#(even though -- the way some people brag and feel superior about this is quite annoying ngl)

[feynavaley]

Wow, it has been quite a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry if my unannounced radio silence has worried anybody, I hope it wasn't the case. 😅

I think I have already mentioned that my new job and living arrangement leave me quite busy, but it isn't only that. Truth be told, I'm in a better mental place than I've been in a long, long while.

First of all, I love my new job. I like what I'm doing, there are constant updates and challenges so I don't feel like I'm stagnating, a machine always repeating the same actions over and over without ever being able to give my own input. Moreover, my superiors often praise me for my work and they're trusting me with more important matters, which, I'm not going to lie, is pretty nice as well and does contribute to my general well-being.

Of course, my new job has some downsides as well (first of all, the salary, lmao) but perfection doesn't exist. Not to mention, I fit in pretty well with my coworkers, which is another important factor in my opinion as we cooperate a lot, which ultimately makes everybody's work easier and creates a pleasant environment. The coworker I share my office with, who also happens to be my direct superior, can only be described as an angel.

In a more unexpected twist, I've also met a group of people whom I would actually call "friends" and I've started having a social life as well, which, well... I'll always be tendentially introverted and I don't mind my alone time, but spending time with some people I can truly connect with also does wonders for mental health.

But why am I writing this down? What I'm trying to get to is that, with my real life being more satisfying, I've felt the need to turn to online platforms a lot less than I used to, which is probably the main reason I haven't been very active here.

Even so, I do miss it a bit. In particular, I really miss writing – and everything else (posting short headcanons to flesh out the characters, analysis, reblogging stuff I found interesting or even just funny, art) was, in a way, connected to that. (Not to mention, I feel like my English is deteriorating, while keeping a bit active on tumblr allowed me to exercise as well.) I want to get back to this.

Let's be real, over the last three years, I've done many attempts to go back to writing and they all failed. Still, I feel like trying again. Who knows what will happen this time?

Cheers!

~Feyna

[alexisqueen-137]

How could I (D.M x Reader)

Hey guys, so this is my first fic that I am posting, I really hope you enjoy this, also, requests open! feedback appreciated whether good or bad, and i apologize if some bit’s in the story are a wee bit cringy... and btw the angst will be much more in the next parts! (btw I don’t write smut AT ALL)

warnings: angst, reader almost get’s raped, mentions of self-harm, mentions of abuse

Word count: 1k+

summary: Pansy uses the unforgivable torture curse on y/n, and after that y/n changes turning into a total badass, catching draco’s eye even more than before...fluff if u squint

The leaves on the withering grass indicated that finally, most finally, Autumn had come once more on the beautiful castle.

Students rushed from classes to see the wonderful sight awaiting them at the meadow. The biting breeze didn’t change their stubborn minds, infact, it most probably encouraged them to sit around the black lake, watching the giant squid with far-away looks in their eyes and pumpkin juice in their hands. 

However, probably the only soul still inside of the towering castle walls was Y/N L/N. The crumpling, aching feeling inside of your chest was only growing and though you wished to let it all out, you weren't able to. Your burning tears were held inside of you too  scared to fall and be for once free. 

Staggering to the dungeons, y/n couldn’t breathe normally or walk properly because of the pain that wracked her body even until now.

And finally have you reached your dorm, you shut the door and made sure no one was there, only to fall on your knees and let all the tears you had been holding slip, slip onto your forest green carpet and dampen it.

It was a habit, a habit of yours to cry as silently as possible, because you were still haunted by your memories as a child being beaten up by your drunken father.

All the walls that you had built inside of you were now by this point fragile; cracking; falling apart...

y/n was not a foolish sensitive girl, oh you were much more. You were so strong to have gone through all of the trials and mishaps that would have destroyed most people. Even though, it still broke you...You were a human being too, in the end. These things you went through were the reason you made those thin scars on your arms and thighs with the silver knife you inherited...it soothes you, this act. It reminds you that you are a normal person who can still feel pain.

However, what happened to you this time must be the end of it all.

It all started when you entered your potions class which the Slytherins (such as yourself) shared with the Gryffindors. You were a bit late, which was unusual since you were one of the best students in your year. Always after Hermione Granger and before Draco Malfoy. Oh how you loathed him. He made your life hell and well...you didn’t need much of a reason to hate him.

you walked over to your seat next to Blaise Zabini, who was your best friend, since he was one of the only who didn’t mind you were a half-blood Slytherin. Harry Potter and Ron Weasley glared at you because they hate all Slytherins, albeit you never did anything to them...

you ignored them, half annoyed, half overlooking the whole situation. Professor Slughorn started explaining the properties of a well-made draught of living death as you took notes. Then Slughorn said something that caught everyone’s complete attention; he was giving away a small vial of liquid luck to whoever made the best living death potion.

Everyone started working, and you started working too, extra hard, because you reallyyyyyy needed that liquid luck. For a reason you would never admit to anyone but yourself. you wanted to give it to- yes, believe it or not- Malfoy. Not because you  liked him or something, no you hated him, it was just that he kept bragging to the Slytherins how the Dark Lord gave him a job and he was chosen for blah blah blah...And you couldn’t really let him kill himself, right?

You side glanced at Potter to see how he was doing, only to see that instead of cutting up his Sopophorous bean, he was crushing it, getting much more juice than you, you followed his lead and crushed your bean with the back of your silver knife watching the liquid ooze out of it’s shiny shell...

*after class*

 you put the golden liquid in your pocket feeling quite happy with yourself, you and Potter had made equivalently perfect draughts, earning the both of you felix felicis. 

Just as you were heading to your next class, you bumped into (rather unfortunately), no other than Pansy Parkinson, the pug-faced slut. Apperently, she made it her all time mission to annoy the fuck out of Y/N.

“Watch where your going, Bitch” She retorted. You huffed. She continued, “I don’t think you can though, not with that ugly hair covering your filthy face!”

She cackled like the whole thing was so funny. You rolled your eyes, and then cleared your throught; “Bugger off, Parkinson, I don’t need you all in my face like spot cream or something, not that you would know of it, looks like you’ve never used it your entire life!” you smirked, not caring about the consequences this would bring.

Pansy’s eyes flared with anger, she said: “Think we’re so smart, don’t we? Forgot that your superiors (she said that while gesturing at herself) could handle you without much looking at your hideous face! You are sooo unbearable! First, you steal my Dracey from me (at these words you frowned, not knowing what she meant), and now you’re acting all snotty in my face, I think, it’s time for me to TEACH.YOU.A.LESSON! (she practically screeched those words) ughhhhhh I hate you so much, L/N, I DON’T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT YOU, YOU KNOW SO, crucio!”  You gasped and before you could react an invisible force squeezed your bones and burned your skin, tugged on your flesh and stabbed you dozens of times at once; until you were screaming and wailing on the ground, writhing in agony, unable to do anything to that horrible skank, all until your vision went black and yout hit the floor, unconscious…

 *after you woke up*

 Unsure for how long you were out, you staggered up, and grimaced form the pain. All you knew that miss ruthless Pansy left you alone in the dark, cold empty hallway. All you knew was that the tears you were holding would burst soon if you don’t hurry to your dorm.

 *present*

 And now, after you had cried your heart out, you realized you didn’t just cry because of the physical pain, but from the mere thought of not being able to stand up to yourself and shoot back at the motherfucking bitch- Oh, how you promised yourself you would change that day. How you would be a new woman with a much bigger attitude, how you would take care of yourself.

 And that’s just what you did.

 *Two months later*

 You had died your hair black from the top, and silver from the bottom, keeping it long, and you always made sure your hair was always wavy, you kept worn down all the time, and it framed your face perfectly.

  Instead of the pants you used to wear, now you always wore a skirt underneath your robes, with black tights and short heels, not forgetting to add a dash of makeup. Not only have you changed your looks, but your attitude aswell. Anyone disrespects you, oh they will pay for it. Admittedly, you had to thank Parkinson for changing you like this, but you thought better than to.

