, and my heart stuttered.

This was why I refused to like him. He was ridiculous, a player, and completely out of my league. There was no way he would ever look at me like that, even if he did flirt a lot. Oikawa was someone who flirted with everything that moved, so I didn’t exactly count myself as special.

Iwaizumi and I had to wait only a few minutes before Oikawa caught up with us, a goofy grin on his face.

“Score, I got that girls number. She was pretty cute, huh?”

I pretended to look at my phone and didn’t answer.

✨✨✨✨

My first practice game as Seijoh’s manager was going well. We were playing against Shinzen high school, another academy in the Miyagi prefecture. They were decent, but not good enough to match up against us. Still, practicing against an actual other team had major benefits for us.

I cheered wildly as Watari picked up an excellent receive, and Oikawa set the ball to Shido, who slammed it over the net before the Shinzen players could stop it. They were doing so good. Was it possible that this year, we could actually go up against Shiritorizawa?

But then I froze, eyes focusing on Oikawa--or more specifically, his knee. I watched as the setter positioned himself, a slight limp in his step. His lips were flat, forehead wrinkled from pain. Had he re injured himself? “Coach, we have to call a timeout,” I said, quickly turning to him. “I think Oikawa injured himself again.”

I bit my lip nervously as the whistle was blown, my eyes carefully scanning our setter as he made his way towards the bench. He was definitely limping.

“Oikawa, how’s your knee feeling?” Coach Nobuteru asked, surveying the boy.

“I’m totally fine, coach. There was no need to call a timeout.”

I stepped forward, glaring at the captain. “Walk normal, right now.”

Oikawa blinked in surprise but did what I said, taking a few awkward steps. The second he put weight on his right knee, his jaw clenched and pain rippled across his features.

I pointed an accusing finger at him. “Why didn’t you say you were in so much pain? Pushing yourself will only make it worse!”

“I’m fine--”

“No, Y/n-san is right. You need to get your knee looked at right away.” Coach Nobuteru agreed with me. “You’ve played enough in this game. Y/n, why don’t you get him fixed up?”

Oikawa looked frustrated, but he followed me out of the gym in the direction of the nurse.

“How did you know it was hurting?” He asked me, voice slightly strained.

“You were limping. And I could also tell from your expression.”

“I--” He stopped, letting out a low grunt and I stopped walking.

“Oikawa? Are you ok?” I asked, fear flooding me.

“Y-yeah I’m good. Just hurts.”

I bit my lip, glancing at the building far in the distance. It would be a long, painful walk if I didn’t help. “Put your arm around me, I’ll help support your weight.”

Oikawa opened his mouth as if to protest, but I slid my arm around his waist before he could. After a moment, he relaxed, wrapping his arm around my shoulders and taking his weight off his right leg. He was heavier than I expected, but I straightened my back and gritted my teeth, starting to slowly walk in the direction of the medical center.

“Why didn’t you tell us your knee was hurt this badly?” I said, turning my head to look at him.

“I just...I didn’t want to let my team down.” He looked away from me, avoiding my eyes.

“Oikawa.” We approached the medical building, but I paused, staring at him. “You’re the best team captain and server Aoba Johsai could ask for. You can be smug, annoying, and competitive,” He let out a noise of protest at this, but I plowed on. “But you also care so much. You’re hardworking, and sweet, and smart, and the entire team knows that you’re doing beyond your best. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself.”

Oikawa stared at me for a long moment, his cheeks slightly tinted pink at the praise, and I cleared my throat. God, had I come off too strong? Did he think I liked him now?

I looked away quickly. “We should get a nurse to look at you.”

He opened his mouth to speak, but I led him inside before he could say anything.

The woman at the front desk jumped to her feet as Oikawa and I staggered in, calling for help and quickly coming over to Oikawa’s other side to help support him.

“What happened?” She asked, and I gave her a quick rundown of the game and the setter’s past knee injury.

“He must have re-damaged it again during the game.”

The woman helped Oikawa and I into one of the back rooms, where some medical supplies were laid out.

“I’ll go and get one of the nurses. It may take a little while, so you both can get comfortable.”

I nodded and thanked her, helping Oikawa into one of the chairs and kneeling by his feet.

“We should straighten out your leg,” I murmured, examining Oikawa’s knee. I had worked as a volleyball manager for almost three years now, so I knew the base information of knee injuries. Oikawa’s was particularly bad. “This is going to hurt.”

The captain of Aoba Johsai grabbed my hand, squeezing tightly as I used my other hand to ease his leg out into a straight position. He let out a short groan, and his head flopped forward, forehead resting against my shoulder. His smell wrapped around me, somehow clean despite the sweat from the game mixed in, and I had to remind myself that he was OFF LIMITS.

I couldn’t resist slowly touching his hair, petting his head while he rested against my shoulder.

“Y/n-chan, “ he whispered. “God, I--”

He stopped, and I let out a low breath. “Toru, everything will be ok. Your knee will get better, and we’ll continue to train, and you’ll beat Shiritorizawa and go to the spring nationals. Got it?”

He lifted his head up and looked at me, only an inch away. “Got it, new girl. I trust you.” He smiled, and I felt my cheeks flame.

Damn him.

Chapter 5

Chapter 7

#oikawa #oikawa fic #oikawa x reader #oikawa fanart #oikawa torū #haikyuu oikawa #haikyuu!!#haikyu x reader #haikyū!!#fandom #fanfic

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renaxwrites · 5 years ago

Note

Hello! Can I request an hc with a BHNA x HQ crossover where Todoroki, Bakugo, and Amajiki’s s/o is a top U.A student with a powerful quirk (like Maleficent or Jean Grey), a Phoenix but is also famous volleyball player, trained in U19 and is titled as the Goddess of Volleyball. Also, their s/o is ranked in the top three aces in Japan. Sorry if its random hehe Thank you in advancee! 💜

BNHA x HQ Crossover:

Support for the Winged-Ace -

(Todoroki, Bakugou, Tamaki)

a/n: I’ve had this one chillin in my inbox for a minute, sorry about that 🥺 I tried to find a good balance between the two. For some reason writing this made me feel a little (soft) idk why lol. Anyway I hope you like it 🥺💘

Todoroki:

It was just any other day, and Todoroki was doing some self-training, to clear his mind

Thud. Thud. Thud.

He couldn’t really concentrate from the repetitive thuds coming from the other side of the training center, so he went to go investigate. In doing so, he almost got decapitated by you, his classmate. Or, to be exact, a volleyball going what felt like 100 mph.

“Oh my gosh! I didn’t see you there, I’m so sorry!” You and a couple of your teammates rush over to see of he was alright

He chuckles, but is still feeling the rush of the ball flying by. “I’m alright, but what are you doing? Is this your new training technique?”

You begin to explain how you’re on a volleyball team on the side, and you practice in your spare time. Intrigued, he wanted to see more of your practicing. YOUR crush, wanting to watch you do what you do best? It took all your willpower not to lose your brain cells or magically forget how to spike a ball. “Alright, let’s take that play from the top!”

The ball is practically floating through the air between your teammates, until you, the ace, slam the ball down to the other side, from out of nowhere. Perfect for the unsuspecting opposing team. “Yes!” You squeal in triumph as your wings descend you down.

Todo is mesmerized with what you just did. Or more specifically, you. “What was that?”

You turn to him with a certain kind of hunger on your face. “That, Shoto, is what is going to take us to be the champs this year. Hey, we actually have a tournament this weekend, you should come watch!”

And so he did. Well, he also invited a few fellow 1-a classmates to come along. They’re all having a good time, with the whole volleyball world being a new venture for them. The lights turn down, capturing their attention. They were to introduce a new player.

“And now, you know their name! You’ve seen them in every tournament imaginable, trained in U19 this year, is one of the top picks for the country, and is battling it out to be Ace of the Year this time, give it up for your ‘Volleyball Goddess’, Phoenix!!!”

You step out into the spotlight, waving to the crowd, subtly looking for a specific pair of mismatched eyes

Once you do, you smile and blow a kiss, letting them know that this game would be for him

And there he was, sitting there dumbfounded at the fact that you really do look like a goddess, with wings, uniform and all

Throughout the tournament, your classmates could feel the same pains and triumphs you did, through all the highs and lows of the games, all the way until the very last

The suspense was killing the crowd, with the score being 26-27. It was gruesome, with the game never seeming to want to end. But this point, this one point was all on you, and every person in the stadium knew it

Your team forms a quick huddle, deciding to follow through with the play you did when you almost killed Shoto. This is it!

This whole time, you had kept a cool head, but with this one point being all-or-nothing, slight nerves began to creep up. And Todo noticed.

Use of quirks weren’t necessarily allowed for safety regulations, but he needed to let you know he was cheering you on, to calm your nerves

He freezes his arm, then softly blows a slight cold breeze in your direction, praying it would reach you just enough

You shiver at the sudden, slight drop in temperature. You look up in the direction it came from, and are met with a soft smile, silently telling you, ‘you got this’

That was all you needed. You wink back, thanking him.

The ref blows the whistle, signaling the start of the play. Your team serves, and is ready to receive it from the other team. The ball comes back, and is floating on your teammates’ fingertips. You rise up, and spike the ball down to the rivals’ weak spot. They were caught off guard, not seeing you coming.

Brrt!

The whistle blows again, ending the match. You won! You and your teammates jump and squeal for joy, and soon you and the other team thank each other for the game. Then, the awards began, rewarding the top players of positions in the country.

