#an extra hello to the 8 new friends i just made?!

[thwipsnapped]

hello, please like this post for a lyric starter. i may also send some memes your way !

[imaginespazzi]

Part 7: In All My Victories

Masterlist - Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 8 - Part 9

Somebody said you got a new friend (But does she love you better than I can?)

(In which a writer in an EST timezone uses the PST timezone to announce that technically she's still meeting the deadline)

Pairing: Paige Bueckers X Azzi Fudd

Themes: Angst, Fluff, Jealousy

Words: 6.5K

TW: Swearing, Toxic Relationships

A/N: Hello my lovelies! Listen it's past midnight here but it's only around 9 pm in California which is where most of this fic is set so TECHNICALLY I am still meeting my deadline. This chapter is kind of a filler (and I guess that's why I don't love it) because it was gonna be about ~3K longer with another scene but it was either a longer chapter or a Monday chapter and I feel like y'all would prefer a Monday chapter. I have not edited this yet because I simply just don't have the energy to so pretty please point out my errors as you read so I can use them when I edit some time tomorrow. There's probably other stuff I need to say but I'm feeling oddly delirious right now so I'll just end with the usual. Let me know what you liked, what you disliked and what you'd like to see next. Have a lovely rest of your week my loves <3

March 2033

Paige wakes up to a stream of sunlight tapping at her eyelids and someone’s soft breath tickling against her nose. She can feel a tiny hand pressed against her chest -right above her heart- and the weight of another person’s fingers intertwined against her own. The room is silent with the exception of the clock ticking on the wall and the perfectly harmonized breathing of the other people in the room. Stephie and Azzi. And Paige is scared to open her eyes, scared to move even an inch, scared that if she does either of those things, her dreamlike reality will prove to be nothing but a hopeless mirage. 

It had taken Paige a moment last night to really register what was happening around her. Dazedly, she had followed Azzi up the stairs into the guest room. She’d watched, albeit unhelpfully, as Azzi had searched out extra pillows, setting up the queen-sized bed so it could fit three people instead of it’s regular duo. It hadn’t sunk in even as Paige had slowly gotten herself ready for bed, finding herself in one of Azzi’s old oversized t-shirts suddenly overwhelmed with how much she’d missed falling asleep embraced in the scent of the younger woman’s favorite lavender and eucalyptus deodorant. Even as she’d made her way back from the bathroom and found Stephie beaming at her from where she was curled into Azzi’s side on bed, Paige still felt like she was simply just watching everything from a facetime call, like she had been while back in Dallas. It wasn’t until Stephie’s bedtime story was finished and the lights were turned off, when Azzi’s hand finally captured hers underneath the comforter and squeezed gently, that it finally clicked for Paige. 

Azzi had asked her to stay over.

Azzi had promised she wouldn’t run away. 

And as Paige finally lets eyes flutter open, blinking to adjust to the light, she breathes out a sigh of relief at the sight of a promise kept. 

Propping herself onto her elbow, she lets herself take in the view of the two people still sound asleep next to her. Paige isn’t a morning person by any means -rarely is she the first person to wake up- but she thinks if this was what she could open her eyes to every time, getting up could become her favorite part of the day. 

It’s uncanny how similar Azzi and Stephie are while sleeping. The little girl’s grip on Paige’s shirt is almost as strong as the tight hold her mother has on Paige’s hand. It’s like they’re trying to reel Paige into their world and keep her there forever, like even if she let go, they wouldn’t let her. There’s an air of contentedness on Azzi’s face as she snuggles closer to her daughter and Stephie has a soft smile at being cocooned in the protection of her mother’s arms. And Paige’s whole body aches a little bit because this bed they’re on is definitely not made for three people, but it’s nothing in comparison to the way her heart feels like it might burst from this feeling of and maybe this is how i become whole again. 

She presses a kiss against Stephie’s forehead and rubs her thumb against the back of Azzi’s hand before carefully detaching herself from the duo and slipping out of bed. The whole house is still clearly asleep as Paige lethargically brushes and then begins to make her way down the stairs. Her eyes gloss over the pictures placed across the stairwell until they fixate on one that has her in it. It’s an image taken after one of many water fights they’d had at the Fudd household during a hot summer day. Life had been so simple back then when it was water and not bullets that they shot at each other. 

Five drenched children are beaming at the camera. Jon and José are posed in some ridiculous stance, their water guns pointed at the camera. Paige, par for the course, is flexing, a far too cocky smirk dancing on her lips because she’d probably won the game (even if nobody else agreed). And then there’s Drew and Azzi. There’s a familiar pang in Paige’s chest as she brushes her fingers over her little brother’s exuberant smile. He’s latched onto the brunette’s back, a blue water balloon in his hand, as Azzi uses one hand on his hip to keep Drew in place and uses her other one to hold a pink water balloon of her own. The Fudds -Azzi- had been as big of a constant in Drew’s life as they had been in Paige’s and she wonders now, as she thinks back to her little brother’s irritation with her joining the Valkyries, if he’d ever forgive her and Azzi for taking that away from him. 

“Oh hey good morning,” Tallulah says as Paige lets herself into the kitchen, blanching slightly at the sight of the other woman. 

“Good morning,” Paige greets, pouring herself a glass of water as she takes a seat at the island, “guessing you’re making pancakes?”

Tallulah nods with a grin, “Stephie’s orders you know.”

“Ah of course,” Paige laughs, “can’t defy the queen.”

She watches as Tallulah prances around the hardwood floor, grabbing bowls and ingredients, like it’s her kitchen and Paige can’t help the twinge of envy that blooms in her bloodstream. It used to be her. She used to know the Fudd’s kitchen -the whole house- like the back of her hand because really, like Katie always said, it was her home too. But she doesn’t quite know this place, couldn’t tell you where to find the sugar or where the utensils were kept and that stings more than she’d expected. It spirals Paige into the thought that she wouldn’t know any of those things at Azzi’s own house either. And suddenly she’s struck by the reminder that two people who’d once promised to build a world together, had spent the last couple of years, building two separate ones instead. 

“Hey,” Tallulah breaks Paige out of her trance, “you good.”

Paige musters up a smile, “yeah- yeah of course. Just- just thinking a lotta things I guess.”

“They’ve all missed you, you know,” Tallulah says softly, “they try not to do it too much around Azzi but it’s always ‘oh Paige would’ve loved this’ or ‘did you catch that bucket Paige made last night’. And whenever the Wings were playing here, it was a no-brainer that they would go.”

“Yeah?” tears prickle against the blonde’s waterline. 

“Yeah,” Tallulah confirms, “Tim lowkey lost his mind before you got here last night. Poor man was running all over the place making sure things were good. Katie thought it was pretty hilarious.”

Paige lets out a watery laugh, “that sounds like them-”

“Miss Buecks,” a tiny voice interrupts her before she can say anything and Paige whirls around to see a teary-eyed Stephie looking at her from the last step of the staircase, her bottom lip trembling and panic courses into Paige’s bloodstream

“Stephie,” she practically trips over herself as she rushes to fold the little girl into her arms, “sweetheart what’s wrong?”

Stephie nestles herself into the blonde’s neck, mumbling something incoherent as she holds Paige impossibly tight. 

“Stephie,” Paige whispers frantically, concern dripping from her voice, “tell Miss Buecks what’s wrong please. I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me sweetheart.”

“Thought you left,” Stephie confesses finally, keeping her head burrowed against Paige’s shoulder, “you weren’t next to me when I woke up. Got scared.”

“Oh honey,” Paige whispers, as she gently coaxes the little girl’s head out from the crook of her neck so she can cup her face, “I’m right here. I wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye.”

Stephie’s quiet for a second, hiccoughing to herself as she searches for something on Paige’s face before she holds out a pinky, “promise you’ll never leave?” 

Paige hesitates, the words sitting heavy on the tip of her tongue. It’s not that she doesn’t want to but Paige has learned first-hand about the fragility of the future, about how true the cliché about time changing in the blink of an eye can be. Because the truth is that it’s not just Azzi who’s scared. Paige is terrified. She’d drowned in this ocean once before and as she tries to swim in it again, she can’t quite find it in herself to shed her life-jacket by making an oath that she can’t guarantee to protect from the dangerous tides of circumstance.

And so she hopes it’s enough for Stephie as she caresses the little girl’s cheeks and says, “I promise I’ll try to stay.”

“Okay,” Stephie says softly and Paige lets out a sigh of relief, “I trust you Miss Buecks.”

Paige smiles, giving the little girl a kiss on the cheek before hoisting her up onto her lap, “did you wake your Mama up?”

“No. She’s still snoring,” Stephie giggles. 

Paige laughs, tucking that little tidbit away to tease Azzi with later, “how about you and I go get your Mama her favorite coffee?”

“Oh that’s nice,” Tallulah chirps from where she’s still standing in the kitchen, “go get coffee of course. Why would anyone stay here and help me?”

“Go ask uncle José,” Stephie shoots the younger woman an unamused look, “isn’t that what husbands are for?”

Paige stifles a grin as Tallulah narrows her eyes, waving her whisk menacingly at Stephie, “he’s not my husband yet and you watch it missy or maybe I won’t let you be a flower girl at the wedding.”

“Your wedding would be boring without me,” Stephie scoffs, “besides Aunty Tully, we’ll get you a drink too. Uncle José always says you drink vod-ka, too much of it app-ently, but I don’t know what that is,” she turns to Paige who’s gone bright red in attempt to stop herself from keeling over with laughter, “can we get vod-ka for Aunty Tully?”

Paige tries her best to compose herself, “maybe we’ll just get her a latte and save the vodka for later huh Tulls?”

Tallulah glares at her, flipping her off when Stephie’s gaze shifts towards the door, “just go get the coffee Bueckers.”

***

Not that she didn’t know it before, but Paige quickly realizes just how similar Stephie is to her mother while they’re standing in front of the bakery portion of the coffeeshop and it’s been ten minutes and Stephie still hasn’t decided which sweet treat she’d like. 

 “Stephie sweetheart,” Paige says, only slightly impatient, “how about the double fudge brownie?”

“That sounds good,” Stephie says excitedly and then her eyes dart towards the cinnamon bun in the corner, “or maybe the ninnamon bun- no wait- Aunty Tully’s gonna put ninnamon in the pancakes so maybe something else. Ooooh maybe a cookie but which one?”

Paige groans to herself as Stephie busies herself looking at the assortment of freshly baked cookies. The old woman over the counter, wearing a name tag saying Ruthie, shares a commiserating smile with her. 

“My daughter was like that too at that age. Couldn’t make a decision to save her life,” Ruthie says, a fond look in her eyes while talking about her child. 

Paige smiles, “did she ever grow out of it?”

“Well considering we went out to dinner last night and she couldn’t pick between the pepperoni and the sausage, I don’t think they really grow out of it,” Ruthie winks and Paige can’t help but think about Azzi and the way she’d struggled to pick out what to wear to bed last night, staring helplessly between two shirts that practically looked the same. 

“Oh I know that look,” Ruthie says, eyes twinkling at the hopeless smile on Paige’s face, as she tilts her head towards Stephie, “you’re thinking about her mother huh?”

“That obvious?” Paige blushes. 

Ruthie shrugs, “what is love if it can’t be seen by everyone?”

Love. The word seeps into Paige’s veins, traveling up her bloodstreams until it claws its way into her heart, settling against her ribcage like a rock so that when she breathes, it’s all she can feel. It’s too soon, she knows, and it defeats the purpose of going slow except- it’s not soon at all. Because this isn’t a new feeling, it’s a far too familiar old one that she’d buried as deep within her as possible but is now yearning to get out. It had never gone away, simply lingered in the back of her mind just waiting for this moment. And if she’s honest with herself, Paige doesn’t know if she should fight against it or let herself ride the waves of the before that are desperate to crash against the shore of now. 

“Miss Buecks,” Stephie whines, “come help me choose.”

Shooting Ruthie an apologetic look and ignoring the pit in her stomach at the elder woman’s words, Paige walks over and bends down to the little girl’s height, “how about a chocolate chip cookie?”

“Boooooring,” Stephie crinkles her nose. 

“Peanut butter?”

“I’m ‘lergic to nuts Miss Buecks,” Stephie says matter-of-factly and Paige pencils that important fact into her mind’s ever growing list of all about Stephie.

“Salted caramel crunch?” 

“That sounds good,” Stephie nods, “yeah I’ll get that,” she says as she turns to Ruthie, “could I get a salted car-mel crunch cookie please?” but Paige doesn’t miss the wistful look she sends towards the rest of the cookies. 

“Stephie?”

“Yes?”

“Do you want me to get you one of each?”

And she’s absolutely going to get a disapproving glare from Azzi when she shows back up at the Fudd’s with almost a dozen cookies in hand but it’s worth it for the way Stephie immediately latches onto her thigh, a dazzling smile lighting up her whole face. 

“You’re best-est-est-est Miss Buecks,” Stephie squeals, staring up at Paige with delight. 

“I know,” Paige smirks, “and you better protect me from your Mama when we get back.”

Stephie nods very seriously, “of course Miss Buecks. I’ll protect you with my life.”

Paige ruffles the younger girl's hair before turning to Ruthie who’s grinning at her, “one of every flavor of cookie you have please. Except anything that has nuts.”

“Coming right up,” Ruthie winks at Paige, “your daughter has you wrapped around her little finger huh?”

And maybe Paige should at least attempt to correct the misconception but as Stephie clings to her just a little bit tighter, she can’t find it in herself to say anything but, “yeah, yeah she does.”

***

“Next time you kidnap my daughter, can you at least send me a text?” Azzi says, a grin on her lips as she opens the door to let Paige and Stephie enter back into the Fudd household. 

“Good morning Mama,” Stephie says happily, launching herself into her mother’s arms and placing a sloppy kiss against her cheek. 

“Morning sunshine,” Azzi laughs, “you seem giddy this morning.”

“Miss Buecks bought me six-teen cookies and she let me eat two of them while we were dri-” Stephie pauses mid ramble, eyes widening as she dramatically slaps a hand over her mouth. 

Paige groans as a glare overtakes Azzi’s previously smiling features, “Steph what happened to protecting me?”

“It was an aksy-dent Miss Buecks I’m sorry,” Stephie whimpers, hurriedly cupping her mother’s face, “please don’t be angry at Miss Buecks, Mama. It was my idea.”

Azzi rolls her eyes, “I bet it was. But if you already had two cookies, you must be full? I guess that means no pancakes for you-”

“Miss Buecks forced me to eat the cookies,” Stephie cuts her off and Paige gasps at the betrayal, “not full at all Mama because you can’t get full unless you like what you eat and I didn’t like those cookies at all. So I neeeeeeed pancakes.”

“Traitor,” Paige hisses at the little girl who shrugs sheepishly. 

Stephie shoots her an apologetic smile as Azzi hides a grin against her daughter’s hair, “I’m sorry Miss Buecks but I really, really want pancakes. I’ll die if I don’t get pancakes.”

“Okay drama queen,” Azzi chides fondly as she puts Stephie back on the ground, “go get your pancakes,” and then she rounds onto Paige with a patented glare. 

“I got you an iced vanilla latte with extra whipped cream,” Paige says before the younger woman can say anything, practically shoving the cold drink into her hand. 

“Sixteen cookies? Paige seriously?” Azzi asks, eyebrows raised as she sips at her coffee. 

“You didn’t see her Az,” Paige defends, “she looked so sad when she couldn’t decide.”

“Just because she looks sad doesn’t mean you buy her every single cookie to make her happy,” Azzi shakes her head exasperatedly. 

“I’d buy her the whole shop if that’s what would make her happy,” Paige says, sincerity weaved throughout every word of the sentence. 

“You would, wouldn’t you?” Azzi says softly, a hint of awe in her voice, “you’re kind of a sap Paige Bueckers.”

“Only for you and your daughter Azzi Fudd,” Paige whispers, leaning her head against the younger woman’s temple, “only for the two of you.”

They stand there like that, barely touching beyond their foreheads, yet basking in a certain kind of intimacy that they’ve only ever found with each other. The thing is, Paige’s senses are always heightened, every part of her always alert of what’s going around her. Except when she’s with Azzi. When she’s with Azzi she can let the noise fade to the background and let everything else become a blur and simply just be with Azzi. When she’s with Azzi, she doesn’t have to worry; doesn’t have to have her sword out ready for battle because she knows the younger girl will always be her shield. When she’s with Azzi, Paige is safe. 

They’re shaken from their reverie by a cough in the background and Paige reluctantly looks over her shoulder to see Jana regarding them with an amused look. 

“Guess I missed a couple of chapters?” 

“Shut up,” Paige grinds out, annoyed as Azzi moves out of her space, “what are you doing here so early El-Alfy?”

“I’m here for breakfast because I’m basically an honorary Fudd,” Jana throws her head back before yelling, “RIGHT KATIE?’

“Right Jana,” comes the muffled confirmation from the kitchen as Jana smirks at Paige. 

