#here I mostly just yapped about whatever came to mind

[vyuntspakhkite-l-darling]

I love seeing people ramble about their stories so, can you ramble about Biting the Bullet?

Totally! I recently decided to pause my first draft because I got stuck and do a dummy draft instead so it'll be nice to just talk about it a little. <3

Originally it was going to be a silly story about a military fireteam during a war in a fantasy universe. It. It was going to be silly. It was going to be an action-comedy. It is.... not that anymore. All the world conflicts started getting into the mainstream media and I began seeing more military recruiters in my school and I kind of began projecting my anxieties and frustrations and stuff onto the story and honestly I think that made it a lot stronger.

I have three options I'm still not sure which to pick for the POV. I'm doing it in 3rd person past tense for sure, but I'm still not sure if I'm going to switch between all four of the main characters' perspectives, just Sibatol and Arsioly, or just Arsioly. For the first draft I'm rotating between all of them and we'll see how I feel after that.

I think my favorite thing about this story is the decisive character moments I have planned. My characters will develop gradually, but their biggest developments come from moments where they have to make big choices, whether to stay in their old ways or grow as people. Visralion, the team's medic who usually puts others before himself, says no when Arsioly first asks to be his boyfriend. Because even though they both like each other, Arsioly is a pretty shitty person to everyone but Visralion at that point, and Visralion recognizes that if they got in a relationship it'd just end up with him trying to fix Ari and that's not his job. This is also a big moment for Arsioly- he can choose to be awful about the rejection or he can choose to look at his own behavior and improve as a person. He chooses to improve himself.

Ari probably had the most of these and I can't say one of them bc spoilers but another one he has which is more subtle but still important is when Estera, the girl his fireteam finds on a mission and basically adopts bc she has nowhere else to go, wakes him up in the middle of the night to cuddle because she had a nightmare. His immediate reaction is to tell her to suck it up and leave him alone so he can sleep. But he chooses to be compassionate to her and it really makes him realize how much better it feels to be nice to people (and helps teach him the value of a life bc he almost shot her and is now seeing that all the people he's carelessly killed could have gone on and had moments like these but shh...).

Most of Virava's are more spoilery but they revolve mostly around her being terrified about her past repeating itself, and she ends up overcorrecting and taking several steps backwards before she finally stops bearing all her feelings by herself and actually talks to people about her fear.

Talking about Sibatol under the cut because his portion of this revolves around be talking about him being promiscuous, if hearing abt that will make you uncomfy don't read further :3

The one I can think of for Sibatol is a bit less straightforward than the previous ones but bear with me. He struggles with hypersexuality for most of the story due to trauma from when he was young. Sleeping around causes a lot of problems for him but he just can't stop and he really struggles in situations where he can't just fuck his way out of it. Most of the moves he makes hurt him or make situations worse or just generally dig him deeper into this hole he's dug for himself. But I'm not the person that's gonna give you a character like this and then tell you that the way they become a better person is by being less of a slut. His turning point (I won't be too specific bc spoilers) is when he learns how to use his sexuality in a more strategic way, a helpful way that makes things easier for people for once, which is a gateway into him changing his mindset abt his sexuality and he's still as promiscuous by the end of the story but he doesn't just use it as a distraction from bad feelings anymore, he approaches it in a healthier way.

[arolegos]

@fiberturkey89 OK HI i love treating ninjago charactes like my oc so heres the umm explanation for my morro design!!! YAP SESSION under cut cause i dont wanna flood ppl with my yapping ...

ok so to me he was a member of the cloud kingdom!!! i know this is a somewhat popular headcanon although im not sure who first came up with it. i just wanted a reason to make him look cool at first

every different realm and region has a majority species . To me . i could go on and on about each one that i Made up but for now i will focus on the CK species (plus euphrasia for additional um. idk. context?)

idk what id call the species name. ill just call them Writers . for now. Ummm as u can see i believe that their species has a LOT of wings. like a whole bunch. each person can have up to like 3 colours for their wings, with white being the main one. the colours don't have meaning Yet but idk . they're mostly whatever colour i think fit best with their character .

they also got Eyes on their wings . this would be the tertiary colour (or the same colour as secondary) . they have a Lot of feathers on their body (neck-chest, arm-wrist, around knee-ankle). They also have . featheered tails . Ok that's about as much as ill detail for their species bc i do have madeup culture for them But i don't want this to turn into a 9 paragraph yap session . I will focus on morro now

MORRO FAKE LORE! WOOHOO!!

ok so in the world where hes my oc. he was a part of the writers of destiny (or rather one in training but he lived in the cloud kingdom nonetheless) . anyways . he didn't really like the life there bc he always wanted to be More than just a writer of destiny. he wanted to be there to experience the damn thing himself, but that obviously wasn't allowed in the cloud kingdom (bc . well. u can see that theyre kinda strict on their rules (one destiny one path sort of thing or whatever) . so he eventually gets kicked out after enough misdemeanours (so probably he misbehaved like One time) . anyways they bound him to a flightless life (bc . flying was . well. a pretty big thing in a community full of people who have wings all over their body) and exiled him to Ninjago .

he cant fly back home so he doesn't. not that he would anyway. this is why he keeps his wings folded/closed almost all the time. they do not serve any purpose. he would love to chop them off if he could

he makes a few friends on the streets but theyre hardly 'friends' in the natural sense of that word.

also. in a fucked up twist of the world, he ends up being the elemental master of wind.

(this ones connected to another thing i also made up but if the Ninjago writers get to forget things and make things up at random So Can I; anyways my point is that wojira was defeated by Nyad . who was one of the two elements that matched the um amulet thing. and since she transformed into the sea i cant imagine the first EM of wind was just like Oh well okay then i guess its all over. In my mind they became one with the wind too and was probably from an even higher plane than the cloud kingdom but their powers ended up there anyway . Taken by some. Freak.)

around this time is when he meets wu and stuff. u know everything that happens from here so i will not be retelling shit but i am sooo adamant on them Not being father and son sorry. or at the very least i think it was only one-sided . i think wu wanted company and morro reminded him of a younger version of his older brother . thought of him as a 'son' bc thats the only way he could really see him. whereas morro thought wu was some stinky old man who was nice. very nice and sweet to him. promised him a destiny bigger than himself. but not a father. what even is a father? he does not see that in wu sorry . tgey will never be father and son to me . that relationship dynamic is too simple for the complexity of their relationship

yeagh well wu 'lied' about his destiny (I mean . of cours i dont actually think that way. wu kind of Had no way to tell if he really was destined to be the green ninja although It is kinda Freaked up to suggest it to a like. 10 year old. i guess he did learn his lesson . ) and morro was like Fuck u i choose my own destiny . And left and died. ok yea this is all stuff u already knew

(also i imagine he went looking for FSM's tombstone (aka he was Really just looking for the realm crystal) so he could go back home . to rewrite his own destiny. to be like Yeah i actually AM the green ninja and you cant stop me.)

okkokokk this is a bit graphic cause. believe it or not. morro dies. so like. i will be describing that a little

annywaayyyysss morro goes to the cave of despair and. gets lost. falls a bunch. at some point he realises hes like completely lost as in like to the point of no return . and while hes panicking there are Fuckinf geysers gushing out and rumbling the damn ground. he falls but he doesn't die immediately. he breaks his wings first though. not that they would've helped him fly out. but im just explaining why his wings look so wilted and like theyre just 'hanging off' in his ghost design. its bc they r. those are broken wings that cannot move naturally . he cannot keep them folded bc they are broken

his cause of death was thirst . starvation was a factor too but like. thirst got his ass first (as it would anyone). he ripped his sleeves while venturing around the cave but he did use some to try and wrap around his wounds . didn't really Help tho cause he died anyway .

Extra fucked up fake lore ? Writers have feathered tails that fall off to impending doom. as a final play on a destined fate (Dying!!!! LOL!!!!). so like days before morro dies the feathers of his tail fall off one by one until there are None left . if it makes it any better it doesn't hurt like a broken bone . just imagine if one day you woke up to your.? idk? leg gone? like it didn't hurt its just gone and you can feel that its gone but not the pain of the loss. if u get what i mean. or maybe thats not the right comparison. idk. your hair i guess?

. in his last moments his thoughts are not of any happy memories Because he straight up has none sorry gang i dont want him happy. Ok kidding im sure he thought of wu. im sure part of him wished wu had come after him. im sure a part of him wished he hadn't stepped into the cave. but i also Believe he probably welcomed death pretty nicely. with a warm hug and all. he probably leapt into that mfs arms.

anywaygsss . he gets sent to the cursed realm (Whicg is crazy im not going to lie but apparently he did a bunch of crazy shit while looking for the FSM's tomb so. maybe deserved. i dont know.) and the preeminent is like Yooo what is this freak doing here . Do my taxes. and morro is like Ok but u have to curse some realms. And the preeminent is like Yeah i already planned on doing that

also its only BC he went to the cursed realm that his wings are black in his ghost form!!! it looks more decayed and Cursed that way

ok yeah thats all the stuff i made up i think . unless i missed something. i dont think i did

also Lloyd would not have had his wings while he was being possessed . he only had like traces of them (ghost feathers would fall off his back when he moved but they weren't /actually/ there . it confused the fuck out of the ninja the first time. they were like Woah your voice got deeper. Why are you shedding feathers.)

morro is my favourite fucked up evil OC im so thankful they didn't give him a redemption arc thank yiu so much i love it when villains refuse to be redeemed even when given the chance im cheering adn clapping. morro never get revived. thank you.

[c-cw-f-saeko]

tell me your name (tesso and seonhee headcanons 2/3)

they moved out of the way so i could take a picture of mt. fuji -> loose recreation of this image 

hi !! i thought i’d finish this tesso and seonhee (separate and together) headcanon masterpost. it covers their individual backstory, how they met and how their relationship grew.

btw i made another headcanon masterpost about the liumang here 🤩 it wouldn't be a bad idea to read it before this one !

i warn that this is the ultimate yapping session LOL so it's long and very image heavy OOPS! there are more than 30 images, i wanted to add more but will stop there for now. check the bottom of the post for some straightforward headcanons (and a TLDR).

also, please pretend the entire timeline makes sense.....i won't beat myself over ageless characters not fitting 100% with documented events 😭 (imo seonhee is 34 and tesso is 37 currently) nvm my guess for seonhee but tesso is surely 37

also, the two fics i wrote heavily tie to this (don't mind the last one). i won't say you need to read them to understand, but i recommend reading them (BC I COOKED!) it'll be linked when needed.

- wang tielin

not completely accurate because he shouldn't have his scars but i'm too lazy to re-do the texture from scratch... sorry tielin 💔

birth name is wang tielin

born in japan. lived in the countryside with his uncle for the longest he could remember.

vowed to his childhood friend to live on the straight and narrow no matter what (hahaha)

a promise to keep was to become rich and share with their family when they grow up.

went to school just because, but had no plans nor dreams in particular. never stirred trouble.

was always kinda bland, but made an effort to become and dress "cooler" after coming to kamurocho (look at the fit please 😭 it was definitely a phase). this is part of the stuff tesso left behind (including his real name). would've preferred no one he knows today met him during that time.

zhao tried time and time again to make tesso show him pictures of him when he was younger but tesso claims to have none. zhao even got seonhee on the task and was ready to put down a good chunk of cash to make it happen. unfortunately for him, tesso was a nobody that truly came out of nowhere according to the geomijul (seonhee just lied 🤩 sorry tianyou).

-> long before the liumang

he came from some city in the country side where nothing really happens. his aunt and uncle took care of him and sent went to school. he was expected to take on his uncle’s restaurant since he was helping out from time to time and that’s what his uncle wanted anyway. 

how can i put it… as long he found a way to feed himself and have a roof over his head, he didn’t have a goal to attain (like a goal career or whatever). he had no aspirations as in “i guess i’ll live” 😍 

though, he had a close friend called liwei. they spent most of their time at school and outside together doing whatever. unlike tesso, liwei had big dreams of finally making it out go the “boring” countryside and establishing himself in a big city, becoming the wealthiest person of his family to provide for his parents. he had a passion about going to especially kamurocho because it was the complete opposite of their current lives. tesso's response to liwei was mostly -> “i support you!” he kinda admired liwei for having determined ambition. 

-> a bit before the liumang 

though, liwei ended up getting killed because a hit was ordered by a bunch of strangers on seemingly the wrong person. not a lot of clues were left behind, but tesso was adamant about it being a mistake since the two of them always swore on being on the straight and narrow (ironically).

so, tesso decided to leave his hometown in the countryside to find out what happened, who killed liwei and how the mix-up happened in the first place.

it lead him to many big cities (like kamurocho) though he navigated a bit clumsily with his words (talking a bit too carelessly about “i’m looking for such such that killed such and such, not knowing the type of place he was getting into), tesso ends up getting jumped by the local chinese mafia at least twice 😭 the clues he finds leads him into yokohama and bro gets jumped again 😭

all to figure out the true culprit was guys from yokohama's chinatown and going up front to them was the worst idea ever. instead, he joins the liumang (at first for refuge as outsider chinese people were vulnerable to trouble between seiryu/liumang and liumang/chinatown). then, in hopes of giving another meaning to his life and eventually seek justice for liwei’s murder.

-> in the liumang 

won't go too much in detail here, but tesso ends up being recruited personally by zhao as a liumang officer through a fight - given the exploit of him being able to scratch his jacket with his claws (and zhao scratched his face across his nose and cheeks with his sabre 😍)

- sakura, the number one hostess

long ago in kamurocho, seonhee used to be an hostess called sakura. remnants of the jingweon mafia rejected by mainland and local koreans (that later formed the geomijul) survived  the best they could with low-level information dealing. they used cabaret clubs to get info out of the local population. 

moving left and right with her mother, it was lucrative enough for her to be able to fend for the two of them — even if it was temporary, she would be doing it until they’d be able to find some sort of stability. 

eventually, the cabaret club was disbanded due to more prominent gangs taking over kamurocho, basically forcing the geomijul out of the city (to later end up yokohama).

in the move, the geomijul was very unstable; most members falling into despair as they were forced out of of home one more time.

seonhee was one of the few people to step up to rally the remaining people together. if they were wavering in the faith of surviving their predicament, the geomijul wouldn't even survive. she did everything she could to make sure fellow members wouldn't walk astray and find them a new home.

being one of people that proposed lodging the geomijul between the seiryu clan and the liumang and reprise their information dealing activities. it was through her sheer determination and in the success of securing the geomijul in yokohama that seonhee was made leader (despite being that young and a woman) jumping over all the oldheads.

fun fact, after leaving the cabaret club, she vowed to herself to never do that type of work ever again.

- meeting for the first time in kamurocho

bro came dressed like that to the luxury club 😭 first timer spotted!! fresh meat here!!!!!!

one promise he made to himself was to realize one of liwei’s dreams, no matter how futile it was. so, he gathered most of his money and decided to light it up for one night in kamurocho in his honour. he ended up going to the first cabaret club he laid eyes on - the one owned by the geomijul.

given the way he was dressed (lol) and the fact he had never been in the city before, seonhee (the number one hostess at the time) was tasked of  tending his table. she usually handled the most "suspicious" customers. 

that's what she thought at first, but past their initial talk, she really did find out he was just young random dude trying out the cabaret clubs for the first time. 

“is it your first time here?” “yeah, there isn’t stuff like this where i live” and so on. funny enough, he turned the conversation back on her a lot so she could ramble about the city and the type of work she did (life in the countryside is boring and uneventful anyway). it caused her to indirectly talk about the geomijul — tesso couldn’t know, her words still applied to the cabaret club dynamic. “the streets are competitive so we are working hard to stay on top!” and how teamwork was the most important thing at the end of the day, etc.

they had a good time talking and tesso was glad to find out city girls were so friendly. he had the impression that he’d be eaten alive, but he was doing ok so far. 

he touched briefly on the real reason he visited kamurocho (thought to himself it would defeat the purpose to not mention it). though, seonhee was smart to not make him linger on the subject by proposing to toast in his honor. tesso agreed, he was there to celebrate and she had made the right call. 

[sorry for the lack of continuity here but i can't being myself to write more atm. will evetually expand that part into a fic.]

- meeting for the second time in yokohama

tesso was always one of the officers zhao relied on the most. for example, he was leading the men sent by zhao after nanba through the city.

so, after mabuchi's overturned coup-d'etat and seonhee taking over the liumang, zhao named tesso as the most reliable man under him and could definitely provide great support in mending the geomijul and liumang together - zhao assured seonhee she could rely on tesso to bridge the two factions.

seonhee was quick to recognize tesso right away, thinking hard about where she had seen such a familiar face before - and the options were very little. it didn't take long for her to realize that it was the same guy she met at the cabaret club years ago. she thought about playing it cool and pretending they never met before, "he probably forgot anyway" and it's not like she looks exactly the same as she did. but she couldn't really shake off the possibility of him remembering. still, she plays it off in front of zhao

for as long as tesso remembers, the geomijul was a very secretive organization and most liumang didn't even know who the boss was and what they looked like. so he rolled with the assumption of having never met them before. so, of course, when he officially met seonhee for the first time, he didn't recognize her. at least at first 😭

- the underworld post mabuchi

because of fusion of the underworld, there was a lot of re-structuring to (such as combining certain cashflows, identifying businesses to assign new leaders to look after them, etc.) it was challenging especially after mabuchi basically left the liumang in shambles and with a lot of defecting members.

tesso helped out sorting out the mess with seonhee personally; it was easier to go through everything with someone that new the ordeal from top to bottom (thanks to zhao). the little time they had was dedicated to fixing the whole organization. at that time, seonhee relegated a lot of leading responsibilities to joongi while tesso did the same with his subordinates.

that's all it was; hours in a corner of the geomijul (usually in the middle of the night) sorting through hundred of files.

at first, it was awkward. tesso had never seen who led the geomijul before and the reality was very far from this expectations. starting at the fact he didn't even thought the geomijul had a woman at its head because of the rumours running the liumang. a detail zhao never bothered bringing up before they met.

zhao's funky and malleable nature was replaced by something more rigid, stern at times but always stood on business. it was different, but tesso went along with it. her style was definitely gonna bring the liumang and geomijul back on its feet.

still, he spoke to her with the same clumsiness as he did with zhao. distant in his words, just like a subordinate should be to its leader. she didn't mind, especially when she did most of the talking anyway.

that's how their routine was at the start: meet, sort documents, leave — there wasn't anything else more to it.

but, something didn't feel quite right.

the more he heard her talk, the more he was sure to have met her before. the words she used, her tone... it felt so familiar. and he had plenty of time to think about it. there was no doubt, she definitely was that girl from the cabaret club...

he kept it to himself and vowed to pretend he's mistaken. the last thing he could do was to bring it up first and be wrong. he would continue to behave the same as he ever did. given their circumstances, he could assume she had left her old life behind as well.

though, irony seeped from his pores, it was stronger than him. the coincidence was a bit humorous; the two of them meeting again with different names and under these unlikely circumstances. he kept his stun under wraps - or at least tried to.

from lingering gazes when she wasn't looking to the way she held herself, tesso recalled the selfless woman he met long ago in kamurocho. despite the heavy facade she always wore, she played it off well, how, in the midst of her words, always passed others before herself.

even with her bolder style, and it's not like she changed much: she was still as beautiful as ever and had that unwavering aura fit of a born leader.

perhaps, he had made his realization too obvious.

ever since zhao presented tesso to seonhee, she knew they had met before. thus, sat quietly with the intent of pretending she was someone else. however, tesso's demeanour changed out of the blue. he seemed a bit more awkward and careful in his words.

though, seonhee resigned on pretending. "tesso? is that how you call yourself these days?" shortly followed with his real name. she asks, chuckling a bit. perhaps, he could've picked something more subtle. he did abandon his birth name for this alias he wasn't really sure whom give it to him. but it doesn't really matter. it just meant was a completely different man now.

it was a bit ironic; they are able to have to shy laugh about it, the ice is starting to melt between them.

