#and knowing how connected they've been for so long some part of her probably Knew he would opt to stay behind and die like he was going to

[shannonsketches]

lays on the floor do you guys ever think about how in ResF Bulma falls for Vegeta's fake-out with Freeza and both she and Yamcha are worried about Vegeta's villain fake-out strategy in Champa and Beerus' mini tournament and how it's only been a couple of years since the Buu saga and how Vegeta straight up stopped using that strategy after that tournament

[livwritesstuff]

Just in connection to my reply to one of your posts with little baby Moe (Okay she wasn't a baby but you get it.)

I really, really need some scenes with the girls (all of them or one by one) where they tell Steve (and Eddie too) how amazing he is as a dad. Not as teeny tiny children but rather as teenagers or even as young adults. Just genuine love between them, no ulterior motives.

Because I feel like Steve NEEDS that too. Every now and then. I know parents always have moments where they feel like they've fucked up or that their children don't really like them. And I feel like Steve could spiral about these things on a bad day. Eddie telling him that the girls love him to pieces doesn't help a lot on these days, I believe (You can correct me since it's definitely your universe and your Steve and Eddie).

So I'm just asking, very VERY politely :))), what you think those moments could look like and what the girls would say or why Steve even feels like he failed them. (Okay that's a LOT I'm asking of you, I'm sorry.) Just see where the flow takes you, if it does.

Thank you thank you thank you 🥰🥰🥰🥰

HAZEL

Steve was home alone with the kids because Eddie was away for a few days of work meetings in New York. The second day of Eddie’s absence, Steve was hit with a killer migraine – his first really bad one in a while – so he set the girls up with a movie (a long one) to give himself a couple hours to try sleeping it off.

A while later, he woke up to an alarm blaring – weird, he’d thought in the moment because he probably wouldn’t have set a loud alarm for a migraine nap (seems a little counter-intuitive), but everything about his brain was foggy so who's to say.

Then, outside the door, he heard this exchange between his two oldest daughters.

Moe: Papa can turn it off.

Robbie: But we’ll get in trouble.

Robbie: It’s on fire.

Half-convinced he was dreaming, he got up and followed the girls into the kitchen where, yep, the microwave was on fire. All Steve really remembers is unplugging it and leaving it to the elements outside.

Turns out Moe had wanted to make mac and cheese (which she knew how to do – they’d actually been about to graduate her to toaster privileges until this incident) and it had been a fluke timer-based accident.

Eddie had thought coming home to a melted microwave in their driveway was hilarious, but Steve was seriously rattled about it because it was the first time he'd felt like something had happened because of a failing on his part. He shouldn't have let himself succumb to the migraine, he should have pushed through it to be there for the girls, but he’d let himself slip and then they set the goddamn microwave on fire.

The same day he got back from his trip, Eddie went out and bought a new microwave (even though it’s one of those purchases Steve would normally handle because he doesn’t trust Eddie for a second to not buy the dumbest appliances he can find), and he took all three girls with him so Steve could have a bit of time alone. When they all returned an hour or two later, the sheer volume and amount of excitement they brought with them pretty much confirmed for Steve that whatever microwave Eddie bought had way more bells and whistles than any person on Earth could possibly need.

Steve didn’t go downstairs to greet them and not too long later, the door to his and Eddie’s room opened, and then three-year-old Hazel was climbing into bed and snuggling up close to him.

“There’s a new microwave,” she told him in her matter-of-fact way she reported on everything that happened in her world.

“I know,” he replied, running a hand through her tangled blonde curls (unlike Robbie, Hazel’s tolerance for “hair time”, as they call it, is pretty much rock-bottom – her hair is more frizz than curls these days and Steve is figuring out how to cope).

“Daddy wants to turn the old one into a diagram,” she continued.

Steve furrowed his eyebrows.

“A diagram?” he repeated.

“He wants to put all the melted spoons in and make them look cool and put it on a shelf.”

Oh – also, no fucking chance. Not in Steve’s kitchen.

“I think he said diorama, Haze.”

Hazel nodded.

Then she said, “You were like a firefighter.”

Steve refrains from pointing out that he shouldn’t have needed to be like a firefighter in the first place (because that would be putting his own issues onto his children and he doesn’t want to do that), even though he knows it’s true. He should have been there.

“You’re the best dad ever,” Hazel continued.

“Yeah?”

“Uh-huh,” she nods, and she’s just as matter-of-fact now as she was before, and she’s sitting on his chest in a way that has her little knees digging into his ribs, which should hurt but instead feels like a tether to the real world he can grasp onto and pull himself out of his head.

 “You think we should go check out this microwave?” he asks, starting to sit up.

Hazel nods.

“Alright, let’s go.”

MOE

When Moe was 21 – a junior in college in New York City – she and her best friend since kindergarten, Gray, started dating (finally, in Steve’s opinion, because he’d seen that coming for ages).

Steve and Eddie have known Gray for as long as Moe has, and they’ve watched Gray grow up nearly as much as their three daughters – as a kindergartener with freckles and dark brown pigtails, as a middle-schooler tearfully coming out as non-binary knowing they’d have to hide it from their family, as a high school senior, still with all those freckles, eager for the fresh start that college would bring.

It was nice to be for Gray (and for a handful of their daughters’ other friends over the years) something that Eddie and Steve had needed when they were their age – a place where they could be themselves without any consequences, a place where they didn’t have to hide, because sometimes, as was the case for Gray for many years, you have to hide. It’s nice to have a safe haven where you don’t.

During Moe and Gray’s senior year of college, the pair made plans to come home for their final spring break. When that first week of March finally rolled around, Moe called from the train to tell them that Gray was finally pulling the trigger – finally coming out to their parents, finally telling them about their relationship with Moe.

“Are they sure,” Steve had asked – not because he doubted Gray but because he hadn’t been too much older when he’d taken that leap for himself and he’d felt the subsequent loss of his parents like mourning a death.

“Positive,” he’d heard Gray reply.

Three hours after their train dropped Moe and Gray off at the Wellesley Farms station, Steve and Eddie heard the back door open. A moment later, Moe trailed in with something heavy in her eyes.

“How’d it…” Eddie started to ask from where he and Steve sat on the couch, but he stopped when Moe shook her head.

“Not over yet,” she told them, “Gray made me leave. It’s a fucking trainwreck.”

And even though he knew that was always going to be the outcome, Steve’s heart still sank.

“Damn,” Eddie commented while Steve shook his head, “They’ll always have a home with us, but…”

“Yeah,” Moe nodded, “Still sucks.” 

Steve recognizes something of his own experience in that – he feels so damn grateful that Jim and Joyce had slid into that parent role for him, especially after he’d become estranged from his actual parents in his mid-twenties. Still, they weren’t his parents, and Steve would’ve never not wanted his parents to pull through like they should have.

Moe sat down on the couch between her dads.

“Why did Gray make you leave?” Steve asked (even though he had a sneaking suspicion why).

“Uh…” Moe paused, pushing her blonde bangs back, “Well, I wouldn’t say I was yelling, exactly, but…I dunno. If you ask Gray they might tell you I was yelling.”

Yep, that seems about right.

“I just,” Moe continued, “I know Gray was prepared for this – for their parents, like, rejecting all of this – and I know they’ve always totally sucked so this was obviously how this was gonna go, but I think I had a hard time seeing it because I’d never really had to consider what it would be like for that to happen.”

Moe shook her head, her bangs falling right back into her eyes, and Steve had to resist the urge to ask if she wanted his help trimming them like he’d done when she was little.

“I just mean – it never made a difference to you who me and Haze and Robbie were or what we did. You just, like, love us regardless…and always, y’know? I never had to imagine anything happening to make that stop, and I never had to consider that it might not be like that for everyone.”

She paused again, this time for a while, her eyes trained on the carpet as she fiddled with cuffs on her jeans. 

And then Moe looked Steve dead in the eye.

“You’re the best dads,” she said, “and I’m really, really lucky.”

ROBBIE

There were eight hours between Steve and Eddie finding out their fifteen-year-old daughter had been in a car crash during a school trip to Disney World and when they finally made it down to the hospital in Orlando she’d been taken to. There were another agonizing two before Robbie woke up.

When she did, her eyes groggily blinked open, and she looked blankly around the hospital room for a moment, and then she saw them.

Then her pale face crumples and suddenly she’s crying.

And that had Steve’s heart plummeting even faster than the phone call from hell he’d gotten eight hours earlier, because Robbie doesn’t cry.

He can’t remember the last time he’d seen her cry – not since she was a baby, anyway. She’d cried constantly as a baby, but the second she had a firm enough grasp on the English language it had ceased entirely, replaced by an endless stream of words – demands and trains of thought and exclamations and everything in between.

Eddie had joked that she’d only ever been crying out of frustration over not being able to tell them what she needed, and as soon as she could tell them, she had no use for it anymore, so seeing Robbie sobbing – the kind of crying where no sound could come out, where she was barely breathing, where her tears were soaking her cheeks and staining the collar of the hospital gown someone had changed her into – it practically had Steve crying himself.

After a few minutes of we’re here and you’re okay and what do you need, Robbie had tearfully admitted, “I need a hug,” and then she’d broken down again.

She wasn’t exactly in any position to get up, obviously, so Steve had taken off his shoes (because even through tears she’d still side-eyed his sneakers) and slid onto the hospital bed so he could pull Robbie into his arms just like he used to do when bad dreams woke her up in the middle of the night.

Later, when Eddie was just outside the hospital room talking to the nurse and the chaperone for the trip about the accident and how the school was planning on moving forward in the aftermath, Robbie finally spoke.

“Papa,” she said, her face pressed into his shoulder.

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’m sorry.”

Steve looked down at his daughter.

“Robbie, you don’t need to–”

“Not for this. For…just, like, in general. You–”

She paused, and Steve let her.

“I just mean…” she continued, “I haven’t been, like, good lately, and I’m sorry.”

Steve didn’t know what to say.

She’s not exactly wrong – it’s true that Robbie had been a total piece of work lately, especially since she started high school, especially since she got bumped up to the senior-level band class because she’s that good at the violin (which he and Eddie had been thrilled about initially until they realized it meant she was making friends with high school seniors) – but Steve didn’t exactly know how best to explain to her that up until this, up until she’d nearly died because of it and no matter how much Steve didn’t like it, it was normal.

It was normal for teenagers to do dumb shit, to hurt themselves, to hurt others, to drive their parents goddamn insane with worry. It wasn’t normal for them to nearly end up dead because of it, and this time it wasn’t really even her fault.

It sort of reminded him of Nancy in a way, of how Nancy had never been the same again after what happened to Barb, how Nancy had never let herself be a dumb teenager, never let herself relax, even though picking a boy over a friend was normal. Sneaking out and drinking during a badly-supervised school trip was normal. Sure, there were supposed to be consequences but there shouldn’t be a goddamn death toll.

“I know, Bean,” he finally said, something about the situation pulling out a nickname for her that he hadn’t used in a long time (because when she was born, Moe had turned Robin into Robbean and the rest was history).

“You’re really good to me,” Robbie whispered, “You and dad are so good to me, and I’m not always good back, and I’m sorry.”

“I don’t need you to be sorry,” Steve told her because, for right now at least, it was true, “Just…just stick around long enough to work with us, okay?”

Robbie nodded.

“Okay.”

[jpitha]

Dreams of Hyacinth - Final/Aftermath

First / Previous /

So: At this time, I'm not going to finish DoH. Like I mentioned in that post a couple weeks ago, I just don't like the direction I took it. There were the parts I liked bookended by lots of boring parts that were a slog to write and probably read. I like Nick and Eastern, and I will (probably) reuse them. Hell, I might even start DoH up again, but I'd rewind the story quiet a ways if I were to do that.

Things to keep in mind: Nick and Eastern wanted two things: To stop being used by people, and to be left alone. That's why Eastern touched the Address Stone at the Gate. She wanted to get the power for once and be the one making choices. Nick just wanted to relax somewhere warm with his partners and not be yelled at or shot at or threatened. He was willing to go along with just about anything Eastern offered so long as it was seen as moving towards his goals.

Ironically, the AIs want the same thing. To be left alone. Remember, they've been subservient before. I haven't really gone into detail about it, but I've given hints, the AI liberation was not as cut and dry or as bloodless as it is in the History books. Remember, for our characters, it was a long long time ago. Gord, Hat and Chloe are the only ones old enough to remember it, and Chloe was instantiated towards the tail end. She acts like she's a know-it-all but she mostly wasn't there.

Ever since JaLF, there was a setup to a confrontation between whoever was Empress and the AIs. Given the power of the Voice it's almost impossible for there not to be, unless I decide to go Full Evil and make the Empress Voice Everyone. Nick tried that on the Colony ship and was so horrified he undid it as he and Eastern were running away.

I didn't like the time jump. I should have kept things happening without it, but I wanted Raaden to be more of a threat and to have her declaration of rule over Sol to be normalized. Demonstrate there wasn't any kind of serious rebellion or underground. This would set up the fact that Nick and Eastern wouldn't find any help in Sol.

The Gate

Eastern was building a Gate on the Reach for two reasons. One, to make the Nanites happy, and two to try and send a beacon interdimensionally to ask for help in AUs. She figured that since all of the Gates were connected to one Gate in a higher plane of existance, it would be possible to throw a beacon into an AU and ask for help.

The Convergence

This is where the melding of the K'laxiverse and Grenverse comes in. With Eastern's opening of the gate, the AU she reaches is the Grenverse. The Gren, seeing an opportunity, Flip through with a stolen Flip drive and attack Raaden. Eastern thinks this is great until some humans and Coalition species Flip in and fight the Gren. It turns out the Gren were out to conquer and not interested in helping Eastern at all. Eastern and the Reach and the Colony worlds and the Coalition species were going to have to come together to defeat the Gren. Then, with a door open between the two universes, there could be a transfer between them. It wouldn't be a melding of the two universes, but people could travel between them.

Selkirk

While all this is going on, Nick basically goes "f this" and takes their little ship, Empress and goes off to rescue Selkirk himself. Right before I ended it, I had mentioned that Nick and Eastern had asked for anyone that City knew that could help them find her. The K'laxi that City new was going to be one of Selkirk's cousins, and that was how they knew where she was. Nick was going to crash into The Dreams of Hyacinth, and basically one man army his way to her, getting mortally wounded in the process. He'd reach her and she would realize what she meant to him and Eastern as he died in her arms. Sel would then order a general evacuation of the Dreams and do a suicide run on a Gren Warfinder that was prepping to attack the Reach. She'd die, but she'd take out the Warfinder too.

Eastern, now on her own, and losing the two people she loved most of all, would throw everything she had - which was not much - at trying to destory Raaden. She blamed Helen for the deaths of Nick and Selkirk and wanted to kill her. Not save humanity from the Gren, not bring everyone together, not even to rule as Empress. She had nothing to live for anymore, so the only thing she could do was make sure Helen went down with her.

Before she goes to do this, she has a dream with the Nanites. She explains that the Voice is too powerful, and that it only leads to death and destruction. The Nanites counter that may be true, but after the war, the galaxy is united and at peace under the Empress. Eastern counters that by saying the original empire fell anyway so it didn't actually work. The Voice is too powerful. The Nanites agree to not give anyone else the voice - so long as Gates continue to be made for them.

Eastern then takes one of the Mariens ships (in one of her last uses of her Voice) and links next to Helen's ship. She crashes into it and forces her way on. The Nanites help her by letting her "crown and wings" be physical barriers, not just light and dust so she's not shot to pieces as she storms up to Helen. She confronts her and she finds that Helen is in her room, crying. Hidden behind the door is a photo of Melody and Helen together, laughing. She thought that taking over would make the feelings of loss for Melody lessen, but they didn't. Helen has been pining after Melody for decades now. She didn't want to rule, she wanted to happily follow Melody. She's a trillionaire and ruler of Sol and nothing she did would bring Melody back. Eastern doesn't kill her right away. She sits next to Helen and tells her about Nick and Selkirk, about why she loved them and about what they meant to her. Helen tells her to go back to them and that she's going to destroy herself to take out more Gren. Eastern then tells her they're both gone. They (also) order the evacuation of Helen's ship and they connect cybernetically to it and together link into the middle of a Gren battlegroup and detonate the reactor, destroying themselves and most of the Gren.

From here on out, the story would be told by Gord, who during the whole book was (deliberately) out of the picture. He was brought up to speed by Hat. He then yells at Chloe for acting without thinking and basically saying a ton of this could have been avoided if she bothered to learn more about Nick and Eastern. Hat agrees but is nicer about it. He goes to the new Gate and touches it. The Nanites reach out to him and tell him that there won't be any more Voice - unless they see a need for it - and tell him that so long as people make Gates, that's enough for the Nanites. People who touch the gates will get a dose of Nanites and some extra abilities, but nothing OP. Gord says that's not good enough, and the Nanites give him just the smallest hint of their real power and he's cowed enough to go "fine, fine, we'll take your deal."

For those wondering, Tinker Toy went back to hauling, but this time people as well as cargo and just tried to keep their head down. Gord told them right out they weren't going to get in trouble for anything they did with Nick and Eastern. Hat put in a good word.

That's basically it. Now the Grenverse and K'laxiverse have a way to interact (though it's not like they're fully blended) and The Problems of Having Characters With SuperPowers is mitigated and just about everyone who had direct interaction with Melody or Nick and Eastern as royalty is gone (except for the Reach, but they're mostly content to just be).

Reading the summary you can tell that it was going to be like, another 100k words to finish the story, and other than sterilized, I don't think anyone wants to read a 200k doorstopper, and I don't think I'm a good enough editor to turn it into a big book.

So sorry to those who were super into it, but I hope this summary can at least get you some closure and let you see where I was going with it so you're not stuck wondering. Thanks for reading!

[arrieebooks]

Home theater

Precious Weapon drabble after chapter 7.

Pairing : Lloyd Hansen x F!OC (Elle) x Sierra Six.

Summary : Lloyd opens up the home theater in their penthouse and watches porn on it. She walks into him and helps him.

Warnings : Jealousy. Implied sex. Nudity. Mentions of detailed pornography. Inappropriate use of home theaters. Handjob. Fingering. Mutual masturbation. Dirty talk. Demanding. Praise kink. Cursing. Sexual tension. Angst. Teasing. Blood kink. Lewd. Biting. Voyeurism.