“The better question Bueckers,” the Egyptian prods with a smirk, “is what are you doing here so early?”

“I slept ov-” Paige bites her tongue but it’s too late as Jana’s grin gets wider and next to her, Azzi lets her head drop into her hands. 

“You slept over? In which room?” Jana asks innocently. 

And of course Stephie chooses exactly that moment to catch wind of the conversation, yelling from the kitchen, “she slept with me and Mama, Aunty J.”

“Thank you for telling me Stephie,” Jana’s eyes twinkle with mirth as she pulls out her phone, “oh I’m about to make some money- hey!”

Azzi snatches the phone out of her younger teammate’s hand, a sweet smile playing on her lips as she starts walking towards the kitchen, “no phones at breakfast thank you!”

“That’s not fair,” Jana whines sauntering after the GSV shooting guard, Paige snickering as she follows the two of them into the kitchen. 

“Life’s not fair. Deal with it,” Azzi glares before slipping Jana’s phone into her own pocket, “you can have it back before you leave.”

“Y’all are so mean,” Jana sulks, pouting harder when she reaches out to grab a pancake and immediately has her hand whacked by Tim.

“That one’s for Paige,” the older man warns sternly and Paige sticks her tongue out at her teammate as she grabs the pancake onto her place. 

“WHAT?” Jana guffaws, “what’s so special about it?”

Tim shrugs, “absolutely nothing. Just thought it would be funny to see you annoyed.”

“Y’all are the worst adoptive family a player could have you know that?” Jana scolds, pressing her fists to her cheeks like she’s barely older than Stephie, “and to think I was gonna invite the two of you,” she glares at Paige and Azzi, “to a party.”

“Party? Can I come?” Stephie asks excitedly. 

“Unfortunately this one’s just for adults kiddo. And it’s not really a party,” Jana explains, “me and Joyce thought it would be nice to do a little team-bonding, especially for you P. Drinks at the bar next weekend?”

“Sounds good,” Paige confirms, “we’ll be there!”

“Oh it’s ‘we’ now is it?” Jana teases, “you guys gonna come together?”

“No,” Azzi says at the same time as a profound “yes” leaves Paige’s mouth. The two of them stare at each other with questioning looks and Paige feels a heavy pit settling in her stomach. Rationally, she knows Azzi’s probably right. No part of going slow includes going to a party with their teammates together, especially not when they’re trying to keep whatever it is they’re doing on the down low. But there’s something about being a secret again, that raises a bitter taste of what killed us then could kill us now in her mouth. 

“Awkward,” Jon whistles slowly, only to be met with a simultaneous slap on the back of his head from both his mother and Tallulah. 

“I mean- I would have to drop Stephie off here- or umm- at Colleen's so like- logically- practically- uh- it um- it wouldn’t make sense for us to go together,” Azzi says and Paige has to refrain herself from calling it a bullshit explanation. 

Instead she gives the younger girl a tight-lipped nod, “right yeah-wouldn’t make sense for us to go together. Obviously,” gritting her teeth and desperate to change the topic, she turns to Jana, “will the whole team be there?”

“A couple of them aren’t currently in the Bay but yeah most of them,” Jana shrugs. 

“Oh,” Stephie claps excitedly, “will Aunty Chérie be there? Is she back yet?”

Paige narrows her eyes as both Jana and Azzi exchange looks, “who’s Aunty Chérie?”

“Aunty Chérie’s the best,” Stephie gushes, “she’s really nice and pretty and she calls me ‘mon chérie’,” the little girl does her best attempt at a vaguely french accent and realization starts to claw at Paige’s mind, “so I call her Aunty Chérie. She’s Mama’s best friend on the team.”

Paige tries and fails not to grimace at the sentence; the idea of anyone else being Azzi’s best friend feels like nails being screwed into her skin. 

“I’m your Mama’s best friend on the team,” Jana butts in, trying to rescue Azzi from the hole her daughter’s about to dig her into, glancing worriedly between the two former huskies who are doing their best not to look at each other. 

“If you say so Aunty J,” Stephie concedes, “but you didn’t answer my question. Is Aunty Chérie back?”

“Yeah she- um Clémence I mean- is coming back for a little bit next week so um-” Jana swallows, clearly not having thought the uncomfortableness of the situation through, “yeah she’ll uh- she’ll probably be there.”

Stephie lets out a whoop of excitement and Paige feels it burn a hole in her stomach. She knows she has no right to be upset at the idea of Stephie being as enamored by another one of Azzi’s teammates but something about it makes her feel queasy inside. Because Clémence Martens isn’t just a teammate. Paige doesn’t know the exact history there; she’d never had the right to ask about it but she’s seen the way Clémence looks at Azzi and she knows she doesn’t like it one bit.

“I thought Clémence was being traded to Atlanta?” Paige keeps her voice low as she leans into Jana. She’s not sure if Stephie knows the news yet and despite the jealousy that’s blooming in every crevice of her body, she doesn’t want to hurt the little girl by accidentally announcing it to her, “why’s she coming?”

Jana sighs, “Joyce invited her cause she was gonna be in town. You know they don’t know about-” the taller woman gestures between Paige and Azzi, “-all of this so. It’s just for one night Paige.”

“Right,” Paige nods, eyes locking with Azzi’s across the table as the younger woman fidgets with the ‘S’ necklace around her neck and shoots Paige a timid attempt at a reassuring smile, “just one night.”

***

August 2028

USA 68         France 64

The entire arena is abuzz for the final 20 seconds of a grueling semi-final match between the storied USA Women’s Basketball team trying to keep their dynasty alive and a vindictive French team eager to avenge their last heartbreaking Olympic loss. France has possession of the ball, shot clock turned off, and Paige has been tasked with guarding Clémence Martens. The woman in front of her, a bench player for the Golden State Valkyries,  had never seemed like much of a threat to Paige when they’d met during the W season, but seemed to have become a whole other beast when representing her nation. Clémence is currently leading the French team in assists and is only behind Gabby William in points. Paige keeps herself glued to the woman as she tries to get herself free for the inbound. 

The inbounder realizes after a couple of seconds that the French coach’s advice to get Clémence the ball wouldn’t be possible and instead the ball ends up in the hands of Iliana Rupert instead. As gameplay resumes, Paige does exactly as she’s supposed to and she can tell that she’s getting under the French woman’s skin as Clémence curses to herself in her native language. Paige bites back a smirk, secretly pleased at having riled her competitor up. The ball continues to pass around the French players, time ticking away, but the USA’s defense doesn’t allow a good shot until Gabby throws up a miraculous jumper with a second left on the shot clock. 

And of course, in a way that’s perhaps too reminiscent of how France had lost in 2024, it goes in. 

But it’s not enough and Paige feels blood rush to her ears as the entire arena, decked out in red white and blue, roars with triumph, celebrating the world's greatest team returning back to the finals stage. There’s still one more game but this win is special. They’d been down by 11 points at the half and Paige could almost picture the headlines ready to write themselves about the streaks that could be broken if they lost. But she was no stranger to the pressure that came from playing for a team with a deep history and it had been her and Stewie, partially motivated by their former college head coach frowning at them from the sidelines, that had spear-headed a 23-3 run at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. The USA women’s team hadn’t looked back since and now they were one more step away being golden again. 

“You did it,” Olivia screams, running into Paige’s arms as friends and family start to gather on the court, “I’m so proud of you!”

“Thanks Olivia-” Paige is about to say more when the familiar back of someone’s head catches her attention and, like they always seem to when she’s around, all the words die on the tip of her tongue. 

Azzi. 

Paige could’ve sworn she’d seen the woman in the crowd at some point but she’d chalked it up to a trick of the light manipulating her eyes into seeing what her heart desperately wanted. But as she watches the woman she’d once imagined celebrating all of her victories with, slowly brush away the tears of someone else’s loss, Paige can’t help but wish that it had been a trick of the light after all. She feels suffocated and she can’t tell if it’s from how tight Olivia’s holding her or if it’s because Clémence is burying her head into the space between Azzi’s neck and shoulder, a space that Paige used to mark as hers. And then Azzi looks above Clémence’s shoulder. Dark brown eyes shimmer with unshed tears as they lock onto watery sky blue ones. They’re standing in other people’s arms and they really should look away but how can they when looking into each other’s eyes feels a little bit like finally coming up for air. And Paige realizes that what she’s really being suffocated by is the regret of you’re supposed to be holding me and i’m supposed to be holding you; it was meant to be us. 

Azzi lets go of Clémence first, soothingly rubbing the francophone’s back as she makes her way over to congratulate the USA team, starting with Cam and Aliyah. Paige pulls away from Olivia, oblivious to the way annoyance flits across her wife’s features as she catches sight of Azzi. No one but the blonde notices how hesitant Azzi’s steps are, how she carefully pauses a little longer than necessary with everyone else until she finally reaches Paige, managing to give her a small but sincere smile. Olivia wraps a possessive hand around Paige’s bicep and the blonde fights the urge to shake it off when she notices Azzi’s eyes flickering to it for a brief second before coming back up to her face. 

“Congratulations Paige,” the formality in Azzi’s voice feels like acid pelting against Paige’s skin, “you were really good tonight.”

“Thank you,” Paige smiles politely, “it was pretty stressful there for a second but I’m glad we got the dub. But it um-” she hesitates, unsure if she should say the next part, “it would’ve been nice if you were out there with me- with us I mean. We could’ve used your shooting.”

“Maybe next time,” Azzi gives her a half-grin. 

“Oh I don’t know about that,” Olivia says airily, sharp nails digging a little too roughly into Paige’s skin as her grip tightens further, “there’s plenty of talent up and coming in the next 4 years.”

This is a side of Olivia that Paige is only just beginning to unveil, the side of Olivia that makes snide bitchy comments with a saccharine voice. And Paige really should let it go at this moment, make a mental note to speak with her wife about it later instead of jumping in. But she can see the insecurities brimming in Azzi’s eyes and the words tumble out before Paige can stop them. 

“Yeah but no one better than Azzi.”

Olivia stiffens, “right unless she’s injured or pregnant or something. You’re prone to those right?”

“Olivia,” Paige hisses. 

“I didn’t mean it offensively,” Olivia feigns innocence and a bitter mix of irritation and anger coils itself around Paige’s ribcage, “just something to think about.”

Azzi’s quiet for a second before a sugary smile, laced with poison, inches itself onto her face, “I’ve only been pregnant once and I haven’t been injured since college which I would expect someone in sports media to know but,” the brunette’s eyes flash dangerously, “I suppose that’s something someone with national media credentials would know, not just a mere local beat writer for Dallas’s fifth most read newspaper,” Azzi turns to Paige, sarcasm morphing into something far more genuine, “congratulations again. I’m really happy for you Paige.”

***

The Reynolds-Bueckers hotel room is a pathetic hot mess that night. Olivia’s livid at Paige and Paige is livid at the stupid #Clézzi tag on tiktok. She’s no stranger to fan edits and she’s definitely no stranger to ship edits and so when the first tiktok appears on her for you page, she knows better than to click on it. She knows better but she does it anyway. And suddenly she finds herself sucked into montage after montage of so-called moments between Clémence and Azzi that fans had noticed and documented. The clips are bad enough themselves but it’s the captions, bold declarations of look at the way she looks at her; no one can love azzi the way clémence loves her, that really piss her off. Clémence might look at Azzi like she’s made of stars but Paige knows that she looks at Azzi like she is the moon, Paige’s moon. As Olivia’s anger bounces off the walls, her rant about disrespect starts to mesh with the audio of the edits that continue to play on the blonde’s phone and Paige wonders if this her God-designed personal hell. 

“Are you even fucking listening to me Paige?” Olivia yells, forcing Paige to look up at her wife. 

“What do you want me to say Olivia?” Paige asks tiredly. 

“What do I want you to say? Well nothing now Paige. She said all of that shit to me and you were silent then so I’m not expecting you to say anything of meaning now either.”

“You’re the one who poked her first-”

“Jesus fucking christ,” Olivia laughs maniacally, “you’re really gonna do this?”

“I’m not doing anything,” Paige protests. 

“You’re defending her,” Olivia yells, “you’re my wife and you’re defending her. You’re defending your ex. Can you seriously not see what’s wrong with this picture.”

“Olivia,” Paige sighs, eyes gazing down at her phone where another fuckass Clézzi edit has started to play and she rapidly scrolls past it, “it’s been a long day and I just wanna go to bed. I have practice tomorrow and the gold medal game-”

“Right fucking basketball. Again,” Olivia rolls her eyes. 

“What-”

“It’s fine,” Olivia pinches the bridge of her nose, the fight draining from her voice, “you’re right go to bed. I’m not- I’m not feeling great so I’ll sleep out here tonight. Wouldn’t- wouldn’t want you to get sick before the gold medal game.”

“Olivia,” Paige says half-heartedly, taking a timid step towards the woman in front of her.

“It’s fine,” Olivia says, “just- just go to bed Paige.”

Paige knows that the last thing she should do is actually listen to her wife. And she knows that if it was Azzi -she hates herself for even thinking this way- she wouldn’t walk away. If it was Azzi, Paige would’ve pulled her into her arms, held her there and made her talk because they both hated going to bed angry. But well if it was Azzi, this whole situation wouldn’t exist in the first place. 

And so she ends up in bed alone, still scrolling through random tiktoks in an effort to not have to deal with all the voices in her head, until suddenly she stumbles on a video captioned and at the end of the day she’ll still always be looking at her. It’s a video taken today. Paige is holding Olivia and Azzi’s holding Clémence but they’re staring at each other. And Paige thinks that whoever wrote the caption, had probably gotten it right. At the end of day, she’ll always look for Azzi. She just doesn’t know if she’ll find her ever again. 

***

USA 102         Australia 73 

Paige can already taste the feeling of a gold medal around her neck as she takes a seat, the crowd roaring with applause as Coach Lawson empties her bench. There’s only fifteen seconds left in the game and her knees are bouncing in anticipation, ready to celebrate a moment she’s been dreaming of for god knows how long. Paige scans the crowd, not even pretending to look for anyone but Azzi and she can’t help the smile that erupts on her face when she spots the brunette with her fingers crossed, a brilliant grin directed in Paige’s direction as she mouths i’m so proud of you. 

Olivia isn’t here, claiming she was too sick to come tonight. Paige thinks she probably should be more upset about that. She thinks the whole thing is probably a ruse that Olivia had concocted to get Paige to beg her to come, to get Paige to show her that she wanted her wife there. The other woman's face had fallen when Paige hadn’t really reacted to the announcement, simply pressed her lips to her forehead and mumbled a feeble hope you feel better before leaving. Paige thinks this is probably the first sign they're falling apart. She thinks she should probably care about that a little bit more too. 

But the first thing her eyes had landed on once she’d entered the court, was Azzi’s face in the lower bowl and everything else had ceased to exist. Her first petty thought had been a ha! fuck you to the damned Clézzi shippers who claimed Azzi wouldn’t show up today, too busy consoling Clémence. They didn't know Azzi was all-american. Her second thought, the one that felt like a warm blanket being wrapped around her soul, was that of course Azzi’s here. Because Azzi had been there every time Paige achieved a milestone and even if they were barely a shadow of what they used to be, it's only right that Azzi is still here. 

Australia doesn’t even bother taking a shot, bowing out gracefully and the buzzer rings. 

The entire arena bursts into confetti and music as the USA Women’s Basketball Team clinches yet another Olympic Gold Medal. 

Paige doesn’t know who she’s hugging, lost in a sea of red uniforms as she feels herself floating through her teammates. They end up in a huddle, screaming and she can barely make out who’s saying what but it doesn’t matter. The chaos has never felt so fucking cathartic.

As everyone else disperses to find their families, Paige’s eyes land where they always seem to: on Azzi. And maybe she shouldn’t do it, maybe she should think again but fuck it Paige Bueckers is an olympic gold medalist and she’s going to share this moment with the first person she’d ever won a medal for this country with. Her legs move of their own accord, walking and then running and she breathes out a sigh of relief when she realizes that Azzi’s moving towards her too. 

“You did it. Oh my god Paige you did it,” Azzi squeals as they crash into each other in the middle of the court, her arms instinctively going around Paige’s neck as the blonds wraps her hands around Azzi’s waist, “I’m so fucking proud of you. I knew you could do it Paige.”

“I’m so glad you’re here,” Paige breathes out, “I just- it wouldn’t be the same winning without you.”

Azzi’s eyes soften, “I came for you. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that but- I’m here for you.”

“Good don't want you to be here for anybody else,” Paige tightens her hold on the younger woman’s waist, “we’re gonna do it together next time okay. You and me, we’re gonna be golden together.”

And they both know that they’re saying words they shouldn’t say. That when they break apart from this moment, they’ll have to walk away. But for now, being in each other’s arms is the only thing that feels right, that feels golden.

[lexisecretaccx]

A+ Student Pt 7

Masterlist!

