#and if that makes 0 sense to you then you likely haven’t spent a whole lot of time with toddlers in the years that shows been on lol

[vagueiish]

You are lovable cause you exist. You are lovable cause you hold love within you. ♥️

i’ve been holding onto this bc it makes me feel good to look at and i appreciate the sentiment. genuinely. thank you for taking the time to send it to me

but. also because… idk. as much as i grouse and complain about these kinda messages when i’m in a Mood, i dislike replying to kind messages directed to me with negativity. but. also. receiving these kind of messages makes me incredibly sad because,..

nonny, if youre out there, let me ask you a question. based on what you can see of me on this hellsite we all habitate together, would you want to be friends with me? probably not, right? this isn’t accusatory or anything (if it could be read like that, idk how tone could come across. fuckin internet, lol) i genuinely wouldn’t blame you. im terribly unpleasant to be around and boring and poorly socialized. i wouldn’t want to be friends with me either, honestly, and it seems that nobody else wants to take up that mantle. again, cant blame anybody, but there it is.

……and i was going somewhere with this but work looms and if i draft this, i’ll never get it out, but idk. i suppose the point i was working towards was that i do genuinely appreciate the nice sentiment, but thats all im really worth, isn’t it? sentiment. there’s nothing here worth any deeper look and thats all very much on me, i don’t want anyone to force themselves to interact bc they feel bad about the sad loser (and it’s not as if i would be able to actually hold a conversation because im a dipshit) but it’s…, all rather depressing. and lonely

[bruhnze]

PLAYING FOR KEEPS

CHAPTER 6 – It’s just more convenient

Summary: Ona Batlle has had a crush on Lucy Bronze for a little while now… how will it go when she joins Barça? A 10 chapter series.

Warnings: Slow burn, angst, fluff, smut. All the things, but I give this as a complete warning for the whole series. Not every chapter involves all the warnings :).

masterlist

November 11, 2023: vs. Villarreal CF (6-0, away) November 14, 2023: vs. SL Benfica (5-0, home) November 19, 2023: vs. Real Madrid (5-0, home) November 22, 2023: vs. Eintracht Frankfurt (3-1, away)

November 2023 – Spain

The weeks had gone by in a blur of amazing games and moments together. Both Ona and Lucy had asked for the other if they wanted to do ‘something simple’ a few times, the phrase had become their code for wanting to sleep together. And every time, it was perfect.

Well, almost perfect, Ona thought. Because no matter how close they felt, no matter how comfortable and intimate the moments were, it always ended the same way: one of them would go home.

She didn’t know why they did it, and she definitely didn’t like it. But every time they spent the night together, if Lucy was at her place, she’d eventually say, “Alright, I guess I’ll go home,” leaving Ona feeling a quiet disappointment. And when Ona was at Lucy’s, she’d find herself asking, “Shall I go home?” as if seeking permission, and Lucy would always agree, sometimes even just solely with a casual nod. It didn’t make sense, and Ona wondered if Lucy really didn’t want to spend the night, but neither of them brought it up.

Professionally, though, everything had gone perfectly. They’d crushed Villarreal 6-0, followed with a dominant 5-0 against SL Benfica at home, and now today, November 19th, they had absolutely destroyed Real Madrid in El Clásico, 5-0, in front of a roaring home crowd.

It was a really busy and tight schedule, but with these results it was the kind of run every footballer dreamed of. The team was on a winning streak and that made everyone very happy. It also seemed as if everyone was even more motivated in training and Ona couldn’t have been prouder of the team.

After the match, the team celebrated, but only briefly. There was no time for a big party. Tomorrow, they were flying out to Germany for their Champions League match against Eintracht Frankfurt on the 22nd.

After the brief celebratory meal, Ona and Lucy returned home together. They dropped the dogs off with Lucy’s dogsitter. Ona had had a problem because she was originally going to let her brother babysit the dog, but he had some plans where a dog wasn’t able to fit in. So Ona had discussed it with Lucy, who had called her own dogsitter. The woman had been more than happy to watch over Coco as well, especially since Lucy had told her that Coco and Narla were practically best friends.

With the dogs settled, they headed to Lucy’s place. It had started out as a casual idea, just to stop for a quick drink to unwind. But as they sat together, talking and laughing, Ona realized something important.

“Shit…” Ona blinked, glancing around. “I haven’t packed my stuff yet.”

Lucy’s eyes widened in surprise before breaking into a laugh. “Oh my god, I haven’t thought about packing either.”

‘’I should go pack then.’’ Ona said laughing, but also a little sad, she didn’t want to go yet.

Lucy giggled, ‘’imagine we’d just stepped on the bus tomorrow with no luggage, I bet we wouldn’t have found out until the airport check-in.’’ She stood up, ‘’maybe we can help eachother, first we’ll do mine then yours, and then we can.’’ She wiggled her eyebrows, ‘’celebrate the El Clásico win a little more.’’ She looked at Ona, ‘’if you are not too tired ofcourse.’’

Ona smiled, ‘’yeah, let’s pack together.’’ This was perfect, she had been dying for a peek in Lucy’s closet anyways, and this meant spending more time together.

They went to Lucy’s bedroom and started packing, holding the list, that was send in the group chat earlier, open to see if she had everything. Even though Ona didn’t know where Lucy’s stuff was, they worked like an oiled machine. They made her the folder/packer and Lucy searched all the stuff that she read out loud.

..

‘’Okay next?’’

Ona looked at the list, ‘’uhm, we have everything of the list..’’

‘’Perfect.’’

Ona looked at the suitcase, ‘’you have half the suitcase left.’’

‘’Yeah,’’ Lucy shrugged, ‘’I always only pack the list, I usually have space left.’’

‘’Don’t you want to bring own clothes or something?’’

‘’Yeah I have packed one set, and I already know from experience there’s a small chance of even wearing that one set.’’ Lucy chuckled, ‘’we’ll be in Barça gear the whole trip.’’

‘’Mhm,’’ Ona agreed, ‘’true.’’

‘’Uh,’’ Lucy started, scratching her neck, ‘’maybe, if you want..’’ she looked at Ona, ‘’like, because we are roomies, you know.’’

Ona raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Lucy cleared her throat. “If you want… you could use the other half of my suitcase. Since we’re sharing a room, you know.´´

Ona’s heart swelled at the offer, but she played it cool. “Yeah… that would be..,” she said, trying to sound casual even though all she wanted to do was kiss Lucy. She couldn´t find the words.

‘’Convenient.’’ Lucy offered.

‘’Uh, yes.’’ Ona pretended that that was exactly what she had meant, it was just more convenient, right? There where no other reasons for this.

…

They walked out of the room at the same time, their bodies almost fitting through the doorway—almost. The suitcase, however, wedged them in place, leaving them awkwardly close, faces inches apart as they stood there, neither making the first move to adjust.

Lucy chuckled softly, and Ona joined in, though neither of them stepped back. For some reason, neither of them wanted to move. Ona could feel Lucy’s breath, and for a moment, she swore she caught Lucy staring at her lips. Or was she just imagining it?

“Uh…” Lucy’s voice broke the silence, her tone hesitant. “I’ve been thinking about something, but I don’t really know how to say it.”

Ona frowned, her heart rate spiking, though she tried to stay cool on the outside. “You can say it, don’t worry,” she replied lightly, but inside, every alarm bell was ringing. What was Lucy going to say? Was this about them being too close? Or something good, like staying over at each other’s place? They had just agreed to share a suitcase, after all, so it couldn’t be bad… right?

Lucy leaned in, their noses almost touching now, and Ona felt her breath hitch. “Sometimes…” Lucy started, her voice a soft murmur, “I feel like I want to kiss you. Like, outside of the... you know, when we do our benefits thing.”

Ona’s mind went blank for a second. She feels it too?! Her heart raced as she tried to stay calm, but her thoughts were a chaotic mess. She replied, maybe a little too casually, “Oh, yeah, we can add that to our benefits...” She leaned in, brushing Lucy’s lips with her own. “You’re a good kisser anyway, so it’s not a punishment or anything.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Ona mentally cringed. Not a punishment? She was dying for these moments, craving Lucy’s kisses like they were her only weakness. In truth, she worshipped every second Lucy’s lips touched hers. Ugh, why did she say that?

Lucy’s chuckle brought Ona back, her breath warm against Ona’s mouth. “Okay then,” Lucy teased, her voice low. “I guess if it’s not a punishment…” She closed the already tiny gap between them, their lips meeting in a kiss that was soft but filled with the quiet intensity that had been simmering between them all night.

Ona’s mind spun. What a day. The perfect football match, sharing a suitcase with Lucy, and now this. Kissing Lucy in a way that wasn’t just about their ‘arrangement.’ It felt... real.

When Lucy finally pulled back, she smiled softly. “By the way,” she added, her voice almost playful. “You’re a pretty good kisser too.”

Ona grinned, her heart doing a little flip. “Thanks,” she replied, wanting to lean back in for another kiss, but Lucy moved away just a fraction.

“You’re such a good kisser that sometimes, when I look at your lips, I just…” Lucy trailed off, shaking her head slightly.

Ona blinked in surprise. Was Lucy… blushing? Lucy Bronze, blushing? “You just what?” Ona prompted, her curiosity piqued.

Lucy laughed softly, almost embarrassed. “I don’t know… I just remember us kissing and then I want to kiss you again.”

Ona couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face. Hearing that was more than a compliment. It was everything. Knowing she had this effect on Lucy made her feel a strange kind of confidence, a warmth that spread through her. “Me too,” she confessed, not just because it was true, but because she wanted Lucy to feel good about opening up to her.

Lucy’s eyes widened in surprise, and she smiled. “You think about kissing me sometimes too?”

Ona chuckled, enjoying the way Lucy seemed genuinely taken aback. Maybe she had been more discreet than she thought after all. “Mhm, sometimes,” she teased, before adding with a soft smile, “but sometimes a hug or a cuddle too.”

Lucy’s smile softened, a playful light dancing in her eyes. “Yeah, like we do on away games.”

“Exactly,” Ona said, feeling the warmth between them settle into something comfortable and familiar.

Finally, Lucy stepped back, making room for Ona to step through the doorway. “Well, let’s pack your stuff before it gets super late.”

Ona nodded with a small smile, though a part of her felt sad that this little confession moment was over. She had wanted them to talk more, to settle the whole sleeping-over thing once and for all. But she wasn’t going to push it, not tonight.

“Yeah, let’s do that,” she agreed, though her mind was still buzzing from the kiss and the revelation that Lucy had been thinking about her in the same way.

…

Once they arrived at Ona’s apartment, the energy between them felt quieter, softer than it had been earlier. The high from their El Clásico win still lingered in the background, but now it was paired with the gentle weight of the conversation they’d just had at Lucy’s place. As they stepped inside, Lucy tossed her backpack onto the couch while Ona placed the suitcase on her bed, the space around them settling into a comfortable quiet.

“Alright,” Lucy said, shrugging off her Barça coat and draping it over a chair. “Let’s get your stuff packed.”

Ona smiled to herself, she was happy with Lucy’s presence. Every time they were this close, her heart seemed to race, but tonight felt a little different. The air between them felt lighter, more open, like something unspoken had shifted after their earlier kiss.

They moved naturally through the motions of packing, with Ona gathering her things and handing them to Lucy, who folded and placed them into the suitcase. The ease of their movements felt like second nature, as if they’d done this a hundred times before. Their hands brushed occasionally, each touch sending a quiet spark of warmth up Ona’s arm. She couldn’t help but feel how effortless it all was; the way they moved around each other, shared tasks, shared moments. It felt right.

..

“Done?” Ona asked, handing Lucy the last item.

Lucy gave a quick glance at the packing list and then flashed a soft smile, the corners of her eyes crinkling. “Yup, seems like we’re all set.”

For a moment, Ona simply watched her, taking in the way Lucy smiled, her lips curling gently, her eyes sparkling with that post-match glow, her hair still a little damp from the shower a couple hours earlier. She felt a surge of affection, her crush was getting worse and worse.

“Oh, wait—your toiletries,” Lucy said suddenly, breaking the silence. “We skipped that earlier.”

Ona blinked, pulling herself back into focus. “Right, toiletries and some things for the backpack.’’ She chuckled, ‘’thanks, I could’ve easily forgotten those.”

They moved to the bathroom to gather her remaining essentials. Ona opened the cabinet, reaching for her things when she turned to ask Lucy if she needed toothpaste. They used the same brand, and since Lucy had packed hers, it seemed like a simple enough question.

When she turned she realized how close Lucy was standing. Too close. Well, not that she minded.

Her breath hitched. Lucy’s face was just a breath away from Ona’s. The air between them thickened, and for a moment, neither of them moved. Then Lucy’s eyes flickered down, her gaze settling on Ona’s lips.

The way Lucy’s eyes where fixed on her made Ona giddy. She leaned in, her lips brushing against Lucy’s in a kiss that was soft and deliberate.

It wasn’t rushed, and it wasn’t just part of their ‘arrangement’. This felt different. It felt real.

Lucy breathed through her nose, desperately keeping her lips on Ona’s, her hands finding Ona’s hips as she pressed her against the cool porcelain of the sink. Ona let the items she was holding clatter into the washbasin as she brought her hands to Lucy’s neck, feeling the warmth of her skin under her fingers. The kiss deepened, their breaths mingling as Lucy lifted Ona slightly, her body pinned gently against the sink.

Ona wrapped her legs around Lucy’s waist, the heat between them building with every passing second. Her heart swelled, a slow warmth spreading through her entire body. Kissing Lucy like this, without the pretense of their ‘benefits’ or the careful boundaries they had set, felt... freeing.

Lucy pulled back just enough to catch her breath, her forehead resting lightly against Ona’s. They staid silent for a moment.

Ona hoped Lucy had felt this too. Had felt the connection.

Lucy smiled carefully, her lips still close enough to brush against Ona’s as she spoke. “Maybe we should finish packing…” she murmured, though there was no urgency in her voice, her voice sounded almost apologetic.

Ona smiled, giving Lucy’s lips a final peck before unwrapping her legs from Lucy’s waist. “Yeah, I guess we should,” she said softly, though part of her wanted to stay in this moment just a little longer.

..

They finished packing quickly after that, placing the last of Ona’s toiletries and travel essentials into the backpack. The clock ticked forward, the late hour reminding them both of the early morning flight they had ahead. The adrenaline from the day was slowly wearing off, replaced by a creeping sense of exhaustion.

As they stood back and looked at their packed bags, standing ready in the hallway, Lucy turned to Ona with an apologetic smile. “By the way, I know I said we’d… you know, continue celebrating,” she said, her eyes tracing Ona’s face. “But I’m a bit tired, so maybe…” Her thumb brushed lightly across Ona’s jaw, sending a shiver down her spine. “Maybe a raincheck?”

Ona’s heart fluttered at the tenderness in Lucy’s voice. She bit her lip, her mind spinning. She still wanted more. She wanted more time, more closeness. But she understood the exhaustion, as she felt it too. “Mhm, of course,” Ona agreed softly. “I’m a bit tired too.”

But then, almost as if the words were forming without her permission, Ona spoke again, her heart pounding with nervous excitement. “But if we’re talking about convenience…”

Lucy’s eyes lifted, curiosity dancing in them.

“You could maybe stay here,” Ona offered, her voice calm though her heart was pounding in her chest. “Narla’s with the sitter anyway… and it’d be easier in the morning.”

Lucy’s expression softened, a gentle smile forming on her lips. “Yeah… that would be.. convenient,” she said, her voice quiet and warm, like the offer meant more to her than just convenience.

Ona’s chest tightened, a rush of quiet happiness flooding her. This was more than she had expected, more than she had dared to hope for. “Alright,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “Then it’s settled.”

..

After finishing packing the suitcase and the backpack and setting them, ready to go, in the hallway. They headed back to the bathroom.

Ona reached into the cabinet, pulling out a fresh toothbrush head for her electric toothbrush. “Here,” she said with a shy smile, passing the toothbrush attachment to Lucy. ‘’So you can brush your tooth in a second.’’

Lucy looked at it, then smiled warmly. “Aw, cute. My own toothbrush at your place.” she said quietly.

Ona couldn’t help but laugh, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks. She felt a little silly, but the small act of offering Lucy the toothbrush head felt oddly intimate, like it was one more step toward something more between them.

They brushed their teeth one after the other, the soft hum of the electric toothbrushes the only sound in the quiet apartment. Ona glanced at Lucy in the mirror, when it was her turn, watching Lucy brushing her teeth in her bathroom like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Eventually Ona walked back to her bed, feeling the familiar pull of tiredness wash over her.

After a moment Lucy slipped under the covers beside her, and without a word, they found each other’s arms, their bodies fitting together like two pieces of a puzzle. The warmth of Lucy’s body against hers made Ona feel safe, secure, and for the first time, she didn’t feel that lingering anxiety that came with the end of the night.

Lucy placed a soft kiss on Ona’s forehead, her arms wrapping around her as they settled into the blankets. “Goodnight,” she whispered, her breath warm against Ona’s skin.

Ona pressed a kiss to Lucy’s shoulder, feeling the steady rise and fall of her breathing. “Goodnight,” she whispered back, her voice soft and content.

As they lay there, wrapped in each other’s arms, Ona felt the weight of the day melt away. For the first time in a while, she wasn’t worried about what came next or if Lucy would leave in the middle of the night. She wasn’t thinking about the unspoken rules of their relationship or the blurry lines they’d created.

All she could think about was how perfect this moment felt, falling asleep listening to Lucy’s heartbeat beneath her.

..

20th November

Ona stirred from sleep as she felt the warmth of Lucy pulling away from behind her. Her body instinctively reacted, her hand tightening on her forearm to hold Lucy close, even as her eyelids were barely open.

She squinted at the alarm clock on the nightstand, trying to make out the time. “We still have more than half an hour before the alarm,” she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.

Lucy paused, her lips brushing softly against the back of Ona’s neck. “I’m sorry for waking you,” she whispered, her voice tender. “I just need to go to the bathroom for a second, but I’ll be right back.”

Ona hummed in response, already missing the warmth of Lucy’s body as she reluctantly let her go. She heard Lucy pad softly out of the room, the faint creak of the bathroom door fading into the quiet of the early morning.

She curled into the sheets, the grogginess clinging to her as she blinked slowly. She didn’t mind waking up early like this, not with Lucy there, sharing her space, her bed. It felt like a quiet kind of magic, one she wanted to savor.

A few moments later, Lucy returned, slipping back under the covers, her body finding its way back to Ona’s like they were two puzzle pieces that fit together perfectly. Lucy’s hand snaked around Ona’s waist again, pulling her close, and she buried her face into the curve of Ona’s shoulder.

“Hmm… half an hour left, huh?” Lucy’s voice was low and playful, and Ona could feel the smile in her words as she kissed the nape of her neck, trailing soft kisses down her shoulder.

Still a bit sleepy, Ona’s lips curled into a soft smile. “Did you sleep well?” she asked, her voice quiet, still a little dreamy.

Lucy’s breath was warm against her skin as she whispered, “Mhmmm, I slept really well. I’ve got all my energy back.”

Ona’s heart gave a little flutter, her sleepiness beginning to fade as Lucy’s kisses became more deliberate. The soft brush of Lucy’s lips against her neck sent a warm ripple through her body, and she shifted slightly.

Before Ona knew it, Lucy had pulled her onto her back, hovering over her, her hands sliding gently up Ona’s sides as their lips met in a kiss that was…perfect. Ona responded instantly, her fingers tangling in Lucy’s hair as the morning fog lifted from her mind. The feeling of Lucy’s weight against her, the warmth of her touch; it set her pulse racing.

Lucy’s lips moved from Ona’s mouth to her jawline, trailing down to her collarbone as she murmured, “Half an hour is plenty of time…” Her voice was low, teasing, filled with that unmistakable spark that made Ona’s head spin.

Ona let out a quiet laugh, though it was cut short by a sharp intake of breath as Lucy’s tongue darted out against her neck. Any lingering sleepiness disappeared as their bodies pressed closer together, the heat between them rising quickly.

Ona’s hands roamed Lucy’s back, pulling her closer, feeling every inch of her.

Lucy’s lips found hers again, more insistent this time, and Ona responded eagerly, her body arching slightly into Lucy’s. Their breaths became quicker, their movements more urgent as they got lost in the heat of the moment, bodies moving together in perfect rhythm.

The morning stretched out before them, the minutes ticking by in a blur of soft gasps, lingering touches, and whispered words.

..

They had made it in time for the bus, barely. Ona couldn’t help but feel a little flustered as she watched Lucy casually carry ‘their’ suitcase and ‘their’ backpack, effortlessly slung over her shoulder.

“You really don’t have to carry everything,” Ona rolled her eyes, though she didn’t exactly mind the view. ‘’You can give me the backpack.’’

Lucy shot her a grin. “You drove us here. Consider this my thanks.”

Ona rolled her eyes again, but there was something about Lucy’s easygoing smile that always caught her off guard.

The bus ride to the airport was filled with chatter, the team still buzzing from the win and looking forward to the trip. Lucy sat beside Mariona, and Ona found herself sitting nearby. She had took place the row behind them, on the other side of the path, sneaking the occasional glance at Lucy when she wasn’t paying attention.

Once they arrived at the airport, the team trickled toward a small café by their gate.

Ona and Lucy lined up for drinks. Mariona joined them, sliding in beside Lucy as the three scanned the menu standing besides the stand.

It was their turn and a young man smiled at them, ‘’what can I get you guys?’’

“An iced coffee for me,” Ona said.

“Matcha for me, please” Lucy added.

“Café con leche,” Mariona stated. “It’s too early for any of that fancy stuff you two order.”

The barista laughed and nodded for them to stand in the other line, to wait until the drinks would be ready. Ona went up to the other employee to pay, she payed for the three drinks.

‘’Ay thanks Ona.’’ Mariona said, sliding her arm around the younger player, ‘’where did we deserve that? Why are you in such a good mood this morning?’’

Ona blushed, she caught Lucy’s eyes for a second before looking back at Mariona. ‘’What, nothing.’’ She chuckled nervously, ‘’I just wanted to pay.’’

Only when Mariona let Ona go again, Lucy smiled, seemingly pulled back out of her train of thoughts, ‘’well, I think it’s nice, thank you Ona.’’ She said innocently.

‘’See, Mario.’’ Ona scrunched her nose at Mariona, ‘’some people just say thanks.’’

The three of them chuckled.

They exchanged a few lighthearted jokes while waiting for their drinks, and once they had them in hand, the conversation turned back to the flight. Unlike their usual trips, this wasn’t a private Barça plane, so there were no assigned seats.

Ona turned to Mariona. “Hey, do we know the seating situation? Are we just, like, sitting where ever we like?”

Mariona shrugged. “No assigned seats, so yeah, we can just pick wherever.”

Ona paused, glancing between Mariona and Lucy. “So… should we sit together then?” she asked, looking at Lucy, hoping to keep it casual.

Lucy, who had been mid-sip of her matcha, almost choked. “Uh… I mean, I usually sit with Mariona,” she said awkwardly, her eyes darting to Mariona.

Mariona grinned. “You two can sit together this time. I’m perfectly fine on my own.” She gave Lucy a knowing look, one that clearly said she knew everything that was going on.

Lucy’s frowned at Mariona, ‘’what?’’ she glanced back at Ona. “I mean… yeah, I guess we could sit together… if you want?”

Ona felt a strange flutter in her chest but shrugged it off, pretending like it wasn’t a big deal. “Yeah, sure. I meant, like, it makes sense since you’ve got the backpack. With both our stuff.”

Mariona chuckled to herself, clearly enjoying the subtle tension between the two. But Ona and Lucy both didn’t seem to notice how obvious they were.

Lucy shot her a glare before turning back to Ona. “Ah ofcourse, I hadn’t thought about it.”

By the time they boarded the plane, Mariona had already waved them off, finding her own seat with an amused grin. Those two sharing a bag? She wasn’t going to be saying anything, but she sure had her thoughts about it.

Lucy and Ona found two seats toward the middle of the plane, settling in with their drinks and bags.

As they got comfortable, Lucy reached into the backpack, pulling out her iPad. “I downloaded a movie for the flight,” she said.

Ona smiled. “What movie?”

“Here this one,” Lucy replied, she turned her screen towards Ona.

Ona put her hand over Lucy’s to steady the iPad so she could read the title and summary.

‘’And?’’ Lucy asked, ‘’Want to watch?’’

‘’Sure,’’ Ona said, lifting the divider between them both.

Lucy pulled out the table infront of them and prompted up the iPad. She dug through the bag and eventually held her hand out towards Ona, offering one of her AirPods. “Here.”

“Thanks,” Ona said, taking the AirPod and placing it in her ear.

As the movie started, they both leaned back, and Ona felt Lucy’s arm lightly brush against hers. It was a small, innocent touch, but it sent a jolt through her that she tried to ignore. They were just watching a movie, nothing more. And most of all, they were in a plane with the whole team and a group of staff, not the place to get comfy against Lucy.

The thoughts echoed in Ona’s mind, but she pushed it aside, focusing on the screen. Beside her, Lucy seemed equally focused, though every now and then their eyes would meet, followed by quick, nervous smiles, like neither of them wanted to acknowledge the subtle tension between them.

masterlist

[ghosts-and-blue-sweaters]

what’s your best childhood memory?

SO MANY BEST CHILDHOOD MEMORIES HAVE TO DO WITH MY COUSINS!!! AAAAAAH!!! SUCH AMAZING TIMES I HAD WITH THEM!!!

Growing up, I was absolute best friends with my three cousins, who were all around my age :) I thought they were like, the coolest humans ever—especially the one closest in age to me!! I definitely spent the most time with him :) He was my Best friend for over a decade like oh my gosh

There was this one time where mine and their families all went to chick-fil-a together, and after the meal, my Best friend cousin (who I’ll call E) went up to the counter to get everyone ice creams.

(Keep in mind, this is like, a 10 year old kid, ordering like fifteen cups of ice cream, all by himself.)

When E came back, he said that the cashier had given him some weird looks aksgajsgjagsisgs and then we turned it into an inside joke XD We pretended to order food and said things like, “this is for me, by me, from me… all. me.” It probably doesn’t make as much sense when I explain it but we found it hekkin hilarious and would not be quiet about it lol

I think it was that same trip that we got stuck in three-hour standstill traffic lol. But it turned out to be super fun!!! Me and my cousins roleplayed chick-fil-a in the car XD

are you still friends with the person you considered your best friend two years ago?

:))) Yessssssss

Pinestripe, we’ve known each other about two years now, haven’t we? :0 We met in spring 2022 if I’m remembering correctly… and we’re clearly still friends :D Best friends very best friends!!

Although, since we obviously weren’t best friends from the start aksgajsgajgssjg I gotta say that… yes, I’m still friends with the one I considered my best friend, but I don’t think we’re as close now :0

does true love exist?

Good question! I believe it does :) I mean, Jesus loved us enough to go through the worst pain imaginable and then die a horrible awful painful brutal death—He loved us enough to sacrifice His whole being for us. And if that isn’t true love, I’m not quite sure what is. It’s not romantic love, but it matters nonetheless!!

In addition, humans sacrifice themselves for other humans too!! Whether their own lives or other things, they prove that their love is worth more than whatever it is they’re sacrificing, and that’s beautiful to me :’)

I’ve also seen the way certain couples are, and it’s clear to me that there’s no one else in the world they’d rather be with; together, they are so wonderfully loved, and joyful, and willing to go through hardships in order to keep their love. True love!!