Word count : 3.9k words.

Author's note : A little surprise in the end! I've had this idea for a long time and I've finally got to write it with Lloyd and her. By the way, no one asked, but I'm in the process of moving to a different city, so updates will be a little slow, sorry in advance!

***

It was getting late at the safety of their penthouse. They've just finished up dinner and discussing their mission. Everyone was already getting ready for bed, oddly so. 

Usually after they had dinner, they'd all three watch a movie in the living room or play some stupid game she created or stroll around the grocery shop downstairs to find some dessert.

But, these past few days have been different. She was sleeping very early. And eventually, the guys just followed her new routine. 

Lloyd couldn't sleep tonight so he decided to quietly sneak out of his bedroom. While wandering around their penthouse, he discovered a movie room, at the very corner of everything else. They had all thought it was just another empty room, like the medical room they made. But, it wasn't. It's a dusty, old home theater that had been sitting here for ages. 

The quaint room is quite spacious. It already has a huge movie projector along with six brown, leather seats behind. There's a fluffy carpet in front of the seats. Colorful, decorative pillows scattered across the carpet. It's almost creepy and haunted here since they've never touched it before. But, he's going to fix that. Make it less creepy for her. 

He had turned on all the lights and cleaned up the dusty parts. Then, he set up his laptop, connecting it to the projector. He wanted to see if it worked. He knew this would make her happy since she loves watching movies more than anything . It could be a nice surprise for her when she wakes up tomorrow morning. 

She's all he thinks about. Even when he couldn't sleep and was restless in his bed, she's still in his head. He's doing all this for her. Perhaps, she's also the reason why he can't sleep now. He's thinking too much about her. Of everything that's happened to her a few days ago. Of how he wants to help her so badly if she just asked. Just like how Six is helping her almost every night or maybe, right this second. 

She had told him before that Six fucks her to sleep when she can't sleep. It helps her to get more relaxed and comfortable. Lloyd wants to be there for her like that, too. To be right beside her and provide her with what she needs or wants, in any circumstance. 

His mind suddenly drifts to what they're possibly doing at this very moment. It fills him with a teenzy bit of jealousy. The blonde is probably sticking his dick inside of her right now, from behind with his arms wrapped around her torso and breast. He had memorized how they sleep and fuck. Their usual positions and their habits. How she likes to snore gently and how Six talks in his sleep, sometimes. They fuck simply. No hardcore kinks or whatsoever. 

This was getting infuriating for him. Stuck here alone, just thinking of them who are 100% fucking in her bed now. It's all he can do. It's irritating to know that he can't do anything about it. He can't even fall asleep, despite the sleeping pills he's already taken. He's frustrated and annoyed. 

So, here he is, testing out the projector by playing out a porn video from his laptop. He's sitting on the carpet, leaning against all the cozy pillows.  

It's been a while since he's even opened this website. He never really needed it before. Until now, that is. It's desperate and almost humiliating, but it's his only option for now. 

He could just watch something and jerk off until he finally falls asleep. At least, this way, she couldn't really hear him or the video since this home theater is far away from her bedroom. If he did this in his room, she most likely would hear it. He doesn't want to wake her up. 

He had clicked on the first video that popped up on the website once he opened it. The video starts out normal. A guy and a woman dressed in office clothes in a fake office, carrying out quiet conversations before they start to finally fuck. The man bends the woman over on the desk and begins to fuck her in the ass, roughly. 

He grimaces a little but takes out his cock from his briefs anyway. He starts to wrap his fingers around him and strokes himself gently but stops abruptly when the video loads on the screen. He sighs, throwing his head back. He didn't really want to do this. It was very fucking weird. He felt like a loser teenager who has never touched a woman before.

It's not like he doesn't have any options. He has a lot of them. But, he's not doing it. He's not who he's used to be. He's not going to fuck a random woman from a bar just because he's bored again. He has Elle now. And maybe back then, it wouldn't mean anything to him but now, it does. It means everything. She's all he wants. No one else. 

The video plays again after the loading. And he's not even in the mood anymore. It's getting too boring and too weird for him. Porn is so unrealistic, he thinks. It's stupid. This is stupid. How did he even get himself into this situation? He can't even get out of it. He has to continue if he still wants to fall asleep. 

He tries to stop thinking about how pathetic this situation is and gets his hand around his dick again as the porno starts to get more intense. The guy begins to fuck the woman even harder and their grunts and moans start to become louder. He's sure that this room is probably soundproof and it's safe from her sensitive hearing. 

His calloused hand pumps his length tightly, starting to get it hard as he lets out soft groans and grunts. He closes his eyes, not even paying attention to the video anymore. He solely focuses on her. Only her. He tries to think about their last moment together, last weekend, before the chaos happened. He was fucking her ass in his own bedroom with Six inside of her cunt. It was a very hot moment despite what happened after. The calm before the storm. 

That's all he thinks about the whole time he's palming his cock. Him being inside her. Her sweet lips when he kissed her. Her smile against his lips. How she tastes on his mouth. How she smells on his nose. She's the only one who really turns him on so much. No one's ever gotten him this hard before. And, desperate. 

His grunts keep on filling the empty room and he's too lost in the moment to realize that the door has been opened. 

It's her. She got woken up because she had heard weird, suspicious noises coming from a room that she thought was empty. She was sleeping peacefully with Six in her room until she heard it. She thought it was intruders, hiding inside here. That's why she had rushed quietly to check the source of the sounds. 

But, it's just Lloyd. He's laid out on the carpet, in front of the huge movie projector with a porn video playing. Yet, he isn't watching it at all. He has his eyes completely shut while stroking his dick and she knew he was probably thinking of her. She knows him too well by now. She also knows that if he's here, jerking off in their home theater, then that means he couldn't sleep. Something was keeping him up that had driven him to do this. 

She sighs, closing the door behind her and that's when Lloyd finally notices her as he opens his eyes. He whips his head around to her, immediately removing his hand from his length. 

He throws his head back. "Fuck, Elle. How long have you been standing there?" he asks her, out of breath.

Elle slowly walks to him. "Just a second ago. What were you doing?" she asks him, frowning. 

Lloyd shrugs casually while she sits beside him, on the carpet. She tries to ignore his hard, throbbing cock that is only inches apart from her. "Jerking off. What else?" he responds.

She scoffs, her eyes gesturing to the porn video still playing in front of her. "I mean, why were you doing it? You can't sleep?" she asks him, her eyebrows knitting in concern. 

He sighs wearily. "Yeah. I was walking around and found this room. Could be nice for movie nights." he casually says. 

She nods shortly. "Are you bored of my hand or something?" she teases with a soft laugh, finally looking down at his dick. 

His head leans against the seat behind him and he stares up at her. "I could use your help. I'd never be bored with your hands." Lloyd murmurs. 

She gets closer to him and their arms brush against each other. Her lips form into a smirk and she rolls her eyes at his compliment. "Why don't you just fuck yourself, hm?" she whispers at his face in a teasing tone. 

He groans. "You're killing me here, Elle." he grumbles. 

Lloyd tilts his head to the side. "Thought that was more of my thing. I didn't know you liked it too." he remarks.

Her smirk widens. "Oh, don't be such a baby. Do it. I'll watch." she demands and his dick just got harder from her order. 

She squints her eyes lightly. "Most of your kinks are mine. You know that." she casually answers and he nods vaguely.

His chin gestures to the porn still playing on the big screen. "I'll turn it off. The video." Lloyd says, about to get up and grab the remote. 

She stops him by holding his arm down strongly. "No. Keep it on. It keeps things more interesting." she orders.

He frowns confusedly. "Are you sure? It's just a little weird. I don't even like the video." Lloyd tells her, grimacing a little.

She scoffs gently. "Well, you picked it."

"It was the first that popped up on the website," he quickly replies.

She gasps softly, smirking. "Wow. You really were desperate, huh? Were you thinking of me the whole time?" she teases as her hand slides on his bare thigh, moving closely to where his cock is but she's not touching it.

He slightly shudders at her touch and nods. "All the fucking time. You have no idea how many times you've made me hard, without even trying. You get me so fucking hard, Elle. You don't even know it." Lloyd confesses, truthfully. No one's ever made him like this. A hot, desperate mess. He was in heat. All because of her.

She nods. "Good. Hands on your cock again." Elle orders him, firmly.

He does what he's told — which was really fucking rare and odd but he's willing to do it because she is asking him to do it. They've never done this either. He's usually always in control because she wants him to. This was different. But good.

Lloyd’s fist continues to stroke his hard, wet cock as her eyes look down at it and a smirk grows on her lips. He looks at her and only her. She quietly observes him before looking up at him through her eyelashes.

"Do you want me to touch myself? For a little encouragement?" she asks him, furrowing her eyebrows.

He immediately nods. "Yeah. Play with yourself for me, sweetheart." he desperately begs, with a raspy voice.

She hums softly as she leans her body against the pillows behind her. Sneaking her hand under her pajama shorts, her fingers reach her panties and slowly rubs her clit. Lloyd watches her while he strokes his dick faster, paying close attention to her hands but he can't see anything.

"Let me see it." he mutters, out of breath.

Her eyes meet his and she groans softly. "Fine. I need to clean up a lot after this. Six's still asleep in my room." she grumbles quietly.

Lloyd casually nods. "I'll help you clean up later, in my room." he assures her.

She lifts her hips to take off her pajamas shorts along with her panties and it all slips out of her feet. Gently placing it beside her on the carpet, she turns back to him and his eyes are already focused on her wet pussy. He's always liked staring at it. It's pretty to him, in some weird way. And he's almost seen it all. In every kind.

"Fuck, you're wet. Is this why you chose to stay instead of going back to bed?" Lloyd asks but he genuinely wants to know.

She snuck out of bed and should've gone back in with Six when she knew it wasn't intruders. But, she didn't. And it wasn't because she wanted to join in with him. She wasn't even in the mood for it. She was sleepy and preferred it to go back to sleep.

She frowns. "No. I stayed because I wanted to help you. I knew you couldn't sleep, that's why you did this." she softly answers.

Lloyd scoffs, retreating from her a bit. "I don't need your fucking pity, Elle." he retorts harshly.

She rolls her eyes. "Of course, it's not pitiness that I feel for you, dumbass. I care about you a lot. I couldn't just let you jerk off alone with a video you barely even like." she clarifies.

His face softens and he chuckles lightly. "It didn't even make me hard. You did." Lloyd plainly admits.

She laughs softly. "Really? You're saying that this video doesn't even turn you on at all? Not even the slightest?" Elle asks him, curiously.

His lips tug into a small smile as he shakes his head. "Nope. You know what turns me on. Definitely not the fucking video."

She frowns confusedly before turning her head to the porn still playing and the guy is still fucking the woman in the ass. Her index finger points to the huge screen, looking at him. "But this is what you like. You like to fuck in the ass." she points out, casually.

Lloyd sighs, rolling his eyes as he pulls her closer to him by her hands. "Would you just stop talking about the video? It doesn't mean dick to me. You are all I need. Believe it or not." he admits, shamelessly.

She chuckles, staring into his eyes up-close before she gazes down at his lips. Her hand cups his jaw and connects her lips against his, kissing him gently. He melts into the kiss, deepening it as he nibbles on her bottom lips. His hands wrap around her waist and she moves her body closer to him, her thigh accidentally brushing against his cock.

"Still wanna continue?" she asks him against his mouth.

He pulls away from her lips and looks directly into her eyes. "We're already both half-naked, Elle. It'd be weird not to." Lloyd says.

She nods before retreating from him, leaning against all the pillows. Her hands rest on her wet cunt again and her soft fingers play with her clit while his fist wraps around his dick again. His eyes slowly look down at her with lust. She's looking down at him too, observing how his hands move up and down around his length. Warm, white precum are starting to drip out of him and it's almost splashing on her thighs. It wasn't really turning her on earlier, but it sure is now. The thought of him doing all this just by thinking of her, turns her on so much. She's not even touching him.

"Put your fingers in. Three of them." Lloyd demands breathlessly as he quickens the pace, getting more impatient to come.

She obliges, carefully inserting three fingers inside her core as she lets out a soft moan. Her cheeks are turning red and hot. She already feels like she's close even with her own fingers. It usually takes way longer than this with her own. This is turning her on a lot.

He moves closer to her, his precum sputtering on her bare thighs. "You look so fucking pretty with your own fingers inside of you, sunshine. Maybe we should do this more often." Lloyd mutters, teasing her.

She throws her head back and moans again as she curls her fingers inside, hitting that favorite spot of hers. "Maybe not. I like your fingers just fine." she murmurs, leaning her head on his shoulder.

Lloyd looks down at her and chuckles. "You're so fucking adorable. Too fucking perfect." he praises her softly before brushing her hair aside, kissing her forehead. Which was rare of him. It was too affectionate and sweet. Very unlike him.

She pulls away from him as she continues to stroke her three fingers in and out of her cunt slowly. Her eyes look up at his as he flashes her a faint, small smile. She lets out a breathy moan as his free hand slides under her top and feels her bare skin. His thick hand moves up to her breasts, grasping it before he pinches her nipples.

She gasps softly at that, her fingers stopping abruptly. He frowns at that, glaring up at her.

"Don't stop. I want to see you come. Right in front of me." Lloyd firmly orders.

She nods. "Don't make too much of a mess on me. I'm going to have a hard time cleaning up the white stains." Elle softly murmurs.

Lloyd breaks into a soft chuckle. "Don't worry, I won't. And even if I do, I'll clean it up for you." he calmly says.

She hums in responds, her fingers continuing to stroke in and out of her wet, aching core. She can just feel that she's close. She looks down at his own situation as he begins to pump his cock in a faster pace.

She looks up at him through her eyelashes with those pretty, innocent eyes of hers. "Fuck," she moans softly, her face leaning against his shoulder as her teeth bites his shoulder, involuntarily. She feels like she's going to explode. Not literally, of course. She's just never touched herself like this. It's a different but anew feeling.

Lloyd groans, a little blood dripping from his shoulder. "Shit, sweetheart. That's going to leave a mark. Do it again." he mutters to her. He can never leave a mark on her since she heals within a second later. But she can certainly leave a mark on him. Most of his kinks are hers.

She lifts her face and smiles at him. "You're so perfect for me. One of a fucking kind." she whispers. He's the only man in her life that's willing to try out her kinks. Not one, but all of them. She never knew she needed all of it until now.

His fingers strokes the girth of his cock tighter and faster and after a few seconds, his cum explodes all over her bare thighs and cunt. It's warm for her and it's just what she needed being in this cold room, half naked. Lloyd grunts out loud, releasing his hand from his length as he looks at her. Her cheeks turn hot at the sight of him and at all the mess that's on her.

"Your turn, sunshine." he murmurs, his lips curving into a smirk she really fucking hates. But she can't deny that it really is hot.

She licks her bottom lips, focusing her eyes on him as her strong fingers work on her release. Sometimes she forgot how strong she is. Her hands are like fucking magic. That's why he'd never get bored of her hands. She pumps her fingers stronger and quicker before warm, white cum spills out of her cunt as she lets out those soft, pretty moans she usually does. He loves her moans more than any sound in the world. He wishes he could listen to it for the rest of his life.

Lloyd cups the side of her face with one of his hands. "You're so fucking pretty when you come. Come here." he says.

She whines softly when he pulls her in by the waist, gently pushing her closer onto him. Her body leans against his side as she braces her arms on his chest.

"Are you going to fall asleep better now?" she gently asks him, her eyes looking up at his green ones.

She giggles, shaking her head. A few minutes ago, he was complaining on why she stayed. She'll never forget how annoying he can be sometimes. "Just shut up and kiss me, asshole." Elle lifts her head up to be eye level with him.

Lloyd softly smiles down at her. "Way better. Because of you." he replies, tucking her hair under her ear. "Thank you. For staying. You really are so fucking precious, you know that?" he adds.

She helped him. And actually helped him because he can finally sleep now. If she didn't stay, he doesn't think jerking off alone would've gotten him anywhere.

He chuckles, cupping her cheeks between his huge hand as he leans down to kiss her tenderly and gently. It's the most gentle he's ever kissed her. She parts her mouth for him and intensifies the kiss even deeper as she moans softly against his lips. They're only focused on each other and nothing else. Like the world doesn't exist and it's just them.

But, little do they know, the door has been slightly opened for quite a while now. They were completely unaware and clueless because of the heated moment.

This whole time, Six had been quietly watching them from the door. He woke up and almost panicked when he saw that she wasn't beside him on their bed.

So, he silently searched through the penthouse and found the home theater room where it was making weird noises. He had opened the door as carefully and as quietly as possible and they didn't even notice it.

He was slightly shocked of the sight he was seeing at first. Lloyd and her were sitting beside each other on the carpet, both half-naked as they both touched themselves. And in front of them, was a big projector screen that was showing some porn video.

He didn't interrupt or bother them, though. He wanted them to just enjoy this moment for themselves. He can be selfless just for them. Even though his dick has been twitching and aching in his sweatpants when he saw her bare cunt as she touched herself beside Lloyd.

It was certainly different from what they've ever done before but he was aware of her kinks that Lloyd had happily fulfilled. This was one of them. He's not mad or disappointed.

In truth, he's content for both of them. They're both the only ones in the world he truly cares about and would do anything for them. Including letting them have a hot moment even when he's dying to join in because of his hard erection.

Six quietly leaves the scene once he sees Lloyd and Elle pull away from the kiss to clean up after their huge mess. Even he widens his eyes at it that's spilling everywhere on the carpet, the pillows and on their thighs. They were wild and messy.

He's definitely going to mention this to her someday. Or tomorrow.

[sunny-salamander]

Since it's probably gonna be a while before I post anything for it, I do wanna talk about this one AU idea that I have for Pandora's Box that I absolutely adore but won't be following through with in Pandora's Box. I call it 'Magi Prince' AU.

Spoilers for chapter 4 and possibly later parts of Crafting Pandora's Box below.

The long and short of it is that Hanako gets outed as a Magi while recovering from the car crash from Chapter 4. The dumbasses end up attacking her at the hospital and, in her panic, she takes Makoto and Komaru and flees back to the Shizuoka Tribe.

