#then back to main building 4 last class I think

[robots-are-kinda-hot]

coraline anomaly au stuff. mostly hands. don’t judge them, I had no reference for any of them lmao

As for the doll, I like to think that Other Reader made a Sans one originally to lure him, but then after he gets to know them better they get to know each other, Sans asked them to make one of themselves. (he may or may not cuddle with it to help him sleep. shhhh, it’s a secret.)

enjoy while I attempt to finish writing things for this au. just a small thing (that probably will uh. not be small when I’m finally done with it) for an ask and also MAYBE something to expand on how Sans got a doll of Other Reader :]

original anomaly by @htsan!

[steddieasitgoes]

he can't sit with us (or maybe he can?)

written for @steddie-week Day 4 prompt: Trade Rating: T | wc: 2651 | no cw thank you to @stevethehairington and @thefreakandthehair for beta-ing this one for me!! Read on ao3

Eddie is amped up. 

Lunch has always been his favorite part of the school day, but today is going to be an especially good one. Not because of his lunch — he forgot to grab the sandwich he made last night so he wouldn’t forget, and he’s been out of lunch credit for weeks now, so he’s shit out of luck on that front — but because today’s the day he unleashes his latest rant on the hivemind that is the Hawkins High student body. 

It’s taken him weeks to work out everything he wants to say about the giant mall they’re building a few blocks from Main Street that everyone and their workaholic fathers are excited about. The one that led to the demolishment of Hawkins' second-best trailer park — Forest Hills being the best, obviously. He even asked Wayne’s advice on what he should say since his uncle has way more experience going against The Man™ and The Man’s™ People. 

He’s pretty proud of what he’s come up with. Sure, it’s a typical Munson rant that goes on a personal tangent in the middle about how Sam Goody and Tape World are probably going to put Jet’s Jams out of music. And okay, yeah, Jet’s Jams is the fucking worst most of the time and only ever has the top 40s bullshit in stock, but at least Eddie has some pull with good ole’ Jet and can bargain with the dude to order a metal record or two every once in a while. You think Sam Goody is going to take his advice? Not a chance in hell!

But then he’ll get back on track and get into the educational stuff that Wayne talked to him about. At least, that’s the plan; all he has to do is stick to the bullet point list he scribbled out in Ms. O’Donnell’s class thirty minutes ago, ignoring whatever the fuck she was going on about at the front of the room. 

It’s going to be great. Definitely one of his best lunchtime soapbox speeches. Hell, maybe this will be the one to actually wake some of his peers up. Capitalism is the real devil here. Not him. 

He’s bouncing with adrenaline and nerves as he saunters into the crowded cafeteria, ready for his moment, ready for—

What the hell? 

Eddie stops midstride when he spots Gareth and Jeff waving at him from a table in the middle of the room. Again, what the hell? That’s not their table. Not even fucking close. 

Eddie doesn’t believe in the social hierarchy of high school cliques, but he does respect the lunch table distribution system Hawkins’ operates under. And he knows, without a shadow of a doubt, that tables in the middle are destined for the so-called elite. Not his Dungeons & Dragons club and the other lost sheep stragglers he’s accumulated over his extended high school career.  

They’re supposed to be sitting at a table on the outskirts of the room. The one by the windows, with the art kids to his right and the drama kids to his left. The weirdo, outcast corner. 

And yet, there they are in the middle of the room at a table usually occupied by the so-called elites and anyone else they’ve deemed worthy of their company. 

“This isn’t our table,” Eddie says, slamming his hands down with enough force to knock Gareth’s brown paper bag over, taking his unopened Dr. Pepper can with it. 

Gareth scowls, righting the can. “Now I see why you’re a super senior. Of course, it’s not our fucking table!” 

Eddie intertwines his fingers before pillowing his chin against them. “Okay then, Gareth the Great, tell me why we are sitting here.” 

“Our table is occupied,” Jeff supplies. 

“Occupied? Everyone knows that’s our table! Is this person new? Have they recently had a lobotomy?” 

This time, it’s Freak who speaks up. “No. He knows. He probably just doesn’t give a shit. A table’s a table or whatever.” 

Or whatever? Fat chance. A table hasn’t ever been just a table in the hellscape that is Hawkins High. Still, Eddie can’t help but be curious. There aren’t many people who would willingly sit at a new table this late into the school year. It’s a ballsy move.

He figures it’s a scorned drama kid or drumline member — there’s always drama in those groups; someone is always fucking someone they shouldn’t be, horny assholes. But when he turns to get a glance at this intruder, it’s not a butthurt outcast taking up court at the table, but rather Hawkins' very own Fallen King, Steve Harrington. 

For the third time, what the hell? 

“Did you tell him it’s our table?” 

“No! He’s Steve Harrington! I don’t think he’ll appreciate a couple of nerds telling him to move.” 

“And we value our lives too much to mess with upperclassmen,” Gareth says, mumbling something about learning his lesson the last time he tried something stupid like that. 

Eddie rolls his eyes before scoffing loud enough to startle the nearby table of cheerleaders. He wiggles his fingers in an innocent wave before focusing his attention back on his friends. 

“Please, Steve is all bark and no bite. And he hasn’t been Steve Harrington in a while.” Eddie raises his voice several octaves, batting his eyelashes as he says Steve’s name. “Now he’s just Steve Harrington,” he says, shrugging his shoulders with a nonchalance he never would have expected to use for someone of Steve’s former status. “He’s just some guy whose girlfriend dumped him for an artsy loner.” 

“It doesn’t matter, man! You don’t mess with people like Harrington,” Jeff says, shaking his head. “I’m sure it’s just like a one-time thing or something. It’s not like any of his friends are sitting with him. Maybe he’s just fighting with them.” 

Jeff has a point. Steve is alone. Sitting at the table all be himself, poking disinterestedly at an apple sauce cup. He’s not cowering or trying to make himself smaller like most people would do if they were stuck eating lunch alone, but he’s not making a show of it either. He’s just there. Minding his own business, staring out the windows Eddie has spent all five years of his high school career looking out off. 

“Those sounds like quitting words, Jefferson,” Eddie taunts, turning his attention back to the group. He makes a show of looking each and every Hellfire member in the eyes when he speaks again. “Are we quitters?” 

The entire table groans, a few shake their heads. Gareth, always the brave one, throws a chip at Eddie’s head that he manages to catch in his mouth. And people say he’s not athletic! 

“Since we’re not quitters, what should we do about this unlawful infiltration?” 

“I don’t know if it's an infiltration,” Freak says. “We just like traded tables without a verbal agreement.” 

“That’s worse than a seize!” 

“I don’t know, man. You’re the one that’s all fired up about it. Why don’t you go over there and ask Harrington to give it back to us.” 

“You know what,” Eddie says, pushing off the table until he’s standing. “I will.” 

With the same gravitas he entered the cafeteria with, Eddie saunters over to Steve. The sooner he gets this table thing handled, the sooner he can get on with his lunchtime diatribe — see Mr. Vance, I do listen in English class, old bat.

Eddie’s not a quiet walker by any means — he’s had enough pillows thrown at his head from Wayne for the way he stomps around the trailer in the mornings — but he manages to sneak up on Steve. Maybe it’s because his eyes are trained on a squirrel running up a tree in the distance, mumbling encouragements as the poor thing struggles to make it up. 

Huh, Harrington’s a squirrel fan? Who knew? 

Eddie’s watch chirps, a reminder that there are only ten minutes left of lunch. Jesus H. Christ! He’ll have to do an abridged version of his speech now, but it should still be enough to get his point across. That is if he manages to get Steve to trade tables with them without a fight. 

“Fancy seeing you here, Steve,” Eddie says, loud enough to startle Steve out of the squirrel watching. “What brings you to my humble abode?” 

Steve glances up at him with a look of disinterest he seems to have perfected in his fall from grace. And honestly, as much as Eddie hates to admit it and would never say it out loud unless he was being waterboarded or some shit, this new version of Steve really works for him. 

“Your humble what?” Steve asks, dropping his disinterest to look up confused instead. 

His brows pull together, scrunching up his forehead in a way that should be unflattering but is honestly sort of endearing. And his head is tilted to the side like a confused animal — something Eddie has a lot of experience with, given his unofficial status as a trailer park animal rescuer. Eddie’s so lost in studying Steve’s confusion that he forgets to actually respond, which like, is new territory for Eddie. He’s never one not to talk. 

“Look, man, I don’t know what you want, but could you just spit it out so I can go back to enjoying my lunch?”

Eddie’s personality returns to his body in an instant. “Enjoying your lunch, you say?” He takes a second to glance at Steve’s lunch tray. A measly bite has been taken out of the cardboard the school passes off as pizza. The side of congealed mac and cheese sits untouch and his apple sauce cup is open but still perfectly intact. “Doesn’t look like you ate at all, Steve.” 

“Seriously, Munson, what do you want?” 

Eddie tsks and yanks the seat next to Steve away from the table before not-so-gracefully falling into it. He kicks his feet up on the table a moment later, the toe of his boot knocking against the carton of milk he’s willing to bet Steve also hasn’t touched. Though he can’t really blame him for that one. Milk is not a lunchtime beverage, and no amount of dairy propaganda is ever going to change that. 

“As I’m sure you’re aware, Harrington, this is my table.” 

“I didn’t know the cafeteria had assigned seats.” 

“Bullshit, you didn’t,” Eddie growls, throwing his hands up in the air. The move forces him to lose his balance, chair wobbling on two legs under him, threatening to give out and dump him on his ass. Definitely not the lunchtime show he was hoping to give today. But before he meets his demise, Steve extends his hand, steadying the chair long enough for Eddie to drop his feet and reclaim his balance. “Thanks.” 

Steve grunts in response and goes back to staring out the window. 

Fucking squirrel. 

“Look, Steve,” Eddie says, getting straight to the point this time. “I don’t know why you decided to switch tables today or why you decided my table was the one you suddenly wanted, but can we please just switch back?” 

“I’m good here.” 

He tears his eyes away from the window for long enough to glance at his former table, where Gareth and Jeff are using straws as lightsabers without a care in the world. Steve snorts, and Eddie stiffens; he really, really doesn’t want to have to fight anyone today, but if Steve’s willing to be a dick about his friends in front of his face, well, fight, he will. But then Steve’s face softens, and he shakes his head in amusement. 

“Looks like your friends are good where they’re at, too. Though the lightsaber skills could use some work,” Steve teases. “Are we good then?”

“No, we’re not good!” Eddie shouts, trying his best to keep his brain on task. We’re here to get our table back, not ponder why Steve Harrington suddenly has a soft spot for nerds because what? “That’s your table, man, and this is ours. You’re going to upset the fragile balance of this place.” 

“Shouldn’t you be thanking me or something? I thought upsetting the balance was your life goal.” 

How dare Steve Harrington read him like that.

Since his dramatics haven’t worked, Eddie opts for the truth this time. “I have no interest in sitting in the middle of the damn cafeteria where everyone can see me and my friends just to cause a little societal unrest.” 

“And I have no interest in being forced to sit in the middle so everyone can stare at me while judging me and my mistakes.” 

Oh. 

The truth shouldn’t be all that shocking. Anyone who has eyes has witnessed Steve’s fall from King too well; Eddie’s not sure there is a word for what Steve is now. He’s not a pariah or an outcast, not smart enough to be a nerd, and the rumor is he quit basketball, so he’s not a jock. He’s just… lost? 

Steve groans, running a hand over his face for a second before his fingers pinch the bridge of his nose. “Can we pretend I didn’t say that?” 

“Uh, sure?” 

“Look, Eddie, I’m not going to trade tables with you, but if this one means that much to you, I don’t mind sharing.” 

“I thought you said you don’t want people staring at you?” 

“I don’t.” 

“Okay, well, sitting with the Freaks of Hawkins is definitely going to get people staring and talking, and honestly, you might even have to dodge a punch or two just for being in our vicinity.” 

“I’ll survive.” 

For the first time in his life, Eddie has no idea what to say. On one hand the idea of sharing a table is so preposterous he’s convinced he might be dreaming right now. But after a quick pinch to confirm that he is awake, he goes back to weighing his options. Sharing a table with Steve isn’t ideal, but sitting in the middle of the fucking cafeteria is a death sentence. He might be able to hold his own with the upper echelon of Hawkins High, but his ragtag group of friends isn’t so scrappy. 

And then there’s the lost sheep of it all. 

Eddie’s spent most of his high school career looking after lonely high schoolers. Whisking them under his wing, giving them a safe space to eat lunch or a club to hang out at after school to avoid having to walk back home alone. He thought he’d become somewhat of an expert at it, but it seems Steve Harrington has managed to slip through his cracks. 

Eddie would be the world’s biggest hypocrite if he didn’t at least try with Steve. It’s not like he has to join Hellfire or anything. All he’s really asking for his a spot at their lunch table. 

“I have one condition.” 

“Of course you do,” Steve says, rolling his eyes. 

“Actually, I have two.” Steve chuckles and motions for Eddie to get on with it already. “One, you can’t make fun of anything that happens at the table. We’re weird. You know it, we know it. We’re allowed to tease each other about it. You are not.” 

“I wouldn’t do that. Not anymore.” 

Eddie nods. “And two, you have to give me your dessert every day.” 

“Every day?” Steve balks. “You can have my applesauce and pudding cups, but I’m not giving you Friday’s chocolate cake.” 

“Guess you’re going to have to go back to sitting at the fishbowl table then.” 

Eddie watches as Steve considers this for a moment before his shoulders heave the world’s biggest sigh. “Fine.” 

Without warning, Eddie pushes away from the table, the legs of the chair screeching against the linoleum. His lips twitch at the corners, pulling into a genuine smile as he stands and offers Steve his hand. “Welcome to the Freak table, Steve.” 

[cheriladycl01]

Paparazzi - Lando Norris x UniStudent! Reader

Plot: you are a university student in the UK, and the Paparazzi manage to find out where you go and stalk you due to rumors surfacing about.

It was a pretty shit day at university for you, you were a third year law student who had just come back from an amazing placement with Mercedes as part of their legal counsel.

You'd had so much fun and had worked really closely with Lewis and George. It also was the first year that you were able to travel from the last half of one season, to the 3/4 of the next season.

He was a driver for McLaren, his job and you being a student meant that you guys didn't see each other as much as you'd like.

You had been dating for the good part of 4 years now having met in secondary school and stayed as friends even when he left the school. When you started on your A-levels and he was progressing in his driving career he asked you to be his girlfriend.

Now he was in Formula One and you were about to be graduating university. It had however been difficult, the transition of being with Lando pretty much everyday, and now not seeing him was killing you.

It had taken a tole on you, you had dark circles under your eyes, your nose was red from the cold. Your class hadn't been great either and tears were starting to brim your eyes. You just wanted to get home and cry it out in private.

Lando: Hey Babe, its Thursday so media day today and McLaren are busy! Call me later, love you lots!

The text made more tears brim in your eyes until you heard the snap of a camera. Next you saw the flash.

Your eyes dart up seeing the 5 or 6 people with cameras behind you, following you. You pick up your pace, going towards your specific building on campus where you could hide out with your personal tutor until they left you alone.

You walk into the building into a flurry of students walking around the building pulling the hood of Lando's hoodie up. You make your way to a back stairwell that was quieter than the main one and made your way up the 5 flights of stairs to where your personal tutors room was.

"Michael?" you ask entering the room, nobody was there so you sat on the small little sofa he had at the side of his office. You pull the work bench closer to you, placing your laptop and book down before getting on with some work for your Intellectual Property Module.

Minutes later Michael comes in, a shocked look on his face as he observes you.

"Y/N what are you doing here?" he asks walking past you and taking a seat at his desk, sipping from the takeaway coffee he had just brought.

"I had Paps come onto campus again. And i've had a bit of a shit day" you mumble looking at the email from Lewis asking you to do some research for him if you had any free time.

"Well, you know my door is always open for you"

"That's why i let myself in" you grin at him, already feeling better. He spoke to you for about an hour, while he was doing his own research and marking behind his computer.

"I think its safe to say they've left now" he admits engrossed in something on his computer.

"How'd you know?"

"There's articles already up, some of these headlines. Oh lord they are ridiculous" Michael admits scrolling down on his mouse wheel looking further.

"Huh?" you ask before looking online under your name.

