#i was doing fine but maybe a little detour was good. i got to feel so many things so that is nice.

[romy350-romyakari]

So I have my backlog of task already lined up.

But let's say a show I finally checked out trew a wrench on all that and I am picking more fanfics to read, and so many things got a bit all over the place.

It left me in shambles and I am picking so much stuff bc wow the fanworks but yeah. I underestimated the power of that show.

So thing are lining back to normal (my poor fanfic backlog tho... it was already long before that 🫡)

And Twisted Wonderland gave me emotional damage with Book 7 part 5. They are not done with me but boy I am sure I will never get over this mobile game either.

A couple of days have passed and I can say yeah almost back on track.

The little wonders of the detours but I had a good time at the end so that is good.

[brittle-doughie]

Slight Detour (Grand Cookie Games)

———————————————————————

[Phone Booth, Parfaedia]

“Yeah, I might come back to the kingdom a little later then expected, Dumpling Cookie.”

“What? Are the cookies at the Flower City becoming an issue?”

“What? No! No no, I parted from there on good terms, it’s just…the airship had to take a quick stop at Parfaedia, one thing led to another and I got to meet some old pals.”

“Old pals? Old pals…Parfaedia…oh, you mean those three cookies you met during the Triple Cone Cup tournament…”

“Yeah. Prune Juice Cookie, Capsaicin Cookie, and Kouign-Amann Cookie. We were catching up when they brought to my attention another tournament, the Grand Cookie Games.”

“And you’re intent on going there?”

“Well…”

You looked back to see the three cookies standing a little bit away from the phone booth, looking on at you from anticipation. They backed off a bit and looked in random directions innocently when you catch them.

“I don’t think I could miss an opportunity to relive some fun with them, just like old times. Besides, erm, it would help in framing my mind off…matters.”

“I will make a note of that…I’ll have to bring this up with Salsa too. You’re lucky Crowned is visiting family, she’d hunt you down if she heard you were there…”

“Hehe, yeah. Thank you, Dumpling…”

“Just…be careful, ‘kay?”

“I will, don’t worry…”

You hang up the phone and stepped out.

“Hey, uh. Did it all go out well, buddy?”

“If there are problems, that’s ok. We can understand if you’re a little too busy for the games.”

“Though, it would be great if you were able to go with us! We can be on the same team again!”

Well, they were in luck, because you cleared up enough time in your schedule to go with them!

“Ha ha! I knew it! This is going to be awesome!”

“Not like I predicted you’d say yes, but really, how can you when you’re looking at moi.”

“Then why wait! Let’s go!”

———————————————————————

Ok, there was a lot more familiar faces at this tournament than you expected!

“Oooh! Is that Y/N Cookie over there? That’s, like, totes amazing!”

“Ha! I expected them to have the strength to come here! I’m counting on a match with them!”

“I wasn’t! Goodness, I knew I should’ve done up my hair more today!”

“Is that Y/N Cookie I’m seeing over there! Woo, I’m feeling all kinds of amped today, baby!”

“Oh, they’re here. That’s…that’s fine.”

“Black Lemonade Cookie, I know you’re as excited to see them here as much as we do!”

“I’m..not denying that.”

“Y/N Cookie? I wasn’t expecting ya to be around these parts. If so, I won’t be goin’ easy on ya, so give it your shot!”

“Ah, Y/N Cookie. You’ve showed up just in time for me to brainstorm up a new novel. The romance between the protagonist and their love is just getting started!”

“Have you come for the coins too, Y/N Cookie? I won’t be giving up on them so easily, I must make sure that no Cookie in the world goes hungry!”

“Y/N Cookie is hereeee. Maybe they’d like a shroomie!”

“AHAHAHA! Did they come to see us squash these bugs!”

“Maybe by winning these games, we can finally convert them over to our side! All without Pomegranate Cookie around to ruin it!”

The CoD were here? Again? Man, you were getting tired of handling these guys-on second thought, you prefer them over those horrid Beast Cookies at this rate.

“So you’re Y/N Cookie?”

Huh? You turned around to see..

This..Cookie that you’ve never met before.

“Yeah..that’s me.”

“Oooh! I detect something FASCINATING about you! Care to share?”

“I…don’t know you?”

“Not sharing? I’ll just have to MAKE YOU!”

Without warning, this cookie fired her blaster hands at you, to which you quickly dodged and leaped out of their way!

“Hey! What’s your problem?!”

“I have collected data on you from other cookies. It is incomplete, so I want EVERYTHING on you to complete my data!”

“That’s not a thing that’s happening.”

“Then we’ll make this quick.”

“Aha!”

You turned around just in time to block a hit with your sword, your opponent was another unfamiliar cookie that wielded a large knife.

“As long as I carry this blade, I must win, but handling you is my second top priority. I want to see if you’re capable of looking into the darkness.”

“I’ve looked into it and it was the one that blinked!”

You pushed her off and steadied your blade. These games just got a little bit interesting for you now!

[star-girl69]

Can’t Help Myself

Caroline (KK) Harvey x Fem!Reader

—-

synopsis: nights out are supposed to be fun, but when someone mistakes you for being single, caroline can’t help herself.

a/n: GUYS IM BACK!!!!! also i love you alexandra savior… anyways from this ask, i hope you all enjoy!!

Can’t Help Myself - Alexandra Savior

warnings: alcohol obviously, lots of it, swearing, violence, mentions of blood and such, ummm idk i don’t want to give too much away 😣😣 that’s pretty much it tho, tell me if i missed anything!!

—-

The last time you went to a bar you were sneaking in with a fake ID.

You were 20, so close to that precious age of 21, a freshman in college and itching for that movie like experience you had grown up seeing. After a friend of a friend hooked you up, you got so drunk you swear you started seeing stars, but those might have just been the checkerboard black and white tiles on the bathroom floor.

Memories of that cold tile on your knees hit you every time you thought about going out and, besides- your major didn’t allow for much partying. A fact your friends and girlfriend all detested- but you refused to get behind on classwork just to end up on the bathroom floor again.

But, here you are. Holding onto your girlfriend, Caroline’s hand as she guides you through the crowds of people and towards the bar. You look around warily- is it just you or is there too many people in this building? Are they seriously not breaking some sort of fire code?

Caroline had asked so nicely- and by that, literally got on her knees and begged you- you were all caught up on school and had no homework, she had just won the NCAA championship and was on a high- plus you had a three day weekend.

Really, there wasn’t any excuse you could use.

Maybe, if you really wanted to, you could have said you were too nervous, and Caroline would have stayed home with you immediately at the first sign of you being anything other than happy. But, you knew she wanted to celebrate with her team. And why wouldn’t she? She worked hard for this, scoring 3 goals during the entire Frozen Four tournament.

Caroline suddenly squeezes your hand before pulling you towards her, arm moving around your waist.

“You good, baby?” She asks, looking around the bar for the collection of red jerseys.

“There’s a lot of people,” you say, hesitantly. You don’t want to lie to her, but you don’t want her to take you home. You know she will. Not yet, at least. “I need a drink.”

She laughs and kisses your cheek, and your stomach twists at the sound of her contagious laugh- you find yourself smiling too. “I’ll get you one, then.”

She immediately makes a detour towards the bar, and you press your hip into the counter while she wraps her arm around you, standing next to you so closely you probably look like one person in your matching Harvey jerseys.

“What’d you want?” She asks, her breath tickling the side of your neck. God, it’s loud in here, too.

You stare at her blankly for a second before shrugging. “I dunno, you’re the one who actually drinks.”

She smiles. “Okay, don’t worry your pretty little head about it.”

The bartender asks what she wants, and you block out what she says- kind of wanting to be surprised. Next thing you know, she’s saying thank you and putting some money on the counter, telling the bartender to keep the change before turning to you, two glasses in her hand.

And, suddenly, despite the uneasy feeling in your stomach and the fact that this place is so bright and so loud, she looks into your eyes and it’s suddenly just the two of you.

“Thank you for doing this for me,” she whispers.

“Of course, baby,” you smile. “You deserve to celebrate. Don’t worry about me, okay? I’ll be fine. I want you to have fun.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m always gonna worry about you, babe.”

“If I really want to leave, I’ll just grab your hand and squeeze two times.”

“You better not lie to me, though. Are you sure you’re still good?”

You kiss her nose. “All good. Let me have some of that drink now?”

She smiles, and you shouldn’t be surprised by the way she completely bypasses your open hands and lifts the drink to your lips herself, watching intently at the way your lips part around the small black straw, then at the way your cheeks slightly hollow.

It’s… disgusting, really. The drink, at least. Having Caroline look at you like this, pupils wide and bottom lip now drawn between her teeth, is absolutely exhilarating. All you’re doing is taking a sip of her drink and she’s acting like you’re doing the sexiest thing in the world right in front of her.

It’s slightly fruity, and there’s vodka in it, and maybe some soda? It’s disgusting. You don’t know what it is, and you don’t want to know. You continue to force it down, managing to down almost half of the glass before Caroline snaps back into reality, ripping the drink away from you.

“Okay, slow down, please,” she chuckles.

You gag a bit, shaking your head. “That’s disgusting. Ugh, I hated that.”

“I can get you something else?” She asks, frowning. You almost chuckle at how concerned she is. “Or just water?”

“No,” you roll your eyes. “I’m just trying to chug it as fast as I can.” You try to grab the drink from her again, but she holds it back.

“Okay,” she smiles. “You can… do that, I guess. If you really want to, but in a few minutes. Take it easy, yeah, baby?”

“Okay,” you echo, feeling your stomach twist at the way she’s so knowledgeable in this, the way she’s looking out for you-

“Good girl,” she smiles, kissing your cheek before wrapping her arm tightly around your waist again and leading you through the crowd.

She has to know what she does to you.

You look at her out of the corner of your eye- satisfied smirk on her face- oh. She’s trying to kill you.

Fine, you tell yourself. She’s acting all cool as if she wouldn’t be leaving this bar if you squeezed her hand twice. She’ll do whatever you want, you both know that, but if she’s gonna try to rile you up in the middle of the bar by saying that- well, two can play at that game.

She leads you towards the other side of the bar, where you find a huge booth filled with red jerseys, half-full glasses strewn about the table.

Laila’s phone is propped up against one of those glasses, and she stares intensely at the screen in a way you call tell she’s reading comments on live.

“Laila!” KK calls, loosening your grip on you as the floor opens up a bit.

She smiles when she sees the two of you, beckoning you over. She’s sitting at the end of the circular booth, so you let go of KK to give her a quick hug. Wrapping your arms around her neck, pressing your cheek to hers to say hi to the live.

“Hi, guys!” You smile, watching as a flood of comments come in, all of them saying hi, or complimenting you. “Aw, thanks everyone. You’re all so sweet.”

“Guys,” Laila says, “Do you see this right now?”

She plucks at your red jersey.

“She’s a liar. She does not play for the Wisconsin Badgers! And her last name is not Harvey, either!”

KK suddenly appears next to you, pushing her face into frame.

“One day, though.”

user-1 omg they’re so adorable

user-2 Y/N I CANT BELIEVE YOU STOLE MY GF

user-3 tbh she’s beautiful i cant be mad

user-4 y/n harvey has a ring to it tbh…

user-5 NO DONT GET MARRIED KK COME HOME

user-6 @/user-5 KK THE KIDS MISS YOU

“I’ll believe that when I see a ring,” you tease.

“God, nothing ever pleases you.”

“Can you not?” Laila groans, fake gagging.

user-7 aw poor laila third wheeling

Laila scoots over and you sit down next to her, allowing Caroline to press a kiss to your cheek, saying she’ll be back soon.

user-8 y/n fit check pls??

“Y/N do a fit check!” Laila shouts, not quite aware of her volume level. You take another sip of your drink, gagging yet again.

“Okay. I don’t feel like getting up, though. Um, top is from Caroline Harvey’s closet, bottoms are from, like, Old Navy I think. I dunno, they’re just jeans. And then I’ve had these shoes for years, so…”

Laila turns to you, bored look on her face.

“Y/N, you’re not very good at this.”

“Girl, whatever. I tried.”

user-9 y/n ur so real

user-10 i would die for you y/n

user-11 what method of manifestation did you use?

“My method of manifestation? Listened to Bags by Clairo on repeat, of course.”

user-12 Y/N CLARIO STAN CONFIRMED????

user-13 u are my new fav celebrity.

user-14 what are you guys drinking?!?!??!!?

“What are we drinking?” Laila repeats. “Um, I don’t know if we can say this. Take a wild guess, though.”

“I don’t even know what this is,” you laugh, picking up your glass and swirling it around, listening to the ice clink. “Caroline ordered it for me.”

You take a deep breath- moving out of the screen- abandoning the straw and placing your lips right on the rim, downing the rest of the glass.

user-15 GOD THEYRE SO ADORABLE

user-16 i’m still in mourning…

user-17 the day they hard launched a part of me died

user-18 IF Y’ALL DONT SHUT UP YOU NEVER HAD A CHANCE ANYWAYS

user-19 @/user-18 EXACTLY if i see ANYONE bullying my queen y/n i will attack

“Aw, thank you guys,” you coo. “I’m so sorry that I took your girlfriend, really.”

user-20 GOOD

user-21 YOU SHOULD BE.

user-22 pls tell kk to pay child support

“Okay, so, guys, you didn’t hear this from me but unfortunately KK is actually in debt from all of the child support payments, so you might want to find some other income.”

Laila, who had zoned out reading the comments next to you, laughs so hard she has to take herself out of frame.

“No, because KK actually is so broke right now.” She says, coming back into frame, her eyes so wide she looks like a crazy person.

user-23 y/n pls take laila home 😭

user-24 laila ily pls stop drinking

Laila gasps, dropping her jaw in shock.

“I’m literally not even that… D-R-U-N-K!”

“Laila,” you say, biting your lip to keep from laughing. “Maybe it’s time to let the live go.”

“Yeah, I wanna dance. Okay, bye, guys. Sorry for tripping out. I love you all, see you guys soon.”

You blow a few kissy faces at the screen. “Love you guys!”

The live ends and Laila immediately perks up, looking towards the dance floor. “Okay, move!” She says, trying to push you out of the booth. You scramble away, chuckling at how disoriented she is.

“Sure you wanna dance? Your 6’1 self might fall over and kill someone.”

“Shut up, Y/N.”

Dancing does sound nice. You need to let go a bit, and where better to do it then in the middle of a bunch of people so drunk they won’t remember this tomorrow?

Laila grabs your hand, despite the fact she just told you to shut up, and starts to drag you into the crowd of dancing people. The music seems louder, now.

“Y/N!”

Someone grabs your other hand, pulling you and Laila to a stop. KK stands there, concern on her face and her drink back in her hand.

“Where are you going?” She asks.

“To dance,” you roll your eyes. Maybe you’re kind of a lightweight, but you already feel a little tipsy. That might be a placebo effect, though. This place just feels so freeing, with all the pretty lights and the music that you swear is getting louder by the second.

You grab her drink, taking another big sip.

Her eyes widen and Laila groans, tugging on you.

“I wanna danceeee.”

KK looks between you, drunk Laila, and the crowded dance floor.

“Y/N,” she grimaces. You take another sip.

“I wanna dance, KK. Don’t be a… freakin’ party pooper.”

She blinks at you. “Oh, my God, you are such a lightweight.”

“Okay, can you relax? Overprotective? Your precious girlfriend will be fine,” Laila smiles, flexing her bicep.

“See?!” You smile, gesturing animatedly to Laila before taking another sip.

She grabs her drink back from you. “All done with that.”

“Aw,” you pout.

Caroline sighs, looking again at the dance floor like it’s some entity that’s gonna hurt you.

“Baby,” you start, wrapping your free arm around her neck and drawing her in close to you, burying your face into the side of her neck.

“Y/N.”

You kiss her neck, tongue darting out to swipe across her sweet skin. “Please let me dance, Caroline.”

There’s a breathy lilt to your voice you both know she can’t resist. This is how you win every argument, just bury your face in her neck and ask pretty please.

“Shit, Y/N,” she says, her voice strained. “Don’t do that.”

“Do what?” you ask, kissing her neck again.

She puts her free hand on the back of your head, smoothing down your hair for one second, savoring the moment before she pulls you away.

“Can I go dance?” You ask, barely licking your lips- but she sees it.

She sighs and rubs the back of her neck.

You both know she can’t resist you, not right now. Especially not when you’re wearing her last name and you’re kissing her neck.

“Be safe.”

“Bye! Love you!” you shout, tugging on Laila. She drops the hand that was covering her eyes and smiles.

“Thank God that’s over.”

You turn to look back at Caroline, and she’s staring after you like you’re the most precious thing in the world. You’ve never thought that Caroline’s overprotective nature was too much. You’ve never shied away from it. How could you hide away from something that feels so perfect? So good? So right?

Belonging to her is the most fulfilling thing you’ve ever known- you can’t help yourself from loving every crazy part of her.

And, besides, she deserves to spend time with her friends. She deserves to celebrate her win in whatever way she wants. You’re kind of surprised that she didn’t follow you out onto the dance floor, but you’re happy about that. She needs her friends and you need yours.

The music gets so loud you swear your eardrums are about to burst.

It’s the best thing you’ve ever felt.

—-

After dancing with Laila for so long your legs feel like they’re about to fall off, they start playing a slightly slower, more sexual song. Couples quickly form on the dance floor- whether it be actual couples or just random people deciding to dance together.

Laila hits your shoulder, and subtlety points to a man wearing the ugliest neon yellow jacket. Maybe it’s not so bad on its own, but paired with an equally neon orange shirt underneath, he looks kind of like a traffic cone.

You laugh, but this new song has changed the vibe, and suddenly you wish your girlfriend was dancing with you.

“I want Caroline,” you say to yourself, spinning around, trying to find where the red jerseys are- quickly getting dizzy. Definitely a little drunk.

“Who would have guessed,” Laila deadpans, and you swat her shoulder while she laughs.

You suddenly feel eyes on you, but Laila is searching the crowd. You look around, suddenly locking eyes with a man dressed in black dress pants and a blue shirt- the top buttons open.

The first thing you notice about him is how startlingly pale he is. You actually kind of get the shivers- he’s deathly skinny, with a goatee he cannot pull off- and he kinda makes you feel uneasy.