You were top of your year and you helped people whenever they want. You were kind, but one hell of a badass.

However, you still thought about the day Parkinson cursed you, what had she said, I had stolen Draco from her? You didn’t understand that. You and Draco had no romantic relationship. Albeit, when you started to change, he found it better for him to be your friend. (Blaise couldn’t shut up about it, he was so relieved that both his best friends weren’t enemies anymore) After getting to know him better, you came to the conclusion that Draco wasn’t as bad as he seemed…not at all.

Yet, you still hadn’t given him the vial of liquid luck, afraid he might reject it from you.

*one day*

You took a bite from your green apple as you made your way to class, you would be 10 minutes early if you went now, but, since you had nothing else to do, you made your way into the empty hallway leading to the transfiguration classroom. you had this weird feeling that someone was watching you though...

As you were walking someone called “Hi honey”, you didn’t turn around, he was probably calling for someone else. “L/N, sweetie!” you froze. You turned around and looked at the boy behind you. “what did you just call me?” “You know what I said y/n. The boy got dangerously closer and you realized it was Theodore Nott, Slytherin. 

He came forward even closer, pushing you into a broom closet. your heart pace was by now going so fast you were sure it was about to jump out of your chest. “I know you check me out when you see me, darling. Why don’t I give you what you’ve been wanting for a long time?” “g-get off of me” was all you managed. He came closer and trailed kisses on your neck, and you yelped. And maybe, just maybe, if you hadn’t screamed, and then who knows what would have happened.

From outside, someone yelled “WHOEVER IS IN THAT CLOSET LEAVE Y/N RIGHT NOW BEFORE I HEX YOU INTO OBLIVION!” You recognized the voice as Draco’s. you couldn’t help but sigh in relief when Nott let go of you in a hurry and you watched as he scrambled out. After he went and got hit with a couple of good spells,  Draco rushed to you and got you out of the closet. Once he touched you you felt all the stress leave you, and you thanked god he came to save you.

“Are you okay? did anything happen to you? did that motherfucker hurt you? answer me, y/n!” without realizing, you’ve been holding a shaky breath. and at his questions, you covered your face with your hands and burst into tears. “H-he almost r-raped m-me..” 

“It’s okay, don’t worry, I’m here for you” he cooed. And gently ever so gently, he pulled you into his grasp, tightly wrapping his hands around you. You stiffened, but then relaxed saying: “It’s been so long since someone hugged me...I’ve forgotten what it’s like to be held...”

(part 2 coming soon!)

[rkived]

drabble #4: a look back into pediatricsurgeon!jungkook’s and generalsurgeon!reader’s friendship throughout med school. 

or, what those infamous ‘‘med school vibes’’ are all about. 

(hospitalplaylist!au)

↩ previous | 📍drabbles masterlist | next ↪️

JUNGKOOK’S FIRST YEAR OF MED SCHOOL.

‘‘Okay, let’s begin.’’ 

Taehyung’s face is puffed up, barely awake. Just five minutes ago he was dreaming about being the mayor of Springfield, the fictional town in The Simpsons, and now he’s quizzing his roommate, Jungkook, before his big Pharmacology exam. 

‘‘What’s bioavailability?’’ 

Jungkook hums ‘‘The amount of medication in your blood that’s available to produce an effect.’’ he answers and Taehyung nods, yawning, moving on to the next question.

‘‘What is azithromycin used for?’’

‘‘Viral In─?’’

Taehyung shakes his head no.

‘‘Oh! Bacterial infections!’’ Jungkook corrects himself and receives a nod of approval from his roommate ‘‘Kinda forgot for a second.’’

Taehyung ignores his excuse and continues quizzing him for a few more minutes, the tiredness still evident in his face, but his anxious friend had him slightly worried. 

‘‘Dude, you’re flunking this shit.’’ Taehyung mutters, counting down how many right answers his roommate had gotten ‘‘You only got six out of fifteen questions right.’’

Jungkook mumbles a curse and places his head over his hands. He couldn’t afford to fail this class, Pharmacology was a pain in the ass and he did not want to take it again. 

Taehyung hums as he stares at his nervous friend, his leg bouncing up and down with nervousness. The older friend understood his position, though he didn’t experience much trouble when he took this class two years ago, he had definitely felt pre-exam jitters before. 

‘‘Did you not study or?’’ Taehyung asks him in a gentle tone, not wanting to put him under the spot even more. 

Jungkook sighs and runs his hand through his short hair ‘‘A little, I uh─I was supposed to take a book out from the library to do more research, but a girl from my class wanted it so I gave it to her because━’’

Taehyung’s eyes open wide like saucers and he doesn’t let his younger friend finish his explanation. 

‘‘You gave up a book for a girl? Because she wanted it?’’ 

So long for not wanting to put him under the spot.

Jungkook already felt bad, but the amused tone on Taehyung’s voice made him feel worse. 

He knew it was a dumb decision.  He handed the book over to her a week ago, when he grabbed it and was ready to take it out to study until she popped out of nowhere and asked him if she could have it, pleading eyes and with hands placed together as if she was begging.

And Jungkook was a first year student, he was still slower than his seniors. He was kinda lucky having Taehyung, a third-year student, as his roommate. The more knowledgeable guy had shared with him most of the tips and tricks he needed to know to survive in Med School. 

Though Taehyung was now regretting forgetting to tell him that when it came down to being ‘‘nice’’ to other students, he had to think smartly and be a little selfish. Especially when a big exam was coming up and you weren’t particularly the best student in the class. 

‘‘You’re a dumbass and you’re failing this exam fair and square.’’ 

Jungkook frowns, not appreciating his roommate’s words ‘‘Thanks, I’ll try my best not to.’’ 

With this, he takes his backpack and snatches the papers from Taehyung’s hands. 

---

Which of the following is a short-term side effect of amphetamine?

Constipation

Hair Loss

Suicidal Thoughts

Depression

‘‘Isn’t it all of them?’’ Jungkooks whispers to himself as he reads the options over and over again, getting himself more confused rather than obtaining a clear answer. 

This was a starter question! A basic one, if you may. He knows he’s supposed to be able to answer this without hesitation, but he’s looking at the question as if it was a foreign topic. 

He sighs and decides he’ll come back to it later, maybe the answer will come to him later.

When choosing to supplement, what type of vitamin D do most healthcare professionals prescribe and why?

Cholecalciferol because it cannot cause adverse effects

Vitamin D because there is only one type of supplement available.

Cholecalciferol because it is the naturally occurring form in the body.

None of the answers are correct.

‘‘Fuck, I know this.’’ Jungkook mumbles, hand coming to scratch the side of his head. 

It’s A. 

No, it’s B. 

But what if it’s C? 

It can’t be D, that’s a trick answer and─

‘‘Psst,’’ he hears from behind him, but he’s too deep in thought wondering which option is the right one. ‘‘Pssst,’’ Jungkook’s eyes raise from his paper and into the sea of students taking the exam around him.

Jungkook stares at his Pharmacology professor, sitting on his chair as he tries to stay awake to keep an eye on his 40+ students. The class started at 7 AM and even he hated waking up early.

‘‘Pssssst,’’ he hears again, this time a little more intense and he’s trying his hardest not to turn his head and see where the noise is coming from, fearing he might get mistaken for cheating. 

He decided to ignore the sound and after that, whoever was making the noise, decided to stop as well. 

An hour and a half later, Jungkook was out of the horrible exam and ready to cry it out for a little in his room. He was hoping Taehyung had left for his exams by then. 

If Jungkook could grade his exam he’d give himself a C, nice try kid. 

‘‘Gosh, are you deaf or something?’’ he hears from a voice behind him, turning around to find the girl from the library. The one he had given the Pharma book to, sacrificing himself to please her. ‘‘I was trying to get your attention!’’ she complains and Jungkook’s just staring at her. 

