#i'll let you guys discern what that means

[55sturn]

✮ I WAS BLIND TO SEE

pairing: chris sturniolo × female!reader

synopsis: in which y/n spent years begging chris to let her into his heart, but he was unrelenting, so eventually she gave up. but after years of her pining helplessly, chris realizes that he grew to love her back and races against the clock to get her back.

warnings: swearing, lowkey toxic!chris, angst for like majority of the fic, oblivious!reader, oblivious!chris, mentions of alcohol, justin’s lowkey a dick, chris is a literal fucking dumbass, i love the whole “idiots in love” trope.

THIRD PERSON POV

it was no shocker to find out how deep y/n's love for chris ran, after all she had been in love with him since they were sophmores in high school. she loved every single thing there was to love about him, and the less lovable things, she understood where they stemmed from.

she had a very deep connection with him, they had been the closet out of him, his brothers, and her. he could turn to her for anything, and vice versa. however, there was one issue.

chris didn't reciprocate the love she felt. he expressed numerous times to anyone who asked, that she was his best friend, nothing more. he saw her as the female extension of him and his brothers.

the only person he couldn't tell that to though, was her. so instead of letting her down easy, he ignored it. and that caused more problems than he saw coming. because of his naturally flirty nature, it filled the girl with false hope, it led her to believe that maybe her feelings were returned.

no one was able prepare for the inevitable fallout that occurred when chris' feelings, or lack thereof, came to light.

FLASHBACK

chris was sitting at his desk when nick knocked on his door, he welcomed him into his room with a barely discernible "come in."

"chris we gotta talk." nick muttered, standing in the doorway with his arms folded and a frustrated look on his face.

"what's up?" chris sighed, rolling his eyes as he turned in his gaming chair to face the older triplet.

"you need to tell y/n about the way you feel, well the way you don't feel."

"why? it's not like i'm hurting her." chris scoffed, not really wanting to break his best friend's heart.

"chris, she literally just spent an hour talking to me on facetime about how she wants to confess her feelings to you directly because instead of being honest, you're playing into her feelings! i can't keep giving her advice and getting her hopes up knowing that you are just going to crush her."

"whatever nick, i'll talk to her later."

and so, when y/n came by later that day, she gathered the nerve to tell chris with a shaky breath and unsteady hands.

"chris can we talk?"

"yeah what's up?" chris hummed, knowing very well where this was going, and despite the fact that he was just about to break her heart, he felt some sort of twisted pride stir in his chest. he liked knowing that someone so close to him was pining for him, it made him feel powerful, and he hated that it made him feel that way. it truly disgusted him.

"i know this probably isn't a secret by any means but i've got feelings for you. like 'i'm in love with you' feelings and i don't know if i've been reading into things too much or if i've read into them correctly but it seems like you return them, or at least act like you do and if that's the case, i'm glad i told you. and if i've read them completely wrong, i'm about to feel like the biggest fool possible." y/n rambled, breathing out a nervous laugh as chris' eyes bore into hers.

"listen y/n, you're a great girl. any guy would be lucky to be loved by you the way you love me but i'm sorry, i don't see you that way. i know i've fed into your feelings and your flirting, and it makes me feel like such a jackass but i didn't know how to tell you and i really didn't want to break your heart. you're my best friend and i would give anything to return your feelings but i don't and it wouldn't be fair for me to pretend i do." chris whispered, his heart tearing in two as he watched the hurt and horror flash in her eyes as she realized that she had read everything wrong. his arms slowly slid around her shoulders, pulling in her into him, or at least in attempt to.

"no. you don't get to hug me after you just admitted that you played with my feelings. you literally just contradicted yourself, the fuck do you mean 'it wouldn't be fair to pretend to return your feelings." that's exactly what you did! god this was a mistake." she spat, turning on her heels and making her way up the stairs leading from chris' room. she grabbed her jacket off the back of one of the dining room chairs and left without so much as a word.

and that was the last that chris had heard from her until they ended up back in boston at the same time.

FLASHBACK OVER

y/n sighed as she made her up the sturniolos' driveway. her family had agreed to a huge family dinner with the triplets' family and she was dreading having to see chris. she was on perfectly fine terms with nick and matt, they had actually grown closer. y/n just refused to be an active presence and figure in chris' life. whenever she wanted to hang out, it’d be away from their house. away from chris.

knocking on the door, a small smile pulled at her lips. she missed mary-lou and jimmy, she hadn't had much time to see them since going back home, she had just been busy with other things, and the fact that she was slightly avoiding them because she had a feeling chris or one of his brothers told them about what had happened.

"y/n! my sweet girl i've missed you." mary-lou cooed as she opened the door, pulling her into a tight embrace.

"i've missed you too, i'm sorry i haven't come by yet, i've been busy." the girl pouted slightly, feelings guilty for staying away for as long as she had.

"busy ignoring a certain boy of mine?" the older woman teased gently, being fully aware of what had gone down and her heart hurt for the young girl. she knew what chris felt, she could see in his eyes when he spoke about his former best friend, a mother always knows. she also knows that chris just hasn't been made aware of the fact that he feels the same as y/n once did.

as mary-lou led y/n up the stairs and into the dining room where the sturniolos' and y/n's parents sat, y/n felt her chest grow tight as all eyes, including chris' fell on her.

"hey everyone, sorry i'm late." she laughed, returning the hug that jimmy pulled her into as he stood up.

"don't worry about it, we're just glad you showed up." jim smiled down at her as she took her place between justin and her mother, unfortunately across from chris.

chris' forced his gaze to his lap as he fiddled with his fingers, ever since the night he turned her down, a strange feeling had been stirring and beating relentlessly in the pit of his stomach, he almost felt like he had made a mistake rejecting her.

as the dinner went on, chris was determined to meet her gaze but she was just as determined to not look at him, in fear that she would crumple into a sobbing wreck. she tried to move on but it was hard when he had already held her heart for so long. she feared that she would never love someone the way she loved and still deep down, loves him.

after the dinner had finished, the adults gathered in the living room, talking about shit their kids didn't care about or had heard a million times already, so the rest of them moved to the deck, all claiming a chair as their own while justin grabbed a beer for all of them.

"so mousey, whatcha been up to, like really? seeing anybody?" justin hums, watching the twenty year old girl that he considered his baby sister shift awkwardly in her chair.

"quit calling me that." y/n groans, rolling her eyes at the nickname that justin had given her back when she was in elementary school, she was so quiet compared to his brothers that he referred to her as a mouse which led to him branding her "mousey."

"and before you ask again, i've seen a couple guys here and there but nothing really stuck.” she sighs, taking a sip of her beer as justin lods, kissing his teeth with a teasing smirk on his face.

“what about you chris?”

“justin don’t.” chris warns, glaring at his older brother as he sees through justin’s plan. justin is fully convinced that chris is in love with y/n, someone just has to spell it out for him. matt and nick both look at each other with wide eyes as they clue into what justin is trying to do.

y/n scoffs, sliding her beer across the table with a roll of her eyes before she stands up,

“you’re a dick.”

“y/n wait.” chris calls out, jogging after as she makes her away around the house to her car, shaking her head as she walks away.

“what do you want chris?” she sighs, turning to face him and look at him, really look at him for the first time that night.

“i’m sorry about justin, he’s convinced that i’m running from my feelings or some shit and he’s trying to make me see that.”

“that’s nice chris. you know, i came here tonight thinking that it’’d be easy to see you after how many months but no, it’s been just as hard as the night you broke my heart. it’s hard because i miss you, so fucking much but i can’t get over you. and i can’t get over you hurting me, whether you meant to or not.”

“i miss you too, y/n. come back please.” chris whispers, a glimmer of hope in his eyes as he stares at the girl he called his best friend.

“no. i don’t think you do. you miss the me that would follow you around like a lost puppy and feed your ego with all the attention i gave you. you miss the love i gave you because you didn’t have to search anywhere else for it. i was some sort of fall back for you. and if i stuck around after you broke my heart to hear you say that you loved me, knowing it wasn’t the same way that i love you, it would’ve killed me chris.”

“i’m sorry, i really am. i just miss my best friend.”

“i stopped being your best friend long before i confessed my feelings to you.” she whispers, the raw emotion she felt as she recounted how things changed evident in her voice, lea chris confused by what she meant.

“what?”

“you stopped seeing me as your best friend quite a while ago. you started seeing me as this your could always count on to boost your ego, to fill your head with this idea that you were a god, that you were the center of my universe. you stopped treating me like your best friend and started treating me like i was a fucking groupie, chris. you stopped remembering important things i told you about myself, you got me a copy of a book that i couldn’t stand, that you knew i couldn’t stand because when i first told you about, you laughed at how insane i sounded. and you said it was for my birthday, but my birthday was three weeks before that. you started only paying attention to things i said that made you feel good, and i thought that if i’d dismiss it and pretend that it wasn’t happening, that it’d go away. i figured you were just sorting out your feelings. but no, you were playing me.”

“that’s not tr-“

“yes it is. i excused it by convincing myself you were busy. that you were stressed. but in reality, you stopped giving a fuck about me and only gave a fuck about the attention i paid you, and now that it’s gone, you feel lost and helpless. so no, you don’t miss me.” she replies, her voice slowly becoming void of all emotion, as if she had accepted what had happened and moved to face her car, before turning back to him.

“for what it’s worth, i miss my best friend too, but when i look at you now, i don’t see him. i see a person who looks like him, but is completely different. and justin is right, you’re running from your feelings but i don’t think they’re feelings for me. i love you, always have, always will. i wish i could say that you love me too, but i don’t think you do.”

chris watches her car back out of the driveway and speed down the street with his heart in his hands, forced to grapple with just how badly he hurt her.

months had passed and chris was still completely shut out of y/n’s life, and it left a bitter and extremely hard pill for chris to swallow. he knew he fucked up and he knew asking her for forgiveness was an insane ask but he missed her.

and not the attention she gave him. he missed her. her warmth, the fuzzy feeling in his chest that she gave him when he’d crack a joke and look around to see if she found it funny. he missed the way he could non-verbally communicate with her the way he can with his brothers. all he’d have to do is send her a look and she’d know what he was thinking. he missed her hugs and the way she could comfort him in a split second. he missed the person that knew him better than he knew himself, and he missed the girl that he knew better than anyone.

everyone around chris knew what was happening, they saw it in the way he’d sulk whenever nick mentioned some guy she was trying to date. or the way his eyes would soften at the mention of her and matt hanging out before his face would fall when matt says they’re going out to some random place to hang out. in the way chris’ eyes would brighten when he saw something that reminded him of her or her favourite movie showed up on the netflix previews.

everyone around chris knew that he wasn’t just homesick for his favourite person, he was lovesick too. they could see the gears turning in his head and heart, that he was slowly starting to openly show his love for her, the same love she felt for him. chris was guarded and haunted by girls that have hurt him, they knew he closed off his heart to anything but familial and platonic love, so when genuine, deep romantic feelings started blooming in his chest like the flowers in spring, he didn’t know what they were. he always thought it was platonic love for his best friend, but everyone could see it was more.

everyone but chris. until the day he saw his feelings for what they really were.

FLASHBACK

chris walked upstairs, halting halfway up to text his friend back as he half listened to nick and matt’s shared conversation, not really care until he hears a sentence that left a sour taste in his mouth.

“y/n wants to ask brendon to be her boyfriend. she thinks it could go well.”

“is she over chris?”

“not really but she wants to try and move on.”

chris rolled his eyes and stomped up the rest of the stairs, not understanding why there was such an angry feeling building in his chest like a fire rapidly consuming everything in its wake.

throughout the day, chris let his anger consume his every action, his every response, every single reaction he has to anything. it was pissing his brothers off because they had no clue why he was angry. until nick pieced it together.

“you heard our conversation about y/n didn’t you? that’s when you started acting a like a dick to everyone and everything.”

“whatever nick it doesn’t matter.”

“you’re fucking jealous, aren’t you?”

“who gives a fuck if i am?”

“why are you jealous if you don’t see her that way?” nick pressed, a smug grin on his face as he pushed the youngest triplet, itching to get the long awaited confession out of chris.

“i’m not jealous.”

“right because if you were, that would mean you actually feel the same way y/n does. which would also mean that literally everyone else in the world was right about you from the fucking get-go.” matt snickered, finding joy in teasing chris for being a complete and utter dumbass for so long.

“oh my god, you’re right. is that what you wanna hear? that i’ve been a complete jackass to her for no reason? that i do feel the same and that everyone is right? that i have no reason to feel the way i do at the thought of her being with another guy? cause if so, there you fucking go.” chris snapped, yelling and cursing out his brothers with misplaced anger.

matt just laughed as he quickly merged into the turning lane, taking chris to y/n’s apartment.

“you know what you need to do.”

FLASHBACK OVER

chris sighs as he raises his fist to the door, his entire body vibrating. his nerves were on fire, he had absolutely no clue how to go about what he was about to do. he didn’t even know if it was a good idea.

as he drops his fist back to his side, the door opens, travelling y/n standing on the other side, her hair tucked beneath her hoodie, the one that chris had gotten her gotten the prior year for christmas because the colour looked pretty on her. chris felt his breath get stuck in his throat and his heart rate quicken as he met her eyes.

“chris what the fuck are you doing here?”

“i know you think i don’t love you.” chris starts, pushing his way into her apartment as she watches him, confused etched along her features as her brows knit together.

“okay, and?”

“and i know you think i stopped paying attention to you. but you’re wrong. you are all i think about, every second of every fucking day, you are running through my mind on a loop. i only ever think about the way you love cheesy chick flicks but will never say it out loud because you don’t want to be made fun of or the way you hate when people dog-ear the pages in their books because it ruins the quality. i only ever think about how much you miss boston in the summer because it’s the perfect temperature, but you hate it in the winter because you hate snow. or how you stop to pet every animal you see just so they know what it’s like to feel a loving touch. or how you refuse to wear anything in your favourite colour because you’re scared of attaching bad memories to it and hating the colour because it’s been your favourite since you were seven. or how feel bad when you don’t give the squishmallows on your bed equal attention because you believe they can feel things. or the fact that your favourite movie is coraline because you relate her deeply but will never your mom that in fear of breaking her heart. or the fact you never once deserved to be treated the way you were by me because i couldn’t see my feelings for what they were.” chris rambles, taking a deep breath as he looks at her, her mouth open as she prepares to speak but chris cuts her off,

“i know that you won’t be able to believe me right away, but i want to prove to you that i love you. it took me a long time to realize it because i’m a fucking idiot. i always have been but this love has been here since the moment i met you, i just confused it for something platonic when it was and is so much more than that. so please hear me out and don’t ask that guy to be your boyfriend, ask me. i want to be the one to love you for the rest of your life. i know i’ve fucked up, i will spend forever and a day trying to make up for it. i know i’m late but please, just give me one more chance.”

“okay.” she whispers, her eyes watering as she finally gets to hear everything she’s ever wanted chris to say. chris smiles, looping his fingers in the edges of hoodie pocket as he tugs her forward, pressing his lips to her so feverishly that he’s sure his lips will bruise but he’s scared to waste another moment, that when he opens his eyes this will all just be some sick and twisted dream. but when he pulls away and opens his eyes, he’s met with the reality that she’s there, her hands cradling his face as she wipes away the tears he didn’t even know existed before pressing another kiss to his lips.

“i’ve always been right in front of you chris, i’m just glad you finally opened your eyes.”

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[whumpdoyoumean]

Whumptober #8

xxx forced to stay awake

"Do not let him sleep!" Louisa's voice, sounding strange and distant. It reminds River of the vinyl records he used to listen to with the OB as a kid, the really old ones that made his granddad get that wistful look on his face that disappeared again as soon as he caught River looking at him. Things were so much simpler back then. If he closes his eyes, he can almost pretend he's back there...

"Cartwright!" Lamb snaps, shaking him a little. "Do you want to be fired from the Service for good?"

