#does this ship even have a name? I’ve seen it somewhere but I forgot

[m1ckeyb3rry]

WAIT HAHAHAHAH MATCHING SHIRT WITH SHE BELIEVED I almost completely forgot about that iconic classic

YAYYYY CONGRATS!!!! Honestly such a mood I’m sick of grass LMAO but omg oaeu/pursuit time??? Lowk kinda curious on who youre gonna write next for the oaeu…LMAO wait imagine you write each one little by little and you cycle through their docs writing a paragraph or two then you close the doc and move on because your not feeling it and at some point you’ve gradually written all the remaining ones as a result of short spurts of inspo LMFAOOOO not manifesting that for you because that sounds annoying but it would be kinda funny ngl

OHHHH true true I hadn’t considered that LOL ig the only way around that would be doing sth like Barou oaeu where you swap POVs? But anyways a thought to be considered once you get through your current todo list LMAOA

NO FR 8bit you did otoya justice PLEASEEEE NO WAX KARASU ADDITIONAL TIME PLEASSEEEEE ok but there’s no way we aren’t getting that scene at some point it’s just a matter of WHEN (better be soon….tick tock 8bit hurry up….)

And ikr I remember reading the comment Nomura left like salmon pink is so specific what was the reason LMAO but anyways….im still half baffled at the Kaiser wc (only have because well, after all our convos im sure yk why LMAOO) if an opp get 18k words how many does a fave get /hj

Frrr I’ve seen Free! And Tsurune too (both sports but a lot more lowk than bllk LMAO) from kyoani and the visuals are stunning like this is the magnum opus of animation ugh the quality is too good

LMAOOOOO I WAS TLING THEM LIKE oh Mira’s gonna have a field day with this one but IM CRYINGGG “yooo i’m your biggest fan i loved your work with reunifying japan” HAS ME ROFL this should be a spinoff series once hollyhock is completed this is too funny

NO BC IM SURPRISED HE DOESNT GET BULLIED MORE??? Like I wanna know what kind of gene pattern allows this sort of hair to naturally grow like what even AHAH aegislash arc mention!!! I can so imagine them doing the randomest shit while nagi and y/n are like yo wtf kinda acting scheme did we get sucked into

I swear it’s because of 8bits magic if we got extra anime exclusive juicy scenes of Karasu people would be all over him…cmon 8bit…COME ON!!! The fact that I still see edits where I get clickbaited by Karasu from ep 1s additional time only for it to be a Rin edit….wait did you see any of the preview pics for the ep though YUKI LOOKING MAJESTIC so excited to see him shine!!! I wonder what we’ll get for the additional time this ep omg maybe more yuki nagi crumbs

LMFAOOO this is your moment your dad gets a side hustle as a lawyer AND finds you a bodyguard and you get your fantasy au of falling in love with your guard except it’s not fantasy it’s irl

CRYING the way I just passed by a meme referencing that (where doofenshmirtz is literally a question mark and then turns into an exclamation point im sure you’ve seen this somewhere probably also I probably spelled that wrong but wtv) fwtkac is just THE fic truly changing lives for Karasu nation also THE BEGINNING OF ONE SIDED KARASU YUKI BEEF truly too iconic

- Karasu anon

BEST COUPLES COSTUME EVER on a more serious note i think the couple costume i want to do the most is padme and anakin from star wars because i think i would slay and i also love star wars and anakin is super hot…now hear me out here i think yukimiya could absolutely EAT UP an anakin (from revenge of the sith specifically) costume LDKSFJHS okay so we have the tabimira costume and the yukimira (notice how we have the perfect best ship name ever #canon) costume…idk what nagi would dress up i feel like he would just wear a white hoodie and say he’s a ghost or something 😭

I’M SICK OF GRASS TOO TBH but ngl that’s literally what i’ve been doing atp…adding a few sentences to each wip before moving on to another one…you know it’s bad when even aikulations can’t save me from the writer’s block i’m going through 😓 but i’m also lowkey sick atm (not with anything physical but my mom and i have both been really lethargic and having migraines so it’s probably some weird virus) so i think that might be impacting my productivity too!! hopefully once i’m through it i’ll be back and better than ever…i’ve been working on the karasu version of the oaeu but considering i was working on the nagi version like three days earlier it’s really a toss up if i’ll finish and post that or if i’ll end up doing something else

i could def oaeu it hmm….anyways yes agreed i have way too much to get through atm HAHAHA i will consider it when i’m finally freed from the shackles of touching grass illness and requests

okay because honestly they could do a hair down karasu + hair down shidou additional time of them in their dorms and make a very large portion of the bllk fan base happy LMAOOO seriously though there’s no way blue lock will end and we won’t have a SINGLE scene of him with his hair down?? maybe we’ll get an additional time of those little “day before the u20 match” snippets from the egoist bible…in karasu’s he mentions that he was in the bath with hiori so maybe we’ll get him shirtless AND with wet hair omg my life would be fr complete if so

LMAOO SALMON PINK IS INSANE WORK it was definitely to differentiate it from chigiri (bright pink) kurona (peach pink) and sae (red bean pink) genuinely why are there so many pink/red haired characters in the show 😭 it’s such a random color meanwhile barou is the ONLY character with red eyes i’m pretty sure (since they got rid of kiyora’s cool emo color scheme from s1 😒) i actually love barou’s color scheme and how his eyes are so bright compared to his black hair i feel like it sets him apart from the monochromatic vibe everyone else has going on as well as the typical black hair/blue eyes combo that’s so popular

HELP I HAVE NO IDEA HOW THE KAISER ONE GOT SO LONG tbh i think it’s a world building thing…that’s why whenever people are like “you don’t write as much for characters you don’t like” i feel like i need to clarify that how much i write is ENTIRELY dependent on the plot 🙂‍↕️ some plots require more words to develop and build and have maximum impact yk?? like karasu bfb would not have had nearly the emotion and punch it did if i shortened it because half of the appeal of the story is seeing karasu and the reader grow up and how their feelings and relationship shift over the years meanwhile the otoya version would’ve felt super dragged out and annoying if it was that long because it would’ve just been otoya cheating and reader not really caring because she’s TOTALLY not into him or anything SLKDFHJDS so like the kaiser req because it was fantasy needed the necessary buildup to the ending hence the longer word count (plus in order to make it believable that an angel would care about a human i had to show their interactions and reader’s character and shit) meanwhile a request that’s a little more specific and especially in an established relationship setting doesn’t require as much background context or anything so it’s like i can just write the scene a person wants and then be done with it LMAOOOO i do think all of the 1k event reqs are going to be really long though because they’re just tropes?? so i have to lay the groundwork of the verse and the plot and stuff to make the tropes feel believable

KYOANI QUALITY IS AMAZING and i feel like their work never has huge fan bases??? like the violet evergarden fandom is nonexistent ig because it doesn’t really lend itself well to a fandom but still i feel like it’s one of those things where everyone recognizes the quality of the work but people by and large don’t go around saying that they’re FANS of the work (not me though i’ll always say ve is my fav anime it has its sus moments ofc [that one ep with the princess was a little strange given the age gap plus gilbert being the romantic lead in the movie is kinda eh to me i don’t really like it i prefer thinking of him as a father figure] but what it does well it does SO WELL plus everyone is drawn super realistically and age appropriately?? if that makes sense like there’s no nonsense with “500 year old” elementary schools…also the exploration of grief and emotions is AMAZINGG you’ll never catch me hating)

RIN ISEKAI SPIN-OFF OF HOLLYHOCK WOULD ACTUALLY BE SO FUNNY i think it would be hilarious too because technically he’s otoya’s employer?? since he’s in yukimiya’s body…so his biggest opp (his celebrity crush’s boyfriend) actually just works for him imagine he sends otoya on random missions so that he can get closer to reader without otoya’s interference KSDHJFSLK or wait it would be even funnier if the bllk guys exist in his time line as well so he thinks everyone else got isekai’d too so he’s like trying to talk to karasu about “going back home” and gardener karasu is like fuck you my dad died this is my home now?? because he thinks “yukimiya” is being classist so we get the onesided karasu yuki beef again

AEGISLASH ARC MENTIONED WE ALL CLAPPED okay so if in the actual verse nagi and reader are gone for about a week just imagine it’s like karasu tullia and otoya freaking out for a day before completing random side quests where they “happen” to run into reo and chigiri LMAOO so it’s like nagi and reader trying to avoid death and going through this weird quest so they’re not killed by a psychotic ghost type meanwhile otoya’s trying to teach chigiri and karasu how to rizz up girls (and failing) and reo + tullia are “not on a date” but they keep doing date-like activities like going to dinner and shopping together and stuff (reo has a lot of extra money with nagi gone)

YUKI LOOKED SO SO SO SO SO SO GOOD THIS EPISODE reminds me why i started the manga for him…been a day one yukimiya stan fr and i’m PROUD i’m surprised i haven’t seen more fans of him maybe this episode will change that though?? i feel like he had as much majestic screen time as otoya in ep1 but for some reason everyone jumped to the otoya train and there’s not enough people left to be yuki/karasu fans but oh well more for me ig /hj i was really hoping that we’d get a yukimiya + nagi additional time instead of another nagireo one and 8bit DELIVERED please they were so cute (had to throw rin in there fsr ig but whatever yuki and nagi balance it out) i love them both and okay maybe the animation itself wasn’t FIRE but they drew yukimiya’s one v one emperor sequence so well i was blushing and giggling and kicking my feet and shit i feel like i truly won (missed seeing karasu on screen though fr)

HELP it’s perfect we’ve planned it all out…tbh only tangentially related but i think knight but specifically in a guard way is such a romantic trope and i remember we were talking about it before and how like karasu and rin wouldn’t really fit but they’re the closest besides barou and i cannot believe yukimiya didn’t jump to mind…COME ON THAT MAN IS SO DEVOTED BUT ALSO THE RELIGIOUS ASPECT COULD VERY EASILY BE SHIFTED TO FEEL IN CHARACTER AS TO WHY HE REFUSES TO GIVE IN TO TEMPTATION EVEN THOUGH HE WANTS TO???? the angst potential there is. absolutely insane. plus one v one emperor is such a knightly name idk if that makes sense but like it sounds like so regal and shit omg me omw to change that one megumi fic to a yukimiya fic ASAP af (/hj but also am i really)

FWTKAC THE FIC THAT BEGAN IT ALL i would never have been a karasu writer without it because i literally couldn’t think of any ideas for him before you made that req so you really did bless karasu nation and posterity with that (plus it’s what got us to start talking so like double win ^^)

[kingdom-cookies]

Lunar New Years date

[drabbles-of-writing]

So I’m making a Hunter cosplay. Shocker, I know, who could’ve seen that coming? The writer who has entire AU’s dedicated around this kid and the Golden Guards? Surely he never thought about making a cosplay, of course not.

Here’s the situation. I’ve ordered a white cloak from Amazon, because unfortunately Etsy is extremely expensive, but it’s the only thing I got on Amazon. Did I order it a little late? Sure, most definitely, but the point is that I ordered it before Halloween. I currently have a hand-made DIY cloak me and my dad cut and stitched together with some white shirts he’s not using anymore, which is probably the most Hunter thing I’ve done in my life, but the DIY-cloak was only meant to be used yesterday, and today I was supposed to use the actual cloak for an event I’m going to. Because the cloak was supposed to arrive yesterday.

It did not arrive yesterday. I was confused, because we were told it would arrive on Friday. It’s almost nine PM on a Friday night, and no package. Confused, I go to my dad watching TV with my mom, and ask him to check if the package got delayed. Annoying, but I still had the hand-made cloak, so I’d just have to wait a little longer.

Amazon says the package was delivered. We squint at it. I go outside. I check the boxes of other packages we received yesterday, as if somehow there was an unopened box among them we just left on the front porch. I wonder if someone took a box inside and stashed it somewhere and forgot about it.

My dad tells me to come back inside. He knows what happened. At this point I’m thinking, well, maybe we accidentally sent it to the wrong address. We’ve sent packages to friends before, all except one who lived within an hour of us, so that’d just be an amusing accident. Maybe Amazon automatically shipped the package to whoever we’d delivered to last, and we just didn’t think to check.

We look at the address. We stare. My dad looks at me. I am about ready to lose my entire shit.

The package went to my high school.

A singular, twenty dollar white cloak, was sent to my high school’s mail. It is currently sitting in my high school’s mail. It has been sitting there since it first arrived. It had likely arrived as I was already leaving school that very day.

Many questions come to mind. First of all, we have never, in our entire lives, sent a package directly to my high school. Not once. I didn’t even know you could just do that, send a random package to a random high school. Why, in fucks name, did Amazon automatically send a white cloak to my school. How did neither me, nor my dad, who were present for the ordering of this cloak, not notice that the address was different. It is clearly not our address. It’s not even close.

I’m pissed off. Mainly just at the circumstances, because really, what the hell is my life. Who does this. Who orders a white cloak much later than they should have and ends up sending it to their high school. Am I going to have some guys with cameras hiding behind the bushes filming this sitcom I’ve found myself in.

I go back upstairs. I open my computer. In the most regretful email I’ve ever made, I tell my counsellor of my mistake. I ask her if I could pretty please come by and pick up my accidental gift sometime tomorrow.

I remember that it’s Friday. It’s late at night. Nobody on staff is answering any emails or calls over the weekend. I agree with this, it’s a good plan, I support not doing any work when you’re not on the clock. However, right now, it’s making me worried. Because there is a random package this school did not ask for sitting in their mail.

I call the main office. They are also not answering, because of course they aren’t. I call the registrar office for...some reason. I was hoping that maybe she would pick up the phone. Why would she answer when my counsellor and main office wouldn’t? I have no idea.

So now I am here. With one email in my counsellors inbox, two voice mails for the main office and the registrar attendee, and a singular cloak sitting in their physical mail. Which will likely not see the light of day until Monday, maybe not even Tuesday.

I’ve had some weird things happen to me before. I’ve been part of and witnessed some bizarre situations in my, frankly, pretty short life on this planet. This isn’t even the weirdest. It is, however, pretty damn baffling. Maybe even in the top ten “how did that even happen in the first place” situations. 

With all that said. Have a happy Halloween, everyone. Make sure to double check where you’re sending orders, and if you have even an inkling of an idea to order something you really want, either order it then, or set reminders to order it within the next 24 hours. Because then you will forget for days on end, and then you will order it late, and then you’ll somehow miss that the address changed to something entirely different despite you never touching it.

But aside from that, the cosplay is actually coming together pretty well. So, y’know, I’ve got that going for me.

[thebiggestfan1]

Are you in town? - Matthew Tkachuk (part 1)

part two here

part three here

word count: 1860 words

TW: language, angst (?)

let me know if you want part two, I’m somehow still not sure

...

It was so hot that day. The movers were already gone, the place feeling empty without all the furniture. In a few hours, you'd be long gone, flying far away from Chesterfield.

Some small part of you felt sorry for selling your parents' house - the house you spent your whole childhood living in. But they moved out a few years ago and told you many times they didn't mind at all selling it.

Wiping the sweat off of your eyebrows you made your way through the blooming garden, trying to memorize every little detail. You remembered climbing this tree, you remembered the hole in the fence you made so the neighbour's dog could come play with you, you remembered the time capsule you and Matt buried here when you were fifteen.

Until now, you completely forgot about that. Even though you two didn't talk after he got drafted, it'd be a good idea to meet again since you might never see him again. You might be moving to Calgary but that city was so big it'd be a miracle to meet Matthew somewhere.

So you scrolled through your phone, praying he didn't change his number after all those years as you dialed it.

The phone rang twice before someone picked it up.

"Yes?"

Matthew's voice was so different since the last time you talked.

"Hey Matt, this is Y/N, I'm moving out today and I thought we could dig up the time capsule we buried at my place as kids before I leave. Are you in town?" It was off-season so you might get lucky.

"You are moving out already? But yeah, I can meet you in an hour if you have the time."

"Yes, I'll still be here, don't worry."

"Okay..." There was a moment of awkward silence, neither of you knew how to break it. Was it a bad idea? Of course you wouldn't be as good friends as you once were. But you didn't know it would be this... weird. He didn't say goodbye back when he left to Calgary and didn't answer to any of your calls or messages. What were you thinking? That he wanted to see you?

"So, where are you moving to?" Matt finally continued, making the conversation more bareable.

"Calgary, they offered me an amazing job there."

"Really? I've been there for a few years."

"I heard." Not from you, was what you didn't say. It seemed like he'd heard it nonetheless.

Silence. You hated how distant you've grown - once, a long time ago, you were best friends. You went together to kindergarden and since then you've been the best of best friends. But even after all you went through, you didn't know what to say.

"Nevermind, I have to get going. I'll be at your place at three, okay?"

"Okay. I'll meet you there."

As you hung up, sadness enveloped you. Maybe you shouldn't have called. Maybe it'd be better to never meet Matt again, to remember only the good old times.

But he might be already on his way and you wanted to say a proper goodbye before going far, far away.

You loved him once, you recalled. It broke your heart when he left without looking back.

It irritated you that you couldn't do the same as easily.

...

"Y/N?" a now familiar voice called, the sound of closing car doors echoing through the silent street.

Matt looked same as he did four years ago and still totally different. It was like staring at a stranger you could swear you've already seen before. The curly, those pretty grey-blue eyes and the crooked smile you remembered and thought about too often. He got taller and more mascular over the time he played hockey professionally.

"Hey," you said nervously, tucking your slightly trembling hands into the pockets of your shorts.

Again, that uncomfortable silence took place.

"How long is it?" Since you've last seen each other. Since he'd ignored your calls and messages. Since he'd left you crying as he left this town - as he left you.

"Five years," you said.

Regret flashed in those pretty eyes as he took you in. Did you look to him the same as you did the last time he saw you?

"I'm sorry I didn't call." That was it? After five fucking years of silence, this was his apology for everything. This was a mistake. You didn't think it through when you called him today. Just now you started remembering all the things he's done to you.

"That doesn't make it hurt less, does it?" You whipped around, going to the line of fruit trees where you left the two shovels you borrowed from the neighbour.

Matt's hand slightly gripped your elbow, stopping you in your tracks.

"I know that I made a bunch of wrong decisions before I left."

"I've been trying for 6 months to reach you before giving up completely. And you? You've been living the best version of your life anyone could ever imagine."

"That's not true and you know it." Matthew said and you wanted to leave right then, forget this stupid meeting.

"I do not." you hissed, trying to calm down your rising temper.

Matt sighed, not wanting to argue over this. So he made his way to the tree line, picked one shovel from the ground and started digging where he remembered the time capsule was.

You didn't help him dig it up. You were too lost in memories, clinging to the past as you thought of younger version of Matt.

The clang of metal on metal attracted your attention back to him. He grunted as he pulled up the metal box and laid it on the grass.

You ducked low next to him, dusting off the dirt of the box. It was an old, weirdly dented thing.  Your eyes laid on the lock and you nearly sighed in annoyance just when Matt grabbed at his necklace, the key dangling from it. When you two buried the capsule, each of you got a key made for it. You had yours somewhere in the boxes that had already been shipped to your new apartment and Matt's... he didn't forget. He kept it through the years, guarding it and not losing it as you expected.

You didn't say anything, just patiently waited for him to open the box.

There was a letter inside, along with a bunch of things you thought of as long forgotten. Your bracelets of friendship, the colors faded already; a puck with which you and Matthew played your first hockey game together when you were six; so many polaroid photos with your faces on them; USB with a playlist you two always danced to.

Your eyes watered - how were you supposed to say goodbye to all of this?

Silently, you looked over all of the photos - you and Matt in the rink with small hockey sticks and skates, you and Matt sticking out your tongues colored blue with slushies, you and Matt, you and Matt, you and Matt...

Then Matthew's hand found yours, your fingers automatically intertwining with his. You started crying, first silently but then the sobs shook with your whole body.

"Come here," he murmured, hugging you. His body was so soft and warm, as if begging you to lean into his touch.

"How- how could you leave this all behind?" you mumbled between the sobs.

"It's not leaving if you don't say goodbye." Matt said, his fingers playing with yours.

"Then you are a fucking coward, Matthew."

Silence. He didn't argue with you on that, so you must have been right.

You stopped crying after a while, checking your watch while wiping your nose.

Shit. It was so late already - you had to call an uber to get you to the airport in the next hour or you'd be super late.

"I'll have to go," you said quietly, but Matt interrupted you.

"You are right," he tucked on the edge of his shirt, clearly nervous. He was nervous. "I was a coward. I thought that if I didn't say goodbye to you as I left, it'd hurt less. I was wrong and I was a fucking coward for not picking up your calls or replying to your messages because it would make it so real - that I was leaving and probably never coming back. But I want to make it all right again, I want to be a part of your life - if you will let me."

You thought about his offer and still, you couldn't answer. You weren't sure about letting him into your heart just for him to storm out again without a goodbye, leaving you behind, broken.

"Can I at least take you to the airport?" To that, you nodded, picking up the time capsule, putting all the items back in. Then you gave back the lent shovels to your neighbour and with a last glance at your house, you got into Matt's car.

...

On the way to the airport Matt played the playlist from the USB that was in the time capsule and the nostalgy hit you hard.

You remembered the lyrics, the melody; you remembered everything.

The drive was too short and you started panicking as the engine stopped.

Matthew helped you with your suitcase and went inside with you. The two of you stopped at the first gate.

"Here," he said, giving you a piece of paper. "It's my adress. Hopefully, you won't live so far away, so we could meet there if you wanted to."

