#and ales because she knows and accepts me for the freak that i am

[thebrookesnook]

Hi, hey, hello, maayong buntag sA TANAN 🙌🙌

IM AWAKE (yes i know i slept for an hour sue me) AND WITH MANY THINGS I WISH I SHARED LAST NIGHT ABOUT THE STUDIES AND ITS ONLY ABOUT SHITARA.

I'll post another one about my thought process on the others' design elements I included mayhaps after part 2 is out (which i assure u is not as extensive as part 1, its a one per person package deal). Like their body hair or whatnot (yes, takiishi's lack of a happy trail was intentional).

(p.s. this is a vent for me but if u want to watch me simp haphazardly, then u're in the right place)

This was my reference for shitara and let me tell u this was more than i needed but my fingers kept screenshoting more and moreee.. .

Hes so silly and funny, and hes a dilf so hes already checks out more of my ideal type sksk. HIS SCRUFF, I LOVED DRAWING HIS SCRUFF AND HIS BODY HAIRR. I HAVENT POSTED ANY DRAWINGS PUBLICLY WITH BODY HAIR BUT FOR YOU SIR, ANYTHING FOR YOUU.

—

QnA Time:

"Whats up with the dad bod Brooke/Eve?"

Hear me out: I wanted him to have a beer belly and then I went oKAY maybe lets give him MORE chonk aND I DID AND HES LITERALLY EVERYTHING I EVER WANTED ICANT- *slams fist against the table*

"Was shitara the reason why-?"

Yes, yes. I got hit with the sudden urge to draw him topless and i decided to extend the graces to umemiya (thats his son in all but blood so ofc) and togame (no. 3 on my list). But ig four sounded better than 3 but i didnt know who to pick so i let y'all pick for me. Now takiishi's there, with messly drawn up left hand on the handstand sksk. The reference photo wasnt any better, who knew people could have such large fingers.

"Why did you make it a torso study instead of drawing him topless once like a normal person?"

Because im insane thats why and what is normal, dont know her. Also i thought it would be a good way to learn how the torso anatomy and how the muscles work u know? And i chose quite the variety to characters that canonically have different body types that i can play around. So now i know which muscles go where and how light plays with it skks.

"Is Shitara your no. 1?"

No, that belongs to Ales 🫶. The absolute rock they were the entire time i was sharing her wips. He's no. 2 tho, that's why my OTP (and OT3) for windbre is Ales/Me/Shitara. It was never gonna be anything else but SuoSakuNire is a close second. Highkey in love with both of them sksks.

—

Back to silly thoughts:

sirrr keep me warm in this cold ass weather bagyo seasonn~

Speaking of, u know i had to play "Big Boys" by SZA on that SNL show or whatever AND "big boys x streets" mashup because the wayyy i feltt a lot of thingsss in my heart when that song was on. Very yummy. OH YEAH AND "CANDY" BY DOJA CAT AND "AUSSIE AUSSIE O SIGE" BY ANDREW E!!

I will patiently await the day we see current timeline Shitara looking as handsome and gorgeous as ever. I WILL PATIENTLY AWAIT THE DAY HE GETS A SEIYUU. I HAVE A LIST ON POTENTIAL VA OPTIONS SKSK.

anyways, i think thats all. kissing his scruffy chin in my head before i skiddadle to uni 🏃🏃

[sanaxo-o]

spread some love !

talk about your favourite mutuals and why you like them

I am only tagging the mutuals who I talk on a daily basis. I truly love, respect and look up to every single mutual of mine and I am really grateful to have them in my life because I don’t think I would have come this far without them :)

@o-onikix : Nara is literally my closest and dearest friend I could ask for. She literally knows everything about me, she is also someone who pays close attention to me and always remembers the littlest things I say. Like once we were talking and I mentioned about me liking butterscotch cake and a few days later when we were on call and I was eating a cake Nara went “Is that butterscotch cake?” Without even me having to tell her. It made me genuinely so happy because tbh she might be the only irl friend who pays so close attention to me and my well being. Not only that you will always see me running to her whenever I am in some kind of misery and she would always be there for me and listen to me. I still remember how I was there with Nara when we were talking about ghosts 😭. Poor baby was shaking 💀 but tbh…she’s cute like that haha. I love you so much Nara 🥺

@from-izzy : ironic how it’s about to be a year since I sent you that flirty text as our first conversation. Omg glad I got this ask now. So yesterday I had this huge argument and was upset but do you know what izz does? She call me to check on me to know if I am okay 🥺. Like that made me realise that I truly am surrounded by such lovable and caring people and that also especially someone like izzy knowing she was herself freaking out over her assignments yet she called me :( it made me want to cry (happy tears yall). And tbh even though me and izzy argue most of the time her silly stuff at the end of the day I always go to her knowing I cannot live a day without hearing her rant about uni. Mine and Izzy’s friendship cannot be described in one paragraph tbh 😭. Like we have way too many dynamics for that 😭. We can be flirting on one app, bickering on another and having a deep conversation on some whole another app. To sum it up, I trust izzy a loads and I always go to her when I have to talk about something :) love you 🥺

@winterchimez : my Als, mu Sabrina Carpenter enthusiasts, the one who bears my crazy ass 🥺. We literally bonded over Sabrina Carpenter and I love that for us. I always go to ally when I see something negative or just to talk about something I get stressed about and you know what fills my heart? She is always there for me. Despite everything she’s been going through, she still manages to have a talk with me and I admire her for that. Not only that she might be one of the strongest people out there for still doing what she’s doing despite the struggles. Me and ally are someone who would always be together (as she said, we’re Kyunyu) she’s also ig the third mutual I made on this app which is really important for me because it wasn’t easy for me at that time knowing my writing was always dark and it made me kind of reluctant on making friends, scared people might judge me but Ally just out here accepting me as her gremlin. (I will always send you Sangyeon stuff. Once you see this expect that Sangyeon video in your DMs mam). Love you despite all the stuff I pull up with hehe.

@strayed-quokka : me and Lenlen met just this year, in feb but we got insanely close so fast it’s crazy. If you are a moot of Lennon you can expect some adventures from her side which will always make you go “WHAT? HOW ARE YOU? EVERYTHING ALRIGHT??” Like no kidding. I used to also read her TBZ work (by that I mean that Sunwoo fic) before I became her moot and I still cannot accept the fact that we’re now moots 😭🥺. She has my heart and we’re married I believe. The one thing I always look forward to is “Good morning Sana” from lenlen which just makes me smile like a kid 🥺. Me and lenlen also have such chaotic moments together, she’s always up to something in the DMs tbh 😭. And when you see me and lenlen together expect some crazy flirtings from both sides haha cause it’s never gonna stop. I still admire how lenlen and @from-izzy were there for me when I was scared and hid myself in the washroom:( it made me feel so much more better and safer knowing they are there for me no matter what.

@mosviqu : despite me and Boo starting off on some..meh terms (it’s not my fault you thought I was bullying you 😐) we grew so close after that tbh 😭. Me and bar from talking about her Sunwoo fic to me making a doc of Eric fic which only she has the access to 🥺. The words are not enough, because there’s so much to talk about her, from her writing, to her sweet personality, to her chaotic energy which just explodes out of nowhere. She also never fails to amaze me with her choice of words sometimes…

@cloverdaisies : we haven’t talked talked lately because (fuck your job and uni. They’re taking you away from me 😭🥺) life happened but I look up to clo and her writing so much it’s unimaginable. I remember how I was fangirling about her to ally and ally going “oh she’s my mutual” and me not believing it until clo started following me which made me want to scream and die out of happiness + embarrassment because hello?? Your favourite author just followed you 😭. And now when it comes to clo…I don’t trust her (jk) but I love her. She is…she makes me question reality with what she says everytime 😐. But I will never forget how clo was there for me when I needed her the most. She was listening to me talk when I was scared and I was truly glad because there was someone who was there to listen to me.

@astrae4 : Gill is like my child who always gets herself in trouble 😐😭. We always simp, sob, cry and scream over the one and only Choi Chanhee but despite that she gives some of the great advices when you need it. And no I am not gonna play that restaurant game ever again child-

@quaissants : my gremlin, my pudding 🥰. I trouble her like…everyday which makes her want to kill me (enemies to lovers?-) but despite that she helps me a loads when it comes to writing 🥺. We mostly interact on the server but nowadays I talk with her in DMs too which I am grateful for <3

@itsbeeble : hmm…I love you but I won’t stop bullying you (I don’t even bully you. You just think I bully you and it’s just your mind playing games with you because it’s always filled with Eric and Sunwoo…) jk but because of her busy schedule we don’t get to talk much but whenever she comes back from her disappearance those days might be one of the best ones because I have fun with her and izzy. Hope you’re alright and healthy since you disappeared. Again.

[anchovies-4-dinner]

AITA for lying to my partner? || [deleted]

Words: 736

Warnings: implied double suicide

A/N: best read with the siri voice in mind

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

For context, I (m26) have accumulated a lot of debt from my recent project and am under a lot of pressure from work. Because of this I'd been living with my roommate which I'd tried to hide from my partner.

It all started with my partner acting more aloof, which is weird since they are usually quite open with me. Not only that, but they'd been asking to visit my house more often; I know you may be thinking this isn't a big of a deal but among my peers I had an especially high reputation that my secret could destroy. Only a handful of people know but I don't intend to add my partner to that list as we had already planned our future together, the debt could complicate things.

As for said debt, it was very stupid, but I couldn't help burrowing a loan for my project and now it's biting me in the ass; I thought I could pay it back in no time considering my job but the costs just kept piling up. Anyways, I had a suspicion that the loaner had begun to badger my circle so I went to confront her and try to reach an agreement. She wouldn't have it - she said that since my projects are successes anyway I should have no problem. I've never wanted to kick-drop someone so badly in my entire life.

If that wasn't bad enough I then found my partner snooping in my house. Apparently my shit roommate let them in, saying that he usually doesn't get involved but that they had a right to know. Thanks for nothing asshole. In short, my partner totally freaked out; they were always speaking of a lavish lifestyle so the bombshell singlehandedly destabilised my beautiful 4 year relationship.

They wanted to take a break at least until I had sorted out my debt and we got into an argument; I told them I couldn't believe they were abandoning me at my lowest, while they said they didn't want to marry someone so irresponsible. A lot of hurtful words were exchanged and I can't help but think that they meant every single one of them. My partner tried leaving but in a state of anger I grabbed their arm which I now know lead to bruising. I don't remember much after that, but I blew up in their face - never had I felt more regret than watching their expression turn from anger to fear.

We didn't talk after that. At this point I was growing desperate, and with my relationship dragged through the mud I turned to all sorts of illegal activities, including selling some of my friends' belongings/gadgets without their knowledge. Anything to get rid of my debt. I guess I wasn't subtle enough as my roommate realised and kicked me out.

I'd never been homeless before but during that time I was struggling to balance my reputation and new burden; thanks to one of my friends being a survival expert I managed to get along with what little skills i'd learnt, but my appearance was a whole different matter. It didn't take long for people to find out.

I went from a well respected figure to a laughing stock. With such vicious rumours circulating (some with a hint of truth) it would take a rebirth to fix my life. The only upside was that the loaner had stopped contacting me, presumably accepting the fact that she couldn't squeeze out anymore mora.

But what really did it was watching my own partner start over with someone else. Someone much more financially stable - my own fucking roommate. Even now as I'm typing this I can't help but laugh at the kind of drama this has turned into. It only makes sense to give it an equally dramatic end. Wouldn't you agree, Al Haitham?

I always knew you had an eye for (y/n), but I never thought you'd go so far as to ruin my life. Well guess what, dickbag, by the time you've read this I'd have already returned the favour.

Did you know that (y/n) is a heavy sleeper? It was incredibly easy to get where I am now, sitting in their bedroom only a foot away. I can even smell their shampoo. Oh how you'd kill for this opportunity.

Oh how close you were.

[couldbebetterforsure]

Winter Performance completed!!!!! And....WOW......Oh Rama Havenna might be my favorite play yet! For something that was supposed to be a throwaway play, it really turned out soooo beautiful!

Chicchi is such an interesting character and man when her secret came out and her life fell apart around her it broke my heart! Kisa did such a beautiful job with the emotions of that character, especially in the crying scenes. Rukiora was also incredibly endearing in how sympathetic I was to all she was going through, really Mitsuki's best work in a Jeanne role to date! Miguel was a perfect cool guy, I knew Fumi could pull off a Jack role well, I wanna see him do more!!! Fugio was such a fascinating character in how I swerved back and forth on finding him genuine or sketchy, Sou really and truly has grown as an actor. Neji was exactly as enjoyably detestable as I wanted in his evil role as Domina, like wow Domina is such a piece of shit I wanted to strangle her myself for what she's putting everyone, especially Chicchi and Rukiora, through. The priest may not have many lines but he certainly made an impression, I'm glad Kai didn't give up and made the role his own. And then...Suzu as Jire....Good grief Jire is such a pitiable man. It's so clear he loves Chicchi so much but it doesn't change the fact that he decided what was best for Chicchi FOR her and hurt her so badly. Chicchi is well within her rights not to forgive him, and I'm glad at Jire seems to accept that. But yeah, Suzu did a wonderful job with this role, I am so so SO proud of him for being able to get Jire to work at last. Also, while I didn't fully get the villain Suzu role I wanted, I got some version of that and a hot CG of Jire with a weapon, so I'll take what I can get!!! 😍😍😍 The play itself was so emotional and I was soooo wrapped up in Chicchi and Rukiora's relationship and so utterly happy when they became close again at the end. You know when Neji brought up a scene between the priest and Chicchi at the end I was like "??? what's with everyone's reactions? what kind of scene could it be???" Then I get to the end of Oh Rama Havenna and "....ohhhh...Chicchi and the priest are gonna do the do now...now I get the earlier reactions..."

