#stay tuned to see which one resolves first

[gaslightgirlsummer]

f1 and motogp now having their own instagramfollowgates is so amusing to me. especially with both of them facing the same impasse despite being vastly different situations: both parties (max & charles and pecco & marc) are way too fucking stubborn to be the first one to cave in and hit that follow button

[wildrangers]

The Planets and the Fates and All the Stars Aligned // William Nylander

Word Count: 3.5K

Summary: The three times Willy almost asked you out and the one time he finally did

{This is my submission for the lovely @jackhues for The Winter Fic Exchange 2k24, organized by the amazing @wyattjohnston!}

Warnings/tropes: mutual pining, poor communication, resolved (minor) angst, fluff, cursing, drinking

You were grateful that Auston was taking you under his wing following your big move to Toronto—seriously. It was better to be at a New Year’s Eve party where you knew all of one person rather than alone in your apartment. Though…there were a lot of loud drunk men at this party which wasn’t your favorite vibe. You’d much prefer enjoying a nice cocktail with a view of Toronto over being stuffed in one of Tony’s teammate’s suburban homes. But really—you were grateful for Auston and this somewhat odd built in social network that came with him.

You were drawn from your thoughts by a cheer from the pong table and you couldn’t help but chuckle at the intense excitement of the younger guys currently facing off there. You flipped your wrist around to see the time again just as a large, familiar hand landed on your shoulder.

“That’s at least the fifth time you’ve checked the time since we got here…what, an hour ago?” Auston teased, grinning as he took the seat next to you.

“It’s only the fourth” you grumbled making Auston raise his hands in surrender.

“My apologies for the slander, miss.”

You rolled your eyes and jostled your shoulder into his before settling your head there instead. “I’m just tired from the move and everyone here seems very…extroverted?” you tried, not wanting to speak poorly of the group you barely knew.

“Look, I get it” he replied, ruffling your hair gently. “Can I please get you a drink now? At least your hands will be busy then.”

You nodded against his shoulder before raising your head so he could go grab your favorite drink. You were surprised when his place was quickly filled by a blonde-haired boy with mischievous blue eyes.

“You must be Julia, I’m Willy” he smiled, offering his hand for you to shake. You smirked, gripping his hand in your own. You were not, in fact, Julia, but this should be entertaining.

“Nice to meet you, Willy. I hope Auston hasn’t said anything too horrific about me.”

“Oh no, nothing like that. I just wanted to make sure I talked to you before things got too serious with him.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I mean a gorgeous girl like yourself should know that I am available and a much, much better catch” he stated confidently and you threw your head back with laughter.

“Well, I may as well hear the sales pitch now” you smirked, pleasantly surprised by the tipsy man before you.

“I mean first of all” he said, simply pointing to his hairline, which drew a gasp from your mouth as you whacked his arm, “I’m just saying!”

“What are you ‘just saying’ to my cousin, William?”

Will’s blue eyes widened as he processed Auston’s words. “Wait so you’re…not Julia?”

Auston handed you your drink, “No, this is Y/N, weirdo. I was going to bring Julia to dinner tomorrow night but maybe I won’t now. How long did she have you going?”

“Long enough to put my foot in my mouth” he admitted and you smirked, pleased at the pink tinge rising to his cheeks. “But not so long that I can’t recover?” he questioned.

“Stay tuned” you replied, maintaining eye contact as you took a sip of your drink. Luckily, Auston was called away leaving just you two again.

“I swear, I’m not usually like that” he began and you tilted your head slightly.

“Like what?”

He seemed at a loss for words so you chuckled, “You’re fine, I’ll stop fucking with you now. You were just so confidently wrong, I had to see where things went.”

He chuckled to himself, “Confidently wrong is kind of a good summary for me actually…”

“The great William Nylander? No, I’d say most the time your confidence is probably just right.”

“You even knew who I was and still let me make a fool of myself?!”

You giggled and nodded, “I obviously know who you are, I watch as many of Ton’s games as I can. You’re usually playing in them too.”

“Wait, so rewind. You’re Tony’s cousin?”

“Not by blood, but yeah. We grew up together and our families are super close. He’s been trying to get me out here forever, so when a better job opened up in my company’s Toronto location, how could I say no?”

“When did you move?”

You jokingly checked your watch, “About eight hours ago now.”

“Oh well, welcome! I love it here.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah” he nodded, sipping his drink and you couldn’t help how your eyes were drawn to his mouth with the movement. “I moved around so much as a kid; this is the longest I’ve ever lived in one place. Minus summers in Sweden, obviously”

“I would love to go to Sweden” you admitted. “It looks so beautiful.”

As he began passionately talking about Sweden, conversation flowed seamlessly between you. He seemed genuinely interested in your answers to the questions he asked, eyes always remaining firmly on you in a way that made your stomach flip but also steadied you in the otherwise loud room.

You were dragged from your conversation as the countdown to the New Year began.

“Damn, it’s almost midnight already?” you questioned, checking your watch that had long since been forgotten.

“Guess so…do you want to ring in the New Year together?” Will asked and you were surprised by the tentative tone of his voice. Your eyes rose to meet his and you noted the nerves showing in the crinkle of his eyes.

“Yeah, sure” you smiled, scootching closer to him. “I have to admit, I’m surprised you didn’t seem confident I’d say yes.”

“I mean I wouldn’t want to come in too hot, making assumptions—that would be embarrassing, no?” he joked as he wrapped a tender arm around your shoulders.

“Of course, wouldn’t want to make that same mistake twice in one evening” you teased back and you earned a rich laugh from him that made your toes curl and you dipped your head to hide your grin. As the countdown entered single digits, your eyes rose to meet his again but he was focused somewhere just beyond your shoulder before turning his attention back to you.

“3…2…1…Happy New Year!” the room erupted but your world had shrunk to just you and Willy. You had a sneaking suspicion it had been Auston who briefly grabbed his attention from you, which was confirmed as he leaned in to place a gentle kiss to your cheek rather than going in for the kiss. You were disappointed until you felt his mouth brush your ear, sending a shiver down your spine, “Happy New Year, Y/N.”

***

Once Will had given the bottle of wine and his thanks to Mitch and Stephanie for hosting, his eyes were scanning the room for you. He’d been kicking himself for months since meeting you for not getting your number on New Year’s but Auston’s stern stare had scared him off, as embarrassed as he was to admit it. He just hadn’t wanted to risk his friendship with his teammate, or worse, make you uncomfortable since you’d just met. Plus, the firm “If you hurt her, you’re dead to me” lecture Auston had given him the next day at practice had driven the point home.

So, some combination of your new job and Auston’s protectiveness had kept you away from any team, family, and friends get together’s until now, just as the regular season was wrapping up. Just as he had begun to give up hope that he’d see you again, Mitch mentioned that Auston had RSVP’d for 3 people, you and a plus one that he assumed was whatever girl Tony was currently seeing. Will didn’t waste another minute before confirming his own attendance.

His heart sped up as he saw you chatting with Johnny, your body language so much more relaxed than when he met you months ago. He made his way to you and when your eyes met his, the broad grin you sent his way knocked him out.

“Willy!” you called, standing to greet him with a warm hug.

“Hey, it’s been too long, how have you been?” he asked, pulling away just far enough to take you in. “You look beautiful tonight, of course.”

He was rewarded with a dip of your head as you hid your shy smile at his compliment, “I’ve been good, busy, so I’m glad Tony mentioned this dinner, it’s nice to see everyone.”

A long pause filled the air as he simply gazed into your warm, smiling eyes. “Hey Willy, I’m here too” his captain called from behind you and Willy laughed, greeting him with a handshake.

“Sorry man, it’s just been a minute since I’ve seen Y/N here” he shrugged sheepishly. John nodded, clapping him on the back, “Since New Year’s, yeah?”

Will shot him a questioning look but Johnny only smirked before walking off to chat with another group.

“Will, you’ve been having such an amazing season, I’m so happy for you” you smiled, settling back down in your seat and patting the spot next to you. He quickly sat where directed, pleased that the small couch made his outer thigh gently press into yours—he was even more content when you didn’t shift your leg away but closer to his.

“Thanks, I appreciate it. Just trying to gear up for the Playoff’s now. How have you been, settling in well?”

As you two caught up with small talk, he wracked his brain on how to ask you out without making it weird in case you said no. This conversation flowed just as well as your first and your sly humor shone through even more now that you seemed more at ease.

“I’ve missed seeing you at other parties like this” he admitted when the conversation naturally lulled.

“I think Auston may have refrained from inviting me to a few” you admitted, rolling your eyes. “And then the last few just didn’t work with my schedule. I was happy when Ton mentioned you’d be here tonight though.”

“Yeah?” he asked, hopeful as his heart began pattering more intensely.

“Yeah” you grinned, knocking your shoulder into his. “I really enjoyed hanging with you last time.”

“Me too” he smiled, taking in the genuine joy on your face. “I was actually wondering…”

He trailed off as he saw your eyes shift behind him and widen. “Jake!” you called, standing up and waving over an unfamiliar guy who wrapped you in an embrace and quickly pecked your cheek.

“Hey pretty lady, sorry I’m a little late. The subway got delayed” he replied, tucking a strand of your hair behind your ears. “Is this Will?”

As introductions were made, Will’s heart sank as he realized your boyfriend was the plus one, not Auston’s girl. It looked like he’d missed his chance with you after all.

***

You worked your way through the crowd, pausing as people you’d grown close to since your move to Toronto stopped you to chat. Johnny and his wife were hosting the start of the season party, welcoming everyone back to Toronto after being wherever they called home in the off season. You were hoping Will would be here but had refrained from asking Auston to avoid his eye rolls and protective bullshit.

When you’d seen Will at that spring party, you couldn’t admit to him that you’d partially been avoiding him. Not because you didn’t like him, but the opposite—you’d felt so drawn to him on New Year’s only to have Auston insert himself in the middle of things. After enough time had passed, you’d finally let your coworker set you up on that blind date with Jake. Who was nice but had basically been wiped from your mind when you’d met Will’s eyes across the room that second night.

You’d let yourself get wrapped up in the press of his leg on yours, the intense focus of his eyes as you caught up. Had allowed yourself to slip into the flirtation that had flowed so naturally between you during your first meeting. Until Jake had arrived, and you’d noted Will deflate before excusing himself.

You’d seen him a few times since then but he kept a wide berth, which you understood. But it had sucked and drove home that as nice as Jake is, he wasn’t the one for you. Which is why, several months out from that split, you were determined to make your move on Will—enough with waiting.

You grabbed a drink and surveyed the room, heart fluttering as you heard Willy’s signature laugh from across the room. He was talking with a younger guy you didn’t recognize but you strode over anyway. “Will!” you called and he spun, wide-eyed, at your voice.

“Y/N?” he smiled uncertainly but you just pulled him into a tight embrace.

“How was your summer? Tell me all about Sweden” you grinned, quickly introducing yourself to the rookie beside him who made himself scarce.

“Sure, but you seem…different” he noted, scanning your form as if he could find the answer there.

“Do I? I mean, not much has changed except Jake and I broke up” you offered and his eyes widened slightly.

“I’m sorry?” he offered.

“Don’t be. He was nice but it just wasn’t it, you know?”

He nodded, eyes skimming around the room before pulling out his phone. “Here, let me show you some photos from back home.”

You leaned into the comfort of his warmth, your eyes either taking in each photo he selected to show you or tracing the familiar lines of his face as he swiped through his camera roll. He was just so beautiful.

“It looks like a great summer, are you bummed to be back?” you joked and he chuckled, shaking his head.

“No, I always love coming back to Toronto—this is home too” he replied, eyes boring into yours. You couldn’t help yourself as you reached up to sweep a strand of hair that had fallen into his face, your hand lingering there, cupping his cheek.

“Y/N…” he breathed and you were surprised when his eyes left yours to once again scan the room. His phone lit up, drawing your attention, just as he began. “I actually am…”  

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry” you cut him off, drawing your hand back, eyes fixed on his lock screen—a gorgeous shot of him with a beautiful woman tucked into his side.

His gaze followed yours and he quickly locked his phone screen, mouth forming a hard line. “No, I’m sorry. I should have been up front but whenever I see you, I just…”

“You just what?” you asked quietly, unable to stop yourself.

“I can only think of keeping you close. Even when I know I can’t, so I’m sorry.”

You sadly shook your head forcing a smile, “No, I did the same thing to you, didn’t I? I get it. I hope she makes you happy Will, have a great season” you assured him, squeezing his shoulder before excusing yourself from the party altogether.

***

Will wasn’t one to believe in fate but it seemed like the stars may be finally aligning as he entered Auston’s apartment to celebrate New Year’s Eve. He’d done his homework this time, enlisting Steph to make sure you weren’t seeing anyone. After your last encounter, his fledgling relationship hadn’t lasted long—not when all he could think about was you. That wasn’t fair to her, so he’d broken things off and thrown himself into the season. It was a contract year for him, he had to focus. But that focus didn’t stop him from noting that some of his best games were ones where he knew you’d be in the crowd.

Will wandered over to the large windows filling Ton’s living room, taking in the city skyline. He’d done a few laps but had yet to see you. Truth be told, he wasn’t in much of a party mood—he just wanted to see you. So, he wondered off from the main party down the hallway to what he knew to be Ton’s guest room for some quiet. He didn’t hear any noise from behind the door so he gently opened it, startling when he saw you curled up on the bed.

You hadn’t noticed the door opening, your head buried in a book with Taylor Swift playing softly from your phone. He took a moment to enjoy the sight before him—you, dressed to the nine’s, feet wrapped in fuzzy socks, eyes fervently scanning the pages before you, heels forgotten beside him by the door.

“Y/N?” he spoke softly, as to not startle you but you jumped anyway.

“Will?” you questioned, your head tilting to the side. “What are you doing here?”

“The New Year’s Eve party, silly, what are you doing locked away in here looking so beautiful?”

He was thrilled when you ducked your head, trying to hide the flattered smile that bloomed on your face. “Promise not to laugh.”

“Scout’s honor” he promised, settling on the foot of the bed.

