#the guy being beaten with sticks approves

[mydearlybeloathed]

𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐣𝐢𝐦 𝐥𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐣𝐫...

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲: headcannons pertaining your growing relationship with the trollhunter.

𝐩𝐚𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠: jim lake jr x fem!reader

When you met Jim, it was a normal day of school.

At least, for you it was.

For Jim, he had just been approached by two giant stone creatures telling him that he’s now their protector, and then he was attacked by an evil troll who totally kicked his ass.

But you couldn’t have known that, so it was just a normal school day.

You’d always known he existed, having gone to school with him since Kindergarten. 

But you’d never been friends, that was for sure. 

A few days before you had signed up to be a history tutor, needing some school approved service hours.

And just your luck, you had a session scheduled with Jim Lake Jr.

He was jittery, that was the first thing you realized. His eyes couldn’t stay focused on one thing for longer than two seconds, always jumping to the window.

You had been reaching for your pencil case, which was in your bag under the table. That was when you noticed his bruised up arms. Frozen in place, you also saw a large gash peeking out from his pant leg, just visible on his ankle.

It wasn’t your place to say anything, you knew. You barely knew Jim! But still… was he is trouble?

The thought distracted you, causing you to hit the back of your head on the underside of the table.

Wincing, you raised your head, spying Jim giving you a concerned look. You found yourself giving him a similar, more extreme stare. 

“So… I think we were on the Ottoman Empire in class, right?”

You didn’t answer. You didn’t think you could, not without asking. It became too much after an awkward second, and you blurted out the question. “Jim, did somebody hurt you?”

The way his face lost its color sent a shiver down your spine.

He laughed a laugh that was clearly forced—strangled even. “What makes you ask that?”

“Jim… Look at you. You’re all scratched up.”

A thick silence follows your tentative declaration.

“Oh yeah,” he chuckled. “I, uhm, I tried to ride my bike down the side of the canal. It didn’t go so well, as you can see.”

It was a good excuse, you thought, but did you believe it? Not for a second. It took you only a few moments before your eyes narrowed and you scooted your chair closer to his. 

Jim thought you looked murderous the longer he was locked in contact with your eyes. 

“Was it Steve Palchuk? ‘Cause if it was we need to say something. This is beyond bullying, Jim.”

What was he supposed to say? Oh, nah, don’t worry, Y/N. I was just beaten to near death by a stone giant last night. No biggy.

She’d walk him to an asylum herself.

Apparently, Jim took too long to respond, which to you was an response enough. You scoffed to yourself, shoving back in your seat with crossed arms. “I cannot believe that bitch. He won’t get away with this.”

Jim just fiddled with his pencil, eyes on his textbook. He didn’t know much about Y/N L/N, but he knew she was a force to be reckoned with. Ever since elementary school she’d taken charge in city clean ups, protested in cities as far as D.C., made speeches that changed the minds of Arcadia’s city council and their school board.

When she was mad about something, everyone knew, and she wouldn’t be placated till there was a change.

Jim had to hide his smirk behind his palm; he could just imagine Steve receiving the flame that the girl beside him would unleash. 

He had to ask, “What’re you gonna do?”

Your answer was instantaneous. “Talk to him, I think. I know him well enough, us being cousins and all.”

That was a shock for sure.

A day later, Jim was walking into school when he heard the tell tale sound of your voice. He turned the corner, stopping short at the sight before him.

You, at least a head shorter than Steve, had the poor guy gripped by the ear and pulled down to your height. Jim didn’t stick around to listen to what you were saying, seeing the fury all over your face and not wanting either of you to spy him loitering there.

But Jim had to admit, the look of terror on Steve’s face was hilarious.

After that, your tutoring sessions became more and more natural over time. The conversation drifted away from history and toward other things like interests and fun stories. 

Not only that, but the time drew on longer till it wasn’t so much a tutoring session as much as it was just two friends hanging out.

It didn’t take long for Jim to realize he enjoyed spending time with you much more than he wanted to.

Much more than he wanted to.

He thinks he realized how much he actually liked you around a few months before everything went to shit.

Jim offered to walk you home when the session dragged on so long that the moon had risen into the sky.

“You don’t live too far from me, I don’t mind.”

It was as they neared your driveway that he caught sight of Blinky from the corner of his eye, shooting fear straight to his heart. 

The many-eyed troll was rustling in the bushes, tailing him and you. You were oblivious, going on about the pranks you had planned for the upcoming April Fools Day. 

Jim wanted to be listening to you, mostly so he could avoid your schemes, but also because he enjoyed the lightheartedness with which you spoke. It was a nice change from the woe he heard whenever he entered Trollmarket. But he couldn’t give you the focus he wanted with Blinky just seven feet form being spotted.

“Welp,” you sighed. “This is where we part.”

Disappointment was on both of your minds as you smiled at each other. 

He managed to hold it together when, after a moment of hesitation, you lurched forward to wrap him in a hug. Surprised, he glanced up over your shoulder to see Blinky giving him four thumbs ups.

He used one arm to hug you back, and the other to flip the troll off. 

Being the Trollhunter was dangerous for not only Jim and everyone involved. And as the two of you started to hang out without the pretense of you being his tutor, he swore to himself that you would never find out his secret.

But as you grew closer, it became increasingly difficult to hide anything from you. 

You always found his new injuries and scrapes and even once somehow detected his bruised ribs. After a while, you became suspicious, no longer assuming your cousin was behind it. 

You didn’t want to assume anything severe, but you had to worry about his home life. 

You knew his mother—you’d met Dr. Lake when you ended up sitting together to watch Jim in Romeo and Juliet—and you didn’t get the feeling she would ever get… physical with him. The very thought made you shudder.

If not that, then what was it? Jim didn’t seem the street fighter type. It caused you more worry than you’d like to admit.

Over the past few months of knowing Jim Lake Jr., you think you’d be comfortable calling him your best friend. You two spent nearly everyday talking, whether it was between class or on the phone every once in a while. 

And it was obvious to everyone except to you that there was chemistry.

It caused Toby some anguish to say the least. 

Speaking of which, you’d grown closer with Jim’s best friend too, something you hadn’t expected.

Toby was a good friend to you, always taking time out of his day to ask about yours, questioning your every “It was fine” and demanding to know what was so “fine” about it. In return, he offered his own tales of misery, getting a laugh out of you nearly every time. 

You didn’t notice how he physically grimaced whenever you brushed off his attempts at finding out what you thought about ol’ Jimbo.

Moving on from all of that, to you, things were going great! Your grades could be better, but you had better friends than you’d ever had before. Added to your ranks was Claire Nuñez, and over time… well, you had to admit that you were suspicious.

Jim’s crush on Claire had been ever so obvious ever since the fourth grade, but that wasn’t it (Or rather, you hoped that wasn’t it). 

No matter how much you told yourself you were paranoid, you thought the three of them were hiding something. 

It hurt to say the least. You were friends… right? Did friends keep secrets?

This was what you thought as you sat alone during lunch, contemplating the way Jim, Toby, and Claire made some poor excuse about having to go to a chess club meeting.

You knew they weren’t a part of the chess club. You were president of the chess club. How did they not know that? Were they that bad at lying? Or did they not care if you knew how much they actually hated you?

…

You were overthinking. They didn’t hate you. Jim certainly didn’t, you think. He was so kind and caring and thoughtful… your cheeks burned red at the thoughts running across your mind… you shook your head, reasoning that there must be an explanation that didn’t involve thier secret vendetta against you.

You just had to find out what it was.

But as they abandoned you more and more for their secret escapades, and as they ditched you to work on group projects alone, and they generally lied time and time again… you grew tired of the confusion.

Your cousin was starting to warm up to you, something about his brutish personality shifting over the course of that school year. He noticed first how you sat alone at lunch, and then he looked around at his table full of kids… and realized he too was alone—in a mental sense, that is.

So he picked up his tray and bag and trudged over to your table in the corner of the lunchroom. 

The look of shock on your face didn’t fade away till he was sitting there across from you, and you deduced that he probably wasn’t here to tease you.

The conversation was slow at first, even dull, just small talk, but then he caught sight of the comic book tucked under your lunch tray. 

He hesitated, knowing his friends at the other table had made fun of him for liking those sort of things… but you had never done that before. Steve could trust you... probably.

So he asks you about it, and you go into a long winded explanation of it, only for him to interrupt with, “I know what it is… I’ve got the entire set back home.”

You blinked, shocked, and you thought that maybe your cousin Steve wasn’t so terrible after all.

Your friends wanted to ditch you? Fine. You’d make yourself useful and stop being their deadweight. It was somewhat freeing, no matter how much it pained you to sweep past Jim’s sweet smile and ready sandwich (made just how you like it). But it was for the best. You couldn’t stand the way they treated you.

It was only a month after you severed ties with them that you realized how much they’d impacted you.

You no longer found Nougat Nummies that Toby had put in your backpack. You could no longer ask Claire for help with studying. You couldn’t waltz into Jim’s house like you owned the place, hop up onto his counter, and spiel on and on about whatever was on your mind while Jim cooked food around the kitchen.

You might’ve missed that last one more than the other memories.

You might’ve missed Jim more than the others.

And you might’ve liked him a bit too much too.

On Jim’s side, he knew why you’d grown distant. It pained him to keep such a big secret from you, especially when he could see it was hurting you, but what else could he do? Tell you he’s the Trollhunter?

No. Jim would never do that to you. If you knew, then they would find you. You’d wind up hurt. It was bad enough he’d dragged Claire into all this, but you? Jim couldn’t stand the thought of you getting hurt. 

He didn’t think about how much not having you in his life would hurt.

Maybe a month goes by, and the two of you get back to a steady rhythm without the other. Unbeknownst to you, your old friends were preparing for war.

How could you know? How could you have prepared? Simple. You couldn’t have.

So that’s why, the night of the school dance, instead of going to that stupid party just to stand alone in the corner, you decided you would be getting your answers.

What spurred this sudden quest? You didn’t know. But you needed to know what you did wrong. What had you done to drive Jim away?

So that’s how you ended up on his doorstep at just the wrong moment. 

Before you knocked on the door, you heard crashing and shouting from inside. 

Your heart raced. Were you right about Jim being hurt at home. You decided to raise your voice. “Jim?! Jim, are you in there!”

Inside, Jim heard your yells, and a pang of fear swelled up in him. 

He stood in armor of glowing silver beside his high school principal, who looked nothing like the lanky man everyone knew him as, yet appeared as a green skinned creature with jagged wings. A changeling.

And across from him was an ancient entity, with eyes blank and voidish, and a smirk that sent shivers down the boys spine. Angor Rot.

The fight had gone still at the sound of your pounding fist against the door. Jim didn’t like the sadistic gleam in Angor’s dark eyes. 

“Jim! Open this door! Are you all right?!”

No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

This couldn’t be happening. He’d tried so hard to keep safe, to keep you away from all of this!

He should’ve known better; you weren’t so easily shoved off, and you never knew when to quit.

Angor swept to greet you with Jim hot on his tail, swinging his sword wildly.

He was too late. 

A long story short, you were way in over your head with this one. 

Being the hostage of a centuries old… thing was so not on your bucket list. Yet, here you were, shaking as Angor Rot held a dagger to your neck. His entire being stenched of age, and you had to hold in your gagging lest it push you forth into the blade.

You didn’t know what to do. You didn’t knwo what was happening. But you knew Jim was there. He was right there, wearing his armor from Romeo and Juliet and wielding the same prop sword that didn’t look so prop-like now. 

He was right there, and he was looking at you, and you were looking at him, and you were both terrified.

“Jim,” you whispered, scared that even the slight word would force your skin forth and the knife would slit her neck. “Jim, what’s going on?”

Angor chuckled darkly as he peered down at you. “Ah, that’s right. You have no idea what your friend has been doing in the shadows.”

Your gaze was directed at Jim, your jaw shaky and your eyes wide with confusion. “What–?”

“So, Trollhunter,” Angor seethed. “Shall we risk your flower’s life today?”

You hadn’t been killed, fortunately. It all happened so fast, and all you really remembered was Jim fighting that thing, the changeling happening to be your principal, Dr. Lake in mortal danger, and an underground city of stone creatures.

The same underground city you now sat in, the boy of the hour right beside you. Neither of you had said a word since everything calmed down. It was driving you mad.

You raised your eyes to see Dr. Lake standing nearby, safe now that the battle with Angor was over. Then you swiveled to face Jim, your face screwed up. 

“Jim… who are you?”

He didn’t have much of a choice. You’d seen all you’d seen, hurt and fought alongside him despite never lifting a weapon against anyone in all your life. You deserved the truth.

“I’m the Trollhunter.”

It took nearly an hour for him to explain everything, and when it was all said and done, your jaw was hanging open. You now sat on the step below him, looking up at the boy you now knew was so terribly brave. Everything he’d gone through… it nearly made you forgive him.

You’d known Jim Lake Jr. as one thing for months and months, and now it seemed he was something entirely different. 

He wasn’t a scared kid who needed you to defend him to your ex-jerk of a cousin. He was strong and held himself with a certain dignity and humility that you envied. Yeah, he was awkward and foolish at times—foolish like when he ditched you just to keep you safe, which you supposed was understandable given that night’s events—but you liked him anyway.

You really liked him, despite all the pain and confusion and this fast turn of events. 

He hadn’t changed, you realized as you just stared up at him whilst he awaited what you would say. 

He was Jim, the boy you could have called your best friend had anyone asked, and the boy you had slowly harbored a crush on.

It was this thought process that made you lock eyes with him. You didn’t like secrets, and you hated lying. You sucked in a breath and put everything out in the open for him to see. 

“I like you, Jim.” The words were harder than you thought. “You don’t have to like me too, I just needed to say it. I want to be your friend no matter what, and I guess I can understand why you’d keep this from me. I just… I need you to know you can trust me.”

There. There it was. A confession, an offer, a pledge. It was everything you needed to say. 

And as you forced yourself to keep looking at Jim, you saw his eyes flutter and his jaw hang a bit. You felt slightly nauseous as your words came back to your memory. Had you said something you shouldn’t have?

“You like me?”

It was your time to blink blankly. That was all he got from that? You cracked a grin, not knowing where this was going. “Yeah. I really like you.”

He couldn’t believe it. He thought surely you would hate him, or at the very least never want to see his face again. But you liked him? Even after all that? After all the lies?

You liked him back?

Jim smiled, hand reaching for yours, itching to grab your hand, only for him to pull back at the awkward last second.

You tilted your head, wondering just what you were getting yourself into as you took his hand and gripped it tight.

Trollmarket was in shambles all around. Jim’s mother’s memory was wiped. His principal was a changeling. Enrique was in the Darklands. But you were there, and you were on his side.

Still, he had secrets to keep. Secrets from you, Toby, Claire, Blinky. Everyone. 

So as he dropped your hand with a subtle drop to his smile, he thought back to all that had happened, all that had been lost, and all that could be lost in the future.

“I like you too,” said Jim. You didn’t notice how his eyes filled with pain as he excused himself to deal with some Trollhunter business. 

You didn’t realize that might’ve been the last time you saw him as he turned away and walked off in a hurry.

How could you have known? You were new to this. You had no clue about the bridge or Enrique or Jim’s promise to Claire.

So when you saw Claire and Toby run by with panicked expressions, you were quick to rush after them. You had no clue what was going on, but you’d always been quick on the uptake.

Jim was going someplace he should not be going alone. He was leaving them all behind to go there. He was going to the Darklands.

You had just gotten him back, and now, he was ditching you again. 

Sure, it was meant to be heroic, but you just wanted your best friend to stick around for a little while.

Weeks go by, and you assist in Claire and Toby’s search for a way to save Jim. Eventually you help to free him, somehow managing to survive a short traipse through the Darklands.

It was safe to say you weren’t letting Jim get too out of sight for a time after that, and he wasn’t going to complain.

He never kept anything from you again, admitting it was torture to keep lying to you and keep you at a distance.

Jim often felt so out of touch with the rest of the world, being stuck in the middle of human and troll lives, and it was easy for him to disassociate and just brush everyone off. It was days like those that Jim was glad he had you.

“Jim?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

You’d only sigh, catching the way he kept zoning out, getting lost in his own head. In your opinion, he’d been through too much to be only sixteen. So you took his hand or drew him in for a hug or just slung an arm around him--any of the like would do.

Instantly, his nerves would calm and his attention drawn back to the present. 

“You don’t have to be fine, you know.”

He hadn’t known that, not really. Not until he met you.

Those all around you two would notice a distinct change in Jim’s demeanor, so subtle yet so clear. He was somehow softer, which Toby hadn’t thought possible, and the light in his eyes began to spark up again.

His mother was especially grateful, loving the life you brought back into Jim. Blinky adored your very nature. Draal tolerated your eagerness to train with him. Vendel mused your every demanding question.

It wasn’t long before Jim got nervous; you were now one more person he couldn’t stand losing.

But you never let his thoughts run too wild, somehow always one step ahead of his overthinking, ready to put out every doubt and every fear.

“Hey, listen. You’re stuck with me, Lake. Nothing, especially not Bular or Gunmar or any other creep, is ever going to keep me from getting back to you.”

He wasn’t sure how to express just how much you meant to him, so he settled for a watery grin. “Back at you.”

I love you was just a breath away from being spoken into reality, but neither you nor Jim were eager to shove it out there. The fact was there whether it was spoken or not, and the both fo you were well aware of its presence.

[chosos-husband]

Can you do a junker queen X fem reader an angst but loving story so something like they get into a big fight but later that day or a few days later they talk it out and make up?

I love junkerqueen so much. Idk, I'm also just a certified tall woman enjoyer qwq. So obligatory tall women fluff at the end

As mentioned in my last post, I can write the reader as any gender. But, I'll stick with neutral just because :3 though, the reader is gonna be shorter than her definitely. I don't think any of you guys are over 7'(if you are pls hmu)

You were, by nature, a pacifist. Which made living in Junkertown quite hard for you, almost bordering impossible. Everyone that could did take advantage of your kind and trusting nature.

You let in someone who said that they just needed to use the restroom and ended up kicking you out of your own shitty apartment.

This was how Odessa found you. You were teary eyed and embarrassed that you allowed yourself, once again, down on your luck because you were trying to be nice. Usually, Dez was used to seeing people being cruel. So, to see someone crying without being beaten before, was unusual. Emotion was often foreign in Junkertown, as it was a weakness. She found your unprovoked kindness unusual.

Odessa, though, understood the desire. She grew up around here. In a way, all those thieves were here community. However, she knew as good as anyone how cruel these people could be. She knew changing them was impossible. Therefore, she adapted to the environment that she was given.

You just wanted to change that environment.

When she asked you why you were crying, you weren't sure whether or not you should answer honestly. But, she was the queen and you feared further trouble. Therefore, you explained your situation to her.

At the end, she smiled and placed her hand on your shoulder.

"Hey, don't worry about them." She shrugged. "They're all boneheads. Come on, you can stay with me."

You tried to insist that it wasn't necessary. But she insisted. It got to a point where it would be disrespectful to not take her offer. Therefore, the plan was for you to stay a week. But a week became two and two became three.

Your relationship with Dez spiraled from there. She was a protective lover. She hated seeing you hurt, emotionally or physically. You gave her someone that could ground her. She knew that you wouldn't bring her anymore chaos or stress. Rather, someone to help her calm down.

And she found she recovered from nightmares better with you sleeping next to her. It reminded her that everything was, in fact, okay. Dez would just pull you a little closer, make sure you were breathing, and go back to bed.