And platonic bonds, I think, can definitely qualify for true love :) Love doesn’t have to be romantic to count. There’s friends or family members who will do absolutely anything for each other, and just… aaaah <3

So yes, I do think it exists :) Not everywhere, but in some wondrous cases, yes.

[fanartshmanart]

You have 3 new messages in your inbox from Kenny.

Sept 9, 2009, 10:34pm

“Hey, Zimms, just calling to say hey, I know you’re probably busy with, you know, rehab things and stuff. But- I mean I’m busy too, obvs, with the whole playing-professional-hockey and shit. But call me up if you wanna chat. Later!”

Oct 2, 2009, 2:11am

“Heya, Zimms, it’s like, 2 a.m. here, haha. Just thinking of you. You know I haven’t talked to you since the whole thing went down, but your dad called, said you’re doing okay. That’s good. Um. Yeah I’m doing good too. The team is… good. Yeah, it’s good, my lineys are great. Not as good as you, obviously. But nah, they’re good guys. Just, ya know, not my best friend. So. If you wanted to talk, you know my number. Okay, miss ya.”

Oct 29, 2009, 1:33am

“Ziiiiimms… I miss you, man… ‘cause, like, you haven’t talked to me in, like, 3 months, and the last time I saw you you were in the ambulance, and I know you’re okay but it would be nice to hear from you, ya know? … I think I’ve left, like, 50 messages in your inbox by now, huh. Sorry ‘bout that. I really have to stop calling you drunk. I miss you.”

Would you like to delete three messages?

Messages deleted. You have 0 new messages.

Dec 25, 2009, 4:54am

Joyeux noel, zimms :)

New Message from Kenny

March 24, 2012, 9:20pm

“Hey, um. I’m sorry for stopping by yesterday. And for the things I said, that was a real asshole move on my part. So… yeah. Sorry.”

The number you’re calling has been disconnected.

May 4, 2015, 10:11am

+1-509-676-3885

Hey. I’m in town this week if you want to meet up.

This is Jack, by the way.

You - 10:13am

Jack, hey! Yeah, sure, wanna grab lunch on Friday?

+1-509-676-3885 - 10:24am

Sounds good.

----

Kent sat at the coffee shop table with one hand wrapped around his mug and the other digging into his thigh under the table. “So. Uh, how’s your parents?”

“You don’t talk to them anymore?” Jack asked.

“Ah, no.” Kent shifted in his seat. “Saw them at an awards show earlier this year, but we don’t really keep up, after… Well, they had bigger things to deal with, you know, and we both got busy, so.”

“Right, yeah,” Jack nodded. “No, yeah, they’re good. Always talking about wedding things, now, it feels like.”

“Oh, yeah, congratulations,” Kent gestured to the ring on Jack’s finger. Jack smiled down softly at it. “And on coming out, that’s huge, man.”

“Thanks,” Jack’s smile was small, but he looked happier than Kent had ever seen him. “It just felt about time, you know? I was ready.”

Kent didn’t know. You used to get panic attacks at the thought of your parents knowing about us, he thought. I spent hours on end convincing you that no one would ever find out. That we’d be okay. “Yeah totally,” he said. His eyes had been trained on Jack’s right ear for their entire conversation so far. He didn’t think he’d be able to handle icy blue.

“How about you?” Jack asked.

“Huh?”

“You ever thought about coming out?”

Kent barked out a laugh. “Hah! No.”

“Why not?”

“I just…” You’re the only person I’ve ever been in love with, did you know that? I wouldn’t risk it for anyone else. “Don’t really have a reason to right now.”

“Ah, makes sense.” There was an awkward pause, both of them busying themselves with their food.

“So, are you and, uh, Eric, planning on getting any pets?” He asked, steering the conversation to a safer topic. “I know you always wanted a dog.”

Jack hummed. “I don’t know, actually, we haven’t really talked about it. Bitty mentioned he likes rabbits, they’re like a cat but quieter.”

Kent scoffed jokingly. “Nah, man, cats are the best, I’m telling you.”

Jack laughed. “And you’d know?”

Kent paused. “I, uh, yeah, I’ve had a cat for, like, 4 years now.”

“Huh,” Jack nodded, “Never thought you’d be a cat person.”

“Yeah, she’s… real sweet.” Kent finally placed the sinking feeling in his stomach. It was the realization that Jack had changed into a person he didn’t know anymore, and Jack didn’t know him either. They weren’t Parson-Zimmermann anymore, Weren’t Zimms and Kenny. They were just two people who used to be friends, on paths that probably wouldn’t merge again.

“It’s been great catching up with you,” Jack said when they were standing up to leave. “We should do this again sometime.”

“Yeah, totally,” Kent said, reaching for a smile. “If you ever want to meet up, you know my number.”

[kaaytea]

How about being the manager of Inarizaki, Nekoma, Seijoh and Shiratorizawa and how the boys would feel when they finally finally get a manager? :0

New Manager

⤷Includes: Nekoma, Inarizaki, Seijoh, Shiratorizawa

A/n: I haven't written for the HQ boys in a hot minute so I was sUper hyped for this! Thank you for the request, dear 💕

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

Nekoma

Nekoma has been manager-less for so long that literally the entire team was dumbfounded when they spotted you chilling next to Nekomata

Like hello??? Who are you and what are you doing in their gym???

There's a good few seconds of silence when Nekomata introduces you

Despite being cats, they greatly resembled their Fukurodani rivals as they blinked back at you with big curious eyes

That is until Yamamoto slumps to his knees and starts tearing up, blabbering on about how they've been blessed with a manager while a quiet Fukunaga pats his back in an almost humouring manner

Yamamoto's out burst is what loosens up the team and they start making their way to introduce themselves to you

The first is Kuroo, who approaches you with a welcoming smirk which was quickly followed by a gentle smile from Kai and a reassuring pat on the back from Yaku

The first years are VERY eager to meet you! Lev and Inouka are bouncing around you spewing out questions to the point where Yaku has to kick them both and send them off to warm up

Sweet Shibayama very nervously bows at you and thanks you for taking care of the team (what a baby 🤧💕)

The entire team absolutely loves you by the end of your first day (yes even the aloof creature that is Kenma, though he'll never admit it)

Nekoma's inner team dynamic is very familial and you're immediately sucked into the little family vibes they got going on

The first years love to be around you! (Specifically Lev bc you're not as mean to him as everyone else)

The first years are always volunteering to help you carry equipment or water bottles

You once caught one of the jokes Fukunaga muttered during practice so now the two of you bounce little puns and jokes off of eachother to see who can get the other to laugh first (he is currently winning. although, you got him to tear up from laughing so hard once which you've been counting as 10 wins)

The third years tend to mother hen you a bit, specifically Yaku and Kuroo

Kuroo made it very clear to you that you're apart of the team even if you don't play on the court, so as captain it's his job to make sure all his players are ok (mentally, physically, socially, you name it! He's always looking out for you and is basically your big brother)

You and Yaku bond over the fact that you're both the unofficial team moms. The two of you are very organized and have a whole ass check list that you BOTH go over at least twice before the team leaves for a game or training camp

Kai is like your calm in the storm that is Nekoma. The two of you have had numerous conversations about anything from books to cafés and he's always willing to lend an ear if you need to rant

Kenma is a fairly distant person but he warms up to you when he notices how caring you are. He even let's you play his DS on the train rides to and from Nekoma

Inarizaki

You're a brave soul if you are willingly becoming the manager of Inarizaki

Kita is actually the one who asked if you wanted to be the teams manager

He saw you cleaning the board in a classroom during lunch break and was impressed by how well of a job you did

It doesn't matter if you said yes out of fear from Kita's blank stare or because you were genuinely interested bc now you're standing in the volleyball gym, clad in Inarizaki's signature maroon tracksuit

The team notices you instantly, particularly a certain blonde Miya

Before Kita even got a chance to introduce you to everyone, Atsumu had wandered over to you with a lazy smile tugging at his lips

Atsumu introduced himself and then started asking what you were doing here

"Are ya lost?" "Ya here to admire me?" "Ya dating one of the players?"

You didn't get a chance to answer his questions as Osamu lovingly threw a Volleyball at Atsumu, cutting off any moment you had to respond

The only problem was that Atsumu noticed the volleyball rOcketing towards him and scrambled out of the way like a startled cat, leaving the ball to hit you instead of its intended target

The silence that hung over the gym was deafening as the younger team members watched Kita and Aran rush over to assist your now bloody nose

Just as quick as it had started, the silence was broken by Atsumu yelling at his brother for hitting a helpless person in the face and the gym quickly descended into madness

Aran held a towel to your nose and gave you a few encouraging pats on the back as the both of you watched Kita chew out the twins (safe to say Kita was hard on them during practice)

Osamu approached you during a water break to apologize and, to the surprise of the entire team, gave you the extra pudding he had as a peace offering

Since that incident Osamu and Atsumu stopped throwing volleyballs at each other's heads (at least when you were around that is)

The team is also surprisingly protective of you

The glares people get at tournaments if they try to flirt with you are terrifying

You become pretty close with Suna as the both of you tend to sit back and watch Atsumu and Osamu fight (you tried to step in once but they literally only respond to Kita so it didn't do much)

Suna also pats you on the head whenever he passes you

(it's something he does to his little sister to show some form of affection/appreciation and now he does it to you for the very same reasons)

This goes with out saying, but the twins love you

Osamu still feels bad about the whole hitting you in the face thing so he always shares any snacks he's got on him with you

Atsumu truly just likes being babied by you

Any ounce of praise or happy smiles directed at him has him acting like a puppy

(does 'Tsumu have a tiny crush on you? Yep he totally does!)

Kita and Aran are absolute sweethearts!! They are both very grateful for all the work you put in and treat you to boba every other week as a thank you :))

Seijoh

It was a new school year and you decided to push yourself out of your comfort zone a bit

What better way to do that then be a manager for a sports team!

Apparently one of your classmates let it slip that you were looking to be a manager for a sports team because you were approached by a very buff and very attractive guy a few days after asking if you'd be interested in helping the volleyball team

You happily agreed to do a trial day that afternoon, to which the player, who you now know as Iwaizumi-san, breathed a sigh of relief and said he'd pick you up after school to take you to the gym

So the school day is over, Iwaizumi meets you outside your classroom and you're off!

As you walk to the gym he fills you in on some of the tasks the manager would have to do

The job didn't sound that terrible so you were a bit confused as to why Iwaizumi was having such a hard time finding a manager

"Let's just say that the applicants were more interested in staring at our captain than the actual job." He had told you

Ok so first unofficial rule....don't stare at the Seijoh volleyball team's captain? A bit odd but who were you to judge, maybe the guy was shy and didn't like attention

Your thoughts were cut off by the crisp slap! Of a ball hitting the floor followed by a few short yells from the players littered across the court

Your attention was then caught by the sensation of someone draping their arm over your shoulders and a tangy apple smell invading your senses

"Oh? I didn't know you were dating someone, Iwa-chan~"

Iwaizumi shoved the brunette off of you and quickly explained that you were just here to test out being the manager for the day

The player's eyes lit up and he turned to you with a bubbly smile, introducing himself as Seijoh's captain, Oikawa Tooru

Ah, Captain.... Now you knew why they were having trouble finding someone who didn't stare

Your first day went fairly smooth, just a few blunders that were quickly forgotten by the team after Oikawa cheerfully told you: "Everyone has to start somewhere, (y/n)-chan!"

After the first week you had to admit that the Aoba Johsai volleyball team were quickly becoming some of your best friends, you all fit together like a dysfunctional family

Makki, Mattsun, and Iwa would always agree/praise you when you joined in one the daily Oikawa roast session

Oikawa (when he wasn't pouting about how "mean" you are to him) was fairly sweet to you

He spent the first month helping you learn the rules about volleyball and explaining the lingo the team often used during plays

Although, he does jokingly flirt with you about 40 thousand times a week so...

Kindaichi is a nervous wreak around you the first few weeks. Eventually his nervous demeanor melts away. Now he goes to you whenever he needs someone to toss the ball up for him so he can practice his spikes

Kunimi likes you simply because you let him get away with napping during water breaks

Kyotani acts like you annoy him but if anyone made you cry or hurt you in some way he would burn the entire gym down in a heartbeat

Did I mention that Seijoh are also very protective of you?

When at tournaments they travel in a small pack with you in the middle to reduce the chances of you getting hit on

Shiratorizawa

Shiratorizawa is a very nice and prestigious school so you thought why not participate in an extracurricular that would be beneficial for, not only your resume, but you yourself as well!

Out of all the clubs you chose volleyball which you're starting to regret a bit since one of your friends informed you that the team is a powerhouse school

Which means you can't make a bad impression or silly mistakes.....at all

That entire philosophy is thrown oUt the window on your second day as the official manager

You somehow managed to trip over your own feet and slam into a cart full of spare balls AND spill the water bottles you were carrying all over yourself

You were hoping that the team, by some miraculous reason, didn't notice but the stifled giggles from a certain red head said otherwise

You would give anything for the ground to just swallow you up and disappear forever

But then you saw a pair of gym shoes standing in front of you and when you looked up you were met with THE Ushijima Wakatoshi, captain and ace of shiratorizawa, offering you help to stand up

You hadn't seen Ushijima be more than a stoic and intimidating guy so you were even more surprised when he gave one of his spare shirts to change into now that you had spilt water on yourself

I guess you could say your little clumsy episode was what broke the ice for you and the team

Tendou loves talking with you

You're an interesting person to him and he finds great pleasure in teasing you (in his own words it's "out of love")

Ushijima ended up not being as intimidating as you originally pegged him to be. Instead, he was just a quiet guy who surprisingly could say some pretty funny things (whether or not he intended it to be funny)

Goshiki just loves you. Period.

You praise him and give him head pats so he couldn't be happier!

Tendou and Shirabu tease him all the time about how he has a case of puppy love for you (which Goshiki aggRessively denies no matter how red his face is)

Semi is someone who is grateful for your assistance with the team and does his very best to get Tendou out of your hair when you're trying to do your manager work. He also shares his headphones with you on long bus rides so you can listen to music together!

[pomrania]

Mermay 2022. II: the high priestess.

I spent a lot of time thinking this one over yesterday, so the design wasn’t much of a challenge here, while I was working on it. The problem came from how to make it look good; and I can see now a simple solution that literally just came to me while writing this sentence, but I’m not going back and redoing that whole bit, I’ll just have to remember it for next time. Still haven’t figured out the best way to do humanoid facial lines when working white on black, but I’m not mad at myself for that; it’s a difficult task.

The original card has a figure sitting between two pillars, one black and one white. I remembered from a video that geothermal vents include ones that emit white smoke, and ones that emit black smoke, so that seemed like a workable correspondence. The deep sea by definition doesn’t have light from the sun, so I thought it’d make the most sense if the merms there used a tactile writing system; unless I got something wrong, that should spell “MBARI” in braille, because when it comes to uncovering knowledge that is literally deep and submerged, yeah. A jellyfish-like body is a ridiculously easy way to transfer “seated figure wearing robes or a skirt”; so if I do that again, I’ll have to make it a very particular jellyfish that has some sort of meaning to the image, otherwise it would just be too easy.

If you want to see how this thing was drawn, you can find my progress thread here.

(0: the fool) | (I: the magician) || (III: the empress)

[pinkstarshowers]

Gilded Shadows’ AU

Please read, Notes, Comments:

Gilded Shadows AU story, characters Lore and good stuff is Gilded Shadows.

First: SFW

Cast: Morgan, Van, Ari, Caleb, original character (Lyneia (Lin-NAY-uh) if anyone wants that info)

Second, keep your expectations low, like on the ground, not ground level, but pinned to the ground. If you’re in a multistory building, you probably want to head down to the base level, so the expectations aren’t starting too high.

Started as a Morgan little short that morphed into what it is, because my brain didn’t like the disconnects and gaps that were left to the reader. Think there ended up being too much content, and not enough Ari and Caleb in here, because story without reason doesn’t make sense to the dandelion fluff that lives between my ears. Tried to fix this later but not sure it makes up for the story set up at the beginning. Added an original character for plot and other reasons, so there’s that warning if it’s not your thing.

I think I may have gotten Morgan in and out of character a couple times, but keep in mind her situation is vastly different from what we see in most of GS. I tried desperately to keep the others in character (again vastly different situations), but I don’t think I’ve written anything in a decade, and never used someone else's characters. I know I edged on breaking lore if not broke it entirely, sorry.

Please be aware of minor spoilers probably for most routes (I haven’t done Lance, so guess not that one) and I’m thinking at least some decent spoilers maybe (?). Think I left it pretty interpretable, but it depends on your inspection check and my writing skill (which is 0, I have the writing skill of a horseshoe…not the horse…just the shoe.).

About all I can warn about, I think. I hope some part of it is enjoyable.

Meeting the Guard

Morgan leaned back against the counter, watching Lyneia finish up with a customer. The whole shop smelled of sugar, chocolate and bread. The door chimed and she looked up to see a couple wander in, sighing she shut her eyes trying to remind herself why she found herself in a tourist dome in a bakery essentially doing nothing but holding up a counter as decoration.

Her tests were over for the time being and she'd gotten an invite from a friend to come see their thriving business. It would be fun, relaxing, she wouldn't have to worry about anything, Lyn had a spare room and employees to handle the shop while they "vacationed". All that had lasted a grand total of one day, she had arrived, gotten settled in, been shown the bakery, had a fun time catching up with Lyn over dinner, at a restaurant that she never would have spent so much money in. Then laughing, teasing or getting teased about their shared past and lack of romantic life or in her case much of a life outside of classes.

That morning had brought two sick calls, which left her where she was, hair tied up, leaning against a counter just keeping Lyn company when there was a break in the steady stream of customers. One of the bakers was here, but seemed in his own world in the back, occasionally coming out and handing her something to put in an open spot in one of the cases.

Voices from the back room brought her back to the present. Looking at Lyn she raised a questioning eyebrow, got a smile in return as Lyn returned to the customers she was helping.

"I believe our savior is here." Lyn said, looking at her when the store had cleared out.

A small smile and a raised eyebrow was Morgan's response. 

Lyn abandoning the front of the shop just enough to poke her head in back and excitedly screech out "Nixie my savior!"

"This is basically my shift, you know that right, I'm only like an hour early." They replied

"I know, but you're relieving me to escape! Wait let me introduce Morgan. Come out here."

Morgan stood straighter, put on a friendly face. What was produced to her was a young woman that seemed friendly enough, but like maybe meeting Morgan wasn't why she was there. Morgan kind of understood, it was work and Nixie seemed like she wanted to just get to it.

"Okay Nixie, get the run down from Theo and then it's all yours. Let me know when you guys are squared away.” Lyn walked over to Morgan, smiling “We're almost home free Morgan, it's only noon, we can grab lunch and do some shopping, or a spa, hit the nightlife after! I will make sure this is still a great day!"

"Not the nightlife, we can hit the house life, and watch something or read. I don't remember the last time I read a book that wasn't for school."

The door chimed again, Morgan resigned herself to holding up the counter again, looking at the group that had walked in. She felt Lyn's hand grab her wrist giving it an excited squeeze before she could even mentally chide herself for watching the very attractive group that had come in. The woman seemed so full of life and was smiling happily, the two men with her seemed less interested in being here. 

"How are you today? Help you find anything?" Lyn had turned customer service on as soon as the woman had walked up to the counter.

"Hmm give me a minute."

"Let me know if you have questions or want to try anything."

"Van, just get something. We're not spending half the day here while you pick

something." the man with Dark hair said.

Morgan had noted the second man, had taken a quiet interest in looking around, but said nothing. He had beautiful silver white hair and pale eyes, she watched him as he looked at the case with mild interest. When he looked up, making eye contact, she felt the heat in her cheeks at the same moment she felt Lyn swatting at her hand in an annoying and not subtle way. Morgan looked away, instantly finding the other two interesting enough to listen to.

"You have the rest of your vacation to do stuff." the woman said.

"Just get something you'll like." the man grumbled.

Was the hair due to nanite overgrowth? She knew about the occurrence, that it could cause hair to lighten and pale. He really did have unique features, not that that really mattered.

A whisper in her ear "Why don't you help him, I've got these two."

"What!?" she murmured louder than she intended.

Lyn was gone.. asking the other two what they were looking for exactly or had any narrowing factors in mind...and Morgan's mind was blank...but she caught the look Lyn sent her, there was no escaping her fate here.

She walked up to the counter, put on a smile, tried to keep all other thoughts about payback from her face, asking "Do you have any questions about anything, did you want to sample something?"

The man looked at her steadily with one eyebrow raised. He really did have amazing eyes and she was going to serve payback on a platter just as soon as she got a good chance, this was not her comfort zone.

"You know, like try a bite, to see if you like it, so you can take something home with you."

The man just raised his eyebrow a bit more. 

What was she thinking, of course he knew what she meant the first time not like they were speaking a different language. Why was her brain mush, probably those exams! All thought ground to a halt the second she heard the stifled laugh to her right. Morgan turned to see Lyn covering her face, turned away from her and the woman, Van, she thought her name was leaning over, holding her side and trying not to laugh.

"Maybe just start with your name Morgan, then you can offer to go home with him." Lyn managed to get out through giggles.

There was silence, the whole shop was quiet, it was like the world just stopped existing except the five of them in that room. Lyn had put on a serious face so suddenly it was like flipping a switch. Walking around the counter she stopped between them and put on that customer service smile again.

"I'm sorry that was completely out of line. I tend to get a little silly.” She paused, shaking her head a little, “ I'm the owner, Lyneia, if you guys want anything it's on the house." She shook everyone's hands and had a very informal introduction from everyone, Van, Caleb and Ari.

Van picked out something lovely and decadent and had it customized right there by Lyn before being boxed and paid for. Whatever crisis was boiling up was averted until they were out of the shop. 

Morgan turned on Lyn, "Really! What was that!?"

"Sorry, sorry! I know, mouth ran away with me again. I mean the bright side is that you'll probably not have to see them again right? ha ha ha." 

The nervous laugh was a little satisfactory at least Morgan knew she got her annoyance across.

Lunch was a lovely little family place with local specialties and Lyn insisted that she treat Morgan to a spa treatment for the "teasing".

What’s in a Dance, Nothing!

The morning had been relaxing and they had been able to catch up on all of Morgan’s family and schooling. Morgan smiled to herself, letting her mind wander as she sat on Lyn's bed, mindlessly watching her throw clothes out of the bed into piles of maybe and definitely not. That man from yesterday, Ari, had no right being that handsome. But that was yesterday and she wouldn’t see him again. She knew her head was going in the wrong direction, she refocused on Lyn's room.

How long had they known each other? Most of their lives now? Lyn’s parents knew her father and so Lyn had been in and out of her life for, well almost ever. Lyn knew all about the Trent fiasco and the waiting and the letting go. She hadn't been there physically for her, but she had always been there and this was the first time in a long time they were able to spend real time together. 

Morgan stood up and picked up the first outfit off the maybe pile, looked at it, shrugged and asked "What do you think, this should do for a night out right?"

"Wait…, you're not gonna fight me? No books in, no I'm mad because you embarrassed me in front of the most attractive guy I've seen, maybe ever?"

Morgan frowned, picked up the nearest pillow and threw it. "Fine! Book night IN!"

"NOPE! We are going out and you are not making me drag you."

“But Morgan, just wear what you’re comfortable with.

Morgan dropped the dress she had back onto the bed, “So, no pants?”

“Well that’s your choice, but I’m not going to fend anyone off or explain why you don’t have pants on…..okay I will fend people off, but the explanation is still on you.”

They laughed and teased as they got ready to go out for the evening, it was still early enough that the ‘nightlife’ wasn’t really even possible so Morgan had no idea what the plans were.

When Lyn stopped it was in front of a decent sized entry to a building. Looking at Morgan she exclaimed “We’re here!” taking Morgan by the hand she walked in.

The entry was clean with scarce decorations and a man at a ticket booth. A ticket booth?

“I thought maybe we could catch some of the theatrical skits for the night. It gets us out of the house and it’s relaxing, then we can get dinner and call it quits for our exciting nightlife.”

Morgan smiled “Wow, you’re getting old aren’t you?”

“I’m literally six months older than you! That’s just rude…”

“I was thinking mentally.”

Lyn snorted and asked for two tickets, paid for them, led Morgan to a table inside and left to get a couple of teas or coffees to accompany the show. When Lyn returned she said they had about 15 to 25 minutes to start, depending on how fast the seats fill, and the show would be about an hour.

The skits had been a nice distraction, they had ranged from funny to dramatic and had run a little over their estimated time, but Morgan was still in a good mood as they sat down to eat a light dinner outside. The conversation ranged from the skits to the embarrassment of the morning to Lyn’s crush on Morgan’s brother growing up. A fact that seemed like was less of a way to tease Lyn by the year.

“I need better ammo..” Morgan sighed.

“What?”

“Fuel? Stuff to hold over you. Blackmail!”

“Pfft, why?”

“So we don’t have any repeats of today.”

“Welp sorry. My life is as boring as a…..well something that’s boring. Let’s just get a cab home.”

“Old!”

“I dragged you all over today, I was being nice!” Lyn protested.

Sitting in the back of a cab Morgan asked, “Are you tired?”

“Of course not! I was thinking of your sensitive scholarly feet.”

Rolling her eyes, Morgan tapped the seat in front of her, “You can drop us at that club there.”

Why was this idea hers again? The lights, the sound, it was always way over the top. There’s a reason she preferred a good book. The only shining spot on the map was that it wasn’t over crowded, she could still walk around without bumping into people needlessly every step. She was being escorted to the bar by Lyn and being asked if she planned on a drink tonight.

After their drinks arrived Lyn watched the dance floor, Morgan guessed she was just checking out who was available. “See anyone you like?”

“That is not what I’m doing.”

“Right, okay.” She took a drink scanning the wall behind the bar.

There was a tug on her sleeve followed by a frantic whisper “We should go, like exit stage left. Probably yesterday.”

“What? Why?”

“Yes, what? Why?” a voice teased.

Morgan had heard that voice before. The fact that it was amused didn’t surprise her one bit. Trying to clear whatever thoughts were on her face she turned to address the woman the voice belonged to, “Van wasn’t it?”

“Yep, you remember. Come on.”

Lyn mumbled something unintelligible 

Where had all Lyn’s confidence gone, she was usually not turning for the exit in any situation, least of all one that was simply running into people that had resulted in a seemingly non-event yesterday.

“We all already met, might as well make this a group.” Van smirked.

Led to a table, awkward 'hello's' were passed around on a few member's parts and others just shrugged it off.

Van gave everyone a friendly smile, "Okay everyone up, lets have fun."

“Vanessa, I will stay here and watch our drinks.” Ari said without rising.

“Oh no you don’t, Mara and I return in the morning and you are not going to be a wallflower.”

“We’re not near a wall, Vanessa.”

The small smirk on Caleb’s face had Morgan wondering if this type of conversation happened all the time. She glanced to see Lyn’s reaction only to find her three feet away instead of right next to her. All attention was off Ari in seconds, it made Morgan wonder if Caleb was amused by the conversation of Lyn trying to run away.

Morgan frowned, turning back to the group she offered “Why don’t you guys have fun and I’ll stay here.” Maybe that would teach Lyn to sneak off without her.

There was enough poking that eventually they all ended up under Van’s watchful eye on the dance floor. Thankfully that eye’s attention didn’t last all that long and Morgan was able to quietly excuse herself back to the table only to find Ari had already made his exit long before.