Besides for his somewhat startling appearance, he licks his lips as he looks at you like you’re a piece of meat.

“Ugh,” you say, cringing, unable to hide the disgust on your face. You feel kinda bad when his face falls- maybe he’s just drunk like you. Yet, here you are, criticizing his appearance and gagging at him. You shoot him an awkward smile, and his eyes trail up your body- okay. So much for giving him the benefit of the doubt, whatever. “Help,” you whisper to Laila, somewhat jokingly, grabbing her hand.

“Huh?” She asks, grabbing back and looking around.

“Really pale weird guy staring at me like he wants to fuck me.”

“Oh, Jesus Christ, Y/N. That’s fuckin’ disgusting, don’t tell me that.”

“Sorry!” You laugh, watching her eyes widen as she seems to finally spot him.

“Oh, wow… he’s so handsome! When my eyes are closed.”

You laugh and quickly slap your hand over your mouth, turning to her to keep from him seeing you.

“He’s still staring, though,” she frowns. “Okay, this dude is actually so creepy- I’m done dancing, you too?”

You suddenly remember how much you miss Caroline.

“Yeah, all done. Miss my girlfriend.”

“Y’all are so clingy, God… anyways, where did we come from?”

“Um, there, I think.” You start leading her through the crowd, immediately forgetting about the man, thinking only about your beautiful girlfriend and how excited you are to see her again. Forgetting the fact that’s only been about 20 minutes.

Suddenly, a flash of blue appears in front of you and you’re slamming into someone.

“Oh, sorry!” You apologize, steadying yourself by grabbing onto Laila. “You okay?”

You’re met with a pale face and a goatee.

Your eyes widen but you manage to bite your tongue, Laila squeezing your hand so tightly it might snap off.

“All good, pretty girl. You okay?”

“Fine, thanks!” You manage to bite out, Laila’s resolve slowly falling as she starts laughing a bit, and you try desperately to pull her away.

“Hey,” the guy starts, but you pretend not to hear him and tug Laila past him. You can’t bear to look behind yourself, scolding Laila softly as she starts boisterously laughing.

“Oh, my God- you bumped into him!”

“Laila!”

This entire night has felt perfect so far, and it feels kinda picturesque that a super cliche movie thing happened to you. All you can do is laugh about it.

“What’cha laughing about?” Caroline asks, and you suddenly realize you’ve escaped the dance floor and made it back to her.

“KK!” You smile, wrapping your arms around her neck and pressing a short kiss to her lips. She smiles back at you, looking at you in a way that can only be described as adoringly.

“Okay, bye,” Laila says, jokingly covering her eyes as she walks away to talk with some other teammates.

Caroline rolls her eyes at Laila but wraps her arm loosely around your waist, just keeping you close to her. “You’re having fun, baby.”

“So much, this is great. Why don’t I go out more? Why don’t I drink more? Oh, can I have that?”

Caroline stares down at her drink that you’ve already drunk most of-

“C’mon, sweetheart, I’ll get you another one.”

“Okay!” You smile, feeling on top of the world with her arm around you again. She leads you around the outskirts of the dance floor, and you end up back at the bar- leaning against her while she orders.

You’re standing side by side, and she’s dropped the hand around your waist to pull out cash from her wallet. You miss her touch, so you lean your head against her shoulder, adjusting her jersey that’s started slipping down your shoulder.

“Can I buy a drink for the pretty girl and her friend?”

At first, you don’t even realize someone’s talking to you.

You hear about it in the movies, the creepy guys at bars. You hear the horror stories from your friends and family. And you know it’s real, you know it happens- but you never ever think it could happen to you.

Suddenly, there’s that same pale man right next to you, staring into your eyes with such and intensity you wonder if he has a medical condition or if this is some weird attempt at flirting.

“What?”

Its the only thing you can think to blurt out.

Caroline looks up from her wallet, stuffing it back into her pocket and turning to you, hearing your voice but confused as to what you’re talking about.

“Can I buy you a drink?” The guy repeats in a hopeful tone- but the way he carries himself irks you. He’s self-entitled. It’s not quite confidence, but it’s more so this idea that the entire world should bow at his feet. And, unfortunately, that includes you.

“Excuse me?” Caroline asks, quickly wrapping her arm around your shoulder and pulling you even closer. “Thanks, but she doesn’t want anything from you.”

“Really?” He asks, smiling in that same self-entitled way. “C’mon, honey. You’re gorgeous, I’m gorgeous, let me buy you a drink and take you home.”

You feel utterly frozen. Is this actually happening? Are there cameras somewhere?

“Uhhhh…” you say, looking between him and Caroline- the two of them currently engaged in a deadly staring competition.

“Sorry, let me rephrase. My girlfriend doesn’t want anything from you.”

“Caroline,” you mutter, hearing an edge to her voice that’s turning from protective and wary to something a little more… violent. “Let’s just go, babe.”

“Yeah, let’s just go,” she echoes. She turns around with you still under her arm, positioning herself between you and the other guy.

He scoffs as you both turn around- completely offended and shocked at the idea that you don’t want him.

Maybe Caroline glaring at him sets him off. Maybe he just doesn’t know when to quit.

“C’mon, baby- you know you want it. Stop being a little bitch.”

Your mouth parts slightly- and you almost want to laugh- him? Calling you a bitch?

You can feel Caroline’s entire body tense against you.

“Caroline-” you start, knowing her protective nature is going to get to her. You’ve seen it a thousand times on the ice when a girl on the other team gets too close to her goalie, or roughs up another Badger- Caroline fights on the ice.

God, you’ve even confessed to her how sexy you think it is when she suddenly shoulder checks some girl, or slams her stick into someone’s chest.

She whips around, her arm out in front of you, while the arm that was previously around your shoulder whips around and slams into his face.

You let out a yelp at the sheer speed of it all- one second you were walking away, and now Caroline is shaking out her hand as the man doubles over, clutching his jaw.

“You stupid fucking bitch!” He shouts, a crowd quickly forming.

Thankfully, she ignores that comment.

“Listen to me. You don’t touch my girl, you don’t look at her, you don’t think about her- or I swear to God you will not be able to fuckin’ talk.”

She turns back around, her jaw clenched, and you gape at her- mouth opening and closing like a fish, you feel so stupid- but you don’t even know what to say. Do you scold her? Do you kiss her? Because you kinda want to do both right now.

Your mind is literal mush. Not only was that the hottest thing you’ve ever seen in your entire life- but also terrifying. Thankfully, you don’t have to do anything, because Laila and a few other Badgers break through the crowd, grabbing KK and dragging her back towards the exit.

Laila softly taps you, and you tear your eyes away from the fuming man still clutching his cheek- mouth still stupidly dropped open.

“You good?” Laila asks, softly putting her hand on your shoulder.

“Good,” you breathe. “Oh, my God- I can’t believe that just happened.” Laila leads you out of the bar, following behind KK who is getting… forcefully escorted out by her teammates.

The whispers and the staring stops when you exit the bar and into the fresh air. It’s nice out here, still warm but there’s a cool breeze running through. The bar was stuffy and hot, and you didn’t even realize you were holding your breath until the fresh air is right in your face.

“Okay.” Britta Curl, Wisconsin’s captain sighs heavily, rubbing her temples. “What the fuck happened.”

It’s not quite a question.

KK’s teammates let her go, and her jaw is clenched, fists also clenched at her sides. She’s like a tight little ball of anger right now, about to explode.

She’s obviously not going to answer, so Britta turns to you. Her frustration softens a bit, and you’re sure you look a little shaken up- you can’t stop thinking: what if Caroline wasn’t there?

What if he got his hands on you? What if he had stepped closer?

“You okay, Y/N?”

“Yes,” you breathe. All of the team knows you well, and most of them are truly your friends. Despite the fact it’s become a running joke to refer to you as “KK Harvey’s Girlfriend” you know they all do care about you. “I’m fine, thank you.”

“Shit, Y/N,” KK breathes, running her hand through her hair. It’s nothing like earlier tonight when she said those words, when you were kissing your neck.

God, if you could go back to that.

She takes a few deep breaths. “Shit. I’m sorry, Y/N. I… I just couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t let him say that shit. Call you that, fuck.”

You can practically see the memories flash behind her eyes, and she’s getting herself all worked up again.

“Harvey,” Britta cautions, putting her hand on her shoulder. “Take some breaths.”

“Okay, hold on,” Laila starts. “Was that who I think it was? Pale guy from the dance floor?”

“Yeah,” you affirm, and Laila rolls her eyes.

“What a creep.”

“Wait, who?” KK asks, suddenly completely still, staring at Laila in a way that reminds you of a predator about to attack. She’s still got that rage in her veins, and she’s chasing the high, the retribution.

“There was this guy on the dance floor, he was staring at Y/N in this, like, sexual assault-y way, super creepy-”

“A what way?”

Her voice is calm. But you know her, you know her voice- you can hear the pure rage behind it. That deadliness, all of that precision and strength from hockey honed to one target.

“Okay,” Laila says, sticking her palms out in a calming manner. “Not the best choice of words. Deep breaths, KK.”

“No, like what? He was staring at my girlfriend like what?”

“Caroline.”

You walk towards her, placing your hands on her chest.

“Caroline, sweetheart, I love you… but you have to calm down, okay? He was just a fucking weirdo at a bar. And you punched him, remember? He’s not going to talk to another girl, let alone me, for a long time.”

You force her to meet her eyes, and she stares at you for a few seconds- her face slowly starting to soften.

“Sorry,” she mumbles after a moment.

“Why do we even try?” One of her teammates whispers. You resist the urge to smile.

“Why don’t we go home, K?”

She looks over your shoulder at the door to the bar.

“Yeah.”

“Thank God,” Laila mutters. “This was about to become a bloodbath. Everyone say ‘thank you, Y/N.’”

A few of her teammates laugh, and even KK cracks a small smile as they all repeat the sentiment.

Britta turns to KK, glaring at her still somewhat disapprovingly.

“I’m sorry,” KK mutters again.

Britta sighs. “I… probably would have punched him too if I was there. I can’t blame you.”

“Exactly, like? What was I supposed to do? He called my girl a bitch and I was supposed to just walk away? Nah. No way.”

“Overprotective!” Laila chimes in with a sing-song voice, and all of you laugh.

Finally, you all manage to bid your goodbyes, Laila saying she’ll hitch a ride back from someone else- “I don’t want to hear what’s about to go on in that bedroom. Keep the biohazards to a minimum, though.”

Caroline opens the car door for you, moving around to the other side and quickly climbing in. She puts her hand on the inside of your thigh, not starting the car yet, and making no move to.

She hesitates for a moment.

“Did I scare you?” She finally asks, turning to you with such vulnerability etched into her face it fixes any part of your heart that had ever hurt.

You smile softly, because you love this girl and you can’t believe she cares about you this much.

“No, baby.” You put your hand on her face and she leans towards you. “I was scared… because I kept thinking about what would have happened if you weren’t there.”

“I’m never letting you out of my sight at a bar again. Or ever, actually. Would you be down to tattoo Property of Caroline Harvey on your chest?”

“Caroline.”

“I love you.” You smile, the joking scold dying on your tongue. “I love you so much. And I can’t believe you’re all mine.”

You fake gasp. “I cant believe you’re all mine. Caroline Harvey, Olympian, star-athlete, heartthrob of women’s hockey-”

She shuts you up with a kiss. You’re both smiling into it, your thumbs rubbing her check, her hand squeezing your thigh and her other hand coming up to lightly hold the base of your neck.

When you finally have to pull away for that stupid thing called breathing, you grab her hand and squeeze twice. She quirks her brow at you before realization washes over her face.

“Well, when my beautiful girl says it’s time to go, it’s time to go.”

She doesn’t move her hand from your thigh the entire drive. And despite Caroline being a little hot headed and a little overprotective, it’s just her way of showing you she loves you- you can’t think of it any other way.

There’s no one else in the world who would succumb to whatever you want just because you kissed their neck, no one else who you would feel confident completely placing your trust in, no one else who can love you the way she loves you.

And if tonight is any indication- she loves you to the point of violence. Which is kind of alarming, but mostly sweet.

—-

[unexpectedtechnicality]

4 Times Cody Felt Obi-wan Use the Force, and 1 Time it Was Someone Else

This is the first time I’ve published a fic! But I got very excited for Cody day and quickly finished up this little wip I had going.

Rating: T to be safe, Cody gets pretty injured at one point, but nothing is very graphic.

Light Codywan, about 4,900 words.

I’m very new to this, please let me know if there’s anything I should be tagging!

1.

Rex, Cody decided, was a liar. Rex had fought on Geonosis. He claimed the jedi were astonishing warriors, brilliant strategists, excellent all around. 

Well, maybe the problem wasn’t Rex’s integrity. After all, he hadn’t met his general until after the Battle of Geonosis. And he had never met Cody’s for that matter.

Not that High General Kenobi wasn’t an astonishing warrior, brilliant strategist, or seemingly excellent all around kind of guy. Just…Skywalker had gotten it somewhere, and “somewhere” was starting to sound a lot like “Kenobi.”

The original plan had been solid. Cody honestly couldn't have improved upon it. The problem had come when the charges went off early, cutting off their narrow rock bridge back to the Negotiator and stranding Cody and the general on the other side. 

Technically that wasn’t the general’s fault. But if they had left a few minutes earlier…

“I’ve got an idea.”

Cody’s musing was interrupted by the general, who was staring off the edge of the cliff into the mist. 

“Sir?”

“The canyon leads back around to the rendezvous point, it’s just a few kliks further.”

Cody stared at him. He couldn't really mean–

The general looked up serenely. “We’ll have to jump.”

Cody peered down into the mist. The ground was not visible. “Sir, we have no idea how far down it is.”

“It’s perfectly alright Commander. Just a slight detour.”

Sensible, Rex had said. They’re good leaders, they think things through. Cody was never listening to a word his brother said again. 

Blaster fire sounded somewhere behind them. Kenobi smiled. “Now or never, Commander. I’ll go first, wait about 10 seconds and then jump.” 

Before Cody could protest, he was gone. Kriff. His general had just committed suicide rather than be taken by the enemy and expected Cody to follow. This couldn’t be what the Kaminoans meant when they said good soldiers followed orders. What the kriff! 

“Jump, Commander!” The general’s voice floated up from below, almost like it was too far to be heard properly. Had he even heard it at all?

A full platoon of droids appeared behind him. Cody glanced at them, weighed his options, cursed his short existence, his general, and Rex for good measure, then jumped.

He plummeted through the mist, tense, waiting for the crunch of his bones against the rocky floor. But before he could reach the bottom, the air seemed to condense around him. It was as though time slowed down. The mist thickened, and it nearly felt like he fell softly into a net, like he was still in drop training. Something felt familiar about it. Like someone he knew, or–

The mist cleared and there, a few feet below him was General Kenobi, hand outstretched and brow furrowed in concentration. Gently, he lowered Cody until his feet were on the ground, and the strange feeling surrounding him dissipated.

Kenobi grinned. “See? Perfectly fine.”

Cody could only nod vaguely, slightly stunned. “Yes….ah, sir.”

“Now come on, we don’t want to keep our men waiting, do we?”

Cody smiled, and despite his bucket still being on his head, it felt like Kenobi knew. “No, sir.”

2.

Cody jolted awake, his comm blaring. It was his off shift, and they were slow traveling through neutral space. What could have possibly happened in the few short hours he had to sleep? He scrubbed a hand over his face and glanced to his left, where his chest plate was floating next to the lumpy pillow from—

Hang on. 

Suddenly very awake, Cody surveyed the room to discover that something had happened to the artificial gravity on the ship and he was now floating in the middle of his quarters surrounded by his own armor and meager belongings. 

Just great. 

I’m assigning every man in maintenance to latrines for a month if this is someone’s idea of a practical joke. 

Cody located his comm, floating a few meters away near the door. Angling himself that way, he kicked his feet and swam the best he could with his arms. After a few minutes, he managed to grab it and stop the infernal beeping. 

“Go for Cody,” he snapped. 

“Ah! Commander, sorry to wake you. We have a bit of a…situation.”

“You don’t say.”

He could practically hear the smile in Kenobi’s voice. “Yes, well, if you could meet me on the bridge?”

Cody rolled his eyes. “Yes, sir.”

Putting on his armor proved to be quite a challenge when all of it was floating in a different corner of the room. Cody ended up kicking off every wall, and the ceiling several times just to get kitted up. It took far longer than normal. Every time he wasn’t intentionally moving, he was drifting. 

Slapping the control for the door while speeding at it was probably not the best strategy, but luckily it opened before he could slam into it. Then Cody began the arduous task of propelling himself to the bridge. Eventually he settled into a bit of a rhythm: kick off a doorway or wall, attempt to “swim” the right direction, then give up and desperately flap about until the destination was reached. Rinse and repeat. 

The way to the bridge passed the mess hall, as well as several busy corridors. He passed brothers who seemed to be moving with ease through the space, tumbling slowly through the air, gliding from one doorway to the next. He passed Waxer and Boil as he flailed his way past the mess, both of whom took one look at him and burst out laughing. 

KP for a week shut them up quickly enough. 

When the bridge was finally in sight, Cody had just about had enough. The door slid open to admit him, presenting one of the strangest things he had ever seen. 

The bridge was the picture of order. Officers floated near their work stations, calmly anchoring themselves with one hand or foot tucked into a chair or railing. As he watched, an engineer pushed off the central holo table and soared gracefully to the hyperdrive console, inputting numbers from above with ease. 

At the center of it all, floating upside down with his robes billowing around him like a flower, was General Kenobi. When he saw Cody, gripping the doorway for dear life and gaping beneath his helmet, Kenobi smiled and lifted a hand, beginning to slowly turn himself upright to his usual spot on the walkway. 

Cody gave himself a little shove, aimed for his typical spot next to the general, and crossed his fingers. 

“Good to have you, Commander. As you can see, we got into a minor skirmish with a passing neutral envoy. We came to a temporary truce, but I’m still in discussion with them to see if they will continue to attempt to blow us out of the sky. One of their shots knocked out our artificial gravity.”