- the bridge between the geomijul and yokohama liumang

overall, the union between the geomijul and liumang was welcome by its members. given the situation they both were in - one left without a leader and the other very vulnerable to outside threats. it was worth leaving residual animosity behind and cooperate for the sake of keeping yokohama safe.

so, antagonists to seonhee taking over after zhao were far and between - mainly geomijul oldheads (like seo hancheol 😍 rip bozo) and the few remaining mabuchi enjoyers (like zheng because yes in this timeline bro didn’t get banished out of yokohama).

so, not only did tesso assist seonhee in the merge of the two groups, but he kinda became for the liumang what joongi is for the geomijul: the first commander under the leader and first rep for the liumang. so, in case of trouble or any reference needed from geomijul members, they could ask him if needed. tesso is known to get along with younger folks (canon) so it helps a lot!

overall, the underworld is structured like this:

- factions subordinates (tesso and the geomijul)

yeona calls tesso liumang oppa 😭 she's the one that got tesso to read manga

i feel like yeona would get along well with these two LOL she can get info on joongi from tesso since they work on another level (joongi hides his cringy side from his subordinates). also, she tends to tease seonhee a bit about not being single anymore 😭 in a little sister-big sister type of way. bc like it's not like they ever announced anything, but yeona just picks up on vibes like that 😭 there's banter between seonhee and her, but it's in good faith!! there are so little women in the geomijul, so yeona made sure to stick with

"seonhee unnie, that's your boyfriend isn't it?" she didn't say that, but her eyes kinda did 😭 yeona always knows when something is up about her big sister. this whole exchange happened while tesso was reading his notes LOL 😭

well kinda... because now that seonhee is taken, han-sama (joongi) can stop worrying about seonhee's relationship status.

- advisor to advisor (tesso and joongi)

"Tha- That's not possible! She couldn't have a boyfriend! Some random man from who-knows-where!?" (direct canon quote istg 😭)

"some random man from who-knows-where" that's literally what tesso was to joongi for awhile. 

of course, he knew tesso was one of the closest subordinates of zhao. but he wanted to dig out his history as much as he could before even asking zhao about it. surprise came when he didn’t find much out of the geomijul surveillance system — there was no way to know for sure how nor when he got in the city. however, joongi was adamant about not asking seonhee about it just yet. 

sure, tesso and seonhee never announced they were together (for a very long time). but joongi picked up the smallest changes of seonhee's demeanour and her mannerisms. she tried her best to conceal it, but nothing went past his eye. and it was very clear to him... seonhee was indeed dating that random man.

at first, it was veiled concern but joongi believed seonhee could do better. he thought seonhee could aim for someone more or at least just as good looking than him (im sorry LOL but exhibit A) and someone as refined as her and not so… contradictory in looks and personality (tesso looks rough with a lot of distinctive features but is rather simple). so, first impression wise, it was off to a rocky start. 

despite being the two most important members of the geomijul and liumang, joongi and tesso didn’t really get along. tesso thought joongi was arrogant and preferred dealing with his subordinates instead (like yeona with whom he was able to work well with). 

“don’t mind han-sama. he’ll get over it eventually…” tesso still has no clue what she means by that

the impression of tesso and joongi not getting along wasn't setting a good example for the fellow geomijul and liumang members. while tesso was unsure about the whole thing, joongi struggled moving on for a bit. even seonhee wasn't sure of what was going on between the two.

it took yeona telling on joongi's business back to seonhee for her to set the record straight. no one knows for sure what she has said, but their short discussion was followed by a shy apology from joongi, blaming the geomijul's eternal lack of trust of others for his behaviour and vowed to be as reliable as ever. actually, that was a move from seonhee where she wouldn't let a reason so petty cloud joongi and tesso's relationship further. it was better if tesso didn't know (lol).......

in joongi's opinion, there was too many red flags or dubious points about tesso and couldn’t figure out where nor when they even met (as seonhee never mentioned him before). so, everything came to him as a surprise. 

deep down, the hurt joongi felt was because seonhee didn’t tell him about it first when they shared pretty much everything. he took it as a sign of being unworthy of her trust. understanding it didn’t come from malice, joongi slowly opened up to tesso - it was iffy at first, there was still moments when he was a bit rude despite him. it took time, but joongi trusted seonhee in her decision and agreed that tesso wasn’t so bad after all (“albeit a bit goofy and doesn’t have a presentation as neat as I do”). all that mattered at the end of the day was seonhee’s wellbeing and she seems happy. bro got over himself…

- relationship ladder

(i'm not gonna extend myself too much on this but) the particular thing about them is how the closer they got, the place to work on business changed as well.

this is the fish shop next to eomoni's vow 😭

it started at the corner of the geomijul but surely became eomoni's vow (which is just my first fic LOL) - right at the time when the city was as calm as ever and the liumang and geomijul were combined together. members were more comfortable walking the streets so the need to remain miles of tunnels under the surface wasn't as needed.

still, they usually met in the middle of the night to work on stuff, but just end up eating and drinking the hours away. they got in the habit of playing mahjong against each-other singing karaoke on rare occasion (amongst other things).

next location is qing jin.

omg bro with the three piece suit 😭

it's upgrade from eomoni's vow since the top floor has a dress code 😍 you have to be put together to get in there so dresses and dress shirts are a must.

tesso debated for awhile before inviting her. it was a bit of a bold move, but he knew qing jin would be more of her taste (more spacious, luxurious and an entire different palate) AND it was still very private.

tesso actually picked the artwork (see the tomato picture below) and the room divider is from lin lin

they went a few times, and that was then tesso told seonhee about zhao's apartment complex and eventually advanced the idea to share a spot there. won't go over the details again LOL but you get the idea 🤩

knowing she'd be coming, tesso leaves her sweets 🥹 he's usually more busy on foot (you know assassination quests 🤩), but will drop by before she does if he has other stuff to do for the day.

seonhee definitely spends more time there since she doesn't have to be out carrying missions out on the streets and enjoys the privacy. it's seemingly normal when compared to the gloominess of the geomijul and restaurant row.

- trip to kyoto

this is basically the fic i wrote last year - tesso and seonhee go on a trip to kyoto. (PLEASE READ IT I COOKED!!! 😭) the fic in a nutshell:

i am kidding of course

despite being a higher ranked officer with more responsibilities, he’s always stuck at the “uhhhh taking some time off like that kinda feels unfair” but was bullied convinced by zhao to take some anyway. yokohama had been peaceful for awhile now and his subordinates could run well without him around for a few days.

so take the bullet train to osaka only to come back three days and four nights later. notably, they visit the nonomiya shrine (the shrine of love woooooooohooooo, no it is actually!), tesso dedicates her a poem and they stay in a machiya.

funny enough, i managed to make 3d models pretty close to the original drawings (iykyk) so it's fun!

pretty!!!!!!!!! 😭

- miscellaneous

funny thing they do -> rock paper scissors and they talk to each-other the native tongue of whoever wins for a day. seonhee tends to win often; she's just built like that.

during yua's first year at seiryo, tesso and seonhee attended the parent-student meeting together in place of her uncle (yua's legal guardian at the time). to meet sawa-sensei (yes she lived).

negative trait

tesso : can be too passive | seonhee : lacks humility

positive trait 

tesso: dependable | seonhee: diligent 

strength against the other

tesso: resistant to dominatrix energy | seonhee: resistant to tianyou

their weakness coming from the other

tesso: her cute mannerisms | seonhee: him calling her a specific petname (b......ba......omg i can't [dies of cringe])

serious complaint about the other

tesso: sacrificing health for the sake of fashion | seonhee: sleeps too little

unserious complaint about the other 

tesso: lacks stamina | seonhee: grandpa mannerisms at 37

random quirk

tesso: can fall asleep anywhere | seonhee: rarely laughs from her the pit of her stomach

karaoke? 

seonhee: enjoys anything from koda kumi | tesso: either tone deaf or decent, nobody knows… won’t do anything more than adlibs

hobby they got because of the other

tesso: skincare | seonhee: gardening

seonhee enjoys growing tomatoes, amongst other things. on his part, tesso grows nappa cabbages somewhere on a rooftop in restaurant row (mostly for kimchi ofc).

hobby they don’t share

tesso: shopping | seonhee: running

hobby they tried together for the first time

dancing (thank you yagami)

seonhee is pissed bc yagami made them do something really hard as a tryout. it's not easy, but it's simple at least so they managed!

thing they do when sick

tesso: eats lemons like oranges | seonhee: drinks tea with every single aromatic she can find (ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, peppercorns, etc.)

last thing they fought about

seonhee being frustrated at tesso’s reluctance to take over the liumang, leading her to talk ill of zhao’s ways of leadership. though, seonhee is too proud to apologize first and they didn’t talk to each other for two weeks. even zhao and saeko picked up on the fact they were kinda avoiding each other. 

one thing they struggled with

(especially tesso at the start) treat each-other on equal footing. he was kinda confused at how to behave, whether to be or to not be subservient, like.....

not that it was his second nature, but that's what he used to for the longest time. so, he didn't mind at all.

seonhee was a bit frustrated at the need to spell it out, but it was better that way. at least, everything was clear between them from that point on.

for zhao's costume party [i'll write about this later? maybe?]

(actually seonhee convinced tesso but) they did matching costumes of leon kennedy and ada wong from RE.

TL;DR: i think there are moments when seonhee shares more of herself to someone on equal footing, moments where she's more vulnerable and has room to step away from her idolized self.

i think there are moments when tesso has to put himself first, moments when he must learn to not overextend himself at his own expense.

despite the unlikely circumstances and complicated conditions, i think they would be able to do that together. tesso and seonhee are polar opposites on so many things and i think they can learn a lot from each-other.

i'll make another post with all different outfits they had soon because the volume of models i made 😭

next headcanon post is either going to be ichitesso on dondoko island or yua.....idk yet........

and yes in my book miku was on dondoko island LOL

and before you ask, yes i smoke crack! thank you for coming to my ted talk!

[frankiebirds]

Just wanna say the coloring of ur gifs are absolutely beautiful, what all do you do if you dont mind sharing :0?

ah thank you! that's very kind of you <3 step-by-step under the cut:

get my clip

i open it in microsoft clipchamp (has a paid and free version, i use the free one. nothing fancy, it came with my laptop) and cut as needed (i cut when there's a new gif, or when i'm putting a new subtitle on one gif—so some gifs will be multiple clips, some will be just one)

under filters: i choose 35mm and keep it at the automatic intensity

i take the contrast down to about here. i keep it similar between gifs by trying to line the slider up with the "n" in saturation

it's going to look really weird. that will be fixed in a moment. i export one clip as a 1080p video. not as a gif. exporting as gif will kill the quality

i create a video in canva, which if youre unfamiliar is a browser program with a paid and free version, iirc i have the paid version but i dont use any paid features in creating these i dont think? i should probably cancel my subscription tbh i dont use the paid features that often. and it has ai now which sucks :///

i upload my clip to canva. i usually drag and drop it into the timeline rather than onto the page, because it takes the right placement to get it to fill the whole page if you do it that way, while it will be the right size automatically if you put it in the timeline

go to "edit video" in the top left, then go to "adjust" and set these values: Brightness: 10 Contrast: 20 Highlights: 100 Shadows: -100

to add subtitles, go to text — body text. i usually just use the default, but a lot of fonts work well

set the font size to 40 (or whatever works best for the font youre using) and make it bold and italicized. use whatever colour you want as long as it shows up. lighter colours are almost always going to look better.

then go to effects — outline. set it to 80 and the colour to black. in the past ive made the outline a darker colour of whatever colour the subtitles are, but ive switched over to always using black because i think it looks better. ymmv

share — download — gif. you can download multiple clips as one gif, which is what i do when a gif has multiple subtitles or a lead-up to subtitles. so, for example: clip one: gif one clip two: gif two clip three: gif two download clip one as one gif, then select both clip two and clip three for the second.

a lot of the time it's larger than 10mb. when that happens, i upload to giphy and redownload from there and that usually fixes it. it probably reduces the quality and it's convoluted, i know. no idea how people keep their gifs under 10mb. witchcraft, maybe.

hopefully this is semi-coherent? can you tell i dont know how to write a tutorial lmao. disclaimer that if it wasn't glaringly obvious by the free programs and weird, clunky process, i'm not...super passionate about gifs? i like it when i can make them look nice, but mostly they serve as visual aids for my yapping. there are other, more talented people out there who have put out better tutorials using better programs like PS. sorry if this was a disappointing tutorial!

a note: both clipchamp and canva have AI features. i wish they didn't, and i don't use them. i went hunting for a similar free program that didn't have them, but everything just seems to be saturated with ai now ://

[val-the-protoss-simp]

Part 1/3 the Tal'darim

Part 2/3 the Khalai <- you're here Part 3/3 the Nerazim

Part two of this ask, the Khalai

Erzadar. Formerly Erzolun (Because I have another Khalai OC named Talizun and I thought the names were way too similar) First concept was from 2022 (can be seen on the far bottom right of the art compilation) She was originally a tiny researcher from the Shelak tribe (??? I think??) Erza and her team of Khalai protoss were essentially Auir’s equivalent to Shakuras’s delegate team of Nerazim/terran diplomats/researchers/whatever.

She (and all the OCs from this story) were in kind of a limbo as they laid forgotten high on a metaphorical shelf of my mind, collecting dust, while I played with other OCs and stories. Until I was *this* video like half a year ago (no, it is not a Rickroll) and was like oh my god. oh. not to be a lesbian but oh my god. oh my fucking god Jesus Christ- we all know the meme.

Anyway, since then she became a tall, beefy adept.

She’s still mostly in development and therefore there’s not much to say about her. She’s a former zealot (became an adept during the events of LotV) With a friendly personality in a way only people in their early 20s have. She was assigned as a bodyguard/guide to the Dominion delegates Auir hosts and quickly becomes friends with most of them, namely Victor. And yes, I absolutely do plan to drag these two through months and years of delicious angst and yearning and denial and more angst before I allow them to become a thing. Their fault they’re my OCs.

Talizun is also a character who I’ve had for a looooooong time too (2018????? Before 2020) but I never really fleshed him out despite his key importance to the plot of Zhakul’s story. He didn’t even have a name until late 2021 ahaha oops. Most of his story was also conceived that year, meaning it’s pretty outdated and also prone to change in places, but I think it’s skeleton will remain.

Tali is a chill templar from a fringe Khalai colony so far away from the empire that it was entirely excluded from the great war that took place during the events of SC2. Him and many of his templar brethren were in stasis for centuries, only awakened AFTER the war was concluded, which is also the reason why he still bears his cords and is tethered to the Khala. (One of the big changes in this AU, aside from Shakuras not exploding and the Daelaam not being a thing anymore, is that the Khala prevails. This could be a separate yap session for later, I’m just making this clear now in case someone is confused over me mentioning it)

Anyway. He’s very chill and level-headed for a zealot, which actually came in handy because Zhakul needed to do some serious deconstructing of the bullshit Dal filled his head with and Tali was up for the job. The two end up bonding over a similar experience (being removed from protoss society for so long they feel like complete outsiders) become friends and eeeeeeeeeeventually form a Zhakul-centred polycule that also includes Jake and various other terrans and protoss.

Tali eventually gets himself killed in a border skirmish with the Tal’darim (originally it was Y’rash that yeeted him, now I’m not sure that’s canon anymore) he’s stuffed into the shell of a dragoon and does his best to continue with his life as well as he can, which is made much more complicated because he ends up having an oopsie baby (who we will also talk about later) and from then on struggles with the crushing feeling of knowing he can never be an adequate parent to them because his broken body must forever remain locked in a dragoon exoskeleton. 

The Talendir Orchard Head FamilyTM

The main characters in Project Sammuro. There’s very little to say about them for now because the story they were created for is at its infancy and therefore their characters are also very underdeveloped. They’re a down-to-earth family of protoss living in rural parts of Auir, growing and harvesting sammuro fruit for it’s rich blue dye, then distributing it across the Khalai empire as needed.

The story focuses on this entire process and also works as a lightbulb moment for Victor, who realises that the strongly capitalistic society of the Dominion is very very  flawed in comparison to the more traditional, socialistic economy the protoss have where culture, tradition and the well-being of it’s people are far more important to them than profit and power.

[dumbptic]

FAVORITE TROPE? / MATT S. X WRITER!READER 

Writer’s block, that’s what you were experiencing recently, every time you sat down to write something for your upcoming book nothing came to your mind, not a single scenario, place or even a trope that you wanted, and Matt desperatly wanted to help you with that, he hated seeing that frown on your face while you stared at the screen of your laptop. 

Matt knew you mostly wrote romance books, so the only thing he could think of is recreating scenes from books or literally anything else that has even a glimpse of romance in,hoping that somehow you will get inspired by it. 

“where are you taking me?” you asked while sitting in his car, a blindfold over your face 

“you’ll see, but trust me you’re going to love it” Matt replied taking a quick glance in your direction 

“and how do you know that?”  “you’re my girlfriend, i know every single thing that you like” he replied with a cocky smile, which you didn’t see, but you know he was smiling like that 

After another fifteen minutes of driving, the car stopped 

“can i take off the blindfold now?” you asked him 

“no, wait a little” you heard him get out of the car and walking to your side, he helped you out of the vehicle and lead you away from it. 

He stopped walking after some time and took of the cloth that was covering your eyes, it was already night, the dark sky full of stars and before you was a lake, and a boat 

“are you planning on killing me here?” you raised your head up to look at him, Matt let out a laugh while shaking his head, his arm slipping around your waist 

“no, sweetheart I don’t want to kill you” he answered “get in” he motioned to the boat, which he helped you get in. 

