#edit: I went there for happy endings where they’re happy and yo give me hurt sans comfort and I’m crying but it hurts so good

[alittlerainandroses]

I will now be ingesting a heroic amount of fan fiction thank you

[waitingfortheendtocome]

Deceiving Love

This was a request idea send so all credits for the idea goes to @me-goro Thank you for the request and I promise I’ll try my best :)

Request: Enemy to Lovers where Lou meets y/n for the first time while Lou’s trying to be sneaky because she wants to get information o but Y/N is unknowingly in the way of her getting it. 

This is probably not going to be that many chapters maybe a few chapters, more or less fast pace. I tried to get it in a one shot but it would’ve been too long. 

I’m so sorry is so long I couldn’t find a stopping point and wanted to get as much info out there as well as introduction for the first chapter. I promise I’ll try not to make them too long in the future lol. I’m bad at finding good ending spots as well as writing characters hating on each other LOL. Fair warning I went for the crashing into each other cliché to create a bad start between them LOL

I haven’t edited it completely so there might be grammatic error and for that I apologize. 

Also this is my first Ocean’s 8 Lou Miller story so I’m sorry if this turns out bad 😅

Warnings: None yet except Cursing here and there. bad first impressions if you count that (is that under angst????)

Chapter One

~Lou~

Lou parked in front of the warehouse they had rented out for the job. They made sure to rent it out under a false name to avoid backtracking in case somewhere where to go wrong. They all took a flight to France for a job Debbie insisted they should do. She claimed it a really good job and the pay was good. Personally Lou didn’t needed the extra cash and rejected the job a few times over the course of a week before finally caving in due to Debbie’s persistence. Despite her agreeing she wasn’t happy and had been slightly grouchy she wanted to focus on running her club, upgrading it here and there to make it better and maybe open another club so she was very busy. 

If she did this job she had to put all the plans on hold for a while which she was upset about. She had to hire a temporary manager to run her club while she was gone, hell even Tammy tried to tell Debbie to leave Lou be but according to Debbie they’ll get caught if Lou wasn’t there. Lou had been in a bad mood that day and saying a few things that would have hurt Debbie’s feelings if Debbie had been within hearing range only Tammy heard her and the two had a lengthy conversation which made Lou wish she had a strong drink which wasn’t wise thankfully Tammy made her feel better already sensing Lou’s sudden stress. Safe to say after talking to Tammy she agreed on the job better her helping Debbie than having all seven of her friends get caught and arrested. Debbie was more than happy at Lou agreeing to do this job something Lou noticed and had to admit made her happy.

They all walked in the warehouse and looked around except for Lou who walked confidently to a chair and sat down her long legs spread out in front of her. She had already came here a week ago to get the place set up for the team she even set up a spot for nine balls with the equipment the woman needed for the heist so she didn’t needed to explore or look around. Debbie grinned at Lou proud that Lou had set the place up already Lou looked up from her phone giving Debbie a smug smirk before she finished texting her temporary club manager. She put her phone away and looked up knowing the team had gathered and Debbie took the floor.

“So, what are we stealing? You guys haven’t told us.” Amita wondered

Lou lounged back shrugging, “Don’t look at me not even I know.”

“Yo, are they diamonds?” Nine Balls wondered

“Woah, wait you haven’t told Lou?” Constance wondered shocked

“I didn’t wanted her to try and back out if I told her.” Debbie informed them earning a snort from the blonde in question who shoved a piece of gum in her mouth

“Oh now we really wanna know, spill girl what is it?” Nine stated closing the lid of her laptop

Smiling satisfied that she got everyone's attention she turned on the screen projector stating, “Hear me out first.”

The screened turned on and an drawing of three jewels popped up and beside it another image of two crowns popped up. Lou studied the items quickly wondering what was so special about them besides the lack of photograph.

The necklace collar is large and is made out of pure gold hallmarked with roses and harps made out of diamonds put to gatherer alternately. They where tied together with knots made out of pure gold and topaz diamonds. The roses where made out of diamonds and rubies. In the center of the collar was an imperial Jeweled Crown crest surmounting a harp of gold and diamonds. There was a small writing that says they're suppose to be two of them one had the imperial badge crown and the other did not other than that both necklace collars where the exact same.

The second jewel was a Grand Master diamond badge. The badge looked like it was similar to the one hanging off one of the necklaces. the badge is made out of silver containing trefoil in emerald on a ruby cross surrounded by sky blue enamel with rose diamonds writing. The crowned harp was made out of Diamonds and Brazilian stones.

The third Jewel was a simple large star made of gold diamonds and brilliants. it consisting of eight points with four lesser issuing Centre enclosing a cross of ruby and a trefoil of emeralds surrounding a sky blue enamel circle with writing in rose diamonds. The crowns was made out of pure gold, diamonds among with other jewels spread out creating a rather elegant and luxurious pattern.

Lou looked at them than at Debbie and sighed shaking her head looking incredulous. The jewels in the first image where known as the crowned jewels and the crowns where royal crowns from who knows how long ago both of which were stolen at different times ages ago. Lou was very confused as to what Debbie was planning unless Debbie decided to change her profession to treasure hunter.

“Debbie what are those jewels?” Tammy wondered confused

“Yo, what’s with the lack of photo are we downgrading or something?” Nine pointed out

“No we are not downgrading these-,” Debbie began before she was interrupted by Lou

“Those are the Crown jewels that went missing in 1906. The crowns on he right where missing in 1799 both where never seen again.” Lou explained

Debbie nodded slightly surprised Lou knows about them, “Yes, you know what they are?”

“Duh! So Indiana Jones how the fuck are we looking for said jewels are we pulling a Lara Croft or something.” Lou stated sarcastically

“If you would have let me finish Lou instead of interrupting I would have said that there was rumors that the said jewels are no longer missing they supposedly are here in this city in their most popular museum. Unfortunately we need information in order to get it that one one has but probably one person without said information there’s no way we can find them.” Debbie explained

Rose became confused and spoke up shyly, “What are they worth, don’t we usually start off by saying how much the seven of us earn?”

Debbie grinned mischievously and looked at the group proudly, “Today, four-hundred million dollars in today’s money minimum we might easily be able to up the prices due to the simple fact that the they where all stolen long ago and thought to no longer exist.”

“You’re not telling us something.” Lou pointed out casually

Debbie pressed the button on the remote and three pictures popped up, two of them where of two men one older than the other and the third of a woman Lou had to admit was the most beautiful woman she had ever laid eye’s on. She honestly could care less about the pictures of the men she was focused on the woman. Lou noticed you smiled proudly, you eyes shinning with happiness. You where wearing an outfit that was business casual, your hair styled to suit your professional style you where going for. Lou’s eyes flickered to Debbie to find her staring at her smirking smug and Lou cursed softly at being caught she knew that look anywhere. Debbie smug looked at the group and stated casually.

“These three are the ones in charge the younger man is the owner and director his name is Richard Davis, the older man’s name is Liam Moore he is the Curator, and the woman’s name is Y/F/N Y/LN she is the registrar. One or two of them have all the information we need and we need to get it out of them to find it. It’ll be too risky getting it out of Richard Davis and even Liam Moore. Our biggest chances is Y/F/N, she is in charge of what goes in and out of that place. Her job is to literally keep track of all the object, records, authenticity and borrowings so if these jewels are heading to their museum they’ll be passing through her and it'll be her job along with Liam to put them away either on display and hide them.” Debbie explained

“Don’t forget that if she has good relation with the director he’ll be giving her special tasks involving Jewels.” Tammy added earning a nod from Debbie

“So, how do we get this information out of her?” Amita wondered

Debbie grinned eying Lou again earning a sharp glare from Lou which in turn caused Debbie to laugh and look at the confused group who was looking back and forth between them wondering what they missed.

“Well Lou will be getting close to the woman and try to get information out of her she has Lou’s type written all over.” Debbie told them smug

“Like she’ll tell me the information. ‘Hey Miss. Y/L/N where the fuck are you keeping the jewels my team wants to steal them’.” Lou hissed her tone dripping sarcasm

“Please, we need the information.” Constance pleaded pouting Lou narrowed her eyes only causing Constance to pout further finally earning a sigh in defeat from Lou who all but caved she can’t resist Constance pout and she knows it she has a soft spot for the girl.