You tucked it in your pocket without a word.

"Also, take this. I wrote it in ninth grade so don't think much of it. But I want you to read it, Y/N."

It was the letter from the time capsule, with your name on the blank envelope.

"I will." you promised.

The silence that followed wasn't awkward this time.

"I'll let you know my decision about what you said earlier. I just... I need some time."

Matt noded, giving you the space you so desperately needed.

"So, until we meet again - goodbye, Y/N."

"Goodbye, Matt."

...

The plane took off and you finally had the time to read the letter he gave you.

You immediately recognised his scrambled handwriting and you smiled at how messy it was before you started reading.

Dear Y/N,

I'm writing this in case I leave. Dad has been telling me for some time already that if I'll get drafted, I'll have to leave. He also said that if I'll be smart, I will never look back at my past.

I don't want you to be my past. I want you to be my present and my future.

He said I'll meet a lot of girls but I know that none of them is going to be like you.

So, I promise you, I will never say goodbye to you.

I love you,

Matt

With trembling fingers, you pulled out your phone, the tears already staining the screen.

That's why he never said goodbye. Because of this stupid letter and his stupid promise.

The phone rang once before he picked it up.

"Y/N? What is it?"

A ragged breath escaped you and you laughed and cried at the same time.

"I don't want you to be my past. I want you to be my present and my future."

"Oh, that was cheesy, wasn't it-"

"No, you dumbass. That's my answer."

[i-write-newsies]

A/N:

(Y/N) - Your Name

(L/N) - Last Name

(N/N) - Nickname

(H/C) - Hair Color

(D/N) - DEEZ NUTS!! /j Deadname

(E/C) - Eye Color

(H/L) - Hair Length

(Y/A) - Your Age

Ships Included:

- Jack x Davey

- Spot x Race

- Finch x Smalls (Platonic)

- Albert x Elmer

-Katherine x Sarah

- Spot x Reader (Brotherly Platonic)

- Race x Reader (Brotherly Platonic)

Summary:

You have always dreamed of living in the world of your favorite characters, to escape from whatever rotten life you have and make friends with the people you love. One day, fate decides to give you a chance. But when you're not prepared to be rushed into that universe, it becomes a roller coaster of balancing good and bad emotions and events.

Good luck, Reader!

!!TW!!

~ SELF HARM

~ TRANSPHOBIA

~ MAJOR INJURY

~ ABUSE

~ ARGUING

(Y/N) POV:

I'm (Y/N) (L/N). I'm (Y/A) with (E/C) eyes and (H/L) (H/C) hair. At least it used to be (H/L). I cut it all off today. I can tell my mom just found out because of the loud cursing and stomping. "GODDAMMIT, (D/N)!!" she yells. What scares me the most about this situation is the fact that I'm kinda used to this. I hear her coming up the stairs to my room and rush to the door and lock it. As expected, the door handle starts rattling violently, "(D/N) YOU LET ME IN RIGHT NOW, YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE SH!T!" She starts banging on the door, stressing the lock.

I sigh. Today was one of the worse days. I slip on my noise-canceling headphones and press play on my musicals playlist, consisting of:

- Waving Through A Window

- On My Own

- A Little Fall Of Rain

- Angel of Music

and of course...

The entire Newsies soundtrack.

By the time I get to 'Seize the Day', it's twilight outside. I lift one of my headphones to check if my mom is gone. I hear nothing. I look out the window and don't see her car. Perfect.

Unplugging my headphones and letting the music play, I walk over to my dresser, open it up, and reach deep in the back. Aha!

I pull out some bandages (A/N: DO NOT ACTUALLY BIND LIKE THIS OK BYE). I take off my shirt and try not to look in my mirror, fearing what sort of feminine body I may see. I start wrapping my chest to the point that it gets a little hard to breathe. This kinda hurts, but my dysphoria is stronger than my need for comfort and, let's be honest, safety.

Slipping my shirt back on, I look into the mirror and smile, satisfied with my flat chest and somewhat choppy short, (H/C) hair. I jump onto my bed and plug my headphones back into my phone which is now playing Santa Fe. Santa Fe honestly makes me think. I'm only, what, (Y/A)? And I still go through all this BS. I need out. Somewhere my mom can't tell me I'm female. Somewhere like...Newsies. I mean, Race is canonically trans, right? Not to mention all of them are definitely fruity. They'd accept me. The fresh, bandaged cuts on my arms are the only things keeping me in reality right now

As the song ends, I realize that I've been crying. God, why am I stuck in this wretched place? The question as well as thoughts of Newsies reverberates in my skull, a sort of white noise until I fall into a much-needed sleep.

"Aye, kid! Watcha doin sleepin on the street?"

"Especially in a place this..."

Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω

Jack POV:

I yawn, rubbing sleep from my eyes as the circulation bell drones on an' on. I let my eyes adjust to the view of the sunrise from my penthouse in the sky.

As I try to get up to get ready, a pair of arms drag me back down. "Jackieeee" a half-awake Davey groans, "come back down, it's freezing up here." "Dave, we gotta get to work. The boys can always count on me being at the gates early, so if you don't get up, I'm leaving you behind." This seems to wake him up a little more, "Alright, alright fine." he shivers as he gets up. I throw him his top shirt and vest and he desperately claws them on to gain warmth. Carefully, we climb down the ladder.

"What'd I tell ya, Dave? Even in the middle of summer, the night's always freezing." Davey rolls his eyes and does a little shiver "I know, Jackie, now c'mere and warm me up" I grin and move in closer, holding his hand, as we start walking to the gates. "Still not warm enough!" Davey said in a singsong-ish voice. I sigh and feign annoyance, leaning in to give a short but sweet peck on the lips. I think he's satisfied now. We're not usually this lovey-dovey, but I think we're both touch starved and subtly begging for a hug.

Davey, being the amazing boyfriend he is, stops by Jacobis to get us some breakfast. "Dave, you really don't hafta-" "I insist, Jack. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day," he says in an almost snobbish voice. I give him a small smile. That's my smartass Dave.

As we get to the gates, I notice a small figure leaned up against it. By now, the sun has come up some more over Manhattan 'n Dave 'n I don't have to walk as close to warm ourselves up. The figure seems to be sleeping, a newsies cap over their eyes. I think it's a kid. Maybe a new newsie looking for work?

I crouch down in front of him lift his hat, and start tapping his shoulder, "Aye, kid! Watcha doin sleepin on the street?" "Especially in a place this..." Davey notes. The kid seems to wake with a start. He rubs his eyes, and I chuckle a little "Whatsa matter? Ya look like youse seen a ghost." He doesn't seem to find this funny and repeatedly switches from looking at me then Davey with some confusion and shock in his eyes.

"I um-" he stutters over his words, "Aye, aye, kid, calm down, you ain't in trouble or nuttin." He takes a few deep breaths. "Okay... I'm (Y/N). I'm just freaking out because This isn't where I fell asleep, and- and I just- feel like I know you..." "Well, (Y/N) it sounds like you're one of da Newsies now," I say with a grin, "Now, we gots ta give you a nickname, we rarely eva call someone by their real name, 'cept Dave 'n Albert of course," The kid stays silent, clearly still shocked from waking up in a foreign place. "I feel like I know you.." he says, barely discernible. "Maybe ya do, maybe ya don't, Dave here's the only one good with faces." The kid looks up at Davey, who seems deep in thought, "(N/N)" he exclaims, "Ah, sorry, what I meant was your nickname should be (N/N)!" "I like it! But why (N/N) exactly?" I question, "Well, *insert reason why here*" "Well ain't you a clever boy, Dave!" I say, ruffling his hair. Davey shies away, "Jack! Now I have to fix my hair!" he complains, "Sorry, sorry." Davey then leaves to fix his hair in front of a shop window nearby, leaving me and (N/N) alone.

(N/N) seems to want to say something, but as soon as he opens his mouth, he shuts it just as quickly. I try to fill the awkward silence, "So, what's wit' da bandages, kiddo?" He freezes, "Nothing, just a ploy to get people to buy more papes..." he trails off. I have a feelin' he's not tellin' the truth, but I go along with it anyway, "Ha! What an idea, I wonder how I neva thought a' that before." he smiles, seeming satisfied with the praise. Davey returns from the shop window, "Alright! Ready to start the day?" (N/N) nods, and so do I.

Newsies start gathering, some glancing at (N/N) and some anxiously peering through the gates. I look at the headline for today: New Newsie Price! "Aye, Dave, you seein' this shit?" "Language- and yeah... what in the world was runnin' through Pulitzer's head when he thought of this??" I look at (N/N), whose mouth is a thin, pale line but whose (E/C) eyes are glinting with determination. "Heh, kid, what's that look for?" He looks at me, a little startled, but quickly regains that same tough expression, "I have a feeling that this ain't some silly little joke. And I'm worried 'bout the kids that may get hurt in the crossfire." I laugh, "Youse just bein dramatic! Surely, they wouldn't be as dumb as to underpay their own employees." I walk over to Weasel and slap down a penny "100 papes please!" "That's gonna be dime, Kelly."

My heart almost stops, and it takes all my strength not to break down in front of the boys. I fake a laugh, "Surely you're joking." "100 papes costs a dime, take a look at the headline." I hit the money box out of anger, "Then we'll just take our business to Brooklyn." Someone pipes up, "The same thing's happenin' there." "Then we'll go to Rushing!" Specs jogs over, seemingly out of breath, "I'll save ya the walk; it's the same everywhere."

Fuck.

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Y/N POV:

A sharp pain in my chest temporarily distracts me from the situation at hand. Ah. I almost forgot. I still have to bind. This sucks. I feel a pair of eyes on me and turn just in time to see Racetrack Higgins avert his eyes. I give him a confused look and turn back to Jack singing "The World Will Know" I forget all about his weird staring and get back into the determined beat from before.

Soon, the newsies and I make our way to Jacobis for some...water I guess? I do happen to have some extra money in my pocket so I think I can treat all the boys to some seltzer. I sit down on a hard wooden chair in a slouch. The room is buzzing with excited talk of the strike. I give a small, sad smile. These boys have no idea what they're getting themselves into. Crutchie sits next to me serving a wide smile just as Jacobi enters with a tray full of waters, "And here's one for you, and for you, and for you- who's the big spender that ordered everyone seltzer?" shyly, I raise my hand, "That's me, sir." "You know these cost a quarter each, right?" I pull out a handful of quarters with a cheeky smile "and I got more where that came from." The boys go wild, "Where did ya get all that money, kid??" Davey, being the concerned mom, asks "Please tell me you didn't steal that." I shake my head, "I used to live comfortably, but my mom kicked me out for...reasons." my grin falters for a second, but no one seems to notice.

"Well!" Jack stands on a table, "Here's to the strike! And, of course, (N/N)" He gestures towards me with a wink as everyone cheers. As Katherine enters, I start to zone out and stare at a speck of dust on the ground. After all, I know the plot all too well. I perk up, though, as soon as Jack asks who's goin' to Brooklyn. My hand shoots up, "I nominate me and Race!" I exclaim. I look over at Race, who's staring at me, blushing and jaw dropped a little. I grin at him and look back at Jack, who's a little shocked. "A-alright! Me and Dave'll take the Bronx, I guess."

*Timeskip to after the restaurant scene*

I walk down the Manhatten alleys blindly, no clue where I'm going, when I hear someone come up behind me. "Hey, (N/N)! It's me, Race." I smile weakly, "Oh, hey." "I always sell my papes at Sheepshead in Brooklyn, so I know where to go."

It's almost completely silent except for the clicking of our shoes on the paved roads. "So... how'd ya get here as a Newsie, (N/N)?" "Well, Jack 'n Davey found me sleepin' on the street just this mornin'" He laughs, "Wow! So you got used to the Newsie life real quick!" "Yeah, I did.." I let out a small chuckle as well. Race pulls out a cigar and clamps it between his lips and goes to light it but hesitates. "Uh- Wanna cigar?" "Wow, Racetrack Higgins giving me one of his own cigars? I'm flattered!" I joke, "But, yeah, I need smoke." He digs into his pocket and hands me another cigar, "You eva' smoked before?" he stares at me as I put the cigar in between my lips. I grin sheepishly, "No." "Okay, maybe we should stop for a second. Coughing while walking ain't the most fun thing in the woild."

We lean up against a wall as Race lights first his, then my cigar. I inhale and immediately spiral into a coughing fit. Race smacks my back, "You good, (N/N)? I ain't neva' seen a fella cough that hard on the first puff." I roll my tear-filled eyes and continue coughing.

Once my coughing fit subsides, I feel a wave of relaxation. "God I should do this more often." I groan, Race grins, "Yeah, once you get past the whole blowin'-your-brains-out part of smokin', it's real nice. Anyway, shall we continue?" he gestures to the streets ahead. I nod my head and take another puff, "Yeah, it's gettin' kinda late and we do NOT wanna wake up the Spot Conlon." Race nods in agreement and we hurry along. Even though I know Spot is kind of a softie, that doesn't stop me from being intimidated by his prowess.

We reach the Brooklyn lodging just as Race's cigar burned out. Race takes a deep breath and gives three solid knocks on the door. A kid younger than me answers the door, "State ya business" "I'm here to let Conlon know about some very important news." The kid squints his eyes but responds "I'll ask him if he's willing to meet with anyone right now. Who should I tell him is askin'?" "Race. Higgins." He says somewhat awkwardly.

The kid closes the door. Race and I stand quietly waiting for the OK to see Spot. Suddenly the door swings open to reveal Spot. "Ra-" he notices me and coughs, "I mean- Higgins, would you like to step in to discuss the important news?" I almost laugh at the way he went from totally in love to distinguished gentleman. I shoo them away, holding in laughter, "don't worry, I'll wait out here and give you lovebirds some space." (A/N: or should I say sprace) I see them both go tomato red.

I sigh as they head inside. I take a drag from the cigar and start thinking. How did I end up in the newsies universe and act this calm about it? This feels so surreal. But I want to stay here forever. Far away from my sh!tty mom and all my responsibilities.

Lost in my own head, I barely notice as Racetrack storms out of the lodging, clearly pissed. "C'mon (N/N), we're leaving." he grabs my hand and angrily powerwalks to the next street over. Once we're there, he lets go of my hand and sighs harshly, walking slow. "I assume it didn't go well?" I ask, already knowing the answer. "Not. Well." "Wanna talk about it?" he shakes his head and starts walking "No, thanks. I think we's better get to bed before Jack gets worried." he stops. "Do you have a place to sleep?" I look down, "Not really..." "Well!" he grabs my hand again with a big grin, "Looks like youse bunkin' wit' me." I start to protest, but realize it'd get me nowhere with this stubborn SOB, so I let myself get dragged along. Oh, well. I might as well get rest for the strike tomorrow, goodness knows I need it.

As I settle down into the rough sheets, the gentle snoring rocks me to sleep with thoughts of the strike. One thought flashes through my mind before I fall asleep; God help us all.

I wake up to someone poking my face. My eyes flutter open and I almost fall off the bunk at the sight of Race's face right in front of mine. "JESUS CHRIST, RACE, YOU SCARED THE SH!T OUTTA ME!" He backs off, putting his hands up in surrender, "Sorry, sorry, it's just that Jack said you had to be up and out in 10 minutes so we can have an organized strike or whateva'" Race rolls his eyes, "I'm startin' ta think that Davey's rubbin' off on 'im a lil' too much."

I groan, tempted to slide back under the covers, but get up anyway. I slept with my clothes on so I don't have to do anything about that. As I look into an old, rusted mirror and comb my fingers through my now tangled hair, I feel another sharp pain in my chest, accompanied by a dull throbbing. I really should have taken off the bandages while I slept, but now it's too late. I take one last look in the mirror and, ignoring my eyebags, quickly head out the door to join the others. As I get to the gate, everyone's waiting with anticipation, faces grim but hopeful.

Everything happens in a blur. One moment we're striking, and the next we're beaten into a pulp. I manage to soak a Delancey in the eye when suddenly a familiar sharp pain fills my chest and wince, faltering. Morris takes this as an opportunity to knee me in the stomach, forcing me to the ground, where their take turns kicking my chest and body with those damn steel-toed boots of theirs until my clothes are torn and the cuts on my arms reopen. Suddenly, there's a small crack as my body swells up with pain and the taste of metal enters my mouth. I let out a blood-curdling scream as the pain registers in my brain. In my blurred vision, I see the Delancey's walk away, ready to torture their next victim; Crutchie.

I try to get up and reach out, try to scream at them not to hurt him, but all I can do is weakly move my hand in their direction and spit out blood. Suddenly, a small but rough hand reaches out and drags me into an alley. "Dammit, (N/N) what were you thinking?! Fighting in a gawddamn binder, and a makeshift one, no less!" "R-..Race..?" "Not now, (N/N) I have ta get youse to safety foist." I watch as he chews on his nails in thought, "Dammit! The only way back to tha lodge is through the Delancey's again!" He sighs. "Brooklyn it is..." He gingerly picks me up and carries me as fast as possible to Spot's turf.

Setting my feet on the ground and propping me up against him, he bangs on the door. "Spot!" Please! This is serious, I need your help!" I can hear the tears in his voice. Spot flings open the door, obviously very concerned. He's confused for a second, then looks at me and his eyes go wide. "GET THE MED KIT AND A COT OPEN, WESE GOT SOMETHING HORRIBLE THAT'S HAPPENED" he yells behind him. Race, now more calmed down, takes me in his arms again, but seems to refuse to look at Spot, who looks away as well, but more in shame.

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Race POV:

I watch as some of the Brooklyn newsies take (N/N) and lay him on a cot, anger surging through my veins. I take a deep breath "I'll take care of him. You guys don't have to worry about it." As they leave the room, I look down at (N/N) and can't help but feel guilty. Like this is my fault. I only got away with a black eye, but he got all this?

I regain my composure and start by taking (N/N) shirt off. I can already see the bruises starting to form and cringe. I take off his binding bandages and see his chest expand immediately. Poor kid. He must have been hurting in more way that just one. I take the gauze from the wooden box and gently wrap his torso with it. Maneuvering around his arms, I notice something. The bandages on him arms. When he was wearing them before, Jack said it was a marketing ploy, but now I see red bleeding through the white gauze.

I unwrap (N/N)'s arms and gasp. Hundreds of tiny, but deep cuts litter his forearms and wrists. F#ck. He was hurting so much more than I could have ever known. I wrap them with fresh gauze and treat the rest of his wounds, stepping back to admire my handiwork. That's when I start to cry. Full-on tears falling, face in hands crocodile tears. I turn my head with a start to see Spot, standing over me with a hand on my shoulder, looking apologetic "I'm so sorry..." Suddenly this sadness turns to rage. I grab him by the shirt collar and drag him outside to an empty alleyway. "SORRY?? SORRY, MY 4SS! (N/N) AND SO MANY OTHER 'HATTEN NEWSIES ALMOST DIED OUT THERE BECAUSE YOU DIDN'T WANT TO JOIN UNTIL YOU KNEW WE WOULDN'T "CAVE" WELL, WE DIDN'T CAVE, AND LOOK WHAT F#CKING HAPPENED! AND DONT YOU SAY SORRY TO ME AND EXPECT ME TO FORGIVE YOU JUST BECAUSE I LOVE YOU, THAT'S FOR CROW TO DECIDE." Spot seemed silent at first, but now I could see his anger building up; "WADDAYA THINK WOULD O' HAPPENED TO MY BOYS, HUH?? I WANTED TO WAIT TO SEE IF WE WOULD BE THE ONLY ONES FIGHTIN IN THIS BATTLE AGAINST PULITZER."

I open my mouth then close it. He has a fair point, but doesn't he trust me and the udda newsies not to bail in their hour of need? I sigh, pinching my nose. "I'm sorry Spot, I just-... I just wish you trusted me a bit more..." I look up at him to see tears in his eyes. "OH, SPOT HONEY, ITS OKAY, I'M NOT MAD, DON'T CRY, DON'T CRY" I shush him, pulling his head into my chest, which isn't tough considering his height.

As he lets go, the adrenaline rush from today dies down. God, I'm so tired. My knees nearly buckle and Spot notices, "Aye, aye! Tony, you doin' okay?" I nod at him, but the bags under my eyes are making them droop, "Race, honey, you need to get some sleep, okay?" I shake my head but soon fall into Spot's arms as my legs give way. "Fine..." I mumble. I can feel him grinning, "Good, we gots an extra bed for youse to sleep in." I sigh, grateful. I can feel Spot picking me up, the rhythm of his boots tapping along the ground, a pause and shift as he opens the lodging door and kicks it closed behind him as I fall asleep.

I wake up in a cold sweat. (N/N). I need to see (N/N). I need to check if he's okay. I climb out of the bed Spot laid me in and let my eyes adjust to the dark before maneuvering around all the other sleeping kids. I make my way as quietly as possible to where (N/N) is resting. I crouch down and take his hand in mine. How could I let this happen? And how did I not notice his suffering? I press the back of his hand to my forehead, closing my eyes. My body is so tired right now, but my mind is too tortured with guilt to let me sleep.

By the time my thoughts finally leave me alone, the sun is rising in the sky. I'm finally drifting when- "Race?" I turn my head to the voice, "Oh, jesus, you look horrible!" Spot exclaims, "did you even get any sleep last night?" I shrug, to be fair, I lost count of the hours. Spot sighs, "Race...go sleep. At least for a few more hours. I can watch (N/N) if that makes you happy," I nod, rubbing my eyes. I stumble back to my bed amongst all the Brooklyn newsies and fall asleep the moment my head hits the pillow.