Cody was struggling to keep himself near the general. His initial push had gotten him nearly where he wanted to be, but he was drifting forward. He tucked in slightly, trying to roll himself back.

“I would like your opinion on a plan of attack should it be necessary. Over half the battalion is on rest right now, and I’d hate to rouse them.”

His roll had failed. Now Cody was drifting upwards to Kenobi’s right, slowly turning away from him. Letting out a frustrated groan, Cody attempted to twist himself back to rights. 

“One option would be to— Cody?”

“Sorry, sir. Give me a minute.” He renewed his twisting efforts with more vigor. How was Kenobi staying in one place when— oh. The kriffing force. “General, uh. Would you mind—?”

“Oh! My apologies Cody. Yes, one moment.”

A light, warm pressure materialized at his right hip, then his left, and he began to turn to face the general and drift down to stand next to him. It was almost as if someone had put their hand– no, not someone. Kenobi. It was most definitely Kenobi’s hands resting comfortably at Cody’s waist, and now anchoring him to the floor. He turned to look at the general, and found his face much closer than expected, eyes seeming to bore right through his visor.

Cody felt his face heat under his bucket. “Uh. Yes. Thank you, sir.”

The general cleared his throat. Was it Cody’s imagination, or was he blushing too? “Of course, commander. Can’t have you floating away, now, can we?”

Force-Kenobi’s hands stayed comfortably at Cody’s sides the rest of the battle, and Cody…found he didn’t really mind. 

3.

His ears were ringing. Cody blinked, trying to clear his vision. What—?

There was a blast somewhere to his right. Instinctively, he tried to curl up to protect his head. Fire erupted across his left side, shoulder to knee, ripping a ragged scream from his throat. He flopped back onto his back, gasping for air. He must have been hit by a blast earlier. No way to tell how long ago.

“There!”

A med speeder pulled up next to him, and Neat, one of their junior medics hopped off.

“Don’t worry commander, we’ve got you.”

Last I remember Obi– the general was by me. The thought sent adrenaline spiking through his veins, pain forgotten.

“Neat.”

“Sir?”

“The…the general, he–”

“He’s safe, sir, please don’t move.”

Neat began running a scanner down his side, but Cody needed visual confirmation on Obi-wan. Obi-wan. He had asked him to call him Obi-wan, alone in his quarters, just a week earlier. If something had happened to him before Cody could figure out—

“Cody!”

Obi-wan came skidding to a halt next to their little party and dropped to his knees beside Cody. “There you are,” he panted. “Neat?”

Neat scowled. “He won’t lie still,” he griped, as Cody pushed up on his elbows to check if Obi-wan was hurt. “Sir, please—“

Finishing his once-over of Obi-wan (a few scratches and bruises but otherwise unharmed, unfairly he seemed to be glowing slightly in the setting sun), Cody finally let himself relax. “Sorry, Neat. Go ahead.”

As Neat did his scan, Obi-wan sent him a slightly reproachful look. “You took the brunt of the blast, Commander, not me. I’m perfectly fine.” He glanced at Cody’s side, brow furrowing.

The pain was starting to creep back, like several hot pokers lined up against his side. Cody leaned his head back against the ground. “Had to be sure. Couldn’t remember.”

Obi-wan frowned, looking even more worried, and the scanner beeped to indicate a finished report. 

Neat swore. “There’s a lot of shrapnel in his side. He’s loosing a lot of blood. I need to remove what I can to staunch the bleeding now and then get him back to base to get the rest out. Possibly put him in bacta.”

Cody was starting to get worried. He tried to look down at the wound, but Obi-wan stopped him with a gentle hand under his chin. “It’ll be fine, Cody.”

Cody. They’d agreed no first names during battle (though Cody wasn’t counting the sanctity of his own mind, the one thing that was truly his own), if Obi-wan was calling him Cody, it was bad.

“General, I’m going to start operating, I might need you to help hold him down.”

Obi-wan shifted, taking Cody’s right hand in his own and holding tight. “Ready.”

Cody braced himself, but when Neat first started prodding at his knee he couldn’t hold back the grunt, gripping Obi-wan’s hand and twitching away from the pain. Neat waiting half a second, then started back in. Every touch felt like a brand, or like the time he had picked up the wrong end of a smoking blaster as a cadet. There were tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. 

Obi-was rested his arm across Cody’s chest to keep him still.

Neat continued his field surgery. “This one’s in deeper. Take a breath, commander.”

Cody tried to do as he was told, but it was like a lance shot through his thigh. He bucked against Obi-wan’s hold, and Neat swore again as everything was jostled.

“General,” Neat pleaded. 

“One moment.” Obi-wan shifted, moving so Cody’s head was resting on his knees. “I’m going to try something different. Cody?”

Cody nodded, hissing through his teeth, trying to ride out the pain. He watched above him as Obi-wan closed his eyes, letting out a slow breath.

The strange sensation of the air solidifying around him that Cody was beginning to recognize as the force surrounded him. A warm feeling, like a heavy, plush blanket pressed down around him. Experimentally, he tried to shift his right leg, and found that aside from breathing, he couldn’t move at all.

It’s should have alarmed him. But the soft, warm feeling wasn’t suffocating…it was comforting. It felt familiar, like the net had, and the hands when the artificial gravity had been broken. Like he was wrapped in a blanket of Obi-wan, or his presence, or something. He vaguely registered Obi-wan telling Neat to continue. Obi-wan rested one hand on the side of Cody’s head, cradling his face, the other supporting the back of his head, and Cody let himself relax into the touch.

The pain was still there, in his leg, now moving up toward his hip, but it seemed…muted. He blinked up at Obi-wan, the picture of serenity.

Alright?

If he could have, Cody would have jumped at Obi-wan’s voice in his head. But it just seemed…natural.

Yes, he thought.

Sorry, I should have asked if this was okay. I was worried.

It’s okay. It’s…nice, actually.

Neat had reached his side now, the familiar cool feeling of bacta covering his thigh. One tug made Cody flinch, and the force-blanket pressed down a little tighter, like he was wrapped up in a bedroll.

The warm, safe feeling was still present all over, but it was starting to condense in one spot, right at the base of his skull, under Obi-wan’s finger. A little bright spot, almost like someone had turned on a light in his brain somehow. It felt right though, especially in his slightly woozy state, so Cody didn’t question it.

Obi-wan and Neat were talking above him, but Cody couldn’t quite make out the words. That was alright, he thought. They would take care of him. Obi-wan said something that almost looked like “sleep.”

A nap didn’t really sound bad. Maybe he’d just shut his eyes for a few minutes. Obi-wan smiled down at him.

I’ll be there when you wake up.

And he was. Everything back to normal. The blanket-feeling was gone. But if Cody really concentrated, he could still feel that little spark in the base of his skull. The little spark that felt like Obi-wan.

4.

At this point, Cody wasn’t even surprised when he and Obi-wan were separated from the rest of the men during the battle. This time, it had been a strange feeling in the force that Obi-wan had insisted on following, leading them through a strange cave system in the middle of the gigantic jungle that may have once been a temple of some kind. It had allowed them to sneak behind enemy lines and take out the tactical droid, allowing the 212th to finish the battle with relative ease, however, the feeling had also gone away quickly after, and Cody was beginning to think Obi-wan did not, as he claimed, remember the way back.

“The left tunnel. I’m sure of it.”

“Are you sure we haven’t been this way before, sir?”

“I thought we agreed on first names when we were alone, Cody.” Obi-wan set off down the left tunnel.

Cody snorted, but followed him, helmet clacking against his thigh plate where it was clipped at his hip. “We did. However we are technically on duty, and you’re being a stubborn bantha. Sir.”

Obi-wan turned with an expression of mock outrage. “Me? Stubborn? My dear commander, I have no idea what you’re talking about. Have you no faith in me?”

He gestured in front of them, and sure enough, there was finally light at the end of the tunnel. Cody just shook his head, smiling.

They emerged into the massive, muggy jungle and Cody immediately booted up his comm and nav, which hadn’t been working in the caverns anyway. The map of the surface he had downloaded popped up, with the little orange beacon marking their base. Several kliks away. 

“I thought we entered the caves just a klik from camp?”

Obi-wan frowned. “We did. Where are we now?”

Cody lifted his arm to show him. “You’re sure you didn’t get turned around in there?”

“Of course not, clearly the caves changed,” Obi-wan said primly. “Well, I suppose we could go back in.”

“Absolutely not. We are staying out here and following the route back. It’s the same distance, just with sunlight.”

They walked in companionable silence through the giant trees for a while, stopping every so often to check the map. They must have passed at least a dozen trees with trunks so wide Cody couldn’t see the other side before he broke the silence.

“Obi-wan, can I ask you something?” The other man nodded. “A little while back, when I was injured and you…helped Neat operate, I think something else might have happened.”

“What do you mean?”

“While you were…talking in my head, it started to feel like there was…a spot. A light? A little patch of warmth, right at the base of my skull. And afterwards, when I was out of bacta, it was still there. It is still there. At first I thought maybe it was something medical, but Neat scanned me again and said everything was normal. The more I thought about it, the more I tried to…interact with it, I guess, the more I realized…it feel like you. Like you inside my head somehow.”

Obi-wan looked pensive. “Fascinating.”

“Do you know what it is? It doesn’t feel harmful.”

They waded through a small stream, and Obi-wan offered Cody his hand to pull him up onto the far bank.

“In the Jedi Order, master and padawan pairs typically form a force bond. A link that lets them communicate directly with each other, often feel what the other is feeling, form a deeper relationship with that person. Usually, it’s only possible for someone force sensitive to form bonds.”

Cody pushed a branch out of their way as they climbed over some roots. He could see where this was going. “But clones aren’t force sensitive, so…that’s not what this is.”

Obi-wan hummed. “I’ve heard of a few rare exceptions. The force is in all things, Cody.”

After a few minutes, Cody worked up the courage to ask. “Do you feel anything? In your head?”

“It’s difficult to tell. I do feel quite strongly about you, but I can feel you externally in the force. I also have several other bonds. Anakin and I never fully dissolved our training bond, and I have a small bond with Ashoka as well. I have a different type of bond with Quinlan, and sometimes I can still feel the remains of my bond with Qui-gon. I suspect it would be easier to tell if we communicated through the force but you and I never seem to have the need,” he said, smiling gently at Cody.

Cody smiled back, and some of the anxiety he hadn’t even realized he was feeling melted away. He glanced down at his map. “Should be just over this ridge.”

They came over the top of the hill together, and Cody had to bite back a groan of frustration. In front of them was a downed tree, one of the super massive ones with the unimaginably wide trunks. The sun was going down. They didn’t have time to go around, and the trunk was so high Cody wasn’t sure they could climb over. His mind raced, trying to come up with a solution.

“Ah,” Obi-wan said, surveying the surrounding area. “I suppose we have to guess which was is shorter. We went left before, this time maybe we go—“

“Throw me.”

“I’m sorry?”

Cody grinned. “We go straight over. I run, and jump, and you throw me. Then you leap over after. We use the force.”

Obi-wan grinned back. “I don’t always say I believe in destiny, but surely Cody, you were sent to me straight from the force. Ready?”

Cody backed up, setting his stance. He was going to aim right for the center of the span of trunk in front of them. He nodded to Obi-wan, then took off running. Once he had reached top speed, he leapt into the air, and watched the trunk fly closer to his face until—

A warm, sweet smelling breeze, like freshly brewed tea swept him up, carrying him up, up, and over the trunk. He was so high the LAAT/is at the base below him looked like small animals, surrounded by swarms of tiny ant-troopers packing up to fly back to the Negotiator. Laughing, Cody did a somersault in the air as he flew over the tree, then spread his arms like he was parachuting and let the Obi-wan-wind carry him all the way to the ground, where he tumbled into the grass, still giddy.

A moment later, Obi-wan landed, cat-like, next to him, and helped him to his feet, laughing and pushing wind-swept hair out of his eyes. 

“You’re right commander, that was much more fun than going around.”

+ 1

Cody crept through the hallway, blaster pointed ahead of him. A light flashed on his HUD, Boil checking in. Waxer was due in 5 minutes, then Wooley. They’d set up a rotating check in system as they fanned out to scour the seemingly abandoned ship they’d been sent to investigate. If you asked Cody, splitting up was just asking for trouble, especially since no one was with his trouble magnet of a general. But it was the quickest way to get them out of here, so he’d acquiesced. 

Something rattled behind a door as he passed. He sighed, then pressed himself up against the wall, out of sight, and keyed the door open. Nothing jumped out, so he peeked around the corner.

It was a medium sized storage bay, and he was suddenly very thankful his door was obscured by crates, as he could hear vague voices coming from somewhere else in the room. The door slid silently shut behind him as he slipped in, trying to find a vantage point to see who was there through the crates.

He found a reasonably defendable spot in the corner and considered updating his men, but when he brought up his comm system it was like there was some sort of interference. Strange. No matter, they had his last location and his next check in was in only a few minutes, so someone would come join him eventually.

Through a gap in the crates, he could just make out two figures, one in a cloak and speaking to another cloaked figure who– oh. One figure, one hologram. Strange. They’d found no sign of crew aboard this vessel. He turned up his mic, trying to make out what they were saying.

“...plan has worked perfectly. They’ve already arrived,” the hologram was saying.

“Then they will soon be dead,” the other replied, and Cody’s blood ran cold. He suddenly had a very, very bad feeling about this mission. He knew that voice.

“I will leave you to your work.” The figure standing in the cargo bay removed her hood and knelt, confirming Cody’s suspicion.

Ventress.

Kriff. He had to get out of here, or signal his men, Obi-wan. He checked the time. His check in had passed two minutes ago, they’d be getting worried now. Slightly frantic, he tapped at his comm, willing it to work. What was the point of the kriffing antenna on his shoulder if he couldn’t get through? He remembered what Wolffe had looked like when he visited him in the med center after his encounter with Ventress. He couldn’t face her alone. 

The crates surrounding him suddenly blasted away, leaving him exposed in his little corner. Cody looked up to find Ventress stalking straight towards him.

“Poor little clone, where did your friends go?”

Cody leapt to his feet, blaster already primed to shoot, when a wall of pure something slammed into him, forcing him to drop his blaster and throwing him against the wall behind him. Immediately he scrambled to get up, but Ventress threw one hand out, and a freezing cold vice closed around his throat, lifting him off the ground.

He clawed at the invisible grip, but there was nothing there. He choked, straining to get a breath, but it was pointless. She dragged him through the air, until he was just a few inches from her face. Cody’s bucket floated itself off his head, flying away and clattering to the ground somewhere. The pressure on his neck eased ever so slightly, and Cody sucked in as much air as he could before it tightened again.

“Aren’t you a handsome one?” Ventress crooned, tracing one fingernail down his scar in a grotesque facsimile of how Obi-wan sometimes did when– focus, Cody. “Now. As much as I’d love to just kill you and get on with it, you know what part of the ship our dear Kenobi is on, don’t you?”

Cody tried to jerk away from the clawed fingers tracing his temples, but found the ice cold vice had spread to his entire body. He could breathe now, barely, but he couldn’t move even a single muscle. It was nothing like when Obi-wan had used the force around him before. That was…gentle, personal, it felt safe. This was anything but. Never before had Cody understood the raw power force users had at their disposal. It wanted to rip him limb from limb. Fear gnawed at his stomach. If only his comm had worked–

“Somewhere in that head of yours, we just have to find it.”

In his head. That was it! Desperately, as Ventress bared her teeth, Cody reached for the last warm spot on his being– a force bond, Obi-wan had called it. HELP, he thought, OBI–

Pain like he had never felt erupted from his temples, and he vaguely registered Ventress laughing as twin ice picks drove themselves through his skull, behind his eyes, in his brain, in whatever it was inside him that made him, him. 

Cody screamed, frozen in the air, no way to escape as she tore through his mind, looking for whatever it was she wanted, Cody couldn’t remember any more. There was only the freezing, burning pain.

It could have been hours, could have been minutes, but without warning, the pain stopped, and Cody found himself flying through the air and into the far wall. Pressure like a million duracrete bricks immobilized him a few feet off the ground, limbs splayed out like a pinned bug. Blinking the haze out of his eyes, he was confronted with two blurry forms whirling around the room; red and blue lights flashing. As his vision finally cleared he could make out Ventress, locked in combat with–

Thank the stars, Obi-wan. There was a fierce expression on his face as he met Ventress blow for blow. As Cody watched, Obi-wan glanced his way for a split second, then went back to the fight with renewed vigor. Unable to do anything, Cody found his eyes drifting shut.

He woke a short time later when he tumbled to the ground in a heap, the force holding him to the wall having vanished. Obi-wan was hurrying over to him from across the room, Ventress presumably having run away. Cody groaned.

“Full evac, effective immediately. I’ll meet you back at the ship with the commander,” Obi-was was saying into his comm, several tinny “yessirs” echoing out of it. 

“Cody, are you alright?”

Cody carefully felt along his throat with one hand. “Fine, I think. How–” he grimaced. His body felt like one giant bruise. He was still freezing. “How did you find me?”

Obi-was smiled wanly. “You called. I suppose it is a force bond, and does work both ways, though I can think of several other ways we could have tested it without you being in mortal peril.”

“I’ll try to remember that for next time.”

Obi-wan shook his head, reaching one hand out to the side. Cody’s bucket flew into it like it was magnetized, and Obi-wan carefully fit it back over his head, then gently pulled him to his feet. Cody half-expected Obi-wan to call on the force and simply levitate him back to their ship, but instead he hefted Cody’s over his shoulder and wrapped his own around his waist. His other hand came up to support Cody’s chest.

Cody leaned into him as they trudged back to the ship, letting Obi-wan take a fair amount of his weight.

“For the record,” he said, “I like it much better when you’re the one throwing me around with the force.”

“Careful commander,” Obi-wan teased, raising an eyebrow, “If someone hears you say that they might get the wrong idea.”

Cody glared at him, and concentrated all his effort on lifting one arm to smack him lightly in the chest. Obi-wan laughed, and Cody felt the world slide back into place around him.

“But yes, Cody, I much prefer that also.”

[brokenpieces-72]

It would be great for some fluff, maybe even have Farah and Alex join in on the fluff. No pressure :)

I’m gonna admit right now that I requested this request. I like getting requests and at the time I am writing this I’ve got some stuff going on that makes me feel like crap so in a way this fluff is beneficial to me as well.