In this moment, that actually doesn't sound like too much of a bad thing if River is being honest. He doesn't say so.

"That wasn't rhetorical." Lamb's voice is loud, sharp. "We both know how your last job interview went. No one that's any good'll take you, which means you'll be stuck behind a desk at some basic mid-level office job. Or maybe a private firm'll take you on, like your old pal Webb! Imagine working for those arseholes. Is that what you want?"

"No," River mutters.

"No? Then keep your fucking eyes open!"

River forces himself to comply. There's not much to look at, really: the back of the passenger seat; the blood on his hand; Jackson Lamb's knees; the back of Louisa's head and, when he lifts his gaze a little, a glimpse of her worried face in the rear-view. The inside of his eyelids offered a better view.

The car hits a bump, jolting him and ripping a cry from his throat as pain tears through his side and chest where the bullets had struck. His vision goes dark for a second, and then he's pulled back to awareness by the sound of Lamb's raised voice.

"Jesus Christ," he's saying. "Who taught you how to drive?"

"I'm sorry!" Louisa, voice pinched. "River, come on!"

River groans, and prying his eyelids apart is harder this time. Breathing is hard, too. Everything is hard.

"River, talk to me! You okay?" Louisa cries.

"Yup," River gasps. Another groan. "Hurts."

"I'll bet it does," Lamb says. "Maybe next time you'll think twice before running off on your own like a fucking dickhead, eh? Course, I thought the same thing the last two times you did it. It's like you never learn, no matter how many times I tell you to stop doing stupid shit."

"You can..." River really shouldn't be wasting his breath on this, but he can't help it. "You can lead a horse to water."

Lamb makes a noise that could be a snort of laughter or, more likely, he's hacking up something disgusting.

"I don't know that I could lead you fuck-ups to water if we were on a-a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific."

River tries to draw in another breath to respond, but his chest hitches and he lets out a wet cough. His mouth fills with the taste of iron and he almost gags, but coughs again instead, blood flecking his lips, and he just keeps coughing. Panic is creeping in, black dancing at the edges of his vision. He can't get enough air...

"Keep breathing," Lamb commands, his words filtering through the ringing in River's ears. The pressure he's been holding on the hole in River's chest increases as he tightens his grip.

He doesn't know how long it takes, it feels like a lifetime, but the coughing fit finally subsides. His chest is burning, head pounding. He can't catch his breath. And, more than anything else, he's so, so tired. It's a deep, heavy exhaustion. He just wants to sleep.

"Cartwright! You open your fucking eyes, now."

Fucking Lamb. Louisa is speaking too, but River can't discern the words. She's too far away. He suspects she wants him to stay awake too, though, damn her. Damn both of them.

"Now!" Lamb repeats, tapping River's face. "You hear me, Cartwright? That's an order. I know you're shit at following those, but you had better follow this one. Come on. Eyes open. If you won't do it for me, do it for Guy. You saw what happened after Min. What do you think'll happen if you die in her backseat?"

That sparks something, the faintest bit of anger, and River's eyes open a little. He doesn't know how he manages it.

He doesn't know if he'll manage it again.

xxx

[iwillneverforgiveyousunghanbin]

bully⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

friday, kim taerae— select choir

⋆˙⟡ zbully1 smut series masterlist! hanbin, jiwoong, hao, matthew, and taerae included. game day (group) chapter here. all 7 endings here.

⋆˙⟡ wc: 2.7k

⋆˙⟡ reader: just one gn!reader version for this (no pronouns are used at all to describe reader; reader is describe as having a "pretty" mouth but no gendered or femme language)

⋆˙⟡ series summary: five bullies. six days. it's gonna be a hell of a week, babe. stay hydrated.

⋆˙⟡ friday summary: it's the end of the most bizarre week of your life. last year, you would've been overjoyed to spend time in select choir with your friend kim taerae. but that all went down the drain after hanbin recruited him into his group of incessant jerks... and he's desperate to officially be one of the guys.

⋆˙⟡ warnings: explicit smut. 18+. minors do not interact. please read specific smut warnings under the cut! swearing. angst. slight dub-con. bullying. the lore for taerae is so SAD. i'll make sure his ending is happy, i promise. also we've got a ft. hanbin chapter but just in digital form.

⋆˙⟡ bully scale: ★★★★★ (5.0)

(idk the bully scale is subjective but like imagine your best friend saying this shit about you WHY IS HE DOING THAT OMG jk i know why and soon you will too)

EXPLICIT SMUT 18+ WARNINGS: oral, (taerae receiving), throat fucking (reader receiving), brief handjob and heavy petting (taerae receiving), cumming without warning in mouth, filming of sexual act, voyeur!hanbin, slight dubcon but like for both of them kind of idk you'll see but it's slight, bullying, the usual.

friday.

you should be elated that this week is nearly over. and you are. mostly, anyway. 

but there was an indescribable thrill to all this that you couldn’t seem to shake. all that talk of ravens yesterday had got you thinking...

 why did you dislike ravens in the first place?

thinking. crying. haphazardly finishing all of your assignments due friday that you’d procrastinated the whole week. urgent texts to and from mina after her ✨jiwoong oppa✨ stood her up for their date.

one thing was for certain: you desperately need sleep.

that’s why you’re currently falling asleep sitting up, hard-back music folder open in your hands as professor yoo works with the bass section. the lowest notes of “requiem” are soft and soothing and, for you at this sleep-deprived moment, very dangerous. 

luckily a sharp elbow to the shoulder jolts the drowsiness right out of you.

you look to your left to find kim taerae giving you one of the most judgmental glares you’ve ever earned in your life.

you would expect nothing less from him.

at one time a judgmental glare from taerae was the equivalent of a hug. you returned the gesture happily. and also threw in some hugs whenever he’d let you. he squirmed a bit, but the big smile that would grow on his face made it all worth it.

but there’s no warmth behind his eyes now. just a sharp elbow pointed at you, threatening to strike again if you didn’t shape up quick enough.

“you’re gonna get yourself in trouble,” he warns with a frown.

you roll your eyes. “why do you care?”

“because, unfortunately, some people still think we’re friends,” he says, making thin lines with his pencil on a page of his sheet music. “and i don’t want to suffer the social consequences of your embarrassing actions.”

“mm,” you agree wordlessly. “guess i should’ve thought of that myself.”

he doesn’t respond for a few moments, eyes focused on his sheet music until an audible sigh comes from his direction. “why are you so tired anyway? s’not like you.”

“for all you know, it could be,” you retort with a huff. “maybe i’m a real night owl now. maybe i’m out partying or smoking or... something.”

taerae snorts. “jiwoong hyung was not lying about those tragic acting skills.”

“oh, fuck off,” you reply.

his eyes widen. and then promptly squint with suspicion. “since when did you swear like that?”

you frown, trying to discern what he could mean. hadn’t you always been this uninhibited with your tongue? 

the answer was no. you hadn’t. and this new speech pattern of yours had a very specific origin: monday afternoon. you exhale a chuckle. maybe you had yet to realize the full extent of how this week has changed you.

and how your desire to change back continues to dwindle.

you just shrug, returning your focus to your music. you feel taerae’s eyes on you as you track your vocal section’s part in “requiem”.

you and taerae had purposefully chosen seats next to each other in choir last year so that you could goof off together during every possible free moment. it was also convenient for your parents, who always wanted to get pictures of you two together during concerts ever since high school.

now you wish you went to different universities altogether.

ironically, you might’ve had a better chance of remaining friends if you’d had distance. but you and taerae disagreed quite adamantly at the time.

halfway through your two-hour rehearsal, you’re allowed a fifteen minute break to grab water and stretch your legs. you always wander off down the empty storage hallway, where your favorite vending machine is hidden in plain sight— the one with the oreos and cheez-its and bugles in it. 

pulling out your debit card, you insert the chip into the machine and punch in the number for the snack of your choosing. you watch happily as it falls down from it’s spiral prison into the dispenser below. you start to bend down when a hand reaches in before you and grabs your snack.

“hey, what the—…” you trail off as you come face to face with a cavernous dimple. “give it back. now.”

“you’re so touchy today,” taerae condemns with a click of his tongue. he holds your snack high above his head, dangling it in a challenge. “seriously, what’s gotten into you this week?”

“oh, you know exactly what,” you huff, reaching for the snack in vain.

taerae laughs. “i guess a better question would be: what hasn’t gotten into you this week?”

“you’re so fucking funny,” you snap, fingers finally closing around the wrapper as you yank it down. 

taerae’s brow is raised in surprise, not really caring about the repossession of the snack. “seriously, i’m not used to you swearing like that. i’m not sure if i like it.”

“i assumed there was nothing you liked about me anymore,” you retort, tearing open your snack and shoveling the processed glory down your throat.

“that’s not true,” he replies, hand suddenly reaching to your face. he brushes his thumb across your bottom lip, a crumb transferring from you to him. he brings his thumb to his own lips and tastes it. “i still like your pretty mouth.”

when you finally manage to pick your jaw up off the ground, you shake your head. “i know you don’t think of me like that.”

“uh...” taerae mumbles awkwardly, glancing at the row of shelves behind you. “sure, i do.”

“oh yeah? how about mina’s pool party two years ago? when we—.”

“OH, actually you—,” he interjects urgently, glaring at you to shut up. normally you would. but after this week, you no longer feel bound to quiet compliance. “you don’t need to—.”

“—were playing spin the bottle and it landed on me and you threw up in the pool because you were so disgusted by the mere thought of kissing me—”

his lips crash onto yours, hand cupping your cheek. it’s a demanding, yet tentative kiss and you’re even more confused when it ends.

you take a step backward, folding your arms across your chest. 

“can you just—...” taerae grabs your arm and pulls you closer to him, glancing again at the row of shelves behind you. “yes, that’s perfect.”

“what’s perfect?” you ask with a frown, starting to grow immune to strange behavior after the week you’ve had.

“oh, um.... you,” taerae answers after a moment with a smirk. “you were always so perfect, (y/n). perfect grades. perfect manners. perfect body. i used to jump at the chance to sleep over when your mom would let me. you used to beg her until she finally said yes, because she knew you'd never misbehave. remember, honey?"

eyes wide at the dark shift in his tone, you nod slowly.

“you were so innocent... you slept shirtless, for fuck's sake. peacefully dreaming, while i pretended to be asleep on the floor,” he continues, brushing his thumb across your cheek. “hoping i wouldn't wake you up if i just lifted the covers to get a peek."

when you thought the worst of your pain this week was over…

“tae,” you breathe, eyes watering— pleading for this not to be true. it couldn’t be. at least... not in the vulgar way he was describing it. "you don't mean that."

at the sound of your despair, there's a momentary flash in his eyes. regret. you still know him like the back of your hand.

“why are you doing this?” you ask, hands flying to cup either side of his face. he flinches, trying his best not to look you in the eye again. trying not to let you see. “you don’t have to be my friend anymore if you really don’t want to. but i don’t know why you want to be like them when you’re miles better than they’ll ever—.”

“alright, that’s enough.”

the muffled, tinny voice comes out of nowhere. you look around your immediate surroundings, trying to discern where it came from.

“c’mon, you were doing so well,” the voice rings again. “you said you had this under control, bud. was i wrong to put my trust in you?”

“no, hyung,” taerae answers, shaking his head. “i—… i can do it.”

“hanbinnie?” you ask and then cough awkwardly to cover up the fact you just called your arch nemesis so affectionately. yesterday must’ve gotten to you more than you know. “i mean, hanbin-ah! what the actual hell is going on?”

“no need to worry about it, sweetheart,” hanbin’s voice dismisses again. taerae’s eyes dart towards the shelves behind you once more. you follow his gaze— jaw dropping when you see two camera lenses staring back at you. 

“what—...” you fumble, shaking your head in disbelief as you look at the back of taerae’s phone— propped up with a black music folder. “you’re recording this!?”

“afraid so,” hanbin answers for taerae. “i didn’t really think he could follow through without some supervision. don’t mind me though. unless you just can’t help yourself...”

while at the beginning of this week a situation as perverted and bizarre as this would’ve had your whole nervous system shutting down, you’re still standing tall. present in this strange moment. you smirk.

“aw, tae,” you coo mockingly, turning to your former friend. “how sentimental of you...”

a brow arches in confusion back at you. “what are you––?”

“of course you’d wanna capture such a special moment on camera,” you continue with a patronizing nod. “it’s not every day that you lose your virginity.”

“HEY THAT’S—…” taerae starts to yell at you for sharing this embarrassing personal detail that you’re sure he never disclosed to hanbin. “that’s… that’s not true.”

“oh come on, it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” you twist the metaphorical knife as hanbin stifles a laugh. “i’d be happy to help you out with that, since i was the one who had to listen to you whine for four years about how you were still. a. fucking—”

two fingers are down your throat in an instant. you gag, trying to step backwards, but taerae’s hand finds the back of your head— holding you in place. he removes his fingers slowly, pupils dilating when you whimper in fear.

“i’ve decided i don’t like the swearing,” he says, a sickening hint of sweetness in his tone. any upperhand you had is now gone as he traces your lips with his thumb. “such a pretty mouth. those filthy words shouldn’t be coming out of it.”

“y-you don’t get to decide that,” you stammer unconvincingly.

“so that’s what you really want, then?” he asks, sticking his thumb further into your mouth. you suck obediently. “you wanna have a filthy mouth?”

you nod, his thumb still pressed against your tongue— cheeks hollowed out as taerae bites his lip hungrily.

“then you can have it,” he says before removing his thumb from your mouth and pressing down on your neck and shoulder— forcing you to your knees in front of him. you guess joining the soccer team had really improved his strength. “just remember it’s what you said you wanted.”

taerae unbuttons his jeans, pulling the zipper down. he freezes, clearly unsure of what to do next. maybe this is your opportunity to wiggle your way out of this. if only your curiosity wasn’t equally as strong.

“we––... i have to audition after this,” you protest weakly. “when break’s over, i have to audition for the solo i’ve been prepping for so i want to keep my voice warm right now and—.”

“ah, that’s right. i did forget about that,” he affirms, looking up at the ceiling in thought before smirking back down at you. “but i think i can help keep it pretty warm, actually.”

your attempt to level with taerae only seems to encourage him as he pulls down his jeans and boxer-briefs. you inhale sharply as his hard cock comes to eye-level, so close you can really examine it. though it’s slightly smaller than hanbin’s, it’s thicker and you need to know immediately how it feels in your hand.

“whoah, you—,” taerae stumbles, eyes wide as you take him eagerly in your hand. he stares at you, lips parted as you start to pump him. “holy shit.”

“you’re sure you wanna do this?” you ask, pausing your motion to make eye contact with him. you can tell he doesn’t want you to stop, but there’s conflict lingering there that he just can’t seem to hide.

taerae clears his throat, shaking his head as he resumes his tough guy act. eyes cold once more, he shrugs. “a hole’s a hole.”

after a year of judgmental berating from your former best friend, it was almost comforting to know that he was capable of being even meaner than he already was. it meant that, for whatever reason, he usually didn’t want to be any meaner to you.

he takes both of your hands in one of his, keeping you from using them as his other hand finds the back of your neck again— guiding your face towards his cock. taerae doesn’t need to give much guidance though. you’re aching to get a taste and the way your lips sink down around him nearly knocks the wind out of him.

back pressed against the side of the vending machine, his thumb presses into your cheek— feeling himself inside of your pretty mouth. you swirl your tongue around his tip, causing him to moan softly.

there’s a little bit of rustling coming from where taerae’s phone is propped up on the shelf. you wonder if hanbin’s enjoying this. if he’s touching himself— wishing he was throat deep in you instead.

“c’mon, bud. is (y/n) running this show or are you?” hanbin asks, tone laden with frustration.

“i—... i am,” taerae asserts, grip tightening across the back of your neck. 

he starts to thrust gently into your mouth, an action that you’re not so familiar with. it rattles you a bit— loss of control after feeling like you were gaining it back.