You two rowed for minutes, untill other boats came into sight, when you two stopped you turned your head to look at him 

“seriously, what is this Matt?” you questioned, raising your eyebrow while doing so 

“just a little suprise, (y/n)” he shrugged “i wanted to help you with your writer’s block, so i planned a little something” he explained while reaching behind himself and took two lanters out “i know how much you loved that scene in tangled” he handed you one “so..i thought instead of watching you sit in front of your computer for i don’t know how long” he looked into your eyes “i just move you out of your comfort zone and do something that hopefully give you some inspiration’’ 

“Matt, you didn’t had to do this” you said while you teared up a little 

“i didn’t had to, but i wanted to’’ he said, his voice gentle. Matt reached for your hand, taking it into his “let me do this for you,please, I hate watching you be sad,i want to see my girl smile and yap about whatever idea popped into that pretty little head of yours” he caressed the back of your hand with his thumb “now let’s light this and sing that stupid song you always sing in the shower” he chuckled 

“that’s not a stupid song, “i see the light” is a masterpiece” you defended it “i already know what my next book will be about” 

[carmenized-onions]

SIGH you got me good with this one I fear

Okay so the chap is still fresher in my mind this time since I read yesterday!! Itemized yap sheet incoming below based mostly on the order they happened

1) Yoooooo

That just cracked me up okay. Had to add. But also like. I love them. I love that Tony is so nervous to catch up with Richie bc it means talking abt mikey, but also relieved and excited ish to talk to richie bc it means talking abt mikey does that makes ykwim

2) AAAAAAA listen the way that Carmy thinks about Tony to calm down?? Like hes having a panic attack and he thinks about Tony and is calmed slightly by smelling her shampoo in his hair literally makes me ILL

2b) kinda related but also like not ?? But Anyway Like. Carmy like unsure whether or not he is actually scared/believes Richie when he says he could end his relationship with tony got me like on my knees in my workplace when I read that bc UGH he has absolutely zero confidence and i just want to kiss his face okay. Also him not really wanting to share tony with Richie is so real of him actually. Like he wants Tony to just be his and that's so sweet.

3) if we dont find out the chip storyline ill riot if only for Carmy's sake cause like Carm, im also now very intrigued that Richie didn't immediately blab when prompted but also go richie thats very cute

4)AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Scream break mb

5) last one but like the painting??? The way that it starts with the beef and has like pictures of before and stuff and the mid point is mikey and then it has pictures from like the building process and ends with the The Bear sign? IM DECEASED YOU KILLED ME THATS SO GOOD WHAT LITERALLY WHAT

6)okay im i liar whatever could i edit the post yes will i no. I digress. Last one fr. So the way both their lil povs end with them saying on friday they'll do right by each other??? Im so gone actually wtf

Anyways as always i adore you and your writing RAAAA

HEHEHEH GOTCHU!!! GOT YOUR ASS!!!

yoooooooo -- The next convos are really some of my favourite to write, i get to amp up the funny and math out what their texting styles would probably be, it's fun!!

Also yes, it's very much that part of grief where it's like a knife to talk about them, but it's also nice, it's weird when in the grief process, everyone around you acts like that person just simply Never Happened in fear of being triggering-- It's nice for Tony and Richie to get to talk raw!! Even if it's anxiety inducing to lead with it!!

2. Hehehhehe, he does it a LOT, When he called her before, trying and failing to get her voicemail, when he was having an episode in the diner and then Tony came back and he became Normal mostly. Grounding Tool but it's a Person

3. listen baby, I don't put a gun in the first act just to not fire it. I've had this backstory since chapter two. And honestly, I was extremely nervous that someone was gonna guess it and I was being too obvious. Thank God, no one has, yet-- But also no one's guessed, so like, feel free to throw in your guesses, love to hear em.

4. AHHHHHHHH!!!! Here let's see, during this scream break what can I give you...

This is what I'm screaming over, personally. This is Chapter 10 alone, LMAO. AND I'M NOT EVEN DONE LMAOOOO. The goal for me is to get it out this Friday, so it's like, timely and on theme. But we'll see how tired I am, this work week. Might've just gotten a commission (that I honestly don't want to take lmaoo) so we'll see. Fingers crossed. It's definitely gonna need me to take my eyes off it for a day and come back to, so keep your fingers crossed, for me.

5. OH GOOD! I was worried I described it poorly; there's always that fear, when you have to make the thing that's like the thing of the story, and if it's not good then what the FUCK WAS IT FOR!!!!!????

I'm vv happy to hear it killed you, is what I'm trying to say. I also thought the idea was very sweet. Hehhehe

6. You're always free to yap on end, never fear such a thing. Yes!! Their POVs start and end the same way, which is just like, a cute lil touch, yknow. Two anxious mfs. In the club tnnnnn, trying to do right by each other if it fuckin' KILLS them

thank you thank you thank u as always i love to hear this and i hope u enjoy Friday whenever the FUCK it comes out.

[thepaperpanda]

Baby Sister || Sam Drake x Adler!Reader

Summary: You’re the baby sister of Rafe Adler. It’s been a while since he was imprisoned in Panama jail in an attempt to get a clue on his treasure hunting. Missing him dearly as he is the only family member that left you, you make your way into the prison to meet with Rafe. Unfortunately, he isn’t happy seeing you. The entire situation ends in you and Samuel Drake getting a bit too close to one another.

Warnings: Smut! ♥

Words: 4194

Authors: Cass & Rouge

PART 1

It has been half a year since the day your older brother, Rafael Adler, was imprisoned in Panama prison.

Missing him dearly, you begged the director of the facility to let you meet with your brother. It took you several visits to gain man's trust of not being smuggler of any kind, and in the end you've gotten a permit.

That day the gates of Panama prison opened for you widely, and two guards escorted you directly to a meeting room.

Dressed in a black, flared dress that reached half of your thighs, and flat, white sneakers, you stepped inside the outpost.

There was a horrible kind of climate of fear and paranoia there, it made a cold shiver run down your spine.

Some nasty comments addressed to you by prisoners while you were following the guards along a desolated corridor made your involuntary gag reflex harder than ever before.

Soon, the three of you have reached a huge, steel door. One of the guards opened them with a key that was previously attached to his belt. You were allowed inside, and as soon as you stepped in, you saw Rafael standing next to the window, he was peeking outside, at a prison yard.

"Rafael!," Your voice was nothing more but a quiet mumble.

Rafe wasn't happy, not even a little bit.

He knew there were problems coming when he heard from Vargas that there was a young girl begging to let her meet with a brother.

"What are you doing in here, huh? I told you to stay away from it, does your little female brain have problems with processing words?,” He growled, crossing arms over his chest. The last thing he needed now was his little sister dragging him and the whole job down.

Without regard for his rough words, you approached him and simply nuzzled to his chest.

The gap between the two of you wasn't too big, yet he was 5 years older than you.

Since when he was gone from your family home, you had to take care of yourself, and it was rather a thankless task. You didn't know what to do, and cried thousands of years after him.

Even though his attitude towards you was always harsh, you loved him dearly. He was your only family, and he was a role model in your eyes.

You and Rafe exchanged a lot of letters, he assured in them that he missed you equally much as you did miss him.

"It's been so long, brother. I was so scared you might be hurt... You stopped responding to my letters, so I did everything to be allowed in here... I just had to check whether you're in good health or not..."

Rafe rolled his eyes, he was getting annoyed.

"Are you done with yapping? I told you I am busy with Drakes, I am not going to waste my time on silly letters," man added, looking at you. "I left you home with everything you needed. I even hired this stupid butler just to make sure you won't die out there."

Rafe tried his best to get rid of you. Yes, you were his only family member, but most of the time you were a bit too much to handle for him. Following and nagging him. "Do you need anything?"

"I missed you... That's all," you whispered sadly and quickly took a place on a metal chair standing at the tip of a metal table. "The butler won't replace my brother, in any way. The house is so huge, so empty and cold without you being there," you lowered your head.

Anytime he was raising his tone on you, he was guilt-tripping you. You were only a girl, and even your desperate attempts in getting his attention (like trying to study all the stuff he needed in his so called work), you were always pushed aside in the end.

"If that's all you can go back home. I really don't have time for sensitivity, I didn't come here for pleasure. I. Am. Working. Here!," He said loudly, hands clenched in fists.

Rafe honestly had enough of you already. You're always coming to him because you wanted to show pointless stuff, or you needed something. It was driving him crazy sometimes.

Lowering your head, you bit your lower lip hard. You closed eyes for a moment, trying your best to hold the tears back. You never knew what you have done wrong in your lifetime to deserve such a treatment from his side.

When you cooled down a little, you got up, and not looking at him you walked to the door and banged them to let guards know the visit was finished.

"It was nice to see you all well after all," you whispered.

"Sit down," Rafe said suddenly, pointing on the metal chair. "Now," he ordered harshly.

Blinking and being taken aback by his sudden interest, you looked at him above your shoulder.

In the same moment one of the guards peeked inside.

In Spanish you thanked him and assured it won't take you long, because apparently your brother wants to tell you something.

As soon as the door was closed again, you took a seat.

"Now, stay here," he muttered, briefly patting the top of your head. "Don't even move," Rafe instructed before leaving the room, he knew the guard won't be a problem. Rafe paid a lot to get himself and Drake brothers in here after all.

A few minutes later the door opened again, but this time it wasn't Rafe. It was one of Drake brothers, the older one to be exact.

"Hello? Rafe said that there might be a nice lady to talk to?," Sam hummed and looked at you with a cigarette slipped between his lips. "Hey."

You frowned, but remained quiet, and didn't even shift in your spot. You observed the man, and you did recognise him after many of your brother stories. It was probably Samuel Drake, the older from Drake brothers. The one who had to be an expert in pirate stuff that Rafe needed so desperately in his work.

You licked your lips, and tilted your head a little. "Where's Rafe?"

Sam moved the cigarette from one corner of his mouth to another. "Um, I don't know. He said there is a nice lady here, and went on with his stuff. I'd come with my little brother, but sadly he is busy as well. You would love him, he is younger and more your age, but of course not as charming as I am," he winked and sat on the chair right in front of you.

In the first impulse you wanted to get out of the room. You were all alone with a complete stranger. Rafe has left you to the wolves again, you weren't even surprised. Instead, a rage was filling your soul.

But then a realization came to your mind; if this was one of Drake brothers, you could prove your brother your real value by trying to get some information from this man. You decided to play a little game.

You rested your chin on your hand. "So you must be the older from Drake duo," whispering, you tilted your head aside and smiled on h sweetly.

Sam nodded with a smile on his lips. "Yup! Samuel Drake at your service."

Sam heard about you, mostly about how annoying you were, but here he was, right in front of you. You were sitting in front of him in this beautiful dress, you looked cute to him. "So... He left you here? All alone?"

With a little shrug a little sigh came along. "As you can see," you looked down on your hands and rubbed them together. "My brother was never an effusive person, especially not when it came to me," adding, you slowly got up from your place and walked to the window.

Sam nodded slowly. "I can tell, we spent some time together and honestly I am surprised. I am an older brother myself, I would die for Nathan," he summed up.

Listening to his words, you peeked out of the window to see a few guards with guns patrolling the yard.

You turned to the man that was trapped with you in a room, slowly bending your ass against the low windowsill. "Your brother's lucky then."

Sam watched you without saying a word.

You decided to take over control. Knowing the place he was in, you assumed it must have been a great while since he held a woman in his arms. Playing with emotions was something you were thankful to Rafe for teaching you.

You walked to the man and simply took a seat on his lap. Gently playing with his sideburn, you licked your lips. "I've heard you're a specialist from pirates. Is that true? Are you currently looking for a treasure? My brother was telling me you're good at this."

It was happening quickly, but he didn't mind at all, they all were locked down there for a bit too long, and he surely missed the woman's company. "Yes, I am a pirate expert, and yes, we are looking for a treasure. That's why our asses are stuck in here."

"I was always interested in my brother's work, though he didn't want to share anything with me," you whispered in a sad tone. "Do you know where to look for this treasure or whatever it is?," You asked sweetly after a moment of silence. Your fingers trailed up and down his chest.

Sam chuckled, placing a gentle kiss to your cheek. "Listen, little one, I know you tried to find out something so you could tell your brother, but sadly that ship has sailed. Rafe knows about everything we do," Drake shrugged, patting your hip.

You blinked a few times, his words surprised you much. Shifting slightly in your place, you bit your lower lip, and looked him in the eye.

Sam grabbed your chin, his thumb gently stroked it. "What's wrong, Y/N?," He asked simply.

"I...," You mumbled and went quiet. You felt like a complete idiot. First, you tried to seduce the man to get information about him. And he figured your plan out so quickly.

Your eyes glistened as you gazed at him; he was a handsome man.

"Want me to get you out of here? I can walk you to the guard station. Just talk to me," Drake stated, rubbing your back.

You didn't know how to behave. Taking he was an enemy of some kind, you should have kicked him right in the balls. But on the other hand, he was kind to you all the time, even if you tried to mock him. "Yes, please," you asked politely.

Sam helped you get off his lap, then he got up and walked you to the door. Sam even opened them for you. "Honestly, pity you don't want to stay longer, but it was a pleasure to meet you after all."

You stopped him from opening the door fully. You didn't know why you acted this way, but an urge grew within your body. It's been a while since you were with a man as well. You didn't know why, but this guy was turning your head upside down. "No," you whispered and closed them, you leaned your back against the steel.

Sam chuckled. "Are you like one of those typical women that don't know what they want?," He teased you.

Blushing, you turned your head aside.

Thinking about your past, you knew you made a lot of mistakes. You knew it was wrong to blindly follow your brother's will, yet you did.

But now you wanted to decide for yourself. At least once in a lifetime. If he left you alone, like a prey you seemingly were to him, you had a right to use the situation as well, hadn't you?

You wrapped your arms around the man's chest and nuzzled him.

Sam wrapped his arms around you.

You were cute, the whole 'I can't decide' thing was getting into him.

Sam grabbed your hips and picked you up to take a good look at you. "Is there something you want to tell me, sweetheart?"

"I have never met a man as handsome and mysterious as you," you mumbled openly, giggling as he picked you up.

"And I have never met a girl as sweet and small as you," Sam said, surprised at how light you were. "So, what shall I do with you now, huh?," He hummed nuzzling to you. Sam was aware of your intention but he wanted to hear it from you.

"Put me down, that's first," you asked calmly, and as soon as he did, you looked up into his eyes. He was twice your height, towering over you like skyscrapers over a block. "Second," you pretended to be thinking hardly, "if I'm Adler, and if you're Drake, then we can think about some nice way to bury the hatchet."

"Well, that would be nice if we would have any 'hatchet' to bury, love, and we have none," Sam said, looking down on you. "I have never seen you before and if you will try to play around some more I will simply leave."

"What am I supposed to say?," You whispered.

"Tell me what you want, Y/N. Rafe told me to take care of you and I will gladly do this," Sam muttered with a mischievous grin.

You smiled at him and tilted your head aside. "Take me to my brother."

Sam rolled his eyes and lit the cigarette.

Soon, he led you out of the room and took you to Rafe.

"Oh, for fuck's sake, even Drake had enough of you?," Rafe asked deeppy annoyed as soon as he spotted you entering the yard.

As your brother was sitting with a few men, you excused them and tugged on his sleeve. "What the fuck was that?," You asked him in a lowered voice. "Who the fuck I am for you? A fucking toy you can toss everywhere and to anyone you want?," You asked him as you walked aside for a bit.

"I never asked you to tag along, you always followed me like an annoying little brat you truly are," Rafe growled. "You are an adult, go get a life and stop following me," Adler said, not even trying to be quiet.

Sam frowned at the whole situation. He didn't know you too long, but he was more than sure you didn't deserve such a treatment.

Clenching teeth, you swallowed hard. And shortly after, you aimed your brother a robust slap right in the face. Glaring up at him, you snarled. "You're deluded, brother. Think about this when you'll be fucking rotting here, all alone, with no one to reach a hand toward you. A fucking lone fool. Remember, there are still things you can't buy with your bloody cash."

You were surprised by your own behaviour and the fact you dug in your heels against Rafael.

The next moment, you stormed off the yard.

Rafe didn't take it to himself, he didn't care. "One problem less," Rafe summed up before returning to his mates.

Sam was the one to run after you. "Hey, hey. Wait, you can't just walk alone. Not here," he informed you simply.

"What can happen?," You snarled in a response. "If I'd vanish once and for all, he'd be the one to dance happily on my grave."

"You can get hurt here, and please, don't say that," Sam grabbed your arm to stop you. "You can't act like this only because he's a dick."

"I'm an adult, I can do whatever I want to," you turned to face the man.

"You are an adult, you are free to do what you want, but it doesn't mean you can waste your life just because your brother is a dick. You should show you are better than he thinks you are," Sam explained.

You listen to his words. The man seemed very wise and very down to earth. Definitely your type.

Without thinking too much, you climbed on tiptoes, pulled him by a collar, and crushed your lips on his.

Sam gladly kissed you back, after a moment he pulled away with a smile. "I did not expect that," he admitted.

Your fingers intertwined with his as you grabbed his palm. With a mischievous grin, you pulled him behind you. With a corner of your eye you spotted a guard leaving one of the rooms, and you decided to risk it all, pulling the man in that direction.

Sam wasn't really sure about it, they had things to do and they were treated like normal prisoners, but he followed you anyway. After all, you were sweet. Sweet enough to make him go after you. "You are a crazy, little girl."

You simply pushed him inside the room. You decided that if there would be anyone, you'd lie quickly that the man was leading you to the exit and you two messed the way.

Fortunately, the room was empty. As soon as the door closed right behind the two of you, you pushed the man on the wall. You once again climbed on your tiptoes to kiss him, this time you let your tongue dance with his one a little. And you had to admit that he was an amazing kisser.

Sam kissed you back, grabbing your waist. He gave you the possibility of dominating him in the kiss.

But then he picked you up and soon you were pressed to the wall. "Time to change places, sweetheart."

Humming willingly, you let the man press you to the wall.

As he broke the kiss, you gasped loudly, sadly, as the contact was lost.

Sam smiled at you before dropping to his knees, he wanted to take his time with you, but sadly he couldn't. It wasn't a five star hotel, it was a prison after all. "Let's see what are you hiding there, princess," Sam hummed before moving the skirt of your dress up.

You licked your lips and parted them, observing his actions. He was so sure of what he was doing, it impressed you very much. As the blush hit your face, you let your eyes closed.

Sam teased you through your panties, just a little bit to get you ready. Then he pulled your panties aside and attacked your clit like he was a starving beast.

You gasped and instinctively muffled yourself by putting a curled hand to your lips. He gave you a new sensation. Of course, you did have sex, but only oral one and only with your former boyfriend who was just as inexperienced as you. Sam, on the other hand, was playing with you wisely, discovering a new level of desire to you.

