#it was awesome when they’d braid it too

[mars-ipan]

what was one of your formative gay experiences when you were a kid. a big one for me was random girls in gym class asking if they could play with my hair

[liaromancewriter]

Child’s Play – Part 2 / 2

Premise: A beloved childhood toy gets a new life.

Book: Open Heart (post series) Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine); ft. Sophie and Eloise Ramsey (F!OCs) Rating/Category: General. Fluff. Words: 1,420

A/N: Submission to @choicesmonthlychallengenov2024 prompt 21: Memories. Part 1 is here.

The shirt collar was scratchy, and he couldn’t wait to go home so he could change into a tee shirt. But home was hours away. It might as well be on the Planet Krypton.

Ethan Ramsey snickered at the analogy as he adjusted the seat belt strap so that it wasn’t so close to his neck. Fidgeting in his seat (he also had to pee real bad), he wondered how much longer he’d be stuck in the car.

They were heading to Sunday dinner at his grandparents' house, but they had moved across town, and now it took forever to drive there.

“Are we there yet?” he called out plaintively.

“Five more minutes,” his dad replied from the front.

“That’s what you said five minutes ago!” Ethan whined.

“And it’ll still be five more minutes unless you stop asking,” his mom said, shooting him that look.

Grumbling under his breath about the unfairness of being a child without any control over his life, Ethan watched the scenery blur past the car window. With a distracted hand, he sped an imaginary red toy truck along the narrow ledge beneath the glass.

The toes of his black shoes pinched, and he wondered (not for the first time) whether God would really care if, just once, he wore sneakers to church. His parents seemed to think so, but Ethan wasn’t convinced.

With everyone else going on in the world, you’d think the Almighty had more important things to worry about than an almost eight-year-old boy not wearing his Sunday Best.

“We’re here,” his dad said, turning the truck into the long drive.

Ethan’s eyes lit up at the sight of Pop-Pop waiting for them on the front porch, his tall frame leaning against the white railing. Beside him sat Lucy, his black lab, her tail wagging enthusiastically.

As soon as his dad parked the truck, Ethan bolted out the door, throwing his arms around his grandfather’s long legs. He gave Lucy a quick pat on the head before she could demand more attention with her barking.

His grandfather’s booming laughter filled the air. “Happy Birthday, Ethan!”

“But it’s not until tomorrow,” Ethan remarked, tilting his head back.

“And I’ll wish you then, too,” Pop-Pop laughed, nodding pleasantly as his parents joined them on the porch. “Now, come on inside. Your grandmother’s prepared a feast, and I bet you’re hungry as a bear.”

Later, Ethan sat cross-legged on the braided rug in the cozy living room, licking his lips at the lingering taste of the delicious roasted chicken and apple pie they’d had for Sunday dinner.

He was about to ask if he could go outside to play with Lucy when Pop-Pop disappeared into the hallway only to return moments later, holding a small, rectangular box wrapped in brown wrapping paper.

“What’s that?” Ethan asked, scooting closer as his grandfather crouched down and placed the box in his lap.

“Something I’ve been saving for just the right time,” Pop-Pop said, his voice warm and gentle. “And what better time than your eighth birthday?”

Ethan tore into the wrapping with careful excitement, his breath catching at the sight before him. Inside was a small collection of toy cars, their vibrant colors and shiny metal surfaces catching the light from the lamp.

“Whoa.” Ethan ran his fingers over the smooth edges of the miniature vehicles. “These are awesome!”

“They were mine when I was younger,” his grandfather said, settling onto the floor beside him. “I repainted them for you, so they’re like new again.”

“Thanks, Pop-Pop,” Ethan said softly, hugging his grandfather before lifting out a red fire truck with a tiny extendable ladder.

“You’re welcome, kiddo.”

Ethan lined the cars in a neat row, already imagining the adventures they’d have. He didn’t know it then, but those little cars would follow him everywhere—racing along windowsills, zooming across tabletops and sometimes even tucked under his pillow at night.

Eventually, he outgrew the toy cars, trading them in for a shiny Schwinn bike he raced around the neighborhood with his friends. By the time he graduated from high school, he couldn’t even remember what had happened to them. His eyes were firmly focused on the future.

But the nostalgia of those early years—before his mother tore apart their family—often lingered at the back of his mind. Until one day, his life came full circle.

Seven-year-old Eloise Ramsey would have toppled headfirst into the cardboard box if her father hadn’t caught the waistband of her shorts and pulled her back just in time.

“Careful,” Ethan said, steadying her with one hand while shifting the box under his arm for a better grip.

Unfazed by her near fall, El grinned up at him. She and her twin sister were spending the weekend in Providence, helping their parents and Grandpa Alan sort through stuff to donate to the annual church charity drive.

Of course, their parents could handle the boring stuff, El thought. She and Sophie were hunting for treasure. To the twins, the basement wasn’t just a storage room. It was a mystical cave, and they were fearless adventurers on a daring mission.

“El, come look what I found!” Sophie called out from the other side of the basement, her voice echoing off the cement walls.

Ethan shook his head in exasperation as Eloise darted off, narrowly avoiding a stumble over an old outdoor mat that had clearly seen better days.

The sound of footsteps on the wooden stairs drew his attention, and he looked up to see his wife, Cassie Valentine, leaning over the railing. Her grin widened as she watched the twins’ antics.

“Are you girls ready for a break?” she asked, coming down the stairs. “I made lemonade and grilled cheese sandwiches.”

“Look, Mommy, we found real treasure,” the twins cried excitedly. “Can we keep it? Please?”

Ethan met Cassie’s amused look and rolled his eyes. The idea of the twins finding anything even closely resembling treasure in the dusty basement was laughable.

Still, as Cassie and his father often reminded him, the rules of fatherhood dictated that he try and indulge the girls’ fits of fancies.

He froze when he saw Eloise holding a small, dusty box with both hands, her eyes wide with excitement.

“It’s full of cars!” she exclaimed to Cassie, who examined the box alongside the girls, their foreheads nearly touching.

A wave of recognition washed over him as he crossed the room to take a closer look. Sure enough, the box the girls had uncovered was filled with his old toy cars, their once-bright colors dulled by a fine layer of dust but still perfectly intact.

He knelt beside his daughters, taking the box and lifting out the familiar red fire truck, its tiny ladder still movable after all these years.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as memories flooded back—racing the cars with Pop-Pop on the front porch the day he got them, pretending to be a race car driver speeding down the Indy 500 track, or a firefighter saving the world with his trusty red truck.

“These were mine,” he said, his voice soft, almost reverent. “Pop-Pop—my grandfather,” Ethan clarified at their confused look, “gave them to me when I was about your age. They belonged to him when he was a child.”

“That’s so cool,” Sophie said, leaning into him as she steadied herself with one arm draped over his shoulder, her wide eyes fixed on the cars.

“Did you play with them a lot?” Eloise asked, peering into the box with fascination.

“All the time,” Ethan replied, his voice rough as he cleared his throat. “But that feels like a lifetime ago.”

The last words came out almost as a whisper, heavy with the weight of memories, but Cassie caught them nonetheless.

“Maybe it’s time these cars had adventures again,” Cassie murmured, giving the girls a meaningful look. “Just like my doll, Wilhelmina found a new home earlier this year.”

Ethan nodded absently, his fingers lightly tracing the roof of a blue sports car, savoring one final connection to his past before passing it on.

“They’re yours now,” he said, setting the box between the twins. “Just promise me you’ll take good care of them.”

“We will!” Eloise and Sophie said in unison, already diving into the box to examine their newfound treasures.

As the girls argued over who would get the shiny blue sports car, Cassie slipped an arm around his waist and leaned into his side.

“Now they have something from both our childhoods. And to think, you were convinced your dad had thrown everything out.”

Ethan caught the laughter in her voice and groaned when she added, “Told you so!”

“You just love saying that, don’t you?” he griped with exasperation.

“You better believe it,” Cassie giggled, her lips brushing against his. “There’s nothing more satisfying than proving you wrong.”

As Eloise held up the red fire truck, pretending to extinguish an imaginary blaze, Ethan couldn’t help but smile. Cassie was right. Some toys, like cherished memories, were meant to be passed on.

--------------

All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @coffeeheartaddict2 @crazy-loca-blog @jerzwriter @justyourusualash

@lady-calypso @kyra75 @mainstreetreader @peonierose @potionsprefect

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@thosehallowedhalls

Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics

Ethan & Cassie only: @cariantha @custaroonie @youlookappropriate

[apocalypticavolition]

Let's (re)Read The Eye of the World! Chapter 16: The Wisdom

Spoliers here! Get your spoilers here! This is a reread and I've read every book in the series except the ones that came out after it was over and I will tell you every detail that ever happened out of spite if you don't take this opportunity to protect yourself now! Run away!

We get yet another new chapter icon as we move into this chapter. Three leaves on a vine, and boy does it symbolize a lot. For this chapter it represents Nynaeve and her crashing the party. As we go forward it will refer to Tinkers, Ogier (particularly Loial) and the Waygates built for them, and even the Green Man.

“We don’t have time for that, boy,” Thom said gruffly. Min gave the white-haired gleeman a sharp look. “Go juggle something,” she snapped, drawing Rand further away from the others.

I can't tell what's better, Thom assuming that Rand's ducking out of the meeting to make out with a random woman, or Min telling Thom to go play with his balls. It's a strong showing though!

You’re all in more danger today than yesterday. Since she came.

Min, I'm going to be honest with you: you are the worst person in the world when it comes to interpreting your visions. There are assholes who grew up literally on your hometown's antipode with more skill than you. Right now, you're making Rand think that the danger is supposed to be Nynaeve, and that's crazy talk. Everyone is in more danger right now than they were a little while ago when you tormented Rand last because he's gone off and antagonized two sets of people.

Also, I forgot to mention last night, but all of Rand's actions are the equivalent of Frodo accidentally putting on the One Ring in the inn in Bree. I guess that makes Nynaeve Strider, which is awesome but of course nonsense because Lan is Strider. Thank goodness it's not one-to-one. Really I'd say every member of the nine EotW crew (counting Loial) has equivalences with two or more members of the Fellowship. Nynaeve's other half is Sam, for example.

Moiraine and Nynaeve sat at opposite ends of the table, neither taking her eyes from the other. All the other chairs were empty. Moiraine’s hands rested on the table, as still as her face. Nynaeve’s braid was thrown over her shoulder, the end gripped in one fist; she kept giving it little tugs the way she did when she was being even more stubborn than usual with the Village Council. Perrin was right. Despite the fire it seemed freezing cold, and all coming from the two women at the table.

I don't have anything to say here, I just really like it.

“You . . . followed our trail?” Lan said, truly surprised for the first time that Rand could remember. “I must be getting careless.”

This is the exact moment that Lan realizes what love is, and unlike so many of the romances in this series I'm quite happy with this one because as minimal as their reasons are they're perfectly good ones. Nynaeve is talented enough to best Lan and he's awestruck. Good.

“If you can follow a trail I have tried to hide, he taught you well. Few can do that, even in the Borderlands.” Abruptly Nynaeve buried her face in her cup. Rand’s eyes widened. She was blushing.

And this is the exact moment that Nynaeve falls in love, because Lan doesn't give her shit, he doesn't dismiss her for being too young, he just tells her she's as incredible as she knows she is.

They’d swarm over this inn like murderous ants on a rumor, a whisper. Their hate is that strong, their desire to kill or take any like these two.