‘‘What?’’ he speaks up, but it comes out as a mere whisper because he’s confused as hell. 

He’s still thinking about the exam and now he has this girl looking at him like he’s a weirdo. 

‘‘I was trying to help you, I saw some of your answers and they were wrong.’’ She explains and his eyebrows raise slightly ‘‘Hair loss is a short-term side effect of amphetamine? Really? That’s basic Pharmaco.’’ 

‘‘What?’’

‘‘And don’t even get me started on your answer for the vitamin D supplement, that was a piece of cake!’’ The girl continues to complain about his wrong answers and Jungkook is left speechless. ‘‘I was gonna give you my answers, which I know are right because I studied, but you never turned around.’’

Jungkook’s brows furrow. 

The reason why he was able to recognize her in the library last week was because she was an avid participant during lectures. Always had something to say, a question to ask, ready to share a random fact that not even the professor knew about. 

Jungkook’s not surprised she didn’t recognize him back then, not even now. He’s the total opposite of her. Never speaks in class, all the questions he wishes he could ask are kept inside his head and he doesn’t know anything about Pharmacology because everything is a big question mark to him.

‘‘You studied because of me.’’ he states and her eyes go wide like saucers.

‘‘Whu─?’’ It seems that the realization doesn’t hit her after her eyes narrow at him and a lightbulb lights up over her head ‘‘Oh! You’re the guy from the library! You gave me the book!’’ 

‘‘Yeah,’’ Jungkook replies bitterly ‘‘so if my answers are wrong, it’s because of you little Ms. Know-It-All.’’ 

He’s had enough of this and he still wants to cry, the added tension of this random girl mocking his failure has become another reason as to why he needs to get to his dorm room immediately. 

But she won’t let up so easily. 

‘‘Wait!’’ she says, grabbing Jungkook’s arm as a way to stop him, but the taller guy yanks her hand away and continues to walk as she trails behind him ‘‘I swear I didn’t know then you were my classmate! I even asked you if you needed the book, you said no.’’ 

That was true, but Jungkook’s a first year student who obviously thinks being nice will get him A’s on his exams. He doesn’t need books. Being nice will get him that degree. 

Jungkook shrugs it off, but she’s relentless and holds onto his backpack straps instead. 

‘‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to sound so bitchy,’’ she apologizes as Jungkook continues to drag her through the building’s hall, hoping she’ll let go of his straps soon. ‘‘I just got frustrated because I really wanted to help you and—Ow!’’ 

Jungkook suddenly stopping makes her collide with his back abruptly, he gasps and quickly turns around to find her massaging her forehead that’s now sporting a red mark from the impact. 

‘‘It’s okay, I deserve it! Karma, right?’’ she chuckles and he sighs. 

‘‘If I forgive you will you leave me alone?’’ 

She frowns with a pout ‘‘No,’’ she states and he groans ‘‘because if you get a low grade, I’ll feel extremely guilty.’’ 

‘‘Then you’ll just have to live with it, I guess.’’ he shrugs. 

Jungkook promises he’s usually not like this. 

She ignores him instead ‘‘If you get a low grade, you can take the exam again! Professor Lee is really nice and understanding—”

“I know nothing about this class.” Jungkook interjects firmly, hoping that it serves as an answer for her.

She hums “I can help you study!” she offers and he looks at her with surprise “Not to brag, but I’m really good at Pharmaco.” she smiles, but it comes off as less than humble to him.

Jungkook would rather flunk this class than have her tutor him. Actually, he rather have Taehyung flick him on the head every time he gives a wrong answer until he gets them right.

She can tell he’s about to say no and so she pleads “Please! Please let me help! It’s the least I can do.” 

Her begging is very reminiscent of the one she did in the library last week. Jungkook had to give it to her, she could throw quite a convincing act.

And free tutoring is a hard offer to come by. One thing that reigned over med students was this superiority complex, the “I’m a better student than you” idea that would blind people into thinking they shouldn’t help their peers. 

So, yes, maybe she was annoying and a little bitchy, but just like Jungkook, she’s just being nice. 

He sighs with defeat “Alright, I’ll take your help.” 

She gasps with surprise and claps her hands with excitement, making the taller guy laugh through his nose. 

“I’ll give you my number! You can call or text me if you need any help.” she quickly adds and it’s not like he can object because she’s already writing her number down on a pink post-it note. 

“Y/N?” he reads the name once she hands the piece of paper over, she smiles and nods. 

“At your service! I’m good with Pharmaco, Biochem, and Pathology!” she informs and he nods slightly “Don’t ask me about microbiology, though, it’s my weak spot.” she shyly admits

His eyes light up at the mention of his favorite course “I love that class!” he comments and you tilt your head to the side, how could he possibly? “If you need help, you can ask me!” 

You both smile at each other, realizing this small deed turned out to be perfect for you both.

—

JUNGKOOK’S THIRD YEAR OF MED SCHOOL.

“Could you like—stop that?” You mumble, pushing Jungkook off of your shoulder as the sleepy guy shuffles in the tiny space of your bed “Jungkook, seriously! We have a test tomorrow, you wanna flunk it?”

He yawns “You’ll help me if I do.” 

“That was a one time thing only,” you narrow your eyes at him “this time it’s not gonna be on me!”

You try to make some sense into your friend, but he’s not bugging at all. Though you try to understand, you’ve been cramming neurology concepts for the past four hours with no breaks in between. 

Sometimes you forget Jungkook’s study method is very different from yours.

“Shhh,” Jungkook hushes you with his eyes closed and a frown in his brows “‘’M trynna sleep.” 

Jungkook falls asleep to the sound of your mumbling complaints about how he’d fail the test and how you’d have to help him like you always do. He smiles to himself because your bed is really comfy and the air freshener that you spray every other hour smells like fresh laundry. 

You stare at him, peacefully snoring into your pillow, mouth slightly open as he breathes in and out. You should be angry, he was the one who proposed studying together after all.

But all you do is cover him with your favorite fuzzy blanket and pat his shoulder before you go back to the lessons in your book.

The silence is comfortable. It helps you study better and it gives him peace as he dreams of whatever. It’s always like this for you two.

—

JUNGKOOK’S FIFTH YEAR OF MED SCHOOL.

The packed boxes and bags placed on Taehyung’s bed throw Jungkook off because it finally hits him that, after five years of rooming with the older friend, he’d have to find a new roommate.

He enters a frenzied state of questions in his head.

Is my new roommate going to be messy?

Is my new roommate going to listen to music so loud I won’t be able to sleep?

Will my new roommate hate video games and won’t let me play my FPSGs? 

Jungkook hadn’t realized how well of a dynamic he and Taehyung shared until today. Always thought that they kept rooming because they were friends and not because they actually were able to coexist with each other.

And now that Taehyung’s graduating, Jungkook is left to wonder what will happen next.

He was in that state of mind all day long. 

When he watched his soon-to-be ex roommate pack his belongings in boxes that were divided by categories. As he sat in the crowd of attendees for that semester’s graduates, Taehyung in between the handful of fresh new M.Ds. And now, as his fellow group of friends were singing their drunk asses off into the microphone of the karaoke room they had rented for the night.

Jungkook doesn’t know what song Taehyung and Namjoon are singing, but it’s definitely one that came out when he was just a baby. 

“You know you look really funny when you space out, right?” 

He blinks and you’re sitting next to him, giving him a raised brow as you wait for him to answer. 

Jungkook’s been told this multiple times, mostly by you. His doe eyes go wide, mouth shut into a line as he just stares into space and even he would like to know what it is that goes through his head during those moments, he always seems to forget when he comes back to reality.

“I’m so glad those two decided to become doctors instead of singers.” you joke, looking over at the two friends who were trying, but failing, at reaching a high note. 