For the music this time around, it was so damn hard for me to pick which one was my favorite! All three songs were simply spectacular! Oh Rama Havenna, Oh Beloved Havenna was so jazzy and had such a great tune to it, I couldn't help but shimmy while playing the rhythm game. Faded Color was an absolutely beautiful duet between Kisa and Mitsuki and truly wrapped up all the emotions and love of Chicchi and Rukiora's relationship in wonderful fashion. But Intense Confessions at the Confessional...was sheer perfection from start to finish for me...Seeing everyone's outfits was perfect, Kai and Neji's singing was perfect, the freaking choreography was perfect!!! The song just gets wrapped around your brain so tight and refuses to let go, it was so good and catchy and while it was hard to pick between the three at first, I am satisfied naming it my favorite from the Winter Performance!

I came out of the Winter Performance arc feeling so damn proud of Mitsuki. Because when he was suddenly assigned the Al Jeanne role, I understood what Neji was trying to do. Neji, Fumi, and Kai were all gonna graduate. Mitsuki is a second year, the only prominent one of Quartz in the story. So he would naturally become the next leader after the current third years are gone. So Neji basically threw Mitsuki into training for the position by putting him a lead role so suddenly. And of course Mitsuki couldn't take the pressure at first...But he broke through, and acted like such a damn good leader throughout the training. Helping Kisa with her struggle for her role and talking things out with her, helping Suzu realize why Jire is such a tough role for him and what he needs to do to perform, helping Sou get more comfortable with the parts in the play where Kisa and Sou's characters are more physically intimate. And not just the underclassmen, Mitsuki managed to be such a help to the upperclassmen too! Helping Neji realize he could take Domina more seriously as a character and helping Kai realize he still has so much more to give as a Jack Ace and not to give up. And the way he comforted Kisa during the play by telling her that it doesn't matter to him what her secret is, he accepts her and forgives her. And man, the sheer relief in Kisa's voice when that happens....She nearly drove me to tears! I loved Mitsuki's growth from someone who was just going through the motions to someone who is genuinely invested in the class performances! I'm sure he'll be a wonderful leader for Quartz next year!

Suzu's own development regarding acting was wonderful too. Seeing him having to face his frustration at falling behind Kisa and Sou as a result of his injury in the Fall Performance and also acknowledging his trouble with acting in roles so unlike who he is. For Suzu, he has trouble acting as those he can't connect with. And Suzu himself is someone who tends to be straightforward, so more complicated ones like Jire who feels such conflicting thoughts and Jean Jose who is manipulative and cunning are difficult for him. But I liked that Suzu didn't wallow in his frustration and sadness over not performing at the level he wanted. He accepted the fact that who he currently is cannot give such roles the true life they deserve, but he'll use the skills he DOES have to still make such roles shine until he is able to fully develop into the type of actor who can perform outside of the range he is stuck in. And I truly believe he's not so far off from such a dream anyways! I mean the king from The Sleepless King wasn't too much like Suzu as a person and yet my boy KILLED it! I think so long as Suzu can find that one part of the role that he connects with, he'll be able to do anything. He just needs to grow as a performer and reach that point, and sine he's still a first year he has plenty of time to make that growth happen!

So yeah, now I am officially done with the common route of Jack Jeanne! Christmas in the game is the start of the route splits. So I can finally have Kisa go after Suzu!!!! 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊 My sweet earnest puppy of a boy, I cannot WAIT to see what your route has in store! I hope I can at least start it today...If not I gotta wait for tomorrow...

....Also, semi aside, how on earth did the costuming department manage to make Neji's chest look like that for Domina? 😂😂😂

[seas-of-silver]

Nino took off his glasses, rubbing the bridge of his nose in an effort to relieve the dull ache the glasses had caused, and leaned back, contently soaking up the summer sunshine. He was on a picnic date with Alya, and it was going splendidly! No akumas rampaging, no setting up their blindly yet ridiculously in love best friends, no frenzied blogging... just wonderful food, beautiful weather, blissfully peaceful atmosphere, and the most perfect girlfriend to ever exist.

'You're so freaking pretty without your glasses.'

Nino blinked languidly as he slowly tilted his head in Alya's direction, who was staring right at him, and then her words registered.

'Pfft!' he laughed. 'Sure I am.'

Even though she was quite blurry to him without his glasses, he could see that Alya pouted with a little frown, clearly taking exception to his sarcasm.

'I'm being serious, you goof!' she told him, lightly tapping his arm with the back of her hand. 'You're gorgeous!'

Nino sat up a little, amused by his girlfriend's sudden defensiveness to his supposed beauty. 'Did you put on your rose coloured glasses today, babe?' he teased.

'Just my regular ones,' she retorted easily, with a roll of her eyes, 'and they can see the truth! And the truth is you’re beautiful!'

He couldn't help but blush under her effusive praise, but he didn't know what to tell her. He knew gorgeous people existed: Adrien, Marinette, Ladybug, Chat Noir, Juleka- hell, most of his classmates were beautiful! (With clear exceptions of Chloé and Lila, because their personalities sucked.) And Alya was on the very top of his personal "Beautiful People" list. But him? Him... beautiful? That sounded fake.

'If you say so, Als,' he appeased, not in the mood to battle Alya on his beauty or lack thereof. Today was a beautiful day that he was thoroughly enjoying, and he wasn't going to dare ruin it with a silly squabble.

'I do say so!' she crowed, looking particularly pleased with herself as she stood up from the picnic blanket, victoriously pulling her phone from her pocket with a massive grin. 'And I'll prove it! Say cheese!'

Nino chuckled. He should've known better than thinking Alya would let the matter drop that easily. He looked up at her, her gleeful gaze fixated on him through her camera's lens, and couldn't help but smile. She was breathtaking when she was all passionate and fired-up.

'Cheeeeese.'

He heard the telltale sound of the picture being taken, and Alya inspected the photo before immediately plopping down next to him, pride emanating from her like sunshine.

'See? Look! I was right! Go on, take a look!' she babbled, eagerly pushing her phone into his hands.

'Hang on, hang on!' he laughed. 'Let me get my glasses first!'

Putting his glasses on, he accepted the phone, and upon seeing the photo, his smile slowly slipped away. The person in this photo couldn't be him... right? This guy was wearing his shirt, but... his eyes weren't brown like his, they were like deep, luxurious honey, its colours glowing under the light of the sun. This guy didn't have his brown hair, but locks of silky chocolate, strands as light as the air, curled delicately to rest atop skin of rich caramel. This guy's smile wasn't goofy, but was worthy of the billboards Adrien normally adorned. Nino looked up to Alya with his mouth agape.

'See?' she teased, dragging out the word as she preened triumphantly.

'I do,' he replied breathlessly, before fixing her with a playful glare, 'you put a filter on me!'

Alya's look of outrage was so ridiculously comical that Nino struggled to not break into a fit of laughter.

'Filter?' she shrieked, and Nino suppressed his snort of laughter with a few coughs. 'Filter? No filter created this - this is your natural beauty!'

'Not a filter, huh?' he drawled, smothering his smirk with a contemplative look; Adrien's flair for the dramatic was obviously rubbing off on him. 'So then it must be an app! What's it called? I know Kim would love to use it.'

'There's no app!' Alya cried, waving her arms about. 'It's just you and- oh, wait a damn minute.'

It was then that Nino knew the jig was up. He shot Alya a shrug and a grin before leaping up to his feet and running for his life, with his girlfriend hot on his heels, phone in hand, and demands the concede and just admit he was good looking echoing through the air as they ran amok around the park. Regardless as to whether or not he was handsome (which he still very much did not believe), he did know two things: 1. He was suddenly grateful for all the unintentional running training that he got chasing Alya through akuma battles, as he now sprinted away from her, and 2. No matter how beautiful she thought he was, Alya was most definitely infinitely more beautiful than him, and on the phone inside his pocket, he had the photos to prove it.

So, this was supposed to be only a sketch to practice angles m, but turned into a whole ass illustration.

(You can support me on KoFi 🦊)

[invisiblegarters]

Be My Favorite Ep 10

Ah, here we are again, friends and neighbors! Happy Frigay!

NOW KISS. Sober, for once.

(they do not kiss. But I have to say Krist has Kawi's starry eyes down)

Ugh Not. Fuck ooooooff. Every single time that I feel like he's been as awful as he can be, he's like "hold my beer." I hate him so much.

And good on Pear for eviscerating him.

I feel like I say this every week, but Kwan. Girl. Love yourself more. She really is just too nice to him and he never, ever deserves it. This impressed me before, but now I just want her to stay away from him. That's a dude that, no matter how much love you pour into him or how much decency you try to show him, it will never be enough. If they try to redeem him in the eleventh hour I will scream. He can change, but ffs, not in two episodes.

Man you know you're an ass when even your awful friends don't want to be around you.

I really like this conversation between Pear and her dad. Interesting how Pear and Kawi are very similar in that they want to make everything perfect, but the way they go about it is different. It makes me wonder what Pear would have done with a magic time traveling crystal ball. To be fair I think that we all want perfection, or something like that. It's just how well we cope with the realization that it's never going to go down that way that differs.

Oh, Dad, You're breaking my heart. Kawi's too. All this time Kawi has been feeling like he's failed his dad and his dad has been feeling the same way and they just don't have the time to really make it better. That's what hurts, the same way that that song Cat's in the Cradle does. That painful realization of all the wasted time. AUGH I'm not crying you're crying. I do love that his dad made him promise to live his life to the fullest, though. That's sweet. I am glad they did get one final moment.

Hahaha poor Pear having to listen to these two try to make her blame them so she doesn't blame the other.

She's being very mature about this. I love her so much. I love that every opportunity that this show apparently gives her to be the worst, she turns around and is the best instead. If only everyone else could learn from her. NOT.

MAAAAX! I missed him so much! Hi never miss an episode again. He's enjoying Kawi's discomfort too much, just like any decent best friend should. Oh hell this episode is gonna be the one with al the feelings everywhere, isn't it?

Oh no, mom's back. I can just tell she's going to be shitty about Kawi and Pisaeng. Is that where the drama in the final act is going to come from? Because I feel like she's very much the type to go after Kawi if Pisaeng refuses to play ball with her.

The thing with Pisaeng's mom is that she's so freaking insidiously awful. She says things that are not untrue on the surface - you know it will be hard for you being gay, you can't know if your relationship will survive, etc - but in a way that is meant to plant doubts and shame, not remind Pisaeng of her love and that she is there for him. She's thinking of herself first and foremost, and it shows, and it's awful and I don't like watching it, or watching Pisaeng have to go through it. Honestly it would be better if she just came right out and said she doesn't accept him, at this point.

Him going to Kawi for comfort is sweet, though. And okay I really like how Kawi is trying to be supportive. Too bad Pisaeng is more a "bottle it up until I explode" kind of dude.

Please show don't do the blushing maiden routine here. Please. It's not as bad as when Between Us pulled it with Team, I guess, but come on. We don't need that.

...Kawi what are you doing?

Huh. Okay that was kind of unexpected from mom. I want to believe that her awfulness comes from a wrongly expressed place of care and concern but I'm having a hard time with it.

Although I will admit Pisaeng going "I can use this to get affection" is kind of amusing. But also he could just ask for affection? They're together now, after all.

Max is my kinda dude.

Hm, okay the sex thing. I'm not sure that Kawi is sex repulsed, but he might be on the ace spectrum. If so, I really hope that at some point we see that actually get navigated because I think that it would be interesting to see, and I am mostly okay with this being the show to tackle it because for the most part it's been able to tackle other subjects with sensitivity.

Either way though this could be cleared up by talking, probably. Come on, Kawi, where's that forthrightness of yours now?

When Pisaeng tried the crystal ball thing I almost lost it. What if it had worked? Pisaeng think things through please dear god.

Heh. Love that Kawi knows all he has to do is whine at Pisaeng and he'll get whatever he wants.

Oh are we really doing a rollercoaster as a metaphor for sex? Are we doing that right now?

Yes. Yes, I'm pretty sure we are. And Kawi is saying nope. No thank you sir. But I bet he chooses to have some sort of ride by the end of the ep (I said it and I'm not sorry).

Whee, a sober kiss. And a decent one, too. Followed by that ride I was talking about.

Wait wait, WHAT IS THAT PREVIEW.

WHAT.

...did Pisaeng actually travel in time and we just don't know becuase when someone travels the other person doesn't see it the same way? Because Kawi traveled right in front of Pisaeng and Pisaeng had no clue...but Kawi returned to that moment. It does not look from the preview as though Pisaeng will be doing that, if in fact that's what happened.

Well my brain is fired up right now. Not that anyone will know because no one can see these right now, apparently. Time to unleash all my wildest theories on myself!

Current theory - Pisaeng time traveled before this and that twist of the globe was him going back to his timeline. For maximum fuckiness.

[badeehbom]

Gone with Edna

The single white rose I held in my hand glistened with droplets of water and I stared at it for a while. Cool moisture developed on the flower from a slight drizzle of rain from gloomy clouds that decided to visit while the sun remained shining. An irony of a weather but accepted nonetheless because Edna would have liked this. The combination of warmth and slight cold would have made her stand out in that pink summer dress she always insisted on wearing every time we saw each other by the park for a picnic. I still remember that the little colorful frogs she painted herself just by the edge of the dress were messy, but she loved it anyway. "It's a plain dress and I'm making it my own. A chaotic touch of personality." She would say. I would joke around with her and she'd play offense while I sarcastically apologize.

We were good together like that, but I wanted us to be better—better together, maybe even best; however, Edna is my twin brother's girlfriend. Edna will remain forever his girlfriend because I am only but a living reflection of the man she is best with. I wanted to be him so badly sometimes, but I didn't want to resent him either for fairly acquiring a love that was consented to him in the same manner. I love them both (although not in equal measures) but respect for my brother outweighs the despair that creeps inside my heart.

Despite this boiling pot of jealousy, brotherly affection, and love for Edna, I still managed to find a way to secretly spend time with her. Does my brother know? Well that's a secret. One, I know, that Edna will bring with her, safely stored in her knowing heart.

There was one time when she came over, the only time I knew of, because our parents were taking a week vacation to a tropical country. Sandy beaches and fresh coconuts were the highlight of the trip along with local foods from restaurants. They sent pictures of everything to us and suddenly, the thought of bringing Edna to the beach crossed my mind. Next thing I know, she was ringing the doorbell and I quickly ran to my feet and answered it. I knew she came for my brother, not me, but I wanted to receive her myself. She smiled a strange smile and I greeted her before letting her know that my brother will come down shortly. "Take a seat on the sofa. I'll call him for you." She thanked me and I felt her stare piercing my back. Why is she looking at me?