Also Thom, Rand royally pissed them off earlier. You all should probably know that. It's a real shame none of you know that.

“We can’t,” Rand said, and was glad that his friends all spoke up at the same time. That way Nynaeve’s glare had to be spread around; she spared no one as it was. But he had spoken first, and they all fell silent, looking at him. Even Moiraine sat back in her chair, watching him over steepled fingers.

I mean she's way more moral about all of this but she is technically part of a cabal trying to bring about the fulfillment of prophecy to usher in a new age of humankind, and the reluctant teenage boy is finally promising to get in the robotgo to Tar Valon.

The Light knows how your . . . Mistress Alys”—she invested the name with a wagonload of scorn— “managed to make him believe; he has a mite of sense, usually, more than most men.

She didn't even talk to him, amusingly.

He’s afraid you’ll try your tricks with outlanders and get your head thumped.

Well, Mat's dad is right about one of those things already.

Egwene sat back so she was shielded by Perrin. “I left a note,” she said faintly. She tugged at the hood of her cloak as if she was afraid her unbound hair showed. “I explained everything.” Nynaeve’s face darkened.

What so many people miss in their support of one character over another is that Egwene is just as stupid and immature as Rand, Mat, and Perrin: she just shows it differently. If I were in Nynaeve's shoes and hearing this shit, Moiraine couldn't have interrupted my rant about "A note!" if she'd balefired me.

Even those poor men who find themselves wielding the Power for a short time gain that much, though sometimes touching saidin protects, and sometimes the taint makes them more vulnerable. 

For somebody who's supposedly pretty impatient and pissed, she sure is infodumping. Moiraine's such a nerd.

Egwene bounced to her feet, her desire to be dignified obviously warring with her desire to avoid a confrontation with the Wisdom over her unbraided hair. She had no difficulty gathering up everyone by eye, though. Mat and Perrin scraped back their chairs hurriedly, making polite murmurs while trying not to actually run on their way out. Even Lan started for the door at a signal from Moiraine, drawing Thom with him.

Again, there's not much to say, just the joy of the sheer intensity that is Moiraine and Nynaeve in the same room while innocent bystanders look on in horror. Shame it's over.

She turned toward Rand, and for the first time he realized the others had all quietly disappeared.

Poor Rand, too nosy to escape quickly, too thick to realize that Nynaeve's nervous around Lan because she's afraid that she'll jump his bones.

“Something happened,” he insisted. “Why do you want us to go back if you think there’s even a chance we are right? And why you, at all? As soon send the Mayor himself as the Wisdom.” “You have grown.” She smiled, and for a moment her amusement had him shifting his feet.

Again, Rand's actually really adept at political matters, he just doesn't realize it. Tam must have been prepping him for the Council his whole life.

Either way, though, almost every man wanted to be one of the party. Tam, and Bran al’Vere, with the scales of office around his neck, and Haral Luhhan, till Alsbet made him sit down. Even Cenn Buie. The Light save me from men who think with the hair on their chests. Though I don’t know as there are any other kind.

Note the double hypocrisy, in that Nynaeve is criticizing everyone for thinking they should be the ones to go get the kids when she thought the same thing about herself, and for criticizing people for thinking with their hair when her braid is how she gets her own neurons firing.

“Are you all right?” Nynaeve asked. “He said . . . said I . . . wasn’t his son. When he was delirious . . . with the fever. He said he found me. I thought it was just. . . .” His throat began to burn, and he had to stop. “Oh, Rand.” She stopped and took his face in both hands. She had to reach up to do it. “People say strange things in a fever. Twisted things. Things that are not true, or real. Listen to me. Tam al’Thor ran away seeking adventure when he was a boy no older than you. I can just remember when he came back to Emond’s Field, a grown man with a red-haired, outlander wife and a babe in swaddling clothes. I remember Kari al’Thor cradling that child in her arms with as much love given and delight taken as I have ever seen from any woman with a babe. Her child, Rand. You. Now you straighten up and stop this foolishness.”

It is both incredibly sweet that she notices something is wrong with Rand immediately and cares enough to ask and try and reassure him when she's pissed at how stupid she thinks he is and incredibly silly that the reassurance she gives - of a time when she was four or five years old and would have had nothing but a few fleeting encounters with the foreigner and baby who live out of town even when they do come home - is going to reassure anyone who isn't actively trying to drown in denial.

“No, it isn’t your business,” Nynaeve agreed. “It might not mean anything. She could just be searching blindly for a reason, any reason, why those things are after you. After all of you.”

This, though also wrong, is a much more reasonable sort of guess. That said, it's something Nynaeve wants to be true, so she doesn't think about the obvious connections either.

Sadly, that's it for this chapter. Next time we return to the Lord of the Rings inspiration when they have to leave the inn early due to an invasion of black-cloaked riders who serve supernatural evil.

[thelazyhermits]

something specific….hm. okay. how about her thoughts and reaction to each of fortune’s kidnappings? for the angst of it all… and. this isn’t a hc but i read a fic where momo got her costume made out of her DNA so she can pull her creations out of her body without revealing any skin. so tbh when i was reading TABF and hagakure got her hero costume made out of her DNA, i was really expecting it to happen for momo too😭 but ofc, u know, not all writers are gonna do the same thing so 😭 yeah. also, maybe fortune could tell momo about the underworld? idk when and where that would happen but momo would definitely get angry and upset on fortune’s behalf. and maybe fortune and momo could braid each other’s hair? 🥺 i think they’d have such a cute friendship where momo can act her age and joke around w fortune. all of the girls in class 1A feel so comfortable around her and that would definitely include momo. how often does she think about fortune’s encouragement (that she gave to momo before she and midoriya fought aizawa)? momo, imo, is definitely gonna be a strong, powerful hero that villains are gonna be intimidated by

Her thoughts/reactions to the kidnappings were basically the same in that Momo was very worried about Fortune, and in the case of the summer camp kidnapping, she was heartbroken over the thought of Fortune not surviving since it seemed so unlikely that the villains would spare Fortune, considering they wanted her dead.

I've seen the concept of Momo having a costume made out of her DNA, which sounds really cool, but honestly, I don't really understand how it works. Like I can understand that concept being applied to Quirks like Hagakure's and Mirio's since their Quirks affect their whole bodies, but it just doesn't really make sense in my head for Momo cause I don't get how the costume doesn't get torn when the things she creates pop out of her skin since I don't understand how a costume made out of her DNA would help anything. Maybe I'm just being dumb lol 😂

Fortune won't tell Momo about the underworld since she doesn't want to tell any of the other students about it. I brought up this subject in the Heroes Rising fic to show that I didn't intend for any of the other students to learn about her past. But Momo would definitely be upset on Fortune's behalf if she did know.

All the girls love playing with Fortune's hair, Momo included. Fortune learns from them how to braid hair, so I could see her practicing with Momo's hair ^^

They all definitely feel comfortable around Fortune, but I can't see Momo really acting her age per se since she still views Fortune as a teacher figure and she's always so polite/respectful toward adults and she'd want to be professional to a certain degree.

However, Fortune does encourage Momo to relax and have fun more often and not worry so much about the small things like always being polite.

I'm sure Momo often looks back on Fortune's encouragement whenever she's in need of a pick-me-up/some inspiration since she really takes a lot of strength from Fortune's support and wants to do her best to live up to Fortune's high expectations of her.

Oh yeah, Momo's gonna be an awesome hero for sure. Villains everywhere better watch out haha

[a-chuffed-floating-panda]

A love in the eye of the hurricane ch 23 (unedited)

(Originale posted 10 October 2022 slightly better edited chapter)

Childhood, early fall.

Flying over thick green forests that seemed to go on forever and ever, she gasped when she saw the white Buddha and golden chorten in the distance. They stood above the trees and tall mountains on a platform of sorts, or maybe on the side of a mountain? She couldn’t tell.

It looked like only someone with a flying companion could access the temple. The dense forests and mountains went on for miles. It’d take months, at least, of constant running to reach it by foot. Then you’d have to climb the temple as well… something only a dedicated individual could manage.

Koko-chan said that there was a staircase, but visitors, not pilgrims, never took them unless they were desperate; a ride on a friendly bison always won over the 4500 step staircase.

Uma let out a content groan, and she patted her fur. “I know, this is going to be awesome!” Sister Tsering gave Palden permission to take her on a one week training trip to Wat tham suea. Jaya had whined about her being gone and ‘who’s going to help her with homework now?’ Jamyang promised to write letters every single day, and that seemed to make it better. She’d beamed, thrown her arms around her in a big hug and pressed a showy kiss on her cheek with a loud ‘muwah!’

Jamyang blinked with owlish eyes as Jaya dragged her off as she insisted she help her pack.

It might’ve been her imagination, but she thought she heard the nearby nuns laugh under their breaths and Palden smothering Koko-chan with her sleeves.

Jamyang steered Uma so that they were following Palden, Koko-chan and sister, Nyima; She’d insisted on being called that, because Sister made her feel old.

She followed them as they steered down over the mountain, her eyes widening and mouth dropping at the clusters of buildings and towers that met her eyes; a tall golden Buddha stood in the centre of all of them. “Woah…” She looked forward to what her week would entail.

She grumbled when something disturbed from her sleep, pulling the blanket over her head in an attempt to muffle the sound out.

The volume increase was gradual, like it was coming closer. She opened her eyes, annoyed, and sat up to peek out of the window. Her eyes squinted at a long blurry blob and she reached up with a hand and rubbed the sleep out of them. Her sight cleared more and Jamyang saw lines upon lines of monks and nuns carrying lights when she blinked. 

The chanting was steady, like a strong heartbeat. “Namo amituofo, Namo amituofo, Namo amituofo….” She recognised the mantra, having heard a group of monks recite it while visiting her temple. It was the mantra of Öpakme, Om ami dewa hri.

Such devotion. She leaned closer to the window as the lines of people walked around the corner of the tower she was staying in. Many of the people she knew didn’t practise like that, but that didn’t mean that the positive karma they were cultivating was anything less bad, did it?

Jamyang didn’t have enough wisdom to answer that question herself.

She laid back down when she couldn’t see them anymore, not being able to sleep. She reached out with a hand in front of her, opening and clenching it. “Om ami dewa hri.”

Jamyang wasn’t a fan of big robes, but she was on the smaller side and she didn’t control the world. The robes they gave her to wear during her stay didn’t fit properly. She stared at them for ten minutes, hoping that she’d scared them enough from glaring at them.

The grey robes were big on her. It was difficult to tie down the brown rakusu they gave her with the spacious sleeves.

“Need some help?” Palden stood in the doorframe, smiling at her struggle. Jamyang pouted at her. “Yes, please.”

“There.” Palden finished, patting the rakusu.

Jamyang looked down. Her sleeves were so big. They’d just get in the way when she’d do her hair. “Can you braid my hair, too?”

Jamyang remembered getting looks like the one Palden was giving her when she was younger. The ‘oh, you’re so adorable that I just want to eat you up!’ look.

She grumbled when Palden pinched her cheek. “Of course.” She grabbed a brush and urged her to sit down in front of the bed.

Jamyang sat quietly as Palden brushed her hair. It was her first time in different robes. She wasn’t used to grey, regardless of how many times she’d seen Aden in his grey robes. They were so big, too. Why were they so big? It didn’t seem practical if they were big enough, so you’d trip over your robes while running.

“Palden?”

“Hmm?”