(Fem reader, angst, smut, more car sex😭🙏 , argument, drama, it all goes down bro, etc, not proofread!)

Summary: Y/n is a great student in her college, always getting good grades. Her college professor Matt, thinks she can get even higher ones with some “extra credit.” That is until she meets her new gym teacher..

I look at my phone blankly, not answering it. The call disappears off of my screen and I breathe out finally. Until it rings again, he’s desperate to reach me, I let it ring a third time and then I pick it up and answer it. “Hello?” I hesitate. A sigh leaves the other end of the phone.

“Matt?” I ask, “You’ve made me so fucking angry y/n.” He speaks lowly. “I- uh how?” I’m nervous, I don’t know why. He chuckles sarcastically, “You know why.” He breathes in, “You need to pay for what you did. You’re a little slut.” He hisses, even though he’s clearly upset I can’t help but get turned on by the way he’s speaking to me.

I swallow harshly, “How would I pay for what I did?” I ask, my core aching. “You deserve a punishment, a.. detention perhaps.” He seems like he’s being flirty but he still sounds angry and that is a hot combination. “Okay when should I have a detention professor?” I tease him, “don’t enjoy this y/n. I’ll hang up if you fucking enjoy this shit.. you’re a slut you know that?” He huffs in frustration.

“We both know that Matt.” I speak seductively and smirk, he can’t see it but you know. “Fuck..” he groans, “I’ll tell you something.” I start to speak, “what?” He replies and I chuckle softly, “I think you’re only mad because your brother has fucked me twice and he’s only know me for a short while and you? You’ve been my professor for the past year and you’ve only been able to eat me out. Hm?”

“I couldn’t care less y/n,” he sighs, “I’m fucking pissed off because..” he stops speaking, “because I left yours after you basically forced me out and then I fucked Chris?” I’m having fun winding him up. “Yes that and also because you don’t have a fucking clue about Chris.” He speaks coldly.

“What about him?” I’m confused, “I can’t tell you on the phone it’s easier to speak in person, I want to see your face.” I sigh, “well I’ll meet you tomorrow?” I wanna know what he’s talking about “I can’t tomorrow, grading papers, Sunday?” He really wants to tell me something I can tell, “yeah sure.”

We talk for another minute before hanging up, what the fuck is he talking about? I’ll have to see him on Sunday, wait shit! I forgot to ask Lizzy if she was okay. I pull out my phone and call her. Luckily she answers quickly, “Liz you okay? I’m so sorry I didn’t reply.” She laughs lightly, “yeah it’s all good now, my parents were arguing and I just needed somewhere to go.”

“If I was home I would’ve let you come over, where did you go in the end?” “Just to a friend’s house, where were you then?” I need to lie I don’t want her to know about what went on. “I was out with my dad.”

Me and her talk back and forth until she has to go.

Sunday

My alarm goes off and I struggle to grab my phone to shut it off. “Fuck..” I groan out of tiredness, it’s 8:30am and after 10 minutes of procrastinating wether I should go back to sleep I get out of bed and hop in the shower, still not fully awake so I’m stumbling.

I do my everything shower and get into my room to get dressed, I pick a basic ass pair of sweats and a tight white vest. I put some makeup on and check the time, it’s 10:23. Matt told me he could pick me up at half 10. I get my shoes on and go downstairs, “I’m headed out dad!” I call to my dad who is on the couch.

“No worries stay safe pumpkin.” He smiles, “do you want me to make you a coffee before I go?” I ask him as I still have time, “It’s alright, I got one here.” He lifts his mug, “thank you though.” He nods, “Okay no worries, see ya!” I walk out the front door and I just wait on the sidewalk.

After 10 minutes the Porsche pulls up and I remember Matt saying he drives it sometimes. He stops in front of me and I hop in the passenger seat, the same passenger seat that me and Chris fucked in 2 days previously. “Hey.” He speaks, “Hi, what did you wanna tell me?” I ask him putting the seatbelt on.

He looks at me for a good 10 seconds, I tilt my head in confusion as he isn’t speaking. “I lied.” He swallows, “Lied? About what?” I’m even more confused now, he starts driving. “I lied, I have nothing to say about Chris.” He sounds unsure, “What why?” I ask him.

“I’m fucking jealous as shit y/n,” He sighs, “I just wanted to see you, I’m sorry I’m a fucking dick.” He slows down and pulls down a street. “It’s okay Matt, don’t worry.” I try to reassure him.” He shakes his head, “It’s not okay, not until I can.. feel you around me.” He whispers. He pulls into the parking lot of an abandoned store.

I feel myself get hot, did he really just say that? I can’t form words out of shock, he turns to me. “He fucked you in this car didn’t he.” I look at him and nod, “in the backseat?” He speaks quieter, I shake my head “in this seat.” I point at where I’m sitting, “that must’ve been awkward.” He smirks, “yeah I hit my head a few times.”

“Maybe you need someone to show you how to fuck in a car.. the comfortable way.” He bites his lip, I squeeze my thighs together as he speaks. His hand comes down to my thigh, “you’re a slut.” He chuckles, my face turns red and I look away.

He grabs my face and turns it to him, “get in the back.” He undoes my seatbelt. I nod quickly and hop out the car, he copies and we both get into the backseat, I’m glad these back windows are tinted as it’s broad daylight outside, even though the car park is empty. He wastes no time and crashes his lips onto mine.

His hands travel to my sweatpants as pulls them down to my ankles and then undoes the zipper of his jeans before pulling both of our pants off. The imprint of his cock is unmissable. He grabs my legs and slides me so I’m practically laying down on the backseat, without hesitation he removes my underwear and puts it on the drivers seat.

“Such a pretty pussy.” He slides two fingers across my slit before pushing them in quickly. I moan out lightly, he moves them in and out about 5 times, before removing them. “Please..” I look up at him, raising my inner brows. He smirks before pulling his boxes off, his dick is big, not as big as Chris’ but it’s still perfect.

I go to try and wrap my hands around his length and he stops me by grabbing my hands with one hand, pushing them above my head and with the other hand moves my legs into missionary position.

“I don’t have a condom.” He looks at me, “I’m on birth control.” I speak rapidly, just wanting to feel him inside me, “desperate hm?” He leans down and presses a kiss to my forehead. I nod, “please Matt.. fuck me.” I whine, he chuckles, resting his tip at my entrance but not pushing it in, I wiggle to try and get some friction.

“Matt.. stop teasing me please just…” he cuts me off by pushing inside instantly, I moan out and grip the seat. “Just what? What did you want me to do?” He teases, he thrusts in and out slowly at first before quickening the pace until he’s pounding into me and the car is definitely moving. Mine and his moans fill the car.

I can feel myself getting closer and closer, I look down at where we connect, his dick disappearing inside of me with every thrust, his hand comes down and rubs circles on my clit. I scream out his name and my back arches. “Fuck..” he groans out, I feel the euphoria wash over me as I come undone. My arousal leaking around his dick.

Not long after he finishes inside of me and pulls out. We both sit breathlessly, “that was.. fucking amazing.” I breathe out harshly, “Can I have my panties back?” I ask him as I grab my sweatpants off of the car floor, “I think I’ll keep them, as a souvenir.” He smirks as he gets his boxers and jeans back on. “You weirdo.” I tease him and slide my sweatpants on without underwear underneath.

We get back into the front seats and he gives me the aux, I put on some random playlist on shuffle. He stuffs my panties into his pocket before we put our seatbelts on and he drives off. “Do you wanna come to mine? Just for food or something.” Matt asks me, “Yeah of course, is Chris gonna be there?” I whisper his name.

“Probably not, Chris did say he was going out somewhere.” Matt replies, “okay yeah I’ll come.”

We get to his house and Matt pulls in the driveway before we get out the car and enter the house. It’s quiet, except for faint music coming from upstairs. I look to Matt, “Nick probably.” He answers, we walk to the kitchen and I sit on the barstool. “Do you want a soda?” Matt opens the fridge, “yeah sure what do you have?” I lean on the counter to look in the fridge, my ass in the air.

“We have Pepsi and..” Matt gets cut off, “That’s a nice view.” Chris. He walks up from the hallway behind, I sit back down and turn to him, my face red. He’s wearing a black wifebeater vest and grey sweats holding an empty glass, Matt stands up and closes the fridge. “What ya doing?” Chris asks as he walks up next to Matt, “nothing important.”

“What’s this?” Chris pulls my panties out of the pocket of Matts jeans. He looks at me, tilting his head. “Oh.” Is all that he says. He chuckles but I can tell he’s pissed off.

“I just..” I try to explain but Chris scoffs loudly, “Oh shut it y/n.” He puts his glass down and slams his hands on the counter infront of me, I flinch. “What happened to ‘Matt is a dick’ and all that bullshit?” He leans in further. “Hm?” He looks angry. “I don’t know.” I mumble. I look over, Matt is smiling slightly?

Chris turns to Matt, “I don’t know what your problem is. This is just a competition to you isn’t it?” Chris shoves Matt backwards into the fridge door. “Calm down.” Matt replies to Chris who just turns around, “Calm down? I can’t fucking calm down right now Matt.” He walks over to me, “you’re a selfish bitch.” He points his finger in my face.

“It was going well, I thought you actually gave a fuck.” He scoffs, “I do Chris..” I try to speak again, “If you did then why did you go back to him?” It’s a valid question, I don’t know. “Maybe she prefers me.” Matt stupidly pipes up. Chris picks the glass that he put down and he throws it at the cabinet next to Matt.

It smashes and the glass flies everywhere. I get off the stool and step back, “Chris stop..” I thought I’d be scared of him. “It was a joke just stop being so childish.” Matt retorts to Chris, “I’m not fucking laughing.” He speaks more calmly, his eyes look watery. “I’ll clean that up.” He spoke quietly, pointing at the shattered glass on the floor.

“While you’re at it clean your act up too hm?” Matt smirks, he’s making this worse. “I’ll be cleaning your fucking blood off the wall if you don’t shut the fuck up.” Chris yells. “Your acting all tough but I don’t think she knows about you know what.” Chris points at me, Matts eyes widen.

“What?” I’m confused, “What was her name again? Kelly?” Chris asks Matt, Matt looks nervous. Kelly the new girl? What are they talking about. “Yeah that was it, that was strange when she was here wasn’t it.” Chris hisses.

She was here? “I think that was the night after y/n was here the first time right? The night you upset her and I was the only person who comforted her right?” Chris walks even closer to Matt. “What is he talking about?” I ask Matt because I feel like I know what went on I just wanna hear it from him.

“He was ‘helping her catch up with the work’ or something, what was your excuse again?” Chris turns to Matt who’s face is bright red, Matt looks at me, “Matt what the fuck is he talking about?” I raise my voice to him.

“I.. Kelly wanted to get caught up with the class work, that’s all I promise you y/n.” He pleads with me, “The thing is, you don’t teach biology so there was no need for your dick to be out.” Chris chuckles, Matts expression shows me everything I need to know, he’s a fucking liar. “I have every right to report you to the college.” Chris smirks at Matt.

“You’d lose your job too asshole.” Matt growls back at him, “yeah but I don’t need that job, I got it just to try it out.” Chris grabs the brush and pan and starts to sweep up the glass. “Fuck you.” Matt grabs his car keys and walks out of the house.

I feel tears run down my eyes as I stand there in shock, the day after he refused to kiss me he had Kelly here and his dick out? What the fuck. “You good?” Chris stands up and looks at me, his expression shifting to concern as he notices the tears rolling down my face.

“I’m so sorry.” He apologises.

A/n: guys…. Heheh Hehehe smut with Matt hehehe but the angst is wilding out. Chris is my baby girl😖 bro I have so many ideas for new series’ and I just wanna write a new series rn (pbviously continuing this one as it’ll only have like 2 parts left I think!

@blahbel668 @mattsleftnipple03 @rac00ns-are-c00l4 @hysteria-things @mattybslover @jakevwebber @braindead4l @mattybearnard @st7rnioioss @junnniiieee07 @bueckerslover @fratbrochrisgf @sturniol0s @alwayssublimedelusion @certifiednatelover @freshsturns @riasturns @sturniololvrrr @maryx2xx @whicked-hazlatwhore @cammie4298 @sturnsjtop @sturnzblog @chr1sgirl4life @evie-sturns @milasturniolo @jaxyy219 @mattsturniolosbae @h3arts4harry @littlebookworm803 @realqueenofpepsi @elsxz1 @jnkvivi @nayveetbhh @sturnsmadl @mattspleasure @m0r94n @raysmayhem-72 @flamethrower313

[icyg4l]

PAC: Is Your Circle Trustworthy?

Hello beautiful people! I am so sorry for the wait, I've been busy with just enjoying what life has to offer. I really hope that you all are doing good! Today's reading is inspired by the people that are/were in my life that I've considered friends. I think that we all go through a period of time where we're questioning the people in our circles. Maybe it's because we're going through a period of transition, experiencing successes, experiencing painful moments, etc. I think that there is nothing wrong with this because we're all human at the end of the day. What aligns with us will stay, what doesn't will go. Also, please check out my Five Dollar Friday sale. It would mean a lot to me! Thank you! So with that being said, please pick the quote that resonates with you, my dear!

Top Left-to-Bottom Right: (1-4)

Pile One: I think some of you work in an elderly home/nursing home. Maybe you’re working on getting your degree in nursing. I heard the line from Beyonce’s ‘Hold Up’ where she says “Something don’t feel right / ‘Cause it ain’t right”. I don’t think you guys have a good discernment. You don’t trust yourself so in return, you attract some questionable people. I get the feeling that you guys are like the friend that doesn’t know how to say no, so you end up getting taken advantage of. You guys remind me of a friend that I had once. I think that you need to start owning your power, realizing your worth. You can do this by spending more time by yourself. Once you start seeing how people interact with you as you step into your true self, you will see who stays and who will go. There is nothing wrong with a fresh start. You need to get real though. You need to clean house, babe. Nothing is permanent, so don’t force yourself to stick in a situation that you don’t need to be in.

Cards Used: 8 of Swords (RX), The Moon, The Devil, Queen of Discs, Strength, 4 of Swords, The Chariot.

extras: “the underdog”. independent not by choice. meditation. saturn in the 1st house. looking at the moon. empire (2015). solar system. planetarium. “they don’t wanna see me smile”. oh happy day.

Pile Two: I feel like you guys are going to a concert soon. You could have made up with a friend that you fell out with and now you’re wondering if they have good intentions this time. They have changed for the better, I see. It takes two to tango is the energy that I am getting from this. There’s no fingers to point here. You both did your dirt but after some time apart, you’ve come to acknowledge your part in the ending of the friendship. I think that you guys have a good circle around you within this friendship and outside of your friendship. But you guys do not need to befriend your co-workers. Keep that to a minimum. This goes for any classmates that you think are cool too, lol. I see that you’ll be turned off by their behavior very quickly. But you have a good circle overall, just don’t let your ego ruin your friendships. Check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Cards Used: 5 of Swords, 6 of Swords, Ace of Cups, 9 of Cups, Temperance, The Sun.

extras: childhood best friends. autism. “stand back!” thumbs down. 2009. new boyz.

Pile Three: For this pile, I heard “divinely orchestrated”. I think your circle is perfect just the way it is. You are spiritually bonded to the people that are your friends right now. They have pure intentions. This could be your chosen family. You’ve chosen correctly. For some of you, your circle consists of mostly your biological family. Your guides approve of the people around you so much. I think that you will be lifelong friends with these people. I am seeing some distance between you and these people though, physical distance to be exact. Did you move or are you planning to move? I feel like your circle wants you to make the move if you haven’t. They see that you are bored and fed up with your current environment. They will always be there for you. You’re right where you need to be and you have the support around you, just do it!

Cards Used: Temperance, 10 of Pentacles, 7 of Discs, King of Cups, The Hierophant, Ace of Discs.

extras: polaroid cameras. divinity. todrick hall. twitter memes. “fall flat”. chasing fame. smalltown girl.

Pile Four: At one point, your circle was perfect for you. But I think that you have outgrown it. I feel like at the beginning of this friendship, you were insecure. Perhaps, you and these other people bonded over traumas or a common enemy/disdain for something. Maybe you were both impulsive teenagers who hated the world. Now, you don’t want this friendship in your life anymore. You’ve done some soul searching. This person is still on the same shit. Now there is some tension that has risen between the two of you. You want more for yourself, but this person doesn’t. If you don’t cut this person/these people off, they will take you down with them. I feel like this person is immature. They lack the emotional maturity to see how their lack of growth is detrimental to this friendship. They don’t really appreciate it like they should. I feel like this person has ego trips that you’re just now noticing. I heard, “Don’t save her / She don’t wanna be saved”. This person is judgmental and it’s best that you get away from them for your own good. I am channeling the energy of Nancy from The Craft. This person could be doing witchcraft on you if you know they engage in that stuff. Be careful, Pile Four.