“I’m on the last book of this fantasy series and I just wanted to make sure everyone got through the battle okay” you chuckled, holding up your nearly finished book. “I said hi to everyone but when I didn’t see you, I just wondered in here to try and finish it before midnight.”

“Well, is everyone safe and sound? I wouldn’t want to disturb you” he teased lightly and you rolled your eyes.

“Yeah, I have like ten pages left” you chuckled. “I’ll come out and join the party in a few, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry” he shrugged, standing up but then stopped himself. “Would you actually care if I hung in here with you? I’m not in much of a party mood.”

“Sure” you beamed, scooting over on the bed to make room for him beside you. He slipped his shoes off, crawling up the bed to settle into your side, arm wrapped around your middle as you lifted your book.

“Is this okay?” he questioned quietly and you hummed in answer.

“Here, just lay down—that way I can rest my book on your shoulders” you motioned towards your lap and he didn’t have to be told twice, settling his head on your satin covered thighs.

A comfortable silence filled the room, broken only by you flipping the pages of your book. Will could stay this way forever, your scent wrapped around him, his breathing slowing to match your own.

As he began drifting off, you closed the book and set it aside. He felt your focus shift fully to him but he kept his eyes closed, not wanting to break this peaceful spell. He could have purred when your fingers gently ran through his hair, lightly massaging his scalp whenever your hand returned to the top of his head.

“I’m single” he murmured, nuzzling deeper into your lap.

“I know” you answered and he turned to look up into your eyes, confusion evident there judging by your chuckle. “I asked Stephanie.”

He let out a loud laugh, gently taking your hand in his own, “I may have done the same thing” he admitted, causing you to snort and shake your head.

“So, what does that mean?” you asked quietly.

“Hopefully, it means that when I ask you out, you’ll say yes” he questioned, nerves oddly not coming to his stomach. He knew how long you both had wanted this, the timing just never being quite right.

“Well, I can’t wait to say yes then” you smiled, leaning down to press a gentle kiss to his brow bone as your alarm rang from the nightstand. “Oh, time to get up, it’s 11:55.”

He shifted in response, sitting up and stretching, attempting to smooth out his shirt.

“Here” you offered walking towards him, heels firmly on your feet. He paused his fussing, allowing you to straighten his collar and smooth out the wrinkles that had developed on his chest. Your hand gently ran through his hair, settling down any stray hairs that had fallen out of place. “All better. Do I look alright?”

“You look perfect” he said honestly, rising off the bed and wrapping an arm around your shoulder. As you both exited the room, he marveled at how perfectly you fit there, tucked into his side.

The countdown had begun and Will’s eyes scanned the room, noting Auston immediately finding the two of you in the crowd.

“He’s intolerable” you mumbled, eyes also falling on Tony across the room. As the crowd counted down from ten, a giggle rose in his throat as you jokingly raised your middle finger to your cousin before turning back to him.

His hands settled on your hips, pulling you flush against him as your hands cupped his jaw, thumb caressing his cheek. With the New Year beginning, your lips finally met his and he wound his fingers through your hair to pull you closer. As your mouths moved in perfect harmony together, the rightness of this moment settled around him.

As the crowd picked back up again, he pulled away, resting his forehead against yours. “Can I take you out to dinner tomorrow night?”

“You have a game tomorrow, silly” you answered, chuckling. “But you can take me out the next night.”

A/N: I hope y'all enjoyed! Please forgive any typos, I am in fact working through a concussion currently. It turns out writing for Willy has become one of my new favorite things to do. Always happy to hear feedback :)

[wings-of-ink]

Hear ye, hear ye!

All of you who have been anxiously awaiting Chapter 4 can send a big thank you to the Microsoft mayhem that happened on Friday. Because of it, I have had two entire, unprecedented, days off of work during which all I did was write and edit chapter 4! Stuff like this never happens to me either, so I ate it up. My work computer is still super broken too, so who knows what will happen tomorrow, lol.

So, chapter 4, barring anything disastrous that I do not yet foresee – is coming very soon. Like, any day this week soon. For now, I am looking for bugs and other errors until I feel comfortable getting the update loaded. I will also be updating the warning list and some things on the itch page. I keep feeling like I'm forgetting something I wanted to do, and am having a hell of a time remembering what it was…

Anyway, if it interests you, more details below!

In going through some of the Google Error Reports, I had a couple that I either could not resolve or find.

It was reported that checking player stats in chapter 1 would not work – that it would flash only for a moment. I could not recreate this. If anyone else has seen this, please let me know.

In the end of chapter 2 where there are multiple ways to spend your time there seems to be some issues with how choices become unselectable after certain clicks and it just doesn't seem to function correctly. I have fixed the issues I have found, but could not recreate all of the instances that were reported. This section may get an overhaul in the future since I understand the coding a bit more now.

It was also reported that fonts are not changing. There is definitely a weird issue with this and it will take some time for me to sit down and hammer out. The fonts do change for me, but notably, I don't think they are switching to the correct font types. They don't even appear to be the same fonts from when I first starting this project, lol. This issue is on hold for now.

The last 2 bonus segments for the end of chapter 3 are being pushed aside for the time being. I kept finding myself feeling like I was hammering them into the chapter and it was a little exhausting. If I force it, it will be less enjoyable to read. The segments that are missing are the ones for hanging out with Zahn and Nathanael. Zahn's is easy to wiggle in elsewhere at least, but I'm not sure if Nathan's will make it in or not. We'll see, my motivation was purely for chapter 4, so now that it is ready to go, I'll have another crack at it before I drop or move them completely. They aren't super important to the story, but are just for fun (and if Oswin got his, it's only fair that Zahn gets theirs too). That last section of chapter 3 ended up way too long, so it may get adjusted later anyway.

As with any work in progress, I can't guarantee that your old saves will work. That's probably how we are going to have to roll for a bit until I really get things nice and smooth. Eventually, I will add an option to start from a later chapter and go through and make the (MANY) relevant choices to skip ahead. This may be implemented when Chapter 6 is ready to go since all the ROs will be available.

I also want to figure out how to implement named saves to make it easier for you to sort. I appreciate IFs that feature this, but I do not yet know how to do it, but I'm going to research. I like to play through with several MCs, and I'd like to offer enough info in the saves and/or Stats Menu that you can do this and easily know who you are playing as. Let me know what you would like most in the Player Stats Menu too. Note, that some options do not appear here until you choose them in the story.

Coming up…

Since Chapter 4 is down, I will soon be posting a big poll about future IFs. I've been compiling info for it here and there for a couple weeks on possible options for me to write in conjunction with God-Cursed. So, stay tuned for that in the coming days.

I will FINALLY get to my inbox in earnest as well! I will keep reaction asks paused until further notice since they take me the longest to answer. Feel free to still send in comments or quicker questions. If your question is too spoilery to answer, I will not be able to post about it.

Anyway, hope you are all doing well! I can't wait to see what you think of chapter 4. I hope you enjoy it. I'll get it out just as soon as I feel comfortable enough with it. ^_^

[chuuyasheaven]

“You look pretty in red, really.”

Notes: If you saw that one reblog, then you get it. (it was supposed to be about Dazai) but I miss my wife :(

Tags/TW: Chuuya Nakahara / fem!Reader, sub!Chuuya, dom!Reader, men in lingerie, short make-out sesh, dicc riding, probably bad grammar and lazy, petnames (f! and m!receiving), slight teasing?, praising kink (both ways), playin’ w/ his nipples!, porn w/out *any* plot, ooc!Chuuya, etc.

He was embarrassed, kind of pissed but embarrassed.

How couldn’t he be?

The things Chuuya does for you are crazy..

That’s why he was standing in front of you, in a dark red lingerie. It was pretty see-through, but it hugged his waist almost to perfectly..

“This is fucking ridiculous.”, Chuuya growled.

“It’s not. In fact, you look pretty in red, really.”, you said, he was truly beautiful like this. He was like a princess, your princess.

Chuuya was shooting you a glare, showing how stupid he thinks this is, but you just patted next you, signaling him to sit down. So he did.

You turned to him, sneakily placing your hand on his muscular thigh. “You should wear these more often, they look sexy on you, Chuuya..”, as if he wasn’t red earlier from embarrassment, now it was caused by you.

Getting closer to him you place a kiss on his lips, slowly positioning on his lap, he was starting to lose his composure.

Trying to resist, Chuuya fails, miserable even. “S-slow down, there’s no— mph!..baby, please listen just— mph-..fuck it.”, he gave up, just kissing back and giving into your intoxicated kisses.

He was completely fine with making out with you, but when you started to play with his nipples through his lingerie, he started to whimper.

“Oh, who knew that nipples are your ‘sweet spot’, hm?”, you teased, but Chuuya just kept on kissing you, hungrily.

Guessing he didn’t want you to stop, you continued as he also started to hold your waist. “—M-more, please..”, your boyfriend begged, more like whisper, into your ear as a form of desperation.

“You want more, baby? What you’d like me to do?”, you asked, waiting for his order.

“Ride me, p-please, I need it, princess..”, why deny him if he’s asking so nicely? So why not?

Getting rid of your bottoms, you get rid of his panties, setting his needy cock free, already leaking.

Placing yourself on top of him, slamming your body down on him, feeling himself enter Chuuya felt a wave of pleasure go through his body, which resolved into his cock twitching inside you.

“—Ah! F-fuck, feels so fuckin’ good, angel..”, he moaned, letting you know how sensitive he was right now.

“Such a good boy for me, aren’t you, darling?”, you praised him as you started to move a bit faster, wanting his cock to fill you up, also losing your dominance slightly.

“Faster, princess, I-i know you can..”, Chuuya said, trying to get his composure back.

You did speed up on your movements, which also made you find your sweet spot and hitting it repeatedly.

Now the both of you were getting close, dropping a few praises each and ‘I love you’s. This was so fucking euphoric, almost too damn heavenly.

It came crashing to Chuuya first, then you. It was quite intense, but who cares?

You got off his cock and laid beside him. He was still panting, but you giggled to yourself quietly.

“— Oh my, is my little princess exhausted?”

IM CLOSE TO 1k MEANING I WILL OPEN UP A EVENT SOON !! STAY TUNED GUYS !!! (ALSO TYSM) 🏃🏾‍♀️

[dailydragon08]

Closing The Tomb

Pairing: Luke Skywalker x F!Jedi!Reader   Summary: The sequel to Darkness Calls. Luke deals with the consequences of almost using the dark side to save your life, leaving you in suspense of whether he'll re-implement the no attachment rule in his new Jedi Order. With the ghost of Obi-wan pushing him one way while Luke's heart is pulled another, secrets are revealed and friendships are left hanging on the edge of a knife. Warnings: Slight anti-Jedi/anti "no attachments" rhetoric, mainly against the stringent rules the prequel era Jedi had. Major angst, with Luke struggling a lot and feeling very guilty. Reader gets a brief, nondescript leg injury at some point that heals quickly (realizing I injure reader's leg a lot specifically so Luke can carry her lol), mentions of Luke having insomnia and PTSD, slow burn, mutual pining, angsty ending that will be resolved in the final part 3 of this trilogy. A/N:  Comments and reblogs are greatly appreciated, and my masterlist can be found linked in the pinned post on top of my blog. This fic is also included in my AO3 (DragonHeartstring360). Stay tuned for the final part 3 and enjoy!

**

You squinted to see through the oncoming smoky haze. Stars wheeled in a circle with a thin, glass-like pathway cutting through the middle of a dark sky. It glowed faintly, casting its reflections on none other than Luke’s terrified face. He stared straight at you before glancing at the two pieces of rope he was clinging to. Obi-wan Kenobi held one end while a man who bore a striking resemblance to Luke held the other. You recognized him as Anakin in his prime, except this Anakin’s eyes kept flashing yellow. Everyone looked at you before turning to each other, and chaos ensued. Obi-wan and Anakin both bore down on their ends of the rope and pulled as hard as they could.

Luke squeezed his eyes closed and grimaced, mumbling, “wait…no…I can find balance…with both—”

“No, you can’t,” the others said in unison before pulling even harder.

“Luke, just let go!” you yelled, but to no avail as the ropes suddenly wound their way up Luke’s hands to wrap around his arms like snakes.

Obi-wan and Anakin pulled even harder, and you could see the strain on Luke’s arms from where you floated above. You tried to yell your friend’s name again only to have him stare at you with horror—the eye closest to his old mentor it’s usual blue, the one closest to his father an ominous yellow—

Your eyes flew open as you hyperventilated. You clutched your bed sheets to reassure yourself you were home on the Redeemer before looking around at the cargo hold that Luke had lovingly converted into a bedroom just for you. You remembered how excited he was to show you the imperial shuttle once he’d finished his renovations. At first, you’d thought he was just excited to show you his work and were sad at the thought that he might leave soon after. There was nothing to describe the amount of relief and joy when you realized there wasn’t just one bedroom, but two—and Luke had proudly announced this one belonged to you and you alone and he’d love for you to travel with him, so you could both learn more about the ways of the Force and the jedi from each other and hunt for ancient texts and artifacts to help restore the order.

You sat up and took in the darkness of the hold. That had felt like an eternity ago and you could feel the anxious pressure building in your chest at the thought of things never being that easy, warm, and welcoming again. Luke had been avoiding you ever since the incident aboard the imperial cruiser. Amid some jammed communications, you had almost been sucked out of the ship’s porthole into space along with your attackers and Luke had barely saved you in time – but not before nearly slipping to the dark side to aid in his rescue. You knew he was ashamed of himself and could sense his turmoil through the Force any time the two of you were in close proximity (which was unfortunately becoming less and less). He was still polite, helpful, and kind, but there was a new distance and coldness to him that felt like a knife in your chest.