“Alright, I’ll do it. That was a cheap shot kid,” Lou pointed out getting up earning a beaming smile in return. “How hard can getting information out of her be aren’t people working in museum are boring or uptight as fuck.”

Lou without a word left the building deciding to pay the place a visit she kind of hoped one of the other’s would go in and do that after all Lou’s job was to gather anyone working for them, stealing the objects, making sure everything is going according to plan and have backup plans in case something goes wrong among other things bribing information out of someone wasn’t one of them. Granted a very attractive someone but she wasn’t going to admit that to anyone. Lou sighed realizing is been too long since she’s gotten anyone in her bed and it was starting to show. Lou climbed on a car and drove off following the GPS directions.

~You~

You rushed into the building of your workplace cursing at yourself for forgetting to set up the alarm. You moved to France from your home after finally landing a job that you actually loved for a change. You’ve always been a fan art and Historical artifacts so you began working at a big historical museum in Paris.

You walked into the building passed security and across the huge building waving hi to the security guard. You walked straight to your office that's located towards the back of the building. You barely made it in when your boss who’s also the director and owner of the museum jogged up to you looking like a kid in Christmas and you know something must have happened to get him this excited. The two of you had been friends since you started working there, you where originally the tour guide to the place before he promoted you to the official Registrar of the museum.

"Y/N right on time, we need to talk about something important that just happened." He told you barely able to contain his excitement. You honestly wonder how this man is an adult and owns this place. He is like a child sometimes.

You quirked an eyebrow at him confused, "Sure, what is it?"

He pointed to your office door, "let's go to your office to talk privately. I don't want anyone to overhear.”

Nodding more confused, you opened the door and walked in with him behind you. He closes and locks the door, tugging you into the room making you more confused if possible. The both of you sat across from each other, you barely had the chance to ask again why he was so excited when he handed you two folded piece of paper. Looking confused you opened  the first one and stared at it to find an old drawing of a three jewels. You looked confused when you saw it since it looked like a drawing of the jewels rather than an actual photo.

You looked up at your boss after you studied the two pages and the descriptions of the jewels along with what was used to create them. You remember hearing about these things going missing during a conversation you had with your coworker who was a guide here in the museum. When discussing missing jewelry or historical artifacts he had mentioned several different ancient royal jewels that had gone missing and mentioned these but you weren’t sure what this had to do with anything.

“Richard, do I want to know why you’re showing me these? These aren’t even in our museum I would know is my job to memorize anything and anyone that goes in or out of this place.” You wondered confused

He grinned excitedly, “Yes, They went missing centuries ago and we recently found them again and just so happens that they are secretly on their way here we wont put them on display of course.” 

Your eyes widen in shock, “Really? How the hell did you find them?"

He shrugged grinning, "I honestly don't have a clue how they where found the important thing is I got my hands on them before anyone else did. The jewels where stolen and sold in the 1900s someone must have found them recently the crowns where destroyed but turns out they where stolen and hidden. That's as far as I know."

You nodded processing the information for a moment, "okay that makes sense sort of but wouldn’t they be prone to thieves though?”

He chuckled, “Yes, which is why I have a plan which is foul proof. I did not wanted us to suffer the same fate as the Toussaint so I’m going to change a few things here and there around this place but more importantly only you and I will have all the information and location.”

You shook your head at that. Being the only one with specific information only added more stress on you especially if you’re going to be put in charge of it which you knew you where based on the look you where given.

“I’m listening. What’s this infamous information.” you told him slightly sarcastic earning a chuckle

He looked satisfied with your reply and sat back explaining the importance of having the word not get out that those jewels where discovered. He went into greater details on how they where going to get them in the museum, how they where going to be hidden, secured and how they where going to up the security and his crazy idea of adding a few decoys in other locations when you asked why the decoy he looked at you sheepish and said he took the idea from the Met when it was discovered Klugger was wearing a fake so he was borrowing the idea just in case. After he was done explaining which took up an hour or so you looked baffled.

“This better not backfire on us.” you sighed and got up getting ready for work to distract yourself leaving a smug owner in your office.

************

Most of the morning was uneventful and slightly dreadful. There was a tour by a Primary school which was stressful given how some of the kids wanted to run off on their own when their teacher and tour guide was not looking. At one point one of them almost knocked something over since they went past the security point forcing you to run and steady the item and pointing out to the teacher to keep a better eye on her students. You where of curse polite and respectful about it despite your patience being tested.

It wasn’t until the afternoon where everything started to go south. It was a lot busier an old lady freaked out believing that one of the old priceless painting was hers and tried to steal it not to mention she had a cane and smacked you with it a few times until she was escorted away from the area. You where pretty sure you where going to bruise a little. You could not help but wonder how does an old lady able to swing the cane that forcefully. So is safe to say you where in a really bad mood. You walked past the Egyptian wing and paused when you heard a childlike giggle. You walked over just in time to see yet another child trying to get past the safety line and getting inside the security glass. You ran over and stopped him before something tragic happened and fixed the glass. You couldn’t help but glare at the kid. The kid backed up but you grabbed his arm.

“Where are your parents?” You asked in a serious tone he didn’t say anything only pointed to the other side of the Egyptian wing. You walked him over to them to find them both on their phone you tapped their shoulder interrupting the careless parents.

“Yes?” the arrogant mother asked

“Is this your kid?” You asked trying to not sound rude and snap after earning a nod from both you spoke up before they can say anything, “Please keep your kid close to you I just found him nearly knocking over an artifact.”

The father took the kid and narrowed his eyes scolding his son for walking out of their side and misbehaving deciding to punish the kid by taking him home earning a temper tantrum.

“Bill don’t be harsh he didn’t mean it I’m sure we could have paid for the damages.” The mother scolded her husband

You rolled your eyes at that and said, “Yeah, ma’am keep him close and for the record neither of us can afford that thing. Instead of being on your phone how about showing your kid a good time if you payed attention to him he wont have any need to destroy the place. This is the third time I had to stop him.” you turned around and walked off not even bother with civility anymore.

You turned around and stormed off to keep an eye on the rest of the of the museum hoping nothing more will happen. You where in a bad mood and ready to go home. You walked around the corner only to collide with someone causing you to tumble back at that same moment you felt something cold splash all over you. Looking down you realized it was just water.

“Fuck. Watch where you’re walking.” the woman snapped

You glared up at her to find a pair of light blue eyes glaring right back you belonging to a tall platinum blonde woman. You looked down to find her shirt was also wet and she was holding a half empty cup.

“First of all watch where YOU’RE walking, second of all no cellphones and third off I wasn’t the one walking with a cup filled with what ever that was you’re not allowed to have liquids in this section only the lobby’s lounge area blonde.” You snapped right back

“What the fuck I was walking here you’re the one who crashed into me and be glad it was water and I’m allowed to take pictures what kind of fucking museum is this.” the woman snapped

You rolled your eyes, “That’s what bottles of water are for genius.”

That only pissed off the blonde even more, “First of all this use to be soda before I finished it and emptied my water in here second of all fuck you, you’re rude as fuck.”

Both of you glared daggers at each other clearly pissed off. Any other circumstance you would have admired how attractive and how her closed hugged her body just right but not right now. Right now you where actively glaring daggers' at her for being a rude bitch. Why the hell are the hot ones always rude and obnoxious. You wondered

You saw her unlocked phone and narrowed your eyes pointing to a sign, “You can’t take pictures in this section new rule only certain areas are allowed to have pictures taken put that phone away”

“What the fuck. First of all none of the other staffs have said shit the only uptight complaining is you second of all I only took some pictures.” The woman snapped

“I need to check your phone.” You told her. it wasn’t that you where out to get her but it was a rule and this particular area no one was allowed to take pictures ever since last year most museums and locations holding expensive items became more strict

“NO.” The woman all but growled

 “I need to see it.” You said beginning to loose your patients you said hell with professionalism and snatched it looking through the pictures she took earning a protest trying to snatch it back and you stopped her with a sharp glare and grabbing her free hand. You found a few pictures of statues that are pretty heavy. You looked suspiciously at the glaring woman and handed her the phone back.