However, your nature caused a lot of issues. You had issues with how Odessa handled things. Her hot-headed approach frustrated you and you often wished that she handled things more gently. She couldn't understand how you were able to have a passive view about everything. But luckily, it usually worked out for you two.

Usually.

Dez handled something quite abruptly. Once again, leading more with her temper than her thoughts. Though Dez would more kind than previous rulers of Junkertown, that didn't mean you approved of how she managed things.

You heard about it through some mutual friends. Another raid that Dez led instead of trying to reason with her adversaries first. It annoyed you. Dez noticed something was off with you as she was tinkering with something she found. You were sitting next to her on the couch, but you weren't watching her fiddle with the metal anymore. Rather, you were spaced out, thinking about Dez's actions.

"What's wrong with you? You look like you got some bad news or something." Odessa frowned. She really didn't like seeing you upset.

"It's nothing, Dez." Though, your tone said something completely different and she knew that.

"Don't try to lie to me. I know you too well." Odessa moved closer to you. She wanted to know so she could fight with whoever made you upset.

"I just hate how you manage things. I mean, can't you try to reason with people before going crazy? Does it always have to be violence, Dez?" You frowned. Your girlfriend was immediately quite defensive.

"Hey, I give them more than enough chances to apologize."

"That isn't reasoning. You have to try to see their perspective. Maybe you're wrong too. It's hard to tell until you try to talk to them." You insisted.

"You know as well as I do that isn't how it works around here." She crossed her arms.

"But why can't we change that?"

"You really think you are going to change the people out there?" Odessa stood up. She was getting frustrated with you. She only lived because she fought. She only got to where she was because she fought and was unforgiving about it.

"I would at least like to try!" You stood up too. The height difference between you two became apparent.

"You've been here so long. How don't you get it?" She was raising her voice at you, but not recognizing it.

"I don't wanna just accept that maybe some people are just bad." You explained, but she largely wasn't listening.

"Is that why you ended up kicked out of your own house? God, where do you think you'd be? You still think you'd be fine?" She sighed "You're being so fucking stupid!"

She wasn't making eye contact with you. Odessa didn't see you tear up. She only saw you turn around and leave. Her thinking wasn't clear, if it was, she would have gone after you.

~

You went to stay with someone that you and Dez both trusted. They listened to you ramble about your argument with Odessa. They sided with your girlfriend. They experienced the same life she did. They saw how much you struggled because of your nature.

But they still listened to you and understood where you were coming from, and they let you sleep in their small guest room for the night.

Dez went to bed angry. She thought you were being completely irrational. She told herself that she didn't care where you ended up. But, when she woke up from a nightmare, she panicked without you next to her.

She looked for you, she yelled your name. Dez couldn't rationalize with herself for a solid minute. Rather, was consumed with the worry that she lost you.

Once she calmed down, Dez sat back down on the bed. Her breathing was irregular, and her thoughts scattered. She ran a hand through her hair while she tried to figure out what to do.

She was angry at you. But she knew that there was a reason she loved your calm demeanor. She loved how calming you were especially in moments like this. She needed it. Most importantly, she had to know that she wasn't losing you.

Dez thought about where you would have ended up. She knew you well enough to know that you would have been too scared to venture too far. She also knew that you weren't bitter enough to try to fully move out.

She figured that you went to a friend's house. Odessa knocked one door after door before reaching the friend that you chose to stay with. Of course, she was immediately let in.

You weren't able to sleep that night. You kept thinking about your fight with Dez. You worried about if this was going to be the end. Thoughts like that made it impossible to sleep.

The Queen knocked on the spare bedroom door.

"Come in." You said just loud enough to be heard. She immediately opened the door.

"y/n, come on. Can you come home please?" You sat up. It was the most desperate that Dez ever sounded.

"Are you still mad at me?" Your voice was soft.

"Can you please just come?"

~

The walk home was silent. But she did watch over you. Luckily there weren't many people out at this time of night. If they were, they recognized the Queen from afar and tended to stay away. She was just centered on getting home.

She opened the door for you. You assumed that the rest of the night was going to be quiet too. But, as soon as she shut the door, she grabbed your arm.

"Babe, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so rude to you." Odessa frowned. "I just was upset. I didn't think you were wanting to understand. I grew up where my personality means not getting taken advantage of. It means getting what you need and getting access to what you want." Dez shook her head "But I like how you are."

"It's okay, Dez. I wasn't being the nicest either."

"But you didn't call me stupid." She stepped forward, the height difference between you and her became apparent once more. "I like that you talk soft and always try to see the best in others. It's cute." Odessa shrugged. "But if I'm not the way I am, you are going to get hurt again. I just wanted you to get that this isn't me being mean. It's just the say it is.

There was a long pause before she spoke again. "Are you gonna be mad at me?"

You looked up at her. You realized you are likely the only person that the Junkerqueen Queen would ever apologize to.

"No. I understand that you didn't mean it, Dez." You smiled. Odessa put her arms around you and picked you up. She carried you like this back to your shared bedrooms. She slightly threw you onto the bed. But you both shared exhaustion.

She laid next to you and put her arms around you. You smiled, feeling better that you had the queen to protect you while you slept. She pulled you close to her. Odessa observed that you were breathing and that comforted her. She gave you a kiss on your jawline.

"I love you. Even when I don't show that the best."

[beardedmrbean]

The Republican mayor of a Northern California city where a pair of 7-Eleven store clerks fought back against a thief who was seen on video threatening them and ransacking the business before being beaten by the employees, said authorities are investigating the viral incident, while also criticizing a state law many have said enables thieves to act without consequence.

Stockton Mayor Kevin Lincoln issued a statement Tuesday, saying the case involving the suspect and two Sikh employees for the convenience store chain is being looked at and will be referred to the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office once completed.

Video footage captured by a customer shows a man wearing a mask dumping cigarettes into a giant trash can over the weekend. At one point, the suspect appeared to threaten to shoot the people inside. The two employees eventually turned the table on the alleged thief and began beating him with what appeared to be a stick while he was on the floor.

"I believe [the workers] were frustrated, emotions were high, but I believe they did was courageous and did the right thing," Louis Benton, who recorded the incident, previously told Fox News Digital. "Instead of taking a gun or taking something that could really harm him. And I'm glad the guy hit them below the belt. Not above the belt, but also to, you know, has come to a point where I know it was enough."

In his statement, Lincoln noted that Proposition 47, a voter-approved measure, downgraded charges pertaining to certain theft and drug possession crimes from a felony to a misdemeanor if the value of the stolen goods is less than $950.

The measure was ushered in by voters in 2014, and has been blamed for the many brazen smash-and-grab thefts and shoplifting incidents plaguing cities up and down California.

"It has essentially legalized theft and open drug use in California, culminating in these unbelievable smash-and-grab robberies," former state Assemblyman elected U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., told Fox News Digital last year. "Voters were egregiously misled about what this would do."

"The law hinders businesses daily by increasing shoplifting and decreasing our law enforcement's ability to hold accountable those responsible for such acts," Mayor Lincoln said. "These kinds of California state laws continue to impact communities."

On Tuesday, San Joaquin District Attorney Ron Freitas said the two 7-Eleven employees have never been considered suspects by his office. "Any Investigation going forward is to hold accountable the individual who threatened and attempted to rob them," he said.

[serialfirstdater]

London #13: The Leeds Philosopher

Click here for the Podcast Episode of The Leeds Philosopher

If there is one thing I am trying to do, it is to expand my horizons and go out with men I would not typically date here in London. Especially when my roster is very empty.

Since I was barely speaking to anyone and feeling a bit loose with my dating requirements, I swiped right on a guy I wouldn't normally give a chance.

I came across a dirty blonde-haired 29-year-old British guy. He had artistic tattoos all over his forearms and wore a bold, colourful graphic tee. He wrote in his bio that the green flags he looked for in a woman included thinking therapy was cool and reading on the tube. He was a software engineer and it appeared he had a Masters in philosophy.

We briefly chitchatted before scheduling a date. He asked me out for coffee.

Normally, this would be a turn-off but considering that I haven't had a date in a month since I last went out with Petite Loki, I thought why the hell not. At this point, I started to no longer care as much about coffee dates as I did in Toronto because if the guy was super interested, he'd try after the initial meeting.

We decided to meet at a nice cafe called Page Common Coffee House. I waited outside of the cafe because I arrived earlier.

When he approached me, it took me less than 10 seconds to know that we were not a match once I saw his nails were painted black.

He got me an iced matcha latte and he had iced coffee for himself. We sat down and had a friendly conversation.

He was from Leeds and came to London six weeks ago to study philosophy. He told me that he was a software engineer for seven years but one day realized he didn't want to keep helping the rich stay rich. He wanted a life purpose.

He used to smoke weed daily, constantly being high. One day at 25 years old, he had to stop because it was affecting his mental health. He read a philosophy book about how the author dreamt he turned into a cockroach. After reading it, the Leeds Philosopher wanted to dedicate his life to helping people through their mental issues with philosophy as it did for him. He was passionate about exploring the world and hoped to be a philosophy professor one day.

"In my first year of teaching, I'd be making £30-40K, which is pretty good!"

I internally cringed when I heard about his salary. Good is far from what I would consider a salary of £30-40K. He said since it was so expensive to live in London, he worked 20 hours a week as a software engineer to keep afloat while in school.

Now he was a cool guy and I admired his passion for helping others and philosophy. However, his lifestyle was a no-go for me. I valued someone with high financial stability who doesn't mind material things like a nice home or having plenty of money to enjoy life with. However, it was clear he did not value making loads of money like I did.

Our conversation stayed pleasant throughout but there was absolutely no romantic spark. After all, I was never drawn to alternative guys who wanted to go off the beaten path. He probably also saw that I was not a fit as I expressed my enthusiasm for working in the corporate world.

After a couple of hours, he had to go see his friend. We hugged each other goodbye and said it was nice meeting each other. I contemplated perhaps staying friends with him, but luckily he never texted me after. The feeling was mutual.

What did I learn? Trying to date outside of my preferences seems fruitless.

Time and time again I was proven that I should stick to what I know works for me. There is a reason why I am drawn to ambitious, corporate men. Or men who have very stable careers. You know, the ones that an Asian mom would approve of.

[shemarmooresfedora]

Home

Series Summary: After being arrested, Spencer Reid desperately tries to get back home to his daughter, Camellia, who was placed into foster care in your home.

Pairing: Single!Dad!Spencer x Foster!Mom!Reader

Word Count: 1.1k

Content/Warnings: mentions of prison violence, mentions of periods, a joke about ‘a shark attack’

A/N: thank you for all the love on the first chapter <3 i don’t really have a schedule for this series yet but i’m planning on at least a chapter a week (maybe sundays or thursdays)

Chapter 2

“Sorry, who’s here to see me?” Spencer asked.

“Y/N Y/L/N,” the guard repeated.

Spencer remembered Callie mentioning Y/N being her foster mom during the visit. This must be her, it wasn’t like he had a lot of visitors coming here outside of the team.

He was led to the private visiting room where you were already waiting for him, in scrubs with little frogs all over them because you were stopping by before work and after dropping Callie off at school.

Your eyes widened when you took in Spencer’s bruised and beaten face.

As soon as the guard closed the door to stand and wait on the other side, you were up and out of your seat, inspecting his injuries.

“What’s your pain level on a scale of 1-10?” you questioned, gently poking and prodding at his face.

Spencer met your eyes curiously for a second. This woman he hadn’t even formally been introduced to yet that was fostering his daughter was now caring for him.

“Oh, sorry. Doctor habits,” you took a step back and giggled nervously, “I’m Y/N. Callie is living with me which I’m sure you’ve already heard.”

“Yes, Callie mentioned you were treating her nicely,” Spencer replied.

“She said that?” you smiled softly, “Sorry, she just hasn’t been opening up to me like some of my past foster kids have…which is fine! But I just felt like I was doing something wrong.”

“No, I’m the one who did something wrong,” Spencer motioned to his surroundings and sighed.

“Well, I do have something to talk to you about regarding Camellia but first, I don’t feel comfortable as a medical professional leaving you with untreated wounds, I can go get my med bag in my car if you want?” you offered.

Spencer glanced at the guard on the other side of the door, “I don’t think you’ll be allowed to bring that in.”

“I’ll just tell him it’s tampons and he won’t even check. The one plus side to most guys being very immature,” you stood.

Spencer actually cracked a smile for the first time since he got arrested. Who was this beautiful angel that had come into his life?

You returned to the room a few minutes later with your bag full of medical supplies.

Spencer had to stifle his laughter as you told the guard you had ‘a really heavy flow’ and it ‘looks like a shark attack down there.’ Needless to say, the guard didn’t check your bag. In fact, he never even turned around again for the rest of the duration of your visit.

“Do you want to talk about it?” you asked softly as you used an alcohol wipe to clean his wounds.

Spencer shook his head no, relishing in his only human contact this week that wasn’t a beating.

“I’m not going to press you to tell me because I’m a stranger but please talk to someone. It’s not healthy to keep your emotions bottled up. It’s why I got Camellia a therapist,” you explained.

“I write in a journal,” Spencer spoke, wanting to have your approval for some odd reason.

“That’s good, Dr. Reid. I hope it helps at least a little,” you nodded, “Now I have Cars bandaids or regular ones.”

“Normally, I would go for the Cars one but unless you want to come back again tomorrow and clean up my wounds again, I better stick with the normal one. Also, just Spencer is fine.”

“Alright, Spencer,” you pressed the bandage to his forehead and smoothed it over.

You both shared a few moments of eye contact before Spencer cleared his throat, “You said you came to talk to me about something regarding Callie?”

“Oh yes,” you sighed, “You see I have been letting her take one to two days off of school a week to process this situation on her own as long as she gets her missed work in. I thought it would be okay because her grades were phenomenal and she was turning the work in but now the grades are starting to roll in…F’s. I was hoping you could talk to her. I know the next visiting hours aren’t for 2 days but I can leave you my cell, my landline, and I don’t know if you already have Camellia’s number memorized but I can give that to you too.”

“Thank you for letting me know and including me in on the parenting,” Spencer replied earnestly.

“She’s your kid, Spencer, and a great kid at that. I’m not trying to take her away from you. I’m just trying to help.”

“Thank you, it’s much appreciated. I already have Callie’s number memorized and if you just tell me yours, I’ll remember them too.”

You looked a bit skeptical but repeated your numbers to him anyways.

“I’ll call tonight. Phone privileges start at 7,” Spencer confirmed.

“I need to go if I’m going to get to work on time. Stay safe, Spencer, and remember, you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think,” you brought your hand up to his cheek and softly stroked his stubbly skin with your thumb a few times.

“A.A. Milne, Christopher Robin from Winnie the Pooh,” Spencer whispered back.

-

Spencer called your cell instead of Callie’s, hoping to hear your voice again before talking to his daughter.

“Hello!” you answered.

“Hi Y/N,” Spencer suppressed a smile at just the thought of your cheery optimism contrasting the dreary place he was trapped in.

“Camellia is up in her room. I’ll go get her,” you stated.

Spencer heard you walk up the stairs and knock politely on a door.

“Camellia, your dad is on the phone,” you spoke.

You waited patiently for Callie to open the door, you handed your phone to her, and she closed the door once again.

“Hey, sweetheart,” Spencer greeted.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Y/N told me your grades were dropping significantly. You’re on the verge of failing,” Spencer stated softly.

“She ratted me out,” Callie scoffed.

“She did not ‘rat you out’,” Spencer replied.

“And now, you’re taking her side? Unbelievable,” Callie rolled her eyes.

“Camellia Diana Reid, I am not taking anyone’s side. I’m stating the facts. Why are you not even trying to complete your schoolwork?”

“What’s the point of being smart, Dad, if you’re the smartest person I know and you are where you are?” she cried.

“Honey, this is a consequence of my poor choices like not informing the FBI before I left the country, not my intelligence. What happened to my Callie that would beg for extra times table practice?” he smiled softly with tears in his eyes.

“I’ll try harder, I promise, Dad,” Callie replied.

“I love you, sweetheart.”

“Love you too, Dad.”

A/N: if i forgot to add you to a taglist or if i added you to the wrong one, please just ask again! sorry i tried my best to keep track of everything

main taglist (just ask to be added/removed!): @samuel-de-champagne-problems @g0lden-cth @spencerreid9 @averyhotchner @coldlilheart @k-k0129 @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange @harrystylesandthegoobs @cmily @jswessie187 @rem-ariiana @hoodpankow @mochionly @spencerreid-187 @babymetaldoll @fics4arainyday @ssavanessa22 @all-tings-diego @idonotexiste @beepbooptoop @tvandfanfic @mggsprettygirl @big-galaxy-chaos

series taglist: @ilovespencerreidmarryme @nani-2305 @obsessivelysearching @fantasynerd09 @bvttercupbby @britishspidey @ladyravenclaw @belledawnidk @annesauriol @smokey102 @lady-himbo @kaitieskidmore1 @xuckduck @westanspencerreid @manuosorioh @haylaansmi @unhea1thy0bsessions @meganskane @lovergirl24

[floofs-headcanons]

Hello hello! Both of your have such awesome writing! I had so much fun reading the headcanons and scenarios of the bodyguard AU! Could I request either college AU or a soulmate AU or your choosing for Zoro? Whatever you feel like writing! Thank you!!

College & Soulmate AU; Scenario

Character; Zoro

Word Count; 1,718

Thank you so much, we’re glad you liked it !! But no, but let me tell you how we screamed at each other for literally half an hour when we saw this request. There were too many good soulmate AUs we ended up using a generator aksjdhas.

The first time you and your soulmate touch you get stuck together for a while.

December is when you find him sleeping on campus grounds. He’s resting on one of the outdoor tables, book open, with arms covering the pages. Snow is falling, and you’re cold even with a heavy fur coat and umbrella keeping the white specs from melting into your hair.

You’re not sure if you should wake him up despite the fact that he was wearing nothing other than a T-shirt and some jeans, but he doesn’t seem very bothered. Well, that is until he sneezes. It’s followed by some incoherent grumbling and nearly scares the shit out of you, but it’s enough for you to decide to help.

“Hey,” you poke his cheek with the butt of your umbrella, not too fond of touching strangers. “Hey!”

He doesn’t stir, and you’re left wondering if anyone else has tried to help him before you showed up and ended up leaving it be because he wouldn’t budge.

Still, you couldn’t leave him here in this type of temperature; so you decide to leave your umbrella behind. It’s long enough to lean against the table and shield him from the ever piling snow without directly touching any part of his body and possibly bothering his rest- not that you think it would. He didn’t flinch even when you yelled at him.

December is when you’re working at Shakky’s bar late into the night to pay off your college tuition.

Those loans wouldn’t pay themselves after all and the salary was good. 

The company at the bar itself was interesting to say the least. You could never truly say you had a dull night while working there. Be it the slurring drunks and their awful attempts at pickup lines, to the terribly sobering tales that would be shared across the counter; it was an eye opening experience. 

Tonight would be much like any other- at least, that’s what you had thought until a familiar man comes through the door. 

He seemed well- that was good. You didn’t give it too much thought, after all, you were on the clock and this was a rather popular bar for the student body to frequent. From the way Shakky greets him, he must’ve been a regular long before you had begun working here.

Setting down the glass you had been mindlessly polishing, your attention is drawn towards a customer sitting near the back of the bar. He’s a bit louder than the other customers, but you were pretty used to that. Eustass Kid came in all the time and drank until he either passed out or his blonde haired friend carried him out forcefully. At the very least he wasn’t bothering anybody.