Lando Norris Girlfriend Y/N Y/L/N, Seen Crying On University Campus After Breakup Report Y/N Y/L/N Seen On Campus Crying Is There Tension Between Lando Norris and Y/N Y/L/N On Her First Absent Race Of The Season Lando Norris Cheats On Girlfriend - Her Reaction Is Heartbreaking!

"I'm just going to go home. I don't have the energy to read any of these. Thank you for letting me stay" you admit, packing up your bag and nodding in a goodbye to your personal tutor.

As you exit the building and make your way to the carpark where your Mercedes-AMG SL 63 sat, courtesy of your time at Mercedes for the last year. You now still work for them, but from the Brackley and part-time around your degree.

You get in and let out a long sigh, you pull away getting onto the road driving back to yours and Lando's apartment which was about a 30 minute drive away.

Lando started to call you, the ringtone blaring through the car speakers that your phone was connected to. You hit accept on the screen, your eyes only momentarily wavering from the road.

"Y/N baby, what's up. The articles and the photos of you! You look so sad, what's going on?" he immediately starts grilling you like you'd expected him to when he would eventually see the articles.

"Sorry, I'm in the car right now! I just had a shitty say at uni and i really fucking miss you" you breathe out happy to finally admit it. It was the end of October now and you'd been back at university for a month.

"I know baby, you still planning to come out for the last race, in Abu Dhabi?" he offers, it sounds like he's busy and like he's walking around the McLaren garage. He did say it was media day...

"Erm, ill let you go. Its like midnight there and you have a big day with practice tomorrow" you say, he starts to stay something but you interrupt before he can.

"I love you, goodnight" you say to prompt him.

"Goodnight, ill see you soon" he sighs, he also sounded tired just like you.

You drove the rest of the way home, pulling up in the underground carpark and just sitting there for a few minutes taking in some breaths.

You eventually get out the car and head into yours and Lando's apartment. The apartment was always clean because either you were here or your parents were kind enough to house sit while you and Lando were away.

You did your normal routine for when Lando wasn't here, which was go to the gym, go back and shower, cook food eat food and go to sleep.

You never really had any motivation for anything when he wasn't around.

The next day was a free day from uni, you went to the Mercedes team, everyone could tell that something was up with you. They chose not to say anything and just let you get through your shift. You'd had a cute Good morning text from Lando, asking if you'd slept well and if you'd eaten.

You'd replied, saying yes to both and that you were just catching up on his free practices and that he had really good times, as you'd expected.

But part of you just longed for him to come home.

[struwberrii]

rainbows, sunshine ⋆˚✿˖°

pairing: gn!reader x sakusa kiyoomi

content: fluff, high school, no established relationship, no warnings really (unless you consider being awake before 8 am triggering)

also this is the first oneshot i’ve written in like 4 years, any constructive criticism or advice is greatly appreciated :)

you found yourself not being able to fall asleep. minutes turn into hours and before you know it, the time on your phone reads 6:45am.

you decided it would be pointless to go to sleep now so you got up and started to get yourself ready for class early.

you grab your bag and start walking to school as the sun is hardly high enough to light up the outdoors. you took in all the scenery around you, usually you aren’t awake this early. it’s peaceful and quiet out.

when you get to school the main building is closed for about another couple hour so you begin your journey to find a nice place to sit down and read. you settle on a bench outside the gym. by the time you’ve settled down on the bench you noticed the bench provided a perfect view of the sunrise. you didn’t even have time to pull out any of your books before you were interrupted by a masculine voice

“what are you doing here?” he says snapping you out of the trance the sunrise put you in

“i was just looking for a quiet place to sit” you said looking up at him.

he was wearing a tshirt and sports shorts, his hair was wet with what you assumed to be sweat yet he didn’t smell sweaty at all. the rising sunlight illuminated his pale skin just enough for you to see small beads of sweat sitting on his forehead in spots his hair didn’t cover.

“this is my bench” he said flatly.

you looked over at your bag preparing to pick it up until he stopped you with his words.

“scoot over” he said sitting next to you.

it was silent for a moment while you both watched the sunrise, until you decided to speak up and break it.

“so, are you here for volleyball practice?” you asked, even though the answer seemed pretty obvious.

“practice doesn’t start for another hour, i just come early to practice extra” he said cracking open a vending machine drink. “i also just like watching the sunrise, is that why you’re here?” he says looking over at you with a face you couldn’t exactly read.

“i guess so” you lied “are you okay?” he asks leaning forward to be in your field of view “you look like you just saw a ghost” he says with a hint of concern in his voice.

you finally admit to him that you didn’t get much sleep last night and only came in so early since you were awake already.

“wow, that’s rough. i bet you could get a nap in before classes start if you really wanted to though” he said before looking down on the floor next to him and picking up a second drink.

“here, i usually drink two of these but i don’t think ill finish them today, you look like you could use it more than me anyway”. he said cracking the seal of the drink for you so you could open it easier.

you thanked him and read the label of the drink before taking a sip.

“watching the sunset is pretty relaxing, i bet that would help you fall asleep”. he said before looking back up at the sky, the sun a little higher than it was before.

“now that you mention it i am feeling a little more tired than i was earlier” you let out a yawn and got a little more comfortable on the bench. before you knew it you were falling in and out of sleep zzz. you were so tired you found yourself laying your head on his shoulder. you quickly caught yourself and jumped up.

“i’m so sorry! i didn’t mean to-“ you began to apologize before he cut you off. he put his hand on the back of your head and pulled you back onto his shoulder

“it’s ok, just go to sleep while you can”. he said calmly “i have to shower after practice anyway” he mumbled after that. you chose to ignore his last comment as you quickly fell back asleep, missing the last few minutes of the sunrise.

after what felt like a few seconds, you opened your eyes to him lightly shaking your shoulder.

“hey, hey wake up, i have team practice in a second”. he said as you slowly sat up.

“oh, i’m sorry for falling asleep on you”

“it’s ok, i’m sakusa by the way”

he laughed a bit, realizing he let you sleep on him before you even knew each others names. you shared your name with him after.

he stood up to make his way back to the gym and looked back at you one last time.

“let’s meet here again soon”

a/n: bear with me guys. this is my first time writing anything other than headcanons since i was like 13 and in the midst of my delusion crazy haikyuu phase. im a little rusty since ive recently been brought back to earth so let me know if this is good or not, i know it could def use so work 😭

[maybe-boys-do-love]

Because I've really enjoyed Peaceful Property and contributed to the discourse on here around it, I want to spend some time exploring the thoughtful critiques of the show by @bengiyo, @lurkingshan, @twig-tea, @respectthepetty, @my-rose-tinted-glasses, and @one-of-tankhuns-neurons. I started writing this out but then it got all annoying and academic so imma just list rant with the utmost respect for everyone's thoughts for making me think so much about this show.

1.I wondered about what shows might be examples of class division themes done with an orientation toward the lived experiences of the working class in BL, cuz honestly it's just not super prominent and well-done in much of media anywhere. The Aof series where he takes screenwriting credit seem to be the best representatives: ATOTS and Moonlight Chicken, especially, but he touches on macro and micro economic issues in all his works. Aof's really willing to depict the hardships and compromises required when living with less financial security, and I can def agree that Peaceful Property is not offering that. I just personally feel okay with that, because I see the latter show as doing a more theoretical and symbolic narrative about economics, and overt symbolism seems pretty in-line with the ghost story horror genre its using.

2. To me, I see Peaceful Property's main critique of class issues as being about Marxist alienation. So we've got our first two ghosts being really literal with this, where they have a labor they do and a final product that they don't get to partake in. Builder wants to have a meal in the house he built. Wig maker wants to wear the luxury wig she sewed. Then, with rider, we get a lil more abstract with him wanting him and his delivery to be recognized and build a meaningful relationship with someone. And since then we've been getting more and more abstract about people finding personal meaning and supporting others through their labor. But all of it still connects back to this idea of alienation from their labor, the magician, Chef Hong, and Peach are all prevented from performing the labor that brings them fulfillment by different circumstances.

3. For my reading, the queerness is very much part and parcel of its capitalism critique. Agree with it or not, but man x man loving stories have been used historically to run counter to the competition between men fighting for the top spot encouraged by capitalism. Maurice is a pretty prime example of this, where Maurice, instead of pining upward for Clive, ends up choosing the lower-class Alex and running away to be happy together. Pat and Pran's love in the face of their family's business related feud in Bud Buddy is an even closer example to how I think Peaceful Property is contrasting queer love and capitalistic competition. There's a few signals for me that Peaceful Property plans to explore this a bit more. The Cok Long sign reminds me way too much of the slang of "dick measuring competitions" and I don't think they gave us a character named 'Best,' who has reappeared a couple of times for no reason. With the magician, Pang, and Chef Hong, we also have a repeating motif of lost assistants who made the work meaningful and possible, a socialist emphasis on the value of all workers and the need to connect with others to produce their labors of love, which we see thwarted for the queer story line. The fact that the Thai dancing was two men working together to create the art offers an alternative to a competition between men. And I want to say that I'm just talking about narrative devices here, not the reality of how capitalism works. We're very much in symbolist land, with this take. I'm just a sucker for symbolist land, and it's hard for me to watch horror especially without taking my brain there.

4. And then there's the way queerness alienates one from the accepted 'normal,' which has emerged as a dominant theme in the last few episodes. But if we take this theme and apply it back on previous episodes, we can see traces of it throughout the characters. Home's statements have been the most explicit in illustrating an internalized homophobia with his desire to be part of a 'normal family.' And the tensions with his family about whether he deserved to inherit the properties has queer connotations about queer people's inclusion in their families and the legal and financial repercussions of that (What Did You Eat Yesterday is the top tier of detailed impacts of queer rights in that vein). Peach's social anxieties and depressive behaviors, ostensibly related to his close call with death and ability to see ghosts, parallels queer experiences, too, and we see how it shapes his and his sister's financial predicaments. (Aside: I wonder, regarding some of the complaints about their behavior in the context of poverty, if we might better read the two of them as broke middle class characters. We don't have much context about their childhoods, but their behavior has never really presented as people familiar with getting by on a dime.) Queerness and the threats of financial insecurity have been articulated as interrelated by the series.

5. Home's redemption? We'll know more as things get revealed, but it seems that we're meant to see Home's biggest failing as the negligence that allowed him to hit Peace and his cowardice in not standing up to his family and taking responsibility for the harm he caused. If that is his chief issue, in my view of a restorative process (and thank you so much @respectthepetty for naming this aspect of the show!), the necessary amends are...

facing up to his family (partial check)

admitting his mistakes and seeking forgiveness from Peach (he was in the process of doing so in the latest ep)

addressing the distraction that led to his negligence so that he can attend to Peach and people like Peach so it does not occur again (hmmm...)

That last point is key because we still don't know why it was significant that he was on his busy ignoring the call of girlfriend number 32 or whatever. But I'm suspecting it will connect to Home's internalized homophobia (and @heretherebedork has done some great writing about that subtext). That would give the accident a significance regarding horizontal violence between gay men that the privileged can then run away from while others who can't escape have to suffer the consequences. There's lots of ways queer men can and have done this to one another in everyday life and hook-ups but at the most extreme historically we have the the AIDS crisis, where someone's negligence regarding sexual health inspired by the psychological fear induced by being in the closet could truly be a life-or-death matter with major financial ramifications. For Home to truly own his mistake he is going to have to risk his own financial security in standing up to his family, and he's going to have to stop hiding from himself so he can develop compassion for others in the world. And the last scene in which we see him in the same predicament as Home I saw less as a cop out so Peach and the audience would feel bad for him and forgive him and more as a representation of his ability now to truly understand what Peach has gone through.

6. Do I think this series is going to solve capitalism? This show is about the spiritual dimensions capitalism robs from people, and I think it has real answers about disrupting capitalism through reconnection with our relationships to our work and to other human beings. I'm not religious, but I respect religion's ability to help people find and emphasize a deeper meaning in life, and I think that that doesn't necessarily but can challenge capitalist practices. Peaceful Property is working to show how caring about spiritual well-being breaks up the automaticity of capitalism and has never let go of that thread. To discuss Peaceful Property's takes on class division without speaking about its religious elements seems disingenuous to its greater purpose and a bit disrespectful to the Thai culture the series is so infused with. I'm intrigued about how Kan's plot will play out with the Vimarnsukmun family and it's impact on their finances. What would actually disappoint me and run counter to the show's themes is if the gang somehow inherited the family's wealth or properties other than the ramshackle Cok Long Cocktail Lounge. In Aof's work and in Maurice, the endings involve a disinheritance to represent that life is about connection not financial gain, which contrasts philosophically with the upward fantasies of capitalism. So in ATOTS, Tian moves to the village, in Moonlight Chicken, Jim trades out his diner for a smaller food truck, etc. To find the true meaning of home, Home will need to release himself from his attachment to his inheritance of financial privilege. Of course, being dead might be an option for that lol, but we'll see how the rest of the series plays out.

[evie-sturns]

ꜱᴜᴍᴍᴇʀ ᴄᴀᴍᴘ - ᴍᴀᴛᴛ ꜱᴛᴜʀɴɪᴏʟO

part 4 (final part) (part 3,) (part 2), (part 1)

summary: you and your best-friend matt, have decided to sign up to be a summer camp counsellor for your school's summer project! will you two stay as just friends? or will this summer turn out different for you guys.

a/n: this is the last part of the series so it will be a little longer, took alot of mental strength to finish this series haha.

warnings: smut, car sex, angst, fluff, swearing

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previously

"saw you two last night." she says, her arms folded.

my stomach drops. "jessie wants you two in her office, such a shame that you have to go home so early, you were only here for such a small amount of time! guess someone didn't read the no romance between staff rule.." she tuts.

"god, i feel soo sorry for you guys, also gonna fail business class cause you couldn't even keep a job here." she says in a fake sympathetic tone. tears well in my eyes, threatening to fall.

"oh well, go on get dressed and pack your bags, better to be prepared before you see jessie." she sighs before walking out of our cabin.

-

as soon as dani leaves our cabin i jump out of bed, on the brink of tears. "come here." matt says, walking over to me and holding his arms out. I walk over to him, he pulls me into a tight hug as he rubs my back.

"matt." i say, my voice shaky.

"i know i know." he reassures, whispering into my hair.

"i can't even believe this, we're about to get kicked out of summer camp all because of danielle, i'm about to fail final year business which will ruin my collage application-"

i ramble, but i'm cut off by his lips meeting mine.

after a few seconds he quickly pulls away, running a hand through his hair. "look y/n, none of this shouldve happened, we should just stay as friends yeah?" he says softly

friends?

my heart sinks, he regrets everything? like i mean everything?

we should just stay as friends..?

my face visibly drops, the cabin grows silent as matt just looks at me.

i clear my throat, trying not to cry for the 2nd time this morning. "i'm gonna get dressed." i say, my voice shaky, barely above a whisper.

i grab some low rise denim shorts and a tank top, getting changed in the corner of the cabin as matt packs his things.

"lets go, jess is probably waiting in her office for us." matt mumbles, opening the door to the cabin and stepping out into the fresh morning air.

the walk down to the main building is silent, the awkward tension still present.

as i step inside jessie is waiting, her arms folded. "wont you two please come inside in my office." she says, opening the door into her office. me and matt walk inside.

dani is sitting there, looking guilty.

me and matt share a confused look before sitting down on a couch,

jessie comes inside, sitting down aswell as she starts.

"i assume you both know why you're here?" jessie asks, looking at me and matt mutiple times.

we both stay silent, trying to think of what to say

"well clearly not, your here because of the incident with y/n and dani, i am aware a few days ago there was a fight in the bathrooms over matthew."

i almost cry from relief, this wasn't about me and matt fucking in the bushes. i look over at matt, hes running a hand through his hair, letting out a sigh of relief.

"last night, dani came to me, saying she saw you two partaking in inappropriate activites."

shit.

"like what.." matt asks softly.

"well dani told me you two were making out in the shed." jessie says, crossing her arms

thank god.

"i am choosing not to do anything serious about this incident, but i will be moving dani to the puffer fish staff group, meaning you will not see her for the rest of the summer to prevent anymore physical fights." jessie says calmly.

dani scoffs "the fuck are you on jessie? move y/n away, i did nothing wrong, they were the ones kissing?" she says, throwing her hands up.

"dani. go pack your bags and move into the pufferfish staff cabins now." jessie says, clear irritaion in her voice.

dani stands up, glaring at matt, she storms out of jessies office.

"and for you two, no more intimacy or i will seperate you two aswell" jessie declares.