For some extra context, this takes place in the COD Gangster AU.

……………….

You’ve had shitty days before and today is no different. You’re tired, exhausted and just want to go home. Go to your room and curl up and maybe cry a little. But someone finds you before you can make it there.

Kyle notices you acting awfully quiet at the pub, while you help with unloading small crates. Your sighs and muttering are clear. You’re upset, so when everything is moved he takes a detour back home. Gets you your favourite food, asking to make sure you get it exactly how you like it. He doesn’t take you straight to the hide out and instead takes you to somewhere quiet where you can just be alone together for a bit. Kyle gets you to move to the back seat with him so you guys can eat without messing up the front. He asks you if you’re okay and you not, and sniff. The tears are coming down now. You get a hug and he reassures you that whatever it is, everything will be okay. Whatever was going on or needed to be done, could wait for tomorrow. Tonight it was just you, him, good food and some YouTube.

Johnny sees you go to your room and when you don’t respond to his welcome he knows something ain’t right. He knocks on your door and you tell him to come in. Your voice is shaky. What happened? Who hurt you? Where are they?! (All of this is internal). You tell him you just had a bad day, and want to be alone. Johnny understands and leaves. He comes back. There’s an extra blanket, your favourite snacks and your favourite drink and if you need anything, he’s in the kitchen. You ask him to stay, and he does. You end up using him as a pillow, leaning against him sitting between his legs. He’s texted Price to say he can’t do much today but has good reason. Johnny lets you talk about whatever you want, whether it’s the shit you dealt with today or something completely off topic. Honestly there’s benefits on both sides cause he finds it adorable when you talk about your favourite things.

Simon is a bit different. He’s not very close to you but he overhears your frustration when you walk in the front door. You don’t notice him right away but he sees your tears. He doesn’t know what happened and he doesn’t need to know. He and his stray companion knock on your door. Simon hears you crying, and you open the door. The first one you notice is the cat, who rubs against your legs. Simon says she wanted to see you. That helps, knowing someone was happy to see you. Simon tells you the guys will be back soon, and if you want to order food. You say that’s fine, but instead of letting you go back to your room, he invites you out to the living room, where you find a pillow, blanket and a water bottle waiting for you, inviting you to turn on the tv for some background noise while he does some work. He keeps looking up at you, curled with the cat on the couch, content.

Price sees you frustrated as you’re leaving the pub. He’s finished his work for the day and calls after you before you open the door. You just want to walk back by yourself, but he isn’t about to let that happen when you’re not doing well. Price gets his coat on and walks back with you. It’s awkward silence at first but he starts a conversation, asking if you have anything you’d like to ask about him, the gang, the pub, etc. No? Then he’ll ask you. Do you enjoy helping at the pub? Is your art going well? Anyone been giving you a hard time lately? The last question has you already pawing at your eyes. Without a word he has an arm around you, reminding you that you’re walking together. You can let it out, or chat about something else. You two can make a small stop on the way home. Not everyone is going to like you, that’s not your fault. But the ones who do, they’ll walk with you.

Farah finds you hugging your knees, shoulders bobbing from sobs. Alex was dealing with the problem now it was clean up. Farah’s footsteps are audible, you can hear them on the rocky asphalt. You look up wiping your eyes, sitting up a bit. Farah sits down next to you and when you start apologizing she stops you. Not your fault, everyone has off days. You were smart to find a spot like this to blow off steam. Despite her saying it wasn’t your fault you keep insisting it was, explaining how you messed up. Farah assures you that everyone trips and has off days. For now you two can wait here until Alex gets everything sorted with the asshole who was giving you a hard time. You did your best, that’s all she was asking in the first place.

Alex is dropping by the police station when he sees you off to the side of it, staring at the ground. He says hello, but you’re distant. Not like you. He gets a bad feeling and asks you to wait up for him. When he comes back out he asks what’s going on, though he can guess by the comments he overheard when I’m the station. Got reamed out pretty good. Yeah that’s never fun. Alex reminds you it happens to everyone. Remember for next time, that’s all you can do. Doesn’t do much. Taking the extra step he invites you over to his place for some food. Packaged dinner sounds pretty inviting after the long day you’ve had. Alex even fires up some video games for the two of you, and your frustration is now redirected on him for being so good at Mario party. At least he got you to start smiling.

Graves believe it or not, knows you’re having a bad day but he can’t always help you. For him he knows if all he does is comfort you, the other guys will just say you’re being coddled. Clearly today is an exception. You’re not okay, and it shows. You’re trying to hide in your work, not show your emotions. Yeah sometimes your dad did that too. He asks if you’re free tomorrow, and through the lump in your throat, you say yes. Tomorrow comes and he takes you to some of your favourite spots. Some of them are stores and notices you keep staring at something. You guys spend the morning together and it’s just a casual hangout. By the end though he asks if you’re doing okay. You nod and say I’m fine. No you’re not but he doesn’t push and instead gives you the thing you were staring at earlier. You’ve been working hard kid. Don’t forget to reward yourself.

Note: Just a small extra edit, I honestly needed this myself, because unfortunately I have been dealing was some very frustrating issues regarding my career life. I’ll likely come back to this post to add some stuff, but wanted to just do some sweet and simple fluff. I love you all and appreciate your love and support for the stuff I make on here. I plan to branch out to other fandoms and hope to have your support on those as well. Wish you all the best and my request box is always open.

@yourlovely-moon @kaoyamamegami @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @sans-chara @1mommyrose4ever29 @smitten-haematite-quartz @tai-the-gemini @yuki2129 @whitetiger846 @graystorm444 @chibiduck @reaperxxxxzz @danielle143 @sobbingnshtting @cringeycookies @cryingpages @dcnocap207 @reaper-chan666

[jamiekb]

Exploring the new Welcome Home Update

So here's my journey through the new update and the little details that it has, this will be a very long post and of course full of spoilers.

Look at the new design for the loading screen, so Christmas-y! I particularly love the antlers on Home's chimney.

Looking good Wally! And now we have new little doodles that seem to go with the holiday.

Ok so according to the admins no more bugs so wonder what will be different this time. Onto the news page then

Also I'm really digging the new background

Ok starting the FAQ now and some questions and answers are interesting. So they've been receiving more material covered in goop. They kinda adress in universe the move of the website, due to malicious material and in the code of the page.

And there is one new hidden message in the answers (I think) "The numbers are so hard to read. Sometimes I can't see them" So do we have to look for numbers now?

Took a detour through the stickers and they have new ones! There is Wally making a Home out of snow, sleeping Julie, I think Frank singing Carols to a butterfly, Poppy with a Jello thing, Eddie with a ton of presents to deliver, Howdy with some relatives, Sally as the star of a Christmas tree and Barnaby with a snowman.

Also with the "Welcome Home" banners two are a bit more desaturated now. And now that I think about it there are some stains in the main banner too

Neighborhood

Anyway unto the Neighborhood! Looks so cute although I'll be honest the clock tower is a bit weird and the trees feel a bit more intense at the edges or maybe that's just me

Eddie seems quite normal though now apparantly he has a mother, I'm confident that didn't use to be there. Is it weird that other than Wally hes the only one that didn't add anything new to his home for the season?

I think Howdy's description also changed a bit but nothing alarming. His store now seems to have signs welcoming his family for the holidays.

Checking Barnaby's description they seem to all have a bit more background info, since he apparently left his farm life to come to Home. Ok what does "Barnaby’s middle initial was often rotated in terms of what it stood for" mean???

Poppy is so cute! Is she holding cupcakes decorated like the characters or did she already do that? Ok but her new details feel very interesting: she claims to be able to fly but it's never shown and she never leaves her house to the point of being excluded from some events (like Wally's Homewarming party I guess)

Sallys is fine. She's besties with Poppy I guess and she can shine??? How do you make a puppet shine?? Were they roommates maybe?

Oh Julie got quite a backstory. Named siblings, she has paws and used to live in the forest on the outskirts of Home in a cave with her family. And she hibernates that's too cute!

Great my dear Frank still gets no background info (which is very interesting) but he goes get forced heteronormativity.

Ok and Wally is kinda similar, no background info just very dedicated to Home. And I''l see about coming back to the As above so below page since I can't seem to click it, might just be me. You can still see the goop at the doorstep though

Merchandise

Ok so first off the Merchandise page has a different background to the rest, some colorful static and took a bit to load.

oooh they even changed the layout for the phone since you could hear Wallys call, that's such a cool detail

Maybe I'll go back and see if Eddies or Sally's stories have been changed in the audio or transcipt but I'll stick to the new stuff for now. Now that i think about maybe Sally's doesn't have the bit where the transcript couldnt understand it.

Finally reached the wish book and I love it so much, this is so much work all around! My favorites are the Frank and Wally pillows, Eddie Dear Lil' Mailman's Kit, the Home Clock and specially the tree skirt! I now have to make those cute neighbors

Oh my god the record has the perfect Santa voice. And.. interesting that the ad cuts off when we get to Eddie. I'm not really surprised thought it would do something when it got to him or Frank, still suspicious.

Homewarming Story

The sound editing for all this new items is amazing!

I love the bit of the characters tripping up the narrators, this one just hasn't been able to get it right.

Hey is it me or in this one they've been a bit more insistent that Frank is a bit too literal but in a not so good way, not that much more intense but can't help but notice it. Seems a bit meaner

The return of Walliford!

Good to know Home uses he/him I guess

excuse me the fuck was that sound distortion???

and then it ends kinda abruptly, so that's that...

Where's my Eddie by the way, they didn't ask him and didn't find him while out on the town. I better hear him at some point or I will riot.

We have a code!

Ok so I was skimming the rest of the material before choosing what to listen to next and saw the cereal and craft at the back! So I guess now I have to find all the little drawings in the page and see when come from that

So I did listen to a few more songs, nice to see Eddie and Frank interacting as always, and noticed that in the transcript pages there are some entries for Mistery Audio, which are actually three of the previously hidden videos so that's interesting

Also not all the pages have four drawings some only one, so I've been trying to keep track which symbols i found where in case it matters. Still don't know what they're for just going around collecting them

Ok nvm I was doing things out of order and now that I got to media can see they are mentioned there

So after finally getting all the little things and going back to tumblr cause honestly I didnt really get what to do, I'm guessing it leads to a website, since one of the pages just has www as the code, so I'll try that I guess since I saw that there is a secret website somewhere. If it takes me too long I'll just look it up

Secret website

Nvm I'm too impatient at this point and I think i was missing a few letters so I just looked it up

Ok so that's interesting, so this person is kinda like the one behind the scenes talking to us along with whatever had infected the website before. They mention how the curator got sick (???) but is better now and that they'll try to update this website with the weird things they find

So the phone is one, like the weird glitched audio from Wally. This audio is interesting cause it plays out technically in real life but Wally speaks as if they are living out their lives...

And then moving on to the commercial they are speaking again of being compelled to know more, to see and wait. I'm sure some is curiosity but that can't be all

ohmygod this is more than 20 minutes long, the effort it must have taken Clown and team is monumental

that little animation is so cute!!!

fast forward many commercials and we have Eddie!!! And even a whole hand helping Poppy or something.

god the tobacco comercial of course they would have one

My poor Eddie boy is so anxious and depressed, why is no one talking to you bud? Like not getting him a present is a thing but not even Julie called him to play... and now is he's spiraling and even mad, that's unusual for sure. Also what's with the perspective of his videos, everything is a commercial or in the case of the secret videos it's interactions with other neighbors. This is more like the secret videos that we're seeing from someones POV, but not even that, we're observing him not looking through his eyes

Oh my poor Eddie is certainly going through it, who let them expose him to The Horrors? The horror aspect of this ARG sure has started to pick up speed, even I picked up some anxiety from that last segment

Also I did notice that Frank eventually dropped the Mr Dear for Eddie when he got more worried, almost like hes more worried than for an act that he has to put up huh?

So that was the newest Welcome home update. I can say it was everything I hoped for and more!!! The team behind it really gave it their all. From VAs for the audios to all the visual and graphic artists for the commercials its all so wonderful

[asordinaryppl]

A3! Backstage Story Translation - Sakyo Furuichi SR: Please Ticket: From Sakyo - Part 2

Izumi: Okay, that should be all for today’s meeting.

Sakyo: Yeah. I think we’ve discussed everything that needs to be addressed, that should be enough for today.

Sakyo: You’ll be going to help a troupe in the neighboring town later, won’t you, Director-san?

Izumi: Yes, their actual performance is coming up, so they asked for my help again.

Sakyo: In that case, be careful of what time you come back home. If you’re gonna be late like last time, give me a call.

Izumi: You don’t need to worry so much., I’ll be fine. I’m a grown woman, you know!

Izumi: You’re such a worrywart, Sakyo-san!

Sakyo: Am I, now… Who was it again that had a brush with the law without so much as a single message?

Izumi: Ahaha… That did happen. I’m sorry...

Sakyo: You oughta take note that all of us here worry about you so much that if you don’t come home without letting us know, we’ll get the cops involved.

Izumi: … I understand.

Sakyo: Also, I couldn’t tell you this the other day, but… It’s too dangerous to walk alone that late at night.

Sakyo: If you’ll be comin’ home late, I’ll come pick you up. If I can’t go, I’ll send someone else.

Sakyo: So make sure to contact me.

Izumi: Okay, thank you.

Izumi: (I’m grateful to Sakyo-san for always worrying about me… Oh, right.)

Izumi: Do you have any plans tonight, Sakyo-san?

Sakyo: Nah, I’ve got nothing in particular planned, I’m just gonna read.

Izumi: In that case, please wait a moment.

-

Izumi: Thank you for waiting.

Sakyo: Is that the Please Ticket?

Izumi: Yes, there’s something I wanted to ask of you…

Izumi: Okay, I’ve written it down. Sakyo-san, if you’d please…!

Sakyo: “Please come pick me up by car”...? The hell are you writing on this Please Ticket? You can only use this once, y’know.

Sakyo: Even without this, you can contact me, and I’ll come pick you up any time. Use it for something else.

Izumi: No, having you pick me up means I’ll be taking up some of your precious free time.

Izumi: Please let me properly ask this of you.

Sakyo: *Sigh*… Got it. If you insist, I’ll take it.

Izumi: Thank you…! Okay, I’ll be waiting for you to come pick me up!

-

Izumi: (I’m finally done! I’m so glad their actual performance went by without a hitch.)

Izumi: (Hmm… It hasn’t been that long since I called him, but I wonder if Sakyo-san’s already come to pick me up?)

Sakyo: Good work, Director-san.

Izumi: Huh, Sakyo-san!? You’re already here?

Sakyo: Yeah. I happened to be at a bookstore nearby. Come on, hurry and get in.

Izumi: Thank you very much!

-

Izumi: Being in a car this late at night is kind of exciting.

Sakyo: Yeah…?

Sakyo: How ‘bout we take a little detour and drive around, then?

Choice 1: If you’d like to as well, Sakyo-san

Izumi: It’s getting late, so only if you’d like to as well, Sakyo-san!

Sakyo: I’m fine either way. But don’t you want to go home quick and relax a bit?

Izumi: Of course I do, but right now I’m more interested in driving around, so it’s okay!

Sakyo: Then drive around we will.

Izumi: You seem kinda happy, Sakyo-san.

Sakyo: You think so?

Sakyo: … Maybe I’m the one who’s more interested in driving around.

Izumi: Hm?

Sakyo: Nah, it’s nothin’.

Choice 2: I’m feeling perked up all of a sudden

Izumi: I was tired from all the work I had to do, but your offer perked me right up.

Izumi: I’d love to drive around!

Sakyo: Alright. By the way, have you eaten?

Izumi: I ate a few snacks and sweets during breaks!

Sakyo: That ain’t a proper meal.

Izumi: But I’m not that hungry right now, so let’s drive!

Sakyo: Well, I’m just here to grant your Please Ticket request, so if you’re hungry, lemme know immediately.

Izumi: I will, thank you!

Sakyo: There’s a road with a beautiful night view, so let’s take that on the way home.

Izumi: Really? I can’t wait to see it!

part 1 | part 2

[an-aroaces-harem]

Ellis Twilight Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I just deepl and google translated my way through this because I wanted to know what’s going on, so there are definitely mistakes but I believe I managed the general gist of the story. Anyway, it’s just a fan-made translation solely for entertainment purposes. Ikemen Villains belongs to Cybird.

Another note: I know Ikemen Villains is set in victorian London, but I will use the japanese suffixes because I prefer them.

The next morning. When I reported yesterdayʼs incident, Jude-san, who had received similar information, was also there.

Victor: “Circus” huh …?

Jude: That circus group seems to have disbanded a long time ago.

Kate: What!?

Ellis: Disbanded …?

Jude: “Grace Circus Troupe”

Jude: After making a huge success in London, he was tricked into debt by the maggots who flock to success and he was on fire.

Jude: A quick disband followed.

(Okay, then …)

Kate: I heard that Bill-sanʼs lost friend was “recruited”.

Kate: Itʼs impossible for them to be invited to a disbanded circus troupe. The recruitment has nothing to do with the kidnapping, right?

Ellis: Maybe someone is lying and lures the victims by pretending to recruit them to the circus.

Victor: I wonder if the Grace Circus still exists behind the scenes, only pretending to be disbanded on the surface.

Victor: Maybe it was the work of someone who worked under the name of the Grace Circus …

Victor: … Including that, an additional investigation is needed.

Victor: Jude, Ellis and Kate, thank you for the information.

Victor: The fair ended yesterday, so please take a break for now.

I took a deep breath as I stared at Victor’s back as he left with his long hair.

(As a ‘fairytale writer’, I may be fine as long as I just record the crimes of the Crown members …)

(I wish I could help with stopping this incident before there are more victims.)

(… Ah! Thatʼs right, a report.)

As a fairytale writer, I tried to think back whether there was any sin that he committed so that I could write a report about it this time.

(Hmm … Ellis-kun and Jude-san didnʼt do anything sinful, did they?)

(In the first place, I wonder if Ellis-kun would ever commit a crime that could be written in the report?)

(… Maybe it would be faster to write about Jude-sanʼs sins, who is hated so much that his life is threatened.)