My mind dreams of talkin' cigars and bloody bandages. I see Crow propped up against the wall, smokin' a cigar. "(N/N)! (N/N)! Oh my god, I'm so happy that you're okay!" (N/N) doesn't answer, I slowly starts walking towards him, "(N/N)...?" he starts laughing. Softly at first then roaring, and the laughing turns into a heavy coughing fit. As (N/N) coughs, red smoke pours out of his lungs and clouds my vision. I swipe at the air, trying to brush away the fog, "(N/N)?? (N/N), where did you go?!" suddenly, the smoke clears and I see (N/N) bruised, damaged, bleeding body at my feet, I gasp and step back. (N/N) slowly turns to face me, and in a painful, teary, almost sickly whisper asks, "Why did you let this happen?" Tears start spilling down my face, "I- I didn't me-" "You did this to me Race. Race. Race. Race! Race! RACE! RACE!--

Spot POV:

--RACE WAKE UP!" He wakes up with a gasp. He looks around wildly, tears dripping from his chin. I've never seen him like this. He must care for him like a brudda. To be honest, I'm worried as well, not only about (N/N) but now that we know 'Hatten isn't gonna back down and we join the fight, what's gonna happen to the newsies in general? Kids could get hoit. Bad.

"Spot?" Race starts sobbing, clinging to my shirt fabric, "Please...tell me it'll be okay..." I can't. Race, I don't know if it will. I almost start sobbing on the Spot ( A/N: heh...), but I hold my composure and smile at him, "It'll be okay, Tony...we're all gonna be fine" He seems to believe this, at least a little bit. "Now, don't you gotta meet up wit' da udda newsies?" He retracts his head from my chest, eyes wide. In a nasal voice, he goes "AW SHOOT, I 'MOST FORGOT" I watch him with a small smile as he rushes to get dressed like the goof he is. God, I love 'im.

Race POV:

Silence. I got there too early. Fuck. I can't just be alone with my thoughts, but at least I have some extra money to... I don't know? I walk up to the bar, where the owner of Jacobi's is cleaning out glasses. I sigh and sit down, "Got anything to help forget? At least for a little while...?"

"Ain't you a little too young for that, kid?" I give him a look and push my money over the counter to him. He quietly collects it, "So what can I get ya?" I'm silent for a bit "Fireball." I say with some demand in my voice. He disappears behind the counter and comes back with some shot glasses and a Fireball bottle, pouring it out into the glasses as I watch. I notice as he sighs, "Feel betta, kid." Can't promise that.

I pick up a shot glass, watching as the orange liquid spins around in it. I take in a breath of spicy cinnamon before letting the liquid slip down my throat, leaving a trail of a burning sensation. Soon, one turns into another, and another, and another and before I could comprehend it, the room starts to spin and blur. Eventually, the room fills with newsies, mumblin' 'bout how crappy the strike went. I do my very best to fit in and not act drunk, but the time zooms by and I find myself singin' 'bout bein' the king o' new york. At some point in the blurry memory, Katherine suggests getting drunk and I throw my hands up and cheer. More free Fireball! But then she clarifies that it was a metaphor, to which I am very disappointed.

The rest whizzes past me and soon I'm stumblin' my way to Brooklyn. I knock heavily on the lodging door, then lean on it. Unexpectedly, the door opens and I'm left to fall flat on my face at the feet of my boyfriend, Spot Conlon. "Race! Darlin', you okay? Youse fell flat on ya face!" He extends a hand that I receive and pulls me up. I giggle, "Ahhhh, my Spotty! Always carin' 'bout uddas. Pshht! Yeah, I'm fiiiine." I flop my hand down to wave off his concern. He wrinkles his nose, "You reek of cinnamon....and alcohol." He widens his eyes and I let out anudda giggle, "Race! Tell me you didn't jus' get drunk!" he whines, I grin, "Okey, 'you didn't jus' get drunk'" I imitate him in a deep voice and he sighs, "Jesus Christ, Racer.." he grabs my hand pulls me inside, eventually laying me on a bed, face red with a giggling fit. "Goodnight, my liege," I giggle some more, "and you my Prince," he gives a small smile before covering me with a blanket. I fall asleep before it's up over my shoulders.

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I wake up with my head feeling like it's going to explode.

Fuck Life.

I groan and sit up. "Mornin' Sleepin' Beauty" Spot smirks and hands me a cup of water, "Shut the fuck up" I whine and grab the glass, "Ooh feelin' feisty today, huh?" I shoot him a look that could rot a squash with one gaze. He holds up his hands in defense, "Alright, alright, my bad," He shrugs. I sigh and take a sip of water, which turns into me chugging the whole thing. "You betta get ova this hangover fast, hon" I groan, not ready to do anything at all today, "We gots the meetin' wit' Jack."

End my life.

"No, I don't think I will," "fuuuuck did I say that out loud?" I let out a small wail, and Spot chuckles a little, though you can tell there's somethin' on his mind still, "Yeah, ya did sweetheart." I grumble something incomprehensible and look down, red. He smiles, "Get dressed and drink as much water as possible, okay? We can't have you hungover for the big meeting, right?" I nod...which causes my head to hurt. Ow.

I sigh and decide to take my sweet time getting dressed. This sucks. "Spotty!" I call, then cringe after a new wave of pain hits, he pokes his head through the door "Yeah?". "I don't have the energy to deal wit' all dese gawddamn bandages. Help me?" He blushes a bit but agrees to help me bind. All I focus on is not hurting my head again. Spot ties the bandages and stands back to admire his handiwork but quickly notices my cringin'. "Do you want somethin' cold?" he asks gently, I nod as gingerly as possible.

*Timeskip to after the newsies meet n greet bcuz I'm power-finishing this at 12am and my mental health is steadily declining*

My hand shakes as I bring a fresh, unlit cigar to my lips.

Jack. That sellout, that traitor.

A sharp pain knocks me out of my angry thoughts. Ah. I burned myself.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, "Racer.." says a gentle voice, "You okay? that's your 3rd cigar in the past 2 hours or so." I look up to see Finch leaning over me as I sit on the ground, a concerned look on his face, "You're gonna run out all too soon" I give a bitter laugh, "Yeah, I guess I will." Finch can see that there's not much he can do to help me. He gives a weak smile and turns to walk away.

I see Davey run off somewhere. I wonder where they're going? I sigh and turn my head back down to the ground. Who cares? Without a leader, the strike'll just fall apart and Pulitzer'll win. Who was I kidding when I bragged abt being da "King o' New York"? I'm just some nobody kid without a nickel to my name. The bigger guys always win, so what's with me tryin'?

Jack POV:

I can't let any more kids get in this much danger. I visited (N/N) today. I found out about all his... injuries, as well as whatever he was born as. He's been through so much before all this, he doesn't deserve it.

It's my fault for being so ignorant. For not noticing anything was goin' on. My fault for inciting this stupid strike. For getting all these kids hoit. and Crutchie...poor Crutchie, locked up in that godawful place. I know he ain't helpless, 'e's a cheeky little bastard, I'll give him that, but the Refuge breaks down even the biggest of smiles and smothers the brightest of people. I will never forget that hell I went through. I went in a cheeky fightin' kid with a deep, strong flame, and came out with the embers barely glowing. It took years just to spark it up again. I'm terrified as to what'll happen to him.

I lean over the railing of my penthouse, not even noticing as it shakes and squeaks, making way for a young boy a little younger den me. "-Jack! JACK!" "Jesus Christ, yeah??? Oh, it's you, Dave..." I look away shamefully, he's probably here to chew me out and tell me we're done and gone. "What the hell was that?" I wince, I knew it. "Waddya mean 'what the hell was that?'?" "You know what I mean, JACK KELLY." I'm fucked. "YOU BETRAYED US FOR MONEY?!" "I WOULDN'T HAVE FELT PRESSURED TO IF I WADN'T DEALIN' WIT' A FLAKER!" Davey gives a bitter laugh and balls up the front of my shirt in his fist, tugging me towards him. "Ohoho! And if I wasn't your 'best friend' you'd be lookin' at me through one swollen eye!" "Oh, yeah? Well, don't let that stop ya, huh? Gimme your best shot!" something soft roughly pressing against my lips. The only thought at the moment is; 'Well, this is new... and passionate, 'specially from Dave' there's a heavy, awkward silence.

I back away from him, knocking over my drawings in the process. One specific drawing rolls out seemingly by fate. It taps on Davey's shoe and he looks down. His eyes widen a little as he reaches down to get it. "Is this.. the Refuge?" he puts a hand over his mouth, "weren't you stuck here once? Rats, cockroaches everywhere, 6 kids to a bunk? Holy fuc- I mean fudge." If the moment weren't this tense, I might've laughed. "Jack..." I feel a hand on my shoulder. "You don't have to tell me if you're not ready." I shake my head and he drops his arm understandingly. "Either way, we could use this. Heck..." Davey seems deep in thought before his face lights up, "We could make our own newspaper!" I look at him in disbelief, he notices, and speaks again "think about it, Jackie! Kath's a real talented writer! This art could change the perspective of hundreds! We could write to tell all the workin' boys to go on Strike tomorra'! And we could expose Snyder in the process!" Hey, that's not too bad..."But, Dave, how're we gonna print it?" His face falls, "I didn't think about it...we're banned from every printin' press in New York.."

Oh no. Ohhh no. "No. Noooo." I whine, Davey chuckles, amused "what?" "I know a printin' press that no one would ever think of!" Davey grins, "Then what are we waitin' for?" He puts my drawing back into the case, and slings it over his shoulder, getting ready to climb down. Suddenly, a thought strikes me, "Wait-" "Yeah?" "Dave- what are we exactly? Like I know how we act to each other n' everything, but we've never really said out loud what we are..." Davey giggles, "Jackie-" "No! Tell me right now, are we... in love? Boyfriends, I guess?? Or am I just something for your own experimentation?"

He cups my face in his hands, "Jackie..." he kisses my nose, "Of course I love you! And yes! We are in love! Dating! Boyfriends! Whichever way you want to define us!" Soon we're both grinning ear-to-ear and blushing. "Now!" he exclaims, hopping up, clearly on a high from the whole kiss and convo, "Let's get to it!" I laugh and stand up as well, following my over-enthusiastic boyfriend down the ladder. As Davey said; Let's get to it!

(Y/N) POV:

'My head hurts...' I think groggily. I try to open my eyes, but my vision is blurred and wonky. I sit up. Nevermind. Everything hurts. As my vision starts to clear, I see a very tired Spot Conlon sitting in a chair in the corner of whatever room I'm in rubbing sleep from his eyes. He fixates his eyes on me for a second, and I can see the sleepiness and confusion in his eyes turn into shock and joy. "(N/N)! Ohmygod! I'm so glad you'se awake!" I can see him go to wrap me in a bear hug before holdin' himself back after he remembers all my injuries. Wait. My injuries. "Does this mean you know about...?" I vaguely gesture to my arms and Spot nods sadly, "And..." I cringe and gesture to my chest, now only lightly bound with medical tape, but tighter than needed for a typical injury. I smile to myself. That must've been Race. He's like a perfect older brother, not only thinkin' about my physical health, but also my mental well-being.

Spot notices the look on my face and sees me lookin' down at my chest, he chuckles, "Yeah, Race decided on that. He wanted you to feel as comfortable as possible while you heal." I start grinning even harder. Spot spoke up again "Don't forget that even boys born seen as boys don't have perfectly flat chests, so binding as tight as you did wasn't necessary or safe, for that matter." I give him a look, is Spot really trying to be the cis savior right now? He gives me a look right back, "What? I know what I'm talking about." He lifts his shirt up to reveal two scars on his chest. I gasp, "But you're only *insert years/months* younger/older than me! How did you even know that this was an option, as well, how did you do it?" He smirks, pulling his shirt back down, "Thought so. Anyway, I don't really know. I needed them off desperately and randomly thought of it. As for the how, Buttons is AMAZING with scissors and blades. Like, scary amazing." He shivers. I blink. Damn.

He gives a shy grin "Do I really pass that well?" I look at him enviously "Of course! But... how do you look so...masculine?" "Well, I tried my best to copy the behavior of other boys I saw. And the whole working out didn't hurt." I nod, taking a mental note. Behavior, got it. Can't promise sticking to a workout, though. Spot scoots closer, taking my hand in his, "But the most important thing to understand is- behavior, body type, and a powerful reputation doesn't define being a true boy. What does is what's in here-" he taps my head, "-and here." he points to my heart. Spot looks me in my eyes, "You could wear dresses, skirts, use a 'girly' name, hell, even go by she! and you'd still be a boy in my eyes." I feel my eyes water, and Spot opens his arms to me with a sincere look. I fall into his arms and cry tears of joy. Spot and Race are the older brothers I never had, helping me at every fork in the road of my transition.

(A/N: I noticed that a big issue in trans fanfics was that the cis person was always the one to condescendingly teaching the helpless trans kid how to bind properly. I decided to make both of your mentors trans, had them both know what they're talking about, and made sure that you weren't completely useless or clueless, only that you needed guidance seeing as (Y/N) is a trans kid with no former knowledge about his transition. As well, I kinda wanted this fic to be of help to any newcomer trans men. Anyway, on to the last of the story!)

"So how are your ribs feeling?" Spot asks after we both calm down, "A little sore, but pretty much moveable. Is it really this painful to bind? I mean, the past few weeks I had the binding stuff on was my first time." "It shouldn't, I mean, lookit Race. He seems energetic and flexible even when he's binding." I think he sees my insecure face because he speaks again, "What I mean to say is- if you have more experience binding, you'll know how to mix mental and physical comfort. Either way, what fucked up your ribs wasn't the binding, it was the Delancey's. Not saying the way you were binding wasn't bad and wouldn't have caused lasting damage, of course."

I see Spot have a flicker of thought behind his eyes, he pulls out an obviously stolen silver pocket watch with the initials H.A. engraved on it to check the time. "Almost time..." he mutters. I give him a suspicious look, "Almost time for what...?" he looks sheepishly at the ground, "Nnnnnothing." I let out a noise halfway between a snort and a scoff, "Uh huh." "Fine." he sighs, "All the newsies and workin' boys is comin' together today. We'se hopin' ta finish up this strike Once And For All."

"Let me guess, I shouldn't go because I'm still healing." He nods, "Spot!! I need to do my part in this strike! I can't miss the most important day of my life." he gives me a weird look, "You don't even know what the outcome'll be, plus I promised Race that you wouldn't get hurt." "Please, I've been bedridden for WEEKS. And I won't get hurt" I protest stubbornly, he sighs exasperatedly "FINE, but I'm gettin' you right outta there at the foist sign o' danger, okay?" "Okay!" I say, content with the compromise. "We should prolly get you up and used to legs again before the strike--" my stomach rumbles harder than Les when he sees the chocolate croissants in the Pastry Shop window, and that's seriously saying somethin', "--and something to eat, too."

Spot holds my hands as I get out of bed and basically learn to walk again with wobbly legs. You could just paint my back with spots and call me a baby deer. Once I get my legs to work with me, Spot leads me to a tin tub. I give him a 'seriously?' look, "What am I doin', goin' ta church?" he laughs sarcastically, "Ha, ha. (N/N), you haven't cleaned yourself since the last time you were conscious. I also need to refresh your bandages since those haven't been touched since Race changed them in the foist place." "Fiiiine" I growl.

Spot unwraps my arm and chest bandages, but when it comes to me taking off the rest of my clothes, he looks away (not even for my privacy, but just because he is highly repulsed to the idea of naked bodies) I add enough soap suds on top of the water to cover my body so he's comfortable.

He grabs some soap and lathers up my hair with it, soon rinsing it. He also lathers and rinses my face, removing the built-up dirt, grease, and sweat, which accumulated surprisingly quickly for only spending a month, or was it two, here. Spot brings out a small piece of scrap fabric and a bottle of some liquid, then gently grabs my arms. "This might burn a little," he said empathetically. He dampened the cloth with what I am assuming is disinfectant and started pressing it against my healing cuts. I tried to hold in my pain but let out a small hiss when the cloth reached the deeper cuts on the backs of my arms. Spot stopped temporarily, letting my arms adjust to the sting a little, before continuing. Once he's finished, he hands me the soap and leaves the room to let me bathe myself in peace and picks up my dirty clothes and old bandages. "Holler if you need anything!" he yells on his way out.

I create a lather in my hands and stand up so I can actually wash my body. The air is chilly compared to the bathwater, so I do my best to be quick as I let my soap hands travel gingerly over my body. I look down, and for the first time in a long time, I don't feel ashamed. Spot words echo in my mind as I smile softly; 'You could wear dresses, skirts, use a 'girly' name, hell, even go by she! and you'd still be a boy in my eyes.' I guess, for now, I'm confident in my masculinity.

I sit back down, enjoying the warmth, and rinse myself off. I step out of the bath and look at the grey-ish brown-ish water. Ew, was I really that dirty? As the cold air envelops me once more, I realize I don't have a towel. Or clothes. "Spot!" I call out, "Yeah?" I hear a faint voice, "I need a towel and some clothes!" I answer. There's quiet, then a series of rustling sounds that slowly get closer. The door opens a crack and I see a tan, muscular hand slide a pile of clothes and a towel in my direction. I smile gratefully, "Thanks, Spotty!" "Aye! Only Race can call me dat..." "Okay, fine."

I dry my hair as much as possible, before continuing to my body. There's not much actual rubbing rather than patting because of my injuries, so when I get my pants on and slip my button-down onto my shoulders, they get a little damp. "Spot?" I call out again, "Do you think you could help me with my bandages?" "'Course!" He casually picks up the chest bandages and binds it pretty much perfectly- Tight enough to make a difference in my chest size, but loose enough to let my ribs heal. Spot then starts re-bandaging my arms, "Can I ask you a question, Spot?" "Sure, (N/N)" he says nonchalantly, "Why is it you are repulsed by fully naked bodies, but you're perfectly casual and fine about helping me bind my chest when I'm half-naked?" he clears his throat as if he was ready to spin a whole story, "Well, Race used to live with me and we started trusting each other a lot more than when we first met. He trusted me enough to teach him the best way to bind, and he trusted me enough to feel comfy without a top on when around the house, so I'm kinda desensitized. But when it comes to people being naked or bein' overly suggestive, I just..don't like it. At all."

'Asexual,' I think, 'Knew it."

"Anyway, you ready to fight off the bulls and get our rights back, (N/N)?" He stands up and offers a hand to help me up, which I receive. I catch my reflection in the dirty bathwater. I can see crystal clear, that I am dapper, strong, and ready to kick some Delancey ass.

But first, Lunch.

Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω~Ω

I arrive at the strike on Spot's shoulders, hyped for the happy ending they all worked so hard for. Spot sets me down gently and scans the crowd for someone. It seems he found them because his face lights up. I see Race run over to us. "(N/N)! Oh my god, I'm so fuckin' glad that you're awake! Especially today of all days!" however, his enthusiasm is soon replaced with concern, "But is ya sure yer okay? You must've woken up just today, so are you feeling good? Yer injuries don't hurt too bad, you're not dizzy, hungry, thirsty?" "Calm down, Tony, I gave him a bath, changed his bandages, gave him food n' water, even a pep talk, so you don't need to worry!" Race takes a few deep breaths, "Okay, okay, yeah I'm fine. But that's great!" He engulfs me in a firm, but gentle hug. I look around the crowd and see some familiar faces, Katherine seems to have brought another girl with her, who I'm assuming is Sarah, Davey's sister. I see Albert and Elmer tightly holding each other's hands. I see Finch and Smalls exchanging jokes as a form of distraction. I look back at Race and Spot, who are being so romantic, it's almost gross. Almost.

The adrenaline still hasn't left me so when people start getting as excited as me, it just hypes me up even more. We look up at the window of Pulitzer's office and see Jack and a few others standing there, waving. I wave back vigorously. Not too long after, Jack, Davey, Pulitzer, and The Governer appear on a balcony, Jack at the front. "Newsies of New York City..." cue the pause for dramatic effect, "WE WON!!" The crowd of newsies roars with joy. I watch as Crutchie limps out and beats Snyder's ass as the abuser is dragged away, I don't understand why so many people see him as an angel, it's obvious that he's a cheeky lil' rat bastard.

Suddenly, it's like everything is in slow motion. I look around once more and see Katherine and Sarah kissing, same with Albert and Elmer, Finch and Smalls are hugging each other tightly. I look back up at the balcony and see Davey and Jack gettin' it ON. I look once again to Spot and Race, who just finished kissing. Spot reaches down and hoists me onto his shoulders to cheer. And as I take in this momentous victory one sense at a time, I realize in a moment of pure bliss-

I finally found my true family.

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

Word Count: 8190

(A/N):

This took VERY LONG (approx. one month, I just finished after working from 9 pm to 5 am) I know it was supposed to be a simple one-shot, but since there was no one to help narrow down and shorten the plot for me, I got carried away. I am, however, pleased with the length of it. This may be the longest fic I've ever written. As well, I hope any underlying advice or tips mentioned in the story helped you to understand/realize something.

I would love it if you were to vote, give me some constructive criticism, and/or request something for me to write! Don't forget- I live to write that one fanfic you can never find.

Love y'all!