“Why are the robes so big?” She held her arm in front of her, watching how far the bottom of her sleeve dipped.

“It’s to cast an illusion on the enemy.” She said, “They can’t see your body build, limbs and joints move well, and it hinders their ability to predict your moves.” Jamyang remembered reading about a prodigious swordsman who did the same thing; he’s worshipped as a guardian on one of the fire nation islands, if she remembered correctly. It was Tsugikuni something.

His birthday was a celebration, akin to a short festival lasting three days; Shaohao had invited her and her friends, including Aden, to come and celebrate it earlier this year.

“I guess that makes sense.” She conceded. “But is me tripping over them also a good reason? I’m tiny.” Build wise; she read more than she ran around when she was younger. She was over average when it came to height.

“I guess not.” Palden laughed and finished her braid. “But then it means that you’ll be learning stealth walking. I know that you’re already a natural at stealth, but it helps with getting used to the robes.”

Jamyang didn’t know just how Palden was going to teach her that.

The tall grass always found a way to tickle her, even when fully dressed

“Why are we here?” She stomped on the grass, annoyed at its intrusiveness. It wouldn’t be too noticeable. She saw some animals on their way here and they could blame the slightly flattened grass on them.

Palden was crouched down beside her, the hilt of the holster peeking up underneath her robes and pointed to a house in the distance. “See that house?”

“Yeah?” It looked like a farm or maybe an inn for travelers. Palden handed her a small golden bell, a piece of paper, and a chubby brown panda. “You’re going to sneak into that farm, leave that bell behind and write anything you deem important. Miso is joining you in case something out of your control happens, like an ambush or something.” Jamyang stared at her, shocked. She was going to sneak in on that farm?! No practise run? What if she messed up? 

��I’m going to sneak in on that farm?” She pointed, voice cracking. She’d never snuck into a house before. Miso made herself comfortable on top of her shoulders.

“Yep.” she answered. “Sneak in, leave the bell and write anything you deem important. In and out, no fighting.” Palden reassured and patted her head. “Why did you have me bring my ninjaken then, if there’s no fighting?” It’s strapped to her waist; her jian was back at the temple.

Palden also gave her a utility belt to wear across her chest.

“So that you can get used to carrying it. You’ll be surprised at how it can limit your movement.” Jamyang puffed her cheek at her. It couldn’t be that bad. She put the bell into one of the pouches on the belt and folded the piece of paper into another pouch.

“Look at it as a test run and see how stealthy you are from a different perspective.”

For a test run it was… informative.

Young adult, early summer.

The ache of the healing tattoos made it uncomfortable to walk and do tasks around the temple. Jampo seemed happy to accompany her, bouncing on his feet as she walked and sitting down behind her ankles when she stopped for a quick break.

He also enjoyed the pets and attention passing children would give him during those breaks. They also congratulated her on getting her tattoos as well. Jamyang thanked them with headpats and an affectionate panda.

Jetsun, not Sister Jetsun Dronma, but Jetsun Chesa, a toddler at the mature age of almost two winters, squealed when she saw Jampo and toddled up to them away from the older Sister Jamyang. She’s technically a Sister now, weird. She didn’t feel like one.

“Chi la ‘om chung!” Ji la dom chung, almost right. She smiled as Jetsun sat down to pet an eager Jampo.

“Be careful. Don’t be so rough when you pet him.” Jetsun listened to her words and gave Jampo really slow pets with an adorable frown as she focused on not hurting him. 

“Jetsun,” Sister Jamyang’s voice sounded in front of them and steps followed. “Don’t run off like that.”

Jetsun’s eyes got big, and she tried to pick up Jampo, who sagged in her small hands, and turned to her. “Chi la ‘om chung…” Sister Jamyang sighed and pinched her nose. “Fine, you can continue to pet him.”

Jetsun cheered and her adorable frown returned as she continued to give Jampo’s fur slow and gentle strokes.

“Congratulations on getting your arrows.” 

“Ah, thank you.” She put her hands together and gave her a small bow. “Your mastery is certified now, even if you’ve been one for years.” A small smile played on her lips. “Tsering was close to fighting them to get you to have your ceremony, you know.” Of course she did. 

“I imagined something like that happening, yeah.” She likely wouldn’t have had her ceremony otherwise.

Jetsun giggled as Jampo licked her face.

“Okay, come now.” Sister Jamyang said, and Jetsun pouted. “You wanted to meet Elder Rabten and we have to get preparations ready.” Jetsun hung her head, not wanting to leave. “Jampo flies around the temple daily, and you can always ask Jamyang if you can play with him.” Jetsun looked back at them with sad eyes as they walked away.

“Churr-squeak.” Jampo looked sad too. She lightly nudged him with the side of her foot. “Come on, let’s continue.” 

After a few steps, she heard laughter. 

… Jamyang startled at the yell while she crawled through the vent.

She paused to listen, but the person was spewing nonsense. Were they drunk? Through their gibberish, it sounded like they were accusing someone and she heard… sobbing? She crawled towards the sound, grabbing the small red pouch, filled with what felt like powder she found on her way there.

“Yoush bucssh!” Unsteady steps and something breaking with a loud crash. The sobbing increased in volume. “No, no!” they cried. “Not him, stay away!” 

“Miso!” she whispered, and the panda stirred. “Chri?”

“Go find Palden.” Miso took a few seconds before rolling away from her position on her neck and pattering down in the opposite direction. The slight creak of the vent opening told her she was out.

Jamyang had tied the bell to one of the fences outside and petted the ostrich-horse that caught her. It was a risky bribe, but it worked and it left her alone.

Maneuvering in the tight space, she got out the piece of paper and added a new thing to her list. “Relationship problems?” She scribbled with a charcoal stick she found on the floor above. Jamyang continued crawling. She needed to get out of the vent.

Glancing around the corner of a doorway, she saw the source of said laughter being Choda as Tashi spun her around.

Jamyang felt herself smile. She was happy on their behalf. It’d been a little awkward in their friend group at the beginning of their relationship, but it got better after around a month or so, if she remembered correctly. One or two months, somewhere around there.

Choda giggled when Tashi put her head into the hollow of her neck. “Nyingdu-la.” Jamyang tensed when she heard the phrase and sped away as fast as she could, leaving them alone.

She wasn’t meant to hear that. She was not meant to hear that.

Jampo followed her, tripped over his feet and rolled into the back of her legs.

“Be careful!” She chided and picked him up. “We’re sorta, accidentally sneaking a round.” She didn’t plan this, and she heard peals of laughter coming from another room further ahead. 

“We can’t get caught.” Not because she wanted to listen in, but because she didn’t want to ruin the others’ moments together. That’d be so rude of her and she’d feel so bad if she ended up actually ruining something.

Jampo stared at her, leaned in and licked her nose. Just like Uma, she smiled.

“Come on.”

… the man laid unresponsive on the floor. Palden said he was okay, just unconscious.

The woman- wife? Girlfriend?- she tended to, couldn’t get much out in between her cries and choked up words of gratitude while she healed her. 

“Do you have anywhere safe to go?” 

“N-no.” She sniffed. 

“You should take your son and go to the golden temple.”

“B-but.” She stuttered. “This is baba’s farm. I’m tending to it while he’s on a trip. I can’t just leave!”

“It’ll be momentary until we can ensure you and your child’s safety. I’ll send someone I know to take care of your farm. Is that okay?”

The woman eventually agreed, and they acted as her guards on the road there.

“Hide in the grass!” Palden hissed when she saw… a group of people in the distance. Jamyang watched in anticipation as Palden confronted the group.

She snuck by multiple people having their ‘moments’ with someone and succeeded in not ruining them.

She could find solace in her room, maybe a nap. All the children congratulating her had been overwhelming; was this the exhaustion Gawa felt during her mastery celebration? 

Jaya’s familiar laugh echoed in the dorm hallway, followed by another laugh she didn’t recognise. “Hm, must be the crush.” She mumbled to herself, Jaya hadn’t introduced them yet. ‘Soo cool! And so handsome!’ Didn’t tell Jamyang much about the person.

Aden was weird when she stumbled upon him. Serious looking. Unreadable look in his eyes. He was thinking hard about something. “What’s wrong?”

“Um…” He started, sounding unsure. “It’s nothing important. I’m helping someone solve a… personal conflict.” Hm, it’s something he doesn’t want me to know. Jamyang hadn’t noticed anyone dealing with personal problems recently, but it could also be a temple individual from Yonggunsa he was helping that she wasn’t familiar with. He looked unsure, but she wouldn’t prod.

She’ll either figure it out or see it go down. It’s happened before.

“Have you seen Choekyi?” He asked. “I think she’s ignoring me. She won’t talk to me one on one.”

“Oh, she isn’t ignoring you.” She answered. Choekyi was doing a lot of sneaking around when it came to Aden. Jamyang knew because she caught her and subsequently told her how to sneak around better.

She also promised on Uma and Chenrezig that she wouldn’t tell a soul of what she saw.

Jamyang was good at secrets. She heard many of them unintentionally over the years of being stealthy and being at the wrong place at the right time.

They still hadn’t caught Danan dyed the robes a darker colour over the ten years she’d known him; She may or may not have told him of a secret passage when she was thirteen winters.

“She’s dealing with a personal problem that includes you.” She said, and watched how his face morphed. He only needed a little push. She wouldn’t flat out say it. “Me? But, but, what did I do?” 

“Nothing.”

“Huh? I don’t get what you are trying to say.”

“Think, Aden. Personal problems are universal for feeling related matters and those matters are related to you.” He blinked at her, eyes widening and face blushing.

“O-oh, where is she?”

“The last time I saw her, she was on one of the temple pagodas.” He thanked her with a stiff bow and ran off.

Jamyang stared at the trail of dust he left behind and thought of dusting the hallway, but the nap appealed more to her. She shook her head with a smile and made her way to her room.

… her yell was frightening. A tremor shocked Jamyang’s bones. She hadn’t seen Palden like this before.

“Fight me!” She pulled the dao from the holster on her back and proceeded to cut down every single individual of that group. Her hands trembled. Palden was scary. Jamyang had never seen her as scary before. Palden was funny and joked with her. She was her teacher.

The woman held her son’s head into her chest so that he wouldn’t see. 

The group of people- bandits?- had taken a hostage. Palden bent down and cut the ropes around their wrists. They bowed at her and helped move the bodies out of the way.

Palden waved at them to come. “It’s safe.” She yelled, and they made their way over.

Jamyang glanced at the bloodied bodies and prayed for them. It conflicted her feelings. All life was sacred. But they were bad and had taken a hostage. What if they were driven to this because they were desperate?

She avoided the splattered blood on the ground. “All life is sacred.” She whispered under her breath.

“They are.” Palden said in a solemn voice, suddenly standing beside her. She patted her head and Jamyang leaned into her side. “That’s why you defend them, but you don’t have to like it.”

Jampo jumped on top of her stomach with a loud quack. “Oof!” She played along. “Ugh, I’m dead.” He chittered, giggling, and crawled up her body, nestling into the crook of her neck with his small arms reaching around her neck in a hug.

Jamyang closed her eyes and evened her breathing, falling asleep within seconds.

It was difficult to breathe. Gawa pulled at the loose parts of her robe. She wanted to run out of the room and cuddle with Cintsha and Jannu, but she wouldn’t do that. She wasn’t a coward.

Well, she was a coward, but not that much of a coward. Gawa would stay to support them. She’d only be rude and cause a scene if she left. Plus, they’d likely hate her.