Something that I've alluded to but haven't fully expanded on for the Magi is that a lot of their culture has been lost over time. The Magi once had this huge global civilization roughly ~35,000 years ago that imploded upon itself. When it did, it resulted in the formation of several Magi Tribes across the globe, each of which developed different ideas of what that culture was like based on the fragments their ancestors thought to preserve. Couple this with extremely long lives (700 to 1000 years on average) and the few technology they salvaged, and you get the modern day Magi Tribes basically worshiping the ancient Magi Civilization.

The thing is, since they're only method to replace the Magi population is to find a human with an Amorphous Ultimate Talent and change them into a Magi, the Magi population has been on the decline for thousands of years. People who knew critical information began to die out before they could pass it on and tribes weren't getting new blood often enough to replenish their population. They lived long lives, but that meant nothing if a Magi was killed well before their time due to a human mob, or an accident, or an infection, or any other number of things. Tribes began to dissolve, with some Magi choosing to isolate themselves far out of human reach whereas others delved head first into learning how to blend in with humans.

This results in a situation where the Magi are losing very critical information about their original culture... such as their language. And Magian is the only language capable of spellwork in the Magi!AU.

This makes Hanako's knowledge and the notes her Teacher took while traveling the world - of Magian history, language, original culture, etc. - extremely valuable to the tribes that still exist. It's a very powerful bargaining chip for them.

So when Hanako returns to the Shizuoka tribe and is captured, that's what she uses to secure a safe place for her children to grow up. Because she knows what it's like to live in the wilderness; that's not something she wants for Makoto or Komaru, especially with human technology's recent rampant leaps. Raising them in isolation would be damning Makoto to never fitting in to any culture and depriving Komaru of that 'human' connection. She needs a compromise that will give them social skills and general knowledge of the world but also keep them away from the people now hunting them.

This means Makoto and Komaru are raised in Magian rather than Human and have been effectively home-schooled for the next eight to ten years of their lives. They've never stepped foot in a high school once in all that time.

It makes things very, very awkward for Hope's Peak Academy when they draw Makoto Naegi's name for the 78th class's Super High School Level Lucky Student and realizes the boy has been missing for almost a decade.

[nimata-beroya]

MY THOUGHTS ON TBB 2×15 "The Summit" and 2×16 "Plan 99"

To say that I'm devastated is an understatement. As I write this during my second viewing of the episodes, I keep tearing up even before you know what happens. This is NOT how I imagine this finale would go. I guess I can say that objectively, removing all emotional perspective, it was a great finale, one where the setting up along the season pays off.

But emotionally, it's awful. Absolutely and undeniably impossible to believe. It'll take me a long time to process this. And I'm not sure if I'm capable of sharing with you all my thoughts because of that. I'll try, but probably I'll skim over some things that seem irrelevant at the moment or simply too painful to talk about.

In hindsight, the batch should've collected every favor they're owed from people they've helped the last 2 season to pull this off with everyone alive! just sayin'!!

Nope. I'm not talking about Phee and Tech saying goodbye. Watching it for a second time threw me into another sobbing fit 😭😭😭

The summit, ugh! I hate everyone in there. And especially Hemlock with his awful ideas to experiment on clones, and also Tarkin, how does he dare to disrespect clones that way? Clones that he fought alongside, and even they gave up their lives to save him?!!

I can't deal with all the foreshadowing here. It's too painful 😭😭😭 I can't stop crying.

Half kudos to that imperial complimenting the clones. A little naive of his part to think the Empire cares about that. He should've known better, but at least he has a little bit more of a conscience than the rest. I don't know who he is because there's no credit for the voice actor.

For a moment, I thought the other group infiltrating was with Cody in command. I thought he might've not gotten to Rex yet and this was the way to connect them, of course, after he helped to save Crosshair. But I was wrong! I never liked Saw Gerrera, and now he jumped to be part of the characters I hate! If he had helped, no one would've died!! Part of the fault belongs to him!!

The escape on the railcar went fine! Yep! Everyone is fine!! Everyone lives!! Plan 99 who? I don't know her.

But leaving extreme denial aside, I must admit that the part where Tech and Hunter are escaping after being made by the stormtroopers and Saw left them to their luck is very well done. There's a particular moment that it's both of them almost going in and out of the focus of the camera as they go kicking stormtroopers' asses, that's absolutely awesome. And after I took a nap (being sleepy and emotional is a bad combination), the pain of Tech's sacrifice is a tad less raw, and I guess I can see why it was necessary. I hate it but yes, absolutely, it was in Tech to sacrifice himself for his siblings, like any of them would. That's why Plan 99 exists.

And some part of me knew that Plan 99 was about sacrifices, honoring how 99 died. I just thought that they'd subverted it and everything would be fine. But no.

As if it wasn't devastating enough to see Tech falling, they had to do a parallel, carrying injured Omega to the Marauder as they did injured Hunter in season 1. So rude of them!!

I can't blame Hunter for wanting to hide in a cave (or a remote island) and never leave again. This is why he's been so cautious since the beginning. They already lost one of their own, he didn't want to lose another. And yet, he was helpless to stop it from happening.

And we all knew Cid would betray them. No surprise there. At least, she doesn't look too happy about it. I hope the regret gnaw at her for the rest of her life. That she can't sleep thinking about it.

And of course, Hemlock had to appear and Omega wasn't going to obey Hunter. He should've known she wouldn't go.

And I really, really, reeaaaallllyy want to cling to the idea that Tech is not dead, that Hemlock found him injured and took him in, hence why he has Tech's glasses. I mean, this is Star Wars, and we know that death can be temporary. And you know what? It'd be great (not really, but you know what I mean) if Tech is alive and Hemlock uses him in one of his experiments. We could get Imperial Tech, which is a terrifying thing to think about. Because that intelligence used for evil, damn!!

Omega trying to save Hunter and Wrecker, my poor angel. You should've listened to your dad!

I loved how Echo was a menace with the stolen walker. Also, Hunter and Wrecker taking out the commandos even as injured as they are, nice, but I knew they weren't going to stop Hemlock from taking Omega.

And like I saw a post earlier, Hunter just entered in his Joel Miller phase for Season 3. Anyone who gets in his way to find Omega is dead already. I agree 100%!

And clown of me to think that we'd get a fair share of Crosshair screen time during these 2 episodes, and all we got is 30 sec of unconscious Cross!! Ugh!! and still a prisoner!!

The theory that Emerie is a female clone too turned out to be true, altho I don't care much about it. I guess they want to show how Omega would be if she had stayed with the Kaminoans/Empire. I guess I have to wait and see what this is going.

I have more thoughts, but I'm too distressed to keep going. The season overall was way above my expectations, but the jury is still out about the finale. I have too many conflicting emotions about it. *SIGHS* Now, it starts the long waiting for season 3.

But in the meantime, and bringing a happier note, let me remind you that there's ONLY 2 DAYS before the phase 1 of prompt voting for the bad batch appreciation week 2023 is over!!

Check the link below, and remember that you can vote as many times you want!

[separatist-apologist]

The Last Of A Dying Breed

You are the sun and I am just the planets spinning around you

Summary: Elain and Lucien are considered a pair at the Jedi Temple. There isn't one without the other. When the Empire attempts to purge the Jedi, however, the two find them separated and desperate to get back to each other.

What they're willing to do in order to keep the other safe will test every vow they've ever made.

Read on AO3 | Part 1

Part 2: I Know This Whole Damn City Thinks It Needs You

Getting Elain aboard the ship was easy when she wasn’t fighting him. Her companion was long gone, having either left her behind or decided she wasn’t worth the effort. Lucien put her in the hold and off they went without a word. Vassa’s eyes were as big as saucers while Jurian remained tight lipped. Lucien, too, didn’t quite know what to say.

She was my friend.

She was my friend.

She is my friend. 

He repeated those words like a mantra, until he’d soothed himself just long enough that he believed everything would be okay. 

“She’s younger than I thought she’d be,” Vassa finally whispered when Kalarba came into view. “We’re the same age,” Lucien replied tersely. Vassa glanced over again, before looking to Jurian for help.

“You’ve seen some shit,” Jurian offered, clearly out of his depth. "That ages a man.”

Lucien suspected Elain had seen some things, too, though he kept that to himself. Everything was more dangerous now—doubly so, given Eris’s code came through mere seconds before Vassa had to give it to the Imperial channel tracking who was coming and going. No one questioned Eris Vanserra, which was a small victory in a sea of uncertainty. Lucien had a million questions he hoped he might get answered when he climbed back into the hold.

Elain was still asleep, one slender wrist held in irons. He unchained her, half expecting her to leap up and attack him. Her body remained limp, her face serene. He could almost pretend this was normal, that they were normal. 

Well, maybe not normal, given Lucien couldn’t find it in him to pretend the purge hadn’t happened. But normal for them. Normal friends, surviving together. Elain’s head fell against his chest and Lucien swore his heart slowed just a little. They were together again, and he believed that everything would be alright. 

He’d seen Eris’s estate only once, though he’d seen many others. He was never quite prepared for just how expansive they were, or how vast the Vanserra fortune truly was. Marble was expensive and hard to find, and yet every home Eris home was made from nothing else. Lucien drank in the thick columns and rising towers that overlooked ocean on three sides, and jagged, steep mountainsides. Lucien waited for Jurian to punch in the code to the door on the roof they stood on before descending the stairs into the bright, warm house.

“Deal with the droid,” Lucien murmured, not wanting anyone besides the three of them to have too much awareness of Elain’s presence. Not yet, anyway. Not until he knew if she was dangerous or not. 

He still had her saber, which meant very little depending on what other tricks she had up her sleeve. Lucien walked her down a long hall made transparisteel. It thought Elain would like the golden light, at least. She probably wouldn’t like that his bedroom connected to her own through a shared ‘fresher, but Lucien thought that was merely a precaution. It wasn’t like he was going to intrude, after all.

They were friends. 

Lucien set Elain atop rose and gold colored bedding before stepping away. He should have known better, but it was Elain, and he still trusted her. 

He heard her mere seconds before he felt her booted foot connect with his spine. Elain kicked hard, knocking into a dresser and sending all the little glass knickknacks crashing to the floor. Lucien’s palms bit against the edge, stinging as he whirled to face her.

“How long have you been planning ooof—-” Her fist connected with his face, drawing blood from his nose. 

Kriff that hurt.

“You’re so sentimental,” Elain panted. Tendrils of her golden brown hair framed her pretty face, making her seem just a little wilder than he remembered. 

“You used to like that,” he reminded her, his larger body blocking the door from her. She’d noticed it, too. Lucien was half tempted to let her make her way through the house and out in the rapidly descending night, if only so she could see that for now, she was stuck. 

He didn’t think it was right to unleash a wild Sith woman on his friends. Vassa might just shoot Elain, and that wouldn’t do anyone any good. 

“Have you considered you don’t know me anymore?” Elain asked, straightening herself when it was clear she wasn’t going to be able to fight her way out of the room. Lucien braced himself for her sharp words.

“No, it hasn’t,” he told her honestly. “I could still feel you.”

Her face twisted in a sneer so at odds with the kind, sweet Elain he remembered. “Is that so? Can you feel everything? Or just��some things.”

He didn’t think he liked the implications of her words, and certainly didn’t like the rising jealousy in his chest. “I could feel your pain.”

That stopped her. Elain had thought Lucien was feeling her desire, but Lucien had never felt that. Only her fear, her despair, her pain. 

“And where were you when all that was going on?” she asked, crossing her arms just beneath her breasts. Lucien kept his eyes trained on her face.

She was his friend.

“Kashyyyk,” he said, watching her expression crumple. It was only a moment in which he saw her beneath the mask of anger, and yet it was enough to convince him that she was still just beneath the surface, desperate to escape. “I was coming for you. Did you doubt that?”

“I moved on, Lucien,” she said tonelessly, her eyes cold. 

“I think you’re a liar,” he replied, his own tone clipped. “I think you’d say anything to—”

“Get back to Azriel?” she all but purred. Lucien turned his back to her, refusing to give her an ounce of satisfaction. 

“Hurt me,” he finished, touching the pad beside the door. He looked over his shoulder, certain he was imagining her regret. He saw only what he wanted to see, and what he wanted to see was her. 

When Elain didn’t respond, Lucien decided to try again. “Your room is connected to mine, so if you decide you’d like to—”

“See if you’re still adhering to the Jedi code?” she asked with an arch brow. Lucien had to pretend her words didn’t shoot through him like a blaster bolt, or that Elain didn’t immediately push her way into his mind through their shared connection to fill his mind with the most indecent images.

Picture of her, tangled in the sheets while he writhed overtop her, their mouths frantic and hungry and—

“That’s enough!” Lucien half yelled, using the force to push her physically away from him. Elain was grinning, but Lucien felt off center and confused. In the vision, Elain had been a willing participant and he’d wanted her. Even then, his heart raced in his chest and some long dormant part of him all but clawed itself to the surface. Lucien suppressed it—she was manipulating him. 

“You never thought about it? All those nights curled beside each other in the temple and you never thought once about us?”

Lucien swallowed. “You were—you are—my best friend.”

He needed to get away from her. Needed to meditate until he wasn’t thinking about her like that. The door pushed open with a soft hiss just in time for Elain to admit, “I did. All the time.”

He stumbled over the air. 

Don’t look at her. She’s manipulating you.

But Lucien swore he recognized that wistful tone in her voice. He thought, if he turned and looked, he’d seen her again.

And so he didn’t. Lucien stepped into the hall and forced himself to take a breath.

And then another.

All the way to Vassa and Jurian, who sat in the living room surrounded by more food than two people could reasonably eat. Lucien plopped onto the couch beside them.

“So,” Vassa began, as if she knew exactly what had happened. “How did it go?”

“Shut up,” Lucien complained, reclining back with an arm thrown over his eyes. 

“She’s cute,” Jurian tried, and Lucien wondered if the galaxy was conspiring against him now. Eyes closed, he could see her again, naked and wrapped around him as her teeth grazed his bottom lips.

“Don’t stop, Lucien—”

“Kriff!” he swore, rising to his feet. She was in his head again. Lucien rose to his feet and began to pace the length of the house. It wasn’t, he reflected, that Jedi weren’t allowed to have those sorts of relationships. It was that they weren’t supposed to have attachments. Plenty of Jedi indulged their more base instincts and Lucien had not been one of them.

And had he ever felt so inclined, he knew deep in his bones it could never have happened with Elain. He could never have employed the right amount of distance required, given how he had spent his life skirting that line. How often had Master Tamlin chided him over his feelings about Elain?

Even if she was lying, the idea that Elain had spent any time at all imagining the two of them together was doing something to him. Something Lucien wasn’t entirely sure he hated, either. 

He was stupid to indulge in it. Still, Lucien went to bed that evening thinking of the man Elain had been with. Had she done those things with him? 

He stretched out in the bed that might have been his, had he grown up merely a Vanserra and not a Jedi. He’d gone to check on Elain once and found her laid out in her bed wearing under things he was desperate to never think of again. She’d looked over with sultry eyes haloed in gold as she flipped through the holonet on a screen before her. She only had what Vassa approved and little more.

Lucien’s brain had nearly short-circuited at the sight of so much bare skin.

“Where did you find that?” he asked as she rose from the bed, every inch a dream he’d never even realized he’d had.

“The closet,” she replied with that pretty smile. “Would you like to see—”

He’d closed the door before she could finish asking what he’d like to see. Lucien wanted to just talk to her. To ask her where she’d been and what had happened. He wanted to tell her that he didn’t care what she’d done to survive, because it meant they were together again. Instead, Elain was clearly working some sort of plan, one he assumed involved a knife through his chest which made Lucien’s heart hurt.

No amount of wanting her or not wanting her made that ache feel any better. Lucien forced himself to settle. Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself that she’d been tortured by that man—Azriel, she’d called him. And whatever she’d done in the aftermath had been in the name of survival. Lucien wasn’t angry.

He wasn’t disappointed.

It had been only one day. They had plenty of time to untangle whatever was going on in her head. Lucien would take Elain to the hydrogarden in the greenhouse and force conversation on her. And if she tried to push thoughts of sex with her in his head, maybe he’d lean into it. Call her bluff. Prove she was merely doing this to get a rise from him, and maybe he was interested.

Which, of course, Lucien was.

That was the problem. Lucien didn’t want to be interested and yet when he closed his eyes, he could see her in the lace covering her breasts and the way her body had curved in the most appealing way. 

There is no passion. There is only serenity.

Lucien repeated that over and over, and yet his body never did quite seem to get the memo.

ELAIN:

Elain stepped down the dim hall of the Jedi temple, frustration buoying her steps. Master Morrigan was riding her hard and Elain was exhausted. Too much time was spent on Venator’s, running drills and pushing back the separatists, and not enough time was spent on the tasks she’d promised to teach Elain when they’d become Master and Padawan. Elain was eighteen now, and still unclear if she’d ever be more than a General to an army of clone troopers.

She knew who would understand, and so when she ought to have turned right for the girls dormitory, she went left for the boys. Dormitory wasn’t quite the right word. Everyone had their own rooms—at least, everyone ranked Padawan and higher. They shared bathing chambers, which was hardly the annoyance others on the outside made it seem like. Elain didn’t mind because the temple was a family. 

But Lucien was something else. 

She’d heard he’d just returned from a mission on Mygeeto, a theory that was confirmed when she’d seen Master Tamlin just outside the halls walking to what she hoped was the kitchens, and not to tattle that he’d seen her running the halls of the boys rooms late at night.

She didn’t need another lesson on attachment. Everyone knew she and Lucien were too close, though they didn’t understand why. It was friendship they’d both insisted. 

But it was more. A cord that bound them, that held them together even across vast distances. Something that was curled around her very soul—something the force willed. And if the force wanted their closeness, surely it couldn’t be such a bad thing? That was how Elain felt as the door to Lucien’s room hissed open, allowing her entry.

“You’re hard to track down,” she whispered as the door closed behind her. Lucien was shirtless and bathed in the artificial moonlight of Coruscant. He sat upwards, long, auburn hair spilling over his broad shoulders. Her heart sped up at the sight.