~ Race

[americasmarauders]

the last great american dynasty--Bucky Barnes

summary: A short story on how she lived her life after her sweetheart was kiiled during the war.

words: 1,934

author’s note: it’s been a while since i last worked on this and i think it’s a bit choppy, but i hope y’all like it. it’s slightly inspired by taylor siwft’s song the last great american dynasty. 

-

-

She didn't expect to meet him. The usual parties her father threw were filled to the brim with spoiled brats and entitled jerks. But he wasn't one of them. 

              He wore a crisp blue suit, his hair gelled back and his eyes bright like the sun. His smile was infectious and she found herself smiling from across the room just seeing the sight. He made his way towards her and she didn’t imagine how much her world would change.

              Bucky, that's what his name was, had not come to one of those gatherings before. It was usually his father that came. But his father was out of town, and he was to take over the small company soon anyway, so he came. His bright smile and twinkling blue eyes knocked her world out of its axis. 

              They talked all night. Not those pretentious, boring conversations. Actual conversations. He told her stories about his sisters and his best friend. How his best friend was the best person in the world, how he struggled so much and yet never once lost his kindness. How his sisters were always up to mischief. Bucky's eyes shine bright at those simple anecdotes, and she shone with him, for him. 

              After that, he would sneak in through her window some nights and they would talk in hushed tones or nap cuddled to each other. He would leave by dawn, a couple of hours before his Father expected him to appear and help him with the business. Other nights, he would appear by the front door, by the end of the afternoon a bouquet of flowers in his hand and the most charming smile she had ever seen. He would hand her the flowers and shake her father’s hand and then he would whisk her to dance the night away. 

              And then….And then the war happened. And her heart would beat stronger and more anxiously every time she remembered that soon Bucky would be one of those boys that needed to enlist. He would say that everything would be fine, he would kiss her worries away leaving her flushed and distracted, only focusing on getting his lips back on her again. 

              But he got drafted. 107th infantry, leaving to the other side of the ocean, first thing after that 1A was seen by him. Bucky took her out dancing the night before he was sent away from her. She was left with a promise: he would go back to her, no matter what. And then he gave her a ring. Not something that would symbolize the promise of marriage, but the promise of his love. 

              He left with her heart in his pocket. She cried the entire day after she was him waving from the ship, him getting smaller the more the embarkation got away from her. Steve consoled her, held her hand and told her everything would be okay. But he too left for bootcamp, leaving her for the war. 

                he took over the company soon after her dad fell sick. It was a couple of years into the war, the ring Bucky had given her heavy on her finger. They exchanged letters, he would profess his love in every single one of them. But she could tell his exhaustion, she could tell the trauma he was facing. Then the letters stopped altogether for months. And she braced for the worst. 

              She buried herself in work and money and lavish parties for those horrible months. She filled her pool with champagne, swam in it with the best artists in New York. Inside she was bleeding, absent of a heart. She missed Bucky. She missed everything about him. 

              A letter came in the mail with his hand-writing on it and suddenly the parties weren’t needed anymore. He told her Steve was different now, like someone had injected steroids on him, and someone most likely had. He told her he had been captured and taken as a POW for those months he didn’t write.  He was sorry that she worried for him. 

              She was just glad he was alive. She was just glad that she could see a light at the end of the tunnel. The war was ending, Hitler was nearing a dead end, the Allies would win and Bucky would come back home to her and everything would be alright.

              Then again, hope really is for suckers. MIA. Three little letters changed her life forever. She had officially lost her heart. Forever. 

              She forfeited her right to the company. She remained on the board, but was rarely ever seen near the company’s building. She bought a house near the beach, few neighbors and quiet enough to live the rest of her life in peace. As much peace as she could get. 

              Sometimes she would fall back into bad habits: lavish parties, blowing her money on the ballet, not remembering enough of the night in the morning after. Most times, she would just live through the day and stare at the sea during the night, hoping and praying to whatever was out there that at least Bucky found some peace in the after life, just like she was trying to find hers. 

              She lived in that house for 50 years. She died in the house and left it and all of her money to Bucky’s sister, Rebeca.

              And that was how Bucky discovered the house. He got a letter from a nephew he didn’t even know of that there were some letters addressed to him in the attic of his house and he would like Bucky to have them. 

              Bucky headed to the house, soon after he got the letter. The man welcomed him to the house--his home--and Bucky took notice of the little things about it. The walls were littered with pictures of family. Pictures of his sister growing older with her husband and kids. He guided him to a big and oddly cluttered attic. The nephew showed him a couple of boxes with Bucky’s name scribbled on it. 

              Bucky gave his nephew--God it was weird to call a man older than him that--a strained smile and the man left him alone. Bucky sat on the ground in front of the boxes and took out his gloves. He ran a hand through his short hair, sighing. It was weird to be in front of these. Because these things belonged to a man that was long dead. He wasn’t that guy anymore. He wasn’t the Winter Soldier anymore. He was somewhere in between.

              He took out a small knife from his pocket  and tore the tape that held the box closed. He opened the box carefully and took a peek inside. 

              There were clothes on top of it all. He took it off. A jacket, military one with Sargent Barnes stitched on it. He did know how his sister ended up with it, how it wasn’t lost in the destruction of war was beyond him. He set it aside in his lap and moved to the rest of the items in it. 

              There were a lot of photo albums of when he was a kid and a teen. He spent a lot of time browsing through them, trying to remember those memories, trying to convince himself it belonged to him. Once he was finished with that box he moved on to the next. 

              The box was filled with letters. Stacks and stacks of letters most of them addressed to him. As soon as he opened one of them he recognized immediately who wrote them. 

              He hadn’t thought about her yet. He had refused to. It hurt too much. But he was still there with the letters on his hands, delicately caressing them as if she was there with him. She wasn’t, and it hurt too much. 

              He sighed and opened one of them. It dated a week after he was declared MIA.

              21/01/45

              Dear Bucky, 

              According to the Army, you’ve been missing for a week. I’ve been missing you for longer than that.

              God, I don’t even know why I’m writing this letter, you’ll never get to read this. Colonel Phillips was very adamant that you were most likely dead. I guess I just need to get this off my chest. 

              I just miss having you around. I miss everything about you. Your smile, your eyes, your voice. A hole was carved in my chest when you left and it will never be full again. I’ll never find what I had with you. 

              I never took the ring off. I never forgot you Bucky, not in the years you were away. Well, I guess you’ll always be away now.  

              I’m so sorry, Bucky. I’m so sorry you couldn’t come back from the war. I’m so sorry you couldn’t come back from the war. I’m sorry we couldn’t be together for more than we were. 

              I love you, Bucky. I’ll always miss you, like I’m missing my heart.

                He sniffed and swallowed nervously. He folded and returned the letter in the envelope. He opened another. 

              14/01/46

              Dear Bucky,

              It’s been a year since you were declared MIA. 

              I spent the day with Rebeca. She’s getting married in a couple of months and I was helping her with the planning. It was good, it took my mind off the emptiness of this day.

              She’s so happy Bucky. You would have liked the guy, he’s a smart guy, like you. He’s so sweet and respectful and he’s good for her. 

              She went to college, Buck. Can you believe it? She wants to take over your dad’s business so she made sure she was prepared. 

              You would’ve been so proud of her. She misses you. I know she does. She just never says it. 

              I love you, Bucky. 

              He then opened another. And another, and another and another and another. He wasn’t sure how long he stayed in the dusty attic. It felt like a decade. It was probably just a couple of hours. He dug through every single letter of that box, craving for those moments he lost, he was robbed of. 

              At the very bottom of the box he found a tiny velvet box. He opened it. The ring he had given her sat perfectly in the velvet cushion of the box. He took it. He remembered buying that ring. He had enlisted Steve to help him out, insisting he’d come. 

              He was so nervous she wouldn’t like it, fearing it may have been too much. But he remembered the way she smiled and teared up at his confession. He remembered how she flung herself at him, smashing her lips on his with passion and so much love. 

              He loved her still. He hadn’t had the chance to stop loving her. And maybe if he had he wouldn’t have stopped. He doesn’t know, he was robbed of so many things and this was only one of them. 

              He sighed and returned all the letters to the box. He came downstairs and chatted a bit with his nephew, before asking if he could get those boxes. He said yes, of course, mom would have wanted that. 

              He took those boxes to his apartment in Brooklyn. On the bad days he would read back those letters, just to feel a bit of love. On the good days, he would look at them and think about the life he’d have to live for those people he had left behind, that he was ripped away from. 

              He’d have to make sure he’d live his best life for them. 

[strangeradventuresofp]

colors (sokka x reader)

You were walking down the streets in Ba Sing Se in your casual Fire Nation attire, when you suddenly spotted four people who looked horrifically out of place. Two of the four were wearing blue uniforms, a girl and a boy. Water Tribe. One of them wore an Earth Kingdom outfit with messy hair and the other possessed a yellow and orange tunic, accessorized with a blue arrow pointing to his nose. An airbender? Gasping to yourself, you realized that the young boy must be the avatar. You walked over to them, in hope to spark some sort of a friendship.

“Hi! I just saw you and I was hoping if I could ask you a question?”

“Sorry,” The taller, older boy said. He was quite attractive. His skin was dark, and his hair had been pulled back into a ponytail. He was well built and tall, carrying what looked like a boomerang on his back. “But we really have to get going.”

“Sokka, I’m sure it’s fine. She seems nice.” The girl in blue uttered, attempting to be quiet.

“Shhh! Don’t say my name! Trust no one. Plus, she’s wearing Fire Nation clothes. She’s probably with Zuko.”

You giggled. “Oh, no, don’t worry.  I’m actually a part of Southern Water Tribe. The Fire Nation raided there a while ago. Six years ago, when I was eight. And I was stowaway on their ship. I’ve been travelling around the world ever since. I’ve had to throw away my Water Tribe clothes. Wearing clothes from the Fire Nation basically gives you automatic protection.” The girl who had spoken before smiled at you.

“We’re from the Southern Water Tribe too! Well, me and Sokka, my brother, are. I’m a waterbender, just like you. Oh, and This is Aang, the avatar, and Toph. She’s an earthbender.” They each gave a pleasant ‘Hi’. You were grateful for how friendly she seemed, whilst her brother slapped his forehead in annoyance.

“I’m Y/N. I promise I’m not a part of the Fire Nation. I’m actually a water bender.”

“Prove it.” Sokka spat, sounding a lot meaner than he intended to.

“Well, I-” You sighed. “I’m really not very good.” You took them to a secluded area near a body of water. Taking a deep breath, you drew your arms up from your sides and began twisting your hands. A sphere of water followed your hands, making a little spin, only to drop and land back into the water. You sighed. “I-I told you I wasn’t any good.”

“No, that was good! You just need a little help making the right shapes is all.”

“Actually.. That’s what I wanted to ask. Since you’re a waterbender, would you teach me?”

“Absolutely not. Sorry but we’re actually on a very important mission to help Aang and we just don’t have time.” Your face dropped at Sokka’s words. You couldn’t keep your disappointment from flooding your entire body. Your head bowed low as you barely muttered an ‘Oh’, until you heard the younger boy speak up.

“Come on, Sokka. Katara still has stuff to teach me, why can’t she teach Y/N at the same time?” The older boy groaned at the arrow-headed boy’s request.