She sighed softly, “Is it always like this?”

She got a raised eyebrow for an answer and tried again. “They seem like they’re enjoying it, which is what matters, just not my thing I guess.”

“Yet you still find yourself here.”

“Don’t let Lyn fool you, this is very much her type of night.” Gesturing toward the dancers she could tell Lyn had let down some of her guard and was in fact enjoying herself even without Morgan for company.

A nod as an answer.

“I’m guessing I don’t need to ask why you’re here.”

Another nod…

Well, this was the most one sided conversation she’d had in a long time, maybe a bathroom break or something. Ari evidently had nothing to say to her, so she could just politely excuse herself.

“If this is not to your liking, what would be?”

The question startled her out of her own thoughts. “Well reading I guess, I tried to get us to stay in tonight, but was overruled. Not that I can complain too much. We went to this little theater that had a show with several skits. It was enjoyable.”

“You went from skits to a club?”

Laughing a little, she replied, “I guess that does seem a little strange.

Another raised eyebrow. Was she getting any expressions out of him? She could tell he was a bit amused by the whole story, maybe she could get somewhere if she told the whole thing.

“I thought we were going out to a club anyway, so when we ended up at a show I was kind of shocked and relieved that Lyn hadn’t dived into the nightlife. I enjoyed the show. It was full of characters and stories and I just got to relax. On the way home I saw the club and just spontaneously thought she should get to have her fun tonight too, not like it’s that late. 

Morgan watched his face as she talked to him, she had almost no idea what he was feeling about anything she said. He was attentive, but it was going to take her a while to read him.

“Skits, what were they about?”

“Oh well, the first one….”

They must have sat there talking about nothing but the skits and books the entire time. Well she talked and Ari would add questions or comments. Occasionally someone would return and join the conversation just to leave again within minutes.

When the three of them returned together, she was sure the night was winding down. Lyn looked tired, but she was still smiling, so Morgan figured it was fine.

“Did you have your fun, are you ready for a nap now?” She teased Lyn. She was sure she saw Ari react if only slightly. “You know… getting old.” She teased.

The look sent Morgan’s way was a very that was totally uncalled for, suppressed smile. “These two have way too much stamina you have no idea.”

“You just need to work out more.” Caleb stated.

“You need to work out less!” She poked his bicep, which earned her a very raised eyebrow from Caleb and a couple laughs from the others in the group. Another very gentle poke, “Okay… maybe not, “Look I just punch and whip stuff.”

Morgan just looked at her evenly, “Right, punch and whip.” Suppressing the giggles she felt.

“I’m a baker, what do you think I do! It’s all punching down dough, breads! And whipping cream, buttercreams and meringues. Nevermind! ... I’m…I’ll wait for you outside…”

That had to be a record for getting Lyn to leave and there was no way Morgan was going to hold back the laughter. Van was quick to join in the merriment, but excused herself with ‘it’s been fun, but I'm heading out style exit. Caleb had wandered off somewhere leaving Ari to straighten a table with multiple glasses and Morgan sitting there trying to force a sentence together that seemed appropriate.“Well…I guess I should collect Lyn and head home. It was…it was nice to get the chance to talk with you.” There, that sounded nice and not weird at all.

“I’ll walk you out.” Ari stood and gestured toward the door.

“Oh.. um.. I’m sure it’s fine. You really don’t have to.

“I don’t mind.”

“.... If you don’t mind.”

“I would not offer if I minded.”

“.. Wait, what about Caleb?”

“He’ll be fine.”

“I mean won't he come here looking for you?”

“I’m only walking you outside. No need to worry.”

Stepping outside into the night air was refreshing. Glancing around Morgan wondered where Lyn had gotten to, when she caught sight of Caleb at a bench, she speculated she had the answer. She paused, looked at Ari briefly, smiling to herself, she thought how long is it polite to wait before interrupting. Ari didn’t seem to have quite the same pause as he stopped several steps in front of her, looking back at her in question.

“Umm.. maybe we should… nevermind.” She murmured.

When they were closer to Lyn and Caleb, Lyn stood and asked if Morgan was ready to go, there was a round of general farewells and just the background sound of club music after the two men walked away. They sat on that bench in silence, Morgan watching a light across the walkway without really seeing it. At least she didn’t have time to think about her test results, she laughed lightly to herself.

“What?”

“Just haven’t thought about my test results today.”

“And now is no time to start. I mean you did have very good distractions. Speaking of….So..” she said, drawing out the word in a decidedly prying way, a distinctively not innocent smile on Lyn’s face.

Morgan just leveled a stare at her.

“I didn’t even say anything.. yet.” Lyn retorted, glancing away innocently.

“You didn’t have to and we’re speaking of nothing but a relaxing night-in tomorrow.”

Sweet Surprises

Morgan snuggled into the warm sheets enjoying the fact that nothing demanded she get up and prepare herself for the day. She was going to have a relaxing bath, take up residence on the couch with a good book, and make sure Lyn knew under no uncertain terms was she going out today.

When she roused herself to make it down to the kitchen she was a little surprised to find herself alone or at least not greeted by the smell of food or questions or both. A box on the counter caught her attention, on top was a note.

M,

Went to work, hopefully be back before you’re up. 

I’ll have earlier relief today only 1 call in. Pastry for you

real food in kitchen

L

A short bath and some breakfast later Morgan was comfortably settled in the corner of the couch with one of Lyn’s books, picked at random. She shuffled the throw pillows round, opened the book and started her new journey with a young woman as her guide. No more than half an hour later she had relocated to her bed, the couch was not as comfortable as it had looked. 

The morning hours were drawing on when Morgan heard the door open. It was only a couple of minutes before she heard a soft knock on the doorframe.

A mildly hesitant, “How’s it going?” preceded Lyn flopping onto the other side of the bed face down.

Morgan patted Lyn on the back, “It can’t be that bad.”

“Too late last night, too early this morning. I think I have marshmallow fluff between my ears today. I need a nap or a vacation.”

“This is supposed to be your vacation.” Morgan smiled sympathetically.

“Well it’s the worst I’ve ever had.” Lyn sat up on the edge of the bed and looked back at Morgan, “Okay not the worst, you came to visit so it’s great. But four hours of sleep is like…well you know what it’s like.”

Morgan closed the book, sitting it to the side, “Pretty sure we’ve all been there, coffee?”

“I had some, but enough of that! Lunch and then something fun!”

“How about Lunch and then you nap.”

“Can’t.”

Morgan was sure the look on her face asked every question she didn’t voice, but just in case.. “Why can’t you exactly..?” She was expecting something she very much didn’t not want to hear.

“Well I made plans for us! There’s an exhibit and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it. I mean yes there are people but it’s not loud and it’s all art and interpretations of history, what people think, but into a rendition you can visualize with notes and the like.”

“And we can’t do this tomorrow? I mean I’m not leaving for a few more days.”

“Well I kind of told someone we’d be there this afternoon….”

Morgan took a deep breath, a very deep breath. She wasn’t sure if she should describe the look on Lyn’s face as apologetic, guilty or maybe excited. It was probably some combination, which probably should have made Morgan more apprehensive.

Before Morgan could recover Lyn was at the door saying she was going to shower and change and would be ready in an hour. Morgan got up and followed Lyn down the hall to her room, knowing she wasn’t going to get away with being a shut-in for the day.

“Who are we meeting? Am I going to not be happy with you? And why am I not surprised?.”

“Well I think you’ll be happy, but I think it may not be with me. And because you know me, dive right in, think later.”

“Lyneia!” Morgan saw Lyn visible flich, she never called her by her full name, but she just would not stop.

“Okay, sorry. Sorry. Not that it really makes it any better, but I mean i just….wasn’t all just.. I.. I wanted…I….”

There was a long pause before Morgan asked, “Going to finish that thought?”

Lyn gave her a small smile and shook her head. 

Morgan leaned against the doorframe, “You know I have to go back to school right, I’m not really here for some vacation tryst or I don’t know what we’re calling this.”

“I know, just thought that if you didn’t give it any time at all that you would never know. Maybe you guys live far apart, but you can at least get to know each other living apart then it wont be weird when it continues, when you get to move off world. If your whole relationship is built around distance then it can’t end up like…well… like Trent. I mean we’ll see it before it gets serious.”

Lyn sat on the bed, resting her head on her hands and looking at the floor, “I’m being weird over thinking random stuff aren’t I?” She looked up at Morgan, “You spent a bit with him, are you even interested, I can always go and give them the tickets and tell them we can’t make it or something, I mean I do have a bakery.” She laughed pitifully.

Morgan joined Lyn, “I’m not not interested. I can’t say I really know him enough to say more, he’s very kind, and even though he’s quiet he’s really interested. It’s hard to get a read on him, but it’s fun to watch him with people he actually knows.”

Morgan laughed, humorlessly, “How do you start that conversation? Oh hey Ari, I know we met like two days ago and I’m going back to New Albion in four, where I go to school. Which by the way will take up most of my time, but I would really be interested in a relationship that will mostly be long distance because I also plan on leaving the planet for work, is that cool. Can you say no that’s completely out of the realm of going to happen.”

Lyn bubbled up with laughter, begging for no more of Morgan’s glamorous ideas.

“No Morgan I’m betting that would be the worst possible idea.”

“Yeah he would probably run, quickly.”

“Okay but I think better wording is needed. It can start slow, just tell him you want to keep in touch, that’s not that weird especially if you guys have stuff to talk about.”

“Go get ready for this exhibit. Though I’m guessing we’re really only going for Caleb and I’m a secondary excuse just in case I uncover your real masterplan.” Morgan tried to keep the teasing lilt out of her voice, but was sure she failed judging by the playful swipe she narrowly avoided.

“This has nothing to do with me Morgan!”

“Oh right, I see so Caleb’s the bonus here.”

“Exactly. NO! That is not what I meant!....Go to your room!”

Morgan was in pretty high spirits as they got out of the cab. She had time to look into the exhibit and Lyn had been right; it would be something that she would generally find interesting enough to look into on her own. Ari and Caleb were easy to find, Ari was noticeably tall and his pale hair stood out. Morgan tucked her conversation from earlier away, following Lyn up to greet the pair.

“Sorry for making you wait.” Lyn said happily.

“It’s fine. You’re not late, therefore you didn’t make us wait.”

“That’s not really how it works, Ari.” Lyn retorted. “You were in fact waiting for us so therefore we did in fact make you wait.”

Caleb wore a small smile, “Shall we?”

Nodding Morgan followed after Lyn, “I plan to make sure I see everything.” She gave Lyn a nudge to walk faster.

“We’ve got like three hours.”

The four of them stayed mostly together walking through the exhibit, stopping to discuss the pieces that attracted their interests. There was more than one time that they had to drag Morgan away from a particularly fascinating piece, reminding her there were others to see before they closed. Lyn was smarter then she usually let on and it was nice to have in depth talks with her, Caleb had plenty of his own thoughts to add, Ari was slower to warm up and sometimes Morgan wouldn’t get anything but a node or a raised eyebrow, but he seemed to enjoy it well enough.

Stepping out into the early evening it was still bright and comfortable. There were only a few other people leaving the exhibit, Morgan guessed she really did spend too much time on some things. Well it had been worth it, she guessed, even if Lyn had horrible alternative motives.

Lyn had been leading them out and stopped out of the way turning to everyone, “So what are your plans now?”

Morgan shut her eyes, wondering if it would be rude just to send her a message that said NO!

“Not really sure. I wasn’t exactly sure how long we would be here.” Caleb Answered.

“How about dinner?”

Morgan’s eyes flew open gluing themselves to Lyn’s face. Where did Lyn get this confidence, she did not grow up with it that was for sure. Then again, she was also fairly sure that she was not asking Caleb to dinner which is why the question had come out coherently and only slightly rushed.

“Can we talk it through?” Caleb asked, motioning his head toward Ari.

“Yep, we’ll be over here.”

Lyn and Morgan walked away before Lyn put her hands to her face, “What is wrong with me?”

“I ask that every day.” Morgan replied as she gave Lyn a quick side hug. “You are your own worst enemy, you know.”

“I’m gonna keep saying it’s all for you.”

That earned Lyn a playful shove to her arm, “Yep, keep telling yourself that. I’ll just tell you the truth later.”

A voice from behind them had them separating, “What did you have in mind?” Caleb asked.

They both turned quickly, not sure how much of their conversation they inadvertently shared.

“Oh, umm, not really sure. Do you guys have preferences, several places around that are good. Wait, I know! We can stop by the market and use the kitchen at the shop. I’ll make everyone something?”

“It’s a bakery…” Caleb raised his eyebrow.

Ari wore a similar expression.

“It has a full kitchen! I have everything you need!”

Morgan pursed her lips trying to keep the smile off her face, because if there was one thing she was sure of Lyn was a master of, it was saying stupid stuff in from of these two, and she suspected it was really only the one. Shaking her head a bit, she wondered in what world using the shop's kitchen after hours was not weird, especially for essentially using it as a well…dinner date for lack of a better way to phrase it.

“We could just eat out.” Morgan offered.

“Come on it’ll be fun, I don’t think I’ve cooked the entire time you’ve been here. Plus we have fresh bread there and I can make dessert after.”

“Your ideas of fun terrify me.” Morgan stated flatly.

“Let's just see what stands out to us at the market.” Caleb suggested.

The trip to the market was filled with talk about Caleb and Ari’s time in the dome, and generally pretty generic talk from the only native in the group. At some point Morgan had remembered to ask if Van had been able to keep their plans and head home today. She was told ‘Not to worry, it was fine. They were home already.’

Morgan thought about arguing about being able to help with dinner because she figured she would get stuck with cleaning up afterward, but decided she'd just let Lyn and Caleb fight over the spotlight. She helped Ari set up the work table to serve food at and bring some tall stools in from the entry way the staff used as a break room and storage area. She was expecting to hear some squabbling about how stuff was going to work in the kitchen, but they just seemed to split tasks and carry on conversations about whatever Morgan and Ari were doing or discussing.

Lyn had shood everyone back to the table as she cleaned up the dishes after dinner, “What do you guys like for dessert? I pretty much have no limits, well maybe some. Most of my doughs are good to go just from proofing, cakes, tarts, cookies, pastries? Pies take a long time to bake, but I have some that were done earlier today.”

“Why don’t you pick a dessert.” Ari supplied.

Lyn frowned, that was evidently not the response she wanted. “Okay new plan, let me finish this real quick.”

Fifteen minutes later and the group was standing around a table with an array of sweet ingredients. Sprinkles, sanding sugars, whipped cream, cakes, chocolate curls, chocolate drizzle, icing, cookies, fresh fruit, piping bags, decorators tips, you name it it was there. Lyn was the only one comfortable, Ari watched with a steady face, Morgan wondered what happened to the ‘fun’ part of the evening.

Lyn walked over to Morgan “Okay you guys start with these cookies, just do a couple, there’s no way we’re going to eat many and don’t worry about them looking good. Just have fun. When you’re done try this mini tart, there’s a couple fillings mixed in the fridge and you can add whatever fruit you want, cream on top or not. Oh, here let me show you how to use the piping bags.”

Lyn motioned Caleb over, grabbed a cookie and took a bag, cut the end off adding the coupler base, she folded the bag over hand, added the icing to it, finished by adding a tip, coupler ring and sealing the open end. She then showed them how to hold enough icing in the palm of their hands to be comfortable, and then use it to write. Think of it like a child writing, instead of actually how you would normally write with a pen. She wrote her name in flowing script on a cookie, got nods all around and discarded the cookie.

Morgan was trying to judge Ari’s level of willingness to participate in this. He was at least still at the table and seemed to watch the instructions. Lyn returned with several bottles of colored gel and gloves.

“These gels will stain your skin, they do wash out but it takes a bit, but just in case.” She smiled at Ari, then handed him an apron, “This too.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Caleb you’re in charge of that little cake, don’t be fooled the smaller the cake the harder it is to work with sometimes.”

“Why do I get the challenge?”

“You’re the pro in the kitchen, you can handle it.” Lyn patted Caleb on the shoulder as she stepped up next to him. “I’m here to help, not like I’m asking for a display piece. Just make whatever, I have fillings if you want that, oh but first white, chocolate, lemon, strawberry, or marble cake?”

Morgan turned away, looking back at the cookies, and then at Ari. “Ready to give this a go? I mean we could just cover it in chocolate and caramel, call it done.”

Morgan watched Ari, he grabbed gloves, putting them on, he layed a cookie in front of him. 

Studying the cookie for a moment, he said, “I think I would like to try it.”

“Right, want a color or is the white okay?” Morgan asked, as she held up the bad of icing.

“This is fine.”

Ari tested the feel of icing in the palm of his hand, lowering the icing tip to the cookie, ending up with a squiggly line of icing all piled up. He stopped and just looked at it. Morgan glanced away, picking up an icing bag and began to try to recreate what Lyn had done earlier. It only took one failed attempt to get help, which resulted in a few colors being added and a box of jars with edible pearls, beads and boxes of lay-ons for decorating. Lyn stayed long enough to show Ari how to clean icing off with the tip of a small paring knife and then stepped away again.

Morgan decided to just try to ice the whole cookie in white then she could do something over it or something. Shakily outlining the cookie, she began filling in the center, pausing to check what was going on with Caleb’s cake ‘decorating’. Lyn had taken over, saying she would base ice it so he wouldn’t have to fight the crumbs when she turned it over to him. Caleb stood there arms folded wearing a small frown, Morgan just turned back to her cookie hiding a smile.

Cookie iced, she glanced over to check on Ari’s progress, he had a cookie outlined with white icing and was just staring at it.

“You could add chocolate or a different color.” Morgan offered.

Ari looked at her, “I don’t think it needs to be fancy.”

“You could add some of these.” She said as she opened a jar of blue pearls in multiple sizes. “Or maybe just something like these.” She opened the first box of lay-ons, it had small five petal flowers in pastel colors.

He reached over, looking up at her, then back at the box, he picked up a small flower and set it to the side. He then glanced over the box of pearls until he found the color he was looking for.

“Attach these using icing?” He asked.

“Oh yeah, here, let’s see. Do you know where you want the pearls?”

“Here. Probably five and then maybe two or three here.” The cookie was an oval and he had pointed to the lower right for the five and the top left for the two or three.

Morgan nodded, “Take your icing, and pick up your pearl in the other hand. There, use your finger tips, so you can ice the bottom.” 

She took a step around him, sliding her fingers down his hand removing one of his fingers from his hold on the pearl, then slipping her fingers between his two remaining fingers and sliding the pearl to the tips of his grasp.

“Try putting a tiny bit of icing on it and just rolling it to where you want it.” Her mouth was a little dry and she knew she was not going to be looking at him anytime soon.

Ari placed the first pearl, studied it and then placed the second one. Morgan smiled to herself, going back to her cookie, but instead of finishing she watched Ari finish placing the pearls carefully, that earned her more then one raised eyebrow from him.

Ari picked up the flower, “This is done the same way.”

Morgan reached over, took the flower, flipped it over so it was upside down, holding it out to Ari again she placed it in his fingers, “Just use more icing.”

He took the flower, adding a thin layer of icing, and silently asked her what her opinion was.

“More icing probably, if you want it to hold when you pick it up. But I’m just guessing.” Morgan shrugged.

Ari added another layer of icing, then placed it to the upper left just under and to the right of the trio of pearls he’d placed previously.

“It’s very lovely.” Morgan said softly

Ari looked at her, raised an eyebrow and a small smile (?), “Thank you.”

She looked back to her iced cookie, then started grabbing some of the smaller pearls to pair with some pearls she already had pulled out.

In the next second she found herself pulled under the table. Staring at Ari, she reflexively went to stand back up, “Wha..?”

He tugged her back down, “I wouldn’t do that.”

Just then she noticed the rainbow of sprinkles that littered the floor on the other side of them. She laughed lightly, “Maybe we should leave them to clean up their mess.” she motioned to the entryway. “At least maybe not be in the same room. But we need to save your cookie. I’ll get it, just a second.” She began to stand again and had a tug back down.

“I’ll get it.”

“Oh we can put it in this box.” She said, pulling a small box off a stack next to them.

Ari nodded, looking above the table quickly, he looked back at her, “Not yet.” Another check and he took her wrist, stood, grabbed the cookie, and led her outside.

Morgan finally bubbled over with laughs, “That place is going to be a disaster. Want to walk around a bit or just wait out here?” 

She looked up at Ari expectantly. She reached up slowly, gently running her finger along his cheek. If she wasn’t trying to control the butterflies she might have enjoyed the shocked look on his face. As it was she was just trying to keep herself from blushing. She continued with her next finger on the same cheek, then pulled her hand back.

“Icing.” She swallowed dryly. “Think i got it all. Umm But you also…” she motioned him closer “have sprinkles in your hair.”

Morgan tried her best to get it out without actually feeling his hair or thinking about what she was doing, or how close he was. When she stopped, Ari stood straight again.

“I’m sorry.” He said, glancing away from her.

“For what?” she tried to say it plainly.

“I tried to keep you from the chaos, but I seem to not have done a very good job, you have sprinkles as well.” He reached over, gently dragging his fingers along her hair line to the tips of her hair.

Morgan knew she stopped breathing, when she was reminded that she did indeed need air.

“At least you didn’t just save yourself, so Thank you.” She said trying to keep a neutral face and the heat out of her cheeks. She cleared her throat quietly,  “Maybe we should check on them in a minute or two, I mean how much ammo can they have?”

Morgan roamed around a bit in the walkway outside the door just looking up at the evening sky. Neither of them spoke, Ari just stood to the side, like a quiet guardian.

They walked back in to hearing Lyn, “I think you could use a pink streak right here.”

“I don’t think so.” Caleb retorted.

Gingerly Morgan peaked into the backroom, Ari next to her. The scene before Morgan was something she did not want to try to describe with words. It was a rainbow of color and tangled arms and she wasn’t even sure what happened to the actual dessert.

No one was throwing anything anymore, but Lyn had a bottle of icing gel in a hand that Caleb was holding above her head. Lyn’s other hand was in Caleb’s hair. Caleb’s second hand was brushing glitter off Lyn’s bare shoulder.

Morgan’s mouth opened but nothing came out, she just stood there. The rest of the scene fimly planting itself in her mind. The icing on Caleb's cheek, the chocolate on the back of his forearm, the cream starting to melt down Lyn’s temple. Were they both wearing powdered sugar or flour? When did that even come out? Sprinkles littered the table near them, Morgan wondered if the caramel on Lyn’s wrist was from Caleb’s hand or was on Lyn first. She turned, placed both hands on Ari’s chest and pushed him back the way they came, she was not walking in on that. Ari didn’t budge, she looked up at him, after a brief pause he began to give in and turn to leave.

“Morgan!”

She stopped, slowly glancing over her shoulder, shook her head, turning to leave again.

“Traitor! You’re supposed to be my support!”

“So not my battle, Lyn.” She tossed over her shoulder as she let the door shut.

A few minutes passed before Morgan thought she could do anything but shake her head and try to hold in the smile fighting its way onto her face. “Is that something you see a lot?’

“Caleb?”

“Covered in…well…” she gestured to the shop, “dessert? Icing?”

“No, that is probably the only time I’ve seen that.”

The door opened behind them, Lyn coming out with two towels, holding one out to each of them. They were damp and warm.

“Incase you accidently got icing on your hands, I’m going to start cleaning up.” Lyn turned to go back inside, giving Morgan a small embarrassed smile as she went.

Morgan and Ari followed, accessing the ‘battle scene’ it seemed like most of it was contained to the table and the area around where Caleb and Lyn had been ‘working’. Caleb was at a sink with a towel. Lyn had already started on clearing the table, when she went into work mode it was all strategy and efficiency. Ari had started to step forward to wipe off the cleared area.

“I’ve got this, this is literally my job.” Lyn said, stopping him.

“You’re not here for work.”

Lyn smiled, “I know but neither are you kiddo.”

Ari raised an eyebrow, which earned him nothing but a level stare from Lyn before she returned to her task.

Morgan laughed lightly, “Just let us help.”

“You guys literally made no mess at all!”

Ari had started cleaning the table again, Morgan began to hand stuff to Lyn instead of having her walk back and forth. When everything was put back in its home Caleb threw a clean towel at Lyn and took over getting the caramel off the table leg. The whole clean up really didn’t take them that long, Ari was incredibly detailed and Lyn knew in a glace what was clean and what had been missed. In no time they were standing outside the shop in the late evening.

“I feel like I’m still wearing caramel.” Lyn mopped.

“Maybe don’t pick fights you can’t win.” Caleb offered.

Morgan tried to hide her laugh behind her hand, but considering the glare Lyn had directed at Caleb’s swept over to her, she was sure she hadn’t done a good job.

“Well that was fun, oh did you see Ari’s cookie Lyn?”

“No!? Oh the cake!”

Lyn returned to the shop, Caleb rolled his eyes, causing Morgan and Ari to give one another questioning looks. She took a short while to return, when she did she had a small box, which she handed to Caleb.

“It may not really be finished but it’ll taste good, take it with you.”

“Will you two get home okay?” Ari asked.

“Of course, I’m a native remember, do this everyday, well at least multiple times a week. Plus I will totally guard Morgan.”

“Because you totally had everything under control inside.” Morgan added.

“Yes I did, obviously I was waiting to reveal my skills! Good night guys, stay safe!” Lyn took Morgan’s arm looping hers around it.

Morgan laughed, as Lyn turned them for home, she looked back and waved, “Bye.”

When they were around the corner and down the walkway, Morgan looked at Lyn, “Did you make plans for tomorrow again?”

“Nope.” She smiled, “I left my contact in the box.”

“Why am I not surprised?”

“It’s out of my hands so I guess it is what it is now, if we hear nothing we move on. Right?” Lyn looked at Morgan with a smile and a nod.

Vacation from the Vacation

Morgan’s day started with the smell of breakfast rousing her from dreamland. She smiled to herself, at least Lyn wouldn’t have to work today. She checked the time, how late was it? They had gotten back fairly early considering, but she had stayed up while Lyn had crashed pretty quickly after showering.

Making her way to the kitchen Morgan chuckled a little to herself, when she sat at the table she wondered out loud, “So, what happened to lead you to being decorated in glitter and sugar?”

Lyn laughed guiltily, “I am not sure that’s breakfast conversation.” Making a silly face.

“Come on, seriously! There is a story here and I want to hear it.”

“Isn’t this like talk for curling up on the couch with cocoa and sharing, when we’re both too tired to realize we’re saying embarrassing things. Also there really isn’t much of a story there.” She shrugged half heartedly at Morgan.

“How old do you think we are? Wait, so it’s embarrassing?” Morgan poked. 

“Here’s breakfast, look I can do more than bake.”

“Yeah, you can avoid the subject.” Morgan smirked.

“So I was thinking stay in, rest up, let you relax with that book.”

“You haven’t received a message yet have you…”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“You’re you, I know you. Let's go for a run or something, then shopping, we can just window shop, grab some coffee.”

“I hate shopping……I don’t want to go for a run.”

“Listen to you, a run and shopping it is!”

They finished breakfast, Morgan helped with the clean up before they left. 

Returning Morgan headed for the kitchen. “Wasn’t so bad right? Feeling better?”

“Better, nothing wrong to start with.”

“Okay, new name for you.” Morgan headed for her room, “Denial.”

“That’s just mean.”

“And true, I’ll be ready in twenty.” Morgan quipped as she headed for her shower. 