You swung your feet over the bed and half-heartedly stuffed some pants and shoes on. The fact that you were sleeping in an oversized shirt of Luke’s only added to your own turmoil as you shrugged a jacket over your shoulders. Padding through the dark, empty main hold of the ship revealed Luke’s bedroom door still wide open like it had been when you’d gone to sleep and R2 nowhere to be found. You quietly made your way down the landing ramp to where the ship sat on Khofar, where the two of you were hunting for yet another Force artifact to further your studies and the resurrection of the order. Crickets chirped as the moon hung full above with a gentle breeze. You thought how much you and Luke might have even enjoyed the peace of this place if he would just forgive himself.

Voices floated through the trees, along with the telltale whistles of an astromech and you followed, careful to make your footsteps as light and quiet as possible. A winding dirt path through the trees led to a small clearing with a fallen log. Luke sat with his back to you, and you recognized the glowing blue figure of Obi-wan’s ghost. R2 was nowhere to be seen and you wondered if Luke had sent him away. The idea that he had worried you; he took R2 everywhere with him and must’ve really been in a dire state if he told him to leave.

“…cannot tell you what to do,” Obi-wan continued as you quietly wedged yourself behind a tree trunk. If either of them sensed your presence, it didn’t stop them from talking. “It will be your order, after all. But I don’t think it was wrong for the Jedi Council to impose the no attachment rule during my time exactly for reasons such as this. One mistake does not guarantee your downfall, but as Master Yoda used to say: fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to suffering. A lesson your father unfortunately learned very well.”

“But there was still good in him,” Luke argued, his voice rough and strained from lack of sleep. This was the third night in a row he’d snuck off to converse with his Force ghost council—and would likely be the fourth day in a row of dark bags under his eyes. “And I managed to convince him to turn back to the good side and help defeat Palpatine because of our attachment. Isn’t that what you always thought was his destiny as the Chosen One: to destroy the Sith? How could I have convinced him to do that without our attachment? And I couldn’t even imagine where I’d be without Han or Leia…” His voice turned quiet and mournful. “Or Y/N.”

“This is your order, Luke. I cannot and will not interfere too much. There’s a possibility you could be right, and this could be a new age and era for the jedi where attachment isn’t as dangerous.”

“But without the danger of the Sith, wouldn’t that make it less dangerous? Couldn’t I make teaching about healthy attachment or connection versus unhealthy possession part of the training I give?”

A bird cawed low and long overhead and you glanced at the sky to see the first flecks of light shine through the trees. You hoped that didn’t mean Luke had been awake all night.

“Just because the Sith are less of a danger doesn’t mean the dark side is any less so,” Obi-wan continued. “You still need to be vigilant. It can still be a very slippery slope that’s difficult—near impossible—to come back from. The choice is ultimately up to you and I will respect whatever you decide. But keep in mind what you almost did because of your attachment.” He glanced quickly at your hiding spot before turning his eyes back to Luke. “More than one friend on this planet is waking, so I think it’s best you either start your day or get a few final moments of rest while you can. I will be here if you need further guidance on this matter.”

You stayed put behind your tree, but knew the resounding silence meant the ghost had faded into the morning light. Luke sighed long and hard before there were several rustling noises. When no footsteps followed, you peeked around the tree to see him sitting cross-legged in the brush with his back to you. For a moment, you admired the slope of it and how his perfectly tailored jacket clung to the toned muscle. Luke was so good at sensing you from much further away, there was no doubt in your mind he knew you were there. Was he choosing to ignore you? Or was he just really that tired that maybe he didn’t notice?

Either way, you suddenly felt very unwelcome and made your way back to the ship as quietly as you could. During your absence, R2 had also returned and was refilling Luke’s waterskin at the sink. He beeped sadly at you as you passed towards your room. You laid a comforting hand on his dome and knew he was feeling the weight of his master just as much.

With a wave of your hand, the hydraulic door closed behind you. You sat back on your bed, kicking off your shoes and flopping back to stare at the ceiling. What if Luke did decide to re-implement the no attachment rule? What would that mean for his relationship with his friends, his sister—with you? You doubted he’d send you away—at least, not at first. He’d never explicitly invited you to be part of his new Jedi Order, but he’d hinted at it several times. And why would he have made a whole bedroom in the Redeemer for you, reiterated that this was supposed to be as much your home as his several times, and still be taking you on Force-related missions with him if he was planning to give you the boot? But even if he didn’t ask you to leave, you weren’t sure how long you could handle this new cold and distant version of Luke. It was too painful—especially with your growing feelings for him, and what you had thought were his growing feelings for you. Maybe that’s why he was so afraid. He’d never really explained to you why his father fell to the dark side outside of something to do with a secret, forbidden marriage with his mother. But was that the whole story? You had a feeling not, but felt it wasn’t your place to ask either Luke or Anakin’s ghost. You’d never even spoken to any of the Force ghosts.

But if the old jedi had forbade relationships out of fear of it turning into a gateway to the dark side, weren’t they just giving into the very think they preached against: fear?

You sighed as you heard Luke’s boots thump up the boarding ramp. “Hi, R2,” he said sadly. You locked onto his Force signature in your mind, feeling his sadness, confusion, guilt, longing, turmoil, and a sense that he saw himself as unworthy to be the one to lead the jedi to a new beginning. Perhaps against better judgement, you sent a wave of comfort to him through your link and heard his boots stop on their way to his room just ahead of yours. You closed your eyes and leaned into the Force to sense every movement on the ship. His footsteps suddenly turned and halted just outside your door and you could sense him raising his hand to knock, then stop. He lowered it, then raised it, then lowered it again before running a hand through his hair and down the front of his face. He turned and quickly made his way into his room, and you could hear the muffled whoosh of the door behind him. The lack of returning comfort from him made your heart sink and you couldn’t help but wonder if it would just be best to get on a ship and go elsewhere, alone, after this mission was done to dull the pain for both of you.

~***~

Things remained just as stilted and awkward over the next few days as you and Luke stayed on-world. The jedi texts remained elusive, but the planet’s dangers didn’t. Many animals attacked you out of pure instinct to protect their home, and storms and rockslides from the nearby cliff were annoyingly common.

An animal had sunk their teeth deep into your leg at some point and Luke immediately went into protection mode, even carrying you to a secluded spot to clean and dress your wound. The return of his softness, care, and openness as he asked repeatedly if you were all right and if you could walk almost made you tear up in relief. However, once you confirmed you would be fine and could walk by yourself, it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. He still turned around to check on you many times as you continued your trek, holding out his hand to help you over any unsteady or slippery points on the ground. You relished the feeling of his warm skin against yours, eyeing your initials sewn in red on the new black leather glove you’d given him after his had been lost out the porthole. At least he hadn’t taken it off with a replacement he had lying around the Redeemer (and you knew for a fact he had some extras). That had to be a good sign—right?

Just as the two of you had put enough together to realize there was likely an abandoned temple somewhere up on the mountaintop, a torrential rain began. Luke was at your side in an instant, throwing his cloak over top of you and pulling the hood up over your head.

“This way! There’s an overhang!” he cried, R2 beeping urgently and zipping behind him.

He kept a firm hand on your back as he led you to a shallow lip in the mountainside that would perfectly shield you from the rain. It was small—so small, the two of you had to sit shoulder to shoulder while R2 tried to hide under a large leaf from a nearby plant.

The pounding of the rain almost drowned out the pounding of your heart in your ears as your and Luke’s breaths slowed. This was usually a time you wouldn’t hesitate to lean into Luke’s side or give his hand a reassuring squeeze, but you could still sense his deep anguish through the Force and decided against it.

The two of you had sat in silence before and it had always felt safe and comfortable. This time, it was the most awkward silence you’d ever experienced. You glanced at your friend out of the corner of your eye to catch his sad gaze before he quickly looked away.

“Luke, it’s okay—”

“I’m all right.” He looked anything but. The dark circles were still prevalent and he was beginning to look pale and gaunt. You hadn’t seen him eat much the past few days and he looked especially miserable in his soaked jedi blacks, his hair plastered to his forehead. You realized you were still wearing his cloak and tried to extend it so it wrapped around him as well. Where before he would’ve immediately leaned into you with a grateful smile, he kept himself stiff and stared straight ahead as if you weren’t even there.

“Luke, please, don’t torture yourself. I can guarantee you every jedi has done it at some point. It’s natural. It doesn’t make you—”

“Like my father,” he interrupted quietly, still staring off into the distance at something you couldn’t see.

“You’re nothing like him though,” you prodded gently, hoping this might get him to open up and let you back in. The distance of the last few days was about to make you crawl out of your skin.

“I am though. I have so many similarities to Anakin before his fall. I can’t become Vader—I can’t create another Vader. I—” He shook his head and turned away from you. “It wasn’t just a simple mistake. I have…to be a leader, I have to be able to set an example and protect people, I have to recreate an entire order…” He shook his head before turning to you, his face empty and distant once again. “I’m sorry. I’ll figure this out on my own.”

“But you don’t have to.”

Luke turned his gaze to his feet and was silent for a long time. “Once the rain lets up, we should make out way back to the ship. Then we can try to find a place to land on the mountain to find this temple.”

You sighed. “All right. It’s super foggy up there all the time from what I’ve seen though, so we’ll likely have to use the Force to land.”

He nodded before his silence once again felt like the closing of a tomb door.

~***~

A gentle tug on your nightshirt—well, Luke’s nightshirt—woke you from your sleep. You blinked your eyes open to see R2 by your bedside, chirping urgently with one of his retractable arms attached to the black fabric.

“R2?” you grumbled. “What’s going on?” You reached out through the Force to inspect the ship, realizing Luke’s Force signature felt much too far to be onboard. “Where’s Luke?”

R2 beeped again before letting go of your shirt and rolling towards the door. When you didn’t immediately follow, he whizzed back to your side and whistled again, this time more insistent before returning to the door.

“All right, all right, let me put some shoes on at least.”

You stuffed your feet into your boots, not even bothering to tie the laces in your haste before scurrying after R2. You followed him through the maze-like trees, doing your best to avoid the mud, but knew you’d be heard from a mile away with how soft the ground was. As you followed the astromech through the forest, familiar voices became clear and you couldn’t withhold your groan as you heard Obi-wan for what felt like the hundredth time this week. What bad advice was he giving now?

“…secret marriage with your mother,” he was saying as you neared the stumps they were both sitting on. “He seemed to fear something horrible happening to her in childbirth—or maybe even you and your sister. He seemed to think the dark side was the only way to save all three of you and allow you to live as a family.”

Finally sick of what was, frankly, Obi-wan’s bullshit, you stormed towards their spot. You were sure you looked extremely menacing in your pajamas and unlaced boots, stomping through the mud, but you didn’t care. “Maybe that’s because he was tricked!”

Luke looked back at you in surprise. The Force ghost sitting with him didn’t seem at all surprised by your presence, but you could see the sudden apprehension all over his blue glowing face.

“Y/N?” Luke said. “What are you—um—”

His eyes fell to your legs, but you didn’t give yourself a second to pause and think as you turned your attention to Obi-wan. “You know and have said yourself—because Luke told me—that no one in the order realized how dangerous Palpatine was, or at least didn’t act on their concerns at all, and just let Anakin get close to him because, by your own admission, you thought having an ‘in’ with the chancellor would be a good idea. You didn’t think for a second that maybe Palpatine was grooming him? That he was looking at the lack of comfort, safety, and being allowed to just feel your feelings like any sentient being should be able to do and played on that? You don’t think he provided everything to Anakin that the order wouldn’t specifically so it would all play right into his hands? And you still want to go around saying the ‘only’ reason he fell to the dark side was because he fell in love and had kids?”

“Unchecked emotions are not an option for a jedi—” Obi-wan began.

“I never said they were. But I’m tired of you making Luke,” you gestured to your friend, who was still staring at you in shock, “feel like he’s potentially ruined his entire future as a jedi because of one mistake he almost made—which I would like to point out he pulled himself back at the last minute and didn’t actually use the dark side—and if he ever makes it again, he’s going to become just like Vader. That’s not how that works and you know it. A jedi shouldn’t let their emotions control them, no, but to say they’re never even allowed to have them in the first place? That’s just ridiculous and you know it! If the jedi are going to hold everyone to standards of unattainable perfection, no wonder your order was so easily corrupted from the inside. Your order’s own hubris is what kept them from seeing what was happening right under their noses the whole time. No sentient being should be expected to never have ‘bad’ emotions or never make a mistake, and maybe if Anakin had felt more supported and like he had someone to turn to about his fears without getting excommunicated, he wouldn’t have turned so easily.

“Plus, we’ve met a few jedi who survived the Purge who went on to have ‘attachments’ and never fell to the dark side. I bet there were more jedi that just Anakin who had secret lovers and even children. You can’t tell me in a temple with ten thousand or more jedi that only one ever broke this rule because it’s so ridiculous and unrealistic to expect—”

Luke stood and put himself between you and Obi-wan. “Y/N, that’s enough. Please calm down. These accusations and the lecture aren’t fair to throw at Obi-wan when he’s just trying to help.”

Your eyebrows shot to your hairline. “You call this help? Ever since you started your nightly sessions with him, you’ve just felt even more guilty and confused and it’s only gotten worse. You’re not even sleeping or eating, and all over some rule that was likely hurting the order more than helping—”

“Y/N, stop—”

“No!” You gestured to the Force ghost’s crestfallen face. “Look at him! He knows I’m making sense. I overheard you the other night, and I think teaching healthy connection versus unhealthy possession to padawans is a great idea. They’ll feel supported while learning that there can be an unhealthy side to things if they’re not careful, but that having those feelings at a base level doesn’t make them evil and they can have someone to talk to about it without being villainized. You were so adamant about there still being good in Vader and bringing him back to the good side, even after everything he did. You know deep down that banning any and all relationships or ‘attachments’ or whatever you want to call them is toxic.”

Luke’s expression had become more guilty as you spoke, but now shifted to annoyed. “Whatever your opinions on this matter, you need to show Obi-wan more respect—”

“No,” Obi-wan finally said. “Stop.” He stood and took a few steps closer to you. “…She’s right. About everything.”