“Excuse me,” the green haired man raises a hand, successfully catching your attention. It seems he was done talking to Shakky by now.

“Yes?” You make your way over, an award-winning customer service smile tugging at the corner of your lips. “What can I get for you?”

He ends up getting a few, maybe more than a few, beers. This man sure could drink.

December is when your car decides it needs its own break from the cold winter snow. It thankfully doesn’t break down anywhere too traffic heavy, and there’s an auto-repair shop not even five minutes away.

“Oh, hello,” you greet, surprised to see a familiar face working here. He’s wearing a tank-top and some slacks, and this time you think the attire is appropriate given how much he was sweating.

The owner, Franky, had more than generously came to pick up your mobile and gave you a ride along the way, saying it would be done the same day. I have a reliable repairman, he said more than just a bit too loudly for comfort.

The male glances up at you for a second before going back to finish up on the vehicle he was already occupied with. “Hey, there.” You’re not too sure if he recognizes you- it’s a hard to not recognize him- but that’s fine, you just needed your car fixed.

It doesn’t take him very long to finish up on his current project before moving onto yours. He thankfully doesn’t ask any questions, it seems like the owner had already filled him in, and just starts working.

“You know,” he spares you a glance, picking up another tool. “He said it’d be done the same day but it’s still gonna take a few hours. Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“Unfortunately not,” you sigh. The only plans you had were to go back home and take a long, long nap, but there was no way you were going to walk back in this type of weather. For a while, you’re standing around a little awkwardly, fiddling with the fluffs of your sleeves before he speaks up.

“If you want you could sit inside where it’s warmer. There’s a TV and some magazines you could read to keep you occupied.” You debate that for a bit, looking through the glass door to the waiting area, but ultimately decide to stick around for a bit longer.

“It’s fine,” you say with a smile. You could wait inside later, for now you’d want to wander a bit. It’s not every day you’d get to go to an auto-repair shop and you’ve always been a bit curious with how often Kid yells about it in the bar. “Would it be alright if I take a look around?”

He gives a grunt of approval and you make yourself comfortable, roaming the workshop. It’s quite big, and you hadn’t noticed ‘til now that the walls were painted in vibrant blues, red, and yellow. It matched the owner’s eccentric personality.

“Oh,” a stand hidden to the back of the shop catches your attention; a lone umbrella resting on its handles. Yours- to be more precise. “You use an umbrella during snow time?” You hadn’t bothered to ask for it back, the thought never really occurred to you. Considering they weren’t that expensive buying a new one wouldn’t be much of a hassle. If anything, you were more surprised he’s kept it around.

The male clears his throat, stopping whatever it was he was doing to your car and wipes his hands down with a towel. “Actually,” he admits sheepishly, “I’ve been meaning to return it to you. I just kept forgetting.”

You raise a brow, “You knew it was mine?”

“I’ve seen you use it around campus before,” he admits. “Not a lot of people use an umbrella while it’s snowing, and the color’s pretty vibrant so it’s hard to not notice. I had wanted to give it to you when I visited the bar, but you were constantly busying yourself so I never got the chance.”

A chuckle escapes your lips at his little confession. He seemed like such an intimidating guy, with the furrowed brows and scar over his eye, but he was a lot more awkward than one would expect. “Well,” you catch his attention. “I’m working there again tomorrow night if you want to come give it to me in person.” December is when you’re sparing hopeful glances at the door every time the bell chimes.

“Expecting someone?” Shakky teases, coming behind the bar and pouring herself a glass.

“Something like that,” you mutter before making your way past her to attend to someone in the corner of the room. It’s the same person from around two weeks ago- he’s louder this time, but there were also less customers tonight and no one seems to be complaining any so you let it slide. “Yes? How may I hELP-?!”

What you can’t let slide is how he forcefully grabs your wrist and essentially drags your body to lean over the table. “Ah, damn,” you’re used to drunks, not idiots. He has a permanent grin plastered over his lips and his grip on your wrist tightens. “I can’t let go! Guess we must be soulmates!”

There is no explaining the disgust that washes over your face. “Sir, I’m asking you politely to let go.”

Everyone who goes here knows that it’s simply an unwritten rule to not fight unless you wanted to be beaten half to death. Not by you- dear lord no- Shakky on the other hand was ruthless and you’d never want to end up on the other side of her fist.

Ever.

“Huh?” He slurs, “didn’t I just tell you that I can’t let go?”

“I’m telling you-” before you’re able to get anymore words out another hand wraps around the older man’s wrist, successfully shutting you up. For a second, the dread of it being one of his friends rises, but it’s quickly crushed by the voice that follows.

“I’m sure you’re not deaf. She said let go.”

The bar is dead silent for a few seconds before the man roughly releases his grip on your arm. A bit gentler would’ve been nice, you internally grumble, rubbing the sore area.

“Hey there, could I ask exactly what you were trying to do with my precious barkeep?” Your boss comes over, leaning against the table. She gives you a wink and a slight nudge of her head towards the break room and you don’t think twice before leaving the scene, your green haired friend following close behind.

“Is your wrist alright?” He questions as soon as the door closes. “My bad for being late, I got held back by some work Franky wanted done.”

His hand reaches out to gently hold your wrist and a spark of electricity shocks you both. Usually, your first instinct would be to flinch and pull away, but he has a firm grip.

“Uhm,” you glance down, then back up at him. “It’ll probably bruise tomorrow but it’s nothing to worry too much about...”

His face is unreadable, and after a couple seconds his ears turn a faint shade of red. “I can’t let go.”

You chuckle at his poor attempt of a joke. “C’mon now, we just went through this.” You lift your free hand to pry his fingers off your wrist only to feel the same electric shock as earlier. It doesn’t hurt, only stinging enough to really initially surprise anyone, but you quickly realize he wasn’t trying to pull your leg.

Oh.

“So,” he awkwardly lifts his other hand. “I brought your umbrella.”

[ronwae]

childhood au

so i'll try to reconstruct what Ralphies life as a kid was

a few facts from the game that we know:

* is younger than Nicky ( if Nicky is about 28/27 i imagine Ralph to be about 25/24 ) meaning that if Nicky immigrated w his relatives as a young child Ralph was probably already born in the US.( this could be the reason why in ch.1 he talks about being a real newyorker and makes fun of mc about it)

* Was abused (probably for the entirety of his childhood) by his alcoholic mother

* His father left him ( he says :" he went to get a pack pf smokes one day and never came back" this gives me the feeling that he would be at least 5/6+ years when that happened.

* Got into street fights and probably lost since once again he says " beat me up as bad as the boys" meaning that he was THE VICTIM HELLOO??

* there is also a small dialogue in ch.1 where it's mentioned that he always skipped school and probs stopped going there pretty early

* it's obvious that he lived in some gutter idk how to rephrase this

* was always close to nicky from the early childhood " we were the closest"

* one memory that Nicky narrates to us is making paper boats for Ralph and letting them sail on rainy days

* in spite of this we are told that Nicky never showed Ralph much affection, for example when Nicky is being sweet to mc he replies with "i've never seen him act like this"

* and in another line he says " i don't need nobody to stick their neck out for me" so yeah, he's been left alone and neglected for a while

Actual Childhood

i will compare Ralph with Nicky throughout this whole text and make a point about being very different.

1. His relationship with his mother

As long as Nicky had part of a more loving(normal) mom, Ralph clearly was less lucky. Literally being on his own with an alcoholic. Which resulted in him feeling unloved and running from home and getting into gang stuff. By always being belittled and beat by his parent, this usually results with the person later in life having big problems with aggression, this explaining why he likes being a criminal and jokes about others dying( this being a possibility to release all that anger from his childhood).

At the same time another prominent characteristic of his is the thing where he always does what he's told. We see this when he says that "Nicky taught him this and that" and also in that scene where he & Floyd sign documents. And there Ralph was right about not wanting to sign the deed to the speakeasy, but under Floyds pressure he literally breaks in less than a second. I explained this behaviour not by being simply " weak of spirit" or simply a loser, but the desire for approval, recognition and literally being patted on the shoulder for doing good. Since he's never been shown any kind of affection, he desperately tries to subconsciously earn it.

I think i should also add that by Freud( hate on me but this guy made a few good points) a mans relationship with his partner corelates with his relationship with his mother ( vice versa for women), so it makes sense why Nicky - with a loving mom found his soulmate, and Ralph didn't. ( i assume that he never had a long term relationship ). ( this is my personal theory)

2. His relationship with his dad

none🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥🤥

3. His relationship with Nicky

now this one is just a continuation of point 1.

I've always felt some part of jealousy for Nicky. Maybe he got into crime because he always wanted to be like Nicky and even talked about living in Nicky's mansion after he takes his role. Im sure that he love's Nicky and feels bad for betraying him, but i understand why he'd do that. Maybe he tried to subconsciously prove to himself that he can make his own decisions but that turned out... well... bad.

But i imagine them both having a really good relationship, good un their own way.

And that point where they both mentioned that Nicky tried to prevent Ralph from joining the mafia, if i put myself in his shoes i would take that not as a way to keep me safe but a way to keep me from succeeding or always remaining in Nicky's shadow.

okay now for the actual actual childhood headcanons

* I feel like Ralph would be actually a pretty smart child. Besides being curious i feel that he'd say smart,correct and deep thoughts and not even realise that.

* He'd still have problems spelling and understanding basic math:/

* lived admiring rich people on the covers of magazines or in the movies

* was pretty much of a loner as a child and didn't have many friend except Nicky

* while Nicky was the lively, active and charismatic one, Ralphie would be the quiet kid until 12/13 yrs

* that meaning that he would usually be made fun of or beaten by older kids

* i don't think he'd fight back much, not with bare hands at least

* in general i think he'd despise actual fights, more of a gun/knife guy

* disliked Nicky's dog, or any four legged animal ( doesn't hate them but doesn't love either)

* birds on the other hand

* they always gave him hope and the desire to just be free and escape his home and everyone he knew. the same with sailing, loved the idea of just leaving alone into the open ocean

* irrational fear of death

* if there is a living creature that he loves more that birds it would be butterflies

* but no one knows that since he's embarrassed to admit it

* would create many problems as a child

* starting with the basic running from school up to setting someones hair on fire with a lighter

* mentioning the lighter, tried smoking at about 14 but nearly choked to death because of his asthma

* and because of asthma i think there would be multiple times where he almost died

* as a kid probably lived near a garage and spent most of his free time watching men repairing cars

* car obsession phase

* even started drawing them at some point and got pretty good at mechanical drawings

* dreamed of becoming a racer

* once told that to a girl he liked in like grade 4 and almost died of pride when she applauded him for his ambitions

* and his ambitions were always high

* the second he'd see or hear about something grand or fancy he'd add it to his mental list of wishes

* made friends with some local old guy who was very sarcastic and nihilistic and literally based his personality on that

* would have to get around life on his own and by that i mean that he sew his own clothes, made his own food, when he got lost -spent hours walking around new york until he found his street without asking anyone for directions

* at some point picked up smoking because even though at first it was death threatening

* at about 16/17 totally found himself in the "wiseguy" persona and at this point there wasn't a returning point

* had a couple of girlfriends but dated them for a month at best

YES I LIKE PSYCHOLOGY YES I WANT TO BECOME A PSYCHIATRIST AND I LOVE CHARACTER ANALYSIS

[lassieposting]

I'm mad at myself for asking this but 💘 skug/alt!Serpine

WHEEZES

U CONVERTED

send me 💘 + A SHIP and i’ll tell you—

where they first met and how

KOTW.

Then, after Skug refuses to kill Serpine at the end of SOW, China spitefully makes him responsible for Serpine's behaviour while he's living in Roarhaven. "Parole officer" isn't part of Skug's job description but honestly he doesn't trust anyone else to make sure Serpine doesn't slip the leash, so

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved

I mean, Serpine literally gets his dick out in their very first scene together, and he throws his towel over Val's head so it clearly wasn't for her benefit.

My headcanon is that he did have the hots for his own dimension's Skulduggery before he died. But Serpine has a very warped experience of emotions - he's not insane, and he's not a complete psychopath, but he has very low empathy, an obsessive personality, a considerable sadistic streak and a tendency to be jealous, narcissistic and manipulative. So his crush on Skug was more like an unhealthy fixation - hatred and lust and humiliation and the need to control, all tangled together.

On Skug's side...he has a few lines that read as flirty, in a D/S kind of way. But honestly I don't think this was deliberate. I get the impression he's actually imitating how Serpine spoke to him when he was the prisoner. Serpine's entire arc in SOW can be condensed down to "microdosing on what he put Skug through before killing him". He's surrounded by enemies who want him dead, he loses a body part, he's beaten up, he's humiliated, he's cut off from his magic - and he hates it. I get the vibe that this isn't lost on Skug, and he's repeating things Serpine once mockingly said to him just to rub it in.

who fell for who first ( if applicable )

Serpine.

I have him converting to the Church of the Faceless as a teenager, so he's spent his entire adult life surrounded by other selfish, scheming social climbers who'd sell him to Satan for a corn chip. His relationship history is chock full of psychopaths. He's used to betrayal and being used by his partners - such is life, as a bad guy.

So Skug protecting him during the Leibniz mission makes quite an impact. He even says himself that Skug has every reason to hate him and want to make him suffer - which is an attempt at empathy considerably deeper than anything we've seen from him before - but he's still shocked and devastated when Skug cuts his hand off. He genuinely expected Skug to decide to fight their way out rather than harm him. To me, that says he's come to rely on having Skug in his corner, which is a security net he is decidedly not used to having.

He doesn't necessarily express it very well? His feelings are complicated, and he doesn't understand most of them. A good part of him still hates Skug, just as a good part of Skug will always hate him. But his fixation on Skug shifts a bit - rather than obsessing over him as an enemy, he obsesses over him as an ally. He starts wanting Skug's approval and digging for praise, he gets sulky and jealous if Skug implies he doesn't trust him or goes to someone else for help or information instead, and he starts trying to insert himself into Skug's life.

Basically, he's gotten over that he spent the past 300 years as Skug's enemy, so Skug needs to be over it too. Right now. And it's unreasonable and unfair that he isn't over it.

where their first date was and what it was like

Skug is willing to acknowledge that if they were a couple, which they're not, because they're arch enemies, then maybe, if you really had to look at anything they do as "a date" then...perhaps the first time they went to the opera could in some way be considered their first date. But it wasn't. Because they're not together. He doesn't even like Serpine. Valkyrie just doesn't appreciate "yowling" and he had nobody else to go with because all his friends are dead.

Serpine will agree with this - but only because he knows that announcing that he lowkey considers their three day torture extravaganza to be their first date would go down like a lead balloon.

who asks who out and how ( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? )

They never have a "going steady" discussion. It's just

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away

They're adamant that there's nothing to let anyone know about. They spend a lot of time together, and sometimes Serpine helps with cases, and they angry fuck sometimes, and Skug keeps a few shirts and a toothbrush at Serpine's apartment, but they're not a couple.

who’s more dominant

Skug. Serpine will die mad about it. He complains constantly about how much he gets manhandled during the Leibniz mission, how undignified it is to be cut off from his magic, how everyone tells him to shut up every time he tries to join in a conversation, he hates you all, remember that time he killed people you all cared about?

Unfortunately, Serpine is a massively subby bottom, so dom!Skug makes him deeply horny and even more angry about it. He's the epitome of "Stop looking at my fucking boner when we fight."

where their first kiss was and what it was like

It's New Year's. Serpine is out at a bar with some of his student neighbours because, why not. Skug is at the same bar, questioning the staff about a grizzly murder. The usual. Serpine goes over to say hello and make fun of him for Always Working and tell him he should chill out on occasion because isn't it your fucking birthday and you're still at work??? They're still talking when the countdown finishes and everyone around them starts kissing, which is a completely new concept to Serpine because that tradition wasn't part of the Leibniz dimension's New Year's festivities, so he just sort of panics because everyone else is doing it, grabs Skug by the front of his coat and goes for it.

Skug freezes, because who would know how to react when the man who killed you once tries to go to town on your fake face, and then gets his shit together and promptly arrests Serpine for assaulting a Sanctuary official, because he's petty and he can and Nef needs to learn some fucking boundaries.

They end up lowkey working on the case together through the bars of the temporary holding cell, and although neither of them would admit it, they actually have a good time. At the end of the night Skug relents, lets him out for "good behaviour" and gives him a lift home.

how into pda they are

Serpine is hugely into PDA. He likes a possessive, jealous partner, he's got a bit of an exhibitionistic streak, and ultimately he wants to be wanted enough to be fought over.

Unfortunately for him, Skug is not a PDA fan in the slightest. Serpine finds this bitterly disappointing.

where their usual ‘date spot’ is ( if applicable )

A Roarhaven restaurant with a live jazz band. Serpine likes the food, Skug likes the music, and it's public - so neither of them feels wrongfooted and vulnerable in the other one's territory. Although, as Serpine likes to point out, it would be a bit difficult to torture and dismember a man in his student accommodation apartment. If he can hear Maddie-across-the-hall having muffled sex with her latest beau from the far side of his flat , he's pretty sure the entire building would hear Skug fighting his way out of whatever diabolical trap he seems to think has been set for him every time he comes over.

who’s more protective

Skug is more obviously protective - he protects Serpine almost the entire time in Leibniz, rows with China in defence of his freedom, and (however reluctantly) steps up to help him settle in Roarhaven. But Serpine is territorial, and he can be surprisingly proactive about it. If Skug comes home injured, he can always tell - no matter how much he tries to hide it - because he's seen Skug at his very worst, he knows what 'trying to mask pain' looks like in the set of that jaw and the grit in that voice. He doesn't like anyone else playing with his toys, so sometimes he'll get very angry and lash out at whoever damaged Skug in the first place.

(He also tends to hover at the clinic like a particularly irritating bad smell. He insists it's because he just finds Skug's pain amusing. He's not concerned. Not in the slightest. He doesn't care at all. No, he will not go home.)

how long it is before they sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ )

They first hook up a few months after returning from Leibniz, but it's a half-dressed up-against-a-wall sort of thing and neither of them sticks around for pillow talk. They don't actually share a bed - as in, fall asleep together - until at least a year later. Technically, the first time they fall asleep together, they're on a stakeout and Serpine dozes off on Skug's shoulder, then wakes up with a cricked neck.

if they argue about anything

Literally everything, 90% of their interactions are arguing. Bickering and snark is the only way they know how to communicate.

who leaves more marks ( lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. )

Serpine loves leaving marks and doesn't mind getting them, either. He's territorial and has an exhibitionist streak, so he likes everyone knowing who he belongs to, and he's deeply thirsty over the idea of everyone knowing Skug belongs to him.

Unfortunately, Skug is not easy to leave marks on. Any hickies he gives the facade will disappear as soon as Skug turns it off. Some of his scars still show, though - the ones that scored his bones - so at least there's that.

who steals whose clothes and how often

They're not too different in size, so they could probably both get away with it, but everything Skug owns was tailored for him and Nef is narrower in the shoulders, so Skug's shirts don't look quite right on him. That doesn't stop him borrowing a couple to wear around the house, though. He has no stored wealth in this dimension, so he's wearing off the rack until he can get his feet under him again, and Skug's shirts are all obnoxiously fine fabric. It would be silly not to steal a few.

how they cuddle ( spooning? facing each other? )

They're not that cuddly. They do have occasional moments of softness, but it's more likely to be, like. A shoulder bump. Fixing each other's shirt collar. Tending an injury with a minimum of mockery. They do a fair bit of this when no one's watching, though.

what their favourite nonsexual activity is

Bickering.