Later that night, they both laid down on the bed. When my brother was finally asleep, she went to the balcony and sat on one of the chairs. I got the feeling that she was waiting for someone and after five minutes, I decided to follow suit. She smiled that same strange smile again, but directed to the stars and the full moon that shone brightly above us. Never would I ever expect the next two words that would come out of her lips and the sense of weird relief and embarrassment that proceeded it.

I know.

She said to me and continued to look on the stars. I stared at her for some more, taking in her beauty as the light of the moon pictured it; and I too managed to smile towards her and the celestial bodies above us. And so we continued our relationship whatever this can be called, and my brother knew none of it.

———

Six months later, at 5pm on a Sunday, the devastating news of Edna's death arrived at our doorstep and my brother wept loudly. Edna was on her way to our house when a drunk driver crashed into the mini-bus she was riding on her commute to our place. She died on the spot and we only got contacted because somehow, our address was written on a piece of paper stuck behind her phone case. They thought, perhaps, that we were family since her phone would have taken a while to open and her IDs with her home address were somewhere in the wreckage. Only a work ID, those that only had your photo, name, and position on it, were found next to her phone.

A freak accident.

My brother didn't take that lightly and screamed while crying at some point. He even acted like he almost wanted to murder the police officer that stood before him—the man who delivered the news of Edna's passing. It's true that it's much easier to project one's grief in the form of sadness towards the messenger, but I knew it in myself that he didn't want to be angry at the officer either. I wept and screamed in my own way without my brother knowing while he nursed his grief the best way he could.

———

Somehow I knew that I could never love anyone else like Edna. My heart and soul were captured by her, sealed by fate on that night by my brother's balcony. The moment she confessed her knowledge to me with the blessing of the moonlight and the veil of the night, there was no turning back. No one could ever replace Edna in this heart I share with my brother, but he deserves another chance at love too.

We watched her casket's slow descent and felt our drenched coat as the slight drizzle slowly became a shower while the sun remained shining. The single white rose on our hand accepted the offering of rain too; and when we finally decided to let it go, so did I from my brother's hold. His heart will remember Edna, but mine while live forever on the memory of that evening—that evening where Edna knew she loved two different people in a body of one. Before I left, I wondered what her last thoughts were. Did she thought of us? Of me perhaps, if I so boldly think? Well, it's alright. Similar to those last thoughts, I too, am gone with Edna.

21-June-2023 Finished: 3:20am

[allthingsfangirl101]

Standing Up For Her–Steve Harrington

Steve's POV

"Hey, can you still come by after school and help me with that essay?"

"Of course," Y/N smiled. She reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear.

I loved when she did that.

"I thought we were going to. . ."

"Nope," I cut Tommy off. "Y/N's helping me with homework."

Tommy glared at me and I glared back. The bell rang, ending lunch, but we didn't move.

"Umm. . . Steve?"

I finally looked over to see Y/N looking up at me with soft eyes. "We don't want to be late for science."

I grabbed her hand and sent her a nice smile. I couldn't help but glare at Tommy as Y/N pulled me away. Ever since I introduced Y/N to Carol and Tommy, they've been horribly judgmental of her. Tommy more than Carol. He refused to accept her and Carol just went along with it.

He never quite caught on to the fact that if he asked, I'd drop him for her in a minute.

"I don't understand," Y/N sighed as we sat at our two desks in the back.

"What don't you understand, beautiful?" I asked as I reached over and grabbed her hand. She looked down at our hands, intertwining them.

"Why don't they like me?" She asked, barely audible.

"Tommy and Carol," I said more like a statement than a question. "Baby, please don't be worried about their opinion of you. It doesn't matter. What matters is what I think of you, and I think you're great."

She smiled before leaning over and pressing her lips gently to mine. We pulled apart when Mr. Stevenson obnoxiously cleared his throat.

                                * * * * *

"Where's your precious girlfriend?" Tommy taunted the second I got out of my car.

"She's at home studying."

"For what?" Carol scoffed.

"The science test we have on Friday."

"You mean the test that we were just told about? The one that's four days away?" Carol rolled her eyes. "She's literally the smartest person in our class. Why the hell does she need to study? She'll ace the test and ruin the curve for the rest of us normal people."

"Carol," I cut her off, "for once in your life, shut your damn mouth."

"What's your problem, man?" Tommy scoffed.

"You're both assholes, that's my problem."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah," I scoffed. "I'm serious."

"Why do you even like to spend so much time with her?" Tommy scoffed.

"Because she's real," I said through my teeth. "I don't have to put on a facade around her."

"Do you hear yourself?" Tommy scoffed.

"Neither one of you ever cared about her," I said, my anger showing through in my voice. "You never even liked her because she's not miserable like you two! She actually cares about other people."

"She's a freak!" Carol laughed.

"Watch your damn mouth!"

"Hey!" Tommy said, pushing me. "I don't know what's gotten into you, man, but you don't talk to her that way."

"But you're allowed to talk to my girl that way?" I scoffed.

"It's Y/N," Tommy said as he rolled his eyes.

That comment deserved him a punch to the jaw. It took him a second to respond. When he did, I didn't hold back. The only thing that stopped the fight was Carol pulling us apart.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Harrington?" He yelled as he try to charge me, but Carol stopped him again. "What? Are you like in love with her or something?"

"Holy shit!" Carol laughed. "You're in love with Y/N."

"So what if I am?!" I scoffed. "Why is it so weird? I've known her since we were little. I've known her longer than I've known you."

"It's wimpy," Tommy scoffed.

"What's wimpy about a guy loving a girl?" Carol asked in a tone that would ultimately end in Tommy taking care of himself for a couple of days.

"It's just. . . I thought. . ."

"Go be with Y/N," Carol cut off Tommy without looking away from him. She finally looked at me and smiled. "And tell her what you just told us."

"Thank you," I whispered before turning on my heel and jogging to my car.

As I drove to her house, I nervously drummed my fingers on the steering wheel. Ever since Tommy made a comment about my feelings for Y/N, I have had this weird feeling. It was almost like my stomach was jumping around and it wouldn't settle down. As I pulled in front of her house, my heart was skipping so many beats I was surprised I was still alive.

I took a shaky breath, gathering my courage to get out of the car. When I finally did, I went around the house to Y/N's bedroom window. I instantly started climbing on their trash can, onto their roof, and over to Y/N's room. I knelt down and knocked on the window.

My heart jumped into my throat when Y/N moved her curtains aside. Her eyes widened. That's when I remembered my fight with Tommy.

"Steve!" She gasped as soon as she opened the window. "What happened to you?"

I couldn't help but smile as she grabbed my hand and helped me into her room. She didn't let go of me as she led me over to her bed. She sat me down and ran to her bathroom. She came back with a small first aid kit in her hand. I watched as she quickly and instantly started cleaning my cuts. As she did this, my eyes never left hers.

She finally broke the silence when she was done cleaning me up. "What happened?" She asked.

"It was nothing."

"Steve," she sighed, her voice breaking. "It doesn't look like nothing. You show up at my window, covered in bruises. It's not nothing. Please tell me what happened."

I reached up and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, my hand lingering on her face.

"I got into a fight with Tommy," I whispered.

"What?" She gasped, moving her head so my hand fell away from her.

"It's not a big deal," I said quickly. "It was just a stupid fight."

"Why?"

"What?" I stuttered.

"Why did you guys fight?" She clarified. When I didn't answer her, she continued, "Steve, you and Tommy don't just fight. Something started it. Now, tell me what it was."

"It was you," I whispered. The look in her eyes dropped.

"Me?" She asked, her voice getting caught in her throat as she took a step away from me.

"He made some comments," I stood up as I tried to explain. "I stood up for you."

"Wait," she cut me off. "Are you saying. . . I'm the reason you and your best friend fought?"

"You're my best friend, Y/N," I corrected. "And no one gets away with insulting you in front of me."

"Steve," she stuttered.

"I love you," I cut her off. I heard her suck in a breath. I used her shock to my advantage. I grabbed her hands in mine as gently as I could.

"I'm madly, crazily, perfectly in love with you."

I laughed as Y/N quickly closed the gap between us by practically tackling me into a hug. We fell back on her bed as she pressed her lips to mine. We moved our lips messily in sync until neither one of us could breathe. She broke the kiss, hovering over me.

[infiniteglitterfall]

Oh.

"The rally on Friday was led by Within Our Lifetime, the prominent pro-Palestinian activist group in New York City that endorsed Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack."

Um

WOL is uh

So...

SJP is almost certainly a Hamas front. Many of its chapters are known not only for longtime harassment of Jewish students and groups, but also for sharing violent anti-Israeli videos from RNN, the Resistance News Network, and recommending that people follow RNN on Telegram.

Also, its anonymous national chapter somehow managed to create a very professional, five-page "Day of Resistance Toolkit," which called for SJP chapters to organize anti-Israel protests after Hamas's attack.

A toolkit which included two Google Forms (one to RSVP for a national conference call they'd already managed to schedule for the next day, one to share the protests your chapter plans); at least a page of detailed suggestions about how to participate; two pages on messaging & framing; four hashtags; and two graphic templates, both in the pdf itself, and also in a Canva link (one of which had the Hamas hang glider graphic that's become so popular for protest flyers)....

It went out the day after Hamas's attack.

That's impossible. I've never seen a group pull off that much content and organizing in ONE DAY.

It's also a very unusual response to a massacre in Israel.

It also contained a link to a sign-on letter by Bears for Palestine (at UC Berkeley, home of the Cal Bears), which was the original SJP group.

The sign-on letter called the attack "Towfan Al-Aqsa Flood," a transliteration of Hamas's name for the attack. A name which hadn't appeared in the news yet.

Neither, afaik, had the hang gliders. You know where they HAD appeared, though?

Resistance News Network.

When I finally downloaded Telegram and looked at their channel... It turned out to be a feed of announcements and updates from Hamas.

WOL, though.

WOL started as SJP NYC. Its founder made it its own thing so she could expand it past students.

WOL is the group that has gotten a bunch of attention for (1) getting caught on video screaming en masse at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and at patients gathering in the windows, about how MSK is complicit in genocide (because it... accepted a $400M donation from a white Lutheran billionaire who tried to get his alma mater, Harvard, to make a statement about the massacre. Therefore, they're part of a big Zionist conspiracy in medicine)

And (2) for putting up maps of "Zionist" orgs in NYC and encouraging people to ???????

I came across some awful shit their leader, a Brooklynite named Nerdeen Kiswani, had written. So I thought I'd see what she'd initially said about the massacre.

She... Posted this thing on Instagram that said,

"As you see Palestine in the news, keep two things in mind:

1. Colonization is inherently violent. Occupation is violent. Israel's existence was brought about by violence. Never equate the violence of the oppressed with that of the oppressor. The colonized with the colonizer.

2. If you support Palestine understand that necessitates supporting our right to defend ourselves and liberate our homeland by any means necessary." And then goes on in that vein some more.

The thing is. Instagram (and Twitter, and maybe other social media sites) display the post date in the reader's own timezone..

For me, in California, that post said Oct 6.

You can look at the source code to see the exact time.

So I did.

She'd posted it exactly when the attack officially started. At 12:31 am her time, 6:31 am in Israel.

She had to have known about it before it started.

This is the shit that literally keeps me up at night. As in, i'm typing this before dawn right now. I figured this out on Tuesday and i've been freaking out about it all week.

[twstedtales]

𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑, 𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐑𝐎𝐑 𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐋𝐋.

❝hold your ground; stand up for yourself with grit and grace.❞ - Unknown.

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 | when he heard you broke from your timid and soft-spoken self just so you could defend him.

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | riddle rosehearts, leona kingscholar, azul ashengrotto, kalim al asim, vil schoenheit, idia shroud, malleus draconia × female reader.

𝐭𝐰 | none!

𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 | of course, <3 anon chan 😘 nice to meet you and have a good day too 😆 by the way, freaking gosh, this becomes soooo long 2,241 words if you wanna know bdjejwjeeh 😭😂💦 HELP-

𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 | reposting and queued this in time for my classes because i am determined to put it in tags lfmaooo and I also added few more because I noticed some of Leona’s part was missing and typographical errors are fixed shsbjd

Riddle was always grateful that you were a lot tamer than your chaotic friends that give him constant headaches. He also appreciates your quiet and soft nature because it helps him calm down a lot during his near outbursts when he was about to behead some of his rebellious dorm mates.

So, one random day, Riddle overheard you talking to some students; he presumed they were your classmates? He trusts you a lot, and was about to leave because he didn't want to disrespect your conversation when he heard his name, including the loud series of continuous insults directed to him, repeatedly calling him a ruthless tyrant and such, that had made his elegant brows raise to his hairline. 

A lady such as yourself shouldn't be hearing such crass words from those uneducated fools. His eyes twitched in seething anger, a vein bulging in his forehead and he was about to step in to teach them a lesson they won't forget when Riddle had heard your voice snapping.

It took him by surprise when he heard your usual soft and timid tone raise an octave, your loud yells reverberated greatly across the empty halls. Riddle felt some sort of pleasant shock; he couldn't imagine you, who was usually soft-spoken, to defend him like that. Though that aside, immediate pride and affection swells inside him. 

Riddle always believes that as a gentleman, he should be the one to protect you from fools, or defend you against malicious people like that. But he supposed the position getting reversed once in a while feels...good as well. Now, if you'll excuse him, he still needs to, ah, re-educate those imbeciles, a lesson they won't ever forget.

Leona doesn't care that you're timid most of the time, in fact, it even brought a slight relief to him because firstly, he won't have you loudly reprimanding and nagging him if he doesn't attend classes like Ruggie does, disturbing his naps. And secondly, he secretly finds you a great wonder, knowing that most women in Afterglow Savana were all "warriors" and they intimidate him. 