“We don’t allow phones anymore miss. Put that away.” you told her for the second time sharply

Lou glared at you not appreciating the bad treatment, “Why not the other museums allow it and I don’t appreciate having my phone snatched from me.”

“Not anymore. Blame the moron who decided team up with Klugger and steal that Toussaint necklace. Lucky them the insurance agent is dumb as fuck. No one allows phone anymore let along pictures being taken. Now either chug that drink or I’m snatching it with your phone and not returning them.” you warned and stormed off to try and clean up your top leaving a very pissed off blonde behind.

What the fuck is wrong with her? Fucking rude. You thought pissed off. You spoke sharply through your walky-talky’s earpiece to have someone clean up the spill and stormed off to your office deciding it was better do paperwork than to deal with guests.

~Lou~

It wasn’t until you stormed away when Lou realized you where the woman Debbie mentioned that had all the information and cursed at that.

Great, Getting information from someone like her will be nearly impossible. Lou thought glaring at the spot you where just in.

Lou stormed out of the building determined to get something out of you but knew it will be impossible since she knew you will probably keeping a close eye on her after that horrible interaction. Lou got even more angry when she remembered you boldly snatching her phone and probably erasing some of the pictures she had taken from the interesting objects there.

“Fucking rude uptight b.” Lou complained angrily while driving only to be interrupted by her phone. Lou drove towards the warehouse clearly pissed off evident in her feature, her posture was tense, her jawline clenched and she was gripping her steering wheel tightly. She chose to ignore the phone to annoyed to bother with answering.

[qingxintea]

➼ chongyun || hiraeth

tw: mention of knives (no violence), kidnapping, explosion _______

you angled your camera to catch your face and upper body correctly and adjusted your blinds for the correct lighting. you put thin pieces of yellow and pink paper over your lamp to give off a sunset lighting sort of aesthetic in your minimalist room. your tiny cacao tree sat in the corner of your room, setting some sort of simple beach vibe.

then, you began to stream.

you watched as majority of your followers came to view as you sat in your rolly gaming chair. the greetings came rushing in and you noticed two of your friends had came along too, xingqiu and chongyun.

"hey gang, it's kingexplosionmurder here with your weekly sunday stream," you smiled and watched as comments came in asking you to notice them. beginning to select randomly, you flicked a short strand of hair behind your ear. "you have been noticed, yourlocalsugardaddy," you blessed them. and you swore you chose randomly.

on the other side of the screen, chongyun's face slightly flushed before eating his popsicle again. yes, that was his username, selected by xingqiu after the guhua heir was somehow able to trick him into selecting so. the situation must've been that he accidentally consumed some jueyun chili's, that was also xingqiu's doing.

he watched you smile as you explained your schedule for this stream, when he noticed you suddenly began laughing. it sounded genuine, he wanted to believe it was genuine, but there was a trace of disappointment in it. he observed your face, noticing you were looking at the chat box. "i agree too, scarymoose."

scarymoose: this streamer's kinda dog shit ngl 😐

by instinct, his fingers grazed over the keyboard as he analyzed the tone. this kid wasn't joking around with himself, he was really out to bring you down. he exhaled, shaking his head, wondering how you would deal in the situation.

yourlocalsugardaddy: miss karen this isn't yelp 🙄

he wasn't content with that yet, things could've gone onto more serious matters, but he knew you liked to keep your chat clean and peaceful. you went to the farther extents to keep that from happening, agreeing with rude comments yourself as a said joke, but actually have it sometimes harming you.

so chongyun tried his best to keep you happy.

redrumreaper: yo moose chill 😳

he recognized his friend xingqiu also trying to calm the situation as you just laughed it off and attempted to continue, sooner enough just beginning to ignore all his comments. some other viewers came up to your defense but in all honesty, you wanted to move on.

"s-so, i found some silk flowers outside of wangshuu inn yesterday, aren't they pretty?" you took a tiny bouquet of the said silk flowers and presented it to your viewers, holding it next to your cheek. the pink tone of the flowers matched the color of your cheeks and made for a nice picture. chongyun would've screenshotted it, but he respected your privacy.

yourlocaldumba$$: yes they're so pretty we love you 😍

13lue13erry: yes ong ong 💕 thiccer than my granny

Straw13erry: don't bring madame ping into this 💀💀

colino: are you sure it's alright to take from someone's legally owned property ?? much less from their garden

Straw13erry: u mean ur neighbors don't harvest ur flowers every day? 🙄 privilege spoke 🤚

yourlocalsugardaddy: vv pretty 😳

redrumreaper: simp 💀

you slightly choked over on your side and xingqiu calling chongyun a simp, for you. quickly clearing your throat, you regained your composure. your viewers could see that your cheeks had been dusted with a darker shade now.

13lue13erry: 👀

Straw13erry: 👀

yourlocaldumba$$: 👀

redrumreaper: 👀

sireluck: 💀

bazinga: 👀

dandelionn: 👀

poetichoe: 👀

"okay- anyways," you pushed that aside, watching the chain of 👀's coming in. you weren't too sure at what they were referring to, but just assumed that they were interested in xingqiu exposing chongyun. but, there was no way chongyun really felt like that, right? it was just a friendly compliment from what you believed. "just a tiny flex but y'all guys, i am so cracked at apex, not gonna lie. for all the new followers out there," you randomly commented. 'and to change the subject.'

"actually, you know what? fuck the schedule, let's go to trolling little eight year old kids posting selfies on instagram. due to certain reasons i'm just not gonna be blurring their usernames out, but please don't spam these people, i don't wanna be cancelled 💗" you sweetly smiled as you pulled up instagram and started streaming on your phone.

of course your sus notifications ruined it 🤡🤡

because xingqiu took advantage of the situation, sending messages to your discord. nothing mentioning your romantic life because he knew better than that, but just trolling. 'HEY GANG. ITS ME, TONY, AND TODAY WE'RE GONNA SEE IF IM FASTER THAN THIS MOUSE TRAP.' 'TURNS OUT, I AM NOT FASTER THAN THIS MOUSE TRAP.' 'AN UPDATE, IT HURTS. ALRIGHT. BYE GUYS.' you tried hard to contain your laughter, but certain giggles came out in the end, giggles that made chongyun's heart flutter.

xingqiu just kept spamming without a stop, to the point that you accidentally clicked into the notification instead of someone's username on a selfie post. so now everyone could see your group chat with xingqiu, chongyun, and a few other viewers that were actually your other friends.

13lue13erry: oh no 🤡

Straw13erry: 🗿

yourlocaldumba$$: HAHAHAHA WE'RE EXPOSED 🤡👌

just water support boy 😔: image.png

oh my god he's sending chongyun catboy edits. you made this concerning noise, glad no one really seemed to know who chongyun really was on twitch. you went back to instagram, beginning to dm a random kid, ignoring the situation that had just happened.

chongyun choked, slight heat running to his cheeks. what the fuck was xingqiu doing- how did he even get those pictures? maybe it was that one time xingqiu forced him to go to a furry con, but how did he ever get the time to photograph these? he nervously fidgeted and played with his fingers.

13lue13erry: 🤡

Straw13erry: 🤡

yourlocaldumba$$: 🤡

redrumreaper: 🤡

<— oraoraoraor

kingexplosionmurder: chav check

oraoraoraor: what

kingexplosionmurder: chav: check 😹😹

oraoraoraor: bruh

oraoraoraor: who tf are you

kingexplosionmurder: hope you like baddies cause i'm bad at everything 💗

oraoraoraor: bruh ok i'm blocking

kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me

oraoraoraor: 😐

kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me

oraoraoraor: wtf

kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me

oraoraoraor: wait wait UR that one twitch streamer?

kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me

oraoraoraor: ig ur fans gonna be so disappointed in you

kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me

oraoraoraor: hahaha wtf i'm gonna post this and tag you

kingexplosionmurder: stop dming me

afterwards you sent a barrage of really cursed images and left the person on read when they tried to complain and get a reaction out of you. you chuckled, extremely satisfied with yourself. this is what your viewers followed you for. you went on hunting for another user, "GO Y/N GO" filling up your chat.

you were just about to dm this other kid until you heard a ring from your doorbell. "oh what the fuck, i didn't invite anyone. but you know what, i'll pull something up to entertain y'all guys while i'm afk." searching on youtube, you typed in 'banana fish ep. 1' and clicked on the longest video you saw. then you got up from your chair, making your way to the front door.

you didn't mute yourself before because you thought there was really no need to, and you underestimated your mic sensitivity. god did you wish that you could go back and time and do just that.

twisting the doorknob, you opened your door and was met with... a certain, someone.

someone that you recognized and has caused you so much pain, and it was all so fun and games before they had to come along. "bruh. aight what you here for fam?" you played it super chill, though you were really sick and tired of this person's shit.