Cards Used: Judgment, The Empress (RX), Justice, 2 of Discs, The Moon, The Hierophant (RX), 10 of Discs, The Hermit.

extras: beignets. spiritual/religious awakening. take me to church by hozier. army-bound. powerful.

[izicodes]

Hi, Hello! It’s me, Izzy and I am back from a very long break!

For those who don’t know who I am and just saw my post, I’m Isabelle but Izzy for short (and even shorter, Izi)! I run a Codeblr blog which I post about anything coding! I try to strictly only talk about coding, programming and computer science, but frankly, I ramble on about something else eventually! Hope you’re doing well!

Now, I know I said I wouldn't come back, but that was because I suddenly became stuck on what to post about and wanted to give myself a break and figure out how to do things on my blog and my online presence in general!

So, in summary, I am back from my break very inspired and eager to help more people get into programming / get better at programming! I will go on to talk about exactly what I have been doing during my break later on in this post, but wanted to say thank you to everyone who messaged me throughout the months and saw how I was! Very thought and extra blessings from God to you, please!

Working at my new-but-not-so-new job!

Yes! So, obviously, as a 21st Century girlie, I am working! Still at the music company that I started back in January! Now that I am 8 months into the job, I feel now I am fully immersed in the job and the projects and not feeling like an outsider! I went on multiple out-the-office events with the whole company and it was nice! Some I couldn’t attend because of religious reasons, but I still had fun! I got to meet a lot more girlies at my office that I don’t usually talk to (because I’m still the only girl in the frontend engineering team but there is a backend girlie but we don’t work close together so… distance)! Cheatingly, I am always ticking the box of “code every day”! However, work has made me do more UI/UX designing + frontend programming websites which I love! Always wanted to be both and not just one or the other! We are allowed to have 2 job titles, remember? (But make sure the salary is in accordance, of course, ~)

Learning new technologies! (for fun, obviously)

By “for fun” I mean personal reasons, the technologies I learnt on a whim were not for work but because I needed to learn them for personal projects I wanted to learn! I stress again; it’s more fun to learn something because you want to and not because you have to! So, I have been learning how to create desktop applications using ElectronJS and ReactJS (React has become my best friend!). Me now compared to me when I started my break is 10x smarter I feel like! My brain has definitely expanded somewhere…!

Latest project?!

Inspired by study productivity apps and wanting to track my Korean language progress, I am making a desktop application called ‘eStudySpace’! It would be my own personal app, but I want to see if I can actually pull something like this off! Right now I have not coded anything because I want to work on the design aspect first (which is smarter and a time saver in the future), so I have been on Figma for the last 2 weeks coming up with designs!

(It looks bad, I know this is like idea no.3287368 ugh...)

Miscs

I have been learning Korean for 4 months now. 

I have plans to move to a South-Eastern country, The Philippines? Singapore? Unsure!

I do have plans to switch to a new career but that’s more like 5 years into the future! But right now, I’m happy where I am at!

[ldysmfrst]

Hello, dearest readers!

I have a new story! It kind of came out of nowhere! Well, let's be honest: post-concert Delulu mind-induced writing is where it really came from.

It was a dream I had, and then I brought it up to my friend @bethanysnow, who proceeded to convince me that it would be worth writing. The first chapter, Main Title Banner, and big and small page breaks were created in about 2.5 hours.

Remember, if you want to get early access to any of my works, it's only $5 a month. You get the extra scenes and can "Ask a character a question"!

Here is a teaser for you all. If you want the full chapter now, please go to my Patreon.

Incomplete (1) - A Pull to Where?

Paring: Ateez OT8 x Plus-sized FemReader

Status: Ongoing series

Chapter number: 1 of unknown

Word count for Chapter: 3,384 

Word count for Story: 3,384 

Genre: Idol Soulmate AU

Warnings: NOT BETA READ!! This story will contain a bit of angst, fluff, smut, f/m, m/m, and m/f/m. This chapter does not really contain anything to warn about. (let me know if I am wrong)

Story Summary: Ateez are soulmates who earned their way to Fame once they found each other. What happens when a new pull comes during their Towards The Light World Tour? Does 8 really make 1?

INCOMPLETE MASTER LIST / LDYSMFRST MASTER LIST

“I can’t believe it! We are all here for the LA concert! This will be the first time for us. I am so proud of everything and love you all,” exclaimed Hongjoong. Looking around BMO stadium quickly before the VIP ticket holders came in, he could not believe they finally made it after six years. 

“All thanks to our wonderful Captain,” Seonghwa says as he back-hugs his shortest soulmate. “Did you see the lines are already starting to fill with our Atiny? Are you sure we brought enough Merch for all of them?”

“Don’t worry about that, Hwa. I am sure our management brought what they could. Remember, we have to split it between two shows. Are you sure you are up for this? You haven't taken the time to lament your grandfather’s passing. I am sure Atiny will understand if you cannot make it through the show,” Yeosang comments with a concerned look.

Smiling softly, Seonghwa replies, “Atiny are my light in my darkest times. Right now, performing for them… I feel like I am performing to keep my own light shining inside. I couldn’t do this without them, and want to perform best for this tour to honor my late grandfather.”

“Hwa, he is so proud of you. I can tell,” Hongjoong says, turning his head to kiss Seonghwa on the cheek.

One of the stagehands tells the three soulmates, “You have one hour to get ready for sound check.” 

“Let's head backstage and get ready to charm our Atiny,” Yeosang remarks as he pushes Seonghwa and Hongjoong towards the back. 

As the three missing soulmates make it behind the stage, Seonghwa feels his chest tighten. Dropping his hug on Hongjoong, Seonghwa makes his way to the side, where he can glimpse the lawn where the queue is set up for the merchandise and the standard entry. His eyes search the crowd for something. 

Maybe someone familiar or someone to stand out. 

Seonghwa was the most sensitive of all his soulmates, which is why he was known to Atiny as Momhwa. He always cared for the children (San, Wooyoung, Johngo, Yeosang, Mingi, and Yunho) while the Captain was off doing captain-like things. He was also the one to beg for alone time but then worried 24/7 that the rest of his soulmates were being taken good care of when they weren’t in his eyesight. 

Recently, the kids have grown up, which has allowed Hongjoong and Seonghwa to focus on other things. During this time, Seonghwa noticed that he felt like something was missing, but he wasn’t sure what it was. Looking over the crowds, it felt like something was nearby, but what could it be?

“Hwa-hyung, are you okay? Did you see someone out there?” asked San after noticing the intense look on Seonghwa’s face as he peeked out the gap in the stands. 

Rubbing his chest, Hwa replied, “Yeah… I think so. It just gotta be nerves. Still get them, ya know?” San nodded with a smile. “Being back in LA means so much to Joong-ah, and I don’t want to mess it up.” 

Shrugging off the tightness, Seonghwa went to his chair to prepare for sound check. He took his seat between Mingi and Yunho, who are always inseparable; their idle chatter overtook Hwas's thoughts as they got closer to showtime.

Tag List - OPEN

@bethanysnow @reallysparklychaos @braveangel777 @danielle143

[dbs-scans]

Minamoto Supernatural Detective Agency — April Fool’s Day 2023

April Fool’s! Nah, this one’s the real deal—here’s a translated archive of the event hosted on AidaIro’s twitter during April of 2023.

Day 1

“Hello, you’ve reached the Minamoto Supernatural Detective Agency—” “Oh, it's just you, Kou. Yes, of course.” “All right, I'll see you at 8 PM.”

Click! Booop, booop....

Day 2

Somewhere in the city lies an ultra-famous detective agency that boasts a terrifying case-solving rate...

[Teru] “Welcome, I've been expecting you.” “I look tired, you say? Haha, I've been working on a big case that came in yesterday.” “But I have plans to go on break tomorrow, and I'm used to pulling all-nighters, so don't worry about me.” “You reporters are just as busy, right?”

“I've collected the info pertaining to the Ryokan Case over there.” “Huh? You don't know where I mean? Sorry, I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to organize everything.” “All my other case files are scattered around... but I won't mind if you search through them for it.”

Various items have been scattered throughout the detective agency. What interests you is the...

POLL:

Old Flier

Strange Magazine

Dirtied Diary ✅

Left-on TV

It's a diary with a cute design. It's terribly dirty, as if someone had dropped it somewhere. You can see a footprint left behind where somebody stepped on it.

Everyday events have been written inside with neat handwriting: “The potted flowers we planted bloomed today.” “Went out with a friend.” “I spotted a cute cat.”

...But the diary entries abruptly cut off, and a message written in another person's hand-writing has been left behind: “Go Away.”

[Teru] “Ahh, that's unrelated to the ryokan.” “A client asked me to locate the diary of someone precious to them.” “I did find it, but as you can see... her work environment was rather poor.” “She set her sights on a new career path, and left to do field research, but I'm not sure where...”

――Knock Knock! “Hm?” “Looks like somebody's here. Is it another job request...?”

[Akane] “Oh, there's a guest here. Hello.” “I came to pick up something I left behind before I leave! I'm going on a trip with my childhood friend!” “A vacation to the hot springs, all by ourselves... I can't squander this. I've finally made it...” “Enjoy working on your day off, Chief! See ya!”

[Teru] “A hot springs vacation with his childhood friend, huh...” “Oh, that was one of our staff members. It seems he's going to be taking some time off, as well.”

Now, where should I check next?

POLL:

Old Flier

Strange Magazine ✅

Left-on TV

A mysterious magazine titled Monthly MO has been left here. There’s a bookmark inside. A special report on cryptids...?

[Teru] “Reports of cryptids at the ryokan are almost never-ending.” “If you go there, try seeing if you can catch one. You might earn some extra pocket money if you do.” “Haha, I'm just kidding, of course.”

Now, what’s next? 🐈The investigation continues tomorrow at 8PM🐈

POLL:

Old Flier

Left-on TV

Cassette Tape ✅

Day 3

It's an old cassette tape. I'll try playing it. ...It's a man recounting how he was spirited away as a child and wandered into a mysterious ryokan in the mountains. He sounds oddly happy about the experience.

“...and that was how I returned to human civilization.” “I'll never forget the girl who helped me to escape from there. Never ever~!”

“She told me ‘you must never come back here again,’ but it's my dream to return one day and be reunited with her.” “If it meant being with a beauty like her, then I’d do anything—I’d even become a cat...!!!”

[Teru] “To be attracted to someone that isn't even human? What a freak.” “I can't relate at all.”

Now, what should I check next?

POLL:

Old Flier

Left-on TV ✅

The 12 o'clock news is on. It appears that the children of the leaders of the East and West yakuza organizations have gone to dinner together. Rumor has it that they're considering an arranged marriage to unite the criminal underworld.

“Now this is just plain dumb. A political marriage, in this day 'n age?”

“Wait, you don't want to get married?” “Huh?”

[Teru] “Wow, they'll make a news report on just about anything.” “I'll change the channel~”

Now, what’s next? 🐈The investigation continues tomorrow at 8PM🐈

POLL:

Old Flier

Old Newspaper Clipping ✅

Day 4

It's a newspaper clipping from 50 years ago. During a national tour, a popular circus troupe had their tent burst into flames in the middle of the night and burn to the ground.

Officially, the cause of the fire is unknown, but on that night, two small figures were spotted fleeing from the scene of the crime. However, there was only one child registered with the circus troupe at the time—a single animal handler, who went missing after the incident. The child was known for doting on his pet black cat.

[Teru] “Rumor has it there's someone at the ryokan who looks exactly like the child who went missing, completely unchanged over the years.” “I wonder what that means...?”

Now all that's left is the old flier.

There's a tattered, yellowed flier lying around—a notice for a lost cat. It appears the cat went missing over ten years ago...

[Teru] “What a big cat. Cute, isn't she?” “They said she was a strange cat who would dance on nights of the full moon.” “Apparently they never found her... but lately, I've heard reports that a cat with similar characteristics was spotted near the ryokan.”

I've finished surveying the results of the agency's investigation. Now, for the final step, I'll ask for information concerning the person I'm looking for. 🐈 The final investigation begins tomorrow at 8 PM 🐈 

Day 5

This is what the person I'm looking for left behind. I've brought it here with me.

[Teru] “About that coworker of yours who disappeared, the photographer...” “So far we haven't found any concrete proof that kid is staying at the ryokan.” “It's possible he might have disappeared of his own free will...”

That's what the guys at work all said. That he ran out on us 'cause the job’s too hard. But...

He'd never go off and leave his camera behind. Something must have happened to him out there...

[Teru] “I see. In that case, you should trust your intuition.” “Even if there's no evidence to support it, there's still a chance he could be there.”

“...And with that, I believe we’ve gone through everything that my investigation turned up.” “So what's your next move? There isn’t much left to do except actually going to the ryokan itself.” “If you hire me, I can tag along and...”

[Teru] “Oh, you're going alone? Since you don't want to bother me when I'm on vacation?” “But you know, they'll probably be less suspicious if we go together... Have you already got a ticket?” “Oh... You're so responsible, Kou. Your big brother is very proud of you.” “Okay, see you. Be careful out there.”

[Teru] “......” “A trip to the hot springs, huh?” “Not like I've got anything better to do. Maybe I’ll go, too.”

📺⚡

BZzT zzzZzZT......

🐈

"Human society brings endless pain and suffering~♪" "The youth of today with nowhere to belong feel nothing but frustration~♪"

"Let the hot spring's waters wash your troubles away~♪"

"And let your bellies be satisfied by our tasty food~♪"

"So come on down—" "To the Bakeneko Ryokan Hanako-tei!" 🐈 The End 🐈

[khudadevikusanali]

Nice to meet you! Hehe, My name's Devi Kusanali, I might look like a child, but don't be fooled: I understand this world much better than any grown-up.

Tags to be used:

🌱 A new friend= Talking to new people.

🌪️ The wind whispers= Wanderer/Scaramouche interactions.

❤️ My dear family= Interactions with the archons.

🌠 A fallen star= Interactions with the traveler, someone from the multiverse.

🍀 Share in my knowledge- Interactions with the people that she knows.

🛕The Temple of Wisdom- Interactions with the fatui harbingers.

💚 Illusory Heart- Interactions with Mahadevi Rukkhadevata/Greater lord rukkhadevata.

🎑 The Leaves of Enlightening Speech- Interactions with celestia.

🪐 A celestial star/💫the star speaks= Out of character post.

Rules

No NSFW

No Ships (Lesser lord kusanali is a goddess but she still has the body of a child, and physically looks like a child who is not older than 10 years old.)

Please don't judge my character interpretation.

Please dni if:

Basic dni criteria (discriminate against anyone, proship, you get the idea)

And please don't harass anyone.

All interactions with Lesser lord kusanali will be strictly platonic and familial (She is not a human, she doesn't age and mature like most children; she may be 500 years old but in her species she must still be a child.)

Lesser lord kusanali uses They/She

Hello l recently made a lesser lord kusanali rp blog, but I was wondering if it would be okay if I added some head canons to the rp blog:

Here are my head canons:

• Lesser lord kusanali sees the archons as her family.

• Lesser lord kusanali uses she/they pronouns.

• I hc lesser lord kusanali and wanderer/scaramouche as slibings/best friends, like a big brother and little sister.

• And lesser lord kusanali is 500 years old but she is still in the body of a child, l hc her as being 8-10 years old.

• And lesser lord kusanali can be childish sometimes but she is very mature for her age unlike most children.

• Lesser lord kusanali 's favourite meal is butter chicken and biryani.

• Lesser lord kusanali 's favourite dessert is Samosa, Gulab jamun, Kheer and Ladoo/laddu.

• l hc lesser lord kusanali 's Mbti as infp, l feel like she is a infp and it does fit her personality.

• And l also hc lesser lord kusanali as an introvert, even though she talks a lot she is still wary of strangers.

• And l hc lesser lord kusanali to be allergic to most sea foods such as shrimp and octopus... Well she doesn't like most sea foods do l think that's okay.

• And sometimes lesser lord kusanali might call some people mister, miss, mrs if they are older than her... She might even call them nara a term which the aranaras uses.

• l hc lesser lord kusanali as being non-binary.

• l hc lesser lord kusanali as aroace/asexual.

• l also hc lesser lord kusanali 's height as being 128/130 cm but your interpretation of her may be different.

I don't hc lesser lord kusanali and wanderer as auntie and nephew... I hc them as siblings.

• l also hc lesser lord kusanali as being half indian and persian and arabic, Mixed people exist in real life so I think this is possible.

• My other hc is : Lesser lord kusanali will sometimes ask someone to help her with her Mehandi.

• Lesser lord kusanali can heal and purify many things.

That's all the head canons l can think of for now, l hope my head canons don't offend anyone.

Credits: Please know that the lesser lord kusanali redesigns are not mine!

The redesign belongs to:

Link to the redesign:

The link to the picture that was used in the icon and the pin is above this text.

