#and expect they'll probably snoop a bit

[paradoxesofgalaxies]

Nothing like having a toddler over to make you aware of every potentially dangerous object and corner in your home. How do I keep finding more scissors?!

[hestzhyen]

Chapter 54 Dire Posting

Greetings, dear void. So much for the gang getting back together. This arc is going to be a long one, at least compared to the previous two. The pace is still break-neck but there are a lot more conflicts being set up here. I wonder if it would be helpful to visually break it down compared to the Sojo and Rakuzaichi arcs...

Hishaku Machinations and Shiba

What a whimsical guy our main villain is! Just look at him sitting on the kiddie ride at the playground while he discusses the current situation with Worst Jeanist for our benefit.

Also the Shiba glazing, hello? It's always been obvious that Shiba's a cut above most sorcerers, especially after he mostly off-screened 3 out of the 4 Tou members. But to have the Big Bad himself acknowledge that he's basically the best of the best is high praise. Good to know he'll still factor in this arc somehow! I mean, of course he will, he's got direct ties to Kunishige's past, Chihiro, and the Kamunabi. The guy's certainly snooping around and doing more offscreen sorcery as we speak. We'll just have to eagerly await his return to the main story.

I just hope this finally, finally puts the crackpot theories of Shiba being a possible traitor candidate to rest. His mere presence is a huge obstacle for the Hishaku and they clearly went to great lengths to work around him in order to murder Kunishige. They're probably pleased as punch that he's out of the way in present circumstances too. Shiba, beware! Your nephews are in danger and Samura can't take all of your death flags for you!

Why are you still there, bro? Just to show us the dead bodies again?

So, Worst Jeanist is one of the main Hishaku. Interesting... wouldn't have guessed since he dresses worse than the random fodder. My man just rolled out of bed, dove into a box of cast-off high school theater costume pieces and went about his day. Anyway, that means we now have: John/Yura - leader Hat Hishaku - tree guy, Kunishige murderer Samurai Hishaku - dining room guard, Kunishige murderer Jane Hishaku - mom conspiracy theory magnet, Kunishige murderer Worst Jeanist Hiruhiko ... and 4 more yet-to-be-revealed members.

Thanks to Hiruhiko we also know there are 68 "fodder" guys participating in the assault of all four Sanso, of which 34 have datenseki shards (don't think about how many times Char was hurt to make those). And all of them are now attacking Senkutsuji- so the other two Sanso (Kuentaisha and Sushi Subaru) can be assumed to be safe for now.

I wasn't expecting them to be a huge org or anything but this seems really small, doesn't it? Only 10 core members! So there will definitely be political maneuvering on their part to weaken the Kamunabi from within. It's so pleasantly unsatisfying to be strung along bit by bit like this until the grand reveal of the plan...

Based on how John talks at the start of the chapter, it doesn't look like they've accounted for Hakuri- Chihiro's the only one that they count as an addition to the fighting forces on the Kamunabi's side. Granted, Hakuri's probably not a formidable warrior even when he can use Isou; it's only been about 24 hours since he figured out how to harness his sorcery at all. He still needs to train it and get used to fighting in general. But surely the Hishaku would be gunning for him if they knew about his powers. He's the ace in the hole that can completely undo what they're planning!

And now that I think about it, wouldn't the Kamunabi want to have control of Hakuri too? He can summon the Bearers or their blades at will, assuming that the contract overwriting their sorcery makes them unable to resist. They won't let someone who can teleport the blades away from them walk free... poor Hakuri, he's going to be pressed from both sides. But so will Chihiro. At least they'll have each other...?

"Friendship"

Hiruhiko's getting some "hands-on" training thanks to confronting Chihiro (not sorry).

Hiruhiko comes across as really sheltered this chapter. I wonder if all those HCs and if scenarios about Yura being the one to raise him are actually correct...? Yura kind of talks about him like a parent or an owner. Like he raised Hiruhiko in a certain way for a specific purpose. Hm.

So they're trying to temper his immaturity a bit... Hiruhiko is the one who's getting the reality check via his opponent to fuel his growth. Chihiro's already far ahead in his mindset, so he's the one driving his foe's development. He's going to be the reason that Hiruhiko becomes a formidable threat. I love the way the author plays with and blends shounen and action movie tropes so, so much.

Hiruhiko's probably going to be Chihiro's own personal Joker this arc, maybe even into the next depending on how things play out. They're both going to be one-upping each other and learning new things as they adapt. Chihiro himself used a new application of Kuro just to counter Hiruhiko's techniques. Their fights will surely be spectacles every time once they're on even footing!

Speaking of, I am 100% sure that Hiruhiko is going to be a blade wielder before long. John remarked that his sorcery wasn't anything worth writing home about- it was his battle sense and ability to adapt that made him one of the core Hishaku members. So he'll only become stronger by making a contract with an enchanted blade... and truly Chihiro's equal as an enemy.

Equal

I've got a TON of stuff I'm going feral over comparing and contrasting Chihiro, Hiruhiko, and Hakuri, but I'll wait before going on a tangent about it. There's a few crucial bits of information needed before going full-on crazy about how these three hold up compared to each other (not that it will stop me from filling up my sketch book with diagrams and lunatic ravings). But this transition got me so good:

There's that word again- 対等 [taitou], "equal".

There's going to be conflict about what it means to be "equal" between these three. Chihiro and Hiruhiko are already going at it, though it's pretty lopsided from Hiruhiko's end right now. But this could spill back over into Chihiro and Hakuri's relationship too.

Ch. 37: "Equal" from volume 4, titled "Equal"

I will be forever salty that 仲間 [nakama] got translated as "allies". "Partners" or "comrades" would have been better reeeeeeeee

This is where Hiruhiko could throw a spanner in the works. He failed at exploiting Chihiro's cognitive dissonance over killing, but what it means to be "equal" to someone, and a friend... that's brand-new territory for our lonely protagonist. Hiruhiko's probably the first person to approach Chihiro with an offer of friendship, twisted and fucked up as his idea of it is. Hakuri's... passionate proposal of cooperation doesn't really count.

Hakuri's acknowledged Chihiro as a friend, but would Chihiro say the same? Does he think he's worthy of that label- or is he too much of a monster? Does he still feel that sense of imbalance towards Hakuri? I won't speculate here more than this. But by god I hope Hakuri and Hiruhiko face off over what it means to be "equal" to Chihiro.

What about Chihiro himself, though? How's he doing this chapter?

Oh...

He's so genuinely sad about where his choices in life have led him, but he'll never stop until his goal is accomplished. I think he pities Hiruhiko here a little too.

Chihiro thinks he's incomparably worse than Samura, his father, all the "heroes" he grew up admiring and hearing stories about. He thinks he's a monster, but the Hishaku something worse. So he meets them where they are to take them down and stop the spread of evil to innocents.

Chihiro literally gives up his body and lets his blood be spilled to save people. That's not just heroic, it's downright Christ-like. But they run in terror from him all the same. He's a villain by his own choosing and wants people to see him that way. Chihiro doesn't think he's worthy of the accolades given to the adults who tried to steer him away. They were heroes, he's just a murderer. For fuck's sake this guy needs a hell of a lot of therapy.

I'm trying so hard not to go on a major tangent here so maybe I'll do the meta Chihiro analysis another time. I've already got a massive private essay on why I love the writing around Hakuri in the works so may as well do one for him too... anyway, anyway. Just look at how far he's come as a character:

Chs. 1 vs 54

[sobs]

Chihiro is going to suffer for a while yet, probably until the very end. But hopefully this arc will help him realize he's still worthy of love and support. Of basic human decency. Of thinking of himself as a person. (...Hm, who else is struggling with that right now, I wonder...)

Meanwhile, Back at Senkutsuji...

Hello again, Mr. Hat Hishaku. Mr. Hatshaku? We haven't gotten an obvious shot of you since you appeared as a background spook at the end of the Sojo fight in chapter 18.

He was at the dinner table in chapter 40 as well, but we didn't see his hat so it doesn't count.

I wonder if he's the trump card that John was talking about? He certainly seems to be with how thoroughly he overtook the temple already. It's only been about ten minutes too. Things are looking grim for Samura...

Samura, please live. Please. I need you to reunite with Chihiro! And not on your deathbed!

Fuck.

Whatever the Senkustsuji defense forces are planning better be enough... looks like Hiruhiko might be the next one to wield Tobimune though. Actually, where is he moving it and Kumeyuri, anyway...?