Though for your own sake, Leona would drop casual hints about arming yourself in an argument here and there for you to catch. He favoured your soft-spoken persona, yes, but that doesn’t mean he would go around letting you be in danger just because of it.

And just when he thought that you were tamed and a well-behaved little lamb, Leona was slightly bewildered to hear your loud shouts that knocked him out of his sleep. He almost thought that you were in danger and would instantly leap in to tear off the person who dared to attack you limb by limb if not for the obvious anger lacing your voice.

Hou? Leona listens curiously in patient silence as you apparently "defend" his reputation. It would be a lie to say that he didn't care what others say about him, but at this point, he had completely given up on how others perceived him, all their opinions be damned. But he had to admit, you saying that he was more than just being an "indolent bastard" makes his heart do a quick lithe leap. Just a little bit.

However, of course, he can't let you hog in all the fun to yourself. If those fools were brave enough to lash out and dish out their problems about him to you, they must be prepared to face the consequences of his payback. Though perhaps he must thank them as well? For encouraging and pushing his timid herbivore to stand up and hold her ground to what she believes to be most important? Heh.

Azul thought that your soft and timid self is quite a refreshing sight; you're like a breath of fresh air for him. Being surrounded by the chaotic twins all the time drains his energy, no matter how efficient they seem to be for business. So, having you around calms him down, and your soft voice was like enticing him to sleep and relax.

That's why when he heard a loud scream outside of the VIP room, Azul had seriously doubted his ears, blinking his eyes in mild shock and refusing to believe that person who had just raised their voice was you. You, his precious angelfish who spoke so softly and tenderly to him all the time, just shouted? 

Azul snapped out of his trance when he had heard your voice again, this time, it was even louder, and he could clearly hear just what makes you this furious. He quietly left the sanctuary of his office just as the argument kept on getting clearer. He had heard his name, how the students called him a "scammer", "manipulator", "evil schemer", "stupid octopus" and such. 

Under normal circumstances, Azul wouldn't feel any remorse when he had tricked them into a contract for servitude as a small payment for what they boastfully spout about him. He was ready to make them pay a hundred folds...if not for you defending him wholeheartedly. You were readily refuting every falseーor were they really false?ーclaims about him; a bit more menacing, a little more proud, and very much seething in anger. 

Adoration bloomed inside him as he almost felt tears start to prickle in the corner of his eyes. He never had someone who would defend him, who would boast how "hardworking" he was, or be angry...just for him. Azul had to steel his knees from buckling over, blinking back his tears and parading his usual, haughty smile. As much as he wants to rejoice and melt for your brave words, he first needs to get you out of there. He can't have his precious angelfish deal with those pests all by yourself, no?

Kalim was understanding, empathetic enough to know not to push you beyond the limits you could give. He was content to see you interacting and hanging out with him, no matter how quiet and timid you may be! Fret not, it doesn't matter one bit if he's the only one speaking and getting the conversation going, as long as he knew you were there and listening to him, that's all that matters to him.

Though seriously speaking, does anyone even have the heart to say malicious things about this sunshine? Though let's admit it, not all people would see Kalim's open generosity in a positive light and some people would even find it rather irritating (ーlike Jamilー). So, things like "bad-mouthing" him does happen, maybe not as much in NRC but he does hear them back in Scalding Sands.

Due to his position of being the heir to a big clan, Kalim was very much exposed to the harsh criticism and perhaps hatred and envy of others, though he does his very best to ignore them, and understand where they are coming from because he knows that not all are as privileged as him. So hearing people say bad things about him in the NRC is nothing new as well. 

What was something new though...is you raising your voice that made him jump, his heart almost made a quick leap out of his throat. Especially when you declared that he was the kindest, the most understanding and the best person you ever met in your life. Kalim didn't even hear the insults because he was more focused on drilling the image of you, looking so gallant like a honourable warrior defending him. 

Before it escalates into something serious though, Kalim would jump in the conversation and sway the topic into a more light-hearted one. You would notice his smile looked a lot brighter than normal, and that his cheerfulness is so contagious that you forgot the person who badmouthed him as Kalim dragged you to somewhere he could spoil you rotten.

Vil doesn't usually mind your timid self; he finds himself surprisingly adoring it at times. Especially after those stressful and chaotic days that all he needs is to have a peaceful respite that he had found in you. Though there were times that he would...ah, help you to become more open and confident when talking to people. Unlike Leona who would just drop hints, Vil was determined to teach you how to arm yourself with words, if not magic or any other weapon. 

Hence why Vil was very much accustomed to harsh criticism and dare say, downright hate. He was an actor and a model after all. He had long prepared himself to accept those healthy criticisms, and block off all the malicious comments thrown at him. So, hearing his own schoolmates lash out their hate against him is nothing to waste his time about. After all, they weren't even brave enough to say that to his own face. 

Even so, what took him in a pleasant astonishment is when he heard your voice, loud and clear and confident, rebutting their foolish claims about him. He didn't even pay enough attention when those potatoes blatantly compared him to Neigeーwhich was, by the way, will be dealt with laterーbecause all he could hear was your voice.

Vil huffed in amusement; you had incorporated everything he had taught you today and he could say that he was pleased with your development. As much as he wanted to see how far you could go and how good it was that you were defending him, Vil cannot allow you to linger longer around those fools who don't know basic etiquette more than necessary. 

Brimming with confidence as he was, Vil swept between smoothly, the long and loose sleeves of his dorm uniform flaunting behind me like a perfect picturesque as he hide you behind his back. He looked down coldly at those potatoes, ignoring your surprise yelp. Now, Vil can't let the improper things they say pass without a proper punishment, no?

Like everyone does, Idia doesn't care if you're timid or soft spoken either. To be honest, it was even encouraged by him. He could get around everything between you two without speaking, especially since he wasn't used to being around people a lot. After all, your quiet voice when you're talking to him doesn't feel like any otherーit was more relaxing, more soothing…

That's why when he heard you shouting so loudly and angrily one day, Idia fell on his chair in shock. He was surveying the surroundings from the CCTVs around the school for possible routes he could take when he went out to buy snacks for the weekend when he caught sight of you in the hallway with some unfamiliar students. It doesn't look like a one-sided argument, but you were definitely more pissed off than the others.

The longer he listens, the more Idia wants to wither awayーfrom embarrassment, or from self-resentment or from pure adoration, he cannot pinpoint exactly what! You...you were defending him! Him! You were seethingly refuting every claim he heard directed to him. Every single negative thing they pointed out that he himself knew of all people possessed, said it was nothing but baseless untruths. 

How could you say that he was not useless when all he could do now was to watch you from afar as you fight for his reputation? How could you still believe he was not a coward after all those things that people said about him and his failures? How could you still love him after all the things you were hearing right now? 

Idia clenched his fists that his nails dug in his palms. He...wants to be like you as well. He wanted to be the man you could depend on, the one who could defend you like those in his otome games he played. If one day...if only he could build up the courage to be...anyway, for now, Idia mysteriously alerted some of the professors that someone was bullying you. He couldn't be there personally, with how he is right now, but he would make sure to protect you in the way that he himself could surely do this time...

The one who insults and badmouth The Malleus Draconia himself was probably tired of living, having a death wish or something. Almost everyone was scared of facing him, but alas, there surely exists those who are...brave enoughーor was it simply foolishness?ーto insult him in the presence of his own beloved. 

Malleus probably didn't hear your "heroic acts" personally, but due to Sebek's garrulous mouthーand he can't simply keep this a secret to his Waka-sama!ーhe was informed how you defend him in front of many people. 

He would ask every detail, how it started and how it escalated to how it ended. Sebek wouldn't leave a single detail, though he supposed he could make you a little more "gallant and chivalrous" to his Young Master because you were the first one to stand up for him, and you are his lover, not his guard!

After hearing the full details from the extremely proud Sebekーand how he had already taught the impudent students a lesson for insulting himーMalleus had found himself teleporting next to you, that made you jump because it was so sudden. And he would hug you so suddenly and wordlessly. When you ask him why, he would just reply that he feels like you had done something so incredible for him that he wants to repay and spoil you in any way you desire.

Malleus does mind the insults, but he was more focused on you and how you stand up and hold your ground despite your soft-spoken self. He wished he could've seen you break out from your shell once again, but he won't force you to it. After all, there's plenty of time to rectify that and he would wait patiently on the day you showed all your sides to him.

[owl-with-a-pen]

brainy or nia try on karas glasses one day and kara realizes that they were brenda/brandon?

- Oh my god, yes! Thank you for the prompt. x

“No, no,” Alex said decisively. “It’s been years and I still don’t get it. How the hell do glasses make it impossible for people to recognise you? I’d know you from anywhere.”

Nia grinned from across the table, lifting her drink to her lips as Alex pinched Kara’s cheek, only to be batted away by her little sister a second later.

“Okay,” Kara said with a snort. “Your next round is gonna be water shots.” She turned her head from the table, making a show of searching the bar. “Where’s Al?”

“Oh, you know he heads out back the second this party rolls in,” Kelly said with an impish smile, raising her own glass. She took Alex’s hand before she could pester Kara any further, winding their fingers firmly together. “Although, I have to agree with the water.”

“Hydration would appear useful at this stage,” Brainy added with a sage nod. “She may also benefit from lining her stomach with something a little more substantial.”

Nia grinned, leaning back against Brainy’s chest. “Is that your not-so-subtle hint that you want more onion rings?”

She’d perched herself on the edge of Brainy’s stool some time into the evening; her smile widened when she felt his hands link around her front in response. “Sometimes, multiple issues can call for a single solution,” Brainy pointed out, tucking his face into her hair. “What is the saying? Two birds, one stone?” Nia's face warmed when Brainy’s lips traced idly along the side of her jaw.

Kara grinned. “Well, hey, I’m not gonna say no to more onion rings.”

It was fair to say that they’d all had a few drinks between them by now, although Kelly and Alex were strictly drinking from the human menu. Things always got a little whacky with alien grade alcohol, and despite her half-Naltorian genetics, Nia had barely been able to stomach a single sip of Brainy’s drink of choice. It suited his tolerance level far better, and made for a slower automatic response for his body to factor out the alcohol and sober him up. If his sudden confidence with intimacy in a public environment was anything to go by, Nia figured it was definitely working.

Nia knew Kara was drinking something similar to Brainy, although her Kryptonian biology made her far more resilient against its contents. She wasn’t even slurring.

Meanwhile, Nia was feeling all kinds of warm inside. Although, Brainy’s hold on her was probably a major factor in that.

It had felt like forever since they’d last gone out like this, and from the recent stress they’d all been under, it wasn’t exactly surprising that they’d found their way to Al’s bar. Plus, after the number of times they’d saved this place from one catastrophe or another, they got some incredibly generous discounts even on some of the rarer beverages. It was just unfortunate that Alex’s human tolerance really wasn’t matching up. And, considering Kelly was still on her first drink, she was currently the only person everyone was sorely worried about getting home safely that night.

With that in mind, Nia was just about to suggest heading up to the bar to go order, when Alex made her move, whipping her hand out quick enough to snatch Kara’s glasses straight from her face, balancing them across her nose.

She turned to Kelly immediately, staring at her levelly. “Well?” she asked expectantly. "How do I look?”

“It’s like looking at a total stranger,” Kelly deadpanned. She smirked, leaning in closer. “Although, they do make you kinda mysterious.”

Alex’s smile broadened. “Oh really?”

“My turn!” Nia chirped, plucking the glasses from Alex’s face. She rested her elbows on the table, propping her chin up with her hands the moment she had the glasses on. She narrowed her eyes, testing out her new perspective. As anticlimactic as it was, nothing really changed. It was just like staring through two pieces of clear glass. Nia pouted. She supposed it wasn't unexpected - that was exactly what she was doing, after all.

“It’s weird being able to see clearly while wearing someone’s else’s glasses,” Nia mused, playing around with the glasses’ temples, wiggling them up and down in front of her face. “Has anyone who didn’t know your secret ever done this before?” She jerked her head up, snapping her fingers. “Ooh, I know, I bet you just tell them you both need the same prescriptions. Am I right, or am I right?”

Kara didn’t answer.

“...Kara?”

When Nia turned, she realised that Kara was staring directly at her, a half-stunned daze in her eyes.

“What, did the alcohol finally kick in?” Nia prodded good-naturedly, only for Kara to reach out suddenly, taking the glasses away from her. “Hey! I was using those!”

Kara remained silent. Instead, with unnerving intensity, she came forward, slipping the glasses onto Brainy’s face. Brainy jerked from the unexpected contact, lifting them away from his nose as though they'd burned. He blinked quickly in affront, eyeing Kara suspiciously. “What was that for?” he asked.

“It was you two,” Kara said mildly; her voice sounded far too calm for comfort, like she was on the verge of a full-blown freak out. “All those years ago, in Midvale. It was you.”

Nia spluttered at the exact same moment as Brainy. She snapped her head towards him desperately. “What?” she asked, registering the panic in Brainy’s eyes that she knew was reflected identically in her own. “No—what—no?” She dug her hand into her boyfriend’s shoulder, squeezing tight. “Do you know what she’s talking about?”

“I have no idea what you are- what she’s talking about-” Brainy snorted defensively. “Do-do you?”

Nia nudged him nervously, eyes wide. “I just said I didn’t, genius.”

“...Right,” Brainy said quickly, clearing his throat. He raised his voice, turning back to Kara. “Two admissions though! Thus further proving that we have no idea what you are talking—”

But, Kara was still staring, a cold glare of certainty in her eyes. “I’d know that scrambling for an excuse anywhere,” she said, taking Brainy’s hands and guiding the glasses back into place over the bridge of his nose. She met no resistance this time, Brainy was far too busy gaping at her. “Brendan.” She turned to Nia accusingly. “Brenda.” Her lips split into a pained smile. “Rao- I thought you two were hiding something, but I was willing to accept it, because... I thought you were lost.”

“In our defence, we sorta were,” Nia admitted sheepishly. “The crash wasn’t part of the plan.”

It was Brainy’s turn to nudge her. “Nia.”

“Give it up, Brainy.” Nia cringed. “We’re caught.”

Kara ran her hands through her hair, shaking her head in bewilderment. “What were you guys even doing there? When did this even happen for you?”