“Aang’s right, Sokka. We know she’s not actually a part of the Fire Nation, so what’s the big deal?” You were exceedingly grateful for the two, and the other girl, who agreed without saying much. 

~~~

After a few months of training with Katara, you had gotten very good at waterbending. You often participated in sparring matches with all four of the others and were forever thankful that all of them ended up accepting you, especially Sokka. You had both become very close since you had joined Team Avatar, and you had developed strong feelings for him. He was always sweet to you and made sure you were okay. He even made sure you ate before he did, to make sure you had something.

“Y/N!” Katara called out to you as you all had set up a new camp for the day, or at least for a few days. You stopped unpacking for a moment and turned around to see her walking up to you, holding something in her hands. “I found this as I was unpacking. I completely forgot I had it! I brought a few spare outfits and.. Well, I just thought you would like to start wearing Water Tribe colors again.” She held the blue cloth out to you, smiling. You grinned widely.

“Katara, thank you so much!” You hugged her tightly and gently took the clothes from her. “Are you sure this is okay?” To which she nodded and pushed them towards your chest.

“I want you to have them.”

“Thank you, Katara.” You rushed off to find somewhere to change and hurried back. You stood and beamed, finally in your home colors once again. Giggling happily, you twirled in your new outfit.

“Y/N, you look great! I should have given you that a long time ago.” Katara smiled. As you teared up, you thanked her again.

“You have no idea how much this means to me. I appreciate this so, so much.”

“Hey, Katara have you seen- Y/N, wow.” Sokka’s jaw dropped, earning a smile from you.

“Do you think it suits me, Sokka?”

“W-Well, yeah, of course.” He gulped and walked away, you assumed to get some more fire wood. You sighed.

“I don’t know if he likes me in this.” Looking down, you fiddled anxiously with your hands, hoping he would’ve liked it.

“Believe me, Y/N. He does.” Katara giggled, and you were confused, but you decided not to say anything.

As time went on, you all found yourself sat around the fire, like you all did every night. Toph and Katara were already asleep, and Aang was only barely awake, leaving you and Sokka. You hummed softly, gently, as you stroked the fabric of your new clothes. Sokka cleared his throat.

"You know, Y/N... What I meant earlier was that-"

"Sokka, it's okay. I get that it's weird seeing me in blue since you've seen me in red for so long."

"It's not that. It's just.. I guess... W-Well, you just look..." He cleared his throat while you tilted your head, confused. "You look pretty in my colors. Well.. Our colors." A deep blush flushed his cheeks and you couldn't stop from smiling.

"You really think so?" He nodded, earning a blush from you as you hugged him tightly. "Thank you." As you smiled, you felt him intake a deep breath before returning the hug, placing one hand gently on the back of your head and one on your back, around your waist.

"You know, you're not too bad yourself." You rubbed the back of your neck nervously, unaware of how he would react. He smiled; not what you were expecting, and you were happy. "I've always found you attractive." Sokka almost choked.

"What? Are you being serious?"

"W-Well.. Yeah. Even when you broke my heart and told me Katara wouldn't be my teacher. I've always thought you were cute but I just didn't know how to say, or when to say and I don't even know if you like me back but I just wanted you to know anyway because-"

You were interrupted by the feeling of soft lips pressed against yours. You smiled at the feeling and kissed back gently. The feeling was indescribable; hearts racing, fingers intertwined, mouths moving with each other in sync. As you both pulled away, you smiled at each other.

"Sorry if I'm a bad kisser."

"Y/N, stop. It was amazing. You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

"Believe me, I do." You gulped. "I think I might love you, Sokka." Your face flushed a deeper red than before. The boy moved closer to you, putting his arm around your shoulders and pulling you into his chest.

"I think I love you too, Y/N." He sighed contently. As you rested your head on his shoulder and felt his body heat, your eyelids began to feel heavy. He gently played with the ends of your hair, sending you off into a sound sleep.

my masterlist (requests open!)

A/N : had a bit of writers block for a few days lmao sorry loves :( another sokka imagine cus i absolutely adore him with my whole heart but anyway my requests r open and im happy to write anything for anyone i luv u all thank u for reading and i hope u have a fantastic day xo p

[meggie-stardust]

GUNDAM WING - REWATCH - 45 - 47

You guys get a triple episode this week! You’re welcome, bitches.

45. Signs of the Final Battle

There’s that space crew working again. I hope they support the position of White Fang...

Quatre: I no longer need the ZERO system; I’ve absorbed it

Howard: You guys gotta rest, it’s happy hour somewhere *flips on Margaritaville*

Does Treize think he can win in space? Yes. Yes he does, obviously 

Can a launch be “very successful” or just successful or unsuccessful 

Oh, hey, Hilde, Whats up?? I forgot about Noin!Lite

CANS is a bit wishy washy. Oh no, don’t blow up the earth. Oh, hey we need to blow up all the gundam. Only we can have a gundam. 

Those minidisks are back. Usually I forget this was made in the 90s.

Whey would my brother start a fight when they could just talk? Relena didn’t you read the tags: Friends to enemies to lovers, slow burn, 300K, major character death

All the “girlfriends” are having a secret meeting. 

Hilde is delivering plans about a weakness in a battleship... Interesting... 

This isn’t a kids game; are you sure CANS???

Wufei is like I’m just gonna jump in for Duo here, since he sucks at Chess

Duo: Hey, Heero you wanna play 5 person chess? This is how we do it on L2

The alarm goes off and they’re all doing cool Flying V formation like the mighty ducks. 

Wow we could have had this the WHOLE TIME if they just TALKED TO EACH OTHER??? We were robbed.

I have questions about the structural integrity of a mobile suit in space. Hilde isn’t waring a space suit, and her mobile suit is compromised… Wearing a helmet seems to be an aesthetic decision only.

Can we talk about the glint in Deathscythe’s eyes? Because it’s so badass.

Duo can tell that it’s Trowa and Heero just by how they pilot… interesting… (Is my 1x2x3 shipper showing??)

It’s canon: Duo is better than Heero and Trowa combined. 

Don’t get me wrong, I like Hilde, but if the show had balls they would have killed her Rogue One style

The pilots new flight suits are A+ 

46. Milliardo’s Decision

$10 Milliardo’s decision is to put his helmet back on and become Space!Zechs

OOOH Tallgeese II has entered the battle

Treize: I built a Gundam before, but I just want to pilot the same mobile suit as my boyfriend so I also build the Tallgeese II

Oh hey, Wing keeps showing up... I wonder what’s gonna become of it this time....?

I don’t even know what what’s happening here with them all hanging out, but I am here for it. 

Trowa: be nice to women; Wufei’s flexy arm thing breaks

Duo about Heero: he makes mistakes just like the rest of us; the rest of the pilots are all silent not because they disagree, but because they are thinking of all the fucked up shit they’ve seen Heero do in the past. 

To quote Brand New/Taking Back Sunday, Heero is as subtle as a brink in the small of my back

Heero’s a little short of a storm trooper...

Either Relena is just super excited to see Heero or they are slowly reducing the oxygen in her holding cell

Hilde brought them the data, and then Heero doesn’t even leave it with the other pilots, he literally brings it back to LIBRA??? WHERE IT CAME FROM

The closed caption just said [mysterious charm] AMAZING

Zechs: Guys I have a really cool idea, but I need your help to move my desk to the observation deck for ~the aesthetic~

IDk what look Heero is going for when he’s sneaking on the libra, but it’s not half bad, and it comes with a neckerchief 

What is this amazing pose of Tallgeese II standing on the shuttle. AMAZING. Treize is such a BOSS 

Wait. Zechs was a hologram the whole time?! That’s so extra, I love it.

How are all these people magically connected. How does Une immediately wake up when Treize is about to do something crazy

Did Une just take Wing?! I have no memory of this

Zechs: CANS restrain Dorothy; CANS:  FINALLY my moment has come!

Wow I have no memory of this

Wing Gundam pushing Treize out of the way and Dorothy losing her mind

OMG IT WAS Lady Une the whole time?!

Way more badass than any of us gave her credit for. Going from being in a coma, to launching a Gundam into space, to taking the brunt of a beam canon. Lady Une is the MVP of this episode.

47. Collision in Space

Heero: I’m just gonna have a little nap right now, and then when Treize fails, I’ll go ahead and blow up the Libra

Howard: Which side should we root for guys? Whats the over under on White Fang? 

Sally: OK, we’re gonna side with Treize, ok guys? Hope you agree because this is gonna get crazy.

CANS: Why do the Gundams hate us even tho I just gave the orders to destroy them last episode?? 

Well, last episode Duo was the superior pilot. This time, not so much... 

Treize: I would thank the Gundams, but I think my silence is better, they’ll totally get what I’m going for 

Dorothy: Wait, you can’t move the libra? I have to view of the battle #priorities

Peacemillion is just the right side to fly in and destroy Libra. How convienent.

Noin folds like a lawn chair, but so does Zechs

CANS IS SUCH A BITCH

Peacemillon’s plowing into us… it’s the only thing that’s gonna plow into you

CANS: How could this happen?! 

Treize is so proud of the ships

God Relena, do we have to spell everything out for you about what’s happening right this second

Heero: I need Wing Zero. Good thing it just crashed into this ship

Trowa about Wufei fucking off: He’s fulfilling an old promise. That means Wufei and Trowa did talk when they bro’d downed at the circus

Treize: that pilot has to be that kid… play it cool. Don’t him know you remember his name.

Heero said butt

This is what I’m here for; Duo infiltrating everything. 

Trowa is the best. Just do a double spin out of the way and a bow. Ta da!

DorothyxQuatre duel. This is the only Quatre ship I’m here for. 

I was just wondering what happened to the scientists.

We built an error into the canon… interesting, where did you get that idea

Duo looks so badass threatening the scientists. More of this please. 

Epyon standing there like a Gargoyle 

Crushing blow??? GET IT???? GUys do you know what he’s gonna do next?????

Thoughts:

I am glad that @mpanighetti and I decided to do these 3 episodes as a group, and then finish out the series with the last two episodes together. 

I had very little memories of some of the details here, and I get why... honestly, these are weird kinda filler episodes. When a series is only 49 episodes, we don’t get a lot of time for nothing to happen, but the writing is getting looser at the end of the series, and if this arc had happened in the first 1/2 all of this would have probably happened in 1 episode, and instead we get 3. 

There are a lot of badass moments here: Duo, Une, Treize.... but the rest of the episodes feel a little flat... 

What I think I remember for the next episode(s):

I have so many memories of the penultimate episode (which i will make a whole post about separately) but we get an epic battle between Treize and Wufei, and I honestly forget how things fully wrap up during the last episode, so I am so excited that we’ve made it to the end. I can’t wait to write up my final thoughts and then rewatch Endless Waltz.  

[sneegsnitties]

Hold Me Close and Give Me Closure

written for @ninjaneverquit-zine

[AO3 LINK]

Summary: Jay and Nya talk after the events in Prime Empire late at night.

For the last couple hours, Jay’s been staring up at the ceiling in his room. His head is full of thoughts that won’t leave him. Preventing him from getting the rest he needs after everything that happened in Prime Empire.

He can’t stop thinking about what he said to Unagami. How he knows what it feels like to be abandoned by your maker, and for his case, parents.

Cliff Gordon still died even without Nadakhans influence. The only thing that changed was that he didn’t inherit all of his money and estate.

Not yet, anyway.

And as for the master of lightning, his real mom, he has no idea what happened to her. He’s tried to look her up, but could only find that she mysteriously disappeared a couple of months before he was put on his parents’ doorstep. his adoption day, what his parents considered his birthday.

He found out his mom’s name is Lisbeth during his search. That’s one thing he knows about her now.

He hasn’t worked up the courage to ask his parents about this.

But it makes him wonder. What would life be like if he was the son of a movie star and the elemental master of lightning? If he were rich instead of borderline poor. If he lived in an actual house instead of a trailer.

He didn’t hate growing up in a junkyard. He learned things that he wouldn’t have learned if he didn’t. He loves his parents, and they love him. He knows they’re proud of him; he knows they accept him for who he is, for what he is, for what he does. They love him no matter what.

Jay inhales sharply and a lump forms in his throat.

He needs to talk to someone about this. Because if he doesn’t, he’s just going to keep on thinking about it and never act on it.

Because Unagami was able to find solace, so why shouldn’t he?

He could ask his parents what they know about his birth parents, but he doubts they know a lot.

Master Wu? He would know about his mom.

He’s getting ahead of himself.

Sitting up, he takes his phone off his nightstand, blinking at the sudden brightness, and heads to the messaging app. His thumb hovers over his mom and checks the time first, 1 am. Too late for her to be awake.

So instead, he opens Nya’s. She knows this about him. She knows that he’s been struggling with bringing this up with his parents. Because there’s never been the right time to do so.

Jay hopes that she’s still awake.

Jay grabs his phone off of the nightstand and opens the messaging app. His thumb hovering over the chat he has with his parents. Then he remembers how late it is and sighs. He selects Nya instead, hoping that she’s still awake.

Jay: are you awake?

Nya: yeah?

Nya: just barely tho, why?

Jay: I’ve been,,,,,,, thinking about things

Jay: can you come here?

Jay: I need you

Nya: omw

It took a moment for Nya to respond, and when she did, that’s when the dam broke.

As soon as he puts his phone back down on the nightstand, he lets out a choked sob. Everything crashing down onto him all at once. Everything from the past few days to Nadakhan years ago comes flooding back, so suddenly and fiercely that it feels like a wrecking ball has crashed right into him, knocking down the walls that were barely there at all.

Everything that happened in the game was almost nothing compared to the torture he endured on Nadakhan’s ship, but to see his friends, all literally dropping like flies for the second time in his life. That took a toll on him.

He couldn’t wish that all away.

At least no one was permanently dead this time.

But the pain of being alone right now is almost too much for him to bear.

There’s a soft knock on the door before it opens slightly, Nya pokes her head in, sees Jay crying, and rushes in, a frown on her face as she gets into his bed, she pulls him into her lap and hugs him tight.

“Are you okay?” she asks him after a moment.

“Better now that you’re here,” he says with a sniffle, taking one of her hands into his.

“Didn’t want to be alone, huh?”

“N-not really. I- I was just thinking about things, about my birth parents an- and then I wanted to talk to you about it because you’re the only one who knows about this, b- but then its spiraled into remembering everything that happened in the past few days and everything with Nadakhan, and- and how I was the only one left because you and everyone else was taken away from me. I couldn’t do anything about it, I couldn’t bring you back. I… I lost you.” jay says, clinging to his girlfriend and yang like his life depended on it. “I don’t think I can be alone anymore.”

“Because all it does is remind you of when you lost everyone, right?”

“y-yeah. Can- can you stay here?”

“Of course.” she kisses his hand, “I’ll stay as long as you need me to. If you want to talk, I’m here.”

“Okay,” he says with a sniffle. It only takes him a few minutes to calm down, and he sits up. Realizing that Nya has her hair down, he’s rarely seen her with her hair down as of recently. He likes it. “You’re pretty with your hair down,” he moves a strand away from her face.

She smiles and kisses him, “I take that as you’d like for me to have it down more?”

He kisses her back, “maybe,” he lays back down, pulling her down with him, “you always play with my hair. I can’t do it with you because it’s up all the time.”

“Yours is soft,” she kisses him again, “also you're shorter than me, which makes it easier.”

“Aw, no fair.” he laughs, “I think I’m ready to talk now,” he says, much more seriously.

“What’d you want to talk about?” she asks, putting her head on his chest, to allow him to play with her hair as he talks.

“Just… about my parents? My birth parents, I mean. I did some research, and I found out the name of my birth mom. Her name was Lisbeth. She fought in the serpentine war with Wu and Garmadon and against the time twins.”

“I saw her when Kai and I went back in time to stop Krux and Acronix. She and the former master of ice seemed to be good friends. She talked about how she and Cliff were going to go on their honeymoon.” Nya smiles.

“You saw her?” he whispers incredulously, “why didn’t you tell me?”

“I forgot, I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” he says with a shaky sigh. “I would’ve told my parents after we told the others what happened with Nadakhan, but I didn’t know how to. There’s never a right time to do it.”

“I could come with you. Would that make it easier?” Nya offers, taking his hand in hers, squeezing it in comfort.

“Y-yeah, that would help a lot. Do you think we should go to master Wu? He knew my mom. He probably automatically knew that I was adopted when my parents showed up but said nothing about courtesy, you know?”

“If you feel like that would help. I think that’s a good idea.”

“I think it might.” he kisses her hand and then yawns. The events of the day have finally caught up to him.

“Getting tired?” Nya asks him teasingly.

“Maybe.” he yawns again. “Please don’t leave.”

“I already said I’m not going anywhere.” Nya reassures him.

“I-I know.”

Nya scoots up to face him, placing a kiss on his lips in reassurance. “You don’t have to worry about anything. I’ve told you I won’t leave. I never will. You’re my yin and I’m your yang. I’ll be here when you wake up, I’ll be with you, forever.”

He nods with a smile, kissing her back. “I love you.” he yawns again, drifting off to sleep with his girlfriend beside him.

Jay was able to fall asleep relatively quickly and easily now that Nya was here with him, and he wasn’t in the suffocating abyss that was being alone. He didn’t have any dreams either, which he takes as a good thing because more often than not, it’s a nightmare.

When he wakes up that morning, Nya is still there, arms wrapped around his torso and head by his shoulder. He can feel her breath on his neck.

Even though he did not dream last night, he still finds relief that she’s still here and still alive.

So Jay just stays still, the best he can, anyway. He doesn’t want to wake Nya up from her slumber.

But because of their unfortunately messed up internal clocks thanks to waking up at dawn for training, she’s awake not long later.

“Good morning.” she says to him with a smile, “did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, didn’t dream at all.”

“Better than nightmares,” she says sympathetically, sitting up.

“Did you have any?” he frowns.

“No, it was just a weird one.” she shrugs, “let’s go see if any of the others are awake.”

Since it was still less than 24 hours since their latest escapade, there’s no mandatory morning training today. So the two of them head towards the kitchen with pajamas and all still on.

“Good morning, you two,” Pixal says with a smile as she and Zane prepare that morning’s breakfast.

“Morning, Pix,” Nya says with a yawn and gets a cup of coffee for herself and then sits across from her brother and jay sitting down next to her.

Kai looks up for a second and gives the two a scrutinizing look, “hey,” he says, “you left your door open.”

Nya just shrugs at that, “and?”

“Nothing, I’m just saying.”

Moments later, Cole and Lloyd enter, just as Zane and Pixal have finished making breakfast.

“I apologize if it’s not as good as Zane making it by himself. I am still learning how to cook.”

“It’s okay, pix, its still good!” Cole grins, making the samurai shrink in on herself slightly.

“I also think you did well,” Zane says, giving her a warm smile. “Pixal and I were going to go talk to Cyrus Borg today with Milton Dyer and Unagami. Would any of you like to join us?” he glances at Jay for a split second.

“I’m not up for it today, maybe next time?” he says automatically.

“Oh.” Zane blinks. He must’ve thought he would’ve liked to come along, but there’s a bitter feeling somewhere within him when he thinks about how Unagami got their happy ending. That they and Milton could reunite. These feelings weren’t there last night. He’s… never really felt this way before. “That’s alright. Would you like me to tell them hello?”

“Sure.” a small smile on his face, but he can’t shake this foreign feeling as he eats the rest of his breakfast. Jealousy? He doesn't like it.

Nya takes his hand and squeezes it as if detecting his feelings. “I’ll join next time, too. I’ve been meaning to get some things done.”

Zane nods, though he doesn’t seem entirely convinced. They all know each other too well.

Once Jay finishes his breakfast, he waits for Nya to be done before going back to his room to change, Nya waiting by his door for him so they can talk to Master Wu. He puts his ninja gi on out of habit, not even thinking about putting on his casual clothes since there is always a chance that something could happen. He then waits for Nya to get changed, she wears her gi out of habit too.

Going up to master Wu’s door, he cracks it, “Master Wu?” He asks tentatively.

“Come on in.” Master Wu says, looking up at the two of them, “Is everything alright? There seems to be something troubling you.”

“You knew the original master of lightning right?”

A warm smile appears on Wu’s face. “I did. I was wondering when you would come to ask about your birth mother.”

Jay laughs, “of- of course, you would know.” he says, not knowing whether to be relieved or upset by this.

“I knew ever since your parents came to visit. Though I knew it was not my place to say anything.” Wu confirms what Jay had said last night.

“Right, yeah. The thing is though, my parents still don’t know that I know. Cause the whole thing with Nadakhan, and I just honestly haven’t worked up the courage to ask them.”

“That’s alright, Jay. You will one day.” he puts a hand on the blue ninja’s shoulder, “what would you like to know about her?”

“What… what was she like?”

“She was wonderful and very kind. She cared about all the other members of the elemental alliance greatly. She wormed her way into Garmadon’s heart and they were close friends. She and the former master of ice were good friends as well. I see a lot of her in you. You both talk a lot.” he chuckles. “I remember the day she met your birth father,”

“Did you ever get to meet him?”

“Briefly, she invited everyone to their wedding. He was a nice man.”

“We were planning on asking my parents about her too, were her and my mom close as well?”

“Yes. your mother, the former master of shadow, and eventually Cole’s mother when she gained her powers were good friends. I’m not sure what the extent of their friendship was, you’ll have to ask her.”

“Do- do you know what happened to her?” Jay asks, frowning, “her name was Lisbeth, right? I looked up who the former elemental masters were, and she came up.”

Wu’s smile turns into a frown, only to return a moment later with a sad look in his eyes. “Yes. that was her name. She went by Libber most of the time. Though unfortunately, I don’t know what happened to her. I did my best to keep track of all the elemental masters and their descendants, but she disappeared one day and left you at your parents.”

“Th-thank you, Master Wu,” he says, starting to tear up again. That strange, jealous feeling he had earlier has gone away. He has that closure he wanted for a while now. He, Master Wu, and Nya talk about his mother and the other former masters for a while longer. Jay may not know what happened to her, but at least he knows a little more about his mother.

[leigh-kelly]

The Nanny

So the last thing I should be doing is writing a new fic, but this is a gift for @yourstreetserenade who has been an absolute gift to this fandom especially during such a difficult time. I’m not sure how frequent updates will be, but they will come!

Just after finishing with four separate brides in the bridal shop she works at in Flushing, Queens, Brittany Pierce hops up on the counter and crosses her legs, tossing her head back. Sugar Motta grabs a bottle of water and thrusts it into Brittany’s hand, before jumping up on the counter next to her. The two of them sit in silence for several minutes, taking in the fact that they have no customers, before the bell on the door tinkles and Brittany takes a swig out of the bottle and climbs down, smoothing her dress.

“Oh, hey Dani.” She grins, walking over to her girlfriend. Before she can give her a kiss, Dani puts her hand up, and Brittany furrows her brow.

“No kiss?”

“Look, Brittany, we need to talk.”

“Uh, sure, shoot.”

“Somewhere private.” Dani gestures over to Sugar, who makes herself look busy with her boss’ presence in the store.

“Don’t worry, no one’s in here.” Sugar pops her gum and sticks a pin into the dress on one of the mannequins.

“You are, Sugar. Brittany, let’s go into my office.”

“Aw c’mon Dan, I’ve told you a thousand times, if you tell me something, I’m just going to tell Sugar anyway, you may as well just say it. Besides, we’ve had a real rush in here today, and I don’t wanna leave her stranded if it happens again.”

“Fine.” Dani sighs, exasperated. “We’ve had a good run, Britt, but there’s someone else.”

“Someone else? What are you talking about? We’re pre-engaged.”

“Yeah!” Sugar agrees. “We’ve already been picking out Brittany’s wedding dress.”

“Sugar, this is really a couple’s conversation.”

“How are you going to say it’s a couple’s conversation if you just said we’re not a couple anymore?” Brittany tries to hold back her tears, but she finds that she’s failing miserably. “How could you do this?”

“It just happened, Quinn and I ran into each other a few weeks ago at—”

“Quinn? You’re breaking up with me for Quinn Fabray? How am I supposed to work here knowing that you’re sleeping with that shameless hussy?”