He doesn’t laugh, though. 

“Are you okay?” you carefully ask, noticing his unusual behavior. Jungkook was…a special kid, for the most part. But you weren’t used to looking at him this quiet and so out of place. “Should I worry?” 

Jungkook shakes his head no and sighs, realizing his mood is changing yours as well and this is supposed to be a happy occasion, because Taehyung just graduated and he should be excited for his friend.

“Ahhh, I see,” you say with a nod, realization hitting you “you’re sad ‘cause Taehyungie is leaving, right?”.

“No.” Jungkook mumbles, hoping that it was convincing enough for you to buy, but he knows that you rarely ever let up.

You smile, finding it endearing how he’s embarrassed to admit that it does hurt. You’ve been there before when Namjoon graduated two years ago and you were a sobbing mess because it felt as if your older brother was leaving and never coming back. 

It sucked that Jungkook and you were the youngest ones in the friend group. You didn’t get to interact much with the older friends due to how ahead they were of you both, but they served as good mentors as you and he made your way along Med School.

“If it makes you feel better, you still have me.” you say with a smile and a squeeze to his shoulder, Jungkook stares back at you with an expression you can’t quite pinpoint “Only two more years.”

Saying it out loud feels unreal. He actually has stuck it out for that long. And as he stares at you giggling about your drunken singing friends, Jungkook realizes he hasn’t been alone during this journey.

You have to pretend his unwavering eyes are not making you feel under pressure.

—

JUNGKOOK’S SEVENTH AND FINAL YEAR IN MED SCHOOL.

“If you don’t tell her now, you probably never will!”

Jungkook gulps as he fixes his robe in front of the mirror. Taehyung is behind him, glaring at him with so much force that the soon-to-be graduate feels like he has to hide.

“Why would I tell her?” Jungkook mumbles “It’s just a silly crush, that’s it.” 

And it’s true, just a silly crush! One that he had been hiding for the last couple of years until a few weeks ago, when his friends took him out drinking, between drunken words he had confessed to his older friends the feelings he had been harbouring for you. 

“We know.” they all said in unison

And ever since then, they —especially Taehyung— had been pushing him into coming clean to you. With graduation happening today, it felt like it was Jungkook’s last chance to tell you before it was too late. 

He knows where you’re going to specialize after this and he knows he won’t see you for a couple of years and vice versa.

Jungkook will be able to go on about his life and get over whatever he’s feeling for you and that gives the opportunity for you to continue ahead with the idea that he’s your best friend and that he’s never felt anything for you. 

“Because maybe she feels the same way!” Taehyung argues and by the look on his face, it’s clear that he’s frustrated with his youngest friend “Like, y’know how Y/N is super smart, right?” He asks and Jungkook nods “Well, every time she’s around you she goes dumb! That’s the love effect.” 

Jungkook chuckles at his friend’s comment. The idea of you liking him back is actually sweet, makes his heart beat a little faster. But it’s just that, a mere thought. 

Because in reality, you’re always smart and never dumb enough to like him back.

He has a front row seat as you receive your diploma, the biggest smile on your face as you pose for the cameras and thank your adviser. Spotting Jungkook in the crowd as he claps excitedly for you, you send a wink his way, making his heart flutter in the process. 

And he feels like he should tell you. What’s the worst that could happen? 

Losing his dignity? He lost it years ago.

Rejection? He can handle it, it wouldn’t be the first time.

“Congrats, grad!” you say with excitement, after finding each other in the crowd of families and graduates “We did it!” 

“Yeah,” Jungkook chuckles, his heart is full of endearment as he watches you bounce with excitement in your heels “we made it, barely.” 

His heart is yelling at him to just do it now. He won’t have time later, what with your family wanting to take you out to celebrate and maybe his group of friends suggesting the usual post-grad Karaoke night. This is probably the last time Jungkook will be able to have you alone. 

In the corner of his eye he’s able to spot Taehyung, he’s far away but it’s clear that he’s dramatically mouthing TELL HER NOW! Seokjin, Namjoon and Yoongi are behind him, tugging at his suit’s sleeves so they’re able to drag him out of sight. 

“Hey, so…” Jungkook doesn’t mean for his voice to come out so shaky and you look at him with glowing eyes, excitement still bubbling in you “Uhm—“ 

Say it, you idiot. Just say it.

“Where are you going out to eat?” 

Fuck.

You chuckle as you tell him they’ll probably take you to some BBQ place and suggest if he would like to come. Jungkook quickly denies the offer and a few seconds later, you’re telling him that you should go and find your family.

Not before giving him a big hug and a kiss to his cheek, a friendly one “Don’t get too drunk tonight!” 

Oh, yeah... 

The worst thing that could happen if he tells you how he feels is that he’ll ruin your friendship. No biggie, right?

And you’ve been there for far too long, have put up with him through all his shenanigans, been too nice to him and he won’t fuck all of that up just because of a silly crush. 

Jungkook’s left to watch as you hurriedly spot your family, jumping with excitement into your father’s arms. The next second Taehyung is pulling at his ear, scolding him because he knows the graduate didn’t confess. 

He’s calling his older friends for help, but they let Taehyung have this, just this once. 

a/n: hello!! i decided to write this bc for the past drabbles the ‘‘med school vibes’’ have been mentioned n here’s a backstory to jk n reader’s friendship back then. i think this is a lil too long to be considered a drabble but wtvr. i did research those pharmaco questions n verified with my med student friends to fact check them lol hope all is well <3

[muthaz-rapapa]

[Disclaimer: This is just my personal opinion, I'll try my best to express it without make it sound rude. And you can disagree with me].

I understand Laura is your favorite character and she's been great so far, but for me I have a love-hate relationship with her. Like I said, Laura's a great mermaid-now turned human character, she really showed her care and determination to help her friends, especially Manatsu. However, there's a part of her that really annoys me and that's her tsundere side. I reaaally hate tsundere characters, not only they're annoying and irritating to the point I want scream and slap at them but they also comes off as rude b*tches. Now I know not all tsunderes are like that, in fact, there are some well-written tsunderes that I really like (Rin Tohsaka from Fate/stay night) because at least I know why they act like that and I relate to them. In Laura's case, in episode 16, it really frustrates me that she didn't open up to her friends and expressed her desire to become human to spend more time with them. Why? Was she too embarrased to tell them? Was it because she was still a proud mermaid?

Nevertheless, while she's not officially my favorite character, I still think she's a great character and I respect her.

[Of course I can disagree with you! You have your own opinion and I have mine, after all. Not being rude, btw, just thought it was funny that I was told I can disagree on my own blog, lol 😅]

Cool. 😀 No, really. I get it. You can totally respect something or someone but still not like them for whatever reasons you may have. Like, take my feelings towards Haruka (Go!Pri) or Hana (Hugtto) for example. I thought their arcs were very well done and inspiring and I greatly respect the people they've grown into by the end of their respective seasons. But up till today, I can't say that I favor them as characters. I don't dislike them or anything. I just don't love them.

And I'm okay with that.

For Laura, we all knew from the beginning that she was going to be problematic. And even though she's come quite a way since then, her flaws (arrogance, selfishness, the tendency to revert to tsun mode when she's too proud to admit her faults) are still glaringly present. It's only natural that those flaws are going to bother some viewers while also serving as a source of entertainment for others. Nobody can tell you how to feel towards a certain character. But it remains your responsibility to understand them and yourself to the best of your own ability. If you want to try to come around and it works, then that's great. But if you're still bothered by their behavior or actions and such, then that's perfectly fine, too. You have your reasons and you at least took time to find them. That's already more than what a lot of people are willing to try.

Just be smart and honest with yourself, make your peace with it and move on. And we're only at ep 18 so far, not even halfway through the season yet so who knows. Maybe Laura has more story to tell, more development to go through and more changes to undergo before the end. Maybe she doesn't and this is how she's always going to be from now on. Haughty and demanding but deep down, possesses a good heart. But the matter of whether you can accept Laura fully or not after all that's done is still entirely up to you. I won't judge you on your preferences because I wouldn't want someone judging me for favoring Laura either.