She dressed heading back out to the living room, sitting down next to Lyn, she asked, “Ready?”

“Why don’t we stay in and catch up on the family?”

“We did that already, remember.” Morgan laughed lightly, “Come on this is silly it’s been like 3 days since you met him?”

“What! That’s not the point, it’s that I didn’t make an impression in that time, I’m definitely annoyed with myself nothing more.”

“Okay, well we can discuss your impression on the next one while we wander.” Morgan got up, took both of Lyn’s hands and pulled her up to her feet.

The day was bright and clear and while the residential area was quiet, when they made it to the main fare it was busier, the shops were a prime draw for tourists. They spent a couple hours ducking in and out of boutiques, small shops that sold small trinkets and specialty shops. 

Mid afternoon they stopped at a small cafe for a bit of coffee. Lyn finally asked about Morgan’s test score, which hadn’t come in yet. The reassurance talk insued, there was always one constant, Lyn would support whatever Morgan had going on.

Lyn planned a nice dinner and was in a more ‘Lyn mood’ when they reached the house that evening. Morgan had been banned from helping, because she was on ‘vacation’, but required to stick around, for company.

“So how are your parents?” Morgan asked.

“HA, still not talking. Dad’s fine, but you probably had a general idea of that.”

“Yeah.”

“Mom still disagrees so it’s been distant.”

“Your dad and his colleague friend are still taking care of that thing?”

“Well it’s still a thing.”

“Aren’t you worried about what will happen after all this time?”

Lyn shrugged, “It probably already has if it was going to…. Why are we talking about this again?”

“I mean we haven’t talked about it, you knew it would come up.” Morgan glanced down at her hands on the table, then back up, “I mean we can talk about the shop last night if you want.” Morgan teased.

Lyn shot her a glare full of ‘So done with you’ energy, just causing Morgan to laugh in her face. Lyn’s focus shifted, Morgan knew Lyn had gotten a message, she tried to keep her face neutral. Unsure if she wanted it to be from Caleb or if she thought maybe they were both better off not getting involved or even trying to befriend people they may never meet again after they leave. How many more days were they going to be here anyway? Neither of them made any hint about meeting again or staying in touch, so really why even think about this? Great Lyn was contagious, now Morgan was sitting here puzzling through the end of last night. 

Her musing was interrupted by Lyn’s hesitant voice, “So… uh.. funny thing, that shop you know I own.”

“Yes…?”

“I kind of have to go in tomorrow.. Again…. But it’s only for a little, I just need to make sure the order is all set to roll right. We can stop on our way somewhere else or I can go first thing. I’ll be under an hour, depending how many interruptions I get, could be fifteen.”

“It’s fine, feel like I know everything I ever wanted to know about that place now. Do we even have plans tomorrow?”

“There’s a really nice garden, I was thinking about picking up a lunch or packing it, then we could just spend some time among nature. Museum? Live music in the evening? Go to one of those places that serve like ten courses that are one bite per course?”

“Isn’t that reservation only?”

“Don’t know, never wanted to sit there for that long while I waited for ten pieces of food.” She laughed.

“The gardens sound good, we don’t have to keep a schedule then. Maybe a run before you head to work, I’ve got to keep your foul mood in check.” Morgan teased.

“My what?”

Morgan laughed, “You know it helps. Want any help with that?”

“Nah, you can carry these to the table.” She motioned to a serving bowl and a covered platter. “Then the drink can be brought out.”

“So set the table?”

“You asked.”

Dinner was as good as it smelled and Morgan enjoyed the company. She tried to get Lyn to let her clean up, or at least help, but was overruled and relocated to the couch with her borrowed book. Sometime later Lyn joined her, Morgan sat up, closing the book.

“Want to do anything?”

“Hmm, not really.” Lyn replied, “Thinking just respond to a few messages, see what I’ve missed the last couple days.”

“Sulking?”

“No.. Dad sent me a message the day before you got here, he’s gonna be in the area next month. It’s the usual, he’s only passing through, but I need to respond.” She turned from her contemplation of the wall to look at Morgan, “Have you talked to your Mum?”

“Not since telling her I got to your place the first day.”

“Hmm.”

Morgan gave her an exasperated look, shaking her head, causing both of them to giggle.

“Alright, I’m gonna respond, get back to your book.”

The rest of the evening was spent talking aimlessly of the future, the past, the sights they could see tomorrow, what Morgan’s next term of school was going to look like. Lyn eventually bowed out leaving Morgan to retire to her room, book in hand.

Goodbyes Are Best for the End

De’javu hit Morgan. She had stood in this spot before, oh yeah, holding the counter up. Lyn was kneeling on the floor counting boxes or something, Thayn at the counter was helping a man with his purchase. Lyn had told her Thayn was the only employee she’d hired; the rest had been employed here when she started training to take over. He didn’t have a family he talked about, he was reliable without fail, but was almost impossible to call in on his days off. Didn’t seem to bother Lyn, just shrugged it off, saying everyone has a life outside of work. He was very personable and friendly, seemed to keep a steady conversation going with Lyn including Morgan as often as possible while helping wherever he could.

“Oh we’ve got some of those.” He offered, disappearing further inside the shop, returning with a box. “So how are you enjoying your time here?” He turned to Morgan.

“It’s a bit different, but it’s not studying all the time, so it's a refreshing change for the moment.”

“You’re a student?”

“Oh yeah.”

Lyn interrupted, “Do you know if we have any of these left?”

“Nope, that’s the last of them. What are you studying?”

“Archeology.”

“Whoa, that’s got to be an interesting subject. Is it popular? I’ve heard there are ruins under Delphine.”

Lyn stood, “Thayn will you check that top shelf in the break area for more of these? These are starting to look like they need replaced.” picking at the corner of a cling on the window, “that same box should have stands too, actually, if you’ll just get the box down.” She smiled at Thayn, laughing a little.

“Sure, know which one it is? Shall I get them all down?”

“Just the one, should be marked. Thank you Thayn.”

Thayn brushed it off as he left, “No worries.”

Lyn went out to check the front of the displays, finding something to kneel and check again. Morgan shook her head, smiling to herself, this was not going to be fifteen minutes. The door chimed and a young man walked in, slender with dark hair. He spared Lyn a glace, another toward Morgan, who had moved out toward the main part of the shop to observe Lyn.

“Give me just a second, someone should be out to help.” Lyn paused, glancing to the backroom.

Walking up to the case he set himself between Morgan and Lyn. His eyes barely take in the room in front of him before turning to face Morgan. Narrowing his eyes he studied her face quickly, before turning, making to leave, he stopped hand on the door “There are places for you.”

Lyn climbed to her feet, “Umm, what was that?”

“..I have no idea.”

Glancing at the door with a skeptical look, Lyn rounded the counter, “Let me check that box, then we’ll be done.” She motioned with a quick nod for Morgan to come with as she reached the door.

Thayn stopped Lyn just inside with a hand on her shoulder, “ Everything okay?” He asked, looking down at her.

“Yeah,” she smiled, “Just going to check the box and leave you guys to it, unless you need anything.”

“Should be good here, Theo’s headed out in a couple hours, he’s on break now. Should be business as usual.”

“Okay, see you in a few days. Going to try to spend the last couple days Morgan’s here out of the shop.”

Thayn patted Lyn on the shoulder softly, gave Morgan a friendly smile and nod and walked out front.

Morgan watched Lyn paw through a decent sized box set to the side, Lyn paused, Morgan raised an eyebrow questioning the delay. From where she was she really couldn’t see what was going on, other than the digging around had ceased being the focus.

Lyn glanced at Morgan over her shoulder, “So, did you want to change plans?” a small smile playing on her face.

“I don’t know?” making sure to note the confusion and question with the look on her face. Her face relaxed into a smile as she closed her eyes, shaking her head, her brain catching up with the scenario playing out, “You got a message didn’t you.”

“Spoilsport.”

Morgan leaned back against a table, waiting.

“Just said they’re leaving tomorrow basically,” Lyn turned back to the open box in front of her, “ thought maybe we could invite them out to the garden, at least get Ari’s contact.”

“You’re pushy.”

“So yes or ….?”

“It’s fine, I mean should I grab some icing? Sprinkles? At least it won't be boring watching you today.” Morgan laughed.

“Not even going to acknowledge that with a response.”

“Think you just did.”

Morgan waited while Lyn finished with the box, checked in with Theo and finally got ready to leave. Lyn filled her in on the plan, they were going to meet for a late lunch, picnic style in the garden, after stopping by the house.

Packing prepped veggies in a bag, Morgan asked, “How’s this going to work for you?”

A barely audible, “hmm?”

“You always get interested in those that can’t stay. I mean, why? Not Caleb exactly, I mean why go out with them again, when you know that..” She let the rest of the sentence hang in the air. Turning around, taking the rest of the room in, setting her sights on the table. “I get why you don’t get close to people that stay, but are you going to do the travel thing and make it work or give up? If not, why are we going today?”

The room was silent, Morgan continued, “I mean you could just bow out and send me.”

Lyn interrupted, “It's not like it’s ever my intention to just let my relationships fail, but they are two way and well …. you know the story.”

“Yeah you hold them at arms length, literally.” Morgan turned around, studying Lyn.

Lyn had begun packing everything together, “Trust is a tricky thing.”

“You trust me, there’s always room for another.”

“That was an accident, you’re too smart. I do trust you with everything, I’ll try to trust you on this too. It’s not like I was just going to completely ditch the idea, for the record, I was just prepared.”

“Let’s go get some official contacts. Make it through the let's keep in touch and the goodbyes. See where we stand on all this okay?”

Lyn laughed, “Great pep talk Morgan.”

Accepting a small bag the two of them headed out the door. They rounded the corner near the garden to see Ari and Caleb just arriving. Walking up, Lyn suggested they head further in, stating it gets less crowded the farther from the entrances they get, they can look around on the way out.

It was easy to just enjoy the warmth and the atmosphere. Following the rest of the group, Morgan made a silent decision, she would give Ari her contact, she had school and if they could stay in contact when she had a settled life she would revisit anything more. She enjoyed his company, but what part of her life allowed her the flexibility for a distant relationship, not to mention Ari was polite but not very open.

“Are you alright?”

A voice startled her out of her thoughts, she looked up at Ari, “Oh yeah sorry, lost in my surroundings.”

“We’re over there.” He looked to her right and behind her.

Looking back, realization dawned, she had just been in her own head while they set up some ways away. Lyn waved in the distance, presumably to get them gathered back together.

It was a relatively simple, fresh lunch, enjoyed with a background of light bickering and laughing.

Lyn paused, leaning to see around Morgan, “Is that the..?” Nevermind.” She shook her head lightly, still looking in the same direction.

Morgan turned to try to see what she was seeing, “What?”

“That guy looked like one from the shop earlier, just similar probably, a lot of people in the dome, probably a coincidence.”

“What guy?” Ari asked, quizzically.

“No one.” Morgan shrugged.

“We were at the shop for about half hour today, some guy came in, stared at nothing, stared at Morgan, said something weird about… I don’t even remember. Then he just left. It was weird, but I mean we get some weird customers.” She laughed a little.

“He did nothing else?” Ari questioned

“Nope, it’s not even worth mentioning really, Lyn.”

Ari and Caleb had glanced at each other, then looked in the direction that Lyn had indicated, but said and did nothing more.

“Right, I mean when I met Thayn it was much weirder.” Lyn started trying to move the conversation on, “I was training to take over but it was just before closing so it was just me and the couple that owned the shop and he just stumbled in. Blood all over one shoulder and down his arm and chest, but he wouldn’t talk about it. The couple helped him get on his feet mostly, I just gave him a job.” She shrugged.

“Something you do a lot, take in bleeding strangers off the street?” Caleb chimed in.

“No, and he has excellent customer service skills,” Lyn scoffed, “Of course there’s the older couple that comes in every week to argue about bread, and they don’t even know their arguments are completely wrong.” She laughed, trying to lighten the mood. “See all kinds of silly.”

Lyn got to her feet, Morgan followed, stretching, picking up a few remaining things from lunch.

“Got time to look around? There’s some really pretty stuff further up the way, if you have time then we can make our way to the north entrance.” Lyn asked hopefully.

The two men stood, looking around. Ari nodded, Morgan wasn’t sure if it was to Lyn’s question or Caleb. She shared a concerned questioning look with Lyn, got a single shoulder shrug response.

Ari bent to grab the light cloth they had sat on, folding it.

“Sure, what’s up there?” Caleb responded.

“Stuff!”

Morgan smiled, walking between the two men, she patted both of them on the shoulder and walked ahead. It wasn’t long before she felt Lyn loop arms with her. When they reached the path Lyn let go and slowered her pace to fall in line with the men behind them.

“So… tell us something we don’t already know.” She asked, looking between the two of them. “Talents, special skills, what do you like to do?”

Morgan smiled to herself, Lyn was outgoing in the weirdest ways, with confidence to match sometimes and awkwardness to counter that confidence, but at least that let Morgan be an observer.

“Special skills….” Ari stated.

“Yeah, I can do all that cake stuff, but don’t ask me to paint or about music.”

“I can play a couple instruments, and we play Volitant.”

“That’s not a hobby, that’s a punishment. Morgan, I’m right right?”

Morgan laughed, “I guess, I’m a student, so I’m all about ruins and ancient cultures. I mean if you want to talk about that, I’m all in.”

“UH! We heard all your thoughts in that exhibit.”

“Not all of them….”

“Okay, NEXT! Would you rather have your boss or your parents read your messages?”

“Neither.” Ari and Caleb answered together.

Morgan laughed into her hand, “I mean I guess Mum is fine, I don’t really have a boss so? My teachers are not reading my messages.”

“You two are no fun, I’m my own boss, so I guess I win that one.”

“Your parents then?” Ari supplied.

“No, let’s just say no.”

“I’m the only one that answered that question..” Morgan sighed. “Aright, rather have whatever knowledge you need or power? You may not have the skill to use that knowledge though.”

“Knowledge.” Lyn jumped in almost before the question was finished.

“I would agree.” Ari answered simply.

“There’s a lot of responsibility with both.” Caleb mused.

They came around a thicket of flowering bushes to an observation deck overlooking a small cascading waterfall. There was a woman standing far back to the side, but no one else, Morgan moved up to lean against the railing taking in the misting water around the falls. It was a beautiful sight, the observation deck set off from the path, tucked away and protected by tall flowering bushes. The top of fall has a backdrop of lovely flowering trees, the other side a bright green wall of trees. It’s like a small sanctuary away from the developed world outside. 

Morgan heard rather than saw the others step up near her, She looked down, it was a pretty tall fall, but it didn’t plumet straight down in one go. She sighed peacefully, turning around to gauge reactions, “This is really nice.” 

Caleb was facing away toward where they had come in, watching the woman that was leaving. Ari’s attention was in the same direction but less so. Morgan tilted her head a little and watched the woman as he met up with a pair that had been coming up. She tapped Lyn lightly, Lyn glanced over her shoulder taking in the sight, but saying nothing.

“We shouldn’t stay.” Caleb stated.

Morgan narrowed her eyes, “Why?”

“There’s other places to see right?”

“He’s right.” Ari stated.

Morgan felt a bit like they were being herded, in a I’m being polite but we’re really leaving, kind of way. They continued up and over the top of the falls, but whatever jovial jaunt they were on earlier had dissolved into a quiet walk of intent until they reached the lower part of the garden. The paths in the lower area widened so they could walk next to each other rather than being flanked.

“Going to explain that?” Morgan piped up.

“They were acting suspicious. Best to just move on for the day.” Caleb answered

“They were probably friends meeting up.” Lyn threw out.

They grew silent again, Caleb steering them to the entrance of the garden, seemingly not happy being in it any longer than necessary. They emerged into a plaza area, with a lovely water display, the kind that arcs precise water spouts from one spot to another, like watching water dance.

Lyn wandered up to the edge, watching the large display of leaping water, “It’s better at night, with the lights, but I don’t really get out here often to see it. Though I guess it’s not much different than seeing similar displays anywhere else.” She smiled softly, “Whenever I’m here I think someone just needs to run through it.”

“Go ahead.” Caleb offered.

She just watched the water, shaking her head. 

Caleb reached over, putting a hand on the center of her back, giving a soft push. “We’ll wait here.”

“I’m taking Morgan with me.” Lyn said, latching onto Morgan's forearm and pulling.

Morgan scrambled for something to stabilize herself against Lyn’s sudden force, she found Ari’s arm and wrapped her free arm around his, holding on tight. Lyn let go too easily, laughing and turning back to the water works.

“Sorry.” Morgan offered, letting go.

Ari raised an eyebrow slightly, glancing away at the water before them.

“I think they have one of those market things set up in that square over there we should go there.”

“Market things?” Ari asked.

Lyn faced them, “A little market for handcrafted things, people set up like tables, sometimes there’s games and silly things that make no sense other than… you know tourism and people spending money.”

“That’s after you run though this fountain?” Caleb added.

“Before actually. Come on, I’ll find something you guys will like.”

“Don’t think that’s necessary.” Ari offered.

Morgan laughed lightly, “Maybe not, but this is another one of her ‘fun’ ideas.”

Morgan laughed a little, watching as Lyn rolled her eyes. The rest happened in mere seconds, Lyn took a step backwards to turn and leave, Morgan called out to her as Caleb reached out and pulled her toward him. Lyn stumbled briefly right into Caleb, confusion all over her face.

“I thought you weren’t going through the water before the market.” Caleb said, lifting an eyebrow.

Lyn slowly pulled away, “Ah, Thanks, sorry.” She stepped back, checked her surroundings, and headed toward the market, without a backward glance.

“Come on, who knows what she can find left alone.” Morgan moved to follow.

Morgan caught sight of Lyn walking to a small table with little jewelry pieces on display. Ari and Caleb were next to Morgan, she felt like there was still some sort of tension she couldn’t see. “You know I’m sure they didn’t follow us from the garden, it’s fine.”

“Never hurts to know your surroundings.” Caleb responded.

“Afraid you’re going to be accosted in daylight, in the middle of this public square?”

“I don’t think Caleb is suggesting that, simply that awareness is an ounce of prevention.”

“Come on.” She said, trying to move the subject along.

Lyn turned at their approach, dangly a few bracelets, “Like them?”

Morgan sent her a raised eyebrow and perused the table with mild interest.

“Yeah, okay, no. Moving on, there’s little game things, I’ll win you something.”

Rounding a few more trinket tables and a food stand landed them at a few stands with colorful signs and silly ‘prizes’ displayed behind the game operators.

Walking up to the corner of a stand Lyn clapped her hands together looking at them expectantly. “Okay, who wants to play against me!?”

Morgan rolled her eyes, laughing, “We’re not eighteen.” Looking around she caught sight of a stand, piled with books stacked haphazardly, “Oh, let's go there.”

“Sir, do you think you could grab that for me.” the woman at the game stall called out to them “My husband is usually here to do this stuff, I just can’t reach where he put it.”

Caleb moved past her, “Which one do you need?”

Lyn made shooing motions, “Go, look at your books, we’ll catch up in a minute.”

Ari hesitated, “We should go together.”

Shooing motions continued, “It’s fine, just go.”

Morgan moved away, heard Ari, or she assumed it was Ari, following behind. The books were dusty, taken care of it seemed until they were left to collect dust, among the books was a flat closed box of a decent size. The box was lightly decorated with filigree at the corners and a clasp to hold it shut, but no lock, she reached for it, when a hand stopped her. 

She expected it to be one of her companions, but it was a weathered hand that had seen years of life. He released her hand, reaching for the lid of the box, he pulled something out and held it up to her, it was a dark blue black pendant on a simple ribbon.

“There are stories about gems this color from Earth,” He stepped around to her side, “they say it allows one to reach their full potential.” He stepped close, “Would you like to try it?”

Morgan stepped back into the table, “No thanks, I’m okay.”

The man stepped closer still, reaching out to place the necklace on her. Morgan lifted her hands to stop him, but it wasn’t necessary, Ari had caught one hand, stepping between them, forcing the older man to step back.

“I don’t think she’s interested.” Ari explained with an even voice.

The man gathered the necklace in his hand, smiled softly, nodding. Sweeping a hand toward his table of books, “I have other items if gems don’t interest you.” He walked up to Morgan’s side, slipped a book out and held it up to her, “This? Or I have books on other subjects.”

Lyn’s bubbly voice broke in, “Find anything to take home?”

Morgan smiled at her, “Not yet, give me a few.”

Morgan and Lyn both ended up with a book or a couple in Morgan’s case. The man at the table dusted the books, flipped through them, added a simple ribbon bookmark to each book, telling them not to develop a habit of turning down page corners.

“We should see you home.” Ari offered.

“It’s not that late.” Lyn chided.

“Things are..” Ari continued.

“He’s right.” Caleb interrupted.

“Since we don’t know where you’re staying, you can walk us to the fountain.” Lyn protested.

“No way we’re going to put you out walking you in the wrong direction.” Morgan added.

The walk out of the square was quiet, not heavy over oppressive, it just was. Morgan felt she probably knew what was going on in Lyn’s head, but she was thinking about saying goodbye, without making anything weird, especially with Lyn standing there. Lyn would make stuff weird just to do it, she was unpredictable sometimes.

They stopped, no one said anything for a beat, Morgan took a mentally stabilizing breath.

“We should keep in touch,” Lyn rushed through, “all of us.”

Another breath, “We should,” Morgan paused, “is that okay Ari? I mean I have school so I’m usually very busy.” She looked to the ground before looking at the two of them, “It’s good to keep in contact with friends and if you’re ever in New Albion I will take a small break to guide you around.”

“That would be fine.”

“If you’re ever back here, you know where to find me. Goes for Van too of course. Let me know beforehand and I’ll kidnap Morgan from school for a week.”

“You will not!”

Lyn laughed, stepped up to Ari, taking his hand in both of hers. “It was nice to meet you, you’re very kind. Thank you for letting me drag you guys all over.” She smiled up at him and released his hand. For Ari’s part he just looked away briefly, nodding to her. Which just increased Lyn’s smile.

Morgan watched Lyn approach Caleb, and she stepped closer to Ari. Lyn held her hand out, but didn’t force her handshake like she did with Ari, she waited for Caleb to take it, which he did. They stood there for several seconds, Lyn studying their hands with a small smile, Caleb looking down at her. When she finally looked up at his face, the smile had slipped away, she stood there even longer, just watching his face. 

Her gaze finally fell to his shoulder, “Have a safe trip home.” She said, looking back up, pasting on a smile she pulled her hand away, turning to head home herself.

Morgan watched the exchange, not sure if she was spying or something, or if she should have just spoken up. Putting on a smile, looking up at Ari, “Thank you.” she held her hand out, which he took, only hesitating a split second.

“No reason to thank me.” Ari responded.

“You were my sane company, in some insanity.” She laughed, patting the back of his hand with her free hand,  “Worthy of many thanks. I mean you rescued me from a sprinkle explosion at one point, that’s very virtuous.”

Without letting go of Ari, Morgan turned to Caleb, “Caleb, I can without any hesitation say it was entertaining to say the least.” She finally let go of Ari and held her hand out to Caleb, giving him a quick hand shake.

Morgan joined Lyn in giving them one last quick wave before heading home.

The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same

They were nearing home, it was quiet most people were probably already home for the evening. Next to Morgan Lyn rifled through the bag they had stored the books in, pulling one of them out and opening it to bookmark. 

“So what kind of books caught your interest today Morgan? Oh we can go through the alley up ahead, little quicker.” She pulled up short, holding up a pendant on the end of the ribbon, “Umm…?” 

Morgan took it from her, scowling, “That little..” 

“What am I missing?” Lyn asked, resuming their walk home. 

“That man at the table tried to get me to try this on earlier, not sure why he put it in this book.” 

“You attract some weird ones.” Lyn laughed.

“It’s not funny. Next time you come to New Albion, we’ll stay away from tourists.”

Lyn turned them down a small alley that had only light at either end to guide them. They were coming up on a large pillar with a potted plant next to it, when a man walked out in front of them. 

Lyn had taken Morgan’s arm, nudging her to the side, pardoned herself and headed around him. The man didn’t seem to be having any of it, he stepped in front of them again.

“I’m afraid that we’re going to be getting to know each other.”

“And I’m afraid that you’re mistaken.” Morgan offered, moving to walk past him.

Someone had grabbed her arm and pulled her back, she pulled her arm free, turning to send a scowl at whoever had grabbed her. It was a tall woman, she pushed Lyn forward and made to leave again.

“Stop being nice and just subdue them.” A masculine voice from behind them hissed in the darkness.

A shuffle of feet produced several more people, from the shadows of the walls and the pillars. Lyn grabbed Morgan and pulled her close, turning her around, forcing her back the way they had come. Morgan squinted into the dark, as Lyn continued to prod her into moving toward the man standing at the other end.

Lyn whispered, “There’s only one that way, we can make a run for it. Take right.” she turned around to seemingly prepare herself to get at least one of them out of there for help, and stopped, “Thayn?”

Thayn continued to walk toward them, without a word, there were footsteps behind them and then a response from behind them.

“I told you there’s a place for you, you just have to open your eyes.”

Morgan spun around to see the young man from the bakery that afternoon. She should put in a call to the Safety Department.

“I wouldn’t if I were you.” the young man said, looking directly at her.

Before she could respond Thayn had her against the wall, hands restrained in his. “You will stay quiet and out of the way.” He spat. “Get her under control.”

Morgan was handed off to two others that she fought with nails and feet. Earned several shoves into the wall before she heard Lyn cry out.

“You can’t take that!” 

Split second later Morgan heard something shatter, the area went silent. The young man turned toward her, her two would-be capturers backed off.

“Will you please stop fighting.” The young man said dryly.

“Oh I’m sorry if I’m being inconvenient.”

His gaze flicked to the planter next to Morgan, she saw the instant before there was an impact and it exploded, Morgan screamed.

“Morgan!?”

“Lyn?” Morgan cried out.

“Damn it, stop. How did you even find out? Thayn why are you mixed up with this?” Morgan could hear the torture in Lyn’s voice.

“You’re trusting and not nearly as careful as you think. But I didn't want to hurt you, just show you there are places where you don’t have to do this.”

“I was happy here! Ahg, what are you doing?”

“Get off!” Morgan yelled, trying to throw the two people that renewed their insistence to restrain her.

“Let her go.” Lyn sobbed.

“Get them out of here.” The young man ordered plainly.

Thayn pulled Lyn to her feet, dragging her over to Morgan. There was a noise Morgan couldn’t Identify at the opposite end of the alley. Thayn pushed Lyn toward Morgan then grabbed both of them, then the scene was gone. Morgan pushed against Thayn’s hold, but got nowhere until he let go.

She stumbled, they were in an empty room, it was dark and colder, but they weren’t alone. Lyn collapsed against her, more pushing her than collapsing, sending her stumbling to the wall.

Lyn kept herself in front of Morgan, “Thayn, what’s the point here? If you know I’m an Esper then you know I wanted a normal life. You’re obviously one, living a normal life like me.”

Thayn looked away, “I wasn’t, I was working, simply looking for others. You, those like you. Who were the two you were with yesterday?”

“What? Why would I tell you anything? You played me.”

He walked up to stand in front of Lyn, Lyn pressed Morgan back into the wall.

“I never meant to deceive you. You were just unfortunately an Esper, never would have come to this if...” He reached for her, then stopped dropping his hand. “What’s your rank?”

“I don’t know. There’s a reason I wear an inhibitor all the time. Just let Morgan go, she doesn’t need to be part of this.”