“You sound a little like your mother, Britt.” Sugar interjects.

“Shut up, Sugar.”

“Well, about that.” Dani wrings her hands in front of her body. “Quinn needs a job, and, well…”

“So not only are you breaking up with me, you’re firing me?” Brittany grabs her purse from behind the counter and makes toward the door as Dani reaches for her. “Don’t touch me. You can’t fire me, I quit!” She pushes the door open, gets halfway through and turns around. “No, you fired me, that way I can collect unemployment.”

----

“Kurt!” Santana Lopez calls out, sitting behind the desk in her home office and shuffling through a stack of paperwork. “Come in here!”

“You bellowed, Ms. Lopez?” Kurt opens the door, adjusting his tie.

“Have any of the prospective nannies arrived yet? Rachel is on me—”

“She wishes.” He mutters under his breath.

“Excuse me?”

“Nothing.”

“Rachel is on me about the party on Saturday night. If Tyler scares one more nanny away, I’m sending him to boarding school.”

Santana puts her head in her hands on continues to go through her paperwork. Ever since her wife died five years ago, she’s been overwhelmed by the demands of her career and taking care of her three children. Valerie, the oldest, had been thrust into puberty and is off the walls with her emotions, Tyler does everything in his power to force anyone who came into the house to leave, and Abigail, the baby, is in therapy twice a week and trying to deal with the fact that she barely remembers her mother at all, but sometimes Santana thinks it’s making her worse, not better. On top of all that, she has Rachel who is constantly demanding every moment of her attention, and she’s been through eight nannies who just can’t seem to manage her children, so she can give the focus she needs to her career.

“There’s the bell.” Kurt breaks her from her thoughts. “Let’s hope the ninth time’s the charm and this nanny that the agency sent over can actually manage Master Tyler.”

“Tell her I’ll be with her in a minute, I just need to finish up in here.”

“Yes, Ms. Lopez.”

Kurt exits the room and goes to answer the door. Standing before him is a leggy blonde in a bright pink mini dress and stiletto heels. She’s not exactly what he expected from the agency and is certainly a far cry from any of the other nannies they’ve seen over the past five years, but he steps back and lets her in.

“Ms. Lopez says she’ll be right with you. I expect you have your resume?”

“Resume? I—uh…” The blonde clutches the makeup kit she carries close to her chest and looks around.

“Yes, resume. You know, the list of your previous experience as a nanny, which I presume you have quite a bit of?”

“Resume. Nanny. Right. Yeah, I, uh…totally have it. Say, butler man, do you think I could get a glass of water?”

“As you wish.”

When Kurt leaves the room to get her a glass of water, Brittany scrambles through her makeup kit. She had no intention of applying for a job as a nanny, she was just at this gorgeous mansion to try and sell makeup so she could get out of her parents’ house, now that she was no longer living with Dani, but like she always thought, when opportunity knocks, she’s got to answer. Unfortunately, all she has with her is an order form and a few tubes of lipstick, but she’ll make do, quickly scribbling her name and phone number in Monroe Red along the back of the form and trying to write down her years of working at Dani’s Discount Bridal before the butler comes back with her water. She’s just about finished when a dark-haired boy bursts into the room clutching a knife to his chest and collapses on the floor with a pool of ketchup staining his white shirt.

“Eh, mediocre performance.” She stands over his twitching body and his eyes pop open. “Next time, you want to get some of that fake costume blood off of Amazon. Ketchup is so 1990s.”

“I’ll have you know.” The boy feigns a gasp. “I’m dying here.”

“We’re all dying, kid.” Brittany laughs. “What’s your name, anyway?”

“What business is it of yours?”

“I’m just making conversation. So, you live here, or what?”

“No.” He deadpans. “I just hang around random mansions looking to scare unsuspecting nannies.”

“You’ve really gotta get better at this scaring thing. I’m telling you, I could give you some tips that’ll have you winning Academy Awards.”

“I’ll have you know I’ve scared off seven nannies in five years, and if you’d stop messing with my plan, you’d be number eight.”

“I don’t scare easily, you’ve never met my mother. Trust me, she’ll tell you the story of the time she thought she had to poop, gave birth to me in a barn and wrapped me up in a Mr. Submarine wrapper, and you’ll be scarred for life.”

“Ew.” The boy sticks out his tongue. “That’s disgusting, and I don’t think my mother would appreciate you telling me that story.”

“Your mother will make that decision.” Brittany’s jaw nearly hits the floor when a gorgeous brunette in a pencil skirt and blazer steps into the room. “Santana Lopez, it’s a pleasure to meet you Miss—”

“Pierce. Brittany Pierce.”

“Miss Pierce. Now what was this story you were telling my son?”

“Oh…I…uh…never mind.” Brittany stammers. “We were just getting to know each other.”

“Well, you haven’t run screaming from the house yet, so I suppose that’s going well. Tyler, go get Valerie and Abigail.”

“But Mom—”

“Go.” She shoos him off, and Brittany can’t help but stare at the woman in front of her.

“Santana—”

“I’d prefer if you call me Ms. Lopez, thank you.”

“Right, sorry, Ms. Lopez. Um…he’s a character.”

“That’s one way to put it.” She sighs. “Your resume, please.”

“Oh…yeah. Well, I kind of forgot to bring one with me, but I have this.” Brittany hands over the lipstick scrawled paper, and Santana holds it between two fingers.

“So, you came to an interview without a resume? Is that lipstick?”

“Well, I’m kind of having a bad week, you know how that goes.” She bites her lip, figuring she may as well just show herself the door.

“You’re not here for the interview, are you?”

“I—look, I wasn’t exactly called her for an interview, but I’m telling you, I’m great with kids. I have like…thirty-six little cousins, and I could totally be a nanny.”

“Yet you have no experience. I see here that you worked for…Dani’s Discount Bridal?”

“Mom!” A little girl with her hair in long braids tumbles into the room, and Brittany smiles at how much she looks like San—Ms. Lopez. “Tyler pushed me again!”

“Kid, what’s your deal?” Brittany asks him. “Why do you want everyone not to like you?”

“You can’t talk to me like that! Mom, tell her she can’t talk to me like that!”

“She’s not wrong Tyler. How many times have I had to tell you to keep your hands off your sister?”

“I don’t know.” He rolls his eyes. “About a billion.”

“Look, Miss Pierce, clearly I need more help here than you’re qualified to give. Thank you for coming, I’ll have Kurt see you out.”

“But—”

“I’m sorry. Thank you for your time.”

Kurt enters the living room again holding Brittany’s water, which he immediately sets down on the coffee table, sensing the tone of the room. While he’s escorting Brittany to the door, she catches a glimpse of the oldest Lopez child and she sighs, thinking that she probably could have made some kind of difference in their lives, even if she doesn’t necessarily have any formal training as a nanny. When she gets to the door, another short brunette enters, who gives her a dirty look, and she just exits without another word.

“Santana!” Rachel cries out, looking at the ketchup on Tyler’s shirt with disgust before the kids all scatter from the room in her wake. “I’ve been on the phone all morning with the caterer for Saturday night. I’m telling you, if this party is a disaster, then we’re never going to get the funding we need for our play. They’re going to immediately jump ship and support the next Lin Manuel Miranda production, and we’ll be out in the cold again.”

“Rachel, it’s going to be fine. I just have to focus on getting a nanny for these kids today, and then Saturday will go off without a hitch.”

“What was the matter with that one? Scared off again by Lord Ketchup?”

“No.” Santana looks to the door, feeling like perhaps she’s made some kind of mistake just as the phone rings. “She’s just not right for our family.”

“Well, you better find someone who’s right. We have three million dollars riding on Saturday night being a success, and as much as I adore your children, I just don’t think having them run around our cocktail party will do anyone any favors.”

“Yes, I’m aware, you’ve told me that about forty-six times this week.”

“Ms. Lopez.” Kurt interrupts. “It’s the nanny agency on the phone for you.”

“Rachel, I have to take this. Go into my office and look over the notes for our pitch.”

“You know that I’m your partner, not your employee, right?”

“Okay.” Santana pinches the bridge of her nose. “Decide if you want to look over the notes for our pitch so you can be prepared for Saturday night.”

“I think that sounds like a great idea.” Rachel chirps. “I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Great.” She takes the phone from Kurt and sinks down onto the couch. “Santana Lopez speaking.”

“Ms. Lopez, this is Mindy from the agency. Unfortunately, the interviewee we were sending out to you today was offered another job and has decided to cancel. I can get someone else to you on Monday, maybe Tuesday.”

“Monday or Tuesday isn’t good enough.” Santana snaps. “I’ve told you a dozen times that I need someone for this weekend.”

“I don’t think I’ll be able to do that.”

“You have got to be kidding me. I have three kids who need a nanny, and I have an event Saturday night. Next week is unacceptable.”

“I’ll do what I can, but I don’t think I’ll be able to make it work.”

“Goddamnit.” Santana hangs up the phone and looks at Kurt desperately. “Why is it so hard to find good help in this town?”

“I believe I can still decipher the lipstick on Miss Pierce’s ‘resume.’” Kurt offers. “Maybe you ought to give her a shot. She certainly wasn’t afraid of Master Tyler.”

“She has no experience. And did you see what she was wearing? What kind of influence on Valerie would I be bringing into this house?”

“You certainly seemed a little…preoccupied with her wardrobe if I do say so myself.”

“Honestly, shut up.”

“You need a nanny before Saturday, and she clearly needs a job. Hire her on a trial basis, then you at least have yourself covered and you can resume your interviews next week.”

[allthingsfangirl101]

Much Needed Interference–Zac Efron

Request by @joyfullyswimmingface​

Zac's POV

I walked in, exhausted after a long day of filming and re-filming. All I wanted to do was grab a beer, sit down, and watch a game.

"You're home."

I turned around to see Y/N smiling at me. I walked over and pressed a soft kiss on her lips.

"Hey, babe," I smiled down at her. I gave her another kiss before pulling away and heading to the fridge.

With a beer in hand, I turned around and saw Y/N leaning against the kitchen island, her arms crossed over her chest.

"What?" I asked as I opened it.

"Zac," she pointed at the beer and sighed. "We have dinner reservations in twenty minutes. You should go shower and change."

"Dinner reservations," I scoffed. "For what?"

The second I said those words, Y/N's face dropped. She opened and closed her mouth, hesitating to say something as her eyes filled with tears.

"Babe," I sighed as I put my beer on the counter and walked over to her. She instantly stepped away from me.

"You really don't remember why we have reservations tonight?" She asked, her voice soft.

"I don't know, babe," I sighed. "It's been a long week and I just. . ."

"It's our five-year anniversary dinner," she cut me off.

I felt my stomach drop as the tears started to stream down Y/N's face. I tried to take a step towards her, but she instantly took a step back.

"You forgot," she whispered, her arms wrapped around herself and her eyes looking anywhere but at me.

"Y/N," I whispered, her name weakly leaving my lips. "I didn't mean. . ."

"You never mean to," she sighed. "But you always do."

"I always what?" I stuttered. She finally looked at me, nothing but disappointment in her eyes.

"You always put your work first."

"So?" I scoffed. Even though I knew the words I was saying were wrong and too far, I said them anyway. "This is my job, Y/N. We both knew that this would be time-consuming and we would spend days apart but. . ."

"Days, Zac. Weeks. Maybe a few months. But in this past year, I can count on one hand how many times I've seen you. And even less of how many days you actually were here before you shipped off somewhere else. More often than not, without telling me where you were going."

"Why does it matter?" I asked, throwing my hands up in frustration. "You really need to know where I am all the time?"

"Not all the time," she stuttered. "It would just be nice to know. I mean, sometimes I go months without hearing from you. Do you know how hard that is for me? How scary it is? I have no idea where you are, what you're doing, or if you doing anything dangerous. All this not knowing is starting to get to me."

"Wait," I said, the anger leaving me. "It's starting to get to you? Y/N. . . What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Y/N sighed, her voice breaking. "I love you, Zac, but. . ." She shook her head as she took another step away from me.

"But what?"

When she looked up at me the tears were gone but something else was replacing them.

"I think you love your work more."

                       * * * * *

When Y/N left the apartment, I knew I should've gone after her but I didn't. Instead, I called my brother to see if he wanted to come over for a drink. The second he walked in, he asked the question I didn't really want to answer.

"Where's Y/N? She still at work?"

"No," I said, clearing my throat. Dylan looked at me skeptically before folding his arms across his chest.

"Zac," he said my name, disappointment dripping from his voice. "Isn't today your. . ."

"Yes," I interrupted him, angrily slamming my beer on the counter. "It's our five year anniversary. We were supposed to go to dinner, but I forgot. She got angry and left."

The look on his face made me stop talking. "I don't blame her, man," he sighed. "You say you love Y/N."

"I do," I stuttered, not sure where he was going with this.

"But you have kind of neglected her," he said slowly.

"What?" I scoffed, trying to act like it wasn't true. But deep down, I knew he was right.

"Over the last year, your career has taken off. Which is great, but because of that, Y/N has become a second thought."

"I didn't mean. . ." I stuttered.

"I know you didn't mean to push her aside," he sighed. "But you did. Y/N put up with it for a long time because you were always there for the important stuff."

"Until today," I mumbled, running my fingers through my hair. "Shit."

I looked up when I saw him holding my phone out for me.

"Call her."

I didn't hesitate to grab my phone. I walked into the other room as I clicked on her contact. I held my breath as I waited for her to pick up. The longer it took for her to answer, the lower my stomach dropped.

I tried to call her a few more times, but she let each call go to voicemail. I can't say I didn't get why she was ignoring me, but the more she didn't answer the phone, the more nervous I got.

"So?" Dylan asked when I walked back into the kitchen. His hopeful smile fell when he saw the defeated look on mine. "What happened?"

"She didn't answer."

Dylan sighed as he walked over to me. "I'm sorry. Maybe she went to a movie or something. Did you call her more than once?"

"Of course I called her more than once, Dylan," I sighed. "She doesn't want to talk to me."

"Well, you have to get her to answer or at least leave a message for her to see."

"How?" I scoffed at my overly positive brother.

"Text her, wait for her, call her until she answers. I don't know, man, but if you truly love her then you have to do something about it."

                       * * * * *

I spent the rest of the night, trying to get ahold of Y/N. I finally fell asleep around 2 a.m. after still no word from her. When I woke up the next morning, I felt worse than I did after Y/N left the apartment. I grudgingly got up and went to the kitchen to make me a cup of coffee. The apartment oddly feeling empty without her.

I went back into our room and grabbed my phone. My heart dropped when I saw that there were no messages, no missed calls, and no voicemails. Without hesitation, I instantly tried calling her again. I sat down defeated when it went straight to voicemail.

"Hey, Y/N," I said, my voice shaky. "It's umm. . . It's me, baby. Look, I understand why you aren't answering your phone. You don't have to talk to me, baby, but at least. . . Can you. . . Please just let me know you're okay. I've been losing my mind since you left the apartment and I. . ."

I took a shaky breath as the image of Y/N's heartbroken face appeared in my head–the same one that made it hard to sleep last night.

"Y/N," I said, my voice breaking. "I am so sorry, baby. I've been so focused on work that I let the most important thing in my life take second–you. I promise, if you come back home I will never make you feel like that again. Y/N, please. Come home or. . . Just let me know that you're okay."

I hesitated before adding, "I love you, Y/N. And I'm so sorry."

I hung up the phone, a single tear streaming down my cheek. I sighed when I saw the time.

I went throughout the rest of the day, nothing on my mind but Y/N. At lunch, Dylan showed up at my trailer.

"You look like shit."

"Thanks," I sighed. "I'm well aware of that."

"I'm guessing Y/N still hasn't called you back?"

"Believe me," I scoffed, "if she had, I wouldn't feel like a complete asshole. . . Well, not as much of one."

"I know where she is," he said quietly. I jumped up, my heart in my throat.

"Where?"

"After I left yesterday, I reached out to a few of Y/N's friends. It turns out that after your fight yesterday, Y/N went to Y/B/F/N's house."

"Of course," I said under my breath. "Of course she went to Y/B/F/N. Why didn't I think of that?"

I was about to leave my trailer when he stopped me. "Hold on. I called Y/B/F/N and she let me talk to Y/N." I held my breath as my brother hesitated. "She was really hurt, Zac. Apparently, she's been feeling like second-best for a few months now. She didn't say when it started, but Y/N felt like walking away from your fight was the best thing to do to avoid breaking up. She still loves you, Zac. But she doesn't deserve how you've been treating her."

"You're right," I said under my breath as I sat back down. I ran my fingers through my hair, my whole body shaking. "I have to do something. I have to fix this."

"Well then," he said, clearing his throat. "What do you want to do?"

"I will do anything to fix this."

                       * * * * *

Dylan and I came up with a plan. We reached out to Y/N's friends for help. They were gonna take Y/N out for a "Girl's Night Out". They were gonna get dressed up, get their hair and nails done, and then go to dinner. But when they get to the restaurant, I would be waiting for her.

"You do know this is kind of an intervention," Dylan laughed. "Forcing you two to talk it out in a room."

"I know," I sighed. "But there's nothing else I can do. She's been ignoring my calls and my texts for three days now. This is the only way I can get her to talk to me."

We both jumped when his phone dinged. I looked over and watched as he grabbed it and read the message.

"Y/B/F/N just texted me. They are five minutes away." He looked up at me and sent me a reassuring smile. "This is going to work, Zac. Once the two of you sit down and talk things through, everything will work itself out."

"I hope you're right," I sighed, a small chuckle leaving my lips.

"Good luck."

He sent me a wink before quickly leaving the restaurant. I nervously paced, my hands shaking as I waited for Y/N and her friends. My breath got caught in my throat when I heard their laughter.

Y/N froze when she walked into the backroom to see me standing there. She looked at her friends before looking back at me.

"Zac," she said my name under her breath. "What are you. . . What are you doing here? What's going on?"

"What's going on is we are forcing you to talk to him," Y/B/F/N said. Y/N sighed as her best friend continued. "Look, Y/N, you've been ignoring his calls since you left your apartment. We all know you still love him so talk to him. For you and for him."

With that, the girls turned on their heels and left the two of us. I held my breath as Y/N slowly turned back towards me.

"Hi," I smiled as I nervously scratched the back of my neck. She folded her arms across her chest as she looked around the room. I walked towards her, making her look at me when I was right in front of her.

I reached up and gently tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, my hand lingering on her cheek. My heart sank when she pulled away, walking past me.

"Y/N," I said, my voice getting caught in my throat. Y/N froze when I said her name. "I'm so sorry, baby. I let my career come between us. I made you feel like you weren't the most important thing in my life, but you are. You are, baby."

I walked over to her and gently turned her around. I grabbed her hands, instantly intertwining our fingers.

"I love you, Y/N. If you come home, I promise I'll never make you feel like this again. I'll never forget our anniversary or anything else important to you. I will never make you feel like my job is more important than you are to me, Y/N."

I took a shaky breath, my words getting caught in my throat. My voice was barely above a whisper as I let out one last plead. "Please, baby, come home."

Y/N had tears in her eyes as I begged her. She let go of my hands and reached up to cup my face. I felt my heart jump into my throat as she smiled. I held my breath as she let out a soft laugh.

With tears streaming down her cheeks, she stood up and pressed her lips to mine. I instantly wrapped my arms tightly around her waist as our lips moved in sync.

We pulled apart and she leaned her forehead against mine. "I'm so sorry, Y/N. I should've paid more attention to you. But if you come home with me, I promise I'll be better."

Y/N leaned back, tears streaming down her smiling face. "Please," I begged her. "I need you, Y/N. Please? Will you come home with me?"

I held my breath as I waited for her to answer. I felt my nerves relax a little when she smiled.

"Not yet," she said gently.

"Y/N," I stuttered.

She giggled, cutting me off. "Not until after we have diner."

I laughed as I pulled her back into my chest and instantly pressed my lips to hers.

"Well then," I smirked as I broke the kiss. "Let's order."

I grabbed her hand and led her over to the table I had the hostess set up for us. I pulled the chair out for Y/N, smiling as I leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the nape of her neck. I sat down across from her, unable to wipe the smile from my face.

She looked down, nervously chewing on her bottom lip. "What's wrong?" I asked gently.

She looked up at me, guilt in her eyes. "I'm sorry for leaving the other day," she sighed. "I was just. . . I didn't. . ."

I reached across the table and grabbed her hand. "It's okay," I whispered. "I don't blame you for leaving, babe. I promise I will never put you in a situation again where you feel you need to leave. I love you, Y/N."

"I love you too, Zac."

[miraculouscontent]

Ask Explosion #9:

Asks answering previous posts:

Sabrina, I have one word of advice for you...

R U N

“Chat, please stop talking.”

“But that’s my thing!”

“YOU JINX EVERYTHING!!”

Ayyyyyy~

Well, it’s something, I suppose?

Answered this here.

It absolutely did. Bless you, kind and hilarious citizien. ;P

I’m torn because... on one hand, I want to give proper mythology and such for like--anything that’d be put into the show, but on the other, I liked the idea that Alix’s brother was just sort of a conspiracy who thought of stupid stuff (which is why I kept the concept for MC Jalil Kubdel).

Zoe did it really well in Scarlet Lady where Alix knew the actual mythology and started blurting it out whenever Jalil got it wrong.

New Asks:

Considering “Ikari Gozen,” I imagine Alya and Kagami don’t get along as well. I agree with basically everyone that Marinette and Kagami not getting along is bad, but Alya and Kagami not really getting along makes more sense and is more tolerable.

Since Alya is Marinette’s “““BFF”““ (supposedly), I could see her kind of being like, “You’re competing with my girl over the same guy,” and keeping Kagami at arm’s length, worried that keeping Kagami close will allow Kagami to be closer to Adrien since Adrien is an extension of their friend group (kinda, sorta, not really, but Marinette calling him a friend so technically--)

You know, Alya trying to be a good friend and help Marinette with Adrien in more subtle ways. It’s the wrong way to go about it but she’s trying.

LUKANETTE IS AMAZING IN TERMS OF PROGRESSION KDJNGJDFG, I ADORE IT. Every episode they share together, we either learn something new about them or see more details on their relationship.

I think I was already all-in before “Silencer,” but man, that episode just sealed it even more. I was like well dang, why does the love square even EXIST???

jfdngjkfdjgfdg

Incredible. Only problem is that the creator doesn’t know how to use it properly.

You mean fourteen year olds aren’t perfect human beings???? :o

(no, but really, that’s me all the time; like, she’s barely a teen!)

He’ll believe it if it’s Chat Noir who’s doing it. If Marinette ever does it though, he’ll be sure to shut it down. ;P

Ugggggh, the worst part is that I have the same exact fear that they really are going to be like yeah Ladybug you silly fool Chat Noir has been with you since the beginning!

I mean, we’re already basically getting that with the New York special; Chat was supposed to protect Paris and then didn’t tell Ladybug that he “had to” leave for New York (and the New York thing is inadvertently Marinette’s fault and parts of the fandom actually did blame her for it even though it was Chat’s choice not to say anything), then Ladybug gets upset with him when she discovers it mid-battle, which leads to Chat being distracted and Cataclysming someone (another thing that Ladybug can be “inadvertently” blamed for), then Chat gives up his miraculous so Ladybug isn’t even allowed to be angry and cue the later line of “I can’t imagine being Ladybug without... him.”

So clearly that’s saying something. Adrien doesn’t get anything close to that level and Marinette is chewed out for not asking him to stay when Nino had already asked him too.

It’s like--Marinette chooses to go after Adrien and then gets either nothing in return, or humiliated by the narrative, and then in the New York special, she decides to do nothing and everything still goes wrong while Alya yells at her for it. The “damned if she does, damned if she don’t,” on display is stunning. The girl tries to confess and it’s like, “no, not allowed, but Chat is allowed to confess.”

I still don’t understand this logic of his overarching plot but also “there’s not much of a timeline.” I think the only solid thing we’ve ever gotten was something about all the episodes in one season coming after all the episodes in a previous one, but there are still things that don’t add up? The only thing the season 3 production order will give is making sure the hero debuts work out (so no Viperion or Pegase before “Party Crasher,” for example).