"(y/n). we need to talk," her stern voice made you flinch as you just stared straight into her eyes. you simply nodded your head and crossed your arms, shifting your weight onto your right leg. "we're thinking of taking you back home."

your froze, your breath hitching as you just stood there, waiting for her to go on. clenching your fists and looking down, you stayed silent for a little moment and questioned, "...why?"

"well, you have a stable income source, right?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. "you can finally be of use to us," she clasped her hands together, a bright smile on her face. your finger twitched, awaiting an explanation. "you're a streamer, yeah? so you can be a useful asset to our family name."

"...you only want me to come back so i can make you all seem... good?"

and here you thought, just for a second, that you would be accepted back into the place where you really belonged. your shoulders slumped, as small tears began to well up in your eyes. "and for our profitable gain of course, it would be a shame to not acquire that from you."

you composed yourself and looked up. "im afraid my profit can only cover for one person, and it would be myself that i focus to make a suitable and independent living out of. you've kicked me out ever since i've graduated from college and had me fend for myself, now inviting me back once i have a stable job?" you breathed, fiddling with the sleeves of your black hoodie.

"oh, not inviting, dear. taking."

confused by her words, you let your guard down as she suddenly pushed a warm cloth over your mouth as you let out a constrained scream. you tried to break free of her grasp, reaching for the switchblade in your pocket, but the drowsing chemicals from the cloth took control of you and you felt disoriented. "you... bitch..."

your head hit the floor.

》●✿ time ● skip ✿●

silence.

thats all you heard when you awoke.

pure, unfiltered silence that overwhelmed you as you were completely lost. what was happening?

you tried turning to the other side of your childhood bed, the moon casting light shadows into your 'room'. there was a rope around your wrists you noticed, so you brought them up to your lips and starting gnawing on them until it broke apart. (guys we feral its not a furry instinct ok?/ ??  ?)

the material had irritated your skin, but you put that aside for now. escape- thats what you really needed to do. it was fairly dark, but you didn't have a good estimate of time. the analog clock was broken and set to a different time that displayed 11AM. you sat up, your fingers running along the frame of the window next to you.

for a moment, you stopped, thoughts rushing into your head. what if you could start a whole other life here where things could finally be peaceful, what if you didn't have to feel so isolated anymore, what if you could- ...

no. (y/n), get yourself together. what has happened will anyways stay there, and there is no healing scars. ...still, you couldn't shake off the feeling of missing this home so much when you had an amazing childhood, though full of fake actors who had manipulated you.

opening all the cabinets silently, you grabbed things that you assumed would come to your aid. a tiny backpack, which you then stuffed with other things around it. a first aid kit, a spare knife just in case, along with a clean oversized sweater and a couple dollar bills. all that, along with a compass.

you turned towards your window, stepping on your bed.

pushing open the sides of your window, your stepped on, the brown coldness of the frame coming in contact with your feet. you shivered just a little bit before stopping to think. what would you do once you were out of here? you barely knew your way here. and not to mention, your devices were still left at your other house, so there was no way of contact.

...

did your stream ever end? even if it did, had you muted yourself before leaving? no, you didn't, and you could remember in precise detail. someone out there, anyone, would be willing to help, right? you couldn't possibly be here forever, not when you're basically blown up all over your socials?

your friends, yes, your friends! xingqiu and chongyun were watching the stream and had made obvious interaction in doing so, and they'd be willing to protect you. if they just had a lead...

but... what lead was there? all they heard was the woman's voice and, that was probably it, wasn't it? only a voice with no other clear features that could identify her. it looked like you were doing this on your own.

you came in contact with the blades of grass tickling your feet and conveniently found a pair of sneakers outside. it definitely wasn't yours, and it smelled like the scent of your old room. most likely, it belonged to someone from inside your house, lavender and mint, but who inside there was in the age range to wear modern day sneakers..?

brushing that question aside, you unhesitatingly laced them on and they were just a bit too big, but you could manage.

you breathed, inhaling the freedom intertwined air, a much needed factor of bringing you back to your lost sense of happiness. then, the fear struck you once again, because you needed to improvise now. you needed to run, but which direction? you barely knew this place at all.

you dug around your pocket for the compass you had and it was pointing east. you remember that stepping out of your house was facing west, so you were going the right way... but who knows how messy the path was? it couldn't have been an exact pathway, but going directly ahead was your simplest option.

you heard a pair of footsteps coming from inside the house, probably a few seconds away to opening the door. you sucked in your breath and ran, ran as far as your legs could take you. your intimidating speed and played into your advantage, and taking one last look, you saw the lights on, before continuing.

a few minutes into it, you felt some elemental energy. it was a sense you learned to develop since you were young, giving you the upper hand in a variety of situations. you followed the trail of glowing lines, the air starting to get colder and colder. you shuddered, the crisp coldness nipping at your skin.

you sat below a tree, taking your backpack off your shoulder and took out the oversized sweater. you put it on over your black tee and light blue skinny jeans, its nostalgic aroma filling your sense of smell.

it was... warm.

it shouldn't be warm.

the warmth proved as a sign that someone had worn it before, but this size was from what you knew, too small to fit the woman you came across again, and you absolutely did not recall any other beings within the house. it was a small household.

suddenly, you remembered what she said.

we're thinking of taking you back home. you can finally be of use to us.

plural. you should've noticed it before and you shook your head, slightly disappointed in yourself. you didn't remember any other birth siblings. could it be the fact that during the time, they had, in a way, replaced you?

you sat up, then suddenly went drowsy. your eyelids were getting heavy as your back hit the same tree. ah, that clever bitch. you chuckled to yourself, but still unsatisfied how this was gonna end. reaching inside your pocket, you grabbed a bomb that a little kid gave you, and threw it as far as you could. it wasn't as far as you hoped, but it was exceptionally far considered your sleepy state.

in a few couple seconds or so, it was going to explode. you did that to divert the attention of her and slowly ran as far as you could. a few seconds in, you gave in, hoping that your efforts were enough. 》●✿ perspective ● shift ✿●

chongyun heard an explosion.

he raised his head in the direction smoke was coming from, and made a run for it, then stopping to think. no, you're smarter than this. he gathered his shit together and remembered that one day klee gave you a bomb. he deducted that you had used it as a diversion, and began to search around the area.

and finally, he came across your sleeping body. to ensure your living state, he crouched down and let two fingers travel across your neck, searching for a pulse, and was relieved when he found one, pulsing at a normal rate.

he then carried you on his back, picking up the pace since he deducted someone was out for you, would you need a distraction. he remembered some details of the woman, she had ended your stream with your sleeping form in her hands, a dirty smirk coming across her lips. she had dark hair with some natural highlights, but that was all he saw because the rest was concealed by a cloak.

a few minutes, maybe half an hour later, you began to stir. chongyun decided that he ventured far enough to liyue and slowed down for your comfort. he wanted you to get some well deserved rest. but slowly, you woke up, but only the tiniest movement was made. your eyes were still droopy and you wanted to return to sleep.

but the sight of pastel blue hair kept you from doing so.

you felt the familiar silk coming in contact with your arms as he kept on trudging forward at a more consistent and smooth pace. "..chongyun?" you muttered out weakly, earning a small smile from the male. he hummed in response, continuing forward.

your mind was cloudy, unable to interpret the language of the world. but softly, words effortlessly escaped your lips, "... did i do the right... thing?" blinking multiple times, you awaited his answer.