(5 weeks later)

ever since the meeting with jessie, me and matt have stayed friends, we didnt discuss the makeouts, or the spontaneous hook up. we've just been acting as friends, i hate to admit it, but i think im inlove with matt.

-

its the last day of summercamp, all the staff at the camp are sitting around the campfire, loud chatter fills the summer air as i sit next to matt.

theres around 25 staff members all gathered around the fire, matt's sitting on a foldout chair, im sitting on his lap laying myself against him. my head is resting on his shoulder as his breathing lifts me up and down slightly.

"matt.." i whisper, he moves his head to look at me.

"yeah?" he says softly, the light from the fire illuminates his face, he looks unbearably good.

"i really need to say something." i mumble, looking into his eyes. he nods understandably, maintaining eye contact with me.

i start to feel my heart beat faster,

i mean, if he liked me once he can like me again?

"i dont want to just be friends matt, i never moved on 5 weeks ago, quite frankly i think im inlove with everything about you." i ramble, matts eyes widen. i feel his body tense under me.

"you are?" he says, his voice barely audible.

"yes.. and i'm tired of pretending im not because of this stupid no camp staff romance shit." i say, looking directly into his eyes.

"i really want to kiss you right now." he says softly.

"you do?"

he awnsers my question, his lips press gently against mine for a couple seconds. he pulls away and looks around, nobody saw us, execpt for jessie.

jessie just smiles and shakes her head, theres no point in her doing anything giving that tomorrow we'll all be gone.

(The next day 8:30am)

i wake up, xaiver is still sound asleep, i get out of bed and walk over to him, tapping him lightly, as soon as he wakes up and is aware of where he is he bursts into sobs. i take a step back.

"sorry" he sniffles, "im just gonna miss you so much y/n, you've made dealing with 25 kids per day worth it, and youve helped me through getting over all my stupid boy crushes who rejected me." he says,

i giggle slightly, "love ya xaiver, you've been the best cabin roomate." i say giving him a hug. "don't cry please, ill see you when were home okay, i gave you my number and adress we'll still see eachother!" i say, trying to cheer him up.

he nods before getting out of bed and stripping the purple silk bedsheets off the matress, still sniffling.

i finished packing last night, so i help xaiver pack his bed.

i hold up a condom wrapper "why the FUCK is this under your bed xaiver." i say laughing, he slams a hand over his mouth.

"can i be honest" he says, a large smile spread across his face.

"oh my godd who did you fuck!" i giggle, throwing the wrapper at him

"lincoln." he says bluntly

i scream "matt's roommate!?" i yell, he slams a hand over my mouth.

"since when was he gay?' i whisper, xaiver shrugs "i dont know!!" he says, his face bright pink.

after a few minutes of helping xaiver pack while bullying him, the cabin was empty, clear of clutter. "you ready to go?" i say softly, he nods, we walk out of our cabin for the last time. i sigh as i approach matts cabin, hes waiting outside with lincoln, his suitcase in hand.

i whisper to xaiver "i can never look at lincoln the same."

as i approach matt he rushes over to grab my bag, i give everyone one last goodbye hug before matt takes me towards the carpark,

his car is still there, covered in leaves from the trees above. matt opens the trunk, throwing it in before getting in the drivers side. silence grows in his car before i start-

"that was one eventful summer." i say, a small smirk tugging at my lips.

he leans over and pulls me into a passionate kiss. "ready to get going?" he says, pulling away and putting on his seatbelt.

"yeah i think so!" i smile, as he turns on the car, pulling out of the carpark into the highway.

after 30 minutes of driving, and talking about the summer, matt starts to grow stressed, i know he has quite bad driving anxiety so i keep patient with him. "shit" he whispers under his breath as he changes lanes.

he grips the steering wheel so tight his knuckles go white.

"hey when you have time can we pull over for a second?" i ask quietly, he nod, pulling over into an empty parking lot with a sigh. i tie up my hair and crawl over the cup holder onto his lap. his eyes widen as he looks at me.

"you seem a little stressed yeah?" i say, moving off him and onto the car floor between his legs.

he nods, "mhm.." he says, staring down at me.

i hook a finger around the waistband of his shorts, his breathing intesifys as i slowly pull them down to his ankles, a large tent forms on his boxers. "please.." he whispers

"please what?" i tease

"touch me.." matt says, rubbing his eyes slightly out of embarrasment.

i pull down his boxers at an agonisingly slow pace, his dick springs out, resting on his stomach.

i rub his tip softly, matt bucks his hips up, desperate for more. without much warning i open my mouth, breathing on his throbbing length. i slowly lower my mouth onto the head of his cock, he lets out a long groan of pleasure as i swirl my tongue around his tip.

"feels so good-.." he manages to string together as i lick a line from his base to just under his tip, he throws his head back, squeezing his eyes shut. with my spare hand i pull off my panties, leaving me bare under my skirt.

i bob my head up and down faster on his length, he squeezes the door handle for any kind of support as his dick twitches. he unexpectedly realeases into my mouth "shit..-" he says, still out of breath. he holds a hand out infront of my mouth. "spit it out" he laughs, his cheeks red and sweat present on his forehead.

i spit it out into his hand, "gross" he mumbles, wiping his hand on a napkin. i sit back up onto his lap, his eyes widen "where did your panties go.." he says maintaining eye contact.

i hover up above his length, supporting myself on the headrest behind matt. "i dont know-.." he says, still recovering from his past orgasm. "you're okay." i say, sinking down onto him, he lets out a breathy whimper as he holds my hips. i sit for a minute at his base, adjusting to his size.

i slowly bounce up and down on his length, quickening my pace each time, matt squeezes his eyes shut, "fuck fuck fuck.." he says, growing overstimulated. "you're okay." i assure him as i clench around him, the knot in my stomach snaps as i collapse on his chest. he pants, realeasing inside of me aswell.

(2 years later)

when me and matt arrived home from summer camp 2 years ago, we made it official, after a year i moved into his house with his triplet brothers, i slept in matts room for the whole 2 years. after a year or so he started a youtube channel, i was in some of the videos and i loved it. i stuck with matt the whole time, even through his worst times.

Im sitting on matts bed as he bursts through the door, almost crying laughing "matt what!!" i say, a smile tugging at my lips.

"you'll never believe it." he says collapsing down next to me.

"tell me!" i say, grabbing his hand.

"lakeside summer camp are hiring staff members for the summer, jessie just emailed me, saying she would love for me to come."

"you're joking." i say, i haven't heard several of those words in years.

"we should totally go, i mean you know what came out of it last time!"

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hhhhhollyyy shit finally finished, took me wayyy to long but gilmore girls got me through it. hope you guys liked this. this will also be my last post for a little bit cause school is starting in 2 days and ill be too tired out in the first few days to write.

taglist

@iammattsturniolo @iloveneilperry @tatumrileyslover @chrisstopherfilmed @leprechaunbirthdaygirl @ilovechrissturniolo1 @tyjna6 @mattybswife @is4belle

WHAT THE FUCK ANYONE WHO SAW THIS A FEW MINUTES AGO IDK WHAT HAPPENED TO THE END BEFORE I FIXED IT

[perfectlypreservedpie]

MacCready Fanfiction Recs (Fallout 4)

hey everybody, nobody asked for this but in the midst of writing fallout fanfic I was feeling a special kind of love for my favorite fo4 fanfics and wanted to recommend them in case you hadn't read 'em. Because they are VERY GOOD and writing fanfic is hard, so you gotta give props to those who sweat for your comfort fics.

I'm gonna recommend my top three finished fanfics, and then two more bonus fics that are being updated rn. As a clarifier, these are all Maccready fallout 4 fics. so. keep that in mind.

im tagging the authors and also anybody who wants to join and share their favorites too!

3. THE FATHER(S) AND THE SON(S) on ao3 by @sirmanmister

I'm going to preface this rec by saying this: there is Fanon MacCready. There is canon MacCready. And then there is ascended!whatBethesdawishesitWAS MacCready, which exists solely in this fanfiction. The characterization of Mac is so well written. He is snarky, he is vulnerable. He desperately wants to grow up but doesn't know how. He has the most sick character arc in this story!!!

It's not a romance but instead a coming of age story where the sole survivor becomes a de-facto parent to Mac. The heart of the story is about how to raise a child while you're still trying to grow up yourself. The apocalypse setting lends itself well because the Wasteland is a place where NOTHING is beautiful, but the way that M!Sosu and MacCready care for their sons is beautiful. Which makes it special and worth fighting for.

As a fun fact, I read The Road by Cormac McCarthy for class a week after finishing this fic and I was thinking about this fic the whole time because the themes of fatherhood during an apocalypse hit a lot of the same beats. Maybe my professor would kick me in the teeth by comparing fic to McCarthy, but @sirmanmister YOU ARE MY CORMAC MCCARTHY <3

2. WORKING CLASS HERO on ao3 by @bluegrasskitty

This is the kind of fic you take with you to toilet, to work, in-between classes. It will suck you in. AND THERE'S A SEQUEL TOO YOU GUYS‼️

The sole survivor in this story is the model for the Nuka Cola girl. You know the hot lady in the spacesuit? SHE HAS A BACKSTORY. AND YALL IT MADE ME WEEP. During some point of the story, I sort of stopped rooting for MacCready to be the narrator and just wanted Nora Cabot to take the reins. When I tell you I think of this oc every two to three business weeks. She's an incredible leading lady. I can't look at Nuka Girl posters in the game without thinking of Nora Cabot, my beloved.

the sequel IS SO FIRE. It's the best reimagining of 'what happened after the institute blew up' that I've ever read. im gnawing at the bars of my enclosure actually.

A VERY GOOD PLOT TWIST I CANNOT MENTION TO NEW READERS BUT IF YOU'VE READ IT YOU'LL UNDERSTAND. AND IF YOU UNDERSTAND DM ME I HAVE TO TALK TO SOMEBODY ABOUT IT. HHh.

The amount of world building that @bluegrasskitty puts into this story is insane. They ARE Beth Esda.

As a fun fact, I didn't know that radchickens were canon in fallout. I thought it was a plot device made up by this author to excuse the ability to make cake in this book, but radchickens ARE real. When I was playing Far Harbor last year, I found radchickens and thought that @bluegrasskitty manifested them into existence because they had that kind of power.

that being said, I still think this author has that kind of power.

1. Atom Bomb Baby on ao3 by @starlightwrites

I think you dropped something....my jaw.

fellas. fellas. this is my comfort fic. You ever had a comfort fic? Something you come back to at least once a year to reread to feel something? the fiction equivalent of chicken noodle soup? this is what Atom Bomb Baby is to me. this is peak literature actually. if I ever figure out book binding, im doing this one first.

Plot wise, it's a retelling of Fallout 4's main story through the perspective of MacCready. But (and im wheezing as I say this) it's also so much more THAN THAT.

this fic author understands that MacCready is not a womanizer but is in fact a touch starved loser. and they are CORRECT.

MacCready spends the entire fic like 'uuuhhhh I dunno about this one, boss!'

ITS BEST FRIENDS TO LOVERS RAHHHHHH

it also has a nostalgia feel to me too, because reading it gives me the same feeling as what it was like to play the game for the first time, years ago. maybe it's because I've read it so many times over the years, but reading it feels so satisfying.

The author spends 10 chapters at the end solely dedicated to an epilogue. I wish more stories did this. They go through the wringer in this story, and it's so deeply satisfying to see how cleanly everything gets wrapped up. MacCready and the Lola work really well together as a couple, so it's awesome to see how they work together after the battle is done.

6 out of 5 stars.

BONUS FICS !! aka fics that are still updating! I squeal with joy when I get an ao3 email about these: 1. Best Laid Plans on ao3 by @druidgroves - Georgia Tate is an incredible character and sole survivor! She was a teacher prewar, so it's really fun to get her perspective on the world. She cares a lot about education and libraries and I find her really relatable and endearing. It's a cool thing for a character in an apocalypse to care about! It also makes for fun tension with Mac, who's written as a pragmatic survivor. A great take on familiar characters and their dynamics. - And It's a great slow burn! I'm really enjoying reading it. 2. Long Time Running on ao3 by @twosides--samecoin - If you've ever thought that Med-Tek was too convenient an option for Duncan's cure, this fic was written with you in mind. - RJ goes to Canada and im obsessed with it. - If you're interested in fallout lore, specifically the bit where the U.S annexed Canada and wished that there was more info about that, I would highly recommend this fic. Twosides--samecoin put in THE WORK. The world building they do to explain Canada's side of the Great War is so fun!!! its genuinely such a thrill to read!

I'm tagging the authors who I mentioned, if you all have favorite fics (fallout or otherwise, I'd love to hear em!) Thank you for making good art!

[itsmyfandomandilikeit]

Ok I have gone through all available evidence and I have a prediction.

Look I'm ngl I am watching Arcane for Cait and Vi. I love the show overall but this ship is what I'm most here for, especially after I spent the last 3 years under the assumption that Mel was dead. Glad she isn't. Point is, I really want CaitVi/Violyn/Piltover's Finest to be handled well, and I pay a disproportionate amount of attention to what happens with these two.

After watching the first arc of season 2 the other day, I was trying really hard to ignore the ending to episode 3. I didn't like that Cait hit Vi in the stomach and abandoned her in a pit after being all classist at her, but I thought, this is Arcane. Arcane is the greatest fucking thing I've ever seen, of course they're gonna find a way to make this work. But that made me think of it as a puzzle. How could they possibly make this work?

Option one, Cait sucks now and she and Vi don't get back together. I don't think this makes sense, because of the brand. CaitVi is a popular ship that just about everybody likes. A huge amount of the hype for this season before the trailers came out was building up assurances that don't worry, CaitVi is happening and it's not gonna be ambiguous. Take this teaser from like two weeks after season 1 ended, a couple of Valentine's Day icons, and one million tweets from Amanda Overton. Why the fuck would they make this season be about Cait and Vi not working out? It simply doesn't make logical sense.

Ok, so we're starting from the assumption that Cait and Vi have a happy ending that makes people feel like they should be together, and continue to want to play as them in the games and buy merchandise. That means they either explicitly get back together, or it's so implied there isn't much of a difference. My money is on zero ambiguity. Vi is the main character and Cait is maybe #3 or #4. Ambiguity about their ending would just look like a weak writing choice and they didn't know what they're doing. The Arcane writers don't tend to go for wishy washy.

But here's the problem. Domestic violence is bad. It's about the fastest way to guarantee the majority of your audience doesn't think two characters should be together. It would take a herculean effort on Cait's part to make up for that and honestly I still wouldn't believe it. To me, there isn't any kind of act of service that makes up for hitting your partner. Not even ensuring the independence of the nation of Zaun. Add on top of that the over the top hurtful comments about Vi's blood and class. It makes her look very much like, deep down, she thinks of Vi as beneath her. If she meant those things, a relationship between them is impossible. (Not to mention how many teenaged girls I know are watching this, and I don't want them to think it's ever okay to be treated like that, even in a fantasy series.)

So my prediction is this. The only way to make a relationship between Cait and Vi viable again is to render those comments and the sentiment they carry meaningless. How do the writers do that? Imo it turns out later that Cait intentionally came up with cruel things to say to cut Vi loose. She realized that Vi would never be able to kill Jinx, and this new explosion will make the situation aboveground even worse, and Vi still won't be able to contribute to the hunt after this. Vi has no future as an enforcer against Jinx and will probably get treated like dogshit as a Zaunite, so Cait is "breaking her heart to save her", as Tvtropes would say. In Cait's mind, it's better if she's left down here in Zaun.

What evidence do I have for this? It fits Cait's characterization as a genius who thinks quickly and several steps ahead. It fits the tiny animation details we zero in on of her stiffening her trembling lips and furled eyebrows. It un-ruins the most popular canon relationship in League. It allows act 1 to end on massive shock value but roll it back later to show that Cait actually does love Vi, enough to let her go for her own good.

I'm not arguing this is the best possible solution but it's the one I think they're going to go with. Amanda Overton and some others have repeatedly said that CaitVi fans will be happy with the ending to Arcane. Everything about the show(the opening, Netflix Brazil's Twitter account, the story) points to them being the show's OTP except for this one scene. I think Cait intentionally cut Vi out of her life by pretending to be much crueler than she wanted to be, to protect her and, likely, as a form of self destruction.

[blueikeproductions]

Got to see TFONE last night.

Spoilers obviously.

This is more looking at the world building and references than the film as a whole though.