“this is what you asked for, baby,” he reminds you, shallow thrusts starting to venture a bit deeper. “remember? you said you wanted a filthy mouth. so i’m gonna make a mess of it.”

you find the right rhythm to breathe through the thrusts. the tip of his cock is dangerously close to entering your throat, sending another wave of anxiety through you. but it’s not for long. 

your eyes meet taerae’s and, though he’s the one putting you in that danger, you suddenly feel very safe. you let out a sigh, the vibration causing him to mewl. he scratches at your neck affectionately, putting pressure against it to feel himself inside you as he fucks your throat.

“see, keeping that throat nice and warm,” taerae coos as his breathing gets heavier— and his moaning gets louder. “take me so well, i—.”

“shut the fuck up, dude,” hanbin scolds, his own breath growing labored. “do you wanna get caught before you can win the—?”

before hanbin can finish his thought, you feel a warm, sticky liquid begin to pour down your throat. you pull off of taerae, sputtering and coughing as you try to swallow it down. wiping your mouth, you look up at taerae who is looking at you like he wants to dive straight into the han river and never return.

“for fucks sake, are you actually a virgin or something?” hanbin asks angrily. “is that really all you can last for? and, jesus, you’ve gotta warn someone before you do that.”

your throat is starting to burn and you’d love to be able to say something, anything, but the rasp that comes out isn’t pleasant-feeling. you rub at your throat with your now-free hands as taerae’s expression just turns more horrified.

“did i... did i hurt you? fuck, i didn’t mean to—,” taerae starts to babble uselessly until hanbin claps loudly.

“good work, team!” he says as he finishes his round of applause. “mvp definitely goes to me, for coming up with this idea in the first place. i’ll see the campus activities secretary at the big game tomorrow, right?”

“mm,” is all you can croak out. you wish it sounded angrier.

“and i’ll see you at practice tonight, man. i—,” hanbin cuts himself off with a confused look. “wait, where did he go?”

you face forward, expecting to see taerae standing next to the vending machine but... hanbin’s right. he’s vanished.

“that kid’s a piece of work,” hanbin says, shaking his head. “you think he’d be more grateful after i took him under my wing and made him popular. i even got him a spot on the soccer team after a lot of private coaching. i mean, he’s benched for life, but still!”

you’re a saint among men, is what you wish you could say. instead, you just roll your eyes.

“just take his phone and give it back to him in class, will you?” hanbin asks as you stand up and make your way toward the shelves. “and drink some hot tea for that throat, okay? throw some honey in it and you’ll be good as new for tomorrow, i promise.”

you sigh. and you nod. and you pick up taerae’s phone and end the video call. 

and you go back to choir and sit in your black music chair and wait for taerae to come back, but he doesn’t. and when it’s time to audition for the solo you’ve been preparing for, you stay seated and quiet. 

seated and quiet.

like you’ve been for so long.

and when practice ends and the choir room is empty and you remain seated and quiet in your black music chair and tears begin to well up in your eyes, you don’t cry.

you smile.

you stand up.

you shout (briefly, so as not to disturb anyone in neighboring classrooms).

at some point or another, you forgot how to do these things. or you were made to feel like you couldn’t or shouldn’t. 

but that’s who you really are.

who you were always meant to be.

not a juliet. not a violin. not a goalie. not a bird. not a pretty mouth.

you.

you pick up your bag off the floor (and taerae’s) and throw them both over your shoulder, making a beeline toward the door.

absolutely, hanbinnie, you think. you’ll see me at the big game.

[jesawyer]

Hello Josh, Pentiment is one of my favorite games of all time. It’s an emotional journey for me. I can relate to Andreas’s melancholy and really like the character arc for him. Thank you for creating this amazing story.

I have a question about Seal of Confession in Pentiment. Sister Amalie disclosed Brother Guy’s confession to Andreas and explained why Guy can’t be protected by Seal of Confession. But as a catholic I was taught that Seal of Confession cannot be violated under any circumstances, and the seal also applies to anyone who overhears a confession. I assumed that the rule was different in Middle Ages. Did canon law back in 16th century mention anything about eavesdropping confessions?

Thank you. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

Certainly under modern canon law, Sister Amalie would be subject to church discipline equal to that of a priest who violated the seal, which could include excommunication.

Re: 16th century canon law on witnesses to confession other than the confessor: the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) did not mention witnesses, only the confessor:

Canon 21: On yearly confession to one’s own priest, yearly communion, the confessional seal All the faithful of either sex, after they have reached the age of discernment, should individually confess all their sins in a faithful manner to their own priest at least once a year, and let them take care to do what they can to perform the penance imposed on them. Let them reverently receive the sacrament of the eucharist at least at Easter unless they think, for a good reason and on the advice of their own priest, that they should abstain from receiving it for a time. Otherwise they shall be barred from entering a church during their lifetime and they shall be denied a Christian burial at death. Let this salutary decree be frequently published in churches, so that nobody may find the pretense of an excuse in the blindness of ignorance. If any persons wish, for good reasons, to confess their sins to another priest let them first ask and obtain the permission of their own priest; for otherwise the other priest will not have the power to absolve or to bind them. The priest shall be discerning and prudent, so that like a skilled doctor he may pour wine and oil over the wounds of the injured one. Let him carefully inquire about the circumstances of both the sinner and the sin, so that he may prudently discern what sort of advice he ought to give and what remedy to apply, using various means to heal the sick person. Let him take the utmost care, however, not to betray the sinner at all by word or sign or in any other way. If the priest needs wise advice, let him seek it cautiously without any mention of the person concerned. For if anyone presumes to reveal a sin disclosed to him in confession, we decree that he is not only to be deposed from his priestly office but also to be confined to a strict monastery to do perpetual penance.

The Corpus Juris Canonici may cover this, but I would make two statements here: 1) detailed canon law was not something most parish priests or certainly anchoresses would be familiar with 2) it's late and I don't want to try to search through the UCLA's digital library copy of the Corpus Juris Canonici.

That said, I do have a copy of Thomas Tentler's Sin and Confession on the Eve of the Reformation which gets into the weeds on what was going down in the Holy Roman Empire in the early 16th century. I used it as the basis for a lot of the specifics in Father Thomas' Saint John's Day confessions. I'll try to look it up this question tomorrow.

[trashlie]

Love and Deepspace Thoughts

I promised some thoughts about Love and Deepspace and we're a week into the game and I think I can finally ramble about it for a while. I've been immensely enjoying myself and screaming daily with my friends lol and I think I've been able to formulate my thoughts pretty well! Idk how many people actually wanna read this, but I always love to have a record of my thoughts - especially something this early in game, because knowing papergames, there's going to be so much angst, so many twists and turns, and I'm already seeing a lot of threads of how things could play out and I like to be able to look back and see how wrong I was lol.

I play on the North American server and have completed chapter 7, so this will be full of spoilers for story content, as well as a lot of spoilers for anecdotes, tender moments, and some of the myth stuff - I'll try to denote where I'll mention certain spoilers in case you're trying avoid certain things, but it'd be impossible to write all of my sincere thoughts and capture all of what I really love and am looking forward to without spoilers, unfortunately.

Below will have a lot of thoughts on the current LIs as well as speculation about the 2 coming LIs, as well as their dynamics, and further speculation on where I think - or maybe just would like to see - the story could be going. To be clear, I have not cleared all anecdotes or myths, as I'm trying to savor things and good lord I cannot pull all those cards; a lot of this is compilation between my experiences as well as @poisonheart and further things I've read and discussed in the server. I will also be approaching this as a longtime player of MLQC, papergames' other otome game, because I cannot help but see the comparisons between the game and sing the praises of where I feel like they've grown and refined, but I don't think you'll need to have played MLQC to read this - you can honestly just ignore those bits lol >A<

What I can outright, sans spoilers, say is that I'm really enjoying Love and Deepspace so much and I think that it's come at a really good time for me, personally, as a MLQC player, because there's so much in game that's been completed and we're basically going through the motions doing our dailies, waiting for our new chapter events or participating in the occasional events (if you aren't hoarding resources for SP wish tree events) so it feels SO refreshing to dive into a new game that takes place in the same universe/world but have so much new stuff to uncover, so much new lore, new characters to meet and get to know. In MLQC I have a very clear favorite, but so far in LADS, I find that while I think I might have a favorite, I really enjoy all three LIs so much and I don't feel bad when I pull someone else's card, because it means I get to gobble all the lore! I don't feel like "UUUGGHH THIS GUY" when we get to X's chapter route. Perhaps it's just that LADS really caters to specific tropes and cliches in a way that I enjoy, but I feel so much like they've done these characters great justice! This goes for the MC, too, who doesn't feel at all like a cookie cutter MC meant to be a stand in for our own self-insert, but rather has a lot of personality of her own, is feisty and discerning.

Also, I gotta give a lot of props to the character customization features. I understand why people are upset that you can only change your hair and hair color in the photobooth function, but we rarely see MC out of that feature - so much of the game is in first person POV - and the times that we do see her, she's seen from the back, so maintaining the same hair for all characters allows them to keep something they can use for her stand in in such scenarios. But the customization is legit nuts! You can do so much with it, I spent so long tweaking mine the day before the game launched! I want to make side accounts I will never play just to play with that function lol

But let's get into the good stuff!

I really cannot sing the praises for the LIs enough, and that's going to be the bulk of what I'll talk about, because even this early in game, there's so much nuance to the LIs in both their characters as well as their dynamics with MC. Everyone brings a little something different to the table, and with what little we know of the upcoming LIs, I think even if for some reason the current LIs don't work for people, maybe the new ones might? But personally, I am so invested in all three of them! While I think I have a definite ranking in favor forming, it's not like it means I dislike any of them at all, and I'm always so eager to learn more!

One thing I'd like to mention before getting into it is that I love the inclusion of the myth cards, and though they are treated as alternate universes, I think it's more like they are previous or parallel timelines, but I'll try to get into that a little more as I talk about the characters!

From what I can see so far, I think Rafayel is one of the more popular fans with the North American/English-speaking fanbase - and it's not hard to see why! He's sassy, provides good comedy, he's fun to bully, and he's really pouty. I had a feeling he would be my favorite from the get go, just because I tend to have a thing for really pathetic men lmao and I have SUCH a fondness for him. I said I think I have a ranking forming, but it feels WRONG to rank them because that's how much I really like them, but if I had to, Rafayel's #2 position is really, REALLY close to #1! But the thing is, it's not just because of all of those traits above. I'd argue that he's one of the characters who has a lot of iceberg depth, as in there's a lot of depth to him that may get ignored or glossed over because of the sass and brattiness that accompanies, or even masks, it. As poisonheart puts it, the comedy hides the pain - and Rafayel comes with a LOT of pain! There's a delicious complexity to him where he is one part needy and clingy, but also one part resentful and hurt. MC made a promise that she doesn't recall - whether it was in this life or another - and you really get the sense that Rafayel wants to settle the score, but at the same time his feelings get in the way of those bitter, hurt feelings, and I really enjoy this complexity a lot! I think it elevates all of the sassiness, gives it a purpose and meaning.

Take his Nightly Stroll Bond: on the one hand it comes across as comedic and even manipulative -and it is! But when you get into it, you understand why. That's not to say if I think there's justification for manipulation because that's not what I'm here for; I'm just here for a good time and a good time I'm having. But when Rafayel says "It's been 800 years!" I don't think that's an exaggeration - he just isn't talking about just the day that he waited. Is faking an injury/illness and checking himself into a hospital overkill? Sure lol but that's what makes him so delightful to me. There's all of this hurt and unaddressed resentment, but as much as that, there's all of these feelings! Because even though he's hurt, he CARES about MC, SO MUCH. That's the problem! It would be easier if he didn't care, but he does. He's so needy, so clingy, he wants her attention because he's waited for so long while she was off, having forgotten him, living a life that abandoned and left him behind while he waited and waited and listen ;~; my stinky fish man I'm so sorry I cannot wait for her to learn the truth. I want to know SO BADLY what happened! When did they meet, anyway? He makes a comment on the homescreen when he's sulking lol about "See you in three months... three minutes, landlubber"

HOW LONG DID HE WAIT FOR HER IF ONE MINUTE IS ONE MONTH TO HIM?!

And listen, idk what anyone else thinks, but the end of chapter 7 had me in my FEELINGS, with the way he tried to leave her at the bottom of the ocean - but he couldn't, because of their promise, because he's unable to go back on it, because even though she forgot all about him and their promise and went about her life without a memory of him, he can't do that. It's the hurt! It's the resentment! It's the confliction between his feelings, because it seems like they take up equal space - his hunger for her attention, for what feels like she was so fickle to give and take away, the way she meant so much to him and he feels like it wasn't the same ;A;

(I've contemplated how possible it is that they met when she was younger, before she was attacked in the Wanderer incident 14 years ago, and if that could somehow have affected her memory, but I feel like it must be something greater, because seeing the fish glow in his heart means the vow they made was binding, so something strong must've caused her to forget. But that's also why I've contemplated if this was in another life? I'm less sure about this, because in Rafayel's second anecdote, he crosses paths with MC at university, though of course she doesn't recognize or recall him, and he specifically recognizes her voice. "Though her voice has matured, her pronunciation, enunciation, the rhythm of her speech, and even the emphasis in her sentences... Every word strikes like a drumbeat, awakening long-buried memories in his mind" It feels more likely that it happened while they were younger. Also I feel like this passage really encompasses her significance, that he can recall these details, to recognize them after so much time ;~; stinky fish you make my heart ache ;~;)

I appreciate so much that they've given Rafayel so much depth, that under the comedy of his pathetic, sulky exterior is so much reason for it, that there's an undercurrent of resentment and something dark - after all, we haven't actually uncovered what happened with the painting and Raymond. We saw the mermaid skeleton in his house - was Rafayel seeking revenge for his people?

But Rafayel also shows tremendous emotional sensitivity, in ways that sometimes catch me off guard. I distinctly remember lol sitting in shock after 4-3, and the text from Rafayel that pops up asking MC if she got the thing, telling her about how he asked a seagull to send a white seallshell why hasn't it arrived yet lol and I remember going "NOT NOW RAFAYEL READ THE ROOM ;~;" and then he goes on, telling her "if you draw on it and put it into the ocean the sea will carry the feelings you poured into the drawing to the soul you yearn for" and I just started SOBBING lol ;~; It was just so.... poignant but so simple. He didn't say I'm sorry for your loss or my condolences or anything like that - it was his own chaotic, weird method, but it was sincere. Likewise, he shows that similar sincerity in Ocean At Night, despite initially dismissing paper lanterns as silly human traditions - a lantern will be blown out why would you put all your hope in something so fleeting - coming around to using his own flame, that will never go out, to light a lantern for MC with the prayer that her hopes will never go out. ;~; Listen, I cried. I was TENDER my heart was soggy ;~;

And while I know people love a good pathetic man and enjoy chaotic sass and the fact that we really, truly NEVER know where his plots are going to go lmao - always an adventure with him - I hope they appreciate that depth and don't disavow the darker elements of him that give reason to those core elements of him. Rafayel is a character that carries his hurt and bitterness on his sleeve, rather than hiding it or shoving it away, and I really look forward to exploring it and all the messiness it has to offer, and how it will play out for MC.

On the very far end of the spectrum is Zayne. He's the character I expected to not be too fond of, so I was so pleasantly surprised as we got to know him to find myself proven wrong! I expected him to be... hm... I guess colder? More prickly? Than he turns out to be? And, admittedly, he is still rather aloof and cold on the surface, but I think it helps that he and MC have that history and that we are introduced very early to them through the A Frozen Promise Bond. It made it readily apparent that Zayne was not a cold and aloof person because he was too lofty or something but rather... it just seemed like maybe he'd been someone more awkward when he was younger, someone who didn't know how to connect very well with the daughter of this family friend, but he still tried. The snow seal took me out, you guys ;~; I never moved on from that!!!!!!