“You found me,” he replied with a soft sigh before pulling back the deep navy of his blanket. It was an invitation for her to join. Elain slipped off her shoes just at the edge of the orange and white rug made gray in the dark before she joined him. There was no distance here. Lucien curled an arm around her, pulling her flush against him so she could drink in the warm, masculine scent of his skin.

Elain burrowed her face in the crook of his neck. “How was Mygeeto?” she asked, hooking a leg around his own.

“Long,” he replied, his voice still thick with sleep. “Jaro Tapal took over so I’m back for a little while.”T

hat was the nature of the war. They were constantly being sent out to far-flung worlds. In the last five years, they saw less and less of each other. Elain wrapped her arm around him, trying to pull him closer. A soft noise of pleasure escaped Lucien as he pressed his cheek into her hair. 

“What’s bothering you?”

Too much, she wanted to say. Instead, Elain slid a hand down his bare chest, letting her palm rest against his stomach. Lucien stilled beneath her touch, which only emboldened her. “What if we left?” she whispered, pressing her lips against his shoulder. Lucien turned his head and then the rest of him so they were all but nose to nose. 

“What are you saying?” he asked. His breath was decidedly minty and warm, and Elain wanted to kiss him. She’d never kissed anyone in her entire life, and right then, she wanted to kiss him. 

“I’m saying we should leave,” she repeated, her fingers finding the waistband of his trousers. She didn’t know if she was brave enough for that, given she’d never even kissed another person.

Still, Elain kept her fingers just there, brushing against the line of hair that she’d never seen before. 

“Leave?” 

Elain wasn’t certain Lucien was even hearing her. She could feel his heart thudding in his chest, could see how hard he was breathing. It was just enough to convince her to slip her fingers into the band of his pants, just far enough they rested between the bones of his hips.

“I’m not a soldier, Lucien. I wasn’t—I know I wasn’t meant for this. All the death wears on me. And I…” she tilted her chin to look at him, still half bathed in the silvery moon pouring through the open window behind him. Lucien’s russet eyes were all but burning flame, his lips parted. He wanted her, she realized. It was mere restraint that kept him from moving. “I miss you.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered, brushing his nose against her own. 

“You are. In a day or two, Tamlin will call you away and who knows when I’ll see you again. I…” she didn’t know how to get the words out without sounding selfish. “I—”

His mouth covered her own before she could finish whatever she was trying to say. There was no finesse to it, she thought ruefully. It was all passion, which was forbidden to them both. Their teeth crashed together and neither of them were synced quite right. Elain didn’t care. Her whole body was electric, was desperate for more of him. Lucien very clearly felt the same given he half rolled, forcing her fingers from his pants so he could cover her chest with his own. His fingers raked through her hair and the next kiss was decidedly better than the first.

Better practiced, she decided with a sigh. One kiss became two, became three, until Lucien felt expert enough to incorporate his tongue. Elain parted her lips, allowing him to taste her. They both moaned softly, their bodies shifting of their own accord as pleasure pooled between them. The bond allowed Elain to feel his own desire, which only heightened her own. 

Some part of her screamed this was wrong—that they were crossing a line they couldn’t come back from. She should have told him no, should have apologized for overstepping.

Elain arched into his touch, offering him better access when his hand groped her breast with all the same clumsiness that was punctuating whatever was happening between them. She didn’t care. As long as he was touching her, Elain didn’t care if Lucien had any experience.

They’d do it again and he’d be better the second time. And better still the third, until this first time was a rosy memory in which all she could recall was the pleasant warmth of his body pressed against her own and the way his mouth tasted like mint and something so wholly him that she couldn’t stop herself from kissing, even when she needed to take a breath. 

Elain was so afraid if she stopped, even for a moment, that all of Lucien’s good sense would come crashing down on him and he’d demand they stop. He’d tell Tamlin who would see them separated for years—or maybe forever. She needed them to do this together, to have this secret.

To give in to what had been building between them their whole lives. 

Elain arched her back and all at once, Lucien had gotten her top off with no difficulty at all. She hadn’t noticed he’d undone her belt and Elain just barely noticed how he’d gotten her underthings off until it, too, was on the floor.

“Stars, Elain,” he breathed, looking between their bodies so he could see her. Elain carded her fingers through his hair, tangling against the braids he’d likely spent the morning carefully weaving against his scalp. 

“Don’t stop,” she whispered as fear prickled against her skin.

“I don’t think I can,” he admitted before kissing just beneath her jaw. Elain noticed he was grinding his hips against the mattress between her legs, likely trying to alleviate the same pressure she felt building in her own body. While Lucien worked his way to her breasts, drawing one of her nipples into his mouth, Elain managed to push his pants down his thighs so he was nearly naked.

She just wanted to see. 

She wanted to touch. 

Lucien made a strangled sound when her hand wrapped around the hard length of him and stroked. He pressed his forehead between the valley of her breasts, as though he needed to take a moment to compose himself. 

“Is this good?” she asked, watching the muscles of Lucien’s back bunch and shift as he tried to compose himself.

“Too good,” he managed when she stroked again and again. He was warm and hard in her hand, and so thick Elain’s fingers just barely curved around him. She had the sense that Lucien was not the norm, and that pleased her for reasons she couldn’t quite articulate. 

There was a flurry of movement as Lucien rose up on his knees, letting her still awkwardly hold his cock while he worked himself—and then her—out of their pants. Only then did he move out of her grasp so he could push apart her legs.

They were going to do this. Elain looked up at him, thinking such an act would have been impossible if she hadn’t trusted him. If she hadn’t—

“I love you,” he whispered, speaking the words into existence. “You know that, right?”

Elain nodded as Lucien came back to her, settling the blunt head of his cock against her entrance. He held her face in his hands like it was delicate and she was precious to him. “I know,” she whispered, her heart beating wildly in her chest. “And I—” she gasped when he pushed, opening her wider than she’d ever been in her life. Lucien planted the hands that had once held her face just beside them, his fingers curling into the sheets beneath them. He seemed to be trembling, and she wondered if there was some effort to what was happening. 

“Are you okay?” he rasped. 

“Yes,” she replied. Discomfort was resolidifying into desire. Elain lifted her hips in invitation and Lucien pushed himself in further. He stopped each time her eyes squeezed shut and she clenched around him, trying to adjust to the intrusion and the fullness of him. 

Elain and Lucien had always shared a soul. Now they were attempting to share a body. It wasn’t painful so much as uncomfortable, and even that only lasted for a few breaths before the pleasure returned. Still, Lucien continued to move slowly until he was wholly seated in her. He remained still long enough for her to adjust, allowing her to pull him against her by the shoulders for, admittedly, a messy kiss.

“This is good,” she breathed, tightening herself around him. Lucien’s eyes rolled upwards in his head. His mouth brushed her own before his hips rolled, dragging his cock out of her body just long enough to push back in. They both gasped, lost to the heady pleasure settling around them like a warm fog. Elain never wanted it to end just as badly as she wanted to finish and see what it would feel like when the building pleasure crested. 

Elain couldn’t get enough of him. They were kissing and Lucien was thrusting faster and with more urgency, as if he was losing all the control left to him. Her nails dragged over the tops of his arms and down his back while her legs wrapped around his waist, her heels digging against his ass to spur him on. She was close to something, was building up, up, up—

“Lucien,” she gasped a mere moment before his tongue delved into her mouth to taste her cry of pleasure. She clenched tightly around him as she broke apart. It was like nothing she’d imagined. Incandescent waves of golden bliss burst through her vision, locking her around him as Lucien, too, came quickly.

“Elain—”

“ELAIN!”

Elain grinned from her spot just beside Lucien in his bed. Coated in a sheen of sweat, Lucien had definitely come, though she couldn’t quite be sure. While he tried to situate himself, Elain ripped back the blanket on his bed only to be met with disappointment. Though there was a small wet spot against the very prominent bulge, it was hardly the sort of emission she’d assumed would come from an ejaculation. 

“What is wrong with you?” he demanded, scrambling away from her so quickly that he fell to the glossy marble floor. Elain almost told him what, exactly, was wrong with her. That was a conversation for another day.

“I thought you’d prefer your first time somewhere more familiar,” she said instead, waiting for him to stand. Part of her hoped he’d pull his pants off and let her see just as close she’d come in her own imagination. Lucien, who was trying so hard to make the Jedi proud, was clearly unraveling. He looked as if he’d run a mile, and when he flipped on the light, Elain thought he looked rather appealing in the post near-orgasm glow. 

He’d always been handsome, though. 

“And you?” he asked, running a hand through his hair. “Was your first time somewhere familiar?”

Elain laughed. “Jealous?”

Lucien pressed his lips together before rummaging through a dresser for a new pair of pants. He was. It was almost too easy. How far could she push him before he sent her back on her merry little way?

After all, Lucien had no business in her world, now. She had no intention of trying to escape, though she did want her lightsaber back. Elain was, for the moment, exactly where she wanted to be.

And though she knew she couldn’t stay, it would have been a lie to say she wasn’t happy to see him. That knowing Lucien had friends, that people were looking after him, didn’t soothe her, just a little. 

“Get out,” he ordered, which only caused Elain to settle further against his bed. 

“I like it here,” she replied, eyes never leaving his face. Who had given him those scars, she wondered? They were new—at least, to her. 

“I’m not undressing in front of you,” he said, though he curiously wasn’t moving. Elain cocked her head to the side.

“Why not?” she asked, running a finger over the delicate lace bra just barely covering her breasts. “I think I’d like what I saw.”

“You know what I think?” Lucien whispered, and Elain knew the next words from his mouth were going to devastate her. He had the upper hand in that moment and she needed to get it back. “I think you can’t tell me your first time because there isn’t one. I think you’re trying to wind me up until I let you go.”

Elain swallowed. Lucien always knew her too well. 

“Possession isn’t allowed,” she said instead, letting a smile curve over her lips. “You should let me go. It’s the Jedi way.”

“Are you still a Jedi, Elain?”

She laughed, despite the pang of hurt his words caused her. Because no, Elain was very much not a Jedi any longer. She wondered what Lucien would say when he learned what had happened in Azriel’s dungeon. What she’d agreed to, what she’d given up. How she’d folded.

The secrets she’d kept. 

“Do I look like a Jedi?” she asked, unfolding herself from the bed to walk to him. Lucien didn’t move, looking down at her with something between apprehension and disapproval. Elain couldn’t get over how good-looking he was. Time had been kind to Lucien, turning him from a rather good-looking young man into a carved, muscular, golden-brown skinned man. Elain didn’t bother to tell him that in the fantasy she’d sent him, asking him to leave had always been her plan.

In the fantasy, Lucien had returned from Mygeeto to find her. In reality, Elain had missed him by a couple of days.

And then the purge had happened, and Elain and Lucien and been stranded on opposite points in the galaxy, desperately trying to get to each other. She’d gotten her wish, just not how she wanted. 

He would have made a magnificent Jedi, she thought even as she reached for the trouser in his hands and tossed them to the bed behind them. What was she doing? Lucien, too, seemed to be wondering the same thing.

“You look like Elain,” he finally said, ignoring her fingers on his bare chest, inching toward his pants. Lucien took a lock of her hair in his hand and threaded it between his fingers. “You look just like I’ve imagined.”

“What else did you imagine?” Elain wondered, hating how breathless she sounded. 

“I never got beyond finding you,” he said earnestly, unaware perhaps of where this was heading. All Elain’s plans seemed to shatter right then. 

“A smarter man would have given up,” she told him, her voice edged with her own frustration.

“Do you really think that? After everything?” Lucien asked, eyes searching her own even as she began to untie the strings to his pants. He wasn’t paying attention, so busy trying to reach her with the light. 

Unaware she was trying to touch him with the dark. Lucien had been unattainable to her right up until Elain slid to her knees.

“I think,” she breathed as she stared eye-level with his very rigid cock, “that I undersold you in that dream.”

“Elain,” he growled, but she was committed. He wanted her, did he? Well Elain wanted him, too. She wanted him to come home with her. 

Lucien could have shoved her away, but instead he remained so still that his thighs seemed to tremble. Elain licked the long length of him, holding his gaze. She knew what he was seeing—that ring of gold around her eyes betrayed her. If she worked harder, she could have cloaked herself better but Elain wasn’t ashamed of who she was. 

She didn’t want Lucien to be ashamed, either. 

Lucien raked his fingers through her hair. “You shouldn’t…” he breathed, his words trailing to a gasp when she sucked the tip of him into her mouth. Elain had seen enough suggestive, smutty holovids to understand the act itself. She hadn’t expected to like any part of it.

She should have known she would enjoy doing anything that gave him pleasure. It wasn’t possible to take all of him—Elain barely managed a third. She used her hand to make up the difference, pleased that she’d been right once again. Her fingers just barely curled around him.

Lucien made a soft, strangled noise but didn’t push her off him. In fact, Lucien seemed to be helping her, which drew warm affection through her chest. 

Lucien’s fingers slid beneath her jaw as Elain bobbed over him, trying to find the right amount of lips and tongue without accidentally dragging her teeth against him. There was a pleasant, masculine taste to his skin that she also enjoyed.

Why had she waited so long?

Oh, right. Because Elain couldn’t stand the thought of fucking Azriel, and would have preferred to die untouched than to give in to the whole three brothers, three sisters bantha shit. 

Azriel’s cruelty disgusted her, besides. Elain still had her limits. Lucien’s devotion to the Jedi tenants was oddly charming, especially given his cock was in her mouth and his head was thrown back. He looked like a man on the brink of a religious experience. 

Elain pushed her pleasure down their shared bond because she suspected that mattered to him. Lucien gasped, his fingers tightening in her hair and then it was all over. He’d come quickly given his lack of experience.

She didn’t mind. Elain swallowed all of it before pulling off him, dragging little strings of saliva with her. This was…she didn’t know. Some part of her that had been walled off for so long was pushing through, threatening hysterics.

Lucien reached for her arms, pulling her up not for a kiss, but a hug. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, one hand still threaded in her hair. Elain could still feel his cock pressed into her hip and for once, when a man was grinding his erection into her, it seemed to be an afterthought. Lucien wasn’t offering her pleasure, but seemed to be pouring his strength, his relief, his love into her very bones. 

“I missed you,” he said against her scalp.

“Because I–”

“Don’t ruin this,” he warned her and Elain wasn’t so foregone she couldn’t tentatively wrap her arms back around him. “It was never about sex, Elain.”

She believed that. Oh, how Elain believed that Lucien had chased her across the galaxy because she was his best friend and he loved her. 

“Stay with me,” he whispered, kissing the top of her head. “Tonight, Elain. Just tonight, stay with me.”

She knew she should tell him no. Elain didn’t need clairvoyance in the force to know this was a massive mistake for them both. Lucien was unraveling and so was she. The only thing that convinced Elain to get back in that bed, dressed in another woman’s lingerie, was the realization that Lucien had let her suck him off. And that Lucien, quickly changing into new pants, had flicked off the light and pulled her against his body with trembling arms. 

She’d been going about this all the wrong way, she realized as she twisted to look up at him. He looked as if he might cry. Elain thought she might, too. 

“What happened?” Lucien whispered, one finger stroking her cheek. 

He couldn’t fix her.

[everafterfrisk]

Ozma & Ruby Parallels

Been rewatching Volume 6-8 and I've found some parallels between the two

Notably with the two becoming heroes for righteous/heroic reasons

Jinn: The people of the lands knew him as Ozma.

Jinn: Unlike those who had come before, this warrior was not driven by the prize of the young maiden's hand. He fought only for righteousness, and his pure heart and courageous soul prevailed

Ruby:"As a girl, I wanted to be just like those heroes in the books... Someone who fought for what was right, and protected people who couldn't protect themselves!"

-Ruby to Blake

But felt conflicted with their choices not knowing if it's the best option

Ozma going along with Salem's plan of becoming "the new gods of this world" But part of him still feels uneasy

Ozma: (troubled) Are we sure this is right?

Salem: (looking over to Ozma) You said we needed to bring humanity together. In order to do that, we have to spread our word, and destroy those who will deny it.

Ozma gains a shocked expression on his face upon hearing these words. He turns to see his reflection on the window, which suddenly talks to him.Ozma: What are we doing?

Ozma reels back in horror seeing his reflection ask him that question before looking over to Salem.

Ruby's talk with Qrow where she points out that she doesn't know what is truly right for everyone

Ruby: (soft laugh) All of the above. I'm trying to do what I think is best, but I really can't tell if what's best is what's right, or if I'm no different from Oz.

The Two took risks in hiding the truth that it ultimately damaged certain connections they've made

Ruby hid the truth from Ironwood cuz she didn't believe giving him the full story will be the right option as people in Atlas aren't in the best conditions,same goes for the people in mantle plus Salem's immortality is just gonna install more fear.

Ozpin hid the truth about Salem from the World because similar to Ruby, he knew that truth will only expel despair into everyone as a whole and his main goal was mainly to defend the relics from Salem's grasp & help make a world that the gods could deem worthy of living.

By the end of Volume 8, Ruby and the gang realize that while Ozpin did commit a grave risk about Salem being unbeatable, they also had to take heavy risks to protect what they held dear(Blake/Yang trusting Robyn,Weiss trusting Willow/Whitley and Oscar/Ruby hiding the truth from Ironwood)

Fits into the whole theme of Trust within the Volume

Ruby herself didn't like how Ozpin wasn't being truthful from the start but she realized by now that the truth is a risk that everyone has take in the long run and you decide the outcome of that decision in the long run.

In a way this is probably why he was so invested in Ruby from the beginning of the series

Ruby was essentially a reminder of his former self from so long ago, someone who fought for what was right and had the ability to be honest to those around her.

"But perhaps victory is in the simpler things that you've long forgotten. Things that require a smaller, more honest soul"

[cyberrgirlsblog]

(TW bad words, idk what else)

Not beta read so sorry if this is shit, or if there are plot holes im trying

Part 2

Walking into the garrison pub i look around it's not crowded only a couple people are in here today i walk up to the counter and ask the bartender were tommy is

“He's in the booth’’ the bartender said, not looking up from the glass he was cleaning.

“Thank you,” I said.