The theater I was in wasn’t exactly full. Initially it was just me and a mother & son. Later on another family and some college/high school girls trickled in, but that was it. The box office so far, despite the film debuting at #1 and positive reviews and word of mouth, is pretty weak.

It’s been pointed out that once more that casuals don’t really care if it’s accurate to Transformers or not, they just like seeing the shredded metal Bionicles smashing each other and transforming into cool cars, skeletal dinosaurs, & skeletal nonsense animals.

Like it or not, the Bayformers are still very popular, heck the audience for The Last Knight I was in years ago was considerably bigger than this.

Do not be shocked if at some point the movies go back to these guys:

Over these guys.

The TFONE toys have rolled out, and have largely superseded the EarthSpark toys, but so far they don’t seem to be budging. Now before you say kids don’t like toys anymore, the kids I saw in Ollie’s were excited looking at the toys, but even at Good Stuff Cheap, the kids didn’t buy anything because it was still too expensive for them.

It’s all about price, and I’m sorry to say the TF toys are just too expensive still. I almost got a Sentinel Prime toy because I liked him in the film, but the cheapest thing was 10 dollars and not worth the amount as a 1-Step Changer.

The toy aspect I’ll circle back to because it’s relevant, but as for the movie itself, it’s good!

I liked it well enough, it’s definitely the film hard cores claim they wanted. Personally I still kinda prefer the Bay films. DotM is my personal favorite, and the use of Sentinel Prime as the main villain echos some of that. As a new origin story, it does what it’s supposed to do, and it’s the only time Optimus and Megatron being friends actually makes sense. The old G1 episode that sparked it, Megatron was never Orion’s friend, he just feigned interest to get Energon. Cyberverse and Prime, despite what the writers pat themselves on the back for a showing a nuanced Megatron, no he was just an unstable idiot that threw a 4 million year hissy fit when Optimus got what he wanted.

Here, TFONE takes great pains to establish Optimus and Megatron’s relationship. It’s very believable they used to be close friends, and I think part of it is the movie ignoring the political aspect that drove Aligned, IDW, and Cyberverse, instead casting both as underclass Worker-Bots that mined for Energon in the bowels of Cybertron. They’re just a couple of college aged dudes bonding over their love of the Primes, their wide eyed optimism and their job. Simple as that. Honestly I think the political aspects that stuff like IDW went so hard on was what made Orion and Megatron being friends before hard to believe, especially when most stories made it clear Megatron had a corrupt, semi selfish agenda to put himself in charge. Regardless if this film does well financially, hopefully the goodwill will see Hasbro and other creatives go with the blue collar approach for Optimus and Megatron’s origins. That works so much better. Also a big change is Orion was the well meaning reckless go getter, while Megatron as D-16 preferred structure and routine. Usually past stuff had it the opposite, so this is a welcome change. Even a recent manga took this to heart with Optimus as the reckless prankster doodling on Alpha Trion’s statue and falling asleep during class, while Megatron was the more attentive, studious one. More of this please.

Similarly, the future Autobots all being the Cogless while the future Decepticons were the high society/corrupt High Guard also makes so much more sense, as it never made sense before how the Decepticons were bad if they were the ones standing up to an oppressive government and the Autobots were the privileged ones that seemed to be defending it. Netflix WFC even acknowledges in-story that’s what’s happening but doesn’t really offer a reason as to why things escalated this badly and why we should root for the Autobots if they’re supposed to technically be the rich we’re supposed to eat.

So yes more of this, more the AUTOBOTS were the oppressed underclass. That makes much more sense, than they were the ones who largely benefitted from the old system.

As for the general lore, this is pretty divorced from what’s been the norm so far.

The Primus origin story is the default with the Quintessons as an ancient alien enemy that attacked the Transformers years ago still in play. From there it spirals into its own thing.

The Primes are simply known as the Primes, they’re never called The Thirteen at any stage. They were the peaceful, benevolent rulers of Cybertron who were prone to epic speeches. Zeta Prime is among the Primes, and was the Matrix holder before Sentinel Prime. It’s unclear if Zeta is the replacement for The Arisen, since The Arisen being Optimus was such an unpopular idea (wouldn’t it make more sense if he was Rodimus?), but until an art book comes out to clarify it, I’m leaning towards Zeta Prime being the replacement member.

Zeta’s character model was a loose hybrid of his previous designs but with a G1 ‘toon bent.

Also, Primes die (except Alpha Trion) during a Quintesson ambush. Alchemist Prime never goes on to become Maccadam in this universe. Megatronus Prime is the most popular Prime among the youngest population and he has a lot of merch. Megatron had posters and a sticker tattoo he proudly wore gifted to him by Orion. Megatronus was the biggest, and most powerful Prime, but unlike most incarnations, he didn’t turn on his siblings for selfish, Unicron related reasons or was perpetually on fire as he was among the first to be killed. If anything they made him look more like a G1 cartoon version of IDW Tarn. I thought it WAS Tarn at first until I corrected myself.

The Primes have more unique designs, taking cues from the Aligned designs, though Vector Prime is more specifically based on his Galaxy Force design, but otherwise are their own thing. Potentially the upcoming Age of Primes successor to Legacy may use these as a basis. In particular they finally found a readable design for this monstrosity.

Taking the base idea and pushing it into an Ed-209 direction.

Sentinel Prime is the current leader of Cybertron, but he’s a fraud. Formerly an assistant to the Primes, he hated them and coveted their power and the Matrix. Making a deal with the Quintessons, he stages a coup that kills the Primes, with Sentinel slaying several himself, Megatronus (and much later Alpha Trion) among them. While having a certain charm, he’s a selfish, greedy weasel who sold out his people for power, robbing the newest generation (Orion, Megatron, Bumblebee and Elita among them) of their Cogs and making them into a worker class to mine Energon to pay off the Quintessons. It’s never explained WHY the Quints attacked Cybertron, though maybe that’s something for TFTWO to tackle if we get one. While described more as paying off debts to loan sharks, it comes more off as Sentinel paying them to leave Cybertron alone. Sentinel’s actions also caused Cybertron’s energy crisis, as in this universe, the Matrix itself is tied to the flow of Energon on the planet. When Sentinel ripped open Zeta’s chest to claim the Matrix, the babble disintegrated like it did in RotF, denying Sentinel the power he craved and starving the planet of free flowing liquid Energon. Instead, he took Megatronus’ T-Cog as a trophy. Like RotF, the Matrix only appears to those worthy of it. This again makes more sense than just having it laying around for writers to make Megatron be worthy of it instead when he absolutely shouldn’t be, let alone able to use it at all.

Despite the Quintessons being the background antagonists, it’s never clarified in the film if they’re still related to Quintus Prime or not. To an extent I’d sort of prefer if they weren’t related, I’ve always been mixed on the idea that the Transformers created the Quints, vs the more clever meta gag the TFs are in-universe product created by the Quints.

The Quints, what little we see of them, have unique designs that are way different from the tiki mask wearing eggs but still harken back to them somewhat. They took great pains to make them look scary, giving them a more bio mechanical look. Even their ship looks somehow alive, having the same bio mechanical design. The Quintessons aren’t usually known for their fighting ability but these guys are brutal. Their foot soldiers are crablike versions of these one offs from the G1 ‘toon:

No Sharkiticons for these guys, at least not yet.

A funny observation is while the Transformers have a written alien language, it flip flops between a Japanese looking script to just being straight up English. Perhaps English is galactic standard on Cybertron.

Circling back to the toys, the toys don’t take advantage of a unique gimmick within the story itself. The T-Cogs are a major plot point, and like in more modern media, are the reason the Transformers can Transform at all. Not having one is seen as bad, as some throwaway lines see some Cogless having tried to Transform without one, but twisting themselves into pretzels.

Despite being present when D-16 openly said he wanted to kill Sentinel dead for his betrayal (Megatron LOVED Sentinel originally, a big don’t meet your heroes moment for him), Alpha Trion saw fit to gift the four Cogless workers the Cogs from the Primes to shape their destiny and save Cybertron. Orion got Prima, Bumblebee got Micronus (cuz he’s small, geddit?), but the other two I’m not clear on. The other donated Cogs were Onyx’s and Alchemist’s, but who they went to I’m not super sure. I THINK Elita got Onyx and D-16 got Alchemist, but feel free to correct me. Later on, D-16 stole back Megatronus’ Cog from Sentinel, and installed it in himself after removing Alchemist’s. Doing so causes D-16 to evolve into his more traditional Megatron body, with a tricked out triple barrel cannon in place of his usual cannon. Sentinel also briefly turns into artillery laden battle mode using Megatronus’ Cog.

My point being is you could’ve had the One toyline be built around a Mini-Con/Powermaster like gimmick, where plugging in a Cog unlocks a battle mode and the ability to Transform. Even if it’s not 100% accurate, how cool would it be to have a toy of Elita where upon plugging in Solus Prime’s Cog causes a pop out Solus Forge Hammer to appear. Alternatively, the Cog itself Transforms into a Prime themed weapon, so Orion Pax gets a Cog that turns into Prima’s sword or Megatron gets a beastly clip on cannon from Onyx. Stuff like that would be really cool I feel. They kinda have a Cog theme in the current 1-Step Cog Changers, but it’s not quite right.

My only real complaint with the movie itself is the High Guard, the future Decepticons and soldiers that worked with the Primes originally, feel tacked on. Screamer, the Waves and the Jets occupy the Guard, with Starscream as the leader. They broke off from Sentinel after seeing his betrayal, but they also seem very keen on seizing power for themselves, as Starscream has no Nobel intentions, he simply wants to be in charge as those in charge have the power and luxury. The Guard are responsible for minor attacks and inconveniences to stick it to Sentinel, but the movie only tells us this when we meet the group. It might’ve helped if there was a scene early on that better establishes them, like Orion and D-16 watching a news report about them, and D scoffs at their audacity or something. Nevertheless Megatron high jacking the Guard is a clever subversion on his and Starscream’s schtick: Megatron is the young upstart who took it over from the much older established Starscream. Future resentment should be amusing though despite being humiliated in front of his squad, and his voice box damaged, Starscream seems content to follow for now.

Shockwave is also more of a comic relief character here. He’s very emotional and silly, berating the others for not having Bee’s gag on tight enough so he’d shut up, and there’s a running gag about Elita punching him in his eye, that caused him to shut up and listen to her. Shockwave was also the one to try and help Starscream when D-16 beats the crap out of him, but Soundwave stops him. No logic from this version, so perhaps Shockwave in the future will be more like his traitorous Marvel G1 self? Skybound also entertained a huge departure in Shockwave as a highly emotional mad scientist, so we’ll see if this bares fruit.

All and all, this is a solid entry and as it’s own thing (Lorenzo was finally forced to admit One is a new universe unrelated to Bayformers), but with the movie currently struggling to make back its budget, it’s functionally a flop right now. It will probably do far better on Streaming like RotB (besides P+, it also did really well on Netflix in other countries) but with people generally being okie-dokie with the film’s premise, hopefully that sees Hasbro using this backstory going forward for other projects as this is what we should’ve had for Aligned, Cyberverse, EarthSpark & IDW, not the crappily written moral ambiguity we’ve been stuck with most people hate.

[rainbowsalt0412]

THE NEW UPDATE

Just got back from a trip and guess what, Sylus has the entire LnDs Nation in a chokehold, and I kinda knew this was gonna happen, so buckle up this is gonna be a long one.

First things first, He is SO HOTTTTTTTTTT!

Mannnn, when he was first revealed a couple of weeks ago, I had already posted about how he might surpass others to be my top, and guess what, I was not wrong, he is already making me doubt my loyalty to Zayne when he hasn't even debuted yet, but hey it's just a game so I'll be fine.

Second thing that I noticed in his trailers and the 2.0 preview livestream was that they did reveal his certain characteristics.

He is definitely 'Hard on the outside, soft on the inside' kind of guy. This conclusion was made with what the Kitty Cat told us about him when he was out in N109 Zone collecting information and how Sylus placed him softly on the ground after picking him off from top of a building and telling him its no place for soft Cats like him, and then he was seen walking past a flower when he could have easily stepped on it like some other Bad Guys like to do, but he didn't, someone (I don't know who exactly, I might have reblogged their post) even mentioned that the flower kind of reflected MC and how Sylus might just make her have an insight into his lifestyle rather then just killing her after she was captured the the last chapter.

Other thing that I noticed was that his Evol might not be Blood, instead it's Energy Manipulation or something like that, which could be a possibility as he is a leader of an organization that focus on Protocores, I'm still not sure, guess we'll have to wait to see what is it exactly.

He also might be the only LI as of now who is an actual combatant apart from Xavier, i.e., he has actual combat skills, maybe because of his position and surroundings. Like I know we can choose our companions during battle but when it comes to Main Story thing, not all LIs are fit for fighting skills, Xavier has to be the best combatant of them all due to his job, and now I can say the same for Sylus as well, if not, he can be better than Xavier as well, specially how he is the only one who is actually teaching the MC how to fight in his memories.

Apart from that, he also can cook, has a thing for singing (his karaoke 4-Star memory reference, if you might have noticed), and can and does ride Bikes, but despite that he is a walking Red flag, but I don't blame him, and would still love him if it came to that.

One thing I noticed in LnDs, which is also my favorite thing about them is the Detailing, so of course Sylus has his own as well. When I first saw him in his preview from a couple of weeks ago, I kind of thought that he looked similar to Zayne but that's not the case, maybe it was the lighting and angles that made me think that, but not anymore. I think that the LIs are made to look the way their characters are, like when I first saw Xavier in an AD, I immediately thought of a high class individual or a bodyguard with a soft side who is also jealous of whom you meet and talk to or something like that, and Zayne seemed like a Cold beauty, and it did turned to be similar to that when I started playing the game, So yes I'm gonna analyze Sylus as well (It might not be 100% true cause I'm just making assumptions which could be true).

Unlike Zayne who has a cold yet soft looks similar to his character (As he is the closest to Sylus in terms of looks and characters I'll take him for comparison), Sylus has more of 'Rough on the edge' looks, someone who has a Bad, Traumatic and Rough childhood. He seemed like the guy who didn't wanted to be here but had no choice as well, and that doesn't mean he's innocent, he has his fair share of crimes and evil doings, and would gladly take the wrong thing into consideration if it gives him his desired results.

HE WEARS A F*CKING CHOKER!!!!!!

AND IS DOMINET AS HELL, I CAN FEEL IT!!!!!!

With the showcase of his pair memories, I doubt he was with the MC in any other timeline because unlike any other boy, his pair seemed to be a part of the present timeline, and I think he is suppose to be the Bad Guy for this timeline, or he could be the bad guy for other LIs who didn't let him meet the MC in any other timeline.

Other thing that I noticed about him is that he is very much self dependent person, whether you talk about his cooking skills, his combat skills, etc. Like he does have a chef doing his food, but he could very much cook himself as well, unlike someone, *Coughs* Xavier (That prince treatment did that to you I see) *Cough*, which makes me think he has spent most of his early life alone, or maybe his entire life alone in general, and didn't have much help from others either. This also tells us that he instead trusts himself rather than others to do his work, except when he can't, maybe because he couldn't trust many people in his line of work.

OR this all could just be a hobby as well...

The 'Mechanical Crow' thing tells me that maybe he could be a good Mechanic as well, if you know what I mean, like he could have just designed and created that himself as well, and is interested in designing and creating, like come on he is the leader of Onychinus, he is a Modern Technology guy. I can see him working on his Bike every now or then.

And of course, he is a top priority target for UNICRONS.

That's what I noticed for now, so keeping his character aside for now, let's talk about the new features.

I didn't understand much about the wish system, like are we suppose to use normal wishes only cause I don't have much and enough diamonds to buy those, I bought the special ones instead cause I though that would be the one we'll have to use.

New battle system is a great feature for F2Ps like me, though I did not understand much of it as well and still do not have my memories enough ranked up yet.

How are some people already done with their Orbital when I'm here stuck on 50 or something of every orbit for past month? I'm not even halfway there.

I'm glad we'll get Sylus's first 5-Star pair and 4-Star pair in the permanent wish pool, which would gladly be his two Primary dominant colors.

You know what, I did not understand much of anything the new 2.0 version would be bringing to us, I'll just have to wait and see it for myself to get a hold of it.

ANNNNNNDDDDD, we are getting branches for every LI starting this Sept., which is an exciting part as well cause I almost thought we wouldn't have that system here. I still don't understand why Sylus was not included there, maybe because he would be a recent addition.