Despite seeming so cold, there's a certain kind of warmth to Zayne, just under the surface. He shows his care and concern in the ways he knows best, as MC's PCP, caring about her well being and health, but their Tender Moments are a collection of wonderful moments showing them growing closer, getting to know each other better as people, as friends and equals. For the record, Starry Nocturne hurt me so much, but it did two things I thought were so important. a. It showed that he was not infallible, which I think is very important, because often characters are written in their roles as geniuses who never fail, or else accomplish the impossible, and to see him lose a patient, while painful to read, made him so human but also b. It gave him that moment of vulnerability with MC where he could lean on her. It's so, SO important! for a MI to be able to lean on the MC, I feel, for them to be those equals, for him to be able to be vulnerable with her, but especially so for a character like Zayne who feels very reserved and closed off.

MC makes statements about feeling like there's distance between her and Zayne, especially when they first come back into each others' lives for the first time, so getting to indulge in these little Tender Moments of them taking little steps towards each other, closing that gap between them, is so satisfying! Having that history gives them a dynamic unlike Rafayel or Xavier's with her, because she has her memories of their childhood, of who he was when they were younger, and who they are now, and can compare the warmth of him opening up, of the chuckles and laughter she elicits from him. They also have this kind of flirtship I really enjoy - something very coy, not in an uwu so shy way just.... very coy, both dancing around the bush, before one of them calls it what it is - I thought the A Heartfelt Paradise Tender Moment a really good example of this!

It's so easy to read Zayne as being cold and aloof, but he really does have so much warmth, he just isn't good at showing it. He doesn't wear things on his sleeves like Rafayel or MC. But good LORD when he's in private....!!!!!!! The Business Trip Memoria TOOK. ME. OUT!!!!!! This is the game launch and they're already throwing this at us?! It was, to me, such a mature kind of date to give us? Two people who have had to grow used to each other's absence in their lives, and continue having to make space for those absences, as both are busy people - Zayne, a dedicated cardiac surgeon and MC a hunter - and what it means to grow used to the absence and to miss each other. But listen - when MC got in his lap?! She was touching his mouth? His face?! "What did you want me to do, in front of all those people?" he asked her? SIR?!

HELLO?! Girl. Listen.

I had to fan myself alfjkkfkjafjkafkjaf lmao

I looooooove them for that element of normalcy - for the people who have important careers and lives that they have to attend to, but still find the room for each other in their lives. The implication that Zayne rushed his way through school, took on grueling workloads and lacked a social life amongst classmates much older than him, not because he loved learning or even because he was so dedicated to his career - but because it was his way back to MC, so that he could return to stand in front of her? GOD. HOW DO YOU MOVE ON FROM THAT? HOW DO YOU HANDLE THAT? Knowing that he did it all so that he could stand in front of you again? HOWLING pls LISTEN.

Zayne may feel cold on the surface, but he is SO warm, he cares so much. And not just about MC, either. Thank God, too, because I'm not huge on the "Cold man only cares about the woman he loves" type, but Zayne cares so much about his patients, and making sure they feel seen, cared about? His first anecdote had me crying about seniors in hospitals with no relatives to accompany them to their examinations ;~; What a man.

I haven't had a chance to dig into his myth yet, which is a shame, but his third anecdote DID destroy me. I'm not even exaggerating, I was sobbing in my bedroom - and the worst part is I knew it would be painful going in and I still wasn't braced for impact enough! I mean, frankly, both his second and third hurt but nothing like the third! Parallel universe Zayne in a grim reaper role where he must kill humans turning into Wanderers - so very opposite the surgeon version of him who does everything he can to save people, both of them living parallel lives to each other, experiencing each others' lives through their dreams/nightmares. THIS HAS ME SCREAMING!!!!!

So much of MLQC has a lot to do with timelines - parallel worlds, some alternate universes, a whole timeline that's technically the same timeline reset but also still moving forward...... lol I can't help but think about where all of this fits in to LADS. Even though the Myth storylines are taken as alternate universes.... I think they're part of everyone's stories. We see echos of them. I haven't finished Rafayel's but even little moments, like making a break for it and having to run to escape attention echos a scene of Rafayel and the Princess MC making a mad dash in the market alley to escape the palace guards. It feels especially true for Xavier and MC, which I'll get to. But especially with Zayne - whose myth, again, I haven't been able to dig into, but seems to pose him as a sort of god, a forseer - we have two very different timelines/events now: his myth/Philos story and his parallel Grim Reaper self. How many timelines/parallel universes are we playing with, I wonder....?

I really want to revisit this in the future when I do get to dig into his myth, because I can see how Rafayel and Xavier's myths tie into their identities and their dynamics with MC, but I don't know yet how any of that works for Zayne and MC! I'm so intrigued, I can't wait!!!!

And finally, Xavier. God, I should have known lol in retrospect I should have realized Xavier would be my weak spot but listen..... sometimes I gotta lie to myself lol I love everything about him, the seemingly gentle eepy man who is also simultaneously a walking weapon of mass destruction but also so easily stumped by a UFO machine lol. Much like Rafayel, I'm especially fond of him because of the depth and dynamics, but also, honestly, much like Rafayel, he just checks all the boxes. Poisonheart puts it best when she says Xavier is the perfect middle-ground of the two - he's not as sassy as Rafayel is, but he'll still roast MC, he's very grounded and comes off a little aloof sometimes, but he doesn't seem nearly as aloof as Zayne, and he's also really unintentionally funny! He plays the middle-ground of them SO well. And where Zayne was working hard in order to show up in front of MC again and Rafayel has a score to settle but also so much neediness, it feels like Xavier has a LOT of karma to make up for.

Now, I personally don't have his myth cards, but poisonheart does, so everything I know I've experienced via her and all of our hours of screaming lol and the thing that really gets me the most about Xavier and MC is like..... okay it's the way he's clearly this really incredibly strong guy, but he plays the submissive prey role so well? lol He begs if she tells her to, he doesn't resist, he indulges her, he plays along - but when the mood strikes, he'll pull the dominant switch and flip the table and alkfjlFKJKAFJ ALKJFAF LAKJFAKFKJFAJ AFLKJD GODDDDDDDD IT GETS TO MEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Xavier has that sense of like.... everything for MC, right? Like he's making up for a lifetime. There's implications that maybe he's been searching through space and time for her, trying to find her, that they've lost and each other countless times before - or rather, she's lost him - and his Shooting Stars myth supports this. Sometimes it's really subtle, sometimes it stands out so much I'm in agony. She remarks so often how he feels so distant, like he's as out of reach and mysterious as a star. She has nightmares about him disappearing and he is incredibly reassuring about staying, about not leaving. And maybe I'm reading into it, but he even talks about her hanging on tight, like maybe if she's strong enough, she can keep him from ever being taken away, keep them from being separated this time.

He's also the one who feels like he's actually endured all the years. Rather than separate timelines or parallel worlds it feels like Xavier has actually traveled through space and time, like he's the same Xavier from the myth himself, which makes him talking about the loneliness of stars so much worse. How long has he been alone, searching for her? ;~;

But their dynamic just really gets to me - it's those echos, the way MC subconsciously acts on them, and how indulgent Xavier is towards her. It's the playful teasing and the gentleness and how he plays so submissive and docile but when the mood strikes he can switch it up and catch her (and me!!!) off guard. It's the way he texts LMAO never writing out you or one lmao (which is marginally better than Rafayel's COMPLETE LACK OF PUNCTUATION LMAO ALFKAJFKJAFKJAFKJAFJK) It's the way he has that innocent baby face and could absolutely get away with murder.

Initially I had contemplated if it was possible he is actually a star and while maybe that isn't true I am still not certain he's human - at least he's not from our world (especially if he really is the very Xavier from the myth) but I still like to think of him as one, because he wears the star motif so well and likens himself to one so often. Also, look, I am a SUCKER for a star motif. I was doomed from the start lol.

There's just something about the agony and TRAGEDY in their past, in the echos, the subconscious fears, and the sheer indulgence!!!!! It's MC telling Xavier he might be her enemy later and the distress it caused him, prompting him to share his access privileges with her to earn her trust ;A; It's the way he's apparently spent DECADES, at the VERY LEAST, on our earth AND HE'S A TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE COOK lmaoooooooo it's the stupid little lines he says because he's not as overtly clingy and pouty as Rafayel but an armful of plushies is a dreadful thing because then he doesn't have a free hand to hold MC's hand !!!!!!! HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO BE NORMAL ABOUT THIS?! WHINES

I could write a whole essay about Xavier and I'm restraining myself and attempting to be really, really normal about him okay?

But yeah for him it's that depth of like... the guilt and agony he carries - because not only does leaving her hurt him, but it hurts himself, too. That unbearable loneliness, the endless wait, hoping, wondering, unsure of when, or if, he'll find her again, but refusing to give up - and when he does, endeavoring to make up for it. Like, as it is, there's something about strong men being submissive that is so lakkjfkafkjfkjaf alfjakfaf but it's the way Xavier does it with MC that is soooooo INDULGENT, so VERY "for you, because it's you" that makes me want to chew my keyboard and howl at the moon and every time he reassures her he won't leave I feel dread but also I want it to be true.

I know how papergames operates. I know Xavier may mean it, but I also know.... ;A;

And to think, this is all JUST THE LAUNCH STUFF! We haven't even passed chapter 8 yet lmao We don't even have all our LIs! We've (maybe?) yet to meet our antagonist? WHICH I'M EXCITED ABOUT BTW

Listen.

I have some thoughts and I'll try to keep them short (yknow, for me) because this is already long and rambly and maybe I can just expand on this later but: Sylus and Caleb are confirmed as LIs right? But are they the same person or not??????

If Sylus = Caleb it gives us a LOT of potential for exploring some really complex, grey morality. I mean, no matter what, Sylus is going to bring grey morality lol but especially if it turns out Caleb is actually secretly the leader of Onychinus, because it brings that whole "Who is this person I thought I knew?" and more so because Onychinus is poised as an enemy to the Hunter's Association.

But something Papergames has done in MLQC and I fully expect them to do here is explore grey morality, not only in Onychinus, but the Hunter's Association. Xavier's Tender Moments Garden of Secrets brings up the implication that some Wanderers are, in fact, intelligent, and while it's rare, it can occur. And with parallel world Grim Reaper Zayne having to kill people before they turn into Wanderers it begs the question of this world: can that happen here, too? And it gets into the moral conundrums. That's not to say the Hunter's Association are bad for killing Wanderers and protecting people but it starts to bring up questions, because in Grim Reaper Zayne's world, this is being covered up. What about this world? There's also the question of what is Onychinus even doing? I fully expect to find that whatever their objective is, it will be a question of the greater good and if the ends justify the means and the such.

Ultimately, an antagonist LI has to be sympathetic in some fashion, because how else are they going to write the story for them lol. Like they can certainly have Bond/Memoria/Tender Moments that are more about the combative element of their relationship meeting the chemistry that draws them to each other, but at any rate, there has to be something that draws them to each other and makes them care, right? So therefore, he can't be entirely bad, or at least MC has to be able to empathize with him and his objective, or the cause of it or something like that.

If Caleb = Sylus, that might be more achievable because of their history, but obviously that isn't a requirement, and that can also make it more complex, because again, that whole "this person I thought I knew".

I think there's a possibility for that overlap partly because we already have a LI with a history with MC - but to be fair, Zayne's history with MC is very different than Caleb's and has a different dynamic, so even if they didn't give him the villain route, it would still play out very differently and give them a significantly different enough dynamic that I don't think it would be a big issue.

If he's not Sylus, then there's still a lot of avenues to explore with Caleb. They've already implied that Caleb wants to take care of MC, wants her to lean on him and let him play that role for him, to stop being so strong in front of him, and I think that could very well affect his story and what has lead to his "death". Being in the airforce makes me wonder if it's possible that the military is associated in any way with Onychinus - after all, didn't he say that he does top secret work involving the deepspace tunnel, and isn't Onychinus interested in that? It wouldn't be the first time a government agency was written as being corrupt lol (and again there could be a lot gray morality here where Onychinus isn't necessarily inherently bad). Caleb could have gotten involved simply by his job.

There's the revenge angle, if he, too, was an experiment subject (which would make sense because why did Granny take him in as well?) and wanting to get back at? the people who experimented on them. Or wanting to be more involved? A spy case? SO many possibilities and I'm really excited to see where it all goes!

I think regardless of how Caleb is reintroduced to the story, I imagine there's going to be some kind of conflict - his "death" and then reappearance.... did he know that was going to happen? was it planned? was he involved? I don't think they'll bring him back and yay! now she has a family member back but I think there will be some kind of strife to work through, some good ol angst that really plays with the dynamic of feeling hurt and betrayed but wanting to return to the old times that can never be returned to, wanting to seek refuge in someone who maybe doesn't exist anymore, being drawn to someone you cared so much about and feeling so conflicted about it alfkjkfjkjafjkaf kj

I JUST HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS!!!!!!!!!!

This is such a rambling mess so kudos to anyone who made it this far. Maybe I'll manage to write some more bitesized thoughts later @___@

[romanarose]

Darkness on the Edge of Town: Chapter 1

Joel Miller X Reader

Chapter 2

Masterlist

Summary: While heading home for a mandatory lockdown, Joel stumbles on something he wasn't supposed to see with FEDRA guards and steps in. This, unfortunately, lands with him spending unexpected time with a young woman. Oh, and there's only one bed.

warnings!: attempted gang rape, physical hard with a gun, mentions of blood, canon typical violence, lmk if I missed anything! EVENTUAL SMUT

A/N: This was supposed to be a one shot. Now I'm not sure how many chapters we're looking at. Three minimum. Also, I KNOOOOWWWWW this follows the biggest Romana trope: Protective! Man protecting a woman. I will not apologize.

EDIT: This was originally posted as an OC fic, because I had bigger plans for it, but I honestly lost a lot of steam on it. I was going to give up on it tbh but someone sent an ask asking about a chapter 2, and I hate to disappoint! So I'll be condencing the story and making it a reader fic. hoping you guys like it! ****************************

As the sun was setting, Joel walked to his home, trying to savor the last of the outside he’ll have for the next couple days. The local government had made a mandatory few day quarantine for no discernible reason other than to exercise control, remind the citizens who was in charge. A week, give or take, without work wouldn’t be great by any means, but Joel and Tess at least had a partnership, so they weren’t completely on their own. This week, however, Tess was gone. She was making a trade with Bill and Frank when the lockdown announcement came out, and Joel had to radio over for her to stay there until it ended. This meant that he had a week alone in his tiny apartment room without Tess knocking on his door for one reason or another.

“Don’t fucking touch me!” A woman shouted from the alley he was passing.

Joel’s survival instincts said to keep walking; wasn’t his business, wasn’t his problem, wasn’t him or Tess or any of their allies. He didn’t need to get involved. But Joel knew right from wrong, and as much as he liked to pretend to himself he wasn’t a good person, that he wasn’t the same person he was before Sarah died, he couldn’t keep walking. Plus, Tess would kill him if she knew he walked away from this. Turning down the alley, he saw you being pushed and pulled by some soldiers; all men. One pulled you by the shirt so you were flush against him, and you shoved him off yourself, making the young man hit the alley wall. This action earned you a pistol whip, causing blood to come out of you forehead as you cried out, stumbling backwards into the arms of another man, and Joel couldn’t stand back any longer.

“Hey!” He shouted, striding further into the alley. One of the soldiers grabbed your arm, keeping her to him and away from Joel. “What’s goin’ on here?” He said, eyeing the men. He was more or less familiar with them, some he knew their names, some he didn’t but recognized their faces.

One man he had dealt with, a trouble maker who liked to use his power to his benefit and was surround by rumors of his treatment of women. Nothing could be proven, and no real accusations were made; they wouldn’t go anywhere if there had been. His name was Ross, a younger man than Joel was by a few decades, one of those who had been teenagers when shit went south. That age had been terrible in the ‘before’, a time of confusion and soul searching for anyone, and all that had been interrupted by losing everything. This created a lot of inner turmoil that never settled for most. Some killed themselves, some managed it, some became god awful people.