"yes, yes you did," his soft voice reached your ears, making you smile a bit. you nuzzled deeper into his shoulder, clinging onto him tighter, unwilling to let go.

"thank you," you whispered.

he chuckled a bit before responding, "anything for you."

_____

bro ending is a little off because i'm wrote this at 2:53AM and so my brain has went ⬇️⬇️ also i'm just hungry

copy and pasted from my wattpad,, @ppeachtea_

[dawniebb]

You thought this was over but it isn’t lol

Y’all thought @healing-winston-pratt and I were over but no :) and this is my turn to take the wheel again so hello :3

@novadreamer95438 Yo wanted to be tagged so here you go, we’re thrilled to have you here <3

And also @novas-tunnel-of-anxiety you also asked me to be tagged in my stuff so there you go, hon <3

Before you read this new list, you might want to check our previous content about this canon divergence:

Winston and Dawnie’s guide to ignore the canon (Tumblr hates me and won’t show the link so here we go https://dawniebb.tumblr.com/post/624197118868013056/canon-is-an-illusion)

Nova trying to find Callum while refusing to acknowledge she’s in pain

Winston is alive but life sucks (Fic edition)

Same as above but it’s a comic so it hurts more

Callum wakes up from a very violent c-section (Comic)

Thing is 

We have a whole AU (well, it’s more likely just canon divergence)  so let’s see how things turn out for Narcissa and Leroy uwu 

You thought we forgot Leroy but we didn’t lmao and Danna needs a wife so here we goooo

So, as we already know, Narcissa is the one who put The Rejects together, and she promised them a new life.

She basically doomed herself 

yikes :) 

So, obviously, she now has to help them leave Gatlon. And we figured that, then, that would mean Leroy and her would travel together. 

The Rejects leave through the catacombs; they probably stole  some cars once they were outside the dome in order to leave the city.

Cut to Narcissa taking the passenger’s seat in Leroy’s yellow car because we say so.

The Rejects drive together until they feel the wave that drains their powers, and they have to stop to panic because they have no damn clue on what is happening.

Then the Supernova happens and they have their powers back so… They go back to their runaway before anything else happens.

They arrive to the nearest city in around four hours and stop to get supplies, but Narcissa keeps staring back at where Gatlon is supposed to be.

And Leroy tells her that, if there’s a chance Nova outsmarted Ace (and he knows his daughter her so he has faith), he’s taking the risk to going back to Gatlon.

He subtly suggests she can come too, but she says she’s still in debt with the Rejects.

But is she, though?

She has already taken them out of Gatlon and honestly, we don’t think they’ll stick together as a new gang or something.

They’re probably going to split out and take their own ways and Millie tells her so, and that’s how the two of them find themselves driving back to Gatlon like champions.

So then they enter back into Gatlon, empowered, like Dawnie when she failed Math and still went to watch Moana. 

And Narcissa, bc she’s a good person and has common sense, asks Leroy if there’s anything she can do for him bc he’s a war criminal who can’t go outside that much hee hee and the one thing Leroy asks is for her to tell him where he can find Nova. 

Narcissa does it, as it’s easier for her to move through the city without getting arrested af. She tells Leroy Nova is at the hospital with Winston, so Leroy waits until they’re both released to find a way to see Nova. 

And he finds it. We don’t know if any of you have watched Kipo :’) (YOU SHOULD BTW BC IT’S THE BOMB) but Leroy basically pulls a Lio and leaves traces/hints for Nova to find him. Like, very specific things only she could understand bc, even if she didn’t have powers, she would still be considered a prodigy child lmao kiddo was playing with syringes without getting them in her eyes when she was 6. 

Leroy waits….very patiently, btw, for a couple of days (3-4 days?) until one night he sees a tiny af silhouette  walking around the place like a cat and he just knows is her. 

And she is, indeed. 

So when she gets closer, she hugs him. It’s a very uncomfortable hug bc Leroy is not used to touch people, and Nova isn’t either. But yeah, they have a moment :) 

They talk for a while, and when Leroy asks her how she’s doing, as in where she’s living, where she’s getting money from and stuff like that, she answers that she recently rented an apartment where she’s living with Winston because he’s recovering and it’s not like Nova will be willing to leave him alone knowing he was one of the people that raised her and showed her actual love :v 

Leroy starts reconsidering his plan to remain hidden once he’s made sure Nova has it together lmao. 

ofc he doesn’t tell her this, and after promising (indirectly) everything will be alright and that this might not be the last time they talk, they just go into their separates ways. 

Until Simon calls Nova later that night telling her Leroy is at the HQs, surrendering lmao.

And so she goes there to ask him wtf is he doing, and Leroy might not directly tell her this, but he has nothing left to lose. And if he leaves, the only thing he’ll do is separate himself from Nova, who is like...the only family he has left.

So he wants to surrender because, that way, at least, he has a chance to get a sentence that might allow him get out of jail before he dies. 

Might.

The thing is that, well, we know the Renegades caused Nova to go through a lot of awful stuff. And we suppose they know that too :v so, what they do while both Nova and Leroy are in the room, is that they get to an agreement. 

Like, they don’t tell them the sentence in that VERY moment, but they do talk about how Leroy was always a very...neutral entity and barely anything he did was illegal :V ...besides being an accomplice ofc 

Even so, Nova is hesitant about this whole thing, but Leroy is an adult and she can’t tell him what to do, so he agrees to go into trial :v 

Given the fact that he didn’t have that many aggravating crimes and, in the end, he DID switch sides in the Second Battle for Gatlon, he’s sentenced to one year in prison and community service.

What we’re trying to say is that the Council basically pulled a Cinder and spared Leroy bc he helped win the battle. 

Before going to prison, Leroy reveals to Nova that, in the end, he did keep a little Agent N as a last resource (just in case, y’ know), and gives it to her. Not to use it on herself, but to use it on Winston, who is evidently miserable with his powers back :’). 

So Nova does, WHICH MEANS IN THIS CANON WINSTON HAS NO POWERS. EVERYTHING GOOD. OK? 

And that was the last sample of Agent N, since the rest (whatever back up the Renegades could have had in labs) was destroyed when Ace lifted the city and there is no way to replicate it without Max’s gifted blood.

Perhaps the formula and data were also destroyed.

During the year Leroy is locked, the Council (mostly Simon and Hugh) provide Winston and Nova with stuff they need to live lmao. Like, a small house :) bc they can :) 

Once Leroy is out, he starts living with them. Like a family. Bc we say so :) 

As for Narcissa, once she’s back at Gatlon, she stays with Danna for a while (omg there was only one bed) before getting a job in a library, y’know :) and moving to an apartment. 

Now, Nova DOES forgive the Renegades. Because, honestly, guys, a big part of the hatred she showed towards them was bc they promised they would come and then they didn’t. 

But turns out they did lmao.

During the Battle, Nova learned that Georgia Rawles died on her way to save her family. 

AND IDC WHAT ANYONE SAYS, DYING WASN’T GEORGIA’S FAULT :’) 

But anyway, this leads Nova to kinda… consider getting along with the Renegades, because in the end they DID try. Like, she forgives all of the “Bc you promised you would save me” stuff, but she remains firm on the fact that their system can suck it bc it’s horrible 

So said system changes for good, and Nova herself helps the Council establish more laws in order to make this less of a dictatorship lol. 

She even pressures them into making the recruitment process more moderated; now, before attending the trials, aspirants must go through an interview that is, basically, like a job interview to make sure they’re qualified to have a position as important as a Renegade (y’know, Nova wants the Council to s t o p hiring people like Team Frostbitch) and if they don’t pass that interview, they can’t go to the trials; they also have to go through a training process even AFTER they’ve been chosen by a team.