Neat trick to be performing while down two arms and pinned to the seat by Chihiro's foot.

There's no way they're giving Uruha and Samura the blades just for giggles. Given the shot of the hole in the ceiling before this panel, Hiruhiko's probably transporting them to himself, but we'll see. Let the theories run wild!

There are many more things I want to say but they're too speculative. I love being wrong every week but some of these things should just stay between me and the brainworms, so... farewell, kind void. Until next time.

[fictional-love-is-my-life]

Can you do hc's what it would be like being friends with skids and mudflap? If you do them.

Yes, I love the twins, these boys need more love. Written as the friend being human.

An important job that comes with being their friend, is breaking up fights. When it's just verbal banter you can let them handle it on their own, but when they start getting into physical fights they will need you to break it up before they get hurt.

They love listening to music and often like showing you their favourite songs.

They are small enough that they are able to hang out in most human places. They can fit in houses and on couches, so expect them to be lounging on the couch and listening to music when you come home. You're home may be in a bit of a mess, because they love to snoop through your stuff trying to find anything interesting or fun to play with.

They are very interested in TV and watching films or shows. They love watching action or comedy, and like to suggest movie nights most nights.

They are interested in trying out other human activities as well, they like to test out how much they can get away with without breaking stuff. So expect them to try videogames, reading comics (books don't interest them), and using computers to scroll the internet. Although last time, they managed to break your computer.

They love trying to show off, either by beatboxing along with dancing, lifting heavy things, or trying to pull off cool fighting moves. They will be very happy if you watch/listen and tell them how impressed you are.

They are protective. If you have someone bothering you they will not so subtly promise to make them disappear. They will go through with it unless you specifically tell them not to.

If you want to paint on them, they will let you. If you want to paint cool designs on their frame so they look even more awesome, they will let you and they will also give suggestions of cool things you could put on them.

They are bad influences. They often suggest doing fun things that will get you in trouble. They will need you to be the responsible one. If you do decide to get in trouble with them, be prepared for a Prime lecture.

You can climb on them and they are fine with it. Is there a shelf you can't reach? A spider web on your ceiling? Sure they could probably get it, but it's more fun if they let you climb on their shoulders so you can get it. They'll then play around, pretending to almost drop you only to save you at the last second.

[wcrpbubble]

she's decided alan grant is a hoarder.

it's nothing new; she remembers the cramped space of their camper with every detail, the way paperwork and fossils had collected on every available surface, all covered in a distinct layer of dust that tended to settle on anything and everything left uncovered. the current state of the tent was much the same, though she can see he's at least upgraded to file cabinets - that aren't organized an inch she realizes when she drags one open to peer inside.

they've come full circle again, back to a dig site in the deep desert. she's taken time off her lecturing gig with no real certainty when she'll return, but two weeks seems to be an appropriate amount of time to take to recover from dealing with another life or death situation. she suspects the court cases will start soon and they'll all be testifying, but until then? ellie sattler is eager to be anywhere else but her own house. she's assured both her kids that she's fine of course, called the both of them once she'd had reception, told them where she was going for a while (and neither of them, frankly, are surprised).

they haven't spoken about the long term situation, her and alan. it's more of an unspoken arrangement - they won't be separated again. they've lost a lot of time together in the past twenty some odd years and they're too old to play games. he had come with her, and now here she was at his digsite until they could decide what to do together. where they'll live, what they'll do, the usual sorts of things that young, foolish kids are supposed to be figuring out. not ancient fossils like them.

while he is tending to something in another corner of the digsite, ellie is reacquainting herself with where alan has been clearly for some time. the things he's kept, his hastily scrawled notes - even if she's an outsider on this particular dig, ellie feels right at home. which is probably why she doesn't feel bad for snooping in his drawers. what she doesn't expect is to find a stack of envelopes with her name on them tied with a rough piece of twine. they look old, some of them, the paper a bit yellow at the edges. it isn't snooping if her name is on them, is it? she's curious by nature, and carefully unties the stack to take the first letter off the top. and reads.

her breath catches mid-paragraph as she comes to immediate terms what she's found. ravenous, she doesn't stop after the first letter. or the second. emotions bubble to the surface that she hasn't felt in a long time - and by the time she hears the tent flap open she doesn't have time to hastily put away the third letter she's reading through. there's no hiding it.

"----alan," she says by way of greeting, lifting her head to peer at him with bright blue eyes. ". . . i found your letters."

@fosillium

[suga-kookiemonster]

I think I can only vent to you about this cuz you'll understand and other army's are probably gonna think I'm over reacting 😭 this song with Benny Blanco was as boyband-y as it can get and I'm kinda disappointed with Snoop Dogg. I think this is the first time I've heard Snoop Dogg be so.... pg in a song before. I was super excited thinking it would be more hip hop and rap verses but then they mentioned Benny Blanco was gonna be a part of the song and... well I lowered my expectations a bit, still hoping for that Snoop Dogg rap but that turned out to be like 4 lines of "let's have fun hehe" 😔 tbh the song sounds like a Jonas Brothers song. Is it too late to have hope that Bts will have another song with just Snoop and no one else involved? 😅 I know Snoop has said before he demands hella money for a feature but BTS can afford that shit lol I guess if people are into the pop songs like dynamite, ptd and butter, then they'll love this one. But those aren't my style and I feel like I'll be one the few who don't actually like this song. 🤷🏽‍♀️

okay, so i just watched the mv, and while i actually really like the song, the mv was SO CRINGE. like, i almost turned it off, it was so cringe lmao. i have secondhand embarrassment. i'm sure he was just trying to tie bts into the video more since they weren't personally there, but it felt more like like he was licking their assholes. DID NOT LIKE 😂

in terms of the points you made, i agree that snoop wasn't really needed on this song. but he does kind of give features to whoever, so long as they can afford his rate--i remember seeing this "snoop does whatever" compilation on instagram once, and he was literally featuring on a bollywood song for some reason 🤣🤣 honestly, this song and his approach reminds me of how he approached katy perry's california girls, which was also a summer pop song. he's not going to give you gangsta rap on a poppy summer song 🤷🏽‍♀️ so while i agree his part's not good, hey, it is what it is. i actually lowkey (highkey) want a version of the song without him on it, but whatever.

i really do hope bts has the chance to work with snoop separately, tho. this was a feature song for them too, but it would be amazing if they could pay snoop's rate and get him and the rapline on a track 😩

[punkrock-writer]

Space Cowboy- part 4

Roasting the Shit Out of Toro Because He Deserves It 

Pairing- Din Djarin x F!OC

Warnings- Mentions blood, fighting, swearing, Canon Typical Violence. Spoilers for The Mandalorian

A/N- WOAH It is here. 5.3k words. The longest chapter so far. Let me know what you guys think, is it still too short or too long, lemme know. And yeah, the end IS cheesy. I am the Mayor of Cheeseville it should be expected. 

And a reminder Din is de-aged a bit, he's around mid to late 20′s here, just for a little more ~spice~

Let me know what you think! I love hearing from ya’ll it helps me a lot :D 

Masterlist AO3 

She honestly didn't know how he was so quiet. That collection of Ironman armor should make much more noise than it does. Or he could have at least woken her up before screaming.

"HEY" Sedona jumped violently. Her eyes springing open in panic, he wasn't in the ship, but his voice echoed throughout it. She heard the panicked voice of Peli yelling outside. She scooted further into the middle of the hull to peer out of the open door. Din looked as intimidating as he could, shoulders raised and feet wide. Peli marched from her office up to him, cradling a wailing Grogu.

"Give him to me" she wanted to laugh. The paternal instincts kicked in so fast, albeit a bit misplaced and underdeveloped. But he tried his best.

"Not so fast! You can't just leave a child all alone like that." Peli cried out, though not entirely alone, she was right. "You know, you have an awful lot to learn about raisin' a young one."

And then much to Sedona's discomfort, Peli's eyes met hers.

"AND leaving an injured lady! No water or bandages, that isn't very kind. Prisoner or not." She scowled up at the towering Mandalorian, whose head slowly turned to meet hers. She quickly scooted herself back against the crate. She wasn't ready for that kind of attention, she needed to get her thoughts in order.

"Anyway-" she racked her brain as she heard Peli continue to talk about the ship. She had gotten this far in the episode, and Din had obviously made the deal with... that motherfucker whom she cannot remember the name of. She was so focused on trying to remember she didn't even notice Din had walked back onto the ship.