That’s her anxiety speaking. She’d never seen them ‘hate’ in the years she’d known them, but they’d definitely hate her if she left.

Yara’s move was a small cyclone that she spread around the room, up to the ceiling, each of the corners, down to the floor again and whirled it into small controlled circles in front of her before dispersing it. Master worthy. It took perfect control to do that. Everyone clapped. Tora cheered loudly in front of her. 

Aden nudged her. Apparently she’d forgotten to clap, and she hurried to clap because who’d she be if she didn’t?

Then it was Jamyang’s turn. The elders took great amusement at Shaohao’s enthusiasm. “Here, or here?” Jamyang pulled his shirt so that he stood in between the two places. “There.”

The flame floated over his palms, warm and flickering. “Ready.” He held his hands out and Jamyang started a whirling air in between her hands.

First thing she noticed, the concentration of the air. She felt the air being sucked towards her from where she sat in the back of the room. Almost back of the room, second to last row.

With slow moments to keep the whirling air intact, she eased it over Shaohao’s flame and it bolstered up in size and flickered uncontrollably. It didn’t go out, nor did any embers from his fire fly out of the compact air Jamyang surrendered it with. She was in control of the flame, letting it blaze brightly, giving the room golden glow.

Impressive. Truly impressive. She’s been a master for a while. Gawa had seen it in the past and she saw it now. Jamyang told her about it and Izumi and Michiko had begged to see it, but she’d held firm and said that they’d see it after her ceremony. 

Jamyang’s amazing. She deserved this. Screw the rules of the temple for having her wait so long. The arrow suited her. She looked great with them.

The atmosphere was tense as she removed the air around the flame, layer by layer, slowly giving back the control to Shaohao. The flame flickered down to its previous size, unharmed.

She’s great and so, so talented.

They clap for her and Aden had to nudge her twice to clap because she was so enthralled by her move. Her chest constricted and warmth spread out to her limbs. Go away.

Go away.

Jamyang found her eyes in the crowd and sent a smile her way. Oh, how it warmed her to her core. She wanted to cry. Please go away. Gawa sent a small one back. Why was this so difficult?

Om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi. Breathe. In and out, just a little more until she can leave without being rude to them. Incense flowing was next and after that was the people who couldn’t witness it. She could sneak away then. It was hard to breathe. 

It was embarrassing how much she struggled and Aden kept giving her looks out of the corner of her eye.

Just hit the spirit damned bells. The dungchen blared in her ears. Focus.

She hit a few of them, not all of them, but she did hit them. She’d take that. 

She snuck out when the ceremony finished, collapsed on all fours in an empty hallway, and gasped for air. She stumbled on her feet to the room she was staying in before anyone saw her.

She fell on the floor, motionless. Her breaths coming out in gasps, Gawa clutched at her chest and hugged her knees.

“Go away.” Her heart beat loudly underneath her hand; Having the audacity to defy her. Her composure finally broke, and she cried. Her lovely pandas scurried over to comfort her.

That’s how Aden found her, crying in the fetal position on the floor, being comforted by pandas.

“Gawa?” He opened the door, peeking through the small door crack before stepping in. “Are you okay?”

“Fine, just fine. Great.” Bold lie, and Aden knew that.

Aden shuffled over to her and sat down beside her. “Why did you leave? They asked where you were.” Of course they did. Now she felt guilty for leaving.

“It was overwhelming.” Truth. “It was difficult to keep myself composed.” She anticipated his next questions while he thought of them. Something told her she wouldn’t like it.

“... Do you like her?”

“No.” Another lie. “I don’t.”

He was quiet for a couple of seconds and brushed her hair with his hand. “You know, it’s okay if you do.”

“I know that, but I don’t.” Lie. “I don’t like her.” Lie. A terrible lie as well.

She fiddled with the threngwa Jamyang gifted her for her sixth birthday when Aden left.

A sleepy Jamyang and Jampo found her hours later. “Hey,” she hugged her and Gawa tensed. “Where were you?” She pulled away, pouting. “I looked for you, y’know.”

“It was overwhelming.”

“Oh, that’s okay, you should’ve just said so.” Her heart thudded so quickly she feared Jamyang would hear it.

“Um,” she looked around her room, she remembered bringing it with her. Relief washing over her when she spotted the white clay pot she brought with her.

“What?”

“Sit.” She went and grabbed the pot.

“Anywhere?” 

“On the floor is okay.” Gawa joined her quickly afterward. Opening the pot, she scooped up a clear gel and grabbed Jamyang’s right and rubbed the gel in.

“What are you doing?”

“Returning the favour.” Jamyang laughed after seconds of comprehending the situation, a lovely sound and a balm to her nerves.

“I see. It’s not that bad though and I’m not poisoned like you were.”

“Hush!” She glared at her. “I’m returning the favour. Let me take care of you.” Whops, she bit her lip. She didn’t mean to say that.

Jamyang laughed again, and her heart raced. “Okay.”

It wasn’t an excuse to touch her skin. Gawa genuinely wanted to return the favour, but somewhere along the line as she worked, it did turn into an excuse so that she could touch her skin.

She screamed at herself, at her beating heart. Go away!

Notes:

Procrastination and hyperfixations are officially kicking my butt. I am still not done with the other chapter to the Tsering-centric story T_T ugh (I don't know if anyone reads that, but if you do, I'm sorry). Maybe its a bad thing that I started taking Mondays off? Maybe I'll take half of the day off instead so that I can get something done without pulling an all nighter every time I update. But hey, wassup. Gawa's feelings hit her like a bang and it does not go well and she'd like for them to go away, please. Shaohao got to be a stand in and they're officially masters now! Yay! A few more years of pining and they'll be getting together. I am ready for it. Palden is scary when she wants to be and I have the perfect image of her in my head, but I don't trust myself to draw her at my current noobish level. I have three thumbnail sketches of Jamyang and Uma flying over the mountains of Way Tham Suea that I'll be posting on my Tumblr, if anyone is interested in them....   Threngwa: mala Ji la dom chung: red panda Om ah hum vajra guru padma siddhi: mantra of Guru Rinpoche

[casspurrjoybell-20]

Sakura Mochi - Chapter 3b

*Warning Adult Content*

Hatchday - Part 2 - Kamihara Rin 

Akira closed their eyes as Ifeme began to chant, her voice powerful and laced with a lovely melody. Drums began to accompany her as the air seemed to heat. I wiggled around in my seat excitedly, watching intently as the high priestess began to draw symbols in the air with her flame. The golden symbols shimmered in the air, drawing soft gasps from the crowd. The drums intensified, quickening along with the beat of my heart. 

Then, they stopped. The silence that followed was almost enough to kill me but then a golden circle etched its way into the ground at Akira's feet, circling them fully. Then, light shot up into the sky from the stage and my brother's body fell to the stage.

"He's okay," Nobi whispered to me, sensing that I wanted to get up. "Just watch."

Akira remained hunched over on the stage before their body began to glow with a deep cerulean blue light that I recognized as their flame's color. Then, their body began to change. Slowly, it morphed into that of a water dragon, known for its sleek body, fins and long torso like that of a sea serpent. Akira must've taken after our noni, who was a water dragon, too. 

The dragon was beautiful, though, as the light faded away and I could get a full look at my brother's new form. Their scales were a deep blue that glimmered in the light, shifting to a deeper purple as they moved. A roar shook the temple as Akira spread their magnificent wings made to float elegantly in water and took off into the sky. 

The temple erupted in cheers. My family and I stood up to clap, though I wanted to exclaim and whoop like everyone else. But, that was against noble etiquette. Akira flew around the temple, getting the hang of their new form as we all watched. It was beautiful and caused a giddy feeling to bubble inside my stomach. I wanted to do that. I wanted to know what it felt like to fly in the sky like that. 

Sure, I'd flown before but only on the backs of other dragons. I wanted to know what it felt like for myself. I wanted to know what having a flame felt like. The eagerness that overtook me had me jittery in my seat for the rest of the ceremony after we sat down. Akira landed and Ifema gave them time to shift before robing them again. 

"It is now time for Akira to find their mate. Because Akira has not met their destined mate, wherever they may be, the temple has selected a dragon of notable standing and compatibility." 

She aimed her next question at my brother. 

"Do you wish to accept them?"

"I do," Akira said, though I could tell they weren't as confident this time around.

I knew they were nervous. Akira was an awesome big brother but they lacked romantic experience. I wasn't sure if it was on purpose or not. Maybe they were just too nerdy, like Yuki. It seemed to run in the family. But I knew Akira was worried about being a good mate. They'd talked about it before with Noni and Nobi. I, of course, knew they'd make an amazing mate, just like they were an amazing brother.

The sound of gentle music brought me back to the ceremony as Akira and Ifema turned to face our section. Someone standing out of the corner of my eye drew my attention back to the family I'd noticed before. The dragon Akira's age stood up. Tall and graceful, they were breathtaking. Long, white hair with tiny braids intermingled among the locks trailed down their back. Their skin was fair and covered in what looked to be freckles. 

With a slight shift of their weight, they began to make their way down to the platform, walking carefully as the crowds watched. My eyes made their way over to Akira and I noticed the change in their demeanor. They looked...sad. Akira stood tall but their face didn't glow like it did when their dragon was awakened. No, this time, my brother seemed to be putting on a brave face. That worried me. 

They'd seemed nervous before but what had changed? It seemed that something was wrong. I glanced over at my family to see if they noticed too but they weren't paying attention. All eyes were on the fair beauty walking down to the platform to meet with Ifeme and Akira.Once they made it to the platform, Ifeme smiled. She gently guided the two to stand, facing each other, before her. 

"The God of love, Amias, has smiled upon these two young dragons. For though they are not destined mates, their bond will still be strong. They will strengthen their families and bless this land," she announced to the crowd.

Ifeme drew another flame from her chest, grabbing Akira's hands to form them into a cup, palm up. Then, she grabbed the white-haired dragon's hands and placed them over Akira's. Ifeme began to chant again as she twined her flame around their conjoined hands. Once it was done, she turned to my brother. 

"Do you accept Mizuki of the Nitsa Clan to be your mate?"

"I accept," Akira answered.

"And do you, Mizuki of the Nitsa Clan, accept Akira of the Kamihara Clan?"

"I accept," they answered in a voice as delicate as their appearance.

Once the words were spoken, the flame wrapped around their hands began to glow. I watched my brother's face as this happened. Their face was smooth except for the slight twitch of their lips when the flame became even brighter. Ifeme then spoke again, 

"Under the light of Amias and with my authority as High Priestess, I now pronounce you mated in the eyes of the grand priesthood."

After that, the flame fell away from Akira and the dragon's hands. The crowd erupted into cheers once more. Nobi and Noni stood up to clap, followed by Yuki. After a moment, I stood up, too, though I wasn't nearly as enthusiastic as I was when Akira presented their dragon. 

How could I be when my brother didn't seem as enthusiastic as they should be? I was startled out of my thoughts when a hand landed on my head to ruffle my hair. My noni smiled cheekily at me, knowing how much I hated it when she does that to my hair, especially when it was all fancy like it was. 

"Noni," I whined, fixing my hair quickly.

"Hush, child. It's time for us to greet your brother's new family," she said.

New family? It took all of my willpower not to grimace. Akira didn't need a new family. He had us. Noni grabbed my hand to lead me to where Nobi and Yuki were already greeting the family of...Akira's new mate. Ew. Noni guided us over, and she immediately bowed her head in respect. 