Neither of you bothered to hide your surprise as Obi-wan glanced at his feet before awkwardly folding his hands behind his back. “When I was a young padawan…very young, foolish and inexperienced…I was put on a mission with my master, Qui-gon Jinn, to protect a young woman from dark side agents who sought to terminate her and all the work she was doing to help her homeworld. We became close, and it was often just myself and her, since someone needed to stay behind to protect her while my master was the one to hunt down clues or chase our assailants away. We…” he sighed, looking up at the stars peeking through the tree canopy, “were naïve…and thought we were being careful…”

You sighed and shook your head. For all his blustering about “no attachments,” here he was revealing that he himself had broken the rule. You glanced at Luke as a gentle breeze blew through, rustling the branches above you. The fleeting moonlight revealed the shocked look on your friend’s face as he stared at his old mentor, and you could feel anger and slight betrayal building in his signature.

Obi-wan cleared his throat. “Anyway…I never knew during my lifetime, but once I passed to the Netherworld of the Force, I found out she had a child—our child. She never told me or the boy a thing about it and neither of them sought me out as a result. Luke, your father’s ghost could tell you more himself, but it’s likely true…his relationship with your mother was likely not the entire reason he fell to the dark side. We did allow Anakin and Palpatine to get close…and that was likely a mistake on our part. Palpatine had many years to subtly manipulate your father. The nightmares your father claims about seeing her dying in childbirth were perhaps even planted by the emperor himself. Perhaps if he’d felt he could be more candid without risking everything, things would’ve been easier.

“There’s one more thing I feel I should note while we’re all here…my son did continue the bloodline…and,” he took a deep breath, “his child—my grandchild—is…standing here with us.” He pointedly looked at you.

You stared back in open shock. You definitely hadn’t been expecting that. Luke turned to look at you, just as shocked. You couldn’t help but reach out to him for comfort, feeling the fabric of his jacket sleeve between your fingers as you gazed at a nearby tree, trying your best to process all the information.

Silence reigned for several minutes before Obi-wan interrupted with a hesitant, “Luke?”

Luke subtly slid his hand up so that his pinky finger wrapped around yours. The action nearly brought tears to your eyes, as it was the first return of physical affection you’d received in what felt like forever. “I just…” he started, then stopped, shaking his head. “You’ve been recommending that rule when you yourself couldn’t even hold to it…I feel a bit lied to, Obi-wan.”

“I’m sorry, Luke. Your friend here did give me her honest thoughts and it did give me a slightly new perspective. But you’re right, I should’ve been more forthcoming.”

“And to your own granddaughter,” Luke’s voice shook slightly on the last word as his finger tightened around yours.

“Yes…” Obi-wan turned to you. “I’m sorry. I was unsure how to reveal myself to you and didn’t want to confuse or upset either of you, so thought it would be best to keep some distance. But I see I have done that anyway and for that, I deeply apologize. But…yes, Y/N, you are a Kenobi. And Luke, I will support whatever you do or don’t decide to do with the new order. I trust your judgement and the two of you are both much wiser than I was at your ages. Whoever trains under either of you will be lucky to have you.” He sighed, turning back to his old pupil. “I sensed the turmoil in you, Luke, and just wanted to help, since I already lost your father to the dark side and didn’t want to risk losing you as well. But that is no excuse and I see I should’ve thought through my actions more beforehand. I am sorry.”

“I…I need some space to think,” Luke said before wrapping his whole hand around yours, giving you a gentle squeeze, and walking deeper into the forest. R2, who had been present and silently watching the entire conversation, began to follow him with a concerned beep. Luke placed a comforting hand on his dome. “It’s all right, R2, stay with Y/N.” You watched as the shadows of night swallowed him as he trekked deeper through the trees, leaving you and Obi-wan alone.

You sucked on your lip for a moment before turning your gaze to the man who was evidently your flesh and blood. “Well…um, hi, Grandpa.”

Obi-wan finally cracked a smile. “Hello there…I know I likely can’t say it enough, but I am sorry. Like I said, I was afraid of losing Luke to the dark side, but also afraid of watching you go through the same thing I did: the pain of losing someone you consider family and having to grieve them while they’re still alive.”

“I appreciate that…” You leaned against R2 as he whistled long and low. “But…I think the lessons from the past should be used to inform about the future—not cause fear that makes you run away from things and completely cut them off as options.”

“You truly are much wiser than I was at your age, and I am proud to call you my blood.” He paused, moving to clasp his hands in front of him so that the large flared sleeves hid them from view. “I think it might be best to give Luke some space until he feels comfortable summoning me again. If you are comfortable and feel you’re in need, however, please do not hesitate to summon me yourself if you feel the need.” He gazed at you for a moment before giving you another small smile. “I sense everything will be all right and as it should be with the two of you in time. Please, take good care of each other.” The ghost suddenly faded from view, his blue form scattering on the breeze like smoke before there was no trace of him left.

You sighed and buried your face in your hands. R2 gently bumped your leg as you groaned. “Maker, R2, that was…so much.”

The droid beeped sadly next to you.

“We should probably check on Luke, then head back to the ship.”

You followed the path your friend had taken to find yourself deep in the woods, only the scant slivers of moon through the canopy and the fireflies there to light your way. You sensed Luke’s Force signature getting closer and closer, until you heard soft voices floating over to you. Glancing between several trees, you saw Luke sitting with another Force ghost you recognized as Anakin Skywalker. They were deep in conversation and Anakin put his hand on his son’s shoulder as you heard the name Padmé float towards you several times. You quietly turned, motioning for R2 to do the same before leading him back to the Redeemer.

You barely dragged yourself up the boarding ramp before flopping down onto the couch in the main hold. The lights were dim, and you took an opportunity to let your head thunk against the back of the cushions. It was almost three in the morning and you were exhausted (but likely nothing compared to your counterpart), but determined to make sure Luke returned okay and headed to bed. You closed your eyes for a moment only to feel R2’s retractable arm poking your leg, surprised to feel metal against your bare skin.

You stared at the droid in surprise as he continued to poke your leg with questioning little beeps. You looked down and groaned as you realized. “Oh, for kriff’s sake.” No wonder you’d gotten some funny looks: before storming after Luke, you’d completely forgotten to put on pants and had lectured everyone in Luke’s shirt and your underwear. Sweet Maker.

~***~

You bit your lip as you gripped the Redeemer’s controls. “Okay, help me out a bit here, R2.”

The droid tittered nervously from where he was plugged into a socket near the pilot’s chair. You looked nervously at the thick fog that enveloped the ship. You…sort of knew how to fly? You doubted you’d be much help in a firefight the way Luke would, but you could at least get from Point A to Point B—at least when Point B wasn’t covered in mist so opaque, you couldn’t see an inch out the viewport.

“Stupid kriffing flying,” you mumbled, “and stupid kriffing mysterious Force temple aesthetic.”

Normally, you would’ve relied on Luke for this sort of thing, but after returning from his talk with Anakin’s ghost, he’d crashed so hard, he hadn’t even noticed you quietly come into his room to check on him this morning. He was still sound asleep when you’d gently pulled his blanket to cover his feet, soft snores pouring from his open mouth, his limbs every which way, and his hair in complete disarray. It was likely the first good night’s sleep he’d gotten in days and you wouldn’t rob him of that. It was now eleven in the morning and he still hadn’t emerged from his room, so you figured you’d just go ahead and get the ship settled by the temple so all he had to worry about was waking up and stepping outside. But now you realized that might not have been the best idea.

Relax, you suddenly heard Obi-wan’s voice in your mind. Breathe. Drop your shoulders. Now feel the Force.

You did as bade, leaning so your back was flat against the seat and closing your eyes. You sank into the comforting feeling of life around you, sensing all the animals on the mountaintop scattering to the trees and bushes at the sound of your engines. You sensed a line of statues on either side of you and let the ship slowly sink down to the nearby ground with a gentle thunk. You opened your eyes and sighed in relief as you felt the landing legs of the shuttle settle into safe, sturdy ground.

“What’s going on?”

You turned to see a bleary, pajama-clad Luke in the doorway rubbing one of his eyes with his fist. He hadn’t put his glove over his cybernetic, the hole exposing the wiring laid bare for you to see. The two of you had shared enough private (and sometimes embarrassing) moments that you were one of the few people he didn’t bother to hide it from.

“We’re at the temple.”

He frowned and you tried not to chuckle at how adorably confused he looked with his nightshirt, shorts, and bedhead. “You landed the ship in the fog?”

You half-jokingly pursed your lips at him. “Thanks.”

“No, I just meant—I didn’t—I mean, you’re definitely capable—”

You stood and gave Luke’s shoulder a gentle pat. “Why don’t you go get some breakfast so you can function while we’re in there?”

He nodded before turning and stumbling over to the small kitchenette he’d installed, giving R2 a friendly pat on the way and making tea for both of you like he always did. The past few days, you’d found your drink waiting on the counter with Luke nowhere in sight and couldn’t describe the relief that flooded through you when he did his usual routine of bringing it to where you sat at the table with a small smile and shoulder squeeze. You could still sense some confusion and worry in him and he was quieter than usual—but at least the little signs of affection were slowly starting to come back and he wasn’t avoiding you like the plague.

Once you were both ready (and more coherent), the two of you headed down the landing ramp with lightsabers ready at your hips and an astromech fast on your heels. Although neither of you had found a full-fledged temple in your travels, plenty of places that held Force artifacts also seemed to hold a large amount of ghosts, dangers, visions, and boobytraps. The mist was suddenly much easier to see through now that you had your feet on the ground, which could only be a result of the Force itself.

You followed an overgrown, cracked cobblestone path lined with statues that had been worn away by the weather. You could just make out shapes of what seemed to be different jedi of all races: some were so eroded, you couldn’t even tell what race they were anymore while others were missing limbs, heads, entire upper torsos, and the like. You glanced back at the ship to see you’d landed it perfectly in the middle of the path and couldn’t help feeling proud of yourself. You turned to see Luke glancing at you and chuckled as he sensed your thoughts through the Force.

“Don’t get too cocky now,” he said.

“I mean, I did a pretty good job.”

He gave you another soft laugh. “That you did.”

At the end of the path were some unstable concrete steps leading up into a dark, black pit of a doorway. Half of it’s old fashioned double doors hung crooked on its hinges while the other half lay flat on the floor. You could see the roof had holes in many places while some rooms had crumbling half walls with nothing to shield it from the outside, making you wonder whether the elements had wrecked this place or a battle had.

Luke held out a hand to help you up the steep, crumbling steps, keeping a tight grip on you until you stood at the mouth of the void. The two of you took a deep breath in unison before descending.

~***~

The relief flooding through you as Home One came into view was indescribable, and you could tell Luke felt the same way from the pilot seat next to you. You glanced at him as he leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, letting R2 take over. After several hours, you and Luke had managed to find the ancient jedi texts you were looking for inside the temple. Ironically, they had mentioned the no attachment rule themselves, but with a twist—categorizing them as a specific form of unhealthy possession instead of the encouraged healthy connection, just as Luke had described to Obi-wan. It seemed “no attachment” equating all potential relationships was added later. When you’d pointed this out to Luke as the two of you sat hunched over the old parchment, he’d merely nodded before moving on. But you could feel the conflict deep in him, as well as a bone-deep exhaustion that seemed it would take more than just a day or two off to undo.

Just as the Redeemer neared Home One’s hangar, Luke took the controls back over and expertly landed the ship in the bay. He kept his hands on the controls for a few moments and gazed out at the hustle and bustle in front of him, completely lost in thought.

After a few more minutes of this, you gently touched his arm. “Um…Luke? Are you all right?”

He startled before nodding. “Yes, sorry.” He unbuckled himself before standing with you and gesturing for you to go ahead of him. He hung back a few steps as you descended the boarding ramp and you felt your stomach twist as you sensed not all was right with him. Once your feet had hit the floor of the hangar, you turned to see your friend and his droid had stopped several steps up.

“Are you coming?” you asked, fearing the answer.

He hesitated, glancing behind you for a moment as Leia strode over to you from the other side of the bay. “I…think I need a few days to myself to work through everything. This was a lot to process, and I sense some important decisions about the new jedi order need to be made before moving forward.”

You sighed and let your shoulders sink, avoiding his gaze. You had hoped after everything that happened on Khofar, things would go back to the way they were before. Now, they were apparently in jeopardy all over again.

Sensing your turmoil, Luke descended the final few steps of the ramp to stand in front of you, putting gentle hands on your upper arms. “I will come back, I promise. I won’t just abandon you. I just want some time and space to myself to think and not be distracted by all the hustle and bustle of people through the Force.”

You fought the telltale burning of tears in your eyes. “But you’ve always taken me with you when you needed that before.”

“I know.” His own eyes reflected your sadness right back at you. “But you haven’t done anything wrong, and I promise this isn’t goodbye. I just need two or three days, then I’ll be right back. You have my word.”

“Luke!” Leia called with a smile as she got closer.

Luke raised his hand to wave before turning back to you. His eyes turned sad again as he gently wiped a tear away from your cheek you hadn’t realized escaped. “I’ll come back for you, I promise.” He hesitated, staring into your eyes for a moment with lips stretched thin, before taking your face between his hands and leaving a soft, lingering kiss on your forehead.

You tried not to cry even more as Leia finally caught up with you, wrapping her brother in a tight hug before looking at him in surprise. “You’re leaving again?” She glanced at you where you stood rigidly gripping your bag’s shoulder strap amidst the usual chaos of the hangar. “And Y/N isn’t going with you?”

“I’ll be back before you know it,” Luke said, trying to morph his face into something reassuring, but you could sense his own anxiety pouring through your connection. “Just two to three days.”

Leia glanced at you again before turning an almost scolding look on Luke, crossing her arms over her chest. “Jedi business?”

“Yes,” Luke said, quickly turning to go. You knew from past experience he was rushing to leave before Leia’s commanding tone made his resolve crumble. “I’ll have my comm on if there’s an emergency.”

And just like that, he and R2 disappeared into the ship. As the boarding ramp slowly closed, you had half a mind to jump in anyway and insist he take you with—but that wouldn’t have helped anything. And to be honest, after the experience of the last three days, you were much too exhausted to fight anymore.