"You like it, huh?," Sam asked, playing with your clit.

He raised to his feet, looking at you with a cocky smile.

"I wish I could eat that sweet pussy properly but looking at our poor position. This needs to wait, you are wet for me anyway," Sam winked and picked you up, pressing you to the wall.

At this moment Sam was thankful that his prison uniform was loose and easy to remove.

A soft moan escaped your lips as he picked you up a little. Your legs wrapped quickly around his hips as your hands rushed to tug his pants down. Oh, how much he was turning you on! "I need you, so much!"

"Oh you will get it, babe. I can promise you that, you will get whatever you need," Sam assured you before pulling his pants down, he wasn't wearing any underwear and his cock was standing proudly. "How much do you want it?"

"So much!," you gasped and reached out to grab his erected cock. You gave it a stroke or two, your palm wrapped tightly around his shaft. You tried to guide him right inside of you.

"But keep your hands up here, babe. I'll do the work," Sam instructed, wrapping your arms around his neck. "You simply relax and sing for me."

After those words Sam started to slowly penetrate your sweet pussy, he could feel that even if you had sex in past, a guy did a poor job.

"Hell! Fuck!," You moaned quietly, right into man's ear. A cold shiver ran along your spine. "Fuck, oh God!," You were moaning louder and louder. "You're so big! I can't take it!," You kissed the man's cheek, and moved to suck on his neck. His skin tasted with sweat, but you didn't mind.

"Oh I can bet you can take it, “ he hummed, rubbing your belly lovingly. "And a bit more than just my cock. Just relax," Sam purred, giving you one hard thrust before returning to gently pace. He didn't want to hurt you in any way.

"Ah!," You mumbled and nuzzled to his neck. Instantly, as soon as he made a hard thrust, you felt how wet you became and that your walls got loosened a bit. You tried to cool your breath down.

"You see? I told you that you can take it. Such a good girl," Sam smiled at the nice feeling of your walls loosening a bit around him. Knowing this he started to move faster, Sam knew you can take it. "You are doing a great job, babe,” he hummed, moving his hand into your hair to pull them gently.

You wrapped arms tighter around his neck and gasped right into his ear. He felt so amazing in you. He stretched you oh so well! "Fuck, fuck, so good, so hot, fuck...," You raised your tone a little and rolled head back.

Sam chuckled at your moans and cupped your cheek to make you look at him. "Oh, I know this all, sweetheart and I can say that you feel amazing around my cock,” without more unnecessary words Sam pulled you into a kiss, he was getting close to his climax.

You cupped his face in hands and kissed him. The kiss was messy, rapid. You gasped for air when you broke the kiss. "Oh, God, something is.... Oh, my God!," You mumbled as your walls started clenching.

Sam smiled against your lips.

"Oh, you poor thing, no one ever made you reach your peak? Let me show you how the real man does it, you'll love it,” he hummed, his hand moved between your bodies to play with your clit. "Just don't hold it, babe."

You rolled head back, your eyes shut closed, your lips parted and thighs squeezing man's hips. Your nails dug into his back where you scratched him. "I'm cumming!," You screamed.

"Good girl,” Sam hummed into your ear. His hips didn't stop to move even after your climax. "Now, tell me, do you want to be a good girl or do you want me to fill you up?"

"I want to be a good girl," you whispered. "Please!"

Sam let out a sad sigh, he expected a bit more from you. "As you wish. Pity ‘cuz I am not a fan of good girls,” he slowly pulled his cock out of you, Sam gave himself a few strokes before painting your clothed belly with his warm, thick seed. "That was good."

You licked your lips and gasped, immediately you went down to your knees and wrapped lips around his shaft. You only smirked and bobbed your head back and forth, sucking on him.

He moved his hand into your hair pulling at them. "This feels nice but that's enough, Y/N. You sucked me dry, babe."

 You ran the tip of your tongue along his shaft for the very last time.

Sam chuckled and helped you get up. Pulling his pants up he looked at you, of course he pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. "That was something girl," Sam hummed, puffing out some smoke.

You looked at him innocently. "Did you... Enjoy it? Truly?," You looked like you were seeking confirmation in his eyes. It was your very first time with a skilled man and you felt so exposed.

"Oh, I did enjoy it. Truly," he said and kissed your cheek. "I promise you one thing: as soon as we will be out of this hell - I will find you and we'll play some more."

"You somehow know where to look for me," you bit your lower lip.

At this moment the door to the room opened and a guard rushed inside. "What the fuck!"

"I told you she is here just wandering around. I knew she would be a problem," Rafe said to the guards with his back pressed to the wall, Nathan stood next to him completely confused.

You shrugged. "I pressed on him to go there, I thought this is where the exit is," you explained, laying smoothly

Everyone looked at you. The guards frowned and grabbed you, simply dragging you away.

Before you were pushed outside the outpost, you turned your head around. "Thank you for

guiding me

, Samuel!"

[bemybstar]

Legoshi x reader? Whatever species you want. a transfer student who Legosi's curious about, always wearing a scarf around her neck & covering her mouth, he thinks he's bothering her since she doesn't reply back to him, until saving her one night from a carnivore, strangely she showed no fear, wanting her scarf back, which he gives to her, as he then sees bite marks around her neck... she's a mute, survived a attack from childhood, and she breaks down, first time someone's been kind to her...

A/N: Thanks so much for requesting! Inbox is still open for requests and feedback is highly appreciated! Gif doesn’t belong to me.

It’s been over a month since you first made your new life here at Cherryton Academy. You had just transferred from your old school ever since your parents moved to the city because of their new job promotions. You weren’t all that pleased with the overall decision since leaving the country side in exchange for city life wasn’t something you had in mind, but because they were your parents you had no where else to turn to.

The school had its pros and cons like anything you were faced with but you still managed to make the most of it starting with your first new friend, Haru. She spotted you sitting alone during lunch and asked if she could join you which you happily agreed to by nodding your head. The conversation if you could call it that was mostly one sided since Haru did all of the talking. You would agree by giving a small “mhmm” as an answer to any of her questions, you weren’t much a talker to begin with but Haru wasn’t one to pry about your past. That’s what you admired most about her and that’s why you trusted her as your very best friend.

“What class do you have now?” Haru asked as you followed her down the hall. You pointed to the class on your schedule and stopped once you made it to the door. “Seaspeak huh? That’s interesting I have history but I’ll meet you back at the dorm. Bye Y/N!” Haru said as you waved back and entered the crowded classroom filled with animals already in their seats.

You walked up the aisle to take yours, placing your bag down and opening your notes to the chapter that was highlighted on the board. “In the sea communication is done by using sounds and bubbles rather than words,” your professor started off with as you began to jot everything down.

Grabbing your interest on the topic you were suddenly distracted by a male voice who asked for your attention. “Hey Uhh. Do you happen to have an eraser I can borrow?” You knew who that voice belonged to, a male grey wolf by the name of Legosi, this is the first time he’s spoken to you since you joined the class.

“Mhmm,” you replied handing him your spare eraser you keep hidden in the front pocket of your backpack. “Oh thanks,” he says taking it from you. The bell then starts to ring as your professor yaps on about a paper that’s due next week when the smell of egg salad sandwiches invades your concentration. You lift up your nose to catch a whiff but Legosi notices and offers you a piece.

“Here, take it. It’s the least I could do since you shared your eraser with me. Egg salad sandwiches are my favorite especially on Wednesday’s,” He informs as you take the other half giving him a soft nod in return to his kindness. You quietly gather up your things, push your chair in, and wave goodbye before you head back down to leave in time for your next class.

“You sure love those egg salad sandwiches,” Jack approaches Legosi right after adding, “Hey! What happened to the other one?”

“Oh! I gave it to Y/N since she let me use her eraser,” Legosi tells him. “I never knew she liked them,” Jacks says. “Neither did I...,” Legosi adds.

“Hmm,” Jack hums. “Isn’t this the first time you’ve talked to her?”

“Well... yes and no,” Legosi answers shyly. “I did say hi to her that one time in drama club when she dropped something off for Louis but before I could ask her anything... she was gone.”

“Maybe she had somewhere else to be,” Jack encourages him. “Or maybe... she doesn’t like me,” Legosi says with his head hanging low in guilt. “What! Come on, no way! Maybe she’s just as shy as you are when it comes to making the first move. Try to get to know her and see.” Legosi took his friends advice to heart, one way or another he was gonna keep trying and get this right.

The night was drawing in as you headed back to the girls dorm after a long and tiring lecture from your final class of the day. The lamp lights paved the way as your guide to the dorms main entrance where you would be greeted by Haru and get a chance at some well needed rest. But your peaceful state would soon come to a hault when you stopped dead in your tracks and perked your ears up in defense. Someone was following you...

You started to pick up your pace but your feet weren’t fast enough for the large carnivores chasing after you. You quickly turned around ready to incounter them only to be tripped by an overgrown tree root causing you to fall back onto the dirt road. Fear clouded your eyes as the mysterious figures stepped into the light baring smirks of succeeding in getting a kick out of you.

“You should have seen the look on your face!” The first guy said as his friend began to laugh maliciously, both of them carnivores and ironically both of the same species; Western Coyotes.

“She probably thought we were gonna bite her face off,” the second one said as you glared furiously at them. “You wolves are dumber than ya look.” That’s what got you the most so you decided to do something about it. By the time he turned the other way you managed to kick him in the face so hard he went flying. And by the looks of it his friend didn’t appreciate your temper.

“You little bitch,” he growled coming straight into contact with your now exposed face and gripped you by the collar of your school uniform. “Your gonna pay for that,” he snarled as he lifted his arm up to reveal his sharp claws. You closed your eyes and were ready to accept your fate once again when suddenly a familiar voice broke through the air.

“Enough!” It was Legosi. “Leave her alone. Now!,” the coyote turned to look at him suspiciously. “I SAID NOW!”

“Oh yeah?” Who are you her boyfriend or something... What are you gonna do? Make me?” He was toying with Legosi and he knew it. The coyote let go of his grip on you and took a fighting stance next to Legosi waiting for the perfect moment of attack. “He-he’s not worth it. That’s the same wolf who nearly killed Bill on stage,” his friend who managed to dust himself off finally spoke up. “Just forget it,” he added.

The coyote began to growl heavily when his friend snapped him out of it by the tug of his arm. “Come on, let’s go!” He said as the other obeyed following in pursuit as they both took off in a hurry.

Legosi stared them down until they were long gone from his sight, he quickly turned to check on you and what he saw was enough to shatter his heart into a million little pieces. You were crying... and this time weren’t trying to hide it. He approached you carefully and sat down leaning his back against the cold concret wall. He spotted your silk scarf across from him and held it out for you to take as you started to calm down little by little.

“H-here,” he says nervously. “I think this belongs to you,” Legosi says as he catches a glimpse of your face for the first time. “T-thanks,” you sniffle and take the scarf from his hand but don’t decide to put it on just yet. “I-I’m sorry you have to see me like t-this.” The secret you intended to keep hiding was finally revealed... the scars of your past.

A bite mark roamed the left side of your neck, little traces of fangs can be seen leaving their print on your fur... forever. The incident happened a long time ago and it isn’t a day you like to remember. The bite mark came from a coyote during your childhood days, you saw him picking on a rabbit and decided to step in. One thing led to another and all you have now is this scar to remember it by. The incident shook you so badly that you decided to go silent ever since and only speak when spoken to.

“You have no reason to apologize,” Legosi said wipping a tear from your eye. “Your scars don’t define you. You being the best version of yourself you can be, does. Your beautiful inside and out and if anyone bothers to tell you differently then... they aren’t worth your time.”

“That’s the first time anyone’s ever stood up for me like that.” You say shyly trying your best not to shed another tear. He gets up from his spot and offers his hand to help you up from off the ground. He stares at you and you stare back before going in for a hug, you can hear his heartbeat grow faster by the sudden show of affection.

“Thanks Legosi,” is all you can say. He gives in and holds you in his arms finally opening his mouth to complete, “Your welcome.”

You stay like that for what feels like forever. But why do you feel so safe in his arms and why don’t you want him to stop? You guess time will only tell but until then all you can do is enjoy this sweet moment with the boy who saved your life.

———

Tag list - (just ask to be added)

@starr60

Hope y’all enjoyed! Let me know if y’all want a follow up!

[writing-royza]

Royai Week Prompt One: Letter

What’s up, my loves, I’ve only been out of the game for… six months, but it was far too long! And what a way to dive back in. Happy Royai Week to all!

-----

Every Five Words

For a moment, the sight of the innocuous white envelope caused her breath to freeze in her lungs. There was no postmark, meaning it had been hand-delivered to her mailbox, and in this time of Pride and Bradley practically breathing down her neck… a hand delivery became suspicious.

When she saw the name on the return address, however, her lungs thawed and air returned. Smiling to herself, she tucked the envelope from “Berthold Mangrum” inside her folded copy of the Central Times, closed the mailbox, and headed for the stairs, a scene from the not-too-distant past playing in her memory.

“Moving to Central could be the more dangerous thing we’ve ever done,” he said solemnly, the gravity of the words dampened somewhat by the fact that he was beginning to slur his words, and that they were seated on the floor of her new apartment, surrounded by boxes. “I’m not liked here, Grumman’s not liked here... I don’t think even Hughes was particularly liked.” He shook his head. “We’re going to have to be extra careful in working to get to the top. Compartmentalize information, redact files, verbal check-and-response when we talk over serious stuff... maybe codenames.”

Reaching out, Riza caught his hand and removed the wine glass from it before his gesturing as he spoke ended up with spilled alcohol or broken glass. “We already have codenames,” she reminded him, taking a sip from her own glass. She was not so far gone as he was, mostly due to the fact that she she was pacing herself to avoid that situation, but she could feel the light buzzing in her mind beginning to get stronger. “‘Elizabeth,’ ‘Jacqueline,’ ‘Kate....’”

“You have a codename,” he countered. “But I don’t. ‘The Flame Alchemist’ does not count,” he said, cutting her off with a levelled finger as she opened her mouth to say exactly that. “I need one for things that maybe the higher-ups don’t need to know about.”

“And so which one of your sisters will you be co-opting this new name from?” she countered, leaning back against a box. From the way it clinked, she suspected it contained the flatware they hadn’t been able to find at dinner time. “Madeline? Vanessa? Or maybe... as the leader, you become the leader.” She smiled with no small amount of wickedness as his eyes darted toward her. “I think you would make a very good Chris.”

“Careful. If you say that too loud, it summons her.” Apparently done his gesticulating, he retrieved his own wine glass, taking a thoughtful sip. “What if... I took the name from another part of our lives? Still one that isn’t likely to be recognized as being connected with me, but with enough significance to us to make it obvious?”

When she was safe behind her apartment door, with Hayate prancing excitedly around her feet, Riza took the envelope from its hiding place, and glanced at the name again. Her father’s name, little-known even in its connection to her, the same for ‘Mangrum;’ a simple anagram of her grandfather’s name, the two references combined together in a way that could only be Roy.

Tearing the envelope open, she left it on the counter, moving to sit on the floor with her dog, who immediately climbed into her lap to shower her face in welcome-home licks. Craning her neck to see past his ears, she caught the first few words, enough to recognize the clue that the paragraphs held a message within a message.

“Hayate.” She used the special voice; the command voice, and he instantly froze, watching her intently. “Guard.”

The little Shiba gave a sharp yap, nearly deafening her with its closeness before scrambling off her lap and beginning at slow patrol of the apartment. Riza still wasn’t sure how well a dog’s sense for the supernatural did at detecting nosy Homonculi, but she was willing to bet that if Pride came sniffing around, Hayate would sense him coming.

Getting up, she retrieved a pen from beside the telephone, and settled at the kitchen table, spreading the letter in front of her. ‘Dear Riza,’ it started, innocently enough. ‘Five weeks since we last spoke.’ Pen at the ready and dog on alert, she skimmed the letter quickly.

Dear Riza:

Five weeks since we last spoke. I thought I would miss drinking, but, I tell you, turns out its not so bad; it’s just very much a battle royale of will. I’ll probably have to call ‘uncle’  and give in soon, the question is just how soon. I probably shouldn’t do, but I promise that I’m okay. The new job’s fine; I’m trying out some new ideas, some methods, some plans. It’s all starting to form up.

Ironworkers union might strike soon. “We’re all a team!” they say. It’s getting old. They’re no team, just friends getting the short stick from management. There’s a wage war, basically. I think a bartender earns more. Nobody will pass the picket line, so you know they’ll win soon.

Information kiosk being built downtown. Men started construction, getting it all set up. It’s a fine idea; good for tourists, kids getting lost, old people too.

I remember that you love Xingese food. I told you about the new noodle take out place, right? They care a lot about customers.

Whoops, five minute break is over; better get back to work. Have a good one.

Sincerely, Berthold Mangrum

She double-checked the letter and her interpretation of the code, writing each word as she found it in the margins of the paper. Hayate still prowled about, his claws clicking lightly on the wooden floor, occasionally stopping to sniff some innocuous item or other. By the time she finished, Roy’s message was loud and clear.

Five weeks since we last spoke. That was the code clue. A number in the first sentence to give her the basis for deciphering whatever he’d hidden in more innocuous sentences.

I thought I would miss drinking, but, I tell you, turns out its not so bad; it’s just very much a battle royale of will. I’ll probably have to call ‘uncle’ and give in soon, the question is just how soon. I probably shouldn’t do, but I promise that I’m okay. The new job’s fine; I’m trying out some new ideas, some methods, some plans. It’s all starting to form up.

She wrote quickly. miss you so much/will call soon/how do/ I’m fine/new plans form- She frowned, the sentence not making sense until she checked the next paragraph.

Ironworkers union might strike soon. “We’re all a team!” they say. It’s getting old. They’re no team, just friends getting the short stick from management. There’s a wage war, basically.

new plans/form strike team/old friends from war

Now that made sense. He had made mention once of how his squad had shown a little appreciation when the fighting was over, how they liked his command style, and especially that he worked to keep them safe in a battle, instead of sending them headlong into danger. She paused, trying to remember all the names he had told her, but knew she fell short. She could recall Damiano, Charlie… Dino was a possibility, though she wasn’t sure.

I think a bartender earns more. Nobody will pass the picket line, so you know they’ll win soon.

Information kiosk being built downtown. Men started construction, getting it all set up. It’s a fine idea; good for tourists, kids getting lost, old people too.

The part of her mind that wasn’t concentrating on deciphering his code was left free to observe that, to anyone else reading this letter, it would sound scattered, distracted, rambling…. Probably exactly how Bradley and the Homonculi thought he would be after being stripped of his most essential staff and being placed under careful surveillance.

bartender pass you Information/men all fine/ - good, that was a load off of her mind – kids too

So it was his intention to pass her information through his mother; probably the safest best. Chris knew how to keep her mouth shut and keep from being noticed. But the next part…. Riza frowned again. Kids? Did he maybe mean Elicia and hadn’t found a way to use the singular form — oh. Her shoulders relaxed in relief she didn’t know she had been hoping for; the Elrics were all right. Spirits rising, she turned her attention to the last couple of lines… and felt them take off as though rocket-propelled.