We could talk about all the legal reforms we like to think they made more in depth, but for now, our job here is done :)

*Insert happy ending*

[castawavy]

Hey Rae :) How are you today? I have a lot of questions about your witches story, and I'm sure some of us has the same questions in mind and you already told me you were ready to answer so ... 1/ What were the main plots you prepared? 2/ Were there any death? 3/ What do your characters look like now that they're adults? 4/ Do you have any plans for them or do you just enjoy the game with them? Hope it's not too much ^^ It was one of my favourite sims story ever :) Thanks a lot for creating it !

hello ben! I’m good thank you! just enjoying a very quiet sunday rn - I hope that u are well too? I am so happy that you remember my story I will try to answer ur questions hehe! I’ll put it under a cut because I tend to ramble 🤭

EDIT: WARNING THIS ENDED UP SUPER LONG x,x but if u liked my story and love spoilers it’s a good read hehe :-)

1. what were the main plots you prepared?

ah ok so I had quite a few arcs planned, and then also the overall story I wanted to tell but I never really got into it (my bad!) but I actually had a long script written of ideas I wanted on a document that I used to write my posts x,x ! So it was actually a whole story planned out just like a script! :> this script went all the way up to like 120 posts but it looked like this:

example  

but yes as for actual storylines I planned out:

Violet

the main plot was that arya intended to keep power over the coven by making sure that her daughter, Violet would become it’s next leader (this goes into Violet’s arc a lot).

but basically Violet finds out that she isn’t ‘chosen’ to become the next leader, something she prepared for her whole life 😥, and so her mother kind of rejects her.

Violet kind of spirals and her mother wants nothing to do with her, but Violet finds Cordelia is being bullied by some other witch girls at school and steps in to help Cordelia fight them.

Cordelia becomes Violet’s first like real friend, because before people only wanted to be friends with Violet due to her being ‘destined’ to be an amazing witch (she still is amazing of course just not the ‘chosen one’).

so these two become friends !

and this was all I had planned so far for Violet!

Cordelia

Cordelia after moving to this new school finds herself being bullied by some of the girls at school, the reason she didn’t join a witch school previosuly was because a few years before the story her parents died very suddenly in a magical related accident, leaving just Cordelia and her brother, Olliver. Cordelia swore she didn’t want anything to do with magic and so she refused to join in with the coven.

She is a very good witch though so at the beginning of summer (a little bit before Casper moves to Glimmerbook Cordelia is offered a scholarship at the school) after talking with Ollie she decides that it is what her parents would have wanted and agrees to attend a witches academy.

Casper arrives and Cordelia and him become friends (then the story posts I did make happen)

Cordelia and Casper are supposed to attend an event at the school, where the coven will choose it’s next leader, so Cas and Cordelia go shopping for some clothes, at the mall these girls stop by to laugh at Cordelia because she is shopping for clothes she can’t afford (these are some mean witches >.>) Casper steps in, and he feels guilty that he didn’t know Cordelia was being bullied, but now he knows so it’s a lot of weight off of Cordelia’s shoulders :-)

The two go to the event party and Violet finds out she hasn’t been chosen, this doesn’t have much to do with Cordelia yet because this is before they are friends.

Once they do become friends though they hang out lots, and by now I think Casper and Val were together so they see eachother as lot as a group of four (these 4 are the main characters)

Cordelia sleeps over at Violet’s house one day though and she kind of realises she might have a crush on Violet 👉👈 but this is as far as I got planning her arc 😅!!!

Valentine

stuff was about to happen very soon but I stopped posting but after Cas finds out he is a spellcaster, Val, Cordelia and Casper celebrate by going to the arcade together.

Val isn’t used to hanging with friends so he feels kind of awkward so he and Cas step outside for fresh air, and here Val and Cas have a kind of nice conversation where Val explains he was kicked out of the academy etc. he admits he feels like kind of a failure to Cas and Cas and he like almost kiss lmaoo

afterwards Val kind of pretends it never happened and Cas doesn’t bring it up either and Val continues to see Ambrose (idk if u remember the vampire dude he was with?)

but yeah fast forward a bit and Halloween is starting soon *very important for witches kajsdgajsdg* and Val is like ‘I hate Halloween’ to Cas, and Casper finds out it’s because it’s Val’s birthday that day, and that Violet is throwing a party it’s easier to show:

then:

Val goes home after school annd like his mom is waiting x,x

basically she is annoyed because she realised he stayed out late again, so she threatens Val (Violet is there too and she tried to lie for Val so Arya scolds them both) and she uses like fire magic to burn Val >: ( and then she warns him not to do anything stupid she’s a villain basically 🤷‍♀️

At the party Val decides then to ignore both Ambrose and Cas (ambrose was texting him and Cas is at the party) because he doesn’t want them to get hurt because of him.

He breaks things off with Ambrose mainly because Ambrose is a vampire, and wants Val to become one too, which is not what Val wants, + he does care for Ambrose and realises that they don’t make eachother happy!

Then he bumps into Cas and Cas is like ‘u look upset did something happen’ to which Val argues with Casper and asks him to leave him alone + some other super mean things (oops)

Casper and Cordelia leave the party and Violet says to Val that he did something super dumb because she can tell that Casper liked Val (her and Casper have a class together so Violet knows Casper by now)

the event at the school happens and Val is nervous because he knows Cas will be there and he is worried Casper hates him now lmao, but he stays with Violet for now because she is nervous that she might be ‘chosen’ today, so the twins hang out for a bit.

Eventually Violet is like kinda of ‘stop being a baby and go talk to Cas’ xd

So Val is like yo can I speak with u and Cas is like oh um sure, Cordelia is skeptical 🤣 she’s a good friend! 

Val and Cas chat, realise they are both dorks in love and kiss :-) ☕ I have more but I’ll talk about Casper now LMAO cuz these two stories now join tbh

Casper

SO AFTER arcade night Casper starts attending the witch academy after his normal school for a lesson with Morgyn Ember :> !!! In this class is just Violet and Casper cuz it’s like an extra after school thing.

Violet is smart so she soon realises this is the same Casper her brother mentioned so she tries to find out what Cas thinks of Val hehe but yeah Cas doesn’t give much away.

One day (the day after Violet fights with her mother at the event) Cas goes to class but it’s just he and Morgyn, Cordelia was staying in the library after school (she’s worried about Violet so studying to distract herself) they decide to do some duel practice

After Morgyn asks Cas about his lineage and Casper tells them that his mother is Irish, Morgyn reveals to Casper that the Irish were once some of the most powerful witches.

Next day at normal school Casper and Val get their school project grade back (this was just a funny scene tbh 😂):

Errr I lots of stuff happens with the girls but when i go back to Cas/Val by now Casper has learnt about Val’s burn mark but Val doesn’t explain where he got it

Casper is in class minding his own business when Arya approaches him and starts asking questions about his mother, Morgyn arrives and quickly makes sure to get rid of Arya (subtly) then they tells Casper to watch out for Arya because she is evil :-) lmao

Cas goes home quickly and it’s just his mother at home so he and her watch a movie, and she hints that she knows Cas likes Val but Casper is like pffft I am not dating anyone and runs off

Next day Casper confronts Val about his mother and Val tells him the truth, and he explains that he is worries Arya might come after Cas’ mother/sister Aubrey who is a toddler!! But that was also all I had planned

OVERALL:

I think that they would realise Aubrey is the chosen witch, and so the four main characters alongside Morgyn try to defeat Arya and stop her :-O !!!

2. were there any character deaths

YES AND IT MAKES ME SO SAD BECAUSE I LOVE THIS SIM but basically Morgyn tries to protect the main four kids from Arya and they investigates what Arya might be plotting, however Arya is one step ahead of Morgyn, and Morgyn can’t get Simeon on their side. Eventually L.Faba comes after Morgyn and Morgyn knows that Arya has realised that Morgyn plans to defeat her. L.Faba then kills Morgyn but Morgyn leaves a clue for the other four to find that will help them beat Arya. I orginally planned to make one of the four die but I ended up liking them so much and I couldn’t bring myself to do it, and even tho I love Morgyn too I felt like their death would be super impactful ;-; cuz they are loved by me ahaha idk they were a good soul.

3. what do your characters look like now that they’re adults?