"It is a great honor to join our families together, Nitsa Clan."

"The honor is all ours, Hibiki," one of the adults said.

I didn't pay attention to the rest of their conversation as Noni let go of my hand and I found myself looking at where Yuki and that kid were talking. Deciding they were likely more interesting than my parents talking to other adults, I walked over.

"Your hair is so pretty," the kid was telling my sister.

Yuki giggled, a blush covering her cheeks. 

"Thank you. I love yours, too. It looks so soft."

I almost rolled my eyes. What was going on with my family today? It was like we were joining families with the Royal family or something. Which, by the way, we weren't. I may not pay much attention in school but I knew what the Royal family looked like. Yuki noticed me walk over and turned to face me, a smile on her face. 

"Bug. This is Haru. He's Mizuki's younger brother," she introduced.

"Who?" I asked, earning a slap on the arm from my sister. "Ow?"

"You need to pay more attention. Mizuki is Akira's mate, duh," she exclaimed.

The kid she introduced smiled at me widely, showing off a small gap in their teeth. 

"Hi, Bug," he said teasingly.

"That's not my name," I grumbled, crossing my arms and looking away.

What a weirdo. Who's name was actually Bug? And why are they so happy? That caught me off guard when I first noticed the kid. This is all just so fake. Akira should've been able to find his real mate. Not whatever this was. It wasn't real. And now I was stuck with this weird kid whom my sister was fawning over like another weirdo. I was surrounded by them apparently.

"Oh, sorry. It's Rin. I call them Bug because it's...well, I've always called them Bug," Yuki explained hurriedly, giggling after.

"Well, hi, Rin. What a pretty name. It suits you," Haru said.

Ugh. Just compliments all around, huh? What was the kid trying to compensate for? I don't know why but I didn't like him. There was no way someone was this happy to meet the siblings of their sibling's mate. It just felt so forced. And Yuki was falling for it. She loved to parade around how much smarter she was than me but here she was falling for such an obvious trick. Well, as Yuki's sibling, it was my duty to protect her and that meant pulling her away from this charming little devil.

"Yuki, I think Noni wanted to talk to us," I said, reaching out to grab her hand.

"What? But Noni's talking to Haru and Mizuki's parents right now," she pointed out with a frown.

I briefly peeked over at the adults. They really were still talking.

"Well, we should go see what she wanted anyway," I insisted, pulling Yuki's arm a bit.

My sister smiled apologetically at the little devil in front of us. 

"I'm sorry. Our noni needs us for something. We can talk more at the celebration, though."

Celebration? No. 

No more stupid parties with stupid guests and stupid, heavy clothes. I wanted to party before but not now. Not with these people. The charming little devil smiled back, though, despite my glares. 

"It's alright, Yuki. We can talk more later! I'd love to get to know you both better," he said as his eyes shifted to look at me.

With a huff, I pulled Yuki away with me, trying to contain my annoyance. This day should be about Akira. Yes, this is about celebrating my brother. Who cares about his stupid mate's family? I knew the party planned for Akira was going to be amazing, so hopefully, I could enjoy it.  If I could get through tonight, then all will go back to normal. Definitely. 

[sarcasticassian]

just kinda dig the idea that all the kids/teens have had a crush on Eddie at some point apart from Dustin and Robin obviously

Mike just feels obvious? My guy is enamoured with Eddie, ‘he’s just so cool, his hair is awesome, his clothes look so good’ my favourite part though is that he fully does not realise it’s a crush and how big it is, everyone else, including Eddie, can see it from a mile away but poor Mike has no idea until he’s like 22 then he wakes up in a cold sweat one day like ‘wait, did I have a crush Eddie’

Will and El meet him after everything and poor Will didn’t stand a chance, this guy plays D&D and the guitar and he doesn’t care what anybody thinks of him and he’s just so pretty, his heart falls out of his ass immediately and he follows Eddie round like a baby duck for a month straight at one point, El also thinks Eddie has pretty hair and he lets her braid it too, he lets her listen to his tapes and he smiles a lot and always gives her a hug if she asks, her and Will get over their little crushes when they go to see Top Gun and the beach scene becomes the only thing talked about in their house until Christmas much to Hopper’s dismay

Max grudgingly admits she once had a baby crush on Eddie, it wasn’t straight after everything but maybe a few months down the line, he would play Kate Bush on his guitar for her and let her paint his nails and they’d just talk about anything and nothing and fine she thought he was cute or whatever but then she tried to teach him how to skateboard and watching him immediately fall off it brought her right out of any infatuation she had

Lucas asks Eddie to teach him how to play guitar and during one of their lessons he looks over at Eddie, who is in his element right now, and briefly wonders what it would be like to kiss him, panics that that’s weird and makes an excuse to leave, he brings up the idea of kissing boys to Steve at their next informal basketball coaching session because Steve recently told them all he likes both, he doesn’t mention that it was Eddie that sparked this thought but after that moment he never really thinks of Eddie in that way again but one time he drunkenly admits that Eddie was his bi awakening and Dustin literally never lets him forget it

Erica will never admit that she thinks that weirdo super senior is cute, it will go with her to the grave but if she got him an ammo belt as an accessory before their showdown with Vecna just because she thought he’d like it, well nobody needs to know

Argyle openly states as soon as he and Eddie meet that he’s hot and that’s that, everyone just rolls with it not knowing that the majority of them silently agree with him

Nancy and Jonathan had a full in depth conversation about how cute and nice Eddie was once when he was high and she was drunk and neither of them remember it

Steve is SEETHING when he realises that he’s competing for Eddie’s time and affection with nearly everyone in their group, like yeah half of them are children but STILL, he watches them all cling to Eddie and silently stews whilst Robin counts down to his inevitable rant about it all, Dustin, blissfully oblivious to it all, doesn’t help matters by constantly talking Eddie up like Steve doesn’t already KNOW how great Eddie is, one day he accidentally lets it slip that he’s thought Eddie was hot for YEARS so why is he having to wait in line to hang out with him and Robin shrieks, what do you mean years Steve? and Steve admits that he’s thought Eddie was cute since he was like 14 and Eddie was a mysterious sophomore that just intrigued him so much but he thought it was wrong to feel like that so he never did anything about it but now he KNOWS and you know what it’s time he goes and gets his man

Eddie is ignorant to all of this (apart from Mike, even he can pick that one up and he did help Will with the whole sexuality thing but Will is just a cutie, right?) and just thinks that everyone is super sweet and chill if you take away the whole fighting monsters thing but he won’t complain if Steve wants to sit in his lap and give him a kiss out of nowhere, he’s cute and Eddie has a little crush, sue him

[moldymacrodose]

COGS AND PIECES - CH 5/12 || Jinx x fem!reader / OC

<- Previous Chapter ||| Next Chapter ->

<- First Chapter ||| Masterlist -> 

a/n: I might spoil you with one more chapter tonight. Enjoy! :3

Chapter 5 - Apple Juice

Cogs remembered thinking that acquainting Jinx was a dangerous thing. You know what? Scratch that. Other people seeing you get along with Jinx put a much bigger target on your back. Cogs heard the whispers as they both walked up to the spot where she usually sat when out for drinks.

It'd be a lie to say she wasn't excited to spend time with Jinx outside of work. The whole picking at her brain thing probably worked better, if they'd talk to each other. It would also be a lie to say that she wasn't worried about word spreading about her newly formed friendship. Silco would find out about this in a matter of minutes. Would it upset him? Going out to a bar is hardly a sin, isn't it?

"Two glasses of the usual", commanded Jinx.

Cogs slouched on the bar and watched the bartender take out a normal glass and a special cup with stars and moons painted all over. He then grabbed a jug of... apple juice and filled the cups with it. The drinks got some straws thrown into them for a good measure and voilà.

Jinx excitedly sipped her juice. The mechanic looked at the straw with amusement. She couldn't remember the last time she used one. She shrugged and took a sip. The juice was definitely more expensive than the watered-down beer and liquors she usually ordered. Huh, it was tastier too.

"Sooo, tell me about yourself", said Jinx using one of her braids as a fake moustache.

Cogs raised an eyebrow at the question.

"What? I overheard people say that.", explained Jinx.

"Isn't this more of a 'first date with a stranger' type of question?"

Jinx leaned in closer and walked her fingers up Cogs' arm before resting her hand on her bicep.

"Aren't we on a date?" asked Jinx in a flirty tone.

Cogs choked on her drink. She started blushing pretty badly.

"I'm just messing with you." The blue-haired girl started laughing and leaned right back to her previous position with a smirk. "What kind of name is 'Cogs' anyway? Your parents really called you that?"

"Uh, I don't know what they called me. I never got to meet them. At least, I don't remember meeting them. Babies don't have the best memory."

Cogs shrugged. There was nothing special about her being an orphan. Every other kid had pretty much the same story to tell about how they ended up being alone, but she still felt uncomfortable talking about it.

"Vice started calling me 'Cogs', because he could 'see the cogs turning in my head' or something." The mechanic mimicked her mentor's voice. "It upset me as a kid", she giggled remembering how mad she was when he called her that back then. "But it stuck. I don't even remember what my 'real' name is anymore."

Jinx straightened in her seat and the straw fell out of her mouth back into the cup. "You don't?"

Cogs shrugged. She couldn't really say much more about it without picking at old wounds and deeply buried memories.

"Should I ask you about your name?", she said after a short silence between them.

"No, you should not." Jinx's face darkened for a split second before switching back to her normal mischievous expression. "What do you think about blowing things up? It's pretty awesome, isn't it?"

Cogs snickered at the sudden change of topic and the evening continued. She couldn't bring herself to say no to the blue-haired girl and the bartender had to very carefully kick them out around closing time. Cogs' sleeping schedule would be absolutely fucked for the next few days.

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[innytoes]

Happy birthday @invisibleraven

The problem with soulmate dreams was that they could be so damn vague. Reggie dreamed of stars. Stars, and sparkles, supernovas he could get lost in, warm sparkling glitter he could trail his fingers through, that tinkled like piano notes when he touched them. He always woke up feeling warm, and happy, and loved.

Well, at least it was better than Alex, who dreamed of crashes. No wonder the poor guy had anxiety.

Sometimes, Reggie wondered if his true love was an astronaut. But then, what astronaut would want a schmuck like him, walking dogs while trying to get their band off the ground. For a short while, he thought for sure the handsome baker at the coffee shop was his true love, his soulmate. Why else would he always put little star sprinkles on his donuts? Until he introduced Reggie to his wife, Estrella.

Reggie kind of gave up after that. He didn’t want to mess up again and lose something more important than a great coffee shop because he was too embarrassed to go back. What if his next not-soulmate worked at the music store and he got it in his head they were the one because they got a tattoo with a star, or something?

It was going to happen when it was going to happen, he thought. That’s how soulmates worked. No point worrying about it.

So he wasn’t looking anymore, that New Year’s Eve. They’d booked a killer gig in the Trevor Wilson’s mansion. Sadly, as Reggie discovered on Instagram, Trevor Wilson himself wasn’t going to be there, off at some Hollywood party, but his daughter’s band was doing a thing too and Alex loved them from the second Reggie showed him the videos.