Ross spoke, eyeing Joel with a smirk. “Curfew, Joel, you know the rules.”

“She’s still got ten minutes.” Joel spoke firmly, his stare intense on the younger man, letting him know he wasn’t backing down. His eyes connected with yours. Joel wasn’t an idiot, he knew there were different dangers in this world for women, something he’d likely never have to worry about outside of concern for Tess.

Not phased by Joel the way many others were, Ross continued his hold. “She lives on the other side of town, she’s not getting there on time. But don’t worry” He laughed lightly. “We’ll escort her”

If Joel wasn’t certain what they were planning, the way they laughed and smiled at each other told him. With a grunt, you kick your leg hard against his shin repeatedly, causing him to shout and push you off of him to stop the assault on his leg. Joel took the opportunity, grabbing your dirty shirt and yanking you back behind him. Surprisingly, you smack his arm in return. “Don’t fucking touch me!”

“I’m trying to help you” Joel grumbled to you.

“I don’t need it” But none the less you stood behind his broad body.

Ross was less pleased now. “Lockdown is in 5 minutes, how you gonna get her home before then, Joel?”

Joel hesitated. This was the last thing he wanted this week, a week where he had an excuse to stay home, be alone and wallow in his own misery, but there was no way he could live with himself if he just left you. “She’ll come with me”

Ross eyed him, obviously irritated that he’s losing. “You didn’t seem like the type to take in a charity case… or do you have some ulterior motives.”

Joel didn’t play games. Turning on a heel, you were now in front of him and he pushed you forward and out of the alley quickly. “Go”

You shoved him off you, whispering harshly. “Stop fucking touch me!”

“Go” But he kept his hands off you.

As they turned the corner, he heard Ross call out to them. “Four minutes Joel!” His voice echoed mockingly. “Better hurry!”

But Joel was already speed walking.

“Where are we going?” You scrambled after him.

“My place.”

You stopped in your tracks. “I’m not going with you.”

Turning around only briefly, he took one long stride towards her, pointing his finger. “You have two choices. Go with me to my shithole,” He pointed back towards the alley. “Or you can do with them. Up to you.” He saw you glare at him as he turned back around; he did his part and you were an adult, you could make her own stupid choices.

He heard you footsteps. You quickly followed him.

Joel and you barely made it in time.

The room was… a room.

One bed, a beat-up old lounge chair, a dresser, table and two chairs. The ‘kitchen’ was a small stove with a single burner, but it didn’t look very used; the microwave did. To the left there was a door, presumably to the bathroom. You stood in the doorway awkwardly, body tense and stiff.

Joel gestured vaguely around the apartment and grumbled something she didn’t quite understand, but she assumed it didn’t really matter what he said.

“Nice place” You said, looking around.

Looking slightly defensive, he replied. “No one’s making you be here”

You frowned at him. “I was trying to be polite, but fine, you live in a shithole.”

“Yeah, well, this shithole is where you’re stuck for the next few days, unless you wanna risk it with Ross” He said with a little bite, before feeling just a bit bad. When he glanced over at you, you were harshly glaring at him. “I’m Joel” He muttered under his breath.

“Yeah” You scoffed. “I picked up on that between you yanking me around”

Joel turned to face you, crossing his arms in annoyance. “You’re welcome” His voice was dripping with sarcasm.

Undeterred, you crossed your arms back, hips cocked as you stood in defiance, seeming to consider your next words. Then, as nervousness flickers around your face, you seemed to realize the position you were in. Looking away and to the floor, you spoke softer. “Thank you. I know this isn’t… ideal”

“Don’t worry about” He grabbed a flannel shirt and sweats from his drawers and tossed them abruptly at you, then motioned for the bathroom. “Showers o’er there. There's… um…” He hesitated. “Under the sink.”

You furrowed your brow, confused. “What’s under the sink?”

Running a hand through his hair, Joel turned away and pretended to be suddenly very interested in the lamp. “You’ll see.”

“Sounds like a threat, but okay.” You murmured as you shuffled into the bathroom before stopping and turning around, telling him your name.

He gave a nod, barely acknowledging you as you disappeared into the bathroom. This was going to be a long fucking week.

When you took in the dingy bathroom, you decided to see what he was talking about beneath the sink. When you opened up the small cabinet, you found possibly the last thing you were expecting to see in the bathroom of the world's grumpiest man. Pads. The initial surprise you felt was quickly overtaken with a swell of warmth. You wondered about the type of man he was before the outbreak. The last 20 years had broken some of the best people down, the need for survival tearing people apart… but you firmly believed good people remained good deep down, someone inside them, even if it only came out when necessary. And today, as you faced down a group of men with evil intentions, it was clear that this was a situation he couldn’t ignore. You’d seen a lot in your years, more than enough for several lifetimes.

The bath felt nice, even if it was cold, as did his clothes, as well worn as they were. When you padded out into the one room place, you saw him standing over what could barely be called a stove.

“It’s just shitty canned soup, you can have some. I don’t got a lot here, but enough to get us through.”

“Thank you. I can pay you back once I get home”

“Hm.” Was his non committal answer.

A pause.

“And thank you for stopping-”

“Don’t mention it.”

“I mean it-”

Joel whipped around, his eyes intense and alight. “I said, don’t mention it.”

You shut your mouth but glared at him, letting him know he was being a dick. And yet, you really weren’t in much of a position to complain, were you? He had saved you from an attempted gang rape, the act of which caused him to have to put you up in his home, share his clothes, his water, his food… All the while giving no indication he had any ill intentions of his own. How many people would do this for a stranger?

He got his food, sitting at the table and once again gesturing vaguely towards the ‘kitchen’, prompting you to get food for yourself. You didn’t feel you weren't exactly wanted at the diner table, so you looked around for another place to eat, moving over to the chair. It wasn’t the worst thing she’d sat on, but it wasn’t the best either. A new problem was glaring as they ate in silence.

There was only one bed.

You piped up. “I can sleep on this chair.”

“Yeah” Was all he responded.

Clearly, he meant for you to sleep there anyway. It was going to suck, but it was better than whatever was planned for her in the alleyway.

Wordlessly, he walked off and shut the door to the bathroom and it wasn’t long before she heard the water running to take his own cold bath. Amazing bedside manner, really. Top tier. You tried to remind yourself you were looking a gift horse in the mouth, and brushed off your bitterness. When Joel immerged, he didn’t look at her as he walked past.

“So,” You started.

“No.”

“How long have you-”

“No.”

“Do you at least-”

A loud groan as he scrubbed his face, signaling you to stop.

You sat there, staring at the wall while Joel went about his business before you heard him call to you. “Hey. C’mere”

You turned around, eyeing him suspiciously. “Why”

“If you want your fucking forehead infected, that’s on you”

“Wait!” You scrambled up, walking over towards him where he had some basic first aid. “Sorry, I-”

“Sit” He directed to the chair at the table, not making eye contact.

Doing as you were told, you sat down at the table, looking up at Joel as he bent over you. You winced as he applied the disinfectant. “You could sit-”

“No” Despite his harsh tone, his touch was gentle, careful, and moving away when you winced.

“So” You tried to start a conversation again. “Joel. That’s Hebrew, right? Are you J-”

“Stop.” Joel briefly put his hands down, standing straight up. From your view on the chair, you suddenly realized how tall he was. His eye contact, when focused on you as it was now, was all consuming. “We’re not friends, we’re not going to come out of this as friends, we’re gonna be lucky if we don’t rip each other's head off. So how about you stop talking, and I stop wondering if I can drown myself in the bathtub every time you ask me a question.” When you didn’t argue, he oh-so softly applied a bit of antibiotic ointment, careful not to waste the little he had.

“Well, that was a bit blunt” You commented as you studied his face. Handsome, older; graying but not falling apart. His accent was southern, but where? You could not place, but that would explain his sense of duty.

“You asked if I was Jewish an hour into knowing me, and out of nowhere. I don’t think I’m the blunt one here” Joel muttered again, but this time there was a hint of… something else. Not quite playful, there was nearly no change in his tone, he was just as gruff as before, but the way he spoke indicated it was almost a joke. Almost. But not quite. He stood up without another word and washed his hands of the antibiotic cream and remaining blood that had oozed out. Grabbing an extra blanket from the drawer, he tossed it at you aimlessly and hit the light.

“Go to bed”

“It’s 8pm”

“Go. To. Bed.”

“Old man”

This received no response from him, but you laughed to yourself.

“Good night Joel.”

A loud sigh was the only response you got.

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

I'VE NEVER WRITTEN FOR JOEL SO PLEASE BE NICE! I don't know a whole lot about this universe or the world building so I'm so sorry if this is wrong. But I love Pedro so so so so much and I love TLOU so far!!! Please leave a comment if you like what you see so I know people want more, and reblog if you are so inclined! It's the only way to spread my work on this sight!

Shocker. The fic is titled after a Springsteen song. Joel Miller Listens to Springsteen, Melloncamp and Petty and I will not be taking criticism at this time.

And! Be sure to check out my other Pedro character fic, Take Your Time with my boy Frankie Morales! Tagging some I think may be interested, if you aren't interested in Joel fics just comment to be removed!

My love, @welcometostayingawake @trinkets01 @my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction @luciannadraven33 @howaboutcastiel

[ill-written-god]

T | 793 | m/m human/werewolf | sequel to 'shapeshifting' but this time I'm not pretending it's not Steddie | cw: a little drug related oopsie but everyone's safe | getting together

He wouldn’t call himself a recluse, but he certainly wasn’t a social flower. He’s only been to frat parties for mere minutes until he sold out of his stock. A mostly monster party? Where everyone was fully shifted and in the open? Never.

He watched them be themselves, no hiding from the conservative faculty or parents, or students, even. No pretending they were civilized humans. Here they were all uncivilized students, no matter their species.

Aside from the new features of his peers, he found a lot of food and drinks he hadn’t seen before. And drugs. He’s been eyeing a certain shroom that seemed to be popular with other party-goers. The girl handing it out catches his eye and offers him the baggy to pluck out from.

It’s blueish and doesn’t smell anything, but before he can take it in his mouth, there’s a growl in his ear, and the shroom gets slapped out of his hand.

“Wha-” 

The growl grows, making him flinch and back away, straight into a broad chest and a stronghold of hairy arms.

“The fuck are you guys doing?!”

Despite the music, the room goes quiet.

“Shit, Steve-” 

He growls back, teeth clasping in warning.

“Dude, it’s just some shrooms-” Eddie tries to dissolve the situation, but the hold only tightens to the point of pain. He gasps, but Steve doesn’t seem to notice.

“Just shrooms?! These are poisonous to humans!”

“Oh.”

He looks at the inconspicuous funghi, still held by the girl, now white as a sheet.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know he was human-”

“Well, maybe you should fucking ask!”

Realizing this isn’t going to get any better until they leave the situation completely, he pushes against the chest, backing away from the group. Steve doesn’t budge at first, so he turns around his tight embrace, trying to find his gaze. The grip tightens, ribs creaking against each other before the werewolf finally looks down.

“I need some fresh air, let's go,” he says, and Steve gives a tiny nod. He growls one last time to the group and finally lets himself be pushed towards the door.

"Thanks for saving me, man," Eddie says, once outside.

"What if I was too late? You can't just take any drug in your sight!"

His instinct was to argue, but he knew Steve was right. Besides, he was still shaken up.

"Okay, sorry, I promise I'll only take my own stuff. Or triple-check if what I'm taking is human-friendly at least."

Steve huffs and his hold only tightens, and it’s too much.

“Dude, you’re choking me.”

“Shit, sorry.” Despite his words, he’s reluctant to let him go. Eddie doesn’t like the loss either, but they sit close on the porch stairs instead. It’s quiet, weird.

“Couldn’t they sniff out I’m human?” he asks eventually, recalling the argument from earlier. Steve flinches against him.

“Too many monsters around, the smells are hard to discern. Besides…” he hesitates.

“What?” Eddie turns to him, curious. 

“We’ve been hanging out a lot. You smell wolf-ish.” He cringes and kinda collapses on himself.

“Okay…” he draws out, trying to decipher what that means. “Have you been rubbing off on me? On purpose?”

“No!” he immediately denies, offended. “Yes? Maybe?”

“Dude! What the fuck?” He asks, trying to hide that he’s mostly amused. Partially thrilled.

“Not on purpose! At first.” The werewolf rushes to explain, leaning away a bit to look at him properly and gesticulate with his hands. “It’s hard not to… scent someone… when you’re having sex, okay?” he hisses through his teeth. “But then we kept hanging out, and it just… happened?”

“You gave me your hoodie,” Eddie says with sudden realization. “Were you marking your territory?”

“What?! No!” Steve seems scandalized, but he goes red in the face, and shoves at Eddie half-heartedly. The man just laughs.

“Dude, that's so hot!”

“Right,” the wolf scoffs, expression going sour.

To placate him, Eddie places a hand on his knee and squeezes. Trails up higher. 

“I mean it,” he says. 

“Oh.” Steve looks at his hand, then up into his eyes. “Oh, okay.”

“Do you guys also pee on each other? It’s not my thing, but I’d consider it.”

The wolf’s face tells him everything he needs to know. His smile turns into a grin.

“It is?” he asks, incredulous. “Damn, now I’m really, really thinking about it.”

“Dude,” Steve whines, claws scratching at the porch wood. “You can’t just say shit like that. We’re not even…”

Eddie hums, thumb tracing the denim stretching over the wolf’s thigh.

“We could be. Would that be much different from what we’ve been doing?”

“Man, I hope so,” Steve chuckles. “More kissing and sex, for starters.”

“That definitely could be arranged.”

He leans with a smile. 

[shimmeringweeds]

EDIT: so like. all of this was wrong. and I don't know what I was on when writing this. Tired is what I was. Read it just to laugh at how dumb I was being.

Link Click S2 E10 part 3 (part 1) (part 2)

Destiny and Fate

Let's go back to this scene for a moment:

We've already concluded that this episode is a dramatization of events, a theater play. Events in this episode are symbolic not literal.

Recap: Cheng Xiaoshi and Li Tianxi are symbolically crossing paths here, not literally. After all, by the point CSX!LG is at this crossroads, Li Tianxi has already been in police custody, unidentified, for two days. Li Tianxi's half likely takes place the night she ran away, after Chen Bin's death.

So what's the symbolism? In regards to theater, it could be a couple of things.

1). When two characters cross paths in theater, it can represent two solutions to a problem posed. Sometimes, there's only one right answer and the viewer has to discern, which is it? There is more to this than meets the eye. - I'll come back to that at the very end.

2). Two characters crossing paths can also symbolize a swapping of fate. In the context of Link Click, this one is the obvious choice so let's go.

Li Tianxi's fate is not a happy one. She's traumatized and her mental growth is stunted. It doesn't appear she can take care of herself. She can only rely on her brother. And Li Tianchen (brilliant mad lad that he is) is still only in the process of becoming a real hunter, and not just Qian Jin's hunting tool. He hasn't broken free of that yet (though the extent that LTC also is using QJ as a tool by this point is worth noting. QJ probably knows he needs to watch out, with those gloves.)

Li Tianchen wants to rewrite destiny and "find" his sister.

Li Tianchen wants to rewrite destiny so he doesn't loose his sister in the first place.

I'm not talking about that night she ran away. Remember this is figurative. Li Tianchen started loosing Li Tianxi the moment he started loosing himself. Li Tianchen lost Li Tianxi the first night he impulsively chose to murder through her.

Li Tianxi and Cheng Xiaoshi figuratively cross paths in "inevitable destiny."

Whether by free will or by force, it's implied that Cheng Xiaoshi will take on an inevitable destiny for Li Tianxi. The key nodes of the past cannot be changed, but there are multiple ways to cause them.

______________________________________________________________

Intermission : Li Tianchen

I've got a bone to pick with you.

"Without photos, you have no chance to cheat now."