“And now, with the top scorer for ace, taking over the top spot by .5 points more than 2nd place…Phoenix! Your Goddess!” Tears cloud your eyes as you step onto the podium. Everything you’ve worked so hard for, finally rewarded. You are presented with a bouquet and gold medallion, and just as you begin to wave to the crowd, you unintentionally catch something hard and cold in your hand. You look down in wonder.

A rose made of ice.

Once again you lock eyes with Todoroki, a silent message passing between the two of you.

After the awards, he is the first to congratulate you, and after the formalities, there’s a quick awkward tension. So you decide to break it.

“You know, I may have won first in the country, but I’m still waiting for the results for something else too.”

He tilts his head in curiosity. “And what would that be?”

You intertwine fingers with the clueless boy, and a pink blush taints his face. “I’m wondering what place I am in your heart, Shoto.”

He seems astounded. You have no idea how long he’s been wanting to confess to you, and here you are, beating him to the punch.

He takes your hand and presses a light kiss to it. “Number one, of course.”

You both stare into each other’s eyes for what seems like an eternity.

You totally forgot that some of your classmates came along, so their cheers at you two finally being together broke your tance from Shoto’s eyes.

They all fangirled at the two of you and definitely had taken the opportunity to take pictures of your love-staring-contest

The picture is both you and Todo’s wallpaper now

Bakugo:

Homie sees everything as a competition, so when he sees how big you appear with your wings, he saw you as a threat

It got on his nerves when he saw you training more than usual lately, what was your deal?

No way was he mesmerized by the way your thunderous wings carried you into the air, allowing you to spike a ball at any volume he wanted…nope he definitely wasn’t into you, nah uh, no siree

You had permission to leave class for one of your tournaments, one that would determine your rank in the country. Aizawa was actually supportive, and got approval from the staff to allow a class trip to watch your games today

Needless to say, a certain someone was a little more eager to see your power than the rest *cough* Katsuki *cough* and everyone knew it too

The second you step onto the court, you’re met with the screams of adoring fans, those who have seen your growth for the past years, seeing you go from an average player to being one of the most recognized aces in Japan.

Eventually, it was between the final two teams in the tournament. Your team was at their top level, and it was up you, their ace, to determine this set point. With a few hand signals exchanged between the players, it was silently spoken that you would be doing your secret back attack play to get this win

The whistle blows. The whole arena goes silent, so quiet you can hear a pin drop.

Your classmates all hold each other in anticipation, silently praying for you to make this.

A pair of crimson eyes bore into you, transferring a strong desire to see you succeed

You toss the ball up. Your maleficent-like wings willing you into the air, and you spike the ball to the other side with a great force. As soon as you make contact with the ball, you speed over to the front to the net. By now, the opposing team had already set it to your side, where you predicted. You and your setter make eye contact.

They set it up to you, where you were already awaiting in the air. You slam the ball down with all your might. You get the point.

You and your team tackle each other in a group hug, with tears flowing all over the place. Thunderous applause fills the stadium, with your classmates being the loudest section.

Even Aizawa was clapping along, like the proud father teacher he is

For the awards, the hosts began to present the top 3 aces of Japan, based on the scores, and you scored second! You stood next to your friendly rival, who was number one, and the two of you exchanged playful banter, promising no mercy for the number one spot next year

Once the awards were over, you walk outside to greet your classmates, and they all suffocated you with prideful hugs and congratulations, and were all sweet enough to pitch in for a big beautiful bouquet

Bakugo was biding his time to the side, where you noticed he was waiting his turn to talk to you. You walk up to him, and all he says is, “Tch, couldn’t even get number one huh.”

You smile, then clench your fist in determination. “Don’t worry, I’ll be standing at the top next year, you’ll see!”

Your perseverance caused a glimmer in your eye, which in turn created a slight blush on Bakugo’s cheeks. “You better be number one, otherwise what’s it for?”

You think about it for a moment. “Well, I may have not gotten first this year, but I got you to notice me, at least. So I won something, I think.”

Baukugo.exe has stopped working. “Huh?”

You roll your eyes. “Just shut up and kiss me Katsuki.”

He grins and pulls you in, and you wrap your wings around the two of you to shield you from the surprised eyes of those watching.

Tamaki:

Soft boy™ had always admired your confidence, and the power you carried with your wings gave a radiance unlike any other

One day, you were working on your spikes at the training center, and he happens to be passing by. He heard the whoosh of your wings and the soft thuds of the volleyball, and once he saw it was you, his long-time crush, he couldn’t look away. Not when you looked like an absolute angel like that…

At some point, you felt a pair of eyes on you, so you turned to see your super-duper-secret crush Tamaki watching you with complete awe. “Hey Tamaki! What brings you over?”

His brain cells go haywire. He was trying (and failing) his best to act like his wsan’t watching you for a while. “Well I-I was walking by a-and I saw you doing yo-your thing with the ball I thought… thought it was k-kinda cool…” God she’s so cute and here I am stuttering like a love-struck fool…

He’s so cute when he’s flustered… you think to yourself. You calm him down by explaining what you were doing and going over the drills you just did. “I have a really important tournament this weekend, it can determine my rank of being an ace throughout Japan…I may not look like it, but I’m actually really nervous.” You laugh and rub the back of your neck.

Your laugh is like music to his ears. “I’m sure you’ll do great, y/n. You’ve always overcome any goal you set your mind to. I believe you could d-do it!” He is so sure in giving you positivity that his encouragement sparks an idea in your head.

“Tamaki…would you want to…come watch me at my match? I’d feel a lot better if you were there to support me…” you offer a wishful smile. That was all it took.

“A-are you sure y-you want me there? I m-mean I wouldn’t want to d-distract you or anything…” he’s a blushing mess at your offer.

Eventually, you convince him to come, with Mirio and Neijire tagging along for moral support. They watch in fascination as you step onto the court, with you creating a newfound presence for yourself in your volleyball uniform. You were truly a vision. Everyone knew you as the ‘Phoenix’, but you were given the nickname “Goddess of Volleyball” for both your radiance and talent combined.

You work your way towards the very end, with a little blood, lots of sweat, and a couple tears shed. But now, it has come down to the final point, the one point that would determine who were the champions.

You channel all of your focus to the ball. You take a deep breath. You look at your teammates and nod. Time for the secret weapon.

You toss up the ball, bracing your wings to get ready to fly. Once the ball reaches a certain level, you float up and point the ball so hard into the opponent’s side it almost breaks the gym floor. You get the point!

You become practically deaf from the amount of screams surrounding you. The one thing that kept you grounded was an indigo-haired boy that was now looking at you like you were the most gorgeous being he’s ever seen

Awards were given, and the second they were over, you sprinted off your first-place podium and headed toward the outside, where you knew your friends were waiting

Signature indigo-hair catches your attention, and you soon tackle Tamaki into a huge hug. “Tama-kun, I did it!!”

You release him from your grip, and he found some hidden courage and kisses you on the cheek, catching both of you off guard.

Mutual, unspoken feelings were finally understood, and so the two of you walked off with intertwined pinkies.

“I knew you could, angel.”

#haikyu!!#bnha x hq #bnha x reader #bnha imagines #todoroki shoto #todoroki x reader #todoroki imagine #todoroki headcanons #bakugou katsuki #bakugo x reader #bakugo imagine #bakugo headcanons #tamaki amajiki #tamaki x reader #tamaki imagine #tamaki headcanons #rena imagines

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marziyoudumbass · 5 years ago

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sweetener

Chapter 1: defeat

pairings: Haikyuu!Various x Reader

synopsis: The L/Ns are an athletic family of eight, seven children and a single mother. When the youngest of the bunch, Y/N, lost her last junior high match, she took comfort in knowing it wouldn't be the last time she played with some of her teammates--after all, she would be going to the same high school as them. When her mother gets a job opportunity in Miyagi, moving the family, it only pours salt into her wounds. Eventually, she joins the girl's team at Karasuno high, and meets many new people. Will the friends she makes turn around her bitter outlook on high school?

please note that I have no knowledge of volleyball beyond Haikyuu!

It was an intense match, your team one point behind your opponents. The first set was taken by your opponents, and fairly quickly, it no doubt stepped on your team’s confidence. The second set was taken by your team, raising hope for you. The final set was heated, both teams desperate to win and make it to the finals of the tournament.

As your competitors served, you were fairly quick to receive. In your attempt to send it towards your team’s setter, you realized you underestimated the distance, causing your setter to have to step a bit away from the net.

“Sorry!” You yelled out, watching intently as your setter sent the ball towards your team captain. Even though the blockers were a bit late, your opponent’s libero saved the ball.

“Don't mind!”

You got prepared to have to receive a spike, in case your blockers failed, watching the ball closely as it left the opposing setter’s hands. As the spiker broke through your team’s block, you dove for the ball, another teammate approaching from the opposite side. You stretched your hand out as far as you could, but still you watched as the ball slammed against the hardwood in front of you.

You heard as the crowd erupted, your competitors cheering, too. You stayed on the ground for a moment in shame, feeling as if it was your fault that your team lost the last match of junior high. You were, after all, a libero. The whole point of your position was to receive--defend, even--but you could barely do that. Curse your non-existent instincts!

You finally stood, dusting yourself off as you walked towards your team. You all stood in a circle around your coach, several of you crying. Most all of you hung your heads. Your coach consoled you, making a speech about how she’ll miss you, and that it was an honour to be a part of your athletic lives.

Eventually, your team finally was finished mulling your loss over. You turned towards your opponents. They looked smug, you scowled.