Credits to the border that will be used:

Hello! i’m Devi, l am 18 years old. I am non-binary and my pronouns are she/they. It is not the first time that l am using Tumblr, but Tumblr can be confusing sometimes.

Just a heads up, in case l decide to change my muse, which l might who knows... But l hope you don't mind that as it might happen if l decide to change it.

But the next muse will be a sumeru character if l decide to change my muse on this rp blog.

[ros3ybabe]

Daily Check in - October 18th, 2023 🎀

Hello my lovelies <3

Here's a little update for today!! It feels nice to be posting again!

🩷 What I Ate Today -

Breakfast - southern style hashbrowns with ketchup, a cup of coffee

Pre Workout snack - one medium banana and a 3/4oz single serve cup of jiffy peanut butter, 1/4 scoop of preworkout (in water ofc)

Lunch - 1 large bowl of protein pasta w 2 slices of buttered bread, a coffee

Dinner - 1 bowl of spicy ramen with a small handful on shredded cheese

Snack - 1 bowl of mint chip ice cream

Extra - 3 cups of coffee TOTAL

Feels like a lot and I did go over my eating goal for the day but it is what it is, I had an emotionally rough day filled with a lot of crying, a therapy appointment, and a lot of calming down from my boyfriend over video call. Rough days happen, and I tend to let myself just feel the emotions in order to sleep easy and have a better next day!

🩷 Personal Accomplishments -

Made it to the gym, attempted a glute workout (left early due to frustration, lack of proerpr form, and to minimize risk of injury)

Wrote down everything I ate and my workouts in my new fitness and health journal

Showered

Did both morning and night skincare routines

journaled a little bit

brushed teeth

did a large load of laundry and put away all clean clothes

washed dishes

had a therapy appointment

cleaned up parts of room, put away new stuff

There were no academic accomplishments bit I am going to complete a good amount of homework before my cooking shift (for my cooking class) tomorrow. I've been trying to take it easy in a way that doesn't set me behind in my academics.

I broke down crying today with my boyfriend. I realized I've been feeling like such an imposter lately. Like I don't deserve all the good and all the accomplishments I've achieved. Like this life I'm living isn't real or this is the calm before some storm. I just feel so undeserving of everything. I feel inadequate, like I'm not good enough for a lot of thing. I feel like I'm perceived as this good daughter, good friend, good girlfriend, good employee, good student, good person but that it's not actually true? Though my boyfriend and my father have both reassured me that it is true and I am doing good. They've reminded me that I just need patience, discipline, and consistency in my habits and that everything is going to be and already is okay. I'm lucky to have such a loving boyfriend and such an awesome dad, too. The men in my life are the people I look up to most <3

🩷 Personal ToDos, Oct 19th -

morning + night skincare

morning cardio workout at the gym

read a chapter or two of a self help book

shower + brush teeth AM/PM

wash comforter + air dry

morning and night guided journal

morning stretching

Daily journal prompt

zoom call with boyfriend

sleep 6 to 8 hours

track all food and fitness in journal

complete 1 duolingo lesson

complete 1 busuu leson

complete 1 kanji review lesson

🩷 Academic ToDos, Oct 19th -

pre lab 8 quiz anatomy lab

lab 7 lab report anatomy lab

component 2 psyc class

nutrition chart: toddler nutrition class

quiz 10 psyc class

culinary nutrition ch 10 quiz

chapter 12 and 13 quiz nutrition class

My goal is to complete all of that between the time I wake up at 5am and 2pm with my morning routine, workout, meals, and getting ready for my cooking thing all in between. But I can do it, I'm not worried. I'll have the time to do it all! I just need to manage my time and not be on my phone as much.

I'm trying to get back into listening to podcasts and watching more producitve and healthy vlogs from youtubers I enjoy! I'm currently watching vlogs and content from Rebecca Jay, Michaela Bento, The Bliss Bean, LenaLifts, truly.jia, Study to Success, Lindie Botes (her earlier language videos), and Mikalya Mags. My favorite podcast is The 5AM Miracle: Healthy Productivity for High Acheivers by Jeff Sanders.

If you have any health, lifestyle, fitness, or productivity youtubers or podcast recommendations please comment them or inbox me so I can check them out!! I am always looking for new content to enjoy!!!

til next time lovelies 🩷

[hugmekenobi]

S2: The Bad Batch (7)

Chapter Seven: Back to the Past

Gif by @jenstar1992-2

Hunter x femaleJedi!reader

Series Summary: Some time has passed since everything that happened at Kamino and you and the Batch are trying to figure out your place in the rapidly changing Imperial galaxy. And you're having to do all this whilst figuring out where your relationship with Hunter fits into it.

Chapter Summary: Going on a mission with Phee sees you travel back to a time you had been wanting to forget and of course, trouble manages to find you.

Masterlist for S1

<Previous Chapter

Genre: Friends (idiots) to Lovers (we're in the lovers stage now)

Chapter Warnings: Canon-typical violence, swearing, my interpretation of how Nal Hutta is, brief moment of anxiety, reader having a dodgy past and being a bit shady/reckless (cause apparently I need to include flaws lol), beatings, injury descriptions (mentions of blood, stabbing, bruises, death), protective Hunter is a bit mean to Phee, hurt/comfort, fluff and feelings, light angst

Word Count: 7.3K

Author's notes: Tried to get the best of both worlds with the off show plot for this chapter so hope you enjoy! Excited to get to work on episode 8 now and thanks for all the support and patience!

“Hello, hello!”

You turned in the direction of the chipper voice and saw Phee waltz through the door.

“Phee!” Omega called out happily.

“Hey, kid!” She said with a wave before she made a beeline for you and Hunter. “How’s my favourite couple doing?”

“What do you want?” Hunter asked by way of answer.

“Straight to the point. That’s what I like about you, Bandana.” Phee charmed.

“What is it, Phee?” You asked again.

“I got word of a lead on-”

“Some sorta valuable, ancient artifact?” You and Hunter sussed.

Phee nodded. “I need some assistance following up. Was wondering if I could borrow you and Omega?”

“Yes!” Omega replied instantly but a sharp glance from Hunter told her she better hold off until she had official confirmation.

Your brow furrowed. “Why just us the two of us?”

“Typically, we do missions together.” Tech pointed out from the table you.

“Don’t worry, brown eyes. You’ll get your turn at some point.” She said.

Tech didn’t know how to respond to that, so he just focused his attention back to his datapad. He missed the smirks from his two brothers sitting across from him.

Phee now answered your question. “Figured it would be good for the kid to keep seeing new places and it’s a simple mission so little risk. And we made some progress back on Kaldar, let’s not lose that.” She left out that she wanted the time to also figure you and certain behaviours of yours out. There was something more to you that you that she needed to uncover.

“Okay.” You said hesitantly, still not fully satisfied with that answer but you sensed you weren’t going to get anything more.

Phee turned her attention back to the two of you. “What do ya say? I promise not to let either of your girls be hurt or led astray.” She told Hunter as a means to sweeten the deal.

Hunter focused his gaze on you. “If you want to go, you can go. I also have a feeling she won’t let you stay.”

Phee feigned a look of surprise.

You shrugged. “Gets me outta here for a little bit, I guess.”

“That’s the spirit.” Phee said with a roll of her eyes.

“And me? Please, Hunter?” Omega begged.

I’ll be an extra set of eyes, she’ll be alright.

Hunter sighed. He wasn’t thrilled by this by any means, but he had promised himself to give Phee a chance and you were going with them so that helped things a little. He nodded his permission.

Phee carefully observed you and Hunter. The two of you did it again. That secret, slightly above normal silent communication that seemed to go through you both with perfect understanding.

“Yes!” Omega whooped in victory before she gathered her stuff and darted towards the door.

“Where exactly are we going?” You queried.

“Nal Hutta.” Phee replied.

That made you pause but you covered it quickly. You heaved a sigh and pushed yourself up from your chair.

“Show some enthusiasm! This is going to be fun!” Phee said with a smile before she started to follow Omega out.

You made sure your armour and weapons were secure before you faced Hunter. You gave him a chaste kiss to the lips before his arms enveloped you in a hug.

“Be careful, yeah?” Hunter said as he released you.

“Hey, it’s me.” You said with an innocent grin.

“I know. That’s why I’m asking.” Hunter said, his tone light but the intent behind the words serious.

“I’ll be fine.” You said before you waved to the others and jogged to catch up with the other two.

--

“Nal Hutta, huh?” You repeated as you walked in the direction of her ship.

Phee cocked her head at you as she heard the slightly nervous way you spoke. “Yeah, not too rough for you, is it?”

You shot her a look. “No. There’s just… some people I’d rather not run into.”

“It’s a big place, the odds of that happening are low.”

“Tech gives much better estimations than you do.”

“Yeah, but I’m sure his sway on the more pessimistic side of things. That’s one thing you gotta learn about me, (Y/N), I like to look on the bright side.” She thumped your back. “Now, come on! We got a lead to hunt down.” She jogged to catch up with Omega.

 You were yet to be convinced by that philosophy. But you’d allow her this opportunity. After all, it had been quite a few years since you’d been there. The odds had to be low… right?

--

Nal Hutta

“You know this place is not going to be glamorous.” You warned Omega as the ship touched down.

“How long did you live here for?” Omega asked. She’d seen the anxious look on your face the whole time the ship had been en-route and she knew that if she asked about it, you wouldn’t lie to her.

“A few months. It wasn’t my scene.” You replied briefly as you pushed up your hood and mask up as high as they could go just as the door opened.

--

It had not changed. The green and yellow tinge to the environment around you was just as off putting as it had been when you first smuggled yourself here.

It was hot.

It was humid.

You already felt a layer of filth settling on your exposed skin.

And the swamp rain had already started and the stench from said swamps made your nose wrinkle under your mask. You had forgotten how bad it was. You chuckled as you glanced down at Omega to see her hand over her nose. “Told ya. Just let it hit you for a few minutes and then it’ll be fine.”

Omega reluctantly lowered her hand.

“Where’s this lead, Phee?” You asked, adjusting your weapons.

“We won’t need those.” Phee said confidently. “My source is in the local watering hole.” She pointed over to the only bar in the area.

Of course, they are. You thought irritably to yourself. You almost wished your travels for this source would see you go into the swamplands because at least out there, the likelihood of running into someone who might recognise you would be minimal. Going to this bar significantly increased the risks for you.

--

“Did you come here?” Omega asked as the three of you headed towards the run-down bar.

You kept your sight low as the people you passed on the way over gave you all the once over. “Uh yeah, was a regular back in the day.”

“Really, here?” Phee said with surprise.

“It was a different time.” You said by way of justification.

“What brought you here in the first place?” Phee asked.

Omega glanced up at you, curious about the answer herself.

“Just had to get away.” You said airily.

“From what?” Phee pressed. “And what exactly did you do here anyway?”

The already thick air started to feel like it was settling in the back of your throat. You didn’t like that Phee kept pushing it. “It’s not really any of your business, okay?” You snapped.

Phee raised her hands and backed off. “Damn, okay. You can have your secrets.”

You took a breath. “I’m sorry I snapped. It’s just a period I don’t like to remember, that’s all.”

The rest of the walk was done in silence and when you came upon the rundown wooden door, you were filled with sudden flashbacks of meetings and drunken brawls you were set with the task of ending. You shook the memories away as you opened the door.

--

A low thrumming from a music box in the corner echoed over the voices and sounds of glasses clinking.  You smiled fondly to yourself as Omega looked around in wonder and took in the various people and species that occupied the room. Bounty hunters, gangsters, people scraping by and more- Nal Hutta was the sorta place that attracted the people on the lower half of the scale.

Phee pointed to the bartender. “This shouldn’t take long. Take in the sights. I’ll be done soon.”

You nodded and led Omega over to one of the many dark corners of the cantina and kept a watchful eye over Phee as she talked to the bartender.

--

You were getting twitchy now. It looked like Phee was struggling with the bartender and each passing minute of their struggle was making your heartbeat that little bit faster. 

“(Y/N)? Is that you?”

You brushed off the hand on your arm that was starting to face you. “Uh no. Sorry, you got the wrong person.” You grabbed Omega’s hand and started to move away but couldn’t stop him as he darted in front of you.

You stopped short and kept your eyes to the ground. “Sir, I’m just trying to get past.”

“Our friend is over there, and we need to join her.” Omega added, doing her best to help you.

The man swore your voice was familiar. He stooped and finally caught a glimpse of your eyes as you tried to avoid his. “It is you!”

“You have the wrong person.” You insisted before you started pushed past him.

“I don’t think so.” He acted quickly and went to pull your coverings down.

You shoved him away, but he managed to hook a finger in your mask, and it fell.

“Well, I’ll be damned, we thought you were all dead. I know someone will be pretty pleased to hear you’re not. She was really pissed off, you know.”

Fuck fuck fuck. You thought repeatedly. You ignored and shouldered past him. You were out of time; word would travel fast now.

Omega followed your hurried footsteps. “(Y/N), what’s going on?”  

“I’ll explain later, Omega. We need to leave.” You replied hastily. There had been no point in pulling your mask back up, so Phee got a good look at the nervousness lingering behind your eyes as you approached her.

“Hey, you okay?” She asked.

“Do you have it?” You said instead. “We need to go. Now.”

“Well, we can’t yet. Someone is changing the terms of the deal.” Phee griped, crossing her arms in frustration.

“You want more money?” You guessed as you talked to the barkeeper.

He shrugged. “Information ain’t cheap.”

“The amount we agreed was-”

“Give her the data.” You interrupted Phee and kept your attention on him.

Phee and Omega observed you. Your manner had completely changed. You were distant and cold as you dealt with him.

The bartender guffawed and rested his arm on the bar counter. “Cute negotiation tactic but no. My price has gone up.”

You lazily rolled your eyes and within the blink of an eye, your vibroblade was pinning the lose fabric of his shirt to the wooden counter and you held his head on the counter, so he had little choice but to angle his eyes up at you.

A shocked Phee and Omega took half a step back.

“Here’s how this is going to go.” You whispered in his ear, your voice firm and intimidating. “You’re going to give her whatever it was you promised, for the original price, and you’ll get to keep your hand attached to your body. Okay?” You hoped the threat was enough, you weren’t wanting to descend back into the way you had acted here in previous times.

“No.” He grunted.

He was stubborn, you gave him that, so you tried another method. Riskier but was a way for everyone to leave unharmed. You channelled the Force and directed it towards his mind. “You will give her the information.”

“I will…” He trailed off and shook his head. “No. I won’t.”

You pushed harder and went again. “You will give her the information.”

“I will give…”

Omega deduced that his reaction was due to you using your Jedi abilities and she knew you wouldn’t be using them unless it was truly necessary, but she worried for you as she glanced at Phee. The woman was looking at you with a keen sense of interest.

 You weren’t wanting to do this for a third time so you waited as you could sense his resistance was fading.

“I will give you the information.” He said finally, his voice hazy before he reached down and put the data card on the counter.

Phee picked it up and glanced between you and the barman. What the hell had she just watched?

“Pay him and let’s go.” You said emotionlessly as you sheathed your blade in your vambrace and turned to leave.

--

“You wanna tell me what that was?” Phee demanded as the three of you hustled out the cantina.

“What was what?” You deflected, avoiding her stare and nudging Omega in front of you.

“Nuh uh.” Phee grabbed the top of your arm. “You can’t just insist we leave, get the information from a man who was adamant about not revealing it, and then run out without saying how you did it and why we suddenly need to go.”

“Phee, you got the information you wanted. I don’t see what the big deal is. We need go.” You implored as you turned around to face her.

Any protest Phee was going to offer died on her lips as she caught sight of the crowd of people approaching.

“But we haven’t had the group reunion yet.” A sing song voice laced with venom called over to you.

You closed your eyes in despair and slowly turned on your heels to face the crew you had really wanted to avoid. The two Gamorreans were new but the two Trandoshans, three Twileks were from your time. Your eyes however focused in on the leader. She looked the same as she had when you’d left. Slim odds my ass. You thought to yourself. You stepped forward slightly, so Omega and Phee were more behind you.

--

“Hello, Vaya.” You said coolly.

“It’s been a long time, Two Knife.”

“I meant to come visit.” You lied, no warmth behind your words.

“Two Knife?” Omega repeated as she looked to you, but you didn’t turn to meet her eyes.

You cringed as you heard your old nickname leave the young girl’s mouth.

“For the two vibroblades she used when she was part of us. No blasters, only ever those knifes. I think she liked killing up close and personal.” Vaya taunted cruelly. “Though it looks like you traded one of them in. What happened? Grow a conscience in your time away?”

“Shut the fuck up.” You snarled.

Vaya sneered. “Oh, what’s the matter, (Y/N)? You didn’t tell your new…” She looked to your companions and gave a mocking laugh as she saw the child. “ ‘crew’ about your old friends?”

“Take it these were the people you were hoping to avoid?” Phee worked out as she saw the icy stares the two of you were giving each other.