LI TIANCHEN. WHAT? I'm sorry, are you for real? I thought you understood how these games go???? So your telling me, That Cheng Xiaoshi using photographs, using his own damn ability, is cheating. But that you're allowed to possess people? KID. How does that logic track?

Is it just because Cheng Xiaoshi can physically disappear? Does he consider that a cowardly hunt? I mean, honestly, no matter how you look at it, from a game POV Cheng Xiaoshi won this round fair and square. Li Tianchen was outsmarted. If anything, having Xiao Ma stationed as backup is cheating, but that's a Qian Jin problem. It's out of Li Tianchen's control.

I need to mull this one over more, why is using the photo ability cheating? What a curve ball.

But what we do get out of this is: Li Tianchen didn't realize the full extent of what Cheng Xiaoshi could do. What else doesn't he know?

______________________________________________________________

Lu Guang

Li Tianchen has been.... somewhat dismissive of Lu Guang the entire season. I mean, he meets Lu Guang and immediately thinks, "yeah, this guy is a disposable resource, let's stab him." And then a night or two later he's like, "Oh yeah. BTW. Here's a photograph. Please deliver." (because I still can't think of reality where that photograph wasn't a card he played.)

In eps 8&10 Li Tianchen says, "I regret being too lenient before.."

Wow, that's a threat. So you did mean to kill him back then,or--?

Li Tianchen wants to know how in the ever-loving world did Lu Guang know about the damn boat. No one knew about the boat. Even Li Tianchen might not have known about the boat (QJ set up multiple escape routes.)

So HOW? How did this nobody on bed rest know about the damn boat?

There is a dark spot on our timeline. A few dark spots, actually:

Dark Spot 1). Li Tianxi's escape. We see her run away. We see Tianchen chase after her. That's all.

Dark Spot 2). Cheng Xiaoshi/Lu Guang getting to the boat. How did either of them know where to go?

Dark Spot 3) The murders of Liu Lan/Li Fan and Chen Bin.

Dark Spot 5). Lu Guang's visit from a twin. (or that's just me)

What are we missing? Why have we not been shown these specific details? What is the link?

Crazy theory 1: Li Tianxi

Li Tianxi has had her ability abused. Possibly, it was abused before she even knew what it was. What if needing to use a photo is a safeguard? What if Li Tianxi can but doesn't actually need to use a photo in order to see a person? What if she can run a mental check up on anyone she's recently met... or touched?

If we don't know the full extent of Li Tianxi's power. Then maybe she and Cheng Xiaoshi could work together.

Li Tianxi can see memories, yes? Maybe they don't need a photograph of that time, maybe they just need the memory.

Not sure yet how that plays into the above scenarios but, it's a thought.

Crazy theory 2: Future Cheng Xiaoshi and the consequence of his actions.

Crazy theory 3: Future CXS/LG combo and the dual consequences of both their actions.

Crazy theory 4: "Hat Man" as the physical embodiment of the consequences of everyone's actions.

Well, that started okay and now we're ..... well, we're somewhere. I'm tired.

[blackjackkent]

OK, took a long rest before resuming Hector's adventures; a couple of interesting camp developments:

First of all, there was no cutscene, but when we woke up, Jaheira announced, apropos of nothing that I could discern, "Turned to mist. The spawn share in some portion of their master's power."

I'm not sure what to make of this. Was there a cutscene that got bugged out? Or am I supposed to interpret this to mean that Cazador's people were hanging around our camp and got spooked by the sun rising? Perplexing.

Second, I just noticed that Volo hasn't been around since Act 3 started, and apparently he left a note!

LOL. I'm not surprised he finally bailed. All he ever wanted to talk to me about whenever I tried to interact with him was his ocular surgery plan, which Hector was never going to go for. I guess this means we'll run into him again somewhere in the city though.

Third, a brief dialogue option with Jaheira. Hector said, "You mentioned there might be another way to find Minsc," and she answered, "There might be, but... it is not a path I'd tread until we must. Let it wait until the city proper. Perhaps I'll have had a better idea by then."

Apparently my assumption that we were in the city once we got past that first watcher at the gate was incorrect. Sadly this also seems to mean we can't immediately boot finding Minsc to the top of the priority pile since I don't yet know where the entrance to the "city proper" even is yet.

Fourth, a VERY interesting conversation with Astarion:

Hector: "I want to discuss the Astral-Touched Tadpole."

Astarion: "We both know what it is capable of. But I'm not touching it."

Hector, more than a little surprised by this: "Unlike you to be so unwilling to receive a new power..."

Astarion: "That was before I knew the cost. Before I knew it meant transforming into some grotesque beast. I remember how it hurt when I turned into a vampire. My body writhed and warped while I was utterly helpless, the grip of death owned my heart as it beat its last. I-- I don't want to turn into anything else. I can't do that again. I can't watch my body be taken over."

He looked, and sounded, SO incredibly upset, the poor guy. :(

Hector, to be honest, was more than a little relieved because he has considered Astarion the most likely to want to indulge in the illithid powers (and control the elder brain, later) no matter the cost. But he also feels terrible for having gotten him so upset, and of course quickly backed off. "All right, I will speak no more on the matter."

"I had nothing for so long. Nothing. Not even my own body. I will *not* give it up, now it's mine again."

Poor guy. :(

Also had a quick chat with Wyll about Stelmane. He doesn't believe that she was actually willing partners with the Emperor, just that it must have made her an offer she couldn't refuse. He also mentioned having met Stelmane twice; that she was lively and beautiful when he first met her as a boy, but weaker and struggling when he met her later. He said his father explained it as her having suffered a stroke. Hector had enough insight to gauge that Wyll questioned this story somewhat, but not enough persuasion to pursue the discussion any further right now. So we'll tuck that away for later.

Finally, Gale had an exclamation mark over his head. According to the dialogue history screen, he had a whole speech here: "So the devil himself is pursuing the Crown. As for whether it's truly the Crown Karsus forged? Well, I think it's safe to assume we shouldn't take anything Raphael utters at face value. We *must* claim the Crown of Karsus for ourselves, before anyone else does."

Which is a perfectly reasonable bit of dialogue, but the speech glitched out and so all that happened when I clicked on him was that he stared directly at Hector and snapped, "We *must* claim the Crown of Karsus for ourselves, before anyone else does!" without any other context. Which was pretty funny. XD

Anyway, back to city explorations!

[twoidiotwriters1]

Daughter of Olympus (Leo Valdez xFem!Oc)

A/N: Obsessed with the way brown eyes look with the sunlight -Danny Words: 2,230 Series' Masterlist Previous Chapter / Next Chapter Listen to: 'Wonder' -by Shawn Mendes

XX: My Fiance Threatens to Set Us on Fire

I walk through the camp's forest until I run into Janus standing against a limestone wall, moving his keys from one hand to the other.

"Are you lost, girl?"

I eye them carefully. "Why are you in my dream?"

"We should be asking you that," the left head responds.

"Are you torn?" Asks the other. "If you are..."

"We'll get to know each other," Left grins.

"Or maybe not... she's seen enough to know better."

"Bah! Heroes never learn!" Leftie sneers. "Especially the siblings of Eros..." 

"We'll meet again, Arae Jackson," Janus says in unison.

Jason leans closer to the window. "What is that?"

"Where?"

"That road, the one that goes through the hills."

Piper seizes the headset and asks the pilot. "She says it's Highway 24. That's the Caldecott Tunnel. Why?"

Jason glares at the road. Ara tries to lean forward to look, but as she does, Leo scolds her again. "Seriously, stop that!"

"Fine!" She barks. "Gods, you're worse than Lily and—!" Her tongue freezes on its own. Leo glances at her with a little pout, she's got the feeling he knows what name she was about to say, but that's impossible. 

"We're a team, right?" He says after a moment. "I'm allowed to boss you around sometimes."

Ara scowls. "I have the feeling you'll abuse that power."

He smirks. "For your own good, ya know?"

"The crazy thing is I truly believe that you'd do it to help me," the girl snorts. "And I've been thinking about what your dad told you... us partnering up. He told me that too when I met him, I just... I didn't remember until you brought it up."

That is a lie, of course. She never forgot, and now she knows for sure he's the Hephaestus kid she's meant to help, but she's trying to ignore it, her feelings aren't leading to a platonic partnership and that's worrisome at best.

"What did he tell you?" Leo sighs. "That you need to be patient 'cause I'm always messing up?"

Ara makes a face. "He didn't like me."

The first time I saw Hephaestus I remember thinking: "Poor guy!" 

Now, what I'm thinking is: "Please, don't step on me!"—Which seems to catch his attention, cause he pauses to examine my tiny form.

"You're an Aphrodite."

"Your children teach me stuff," I blurt out in awe.

He squints as if he's having trouble discerning my face. "Arae Jackson," The god scoffs. "I wouldn't've chosen you."

I'm not expecting him to pay any compliments, but he could've kept those thoughts to himself! I mean, I like the guy! But he's just blunt, I think. Not a good trait when talking to someone who tends to sugarcoat everything she says.

"Ara's a good trainee!" Percy argues right away.

"We'll see about that," the god grunts.

"I—I have to get my dad home. I'm sorry, guys."

If Piper leaves, Leo and Jason are the only ones left capable of finishing the quest. The boy with amnesia, and the rookie with no training. Both weaponless.

"Oh," Leo speaks quietly. "I mean, absolutely. He needs you right now. We can take it from here."

"Pipes, no," Tristan manages to stand. "You have a mission. A quest. I can't—"

"I'll take care of him," Hedge steps in.

Piper hesitates. "You?"

"I'm a protector," the satyr shrugs. "That's my job, not fighting." He fixes his posture as soon as he says that. "Of course, I'm good at fighting, too."

"Yes."

"Terrifying."

"I learned it all from you," Ara nods.

"But I'm a protector, and I can do this," Hedge continues. "Your dad's right, Piper. You need to carry on with the quest."

"But... Dad..."

Tristan hugs his daughter, and Jason guides Ara and Leo away. "Let's give them a minute..."

Hedge goes with the ranger to bring Tristan's plane to where they are. Ara starts to feel an itch on her left shoulder and winces. 

"What's wrong?" Jason nods at her arm.

"Itchy," Ara grimaces. "But I can't scratch myself 'cause Mr. First-aid Valdez forbade me from squirming around."

"Since when do you listen to him?" Jason's amused by her statement. "And who appointed you as our caretaker, Leo?"

"She almost lost an arm saving your ass," Leo raises a brow and shrugs. "If she can multitask why can't I?"

Jason grins. "Well, the itch might be good, your arm might be getting some feeling back, Ara."

"I won't know for sure until I get it checked by a professional."

"By professional you mean an immortal fifteen-year-old?" Leo taunts her.

"Or an Apollo camper."

"Teenagers," Leo continues with a straight face. "That you trust blindly."

"I would trust any demigod with my life," the gravity with which she says it makes Leo feel like he's insulted her entire lineage.

Hedge hurries past them when Tristan faints. "Got him," he sits him upright. "I already asked our ranger friend to call up his plane. It's on the way now. Home address?"

"Everything's on here," Piper hands him the phone she fished out of her dad's pocket. "Address, his chauffeur's number. Just watch out for Jane."

"Who's Jane?"

Piper tells him about the assistant who's been brainwashed by Gaea, then the expensive and slick plane comes along, and it's time to say goodbye. Ara approaches the flight attendant and reaches for her compass.

"Hold this, please," the girl sets the object on the woman's hand.

"Oh my god!" The lady gasps, looking at Tristan with wide eyes. "What—"

Ara snaps her fingers and starts talking, maintaining eye contact with the woman. 

"This is Gleeson Hedge, Mr. McLean's personal trainer. This is top secret information, so we'll pay for your silence..." Piper hands her the money she got from Aphrodite. "Make sure no one sees Tristan leave the airport, and make sure no one wakes him until he's home, he gets cranky. Got it?"

"Yes, ma'am," the lady hurries to reply. "This way, gentlemen..."

Ara seizes the compass and puts it back in her pocket. At the boy's look of confusion, she points back with her thumb. "That's how you control the mist."

"Would you marry me?" Leo blurts out.

Hedge hugs Piper, and Ara attempts to lean down and do the same, but he stops her. "I know you're a big deal, but you better behave while I'm not here to keep an eye on you, alright? Make sure those hunters use top-tier cures apt for Olympians."

Ara chuckles, bumping fists with him. "You got it, Coach."

"You cupcakes take care of these girls, you hear? Or I'm gonna make you do push-ups."

"You got it, Coach," Leo grins, quoting Ara's words.

"No push-ups," Jason agrees.

"Thank you, Gleeson," Piper hugs him again. "Take care of him, please."

"I got this, McLean. They got root beer and veggie enchiladas on this flight, and one hundred percent linen napkins—yum! I could get used to this."

As they ensure the jet takes flight, Piper finally loosens up and starts crying. Jason hugs her. "Your dad's in good hands, you did amazing."

Ara pats the girl's head like Silena used to do with her. "You've done well. All I did during my first quest was keep a guy steady while my brother beheaded him—the guy was a monster," she explains when Jason looks at her horrified.

"And how old were you then?" Piper accepts the Kleenex Leo's offering.

"Ten," to everyone's surprise, Leo's the one who answers. "She was also ten when she fought the guy who got possessed by Kronos."

"He wasn't possessed by Kronos when I fought him," she specifies, "and I only threw an empty basket at—"

"You also threw a rock—"

"Wait, how long has it been since?" Jason frowns. "How old are you now, Ara?"

"She's fourteen, man," Leo responds.

"You're younger than all of us?" Jason asks in shock. "And you're the Strategus?"

"Seriously, how old do I look?" Ara frowns. "Your reactions are alarming—"

"Guys," Piper moves, pointing at something.

An iris message forms behind the blond boy's head. 

"Thalia!" Jason gasps.

"Thank the gods,"  it sounds like there's a heated fight going on around her. "We've found her—Where are you?"

"Oakland. Where are you?"

"The Wolf House! Oakland is good; you're not too far. We're holding off the giant's minions, but we can't hold them forever. Get here before sunset, or it's all over."

"Then it's not too late?" Piper holds her breath.

"Not yet. But Jason—it's worse than I realized. Porphyrion is rising. Hurry."

Fighting a lesser giant almost sent Ara to the underworld (corporeal form included). She can't imagine what might happen if she's forced to fight the king of the bunch with a broken arm.

"But where is the Wolf House?"

"Our last trip—The park. Jack London. Remember?" 

The message blurs into the air, and Jason stumbles back.

"Bro, you all right?" Leo holds him. "You know where she is?"

"That's the place where you saw your mother last, isn't it?" Ara guesses.

"I don't mind," the woman agrees.

"Yes. Sonoma Valley. Not far. Not by air."

"Ma'am," Piper smiles politely to the mortal ranger. "You don't mind helping us one more time, do you?"

"We can't take a mortal into battle," Jason stops her. "It's too dangerous. Do you think you could fly this thing?"

When he asks that, he's looking at Ara and Leo. Ara has journeyed in pegasus, hellhounds, motorbikes, chariots, a bronze dragon, and flying pigs—she's driven her father's Prius once or twice, but she's never flown a Helicopter.

Leo touches its surface and closes his eyes. "Bell 412HP utility helicopter—Composite four-blade main rotor, cruising speed twenty-two knots, service ceiling twenty-thousand feet. The tank is near full. Sure, I can fly it."

Ara stares at him with flushed cheeks. "Leo, if I live to turn eighteen, you can marry me."

Piper directs her attention to the ranger. "You don't have a problem with an under-aged unlicensed kid borrowing your copter, do you? We'll return it."

"I—I don't have a problem with that," the lady chokes out the sentence like it hurts her a little.

"Hop in, kids! Uncle Leo's gonna take you for a ride," he lets Jason and Piper climb in first, then he grins from ear to ear and offers his arm to Ara. "Would my beautiful fiancee like to copilot?"