The drive home with your family was deafeningly silent. It was quite late outside, the street lights illuminating the roada. You sat in the passenger seat, your mother driving. Behind you, one of your brothers and two of your sisters sat in the backseat. The only light inside the car was your brother’s phone as he scrolled through some sort of social media.

You sniffled, looking out the window. Your mother patted your arm softly, glancing over as she tried to comfort you. Your mother was always the nicest woman, always making sure you and your siblings were well taken care of. Even though she was the mother of seven, she never once neglected any of you; even though she worked hard, she always made time.

Speaking of your siblings, you were the youngest. You had six other siblings, most half siblings (your mother went through three marriages, you and two others being the result of her latest affair).

The oldest was Hana. She was well out of highschool and had a career, she worked fairly far away, in Tokyo. She was always the most mature and strongest. Your mother might have been a bit of a push over, but Hana was firm--nothing would get past her.

Next was Ezume. He was in college, he wanted to be an environmental engineer. He, though the eldest boy, was rather immature. It seemed that the only things he was serious about were family and his school life.

After him was Hiroki, another boy. Hiroki was a rather neutral person, he was fairly mature and could come off as icy. He owned a cafe near to your home, living with your family still (though he was looking for a new home--not that he’d tell you).

Then there was Kaori. He was the most mature son your mother had, and was rather motherly. In highschool he was a bit of a bully, but he turned his life around and now runs a cafe with Hiroki--he was the pastry chef. He became a rather sweet person, and his treats were even sweeter.

After Kaori there was Aiya. She was from the same father as you. She was a scholar, taking after your father. She was hoping to become a Lawyer, she always had a taste for justice and loved helping people. She was fresh out of high school, and couldn’t wait to move--she was actually rather rebellious, and hated living in a house with so many people.

Lastly was Etsu, a sports genius and another one of your full siblings. She played soccer and was very naturally athletic, she had incredible speed, agility, and instincts, and was very eligible to go to the biggest soccer tournaments you could imagine.

Hiroki, Aiya, and Etsu were the ones who came to support you in the tournament. Your other siblings were back at your house. Hiroki and Kaori were probably making dinner, and Hana and Ezume were still settling in--they had traveled quite far to visit.

Your mother pulled up to your home, and you immediately hopped out, making a beeline straight for the door. Upon entering, you immediately smelled the incredible meal your brothers were making.

“Y/N/N! How was the tourna-” Kaori began, taking off a pink oven mitt and setting it aside. You hummed before he finished his sentence, heading towards your room. You were sad and in the mood to mope--you still couldn’t help but feel it was your fault you lost.

You burrowed into your blankets, sitting quietly for a moment. You were taken back to after the match.

You and your team were in the halls for a quick rest before leaving. A few of your teammates were quite sad, others mad. You and your closest friend, Ayame, were sitting against a wall, a bit secluded from the rest of your team. The silence was deafening, you looked at your feet as you stretched them out in front of you.

“I- ...I’m sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” Ayame asked. She looked at you with a questioning gaze.

“I couldn’t- I just- I couldn’t save it…” You said. A lump formed in your throat, you felt on the verge of tears.

“What? It’s not your fault! Don’t blame yourself for-”

“No! I couldn’t do it, I just wasn’t fast enough. If I had just had a better reaction time I could’ve saved it and them we might’ve-” You cut yourself off with a sob, tears beggining to leak. You buried your face in your hands, elbows resting on your thighs.

“Please, Y/N-chan, it’s not your fault, don't blame yourself! It wasn’t anyone’s fault that we lost, we lost as a team--a unit.” Ayame said, stroking your back comfortingly. “Please don’t undersell your skills, either, you’re very talented!”

“But not talented enough…”

“Y/N-chan, I’m not gonna listen to you bash yourself. If you’re done with that then we can continue talking.”

You both sat for a moment, you calming yourself, and Ayame rubbing your back. You finally settled your emotions, pulling your face out of your hands as you wiped away any tears left.

“It’s not like it’s your last game, right? It’s not like its OUR last game! We still have highschool to look forward to!”

“Yeah!” You laughed. It comforted you a bit knowing that you would get to play with some of your teammates again--especially with Ayame.

Dinner was rather quiet as you picked at your food. It wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, but it certainly was not pleasing. Sometimes silence was nice, now was not one of those times. Hana seemed to pick up on your mood, breaking the silence,

"Y/N? What’s wrong, you usually love sapporo ramen.” Hana asked, “I didn’t come home just to see that you’re starving yourself.” She joked. You sighed, staying silent.

“So… I assume it didn't go over well?” Ezume asked, your mother smacked him on his head, as she was sitting right next to him. You snorted. Didn’t go well was an understatement.

You continued moving around your noodles mindlessly, it was probably cold by now anyways. You looked around the table, your siblings were eating, but your mother was staring at you. You looked back, looked away, and looked back. Finally, your mother placed her chopsticks down,

“I have good news!” She announced, pulling attention towards her. Hana smiled knowingly. “I was offered a new job opportunity--a promotion!”

“That’s wonderful!” Hana said.

“Great job!” Kaori announced.

“Nice!” “Hm.” “Wow!”

“Huh.. Cool.” You said, looking back down.

“Tell them the other stuff!” Hana said.

“It’s in a whole new office, one over in Miyagi-” you froze.

“Miyagi? Isn’t that… well, isn’t that pretty far?” Your mother smiled at your comment.

“Well! It would be, but luckily I’ve found us a nice home over there!” You nearly dropped your chopsticks.

“Wait, what?” You questioned, “We- Moving?”

“Yes…” You furrowed your brows. Kaori began grabbing up your bowls, ushering your other siblings out of the room.

“What about Hiroki and Kaori? Isn’t that pretty far to drive for the cafe?”

“...About that… Your brothers have decided to move closer to the cafe, they won't be living with us.” Your mother informed. You gaped at her, scowling. It was a face off. Your sweet tempered mother on one side, and you on the other.

“No way! They can’t- You can’t- What about-”

“Y/N, I know this might be a bit hard to adapt to but it’s best for all of us-”

“What about me? I have plans to go to highschool here. Am I going to have to travel that far?”

“Of course not!” She assured you. Part of you was relieved, the other half knew what was coming. “You’ll be going to a new school”.

You dialed a number quickly, tears dripping onto your blankets. The phone rang a bit, and the answering machine came up. You rang again, and finally the person you were calling answered.

“Y/N? It’s so late, what are you doing up?” The voice called out groggily.

“Ayame? I have- I have news.”

#Haikyuu #hq #haikyuu!!#hq!!#haikyuu x reader #hq x reader #karasuno x reader #Nekoma x reader #fukurodani x reader #seijoh x reader #aoba josai x reader #johzenji x reader #shiratorizawa x reader #inarizaki x reader #sweetener #chapter 1 #sweetener: chapter 1

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sparrowkingsley · 5 years ago

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New Legends 00 Cont. 5

“Oh hey, Sara we were just talking um, I should probably go huh?”

“Probably for the best, Indie. I need to talk to Laurel alone and you really should be getting back to the facility.”

“Right, yeah so totally right! Righty, right.”

Embarrassed Indie scrambled out of Laurel's bed and practically ran to the door. Nervous she spun around to look back. She needed to say something cool. Something cool and memorable.

“Lo, I’ll um, I’ll see you or I’ll um, talk to you or, I’ll k-um no I mean, I’ll miss you! But like see you, when your sentence is like over and we’ll hang and stuff, um yeah. Bye?” That. That was so very much the opposite of cool.

Then Laurel flashed that smile at her. Her genuine smile. That perfect, beautiful smile that she always seemed to save for her.

“See ya, Heywood.”

Laurel watched her best friend smile brightly at her before then walking right into the doorframe. She was such a goof. How could someone be so utterly and perfectly ridiculous? Even after she had left the room Laurel found herself staring after her. Everything else forgotten in her mind.

“So you and Heywood, huh?”

Oh right. She had so totally forgotten about her mom being there. What did she just say?

“W-what?”

“Oh you know, I was just saying that you two are absolutely adorable and you need to make a move and stop leaving her pining after you already.”

Laurel didn’t think her face could get any redder but suddenly she felt like she might burst. “I was, we were just talking, it was, it wasn’t anything like that okay.”

“Right. Is that why you’re blushing right now? Because you and Indie were just talking? She adores yoooouuuuu. And you liiiikkkeee her.”

“Mom, stop!” Laurel ran her hands down her face with a groan, “Seriously just, can you just stop making a big deal out of nothing and just get to the lecture already? I can’t take it when you act this way.”

“Well if you’re so eager for me to provide you with a lecture, I got one just for you, kiddo. Which lecture did Ava lay on you by the way?”

“Lecture number four.”

“Right and which one was that again?”

She started counting off her fingers, “Point one, I just don’t understand what you were thinking. Two, do you want to end up in jail? Because that’s what’s going to happen if you keep doing this. Third, the whole I am disappointed, you are better than this argument. Ending with point number four, wait till your mother gets here.”

Sara laughed, “Did she make me bad cop?”

“No. She pretty much laid down the law letting me know I’m stuck in this house when I’m not doing my community service. Basically lock down mode is my life. You’re just here to back her up.”

“Sounds about right.”

“You already talked to her didn’t you.”

“Obviously, now scoot and come sit next to me.”

Together they sat on the edge of her bed. Moments like this were her favorite although she would never admit it out loud. Just sitting with her mom, with either of them, she was at her most content. The one thing that she never had to question was them. The love they had for her.