They also both like working cases. The Sanctuary won't officially hire Serpine because he is who he is, but when Skug hits a dead end in a case or has something that's really frustrating him, they'll go over it together. 400 years of enmity aside, their minds work in similar ways, and they're both very good at that sort of thing - if they hadn't met on opposite sides of the battlefield, they probably would have gotten along very well.

how long they stay mad at each other

They've never actually not been mad at each other. They're just all each other has left because all their friends are dead.

what their usual coffee / tea orders are

Initially, both black - maximum stimulants for Skug, maximum edginess for Serpine. But then he discovers Starbucks, and all the fancy things mortals are doing with coffee these days, and starts branching out into what Skug calls "frilly froufrou nonsense". After that his drinks are like 95% sugar and syrup.

if they ever split up and / or get back together

They never officially split up. This is mostly because neither of them will admit being together in the first place. They absolutely go through phases of being far more enemies than fuckbuddies, and they know how to push each other's buttons and hurt each other like no one else. This ship is comedic and incredibly toxic in turns.

what their shared living space is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? )

They don't live together. Serpine has no idea where Skug lives, and Skug wants to keep it that way. Serpine's flat is technically student accommodation - he just needed somewhere the landlord was too young to remember him from the war - so when Skug crashes there it's usually cramped and noisy and there's a revolving door of neighbours knocking on to ask to borrow some milk/loo roll/"hey, you're old, help me with my history thesis?"/"Are you coming out tonight?"

All Serpine's neighbours think he's a sex worker - to them, he seems to have a different well-dressed sugar daddy staying over every week. They keep trying to set him up an OnlyFans. Skug finds all this very amusing.

what their first christmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like

Christmas was banned in Leibniz (as a religious holiday of a banned religion) so Nef hasn't celebrated since he converted in his teens, but he gets into it, because it's an excuse for a party and nobody is policing him. Skug is his usual grinchy grouchy self. Nef also celebrates several holidays that Skug isn't familiar with that were commonplace in Leibniz, but are only observed by strict Faceless worshippers in Roarhaven.

what their names are in each other’s phones

Skug is an old man about his contacts, so Nef is just "Nefarian Serpine".

Serpine, on the other hand, has recently discovered emojis, so Skug is "💀🍆".

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first

Who falls asleep first varies; Serpine is a night owl and likes to go to bed in the early hours of the morning, but Skug has some really fucked up working hours, so a lot of the time he's awake long after even the night owls have gone to bed. But it's always Skug who wakes up first - Serpine is Absolutely Not a morning person. He fits right in with the students in his building who have to be coaxed from under the quilt by the smell of frying bacon.

Skug, because he enjoys the odd opportunity to be an asshole, will sometimes wake him with a cup of coffee, and sometimes by holding a flame up to the fire alarm. Variety is the spice of life, Nefarian, didn't anyone ever tell you that?

who’s the big spoon / little spoon

Cuddling is fairly new to Serpine. He's always enjoyed sex, but he has a solid tendency to jump into bed with the enemy - as shown by his laundry list of Resistance conquests - so he's never really gone for relationships where cuddling is a thing. He's more into the "forbidden passion" sort of dynamic.

Skug is a cuddler, but not so much in this particular relationship, for obvious and understandable reasons. Serpine does figure out though that he can burrow under Skug's arm while he's half-asleep or in a postcoital fugue state and Skug will just sort of let him, so he's probably the little spoon.

who hogs the bathroom

Both of them.

Serpine lives in a tiny one bed flat in a student building. His bathroom is miniscule. And when Skug stays over, they're both crammed in there first thing, Serpine trying to shave and do his hair and Skug elbowing him out of the way to cycle through facades until he finds one that's handsome enough to leave the house in. They bicker horrendously the entire time. It's a logistical nightmare.

who kills the spiders / takes them outside

Nef kills them. Not because he knows Skug's not a fan, but because he's not allowed to torment humans anymore, so. Last time he checked, killing spiders wasn't an arrestable offence, Skulduggery, stop looking at him like that.

[niallercanons]

hey love ❤️ i saw that you are taking requests could you do an imagine with niall where the reader is one of the 1d boys’ sister and they’re secretly dating and then her brother finds out and goes all protective over her you can add whatever you want to the story p.s. if you feeling off and you want to talk to someone about it i’m always here to talk love u ❤️ hope you are having a great day ❤️

Hey guys!! Sorry for the inactivity, uni has been making me so incredibly busy so I haven’t had much time to write at all and my laptop broke a little while back. Luckily, I’ve been saving up for a new laptop anyways and am the proud and elated owner of a new MacBook Air!! Thanks for the request and the note of encouragement, if I’m ever feeling down I’ll know to reach out to you. Anyway, enjoy this imagine and happy early Thanksgiving to all my American readers!

A Brother vs Bandmate Brawl Backstage - N. Horan

(TW: Mentions of a fight and Niall gets sorta beaten up)

(Word count: 1297)

The sounds of thousands of fans screaming and cheering is truly something like no other. The boys have just wrapped up the setlist for their concert and are giving thanks to their fans for attending.

As they’re doing so, you’re backstage, waiting for your brother and his bandmates to finish and to congratulate them on the job they’ve done that day. When growing up, you knew your brother Louis wanted to be an artist, to travel the world and sing for the crowds and now that he is, you couldn’t be prouder. Louis’ doing what he’s wanted for himself for a long time and has the best bandmates to do it with.

You’re joining them this tour, acting as an assistant tour photographer to Matt Irwin. You’ve had a love for photography your whole life, so what better to do than pursue what you love and spend some time with your brother and his bandmates?

As the boys make their way backstage, you’re there to cheer them on and praise them for their performance. Louis goes to hug you but you duck away, denying him a hug while he’s still sticky with sweat. You congratulate all of the boys and send a not so subtle wink Niall’s way that he returns when you finally get to him.

While you’ve been touring with One Direction, Niall and you have gotten very close and comfortable with each other. The two of you are very close in age and share many of the same interests. Not to mention you two find each other easy on the eyes and are both very attracted to each other. However, you and Niall have opted to keep your relationship a secret for the time-being with pending approval from management and uncertainty in how Louis would react if he found out you two were together.

At the beginning of your time on tour with them, Louis made it clear he would murder any guy who got too close to you and that he’d always be watching to make sure no one got too close to you. Clearly, he wasn’t looking as closely as he said he would but his threats of murder still stood.

Soon after, everyone retreated to their dressing rooms to shower and relax a little after a tiring show while you joined Matt in looking over and choosing which photos you guys have taken to be edited and released for promotion. After you’re finished with that Matt dismisses you for the night, letting you go back to the tour bus to get some rest for tomorrow. As nice as that sounded, you make your way over to Niall’s dressing room, hoping to see him for a little bit before actually heeding Matt’s advice.

You knock 6 times on the door, 3 small and 3 big, a knock you and Niall made to let each other know if you or Niall was at the door. After hearing the sounds of shuffling, the door opens and you see Niall, his hair is damp from the shower and he has a white towel wrapped around his torso. He sticks his head out into the hallway, looking from side to side before he pulls you into his dressing room and quickly closes the door. Niall envelopes you in his arms and pressed a kiss against your lips.

“Glad you came to visit. Was hoping to see you today before we all pack onto the tour bus.” Niall says, the two of you still in an embrace.

“I finished reviewing the photos for today and Matt suggested that I go back to the bus to relax but, I decided to take a detour.” you respond. “Did I catch you at a bad time? Seems like you were showering before I came knocking.” you gesture towards the towel slung around his hips and damp hair.

“I just came out of the shower and wasn’t in the mood to put my clothes back on. Maybe now that you’re here, I won’t have to.” suggests Niall, leaning in to kiss you once more before the door bursts open and the rest of the boys are there, presumably for Niall but immediately stop in their tracks.

You and Niall pull apart. Everyone is silent for a minute. Once everyone processes what they just saw, Louis steps towards Niall and tackles him down, physically assaulting him. Louis is angry, extremely angry.

You and the boys jump to pull Louis off Niall, though it takes longer than anticipated. Louis is yelling at Niall, obscenities and insults flying around.

“WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE, KISSING MY SISTER? I TOLD ALL OF YOU HOW I DIDN’T WANT ANY OF YOU GUYS BEING WITH HER AND THEN YOU GO AND DO JUST THAT? WHAT THE HELL MATE I TRUSTED YOU. I TRUSTED YOU.” Louis yells at Niall until he’s forced off him by you and the other members. You go to help Niall up off the floor. He’s got a black eye sprouting, a bloody nose and a few bruises but you’re happy to report he wasn’t too badly hurt.

“Louis, I’m sorry we didn’t tell you but we didn’t know how you’d react so we didn’t tell you. I really like being with Niall, I genuinely do.” you tell Louis, standing beside Niall.

Everyone is just silent for some time. You’re tending to Niall and making sure he wasn’t too hurt and Louis is silent thinking over what he’s found out and what you’ve told him. Sensing that this isn’t something they’re a part of, Harry, Zayn and Liam slip out of the dressing room and leave, Harry giving you an apologetic look.

“So, how long has this been going on?” Louis asks.

“Around the start of the tour.” The tour has been going on for 4 months.

“4 months?! You’ve been sneaking around for 4 months?” Louis exclaims as you and Niall wince.

Louis thinks over everything for a second. He told the boys that he’d make sure no one got too comfortable around you but needless to say he did a poor job of that.

“Niall, do you really like Y/N?” Louis asked apprehensively, looking at the two of you.

“I do Louis, I really do.” Niall says, glancing at you and pulling you closer towards him. Gears are turning in Louis’ head. Louis isn’t too happy that you and Niall hid your relationship from him for so long even after he expressed how he didn’t want any of the boys dating you but he’d feel horrible if he separated the two of you. Besides, Louis trusts Niall and knows he’s a good guy that would never intentionally hurt you.

“Okay, I think I’ve got this thought through,” Louis said. You and Niall are holding your breaths, unsure of what Louis has to say.

“As mad as I am that you guys hid this from me, I know you two are good for each other and Niall will treat you well.” Louis says before you and Niall hug him, happy to hear he approves. The three of you remain in the hug until Louis pulls away and threatens Niall that if he ever hurts you, Louis will murder him in his sleep and hide his body so well that no one will ever find it which Niall somewhat fearfully nods along to, having no intention of hurting you anyway.

Louis soon leaves the room, going back to his dressing room. You and Niall are now left in the room alone, Niall sporting the beginnings of a black eye on his face as you help him clean that up.

You guys are happy as can be though, not having to sneak around and hide your relationship that your brother luckily approves of.

[theboredwritertm]

Din x Mandalorian!Reader x Cobb Vanth? Say like Din and the reader are partners and they’re both kinda into Cobb and if it’s your thing maybe the reader can be a little bossy?

The Arrangement

A/N: Sorry/not sorry for using that ^ gif - it made me laugh. (No, they don’t technically do anything in front of the kid.) There’s a lot of ways I could have taken this request, but honestly, I’m glad I went with this. (I may or may not have a part two in mind already). Also, I guess I’m just horny on main for this entire episode, since I want to write all my requests around it?? Hope you enjoy, anon! The request was for reader to be bossy – I might have accidentally made them a bit of an asshole, haha. Also, I ignored a lot of things on my to-do list to get this edited and posted today! 

Rating: I’m going to say 18+

Pairing: Din Djarin x Mandalorian!Reader x Cobb Vanth

Warnings: Swearing, partner sharing (cuckolding, I guess), like a bunch of smut at the end. 

Word Count: 7,272  (consider the first 3000 words foreplay)

Summary: You and Din are partners in every sense of the word, loyal to each other in every way, but you have one very simple arrangement: you can fuck anyone who takes your interest, and he gets to watch.

Tags: @justanotherblonde23

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

It was like the opening of a bad joke.

Three Mandalorians walk into a bar. One of them is an imposter.

You’d felt Din tense beside you the moment you’d spotted the familiar armor, both noting the casual way it was worn, as if it were merely an accessory to the man beneath it and not a reflection of his religion. This complete separation from the creed was further proven as the man you knew only as ‘The Marshal’ stepped up to one of the tables in the bar, calmly removed his beaten-up beskar helmet, and set it down on the wooden tabletop.  

You’d had to pause for a moment as you took in the face in front of you, all thoughts of backing Din up about the beskar not belonging to this man suddenly far from your mind. He was older than you – older than Din, too, if his greying hair and beard were anything to go by – but there was a youthful kind of mischief to his face, in the way he gazed curiously between the two of you. 

You’d traveled the galaxy and seen a lot of faces in your time, and this certainly wasn’t the first handsome one – but, Maker, if there isn’t something just a little bit tempting about it… 

You turn your head, now, to look at Din. Though he gives no sign of noticing, his visor still directed forward, you knew he’d sensed the movement – understood the intention. His helmet dips almost imperceptibly for a moment, then he turns his head to look back. You grin beneath your visor. It had been a long time, but he still remembered the gesture; a silent approval regarding a long agreed-upon arrangement between the two of you. 

It was simple: you could choose any man who caught your particular interest – though, with a man like Din by your side, you couldn’t say there’d been many – and Din got to watch.

You loved Din, had been by his side for years now, but you’d be lying if you said your first thought at that moment hadn’t involved getting pinned against the wall in some dusty, back-room by the man in front of you and letting him drill you to the point of oblivion.  

The Marshal sits staring between the two of you with a lopsided grin that certainly doesn’t help with your current line of thinking, eyes sparkling with easygoing humor. 

“Never met a real Mandalorian,” he states, as he takes a seat and sets down three cups and a bottle of what you recognize as spotchka. “Now, two walk into my town. What are the odds?” He glances between the two of you as he carefully pours out three equal serves, sliding two of the cups in your direction in what you assume is a peace-offering – or maybe just a show of small-town hospitality. 

“I’d say they’re in your favor,” you reply, your sly smirk clear in your tone, even through the modulator. Din throws you a look for how obvious you’re being, but you can’t say you care. If the man manages to pick up what you’re putting down early on, so be it. It makes things that much easier for you.

The Marshal looks up at you, curiosity clear on his face as he hears your voice for the first time, not expecting you to be a woman. Your armor doesn’t give that away – forged for protection rather than showing off what’s underneath – and even though you are a little smaller in stature compared to the big guy next to you, he wouldn’t have made the assumption. He’d fought all shapes and sizes and knew that size didn’t always denote ability – or gender.

“From what I’ve heard about your kind, I figured at least one of us might not be walking out of here. But now,” he says, gesturing with a nod towards you, since you’ve given yourself away, “Between her and the kid, I’m thinking maybe this isn’t the kind of situation I thought it was gonna be.”

You’re deep in thought about the kind of situation you’re hoping it’s gonna be, when you feel little hands grasping at the back of your leg. You look down. Right. The kid. You’d been so busy picturing every position you’d let this man bend you into, you’d almost forgotten about the little womp rat. 

The Child looks up at you with big eyes and raises his little arms in a gesture you’ve grown familiar with over the past few weeks. Conceding to his demands, you reach down to scoop him up. Not that you and Din were ever particularly careful when it came to sex, but you really hadn’t expected to be thrown into parenthood like this. You doubted a town like this offered much in the way of babysitters, and even if it did you didn’t think Din would trust just any person to watch over the kid; not after everything you’d been through so far to keep him safe. And certainly not just to satisfy whatever devious thoughts were running through your head. 

“You got a name?” you ask, your eyes never leaving the marshal’s – even if he can’t see yours – as you settle the child in your arms. 

“Cobb Vanth,” he replies, and you’re glad to finally have a name to put to the face – something to whisper or cry out when the time calls for it. 

“Where’d you get the armor?” Din asks. 

Right. The armor. You’d completely forgotten about that.

“Bought it off some Jawas,” Cobb replies.

You cringe, knowing that’ll be a sticking point, especially for Din. It’s a mark of disrespect to the beskar, even if Cobb doesn’t know it. But you don’t think it’s enough to break the silent agreement you and Din have made. 

“Hand it over,” Din tells him, and you have to roll your eyes at his attitude. Always straight to the point.

Cobb seems to find something amusing about this. “Look, pal, I’m sure you call the shots where you come from, but ‘round here I’m the one who tells folks what to do.”

Bouncing the kid on your hip, you glance towards Din, wondering what he’s going to do and if that something will ruin your chances of carrying out the wicked ideas currently playing out in your mind. You know he’s got to hate being called ‘pal’ by someone like this – someone who wears the armor without any right to – in the same way you know Cobb is using the term just to stir him up. You glance back and forth between the two of them patiently, waiting to see where this goes.

“Take it off, or I will.”

Now, that’s more like it.

Clearly not how he meant it – at least you don’t think so…but then Din was prone to a darker humor that sometimes went over your head when you weren’t expecting it. Maybe he was fucking with you both.

You find yourself distracted by the way Cobb grins in response, unsure if it’s the way it lights up his attractive features, or if it’s his cocky kind of fearlessness that gets you the most. You didn’t encounter a lot of people who stood up to Din, and most of the ones who did were almost always bluffing, but, staring down a member of an infamous warrior clan, Cobb manages to look quite at ease. 

“Two on one? Doesn’t seem very fair,” he says, adding fuel to the thoughts running through your head. You’re sure you can change his mind on that.

“Maybe we can come to some sort of arrangement.” Your tone is low, words steeped with intention, and the way he looks back at you now says maybe he’s finally caught on. 

He glances between you and Din, trying to work out the dynamic here. You’re standing close – could just be business partners, but he thinks not. There’s something in the way the larger Mandalorian keeps pausing when you talk, as if, even with a baby in your arms, you’re the one who’s really calling the shots. He opens his mouth to give his answer, but before he can tell you the sort of arrangement that he thinks might be suitable, the ground begins to shake beneath you. 

Behind you, at the bar, cups, and saucers chatter and clank together on their shelves. One of the bottles of bright blue liquid shuffles towards the edge of the counter then dives, shattering on the floor below before the bartender can catch it. It’s a shame. Liquid is hard to come by out here.

Cobb stares at you both for a minute, then holds up a single, polite finger to give him a moment. Your gaze trails after him as he heads for the doorway, then you glance back towards the bartender to find they’re making a beeline for the back exit, too. 

You and Din exchange looks. Whatever this is, it looks like any kind of arrangement is going to have to wait.

***

A new arrangement falls into your lap in the form of an enormous, cock-blocking krayt dragon. 

As if driven by some constant compulsion to play ‘defender of the people’, Din agrees to take care of this problem for the town in exchange for Cobb’s armor. Of course, you follow along – you’re not completely heartless to their cause – though you’re not sure you’ve ever had to work this hard for a lay. After all, you’d had a much simpler way in mind for getting the man out of the armor.

Yet, as you travel towards the dragon’s lair, clutching onto Din in a manner you find a little undignified as you ride on the back of his borrowed landspeeder, Cobb begins to tell you some of his history – of how he came to be marshal of Mos Pelgo – and you find yourself growing more intrigued by the man. You’d never usually make the effort to get to know the people involved in your arrangements, knowing you’d probably never have to see them again, and sometimes extra information tended to get in the way of what should have otherwise been a simple one-night stand. You already had Din; you weren’t interested in getting to know someone else on that level. But as the night found the three of you lodging together at a Tusken Raider camp, you found yourself warming up to the man. 