“When you were in the Phantom Zone,” Nia said slowly, ducking her head.

“We needed your DNA,” Alex said softly. It sounded as though the recent commotion had done a good job at sobering her up. “To track you down.”

“It was thanks to these two that we were able to save you at all,” Kelly added.

Something crossed Kara’s expression then, but it was so quick that Nia barely caught it. All she knew was that in that moment, Kara looked entirely vulnerable. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked weakly.

Brainy swallowed hastily. “Had you known our true identities in 2009, it would have caused ramifications in the timeline that could have irrevocably changed the future.”

“I don’t mean then,” Kara said sharply, attention snapping to Brainy. Her expression fell. “Why not when I came back?”

“It didn’t seem… necessary,” Brainy said uncomfortably. Nia felt his grip tighten back around her and ran her hand across his arm, squeezing gently.

Kara scoffed, folding her arms. “Not necessary? You guys were in my past—you saved my life, and you didn’t think to tell me?”

“So much happened,” Nia said carefully. “Kara, we didn’t want to stress you out any more than you already had been.”

“Come here,” Kara said suddenly.

Nia blinked her surprise, catching Brainy’s eyes quickly for confirmation. Hesitantly, Brainy nodded, unlocking his arms from around Nia’s waist. Nia slipped from the stool, stepping towards her alongside Brainy.

They stared at her unsurely for all of two seconds before Kara came forward, swooping them both into the most intense super hug Nia thought either of them had ever experienced.

Nia gasped for breath, wrapping her free arm automatically around Kara’s back. The brush of Brainy’s fingers confirmed to her that he had done just the same.

“I never thought I’d get a chance to say this,” Kara murmured into the space between them. “But, thank you. Both of you, for everything that you did.”

“For... saving your life?” Brainy asked, voice muffled with confusion. “You’re... very welcome?”

Kara laughed, pressing her face into his hair. “Not that. Okay, well, of course that. But,” She sighed, drawing away again, her hands still locked tightly against each of their arms, “you both came to me at a time where I was questioning so much. My future, my identity, my place on Earth. I was hurting, in more ways I ever let on. And without you two—I don’t know what I might have done differently.”

Nia smirked. “Wait…” She turned her head towards Brainy. “Does that mean we were always meant to travel back to 2009?”

“Pre-destined time travel.” Brainy pondered on that thought for a long moment, his lips twitching into a smile of his own. He shrugged. “I suppose stranger things have happened.”

“You did crash, though,” Alex pointed out from across the table.

Brainy shot her a glare.

“Destiny,” Kelly cut in, sighing dreamily. “I like that, though.”

Nia knocked Brainy’s arm playfully. “Just like how you coming to this time gave you the chance to live freely. With us.” Nia squeezed her boyfriend's hand secretively before she turned back to Kara, smile softening. “Maybe we gave that same chance to you, too.”

“Thank you,” Kara said again. She blinked, wiping quickly at her face where tears were near approaching. “I- I don’t even think just saying that cuts it.”

Nia's smile widened mischievously. “Hey, does that mean the next round isn’t on us?”

Brainy raised a finger in consideration. “I believe tap water is on the house, anyway.”

“Hey, no water,” Alex shot back. “And you guys are not getting out of shots that easily.”

They all laughed at that. And, just like that, Nia felt as though an invisible tension that had been tethering them together had finally loosened.

She smiled as she re-joined her family back at the table, hand-in-hand with Brainy.

For the first time in a long time, it really felt like everything was going to be okay.

[offbrandhange]

hi! are you accepting requests? if so can i request a fic where levi and the reader are secretly seeing each other and their little interactions spark up the interest of hange, so hange tells the rest of the levi squad and they all try to find out whether theyre dating or not? thank you!!

Yes, I am!!! Tysm for this idea I had so much fun writing it!!!

𝖜𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝖈𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙: ~1.4K

a/n -- I really hope this isn’t bad HHHHHHH

The mess hall was rowdy as always for a Friday night; all different regiments and ranks joined together—just to drunkenly blow off steam.

At the higher-ups’ table, a loud thud was heard; Hange had slammed down their beer-filled mug, laughing as they slightly splashed it on the man in front of them.

“Sorry,” They hummed cheerfully, despite knowing it was likely they would get berated for getting beer on him; He scolded them every chance he got.

Hange smiled stupidly while waiting for harsh words, but there were none. The man said nothing, his eyes completely elsewhere. He had no idea there was an ale stain on his white cravat.

“Levi?” Hange blurted in confusion, hiccuping while they did so. 

It was beyond uncommon for Levi to be spaced out and uncaring about a mess. He hated anything he deemed unclean—and he was picky about it, too. 

Hange was knowingly alarmed by their colleague’s strange behavior, and so, they curiously turned their head to see what he was staring at. 

His eyes were locked on a cadet belonging to the Scout regiment—one that Hange scarcely recognized as someone often around the Titan shifter, Eren Jaeger.

“That’s odd,” Hange murmured to themself, lifting the beer to their mouth to sip.“Wonder if this’ll work.” 

Mischievously, Hange ran their hand on the underside of the wooden table, getting a good heap of dust and dirt to stick to their palm. Afterward, Hange lifted themselves from their seat, leaned over the table, and softly flattened their hand on the top of Levi’s head; he didn’t move an inch. 

A booming “Woah,” escaped their lips, and in the typical Hange way, it caught everyone at the table’s attention—everyone except for Levi.

“Hange,” their co-worker called, a member of Levi’s squad; it was Petra. “What’s wrong?”

“He didn’t even flinch—I touched him with dusty hands!” Hange exclaimed, making dramatic gestures in disbelief. 

Petra raised an eyebrow and turned to look at Levi, who was now not only wearing a stained cravat; but also dust particles covering his usually impeccably shiny raven hair. 

Hange let out another scream in amazement; once again catching everyone’s attention—but not just those at the table. This time, the cadet noticed as well.

You began your strides over towards Levi—leaving behind your other members of the scouts. The closer you came towards him, the more his face began to change from pale to pink.

Hange watched in disbelief as you smiled at the short man, who now met your eyes with a softened gaze. 

You reached to his cravat; pinching the corner lightly to look at the stain Hange’s beer left. “Oh,” you scrunched your eyebrow. You weren’t sure why he hadn’t been freaking out over the stain.  “Do you want me to wash this for you? It’s dirty.” You asked,  pulling your hand back.

Levi’s gaze diverted from yours as his face changed from blushing pink to cherry red, practically ripping off his cravat to hand to you. “Sure.” He quickly replied.

Both Petra and Hange stared in shock. The usually strict, grumpy, short-tempered Levi was completely gone. Instead, he was now a wide-eyed, innocent virgin—who seemed to have not known what a woman was.

As you walked out of the mess hall with Levi’s cravat—to presumably wash—his focus was finally back to normal.

“What?” He growled, meeting Hange and Petra’s bewildered eyes with his violent ones.

They paused for a moment, saying nothing, until Hange deftly answered, “You got dust on your head.” 

Levi’s eyes widened, and he immediately started swatting at his head, disgusted by all the particles surrounding him.

“I need a shower.” He stated, rising from his seat, speed walking awkwardly out of the mess hall. It was clear he was very close to freaking out--grime was one of the only tame things in life that scared him.

After he left, Petra and Hange both silently sat, trying to comprehend what just happened. 

“Is Captain....dating?” Petra questioned, turning to look at Hange.

“Levi? Dating? No way.” Hange answered, not completely convinced of their own conviction.

There was another long silence between Petra and Hange—and then Hange opened their mouth to speak.

“We’re definitely investigating, right?” 

“What? Isn’t that an invasion of his privacy? I don’t think he would like it—“ Petra pleaded, but it was to no avail—Hange had already risen from their seat.

“Get the rest of Levi squad, then meet me outside of his office.” 

Petra sighed as she watched Hange leave the room; She was not too keen on snooping in on Levi’s personal life—mostly because she valued his opinion of her—and did not want to lose his trust. 

Hange, however, was giggling to themselves, bouncing as they walked to Levi’s office. 

The walk didn’t take long, since his room was relatively close to the mess hall; but picking the lock certainly would. Once they arrived at Levi’s door, Hange pulled a hairpin from the bird’s nest that rested atop their head—poking and prodding at the lock best as they could. 

When the lock had broken, Hange turned to see that Petra and the rest of the Levi squad were standing beside them.

“Good, you’re here.”

“Is Captain Levi really dating? He doesn’t seem like the type to get involved with others.” Eld questioned.

Oluo scoffed before he replied. “Of course not—he’s way too busy.” 

Petra rolled her eyes. “Like you’d know.”

“Of course I would—are you implying I don’t know what it’s like to be busy? My kill count—“ Oluo stopped, accidentally biting his tongue.

Gunther just sighed and made his way into the room; the rest following along. 

Hange and the Levi squad searched for what seemed like forever; they looked for anything they could find—a love letter, gifts, anything out of the ordinary that their Captain would not normally have—but they found nothing.

Eventually, Gunther sighed and slammed the desk drawer shut. “This is pointless.”

“And an invasion of privacy,” Petra added, sounding slightly annoyed.

Hange was starting to tire themselves—pushing up their glasses and rubbing their eyes, they spoke. “Fine, let’s call it a night; we can try and pair them up tomorrow during training and see then.” 

Everyone left the room, dragging their feet. Their mission failed, and everyone was beyond tired; They certainly weren’t going to stay up any later than they already had.

Goodbyes were exchanged, and they headed their separate ways; Hange specifically towards their dorm. 

And that’s when they turned the corner—and saw Levi talking with you in the deserted hall.

Hange hid, pushing their glasses back down to see clearer. Excited, they screamed internally.

Levi stood with the straightest posture possible; you could tell he was nervous. His hair was pushed back out of his face, still wet from his shower, with a towel draped around his neck. 

You handed him his cravat, teasing him for getting it dirty. It was exactly what you expected to see from two lovers.

Once you leaned in to kiss Levi on the cheek, Hange jumped out from the corner, revealing themselves.

“HOLY SHIT! YOU ARE DATING!” Hange screamed, standing strangely, pointing at you and Levi.

The short man went flying as he threw himself away from you—he was now flat against the wall, with an expression that mimicked a frightened cat.

Slightly spooked yourself, you turned to look at Hange. “Oh. Squad Leader Hange.” 

 “ARE YOU DATING?” Hange screamed down the hall—you could hear an angry cadet in their room yell back, “shut up.”

Levi peeled himself off the wall, walking down towards Hange angrily—you followed.

“What is this.” He sneered, glaring at his colleague.

“ARE. YOU. DATING.” Hange repeated, putting a lengthy amount of space between their words.

Levi turned bright pink again—and said nothing. Annoyed, you sighed and spoke for him. “Yes, we are.”

“HOLY SHIT!” Hange yelled, dragging out the o.

“Keep your mouth shut, four eyes.” Levi spat, returning to his typical grumpy demeanor.

You pat him on the shoulder, resting your hand there to represent a small, “be nice.” His face grew even more in color; instantly melting at your touch.

“Don’t go around telling people,” you said, trying to clarify what he meant. “I don’t want others to think I’m getting special privileges.”

Hange sucked in a long breath, trying to calm themselves. “Sure, sure, yep, yep, yep. I got you.” They smiled politely, beginning to walk off.

You and Levi watched as they turned to corner—and all of a sudden you heard them scream.

“PETRA!” 

Levi charged after Hange—and you muttered to yourself, “oh my god” before following along.

It was going to be a long night.

[alyssadeliv]

The Forgotten One

First      Previous

Chapter 10

Chosen One. 

Marianne Al Ghul. 

Mari. 

Pixie.

The Lily of the Desert. 

Marinette Dupain. 

Ladybug. 

The Great Guardian.

And now she would eventually become Marianne Wayne. 

She had had multiple names and lived for what felt like a hundred lives, all very different, but all of them with one thing in common. Damian. 

From the moment he was born until her first death, she lived for him. Always there to aid and protect him at all costs. At all costs. She lived for him. The only time she had something for herself, it was taken from her. So she wasn't good with owning things. Her whole life nothing was truly hers. Damian was the League’s. The Miraculous were the Order’s. She was divided between two organizations. Never truly belonging to one or the other. She ached to belong, so it was very important that she proved herself to her father. She knew she was never enough for her mother, she was indeed the second option. Useful enough to not be discarded, but not the heir she most desired.

So now. Standing in front of her Father, having imagined this moment her whole life, she had to admit, she was scared. Would he reject her too? Would she be enough?

“Father… This is Marianne, your daughter.” Damian presents her. She doesn't know how to act so she stays in place, awaiting instructions or directions, but still getting the time to analyze the man in front of her.

He was taller than she imagined, but intimidating with his Batman attire just as she had pictured. He looked at her in a cautious way, as if at any moment she would combust into flames. She kept her eye on him, looking for some sort of sign on how to act. It took some time but eventually, his expression turned to a mesmerized one. 

“You look like my mother…” He whispered, reaching to her with his right hand but never touching her. His face in awe. “How… I-”

He turned his head to Damian as if he could explain more. In his face a lost and anxious expression. She could see that her little brother wanted to comfort their father, but didn't know how. So he stayed at her side, hoping that his presence was enough. Clearly, it wasn’t.

“I need to think'' And with that he turns and walks out of the cave, never even sparing a glance back. The only thing that can be heard are his footsteps, and when those are gone, an awkward silence installs.

Only then does Marianne let go of the air she didn’t even know she was holding. With not even a nod of his head father had dismissed her. He was similar to Mother after all. Only ever interaction with her if needed, just to make sure she was still alive. She could deal with that, she knew what to expect. That actually calms her more than it should. The uncertainty was still there, but at least she knew that deep down he could care for her in the future as her mother did. 

“Daeh Washanuh” She tells her brother when she sees his indignant face. Her father needed time, she understood that, so for now she would let him be. 

She still felt a bit weak, having spent all her energy between fighting her brother and mending her injured body. Damian must have seen said exhaustion because he instantly went to her side, to support her. With her body pressed against his side, and a strong arm crossing her waist holding her she admired how much he had grown. He was taller than her now. Stronger too. Gone was the 10 year old that followed her around. In his place was a slight better version of that person. She gives him a reassuring smile, trying to transmit her gratitude and appreciation without words, the same way she would do before they were separated. She could only hope they still understood each other after years of no contact.