"I thought I told you not to talk to anyone." His voice made her jump once again, it was rough, a warning. Her wide eyes met his visor, and suddenly the right words met her tongue.

"Don't leave him alone with the bounty" they were rushed, she probably looked crazier than Peli's wild curls. "Y-you can't trust him, something bad is going to happen."

She watched as he turned with a bag in his hand. He looked like he was going to speak, or step closer to her, his body seizing up. Instead, his gloved hand curled into a fist at his side, and he spun quickly on his heel and exited her line of sight. She heard the pair talk a bit more, mostly Peli talking at Din's retreating back. Then she was alone again. And her ass hurts.

Standing up was much easier now that the magic space goo had somehow healed her knees. Though she had extreme doubts, she sincerely hoped Din might heed her warning. She really did not wan't to be caught in the crossfire of their shoot out that was soon to come. Maybe that was the worst part about being plunked into this universe. The constant dread of knowing what's going to happen, and having no power to change it, was going to destroy her. She could already feel the way her body sagged with exhaustion. The ever-present headache was taking a toll on her mind, and her fight or flight response was kicked into high gear. She hadn't felt like this in years.

Trying to keep her mind from straying too far into the darkness. She decided to do some light exploration of the Razor Crest. She wouldn't touch anything, as Din so kindly instructed. But she was definitely going to touch all over with her eyes. First, she was going to figure out if that man had a shower. She turned opposite the open door and headed in the direction of what looked like an airplane toilet. She was pleased to find a small door stationed adjacent to the weird space toilet. Obviously hidden from view on the show, it was a rickety metal sheet. Actually, everything on the ship was a metal sheet, but she wasn't going to roast it too harshly. Opening it, the oval-shaped door created an edge that she had to step over to enter the small room. The floor and walls were tiled, and there was a small drain in the middle. A large ledge jutted out from the wall at about knee height, above it was what looked like a sink, and a small foggy mirror. Avoiding its reflection, she ventured back further. There was a curtain, pulling it back revealed a showerhead and a series of ledges cut into the wall. She tried to keep her heart from fluttering at the sight of soap bars, and a razor. Then heat began to creep up her spine, embarrassment making its way to her cheeks.

How fucking old are you 13? Get a hold of yourself.

She spun quickly not wanting to be caught snooping. She felt like a high school girl who had just seen her crush's room for the first time. She was 26 for fucks sake, and it was a bathroom.

On a space ship.

On an unknown planet.

In a universe that had once only existed in media form.

She wasn't able to wallow in her embarrassment much longer, through the open door she saw Peli return from wherever she had followed Din. She walked with determination, coming up to some kind of machine that was attached to the ship. Sedona didn't really know what to do, she stood awkwardly in the hull of the ship. Listening to Peli mutter to herself, she hated feeling like this. She liked to be moving or at least distracting her brain in some way. Now there was only the unfamiliar ship, her bags were already organized neatly- and then it hit her.

She still had her phone in her purse.

Springing into action she darted for her bag, rummaging through it until she finally found it. It was an iPhone and she still had her headphones attached to it. Her heart soared in her body, unable to contain her smile at the sight, relieved to find at least this thing hadn't magically transformed into a space object. But clicking it on she was met with slight disappointment. Only 32% charged, and the fact that her phone was wicked old and functioned at about 60% of its normal battery life, it would be dying soon. There are no outlets in space. She thought angrily. So she sighed and set it back into her purse, deciding to save it for when she truly needed a mental escape. For now, she could maybe go and see what Peli was up to.

And that's how she spent her first evening in space. She sat at the table, watching Peli fix the Crest. Or making sure the child didn't eat sand or some shit. Peli didn't talk much while she worked, which she was secretly grateful for. Only asking occasional questions, or pausing to complain about the old ship. Sedona didn't offer much, vague answers, allowing the older woman to speak more than herself. She really didn't feel like having to convince someone else she's from an alternate universe. Especially someone who was very much capable of throwing her into the endless Tatooine desert.

In time it grew darker in the hangar. Peli wiped her hands off on her jumpsuit, leaving grease marks in her wake. Sedona held a sleeping Grogu in her arms, he had been quite a hassle for her to wrangle with her hands still cuffed together. He was quick, and incredibly sneaky when he wanted to be. He currently held some kind of bolt in his little clawed hands, one of the braver droids had given it to him when he was fussing in her lap.

"How about another round of some bone broth, and then we get some rest." She snapped her fingers at a droid, who scurried off to the back of the hangar quickly. "It looks like that little stinker has the right idea." Peli sat, the smell of oil and metal rolling off her. She grabbed the cup of water she had sipping out of periodically and drank. Then she turned to Sedona, who up until this moment had been zoned out, staring at the shadows cast on the ground.

"You look like you've seen some shit." Sedona's heart nearly stopped at that, but when she met Peli's eyes they glittered with amusement in the dim light of the hangar.

"Yeah, I guess you could say that," she said with a laugh and a shrug. Then a droid appeared next to her, carrying more bowls of broth. She accepted it, thanking the droid once again. The liquid warmed her, she didn't consider how cold a desert got a night, and her shorts and men's t-shirt didn't exactly hold much warmth. But the broth helped, and she tried not to let Peli notice her shivers.

"Listen, I wanted to ask you something" Sedona almost choked on her broth. "I heard what you said to the Mandalorian, why do you think he can't trust that other bounty hunter?" Peli's gaze was quizzical, genuine curiosity, not suspicion. It gave Sedona confidence, but not enough to tell her the full truth.

"I guess I just have a really bad feeling, I think there's something off about the deal." She said after swallowing, and Peli was silent for a moment. Searching her gaze before suddenly leaning forward.

"You know I was thinking the exact same thing." She said it like it was the juiciest secret in school. "There was just something off in his eyes." She finished with a nod. Sedona couldn't stop her smile. She felt the beginnings of a friendship blossoming there in the cool evening. She hoped it wouldn't be ripped away from her too soon.

They finished their broth in comfortable silence. Then Peli rose, a mischievous smile on her face.

"Well, I'm going to take this little womprat to the back with me, if you need anything just holler," she said, reaching down to scoop the sleeping bundle from her lap. "You sure you'll be all right in that ship by yourself?"

"I'll be okay," she said with a smile, trying to look convincing "but Peli, if you see anything happening, take the child and run."

Her face turned serious, and she gave a curt nod.

"I'll make sure the droids stay awake, they'll give us a good warning" and with another nod, and a pointed look at the group of droids, she turned to the back of the hangar.

Sedona was alone again, and fear was beginning to crawl up her spine. She had to prepare herself. Somehow, she wasn't going to let that fucker touch baby Grogu.

~o~o~o~

Night came and went, Sedona spent it pacing. Somehow, that sneaky tin can had taken her taser, and her Swiss army knife. Leaving her with only pepper spray from her keychain to defend herself. She held it tightly in 2 hands, having finally sat down when she saw the hangar becoming light again. She heard Peli out in the open area, talking to the droids and the child.

"Here's a ration bar, I'm going to try to finish these repairs before the Mandalorian gets back." Peli had walked into the ship quietly, giving her the foil-wrapped bar, the child gurgling on her hip. The tension was thick between them, both women could sense something wrong. But if Peli wanted to say anything more she didn't, instead turning her attention to the ship, the child held tightly to her. Sedona honestly didn't feel like eating, her head was pounding again. The effort of trying to figure out the plot was scrambling her brain.

She didn't know how exactly to define it, but it felt like the memories of the show were drifting away from her. Scenes she had remembered and re-watched multiple times now were faint memories. It felt like she was losing her mind, literally the only information she needed right now was dissolving like snow in her fingers. So she settled for clutching her pepper spray and hoping the droids gave her a good warning like Peli said.

The droids held up their end well.

It was maybe 3 or 4 hours later, Peli had miraculously just taken Grogu to the back for some food and a nap. When suddenly the droids went absolutely batshit crazy.

Sedona sprung from her spot on the floor, her headache was instantly forgotten as she squeezed herself against an indent in the wall of the ship. Hoping to spring on the hunter. She heard his blaster fire, then it was eerily quiet.

God, I hope they can get out of here.

Sedona tried to keep her mind from straying from the task at hand. She tried to keep her breathing quiet, straining her ears for any sounds.

Those shitty self-defense classes are going to have to work today.