“Friends is a generous term.” You said but you didn’t want her to keep talking. You didn’t want Omega knowing exactly what you had been a part of here. At least not from her. It had all been an act built from repressed anger, disappointment, and misery, but you were ashamed of what you’d become in your time here.

Vaya pretended to look wounded. “After all we achieved in this shithole. You want to forget it so eagerly? Then again, that would make sense. You stole from us and ran pretty quickly.”

“Yeah, well, finding out you were giving a cut of what we stole to the Separatists during the war wasn’t what I signed up for.”

“So, I take it you haven’t come to pay it back?” Vaya said with a glare.

You couldn’t help the laugh that left your mouth. “Nope. I am dead broke and, as hard as it might be for you to believe, I did not come here for you.”

Vaya’s lip curled into a nasty grin. “Then it’s just my lucky day.” With that, she clicked her fingers and her subordinates straightened up and cracked various bones in their body.  

Omega, you, and Phee get back to the ship. I’ll meet you there.

“No, we’re not leaving you.” Omega hissed as she kept her bow activated.

Phee glanced down and the young girl and then to you. There it was again. That level of communication that was something more than just good team chemistry. She was sure you hadn’t spoken yet Omega seemed to know exactly what you had said. Plus, there was still that incident in the bar that she needed to follow up on. What were you?

You didn’t take your eyes of the group in front of you. Trust me. Please. “All this because of a little money I stole from you years ago? Can’t we just let bygones be bygones and no one gets hurt?” You reasoned with Vaya whilst Omega tugged on Phee’s arm and turned to go in the direction of the ship.

“You know our law here.” Was Vaya’s steely reply.

Yeah, you did, and it had been why you’d avoided this place like the plague after you’d left. Money was all anyone here cared about and they didn’t care who they hurt to get it. And… you’d been a key part in that for a while.

Phee hesitantly moved backwards. “(Y/N), you sure-”

“Get outta here.” You ordered firmly.

Phee didn’t like it, but you seemed determined and the last thing she wanted was Omega getting caught in any crossfire. She left you behind and ran back to the ship with Omega.

“After them.” Vaya signalled to the two Gamorreans.

Two quick stun shots from your blaster halted any movements from the two as they dropped to the ground. “You deal with me, or the next round leaves a more permanent outcome.” You said with a hard stare.

Vaya merely shrugged. “Fine by me. So long as the result is you dead in the ground.”

“Still got that lovely street demeanour.” You mumbled. “Same rules I take it?” You asked, already unholstering your blaster and tossing your vibroblade a safe distance away.

“It’s like you’ve never been away.” Vaya jeered before she took a step back and allowed her crew to advance towards you.

--

“Fucking hell.” You wheezed as you shoved the dead Trandoshan off your chest. His body flopped to the ground with his neck sticking out at an awkward angle. You didn’t want to kill him but when you found yourself on your back with his clawed hands squeezing your throat, you were left with little choice.

You hunched on all fours as you worked your way up to stand but you didn’t get very far. A hard kick was sent to your ribs, followed swiftly by one to your stomach. You rolled across the ground and retched before you were allowed to get to your feet. You swayed and pointlessly wiped away the blood running from your nose as you faced the two twileks and the lone trandoshan. One companion dead, the other unconscious on the ground.

As the two twileks stalked towards you, you called on the Force to give you that extra bit of strength you found yourself needing. “Four down, four to go.” You said to yourself before you raised your arms and let them come to you.

The two twilelks- one red skinned, one blue- started their attack first. They came at you from either side. You remembered these two and from what you recalled, they weren’t the brightest of the bunch and you only hoped that would remain true. As the red one made to strike you, but you ducked and instead his fist crunched into the nose of the second one who yelped in pain.

You kicked the red twilek in the groin which sent him crumbling to the ground and whipped round to face his friend. He was still nursing his hurt nose, so you easily dodged the aimless and distracted swing of his arm. One well-placed and strong hit of your elbow to his temple followed by a harsh punch to the underside of his jaw had him collapsing to the ground but it was after this you got yourself into a bit of trouble. You were sluggish and didn’t turn around quickly enough to stop the second twilek from grabbing the back of your neck.

The remaining red-skinned twilek hit the back of your knee and kept doing so when you didn’t immediately go down. Once you finally succumbed, he pinned your arms behind your back and the trandoshan got to work on punching your face.

It was a struggle to stay conscious as the assault continued and so you acted swiftly. When the next hit came, you tipped to the side and the punch wound up in the gut of your captor you let your hands go on instinct as he doubled over.

You forced yourself to stand up quickly and you faced your two foes once more. All of you were breathing heavily.

“Any chance you guys want to call it a day?” You tried, your jaw aching with the effort and the metallic taste of blood was filling your mouth and the back of your throat. You spat it out.

The answering growl and ‘fuck you’ gave you your answer.

“Alrighty then.” You sighed. Your best bet here was to use their weaknesses against them. Both were eager to be the one to deliver the final hit and that meant they were unfocused. You ducked, weaved, and parried their strikes for now. It was almost like you were dancing in a pattern to get them closer to each other whilst they were aiming for you.

One misplaced kick from the twilek combined with a perfectly timed dodge from you meant that the trandoshan got clipped in the thigh which caused his step to fumble as he got ready to set himself once more and that was your moment. You dashed round the back of the twilek and twisted his arm behind his back and used him as a shield when the trandoshan barley looked up and threw a powerful punch but rather than you sinking to the ground, it was his teammate.

You tutted and shook your head as you released the unconscious body. “Didn’t anybody teach you that you’re not supposed to punch out your own gang member?”

“I forgot how much shit came out of your mouth.” The trandoshan hissed.

You shrugged. “Keeps things entertaining.” With that you and the trandoshan went at it once more.

--

The two of you had been going at it for much longer that you would’ve liked.

You were able to punch his cheekbone but, at the same time, he sent a strong kick to the centre of your chest sent you sprawling on your back. You released a winded cough and as he stepped towards you, you swept your leg out and took his out from under him. He fell to the ground, and you took your chance. You groaned with the effort it took for you to climb across his chest, but you managed it. His fist skimmed across your jaw since you moved it away in the nick of time, so the resulting impact of the punch was lost. You lifted his head and smacked the back of it off the ground a few times before he too was left unconscious. You moved off him when you were sure he wasn’t going to come back around.

--

You were only allowed a moment of respite since you still had one more person to deal with. You braced a hand on your knee and heaved a few deep breaths. You spat some more blood out your mouth, stood and beckoned Vaya to come towards you.

Vaya snarled and ran at you, knife in hand.

You dodged the quick jabs of her knife, but you were sore and exhausted, your movements had grown slower. You didn’t quite manage to avoid the next swift, well-placed stab of her knife. It sliced through your side. You swallowed your shout of agony and stumbled backwards. You ignored the pain and sensation of warm blood dripping down your body. It would give Vaya too much power if she saw how badly she’d wounded you.

Vaya smirked. She hadn’t missed the way your face had contorted as she made contact with you. She studied her blade which was now dotted with your blood. “You’re getting sloppy.”

“You always were a cheat.” You said through laboured breaths.

“Give up now, and I promise I’ll make the rest of it quick.”

“Nah, this was all to give you a fair shot.” You taunted.

Vaya snarled and stalked towards you once more.

You studied her and when you saw the glance she sent towards your shoulder, and you grabbed her wrist and bent it back, so she was forced to drop the knife.

You caught the movement of her other fist that was aiming for your mouth. You blocked it and managed a punch of your own that met her cheekbone. You then landed a kick to her stomach which sent her reeling back.

She was pissed and, unlike you, had all her energy. You knew the longer this went on, the less likely it was that you would be the one walking away. You needed to get under her skin and make her lose focus, so you smirked as you saw the welt that was already swelling beneath her skin. “Knife strike followed by a punch to the mouth. It’s still the same but then again, you never were all that creative.”

Vaya cried out in frustration and charged towards you.

You knew what she was going to do. You let her tackle your waist and ignored the wave of agony it sent through your body as she repeatedly hit your open wound. You pushed the black spots encroaching on your vision away and kept your feet. You kneed her in the ribs which caused her to loosen her grip for a moment. You did it again and again until she let go and regrouped.

Vaya saw the weary and pained expression behind your eyes. Your heart wasn’t in this, and she could use that. She caught her breath back and ran at you again.

This time though, you couldn’t fight the pain it caused you and you weren’t able to stay standing. The two of you crashed to the ground. You felt her reaching out to the side and when you turned your head, you saw why- her knife was within her grasp. You made the rather unwise decision to headbutt her, an act that saw stars exploding behind your eyes due to the pain it caused your already injured face. It only dissuaded her for a second. You choked out a pained grunt as she placed her knee on your chest- limiting your movements- and managed to get her weapon back.

Vaya straddled your chest and brought the knife down towards you.

You blocked her descent with your forearm, but she continued to press down, and the sharp point of the knife was edging closer to your throat. You let the Force flow through you and found whatever reserves were left within you and pushed back- hard- and used your other hand to lift her elbow to the side. You could tell by the way the knife was moving away from you and the sheer frustration in her face that you were going to get out of this. You managed to get her half off you but the momentum you had caused meant you rolled too, and she kept it going.

--

The two of your struggled on the ground, the knife getting lost between you both and it was then you heard the sound of metal meeting flesh.

You weren’t sure how it happened, and you wished you had found a way to stop it.

You watched the fearful realisation in her eyes, and you glanced down. You pushed off her you and she fell to the side. You gingerly sat up and recoiled in horror as you saw her knife embedded in her own chest. “Vaya, I-”

“You always- always were the stronger one.” Vaya rasped.

You bowed your head. You didn’t want it to go like this. “I’m sorry.”

A pained laugh rattled from Vaya’s mouth. “You’ll- you’ll understand if I don’t feel like forgiving you right now.”

You released a low, sad laugh. “Can I help?”

“No, I’m-” Vaya coughed, and a trickle of blood left the corner of her mouth. “I’m done.”

You watched as the light left her eyes and her chest stopped moving. “I’m sorry.” You whispered sincerely before you gently lowered her eyelids. You had never wanted this.

You stood up and made to take a step but instantly felt your knees buckle as your beaten body finally let itself be feel all the aches and pains you were experiencing. You slouched to the ground. You finally pressed a hand into your side and hissed in discomfort. You lifted your shirt and examined the wound. It wasn’t as deep as you’d feared but it was no small cut either. You definitely needed medical attention. You released a shaky breath as you got to your feet. Your knee burned under your full weight so you had to accommodate your step accordingly as you weaved your way through the bodies, picked up your abandoned weapons and made your way back to the ship as quickly as your body would allow.

--

Phee and Omega took in your battered and bruised face as you limped towards them. You were clutching your side and there was a blood trail behind you.

“(Y/N)!” Omega cried anxiously as she and Phee ran towards you.

“I thought you had a handle on things?” Phee said as she reached for you.

You waved them both off and grimaced. “I did. Just-” You readjusted your stance and groaned in pain. “Just get- get back to Ord Mantell.” You kept one gloved hand on your side as you all boarded the ship.

You winced as you sat down and took the cloth from Omega and put it over your nose to stem the blood flow.

“Hunter is going to kill me.” Phee mumbled as she turned her worried gaze from you and got the ship in the air.

As Omega started to take off your armour and anxiously watched the way your eyes flickered, she wasn’t confident enough to tell her that he wouldn’t.

--

“AZ, we need you!” Omega shouted urgently as the three of you entered the parlour.

AZ dropped the tray of dirty glasses in his hand and whirred towards Cid’s room. “Bring her back here.”

The rest of the Batch jumped to their feet as they saw you slouched against Phee.

“What happened?!” Echo asked as he and his brothers hustled over to you.

Your only reply was a pained grunt.

“We ran into some lowlifes.” Phee explained for you as she strengthened her grip on you since she felt you lean into her more.

“Where’s Hunter?” Omega asked quickly.

“He’s out with Cid.” Tech replied, already halfway to the exit.

“Don’t-” You sucked air through your teeth in discomfort as Echo and Wrecker took over from Phee in supporting you. “Don’t bother him. Give me 20 minutes and I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Wrecker disagreed. “You know what he’d do to us if we didn’t tell him this?”

“I’ve been imagining a few scenarios.” Phee piped up.

“I’m going to be fine.” You protested through gritted teeth. You didn’t want to worry Hunter with something that in the grand scheme of things, wasn’t a big deal and would be sorted pretty quickly.

“I do not suggest we test the idea.” Tech advised before he slipped away as Echo and Wrecker began to lead you into the back room where AZ was setting up.

--

“What are you after, Goggles?” Cid asked roughly as she saw Tech sprint towards them.

Tech ignored her.

Hunter took in the look on his brother’s face and his muscles tensed. It was a rare sight to see Tech looking troubled. “What’s wrong, Tech?”

Tech caught his breath back. “It’s (Y/N), she’s hurt. She-”

Hunter didn’t wait to be told the rest. He just started running.

--

“Hunter, hold on. Don’t-”

The warning calls from all his brothers didn’t stop him. He made a beeline for Phee.

Phee saw both the fury and panic on Hunter’s face and that was a dangerous combination. She dashed around to the safety of the bar counter. “Hey hey hey. Let’s just talk.” She said but she couldn’t quite keep the fear at bay, so it came out her mouth very quickly.

Omega had paused for a moment to watch but she knew she’d be better off helping AZ treat you, so she left the main parlour.

Wrecker acted quickly and braced his hand on Hunter’s shoulder. He knew his brother wasn’t going to physically hurt Phee- it wasn’t his nature- but he couldn’t guarantee the words he would say would carry the same considerations.

“What. Happened. Out. There?” He spat angrily at her as he shoved Wrecker’s hand off him. He stopped his advance, however.

“Everything started off fine. We just-”

“Clearly it wasn’t. You told me they would be alright!” He couldn’t stop his voice from growing louder. He was too wound up and upset to think straight right now.

“We were. It was only at the end where-”

“I don’t care when it was! You said nothing was going to happen!”

“I-”

“I know you like to lie about your various adventures, but I didn’t think you would lie about ensuring the safety of my squad!”

“If you would just-”

“Guess you really are a pirate.”

“Look, I didn’t think anything would go wrong! I can’t control what she does! She has her own mind you know!”

That made Hunter pause. “What are you talking about?” He took a deep breath and relaxed his stance a bit.

“Oh, you’re letting me get a word in now?” Phee retorted.

“Don’t.” Hunter warned. “Just tell me what you mean.”

Phee sighed. “Look, overall things were fine. It was just at the end. She got all jittery about needing to leave so we did but then we ran into some people that she insisted she deal with herself. I wanted to help but the kid was there, and (Y/N) told us to go. And technically, she did handle them. She got away, didn’t she? She’s right here. It’s not my fault she felt the need to take on a whole gang of people by herself.”

“You-”

“Hunter, instead of focusing your attention on Phee, why don’t you go check on (Y/N)?” Tech interjected.

Phee shot him a look of gratitude.

Hunter’s jaw clenched before he gave Phee one last glare and hustled through to the back room.

--

He practically crashed through the door when a big enough gap opened and you hastily covered the wound on your side that AZ was beginning to tend to. You started to sit up. “I told them not to bother you.”

“I am not yet finished with my examination.” AZ said, indicating that you should lie back down.

“What happened?” Hunter asked, his voice tight as he struggled to keep the distress at seeing your bruised face. Your lip had split and there was a cut along the bridge of your nose. Not to mention the purple and blue welts that were scattered across your face, particularly your cheek, eye, and jaw.

“You should see the other guys.” You joked before you winced as AZ started to work on your stab wound.

“Believe me, I wish I could.” Hunter said with protective rage.

“I’m okay, Hunter.” You comforted as you patted the side of the bed in invitation.

“Are you okay?” He asked to Omega first.

Omega nodded as she cleaned the spots of blood from your face and took off you gloves to clean the scratches on your knuckles before applied the bacta to the various bruises on your face. “Not even a scratch. It was an interesting mission until it went a bit wrong.”

Hunter hung his head in relief before he took your hand and came to sit by the bed. “How’s it going, AZ?”

“The bruises on her face and ribs will heal quickly. Her knee will take longer but the treatment is the same- some bacta and rest. This wound on her side, however, is more concerning.”

“AZ, I thought we said not to mention the injury there.” You grumbled.

“Yes, AZ, what’s concerning about the injury on her side?” Hunter said, shooting you a look.

“The knife wound isn’t deep, closing it up will be a simple process, but the blade that inflicted it was unclean and there is subsequent dirt from whatever happened after the original wound occurred. I am worried about infection.”

“See, a ‘simple process’.” You said with a small smile.

“The ‘worried about infection’ part just didn’t reach your ears?” Hunter chastised.

“I’m choosing to not think about it. And looking out for your health. You know, you should be avoiding unnecessary stress.” You said breezily.  