I walked into the booth where Tommy was. I assumed there were more people with him but to my surprise it was just him. Which confused me since usually arthur or sometimes Polly was with him.

“Who was that, y/n” tommy asked, his cold blue yes looking at me unmoving

“What?” i said

“The romani boy in the caravan with you, he dropped you off, who was that?” he asked with a monotone voice.

A part of me didn't want to answer, a part of me wanted to win this mind game that Tommy plays but i didnt i know what was good for me at this moment.

“Just a boy I met along the road. I was gonna have to walk here but he drove me here instead of his name duke.`` I said with hesitance in my voice. Tommy nodded his head then spoke

“Hm, well do you have the opium?” Tommy said, looking at my bag.

“Yes sir” i said with a joking tone

Setting down the bag on the table opened it up and took out the bottles of pure opium.

“This is about 3 pounds of pure opium. It should be enough for right now. We're trying to expand our inventory of stuff but it's hard. Also there may be less opium due to the stock crash so the guy we get are shit from is upping the price.” i said looking at tommy

He took one of the bottle to look at it 

“Well that's to be expected when something like this happens.” he said while looking at the bottle

“If you want to make sure its pure you Should've brought Arthur he could have tested it out you know. Make sure it's pure.” i said in reality though it may not have been the best idea arthur has been spiraling because of this drug making a tasteless comment about it much less joke about especially in front of tommy. But you never cared too much about it Tommy didn't even flinch when you said it either which surprised you but it was also expected he was thomas shelby after all. A man with a heart turned cold as some would say.

“Well arthur has been clean for a week know” he said

“Has he, well that's good for him.’’ I said, to be honest though, I doubt it will last long knowing arthur. 

“Well Tommy, how has your family been? I've heard from Lizzie that ruby has been running around the house a lot. I've also heard from Polly that adas pregnant. Tho she hasn't said who the baby's father is'' i said while pouring myself a cup of wine.

“Yes theyve been good, Adas has been okay, though i have an idea of who the father might be but i think it'd be better to ask Ada herself.” he said looking at me and noticed a little smile when he mentioned his daughter. “And what of your family Y/n how have they been?”

I smiled a little but a smile nonetheless.`` They've been good ash is out doing God knows what and fez is meeting new people, building connections i guess you could say. I'm not surprised though he's probably the one that will take over the family business. Once well…” I trailed off. I didn't like to think about it but I knew her time would come soon. She's already been doing less and less. I'm not mad at my grandma. If I was her I would want to go out without fear of responsibility. I would like to go peacefully. I just hope she's able to be here for me and ashes 15 birthday.

 “I see, well y/n here's the money, about 100 pounds.” Tommy said, placing the money down on the table. I took the money and put it in my bag just as I was about to get up and leave. Tommy spoke.

“My cousin is coming into town. He's Polly's son.” Tommy said, I looked at him with confusion. I didn't get why he was telling me this. Until i put 2 and 2 together

“Oh shit he's the dude that didn't take out the stock right. And now yalls business is a lil bit shook from that.” i said, i started laughing until i remembered who i was talking to “hm i'm sorry i didn't mean any offense but my question is why are you telling Me this why not fez.”  I said looking up at him.

“I'm telling you this because he will be at the station. I want you to go with Polly and Ada to meet him. He's a part of the Shelby family, his names michael. You don't have to go but tell your brothers he's coming at least.” he said

“And one more thing don't over step with your jokes about my family.” he said looking at me with a voice you would use to scold a young child. I knew it wasn't a threat but it was a warning that I did know. All I could do was nod my head and walk out the bar.3

30 minutes later

Once I was able to see my house I started to do a light jog. Reaching the door I opened it only to hear yelling. I assumed it was fez scolding ash for some shit he did again. In the end though fez always took the blame for me or ash when we did something wrong. Walking to where I could hear the yelling more clearly I walked in the room to see fez on the phone. 

“I told you to leave us the fuck alone man. Okay i dont know what your talking about but i dont have them, we dont have them dont call this number again you fucking hypocrite ass bitch.” i heard Fez yell before slamming the phone back into place. Definitely gonna have to check if he broke it later.

“Fez who the fuck was that.” I said , looking at him with concern but a stern voice.

“No one you have to worry about.”  he said, walking away. I clenched my hands and dug my nails into my hands until I felt a sharp pain and blood roll down the back of my fingers. I try to understand why people do the things they do. I try to stay quiet and not question what people do. But when it's my own brother I can't understand. But I know if I ask him he'll just say some shit like.’it's for your own safety’ or ‘ I don't want to get involved’. But if that was true he would've never let me in the family business when I asked. 

I shook my head, walked up to the phone and dialed in the garrison's number to make sure the phone didn't break. I heard a ringing sound from the phone and then a voice.

“Hello, who is this?” It was the voice of Finn shelby. Finn was always silly to me hes was fun to hangout with but his new friend billy i didn't really like i could tolerate him but not like him and it wasn't just me it was the same with ash, i swear even though we're not blood related i feel like we have some type of twin thing with our minds. Sounds dumb ass fuck but i cant hellp think of dumb shit sometimes.

“Hello???” finn said again

“Hi finn sorry i was just checking to make sure the phone wasn't broken” i said with a laugh.

“Oh hi y/n, why would your phone be broken? Also ash is here at the garrison do you want to come to me ash isaiah and billy are here.’’ Finn said, his voice sounding a bit slurred.

“Shit um i'll see if i can go if i can't though please make sure ash doesn't do some dumb shit again. I don't want another call from Tommy and I don't want to hear fez and ash yelling at each other. Also don't worry about the phone i think the wire tripped that's all i'll see though if i can go, bye.'' I said before hanging up the phone I heard Finn say something but whatever it was it wasn't important to me. I paced around the room. I haven't gone out for fun in a while. I haven't seen Finn or any of them for a little while so it would be fun. Once I stopped pacing I set the bag of cash on the table.

“Fez can you drive me to the garrison ash there.” I yelled, a minute later I heard footsteps and saw fez leaning on the doorway. He looked at the bag of money then me. 

“Sure but if some du-’’ i cut him off

“Fez ash finn isaiah and..billy are gonna be there besides i'll be fine. Also I wanna make sure Ash doesn't do some dumb shit. It's weird. I know he's got critical thinking but he's always doing some dumb shit.” I said walking to the front door. 

“Nah Ash uses it thinking he just makes dumb decisions sometimes.” Fez said, opening the door and walking with me to the car.

“Hm, doesn't seem like it but as long as he doesnt kill anybody or do some fucked up shit then well i dont know to be honest as long as hes safe and not putting others in danger im good. '' I laughed, as much as I scolded Ash for his shit he was still my brother at the end of the day. But sometimes I feel more like his mother than his sister even though we are the same age.

—---- timeskip at the garrison

Once Fez parked the car we got out and walked to the garrison. Opening the doors I immediately went to the front of the bar and ordered a drink for me and fez.

“2 whiskeys please.'' I said to the bartender, his back was facing me as he grabbed glasses and poured a bottle of whiskey into each glass. Turning around he handed it to me

“Here you go ma’am” he said handing them to me

“Thank you” I said but just before I could get out the money to pay the side window opened. 

“Hello y/n don't worry about paying i'll cover it” i looked over and saw finn i grabbed the two glasses and handed one to fez and walked into the booth with fez following close behind me. I smiled once i saw everyone i walked to finn and gave him a hug

“It's been a little hasn't it, hows your wound huh. First ever gun shot wound your real peaky know aren't you finny” i said looking at him my voice light hearted. I heard laughing and looked to see Isaiah and billy.

“You could say that y/n but when are you gonna become one.” Billy said jokingly.

“Yea that's not gonna happen as long as i'm alive.” I heard Fez say. I looked over to see ash glaring at billy.

“Relax guys, it was just a joke.” Billy said, the room became thick with tension.

“Well know that everyones here, let's all drink.” Isaiah said, defusing the situation. I looked over at him and smiled.

 We all sat down and started drinking after about 6 drinks of hard whiskey most of them were shit faced. I was still on my first cup not cause I couldn't drink. Trust me I could. I just wanted to make sure nothing happened. I was dazed out of whatever conversation they were having. As my mind wandered I thought about the boy I had met. He was funny but also seemed cunning. I hope I'll be able to go to the fair. I really do want to meet him again. Even though it wasn't a strong feeling, I still felt a warm feeling in my chest when I was talking to him. I wondered if I felt like that with others I had met.  I hope I see him again. He seems nice and would be a good friend to have.

I was pulled out of my daze by Finn calling my name.

“Oy y/n whats on your mind” he said this time his voice extremely slurred to the point i had to lean forward to understand what he was saying. I sat back

“Nothing just tired, that's all.” I said quickly. I internally cringed at myself for how hasty my reply sounded.

“Hm well that's not what your face said, I swear you had a smile on your face so big I almost mistook you for the Cheshire cat.” Isaiah said laughing. I could feel my face heat up in embarrassment. I looked down at my drink and drank the whole thing. Soon enough I was as shit faced as everyone else. Talking about random shit and laughing at the dumbest jokes. 

—------------------ 1 week later

“Look fez all im saying is we get a house in small heath but keep this property to but like that way we can be able to send shit easier. You know”

“Y/n are you high?” fez asked but it wasn't really a question.

“...no, this is a thought I've had for a while dude. Anyways it will be easier for me cause i can like stay there and well have a place to stay if it gets too late at night or some shit like that ya know.'' I said looking at fez with eyes that looked like I hadn't slept in three years.

Fez sighed 

“Go back to bed y/n”

I looked him up and down 

“Whatever man, also have you seen ash?”

“Ash is upstairs,” fez said, sounding irritated at this point.

‘Mhm, oh also there's a fair going on this weekend do you think i can go”

“No,” he said, looking down at a piece of paper.

“What why it's only a little away.'' I was annoyed.

He didn't say anything, clearly stressed with whatever he was reading

“Look y/n just no” 

“Hm, yell you let ash go out and do whatever he wants why cant i go to a fucking fair.” i said my voice was rising in volume.

“Because there is less risk for ash, if he goes out” Fez said, looking up from his paper.

I looked at him with a perplexed expression

“The fuck are you talking about, one ash is the fucking risk and two what do you mean by that. Also i never said i was going by myself.`` I said I was yelling. I could feel my breathing become uneven with panic.

“Okay then whos going with you huh, who cause last time i checked you have barely talked to anyone out side of us and the peakys so who huh y/n fucking tell me.” he said his voice know rising, he sounded stressed but i doubt it was from this conversation.

I panicked. I couldn't say duke hell i didn't even know if i would see him there for god's sake.

“Ada, ada and her son Karl are coming with me okay. Look people may fuck with me but they wont fuck with Ada, she may have the last name thorne but everyone knows who her family is.'' I said walking closer to fez. Not breaking eye contact.

He paused for a minute seemingly thinking it over. 

“Shit y/n fine but if your lying to be your fucking done okay.” he said running his hand down his face.

I smiled and gave him a quick hug. 

“Thank you, thank you.” i said to him

___________________________ saturday 

After arriving in a small heath I walked over to the barnyard. My hands are slightly shaking. It's not the first time I've lied to fez before but when I did it was usually whenever me and ash went out to terrorize one of the kids that would either make fun of one of us. A lot of people say me and Ash are different but the reality is we're really not. Sure ash may act out alot and I may be more quiet but it's just because I keep my actions to myself. I keep the words I want to say to myself. When we were younger we would do the same exact thing as each other but getting older we changed. I would like to say I have more self control but that would be a lie.

I could feel the skirt I was wearing tighten around my waist. I was nervous but I knew that whatever happened today would be fun.. I hope so.

“Curly do have have her.’’ i said walking up to him

“Hello y/n y-yes I do.” he said, his accent was hard to understand, same with arthurs but i never said anything. Because most of my life I've been used to a US accent. 

“Here you go, does your brother know?” he said, handing me the horse. I rolled my eyes and smiled

“Yes of course he knows okay so you don't have to ask me okay. Anyways, here's the money.” i said to him handing him  the money

“Thank you curly.” I said before getting on the horse and riding off.

After a little while of riding I could see the top of the striped tents behind the trees. I quickened the speed of the horse and started to smile, excitement building up inside me.

Stopping by the entrance of the fair, I tied the horse around a post where other horses were being held. Walking into the fair I started looking around. I could see a vending station selling roasted cinnamon almonds. Going up to it, I ask the worker there for a bag of them.

“Here you go miss, that will be 0.10.” they said handing me the almonds. 

“Thank you” I said , handing them the change.

Walking around the fair I kept my eye out for Duke. I hoped I would see him soon but who knows. A couple kids ran past me accidentally hitting me in the legs almost making me fall over. I was able to catch myself by putting my hands between me and the ground, unlucky though my food had scattered on the ground.

“Shit” I grumbled under my breath getting up. I dusted off my skirt and picked up the bag to see if there were any left in it. Thankfully there were but not many

“Are you okay ma’am” I heard someone say I jumped before turning around and looking at the person.

“Duke!” I said a smile appeared on my face as I instantly pulled him into a hug. I felt him go a bit stiff and realizing what I had done I pulled away. My cheeks are burning with embarrassment. 

“Shit i'm sorry I don't know why I did that, uhh.” I said, grabbing my arm and looking down at the ground embarrassed.

“Hello to you to y/n” Duke said i looked up at him and saw his face plastered with a shit eating grin before he laughed.

“Didn't know you missed me that much.” he said with a laugh, i hit him in the side arm softly.

“No, I just do that with people i meet and feel a good vibe with them ya know.” I said , looking at him, keeping straight. I could see his smile drop a little.

“Well um anyways how have you been it's been a little.” I said while I started to walk, asking him to come with me.

—------------------------------------

“So duke, what do you usually do here?” i ask curiously looking at him

“Well i'll watch the horses and just do maintenance really nothing to interesting.” he said looking ahead

“Do you like working with horses, also do you like working here or nah.” I said this time looking forward.

“I like horses but I don't like working here. I want more for my life. I want to visit every mountain and go everywhere. I don't want to be here. I'm tired of working here.” he said with bitterness in his voice but a hint of hope.

“Well that sounds fun but be careful where you go. I don't know if there's still that like war between the irish or something but just be careful there. Ya know. Actually just be careful.” I said looking at him, I tried to hide the concern in my voice by masking it with humor.

“Hm calm down im gonna kill myself.” he said with a little laugh while looking at me.

“That's what they all say Duke but then they get carless, think they're all that then piss off the wrong people anyways if you wanna see the mountains who knows what's up there.” I said looking back at him. This time laughing.

“Hm, you seem to know a lot.” he said this time his tone was undetermined.

“Nah just knew people that did dumb shit either got locked up or killed. Not saying seeing nature is dumb is not.” I said trying to defend myself from nothing.

“I know what you. Tell me do you always worry this much for people you just meet.’’ he said looking at me. He had a little smirk on his face. 

“If ima be real no, but you're my friend? Were friends right duke.” i said looking at him with a hopeful expression on my face.

“...I mean if you want to be friends then yes.” he said he sounded caught off guard. But not in a bad way. I hope not in a bad way at least.

“Damn for real, okay well friend tell me more about yourself.” I said looking at him. A warm feeling spread throughout my whole body. Giddy with excitement and something else.

“You know duke you're the first friend i made that's not been through a business connection ya know.” I said excitedly.

“Business connection?’’ he said. Tilting his head slightly.

“Yea.. uh me and my family after we moved here we started making books and getting into stocks. Thankfully we pulled them out before the stock crash in the US.” I said looking at him covering up my word slip with a lie I was taught to say and rehearsed multiple times with ash and fez.

“Ooh okay okay. Well you're my first friend i've ever had.” he said with a serious voice. Looking back at me now we were walking out of the fair.

“You for real cause if I'm so kinda sad I'm not even gonna lie to you.” I said with a little smile on my face. Duke put his hand to his heart with a shocked expression.

“Do you think that lowly of me huh.” he said with an amused voice.

I turned to look at him and walked backwards.

“I was only joking, my prince.” I said with a sarcastic voice.

Duke smiled at me before running after me. I screeched before running away. I got about 20 feet away from him before I felt  a pair of hands grab me by the waist and slightly pick me up before pulling me into the chest of someone. I was about to scream before a hand was put over your mouth.

“You're really bad at running in grass, you know.” I felt Duke say into my ear his breath tickling my neck. I froze for a second feeling a slight shock up my spine before wiggling out of his grapes and laughing to the point my knees buckled.

“Alright Duke you win but Jesus dude I couldn't even hear you. If you were an asian i'm pretty sure big crime dudes would for sure hire you.'' I said getting up from the ground and whipping the tears from my eyes.

Dukes pov

I chuckled a little. “Who's to say I'm not one.” I said with a bit of humor in my voice.

She looked at me for a second and her eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight.

“Wouldn't be surprised if you were a duke. If not no but…” she said trailing off before checking her pocket watch.

“Oh shit I gotta get it, I'm sorry duke I really am but you see i may or may not have lied to even be here so i gotta go cause the person i said i was coming with doesn't even know i told my brother about them coming with me.” she said with a bit of panic in her voice. I felt a ping of sadness in my chest

“Oh uhm yea no no you should go. I'll see you…” I said this time it was me trailing off. 

“Hey uhm… thank you for meeting me here. I guess I met you here i dont really know but it was nice to see you again, Duke . Hopefully we'll see eachother again soon.” she looked at me, her eyes filled with hope. I felt my heart skip a bit. I shook it off as nothing special.

“Yea yea for sure i don't know when we'll have another fair here but when we do i'll probably be here. Also, are you sure you're good at going to your house by yourself?” I asked a hint of worry in my voice.

“Yea i should be okay. I'm armed just in case anything happens you know.” she said, with a reassuring smile. I wanted to question why but i didn't shit i mean i could see why seeing as where she lived and shit.

“You sure cause I can-” I said before she grabbed my hands and looked at me.

“Duke, you are too worried about me for only knowing me slightly and I'll be fine… also my brother would question why some guy is bringing me back home. Also I may have bought / rented a horse. Ima be honest though i don't really know.” she said, looking at me before disconnecting our hands. I missed the warmth of hers. His hands weren't rough but they weren't soft either.

