#but its mainly about L*ki

[bewarethemoonlads]

looking through tags for my favorite characters, wading amongst the x reader fanfiction whilst i search for photos/gifsets/etc: okay this isnt so bad i can just scroll right past these no problem

me getting swallowed whole by posts that use the word Queerbaiting completely wrong: okay well, this was not unexpected but it is quite fuckign annoying

[tommysparker]

Never Forget You [Chapter 2]

Obi-Wan Kenobi x Jedi!Reader A/N: i told you it goes downhill fast ehehehe. enjoy :)  Warnings: angst with a hint of fluff. im sorry in advance. italicized paragraphs = flashbacks 

Obi-Wan couldn’t help but stare at you from his seat.

After all these years of waiting and wandering, he was finally getting the answers a long lost version of his younger self longed for. He should be paying more attention, but he was still trying to comprehend that you were standing here, a couple feet away and he was helpless to do anything about it. 

Unbeknownst to him, you also felt helpless but for an unrelated reason, kind of. You stood in the center of the room, all eyes on you. Some were hanging on to every word you said, others were judging and trying to read you. You could feel it, all the energies mixing together to create a mess of signals that made you feel small compared to them as they sat in their almighty chairs. 

The one that stood out the most, however, was his. Mainly because you couldn’t feel it. He was hiding his sensitivity, but why? 

You were able to sense it outside the Temple when you first arrived. It hit you almost as if it had been calling, reaching, waiting to connect your Force bond, but before it could it was pulled away leaving an empty and cold path in its wake. 

“Something to say, Master Y/l/n does I believe,” Yoda spoke, his voice cutting through your train of thought. 

You cleared your throat a bit, “Uh, yes. For the past ten years I’ve been on Gyfill undercover as a fellow Seperatist. My mission was to retrieve information and report back to Master Windu and Master Yoda. Recently, I overheard talk of a doomsday weapon. I asked around more and managed to get my hands on the blueprints. It was too dangerous to stay afterwards so Master Yoda pulled me out and...here I am,” You ended your little speech with an awkward shrug. 

Obi-Wan let a small fond smile form on his face at the gesture.  

The rest of the council on the other hand were less than amused. 

Master Ki-Adi Mundi spoke first. “Why was the entirety of the council not made aware of this so-called ‘mission’?” he asked skeptically. 

“It was highly classified and only a certain number of people could be trusted at the time,” Master Windu defended, leaning forward in his chair. “Master Yoda and I took careful consideration when choosing who knew what.” 

“But why send such a young one? Barely into their first month as a Jedi Knight?” Master Plo Koon questioned. 

You looked to your former Master, curious as to what his answer would be. You knew the truth, but did everyone else?

Master Windu and Master Yoda exchanged a look, a similar one to that they had the first time you were informed of the mission. As one of them opened their mouth to reply, a thick Coruscanti accent spoke first. 

“Because they were already qualified for it. Master Y/l/n excelled during their training and passed the trials with flying colours. I witnessed it myself. I see no reason why the former Padawan of Mace Windu shouldn’t go on such a mission,” Obi-Wan praised, his eyes never leaving your figure. 

You kept your gaze forward. 

“Thank you for your input, Master Kenobi,” Master Windu hesitated, glancing between the two of you. “As Kenobi so...keenly praised, Master Y/l/n was, although young, completely capable and, being my own Padawan, an obvious source of trust.”      

You tried not to show the sense of pride that filled you, after all validation from your superiors is always a good feeling. Obi-Wan’s words still floated through your mind, however. Praise from a Master is always welcomed, but this felt different. Nevertheless, you didn’t spare him a glance. 

“Further discuss this later we will. Rest now, Master Y/l/n should,” Yoda said, leaning against his cane as he stared you down. 

You bowed your head, “Thank you, Master,” You said gratefully. In all honesty you were feeling exhausted, the adrenaline from returning home gone and the jet lag catching up had taken a toll on you. You tried to mask it in your Force signature, however, things are not always so easily hidden from the Grand Master himself. 

Without looking back, you made your leave. 

Obi-Wan watched you go. The Council members started discussing something but all their words fell deaf in comparison to the loud creak and slam of the doors closing. It took him a heartbeat to stand up and start to chase after you. 

“Going somewhere you are, Master Kenobi?” 

He paused, realizing he acted without thought and now had to come up with a lie. “Yes, er, I figured I would escort Master Y/l/n to their room...as you know they haven’t been back long and the Temple halls can become quite the maze.” It was a rash excuse but plausible enough to cover his impulsive decision. 

Master Yoda narrowed his eyes for a moment and studied the man before nodding his head, permitting his exit. 

Obi-Wan smiled briefly before quickly dashing out of the room. He looked left and right, searching the Force for the direction you had gone. It was surprisingly easy to locate you, given that he wasn’t adjusted to feeling for Force signature after so many years. 

At least, that’s what he told himself.

“Master Y/l/n!” 

•••

You laughed as you jumped across the river and ran towards the closest tree, quickly using the Force to help you reach the branches as you climbed. “Nice try, Obi. Better luck next time.” 

Obi-Wan pouted at the bottom of the trunk. “That’s not fair.“

“Not my fault the high ground always wins,” You taunted, retracting your lightsaber before jumping back down. “You have much to learn, young Padawan.“ 

“Oh ha ha,” Obi-Wan spoke sarcastically, but on the inside he was grinning widely. With your trials coming up quickly, there hasn’t been a lot of time for you both to simply play around like you used to. 

You lightly bumped the young man with your shoulder as you ran past him towards the waterfall. “Come on, last one to our cave has to clear out all the aspory!” 

Obi-Wan followed, calling after you in protest. But anyone could hear the laughter in his innocent voice. 

“Y/n/n!” 

•••

You froze in your tracks at the sound of that name. A name you haven’t heard in almost a decade. Instantly, you regretted stopping. It would have been easier to just keep walking away, pretend you never heard his voice. His sweet voice. But you did stop, and now you had to deal with what you’ve been mentally preparing since you packed your bag on Gyfill. 

“General Kenobi.” 

Obi-Wan tried not to frown at the monotone in your voice. He didn’t expect you to run into his arms after all this time, but he certainly wasn’t prepared for the blank expression you bore when you turned around to face him. 

It was the first time he got to see your face up close since you left. From a distance you looked like the average adult, but up close he could finally recognize you. 

Your face had matured quite a bit, although that was a given. Gone was the youthful glow he vaguely remembered, replaced with a look only those haunted by war would hold. 

He would know, after all. It was the same look he witnessed every day in himself. 

“I… uh…” He looked away as you raised your eyebrow, clearing his throat. “It is nice to see you again after all these years, Y/n.” 

“Likewise,” You replied, however, your face didn’t express any joy that is typically paired with friendly reunions. You glanced around the corridors, as if anxious to be caught in this situation. “As much as I would like to stay and chat, and I really must be getting to my chambers,” you excused, taking a subtle step backwards. 

“I understand. Perhaps I could escort you there? We can catch up and you can tell me about all the adventures you must have endured during your stay on Gyfill.” Obi-Wan offered a smile and extended his hand, putting the other behind his back in true gentleman fashion. 

You stared at his hand for a moment, noticing how much bigger they had gotten. Slight wrinkles were visible, along with a few scars no doubt from past battles. His veins were more prominent as well and areas of his palm were a light shade of red. 

When you made no move at the gesture, Obi-Wan awkwardly let his hand fall to his side, a blush rising to his cheeks in embarrassment. “Or uh... perhaps another time?” 

You wanted to say something, but no words would come to mind. Instead, you simply nodded your head before turning on your heel and casually walked away as best you could, ignoring the gut feeling inside telling you giving him the cold shoulder was the wrong move. It doesn’t matter. The less we see each other the better. 

He wanted to follow, reaching his hand out as he watched you leave him once more. Short flashes of you walking towards the ship paralleling you walking down the hall came to mind and it felt like being dunked in a tank of cold water. 

It was clear you were no longer the person he knew in his youth. 

Obi-Wan was smart enough to know when to take a hint. If you did not wish to rekindle your friendship, then so be it. Perhaps it was for the best. 

•••

“How can that be?” A part of you chided yourself for questioning your Master, however, you could not help it. 

Master Windu gave you a disappointed look, as if he expected you to already be aware of your so-called sins. “You and Obi-Wan and destined for great things, young Y/l/n. Your attachment to each other puts both of you at risk.” 

Attachment?. “Master, what are you implying?” 

Master Yoda decided to step in. “Reason there is, chosen you were for this mission. Bond between Padawan Kenobi and You, dangerous it is.” 

“How can being friends be dangerous?” You crossed your arms and frowned. 

“Knight Y/l/n, the fact that you are arguing with us right now proves our suspicions. Qui-gon and I have let it go on for far too long and it ends here. Remove your attachment to Obi-Wan Kenobi… or give up your Jedi status.” Master Windu, for all the times he managed to keep a cold stone face, couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit of remorse after announcing the ultimatum. The bond between Master and Padawan was no-doubt strong, and of all the Padawans he’s had, you were by far one of his most prized pupils. Seeing you leave the Order and disgrace his lineage is the last of his few desires. 

Your mouth gaped as your eyes widened in shock. You stared at the two Master’s in front of you, contemplating your next words. The Order was your life, everything you’ve grown to center yourself around. You couldn’t leave. 

There was no choice.

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It will only get more angstier from here ehehehe.  What do you think will happen next? Reblog with your theories or send me an ask!

Taglist: @queenariesofnarnia @dwarfplanet69 @katsukink @blondekel77 @generousrunawaydonut @fandomtrashwhore @fortheloveofaqueenfan @mrskenobi19 @mellowstatesmanhandsempath @hotleaf-juice @emiijemii @neji85 @doctor-warthrop​ 

[darnellclayton]

African Languages With Non Latin Alphabets?

So after seeing a tweet by Montel informing everyone that the Yoruba language now unofficially has a written non-Latin syllabary (I kept saying syllabus in the video by mistake) to compliment the oral language I was intrigued.

Note: here is the audio version of my reaction via SoundCloud:

I remember being informed that the Fulani (aka Fula) & Kpelle had similar syllabaries so I was very excited to discover that Yoruba had one too.

After further research I discovered that most of the African tribes I am related to have their own syllabary. All of them except Temne developed their own non-Latin written language.

A website called Omniglot catalogues these languages (as well as many around the world) so all I had to do is visit the Omniglot search page, type in my various tribes & become reintroduced to a world I never knew existed.

So here is what I discovered (I encourage everyone to visit Ominiglot for more details about the origins & history of each syllabary).

Yoruba: Odùdwà Alphabet

The Odùduwà alphabet was invented by Chief Tolúlàṣẹ Ògúntósìn from Benin as a way to write the Yoruba language. He claims that he was inspired to create the alphabet in dreams between 2011 and 2016. He also believes that the alphabet was used back in the 12th century by King Odùduwà, who is regarded as the father of the Yoruba people, and was then lost. (Omniglot.com)

Kpelle: Kpelle Syllabary

The Kpelle syllabary was invented during the 1930s by Chief Gbili of Sanoyea in Bong County in Liberia. He was apparently inspired to create it in a dream. It was used by a number of Kpelle chiefs, their scribes and a few others. They used it to write messages, keep records of taxes, stores and debts, and to write a recipe book. Very little of this material survives because of the civil wars in Liberia. It was used at least until the 1980s. (Omniglot.com)

Fula (aka Fulani): Adlam

The Adlam alphabet was created in the 1980s by Ibrahima and Abdoulaye Barry, two brothers from Guinea who decided that their language, Fulani, needed its own alphabet. The name of the alphabet comes from the first four letters, A, D, L, and M. (Omniglot.com)

Mende: Mende Syllabary (Kikakui)

The Mende syllabary was invented in 1921 by Kisimi Kamara (ca. 1890-1962) of Sierra Leone. Seeing how the British managed to take over his country, Kisimi concluded that their power was partly a result of their literacy. He decided to give his own people that ability. Kisimi claimed he was inspired in a dream to create the Mende syllabary, which he called Ki-ka-ku. During the 1920s and 1930s he ran a school in Potoru to teach Ki-ka-ku. The syllabary became a popular method of keeping records and writing letters. (Omniglot.com)

Mandinka: N’Ko

The N'Ko alphabet was invented by Soulemayne Kante of Kankan, Guinea, in 1949. It is mainly used by speakers of Maninka, Bambara, Dyula and their dialects in Guinea, Côte d'Ivoire and Mali. (Omniglot.com)

Although I was disappointed to not discover a Temne Syllabary, I did find out that the Igbo people (I have friends who are Igbo) did have a Syllabary of their own (albeit with a certain dialect).

Igbo: Nwagụ Aneke

The Nwagụ Aneke Script is a syllabary for the Umuleri dialect of Igbo. It was developed in late 1950s by Ogbuevi Nwagụ Aneke, an illiterate land owner and diviner from Umuleri, a village in Anambra State in the southeast of Nigeria. He claimed that spirits of his ancestors revealed the symbols to him. (Omniglot.com)

There are many other African tribes with the own Syllabaries, although unfornately they have faced aggressive resistance from African governments (odd but true) or colonial powers who feared a cultural separation.

I wonder what it would take to revive these languages via written form‽ Hmm…

[heyitsyn]

Prove Me Wrong

M!Reader x Oikawa

a/n: SDKLFJSLDKFJDLSKF OKAY I KNOW I KNOW I KNOW ITS BEEN SO LONG SINCE I LAST UPDATED BUT I REALLY INVESTED MY TIME INTO RESEARCHING AND READING FANFICS WITH AN M!READER BC I REALLY DIDNT WANNA GET IT WRONG SO I APOLOGIZE IF I DID SOMETHING WRONG AND I HOPE THIS ANON LIKES IT!!!

anon:

-heres an interesting thought. what about flamboyant oikawa with a cold boyfriend😳😳

YEYYY I FINALLY UPDATED

LETS GET STARTED SHALL WE?

okayokayokay

so in the request above

this is a m!reader

meaning you will be male in this one so hehe yep the story starts now

you are,,,

distant

and cold

but its mainly just because you were,,,

too tired to actually put in the effort of socializing

between bouncing between part-time jobs to care for your siblings and to schoolwork and book club

the mans can only do so much

so you spend most of your time in school just trying to catch up on sleep bc youre too busy studying up all night for exams since yanno

✨gRaDuaATiOn✨

unfortunately for you, your class had the famous manwhore oikawa tooru

why is that a bad thing?

well, imagine just trying to get some shut eye and suddenly, you just hear a bunch of screaming girls and it gets louder the closer the guy approaches your classroom and when he opens it,

the screams become 10x bass boosted

then imagine that with your sensitive hearing

now,,

it does bother you but it wouldnt bother you as much if he told them to leave

BUT NOOOOOO

he decides to let them in and chat with them and flatter them and continue with that bs until the bell rings

even then,

the girls in your class cant help but keep giggling at him and he always whispers in that obnoxious voice and youre just like two seconds away from ripping his tongue out

now

you dont hate him

you just genuinely dislike his way of living

and the way he talks

and the way he acts

yea see?

no hate

theres a difference

then there was that one time that you got so fed up with it that when oikawa settled on his seat and the fangirls circled him like some cult

they started talking to him all at once trying to get his attention

so it was a garbled mess of sounds and you growled, burying your face deeper in your arms because you would snap really really soon

then one girl shrieked when oikawa smiled at her and then you really just let go of all bearings

your chair made a squeak as you shot up, palms slamming against the wooden desk and your eyes glaring straight at them

‘go back to the farm, ya squealing pigs’

DSKFJLSDFKJSDFKDJS SORRY I LOVE TSUMU

this made everyone silent-even the others in the class just minding their own business

they all knew you as the quiet kid who didnt really talk much but those who did were really scared at you and the way you talked to them with such a cold and monotonous voice that they started spreading rumors about you

even absurd ones like your eyes are so cold bc youve killed so many people that you have no life and empathy left

LIKE WHAT THE HECK YOU STRUGGLED TO GET A SPIDER OUT OF YOUR SISTERS ROOM THE OTHER DAY LIKE EXCUSE YOU

but apparently they were just,,, so scared of you that when you finally got done with them and bursted out, the girls started crying

YALL KNOW THE SAYING LIKE HELL HAS STARTED WHEN THE QUIET KID SNAPS

the females run out of the room scared and the others nervously looks at you

your eyes sweeped through the room and each one of them flinched when you made eye contact with them

YES ASSERT OUR DOMINANCE M/N

the only who didnt was oikawa tooru himself

your eyes landed on him and he still had that stupid smug look on his stupidly gorgeous face and you wanted to ki-WAIT NO SLAP it off of him

‘the hell you looking at?’

you grumbled at him and he just merely shook his head with a smile

‘you remind me a chihuahua, m/n-chan. so cute when its angry’

‘HAH?!’

now it isnt a surprise to hear oikawa tooru say that to a boy bc wowza the school loves him so much that hes a bi icon in seijoh and hes such a king like who cares?

but they were surprised to see you turn red, the tips of your ears to the base of your neck were all flushed

‘see? so cute, right, everyone?’

KSDFJLSDKJFS

THE NERVE OF THIS MAN

the class didnt say anything except just put their heads down bc as much as they wanted to agree with oikawa at how suddenly hot you looked, they were too scared that you might plummet their faces to the ground

maybe thats when everyone started noticing you more

again, you were very quiet, you didnt talk much, you just sat there and listened so obviously you didnt really stand out but then that outburst made you more noticeable

you started seeing girls in your class staring at you then blush and look away abashedly

then the guys in your class started greeting you, even people in the hallways

ngl the attention you suddenly got was overwhelming

especially when oikawa seemed to call out to you all the time now

as you were walking down the stairs, hed see you and he’d shout and wave to you

‘m/n-chan! hiii!!!!’

his loud voice would make everyone turn and look at you and you dont do well with public attention so you turn red and you glare at him

‘shut the hell up, idiot. and dont call me by my first name. we’re not friends’

you turned to walk in the classroom but you looked at him again after taking a few steps

there he was

smiling and giggling with those girls

all he does is smile and giggle and shit

its so damn fake that you cant believe everyone fell for it and the worst thing is oikawa’s doing it to get everyone’s acceptance and validication

it was pathetic and disgusting

poor oikawa :(

now on to baby flatttykawa side,

he was kinda hurt by that

like how the heck are you not friends when youve been going to high school for 3 years?

sure, its only been casual greetings and him waving at you when yall made eye contact

but its still something, right?

right?

when you walked back into the classroom, tooru cant help but feel down at the declaration of the lack of friendship you had

his form slouched and his eyes trailed down but the voice of some girl brought him back to where he was and to fix his attitude

‘oikawa-san? are you okay?’

the others muttered in concern with her but they were eased when he raised a peace sign with the signature smile 

‘yep! all good!’

GOD I REALLY CANT STAND IT WHEN HE USES A FACADE TO EVERYONE BUT LIKE I LOVE HIM SO MUCH BC HES SUCH A STRONG CHARACTER THAT DOESNT BREAK AND HES SO INSECURE AND IT PAINS ME SO MUCH THAT HE FEELS THE NEED TO HIDE BEHIND A MASK EVERYDAY AND AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

truth be told,

oikawa has always noticed you

not only do you work at the one bakery with his milk bread but you also work at the convenience store that the team sometimes visits

then he also noticed you picking up your brother from the volleyball practice that takeru’s part of and he cant help but frown at the eyebags under your eyes that he always sees

he lies awake at night just thinking how you would look without those eyebags, without the sickly looking complexion, or even just the lack of life in your eyes

then during class, you sat by the window

tooru knows this bc his eyes always fixes itself on you whenever he opens that door and he has to hold in the need to hug you when he sees you sleeping on your desk

others might call you lazy

others might call you a video game all nighter kid

but they dont notice the things you do

the nervous habits hes seen from you at the times that tooru couldnt help but stare

he knew it was creepy to do it

but you were so silent

you blended yourself into the background and you made sure to stay there 

thats why nobody knows anything about you

with good looks like yours and a smart brain (he knew this from mattsun and makki being your students), why exactly were you not known?

maybe thats why it drew you to him

all his life he chased, 

but now hes the one chasing?

tooru knows that your left eyebrow lifts when sensei writes something you dont understands

tooru knows that you like to do sudoku in the convenience store while you worked

tooru knows you eat the same meal during lunch every day from the same lunchbox

and he also knows that your brother talks so highly about you from takeru

the little things your brother brags about like your ability to cook f/f or your weird ability to just assemble something without looking at the instruction manual

he notices and knows all these things about you

things that people never really even bothered to 

oikawa didnt even know he liked you until iwaizumi pointed it out during lunch

the third years liked to go and eat at the rooftop where it was nice and windy

oikawa was sitting and leaned against the tall wire fence, his eyes fixated on you down below on the bench as you ate your lunch

then you accidentally loosened the chopsticks causing your food to slip off

that made oikawa giggle

he was chuckling and giggling that the others noticed him when he suddenly went quiet

‘oi, oikawa’

makki nudged him back to them and tooru flinched before smiling at them

‘hm? so you do notice me!’

iwa glared

‘idiot. of course we do. youre laughing over there like some damn schoolgirl. did one of your fangirls posses you or something? if not, cut it out. its ugly’

oikawa shot him an offended look

‘what?! iwa-chan so mean!’

mattsun took the liberty to peer over the edge to see what he was looking at and smirked

‘eh? were you looking at l/n-sensei?’

oikawa blushed, feeling like he just got caught doing something bad

‘and what about it? im looking at you too, right now, mattsun!’

makki cackled at oikawa’s poor attempt of reasoning

‘i mean, i dont blame you. if issei wasnt here, id definitely get with him’

SEDKLFJSDLFISDKFJ MATTSUHANA YALL :”)

oikawa’s eyes wandered back down to you and he noticed you put the bento box to the side before sneezing

‘gosh, even his sneeze is cute’

he mumbled then jolted when he heard his own words 

iwa sighed

‘what are we going to do with you, shittykawa?’