There were footsteps on the ramp. Slow, but heavy, he really was a pretty shitty bounty hunter. She switched the safety off on her pepper spray, trying to judge where he was on the ship by the sound of his footsteps. Then the barrel of a gun crept into her line of sight, and she didn't hesitate.

Springing from her hiding spot she sprayed upwards, toward what she hoped were his eyes. Based on the shouting she was successful. She did her best to ignore the burn in her own eyes as the fumes carried toward her. Taking his surprise as an advantage she attempted to kick him in the balls.

Keyword- attempted.

Sedona did not consider the fact, that he might be wearing goggles. And that he might catch her leg. With a shove, she was sent sprawling onto the floor, with no way to catch herself. Her butt hit the ground hard, knocking the breath out of her. She looked up to meet a gut-churning smile.

What a fucking dick.

"That tasted awful, but I don't think it did what you wanted it to." He said with a smug smirk, he was so incredibly proud of himself. "Look at this! A third bounty, I'm going to be the king of the Guild!"

Well, if Sedona couldn't beat him physically. She was going to try to demolish his ego.

"Fuck you, Toro, this is why your mom doesn't FUCKING love you" the words were filled with rage as they flew out of her mouth, she lunged toward him. Her mind suddenly supplying the correct name when she needed it most. His face immediately fell, twisting into shock and confusion.

"What do you know about my mother?" he sneered, taking a few steps forward to tower over her on the ground. But his intimidating stance did nothing to stop the pure hatred Sedona felt in her heart.

"You look like you watch Big Bang Theory on purpose." It was one of her more creative insults, her new goal was distraction. Try and confuse him as much as she could, so that hopefully Peli could escape with the child. It seemed to work so far.

"I don't know what that means, but I would shut the hell up if I were you" he leaned down and sneered at her. She grit her teeth, the insults flowing fast.

"Your earring looks like shit"

"I said shut up!" He raised his blaster to her head, a position she had just recently became familiar with. She met his eyes, and with as much bitterness as she could muster, she put the nail in her coffin.

"I know how you die, and you die like a bitch."

That was the last thing she could say. Toro reacted very poorly, to say the least.

And for the first time in her life, Sedona was pistol-whipped across the head. Toro stalked away from her body that laid slumped on the ship floor. Continuing on his original journey, much more confused and irritated.

~o~o~o~

The Mandalorian could not shake the sick feeling in his gut as he tied the dewback to the hitch outside of Hangar 3-5. One look at the speeder outside had the mysterious woman's words repeating in his head.

You can't trust him, something bad is going to happen.

It really didn't help that she was right. In fact, he hated that she was right. It was making his decision on what to do with her much harder. He unclipped his blaster, drawing it ahead of him as he made his way down the stairs. The hangar was quiet, aside from the annoying droid that startled him. He slowly made his way through the sand toward his ship.

"Took you long enough Mando" there he was. He stalked forward raising his blaster up into the dark ship. Calican emerged; somehow he got angrier at the sight of the child in his arm, and the scared woman who had been kind to him caught in this mess. "Looks like I'm calling the shots now. Huh, partner?"

Din wanted to roll his eyes and shoot him right then.

"Drop your blaster and raise 'em." This time he couldn't stop the eye roll, instead having to suppress an annoyed sigh as he carelessly flung his blaster to the ground. Twisting his body in a way that let him quickly grab a flash charge. He truly was a pretty shitty bounty hunter, this would be his final mistake. Din was irritated, just waiting for the right moment to strike. Calican handed it to him on a silver platter.

"Cuff him." After that, Din really didn't give a shit about what this guy said. Instead watching as the woman approached him with the bindings. He rolled the flash charge in-between his fingers. Waiting.

"You're smarter than you look" the woman whispered in his ear. Obviously not, if only he had listened to the woman she left in his ship. He wouldn't be in this mess.

The right moment came as Calican raised his blaster higher. The flash brightening the entire hangar for just long enough, Din slipped behind some of the junk lying around. Coming around the side before Calican even knew he had disappeared. It was over quickly, his body tumbled off the ramp, taking the child with it.

"Stay back." He tried to tell the woman, who scrambled quickly over to him as he went to inspect the body. He didn't like the way she fumbled around him, grabbing his cape as he tried to make sure the man was actually dead. Then he heard the babbles of the child. He didn't really register what she was saying to him, just thankful she was calming him down. Inspecting the body he found what he was looking for, the bag of credits was heavy in his hand.

Turning to the woman holding the child, he prepared to pay and leave.

"Be careful with him." She said, the child simply snorting as he was placed back in his arms. She then tried to break some of the tension, bringing up the question that Din knew she would ask. "So I take it you didn't get paid."

Din didn't really feel the need to say anything. Instead pouring the contents of the pouch into her outstretched hands. But he decided to make sure.

"That cover me?" The woman sputtered in response, giving a shocked form of Yes. Din then turned, making his way back to his ship, babbling baby in tow. Until he was stopped.

"Listen, I don't know what you plan on doing with that girl, but she fought to distract him. She tried to make sure I could get away with the baby." Din turned back to the woman, his curiosity peaking. "She told him she knew how he died, and something tells me she did. Sh-she was very nice and helpful. I think you should give her a chance."

Din thought about it for a moment. It seems she was truthful about yet another thing she said to him.

"I would protect the child with my life."

Internally he was glad it hadn't come to that, or so the woman who stared up at him made it seem. He nodded at her, hoping he conveyed his understanding and turned back to enter his darkened ship. He heard her yelling at her droids, but he was more concerned with finding out what state his ship was in. As the ramp closed, he flipped back on the lights. With a heavy sigh, he observed the way her body was crumpled on the floor once again.

There was a large, bloodied scrape on her temple, the area already beginning to bruise. The child was struggling in his arms again, letting out indignant cries as he reached for the girl on the floor. He set him down next to her and reached to grab her under the shoulders and knees. Deciding to move her much gentler than he had the first time. He didn't really know where to put her though; he spun in his ship, her body limp in his arms, the child followed him in circles crying out in frustration.

His eyes landed on his sleeping compartment, figuring that was better than nothing. He quickly set her into it. Taking a moment to remove the cuffs still on her wrists, he internally cringed at the redness. Another thing he should apologize for. He didn't feel comfortable sitting in the hangar for much longer. He scooped up the child, who was trying in vain to climb into the compartment with her.

"Come on we have to get outta here" he grumbled to the child, who was squirming in his arm. He paused to look up at him, angrily babbling at him before resorting to pouting as he was hauled into the cockpit. Din started the ship quickly, not entirely certain where he was going. He only knew he needed to sit down with the woman in the hull, and really figure out what the hell she was talking about.

~o~o~o~

Sedona really didn't want to wake up. In her dream, she was warm and comfortable, and definitely not about to get crazy-murdered by a space villain. Whatever she was laying on was slightly squishier than the floor, but only slightly. It felt like if you were to lay a thin yoga mat onto a wood floor and then tried to take a nap on it. But she kept her eyes closed, trying to stay in her comfortable bubble just a few moments longer. Whoever was shaking her leg did not get the message.

"Please, just let me pretend this isn't happening for a little while longer" she grumbled, not yet opening her eyes. She tried to imagine her bed again, her soft blankets, and a cup of her favorite tea. She could pretend her head didn't hurt, and her body didn't hurt, and her brain didn't hurt. She could pretend she didn't have to open her eyes and face more confusion and struggle.

"Please, I'd like to talk." A soft modulated voice was not what she expected. She slowly opened her eyes, taking in the metal ceiling above her. With a deep breath, she slowly sat up, taking in the sight before her. At some point, after she had been knocked out, she had been placed in Din's sleeping compartment. At the end of the 'bed' (she didn't really want to call it a bed this was awful) stood the Mandalorian himself, and Grogu was vigorously shaking her leg with 2 hands. He babbled excitedly when she sat up, looking up at her and giving a wide smile. "How is your head?"

The new gentle tone was mind-boggling. She could only stare at him, mouth open like a fish. Her head was bad actually, feeling very bad. She just got smacked across the head with a gun, she couldn't imagine how she looked. But the sudden shift in mood was what confused her most; there was a stumbling, awkward, sort of kindness in the way he stood and spoke to her. She searched the visor a bit more, not really sure what she was looking for. A particularly loud coo broke her from her distraction.

"It... could be better I suppose." She licked her lips, mind suddenly wandering in fear. "Where are we? Are we stopped?" The Mandalorian couldn't afford to just stop, so they had to be in hyperspace or he wouldn't be down here. Why was he down here exactly? When did the cuffs come off?