“Right well I'll see you again someday Duke , be safe and I hope you get to achieve your dream.” she said before walking away to the entrance of the fair. I watched him walk away, air in the wind lightly blowing her hair.

I took one last glance at her before walking to the feeding area for us workers at the fair. Walking into the tent I saw esme right outside of the tent. Looking into the distance.

“Hello Duke.” she said bluntly, turning her eyes towards me. “Who was that person, thought you said you didn't have friends.” she said

“No one,” I said , looking at her. The truth was y/n wasn't no one to me but she didn't have to know that.

“Hmm we both know that is a lie Duke. What's her name?” she said looking at me

“Y/n” i said quickly, she seemed to freeze for a second like she was contemplating something.

“No last name?” she said

“Not that I know of,” I said looking at him before walking into the tent to get some food.

"Duke be safe okay." she said before leaving even thought i dont talk to many people esme is one of the people i can talk to she's gone through a-lot loosing her husband to a mafia and some gang related shit.

after getting my food i walked to my caravan. i thought about y/n i didnt know if i would see her anytime soon but i hoped i would

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

it would be a while before they saw eachother agian but the way they would meet agian would not be expected for either of them....

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

sorry thats corny ash but i didnt know whta to put

—------------------------------------

Part 3 coming soon 

not beta read.

[elaine-abroad]

Volume 1: The Arrival

The Flight

If you’re reading this, you probably already know me and my situation. I’m Elaine and I’m studying abroad in Seoul, South Korea for the next four weeks. It’s strange to think that a whole study abroad trip can even fit into one month, but regardless I’m excited to see what Seoul has for me.

This past week before takeoff felt too short as I continuously told my mom that I wanted more time to mentally prepare for the journey. I also procrastinated on packing a little bit in favor of one last hoorah with my closest friends. I know that I’m acting like I’ll be gone a long time, but a month in a country I’ve never been to IS a long time to me.

I was full of nerves the morning of – I woke up earlier than I had to and didn’t speak on the car ride to the airport. I’ve been on plane trips many times before, but I always get anxious and have to run through the steps. This time was a little more stressful because it was my first time flying internationally alone. I made it on with plenty of time to spare so that was good. There was one thing that dampened my spirits a bit throughout the day though. There was a girl from my school’s program that was supposed to land at the same time as me. We were going to explore the airport and split a hotel room together. It was just my luck when she told me she missed her flight, booked another flight that was due to land the next morning, missed the second flight to Incheon after a connecting flight was delayed or something, and was due to land around 5 pm the next day. It made me nervous thinking about finding things on my own, but I had to move on.

The plane’s “amenities” if you will were nothing like I’ve seen before. They had given us each a cheap pillow and blanket as they do on any international flight, but we also received cheap headphones, a full-sized water bottle (not those mini baby ones other planes have – a full one), and foldable hotel slippers to wear. Each chair had a screen to watch movies on and there was even a remote control for the screen. One push of a button and the whole thing came out. They had an area to plug in a charger and they even had a little knob to hang clothes on. It was crazy.

Interesting chair set up + views from the window shortly after take-off

The part I was most excited for was the meals. I’ve seen and heard from social media that planes to Korea had ACTUAL food that also looked good. My past experiences with United Airlines’ food weren’t even up for comparison. My mom would gobble that stuff up every time (I don’t know how), but my brother and I would rather starve than touch it. Anyways, let me just tell you I was not disappointed. When it was time for the first meal, I was elated that bibimbap was even an option. Of course, I had to get that over some ordinary teriyaki chicken. I was pleasantly surprised with the presentation of it all too. I was expecting some hastily thrown together bowl with nothing else, but I also haven’t had plane food in a good couple of years, so I forgot the meals usually came with sides. It even came with Korean Airline branded gochujang tubes and sesame oil packets which was insane. I ate it all.

Meal 1: bibimbap, miso soup, “spicy” pickles, oranges, Sprite

The next meal came in the middle of “sleep time” where all the lights were off for a few hours.

For the first two meals I kept thinking to myself, “How do they know exactly when I’m hungry?” Because both times I’ve been hungry, and they've almost answered my call. However, as the third time came around, I felt a lot fuller than I wanted to be. I still tried to eat it, albeit a little forcefully, but I knew I would have regretted it later if I didn’t. Plus, I wanted to get through the main dish to eat the carrot cake. Unfortunately, by the time I reached the cake, I was no longer in the mood with my tummy full and all. It was a sad moment because if you know me, you know that I have a sweet tooth.

Meal 3: beef with rice + veg, bread roll, caprese salad, carrot cake. Meal 2 not pictured but consisted of a ham and cheese hot pocket and a mini ham, cheese, lettuce sandwich

As for the plane ride itself, it was not that bad and was more tolerable than my usual five-hour flights to Michigan. Maybe it was because we got food and I slept better with the window seat (I usually sit in the aisle). I did kind of feel bad for the people who sat next to me as I unfortunately had to get up three times. My Korean friend told me not to sleep on the flight because of the time difference when I land or whatever, but I didn’t know what else to do on a 12 hour flight.

Views from window shortly before landing

The airport was a lot more straightforward than I imagined. I was worried I would get lost, but now I realize English signs and directions are a must since it’s literally an airport with tons of foreigners. At this point, everything kind of caught up to me and I just wanted to crash at my hotel. Everything was fine and dandy except there was no toilet in my actual room which meant I had to share with everyone else and my shower wouldn’t work. Maybe it did work and I just didn’t know how to use it because it took me a while to orient myself in the shared bathroom where there was no light switch and I had to press buttons to open the door. I ended up hitting the hay around 9 pm and woke every few hours until I left shortly before 8 am.

Views from above baggage claim and an inside look at my room at the Darakhyu capsule hotel in Incheon airport.

I booked a bus ride for the morning and luckily another girl from STAMPS was able to join me after taking a shuttle from her hotel. She brought two of her friends who were also going to be participating in a program at Yonsei University, the school right across the street from us. The guy who took our tickets was kind of scary as he yelled at us in Korean, asking where we were going. One thing I noticed since the plane ride was that the people here just assume I can speak Korean. It’s probably because I’m clearly Asian, but the flight attendants, customs people, hotel front desk, and café cashiers so far have approached me with Korean. It was kind of funny because the flight attendants would speak perfect English to the obvious white people and then ask me stuff in Korean. Anyways, the bus layout was pretty cool and different – super spacious. M Bus could never.

Bus interior. Fun fact: these two girls got off the same stop as us and were also attending Ewha for the summer

It was quite the journey to get settled (imagine carrying 2 backpacks and 3 suitcases up/down hill-y streets and stairs while battling the raging hot sun). We managed though. My room was nice too and I had it all to myself. I raised my brow at the showerhead, sink, and toilet all being in the same room, but it actually wasn’t too hard after taking one. Each room has a mini fridge and AC which definitely beats life at Bursley (dorm at UM that has no AC and all sorts of problems) last summer.

Extra pillow, pillowcase, sheet, and blanket not pictured. Each room has a balcony

The girl I arrived with, Alyssa, has a roommate (I didn’t hear her name that clearly, but it sounded like ‘Zeda’ so I’m just going to refer to her as that until it’s further clarified), and the roommate’s friend Deborah from their school in Massachusetts when out for lunch and a walk through the nearby streets. I was not expecting Zeda to whip out full on Korean when we struggled to order. Apparently, she took 4 semesters of Korean, and she could speak and read it decently. Deborah also knew quite a few words and could read it as well. Anyways the food was really good and pretty cheap – as well as a lot of things here. I literally bought 12 rolls of toilet paper for 5000 won which converts to less than 4 USD. So good news: I can buy gifts for people without too much caution because everything is so much cheaper here.

Soup dumplings, jajangmyeon, and these spicy seafood noodles

Long story short: the food was good, and we were all happy. We did some more walking and went shopping for dorm essentials at Daiso. Since arriving, I have seen an insane number of Daiso stores in Seoul which is kind of mind-boggling. There’s even one in the subway station near the school I’m staying at.

Despite the temperature being a whopping 93 degrees, we decided to take a little tour around the school. I quite like the simplicity of the campus – the buildings all look pretty much the same and it feels like a little town. The buildings remind me of the Ross (business school) buildings at UM. They’re all a light gray with stones/bricks, and the lush, green vegetation really makes the scene pop. It’s so fresh looking unlike in California where we have droughts and “brown is the new green”.

Views from the frontish part of the school

We didn’t make it far because of how physically taxing the walk was. Between the heat, humidity, and the fact that the school is built on hills of uneven roads, we were beat. We ended the journey with the very first building built at Ewha.

First building ever built at Ewha

To cool off, we visited our first café. I’ve decided to start a collection of those cup sleeves because they’re cute here.

Peach iced tea!

We all went back to our rooms to reset, but a few hours later, Alyssa and I were ready to roam the streets again. We ate at a fast-food place called Lotteria. Think of any place that sells typical burgers and fries, but times twenty. The food took a little longer than expected to come out, but we were joking how that’s how you knew they actually cook their food. Anyways, we were so surprised with the menu because of all the different options that American fast-food places never offered.

I got this mozzarella bacon burger which was absolutely insane because they literally fried like a puck of mozzarella and shoved it inside. Definitely not healthy, but really good.

The mozzarella puck is bigger than the patty. Also, the ice cream was super good too

To end the first night, we went into several cute shops with all sorts of accessories and items. I didn’t get anything, but I’ll definitely be back before the end of the program

ARTBOX interior

The First Day…Kind Of

The next morning, Alyssa, Zeda, and I went for a brisk walk to find breakfast of some sort before the Welcoming Ceremony. They were going to provide lunch, so we didn’t end up getting anything.

Quick street view

At the main gate, there’s this building structure called the ECC. In comparison to UM, think Pierpont/The Union. There are two sides made up of multiple floors. Within the building, there are food stores, a convenience store, a bank, coffee shops/cafes, a gift shop (Ewha’s version of MDen), classrooms, the office for international students, and areas for study. The path is dug out so that the greenery lays on ground level. It’s kind of hard to explain and imagine because you can access different parts of the building because it’s all built on uneven land.

Front and back of ECC

There were a lot of students at the welcoming ceremony – so many that they didn’t have enough chairs for them at first. We were given folders of information and even got a free pen and T-shirt (for field trip wear).

Welcoming Ceremony

The free lunch given was a free coupon for the cafeteria. I was pleasantly surprised with how good the food was and helped myself.

Purple rice, green onion hot spicy meat stew, cubed radish kimchi, meatballs with onions, cucumbers, apple + pineapple fruit salad, yogurt drink, seaweed, and a lemon tea drink

I ended up making my first purchase at the school’s convenience store for dinner where I got some munchies.

Kimbap and banana milk

There were a lot of options, and I was eyeing the bagged drink section. I have seen too many TikToks showing people in Korean convenience stores grabbing a pre-filled cup of ice and then a drink of their choice, and basically creating their own concoction.

Drinks galore

This is the end of the first volume. Stay tuned for my first full week in Seoul.

Spoiler: there were a lot of ups and downs.

-Elaine

[cakesexuality]

what do you think are the most redeeming qualities about human beings? anything you've seen lately that reminds you of said redeeming qualities? and how have you been kind to yourself this week?

I'll start with "How have you been kind to yourself this week?" because the other part of this gets so long that I have to cut it off. Apparently this is a controversial opinion in some parts of the internet, but if you're craving a food, you should probably just eat that food. On Friday, I was craving something chocolatey, so I bought some of my vegan ice cream sandwiches at the grocery store yesterday (Saturday) and I might have one with some tea tonight! They're just like regular ice cream sandwiches except it's like they're filled with a coconut-flavoured ice cream instead of a vanilla-flavoured ice cream, and it's great because they don't make me sick 💖

I often think about when humans help out/are kind to someone they've just met or barely know

When I was in high school, I went on a field trip to one of those museums where it's a bunch of old buildings put together as a little village, and twice a year (once per semester) they do a whole day of historians dressing in period clothing with a bunch of stations for kids to learn about parts of WWI, e.g. a "pastor" in the parish talking about funerals for soldiers, a "nurse" in the barn talking about medical care in the field, etc. There was only, like, one modern building on the whole property, which was a cafeteria. I hadn't packed anything to eat, because I was really bad at that in high school, so I went to the cafeteria to get some green tea and a cup of rice pudding... only to get to the cash register and realise I had no money. Without hesitation, the woman in line behind me said "Oh, I'll pay for it, then." I probably would have been hungry for the rest of the day if nobody had offered to buy my lunch for me.

When I first moved into my apartment in January 2016, my internet provider had to mail me the modem to be able to use my internet, but it was too big to fit in my slot at the mailbox in the lobby, so I had to get it from the post office. The thing is, the post office was in not just a different neighbourhood, but a neighbourhood with terrible bus service. The bus only comes once every 60 minutes, but then it never came when it was supposed to, so I was stranded. It was so cold outside that when I finally got home, I still had no feeling in my feet. My phone was dead and my wifi-only tablet wouldn't connect to the internet at the Tim Horton's there, so I went to the Shoppers Drug Mart nearby to think of what to do. I ended up going to the back to use the pharmacy's phone to call my mom to see if she or someone she knew could come get me, except my mom doesn't answer calls from numbers she doesn't know, so I got her voicemail. I started crying because I didn't know what else to do, so the pharmacist gave me $20 from her purse and called a taxi to take me home. My mom did eventually call back and a cashier paged me over the store's PA, but then I had to let her go because my taxi pulled up in front of the store!

There was a little old lady who would come around my building sometimes because her friend lived in my hall. I'd only met her once or twice, and I didn't even know her name, but she once knocked on my door and gave me a purple handbag because "It reminded me of you!"

My friend and I were making a quick trip to the grocery store back in late 2020, but I was in such a hurry to leave the house that I forgot to bring a mask and they were mandated here by that point. We were about to turn around to get disposable masks from my friend's dad's truck when a woman who was leaving the store heard our conversation. She worked for the school board and always has tons of unused fabric masks meant to be given to the kids, so she gave me one and I was able to quickly pop into the store to get my muffin mix that I wanted. I still have that mask and love it because it's solid black and therefore matches all of my outfits!

[tellthemeerkatsitsfine]

I'm into the live episode that make up the last five episodes of season 3 of the Ray Peacock Podcast. Then one more season and then I can move on and pretend none of this ever happened and that'll be for the best. They did make me laugh pretty hard on the bus today. But this is definitely not a healthy part of a media diet.

Anyway. It is really weird to listen to this show from 2007-2008, and so much of it is so different. Ed Gamble is, mostly, borderline unrecognizable. The world they're in is borderline unrecognizable, the references and the talk of the media landscape are so wildly different.

Do you want to know a change that I like, and didn't until today manage to put my finger on what exactly that difference is? That they can say horrible things without prefacing them with "I bet this'll get me canceled by the wokes" every time. They could just say horrible things because they genuinely believed it would be funny, rather than these days, when people say horrible things because they can brag about how they say cancel-able stuff and that'll get them attention and let them sell tickets/views to horrible people who will put their money toward supporting anything that's horrible. It's hard to hide behind "but I was just being ironic!" when you do it like that. I realized I've grown so used to the "Oh my God you'd better come listen to me say something cancel-able!" grifters that it now actually sounds weird to me to hear someone be edgy without the grift.

Anyway, this podcast is so rife with big and small clues that it existed in a totally different world to ours, it's actually escapist as I re-arrange my brain to temporarily inhabit this other world while I enjoy the podcast, that I found it amazingly jarring to be suddenly pulled back into reality by something that is amusingly still exactly the same today:

This reminds me of when I was listening to Lee and Herring on the radio in 1994 and they started talking shit about Bruce Dessau, and I asked, how long has that guy been going? Not just that he was doing this in 1994, but that by then, he was already so well established that he was a go-to reference for comedians who talk about reviewers. (Although I guess I can't consider it that weird, since Lee and Herring were established enough to have a radio show by 1994, and they're both still going.)

I obviously knew that Chortle existed in 2008, since for one thing, it hosted The Ray Peacock Podcast at the time (I don't actually know when Chortle started, but I've found a Chortle review of John Oliver's first stand-up hour in 2002 - Steve wasn't impressed - so at least that long). But for some reason it really, really surprised me to hear how little has changed. I find it genuinely baffling how someone can get away with running a largely text-based web publication for a living while constantly making mistakes in the technical side of writing, and I think on some level, I must have assumed that he was good at it in the early days, and then just got well established enough to not have to care as much. Standards for proper spelling on the internet in general were higher in those days too (for professional publications, that is - they were probably lower on forum posts and things). I didn't even consciously realize that's an assumption I was making about Steve Bennett, until I heard he couldn't spell in 2008 either, and I found that shocking. How does he have his career then? Why doesn't someone stop him? Apparently Steve Bennett's inability to spell is the one thing that connects all parallel universes. In this entire podcast so far, it's the only reference they've made that hasn't dated.

(Obligatory note, and I know I say this every time but I still can't leave it out because hypocrisy bothers me, of course my Tumblr blog is full of errors, I'm writing it for free, I would have this shit polished and pristine if someone were paying me for it.)

[nellie-elizabeth]

The Walking Dead: Outpost 22 (11x21)

We are so close to the end! This was a pretty good outing.

Cons:

It's difficult for me to feel invested in Negan, even now. He's separated from his pregnant wife, and I think I'm meant to care and be concerned, but she's such a non-character, we've had no time to get to know her, and I can't bring myself to care just on Negan's behalf, you know?

The twist about Outpost 22 being... Alexandria?? Really confused and annoyed me. It emphasized the extent to which this show has lost all control of its timeline and geographical awareness. I knew that Alexandria had been taken over by the Commonwealth, but that was through Hornsby, who was on Pamela's bad side, to say the least, and is now dead... so who is running the former Alexandria (and Hilltop? Question mark? Now?) How long has it been? I thought there were still some of our heroes/good guys in those old communities, or did they really clear them entirely out? Man, I don't know, and I don't really care.

It just feels like another retread, instead of a propulsion into something new, the way I was hoping for. I wanted the Outpost or the work camps or whatever, to be giving us new insights into the larger world. I thought we'd be connecting the Commonwealth to how other parts of the world have been surviving. I thought this would be more of a direct line back to Rick, is what I'm saying. There's so little time left!