“So she can get help? Doesn’t matter, we’ll figure it out when we get back.”

Thayn stalked off, three more came and took residence around them, as Morgan coaxed Lyn to sit against the wall with her. They were quiet, but Morgan’s mind was racing, how had a vacation turned into this? How were they going to get out of here? Who were these people? Her mind ran back to Ari and Caleb’s warnings that evening, had they been right? Were they okay, had they been a target just because of their proximity to Lyn. Is this why Lyn kept her distance all the time?

Eventually the trio standing around them, relaxed and began to roam a bit, finally settling in across the room with the other two in the room. Thayn wasn’t in the room. 

Morgan leaned on Lyn’s shoulder, whispering and half mumbling “There’s two doors we’re going to have to try something, anything to get out of here, no one knows we’re here.”

A hand patting her knee was all she got as an answer.

“Together. Don’t look back.” Morgan whispered

Morgan adjusted her position, trying to be able to stand quickly without drawing attention. Sliding her hand into Lyn’s she took a deep breath, she knew Lyn recognized she was getting ready to move by the grip Lyn took on her hand.

She launched herself to her feet, bolting for the door at the corner nearest them, it led to a hall splitting left and straight. She heard the shouts behind her, but she just turned left and kept going. The halls weren’t long, it turned right, she took it, Lyn’s hand still in hers. There were stairs ahead, she slowed, causing Lyn to run into her, Thayn was coming up the stairs. She gripped Lyn’s hand tighter and headed down, they had no safe choice. She aimed to catch Thayn off guard enough that maybe they could get away.

Morgan stumbled on the steps as she was pulled back, she felt Lyn’s hand pull free. Turning she saw Lyn’s hand slam straight into Thayn’s shoulder as she pulled her other free from his grip. Must have caught him off guard, because Lyn was gathering her and they were running the rest of the way down the stairs before he collected himself to appear before them. Lyn pulled Morgan around behind the steps at the bottom into a room. Morgan pulled them over to a window that was broken, but it wouldn’t be a safe exit. Thayn was there again before they had time to alter a plan. Lyn was pushing Morgan toward the window.

“Go, we have no choice.” Lyn yelled.

Morgan held her breath and put her foot on the edge of the ledge, ducking through the opening, she felt the glass that she didn’t really see as she was hurrying through. The palm of her hand caught something, the back of one shoulder, she stumbled out.

Turning, Morgan held a hand out, “Lyn hur…!” She stopped, Lyn was fending off Thayn by any means she had, mostly keeping her hands away from him. “Lyn!” She started for the window.

“NO!” Lyn yelled

Morgan wasn’t sure what she saw, looking back maybe she would have said it was a light, but then there was Ari, Caleb, and Van. Then the room exploded, Thayn made a desperate launch toward Lyn who stepped back trying to avoid him. Caleb reached for Thayn as five people stormed into the room through the door.

“Ari get them to safety.”

Morgan felt the tap on her shoulder only a split second before she screamed, rattling the rest of the window and the ones above her. She jumped, turning and stepping back to find the young man standing there looking at her steadily. Her heart was in her throat.

“Would be so easy.” He reached out for her.

Morgan jerked back, screaming. She felt here grip slip, she wasn’t sure what happened, but the darkness was all consuming, she couldn’t see anything where she was. She stood there, waiting for her eyes to adjust and she saw or felt the same light caught a glimpse of earlier. Then Ari was before her, stepping forward, she stepped back.

“Are you alright?” He asked

“I..I… Don’t know. What happened?” 

He hesitated, then took her hand, pulling her in, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. “We’ll regroup.” 

He hurried her down several flights of stairs and between a couple buildings, it seemed deserted much like the ones she had found herself in previously. When they stopped she was at the window she started at.

Morgan took quick stock of the room, three of the guards from earlier were on the floor, the young man was gone. Thayn was gathering the remaining two guards and was standing near the door glaring. Caleb and Van were not stopping their advance, but Thayn stepped back, looking at Lyn rather than the two advancing on him.

“You would have been better with me.” Thayn spoke barely audible, then they were gone.

“Get them found.” Caleb commanded, “Ari get them out of here.”

Lyn backed away, “I don’t think..”

Caleb cut her off, “Do you want a repeat? I didn’t think so. Ari!”

Van sighed, “Come on Lyn, we’ll let a doctor look at you two. At least have to figure out who those were and what their gains were.”

Lyn backed up again, “What makes you any different?”

“We already know you’re Espers, both by the looks of it.” He growled.

Morgan pulled away, this was escalating quickly, “I have school to go back to, I can’t just up and go with you.”

“Not really a choice.” He snapped

“Caleb, maybe an explanation.” Ari stated.

Van once again stepped up, “You’re both unregistered, so it is our job to step in here. We’re from Endgame.”Ending Notes:

Yes, I had to give Caleb a romance, because Caleb. 

Think this could have been simplified as one-shots? But I explained why that isn’t the case, because brain needs connecting points, so I chose to have them end up at the same point. I feel Ari's character needs to have that continual interaction leading them back to Endgame.

I imagine Morgan and Ari’s relationship turns out the same. This was just ramblings of things we don’t get to see.

I’m not sure the alley scene would have played out that way either, I could see Caleb and Ari just walking in, but I prefer to think they would be strategic.

Bonus Scene: Lyn’s POV

Lyn left Morgan and Ari to their decorating, she’d given them extra colored icing in piping bags, so they didn’t have to worry about wearing the gel. She grabbed an apron, slid it over her head, and grabbed another, holding it out to Caleb. She tied it off, when Caleb seemed ready she reached over gathering Caleb’s longer sleeves and pulling them up his forearms.

“It’s easier, if you’re not used to paying attention, this way it wont get in the icing.” Morgan may be right, she was her own worst enemy sometimes. “Pick a cake.” She led him over to a walk in with covered racks with a few cakes that hadn’t been used that day.

Caleb picked a simple vanilla cake, “okay?”

“Yep, nice safe option.” She teased, earning her a small glare, “I just mean that it’s more likely everyone will like it.” She laughed.

He led them back to the table, where Lyn handed him a knife.

“I’ll get some fresh fruit, split the cake and add a little whipped cream.” She grabbed a couple mixed berries and began cutting them so they would make a flat layer. 

She glanced at Caleb’s work, he added a bit too much cream, it was over the edge a little. “Okay add the berries, then the cake top.”

“We should of exchanged jobs.”

“Why? I know how to make a cake.” she watched him innocently. “Okay, I’ll do a quick base ice, so you don’t have to fight the crumbs. Then you’ll do the real stuff.” She did a light icing just enough to glue the crumbs down and seal up the side of the cake. 

She filled a piping bag with a large flat tip, held it out to Caleb. “Just get icing on the side and top and I’ll show you the rest.”

“Or I can watch you work.” He said, crossing his arms and settling against the work table.

“How is that any fun!” She sat the icing bag down, reaching over to uncross his arm, looking up to check how far she was going to get. She decided right then that she needed new rules, Caleb was too beautiful by half and she probably should not be this close to him.

He had both eyebrows raised, a mildly amused look on his face. “I don’t see a problem with it.”

She took the bag and dropped it in his hand, “I do.” She stepped back, so she could position the icing in his hand. “Just get a comfortable hold, like I showed you earlier.”

He did as he was instructed.

“Start with the top, it’s easiest and doesn’t matter how much you get on there, just get a feel for how much pressure you need to use.”

Lyn stepped around Caleb, so she could stand on the side he was holding the bag on. He had gotten a bit of a jittery start feeling out the motions needed to make it work smoothly.

“Let me help on the sides. I’ll turn the cake while you ice it, we’ll smooth it out after.”

The first try ended with Lyn taking the collapsing cream off the side. “More pressure, it has to adhere to the cake.”

He scowled

“Let me help,” She pulled out a turntable, set the cake on top, “okay get in position. I’ll guide you.”

She was leaning on the table at his elbow, one arm under his, hand on the turntable the other brought to rest on the back of Calebs.

He looked down at her, a look on his face she was trying not to read.

“Come on,” she tapped the back of his hand, “I’m teaching here.”

Lyn focused on guiding the table and his hand so that they had coverage she could work with. She pulled back when they made it around the cake, leaving for a flat metal icing scraper. She needed a trip into the walkin cooler, mentally shaking her head, she checked to see Ari and Morgan bent over something Ari had been working on. 

Returning she pulled the cake over, “Alright I’m going to do this, but only this.” She glided the scraper over the sides, smoothing it out, then the top. Taking the extra cream off and scraping it into a bowl. 

Caleb had taken to leaning on his elbows with his hands linked together on the table next to her. The first time she accidentally dropped icing on him, she got a raised eyebrow, after which he wiped his hands off on a towel.

“Sorry.” She muttered, his focus was way too close.”

The second time, earned her a scowl and a raised eyebrow, “I thought you were the teacher, you’re supposed to do that?”

“Well we can decorate you.” She grabbed a handful of sprinkles and flung them in the general direction his hands had been, they went much further. She saw Ari and Morgan duck behind the table. 

“You want to start this?” Caleb asked, an intent gaze focused on her, a slight smirk on his lips. He wiped his hands on the towel again.

“I just needed a warm up.” She reached for the second handful, chocolate drizzle in her second hand. She was aiming for his hand, got his forearm, but she threw the sprinkles anyway, more in the air than at him.

“Okay, sorry, sorry.” she laughed.

“Not as much as you should be.”

Caleb grabbed her wrist gently, but enough she knew he had a hold, took the chocolate out of her hand, held her hand to the table and spooned caramel over the back of her wrist.

“Okay, okay, stop! It’s sticky!” She pulled her hand back.

She didn’t even have time to react before she had a dusting of edible glitter applied over her head, shoulders and chest. She gasped.

Taking a step up to him, she put her hand, without the caramel, on his collarbone, fingers sliding up his neck to his cheek, “You are trouble.”

“You started it.”

“Probably expect retaliation.”

Caleb pulled back, just as she placed the icing on her thumb against his cheek.

She stepped back, laughing, “I warned you.”

Caleb reached out, holding her upper arm as he stepped closer. “You should probably expect it two fold.” he said as he swiped two fingers along her temple.

She pushed away from him, laughing. What made her fall into every trap he set, she needed better strategies. She quickly reached for whatever bottle her hand landed on, noted it was icing gel by the color, reaching for Caleb again.

Caleb caught her wrist with the bottle and pulled it over her head holding it there, she stepped closer to him, reaching for his hair.

“I think you could use a pink streak right here.” She said letting a strand slide through her fingers, letting her gaze drop to his face.

“I don’t think so.” Caleb retorted, looking down at her. He reached out his hand sliding up her arm, thumb running over her bare shoulder. He paused, changing to simply brushing the glitter off her shoulder instead.

[onebizarrekai]

random rant about ranmaru under the cut because I spent the entirety of yesterday thinking about him

yttd 3b spoilers

I’m gonna fight. the more I think back on what they did with ranmaru the more it looks like they were trying to dispose of him

like. seriously?? they killed him off during the trial without a second thought and didn’t even make it an option to save him?? I thought he was gonna be the new bastard because sou has the brain cell now

it’s almost like they made him go rogue in order to make the player not like him and not miss him when he dies but it literally had the opposite effect. he’s interesting now and they just weeded him out without a second thought or word, even though he was almost a main character during the whole of chapter 3 since he was hanging out with sara the whole time. he was part of a darker part of sara’s character arc and they just…… threw him out

those two had a really compelling dynamic especially because sara and ranmaru seriously had this brains-in-sync moment that encouraged ranmaru to make bad decisions

they were tied by a string of fate and EVERYTHING and they didn’t even make his death meaningful at all. and it’s not like they killed every single doll either, they decided to give a handful of them the chance to survive and none of them were, y’know, the guy the mc spent the whole chapter with and got attached to

and because they threw him aside like that, some players are calling him a disposable trope aka a yandere, because for some reason, his desire to survive, affection for sara and bad ideas are not worth exploring or taking seriously

in all honesty they barely made ANY of the doll deaths meaningful during the russian roulette game. they just went “all right gotta save gin” (which is understandable but still) and didn’t emote at all besides minor displeasure at killing their new friends that they just spent the WHOLE chapter gaining affection for and learning to team up with

and like yes. it’s true all of the dolls were dead people, but look me straight in the eye and tell me why the doll you’re supposed to care about the most  narrative-wise (besides mai) is a locked death that didn’t even get any attention drawn to it

you didn’t even get to see how sara felt about it. she just went “uh oh! ranmaru betrayed us! what a nutcase” and then kinda wiggled away until ranmaru died in the trial EVEN THOUGH ranmaru was literally becoming her friend before he went off the rails.

it’s like nothing in the chapter happened, it’s like none of them went through a rigorous electric shock minigame in order to save his life

I’d almost say that this is a showcase of how apathetic sara can be when she’s been turned against, but she didn’t have anything to say about it

like why does the stupid glasses guy get surviving rights. like for mai and kurumada it KIND OF made sense because mai got character development and kurumada kinda did too and he also almost died and they charged him and all, but glasses guy? and not ranmaru, who also got character development like the other two? there were 3 dolls that got development basically and one of them got offhandedly killed while being replaced by some rando who got zero development that I can’t even remember the name of.

I mean like I guess gin needs someone to look after him since qtaro died but also am I really gonna take a rando over a fave who MIGHT have the capacity to have some sense talked into him? or hell, even an interesting impact on the story.

dude. I want to see sara juggling not one but two bastards. I want to see sou and ranmaru not getting along. I want to see ranmaru being a wannabe problem but because he’s such a twig he just gets suplexed immediately by keiji. sara gin keiji sou and ranmaru really sounds like a terrible dream team to me

unless of course ranmaru gets brought back as a floor master since midori got wasted ahhahahaha that thought just crossed my mind very quickly

but also it’s very unlikely that they would do that. and it would also be stupid because it would require them to rewrite him into being a floor master and change him entirely. not to mention they could bring midori back at any time since he’s a doll (though there’s no saying they will)

anyway long story short ranmaru was a striking opportunity to develop sara some more in terms of her darker parts but if the way that they handled him is encouraging people to throw him under the bus, is everything really fine and dandy

I’m not even saying he should be a locked survivor (considering that he is very dead and his doll body probably isn’t permanent) I’m just saying he should be taken seriously and maybe even have a chance of living after the russian roulette part rather than just being cast aside

.

this is an unrelated question as well but sou’s 0% survival rate goes unanswered. midori said that everyone was set up to be given an evened out chance of survival but sou still ended up with nothing, somehow. we also don’t really have a team-antagonist either because sou mellowed out so much, despite his burning hatred for sara for making him survive instead of kanna (I guess he met midori again and then backed way down, but that doesn’t change the fact that sou spent the first 2 chapters being an antagonist and even tells the player about majority votes at the very beginning)

I kinda thought that ranmaru was going to replace him just a little even if ranmaru is an impulsive idiot who doesn’t know what he’s doing but that didn’t happen

OH YEAH. speaking of which I know we’re only halfway through chapter 3, which is probably why majority votes haven’t come up again, but doesn’t it seem awfully strange that the deciding factor of who survives in the russian roulette game was rigged, pre-programmed luck?

maybe ranmaru’s desire to win by teaming up with sara and killing everyone was just breaking the system too much

[theofficialadyblog]

Impossible Quiz Highlights Part 1

The Interview that happened before this

Number of hours spent: 5hr 13min 14sec

No. of times they had to restart the game: 78

Alya: Ok so now that we’re done with the interview, let’s head on to the moment you’ve all been waiting for: Ladybug and Chat Noir playing The Impossible Quiz. Have you guys played it before?

Ladybug: I did when I was 11 or 12, but I don’t remember any of the questions.

Alya: Did you beat it?

Ladybug: Nope, I rage quit after like 50 something questions

Alya: Well not that’s gonna work this time because you two aren’t allowed to leave until you’ve beaten the game.

Chat Noir: And how long is that going to take?

Alya: About 5-6 hours

Chat Noir: For a quiz? How hard is this thing?

Ladybug: It’s impossible.

Alya: Have you played this before Chat Noir?

Chat Noir: I’ve heard of it but I’ve never played it before. It’s a rage game right?

Ladybug: Yeah

Alya: Here’s how the game works: There are 110 mostly multiple choice questions with four options each. You get five lives, and each time you get a question wrong you lose a life. And if you lose all five lives, you have to restart the game from the beginning. Doesn’t matter if you’re on question 109, you have to restart all the way from the start. Throughout the game, you will be awarded “skips” which allow you to skip questions, but don’t use them, you won’t be able to beat the game if you do. I added a new rule for you guys to make it easier. You two have 15 hints for the whole game and you can ask me if you need one to solve a particular question and you can only use one hint per question. Are you guys ready?

Ladybug: Yeah! Let’s start

Alya’s Note: I haven’t transcripted them answering all 110 questions because that would’ve taken me too much time especially because there would’ve been 5 hours worth of audio to transcript so I’ve decided to only transcript the highlights, thanks. Also, please ignore the Number of Lives in the images, they're not accurate, I just took screenshots from The Impossible Quiz wiki. Also I will be dividing these into parts because of Tumblr's image limit

Question 1

Number of lives left = 3

Number of skips = 0

Number of hints left = 15

Question 1: How many holes in a polo?

Option 1: One

Option 2: Two

Option 3: Three

Option 4: Four

Chat Noir: How many holes in a polo? Like a polo shirt? That’d be..one, two, three four. The answer’s four

Ladybug (who’s intensely staring at the question): Also look the words, there are four holes in the word ‘A Polo’

Chat Noir: Oooo that’s smart, yeah I think you’re right M’Lady

Ladybug then clicks on ‘four’ and it turns out it’s the right answer

Chat Noir: Yes! Ok what’s the next question?

Question 2

Number of lives left = 3

Number of skips = 0

Number of hints left = 15

Question 2: Can a Match Box?

Option 1: Yes

Option 2: No

Option 3: No, but a tin can

Option 4: Yes, one beat Mike Tyson

Ladybug: I don’t get it. Is it asking if we can put a matchbox in a can?

Chat Noir: I don’t think so M’Lady, matchbox is one word. In the question, match and box are two different words so it’s like a pun.

Ladybug: Oh, so it’s like can a match box as in boxing. It’s the fourth one right? ‘Yes, one beat Mike Tyson’?

Chat Noir: I think it’s the third one ‘No, but a tin can’

Ladybug: Why?

Chat Noir: Since the question was a pun, it only makes sense that the answer is also a pun and the only punny answer is the third one.

Ladybug: Ohh right! Yeah, I think you’re right.

Ladybug then clicks on ‘No, but a tin can’ and it turns out it’s the right answer

Chat Noir: I knew it! Hell yeah!

Question 6

Number of lives left = 3

Number of skips = 0

Number of hints left = 15

Question 6: Square Root of Onion

Option 1: 28

Option 2: Carrot

Option 3: Shallots

Option 4: π

Ladybug: It’s Carrot, right?

Chat Noir: Yeah because carrots are roots.

Ladybug clicks on ‘Carrot’ and they lose a life.

Ladybug: What.

Chat Noir: How is it not carrot?? Carrots are roots.

Ladybug: It has to be Shallots right?

Chat Noir: I guess.

Ladybug clicks on Shallots and it’s the right answer.

Chat Noir: This quiz is weird.

Ladybug: You can say that again.

Question 7

Number of lives left = 2

Number of skips = 0

Number of hints left = 15

Question 7: The Answer is Really Big

Option 1: ANSWER

Option 2: REALLY BIG

Option 3: ∞

Option 4: AN ELEPHANT

Ladybug: ....

Chat Noir: Try clicking the ‘Really Big’ in the question, like the actual words.

Ladybug tries to click the words ‘Really Big’ in the question but nothing happens.

Chat Noir: What about the second option that actually says ‘Really Big’?

Ladybug selects the second option and loses a life.

Chat Noir: This has to be a trick question.

Ladybug: Maybe we have to do the opposite of what the question tells us to do as in, the answer is really small. The fourth option is literally the smallest so..

Ladybug selects the fourth option and it’s the right answer.

Chat Noir: M’Lady, can I kiss you?

Ladybug: Not now Chat Noir.

Chat Noir: Aww.. ok (┬┬﹏┬┬) (lighthearted)

Question 10

Number of lives left = 1

Number of skips = 0

Number of hints left = 15

Question 7: Choose Food

Option 1: A yellow glove

Option 2: A human mouth

Option 3: An eyeball

Option 4: A wooden chair

Option 5: A pen

Chat Noir: It’s the mouth.

Ladybug: Why?

Chat Noir: Choose food. A mouth choose food.

Ladybug: Oh for tikki’s sake it’s another pun.

Ladybug chooses (pun intended) the mouth and it’s the right answer. They also get their first skip.

Question 11

Number of lives left: 1

Number of skips = 1

Number of hints left = 15

Question 11: What follows December 2nd

Option 1: December 3rd

Option 2: n

Option 3: A question mark

Option 4: 142 Dwarves

Ladybug: It’s definitely not the first or last one. ‘December 3rd’ is too obvious and ‘142 dwarves’ is too random. So it’s either ‘A question mark’ of ‘n’

Chat Noir: I think It’s ‘n’

Ladybug: It’s obviously ‘A Question Mark’

Ladybug selects ‘A Question Mark’ , loses her last life and gets a ‘Game Over, Try Again?’ screen

Ladybug: (nervous laugh) sorry kitty

Chat Noir: No problem M’Lady! We’ll just start again, we’re only on the 11th question.

Ladybug and Chat Noir then restart the game and get back to question 11

Ladybug: Ok so it’s ‘n’ right?

Chat Noir: Yup

Ladybug selects ‘n’ and it turns out it’s the right answer

Ladybug: Thanks kitty!

Chat Noir: You’re welcome M’Lady.

Question 16

Number of lives left: 3

Number of skips = 1

Number of hints left = 15

Question 16: What is the 7th letter of the alphabet?

Option 1: G

Option 2: H

Option 3: I

Option 4: J

Ladybug: The actual 7th letter of the alphabet is G but there’s no way that’s the right answer.

Chat Noir: The 7th letter of ‘the alphabet’ is H so that has to be the right answer right?

Ladybug: Oh yeah, a hundred percent

Ladybug selects the second option and it turns out it’s the right answer

Question 17

Number of lives left = 3

Number of skips left = 1

Number of hints left = 15

Question 17: 24-7 = ?

Option 1: 18

Option 2: 2

Option 3: 16.931

Option 4: Walrus

Chat Noir: 24-7 is..17!

Ladybug: Yeah but that’s not an option.

Chat Noir: Try ‘16.931’, it’s closest to 17.

Ladybug: Yeah but I don’t think that’s the right answer.

Chat Noir: Then what else?

They both stare at the screen in silence for a solid 10 seconds

Alya: Do you guys need a hint?

Ladybug: No, we can do this.

Ladybug: Oh wait wait wait, I got it.

Chat Noir (excited): What is it M’Lady?!

Ladybug: What’s 24-7?

Chat Noir: 17

Ladybug: What question are we on?

Chat Noir: Sevente- ohhhh, you gotta click the question number.

Ladybug: Exactly!

Ladybug clicks on the question number and turns out it was the right answer

Chat Noir: M’Lady? Have I ever told you how much I love smart people

Ladybug: Yes you have Chat, yes you have.

Chat Noir: I love you.

Ladybug: ...I love you too. BUT PLATONICALLY!

Chat Noir: That’s more than enough for me.

Ladybug: pft, silly kitty (affectionate). Anyways let’s move on to the next question.

Question 19

Number of lives left = 3

Number of skips left = 1

Number of Hints left = 15

Question 18: Stop...

The question shows an image of a red clock with the minute-hand at 4 and the hour-hand in between 10 and 11. The 12 on the clock is replaced by a grey bucket, the 3 is replaced by a banana, the 6 is replaced by house and the 9 is replaced by a hammer. All of these items are click-able.

Ladybug (reading the question): Stop...

Chat Noir: Hammer Time!

Ladybug: What?

Chat Noir: It’s a lyric from ‘U Can’t Touch This’ by MC Hammer.

Ladybug: Oh, you think it’s a reference to that song?

Chat Noir: Mhm

Ladybug clicks on the hammer and turns out it was the right answer

Ladybug: Chat, how did you know this?

Chat Noir: Let's just say that I know a lot of old references.

Alya: That'll come in handy. This quiz is full of old references.

Chat Noir: Finally! My obscure knowledge of old people references is useful!

Question 22

Number of lives left = 2

Number of skips left = 2

Number of Hints left = 15

Question 20: The Choice is yours

Option 1: +1 Life

Option 2: -1 Life

Option 3: ESCAPE!!

Option 4: +1 Skip

Ladybug: Ok let’s think about this logically. If we select ‘-1 Life’, we’re literally going to lose a life which we obviously don’t want. It’s definitely not ‘+1 Life’ ‘cause there’s no way this quiz is going to just give us another life since that hasn’t happened before so why would it now? I don’t think it’s ‘ESCAPE!!’ because you can’t just “escape” this quiz without losing it which we, again, don’t want. So it has to ‘+1 Skip’, especially because the game does give you skips so it only makes sense that it’s right answer.

Chat Noir: Yeah, I completely agree with you M’Lady. You’re right.

Ladybug selects the fourth option and it turns out to be the correct answer.

Ladybug: Wait, why didn’t we get a skip?

Alya: You did! And that skip was used on this question.

Chat Noir: But you said we shouldn’t use any skips.

Alya: Don’t worry, this is supposed to happen. You guys are fine.

Ladybug: Oh well in that case, I guess we can continue.

Chat Noir: Yeah sure.

Part 2

[heyitssmiller]

Frosted Windowpanes Part Two

I have no idea why this was so hard to write? Part one just came so easily and this... not so much. But here it is! All the holiday tropes! Christmas puns (thank you to all of y’all who gave me ideas for those)! Falling in love!

As always, @donttouchmycarrots is my hero for proofreading!! Love you <3

@lumosinlove Guess who’s back to borrow your characters ;) Thank you so much!!

Part One if you missed it!

.

Finn had a Plan.

Well, half a Plan.

Maybe.

Step one: meet up with Logan and Leo again. Step two: woo them. Step three: …

Well, it wasn’t much. And it was very vague. But Finn’s plans tended to never go the way he wanted them to anyway, so vague was usually for the best. And so far, it had been going well. They’d grabbed dinner several times, ran into each other at the store or buying Christmas presents downtown. And on Monday the diner was closed, so Finn and Leo spent hours at the farm helping where they could and pestering Logan. He was so fun to tease – he got all gruff and grumpy and adorable. Leo seemed to think so, too, if the number of times he teamed up with Finn to make Logan get all red was anything to go off of.

At the beginning of all this, Finn had thought he’d been overdramatic. He’d woken up the morning after first meeting Logan and Leo and assumed he’d been tired and jet-lagged and was imagining all those feelings he’d felt the night before.

And then he’d met up with them again.

Love at first sight wasn’t real. Finn knew this. But being here, meeting Logan and Leo, just might have been enough to change his mind. It made no sense, but – well, here he was. The past few days were happy, rose-tinted, and Finn couldn’t believe his luck. What were the odds that he’d find both of them in this sleepy little town?

So here he was, pulling into the parking lot of Leo’s for a cup of coffee and a healthy serving of sweet southern blond.

Leo was out front, shoveling snow and looking absolutely miserable while doing it. He was bundled in a thick coat and hat, scarf wrapped high around his neck. Finn laughed under his breath as he turned his car off and braved the cold. Poor southern boy. Leo glanced up at him briefly when he approached, then did a double take.