"Yes, we're still on Tatooine, I— I wanted to talk to you," he cleared his throat. "I had some things to say, and to ask." He turned and walked further into the ship, she just now noticed the door was open. Showing the dark Tatooine desert.

Oh!

She was going to be dropped off here. Left to wander the space desert. It was a short run of things, but at least it was horrible while it lasted. She slowly got up, moving around the child to set her feet on the cold ground. The child babbled up at her, raising his arms, and for a brief moment, she considered picking him up. Her mind flirted with the idea of carrying him over to the metal man who leaned against the hatch door. Looking out to the rolling sands together, in peace. But instead, she grabbed her purse and prepared for the worst.

"So I guess this is it?" She paused next to Din, nervously looking up at him as she twirled her purse strap in her hands. His helmet snapped to her, quickly his body followed, straightening out to face her completely. He looked down at her for a long time, his body tense. Her body heated up under his gaze, feeling even more nervous under the scrutiny.

"Do you think I'm leaving you out here?" He tilted his head at her, it was almost condescending. If she was able to re-wind it and analyze the tone of his voice, she would've caught the amusement.

"Well I mean you did leave me handcuffed on the ship for like 3 days, and then brought the Crest out to the desert. Which you would never do if you weren't going to...leave me here" she rambled. Her eyes searched the area around them, not meeting his visor. He was silent once again, just watching her squirm under his gaze. She didn't know how to read him in real life, he was so much taller, and without the fan analysis she could skim through, a lot of his body language was lost.

"I was going to apologize..." he paused, his voice soft but gravely. Her mouth dropped open, slowly looking up to his helmet. "I'm sorry for leaving you cuffed in the ship, but you have to admit, you sounded pretty crazy."

The humor was detectable now, and after a long moment Sedona smiled, and as the words penetrated her brain a little deeper. A chuckle bubbled into her throat, and before she knew it she was laughing. It wasn't that funny honestly, but this was the first display of emotional release her body had experienced in a while, so it kind of went overboard. When she finally calmed down she was breathless, tears gathered in her eyes. Mando just looked at her, head tilted in confusion, and when he folded his arms over his chest, she knew he was irritated.

"I'm sorry... that wasn't that funny, but I think I need to cry and that's as close as I'm going to get." She wiped a tear from her eye, looking back at the still Mandalorian. She quickly dropped her face when she saw the way he was standing, straightened her shoulders. "W-what else did you want from me?" She should know better to think she was off the hook, he could still freeze her in carbonite. He would probably be able to get some sort of profit from her. The thought had her shrinking, she suddenly felt small again.

With a hefty sigh, he readjusted, facing back toward the endless desert. His trend of silence was much for daunting when it wasn't happening on a tv screen. Suddenly something grabbed her ankle. Of course, how could she forget the 3rd passenger? With an incredibly grumpy face and some mighty grump squeals, he reached his arms up to her as hard as he could. She smiled in pity at him, it didn't feel right to pick him up in front of Din. It wasn't her place, and she really didn't want to upset him when he was deciding his fate.

"You can pick him up." His voice was soft again, though he hadn't turned to look at them. "He seems to like you a lot" Her eyes glowed, and with free hands, she bent down and picked up the little one. Finally being able to hold him properly was wonderful, he was a comfortable weight in the crook of her arm. His little dish towel onesie soft on her skin, she smiled at him, and he cooed happily. Looking up she found Din had turned around, looking on with a tilted gaze.

"I want to know... do things work out well for him." It was almost a whisper, true concern laced in his modulated voice. She had to think about it for longer than she wanted. Yes, as far as she knew things went relatively well for the child, as for the man protecting him that was different.

"You have lots of adventures, but he makes it out okay." She gave him a small closed-mouth smile. Thinking further filled her with hope. "D-does... this mean you trust me?" She searched his visor, hoping she met his eyes.

"I..." He cut off, his head shaking. "I don't know for sure what to think, I know you're not a threat, but I can't...comprehend the things you've told me." He inhaled deeply, letting out a long sigh. A gloved hand reached out to stroke the ear of the child. "But I can't shake the feeling that I need you with me, so I suppose you should stick around for a while."

As if he understood Grogu chirped happily up at you. His head turning back and forth between the two of you. Sedona's heart soared. She couldn't stop the smile that crept its way onto her cheeks. She felt like jumping, but she resorted to squeezing the little guy tighter to her chest.

"Thank you." It came out in a whisper, she hoped he could register her gratefulness through his helmet. Grogu gave a little cheer, reaching up one clawed hand to tap her cheek.

"Well...don't get too comfortable, I'll need your help." There was the familiar grumble. She dropped her smile quickly.

"You got it. I used to be a babysitter, I'll earn my keep." She gave a sharp nod, determination overtaking her face. But another tap to her cheek had her cracking a smile once again.

"Can you fight?" That question was a bit trickier to answer. While she had a knife and a taser, there was no formal training to back them.

"I... had to take a few self-defense classes, but I didn't have many options in my city." She answered with a shrug. "But I'm willing to learn." She said, determined. No, she wasn't a gifted fighter yet, but if that's how she would be able to survive here, then she was going to become the best damn fighter this galaxy had seen.

"Good." He said, seemingly satisfied, and gave her a nod before abruptly turning back to the ship. "Then I'll train you when we're able to stop, but for now, we keep going." With that he brushed past her, the hatch closing behind him. She watched as he made his way up the ladder, she heard the hiss of the cockpit doors opening. She looked down at the gremlin in her arms, and his big eyes looked back at her. A smile showing off his nubby teeth on his little face. With a shrug, she walked back over to the sleeping compartment.

Now as she looked over her belongings, 2 bags, and a fucking hotel towel. It didn't seem so bad.

She should really put on a bra now.

[undercoverclover]

No Matter Where

Part 4

Genre: Fluff

Pairing: Yuchan x original character

Warnings? None here

Part 1 2 3

*BUZZ BUZZ*

Oh! I forgot to check Yuchan's phone!

I pull it out of my pocket and try to get comfy.

I had one  newly missed call and 1 text. 

I hate snooping through his phone. But it could be him. I unlock it. What if it's his girlfriend or something? Oh god, what if it is and I see something I don't want to?! Ew… ugh I hate life. I have to check the text at least. 

Luckily it's from him:

Yc: Liliana, hey! Practice is impossible to get out of before you head to the club. Would you, I mean. By chance bring it by here? Not having it, is kind of a big deal to my members. I'd really appreciate it and so would they. 

Oh boy…

Um. Oh boy.

Me: I, uh. I can? I think? Just pray I can get away from the girls without them coming with or else it will be the most embarrassing night of my life. 

Me: Sorry for replying late, I was being a human Barbie doll. XP

Now to devise a plan to get them to let me go. If they go with it, it'll end up one of two ways. 1) They're going to push me and I'll be so embarrassed I'll wanna crawl in a hole. Or 2) they will be so speechless that they won't know how to speak. 

*BUZZ BUZZ* 

Yc: Haha okay. So that means you are dressed up. Be careful if you are in heels, the sidewalks are a bit cracked. 

We ended the conversation with where to go so I could meet him and return his phone. Plus, I had finally figured out a plan… I think? I hope. I start messing with the hair tie that was on my wrist, which normally I only do when I'm super anxious. Then I looked down and groaned..

"Ugh!"

"What's your deal?" Anya asks, eyeing me. 

"I hate being dressed up." I say, not lying. Technically. 

"Oh shut it and have fun. At least I gave you one thing. And that's only cuz Anya made me!" Ria said, crossing her arms. 

"Yeah. Yeah. Yeah." I say, shrugging her off.  Thank god she didn't notice me messing with my wrist, she'd know that wasn't the only thing up then.

"We're here!" Ria calls to us excitedly as the car slows to a stop. 

"I'll pay I guess." I say, hoping they'll let me.

"Okay." They say in unison. 

"Save me a spot in line while I do?" I ask pulling my wallet out of my bag.

"Yeah sure." Anya says and opens the door. 

Once they're out, I turn to the driver. 

"Excuse me. Sorry. Could you take me to this address? I'll pay for this ride when we get there." I say and at first I thought he'd protest, but eventually agreed. 

"Awesome! When I say go. Go fast. Okay?" 

I open the car door and the girls look at me. 

"Guys! I'll be back as soon as I drop his phone off and get mine back! I'll be safe!" I say closing the door and telling the driver to go quickly. 