You and Leia took several steps back as the Redeemer slowly rose up, turned, then sped out the hangar’s opening towards the darkness. You bit your lip to avoid a show of emotion in front of the princess—you’d never had to watch the ship you had come to know as home leave without you and it was jarring sight. Would your room ever feel the same again? Or would Luke decide he would honor the no attachment rule anyway, and your relationship would turn into something permanently cold, distant, and formal? Just two jedi who work together instead of two good friends. It didn’t help that he hadn’t given you any indication which way he was leaning.

“Okay,” Leia turned to you, arms still crossed over her chest and her brow stern. “Now what’s really going on?”

You finally met her eyes, unable to hold back the tears anymore as you continued to suck on your lip.

Leia’s fiery resolve crumbled and she immediately wrapped an arm around your shoulders. “Hey, what’s going on?” Some annoyance reentered her gaze. “What did my brother do?”

“Um,” you warbled, wiping some tears away with your sleeve as they fell down your face, “it’s a long story.”

Leia gently rubbed your back. “Well, it’s time for dinner.” She started gently leading you towards the back doors. “Why don’t we both order some food to my quarters and you can tell me all about it? See if I can help?”

You merely nodded, desperate for comfort as you leaned into Leia’s embrace. Once at her quarters sat in front of a healthy smattering of food, you tearfully told her everything. When you got to the part about Obi-wan’s bad advice, she groaned with a sweet Maker, staring at you in shock when you revealed he’d told you that you were also a Kenobi. She sighed and face palmed again at some of her brother’s actions and ended the story with a look on her face that was so annoyed, you knew that look alone would’ve shut the entire problem building over the last several days down in seconds. She tried to reassure you that Luke didn’t have it in him to leave you as the two of you ate, but you could sense her own frustration and worry through the Force.

After eating, you used her attached refresher to wash up, cry for a few minutes in private, and splash some water on your face so you weren’t a spectacle walking back to your own quarters—which hadn’t been used in months with how often you’d been out and about with Luke on the Redeemer. You realized you’d come to think of that set of quarters as your room much more than the one here on Home One and the thought almost made you cry again. You sniffled before sighing and doing your best to keep it together long enough to say goodbye to Leia and walk towards your own bed.

As you reentered the main area of the princess’s apartments, you found them empty, but could hear her voice floating from a side room. You quietly made your way forward to see her in a small den, sitting agitated, straight backed on the edge of a chair with a comm close to her mouth. You couldn’t make out the words, but heard Luke’s voice float through the comm back to her and it felt like your heart twisted and dropped into your stomach at the sound.

“Luke, you know I love you and I understand the immense pressure you’re under,” Leia replied, her voice quiet but still filled with a firm sharpness that brooked no room for argument, “but you need to get it together—”