I remember that you love Xingese food. I told you about the new noodle take out place, right? They care a lot about customers.

Four simple words that somehow felt like a steadying hand on her shoulder, or a soft, soothing kiss to her forehead. love you/take care

The last line, ‘Whoops, five minute break is over; better get back to work. Have a good one.’ was the indicator that the code was finished, with no more to follow until the next letter. Riza kept her eyes on those last four decoded words as she stood, moving toward the kitchen sink. Reaching into a drawer beside it, she withdrew a small card box, and regretfully set the letter into the metal basin.

She struck the match and let it fall, consuming the evidence… and letting the flames burn the words into her memory.

[star-and-the-motherverse]

Chapter 6 - Off She Goes

The Butterfly Who Lost Her Wings

Word Count: 3476 | AO3 Mirror | Previous | Next

Summary: Marco tries not to think about summer. A familiar face realizes he’s out of the loop.

✧·ﾟ: *✧·ﾟ:* ☾ *:·ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

It didn’t really feel as if summer had ever arrived, to Marco, but it wasn’t like that was a trait unique to this particular one. When he was little, summer was the most exciting time of the year, but as he’d grown up, summer started to feel like it was getting shorter each time it came around. It had sort of lost its magic, in a strange way.

Not to say it was unwelcome—far from that, really. Summer break still probably was one of the better parts of the year. He got to spend a lot more time with his friends when they weren’t in school, and it was nice to take a couple months of break, not having to worry so much about the future.

But as days went by, he was starting to realize that he was… bored. By almost all of it. And it was strange, so strange. Really, this summer was equally as mundane as those that preceded it, and yet, here he was, feeling overwhelmingly alone.

You know exactly why that is.

Marco tried his best not to think about it—about her—as he went about his day-to-day life. But over half a year had passed since his everyday life had been upheaved. He’d practically forgotten what the bathroom countertop actually looked like when it was completely clear, or how small the guest room really was before it belonged to Star. They were little details that he was sure never would have stood out to him, not in the past. His painfully normal life had never stuck out to him like this until now, after everything that’s happened.

He missed the unpredictable nature of having Star as a housemate. The excitement, the danger, and everything else. He missed it so much.

Everything is still about Star.

He rolled over in bed, groaning, not able to find the motivation to get up just yet.

Some of his old friends hadn’t spoken to him in what felt like ages. Did he miss them too? He couldn’t tell. He thought that he did, but couldn’t even begin to think of how he might reach out. Jackie and—to a lesser extent—Janna were really the only friends from school that he regularly talked with anymore. He wasn’t exactly doing a good job of keeping in touch with anyone else.

Before he could think on it any longer, his phone vibrated. It took a surprising amount of effort for him to sit up and grab it off of bedside table. Reading over his lock screen, he saw that Jackie had texted him twice, the first message being from about an hour ago, and the other happening just now.

Jackie: Hey! How are u doing?

Jackie: Just realized you might still be asleep, sorry! xoxo

12:30 in the afternoon wasn’t a completely unreasonable time for a teenager to sleep in to, but Marco rarely ever stayed in bed for that long. He’d been up since noon at least—on a normal day, he’d be annoyed after wasting time, laying there and feeling sorry for himself.

Marco: Nah, I wasn’t. Sorry, missed your first text

Marco: It’s been a long morning 😅

Jackie: No worries :) Just checking in on u!

Jackie: Have u had lunch? Theres a food truck fair in town at the park, I think it would be fun to go!

Jackie: I bet theres a nacho truck somewhere, probably not as good as urs tho :)

He wasn’t really hungry at all, but he could certainly use the distraction. And he loved spending time with Jackie, more than anything. She always knew exactly what to say to make him feel better.

Marco: That sounds great. Did you want to meet there?

Jackie: Sure! Is 1:00 too soon?

Jackie: Also, hope u don’t mind but I invited Janna to come too!

Janna was one of the few people he’d managed to keep up regular conversation with, mostly over text. She didn’t give off the impression of a very social person, but then again, their unusual friendship probably didn’t make a lot of sense to outsiders, either.

Her reaction to the news of Star’s disappearance had been about in line with he was expecting, which wasn’t really saying much. Janna was an absolute wildcard, and he had a hard time figuring out what was going through her head even when things were normal. So her complete non-reaction, which might have caught other people off-guard, was just another Janna thing, in his mind.

She never liked talking about her emotions, and this would be no different. All he could really do was let her know that he was available to talk if she never needed to.

Marco: 1:00 is fine. And that’s cool with me

Marco: She’d probably find a way to invite herself if you didn’t.

Jackie: Lol ur probably right :P

Jackie: I’ll see you then💖

He let out a sigh and set the phone down on his bed, finally convincing himself to stand up. It wouldn’t take him that long to get ready to go out, mercifully. Such was the benefit of wearing a hoodie every day—even if the summer weather wasn’t exactly kind to him for it. He’d have plenty of time to get to the park and meet up with his friends, provided nothing weird happened.

Of course, as luck would have it, a lone laser puppy came wandering into the room, his tail wagging in excitement.

“Oh, hey… Sajak?” Star was the only one who could ever tell them apart, but he liked to believe he was getting better at it. “Yeah… Sajak.”

The puppy gave short little barks as he hopped around the room, coming to a stop in front of Marco and rearing up on his hind legs to demand his attention.

“‘Scuse me, buddy,” he said, carefully stepping over Sajak so that he could better reach his closet. “Sorry, but I’ve got things I gotta do today. No more lounging around.”

Sajak kept running circles around him and the room, occasionally pausing to stare at him expectantly. Marco tried to head out to the hall and towards the bathroom, but nearly tripped over the puppy as he rushed out in front of him before flopping down in front of the closed bathroom door.

“What in the world has gotten into you?” Marco asked, laughing, mostly to himself. He scooped up the dog with the intention of moving him. “You don’t feel like shooting me with a laser today? No?”

It was sort of a joke. He couldn’t quite remember last when the puppies had used their laser eyes. He wondered if it was related to whatever was going on with magic. It was a bit nicer to pretend that Sajak was just being particularly nice today, though.

Before he got the chance to move, a horde of laser puppies charged up the stairs, yapping excitedly. Barko Diaz brought up the rear, dragging in a multi-leash with him and nearly tripping over its cable several times as the lugged it up to the second floor.

“Seriously?” It was pretty cute at first, but now this was getting kind of ridiculous. “Guys, come on! I’m trying to do things!”

But he knew better than to tempt fate. These puppies were absolutely ruthless when it came to getting what they wanted. Truly, how could anyone say no to those adorable little faces?

He let out another low sigh. “Okay, okay, fine!” He’d had stranger mornings. If anything, he was getting exactly what he’d asked for with a distraction. His bad mood from the early morning was a distant memory by this point, which was a rather impressive turnaround.

He made his way slowly through what felt like a minefield of dogs, back to the side of his bed and picked up his phone once more.

Marco: I’m gonna be a little late, I have to take the dogs out on a walk first. They won’t leave me alone, haha

Jackie: Aww, so cute! That’s cause they love u so much ^^

Marco: Just doing my civic duty o7

Marco: See you in a bit ❤️

Jackie: 💖💖

“Settle down, Barko!” He cried out, once he’d turned his attention back to the excitable puppies. “I can’t put a leash on you if you won’t sit still!!”

✧·ﾟ: *✧·ﾟ:* ♥︎ *:·ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

“What the heck?”

The phrase wasn’t really intended to be a question. It was more like... some sort of out-loud expression of Star’s ever-growing confusion. She’d only been free falling for a few seconds or so, but as she blinked, she somehow found herself standing in front of Echo Creek Academy. She had no idea how or why. She didn’t even remember landing on the ground, which she was sure would have injured her under normal conditions.

“School? Again?!”

What even were the odds that she’d end up on the school’s doorsteps? Unless, for some reason, it was doing that thing where it was in every place she looked—

Oh no… it absolutely was. There was another school right in front of her. When she turned away, there was another school there, too. She turned again and again. Another one, each time.

“You’ve gotta be kidding..! Why?! Why here?!”

She was most definitely somewhere inside of the wand. She shouldn’t have been that surprised—it was one of the most likely options that she’d narrowed down, for cob’s sake—but there was still something deeply unsettling about how she’d found her way back to this place. Not long from now and she’d probably start bumping into past versions of herself, following in her current footsteps like some sort of video game. Only this time, she had no idea of how she was supposed to get out. Hopefully Glossaryck would know to come rescue her if things got bad.

At least those weird disembodied voices hadn’t managed to follow her here. Somewhere along the way she must have lost them.

“I’m not going in the stupid school,” she grumbled, having nothing but negative memories associated with its strange, magical realm counterpart. It’s supposed to be summer! I do what I want!

Instead, she took to the sidewalk, putting her hands in her dress pockets and wandering along, looking around for a glimpse of something, anything else.

There certainly wasn’t any shortage of weird things to look at in the wand. Everywhere she looked were pieces of Echo Creek and Mewni, awkwardly stitched together in ways that didn’t make much sense at all. Street lamps and sidewalks wove between wells and Mewnian carnival tents. Spanish-style houses were dotted between the fields of corn that stretched out into the horizon, from what she could see past the school. Cacti and coniferous trees were growing side by side, as if they were always supposed to be that way. But even with everything going on, the looming silhouette of Butterfly Castle towered over all other set pieces, only dwarfed in size by the mountainous terrain that made up the background of this strange place.

“Ack!” she cried out suddenly, stumbling a bit as the ground beneath her transitioned from sidewalk to an empty parking lot—save for a single chariot parked on the other side. Just ahead of her, a little puddle rested on the uneven pavement, made up of that same green sludge that Toffee had left her to drown in.

She was so overcome with anger and frustration at the sight of it that she kicked it out of impulse. Just before her boot made contact with the puddle, though, she swore she saw a glimmer of light hiding within it—but not nearly soon enough to stop. When her foot landed back on the ground, and the puddle stilled, nothing was there.

A bit shaken, her gaze wandered upwards. The star-shaped insignia in the dark purple sky looked the same as it had before, split in half and all. But as she watched it, she couldn’t help but think it looked a bit dimmer. It’s fine. You’re gonna be fine, she wanted to say, but she never spoke it aloud, not entirely sold on the idea herself.

Was it fine? Is that really why she wasn’t running into any timeline duplicates of herself? She was still alone, sure, and maybe that was a good thing. There wasn’t any immediate danger, or anything like that. So why am I worried?

She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to quell her doubts.

Surely nothing had changed, right?

✧·ﾟ: *✧·ﾟ:* ☀ *:·ﾟ✧*:·ﾟ✧

Tom rubbed at his eyes with the heel of his hand as he made his way out of his room and towards the dining hall, headed out in search of coffee. He never was much of a morning person, and that fact probably wouldn’t come as a surprise to many people. He was never thrilled about having to wake up early for meetings, or summons, or whatever else, but that was something that sort of came with the territory of being a prince.

He’d been trying to avoid Star ever since he’d failed his anger management final exam, following the suggestion from his life coach. It didn’t make sense to him at first—how was he supposed to know when she wanted to talk to him again?—but he’d ultimately come around to Brian’s advice, even if it was with reluctance. It was clear that she still wanted space. He needed to respect that.

It sure was frustrating, though. Patience wasn’t exactly his strong suit.

He was drawn out of his irritated thoughts when a messenger demon nearly crashed into him as he appeared around the corner. “Watch it!” Tom snapped, but the messenger didn’t acknowledge him as he continued in a hurry down the corridor. He couldn’t help but be a bit curious why this particular message was so important that it demanded such prompt attention.

Weirdly, the demon suddenly skidded to a halt, whirling around to come back down the hallway and stop in front of Tom, bowing. “Master Tom! Would you perhaps know where King Dave would be at this hour?”

“Uh… probably in his office?”

“Thank you, Master Tom!” Just as quickly as he’d returned, he was off again, headed back down the hall.

That was weird, Tom noted. He watched the messenger instinctively head towards the throne room, only to remember where he was supposed to be headed and travel down the adjacent hall instead. It wasn’t often that they received news worthy of any interest, so before Tom could convince himself otherwise, he was chasing after the messenger—too intrigued to stop himself from prying. It’s not like I have anything better to do, he remarked inwardly, somewhat dejected.

Light on his feet, he followed the smaller demon at a short distance so that he wouldn’t be noticed. They both quickly arrived at the king’s office, and the messenger disappeared through the towering doorway. Tom was able to catch the conversation before it had really started, listening through the door.

“—uncement from the Butterfly Kingdom, my lord! The Silver Bell Ball has been indefinitely postponed!”

What? If he was being completely honest, he’d sort of forgotten that it was almost time for the Silver Bell Ball again. He had some fond memories of the event from over the years, but he wasn’t really the dancing type. It was more boring than anything else, and it was quite funny how Star agreed with him wholeheartedly. But she always made the point of how it was nice to see everyone again, and he supposed that was one of its better aspects. It would feel weird to not go to it every year.

His father’s thought process mirrored his own. “What?” Dave exclaimed. “But the ball is a yearly tradition! Why would they do such a thing?”

Tom overheard the messenger clear his throat as he unraveled a scroll. “In the words of the Queen and King themselves: ‘it is with great reluctance that we inform you of our decision to cancel the Silver Bell Ball this year. We believe that this is the right thing to do, as the ongoing magical fritz is a pressing issue that requires our full attention. This is a difficult time for our kingdom, and we sincerely thank you for your patience and understanding.’”

“A magical fritz? What in the Underworld does that even mean?”

“The announcement does not clarify it, my lord.”

Tom heard the groan of table legs against the floor as Dave adjusted his chair. “I know that the Butterfly Kingdom is quite dependent on magic, but enough to cause this level of instability? This is preposterous!”

Admittedly, he didn’t have that much of an understanding of how magic worked, either. Most of the cities across Mewni had close ties to magic, but none of them were quite as clear cut as the Butterfly Kingdom. They had been an incredibly powerful force for centuries. If something weird was happening with magic, Star likely would have been one of the first to notice, since she was in possession of the magic wand.

“There could be something more serious at play here…” The messenger demon’s words trailed off.

“In what sense?” Dave asked.

“Well…” He lowered his voice, and it immediately became more difficult for Tom to pick up on their conversation, much to his frustration. He had to listen incredibly closely in order to make out what was being said, leaned up against the door. “There’s a rumor going around that something happened to the princess.”

Tom swore he could feel his blood run cold.

“What do you mean?” the king asked. “Is she sick?”

“Something like that. People can’t seem to agree on what’s happened to her.”

Dave paused for several moments, likely thinking over the implications of the messenger’s words. “You think that the Butterflies are lying?”

“Not necessarily. Perhaps it is an indirect lie, or a lie by omission. Whatever is going on, it appears the royal family are trying to hide it while they're so vulnerable.”

It had to be impossible. Star must’ve been fine. She was on Earth! Who did this messenger think he was, to present such a baseless claim as an actual reality? No, he’d prove him wrong. He could call her, right?

Of course! Why didn’t I think of that sooner?

Before he could even stop to remind himself that, no, Star still needed space, he shouldn’t bother her, she’ll come back to him when she’s ready to talk again—he was clicking through his contact list and tapping on her displayed nickname. Starship. He’d never brought himself to change it from that.

“Calling Star,” read the text-to-speech voice, before it was cut off by a screen tear and replaced with loud, crackling static and white noise. Startled, he snapped his compact shut immediately to silence it.

“What was that?”

“Huh? I didn’t hear anything…”

“Oh… hmm. Sorry. Perhaps it was nothing.”

He wasn’t listening to them anymore—no, he was panicking. Fear was getting to him, badly. He hated this, he hated feeling scared. This didn’t make any sense! Even if something had happened to her, the call should have gone through. It still should have let him leave a voicemail, or something! Not static and nothing else!

This was strange, this was wrong. Something was wrong, and he had no idea what it was.

“—h well,” he overheard Dave start to speak again. “I suppose it’s not—“

Unable to stand there any longer, Tom threw open the door and came storming in, glaring accusingly between them both. “That’s not good enough!”

“Thomas!” Dave scolded, standing up from his chair. “What have I told you about eavesdropping on my conversations?”

Ignoring him, Tom stared directly at the messenger, his eyes fiery with anger. “What did you say happened to Star?!”

The demon flinched, scrambling for words as he stepped backwards. “I-I’m sorry, Master Tom! I truly wish that I had more information, but I don’t. So long as the Butterfly kingdom keeps its borders closed, I’m not sure we’ll ever get an answer…”

“Then do your job!” He snarled, clenching his fists. “Go out there and find the answer, and don’t come back until you do!”

“Thomas, that’s enough!” Dave stepped between them both. “We don’t know what’s going on, and that’s how it’s going to be for right now. It’s ultimately not our business, to know what’s happening in the personal lives of other royals.”

“It is mine!” Tom hissed. “I care about her! I need to know that she’s okay!”

But no matter how much shouting he did during that confrontation—and it certainly was a lot—he never got an answer he was happy with. No amount of sulking around the castle was going to change that. He wasn’t going to find an answer here on Mewni, not anytime soon.

[btsmutimagines]

Swiped

A/N: It’s 2020 and I still haven’t gotten my shit together but I wanted to write something for Hobi’s birthday... 

Word Count: 2.1K

You snuggled into your blankets, glad to be in your warm bed before you heard footsteps. Before you could react, your best friend was laying on top of you.

“Jesus, Mina, get off me!”

“Hm?”

“Off.” You repeated with a shove in her side which she recoiled in response. She got up, you let out a huff. Could you not have a moment of peace?!

“Come on, Y/N. You can’t hide in your bed all day.”

“I just got here.”

“Let’s go out tonight.”

“No.”

“Y/N!” She whined, tugging on your blankets and you held on for dear life.

“Mina, just go with Jihyo or Jiwon or Yoorim.”

“Jihyo’s with her boyfriend, Jiwon has her art meet and Yoorim is sick.”

“Lucky them.” You muttered under your breath, feeling a hard tug on your blankets again.

“Look, we could just swipe through Tinder and-”

“I’m not going on Tinder, Mina.”

“You can’t just hide from the world forever, you gotta put yourself out there. Plus, it’s ladies' night so free drinks, girl!”

“Fine but no Tinder.”

“Fine, you’ll just be my wing woman.” She hopped back on your bed, sitting next to you as you sat up to glance at her screen. The familiar flame appeared on screen before the home page, you noticed she had a few messages already and was swiping through a few.

“Isn’t he cute?”

“Yeah but why is he lip pouting like Kylie Jenner?” Mina giggled, swiping left on him and you watched as she liked a few before picking a guy the two of you could agree on.