“Forget about my non-existent blood pressure issue. You were stabbed!” Hunter said, hanging his head in utter exasperation.

“Lightly.” You corrected with a slight smile.

Hunter breathed deeply. He wasn’t prepared to be calm about this yet.

You felt the distress that rippled through him. “Hunter, I promise I’m feeling much better.” You brought his hand to your chest and let him feel your heartbeat. “See? I’m right here.”

Slowly but surely and with each strong beat of your heart, Hunter started to feel himself relax. “Do you have enough supplies to clean it, AZ?”

“I do. The process will just carry a degree of discomfort.”

“Feel free to squeeze.” Hunter said softly as he kissed the back of your hand as he held it.

You gave him a grateful smile before you signalled for AZ to start.

--

“I have finished my treatment.” AZ declared.

“Thank you.” You said as the droid left the room. You sat up. Your still body ached but you figured that would be the norm for the next few hours at least. You accepted Hunter’s help to stand and practically fell into his arms as he didn’t give you much time to get oriented before he wrapped them around you.

“You know the idea of letting me just walk in and find you like this with no warning was a sure way to put me through unnecessary stress?” Hunter murmured into the top of your head.

“I know.” You admitted. “At the time, I thought it was the better route to go down.”

A beat of silence passed before Hunter spoke again. “I need you to be more careful, okay? We can joke all we like but when Tech said you were hurt…”

You pulled your head back to look at him.

“I can’t lose you.” He murmured as he brushed the backs of his fingers tenderly across your bruised face.

“You won’t.” You reassured him, your voice gentle.

“I could have. On more than one occasion and it’s not something I ever find myself prepared for.”

“Hunter…”

“I know the risks of what we do. I account for everything, or at least I try to, but the one thing that I always struggle to plan for is losing anyone here, especially you. If I-” He stopped before he tried again. “If I lost you, I think a part of me would die with you.”

You cupped his face and looked deep into his brown eyes. “Good thing that’s not going to happen.”

He swallowed thickly. He knew you both knew there were no guarantees in this galaxy but hearing you say it helped, nonetheless.

“It won’t.” You affirmed again. You wouldn’t let it. He and this squad were a source of light for you in the ever-growing darkness of this galaxy and if you didn’t have that, you dreaded to even think about what you would do. “I’ll stop being reckless and you avoid heights.” You said with a smile.

Hunter laughed. “Sounds like a decent plan.” He hugged you again.

“How much did you lay into Phee?” You asked with a knowing smile as you adjusted your head to glance at him.

“I was probably a bit harsh.” Hunter admitted on reflection.

“She told you I told them I’d handle it, right? She was actually following an order.”

“Yes.” Hunter grunted in displeasure. “When you’re 100% I’m going to come back and lecture you about that.”

You snorted out a laugh. “Come on, Sergeant. We got some apologies to make.”

--

As you hobbled into the main parlour with Hunter providing a helping hand, Phee dashed to hide behind Wrecker.

“What did you do?” You admonished with a playful punch to his arm.

Hunter winced at Phee’s reaction. “I’m sorry, Phee.” He said genuinely.

Phee peeked out from behind Wrecker. “Oh yeah?”

“Yes. I shouldn’t have reacted the way I did. I was scared and I took it out on you when I shouldn’t have.”

Phee fully emerged. She could tell he meant what he was saying but that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a bit of fun first. “So, you’re sorry you yelled?”

“Yes.” Hunter nodded.

“And you’re sorry for not letting me get a chance to explain first?”

“Yes.”

“And you’re sorry you blamed me?”

“Yes.” He said again, not liking the direction Phee was taking this but he had it coming.

“And you’re sorry for implying that I would deliberately endanger your team?”

“Yes.” He squirmed.

“And you’re sorry for calling me a liar and a pirate?”

“Hunter.” You scolded.

“You were injured!” Hunter said awkwardly. He really had been an ass. “I didn’t know how badly; I just knew you were hurt and reacted with a bit more emotion that I should have. I’m sorry.” He said again.

Phee nodded appreciatively. “We’re cool, Bandana. You were worried for your girl, I get it. Just next time, take a moment before you jump down someone’s throat.”

Hunter dipped his head in acknowledgement.

“And Phee, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry too. I was careless and didn’t fully think about how a rather protective someone would react. I’m sorry for getting you into trouble.” You said earnestly.

“Don’t sweat it.” Phee said with a wave of her hand. “I just hope you left those other guys in a worst state cause you really don’t look too hot right now. Now, if you all would excuse me, I got some treasure to find.” She had decided to wait you out a bit longer, it wouldn’t be fair to try to figure out what your deal was with your current condition being what it was.

“Let us know what you find!” Omega called after her.

Phee grinned before she made her way out the parlour.

“Do the other guys look worse?” Wrecker asked.

“They will have to be in considerably worse shape if you look better.” Tech said simply, only realising how it sounded when all heads gave him the same pointed look.

You merely laughed. “Yes, Tech, they looked considerably worse. Some more than others.” You said to yourself quietly, regretfully.

“Alright!” Wrecker celebrated as he gave you a high five.

“Can you fill us in on what happened?” Echo asked.

“I did bring it on myself, it was from a time before I met you all. Believe or not, some secrets of my past before you all still remain. And this time, Omega isn’t going to reveal them.” You kidded as you all sat down, but you were nervous. You weren’t sure of the reaction you’d get. It was a dark, shameful part of your past where you’d just left the Order and had started doubting everything you’d thought you’d known and through that, you’d lost yourself for a while. “It was pretty soon after I left the Order…”

Next Chapter>

Tagging: @noeasyisnoisy, @fuckoffthanos, @tpwkcalli, @arctrooper69, @graciexmarvel, @flyingkangaroo, @nightmonkeysstuff, @brujaporfavor, @sunkissedclones, @ladytano420, @keep-calm-and-drink-caf, @yyourmotherr, @xxeiraxx, @starwarsnerd111

[askew-d]

Hello...Have you watched Haikyuu movies? It's great....And we got lots of Kuroken moments and "that"one Kagehina moment.... So, as Kagehina shipper, have you ever ship Hinata or Kageyama with other character? For me, I have read Kageyama with Oikawa fic (I enjoy it but not really into that ship, all the time thinking of Iwaoi) and Hinata with Atsumu fic (one of my friend love that ship, wrote a fic and asked me to read them). And as much as they're all good, my otp will always be Kagehina. Like they were made for each other and it has to be them...

Do you also have other ships that you love from MDZS and TGCF? Sorry, if you asked me this, I have at least 8 ships in total from those two series, all of them are non canon (Xuexiao, Xiyao, Zhuiling, Beafleaf, Fengqing, Quanyin, Peihuang, Xuyue)....

Sorry for this random and long ask, hope you don't mind....

hello, anon!! sorry i am late for this, hope you understand. life has been crazy, haha. anyway, let us go: i did watch the haikyuu films and recently in was at the cinema with a friend watching the dumpster battle, let me tell you i was OVERJOYED!!! heavens, i could not control my anxiety. though my friend also likes the anime, she isnt as obsessed as me and didnt even finish the last season when we talked about watching the brand new release, so i had the OUTSTANDING experience of rewatching it with her so we could buy the tickets after!! i lost count of how many times i watched it and how many times i made other friends try it out (at some point, i recommended it to even one of my students during a totally unrelated discourse, hahahaha, hope he shares his opinions once this winter break finishes).

since i watched haikyuu about... five years ago? i must have rewatched some seasons more than ten times. its my comfort show! love every film also. about the ships, kagehina is my endgame, but i definitely love kuroken, iwaoi, bokuaka and sakuatsu (though i consume kagehina content much more). of course every ship is valid, i cannot judge anyone, however, i personally cant see hinata or kageyama with anyone else and do not read stories too focused on other relationships :) i can comprehend why fans see something with oikawa and kageyama, or even oikawa and hinata (considering their interaction in rio), but i do not settle with it in my heart. its just profiles and options, anyway! dont mind, dont mind.

i agree with you. for me, they are soulmates through and through. perfect for each other. one is the promise, the other is the anchor. they might be one of the couples i have seen anywhere that matches each other's vibe the best.

about mxtxt works, my favorite side ships are moshang and beefleaf. i can see the appeals in each one you mentioned, but i just never quite got interested to the point of reading about it, sorry!! some of them maybe its because they did not have a finale extra shot, or at least they were not as spoken/seen together as they were individually. for fengqing, though i like them as a side couple in hualian fanfics, i never quite got engaged in their story together, many times they just annoyed me (god, im scared of saying that and people coming at me, but there you go). but i know they have their values and some interactions i could almost forget my light, petty resentment for their actions and laugh along. beefleaf though? mobei-jun and his creator shang qinghua? heavens, i wanted to see more of them.

so, this is it! do not worry about asking whatever and whenever you want to ask. i love coming here to answer them when i have the time. thank you!! hope you can spot a nice sunset and take a relaxing shower today.

[meelkiewee]

EXQUISITE CORPSE SHENANIGANS

Hello!

The other night me and my friends @hoodyknight and @mellowmango were playing Gartic Phone and I wanted to share the characters that came out! We specifically played "Exquisite Corpse". For those who are not familar with it: each person makes one part of the body, having only a tiny hint of what was previously made.

We were very surprised, to say the least, when we put together many actually interesting ones.

Since it's fun to rate things, I'll do a personal chart starting from worst to best. For each one I will say the drawing order, my rating and a personal thought.

Drawing Order (DO) : Michael-Gabriele-Sole

rate: 4/10

We had a nice start with the girlypop bull but even tho I like that and the arm tattoos very much I think I did a mid job with the legs. Overall It's not even colored so meh.

DO: Gabriele-Michael-Sole

rate: 4/10

The face is interesting and the shirt is kinda cute, then i ruined everything with that nonsense foot and the colored background. Tbh the background wasn't really my fault but a bug sob...

DO: Michael-Gabriele-Sole

rate: 5/10

Nice palette, nice face. The rest: I probably see something like this running after me in my nightmares, luckily I never remember anything when I wake up.

DO: Gabriele-Sole-Michael

rate: 5/10

Head and torso look good together but I think we achieved the AI vibe with this one soooo.....

DO: Sole-Gabriele-Michael

rate: 6/10

I didn't put much effort in the monster heads but I didn't really expect my friend to draw yet another head below so that's funny. What's even more funny is if you know where the three animal heads come from, you'll probably understand why the cutlery is so unexpectedly fitting lol. Rat feet are cute.

DO: Sole-Michael-Gabriele

rate: 6/10

My most failed attempt at drawing Husk by heart, I should never do that again. Tho this is the first drawing that tells a story uwu and shouts trans rights even for the fellow femboys out there <3 feat a very disrespectful ant checking what's under the skirt for good measure. Little accident happened with the colors so meh.

DO: Gabriele-Michael-Sole

rate: 6/10

Those are the most realistic eyes ever, they spook me asf I feel like it's staring in my soul ;; I am also not a big fan of the fact that the drawing goes out of the canvas. Funny points for the mom tattoo and the implications of cannibalism though.

DO: Gabriele-Sole-Michael

rate: 6/10

Body and legs(?) are kinda meh and it's totally my fault for messing it up on purpose but I wanted to experiment a bit. I'm sorry to my friend who was responsible for the marvellous face :'c Points for the bad-boi jacket.

rate: 6/10

DO: Michael-Sole-Gabriele

This turned out kind of intimidating in a funny way and has some bitchy vibes.

DO: Gabriele-Sole-Michael

rate: 6/10

I liked how my friend used the space for the heads and they came out nice as well.

DO: Sole-Michael-Gabriele

rate: 6/10

What the hell is this. And she's a dragon too now. She's clearly typing the news in the chat with the ToudensSibs and receiving some compliments about it. Look at that blushieblush and the tail wag. She's def getting attentions.

DO: Gabriele-Michael-Sole

rate: 6/10

This looks like everyone's typical first OC back in middle school, that one OC you pray no one will ever remember again. Love this vibe for it.

DO: Michael-Sole-Gabriele

rate: 7/10

Don't get me rong this tiger is magnifique, the head belongs to a character Michael's has been working on lately. It just doesn't get extra point cause we all figured out where the drawing was going while we were completing it so yeah it came out really good to no-one's surprise.

DO: Michael-Gabriele-Sole

rate: 7/10

Came out nicely but nothing really catches my attention.

DO: Sole-Gabriele-Michael

rate: 8/10

It looks soooo polite, so well behaved, so into art and crafts, so passionate about country tip-tap. It's just the kinda guy I wanna date frfr AND GIIIIRLLLL THAT MUSTACHE SLAYSSS! Look at the details too! we have a butterfly bowtie and not one but two pair of shiny boots. I mean c'mon ladies, get in line!

DO: Michael-Sole-Gabriele

rate: 9/10

This is our water best boi, it's marvellous cause it's yellow and collecting shoes it's his hobby! We still don't know what method he uses to acquire these many spare shoes but we felt shy asking such a personal question.

DO: Sole-Michael-Gabriele

rate: 9/10

Miss Marbles! Yall can tell she's quite the refined lady, she occasionally gets really grumpy but I forgive her, after all who doesn't get upset hearing a mechanical racket following you all day while you do your office job? Guys let's all have some patience.

DO: Sole-Gabriele-Michael

rate: 10/10

I don't know if my friends agree with my chart up until now, but I'm sure they agree this one is absolutely the best one out of all of them. We are actually discussing turning this into a proper poster cause the perfection left us all speechless. Well not really speechless, we actually proceeded to compliment this drawing for a good half an hour lol. We are still unsure how to call this beautiful creature but if you read untill here and are invested, you can totally suggest names for it!

Have a nice day/night everyone!

[zylophie]

ヾ(＾-＾)ノ— day 8 featuring shiraishi an

knock knock!

heres some mail!

ଘ(੭´꒳`)°* ੈ‧₊ 💌

⌨️ᶻᶻᶻ...anon is typing... ♡

↻ᴹᵉˢˢᵃᵍᵉ ˡᵒᵃᵈᵉᵈ !

❝Asjakshdk hello!!! I wanna request a Christmas prompt number 8 with an! I feel like her and reader having a party with vbs is so cute gshgdbd please and thank you!!❞

━━❝How about we do a down-home Christmas Party?❞

It was the early morning of mid December.

You were helping out around the house like usual and using every spare moment to try and finish up something.

"You really are... hopeless" Your friend stare at you with disappointment "How did you mess it up...on the day of the party too!"

"S-Shut up! I'm trying okay?!" You were fed up with the situation you're in.

Today was the day of the Christmas party that you promised An a while ago and you were currently working on her present...

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈ flashback...

The beginning of December.

"It's the latest trend...Handmade decorations and presents for Christmas are going to be really popular this year, you can bet on it my dear listeners!"

You were hanging out at the cafe, waiting for An to finished with helping her dad out when you heard the announcer on the program talking about topics on Christmas.

The show was featuring handmade presents, decorations and costumes for Christmas. There were also live reports as the reporter went on to many places where people were putting together illumination displays, making snowman and so on.

While you were enjoying the show, An walk up behind and said something to you "Ooh? That sounds fun!"

"Gah?!" You flinched, almost falling over the chair as you hold onto the counter in front of you "Annn~! Please warn me before you walk up behind me next time!!"

"Oh, oopies sorry (name)!" She apologized, pressing her hands together "I get you a new cup as an apology later but I need to ask you something before that"

"Sure, what is it?"

"How about we do a down-home Christmas Party this year? We could celebrate it with everyone and we should try making the decorations ourselves!"

"Huh? I don't know about that though..."

"I'll make my special cake for you"

"...deal"

Seeing An so into the idea was surprising endearing but it's also made you happy that she is enjoying herself.

"Okay, our presents for each other should be hand-made too then" She suggested with a smile adoring her face "I'm excited to see how this would turn out"

"Yeah!"

You were really excited to try it out at the time but then...

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈ back to the present...

Just when you thought that you were finally done...one of the many batches of cookies were crushed by the knitted gloves as you were taking it out of the oven.

"I'm still missing a few letters..."

That's right, you were so pleased with yourself and happy that you managed to wrap it up nicely with a ribbon and all but then when you pulled it out the night before to double check...

You realize the cookies jar was nearly empty and who is the culprit you ask?

"Why did my cousins have to eat them while I was away...I was sure that I put a note to An on it"

So then you were forced to stay up all night working on it but things weren't working out as you were getting more annoyed as time passed on "This is no good...! I'm running out of time and nowhere near done!!"

"Geez, you should plan things out more...you should always try make some extra because you would never know what could happen" On the other side of the counter, your friend was resting their chin on their hand, teasing you with a grin.

"It's just...I want the cookies to be special so that's why they are various shapes...I didn't think they would come over and eat them after playing so much...!" You couldn't help but whine and complain but you knew your friend was right.

"I'm such an idiot..."

"Don't get so upset about it..."

»»-----►that afternoon... ❍✧

You arrived at the cafe where the party will take place, An and you started putting everything together for the party before the other members of VIVID BAD SQUAD arrive for the celebrations.