Damian chooses that instant to start introducing the others. The redhead in the wheelchair looks at her with interest, as if trying to solve a puzzle. She doesn't seem to be judging her like the guy in the red leather jacket with a shocked expression is, so she counted that as a win. The dark haired teen that she knocked out a few days ago looks like he’s seen better days, and by the dark spots under his eyes and the large cup of what she assumed to be coffee in his hand, he was an insomniac, like her. The two still wearing their full costumes start to remove their masks, the one in blue has a calm expression, but the other is still very much shocked.

“Habibti... This is Richard Grayson, Timothy Drake, Barbara Gordon, and Jason-”

“Todd.” She smiles. “Long time no see.” 

How could she ever forget those blue eyes that hunted her dreams. He was a big part of her past, and she would always be able to spot him in a crowd. 

She can almost remember the first time she met him. At only 13 she was tasked with training this overemotional 16-year-old. Let’s just say their relationship wasn’t good at the beginning. He carried too much anger inside of him to allow him to listen to what she was trying to teach him. He was hot-headed and stubborn, and most of the time she just wanted to throw her dagger at him to see him bleed. But after some time they got close. Closer than they should. 

At that time Grandfather had intensified Damian’s training so she wasn’t able to see him much, instead, she found herself around Jason a lot. They confided in each other. She gave pieces of herself to him that she never gave anyone else, only for him to be ripped from her life as punishment. 

Last she heard her mother had dealt with him. She assumed she had killed him. But seeing him in front of her, healthy and very much alive was a relief. She had mourned him for a long time, but the joy she feels in knowing he was alive was immense.

“Pixie!” Jason speaks for the first time, by now he already got up from his seat, and is now standing in front of her. Different from her Father's reaction, he seems to need to touch her, to guarantee that she is real and truly there. Confused about how she knew his older adopted sibling, Damian backs away from his sister, too stunned to properly comprehend what was happening. She now was using Jason as support, feeling the heat of his body next to her’s, just proving that he was really there.

Pixie was a nickname he gave her when they first met after he discovered she could do magic. At the time she did not understand the reference, not having grown up with fairytales, but after he patiently explained to her about fairies she could see where he was coming from. Small and Magic. That was enough to describe her. And secretly she was pleased to have a nickname especially made for her. “I told you we would see each other again…” He says with a smug smirk on his face. Caressing her cheek with his hand. Oh, how she missed that look on his face. 

“Am I the only one that’s freaking out with this scene in front of us?” The spell is broken by the voice of the blue hero. Richard. The first adopted son of Bruce Wayne. She knew a bit about him, when she was younger a part of her training was inspired by his stunts on the field. “How the hell do you know her, Jaybird? Bruce’s secret love child?” 

He still holds her, more for support than anything else. It’s been a long time since they’ve been together, but their friendship hopefully still remains. She takes him not letting her go, as a sign that she wasn’t the only one affected by this unexpected reunion. When she first arrived at Gotham she knew she would inevitably meet her extended family when she finally sought her brother. And yes, it came to no surprise that Jason Todd was once her father’s ward. But remember that she did believe him to be dead. And if that was truly the case she would carry her secrets to her grave. But apparently, it was time to come clean to her brother. Her relation with Jason was the one thing she ever kept from Damian. And she could see from the look on his face that he was very confused.

She detaches herself from Jason and tries to reach her little brother, but the day's activity finally takes a toll on her body and she trips and almost collapses on the floor if not for the two that come to her rescue. Jason being the one closer to her catches most of her weight, but Damian has both her hands into his own.

“I'm fine…” She tries, but by the look on both their faces, they don’t believe her one bit.

“Dick, why don't we leave the rest of the interrogation for tomorrow? When Bruce can participate.” Barbara speaks for the first time. She pushes herself away from the table and starts making her way out of the cave in her wheelchair. It seems that her words have power, because with only a grunt and a side glance and he leaves as well. Sometime between her father leaving and Jason making himself known Timothy fell asleep, face down on the table in what could only be described as an uncomfortable position.

If she wasn’t so exhausted she would have questioned how easily Damian’s family accepted to wait until tomorrow for answers. If it was her she would want them as soon as possible. No matter what.

“Come, I’ll show you to my room” Damian removes her from Jason’s arms and starts directing her through the same path all the others took out of the cave. Tomorrow she would come back and admire all the technology and weapons the Bat Cave provided, but for now, she was content in being almost carried to a comfy bed. After almost a month of chasing Gabriel Agreste around the globe and mostly sleeping when she could, wherever she could,  just the thought of sleeping in an actual mattress brought her immense joy. “I promise to not ask questions today, but I need an explanation for the display of affection you gave Todd downstairs.” His tone is stern and she knows he meant that. 

"Deal." He nods, accepting my answer.

We walk through a long corridor for quite some time, but eventually, we stop in front of a door. Damian opens it and carries me to the bed. He sits me in his bed and goes to his wardrobe. While he does that she admires the size of his room, which is big, just as it was in the League, but here she can see bits of his personality. Photos on the wall, drawings on the tables. She is happy that he gets to explore his part of himself. When he comes backs he hands a change of clothes to her, and without saying anything he makes his way to what Marianne assumes is an adjacent bathroom. Leaving her room to change alone. He gave her a black long-sleeved shirt and black pajama bottoms that were definitely too small to git him now, and she can only question as to why he has it still.

She removes her attire and changes into the offered clothes, but not before inspecting the place where there was supposed to be a wound. She was healed, as expected, but her dried blood still clings to her abdomen. By now Damian finally comes back, wearing an outfit similar to hers and carrying a damp towel.

“I thought you would want to clean yourself of the blood.” He hands her the towel. She in return gives him a sincere smile, accepting the offered object and immediately removing all traces of blood from her body. 

While she did that, he sat on the other side of the bed, removing some pillows and getting under the covers. Marianne leaves the towel on the floor beside the bed and carefully puts one knife on the bedside table and her dagger under her pillow. Old habits die hard after all.

Damian observes her with a nostalgic look on his face but otherwise remains silent. He turns the light off by the switch near his bed and the bedroom immediately gets dark, the only source of light coming through the closed windows. As she gets under the covers she feels his body getting closer to hers. And she can’t help but smile again, remembering how many times they did this exact same thing during their childhood without their mother knowing. Or at least they thought she didn't know, not knowing she merely allowed them this simple thing.

“Aishtaqt lak ya 'akhi” She repeats the same words she said to him when they were on the rooftop earlier that night.

Her only answer is his hand finding hers and giving it a squeeze.

Final chapter of part one! Do you like the stoy so far? After a lot of messages from you guys I decided to continue with a part 2 of this story. Still haven’t decided how long it would be, probably about 10 more chapters but who nows. Sorry it took me so long to post this chapter, its was finals week at my university and you know how it is. 

Let’s hope I get more time to write! Thank you all fot the support do far! You are all amazing!

It curently 3 am so sorry if there’s any mistakes!

Next

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[hyrule-kingdom-updates]

Ok but I have been thinking about this “Astor takes Zelda when she’s young” AU all night like:

So Zelda’s mom dies and Astor gets his astrolabe from Asivus after he fucks with the guardians and [REDACTED] and Astor has his little Calamity agenda all within a shorter amount of time than the span of time in HKU. This is so that Zelda doesn’t have too much knowledge about her role as Hylia’s vessel yet so that when Astor takes her she’s like “dope” and doesn’t really know exactly how important she is. I mean as soon as your mom dies and your dad turns into a dick, the first magic dadstor to come into your radius going like “let’s go vibe somewhere else” I think anyone would accept that.

So the princess is whisked away and the kingdom goes into pure shit and chaos, and Rhoam is left no choice as to basic double, no, triple down on Sheikah tech and the divine beasts, all while sending out searches for the princess—which never come into fruition.

Meanwhile, Zelda grows up with the Yiga Clan as an assassin shes got a sickle and short hair because yeah!! Zavis is still a spy but instead of joining the Yiga Clan to be more useful to Zelda, he joined the Yiga Clan to find her and when he did, since his dad and Zelda are all basically on the same side he doesn’t have really any loyalty to the crown anymore

Now just in case, Astor pretty much lies to Zelda about her past as she grew up, just so that there isn’t a chance she gets dragged back into castle life or anything. “Oh yeah, you were just some little noble girl who’s dad was a dick, and I was friends with your mom before she died so I decided to take you in” and it lines you just enough with what few memories Zelda has of her childhood that she believes it. And ironically, with her loyalty to Astor and the Yiga Clan, she grows to despise royals and laughs at the stories of the missing princess like “ha, what a nerd. Hyrule really is doomed since she dipped from her destiny, what a loser.”

Does Siv team up with Astor earlier since he doesn’t have Zelda to give him hope that he can overcome the Calamity? Maybe. Idk.

So anyways, Zeldas going out doing Yiga things and she meets a knight with a pretty cool looking sword, and she’s like “Oooo imma steal that” and then she tries but she failed because this kid is REALLY skilled. He beats her, but doesn’t kill her when he realizes “You’re just a kid?” Then, they hear someone coming, like a captain or something, and he tosses her a few rupees like “get out of here and go home, the others won’t hesitate to kill a Yiga like you—girl or not”

Now Zelda goes home but she’s PISSED. Not only did she get her ass beat despite being the most badass Yiga she knows, the kid has the audacity to toss her RUPEES as if she was just some common poor thief. What an asshole! But also, she’s super ingrained by him because pretty much her whole life she’s believed the knights and those with the royals are a bunch of ruthless assholes who do nothing but blindly adhere to their commands and rules. So the fuck is with this kid??

She doesn’t tell anyone about this encounter (mostly because she doesn’t want to be yelled at, nor admitting the embarrassing detail of being beaten) but she does tell Zavis about it. And he’s like “pfft. He’s just a kid, btt it give him a few years and he’ll grow up like everyone other asshole out there, trust me”

Then later on, Zelda sneaks out looking for this kid again. And she does, and they kinda cross blades, but mostly she just complains to him about how annoying he is, and she tosses the rupees he gave him back like “I don’t need your pity money!” And they banter for a bit more and eventually she’s like “what’s your name, huh?” And the knight is like “....you don’t know who I am?”

“Oh let me guess, you’re one of the hundreds of people named Link, is that it?”

“Something like that.”

“Well Link, I’m Mallory, and I’m going to kill you now!”

Suddenly Link’s stomach grumbles and he sheathes his sword “Dinner break!”

“WHA—?? Keep fighting me you idiot!”

“Nah...I’m super hungry.”

“What?!?! What’s wrong with you??? I’ll kill you!”

“No you won’t.”

“I will!”

“You’re already breaking a sweat and I’ve been holding back this whole time. Plus, if you wanted to kill me why did you just give me back my rupees when I had my back turned instead of stabbing me? Either you like talking to me, or you suck at your job. Anyways, cucco nugget?”

So they’re kinda friends now.

So time passes and they’re still secret friends, and they like being friends because they “keep it real” as the kids say. Link never admits to her that he’s the hero, but vents about his knight life and his dad who never seems to be happy for him despite his accomplishments. And Zelda vents about her life in the Yiga Clan, and despite being the best, Astor never seems to want her involved in the more important missions and never tells her jackshit”

“Well I guess that’s good for me. Would hate to have the Yiga’s best asset being used.”

“Hey this is serious!! I need to help in the destruction of the royal family with the Calamity!”

“Do you really believe that? That we’re all already doomed?”

“Well yeah. I mean, even if the hero’s around, the princess is dead, so you all don’t stand a chance. But don’t worry, when the Calamity comes I’ll give you a heads up and you can go chill in Faron or something”

Then, things be picking up with Astor and the gang, and he’s finally found an opportunity to kill the hero. And Zelda remembers hearing from Link that he sometimes hangs out with the Champions and the hero for protection, and she’s like, “can I come?” because she wants to be useful, but also to make sure Link doesn’t die or anything. Yet per usual, Astor’s like “No. Just stay here.”

Now Zelda gets super pissed and him and they have a fight, mostly circulating around the fact that Zelda’s been nothing but loyal to the Yiga Clan and yet she nevers gets to actually feel useful and it also put on the sidelines whenever anything actually impactful happens. “Hell, even ZAVIS does more than I do! What’s your problem?! Can’t you have confidence in my for once??”

And Astor in Astor fashion ends the argument super harshly like, “You won’t be ready for anything, ever. You’re still incredibly naive and foolish, so if you want to help, then you can help everyone by staying here, and safe, and away from everyone. THAT is the only thing of use you can do, so do it.” And then they go off to kill the hero and Zelda runs off to her room al frusterated and shit. 

But you know, you often meet your destiny on the road you take to avoid it. And this Astor’s little plan to keep Zelda away from Calamity related business so that she can never discover her powers or who she is...is gonna backfire, splendidly.

So Zelda sneaks out anyway, with the idea in her head that if she kills the hero before Astor even gets there he’ll have no CHOICE but to recognize how competent and useful she is and he’ll eat his words!

But then she gets there, and she sees the Champions, and Link, and she goes to confront Link with sickle in hand like, “I don’t need you! Just tell me where the hero is, and I’ll spare the rest of you!” And the Champions are like “wtf” and Link is like, “Just leave. You don’t know what you’re doing.” 

“I know exactly what I’m doing! Just tell me where the hero is and no one else has to get hurt.”

And Daruk’s like. “Uhh...but he is the hero?” And everyone glares at Daruk, and Zelda goes into shock, like w h a t. Aw shit..so that fancy sword was the master sword...and he’s so good at fighting because he’s the bloody hERO FUCK, IT’S SO OBVIOUS NOW FUCK.

And I feel like as Zelda is contemplating her life choices in the moment. Revali would attack first because he’s like that. So he shoots her in the shoulder, or something, and she releases Link, and then something something her mask falls of and Urbosa recognizes her because of course she does. And Urbosa’s like “Zelda?!??!?” And Zelda’s like, “Who the fuck are you? Who’s Zelda? I’m Mallory.” 