“That’s the best line he could think of?”

“What? I think it’s cute.”

“‘Hey Mina, you must be what I’m searching for because you autocomplete me’ How corny.”

“You know how much I’m into puns. He’s a man after my heart.”

“And what’s the success rate of Tinder again?”

“Hey, don’t knock since you won’t try it.”

“Whatever.”

“Alright, get dressed. We got a bar to go!”

“Why do I let you convince me into stuff like this?”

                            ───✱*.｡:｡✱*.:｡✧*.｡✰*.:｡✧*.｡:｡*.｡✱ ───

You walked into the bar, linked arms with Mina as she scoped the room for her date and tugged your arm when she spotted him.

“There he is and he’s better looking in person.”

“That’s a first.” She elbowed you, you grinning cheekily as the two of your approached him.

“Seungwoo!” Mina said, the man looking over in your direction as the two of you stopped short in front of the table.

“M-Mina? And you brought a friend?”

“I hope you don’t mind, she need to get out the house. But don’t worry about it, she’ll do her own thing.”

“Nice to meet you, Y/N.” He placed a hand out to shake to which you politely shook before sliding into the booth.

“Yoo Seungwoo.” Mina was in her flirty mode, grabbing Seungwoo’s attention while you sat next to them.

You found solace in your phone, scrolling through Instagram and seeing Yoorim on your feed.

Yeah, she was clearly so sick. What with all the smoke and alcohol around her, of course she was sick! You sarcastically thought to yourself, still liking her post as you scrolled past it. It felt endless, seeing people you know post pictures from the same party or making posts about missing whatever vacation they had last summer.

“Y/N?”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to dance a bit, don’t run out on me.”

“Yeah, sure.” You said, not looking away from your phone as she walked away with Seungwoo.

While tapping your fingers against the table, you began to watch people around the bar. A drunk group of friends were loudly rambling at the tv while the bartender cleaned up some glasses. You glanced at Mina and Seungwoo dancing with each other while Mina was laughing at something that was being whispered in her ear and other couples were dancing around them.

You were kind of glad it seemed to be going well for them, although you would never say that to Mina. She’ll never let you live that down.

You were kind of glad it seemed to be going well for them, although you would never say that to Mina. She’ll never let you live that down.

You leaned over on the table, crossing your arms and resting your head between as you watched the pair dance.

How come it was so easy for her? She’s always having fun, dancing around someone new and never been tied down to anything serious. She never hurts because she knows it’s temporary, there’s no commitment.

In your brief daze, you noticed they moved to making out with each other. Clearly in disregard to anyone around them.

Maybe it’s because you don’t have to search for a forever, maybe it’s okay to be ‘right now’.

You picked up your phone, opening it to the App Store and searching for the accursed app. It was a blur how fast it appeared on your home screen and you signed up, immediately seeing a face on your screen.

You began swiping through countless faces, a few that matched with you talked to you for a bit before you became disinterested and left it short.

Until you laid eyes on a face you knew all too well. Those same light brown hair, slightly parted to reveal his forehead. The same lips curled into a smile. Those same almond-shaped eyes with the distracting chocolate eyes.

Hoseok.

He was on here already? Is he nearby? The radius wasn’t set too far out and you shouldn’t be surprised. It’s not like he left the city just because the two of you broke up.

Right. He’s moving on and so should you. You were about to swipe left on him when a drunk woman bumped into your elbow, causing you to swipe right on him.

“No!”

“Shit, sorry girl.” She giggled as she walked away and you shot her retreating figure a glare. Mina and Seungwoo were walking to you, you trying to hide the fact you were actually on the stupid app.

“Missed us?”

“Not at all.”

“You’re so mean, Y/N.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Right, the reason we came over here!” She clapped her hands as if the thought came back to her by doing so.

“Me and Seungie were talking about this diner on the other side of town and-”

“It’s okay if you go, Mina. Just come home before 2.”

“Gosh, you’re the best wing woman ever.” She hopped in your lap, giving you a hug before she took Seungwoo’s hand. The two of them practically ran out of the bar, mostly Mina pulling him along and you sighed to yourself.

The sound of a notification went off and you unlocked your phone to see Hoseok matched with you and was typing.

Holy shi-

Hey.

What the hell do you say back to that? Do you just explain that it was all a mistake? And why is he so nonchalant about matching with you? You two are exes, not just a bunch of old friends.

I didn’t think I would see you here. You bit your lip, waiting for his reply and staring at your screen.

Neither did I

What?

Meant you were never the type to be looking for hookups.

I guess you don’t know me as well as you thought.

Y/N, you didn’t match with me to rehash the past, did you?

There he goes again. It’s the same old shit with him, everything is alright before someone starts pointing fingers.

Rehash the past? We broke up a month ago for your information, asshole! I should know better since you’re already on here looking for someone else.

Yeah and what about you, huh? Last time I checked this isn’t ‘Friender’

Maybe I needed an escape. But then I find you here. I didn’t match with you on purpose, it was a goddamn mistake. But I guess I’m not allowed to make mistakes either, right? I’m Miss Perfect, remember?

Y/N.

Let’s stop talking, that’s the way it was and should be.

You closed the app, turning off its notifications and walking over to the bar.

“Rough night.”

“Yeah, kind of.”

“Yeah, saw your friend run off with that dude a few minutes ago.”

“Lucky her, right.”

“If anything, sweetheart, you’re going to find someone that will hold you tight and never let go.”

“Thanks, I guess. A screwdriver, please.” You weren’t driving home anyways, it didn’t matter how many time you felt the same burning in your throat as you down glasses.

It felt like the more you drank, the less you remembered.

It was better to forget. Remembering hurts more.

Y/N.

Y/N.

Y/N, you need to wake up. You’re not dead, are you?

“Could you quit yapping? I’m trying to sleep.”

“Still as cranky as I remember.”

“Wait…” You opened your eyes, seeing Hoseok standing in front of you.

“What the fuck?! Did you kidnap me?”

“W-What, no. I’ve been messaging you and you wouldn’t answer and then this bartender was like ‘could you please come to get her’ so I did.”

“Why would you do that?”

“What, do you expect me to just leave your drunk ass alone? And Mina wasn’t answering my calls either. I brought you home instead.” That wrench. She’s totally getting it from you tomorrow.

“Then why are you still here?”

“Because you could choke on your vomit and I’m guessing you still want to live?”

“Job’s done. You can go now.”

“No ‘thank you, Hoseok for taking care even though you shouldn’t have’?”

“You really shouldn’t have, Hoseok.”

“But I did.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“Don’t do that again. I don’t want you to get hurt or something…”

“Hoseok.”

“Why were you on Tinder anyway?”

“Why does it matter to you? Maybe it was the same reason as you.”

“Never thought you would look there, always thought you would go to those lame matchmaking parties.”

“Didn’t you used to do that?”

“Yeah, when I was desperate and before I met-”

“Anyways, it’s so nice for you to come by. It’s time for you to go.” You got up from the couch, putting your hands on his chest to give him a slight shove but he grabbed your hands.

“I wasn’t looking for anyone.” He held them to your side, letting go of them.

“What are you talking about now?”

“I mean at first I did but the more I kept matching with all kinds of girls, the more I realized that I wasn’t going to find you.”

“Hoseok, why are you-”

“Because I missed you. And I knew you wouldn’t answer me if I called or texted. But then you matched with me and I could feel the hurt you’re still holding onto when you typed.”

“It was a mistake.”

“Not to me. I wished that someway, somehow I would get my chance.”

“Hoseok.” Here he was, saying all the words you want to hear. Conveying all the emotions that you wish he would show if you met him again. But why? Why was your mind holding you back from the one who could make your heart race, your head spin and set your body ablaze with a mere touch of your hand?

“I’m scared.” You whispered into the empty air, knowing saying those words would only actualize the fear.

“Am I too. Can’t we be brave together?”

“You’re so cheesy.”

“Only for you.”

“God, knock it off.”

“Are you giving me a chance?”

“Come on, Y/N?” He began pouting and stomping a bit, gosh you almost forgot how easy it is for him to switch between serious and childish.

“Alright, fine.”

“Then it’s alright if I do this?”

“Hos-” He pulled in for a kiss, his familiar cherry lips overwhelm your senses with how soft his lips were. Were they always this soft? How could you not remember a sensation so mesmerizing as his plush lips?

It was shorter than you liked.

“I just really wanted to do that.”

“My turn.” You pulled him by his jacket, bringing the two of you close enough to kiss. Teasing him a bit with the slight brush of your lips before he pressed his arm around your back to lean you into him, your lips meeting his once again.

Again, you let yourself melt in the sweet tangy kiss he shared with you. The comfort of his broad arms wrapped around you right was an irreplaceable feeling that you could muster up enough words to describe how good it felt to be like this again.

“I love you.”

[starfire-27-blog]

Shallow Beginnings: Prologue

*Disclaimer; This story has elements of child neglect and verbal abuse, drugs, sexual content, and nudity. 18+ recommended.*

“Really, mom?! More drugs? I thought you said you were done with this shit?” Isabelle, once again, caught her mother snorting coke. She assumed the molly had already been popped, usually Alahna Kaminski didn’t just deal in one vice at a time.

“What? It’s none of your business what I do with my life, little bitch. You’re lucky you even have a roof over your head, I should have left you outside the damn hospital in the rain with all the trouble you’ve caused me. And now you’re bitching at me for taking a few minutes to get my head right? Get the fuck out of my house, girl, and don’t come back until your attitude is better. Fucking whore.”

Ah, so she was already in that deep, huh. Well, so be it. This was nowhere near as bad as it could be; so Isabelle took her advice and went for a walk, trying to clear her mind. Maybe by the time she got back, Alahna would be a little more calm. While she walked, Isabelle thought about everything she wished she could change. Ever since she could remember, they’d lived in this rundown studio house. Her mother was hardly ever in a state lucid enough to fix it, and their landlord didn’t give a shit because he wasn’t getting any money from them. Isabelle didn't know for sure, but her mother didn’t have a job and they hardly had any money so it was blatantly obvious she was paying in other ways. It was made even more obvious how she would sometimes see him around their yard at 6 in the morning; God knows he never did any work out there. Isabelle was just biding her time until she was old enough to move out. She was determined to make something from her life, even though her start wasn’t that great.

Isabelle walked for a good few hours, before returning home. As she opened the door, she said a silent prayer to whatever asshole god existed that her mother would be asleep. Or maybe dead. Of course she should have known better than to expect a break like that.

“Are you kidding?! Seriously?” It wasn’t the first time she’d walked in on something like this, but she was getting pretty god damn tired of it.

“Who the fuck is this one?! He looks half your age. What kind of parent are you, knowing your teenage daughter fucking lives here. What is wrong with you?”

“Sorry, sweetness, my spawn is an uptight bitch. Lord knows where she got it.” Alahna said to her guest. To Isabelle, “If I hadn’t pushed you out of my cunt myself, I would never know you came from me. I’m counting the days until I can legally kick you the fuck out. Just go to bed. It’s too late for children to be up anyway.” Isabelle went to lay down as Alahna lit up a joint and shared it with the random guy. She was probably getting paid for this, Isabelle would ot be the leas bit surprised.

Isabelle has cried every night for as long as she had memories. She woke up every morning praying for a break, a respite, a long lost relative to show up out of nowhere and take her away. Anything.

The next day when she returned home from school, Isabelle didn’t hear banging or senseless talking. She didn’t smell a fresh blunt rolled from the shittiest weed money could buy. She had an eerie feeling when she opened the door to see al the lights off, but she just brushed it off. Her mother was probably passed out on a park bench somewhere. She walked into the kitchen to make a sandwhich with their hard, moldy bread. She was stopped short when she saw a lump on the ground, and a creature she never believed actually existed.

Grim Reaper! As Isabelle looked at her mother in a lump of skin and bones on the kitchen floor, with an open and mostly empty bottle of MDMA on the counter, she had some pretty conflicting feelings...Her mind scattered everywhere at once. What happens now? She still had over 65 days until her birthday. If she ended up in the orphanage...there was little hope of her getting adopted this late in the game, and to be honest, there were younger kids than her who needed loving families. She could take care of herself. That was the moment when she decided. She’d support herself, and stay low on the radar until she was of legal age to be alone. Isabelle had been given plenty of practice taking care of herself with a mother who was in a constant drug induced haze. Then, with that thought, she was a little excited. No more screaming matches, no more walking in on random naked dudes fucking her mother, no more dealing with the kids at school about their run down house. She said a silent thank you to Grim on her way out the door.

On her way to the nearest park in town, Isabelle heard a *crack* as a shot of lightning struck across the sky. Then the thunder rolled in, and rain started pouring down on her. Well, this puts a bit of a damper on her newfound freedom. Having nowhere to go, and realizing she was pretty tired, she laid down on a bench to nap. A short time later, she was woken up by the whimpering and yapping of what sounded like a scared puppy. Opening her eyes, she saw a small furry rat-looking dog staring up at her with a miserable “please help me” expression, her eyes wide, and she was trembling from head to toe, scared of the storm.

“Hello, little one. Looks like you’re all alone out here in this mess, too, huh? Well, we can just take care of eachother, how about that?” With a small *yap*, The puppy seemed to agree with her, and lolled its tongue out of its mouth as Isabelle reached to pick her up.

“Me and you, kid.” Isabelle said as she nuzzled the small puppy close to her. Giving her the name Kooper, the two became inseparable, their bond formed in the worst storm Brindleton Bay had seen since Isabelles’ birth.

65 Days Later

“Alright, girl, we did it!” Isabelle said to Kooper, as they stared at their brand new front door. After the storm the day her mother died, Isabelle woke up to a bright, sunny morning in the park. She contacted some of her school friends, and crashed on couches while trying to finish high school. Eventually, things got hard. She couldn’t keep up with her studies and her two jobs. She dropped out, lied about her age and joined the military. Today, on her official young adult birthday, she received the promotion to stage 3 of the career. She had just finished closing on her very first home. The last 65 days had been a rollercoaster...Isabelle had tried dating a few imes, but she didn’t really have time for it with everything she was dealing with. Because of her past, she was never able to let anyone in. She had a few sexual partners, but none she really considered serious. Other things were far more important to her. Now, as she stared at her first home, she finally started feeling like her lif was coming together. Going into young adulthood with a smile on her face, holding her best friend, she turned the key for the first time.

[syrahnbloodfeather]

The Dagger in the Dark Pt 1: Two Captains, One Carriage

At last once the sun had risen high enough over the woodlands to the east, and the Amber Glade had stirred from their beds, Syrahn was ready to face the great houses. She hadn’t slept a wink since she sent Lady Kaevia that letter; the threat of assassins looming around every corner and hiding behind every blade of grass kept her emotionally drained and physically exhausted. But the whispers hadn’t haunted her since the sun came up, giving her a blissful rest from the voices at the edge of her thoughts. Syrahn stood up straight and took all the time she needed before stepping out into the glaring sunlight to get to the truth of all this.

Immediately she noticed the foreign armor of her guardsmen. They were clad in the darkest armor she had ever seen, wielding longswords with a deep blood-like crimson, and shields that looked like they were carved straight out of obsidian; she could only imagine their suffering in this hellish heat, but she didn’t dwell on such thoughts for long. Most of them knelt the moment they noticed her presence, with just a single guard opening the door to her carriage. Fear of them not being her guardsmen at all and cutting her down once she got close enough made her reluctant to approach. “First stop, my Lady?” One of them asked, helping to put her mind at ease; she could recognize Sven Skyfire any day, even when he’s hidden in that ghastly armor.

“House Greyshade.” Syrahn offered him a relieved smile before gripping the front of her dress while she lowered her head and stepped into her carriage.

“Ah, the perfect thing to see first thing in the morning!” Another familiar voice called out to her, this time from within the carriage. Her subtle smile vanished the instant she recognized Lord Zaetan Bladewhisper and Lord Victus Sunpath sitting on either side of each other. “Well what are you waiting for? Hop in my Lady!”

Syrahn froze stiff. “What are you two doing in my carriage?!” Zaetan and Victus exchanged confused glances at such a strange question.

“It's usually customary for the Guard Captains to accompany the Glade Queen, is it not?” The tone in Zaetan’s voice seemed harmlessly playful, but it annoyed her all the same.

“My Guard Captain can't defend me very well inside my carriage,” Syrahn started while she felt heat rising to the surface of her face. “I didn't authorize either of you to assume his position either… and I definitely don't need two captains!”

“You did suggest someone from my house would be willing to do the job.” Zaetan calmly explained; Syrahn clenched her jaw and pursed her lips together at that realization. She remembered saying something along those lines yesterday afternoon. “Your new Honorguard is more than capable of fending off any threats now that they're properly equipped too, as a token of my family's goodwill.”

“Fair enough…” Slowly she sat down along the bench and the carriage door closed behind her. She chose to sit as far away from the two as she possibly could, but since she gave her more prestigious carriage to Jaeras so she could travel to the Sun’rael Manor in style, her backup ride was a little more… cramped than she remembered; even on the other side she was almost butting her knees against theirs. “So… why do I need two of you?”

“If assassins were sent to kill Lady Sun’rael from the Glade, then you can't rule out the possibility of them turning their attention to you as well.” Victus warned with Zaetan nodding in approval. “Think of us as retainers, if that suits you.”

Syrahn narrowed her eyes. “How do you know about that?”

“Your sister filled us in.” Zaetan quickly answered. “That’s why we’re going to House Greyshade, is it not?”

“I'm on my way to visit all of the houses, yes.” She didn't want to single out House Greyshade just yet, not until she had all the facts. “I need to get to the bottom of this but I'm not about to start a witch hunt. Hopefully none of our houses are guilty… because if they are, I will not hesitate to banish them.”

“Banishment seems a little tame for attacking your allie-"

Syrahn didn't wait for Victus to finish his thought by saying, “The families would be banished. Those directly responsible will be hanged.” Her eyes flickered between them with aggressive intent in her gaze. “I suppose I should start with you two.”

“My Lady?” Zaetan asked while Victus fell silent.

“Thank you for volunteering.” The Glade Queen straightened up in her seat while she studied his face for the slightest trace of deception. “You already know assassins came after Lady Sun’rael less than three days after the Amber Glade demanded reparations for our garden’s destruction. Why would House Bladewhisper want her dead?”

“We wouldn't.” Zaetan answered plainly yet confidently. “Sure we've killed people we didn't like before. But sending in assassins to do our dirty work is… tasteless. Like using poison the way House Sunlust tried on us it's without honor.” He gave her a comforting smile before finishing with, “And you know how much we Bladewhispers yap on about honor. I'm sure you're tired of hearing it by now, truth be told.”

Syrahn was not yet convinced of his innocence. “Truth be told House Sun’rael is a mercenary contractor. Mercenaries will do just about anything and kill just about anyone for money. Your house does the same… sounds like a recipe for conflicting interests, wouldn't you agree?”