Now, regarding the tsundere issue, I'm in a similar boat.

Tsundere are not my cup of tea. I even hated them for a while.

But these days, it really depends on how well the character is written.

This is a trope after all. It should not take up 100% of the character's composition because that would just be terrible writing.

A good tsundere would have their tsun traits support their overall character, adding charm to their personality rather than dominating it and leaving no room for anything else on their profile.

Rin Tohsaka (she's awesome, I love her, omg QUEEN 😍) is one of the prime examples on how a tsundere should be done properly. It gives her such an adorable side to appreciate but doesn't take away from her incredibly complex story and intrigue as an individual.

For Precure, it's a trickier business because like I always say, Toei is very reluctant to move away from the archetypes they heavily rely on every single year.

You have to learn to look past that mold in order to see what makes this character so special, what makes them stand apart from the rest who look and/or act similarly to how they do. You need to really dissect them from head to toe in order to determine if they carry a quality you think you can get hooked onto.

Laura is not the worst tsundere I've come across but she is admittedly not the best either. Again, because it's easy to fall back on common and established patterns and the writers amped up those aspects because it's something every anime fan is already familiar with.

However, that doesn't mean Laura's a low grade tsundere. Her confidence and straightforwardness comes from her pride as a mermaid and desire to become Queen. From that angle, they can be seen as positive traits because it means she's not a pushover and sticks strongly to her beliefs.

But when she talks condescendingly to others, acts all superior because she's a mermaid and then tries to hide behind her pride as mermaid, that's when it's a problem. However, even that you can make some sense of if you put yourself in her shoes fins. She spent the first 10 or so episodes constantly bragging about how great she is and how much better mermaids are than humans. For some as prideful as Laura to take that all back just because she recently shifted lanes after learning that humans aren't so bad, it's actually a lot harder than you think. Frankly, it'd make less sense for her to open up so readily about wanting to become human than it would for her to deny she wants to become human. Learning to be honest takes time.

Also, her forthrightness comes in conflict with her trouble on recognizing that she is not indeed perfect...which is what activates her tsun wall. It's a defense mechanism. She doesn't want others to poke fun at her. It's uncomfortable especially when she can't even face herself yet.

But at least she's doing that less and less, though. The patronizing attitude, that is. She only boasts about being a mermaid now and doesn't put others down just because they're not mermaids like her.

Ep 18 plays up her tsun mostly for laughs as well.

From my perspective, it seems the humiliation she experienced on her first day of school (for overestimating herself and being completely unprepared for human lifestyles) was meant to humble her and deflate her ego after the novelty of school blew it up.

Except that only worked so much to a certain degree and Laura's still rather dishonest about her own feelings (read: embarrassed) that she has to go through such roundabout ways just to convey to her friends that "Yea, I want to be with you guys in the same club, that was my intention all along!"

It's annoying, yes, but also funny, too, to see Laura flounder about on land. 😆 And it's definitely a step forward rather than back so we should take that to mean Laura's still progressing towards becoming a better person than she is now. Hopefully.

But yea, like I said earlier, you make your own calls on your own opinions. And I respect that. 🙂👍

[justanotherlifeff]

Levi Ackerman × reader

Genre: Angst, Hurt/comfort, Fluff, matured themes, slowburn

Warning: There's mentions and descriptions of underage rape and suicidal themes and self harm.

Levi POV

The M.P expected us to turn Eren in after the failed operation but Erwin apparently had a plan. I woke up and went to the dining hall to find (Y/N) making tea. Just two cups for today. She avoided looking at me. Her eyes were puffy which meant she cried to sleep. I never thought the death of our comrades would make her cry. She didn't seem like someone who would cry about what happened in the past that easily. I didn't want to judge her though because even if I didn't see her get too close to anyone from the team, she still must have cared. 

"Rough night?" I asked her as she set down a cup of tea and some biscuits in front of me. "Yeah. A bit" she answered and took a sip of her own tea. There was an awkward silence between us as I didnt know what to say to her. "I wish I died instead. Things would've been better that way" she murmured again and took a biscuit from the plate. "Don't say that. What happened has happened. We can't change anything and I'm glad that you're alive. You're a big asset to the team" I replied. I knew I was bad at giving condolences to people but this probably was the worst I've ever done. 

"You aren't glad captain. Wouldn't you have preferred it if Petra was alive instead? After all, you were supposed to get married to her. I... I could've saved her you know. But I didn't because I had some personal issues with her. I wasted that one second of advantage that I had over the female titan just because I didn't know which would've been the right decision. The one I made was clearly wrong, by general ethics and also because it caused a lot more trouble for you and uncle Erwin. The most horrible thing about it is that I… I felt relieved that she's out of my way. I regret the fact that my decision made someone lose their child and someone lose their… loved one. What I did is a punishable offence and I would gladly accept my punishment." she said looking down at the table. 

I sighed at that. Of Course she had something to do with this. Someone with her level of skills could've easily gotten out of that situation. 

"(Y/N), I will be blunt with you. What you did was selfish, irresponsible and immature. I won't go on with the ethics here because I personally killed people who had a problem with me back in the underground. However, (Y/N), we are not underground now. We are up here where ethics have value. I personally made some very immature mistakes during my first expedition too, trying to kill Erwin. That got the two people I ever gave a damn about killed. I won't report this to the higher ups because I tried to kill a comrade on my first expedition too due to my selfish whims. However, (Y/N), if anything like this happens again, I won't hesitate to report to Erwin. I care about my comrades and you will have to take responsibility for such actions. The titans are already out to kill us during the expeditions and killing each other won't help humanity or your goals. I won't ask you to be ashamed of what you did. You made the decision and you are owning it. However, I am not proud of what you did. I expected you to be able to keep your personal feelings out of your job. By the way what do you mean by that deal about marriage? Petra had a crush on me but the feeling wasn't mutual. I wish I transferred her to another squad but I can't change anything now. Petra and I weren't supposed to get married. She just ranted about it to her father I suppose so that he could convince me." I said to her in a monotone voice, wondering if that thing about marriage that Petra probably bragged to (Y/N) about made (Y/N) make such a bad decision while her eyes widened.

 "But I saw you two kissing... " she started when I interjected "she just confessed her feelings to me then and kissed me out of nowhere and you opened the door before I could process the whole information and push her off me." I explained. "But she told me you are dating her..." she started again and I interjected again to say "She was bluffing" this time annoyed because she just isn't getting the message. "But why.." she started again and I stopped her again to say, "because I like someone else you idiot! ". 

At this point, she looked like someone punched her in the gut as a flash of regret glinted in her eyes. It passed in mere seconds before she looked surprised at me and asked, "Heichou, don't mind me asking but are you gay? And is that Eren?" The look on my face probably made her understand how ridiculous that theory is. Why did she even assume that? "Sorry for assuming. But if you're not gay, it must be Hanji.." she muttered and I could see a speck of sadness in her eyes. Does that mean she likes me too? 

"Why would I even like that titan loving shitty glasses? She's like a sister." I told her in my monotone voice. "Oh! So, is it someone I know?" she asked me. "You do know that I'm your superior right brat? You shouldn't be asking questions like this." I told her. "You told me that I can trust you. Doesn't that mean you should trust me too? And these trust businesses kinda make us friends right? Since we are trusting each other about things that are personal? And I thought friends talk to each other about stuff like who they are interested in." she told me with a straight face but her voice betrayed her. She was nervous. 