And by that point, Astor is there and he’s like “wtf is going on here.” And he sees Zelda, and he’s like “Mallory get over here right now.” And she hesitates for a moment because she’s right between him and Link.

“Move aside, now. Quickly. We’ll discuss your insolence when we get back home.”

And she’s like “...No.”

“Excuse me?”

“T-There’s no need for this. The princess is dead, right? S-So what’s even the point?”

“We have to ensure victory for Lord Ganon. We’re just making sure there’s no chance of anything happening. There’s no need to defend them, they’re all doomed, they’re all the same. If the hero doesn’t die by my hand, he’ll die by the Calamity’s. So move.”

“You don’t know that!”

And Astor raises and eyebrow because this is basically the first time Zelda has questioned this, ever. “What did you say?”

“I...I said you don’t know everything! You could be wrong!”

And he gives a sad smile and shakes his head. “I know more than you know.”

“I’ll tell you when we’re done here, promise.” And then he does his little malice teleport thing and he’s about to kill Link with a big ol’ malice attack, and Zelda does that reaching out thing like “No!” 

And the BOOM. Her powers awaken, and EVERYONES like “oh shIT.” And Link’s the first one to be like, “You’re the princess???” And Astor’s like “hmmmmmmmm....fuck.” And Urbosa’s like, “Ok, I’m gonna stab Astor now.” and then she does! good for her. 

And then Zelda is freaking out like what the fuck just happened who huh where what huh and then theres conflict because she doesn’t want Link to die but also his team just sorta stabbed her father figure and then its chaos or something and uhhhhhhhhh yeah that’s all I got I have no idea how this would end. 

I feel Zelda wouldn’t go back to the Yiga Hideout after that, in fact I think she might run off with Siv because he’s like “hey, hey, hey. maybe gimme some of that light juice and get the calamity out of my head?” And of course Zavis would go whereever Zelda went (maybe?) She definitly wouldn’t go with the Champions yet, but they’re out looking for her. And also Astor would be looking for her with the Yiga Clan but mostly he’s like “fuck my life.” because literally everything he had been working towards and planning for over a decade has been ruined in like, an hour.

[marmolady]

Homecoming: Part One

Read PART TWO here!

Main Pairings: Estela x (f)MC, Graleister

Summary: Endless Ending. Estela and Taylor spend one last night in San Trobida before returning to La Huerta and facing their future. This was going to be a two-parter, but I got all long-winded, so four-parter is more like it.

Word Count: 3342

Chronology: After 'The New Taylor' and 'A Ride to Remember', sort of midway through 'Inheritance'.

Tagging: @saivilo, @edgydepressedchoicesthot, @sceptilemasterr, @greengroove @mauvecatfic​

Thanks for reading!

Parrying the blows of her brother’s sword with the easy grace of a well-honed professional-- she had been doing this since her early teens-- Estela seemed to dance across the basement floor, totally in her element. Then Aleister lurched forward, and she jumped back, effortlessly dodging his attack. But in the landing, she found herself, finally, unstuck. Under the sudden weight of her whole body, her wounded leg gave way, and she stumbled. In a split second, Aleister’s cautious approach fell away and he pushed his advantage before Estela could recover. With a final flick of his blade, she was disarmed.

Estela laughed at the look of plain shock on Aleister’s face at his own victory. “Not half bad,” she commented, impressed that he hadn’t fumbled around taking advantage of her weakness. Her healing leg injury had been a source of great frustration-- despite regular massages of the Vaanti-made ointment concocted using the leaves from The Celestial’s roof, improvement had plateaued. The last thing she wanted was to be babied. “You’re still wasting too much energy with flamboyant gestures. This isn’t ballet-- it doesn’t have to look pretty.”

“Well, it certainly doesn’t appear that ‘pretty’ has hindered my performance,” Aleister panted, recovering just enough to be rather pleased with himself.

Offering a hand to take Aleister’s sword, Estela grinned. “Like I said, not half bad. Come on, hermano. We’d better give Tio a hand in the kitchen; it sounded like he had a big spread planned.”

Brother. That was still new. Only in the lead-up to his hand-fasting to Grace a few months prior had Estela gone so far as to utter that word in relation to Aleister. He reacted as he always did, a double-take, then his cheeks going immediately pink. It had been so long he’d craved that acceptance… now that it was there, it seemed it would take him some getting used to.

All attempts at helping Nicolas out with the farewell dinner were met with strong resistance. Some butting of heads later, Estela realised it really wasn’t a hill worth dying on; if her tio wanted to do something special for them all, she’d just have to step back and let him. After all, it could well be some time before he’d have this opportunity again. Come the next day, she, Taylor, and their friends, would all be on their way, and Nicolas would once more be left to an empty house.

As much as she tried to join in the energetic conversations over dinner, Estela found herself distracted. With her return to La Huerta, she’d be taking steps to move on with her life; to come to terms with the grief she’d suffered and get some closure. And then… she was faced with working out what the hell kind of life she’d forge for herself; something that had been made all the more complicated since Aleister had seen fit to bestow upon her half of everything he’d been left after Rourke’s demise. She’d made good progress on coming to peace with that connection, but she was not fool enough to be under any illusions… she still had a long way to go.

The subject of conversation turned to the case against Lundgren-- and the subsequent clearing of Jake’s name-- and Estela shook herself back to the present.

“The evidence is fairly damning,” Aleister was saying as he loaded his fork with beef, egg and plantain. “Certainly, the prosecutors were pleased. That we have access to every file my father ever touched, and a wealth of video and audio recordings, it would be difficult indeed to look at what’s presented and not come back with a guilty verdict.”

Jake smiled wryly, the grin failing to make his eyes. “I’ll give ya one thing, Malfoy, your old lady ain’t a dame I’d want to get on the wrong side of. I guess… we’ll see. Worst case, settlin’ down out here wouldn’t be half bad.”

“We won’t rest until you’re home,” Grace declared resolutely, her dark eyes shining. “That awful man isn’t going to be remembered as anything other than a power-hungry conniving brute. I’ll stand up and make a witness statement in court myself!”

She had, Jake knew, her own haunting personal experiences of seeing that exact brutality at close quarters. It made him sick. “Hey-- I won’t have you dredging up all that. Not for me--”

Grace spoke across him, calmly but firmly. “It’s my stand to take. I had quite enough of being helpless as Rourke’s prisoner; I need to take my power back.”

Jake’s mouth snapped shut. He wasn’t about to argue with that. “The poor defense won’t know what hit it.” The words rang hollow as exchanged a subtle dark look with Estela. The optimism was nice and all, but experience had told the both of them that the world was a corrupt place and ‘fair’ barely counted for squat.

“I know you think I’m naive,” Grace said, “and maybe I am, but the fact remains that we’re not giving in.”

Taylor grinned, confident because she had to be. “I didn’t offer my life force to some crystal alien only for you to not get back to your family. This is a matter of ‘how’ and ‘when’, not ‘if’.”

Beside her, Estela nodded. “Look, we’d be crazy if we just go in assuming this is gonna be a cakewalk. But Pollyanna here is right; we’ll make it happen. We’re not the kind of people who just roll over to injustice, and anyone who thinks they can force us is in for a painful lesson.”

“Dang, Princess… I think you broke Eeyore. She’ll be a motivational speaker at this rate….”

“It’s Katniss, cabron. Y vete a la mierda.”

Jake sniggered into his beer. So, motivational speaker was a little stretch.

With dinner over, the group started disperse. As Estela made to make a start on clean-up, Taylor gently turned her around.

“I’m pretty sure me and Al can handle this. Make the most of tonight.”

Estela looked out through the window to the front porch, where Nicolas had settled with his flask of rum. She took a deep breath. Taylor was right; she couldn’t just let this time pass her by.

Cold beer in hand, she pushed open the front door and stepped out. “It seems like Aleister and Grace’s first bandeja paisa was a hit.”

Nicolas beamed at the sight of her, and clinked her bottle as she sat down in the other chair. “Of course. Either that or they are exceptional actors.”

“No chance,” Estela laughed. “You’ve seen the looks he gives poor Taylor’s cooking. Her confidence has been shot since they’ve been here. At least Grace is polite about it.”

“You must be excited. I’ve said for so long that your potential was being wasted, and now… the world is your oyster. I never thought I’d see the day.”

Estela shifted in her chair and took a long drink.

“What’s that look for, mija?”

“Well, yeah, I’m excited. Terrified, but…. If I finish this degree, I really should think of what I want to do with it. And, well, all that money Aleister’s pushing on me.”

“That gilipollas. You poor thing.”

“Actually, I’m almost getting used to the idea. As much as it freaks me out, Mom would have been so happy to know I’ve got a leg up.” A small smile crept to Estela’s face. “I keep seeing so many things I could help with. Like the schools and universities-- how much could recovery be accelerated if people had better opportunities to learn? Or physically rebuilding so much that had been destroyed, or actually protecting the wilderness of this beautiful place?” She blushed as she caught herself getting passionate. “Rourke International has the capacity to do so much; we could actually have tourists coming here. That hasn’t happened in my lifetime!”

Nicolas chuckled, looking at his niece with clear affection. But he saw the cloud of doubt across her face.

“I…,” she continued, “I just don’t know that I have the right. We just got rid of one dictator, and Mom was collateral damage to a would-be dictator.” A would-be dictator who’s inescapably part of who I am. “Money comes with a lot of power. Even if I’m using it for what I think is good… I could cause a lot of harm.” By the time she finished, her voice was but a murmur.

“True. Alternatively, you could be one of those misers who sit upon their millions while the people around them starve and suffer, buildings crumble, and forests burn.”

“So, you’re saying I can’t win?” Estela demanded.

“I’m saying, the enemy here is ignorance. Ignorance of what greater impacts of your generosity might be, and ignorance of what suffering might go on if that generosity is withheld. The fact that you are even having these doubts tells me that you are not ignorant to the consequences of your actions.”

Estela huffed thoughtfully. “I don’t suppose,” she grumbled after a little while, “that you’d let me be, even for a second.”

“Of course not! I might be getting on a bit, but I am by no means past letting you know when you ought to unstick your head from your own backside.”

Again, Estela fell quiet. She was not going to be existing in an echo chamber. She’d surrounded herself with people that she trusted, with strong opinions and varied perspectives; people who would not balk from challenging her when necessary. If she tried, she couldn’t become a tyrant, regardless of what blood coursed her veins. At any rate, she’d simply be-- for the most part, at least-- channeling funds to others better placed to make the change she wanted to see in her world. She could be as anonymous as she wanted. Perhaps… perhaps it would not hurt to put some faith in herself.

“I take it from your silence,” Nicolas said, “that you’ve realised that once again I’m right. Now, go back to happily daydreaming about all the good you will do.”

Estela sighed dramatically, but smiled at her uncle. “I’m really gonna miss you….”

“I can’t pretend I’ve been looking forward to waking to an empty house again. But the missing you will be temporary; that’s more than I could have dared to hope for not so long ago.”

The same was true for her. And there was no way in hell she’d let goodbye be forever, not now. “Yeah. You’ve got a good point.”

“Again?”

She snorted. “Shut up, Tio.”

_________________________

The night wore steadily on, and Taylor eventually had to retreat from socialising with Nicolas’ other guests to start making headway on her night-time routine. ‘Self-care’ was something she now had down to an art; she even made a point of noting down the steps taken each night so she could easily track what was most effective. By this point, she had a fairly solid schedule. Yoga was followed by a calming cup of mint or chamomile tea, sometimes accompanied by a hot bath-- though tonight it was too late for the nice long soak she’d prefer--, and then she’d wind down even further with a half-hour’s guided meditation. Jake teased her mercilessly, but she really didn’t give a damn. If she could de-stress just enough to keep the seemingly never-ending stream of horrifying nightmares at bay, he could laugh all he wanted.

Slowly, Taylor wiggled her fingers and toes, bringing herself back to the land of the living with a long exhale. Fifteen nights without being woken up by visions of her loved ones’ deaths was the best run she’d ever had, but if those nightmares were triggered by stress, then the imminent return to La Huerta might just be the trigger that would throw a spanner in the works.

The little dog, Fenix, stretched forward and licked Taylor’s toes.

“Okay, okay, I’m back! Was I ignoring you for too long? Thanks for not interrupting my meditation, I guess,” Taylor chuckled. Having the pet had done wonders for grounding her during her regular existential crises. Fenix had come a long way from the mangy worm-ridden creature they’d taken in; still scruffy even with a full coat of hair, she was now bright as a button, and with a tail that never seemed to stop wagging.

“You’d better enjoy having me to yourself while you still can, Nixie-- this time tomorrow, we’ll probably have Furball sleeping on the end of the bed as well.”

Happily oblivious Fenix rolled and tumbled in her human’s lap. Foxes with ice powers were far beyond her frame of reference, but she could sense that whatever Taylor was talking about made her happy, so naturally there was every reason to be in a good mood.

The door creaked, and a just-showered Estela entered the room, clad only in a towel.

“Hey. I heard you talking to Nix-- figured you’d finished your meditation.”

“Hey,” Taylor cooed, feeling herself practically melt as her wife reached down to stroke her hair. “I just finished; went pretty heavy on the self-care tonight, just to be safe. You ready for bed?” She let herself be helped to her feet, and wrapped an arm around Estela’s waist. “Last cuddle in your little single bed for a while.”

Estela smiled. “Last cuddle in our little single bed.”

Taylor changed into her pyjamas and nestled under the covers, waiting and watching in quiet contentment as Estela slipped into a singlet and a light pair of shorts.

“You are so, so beautiful, you know that?”

“Taylor, you tell me that ten times a day.”

“Just making sure you’re aware, lover.” Taylor pressed herself against the wall, making room on the tiny mattress.

“You ordered a cuddle, yes?” Estela kissed and nibbled along Taylor’s jaw, feeling a tremor of an exhale, then sat back to look into the sapphire gaze of her adoring wife. Beautiful just wasn’t big enough.

“So… how are you feeling about tomorrow?” Taylor ventured.