I’m still tweaking them as I play but currently they look like this:

4. Do you have any plans for them now?

I basically intend to just play them as a generations/legacy kind of thing so yeah I’ll probably still just post gameplay following the Ward Family (cas’ family) so his sister too etc.! Currently Violet and Cordelia live in Lightwood Lodge in Glimmerbrook but Valentine and Casper moved to Evergreen Harboour, after they all attended university together!

[othercat2]

Trip to the Mall

Crossover between Untamed and After the Storm by Hannah Birchwood, Key Dyson and Raymond Roach a fusion au in which Wei Ying is a geneticist who rescues a family of experimental soldier mods and moves to a city of ships out in the middle of Lake Michigan.

___________________________________

It’s been a month since their arrival as refugees to the Michigan Fleet. They’re still working their way through hours and hours of “prosocial education,” that takes the form of watching a children’s program and answering questions and talking to counsellors and their social worker. 

Wei Ying has been living with Wen Qing, her brother and their little cousin Yuan. Qing has been barrelling her way through qualifications to become a medic, Ning got a job on a restaurant boat while taking psychology classes. Baby Yuan still has nightmares about the labs and the trip, but he’s recovering. Wei Ying has a job waiting for him: an “internship” working with another bio-engineer that’s mostly just a drawn out assessment period, from what the social worker says, but that’s a couple weeks away. 

Wei Ying is half asleep with Yuan in his lap. Yuan's singing along with Nanna Dog the Librarian as she teaches a lesson about sleeping things organized and neat. Wei Ying wants to object to this on grounds of dog, and also, he already had to watch several episodes that are thinly veiled and not so thinly veiled discussions of ptsd and trauma. And also dog. (Even if it's actually a puppet.) Sadly, Yuan's piping voice and tendency to actually answer questions the puppet asks out loud is adorable, so he's trapped.

He also falls asleep, only to be woken up by Wen Qing, who's nudging him. "You need to get out," she says. 

Wei Ying gives her a look of exaggerated hurt. "After all we've been too each other, Miss Wen?" He nudges Yuan, who's also fallen asleep. "Yuan, big sister is throwing me out!"

"Noooo," Yuan says sleepily, and clings like a limpet. 

"Drama queen," Qing says with a snort. "You've been mostly hanging out on the couch since we got here. The neighbors have been politely wondering what's wrong with you that you don't come out of our quarters ever." 

"So that means you're kicking me out?" Wei Ying asks, pouting. 

"Just temporarily," Qing says. "I've uploaded a shopping list. Take Yuan with you."

Wei Ying whines about it, but his protests lack force. A trip to the Mall might help him shake off the fog that had been hanging around him since they'd reached safety. (Travelling cross country, travelling through countries, bribing and lying and praying no one saw under the Wens' makeup and realized they were looking at experimental gene mods. He'd been on a hyper alert adrenaline rush and this was the crash.) 

He gets dressed in the Local Costume of sarong, sandals and a t shirt (his says in binary, "if you can read this you know binary"), gets Yuan dressed and takes one of the deck hoppers from the Sandy Button out to the Mall. The Mall was a huge former tanker, repurposed  as a trade center for not only the fleet, but also most of the American Midwest. It was permanently anchored about a mile from shore and acted as a buffer between the Fleet and the cities surrounding Lake Michigan. 

Yuan is of course immediately drawn to the toy and foodstalls. Wei Ying gets him bacon on a stick as they sightsee their way to the clothes and second hand vendors. He's working his way through the shopping list when he realizes Yuan is missing.

"The little boy who was with me, did you see where he went?!" Wei Ying asked frantically.

"Could've sworn he was here a minute ago!" a vendor says. "Should've had him in harness." The vendor tsks. 

"I'll keep that in mind," Wei Ying says while trying really hard not to think of Wen Ning walking with the chains that had been used yo restrain him dragging. On the other hand he'd seen a really cute backpack harness with Wilimina Wolf, a character that mostly showed up in Family Fleet to talk about nature, weather and ship safety.

"If he's  wearing data rings or a tracker shouldn't  be any problem for the Mall to track him," the vendor says reassuringly.

Asking the Mall to track Yuan turns out not to be necessary, though Wei Ying almost needs a medic. Yuan is back at the toy vendors, bothering what looks to be off-duty Security. The officer, a cute guy with a solemn appearance, has Yuan balanced on his hip and appears to be listening intently to whatever it is Yuan is saying. "I'm so sorry, officer," Wei Ying says, running over. "He wandered off."

"If you or your caregiver is lost, you should find Security," Yuan says in a very definite tone. The Security officer nods approvingly.

Wei Ying isn't  so sure about that. "Even if they're off-duty?"  

"I am not off-duty in the case of a lost caregiver," the officer says with a faint smile as he sets Yuan down. The kid immediately latches onto Wei Ying.

"Excuse me? I'm not the one who wandered off!" Wei Ying says in mock offense. Yuan just giggles at him.

"He should have a harness," the officer says. "If it were rainy or windy there would have been a fine."

Wei Ying just barely manages to avoid snapping a childish, well it wasn't. Partly because the officer was so quietly genuine about it, partly because if he got in trouble with the police, Wen Qing would probably--no, definitely--kill him. "I promise it'll be the next thing I buy." To be friendly, he says, "How about I treat you to lunch, officer?"

"Zahn Lan," the officer says. 

"Wei Ying, or I guess Ying Wei now," Wei Ying says. And because he can't  help himself, and Zahn hadn't said anything one way or another, "so, lunch?" 

There was another faint smile. "You said the harness would be the next thing." 

"Want to make sure I follow through?" Wei Ying asks in mock offense. "Or just the right order?"

"Yes," Zahn says.

Wei Ying heads to the nearest children's clothing shop, giving a highly edited story of asylum seeking and immigration. He ends up carrying most of the conversation. Zahn seems quiet, not a talker. The kind of guy who's better at listening than talking. 

They go to lunch in one of the small diners on board the Mall. It's a bright airy place with a good view and lots of rowdy gulls vying for scraps. Yuan gets nuggets pressed into dinosaur shapes and sweet potato fries and fruit punch. ( He immediately starts making them fight.) Zahn gets a tempura plate sampler and green tea. Wei Ying gets a burger, onion rings, and without thinking about it, a beer. Zahn says nothing, but Wei Ying could almost feel the weight of disapproval. "Just one won't  hurt," Wei Ying says. "It won't even set off the alchohol detector on the deck hopper." 

"Hmn."

The drinks arrive first of course, and Wei Ying starts to take a drink. Zahn immediately reaches out, stopping him. Wei Ying can't  help the slight flinch. "Is there a problem officer?" Wei Ying asks. He tries for humor but misses.

"The lake must first be given her due," the security officer says, disapproving.

"What?" 

"Pour some of the beer out the window," Zahn said patiently. 

"For the lake," Wei Ying said blankly. 

"The lake is thirsty?" Yuan asks, brow furrowed.

"It's a custom, to pay respect to the lake," Zahn explains. "Food dropped into the lake must not be retrieved, it belongs to the lake, and one must pour a drink for the lake before drinking yourself."

Yuan frowns at his punch, looking worried. "I don't want lake-jie to be mad at me," he decides, and before Wei Ying can stop him, he tries to toss the contents of his glass into the water. Unfortunately, the glass goes out the window along with the punch.

"Yuan!" Wei says in exasperation. He feels instantly terrible about the way the little boy freezes. At the same time, he feels a spike of anxiety about the cup, stupidly out of proportion to the accident.

"No harm was done," Zahn says.

"Harm!? You're security, Fleet littering fines are ruinous and we're still under probation!"

"An accident," Zahn says. "Is hardly littering. You are fine."

"Thanks I know," Wei Ying says, and immediately regrets everything. He unthinkingly starts to take a drink, only to be stopped once more by Zahn's hand on his arm. "Seriously?!"

Zahn just stares at him. 

Wei Ying sighs, makes absolutely no comments about quaint folk religions (North America also having everything from radiation worshipping death cults to gene mods who thought they were literally gods to ancient web comic characters and saints invented by fantasy authors) and pours some his beer out. "There. Happy?"

Zahn nods. "Mn."

[swearronchanel]

My never ending commentary, 6.05 edition 🙃

I’m back in action people 

Valerie walking with her mother like it’s the first day of school lol

still not sure about her though

babs finally getting a new dress yes!