“Morning, sunshine.” Finn said with a cheeky grin. “Enjoying the snow day?”

Leo’s resulting grumpy look made Finn laugh. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“Nate called and said he can’t make it to work today because the roads are so bad.” Leo took a deep breath, and then the rest of his words came out in a jumbled, rushed mess. “Which isn’t his fault and I’m not blaming him at all. But I haven’t started cooking and we open in thirty minutes and there’s no coffee brewing and nowhere for people to park because of this goddamn snow and so I’m stuck shoveling snow instead of cooking and I’m so far behind-”

Finn gently pressed a finger to Leo’s lips, halting the nervous ramblings. Leo looked down at his finger, then back up to meet Finn’s eyes.

Oh, he was so gorgeous.

Finn had to force himself to focus on the matter at hand instead of cherry-red lips and soft baby blues. “Relax, ok? And hand me the shovel. I’ll do this, while you get on inside and start cooking.”

“But – Finn,” Leo said, and wow did he love the sound of his voice in that southern twang.

“Leo,” He echoed with an attempted accent, eliciting a smile from the blond.

“I can’t just ask you to work. You’re on vacation.”

“First of all, you didn’t ask – I offered. And the friends I’m visiting are both at work,” Finn explained, “so I’ve been left to my own devices for the day.”

Leo winced in sympathy. “Bless your heart.”

And see, Finn had done his research. He’d googled New Orleans, the state of Louisiana, and the south in general. And he’d learned that southerners were very confusing – more confusing than people gave them credit for. They were polite and kind to everyone, even if they definitely didn’t mean it. The phrase “bless your heart” could mean they either absolutely adored you or they thought you were the worst person on the planet.

Finn really hoped it wasn’t the latter. He didn’t think it was the latter, anyways.

“I’m literally dying of boredom. I’ll shovel the snow, and then I can come help you cook!” At Leo’s skeptical look, Finn brought out the big guns: his puppy dog eyes. They were known to melt even the hardest of hearts. He’d learned this lesson in college when asking his Grinch of an Ethics professor for some extra credit. “Please?”

Leo hesitated, but Finn could see the exact moment he caved. “Alright. But you’re getting paid.”

“Absolutely not. Consider it a Christmas gift.”

“I’ll pay you in food and coffee.”

“Deal.” Finn said, grabbing the shovel from Leo’s mittened hands. “Like I could ever say no to your food.”

Leo’ smile, warm and a little bashful, probably could’ve thawed the snow on the pavement if it was directed that way. “What would you like: sweet or savory?”

“Sweet,” Finn said instantly, even though he really preferred savory. His one-track mind was still stuck on dimples. “But I take my coffee black.”

“Comin’ right up.”

Finn watched him go, knowing that he had the dopiest smile on his face. Today was going to be a good day. And he knew a way to make it even better.

Finn dialed the number for Tremblay’s Trees, hoping more than anything that Logan would be the one to pick up. But of course he wasn’t that lucky. A bright, cheery voice answered the phone - definitely not Logan. “Tremblay’s Trees!0 This is Thomas, how can I help you?”

“Uh,” Finn said articulately, “Hi, I’d like to talk to Logan. Is he there?”

There was a slight pause, then: “Maybe. Who’s asking? And how do you know our dear Lolo?” The voice sounded curious, if not a little mischievous. Before Finn could answer, though, there was a scuffling over the line.

“Talker, give me the phone.”

“Oh, come on, I’ve got the five o’clock news slot tonight. Give the people what they want, Logan! Who’s your mystery caller?”

“I swear to god-”

The scuffling sound got louder, then there was a loud clatter when Finn assumed the phone hit the ground. He jerked his own phone away from his ear with a wince. “I am very confused.” He stated, not sure if anyone else heard him.

There was a small, softer rustle, then a breathless voice asked, “Hello?”

Finn couldn’t help but smile. “Hi, Lolo.”

That laugh was just as wonderful over the phone as it was in person. “Please don’t call me that.”

“Mmm… I might need to be convinced.” Finn said, letting some flirtiness slip through. “Anyways, I’ve got an idea. You busy today?”

“I’ve got the morning off. Why, what did you have in mind?”

So Finn, with the phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear, told the story of this morning as he shoveled – Nate not being able to make it to his shift, the ice and snow in Leo’s parking lot, Leo being behind on cooking and acting anxious. “So I was thinking we could do something? Like a surprise? And I know you guys need to actually sell things and make a living and stuff but I was thinking about decorating the diner? He just works so hard and he’s so stressed and I feel like he could use a little holiday cheer. What do you think?”

The other voice from earlier must have shouted, because he was loud enough to hear over the phone. “Phone guy! What the hell did you say to make him melt like that?”

Logan punched Talker in the shoulder. Hard. “I will lock you in the closet, Talker. Shut. Up.” His attention was brought back to the phone by Finn’s laugh and his demeanor softened again. He’d never met someone as chaotically considerate as Finn O’Hara. It was such a sweet, thoughtful idea. And it was something to help out Leo? How could Logan say no?

“Sounds like a plan.” Logan said, cradling the phone closer to his ear. “Most people already have their decorations so we don’t have a whole lot left, but I’ll see what I can find.”

“Perfect! Oh this is going to be so fun – fuck, I’ve gotta go. Customers just showed up. But I’ll see you soon, yeah?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Great. Ok see you soon bye!” The words reached Logan in a rush before the line went dead.

What a dork.

Logan was pretty sure he was half in love with him.

“So…” Talker said suddenly, making Logan spin around quickly. “Who are you pining over?”

Noelle, who had been passing by on her way to the kitchen, backpedaled in order to join the conversation. “Are we talking about Logan’s love life? Because I’m so here for that.”

Logan sighed and went to the coat rack by the door, grabbing his coat, toque, and scarf. “I’m not having this conversation with you.”

They both promptly ignored him. Talker grinned at his fiancée, sensing trouble he could get into. “He’s become such a sap.”

Noelle snuggled up to Talker, turning her teasing gaze to her brother. “But if it’s who I’m thinking of, they have such good chemis-tree.”

“Did you guys practice this or something?”

“Hey man, don’t be so defensive.” Talker said, voice turning serious. “You know we’re all rooting for you.”

“I hate you both so much.”

“Aww, don’t be like that, Lolo.” Noelle sighed, giving him an over-the-top hug and obnoxious kisses to his cheek. “We’re just having some fun. Do you want us to stop needling you?”

“I’m having fun fir sure!” Talker shouted, then burst into raucous laughter, which stopped as abruptly as it started. “Wait. That wasn’t Leo on the phone. You've got eyes for someone other than him, now? Branching out a little, are we?"

“No.” Logan said instantly, then winced. Because his feelings for Leo definitely hadn’t changed. But then there was Finn… “Maybe. It’s complicated, ok?”

“The redhead that was hanging out with you and Leo on Monday?”

Logan felt his cheeks heat up but didn’t say anything. Monday had been the best, though. Showing the two of them the farm and how he did his job and watching their noses and cheeks turn adorable shades of pink from the cold. Even though he’d been there for a year, Leo still seemed in awe of all the snow. He clearly hated it, but Logan could tell he still found wonder and beauty in a clean blanket of undisturbed, freshly-fallen snow. Finn, even though he was clearly freezing too, kept cracking jokes the entire time, his voice muffled by his scarf. They’d walked and talked and learned more about each other among the saplings that would be full-grown and ready to be cut down by next season.

Yeah, Monday had been a great day.

And Logan was so screwed.

“Birch, please.” Noelle teased, then softened. “But really, Logan. Both of them were just as interested in you as they were in each other. You’ve got nothing to worry about, you just need to talk to them.”

He looked up from the buttons of his coat. “You think so?”

“Only one way to find out. What are you doing with them today?”

“We’re decorating the diner.” Logan pulled his hat on and looked over at his sister. “Do you think dad’ll be ok with me taking some garland and a wreath?”

Noelle scoffed. “With all the coffee and pastries you boy’s given us, I think he’s more than paid for it. Do you want company?”

“No.”

“Oh, come on,” Talker said, wiggling his eyebrows. “We’d make the perfect wingmen.”

“You did enough while I was on the phone, thanks.” Logan said, grabbing the keys from the counter. “Ok I’m headed out. See you later.”

Talker and Noelle sent a chorus of boos after him, only stopping when the door closed firmly behind him. He huffed out a laugh, shook his head, and headed towards the display counter to grab decorations. They were a little old since it was so close to Christmas day, but they’d have to do. Logan hesitated for a split second, then grabbed the Santa hat as well. They’d get a kick out of that. He threw the decorations in the back of the truck and took off down the road.

.

They actually worked really well together – Leo and Finn, that is. Finn dealt with customers while Leo made the food. They had a complex, intricate dance around the close quarters of the diner but they seemed to know the footwork already and could predict exactly what the other needed without blinking an eye. Leo peered out the kitchen window at Finn as he took orders at another table, laughing at something one of the women said. He was good at this. He was naturally outgoing and good with people, but he was also efficient and seemed to be able to keep track of twenty different things at once.

Leo frowned thoughtfully down at the grits on the stove. Logically, he shouldn’t like Finn. The redhead had appeared like a whirlwind and thrown everything off course. But then he went out of his way to be helpful and sweet and thoughtful even though it didn’t benefit him in any way. He had a big heart with a lot of love to give. And he gave it willingly to everyone, it seemed.

Don’t get him wrong, that was a good thing – it was a great thing. But it also made the past few days incredibly confusing. Was Finn treating Leo like everyone else, or did he want something more?

He definitely wanted something more with Logan, though. That much was obvious.

Leo just wasn’t sure how he fit into all of this.

Finn barging into the kitchen snapped Leo out of his thoughts. He looked up as Finn started looking around for something on the counters and shelves, tongue poking out in concentration. Leo couldn’t help but smile at the little detail.

“What are you looking for?” He asked, stepping away from the stove.

“The, um…” Finn said, trailing off as he continued to search, clearly distracted. “The spicy maple sauce for the chicken and waffles.”

“In the fridge.” Leo stated plainly, maneuvering around Finn to grab flour from the pantry, brushing against his back as he did so and trying to ignore how the simple touch heightened his awareness of the redhead. Finn threw open the fridge door, scanning the shelves.

“Where?”

“Second shelf from the bottom, on the right.”

A few seconds of silence, then: “Where?”

Leo laughed, dumping a cup of flour into a bowl and heading to the fridge. He peered over Finn’s shoulder, then reached around him with one long arm to grab the bowl of sauce. “Right in front of you, sweetheart.” He teased. Finn turned around so that he was facing Leo, a look that Leo had seen a lot in the past few days but still couldn’t identify on his face.

“Yeah,” was all he said, soft and a little strangled.

Leo looked away from those deep, brown eyes and down at the sauce. His heartrate picked up significantly. “Have you tried this yet?” At Finn’s shake of his head, Leo grabbed a spoon from a nearby drawer. “Figured I’d combine my roots with where I ended up, y’know? Tabasco, black pepper, maple syrup, and a few more secret ingredients.” He said with a wink, spooning some out and holding it out to Finn. “I’m pretty proud of it, if I do say so myself. Try it.”

Instead of grabbing the spoon from Leo, Finn just leaned forwards and tasted the sauce straight from the spoon in Leo’s hand. Leo’s breath hitched and his stomach swooped as Finn straightened again and met his eyes.

Oh, he could stare into those eyes forever. Eyes the same color of the coffee Finn had slid through the kitchen window about an hour ago with the words, “figured you could use some” before dashing off to clear another table. Leo had turned beet red, but grabbed the coffee and held it close before taking a sip.

Leo also hadn’t realized how close they were. The diner was small and the kitchen was cramped, but they definitely didn’t need to be standing this close. Not that Leo was complaining.

“Is it hot in here?” Finn murmured, gaze flitting from Leo’s eyes down to his lips and back again.

Leo seemed a little lost, too, leaning closer to the redhead without even realizing he was doing it. “Must be the sauce.”

It definitely wasn’t just the sauce.

The chime that alerted them to the front door opening startled both of them, forcing them to jerk away from each other and blush furiously.

“I, uh, I’m going to go check on that.” Finn said, still not looking away from Leo as he backed up.

“Ok.” Leo whispered, reaching back to grab the island behind him in an attempt to steady himself. Finn reluctantly tore his eyes away and disappeared from sight, leaving Leo reeling in the kitchen as he entered the dining area.

Finn’s mind was still back in the kitchen, wishing more than anything that he hadn’t been forced to step away. He’d never wanted to kiss someone senseless quite as much as he did right then. And how was he supposed to keep it together when all he wanted to do was flip the diner sign from open to closed and get Logan here and finally talk to them. They’d felt this pull - this magnetism - too. He knew they did. The only thing left to do was finally talk about it. 

Finn was forced to snap back to the present when the counter was suddenly covered in green needles, red berries, and festive ribbons. He looked up to see Logan grinning at him. Under his coat he was wearing red plaid, which matched the Santa hat perched on his head.

How was it possible to want two people so much at the same time? He couldn’t breathe with all the emotions overflowing in his chest.

“Ho ho ho,” Logan attempted to say, but cracked up before he could finish. Finn grinned and laughed as well, stepping forward to greet him.

“You should’ve used the chimney.” Finn joked, tugging on the end of his hat playfully. He got a smile and sparkling green eyes in return. Finn bit back a dreamy sigh. “But really, thank you. Leo’s gonna love this.”

Logan’s face grew a little worried. “How is he?”

Ha.

Haha.

That was a good question, since Finn left him standing there in the kitchen with the spoon still in his hand, looking a little lost.

He ended up shrugging, glancing back at the kitchen door longingly. “Better now. Still seems tired.”

“We’re going to have to force him to take breaks, aren’t we.” It wasn’t a question.

“Probably. If we tag team, I think we can manage to make it happen.” Finn looked down at the decorations. “So where are we putting these?”

Logan looked around the dining area, giving Finn a perfect view of his profile. He longed to kiss that strong jawline so badly, holy shit. “We could hang some over the kitchen window and some around the front window. And the wreath can go on the door.” Finn followed Logan as he maneuvered his way around tables to the front window, eyeing it critically. “The frame is wide enough that it should stay up on its own, so we won’t need nails or anything.” He grabbed the garland from the counter and then turned back around. Finn looked from him to the tall crown molding around the window.

“Need a ladder?”

“No.”

Finn laughed, grabbing one end of the garland and stretching up to place it on the ledge. Once it was secure, he looked over his shoulder at Logan and stuck his hand out for the other end. Logan hesitated, clearly wanting to do it himself, but quickly admitted defeat and handed it over. He huffed at Finn’s smug smile.

“Shut up.”

Finn laughed as he hung the garland. Logan was so small and grumpy and cute. Finn wanted to bundle him up in his arms and never let go. His little pocket-sized lumberjack. How adorable. He was so different from Leo, in basically every way. And yet Finn still wanted them both. How the hell did that work? 

“I should probably check on the customers.” Finn said reluctantly, glancing around at the breakfast crowd. “Do you think you can manage the kitchen window?”

“I got it.” Logan grumbled, sizing up his next target. Finn just shook his head fondly and started making his rounds to the occupied tables. Logan grabbed the remaining garland and headed behind the counter. He couldn’t help but stick his head through the window and look around. It was several degrees warmer in the kitchen than it was in the dining area. Logan was surprised at how tidy it was, considering how hectic the morning had been. There were a few scattered dishes in the sink, but the counters were mostly clean and organized, each bowl seemed to have a designated location. Leo, focused with his head down, maneuvered between stations with an effortless grace as he breaded a chicken tender and threw it into a frier. Logan never thought he’d be so entranced by something as simple as cooking but here he was, watching Leo hum along to the Christmas music on the radio as he poured batter into a waffle iron. He grabbed a mug of coffee off to the side and looked up as he took a sip, jumping when he saw Logan.

“Logan! Hey, honey!” He smiled, like seeing Logan was the highlight of his day. Logan yearned at the sight of that smile. He seemed to be doing a whole lot of yearning lately. “When did you get here?”

“Just a few minutes ago. Brought you something.”

Leo arched an eyebrow. “That sounds a little ominous.”

“No,” Logan laughed. “No, it’s a good thing.” He held up the garland and wiggled it around a little, causing it to sway in the air.

Leo’s entire face lit up. “Christmas decorations?”

“It was Finn’s idea.” Logan said, looking back over his shoulder at the redhead. Leo visibly softened, smile gentle and eyes warm.

“He sure is sweet, isn’t he?”

You just need to talk to them, Noelle’s voice echoed in Logan’s head. Looking at Leo right then, he couldn’t help but think that maybe she was right.

.

“Sure is snowing hard out there, eh?” Logan asked several hours later as he looked out the window. It was a strange lull in the day – too late for lunch, but too early for dinner. They were all grateful for the break. Logan honestly wasn’t sure how Leo did this every day – it was exhausting.

Finn, who was sitting on the other side of the booth from Logan and Leo with his legs stretched out, pulled up the weather app on his phone. “It’s only supposed to get worse. They’re calling for a blizzard.”

Leo looked out at the snow worriedly. “I really don’t wanna drive home in all that.”

“Might need to close up early, then. No one’s going to be out in this weather, anyways.” Logan said, watching Leo bite his lip as he thought about it. “I could drive you, if you want.”

Leo looked over at him, relief clear in his eyes. “Would you?” He rushed to continue, “I don’t wanna inconvenience you or anything, and I know you need to get home too-”

“Leo,” Logan cut in with a smile. If Leo didn’t know Logan would do pretty much anything for him at this point, he was clearly oblivious. “I don’t mind, I promise.”

Leo seemed to accept it without further argument and looked over at Finn. “Do you wanna tag along? I was thinking about making cookies.”

“Well that depends.” Finn said with mock gravitas, leaning forward to rest his forearms against the table. “What kind of cookies are we talking?”

Leo matched his pose, mischief alight in his eyes. “I was thinking snickerdoodles, but I’d be willing to reconsider.”

“Sneak in some sugar cookies we can decorate and you’ve got yourself a deal.”

Leo and Finn shook on it, keeping it professional.

Logan was infatuated with the two of them.

“So you’re closing early?” He asked, excited at the prospect of spending the rest of the day with them. At Leo’s nod, he nearly sighed with relief. “Good. You need a break.”

Leo rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same. “Maybe I do.”

Finn grinned. “He finally admits it!”

“Ok, ok, I get it.” Leo sighed, shoving Logan’s shoulder repeatedly until he got out of the booth. Leo followed after him. “I’ve got to put stuff away in the kitchen and then I’ll be done.”

Logan and Finn shared a look before trailing after him. They worked together to clean up, put food away, and organize the receipts and cash register for the day. It went much faster with three people. Before they knew it, all three of them were piling into Logan’s pickup truck, bundled up against the cold and brushing freshly-fallen snowflakes off of their coats and out of their hair. Logan pulled out onto the road, driving while Leo gave directions from the passenger’s seat.

Leo’s house was nice – small, but it looked warm and well-loved. There was a snowman out front, complete with a scarf and carrot nose.

“Cute.” Finn said as they got out of the truck, walking up to the snowman. Leo smiled, fishing his keys out of his pocket.

“My friend’s little brother made that over the weekend.” He unlocked the front door and ushered everyone inside as he held the door for them. Leo’s house was all cool tones – soft blue and purples and greens. There was a tree in the corner of the living room by the window, all lit up and decorated. There were presents under the tree, wrapped in brown paper with ribbons and bows.

Leo hung his coat on the coat rack and took Logan’s and Finn’s from them. “So. Cookies?”

“Nope,” Logan said, grabbing Leo by the hand and tugging him towards the living room. “Rest first, then cookies.” Leo laughed, reaching behind him to find Finn’s arm and pulling him along with them.

“I won’t say no to a Christmas movie.” He agreed as they all collapsed onto the couch. Finn grabbed a blanket from the arm of the couch and threw it over the three of them while Leo grabbed the TV remote.

Logan moved closer under the pretense of getting under more of the blanket. He was now pressed up against Leo, butterflies in his stomach. “My vote is for Die Hard.”

Finn scoffed, throwing his legs over Leo’s and Logan’s thighs. “That doesn’t count as a Christmas movie.”

“I beg your pardon-”

“Is it about Christmas? No. Case closed.”

Logan leaned forward to look around Leo at the redhead. “It takes place during Christmas!”

Leo just listened amusedly to the bickering as he flicked through movie titles. They were still arguing when he started the cute, old Claymation Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer. Both boys trailed off as the introduction music started.

“This works.” Finn said, settling in to get more comfortable, his calves flexing against Logan’s thighs as he stretched. Logan hummed in agreement, eyes already glued on the screen.

They hadn’t even met Hermey the elf before Leo was sound asleep, head pillowed on Finn’s shoulder and breathing slow and even. Finn looked over blond curls at Logan and smiled, making his heart thud painfully in his chest. He needed to talk to them, and soon. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could sit there and keep all these feelings internalized.

But it could wait until after a nap. He snuggled up close and turned back to the TV.

.

“No, you need to-” Leo stopped and laughed, pointing to the recipe. “Teaspoon of vanilla extract, darlin’, not tablespoon.”

Finn switched out one measuring spoon for another with a wince. “That would’ve been bad, huh?”

“Very bad.” Leo agreed, looking over at the oven to see Logan already staring back at them, a wide, almost-giddy smile on his face as he started loading cookie dough balls onto a baking tray. One tray of snickerdoodles were already in the oven and spreading out rapidly as they cooked.

“We might’ve put those too close to each other,” Logan said, crouching down to look into the oven. “They’re all starting to stick together. It’s just one big, square cookie.”

“That’s ok. It’ll still taste good.” Leo said with a shrug. They both turned when Finn started banging on the table in time to the music.

“I don’t want a lot for Christmas! There is just one thing I need!” He screamed, bopping along to the song. Logan laughed and let himself be tugged forwards to dance. Leo watched as they both jumped around and danced in the kitchen, hips swaying and acting like total dorks. But they were so happy, as well. Big smiles graced their faces as they laughed and sang and held each other close. Leo whisked wet ingredients together in a bowl and leaned back against the counter as he enjoyed the over-the-top show. They were cute together in the warm glow of the kitchen – a sharp contrast to the snow falling outside and collecting on the windowsill. Finn tilted his head back to shriek the last high note, causing Logan and Leo to both burst into fits of laughter.

“O’Hara, please don’t audition for Broadway.” Logan teased, still laughing a little. Finn scowled and grabbed a tea towel, spinning it up before whipping it at the brunet.

This started an all-out war. Many a cookie lost their life in the crossfire when Logan accidentally hit Leo’s arm as he was transferring cooled cookies into a tin. They had a warrior’s send-off as they were dumped into the trash can.

After the cookies were baked and decorated and the kitchen was cleaned thoroughly, it was pitch black outside. Leo had genuinely lost track of time, but he was selfishly grateful for it. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for y’all to be driving in this weather in the dark.” He said, snagging a cookie from one of the plates and taking a bite as he tried to be casual about the two boys potentially staying the night. “I’ve got a guest bedroom and a pull-out couch if you wanna stay here.”

Finn and Logan looked at each other, then Logan shrugged. “If that’s ok with you.”

Ok? It was wonderful.

“Of course it is. I’ll go make up the beds and get y’all something to sleep in, ok?” Leo said before hurrying to his room, where he hastily made his bed and rummaged through his dresser for clothes. He muttered to himself as he pulled out two pairs of sweatpants. “Don’t make a big deal of this, Nutty. They’re just spending the night. That’s it.”

His mind fast-forwarded to imagine sleep-mussed hair, soft smiles, and rough morning voices. Sitting at the table together, nursing cups of coffee as the sun rose over a clean, white blanket of snow. They’d talk and laugh and just maybe share some coffee-flavored kisses.

Leo sighed, pressing his forehead against the edge of his dresser. “I’m screwed, ain’t I?”

.

Logan woke up to a gentle hand prodding his shoulder. He breathed in sharply as he remembered where he was and blinked his eyes open to be met with worried blue ones. “Leo?” He asked as he sat up, voice raspy with lack of use. “What’s wrong?”

He was greeted with an absolute onslaught of words. “There’s so much snow outside. Like, so much snow. I’ve never seen this much snow before. And I didn’t think it would be this bad so I don’t have any milk or bread or eggs in the house and I doubt I can get to the store. How long do you think the roads will be out? And what about the diner? Is snow damage a thing? Do I need to go check-”

Logan laughed softly, falling back against the pillows and covering his eyes with his forearm. “What – milk, eggs, and bread?”

“It’s a southern thing.” Logan couldn’t see him, but he could hear the pout in his voice. His vision was suddenly filled with blond bed-head and wide baby blues as Leo pulled his arm away from his face. If he could wake up to this every day, Logan would die a happy man. “Come on, sweetheart, I’m really freaking out right now.”

One of these days, the terms of endearment were actually going to kill him.

“I’m sure the diner’s fine. Besides, there’s not much we can do until the roads clear, so we’ll just have to wait it out.” Logan shifted over on the bed, leaving a Leo-sized spot open. He tugged on Leo’s arm until he crawled into bed, laying on his side to face Logan, their feet tangled together. Leo was wearing fuzzy socks.

Logan smiled at the sight in front of him, then closed his eyes again. “Go back to sleep, Leo. We’ll deal with it when-”

The door banged open to reveal Finn, face bright with excitement. “Snow! Have you guys seen all the snow? We should-” He stopped when he saw the two boys in bed, nestled together and still sleepy. He cleared his throat. “Uh, sorry. Didn’t mean to-”

“Cuddle.” Leo said, reaching up for Finn as well. “We should cuddle.” Finn smiled warmly and didn’t hesitate to clamber into bed on Logan’s other side, scooting in close and only elbowing Logan once as he got comfy. Logan grumbled, but quickly got over it when he felt a tentative arm wrap around him as he drifted back off to sleep.

.

Leo woke up to two boys asleep in bed with him and couldn’t think of a time when he was happier. They were all tangled together in a mess of limbs and blankets and pillows. It was warm and soft and Leo never wanted to leave. But he also wanted to surprise them with coffee and breakfast. Breakfast in bed wouldn’t be too obvious would it? He thought back to the past twenty-four hours and decided that if this wasn’t flirting, he wasn’t sure what was. Now it was just a matter of taking that next step and actually talking about it. So who cared if it was too obvious or not?

Leo glanced at Logan and Finn one last time. There was just something about seeing the two of them in his clothes. Logan’s sweaterpaws were visible from where he was grabbing onto Finn’s arm in his sleep. Finn was close to the same size as Leo so the clothes actually fit him pretty well. His face was pressed into brown hair, arm tightening around Logan as he huffed out a breath. The sight did something to Leo’s heart. He smiled dopily before sneaking out of bed, his back popping as he stretched. Ok, game plan: coffee, breakfast, talk. He could do this.

He crept down the hall and into the kitchen, trying to be as quiet as he could when getting a frying pan out and setting it on the stove. Next came the kettle for water to use in the French press, bacon, and ingredients to make homemade biscuits. Normally he would’ve done eggs, but they’d used all of them on the cookies yesterday.

The biscuits went into the oven and the bacon into the frying pan, sizzling away. So much for breakfast in bed. Leo knew the smell of food cooking would bring the other two out of the bedroom and, sure enough, he soon heard two pairs of footsteps headed towards him, one slightly muffled by too-long sweatpants hems dragging along the floor. He grabbed three mugs from the cabinet and sent a smile over his shoulder at the two boys.