And Last but not the least, the letter in the end made me tear up. This shows just how much effort and time they put into the game and that they do care about us, The Players. I just wanna give a piece of my mind to the person responsible for Sylus's leak. Thank the lord I didn't see anything other than the one actually uploaded on the official channel. It must be very hard to give that level of production, not to mention they have a reputation to maintain as the world's first 3-D Otome Game, so it must have been really upsetting that someone ruined their upcoming surprise project like that when they might not even had any part in it.

When the last review mail was up I gave them 1-Star in every category because of how frustrated I was of not pulling much from any limited banner at that time because as an F2P, I literally harvest the diamond so I'm very careful about spending them so getting nothing in return took a troll on me. So if a review mail is up again in this next update, I'll gladly give them 5-Star everywhere possible, considering they did took the advice of F2Ps like us well, and it's not just that but this new update would give me an opportunity to earn diamonds a little bit easily.

And it's not like I don't want to spend, it's just I can't spend now as I'm focused on some real life resources which are really important for me, not to mention the game is really expensive. So in future if I do get a chance, I'll gladly spend some.

That's all for now. Feel free to share your thoughts on Sylus, and this new update as well in the comment section, I'll love to discuss.

(Tumblr pulled a B*tch, and didn't save my earlier draft resulting in me doing this entire thing again, took me a day to recall, might have missed some points but that okay.)

[revasserium]

118 with daichi? ::

reqs are open :)

118. the power of goodbye

daichi; 2,349 words; teeth-rotting fluff u__u 4 times you say goodbye, and 1 time you say hello instead "what was it like to lose him? asked sorrow. there was a long pause before i responded: it was like hearing every goodbye ever said to me -- said all at once" -- lang leav, love and misadventure

01. “bye! see you next week!”

you’re waving at him, standing on your tiptoes, your other hand caught in your mother’s palm as daichi waves back just as furiously. you are both seven years old and somehow, both your mothers had thought to sign you up for after school art lessons.

“see you!” daichi sighs as he turns back to peer up at his mom, frowning slightly, “mom… i don’t think i’m very good at drawing…”

“ah? but dai-chan, i thought you liked coming to art classes? you’re always so excited!”

daichi furrows his brows as he and his mom start on their slow trek home, up two blocks, turning right onto the main street where daichi knows he’ll pass by the convenience store he likes with the iced milk pops.

“i… i like coming here cause i like my friends! but…” he kicks at the ground, a half-crumpled picture clutched in his other hand. his mother laughs lightly, taking the picture and smoothing it out with her hands.

“mah… as long as you’re having a good time, i think that’s all that matters.”

daichi pouts, pressing his lips, because yes… he supposes having fun is… well, fun, but being good at something is fun too!

he thinks about how your eyes glitter whenever the teacher hands out a fresh, new piece of paper, how eager you are to grab at the crayons and markers, how your tongue gets stuck between your teeth when you’re scribbling color across a page, like you could take the whole world and put right there on the shiny, white surface. sometimes, he thinks you can.

he wonders if he’ll ever find something that makes him feel like that.

“do you still want to come back next week then?

daichi starts, looking up at his mom with wide eyes.

“of course i do! i wouldn’t miss it for the world!”

02. “so… practice, right?” you ask, your hands laced behind your back as daichi shrugs, laughing, scratching at the back of his neck.

“yeah… but i’ll see you after your traditional arts club right?” he pauses at the end of the hallway that leads towards the volleyball gym. you teeter on the balls of your feet, your hair in twin pigtails near the nape of your neck. once, daichi had felt the urge to tug on them constantly, back when the pair of you were still in elementary school, but now that he’s in middle school, he’s decided that it’s high time at like the grown up that he is.

so he settles for a shy smile as you nod and wave at him, jogging off back towards the school’s main building.

“see you!” you shout, even as you disappear from around a corner and he’s left with his hand aloft, blinking after you.

“sawamura? what’re you staring at?” ikejiri blinks as he peers around the doors to the gym.

“oh! nothing — coming!” daichi blushes as he hurries to join ikejiri, casting one last look over his shoulder at the place where you’d been standing.

03. the summer sun blows itself out over the flat of the horizon, the july air sticky with humidity and the lingering taste of possibilities.

“so… where are you going next year?”

you turn your head to look at him, your hair done up in two neat plaits, the ends pinned to the sides of your head so as to keep them from tickling your neck. he tugs lightly on one of the loops; you let your head lilt to one side, offering no resistance as he pulls his hand back.

daichi casts his eyes up at the dying light of a fading sky and grins.

“karasuno! remember when we saw them on tv the other day?”

“oh yeah! they’re the team that went to nationals in tokyo, right?”

“yep! and… i wanna go there one day!”

daichi catches himself, feeling a blush work its way into his cheeks as he looks back down at his hands, resting over the worn old volleyball in his lap.

“don’t worry, you will.”

your voice is a splash of cold water, and he finds himself shivering. he looks up to meet your eyes, and he almost doesn’t want to ask. he doesn’t want to know —

“so… where are you going?”

you purse your lips.

“mom said her job’s moving her to tokyo so…” you shrug, “probably somewhere there…”

and then, painfully, startlingly, you laugh.

daichi’s head jerks up at the sound.

“but when you make it to nationals, then… you’ll be there too!”

he blinks at the smile on your face, too bright for the darkness of the oncoming night.

“r-right! so, i’ll see you then!”

he lets out a laugh too, though it sounds a bit too loud, a bit too forced. you smile nodding.

“i’ll see you then.”

it takes daichi half the walk home to realize that you hadn’t said “if” but “when”.

04. [daichi]: dont stay up too late studying! college entrance exams aren’t till next year!!

[you]: easy for u to say (¬_¬)… u’ll just get a sports scholarship or something…

[daichi]:… p sure im not but okay

[you]: p sure national-leveled athletes get scholarships bUt oKaY

[daichi]: p sure we haven’t made it to nationals yet

[daichi]: go to sleep.

[you]: no, u („• ֊ •„)

[you]: did u fall asleep

[daichi]: (－_－) zzZ

[you]: okies gnight! (─‿‿─)♡

daichi stares at the heart at the end of your message for way too long and tries not to read too much into it.

he stays up all night reading into it anyway.

05. “so… she’s gonna be here. at nationals. to watch you.”

“yes suga. that’s what i said.”

“okay but i wanna make sure you know what you said because from what you said, it sounds like she’s super into you and you’re just refusing to —”

“it’s not like that! w-we’re just old friends —!”

“ah… i know it might not be my place to say this but… it does sound like she might be interested…”

“ha! see? even asahi says so!”

“wha — when did this become a group discussion?!”

“huh? what are you guys talkin’ bout over here? is it that girl daichi-san’s always texting?”

“nishinoya! don’t say that so loudly! and — i’m not always texting her —”

“wait!!! are we finally meeting daichi-san’s mystery girlfriend?”

“tanaka! shut up! and she’s not —”

“daichi?”

daichi freezes and the next moment, several things happen all at once — suga gasps, tanaka stops dead in his tracks, asahi nearly bowls him over, and nishinoya smacks straight into asahi’s back, sending all of them toppling forward like a series of badly placed dominos and it’s all daichi can do to sidestep the mess before they drag him down as well.

but there you are, standing feet from him, watching all this unfold with that same amused smile on your face, with the same bright, sharp eyes he’d always remembered, and god — you look so similar and yet so… so different.

two and a half years has never looked so good, he thinks, as he swallows hard and tries to find something to say.

finally, he settles on, “h-hey! long… long time…”

you laugh, and it’s all he can do not to melt into the sound. because that — that hasn’t changed one bit — the sound still warm and sweet as a spring morning. it shakes through him, breaks him open like the sun over a cracking dawn — he takes a deep, steadying breath.

“yeah, no kidding! but…” you trail off as you take a few steps closer, your eyes flickering over his face, lingering on the broadness of his shoulders, the straightness of his spine, “kinda feels like no time’s passed at all, hm?”

daichi can’t help it — he blushes, clearing his throat as he averts his eyes.

behind him, suga is muttering something and he hears the distinct sounds of the rest of the team being shooed away and for once, he’s thankful that suga pulls his weight as vice captain when it really, really matters.

“i mean, two years is a long time,” he says, feeling suddenly too young and too old all at once, his stomach roiling inside him. he thought he’d have mastered nerves by now; he’s faced down mountains that no one had ever thought they’d summit but somehow… this… this is different.

“it is… you look good,” you say, grinning as you take another few steps forward, as if testing the waters, pushing the line of demarcation closer, and then ever closer. he doesn’t step back though it takes almost everything inside him to hold his ground.

“wow, you’re taller,” you laugh, looking up at him, now close enough for him to touch — reaching out a palm from the top of your head to just below his chin, “much taller…”

your voice is softer, then, like a sigh, a whisper, an admission of sorts. and it’s only then that daichi notices he’s not the only one blushing.

he coughs, swallows, flexes his fingers and forces himself to speak.

“y-you look different too — i mean, good different! you’re… uh — your hair is — longer and —”

daichi fights down the urge to curse, to turn around and run, to lay down on the ground right then and there and pray for the earth to carve itself open so he can fall into it’s dark, unending depths —

you blink, a slow, teasing smile spreading across your lips and daichi finds himself caught, as a thread on a chain-link fence, he looks at you and laughs, helpless, shaking his head.

“sorry… it’s just…” he casts about for words he isn’t quite sure he has. you shake your head, grinning.

“no, it’s fine — i know… it’s a little weird, isn’t it? i mean, two years is a really long time.”

“yeah but… like you said, somehow, it doesn’t really feel like… any time’s passed at all.”

daichi finds his hand reaching up before he can stop himself, almost like second nature, his fingers grazing the ends of your hair, now skimming halfway down your chest, twisted in a loose braid over one of your shoulders.

“it really did get longer but i cut it recently — you should’ve seen it before —” you laugh, looking down at where his fingers are still outstretched, reaching up your own hand to tug at the freshly trimmed ends.

“so… do you uhm — you still do art, right?” daichi asks, tucking both his hands into his pockets.

“yeah! and… you finally made it to nationals. congrats!” you wave an arm around the pair of you, and for a second, daichi had almost forgotten where the two of you were, standing in the bustling entrance hall of one of tokyo’s largest gymnasiums, all bright lights and excited voices.

“yeah — i guess i finally did… took us a while, but… we made it.”

you smile.

“i knew you would.”

daichi chuckles, letting his shoulder shrug up as all the awkwardness falls away between the pair of you, the years falling away day by day, month by month, until it’s just him and you and an entire future of the bright unknown, laid out at your feet.

“yeah, you never did doubt us… even when i did.”

you open your mouth, but someone’s voice cuts through the fray.

“daichi! we gotta go warm up!”

daichi jumps as suga waves at him from down the entire hall, looking both apologetic and exasperated.

“ah — sorry —” daichi turns back to you, his heart halfway to his throat as you nod, the pair of you suddenly tossed back into the present, like a movie caught in fast forward, the frames scrambling to catch up to the here and now.

“no! no — it’s okay! go! i’ll —”

“i’ll text you — see you after, okay? i mean, i don’t know how long — or if you had plans —”

“i don’t! text me — i’ll be here —”

“okay! good! that’s… that’s good!”

“daichi! c’mon, seriously!”

“sorry suga! i’ll be right there —” daichi turns back to you, caught between a frenetic panic and excitement, “i’ll… see you later, yeah?”

you nod, a blush high on your cheeks, nodding, “yeah! good luck! i’ll be watching.”

daichi opens his mouth, wonders if he should say something else, but suga is yelling for him again, and then there’s something warm pressed to his cheek. before he can think, you’re pulling away, your lashes dark and fluttering, your breath hot against his skin.

and then, you’re pressing a hand to his chest, pushing him into motion.

“for… for good luck. now, go!”

“y-yeah — uh — bye!”

you laugh, waving, pressing your lips together as you watch him stumbling rather blankly towards where the rest of his team is waiting for him.

“see you later!”

daichi raises a hand to the place on his cheek where your lips had been, feeling as if you’d smacked him across the face, in all the best of ways.

he looks stares down at his hand, and then back up at you, standing there, still waving.

“don’t — don’t go anywhere, okay?”

you laugh, nodding, now shooing him off proper as he reaches his team and suga starts to drag him bodily from the hall. daichi can’t help looking over his shoulder one more time before you disappear into the crowd, but he finds you immediately, standing on tip-toe, waving furiously at him.

“i won’t! i’ll be right here!"

[wordsofvelvet]

JALR Deleted Scene

Focused on the Little Center, long before i created brian and such...

////////////

“So she just stands there and waits all day? That can’t be healthy, shouldn’t we be trying to distract her?”

“We’ve tried in the past,but it never goes over well. When she’s like this it’s best to just leave her be until she’s ready to join the others.”

“What does her caregiver think about it?”

“Well, the thing is…”

“Has nobody told her!?”

“Look, her caregiver tends to get really… overprotective.

“And she carries around a sword!”

“She made Julietta cry once. And Heidi still flinches at the sight of glitter.”

“Are you all not hearing yourselves? This is absurd! We have a responsibility to the Littles just as much to the caregivers to make sure each student is okay. How is her caregiver supposed to help her if she doesn’t even know what’s going on?”

“Her caregiver is Chloe Charming.”

“... You know on second thought she looks fine to me. Maybe there are just some things better left unsaid.”

“Agreed.” The four volunteers stood near the welcome desk of the Little Center watching the red and black clad Little stand silently at the window that overlooked the school hallway that led up to the center with her pacifier bobbing as she suckled on it in an almost nervous manner.

Chloe had dropped Red off about an hour ago, giving the girl a tight squeeze and several cheek kisses before she had to physically pry herself from the Little’s grasp so that she could head off to her first class of the day.

Red hasn't moved since.

It had been a rough start to their morning with Red waking up in headspace and acting rather grumpy and extra clingy. Chloe had almost been sure she’d be witnessing a meltdown by the time they’d reached the center, but Red had stayed oddly quiet.

Chloe had dressed her in a red t-shirt with a cartoon T-Rex on the front of it and text that stated “I’m a grumpasaurus, hear me ROAR” under a pair of black denim overall shorts. She had picked out red and black light up sneakers for the girl to wear over her red dinosaur socks and had made sure to use the girl’s pacifier clip to tether the soother to her clothes so the girl wouldn’t lose it but still have it readily available.

Her chestnut eyes stayed trained on the occasional passing students, scanning each one as though she expected one of them to suddenly be her Bluey coming back to get her.

Most of the volunteers felt their hearts grow heavy each time they’d witnessed the sight. They really had tried everything in the past to get her away from the window and focused on one of the many activities they offered for their charges, but they learned early on that moving her away from the window (especially if one of them attempted to pick her up to do so) only caused the girl to start lashing out until she worked herself into a panic attack.

Eventually she would move away from the window on her own, usually during the last hour and a half of the day so for now, they would leave her be, only offering her snacks, sippy cups and potty breaks throughout the duration.

The four volunteers for the day continued their usual gossip session as they turned back to the main group of Littles that were actually in the play area, only glancing to check on their littlest charge that day periodically.

Some days the center was wild with so many slipped students of all ages that there would be nothing but chaos. Some days there were hardly any Littles and the ones in attendance would be pretty young that they spend a lot of time just twiddling their thumbs.

Today they had a decent amount, but the majority in attendance were the older Littles that had headspaces closer to the range of 6-10, so instead of building blocks and nap time, their focus for the day would be board games and more complex arts and crafts that would better keep their charges occupied.

Then there was Red. Her file stated her range between 2-4 depending on the day, but there were only a few volunteers that could bring her out of her shell enough to gauge her headspace age accurately. One of which was Jane, but she was back at her own school this week and the other few weren’t scheduled for today.

As a result, the volunteers weren’t sure what to expect from the girl when she didn’t have anyone to follow like a baby duck once she moved away from her spot.

They figured they would find out when the time came, but for now they still had a couple hours before she usually did…

Except the next time one of them turned to check, the space was empty.

Frantically the four of them combed the center asking some of the other Littles if they’d seen where she went, but no one had any answers. The only thing that kept them from panicking out of their minds was that the entrance door was always to be locked from the inside, so no Little could just wander out.

This peace of mind however was ripped away when they discovered their newest volunteer had forgotten to lock the door. Now they just had to figure out who was going to call Chloe and who was going to write said person’s eulogy after the princess was done with them.