So they played their gig, and Alex danced along to Dirty Candi, and apparently he was so enthusiastic they were invited to stay instead of having to scram before midnight. Hey, who were they to turn that down? So Alex got to dance and Luke got to gape at all the pretty guitars hung on the wall and Reggie got to... well, he wasn’t sure yet. He avoided the drinks stations with actual real life mixologists, though he did score some wicked awesome snacks. There didn’t seem to be a dog or a cat he could befriend (his go-to at parties), so he made his way outside. He bet the view of the fireworks would be killer out here. Rich people probably had all kinds of illegal stuff, and you could see pretty far along the coast from here.

Two girls were messing around with sparklers outside, trying to make a heart with them while the other took their picture. Then they swapped. Reggie tried not to be a creep, but he did crane his neck just a little to see how it had turned out on the girl with the braids’ phone.

Except she caught him, and pointed at him. He was about to stammer an apology, when she said: “Hey, pretty boy, can you take our picture?”

“Oh, uh, sure!” he said, fumbling as she shoved the phone at him. He waited until they both lit their sparklers again, and grinned when they each made half a heart. “That was awesome!” he called, showing them the picture. “You nailed it on the first try.”

The girls high-fived. The one with the curly hair bit her lip, smiling. “In that case, we have some sparklers left over. You want one?”

Alex would kill him for playing with fireworks. He wanted to say he was banned after The Firecracker Incident when they were fourteen, but it was just a sparkler, right? Besides, he wanted to look cool in front of these cute girls. “Sure!”

He took a sparkler, beaming when the girl lighted her own first, holding it out for Reggie to light his.

When their sparklers touched, Reggie... well, later he would say that he saw stars. All of a sudden he felt warm, and happy, and loved. All of a sudden, he understood all his soulmate dreams. All of a sudden, he didn’t just see stars, he felt them, inside of him, sparkling and shining and burning bright like a supernova. 

He looked up at the girl in front of him, so beautiful in the fading glow of their sparklers. “It’s you,” he breathed.

“You’re... you’re my soulmate,” she whispered, before flinging herself at him, catching him in a hug. He hugged her back, laughing, spinning her around, feeling the stars bubbling up inside him, dancing around them, her giggle tinkling like piano notes.

Now that he understood his soulmate dreams, he wouldn’t have them any other way. Julie was his star, burning bright, guiding him home, making him feel warm, and happy, and loved. She was his soulmate.

[andvys]

Longing (part 1)

Warnings: “enemies” to lovers type of thing, slow burn, cocky!ellie, alcohol consumption

Pairing: Ellie Williams x reader

Ellie always thought you were the prettiest girl she’s ever seen in her life, you had the most beautiful eyes, the way they would always get lighter in the sun and the way they would always light up whenever you were happy about something. She loved how you would always put your hair into a braid and would still have strands of hair fall in front your eyes, you’d always put them behind your ears only for them to get loose again and fall in front of your eyes once more. She loved how fierce and badass you are, always ready for any situation. You are one of the best fighters in Jackson despite your age. Having seen it herself when you patrolled together, you fought skillfully, making Ellie wonder about where you have learned to fight like that. Anytime something went wrong or someone would say something about hunters or a horde of infected coming Jackson’s way, you’d always be first to volunteer to go and get rid of them. The way you held yourself, Ellie was sure that you could actually get rid of a group of people before they’d even make it to the gates of Jackson. She would never underestimate you. You really were a fascinating person.

If you just weren’t such a bitch.

You were nice to everyone but to her, well except for Seth. Always getting into a fight with the older man.

You weren’t necessarily mean to Ellie but you weren’t exactly nice either, you were sarcastic and feisty with her and you loved to push her buttons but you weren’t as good at it as she was, Ellie always had the upper hand in your little banters and she teased the hell out of you, leaving you annoyed making her smirk every time. She’d also jokingly flirt with you or make dirty jokes, leaving you uncomfortable or at least that’s what Ellie thought. She just loved getting on your nerves.

Dina would always try to convince Ellie that you actually liked her and you just had a funny way of showing that. Ellie would laugh at that every time, she knew you had some sort of resentment towards her for whatever reason.

You wanted to be friends with the girl you really did but something about her annoyed the hell out of you and she made you feel weird. You constantly bickered like little kids and you seemed to have a stand off every time you were patrolling together. She just pissed you off.

“You going to the dance tonight kid?” Joel asked you. Right now you were cleaning the rifles and shotguns in the shed you kept them in. Having injured your shoulder while on patrol a few days ago you were off patrol for a few weeks. So you were assigned for keeping the weapons clean. You were annoyed at that, you had worse injuries before and still fought but Maria wouldn’t let you out, not wanting to risk your health. So here you were boring yourself to death, at least Joel came in to keep you company.

“Umm I don’t know, it’s not really my thing.” You said. Laying the rifle on the table you looked at the older man. Since he and Ellie came to Jackson he became something like a mentor to you. You respected the older man, you already learned more from him than your own father and he was there for you whenever you struggled with yourself.

“That’s what Ellie said too.” You avoided looking at him at the mention of Ellie. You thought, he assumed that you two must be friends, considering you’re in the same friend group. You didn’t even know they were talking again.

“She did?” You asked avoiding his eyes.

“Yes.” He studied your face. He was not stupid, anytime he’d bring up Ellie you got quiet and awkward same with Ellie she reacted the same way at the mention of you.

“Are you going?” You asked him, changing the topic quickly.

“Yeah and you should come too.” He said.

“We’ll see, do I get to have a drink?” You asked, giving him a hopeful smile. He never let you drink.

“Are you 21?” He asked giving you a pointed look.

“Ugh come on Joel, I’m 19 plus I’m allowed to blow up things and kill people and infected but I’m not allowed to have a drink every once in a while?” You said shaking your head.

Joel laughed at that “well maybe you can have a little.” He said.

“Finally, I wanna get drunk.”

“You’re allowed to drink but you’re not allowed to get drunk kid.” Joel said sternly.

“I’ll take what I can get.” Smiling at him. He got up and walked towards you, ruffling your hair.

“I gotta get going, I’ll see you at the dance.”

“Ugh, see ya.” You said annoyed at him for messing up your braid.

Stepping out of the little shed once you were done with your assignment you stood there enjoying the fresh air for a second after being in that shed all day.

Deep in thought you were looking down on your way home, not watching where you were going you ran into something or rather someone, almost falling down if it wasn’t the strong arms catching you by your waist, grabbing their arms you looked up at your savior only to realize that it’s Ellie still with her hands on your waist she had a cocky smirk on her face.

“Careful there (y/n), you almost fell for me.” Smirking at you.

You groaned at that, letting go of her arms you took a step back making her hands let go of your waist.

“Do you want me to escort you home? I don’t want you tripping and falling for someone else.” She said, teasing you

“No thanks Williams, now if you’ll excuse me.” You said, trying to walk past her only for her to step in front of you not letting you go yet, probably to annoy you some more.

“You going to the dance tonight?” Ellie asked. Studying your face.

“Yup.” You replied, looking down on your shoes, avoiding looking at her pretty face.

“Nice, I’ll be there as well.” Ellie said.

“I know, Joel told me.” Shit why did you just say that, you wanted to slap yourself now she knew you and Joel talked about her. Now she would think you’re interested in her, well you are but she doesn’t have to know that.

“Oh, talking about me with Joel when you could talk to me?” She teased.

“Whatever I’m gonna go now, see ya Williams.” You said, this time she stepped aside, letting you leave.

She watched you leave, deep in thought about you she didn’t notice Jesse appearing next to her, throwing an arm around her.

“Man you have it bad for our girl here.” Jesse said, smirking at her. He was aware of Ellie having some sort of feelings for you. It wasn’t hard to see that, Ellie always looked like a kicked puppy around you.

“Shut up, Jesse” Ellie said annoyed.

“She likes you too.”

“What?! No she doesn’t. I’m pretty sure she hates me.” Ellie said, looking down, she began walking away.

Jesse followed her. “She doesn’t hate you, I’ve seen how she acts around people she hates and you aren’t one of them.” He said.

“Well I- so what she likes me now?” She asked. Not believing that you could feel anything towards her but hate.

“She likes Dina and Joel or Tommy and Maria, I’m pretty sure she likes me too, I’m awesome.” Jesse smirked at the last part. “But you? I’d say there’s a little more than “like” Ellie.”

“Are you trying to tell me she has feelings for me?” Ellie laughed at that. Jesse was ridiculous and stupid if he thought you could have feelings for Ellie. Not that she didn’t wish for that but it was too good to be true.

“You know what they say about hate. Love and hate are two sides of the same coin.” Jesse confidently said.

Ellie laughed at that, “alright whatever.” She thought about that. She genuinely couldn’t see you liking her.

It was a little crowded at the dance once you got there. You usually avoided going to these things, not liking being around many people but Dina always made you come. Looking at you with her puppy eyes, you couldn’t say no to the girl.

Looking out for Dina and Jesse you weren’t able to find them. Huh she bugged you about being there on time but she herself wasn’t even here yet. Looking around you saw Ellie standing at the bar. You stared at her for a while.

Suddenly she looked your way, catching you staring at her she started smirking, rolling your eyes at her.

She waved at you to come over. You’d rather have Dina and Jesse be there as well, not trusting yourself to be around the girl without anyone around but you didn’t wanted to be alone so you walked over to her.

“Hey (y/n), if I didn’t know any better I’d say you were just checking me out from over there, that’s kinda creepy.” Ellie said with a teasing smile. Leaning against the bar.

Feeling embarrassed now you rolled your eyes.

“You wish, Williams.” You said sitting down on the bar stool next to her.

“What if I do?” She asked you, smirking.

“I- um.” Not knowing what to say you quickly changed the subject. “I need a drink.”

“I’ll get you something, wait here.” She left you alone.

“Alright, thanks I guess.”

Coming back she gave you the drink. Taking it from her hand your fingers touched for a second, avoiding her eyes you took a sip of the drink. Almost coughing at the taste, Ellie laughed at you.

“You never had whiskey did you?” She asked.

Shaking your head “you?” You asked curiously.

“Yeah.” Nodding at her words, you looked around.

Sitting in silence for a while, you watched all the couples dance. Feeling Ellie’s eyes on you the whole time. You glanced at her, noticing that her glass is empty, you figured it’d be a good opportunity to get away from her for a second.

“Should I get you a new one?” You asked her. “A drink I mean.”

“Uh sure.” She gave you her glass, you walked towards the bartender guy. Ellie had a chance to admire you from the side.

Waiting for the bartender to bring you your drinks, you saw someone heading your way from the side, turning to look who it was you saw it was Joel.

“Hey kid.” He pulled you in for a hug. He always gave the best hugs, they were always warm and safe.

“Hi Joel.” Smiling at him.

“I see you and Ellie are alone tonight.” He looked towards Ellie, who was taking a seat at one of the smaller tables, waiting for you.

“I- yeah. We are waiting for Dina and Jesse.”

“I’m afraid they’re not coming tonight. Haven’t they told you?” He asked.

“What? But I- they told us they’d be here.” You said confused. Why would they tell you come here if they weren’t even here.

“I talked to Jesse today, he said him and Dina are having a date tonight.” Joel said.

“Oh well, I didn’t know.” You laughed. Great now you it was just you and Ellie.

The bartender brought you your drinks, putting them in front of you hitting you with the smell of whiskey, you gave Joel a cheeky smile.

He put a hand on your shoulder, “drink responsibly kid, and take care of Ellie.” He said.

“Yes of course, I promise.”

“Alright, well go on and have fun.”

“Alright you too Joel, I’ll see you.” You smiled at him taking the drinks in both hands you walked over to Ellie. Setting them down on the table you sat down next to Ellie.