“Want to tell me what’s going on in that head of yours?”

“Too much. Like always.”

Sara pulled her into a sideways hug, “What can I do to help?”

“Hmm I don’t know. Maybe give me permission to have a pet dinosaur.”

“Ha, again with the pet dinosaur routine. You’ve been pulling that one since you were three.”

“Um, cause dinosaurs are awesome and we have full access to be able obtain one whenever we want.”

“Okay, well first you’ve watched Jurassic Park movies your whole life and you still don’t get having any in modern ages is a horrible idea? Having a t-rex come charging at you is not fun. I literally have real life experience of such an encounter. And second, one of us has officially lost their time travel eligible status. Literally less than an hour ago. Lockdown mode, remember?”

Laurel groaned, “Don’t remind me. Being stuck in one time is so boring and yeah I know, actions equals consequences I get it.”

“You know, you were set to graduate the program next month and now who knows when you will be able to. I have a feeling that there is a definite connection to that and your latest reinvention of reality. Am I hitting the mark? Cause I’m sensing a bull’s-eye and I always hit my target. Trained assassin, remember?”

Laurel bit down on her tongue. Her mom was right, obviously. Sara could always see where she was going three steps ahead of whatever plan she had. Ava was always the one to react and pull her back into a safety net whenever she did ever take things too far.

When Laurel was four she started climbing up a tree Sara had told her not to. It was too tall and she would get scared. Laurel kept doing it anyway. She climbed so high, Sara watching her, letting her learn for herself. Then she looked down and froze. Scared, terrified. When she started crying, Ava came running and had her back down as quick as a speedster. Her moms argued about it for the whole day.

“Sara, you can’t just let her go head first into danger like that!”

“She was fine. I was right there and you know I wouldn’t have let anything happen to her. She needs to figure things out for herself. The good and the bad. We are just here to support her through it all.”

Of course they made up later. Her moms could never stay mad at each other for long. That memory was one of her most solid memories. Memory that told her that her moms were both there for her. They would never let her down. They would love her no matter what. And yet…

“It is a possibility I suppose. You haven’t been an active assassin in so long. You’ve probably lost your touch.”

Her mom put her in a playful headlock, “Oh yeah, you sure about that? Maybe a noogie will make you think twice about that, kiddo.”

“Okay, okay! Stop!” She spurted with laughter, “Mama, seriously? I take it back, cut it out already.”

Sara released her, “See, I still got it.”

“Yeah, yeah you do.”

“Serious talk time. I know you don’t want to talk about it right now and that’s okay. But I need you to hear me, playing with time like that, just for kicks, you know that’s not the right thing to do. The timeline is sacred. Yes. I’ve told you time and time again. I get it. You’re seventeen, you don’t need to know everything you want right now but you can’t keep running away from it all either. No matter what you decide or if you change your mind down the line, your mom and I are not going anywhere. We are co-captains of the ship named supporting and loving you always. Even if you are someone who wants to put all her energy in being some kind of time rouge. Don’t ever forget that. I love you.”

Laurel sighed but smiled. She let her mom pull her into a full on hug now. She returned it with no resistance. Her mind and heart settling as she found comfort. Comfort in the knowledge that she would always have a place to come home to. In the arms of her parents.

“I love you too.”

“Come on, let’s go downstairs. You have your other mother literally about to go up the walls. Her pacing is burning a hole through the floor and the least you could do is tell her that you’re going to at least try and behave yourself for awhile.”

“Hmm, no promises.”

“You’re a literal nightmare, you know that?”

“Geez, wonder where I get that from?”

“Oh yeah? You want to play that game?” Sara jumped up and hurried to the door, “Guess I should tell your mom what you and Heywood were doing up here then.”

Laurel stumbled as she followed out the door after her, “Wait, don’t! We weren’t doing anything! Don’t say anything about whatever you think happened! You don’t have proof of anything!”

“Right, so you were just casually staring deeply into each other's eyes then? You never had a spark like that when you were dating that guy Josh last year. You need to go for it like I said. She won’t wait for you forever.”

“It is not like that! She is my best friend!”

“Best friend you have the hots for! Let’s let your mom weigh in. Oh, Ava! Guess what!”

They made it down the stairs and the chase continued all the way into the kitchen. Ava nearly getting barreled over as the two started grappling with each other. Laurel trying and failing to keep her mama silent. Sara laughing as she painted a picture of the love scene to Ava as she told her what she walked in on.

“Oh, so you two finally confessed to each other then? About time. That Josh you were dating never made enough effort the way Indie does to be there for you. I am so happy for you but you’re still grounded. When you finish your community service and prove you’re not going to be breaking the timeline again, we’ll help you plan your date together.”

“Indie and I aren’t dating! We aren’t, seriously both of you are making a big deal out of nothing.”

“Your face says otherwise, dear.”

“See. You two have sparkage! You liiiikkkeee her. You want her to be your giiirrlllfriend!”

“Uggghhhh, why are you both like this? So embarrassing.”

“Easy,” Ava pulled her into a hug, “Because we love you. We want you to be happy. Even if you are a time criminal. I’m your mom and as frustrating as you can be you’re still my little sunbeam. No matter how old you get that will never change.”

“I’m so reaching my limit of this lovey, dovey mom junk. Please. Stop.”

Sara joined in forming a family group hug, “It’s part of your punishment so you’re going to have to deal with it for a little while longer. Got it, kiddo.”

“Fine. Whatever. Just get it over with.”

Oh but the truth? The truth was that Laurel wouldn’t want to be anywhere else right then. No other time. No other moment. This was the right time and there would never be a wrong time for moments like this. Moments in time like these, with her moms, could never be broken. She would make sure of it.

#new legends #legends of tomorrow #avalance #avalance kid #family dynamics #moms just embarrassing their kid #all time and space but nothing else compares

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alphaimagine · 6 years ago

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Kinktober Day 13: Hole In The Wall/Nejire Hado

If anyone were to ask where Nejire spent her Friday nights off, she certainly wouldn’t admit it was a sex parlor. A filthy place where only the most depraved of people came. Someplace a hero would never set foot in, let alone think about working at!

Or that’s what everyone would say. No, Nejire didn’t come down to the “Love Shack” because she needed money. No, she came down every Friday night like clockwork just for fun.

Humming to herself, Nejire happily tossed her hero uniform to the side. The room was small with flimsy wood panel walls, and noises echoed horribly loud. Every thump, moan and groan was amplified in the tiny space.

Carefully, she pulled herself onto the flat wooden slab that she called her bed. It was hard as a rock, and only offered a small cushion for neck support. The wood was stained, and smelled slightly, but Nejire loved it. This was where she felt most comfortable.

The wooden slab protruded through the wall of the room. The hole was covered by a mesh netting that could only be pushed outwards, not in, affording her all the privacy she needed. If word got out that a hero like her was doing something so dirty...her career would be over.

Slipping her legs through the hole, she wiggled her hips down, resting her ass on a curved in slot. Expertly, she tossed her legs up into the stirrups without anyone to guide her. She’d been there enough, she could do this blindfolded.

Impatiently, she waited. The room naturally had no windows, or anyway she could see out, so Nejire had no idea who would be coming by, or when. Footsteps thudded by a few times, and she could hear muffled moans coming from the room next to hers.

Closing her eyes, she began to bounce her foot in boredom. Nejire hated waiting.

Suddenly, a large hand wrapped around her thigh. The man on the other side gave it a tight squeeze.

“What’s your name sugar?” he growled, but Nejire only gave a playful hum.

“Hmmm~”

“Really? No answer? You think you’re to good to be here? To good to have your name run through the dirty?” she hummed again, bouncing her foot once more.

“I’m not paying to be ignored.” he warned, but Nejire only gave another hum. People like him were fun to piss off.

“Haughty bitch. How many fucking diseases do you even have?” she rolled her eyes.

“Bet you can’t even handle my cock.” Nejire was getting annoyed. All this talk and no action wasn’t fun.

“Whatever, I can find someone better than you.” she heard him walk away, and sighed. That type of person always irritated her. Why pay to come into a sex parlor only to insult the girls and walk away? At least put your money where your mouth is.

Only a few seconds later, she feels gentle fingers trail up her thigh.

“Y...you’ve got real pretty legs.” he sounded nervous, and Nejire giggled. “A real pretty laugh too...” he took a breath, as if trying to gather his nerves.

“C-can I ask what your name is?”

“Hmmm...” a low hum.

“I...I see...guess you probably don’t want people knowing that, huh?” his voice...was far to familiar.

“Y-you’re r-really ok with this?” a fingertip pressed into her cunt, and she gave an excited hum. If this was really who she thought it was...she would gladly take him.

“I...I’ve never done anything like this before.” he said, as if he needed to give an explanation. “My friend...he visited a place like this when h-he was out of t-town...wanted to t-take me to one...” she could hear the tension rising in his voice.

“God...I hope no one finds out I did this...” grinning like the Cheshire cat, Nejire feels him press the tip of his cock to her entrance.

“You’re w-wet alright...You r-really do like t-this huh?”

“Hmm~!” he gave a weak chuckle. “Good...I wouldn’t want to...not if you didn’t.” he was truly a sweetheart. She closed her eyes, taking in a deep breath. Slowly, he pushed into her. The man was clearly inexperienced and unsure, but Nejire didn’t mind at all. No for him.

“Ah...so tight...” she giggled, giving her hips a wiggle. His hands were clutching tightly to her thighs as he began at a timid pace.