‘what?! what did i do?!’

iwa’s eyes scrunched and he scrutinized his best friend

‘boke. i feel bad for that kid, doesnt know this stupid idiot likes him’

so thats how oikawa came to terms of it

he thought he was just interested and fascinated with you but he really does like you

and to be honest, he doesnt really want you to know that bc duh, you dont like him so why bother?

baby oiks doesnt interact with you much anymore bc he knows you get uncomfy with attention but he still does look out for you and decides he should just admire from afar

he will live every day just holding his feelings in for you and one day they will disappear

but today just wasnt the day

maybe today was the start of the worst yet the best part of your life

last night was particularly rough as the convenience store you worked in had a drunk person who wanted to fight with you and your manager had to call the police and it was just a mess

to add on to it, midterms were around the corner-like next week- so you were studying up for that

but your sister got sick so you were also trying to take care of her and making sure her fever was going down and her crying ever few hours about her tummy ache didnt allow you to sleep

hehehe single parent working late tingz

ALSO SHE DOESNT HAVE MISS RONA JFC

so yep haha you did NOT get any sleep

so you walked into school that morning, looking tired as hell and mad as hell but you just wanted to sleep bro

the one kid you tutor, matsukawa issei, and his friend who usually tags along, hanamaki takahiro, noticed you dazedly pass them in the hallway and poor dudes felt bad for you

mattsun actually pays you to tutor him bc he knows you need the money while taka preferred to buy you snacks and drinks as compensation

so it was normal that he had an energy drink in his bag that he was going to give you tomorrow during your tutoring day

‘oi! l/n!’

your head perked up at the call of your name and you nodded in greeting at the light brown haired boy

‘hey’

you muttered and mattsun placed his hands on your shoulder to keep you upright

‘oi, l/n, you sure you want to be here? you can go home and we can tell them youre sick or some-’

but you waved your hand

‘nonono todays an important lecture so i cant miss it’

the two guys didnt look convinced but they respected your need to be in school since they too need to be in class for midterms

‘here. at least take this’

makki placed a drink on your hand and you nodded and gave them a small smile

‘thanks’

you mumbled before wandering off

once they saw you at a distance away, makki wrapped an arm around issei to get his attention

‘ya think we should tell oikawa to keep an eye on him? make sure he doesnt keel over and die or somethin?’

mattsun stopped before nodding

‘yea thats a good idea’

SKLFJLSDKJFD NOT MATTSUHANA BEING YOUR PARENTS

oikawa was already in class when you walked in and he cant help but tear his eyes away from the girls to you as you sluggishly walked to your seat

the drop of your bag and the thud of your head meeting the desk made him worried bc you looked worse than usual

his phone buzzed and he checked it to see a message from mattsun

‘keep an eye out for your boyfriend. mightve been working late last night and yanno how he is. just watch out if he faints or something’

okay that made him super worried

totally ignoring what mattsun called you, oikawa knew he needed to talk to you

but these fangirls were the first problem

he shut his phone off and looked up at them with a grin that made them madly blush

‘ladies, class is about to start. oikawa-senpai would hate for you to be marked. so study hard for me, okay?’

like hypnotized cult members, the girls ran to their classrooms and tooru finally had the opportunity to talk to you

he stood up and walked over to your seat

‘m/n-chan’

he called out, looking down at you

‘m/n-chan’

he tried again and was about to put a hand on your shoulder when your hand snatched it

‘dont touch me, oikawa’

you grumbled and tooru furrowed his eyebrows

‘m/n-chan, i just wanted to ask if youre okay’

he whined and you didnt bother to look up but just let go of his hand

‘i was until you came over, idiot’

ouch

tooru was thankful that the teacher came in then and there bc he didnt know how to respond to that

he wanted to brush it off but it hurt him a little

and he knows he shouldnt entertain his crush on you but he couldnt looking at you and watching as you got up to use the bathroom 

as class went on, oikawa was starting to worry

now again, hes no stalker bc his observation skills were just phenomenal due to volleyball

so he noticed that youve been in the bathroom for like 20 minutes now

DONT JUDGE US, OIKAWA. WE’RE JUST TRYING TO PUSH OUT THE BIG PIECE OF-

okay nevermind

anyways

tooru, worried that something happened, raised his hand to go and use the bathroom and the sensei wasnt exactly paying attention so he just let him go

thank god he has long legs bc he was able to reach the bathroom quick and he stifled a shriek when he saw your passed out form inside

‘M/N-CHAN!’

he yelled and he cursed when duh you were alone and who knows how long youve been there

and ew bathroom floors is bleh

you were in no way light but you werent exactly heavy either so he was able to muster up all his strength and hoisted you on his back

tooru’s heart thrummed in his chest and he knew it couldnt be that serious but he cant help but think of the worst

and yep

the nurse just told him that your heartbeat was okay and you were snoring so you mustve been exhausted by the dark circles in your eyes

‘keep an eye on him for me. i have to tend to midoriya over there. the kid broke his arm again and i dont know how’

she grumbled at the end but tooru didnt care as he sat on the chair next to your bed

he sighed before laying his head on the cot by your hand

his eyes settled on your face and how peaceful it looked

gosh, you really were so cute

your personality just sucked ass

constantly telling him to shut up and calling him idiot

hmph

not long after oikawa fell asleep, you woke up and cursed, immediately realizing you fainted and you missed class

as you were going to rub your eye, there was weight on your hand and you looked down to see a head full of brown hair that could only belong to a certain someone

a certain idiot

‘oi. oikawa, wake up’

you shook his head and when he didnt budge, you just pulled your hand from under him making him jump awake

at first, he was confused

looking around like a lost puppy and his eyes bleary

yea it was cute and what about it

then he noticed you sitting up and he smiled

‘you feeling better, m/n-chan?’

he asked, leaning close 

but you placed your hand on his face to push him away

‘yea. and stop leaning so close, idiot’

you grumbled and he whined

‘youre so mean, m/n-chan! i was so worried about you!’

he complained and you rolled your eyes

‘i didnt ask you to be, idiot’

SLDKFJSDLKFJKL M/N IS SO MEAN WHAT THE FAK

oikawa frowned

‘i cant help it. i like you, m/n-chan’

you froze, looking at him with scrunched eyebrows

then you chuckled dryly

‘yea, okay sure. im okay now so you can go to class’

wOW OIKAWA DESERVES BETTER WHAT

tooru was taken aback

‘wh-what? thats it? after i just told you that i liked you?’

you blinked at him

‘what do you want me to say about that, oikawa? how do you want me to react? im not like your fangirls, squealing and shit’

your words cut deep in him and oikawa held your arm

‘no wait a minute. what do you mean by that? do you not believe me?’

‘who the hell believes something that’s fake?’

there was a snip in your tone and oikawa knew you were talking about this facade of his

‘what? i-’

‘you think i believe you? you telling me you like me? do you even know who you are?’

you asked and tooru sniffled, eyes staring at your chest

‘for years, you told people what you wanted them to hear, regardless if you meant them or not. not once have you ever told them no. who the hell accepts chocolates when they dont even like them to begin with?’

at that last part, oikawa snapped up to meet your eyes

‘how did you know’

you rolled your eyes

‘our brothers are friends, idiot. he gave him some of the chocolates you gave to takeru since the brat couldnt eat them all’

oddly, that brought some warmth in tooru’s chest

so he wasnt the only one who knows the stupid stuff

but you continued on your rant

‘for a guy who doesnt like sweet stuff, youve accepted their nasty treats all the time, like why? oh, wait i know why, because you want them to like you. it doesnt matter if-if this-this persona of yours isnt real because as long as they like you, you dont give a fuck. isn’t that true? am i right? because please, prove me wrong’

maybe your dislike for him came out at that tangent and you half expected him to cry but you were surprised when he glared at you with teary eyes

‘i will. ill prove you wrong, m/n, that i do like you and i will make you like me. ill make you like me with the real me. i swear.’

‘mhm. okay. sure, oikawa’

do you regret it?

i mean,,,

kinda?

but not really?

because you loved watching the girls faces fall when oikawa rejected their treats the next day

you were walking to class when you noticed him with his cult by the entrance and you saw him smiling at some girl before gently pushing away a can of cookies

‘gomen. i actually dont like sweets that much anymore. if you want, you can give me milk bread?’

you stopped and oikawa caught your eye and he grinned

you nodded in greeting before continuing to walk

but he noticed a small smile on your face and gosh oikawa sighed like a lovesick fool

it took iwaizumi to finally send him back and his fangirls were looking at him worriedly

‘could you be less obvious, shittykawa?’

rip iwaizumi hajime in episode 546546546 of daily adventures of oikawa tooru

you noticed that oikawa has started to become distant with his fangirls and hes been sticking to you during lunch, leaving behind the others

makki and mattsun looked like proud parents as they peered down over to you flicking oikawa’s forehead and they smiled

‘god, that kid deserves this’

‘hah? that sounds like more of a punishment to me. but i dont care. it takes him off our hands for a while’

IWA I SWEAR HES SO MEAN BUT HE STILL WUVS TOORU SO ITS OKAY

oikawa would pick your brother up and take him home when youre too busy to go get him yourself and sometimes, he even takes your little sister too which causes them to have a mini sleepover and you sleep there too

also, whenever youre working in the convenience store, tooru would buy sandwhiches and a drink just for you so you can eat them while youre on break and not have to waste money and you told himyou dont want him spending money on you but he doesnt wanna hear it

‘i dont want you buying me-’

‘ssshhhh dont. im doing this because i want to and becaus i care for you, m/n-chan’

overtime, 

yea

sure

youve started to like him

youve started looking forward to seeing his stupidly cute face and his stupidly cute giggle

you went to his games and gave him a tight hug when hes about to play as a ritual for good luck and you would open your arms for him wide whenever he wins

then he didnt

against shiratorizawa, you noticed how he was so disappointed

even as you walked home with him, he continued to smile and tell you how good his team played

until you couldnt take it anymore

you pulled him over to some alleyway and you pushed him to the wall

DSKLFJLSDKFJLSDFJ WOW WHAT

oikawa nervously fiddled with his jacket and gave you a shaky smile

‘m/n-chan, what are you-’

‘tell me what youre feeling right here, right now. no bullshit, no lies, tell me everything in that pretty head of yours’

you deadpanned and tooru looked away

‘im fine’

‘are you lying to me, tooru?’

your voice was even but he could tell you were serious

he gulped before taking in a shakey breath

‘im fine. so stop asking about it!’

he exclaimed and you sighed

‘listen, i know its not official yet but you want me to be your boyfriend right?’

tooru flinched before he flushed at the word ‘boyfriend’ 

then he nodded

‘as your boyfriend, you have to lean on me, tooru. i dont want you to hold it to yourself because i wanna be there for you and i want to go through everything with you because i,,,,,’

you stopped and hesitated, debating if you should say it or not

‘because i like you, idiot’

you confessed and swallowed thickly

oikawa met your eye and his eyes watered

‘im so angry! im so disappointed! but i know my team did their 110 percent! we’re just not strong enough! so its not their fault! but ushijima is such a freak and hes too strong and its not fair!’

he complained and he cried loudly

not once in the 3 years of knowing oikawa have you seen him cry and you were so proud of him for being able to trust you enough to show him being vulnerable

you rushed forward held him close to your chest

‘for what it’s worth, you looked so incredibly hot and cute playing’

you whispered and pecked his neck 

of course oikawa couldnt hold his surprise at the feeling of your lips on his neck so he squealed a little

you gigled and continued holding your boyfriend close, even if it was at some nasty alleyway

yall became official and ngl, they didnt see this coming

some nobody dating the grand king oikawa tooru?

what in the wattpad?

yall know that tiktok of like ‘guys you cant dm me anymore. i have a girlfriend now. what else? and i love her’

IF YALL DONT KNOW IM SORRY

but you totally made oikawa tell his fangirls that

YOU KNOW THE FUNNY THING?

when yall became official, you actually gained your own little fanclub

maybe its because you gained clout from your boyfriend but they started noticing you and wowza you were hot

before, it was you getting jealous over tooru but now, it was him getting possessive of you

hes such a brat that he sits on your lap before class and youre just all smirking and feeling all good bc your baby is so cute when hes jealous

YOU CANT DISAGREE THAT HE DOESNT RADIATE UKE ENERGY

but all oiks has to do is pull down your collar and expose your purple littered collarbones and they will know who you belong to

theres a reason why iwa-chan is now the kids babysitter

youre still kinda cold and distant to people but youre soft for your baby and you always hold him close when hes in sight and you just cant get enough of him

:’)

also!! 

your sister loves dressing you up and oikawa has his sisters makeup and they both do your makeup and you guys have tea party with the boys and just the cutest domestic stuff

you still call him idiot though

but like affectionately yanno?

and over the years youve turned it down to dummy

and ngl tooru loves it when you call him that

what in the dumbification-

because he knows that equivalent to babe from you and he absolutely just loves you lmao

youre def the more quieter and calmer one in the relationship like you absolutely dont react much

while tooru is the overreactor and hes very animated with his facial expressions and stuff

like the one time

he was cooking some chicken pasta and you cheekily grabbed a piece of chicken and he made a dramatic gasp

‘*le gasp* oikawa m/n how dare steal a piece of chicken!’

you cackled before crossing your arms at the sight ofyour lover with his pursed lips and hands on his hips

‘excuse you. its more of you who’d take my last name’

it was so easy to make him flustered and tooru quickly turned around to tend back to the food but he was really just hiding his red face

‘b-baka. thats not going to happen’

‘not if i do it first’

you shrugged and smirked, wondering if he will fall for it

and as expected with oikawa tooru

‘yea okay sure’

‘i will!’

‘prove me wrong, m/n-chan~’

‘turn around right now’

oikawa rolled his eyes playfully before turning with a smile

‘what are you-*le gasp part 2*’

his hands covered his mouth at the sight of you there in front of him, kneeling on your knee tightly clutching a silver ring between your thumb and index finger

your heart was thrumming in your chest but you gulped and smiled

‘i win. now marry me, dummy’

oikawa screamed

a/n: sorry if this sucked booty :((( but i just really like the thought of uke oikawa and just him with a cute boyfriend for a change like please we all know oikawa is a bi king and thats on docosahexaenoic acid

[amazingphanisnotonfire-imagines]

Steve//Boys Like You

Okay, so this doesn’t exactly follow the Steve/Nancy plot of season 2 (or at least I don’t think it does) but, I really like it so I don’t care. Anyway! Enjoy! And yes, I am now becoming a Stranger Things stan account. Sweet Pea who? I only know Steve Harrington. (based off this song)

“And then she said it was all bullshit. Like our entire relationship and everything.” Steve is sat on your couch at 2am, sobbing into your chest. He turned up twenty minutes ago, tears flowing freely down his cheeks and a look of defeat on his face. 

You’d of course let him in, glad that your parents were out of town for the week. Ever since you’d known Steve Harrington, you’d followed him around like a lost puppy. Wherever he was, you were right by his side. Well, more behind him slightly, kinda in the background. There enough for him to notice you, but never enough, and usually when he needed you. 

You knew that you could get better friends, you were pretty, funny and smart. But there was just something about the brown-eyed boy with the brilliant hair that pulled you in and kept you hooked. So much so that by the time it was your senior year, you were madly in love with him, watching him pursue a girl that just didn’t seem that interested in him. 

However you were there to pick up the pieces, like you always were. And tonight seemed to be one of those nights. He’d been to Tina’s Halloween party, something that you weren’t invited to, by Tina or Steve for that matter. But you had other things to do anyway. You’d just been about to fall asleep when he knocked on the door, and now your trying your best to comfort him, even though the girl he was madly in love with, had just broken his heart and left him for another boy. 

“It’s okay Stevie.” You soothe, the nickname that you’d used for him since you could remember, rolled off your tongue like second nature and he smiled at the comfort. “She’s just drunk. She probably won’t even remember it in the morning.” 

“I don’t know if that makes it better or worse.” He sighs and you look at him sympathetically, running your fingers through his hair. There was only a few people that had the privilege of touching his hair, and you were one of the lucky ones. 

“Better. There’s always a tomorrow to talk things through and make things right.” 

“How did I get so damn lucky to have you as a friend?” He asks, wonder lacing his voice and you blush profusely. 

“Luck, I guess.” You shrug and he shakes his head, laughing softly. 

“Nah, it’s more than that. You’re the best thing in my life.” He says, and grabs your hand, giving it a tight squeeze. He drops it before you even have the chance to comprehend what was happening and you can’t help but feel disappointment rise.

“Shouldn’t you be saying that to your girlfriend.” You roll your eyes. 

“Nope. Because I’m saying it to you. Y/n Y/l/n. You are the best thing in my life.” He repeats himself, but there’s something in his voice thats holding him back. You know he’s lying. You know it’s always going to be Nancy Wheeler, but for just one night you can pretend that he actually meant that. You know what you look like to him, you know what you are to him. You’re his childhood best friend that has followed him blindly and not minded being put in the background, just as long as she gets to hang around with him. 

“Sure I am.” You roll your eyes again. “You keep telling yourself that Harrington, I’m going to bed. You coming?” 

“Yeah.” He shrugs and stands up, holding his hand out towards you. You gladly take it and he pulls you up, rather aggressively. So much so that you fall slightly into his chest and he grabs your arms to steady you. You tilt your head up to look at him and he’s already smiling back at you. That signature Steve Harrington smile that has made every single girl in Hawkins High fall in love with him. 

“Steve?” You ask, breaking the silence. He hums in response, still staring down at you, a soft expression in his eyes that makes you melt. “How are you feeling?” 

“Much better after seeing you.” He replies and you giggle softly. The two of you stare at each other for a few moments longer, and you swear he’s leaning into you. His gaze flickers between your eyes and your lips, and then he’s pressing his lips against yours, igniting a flame deep inside you. Steve Harrington is kissing you! Holy shit. You kiss back, just as cautiously, but his hands fall to your hips, pulling you closer to him and your arms wrap around his neck, deepening the kiss. However he pushes you away from him, staring at you wide eyed and breathless. You’re looking back at him, also breathless and blushing, but your heart feels like its just been put through a lawn mower. 

“I’m so sorry.” He stammers and runs his hand through his hair. “I shouldn’t have done that. I really shouldn’t have done that.”

“It’s fine.” You reassure him, taking a few steps towards him but he stumbles backwards and there’s another sharp pain shooting through your chest. The way he’s looking at you is as if you’ve just told him that there’s mythical creatures roaming Hawkins. He’s looking at you as if you’re a stranger. 

“I’m gonna go home.” He shakes his head and you reach for his hand but he pulls away. “This was such a huge mistake. I’m so sorry. “ 

“Steve.” You call after him, but he’s already out the door and down your drive. He can move fast when he really doesn’t want to be around someone. 

Tears fall freely down your face as you climb into bed. The covers are over your head, something you used to do as a child when you were upset. Usually if someone had said something mean to you, or if Steve had stolen one of your toys and refused to give it back (until his mother told him too). Now you’re just one of his toys, there when he needs something to keep him entertained and easily put back when ‘better’ is found. He’s always walked around like he could charm the birds from the trees, and he can. He charms you every time, tonight has proven it. 

And you fall for it. Every single stereotype. The Jock. The most popular boy in school. The boy that has a hidden softer side. Girl in love with her best friend. Oh wait, that was you. 

-------

The next day at school, Steve has been avoiding you like the plague. However, you manage to catch him at the gym. He’s playing basketball, however it looks like he’s been put on the bench for a while so you take the chance while you can. 

Sitting beside him on the bleachers. He doesn’t notice you at first, but once he does, you can see the disappointment settle in his eyes when he sees its you and not Nancy so you take a deep breath. 

“How are you feeling Stevie?” You ask and nudge him softly. The nickname leaves a bad taste in your mouth today. It doesn’t sound right. 

“Alright.” He shrugs and stares straight ahead at the game. 

“Why you been put on then bench?” 

“Hargrove.” He mutters. 

“Ah...do you wanna talk about last night?”

“No!” He replies loudly and you flinch. 

“Steve, we can’t ignore it forever. You’ve been avoiding me all day and I can’t deal with it. Just talk to me Stevie.” You force the nickname out this time and try to run your fingers through his hair, even though its kinda gross with sweat, but he pulls away. For a simple gesture, it stings like hell and you have to fight the urge to cry. 

“You just can’t help it Steve!” You shout gaining the attention of the basketball players. The game has stopped and the team are staring at the two of you. 

“What are you talking about?” He asks, running a hand over his face. 

“Are you being serious right now? You know, yesterday! At my house. Where we ki-” 

“Shhhh.” He shushed you, moving towards you quickly and glancing around the gym. Is he being serious right now? 

“Its how you were taught to love, and it’s shitty, but I still take it. You expect to keep a hoard of girls to follow you around. I always feel so lucky to hear your lines, just like the others do. But you pick us up when you and your girlfriend have a fight, and then drop us the next day when she’s sober and being nice to you again. You’re playing pretend Steve! When are you going to see that. There’s a name for boys like you-” 

“Oh yeah? And what is it!” He interrupts you and you raise an eyebrow. Before you have the chance to answer, Nancy’s voice rings through the hall and you sigh loudly.

“Steve?” She asks, a look of annoyance and confusion etched onto her face. He pulls away from you quickly and practically jogs to catch up with Nancy. They both walk out, leaving you standing alone. Again. 

“Fucking great.” You mutter before turning and walking the other way. 

In hindsight, some people would say that this was your own fault. Robin had warned you to not go there, when she caught you staring at him. The two of you had been paired up for some project when she was put in one of your advanced classes. And even though at the time you just rolled your eyes and laughed it off, your now thinking that the younger girl was onto something. 

Apparently you seem to love a nightmare, or at least you did. Actually who are you kidding, you still love him. You just can’t help it. Its gonna take more than this for you to get over him. 

-----

It’s been three days and you and Steve have avoided each other as if your life depended on it. Well, it was mainly Steve doing the avoiding but what can you do? 

You’re stood at your locker, Carol and Tommy talking about something that happened at another party you weren’t invited to, when they’re interrupted by Steve. He greets them and they make small talk for a few minutes before they start to bicker. You’ve busied yourself with your locker at this point, not wanting to be involved in any of their conversations. But when Nancy taps your shoulder you have no choice but to turn around and face them. 

“So, I heard about you and Steve.” She starts and your mouth goes dry. “About the argument you had the night of the party.” Of course. “And I want you to know that even though he would never admit it, he’s sorry. Aren’t you Stevie?” She smiles up at him and your vision blurs with tears. 

“Er, yeah.” He rubs the back oh his neck nervously. 

“Okay.” You nod your head. 

“Anyway.” He continues. “Me and Nance are back together.” He wraps an arm around her waist before pressing a kiss to the top of her head. A soft smile appears on her lips as she looks at him. The two of them start making out, meaning Tommy and Carol are shoving their tongues down each others throats before you can even say another word. Leaving you to lean against your locker awkwardly, and look anywhere but either in front of you or to your left. 

“Isn’t that great.” Nancy smiles brightly as she pulls away.  

“...yeah.” You force a smile. She seems to believe it, and the two of them start to talk to Carol and Tommy. 