You quickly escorted yourself out, your speed walking just a step down from running towards your room as you kept your head trained on your feet. The burning in your eyes was building again and you felt your chest constrict the closer you got to the familiar, but lately unused bedroom door, and couldn’t help reliving that feeling of a tomb door booming closed between you and Luke, sealing your fates.

~~~~

Taglist (please let me know via comment or DM if you'd like to be added): @kaleidoscope1967eyes @masterlukessaber @coffeeorsomething-irl @lxstfathier @rogue-kenobi @sonofthedunes @pomplalamoose @lex-the-flex @fandom1515 @myevilmouse @ilovemarkhamill @goddessesofeverything @acupnoodle

[grandeoatmilklatte]

Undying Love 💍 (Part 5 - Resolutions)

Finally the end! I promised I'd have this out much quicker than the last few parts and I'm a woman of my word! Although this is the end of this one, I already have another Ominis x MC fic planned so stay tuned for that!

Undying Love - Part 5: Resolution - Ominis Gaunt x Female MC

Summary: Ominis and MC try to recover from the pain left behind from their plan. 1.7k words.

Warnings: Smut/NSFW/18+!! Characters are aged up and out of school. Do not read if you're under 18!! They have a MUCH needed make up bone!

Tagging list!: @myrachondria, @lesbolordo, @froggyinaspen, @lora-erwood hope you enjoyed this thanks for being so into it! 💕

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4!

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Two days had passed since Ominis and MC had come home, and Ominis was still upset with MC, mostly avoiding and withdrawing from her. He had also been giving Sebastian the cold shoulder, refusing to talk to him anytime he came by the house to talk things out. She couldn’t take it anymore.

“Will you at least talk to me!?” she screamed at him, after having made him a dinner that he barely ate. “What is there to talk about, MC?” he replied back without even so much as a glance in her direction. Typically, he referred to her as “darling”, “dear”, or some other form of endearment, but for the past two days she was just her name, and it hurt. She knew he was doing this on purpose. Ominis could be very spiteful when he was angry, purposely doing things to get a reaction out of whoever he was upset with. But he had never been this angry with MC before. She hated the way he was making her feel. She knew it was payback for what she had done to him. She also knew she was giving him exactly what he wanted. He wanted to see her upset. He wanted her to hurt the way he did. 

“What is there to talk about?! Well for starters we can talk about how you’ve treated me since we’ve arrived home. How many more times do I need to apologize, Ominis? How many more times do I have to explain that everything I did was for us? Please believe me.” Tears began to form in her eyes. MC had done a lot of crying the last two days, her eyes in a constant state of irritation from how often her tears had fallen. 

“MC, you have no idea the amount of pain you’ve put me through! Do you expect me to just forget about that? I know it was necessary, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt!” There was anger in his voice, but sadness in it as well, his voice cracking. 

“Do you have any idea how much it broke me to hear you two, my wife and my best friend, tongues down each other’s throats, moaning for each other?! When I heard that, all I could think of was ‘what if she falls out of love with me and falls in love with Sebastian instead? She’s loved him before, she could love him again.’ I know you two have resolved everything, but I can’t help but fear he could take you away from me one day. I can’t bear the thought of that.” 

Ominis had joined MC in crying, silent tears running down his face. “And then you cast an unforgivable curse, after you promised me on our wedding day that you never would! Again, I know it was necessary, but knowing you did it brought me back to fifth year and all the pain we went through then. I love you, MC. I truly do, but you hurt me.”

MC’s heart ached. For the first time since they had been home, she threw her arms around Ominis, holding him tight. He returned her embrace, and they both cried on each other’s shoulders. After several minutes of crying, MC pulled her head away slightly so that she could look at her husband. The whites of his eyes were red and his cheeks were wet, but he was still so beautiful to her. They hadn’t even shared a kiss since being home either, and she took the opportunity of Ominis’s wall coming down to pull him in for a kiss. Her kiss was gentle and soft for a moment before she kicked up the intensity. She lightly nibbled at his lip which drew a soft moan from his lips. His moan awakened a feeling in her, a feeling she hadn’t felt in almost a week now. She ignored the feeling for the moment to say her piece to Ominis. 

“I love you Ominis, and I’m so terribly sorry for everything. I love you and only you, not Sebastian. Sebastian may have been my first love, but you’re the one I want to spend my life with. I chose you and I will always choose you. And I’m sorry about the curse. I was scared and the only thing on my mind was getting back to you however I could. When I married you I made you a promise that I would do anything for you, this is the extent I’d go for you to keep you safe. My love for you knows no bounds. My love for you will never die.”

Ominis was the one who pulled in for a kiss this time, Ominis’s kiss being even more passionate than MC’s. MC let out a whimper as her hands came up into his hair, running her fingers through it. The fervor of their kissing resulting in MC bumping into the kitchen table. They both giggled as they temporarily broke apart. MC took a hold of Ominis’s hand leading him into their bedroom.

As soon as they crossed the threshold into their room, their lips met once again, their tongues intertwining, moaning against each other’s lips. Without breaking the kiss, they ripped each other’s clothes off like feral animals. Once they were both undressed, MC made sure Ominis was the one who’s back was facing the bed before lightly pushing him down and straddling him. He started to protest, eager to be the one pleasing her right now, but MC shushed him. “Please, I know you’ve been upset with me. Let me make it up to you.”

MC latched onto Ominis’s neck, biting and sucking the skin there. Ominis let out an appreciative moan in response, relishing in the thought of MC leaving marks on his neck. After several more marks had been placed on his neck, MC trailed her lips along his body, delicately kissing every beauty mark he had scattered across his chest. She then moved her head down towards his navel, where she kissed her way down as she took Ominis’s length into her hand, his tip already leaking. She gave him a quick squeeze before she began to slowly stroke him, Ominis responding to this with desperate moans. MC loved seeing her husband a mess underneath her, and she gazed up at him with loving eyes. Without removing her eyes from him, she planted a quick, soft kiss to his tip before taking him into her mouth, lowering her mouth far down his length. 

She began to bob her head up and down Ominis’s length, Ominis encouraging her as she went. “Keep going, darling, you’re doing so well! Your mouth feels incredible!” he moaned out. Tears prickled her eyes as she continued to take his full length, his tip hitting the back of her throat every time she brought her head down, but she was grateful the tears were from something enjoyable this time. Ominis’s hands came up into her hair and she stilled her movements, knowing exactly what Ominis wanted, as he began to thrust his hips into her, roughly fucking her mouth.  After several thrusts from him, he slowed his pace. “I’m so close, darling!” he gasped out. MC knew this was her cue as she released Ominis from her mouth and went back to straddle him. 

She lined her entrance up with Ominis, and lowered herself onto his length until he was fully inside of her. They both let out groans at the feelings, and MC began to roll her hips, Ominis’s hands coming up to grasp her ass as she did so. “Oh my love, you’re so perfect. I love you!” Ominis was rapidly coming undone under her as the bedroom filled with the sounds of their love-making. “I love you too!” MC moaned, rolling her hips faster and faster as her release hit, hot waves of pleasure crashing over her. Ominis’s peak came shortly after, whimpering as his warm liquid filled MC to the brim. She rolled off of him quickly, trying to not let too much of Ominis’s seed drip out as she did so, and turned to face him on the bed. 

He turned to face the direction he had heard her lay on and he reached for her, pulling her into a passionate, loving kiss. They exchanged another set of “I love you”s before wrapping their arms around each other and, for the first time in almost a week, falling asleep in each other’s arms. 

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

MC entered the dining room to join her husband at the table for their little “celebration”, if you could call it that. Sebastian was sitting across from Ominis, and on the table was a variety of food and drinks for them to devour. MC stood at Ominis’s side, his arm coming around her and pulling her close to him. He placed his other hand on MC’s stomach, loving rubbing the small bump that had finally started to show, their little one making their presence known. “Happy one year anniversary of being dead, my love!” MC giggled and leaned down to kiss Ominis before sitting down with the boys to enjoy their celebratory meal. 

They had done it, officially. They escaped the clutches of Ominis’s family. They still believed he was dead, and to this day had not discovered their secret. After MC and Ominis had made peace, Ominis made peace with Sebastian. Although Sebastian still cared deeply for MC as a friend, he had accepted the fact that this was all they’d ever be, and he was happy with that, so long as he had MC and Ominis to call his best friends. Once everything had been resolved between them, Sebastian began a routine of checking up on the Gaunts every now and then, specifically checking to make sure Ominis’s tomb went undisturbed, which it still remained. They were finally free. They could live without fear. They could actually start a family together, which they had already started working on. They could have the life they always wanted together. 

Sebastian took note of the amount of pastries MC was piling onto her plate. “Someone’s hungry!” he teased. “Oh shut it! You know I need to feed your godchild too right?” The trio laughed as they continued their meal, joy radiating throughout the home.

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

[ellsieee]

Enter fiancée stage left. I was prepared for pain, and I got it. At this point, I want both Jiwoon and the fiancée to run far far away. (I will probably change my tune next week when Suk makes me feel terrible for Taeha in some way.)

Jiwoon is settling himself in Taeha's life, staying at his house, and waiting for him to come home. He's choosing to ignore that he is the third party in this triangle, with the romantic hope that Taeha will choose him and everything will work out somehow.

I love Jiwoon's expressions here. It's just the right mix of amused and sarcastic. I cackled at Jiwoon saying he's sure there's no other woman... Taeha is cheating with a MAN! Suk being dramatic again lol. @.archiveofmystuff and I both think that Sohee knows about Jiwoon, but I think that at first she wasn't sure, which is why she is probing about "another woman".

But after she saw the looks that Taeha and Jiwoon were giving each other, she knew. And that's why she talked about her and Taeha's honeymoon plans, starting a family, and told Jiwoon to date and get married. She's basically telling him to back the fuck off.

It's hilarious that Sohee is getting hate, with people saying that she's a schemer and needs to stop getting between the boys. 💀 Are we forgetting that Sohee is well within her rights to be hostile to Jiwoon (even though she isn't). He's screwing her fiancé! He's the "homewrecker"! Taeha is a big cheater! She is the only one who shouldn't be getting hate in this scenario. 🙄

Oof. THE ANGST. How could Sohee not know? What bestie looks that pained when congratulating their friend on their marriage? No, that's the look of a jilted ex.

I literally shouted YESSSSS when Jiwoon roughly flung Taeha's hand away. Finally Jiwoon is doing what it takes to remove himself from this toxic cycle. Let's see how long his resolve lasts...

Oh.my.god 😭😭😭. Jiwoon getting a harsh reality check of what his relationship with Taeha is was painful but necessary. He needed to see that he's the "dirty" hidden secret, that Taeha isn't ready to commit to any decision, and that they're hurting someone that doesn't deserve this deception.

I love this last line. I love that Jiwoon tells Taeha point blank that he's going to destroy everyone and everything if he keeps doing whatever he wants. Taeha definitely needed to hear it.

I think there's going to be a part 2. I can't imagine being able to wrap things up in just one episode, even if Taeha ends up alone. There's just too much still unresolved.

Funny side note: The early release episodes sometimes has hilariously horrible subs. In Bad Guy, they have been consistently subbing hyung as oppa. When Jiwoon is delivering emotional lines, calling Taeha hyung, I read oppa and burst out laughing. They usually do fix the subs later, but it's weird the subs are so bad to begin with. Even G translate shouldn't be that bad.

There was one line from the bad sub (top) that I liked better than the good sub. I think guy code of honor is funnier and still carries the same meaning.

[xamaxenta]

For some reason I’m obsessed about the idea of Ace being haunted. At first I thought about him being haunted by Roger - mostly because of that one MarcoAce doujinshi, Gravity, where Roger’s voice follows him, which he describes as « a voice like the sea ».

But I feel that he would be haunted by Rouge’s ghost, actually. The ghost of a younger woman seduced by a older pirate who then abandoned her and met his death, leaving her exposed to countless dangers - and in the end, causing her own death. Corroded by resentment, her determination to protect Ace would be twisted into obsession.

I imagine baby Ace playing with her long, dull hair, unable yet to make out her gaunt, distorted face. But then, as he ages, he grows more and more terrified of her, the way she whispers in his ears at night, the way her body bends and contorts in unnatural ways, the way she exhorts him to trust no one, lest he be betrayed.

When he meets Luffy he can barely sleep : his little brother can’t see her but she’s there, and she’s full of venom, and what if she hurts him ? What if she grabs and smothers him while he’s asleep ?

He doesn’t know if she’s real, or if he’s making her up, but she’s dangerous, and he can’t trust anyone, or anything, least of all himself.

So he stays up until he physically can’t keep his eyes open anymore, and when he finally collapses from exhaustion he wakes up with a start, terrified, scrambling to see if Luffy’s okay.

But he is, and she’s muttering and cursing but prostrated in a corner, and he feels like maybe, maybe, things are under control.

He learns to ignore her, to tune out the clicking and cracking of her bones, the way she plots and hisses and snaps.

But he never really gets rid of the fear, the chills, the shivers down his spine when she plasters herself to her back or her hair tickles his spine.

The never-resolved question, that he tries not to ponder because there’s no good answer : is he hallucinating ? Or is she really there ?

Aouhhh Ace stalked by the present possessive shade of his mother is really fun to think about

Bc on one hand he walks in the looming shadow of his father, and from behind runs from the ghost of his mother clawing at his heels

She only wants to protect him

Ace’s relationship with his parents is always so interesting to explore bc we all know in a happier setting (modern au) they wouldve been such a loving family who dotes on their son 😭🥺

[s0xthef0x]

Theoretically Speaking

Ness accidentally stumbles into the life of Mike Schmidt, and in all honesty? He doesn't mind staying.

When a trip to the mall goes awry, Ness finds himself injured and in the arms of a security guard. With no friends or family to turn to during his recovery, Mike Schmidt enters the picture to lend a hand.

(Split/Alternating POVs)

SEE MASTER POST

CHAPTER 1

NOTE: This is a revised version of a securitywaiter fic I just completed on a03 (under the same username) so if you don't want to wait for revised updates here, you can read the original through the link at the end! Enjoy <3

Also this fic started out as a joke but I got really into it and it's lowkey my magnum opus

Chapter 1

NESS

Ness never would’ve imagined that things would've played out the way that they did, especially not at the mall. It was only meant to be a short trip, but the line at Macy's was much longer than he had anticipated. Especially for mid-morning on a weekday. As he stood in line, Ness couldn't help but think; don't any of you have jobs? Because he was going to be late for his own if the line didn't move any faster.

Ness was eager to get out of the store and far away from the clashing scents of perfumes and colognes. He had thought about getting a quick spray of something that smelled of sandalwood in hopes of covering the smell of bacon grease that seemed to perpetually linger on his uniform, but the store itself did a thorough job of making him smell like anything and everything on earth other than a diner- which wasn't exactly ideal either.

He absentmindedly swung the plastic Macy's bag in his hand as he walked out of the store. Ness felt his mind turn to static as he tuned out the people around him. It was the kind of mental numbness in which you can't stop your thoughts from wandering off wherever they want, until suddenly you're thinking about the kind of stuff that you normally dwell on at night. There was no repressing any of it now, and it sure as shit didn't help that he was surrounded by advertisements for Mother's Day sales. 

Ness didn't expect a bottle of low-end perfume to magically resolve anything, but maybe it was worthwhile enough to at least remind her that she had a son.

His head felt foggy. Everything had become blurry, and all noises were muffled. It was just him and his thoughts, which was why he didn't immediately realize what was happening. Ness's brain tuned back into reality when he was abruptly shoved from behind. He barely managed to gather himself before several more people rushed by. They moved in packs. It was a stampede.

Ness stumbled forward while scanning the crowd, in search of anyone who could explain what the hell was going on. He was drowning in a sea of pure chaos, and he could barely keep his head above the water. From the other side of the mall, Ness could see police officers rushing into a store, urging everyone to make for the exit.

People were pouring out from escalators and onto the first floor. Ness stumbled along with the crowd, all while behind jostled by the shoulders and feeling a pair of sneakers repeatedly stepping on the backs of his ankles.

Near the back of the second floor, three officers were restraining a man in a mask as they wrestled a gun out of his hands. Telling by the man's distance from Macy's, Ness was certain that he had been walking merely a couple of feet within his proximity. He felt a chill rush down his spine.

Ness had been so distracted from the chaos, he hadn't yet processed that he was falling. His foot had missed a step as he was nearing the end of the escalator. The crowd parted to make room in order to move past him, but no one made an effort to help him up. Ness clawed at the floor, pulling himself out of the way before he could be trampled. He leaned against a wall as he tried to catch his breath. His vision went blurry again, this time from a surge of adrenaline.

Once the rush of the crowd had dwindled, Ness began to push himself up. He immediately felt a terrible pain in his lower leg. He didn't want to look down. He felt sick as his brain conjured the image of his leg looking mangled and twisted like one of the pretzel sticks in the display at the Auntie Anne's just a few feet from where he laid. The only thing anchoring him to consciousness was the scent of daisy perfume as the last few drops leaked from the broken bottle. He laid back down against the wall and groaned. He looked to the other side of the mall, where the last of the officers were questioning a few witnesses. 

Ness was tucked away behind a large, plastic plant, blocking him from everyone else's view. He cursed under his breath and gripped onto the side of the escalator to try to lift himself onto his uninjured foot, though it seemed to be in vain. The pain was too much. He lowered himself down, groaning again as he fell back onto the hard tiled floor.

Ness looked to his left at the sound of the men's bathroom door swinging open, revealing a security guard. The man tucked something into his jacket, probably a pack of cigarettes from a not-so discreet smoke break in the midst of the chaos. As he stepped into the open, his face formed a rather clear "oh shit" kind of expression. 

The security guard began to walk towards the remaining police officers. Seizing the opportunity, Ness frantically threw a hand in the air to signal for help. The man stopped in his tracks and turned his gaze to where Ness sat.

"Are you okay?" The guard stayed standing at a distance, probably hoping that his assistance wouldn’t be necessary. Ness wouldn't have blamed him.