“Hmm~!” her chipper humming gave the man more courage. His pace began to pick up, fingernails digging into her thighs. Nejire let her head loll back, tiny, needed moans slipping past her lips. He was better than she expected.

“A...ah fuck...” he mumbled, slamming into her without any restraint. Her back arched, and try as she might, a high pitch moan ripped from her throat.

The man’s breathing began sharper, quicker. He wasn’t going to last long, the inexperienced ones never do.

“F..fuck...d...do I cu-cum in you?” she held back a laugh, knowing full well it would give her away. Before she could give him any indication however, she felt his weight slump forward. His cum filling her up and dripping out onto the wooden bed.

“S..shit...fuck...” he grumbled, quickly pulling out of her. It felt Nejire feeling empty, and she gave a needy whine.

“S..sorry it was s-so quick...My first...never mind...” he sounded dejected. She wanted to comfort him, to tell him it was alright. She had totally had shorter ones before. Some guys came just by looking at her.

“Heyyy~ Did you enjoy it?” another voice, and Nejire knew for certain who it was.

“Yeah...She...was really good.” Nejire had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. She really had just taken her best friends virginity.

“Awesome~ Maybe I’ll give her a go next~”

“Don’t...that’s just weird...”

“Relax a little Tamaki, that’s what places like this are for!” Tamaki groaned.

“You know Mirio...she sounds a lot like Nejire...”

#bnha #nejire hadou #Tamaki Amajiki #kinktober

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theunnamedlizardrogue · 7 years ago

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Chapter 3: A Change of Pace

The lizard wakes up. He feels exhausted, the events of last night got to him. How do people have parties like every night? It must be crazy functioning on such a low level of sleep. After passing out on a bedspread yesterday; it takes the lizard a pretty good while to actually get out of bed. The guild feels so homely that the lizard would rather sleep than face the bracing cold outside today. He’d lie that he forgot to take off his scarf last night when he fell asleep, but he’d be wearing it anyway. It’s almost part of his skin at this point.

He begins the day by brewing a cup of tea aaaaaand Snakes bursts through the door. “Up and at ‘em, Scales! We got a busy day ahead” Snakes claps his hands together. That was quick. He’s obviously eager for the day ahead. “Yeah yeah, just let me get up at least” The lizard rubs his eyes. There’s a glint in Snakes’ eye “Well, how wonderful of ya to brew a drink for your fellow rogues” “But I’m making it for mys-” And with that, Snakes drags the lizard out of the door, despite his loud exclamations. It was a shame, that was his favourite cup. Whoever’ll get the drink better be grateful.

“Got everything? A rope, a knapsack, all that?” The lizard toys with his scarf as he walks “yeah, but I might wanna bring along my bow for this one.” “Your bow?” Snakes looks curiously. “Some people never realise the true extent of improvisation. Or am I not the best actor hunter… whatever that was” He rubs his eyes again. Two jobs in five hours is always fun. Snakes lets out an exaggerated sigh “I can’t tell what you love more at this rate, that bow or your scarf” “The scarf. More improvisations!” the lizard taps his finger against his head. “Such as?” “When can a bow look stylish?” “Admit it, you’re just a sucker for fashion.” Both of them laugh.

After they finish their preparations, the pair arrive at the entrance. The lizard’s both looking forward and dreading to this moment. The door opens.

The town’s bustling, as usual. It’s amazing what a rogue can get away with in these walls. With this crowd, it’d be a wonderful time to do some wandering and thieving honest purchases! The rule is always play your favourites. It’s fine to steal from an arrogant merchant, but always be sure to support your local libraries! There’s an argument in the streets, over the price of some fruit. It isn’t exactly loud, the man complaining is actually just hiding his bartering. The lizard can hear a song come from the inn he left. Gossip about local happenings, and… the party last night? Snakes wasn’t kidding, word does spread fast.

As any good rogue would do, Snakes knows the way to their destination perfectly. He even knows which alleyways to take and what times the guard would be patrolling. It’s impressive just being around him. He can make it look like the two fit into a crowd with little-to-no effort at all. Snakes steps to one side, signalling they’ve arrived. The place the package is at is in a church? Huh, it’d be the most inconspicuous place if you’d do it correctly. The lizard almost opens the door to the church but snakes puts a hand in front of him. “Wrong place, what we’re aiming for is up there!” He points at the top of the church, in the middle of a church steeple. “You’re… kidding, right? Is this another test?” “All jobs are tests of your skill, if you look at it right!” The lizard sighs. Snakes’ just trying to make sure his skills improve, it’s a nice gesture. Though a nice gesture involving urban climbing at about eight in the morning. Snakes has already begun to climb the walls, looking for grips. The lizard takes a second to observe his surroundings. A rope’s already been set up at a near building to the spire. A present from whomever delivered the package, he guesses. That’ll be interesting to remember. He follows his father’s footsteps, literally, as he begins to climb the wall.

At the top, the lizard is panting. Both of them are, really. It was quite a good distance to climb, even for a reptile and a feline. The package is right at their feet but both of them agree to take a second to breathe.

The lizard is first to get back up and picks up the package. As he turns to snakes, the package is gone before he knows it. Snakes, holding the package, pulls out a key and kneels down, unlocking a latch. He runs down the spiral and locks the hatch again from beneath. It takes a second for the lizard to register what happened, even in his sleep deprived state. “Wait… YOU’RE TELLING ME WE COULDA TAKEN THE STAIRS?” The lizard shouts There’s a laugh from below the lizard’s feet. The lizard smirks. Well, if that’s how he wants to play it.

As he hears the footsteps of his father below the floor, the lizard looks up and sees the rope at the top. He takes off his scarf and slings it around the rope. Here’s hoping it’s sturdy! He jumps, the world feels like it’s going faster than the speed of sound. The lizard howls in glee. As he comes to the end of the rope, he moves his feet in front and collides with the building. Falling gracefully to the ground, Snakes finally exits the church. He looks astonished. “I thought you woulda picked the lock or something” The leopard-man lets out a laugh. “Well you know what they say…” The lizard proudly shows his scarf “More improvis-“ Snakes runs past him. “Wha-… COME ON, I HAD A WITTY ONE-LINER.” The lizard wails as he follows suit.

The chase breaks into the morning merchant crowd. People jump in surprise as the two are vaulting over tables. The lizard slides under a desk and already sees snakes at the opposite side of the road, waving smugly. Godsdamn, the man’s fifty-four and yet it’s like trying to catch an arrow... Aha! An idea springs to mind. Unfortunately for snakes, he doesn’t notice he’s standing directly under a net filled with produce. The lizard pulls out a bow and knocks an arrow. He takes a deep breath while he runs and takes the shot. It strikes perfectly. He never knew why he was naturally gifted with a bow. Snakes is pelted by approximately fifteen watermelons, but he’s already running, covered in watermelon juice. He bursts through an open door, and more screams come from inside. The lizard runs after, shouting “Sorry”, as he disturbs three households. This goes on for almost a block. Finally, they come back to an open street. But… where’s snakes? It’s almost impossible to track a rogue who’s been doing his job straight for twenty years. Hmm, they ran onto a dirt road. Maybe if… Crap, he knows the lizard too well, he ran through a crowd, hiding his boot-prints amongst the others. Well, time to find something.

It takes three minutes. Nothing. Damn, Snakes caught him out this time. A man calls to the lizard. The lizard walks up to him. Guy looks like he’s in his early forties, experienced. Almost… sticks out in this crowd. There’s a subtle scar on his lip. Black haired, starting to grey. “Kid, are you looking for a catguy carrying a package?” He looks at the lizard’s clothing. They’re the same as snakes’ so it’d be easy to assume but… something about this guy makes the lizard feel off, he must obviously be the competition that snakes was talking about. The lizard slowly nods. “Ah, I saw him running through that building.” When he points at the door, suddenly Snakes’ tracks become crystal clear. “Thanks.” The lizard runs, but when he passes the door, he closes it and bolts it shut. That’ll keep that man busy. The package will be home in no time. Whilst the lizard may be back on track, there’s a wide distance between the two. The lizard sighs, he’s lost this one. Might as well just walk back and accept his defeat.

Everything feels quieter on the walk back to the guild. It could be intentional, would make sense not to lose the package in a crowd. The lizard can hear the distant chatter of two guards. Maybe from the run earlier. The rogues’ guild is coming up. Hopefully the stash of teabags haven’t been used up yet.

There’s a… yelp? A yelp is quieter than this. That’s a scream. A blood-curdling one. Wait. What? The lizard runs, what’s happened? What’s happening? This wasn’t intentional. It sounds like, but the, is it from falling? Falls happen all the time, I once cut myself from a gargoyle, I think that the, it’ll be okay, I can’t, what’s, is it bad, Is, what, I cannot

The lizard turns the corner. It’s the street opposite from the guild.

Snakes lies in a crumpled heap, neck thick with crimson. A man calls to the lizard. Guy looks like he’s in his early forties, experienced. Almost… sticks out. He’s holding a blood-soaked knife.

“Looks like you found him, Kid.”

Chapter 4: https://theunnamedlizardrogue.tumblr.com/post/172206117186/chapter-4-volta

#dnd #fantasy #writing #my writing #lizard #rogue #adventure #Chapter

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pretty-fuckiing-blog · 7 years ago

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The best way to Get started a Blog - Beginner’s Manual for 2018

Why it is best to generate a weblog and join the blogging neighborhood So below, I’m gonna outline exactly what you desire to complete to get started and setup your very own personalized website. Just before we dive in however, I actually need to discuss WHY you need to develop a site.