Ara moves him out of the way. "I wouldn't miss the opportunity to sit at the front."

The girl puts on the headset to hear Leo over the noise, but he doesn't seem to need help, so she relaxes and enjoys the moment. She pulls out her compass again and her heart skips a beat.

"Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you see here?" She shows him the compass and Leo glances down at it, his hands doing their own thing without him paying attention. 

"What's that?"

"Almighty," she stares at the object, "but it's never worked... as a compass, I mean. I think can read it now."

"You understand what those symbols are?" He looks up at her.

"Maybe," Ara tilts her head. "Hey, I know we don't have fuel to waste but just for science... can you turn to the left?" Leo obliges, and the moment he does the needle changes position. Ara swears in ancient Greek. "Nemo was right!"

"Who?"

"Percy!" She laughs. "He was right! It points to where I need to go..."

"That's cool!" Leo drives the chopper to its original path. "And a relief, I'm only eighty percent sure I know what I'm doing..."

"You're great," Ara's gaze is full of esteem. "You're the best thing that's happened to me in a while, I was so wrong about you."

Leo blushes at her statement, he scowls at the sunlight ahead. "Shut up."

"I mean it!"

"Ara," smoke starts rising from his head, "don't be nice to me or I'll set us on fire."

"Oh." She looks away, now also blushing. "Okay. Sorry." 

After a while, the sun begins to set and it hurts Leo's eyes, so she searches their seats and finds a pair of aviator sunglasses. As soon as their fingers brush, his skin glows the same color as hers. Ara looks up and locks eyes with him for a moment. 

His chocolate-brown eyes had never looked this breathtaking, it's been snowing hard since they left camp, so Ara didn't know he looked like this with the sunlight.

Leo mumbles a thank you and puts the sunglasses on, but that doesn't help Ara's increasing pace of her heart, he looks great with those too.

Grover feels the presence of Pan and decides to follow it, so Tyson goes with him. Percy wants me to go too, but I'm against it. Hephaestus gave us a mission, I want to change his mind about me not being a good choice. 

I go with Percy and Annabeth, and that's how I discover my power, the one no one knows about.

My brother initiates a manhunt, and Annabeth scolds both of us. When Percy does something dumb I also get reprimanded, I have nothing to do with it, but I didn't stop him, so it's partially my fault cause Annabeth thinks I should know better.

The Telkhines have us cornered so Percy offers to be the distraction. Annabeth and I refuse, he insists, and that's when it happens.

There's a split second of nothing before I hear a buzz, like a lightbulb that takes ages to charge fully. A scarlet light blinds me and I think we've been attacked with some kind of magical dynamite, but I can't sense heat. 

I cover my eyes, and when I look through my fingers, I discover it wasn't an explosion. Percy and Annabeth are kissing, and they're glowing. I yelp and cover my eyes entirely once more.

"Be careful, Seaweed brain."

My friend gets up and runs, but Percy and I look at each other without knowing what to do, he's still glowing like a stoplight. He blinks a few times with a dazzled expression. 

"Ara, run!"

And I run.

Next Chapter ->

Taglist.

@siriuslysirius1107 @ask-giggles1303 @ash-the-hoarder @im-planning-something-look @bandshirts-andbooks @coolninjapaper @thewaterlily @whenisthefall @1randomcomic @you-bloody-shank @sunflowergraves @owlalex44 @taylordaughter @typicalsolangelolover @writingmia @espressopatronum454 @slytherinnqueen @orbitingpolaris

[pure-garbage]

Two-Faced Archipelago! The Smile Of Sabaody

The town built on a cluster of ancient mangroves was bright and lively, beckoning Lana with novel sights and sounds.

"You still remember the dock number?" she triple-checked.

"For the last time, yes!" Zoro grumbled.

"Okay. Here, try this."

Zoro accepted a mug from her, sampling its contents with a discerning flair.

"Not bad. Where'd you get it?" he asked.

"That shop. It fronts a distillery."

"Wanna stop in for a while?"

"Maybe on our way back. Gimme some of your hair. I'm gonna split for a while."

He accepted the knife she offered, obliging her request even as he questioned it.

"What do you need my hair for?"

"I heard there's a stall a few streets over that make up vivre cards. I'm going to get them to make us one each," Lana explained.

"What for?"

"Just to have. The whole concept is so neat, I can't resist!"

"If you say so. What do you say we meet back here in an hour?"

"Uh..."

Lana considered the idea of Zoro intentionally trying to find his way back to one specific spot and paled a little at the thought of the chaos that would almost certainly ensue.

"Don't worry about it... I don't know how long this'll take. I'll just find you when it's done, 'kay?" she proposed instead. She didn't wait for him to accept, just ran off before he could protest, leaving him shaking his head.

"With her awful sense of direction?" he scoffed, unaware of the cruel irony. "I'll be lucky to ever see her again."

Lana left the stall with her freshly minted vivre cards much sooner than she'd anticipated.

"Now, Zoro," she muttered to herself as she stepped out into the street. "Where are you?"

She walked for about three minutes before a woman's inconsolable wailing pierced the calm of the grove.

"Yep," she sighed. "Bet my sash that's where Zoro's at."

Lana high-tailed it in the direction the screams, heading for the source of the commotion. Soon, she rounded a corner, but what she saw stopped her cold.

"Z-Zoro!"

He sat on the grass, red covering his head and dripping down off his chin.

"What did you do?! I left you alone for like, twenty minutes! Whose blood is that?" Lana demanded. Her head whipped around, but she didn't see bodies or anyone else injured. Her sole focus turned to Zoro. "Can you stand? What happened?!"

"I'm fine, it's red berry sauce," Zoro grunted, taking her hand and pulling himself up. "You're not gonna believe this, but some crazy chick just knocked me down and splashed it all over me. On purpose."

"What? That's all? I mean, that's pretty bizarre, but I thought you hurt someone. Or got hurt. Mostly hurt someone else, though."

Lana wiped a finger through the red substance and popped it into her mouth, confirming Zoro's claim.

"I almost did," Zoro admitted. "Some whacky guy in the dumbest outfit I've ever seen pointed a gun at me for literally no reason."

"Literally no reason? Come on, Zoro, just pony up and tell me what you did," Lana scoffed.

"I didn't do anything! I have no clue what this guy's problem was!"

"Right, sure. So this connects to the red berry sauce woman how?"

"She knocked me down, splashed me, told me to stay down and then did a whole bunch of caterwauling about how her 'poor brother was dead'. Hey, knock that off!"

Zoro swatted Lana's hand away as she tried to swipe another taste of the syrup.

"But it's good though," she moped. "Whatever, have it your way. That sounds like a really strange encounter, Zoro. I guess that was all the screaming I heard."

"Think that's all considered normal around these parts?" Zoro asked, glancing around surreptitiously for any sign of others being unsolicitedly doused with berry sauce.

"Who knows? Come on. Let's head back to the ship and clean up. Before anything else weird happens."

"Sure you don't want to hang around and see if you can get some berry sauce for yourself?" Zoro smirked as he caught her eying the sticky substance yearningly.

"Ha ha. Very funny. How about we get back to the Sunny and I settle for licking you clean?" she teased.

"You're right, we really should get going," he agreed at once with a wide grin.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Lana realized. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the vivre cards.

"Purple and green?" Zoro asked curiously.

"Yeah, they let you pick the colors. Nifty, huh? Here."

She tore both cards, kept half of each and gave the other halves to Zoro.

"Obviously, mine is the purple one and yours is green."

"That tracks."

"Now don't lose them, or mine won't work."

"Me? You don't lose yours."

"As if. Hey, you still remember the grove number where we docked?"

"Hey!"

________________________________________________

<== Previous Chapter

Next Chapter ==>

== First Chapter ==

[bellysoupset]

yesss (this is the anon who asked for vince comforting luke) i would also love to see luke being a complete mess just sobbing and vince being the best best friend anyone could ask for

Part 2 of this story!

Finally some Luke breakdown and some answers.

----

Vince watched, sleepily, as Leo and Jonah exchanged a couple of worried words, interchanged with delicate kisses. Leo was still shaking, badly, and it seemed he had cried the entire way there by how swollen his face was.

Jonah, for all his huff and puff about Luke, seemed just as distraught as the rest of them.

"You should get some sleep," Jonah kissed Leo's brow, turning to say this to both his boyfriend and Vince, "he's not gonna be up for a couple hours at least and insurance-"

"Where is he?!" Bella's voice was completely awake and crystalline with panic, unlike the adrenaline that was crashing for all three other men. She had been taken out of bed, still wearing just flip flops with thick socks, large pants and a jersey that was clearly Lucas'. She had completed the homeless look with a beanie to keep her curly hair from poking everywhere, "Guys! Where's he? What's going on?!"

Vince didn't have any energy left in him to explain anything, so instead he just stared at a point of the pristine white floors, vaguely listening as Leo calmed Bella down and retold her how fucking horrible their night had been.

"Lucas doesn't do this," Bella scoffed, sounding offended, "you're sure it's alcohol poisoning and not something else? Lucas doesn't drink until he blacks out."

"Now he does," Vince scoffed, tugging at the roots of his hair, "he's not acting like himself lately."

Bella wrinkled her nose, hugging herself, "you fucking tell me," she sat down next to him, "any prediction of when he'll be up?"

"Nope," Jonah shook his head, then glanced at his watch, "I have to go back inside. I'll talk with you in a little bit."

"Okay," Leo sniffled, squeezing his hand again, "we'll be fine."

He too sat down, and then they were like three broken dolls, not a word to be said, just tired and angry and really sad.

Vince leaned back, staring at the LED lights and thought he'd strangle Luke when he woke up.

He didn't realize he had fallen asleep, until he woke up to hushed whispers. Bella's voice mixing in and out with Jonah's and some else's. A male voice.

"Reckless behavior-"

"It's not her fault, she wasn't there."

"She's his girlfriend!"

"I'm right here and no, I am not anymore, actually."

"So he does listen to me, just not on the things that matter-"

Vince rubbed his eyes, trying to discern what he was looking at. Bella, Jonah and... Luke-but-forty-years-older, were all standing in the corner of the room.

The guy that Vince slowly realized was Luke's father seemed furious and Bella looked ready to claw his eyes out.

"So you're the reason he went insane overnight?" Bella scoffed and Kit rolled his eyes, completely ignoring her.

"Let me know when he wakes up," he said to Jonah, as if Jon had to obey him at all. Jonah raised an unimpressed eyebrow.

"He's twenty three, he can call you himself," he said coldly, "please get out of my waiting room, you're disturbing the others."

Damn, Vince thought viciously, watching as Jonah practically body shielded Bella from Kit's glare. The man let out a huff.

"You think you're so grown up, I bet Jasper would love to hear about your behavior."

"I'm not fifteen, you can tell my father for all I care. Please refrain from visiting unless Lucas says so, I'll let security know you're persona non-grata."

Kit looked shocked for a split second, before his entire face went red and then he was barging down the halls. Vince yawned, muffling a chuckle against his hand.

When he looked to the side, he noticed Leo hadn't woken up, curled up in his chair, neck in the worst position possible.

"Did you hear him?!" Bella was whispering to Jonah, "what did he mean by that!?"

"Nothing good, I'm sure," Jonah scoffed, then noticed Vince was awake and sighed, "morning."

Jon had clearly worked through the night and he looked dead on his feet, but Vince felt an immense wave of fondness about the guy. Who knew that under the bitchy attitude there was a fiercely protective friend?

"Morning," Vince answered and rubbed his eyes, "is Luke up yet?"

"He wasn't when I checked," Bella answered and he noticed her hands were shaking badly and she had deep undereye bags. Clearly she hadn't slept even a drop. Vince reached in and squeezed her trembling fingers between his.

"He'll be fine, Bells."

"Yeah, they keep telling me," she breathed out, squeezing his hand back.

Vince wanted to ask whatever was that fight with Kit, but right now was not the time. Instead he settled for finally looking through his phone.

It was all greasy and horrible, but he could see the missed call from Bella. His screen was still stuck on Wendy's contact, he hadn't managed to call her.

"Lucas Atwood?" A nurse called, stepping into the waiting room and immediately both Vince and Bella jumped up, waking Leo in the process.

"Yes?"

"He's awake," she smiled, "you're welcome to visit him if you want. One at a time, please."

Vince let out a sigh of relief, tugging Bella into a hug and she squeezed him tightly, nearly crumbling. He pulled back, a huge smile on, "go on, Bells, we'll wait-"

"No," she shook her head, squeezing his arm and blinking quickly, swallowing the tears, "go first, it's fine. Go on."

"Bella-"

"Go," she pushed him towards the doors and Vince didn't have it in him to pretend he wasn't almost brimming with anxiety to see his best friend. He needed to wipe the vision of Lucas lying on the floor with his eyes rolled into his head.

Because of Luke's ridiculously expensive health insurance, he had been moved to a private room. Vince wiped a hand over his face, before actually entering.

His best friend was lying on his back, staring at the jello cup before him, which was completely untouched. Lucas' hair was unruly and he looked like he had gotten punched, by how bruised his eyes looked.

Still, he opened a little lopsided smile, scratching as his cheeks, "hey..."

"Fuck, Luke..." Vince scoffed, dropping any pretense of being chill and launching himself on the guy, hugging him tightly. He heard a groan, but Lucas didn't pull back at all, instead burying his nose on Vince's neck.

His shoulders shook and Vince realized it wasn't he who was crying, but Luke. He pulled back, just to plant his lips on top of the other man's hair, squeezing him tightly, "you scared the hell out of me..."

"I'm sorry..." Luke choked out, "I'm so sorry, i'm sorry-"

"What happened?" Vince pulled back, finally, sitting on the edge of his bed and watching as the man tried, and failed, to wipe the tears away.

Lucas shrugged, staring at his lap, "I just wanted to feel better..."

"By drinking yourself to death?" Vince frowned, "dude, c'mon, you know better-"

"I wasn't thinking," Lucas hugged himself, pushing the tray off his lap to the side of the bed, "I just wanted to stop feeling like crap... And then it worked."

"Too fucking well," Vince scoffed, squeezing Luke's knee, "are you going to stop with the bullshit now?"

Again he received a defeated shrug, "I don't know-"

"Lucas," Vince glared at him sternly. They weren't kids, it didn't matter how much fun they had together.

"Jonah quit the team," Lucas picked at his nails, swallowing a lump in his throat.

"Okay..."

"He quit the team because he had to focus in his career. In his real adult life," Lucas let out a little humorless chortle, "and then in true Kit Howard's fashion, my father heard about it. I'm guessing via Jonah's father."

Vince raised an eyebrow, now more confused than ever, "Luke what does-"

"So he called me and he was going on and on about how I needed to grow the fuck up and how I'd- How my mom would've wanted better for me than multiple concussions by playing football, how I was wasting opportunities, how Bella wasn't the right match for me and that I was wasting time dating her because there was no future there and- And- He kept bringing mom up and I- I kept thinking of Jon? Because normally my father is wrong about everything, but even you said Jon was right and that no one thought he'd stick around for that long, but I did-"

"Aw, Luke..." Vince sighed, finally getting the full picture, "so you proposed to Bella to prove him wrong?"

"And then she said no and... I just felt like it was this big joke, you know? And fucking Kit Howard was right," he wiped away a tear that had run down all the way to the tip of his chin, wobbling as his voice cracked, "I don't want my father to be right, Vince, I- He wasn't even there when she died, he was never there, I don't want him to be right about my life..."

Vince scoffed, leaning up to push the greasy hair away from Lucas' tired eyes, "he's not right. He's not. Your mom wouldn't be disappointed in your, you're not wasting anything... And you and Bell were a match made in Heaven, your stupid dad couldn't possibly know what that is like."

Lucas let out a watery chuckle, then his whole face contorted and he folded in half, lying halfway across Vince's lap and bawling, "I'm sorry... I messed up, I messed up so badly."

Vince rubbed his arm, trying not to cry himself. He couldn't even picture it, his parents saying such things to him, dangling love before his eyes the way that Kit did with Luke.