"What's in it for you?" I asked her. She can't know I'm interested in her. "Just curious. I'm not great at making friends and since I happened to make a friend by myself, I just thought I'll try to make a conversation. Sorry for bothering you captain." she muttered, without looking at me. "Look, it's best if you don't know. I like someone I'm not supposed to. If this gets out, both her and my reputation will be on the line." I explained to her with a serious tone. It was the truth. After a pause, she said, "I happen to be in a similar situation" with a smile. She really should smile more often.

(Y/N) POV

I felt like a complete idiot. Of Course Petra lied. It was all sinking in now. I got someone killed because I was a selfish piece of crap. And to add to my guiltiness, she wasn't even with Levi heichou. How could I do this to her? To her parents? "Why the hell are you still alive! Such a burden... Just get out of my house and die somewhere will you?!" I remember a voice shouting at me, a memory of my childhood, a memory from the underground that never left me. Was I becoming like her? That woman who sold me off to that brothel? Was I becoming like my biological mother? That woman broke every promise she ever made to me. Could I live with myself if I became like that? 

I decided not to think more of it because I probably would never be able to look in the mirror and tolerate myself. With that, I stopped thinking about it and just as heichou mentioned that he liked someone, I blurted out that I am in a similar situation without giving it a second thought.

Who was he talking about? That day after looking at Petra kiss heichou, I came to the conclusion that I have feelings for Levi heichou and I don't regret Petra's death because her absence made my insecurities go away. I felt like I'm a monster for thinking that way and cried quite a bit thinking how disappointed my parents could have been, how disappointed everyone would've been in general as I thought about it last night. I also thought that heichou just lost his fiancee and I definitely didn't have a chance because he probably would be too devastated to be with other women.

 Now that I knew the truth, I felt plain guilt, however, as there was the slightest possibility that the girl heichou likes could be me, I didn't have any intention to let go of this chance. "I'll tell you who I like if you tell me about you. That way no one can double cross each other." I said to him. "I don't feel comfortable about telling you who she is." heichou stated, not looking at me. I could see him blushing. It was a sight to see. 

"We could play a game of 5 questions. We will ask each other 5 questions and both can answer as yes or no. Is that okay?" I proposed. I personally always hated this game that Eren and my fellow members of the 104 trainee corps made up but at that moment, I couldn't think of any other way to get heichou to open my mouth. "Isn't that a children’s game?" heichou asked me, raising an eyebrow. "Well, yes but we don't exactly have things to do right now so why not kill time doing this?" I reasoned. "Yeah I guess we do have some time to kill.." he answered, sounding a bit unsure. 

"Do I know her?" I asked. "Yes. And is it a man?" he answered and asked.

 "Yes. Is she from the 104 training Corps?" I answered and asked again.

 "Yes. Do I know him?" he answered and asked.

 "Yes. Was she in the top 10 recruitments?" I answered and asked. A blush formed on my face. So he was into someone from our training Corps.. 

He looked away and said, "Yes. Is he from the 104 trainee Corps?" The tension between us increased.

 "No. Was she in the top 3?" I asked not looking at him. If he says yes, it's either me or Mikasa. 

"Yes. Does he happen to be a squad leader?" he asked. His body was tense and he averted his eyes from mine. I did the same since I was too nervous.

 "Yes. Was she in the first position?" I almost whispered. I was speechless. I never thought that slightest hope could become something so big. 

"Yes. Is he the captain of the survey corps?" he asked while running a hand in his hair. His face looked serious. He was interested in me. 

"Yes'' I whispered. I was so shocked that I didn't know how to react. I should've felt happy but in reality, I felt terrified. I knew why I felt that way. It's because the reality sunk into me. The world was a cruel place. Bad things happened whenever I believed in people. I wasn't ready to lose him. I didn't know if I ever could be ready for that. He looked at me with wide eyes. I could see the fear in them. He was scared too and I understood why he felt that way. He was right. This was impossible.

Levi POV

Did we just confess to each other? What the hell am I doing? This isn't like me at all. I seriously agreed to play this stupid game those cadets made up just to know who she had feelings for? I knew that if it wasn't me, I would make their life in the survey corps much more hellish than it already is. Now that I know that it's me, it bothered me that I would have to break her heart. 

However, this girl made me make all sorts of bad decisions and I couldn’t even hate her for it. I looked straight at her eyes. She was blushing and her eyes were as terrified and sad as mine. This wouldn't work and she understood it. I was glad that she understood the issue because explaining this would be a big problem. 

The silence was broken by Eren. "Hey (Y/N), you made breakfast?" he asked her cheerfully. (Y/N) muttered a "No" with her usual monotone voice. Eren didn't notice the tention in the room because of how stupid he is as he sat down beside (Y/N). "They are late.." I broke the silence.

 "I can't believe that good-for- nothing Erwin.. Making me wait. The MPs are going to get here first. Most likely.. He's having some trouble taking a shit." I stated which made Eren laugh while (Y/N) remained stoic. She probably still was processing everything. I took another sip of the tea and placed it on the saucer. 

"Heichou, you're pretty talkative today," Eren pointed out nervously. Of Course I was. I confessed to (Y/N) a while back and the situation just got more complicated. I was talking so much because there was too much on my mind. "Don't be stupid. I've always been talkative" I answered instead. 

"Eren" (Y/N) called out, her face looked like it had aged suddenly. I knew that she was about to talk about her contribution to the death of my squad to Eren. She seemed more worried about the squad's death.

 "I could've saved Petra and that would've saved Oluo but I didn't because of my own personal issues. I was wrong to do that. My priorities shouldn't be greater than anyone's life. I need to know if you can forgive me after hearing this." she told him, her voice monotone. 

"(Y/N)... I can't forgive you for the decision you made but, I made a wrong choice too. That was what got you in that situation. It all started from me. Back then, if only I hadn't made the wrong choice things might have been different. Even you were injured..." Eren stated, looking at me at the end.

 "I told you two. No one knows how things will turn out. Stop blaming yourselves for this. It's just how the situation was." I answered, shutting them up. The last thing the survey corps needed right now were soldiers that had regrets. Just then Erwin and the others arrived.

(Y/N) POV

Armin came to a conclusion that Annie could be the female titan. The plan was, when the military police would come to escort us, Eren, Armin and Mikasa would sneak out. They would take Annie to the abandoned underground city in stohess district and fight her there with some other survey corps soldiers and with Eren's titan powers. I was supposed to be with Levi Heichou and Uncle Erwin. Both of us were injured and we weren't allowed to participate in the fight. 

Everything was going according to the plan until there was a lightning and a gust of smoke. We knew the plan had failed. Commander Nile looked surprised and was talking to Uncle Erwin. I looked at Levi heichou. He was staring at the smoke. Suddenly he looked at me and said, "seems like plan A failed. We need to go somewhere safe until the fight is over. Go tell Erwin to make his conversation quick and get moving". " Yes heichou" I replied and went to Uncle Erwin. My mind was still stuck to the conversation we had this morning. Heichou was right. It was impossible. But... If I couldn't have the one I love, I couldn't reach my goal of happiness. In that case, what's the point of being alive?

To be continued... 

Taglist: @kingtamakimurder @realityisoftendisapointing

[lis-likes-fics]

Ragnarok Rant - Part Two

Are your crocs still on because this ride is only getting wetter.

Picking up from last time. Starting with the points we end with. Starting points: -335 points.

Hela Arrives on Asgard I like the addition of the Warriors Three. Question. Where’s Sif? Lady Sif and the Warriors Three are kinda, y’know, a team. So...where is she? Dead? On an adventure? What? I’ll go ahead and leave that there. I would add points but the Warriors Three weren’t bad so them dying isn’t really my favorite thing in the world. Next.

Thor Arrives on Sakaar The aliens asking if Thor was a fighter or food was amazing. I love how they don’t care that he looks like he could lift a building, they’re just like, ‘Well, he didn’t say fighter. Let’s eat him.’ That was great. +10 points.

As a person who really really really really really really really really really does not like Thor...the whole ‘fight’ scene, if that’s what you could even call that, wasn’t quite enjoyable for me. Thanks for that. +15 points.