Note: If you happen to presently possess a solid thought of your whys, then skip this and go ideal ahead together with the guide.

Blogging has promptly end up among the most well-liked options of communicating and spreading information and information. One can find virtually hundreds of thousands of blogs on the web (don’t get worried, you are able to make yours stand out and get observed!). It’s a great way for you to express oneself and in addition an incredible strategy to share info with some others. You end up a greater particular person as well as a improved writer. The top cause? You'll be able to earn cash performing it! I bet you already knew all of that, but it’s wonderful to be reminded.

One particular really last point just before we get going:

Producing your own site can take a little whilst, possibly as much as 30 minutes. So grab yourself a coffee or juice (whatever you fancy) and let’s get stuck in. If you happen to need to have any assistance through the set-up technique, get in touch with me right here and I’ll help as finest I can and response any concerns you may have).

Disclosure: This guidebook to commencing your personal site is made up of some affiliate hyperlinks. In case you obtain a support by 1 of these links I might possibly earn a small commission, this can be at no added cost for you.

The Ways Covered On this Blogging Guide It is nowhere close to as hard as setting up a web site from scratch (there is quite tiny technical means wanted here). In actual fact, there is no coding expected by you. Very good information, huh?

The way to Commence a Weblog in 5 Measures: There’s 5 principal methods you might want to do as a way to begin a weblog. In case you observe this guide specifically, you’ll have your own personal site set up in thirty minutes or significantly less.

Decide an excellent blog site platform Choose a web host for the web site The right way to Set up a blog site on your own domain Design and style your new website Valuable resources for blogging So, we manufactured it. Phew. Far better late than hardly ever! So, without even more ado, let’s leap into stage one.

Stage 1 - Opt for your preferred blogging platform Choosing where you should create web site is quite a great deal the initial issue you need to do. I’m going to take a leap and presume you have heard of WordPress, and this is the platform I advocate. It’s large.

It’s by far one of the biggest blogging platforms from the world, with many plugins and add-ons and pretty much infinite strategies to design and style and layout your blog site.

There can be in excess of 82 million energetic users of WordPress = quite a lot, quite simply.

wordpress

One can find other choices having said that, plus they are listed below:

Blogger - Most certainly the next finest thing to WordPress. Tumblr - Half social network, half weblog. Exciting, and particularly straightforward to utilize. Despite the fact that WordPress is larger (and most likely much better) than these two, right here are my motives why make sure you nevertheless go with WordPress:

Super uncomplicated set-up and it is zero cost to use A lot of free of cost themes and layouts (I’m not kidding, there’s gazillions). There’s a massive help forum in case you will get stuck (you will not, but it is good to possess it there for those who desire it). Your blog will likely be insanely quick and it’ll also look Performance and form - ideal! Individuals can interact with you simply. Your material might be shared, commented on, and so on. Here’s an report about distinct blogging platforms (including WordPress), give it a go through:

How to Pick a Blogging Platform - (up to date for 2018)

Now, Stage 2 (see, we’re moving quickly now!)

Stage 2 - Self-hosting or even a free option? Whoa, decelerate there! This is the greatest choice you will should make before we go any additional. You need to choose whether to spend for your web site or grab a 100 % free one.

WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger all give totally free blogs for anybody. Amazing, ideal? It is great for all those of us who are not super serious about blogging. Nevertheless it does have downsides:

1) You will not manage to get your own personal domain identify

On the zero cost site, your blog’s internet tackle (your URL) are going to be butt-ugly. Like, definitely ugly. In brief, generate a cost-free website with every other the over zero cost site services and it’ll look like this:

yourblog.wordpress.com yourblog.blogspot.com yourblog.tumblr.com I realize, unsightly best?

2) Limits and much more limits

There are several limits to free of cost blogs. You can not totally monetize it, and you also really do not possess the likelihood to upload all those video clips and images you need to present anyone - it’s all limited. Worse nonetheless, you will not even have access towards the free themes offered by WordPress.

three) You Really don't Own your blog

It could sound silly in the beginning, but you really do not actually own your blog site. It’s hosted on an individual else’s net residence and so they can delete it when they want so. They have executed so during the previous, and preserve engaging in it during the future. Which means all your very difficult function on your weblog, all people many hrs of writing website posts may very well be vanished inside of seconds. Sad…

To the other hand, by using a self-hosted weblog on your own domain name - you happen to be the Genuine proprietor of the site. You’ll be capable of name your weblog no matter what you desire, one example is “YourName.com” or “YourAwesomeBlog.com. You can actually finish it with .com, .co.united kingdom, .net, .org, or virtually any other net suffix. Include to that unlimited bandwidth for movies, photos and material plus the free of cost themes so you possess a winning combo.

So just how much is internet hosting in addition to a domain identify? Not as much as you’re contemplating, fortunately. It typically operates out to about $5 to $10 each month, based in your hosting provider which can be under several coffees.

If you should still have issues, here’s some further information for you to have a look at:

Have to I Determine a Hosted or Non-hosted Blogging Platform? Step 3 - Start a web site on your own domain (if you chose self-hosting in addition to a custom domain) wordpress blogging platform

I’m likely to push ahead based upon the premise you’ve selected WordPress, and if you ever haven’t, you ought to. Critically, it is the perfect.

If you are nevertheless a little bit confused by what a self-hosted blog site is, enable me to make clear and just how it is possible to go about setting 1 up for your self.

You will demand to come up with a domain name you like and in addition opt for a hosting business which could host your website.

Domain: The domain is mainly the URL of your web-site. Examples: google.com (Google.com may be the domain), Facebook.com (Facebook.com stands out as the domain). See? Very simple! Hosting: Internet hosting is fundamentally the firm that puts your website up to the online so almost everyone else can see it. All the things will likely be saved on there. Imagine of it like a laptop or computer hard-drive over the internet the place your web site will probably be saved. Personally, I use iPage (for my blog site domain and hosting), and I’ve got nothing but decent elements to say about this. It is quite possibly among the cheapest (less than $2.50 monthly) internet hosting companies on the market. A domain title will value about $10-15 a year, but with iPage they throw that in at no cost :). Great smiles for that! They’re the companies I use for all of my blogs, as well as the a single you’re studying best now.

If for just about any purpose you don’t prefer to go with iPage, really feel totally free to pick your individual hosting service. Most, if not all of them, should possess a “one-click” WordPress install choice on their admin panel.

That button will instantly set up WordPress on your site. Did I say it had been very simple or what?

All you need to do is sign up with iPage (or your selected supplier), choose your hosting system and also a domain identify and hunt for the one-click WordPress install button over the admin panel.

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appaehaven-blog · 7 years ago

Text

The way to Begin a Site - Beginner’s Guidebook for 2018

Why you should develop a weblog and join the blogging community So beneath, I’m planning to outline exactly what you desire to carry out to acquire began and setup your personal individual site. In advance of we dive in even though, I seriously would like to discuss WHY make sure you build a weblog.

Note: If you should presently have a reliable concept within the whys, then skip this and go suitable ahead with the manual.

Blogging has easily develop into among the list of most preferred methods of communicating and spreading knowledge and information. There are basically millions of blogs internet (really do not be concerned, you possibly can make yours get noticed and get observed!). It is an awesome way to express your self as well as a fantastic option to share specifics with some others. You grow to be a much better individual in addition to a much better author. The right motive? You could make money undertaking it! I bet you previously knew all of that, but it is great for being reminded.

One particular rather last thing prior to we get going:

Generating your own web site may take just a little though, almost certainly as much as 30 minutes. So grab oneself a coffee or juice (no matter what you fancy) and let’s get stuck in. If you should have to have any aid through the set-up course of action, get in touch with me right here and I’ll help as finest I can and solution any queries you could possibly have).

Disclosure: This manual to beginning your own personal web site contains some affiliate hyperlinks. In the event you invest in a service by one of those backlinks I might earn a modest commission, this can be at no additional price for you.

The Ways Covered On this Blogging Guide It’s nowhere close to as hard as establishing an internet site from scratch (there’s rather very little technical capability wanted here). Believe it or not, there is no coding necessary by you. Superior news, huh?

Easy methods to Start off a Blog in 5 Procedures: There’s five key steps you need to do in an effort to get started a blog. If you should adhere to this guidebook precisely, you will have your very own site create in 30 minutes or significantly less.

Decide an outstanding blog platform Opt for a net host for the site Easy methods to Setup a blog by yourself domain Design your new weblog Useful assets for blogging So, we produced it. Phew. Far better late than never ever! So, without having even further ado, let’s jump into phase one.

Phase 1 - Select your preferred blogging platform Selecting exactly where you ought to build blog is fairly a lot the first matter you have to do. I’m likely to consider a leap and assume you have heard of WordPress, and this is actually the platform I advocate. It is enormous.

It’s by far among the list of largest blogging platforms within the planet, with numerous plugins and add-ons and essentially infinite techniques to design and style and layout your blog.

You will discover greater than 82 million active users of WordPress = quite a bit, fundamentally.

wordpress

You can find other options nonetheless, and so they are listed beneath:

Blogger - Undoubtedly the subsequent most beneficial thing to WordPress. Tumblr - Half social network, half blog site. Intriguing, and incredibly straight forward to utilize. Even though WordPress is greater (and perhaps far better) than individuals two, right here are my good reasons why it is best to nonetheless go with WordPress:

Super very easy set-up and it is no cost to use Plenty of free of charge themes and layouts (I’m not kidding, there is gazillions). There’s a massive support forum in case you will get stuck (you will not, but it is wonderful to get it there in case you want it). Your website shall be insanely quick and it’ll also look Functionality and kind - appropriate! Many people can interact with you conveniently. Your material is usually shared, commented on, and so forth. Here’s an posting about completely different blogging platforms (including WordPress), give it a read through:

The right way to Choose a Blogging Platform - (updated for 2018)

Now, Step 2 (see, we’re moving speedy now!)