Pros:

I liked our smaller groupings this week, getting to see Rosita and Gabriel have some quality time trying to get back to their kid, watching Daryl and Carol meet up with Maggie... it's fun to see so many of the longest-lasting most beloved characters grouped together for a final stand. And they're all such bad-asses. You really get the sense from them all that they've worked together for a long time, and that they really know what they're doing. It's enormously satisfying and sometimes chilling to see them kicking ass, threatening their enemies, getting the answers they need.

I like Connie and Daryl, I'm not going to lie. From a shipping perspective I'm definitely on board the Carol/Daryl train, but it was sweet to see Daryl so worried about Connie, and I'm glad he was able to rescue her! Or rather that Daryl was able to help her in rescuing herself.

Rosita and Gabriel have never done much for me as a couple but I like the way they bolstered each other in this episode. Rosita is the more obviously hardened bad-ass, but Gabriel offers important assistance, and talks Rosita around when she's too busy punishing herself to be practical about their next logical move. And that goes for the other various combinations of characters, too. Daryl and Carol steady each other. Carol is able to offer Maggie solace as she grieves for her missing son.

As much as Negan doesn't interest me, I did like the stuff with him and Ezekiel and the others, working to clear the train tracks. They're basically in a labor camp, and while Kelly wants to make a run for it, Ezekiel knows that's a suicidal idea. But Negan wants to work together with Ezekiel to get them free. I like that Negan acknowledges that he deserves a lot worse than his current lot in life, but that Ezekiel and the others do not. Ezekiel is the one who stands for hope. He did it with the Kingdom, and he can do it again, with Negan's help. Honestly, this is the most I've been interested in Ezekiel in a long time, so hopefully they can stick the landing there and do something cool with him and Negan in the final few episodes.

I had a fun time with the journey of this episode, but as I mentioned above, I'm a little more skeptical about the destination. Maggie has this whole grand speech about how they're going to take back their home, and Pamela will never see it coming, and I'm just not convinced that they'd actually be able to pull that off. I mean, it's a TV show, so they probably will, but it seems pretty contrived to me. Oh well. Here's to a solid final three episodes and a goodbye to this eleven-season television program that will allow me to look back on my time with it fondly...

8/10

[procrastinatingsapphictrash]

Already dating

Word count: 1618

Genre: Probably fluff, idk really

Pairing: Natasha x gn!reader

Warnings: None (let me know if I need to add any)

Request: could you maybe write something with Natasha x male reader (if your comfortable, otherwise you can write it with female or gender neutral) where Natasha blushes when the reader compliments her in front of the team and the team immediately goes crazy and does everything in their power to get them together, only to find out they've been dating all along?

Summary: Steve and Tony (mostly Tony) lock you in an elevator to admit your feelings, not knowing you’re already together.

A/n: Thanks @mochamoff for the request, sorry it took so long to do it! I’m writing this authors note over a week before I’m posting the fic which is unusual because usually I post within twenty four hours of finishing. Anyways it feels nice to be on a break and this fic being posted means I’m officially back which I’m excited for. To be honest this fic isn’t the whole team, just Tony and Steve, but I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out so I hope you all enjoy reading!

“Next time you have to listen to me in the field Stark.” Steve says as soon as everyone is settled into their place on the jet.

“Actually I don’t, you have absolutely no power over me and as much as you want to be the leader of this team you are not so stop acting like it.” Tony snaps back.

“Someone has to step up and lead.” Steve tells him. “It’s not like you could do any better, you would probably mess things up.”

“Maybe I would, but I would do a hell of a lot better than you are doing.” Tony says. “You like to pretend you’re all high and good and above us but who made you leader? Nobody. You crave control so you took it.”

“I did what needed to be done.”

You watch them snap back and forth at one another a few more times, rolling your eyes at Natasha. She gives you a small smile to show that she’s amused and turns her attention back to your two teammates whose argument has only gotten more and more heated.

“Y/n what do you think?” Tony asks, catching you off guard.

“About what?”

“About who would be a better leader for the team.” he explains. You think for a moment and they both stand as tall as possible (in Tony’s case it isn’t tall at all) and puff out their chests. You scoff, the male ego is so big, even in men who are good and try to do the right thing.

“Neither.” you decide.

“Neither- but the team needs a leader, you have to pick someone.” Tony splutters.

“Just because I don’t think the best leader is either of you doesn’t mean I don’t think the team needs a leader.” you tell him. How one of the smartest people in the world can’t figure that out for himself is beyond you.

“So who would you choose then?” Steve asks, confused.

“Natasha obviously.” you say, smiling at her. The corners of her mouth tug up slightly and even that small movement makes you feel proud.

“No offense, but Natasha???” Tony asks, seemingly outraged. “Why?”

“Well first of all she doesn’t have a fragile male ego like you dumbasses.” you tell them. “But it’s more than just that. She’s smart, both book smart and street smart. She can hack into computers and memorize information easily and knows how to blend in, or to get people to like her. She is more rational than the both of you combined but is also good at making decisions on the fly. She is an excellent fighter and can keep track of strategies and she has connections in and out of the government, with backup plans for almost every situation. Not to mention she has an amazing heart and don’t argue like some other people on our team tend to do. And of course she’s absolutely gorgeous but that doesn’t have anything to do with it.”

You wink at her at the end of your mini speech and are surprised to find her cheeks noticeably pink. She can’t help the smile that creeps onto her face when she thinks over your words.

“Abort mission, Romanoff is blushing and smiling, I think I might be about to die.” Tony states obnoxiously.

“Shut up, you’re just annoyed that she likes me better than you.” Natasha tells him, taking a breath to (mostly) collect herself.

“You’re scary when you’re happy. I haven’t seen you like that before.” he says. “Are you in love with Y/n or something?”

“Shut up.”

Tony smirks. “Make me.”

Natasha takes one threatening step towards him and that’s all it takes for him to back away, stuttering out apologies and mumbling under his breath about how Natasha is too scary to be a team leader. Natasha’s scare tactics do seem to work though because he doesn’t speak to anybody but himself for the rest of the ride home.

As soon as the jet touches down you and Natasha exit, heading straight to the room where you are supposed to be debriefed. Steve tries to follow but Tony grabs his arm to let him know to hold back a second.

“I know I joke but I honestly think they’re in love with each other.” Tony tells him. “I didn’t see it before today but there’s no way Y/n’s speech was platonic, who memorizes lists of reasons why they like their friends, not to mention their flirty wink at the end. And then Natasha, she’s scary but she was acting weird and happy around Y/n.”

“I hate to say this but I agree with you and they would make a cute couple.” Steve says. “But we should probably catch up now.”

Tony takes Steve’s words as an opportunity to stop being serious and become obnoxious again. “Onward dear captain, lead the way fearsome leader, how ever could I-”

“Tony I’m trying to be polite but you are making it very hard.”

---

“Tony no.”

“Tony yes.”

“That is a horrible idea.”

Tony opens his mouth in outrage. “I think it’s a pretty good idea actually.”

“I won’t work.” Steve counters.

“Well I think it well and need I’m the only genius here.” he says smugly.

“You can’t force love!” Steve tells Tony, running his hand through his hair in frustration.”

“Ah, ah, ah,” Tony says, “I’m not forcing love, they are already in love. All I’m doing is giving them a little push.”

“By locking them in an elevator?” Steve asks in a deadpan voice.

“Exactly.”

“You can’t just go around locking people-” Steve starts to say but he gets cut off by Tony.

“Shhhhhhh, hi Y/n, hi Natasha.”

“Hi guys, what are you up to?” you ask, obvious to what was going on seconds before you entered the room. Natasha eyes them suspiciously because they are acting weird, holding their bodies stiffly, which means they are hiding something.

“We were just about to head down to the training room, want to come?” Tony lies smoothly while Steve shakes his head in the background.

“That sounds good,” you reply, “you want Tasha?”

“Okay.” she agrees, still eyeing both of them, Tony in particular suspiciously.

“Great!” Tony says and starts to walk towards the elevator and the rest of you follow him, Steve trying to convince himself that going along with Tony’s plan is doing no harm.

“Ladies first.” he says, stepping off to the side and giving a big flourish with his arm. It’s weird but then again Tony is always weird so you don’t think too much of it, stepping into the elevator. As soon as Natasha follows you in he orders Jarvis to close and lock the doors and to prevent the elevator from moving and then pulling up a screen so he can watch you.

“You better run when I get out of here!” Natasha yells. “You too Steve!”

“You’re going to thank me later.” Tony says. “Steve, why don’t you explain why we locked them in.”

“Um,” Steve hesitates, not knowing where to start, “well we think that you two need to talk about, um, feelings.”

“Feelings?” you ask, confused, while realization dawns over Natasha’s face.

“Um, yeah feelings.” Steve responds, feeling very awkward and hoping this works so he didn’t do all that for nothing.

“They don’t know we’re dating and they’re trying to get us together.” Natasha leans over and whispers in your ear before straightening back up and talking to Tony again. “I didn’t take you for such a romantic Stark.”

“What? I’m not- romantic me? Pepper says I’m the least romantic guy she’s ever been with.” he splutters, trying to regain his masculinity.

“And that is not a compliment.” you tell him. “But for some reason even though ‘you aren’t romantic’ you wanted to get us together.”

“Maybe I did,” he says. “but you have to admit that my plan is amazing and it's totally working.”

Natasha snorts “What part of this conversation screams working to you?”

“Well you haven’t killed Y/n yet and neither of you have denied your feelings so it’s obviously working. I expect a thank you speech dedicated to me at your wedding.” He says arrogantly.

“There will be no speech.” Natasha tells him.

“But there will be a wedding?” He asks, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively and Steve has to look away because it looks ridiculous.

“Hopefully.” you say, teasing Tony with your vagueness but also making Natasha smile as she thinks about what that might be like.

“Told you my plan would work.” Tony brags to Steve before telling Jarvis to release you from the elevator.

“Your plan sucked.” Natasha tells him. “We were already dating dumbasses.”

She grabs your hand and pulls you out of the room as Steve and Tony stare after you, shocked.

“Did you know about this?” Tony asks, looking at Steve with suspicion.

“Not at all.” Steve answers, his mouth still half open. In hindsight it should have been obvious. Of course Natasha wouldn’t want to be open about her dating life right away, she likes her secrets way too much.

---

“You owe me fifty bucks Y/n.” Natasha tells you once you’re out of earshot.

“Seriously?” you whine.

“You said they already knew but they didn't, so pay up.” She holds her hand outwards expectantly and you both laugh.

“Later.” you tell her. “There are more important things to do now.”

“Hmm, like what?” she teases gently, taking a step closer to you. Your breath catches because you still can’t believe you are dating someone this beautiful. You match her halfway and pull her into a deep kiss, only pulling back when you need to breath.

“This.”

---

Taglist:@fayhar@xxxtwilightaxelxxx@acertainredhead@madamevirgo@megaqueenmaeve@cherryblossomskye@aaron-despair@chickenhavewisdom@emril-osvigne@nyankitty987@agathaharkness-simp@midnight-lestrange@thewidowsghost@nyx-aira@stephanieromanoff@satxnsupreme@likefirenrain@wlwlovesreading@stop-drop-and-drumroll@peggycarter-steverogers@casperlikej@redswing@mochamoff@king-star@blackbat2020

[yostresswritinggirl]

Abandoned By The Altar

Part 1; When you were young.

A timeline oriented story focused on your once perfect childhood relationship as Diluc's bride to be, soon becoming estranged after the death of his father and his neglect. You only wish now that he looks at you the same way he did when you heard you were supposed to be together forever when you were young.

Pairings -> Diluc x Reader (Currently both young)

Word Count -> 3611

Themes -> Initial Fluff, don't be fooled by the title and summary, not yet at least lol-

Series -> #Bonafide Specials (100 followers event) Part 2

Warnings -> None, tooth-rotting adorkable fluff, this is part 1

The redness of his hair poked out like the moon in a blanketed, dark sky at the dead hours of the sky. His glaring flame of a hair starking in contrast against the sea of cecilias.

There were three knocks to the Winery that day and his father, renowned businessman, had greeted a new set of faces to their humble abode.

Diluc was but a mere child who had lived for eight years and he had exercised his mind to remember the people that had come and go. They were always regal in aura, high in stature, brimming with promises of riches. This occasion had the same weight, but with a lesser intensity with the politeness the merchant family carried.

As usual, business matter were talked about by the adults and Diluc, the young had no means to pry.

So when he finally stared at you, he was pleasantly surprised. Visitors were usually taller, more mature, and came there to talk about adult stuff... never had he met a child the same as he come with those that come talk about finances.

You slightly flinched back when your stares connected, from what he did not know why, but you carry the same shock and intrigue he felt. "H-Hello there!" Crepus ghosted a look at the two children with a wistful and amused look, softening at the sight. His sole child had always been demure and the distance from Mondstadt had kept him away from opportunities of friendship, so when your parents revealed you as their tag-along to their business proposal, he thought it was too good a coincidence to pass. He, however, didn't expect Diluc to be the first to talk.

"Hi, hi!" You bounded up to him as if barreling, your initial nerves dominated by childlike wonder as your eyes darted over him, so fast even that he doesn't know where they had already gone. "Your- your hair, eyes! So pretty!" You placed your hands on his shoulders enthusiastically, missing a distant horrified gasp and a slight shush. "Like, like... fire tornadoes!"

"Fire tornadoes...?" Diluc asked warily and you vigorously explained how the wildness of his hair carried the chaos of tornadoes that had caught a raging flame in its razor winds.

You had always been an eccentric child, your mother reasoned with the older Ragnvindr but earned a hearty chuckle. No harm done, he assured as he can't seem to take his eyes off the two of you, even tho his business was right in front of him.

After proper introductions between the two children, and a promise of a longer talk, your supposed quick visit somehow made its way to dinner.

The many servants of the Winery had caught wind of the sudden changes in the itinerary and they were quick to adapt on the preparations of dinner. In the backdoors of kitchens and maid halls there were surprising chatter that accompanied them as they work. "Young Master Diluc and the merchant's little girl seems to be getting along quite well," the nanny and the other maids started the gossip with fervor at the intriguing news. "It's greatly the reason why Master Crepus had entertained them this long, the gardener caught wind of how amused he is just watching the two interact." When the banquet table was completed before the diners had arrived, a lot of the servants hid behind the cracks of the doors to watch the spectacle for themselves, to guarantee if the rumor that spread like wildfire was true and not some hallucination.

There was a quiet series of gasps and 'aw's when the main door opened to reveal the owners of the house and its current honored guests. The towering adults parted to display you clutching to Diluc's sleeve as he guided you to extra long table, a display that you seem to not be used to based on their observations as you felt lost on which large seat to take.

And the young master thought of this as the perfect opportunity to show off the things he had learned in his sessions of proper etiquette. Locating the nearest seat, Diluc pulled the chair out and gestured you to take a seat before gently pushing it back under the table. Satisfied with the distance, he made his way opposite of you as a sign of respect for his guest.

Crepus, your mother and father watched in amusement... as you two took your seats at the other end of the table farthest from them. But they paid no mind to call you two over when they saw how engrossed you are over your own conversation.

The chatter that night was boisterous and lively on all parties, for besides business and wine, all had talked with the atmosphere of good friends.

And dinner turned into a promise of a sleepover, how generous of the Ragnvindr family. The master of the house simply reasoned that Mondstadt was still a distance from the Winery, and it was too dangerous to travel at this time of night. But the servants knew more than they had let on, for they too felt the somberness in the eyes of Diluc when your parents announced your need to departure.

At this point, this whole visit was now held up by the fact that it was their young master's opportune time for a play date.

The whole day you two had been inseparable. Either being connected physically or just naturally stuck to each other's side through and through. Despite his innate nature to be a recluse or lack of communication among his age group, Diluc find himself not at all minding the way you stuck close to him like this.

When everyone else had departed, you and Diluc were still wide awake in the parlor in front of the blazing fireplace, your hands buried in his wild hair as you talked about your travels before coming to Mond. The young man hums as replies with his eyes closed, concentrated on the way you weave your hands through his fiery locks as you made tiny braids here and there.

Once Crepus had finished tonight's negotiation and seek out his own child (of which was missing from his room) he happened upon the two of you coddled up between a fort of pillows and blankets. The fireplace long been extinguished as the children slumbered.

You were noble not by blood, but by high commerce. Your parents had been travelling all over the continent to procure business opportunities and partnerships, and their duo of both financial prowess and economic behavior mastery had earned them a place in high society and funding. Noble merchants who had found themselves in the city of freedom with their sole child in tow.

The true goal was to establish at least one commerce ports and business services in EVERY nation in Teyvat, and that requires a lot of scouting and connections to do so.

Because of the constant move, you had seen A LOT and met quite a thousand of people in every walks of life. At your young age you barely remember them all truly but the loneliness within you was not something that can easily be quenched, as travelling meant leaving everyone behind for an indefinite time.

Diluc was a one of a kind boy, most probably because you had yet to step foot in the land of the Pyro Archon, but his red hair intrigued you to wit's end. It was reminiscent of a campfire that protects you from the cold of the night, the last hues of sunset in the horizon over the cliffs of your expedition, the sweet taste of fresh strawberries hand picked from the Inazuman plantations.

So at the news of settling down for a few years in Mondstadt reached your ears, unadulterated tears of pure happiness flowed out of your eyes so shockingly that you didn't even notice them immediately.

Not until you felt small hands cup your cheeks, its thumbs fervently swiping at the wetness. Your wide eyes met Diluc's worried ones and he asked if you're alright with a gentleness you've never heard from him. You grinned, "We can play again tomorrow, Diluc!"

And the three adults in the distance sighed in great relief as your mood lifted.

You cupped back Diluc's cheeks to reciprocate and gasped in overdramatic wonder at how soft and squishy they were, squealing, and then tackling him back into the soft beds of Cecilias.

"They've really become quite close ever since we touched Mondstadt," Crepus smiled behind his cup of tea and reveling himself with the warmth it brought to his throat.

"Honestly, our daughter needs to learn manners after him. She's always been so rowdy, I was scared the young master would have run away from her brashness," your mother quipped in before picking up her own cup to savor.