///////////////

Chloe had never felt so scared in her life. After the Little Center had called her in the middle of her science class to tell her that her Little was missing, she had barely remembered to grab her school bag before sprinting out the door.

She had no idea if Red was wandering the school halls in Littlespace or if she’d managed to come out of headspace and was just doing this as an act of rebelling. If it was the latter Chloe just might not be able to stop herself from strangling the teen.

But she didn't think Red would do that. Not without shooting her some kind of text telling her not to worry. She could feel it in her gut, her Little was still in the mindset of a toddler, and that meant she could be anywhere with no ability to recognize who or what was safe.

The thought had shivers crawling up her spine.

She made it first to the Center, disappointment shooting through her as a part of her had been imagining she would run into her baby on the way there seeing as she had little doubt that the girl hadn’t left with the purpose of finding her caregiver.

She didn't bother going inside knowing they wouldn’t have called her if they hadn’t thoroughly checked through the entire center. Instead she turned back to the hallway and tried to imagine what her Little might have been noticing when she’d been there earlier. What direction would Little Red think to head in if she was in fact searching for Chloe?

Maybe she would have retraced their steps from their dorm? She started in that direction as she mentally went through that morning wondering if there was anything she could have done differently to have prevented this.

She had noticed Red had seemed a little off earlier. She had been quieter than usual and Chloe had chalked it up to being part of her grumpy mood, but now she was thinking she shouldn’t have dismissed it so easily.

Or maybe the grumpiness in itself should have been more analyzed. While Little Red was definitely more perky than her big counterpart, It was still pretty common for the girl to be in a bad mood after waking up in the mornings.

Sometimes that meant tears and fussing, other times it just meant a lot of pouting and ignoring. Today had been a combination of the two leaving the bluenette feeling a little frazzled by the time she got her dressed, fed and to the Center.

She had just figured her Little would feel better after her noon nap the volunteers told her that she takes.

Chloe sighed as she realized focusing on things that had already passed wasn’t going to do her any good. All she could do right now was focus on keeping it together long enough to find her. She’d have to worry about what she will do once she does later.

/////////////

Red was perfectly oblivious to the absolute terror she was causing her caregiver. When the Little had realized the door was unlocked and no one had any eyes on her, she’d been quick to duck into the hallway and head in the same direction her and Bluey always went when the taller girl picked her up after classes.

The only problem was that she was usually being carried for the majority of that trek so in reality, she didn’t recognize where she was going in the slightest, but that didn't stop her. Her only logic was that if she kept going, she’d eventually find her Bluey and would finally be getting the snuggles she was desperately craving.

[ransprang]

Hellooo! Can I have a nsfw headcannon of sephiroth and shower fun with reader? 👀 How would he make it work?

sephiroth x gn! reader - shower fun ;)

Sephiroth had been training long and hard as a 1st-class SOLDIER. He had hardly any women in his life, just one singular, focused goal: to become better. He would wake up at 4 am to start working out, eventually practicing missions for SHINRA all the way until 7 pm. Afterward, he would sit by himself for a while, reflecting and gazing into the distance, clearing his mind to stay focused and sharp. There was a reason for all of this.

Today, he sat there as solemn as usual when he heard the chirping and cackling. He turned his head around, searching for the source of the disturbance. There was a euphoric quality to the sound, like something out of a dream in the sunset before him. He got up, mildly annoyed, as he didn't like his routine being disturbed, especially not his cooldown time. His hands clenched into fists as he walked around the area to find the perpetrator of this disruptive laughter.

Finally, he saw two people engaged in a conversation—one old and one young—and began marching over to interrupt their interaction. Both individuals looked at his intimidating presence getting closer, and the younger one raised their eyebrows, giving a side-eye.

"Could you two get any louder? Do you think this is your personal garden?" Sephiroth said in a deep, leveled voice. The younger person remarked snarkily to their partner, "Didn't know there were bullies like that working in SHINRA." As Sephiroth's face contorted, they chirped, "My name's Y/N, by the way. I'm new."

Sephiroth swallowed his anger but extended his hand forward with bitterness. "I'm Sephiroth. Now, get out," he said firmly. Y/N scoffed, "Looks like someone's sexually frustrated," followed by laughter. Y/N bid goodbye to their friend and walked away, leaving Sephiroth stunned, staring into the distance at the utter disrespect. He was the best, a 1st-class SOLDIER. How could a random newbie say that? Though he thought to himself, when was the last time he had any? He sighed, rolling his eyes, burdened with annoyance.

He then walked back into the main SHINRA building and positioned himself behind the training lab, hoping for Y/N to pass by. In the next few moments, luck was on his side when Y/N walked past. He grabbed hold of their arm and pulled them to the side, pinning them against the wall.

"So, what did you say about being a bully, huh?" he asked with a smirk on his face. Despite Sephiroth's piercing green eyes staring into their soul, Y/N tried to keep their composure. "Huh, you smell like sweat, like a true unkempt bully."

Sephiroth frowned but tightened his grip on Y/N's arm. "Follow me right now."

"What the heck?" Y/N protested, but Sephiroth continued to lead them with long strides in front.

He brought y/n to his room and pushed them ahead into the washroom, "Strip." he commanded, y/n looked confused but a part of them wanted to comply, very quietly but with a mildly annoyed expression y/n took of all their clothes in the washroom as sephiroth walked back in naked tip to toe. It was a sight to behold, he had a majestic build, perfect in all proportions, to the extent his privates were perfectly proportionate to the rest of his body.

Sephiroth had a smile on his face as he pulled y/n into the running shower with him as he voiced "wash me. now." y/n now had a smile, as they took some liquid shower gel into the palm of their hands and began massaging his strong chest. slowly moving their hands down, lower and lower and began massaging his thick cock, as sephiroth closed his eyes in relief, at the touch of another after so long. He groaned "faster and tighter" Y/n obliged.

He used his hands to feel up y/n's proportions as they massaged his penis firmly, he groped and squeezed as his hips naturally began thrusting into the hands of y/n. he groaned heavy as y/n let out a moan with the touch of Sephiroth's manly hands feeling them up. As he humped faster and y/n increased their speed massaging his sensitive tip he came, his warm cum dripped down y/n's hands and he let out deep groans of intense relief.

As he regained his composure he breathed heavily and held y/n by their shoulders "Now, next time you annoy me you know your punishment" with a big smile. y/n retorted "Damn i have to find new ways to get on your nerves now" with a devilish smile.

your shower,

admin sav

[jpitha]

Just a Little Further 26

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

*six months later*

It's been half a year, but I can't believe we're already on our third ship! High Line took two months instead of the one that Omar first promised, but that was because he and his crew were getting use to the process and how best to refurbish the ships. Then after that I made the decision to refurbish the food tugs, but those were (relatively) easy. New thrusters, some strengthening of the cargo containers and a few brand new ones and that was it. Once that was finished the food deliveries increased over 30%!

You would not believe how much cheaper, more abundant food improves one's legitimacy. As soon as that was finished and the food rolled in, almost all of the last grumblings about me coming in and "declaring" myself Empress died down.

I couldn't wait, and we took High Line out for a quick spin around the system after it was completed. Omar asked to be in control for the trip and since he refurbished it, I let him. While Omar was looking through the Builder archives, he found plans for a starship's control chair. It was kind of line a small version of my Throne, or the Builder chairs back on the Reach. From the chair, a Builder can interface with the ship and control it, almost like how AIs are ships back home.

I asked Starlight, River and Ocean if they wanted to come along and see what we did to their ship. The whole time they looked around in wonder and surprise at the work we did. Starlight said it felt like a new ship and River marveled that we were able to add so many features to it.

I didn't tell them about the wormhole generator. I don't know why. Maybe I still think we need some kind of secret surprise.

Really though, I couldn't do what I'm doing now if it wasn't for my fellow Builders and our staff. Ava is my second in command and handles most of the interactions between us and the institutions here at the Reach. Bank, Security Team, and Maintenance Crew; she works with them to bring their needs to my attention, and then we work out a solution together. She still tends to be a little more... aggressive than I prefer, but she knows who is Empress. She makes me more assertive and I'm able to cool her down. I think we work well together.

Um'reli has dug deep into the Builder systems here on the Reach. She's working out how much work the old Builders did day to day to make the Reach run so smoothly. When I told her that the Nanites say that it was a full time crew of 10 she believed me. It's a lot of work. There's still only the 4 of us, so we still can't run at full capacity, but she's got the fire suppression systems up and running, the environmental systems are much more efficient and even the gravity works better. We're operating with a power surplus now! I asked Omar build another reactor for the Reach and soon we will have power to spare.

Omar, he has taken over as my shipbuilder and is really growing into the role. When we were on FarReach, printing was just a hobby and his main role was ship's battery, but here he's become a master printer. Between the database we got from FarReach and the existing Database on the Reach, we have more than enough plans to make anything we need. He even worked out that Reach of the Might of Vzzx used to have defensive batteries! He found the hardpoints and has been using downtime on the printers to make new laser batteries. We don't know where the original weapons went, so we're just going to add Starjumper class laser batteries to the existing hardpoints. We're so large and will soon have such a power surplus that he says running the huge laser batteries should be no problem. That should help hold off anyone who comes to pay us a visit.

Speaking of visiting, I haven't told anyone, but I unlocked the Gate last month. With two ships and the laser batteries almost done, I figured it was safe to unlock the Gate.

I'm anxious to go back out and visit the Wilds and see if we can figure out what happened. I don't think I'm ready to admit to the others yet, but I'm also excited to visit other Starbases and planets as Empress and see just how much of this side of the Galaxy is happy to see me. Waves and smiles for everyone happy to see me, Starjumper laser batteries for those who aren't.

I'm kidding about the Starjumper laser batteries if people aren't happy to see me. I don't think I want to restart a war of conquest, do I?

These days, I spend a lot of my time on the Throne, just watching things. I find it soothing to sit here and just... feel the world go by. Things are running so smoothly, and the people legitimately seem pleased that we're here and working, I like to, I don't know, absorb the vibes?

It's just after breakfast and I'm settling down for a day of reports and presiding over a few small disagreements when a chirrup interrupts my reverie. I glance over and... It's a signal from outside the Reach? I extend my senses into the local space and I feel...

Activity from the Gate. Someone is coming through.

"Ava, Um'reli, Omar! We've got a ping from the Gate. Someone is coming though!" I'm excited to tell everyone.

Omar is less excited. "What? Okay, Reactors to 200%, defensive batteries online, sound general alert.." I can hear hooting in the background. Omar insisted on activating the old alert tones and we have been sending out messages reminding everyone to listen to them.

"Omar, Omar! It's just someone coming through. Do we really need to get ready to shoot them?"

"Uh, yes Melody? We have no idea who it is. I didn't even know the Gate was unlocked. Did you do that?"

"Yes, I did it a month ago. I figured we were ready for visitors then. I'm so excited to see who is coming to visit us!"

Over the mental connection, I can feel Ava, Omar and Um'reli staring at me.

Uh oh.

Um'reli sounds exasperated. "Melody, we are at least a year away from unlocking the Gate. We have some defensive lasers sure, but we don't even have the new reactor online and we have two small ships now. Two. If that's a human dreadnought, we'd be utterly outmatched. What were you thinking?"

"Um'reli be nice, I'm sure Melody was just so happy about our progress she wanted people to come and see it and see her." Ava jumps to my defense.

"It's still something she should have run by us first. We could have given her more insight to our actual readiness..."

"She is the empress Um'reli, and besides, what's done is done. Now we have to get ready for our new visitors. Melody, have they come though yet, do we have a visual on them?"

I'm looking out into the system and I see the ship. It's... huge. It's way larger than anything we know about on this side of the Galaxy. It doesn't look like a Starjumper though, it's the wrong shape.

"It's through. Here, I'll send you what I see through the long range scopes. I toss the visual feed over to them. Um'reli is as confused as I am, but Omar has a sharp intake of breath and Ava swears.

"What is it Omar? Do you recognize the ship Ava?"

"I do, but I wish I didn't. That's the Vengeance of Lavinia. It's the flag carrier for Venus." Omar sound disgusted.

Ava sounds downright angry. What the hell are they doing out here?"

Um'reli zooms in on the image and tries to enhance to get more detail. "It Looks like FarReach didn't succeed in keeping us quiet like she wanted though. Clearly someone told them we were out here and they're coming to say hello."

I don't know much about Imperial Venus, I grew up on Meíhuā. From what I understand and what Omar explains while Ava makes a face, they took over governance of the Sol system about a decade ago. They mostly control the inner planets. The High Mars Cities are the borderlands, and from then out is the OPA, the Outer Planet Alliance. They're a bunch of small starbase city-states that pool their resources together to hold off Venus. It's been a back and forth for the entire time that Venus has claimed sovereignty.

Venus came out into the colonies to throw their weight around a few years back, but they got massacred at Parvati, and they caused trouble over at Sarbase Picaresque. This was all years before we left. A group of residents and a faction of AIs kicked them out. I think a colony ship was involved too? I wasn't living there then, I've heard all this information second and third hand. But, since then, they've stayed in the Sol system and dialed down the anti-AI rhetoric. Nobody is pleased to see them when they come visiting.

Still, it was visitors. Guess we should see what they want.

"Maybe they have people who want to come join us?" I try to sound hopeful. I don't think it worked.

"More like spy on us." Omar said darkly. "Melody, I'm going to go against my usual stance on you using your Voice on people. These folks need to be told how we do stuff here."

I can feel Um'reli nodding. "I agree. We don't want them to start anything, but like don't lead with Voicing them. If you did that, they'd probably try and run and we'd lose any advantage we have. Play it cool. Be nice, be welcoming. It's not like we couldn't use more Builders. If folks are coming out because they want to come out, we should welcome them."

"But they're from Venus, Um'reli. Don't forget how they treat AIs." Ava is unusually firm. Venus has a strict policy of not recognizing AI sapience. It's stupid really. AIs have been recognized as alive and sapient for nearly two thousand years in Human space, for them to come out of nowhere and say that they're not is ludicrous and treated that way in Colonial space. It's almost a joke.

Almost.

We can't turn them away, we simply don't have the firepower. "Omar, let them know we're not defenseless. Free the defensive lasers but don't target the ship. The are probably scanning the heck out of us, they should see them come online."

When Omar releases the lasers, I can feel it. 6 different batteries energize and tell us their readiness. Wow, I don't know if this is something new Omar added, or something he tied into old systems, but it's so... intuitive to use them. With a thought, I can swing them around, aim and point them, and... yes, if I were to pull there, they'd fire. Neat. After moving them around a little, I swing them off to the side and set them to follow our commands. If Venus wants to start something, we can bring them to bear relatively quickly, but Um'reli is right, we do need more builders. If they're just shuttling volunteers because FarReach told all the AIs and none of them will have anything to do with me, then we should be nice.

Radio contact. We're being signaled. "Uh, Reach of the Might of Vzzx? This is Vengeance of Lavinia. We'd like to speak to... Empress... Melody?"

They're reading from notes. Their comms officer sounds so unsure. I decide to answer myself and lay it on thick.

"Good morning Vengeance of Lavinia. This is Empress Melody Mullen the First, Empress of the Holy Imperial Systems. I hear your call and am replying. How may I assist?"

"We are requesting docking permission and to be able to come aboard for a goodwill exchange as well as to deliver some volunteers from our side of the Galaxy who wish to sign on with your work over here."

Interesting. They say they have volunteers. It's not like we don't need more Builder help.

"Be careful, Melody." Ava is right.

"But, don't turn them away just yet." Um'reli is right too. Ugh do they want to do the talking here? I feel like I'm being pulled in so many directions. I check on the docking ring. High Line and Sun Dancer, the two ships we were able to refit are next to the dock the FarReach used, I'll put them there.

"Vengeance of Lavinia you are cleared to dock at umbilical X45, I shall note it on this image I am sending your way. Additionally it shall be lit as you pass by. After you dock a welcome party will meet you at the umbilical."

"Umbilical X45 confirmed. See you soon, Reach of the Might of Vzzx. Vengeance of Lavinia out."

Well then. Guess we had better go meet them.

"Okay everyone, we're on. Let's go gather some folks and go see them."

Ava, Um'reli and Omar disconnect from their chairs and come out. "I swear to you we're not ready for someone like Venus coming, but here they are so I guess we're going to have to be ready." Um'reli looks around. "Where is City?"

Sound of the City bounds up the stairs. "Here, Builder, what do you need of me?"