Jude: Oi, donʼt act like yer thinking of somethinʼ rude.

Kate: What!? N-no way!

Jude: So, ya had the courage to go on a show and put yer body on the line?

Kate: How do you know that?

Ellis: Did you see it?

Jude: Even if ya donʼt like it, yerʼll be able to see it on such a huge stage at the fair.

Jude: I thought she was a troublesome woman who was constantly frightened in a scene of chaos and refused to escort her.

Jude-san looked at me again. He narrowed his eyes.

Jude: Ya seem to have the guts, so if yer willing to come with me, then Iʼd be happy to come.

Kate: Y-yes …

(Does that mean you approve of me a little?)

Jude: Ellis was the one who got me involved in the first place. Yer in charge of her.

Ellis: Yes, I know. Thatʼs good, Kate-san.

(Maybe this was a good thing …)

In this way, I ended up spending my days following Jude-san and Ellis-kun about their work.

He was attacked by business rivals and thugs once every three days.

A few days passed while I was writing in my notebook about the two people who would get revenge for even more outrageous behavior.

Then, when I finished my work as a fairytale writer for the day …

Ellis: Kate-san, I found a delicious restaurant. Would you rather take a detour or go home?

Ellis-kun always called out to me.

Today, it was a restaurant, and yesterday I was invited to a place with a beautiful view on the setting sun, eating crepes.

The day before yesterday, we had freshly baked baguette, and the other day, we saw a new poster in front of the theater, and on the way home, we ate meat pie.

Kate: Ellis-kun, youʼve been taking me to a lot of delicious restaurants lately …

Ellis: And …?

Kate: I feel like my body is getting a little heavy.

Ellis: I donʼt think it has changed at all … so why donʼt we go there?

Kate: … Iʼm coming.

(I just have to make up what I eat by exercising …)

Ellis: Really?

Ellis: Iʼm glad. I thought Kate-san would like that restaurant.

Ellis: I wanted to take you with me.

And the time I spent with Ellis-kun wasnʼt just about eating delicious food together—

Kate: Huh? Ellis-kun, this book is …

There was a book on the chair I always used in the common room.

Ellis: Oh, that … I believe you said you wanted to read it, right?

Kate: Thatʼs right …! Thank you … How much was it?

Ellis: Donʼt worry about it, itʼs a gift.

Ellis: Kate-san bought me some cranberry jam the other day, so I returned the favor.

Kate: Thatʼs because I wanted to thank you for taking me to the restaurant.

Ellis: Then, as a thank you for this … let me know what you think after you finish reading it.

(I gave him cranberry jam for the restaurant, and now he gave me a book for the jam …)

(What do I think about this book in return?)

Kate: … Is that a thank you?

Ellis: Yeah. Like listening to you.

Kate: There you go again …

(Ellis-kun is too good on pampering, isnʼt he …)

—The only thing that I found disturbing, however, were these particular questions Ellis-kun asked me regularly.

Ellis: Hey, Kate-san … how happy are you now?

What made me happy and how happy was I.

Perhaps wanting to know that, Ellis-kun sometimes asked me to come over and talk to him.

Usually, people asked me this when I was feeling happy.

He asked me questions as if he could see right through me, as if he was making sure I was happy.

It was like watching an exchange between lovers … that always made my heart tickle.

Kate: Hmm … I guess itʼs like when Iʼm taking a nap on my bed in the sun on my first vacation in a while.

I felt like Iʼve gotten better at expressing “happiness”, probably because I was always asked about it.

Ellis: …

He always smiled after blinking his eyes.

Ellis: … Iʼd like to see that. Would you take a nap with me next time?

Kate: T-together?

Ellis: Yeah. Think about it.

Ellis: Well then, Kate-san, see you tomorrow.

(Together …)

The kindness shown to me by Ellis-kun was so limitless that I almost felt conceited.

However …

(Oh, Iʼm afraid Iʼm going to be spoiled and pampered …!)

Perhaps driven by this sense of crisis, Iʼve been waking up early lately.

(Iʼm having more fun than I used to, even though Iʼm doing a job that could cost me my life.)

(Itʼs all thanks to Ellis-kun, who does everything he can to make me happy, but …)

At breakfast in the early morning, Jude-san happened to be alone with a newspaper, and I took the liberty of talking to him.

Kate: Is there a reason why Ellis-kun is so particular about happiness?

Jude: … What will ya do if ya know?

Kate: Huh? No, itʼs just a question.

Kate: He was so nice to me that I got worried …

As I spent time with Ellis-kun, I gradually realized what he had done—

He put “the other personʼs needs first”, not his own.

(As Ellis-kun said before.)

(Itʼs as if Ellis-kun has no feelings or desires of his own.)

Kate: I think Ellis-kun is a person who genuinely enjoys the happiness of others.

Kate: There have to be things he likes to do, and doesnʼt like to do.

Kate: Iʼm a little worried that heʼs not holding back.

Jude: … Heh, ya got a good grasp on that.

Jude-san snorted as he glanced down on the newspaper, seemingly uninterested.

Jude: So, ya believe there has to be an ulterior motive behind it and ya canʼt trust him?

(Eh …)

Kate: I didnʼt say that much.

But for a moment, I was at a loss of words, wondering if I could guess what Jude-san was saying.

Jude: Itʼs all the same.

Jude: “I canʼt read his true feelings, so I donʼt know if I should be happy to be pampered” is what ya thinkinʼ.

(… Truth to be told, he might be right.)

(Am I suspicious of Ellis-kun …?)

He was the type of person who would do anything to cheer me up.

I was afraid of becoming complacent with that kindness and missing out on the feelings behind it.

Jude: There ainʼt such a thing as genuine kindness, so leave that assumption aside.

Jude: Iʼm sure that his kindness isnʼt “just” due to simple favoritism.

Kate: Huh …?

Jude: Well, but if doesnʼt get particularly attached to ya, then itʼll be fine.

Kate: That sounds like there are circumstances where itʼs not okay for him to get attached …

Jude: Ha, yer smarter than I thought.

Jude-san raised an eyebrow and continued.

Jude: If ya know that much, donʼtcha think a smart girl would know what to do?

Jude-san looked down at the newspaper, as if he didnʼt feel like explaining further.

Thereʼs no such thing as genuine kindness.

If he doesnʼt get particularly attached, itʼs fine.

Even so, I could only get a warm impression.

So, I didnʼt know anything concrete about what would happen if I stayed with Ellis-kun.

(… What is this pain?)

It was as if I had reached out to touch a beautiful phosphorescent light and a small pin had pricked my fingertip.

Ellis: Morning Jude, Kate-san.

(Ah!)

Kate: Ellis-kun! Morning …

My heart skipped a beat and my hand involuntarily brushed against the silverware on the table.

Ellis: … What happened?

His gentle colored eyes looked at me with concern.

Kate: No, itʼs nothing.

Jude: All she did was whining and bemoaning how hungry she was.

Ellis: … I see. Then letʼs eat breakfast.

Ellis-kun smiled and took his seat.

(What Jude-san meant earlier … is to keep my distance so that he doesnʼt get really attached to me.)

(But … after being saved by his kindness so much, I canʼt act distant now.)

So, as usual, I smiled and called out to him.

Kate: Oh, I buttered the toast before it got cold.

Ellis: For me as well? … You did.

Kate: Thank you, as always.

Ellis: Thanks, Kate-san.

(When Ellis-kun smiles happily, it makes me happy too.)

I was sure that no one would leave him alone.

Because he was such a wonderful person.

(Iʼm sure thereʼs no way heʼll get particularly attached to me.)

(While repaying the kindness I received.)

(Letʼs spend the month trying not to be too on easy Ellis-kun.)

And not misjudge the his sense of distance—thatʼs what I vowed to do as soon as I came here.

(Every time he is kind to me, I almost forget that commandment.)

Since then, his kindness has crept into the cracks of my commandments, and the distance between our hearts gradually narrowed …

I was sure we had reached a point where I could still turn back.

(I canʼt make any more mistakes …)

Perhaps, surely—I canʼt make a mistake.

After finishing breakfast, when Kate had left to get ready to go out, Ellis turned his gaze to Jude.

Ellis: Hey, Jude.

Jude: If itʼs somethinʼ stupid, I ainʼt listening.

Jude made a noise with the newspaper as if to interrupt the voice.

Ellis: Do you think Kate-san will be the happiest in her life within a month?

Jude: Dunno.

Ellis: If she ever has a moment like this, I want it to be forever.

Ellis: Because sheʼs a nice person.

When Jude glanced up to him, he saw Ellis with a very serious expression on his face.

Jude: … Ha, yer as crazy as ever.

Ellis: I guess so.

Ellis: I … just donʼt like people I care about become unhappy.

Jude: …

Regarding the kidnapping incident, matters took a turn that night—

William wandered into the common room and saw Jude and Ellis discussing tomorrowʼs meeting.

Then he smiled at me as I took notes on the proceedings.

William: Weʼve received new information regarding the kidnappings from Alfons.

⤷ next chapter

[jujumin-translates]

[A3!] Event | A Postman Delivering Your Feelings | Episode 9

Tsuzuru: Guy-san and I have finished changing, so we’re ready to go on stage now.

Guy: Since all the seats but the ones in the front row are free, it seems that more people have come to see our performance with their families than just the usual fans of the company. 

Yuki: True. It does seem like there’s a pretty wide range of ages.

Sakyo: So you were able to successfully resolve that fight from earlier, Takato?

Tasuku: Yeah, they were able to work things out.

Misumi: Thank you for working so hard to serve customers while I was away from the booth, Masumi!

Masumi: It’s not like I really did that much, I had Director helping me out a bit, and all that really matters is that you managed to sort things out.

Izumi: I’m not only grateful for Misumi-kun and Tasuku-san, but I’m also grateful for the rest of you guys for being so adaptable and accommodating while those two were gone. So, thanks, everyone.

Izumi: The audience is a little different from the kind we’re used to, but make sure to have fun performing like you always do, okay?

Misumi: ‘Kaaay! We’re off!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Play Cast

Masumi - Riffle

Tsuzuru - Man/Lease

Yuki - Stamp

Misumi - Letra

Tasuku - Tiga

Guy - Carta

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Izumi: (A city in the near future filled with advanced technology. The young people living here have almost never used the post office.)

Izumi: (The number of post offices and their employees has been decreasing over the years, and letters sent out to the post offices are usually delivered by the office’s employees until the end of the day.)

Izumi: (Our story focuses on Letra and Riffle, who are working as new employees after easily getting the job due to the office’s understaffing.)

Envelope: “How many days did it take you to deliver that letter from the other day?”

Riffle: “I mean, the place was pretty far away, so.”

Envelope: “Regardless, it arrived way too late. What the hell were you doing…?”

Letra: “Whoa, Envelope-san’s really scary. I’m really glad that Tiga-san is my mentor!”

Stamp: “You’re supposed to call them senpai.”

Stamp: “Anyway, Tiga-senpai isn’t really all that different from Envelope-senpai, though.”

Letra: “He’s at least nicer when he gets mad!”

Stamp: “Maybe you should just stop doing things that make him mad in the first place.”

Stamp: “Letters are really important, so get going! And do it accurately! Make sure it gets delivered properly.”

Letra: “Hmph~, you’re only one year older than me, but you’re already so good at this, Stamp~.”

Tiga: “Stamp’s right. Both you and Riffle need to learn to stop taking detours and start taking your deliveries more seriously.”

Carta: “Even though Stamp is a newer employee, she knows just how important letters are and works very diligently.”

Carta: “That’s what we’re expecting from you and Riffle, Letra.”

Letra: “Got it, Chief Carta.”

Letra: “...That said~, I don’t even really know what a letter is exactly…”

Izumi: (New delivery employees usually deliver things together with the guidance of a senior employee, but sometimes they get to go out on their own to make deliveries.)

Izumi: (Taking letters by hand to places they’ve never heard of and heading in completely different directions after roughly deciding which way they’re supposed to go…)

Izumi: (The two newbies continue to do their work adequately every day.)

Letra: “Which house does this letter need to be delivered to~? Riffle, look for it with your binoculars!”

Riffle: “Got it. I’ll check right away.”

*Phone buzzes*

Riffle: “!”

Riffle: “…”

Letra: “Hm? Wasn’t that your terminal just now, Riffle?”

Riffle: “...It’s fine. Probably just someone trying to ask about my car’s extended warranty or something.”

Letra: “Huuuh…?”

Izumi: (One day, Letra and Tiga return from a long-distance delivery and are greeted by Stamp.)

Stamp: “Welcome back. Everyone’s doing deliveries right now. I’m just about to head out to do a delivery too, so if anyone shows us, make sure to deal with them. Later.”

Letra: “Okay, got it, see you later.”

Man: “…Um, excuse me…”

Tiga: “There’s a customer. Letra, you go help him.”

Letra: “Got it. …Hello~, do you have something to be delivered?”

Man: “I’d like to have this letter delivered, but…”

Letra: “You’ve even got a stamp on it. Alright, here, allow me to deliver it for you.”

Man: “…Wait, really?”

Letra: “? Yeah, I mean, that’s my job, so…”

Man: “Right. Then… please deliver this for me.”

*Man runs off*

Letra: “We hope you come again.”

Letra: “Okay, and the destination is… Huh, that’s…”

Tiga: “What’s wrong?”

Letra: “Nothing, just… It looks like it’s just addressed to Riffle instead of having a delivery address, but…”

Letra: “A letter for Riffle from someone who doesn’t even know his address, doesn’t it make that guy seem kinda suspicious…?”

Tiga: “...We’re not the ones to be the judge of that. Let’s go talk to the Chief.”

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Carta: “A letter addressed to Riffle? And the sender is…”

Carta: “...I see. Well, I supposed it’s time for him to face it.”

Carta: “Can you please give this letter to Riffle?”

Izumi: (Leaving the Chief’s office while nodding their heads, Letra asks Tiga if he knows anything about Riffle.)

Izumi: (Tiga also doesn’t have many of the details, but he tells Letra about the circumstances that led to Envelope becoming Riffle’s mentor.)

Izumi: (Having been told to give the letter to him, Letra gives it to Riffle when he returns from his delivery.)

Letra: “Riffle, I was told to deliver this letter to you.”

Riffle: “…Gh!”

*Riffle runs off*

Letra: “Wait, Riffle…!?”

Izumi: (Riffle reads the letter, gets upset, and crushes the letter in his hand as he leaves without saying a word. And the following day, he calls in sick…)

Izumi: (At first, they thought Riffle would come back soon, but a whole month passed and he still hadn’t returned.)

Izumi: (Letra then goes to ask the Chief when he’ll be back.)

Carta: “...I’ve been treating it as a leave of absence, however, Riffle has actually handed in his letter of resignation. It’s very possible that he won’t come back.”

Letra: “What…!?”

Letra: “But we came to this post office together… What’s the big deal, Riffle…!?”

Izumi: (At first, Letra wasn’t so sure about him, but gradually, he started to get to know Riffle more.)

Letra: “That guy who sent him the letter’s gotta know something. I remember the sender’s address. I’m gonna go and pay that guy a visit…!”

Letra: “If that’s what I’m deciding to do then… Excuse me, Tiga-senpai! I wanna take the day off today…”

Tiga: “...You’re planning on tracking down the person who sent Riffle the letter, aren’t you?”

Letra: “Uegh… Busted…”

Envelope: “If that’s where you’re headed, one day won’t be enough. I’ll approve three days of leave for you.”

Envelope: “...Please bring back Riffle. Even someone like him can end up being a cute kouhai.”

Letra: “Envelope-senpai… Yeah, leave it to me! I’m headed out now!

· • —– ٠ ✤ ٠ —– • ·

Letra: “I dunno why you had to come along even though I would’ve been fine on my own, Tiga-senpai.”

Tiga: “Because I’m worried about you being on your own.”

Letra: “Hmph. Anyway, this area is pretty rural. One day really wouldn’t have been enough…”

Tiga: “The address of the house we’re headed to is over there.”

Letra: “Wait, here!? That’s a really big house! That’s obviously some sorta super-rich guy’s mansion!”

Man: “...Huh?”

Man & Letra: “Ah, it’s you!” 

Izumi: (Letra tells the man about how Riffle saw the letter and resigned. Tiga is stunned by how direct he is…)

Man: “No way, did he really…?”

Letra: “How do you know Riffle?”

Lease: “My name’s Lease. Riffle is my little brother.”

Letra: “You’re Riffle’s big bro!? Wait, so Riffle’s some super loaded rich kid!?” 

Lease: “He’s always been treated like a failure by our family…”

Lease: “I promised that as his older brother, I’d always be there to protect and help him, but I couldn’t keep my promise because I was sent to study abroad to be educated as the family’s heir.” 

Letra: “I never knew that about Riffle…”

Lease: “We kept in touch at first, but then things got busy and we just sort of naturally stopped talking.”

Lease: “And when I finally came back just recently from studying abroad, Riffle was gone from home.”

Lease: “I looked into things and found out that he was being treated even worse after I had left.”

Lease: “I think he sent me a letter before he left home, but no one at home ever delivered it to me.”

Letra: “Oh, I see… But I wonder why Riffle went outta his way to send a letter instead of just messaging you.”

Lease: “I was always so busy every day that I didn’t have the time to take the time to talk to him, so I’ve basically been communicating with Riffle through letters ever since we were little.”

Tiga: “For Riffle, those letters were probably the only way he could really talk to his older brother. They were probably like an emotional support for him.”

Letra: “Those letters were important to Riffle…?”

Tiga: “I’d say probably.”

Lease: “But I didn’t have the courage to meet up with Riffle and face him directly… That’s why I sent him such a bland, innocuous letter.”

Tiga: “Is that so…”

Letra: “...I never woulda thought that Riffle’s upbringing was worse than mine.”

Letra: “I get it now. Riffle was treating letters so carelessly despite being someone who’d know the importance of them because he was betrayed by them.”

Letra: “...Lease-san. If you think about it as being for Riffle’s sake, can you please write him a letter with all your thoughts and feelings about him in it?”

Lease: “But…”

Letra: “Do you want how things are with Riffle now to stay the way they are?”

Lease: “...No, I don’t want that… Got it, I’ll write one right away. Please wait for me at that cafe over there.”