Valkyrie (I know her name is Brunhilde, but since she never told anyone her actual name, I will go with what she clearly wanted and call her this instead.) showing up drunk was great. If you wanted comedic relief, Taika, this is a few ways to do it. Not changing he characters to how you would act if you were them. Because you are not them and writing based off of this is not how you do things with a franchise with a built foundation. +10 points for well-made comedy relief.

Someone paid attention to The Avengers. The addition of the Bilgesnipe corpse that Valkyrie falls in is great. It was nice actually getting to see this species for once, instead of just hearing it as a reference from Thor or Loki. +10 points.

Question. How did the blasts only get the scavengers and not touch Thor at all? That’s not really how that works. He would have had to be hit a couple of times to make it accurate. But I did like seeing some of her skills so I will give points. +5 points.

Thor really thought she was helping him because it was him? Ha, yeah right. Valkyrie saving Thor just to take him in herself was great. I’ll give points for that. +10 points.

She really just does not care that he is a Prince of Asgard. On this planet, Thor, and probably on any other planet, too, your royalty doesn’t matter much. +15 points

Hela Back on Asgard There you go, Taika. That’s how you put in some comedy, not abusing Loki. Abusing Loki is not how you get people to laugh. Things like Hela explaining who she was, what she meant to do, and how she meant to do it and then Hogan completely ignoring her and saying he would kill her without a second thought if she threatened the kingdom is gold. This is comedy. Not cruelty. +15 points.

The entire army of the Asgardians being no match for Hela is great. It really shows how powerful she is to be able to defeat all of the guards on Asgard by herself. Points for that. +20 points.

And there’s go Hogan. The Warriors Three are officially all dead. Hm, shame. Well, I guess this is just a very long process to getting what you deserve after all of that shit you pulled on Loki back in Thor and Thor: The Dark World. You know he didn’t fully deserve the death threats and immediate accusations.

Heimdall retrieving the Bifrost Sword was a nice touch. I enjoyed that, no matter how small it was. +5 points.

You doing good so far. Good job because we got from -355 points to -240 keep it up and you may be in the positives by the end.

Meeting the Grandmaster Thor’s reaction to being stuck to a chair is to immediately get out of it and kill whoever put him in the chair. If he was rocketing toward someplace, not knowing where he was going, he wouldn’t scream like he did. No, instead, he would brace himself and get ready to fight. Wrong. Losing points. -10 points.

I actually really like Grandmaster. He’s humourous and is superior and is just an overall good character. His comedic relief is nice, is a change of pace from what we’ve been given and I appreciate that. +10 points.

“He’s wonderful. It is a ‘he’?” Love it. Questioning whether Thor was a male or not was great. +5 points because I don’t like Thor. :P

The obvious dislike Topaz has for Valkyrie reminds me of me and my brother. It’s like her presence annoys the hell out of her and she’ll insult her whenever she can. She’s a relatable character and one you’re able to actually laugh at. She’s also a character that doesn’t hit Loki at any point, although she does try and get him melted when he interrupted Grandmaster... Anyway, good character. +5 points.

Inaccurate. “Just wait a damn minute. I’m not for sale!” Not how Thor would have reacted. He would have been pissed, but he wouldn’t say this. He’d threaten them with great violence, not just yell about not being an item to sell. -10 points.

That is also not how he would have introduced himself. He would eye Grandmaster and tell him, “I am Thor, the son of Odin. If you don’t unhand me I will unleash my wrath upon you.” Or some ‘threatening’ thing like that. He’s honestly not that threatening. But he would introduce himself as he always does. He’d put as much superiority in his voice as he could and announce his titles. -10 points. Thor’s really loving the negatives, isn’t he?

“Wow. I don’t hear any thunder. But on your fingers, was that like sparkles?” Great. Grandmaster is working for the positive points. +10 points for insulting Thor’s power.

Thor’s reaction to seeing someone getting melted would not be to yell ‘Oh my god’. That is not how he would have reacted. At all. He would probably mutter something similar under his breath if he was going to speak at all. No, instead of all of that, he would have struggled to get out once again, and when he couldn’t, he would have given threatening another go. The only character growth we ever really get from Thor was in the first movie when he was wayyyy more arrogant than he is now (though he is still quite so). -10 points. We are at -250 points. Thor’s really messing it up.

Loki’s Entrance Loki being in the background while the Grandmaster introduces himself was a nice touch. But I have to say that if Thor randomly showed up after a few weeks of being presumably dead, Loki would not walk up to him surprised and tell him to shut up about knowing each other. He would actually still be mourning Thor because, despite the fact that Thor would not have cared much about Loki presumably dying again, Loki would have cared deeply because he’s Loki. Making it seem like Loki doesn’t care about Thor’s death and Thor caring a lot about Loki’s is not accurate and it is actually opposite. -15 points for making it seem like Loki doesn’t care about his brother.

Thor would not be happy that Loki was still alive if he saw him. In fact, he would be pissed off that Loki was there because, unlike what people want to believe, Thor doesn’t really care for Loki. He would have been pissed off that Loki had been presumed dead again and suddenly made the whole “I’m alive” thing happen again. -10 points.

That wouldn’t be their interaction. It’s the whole Thor and Loki relationship that’s getting on my nerves. Loki would walk up to Thor and try to cover up the fact that he is happy that Thor is alive the best he could because he doesn’t want to seem like he really cares. He would address the fact that Thor is alive and then explain what happened. Thor would cut him off, deciding not to listen to him, as per usual, and talk himself about how he thought Loki was dead again and how Loki messed some shit up somehow and tell him that he needed to help him escape without any acknowledgment to the fact that Loki isn’t just some servant Thor could boss around. -20 points.

Guys, stop. In that one part where Grandmaster smiles and then looks over to Loki and bats his eyelashes, it is not because of the ‘favor’ Loki gained with the Grandmaster. It is obvious and made clear that the Grandmaster is pansexual and have you seen Loki? Of course Grandmaster would flirt with him. Loki, on the other hand, is uncomfortable with the Grandmaster’s looks. When Loki gained favor with the Grandmaster, it was not by having sex with him. We should know this by now. Loki knows how to gain favor and he has self-respect. He would not go to such lows for something like that. -10 points because the internet is not helping Loki’s reputation.

It is like Thor to emphasize just how ‘important’ he thinks he is. He’s just like this. He flaunts, he brags. Loki might say that he didn’t know Thor, but it would be because he sees Thor in a stuck to a chair by Grandmaster because the ruler decided Thor wasn’t important. He needed to protect himself from being thrown in the same chair so they had hope to escape. Getting himself thrown in the chair as well would not help and he had to act like he didn’t know Thor so he could find a way. +10 points for the whole Thor bit. But stop making Loki seem careless.

The threat was in character, but it would be less humourous for Thor. He wouldn’t laugh about it while saying it, he would have a straight face and tell Grandmaster to unhand him. Grandmaster, being the wonderful character he is, would not care about Thor’s threats and would carry on with his day as he does here.

Here is some of Thor being in character. Thank you for being accurate, at least a little bit. +10 points.

I have so many mixed feelings about Korg. I like his character, but I don’t like the fact that it is Taika playing him. I will, however, give points for Korg being a character that doesn’t insult or injury Loki and does not join in the whole ‘Let’s Abuse Loki’ Club. But I won’t add as many because Taika is the one playing and he hasn’t earned my respect. +10 points.

The rest of the scene was in character for Thor. It’s a good thing Thor didn’t try to crack any jokes or try and seem better than the asshole he actually is. +10 points for character accuracy.

It’s not looking so good. Points have risen to -275. Let’s see how this goes.

The Kingdom of Asgard The true history of the Asgardian kingdom was a nice touch. It was good in my opinion to finally have the whole ‘Odin conquering the Nine Realms’ to be brought to light after he tried to slide as a ‘benevolent king’ and tell Loki that you’re supposed to rule peacefully after all of the violence he unleashed onto all of the realms. +20 points.