Phase 2 - Self-hosting or even a free of charge alternative? Whoa, decelerate there! This is the biggest choice you will really have to make ahead of we go any even further. You ought to come to a decision whether or not to shell out for your weblog or grab a no cost 1.

WordPress, Tumblr and Blogger all present absolutely free blogs for anyone. Great, best suited? It is great for anyone of us who are not super really serious about blogging. But it does have downsides:

1) You will not be capable to get your individual domain name

On the free of cost blog site, your blog’s world wide web tackle (your URL) could be butt-ugly. Like, truly ugly. In brief, make a 100 % free blog site with any other the above free of charge site providers and it’ll seem like this:

yourblog.wordpress.com yourblog.blogspot.com yourblog.tumblr.com I understand, ugly best suited?

two) Limits and much more limits

There are several limits to no cost blogs. You cannot entirely monetize it, and you really don't have the possibility to upload all individuals movies and pictures you desire to demonstrate everyone - it’s all limited. Worse nonetheless, you won’t even have accessibility on the no cost themes offered by WordPress.

3) You Don’t Personal your website

It may sound silly at the outset, but you really don't really personal your web site. It is hosted on someone else’s net residence plus they can delete it if they want so. They've carried out so from the previous, and continue to keep accomplishing it inside the potential. Which suggests all your challenging perform in your blog site, all those countless hrs of creating weblog posts might be vanished within seconds. Sad…

Around the other hand, using a self-hosted blog site by yourself domain identify - you happen to be the Real owner of the weblog. You will have the capacity to name your blog no matter what you need, one example is “YourName.com” or “YourAwesomeBlog.com. You may end it with .com, .co.uk, .net, .org, or virtually every other world wide web suffix. Add to that unlimited bandwidth for videos, images and material plus the free of charge themes and you also have a winning combo.

So how much is internet hosting plus a domain name? Not as much as you’re contemplating, thankfully. It normally performs out to about $5 to $10 monthly, depending on your internet hosting provider which can be lower than a few coffees.

In case you nevertheless have inquiries, here’s some more specifics to suit your needs to consider:

Ought to I Opt for a Hosted or Non-hosted Blogging Platform? Step 3 - Start off a blog site on your own domain (should you chose self-hosting plus a customized domain) wordpress blogging platform

I’m gonna push ahead according to the premise you have chosen WordPress, and for those who haven’t, you'll want to. Significantly, it’s the ideal.

If you’re nonetheless a little baffled by what a self-hosted blog site is, enable me to clarify and how you'll be able to go about setting one particular up for your self.

You’ll will need to come up which has a domain identify you like and also pick a internet hosting service that could host your weblog.

Domain: The domain is in essence the URL of your web site. Examples: google.com (Google.com is definitely the domain), Facebook.com (Facebook.com is the domain). See? Hassle-free! Internet hosting: Internet hosting is basically the service that puts your site up for the internet so absolutely everyone else can see it. Anything will probably be saved on there. Suppose of it as being a home pc hard-drive within the world-wide-web in which your site can be saved. Personally, I use iPage (for my web site domain and internet hosting), and I’ve got nothing but very good elements to say about it. It’s most likely one of several least expensive (under $2.50 monthly) hosting providers out there. A domain identify will price all over $10-15 a year, but with iPage they throw that in without spending a dime :). Big smiles for that! They are the companies I use for all of my blogs, together with the one particular you’re studying right now.

If for any motive you do not desire to go with iPage, come to feel free of cost to select your own personal hosting firm. Most, if not all of them, will need to possess a “one-click” WordPress install alternative on their admin panel.

That button will instantly install WordPress in your blog site. Did I say it was effortless or what?

All it is advisable to do is indicator up with iPage (or your picked supplier), select your hosting system as well as a domain name and look for the one-click WordPress install button on the admin panel.

A maquina de vendas online funciona

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thesilverbandposts-blog · 8 years ago

Text

SIMPLE WAY TO BUILD YOUR WEBSITE

You will learn to:

Choose a Platform

Choose a Domain Name

Set-up and Design your Website

STEP #1: Choose Your Website Platform

This is the first step of creating your own website.

At the end of this guide, you should have fully working website that should take no more than 1 -2 hours.

This guide is perfect for people who’re interested in creating a…

Business website

Personal website

Online Store

Blog

BUT, before you start worrying about color schemes, domain name and web hosting, you’ve got to decide what platform you’re going to build your website with.

What do I mean by “platform”?

Well, back in the early 2000’s most sites were built using HTML (code). This took a lot of time to learn and was tricky to master.

That’s why most people still think creating a website from scratch is difficult or requires a lot of coding and design skills — but that’s no longer true!

In 2016, content management systems (CMS) have made creating a website accessible to everyone.

To put simply, a content management system (or website building platform) is a user-friendly platform for building websites and managing your own online content, instead of using a bunch of loose HTML pages.

We Suggest the Following:

HostGator.com

Why WordPress and not website builders?

Because at this point there are no better/easier ways to build a website… But more importantly:

#1. It’s totally FREE, with many layouts/themes to choose from.

WordPress doesn’t cost a dime to download or install, and there’s a huge community who have designed beautiful themes and templates, making it easy to get going fast. You’ll never run out of uniqueness…

#2. It’s VERY beginner-friendly.

If you know how to use Microsoft Word, you already know how add your own content. WordPress can be expanded with free plugins to handle just about any site you can imagine — from gorgeous business pages to social networking sites. With “plugins” you’ll be able to add contact forms, subscription forms, image galleries and so on for your website — pretty simple, huh?

#3. Small or large site? Great for both.

From basic blogs to beautiful business sites and online stores, WordPress can handle just about any kind of website. WordPress is used by eBay, Mozilla, Reuters, CNN, Google Ventures and even NASA.

#4. Your site will be ‘responsive’. Meaning it’ll work on mobiles & tablets, too.

The website you build will instantly be responsive, looking great on every mobile device, smartphone and tablet. No need to hire a web developer for that.

#5. HUGE support and developer community available to help.

With so many people using the platform (Webmasters, Bloggers, Theme developers and Plugin creators), it’s easy to find QUICK help when you need it. In addition, WordPress has lots of free resources both available on Youtube and their support forum.

For beginners, I suggest sticking to WordPress.

It’s the easiest platform I’ve ever worked with, but it’s flexible enough to suit everyone from small business owners, and freelancers to creative artists and bloggers.

I would look no further than WordPress.

In Step 2, I’ll walk you through the process of choosing a domain name and finding a space to host your site.

In Step 3, I’ll show you how to install and customize your WordPress website. Don’t worry — I’ll walk you through the process, with lots of images as a reference.

If you have any questions/suggestions for this guide don’t hesitate to contact me. Remember: I’m here to help!

P.S. Don’t download/install WordPress yet, you’ll need to do it in Step #3.

STEP #2: Find a Domain Name and Host

To get a new website online, you’re going to need two things:

A domain name (a web address like yoursitename.com)

Hosting (a service that connects your site to the internet)

The WordPress platform itself is FREE, but a domain name and hosting will cost you around $3 — $5 a month. However it costs less than a coffee, so it won’t break the bank.

Owning your own domain name looks far more professional than having your site on someone else’s domain (like yourbusiness.my-free-website.com), and it’s super affordable, too.

Plus, having your own hosting will also make sure your website loads quickly and won’t go down for hours at a time (pretty important for everyone who visits your pages.)

Where do I get a domain name and hosting?

I’ve mostly used www.Bluehost.com as a web hosting and domain registration for myself and for my web development projects.

Disclosure: Because I’ve used Bluehost and found their hosting great, all links to Bluehost are referral links. I’ll earn a commission if you make a purchase and you’ll get a discounted price. This is how I keep WebsiteSetup.org up and running.

Their basic website hosting costs less than a movie ticket ($2.75/mo) and they throw in a FREE domain name (a nice perk to have).

Of course you can try other web hosting providers and even try to host your site by yourself, but it’s a very complicated process and often wouldn’t be capable of serving your website visitors. So save yourself some money and get a proper host that meets WordPress requirements.

When you get a domain name (and hosting), you’ll also get a personal email account(s): [email protected] — way more professional than a generic Gmail or Yahoo address.

Already have a domain name and hosting? Go ahead and skip to step 3, where I’ll explain how you can set up your website.

What kind of domain name should I pick?

As an easy starting point:

If you’re making a website for your business, your domain name should match your company name. For example: YourCompanyName.com

If you’re planning to set up a website for yourself, then YourName.com can be a great option.

For this site (WebsiteSetup), I chose WebsiteSetup.org

Domain names usually end with .com, .org or .net, but in recent months, a huge amount of domain extensions (the end part of the web address, like .com) have come out, ranging from .agency to .pizza.

My best advice? Avoid the weird extensions and go with .com, .net or .org unless they perfectly describe what you have to offer — and even then, see if you can find a more common name.

While .com, .org and .net are commonly used and easily remembered, the domain extension craze hasn’t really gone mainstream yet — so people may not find you if you use a really different domain extension.

Any additional tips for choosing my domain name?