"It's okay, you can fix it," he sighed, squeezing his best friend's nape. He thought of Bella, in the waiting room, sleepless, "you can fix it."

It took a long time for Lucas to stop crying, but eventually he pushed away, chuckling as he heard Vince's stomach growl loudly.

"Go eat," he said, rubbing at his eyes, clearly with a headache from crying, "I'll be fine on my own."

"Actually," Vince smiled, getting up, "you have more visitors. I'll be back after lunch, okay?" then he pointed at the jello, "and eat that."

Luke made a disgusted face, but nodded, "okay. I'll see you later... Thank you, Vin. I love you, you know?"

Vince huffed, smiling, his heart squeezing, "I mean, duh," he grinned, leaning on the doorway, "love you too, prick. Talk to you later."

He walked out of the room and down the hallway to the waiting room, ready to break the news that hey! Luke hadn't just morphed into a whole new person overnight, he was just chronically stu-

"Where's Bella?" Vince frowned, meeting Leo and Jonah in the waiting room. Jonah now fully out of his doctor outfit, both sharing a pastry.

"She left," Leo made a face that clearly showed he was just as disappointed as Vince felt, "like literally the minute you entered."

"Fuck," Vince sighed, catching Jonah's gaze and sharing a known glance. Suddenly he felt like he understood these two, Lucas and Jonah, a little more. It broke his heart, "well go on, Luke's waiting for you," he told Leo, forcing a small smile.

[mossy-mushrooms]

The dark harvest

Pt 7

"Are you fucking insane!?" Mikey grabbed Ryu by his hoodie as they got back to their seat, Ryu still gripping onto Zane's hand. "You mean am I the only one who has balls? Yeah" he spat back as he glared. "Do you want to get bullied too?? No offense to you Zane but I don't want another person to be fucked over by that fucker" Mikey runs his fingers though his hair.

"Yeah no I get it" Zane mumbles as he looks off to the side as he tries to pull his hand out of Ryu's grasp which doesn't work because the raven head just tightens his grip.

"Yeah well either way he'll be staying with me. I don't care if that douche bag tries something I can beat the shit out of him" Calista puts her hand on Mikey's shoulder and chimes in after Ryu says his piece.

"Well I mean he has a point, we can't just let donomic trample over us just because his daddy is rich" she says as she moves to walk to the table they were just at.

"I mean yeah but the guy can tattle to his ol' man and our parent's jobs are gone. Poof!" He drawls as he begrudgingly follows her to the table.

"What are you waitin' for? Don't stand like in the middle of the cafeteria like herons." He urge Ryu and Zane to sit as well. To which they hesitantly did, Ryu pulling Zane along.

"So.. Zane. Why the fuck are you letting donomic walk all over you?" Mikey asks as he looks down at the boy who immediately slumped his head down on the table when he sat down"

"What else do I do? I can't go against his whole group, they're bigger than me too"

He mutters as his brown curls obscure his eyes.

"Ah well can't you try? They'll pick on you less if they see you won't take their shit" Mikey puts his cheek on his palm.

"Oh so fucking easy for you to say, you're the one who did physical shit growing up" Zane scoffs as he sits up straighter, the bruise forming around his left eye.

"Mikey you need to think more before you open your mouth" Calista smack's the back of his head as he yelps.

"Right, sorry sorry".

Ryu stares at them as they bicker, his mind still reeling from the asshole he just met, he crosses his arms as he looks out to the forest line that can be seen out the cafeteria windows. The voices of the newly found acquaintances drowning out from his ears and becoming background noise.

As the raven haired boy stared at the forest line everything else blurred, the inside of the forest becoming more noticeable, as he stared he saw something moving.. at first he brushed it off as an animal but then.. he saw the skinny emaciated body of the thing. Just as he was about to discern what he was seeing a hand fell on his shoulder.

"Ryu?" He snapped his head to look at Zane, he blinks a few times "uh yeah?"

"You? Okay? We've been calling you for a bit.." Zane tentatively says, his eyebrows knitted together as he stares into the raven haired boys dark eyes.

"Yeah I'm fine.. just thought I saw something in the forest.. just an animal I think" he answers as he takes off Zane's hand gently. "Uh what did you ask before?" He adds as he looks between all three of them.

"What you were doing after school? We want to go to the cafe and get to know each other since the two of us are strangers to them an eachother" Zane explains quietly over the chatter which albeit was low but it was still annoying. "Yeah uh I'm not doing anything but I have to get back home before sun down so.."

"Yeah no stress the same rule applies to us, these are the Appalachians after all" Calista says as she smiles slightly while leaning on Mikey. "Plus were 14 not like our parents will let us stay out late" She says as she plays with her hair, not paying attention to Mikey who was trying to push her off of him. Much to his dismay.

"Okay.. I'll stay for an hour or two, my place is far away from the town" he replies as he slowly starts to pack up his things that he had taken out in the short bit of time they were talking.

....

As Ryu went to unlock his bike he felt a hand on his shoulder. An unfamiliar hand that was bigger than any of his acquaintances. "So. You never told me your name freshman." He heard the snobby voice of donomic right behind him and out of the corner of his eye and through the side parts of his hair he saw the lackeys too.

He stayed quiet for a few seconds before turning to look up at him "what's it to you?" He says with an almost to calm expression as he stared straight at Donomic. "Well. I want to put a name on a face. We'll be seeing eachother a lot, won't we?"

Ryu subtly looked around and he saw he had no out until he said his name, or there was no out and he's get beaten up. He sighed and raked his back, "Ryu. Ryu Jeong" at that Donomic let out a sort of smirk. As if he had gotten him because he heard his name 'why is this guy acting like he's Fae? I ain't his to have just cuz he knows my name now' Ryu thought bitterly as he stared up at the older guy.

"Ryu huh? Nice name. I hope you won't mind me.. looking into you.. right?" Donomic said as he offered a more than fake smile as his lackeys snickered along.

" 'fuck you looking into? My soul?" Ryu comments as he raised an eyebrow all which Donomic ignored, or he simply didn't care.

"Well we should go now, me and my team have practice and we can't afford to be late" the older snobby teen said as he slicked back his black hair and pushed passed Ryu who just grunted in response. Thankfully he held onto his bike and didn't fall because of the harsh shove.

Ryu sighed and leaned his head on the bicycle handlebars as he waits for the others so they can go to the damned cafe and calm down from the shit that happened today. Especially Ryu who almost got his ass beat by Donomic's lackeys.

[wearesorcerer]

Re: Best 3rd-Level "Smart Guy" (Divination/Rune) Spell

These were originally separate categories (divinations and runes), but I wanted to conserve time and space. 97 votes came in; the winner was speak with dead at 37.1% (36 votes), followed by tongues at 19.6% (19 votes). I probably could have separated this list out a bit better had I taken the time. I'll analyze the spells anyway.

Arcane sight is just detect magic without the waiting, which IMHO is how detect spells should work (but that's a tangent). Ofc, I think all casters should be able to use detect magic at-will as a baseline ability, so what do I know?

Clairvoyance irks me: in power, it's roughly equivalent to detect thoughts, yet it pushes arcane eye a level higher, forcing that to compete with the superior scrying. All this and it can't even be used to make a ring of x-ray vision, even though that's what it does.

I don't blame people for not voting for discern lies: it's too specific for the level it's at, you're usually better off with zone of truth and detect thoughts anyway, and it's poorly worded.

Explosive runes/glyph of warding is fun. Not the most fun, but fun. By which I mean "I have never used the spell, but I appreciate Order of the Stick."

Illusory script is annoyingly powerful for a 3rd-level spell. I mean, it takes true seeing AND another spell to decipher it? The 5e version fixes these complications, I think, so whatever.

I don't get linked glyphs. It's just glyph of warding with a special trigger? Can't you do that with glyph of warding?

Secret page got no votes, which is great. It doesn't hide a page, it just...is another version of illusory script. You know what else could be done to hide writing? A variation of 1st-level spells that operate identically. I mean, it's about as powerful as disguise self or Nystul's magic aura.

Sepia snake sigil is stupidly overpowered. It's a spell glyph version of glyph of warding but applies temporal stasis to the target -- an 8th-level spell effect accomplished with a 3rd-level spell. On top of that, it specifically has brown light. You can't have brown light: brown is orange plus gray, i.e. it's a shade and thus requires some absence of light.

So, all the chaff out of the way, let's get to the meat: spells that let you communicate with creatures you couldn't otherwise and therefore gain information.

Speak with dead won because of the movie. The only thing it has over both tongues and speak with plants is that you're almost certain to be using it on a creature you know will have relevant information -- but that's because you did the research first, not a feature of the spell.

Speak with plants has great potential use, given that plants are everywhere and (for the purposes of the spell) they're temporarily sapient in a qualitatively and quantitatively way similar to humanoids. 5e instituted a downside on memory, but this is stupid and isn't present either in Critical Role's use or in 3.5's. You're not limited to so many questions, either, which is great. The downside is that you're unlikely to get any in-depth information from Henry Crabgrass. (Seriously, look up animatics on YouTube, they're wonderful.)

Tongues is the most likely to provide you with relevant information, but that's only if you can succeed at relevant social checks. You might need to do so with speak with plants, but you will almost assuredly have to do so with tongues: first, you have to figure out who it is you need to talk to, then you have to cast tongues, then you have to convince that person to talk to you, then you have to do the actual questioning. However, the spell gives you all the time you need to do that, so you're probably good. The only downside of tongues in many editions is that it is theoretically possible to learn every language in a setting (especially once 3rd edition condensed most of the species-specific monster languages) and so not need the spell, whereas you have to rely on magic to converse with plants or the dead.

[lightsiided]

i love you. you're worth fighting for.

* refusing care prompts | accepting

     the LAUGH that leaves her is musical; rey's face flushes under the seriousness in thor's words, the weight of his stare. "alright, tough guy." the smile she'd been fighting as she slowly rubbed bacta in each of his small scrapes breaks free, then, spreading out across her face. "i know. i love you, too."

she wipes her hands off, then moves back towards him to inspect her work, cradling his jaw gently in her hands. slowly, she turns his face back and forth in the light -- still as PERFECT as ever, still so handsome it makes her breath catch. rey's heart is thumping so painfully, so loudly, she has to wonder if he can hear it in the otherwise quiet of the old AT-AT, the desert outside.

her fingers tilt his chin down so she can kiss his lips lightly, once, twice, three times. "the bacta should keep the sand out of them, but if anything starts stinging, just let me know and i'll bandage it." eyes sweep his face again; rey rubs their noses together affectionately. "you know i don't NEED YOU to fight these idiots for me, right? all of this... was a long time ago."

it's strange, to be back on jakku. stranger still to have thor with her, here of all places. having him in the place she called HOME for nearly two decades feels intensely vulnerable, like he's seeing a part of her she's never shown him before. she can't help but wonder what he must think about it -- if it will change the way he feels about her.

probably not, rey thinks, if how he's been acting so far is any indication. every new thing she's shared with him has seemed to worsen his protective streak in a way that makes her steps through the sand feel impossibly LIGHT. she's certain she's been staring at him with the look that usually makes their friends sigh and toss things at her head. but it's hard not to marvel at her own good fortune. she owes it to the girl who'd been left behind, who'd grown up too quickly, who'd faced a seemingly endless string of bad luck with only the belief that one day something LIKE THIS would happen to her to keep her going.

so many lonely nights spent exactly where she stands now, on the receiving end of love and devotion from the most incredible man she's ever known. it almost makes her feel DIZZY, in need of a long drink from her canteen.

rey's hand rests on thor's chest, so that she catches the beat of his heart under her palm. there aren't words to express what the sentiment means to her -- how it feels to have him willing to fight on her behalf, like no one else has before -- not without getting emotional, and she thinks she'd like to save that for when they're actually home, TOGETHER, curled around one another in bed so tightly it's hard to discern where she ends and he begins.

for now, she just lets her smile stretch, hoping the sparkle in her eyes says it all.

@othunderous

[paleparearchive]

The Jar of Happiness

Millet's 1st initial 3★ story (2/2) ( 1 - 2 )

Location: café 2 | Characters: Millet, Courbet, Mucha

Millet: I wonder if the person who sold me the jar is really a scammer…

Courbet: I'll make it clear in today's discussion.

Man: –Sorry for keeping you waiting.

Courbet: Finally, here you are, you scammer.

Millet: H-Hold on, Courbet! It's rude to talk that way…!

Courbet: Hmpf, what's wrong with telling the truth?

Anyway, sit down. I want to talk to you about this jar. Prove to me that the pricing of this jar is appropriate.

Man: Ooh… You're saying you're not satisfied with the price of this jar?

Courbet: Exactly. In the first place, I heard that the price of this jar was determined solely by your discernment, am I right? Is it really worth the price Millet paid? It's typical of a scam to sell something with unrealistic words such as “it will bring happiness”, to begin with.

Man: Whatever the method of pricing was, Mr. Millet was convinced to buy it. So there's nothing wrong with that, right?

Millet: That's right, Courbet. I'm happy I bought this jar, see?

Courbet: You shut up.

… Anyway, I demand a full refund. Immediately return the money this guy paid.

Man: Ah, that would be impossible. It's written right in the contract. No refunds for any reason.

Courbet: I would've missed it if it was written in such small print. Millet, was this explained to you at the time of purchase?

Millet: Uhm… I wonder if that happened…?

Man: Of course I did. So I think there is a properly signed contract, right?

Courbet: That's a rule you've decided on your own. It isn't something we necessarily have to follow.

Man: However, Mr. Millet and I agreed to the terms of the contract and the sale was concluded. Right, Mr. Millet?

Millet: Y-Yes…

Courbet: But…!

Man: Haah, I don't think I can keep up with you any longer. That's all for now, if you'll excuse me.

Courbet: H-Hey! Wait!

Millet: Courbet, that's enough!

Courbet: But he's clearly a scammer. We can't just let him go on like this…!

—

Courbet: Sigh… Looks like we'll have to take legal action. The point is that you were brought into the store. In other words, under the Specified Commercial Transactions Law…

Millet: Hey, Courbet. I really appreciate your concern, but I think I made a good deal, okay? It's not every day you can buy a jar that brings you happiness. I hope this will help me do better at my job so I can send more money to my parents.

Courbet: You... You should learn to be a little more skeptical of people. That's bullshit.

Millet: You're the one who needs to trust me a little more, Courbet. This jar is pretty good, isn't it? See, this coloring. I think it has a depth that mass-produced products don't have.

Courbet: … If you ask me, the picture is certainly not bad. I was looking at it with a prejudiced eye, thinking it was a con artist's jar, but…

Mucha: Oh, what a coincidence to see you in a place like this. Are you two dining together?

Millet: Oh? Mucha-san. Is something the matter?

Mucha: I had a meeting with an art dealer. I was about to leave when I saw you were here.

Oh my… that jar…! Where did you get such a precious jar?

Millet: …? Well, I bought it in town a while back…

Mucha: Amazing... It is well preserved. A gem like this is hard to find.

Courbet: Hey, what are you excited about?

Mucha: This vase has excellent value. Unless you are very wealthy, I do not think you could afford it…

Courbet: What!? Is this jar really that expensive…?

Millet: Um, so does that mean it's worth many times more than a month's salary…?

Mucha: You were able to buy it for that price!? It should jave been many times that... dozens of times more expensive.

Millet: Huuh, seriously!?

Mucha: If you are willing to sell it, I can introduce you to an art dealer. This is a first-class piece that everyone wants.

Millet: … I see, it's such an amazing thing. Then it better be in the hands of someone who really wants it.

Courbet: I can't believe it... So that scammer didn't realize the value of this jar either.

Mucha: ! Scammer…? May I ask you for more details?

Courbet: Yeah, actually…

Millet: (I can't believe that it could be a month's salary multiplied dozens of times… I knew it was a jar that brings good luck! I'm so lucky someone this kind gave it to me.)