Um'reli smiles. "Hello, Sound of the City. Please gather Starlight, Ocean, River, Vaaqo, and yourself. Dispatch a runner to Sep and ask them to bring a few security guards too. Make sure you have your Builder uniforms on and they're clean and neat. We have visitors."

City bows nervously. "Of course Builder. I shall fetch them at once." There is a pause while they try to figure out what they can get away with. "Who is visiting?"

"It's a group of people from our side of the Galaxy. They're a different... faction than we were and we always haven't been... friendly? We're willing to give them the benefit of the doubt for now, but make sure everyone knows to keep watch on them."

Another bow "Builder. I go!" and Sound of the City bounds away. I'm so happy we are able to give them a job. They're still young so it's only part time, but they bring me happiness every time I see them. They really are becoming a vital part of our retinue. They're just so energetic! I hope they stay with us.

I pick up my rifle from next to the Throne and examine it. I do get a chance to go to Sep's Security office and get some range time in now, but it's never enough. Omar has programmed the Security Office's printers to make rounds for me, so I don't have to conserve, it's just that there are only so many hours in a day. But, I feel good that I can still do the things that Melody likes to do. It helps ground me and reminds me that I'm more than an Empress.

I sigh to myself, check the rifle to make sure it's loaded and safe, and then click it to my back. It's weight is reassuring. While we walk down the steps, I get myself ready. The crown and wings come out, but I keep them subtle for now. I make my heels a little taller but keep my working outfit on - no gown today. It's still royal blue and still sharply cut, but I just look like the head Builder I am instead of all full Empress.

As we reach the docs, Starlight, Ocean and River are there already. They were probably over in the drydock working on the third ship so were close by. At our approach, they all bow low.

"Empress, Builders. It is always a pleasure to see you."

I incline my head. "Starlight, Ocean, River. We have guests coming."

They look at me and blink. This was unexpected.

"O-of course Empress. We shall welcome them warmly. Who is coming?"

"People from our side of the Galaxy. They represent a different faction than us, so we're wary about their visit. Still, we shall receive them. Just, be on your guard."

They bow again. "Always Empress. We have learned that about Builders."

Huh. Cheeky. But not wrong. I decide to let it slide.

City bounds up out of breath. "I have alerted Vaaqo and Sep, they shall arrive shortly."

"City, take a moment and catch your breath, they're not here yet." Ava looks concerned. Sound of the City is so eager to help that sometimes they run themselves ragged. I think we all fuss over City just a bit because they're still a kid, but I remember being a teen and so eager to prove myself.

After a short time, Vaaqo arrives with Sep and they bow. Behind Sep is about a dozen security guards, all with clubs and energy weapons. Vaaqo speaks first. "Builders. What is it you need of us? Your runner mentioned visitors?"

I smile warmly and nod. "Yes. people from our side of the Galaxy have come through the Gate and wish to visit. They are from a different faction than us originally, so be wary, but let us welcome them. Sep, have your people set up around us, visible, but not part of the welcome party. Clubs can be seen, but let's keep the firearms behind their backs for now."

Another bow, and Sep gestures to the guards and they set up like I asked. We have a semicircle of guards a bit away, and the rest of us are a few meters from the umbilical.

As we finish setting up, I hear the whir and hum of the umbilical coming out to meet the ship.

After a few tense moments, there is a hiss as the pressures equalize and the umbilical opens. Immediately, silently, 6 troopers walk out. They're wearing glossy maroon armored pressure suits polished to a mirror sheen They're so glossy the coloring of the pressure suits looks like it has depth. I can see all of us distorted in the reflection of their faceless helmets. They're holding battle rifles, but they're aimed down and I can see they're safe and they have little decorative tips on the end - that's a nice touch. Shows everyone that they can't shoot them without extra effort. Looking closer at the rifles I'm shocked.

It's the same model I use.

That's not standard issue. My rifle was a special order. I can feel it's weight on my back, reminding me.

The troopers line up, three to a side of the umbilical and stand there at attention for a moment, and then a woman walks confidently out.

She's not wearing a pressure suit, but she has a very elaborate uniform on. It doesn't look like our Builder uniforms, but it's of a similar ilk. Professional, Military, it's short sleeves and form fitting, with pockets and folds and places for medals and ribbons. Her uniform has plenty of both. It's the same maroon as the troopers, but there's a pure white sash from her left shoulder to her right waist. On her waist is a sidearm - hmm, that looks like a custom version of a very fiddly - but accurate - pistol and is very well taken care of. She's wearing maroon pants tucked into highly polished black riding boots that click on the floor of the dock. On both of her shoulders are a gold fringe. She's wearing a cap at a rakish angle and peeking underneath I can see that she has very close cropped blond hair.

Is that a tattoo I see around her collar?

She is standing there with a smirk all casually professional and extremely cool. She looks like she is in charge through sheer charisma. She looks as if nobody would dare question whether she was in charge.

Swallowing and hoping I don't look too awkward, I turn up the crown and wings and take one step forward. "Welcome to Reach of the Might of Vzzx. I am Empress Melody Mullen of the Holy Imperial Systems." I gesture to my side. "This is Ava Williams, Omar Adel, and Um'reli Desmen, my Builders." I turn to the other side. "This is Starlight on a Moonless Evening, The Smell Of The Ocean, Rapid River Roaring, Sound of the City, Sep and Vaaco. They are part of my retinue and assist with day to day operation here. We welcome you."

She inclines her head slightly then stands up straight and salutes sharply. "I am Archduke Helen Raaden of Imperial Venus, second to the crown prince of Venus and third in line for the Venusian throne. I come with a contingent of Venusian soldiers and citizens as well as a small group of volunteers from throughout Human space.

We come as friends on a goodwill tour, and wish to extend our most sincere greetings to her Imperial Highness and make a personal offer from the Emperor to give assistance in any way we can." When she finishes her pronouncement she winks at me.

Oh no, she's so hot. What am I going to do?

Part 27

[jowrites]

Intoxicated - 4. New face (written)

Main Masterlist Here

Prev. Next.

TW: MDNR!!!! Seriously, this one if going to be very s e x heavy, cursing, sexual themes, more to come...

@heeeseeungs

“So,” Yujin started, as the two girls began to pack up their belongings. “My sorority is having an Afternoon tea event Saturday, starts at 2 PM and you are invited.”

“Afternoon tea?” YN asked, getting up and walking out with Yujin.

“Yeah, like you know that European thing? It’s a small event to welcome the new recruits,” Yujin explained. 

“But I’m not a recruit?” YN said.

“Yeah, but anyone can come. I really hope you’ll come,” Yujin said, smiling at her.

“Well, I guess I can swing by for a bit. Is there a dress code?”

“Just be a flower, you already have the face of one. I’ll see you around, text me if you have any questions.”

Yujin handed YN a small piece of paper with her number written and waved as she walked off in the opposite direction. YN shrugged, sighing as she tucked the number away in her bag and began walking out of the building. Lucky for her that was her last class and she can go home. Just as she stepped out, she saw the clouds in the sky and heard the thunder in the distance. She hoped she could make it home before the rain.

“Oh! New girl, wait up!” Someone called out, causing her to stir from her thoughts and turned around to a group of guys walking towards her, and she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She just wanted to go home. “You are Kim YN, right? Nice to meet you, I’m Jay.”

“Uhm, can I help you?” she asked.

“Oh, no, no sorry if we startled you, we just wanted to introduce ourselves,” Jay said.

“You’re the guy from twitter, right?” she asked.

“Yeah…” Jay said, scratching the back of his neck.

“I’m Sunoo, nice to meet you! I’m a drama major!” Another boy spoke up, YN couldn’t help but find him adorable.

“And I’m Jungwon, that’s Sunghoon,” Another introduced, and the boy, Sunghoon just waved.

“We’re on the football team with Heeseung, Beomgyu, and Yeonjun,” Jay said, giving her a nice smile.

“Except for me, ugh, ew sports,” Sunoo rolled his eyes. 

“You’re a frat boy too?” YN asked.

“Oh, yes, my dad was an alumni so I’m a legacy,” Sunoo explained.

“We were just about to go meet Heeseung for some sushi, did you want to come?” Jungwon asked.

“You said Heeseung, and I’m sold! Let’s go!” YN said.

“Geez, save some enthusiasm for the rest of us,” Jungwon pouted. “We’re cool, I swear!”

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

The group of football players with the girl walked out of the restaurant, Jay and Sunghoon still engrossed in the conversation with her from earlier. She was explaining how lobsters mate and the two boys were intrigued yet also concerned. The heavy rain had already subdued and it was just a nice drizzle out.

“Alright, do you need us to walk you home?” Heeseung asked.

“Oh, I’m not far from here, I appreciate it,” YN said.

“Are you sure?” Heeseung asked.

"Yeah, I'll see you Monday," YN smiled up at the boy and he nodded, giving her a hug. "It was nice meeting you all."

"YN, don't be a stranger to the frat house, okay?" Jungwon said, coming up and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Thanks, seeing that my only friends seem to be you guys, I think it would be hard avoiding the frat house now," she teased.

"Of course," Jay said.

Each boy gave their goodbyes and YN waved as she walked off into the direction of ther apartment. The group soon their own walk back to their house, their boisterous sounds being heard in the distance. As YN walked, she noticed just how dark it was getting and she began to quicken her pace.

She could hear footsteps behind her and as she glanced back they stopped and her paranoia set in. Just as she turned back around and began her pace, her body collided with another knockking her to the ground and looking up, and seeing the Frat President looking down at her.

"YN? Are you okay?" He asked, helping her up.

"Jake," YN said, sighing in relief. "Sorry for rushing into you."

No, it's fine, are you okay? You seem disturbed?" he asked, looking at her face then glancing behind her.

"I thought someone was following me," she mumbled, looking down.

"Come on, let me walk you home," Jake said, pulling YN close to his side and taking her bag and walking with her.

There were things on his mind anyways, and he was determined to talk to her more. He didn't realize until he saw her, but just how much she's been on his mind the past few days and now that she was here with him, his mind became more clear. He could see her now and know she's safe.

[thechaotictheoryy]

Unravel | 4. Butterflies On A Rainy Day

summary: What if you had chains around your heart but you were the one who put them there? If you took a look at Parker’s heart, you would see a nice beating heart but Parker felt there were heavy metal chains wrapped it. After years of a disconnected relationship with her parents and a hard break up with her boyfriend of four years, Parker Williams made her heart mentally chained. Declaring to never fall in love again but what happens when she meets a witty musician who is all about seeking love?

pairing: main character x Hongjoong ft. ex! Yeosang

genre: (18+ minors dni), romance, fluff, lots of angst, coming to age, college au, smut, strangers to lovers, self discovery

word count: 5,559

chapter warnings: no major warnings but Hongjoong and Parker finally talk face to face.. it's cute

song rec for this chapter: Blah Blah by The Boyz

Monday October 11th, 2021. 

I drew in my notebook as I attempted to pay attention to my professor lecture the class about the importance of symmetric lines in paintings. I swear this Drawing Three course had to be the most boring class in the whole art department. I needed another day to just relax, Friday really made my brain shut down completely. Dealing with that in my mind, I still didn’t know what I wanted to paint for my midterm grade. I didn’t have Mr. Cook till tomorrow but I think I might go to the studio after all classes are done. I need to get my stuff back on track, I need to stop letting something so small make my brain so discombobulated. 

“That’s all for today, we will have a test on Friday so make sure to study. You are dismissed”

All you heard was the sound of chairs rubbing the ground and everyone walking out, some having conversation with each other. I checked my watch and saw it was only 12:45 and my last class wasn’t until two o’clock. I texted Sarah and told her to meet me at the food court which she replied in agreement. As I walked out the building, I felt the sun’s heat touch my skin. It was a little breezy today so it wasn’t that hot outside which was perfect to eat in. 

A lot of people were outside today and guess it was because of how it felt out here. It was a nice sight for my artistic vision and it made me think about what I possibly wanted to paint about for this damn midterm. Mr. Cook always had high expectations for me because I have a lot of self doubt but my pieces always turn out so good in his eyes. He said I reminded him of the bright half moon on a starless night. He compared me to that because I saw half of my potential but when I’m in my zone, I feel like I’m the only one in the room. The stars were my classmates but when it’s starless, I saw no one in my way. 

I thought that compliment was unique and I had never been told that before. As I thought about that, the image of that guy who had the split hair came into my head while also having the sound of the guy  sounding like dripping honey rang in my ears. I stopped in my tracks and my eyes widened. 

I had a vision. 

I knew what I was going to paint. 

I texted Sarah and told her I would see her in class tomorrow. I walked fast to where my next class was going to be. My mind was creating the lines and the sketch of how I wanted the painting to flow while my fingers could feel what colors I wanted to mix and how gently I wanted my paintbrush to touch that canvas. I walked into the classroom and saw no one, I quickly walked to a desk and took out my sketchbook and started to draw. My eyes darted all around the paper as the tip of my pencil kept gilding around. I couldn't see anything and all outside noises were caught off. All my senses were into this drawing. 

I felt someone tap my shoulder twice and I looked up to see Dr. Gregson, my professor for my last class. I checked my watch to see it was already two o’clock. I had already been drawing for over an hour and didn’t even realize that time was passing right by me. He laughed a little and so did the rest of my classmates. 

“Everyone arrived around ten minutes ago but you were so focused and you didn’t hear anything.”

“I’m sorry” I quickly closed my sketchbook. 

I don’t even know what the end result of it was. I was paying attention to my lines that I didn’t even know what I drew. I hope it came out good because I only had about four days to get something done but I didn’t want it to be meaningless. My paintings always come from somewhere within my chained heart. It was like when the coldness on a bottle of water slowly starts to turn into a thin layer of water. That was how my heart worked with art. I wanted to get to the studio as soon as possible so I could start painting while this was hot in my brain. I felt like the class was going by so painfully slow because of my desire to leave so quickly. As the hour went on, I couldn’t help but stare at the clock. It felt like the whole room was just silent as I could hear the ticking noise so loud and clearly. 

“Alright, we’ll meet back on Friday so please study for the quiz. You are all dismissed.” 

As soon as I heard the words dismissed, I ran out of the classroom. I’m so smart for taking my art supplies and canvas to the studio this morning. I give the past me such a pat on the back. My feet just kept moving and all I could hear was the noise of my necklaces hitting each other against my chest. I was determined and I was going to make one of the best pieces I ever made. That was a promise I made to myself in my head. 

I had no idea why this meant so much to me, I didn’t understand why my will was so strong to get this done. Was I just hurrying so I could pass my midterm grade? Did I not want to disappoint Mr. Cook with some shitty painting that I could throw together? Or was it because…

My heart was burning with some much passion and desire to make me fall in love with art all over again? 

I smiled to myself as I made my way inside my building. I started speed walking to the classroom studio and as I got inside, I got my colors together. I walked over to my canvas and took out my sketchbook. I flipped to the page I sketched on. My eyes widened at what I had drawn on, I couldn’t believe I made something like this. It was the first time I had ever shocked myself and I knew it wouldn’t be my last as an aspiring painter. 

I took off the sleeveless vest I had on which left me in my black tank top and went to let two of the windows up. I walked back to my canvas and started on my piece. The sound of my brush moving and the birds chirping outside was music to my ears. Half of the population of  painters need music to help them set the mood but all I needed was the sound of surrounding things that were happening naturally. I was in my zone, I didn’t want to leave till I finished this and I was determined to get it done. 

Before I knew it, I saw the moon shining through the room. I was almost done with my piece. I put down my brush and stretched my body a little. I walked towards the window and looked up at the stars. Nights in LA were always magical to me. I wondered if everyone got to enjoy this all over the world. I remembered when Mr. Cook asked me what my dream was. 

I wanted to see the starry night in all the counties in the world. Of course he laughed because I was a 17 year old freshman who had a lot of drive and wanted to do everything in my head but he never told me it was impossible. He believed in me and that’s just what I always wanted. 

My parents didn’t support my dream. They wanted me to find a 9 to 5 job and settle down here in California. I wanted to prove to them that this wasn’t some childish dream I had to be a painter, it was something that I was serious about. I was too artistic for a regular job. I had too much drive to settle. I wanted to make it to Seoul and live there while making my work known internationally. 