We took off and I looked out the window to see the girls trying to protest me. 

"Well that worked better than expected!" I said laughing so hard at myself. 

I pulled out his phone from my pocket. 

Me: I'm on my way. I managed to escape them XD 

Yc: Is that a good thing or bad? They are already blowing up your phone. 

Me: Don't answer them! I'm only a few minutes out. I'll call them when I get there. Sorry! 

Yc: Okay, I'll see you soon. :D 

Why am I so giddy? I'm so excited and I shouldn't be! I'm only going to exchange phones for crying out loud!!

Yuchan

I bit my lip and smile as I hit send on the message. 

"Looks like I'm finally getting my phone back hyung." I say, chuckling.

"Oh yeah? Finally? From the one who stole it?" Donghun says giving me hell for the 800th time. 

"Oh knock it off hyung! You know she didn't steal it.  She's not even used it to call or message anyone but me.She didn't mean to." I say, rolling my eyes at the eldest of our group. 

 I really don't think Liliana would do that. She didn't seem like that type. She probably didn't even know who or what I was. 

"Earth to Chan!" Bk says, smacking me lightly on the shoulder. 

"Oh huh?" I shook my head and stared at him. 

"You good?" He asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I reply.

"Still thinking about that girl you can't get your mind off of?" He says smirking, loud enough for the others to hear. 

"Ah! Hyung! I don't think of her like that!" I could feel my ears getting red.

 That's the last time I try to talk to Byeongkwan about a girl. It's totally not what I need tonight. Not while she's on her way over here. Even if it is to bring me back my phone.

"You'll be just fine Chan. She was cute. Don't be dumb." Donghun says as he comes up and ruffles my sweaty hair. 

"Ugh, why did I do that?" He says as he stares at his now -not his sweat- sweaty hand. Sehyoon and I started laughing so hard at that point. My nerves were exploding, I needed the outlet.

"Okay back to work you 4. Come on, let's go." Jun called to us to get off the floor. 

"I'd like to finish this before 2 a.m. AGAIN." He says trying to be dramatic but being overly so. 

"Oh calm yourself, Umbridge." Donghun says sarcastically making all of us burst out laughing even more as we got up to finish our late night practice. 

Liliana

The driver pulled up outside of a dance studio. I paid him, plus I gave him an extra tip since he was acting as my getaway driver then I thanked him and got out. He drove away as I stood there looking at the place. It was late, about 10:30 p.m. I'd hoped he was still here.

I grabbed his phone out of my bag and called him. It rang and there was no answer. I did again. Same thing.

"Great, he's probably already gone." I say to myself. You always ruin everything Liliana. 

"No. Now stop Lili. You won't start this." 

Maybe he is still here and practicing. Good lord I look dumb too. Just shut up and go get your phone back, smart one. 

I head to the door and pray it opens. Once I put my hand on the door handle and pull? It opens! 

YES! Thank god! Oh shi- it opened. Now I have to go in. 

Okay, I got this. I took a step in and looked around. It was dark. I could see but it wasn't well. 

The walls were decorated with little drawings. I'd never seen so many. I walk up to them to look at them and get caught up in the designs of the faces and water photoshoots. It was all so beautiful!

*Buzz Buzz Buzz*

I almost screamed. The phone buzzing scared me so bad.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hello. Wait are you here? I thought I heard someone when the music paused." He said.

"I. Um. I am." I reply nervously.

"Oh! Okay, one second." I heard him answer from inside the room I was closest to.

Then the door opened and he stepped out. I immediately realized I hated what Ria put me in. He was wearing sweatpants, a sleeveless shirt that was way too big for him and Nike sneakers. He looked comfy and amazing. I was uncomfortable. Lord, pray for me.

He saw me, smiled that amazing smile and walked over to see what I was looking at.

"Hey!" He said enthusiastically.

"Hey. You realize it's almost 11 p.m. what are you still doing at, what was it, practice? This late?" I couldn't help but smile at him. My heart skipped and the amount of butterflies in my stomach were unreal.

He laughed.

"We, uh, we practice pretty late usually. Actually our schedule is all over the place. Sometimes it can be 2 a.m. before we're done."

"Oh wow! That's insane! I couldn't imagine that." I say, genuinely shocked.

"Yeah it gets hectic occasionally." He smiles. Ugh, be still my heart.

"Oh, before I forget. Here's your phone Yuchan." I say and hand it to him.

"Oh thanks! Follow me," he says walking towards the door he just came from.

"I'll have to go grab yours from the top of my practice bag. I don't know why I didn't bring it with me." He said shaking his head and laughing under his breath.

He opened the door and I followed him in. It was so much brighter in here and there were others. The guys from the coffee shop, too.

Man the girls would flip right now.

"Wow!" I said a little too loud, as I looked around. Yuchan stops and looks around at me. The others too.

"Sorry! Sorry. I've never been in a studio before." I say nervously twisting the hair tie on my wrist.

"Ooohhh, that's okay. Take a look around while I grab the phone." Yuchan smiled.

"Thanks! I may!" I say as I start walking around just looking at the set up of the place.

The mirrors are so huge! This is so cool. Then my eyes land on myself.

Ugh, god I look awful. I think and turn towards the radio equipment.

"I don't think so." Yuchan said coming up behind me and handing me my phone. I look up and he's smiling.

"I said that out loud, didn't I?" I said hiding my face in my hands.

"You did." He smiled brighter and I blushed.

My face was probably beet red now, like it got when I was embarrassed.

"Oh god." I say under my hands on my face.

"Don't be embarrassed it's okay, I don't think you look awful. I think quite the opposite actually." Yup, now I'm definitely blushing.

"Thank you, Yuchan. But even with my shoe choice?" I say holding my foot out a bit so he can clearly see my black and white high-top converse.

He laughed his high pitched laugh and his eyes smiled too.

I really love his laugh. God I hope I actually thought that one.

"Yes, even your converse look good with your dress."

"Why thank you sir." I laugh and curtsey like Alice to the Red Queen.

*Buzz Buzz Buzz*

"Ugh, I think I liked your phone better. It was quieter." I say looking down at Anya's number, "I'm probably in trouble." I say and grimace slightly.

I answer and hold the phone away from my ear since I know what's coming.

"LILIANA MAY! YOU ARE IN FOR IT WHEN I GET THERE!" I stare at the phone bewildered. I could hear Ria just as loud in the background. Yelling at me. Chan looked just as shocked as I did. He motioned that he was going to go and talk to the other guys while I talked to her, or attempted. What did she mean? And then I realized I forgot to turn off my location.

They got worried. I should have messaged them as soon as I got here.

"Anya, I'm fine. Stay at the club. I'll be back soon." I say trying to get the words between the angry rambling.

"We're already on our way you ass!" Yup. I am in trouble.

"Okay we'll just breathe. I'm fine. I'll see you when you get here I guess." I hung up before I could get yelled at more.

I play with my hair tie and walk up to the 5 men towering over me.

They're so much taller up close…

"Liliana, this is Jun, Sehyoon, Byeongkwan and Donghun. Guys this is my phone thief, Liliana." He said smiling and retaining a laugh.

"Hey! Th- tha- that's not fair! It was completely an accident! Your head knocking into mine mixed up my brain cells!" I was appalled he introduced me like that! But I couldn't help laughing when he did. Breathe Lili.

"Anyway! I'm sorry to interrupt your guys practice. I'm just going to go wait outside. My friends are apparently on their way to get me." I say looking down and just trying to avoid eye contact.

"What why?" Someone pipes up. I don't look up though. I tried to think of a better reason then I ditched my friends.

"I, uh. Um… I kinda sorta dropped them off and told the driver to go before they could realize what was happening."

That got a laugh out of them. The one Ria liked, Byeongkwan, was laughing and clapping his hands. Anya's eye catcher, Donghun, was covering his mouth silently laughing. The other 2 I hadn't fully paid attention to in the coffee shop that day, Jun and Sehyoon, were holding their stomachs almost rolling on the floor. Overall, Yuchan was just grinning. He knew the plan, even though the outcome was different.

Donghun finally caught some air, "So you mean to say that you ditched your friends to come meet Chan?" He still had a half smirk on his face. He was teasing me!

But did I? I mean I was returning his phone. I guess I kind of did. Shoot me...

"Well, I-, just believe me when they get here you'll know why I did it that way." I said my face was unbelievably red now. I could feel it.