“Our trade is mostly selling arms and armor. We buy raw materials from mining guilds and goblin cartels, refine it in our forges, then make whatever the demand is from scratch. Your Honorguard was outfitted by our best blacksmiths, free of charge.”

“How thoughtful.” The Glade Queen decided to keep that remark to herself. Lord Zaetan seemed like an honest man; a simple man perhaps, but an honest man nonetheless. Although she was convinced he had nothing to do with that attempt on Kaevia’s life, ruling out his family before she spoke with them directly was not an option. As quickly as she blinked, Syrahn’s amber eyes flickered to Victus.

“House Sunpath would never stoop so low as to send assassins to dismantle House Sun’rael. As a fellow family devoted to the wrathful flames of the Holy Light, we share a special kinship, I'd wager.” He didn't wait for Syrahn to speak before making his case. “None of my family was harmed during the attack on the Glade either. It just doesn't make sense for us to raise a hand against them.” Syrahn found it remarkably difficult to read their faces, but a part of her was merely convinced she was just searching for something that wasn't there. What both of them said sounded genuine and believable, and if everyone she talked to was this convincing, she was in for a grand waste of her time. “But you know who would want to harm House Sun’rael?” Lord Victus spoke up, catching her attention again. “House Greyshade.”

“Are you so sure about that?” Syrahn quickly asked before a sharp inhale; the animosity between the Sunpaths and Greyshades was no secret. If she knew it was more than a house dedicated to the Holy Light and a house devoted to the Void distrusting each other out of instinct Syrahn wouldn't have let either of them into the Amber Glade in the first place. “Or is this your excuse for me to banish your enemies?”

“House Greyshade killed two of my nephews.” As expected Victus was quick on the draw to defend his family. “Listen - I don't have proof so I'm not saying they did it… but they've hired cutthroats to do their dirty work before. And as a family of warlocks and shadow priests, they're predisposed to hate a fellow house of paladins.”

Syrahn wasn’t interested in their rivalry. It looked childish to keep such grudges as someone on the outside looking in, but she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was in his very same shoes not even two years ago; House Flamesunder held such bitterness for her family, and it resulted in a civil war that almost brought the Amber Glade to ruin. Before she was able to open her mouth to comment, the carriage finally stopped at the first destination of many. “House Greyshade, my Lady.” Sven called out from the driver’s seat, as Lord Zaetan stepped outside to open her door for her.

“I should probably stay here.” Lord Victus suggested, leaning back in his seat.

The Glade Queen gave him a long stare before her door was opened. “You probably should.”

Mentions: @k-sunrael @house-sunrael

[braxarchives]

Welcome Home, Brady ― CANON. (current verse)

Very shortly after finally having some semblance of honesty shared between the two, Brady received an offer to work on a project in Europe. It was a no brainer to accept it, leading him to be gone for a few months. Contact between him and Max was scarce, as things felt maybe too awkward, which ultimately leads us here: to Brady finally coming home.

If you had asked Brady a few months ago where he thought he’d be now, he probably wouldn’t say “coming home from two months in Europe.” Mostly because he was kinda broke, and it wasn’t like he could just up and fuckin’ go to another continent for the hell of it. But even if you told them he’d be given opportunities to advance his career, essentially sent to Europe to finally utilize his skills the way he always dreamed of... he’d probably still tell you to fuck off. He didn’t think he was there yet. He wasn’t sure what he was waiting for, when exactly he’d feel like he was in a place where his career was as legit as he wanted it to be. But this was a good start. A foot in the door to a whole bunch of other opportunities. Of course, as he climbed the stairs to the apartment he hadn’t seen in month, he couldn’t help but think about what else that all meant. He’d had to abandon filming and editing for Max in the meantime. While he knew Max was supportive as all hell — best friend and all that — he also knew it was a weird change for both of them. If Brady kept getting to do shit like this, which like, he wanted to do, they were gonna have a lot less time for what they’d always done. And that just was what it was in the scope of their careers. To be honest, since they hadn’t exactly talked a lot while Brady was away, he was looking forward to hearing what Max had been up to the last few months as well. Lord knew the kid was destined for even bigger things than he was doing now. But Brady didn’t have time to stop and get all sappy and shit about Max because he was searching for his apartment key and then unlocking the door.

A sense of warmth washed over him; the feeling of being home after so long away was so fucking nice. As much as he liked Europe, it’s not like he wanted to stay forever. A few months was plenty. Brady wasn’t trying to stay silent or anything, but he didn’t instantly announce his presence or anything like that. In fact, he hadn’t exactly told anyone he was coming back. Maybe it’d slipped his mind at first, and now he just thought it would be kinda funny to just like, be there all of a sudden. He slipped his backpack off his shoulders and it hit the ground with a soft thud, prompting a response from the other room. A short huff of a bark, an attempt at intimidation, sounded from near Brady’s room, and within moments a familiar mound of black fur came trotting out. Draco paused for about a millisecond before recognizing who he was looking at. Just as Draco’s tail started to wag and he resumed his run forward, Brady dropped to his knees with open arms. “What’s up, buddy?” he greeted him in that high-pitched cheerful tone only dogs got out of him. Brady scratched his head and rubbed along his body as Draco tried to just about climb on top of him. And then Brady heard yapping from somewhere else in the apartment, and he looked up over Draco’s head in the general direction he knew Margaret was. In Max’s room, obviously. And while he stayed level with Draco on the ground, his heart warmed even further, all at once. “I missed you, Malfoy.”

Max hadn’t slept very well last night. This new project of his was taking more research than he’d expected. So admittedly, he hadn’t been in the best of moods after having to be up super early for a collab that morning. But he’d been persuaded into napping after Arlo bribed him with food for when he woke up. So naturally, he'd gone to his room and promptly fell into a coma. When he first heard the sound of Margaret whining at his door and Draco making his own noise outside of it, he half thought he was dreaming. Until the noise got louder, and slowly stirred him awake. At first he thought maybe it was Arlo. She did say that she was gonna bring back food later. But after glancing at his phone, it wasn’t even time for her to be back yet. Alarm began to settle in as he heard the murmur of a voice. Who the hell. Confusion and caution mingled with the remnants of sleep as he carefully opened his door. Margaret zoomed in front of him, and his frowned as he followed her to the living room. And he wasn’t sure why he didn’t put the pieces together sooner, but when he saw the reason why, his heart stilled in his chest. His eyes fell on the top of his head first, face hidden by Draco's over-eager hello. But there was no mistaking who it was. If he'd heard his voice clearer he would have known before even stepping out.  Brady. Of fucking course he’d show up when he least expected it. That was probably the most Brady thing to do. Max shook his head in disbelief as a smile began to stretch over his face, and it took him a good moment to get his bearings enough to say something. Warmth immediately flooded his chest, and he almost felt like he couldn’t breathe for a long moment.

“You asshole,” he breathed, smile now wild as it all finally sunk in. Brady was home. Margaret had run over to him too, standing on her back legs while her small paws rested against Brady’s leg, trying to get his attention too. Both dogs were beside themselves, desperate for his attention. But Max didn’t even think to wait his turn before his feet were carrying him over to his friend all too quickly. His heart was thumping loudly in his chest as he barely waited for Brady to stand before he was hooking an arm around his shoulders and pulling him into a fierce hug. It had been months since they even had a conversation. He wasn't going to stop himself from hugging his best friend. His chin pressed against his shoulder, and he managed a muffled laugh. "What, texting doesn't work in Europe?" He murmured, lingering for just a moment before releasing him, stepping back only to finally get a good look at him as though he were expecting him to look completely different. Fondness filled his chest again. "Could've told me you were coming back. Unless you're just visitin'." The lightness in his tone was clear, and the overwhelming urge to hug him again was there. But this time he gave him some breathing room. "Don't tell me you liked Europe so much you're gonna move there."

It was super fucking cliché, the way Brady looked up and met Max’s eyes and it suddenly felt like they hadn’t seen each other in years. It may as well have been that long; going from every single day to not at all wasn’t exactly easy. Especially when it was his best friend. Brady grinned right back at him, making sure Draco and Margaret both had all four paws on the floor before he rose to his feet and let Max pull him in. Brady’s own arms wrapped around him, one hand patting Max’s back a few times for good measure. Jesus. It felt like a whole fuckin’ mix of things Brady couldn’t explain. Not that that was anything new for him, not knowing exactly what the fuck was going on. But being away did things to his brain. “Sorry. I was too busy editing videos for my new work partner. Name’s Cam Maxeron. Super cool.” Brady really had been really busy, honestly. He‘d been pretty good at letting people know he was still alive, at least. When they finally pulled away, Brady held a hand on Max’s shoulder for maybe a moment too long before dropping it. “Nah. Had my fill of pasta and pastries and shit.” Except not at all. He’d go back in a second just for the food. “Just wanted to surprise you with my beautiful face.” Brady lifted the hand he’d just dropped to reach out and push Max’s shoulder. “Miss me, Maxy?” he asked with a wink, because of course Brady knew Max has missed him calling him that. He bent down to pick up his backpack again. “Gonna go put this in my room then you can tell me all about what a shitty life you’ve had without me.”

"With a name like that, I don't doubt it." The typical Brady comments didn't change the bright expression Max wore. While things with Brady had been a little awkward before he left, all it took was the absence of his presence for Max to realize just how quiet things had been without him. Things just hadn't been the same. It was the longest they'd probably been apart since they met, and that definitely hadn't been lost on him over the past few months. Brady being Brady just made him feel how much he'd missed him all over again, and all at once. "Well you got me. I'm surprised." He admitted with a nod of his head, glancing down briefly at the dogs. They were as happy to see him as he was. "Miss you, though?" He rolled his eyes in humor, knocking his own palm against Brady's shoulder. "C'mon. Didn't even notice you were gone until last week." That was...the biggest lie and furthest from the truth as he could get. As Brady picked up his backpack and began to head to his room, Max's eyes fell onto his back, and his gaze softened. "Yeah, whatever, man. Go do what you need to do. I'll be around." He didn't bother to stop the dogs from gluing themselves to Brady. He guessed he couldn't blame them. "You hungry? Arlo's supposed to be bringing food. I can let her know to get extra."

“Ouch.” He knew he was kidding, mostly because Brady himself had spent a good portion of his time away thinking about seeing Max again. And all his other friends. But...yeah. He headed to his room, taking a second to look around and note how nothing had changed, which he’d expected, because it wasn’t like his roommates were gonna go rooting through his shit while he was gone or anything. But still. It felt good to be back. He tossed his bag onto his bed before going back to rejoin Max in the other room. “Uh, nah. I’m fine,” he decided. He’d eaten right after landing. Not like Brady was never not hungry, but he decided he could do without giving Arlo any extra shit for now. “Arlo didn’t get sick of you yet?” He figured she was only able to stay in the apartment because she had both Brady and Max as a buffer for the other one. God bless her. He’d missed her. Brady threw himself down on the couch with a sigh, sprawling out across the whole thing. Good to be home. “So you get yourself a new permanent editor or what?” he asked lightly, though he was genuinely wondering how things had been in his absence. Brady watched him for a second and then got more serious. “What have you been up to?”

Max headed to their fridge while Brady dropped his stuff off in his room, grabbing two waters as he listened to him speak, lips still curled into a light smile. The apartment hadn’t been completely dead. It had been him and Arlo and the dogs. Yet somehow hearing the familiar shuffling of Brady in his room caused an odd pang in his chest. If he didn’t think about it, it was like nothing had changed despite how long it’d been. “Please. She loves me. She could never get sick of this face.” He approached Brady, now sprawled on the couch in his old usual position, and tossed a bottle to him. He plopped himself down in a chair by the couch, making himself comfortable. “I dunno. I really like Grady O’Hare. Does a good job. Puts up with my ideas and gets my good angles.” Maybe Grady wasn’t really his name. Still, the guy standing in for Brady was pretty cool. But... “But he’s no replacement for Brady St. Clair. He’s a good stand in when you’re doing your big timey camera man stuff. But maybe I miss you threatening to quit every five minutes.” Max twisted the top of his water off as he talked. “We can talk about work stuff later, dude. I’ve been up to a lot of different things, I guess.” Max lifted one of his shoulders into a shrug as he lifted the water to his lips to take a quick swig. “Kind of a loaded, boring question when you went to frigging Europe. C’mon, man. What did you do? How did your thing go?”

It was weird hearing about someone else handling Max’s videography. Brady knew it was necessary, what with him not being there and all, but he was just so used to he and Max being a team. Needless to say, he was glad it was going to be him again. “Dope.” He was going to have to catch up on the videos he’d missed so his arrogant ass could nitpick every little thing. “Y’know, I wouldn’t threaten to quit if you weren’t such a pain in my ass.” Lovingly. “The fuck do you think I was doing in Europe?” Brady asked, raising an eyebrow. “I was fucking working too, bro.” He knew what Max meant, though. Different setting, different stuff. He sat up just slightly to take a sip of water before lying back again. “Things,” he corrected. He hadn’t gone all the way there for just one little thing. “The short film thing took up most of it. Got a music video in there. Some live music footage and shit like that.” He shrugged. He knew it was a bigger deal than he was making it, but Brady didn’t want to just sit there and brag to Max’s face. “It was cool. Lotta people are gonna see that shit, you know? Like a major foot in the door.” Not that working with Max hadn’t done wonders for him, but this was a different type of thing. “So we’ll see how it all pans out, I guess. Good to be home, though.” He took a deep breath. “But I wanna hear about your shit.”

Max and Brady both knew fully well just how big of a part Brady played in the channel. Without him there probably wouldn’t have even been one. So it was only natural that, for as long as Brady wanted to be part of it with him, he would be. Max knew how important branching out to other things was for him, though. Beyond everything, he was happy he was doing so well for himself. Didn’t mean he’d missed him being around any less, though. “But you haven’t yet. What’s that say about you?” He teased, leaning forward in the chair a bit. “I’d say you liked me bein’ a pain in your ass. If I didn’t know better.”  The glint in his eyes was playful, and maybe a bit of something else he tampered down ‘cause maybe it was too soon to go down that road with him again. “Yeah, yeah. I know you were working, bro. Doesn’t mean you can’t have fun, too. Going to Europe’s a big deal.” But of course Brady was trying to make it seem not that cool. He hated it when he played off the good things he did. But that was Brady for you, and Max was mostly used to it by now. Meaning he’d ignore him and make a big deal about it anyway. Because it was a big deal.

“That’s awesome, man. I’m proud of you, you know? That’s a really big step.” Max said, and he truly meant it. “I can’t wait to see it, when it comes out. You’ll have to show me the music stuff sometime too. And you’ve had to have taken pictures while you were over there, too.” He paused, shaking his head. “I’m doing lots of different things, I guess. I’m… thinking about taking the channel in a slightly different direction, I think. I’ve been kind of looking for people first starting out, to show them the ropes.” He started thoughtfully. “Like Puck did for me. But not Team 10 shit ---” He held out his pointer finger, stopping the smartass comment before it came. “Just think it’d be cool to grow the channel. Help people out. I dunno. Still do what I’m doing, but make more of a network. I haven’t gotten too deep into it yet. Wanted to flesh it out first. And you know, talk about it with you first.” Max shrugged, finding it weird to say out loud when the idea was still so new in his own head. He still felt like a baby in comparison to other creators. It was weird thinking of himself as someone who could potentially have influence in helping others get to where he was at. “But other than that… I’ve been looking into maybe finding the band another gig. For fun. Maybe you could help with all that fancy Europe music video experience you have now.” He raised his eyebrows. “But it’s been pretty chill here. Ate a lot of lunchables without you here to take them all and got to catch up on all the Netflix shows I can’t watch when you’re distractin’ me.” He smiled, again, this time playful. His fingers toyed with the paper on his bottle, fraying the edges. “Might have missed you just a little bit, though.”

“I dunno what that says about me.” Except he kinda did, but it wasn’t like Brady was going to say that now. Besides, Max knew too. He made that pretty clear. “I didn’t say I didn’t have fun. Can’t tell you how much fucking pasta I ate. Felt like I could barely even breathe some nights.” And if that didn’t count as fun, Brady didn’t know what did. “Mostly filming though. That’s fun for me too, you know.” Really, it was. Work was work, but it was also Brady’s passion or whatever. So lord knew he loved it. “Yeah, I got pictures.” He shrugged. “Drew a little bit too. Tons of inspiration and shit over there.” Especially when he had alone time in the middle of the day. Max was one of the only people Brady actually liked to let scroll through the art on his tablet. So he’d have to pull it out later, when he wasn’t so lazy.

He listened as Max talked about the direction of his channel, and honestly, Brady couldn’t say he was surprised. It seemed like the natural progression of things, after all. “You don’t really have to talk to me about it,” Brady argued, shaking his head. “S’your stuff. I’m along for the ride.” He’d go with whatever Max thought was best. Brady would only speak up if he thought Max was going a little too far. “Yeah?” Brady shrugged. “Guess I could. Still don’t really know how most of that shit goes, but. If you want me to.” He didn’t want to intrude or whatever. “Fuck off. You eat all the good ones before I get to them anyway.” God forbid Brady get some shitty fucking nachos every once in a while. Brady looked down as Max said he missed him, and it kind of hung in the air for a moment because Brady knew it sorta meant a little more. He wasn’t really sure when all that would come up again. And maybe now wasn’t the best time. “Yeah,” he said simply. “Me too.” There was another few moments of quiet before Brady sighed, sitting up a bit. “But it’s chill. I’m back now. Don’t have to get all sappy on me anymore,” he teased, breaking out the signature smirk for good measure. “You wanna like, watch something? Maybe play a game or whatever?”

“I know it is, y’nerd.” Max said, not bothering to try to hide the affection in his tone. He liked that Brady got so into his projects, no matter what it was.  Sometimes he wished he had that kind of focus, to be happy with just one thing and know exactly how to keep honing that. He was glad he got to do that, and eat to his hearts content, of course. “Yeah? You better show me those too. Can’t be holding out on me, Bradford. You were really living the artists dream over there, huh?” Max shook his head briefly. He knew he didn’t have to run things by Brady; he was always chill about it. But that didn’t change the fact that he wanted to. His opinion always did matter to him. “You’re still a part of it, though. Not gonna have you come back to a whole different channel. Who do you think I am? I’m not popular enough to pull that kinda power move.” That last part was a joke, amplified by the raise of his eyebrows. “Of course I want you to.” Brady had essentially been his creative partner since he met him. He’d take him on in all of his projects if he could. “If you’re not too busy, I mean. I know you’ve got a lot going on already.” The last thing he wanted was to weigh him down with more things. “What do you mean the good ones? They’re all the good ones. Didn’t know you were over here playing favorites.” The teasing atmosphere slowly tapered off at the admissions, and Max felt a familiar stirring in his chest. God. He had missed him. “Yeah, sure. We can do that.” He said after a moment, words accompanied by a small nod of his head. “You’re the one who just got off a plane. Your choice. But if you’re too tired to get all competitive with me, we can watch something?”