And once again, you’re pushed into the background. 

part 2 part 3 part 4

[heathendolan]

Little Luke McIver (G.D)

Summary: Kindergarten teacher Grayson Dolan is the only one who can crack the shell of Luke McIver, your newest case in social work. So you’ll need him to stick around.

Author’s Note: Hi everyone, this is again a newer branch for me; it’s mainly focused on the relationship between (y/n) and luke and then luke and grayson instead of being complete romance. if that isn’t for you, i totally get it!!! but it was again fun to step out of my comfort zone and try something. extended author’s note

Warnings: PLEASE READ!!! child abuse, social work, a little bit sad. if any of this bothers you PLEASE don’t read, i really did my research to be as precise as i could be!! but it could still be triggering !!!!!

Word Count: 15.2K+ || masterlist

It hadn't changed a bit.

There, a hundred yards away, stood your beloved elementary school in its glory: chipping paint, rusted sign, and all. You weren't one to deny yourself of a smile. It had been eons since you'd visited this place, but it was still nostalgic and vivid and bursting with memories; you'd hardly stepped foot on the property and you'd already spotted the pole Caleb VanDyke stuck his tongue to in third grade.

You crept up the sidewalk with your binder tucked under your arm, hopped about in your heels, and narrowly dodged the forbidden obstacles--cracks--etching the dull pavement. Along the sidewalk were mementos, engraved and painted in the cement, dating all the way back to the early 1980s. It was tradition for the kindergarteners to add their addition with their teeny, tiny, creative brains, and you nearly gasped when you stumbled upon your own handprint, embedded near the benches, basking in the hot August sun. You slumped down to your knees and flattened your hand (now ginormous in comparison) to the shallow crater and marveled. Marveled at how quickly twenty years had slipped on by without you ever noticing the size of your hands.

"Crazy, innit?"

You jumped to your full height, wobbled under the instability of your heels, and smoothed out your pencil skirt with dusty hands. Tucking your hair behind your ears, you turned to face your attacker.

"Jeez Hun, I didn't mean to scare you!" the lady cried, pressing a hand to her heart and enveloping you with the other.

"Mrs. Hoffmann! Oh my god, I'm sorry I just-"

"No, don't apologize, that was completely my fault!"

"No, seriously, I am so jumpy that I just-"

At once, you both realized how unnecessarily kind and apologetic you were being and huffed a chuckle. "My, how you've grown," she simpered, cupping your face between two hands before tugging you into one of her famous bear hugs. You smiled into her shoulder and realized she hadn't changed that much, either; you'd seen her all throughout high school when she popped by the boutique you had worked at, and aside from a few more pairs of crow's feet and some greying roots, she was practically untouched, well into her late forties. She was kind and had a heart twice the size of anyone you'd ever met. And she was beautiful; she always had been. "You're so old now," she said. "Making me feel like some ancient ruin."

You giggled and shook your head. "Not a chance, you're still kickin'! It's going to be so weird counseling little mini-me's," you gushed, wrapping your arms around yourself. You stared at your feet and smirked at the handprints of classmates you'd graduated with. "I feel like I should still be wearing light-up sketchers, not these... death traps," you laughed, kicking your heel up.

She chuckled and slipped her arm around you and escorted you into the entryway. Almost instantly, your brain bloomed with memories upon memories upon memories. "Do you know where you're going, Honey?" she asked as the two of you pulled up to a fork.

You nodded and waved her goodbye with a promise to catch up soon, and then dashed away, beelining for your office.

Your office. What a phrase.

There, you frowned at the blankness, the blandness, the bareness of the walls and decided two things: one, that you had to redecorate this cell, and two, that you would be the best elementary counselor this world had ever seen.

-

Easier said than done.

"Luke, hi!" you cheered as Cory, Principal Larson, coaxed a boy, maybe five years old, into your office.

A few weeks had passed and your job, so far, had been less than flashy. You'd resolved tearful playground disputes and consoled cafeteria tantrums and, well, not much else. It was a blur of meetings, hissy fits, and really bad school coffee. You'd made a mental note to buy your own Keurig.

But Luke was different, and you could see that right away.

Cory hung in the doorway, nearly barricading Luke in as the kid fought his way around the large man. Luke already had tears sprung in his eyes, a pitiful frown, and an overall, seemingly permanent, aura that oozed with fear. His tiny hands were fisted by his sides and his curls dangled protectively over his big doe eyes and something painful, something piercing, poked at your heart when you realized Luke needed your help a lot more than any of those kids on the playground. Luke really, really needed your help.

So, you bounced out of your chair and scurried over to Luke and bent at knee level and swept a warm hand over his shoulder. "Hey Luke, can we talk for a little? Not too long, I promise" you pleaded softly, hoping to catch his eye. But Luke was staring at the floor, blankly, stubbornly. And a tear rolled off his nose. "I've got it from here, Mr. Larson," you whispered, nodding up at Cory.

You held onto Luke's hand as you shut the door, careful to make sure he didn't just bolt right out. "Wanna sit in the beanbag?" you smirked, thumbing to the cushy, plump seat tucked in the corner. It was every kid's favorite. Luke looked at it longingly before shaking his head, hopping on the rigid desk chair far, far away from you, and staring at the ground again.

Luke was small. Smaller than most of his class, you'd assumed, with his skeletal arms and equally skinny legs. He wore a grey Power Rangers shirt that practically dwarfed him and brown cargo pants that rode up his ankles. His shoes were a dull, gunky yellow with dozens of holes and, from the looks of it, Luke's feet were bare of socks. Luke was textbook poor.

And poor-spirited, it seemed as well. You'd seldom seen a kid so quiet. You were so busy studying him you'd hardly realized minutes had passed on the clock without a single word exchanged. No, Luke just sat there, cowering under your gaze, staring at the ground. Luke was well practiced in the art of silence.

And that just wasn't okay, nor was it natural. Kids had technicolor brains bursting with imagination and creativity and words. Kids would scream and shout and run amuck and yell; kids would talk--if you let them.

"Luke," you began, fumbling for words that could fill the dreary silence that suffocated your office. "Luke, what's your favorite color?"

Luke looked up at you with his big doe eyes and a quivering lip and sat on his hands. He kept looking at you, tears in his eyes, tremor in his jaw, and stared. Stared for minutes. Stared for hours, it felt like. You weren't going to rush him, Luke should take as long as he wanted.

But then he was sniffling, and a pitched, strangled whimper echoed from his mouth and you wondered how you could possibly fix this.

C'mon, you went to school for this. Speak!

"Luke, wanna know something cool?" you asked, leaning over the desk as he tucked in on himself. "This room? It's the safest place in the world."

To that, Luke's cries cut off. He was now just staring at you with his big, big brown eyes and waiting.

"I'm serious, this place is protected," you nodded.

In the smallest, most broken voice, Luke asked, "From what?"

You smiled your kindest smile and said, "Can you keep a secret?" He looked to either side of him, made sure the coast was clear before he nodded. "Luke, this place is protected by magic," you whispered. "Fairies and wizards. Swear," you said. Luke's doe eyes got even rounder. "So we can tell secrets and no one will find out. Soundproof," you explained with confidence, knocking on the wall theatrically. "Which is why I can give you this, and nobody will ever know."

You dug in your drawer and pulled out a sucker and tossed it his way, watching as he marveled at the little treat plopped in his lap. "Thank you, Ms. (Y/L/N)..." Luke breathed, stuffing the candy in his pocket.

"You can call me (Y/N)," you grinned. "But only my friends get to call me (Y/N), okay?"

Luke nodded, a ghost of a smile on his lips.

With the full understanding that these things take time, that Luke needed space--and by the looks of it, a lot of space--and that he would work his way up to trust, you asked, "Luke, can I see you in a couple days? Would that be okay?"

Luke didn't answer, he simply leaped from his chair and darted out the door, and left you with a low, low spirit.

-

"Hey," Cory mumbled, tapping on your door. "Get 'im to crack?"

You grimaced and shook your head. "No, I didn't. It's going to take time--and I mean time. He hardly breathes in the same room as me," you groaned, digging your fingers into your scalp. "Scares me to think about what might be going on at home."

Cory sighed. “Yeah, the kid’s a little... I mean, the teachers notice it, you know? I know you know, you’ve dealt with this stuff before,” Cory shrugged, frowning at his polished shoes.

But you hadn’t dealt with this stuff before. You were fresh out of your master’s with minimal experience. Your internship was borderline bogus.

“Yeah, I don’t know, stuff never gets easier,” you mumbled.

And that wasn’t entirely a lie. You imagined you’d feel the same way about Luke as any of the other kids whose shells needed cracking, whose homes needed relocating. No one wanted to deal with this stuff, this heartbreak of a job. But someone had to.

“Just... keep me updated, alright? Let me know if you need help with anything,” Cory said. “And I’ll let Luke’s teachers know what’s going on. I mean, it’s only kindergarten but you never know what tricks Mr. Dolan is pulling,” he chuckled, smirking to himself.

A thick glob of spit lodged itself in your throat at the mention of a ‘Mr. Dolan’, and you began coughing and wheezing and making a scene at once.

Growing in a town that size with a family as known as the Dolans were, there were only two possibilities for who ‘Mr. Dolan’ could be. Grayson, and Grayson.

You’d hardly been keeping tabs, but Ethan had boomed as a traveling photographer and Cameron was most definitely not a ‘Mr.’, and Sean was still the superintendent of the district (and had hired you). And, unless there was a new clan of Dolans in town, ones that weren’t half as gorgeous, you were very, very stressed.

You hadn’t seen Grayson since a small town, Christmas-break party. Limited interaction was how you liked it; Grayson made you (and the rest of the Long Valley population) clutzy, stuttery, and blushy—a few of your least favorite things to be.

It was nothing more than the fact that Grayson was gorgeous. And kind. And so, so polite. Every mom spent their Sundays praying their daughters would woo him and their sons would follow in his golden boy footsteps. He was Long Valley’s most beloved and there was no shame in admitting that you had also fallen victim to his spell; everyone loved Grayson, and that was that. But of course, that fucker picked something as absolutely adorable as Kindergarten education.

“(Y/N)? Are you okay? Here, drink some water,” Cory urged, patting your back and sliding you your water bottle.

Red in the face, you hacked before saying hoarsely, “All good.”

Not all good.

-

"Mrs. Hoffmann, hi!" you cried, stepping into the coffee shop and greeting her with a hug. She buried you in the warmth of he fur-lined parka and you accepted it with appreciation; this October had been particularly chilly in New Jersey with its barren trees and its frosted lawns, and cold meant the need for, well, coats. Your thoughts drifted back to little Luke McIver with his Power Rangers shirt and his brown cargo capris and his canary yellow, many-holed shoes. He needed a hug from Ms. Hoffmann and her big parka.

"Ugh, how are the roads?" she asked conversationally. "Are they slippery? This morning it was just pouring, I'm almost afraid it'll freeze over."

You nodded along. "No, yeah they were slippery. I nearly drifted pulling into Cozy Corner just now," you expounded, pointing to the entrance near the coffee shop.

She shook her head with disgust. "Guess you can't hope for a late winter here in Jersey. I'll for sure be getting a pumpkin spice latte with this weather."

And so, you sat down with your mugs in hand and huddled in the overstuffed loveseat and chatted for hours about the new boutique that had popped up on fifth street and the old bowling alley being torn down. She was, without a doubt, one of the kindest people you'd ever met: she bought your coffee and tipped 50%, offered up her coat as a blanket for the two of you, and complimented your very lazy outfit. This was no surprise to you; this woman was magical, and you'd known it since you were five. It felt like an honor to even sit and chat.

"So, I have to ask and I don't mean to offend, promise," she started. "but what exactly are you? Like, at the school? Do you work outside of the school too? I feel like such a loon, but I've really fallen out of the times-"

"Ms. Hoffmann, please," you snorted, laying a hand on her forearm that was dancing all about.

"And would you quit calling me Ms. Hoffmann! Call me Nancy, Honey."

"Okay, Nancy," you giggled. "I went to school and got my masters in counseling psychology and a bachelor's in social work. So, I work as both in the school. So, if a student were to be dealing with mental health issues, I could, you know, help them out as any counselor would, but if their problems are stemming from their home life, well then I move about and-"

"Hun, you know I'm in the system, right?" she smiled gently.

"What? You're kidding," you gaped. "You're a social worker?"

"Well no," she laughed. "No, I double-majored in elementary education and social work and then when I got out, I decided I'd just be a teacher for awhile and get my feet on the ground, and then I fell in love with teaching. I absolutely love the kids and after I got tenured, I just... I never went back to fulfill that part of the degree. I kind of wonder sometimes, what it would have been like, but I've never regretted it. Of course, it would have been fun if Steve and I could have fostered some kiddos," she smiled sadly. "Or had some. But, things don't always work out in your favor, I guess."

Her eyes glassed over and she clasped her hands tightly under the coat, fisting a wad of the material. It was a tragedy what happened to the Hoffmanns; a few years into their marriage, Nancy miscarried once, then twice. There was only so much gift baskets and get well soon cards could do. She was lonely without kids, that much was obvious. You supposed being a kindergarten teacher was as good as it could have possibly gotten for a woman with her circumstances, but they always left after nine months and change. It wasn't the same.

You grabbed her hand from under the coat and rubbed a thumb over her knuckles.

She laughed breathlessly and said, "Not that- not that we should delve into something so cynical, I-"

You lifted a hand to her to stop her unnecessary apology. "Mrs. Hoffmann-"

"Nancy."

"Nancy, this is my job, being a shoulder to cry on. Never apologize to me for such a trivial thing as uncorking your emotions. We all need to, sometimes. Be my guest," you urged.

And she did. She talked about the ache to buy Christmas toys and back-to-school supplies, how she ached when she received graduation cards from past students and Christmas cards from past families. Ached when people told her to 'get a dog, it's basically the same thing.' Ached when Steve played with little ones and looked so natural, so right. Ached when students accidentally called her mom.

"You're so good at this," she sniffled, wiping her nose with her macaron's napkin. "The words just come pouring out, I haven't told anyone this stuff in years."

You nibbled on your lip, feeling that certain pride that comes with intimacy. "Sometimes I can crack shells, sometimes I can't," you admitted. "There's a student, and I just... can't get him to budge. Not an inch."

She frowned and patted your leg soothingly. "He'll come around. Kids are weird, sometimes," she giggled. "Like Grayson Dolan was telling me about this girl, Piper Conrad, just flopping on the carpet and making a snow angel in the middle of class and- why are you blushing?"

Heat was boiling your face at the mere mention of Grayson Dolan. It was pathetic. "Blushing? I'm not, I'm- this pumpkin spice is just really seasoned, the nutmeg in it is just-"

"Grayson Dolan," she gasped, piecing the bits together. "Oh (Y/N), tell me about it. That man's a hunk. Didn't you graduate with him? I get it, I really do; if he weren't half my age and miles out of my league and I wasn't married I would just-"

"Nancy!" you cried with laughter, shushing her confession. "Nancy, I don't like him. There's nothing there, he probably doesn't even know I exist, it's been like, seven years since I've seen him."

She smirked and nodded sardonically. "But he will. Just you wait until we have a workshop day, oh you are so-"

"I am so nothing! You pipe down, missy."

"Right," she laughed. "Well, let me buy you another coffee for your troubles, listening to this old hoot cry a hurricane, and let's head on out. I think the roads are going to freeze over, after all," she frowned as looked out the window. "Hopefully this latte will keep you warm in place of Mr. Dolan."

-

On Thursday, Luke was again seated in his rickety, uncomfortable chair in the back corner, far as far could be from you. He was wearing his brown too-short pants and his grey too-big Power Rangers shirt and his ochre too-many-holed shoes again. No socks, big brown eyes, and a raw bitten lip—Luke looked about as sad as you’d think.

“Luke, how have you been the past couple days?” you asked quietly, approaching the subject as gently as you’d approach a tortured animal.

Luke looked tired. And lost. And cold; New Jersey’s lawns were crisp with frost on that October morning with a thick mask of fog settling in the air, and the school had yet to crank the heat on in an effort to save money. Of course, this typically wasn’t a problem—most kids had jackets, or at least sweatshirts. You suspected that might be a problem for Luke.

Luke didn’t answer you.

“Luke?” you coaxed.

He tucked his lips under his teeth and clenched his tiny little jaw and visibly fought back tears.

And he sat like that for the whole hour. You would have sat there the whole day with Luke, waiting, pleading with him to let you help him, but Luke had lunch.

When the bell chimed, he hopped off his seat and dashed towards the door, but paused. “(Y/N)?” he whispered, his voice crackly and dry.

“Yeah, Luke?”

“Mommy said fairies don’t exist,” he sniffled, hand on the door handle. “Mommy said you lied to me.”

Your heart wrenched deep in your chest, the physical symptoms of heartbreak bustling within you. Luke looked at you with his big doe eyes and you looked back with all the sadness in the world and then, then you noticed.

You noticed that the collar of his oversized tee had slipped down to expose his shoulder, which had an enormous bruise. It was green and violet and nearly theatrical in size; it was nauseating, this bruise on little Luke’s shoulder.

With a shaking voice, you asked, “Luke, where’d you get-“

Luke beelined out of your office and into the hall. You scooted out of your chair and crept behind him, desperate to just get this one secret out. That would be all it took; one admission and Luke could live such a better life.

But as you rounded the corner, you found Luke wrapped around the leg of Grayson Dolan, sobbing profusely into his dress pants. Grayson had a hand on his head, ruffling the curls that dangled above his eyes with the most sympathetic of frowns. And then, Grayson ducked to eye level and enveloped Luke in a bear hug—one as gentle as himself—and nodded along with his warbles.

“Luke, can you tell me what’s wrong?” Grayson pleaded, searching the boy’s eyes.

Luke grabbed ahold of Grayson’s tie and buried his nose into his chest and shook his head. Luke then heaved a deep breath, scrubbed his eyes of well-deserved tears, and bounded off to the cafeteria, grey shirt flowing behind him.

And Grayson stood and watched him scamper all the way down the hall. And then Grayson rubbed at his eyes and turned back into his classroom and closed the door.

-

Luke was sobbing, absolutely bawling in his stiff, creaky chair, and you had absolutely no way to help.

And you felt like such an idiot, because you went to school for this damn it. Seven years of education in counseling psychology and your first patient wouldn't even talk to you after four sessions. But he was crying. And you were doing nothing.

Panic rose in your throat as you realized how useless, how absolutely incompetent you were sitting there, watching Luke wail in his seat. You'd tried; he had stumbled into your office by the guidance of Cory once more and promptly sobbed. You asked him gently, then firmly, why he was upset, what was wrong, how you could help but Luke was deaf to your pleads and questions.

With hardly any direction, you did something thoughtless. Completely, ridiculously senseless.

You hopped from your seat--abandoned Luke in your office--and sped to Grayson Dolan's room down the hall.

You weren't thinking (clearly), you were just doing, acting, hoping something, or someone, could tear down this child's indestructible walls. Because you hadn't stopped thinking about that bruise--that monstrous bruise--since you saw it, and you wanted him to get help. You wanted this kid to have all the love in the world.

So, you clacked down the hall in your heels and scampered up to Grayson's door, knocking tentatively and then urgently. From outside the door, you called, "Grays- Um, Mr. Dolan, I- I know this sounds crazy, but-"

The door swung open to reveal Grayson a pair of wide eyes and a slackened jaw. "(Y/N) (Y/L/N)? Is that-?"

"I really need you to just, just come with me," you begged, verging tears, grabbing ahold of his forearm and tugging him behind you.

Grayson stumbled behind you, his shoes slapping the linoleum, and rushed up to your side. "Damn, you can walk fast in those heels," he panted to your left. Panicky tears sprung in your eyes and you curled your hand into a fist tight, tight, and pinched yourself a painful distraction. "Hey, what's going on?" Grayson murmured, slow and deep and warm.

You scrunched your face unattractively and pinched the bridge of your nose. "I- Mr. Dolan-"

"(Y/N), it's me. Grayson," he muttered sternly, grabbing your arm and halting the two of you.

You pulled at his hand and said, "No, we need to keep going, I-"

"(Y/N)." he commanded, sternness wired hard in his voice.

You whined oh-so-pathetically and shook your head. "You're going to think I'm such an idiot because I can't do my own job, like I'm over here asking you to do my-"

"You work here?" Grayson asked with a knit in his brows.

With exasperation, you sighed, "Yes. Yes, I'm a counselor and Luke McIver is sitting in my office and-"

"Luke McIver?" Grayson breathed. Without hesitation or a need for any explanation at all, he encased his hand in yours and dragged you down the hall, wordless and worrisome. Tailing behind Grayson (who was obviously handling this much better than you were), you snuck into your office and watched with wonder as he folded himself smaller than Luke, who was still gasping for breaths.  Grayson tucked himself up by Luke's side, wrapped his hands around Luke's forearms and rubbed soft circles in his boney flesh, and said, "Take a deep breath, we aren't going anywhere."

Luke's jaw clamped shut and the last few tears rolled down his rosy cheeks and he nodded his head. Luke felt safe.

His eyes, as doe-ish as they typically were, were soft around the edges. They were usually pried wide; his eyelashes tickled the tops of his brow bones and his beautiful brown irises drowned in a sea of white. He looked alert, always, and his blinks were few and far between. Now, Luke just looked tired. Like he'd never had a chance to just relax. And vulnerable, too. In a good way.

Grayson smiled to him and Luke smiled back. "Luke, we need to talk to you, and we need you to talk to us," Grayson murmured, rubbing a hand down Luke's shoulder.

Luke nodded. Grayson peeked over his shoulder at you and gestured vaguely for you to join them in their little huddle, so you slipped next to Grayson and fell on your knees and left your hands in your lap, far away from Luke. You weren't going to push your luck.

"Luke, how did you get that bruise on your shoulder?" you asked softly.

Grayson grabbed ahold of Luke's shaking hands. Luke said, almost robotically, "I was on the monkey bars and-"

Grayson shook his head. "Luke, please don't lie to me."

Luke's lip quivered and his face crumpled and he collapsed on Grayson's shoulder, burrowed his head into the crook of his neck and cradled himself, let Grayson hold him and just cried. Cried like he deserved to, cried like he wanted to, cried like he had to. Cried so long you had to sneak into the main office and call for a substitute teacher for Grayson's kindergarten class. And that was okay. Luke needed this.

You slinked behind your desk and clicked your pen, dug out your notepad and waited. Waited for Luke to calm down and unfold himself for you--for Grayson.