"Now look hyung, you're making her blush, leave her be. She did bring the phone back like Yuchan said." Jun said, smiling but serious. They all smiled and Sehyoon just shook his head.

He must be the quiet one. I knew someone like that too.

"Well, as much as you want to avoid the confrontation that was coming from that phone earlier, in front of us, you're not going outside alone at 11 o'clock at night." Yuchan said with a very serious look on his face.

I don't know whether to blush or be agitated that he's trying to tell me what I can and can't do.

"It may be 11 but I can handle myself. And you heard Anya on the phone, maybe Ria too. It's not something I'd like anyone to see." I said firmly.

"No." Yuchan said, crossing his arms.

"Yuch-" I started.

"Chan's right Liliana. You're not going out by yourself. You can sit and wait. Practice isn't over so you can watch us." Sehyoon said, shocking me into shutting up.

I just nodded.

"Thank you hyung." Yuchan said, nodding at him. Sehyoon nodded back.

"Okay on that note, let's finish practicing." Byeongkwan said as he got up off the floor.

Yuchan walked me over to a seat and told me I could sit there. I took my jacket off and sat down, then proceeded to cover up my legs with it.

"What is it?" I ask, shyly. He was standing there, kind of just staring at me. I looked down to make sure I didn't have anything on me. Nothing that I saw…

"Nothing. Nothing, you just look pretty in it, is all." He said and added, "Okay I've gotta get to work. Don't judge me too harshly." He smiled and went to get in the center of the studio.

So they're a dance group? They must be pretty good to be working here. I wonder what music they dance to. Just then the music starts and it sounds so amazing!

~Turn me up so they can hear this. Louder!~

I was intrigued. The way they began to move! So in sync. The way they moved was so mesmerizing, I couldn't look away.

The song ended and I'm not going to lie. I was sad.

I was speechless.

"I think we broke her." Byeongkwan laughed, looking over and seeing my astonished expression.

"What? No! I mean yes! That was amazing! I've never seen anything like that before." Okay, don't get over excited Lili.

Then I heard my friends…. Oh fudge.

[kpop-pick-me-up]

| Taehyung x Ravenclaw! Reader (fluff) :00 can't | | Wait for the HMC au bby💜 |

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

Taehyungxravenclaw! Reader pt. 1/?

A/N- You got it! Sorry it took so long I was adjusting to my new school schedule before I started writing again. And SAME! It's my motivation to keep improving, as I don't want to write/post a HMC au I wouldn't want to read. I wasn't sure if you wanted me to tag you or not,so just let me know for the next parts. Anyways, hope you enjoy sorry if it's absolute garbage :[ I'm going to go back and check it one more time tomorrow to look for any typos I missed, but until then please ignore them.

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The halls were buzzing with excitement all over the castle. You couldn't walk 15 feet without hearing the news about the rumored new students. From what your ears had gathered from students rushed conversations while walking to and from your lessons and the occasional accidental (read: deliberate) snooping, they were international students coming from somewhere in Asia. You were quite uninterested to say the least. (Or so you tried to tell yourself). If anything, you were confused and even a little irked at the news. As rumors tend to lack factual evidence, there's is no telling how many new students you'll be getting, how old they are, when exactly they'll be arriving and last but not least WHY they are coming to hogwarts on the cusp of the first exam season of the year. How inconvenient for the new students and the teachers, to be plopped into a class and then taking an exam on it days later, in a foreign language as you can only assume English isn't their first language. You became so invested in the news however, that you just HAD to solve it. You had to figure out all the answers. You saw it as a challenge: a riddle if you will. This always happens when new rumors surface. You try to convince yourself that you just don't care, that you remain unbothered at all times. But your Ravenclaw spirit sees this as a brain game. You just love the rush of sneaking around and discovering the truth before everyone else. You never share what you discover though, it's just a personal accomplishment that you record in your journal. Sometimes you've gotten into a couple sticky situations but nothing terrible or detention worthy. Just a "Miss L/N, why are you pretending to be a gargoyle above the gardens?" Or a "Can you please stop smelling people's closets, we assure you we will find whoever is taking our gillyweed on our own. " You were so close to solving the last one too. Your money is on one of the Weasley kids. You could've sworn that they left a trail of fallen wet Dill leaves that they used to replace the gillyweed that led all the way back to the Gryffindor common room.

Your steps are quick as you make the last turn to the doors of the great Hall for breakfast, and your quick pace is kept all the way until you're seated at the nearly empty Ravenclaw table. Usually the table is bustling with students shoving food down their throat, chatting up a storm to their friends whose heavy heads are playing a sleepy game of tag with the table or their cereal bowl. This morning, however, you decided to arrive to breakfast as early as possible, for the sole purpose of gathering more information on the new students -but don't get it wrong, you aren't interested in them: no. Your mission to gather information on them stems from the fact that you need to know what to prepare yourself for. More trouble makers? Dear God, you can barely handle the ones you have. Pompous students that strut down the hallways and expect those around them to worship the ground they walk on? Ugh we don't need anymore of those. Snobs? Bullies? Sweet innocent small children? Not likely. But there's so many possibilities. As a Ravenclaw, you prefer to stay on top of things and be prepared for whatever is thrown your way. Your grades are important to you and the last thing you need is trouble right before your exams- ESPECIALLY care for magical creatures .... It is the only class you struggle with and just can't seem to bring your grade up to the same score as all your other classes no matter how hard to try. Hagrid pities you, he really does but you can only lose your projects so many times before he has to subtract it from your grade.

"It's not MY fault the projects can run away on their own" you mutter to yourself before pouring a cup of pumpkin juice standing up to examine the other foods available. Your eyes scan the contents presented on the table over the rim of your goblet as you sip from it. After the second wizarding war in Hogwarts, they partnered with other wizarding schools to help send students all over the world to the school of their choice for different opportunities. As a result of all the different cultures and traditions, the kitchen started loading the table with more diverse food choices at every meal. Clicking your tongue at the delicious looking Ethiopian breakfast dish, you decide to go for something you've had before so you don't upset your stomach before your school day.

By the time you're putting the last bit of scrambled eggs on your plate a few more students have shuffled in for breakfast. You quickly sit and begin to eat keeping your ears open for any news of the supposed newcomers. Again, you really aren't that interested in them you swear.....

However minutes pass of you listening to a young Gryffindor complain about the girl she likes not noticing her, suddenly a conversation that carried over from the Hufflepuff table caught your attention.

"Seven?!" A voice exclaimed.

"keep your voice down!"

You turned your attention to two girls, one Hufflepuff and one Gryffindor. You recognized the first voice to be Kim Yong Sun, and the second as Moonbyul Yi; the both of them seventh year transfers from South Korea during their second year.

"Sorry. But how do you know? There hasn't been any confirmation of them arriving let alone how many there are. " Yongsun eyed Moonbyul skeptically and you can hear the click of her chopsticks being set down from where you're sitting you're listening so closely. You slightly nod in agreement to the conversation you aren't a part of. She's right. There hasn't been any confirmation or factual evidence of transfer students. Yet here you are, sitting in the breakfast hall at 6:05 am on a Friday morning listening to fourth year romance drama and the yawns of a few other students like you're life depends on it. Maybe this is stupid, you should just go back up to bed and let it go. You aren't one for caring about new students or rumors anyways. Maybe you were just looking for something to distract you from the upcoming exams: Yeah, that was probably it. You sigh picking up one last piece of toast making up your mind to take it upstairs with you. Putting the piece of toast in your mouth you place your hands on the table to stabilize you as you swing one leg off of the bench to get up.

"I know one of them." Moonbyul responds quietly. You bite your toast out of surprise causing the rest of it to fall from your mouth as you plop down to straddle the bench with a loud thud while playing hot potato with your toast attempting to save it before it hit the floor. You glace around to see if anyone noticed, but thankfully those there are much too tired to care. You swing your leg back into your seat and continuee to listen to their conversation. Everyone needs a little distraction every now and then right? A hobby? Can snooping be considered a hobby....? I guess you're really doing this again.

"You know them? Really? So they're from South Korea too?" Yongsun asked while beginning to eat again.

"Yep. But I only know one of them pretty well, his name is Kim Seokjin and he's in my year. The rest of them I've only met a few times through him. "

Yongsun pondered what was said before speaking .

"Wait- seven of them..... Are they those loud boys from the music club you were in back home? Some of them are a little young don't you think?"