Izumi: (And so, while on the way back after receiving the letter from Lease…)

Letra: “I wonder why Riffle even became a delivery person.”

Tiga: “This is just speculation, but… My guess would be that he couldn’t let go of his memories of his brother, or maybe that he still had hope for his brother in a letter… Or something like that.”

Letra: “I see… For some reason, I feel like it might be both of those things for Riffle…”

Izumi: (As soon as they arrive at the post office, Letra makes his way straight to Riffle’s house. He thought that Tiga would be coming with him, but…)

Tiga: “No, I think it’s best if you go alone, Letra. We’ll be waiting for you at the post office tomorrow. Now, go and give Riffle his older brother’s thoughts and feelings.”

Letra: “Yeah, got it.”

Letra: “Time for me to send the thoughts and feelings of a loved one to Riffle properly.”

[ ⇠ Previous Part ] • [ Next Part ⇢ ]

[meenatranslates]

[SR] Taichi | Reminiscence of Blooming

There were feelings of frustration, as well as regrets and repentance. Still, I was able to keep running without going off the rails because everyone acknowledged me. Lead Skill: A friend I admire, who is my comrade and also my rival Adlib Skill: Right side, good! Left side, good! My smile, good!

__________________________

Veludo Town Oshi Spot! ~Video: Taichi~ - Part 1

__________________________

―Yosei Uni (Day)―

Taichi: Haah...

Juza: ...Still not goin' home yet?

Taichi: Oh, Juza-san! Are you planning to go back now?

Juza: Yeah. But I'll listen to you if there's anythin' you're troubled with...

Taichi: Eh?

(Is he worried for me because I let out a sigh...?)

Thanks, Juza-san!

But it's no big deal, really! I just can't decide on which place to introduce for the video, that's all.

Juza: The one for the commemorative event on Inste?

Taichi: Yup, that one! Also, since the weather's good today, I was thinking of taking a detour somewhere before heading home...

And it's been a while since I've been to the karaoke, so I thought I could try singing to my heart's content once in a while!

Juza: ...I see.

Taichi: I- I told you it's not a big deal!

Please don't think that I sighed so seriously over such a small thing!

Juza: I wasn't really thinking that...

Taichi: So yeah, Juza-san!

If you have time today, wanna go to karaoke with me?

Juza: Karaoke, huh...

Taichi: Ah, it's fine to decline if you have plans after this!

Juza: ...No, I don't mind goin'. I was just reminded of the time when we were still in O High.

Taichi: O High?

Juza: Just like today, you invited me and Tenma to karaoke on our way back from school a few times.

Taichi: We really had lots of fun back then~! I might as well invite Ten-chan today...

Tenma: You called me?

Taichi: Wah! Great timing, Ten-chan!

Tenma: What do you mean?

Taichi: Juza-san and I just talked about going to karaoke! Wanna come along, Ten-chan?

Tenma: ...Sorry, I gotta leave for work after this.

Taichi: Oh, really? Okay, do your best at work!

Juza: You seem busy these days. Don't push yourself too hard.

Tenma: Thanks, you two. Go have fun at the karaoke.

―Karaoke Box―

Taichi: ...Ha~! Like I thought, it feels refreshing after singing all out!

Huh? You didn't put any songs to sing yet, Juza-san?

Juza: I got too absorbed in listenin' to your singin' that I forgot to do it. That song just now, I remember you also sang that last time we went to karaoke.

Taichi: Yeah, I did! It's the theme song for the drama that Ten-chan starred in! We sang in duet at that time.

It was a bit hard to sing while playing a tambourine, but it was really fun!

(I already feel nostalgic about that, huh~. We make a lot of memories each time we go here.)

(Come to think of it, we often come here to do karaoke. Maybe I should introduce this place for Inste...?)

Juza: You sure can sing even while playin' a tambourine. I don't think I can do that...

Taichi: It's 'cause I was trained by Ten-chan and Ban-chan! I feel like my tambourine skills improved thanks to them...

(Ah, that's right!)

Can we take a selfie together, Juza-san? I wanna send a pic to Ten-chan...

Juza: 's fine by me.

Taichi: Okay, here's the mic for you, and a tambourine for me...

Say cheese~!

*snap*

Juza: Was that okay?

Taichi: Totally! I sent him the pic and said "Let's go together next time"!

Now then, I gotta continue to liven up your song with my tambourine skills~!

Juza: Yeah, countin' on you for that.

―Lounge (Night)―

Tenma: I'm home.

Taichi: Welcome home, Ten-chan! Did you see the pic I sent on LIME?

Yeah, sorry for the late reply. I also saw the picture of you slightly cut off.

Taichi: Ahaha. I tried my best taking the pic while holding a tambourine, but my hands went a little crazy...

But then I thought, "This should be okay enough"!

Tenma: Yeah, I can really tell that you had fun from the picture.

Taichi: I did, but because I sang your drama's theme song by myself, I kinda felt lonely.

Tenma: It's the song for the drama that I was in, so of course it can't be good without me around.

Taichi: Yup, so let's duet together next time!

__________________________

Veludo Town Oshi Spot! ~Video: Taichi~ - Part 2

__________________________

―Karaoke Box (Day)―

Taichi: We came all the way here, so let's sing together today, Ten-chan!

Tenma: Don't get ahead of yourself! You need to shoot the introduction video first.

Taichi: I- I know that~! I was just joking...

Wait, why're you suddenly holding the remote control!

Tenma: Well, I saw that the theme song for the drama I starred in was in the rankings, and I got curious so...

Taichi: You're right! It's amazing that it's in 3rd place! As expected from a drama starring Ten-chan!

Tenma: Heh, I guess so.

No, wait- Just get started and film already!