"She doesn't like when I come here," Luke muttered into the cloth of Grayson's dress shirt.

"Come where, buddy?"

"(Y/N)'s," he whined. "I told her, I told her that it was protected by fairies and wizards and she- she hit me right- right here," Luke blubbered, tugging on his Power Rangers shirt and exposing the battered skin of his skeletal shoulder. Grayson's face fell even more, his eyes downward and his face low. "And she- she told me that- she told me that (Y/N) lied to me and she took my sucker and she stomped on it and- and- and-"

"Luke, is that the only time she's hit you?" Grayson whispered.

"No, Mr. Dolan."

Your throat bobbed with emotion as you scribbled down notes furiously. Your handwriting was godawful and your hand was cramping but you wouldn't stop writing this child's story for the world. Even if it really, really hurt.

"She doesn't like when I come to school, either. She said that- that I shouldn't get all this food and all this heat and that I don't need to be away from home for seven hours. And she-"

You shoved all that emotion down and took the validity out of his words and just wrote. Just wrote, detached and factually.

Grayson had to suck up all the tears, had to soak in all this tragedy first hand. Luke was staring at him like he had all the answers to the world, like Grayson could solve his problems with his bare hands. And Grayson had to act like he could.

After hours of cries and admissions and a whole lot of heartbreak, the final bell chimed in the hall. Grayson turned to you in question, a tear slipping from his eye.

"Luke, can you sit in here for just a second? Just a quick second, we'll be back," you asked, looking at the boy with a cautious smile.

He nodded and you slipped into the hall, beckoning Grayson as you went. Shutting the door as gently as you could, you turned to find Grayson with his head guarded by his hands, his shoulders shaking. "He can't go back," he croaked with a crack in his voice. He lifted his face and it was blotchy and red and tear streaked and he said, "He absolutely cannot go back to that monster."

"I know, I know," you muttered, staring at your heels. "I- I need to make some phone calls and talk to some foster cares around the-"

"No," Grayson interrupted, steel in his tone. "This kid needs someone he can trust. I'll take him."

You laughed in disbelief, shaking your head. "No, that isn't how this works. First, I have to call Morris County human services and have them head over to Luke's house and take his mom into custody, and then I have to go over to Morris County Human Services and find him a caretaker for the next 72 hours.”

"So what, we just drop this kid off? Leave him completely alone? I just told him we wouldn't go anywhere," Grayson growled, flaring his nose.

You pressed your hand to your face with frustration and sighed. "No, I- I couldn't do that to Luke. I don't think I can take him into custody for too long because I'm a conflict of interest, but I'll take him until we can get a judge to sign off on a permanent foster care or a-"

"Luke doesn't need a temporary family. Luke needs a home," Grayson hissed.

Irritation built in your chest and you pinned him with a hard glare. "Do you think I don't know that? How do you think these things work, Grayson, we just throw him into a house, no legal document, no nothing, and send him off?"

"Well, of course not, I don't know what-"

"You're right, you don't. I might not seem like I know what I'm doing, and you've been the best help, but I know what to do now," you spoke evenly. You reached for your office's door handle but Grayson flattened his hand against the wood.

"So what, you're just ditching me? I can't help Luke through this? Last time I checked, I was the only one who could get him to talk, (Y/N). And I just told him I wasn't going anywhere," Grayson fumed, his voice low and cold.

You glanced at your toes and let the wheels turn in your head, round and about, until you sighed and threw caution to the wind. "Okay. Listen, you can... you can come check on him later tonight at my place and whatnot, you can even come to the court hearing. But if he finds a new home, I don't- I can't promise anything, Grayson. This isn't up to me; if it were, I'd just give you the fucking kid."

He breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped a hand around your shoulder, warm and firm and big. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," you muttered. "Here's my phone number... and my address..." you mumbled, rifling through the packet of notes you'd scribbled down while listening to Luke and tearing out a stray paper, jotting down both messily. "Now, I really need to get in there and make some phone calls."

-

There you stood, in Morris County Human Services, hand in hand with little Luke McIver. He was willing to hold your hand, which in itself was a feat, but distantly; the two of you were connected by the full lengths of your arms apart. He was staring at the kid's corner in the waiting room, watching an eight-year-old rumble around with dozens of colorful blocks longingly, frowning. Just as you were about to invite him to go play, a county social worker peeked their head out from the hallway. "Ms. (Y/L/N), come with me, please,"

You looked down at Luke and tugged on his palm, tilting your head towards the lady. "C'mon Luke," you encouraged, taking a step in her direction.

The two of you followed her into the narrow corridor, shuffling behind her as she led you past dozens of rooms. "Luke, you can take a seat in this room," she smiled, popping open a door. Inside was a room abundant with toys, games, and books galore. It was prismatic and bright and Luke looked at it with a glint in his big, big brown eyes and hurried inside. And then Luke plopped on a chair in the center of the room, sat all still, and the social worker shut the door before you could promise Luke that he could play with those toys.

"Ms. (Y/L/N), I'm Emily Bradshaw and I have some terrible news," she hushed, leading you down another hall, and then another, halting at a dead end in a secluded corner.

You weren't in the least surprised.

"Luke... has some bad luck, to put it lightly."

I know.

"There's no one we can put him in for custody. His dad's out of the picture, Uncle's a crack addict, Grandparents are dead, his other Uncle's in jail for felony charges and... well, we can't give him back to his mom, obviously. Not after what you told me," Emily murmured. "We don't have a single--and I mean, not a single--person available for this little guy."

You touched your forehead with heartbreak. "No siblings, right?"

"Nope."

"I- Emily, can I take him for the night then?" you asked, biting down on your lip nervously. "He's so fragile, Emily. He hardly trusts me, and it took weeks to get him to even talk in front of me. I don't want him with anyone else, he'll be absolutely scarred."

"(Y/N), I'm afraid you'll have to. Obviously, you can't take him longer than 72 hours, you're a-"

"Conflict of interest, I know. I- I'll look through the records and see if there's anyone in the system worth calling. This is just terrible," you breathed.

"You're telling me. I know this stuff happens all the time, but it never gets easier. God, poor kid," she whistled, scuffing her shoe on the linoleum floor. "You've got him until Monday, cause we can't collect him on Sundays. So, Monday at... 5:00 PM. Just- I know you don't need to be told, but just take care of him, okay? Kid's been through more than we know."

With that, the two of you walked your way back to Luke's playroom and knocked on the door, creaking it open. Inside, Luke sat on his stool, the room left completely as it was.

With a frown, you and Emily crept over to him and squatted to his level. "Luke, I'm going to take you to my house for the next couple days, is that okay?" you asked, tucking the bulk of your hair behind your ear.

He nodded, slipped off his chair, and grabbed your hand.

-

"Luke, just for tonight, we need to go get some PJ's for you, okay?" you offered, glancing in your rearview at Luke, who was strapped in the middle seat of your car.

"It's okay, I can sleep in this," Luke mumbled, playing with his fingers and glancing out the window. He was talking about his massive grey Power Rangers shirt and his teeny brown cargo pants.

You winced and stared at the road again. "Nope, we're getting you some super fuzzy PJs. And hot cocoa."

"What's hot cocoa?" Luke asked.

You shrugged a shoulder and grinned in the mirror. "You'll have to wait and see, Luke."

Inside the store, you stood in the kid's section, ogling the quality of each fleece lined item. You surfed through nautica-inspired, dinosaur patterned, and hot-wheel styled pajamas, entirely lost on what Luke liked best.

"Luke, which design's your favorite?" you asked tentatively.

"It doesn't matter," Luke mumbled, not even bothering to look from where he sat in your shopping cart.

So you grabbed all of them. And a huge, sherpa blanket, and a set of socks and underwear, and then it dawned on you.

"Luke, we're getting you some new clothes, too."

Ignorant to his declines, you ransacked the whole department of hoodies, long enough pants, tees, and finally, a new pair of shoes. And then, you wheeled him to the checkout, paid, and left for home.

-

Maybe: Grayson: It's Grayson, I'm coming over.

You: Bring hot cocoa I forgot to buy some at the store.

Grayson: Okay. On my way!

Your house was oddly fit just for a kiddo. You'd know; you grew up in this house.

Your parents, after a few decades of living in a town as quaint as Long Valley, wanted a little more excitement and up-and-left to New York City once you dashed off to college. They used this house as a summer home, seeing as they'd paid it off, and spent their springs and falls and winters in the boisterous, cluttered metropolis of NYC. You'd only ever be willing to visit.

It wasn't that you hated the city, no, most certainly not. But it was loud. And cramped, yet so big. You loved the familiarity, the peacefulness, the home-ishness of your little Long Valley. So, after completing your masters, you headed back home and paid your parents what they'd take and redecorated your old childhood bedroom.

At the kitchen island, you sat with Luke, bowls of Kraft Mac n Cheese in hands, forks shoveling the noodles by the mouthfuls. It was alarming how fast Luke was eating his dish; he hardly left time for breathing.

"Luke, there's more in the pot, you don't need to-"

You cut yourself off when you realized he was not listening, just eating his meal anxiously, like you'd take it away at any second.

The doorbell rang throughout the building and you hopped off your seat and slipped into the foyer. Greeting Grayson, you said, "Hey, did you bring the hot-"

"Already got it," he said, waving a family-sized tub of the powder. "And some games. How's he doing?"

Glancing at the hallway that led to the kitchen, you shrugged. "Can't really tell. It seems like he doesn't know what's going on, so he's fine. I took him to the store, bought him some new clothes, got him some PJs. But I forgot about the hot cocoa I'd promised him, so thank you for bringing some," you finished, stealing the container from his hands.

"Well, that was nice of you..." Grayson mumbled behind you, following you out to the kitchen.

"What, you think I'm some heathen?" you smirked, eyeing him over your shoulder.

"Mhm, don't act like you weren't the one who put twenty boxes of Orbees in the school's swimming pool our senior year," he snickered, lifting a brow.

You clamped a hand over your mouth, a flame licking the back of your neck. "I can't believe you reme-"

"Hey Luke!" Grayson called, scooting past you and pressing his elbows against the kitchen island.

Luke was sitting there, staring at his empty bowl of mac n cheese in a melancholic state. "Hi Mr. Dolan," he said in that raspy, weak voice of his.

"Luke, you want more Mac n cheese? And some hot cocoa?" you prompted, grabbing the bucket of pasta. Without an answer, you scooped a helping into Luke's bowl and paraded to the refrigerator for some milk to heat. "Gray, you want some?"

Grayson looked your way with a funny grin and said, "Yeah, I can just eat it from the pan."

You shook your head and repressed a smile. "You are gross."

"Why!" Grayson defended, laughing. With a shrug, he said, "I'm saving you a plate, and I'll definitely eat the rest, anyway."

Once you had fixed everyone a mug of hot cocoa, you ushered the boys into the living room where Grayson excitedly dug out a hodgepodge of games, toys, and books. Spreading everything out on the rug, Grayson prompted, "Alright Luke, I was thinking I could teach you how to play Candy Land. Is that okay?"

Luke looked at you, and then at him, and then nodded.

"Cool. So basically Buddy, you get one of these little guys," Grayson said, gesturing to the colorful figures lying dormant in the container. "And you hop on the color of the card you draw, and we go back and forth, and we see who wins. Okay?" Luke nodded. "And there are traps. So, when you draw a card like- like this one," he explained, grabbing a piece with a lollipop on it, "then you get to move to the spot that has the lollipop on it. Which can be good, unless you're ahead of that spot, then you have to move back. It's really fun," he gushed, folding his legs crisscrossed. "I think you'll like it. What'd'ya say?"

Luke looked at the board, studied it hard, and then nodded his head. "Okay."

Gleefully, Grayson shuffled the deck of cards and plucked two characters from the cardboard box and you realized, almost instantly, why he became a kindergarten teacher. He was a kid at heart.

"(Y/N), are you playing?"

You thought about all the things you had to do, all the paperwork you had to fill, all the phone calls you'd have to make for tomorrow, and said, "Yes."

Grayson smiled at you eagerly. "Perfect, three makes it way more competitive anyway. The more the merrier, you know?" he said, reaching for his mug of hot cocoa.

You looked over at Luke's mug and realized he hadn't drunk a drop of his treat. "Luke, you can have some of your hot cocoa if you haven't yet," you smiled, edging his cup towards him.

He looked at you long and hard, his eyes blown wide, and glanced between you in the drink. And then he looked at Grayson, almost for permission, and lifted his skinny arms and grabbed the mug with both hands. He lifted it to his mouth, oh-so-cautiously, and took a tiny sip.

And then he smiled, grinned comfortably.

"This stuff is- this stuff is really good," he said, setting it back. "Thank you."

You looked at Grayson with confusion and said, "Luke, you can have the whole cup if you want."

"I can?"

"Yeah," Grayson smiled, rubbing a hand down Luke's back. "Drink up, Bud."

And Luke did. And you three played Candy Land for hours, Grayson and you both being far too competitive and Luke hanging on for the ride. You won once, Grayson won twice, and Luke won at least five times. Luke's smile just kept growing.

"Alright Luke, I think it's bedtime for you," you said after a bit of celebratory hot cocoa.

"Want some help getting into your PJs, bud?" Grayson offered. Luke shrugged a lame shoulder, his eyes flickering between the two of you.

"Hey, give me some skin," you giggled, bending at the knee and raising your hand for a high-five from Luke. Tentatively, he lifted his hand to yours, smacking it feather light. "You killed it in Candy Land today."

"Sure did," Grayson laughed. "We'll play again soon. C'mon Luke."

And off they went, into your guest bedroom.

You crept back into the kitchen and grabbed your binder full of documents and splayed them all out on the table, organizing them into piles. You loved this job. You realized it when Luke's big wide eyes lit up at the sight of a Licorice Lagoon card and his character clobbered all the way across the board and he just looked happy. Happy like you'd never seen him. And that made all of this heartbreak a little less awful.

You were ruffling through your binder for names of available foster carers with your pen wiggling between your teeth when Grayson tiptoed into the kitchen. "Hey, how was-"

Your voice fell silent when you looked up to find Grayson crying, feeble with his arms tucked tightly around himself.

"Gray, what happened?" you asked hesitantly, twisting your body and giving him your full attention.

He whimpered pitifully and glided over to you, clearly shameless when it came to crying. He laid his forearms on the kitchen island and looked at you through his soaked eyelashes and screwed his eyebrows together and said, "I don't think I can forget that."

You reached out and carefully laid a palm on his arm. "Forget what?"

Grayson wheezed a deep breath and shielded his face with a hand. He mumbled, "There's a reason he wears that giant shirt every day." Grayson wiped the tears from his cheeks and said, "It was like I wasn't even taking off a shirt. It's like, an outline of the shirt, made of bruises. Tan lines, but instead of pale skin it's just green, and blue, and purple."

Unconsciously, you dug your fingernails into the firm flesh of his arm and clenched your jaw, willed yourself from tears.

"And that's no exaggeration. I don't think there was a spot untouched on his skinny, skinny body. His whole torso is just-" Whine. "Covered. I thought I was going to be sick. And he turned around, and his back was no different. It was like this- this fucking monster he calls 'mom' knew exactly how to hide it. Give him a t-shirt big enough, and it'll cover all the marks. God fucking damn it," he sobbed, his voice thick with emotion.

You pinched at his skin, nails deep enough to really hurt, and lowered your head and cried. Let the tears fall with the realization that no number of board games and no amount of hot cocoa could make up for his trauma, physically, mentally, or emotionally. Luke McIver was a punching bag and a kicking post.

You sat there with Grayson and cried quietly. You prayed Luke couldn't hear you; he deserved all the sympathy in the world, but he looked up to Grayson, and you hoped he didn't give up on himself with how sad his circumstances were.

Grayson walked around the island and engulfed you in a hug. You'd hardly registered how strange this might be, hugging a guy you'd barely known since you needed one so bad. You can't just watch these things and shut everyone out. You would start to see that kind of darkness in everyone.

"I'm sorry," Grayson said, his jaw working against your shoulder. "But I really needed a hug."

"It's okay," you said, your head bowed into the crook of his neck. "I really needed one too."

"Can I stop by tomorrow?" Grayson asked.

Yes, he could.

-

Tomorrow meant Friday, and Friday meant school. You didn't have a whole lot of direction when it came to getting kids off to school, but you figured you would do what you typically did; had him hop in the shower, laid out his clean clothes, and fixed him a bowl of cereal. After a few minutes of thought, you packed him a lunch, just in case his lunch account had frozen along with the rest of his mom's assets.

"Luke, are you okay with a turkey sandwich? Or do you want salami?" you shouted into the refrigerator, raiding the drawers for your lunch meat.

After a few moments without a response, you called out, "Luke?"

Panicky, you pulled yourself out of the refrigerator and hurried off to check on him in the guest room. Inside, he stood sopping wet, dripping on your carpet with a towel wrapped around his shoulders. Upon your arrival, he twisted to look at you. "Where are my clothes?" he whispered, looking around the room.

You pointed to the pile stacked on a chair near the bed. "Right over there, Silly," you giggled.

"No, my clothes," he said.

"The grey shirt and the brown pants?" you asked.

He nodded.

"Do you wanna wear those instead? I thought you'd like to wear something warmer, I have a hoodie and some cozy sweatpants on that chair cause it's going to be pretty chilly today," you elaborated, beginning to stress. It was far too cold to wear that Power Rangers shirt and that Power Rangers shirt alone, and you hadn't bought Luke a jacket. You made a mental note to do so.

"But those aren't mine," he said.

"Yes they are, I bought them for you."

"All of those?" he gasped, his eyes bugging at the outfit. And that was just sad.

"All of those, and a few others, too. Now, come on! We gotta get going to school, do you want some help getting into your clothes?" you offered, walking over to the chair and grabbing the stack.

Luke shook his head and you gave him the pieces, leaving the room and fixing his turkey sandwich. By the time you'd packed everything, Luke was waiting silently with his backpack taut on his shoulders. The hoodie was a bit big, but Luke was tiny for his age. The sweatpants looked about right, and the shoes seemed to fit okay. He hardly looked the same in different clothes.

"Ready?" you asked.

Luke was.

-

As your lunch break neared, your foot began pedaling faster in place. You worried about Luke on his first day back: did he miss his mom? Did his clothes really fit? Did he even like turkey sandwiches? After a plethora of anxiety-ridden questions, you hopped from your seat and dashed off to Grayson's classroom.

You knocked on the door softly and waited with a bitten lip. Grayson creaked open the door and you found that the classroom was, in fact, empty, excluding the six-foot tall man hovering in the doorway. "Oh," was all you said. "I thought maybe Luke was here."

Grayson grinned toothily and said, "No, they just went off to lunch and recess, but I'm glad you stopped by."

He opened the door and ushered you in, shutting it and following you inside. "Ramen?" you asked, scrunching your nose as you noticed the cup of noodles sitting next to his school-issued desktop. "How can you eat that after college?"

He smirked and grabbed it, loading a forkful of the stringy, golden noodles into his mouth. "Never get sick of it," he said through bites.

"Charming," you laughed, rolling your eyes. "How's he doing today?"

He munched for a second before nodding, setting the cup of noodles down and sitting on one of the very tiny desks with his legs stretched out comfortably in front of him. "Good. Great, even."

"That's good!" you exclaimed, smiling big.

"It is good," he agreed. "He even talked to a few classmates, which is new for him. They said they liked his shoes."

You weren't sure whether you were devastated that Luke hadn't any friends or ecstatic that he was trying, and that the other kids liked his shoes. That was a personal achievement. "I've been told I'm a fashionista," you drawled, flicking your hair over your shoulder.

"I can tell. You're always wearing those pretty skirts of yours," Grayson smirked, cocking a brow.

Butterflies burst in your stomach and you prayed a blush didn't stain your cheeks. But, judging by Grayson's obvious smugness, you looked just as bashful as you felt.

"Thank you. Um..." you squeaked, not knowing what else to say.

Grayson chuckled at your discomfort and looked out the window. "It was really nice of you to buy him all those clothes. It's too cold to be wearing those- those rags he was wearing before."

You nodded, following his gaze to the gray, gray sky that was brewing something awful outside. "I didn't think he'd fit in one of my sweatshirts," you joked.

Grayson looked at you and grinned kindly. "I don't think he'd look half as good, either."

Your face broke out in a smile and you said, "Okay, stop, you're doing this on purpose," with a laugh.

"Oh definitely, you're cute when you blush," he pushed, enjoying the upper hand far more than he should.

You stared down at the floor and begged the warmth in your cheeks to subside before saying, "You always were a flirt in high school."

Gobsmacked, Grayson gasped. "Me?" he asked incredulously. "No, you're thinking of Ethan, my twin idiot."

You shook your head. "I don't think so, you had everyone at your beck and call..." you trailed off, giving him a lopsided smile.

"Again, Ethan."

"No, it was you, I know that for certain. Grayson Dolan: Long Valley's Golden Boy," you teased, your hands dancing in the air. "Everybody loved you."

Grayson scratched back of his neck and shrugged his shoulders, flattened out his tie. "Yeah, maybe, but I've closed the yearbook. Now I'm just a kindergarten teacher; don't think that makes me too popular," he chuckled, clamping his hands in his lap and grinning up at you.

"You're definitely popular with the kids--if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have a little kid sleeping at my house tonight," you said.

"That's way better than homecoming king," Grayson smiled, all warmth and honey. "Knowing I saved a kid from some garbage parent like his."

You nodded thoughtfully, staring back at him. In an effort to preserve the lighthearted mood floating through the air, you joked, "Can't be better than scoring the game-winning touchdown against Rocori though, right?"

Grayson's head fell back with a laugh and he shook his head. "Nothing could be better than that. Should've seen their head coach's face when I caught that ball," he smiled with his teeth full in display.

"I guessed so," you giggled back.

"So what, did you keep tabs on me in high school or something? That's a pretty particular thing to remember, Ms. (Y/L/N)," he smirked, running a hand through his fluffy mane.

Though you were painted in pink, you rolled along. "I already said everybody loved you, Grayson."

The door busted open, dozens of kids flowing through its tiny entrance, clambering about with their squeaky shoes and their uncoordinated legs. "Does everybody include you?" Grayson asked over the roar of the children.

You shrugged a shoulder and grinned with mischief. "Mind if I stay for a bit? I still have half an hour of my lunch and I kinda wanna see Luke in his natural habitat."

"Be my guest," Grayson smiled.

Luke ambled in last, a little pep in his step and a boy jabbering off his ear. Grayson looked as surprised as you.