There are a few things that can help you choose your domain name:

#1 Is it brandable? For example, if you make a site about poetry then best-poetry-website.net is not a good choice: poetryacademy.com or poetryfall.com is much better.

#2 Is it memorable? Short, punchy and clear domain names are much easier to remember. If your domain name is too fuzzy, too long or spelled in a strange way, visitors may forget it.

#3 Is it catchy? You want a domain name that rolls off the tongue, describes what you (or your business) does and sticks in the head. Coming up with a cool name can be a bit tough since there are approximately 150 million active domain names in the world right now — but don’t give up.

There’s one rule that always applies to domain names: If you like it, go for it.

THINGS TO DO BEFORE THE NEXT STEP:

Do some brainstorming to come up with a unique domain name that reflects your future website, business or blog.

Secure your FREE domain name and web hosting. For this I recommend Bluehost.com, but you can pick any other web host as long as it’s reliable and simple.

Do some brainstorming to come up with a unique domain name that reflects your future website, business or blog.

Secure your FREE domain name and web hosting. For this I recommend Bluehost.com, but you can pick any other web host as long as it’s reliable and simple.

UPDATE: I made a simple guide for Bluehost users (which hosting package to choose & how to install WordPress).

STEP #3: Let’s Set Up and Tweak Your Website

Once you’ve bought your domain name and set up your hosting, you’re well on your way!

Now it’s time to get your website up and running. The first thing you’ll need to do is install WordPress to your domain.

Installing WordPress

There are two possible ways to install WordPress, one MUCH easier than the other.

1. TO CREATE A WEBSITE WITH WORDPRESS (OR JOOMLA & DRUPAL), USE ONE CLICK INSTALLATION:

Almost every reliable and well-established hosting company has integrated 1-click-installation for WordPress, which makes getting going a snap.

If you signed up with Bluehost or any other similar hosting company, you should find your “1-click-installation” in your account control panel.

Here are the steps you should follow (should be similar/same on all the major web hosting companies):

Go to your control panel.

Look for the “WordPress” or “Website” icon.

Choose the domain where you want to install your website.

Click the “Install Now” button and you will get access to your new WordPress website.

If you’re unable to locate it, look here: How to Install WordPress on Bluehost.

2. … OR MANUAL INSTALL (if needed)

If for some odd reason (some hosting companies don’t provide one-click-install for WordPress) you don’t have the option to install WordPress automatically, look this manual guide below:

Installing WordPress Manually (Click to expand)

Pssst — if they don’t have 1-click-installation, maybe you’re dealing with a bad host!

Choosing a Theme/Template for your site

Once you have successfully installed WordPress to your domain, you’ll see a very basic yet clean site:

But you don’t want to look like everyone else, do you? That’s why you need a theme — a design template that tells WordPress how your website should look. See a sample version below:

Here’s where it gets fun: There are thousands of awesome, professionally designed themes you can choose from and customize for a site that’s all your own.

Here’s how to find a theme you like:1. Log into your WordPress dashboard

If you’re not sure how, type in: http://yoursite.com/wp-admin (replace “yoursite” with your domain).

This is what the WordPress dashboard looks like:

Everything is easily labelled. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, don’t sweat it — I’m going to show you where to go next.

2. Access FREE themes

Once you’re in the dashboard, you’ve got access to over 1500 free themes! Just look along the side bar for “Appearance”, then click “Themes”.

I’ve even compiled a list of 15 most popular free WordPress themes.

If you want something more professional or elegant than what you find here, you can head over to ThemeForest.net where there’s a HUGE library of themes to pick from at varying costs.

But before you do that, I really suggest you at least try spending some time browsing the free themes. Many of them are actually really professional and well made; so don’t write them off.

As you can see above, installing a new theme for your website is very easy.

You can search for specific keywords and/or use filters to find themes that suit your style. Finding the perfect theme can take a while, but it’s worth it.

You should also look for themes that are “responsive”, as this means they will look good on any mobile device.

Just punch it in as one of your keywords, and you’ll be all set!

3. Install your new theme

Once you have found a theme you like, installing it is as simple as clicking “Install” followed by “Activate”.

IMPORTANT: Changing themes won’t delete your previous posts, pages and content. You can change themes as often as you want without having to worry about lose what you’ve created.

How do I add content and create new pages?

With your theme installed, you’re ready to start creating content. Let’s quickly run through some of the basics:

Adding and editing pages

Want a “Services” page, or an “About Me” page (like I have on my menu at the top of the site)?

1. Look along the sidebar in the WordPress Dashboard for “Pages” -> “Add New”.

2. Once you’ve clicked, you’ll find a screen that looks a lot like what you’ve maybe seen in Microsoft Word. Add text, images and more to build the page you want, then save it when you’re done.

Adding pages to the menu

If you want your new page to be linked to in your navigation bar,

1. Save any changes you’ve made to the page by clicking “Update”

2. Click “Appearance” -> “Menus” in the sidebar of the WordPress Dashboard

3. Find the page you created and add it to the list by clicking the checkbox next to it and then “Add to Menu”.

Adding and editing posts

If you have a blog on your website, “Posts” will be where you turn to next. You can use different categories to group similar posts.

If you want to add a blog to your website, you can use different categories and posts. Let’s say you want to create a category named “Blog”. To do so, simply add it to your menu and start making posts.

Here’s what you need to do:

a. Create a new category by going to “Posts -> Categories”

b. Create a blog post by going to “Posts -> Add New”. Once you’ve finished writing your blog post, you need to add the right category for it.

Once you’ve created your category, simply add it to the menu, and you’re in business!

Customization & Endless Tweaks…

In this section I’ll cover some of the basic things I’m asked about all the time that will help you to tweak your website.

Changing Your Title and Tagline

Page titles explain to searchers what your website is about, and they’re also a big part of how search engines determine your rankings, so you want to be sure they’ve got the keywords you want to target in them (but in a natural way, written for real people).

You should use a unique title on every page of your site. For example, my site’s title is “How to Make a Website”.

(Can’t find it? Just hold your mouse over the tab at the top of your web browser).

Taglines are added at the end of titles across every page. My site’s tagline is “Step by Step Guide”

In order to change the title and tagline on your website, go to “Settings -> General” and fill in the form below:

Disabling Comments for Posts & Pages

Some websites (business/organisation sites mostly) don’t want their visitors to be able to comment on their pages.

Here’s how to shut comments off on WordPress pages:

1. While you are writing a new page, click “Screen Options” in the top right corner.

2. Click the “Discussion” box. The “Allow Comments” box will appear at the bottom.

3. Untick “Allow Comments”.

Want to disable comments on every new page by default?

1. Go to “Settings -> Discussion” and untick “Allow people to post comments on new articles”

Setting Up a Static Front Page

Some people contact me saying they’re frustrated that their home page looks like a blog post. You can fix that by making your home page “static”.

A static page is a page that doesn’t change. Unlike a blog, where the first new article will show up at the top every time, a “static” page will show the same content every time someone comes to the site — like a home page you’ve designed.

To set up a static front page:

1. Go to “Settings -> Reading”

2. Choose a static page that you have created. “Front Page” denotes your home page, “Posts page” is the front page of your blog (if your entire site isn’t a blog).

If you don’t choose a static page on your own, WordPress will take your latest posts and start showing them on your homepage.

Editing sidebar

Most WordPress themes have a sidebar on the right side (in some cases it’s on the left).

If you want to get rid of the sidebar or edit out items you do not need like “Categories”, “Meta” and “Archives”, which are usually pointless, here’s how:

1. Go to “Appearance -> Widgets” in the WordPress Dashboard.

2. From here, you can use drag and drop to add different “boxes” to your sidebar, or remove the items you don’t want.

There’s also a “HTML box” — a text box where you can use HTML code. For beginners, don’t worry about this bit — just drag and drop the elements you’d like in your sidebar.

Installing Plugins to Get More out of WordPressWhat is a plugin?

“Plugins” are extensions that are built to expand WordPress’ capabilities, adding features and functions to your site that don’t come built-in.

They’re shortcuts to getting your site to do what you want to, without having to build the feature from scratch.

You can use plugins to do everything from adding photo galleries and submission forms to optimizing your website and creating an online store.

How do I install a new Plugin?

To start installing plugins, go to “Plugins -> Add New” and simply start searching.

Keep in mind that there are over 25,000 different FREE plugins, so you’ve got a LOT to choose from!

Installation is easy — once you find a plugin you like, just click “Install”.

BUT — before you go and install every single one, I suggest you read this article: Things you need to know about using WP plugins.

To save you some time, I’ve put together a list of the most popular plugins that webmasters find useful:

#1 Contact form 7: My website has a contact form on my About Me page. It’s an awesome feature to have, as people (like you!) can fill in the form and send me an email without logging into their own email provider. If you want to do something similar, definitely get this plugin. P.S. Here’s a step-by-step guide for setting it up.

#2 Yoast SEO for WordPress: If you want to make your WordPress site even more SEO-friendly, this plugin is a must-have. It’s free, and it’s awesome. You’ll be able to edit your title tags, meta descriptions and more, all from within the page itself — no more fussing with WordPress settings.

#3 Google Analytics: Interested in tracking your visitors/traffic and their behaviour? Just install the plugin, connect it with your Google account and you’re ready to go.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg! Here’s a list of recommended plugins by me.

Congratulations — you’re ready to launch!

If you’ve followed the steps in this guide, you should now have a fully-functional WordPress website! That wasn’t so bad, was it?

Last but not least, keep improving your website.

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