Taichi: Ah, just wait, please~! I'm doing the preparations right now!

~~~~~

The person to introduce their recommended spot for this time is... Taichi Nanao, from Autumn Troupe in MANKAI Company!

Tenma: And the one in charge of filming is Tenma Sumeragi from Summer Troupe.

Taichi: Many thanks for Ten-chan! Now then, the place I'm going to introduce is here! The karaoke box!

There are times when I have the sudden urge to sing...

This happens to you guys too, right? How about you, Ten-chan?

Tenma: Quite few times.

Taichi: Thought so! At times like that, I always come here!

It's close to the station, has the latest models, it's pretty clean, and there's also the drinks station...

This is like, the best place to sing!

Tenma: I mean, it's a karaoke box after all.

Taichi: Well, yeah, that's true but~!

Oh right, the Autumn Troupe of MANKAI Company, of which I am affiliated with, once performed a band-themed play...

Tenma: Ahh, you mean "the Rad Red", where Taichi played the lead role. You guys also held a live performance of an original song during the play.

Taichi: Yup! I actually came here and wrote that original song at that time!

I've also come here with the other troupe members to sing, and many other fun things happened...

This place holds many memories for me.

*ding*

...Wait, what!?

It's the theme song of Ten-chan's drama! Why...!?

Tenma: Taichi! Your elbow's pressing the button on the remote control!

Taichi: Agh, it's true!! I should stop this, right!?

Tenma: I'll do that, so you just keep focusing on the video...!

Taichi: G-got it!

Umm, anyway, karaoke is the best! So everyone should come and hang out here too!!

―Lounge (Night)―

Tenma: ...Have you posted it yet?

Taichi: Uhh, just a second.

~~VLOG starts~~

Caption: Something unexpected happened during the introduction of karaoke box!?

Taichi: "I've also come here with the other troupe members to sing, and many other fun things happened..."

"This place holds many memories for me."

*ding*

"...Wait, what!?"

"It's the theme song of Ten-chan's drama! Why...!?"

~~VLOG ends~~

Taichi: I've successfully submitted my post!

Thanks for getting me permission to use the theme song, Ten-chan! I didn't have to do a retake thanks to that!

Tenma: I wanted everyone to see your video too. The way you panicked is amusing no matter how many times I watched it.

Taichi: Now that you said it, that was a bit embarrassing...!

Tenma: Hey, don't talk too loud or you'll hurt your throat. That awful voice is because of the karaoke you and the others went to yesterday, right?

Taichi: Uhuu, I had too much fun singing that I overused my throat...

Sorry, Ten-chan, even though you told me to be careful.

Tenma: ...Well, I did expect that this would happen.

Here, have some honey. It's the same one I gave you before. This should make your throat feel better. (1)

Taichi: Wahh! Thanks, Ten-chan! You're so kind that my heart's gonna get captivated again...!

Tenma: It'd be a problem if you can't go to karaoke for a while. Mostly worried about your tambourine skills, though...

Taichi: I can still play the tambourine even if my voice gets hoarse! Or rather, I want us to duet again some time!

Tenma: I get it already, so stop shouting!

Take care of your throat so that it'll heal quicker.

Taichi: Okay!

Story Clear!

=====NOTES=====

[1] Referencing the Epilogue of "the Rad Red".

[idontplaytrack]

✧ Tough

Rosa Diaz x teen daughter! reader

Warnings: none?

In which, Rosa comes down with a cold and the squad shoos her home but she refuses- so reader comes to the rescue

“You look like hell, Rosa.”

“I’m fine.” Rosa spat.

“No, you are not.” Jake continues. Rosa only rolled her eyes before resuming her work. “Lieu, would you please tell her she looks like crap.”

Jeffords turned around and said, “You look like crap.”

“I’m working.”

“You’re sick. Literally not one of us have seen you this pale.” Terry continues.

“At least take this.” Charles put a pill on her desk- an antihistamine.

“No.”

“Ha ha.” Amy quipped, “I called your daughter.”

“Amy, are you insane? Why would you do that?” Rosa laid back in her seat, “Why would you call my daughter over this?”

“Because out of everyone you know, I know you’d listen to her.” Amy shrugged.

“I’m gonna kill you.”

“No, you are not.” Amy replies calmly, “Just go home and take it easy for the rest of the day.”

“But you might want to wait for your daughter to get here.” Holt’s voice cut through the room. “I do not think it is safe for you to make your own way home. She should be here in 16 minutes. Her school has let out for the day.”

“Whaaat? Still crazy to hear that.” Jake laughs.

“Get back to work.” Terry reminded, “Rosa stop doing your work.”

“Fine, whatever.” She gave up, saving the document onto her desktop then just laid back in her chair to wait for you.

————

“Bye, Rosa.” Jake grins. Rosa grumbles, putting her jacket on while you went to press the lift button.

“You know, I love you but I don’t see how having you take a detour to go home with me will keep either of us safer.”

“Okay, but it did shut them up, didn’t it?”

Rosa chuckles, “Didn’t you have something on?”

“I did. But I decided not to go.”

“I’m a little afraid to ask, but why?”

“That’s a problem for another day. You just focus on resting today.” You told her.

“y/n.” She warned.

“The guy’s a douchebag.” You gave in, “Apparently he orders the most expensive thing on the menu then makes his date pay every time. And he doesn’t exactly take no for an answer, if you get what I mean.”

“Okay, that’s good- don’t ever feel like you need to go on dates because you don’t want to cancel on people.”

“I know.” You assured, “How are you feeling?”

“Never felt this sick in 10 years.” She snorted, “But, I bounce back quick.”

“That’d be right.” You stifled a laugh, “I’ll make us some soup when we get back- and you, take a shower and get into bed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She joked, “I’m tough.”

“Oh, there’s no denying that.” You put an arm around her, and you see a tiny little smile tug on her lips, “You are tough. You’re a badass.”

“I mean, so are you, y’know?” She continues.

“Barely.”

“Please, you’re my daughter. I taught you everything you know. You’re a badass too, mamita.”

“Oh, boy we need to get you into bed.”

“y/n, I’m not trying to be funny.”

“You realise none of my dates have went well so far?”

“So? It’s not your fault the people who’ve tried to take you out are jerks or you just didn’t vibe with them.”

“Maybe I’m the problem.”

“No one’s perfect but you can’t say that because I see you as you are and I can confidently say you’re a good person.” Rosa spoke tiredly, “There are plenty of people in the city. You’ll meet someone before you know it.”

“You mean it?”

“Fuck do you mean? Of course I do.” She answered straightforwardly, “Don’t be so hard on yourself.”

“Ah…I guess after three suckish dates in a row, my confidence has taken a hit. But thanks, Mom.”

The rest of your walk home was rather quiet with Rosa trying to keep warm in this chilly weather while her body temperature rose. So, once you both got home, you quickly turned the heat up so she would be more comfortable. “I’m gonna take a shower now, then I’m off to bed.”

“Good, you’d better. I’ll wake you up when the food’s done so you can eat some then take something for your fever.”

“Okay, honey.” Rosa rolled her eyes playfully, “Be careful.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I said that first.”

[jasper-book-stash]

October 2024 Reading Wrap-Up

The eight books of this month really made me experience the whole span of human emotion. And maybe a couple of the shrimp ones.

Religious Text

None applicable.

1/10 - Why Did They Publish This?

None applicable (thank the gods).

2/10 - Trash

Pure Magic: A Complete Course In Spellcasting | Judika Illes

The amount of times I screeched about citing sources or admitting that the author has none...I didn't get too far. The author was wholeass pulling things out of her ass. This is the epitome of bullshit "feminist" pseudohistory. I couldn't even get to the parts about occultism because the bullshit made me throw the book.

(Side note, I don't think it's very "feminist" to depict women of the past as having a beautiful matriarchal society and then having that taken over by men... Like girl, you are actively shitting upon those who came before you! You are downplaying their struggles and lying!!!)

3/10 - Meh

Horses And The Mystical Path: The Celtic Way Of Expanding The Human Soul | Adele Von Rust Mccormick, Ph.D., Marlena Deborah Mccormick, Ph.D., Thomas E Mccormick, M.D.

Here's the thing. Except for the emphasis on combining a whole bunch of cultures together as Celtic, this was just...not the book for me. I'm not Christian, I'm not struggling with finding my faith in any way, and while I like horses I don't care much for the approach. It was just...boring to me.

4 to 6/10 - Mid-Tier

The Husbands | Holly Gramazio

This was a decent book. It's about a husband-producing attic, and the main female character trying to find out what's going on. But it was very difficult to keep up with all of the characters (because their details often changed with each husband) and the female character got to the point where she was just regularly speedrunning husband options. It feels like this was a little too long for what it was. I probably would have enjoyed it more if it was a novella instead of a novel. But hey, it was a debut novel, and we always love to see more authors coming up and out.

7 to 8/10 - Good With Caveats

Mead Mishaps 2 and 3: That Time I Got Drunk And Yeeted A Love Potion At A Werewolf & That Time I Got Drunk And Saved A Human | Kimberly Lemming

I read and enjoyed book one in September, and book two was just as good and fun, with a mystery incel cult going on. Book three was a little less enjoyable than the first, because it felt like it was setting up for things that never came through, and there's only so much new stuff you can tread with the same approach of "male dragon and [redacted for spoilers] human woman". But it was still stupid and fun and very, very horny. And these ones put content warnings in the beginning, which is very nice!

Mothman: Behind The Red Eyes…The Complete Investigative Library | Jeff Wamsley

My overall feelings about this book is that it's fine, the author's interviewing skills suck shit. There are a lot of newspaper clippings and some of the formatting makes me want to chew rocks, but it's otherwise pretty good. We take a very interesting detour into aliens and the Men in Black. It's also important to note that this is apparently the second Mothman book he's written and he repeatedly references the first one, which I do not have, but it also kinda stands on its own.

It's funny because I did not buy this book. My stepdad's coworker heard my stepdad talking about hopes to eventually go to West Virginia to see the Mothman statue and just. Had the book. And gave it to my stepdad.

Honestly, what a fitting way to acquire such a book.

9/10 - Very Very Good

Providence Girls: A Sapphic Horror Romance | Morgan Dante

This book made me want to chew a hole through sheetrock. That is a compliment. DEFINITELY mind the content warnings. Spoilers coming up, but the spoilers aren't actually that surprising when you remember that this is a Lovecraftian lesbian romance.

So the framing of it is that it's letters between Lavinia Whateley and Asenath Waite. Lavinia escapes being sacrificed in Dunwich and runs until she winds up in East Providence, where Asenath finds her and takes her in. Asenath is slowly turning into a fish person because she's from the mess going on in Arkham and they live together and it's simultaneously an analysis of Lovecraftian horror, living in the 1930s, and sapphic romance. They're so freaking cute.

Lavinia's letters are framed as being post-Azzie's fishification while Azzie's are from before that, but the letters alternate to create a linear narrative despite this non-linear framing.

10/10 - Unironically Recommend To Everyone

Doing Justice: A Prosecutor's Thoughts On Crime, Punishment, And The Rule Of Law | Preet Bharara

If you've been paying attention to the most recent posts on this blog, you're not going to be surprised that I've been going insane over this book. Narrative nonfiction wasn't one that I thought I would enjoy, but now I know that I do. There was only one part that I had to skip, personally, because of the details discussed...but honestly, it was so good. I look forward to reading more of what this author writes.

[elisysd]

7. Maybe together we can get somewhere

Masterlist - Previously - Next

Chapter soundtrack: Tracy Chapman - Fast Car

The sun was piercing through the curtains, waking up Julia. She took her time getting out of bed, letting the memories over the previous night rush over her. She took a quick shower before putting on an old Ferrari tee-shirt that she once borrowed from her dad (and never gave back) and some sweatpants. She was going to work a little bit on the data that some engineer from Warsaw had sent yesterday. She needed to be comfortable. A quick detour to the kitchen to make herself some toast and a cappuccino and she was ready to face her day. She came back to her room and sat at her desk. Before logging in, she unplugged her phone and quickly wen through the few texts messages and social media notifications. Her gaze was attracted by a name trending on Twitter and soon a text message from the same person that was under the spotlight on the app.

It worked.

She knew that she should stay away from the posts on social media, but curiosity got the better of her. She clicked on Ethan’s name and soon she was overwhelmed with pictures of them in the restaurant and hundreds of comments of people trying to guess who the girl in the pictures was. Investigations had begun and Julia knew it was only a matter of time before they get to her. A part of her knew that nothing would give away that it was her. The picture was blurry, the only thing you could see was her back and a brunette wearing a black dress was something pretty common. That was the rational part of her brain that was talking. But the tiny insecure one couldn’t help but play the devil’s advocate. What if someone had seen her and decided to speak? What if there were other pictures that were not online yet and someone decided to release them? Monaco was after all a small city, almost a village where everyone knew everyone. She could feel herself spiralling and nausea coming over her. She only had time to go to the toilet before emptying her stomach.

“Julia? Are you okay,” asked her mom that was passing by.

She knelled beside her daughter and put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine, I must have eaten something that my stomach didn’t like yesterday, that’s it.”

“You sure? Did everything go well yesterday? I didn’t hear you coming back.”

Julia’s only answer was to throw up again. It was as if her body was trying to tell her that the whole thing was a bad idea. She felt her mom’s cold hand on her neck and then moving up to her forehead.

“I’m not sick, mom.”

“You are throwing up and you are shivering, excuse me to feel a little worried.”

“It’s just the stress. That’s it. We have a lot of work to do…”

It was not a lie. It was just not the reason why Julia felt so sick.

“I knew it might not be a good idea to let you work in F1 right after graduating…” she heard her mom sigh.

“That’s my dream. I don’t want to work anywhere else.”

“I know, but sometimes you have to delay your dreams in order to feel ready. Maybe you could have started in F2, I know Fred still have some ties with Art Grand Prix…”

“No! I’m okay. I just need to get used to the pressure and I’ll be fine.” explained Julia, getting up.

“Come with me, I was about to make myself some tea. I’ll make you one. You need to drink.

Julia followed her mom as they make their way to the kitchen. Julia sat on a bar stool and watched silently her making the water boil in the kettle. The comfort silence was suddenly interrupted by angry footsteps coming from her father’s office. She heard him hanging up his phone call with rage and barging through the kitchen’s doors before sitting on the stool next to her. From the corner of her eyes she saw her mom taking another mug from the cabinet and pour a third cup of tea for her dad.

“What is happening?” asked Charles’ wife.

“We are screwed. We are not going to win a championship this year. It’s over. Lamborghini won.” he explained.

“Didn’t take you for a quitter, honey. That’s not the man I married.”

“It’s just… the data between the simulation and the actual data we collect during the race are strictly different. We are losing speed during straight lines, with or without DRS. We don’t know where the problem comes from yet, but I just had a call with our technical director isn’t optimistic about the upgrades we are working on for the Casa Grand Prix. I know I shouldn’t tell you that Julia, but I needed to let this out.”

Julia had rarely seen her dad so defeated and frustrated. Sure it happened before, when he was still driving, but he never was under the amount of pressure a Team Principal could receive and Julia could see the toll it was taking in him. She drank the rest of her tea in one gulp and went back to her room. Rummaging through her suitcase, she finally found the envelope she was searching for. She took out the USB drive and plugged it in her computer. In front of her eyes, dozen of documents could be seen. Pictures of the car, of notes taken by engineers, of date displaying on screens even blueprints of the car that Ethan might have copied from someone else’s computer. She was impressed by the dedication of her fake boyfriend to get her onboard. He really was not joking when he told her that he had important pieces of information. Of course, some things were lacking but Julia knew that if she studied them really hard, she could fill the blanks. A least she hoped so.

Downtown Monte-Carlo, in his flat Ethan was expecting Maserati’s PR manager phone call and was not surprises when he received it, right after his morning run.

“What were you thinking? We asked you to fake settling down not keep acting like a dick!”

Ethan sighed before drinking a huge glass of water in one gulp.

“And I’m working on it, but I can’t appear at the next GP with a girl out of nowhere. We have to make it believable. That’s what I’m doing. I called the paps yesterday. It’s under control, relax.”

“Who is the girl?” she asked.

“Not going to say. You will corner her and make her sign stuff, I know you. I don’t want you to make her run away, it was hard enough to get her onboard.”

“Ethan…”

“No. You will know when I’ll deem it useful for you to know. For now it’s not the case, but don’t worry, she is perfect. You have to trust me.”

He couldn’t help but smile, imaging the PR officer probably rolling her eyes at the idea of having to trust him. She was pissed of, he could hear it. But he didn’t care. For once, he had control on his life. Ever since he started to get big and under the spotlight, people tried to get advantage of his image. He stopped counting the number of brands that contacted him and the photoshoots he had done in the past. And of course people that tried to use him because of his father. He was not stupid, contrary to what other people might think and what it seemed. He knew who he could trust and who he couldn’t. But as his dad once said to him, really early in his career: “ You will attract dishonest people like corpses attract vultures, don’t hesitate to use them the way they will use you.”

“You’ve never made it easy for us to trust you.”

“See that as a new start.” he replied.

Ashley ended the call, not without making him promise to not do anything stupid. They didn’t need another scandal. Right after hanging up, his phone rang again and the name of his mother appeared on the screen. Ethan wondered if he should ignore it. He knew why his mother was calling, she must had seen the pictures and she wanted to know everything. But Ethan knew better, if he was not answering she was perfectly capable to come to his place and that was the last thing he wanted.

“Mom…”

“Were you on a date yesterday?” was the first thing she asked.

“Oh I’m fine mom. My flight was amazing and I made it home safely. The beginning of the season is not so great but I hope it will get better. I’m so happy you asked.”

“Smartass. So, do I know her? Is she from Monaco? How long have you seen each other? Why am I not aware of anything? You don’t tell me anything about your life lately…” she complained.

“Maybe I’m not telling you anything because it’s always like this! You are intrusive. It doesn’t matter what i do or it’s not good enough or it’s too risky or it’s too stupid. But it’s my life. I’m not fifteen anymore, I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”

He didn’t know where this was coming from. Probably a mix of everything that had happened the last few days. He was tired, under pressure and a part of him was scared the whole fake-dating would turn sour really quickly. He din’t entirely trust Julia. After all, he was giving the responsibility to save his career to a girl that hated his guts.

“I’m worried about you. And I wouldn’t need to if you had given me reasons to trust you in the past.”

He knew this conversation was not going anywhere. They both were too stubborn to admit their wrongdoings.

“How is dad?” he asked.

“Don’t try to change the subject, I still want to know who that girl is.”

“And I won’t tell you.”

“Is she from Monaco? Or Italian maybe? Or French?”

“She is Monegasque, born and raised here. See, happy?” he ended up saying, fed up by her questions.

“Oh so I might know her, then. Monaco is not that big.”

Ethan knew his mom. She was going to dig he was sure of it and that was the last thing he wanted. Because she knew that she was going to talk to other people and soon everyone will know that Ethan was dating someone. And that would mess with the whole plan him and Julia had come up with.

“Mom, it’s still early and I’m not even sure it will lead anywhere. Please, I’m not asking for much just let me go at my own pace and if it becomes serious I’ll let you know. I promise. But for now it’s too soon.”

He heard her sigh.

“Fine. Just one more question. How long has it been going on? Because with the scandal…”

“It’s been a few weeks.”

And that was another lie he could add on the pile that was starting to get big. He had to explain it to Julia so they wouldn’t mess with their relationship timeline in case questions were raised.

“Okay. Well, I’m happy for you Ethan, really. And I will be waiting for the day I’ll get to meet her. I won’t force you to talk about her if you don’t feel ready but you must care a lot about her if you are asking me to not mingle in your life. I’m glad you are happy and you finally found someone you want to spend time with.”

Ethan couldn’t help but feel a pinch of regret in his heart. He could hear his mom being genuinely happy for him and he knew that if she happened to know about the lie, it would crush her. He said his goodbye to her, promising to visit her soon and decided to go out. He needed to clear his mind after this conversation and to forget how of a liar he had become in the span of a few days. He was not proud of it. He felt bad, but Ethan was ready to do anything to keep his seat, even if he had to go as far as lying and potentially hurting his loved ones. He just hoped that the truth would never see the light of the day.He put on a jacket that was lying on his couch and left his flat. It was windy in Monaco, even a bit chilly, he could feel the salty air coming from the sea on his face. He took a deep breath before turning his dead to the left to see if a car was passing by before crossing the road and was surprised to notice a silhouette that he was becoming familiar with running in his direction.

Her brown hair pulled in a ponytail was bouncing from left to right, rhythmically with her footsteps. When she finally arrived near him, she was breathless and bright red from her run. He was about to say something when she interrupted him, pointing her finger in front of his face, silently shutting him up.

“Louis knows.” she said.

Ethan took a minute to understand what she meant.

“He knows? About us? What did you tell him?”

“Nothing, I swear. My brother is a genius and knows me better than anyone. I didn’t say anything, he put 2 and 2 together. He thinks we are dating. ”

“But you didn’t deny it.”

“I don’t want to lie to him.”

“Well you did lie, because technically we are not dating for real.”

“I don’t want to lie to him more than necessary.” she added.

“My mom is suspicious. I mean, you know her, you know how much she likes gossips so it shouldn’t surprise you to learn that she knows about the rumours and she saw the pictures. It will probably only be a matter of time before she finds out about you and I.”

Julia leaned over the wall and let herself gliding to the floor. She didn’t think about that. She didn’t think about how great friends her mom and Ethan’s were. If Kat met up with Lyanna, chances were high that they would talk about their kids. And Ethan’s dating life would be mentioned and then Lyanna would probably tell Kat that Julia had been on a date, because Julia knew for sure that her mom didn’t believe her when she said she was going to meet some friends. And then, their cover would blow up. Their moms would questioned them. Julia closed her eyes and try to take a deep breath that was soon caught up in her throat preventing her from exhaling normally. She tried to stand and started to pace back in forth, her breathing shallow, to organised her thoughts. But no matter how hard she tried to compartment her thoughts, new ones were adding up to the pile and she soon felt like the whole world was crushing down on her shoulders. She tried to keep the tears from falling by shaking her head but it was no use.

Ethan didn’t know what to do and he ended up doing the one thing he thought about. He put his body in front of her and his two hands on her shoulders firmly, forcing her to stop. She looked at him, anchoring herself in his blue eyes that was staring at her with a harden look.

“Julia… hey, Joolsie. Stop and listen to me. We are in this shit together, I dragged you into it. I may be an ass but i’m not ungrateful. You were kind enough to help me and you will go through enough of shit because of me. I promise you, I will try to make this whole dating thing the less painful possible. I owe you a big one, I’m not going to let you down. And you know me, you know that when I promise something, I don’t back down on it.”

It calmed her down a little bit. They tacitly decided to walk along the harbour, as Ethan lived nearby and they knew that there wouldn’t be a lot of people. The walk was silent as they didn’t know what to say. Julia was still deep in her thoughts and Ethan was eyeing her from the side. She really looked like Charles, he thought. The same way to carry themselves, the same hazel eyes, the same driven attitude and fiery look when they set their eyes on something. He never really paid attention before. He would even go as far as to say that she was pretty and in another life, she would have been his type. But she was Julia and he was Ethan and so, he put this thought in a box and far away in his mind.

They found a quiet spot away from the main road and near the sea. They sat on the only bench and looked at the coastline.

“This is my favourite place when I need somewhere to cool off.” Ethan told her, breaking the silence.

“Mine is the big cabin in our garden, at home. It’s used as a screaming room when someone needs to let go of some stress or anger. It was my mom’s idea, so no one would shout again one another and Louis had somewhere to go if he felt the need to be on his own, in a safe environment.” she explained with a bittersweet smile when she mentioned her brother.

“How is he? Is he still home schooled?”

“Yeah. It’s still hard for him to be around a lot of people for more than an hour…”

“But, how can he get used to it if your parents keep him sheltered?”

“That’s what I’m trying to tell them but… they are scared I guess.”

‘It must be hard, no? To have a brother like him.’

He saw her glared at him and added quickly that in no mean did he think that Louis wasn’t normal.

“He has ups and down. Like everyone, I guess. But his are always very high or very low. He doesn’t know how to recognise what he feels. It can take him days to put a word on a feeling. So, yeah… it’s hard. Sometimes it feels like no matter what we all do to help him, it’s not enough.”

“Does he have friends or is he really lonely?”

“He has Percy, Lando’s son. I don’t know if Louis considers him as friend, but I know that they chat online from time to time. That’s the closest thing he has of a friend and contact with the outside world.” she fidgeted with her red bracelet, her gaze set on it.

“And you, do you have friends, Joolsie?”

She was about to answer when a girl interrupted them. She was young, probably around fourteen years old with blond curls falling down on her shoulders.