"Everyone get in your seats, please," he instructed, working his way over to his desk. Glaring playfully at you, he said, "I didn't even get to eat my ramen."

"A shame."

Dropping his styrofoam cup in the garbage, he dusted off his hands and hurried to the front, rolling his dress shirt's sleeves up to his elbows. Without much to do, you slinked your way to the play area and seated yourself in a comically small chair, one clearly fit for a five-year-old.

"Alright everyone, could you please grab a pencil from the center of your desk? We're going to learn about shapes," Grayson announced, his eyes drifting around the room.

Your eyes flickered to Luke who in return was staring at you with his big doe eyes. Nervously, you waved a hand, worried of boundaries once more, and felt a certain sense of pride when Luke waved back to you.

"So guys, let's practice. Can anyone tell me what this is?" Grayson asked, gesturing to the giant triangle fixed on the smart board in the front.

Nearly all the kids' hands shot up, excluding Luke's. There he sat, towards the back, with his hands tucked in his lap.

"Kyra?" Grayson called.

"A triangle!" she cheered, dazzle in her eye.

"Very good, Kyra," Grayson smiled, tapping the board and switching the shape. "And this one?"

Again, Luke sat statuary.

"Tyler?"

"A square!"

You couldn't help but frown as you stared at Luke, lonesome and quiet with his big brown eyes staring blankly at the screen.

"And this last one? Luke?" Grayson asked, eyes weaving through the sea of hands to find Luke.

Luke sat quietly, his chest rising and falling quickly. After a few seconds, all of the students twisted in their seat to stare at him with beady, pressuring eyes. Almost reflexively, Luke spun and looked to you for help. 'Circle,' you mouthed, breathing out the word inaudibly.

"C-C-Circle," Luke spat, grabbing the sides of his desk.

All of the kids turned forward once more and waited for Mr. Dolan's confirmation. "Awesome job, Luke," he said with the proudest of smiles. "Now I have a worksheet for you all and I want you guys to bring it back to class on Monday after this weekend, signed by your parent."

Luke again strained his chin over his shoulder and you nodded back, assuring him you'd sign it, or help it, or just be there.

-

Your Fridays were typically reserved for wine night at your friend Carina's house, but you had no such plans with a five-year-old sitting on your couch. So, you were a little lost on what to do.

"Luke, do you want a snack? I'm not sure what we have in the cupboards, but..." you trailed off, bounding into the kitchen.

You had no use for pudding cups or fruit snacks up until this point, and to your knowledge, all you had was a ginormous can of hot cocoa. You scoured the pantry and found some surely stale Reese's Puffs and prayed he didn't notice once you doused them in milk.

Luke eyed the bowl skeptically, glancing between you and it before eventually scooping the cereal into his mouth. After that, it was a race to drain the bowl, and he was slurping away at the milk. You hardly cared about manners.

Grayson: Can I come over?

Instantly giddy at the idea of Grayson being in any close proximity, you texted him and assured him that would be fine. Luke was still tongue-tied, and you assumed it'd be that way for a long time. Perhaps he'd never grow out of his shyness, and that would have to be okay with you.

Looking at the little boy sitting on your couch, chomping on a spoonful of cereal like it could be his last meal, your heart broke. There was so much you didn't know about him, so much you didn't know about what he went through. You doubted anyone would ever know the full truth besides him and his 'mom.' Just thinking of her in a maternal sense made your tummy lurch sideways; she should have never even considered kids.

But, in some twisted light, you were so glad she did. You'd take a bullet for this little guy on your couch. And you didn't even know how that happened so quickly.

Grayson's knuckles rapped against your front door and you jumped from your spot on the couch beside Luke to allow him in, but by the time you'd gotten there, Grayson was already standing in your foyer in a pair of joggers and a hoodie. It was somewhat strange seeing him out of his office clothes. Frowning, you said, "How did you get-"

"You should really keep this door locked all the time," Grayson said sternly, abandoning his shoes on your welcome mat. "For your safety, and for Luke's."

You rushed over and locked the door behind him, feeling a little naive. "Luke's upstairs, I was going to start on that worksheet you gave everyone today but now that you're here, you can do all the hard work," you grinned.

He rolled his eyes playfully and elbowed your side. "I work all day with little kids and I come back to your place to slave away?"

"Exactly," you laughed. "besides, bold of you to assume I know my shapes."

Grayson chuckled and swept past you, hurrying over to Luke. You heard them greet one another, Grayson's excitable baby voice echoing throughout your house. Content with their situation, you whisked away to your room to raid your closet for something more comfortable. Then, you returned to your kitchen and began searching in your big stack of files for names in the system that would qualify to give Luke the home he needed.

G. Hammend... R. Harick... I. Helpin... Your finger followed down the column, each name seeming drearier and more hopeless.

"Mr. Dolan?" you heard from the other room.

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Is (Y/N) your girlfriend?" Luke asked.

Grayson promptly began coughing uncontrollably, hacking and wheezing, and a chill ran up your spine, heat baked the back of your neck. No, you weren't Grayson's girlfriend and his flirting was harmless, but you were curious to know what he'd say, so you leaned in closely and listening keenly to Grayson's next words. "Uh, um, uh Luke it's- it's more complicated than that," Grayson spoke, his voice raspy and cracking.

"How?"

Yeah, how?

"Well, um, I- I don't know how to explain that, Luke."

"Why?"

A giggle escaped past your lips at Luke's determination and Grayson's obvious struggle. "I- I, um,-"

Grayson's stuttering was cut short by a soft rumble overhead followed almost immediately by a burst of lightning. You frowned and glanced at the window, fully aware of the forecast but hopeful that it would blow over. From the looks of the blackened sky, it wouldn't be disappearing anytime soon. Soft pellets of water began showering your room and it's thin shingles, heavy enough to pierce through the silent air. And again, another bit of thunder rolled in.

"(Y/N)?" Grayson called. "You okay?"

As if you'd be in any harm in your own home during a thunderstorm. "Yeah Gray, I'm good. Are you okay?"

There was silence and then a shuffling of footsteps. Then Grayson walked up behind you and said, "We have a problem."

You wheeled around in your chair and furrowed your brows. "What?"

"Luke's afraid of thunderstorms," he whispered, avoiding your eyes.

You slid off your seat and padded into the living room to find Luke tucked in the cushions of your couch, tears streaming soundlessly from his big doe eyes. Your heart wrenched beneath your ribcage and you hurried over, sliding into the spot beside him and grabbing his hands that were shaking in his lap. "Hey Lukey, you doing okay?"

Luke nodded robotically, his nose bouncing and the tears rushing down his face.

"Luke, how can I help?" you asked, stroking the side of his head.

His body went rigid and he shook your hands off him, scooting a few inches away. You felt rejected.

"Hey Bud, do you wanna keep going with our math? Get your mind away from all this noise?" Grayson offered, lifting up his worksheet.

Luke shook his head, tucking in on himself and wrapping his own frail arms around his own frail legs.

"We could maybe watch some TV?" you proposed, cocking your head towards the flatscreen. It seemed like Luke's ears might have perked up at this. He stared at you silently with his big brown eyes and asked for permission, even though you'd just offered. "Yeah, we can watch some TV," you said. "Do you like cartoons?"

Luke just stared, but you got the message. You'd learned his mannerisms over the past twenty-four hours. Flicking on the television, you surfed through the channels in search of a good cartoon before landing on Scooby-Doo.

"Have you ever seen this show?" Grayson asked, nudging Luke.

He shook his head, and you three fell in silence, watching the show chase across the screen.

Lost in thought, you began to wonder if this would be the case for every kid, or just Luke. Would you always take the kids in for 72 hours? Or was Luke just special for you? How often would this happen? Was Grayson always good with the little kids? Could he be a reliable source if you couldn't get them to budge?

Probably not, you decided. You felt incompetent and useless and downright stupid caving and fleeing to Grayson for aid. Not that you regretted it.

Would Grayson ever talk to you after this? Was this just for Luke, or was there some friendship between you two? Or maybe something more?

Probably not, you decided again. Sneaking a glance at him, engrossed in the show, you decided, definitely not. He might not be Long Valley's golden boy any longer, but he was still far, far out of your league.

"It's definitely the bank teller," Grayson said with complete certainty. "He's hijacking his own bank so he can take all the money but remain seemingly innocent."

You stifled a giggle and eyed him incredulously. "For sure, Gray."

"It is!" he whined, pointing at the screen excitedly. "You just wait and see."

"Luke, who do you think it is?" you asked, bumping him with your elbow.

Luke looked between the two of you and then said, so quietly, "Whatever Grayson said."

-

As the night dragged on, so did the storm. Eventually, the power surged out and left the three of you sheathed in blankets, surrounded by candles, and playing Candy Land in the dim glow. Conversation was limited and gentle; Luke was exceptionally scared, though he was too nervous to voice his concerns. So, he just sided up next to Grayson and shielded himself under Gray's big, long arm.

"Grayson, there's no way you're driving home in this weather. You can't," you said with finality, craning your neck to sneak a glance at the buckets of water blurring the sky.

Grayson nodded in agreement, moving his figurine several spaces forward. "Yeah, I don't think so either. Can I sleep on the couch?"

After a moment of thought, you nodded and hopped from your spot under a mound of blankets to fetch him a few pillows. Glancing at the clock, you noticed it was nearing the bedtime you'd given Luke, so you waddled on down to the living room to deliver the mournful news. "Lukey, it's time for bed."

It seemed Luke was unordinary in every sense because he didn't fight you on it. He simply unwrapped Grayson's arm from around his shoulders and glided past you to the guest room.

"He's a quiet one," Grayson noted, tugging his blankets tight on his body.

"Yeah," you agreed quietly, staring down the hallway Luke had slipped through. "I don't know if that'll go away or not."

"I'm going to go read him a bedtime story," Grayson said, his voice gentle and kind.

As he trailed after Luke, Where the Wild Things Are in hand, you decided that maybe everything about Grayson was gentle and kind. You saw it in the way he talked to children, the way he never raised his voice, the way he laid a hand on any person he talked to, his palm huge and warm and soft, just for reassurance. Grayson was a gentle giant with his intimidating stature and his ginormous muscles; he'd never hurt a fly.

You listened to Grayson's voice float through the air, speaking of monsters and trolls tucked in the thickets of trees, and felt a flutter in your chest.

At last, you heard Grayson mumble his goodnights and the creak of footsteps on your hardwood. He hobbled his way to the couch, plopped down, and patted this seat beside him. Sheepishly, you tiptoed over and flopped into the space next to him, your blanket tightly secured around your figure. After a few beats of silence, of you two just staring at each other, you said, "I don't know who is worthy of taking in that boy."

Grayson shook his head, his lips pursing for a moment. "I don't think anyone is. Well, anyone besides you."

You stared down at the cushions with their plain brown fabric, scrunching your brows together. "I don't think I'm very good at this, actually." He snorted about you and you shot him a glare. "I'm serious."

"Maybe, but you're wrong," he argued loftily. "I don't think that kid has ever felt so much love in his life."

You shrugged a limp, lame shoulder. "Probably not, but that's just because any love is better than none. I just don't think I'm handling this well. I'm not sure he really likes me."

Grayson smiled crookedly and cocked his head to the side. "I think he likes you. You guys can talk without even speaking," he noted.

A smile worked its way onto your lips. "Yeah, there's that. But... I'm not trying to take it personally, the kid's been through way more than we know. But I just wish he liked me. It feels like he just tolerates me," you breathed, scratching at your arm.

"Well, he agreed with me that you're pretty, so there's that," Grayson smirked, watching you duck your head in embarrassment.

"Well that's nice of you two..." you muttered, tugging your sherpa around you tighter.

"No, it's just a fact. You're pretty, (Y/N)."

Suddenly, your blanket was entirely unnecessary, because your body was overheating with this romantic attention from Grayson Dolan himself. His eyes burned your skin and his body, a few inches away from you, was like a furnace. "You're pretty, too."

It came out croaky and strangled, but you meant it. You had eyes, after all.

Grayson chuckled, his dimples full in display. "Thank you," he whispered.

Then, you were sharing an awkward beat where he was looking at you and you were staring at the ground with complete determination. And then, you were hopping from your spot and hurrying into the kitchen to grab your binder, ignorant to Grayson's laughter.

"You need to help me find someone worthy of fostering this kid," you breathed, discarding the blanket altogether.

And so the two of you sat there well into the night, flicking page after page, name after name, hopeful to find a soul kind enough for a soul as vulnerable as Luke's.

-

It had to still be night when you awoke, startled, to the shadow of a boy standing in your doorway. You'd seen enough horror films to know that this meant imminent death, but after rubbing your eyes once, twice, you noticed it was just Luke.

"Hey buddy?" you called out, folding yourself upright. "What's up?"

Luke was holding the blanket you'd purchased for him a few days ago in his tiny hands, his knuckles white. "The storm," was all he whispered.

The storm. The wind was whooshing and swirling in every which way, tossing branches into each other and smattering rain against your rooftop. How do you fix that? You couldn't just ring up Mother Nature and tell her to calm down.

"Um," you mumbled, glancing around the room. "Do you- do you want to sleep in here?" you offered, patting the spot beside you. Luke stood and waited for about a minute before slowly creeping toward the empty half of the bed, hoisting himself up on it and peeling back the covers. He turned his back to you, crumpled his knees into his chest, and lied there silently. You had half a brain to screen him with his blanket and tuck it around his small, small body, and then the two of you went to sleep.

-

Slow like a sloth, you opened your eyes and blinked slowly, lazily, letting them adjust to the sunlight pouring through the windowpanes of your bedroom. You'd hardly registered that your jaw was tucked on top of a little boy's head, or that your arm was secured around his tiny frame. He fit perfectly in the cave of your belly, the two of you just a large ball in the middle of your bed, blankets and all.

You lifted your head to see Grayson standing in your doorway, his shoulder pressed against the door frame easily, a smile on his lips. "Morning."

Grayson Dolan standing in your doorway when you first wake up. Now that was a concept high-school-you would have snorted at.

"Morning," you whispered, careful not to wake up Luke. "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven. I was thinking we could all go and get breakfast at the Gingerbread Café," Grayson offered, still gazing warmly at the nest in your bed.

"God, that sounds amazing. Okay, let me get dressed and-"

"No! You have to go in your PJs! That's like, law," Grayson argued instantly.

You glanced down at yourself in your reindeer, well-worn pajamas and shrugged. There was no use arguing; you'd never get out of those pajamas unless absolutely mandatory.

You nodded and unraveled yourself from Luke, shook his shoulder gently, and then zipped out of your home, into the Gingerbread Café and played the best game of iSpy over bacon and eggs.

-

Again that afternoon, you sat on your coach, rifling through sheet after sheet of names of foster carers.

"I don't even recognize one of these names," you whined, flipping a page.

"Me neither," Grayson agreed.

Luke was tucked in the corner of the living room, legos crowding the floor in a clutter. He'd actually been playing with them, to both Grayson's and your astonishment.

"And you don't have any like, social worker friends? Nobody that you know?" Grayson asked, lifting a brow.

"No, I'm brand new to this, Grayson,"  you defended. "Literally the only person I've met in this town that knows anything about social work is Nancy Hoff-" You dropped the book of files you were holding, your blood surging through you. "Nancy Hoffmann! Oh my god, how could I forget Nancy! Oh my god, oh my god," you squealed, jumping to your feet.

"Nancy Hoffmann does social work? No way," Grayson gasped.

"Yes! Yes, she said she's in the system, go look, please, please, go look!"

"N. Hoffmann, right under I. Helpin," Grayson grinned, gazing up at you with hope, hope, hope in his eyes. "Are you going to call her?"

"Yes," you stated, digging out your phone and beelining for your room. "I'm going to call her right now."

And you did. And Nancy was so excited to take care of a little one, especially a little one like little Luke McIver, that she started to weep. And you started to cry. You could have flooded the whole room with your tears. And you absolutely hoped and prayed Luke's life would look up.

-

Later that Saturday night, once Luke was in bed and you and Grayson sat tight on your couch watching reruns of vintage Scooby-Doo episodes (and trying desperately to guess who the villain was each time), Grayson turned to you and asked, "Wanna get ice cream sometime?"

His words alone sent a chill down your spine, cold and then hot, warmth sticking to the back of your neck. "No," you blurted.

And you could see the hurt flinch on his face, the emotions vivid in color on his sleeve. But there was a problem.

"I feel- I feel like it would look... unprofessional, right now, to date a coworker, especially after I royally fucked up with this whole Luke thing. Call it a Fluke," you giggled nervously, biting your lip. "I- Grayson, you know I would love to, you can probably tell how nervous you make me, but this seems just... It just seems unprofessional, especially when I still have Luke in my custody."

Grayson's eyes softened. "Well, what about when Luke's out of your custody? Can we get ice cream then?"

Your hands twitched nervously in your lap. "I... we would still be coworkers, Grayson," you whispered, holding onto your willpower by a thread.  

He inched forward, invading your space in a way that left you gulping.

"We would, wouldn't we? We'd be coworkers just like half of the teachers in this school that are married to other teachers," he murmured, inches from your face.

His body heat radiated onto yours and you worried for a moment that you'd melt right into that sofa. "You think about it," he finalized, smirking and rising from his seat. "Or, sleep on it. I'm heading home."

He thundered into the foyer and slipped on his shoes and glanced back at you, who was hiding behind the hallway's bend. He grinned, shucked on his hoodie, and headed outside.

Were you just going to let this go?

Certainly not.

You dashed out behind him, waving your arms in the headlights of his car manically, acting like a real loon. You skipped over to his car and waited for him to roll down his window, itching to just spit it out. "I don't have to think, I'd love to get ice cream with you, coworkers be damned."

"I was hoping you'd say that," he chuckled, grinning up at you. "I'll see you tomorrow to introduce Nancy and Steve to Luke. Sleep tight, (Y/N)."

-

You awoke again with Luke cradled under your arm and a knocking at your door. Grayson was undoubtedly up at the crack of dawn every day, which would explain why he was pounding on your door at eight in the morning. Both groaning, you and Luke rolled out from under the covers and padded lazily through the halls, separating at the living room where Luke crawled into the nest of blankets jumbled on the couch as you traveled to the entryway to let Grayson in.

"Hey," he announced when you dragged open the door. Glaring at him, you wordlessly spun on your heel and shuffled into the living room. "Don't tell me you're mad because I woke you up," he laughed, on your heels.

You opened your mouth to protest when Luke said, "Yes."

You and Grayson exchanged a look before bursting into laughter. "Luke has spoken, and I agree. Yes, Grayson."

You hobbled over to Luke and curled up next to him on the sofa, stranding Grayson alone to stand and watch.

"What time are we all heading over to Nancy and Steve's?" Grayson mumbled to you, eyeing Luke cautiously.

You sucked in a breath and decided that this was a good time to introduce the idea to Luke. "Lukey," you announced. "we think we found you a good home for a little bit, okay? Would it be okay if we met with them later?"

Luke looked at you uncertainly and said, "No more sleeping with you?"

Your heart dropped into your stomach with the reality that Luke may have gotten too attached--that you may have gotten too attached. "No more sleeping with me," you mumbled, your lower lip jutting out reflexively. "I- but Luke, I'll still visit all the time, promise. And we'll still have our weekly counseling sessions, and-"

"Will Mr. Dolan still visit?" Luke asked, staring at you, his eyes flickering momentarily to Grayson.

"I..." you trailed off, unwilling to make that promise.

"You know it, Kid," Grayson said, squatting to Luke's height. "I'll be over with Candy Land all the time."

"So what do you say?" you asked, grabbing for Luke's hand.

Luke squeezed back and said, "Yes."

And so you went to Nancy's.

The Hoffmann's yanked open the door before you could even knock, dressed in their best formal gear, and you glanced down at your jeans and hoodie and winced. This was why you weren't very good at this stuff. "Welcome!" they cheered, ushering the three of you inside. Nancy gave you a sidelong look as Grayson filed in behind you, a glint in her eye.

Luke was holding onto your hand tight, tight, tight, and you bent down and picked him right up, setting him on your hip. "Luke, this is Mr. and Mrs. Hoffmann," you introduced, pointing to each of them respectively. "Mr. and Mrs. Hoffmann, this is Luke McIver." Luke clung to your sweatshirt's fabric, fisted the material and pulled himself closer. "Don't be shy Luke, say hi," you said.

They waved brightly, big smiles on their faces and Luke waved back.

"Everybody can come to the living room, we have fruit snacks and pudding cups," Nancy said.

You knew they'd be better than you already.

-

On Monday, the five of you (Luke, Grayson, Nancy, Steve, and you), caravanned to the Gingerbread Café with a court document in your briefcase with plans to head over to court after, skipping school entirely, much to Luke's (and your) excitement. Once you arrived at the courthouse, you met with Luke's assigned social worker, Emily, the judge, and that was it.

Standing in the echoey area, the judge asked, "Are all parties present?"

Glancing around at the tiny, tiny group, you giggled. "Uh yes, Your Honor," you said with complete seriousness.

"Who is the legal guardian in question?" she asked, scanning over her document. "Is Alexa McIver here?"

You bit on your lip and said, "No, Your Honor, she's currently in custody."

"Alright," she nodded. "Who is the present carer, and the preferred foster carers?"

"Um, I'm the current carer and Steve and Nancy Hoffmann are the foster carers," you said, pointing to the couple standing beside you. They waved giddily, hardly pressured by the legalities.

"Okay," the judge said, a lack of formality in her tone. "Let's get this show on the road."

The judge handed over a packet, 'In the matter of the welfare of Lucas McIver: CHIPS/EPC' titling the top. Beneath it was what seemed like hundreds of documents, all waiting for their own special signature from their own special foster parents, Nancy and Steve Hoffmann.

And after half an hour of "sign here"s and "initial here"s, the judge turned to Nancy and Steve and said, "By the law of Long Valley, I formally grant Steve and Nancy Hoffmann full foster care custody of Lucas Christopher McIver. Court, dismissed."

And you turned to Nancy and found her with tears in her eyes and you turned to Luke and found him with one big, toothy grin.

"Time for ice cream, everybody!" Nancy squealed, throwing her arms around you tightly.

You shared a smirk with Grayson and said, "Definitely."

"(Y/N)," Luke said, tugging on your pants.

"Yeah Luke?" you said, ducking to his level.

Luke leaned in close and cupped his hand around your ear. "My favorite color is yellow."