The pain made it difficult to form a full thought, let alone a full sentence. Ness didn't know how else to communicate other than gesturing down to his injury, which was getting harder to not look at. The security guard took a step, made another "oh shit" face, then hurried over.

Ness had a habit of slipping into his customer service voice upon interacting with strangers, and this time was no exception as he forced himself to speak up, “can you call nine one one?"

It took a moment of stunned silence for the security guard to react. "Yeah, yeah.” His voice was borderline monotone, which didn't match the sudden flash of urgency in his eyes. Ness stared after the guard as he ran to a door marked STAFF ONLY.

All he could do was lay there looking up at the ceiling. There were a few remaining customers wandering around the first floor, none of which noticed Ness laying there, like a crumpled up napkin that didn’t make it into the trash bin. He was once again alone with his thoughts, but this time he was painfully aware of his reality, literally speaking.

The worst part of it was knowing that if it hadn't been for a random security guard, there would be no one to call for help. The smell of the Daisy perfume served as a strangely cruel reminder. 

He thought he'd be used to it by now. He began to wonder if he ever would.

MIKE

Mike had witnessed his fair share of wild shit during his time working at the mall, but this morning had managed to beat a new record. It wasn't even noon yet.

Mike never had to call 911 before. It was daunting to dial just those three digits. He leaned against the cinderblock wall of the break room and waited. For an emergency line, it was taking a surprisingly long time for someone to pick up. At least it bought him a little time to think of what to say. Hey, some guy broke his leg, I think?

“Nine-one-one. What’s your emergency?”

Since the station had already gotten the report about the active shooter, it didn’t take long to explain. Mike relayed the location and address of the mall, and that was that. He hung up the phone and heaved a sigh. 

The break room was empty, except for him. He was tempted to take a seat in one of the folding chairs, but decided against it. He was probably already on thin ice if there was any chance that his manager noticed his absence in the past forty five minutes, the time he spent reading in the bathroom when he should've been doing his job.

Mike’s approach towards work had always been to simply match his performance to his paycheck. You know what they say, you get what you paid for. Today was the only exception to his usual mentality. This wasn't just another kid throwing up outside of the candy shoppe, or another man having a heart attack in the food court. For once, Mike felt guilty for not doing the bare minimum.

Mike exited the break room and looked toward the escalator. Sure enough, the man was still there. It's not like he could've left that easily. 

"How are you holding up?" He hoped his question came out sounding more genuine than it did in his head, but the man didn't seem to care, and for obvious reasons.

The man barely glanced at Mike when he replied, "fine.”

"The paramedics are on the way."

"Great."

It probably wasn't a good sign that he was only responding with one syllable at a time. Mike looked around in search of anyone who could possibly be more qualified to deal with this. He wasn't paying attention when the man said something. Mike turned his head and looked at him with a lifted brow. "Hm?

"The bench.” The man’s hand trembled as he pointed to a set of benches near the bathroom, not too far from where Mike stood. It was hard to tell if he was annoyed or just tired, but it was probably both.

Mike, once again, looked around for anyone else who would be willing to step in. Did he feel like kind of an asshole for not wanting to bridal carry a stranger? Yes. But in his defense, it was clear that the stranger wasn't entirely keen on the idea either. Lucky for him, guilt quickly outweighed Mike's pride.

He wanted to move quickly to get it over with, but sooner realized that sudden movements weren't the best idea for dealing with a broken limb. The man had to wrap both arms around Mike's shoulders to steady himself until he made it safely to the bench. 

Mike crossed his arms and took his time to scan his surroundings, avoiding unnecessary eye contact. His job didn't normally require that much interaction with customers. The only times he spoke to anyone other than his co-workers was when someone needed directions to a store or the restrooms. All he could think to say was, "better?"

"Beats the floor.” The stranger wasn't doing a great job at selling his fake smile. It didn't help that he was still struggling to speak in full sentences without gritting his teeth.

They remained silent amidst the echoes of footsteps. Even during a public emergency, the speakers continued to play the same pop songs on a loop, all the same earworms that had been stuck in Mike’s head for months. He didn't go out of his way to listen to music other than what he was subjected to via public radio. He felt indifferent to most of it, despite his tendency to subconsciously hum Avril Lavigne in the shower.

"Shit."

Mike's attention snapped back to the stranger. The man was suddenly more alert. His arms frantically reached around the bench.

"Are you looking for something?"

The man rubbed a hand across his face and muttered something into his palm before speaking up, "it's nothing- it's just. . . I dropped my bag.”

Mike looked to the escalator, and a stray Macy’s shopping bag. "That?"

The stranger nodded as Mike lifted it from the ground. He could hear the faint clinking of broken glass. He looked further down to find that his shoe was in the center of a pinkish-orange puddle. A flowery smell filled his nostrils like a punch to the face. Mike dropped the bag into the trash and made a mental note to mop it up later. 

"Sorry about that."

"Don't worry about it.” The stranger leaned his head back to stare at the ceiling. 

Mike’s thoughts were cut short by the high-pitched wail of an ambulance. Outside, two paramedics were already on foot with a stretcher before the ambulance had come to a full stop. Mike took a brief glance at the stranger before leaving to meet the paramedics.

"We got a call about a broken leg?" 

Mike nodded and pointed over his shoulder at the bench. “That way."

And with that, it was out of his hands. Mike stood by the water fountain, watching as they escorted the stranger towards the exit. He wondered if he should've waved or forced a sympathetic smile, but it didn’t matter. The stranger had been safely transported into the ambulance, which was already racing off, out of the parking lot and into the distance. 

The pop music somehow sounded louder now, as did the echoing footsteps of the few customers that roamed the building. No more horrified screams or running footsteps, just distant laughing and sounds from the nearby arcade. It was as if nothing had happened, like today was just any other ordinary day at the mall. And like any ordinary day, Mike had work to do.

NESS

Hospitals brought on a strange sense of nostalgia. Even years after his last visit, Ness was still accustomed to the smell of clorox wipes and latex. The atmosphere was by no means comforting, but familiarity prevented him from completely spiraling.

Despite the heavy doses of medication to alleviate the pain, Ness still couldn't sleep. Fatigue held him in a firm grasp, but there was too much on his mind to give in. There were too many things to worry about. For one, his manager. Calling to explain why exactly he missed his shift was a nightmare waiting to happen. Breaking a leg in a freak accident at the mall hardly sounded any different than “my dog ate my homework”.

"Mr. Sansfield?” 

The sound of the door pulled Ness out of his state of half-sleep. He lifted his head to greet the nurse with a half-hearted smile. 

"You have a guest."

The nurse stepped aside to reveal a complete stranger. Ness squinted. He blinked twice, wondering if maybe the drowsiness was affecting his vision. The stranger stepped inside and the nurse left without another word. Ness sat up. He wanted to protest, or call out to the nurse to clarify that he had no idea who this person was. For all he knew, he had just been left alone at the mercy of a serial killer.

"Hey.” His voice instantly sounded familiar. It took Ness another moment of staring blankly until he recognized the uniform shirt, then the Macy's bag.

"What. . .uh," Ness's voice came out in a mumble until he cleared his throat. "What're you doing here?"

"I figured you might want this back." The stranger lifted the bag. 

"Oh, that," Ness shook his head, "it broke when-“ He stopped when the man reached into the bag to reveal a perfectly intact bottle of perfume, still in its packaging. "I could've sworn-"

"I got it exchanged.” The man took a seat in a chair near the foot of the bed. "I gave them the receipt and told them what happened."

Ness wanted to smile or show some sort of display of gratitude, but he was still overcome by pure amazement. "You really didn't have to do that."

The man shrugged. He sniffed and stared absentmindedly around the room. 

"Well. . . thanks. . .” Ness trailed off, raising his eyebrows, waiting for the stranger to pick up on the implied question. When he didn’t get an answer, Ness finally took the initiative. “What’s your name?”

It took the man a second to realize he was being spoken to. He barely turned his head enough to make eye contact, as though the effort was too much of a hassle. “Mike.”

"Thanks, Mike." Finally, Ness managed to smile. "I'm Ness, by the way."

“I know.”

Ness’s eyebrows furrowed at the response. Before he could ask, Mike nodded at the clothes in the chair beside him, where his name tag was lying face-up.

The corners of Mike’s mouth lifted slightly into a somewhat passable smile, while his eyes remained stony. His stoic expression made it all seem less like a selfless gesture and more like a chore. 

Ness's smile wavered. He cleared his throat and waited for Mike to leave wordlessly, the same way he entered. Probably slamming the door on his way out. Instead, Mike sank a little deeper into his seat in the same manner as a middle-aged man preparing to take a nap in his prized recliner. 

"Question," Ness spoke up again after a moment of silence, "how did you get in here?"

"Hm?"

"How did you get in here? Isn't there a policy-“ His question was cut short by the opening of the door. The doctor stepped in, with a clipboard in hand and a stethoscope dangling at the neck. Mike sat up in his seat, posture suddenly straight as a pole.

"How are we holding up?" the doctor asked with the click of a ballpoint pen.

Ness answered with a half-nod, half-shrug. "Could be worse."

The doctor nodded and scribbled on the clipboard. "On the bright side, you're free to head home now. You can rest in the comfort of your own bed."

"Right," Ness said with a weary exhale.

"I'm assuming Mr. Sansfield will be your ride?"

Ness felt his brows knitting together in confusion, and even more so when the doctor gestured with the pen, pointing towards Mike, who was now sinking deeper into his chair, gripping onto the armrests like a passenger preparing to endure turbulence. To Ness's surprise, he nodded.

"In that case, it looks like everything's settled." The doctor handed the clipboard to Ness. "Just sign here at the bottom and you're free to go."

Ness, in a daze, took the pen and scribbled his signature as a single, wavy line. The doctor was gone in the instant that the pen left the clipboard.

“Mr. Sansfield?"

Mike's eyes widened slightly as his face suddenly revealed a new emotion, a cross between panicked and defensive. “They asked if I was spouse or family.”

Seeing the flustered expression spreading on Mike’s face, Ness quickly jumped in to do some damage control, though it might've already been too late depending on whether or not Mike could see the redness in his face. "I didn't know I had a brother."

Mike chuckled under his breath. His eyes flitted to the door, glancing out the narrow window. "You don't think I'll get in trouble, do you?"

"You should probably get out of here before you blow your cover."

Mike stood up and placed the Macy's bag in the chair, safe from being stepped on or otherwise shattered all over again. His hands dug into the pockets of his jacket. "Is there anything else?”

Ness raised his eyebrows, unable to understand the question.

Mike let out a long exhale as he gazed around the room. His head rolled back to look at Ness with bored eyes. “Do you need anything?”

"Uh. . .” Ness wanted to kick himself for even thinking about taking advantage of the offer, but he knew he was in no position to decline. "Yes, actually. I need a ride. I left my car at the mall- but, I mean, it's not like I would be able to drive it in the first place," Ness continued rattling on and on. He couldn't help it. His nerves kicked into high gear, and the words kept coming.

"Sure,” Mike's answer was as sudden as it was blunt, “No problem." 

Ness had to force his mouth shut to cut off the rest of the word vomit. He would have hesitated before gladly getting in a car with a stranger, but this was different. This technically wasn't a stranger anymore. This was Mike. Besides, even if he was a serial killer, Ness was short on options.

_____________________________________________________________

NEXT CHAPTER >>>

MASTER POST

If you don’t want to wait on updates of the revision on this blog, you can binge the original on Ao3 or wattpad ;)

[kaecodes]

HI, so long time no talk! I haven't gone anywhere, I just had some personal financial troubles that were resolved via...lots of overtime! I am a physicist by day, so that meant I became one by night for a couple months. But I remained coding, designing, & sketching things in my scant moments.

More importantly, I've been doing a lot of reading & observing of the Jcink RPC & I am really gutted by the lack of free resources I've seen become manifest. As a result, I've been percolating some easy design methods I could use to fast track totally free skins to give out as bi-monthly as I can manage in the near future.

Because I'm not one to stick to an aesthetic or design style so much as following a settled philosophy of coding, each of my skins will be entirely unique (no reused assets besides utility scripts, perhaps fonts, etc) but will all be;

Designed to be entirely responsive, with fallback & default setups for Custom Fields, image appearance or omission, etc.

Designed to load in a second & half or under, universally.

Neatened to be readable, cascade-organized, & fully notated with CSS & HTML notes to explain important components, how they work, & how to edit them.

Provided with a dark, light, & middle theme colour option as well as High Contrast option.

Provided with Staff, Member & Character profile & miniprofiles.

Provided with a full Custom BBCode suite of site templates to match the skin.

Based on the UI/UX design of a game with striking visuals that can be used for similar genres.

Now, this is a tall order, but I really want to flex my muscle & try to give folks something to be optimistic over in a landscape of drama-blog wastelanded distress. I want to put out something productive & positive, to make the community better & bring us together a bit <3 As a result, I'm going to need a little help from you all. I need to figure out which "Inspos" to work off of first based on desire for them, to fill the starving niches from most important to "least" so to speak. For the next few weeks, I'll post some polls & would be endlessly grateful if you all paid it forward by boosting but also voting on the games whose vibes you want to see MOST PRESSINGLY manifested as skins in the Jcink RPC.

I will, also, eventually port each one to Forumactivo, so for my Forumactivo folks, please let me know when you get specific polls so I can prioritize converting those skins for you! You deserve just as much love!

Of course, if there's a specific game you want to see feel free to comment on this post & I'll make sure to put it in the first poll, but for now that's all. The first list of inspo options will come out later today or tomorrow, Stay tuned & stay awesome, may the Dance keep you all absolutely blessed!

[joons]

Hey! I’ve got an Elvis question, just popped into my head. So did he compose the instrument parts of songs? Or was he more of a vocals only guy. I feel like I should know this but I guess I don’t!

This is a great question! I would not go so far as to call him a composer of most of his material (he was very adamant that he wasn't a songwriter), but he certainly filled the role of producer. He often knew exactly the sound he wanted and would advise the musicians until they understood his intentions. Because of his encyclopedic knowledge of music, he could pin down sounds and influences in a way that surprised the experienced musicians he worked with. He was an adequate rhythm guitarist and a pretty good piano player, but in general, he gave musicians who worked with him space to create and then guided them until he found the pocket he wanted.

In the early days, there were only two or three musicians in his band, and it was mostly democratic, like, the takes either worked or they didn't. They were very improvisational. At the same time, Elvis could get hyperperfectionist about the recordings and hold them up for hours. For instance, "Hound Dog" was a staple at his live shows before he recorded the song, and he wanted it to have a different tempo and feel on the record, much faster than how they typically performed it. For whatever reason, Elvis wasn't satisfied with it until they were about ready to throw him through a window, but that's exactly when he got the angry, frustrated sound he wanted.

"Elvis drove the band through thirty-one takes, slowly fashioning a menacing, rough-trade version quite different than the one they had been performing on the stage." - Robert Fink

Obviously whole books have been written about the recording sessions, which I have yet to fully dive into, so I can't speak super authoritatively on this, but in general, Elvis lost quite a bit of control over the recording sessions as Col. Parker moved him more toward releasing movie soundtracks, which had to be sung to scene specifications. In those instances, Elvis would just tell the singers and musicians he was working with to "just do your best," knowing that the material was pretty lame.

But he was able to take control of his sound again in his gospel albums, during his TV special and while working on the Vegas/touring live shows. He handpicked the musicians here, so they were all the best in the business; he had a great deal of trust in them to contribute their own signatures. But again, he usually had a pretty clear understanding of the song dynamics, the shape he was going for, and could coax it out of everyone. You can see him conducting and coaching here:

Through the late '70s, he often lost interest in staying on top of his game, both in live shows and in recordings. The problem with the live shows is that he got bored with performing the same songs, and efforts to change it up didn't go that well due to a lack of rehearsal and underwhelming audience feedback, so he went back to playing it safe. And with some of the later albums, he just wasn't feeling well or didn't connect with the songs as much. So in those cases he could sometimes just churn out a song that had already been perfected by the musicians and he just came in for the vocals. But he loved music so much that he just always had Opinions About It.

But just to go back to the producer thing, he's the one who arranged "Blue Moon," which doesn't sound like anything that Sam Phillips or anyone else had ever or would ever put out. Elvis got obsessed with atmospheric sounds and different effects that he knew exactly how to tune to an emotional frequency. So this ethereal, distorted echo pairs with his choice of lyrics, only repeating the first, sad verse of "Blue Moon" and never letting the storyline resolve into finding love. No one knew what the hell he was doing, but it took them so long to get him out of his shy, anxious shell that they didn't want to tell him to stop.

[corysmiles]

A Borrower’s Hope

Pt.1

Notes: This is a borrower inspired danganronpa au where Naegi is a borrower (a tiny person who lives off of stealing things from humans) during the first game. I plan on writing more soon so stay tuned >:)

Makoto could confidently say he’d never waken up to anything weirder. Even as a borrower who’d woken up before to the horrified eyes of a human, this took the cake. Waking up in an air duct in a building he had no memory of coming to was definitely not good. Especially when every time he tried to remember where he was or how he’d managed to get there his mind strained like a rubber band about to snap.

‘At least there was no one there,’ his mind supplied, ‘it could be worse.’

Slowly, stretching his tense arms above him, Makoto pushed his way up from the cold metal beneath him. Both his brain and body felt heavy like he’d been asleep for ages, and his legs wobbled under the weight. He had no time to sit though, he had to figure out where he was. It would be dangerous to stay put where a human could find him if he wasn’t careful. As far as he knew he could have already been caught. It would explain the feeling of dread curling in his chest after all.

With a new resolve at the thought, Makoto pulled his jacket tight to his body to fight the cold air blowing past. His skin prickled in argument, but it wasn’t like he really had a choice.

Ignoring his body’s protests he quietly started his walk through the mysterious vent. It wasn’t his first time of course, being a borrower; however, usually he knew where he actually was. In a place where he knew which humans were present and every inch of the building they lived in, being tiny was much easier. This was different.