So, now you’re sat around a fire, the three of you on one side, the Child on your lap, and several Tuskens across from you engaged in an odd, barking conversation with Din. You’d traveled enough to understand most of what was being said, but that didn’t mean you weren’t wishing they’d go back to the silent hand gestures they’d been using to converse with earlier in the day – the sounds were just so grating.

An argument eventually erupts over some smelly peace offering, a drink Cobb isn’t familiar with, and you’re amused to find that he’s a bit of a hothead. It’s a nice contrast to Din’s cool, calm nature. In an ironic twist, Din ends the row with a blast from the flamethrower on his arm and you turn the baby away from the heat, unfazed, used to this kind of behavior from your partner by now.

Cobb collapses back into his seat beside you, looking slightly defeated, and catches your quiet chuckle.

“You agree with all this?” he asks you, glancing between Din and the Tuskens in an irritated kind of disbelief. You both watch as Din moves to sit closer to the tribesmen to continue their strategizing. As far as you’re concerned, since this little endeavor is Din’s idea, you have no qualms letting him do most of the work. Cobb, on the other hand, used to being the one running things, seems mighty put-out.

“Me? I go where he goes.”

“Doesn’t seem that way to me.”

You look back at him and find his handsome face turned back towards you, looking like he’s trying to take in what he can’t see beneath your helmet. You smile. “No?” 

He shakes his head, looking amused. “Sometimes I get the feelin’ you’re the one in charge.”

You think of how best to phrase that, as two idiots in love, you and Din are prone to following one another into idiotic situations, but settle instead for trying your luck with something different.

“He’s got a habit of volunteering us for things. Personally, I had an easier way in mind for getting you out of that armor.”

You watch his face carefully, at least as much as you can make out in the flickering light of the fire. He seems to pause and take this in, not at all expecting it, then takes on a curious expression.

“Am I readin’ this wrong? I thought you two were together.”

“We are.”

He stares at you again and only looks more confused. But you can’t say he doesn’t look interested. It’s like he’s weighing up a few things.

“Well, forgive me for sayin’ so, but I am not about to risk gettin’ my junk blown off for manhandling some Mandalorian’s girl.”

This time you laugh a little louder, pleased to hear that he’s at least imagined it in enough depth that his intended actions might warrant that kind of reaction. Din looks over at the two of you for a moment before returning to his own conversation. 

“What’s so funny?” Cobb asks, smiling at you.

“That you think he’d have a say in that,” you reply. You watch him for a moment, finding this one of the few times you’re wishing you could take off your helmet and be properly face-to-face with someone. There was a lot you wanted to say to him, and not a lot of it could be said using words. 

“If it helps,” you add, “He’s cool with it. We have an agreement.”

Cobb’s staring at you, eyes bright with interest below a shock of salt-and-pepper hair, thinking a few things over. This isn’t a situation that he’s encountered before. Flirtatious women, sure; but none who seemed pretty attached to the man they were already with. He hadn’t even seen your face yet – but he’ll admit, that kind of adds to the thrill. 

“So, what, we do this right here, right now?” he half-jokes, glancing back at the surrounding tents as if the Tuskens might be so hospitable. He waits for your response, because in all honesty, he’d be up for it if you were.

“I figure we take care of the giant monster eating your townsfolk, first. Then, assuming at least two of us make it back alive, we see what happens.”

He chuckles.

“Sounds like a deal to me.”

***

It goes surprisingly well, aside from a very stupid stunt on Din’s behalf; one you’re quick to pull him up on, because for a split moment all thoughts of Cobb had evaporated from your mind at the very real prospect of losing him. 

There are still losses on both sides, of course – for the Tuskens and the Mos Pelgons. The krayt dragon had lost entirely. 

A celebration takes place in the bar that night, back in Mos Pelgo, and you imagine the Tuskens are having a little party of their own back at their camp, with enough meat now to feed their entire clan for weeks to come. 

Cobb’s sitting on his own, watching his happy townspeople with a smile, a bottle of spotchka in hand. He pours himself another cup - his third one. He’s waiting, now. Assuming you hadn’t been leading him on the entire time. You and your Mandalorian had disappeared not long after everyone had arrived back. Maybe it had all been a lie – some twisted game of foreplay the two of you had going on that you had never intended for him to be a part of. He’ll admit that handing over his armor back at the den of the dead dragon might not have been a smart play. He kind of preferred your idea for the handover. He sighs and takes a long sip of his drink. 

Oh well. 

He takes a moment to look around the room, remembering the last time they’d had such a joyful celebration – at least the first half of that night, back when the Empire had finally fallen, given how it had eventually ended. As he continues to look around, a flash of steel catches his attention towards the very back of the room. 

There you are, standing in the doorway. 

He wonders how long you’ve been there; if you’ve been watching him, and how the hell he hasn’t noticed. He’s not sure how he feels about that. Despite spending the past few days with you both, he’ll admit he’s still a bit intimidated. Especially by you. Still, when you beckon with a single jerk of your gloved index finger, he finds himself already on his feet.

Oh. Well.

He throws back the last of his drink, thinking that tonight he’s probably going to need it. 

***

You lead him up a flight of stairs in the back to a room that sits above the bar; a room where only moments earlier you’d set the final boundaries for the night with Din. 

Although you’ve done this a few times before, it’s still important that you remain on the same page. Most of his rules hadn’t changed from previous occasions: no sleeping with the outsider (actual sleeping, that is – it was a form of intimacy he drew the line at), no cumming inside of you (that was for him, and him only), and you were to always remain in control of the situation. 

There had been one unfortunate incident where the guest for the evening had proven a little too rough with you. The moment the dynamic had flipped, Din had left his seat at the sidelines and preceded to drag the guy – who had still been completely naked at the time – out into the darkened streets. You didn’t know what had happened after that and hadn’t bothered to ask.

You didn’t think you were going to have the same issue with the marshal. There was a gentleness about him that perfectly balanced with his cocksure attitude. He seemed respectful. A good man, just like Din. Maybe that’s what had attracted you to him in the first place – how the dirty could balance just right with the sweet.  

He follows behind you looking a little wary, but after everything you’d been through together in the last forty-eight hours, he didn’t see any reason not to trust you. Or maybe that was his dick talking. It had been a while for him. Most of the women in the town were married, and for those that weren’t, he was friends with most of their fathers – practically old enough to be their father. It wasn’t a situation he wanted to get himself into, especially not in such a small town. And Mos Pelgo didn’t exactly get a lot of visitors these days. He’d take his chances with you.

When he enters the room, he sees the other Mandalorian seated on a chair against the wall, facing the bed; completely still, hands resting on his beskar-covered thighs, waiting. 

“You know, I realized I haven’t even seen you, yet,” Cobb says to break some of the tension, turning back towards you as you hit the button for the door – tension only he seems to be feeling, apparently. You both seem oddly at ease. 

“And you won’t get to.” Your voice, though slightly distorted by the helmet, still manages to sound alluring. It almost manages to take some of the edge off your vaguely threatening undertone.

“Not even a peek?” he teases, but he knows enough about your people to understand what he’s getting himself into. “How’s that gonna work?” His eyes glide over your full form for the first time truly taking in your body. Admittedly, he’s looking for any unfamiliar lumps and bumps, but from what he knows Mandalorians are usually humanoid. He watches as you take out a long strip of cloth from one of your pockets.

“One rule for tonight. The blindfold stays on.”

“That’s it?” Cobb asks. He can do that. Hell, it wouldn’t be the first time, though at least he’d gotten to see that person’s face first.

You glance over at Din, catching the barely perceptible way he cocks his helmet, then add, “There are other rules, but for now those can wait. This is the most important.” You turn back to Cobb. “No living person can see us without our armor. This is The Way.”

“Huh,” he replies, thoughtfully, catching your choice of words. “After everything we’ve been through, you’re still threatening me?”

“It’s not a threat,” you say, and the gruffness added by your modulator does no favors in convincing him of this. He lets you secure the strip of fabric firmly across his eyes, then almost immediately after hears the hiss of your helmet being removed. Then your voice, clearer this time, hot breath against his ear: “It’s a guarantee.” 

He wonders if it’s possible to be terrified and turned on at the same time.

You barely pause to let this sink in before you’re pressing a mixture of kisses and bites down his neck. Though you’d lived a long time wearing the armor, letting it become like a second skin, you couldn’t deny the added pleasure of the cool, fresh air against your face once it was off. Then there was the added sensory layer of scent and taste. After spending hours with your head inside the confines of your helmet, breathing filtered air, you always found your senses heightened once you were finally exposed.

Cobb smells of sand and sweat, and as you trail a few light, teasing kisses along the lower line of his jaw, his beard bristling against your soft lips, you pick up the sweet-and-sour scent of spotchka on his breath. He turns his head in the direction of the armor seated opposite the bed, having momentarily forgotten about your one-man audience, giving you a much better angle of his neck in the process. As you continue working your mouth over him, he keeps his ears pricked for any sound of movement, feeling suddenly vulnerable in more ways than one.

“You sure he’s in there?” he half-jokes, voice breathy as you continue to lap at his sensitive skin. He could have sworn the armor hadn’t moved since you’d arrived.

“He’s in there. Let’s see what kind of show we can put on, and maybe he can prove it.”

You have his full attention now.

Completely blind, he fumbles to help you out of your armor, fingers finding straps to undo as he feels your hurried movements assisting him. There’s a number of clanks as heavy plates fall to the floor, and he takes a moment to run his fingers over you, feeling the cloth of your tunic still separating his fingertips from the warmth of your skin. It has to come off. He tugs at it, signaling this, and you happily comply. Once you kick your pants and boots off, you stand before him, confident and completely naked, a smirk tugging at your lips as you work out what you want to do with him first.

Din drinks in the sight of your bare figure. It still feels like a rare occasion when he gets a full view like this – so used to the dim lights of the Crest, since it’s one of the few places you both feel comfortable removing your armor – but even those opportunities have become rare now that you had the Child to worry about. It was a blessing that you’d managed to get the little womp rat to sleep in the adjoining room, but then Din wasn’t surprised – despite your ability to come off tough and uncaring, you were better with the kid than he had ever been. If there was one thing the Child might inherit from him, it’s a deep adoration for you.

Even from this seated distance, he can see how smooth your skin looks, his thoughts triggering a kind of muscle memory in his fingertips as he recalls all the times he’s run them across it. He’s almost tempted to call this whole thing off and take you for himself, leaning forward ever-so-slightly, hands braced against the arms of the chair, then Cobb starts to run his hands down along your curves and he catches the way you glance back at him. He’s always caught off guard by your beauty when he’s lucky enough to see you without the helmet, forgetting just how much he’s missing out on when you wear it. As a smile slants across your face in his direction, he settles back into his seat, heart thudding in his chest. He’ll happily let you enjoy this, if only to have you look at him like that forever.

Cobb’s adjusting to compensate for the sense he’s had taken from him, guiding his fingers slowly over your body as he tries to picture how you must look. He starts with your shoulders and you remain completely still across from him, waiting patiently for him to take you in with the only method he’s got left. He feels you shiver as he brushes his fingernails over your neck, then he reaches up for your hair. It’s longer than he’s expecting, given you have to wear it under a helmet all day, but silky and soft. He spends a moment running his fingers through it and you take the opportunity to close the gap between the two of you, grasping the back of his neck to encourage him down to your shorter level so you can press your mouth to his. The kiss becomes heated and has you backing him towards the bed. 

Pausing for a moment, voice breathless, you say, “You’re still dressed.” He grins and takes the hint. You watch as the layers of red are stripped off, then step in to help him with his belt, your mouths less than an inch apart, breath ghosting over each other’s lips as you watch his face for little reactions. Then he dips his head forward to find your lips again, both of you forgetting about his clothes for a moment as you become engrossed in the simple pleasure of the kiss. You feel him smile against your lips as your hands find his belt buckle once more, your fingers making quick, eager work of it. You pull back once it’s undone and let him take care of the rest, your gaze dropping down at the same moment his pants do to catch sight of what you’ll be working with. You’re happy with what you see. There was something to be said about a cocksure man with something to back it up.

Cobb resumes exploring your body as his fingers drift downwards this time; down your arms, briefly stopping to cup your breasts, smiling to himself when he rubs the pads of his thumbs across your hardened nipples and hears you sigh, then down along your sides, finally reaching your hips. His fingers dig in for a moment as he draws you in closer to his warm body, then in one swift movement, he scoops you up under your ass. You wrap your legs around him instinctively to keep you both steady and find yourself rewarded as his hot, hardened member unintentionally brushes against your folds. He has to stop for a moment when he feels how wet you already are, reminding himself he wants to take his time, despite the sudden urge to slide into you. He presses a couple more kisses to your cheek and neck, whatever skin he finds he can reach in this position, then carefully drops you down onto the sheets. They’re cool and refreshing after your long day in the desert heat, but you’d worked hard to set the room just right for your evening, sourcing these little luxuries in the short time you had after the fight with the dragon. 

You lay back so your head’s pointing towards the foot of the bed, towards Din, where you can easily look back at your man. You do so now and feel the heat of his gaze even through his visor. You glance down at his hands, which still rest on the arms of the chair, and see his fingers clutching tightly at the wood. 

Cobb feels his way up onto the bed, using the headboard to steady himself, looking to where he thinks you’ve landed, getting a feel for your position. He feels off-balance without his sight to help him. You’re still busy watching Din when a hand finds your thigh, and your attention is torn back to the marshal as he drops forward, caging your body with his arms. He presses warm, ticklish kisses down your belly, his close-cut beard scratching at your sensitive skin, using the intimate gesture to help guide him down to his intended destination. He ruts his throbbing erection against your thigh to help give him some relief, but that only seems to make it worse. Managing an impressive level of self-control, he shuffles back to give himself more room, then continues using his lips to map out your body. He starts at one of your knees, kissing his way down your thigh, catching the heavenly scent of your arousal as he nears your core. His face hovers above it, feeling the heat radiating off it like a sand dune at the end of a long, hot day, then he licks a stripe where your thigh meets your crotch, dangerously close you where you want him. Your hips rise ever-so-slightly off the bed to try and meet him, but he backs off, blowing cool air against you to tease. You reach down to run your fingers through his hair, urging him closer to you, and hear him emit a soft growl in response. 

When his mouth finally finds your center, you both moan – his sending vibrations that rattle your already-buzzing nerve-endings, yours a little higher pitched as you find a craving finally satisfied. You’d been thinking about this since your first run-in on the day you’d arrived in Mos Pelgo, and the relief it brings to your needy body is better than you could imagine. Still, as his tongue continues to work you up, your pussy clenches with the need for something to be inside of you – a finger, a cock, at this point you don’t care – and you wonder how long he’s planning to take before he finally fucks you.

He starts slow, his tongue pointed and direct as it traces circles and lines over your clit, then the more he relaxes, the sloppier his movements become. You much prefer it that way. The sounds soon coming from between your thighs – a combination of wet slurps and his delighted groans – are as lewd as they are divine, and you’re already fast approaching your first orgasm. As he continues to fuck his tongue into you, your hips bucking mercilessly against his face, fingers twisted in his hair, he hears you mutter something. It sounds almost like a chant. Words he can’t make out. Another language.

“Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum. Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum. Ner cyar’ika.”

Din’s currently entranced by the way your body is moving, his gaze firmly directed at the man between your legs as your cries and whimpers reach his ears like a favorite symphony; his hips grinding in tiny movements against the chair in an attempt to get some relief. Then he catches the familiar words spilling from your lips. He stills. They’re words you had only ever said to him, and for a moment he thinks they’re being wasted on the marshal. Then he looks at your face, sees your neck curved back, and realizes all this praise is being directed at him. His heart swells – along with certain other body parts – to have you still be thinking about him while your pleasure is at the complete mercy of another man. He thinks he’s never loved you more than at this moment, just to know that you’re his. It takes every ounce of willpower he has left to remain seated. 

The first shockwave of pleasure hits you harder than you’re expecting and the cry that rips from your throat, as if pulled from your very core, is so loud you wonder if the whole damn bar can hear you downstairs. As you ride through your waves of pleasure, your cries the only relief from the full-body torture, you think you probably don’t care. Let them hear. It’s a time for celebration, after all, and who’s to deny you yours.

By this time, Cobb’s slipped a couple of fingers inside of you, working you towards your second orgasm already, and you brace your body for the impending over-stimulation. Once his lips and tongue join in, you find it doesn’t take long; his deft fingers somehow managing to hit just the right spot as he presses a kiss to your thigh and curls his fingertips upwards. He keeps his fingers moving even as your whole body tenses up, your back arching off the bed, his tongue lapping at your clit as your mind goes blank. When you finally look back down at him to see a teasing smirk plastered on his face, along with the sheen of your juices, you know you can’t wait any longer. You push yourself up and take him by the shoulders, using the strength of your toned legs to flip him onto his back so you’re on top. He’s not expecting the sudden maneuver and releases an ‘oof’ then a soft chuckle. 

“Sick of that already, darlin’?” he asks, face still wet and shining as he grins beneath you. Even with half of his face covered by the blindfold, he’s still a handsome motherfucker.

You smile back and trace a couple of fingers down his cheek, managing to gather up some of your slick as you go. Looking over at Din, you lift your fingers to your mouth and lick the residue off of them, grinning when you hear the strained growl that rasps through his modulator. It was always a roll of the dice whether or not he would fuck you after you’ve been with someone else, but that sound was all you needed to hear to know that you probably wouldn’t be making it back to the ship that night.

You turn your attention back to Cobb, finally responding, “I could do that all night, mesh’la, but if I don’t get you inside of me soon, my partner’s going to have to step in, and I don’t want you feeling left out.”

He hums, pleased by how forward you are, and grasps your hips to direct you over him. His grip loosens when you push a hand down on his chest, forcing him back into some semblance of submission, then he releases you completely when you reach back and take hold of him. You stroke your hand up and down his length a few times, smiling to yourself as he bucks into your hand, then finally lean forward to place it at your entrance. You hover over him, his tip angled inward to hold him in place, and your palms come down to his chest to force him to remain still. He takes the hint, even if his hips are free and every instinct is begging him to thrust. He can feel the warmth of you, how slick you are against him, and knows that all he needs to do to relieve the feeling is a quick buck of his hips, but there’s something about the weight of you on his chest that has him completely at your mercy. You feel the small movements of his indecision, his hips twitching below you, then when he’s least expecting it, you slide down, full engulfing him. The tortured whine that erupts from him is reward enough for your patience. 

You start up at a rough pace, hands still pressed on his chest to balance you as you buck your hips and start to ride him. You look down at his hands and watch him clutching desperately at the sheets before he reaches back for you, hands hovering tentatively by your hips like he’s not sure you’ll allow it again. You grab hold of them and set them firmly against you. Taking the cue, he begins thrusting upwards. Soon, you’ve fallen into blissful sync, running your hands up to your chest and pinching at your nipples as you look back over at Din. His stance in the chair has changed since you last looked; his legs sitting a little wider, his body a little more slouched like he’s relaxed into it. His hands are back on his thighs, rubbing slowly at the beskar covering them, as if he’s fighting to keep them away from other parts of his body. Every so often you see his hips shift like he’s trying to gain some relief.

You’re caught off guard when Cobb sits up, but the new angle hits deeper and has you seeing stars. It’s put his face in a better position, his mouth now at level with your breasts, and as he pulls your body closer his lips and tongue latch onto one of your nipples. Your head drops back as you let out a deep moan and his thrusts begin to pick up, as if he’d been waiting for the signal. After being inside of your armor for almost a day straight, it’s a lot of sensation all at once, and with your pleasure fast approaching another peak, a familiar tightening in your lower belly, it’s almost hard to keep up. 