-

You sat at Moo's with a cone of cookie dough ice cream in hand, chatting with livelihood with the group. It was, by definition, perfect. Grayson kept sneaking glances at you, looking away when you caught him, dimples dotting his cheeks. Nancy and Steve demanded--and more miraculously, received--a full autobiography from Luke himself, as shy as he was. What his favorite class was (which, to Grayson's dismay, was not any of his, but instead gym class), what his favorite animal was, and so on.

Luke offered you a taste of his delicious cookies 'n' cream ice cream (in exchange for a lick of your own, of course) and grabbed for your hand a few times. It was bittersweet to have him be so affectionate right as you were about to let him go.

When five o'clock rolled around, the Hoffmanns said, "Staying true to our legal work, we are removing Mr. McIver from your custody," with all formality and then some.

Giggling, you nodded. "Take 'im away, coppers."

Luke turned to you and wrapped his arms tight around your neck and you kissed his cheek and willed yourself not to cry. This was so, so good for him.

"Do you guys need a ride home?" Steve offered, seeing as you all banded together to get to court and Moo's.

You opened your mouth to graciously accept when Grayson said, "Nah, we can walk."

Looking at him excitedly, you clamped your mouth shut and nodded, a ditzy grin on your mouth.

"Right," Nancy chuckled. "Well, we'll be on our way then, bye everyone!"

"Goodbye Luke, see you tomorrow!" you cheered, waving him away.

Watching the car zip out of the parking lot, you sat beside Grayson, your senses heightened with anxiety. "And then there were two..." Grayson joked, leaning back in his seat. "Ready for our date?"

You turned to him and shook your head, gleeful and nervous. "Yeah, I could use another cone," you giggled. "Even if it's freezing out and we have to walk home now."

"I'll keep you warm," he smiled, propping his chin on his fist.

You were sure the butterflies bursting in your stomach or the blush staining your cheeks was more than enough to keep you steaming hot.

-

As you walked down the pavement, slow as snails, Grayson tangled your fingers together. It was adrenaline inducing, holding hands with Grayson Dolan. You had your third helping of ice cream in your hands, licking stripes of it and scuffing your shoes down the sidewalk.

"What is that?" you asked, pointing to the cone in Grayson's hand.

"I don't know, actually," he shrugged, swiping his tongue across the treat. "I couldn't read some of the names so I just pointed to whatever looked promising."

"What do you mean, you couldn't read the names?" you giggled, your brows furrowing. "They're right on the glass."

Grayson nodded, fully aware of that. "I know, but I have dyslexia, I can hardly read at all," he snorted.

"You have dyslexia? I didn't know that," you said, licking a long dribble of ice cream.

"Yeah, why else do you think I teach kindergarten? I'm constantly relearning the alphabet," he joked, snorting and smiling to himself.

You giggled and said, "Well, I don't know, maybe just to make vulnerable elementary counselor's swoon," taking a jab at flirting smoothly.

He looked at you with a blush and a grin. Silence fell over, but not the uncomfortable kind. You could walk sidewalks as the sun set and eat ice cream for the rest of your life with Grayson. The thought alone stirred the frenzy of butterflies in your belly.

"You know, I always thought you were gorgeous in high school," Grayson murmured, his eyes avoiding yours.

"Oh, shut up, no you didn't," you groaned, smacking him with your shared fist.

"No really, I did! And you went to prom with Alec Jenson and I was so mad," he moaned, throwing his head back for dramatics. "I beat myself up over it for like, a month."

You shook your head, gazing far off in the other direction. "You're a terrible liar."

But Grayson wasn't lying, and he made sure you knew it. He halted in place, tugging you back to him. "I'm not lying, I'd be an idiot not notice someone like you," he breathed. "And I definitely know that now."

You bit down on your lip to contain an enormous grin, one the size of the sun glowing in the distance, and looked into Grayson's soft honey eyes. Time slowed down, the world dimmed around Grayson, and all those other cliches. And then, he was dipping in close and kissing you with sugar-sticky lips and soft and gentle, just as you'd imagined. Absent-mindedly, you went to weave your arms around his neck and then realized you had dropped your ice cream in order to do so.

"I-" you panicked, eyes wide and glancing down at the ground. Grayson's shoes were splattered with your cookie dough ice cream, wet and sticky. "Oh my god, I'm so-"

A boom of laughter sounded from Grayson and he shook his head. "They're already messy. Now get back up here, I'm not done kissing you."

You were more than happy to oblige.

-

A year and change later, you tapped your foot outside of the Hoffmann's home, Grayson by your side with party hats adorning the crowns of your heads. You had a cake in your hands and Grayson held four gifts, each stacked wonkily on each other. "Think they went out for his birthday?" Grayson asked, his breath fogging in the chilly December air.

"No, they told me they'd be here! God, it's fucking fr-"

"Hey!" Nancy greeted, pulling open the door. "Sorry, the oven was going off and Steven couldn't find the-"

"It's okay, don't worry," you giggled, stepping inside the home. "It wasn't too cold." Grayson leaned over and pinched your side, confronting your lie. "Where's Lukey?" you asked, your head moving about to look for him.

"He's in the living room surrounded by presents. Steve and I went kind of overboard," she chuckled.

You wandered into the living room after setting the cake down on the kitchen table, eager to spend some time with your favorite little boy and even more excited to give him his gifts. Grayson and you had also spoiled him with lego sets, hot wheels tracks, and a homemade ice cream maker. And, well, something else.

"How's the birthday boy?!" you greeted, opening your arms for a very hyper Luke to jump into.

He wrapped his legs around your waist and pulled you as tight as he could against him, his cheek pressed into yours. He had definitely grown since the last time you held him; you could barely handle the weight.

"Good!" he yelled.

"Luke, inside voice," Steve chastised from the couch, a familiar grin on his face.

"Right, sorry," he said.

"Do you want to open some presents or what, Kid?" Grayson offered, setting down the tall stack.

Luke nodded giddily, detangling himself from you and seating himself on the carpet. One by one he plucked the wrapping paper off, his gasps getting bigger and bigger with every present until he reached the last one. "What's this?" he asked, spinning the fabric in his hands.

"It's a Power Rangers sweatshirt," you said, gesturing to the item. "If you don't like it, we can return it."

"Just like my old one," he gaped. "Is it my old one?"

"No," Grayson explained, "but it's the same design, just warmer. And it'll fit you nicer."

Luke nodded and then slipped the clothing over his head, stuffing his arms through the sleeves. There he was, seven-years-old and yet so, so different. He still had his big brown eyes and his messy, floppy curls, but his face was full and his body was healthy and his mind was creative and open. He was Luke McIver as you'd always wanted to see him; human.

Before you could cry, you said, "Luke, you look handsome!"

"Do I?" he asked, glancing down at himself.

"Sure do, Honey. Now, we have one last present for you," Nancy said, exchanging a look with Steve.

She handed over a little envelope to Luke and he pulled out a slip of paper. "Would... you be... our son? What does that mean?" he asked, reading slow and brokenly.

Your hands flew to your mouth with excitement and love, and you decided crying was the only option at that point.

"Luke," Steve began, grabbing his wife's hands. "Luke, we want to be your parents. Like, forever," he chuckled.

"I thought you already were?" Luke said, glancing around the room with confusion.

"No, Honey, you get to choose if you want us to be or not. We completely understand if not," Nancy said, her voice quavering.

Grayson pulled you into him and you could tell he was holding back a spout of tears. He kissed the top of your head and waited.

"Oh. Well then, yeah. Yes," Luke said.

And by the following Monday, he was little Luke Hoffmann.

[bitway-arts]

@isozakikenma hewwo merry late xmas gift!!! I hope you enjoy rensuka first christmas time!!!

"You're coming whether you like it or not!"

"So, I'm really not given a choice?"

"Nope!"

Asuka sports his dorky grin while Ren lets out an aggravated sigh. It was a little too early to for his liking to be dragged around, especially on this holiday- Christmas. He'd never really looked forward to it, never thought much about it or gave it any special meaning, but this year was a little different. He had someone who was going to shove it in his face regardless of his feelings towards the holiday.

"Fine."

Without another word, Asuka's hand reaches out, instantly gripping onto Ren's wrist as he begins to drag him out the door of his own home. The walk to Asuka's place is silent, but not in an awkward or uncomfortable way, it's just too early for the grumpier boy. Ren eventually picks up his pace, walking alongside him instead of being dragged along. He glances over to spot a way too happy Asuka. He rolls hies eyes, pushing back that stupid smile he's getting from seeing the other boy shining brightly today.

When they get to Asuka's home, Ren looks at the exterior of the house he's seen dozens of times before. It's nothing new to see it decorated with lights and ornaments and signs out, but it just feels different today. As if there was more meaning to having these dumb decorations out. Either way, he doesn't stare at it too long as Asuka drags him out of the cold and into the warm household.

Not even half way through the kitchen, Ren can spot Asuka's parents and his sister, all sitting down, waiting for them in the living area, crowding around the Christmas tree thats placed in the room. That decorated tree catches his attention, eyes going down to the presents underneath. He tells himself not to think much of it, too get rid of the images of an empty and dull tree with no one crowded around it. He's no joining in this celebration anyway, only going to watch, be an observer that was dragged here against his will.

"We're here!" Asuka chirps, hand still holding onto Ren's as they enter this room.

"Hey, Ren!" Endou says, almost as enthusiastically as Asuka. Tobitaka greets him with a simple smile and a wave. His own silent 'hey'.

"Ren!" Kiyoko nearly jumps to her feet, bouncing on her seat as she waves to the boy.

Asuka pouts. "What? No hello for me?"

"I see you all the time. I don't have to say that," she comments back. Ren snickers and Asuka shoots them both an unthreatening glare.

"Come on, you two. No fighting today." Tobitaka interjects, wanting to stop this little fight before it breaks out (he doubts it would be anything big, but would prefer today be peaceful in this home).

"Hey," Ren says his own greeting with a slight shrug, leaving it open and directed at everyone here. Asuka looks towards him, expecting more than a simple 'hey'. Maybe its just his mood- which will change soon, he hopes. It was Christmas after all and he wanted Ren to be able to celebrate. Not by himself, but with his family.

"Now that you're finally here, we can get breakfast ready. We didn't want it to get cold without you here," Endou says while getting to his feet. He waits for his husband to stand beside him before they could start heading off towards the kitchen.

Ren wasn't sure if that was directed towards him or Asuka, most likely both, but it doesn't matter, he thinks. They step aside for the adults to pass into the kitchen. When they're gone, Asuka nudges Ren.

"We should go and help."

Ren deadpans at him. "You're going to make the guest, that you literally dragged over here, help with making breakfast?"

"What? No! I mean…" Asuka scratches the back of his head, trying to find a suitable answer to that well thought out remark. Nothing comes to him.

Ren grins as he can see Asuka trying so hard to find something to say. He takes a step closer towards him, making him move back and pressing him against the side of the couch. Asuka blinks and stares up at him, face going red at how close they are, leaving no room for him to escape.

"Not in front of my sister!" He yelps as his head turns away.

"Aww, it's fine! She can watch~."

"No!"

Asuka bites his lip, determined to stay put even as Ren keeps pressing his body onto his. He glances back to Kiyoko for a moment, noting her eyes on them. It's not like they haven't kissed or anything in front of the family before. Ren clicks his tongue, giving up for the moment under the excuse of 'it's too early to deal with this shit'.

"Alright then, let's just sit and wait."

The (not) couple sits together where the adults had been sitting, literally side by side. Kiyoko is still on her own smaller couch, attention grabbed by the presents hiding underneath the tree. She had gotten up, made a walk around the tree to try and find which were hers and take a guess of what it might be by the size of the box. Asuka had to make sure she didn't do anything to them, no touching allowed until everyone was there.

Ren sat back and watched Asuka speak with his sister, trying to be the responsible older brother. It's entertaining and makes him chuckle when he sees Asuka's own sister doesn't even listen to him. The more frustrated he gets over their bickering, the more he chuckles.

The sight is nothing new to Ren, he's seen them and their playful little fighting before. He knows it could go on longer, but they're interrupted when a voice- Tobitaka's- calls out with a, "breakfast is ready!" Asuka nearly darts for the kitchen, instantly forgetting about Kiyoko's attempts at guessing presents, but stops himself to go back to Ren. He holds out a hand for him to take, which he does, so they could go into the kitchen together.

Entering the kitchen, the kids find the table set up, the tablecloth and plates Christmas themed as well, to Ren's surprise. He would have expected gingerbread and Christmas tree cookies to be their breakfast at this point.

The adults take their seats on one side of the table, the boys on the other, and Kiyoko at one end. The breakfast scene is lively, the whole family chattering and exchanging excitement for this holiday. There's only one who is silent. Ren sees how excited they are, speaking so happily and highly of this day, even their comments about the night before. Being here never felt strange, he knew how to slide into place and exert himself. But, he couldn't today. It felt like he was intruding upon something meant to only be for a family, a special moment that he wasn't supposed to be apart of. When had that feeling ever stopped him? He'd rather not think about it too much. For now, he shakes off the feeling and shoves food into his mouth before attempting to steal Asuka's attention away from his parents, something he'd normally do.

"Big brother," Kiyoko shouts, causing Asuka's head to turn. "Can you pass me the salt?"

"Hm? But it's closer to Ren, why don't you ask him?"

"I am asking him, thats why I called him."

"Huh?" Ren raises a brow as he looks over to the girl. "Why are you calling me that?"

"I just thought you'd make a good brother in law."

"Eh?" Ren stares at her, speechless.

"KIYOKO!" Asuka shouts her name with blaring red cheeks.

"Ki-Kiyoko…" Endou starts while putting a hand over his mouth to try and stop himself from laughing. It doesn't work and he can't even try to get a decent sentence out. All they can hear are forcefully held back laughs. Meanwhile, Tobitaka isn't bothering to hide his own. It definitely was a surprise to hear something like that at the breakfast.

Asuka tries to cover his face in his hands, muttering, "how'd she learn that?"

Ren is still in a state of surprise, glancing over to the others before looking to Asuka. It wasn't something he'd thought about and if he ever did, the thought was pushed away. There was no way that would happen…would it?

After everyone calms down, finishes their meal, plates are put away, they head back into the living room. Endou announces that it's time to open presents and the siblings cheer. Ren rolls his eyes to all this hyped up excitement and keeps to himself on the end of the couch. He can't help but watch as gifts are passed around, first to Kiyoko, then to Asuka, and then too…him. Ren stares at the gift in Asuka's hand being held out towards him.

"That's…not for me."

"It is!" Asuka says with a smile.

Ren ends up looking to the adults, unaware of his terribly surprised and confused expression.

"What he said is true," Tobitaka answers his silent question. "You've got more too."

"Yup! But you're going to have to wait to get yours like everyone else," Endou chimes in.

Hearing that makes something tug at his chest, leaves an aching feeling there. He has to bite down on his lip as he takes the present from Asuka, eyes resting upon the wrapped gift. This one is labelled from the whole family, others from the individual family members themselves, and even a couple from Santa (he guesses this was mainly to keep the jig up for Kiyoko). It wasn't something he'd been expecting at all. He'd been thinking he was only being brought here to watch, not to be included or apart of it really.

But…it feels nice. Nice to be apart of a family. Nice to be accepted. The nice feeling didn't last with thoughts of his own family being nothing like this. Even more when guilt began to eat at him, gnawing at his insides for only getting Asuka gifts. He'd argue how he wasn't informed it would be like this, though hoped that he could make it up to the family, albeit a little later. Buy them something or help them out with…whatever they needed. (He'd ask Asuka for help on that part.) It wasn't something he wanted to voice aloud, but he'd make an exception to them.

Ren takes a look at the room around him, watching as one by one gifts are opened, smiles go around, excited and grateful voices fill the room. He never thought he'd be experiencing something like this. A real Christmas. It was completely different from his quiet and empty Christmases at home, this was more lively, filled with actual love and heartwarming moments.

It made him smile.

And he kept that smile as he placed his own gifts aside. He turned to look to Asuka, that smile widening as he caught the perfect time to swoop in and steal a surprise kiss from the boy. It startled him, made him blush, made him smile. That's all he really needed to see.

"Thank you for bringing me here today, Asuka."

[haridwardelhitaxiservice]

What Makes Haridwar Special!!

When planning a spiritual vacation to Haridwar, you might be wondering what to do in the city. Here is a list of the top things you should not miss while on vacation. As you approach this holy city, it is easy to get lost in the tide of people that flow through the city every day. 

It is therefore important to design an itinerary before you visit. During a visit to Haridwar, one can participate in a number of activities to make their trip even more enjoyable.

Bathe in holy water — a Spiritual Bath.

If you go to Haridwar without taking a dip in Brahmakund at the Har-ki-Pauri ghat, it would be a cardinal sin. The experience of taking a dip in the cold Ganga water early in the morning is a special one, not only for religious reasons but also for its physical benefits. Indians and foreigners agree that it is a must-see activity in Haridwar.

Praying — Achieving Spirituality.

A magical experience awaits at the Har-ki-Pauri ghat in the evening when Ganga aarti is performed. While hundreds of decorated diyas float in the river, priests chant prayers in the chorus as they maneuver the giant artis. A night in Haridwar would not be complete without witnessing this grand event.

The Soulful Experience of Temple Hopping.

In our fast-paced and often isolated world, we sometimes need a change of scenery. A little escape from the increasingly disconnected lives that we lead. And now, technology has made it easier than ever to experience other cultures and traditions that might be thousands of miles away from your front door — you only need to hop on a plane! 

You can travel anywhere in the world, but with these top sites for temple hopping, you’ll know where to go when you want to find a new culture or get some spiritual enlightenment!

There are many temples to visit in Haridwar since Haridwar is both a religious site and a heritage city. Temples like Chandi Devi temple, Daksheshwara Mahadev temple, Maya Devi temple, Vaishno Devi temple, and Mansa Devi temple are some of those that are popular. If your goal is not to visit the temples of this city, you should still pay a visit to the most popular ones.

Self-Healing with Ayurvedic Treatments.

In Haridwar and Rishikesh, are you looking for awesome things to do? In addition to being historically rich and culturally rooted, Haridwar is among the best places to receive ayurvedic treatments. 

It is advisable to visit a certified ayurvedic clinic in Haridwar if you wish to experience the ancient methods of healing. Some of the most popular ones in the city are the Aurovalley Ashram, Santosh Puri Ashram, and Patanjali Ashrams.

Nature’s Lovers — Birdwatching & Photography Tour.

Visiting the Neel Dhara Pakshi Vihar is definitely one of the most interesting things to do in Haridwar. This quaint place is 3.5 kilometers from the city, and it is home to a wide range of migratory birds throughout winter. 

If you want to lose yourself in the sounds of the Himalayas or migratory birds, then this is the place for you. The sight of the migratory birds is among Haridwar’s best attractions.

For Adventure Seekers, a Wildlife Safari is a must-do.

Haridwar is also home to Rajaji National Park, which is about 10 km from Haridwar and covers 1,150 square kilometers. There are two gates in the area: the Chandi Devi Entry Gate is near Haridwar, and the Kunao Entry Gate is near Rishikesh. 

For those who are seeking activities other than religious and spiritual activities in Haridwar, a visit to this national park is the ideal answer.

Purchasing — Extraordinary Tourists.

Since shopping is not a prime thing to do in Haridwar, due to the city’s core religious roots, this is the last on the list. If, however, you are one of those travelers who simply cannot make it home without picking up some souvenirs, there are enough markets to satisfy your appetite. 

A total of four major bazaars are spread across the city, selling mainly handicrafts, religious curios, and Ayurvedic medicines: Moti Bazar, Jwalapur, Bara Bazar, and Kankhal.

Rafting — Looking for a Thrill.

Rishikesh & Haridwar river rafting is a popular activity, and who hasn’t heard of it? As a result, this spot has now become notorious for this activity through which one can explore the extreme flow of the Ganges from Rishikesh to Haridwar. 

To keep yourself from falling, all the necessary safety gear and ropes are provided. It is a popular activity in summer that attracts thousands of young people to Haridwar every year. 

The best thing to do in Haridwar & Rishikesh is river rafting, so make sure you choose this exciting activity.

Conclusion:

Throughout the years, Haridwar has welcomed many different types of tourists and travelers. Haridwar attracts people for a variety of reasons, but most of them have something to do with the laid-back atmosphere and old-town charm. 

These are some of the best activities to do in Haridwar if you are looking for some exciting activities. How about it? Organize your trip to Haridwar and learn all there is to know about the place.