His stomach groaned as if in agreement and he quickly realized he’d have to figure this out fast. He still had to find a way to meet his needs regardless of the unknown situation. Even so, every creak of the metal under his feet sent a spike of fear through his heart. As if he was expecting a human hand to grab him from the shadows at any second.

At every grate he stopped and knelt down to inspect anything he could see in the rooms below. Oddly enough after the first three gates he realized it was a school. Every room having rows of desks- all empty. It was odd but he’d been in a school before. The life of a borrower wasn’t an easy existence and schools were sometimes the safest place. No one was there at night after all. Vaguely he wondered if maybe that was the situation, if so he’d have a chance to investigate more while the usual bustle of students was absent.

However, he didn’t have much time to sit on the thought before a loud blaring sound echoed through the rooms below. He jumped, the fear of the worst still heavy in his head, before a blueish light through the grate below caught his attention.

Cautiously he poked his head through to see more. In the empty classroom the desks were now illuminated by a screen hanging just barely out of sight on the wall. If he strained his head further he could make out just a bit of movement on the television.

“Welcome new students to hopes peak academy,” a loud grating voice suddenly started, “When you sleepy heads are ready move your asses over to the gym. It’s time for your entrance ceremony. And you wouldn’t want to be late. Puhuhuhu.”

With that the screen cut off again leaving Makoto to sit in silence staring down into the classroom, the dread in his chest threatening to choke him. His hands gripped his borrowing hook, thankfully still with him, with barely contained fear. In a way it was comforting to know it could at least hurt a human a little bit if push came to shove.

He didn’t have time to linger however as the sound of footsteps started to echo through the building. Quickly, he backed away from the grate to avoid being spotted, but thankfully no one came into the classroom.

‘They were probably trying to see what was going on as well,’ he thought.

Still careful but with a little more urgency he made his way through the maze of vents. Several sets of booming footsteps helped guide him on where to go, and regardless of the terror curling up in his chest his feet moved forward as if in a trance. Before long, he found himself over a larger grate in what seemed to be the gymnasium.

As he peaked through the grate the sight below him made him freeze. Fifteen people, humans, stood still below. Each looked nervously at the others as if they too had no idea what was going on. It was very likely that was true, he decided, as none of them appeared to talk to each other. His eyes flitted back and forth among the faces far below, but still he couldn’t recognize anyone or any way he could have gotten here.

He didn’t have long to ponder it though before the booming voice was back, this time echoing throughout the gym. The faces below shot up at the stage and Makoto held his breath in wait.

“Hello sleepyheads, nice to see you up and early,” the voice boomed, “Finally got your asses up so we can start.”

And that was when everything Makoto thought he knew went out the window. Gasps filled the room as a small black and white stuffed animal popped up onto the stage. It moved naturally as if it was actually alive and something about it made Makoto’s hair stand on end.

The odd stuffed animal explained that they had to kill each other to leave- that they were prisoners here- with his upbeat grating voice that sounded a bit too much like nails on a chalkboard. All the while the people below seemed to get more and more aggravated. One especially tall one yelled at the bear and grabbed it only to find out that that too was dangerous. The ringing from the explosion left a dull ache in Naegi’s ears even from so far above.

‘This must be hell,’ he thought.

His heart beat fast as the people below scrambled to figure out another way out from their absurd situation. Sweat dripped down his face and although no one knew he was there every sound made him jump. Before long the humans had split into groups to investigate, and Makoto found himself jumping from grate to grate to see what they would find- hopeful there would be an exit.

It was a few hours before they seemed to give up. With disgruntled goodbyes the group dispersed, edged on by Monokuma (which he had finally learned the name of when one of the smaller humans had went to investigate the kitchen) who ushered them to their permanent rooms.

As soon as he was sure everyone was gone Makoto decided he needed to get supplies. Even if the situation felt unreal, he still had to keep himself going. To his benefit, he was pretty sure no one knew about him being there, given that the psycho bear didn’t say anything and he didn’t appear to have his own room. While it meant he’d be stuck sleeping in the air vents he decided there were much much worse options. And if somehow he was included in this awful game he knew he’d be quick work. Any of them could kill him with just one hand.

Makoto took a deep breath, trying to calm his swirling thoughts, and unwrapped his hook from his back. Thankfully he hadn’t lost that even if his memories were still hazy at best. He didn’t think he’d have any chance without the small metal hook with several feet of line attached. It was his only way of getting around after all, in a world built for humans.

Egged on by his grumbling stomach, Makoto made his way to the grate above the kitchen and latched the hook onto one of the bars. Cautiously he let the string unravel to a table below. He waited a few seconds to make sure no one saw before squeezing through the grate and propelling himself down.

The moment his feet hit the table everything seemed so much more real. It was almost dizzying how strange everything was, and although the situation was horrifying he couldn’t help but be a little thankful for the mounds of food available.

With his head on a swivel, always ready for one of the humans to show up, Makoto shovelled as much food as he could into his pockets. It wasn’t much since the bag he’d usually take with him for food had been missing since he woke up, but it would make do for at least a day or two. When his pockets were sufficiently stuffed he grabbed back onto the string hanging from the grate and climbed his way back. The shock of the cold metal made his skin crawl after being down in the warm room.

It took him a while of crawling through the vents but eventually he found a spot that felt a little warmer. The room below seemed to house the heater for the building so it would have to do as his temporary home. His stomach growled as Makoto sat down, back against the metal walls of the vents. Immediately, he tore into the crumbs he’d managed to grab, and before long it was all gone. His stomach still growled in distress even after he was done but he was too tired to go back for more.

‘He’d just have to go again tomorrow,’ he sighed at the thought.

As awful as this was he still had to survive. He just had to pray the humans he was stuck with wouldn’t cause too much trouble…

It truly was unfortunate that as he fell asleep, still hungry and tired, one restless girl was staring at a table in the kitchen wondering just how footsteps that small got there.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

everyday i thank god hybe did not buy sm ent.

did you know sm is bringing back fuck ass lucas??? how???

imagine all of this blowing up after the acquisition bpp. i shudder just thinking about how hybe dodged a massive bullet there.

***

Really, HYBE pulling out after the reverse tender offer, resulting in them owning a sizable but not controlling stake in SM, turned out to be the best outcome for them as things currently stand. The drama isn't over yet though, with Kakao's exec team scheduled for court proceedings to resolve by H2 2024.

The only glimmer of hope for fans of SM is the debut of their new girl group later this year. In a parade of faux pas, this will be the positive rallying point for SM stans in 2024. And honestly I'll be happy to see it.

As to Lucas debuting, the only reason this is happening is because he's with SM. For as long as I've been into k-pop, during every major hate train on an idol/group, especially if it results in them leaving the industry/disbanding, it has always had one group of stans at the forefront. Because of their loyalty to the company though, they never reserve the same vitriol for their own, and as no other group of company stans matches their intensity of fanaticism, idols/groups from that agency are always rehabilitated. The only time SM idols have faced any real repercussions has been when they've fought against SM management and lost the protection of company.

One good example is Kris Wu, former EXO member. Like Lucas, he was very popular but also notorious for 'bad boy' behaviour, but that was kept mostly under wraps. There were rumors swirling about him for months on various forums, just like with Lucas, but it wasn't until he sued SM to break his contract and won, that's when suddenly people started talking more openly about his... tastes. Years later Kris Wu was exposed as a rapist in a separate incident, but the allegations showed a pattern that was eerily similar to rumours that had been circulating while he was a member of EXO, receiving massive support from SM stans. There's been a lot said about how several SM idols can do things like marry and have children, compared to idols from other companies, but the unspoken bit of that assertion is that no other group of company stans target people for perceived failings the way SM stans do. Like, even when there is pushback to SM idols, it's coming primarily from other fans of SM groups.

And if you think I'm exaggerating, the next time there's a controversy/scandal about any idol or group, pay attention to which groups of stans are primarily instigating it. I'm serious. Then come back here and tell me what you think.

Lucas won't have a smooth sailing debut, but the only reason he is being rehabilitated to this point in the first place, is because he is an SM idol. This is a form of Big 3 privilege that SM artists benefit the most from, given SM has the largest amount of company stans.

When I say the blueprint of current fandom norms started with SM and that they largely influence the tenor of narratives in fandom spaces, this is yet the latest example.

Lol, truly fascinating stuff.

Stay tuned for Lucas's debut single on April 1st :)

[mothwingwritings]

I hope I’m not the only one here on your blog just for the Tokyo revengers content because I never watched Baki should i thought??

I have been very Baki focused as of late, huh? ^^; You are def not the only TokRev fan though, I assure you!  My first really sizable chunk of followers came from my Taiju fic, and though I have been slacking a bit on posting anything TokRev related, I promise you much more is planned/being written currentl. A large chunk of bigger fics I am working on are actually mostly TokRev, I just wanted a lil break and so I focused on smaller stuff for a bit, and pretty much all of that happened to be Baki.

Now, as for if you should watch Baki…

Short answer: Yes!  :D

Thoughtful answer: I think Baki is a very interesting take on the fighting genre, and I do highly recommend it. The saga of the Hanma family is as engrossing as it is entertaining, and there is a colorful cast of characters that support the series that you can’t help but love, hate, or love to hate. I have been kind of waiting for a Baki renaissance for a while now-I feel like other than in Japan, it really isn’t a super popular series and that’s a bit of a shame because it truly is an entertaining watch/read. The Netflix adaptation I think has helped the series a lot (and we are all grateful for it, to see our lovely boys animated so beautifully :)) and put it on the map for newer audiences to enjoy, but I definitely recommend the manga too. It’s a pretty fast read because a large chunk of it is action, but it’s pretty cool to see how Itagaki’s art has changed over the years and also how he has grown and changed as a story teller. Earlier Baki is much different than newer Baki, and some of the characters feel a bit foreign when you go back and reread some of the earlier stuff after being immersed in the newer content.

 Baki also has some very bizarre and downright comical aspects as well that kind of put it on par with JJBA  while making it very charming. The mangaka def adds some quirky flairs to his story telling, which while sometimes I can get a little annoyed/bored/confused with them, I feel like overall they make the experience of watching/reading the series its own unique and fun experience.

And if you love delinquents, Kaoru Hanayama is like… one of the best and coolest delinquents. If you put that man in Toman he would be running the whole gang within days and 90% of the bullshit everyone had to go through in Tokrev probs would have been resolved fairly quickly, if it even happened at all. This man would grind Kisaki to paste in the blink of an eye and I would pay to see it happen. :)

THAT ALL BEING SAID: Not everyone likes Baki, and that’s fine too. I know personally a lot of people are turned off by the art/how the characters look and honestly… That’s valid lol. I remember I once showed my friend a picture of Biscuit and her direct response was “Why does he look like he’s made out of balloons, like a clown constructed him?” LOOOL and often times if my friends mention weird body proportions in comics/manga someone inevitable asks when I am gonna chime in with a Baki manga panel. ^^;  Most of the rest of my friends don’t really have any desire to partake in it though, and a few that have just really weren’t in to it. It’s very heavy on fighting and martial arts, and though the fighting is rather fantastical in a lot of cases, it (usually) doesn’t have supernatural elements or magic involved. So if that seems kind of bleh to you, you may want to avoid it.

Horny answer: Incredibly sexy men who are at least half naked a large majority of the time beating the shit out of each other is very fun, nice, and fulfilling to watch. :)

So I say give it a try if you are interested at all. At the very least, some of the fics on here may make a little more sense.

REGARDLESS THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE!!! Please stay tuned for more TokRev in the future, I have at least one more alphabet ask that is for a Tokrev chara so that may be the first thing I post, but bigger stuff is coming soon too~ <3

[eschergirls]

Hi everybody!

It's December which means a) happy upcoming holidays everybody! and 2) time for a monthly update and thank you to our very cool Patreon subscribers. :3

First, the update, if you use the main site you'll have noticed that there were some issues this month with the Disqus comments being down for a couple of days and the submission form not working at various points.  We've resolved both problems and there should be no issue now. They were related to having to change email providers and updating the site to the most recent version of Drupal. :)  I want to thank everybody who let me know about the problems because I don't always notice everything immediately and I want to know if there's something to fix! If you have any issues with the site or suggestions to improve it, please do not hesitate to contact me and let me know!

Second, as usual I'm working through the backlog of inbox submissions and also fixing broken posts/restoring tags/adding alt text, etc to the archives.  This month's big restoration project were a bunch of old posts of the Chris Hart's "How To Draw" books, including the "How To Draw Cutting Edge Anatomy" pages which explained that you can draw men with varying body sizes but the women must all be "attractive" and therefore there's not much variation in size or height or musculature and you must show characterization elsewhere.  I added a full transcription of the text in the posts for screen-readers, so if you want to read it, click through the link and you should be able to. :) 

I also restored 2 old Liefeld Avengelyne covers here and here.  And I fixed up this old Supergirl compilation post and uploaded the infamous "letter to women fans" by now-disgraced ex-editor Eddie Berganza that was referenced in the post and added transcription for screen readers since the original letter has been removed from the DC site and there are very few full versions of it left that are accessible.

I've also fixed up the Disqus reactions to be more interesting and have a "thanks I hate it" option as requested by one reader. You should see it appear on the site soon!

I want to remind everybody that if you want to follow Escher Girls outside Tumblr, we have an RSS feed. (For newbies, RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication and is basically a feed you can read using an RSS reader. Simply copy and paste https://eschergirls.com/rss.xml into an RSS reader and it will keep you up to date on Escher Girls!)

And finally I want to thank everybody for engaging in the blog and participating in the caption contest! The interactions have been really great and I loved everybody's captions for the last contest!

And of course I want to specifically thank our November 2023 Patreon supporters for helping me keep this site up. Your donations help me pay for the domain and hosting so posts can stay up and visible even if Tumblr's algorithm flags them erroneously (I've been appealing but it's frustrating because the appeals are handled by an algorithm too), and allow us to make upgrades! <3

So thank you so so much to:

Anne Adler Cat Mara CheerfulOptimistic  Chris McKenzie Em Bardon First Time Trek Greg Sepelak Ian Cameron Ken Trosaurus Kevin Carson Kim Wincen Kristoffer Illern  Holmén Leak  Manuel Dalton Mary Kuhner Max Schwarz Michael Mazur Miriam Pody Morgan McEvoy randomisedmongoose Rebecca Breu Ringoko  Ryan Gerber Sam Mikes Sean Sea  SpecialRandomCast  Thomas  Thomas Key

And I want to give another general thank you to everybody for reading, submitting, and just generally engaging with the site.  The interactions I have with all of you are a huge bright spot in my day. :)

Also please stay tuned for our upcoming holiday themed caption contest! I think you'll all get a kick from it!

Thank you all so much,

Ami

(If you wish to support Escher Girls, you can subscribe to our Patreon at: https://www.patreon.com/ami_angelwings or donate through Ko-Fi at: https://ko-fi.com/amiangelwings.)

[ambrosiaheights]

Welcome!

Thank you for checking out the official Tumblr for my original fiction fantasy novel, Ambrosia Heights!

My main blog is @diabolical-blue (extra points if you get the reference to the song that’s from). My old nickname was tied to a previous url, so I guess now you can just call me Blue. She/her, 27 years old.

The content in my writing is tuned to my own tastes; as such, there is little to no swearing, NO explicit sexual content (sometimes mild to moderate suggestive content, including romantic themes), mild non-denominational religious themes, mild religious trauma, and limited violence except for occasional moments of body horror and gore (only like, one or two scenes). Also worth noting is that any romance in this particular story is written entirely from the perspective of an asexual (but not aromantic) main character.

The genre for this story is primarily fantasy and classic-style drama, mixed with a bit of sci-fi and a smidge of post-apocalypse punk (ala a mashup of Fallout, Elder Scrolls, and classic literature such as Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre).

The target audience for this story is adults, technically "new adult" (18-30). However, as described above, there's little objectionable content that younger readers couldn't/shouldn't read except for some heavy thematic content and a few scenes with moderate to graphic violence.

Click here to read the official WIP Intro masterpost for this project on my main blog!

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Here’s a short summary of the story:

While visiting Ambrosia Heights, the old English manor house that belonged to her ancestors, ten-year-old Emmaline discovers a strange, blue-skinned elf child lost in the nearby orchard. After she helps him return to his own world, Emmaline thinks all magic has left her life for good – until an unlikely series of events twenty years later transports her, now thirty years old and disillusioned with her life as an adult, to that very world herself.

Tossed unprepared into an alternate universe filled with magic, monsters, and medieval-era problems, Emmaline’s immediate instinct is to return home through the portal in this universe’s version of the manor. But when she encounters someone she thought she would never see again – the elf child, who has grown up to become a seven-foot-tall blue-skinned behemoth named Gregorius – she feels compelled to stay long enough to help him resolve the treacherous situation he is facing, which she might even be responsible for.

At first, Emmaline thinks her shy, staunchly pacifistic, painfully naïve friend would be lost without her pragmatic support…but she soon finds it will take both of their strengths to navigate the secrets, mysteries, and apocalyptic perils of the adventure they embark upon together.

Art by me (main @diabolical-blue). Uncropped version of the image here

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Individual character bios:

Emmaline

Gregorius

Felix (pet)

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Progress: As of July 2024, I am currently 93% done writing the first draft of my manuscript (43 out of 46 chapters completed).