Three cups of coffee: one black, one with cream only, and one with cream and sugar.

Leo pulled the biscuits out of the oven and quickly transferred them onto a plate, doing the same with the bacon before bringing both to the table.

“Leo, you’re an angel.” Finn said as he grabbed plates and silverware for the three of them. Logan hummed in agreement from in front of the fridge, where he was collecting butter and jams for the biscuits. They all joined each other at the kitchen table, still a little sleepy-eyed and half awake.

Leo, halfway through his first sip of coffee, passed Finn his mug of steaming black coffee, then Logan his own cup full of cream and sugar, just how he liked it. Logan looked down at it and sighed happily, “Love you, Nutter Butter.”

Finn’s head shot up. Leo choked on his coffee, cheeks heating up. Logan looked at them confusedly before he realized what he said and his face paled. “Shit.”

“You... you love me?” Leo asked, voice barely above a whisper.

Logan’s heart ached a little at the look on Leo’s face. God, he should’ve told him a long time ago. In response he just slowly nodded, hesitantly meeting wide eyes and hoping for the best.

Leo smiled, letting out a soft laugh. “Honey, I’ve loved you for months.” He took a deep breath, as if gathering up his courage, then reached out to grab Finn’s hand. “And I think I’m falling for you, too. Judging from the way Logan stares at you when you’re not looking, he feels the same.” Leo looked from Finn to Logan hopefully. “Right?”

Finn squeezed Leo’s hand, finally daring to hope. Maybe he could actually have this. His heart thundered in his chest, so loud that Logan and Leo were bound to hear it. “And how does he stare at me when I’m not looking?”

Leo’s eyes flicked over to Logan with a smile. “Take a look for yourself.”

Finn’s breath hitched as he looked over into evergreen eyes, bright and gazing at him the same way Finn had caught him staring at Leo so many times before. He laughed a little in relief, tracing Logan’s cheekbone with gentle fingers.

“I was a little worried we were never going to have this conversation. And I know we’ve got a lot to figure out, but...” He trailed off, a little in awe. What were the odds of this? Everything seemed to fall perfectly into place, like puzzle pieces. It wasn’t some huge revelation, though. There were no grand romantic gestures, no race against time, no frantic outburst. It was calm and gentle like the sun rising outside, casting everything in light pastels and golds.

Logan just laughed softly, scooting his chair back with a loud scraping noise and standing up. “Stop just sitting there and come here, I’ve been wanting to kiss you two for forever.”

Finn scrambled up from his seat and all but threw himself at Logan, nearly bowling him over as he kissed him enthusiastically, arms wrapped tightly around Logan’s waist. Leo smiled as he watched them. He loved their dynamic – the bickering and teasing like they’d known each other for years, and yet the head-over-heels way they looked at each other and held each other and kissed each other. They were so comfortable together, not shying away from anything it seemed. Leo couldn’t wait to see how their relationship grew and evolved over time. He couldn’t wait to see how all three of them would grow together. He stood too and joined Logan and Finn, pressing kisses to their cheeks, their jaws, their necks – anywhere he could reach.

Finn broke the kiss to press his forehead against Logan’s, eyes closed and smile a mile wide. “I’ve been wanting to do that since the first time I saw you at that farm.” His eyes turned to Leo next. He reached up and cupped Leo’s face in his hands. “And I’ve wanted to kiss you since that first bite of pie.”

“What, was the muffuletta not good enough for – mmph.” Leo’s teasing words got cut off by Finn’s lips on his. He sighed into the kiss, draping his arms over Finn’s freckled shoulders and angling his head to deepen the kiss. He could taste black coffee on Finn’s lips and had never loved the flavor more. There was another hand at his back, stroking over his spine. Logan. Leo leaned back into his hand before breaking away from Finn to look at Logan – the guy he’d been pining after for just shy of a year.

“How did I get so lucky?” He murmured, prompting Logan to lean up and kiss him, softly and heartbreakingly gentle. Leo kissed him with purpose, running his tongue against Logan’s bottom lip and causing his breath to hitch.

He thought back to his musings of the night before during his panic in his bedroom and laughed against Logan’s lips. The brunet made a questioning humming noise, so Leo leaned back just far enough to whisper, “Maybe I’m clairvoyant.”

Finn laughed, bewildered. “What?”

Leo just glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, smiled, and combed a finger through red tresses. Sleep-mussed hair, soft smiles, and rough morning voices. Sitting at the table together, nursing cups of coffee as the sun rose over a clean, white blanket of snow. Talking and laughing and sharing some coffee-flavored kisses. Those had been his thoughts last night. And here he was, suddenly getting all of those things.

“Nothing, sweetheart.” Leo said, looking down at his two with overflowing fondness as he thought of the future and hoped that those musings would come true, too.

[cheri-translates]

[Analysis] S2 Gavin’s theme song

The music used in MLQC is incredibly evocative and carefully constructed, so I spent some time analysing S2 Gavin’s theme song because I find that it sums up the relationship he has with MC very nicely!

Music is highly subjective, so don’t worry if you have a different view from me :>

🍒 Warning: Contains tons of S2 Gavin spoilers! I’ve tried to make things really clear in this post so you wouldn’t have to read through the entire swamp of S2 Gavin translations to understand what’s going on, but I’ll still include links to the references made! 🍒

INTRODUCTION  [ 0:00 - 0:12 ] - Reuniting as adults

I received a jump scare the first time I played the theme song LOL

It starts off abruptly in two ways - (1) the sound effect resembling a puff of air, and (2) the fact that it mirrors the 0:38 mark of S1 Gavin’s theme.

The sound effect resembling a puff of air essentially captures how S2 Gavin and MC reunite as adults -

Before I take a step forward, there’s a sudden tightening on my wrist.

My hands are firmly clasped behind me. Before I can get a proper look at the person’s face, my whole body is pressed against the glass behind me.

??: What are you doing here?

A familiar voice enters my ears, reminiscent of wind from the past awakening my memories.

The fact that S2 Gavin’s theme starts around the halfway point of S1 Gavin’s theme is pretty significant.

On a superficial level, this could reflect how there’s both a sense of familiarity yet foreignness to their dynamics. But this isn’t limited to S2 Gavin x MC, because the dynamics between the other love interests and MC do see a slight change as well.

But what’s perhaps more unique to their situation is that back in S1, Gavin and MC didn't get to know each other properly until they became adults. In contrast, when S2 Gavin and MC reunite as adults, they already have a shared past in Loveland High.

While we don’t know how their lives in Loveland High played out in detail, it’s inferred that they had meals together frequently:

Boss: Then, do you remember that lady who often came here with you back then? She still visits, and also likes to have her beef noodles with extra chilli.

Also, Mr Keller knows that the two of them are somewhat close and are still in contact, since he gets MC’s help in passing Gavin some old photographs, and invited the both of them to visit Loveland High for an activity. In contrast, back in S1, MC didn’t even know that Mr Keller knew who Gavin was until Campus Date.

Just as we’re thrown into the halfway point of what resembles the S1 soundtrack, we’re thrown into an iffy, halfway point of their relationship. In Chapter 1 of the main storyline, we can tell that they know each other well enough, but they aren’t as close as we’d expect ex-schoolmates to be.

Their meeting comes across slightly antagonistic on Gavin’s part, and he even straight out lies to her that officers are approaching, in order to force an answer out of her. Similarly, in Stray Date, Gavin uses his Evol to send her hovering over the ocean, once again trying to force an answer out of her.

Thankfully, this antagonism fizzles out very quickly as we learn that this is just Gavin’s tactic to squeeze the truth out of MC for her own good. And that he still cares about her deeply (evident in Dangerous Night Date).

Aside from the abrupt start, there are three other things to note:

The S2 soundtrack is much slower, and the notes are drawn out as compared to the S1 soundtrack. I’m inclined to viewing this as a representation of Gavin’s self-assuredness and pure confidence as the Commander of the STF and leader of the Special Operations Team

The piano chords. It’s probably just me, but I feel that they resemble the chime of a school bell. This point becomes significant in the analysis of the bridge, which we’ll get to later

There’s a somewhat grating, scratchy sound which I see as a representation of the tension between S2 Gavin and MC. There are only three places in the song where this scratchy sound isn’t present - the first verse, the bridge, and the outro

-

FIRST VERSE [ 0:12 - 0:38 ] - Gavin the student

This part likely represents the time Gavin was still in Loveland High, because the grating, scratchy sounds mentioned earlier (which I associate with the tension between Commander Gavin and MC), aren’t present.

At 0:24, individual piano notes come in. Even though they sound careful, they aren’t played in synchrony with the firm and resolute guitar notes. Sometimes, the piano notes are played alongside the guitar notes. Sometimes, they don’t.

I’d say that this represents missed opportunities. Despite S2 Gavin and MC meeting earlier in S2, MC ended up re-living one of her main regrets - not getting to read Gavin’s letter:

MC: They said Minor left a bloodstained letter on my desk and thought it was a threatening letter, so no one dared to go near it. But by the time I returned to the classroom, the letter was gone. I searched for such a long time… but couldn’t find it… I thought I accidentally threw it into the dustbin, so I looked through it for a long time. But… I couldn’t find that letter anywhere.

My voice grows even softer at the end, and I don’t dare to lift my head to look at him.

Even if this world were to be reset, unexpected events still present such regrets.

Like a merciless joke, an antithesis to my unwillingness to be powerless.

Even if she had read the letter and gone to the meeting spot, it turns out S2 Gavin didn’t even stay long enough to meet her at the arranged time:

Gavin: That’s not important anymore. Back then, I had already left before the arranged time. So it’s all right.

-

SECOND VERSE [ 0:38 - 1:04 ] - Gavin the Commander

The grating, scratchy sounds come in, injecting a metallic feeling which is in line with how S2 Gavin is often described as a “sharp blade” numerous times. As mentioned earlier, these sounds could also be a depiction of the layers of friction between MC and S2 Gavin.

MC is on her guard around S2 Gavin at the start, such as in R&S [Reunited Yesterday] where she thinks of leaving Lynn’s Kitchen the moment she sees that Gavin’s there too, and how she was genuinely fearful and trembling when he used his Evol to send her hovering her over the ocean in Stray Date.

If you listen carefully, you can hear that the individual piano notes are somewhat copying the upward climb of the guitar we’re used to hearing in the S1 bgm.

This could represent MC holding on to her memories of S1 Gavin as she navigates the new dynamics she has with S2 Gavin, which gives her the courage not to get intimidated by his cold exterior, and to trust him completely.

Gavin: I haven’t even rescued you out yet.

MC: With you around, there won’t be a problem.

-

FIRST CHORUS [ 1:04 - 1:28 ]

From 1:19 to the end of the chorus, the piano keys go off on their own, and they come across much more confident and complement the guitar notes much more than in the first verse.

I see all the choruses as instances where S2 Gavin and MC are given opportunities to work together, and we witness how well they gel as a pair. The best examples so far would be Stray Date and The Guardian Project.

I’m no longer that person who only knows how to let you stand in front of me. This time, I’ll stand beside you, and will not back down.

-

THIRD VERSE [ 1:28 - 1:56 ]

Nothing to say here, similar analysis to the second verse!

-

SECOND CHORUS [ 1:56 - 2:22 ]

Same analysis as the previous chorus.

-

BRIDGE [ 2:22 - 2:47 ] - Reminiscence

This part is breathtakingly beautiful. It’s obviously in stark contrast to the rest of the song as the piano takes the stage here. Even though you can still hear the electronic guitar in the background, it’s incredibly muted and mirroring the melody of the piano.

The instrument complementing the piano (it sounds like a harpsichord?) sounds like a middleground between the sharpness of the electronic guitar and the gentleness of the piano.

And here’s where the piano chords I mentioned at the start are significant. This is the only part in the entire song where the piano chords aren’t played. Rather, the chords are broken up and played as individual notes.

This part gives me the mental image of S2 Gavin and MC on the rooftop of Loveland High, reminiscing on their school days when things were simpler. It’s a moment where they peel away their roles as STF’s Commander and Black Swan’s Nox, and are simply Gavin and MC, old friends from school.

It basically represents the rare, precious moments of reprieve S2 Gavin and MC get in the ever-looming danger of S2.

Yet, even outside this safe bubble, the chords continue to be played consistently. They may be subdued in certain parts of the song, and louder in others, but the chords are always there. Their shared past in Loveland High isn’t something S2 Gavin can just ignore. On the contrary, it’s something that likely supported him through his time in the Police Academy:

Gavin is standing underneath a tree, holding a photograph in his hand.

Gavin doesn’t notice Tang Chao. All of his focus is channelled onto that photograph. In this moment, he seems to have unloaded all his defences, becoming a Gavin different from his usual self. Those perpetually stern eyes have grown dim, bringing with them a twinge of fatigue.

Tang Chao holds his breath, subconsciously squinting his eyes to identify the photograph. On it seems to be… a female? Could she be Instructor Gavin’s…

-

THIRD CHORUS [ 2:47 - 3:13 ] - The power couple

The chorus returns with incredible force, and it’s slightly different from the first two choruses. In the first chorus, the piano is subdued. In the second chorus, you can hear the piano, but it melds into the melody.

In this chorus, the piano is clearly audible, but it doesn’t disappear into the melody like in the second chorus. It goes off on its own, yet blends with the music at the same time.

I’m given the image of a power couple who complement and fight alongside each other. We see this very clearly in The Guardian Project), where S2 Gavin sees MC as an equal to the point where he readily agrees to go along with her plan without having to hear it first.

MC: I have a plan. It could lure the suspect out without requiring more manpower. Would you like to try?

Gavin turns his head to look at me steadily.

Gavin: What do you need me to do?

MC: You’re agreeing just like that?

-

OUTRO [ 3:13 - end ] - The future

As mentioned at the beginning, the introduction mirrors the middle portion of S1 Gavin’s theme. Here, the outro mirrors the first few notes of S1 Gavin’s theme...

We see S1 Gavin in S2 Gavin. His clumsy way of showing concern, his protectiveness over MC, his jealous tendencies, his handsome face, etc.

Gavin: But protecting you - this won’t change.

His expression is very cold, and a certain emotion seems to be restrained in his voice.

What he says is reminiscent to words being tossed out in a fit of anger. At the same time, it’s also reminiscent of a vow he has always been fulfilling.

Gavin: Regardless of position, I’ll never let you get caught up in danger.

The tune draws to a close with a crescendo which ends abruptly yet on a hopeful, anticipatory note. Their story is far from over, and I can’t wait to see what this undefeatable tag team will accomplish together.

-

Final thoughts:

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this even though S2 is still very far away LOL And special thanks to @ginkgomoon​ who has been waiting patiently for this analysis T^T♡ If you enjoy reading Gavin-related analysis, do check out her blog!!

I wish I were a better writer so I can fully convey why the S2 Gavin x MC dynamic is so incredible, and quell the worry most Gavin stans have about S2.

Relying on my translations is a completely different experience compared to hearing the emotions in the voiced lines and seeing the sprites, so I can understand why it might be difficult to feel as much for them as I do T-T

The thing I love most about the S2 dynamic is that the relationship between them is much more natural. Instead of S1 Gavin falling head over heels for MC the moment he saw her in the rain and started following her around, S2 Gavin and MC already established a friendship in Loveland High in S2. And they tease each other so much more HNNGHGH SLOW BURNS HURT SO GOOD

[plutoswrath]

Taeil: Cancer in 3rd decan/Pisces in 1st decan

Taeyong: cloudy birth time but confirmed Pisces so i’m betting on Pisces in 3rd decan. He reminds me of young Andrew Garfield. What a king honestly.

Johnny: This one I literally guessed, analyzed, and felt confident in before it was confirmed and it was Virgo, like I thought. I’d kiss my own ass if I could.

Yuta: Cap rising, Uranus, Neptune in 1st with Taurus&Scorpio 4th and 10th.

Kun: so... he’s a confirmed Leo... and that would make his first house ruler in 5th... like Johnny... and no. I don’t agree. Literally if he’s born an hour before, he’s cancer in 3rd decan with a 1st house ruler in 10th.. which makes much more sense to me, I am so sorry for this hottake but I stand by it. 1st house rulers are everything and if it seems off, then the whole thing is off.

Doyoung: Confirmed Scorp with Pisces and Virgo 4th and 10th.

Ten: Sag with Libra and Aries in 4th in 10th. He looks like my father who is a confirmed Sag rising so I’m basing it off that. People hate to go for looks but sometimes they just look it so it makes sense in my brain.

Jaehyun: Confirmed Pisces.

Winwin: TAURUSTAURUSTAURUS!!!!! Venus in Sag ruling his whole face. a prince.

Jungwoo: Confuses me. So Aquarius. Maybe. Could be Gemini. I’m still thinking Aqua. Could even be Pisces, idek.

Lucas: Leo. his first house ruler may change from either 6th or 7th but I’d bet my entire fortune on Leo. With Neptune opposition ASC on his face. Also his lion thing he’s always compared to.

Mark: Also Leo. All Leo placements just seem to know they got some Leo somehow. People nickname him lion cub. A lot of people see Scorpio so my ass just uses scorp 4th as a reason.

Xiaojun: Aries/Scorpio. Something Mars just can’t tell which.

Hendery: Fire. Maybe Aries. Maybe Leo. I don’t know about Sag but it’s gotta be fire.

Renjun: Cancer. Maybe Taurus.

Jeno: Sag or Pisces. He resembles two people who are either of those, one being someone I know and the other being Jaehyun so.. either.

Haechan: Either Leo or a Gemini with sun in first. He doesn’t resemble other Leo risings with Gemini ruling their chart so I’m guessing Gemini honestly.

Jaemin: CAPRICORN, NEPTUNE AND URANUS IN 1ST, SCORPIO 10TH AND TAURUS 4TH. I’m passionate. Yuta may be a typically cusp-ed Cap rising but I am passionate about Jaemin being this. I’ve based it off someone I know and it fits down to a big ass teen titan tower T.

Yangyang: pisces or Gemini. Their angular houses should all be similar so I am putting those two.

Shotaro: Virgo. I’m very confident in it.

Sungchan: Pisces, 2nd/3rd decan, Gemini and Sag 4th and 10th. He looks so much like TY so if others disagree, I won’t doubt them but it just seems likely.

Chenle: Cancer in 3rd decan with Jupiter in 1st. Maybe 2nd decan. The Jupiter has to be in first tho.

Jisung: Scorpio with Pisces and Virgo in the houses. Probably 3rd decan as well.

Short disclaimer from my side here: I haven’t formed an opinion on everyone’s potential rising sign, so with some I might have no opinion to begin with.   Also: very long post ahead, continue reading under the cut! 

Taeil: I think Cancer rising fits pretty well, I personally could see Taurus rising as well. Cancer and Taurus rising tend to ‘stretch’ the face at times or make it look a bit wider in some sort of way - and this is not meant in a negative way btw, just an observation! But yes Cancer rising could make his Venus/Mercury in the 1st as well, Moon in Leo (2nd) being the chart ruler; with a Taurus rising his Mars (potentially) in the 1st, with Venus in Cancer (1st) being the chart ruler. Taeil is not really someone with a personality that is really ‘in your face’, he’s more ‘reserved’ in that kind of way and goes with the flow, very warm though and definitely likes to joke around. I can see both!

Johnny: confirmed Virgo rising.

Taeyong: the most clichee Pisces rising I’ve witnessed so far asdfg, especially in combination with his water sun. He has not only his Saturn in the 1st as well, but also his chart ruler in Capricorn (in the 11th, funny enough), from that alone his Ascendant really makes sense.

Yuta: Personally I have a hard time seeing Capricorn Ascendant, for me Aries rising would make the most sense still, but looking at Yuta being extremely ambitious (and serious as well at times) I can see where you come from, alsoooo he is very known for his smile, which would highlight the teeth again, very fitting to Capricorn risings - the most I’ve met so far had usually very big teeth, also a very very pretty smile that has always been so strongly in contrast witrh their usual facial expression haha. I’ve written quiet a bit on my guessings on his possible rising sign, especially on Aries, with Leo, Sagittarius and Libra being my other guesses, so feel free to check that out on my blog as well if you want to! x

Kun: (oK SORRY long rant ahead, I just really think that’s a very interesting opinion!!) I can totally see why you think Cancer rising, in the years I spent studying astrology I’ve noticed that Capricorns with prominent cancer in their chart all tend to radiate the same sort of wholesome energy, and I don’t mean this in a biased way, but they have this very silent yet steady confidence and are really really warm and caring people, especially when they have a cancer moon! That being said, having 5th house in his ruler would explain his strong creativity (+ Leo rising) plus I’d give him his 6th house stellium in Capricorn, which would explain his extreme multi tasking while still being very successfull in doing so haha. I like to take Bang Chan from Stray Kids as another example here for someone with a 6th house stellium, though in another sign,  the similarities are still there. With him having a 3rd decan Cancer rising he’d have a Capricorn and 7th house stellium, plus having his chart ruler in Taurus in the 11th - very focused on others and tending towards their needs, let’s just put it like that. He’s extremly responsible and very protective of his group, this plays into both stereotypes for Leo and Cancer when they are in a leader type position - or see someone as family. Appereance wise -  if he’s not styled and in a photo shooting, so very much set in pose, etc - he looks very youthful/youngish, which plays a lot in a Cancer ascendant, also: I remember him saying that he’s actually very emotional which could be due to his possible Cancer rising or just his heavy Capricorn stellium and Scorpio in the 4th (regarding his Leo rising again) trying to remember everyone else he’s still human after all (which...makes me kinda sad to think about but, I was really positively surprised as he so casually just admitted that). When he’s performing all screams Leo Ascendant to me though. ANYWAYS, I wrote a whole paragraph and I will end it here or I end up writing yet another novel about someones potential rising sign. 

Ten: One of the members I haven’t thought about yet when it comes to their rising. I’ve met a few Sagittarius risings in my life as well, and tbh you convinced me haha!

Doyoung: Scorpio rising makes so much sense when you think about his Virgo MC asdfghj Doyoung has zero Virgo in his chart except for his MC and yet he radiates big Virgo energy, which is all thanks to his rising and MC

Jaehyun: confirmed Pisces rising. 

Winwin: Haven’t had any thoughts about him either so far! Taurus rising would make sense regarding his laid back nature though. 

Jungwoo: Ohhh I get your confusion, Jungwoo is a true engima asdfghj my gut feeling always tells me Libra rising simply from his facial structure alone, but tbh I think all about him is just so.....Pisces? He has is sun and Neptune in a degree of 0 so simply based on his sun sign he radiates strong Pisces energy, but since I’m very torn on the topic of his rising sign as well I’d consider almost every rising sign as his potential ascendant

Lucas: I could see Leo rising, but I also feel Sagittarius rising. Sagittarius rising simply by his physique, but with Pluto in the 12th and his Jupiter in Pisces in the 4th as his chart ruler. Leo rising would make more sense regarding the MC (would be in Taurus then), though I’d say his Moon would rather still be in the 9th and not in the 10th. But he has an Aquarius stellium after all, so lots of things would probably be covered up by that to begin with asdfghj, but yes I can see Leo rising as well, defenitely!! 

Mark: I’ve written quiet a few posts on Marks rising, I see Virgo, Leo and Aries the strongest. I’ve written so much about it (novels, paragraphs, you name it asdfgh), you can feel free to search for it in the tags if you want to! 

Xiaojun: I agree with you, I get Mars energy as well! I get very strong Scorpio vibes from his appereance alone, with an Aries rising it would make his Scorpio Mars his chart ruler as well, also Capricorn his MC which would make sense to me as well. He’s always trying really hard to succeed somehow - not calling him a try hard for that btw!! this rather shows he is very self conscious and ambitious.  If his rising would be Scorpio his Pluto in Sagittarius would be the chart ruler and either in the 1st or 2nd (but with the way he looks I’d bet it’s in the 1st). But then again, seeing how Xiaojun actually is all I can think about his Cancer Moon and Mercury asdfg

Hendery: Haven’t had any thoughts about him so far, fire would make sense though, I could see Sagittarius especially appereance wise.

Renjun: Haven’t had any paticular thoughts about his rising either, something rather soft like Cancer and Taurus make sense, though he always looked very ‘Aries’ to me, but maybe it’s just his Scorpio Moon doubling that Mars energy here.

Jeno: Haven’t had any paticular thoughts about him either, Pisces and Sagittarius both make sense, I think the placement that always shined through the strongest was his Sagittarius Moon for me, if he’d had a Sagittarius rising it would make even more sense why I’d get that vibe from him

Haechan: Honestly if he’d had a Gemini rising I wouldn’t be even surprised, Haechan has a very youthful and soft face, with Gemini being his rising it would make his Cancer Mercury in the 2nd the chart ruler, solely from that I could see it

Jaemin: I haven’t had any thoughts about Jaemins rising so far, if you’re so passionate about it I’ll have to see for myself and give it some thought the next days!  x

Yangyang: Also head empty no thoughts on this one, Yangyang is probably young sibling rising asdfghjk sorry sorry, but seriously we don’t even have a specific birth place for him, his chart is so vague I usually don’t really bother interpreting too much into but, buT a mutuable sign as his rising from his behaviour alone would make sense!

Shotaro: No thoughts so far on his rising sign, but I’m always happy to see a new potential member for the Virgo rising agenda hehehe

Sungchan: That just really quick in: I was so happy when Shotaro and Sungchan joined NCT because FINALLY the nct zodiac circle was complete ehehhe, I seriously have no thoughts on him either so far, though he truly lives up to his Sun and Moon combination

Chenle: I get your guess with Cancer rising, especially if he’d have Jupiter in the 1st as well, but have you seen the photo of him and young Leonardo DiCaprio next to each other? Idk maybe that just convinced me very easily but since that day I just think he’s a Libra rising, not very a profound astrological insight here, I know, but both are Scorpios as well and I was just D: D: as I saw it! 

Jisung: Haven’t had any particular guesses for him so far either, so I defenitely have to look into that as well! 

Again, thank you so much for taking your time! That was really fun, feel free to share your insights again if you feel like it xx

[luthienebonyx]

AO3 tag game

Tagged by @mugenmine

1. How many works do you have on ao3?

150*

2. What’s your current AO3 wordcount?

919,916, though that’s not all the fic I’ve ever written. The true total would be somewhere north of 1m words.

3. How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

Game of Thrones (TV) (40)

Stargate Atlantis (29)

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling (28)

Once Upon a Time (TV) (15)

Pet Shop of Horrors (5)

Lewis (TV) (4)

HEYER Georgette - Works (4)

A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin (3)

Friday's Child - Georgette Heyer (3)

Doctor Who (3)

Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (3)

A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms (3)

Hercules: The Legendary Journeys (2)

Hawaii Five-0 (2010) (2)

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies) (2)

Angel: the Series (2)

James Bond (Craig Movies) (2)

Battlestar Galactica (1978) (1)

First Monday (TV 2002) (1)

The Queen's Thief - Megan Whalen Turner (1)

The Good Wife (TV) (1)

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005) (1)

Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch (1)

The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien (1)

Hornblower (TV) (1)

Frederica - Georgette Heyer (1)

A Countess Below Stairs - Eva Ibbotson (1)

The Devil Wears Prada (2006) (1)

Xena: Warrior Princess (1)

Which comes to 29 all up, but getting rid of a couple of the umbrella ones, I make it 26 actual fandoms.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

The Personal Touch (Game of Thrones, Jaime/Brienne) A Fine Romance (Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Newt/Tina) A Night to Remember (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Phryne/Jack) In Whisky Veritas (Harry Potter, Snape/Hermione) More Than a Memory (Game of Thrones, Jaime/Brienne)

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not.