[bbcbreakingnews]

Centre reaches out to protesting farmers’ unions, asks them to fix a date for talks to find solutions

NEW DELHI: Eleven days after breakdown of talks, the Centre on Sunday once again reached out to protesting farmers’ unions urging them to provide it details of all remaining concerns, beyond the ones identified earlier, and fix a date as per their convenience for next round of talks to reach at solutions. “The government has consistently been trying to discuss all concerns of farmers with an open mind. Besides discussing these issues with protesting farmers’ unions, the Centre has also kept its door open to discuss the issues (concerning farm laws) with other farmer organisations as well…The government has also been trying to talk to protesting farmer representatives individually,” said Vivek Aggarwal, joint secretary in the agriculture ministry, in his letter to farmer leader Darshan Pal of the ‘Sanyukta Kisan Morcha’. The joint secretary’s letter was in response to Pal’s email to him on December 16. Pal had informed him about the unions’ decision, rejecting the Centre’s December 9 proposals on amending farm laws and clarifying certain provisions. Pal had also requested the Centre not to defame farmers’ movement and “stop holding parallel talks” with other farmer organisations (those which are not involved in the protest against the farm laws). Responding to Pal, Aggarwal on Sunday in his letter said, “It is not clear from your email whether it was your individual opinion or it was the consensus decision of all unions. Besides, it is also not clear as to why the government proposal (of December 9) was rejected”. Aggarwal’s letter, addressed to Pal and marked to leaders of other 39 unions which participated in the talks, mentioned all that which the government had proposed to improvise the central farm laws through amendments of certain clause and clarification on others on December 9. The farmers’ unions had, however, rejected it, leading to breakdown of the talks after five rounds. The Centre’s fresh proposal on Sunday came even as the farmers’ unions announced their future course of protests through various actions including undertaking a relay hunger strike at protest sites from Monday and to make all toll plazas in Haryana free for three days during December 25-27. Besides, they also gave a call to Indians living abroad to stand up for farmers’ cause as a mark of solidarity on weekend and appealed people in general to express their support by beating utensils at their homes, coinciding it with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s next monthly radio address ‘Mann Ki Baat’, on December 27. Slightly deviating from what the farmers unions had maintained by keeping themselves away from political parties in past 25 days, they on Sunday announced a kind of political outreach programme where the farmers would go with a message to NDA partners, either in state or Centre, asking them to force the government to withdraw the central farm laws. “Farmers would approach the NDA partners asking them to compel the government to withdraw the farm laws. After all, they are the shareholders in the government. If they don’t agree with us, we would boycott them too,” said farmer leader, Jagjit Singh Dallewala, while addressing a joint press conference with Darshan Pal, Yogendra Yadav and others at Delhi-Haryana Singhu Border. Though the leaders did not go into the details, the farmers’ representatives hinted that the message was mainly for Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) which is in alliance with the BJP in M L Khattar-led Haryana government. Since Haryana too has been facing the heat of farmers’ protests in past three weeks, Khattar on Saturday met agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar and discussed with him the way to end the current deadlock. Farmers’ representatives on Sunday alleged that the government was involved in harassing farmers and ‘arhtiyas’ commission agents in order to weaken the movement. “We condemn the witch hunt by the government against the farmers and demand it be stopped. The commission agents are being raided by income tax officials. We believe that they are being harassed because they are supporting the protesting farmers with food and other items,” said farmer leader, Darshan Pal, of the Krantikari Kisan Union. Speaking about the plan for relay hunger strike, Yogendra Yadav of Jai Kisan Andolan, a constituent of the farmers’ unions umbrella body AIKSCC, said the farmers would begin the relay hunger strike at all protest sites around Delhi as well as in other states such as Telangana and Uttar Pradesh with 11-member team being on fast daily. Farmers’ unions also gave a call to boycott Adani Group’s Fortune brand products. On the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Gurudwara Rakab Ganj Sahib here on Sunday, the farmer leaders said they hope good sense would prevail upon him to withdraw the farm laws after this visit. The Bhartiya Kisan Union (Tikait) leader Rakesh Tikait during the press conference appealed to people to extend solidarity with protesting farmers on occasion of ‘Kisan Diwas’ on December 23. “I would urge people to skip a meal on that day as mark of support to ‘Annadata’ (farmers),” he said.

source https://bbcbreakingnews.com/2020/12/20/centre-reaches-out-to-protesting-farmers-unions-asks-them-to-fix-a-date-for-talks-to-find-solutions/

[astro-b-o-y-d]

Since the salt train is already flowing, I’ll make a post of ships I can’t stand (mainly in the CC fandom) so people who like them know what to expect when following me. Mainly...nothing good in regards to the ships (extreme salt below):

Obviously all ships involving the kids and adults, but especially Ma//x//vid. Fuck right off if you even remotely think it’s okay. I’ve gone on and on about how bad it is so I won’t bother here, but it’s the worst fucking thing to come out of the fandom.

Da//n//vi//d used to be just kind of okay to me when it first became a thing (mainly because it overshadowed a lot of Ma//x//vid content for a while) but now I can’t fucking stand it because 90% of its fans don’t even write or portray either of them right and boil them down to bland, boring, and in Daniel’s case, woobified white gay boys who fit their gross, fetishy, yaoi aesthetic. Also Gwen apparently doesn’t exist in those AUs? And including Da///dvid/// in these AUs especially pisses me off because like HELL David would ever date someone his son was uncomfortable with, and Max is almost always uncomfortable with Daniel in those AUs. Fuck that and fuck that ship.

Any ship that excludes one of the main trio but includes the other two is bad imo, but Ma///k//ki is the worst out of all of them because the fandom already excludes Neil enough as it is and that ship only further that exclusion. There’s nothing WRONG with the ship, but what it represents (the idea that Max and Nikki love each other more than Neil or that Neil isn’t worthy of being included in a romantic relationship with them) is so bad. Ma/x///Nei///l and Ne////il//Nikk///i are clearly not as bad in that area, but at the same time, all three of them have a strong bond and I just see it as disrespectful to not include all of them if you’re going to ship something.

Jasper/Any of the present day kids is iffy. Shipping Jasper is already a weird thing in itself because ghost kid and while AUs where he lives DO exist, it’s still....iffy at times. But at least in those, he’s usually shipped with David (someone he’d be the same age as if he grew up and aged normally) and/or Gwen. Sometimes Daniel but tbh....any ship with Daniel automatically makes me suspicious because again...no one wants to write him as the canon asshole he is and they just want to woobify him. Which is garbage and lazy. Actually just don’t turn Daniel into a bland goody-goody in my presence unless you plan on putting work, time and detail into your reasons behind it. 

Cameron and David is......no........

Also while I don’t hate it, I don’t fucking understand Do////lp//h//Er//ed. Seems like people just wanted to ship a boy and a girl character together for no reason other than they’re a boy and a girl. Also Ered looks at least five years older than him so NOPE.

I think that’s all of them, so like...if you follow me and like any of that....You’re in the wrong place and will probably be miserable. I do try to tag all my posts like this with //Ship Hate, but like.... I’ll understand if you don’t want to stick around.

[hyunjin-writes]

photographer!kihyun au

i,,, have had a thing for photographer kihyun for like,,,eVer sinCE i started stanning him,,,

and since there’s not much out there fics/aus about photographer kihyun

/rolls sleeve/

ok but photographer!kihyun would be both cool and cute i kid u not

the type to always???? ALWAYS!!!! have his camera by his side; either slung on his arm or in his backpack

there was this one time he forgot to bring his camera along and his friends thought something happened to him or the camera

“is ur camera oKay??????r YOU okay????” “why wouldn’t they be okay and im here aren’t i?”

turns out he just forgot to charge the batteries overnight shdsdsj clumsy

but how much do you wanna bet he can’t sit still without his camera by his side?

“yOo kihYUN sTop FidgEting” “i cant help it!!!!i’m so used to have my camera with me i-”

his camera is basically his wife,, but anyways moving on,

the type to be gone during the weekends to take short trips to the beach or countryside for pictures

“hey kihyun are you free this weekend” “can’t im going to the beach” “hey ki-” “CANT i have to go to the neighbouring city”

but his pictures ended up being to die for so it’s forgiven ;;

his phone wallpapers,,, would mostly b pictures of sceneries he took. Only on rare occasion it would be faces of people,,,, prob mainly bcs it was him who took it.

imagine him putting a picture of minhyuk because he loved the way the pic turned out and minhyuk saw,,,

“omg ki i didn’t know u liked me that much ;”^ )” “i  DONT. the pic just turned out nic-” “AWWW SHUSH I Like Me Too ;););)” “sdhjsdhjskajhskja remind me to not take a pic of u ever again”

“no way u like the way he poses for pics too much to not take pics of him” - prob shownu

“,,,,,, riTe”

its tru tho kihyun is picky when it comes to his pictures, especially potraits and he always complains about how its so hard to take pics of shownu

“shownu u do know you can breathe like normal, right?”

but anyways,

his instagram!!!!

god his instagram would b aesthetically pleasing nd like, low quality-ly hq,,

pics from his trips? pics from his coffee stops? pics of mx hanging out? you got them all!

but like,, what’s hard to see in his feed is probably his selfie since he takes bad selfies according to wonho and minhyuk

“i  DO NOT. take bad selfies” - says kihyun as he poses the same pose for 2938482 selfies with the same angle

sighs

so instead of uploading his selfies, the only pictures that would have his face in it would be the candids the boys took of him

from when he’s drinking coffees, or from when he’s taking pictures,,,

mostly r pics of him taking pictures w his camera since he find himself looking extra cool doing those

but like,,, since most of his pics r candids, u can hardly see his face since it’s always being covered w camera or looking down

also since most pics r from  the boys, u could expect to see minhyuk or wonho annoyingly commenting on his pics

“omg what a cool pic i wonder who took them” “i bet the photographer’s good looking tell him i’m a fan of him!”

“im  Blocking. both of u”

ok but you,,,, you do know kihyun, sort of

that is if u consider being friends with changkyun and hearing changkyun bragging about how good this one photographer friend is then yeah you do know kihyun

you follow him on instagram, but like,,, u never actually met him before??

tho judging on his ig pics he seems attractive but also seems like a snoob?? or a bit cocky?? based on his comments so idk,, u just dont really like those type of guys

but anyways, you’re studying filming major in school so you’re always standing behind the camera or screens instead,

but you’re been told a handful of time that you have enough visuals to be a model,, it DID crossed ur mind but like???me??? a model??? must b mad enough to do  That,  so u didnt

so you’re a close friends with changkyun, and you two are always hanging out when kyun ain’t hanging out w mx

so when you’re out together, it’s always u who takes kyun’s pictures and you’re no photography student, but you could say your pics r decent (since you actually like photography as well,)

changkyun loves!!!! ur pic and he always say that you would bond well with kihyun since the two of you have similar taste

youre like  “naaaaah no thx” and kyun just shrugs bcs like okay then sure no fOrcing u

so u continue to hangout with changkyun with him mentioning about wanting the two of you meeting up but you always refusing

UNTIL 

one day you two were hanging out at the park, just casual and being a bunch of goofs when kyun said some of the mx boys r here and wants to meet up nd if its okay with you

“yeAH??? i mean i would love to meet them anyways especially minhyuk! i heard he’s kinda cool,,”

“yeah but there’s gonna be kihy-” changkyun before his words being interrupted by a hollering minhyuk from afar

you immediately recognize minhyuk based on his jumpy attitude and also wonho who’s following behind a sprinting minhyuk

minhyuk immediately pounced on changkyun and you like,, laughed at how done kyun looked

u suddenly heard some clicker sound beside u and when u turn, ur eyes meet w a pair of very??? beautiful??? eyes???

it took a few seconds but u then realized it was kihyun,, with his camera his hand,, like OF COURSE kihyun would b around taking pics

immediately introducing yourself to the boys, changkyun immediately said, “ah ki hyung, she’s the one who always took my cafe an d ootd pics”

youre like ?? but when u look at kihyun he was like O-o and was saying “yeah i sorta figured?? since u hardly hang out w anyone else anyways” but he wasnt even looking at u or anything,,,

“wow he really /is/ snobby,,,,” was what u thought at first since even after a few mins of hanging out at the park, he still wont meet ur eyes??? even when he’s talking to you or something??? wow   rood.

but like yea you guys hanged out for a while longer before u decided to leave the boys alone

so when you excused yourself, changkyun was like “yeah yeah sure i’ll see you later” but

kihyun seemed weirdly and surprisingly disappointed for someone who hardly made any eye contact w you through out the hour of hanging out

nd judging on his personality around the boys and on what changkyun told you, you doubt he’s actually  SHY

(in which he is but we’ll get to that later)

but anyways, kihyun was like: “you’re leaving already?”

“????y ea??? i have early classes tomorrow so,,”

“o right your filming classes”

???? ?you’re actually surprised that he knows??? but okay then

so like u go home and attend your classes like normal for almost a whole week, nothing unusual happened, and u doing ur usual routine,

like going to classes, having lunch w your friends and changkyun when he’s free, studying in the library,, and even going out during the afternoon for an hour of,,, walk

so here’s the thing

even when you’re a film student, you have a huge interest in photography, so,

every afternoon you would go out for an hour or two, just to walk around town, stopping once in a while to just take pictures.

people thought you go out for some exercises but l mao n O

you always have your small handy little camera by your side,, your loyal best friend.

so like it was a week??? after that meeting with kihyun and the other boys, but nothing happened,

you did saw kihyun around the campus once in a while,

but everytime your eyes locked, he would blin k for once or twice then quickly look away,

in WHICH, helped u to think that he’s really a snob

(u gH HE IS REALLY NOT but we’ll get there anyways,)

so like one afternoon you’re just walking around town, taking pictures like normal,

and you’re at this small park at the end of town,

its small, and not packed, just like how u like it,,

so you ended up just spending your afternoon there, taking pictures and stuff

nd after a while u spot a cute little kitten playing around, and of course u took pictures of it

the cat spotted you and it just ran towards you and soon,,

your camera was forgotten and you’re there,

just sitting on the ground and playing with the little kitten,,,

it was really peaceful, with just you and the kitten, and maybe some one or two people passing by, a couple sitting on a bench nearby,, but that’s just it

it’s not noisy or anything, just the way you like it,,

at least until u heard some sound of the flicker of a camera

looking around, you were expecting to see someone taking photos of views or the trees,, BUT

what you wasnt expecting was seeing a camera lens being pointed directly towards you,, just a few feet away from you,, and the kitten

you just stared at the camera,, nd the person behind the camera since you’re not really sure what to do

because like you’re not sure either to be mad or not?? since yea, it’s not nice to take other people’s pictures without permission but like,

you yourself have taken so many candid pictures of others,,, so??? u’re not exactly sure??

realizing they were caught, the person quickly lower down their camera and bow down their head slightly

but like you managed to catch their face and you just,,,: “kihyun???”

the person look up at you and with his round glasses on the bridge of his nose, his beanie covering his black hair, a simple round sweater hugging his figure,

you could easily tell it is indeed your campus’ infamous photographer, Mr. Yoo Kihyun

“what are you-”

“look, i’m sorry for taking your picture without permission it’s just that the settings was all so nice and the sunlight was on point, the kitten was active and you look really pretty so i just had to,, and like i hope u dont ask me to delete them??? because it’s really pretty,,, like i could show u if you don’t believe me it’s ReALLy nice!!! and-”

“l mao kihyun you’re babbling and yea of course you can keep them,”

“please dont tell me to- wait, what?? reaLLy???”

“yea h, i mean, as long as i look good in them tho”

“o- oh,, well,, u do look decent i guess???”

“don’t lie, i heard it when u said i looked pretty.”

“o h sh OOt”

CUE a cute blushing kihyun scratching his nape, trying to figure out how to cover up his honest words he blurted out a while ago,

but when he looked up trying to spit out some words about how it was the sun that helped you looked nice,, he sees you grinning at him while the little kitten still playing with your fingers,,,

and he thought,, oh screw it

“y-yeah,, well you always look good anyways, so nothings new”

and when he sees your cheeks slowly growing red, he was glad he said those words,,

he’d always thought you’re cute anyways, only he never actually brought up the guts to approach you properly

and now,, with you here for once smiling at him instead of looking at him as if he’s some kind of snob you hate, which he knows you thought of him that way before this,,

he decided he’s gonna be a  Man and not waste this chance with you

“but like, do you wanna see it though? the pictures, i mean.”

a/n : i might do a second part of this, who knows since i have a major big fat love for photographer!kihyun anyways! Also, newton was released today and photographer!kihyun made his appearance!!!! 

[andreassts3904]

Assignment 10 - Midterm

Student's Name: Andreas Mavroskotis

Professor's Name: Professor Ducao

Course: STS-UY 3904 B

Loud Car Audio Stereos

Problem

           The world has experienced a rise in the digerati generation. This generation likes playing music content in the car via mp3 stereos or FM broadcasts (Waitt et al. 331). Car manufacturing industries have much invested in the installation of audio stereo technology in all types of vehicles to satisfy the needs of those people that like listening to music or podcasts while traveling. However, not everyone has a taste of listening to music or other loud noises. The installation of loud music stereos in vehicles, especially the public cars, has been a challenge to many, and some passengers have gone into an extent of filing cases against drivers with noise pollution in their vehicles.

Affected generation

           The most vulnerable population to the loud audio systems in public vehicles are the older adults, younger children and infants, and other people with hearing problems. Studies show that noise pollution has some adverse effects on the health of a person. The mentioned groups are at risk of suffering from physiological changes in vascular, hormonal, and nervous body systems. The older people are at risk of getting high blood pressure, depressions, and other related stress illnesses when exposed to loud noises in these vehicles (Yu et al.). Loud music may cause permanent hearing loss to children and people with hearing challenges due to their delicate and damage-susceptible ear canals. Loud noise mainly will frighten infants and children below ten years.

Relevance

           Car manufacturer technologists should keep in mind that not everybody will like the high-quality audio system installation in vehicles during the production process. They should find alternatives that will ensure equity to all their customers and other affected population. Loud noise has a severe problem as it can permanently damage cochlea cell membranes to anyone.

Technology Background

           Audio stereo technology in cars dated back in the year 1904 and was first innovated by Lee de Forest. Since then, there have been many developments witnessed in this technology. First, there was the technology of car radio that is a radio receiver that broadcasts its channels through the FM, AM, or satellite (Strayer et al. 1375). The radio has other features of playing music through the cassettes, compact disks, and the recent flash disk MP3.

           The other recent technology added to the cars is the Android and Apple CarPlay. These features enhance the road users to connect their mobile phone features to them, therefore, reducing driving distractions. The road users can use their phone devices without necessarily touching them or losing concentration on the road while driving or riding. This feature is integrated into the car dashboard and usually performs the functions of music playing, making calls, receiving and texting of messages and showing GPS locations.

           Car Bluetooth is another technological innovation that delivers similar features as the CarPlay. All these wireless connections usually link the mobile devices and personal computers to the installed car audio system. The other recent technology in the car audio system is the installation of sound absorbers that acts as soundproof. This technology has also been used in aircraft, machines, locomotives, and automobiles to attenuate the intensity of a sound.

Diversity consideration

           We are in a century where almost everyone is excited about music. Many young people have installed audio stereos in their houses for entertainment purposes. This trend has also produced the technology of audio radios in every car. For any automobile to qualify to be a vehicle, it must have the super quality audio system installed (Waitt et al. 324-342). However, not all vehicle users will like the idea of music systems in the car, especially in public use vehicles.

           The most disturbing thing about the audio systems in the car is that it can play music in bass and tremble, and this excites the younger generation even more. The content of the popular music genre lacks the inclusion of all people meaning that it lacks diversity such that not everybody is interested in it. Music creates anxiety and fear among younger children. Most of the children during traveling in loud music will be seen crying (Weyde et al. 127). This loud music poses a danger of a child going deaf if exposed to loud music for a long time. Older adults are generally irritated, depressed, and annoyed by noise (Oh et al. 372). When people get older, hair cells and the ear fibers deteriorate. Many older people will develop cases of high blood pressure or permanent hearing loss. Loud music also will reduce the ability to understand conversations among these people leading to autism disorder (Li). In other words, the technology of audio stereos has created age-ism in the services provided by the public transport system. Every person has a civil right to a conducive environment when using the road irrespective of the age. Music has become a meme in most cultures, but sound developers and engineers should produce sound devices that will provide a sound that is not a nuisance to people in general.

Current solution

           As mentioned earlier, the car manufacturers have adopted another audio technology of using soundproofs and sound filters in cars for quality sound production purposes. In this technology, the sound frequency is set in a way that it cannot cause damage to the hearing ability of an individual (Liang et al.). The current solution still does not eliminate the problem because some people still require a quiet noise-free environment while traveling. The production of the so-called quality sounds is not a solution, according to these people. This situation has created a challenge for the car manufacturers because still, some people prefer cars with the best-installed sound system.

My Solution

           From the above problem associated with technology in car manufacturing, I think those car manufacturers should adopt a new sound technology that is fit for all generations in society. The method is supposed to meet the satisfaction and provide a favorable car use environment of both the young and the old. In this case, the best technology that the manufacturers should adopt is the installation of an audio system that is connected to the car seat headsets. In this situation, those people that love music will have a chance of listening to it through earphones and headphones while traveling. This installation will give the car the quietest and conducive environment for all people aboard. The driver will be able to hear car safety signal sounds while driving, thus minimizing the chances of accidents occurring.

Another solution to this problem is the use of Bluetooth stereos that connect wirelessly with passengers' Bluetooth headsets, thus minimizing noise inside the cars. This technology will serve every generation because people will listen to music on their will. Also, the challenge of noise pollution that mainly affects the elderly, infants, and people with hearing issues will be eliminated without doing away with the car audio stereo technology.

Conclusion

           The main challenge that is associated with car audio stereos is the hearing damage. This damage will occur to anyone, whether young or old, or when using headsets. The solution to this problem is to increase awareness of music lovers about the associated health problems accompanied by prolonged use of earphones. For the adoption of a car headset audio system, the car manufacturer should meter the magnitude of sound frequencies to a level that will not damage the auditory system of users. This solution will be achieved through the use of audio filters and absorbers, thus keeping all the road users in a safe environment.

Work Cited

Li, Korotky. "Sensitivity to Noise as We Age | Pacific Northwest Audiology." Pacific Northwest Audiology, 2020, https://pnwaudiology.com/blog/sensitivity-to-noise-as-we-age/.

Liang, Zilong, et al. "Improvement of Sound Quality in Car Based on the Third-Party Sound Effect." Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE)-China Congress. Springer, Singapore, 2018.

Oh, Yang Ki, Jong-Kwan Ryu, and Han-Sol Song. "Effect of noise and reverberation on a subjective measure of speech transmission performance for an elderly person with hearing loss in residential space." The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea 37.5 (2018): 369-377.

Strayer, David L., et al. "Visual and Cognitive Demands of CarPlay, Android Auto, and Five Native Infotainment Systems." Human Factors 61.8 (2019): 1371-1386.

Waitt, Gordon, Theresa Harada, and Michelle Duffy. "'Let's have some music': Sound, gender, and car mobility." Mobility's 12.3 (2017): 324-342.

Weyde, Kjell Vegard, et al. "Road traffic noise and children's inattention." Environmental Health 16.1 (2017): 127.

Yu, Yu, et al. "Air pollution, noise exposure, and metabolic syndrome–A cohort study in elderly Mexican-Americans in the Sacramento area." Environment International 134 (2020): 105269.

[in-a-narrow-land]

Old Anitami, Part One: Orthography, Phonology, and Phonotactics

For once, I followed through. Let’s get started. 

Actually, an initial note - I know that many of you are reading this through machine translation. That should be fine for the most part, but my examples are all written in modern Anitami, and often rely on particular constructions whose grammatical nuances won’t carry over. I want this to be accessible to as many people as possible, so I won’t categorically advise everyone to turn off the translator, but it if you can read even a little Anitami I strongly recommend giving it a try. If anyone wants to volunteer to translate this guide into another language, please let me know! I’d love to collaborate, especially if it’s a language I speak.  

1. Orthography

I wasn’t sure about devoting a whole section to orthography, since it’s almost identical to modern Anitami, and the differences mostly have to do with phonetic shifts, which I’ll discuss below. Still, there are a couple of special characters to keep in mind.

First, the voiced dental fricative is represented by <ʋ>, or, more rarely, <ɹ̟>. Most browsers outside of Anitam and Tapa don’t support those characters, so I’ll transliterate them to th or dh (depending on context). Second, Old Anitam has a velar nasal (think the –ng in sing), which reduces to –n in the modern language.  It’s represented by an <ŋ>, but I’m using the more commonly supported ñ. Finally, the Anitami vowels <ae>, <ai>, and <ei> are often diphthongs in other writing systems, but they’re their own letters in ours. Old Anitami doesn’t have that many true diphthongs, and these aren’t them.