“Well it seems like our friends have ditched us.” You said annoyed.

“What?” Ellie furrowed her eyebrows at that.

“Yeah Joel said they have a date night.”

“Great.” Ellie suddenly felt nervous. Being alone with you would surely end bad, she was scared that she’d accidentally confess her stupid crush on you or something.

“I know we’re not friends or whatever but I feel like getting a few drinks, what about you?” You asked. Ellie hated that you didn’t even see her as a friend but you usually avoided her like the plague and you’d never ask her to hang out with you, a year ago you’d just leave if none of your friends were here but Ellie guessed you must’ve warmed up to her a little if you asked her to keep you company.

“Yeah sure.”

Throughout the whole night you and Ellie bickered about every little thing, sarcastically replying to everything the other would say. You definitely wouldn’t be friends anytime soon but you two did kind of enjoy this night.

You were currently walking home side by side. Having a discussion about weapons. Arriving in front of your home, you talked for a few more minutes, fighting on which weapon is the better choice, in any situation.

“Alright, whatever Williams you’re right, I’m wrong.” You said, rolling your eyes at the girl. Walking backwards to your door.

“You know I’m right (y/n)!” Ellie said teasing you.

“Go home Williams!”

“Yes ma’am.” Ellie grumbled, turning around she started to walk back home.

Ellie thought about this night. It was the first time you willingly spent time alone with her. She enjoyed it even if you were still your usual sarcastic self, she still enjoyed it. Hoping to see more of you, without having the rest of your friends around. She liked to be alone with you, not that she would admit it to anyone.

[blackbutlerfandomnerddomain]

May I have fluff headcanons for the dads from dream daddy with the dadsona?

Got ya!

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

☕ Mat Sella 🎶

- These two go to concerts whenever money isn't tight

- Whenever Dadsona is down Mat would sing to him while holding him and sometimes this would lead to awkward slow dancing in the room they're in. Yes, even the bathroom

- Whenever Mat's anxiety gets too much or is down Dadsona does whatever he could to make him feel better. Favorite music? Done. Awesome dishes made by your's truly? Perfect! Pot? Pffft, nothing stops Dadsona to make this man feel better

- Dadsona and him do duets during Open Mic, stuff like Monster by Dodie to Falling Slowly

- Writing random songs is a favorite between the two cause they can simply goof-off yet somehow make a bomb song

🎣 Brian Harding 🎣

- Fishing. Lots of it

- They watch a lot house flipping shows

- I feel Brian would try and convince him to grow a beard

- Pokemon nicknames

- The two knows each of their family recipes by heart

- Brian's a cuddle bear

🍆 Robert Small 🍺

- Wanna bet if a bar has a karaoke part they'd be there singing random songs

- Hear about haunted locations they're down to spend about a weekend to hang out

- With that they have several saving jars for their top haunted or spooky places

- "Best At Hide And Seek" Big Foot shirts and "I've seen the Moth Man" shirts is just one of many gifts

- Dadsona has helped Robert with his drinking and self loathing when they officially started dating

- Dadsona has full on bought/made Robert a Mothman plush that smells like jasmine or lavender and Robert nuzzles it whenever he's stressed and away from Dadsona

🦇 Damien Bloodmarch 🥀

- Dadsona braids his hair sometimes

- As mentioned in the Damien, Lucien, and Dadsona post yesterday the two attend the gardens a lot and both help at the shelter

- Dadsona draws Damien a lot (The Dadsona I made was very much a artist and writer)

- Goth poem reading nights are the two favorite dates that isn't a hauntingly beautiful candle lit dinner with deep red wine

- Damien gives Dadsona soft kisses against his neck lace while Dadsona gives his fingers and knuckles smooches back

- Any form of Victorian and/or Gothic movie/documentary the two HAVE to watch it right away and a few times after

- They often use the vows from Corpse Bride whenever they're extra flirty

🏃‍♂️ Craig Cahn 🏕️

- Craig and Dadsona go to the bating cages after or without drinking some alcohol

- I see them going on beautiful hikes and visits of the zoo

- In one or two dates they went to their college town and go on dream dates the two weren't able to do since they were dating others

- You know those scenes in romance movies where the two lovers break into a closed pool and have a fun time maybe sipping some beers or drinks while they splash around and maybe kiss? They've that for sure. Maybe even at that water fall

- They at times dare each other in a goofy and/or flirty way like "I bet you can't kiss me without fainting bro" or "Bro, bet I can't bench you?"

📚 Hugo Vega 📖

- Dadsona and him kisses once or twice in the museum or bookstore

- Dadsona cried during Les Miserable and Hugo comforted his ugly crying mess

- Dadsona helps Hugo with grading sometimes

- He chaperone field trips and dances a lot

- These two watch a lot of historian documentary

- Hugo often recommends Dadsona some books whenever they're just alone or a day before a date

- It's thanks to Hugo that Dadsona now owns a lovely Dead Poet Society type suit and sometimes call him "Oh Captain, my captain."

🛥️ Joseph Christansen ✝️

- Dadsona was there to help him through every step of him and Mary's divorce and the three all remained pretty good friends after the finalization

- During one yacht trip they copied the scene from Titanic

- Scratch that, a lot of scenes from Titanic

- They both do Church and/or Youth related bake sales a lot

- Due to the obvious stuff, Joseph had a while to come out of his divorce and new relationship, but Dadsona was there to help him through it yet again and that alone gave Joseph a lot of courage to hold his hand after every sermon

- Whenever the church gets a homophobic/transphobic/biphobic/panphobic/acephobic person or rumor Joseph and Dadsona will go out of their way being cute with each other and loving to their kids

- I like to think after the divorce Dadsona helped Mary find a wonderful person

- Joseph kisses Dadsona's temples and the center of his palms while Dadsona kisses the bridge of his nose and behind his shoulder and/or his tattoo area whenever they don't kiss on the lips

ALL THE DADS

- Whenever Dadsona is sad or lonely they all cuddle him with each bringing stuff to make him feel better, examples being cookies from Joseph and Damien's warmed coat etc.

- They all have a special plan with dates from either certain days or different moments of one day

[le0watch]

reki watches as langa pulls at the long strands of her in frustration, her right foot still in place on the top of her board. reki tilts her head to the side, watching the way she runs her fingers through thick strands of blue hair, her eyes shut with her annoyance. "it's so long," langa muttered, jyst loud enough for reki to hear. reki's own hair is a mess, as always, and is being held back by her signature headband. she also slid in a few hair pins to keep the more defiant bits back as well. "maybe i should get it cut."

reki frowns deeply at the idea. she loves langa's hair, especially with how long and luscious it is. it was one of reki's favorite attributes on her best friend, and how well it brought out her icy blue eyes and her pale white skin. it frames her face nicely, and two strands fall over her face on both sides.

she pulls at the ponytail holders on her wrist absentmindedly- she always keeps some just incase her headband wasn't working. then, an idea forms in her mind and she pushes to her feet, approaching langa. langa pauses in her frustrated but quiet complaints to look at her.

"here, let me help," reki said, moving to stand behind her. she halts, and when reki starts running her own fingers through her hair, her hands drop to her sides. she bends her knees a little to make the process easier for reki, her cheeks a light red. which was cute, though reki wasn't sure why she's blushing. maybe she was getting hot. "i'll braid it."

she focuses on pulling the correct amount of hair strands to the proper places. she takes a moment to appreciate just how soft and silky langa's hair is, too, and faintly smells the shampoo she uses: a mixture of pine and mint. which fits her so so well, and becomes one of reki's favorite smells in an instant.

reki gently guides long strands of blue hair to and from, twisting them together. she makes sure to keep them tight, but doesn't pull too hard. langa stays silent in front of her, the pink tint on her pale cheeks remaining. reki should grab her some water once she was finished; just to make sure she wasn't overheating.

she finishes the first braid, tying it with a ponytail holder and tossing it over langa's shoulder. she then moves to the other side to continue with the motions. they'd fallen into a comfortable silence, with reki sticking her tongue out in concentration while langa sits incredibly still, fingers twisting in the fabric of the yellow skirt she's wearing today. reki really likes seeing her in skirts. maybe it was because of the fat crush she has on her or maybe just because she looks great in them, she wasn't completely sure. she's just glad she has a pair of spandex on underneath, so that when she's skating she doesn't reveal anything.

when she skates wearing a skirt, reki almost becomes entranced, watching the fabric billow this way and that over her legs, lightly brushing the skin of her thighs. reki doesn't personally like to wear skirts- only on days she was feeling more feminine, which were rare- but she could definitely appreciate them when langa wears them. reki mostly wears pants and shorts, both kinds ripped all over, infuriating the teachers at school.

she finishes the second braid, and brings it over langa's other shoulder. then, she steps to langa's front to look her work over. the braids are still long enough to drop over her chest, the tips just reaching her stomach. reki didn't miss any strands of hair, too, so there aren't any stray bits sticking out like porcupine needles. the pink flush was still present on her cheeks as she nervously picked at the hem of her shirt, now, which reki finds adorable.

"that help?" reki asked. langa nods, so reki grins widely. "good. that means you don't have to cut, right?"

langa looks at her shyly through her lashes. "do you not want me to?" she asked, just about a mutter. reki tilts her head to the side.

"not really," reki replied honestly, and langa's eyes widen. the blush darkens in color, but somehow stays only on her cheeks. reki needs to find her a waterbottle. "i like your hair, i think it's pretty."

langa's eyes only widen further, and she bites her bottom lip, teeth pulling at the chapped skin. reki should also buy her some chapstick, since her lips were constantly dry and chapped. she'd taken notice of this fact, since she always somehow ends up staring at them. which was a problem. since they're friends. and she should not feel the constant urge to lean in and kiss her-

"okay," langa said, helpfully pulling reki from her spiraling thoughts. the taller girl runs a finger along the top of her braid, feeling the intricate bumps and curves. reki almost pouts, remembering their height difference. why does langa have to be so tall, while shes so short? how did langa end up being 6'1 while reki got stuck with being 5'9? it wasn't fair. probably the white person dna or something. she hardly reaches the other girl's chest, though she wasn't complaining about that view. "i won't cut it."

reki grins, and nods eagerly. "awesome!!" she exclaimed, and then gestures to the board. "come on, i'll show you how to rail slide."

langa nods just as eagerly, and they both hop on their boards. reki forgot to get her a waterbottle.

[with-my-murder-flute]

by the sword (Nile genfic, 2.6k)

Fic summary: Nile learned fencing and longsword and hand-to-hand fighting long before she ever met Andy's small army. But learning with them is a new form of difficult. Not because they've got thousands of years more experience (though they do), but because this time the practice doesn't stop when somebody gets hurt.

So she has to learn about war and how you balance it out with peace. Figure out how they do it and who she wants to be. And decide which weapons suit her best.

Content notes: Explicit depiction of the injuries Nile gets when training in knife fighting and quarterstaff combat with Nicky and Joe. There are also discussions of the physical damage done by different kinds of weapons, the butchering of animals, and people cutting off their own body parts in industrial accidents. (Oh, and a positive/sympathetic portrayal of Nile as a Christian)

They promised that in March they'd start teaching Nile how to fight with a sword, but when March came, Nicky gave her a knife.