“Hey, sorry to interrupt but, are you Ethan Verstappen?”

Julia looked away and put distance between them as Ethan replied with a smiled and posed with the girl for a selfie. As she left, not without thanking Ethan one last time and wishing him the best of luck for the season, they left their spot and wandered off the street. As they were planning their next move, Julia’s phones buzz and a text from her mom appeared on the screen.

It’s getting late, Ju’. Are you far from home?

She looked at the time and realised that she was almost late for dinner and the sun was about to set.

“I have to go. I don’t want to upset my mom more than she probably already is, I didn’t realise that it was late. We’ve been out for hours, I didn’t notice.” she told Ethan.

“Who would have thought that we could manage to stay out together for hours and not rip each other’s heads off? Look, we made it out alive. Maybe, this whole fake dating thing might work.” Ethan teased her.

She laughed slightly before waving him goodbye.

When she finally got back home and was surprised to see her dad playing with Bailey and her ball. He was sitting down on the stairs of the porch and seemed down which alarmed Julia. She didn’t like seeing him like this because it meant that something happened with Louis.

“Dad? Is everything okay?”

He looked up to her and sighed, before scooting over to give her some space to sit down.

“I messed up with your brother. Again.” he confessed with a low voice.

“What happened?” she asked gently putting her head on his shoulder as she felt her dad’s cheek resting on the top of her head.

“I involuntarily triggered him and now he locked himself in his room and doesn’t want to see anyone. He… he was playing piano and I… I’m stupid. I just thought that maybe I could play with him, that it could be a nice bonding moment. That if I can’t get through him with words maybe I can let music do the talking, you know? I startled him. I know that I should have made myself seen. Instead I just went and scared him. He started to panic because he didn’t feel that I was around and I tried to reassure him. I naturally put a hand on his shoulder and I shouldn’t have. I know that he doesn’t like when someone touch him without his permission. And he started to scream. The more I was trying to calm him down, the worst I made everything.”

“It’s not your fault, dad…” Julia tried to comfort him.

“I fail him, Ju’. Times and times again. I’ve always failed him and I keep on doing so. Why am I such a bad dad to him?”

“You’re not a bad dad. You try your best, like you always do. And maybe it won’t be today or tomorrow, but I know that it will get better. Because when you want something, you do everything you can to achieve it.”

She felt her dad’s head nuzzling against hers and his embrace being stronger.

“I love you, princess. I feel like I don’t tell you that enough.”

She grabbed his hand and squeezed it before standing up. The house was quiet. Her feet dragged her to her brother’s bedroom where her mother was talking to a closed door.

“Louis, baby, please open the door. Talk to me, please. Daddy is so sorry he didn’t want any of that to happen.”

She seemed tired and Julia regretted to have not come back earlier. Maybe if she had been there, the incident wouldn’t have happened.

“Mom? I’m taking it from here. Go see dad, I think he needs you.”

“You sure?”

Julia nodded and when her mom was out of sight she stuck her ear against the door, trying to hear something from the inside.

“Hey munchkin. Can I come in? I promise you, it’s only me.”

She waited for what felt like minutes before the door opened slightly. It was just a crack but it was big enough to allow Julia to slip through it. Louis was sitting on the floor, his back against the wall near the door. Getting closer to him, Julia noticed he was shaking slightly. She sat beside him, careful to not go to close in case it would trigger another crisis.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked softly, her voice barely a whisper.

“Dad hates me.” he ended up saying, is voice hoarse from the screaming and the crying.

“Why would you think that?”

“I just know it. He is ashamed of me.”

“Louis… it’s not true. You know that.”

“Yes it is. I surprised a conversation between him and mom once. I know it’s bad to eavesdrop and I didn’t want to but then I heard my name…”

“What did you hear?”

“Dad saying that he would have loved to have a son that was into racing and who would have been like him. That he would have loved to know how grandpa was feeling when dad was competing in karting. Because it would have brought him closer to his dad. He would have preferred to have a normal son and not a weirdo like me. He didn’t say that but it felt like it.”

Julia didn’t really know what to say but one thing was for sure, she knew that Louis had misinterpreted whatever he had heard and was not meant to. She would talk to her mom about it later.

“Normality is overrated Louis. And I wouldn’t want another brother. You are perfect just the way you are.”

It made him feel a little bit better. At least he wasn’t shaking anymore. She pulled out of her pockets his favourite sweets that she always kept on her in case of emergency occurring with him. The smile that she managed to get it from him, made her happy and it’s with a lighter heart that she went back to her room. As she was about to plugged her phone, she saw he text from Ethan, appearing at the top of her notifications.

Hey, I hope you made it home safe and sound. The fan that asked for a picture earlier posted it online and she said that I was with who she thought was my girlfriend. It’s on a lot of gossip accounts. Just thought that I should let you know. Take care.

Julia gulped. Of course it was something that she imagined could have happened but she was so used to control everything that this slight inconvenience in their plan well thought was enough to make her anxious. It was real now, they could not back down. She couldn’t, not anymore. She opened Instagram and went to her profile. Maybe it was time for her to make it public. It would give her a sense of control over what was posting about her. She went in the app setting and opened the access to her profile.

author's note: This chapter was a pain in the ass to write so I'm very curious to have your thoughts about this one.

Don't hesitate to leave a comment or an ask, as well as reblogging and leaving a like. It helps a lot for the story to find its audience. I also have a taglist for this story, so if you want to be added so you never miss a chapter, let me know.

Taglist:

@herondalism @aundercover @musingsbyshreya @karmabyfernando @reengard @mycenterfold @smoooothoperator

[queenburd]

okay all, here’s the last TSP fic I will be doing for now. it’s a really tidy closing point, and I have a couple other writing projects to work on. one’s really short, but the other is a monster I keep taking breaks from.

THIS IS NOT THE END OF TSP, I definitely have more ideas for these fellas, but right now it’s just a good place to pause on the fic front.

Read All My TSP Fics Here

anyway, here ya’ll go.

--

co-op mode.

Stanley is in high spirits today!

There is no particular reason for this, or perhaps it’s a multitude of things. A while back, he had convinced the narrator to occasionally swap the lounge out with that stocked employee break room, and it’s on one of his most recent runs that he’s had the luck of it spawning. Well fed and hydrated, he’d had a power nap in the boss’s office, then done the press conference ending for the hell of it. Both he and the narrator get a good chuckle out of it, he’s found, and have ever since that first run where the fellow had really strung him along for a few minutes.

So yeah, he’s feeling in excellent form today! He’s even feeling up for a speed run, or maybe a run at the 430 door achievement. Oh, sure, he got those achievements years ago, but they still put a pep in his step, and invigorate both of them.

The narrator seems in good spirits as well, if a bit on the quiet side. He usually gets like this when he’s trying to work on something alongside the narration, or if he’s examining the files after a recent bug (once, during the insanity ending, Stanley found the next room in the loop didn’t spawn, door only leading to blackness, and he fell through the floor to the fellow’s panic; the narrator had spent a good 20 minutes trying to understand what went wrong, before Stanley had play tested it and discovered the prior door hadn’t yet closed, resulting in the next room not loading in until he’d forced the door shut).

But he stays on his narration, if only using some of the varied, shorter lines, and he still seems delighted to go along with Stanley’s detours. Perhaps the good energy is just contagious.

Stanley spins in his chair at the beginning of this new loop. He’s definitely thinking speed run, yeah.

“Stanley? Can I call for a pause before you get started?”

Stanley blinks, looks up at the tiles of the ceiling, and grins, his hands behind his head. What can he do for the fellow this fine day?

“Well, aren’t you just in the loveliest of moods.” It’s only a little mocking, but still pleased. “Well, I—I have a surprise for you, but I do think I need a few minutes to get it all set up. What do you say to running the story proper, only on your own, for a round? And then,” and here he sounds full of nervous anticipation, “next turn, you head to the Stanley Parable 2 exhibit show?”

Sure thing, bud. Should Stanley take his time with the run?

“Mm, no, I think I can have this all sorted by the time you’ve finished that speed run you’re so eager for. The wonders of loading screens, you know.”

That he does. It’ll be a bit weird to do it without the voice, but he knows those lines by heart. He can manage a run.

Hang on—surprise? Wait, did the fellow—

“Ah-ah! No spoilers!”

Oh he totally did. Stanley snickers and gets to his feet.

[ Race you. ]

“Brat,” the narrator says fondly. “Shall I count down, or—oh, you little cheat!” Because Stanley has already run out his office and through the first room full of cubicles, laughing. His friend’s own surprised laughter follows him to the room with the doors.

Stanley zips through the halls and up the stairs with a newfound eagerness. He’s got motivation, and enthusiasm, and he crosses the length of the boss’s office with a hum. The narrator has not opened the secret passageway for him, but since there’s no narration, Stanley is able to punch in the code without pause. Mm, those beeps always sound so pleasing.

An elevator ride down, a jog through the open doors under the large emboldened letters, and then down the catwalk to the button that turns on the lights. One metal fence, two, and then another elevator. Stanley drums out a beat on his thigh as it ascends, bouncing in place.

A room filled with beautiful, colorful buttons—oh, the hours he’s spent in this room, just to see if any of them affect any of the monitors, any of the digital battery symbols. (The narrator has joked about one day coding in a secret puzzle, too complex to solve within the time-frame at all, which would reset at a single error. It’s mean. Stanley hopes he’ll do it.)

He mustn’t get distracted—he’s almost finished with the run, and then he gets to finally see—

He hits the OFF switch hard enough that it stings his palm. Come on, come on, open faster!

And then Stanley is bolting down the catwalk to the grass. An artificial breeze ruffles his hair. He grins like a loon. The sky looks a little brighter than usual, but maybe that’s just him. He’s just so damn happy.

THEENDISNEVERTHEENDISNEVERTHEENDISLOADING

Stanley inhales deeply, letting his chest full up to the brim. That felt ridiculously good. The intense elation has passed, but there’s still a small ribbon of satisfaction tied neatly around his heart. Damn.

He can feel his heart thudding in his chest, but this time he knows it’s out of anticipation. He’s nervous, it’s hard not to be, but Stanley feels more excited than anything.

He stands, stretches his spine, and rolls up his sleeves. And then Stanley leaves his office.

There’s no voice to greet him, which he expected, but it’s still always a little eerie. He makes his way through the office, past the cubicles and the bucket, and  there, where door 416 used to be, is the New Content door.

Still no chatter, as he rides the track and then the elevator. Nothing when he enters the modern entrance room, or weaves through the halls, or walks past the signs. Not even anything on the stairs or the red carpet.

Stanley’s work shoes click on the tile of the show room. Now that he’s here he finds that he’s slowing down, heart rate ramping up and thudding loud in his ears. He’s… anxious. Why is he anxious?

What if he misinterpreted the surprise? What if it’s something else entirely, and he has to work to not seem disappointed? What if he did accidentally have some predisposed mental image that doesn’t match—

Stanley passes under the archway beneath the stairs, and stops in his tracks.

Looking up at the large Collectible statue is a stranger. It smiles up at the Stanlurine, examining it closely, hands clasped behind their back as they rock on their heels. The gentleman is comfortably dressed, knitted green jumper over a faded yellow collared shirt, simple black slacks absolutely covered in creases, and loafers that look well loved.

The individual glances in Stanley’s direction. For a moment, their eyes go round behind the large frames of their spectacles—and then the fellow smiles, like he’s truly so genuinely happy to see Stanley that he can’t help how the grin breaks across his face.

He hasn’t said a word, but Stanley knows him. Stanley knows his best friend.

The narrator waits, smile still lighting up his face, as Stanley finally approaches. Stanley is… slow to move. Almost hesitant. He takes so long, just staring wordlessly and thoughtlessly, that the smile starts to become a bit strained. The narrator’s eyes flick from his face, away, and then back.

Stanley stops in front of him, and the fellow swallows. The smile finally slips off, giving way to uncertainty. Stanley can tell his hands are fidgeting behind his back.

The narrator opens his mouth, a croak of a syllable slipping out in the same moment Stanley lifts his hands to sign.

“I—“

[ Can I touch? ]

The narrator’s mouth snaps shut. He stares at Stanley like a deer caught in headlights, and then nods.

Stanley’s hands seem to have a mind of their own. They place themselves first on the shoulders (wider than Stanley’s, solid, the jumper texture so soft he would think it’s knitted by hand) then the upper arms (firm), and then one of his hands finds its way to the fellow’s cheek.

The face that is looking up at him is older than his, lined with creases. Thick eyebrows, springy hair in varying shades of gray. The kind of hair that could be styled quite nicely, but is prone to being tugged at and made a mess of when one is in a panic.

The hand not on a cheek cups an ear. These ears are large, indicative of a good listener. It traces a pert nose, turned up at the end, perfect for sneering down the length of with great pretension. His thumb follows the Cupid’s bow, covered by a thick mustache that merges into a full beard which hides the swell of a second chin.

His eyes, bright and full of life, are hazel—they live somewhere between light green and gold, almost like the hazel of cat eyes. Stanley imagines the color would look different under different lighting.

He looks exactly like the sort of person who would have the voice that he does. Someone who wants to seem wise and full of important things to say, but can be lazy and proud and prone to overthinking.

He cups his narrator’s face.

It suits him.

The smile returns, if a little more shy this go around. Those cheeks flush pink, just a little, and Stanley feels the muscles under his hands move and heat. The narrator wiggles in place happily, looking ever so pleased with himself.

God, his wiggles. Stanley’s not gonna get over this for a long, long time.

Stanley finally releases his face and can’t resist the temptation to loosely sink the fingers of one hand into that mess of curls. It’s just a little bit coarse, individual strands springing between his knuckles.

Yeah. Yeah, he likes this model a lot.

That smile has taken on a smug sheen. “Truly my best creation to date, wouldn’t you say? I’d go so far as to call it a masterpiece.”

Stanley takes his hands back. Nope. Not entertaining this fellow’s ego, no matter how much Stanley likes him and likes this thing he's made.

“Oh, don’t be so contrarian,” the narrator tuts, still looking far too satisfied. “Please, do go on about how appealing and pleasant you find my features. I’m looking for real feedback here.”

No, he is fishing for compliments.

He pouts, lower lip jutting forward. Stanley looks away quickly. “Well then,” the gentleman sniffs, turning his nose up (oh god he was right, it’s perfect for that, dammit), “I suppose I’ll just have to put it away then, if it’s not all that impressive—“

He’s nearly knocked over by how his protagonist loops arms around his waist and lifts him, spinning them in the air.

“H-hey! S-Stanley, ah!”

Stanley is grinning again, really grinning so much it nearly hurts.

Look, this is what he wanted, isn’t it? His model being beheld and appreciated? Stanley needs to know about the whole thing!

“Down, down, put me down! We’re going to fall, you—you stupid—stupid!!”

The narrator is a good solid weight, and although Stanley is taller by a good few inches, he’s not exactly made of muscle, so even while arms loop around his neck for support he’s putting his friend back down, soles on the pristine floors.

Winded, his narrator glares at him. He’s—oh, he’s quite close. Their noses are nearly touching. His arms don’t dislodge from where they are on Stanley’s shoulders and Stanley’s arms don’t unwind from his firm, soft middle.

Stanley blinks. Feels how his cheeks heat.

The glare shifts into that smug smile again.

“Flatterer.”

He didn’t—!

“It’s all over your face, Stanley. You’re an open book to me,” comes the condescending tease.

Alright, you know what, two can play at this game. Stanley remembers what the narrator said last time he had a body. Just how long did he spend trying to find, what was it? “Lips worthy of kissing him”?

And there goes the smile. Those eyes (gosh, Stanley can see so much variation in the colors, this close) flick away like a nervous rabbit, before he closes them and sneers irritably. “I’m not going to dignify that with a response,” he sniffs.

Wow. That long, huh.

The eyes fly open again, outraged. “I said—!”

Stanley laughs, and then he presses his forehead to the fellow’s. He feels just so utterly content in this moment.

His friend is here. He’s warm, he’s expressive, he’s here.

“O-Oh,” the exclamation is soft, “Hello.”

Stanley opens his eyes. The narrator looks up at him through fine lashes, expression a bit dazed.

Okay?

“I—yes,” he says, though he seems unsure. “It’s okay. Oh, do you really like it?”

His voice, so quiet, is sincere and perhaps desperate for approval. Like he’s truly uncertain. Stanley nudges their noses together for a moment.

Yeah. Yeah, he loves it, he really does. No jokes, no teasing, no pandering or anything. And not just because it’s another person either.

It just really, really fits his friend. Honestly it does. It’s the exact kind of person Stanley would expect to be sitting at a writing desk for hours, fussing over a story and its details, making a cup of tea and then forgetting about it entirely, surrounded by crumpled papers of rejected ideas and tugging at his hair when he’s frustrated. The kind of person who’s just a little lazy and forgetful, and wants to make lovely things for other people but is utterly temperamental and prone to irritation.

It’s him, it’s so him. He did such a good job.

“Not—not all of that was complimentary, you know,” the fellow huffs gently, though there’s no heat in it. He seems mostly enraptured by the sheer fondness in Stanley’s thoughts.

Yeah, Stanley knows it wasn’t all sweet. But then, the narrator has an ego and Stanley can’t help but tease a bit. Besides, doesn’t it all seem completely correct?

“Yes,” the narrator grumbles, averting his gaze. “It does sound like the kind of human I would be.”

Stanley squeezes him gently one more time, and then finally releases his friend. The narrator seems reluctant to part, but he takes the offered hand. Stanley twines their fingers.

He’s wondering what to show him first. Maybe the hole? Or the balloons? They can go to the merch booth and feel out the different textures of the shirts, since the fellow probably doesn’t have a lot of experience yet. Would he like coffee? Soda? Will they be able to get back to the office? Did the narrator fix the issue with resetting?

The narrator laughs at his enthusiasm. “Slow down, Stanley! What’s the rush?”

But there’s just so much to show him!

His tone gentles. It is a tender thing, full of real, quiet joy.

“We have all the time in the world.”

[empyreanmirror]

OK I have to know what program or brushes you use?? Whenever I try to paint digitally the edges look too soft if that makes sense??

Hello! i've a fair idea of what style specifically you mean, but let me know if I didnt cover what you're asking about!

I mainly use Clip Studio Paint (Pro 1.0?), on the side I use Rebelle 7 Pro. Rebelle is for the traditional looking stuff I occasionally do, and everything i used for that comes with the programme. If what youre looking at is traditional-mimicking, its that! Other than that, probably CSP youre here for so... for that:

Main brushes? I use a collection of Daub brushes! Pretty much exclusively this brush... like... outside my sketch brush I basically only use this one:

Rectangular, textured. This is how it came Im pretty sure, but just showing you the shape and stuff because the shape i find is key in cutting lines into paintings. I dont remember which daub pack its in, but I can try and figure it out if you want it!

You can see it here in these pieces, it gives that fuzzy frayed end to things. That's genuinely fine? I find it's good for making sure shadows and edges aren't too defined without giving the very artificial digital art feeling airbrushes give, like as an example I dont really notice it in this piece at full size but it's very distracting zoomed in:

I just. am not liking it personally, which... I tell you to let you know I actually kinda struggle to get it to work the job I want it to and ive been looking to replace it. Used it for years, but it has flaws. It's been decent for my recent couple years break from serious art because its loose and gets the job done, but its kinda tough to work with (as any traditional-mimicking brush would be)

I've recently started using it edited a little to get rid of the fuzzy texture, which really just involved taking away the texture in settings. Theres some places on the arms here where i was using the textured version, and... yeah this is roughly rendered bc it was a quick piece but you get the idea:

I find it really helpful because it has an edge - it can paint proper lines - but then can be smoothed

Rough textured vs untextured, and heres.. where you can see it falls apart for what i do. That was solid black I was painting on the grey and i was pushing hard (more so going over and over it), textured version's way better for painting and blending but texture gets in the way, uh, trade off

It's definitely... not actually ideal for my art, I can say that much. i took a detour into using this brush exclusively after losing my last muse, it's definitely.... how do i word this. its not good at laying down colours and blending - Ive been hoping i can even that out in settings so maybe if you grab it you can iron that out but. Thats what I use!

It's probably more helpful to tell you what works? Uh. given that the brush i use I struggle against so

For things getting back to the style I used before - which. unfortunately i dont think i have current (relatively) sfw examples, so time to dig up the literal at the time old style art.... - for example in this:

deviantarts quality is fucking abysmal holy shit. This is kinda... What my personal style is, which is blending stark lines and colours, juxtaposing textures and stuff. To do that? I recommend having two brushes, something like what I just showed you and then something like Clip Studio Paint's default watercolour brushes. Theyre like airbrushes blended with paint brushes

I also then go over things with my pen tool, which is my own brush. I dont know if i can properly share it in any capacity because I cant remember where I got the textures from, but you know, under the table passed along, its here, its meant to mimic how i draw with pens on paper (light and almost invisible if you go light and fast, proper linework if you slow down and purposely draw)

You can see the whole entourage (Daub brush, watercolour brushes, pen brushes, if watercolours were even used) here:

Didnt circle everything that was pen because Im sure you get the idea. Its basically just... that brush to paint, waters if i need to smooth something extra smooth, and then anything that needs contrast and oomf gets added in pen, if your brushes cant provide edges its probably best to mix them up, use your soft brush for blending, a harder painting brush for laying down colours and loose blending.

Something that lays down paints with an edge - I really do recommend a non-round brush head, and something built for painting - and then something to smooth it out.... honestly ideally thatd be the exact same brush, thats a key i used to like with the Daub square brush is that i could paint and blend with it, I think I maybe manipulated the settings too much and took it way too far out of what it was or something because i swear it used to be easier to work with but. whatever the issue is its never been ideal, honestly for a brush id say seek out something that: Is square/rectangular (probably rectangular is best); lays down paint without too much pressure on your wrist and blends smoothly so you're laying paint and blending in the same stroke; puts down colour when you're pressing down over a certain percentage of its pressure limit and then only blends when you're pressing under that percentage. CSP lets you do this. Best brush experiences Ive had ticked all of those boxes

uh. if youre shopping around (buying or getting for free) you dont need to look for the "paints over x blends under y" because in CSP and other programmes (do check) you can add that in yourself, but yeah Id suggest some kind of shaped brush that isnt shy with paint to combat the soft edges!

[aita-blorbos]

AITA for enjoying killing my mother? [OC]

Alright, so I wasn't exactly raised in the best household. I grew up in a society where people perceived as male are treated as second class citizens, and as I do identify as male, I didn't have the best life growing up. My society basically is run by noble houses, specifically the matriarch at the head of each house. My mom was the matriarch of one of these houses, and like everyone of her position she basically sees all her kids as opportunities to acquire power. I spent my youth studying to be a warrior in another city and while I was there I made a friend in one of my classmates. Maybe I had a crush on him idk. Anyway. When I got back, my mom basically told me to kill him because I guess she saw an opportunity in that. I agreed to it, but on the way to his home city I went to the surface instead.

Now, I consider myself a pretty upstanding guy, especially considering my background. I basically spent all my time there doing hero shit and fighting monsters and defending the weak and stuff, which was thankless work for the first like twenty years or so but after a good century people started to like me better. I actually got to be quite liked (people still wouldn't stop comparing me to that other hero of a similar background though. I got called his gay cousin even though we're not related) which is cool!

But all that time, I've lowkey still been traumatized by my experience growing up. I decided to take a little detour between adventures to visit my home city and see if that could bring closure. I visited my mother. I asked her what had happened to my friend, because I figured she'd figured out by now he wasn't dead, and she said she'd taken it into her own hands and managed to get him killed herself. Then she lunged at me with a dagger.

Well, I have way more combat experience than her. It was fairly easy to kill her. It was self defense, so I think that part was fine, but here's where I think I might be the asshole. I kind of... got a little too into it. Like, it felt really cathartic. I took a little longer than I had to and kind of enjoyed listening to her die too much. I feel bad, because I've always prided myself on not killing other sentient beings before. And then I not only killed another person but enjoyed it? I think I might be the asshole, but I guess I'm not entirely sure. So am I the asshole?