This is also as good a place as any for a historical note: most of the surviving Old Anitami manuscripts we have were written by greens, and written down by yellows. (The second thing is more variable in older texts – ‘scribe’ wasn’t a separate occupation for a long time, and it was initially fairly unclear which caste it was going to be). Obviously, our understanding of the language is mainly limited to green and to an extent blue (courtly) dialects. There’s a lot of interesting research being done in vernacular reconstruction, but it hasn’t hit the grammar books yet.

More relevant to today’s topic, all the evidence we have suggests that greens and yellows, then as now, had different accents. This means that almost everything we have from the classic period was transcribed by someone who would have heard it differently from poet or author who wrote and recited it (early Anitami literature: basically inseparable from performance). Reconstructing pronunciation is a pain at the best of times, and our analysis of e.g. vowel sounds is still fairly speculative.

2. Phonology

A caveat: I don’t like phonology. I can mostly regurgitate what I know, but I’m less equipped to go into detail about this than I am about almost any other aspect of Old Anitami. If you have a question about how something’s pronounced in a specific word, just ask, I don’t want to get into all the edge cases.

And now that I’ve established that I don’t actually know what I’m talking about and nobody else does either, let’s move forward! Old Anitami has 14 consonants: c, f, h, k, l, m, n, ñ, p, s, t, th, w, and y. With a couple of exceptions (in addition to the above mentioned), these are all pronounced as in the modern language. <c> is, of course, identical to <k>, though there’s some evidence that waaaaay back when it was a velar fricative. <th> in old Anitami is always voiced, it only loses its voicing much later in word-final positions or through assimilation to voiceless consonants.  Anitami-speakers will also notice the absence of <b> and <d>.

There are seven vowels: a, i, e, o, ei, ae, and ai. Old Anitami lost /u:/ at some point in its divergence from Proto-Anitami-Tapap and got it back from Tapap much later. <ei>, <ai>, and <ae> are always long by nature, the other vowels may be either short or long. The long vowels have all shifted a little. <ei> was initially pronounced as /ɛi/ (roughly ehh); it has since merged into <ai> (pronounced /aɪ/, rhymes with eye, then as now). <ae> in Old Anitami was prounced /æː/ (more like ahh), now /eɪ/ (ay).

The rules governing stresses and vowel shifts within words can get fairly complicated, and it’ll make more sense to bring them up as they become relevant, but a handful are relatively basic and consistent. Vowels in open syllables are necessarily long unless they’re between two consonants, vowels in closed syllables (that is, those ending in a consonant) are short unless they’re long by nature. <a> likes to be long, <i> and <e> don’t and generally won’t unless they’re word-final. Sometimes, long vowels are forced to reduce by phonetic circumstances; when this happens <ai> usually becomes <i> and <ae> becomes <a>.

Stress is lexical! It defaults to the penultimate syllable, unless that syllable is short, in which case it’ll will move to the final syllable, unless it’s also short, in which case the stress bounces back and the penultimate syllable lengthens (in poetry), or the stress stays on the antepenultimate syllable – of course, there are exceptions.

3. Phonotactics

Or, how syllables are made. (A note on phonotacic conventions: V stands for vowel, C stands for consonant). Old Anitami has a really restricted range of possible syllables: V, CV, VC, CVC, and, much more rarely CVCC. (There are like three cases of CCVC syllables in the entire language).  VC is also pretty rare – syllables strongly prefer to have onsets (initial consonants), and VC syllables can’t ever be stressed. Codas (the consonant or consonants at the end of a syllable) are almost never stops or fricatives. The only exceptions to this rule are in CVCC syllables, where the first syllable of the coda must be a nasal or an approximant, and the final consonant must be a stop or a fricative. By far the most common case is a sibilant (<s> etc.) following a nasal (<n>, <m> etc.). There are no restrictions on which sorts of consonants can be onsets.

Syllable divisions generally obey the maximal onset principle – that is,  consonants between vowels are assigned to the following vowel. Ki-san-ta-mi, not Kis-an-tami, Pa-sen-de, etc. All syllables must have a vowel. Sometimes two consecutive CVC syllables will give rise to consonant clusters that wouldn’t be permitted in a coda if broken up into a CVCC and a VC syllable. This is technically allowed but the language doesn’t like it, it’s common to insert a vowel in between them, and doing so sounds more natural.

And that’s enough to start learning words! Tune in next week for Noun Classes, Or: More Arbitrary Categories For People And Things, which we’re obviously all lacking in our daily lives.  

Next: Noun Classes >> 

[altughuner-blog]

They say there are only three things from the time of Sri Krishna – Govardhan Parvat, Land of Braj and river Yamuna.

The Yamuna with her dark waters is like Krishna in her looks. She is one of his wives and in Mathura, she is the Pattarani or the chief wife. Your visit to Braj Bhumi can not be complete without visiting the holy river.

Boat Ride on the Yamuna river in Mathura

Taking a boat ride on the holy river is a popular pilgrim and tourist activity. So, one morning I also took a boat to admire the different ghats of Mathura from the waters of the river. I probably wanted to see what the river gets to see every day.

Video of the Boat ride

As I was walking towards the ghat, I heard a group of young boys chanting Vedas, repeating after an acharya, sitting under a small canopy. The bazaars were still opening up, but temple bells could be heard just about anywhere.

Vishram Ghat

Vishram Ghat

We started from the famous Vishram ghat on a colorful boat. It is believed that Sri Krishna took rest here, after killing Kamsa and that is how it got its name – Vishram Ghat. It is located bang in the middle, there are 12 ghats on either side of it.

Boats here have colorful flags all around them and an equally colorful carpet to sit on. The boatman told us stories of Braj Bhumi in Braj Bhasha. Poems and saying just flow from his mouth. They add to the joy of a boat ride on a warm March morning.

Kamsa Qila Fort

Kamsa Qila or fort

He tells us about different ghats and their stories as we row towards the left of Vishram Ghat towards Kans ka Qila or the Kamsa’s fort. I am keen to go inside and see the fort, although I know at best it could be the place associated with Kamsa. The fort in red sandstone is obviously recent. Everyone tells me, there is nothing inside to see. From the river, it looks a fairly large fort. Reflecting on the waters, it looks even more majestic.

Colorful Boats on the river

Holi

Rest of the river is lined with colorful ghats buzzing with activities. I was visiting a few days before Holi when the historical city is already in Holi mode. I saw many families playing Holi with the Yamuna. Yes, you heard it right. Playing Holi with the holy river. They would sing Hori or the Holi songs, throw some color in the river and then play among themselves. In fact, this was a ritual inserted in almost every ritual taking place on the ghats. The mood was that of joy and celebration – which is the eternal mood you associate with a place that was chosen even by Sri Krishna to play and do his Raas Lila.

Do read – Govardhan Parvat Parikrama

The only distinct feature I can remember is a tall tower in red sandstone built in Rajasthani Jharokha style called Sati Burj. Apparently, a queen, who was also the mother-in-law of Akbar, did Sati here and this tower was erected in the memory of that.

Verses of Puranas talking about Yamuna and Mathura

Verses from Puranas

Across the ghats, there are boards with verses from Puranas talking about Mathura in Sanskrit with Hindi Translation. I loved it. Hope other places also replicate this practice of putting the Sthal Purana or the literature on the city in public places.

Do read – Making of Mathura Peda

Unfortunately, the ghats of the river are not clean. I saw the sewerage flowing right into the river. The garbage lines up like a threshold between the steps of ghats and the water. It is a painful sight to look at dirty water.

Having said that, there is no dearth of stories when you sit by the river quietly flowing along the moon-shaped ghats of Mathura. Just sit back and let the Brajwasis regale you in the stories of the land.

Chunri Manorath ritual – When the Yamuna Wears Sari

On the boat ride, my guide told me about this unique ritual that is performed on the holy river. As luck would have it, the boatman informed us that a couple of Chunri Manorath is planned for the day. I quickly reworked the plan for the day and made sure I see this unique celebration.

What is the ritual?

Manorath means a wish. Chunri is the scarf that is worn with Indian dresses. On auspicious occasions, women are offered Chunri as part of festivals or during auspicious functions like weddings and engagements. It is generally a sign of acknowledging the auspicious aspect of the divine feminine.

Chunri Manorath Ritual for the holy river

At Mathura, the ritual involves offering a Chunri to the Yamuna, for she is the most auspicious goddess of the land. Families bring rolls of many Saris stitched together, usually 101 Saris but sometimes as many as 400 saris stitched together. This long roll of clothing is then taken on multiple boats to the other end of the holy river. The long cloth is held in a way that it looks like the Yamuna is wearing a Chunri.

Do read – Holi Festival in Mathura Vrindavan

It is usually done by families to mark an occasion or to say thanks for a wish fulfilled. I saw two Chunri Manoraths that day. A family of 90-100 people from Gujarat was celebrating the 60th birthday of the patriarch, who performed all the pujas with his wife. Another family of 10-12 people of Rajasthan was welcoming the new bride in the family.

Who Does Chunri Manorath?

Families performing Chunri Manorath

Chunri Manorath is mainly done by Vaishnavs from Gujarat and Rajasthan who follow Pushti marg. For the followers of this sect, Yamuna is the prime deity. However, there is no restriction, anyone can do it. Priests there will tell you stories of their famous MP Hema Malini doing this ritual here. I assume for winning the parliament seat.

This ritual can be done almost around the year. A shelter has been built on the steps of a ghat to enable people to sit while the ritual is performed. The ritual is long and can take many hours.

Story of Chunri Manorath

It is said that the Gopis of Braj while playing with Sri Krishna developed a sense of pride that Sri Krishna listens to them and would do anything, they ask him to. As soon as Krishna sensed it, he wanted to correct it. He vanished in the waters of the holy river leaving Gopis in a dire state. They were lost and in despair sang Gopi Geet.

They went from forest to forest, from pond to pond looking for Krishna. Finally, they went to the Yamuna and asked his whereabouts. The holy river was moved by their desperate state and she requested Krishna to come out and bring the joy back on the faces of Gopis.

Gopis thanked Yamuna Ji by offering Chunri to her. Since then this ritual is followed by people who want to thank the holy river for fulfilling their wishes.

Video: Watch the Chunri Manorath ritual

Ritual

Families come in a procession, carrying the Chunri or the roll of Saris on their heads. They are dressed in their best clothes. One family has all the women wearing red bandhani saris. Another one has women wearing heavy silk saris and best of jewelry. I guess most of them were wearing new saris. They come to the ghats of the holy river dancing and singing to the love music. As they pass through the markets, everyone knows that the river is going to look beautiful once again.

They sit on the steps of the ghat as the priest prepares for the Chunri Puja. A platform is a setup to perform the following Pujas in sequence:

Ganesh Puja Kalash Puja Matrika Puja Krishna and Yamuna Puja

Sri Krishna and the Yamuna Murthis

Two pots are painted as Krishna and Yamuna. They are decorated like a bride and groom. Every person participating in the puja offers them clothes and jewelry. They are surrounded by sweets of all kinds. I watched the Murtis being decorated with lots of love and affection by the priests as well as the family members.

Offerings to the Holy river

The holy river at its edge is offered various things that are offered to any deity in temple worship like milk, curd, Haldi, Kumkum. Since this was also the Holi time, they also offered her 5 colors as if playing Holi with her.

Colors to play Holi with the river

Once all Pujas are done, people start boarding the boats in a sequence holding the Saris, Challenge is to keep the Saris high up in the air. It is a beautiful scene to see the colorful Saris unfold as the boats move slowly across the river, adding color to it. However, the best part is the joy on the faces of people offering the Chunri. It is like they are living a dream.

In between the instructions for the boatmen, we could also hear ‘Yamuna Maiyya ki Jai’. Once done, everyone congratulates each other for the task well accomplished.

Long ritual

Going by the amount of time spent on doing the Puja or number of things offered, I am sure it is a pretty costly ritual to undertake.

I spent a good 3 hours observing this ritual. The big family was kind enough to invite me to join in for a part of Puja where you offer color to the river. They even invited me to come on board for taking the Chunri on the other side. I said thanks but stayed back to look at from the ghats.

It is one of those serendipitous experiences that make you present at the right time and right place. Till a day before, I had no idea of this ritual. In the morning, I just thought we will look at the ghats on the boat ride and then go on with exploring the rest of Mathura. The holy river has other plans for me. She wanted me to see her draped in colorful Saris. It could not have happened without her grace. These are moments when you feel fulfilled as a traveler.

I later learned that a similar ritual is done at the Narmada as well. Let’s see when the Narmada decides to include me in her glorious moments.

Do try to witness this unique ritual as and when you get a chance.

Stories of Krishna and Yamuna

On the ghats of Mathura, you hear various stories.

One story says that it was the Yamuna who got to touch his feet first, just after he was born. As we know, when Krishna was born, his father Vasudeva carried him in a basket across the Yamuna to Gokul to the home of his friends Nand and Yashoda. When he was carrying the waters of the river came till his neck. This is when Krishna took out his feet from the basket and let the Yamuna touch them. The waters receded and Vasudeva could easily cross the river.

Another story is if various acts of Krishna, all of which were done on the banks of this river, including his Raas Leela and Playing of Flute.

Yet another story depicts the river appearing in her human form with a garland of lotus flowers to marry Krishna.

The Yamuna, as we know is the daughter of Sun and sister of Yama – the God of death. She is also considered the Shakti of Krishna in liquid form, sometimes called the form of Birja Devi.

Read more here.

Travel Tips for Boat Ride

You need about an hour or so to leisurely enjoy the ghats here, including the boat ride.

I paid Rs 400/- for an exclusive boat ride for an hour. It can easily seat 15-20 people.

Try visiting in the morning when the ghats are buzzing with activity and the sun is favorable.

The post Chunri Manorath Ritual – When Yamuna River Wears Sari appeared first on Inditales.

[utptourandtravel]

Interesting and Lesser Known Facts About Rajasthan, India with UTPINDIA

Rajasthan- The “Land of Kings” is India’s largest state by area (10.4% of India’s total area). It is placed on the north-western side of the country, where it covers most of the vast and inhospitable Thar Desert which is also known as the “Rajasthan Desert” and “Great Indian Desert”. It shares a border with the Pakistani provinces of Punjab to the northwest and Sindh to the west, along the Sutlej-Indus river valley.

The state was formed when Rajputana (the name adopted by the British Raj for its dependencies in the region- was merged into the Dominion of India) on March 30, 1949. The largest city and its capital is Jaipur which is also known as Pink City and is located on the state’s eastern side. Some of the other important cities are Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Kota, and Ajmer.

Some of the most interesting and lesser known facts about this “Land of Kings” are:

Historical Background

1. Gurjars In this part of the country, Gurjars ruled for many dynasties. The region was known as Gurjaratra. Almost the whole of North India acknowledged the supremacy of the Gurjars with their seat of power at Kannauj up to the tenth century.

2. Gurjara-Pratihara From the 8th to the 11th century, the Gurjar Pratihar Empire acted as an obstacle for Arab invaders. The chief accomplishment of the Gurjara Pratihara Empire lies in its successful resistance to foreign invasions from the west. Historian R. C. Majumdar said that this was openly acknowledged by the Arab writers. He further noted, Indian Historians have wondered that the progress of Muslim invaders in India is slow as compared with their rapid advance in other parts of the world. Now, there seems a little doubt that it was the power of the Gurjara Pratihara army which effectively blocked the progress of the Arabs beyond the confines of Sindh, their first conquest for nearly 300 years.

3. Historical Tribes Traditionally, the Rajputs, Jats, Meenas, Gurjars, Bhils, Rajpurohit, Charans, Yadavs, Bishnois, Sermals, PhulMali (Saini) and other tribes made a great contribution in building Rajasthan. All these tribes suffered great difficulties in preserving their culture and the land. Millions of them were killed while trying to protect their land. A number of Gurjars had been wiped out in Bhinmal and Ajmer areas while fighting with the invaders. Bhils once ruled Kota. Meenas were rulers of Bundi and the Dhundhar region.

4. Major Rulers (i) Hem Chandra Vikramaditya: The Hindu Emperor Hem Chandra Vikramaditya was born in the village of Machheri in Alwar District in 1501. He won 22 battles against Afghans, from Punjab to Bengal including states of Ajmer and Alwar in Rajasthan. In 1556 at Battle of Delhi, he also defeated the forces of Akbar twice at Agra and Delhi before acceding to the throne of Delhi and establishing the “Hindu Raj” in North India although for a short duration, from Purana Quila in Delhi. While fighting against Mughals, Hem Chandra was killed on the battlefield at Second Battle of Panipat on 5 November 1556.

(ii) Maharana Pratap: In the famous Battle of Haldighati (1576), Maharana Pratap of Mewar thwarted Akbar and later operated from hilly areas of his kingdom. Maharana’s main allies were Bhils during these wars. These attacks were mostly repulsed even though the Mughal forces outnumbered Mewar Rajputs in all the wars fought between them. The war of Haldighati was fought between 10,000 Mewaris and a 100,000-strong Mughal force (including many Rajputs like Kachwahas from Dhundhar).

(iii) Maharaja Suraj Mal: Jat king Maharaja Suraj Mal (Feb 1707 – 25 Dec 1765) or Sujan Singh was the ruler of Bharatpur in Rajasthan. A contemporary historian has described him as “the Plato of the Jat people” and by a modern writer as the “Jat Odysseus”, because of his political intelligence, steady intellect, and clear vision.

Wildlife protection Rajasthan is also known for its national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. There are four national park and wildlife sanctuaries: a) Keoladeo National Park of Bharatpur, b) Sariska Tiger Reserve of Alwar, Ranthambore c) National Park of Sawai Madhopur d) Desert National Park of Jaisalmer Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI) is a national level institute of the ministry of forestry is situated in Jodhpur which continuously works on desert flora and their conservation.

Economy a) The economy of Rajasthan is primarily agricultural and pastoral. The state’s cash crops are Cotton and tobacco. b) Rajasthan is among the largest producers of edible oils in India and the second largest producer of oilseeds. c) Rajasthan is also the biggest wool-producing state in India and the main opium producer and consumer. d) The main industries are mineral based, agriculture based, and textile based. e) Rajasthan is the second largest producer of polyester fiber in India. f) Several prominent chemical and engineering companies are located in the city of Kota, in southern Rajasthan.

Demographics a) Rajasthan’s population is made up mainly of Hindus, who account for 87.45% of the population b) Muslims make up 10.08%, Sikhs 1.27%, and Jains 1% of the population. c) The state of Rajasthan is also populated by Sindhis, who came to Rajasthan from Sindh province (now in Pakistan) during the India-Pakistan separation in 1947.

Culture Rajasthan is culturally rich and has artistic and cultural traditions which reflect the ancient Indian way of life. There is rich and varied folk culture from villages which are often depicted and is symbolic of the state. a) Highly cultivated classical music and dance with its own distinct style is part of the cultural tradition of Rajasthan. The music has songs that depict day-to-day relationships and chores, often focused around fetching water from wells or ponds. b) Rajasthani cooking was influenced by both the war-like lifestyles of its inhabitants and the availability of ingredients in this arid region. c) Food that could last for several days and could be eaten without heating was preferred. d) The scarcities of water and fresh green vegetables have all had their effect on the cooking. e) It is known for its snacks like Bikaneri Bhujia. f) Other famous dishes include bajre ki roti (millet bread) and lashun ki chutney (hot garlic paste), mawa kachori Mirchi Bada, Pyaaj Kachori and ghevar from Jodhpur, Alwar ka Mawa (Milk Cake), malpauas from Pushkar and rassgollas from Bikaner. g) Originating from the Marwar region of the state is the concept Marwari Bhojnalaya, or vegetarian restaurants, today found in many parts of India, which offer vegetarian food of the Marwari people. h) 4 Dal-Bati-Churma is very popular in Rajasthan. i) The Ghoomar dance from Jodhpur Marwar and Kalbeliya dance of Jaisalmer have gained international recognition. j) Folk music is a large part of Rajasthani culture. Kathputli, Bhopa, Chang, Teratali, Ghindr, Kachchhighori, and Tejaji are examples of traditional Rajasthani culture. k) Folk songs are commonly ballads which relate heroic deeds and love stories; and religious or devotional songs known as bhajans and banis which are often accompanied by musical instruments like dholak, sitar, and sarangi are also sung. l) Rajasthan is known for its traditional, colorful art. The block prints, tie and dye prints, Bagaru prints, Sanganer prints, and Zari embroidery are major export products from Rajasthan. m) Handicraft items like wooden furniture and crafts, carpets, and blue pottery are commonly found here. n) The main religious festivals are Deepawali, Holi, Gangaur, Teej, Gogaji, Shri Devnarayan Jayanti, Makar Sankranti and Janmashtami, as the main religion is Hinduism. o) Rajasthan’s desert festival is held once a year during winter. p) Spirit possession has been documented in modern Rajasthan. Some of the spirits possessing Rajasthanis are seen as good and beneficial while others are seen as malevolent.

Tourism Rajasthan attracted 14 percent of total foreign visitors during 2009-2010 which is the fourth highest among Indian states. It is fourth also in Domestic tourist visitors. Many people from around the world are coming for Rajasthan Tour because of the following reasons:

a) The palaces of Jaipur and Ajmer-Pushkar, the lakes of Udaipur, the desert forts of Jodhpur, Taragarh Fort (Star Fort) in Ajmer, and Bikaner and Jaisalmer rank among the most preferred destinations in India for many tourists both Indian and foreign. b) Tourism accounts for eight percent of the state’s domestic product. Many old and neglected palaces and forts have been converted into heritage hotels. c) Rajasthan is famous for its forts, carved temples, and decorated Havelis, which were built by Rajput kings in pre-Muslim era Rajasthan. d) Rajasthan’s Jaipur Jantar Mantar, Mehrangarh Fort, and Stepwell of Jodhpur, Dilwara Temples, Chittorgarh Fort, Lake Palace, miniature paintings in Bundi, and numerous city palaces and Havelis are part of the architectural heritage of India. e) Jaipur, the Pink City, is noted for the ancient houses made of a type of sandstone dominated by a pink hue. f) In Jodhpur, maximum houses are painted blue. g) At Ajmer, there is white marble Bara-dari on the Anasagar lake.

from Interesting and Lesser Known Facts About Rajasthan, India with UTPINDIA

[forbessierra95]

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