Oh no what’s wrong with the lady

UMM GIRL, WHAT U THOUGHT THIS WAS?? asking for her own room Lmaoo vete ya, get out of here

“I snore” lmao ugh idk if I like her

She’s gonna move Trixie’s shit, uh oh

I still don’t GET WHY IS SHE TAKING PATSY’s BED? Patsy is gonna be tight when she comes back like wtf

OMG ANGELA IS SO PRECIOUS

WHEN WILL SHE SPEAK THOUGH??

BUT AH SHELAGH MY BBY! & the cute nightgown from South Africa! 💕😉😏 we should be grateful for it

Aw Reggie, wait omg his mother is gonna die 😭

Phyllis loves that Valerie is punctual, are we surprised?

“Our own mother to be” finally some acknowledgment that Shelagh’s pregnant

YIKES those teeth.

Lol Dr Turner can diagnose almost everything

I still want Trixie’s pjs!

turn up with all the food

Trixie teasing I love it, but I also lowkey wish she meant it. I’m indifferent towards Valerie for now tho so I’ll chill

Helen is so flawless I cry

But they are all literally me I don’t care if the cookies are broken pass them over here 🙋🏼

Reggie is precious aw

If reggie’s mother dies right now I’ll cry

Tom is actually preaching in church haha, I feel like he never does that

I’ve heard this hymn woah lol

NO NOT IN CHURCH,  YOU REALLY GONNA BE LIKE THAT @ GOD?

now they have to tell Reggie omg I can’t

“.. when my mum comes back from seeing God” My freaking heart omg

my chest just hurts, everything hurts. This is so sad

Violet is so 60s wearing blue eyeshadow though haha

Sister MJ delivered Valerie with sister E 😭omg rip😭😭

Reggie has the plant in his bed my heart again ah it hurts

Sister Winifred is HYPE af that Dr Turner asked her aww

I used to think she was annoying but now I think she’s hilarious and deserves more screen time. Also she has some of the best cringey faces don’t @ me

SHELAGH SINGING AW AND HER BUMP IS SO BIG OMG SO CUTE. SHE LOOKS SO GOOD AND SAYS SHE FEELS SO HEALTHY AND ENERGETIC AND IM SO HAPPY

THEY NEED TO MOVE! BUT WHERE?

YES SHE CAN COME BACK YO WORK

aw Fred and Violet and Reggie

PREGNANT SHELAGH IN HER UNIFORM I LOVE IT😭why does this fictional pregnancy make me so happy? It’s actually horrible af I’m more excited for this fictional character to give birth than for my cousin - she’s the first grandkid to have a baby and I’m like “oh cool” 😂

I’m also so glad when shelagh interacts with other main/recurring characters

When am I getting a cute scene with Shelagh and the nurses?

Oh no Reggie got locked out, but that was such an honest mistake, like you know how many times I’ve been locked out my apartment in nyc?? too many

What is this toothbrush song though? Lol it’s gonna get stuck in my head

Sister Winifred is in her element haha, even Trixie scolding her and she doesn’t even care she’s enjoying herself

Tell ’ em trix

Alright .. this dentist is hella attractive😍 not gonna lie

Doesn’t mean I’ll like him though lmaoo

Fuck yea Trixie, you gotta get your work done

“No one likes dentists” I love u Beatrix

 There’s been a few “that’s what she said” opportunities but i don’t think it’s appropriate to mention😂 whoops sorry for the dirty mind

Those boys need punched in the face

I’ll knock them tf out. It really makes me upset

Reggie looking for his mum, so heartbreaking  

I don’t mind the dentist but I get that nervous about the doctors so I feel, I’ve legit had such a bad fear of hospitals/doctors offices ever since I was young

“Your lady wife” lol I love sister MJ

shit all her teeth gotta go, how do your teeth even get like that geez?

SHELAGH LOOKING ANGELIC 😍

& the mystery is solved! She was looking at a billboard for new houses 😭

Sister MJ and Reggie is sweet

“I’m happy, but now my mums angry” Aw Reggie with Violet 😭💔

SISTER WINIFRED WATCHING PHYLLIS HARD 😂 when is she gonna ask to learn ?

Ugh there’s been little of Phyllis this episode I’m a little sad but she’s still a gem in the little time she’s on screen

Aw Dito Reggie at the funeral 💔 dios te cuide

“No harm in looking” shit there is going to be

fuck I’m not ready

Yes Dockerill isn’t Trixie a dream?

Shelagh is legit just looking in the paper & I’m still praising her😭 her dress is also pretty!

I just really love Laura Main sorry not sorry she’s a gift to us all

those teeth are disgusting

do you think they’re plastic? They look real af

LMAO THE ANESTHESIA HAS HER LOOPY AF. I’d say something else but I don’t wanna be judged 😂

“I find two opinions are better than one, particularly if one is mine” I LOVE U SISTER MJ

shit it’s going to get real omg

no don’t send Reggie here 😭 if they do I swear Ima flip

No one invited u Dockerill, but alright we shall see

SISTER MARY CYNTHIA OMG 💔💔

MY HEART IS BROKEN, I AM CRYING

SISTER MJ IS RIGHT 😪😪😪

Trixie is a gem. Helen George is also a gift to us all

Her baby is so adorable 😭

NO ELECTROSHOCK NO

this has me so fucked up, I remember this shit in mad men. The world seems like shit these days but you can’t deny we have made some improvements

holy shit this is too much but bryonny hannah deserves an award for her portrayal of mental illness

Yes Fred don’t send him 😭

Fred and Reggie in matching overalls>

wait what is Shelagh cutting out?

SISTER JULIENNE BRING SISTER MARY CYNTHIA HOME 😭😭

SISTER W BOUTTA BE RIDING DIRTY #LETSGETIT1962

Still not over Shelagh’s tummy in her nursing uniform 💕but I guess that’s the place written in the paper that she cut

Dinner for 2 👀

”My name is Beatrix, but people call me Trixie“ MY HEART, SHE SAID THAT AT AA, MY BBY HAS COME SO FAR

She still doesn’t need a man, but This could be good. I’m giving it a chance. Plus Christopher’s handsome and seems to know Trixie doesn’t play games or take any shit

PHYLLIS TEACHING SISTER WINIFRIED IS THE GREATEST THING IM HERE FOR IT

aren’t we glad the wicked bitch of the east end aka sister Ursula left bc she wouldn’t have “allowed” this

“AUNTIE VI” 💔 I’m crying

SHELAGH AND PATRICK FOUND A HOUSE OMG😭💕 also she looks so beautiful!! I’m so happy

THIS IS WHAT I LOVE. THE TURNERS HAPPY AND UNBOTHERED 😭💖 Protect them at all costs. Protect all my bbys at all costs.

But also where tf is this house? How far from everything? & rip to the og flat

“And so we let go of the hands, but not their hearts. Of the need to be needed but not the need to love” Vanessa always knows what to say

Aw the Turners again💕

Trixie slaying my life in that gold dress I’m shook 😍

For real I say it all the time but if I could be half as beautiful as Helen I’d die

Lol “if it’s French they’ll serve snails” I had escargot when I went to the French** Riviera (haha almost spelled Rivera which is my abulea’s last name) it Wasn’t that bad though! 😂 I felt classy tbh

Trixie and Babs getting ready for their dates together, I love it!! 💕

That car though! Alright Christopher I see u

Violet growing the plants omg she got so attached but like me too 😭

This was such a great episode but the feels 😭😭😭💖💔💔 brb I’m crying

Preview for next week

BRING SISTER MARY CYNTHIA HOME 2k17 / 1962 !! 💔

FGM is gonna be real shit

Trixie serving more looks!! She better not be doubting herself. bby u deserve the world

CUBAN MISSLE CRISIS! I’m a history geek & Im American so I’m here for it! Especially since I’m an education major

“We’re all going to hell in a handcart” STILL RELATABLE IN 2017 BABS

Trixie’s face is like “okay Barbara shut tf up ”!😂

Oh shit why pull the ambulance over??

UGH NOW THE LONG WEEK WAIT