Crepus shared a glance with your father as they both found their gaze back to the both of you. "Practically inseparable," they hum, "I'd say we might as well seal them together to make sure our bloodlines prosper."

Your mother choked. "Are you implying- Diluc and (Y/N)?!" At the mention of your names, you and your companion turned your heads to the adults. "An arranged marriage? At such an early age too!"

"What's an arranged marriage?" The children spat out at the same time, informing the older people of the audience they had brought upon themselves. Crepus smiles warmly at the sight of your tiny arms wrapped around Diluc's shoulder as the redhead holds a Cecilia in place by your ear.

"It's a serious promise," the Ragnvindr started, "it makes sure that both of the people stays together forever their whole lives. After a grand ceremony." Diluc knew when his father talked about serious business and that's when he usually pays attention to his words, even if majority of the time it's something he barely understands.

But the thought of being able to be with each other together forever, the young boy slowly turned his head to face you, which urged you to look at him too. There was the same color of his hair splattered at his cheeks, but his gaze on you was wide and wondrous, as if asking a silent question, "I would love to be with Diluc forever! How about you, Diluc? Do you, do you?"

"I-I do! Yes!" The young redhead tried to match your enthusiasm as the older men chuckled, your mother silently dying at the predicament.

"Then that settles it!" Crepus mused, "Even tho I didn't expect my son to be the one getting proposed on."

April 29th, the day before Diluc's 9th birthday, the first birthday of his that you would be in attendance.

The servants of the house had been busy preparing for the grand event for days now, and tasks were more than piled up on the day before the true date. Hence why you'd find yourself playing with Diluc outside of the mansion without adult supervision. Your parents had helped in organizing the party with Diluc's father, as it also doubles as an opportunistic moment of meeting nobles and honorable businessmen all over Teyvat.

"Are you excited for tomorrow, Dilu? Just imagine the towering cake, so many food, and toys!" You two were passing by the grapevines of the winery, fascinated by the shining grapes under the direct gaze of the sun.

"Mmm, there would be a lot of people tho, lots of talking and talking," you plucked a healthy looking grape from the vine before you finally looked at your companion, finding a cute little pout between his smooth and chubby cheeks. "You know I'm not good around many people."

You cooed at the confession, indulging momentarily by patting his cheek (Diluc raised an eyebrow at your weird obsession over them) before patting his shoulder, "Well, well, as your fi- financee?" Fiancée, he corrected. "Yeah that! I'll be right by your side, if you need help, I'll be right there!"

When you saw him relax under your enthusiastic grin, you patted yourself on the back before expertly throwing the lone grape into your mouth. And crunched.

"Well, I guess you're much better with people- are you okay?"

The sourness. The undeniably waxy peel. Your teeth colliding with the core seed. Diluc watched your face contort from surprise to disgust to pure horror as you frantically whip your head from side to side in search of something, yet finding nothing you slightly bow your head.

"(Y/N), hey, what's wrong-" he reached his hand out and under to cup your jaw and raise your face to meet his, but in a manner of time seemingly slowing down, these events happened: you opened your mouth to discard the disgusting grape to the ground when in some funny coincidence, Diluc's open hand reached out under your chin, the wet and slimey prune of a grape plopping on his palm spot-on with a sound of disgust escaping you.

When you'd open your eyes, you gasped at the sight before you. Whipping your head up, you've seen the most horrified look Diluc had ever worn as he stared straight at his hand, barely moving and breathing.

When one of the maids finally caught sight of the two children, she'd found you crying in distress as you wailed 'I broke Diluc, I broke him!' while the boy himself stood and looked just the same as you'd seen him last, still staring at the disgusting grape in his hand.

The festivities started the next day with you not by his side.

Guests were already swarming in given that the night has started its period. Crepus made sure that all of the preparations are in accordance with the party, yet he knew just how distressed and frantic his son has been acting, no matter how hard he tries to hide it.

He kneels in front of Diluc, finally getting his frenzied stares to settle on him. He offers a reassuring smile. "Are you looking for her?" Diluc was bashful in being caught but nodded regardless, earning a chuckle and a hand ruffling his hair. "Don't worry, she will come."

"But what if she doesn't?" His stubborn nerves replied still with uncertainty.

"You two promised to be together, no grape can easily break that," at the mention of the incident, his son gagged and whined at the reminder, causing another robust chuckle form in his throat. When Crepus has heard of the 'incident' that transpired yesterday, he had to stop himself from wheezing to comfort his own son.

At the better reminder Diluc found himself smiling again brought upon his faith on you and Crepus sighed in relief. That was when they heard a familiar voice shout from the distance.

Your little form broke through the crowd that had obscured your form, dressed up in a simple red chiffon dress and a massive white bow that holds as a belt. Crepus stepped to the side so you could approach the birthday boy yourself, presenting the red box in your hand with a trembling grip, you stood with nerve-wracking composure they've never seen you don before. "H-Happy birthday, Diluc! I uhm I'm really sorry about what happened yesterday, I really am! So I- so I bought you some gloves, so you'll never have to worry about your hands next time."

Crepus quirked an amused eyebrow at the 'next time' as he watches his son take upon the gift and opening it immediately, inside was a simple pair of white gloves with gold lines across its back and a pop button to keep it in place. When he fitted it, it was just the right size and fit his normal attire perfectly.

You watched him warily when you finally met eyes, opening your mouth to ask if he had liked it— when you were suddenly met by a hug, his fluffed up hair almost covering half of your hair. "Thank you, I like it. But you're late..." you laughed in relief as you squeezed him so tight, saying you were sorry with a giggle.

Diluc's father then watched on with a smile as the two of you held hands, disappearing in the sea of guests to mingle and admire the decorations they had put on for his birthday. At least, this time, he didn't have to worry that his son felt alone.

Your reckless imprudence and its adverse karma took a lot longer to manifest than anyone had expected. But it came with a paradoxical event both good and evil when you and Diluc were aged 10.

It was a rare occasion that it was Diluc who was visiting you (instead of the other way around) in Mondstadt's walled city. His father had the tavern to tend to that day and had entrusted Diluc's presence to you, the one who had been roaming the city for about two years now.

In your excitement and his cluelessness, you dragged your friend around the city for an impromptu tour guide. The cathedral, the statue, the HQ of Ordo Favonius; you exhausted him all the way as you somehow managed to find your way past the bridge and into the lush greenery of the outside of the walled city. He needed a breather, and you found the fresh air and quiet to be just the perfect spot.

The sound of rushing water in the distance helped as white noise for your relaxation, as you both stared up in the clear sky together, occasionally pointing at objectified clouds. At some point, Diluc had closed his eyes when the faint breeze urged him to rest more and he gave in just as easily.

The sound of your light musings grounded him just the same, together with the flowing stream and the distant pitter patter against the grass... pitter patter?

"DILUC, WATCH OUT-!" A force came bouldering against his side as he cried out in pain and shock, barreling against the grassland as he unceremoniously tumbles with the perpetrator. He snapped his eyes wide open and sat up quickly to look at what had come to your area—

And you laid there next to him, remnants of frost littering your clothes and climbing up your skin. As Diluc gathered you up in his arms, he felt the sting of the cold as he pulled your trembling form against his chest. At his peripheral he distinguished a few cryo slimes a few feet away, where he sees the dent on the grass he once laid on just moments prior.

"(Y/N)- (Y/N)! No, nonono stay with me, you're okay, please tell me you are," his body wracked in suppressed sobs as you desperately clung to his warmth. Your eyes were squeezed shut in pain as your teeth clatter and whimper from frostbite. He squeezed and pulled you closer up to his chest, desperately hoping the ice would melt before it engulfed you whole.

His gloved hands gripped at your back when he locked eyes with the slimes, watching them slowly advance to the both of you and he watched helplessly without any weapon at his arsenal to protect you two.

For the first time in his life, Diluc felt utterly useless and helpless at the face of looming death. And he prayed with eyes shut, to any Gods that spared him an ear, to give them divine intervention to help you two. To pray that there was something he can do, to pray that if only he was stronger—

And his world turned red around him.

Frost melted.

Grass charred.

Slimes dissipated.

In front of him a Vision was born.

...

A year and a half after that ordeal, you find yourself in the dimly lit hallways of Dawn Winery.

Diluc had expressed his intention to join the Knights of Favonius a day after he received his Vision, with a resolve you've never seen him wear before. He looked at you with longing yet courage of another promise, when you came to the same day. Ever since then, your visits became scarce and your play time had lessened, as you were left to watch him train in every hour of his day with either his father or one of the adept guards of the Winery.

You've never thought you'd wish to be able to wield a sword greatly to par that of a knight, if only to be trusted enough to wield the weapon against him in the guise of training. Ever since that incident everyone had treated you with utmost care and gentleness, even your dearest friend who had always gone along with your reckless spurs of action.

Today you were hoping to catch him on a day off from his sessions but it seems awfully quiet this time around and you were left to ponder with your thoughts as no one came to aid you with answers. You would press your ear against the numerous doors, linger to hear anyone, and then moved on to another if you come out empty-handed.

You were on your way to the last door of the hallway when you heard someone clear their throat behind you. You whipped your head in the thought that you had found your person of interest—

"What are you doing here?" But instead of the fiery red you were seeking for, you met a cold blue gaze that carried hidden hostility and confusion. You blinked at him as he did at you, an agonizing second passing with silence, and he opens his mouth once more to ask.

"I like your eyepatch!"

Somehow, you seem to have a knack on making people stutter on your first meetings.

Kaeya was no exception.

I didn't expect this to end with a cliffhanger holy shit, I loved writing this so much but I got caught up with so many other works and— it just became too long to continue...

Part 2 tomorrow midnight once again!

@creation-magician @boxofteenageideas @your-local-venti-simp @indigodreamtime47

[inglourious-imagines]

Piece Of Cake (Fred Weasley)

Summary: Fred claims that asking a girl out to the Yulle ball is a piece of cake. Harry and Ron dare him to prove it.

Prompts: fluff list: 2 - "I don't care, just hold me." & angst list: "Try to see things in my point of view." & miscellaneous list: 4 - "My mum thinks I'm dating you." (changed a bit)

Warning: angst at the beginning, some swear words, fluff at the end

Author's Note: This is for @lunalovecroft 's 1K writing challenge! Probably it was meant to be the other way around, but that idea suddenly strucked me and I decided to give it a go. Happy reading ♡

HP Taglist: @alienoresimagines @95swifi

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"You have a place in my heart no one else ever could have." - F.S. Fitzgerald

All the Yulle Ball decoration were making Y/N beyond sick, every ribbon reminding her that she still did not have a date to accompany her throughout the approaching evening. Molly Weasley was so kind to send her as a gift the most beautiful dress Y/N had ever seen in her life and now she was genuinely thinking about not going to the ball at all. 

When she threw herself at the bench in the Great Hall right next to her best friend Hermione who was sitting way too far from Ron, Harry and the twins were seated. Y/N knew about the brightest witch's secret crush on the young Weasley that was slowly but surely growing into something more than just a simple crush. She'd even swear that Ron felt exactly the same about Hermione but she had to promise not to get involved or play a cupid. 

"He didn't ask, did he." Y/N dared to speak up first, glancing from Hermione's sad expression on her face to absolutely oblivious Ronald just a few metres away from them who seemed to be stuffing as much food as possible into his mouth as fast as he could. 

Y/N's eyes wandered from one Weasley to another, much taller one, who's smile was so contagious that she found herself grinning like an idiot for no particular reason.

"What do you think, Y/N." Hermione sighed bringing her back from her daydreaming, "guess he's not the only one who didn't ask, right?" 

Y/N looked at her friend again, simply nodded as she wasn't able to react in any other way. As much as she tried not to, she felt a bit disappointed when the only person she wanted to go to the Yulle ball with, hasn't asked her.

"They've been bickering for the past 15 minutes whether asking a girl out is easy or not." Hermione stated, clearly upset with the whole situation.

"Are you serious, 'Mione? What are their points of view?" 

"Well, Harry and Ron are obviously struggling to even compliment a girl in the right way but Fred reckons there's nothing easier." 

The girls look at each other and burst out laughing in the next second. "Like he'd know how to ask." Y/N managed to get out of her through her laughter, "however, I must agree with Harry and Ron. They're the most oblivious idiots." 

"Tell me about it." Hermione giggled but a trace of hurt flew over her face and Y/N suddenly felt really sorry for her dear friend. 

"Hey Y/N!" Fred shouted out of the blue, his clear voice echoed through the Great Hall causing other students to perk up their heads in order to find out what possibly he has in mind now. 

Y/N threw a look full of question marks to Hermione before turning her head to the tall red-head. "Yes?"

The moment his typical mischievous grin appeared on his face Y/N knew that something either funny and unpleasant to her or something embarrassing is about to happen.

"Will you..." Fred kept on talking as loudly as possible while wildly gesturing with his arms - apparently pretending to dance, "go to the ball..." now he was just pointing at her and him, "with me?"

Y/N's whole face turned brightly red, her nervous eyes wandering from student to student with such awaiting and amused expressions on their faces. Her heartbeat fastened in the matter of seconds that it seemed like it might jump out of her chest. Y/N looked at Hermione for help with such desperation hidden behind her gaze but her friend just simply shrugged, absolutely shocked with the sudden question, just like Y/N was.

A few seconds passed and Y/N was still sitting at her spot totally speechless. She imagined many times how Fred would ask her to the ball but never in a million years did she think it'd be like this - shouting at her in front of the whole Great Hall with absolutely no sign of sincerity or romance; to her it seemed like some sort of a bet to prove his point.

Their eyes for a moment and Y/N realized that Fred was convinced that she's going to accept his offer, confidence was basically radiating off of him. She knew he's not bragging, Fred was one of the kindest people she'd ever met but sometimes, sometimes he just wasn't able to estimate the situation. 

Anger was slowly bottling up in her as she quickly stood up grabbing all her books. As much as it hurt her to say it, Y/N was still able to straighten up looking directly into his eyes. "Sorry, Weasley, not interested. But thanks for the offer, I feel flattered." The sarcasm in her voice was more than obvious. 

Y/N winked at Hermione, rightly feeling satisfied with her as she heard a few laughs from many students when she walked out of the Great Hall leaving absolutely speechless and embarrassed Fred Weasley. 

•••

Y/N rushed into her dormitory, not wanting to deal with anybody at the moment as the anger was slowly transforming into hurt. This wasn't what she imagined.

She threw herself at her bed; her books were casted off on the ground, papers flying all over the place.

"Y/N! Wait!" a muffled voice of the too familiar Weasley filled her ears and before she knew it, Fred was standing in the middle of her dormitory with flushed cheeks due to the long run, doors slammed shut behind him. 

"Let me explain." he almost begged taking a few steps towards her. She quickly got on her feet as she shook with her head couple of times. "Please, no. I don't care if your intentions were the noblest, but it happened and that's it."

"If you could just let me talk."

But Y/N didn't see the regret in Fred's eyes, or how his hands trembled a little bit, she was way too furious to notice all these things.

"Try to see things from my point of view, Weasley! You basically shouted at me in front of the whole school if I want to go to the ball with you! I understand that you just wanted to prove something to Ron and Harry but this is not a game for me."

Every single word that left her mouth went straight to Fred's heart. He never in a million years intended to hurt Y/N, he'd rather suffer himself than have something happen to her. But he was scared, Fred felt truly terrified of asking her out and when the boys confronted him about it, he panicked. He didn't have an idea why he reacted that way. The pounding heart, sweaty palms, the hotness in his cheeks - all this was new to Fred Weasley and he wasn't sure what do to with his stormy emotions.

"I'm real sorry, Y/N. I didn't want to offend you but that doesn't mean I don't stand behind what I said earlier." he tried to ease the tense in the small room, his lips even formed into a cute little innocet smile.

"I don't know, Weasley. I simply think-"

"Let me make it up to you! The ball's tomorrow, just say yes."

Then they were there - Fred's puppy eyes that no matter how serious the problem was, Y/N wasn't able to bring herself to say no. She knew he's very well aware of that fact, he somehow managed to melt her heart.

"Fine. I'll go to the Yulle ball with you, Weasley. Don't make me regret it."

"I can certainly promise you that, Y/L/N."

•••

Y/N was nervously pacing in her new white dress that she got from Mrs. Weasley while Hermione was watching her with an amused expression.

"You know, this isn't funny." she frowned but a part of her was telling her how unreasonably ridiculous she is.

"Actually it is," her best friend couldn't held back the laughter, "you'll be fine. I bet he's even more nervous than you are." 

"Hermione! His mum thinks I'm bloody dating him!" 

"That's just so perfect. Maybe you will be after tonight."

Their eyes met for a moment and then, as if their minds were connected, the girls started giggling like some 13-year-olds. Y/N finally relaxed a bit, just like Hermione did, as they both promised themselves to look after each other during the evening.

"So what do you think?" Y/N winked at her friend, "shall we?"

"Absolutely."

•••

The duo walked together down the stairs leading to the dance hall, side by side, both of them smiling widely. Y/N found Fred's tall figure right away as he was nervously pacing back and forth mumbling something under his breath while George watched him amused. Just like Hermione watched her a couple minutes ago. God, how similar they could be.

"Well done, brother dear. Fucking well done." George whispered into his twin's ear tapping his shoulder. Fred's gaze immediately landed on approaching Y/N making him stop in his tracks. George just smirked and left with his own date to give them some privacy.

Fred was closely watching her every step, how elegantly she carried herself through the room, the beautiful white dress flew around her making her look like an angel descending from the sky. 

"Blimey, I don't think I've ever seen something so beautiful like you." Fred breathed out, his eyes roaming all over her body.

"You don't look too bad as well, Weasley." Y/N blushed at his compliment as she sent him one nervous smile. The truth was, he looked way more better than just 'not bad' and she had to remind herself not to stare at him too much. He pulled her into his side, his scent and warmth immediately embracing her, and she found herself falling for this dangerously good looking red-head. 

"Everybody's turning their heads after you. I swear I even saw a smile on Snape's face." Fred pointed out, his voice filled with obvious jealousy as his grip on her waist tightened. 

"I don't care, just hold me, Fred." Y/N gave him a reassuring smile taking his hand in his, "just hold me."

"I never wanted anything more."