Moonbyul laughed. "Yep that's them! And no- the youngest of them should be a fourth year right about now."

You figured you had heard enough information to go on and decided to actually go back to your dorm this time. You left your spot at the table and began to make your way back to your room for a quick nap before school began. Your walk back was filled with thoughts of the new kids. "Loud boys? Great." You said bitterly turning down a hall. " What does it have to do with me? From what I heard they are different ages, which will separate them a bit. Maybe none of them will even be in my house, and I won't see them. After all, there's only seven of them and a whole school of other students. I probably won't even notice them. "

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A fork clinked gently against a goblet, and McGonagall rose to her feet. "May I have your attention please."

The loud dinner chatter quieted down almost immediately and all heads turned to the teacher's table.

"Thank you." She placed her goblet down before returning her gaze to the students. "As many of you have heard, there are rumors going around that Hogwarts will be accepting some new students. It is my pleasure to finally put these rumors to rest- "

A chorus of disappointed sighs and groans rang through the hall, looks like they weren't getting new students after all. You almost let out a disappointed sigh but caught yourself. You didn't want new students, they were a distraction and a nuisance. Right? I mean... It was a little bit of a disappointment considering all the hard work and snooping you had been doing recently. Your friend group doesn't spread rumors much, so everything you knew had been from eaves dropping and hiding, like the gargoyle incident. You guess you sat up there for 45 minutes all for nothing.

"-excuse me please quiet down." The students all shut their mouths quickly, afraid of angering her. "As I was saying, I am happy to finally introduce to you our new students from South Korea." The hall erupted into excited chatter, girls and boys alike fawning over whether or not the newcomers were attractive, nice, mean or any other possibility, like you have been for weeks ever since you overheard the students chatting about it outside the potions cupboard you were in when the rumors first started.

Clearing her throat the headmaster gave a sharp warning look to all the students, again silencing them. "As you know, usually transfer students come on the first day of school with the first years to get sorted. However, there was a couple issues regarding the ministry during their application process, so they arrived later than usual. I have no doubts that you will all make them feel very welcome here." She waved her hand as a signal to Filtch, who scampered out of the Great Hall, returning only a few moments later with a trail of students behind him.

Seven. There was seven of them just like you'd heard about this morning. You feel your chest swell with pride. You did good for a half assed Snoop mission. They were all male, and most looked to be around your age, and you'd be lying if you said they weren't in the least bit attractive. You scowled internally knowing that their looks would be all you'd hear about during your study sessions in the common room.

The sorting hat was brought in and the sorting began. McGonagall unrolled a small piece of parchment and read off the first name "Jung Hoseok", and you held your breath as the first boy made his way up.

He looked rather pleasant. His bright face was framed with medium length brown hair, and his smile was wide. He was practically glowing as he sat on the stool. There was a few moments of silence before the hat shouted out a loud "Hufflepuff!" And the hall clapped while McGonagall lead him to the proper table.

Slowly one by one each of the other boys went up. There was another Hufflepuff, his name was Park Jimin, and a Gryffindor whose name was Jungkook. 'So far so good' you think to yourself.

The next boy to go was called Kim Namjoon. He was tall and had a pair of square modern glasses perched on his nose, the legs of the glasses covered by his messy silvery gray hair. He's a bit taller than most of the others so the stool looked comically small beneath his long legs which he had stretched out for his feet to rest on the heels of his shoes. He radiated nerves with his hands rubbing up and down his black pants and his cheek pulled in slightly as he chewed on it. You were too lost in thought to realize it had been almost an entire minute of silence when the hat announced a very loud "RAVENCLAW!"

You felt your face scrunch up a bit but clapped anyway. I mean, it's only one of them and he looks rather pleasant; not too loud or obnoxious. He looks put together-maybe a little clumsily- but still respectable. You watched him take a seat and shake hands with other students. Yeah, he seems pretty ok. Instead of paying attention you continued to study the boy. After all, there's only a small chance one of the last three would be a Ravenclaw. The next name which you recognized as the boy Moonbyul knew, Kim Seokjin but blocked it out after that.

Namjoon seemed to be getting along nicely with the other students at the table. His smile was friendly and welcoming and his demeanor calm and assured.

"GRYFFINDOR"

You clapped absent mindedly as you continued to watch Namjoon become much less nervous than he had been up on the stool. His eyes gleaming and his honey skin shining in the great Hall lights giving off a faint golden glow. He literally held the presence of a god. You were beginning to doubt what Yongsun had said about them being loud as you watched the next boy climb up to the stool, and you looked around at the other new students and noticed they all were pretty quiet and calm, aside from Jungkook whose cheeks had flushed pink as Seokjin had an arm thrown over his shoulders supposedly boasting about what you heard to be his "handsome face", and his "baby boy kookie" . You really did seem to have nothing to worry about, it was just your anxiety that made you so scared of newcomers.

"RAVENCLAW"

Again you applauded without thinking before you froze. You looked back up to the stool and watched a boy about as tall as Namjoon bounce excitedly over to Namjoon and plop down right next him with a loud "Namjoon-hyung!" Followed by a box shaped smile and a joyful giggle. His eyes were dark to match his fluffy long ish hair that looked unsually soft. He was much louder than his friend Namjoon, you could hear his introductions and laugh travel down to your seat of the table, enabling you to hear his name: Kim Taehyung. You glared lightly at him sizing him up when suddenly your glare was met with bright cheerful eyes. 'Dont blush you're not interested, dont' You felt your face contort into a look of shock and heat slowly rise to your face before Taehyung sent you a wide boxy smile that caused his eyes to crinkle into small crescents, a sight that made you flush even more - you couldn't deny he was attractive. 'no no no no no-' At the sight of your blush you heard him laugh out a loud "cute", turning your face to an even darker shade of red than you had even thought possible. Those near him followed his gaze and laughed a little bit at your red face and a few "awww Y/N"'s and "oooh get it girl" were sent your way. You quickly tore your eyes away from his and shoveled the food down your throat causing you to choke on it, your hands grasped for your drink which a panicked seatmate handed you. You chugged half of it down before sputtering out a few coughs.

"Are you okay Y/N?" The same seatmate asked with a concerned look.

You nodded noticing that most of your table had now focused their attention on you. Embarrassment now completely took over your body as you shot up from your seat so fast you hit your knee off of the table and knocked your drink over to spill all over your robes. You let out a sound of frustration but you didn't let it stop you from your mission: to get out of the great Hall and to hide under your covers until morning. You turned and walked out as fast as you could ignoring the calls and stares you felt from the table. You made it outside of the great Hall and began to sprint down the halls all the way to the common room door.

Gasping out the password you don't even wait for the door to open all the way before you push inside the common room and up the steps to your dorm room. You slam the door shut and fall on the floor, the only sound in the room being your loud labored breathing and your wild heartbeat. After a few moments your breathing calmed down and it finally hit you what you had just done.

"oh my God I'm such an idiot! Why couldn't I just let this one go? " You stood up and stomped your way to your dresser and ripped out some night clothes. "Was your life really this boring? You could've just ignored the new students. You could've just not given a damn but no. " You slammed the drawer shut and went into the bathroom to begin changing. Aggressively taking off your sticky pumpkin juice covered robes with a grunt "You just HAD to get involved in the rumors. You KNOW you can't let something go once you commit to it. You shouldn't have even committed to it. Hell, you should've stopped after you were caught snooping around the class attendance lists" You slid on your night clothes and picked up your robes to take a closer look at them with a sigh.

"now I have to wash my robes tomorrow because YOU have no self control and can't stop being nosy." You glared at yourself in the mirror, sticking your tongue out at the reflection.

Exiting the bathroom you ball up your robes and place them in your hamper. You have calmed down significantly, the steam and anger from the embarassing moment in the hall finally wearing off. With a inhuman groan you dragged your hands down the sides of your face. "He's just a boy. All he did was smile at me... And call me cute...." Your thoughts drifted off to his cute box smile, and twinkling brown eyes. You abruptly sat up with a determined look. "No. No no no no. You don't have time for crushes, you only have one more week till exams and you aren't letting your grades slip just because a cute boy happens to join your house. Just ignore him. It's easy as that. " You pull your covers down and flop into bed.

A couple hours had passed, and you pretended to sleep when all your dormmates came up to bed one by one. Eventually after some tossing and turning you sigh. Your mind is full of that stupid boy, and the way he called you cute. So much for not even noticing the new kids.

~DeepSheep