“How’s that, sweetheart?” Cobb asks between panting breaths, running his fingers down your back until his hands are cupping your ass again. “You like that?”

“Fucking perfect,” you reply. You reach for the back of his neck, tilting his head back as you look down at him from your position on top, and you find it’s a turn on in itself to have this kind of power over the man. You gently tug on his hair, giving you both a minute to bask in your shared pleasure before you lean down for a sloppy kiss, both too far gone to care. The minute you’ve parted Cobb buries his face between your breasts, grunting and moaning against you as his thrusts grow slow and uneven. You think that maybe he’s close, but the man’s self-control has proven impressive so far – he’s not going to cum until you do.

The tightening in your lower belly stretches towards its peak, threatening to break. Almost as if he knows, Cobb leans back, ever-so-slightly changing the angle of his hips, and suddenly he’s hitting a different spot, as if he was saving it for the perfect moment. Your pitch changes and you’re holding onto the man for dear life as your body goes into involuntary spasms around him, your fingers clawing against his back for purchase as he holds you tightly against him and forces you to ride it out. He pulls out at the last minute, since you’re currently so outside of your own body that you can’t remember to tell him to do so (and he gets the feeling your partner isn’t the type to let him mark you like that) and you feel warm spurts along your belly as he shoots his load against you, his strained groans adding one final note of obscenity to round off your pleasure. 

It takes you both a moment to return to your senses, and you lean down to kiss him again, ignoring the sticky sensation on your skin as you let the simple pleasure ground you. As you slip back onto the sheets, disentangling yourself from him, you look around for something to clean yourself up with but come up short. 

“Just use the sheets,” Cobb tells you, like he’s reading your mind, “I’ll wash’em up later.”

Your gaze narrows, though you’re too hopped up on endorphins to be concerned about much of anything right now. “Can you see through that thing?”

He grins as he falls back onto the bed, utterly spent, and shakes his head. “Just figured you wouldn’t be too keen on keeping my mess on you too long,” he replies, and it’s enough of an answer for you. 

“I could have said the same to you before,” you reply.

“I don’t think I’m wrong in sayin’ yours is much finer than mine. If there wasn’t a drop left to drink in this town, I think I’d find a way to live on what you just gave me.”

You chuckle, still soaking in your blissful afterglow. “All your townsfolk would go thirsty,” you comment with a smile.

“And it might just be worth it.” 

You know he doesn’t mean that – not after everything he’s gone through to save the town – but the sentiment is nice all the same, and you show him your gratitude with another kiss, intending to make it your last. Then it deepens, grows heated, and you find you have to pull away to gain back a little self-control. You part, both of you laughing, satisfied, and you reach for the sheets to wipe yourself down. Your skin still feels sticky afterward, but you doubt there’s much in the way of hot showers right now considering the water situation in the town, so you’re content to wait until you reach the Razor Crest, knowing you’re at least guaranteed better bathing in its refresher. 

As you look at Din, at the ruined way he’s sitting even though he hasn’t even touched you or himself yet, you think that if you both even manage to make it as far as the Razor Crest, you’re definitely guaranteed a better bathing experience.

“So, how’s this work? We never see each other again?” Cobb asks, hands resting behind his head, looking in your general direction with the blindfold still respectfully secured across his eyes. 

You look over at him as you begin to redress, beginning with your socks, still conscious of Din’s heated gaze on your back as you purposely bend over in front of him to pull them on. “Not usually.”

You catch the quick way the corner of the marshal’s mouth pulls down in a click, realizing he’s disappointed by this news, and then glance over your shoulder at Din. He’s inched forward in his seat, elbows resting on his knees, hands hanging lazily between his legs, as his gaze rests between your legs where you still glisten from your romp, and it takes him a moment to tear his eyes away and look up. But he seems to catch the meaning in your glance. His helmet tilts slightly to the right – consideration. 

You smile and step towards him in nothing but your socks, running your fingers down the sides of his helmet affectionately. He finally allows himself to reach out and touch you, his gloved hands grabbing handfuls of your ass, cold steel helmet resting against your belly, as you look back at the marshal.

“But I might find a way to make an exception.”

A grin blooms on Cobb’s face as he imagines all the things he’s yet to do to you – or, perhaps even better, all the things you’re yet to do to him. “I sure hope so.”

And honestly? So do you.

[variantia]

BELLUM.   anyway funny enough is that if Rouxls is allowed to stick around, he DOES have a serious side to him and could potentially have a heart to heart with Lo, even if he’s not close enough to her in a personal sense to convince her to go back to the real world

like he spent how long dealing with Lancer who was once upon a time an abused lonely child looking for attention anywhere he could find it and just wanting friends and

not really deluding himself but violently pretending his dad was a good guy and that King’s approval would magically make him worthy of, like, just existing

but King was never going to give his approval, because Lancer just wasn’t fucking good enough for his father no matter what he did, because Lancer actually has a big heart and wants to do the right thing despite the ‘right’ thing being so different from what King wanted

and Rouxls may have acted like (and still does sometimes) he couldn’t stand Lancer, but the truth is he feels BAD for the kid and spent a lot of time in private comforting Lancer when stuff got to be too much, he was Lesser Dad for Lancer’s entire childhood and he picked up the pieces every single time

and Rouxls himself ?   ABSOLUTELY felt beaten down and like he had no choices and like he was weak, despite being the creature who literally SETS THE RULES FOR AN ENTIRE WORLD, because truth be told King was just as abusive to him as he was to his son, and the only difference being that Rouxls would just take it because he didn’t feel like he had a say in any of this

so I could totally imagine Rouxls just ... sitting down and talking to Lo normally, like an actual person, talking about how running away from problems isn’t going to make them go away and he knows how scary it is to feel so out of control and how heavy it is to have so much power on your shoulders and sometimes you’re not even sure it’s enough, you have all this power but so fucking what ?   what has it changed ?   if all this power you have is not enough, then how much power do you really have ?

but sooner or later any denial is going to come crashing down like a house of cards, and do you really plan to put all that work into setting it up again knowing the slightest thing might knock it back down ?   or are you going to build a house made of something sturdier, that kind of thing that only can exist in the real world when you face things ?

it might sound preachy or silly coming from him, but by this point he knows the kind of danger everyone faces, he knows that if Kris gets sucked in too deep they could create more DARK Fountains in an effort to give Lo real subjects, and it could cause the end of the world

but more importantly he knows what it’s like to feel POWERLESS despite wielding an intense amount of power, and the urge to run away to someplace more pleasant where things are better ... and it’s tempting, and he knows it, he knows, but ... if you create your own better place where you can control everything ... then what happens to everything you left behind, and what happens when even this perfect place doesn’t make you happy or take away your pain ?

he’s a clown but sometimes he can take off the big shoes and make some real fucking sense

(I don’t even play him but the entire fucking Undertale and Deltarune cast is gonna guest star here at some point so I might as well start rambling about them now)

[peanutpinet]

Nine Percent scenarios my brain thought of when I first saw their pics

ALRIGHT FIRST OF ALL!! SILVER KUNKUN!! I’M DEAD!! NEXT OF ALL, I HAVE 2 DIFFERENT OF SCENARIOS WHEN LOOKING AT THIS PIC, MKAY!

SCENARIO 1: Kun saw you attending an event that he was also attending (let’s say mafia/gang meeting, which you have no idea of) and he asked for one of the staffs to guide you to another place so he could meet you and ensures your safety

“Please ensure her to the other room, I’ll be there shortly”

SCENARIO 2: So, second scenario, I can imagine Kun seeing a guy eyeing you from afar (let’s say it’s still the same meeting he was attending) and other men were either trying to come up to you/flirt with you (which, Kun does not approve whatsoever) and he requested permission from the staff so he can go to your side.

“I want them, in a room. Alive.”

ALRIGHT BOI!! THIS SMILEY SUNSHINE JUST FLIPPED 180 AND BECAME LIKE A CEO (NAHHH, ALSO THIS IS SCENARIO DOESN’T REALLY HV YOU BUT IT INVOLVES YOU, JUST HEAR ME OUT!!)

So, I imagine that Nongnong and you were very close, working under the same company and all. Then, our precious nongnong (because of his hardwork and sunshine smile) was promoted into the CEO of the company and he appointed you to be his assistant. THEN!!! Y’all had to attend this meeting with a business partner which was fine and all until the freaking representative of the business (a guy) was eye-f*cking you, would even discuss the business more with you instead of Nong (because let’s be real here, who would’ve thought this soft boi is the CEO). Time skip to after the meeting, Nongnong requested to meet this representative, alone!! 

Then, Nong was like “How about we talk real business here. Like how you were eye-fucking (OMO CURSE NONG) my assistant-girlfriend”

ALRIGHT, “BEATEN UP” CHENG IS LIKE HAWT?! LIKE HOW?! ALSO, THIS SCENARIO MAY BE A QUICK ONE BUT LIKE, THIS IS WHAT MY BRAIN THOUGHT OF SO YEA...

This pic, I imagine, something happened to you and Cheng was not going to let it slide that easily. After taking care of you and making sure you were safe and rested, he went out and hunted searched for the very people who hurted you. Not letting any of them to catch their breath, putting them down (not permanently, but feel free to imagine this), making sure they know who they were dealing with when they went out to hurt you, even if it means that he’s risking his own life.

“They should’ve gone for the head when they had the chance. Oh well, their loss. What’s done is done”

Alright, this may be slightly similar to Chengcheng’s scenario but not really. Let’s get to it!!

So, when I first saw this, I immediately thought of both you and Justin were held captive by another gang (9% is a gang of their own and Justin was just so happen to be with only you, not the others, and was busy protecting you, being outnumbered by a lot, hence why you both ended up being held captive). Both of you were in the same room and though it was just Justin getting beaten up for information at first (which he does not leak whatsoever), it wasn’t long before the gang decided to beat you up for information as well, or even to break Justin, making him leak something. INSTEAD!! What they got was a very pissed off Justin who eventually broke free (specifically, when his geges have arrived to save them and it distracted everyone).

Justin then had a one vs one fight with the one that beated you up and the building was starting to collapse. The opposite gang thought that maybe Justin was done for. BUT NOPE, CUE THE PICTURE!! HE SURVIVED

“I’m going to give you a light head-start. By the time I count to five, you better hope that you’ll be able to find an exit because, you’re nex7 (LMFAO CAN’T HELP IT)”

SOMEONE HELP!! I’M DED (AGAIN). QUICK TALK, THIS HAS GOT TO BE ONE OF THE BEST PHOTO SHOOTS HE HAS DONE!! LIKE THE HAIRSTYLE, OUTFIT, ACCESSORIES (THAT STICK) IS JUST *CHEFS KISS*. ALRIGHT, ONTO THE SCENARIO BEFORE MY BRAIN FORGETS

So, I imagine that (again, 9% was a gang/mafia of their own, that is for a good cause!!) Yanjun was supposed to meet up with a “business partner” which he was not excited to begin with. But when he heard the news that you were hit on by the “business partner”, something in him was just burning up that he decided to invite them to his (more like 9%)’s bar and have a nice talk fight.

“I heard that you like playing with people’s feelings and emotions. Well, I like to play too. I like to play with pool, drinks, *shifts to dark gaze* the items in this bar that will soon fly around and not to mention blood”

Alright, first things first, let us ignore the yellow fluffy jacket he has and imagine he was wearing a suit XD But alright, just like Kun, I have 2 different scenarios for Mama Ting!!

Scenario 1: He was fighting with a bad guy/person that “accidentally” hurt you and the guy ended up being limp, trying to escape Zhengting. Buth oh ho no boi, you mess with the wrong person. Thanks to his long flexible legs, he managed to get through every obstacle and following the limp guy in the escape stairs.

“You should really save your energy to say your last words instead of escaping from me. Because, let’s be real, you can’t escape. I (actually the whole 9%) own this building”

Scenario 2 (a bit darker/yandere-ish): you had just found out that your boyfriend, Zhengting was basically “obsessed” with you. He doesn’t mind if you were with your friends that are girls. No, he’s actually happy that you have a good social life and maintain it. However, when it comes to guys, that was definitely not the case.

Sure, it seemed that he was the typical “jealous” boyfriend and he tried his best to not let it get the best of him. But when he found out that you and one of your best friends (that is a guy) went out together with your other friends and play an escape room together, to say Zhengting was jealous was an understatement. 

He felt slightly betrayed that you didn’t at least let him know that you were going to play an escape room with your friends and one of them just so happened to be your guy best friend. Ho-hoh, beware my friend because you were in for a treat.

What seemed to be a fake horror/thriller escape room quickly shifted to a real one the minute you and your friends heard screaming, realising that the scream came from your guys friend, all of you decided to run for your life. Shouting for help. When you saw Zhengting in the escape room, you were first relieved that your boyfriend came to save you. But when you found out he was the one that killed your guy best friend, you knew you had to escape. Unfortunately, escaping Zhengting after what you had done was nearly impossible.

“Sweetheart, where are you going? You know you can’t outrun me. I think it’s best for you to just give up. I wouldn’t want to harm you”

SORRY FOR THIS SUDDEN TURN OF EVENTS!!

First and foremost, can someone cast Ziyi (along with his bros) in like an action movie or something like dayum!!!

Alright, this is going to be a short and sweet one. You were basically held hostage and Ziyi finally came (with his bros, don’t worry) to save you. He looked at the situation and quickly diverse a plan so you wouldn’t get hurt anymore.

“Alright, Xiaogui, Cheng, create a diversion. Once they’re distracted, Jun, Justin, take them out but not kill them, we need information to what it is they want from (Y/N). Then I’ll try my best to release (Y/N). Afterwards, Nong and Zhangjing, quickly take her to safety”

Can I just say, dayum Xiaogui!! Boi skipped motorcycle, car, truck and straight for the plane (JK)

Alright, for Xiaogui’s scenario, I feel that him and the others managed to rescue you and some other hostages/victims from the enemy. However, the enemy manages to “escape”. Well, not really, since Xiaogui and Zhengting already devised a plan just in case if the enemy does manage to escape. Which is basically hijacking their system and transport. In this case, their plane 😎😎

“Hi, yes, captain Linkai a.k.a Xiaogui speaking. Do fasten your seatbelt as we prepare to head to prison shortly *cue him putting on those shades*” 

OMO!! YOU ZHANGJING IN A BAR?! LIKE!! GUYS!!! HE’S NOT JUST OUT FOR THE FOOD BUT THE DRINKS AS WELL!! OKAY OKAY, SCENARIO!!

The scenario I thought of when looking at this pic of Zhangjing is that he was spying on you and your friends (who were out partying) when the opposing enemy of 9% were at the same bar. At first, Zhangjing would be subtle with the situation. Not really showing himself and all. But when he saw you sitting at the bar and an enemy of the boys decided to hit on you (out of all the girls/guys in the bar), he just bluntly went behind the counter (because let’s be real, I’m sure the boys have enough money to buy a bar, LOL).

“Hi, welcome to our bar. How would you like your drink? Hot? Cold? Or punch? Like what I’m about to do to you if you do not get your hands off of her”

SORRY SORRY, I JUST HAD TO INSERT THIS GIF XD

[loveaurdeepression]

You’re not him-Chapter 4

Mobius was holding a candy box called Kablooie, which you recognized.

"Kablooie." he said.

" What's that?" Loki asked.

"Candy. Do you have candy on Asgard?" Mobius says.

"Yeah, grapes, nuts."

"Huh, well no wonder your so bitter." he says before grabbing a large bunch of files and heading to the desk leaving you and Loki to follow him.

"Okay, so Kablooie was only sold regionally on Earth from 2047 to 2051, so we need to cross reference that with every apocalyptic event, I'm gonna give you half, Y/n take a few from him, have a competition see who finds it." Mobius explains.

"Sure." Loki says seeming interested in the 'competition'

" You wanna bet on something?, Yeah a bet, let's play for pride, may the best person win!" Mobius declares.