It’s not really reliable. I mean, like--I’ve been experimenting with timelines for a while, and stuff like “Miraculer” baffles me. It’s basically non-canon with no value whatsoever. All it does is make “Heart Hunter” look even more confusing and treats Marinette even more horribly for not picking Chloe when she explicitly told Chloe that she wasn’t getting it back.

I’m not familiar with that one! Is it any good?

(Okay, I actually was too curious and ended up looking it up; fancy! I couldn’t have guessed that it was a webtoon! I started reading the 1st issue and before I knew it, I was on the 6th! Oops~)

Lila is totally Rashta, 100% agree. The fact that the comments have a nickname of “Trashta” for her, equivalent to Liar Rossi, says as much ;P

Because lessons that involve telling someone that they’re valid and allowed to feel a certain way don’t apply to Marinette. Isn’t it nice? :3

Not that I know of? Though I also don’t look for that kind of thing, so it’s possible that it exists and I just don’t know about it.

Even if it did exist thought, I don’t see a problem with you doing your own regardless. Good luck if you do!

No. No I do not. ;P

GREETINGS FELLOW INTJ!

And yeah, I’m not really capable of not analyzing shows. There are some small exceptions, but they’re usually not full shows in the normal sense. If there’s an ongoing plot, my mind tends to be working at all times.

In terms of Miraculous, Season 1 was harmless enough where I was bothered but pretty quiet about it, but then it just got progressively worse. It really feels like one of those things you can’t unsee when it finally hits you, y’know?

I’m glad I was able to help you get that satisfaction you need (and appreciate Lukanette, of course ;3)!

Non-Miraculous Asks:

(some heavy Puella Magi Madoka Magica salt below)

Wow, this is a really dedicated ask! Nice!

Gonna go point by point here:

1 - Yeah, the whole thing with Homura not “being able” to save everyone... kinda questionable, and I didn’t really buy the arguments they used to explain it away. I think there was this one PSP game or something with Madoka Magica where you could kind of choose what happened (like, there were bad ends where Sayaka didn’t get her soul gem back in time and her body was partially decayed; ick) and I think there’s a good end where Homura saves everyone but--yeah, not canon.

I just don’t care for twisted stories like that unless there is actually a good end on the horizon (and I mean like “Everyone Lives and is Happy” good end). Angst is just so exhausting so the second I saw Mami’s head being bitten I was just like, “Ah, okay, so we’re doing this then.”

2 - Eugh, the sexism thing. It’s so... yeah, and especially this because the whole “girls are emotional” thing, I don’t really care whether or not the show is trying to “subvert” or “explain” anything, it just feels like poor taste and I don’t like it. (I also didn’t know about that Death Note thing because I didn’t watch it, but geez.)

3 - Wow, I’ve been away from the show for so long that I forgot what Mami’s wish was; I thought it was to “not be alone” or something (or maybe not die alone?? I really don’t remember), but either way, the fact that it follows some sort of genie wish logic is just--*sigh*--they’re teenage girls, come on (plus, the “genie wish logic” is really overdone to me anyway).

4 - The other thing about Sayaka is that it’s really predictable that she’d “die so quickly.” Basically everything was pointing to her just being annihilated at some point, and being Madoka’s best friend, it was pretty inevitable that she’d go.

((semi-unrelated, but someone also asked me which character’s name was lied about before episode 3 hit and they wondered if it was Sayaka’s; it was Kyubey’s))

Yikes. Sorry you had to experience that.

Anyway, I guess I’m not experienced enough in multiple fandoms to say for sure? If I was ever in a fandom, I would just blacklist the people/stuff I didn’t like, so I didn’t get to see a tong of “bad things” going on.

+ I try really hard not to generalize fandoms into one thing.

𝓖𝓮𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓝𝓸𝓻𝓶𝓼 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓢𝓽𝓾𝓹𝓲𝓭 𝓪𝓷𝓭 𝓑𝓸𝔂𝓼 𝓐𝓻𝓮 𝓐𝓵𝓵𝓸𝔀𝓮𝓭 𝓽𝓸 𝓛𝓲𝓴𝓮 “𝓖𝓲𝓻𝓵𝔂” 𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼

Oof, uhhh, shows, huh? That’s tough.

I think the main ship from Given (Mafuyu and Ritsuka) is really adorable (you might’ve seen the amusing video of their love being mutual before), and while I would’ve said the same thing for the kinda-sorta side ship, it gets--uh... really bad during the movie/rest of the manga, I’ll just say that much.

Mafuyu and Ritsuka though, totally adorable.

Inuyasha kinda? Though Inuyasha and Kagome are definitely not the kind of romantic chemistry that I lean towards (I find “the bickering couple” to be rather exhausting). Plus, Cardcaptor Sakura did the “male tsundere” better than Inuyasha did (though the Clear Card Arc was terrible, at least it’s not canon kinda-sorta? idk it seems like a mix of the anime and manga so...).

After that there’s...

uh

...

hm.

I mean, there’s probably a couple more examples somewhere, but--yeah, I’ve got nothing. Maybe if I thought back to all the generic children shows I watched when I was little (like those old Disney live-action shows; I had no taste when I was younger), there might’ve been something that satisfied kid me but idk.

I don’t remember what post inspired this, but I have no problem answering regardless, ahaha~

My main issue is Aang’s attitude about the whole thing. I’m not saying it was right of Katara to go out and get “revenge via murder” exactly, but I also think that Zuko had the right idea with allowing her to go and face the man who killed her mother so she could get some form of closure (also note that Zuko doesn’t express any sort of opinion when Katara decides not to kill him; he just wanted her to have whatever she thought she needed to heal).

It’s also the episode where Zuko directly confronts Aang on his “violence isn’t the answer” rhetoric which then goes completely ignored as Aang lionturtles his way out of the conflict. Aang is also not confronted on his point of “forgiveness is the first step to healing” (when Katara has a right not to forgive and Aang isn’t challenged outside of Katara commenting on it) and was permitted to ride his high horse when Katara “steals” Appa like, “It's okay, because I forgive you... that give you any ideas?” which is just--

reaaaaaally "holier than thou”-esque when Aang is like, ten, and Katara is a sort of motherly figure to him. The episode even has Sokka praise Aang for how “wise” he is and I groaned through the entire thing.

Another smaller thing is that it sort of makes the air kingdom look way too “perfect” by having Aang be the “source of wisedom,” especially when it’s like “violence isn’t the answer” while all the other airbenders are dead.

[catty-words]

Why Not Just Anyone Will Get Their Own Narration

Or, the narration meta no one asked for.

Never Have I Ever shifting the POV to Ben Gross for an episode was a pleasant surprise for most viewers—certainly was for me!—and, as a result, I’ve seen/heard the other cast members get asked who would narrate their own POV episode. And as much as I love the speculation, I’ve noticed a pattern in the narration that makes me a) think not just anyone will get a breakout POV and b) appreciate the way Ben getting his own is, not forecasted, exactly, but highlights an internal consistency in the universe that I really enjoy.

To start, let’s take a look at how McEnroe discusses Kamala—the best example of what I mean from the first episode.

Intro: That’s Devi’s cousin Kamala. She moved in after Mohan’s passing to complete her PhD at CalTech. Devi is not a fan.

Later in the Ep: Kamala was expected to have an arranged marriage after she finished her studies abroad, but she felt less than enthusiastic about that idea.

The intro is similar to what most characters get in the first episode—a brief rundown of why they’re in Devi’s orbit and a hint at their main personality traits. And, in addition to this intro being framed in how Kamala relates back to Devi, we get the bit of insight that Devi doesn’t like her. It’s all very much grounded in Devi’s head.

McEnroe popping in during the Vishwakumar family dinner, on the other hand, deviates from Devi’s perspective. Even though Kamala is clearly sarcastic about finding the potential-husband news exciting, it’s also clear that Devi is too self-involved to pick up on this. Instead of frowning sympathetically at Kamala’s clear frustration, Devi excuses herself from the table because Kamala “[doing] nothing and [getting] a full husband in the mail” niggles at her insecurity about being undesirable.

Contrast that with the Ben-centric narration from the episode.

This disgusted reaction, belongs to Ben Gross, Devi’s nemesis. … Ben Gross’s father, Howard, whom he idolized, was a top entertainment attorney in Beverly Hills. This allowed Ben Gross to dine out for years on the fact that Blake Griffin was at his Bar Mitzvah. And he and Devi have been vying for the number one spot in the class every year since first grade.

We learn of his relationship with Devi, but we don’t actually get additional insight to his thoughts and feelings. The fact that his dad’s a lawyer and that Blake Griffin was at his Bar Mitzvah are both bits of common knowledge around the school. If anything, the slightly mocking tone in which this information is delivered makes this bit of narration even more grounded in Devi’s POV rather than Ben’s.

Kamala goes on to get a couple more moments of character-building in the narration that go beyond what Devi notices about her cousin. 1.04 is a prime example (As the aunties praised her, Kamala had a sinking feeling. She didn’t want to get married, but she put on a happy face, like I did at the trophy ceremony when I lost the French Open to Ivan Lendl in 1984).

McEnroe also gives us insight to Fabiola’s inner life—insights that Devi couldn’t be said to know because, even though she concedes that it makes a lot of sense in 1.07, Devi’s clearly finds Fabiola’s coming out to be a revelation.

1.03: As a scientist, Fabiola was used to a clear-cut, data-driven life. Which is why she was struggling with these new, complicated emotions.

1.05: We’re gonna jump ship and check in on Fabiola, who has much more interesting things going on. Fabiola had told no one she was gay, except her robot, Gears Brosnan. She knew the next logical step was to come out to some humans, specifically her family.

McEnroe even makes it explicit that we’re leaving focus on Devi to tune into Fabiola’s life in the episode-five narration.

The narration over scenes involving Ben in these episodes, on the other hand, goes like this.

1.03: What made Devi most sad wasn’t seeing Paxton all over the hottest girl in her grade. It was that she let herself believe she actually had a shot with him. … Drunk and rude, Devi was indulging in what I would call self-destructive behavior.

1.05: Years ago, Devi and Ben split all extracurriculars down the middle, except for sports, which required too much locker room nudity for either of them. // Devi was panicking. How did Ben find out about her lie? Simple. Her friends told him.

In 1.03, even though Ben is present, the narration over the scene is all about Devi. If anything, Ben interjects into/interrupts the discussion of Devi’s mental state, and she promptly ignores him in favor of being “self-destructive.”

And even though we get the insight that Ben isn’t comfortable with locker room nudity, it’s—again—something Devi obviously knows/intuited because of the pact.

The second bit of narration I included from 1.05 tells us something Devi doesn’t know—that it was her friends who told Ben about her lie—but rather than being a special insight to Ben’s POV, it’s simply expository. An in-case-you-forgot bit of narration.

The only other bit of narration involving Ben after 1.06 comes in the final episode of the season, where McEnroe sets up another in-case-you-forgot exposition flashback, which makes me curious to know how McEnroe-provided narration involving Ben might evolve for season two.

Eleanor and Nalini land somewhere in an ambiguous middle in terms of McEnroe knowing their inner thoughts and feelings.

For Eleanor, the only bit we have to go off of comes in the second episode.

Devi strode off, confident her friends had believed this bullshit story. Fabiola and Eleanor were confident their friend had become completely unhinged.

This line obviously steps outside Devi’s POV, but it’s also not solely Eleanor’s moment. Everything else that would be—involving her mother—is the same expository, facts-Devi-would-know style of narration. Therefore, I think Eleanor’s still totally in the running for her own POV episode.

As for Nalini, we get these moments in 1.04.

Nalini was a little on edge. This was the first puja they had gone to since Mohan’s untimely death and Devi’s paralysis.

The day had been a long one for Nalini, and she needed a win, even if it was a small one.

They’re grounded in the isolation Nalini feels and one of the major conflicts of the season is that Devi doesn’t have access to the fact that Nalini’s struggling as much as she is. So, we can probably call this a step outside Devi’s POV. It’s simply not as dramatic a break as for Kamala or Fabiola.

Of course, for episode ten to have the emotional impact it does, it makes sense we wouldn’t spend the season discussing Nalini’s heartbreak. It has to be more subtly communicated to the audience via Poorna Jagannathan’s acting and the flashbacks we’re given. Therefore, I think it’s unlikely that Nalini would get her own episode, but definitely not out of the question.

And, finally, there’s Paxton. As the object of Devi’s desire, so much of the narration revolves around Paxton—far too much for me to compile here or discuss individually, since I’m looking to wrap up this meta in, like, a hundred words.

So, here are the bits I’ve pulled out.

1.02: Whoa, Paxton speaks Japanese? Guess his last name makes more sense now.

1.09: Even though Nalini was talking out her frustration more than anything else, Paxton was stung by these little digs at his intelligence.

In 1.02, our narrator is actively surprised by new information, which makes a pretty solid case for the fact that McEnroe doesn’t have access to Paxton’s inner-life. And that makes sense because, when I call him the object of Devi’s desire, I’m putting a lot of emphasis on object. Devi doesn’t fully let herself acknowledge that Paxton’s more than a fantasy, so of course McEnroe—the voice inside her head—wouldn’t be super concerned with his personhood, either.

The line from 1.09 seems to throw a bit of a wrench into the works, since Paxton being insecure about his intelligence has every appearance of being a special insight. And I’m not going to go all the way and say that’s not the case, but I will bring up Devi’s line from 1.05: “Paxton’s not dumb, okay? He’s just…consistently bad at school!”

Obviously, Devi’s at least semi-aware that intelligence is Something to Paxton. On the other hand, she’s saying the line to fend off criticism from Ben, so it could just as easily be posturing as protectiveness over Paxton’s insecurity rather than actual knowledge the insecurity exists.

In summation, I still think Paxton’s the most likely candidate for a breakout POV episode in season two—boy desperately needs some interiority, so this is certainly high on my s2 wish list—with Eleanor a close second and Nalini a potential third. I think it’s unlikely that the show will (or would even consider) writing one for every character, though.

[miss-kittys-magical-library]

Auld Lang Syne (Jack x Rin)

Word Count: 3200

Warnings: None! Complete fluff.

A/N: inspired by @magic-multicolored-miracle winter prompts. New Year's kiss. o one asked for it 🤣 This is a sequel to "I'm A Creep" <-- Found here

She came to this little bookstore as many days a week as time allowed. Maybe it was becoming a bit obsessive, Rin’s constant reasons to spend hours there instead of a library. There was a collection of unread novels piling up on the coffee table of her council flat off the high street. Any excuse to be nearby

With the holidays fast approaching, her catering job kept her busier than ever. The constant flirting and serving and pleasing executives and drunk administratives and book editors and bankers managed to fend off the memories of the last time she ended up in the psych hospital. That and plenty of time made everything slow down and spread out over days instead of the constant hours she once spent. Her senses now and then brought Jack back to her like the waves in his mental pond crashing over her. She would be taken off guard for just a moment or two, but the parties kept them back at bay.

Two months in the psych hospital was all they spent together. A month that seeped into her dreams and waking moments for half a year after Rin was released. How she and Jack never spoke again after that night. He grinned awkwardly in her direction during their next group therapy session. Squinting his eyes like he was trying to place where he knew her from, but that was part of her gift. Sometimes, they woke up from a dream and forgot she was ever apart of them.

Before Rin could blink, Emma had come to take Jack home. Emma who smiled fondly at the “barking” girl with scarred hands who carried the flame of hope from her heart to her brother. At least that's what she communicated to Rin as they brushed fingertips on the way out. Jack was safe. He was loved. Emma would make sure he could handle the world without messages and the dead people who plagued him for so long. A few more days, and Rin was dropped back out in the world too.

Still, as the song goes, she learned to muddle through somehow. It had been a rather peculiar stretch of time Rin had gone without thinking of his unearthly eyes or that mass of dark curls on her neck and chest as they.. A bell over a door she didn't remember stepping in broke her out of the reverie.

Rin found herself inside a small shop with shelves eight or nine feet high. That musty smell of tangible books invaded her nostrils and she inhaled deeply. With eyes closed, she put her hand on the first row she could find and melted into the memories imprinted on them. She was struck by an unexpected wave, but instead of drowning she rode it to shore. There was a squeaky creak that often accompanies a wheel and just knew someone was on one of those ladders that glided across the shelves.

“You alright, loov?” that Yorkshire accent filled Rin’s ears and she squeezed her eyes shut tighter. “You look like you've seen a ghost,” he chuckled at a joke he felt only he understood.

He was a few feet above her when she finally opened her eyes. He dipped precariously from the ladder like he was swinging from a rope on a pirate ship. Those eyes shining brightly as they reflected the white lights decorating the store. Rin didn’t need to touch him to know he was happy. She could see it on his face as he smiled in her direction. Even in hospital she never knew he had dimples.

“Jack,” it came out before she could help herself.

He arched an eyebrow curiously in her direction. Head tilted in thought. Then looking down at his name tag he puffed air out of his nostrils “Right,” he tapped it “Forgot I was wearing this.”

Rin’s shoulders sagged in defeat, then unexpectedly “Have any Dickens?”

What the hell, she chided herself.

“Do we also have tea in the Queen’s country?” he teased. Rin’s cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. “sometimes we forget all the books we've read. I've forgotten loads since I was sick a few years back. Lived rough then was in hospital while. Dunno why I said that.”

“I think we tell strangers our secrets because we’ll never have to see them again,” Rin spoke softly.

“If you never come back, I was a bad salesman. Always looking for repeats.” Was.. he flirting? “Any Dickens will do?”

“Oliver Twist?” Rin signed and closed her eyes. Her face was on fire. You've had sex with this bloke, and he's got no bloody clue.

“Oi! I like Edwin Drood best. Old man dropped dead right in the middle of it all. Never got a proper ending. Ever been on one of these?” Jack gestured towards the ladder. Rin shook her head so he opened an arm. “Hop on with us then!”

“You give all the girls a ride?” Rin found her voice. She climbed up and settled herself against Jack’s body. Her naked hand closed over his; she felt a jolt go through his chest which tensed in response.

“Not- Not usually?” he stammered and tightened his grip around Rin’s waist as they slid along the shelves. “Do we know each other from somewhere? You just feel familiar. Dunno why I'm thinking of a bird.” Jack spoke more to himself.

“Well, actually, name is Wren-”

He cut her off, “But your brother couldn't say it right, so everyone calls you Rin.”

Jack’s body relaxed into the young woman’s. Maybe it was reflex, but he cautiously buried his face in her hair and inhaled.

Rin swallowed a smile, and found little ways to touch him that day. Little ways to touch exposed parts of Jack everytime she visited the store. Innocent explanations for their hands lingering when he handed her the twentieth book she didn't need. To flirtatiously brush the curls away from his forehead as he leaned over the counter when they talked.

And almost every single time Jack leaned into it. Reciprocated. Started remembering little parts of Rin from their time in section. Not the big messy memories, just bursts from time to time. She was ok with that. She would take him anyway she could.

Now here she was, two days before Christmas with her hands on the ornaments in the shop window. She had something wrapped in brown paper in her purse and was biding her time as Jack helped the customers buying last minute gifts.

Soon it was her turn, and Rin placed the gift on the counter simultaneously with Jack doing likewise. There was unexpected laughter, the way Jack's tapered off into a giggle from a loud outburst. Infectious as it was, Rin joined in.

“If we got each other identical presents, you're coming to mine for New Year’s,” it wasn't a question. “Emma and her partner know you somehow. Must be from around the visitor’s during..” His voice trailed off.

“Our time in the nuthouse?” Rin offered.

Jack leaned over and brushed his nose against Rin’s cheek out of the blue. They lingered momentarily, before he pressed his forehead to hers.

“I've done that before,” another assertion as his verdant gaze settled on Rin’s lips.

Picking up the package, Rin shoved it playfully into Jack’s chest so that he was forced back. “Open your gift!”

“Fine!”

Jack mimicked her tone as he tore into the wrapping paper at the same Rin dove into hers. They both held up books simultaneously and fell into a fit of giggles.

“OLIVER TWIST!”

“EDWIN DROOD?!”

In unison: “FIRST EDITION?!”

“I can't believe I never knew how much you loved books,” Rin was blunt.

“I'm not sure how much we spoke for you to find out.” Jack hugged the book tightly to his chest. “I'm not sure how much I spoke to anyone outside of group and therapy.”

Rin took one of her million chances when she placed the palm of her hand against Jack’s cheek. He relaxed into the touch, eyes closed and sighed contentedly. Under the surface he was warm and bright like the Christmas lights. She wouldn't let herself pass any further than the happy memories. Impassioned ones of mouths and hands and fingertips and hugs.

Perhaps it was the particular sensation Rin spread out from herself to Jack that triggered a reaction. One of him leaning across the countertop to bring their lips together in a chaste kiss that lingered longer than it should have.

Jack recovered and righted himself before apologizing. He was compelled in the moment out of gratitude. “Meet us here on New Year’s, yeah? So we don't have to be alone.”

“You've got family, Jack.” Rin reminded him.

“So we don't have to be alone for the New Year,” he only repeated. It was a date.

------

Rin took the early shift on New Year’s Eve so she could tear out and get ready. The nerves coiled in her stomach as she scrambled to fix hair that wouldn't fall right or apply make-up that made her resemble a street walker. She sighed, defeated, and told herself this was all she could give.

Still Jack threw a large grin in her direction as he closed up the shop. He wolf whistled and Rin felt her face catch fire.

“Aren't you a stunner?” he pecked her cheek and gave the woman before him a spin. She loved the way it came out sounding like “stoonah.”

“You got a big date or something?” he teased before taking her by the hand.

“I needed extra money for the holiday so I thought I'd hang around a street corner. Fifty quid and a warm cot, I'll do whatever you like” Rin shrugged and winked coyly.

Jack rolled his eyes, but his demeanor changed as he traced the network of scars on the back of her hand so delicately Rin felt tears in her eyes. She swiped at them swiftly hoping he thought it was the chilled breeze.

“Dunno why I did tha,” he dropped the hand abruptly and buried his own in a jacket pocket. “Not my place to touch (tooch) you when you didn't ask.”

Uncomfortable silence.

“does anyone else work here besides you?” Rin gestured towards the store as they started walking, she assumed, to Emma’s house.

“Sometimes Emma and Billy. Only when I get too overwhelmed.”

Rin linked her arm with Jack's to break the weird tension. “Do you manage it?”

“I own it. Why need a job? Maybe a bit of a conflict if the boss has a bit of a flirt with the shopgirl innit?”

“OWN IT?!”

Jack laughed, “Not bad for a nutter who talks to dead people and was not long for Big Issue. Why do I say this shit to you?!”

“I'm like a truth serum?” she offered.

They wound their way through a lovely neighbor with houses no one Rin knew could afford. She remembered Jack’s brother-in-law was a lawyer. He told her his sister left him not long after he got out. Had to be spousal support and a settlement, but she didn't prod.

“I helped someone a while back. Someone kinda connected. Well-known, I guess? I tried to sort out his missus when she tried suicide.”

“It didn't work in the end.”

“At first. It's how I got sectioned. The voices. His voice. She was ok for a bit. His family sent me letters. They figured I knew something. What I knew got them a conviction. I got a reward. Doesn’t always feel like one if everyone’s dead now does (dooz) it?”

It was Rin’s turn to lace her fingers with Jack's. “You helped someone's family find peace. Sometimes that's enough even if you kinda lose yourself in the process. Look I let what I can do almost kill me. That’s what put me in hospital.” She held up the gashed scar along her wrist. “But that gave me yo-” Rin swallowed the word. “I got to use my gift one last time. And he's happy! Even if he forgets who I am.”

“Who could ever forget you, love?”

They were quiet the rest of the journey.

-----

Rin sat on the edge of the pool as her feet dangled in the bath warm water. Her brain flashed back to the lake where she experienced Jack drowning in his own mind. Bogged down by medication he didn't need while the dead clung to him. Then they had surfaced, she nearly torn apart by the ghosts Jack fought with. Bellowed that he was no longer their messenger. They tried to take her as compensation.