“I don’t have to show you shit.” But they both knew he would. In fact... he did have something to show him. He wasn’t sure if he should bring it up right this second, though. “Yeah, well. You know I’d figure it out.” Not like Brady had super strong opinions about all that. He was just trying to go with the flow here. But he knew what Max meant. “Nah, I mean. I will.” Brady shrugged. “Just lemme know what’s going on.” He shook his head. Of course there were good ones. “Everybody has favorites. You’re lying if you try to tell me you don’t.” Brady thought about what he wanted to do for a moment. Max had a point; he wasn’t sure if he totally had the energy to kick Max’s ass right now. He hated picking what to watch, though. “I dunno,” he mumbled, then paused and sat up. “Just. Put on the TV. I’m gonna go get somethin’ first.” He pushed himself up off the couch and dropped the water on the table before heading back to his bedroom. Fuck it, he’d give him the damn thing now. Brady sifted through his stuff until he found the red folder he was looking for. He carried it back out into the other room and tossed it at Max, then slumped back down on the couch. “Happy belated birthday, Cameron.”

Okay, so maybe Max preferred the pizza ones. He at least tried to save one for Brady. He wasn’t completely unreasonable. “Okay,” he said in slight curiosity as Brady got up again. But since he just got home, he didn’t question him. He was probably gonna grab his stuff to smoke, or at least Max thought. After getting up to grab the remote to flick on the TV,  he brought up Netflix to turn on a movie he thought sounded like something they’d like. He settled back down on the couch this time, allowing Brady enough room to stretch out once he came back. As the folder was tossed to him, he looked at Brady in surprise. “Hey — you didn’t have to do anything,” he said instinctively. The thing you have to say when someone goes out of their way to think of you. But he peered down at the folder anyway, half grinning at the folder. He had no clue what it was until he opened it to look, and immediately he understood.

“Brady.” His fingers moved to trace the outline of the figure before he carefully drew his hand back, afraid he might smudge it. “You drew Ratthew?” It was poised as a question, but it was more of a statement. Warmth was clear in his tone, and maybe it wasn’t something normal people would feel touched over. But he was. Max always liked Brady’s drawings, but the fact that he’d drawn his rat for his Birthday while he was undoubtedly busy enough as it was meant a lot to him. The familiar affection he shouldn’t be surprised he still felt was back in full force. And without thinking, he carefully moved the drawing to the table before turning to Brady on the couch. He knew he’d probably hate him for it, but he reached an arm out to hook around his shoulder as he brought him closer. Lifting himself up slightly, he stretched himself to smack a kiss on the side of his head. The sound was obnoxious just as the action was maybe meant to be; an over the top show of affection that Max was known for. But he didn’t stop to think maybe it’d be even weirder for him to do that now. But spirits were high, and he couldn’t have gotten him a better gift. “Thank you,” he said as he let himself fall back down, still grinning like an idiot. His gaze cut back to the paper resting in front of them. He wanted to look at it some more, but didn’t want it to get all crumpled. “I freaking love it. And just wait ‘till Ratthew sees it,” he joked. “You made him look so good. Gonna give him an even bigger head than he already has.” He was definitely going to put that up in his room. “You should go say hi to him when you have the chance. He might be even more excited to see you than I was.”

Almost instinctively, Brady shoved Max away when he kissed his head. Fucking Max. That was just how he was, and Brady was grinning even as he pushed him back, but he was simultaneously trying to ignore the feeling in his chest. It brought back things he’d worked not to think about while he was away. But again, not the time. “Yeah. Welcome,” he muttered. He was really glad that he liked it. He figured he would, which was why he did it in the first place, but he’d for some reason been a little worried that it wouldn’t be enough or something. Not that Max expected anything but he deserved it. “Couldn’t get the little bastard out of my head, I guess.” He’d always been cool with that freaking rat. “No one said you could show him, though. That’s a Brady Clarington original. Not for just anyone’s eyes, even the subject.” He did like the idea of Max wanting to show it off, though. Even if he was just talking about his fucking rat. “I will. Later. Trying to focus on this true crime doc I’ve already seen,” he teased, narrowing his eyes in mock concentration at the TV. It wasn’t like Max would have known, since Brady had been gone. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t still going to mess with him. “Plus, think I’ve had my Evans fill for now.” So the others were all going to have to wait. “We have anything to drink? Like, wine maybe?” He paused. “D’you know I drink wine now? I’m a classy bitch. S’what happens when you travel and become cultured as fuck,” he said with a shrug. He also made no moves to get up, implying he would love for his best friend to go ahead and deliver him a drink.

“Is there anything you haven’t seen? It’d help to get a list. I can’t read minds, y’know.” He reached a hand out to tap a single finger against Brady’s temple. “Not when they’ve been overseas for the last few months.” He said lightly, but made no moves to change it just yet. At his question, Max looked at him blankly for a moment. “Yeah, water.” he said slowly, eyes flicking to the bottle he’d already brought Brady. But then he got the hint. “I didn’t know that.” There was probably a lot of things he didn’t know now, but before he could get sad about it, Max’s nose crinkled in humor. Brady now liking it and showing his inner bougie kid was kind of endearing. He wouldn’t tell him that though. “No, Mom. I think I might be fresh out,” he teased. “Unless Arlo has some around here. But we do have grape juice and some leftover fireball from your Birthday. No ones touched the stuff since you left.” Mostly because everyone had gotten sick of it at his party. “You wanna mix it and see what we get?” That was a genuine offer. He scooter to the end of the couch, set to get up and get the stuff since he knew where it was. Even if he didn’t want to move ‘cause he was still sort of waking up. Still, he grinned as he did, because it felt like old times again so quickly. “It’s the best I can offer on short notice.”

"What the fuck ever, man. You're just mad you're still drinking Four Lokos like a fifteen year old." Maybe shouldn't have gone there, but it didn't have to be weird if he didn't let it get weird. "I'd hope no one's touched it since it isn't fucking theirs," Brady said, giving him a pointed look. In reality, he didn't give a fuck, and knew Max knew that. Although his face contorted at the idea and he wanted to say it sounded disgusting... he'd tried worse. "Think I mixed it with Kool Aid once," he recalled. And it'd been pretty awful, if he also recalled, but then, he'd also drank the whole damn thing. "Sure, whatever." He waited on the couch, mindlessly rewatching the weird doc until Max came back with the bottles and plastic cups. At which point, he finally sat up. "Sick." He reached for the Fireball, which he apparently hadn't totally grown out of even with his European adventures under his belt. He unscrewed the cap and took a small sip, as if to remind himself what it tasted like or some stupid shit. "Gonna be fucking nasty," he decided to say after all. He picked up one of the cups and poured a good amount of the whisky in, then handed it to Max so he could add some of the juice to his cup. It looked awful, and Brady could smell the extremely different but equally strong smells mingling as he swirled it around in the cup. "Fuck, man. Fuck it, right?" That tended to be their motto. He shrugged and held up his cup toward Max. "Cheers."

“Yeah, wasn’t the only one, buddy.” He replied quickly, before falling silent, but only for a second. It was weird to mention things that happened between them before. Time apart had given perspective, but it was still too soon to bring it up any further than they had. Soon, Max stood up to retrieve the items they needed to make what could possibly be either the worlds best or worlds worst drink. He set all the stuff down in front of them before sitting back down next to him. “I mean, yeah, why not,” he agreed. That was pretty much his philosophy. After pouring some of the grape juice in Brady’s cup, adding more than he normally would have to dilute any possible bad tastes, he set the bottle down to watch Brady closely. He held off on making his own just yet. “Cheers. Drink it fast so you’re not attacked by all the fireball. Don’t want you to die.” But his advice probably wasn’t needed. Normally he’d try it with him, but it was honestly more fun to see how he’d react right now. “Well?” He asked, waiting for the verdict, but got too curious. Max wiggled his fingers as he held his hand out, motioning for him to hand it to him and risking him telling him to make his damn own. But why waste it, honestly. “Here, lemme try yours.”

After taking a swig, Brady decided that it wasn’t that bad, all things considered. Like, it was bad, and not anything anyone could really consider a legit drink. But it wasn’t spit it back out and probably vomit bad. “It’s fucking grape juice and Fireball,” Brady said simply, far less impressed with the aftertaste than anything else. He licked his lips as he passed it over to Max, wondering why he didn’t just get his own damn cup, but Brady wasn’t here to make a big deal out of it. “Not really what I was going for. But guess it’ll have to do.” The travel day was fuckin’ rough. He was pretty sure he’d drink just about anything at this point. He leaned back on the couch, going for the water to wash the remnants of cinnamon grape juice out of his mouth. “Bet you wish you had wine now, huh?”

It was Max's idea, but did he think it sounded amazing? Hell no. However, he wasn't one to back away from trying new things, especially when it was his own damn fault. Still, he wasn't gonna make himself a big cup full of it yet. He'd let Brady do that. He took the cup and brought it to his lips, letting the taste of grape cinnamon-y alcohol burn his throat. He coughed as he handed it back, quietly as he turned his head to the side to let it pass. "It's not the worst thing I've ever had. I've tried worse tasting Four Loko's." He turned back to grin at him, but didn't give him back his cup. "I'll take this if you don't want it. I can handle it." It honestly wasn't horrible. It was just... a lot. And if Brady wanted to drink, he might as well join him. "Just take a plain ass shot of fireball, then." He stretched out to grab the bottle in his hand, sliding it to sit in front of Brady. "I don't know. Wine is equally as strong. I'm not all cultured like you now, you know." Max said dryly, though the amusement was clear. "What do you want me to do, go out and get you some for comin' home?"

“True.” It wasn’t like there weren’t some god awful mixed drinks Brady and his friends in high school would fuck around with. It should have been surprising that he and Max didn’t quite seem to be past that yet, but he’d long since gotten over the idea of anything being surprising with them. “That was the plan,” he agreed, pulling the bottle closer toward him. He didn’t quite need one yet, but he would soon. “Yeah, well, maybe you need to start building up your tolerance, then.” He did wince at some of the wine he’d tasted, but he couldn’t say that and shatter his new very cultured image. “Um, yeah? The fuck. I don’t see any welcome home gifts. It’s like you didn’t even miss me at all.” He nudged Max with his foot, not a full kick, but enough that he’d feel Brady’s obvious and totally real disappointment. “Don’t worry about it, I’ll get my own. But don’t expect me to share.” Though they both knew he would. “Reminds me, though. The weed situation was wild over there. Like, super illegal depending where you are but no one really cares.” Which he knew was pretty much the same around here at some point, but still. He shrugged. “I found my people, though. You know me. I’d have brought you back some but turns out there’s nothin’ fancy about French weed.“ Unfortunately. He turned away from the TV to look at Max. “Hope you’ll forgive me.”

Max shot him an unimpressed look as he kicked him with his foot. "Bradford, please. I am the gift. I could have just gone back to my room when you got here, you know." Yeah, right. Like he could ever pretend to be that unaffected by his best friends presence. "First you won't share your future wine, then you didn't bring me back any of your French weed. Starting to see your true colors now." But it was spoken fondly, because of course Brady would find his people over there. Max wasn't sure just how illegal that sort of thing was in Europe, but he was glad that Brady had found people he trusted. He just wanted him to be safe. But it wouldn't be Brady without him trying out all the weed they had to offer. "I dunno. I'll have to think about it. That's pretty messed up." He teased. "You might have to go back to all your new European friends." Obviously it was a joke. The thought of him leaving again caused his chest to grow heavy; he ignored it. "Would they sit here and drink grape fireball with you?"

“Yeah, well. That’s what happens when you wanna disrespect me like this.” The dramatics never seemed to falter between them. One would think Max had changed the locks and tossed out Brady’s stuff the way he acted like he was being treated. Max was right that his “friends” in Europe wouldn’t do this type of thing with him, especially considering Max was like the only person he knew who’d suggest anything like that in the first place. Besides, it wasn’t like Brady had been there long enough to form any lasting bonds. As if he was the type of person to easily form any type of bond in the first place. “No,” he said after a moment. “They wouldn’t.” It was hard to find people like Max in the world. Brady just didn’t realize how hard until he met all these interesting people in other places and felt like there was something missing from every single one of them. “Think I’ll stick around here for a while,” he said nonchalantly, shaking that shit out of his head once again. “Feel bad leaving Draco again.” Which was also true. Just not all of the reason. After another short pause Brady sighed and forced his lazy ass to sit up again. “Okay, I have to put something else on. You’re not even watching this fuckin’ thing.” He picked up the remote so he could go back to the Netflix menu. “You catch up on You without me? Or were you a good friend for once?”

Max fell quiet for a moment; smile softening up more than he meant for it to. He’d just been joking with him, but now he was just reminded of how weird things had been without him around. It had been good for Brady. Max knew that, but at the same time, having him back made his chest feel warm again. “I was good. Didn’t even watch the trailer,” Max rolled his eyes and leaned back into the couch, hand still wrapped around the gross drink that was admittedly all his idea. He lifted it to his lips, taking another sip. The fireball burned his lips, thankfully masking the strong taste of the grape juice. “Almost got spoiled a thousand times, though. And it would have been all your fault. Just so you know.” Since Max was waiting for him and everything. Soon, Brady had pulled up the show, and they finally fell silent as Joe Goldberg’s voiceover sounded throughout the room.

[imastreetlight-blog1]

Theater Review - Hamilton National Tour

This is gonna be a little different from my other reviews as I’ll be mostly comparing and contrasting Hamilton on tour with Hamilton on Broadway. I was lucky enough to see Hamilton on Broadway with the OBC. This was way before the prices became crazy and out of my price range. I knew once Hamilton became a culture icon, I was unlikely to see the show again for at least 5 years. Despite not being able to afford the prices, I was still stoked to find out the Hamilton tour would be starting in San Francisco and would be here for almost five months. Not to mention, they had put together an amazing cast for the tour. While I knew the chances were really really slim, I couldn’t help but hope I would win the lottery. Months went by and no luck. With the show preparing to leave in a couple weeks, I pretty much gave up any hope of winning so imagine my surprised when I received an email with the subject line: “You won lottery tickets to HAMILTON!” I never clicked on an email faster. I was giddy all day; I almost had to run around outside because I had so much pent up energy. (Of course, then the eventual worries kick in as Lucky Seats also sent me a rejection email too.) I didn’t 100% believed I actually won till I pick up my tickets from the box office.

My Broadway and tour tickets (almost two years apart) & signed program by the cast (I wish SHNSF still had playbills)

 I had greats seats for the show. I ended up sitting first row, one away from the center aisle. Seeing the show up close was so thrilling. The first time I had saw the show, I was all the way up in the Rear Mezzanine plus the cast recording wasn’t out at the time. This time I was about to take in all the details up close and since I already knew all the songs, I could spend more time focusing on the visuals. There were so many things I missed the first time and there’s probably a lot more that I still haven’t caught. For example, I never noticed that everyone was playing keep-away with Burr’s book during the Farmer Refuted that Eliza’s blue dress in Burn isn’t blue, it’s white with blue pinstripes. It was also really cool to just follow certain actors or ensemble members during a particular scene. 

The view from my seat.

Obviously, the main difference in experiences between the show I saw two years ago and the touring version is the cast. I will say that seeing this show on tour only reaffirmed my belief that the show itself is the star and the material completely holds up on it’s on but all in all this cast did not disappoint. All the praise they have been receiving has been extremely well deserved, especially for the two main leads, Joshua Henry and Michael Luwoye. What I really appreciated was the dynamic between their two characters. I think the relationship between Burr and Hamilton is one of the most important elements of the show and Joshua and Michael nailed it in a way that was completely different from what Lin and Leslie did. I’ve always seen Leslie’s Burr as more serious and formal. He’s a little bit more guarded emotionally and he acts very properly, playing by the rules and not ruffling any feathers. This worked in perfect contrast to Lin’s Hamilton, who was very energetic and a bit hotheaded and wasn’t afraid to get into people’s faces. When the character spoke, his passion came off as very forceful and urgent. With Joshua and Michael’s take on the characters, the personalities are almost flipped. Joshua’s Burr is a lot more charming; he smiles more and comes across as more personable but there’s an edge to it. His smiles are a little too strained and forceful, almost if he’s trying to manipulate people through a pretense of kindness. Micheal’s Hamilton is more subdue than Lin’s, the character comes off as a little more thoughtful and serious which adds weight to when the character speaks. Hamilton isn’t just spouting off whatever comes to his mind, he genuinely believes what he’s saying and his passion steam from fervidly believing in his words and ideas. In this pairing, Burr is the character who is willing to say anything to get what he wants and Hamilton is the character who puts his entire weight and reputation behind what he says. It’s a slightly difference interpretation but both of them did so well with their characters. Just because they made slightly different choices from the OBC doesn’t mean one interpretation is better than the other (though if I had to pick, I would go Joshua’s Act 1, Leslie’s Act 2, Lin’s Act 1, and Michael’s Act 2). Burr and Hamilton are two sides of the same coin, two people who want the same things but went about it in different ways. Hopefully, every production will strive to find actors who can play into that dynamic, like these two dueling partners did.  

This post is already pretty long but I just want to comment on a couple other performers. Emmy Raver-Lampman was amazing as Angelica. She gave my favorite performance besides Joshua and Michael. So many people have listened to the OBCR day after day and know every single part of it, which can lead some people to being disappointed that the actors don’t sound exactly like the recording. But this is not the case with Emmy as she hit all her notes and marks perfectly. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to see Solea Pfeiffer but her understudy Julia K. Harriman had a lovely voice as well. Jordan Donica, struggled a bit with Lafayette but gave a funny performance as Jefferson, really playing up the snobbery element. He and the understudy for George Washington (Ryan Vasquez) are a good bit taller than Michael which added another level to their dynamic; it almost reminded me of a smaller dog being unafraid of yapping at larger dogs. Rory O’Malley milks all the laughs he can by really hamming it up as King George. And so does Amber Iman with Peggy, adding new laughes to her scenes. Honestly, I could go on and on about this cast as I think this is the best cast since the OBC. Anyone who hasn’t seen the show or is having trouble getting tickets on Broadway, should definitely consider the national tour instead as the production team did not skimp on quality at all. 

Side note: While I don’t always care for some of the Hamilton merchandise, I really like the official shirt for the SF tour stop that I just had to get it. The clean look with the silhouette logo designs intersperse with regular stars looks really nice. Out of the three city shirts, I like SF the best (LA probably has the worst shirt). Also, they didn’t have this in NY but at the tour merch stands, you can buy a Hamilton tote bag for $5 with purchase. The bag is kinda small and isn’t made of sturdy material but compare to the rest of the merch, it’s a pretty good deal.