"Haah...in the end, I didn't have time to finish making them..." You sighed, feeling down about the present.

An asked you to put up the decorations around the cafe while she was working on the cake and cooking the foods, the sweet aroma of the roast chicken fill the room but you were so worried about your present for her that you couldn't focus on the task at all...

"(name)?"

An called out, making her presence known while holding a jar in her hand.

Wait-

"Is this yours? I didn't mean to peek, I was looking for some fruits and found this jar on the counter"

"Uh-!"

"I didn't know you could bake! They look so cute! You even wrote my name on them" She smiles, clearly happy with what she is seeing.

"B-But...they aren't even full..." You only managed to fill the jar up to half and some of the cookies were badly shaped "I'm really sorry but that present is a failure...you were supposed to get a full jar of perfectly made cookies"

"(name)..."

An went to grab a hold of your hands and smile gently "I don't mind it, I really like the present, I can tell you put a lot of efforts into making them!"

"R-Really? You don't mind?"

"Yeah because I love any presents as long it's from you"

(っ'-')╮=͟͟͞͞💌 You receive a letter from Santa Yue!

↻ᴹᵉˢˢᵃᵍᵉ ˡᵒᵃᵈᵉᵈ !

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .

I LOVE AN SO MUCH, thank you so much anon for requesting an with this prompt!! I was so happy that she got requested that I was practically kicking in joy...she is so sweet, best girl fr uwuuu thank you again, you just make yuepyon a happy girl, pyon pyon~!

calling... @nogenderbee

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[oleander-nin]

I don't know if ☄️ started an odd uptick in your named anons (🍵 and 💤 for instance) but regardless I love them dearly hello Ollie's new anons >:D

Anyways I've been preoccupied with stuff but it's the weekend now so I thought,, hm. I'm bored I'm going to send Ollie things

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

SURPRISE IT'S CHECKLIST TIME:

If it's later in the day, have you eaten yet?

(I think your time zone is 1 hour behind mine if I recorded that correctly-)

Did you sleep well? (If you didn't and you're tired, take it easy please)

Who am I kidding you're tired all the time anyways lmao I HOPE YOU CAN NAP OR SOMETHING <3

Take your meds if you have any!

Writing this reminded me to take mine-

Hows the hygiene? Brush your teeth or shower if you need it

I JUST NEED TO REMIND MYSELF TO BRUSH MY TEETH MORE SO I FIGURED MAYBE OTHERS DO TOO-

DRINK WATER

Drink water. Everyone needs to drink more water. If you think you've drank enough you're probably wrong drink more water-

This applies to anyone seeing this btw not just Ollie <3 hello Ollie's followers are you annoyed yet? >:)

✧─── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

That concludes basic stuff so now I'm gonna give extra little things I need to remember for myself that I think might apply to you or others seeing this lmao

(I've been feeling kinda bad about not drawing as much as I wanted. so I figured this might apply to you too)

There's nothing wrong with not being productive for a bit. Whether it's writing or drawing or whatever thing you feel pressured to do.

There's nothing wrong with taking your time to do those things! There's a multitude of reasons but I can explain them another time

Something something about that comparison I made in an older ask about the human body/mind and a machine. You remember that one? (I can't get out of the ask thing to find it because it'll get rid of all this but Y'KNOW THE ONE)

DO NOT FORCE YOURSELF TO DO THE HOBBY IF YOU'RE NOT FEELING IT! BRO IT'S FINE YOU'RE GOOD YOU'RE NOT RUNNING OUT OF TIME-

(This next one's just something I realized recently. Idk if it's true for everyone but I'll share it anyways) I think even things I LIKE to do are tiring. I don't know how. Drawing and even playing a video game is tiring. Talking to friends online is tiring. This only really becomes a problem if something else is leeching all my energy, because otherwise it's definitely ALL worth it. What I'm trying to say is that things might take effort even if you like doing them or if they're supposed to be a relaxing thing (like,, idk Minecraft. I still have to think and respond to things and reaction time and planning and blah blah blah these things take mental energy I often don't have) I'M JUST SAYING IT'S SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT- YOU'RE NOT LAZY FOR NOT DOING A THING BECAUSE IT MIGHT ACTUALLY TAKE MORE ENERGY THAN YOU THINK- (writing especially, in my opinion. Idk how you do it-)

MAN these are always so much longer than I want them to be but,, yeah I hope this helps you (or anyone else reading)

Remember self care y'all! and don't pressure or force yourself to do things (looking directly at you Ollie /lh)

Oh yeah also Ollie you give me the feeling you have adhd (saying that as someone with horrible adhd) but I won't go into that-

OKAY BYEEE ILY <3

So proud of you 8-bit, you started a fad/lhj

I have eaten :D. My stomach did it's job and informed me I was hungry for once. Have you?🤨 Also I have no clue what your time zone is lmao

I slept pretty decent! Not as tired as I was yesterday, so that's good.

But I hate my meds they're grosssssssssssssssssss. Did take them but bleh.

I just ate, I should go brush my teeth thankies-

Does milk count?

"Imagine a machine that needs maintenance. If you don't make time to schedule the maintenance, it'll break when you're not expecting it. That's the same for a human. If you don't schedule time for breaks, your body or brain will do it for you." This machine analogy? I do remember it and your incredible wisdom. I'll try to abide by it more😔

Also completely agree w/ your last thing. I like to draw, I like to write, but it sucks sometimes. Heck, I can't even bring myself to watch my favorite shows just because I don't have the energy to actually watch it. Thank you for the list of affirmations(?), I needed it. I've been trying to write, but it's getting harder with my interests split lol.

Don'e worry about them being long! I really don't mind, it's fun to read them. Ily2, bye!/plat

[minnieminss]

JEWELS WITHIN; a wolf story pt.4

Pairing - Kwon Soonyoung (Hoshi) x 6 year old!oc x fem!reader

Warnings - werewolf au, cold!soonyoung, cursing, hoshi using nicknames for his little sister (baby, honey, etc), painfully shy!reader, but also lowkey childish and adorable, angst, age gap, (4years). Bipolar!josh (he can get so soft and then be an ass but we all know he cares), not the best of writing but I try.. :)

Summary - After being rejected by his mother at birth and parents murdered by hunters, soonyoung is faced with the responsibility of raising his little sister alone… until he finds you.

Word count - ?

Hana’s pov

It’s been 2 hours since my brother left. I miss him so much! Who am I going to annoy now? Or…or play games with?

Today I’ve realized how boring it is without hoshi.

Speaking of games… the nice girl Aria offered to play games with me, but I didn’t like the idea of playing with someone else without my brother here. It made me feel bad.

So, I sat on the long rectangle like chair (that’s called a couch… I think.) and watched what they call a ‘show’ on a box called a tv!

The show wasn’t all that good to be honest, a bunch of puppets singing and I was already a bit bored by it.

Who am I kidding? This show is great!

I probably watched about 2 episodes of it until I heard people starting to talk due to someone coming in through the door.

“Josh! Your sisters here!” Said somebody.

The scary guy has a sister? I wonder if she’s my age!

No… maybe?

Joshua came downstairs the greet his sister the same time I turn my head to see who this mystery sister is.

She’s not my age. Should’ve known Hana!

“Y/n? What are you doing here?! How did you even get here?” The boy asked. “I… missed my brother?” The girl said quietly, chuckling nervously.

“Y/n…” he said. Sternly looking at the younger girl.

“Can we just talk about it later? Please.” The girl said looking away from the older boy. “Fine. I want you to meet someone, We have a guest.” Joshua said pointing to Hana.

“Hi! I’m Hana!” The girl said loudly making the girl flinch. “Hello..” the girl said with a small voice.

“I have a brother too! His name is Hoshi!” She said smiling. “How nice… how old are you Hana?” The girl asks. “I’m six years old! Yesterday was my birthday!” Hana says giggling.

“You’re very cute Hana, I can see us being friends..” the girl says looking at Joshua who smiles encouragingly.

“Me too! Wanna watch this show with me?” Hana says turning back to face the Tv with a bounce.

“Sure, sounds amazing”

—

Soonyoung

“Shifts are normally around 8 hours a day, 12 if you do an extra shift.” Aria says.

“I know you wanted to keep as little amount of time away from your sister as possible but this is the best it’s gonna be Soonyoung.” She continued.

“I’m definitely going to hate this but, I really need the money.” I sigh. “When’s the fastest I can start?”

“Well, I can see if I can get you an interview perhaps by Friday, which is in two days so it would be a tight fit but not impossible.” She breaths out. “How about you wait here and I’ll go find my boss so you can chat with him?” She begins walking away before I could answer.

I wonder what Hana’s doing right now… I sure do miss her

Despite the amount of hours I need to spend away from her, I don’t feel anything bad is to go with this chance,

Because I’ll be able to make enough money to get us a new home just for the two of us, raise her the correct way, the only same thing is I’ll keep her homeschooled, nobody will change my mind on that.

She deserves so many great things and life and I just know that I’ll be able to give it to her.

Although I do wish she could have some type of woman figure in her life but even if she doesn’t so what? So many people raise their kids alone, besides I’ve been doing it for 6 years, what’s decades more?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi everyone! I apologize for the delay in this series and also for a short chapter, writing isn’t my strong suit and I do so many other things out of this. Plus I really wanted to get something out as it’s been soooo long 😅. I plan to have a but of a dramatic time skip in one of the chapters but I won’t say when or which🤭…

Here’s some other things to look out for (hopefully)

New writing layouts

New master list

New one-shot (let’s hope hard on this one)

So thank you all for being patient!

[sunjaesol]

hell yEAAAH hello

a combo of 1 & 8 perhaps? 👀

1.Small kisses littered across the other’s face. + 8. Laying a gentle kiss to the back of the other’s hand.

(regency au)

Miss Julie Molina was the daughter of the Duke and Duchess Molina, the family that has ruled over the duchy of Los Feliz for decades. They lived in an estate just outside of the city, and while Julie enjoyed lounging around the sprawling acres of lush, green land, she loved discovering the little nooks of LF. Chaperoned, of course.

Everyone knew who Miss Julie Molina was. As the eldest daughter, she had become of age and was planning to marry in the coming years. Her father, widowed a few years back after her dear mother passed away, hoped her first season would be a succes.

Julie, on the other hand, felt nervous. She had her best friend Felicity — Flynn, for friends — and her younger brother Carlos. That was it.

And... well, Luke Patterson, of course. Though she wasn't supposed to admit that.

Luke lived in the city as the only son to a working class family. His mother was a seamstress and his father a carpenter. His father was invited several years ago to the Molina estate to create a new dinner table for the dining room, when he coincidentally brought his son along for an extra pair of hands.

Julie had never experienced it before: that exhilarating punch of her emotion in her chest. She'd hidden around the corner, half-obscured by thick curtains, peering at the pale boy with strong shoulders and a pleasing countenance. He must've felt eyes on him, as he had suddenly turned around and had stared right back.

And that was the beginning of the end, really. It was sort of unescapable.

He had no title and was of no discernable rank, yet Julie was enamoured the moment he spoke to her. Kind, yet teasing; bold, but respectful. And handsome. Very, very handsome.

She made him laugh, all his teeth bared, and they discussed new musical talents from the West Coast when his father took a break for tea. While she played the pianoforte, he played the classical guitar. The question to play together danced at the tip of her tongue, but ladies of polite society didn't ask such things. They were seen, not heard.

Luke had known, somehow. He had smiled, curious, and said: "It's a shame we don't get to see you play, Miss Julie."

He had kissed her hand after the table had been installed, bidding her goodbye in a chivalrous manner, but the words he had used — "I hope we meet again, miss Julie." — had stuck with her. Her lace-gloved hand had burned when he let go.

And they did meet again. Destiny played cruel jokes with them, as the two continued to find each other at town's square, at the market, during a promenade with Flynn, and later, behind the carpentry.

Strict and sheltered children made the best masterminds, Flynn always said, and so Julie managed to shake off her chaperone and slip in the alleyway that led to the back of the wood shop. Luke waited on her there, a surprised yet intent expression on his face.

Luke impressed her with his incredible guitar technique and musicality, humming along. She didn't recognise the song. He wrote it himself, he later confessed.

The cotton skirt of her empire waist dress fanned around her as she was perched on a block of wood. "You should be a musician as your vocation, then," she said.

He sighed, placing his guitar down. "My father expects me to become a carpenter, like him. If he had more sons, I'd be able to do whatever I want, but..."

She understood. Had she not been the eldest, she would've been freed of the burdens of responsibility as well.

"I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, Miss Julie," he replied, wry.

"Julie," she said. It surprised both of them. She hadn't meant to say that, but she did. Her heart hammered high in her throat.

His brows raised. "I can use your first name?"

Julie swallowed back her nerves. "Yes. Yes, you can."

A brilliant smile lit up his face, like she'd just given him the greatest gift. "Then you can call me Luke," he said.

It continued to spiral out of control from there. Her chaperone began to turn a blind eye to her friendship with Luke, but stayed closer now, just in case. The marriage season neared, but she ignored it and spent as much time as she could with Luke.

One afternoon, her chaperone had gone to the bathroom during her meeting with Luke. Without missing a beat, he had asked, "Julie, can I be blunt?"

She smiled. "When are you not?"

"What's the end goal?" He looked her square in the eye. "Of us?"

The question shocked her. She'd frozen, hands gripping the porcelain cup of tea as the fear of ending this ran down her spine.

"What?"

He stood up and slowly walked towards her. She didn't move, anticipation of the unknown keeping her in place. She didn't know what she wanted of him, but she knew she wanted him close. Standing up as well, she had to look up to meet his eye. They shimmered like emeralds in the golden hour.

"I won't lie to you, Julie, your attentions have..." He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Have taken me. I- I am infatuated by you. But I know that you are the daughter of a Duke, of marrying age no less, so..." Averting his burning gaze, he uttered: "When does this end?"

A flabbergasted Julie didn't know what to say. No one had ever confessed to her before. No one had ever shown affection. Men either saw her as a nuisance or a prize to be won; not like Luke, who bared his heart and expected nothing in return. Or perhaps, an answer.

"I..." Her breath shuddered. "I don't know if I..."

"Feel the same?"

"If I am able to stay away from you."

He paused. Time suspended in that moment. Any second now, the chaperone would return and they'd never have this again. Slowly, a trembling hand reached for her soft cheek. She allowed him, smiling when the rough skin made contact. They were callused and scarred from carpentry and music, and she loved it.

"May I...?" he began.

She nodded. "Yes."

Luke didn't wait. Pulling her in, his lips slanted across hers and she felt the warmth of the tea they'd been drinking. Julie sighed. This. This was what she always wanted. An ardent kiss by an ardent boy. Curling her arms around his neck, she kissed him back. It came natural to them.

She thought that was all that could happen — she has only seen Lords and Ladies kiss on the mouth at weddings — when her knees turned to pudding as his lips gently ghosted her cheeks, her temples, her forehead, her ears. Everything burned.

"L-Luke, what—"

"I adore you, Julie," he whispered, leaning his head against her with a huff.

She kissed him again, hard, clutching the lapels of his jacket and feeling his heart beat fast against his chest. Before he could return the favour, she pushed him back and let go. A startled Luke gawked at her.

"Wha—?"

"Goodbye!" she exclaimed.

Julie rushed out of the alleyway with her heart in her ears and her head discombobulated. Her fingers fluttered against her mouth. Her first kiss, taken by Luke Patterson.

The boy didn't follow her, which allowed her to lean against the brick frontage of the wood shop and catch her breath. No one had seen her.

Oh God, what has she done?

"Miss Julie Molina?" Her chaperone appeared from the neighbouring shop, concerned.

The flustered girl gasped. "Oh! Hello, Kayla."

"Are you all right?" She turned suspicious. "Did something happen?"

"No," she quipped and forced a smile. "No. I'm all right. Let's go home."

And that was the last time she saw Luke. The week after their kiss, the marriage season started, where all eligible girls of high society came together to find their match and marry. A match Luke could never be.

Tonight, the duchy hosted a ball, but Julie wasn't feeling up to it. Her father had been confused by her odd behaviour, wondering why she wasn't putting herself out there and putting her years of etiquette lessons and finishing school to good use. Had she never met Luke, she might've been able to send simpering smiles at the eager men, but none compared.

Standing in front of her mirror, she watched as the maids pulled her into a lilac dress.

"It looks beautiful on you, Miss Julie," Kayla complimented. The Lady's Maid held a pair of earrings up to her face and Julie nodded, agreeing to wear the golden ones.

"Thank you, Kayla." She mustered a smile and slid her hands across the silk fabric. "I like it, too."

Julie Molina would play the part her father and society asked of her. She would make him proud and marry well. But she hoped, prayed, as a servant opened the doors to the ballroom for her, that Luke would find his way to her.

That her final kiss told her she'd wait.

***

kiss prompts