“A lot of things,” Estela admitted. “Getting on that plane to La Huerta is going to bring back a lot of stuff. And saying goodbye to Tio… well, let’s just say, we’d better have a lot of tissues packed.”

Taylor squeezed her tight. “It’s not forever this time. And I think he knows that-- otherwise you’d be leaving again over his dead body.”

That made Estela give a little snort of laughter, but then she shook her head, sighing. “I know the guilt I’m feeling is irrational. Tio is just so happy to see how much things have changed for me. He wants me to go out and live my best life. But that doesn’t mean I can stop myself feeling it, just like that.”

Taylor didn’t have a lot of life experience, but guilt? That, she knew all about. “We’re just going to have to keep talking to that irrational part of your brain, then. Honey, your tio thought you were dead for so long-- you coming back every now and then, smiling, on your way to healing… that’s just the most amazing gift you could give him. And maybe… it’s going to help him move on too.”

“Yes.” Man, I hope so. Estela knew that her uncle had closed himself off to the world. That he’d seen that he’d done his part in life, and then retreated from it. He joked around, but for so long he’d been broken inside. Now, they could make strides towards something better, together-- even if there was a distance between them. Now, Estela had hope for them both.

Taylor snuggled close, spooning her wife from behind, and leaving  lingering kisses upon her neck and shoulders.

“What about you?” Estela asked softly, turning in the warm embrace so she could meet Taylor’s eye. “I guess this will feel like going home.”

“Yeah, I guess it will be. Something like that. It’s a very… it’s a very weird feeling, you know?”

“I can imagine. It’s going to be strange to be back on La Huerta without everyone. The village is gonna be like a ghost town.”

A small smile tugged at Taylor’s lips; in spite of her own worries. Estela sure was perceptive. “It’s kind of freaking me out.” Of course, Estela already knew that, but it had never hurt to actually put the words out there. It was quite clear that they both had to look forward to a crash course in moving on. But that they were alive, and together, and free to do so… it was everything they’d fought for. “I’m bursting to see Diego again, though. It must have been so much weirder for him these past months.”

There was a grumbling, grunting sound as Fenix settled herself into a nest made out of the clothes Taylor had left on the floor. Both women chortled. Nothing like a funny little dog to keep the mood light.

Estela tenderly stroked Taylor’s hair, loving her. “You’ll have a lot to catch up on. It’s gonna mean a lot to him to have you there.” She blushed. “It… means a lot to me to have you here.”

“Good. Because you’re stuck with me.”

“Taylor, we all are. And you’re stuck with us. There’s nothing that can change that.”

As she looked into Estela’s soft gaze, Taylor’s heart swelled. If she knew anything at all, she knew that much. All she had to do was trust in that sweet certainty.

[i-am-church-the-cat]

More Than Best Friends (Mega Best Friends?)

Fandom: 9-1-1, 9-1-1 Lone StarPairing: Evan “Buck” Buckley & TK Strand, Pre-Relationship Evan “Buck” Buckley/Eddie Diaz WC: 2344Summary: “Well, I’m sorry if I was a little preoccupied with the whole suddenly liking guys thing to notice my giant crush on my best friend!”TK just snorted again. “Crush? Buck, I hate to have to tell you your own feelings, but you’re in love with the guy.”“...WHAT?!”Or TK is a good friend and helps Buck figure some things out

Read on AO3 or under the cut

“I didn’t feel like going in alone and making it awkward so I asked Taylor-” “Wait wait, who’s Taylor?” Buck paused from wiping down the kitchen counter at the station. He had his phone tucked between his shoulder and his ear as he went through his chores, TK listening as he explained his week. These weekly calls between the two of them had started about a week after the 118 left Texas - Buck had called TK at midnight freaking out over his delayed bisexual freak out. TK had talked him down and since then, their calls were almost as frequent as Buck’s talks with his therapist. He hadn’t realized how much he needed a friend outside of work until he had been able to talk about his life with someone who hadn’t lived it with him. He had a feeling it was helping TK too, at least, he was still picking up his calls. “Oh right. She’s um... It’s kind of complicated but she’s a news reporter, the 118 saved her on a call and we hooked up a few times, and then I saw her again at the robber on the roof thing.” “Ah,” TK’s voice came back a little delayed. Buck wasn’t surprised, he was also in the middle of a shift. “So you asked an ex-fling to go on a double date with you?” Buck groaned. “Now, you say it like that and it sounds like a bad idea.” “Well was it?” The blond’s silence was telling and a snort came from over the line. “You should’ve called me, dude. I am well-versed in awkward romantic situations.” “Oh, you are aren’t you?” “Yep,” TK popped the ‘p’ and Buck shook his head, mindlessly returning to his cleaning. “I’ll make sure to do that next time. Can I get back to my story now?” TK grunted in refusal. “Just one last thing. Why didn’t you ask Eddie to go with you?” Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. TK always seemed to manage to bring him up in their conversations - Buck refused to think about how much he talked about the man himself - and Buck didn’t get it. “I can’t ask my best friend to go with me to dinner with my roommate and his girlfriend. Besides, he’s dating the vice principal, Ana.” “Her? Haven’t they only gone on like three dates? I’m pretty sure it doesn’t count as dating until the fifth,” his tone was teasing but there was an undercurrent of something Buck doubted he would be able to name until he knew TK better. Still, his words struck something wrong inside of him and he ducked his head. “He um. He introduced her to Christopher.” “Wait really?” TK sounded shocked. Buck was a little too. “How did Christopher take it?” Buck laughed humorlessly. “He used Eddie’s phone to order an Uber to my place.” TK was quiet for so long after that that Buck pulled the phone back to make sure he was still on the line. He pressed it back to his ear and said questioningly, “TK? You there?” “Oh sorry dude, yeah yeah. Just… he went to your place?” “Yeah, crazy right?” Buck was touched Chris trusted him so much but still couldn’t wrap his head around it. “No, actually,” TK replied, to Buck’s surprise. “It makes perfect sense. Think about it, when you’re mad at one person, you go to the other.” “I- what?” Buck blinked in confusion. Was he going crazy or did TK just imply he was Chris’s other parent? “Chris isn’t my kid.” Even though it was the truth, it still hurt. TK made a noise and somehow he could tell the younger man was rolling his eyes, even without seeing him. “Buck, I’ve been talking with you for how many weeks now? You talk about Christopher the same way Tommy talks about her kids. Utterly smitten and protective.” Buck opened and closed his mouth a few times like a gaping fish. He tried to deny it but… a small part of him couldn’t help but ask if he was right. He loved Christopher and he knew the kid loved him back. He knew he was Eddie’s kid and that was never going to change but. Sometimes he felt like Buck’s too. Before Buck could think of someone to reply, there were voices in the background of the call. He heard some shuffling and multiple voices, letting him know he had been put on speaker. “Hey, Buckley,” a voice Buck recognized as Captain Owen Strand’s came through the phone. “You finally accepting my offer to come down here.” “Ah, you know I would love to, but my family’s here in LA,” Buck said, just like every time. It was a running joke with them - though some days it felt less like a joke and more and more like a “We’re there if you need us” from the Strands. “I completely understand. But hey, you’ll say hi to Nash for me won’t ya?” “Of course. Actually, he told me you still owe him from that bet…?” Buck wasn’t completely sure about Owen and Bobby’s relationship. Just that they had met at the academy, lost touch, and then reconnected after the whole wildfire incident. He could hear TK snicker as Owen protested loudly. Buck chuckled when he noticed Bobby himself coming up the stairs, eyebrows raised at Buck’s lack of tidying up. Shit, he forgot what he was supposed to be doing. “Uh, I gotta go, you should talk to him about it. Let’s talk later okay, and TK I’ll send you my pancake recipe.” “Great thank you. We’ll talk later man.” They hung up just as Bobby was approaching Buck. He shoved his phone in his pocket as Bobby’s eyebrow didn’t lower. “Who were you talking to?” His captain asked, sounding too innocuous for the undertone of the question. “Uh, the Strands. Owen says hi, by the way, and that he definitely did not lose that bet,” he gives him what he hopes is an innocent shrug Bobby looks less suspicious and more teasing. He always was where Owen was involved it seemed. “I guess I’ll have to call him myself then. Were he and TK not on shift?” “Nah they were. It was just time for…” Buck trailed off, not sure what to call his weekly talks with TK. Life updates? Staying in touch? One bro helping out another through his sexuality crisis at 29 that turned into a Thing? “TK called me.” He finally settled on since it was the truth. Bobby gave him another look before nodding. “Well, as long as it doesn’t interfere with your work.” He said pointedly. Buck quickly nodded. “Yep, no, no interfering here,” he gave him a grin and went back to cleaning. He could feel Bobby’s amused shake of the head before he turned to head back downstairs. Buck sighed quietly and sent TK his promised pancake recipe before getting back to work. *** It wasn’t until he was back home that the content of his conversation with TK actually hit him. He was getting home, not surprised to see Albert already passed out on the couch. Buck’s shift had ended at 6 am which meant Al had already been back home for two hours. The blond was going to take a shower and follow his lead when all of a sudden it came back to him. TK said Buck was Christopher’s other parent. There was a lot to unpack about that - though he was steadily ignoring the small part of him that felt validated - but the thought that slammed to the front of his brain was ‘What about Eddie?’ Of course, TK never said Chris wasn’t also Eddie’s kid and it was absurd to think otherwise. No, the reason that thought was at the forefront of Buck’s worries was that if they were both Chris’s parents, what did it make them? Do best friends usually raise kids together? What would Buck even know about that? ‘If Chris is my kid, does that make Eddie my partner?’ he thought and woah, he was not prepared for the wave of… something that accompanied it. Eddie had been called his partner before - he was his partner at work, people regularly called them partners in crime - but it felt different. Equal in significance but different in meaning. And what the hell did that mean? It was almost 8 am in Austin and Buck knew TK had a shift at 10 today so he didn’t even think before pulling out his phone and pressing the now familiar number. “Wow, back-to-back days, is this Veronica thing really bugging you or what?” TK asked as soon as he picked up the phone sounding blessedly awake and clearheaded. The same could not be said about Buck, however, as instead of a greeting he blurted out, “Am I in love with Eddie?” There were a few moments of silence before TK lost it and loud laughing could be heard over line. Which, in Buck’s opinion, was not helpful, thanks. He was having a bisexual - or was it gay because Eddie was a guy? No, Buck was a bisexual and he didn’t become less bisexual by freaking out over a guy - freakout over his best friend dammit! It took a while but eventually, TK got control over himself. “You’re just now finding that out? What have we been discussing the past few months?” ‘Months? Wait, was this why TK always let him ramble about Eddie to him? Also if it was so obvious, why didn’t he tell him?!’ Buck voiced his complaints which only seemed to make TK more amused. “Excuse me for thinking that you suddenly realizing you were bisexual at 29 had something to do with your ridiculously hot and tactile best friend whose kid you are half-raising.” Again with the parent comments. TK was going to make BUck cry at this rate. “Well, I’m sorry if I was a little preoccupied with the whole suddenly liking guys thing to notice my giant crush on my best friend!” Oh. Oh. Did he just admit to liking Eddie? His painfully straight best friend Eddie? Well shit. But instead of sounding surprised, TK just snorted again. “Crush? Buck, I hate to have to tell you your own feelings, but you’re in love with the guy.” “...WHAT?!” There was a sound painfully close to a wince from the other side of the line. “I’m going out on a limb here and saying you didn’t know that either.” No. No, Buck certainly hadn’t known that. At least, he doesn’t think he did… “What am I going to do?” He asked, sounding sad and a little hopeless even to his own ears. It was just like him to fall in love with someone so tragically unavailable it wasn’t even funny. TK sobered a bit and let out a sigh. “I don’t know man. Sorry, I wish I did.” Buck slowly sat down on his bed. He doesn’t even remember when he had stood up to pace around the loft. Okay, so a few things to digest here. He was apparently in love with his straight and taken best friend who he was also helping raise a kid with and he was very likely to be the last to know. Seriously. Shit. “Look, if it makes you feel any better,” TK said slowly. Buck sat up a little straighter. “I think he likes you too.” “What?” He blinked at nothing. “But- but he’s not- he has a girlfriend.” “Compulsory heterosexuality is a bitch, I’ll give you that,” Buck knew what that was from their talks, recognized it as something he had likely done in the past, but didn’t really understand it. “But from the way you talk about him, and from what Marjan tells me his Instagram looks like, the only reason you aren’t married is that neither of you bothered to notice you could be.” That… huh. “Are you sure?” “Pretty sure. I will admit my gaydar has been off a little bit as of late, but you two already act, look, and talk like a couple. Now you just need to acknowledge it.” TK made it sound so easy. And he knew, even if Eddie didn’t feel the same, he wouldn’t disregard Buck’s feelings - which was the thing he was most scared of about coming out. It might take them a while for him to understand them but they would be out there in the open. The only thing was- “He’s still dating Ana,” Buck said, voice sounding surer. “He just got Christopher to accept it. I can’t- I won’t take that away from him.” The line was quiet for a bit before TK spoke again. “Hey, no, I get it, man. Just figured you should know.” Buck nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I appreciate it, TK. Thank you.” “Anytime, it’s what I’m here for.” He could hear the grin in the brunette’s voice. “You’re gay sherpa remember?” Buck laughed, feeling lighter and heavier all at the same time. “Yeah, I remember. Seriously though. Thank you, for everything. It means a lot.” “Whenever you need me,” TK assured. He wasn’t sure how the Strands had picked up on it but they seemed to know Buck didn’t have a lot of people he felt he could rely on, even now. “Hey look, I hate to leave you, but Carlos is getting off shift soon-” “Yeah, go go, it’s fine,” Buck was quick to reassure him. And it was fine even it didn’t feel like it. “Go be with your boyfriend.” “I will. Hey, you be safe alright?” “Yeah, I will. Thanks again.” “No problem. Talk to you later.” “Yeah later,” Buck waited for the line to go dead before pulling his phone away from his ear. It was getting closer to 8 am. Buck could crash out now or he could drive to the Diaz’s in time to take Christopher to school. Buck was out the door a few minutes later, bed unslept in and the apartment still ringing with the conversation from that morning.