A hauntingly familiar one, even though she'd never touched it before. For a second she thought it was her own, the Ka-Bar she planted in Andy's shoulder the day they met. Instead, as she turned it over, finding it familiar in every groove and contour, she found it an anonymous and identical match to her dad's instead. Not new, with the black paint worn down around the edges of the handle, but not a knife she knew. It could have been used by any Marine in the world except her. Except her father.

"You know too much," Joe explained from the side of the hangar, where he'd tumbled an umbrella stand of swords out onto a tarp and started removing their rust with fine-grit sandpaper. "We're not knights or cavaliers. For them, swordfighting was about honour. There were rules. We don't have any of that."

Nile knew going into this that nothing she knew so far was real swordsmanship. Like yes, she could fence; she'd competed in foil and saber for two years as a teenager. But that was closer to stagefighting than actual combat. It was all so staged and carefully managed. Even in her longsword league they said over and over again, it was a martial sport, not actual combat. They could imagine what it might have been like—could land heavy blows on armour, could mime falling down dead—but that wasn't the reality of it.

It seemed to her that the purpose of beginning with knife-fighting lessons was to go over territory she already knew, and do it for real this time. Nicky said he had something else in mind, some principle of combat he meant to teach. But that wasn't what Nile noticed.

What Nile noticed was that this time, she really died.

The old people argued it over, about how to teach Nile. Andy's example made them newly-cautious, but this was the way they'd always trained: You had to do it through blood and pain, you had to fight when you were still resurrecting. It was the way Andy and Quynh had trained Nicky and Joe.

Nile wondered, in the back of her mind, if being trained like that had something to do with the way Booker... well, Booker. After he'd already had such terrible experience of war that he'd wanted to desert. But that was the kind of thing she didn't air out loud, because they'd only just stopped having that kind of useless, circular, self-flagellating argument. She figured she'd keep her own peace on Booker.

She also opined, after hearing them wrangle over it for a day or two, that she'd rather practice with live weapons and get injured among friends than play it safe and incur a dangerous injury among enemies.

And when the knife fighting started, she was grateful they hadn't moved directly to longswords.

They taught knights how to do this, Nicky said, by having them slaughter and butcher animals. It taught you your way around muscles and tendons and joints. He offered to take her to a bullfight sometime, which she didn't say sounded so barbaric she had to wonder why PETA bothered with picketing rodeos.

He said that after her trachea healed over. She hadn't actually died that time; you had to aim further up or to the side to get the carotid artery. But the horror—not actually the pain, but the horror of feeling the air wheeze through the gash in her throat—had been so overwhelming that she'd barely resisted the pin he got her in. She'd just shuddered with her arms behind her back and his weight pressing her down until it healed, and tapped out of the rest of the afternoon. He'd been understanding when she didn't want to be around him for a bit, and let Joe gather her into a hug and let her cry.

That was when he told her about the bulls. She told him about Chicago's meatpacking district, about the old men she knew who'd butchered hogs every day of their lives for decades. About how they said they got numb to it, until one day one of them cut off his thumb with a machine and didn't feel it, until the guy next to him looked over and noticed all the new blood. About how after you see too much violence, your brain just stops processing it. About how a study on kids in the next neighbourhood over from hers had shown they had permanently elevated levels of cortisol, a sign that their bodies were under stress all the time and didn't know how to calm down.

Those were the kind of conversations Andy couldn't stay in the room for. She slunk off somewhere and got drunk, and you saw her the next morning, maybe. Nile used to judge her a lot more for it, but the day her throat got cut she let Joe and Nicky feed her a red wine as soft as velvet and fell asleep pressed against Joe on the sofa and understood, deeper than words, just how much keeping sane meant feeling anything other than your body shattering into pain.

Nicky braided her hair, the next day. Slow and careful, a little unpracticed, singing ballads in a language that wasn't exactly dead, but only had a few thousand speakers left in northern Italy. Their composer hadn't been good, exactly, but they'd been snowed into a castle with him one winter in the 1680s, so Nicky remembered his entire repertoire. Nile listened to the music and knew he'd refuse if she offered to record it, or write it down. One of the songs felt like the length of a novel (but was, when she checked her phone, more like one hour twenty) and by the end of it she was singing the chorus along with him, and it occurred to her that she could simply ask him to teach her.

"You can't rescue every one you see," she remembered her mom saying, when she found a half-stunned bird on the sidewalk. That was what it felt like with languages.

That afternoon Andy took her to the market. Ostensibly it was for groceries, but Andy didn't do simple errands, especially not when it involved food. She stopped to smell fruit Nile had never heard of; Google told Nile that medlar and quince were related to apples and also, apparently, roses. Nile had to try pine nuts, wild mustard, and three different kinds of yogurt drinks, one of which tasted of roses. Andy protested when she added a bag of potatoes to the load, saying they were bland, but Nile, who'd had enough of turnips, sweetly told her to pay the fuck up.

If you were lonely, and hurting, and didn't have someone to hold you, you could comfort yourself like this. Sunshine and sweetmeats and the steady hands of friends. Something, but probably still not enough. Nile understood it but it made her chest ache. She felt, sometimes, a little glad that Andy would die someday, the way families felt helping someone keep alive from cancer. Of course you wanted them to be alive, but you didn't want them to suffer.

Joe moved her on to staff fighting the next day. It was, he said, not the most useful of weapons in the current day and age, since it was most useful against long bladed weapons, "And who else but us uses those?" But there was some kind of theoretical basis behind the progression of her teaching, from weapon to weapon, and after knife came staff.

To tell the truth, Nile liked it. She'd learned about quarterstaff in her longsword weapons, as something that could defeat a swordsman, but nobody anybody she knew actually practiced it, because while you could wear percussion-resistant cloth and keep safe with blunted swords, there was simply no defending your bones against the percussive strike of a giant whirling stick.

There was something less offensive about getting your skull split or your collarbone broken, compared to getting stabbed. Partly it was because Joe was just a much nicer teacher, slower and more patient, while Nicky would keep stabbing you as you fought to reach your own knife. But also it felt more impersonal, more like an accident that had happened to you.

Okay, and it was also more fun. Knives created small imaginary hemispheres of pain, the angle of the arm as it swept out. Quarterstaves were huge, so long that if you wanted to get around them, sometimes it was literally easier to flip yourself into the air or dump your opponent to the ground instead of getting the staff to move. The first time she managed to run up a wall to get leverage on him, it felt so awesome she didn't actually mind that much that he popped her shoulder out taking her back down.

It was bloody and violent and really would have been impossible if dying had been a significant barrier for them. It made Nile laugh in a high-on-endorphins way, because it felt like she could finally push past the pain and find a place beyond her limits. It felt like being free. Like all her life she'd been wearing a heavy armor of caution, knowing she'd had to keep herself alive, and now she just felt the lightness of taking it off.

There were tears at the back of that laughter, about everything she'd lost because of it, but she pushed that away and went to shower. She and Joe spent the evening on Youtube, watching videos of capoeira and wushu, while the other two made a batch of some kind of pickled egg they thought they remembered from three hundred years ago.

Nile hugged Andy sometimes, because she looked like she needed to be hugged. Andy almost never turned her down.

A long time ago, she thought she remembered, holding a sword had seemed to transport her to some other time. Some other place. Like the sword had been a tangible connection to the past, to a time when things felt... clearer, or truer, or more real somehow. Like the feeling the word "honour" gave her, of something echoing and amplifying through a vaulted space. There was a time when people fought with swords for what they believed in. There was a time when you knew what was right and what was wrong and laid down your life accordingly.

She'd been twelve and believed in fairytales. So sue her.

The swords in their armory spelled out a long story of misery and war. When she held them now, Nile felt like she could feel the bodies that had come into contact with their blades. Curved single-bladed sabers and scimitars, ideally wielded from horseback, meant for a decisive downward chop. Nicky's giant longswords, meant to peel an armored knight like a tin can. (He'd used it, he said, to similar effect on a tank once or twice.) Andy's axes showed her age; before they had the metallurgy to make an entire blade, it was better to use a wood polearm with a blade on the end, and focus the sharp metal to a curved edge, to as small a surface area as possible.

Andy's axes showed her age, but not theirs; they were less than ten years old. Steel, especially steel that came into contact with blood, aged fast enough (and could only take so much of a beating) that the old people knew and had opinions on all the modern replica manufacturers. The oldest blades in the collection were used at Waterloo, only a little more than 200 years ago.

(Nile wondered, as she polished one and rubbed a state-of-the-art hydrophobic finish on it, if the quarterstaff lessons were actually preparing her to fight Booker, should she ever find herself opposing him. It was the kind of thing she couldn't help but think about the logistics of. Surely firearms would be more effective, she initially reasoned, except... guns jammed, guns broke, guns overheated, guns ran out of bullets. And then your gun became a very expensive bludgeon. And you're facing a swordsman who's had 200 years to train. So... why not try a very big stick?)

She knew that even this team could betray her. Even they could fight for the wrong cause. They'd supported revolutions that turned into dictatorships and fought alongside people who turned out to be monsters. There was no promise, no moral certainty, in violence.

So she felt really stupid about it, but the truth was that holding a sword... still brought back that old emotion. That feeling of being capable of doing things. Fighting for a better world. It made her feel taller. It made her feel like her life had a purpose that she'd been heading towards since she was young.

Like God had called her for a special purpose.

Which she'd never say to any of the rest of them, since Andy had been a god and Nicky had been a holy warrior and Joe had broken down completely once, when they let him get too close to a newspaper. They'd only ever hear it with the weight of all the horror they had seen.

So instead she had to carry it as a private conviction, a calling she would have to follow by herself, her own career to make holy instead of horrific. Like when she joined the Marines. Freer, in some ways, but even more out of her depth, not sure she totally understood the situations she was injecting herself into.

The fact that she wasn't sure she ever could walk the path of righteousness and keep herself always on the side of good... was absolutely no inducement not to try. It never had been.

"Picked one yet?" Andy asked, from the door.

"What, you guys weren't gonna pick one for me?" Nile asked, craning her neck around. Andy had her hands buried in the pockets of her jacket, smiling faintly.

"Some things, nobody can pick for you," she said. She picked up one of Nile's polished sabers and admired the sheen along its blade. "Your last-ditch weapon, least of all."

Nile already had a secret favourite of all the swords, but what she found herself saying was, "I want us to do some training in de-escalation."

Andy looked aside from the blade. "Sorry?"

Nile took a deep breath, her heart suddenly pounding like crazy. "That's what I was trained in, aside from combat. De-escalating conflicts. When I was a security guard, we... I got a course on mental health crisis from a guy who does hostage negotiation. I want... we should practice it."

She was ready to be seared by Andy's instant, caustic sarcasm. By a reminder that they were a specialist unit brought in when negotiation failed. Instead Andy looked back at the sword, twisting it to catch the light. "Was it useful?"

"Yeah," Nile said, trying not to let the breath shudder out of her in one long exhale. She didn't want Andy to know how nervous she'd been. "There's a... a lotta conflicts that don't have to turn violent, if you just approach it in..." She ran out of steam for an instant, and shrugged. "If you know how to respond."

"See if there's a webinar," Andy said, which flabbergasted Nile so much—coming from Andy!—that she didn't have anything to say while Andy set the saber down and sauntered back out of the building.

Nile sat for a good long while after that, surrounded by swords on a floor stained with her own blood, and got her breathing under control. Eventually she took her knife out of its sheath and looked it over.

It felt silly, to take a sacred oath on a Ka-Bar knife.

"I swear to almighty God," she said to it, anyway, "that I will use you as my last resort. Not my first."