Rolling your eyes with a small smile, you take the files Loki hands you.

~~~~

"Anything?" Mobius asks, going through a file.

"Uh, it's not the climate disaster of 2048." Loki replies

"Or the Tsunami of 2051." you pipe in, not looking up from your pile.

"Let's go, let's go come on." Mobius chants.

"2050..the extinction of the swallow.." Loki reads out.

"That's a thing?" you say, a little shaken up at number of natural disaster and problems.

"Completely screwed up the ecosystem.." Mobius answers.

"Krakatoa erupted in 2049 as well." you say

"No kablooie" Loki says.

"God, it's just one damn thing after another, isn't it?" Mobius muses.

"Tell me about it." you scoff.

"Cyclones, famine, volcanoes,floods-"

"Got him!" Loki says, holding up the file, "That's where he is."

"Alabama, 2050." you say reading the file.

Leaning forward, Mobius looks at Loki and smirks," You're gonna take my job, if I'm not careful."

" Ok, pack it up, Lovebirds!" you say giggling, while simultaneously feeling this unreasonable jealousy.

Playfully glaring at you, Loki leans back and lets out a little breath.

" I have to go to Ravonna and ask her  to approve a fully-armed task force, this mission, if it even happens, is really important." Mobius gets up and you and Loki closely follow.

~~

Mobius was inside Renslayer's office, you and Loki were waiting outside. To pass the time, you decided to play a game.

" Ok, tell me about a time you scared your brother" you ask, hoping to hear the iconic snake story.

" Ohhh, I have a good one, we were about eight at the time, and you see, Thor loves snakes, so to scare him, I transformed myself into a snake and he picked it up to admire it and then I transformed back into myself and said, " MEUH IT'S ME! and stabbed him." he said smiling at the memory.

"My turn!" you say

" Ok, were you ever in love with someone?" he said.

Shit.

Shit.

SHIT. FRICK.GODDAMMIT.

Taking a deep breath, you for yourself to look at him.

"Yes. Yes I was." you say smiling lightly.

"Oh! tell me about this lucky person." he says interested, and..is that a tinge of jealousy in his voice?

YOU DAFT DUMB IDIOT! IT'S YOU OK! WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY RIGHT NOW?!

" Well, he was one of the most caring, sweet, and amazing people, I had ever met in my life, he loved forehead kisses.  But h-he was murdered, right in front of me" you say sadly, eyes becoming moist.

" Oh, I'm sorry about that." he says sympathetically.

" What about you, were you ever in love?" you ask, when Loki was alive, he didn't tell you much about his past relationships, mainly because you never asked.

" Well, I've had my fair share of  relationships, but in most of them there was nothing ever......authentic or real.." .

You selfishly sigh in happiness on the inside.

"-except one girl." he continued.

What.the.ever.loving.fuck.

"Oh, nice so who was she?" you ask, jealousy raging and burning inside you.

" Oh, well her name was Astrid and I really loved her, we talked about marriage and things like that, but then she was married to a duke of Vanaheim."

"Huh, I'm sorry."

" It's alright, it was for the best."

The awkward silence is broken by Mobius walking out of the office.

"So? Are we on?" you ask.

" We're on" he replies, walking to the locker room.

~~

"I'm telling you, you help us catch this variant, and who knows my friend-" Mobius begins.

" What good enough for a face to face with the time keepers?" Loki asked, while you headed to your locker.

"I didn't say that, one step at a time."

" Ok, one step at a time."

Reaching into his locker, Mobius pulls out a pair of daggers and hands them to him, " Just in case."

While Loki fawns over them, Hunter B-60 immediately comes and snatches them away, putting them in her own locker, leaving Loki adorably pouting and you laughing.

"Gather around for a briefing!" she announces.

After everyone is gathered, she begins.

"Roxxcart is a vast superstore common to the era, it consists of a series of sprawling sections, including a large warehouse. This warehouse is being used by civilians as a shelter trying to ride the storm. Remember this is a class-10 apocalypse, while the Variant wouldn't know we're coming, he could be hiding anywhere, and should be considered hostile. So stay alert. Every time there is an attack, the Variant steals a reset charge, he's planning something, we just don't know what. So keep an eye out for the missing charges, and if you see a Loki, prune it."

"The bad Loki, preferably." Loki pipes in.

~~

Destination, Haven Hills, Alabama.

Year, 2050.

It's pouring outside and as you walk in, there's a flash of thunder. Out of habit, you look up expecting Thor, only to look at Loki and seeing him so the same.

Poor sweetie.

Walking into the store, you immediately see Loki use his magic to dry himself, and that reminded you,

Shit, I can do magic.

So you did the same, only the color of your magic was gold.

Loki looked surprised as hell.

" The hell was that?" Hunter asked Loki.

Loki, looking surprised that you could do magic, said to her, " That was me, using magic to dry my clothes, so I don't announce myself with every squeaky footstep like the rest of you." he says.

The lights flicker making all of you alert.

"Ok, take two teams and sweep the storm shelter." she says.

"Loki and I are gonna check out the greenhouse, we'll mee-" Mobius begins

"No" Hunter says.

" No? He's under my supervision" Mobius, argues.

They argue back and forth making you get frustrated.

"Ok, enough! Mobius let Loki go with her, I'll scout on my own." you butt in.

Begrudgingly, he allows Loki to go with B-60.

~~

As you go through and check the aisles, you see Loki and B-60, talking to someone with his hands up.

"It's a hurricane sale, azaleas are half off." the guys says.

" Could that be you?" B-60 asked.

"I mean I probably would have worn a suit, but yes, maybe."

You walk over and stand next to Loki, " Who's the guy?"

" We're about to find out." he replies.

Hunter makes her way to the guy, prune stick( is it called a prune stick? if anyone knows what it's called, please tell me) charged. As she goes near him, he grabs hold of her arm and you can see a flash of green magic make its way up Hunter's arm, the man falls to the ground.

"Is he dead?" Loki asks not realizing what happened.

"Loki, that's not Hunter." you say.

" No, they usually survive." Hunter, no, the Variant says.

Facing Loki, she says," So you're the fool the TVA brought in to hunt me down."

"Me, I presume." Loki says

"Please, if anyone's anyone, you're me." she says smiling cheekily at him.

He retaliates by smiling wider.

Rolling your eyes, you scoff.

Children, literal children

"How nice to meet you."

~~

In the surveillance room, Mobius and the others find C-20

The poor girl looks traumatized, saying one thing over and over again.

"It's real, it's real, it's real." she says shaking, her voice wavering

Speaking into a comm, Mobius says, "Y/n, we need y-"

~~

"Enchantment is a clever trick." Loki says, as you all walk around." Cowardly, a bit amateur-ish, but clever."

"Almost as cowardly as working for the TVA." the Variant replies.

"I'm working for me."

"You really believe that don't you?"

"Yes."

"Heh, and here I was worried that they found a better version of me."

This is getting boring

"Hi, are you guys looking for the disaster shelter?" a worker asks.

"No." the Variant says before enchanting him and taking over his body, Hunter falling to the ground, Loki and you go to check on her.

"Oh bless, you gonna call you're little friends for help?" the Variant says.

" What's the matter, you too scared to meet me face-to-face?"

"Y/n, we need you here, come to the surveillance room, we have a problem."

Slowly backing away, you leave and teleport to the surveillance room.

~~

"It's real, it's real, it's real, it's real-" C-20 kept saying over and over again.

"What's real?" you ask.

" She's off the dial." an agent replies.

"Look at me c-20, what's real?" you repeat

"I wanna go home." she says eyes wide.

" We're gonna get you there, call the TVA and let the infirmary kno-"

"No, I gave it away!" she shouts

"What, what did you give away?" Mobius asks.

" The Time Keepers! Where they are!"

In shock, you look at the live camera footage of the shop and you see Loki getting beaten up.

"Shit, Mobius I'll be back." you say and teleport to a different part of the store

~~

You arrive just in time to see a hooded-figure in front of Loki and you.

"Where did you go? I got my ass whooped." he asks you

"The Variant knows where the Time- keepers are." you reply

The hooded figure comes forward and lifts the hood to reveal a-

Holy shit.

a beautiful lady is standing in front of you, wearing the signature horns, her hair is like Loki's except it's blonde. Blonde?

"This isn't about you." she says

In shock you just nod and Loki slowly says, "Right."

At that exact moment, a timer goes off and and the lights go out, the only source of light coming from.... wait is that a TemPad?

"INITIALISING"

Everything becomes brighter and you can see lots and lots of reset charges, each one going into a different timeline.

The lights flicker red and you can see the lady wave and then walk into a time-door.

You can also hear Mobius shouting in the distance.

You and Loki look behind and then at each other and nod before running through the door after her.

The last thing you hear is Mobius shouting.

Crap.

[halothenthehorns]

HOUSE-ELF

Warning, this chapter is pure head canon. There's never been any official statement from JK Rowling explaining the House-elf thing, so this is my answer to it. I am not for slavery, I do not approve of owning anything with even a glimmer of human intelligence, and all views I express through the characters do not necessarily reflect my views or opinions on these matters, these are just how I picture these characters talking about this.

HPHPHPHP

Lily took several deep breaths before starting in a peaceable tone, "alright Sirius, explain to me why this is apparently okay?"

No one needed to ask what she meant, she'd clearly taken James at word and wanted to have a real argument about house-elves with Sirius.

Remus decided to scarper before his name could be tossed around again and muttered something about the baby, plucking him away from Lily and quickly exiting the room. James really wanted to join him, but thought it was best if he sat down and refereed these two. Harry just wanted to know more about this.

Sirius rolled his eyes at her tone, he found it more condescending than neutral, as he snapped, "I don't know how to nicely put this for you Evans-"

"Potter," James quickly corrected, clearly never growing tired of doing so, but both ignored him.

"-but house-elves are stupid. Plain and simple. That's why they aren't on our map, they're not intelligent enough to be registered.* They can't bleeding do a thing unless they're told, hell they can't even take care of their life long term. Why do you think Dobby came up with all those cockamamie plans? House-elves don't understand the concept of a plan! If they didn't have wizard families telling them what to do, they'd die off at the first sign of danger."

"I don't understand how you can say that," she seethed, already cracks were appearing in her calm façade. "Goblin's aren't treated like that, nor Centaurs or Were-"

At Sirius' peeved look and a warning shake of his head from James, Lily decided to quit with the list and press her point, "have you ever even given them a chance? How the bloody hell do you just know they're that way? Dobby-"

"Is the best example for both points," Sirius cut her off. "They're not all treated like Dobby," Sirius sighed, running his hand through his hair in agitation. Truth be told, he actually didn't get into that many arguments, so he wasn't even sure how to win one. Sure he snipped at his friends on a daily basis, yes he spent the majority of his life telling people what he thought without remorse, but an actual structured disagreement like this was not his forte', plus he wasn't even sure what Lily wanted out of this. He just knew he wanted her to stop glaring at him every time they were mentioned. "In fact most of them are treated fairly well, like mine. Kreacher f'ing adores my Mum and Regulus, he's all too happy to parrot what they say, and do anything they ask. He just hates me because my Mum does, and I don't conform to what she, and by extension he, thinks."

"You mentioned he's been beaten though," Lily wheedled, thinking she'd finally found a way to make Sirius understand. Even if he didn't like his house-elf, surely he must admit that wasn't right.

Sirius though just snorted and waved his hand around without a care, "beaten is an exaggeration, he never even had to do some of the things to himself Dobby did, and they were for stupid little things. Like he was seen during a house party, or he creased my dad's trousers the wrong way. It never went so bad he tried to run away or anything. Plus, my parents are loons who'd beat the wall if it looked like it did something wrong, they shouldn't be the mark of how most are treated." Sirius didn't appreciate that the next expression he registered on Lily was pity, and not for the house-elf that time, but for him, so he kept going just a tad louder, "plus, the Malfoy's aren't any f'ing better. No, most are treated like Winky, and they enjoy their life. You've been down to the kitchens, you know the Hogwarts elves are treated just fine."

Lily sighed as she rubbed at her temple, this wasn't going anywhere, but she wasn't going to stop now that Sirius had spoken the root of her problem. "That's not the point Sirius, just because they're happy doesn't make it right. They've lived their whole lives being that way, so they don't know any better."

"What would you do then?" Sirius snorted. "Outlaw the owning of house-elves? Force everyone to sack them? You'd cause mayhem woman! House-elves would be losing their minds, and even if by some miracle they didn't all die of shock, any future house-elves wouldn't be any better because all generations would have the same mind set, except now they'd be bitter they couldn't be doing what they were meant to. Think of what Hogwarts alone would be like, the castle would crumble without those elves keeping it up."

Lily fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, she really didn't know where she wanted to go with this, she just couldn't stand the ideas of more Dobby's out there. She'd like to think that wizards were above owning other living things as property, but knowing how some Muggleborns were treated by purebloods, and purebloods were the main cause of her ire against house-elves, she really couldn't see it going in any great way. So instead she gently offered, "well, I still don't see why some laws shouldn't be in place, to at least acknowledge you shouldn't be so cruel to them. There should be standards for their living, punishments shouldn't be so horrid and frequent an elf fears its masters, they should have a voice in the Ministry if they feel they've been wronged just like anything."

Sirius just shrugged, but slouched back to indicate he at least wasn't going to argue that point. He still didn't have any great hate towards the actual species, they'd been friendly enough to him at Hogwarts, but Dobby and Kreacher in particular irked him. Dobby because, well because he'd tried to blow his godson's head off with a Bludger, and he still couldn't forgive that particular transgression no matter the end results. Harry had enough crap going on in his life for a 'friend' to be adding. Sure he'd redeemed himself by attacking Lucius at the end of that year, so he supposed Dobby at least balanced himself out.

Kreacher on the other hand he knew he'd never give two knuts about. All he ever saw in that thing was his parent's ideals. They had always treated Kreacher even better than Sirius, like that stupid thing was a better son then he was. Sirius had never endeared himself to his parents even at a young age, he'd always asked one too many questions and been punished for it, often far worse than some simple transgression the elf would do. As a child, he'd hated Kreacher for the small smiles he'd see his Mum give to the elf because he never got that. The older he got, the more he realized his Mother actually cared more for that thing then her oldest child. Still though, he supposed he wouldn't want his agitation at that vile little thing to be put on other elves who didn't deserve it nearly as much.

The other three kept watching him like they expected some revelation to take form in front of them, and Sirius' only response was to smirk. "What? If Lily wants to go on some crusade to save house-elves, I'm not going to stop her. Just wish she'd stop giving me death glares like I'm the one beating them with a stick in the meantime."

Lily wanted to explain that she so often got mad at Sirius because he acted one way, but she knew damn well he was thinking something else. She'd suspected once in awhile his upbringing hadn't been that dissimilar from Harry's honestly, and she hated to think on it. Sirius didn't speak about it much though, he actually kept himself as restrained as Harry around her at least, so she was left to wonder if he wasn't projecting most of his hatred he had at his name onto house-elves. She wanted to ask him about it, but she didn't feel she had the same right. Harry was her son. Whatever Petunia, or by extension Vernon, had done to him she had a right to know. Sirius was just her friend, he should tell whoever he wanted about that type of thing, and she wasn't sure if she asked what kind of answer she'd get.

Nothing had really been resolved between the two, but since they'd said their peace neither looked ready to blow a gasket anymore. James had certainly relaxed back, watching them bicker at each other was certainly more normal to him. Harry though was watching Sirius with interest. He, like Lily, had picked up on some of his comments and was wondering just what Sirius had gone through to hate his own elf so much, and he wanted to ask, but thought he'd be a hypocrite if he did. After all, he hadn't even told what the Dursleys had really done to him.**

They were all saved the trouble from anyone having to say anything else by Remus poking his head back in and saying, "I haven't heard any shouting or limbs being pulled apart yet, is it safe to come back?"

"I don't know," Sirius mockingly rubbed at his jaw as he eyed Lily critically, "Lily's still in the same room with me, and we all know that's a disaster waiting to happen."

Remus gave a snort as he walked back to Lily's side, happily flopping down beside her and cuddling the baby to his chest as he said, "I'll risk it. As it's her turn next, I don't think she can do anything to grievous to you."

HPHPHPHP

Hope you guys don't think too harshly of me for this chapter. nahte123456 is the one who originally came to this conclusion, but the more I thought about it, the more I really liked it. After all, Hermione eventually quit SPEW. After all those years of passion, she gave up on the idea, and instead just made a standard of living for them. Why did she quit on the idea? She must have learned something new in her own later years that no one would have explained to her. My idea is that she never got into this with Sirius, and Remus wouldn't really know any more about it than Lily because he never looked into it either, so she came to realize what Sirius said on her own in the end. They're not intelligent, at least not human levels.

I can still see an argument being made for both sides though and I'm not trying to dismiss the wrongs done to them regardless, it's a heavy topic that I'm not prepared to deal with.

Maybe Hermione did get a few free and realized the end results. Also, sorry it kind of went into a character study on Sirius there at the end...actually no I'm not, I love him too much to apologize for basing a chapter around just him.

*This was pointed out to me recently and it has boggled my mind ever sense. Holly crap they aren't, are they? Same with all the other animals except Mrs. Norris. So, is it because they have their own magic that made them uniquely not visible, or because they're really not of human intelligence enough to be registered in the maps protocol of tracking all 'living humans' in the vicinity? I'm at a loss...

**Sorry guys, I know you're all wanting Harry to share what really happened at the Dursleys, but I have a specific spot in mind (which many of you have guessed already) where that will be shown. Back to actual chapters next time!

[oingo233]

By The Lake* Part Five

Summary:  A family friend offers you a place to stay to get away from an abusive past.  Her home is a place that you are familiar with, an old town with a large lake you spent many days in. You went there years ago for one full summer, where you became close friends with a very young Daryl Dixon.  You two were inseparable until you had to leave.  But now you’re back, escaping from a past much like his.  You will need to weave your way through the town’s problematic people, your own problems, and above all the confusing Dixon.  Will you two find your way back to each other again?  Or will he push you further away?  And above all, will your past cease to haunt you?

Part one * Part Two * Part Three * Part Four

Pairing: Young Daryl Dixon X Reader

Warnings: Mentions of abuse and violence(potential triggers), cussing, more mature themes(not smut or anything tho), slow burn romance, described wounds and injuries

Authors note:  I don’t own the character Daryl Dixon, he belongs to the creators of The Walking Dead.  This fic talks about abuse, and the terrible reality involved to spread awareness about the matter, not to romanticize it.                                    ps. in this chapter we get hints at what really happened the last summer Daryl and (Y/N) spent together, which might be confusing at first but next chapter we’ll get more inisght to that.  There is also super cute and sad angst between the two as their pasts are finally revealed more to each other.  This chapter is just cute to me, I hope y’all enjoy! 

Word Count: 3.1k

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It has been a week and 3 days since I have last seen Daryl.  He was never in Marks garage, not wandering through town, not by the lake, not anywhere in sight.  All though sometimes at night, when I’m drifting off you sleep, if I’m lucky, I’ll hear Daryl's motorcycle as he drives through the night.  I always wonder where he’s off to, towards home or away?  So much has changed, it was hard to know much about him nowadays.  

It was one of those lucky nights as his engine roared to life, but something felt wrong.  I checked the time on my phone. 2:28 am.  What the hell?  Where is he going to at this hour?  Going to raise hell with his brother?  Or get him out of it?  I shook my head, and cuddled deeper into the pillow although it did nothing to calm my mind.  But it wasn’t my place to worry about him, we aren’t friends.  Daryls bitter words from our fight often circle around my head at night.  But so does the day he saved me.  He still cares for me, he as to, right?  I wouldn’t be ready to fight 3 tough looking guys for no one?  But he did, for me.  Maybe not everything has changed.

The hum of the motorcycle sounds the closest it has ever been.  I get lost in my own thoughts and soon notice the quite of the night.  No more engine accompanying the crickets and owls in the dead of night.  Well, where ever he is...I hope he is safe, I think.  My thoughts start to fade out, as my tiredness sinks in and sleep takes over.

Knock! Knock! Knock! Knock!

I wake with a start, my heart leaps to my throat and I can feel my fast heart beat.  Someone was at my door, knocking quickly and loudly.  

Knock! Knock!  “Damn it, wake up!”  Someone whispers from the other side of the door.  They didn’t sound like Cherry, Mark or the kids.  Could it be Carter?  The thought alone replaces my beating heart in my throat with bile.  I seal my lips shut and fight back the need to gag, a nervous tick if you will.  