Now false water filled Rin’s lungs as a fake grin spread across her cheeks. The chlorine and tropical air made her nauseous, ready to vomit. Of all the things Jack could have suggested they do, swimming at 11pm would not have ever crossed her mind.

“There was a kid, lived here before Emma, died right. Mean little bastard too. Suppose dying like that might get a kid angry as long as he was tied to it.”

Jack stood on the pool’s edge, toes curled around the stone. His face went a bit dark as he narrowed his eyes in the direction of something Rin couldn't see in the opposite corner. He clenched his fists. She knew it was a silent standoff between Jack, and most likely, the dead boy.

It was only a flash of his old self before Jack snapped to. He grinned like the Cheshire cat as he undid his jeans and tore his sweater off. Then headfirst into the deep end leaving Rin to squeal.

“WHAT are you doing?!” she yelled as he bolted towards her underwater.

“Dunno fancied a swim. It's rather lovely water considering it's January. Plus,” he pointed towards the ceiling, “Look up.”

Rin followed his finger and gazed upwards. A large glass window spread the night sky before them. Millions of stars shone through, stars she never really bothered searching for. She was overwhelmed by other people's emotions, literally, that she never had a quiet moment to herself so that she COULD look up.

“Don't you wanna to join me?” Jack’s question was rather coy as he side-stroked back and forth.

Rin shook her head, “I'll sit here and watch.” She glanced down at the wine bottle she nearly forget, “And drink.” So they did.

Now her anxiety was churning her stomach. A coat of alcohol warmed her further than just the temperature of the pool room. Her chest was tight with lack of oxygen as she struggled to not cry. So she focused on the long, thin body completely relaxed on the water's surface. What a lovely distraction it was.

Jack floated along lazily on his back, boxers leaving nothing to the imagination. That secret part of him Rin had not seen in two years clearly visible. Now her face grew flush with desire and the memory of how good it felt for once to be touched by a man because he cared about her. How they made each other sing.

Jack must have sensed something because he righted himself and swam towards her. Those hands on her calves and knees to part them slightly so he can stand between them. He was silent as he reached for the bottle of wine.

“Rin, be honest,” his voice filled the silence of the room. “Can you swim?”

Rin's heart pounded so loudly in her ears that Jack was muffled. The way he looked at her, desire emanated from him. There was a disconnect between his brain and body. Those hands on her thighs remembered exploring her but the rest of him didn't. They lingered between innocence and the verge of obscenity. If he wanted, Rin would have sex with him while a houseful of people partied and danced within ear shot.

“i can swim!”

Jack pushed off the wall and splashed her in the process. “Do you think I'm sexy?” he was drunk. Head tilted as the wet curls clung to his face.

“A blind person would think you're sexy. You're taking the piss because I won't get in.”

“Of course I am! Come on. I'll hold you?” he raised an eyebrow. “It's almost midnight. I want to be with you when it is.”

“We're together enough, Jack”

“No!” he waved his hands. “I want to hold you.I don't know why, I know I have before? I feel like there's just this.. Ever since you came to the store it’s been like trying to remember a dream I had once. And some part of me is saying you know how to help because you've done it before?”

Realization spread across Jack's face, “Rin, am I the one who forgot you?”

“It happens sometimes. I think.. I think my abilities shut off a part of people who no longer need me or want me?” she shrugged it off.

“How could I not want you?”

It was such an innocent thing to ask. One Rin had asked herself every time someone used her. Her parents turned her into a sideshow freak for their religion. Men and their sick desires that she tapped into. Even she didn't want herself most of the time.

But Jack had been alone. Left to his own devices and literally haunted. Rin never needed to touch him to know how sad he had been when he first was sectioned. It emanated from him. He knew about self isolation and mistrust. And especially about gifts that would ruin you if they could.

There wasn't a thought left. Spurned on by the purity of his question, Rin hurried out of her clothes and eased herself into the pool. She swam as quickly as her body allowed before throwing herself in Jack's waiting arms.

Their arms and legs tangled together in the water. Rin wrapped herself around Jack's hips, her arms draped across broad shoulders. She twisted her fingers up in his hair and let her body meld into his.

Jack held Rin's head in his hands. Their foreheads pressed together as he nudged the tip of his nose along her face. Careful, at first,

to only brush his lips on her cheeks and eyelids. Then the countdown started.

Everyone in the house started counting down excitedly, and Jack stopped being cautious. It was cliché how their mouths found one another hungrily as the guests screamed Happy New Year! How Rin's empathic touch sent a wave of electricity that visibly shocked Jack's body as they began to sing. As if she plugged his body into his brain and there was a spark that brought him to life.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

And never brought to mind?

Should auld acquaintance be forgot

For days of Auld Lang Syne

They relaxed into one another. Their kisses became languid but no less passionate. Everyone stormed the pool around them, splashing and laughing and hollering. Emma drunkenly interrupted the couples’ warring lips and tongues.

“Took you fucking long enough,” she teased her baby brother. “I kept hoping this would happen.”

Rin buried her face in Jack's chest as he held her tight. That bright fire that flowed from Emma to her and Rin to Jack back in hospital took root again in this house and pool.

“Me too.”

We’ll take o cup of kindness yet

For days of auld lang syne

[jasontoddiefor]

Summary: More of that Anakin gets stuck in the past and ends up dating Dooku bc my discord enables all my crack treated seriously ideas. Read on AO3.

Qui-Gon supposed that despite their circumstances, he was actually having fun. He had been sent all over the galaxy since his knighting and had hardly spent a minute at the Temple or with his old Master. Going on a mission with him again was refreshing and felt a little bit like coming home, even if Dooku looked about three seconds away from committing a felony.

“Hello, Master,” Qui-Gon greeted easily still, leaning against the entrance of his ship. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“I have missed you as well, Padawan,” Dooku replied and immediately marched past Qui-Gon towards the cockpit of the ship.

Qui-Gon only raised a brow as he watched his Master’s back disappear, then he turned to the second Jedi walking up the ramp of his ship. Master Nu smiled warmly at Qui-Gon and, once she had reached him, gave him a quick hug.

“I apologize for his fool manners,” Jocasta said. “The last three weeks have been unpleasant.”

Qui-Gon snorted. “You don’t have to pretend. I know how he can get.”

Dooku was an excellent teacher once he understood that my way or the highway would always result in Qui-Gon picking the highway. They had had their difficulties, Dooku’s approach towards the Force not meshing well with Qui-Gon’s. His general strictness had also not been much to Qui-Gon’s liking. It was good then that Qui-Gon could run off to Anakin to complain about his Master which usually resulted in getting a joined lesson. It had become a bit of a joke between him and his crèchemates that Qui-Gon had two Masters. Some had been jealous of course, Anakin Skywalker didn’t have his own Padawan and he was a skilled Knight, one of the Order’s best combatants, but most had taken it with good fun.

“I think I owe you an apology for not coming here faster, I had to drop Tahl off somewhere else first.”

Jocasta shook her head. “If anyone’s to blame, it’s Anakin for running off with our ship.”

Qui-Gon hadn’t quite wanted to believe it when the report came in. Anakin was protective of the Order, more so than any other Knight it seemed at times. His past was also shrouded in mystery with nobody knowing him before he had shown up at the Temple some odd sixteen years ago.  His circle of friend consisted mostly of Dooku’s circle of friends, though Qui-Gon was fairly sure that if they were forced to pick between Anakin and his ever grumpy Master, the decision would be an easy one. Anakin never gave the name of his Master, though he sometimes did quote him, a ridiculously pronounced High Coruscanti accent dropping from his lips. Despite all these secrets, however, Qui-Gon had never been given a reason to doubt Anakin. He was a good man, a good teacher, and a terrifyingly competent Shadow.

Not that Qui-Gon was supposed to know that, but Padawans usually knew what their Masters got up to and Dooku had taken plenty of unofficial missions with Anakin and Jocasta.

“What happened?” Qui-Gon asked once they got seated in the common area of the ship. Dooku was still at the ship’s helm, guiding them Force-knew where.

“We don’t know,” Jocasta replied. “One moment we were exploring the old temple, the next Anakin was on the ground and after…” She put her hands around her cup of tea. “He just took off with the ship. Dooku thinks Anakin had a vision but that look in his eyes. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Anakin that angry. I just hope we arrive quick enough before he does anything he regrets.”

X

After a while, Dooku came out of the cockpit again and told them where they were heading next. His Master cut himself short where usually he could speak quite extensively. It was impossible to ignore how on edge he was. It was no surprise, Qui-Gon could feel himself get nervous as well. The three Jedi had been exploring a Sith Temple. If Anakin had come into contact with anything there, it could have warped his mind, tricked him. There was a reason most Shadows didn’t retire out of their own free will.

“He didn’t disable the tracker of the ship in his hurry,” Dooku said. “I have traced him and set course for one of the lesser-known spaceports on the planet.”

Anakin had a strange preference for smaller ports if he was in a hurry. It didn’t fit with his usual approach towards anything – namely always spring the trap – but to those that knew it, it made him at least somewhat predictable.

“He was here,” Dooku muttered once they were within reach of the port.

They were in the middle of nowhere on some backend Outer Rim planet where the Republic was more myth than reality. Anakin took a lot of missions on the Outer Rim, being invested in the area. It was probably because he was from somewhere around this area. Anakin’s Basic was accented. Not as much as it used to be, as Qui-Gon remembered it from his early childhood, but it was still there.

They landed their ship in the ugliest hanger Qui-Gon had ever seen, it being accompanied by an eerie silence. He got the feeling that he was missing something. There should be staff checking them, asking why they were heading here. Instead, they could just land their ship.

“Careful,” Jocasta muttered.

She too was scanning their surrounding for something unusual. Her hand on his shoulder was calming and Qui-Gon wished he could claim he wasn’t glad for it. He was a Knight, not a child anymore, but the Force felt off, like it was grieving and celebrating at the same time and Qui-Gon didn’t know what to make of it.

Once their ship had landed, they prepared themselves for everything, or so they thought.

When the ramp opened up, they were greeted by an almost empty hander shrouded in darkness. Once it lit up however-

Bodies.

All kinds of species, adults, dead on the ground and obviously cut down by a lightsaber. Qui-Gon thought he was going to be sick.

“Do you think Anakin-“ Qui-Gon began to speak, but didn’t dare continue.

“Come,” Dooku ordered and simply passed the bodies with a determination Qui-Gon wasn’t sure he should admire. As they crossed the empty hanger, Qui-Gon took in more of their surroundings. Besides the dead, he also saw medical equipment, cages and collars-

“Slave traders,” Qui-Gon muttered.

It didn’t make the carnage any better, but it still eased his mind a bit. Anakin hadn’t just gone on a mindless murder spree, turned mad from the Sith Temple. These people weren’t innocents, but they still hadn’t deserved such an ending.

At the very end of the empty hanger stood the ship Anakin had run away in. Dooku typed in the passcode to the ship and pretty much jumped inside as soon as the ship’s ramp allowed it. Qui-Gon hoped that Anakin was alright. He had always had a strong reaction to slavers – but again who could claim they didn’t? – but what they had found here at the docks had been a massacre. Anakin had shown no mercy as he’d slaughtered his way through the traders and that didn’t bode well.

Qui-Gon and Jocasta quickly followed Dooku, their lightsabers not ignited, but ready to jump into battle any second. This was decidedly not where Qui-Gon had imagined they’d end up.

They stepped past the common area which had been used only recently, a pot of cooked food still sitting on the counter, warm still. Jocasta signaled at Qui-Gon to be quiet as they continued on towards the cockpit of the ship.

Dooku, apparently not entirely lost to worry and all the other flickers of emotions Qui-Gon wasn’t privy to, glanced back at the two of them, then signaled that he was going to open the door.

Three. Two. One-

The moment Dooku opened the door, a strong Force push hit them that would have knocked them over had they not been prepared for it.

Qui-Gon caught a glance of golden hair and a gloved arm – it was Anakin alright. He was huddled in the far right corner of the room, wrapped in more blankets than Qui-Gon could count. He was staring at the three of them with wide-eyes, recognition only settling in just that moment.

“Shit,” Anakin cursed into the silence. “You are here.”

Before Qui-Gon or Jocasta could say a thing, Dooku had to say something. Typically for his Master, Dooku immediately began to retort with the sharpness of a blade.

“Yes, we are here after you ditched us in a Force-forsaken Sith temple! Do you have any idea-“

“Don’t shout at me,” Anakin retorted, interrupting Dooku. “You’ll wake her.”

“Wake who?” Qui-Gon asked and sidestepped Jocasta so he could get a better look at Anakin and the bundle of blankets that turned out to be less blanket and more person.

“That’s a child,” Qui-Gon blurted out before he could stop himself.

He felt like a Padawan again at this moment, caught in-between three Masters with no idea what was actually going on.

“Yeah,” Anakin replied and gently ran his fingers through the girl’s brown hair.

She had to be young and was fairly small as well. However, her face was very thin, she looked starved.

“Is that who you left for?” Jocasta asked.

“Yes. I saw what they were doing to her and- I can’t believe I forgot it. I thought that if I just focused on the Jedi, I could fix everything but they- They hurt her. They hurt her and I was nearly too late again.”

“Who is she?” Dooku spoke up again.

Qui-Gon glanced at his Master. He didn’t look so angry anymore, more concerned, and wary.

“What, you haven’t guessed yet?” Anakin sighed. He was so tired, the exhaustion was written all over his face. It reminded Qui-Gon of the times Anakin had knocked at their quarters in the middle of the night, haunted by nightmares he couldn’t speak about. Sometimes Qui-Gon had woken as well and the three of them had just sat on the sofa, a cup of tea in their hands, talking about nothing in particular. Other times Qui-Gon had only noticed that Anakin had come over to their place because the breakfast table was laid in the morning and Anakin already sitting at it, usually wearing one of his Master’s robes.

Qui-Gon didn’t know if Anakin had ever talked to a mind healer about his nightmares. It hadn’t been his place then, a child under Anakin’s care, but somebody should make sure that after all of this, Anakin talked to somebody.

“Her name is Shmi,” Anakin said and once more traced her cheek’s with his flesh hand. “Shmi Skywalker. She would have been my mother someday.”

Qui-Gon froze, thinking he had misheard, but all around them, the Force rang with truth, which he supposed only made things worse. He turned to look at his Master but Dooku didn’t look surprised at all, if anything, he was resigned-

He knew.

[fandomanxiety-fa]

"Fluffy February" - Day Three

The Outerworlds

Felix Millstone X Captain Dottie

Summary: Felix has never left the Groundbreaker, but now he's on a new ship with a new Captain. And she is ready to travel all over the system, and not only is she traveling the system in a cool ship with a dark past, she's traveling with him. After time on the ship, the first place he goes to is Roseway with the Captain along with her annoying Vicar friend, and Felix has seen nothing like it.

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The Unreliable.

This was his new home, and by the way, this home has so much food. So much food. He still couldn't even process how they needed this much food for five people! He was standing infront of the fridge, door swung open, rummaging through the endless supply of food. The Captain gave him a bunch of Rizzos that she bought on Groundbreaker for him, and he had eaten all of it. Now, he wanted something salty, an actual meal.

The cabinets!

He might as well lunged to the cabinets and began digging. While doing so he didn't realize he was being examined by his Captain, and soon he came back with expensive whiskey. It had been hidden far in the back out of view and had Max scrawled out on the side. Felix smirked to himself.

"I can't tell if your hungry, or looking to get roaring drunk," she chuckled a bit, and Felix whipped around in embarrassment.

"Hey, Boss! Erm, what's up?" Felix said, while putting the whiskey back in shame.

"Hey, get that back out. I want some too," she smiled, walking to the fridge.

She was beautiful, and Felix was embarrassed for acting like an animal.

"Honey, don't let me stop you! I came to eat too, ya' know."

Felix turned red all over. He had never been called honey before, and it left him all flustered as he fumbled to retrieve the whiskey from the cabinet. He managed to grab it and close the cabinet door with his leg when he stood up. She smiled bringing glasses whilst setting down things to make food on the burner. Felix watched her long bare legs as she walked towards him. He heard the glasses clink on the table, and it brought him out of the trance he was in.

Stop being so obvious!

He wanted to shrink away, as he watched her strong arms move when she grabbed a pan off a rack. He had never had been cooked for, especially for free, and by a girl! Especially a girl!

Woman Felix, she's a woman, man!

He watched her begin to make something he had never had before.

"You like spicy stuff, Felix?" She asked him, and he perked up nervously.

"Yeah! I do. What erm about you, Boss?" Felix replied, and she laughed at him.

"Why are you so nervous, Millstone?"

"I am not!"

She shook her head, "Felix, did you see the game with Rizzos Rangers this evening?"

"Oh yeah! It was a great game, Boss! You like the Rangers, Boss?" Felix asked, his nervousness went away.

"Oh, I love them! They are a really good team! My favorite! I love the thirty-fifth back!" She smiled, and he poured himself some whiskey.

She was to perfect.. the perfect woman. She loves Rizzos Rangers, is super strong, and-.

"Pour me a glass, will you?" She asked, peeking back at him with her green eyes.

They are Auntie Cleo green...

"Sure, Boss."

"Come on, don't call me that. Call me, Dot."

"Okay."

Dot.

Felix awoke in his bunk with a headache along with a loud rap on his door.

"Open this door right now!"

The Vicar.

"Go get spaced, I'm sleeping!" Felix yelled back, and he rolled over to the window.

"Ada! I request you open this door! Now!"

"I cannot, Vicar. It violates the crewmate Felix's privacy. On another note, I will not tolerate disrespect from the likes of you, Vicar."

He cussed loudly, stomping down the hall. He made his way down the stairs to the Captain's Quarters, where he tried to compose himself enough to call for the Captain to sort out this mess.

"Captain!"

No response.

"Captain!"

Silence.

"Captain! I would like to speak with you!"

The door whooshed open where a very angry looking Captain stood. She wore nothing but a shorts and a odd top that ended far above her stomach.

"Captain! Make yourself presentable first!" Max scolded, all while red eared.

"This is what your getting for rudely tearing me from bed, Vicar. Now what is it?" She growled, and he tried to keep eye contact.

"What is that...that top?"

Please put a top on...

"It's called a sports bra. Spit out what you want. Now."

"Felix has taken one if my belongings, Captain," Max stated, and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah. We both drank it. I will get you more. What are you even doing trying to drink this early? Or are you filling up that vial of yours?" She spoke, and he glared at her.

"That vial holds no such thing. You are mistaken, Captain."

"Yeah? Well, tell me what I took a big swig of then?"

Silence.

"Exactly, Vicar," she spoke, and then the door shut in his face.

Well played, Captain. I'll have to hide my spirits somewhere else...

Felix was excited. The Captain was going to Roseway now, and he couldn't wait. He had never been anywhere but Groundbreaker. He finished pulling his red sleeves on and began zipping it up while looking in the mirror. He looked at his wet hair through the steam in the mirror.

The water pressure is good here! And the water is warm! Not like that cold crap on the Groundbreaker!

He picked up his bracelet and slid it on his wrist, and then looked at all the toothbrushes in the cup on the sink.

Which one is mine? Do I use...um...do I have one? I lost mine when I moved in so, uh.

A knock erupted from the door, and he opened it, to reveal the Captian.

"I got you a new toothbrush. It's red, like your clothing," she spoke quietly, and he noticed she looked flustered.

"Aw thanks! What happened to my other one?" Felix asked, and she laughed nervously.

"I saw that it was...really old...and uh...well, I threw it out. It looked like it was really old. Sorry," she mumbled, and he smiled.

"Nah! That's fine! I just couldn't get a new one. Didn't have much money. Thanks, B-Dottie!" He smiled, and it was that boy-ish, cute smile he had.

She smiled and he closed the door when she left. He began brushing his teeth with joy.

This toothbrush is stiff...

He forgot what a new brush felt like. He'd only ever had one. The harsh bristles of the brush glided across his teeth as he though of his new serial-worthy Captain.

She's pretty, and looks like she could break my arm. Which is attractive too. I wonder if she is been everywhere. She seems like it. She has pretty eyes. A nice green. They have a look to them. I bet she's a good fighter and not some board lackey. Yeah! A rebel like me! That makes her even more hot!

Felix realized he had brushed his teeth until they bled, and quickly spat it all out of his mouth.

Oh no! Is this bad? Maybe I should see Ellie? Man, what does this mean? Crap! She probably is asleep! I'll go see the Captain.

Quickly Felix rushed out the door to see the Captain, where he spotted her heading down the stairs. He tapped her shoulder while spewing her name in panic.

"I brushed my teeth and now I'm bleeding!" He cried, and then she burst out laughing.

"Felix that's when you brush your teeth to hard! Your fine!"

"Oh."

He felt embarrassed and looked at his feet. The laughing ceased, and she put her hand on his forearm making him look at her.

"Don't feel bad! It's okay, Felix. I am glad you trust me to diagnose you!" She smiled sweetly, and footsteps came from behind.

"I came for my armor Captain," a voice that sounded an awful lot like a blood-boiling, loathing Vicar.

"Wait. He's coming?" Felix asked, and she sighed.

"You two are going to have to get along. I mean it. So, you'll get to bond over the mysterious Roseway mission," Dottie sighed, and Felix huffed.

He noticed some lockers up against the wall. Six to be exact. Dottie opens a door and began slipping armor on over her clothes.

"Your armor is in a locker over there, Felix," she pointed at the locker on the end.

"Has Ms. Fenhill expressed her concerns to you, Captain?" Max asked, and the Captain looked at him.

"Yes. She thinks it quote, this Roseway business smells, unquote. Do you have anything to say, Vicar?" Dottie asked slipping on her boots.

"I believe we should proceed with caution. This could very well be a trap," Max spoke, and Felix noticed Max's eyes linger a bit on Dottie.

Back off Vicar. She doesn't like you, man. Ew. Who would?

Felix pulled on his final armor piece besides his helmet and glanced back at Dottie, who now had her helmet on.

"Ready to go?" She asked him, and he nodded with an ear-to-ear grin.

This made her smile. She liked he's boy-ish smiles and light filled eyes. He was a dreamy, silly boy that makes her laugh. He proved that last night as they exchanged jokes over whiskey and spicy casserole.

Soon enough, they walked outside the ship. Felix's eyes squinted as the bright light outside hit his eyes, and the fresh air invaded his nose. Glancing around Felix saw beautiful plant life around him that was foreign to him.

Pictures and serials didn't do the outside world justice!

"Felix? Honey? Are you alright?"

He hasn't noticed the tears going down his face, and he grew embarrassed trying swipe them away.

"You've never been off Groundbreaker?" The Vicar asked.

"No. He hasn't. Hey, we can go anywhere you want, Felix! And here, let me show you something," Dottie spoke soft and timid, reaching into her pack.

She pulled out a journal, and opened it while leaning to show him.

"It can be our project. I've been putting different flowers and ferns and such inside from each planet. To remember things and stuff. I've been writing what I can that I know about them. We both can do it!" She smiled at him, and he looked at her pretty handwriting and plants smashed into the pages within the journal.

"Yeah, Dot! Can I sign it? Read the other pages?" He asked excited, while wiping some tears away.

"Duh! Your family now! You can write your name in it!"

His heart grew warm. He smiled and almost started crying, but held it back (he couldn't afford for that insufferable Vicar to see him like that again).

"Now," she began, slipping the book in her bag, "let's go!"

Family.

His heart was pounding with joy at the thought. If a family was a Captain who could break his arm, a pirate sawbones, a sweet mechanic, and a grumpy "Vicar" (that didn't really count)...well, this was a interesting family for sure.

And he didn't want it any other way, because life wasnt dull anymore, and now he had a purpose. He could go anywhere he wanted, no longer being shacked to the Groundbreaker by poverty.

And most of all...

I've got a family!

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