Nearly always. I view fic as part of the fannish conversation, and comments are a response to the conversation about the characters that I’ve started by writing and posting the fic, so of course I want to continue that exchange by responding. Occasionally comments get away from me because of stuff going on in my life, or I just don’t know how to reply to them so they go unreplied-to, but only very occasionally.

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Of those that are still online, I’d say The Rain Keeps Falling, which is a HP story about a lot of strong emotions, including grief, and features a major character death. The angstiest ending I’ve written recently would be We seek him here, we seek him there..., which is a JB Scarlet Pimpernel AU that I should probably write a follow-up to at some point.

7. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve ever written?

I was going to say that I don’t - and then I remembered that actually I have. (What can I say? I’ve been writing for a long time, and things slip my mind. 😂) Probably the most unexpected was a pair of drabbles featuring Willy Wonka from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Count D from Pet Shop of Horrors. 

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

Once or twice, but very rarely in 22 years of writing and posting fic. The most memorable was the vague death threat I got - probably from a fourteen-year-old who didn’t realise that phrasing their displeasure that way wasn’t the best idea - for a very silly HP fic that was written for the blame someone else challenge, and, well, they blamed me. 😂

9. Do you write smut?

I’ve been writing smut since my first fanfic in 1999. At first, I didn’t realise that writing non-smut was an option, and by the time I learned otherwise, it was too late. 

But yeah, I do like using smut to dig down into the characters and find out what makes them tick, in all sorts of ways. You never know what a character might reveal without meaning to in the course of a sex scene.

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

A couple of times. I’ve had multiple fics reposted without permission by an automated fic harvesting site that was trying to monetise fic and took a whole lot of fic by many people. I had to send them a C & D letter. 

I’ve also had a story stolen by another fan and reposted as their own work. I think in that case they thought the story was old and obscure and so no one would notice, but it was actually old and well-known and people noticed immediately. Very luckily for me, other people went after that one and yelled at the ‘author’ as soon as they saw it, and it was taken down before I had to do anything.

11. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, I haven’t, actually! Maybe, one day, with the right person.

12. What’s your all time favorite ship?

Weeeell, the problem I have in answering this question is that I don’t really have favourite ships. I have favourite characters, and then I have the ship that works best for me with whichever character is my favourite. I guess Jaime/Brienne is my favourite in the sense that, unusually for me, my love for both characters is almost equal.

13. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Xena: Warrior Princess. I stumbled into fandom completely by accident, spent a few months reading and lurking, and then decided “I could do that.” So I did.

14. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

If I’d been asked that question a year ago, I would have had a hard time answering. But now I actually do have a favourite fic of my own. It’s That Greek Thing, the fandom is Friday’s Child - Georgette Heyer, and I wrote it for Yuletide last year.

I’d been talking about writing a fic for those characters for about twenty years, but I never quite reached the point of actually writing it. I first read Heyer when I was thirteen and she was very formative for me in certain important ways. I didn’t want to try to write in her world if I didn’t think I could do it justice. So this fic was a VERY long time coming, and when I finally wrote it, it turned out to be sort of the ultimate fanfic for me. It was VERY hard to let go after it was done. It’s exactly the story that I so wished someone would write for those characters - which is really why I write fanfic at all, when it comes right down to it.

* The font is huge without the asterisk. I don’t understand this hell site.

Tagging: @samirant @robotsdance @firesign23 @albatrossisland @schweetheart @blatheringbluejay @woodelf68 and anyone else who wants to do it

[lilsocksiswriting]

Soft Ropes

Fandom: Haikyuu

Paring: Bokuto X Fem!reader

Summary: who knew Bokuto could be so soft when he has you all tied up.

Warnings: NSFW, no beta, minors DNI

Tags: Shibari, daddy kink, dom!Bokuto

Word Count: 1045

You’ve always been into BDSM but since your last ex, you haven’t been so open about it to your new partner Bokuto. That ex was a bad dom. His aftercare was shit and when you safe worded he would get annoyed with you. The one before that wasn’t much better. To put it simply,  that man was all bark but no bite.

 But Bokuto was a fantastic dom. You just didn't know it until he asks you if he could bring ropes in the bedroom. Up until then sex with Bo wasn't as vanilla as one would think it would be with someone as energetic and light-hearted as Bokuto. More than once has he had you on your knees and elbows with a firm hand pushing the back up your neck down as he pumps his dick into you.

 Just the suggestion alone has you squeezing your thighs together, but at the same time, he can see the hesitation all over your face. The way that your body seems conflicted on how to react is what leads to you telling Bokuto about your exes. After listening to you he promises you that he will never be that bad of a dom.

 And he isn’t. You two literally spend a whole evening talking over dinner at your place. He asks you about a good safe word, if there is anything in particular that he needs to do if you safe word, what kind of rope you like, what knots you’re comfortable with. He’s so detailed about everything even to the point of taking down notes. The sight of Bokuto scribbling things down on a tiny legal pad you had laying around melted your heart because it showed he really cared about you and not just the scene.

 When the night comes ,where neither of you had to be up for work the next day, you find yourself setting up on your knees near the edge of the bed, bare, with your hands in your lap. There’s isn't a hint of hesitation in your face anymore because you trust Bokuto completely. Said man stands over you with a soft smile pulling at the ropes wrapped around his hand.

 “What’s our safe word, Baby girl?”

 “Tulip.”, you answer him

 “Good girl.”

 Bokuto takes his time making sure that every knot looks perfect on you and feels perfect for you. As he warps the ropes around your body he can't help but to grope your body drawing out whines and whimpers from you. You arch into his touch whenever Bokuto runs his fingers along your skin.

 “Shhh,” a finger to your lips silences you, “You need to be a good girl for Daddy and that means no wining or squirming, ok?”

 “Ok, Daddy.”

 "That’s my good girl.”, and the way his voice is so low and soft as he tells you how pretty you look in ropes makes you so wet and needy. It takes so much not to squirm under his golden gaze.

 Once you're all tied up and comfortable Bokuto runs his fingers down to your stomach dipping them between your leg.

 “Fuck Baby girl you’re so wet for me.", he smiles licking your slick from his fingers.

 “Daddy, please,” your voice trembles, “Need you to touch me. Please do something. So wet for you.”

 And how can he say no when you’re looking at him like that? Face flushed, mouth slightly opening taking in one breath after another, and your eyes getting blurry with actual tears. Bokuto settles himself between your thighs. Then his mouth latches onto your clit and he has 0 table manners as he eats you out. Not the least not worried about the mess he's making. In fact, he loves the way your juices stream down his chin.

 He doesn’t come up until you’ve cummed from his mouth a few times and Bokuto’s deemed you nice and stretched out with his fingers. Hovering above you he’s testing your ropes making sure your still ok or if you needed some water. When you give him the ok to continue he leans down to kiss you deeply. He wants you to be able to taste yourself as he fucks you.

 And holy shit does this man know how to use that thick cock of his. He doesn’t just split you open but he fucks you so good and deep that Bokuto has you seeing stars. You can’t keep your mouth closed with the constant moans and praise about how good Bokuto and his cock is making you feel. You don’t even register that you’ve started drooling

 When your orgasm hits it’s over whelming and long. Or maybe not. You can't be for sure. Your sense of time was out the window. All you can think about was the pleasure of coursing through your body as you cream around Bokuto’s cock. The way your walls squeeze around his dick pushes Bokuto over the edge. He uses those pretty ropes tied around your pretty thighs to pull you close as he buries his cock balls deep and lets you milk him dry.

 “Th-that’s Baby girl. Take all of Daddy’s cum.”

 When both of you catch your breath, Bokuto carefully pulls himself out of you. He can’t stop from smiling fondly and stroking the inside of your thigh as he watches the mix of his cum and your juices leak out of your spent pussy.

 Then comes the immaculate aftercare. Bokuto carefully unties you kissing any place that had the slightest rope burn. He wraps you up in blanket and pulls you into his lap. He feeds you pieces of fruit and makes sure you rehydrate before letting you rest a bit while he runs you a warm bath.

 “Take your time and relax ok. I’m going to change the sheets and order dinner.”, Bokuto tells you before kissing your forehead and leaving you to relax in the bath.

 After you get all cleaned up you go about the rest of your nightly routine and Bokuto hops in the showers to wash off the smell of sweat and sex. You get changed into one of Bokuto’s old sweatshirts while Bokuto slips into a pair of sweats. You two end tonight cuddled up in bed with take out.

[timextoxhajima]

Grounded: Level 2

Level 1 | Level 3

Member: Minho (Lee Know)

Genre: idol minho x idol trainee reader, angst cause is it a dana fic if there is no angst

Taglist: @licorice526 @jaehyvnsvalentine @lolwhatameme @felixn-recs​​

[D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 7]

There is an earth-shattering kind of pain in your chest when the staff pushes the door open into the dressing room, and your eyes are frantic to search for the one person you cared about. 

The crowds force you into the spaces between their backs, legs and bodies uncomfortably, bright fluorescent lights blinding you every time you tilt your head upwards. 

All you could think of was the tears that would be flowing down his face, the sheer amount of relief he’s drowning in when JYP said he would debut Stray Kids as nine. 

His parent’s voice echoes through the crevices of your skull, the words repeating themselves over and over and over again. 

“Minho made it.”

Your nose sours against its will, wanting nothing but to throw your arms around him and congratulate him for the one thing he had wanted for so long. 

A tap comes on your shoulders and you turn to see a swollen-faced Lee Minho grinning widely at you, his parents standing proudly behind him. The muscles in your face finally give into your overwhelming feelings, for there is nothing in the world you would exchange this look of bliss and happiness on his face for.

Minho pulls you into the hug before you can respond to him, his palm flat against the back of your head as you sob your eyes out on his shoulder. 

“Why do you always cry when I’m not?”

Annoyed at his cold words (though you know he’s just teasing you), he receives a slap in his chest as you pull away. “That’s cause you’ve already exhausted all your damn tears on stage, right?”

Minho sniffles, unable to stop that grin from surfacing on his lips. But your heart stops in its ribcage, unsafe from all the feelings that were diffusing through his body and into yours. 

[J U N E 2 0 1 8]

Where are you when I need you?

The last beat of NCT U’s The 7th Sense drops, and so does your butt to the wooden floorboard.

Of course this mental cry for help goes unheard. The loneliness was starting to eat away at your skin, like goosebumps in the cold weather and that horrid feeling of being lost with nowhere to go. 

The silence of the dance studio was on the verge of deafening you, and your reflection in the mirror looks like someone you never expected to see. You’ve lost the concept of time, because the studio is sealed. No windows, and the only way in or out is the door, and even then the nearest window was down the corridor. There’s virtually no way to tell how long you’ve been in here unless you’ve been staring at your phone. 

The other female trainees had left a few hours before, and though they did offer to bring food back for you before returning to their dorms, you know it would only hinder your progress. Stopping now will ruin your momentum. 

Knock knock

Your legs have long given up on you, so you could only pray that whoever comes in could read the lack of energy in your eyes when you look up. 

“I’m starting to get sick of that track because of you.”

A gasp leaves your lungs as you scrambled to your feet, nearly falling over because that’s how jelly they felt. “Yeonjun!”

The tall, brown haired boy had eyebags that could carry an elephant - it was a normal sight to see nowadays, and in his hand was a plastic bag which you could immediately tell was food. The scent of that hot soup was too recognisable.

“It’s fine, sit down,” The grin on his face pulls his cheeks apart as he gently shuts the door behind him. “How long have you been here?”

Yeonjun goes to the sound system and changes the music to something else besides your practise playlist before coming over to you, gesturing you to sit. 

“I walked in at 7am.”

Yeonjun freezes for some moments, eyes looking down at you with his shoulder blocking the ceiling light from your eyes. “Do you know what time it is?”

“Do I want to know what time it is?” Squinting your eyes as he shifts to sit down opposite you, the light finally getting through and interrupting your vision for a split second. 

Yeonjun pulls out a disposable bowl of soup and a box of sandwiches, a chicken salad and-- honey-glazed apples.

“I’m on a no-sugar diet--”

“And you’re still on your probationary contract, not even the idol one and yet you’re spending fifteen hours in the studio?” 

The revelation catches you off guard. Your last meal was a chicken salad that one of the female trainees had gotten you -- that was dinner four hours ago?

“Here,” He shoves the food across the space between you. Now, the smell was stinking up the whole studio, but you didn’t mind it one bit. Not when it’s conjuring all these weird noises from your stomach. “You’re obligated to finish at least the soup and fried chicken. I know you’re on a chicken salad diet so you can forget about that if you don’t like it.”

“Bullshit,” There was no hesitation to claim the food on the floor he’s presented to you. “I could eat a cow right now.”

“I guessed.”

Yeonjun helps open the containers, forcing the scent to waft through the stale, slightly-sweat-smelling air and through your nostrils. Your joints are on the verge of falling apart but letting yourself come apart would mean resignation. 

“Were you on the way back?” You ask right before you slurp up the soup, Yeonjun picks at some of the fries that were in the same bag as the fried chicken. 

“Nah, I came from the night market.”

“Oh,” The memory of honey-glazed apples flashes through your mind for a split second. A fleeting moment; too fast to process or delve into the feelings involved. “What are you working on tonight?”

“Rapping. I have an evaluation tomorrow.”

“Haven’t you been getting first for those? And shouldn’t you be resting instead of pushing yourself over the top?”

Yeonjun raises a brow at you. “For someone who’s spent God-knows-how-long in this studio, you sure have a lot of things to say.”

A bite of the honey-glazed apple melts in your mouth. 

“Anyway, when’s your first monthly evaluation - or are they only going to make you do it if you sign an idol contract?”

“Probably only after I sign the idol contract.”

Yeonjun hums in response, helping you rip open the boxes of sandwiches.

“So,” He starts again after a while. “Are you going to sign it when they ask you to?”

The thought was already intimidating in your head, and Yeonjun putting it into a proper sentence only made it worse. 

“Bold of you to assume they will ask me to sign an idol contract.”

“Bold of you to assume BigHit wouldn’t use you as a source of income.”

A low chuckle escapes your throat as you finish one of the honey-glazed apples. 

“Seriously though,” He places down the box of sandwiches and leans back on his hands, legs stretching out and eyes landing on yours. “What are you going to do when the idol contract’s on a desk before you? You’ve been on probationary training for what? Six months now? You would’ve wasted all your time and sweat if you don’t sign that contract.”

“But do I want to remain in public scrutiny for the rest of my life though?”

“Was that what you were worried about when you first joined? Was that what went through your head when Minho joined JYP?”

The name jolts you into an uncomfortable zone. You haven’t seen him since he debuted - because that’s how busy he was. It’s like he’s got no life outside that building and in cars that bring them back and forth entertainment buildings looking pretty for a bunch of fangirls. It’s like you’ve been left alone to deal with this trainee life on your own but you don’t have a single strand of hair on you that blames Minho for the situation you are in.

You encouraged him to go for it; he encouraged you to audition for BigHit and you signed that probationary training contract. You were sitting in a pool of your own decisions, but why does it feel like you’re sitting in a pool of sad tears?

“It was Minho’s choice to sign that contract and get to where he is now, you know that, don’t you? It’ll be the same for you. It’s your life, your choice.”

“I know,” You pull the sandwiches to yourself. “I was the one who encouraged him to do it.”

Yeonjun’s silence feels prickly on your skin, mostly because he’s made you feel guilty for something that Minho would’ve probably done otherwise any way. But the boy can probably read you - he’s noticed that you literally stop functioning normally every time he brings up the person who inspired you to continue dancing and be a part of this industry. 

He knows better than you try and comfort you, because that would mean he agreed. “You do realise that him becoming a celebrity was his choice and not yours? It’s his responsibility now, the same way it’ll be mine when I debut and the same way it’ll be yours if you choose to do it.”

Shoving the last bite of the sandwich into your mouth, you pray that the chewing is going to prevent the tears from being choked up. 

“Why do we choose to do this to ourselves? Work till the sun rises and get barely any sleep... for what? Pretty costumes and flashing lights and no privacy?”

His breathing is a little raspy in the dry, air-conditioned room, so you look up to match his gaze. His eyes were slightly furrowed and thinking - he knows what you mean. 

“Because it’s what we want for ourselves. It’s our dream to stand on the stage and perform because we love it. It’s not about the fame or the fortune - well, for some people, maybe but--”

A smile stretches across your lips.

“If you keep thinking of it this way, then this isn’t for you, y/n. I hope you’ll know what’s best for yourself.”

The smile remains on your lips but your gaze feels like its faltering. You can feel yourself zoning out from chicken salad that you’ve eaten over and over again in the last six months. 

Does Minho even think about you the way you think about him?

[N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 8]

“y/n!” The jolt awake is surprisingly contained; it doesn’t earn the attention of anybody else in the classroom when Hyunjin shoves you out of your day slumber. 

“What do you do in that building to the point where you can’t stay awake?” 

“Ugh,” The disgust is shown on your face when you discover a stray line of drool down the corner of your mouth, staining your black and yellow uniform. You wipe it off without much care and wipe it over your blazer before turning to Hyunjin. “It’s called training. I thought you’d know better.”

“And I do,” Hyunjin whispers back without looking at you, eyes plastered to the worksheet on his desk. “But I’m literally knee-deep in Get Cool promotions.”

“Your point being?” Rolling your eyes to yourself, you pick up your pen and begin copying whatever was on the whiteboard - not that they were even relevant. 

“My point is: if you’re going to become an idol but you’re going to die throughout schooling while still a trainee, how are you going to survive after you debut?”

“For the record, I’m doing better than you in most our subjects. Despite me sleeping in class.”

Hyunjin mutely snarls at you, baring his teeth like he was a dog. The teacher’s sudden eye contact stuns you, but luckily the school bell comes to your rescue and Hyunjin instantaneously shuts his notebook while rushing you to fasten your steps too. 

“Okay, no- I have a serious question for you,” Hyunjin has his hand out in mid-air with the other clutching the strap of his bag as the two of you make your way out of school. SOPA days were relatively short, especially when ten percent of the school’s population were either idols or idol trainees - you included (though you haven’t signed any idol contract).

“Will it warrant a kick in your nuts when you ask it?” Pulling out a bun from your bag, you stop by your locker and hold it in your mouth while unlocking the metal door. 

“Maybe,” He admits, leaning against the locker. You can see from the corner of your eyes that there were other students staring at him as he walked by - it was Hwang Hyunjin! Main dancer and visual of the one-year-old group Stray Kids, and if you think public scrutiny only comes in after debut, you couldn’t be any more wrong.

BigHit’s already given you one of those lessons - don’t make your name a household name before you even debut. Unfortunately, your candid friendship with Hyunjin’s stirred up some stuff, and many facts about your life have already been made public.

BigHit trainee, ex-dance crew member for BTS with Lee Know from Stray Kids, one of the 20 girls who received the casting call, BigHit’s first female trainee who passed only through dancing. Just what do these people not know about you?

“How long has it been since you’ve met Lee Know hyung?”

The name strikes a chord in you against your wishes. Your nerves falter for a moment as you shove the textbooks back into your locker, but your system turns back online after some moments. 

“Didn’t we agree not to mention his name here? Half the school already knows who I am, I don’t need them to know we actively talk about Minho.”

“No, I just-” Hyunjin watches you dump the last of your notebooks and textbooks in your locker. “I’ve never heard stories about you from Lee Know... all I remembered was you showing up at the finale and then our debut showcase.”

“And that’s the last time I met Minho in person. He’s not a great texter so let’s not have that conversation,” You shut the locker door and side-eye Hyunjin, hoping that he doesn’t pick up the pang of hurt and missing you have for Minho.

But Hwang Hyunjin isn’t emotionally unaware, is he?

“You mean to tell me that you last met Lee Know hyung at our debut showcase?”

Choosing not to engage, you take off in the opposite direction, heading for the exit of the school. 

“Hey! Where are you going?!” 

“BigHit!” You yell back without turning behind. “Where else?!”

“This conversation’s not over, I’m warning you!”

“Oh, boohoo!” 

[D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 8]

The night market is nauseatingly reminiscent, with all the wild flavours wafting about in the air and people crunching on fried Oreos or drooling over some spicy tteokbokki. It feels like you’re back home in your hometown. 

“Are you sure you wouldn’t get into trouble for frolicking about in public?” Watching him pay the stall holder for the cheese fries, you cannot help but gleam at his innocent grin on his lips. 

“Nah, I’ve asked Soobin if it’s alright.”

“Soobin?” A frown conquers your forehead, for you know that Soobin doesn’t exactly have the greatest power over Yeonjun. “Soobin’s literally the last person who would tell you you can’t do something.”

A cheeky grin surfaces on his lips, but not as much as his eyes whelm with mischief. “Exactly.”

“So, how long more do you have before-”

“My introduction film’s going to be released in Jan.”

A short pause at the realisation of the lack of time you have with Yeonjun before he debuts. The situation stabs you in the spine and forces chills through you - it’s happening all over again. 

“If you’re worried about losing time with me, I hope you know that I’ll still try my best to come back to help you with your training if you need it.”

A dry scoff runs off your tongue, the heat from the cheese fries Yeonjun wasn’t even bothering to offer you coming out in puffs as he struggles with the temperature. 

“Well, I shall be honored that BigHit’s number one trainee is willing to be my personal coach.”

Yeonjun finally stabs a fry and offers you the stick. “This personal coach is picky with who he wants to help, so be--”

The abrupt stop in his words surprises you, because he’s doing nothing but staring straight ahead of him, at the crowd. 

“Yeonjun?” You wave your hand before his eyes. Yeonjun points through the crowd, beckoning you to follow his direction. 

It takes you a few seconds to notice what - or who - he’s looking at as the crowd challenges your vision. Then you see a black cap and a black mask that should’ve been adequate to hide his identity - that was the purpose of that disguise anyway.

But never in a million years will you forget those feline, brown orbs. 

Minho. 

[testingcheats0n]

If it helps, I know you reblogged something about how Tubbo’s outpost arc doesn’t make sense, but it actually kind of does? The reason he made the outpost in the first place was because he was suspicious of how Foolish all of a sudden sold his house and left Snowchester (coincidentally shortly after Tubbo trusted him with the nukes and his trauma), then Quackity griefed him, and now he’s just tired of being walked over by everyone, because the last time he tried negotiation and compromise, it was with Dream and exile, and we all know how well that went. He doesn’t trust that Quackity won’t try and take more and more, and can you blame him? We know Quackity plans on expansion, and Tubbo knows Quackity enough to know how ambitious he is.

Is Tubbo morally perfect? Of course not. He hasn’t been since at least the butcher army. But he’s not out of character, and he still doesn’t want to actually go to war. He built the nukes to look scary, and so that’s what he’s trying to do: look scary enough that Quackity will leave him alone.

No, no, I can understand Tubbo's motives. I know why he did what he did. That's not under question- maybe under discussion, but never questioned. My problem is that I don't know where his character will go from this whole situation, because healthy coping mechanisms, fullfillment and peace are not on the table. It's basically: Character A hurts Character B during conflict, Character B starts a new conflict to hurt Character A, Character C gets hurt during conflict, Character A and C start a new conflict to hurt Character B- this cycle has happened three different times with at least 3 different characters at this point of the story.

I don't know where the story will go from here in general- at least in a satisfactory way. It's just a repetition of everything that's happened until now, and I can predict how things will go. Just more of the same with no happy ending- always leading to the next horrific trauma.

Option A: Tubbo dies permanently because of the obvious brewing conflict. And that's it, bye, bye Tubbo, Dream doesn't care about you + he's in prison so Ranboo is (maybe) going to get involved even worse than before to save you, doing horrific shit in the process. Ranboo gets traumatized trying to save him, and everyone else has to grieve for someone that might come back anyway. That's just Quackity's plot with Schlatt 2.0 + Tommy's return after the prison

Option B: Quackity dies and Las Nevadas is just L'manburg 2.0 with a discount Wilbur-Fundy trauma and everything + his poor poor substitute will try to keep the country Quackity made everyone's problem alive, and my guess is that the chances of success are a solid 0. Let's suppose that Tubbo does nuke Las Nevadas/Technoblade finally learns about the things (government) he should have known a long time ago/ Wilbur, uh. Does something eventually, and congrats that's just Doomsday 2.0 but with a different country.

Option C: Nobody dies and nothing terrible happens, but the trauma from previous events remains unchecked until the next time Quackity or Tubbo or someone decides they want to be ~bad~... why are we here again?

Option D: Both Tubbo and Quackity die. Cool, it's not like I was supposed to care about them or anything. Investment? I don't know her. Who is going to die next for shock value? Vote now. If they return, they'll be barely functional and probably will immediately try to start some new pointless conflict over again. Idk, something that just popped in my mind. They might do it for real too.

Option E: Snowchester is destroyed (lame and boring, but it's been dying for a while so *shrug* no stakes, no investment. Oh no it's another country... and now it's gone... cool...) OR someone (not Tubbo or Quackity) loses a canon life which- eh- they've all have 2-3 lives so 0 stakes OR Wilbur dies for the sake of torture porn and more trauma/misery- if Satan decides to prove he's real we'll get ghostbur again... isn't that great? Haha... OR Tommy dies (for some reason?? I see them making it happen.). If permanently yawn- he did it once Big bro Dre is there to save the situation, not that permadeath is the worse option- if not then 0 stakes. Prison Lockdown 2.0

Option F: Karl's storyline finaly connects to the DSMP? Somehow? That's the most fun option.

Option G: None of the things Tubbo, Quackity and Wilbur do matter because Technoblade frees Dream and they all- fucking- band together against the ~common enemy~ (Vault 2.0) and take him out. He goes back to the prison or dies. Very cyclic. I hope that's saved for the actual end of the series.

Option H: Dream comes back to fuck shit up- interrupting or making the conflict even worse ofc-, but no one bands together and Dream is free to get whatever he wants, but this time meaner because he was tortured. Ooooo. I wonder what terrible things he will do- especially to Tommy oh nooooooo~~~(I absolutely don't want to see that) (Pogtopia vs. Manburg 2.0)

Not death, cause that's fixable *shrug*

Option I: Dream just disappears from the public conscience and Technoblade is like 'hmmm? oh no no, governments? Existing AND fighting in MY server?' and just... kills everyone. Fun, lighthearted streams, yeah? If he's going to say he's an anarchist that wants to destroy countries, then he better act like it.

Option J: Someone from the previously involved cast reemerges and does something mildly impactful, like a betrayal- so original, or some spying- very original too. (Fundy, Foolish, Bad, Sam, Puffy, Charlie, Sapnap?) idk. Half of them need to end their own arcs first imo.

Basically this little war I'm seeing is happening between Las Nevadas, Snowchester, and whatever half-baked plan Wilbur and his new pet (ouchie, I spent months rooting for Tommy's autonomy guess that was a loss of my time) have going on, is nothing but a boring, violent repetition of previous conflicts that will do nothing but pile on trauma on already suffering characters. No resolution, no peace, no healing, just pain, more moral corruption, monologues and cookie stands.

At this point, I'll be very surprised if none of the options above happen, because I haven't been given anything to hold on for months. I'm sorry for being this negative- especially since you wanted to explain Tubbo's POV only- you can enjoy this story for what it is- that's perfectly fine, but I can't anymore.

Sorry for the unrelated (?) rant, and thanks for the ask.