Knock knock!  I quickly throw the covers off of me, and stand on shaking knees.  Apprehensively, I grab the bat by my bed and creep towards the door.  One more knock sounds and then I hear it.  “(Y/N), please...”The voice was shaky, and soft.  I know that voice!  I unlock the door and reveal the person behind it.  

“Daryl?”  Even if I had a hunch on who it was, seeing him before me here still was surprising.  Even more surprising was the way he stood.  His one arm draped over his waist, hunched over.  The other had blood trailing down his forearm from his knuckles, as it was raised in the air ready to knock again.  In the dead of night it was hard to see the full extent of his injuries.  

I drop my bat and turn on the porch lights.  “Omg Daryl!  What happened?.”  I panic.  His face had more bruises than flesh, and blood leaked from his lip and nose, covering the front of his shirt.  He squinted at the light and did something I last expected him to do.  He collapsed in my arms.  The weight of him nearly had us both on the floor, but I steadied myself and wrapped my arms around him.  My hands slid up and down his back, they were met with bloody welts.  I raised my hands so they weren’t touching him at all, and tucked my forearms under his sweaty armpits to lead him inside.  I walk the short distance from the front door, to my bed and lay him down on it so his back was facing the ceiling.  

He pushed his arms up under him and tried to get up.  I lightly grab his bicep and push him back down.  “Don’t move.”  I say softly, taking in his hurt expression.

“I’m not gettin’ your sheets dirty...” He mumbles.  

“I don’t give a damn about my fucking sheets.  Let me help you, that’s why you came here right?”  I don’t mean to sound so harsh, but seeing him like this scared me and he was only putting himself in more pain trying to be polite right now.

“Ya said if I needed anythin’...” He trialed off, clearly embarrassed.  He never was the one to ask for help, he saw it as weakness, almost like defeat.

“I know, I’m glad you came here.”  I can’t stop myself.  I reach out and comb back the hair from his eyes, running my fingers through his head of hair.  He closes his eyes and relaxes into the pillow, flinching when I go to do it again, before visibly relaxing even more.  Blood from his lip dribbles down onto my pillow and I frown.  How could someone do this to him?  

My heart breaks in two, and I hold back my tears.  He’d see it as pity and push me away.  I’ve never ever seen Daryl this beaten up, he won’t even let me check out a bruise.  It must have been real bad for him to come here directly after being hurt.  I scratch the base of his neck softly, thinking to myself how in the hell was I supposed to help him.  His lips parted and a sigh escaped them, I don’t know how long we were sitting like that but in that time Daryl has fallen asleep.  I smile to myself and pull my hand back.  Taking him in all the way.

I always wanted to see him in my bed with me, whether we were cuddling, laughing, or other fun things ;).  But never would I have ever wanted to see him in this condition.  His shirt was torn and through the rips I can see raised, irritated welts of skin, and some deeper marks turned into gashes.  Blood running down his tan skin.  His face was beaten badly, and his knuckles were cracked open, leaving blood down his arms.

I needed to get him cleaned and bandaged up, but all the supplies were in the house.  I had nothing.  This could prove difficult.  But it needed to me done.  I had to sneak into the home of those who are helping me, and steal their medical supplies.  No, borrow, I think to myself, I’m borrowing things to help my friend which they would surely approve of.  And I’ll replace everything I took in the morning.  

With that plan in mind I stood up and turned to walk out the door but a hand wraps gently wraps around my hand, squeezing it.  

“You leavin’?”  My heart leaped at his broken voice.  I crouch down and make eye contact with him, half his face sunken into the pillow, the other half facing me.  When I speak my voice is comforting, despite the fear and seriousness I feel when I look at his injuries.

“No Daryl,” I run my thumb across his knuckles which luckily this hand was clear of cuts.  “I have to get a few things for us.  But it won’t take too long, and I’m coming right back.”  He drops my hand and sits up slowly, holding his side again, face warped with pain before settling into a stony expression.

“If you’re gonna tell em’, I’m leavin’ and you have nothing to worry bout.” He goes to stand up but I block him.  

“I won’t tell them Daryl.  Nobody is going to know but us.  I just want to help you that’s all.  It’ll be between us if that is what you want.”  He nods once, and continues to stand there, looking awkward.  I hold in a chuckle, and help him sit down again.  

He watches me leave, as I walk out the door and to Cherry’s house, thinking of what I’m going to do.  Do I even know how to clean all of Daryl’s wounds?  I grimace at the thought of hurting him more, in a hopeless attempt to help him. But then a grim thought crossed my mind, of course I know how to treat wounds, I’ve had most of them myself.  I arrive at their front door and try it.  It was locked.  I curse under my breath and check the back door.  Praying to whatever god is up there, I try the handle.  For a second I think it might just work, its turning, but then it stops abruptly and I almost scream into the night. Locked. What now?

I can’t go to town, I don’t have a car.  I don’t have first aide in the cabin, and I’d rather die than disturb or “borrow” from the Hendersons.  No, this was the only way.  But how?  In my train of frantic thought I bring my thumb up and bite it.  Quickly I retract my thumb and spit on the ground.  Daryl’s blood was all over my hands from where I carried him.  Suddenly, the answer to all my problems presented itself.

I run around to the front of the house and knock frantically, putting a pained expression on.  Mark opens the door, his eyes bags prominent in the moonlight and his half sleep state.  He looked like a zombie.  I felt terrible for waking him, but the thought of Daryl back at the cabin keeps my plan in action.

“Oh Mark!  Thank god.  I hurt myself...” Oh shit, I haven’t thought about this all the way.  “uh, when unpacking and the pocket knife slipped.  I uh, cut my palm.”  He bought my rubbish lie, and glanced down at my hands.  Even in the darkness, the blood on my hands were hard to miss.  His eyes widen and he ushers me inside.

“Jesus.  You’re on the verge of bleeding out!”  His voice seemed much higher than before, panicked.  I shrug, clearly I wasn’t, but Mark seemed convinced I was in grave danger.  “We need to call someone.  Cherry!”  He yells into the night.  Two lights down the hallway turn on and I hold back a long string of curses, this wouldn’t work.  I wasn’t even cut and now everyone was going to come and take a look.  Mark glances uneasily at my hands and closes his eyes shut.  He chuckles.  “I’m not very good with things like this.  Blood is...well I don’t really like it.  Cherry is better at this stuff anyway.  Cherry!”  He calls again.  Cherry rushes down the hall, pulling her arm through her robe.  Her hair sticking up, and matted, she looked just as tired as Mark.  Behind her, I can see Monty stick his head out his door.  He gives me a shy wave, making me smile.  I go to wave but can’t for Cherry grabbed my hand.

I pull it back to my chest and fake pain. I wince and give her a weak smile.  “It hurts, it would be best if I cleaned it myself.  I just don’t have any first aide at the cabin.”  She puts a hand to her mouth and closes her eyes for a few seconds.

“(Y/N), I am so sorry.”  She hits Marks arm, who looks pale.  “How could we have forgotten to give her first aide, she’s by the lake for christs sake.”  She turns away and rushes in and out of the bathroom.  She hands me a red kit, and frowns at me.  “I’m sorry, we literally bought you one and totally forgot to give it to you.  Are you sure you can do it yourself?”  This plan has worked out better than I thought, I think to myself quite amazed.

“Uhm, yeah.  Done this a hundred times.”  I laugh to myself.  “And don’t be sorry at all, everything worked out like it should and I have it when I most need it!”  I swing the kit around, not sure how to retract back to the cabin.  “Well, thank you so much, and I’m so sorry for disturbing you.”  I give Cherry and Mark a kiss on the cheek and run out of the house like a bat out of hell.

I approach the Cabin and see through the window as Daryl’s face lights up slightly when he sees me coming.  He goes to open the door but stops short when his back no doubt holds him back.  I run inside and open the first aide kit.

“Careful!  No need to be moving around, just sit still.”  He puffs out air, some hair that fell in front of his eyes fly back.  He eyes the first aide and gives me a small smile.  

“Thanks.”  That made me stop.  I can’t help it, a teasing smile breaks through.

“Did thee Daryl Dixon just say thank you?”  I giggle, he rolls his eyes at me, cracking a small grin too.

“Nah, you hearing things.”  We both laugh lightly, Daryl slowly reaches over for the kit.  I stop him, giving him a questioning look.

“I know what I’m doing, been here before.”He says.  I place the kit in my lap and give him a look.

“So have I.”  He sits back, eyebrows furrowed.  His mouth opens lightly, I know he wants to say something, but his words fell short as he looked into my eyes.  We shared the same look, the one you get carved into you from hands of abuse.  Daryl clenches his fists and draws his lips back, like a dog growling.

“Carter.”  He states, venomously.  I give a stiff nod and we didn’t mention it further although it seemed like Daryl wanted to.  I grabbed a towel and soaked it in water.  I slowly approach Daryl and stand between his legs, he looks softly up at me from his position on the bed.  

“May I?”  He swallows thickly, and wordlessly gives me permission with a nod of his head.  I tuck my pointer finger under the towel, and use it to wipe blood from his upperlip.  He winces and his hands shoot up, grabbing at my hips.  My movements falter at his touch, his large hands, calloused and rough, but so soft against my bare hip.  My pajama consisted of a large shirt, and shorts like underwear.  

“‘m sorry.”  He mumbles, hands falling back at his side.  I continue wiping the blood off of his face softly.

“It’s okay, you can hold me if it helps.”  I smirk down at him, he rolls his eyes and I feel his disbelieving smile against the towel.  Truth was though, I loved him holding me like that, I wanted him too.  We were like that for a while, until his face was clean.  I placed a disinfection on all the open cuts on his face, and an adhesive band-aide.  When I’m done, I inspect his face.  Even all roughed up, he was the most handsome man I’ve ever seen.

“This your dad?”  I ask, after a while of inspecting him, he was inspecting me too, his small smile dropped, as well as his gaze.  

“Yeah, my ain’t good fer nothin’ pop beats me.  That what ya wanna hear?”  His face contorts with anger.  “That I ain’t nothin’ to him but a beatin’ bag, a disappointment.”  He fist the bloody sheets of my bed.  “That I ain’t nothin’.”  His voice cracks and tears spill out of his eyes.  He wipes at them angrily but they won’t stop.  A sob breaks through his lips, and his body shudders.  I wipe his tears away for him, and dab at my own.  

“Daryl...You are so many things. So many incredible things.”  He’s coughing on his sobs now, head in his hands.  The sound broke me.  What could I say to make his pain go away?  What could I do to take it from him?  “You’re more than what your dad thinks of you.  You-you don’t need him...you have me.  And I think the world of you.”My own voice cracks.  I don’t know what to say that would reach him in the way it needs to.  So I wrap my hands around his neck and pull him in for a hug.  His arms instantly snake around me and hold on for dear life, his head tucked into my stomach.   His cries stop for a second and I hold him tighter.

“Ya left me too...”He whispers, almost like he didn’t dare to say it, but he did.  My grip looseness, the guilt from so many years ago hitting me full force.  His head shifts and his eyes meet mine, his beautiful blue eyes.  I expected to see anger, but all I saw was hurt, and vulnerability.  Tears were drifting out of them slowly, and they glistened in the wet sheen.  I hold my breath.

“Ya left me there in the woods.  I thought I lost ya forever that day.  The stupid fuckin’ kiss.” He mumbles the last part to himself.  His hands bunches the fabric of my shirt, before he releases and stands with a pain filled sigh.  His hand lightly cups my cheek, I hold on to it.  A sad smile returns to his face, almost bitter.  “Ya should of ran when I held ya like this (Y/N).  If ya were gonna run anyway, then ya should have ran the first damn day we met.”  His hand drops down the base of my neck, he traces circles down the base of it slowly, inches above my chest.  It was silent for a few moments, heat and emotion trapped between our two bodies.  “When you were wearing that pretty lil necklace, we lost in the lake days after.”  His smile fades again as he drops his hand and picks up something from the kit.  Dabbing at his knuckles with the towel. Ignoring me.  He never was so open, I didn’t expect it to last very long.  I regain my voice and grab his forearm, making him look at me.

“It wasn’t a stupid kiss Daryl.  I was a stupid girl.  But I never planned on running from you, not even the first day we met.”  As a small chuckle slips from my sad demeanor, he looks at me.  Shyly from his lashes, watching me speak, hoping it was true. “I should have never ran.  Like I said, I always thought the world of you.”  He stops messing with his hand and stares at me for a long while.  He steps forwards and hugs me, a real hug.  His arms wrapped around my shoulders, my head tucked into his chest.  I hug him down my his butt, not wanting to hurt his back even more.  I felt deflated.  His lips trace my ear as he whispers into it.  

“I was a sorry fool the day ya left.”  His words echoed in my head all night, as we laid in silence.  Him sprawled on my bed as I patched up and cleaned his back.  He played with my hand, as the other raced through his hair, lulling him to sleep.

  “Goodnight Daryl.”  I whisper into his ear, giving him a soft kiss by his hairline before lying next to him.  I was answered with a snore.  I feel asleep watching him, and thinking of all that has changed, and all that has yet remained the same.  

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Drama CD Flower and Oni Translation

First post of the month! so as always, I’ll once again start by asking you to please support me if you can either on ko-fi, through paypal or patreon  for access to my blog post translations or just to support me (current special access is my translation of the seventh Saito Ginsei no Shou chater)... also let me know if you have any hakuoki drama cds that you’d be willing to share that are on my looking for list since i either do not have audio for those cds or do not have audio that i can share... 

btw, was there an image of the sky in SSL that matches the one here? sorta want it for something but can’t exactly remember if it was in the game cuz i haven’t picked up my vita in a long while since i screwed mine up....

also, to whom it may it concern: 中秋快乐! slightly delayed tho lol.

Anyway, this is my translation of the Hakuoki MesseSanoh store exclusive drama cd  - Flower and Oni “花と鬼.”

one of the dramas i found back in june... at the time, i coincidentally obtained CH translations of all the other Tokuten cds that were released with the ps2 Hakuoki Shinsengumi Kitan game (based on info from tokio-fujita’s drama cd livejournal page). no idea when i’ll get to those.... since all the ones that haven’t been translated yet are +10min long (i did somehow manage to obtain the audio for all of them months before i got the CH tls for em).

Also, there was one sentence missing in the tl for this. had the translation of it commissioned from @jokertrap-ran​. left that text in bold.

enjoy~ final edits will be done when i do a video for it (i’m 90% sure the sighs/laughter and other misc sounds weren’t translated properly in the text i found but oh well).

Hakuoki MesseSanoh Store Exclusive Drama CD Flower and Oni

Translation by KumoriYami

Kondou: Hah......to be able to relax on the porch/corridor/veranda while enjoying the flowers, it really is nice.

Souji: Areh? Kondou-san? What are you doing over here?

Kondou: Oh, Souji, do you want a cup of tea? Come, sit here.

Souji: Are you appreciating the flowers right now?

Kondou: Although there are assignments, and despite how every day is recently bloody [reword later], it's really nice to be able to appreciate the flowers like this once in a while

Souji: It's really nice, the sun is warming and shining brightly, and the blooming sakura are beautiful.

Kondou: Yes

Souji: Nn, it's really nice [says comfortable/feeling well].

Kondou: haha, Souji, have another cup of tea.

(footsteps)

Souji: I won't be polite then.

Kondou: Nn, those footsteps are quite noisy.

Souji: Those footsteps, they're Hijikata-san's.

Hijikata: Really, everyone is like this......

Souji: Look, I guessed correctly.

Kondou: haha, that's really amazing.

Hijikata: What, it if isn't Kondou-san and Souji.

Kondou: You don't look that happy, Toshi, come have a cup of tea.

Hijikata: You two are really relaxed, to be drinking tea while enjoying the flowers. 

Souji: I think this is better than drinking, or it because we're not having sake that you're angry?

Hijikata: Kondou-san, this concerns the warriors who recently joined our ranks.

Kondou: Ah, it seems that a lot of people have gathered, so the Shinsengumi will get better and better in the future.

Hijikata: If only if that were the case.

Kondou: Nn, what's the problem?

Hijikata: I was training the new members just now. Although it's good there are many new recruits [says volunteers. if audio doesn't have xin in it, i'll change it to interested volunteers], a lot of them are lazy and completely useless, few of them can be used/can be put to use.

Souji: Isn't it your job to train them? Vice-commander Hijikata. [check for -san]

Hijikata: Souji don't just relax and drink tea, you should be training them with me. 

Souji: No/Don't wanna.

Hijikata: What?! For what reason?

Souji: Because I'm resting right now.

Hijikata: It doesn't matter if you are or aren't resting. If the executives don't take the lead, what is to be done? tell me [answer me]!

Souji: Really. Here we go again. It's because you take these arbitrary and out of place actions, that everyone gets annoyed [more literally: bored].

Hijkata: Oh, who's fed up with me [then]? I'll ask you to give me their names.

Souji: You didn't notice? Hijikata-san, you're unexpectedly slow.

Hijikata: Hey, I say [literal translation. i'm assuming this is more along the lines of 'say that again!']

Kondou: Come on, come on [im guessing the audio is 'ma, ma'], you two should let it be. Come, calm down and and look at the sakura......

Hijikata: don't say anything else Kondou-san, this is Souji's and my problem.

Souji: Sorry, Kondou-san, I don't want to bother you, you can look [at them] by yourself.

Kondou: Ah, is that so?

Souji: I've wonder, but is Hijikata-san's way of doing things really okay?

Hijikata: What? Souji. Do you have a problem/complaints with me? [Or] are you looking down on me/[Or it] just that you hate me?

Kondou:  What am I, your nanny!?

[will probably change that to ‘what are you, his nanny?’ for language flow]

Souji: No/That's not it? Anyway, I'm still the First Division Captain of the Shinsengumi.

Hijikata: If you're a captain, you should act like one, and take care of the team members.

Souji: I have taken care of it [that].

Kondou: To be fighting in front of beautiful flowers...... really what a headache. As a warrior/samurai, how can you not enjoy the cherry blossoms?!

Hijikata: What is there to look at/see, it's because of this that I work so hard.

Souji: You're not happy/Are you upset? I thought Hijikata-san was quite willing/happy to do this.

Hijikata: What?!

Kondou: Oh, right, I've thought of something good, both of you listen. As the chief of the Shinsengumi, I have a proposal.

Hijikata: What?

Souji: What?

Kondou: In order to promote friendlier relations within the team members, how about holding a hanami/sakura viewing party?

Hijikata: Kondou-san, do you know what time it is right now?

Souji: I approve/support that. I think that that the team members will improve after those that don't know each other are able to deepen their friendship.

Kondou: Nn, thats it/like that, I also wanted to say that.

Souji: That's just like Kondou-san, you're different from a certain someone who is difficult to deal with.

Hijikata: Souji, say that again!

Souji: What?

Hijikata: well, i finally understand. compared to those new guys, souji, you're the one that's useless.

Souji: If yo're too harsh, the new recruits will run away. Hijikata-san, drink some tea and calm down.

Hijikata: You!

Kondou: Toshi, take a teacup and quickly drink.

Hijikata: Ah.

Souji: then i should probably go back to training.

Kondou: You're going, Souji?

Souji: Yes, Kondou-san. But, don't let everyone run away from the training grounds again. [tho that's an accurate tl, i'm guess this should be more among the lines of "But I can't help it/it's not my fault if everyone runs away from the training grounds again/ But make sure that no one runs away from the training grounds again]

Kondou: Oh?

Souji: they all ran away as soon as they saw my face Why is that?

Hijikata: That's because you're way of teaching is extremely bad. Really, your swordsmanship is better than everyone else's/you are one of the best swordsmen, but why are you so incapable? Listen Kondou-san, rather than training other people, this guy loves fighting way more. Everyone was beaten to the point where they could't get up off the ground.

Kondou: Then it's understandable for why the team members are unwilling.

Souji: Ahaha, to speak of being gentle, I really didn't expect those words from the demon vice-commander.

Kondou: What, in fact Toshi is a very gentle man, right, Toshi?

Hijikata: Hn, who knows.

Kondou: That's how it is, be gentle to everyone.

Souji: Yes yes, but, i've really been gentle with everyone. Then I'll be going. Kondou-san, thank you for your hospitality.

Kondou: Ah, I'll be counting on you [tl literally: please requesting you. check audio]

Souji: Yes.

(souji walks away)

Hijikata: Hah, well, never mind that guy.

Kondou: Do you want another cup of tea?

HIjikaa: Ah, another cup.

Kondou: Then I'll have another as well.

Hijikata: Souji's way of teaching is extremely rough/cruel, so it's unclear if he's actually training other people, or using them for himself to practice.

Kondou: That's because he takes what he does for granted/his success for granted, which is why it's impossible for him to understand those who are unable to.

Hijikata: That guy is still a child, he sticks his foot into everything, but always gets bored immediately after.

Kondou: You don't quite understand souji.

Hijikata: everyone will probably run away again [?].

Kondou: If you're worried, you should go and see.

Hijikata: Eh, there's nothing to be done about that/no way around it then, I'll be going then/I'll be going.

Kondou: I'll go too.

Hijikata: No need, Kondou-san you should just stay here and relax.

Kondou: Nn?

Hijikata: It's because you're the face of the Shinsengumi. The trivial matters of the troop, it's best for you not to be involved in them at all, I'll deal with everything.

Kondou: Nn, is that so? I'm sorry.

Hijikata: the tea was verry good. Then I'll see you later.

(hijikata leaves)

Kondou:　Oh. It seems that the beauty of sakura has no effect on an oni. Heh. Good grief.

　 Hijikata Toshizou, Miki Shin'ichirō Okita Souji, Morikubo Shōtaro  Shōtarō Kondou Isami, Ōkawa Tōru

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image from suruga-ya.