Last year, I studied abroad in Seoul and it was one of the beautiful places that I visited. Of course, it wasn’t perfect but it was so unique. The culture, the scenery of both the city and countryside, the nightlife, and my Korean friends that I made while being there. I also visited the art museums while I was there and.. It was just such a boost to my mind. It gave me all of the reason to move there and try to get accepted into one of the art institutes.  I was saving my money as I speak but if I could get my work known a little sooner before I graduate, that would be great in my favor. Luckily, I didn’t have anyone holding me back from accomplishing my goals. 

I walked back over to my painting and continued to work on it. I was determined to finish this tonight while this feeling of pure bliss was running through my veins. I hope Mr. Cook got it and the rest of my classmates too. Having people relate to my work or understanding it made me feel so good. I think even when I get those people who don’t understand but try their best to, it makes me feel good also. Art is a thinking process, you might not get the message the first time you look at a piece but it will eventually come to you. 

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I took it out to answer it. 

“Hello?”

“Parker, where the hell are you?” Nicole’s worried voice rang in my ear. 

“I’m at the studio, I’ll be in the room in about an hour”

“Shit, we haven’t heard from you all day so we thought something happened” Kayla yelled. 

“No, I been in here since around 2:30”

“Well damn, we’ll let you continue. Make sure to stop somewhere on campus to get food” Nicole slightly nagged at me. 

“Yes ma’am,” I laughed a little. 

I hang up and put my phone back in my pocket. I ran my fingers through my curls and continued to add finishing touches and add ons. The color palette I made for this piece was definitely different from my other work. I was into dark and neutral tones but this was bright and gave warmth like the sun. I was hoping that it made people feel warm like when you drink a cup of tea with tablespoons of honey. 

Instead of an hour, it took another two because of the detailing that I was fixing. I did text my loving roommates to let them know I was still at the studio. I checked the time to see it was ten minutes past one o’clock in the morning, I had been painting for over ten hours. That is a new record time I just set and I’m shocked myself. The last time I was in the zone like this, I painted for at least six hours straight. I put the canvas on the drying rack and turned it backwards so no one could take a look at it. I put a little note on the back saying “Don’t touch unless you want Parker to hunt you down”. Hopefully everyone will take this seriously. 

I started cleaning up my stations and washing all of my supplies off. I made sure to close all the windows and I realized I was smiling as I was cleaning up. That means I was satisfied and proud of the work I put in. It’s not a rare thing to see me smile but after painting, it was to some people. I packed up everything and left the building. I was ready for Thursday and ready for everyone to lay eyes on what I had done. 

The warm wind hit me as I made my way out the door. I looked around the side of campus I was on to see most of all the food places were closed. I guess tonight was going to be ramen, good thing I went to buy some shin ramen yesterday. Nicole and Kayla were probably going to want a bowl knowing them. I felt my phone vibrate in my head and I saw it was Danielle calling me. I sighed and tried to debate if I should answer, she recently has been coming over a lot. I need some space and I don’t think she was catching the hints. 

“Yes Danielle” I answered, trying not to sound annoyed.

“Have you been avoiding me?”

“No” Yes, Yes I have. 

“Parker, I been texting you for the past two days and you haven’t been answering back”

“I needed some space”

“Communicate that, don’t go around thinking I need you” 

Ouch. “I never thought that”

“Good, now you hit me up next time you want to link”

“Got you”

She hung up and I rolled my eyes. I don’t want her thinking I need her because that’s not the case and  I guarantee she knows I can drop her if  I wanted to. I think this is why I lack vulnerability, I have to deal with girls like this who thought they had power over me because of sex. I thought Danielle was one of those girls I didn’t have to worry about and she never acted like this before until recently, it was weird. Do I ask her about it? Do I just leave it alone? Should I keep avoiding her to the best of my ability? All different questions ran through my head but I could never find the right answer. I don’t think the right thing was to think about it so hard at the moment, I need to worry about getting some food into my stomach that kept growling at me. It sounded like it was telling me it was going to start eating my insides if I didn’t feed it soon.

I’m so ready for Thursday. 

I put down my brush as I just finished putting my hair into a puff. I ran my hands down my skirt to make sure I didn’t have any wrinkles in it. I felt like Thursday came by too fast and I was super nervous to present my project. I’m not usually the anxious type but I went in super deep about this piece especially with the description I had written for it. Mr. Cook always wanted us to dress up on presentation days because he wanted us to prepare like our artwork was being shown in a gallery, which is why he always sets up presentation day in the school’s art gallery. The dedication of this man to keep our drive going is insane but I appreciated him to the fullest. 

I grabbed my bookbag after I slipped on my blazer, I decided to go the comfortable route and wear flats. I checked my watch and saw it was thirty minutes past nine. I guess I could get some coffee on the way to the gallery. I made my way out of the suite, it was a quiet morning. Both of my suitemates went home for the day since their classes got canceled, it must be nice to live near the school. After I had got into school, my parents relocated to the suburbs in Philadelphia. Their only daughter upsets them because of her career so they move to the other side of the country to make it harder for me to come home. 

Their dream for me was to be a lawyer, not my dream. Both of my parents are attorneys and they wanted their kid to follow in their footsteps but they wanted me to be bigger. They wanted me to have my own law firm. All the summers as a kid I went to tour law firms with them, going to work with them sometimes, and they would even make me watch court cases on Youtube. It was neve wrecking and I had a lot of pressure on my shoulders. When I was in seventh grade, I won my first art competition that I signed up for and my parents were not excited or proud of me. They took the five hundreds that I won and put it towards me going to a law camp that I went to for four summers. 

Secretly for the next four years after that, I kept entering art competitions and of course I didn’t win every single one but I won a few. All the money that I won from them, I put in my savings or use the money to buy me things in highschool. When I turned sixteen, I told my parents I wanted to be an internationally known painter. That was the first time I saw fear in my parents’ eyes. In their heads, I ruined my dream and my future with such a childish career. They don’t believe I’ll make it anywhere and I was determined to prove them wrong. 

While I still lived with them, they barely acted like I existed. They made sure I was fed and had money to take care of myself my last two years of highschool but after that I was on my own. They didn’t pay for me to get into school, I’m simply here on a full ride because I worked my ass off. If I wasn’t going to an ivy league law school, they were not putting their money towards it at all. 

I saw the line at the coffee shop and decided to just skip it. I made my way towards the gallery which was just another five minute walk. Thinking about what I've been through with my parents makes me sad sometimes but you can’t dwell on things that you have no control over. Hopefully, they will come around one day. I feel like the only people who support me are my grandparents on both sides. They always send me money to make sure I’m good and luckily they both still reside here in California so I stay at either house on my breaks. 

I made it to the gallery and walked inside, Mr. Cook already had signs going to where our class was going to be. I walked  into the gallery and saw that most of the class was here. I saw the paintings displayed around the room and I tried my best not to stare at mine too long. On Tuesday, Mr. Cook told us not to sign our portraits because we would have to guess who was the painter of each other as a class. The actual painter had to act clueless like everyone else and make guesses. I thought the idea was pretty cool and I wanted to hear everyone's raw thoughts about each other's pieces. The last few of my classmates made their way inside and everyone went to put their bags on the bench. I think everyone looked pretty nice.

“I think that’s everyone, we can get started” Mr. Cook said, looking at everyone. 

We started going around to the different portraits and I swear I had some talented ass classmates. They inspired me to go further especially with how deep they go with the most simple drawing. I had about 15 people in my class and if you met some of them, you wouldn’t think art was their major. You had some who looked like they were working in corporate offices and some who looked like they should be taking over a family business. I guess that’s where that corny line comes from when they say don;t judge a book by its cover. 

An hour had passed and we had already gone through five people. We were analyzing the hell out of these pieces. As we walked over to the next painting… I knew it was mine, just from how bright it was. 

“Wow,” I heard someone say. 

“Wow is the right description for this,” I replied.

My painting was of a guy’s face who had honey spilling from his mouth, ears, and eyes. His eyes were dark brown with a gray undertone which took me forever to blend correctly. He resembled the boy I ran into on my way to the cafe, which was the same day I saw Yeosang. His beauty was breathtaking and I had a photo memory of it. His split dye hair was half black and half blonde but if you close into the details, they were made out of small bees.. The background color was a pumpkin orange and the golden yellow from the honey layered so well on top of it. 

“What do we think the painter is telling us,” Mr. Cook spoke. 

“I think they have a crush on someone” I heard Sarah’s voice. Really now?

“Yeah, this imagery and the details of the guy’s face looks like they took a long time to make sure it looked like someone who was in their head. For example, the eyes are filled with joy and purity. The brown and undertone of gray are well blended. I love this.” my classmate Zach said, pointing at different details he noticed.  I can’t fight you on that one. 

“I also think the painter has a crush, I think the message is about dripping honey. Seeing that the honey only drops from the ears, eyes, and mouth means this guy  symbolizes dripping honey or smooth like dripping honey in the painter’s eyes.” I heard another one of my classmates speak. Say what now? 

This was very interesting to me. I wouldn’t say I have a crush but I just like someone’s physical appearance and als enjoyed a conversation with someone whose voice sounds like dripping honey. Did I have a crush? Were these signs that I could possibly have taken interest in someone I never saw just by hearing their voice? I don’t think any of this could be true, my heart was too chained up to just break free that easily. Crushing is child-like and breaking down one’s emotions was nothing but people’s opinions. I decided not to talk about the crushing assumption too seriously. The other comments about my piece were mainly on the color palette and someone even noticed the bees. My class really took a liking to that detail and some of them even went as far as saying that it needed an award just based on details. 

“What if it was admiration?” I spoke. 

“How so?” I heard Zach say

“I don’t think having a crush or being in love necessarily has to be the reason for showing so much detail in a painting. I think whoever painted this just simply saw something that they liked and decided to add other key factors that tie together what they were thinking about. Just think about books, people, posters, foods.. Things like these could play into what the painter took from every day and tied them together while doing the draft of what they wanted to create.” 

I heard some people agree and some smack their teeth on how what I said could mean absolute bullshit. I could tell them upfront that I certainly don’t have interest in anyone but that would give me away. 

“I kind of agree with Parker, the person they drew could be from a combination of different people in a way and just made into one person. Also it has been hot outside so bees are so common to see and who doesn’t associate bees with honey” another one my classmates spoke. 

We continued to go on about my piece for another ten minutes before everyone was done analyzing and there wasn’t anything else to say about it. I think mine was the longest painting so far that we took so long to find a conclusion to

“Do you guys want to guess or just want them to reveal themselves?”

“Reveal,” everyone said at once. 

I don’t know why all my nerves rushed to my body, I wondered how they would feel after seeing that this was my painting. They are so used to seeing dark tone pieces from me especially in this past year. I slowly walked to the front and faced everyone. There were different types of reactions. You had the “I knew it” faces, some were shocked, and a few had confusion written in their eyes. Sarah was a combination of shocked and confused. 

“Parker? But this palette,” I heard one of them say. 

“I know, I kind of wanted to try something different. At first, I was going to use a dark tone palette but the vision didn’t look right when I was blending colors,” I spoke. 

We continued to talk about my painting for another fifteen minutes, they were more compliments than anything though. I appreciated it and I loved even some of the criticism I got back. A few tried to get personal but I kept changing the subject or Sarah would help me with doing so. We had moved on and for another hour, we went through the rest of the class. I had about three favorites and of course, one of them wasn’t my own. I would put some of these in a gallery before the one I painted ever had the chance. I really enjoy looking at other concepts and tones, it made me want to try something different or get an idea for something I would do in the future. 

We had some closing remarks and Mr. Cook told us he would take all the paintings back to the studio. We did offer some help but he just ended class and told us to have a nice relaxing day, he could kind of tell some of us were anxious and nerves were a little wrecked due to pressure. A teacher who cares is a teacher who deserves the world, Mr. Cook was definitely one of those teachers. 

Everyone started to exit the building and we all noticed that it was raining outside. I’m glad I always carried an umbrella with me. It was a little unexpected considering that Southern California barely gets rain. I said my goodbyes to everyone and made my way out. I looked around at the scenery of the campus and the rain made it look like a beautiful scene from a movie, minus the palm trees. I didn’t know what I was going to do for the rest of today because Mr. Cook’s class was the only one I had today. I should probably catch up on some sleep or watch anime. I would go to The Quad and draw at one of the tables but the water coming out of the sky altered my plans. As I continued to look around, I felt a force hit my shoulder and it made me jerk. 

“My fault, I’m sorry” 

I turned around and I immediately froze as the person I bumped into turned around. It was the guy  I bumped into on my way to the cafe about a week ago. His hair was up in a ponytail with some loose hairs hanging out the side and he wore some glasses that sat a little on his nose. 

“No, it was all me,” he said, slowly looking at me. 

My eyes widened at his voice. The dripping voice that rang in my ear, he sounded just like he did the first time I saw him but he also sounded like the guy from the blind dating. I wanted to question him but my mouth couldn’t form the words because his dark brown  eyes were so breathtaking and staring me in my soul again. 

“I feel like I recognize you somehow” he said, which made me panic a little. 

“Uh..um, we bumped into each other before”

“No, like your voice.. Did you go to that speed dating thing?” 

“I might have,” I rubbed my neck. Parker, just be fucking honest asshole. 

“Maybe, I was mistaken. Sorry,” he gave me a small smile then started to walk away. 

When would I ever see him again? I don’t believe in fate but this is the third time he has been in my presence. Was this a sign? Was he meant to meet me like this or was it just a slight coincidence? As the rain poured, my mind was all over the place about this present situation. How should I think about this? What should I do? This school was big but it was small at the same time. Should I just wait for the fourth time to see if it was meant to be?

But if the fourth time never came?

“Is the weather like this in Seattle nowadays?”

He turned around and his smile was bigger than the one he was about to leave me with. I didn’t want it to vanish from his  face, that’s how pretty it was. He tilted his head to look at the sky then his eyes made their way back to me.

“A little more heavier”

We laughed and his laugh was like music to my ears. I didn’t understand what I was feeling and as inevitably as it was, I didn’t mind it at all. For the first time in about two years, I had this weird feeling in my stomach. It felt like little birds but I knew they weren't birds, they were something much smaller. 

“I’m Hongjoong. Kim Hongjoong,” He walked towards me. 

“Parker. Parker Williams.” 

“Well Parker, let’s go into this coffee shop  so we won’t be drenched” 

I nodded and we walked together to the small café  that was just up ahead. He told me he was going to get us some tea and I suggested I find us a table. I was a little nervous, especially since I kind of ran out on him the last time we spoke to each other.  I watched him interact with the person behind the counter. He had this vibe to him that just made me feel so anxious around him, not in a bad way but in a way like I didn’t want to run him off. I looked at the way he was dressed and he definitely was a creator of some type, he definitely gave off that he worked with music or a writer. The black color of his jacket and the light tan color of his pants went so well with his hair. You can tell that his style is simple but it was clean at the same time. I had time now to take in how he looked and things that he reminded me of. After a few minutes, he came back with our tea. 

“Here you go,” he handed me my cup and a few sugars in case I needed it. 

“Thank you” 

“Now Miss Parker”, he crossed her arms. I kind of knew where this was about to go and I was still kind of shy about the topic. 

“Yeah?”

“Why did you run off on me like that?”

“I don’t really know how to answer that”

“Well you could just be honest and I’ll be a little more open to you” 

That’s the thing, I didn’t want to be honest with you. I didn’t want you to think I’m a pathetic person who still thinks about their shitty ex-boyfriend. I didn’t want to open up my heart to anyone, I didn’t want to be vulnerable. Vulnerability and me were not a good mix. It was like eating spicy food then drinking a whole bottle of tequila. The feeling of both made me vomit and I hate that feeling. 

“I just had a bad feeling about something,” I said. 

“Bad feeling?”

“Just something in my gut told me to leave, that’s the only way I could put it. I also had a midterm project to finish”

He looked at me with a slight side eye but smiled and drank his tea. He was a pusher but not a pusher that tried to break you but one that wanted you to reassure him on things that he was curious about. It wasn’t annoying but it just made him a little more intimidating. 

“I won’t press you on the issue but if we are going to start a friendship, I appreciate honesty” 

“You want to be friends with me?” I watched him add some honey in his cup. How ironic?

“Why wouldn’t I want to be? You were my favorite person to talk to through that whole speed dating shit”

He was also my favorite person to talk to through that whole thing but should I admit that? I don’t know why I was so in my head about this. He just wanted to talk to me and get to know me. I think because he’s been constantly on my mind since I talked to him, it was making me nervous. Nervous that he wanted more from me than what I had to offer and it made me even more anxious because…

What if I wanted more?

Taglist: @hwaslayer

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