The treasure vault was great. The ‘Infinity Gauntlet’ is a little strange because him having it with fake stones and a fake gauntlet all together is...something. The way she eyes the Tesseract, though, was nice to see. Another gesture to her similarity to Loki. +10 points.

As a person who absolutely adores wolves, Fenris was amazing and I love him and you get so many points for it. Also, it’s another gesture to Loki and mythology, so points for that as well. I’ll go ahead and do this. +50 points.

Look who’s being generous. Hela! Because we are now at -195 points. Keep it up.

The Waiting Room The prayer Thor says for Odin was an amazing touch that will be rewarded with lots of points. +30 points.

And so it begins. The Loki abuse. Of course, Loki wasn’t actually there, he sent an illusion of himself, but Thor threw the rock at him anyway, thinking, at first, that it was. This is not comedy, Taika, and it never will be.

Loki would try to reach out to Thor, even though he would know that his attempt would be useless, he would still try because he still cares. Loki would try to reach out to Thor so they could try to escape Sakaar. Thor, being the very bad brother he is, would completely ignore him and stick to the little things Loki has done, in comparison to Thor, and throw it in his face (pun intended).

+20 points for character accuracy. It would have gained you more if Thor hadn’t tried to find some small way to hurt Loki.

And Loki is right, he’s had to go it alone way more than once because Thor has never had Loki’s back, while Loki has helped Thor more times than he’d like to confess.

Can I just say, when Thor starts speaking about the things Loki had done, it did aggravate me. Loki did not strand Odin on Earth to kill him. If Loki wanted to kill Odin, he would have done it the day he impersonated him. Loki has the power to kill Odin because he is not weak. He wouldn’t have put him on Earth so he could live out his mortal days and eventually die. His intent wasn’t to kill Odin, it was to take his place as king since Thor had refused the throne after Loki offered it to him at the end of Thor: The Dark World. Bottom line, if Loki wanted Odin dead, he would have just killed him then. -10 points because of Thor.

That wasn’t exactly the right time to add Korg in for comedy. Even if I don’t dislike Korg as a character, his little bit was not appropriate at that moment. It did not need to be there. There was a serious scene where Loki and Thor are having a conversation about what they need to do and what has been happening. Korg’s bit didn’t need to be there, whether it was funny or not. -10 points for incorrect timing for comedy relief.

That concludes today’s rant about Thor: Ragnarok.

It ended better than it started and better than yesterday! Let’s see what we’ve got!

Starting Point: -335

Total Number of Points Given: +320

Total Number of Points Taken: -95

Total Number of Points: -165

To Be Continued...

[archer3-13]

since @agoddamn has been talkin bout star wars a lot recently, and cause i feel like sharing something i spend a weird amount of time one, heres some of my unedited thoughts on rewriting the prequel trilogy episode 1 below the read me

1

In a time of decline for the galactic republic, strife emerges on the planet of naboo. The nimean trade federation has enacted a blockade of the planet eager to strangle naboos resources and force unfair trade settlements upon the planet. Determined to bring a settlement to the matter and maintain peace and justice in the republic, the jedi council sends diplomats to arrange a peaceful resolution to the conflict. However, they arrive too late as the trade federation have escalated the matter into a full scale invasion of naboo itself.

We open on naboo in the midst of the invasion, the naboo security forces attempting to hold back the droid army but failing miserably in light of superior firepower. Quickly the droid army successfully capture queen Amidala with nute gunray threatening harsh punishments should Amidala not acquiesce to his demands. Amidala says ‘fuck you’ though not in those words, and nute decides to let her ‘cool her head’ well imprisoned [since privately he admits that said punishments would ruin the ‘economic potential’ of naboo since it would require more expenditure on their own part]. Meanwhile the jedi diplomats, quigon jinn and obi-wan Kenobi have arrived at the trade federation battle sphere under the assumption of peace talks.

When the TF attempts to kill them however, jinn had correctly guessed beforehand and that the TF would try to use poison gas in the attempt. Jinn and Kenobi successfully avoid the attempted murder and sneak down to naboo with a part of the invasion force. Kenobi is a brash padwan eager to get into the action to prove his worth, though with a sharp mind for tactics and negotiation as jinn points out. Well jinn is experienced but quirky, respected by the council but equally disliked for his unorthodox methods and tendency to disobey when it suits him. Jinn by nature is a ‘negotiator’ however, skilled as a duelist but most comfortable at the table and trying to encourage kenobis own skill as a negotiator instead of kenobis desire for martial heroisim.

On naboo they sneak into the capital, jinn discerning that if they can get queen Amidala away from naboo and to corecsant they can make a case for more punitive measures against the trade federation. Kenobi is eager for an opportunity to earn a name on the battlefield, convinced that some form of war is on the horizon and that he’ll finally earn his knighthood that way. Jinn however wishes to avoid an escalated conflict, hoping that if they get Amidala down to corescant and the senate then they can force the senate to act definitively and force the TF to back off through heavy diplomatic and especially economic pressures [economic pressures would hurt the TF the most since they value their bottom line over any particular ideology]. However in the process of escaping, queen Amidala ends up taking a fatal wound and dies in transit, additionally their escape flight gets damaged and forces them down to tantooine. [r2d2 shows up around this point as well, as a service droid that obi-wan vents to]

Jinn is at a bit of a loss. Without Amidala wars almost inevitable and they have a responsibility to the people of naboo to inform the republic about naboos plight. If they don’t war may still be put off but naboo will suffer, if they do then war will begin but naboo could be quickly saved. Kenobi well upset by the loss of queen Amidala, since he views it as a failure on his record in that padwan almost knight way, does find himself somewhat expectant for the coming conflict since it means a chance to prove himself and make up for the failure of protecting queen Amidala. Regardless, jinn ventures out to get a new hyperdrive for the ship along with Kenobi and one of the queens remaining ‘hand maidens’, in this case the young girl padme [14].

Padme is fierce and determined, unafraid of speaking her mind when it comes to it. But shes also equally uncertain in her opinions due to inexperience, a more well presented argument being capable of knocking her off balance so to speak even if the opposing argument is weaker overall. Thus well she has the makings of a masterful leader and politician shes untested and a skilled manipulator can easily lead her on. She also has difficulties accepting compromise, again in part due to her youth but more so as a general principle of character.

Padme is distraught over the queens death, but resolves to do whatever she can to not let it be in vain and so traverses moss eisely with them. During this time, jinn observes that padme is quite the thinker and powerful speaker in her own right, good at bartering and negotiating with others. Kenobi and padme strike up something of a retort at this time as well, padme holding a childish crush on the fledgling knight and Kenobi simply fascinated by the oddities in padmes behaviour [even teasing her occasionally about it, though he pushes her away seeing her both as too young, Kenobi being 24 and his age being part of his frustration in regards to promotion, and his duties as a jedi as being more important, which only increases padmes crush as Kenobi being ‘hard to get’ and a ‘cool jedi’].Browsing about for a hyperdrive compatible with their ship, they do eventually find one owned by watto and more importantly find slave Anakin working there [12].

Anakin is quite and mild mannered, shy and brash in equal measure as kids and preteens often are. He finds more joy in making machines and with his mother then in talking with others, and his innate talent with machines means he can be quite immersed in their little world and idiosyncrasies. Hes also an idealist at heart, looking up to jedi through the lens of colourful bedtime stories and swashbuckling tales. He also doesn’t get along with padme, not now anyways. Padme sees Anakin as an annoying kid distracting her from her crush and ‘adult work’ [even though shes only 2 years older then him]. Anakin, childishly, views her as a ‘smelly girl’ who gets freaked out by the smallest things [more so, padme is uncomfortable around machines then her being a scaredy cat]. They do both share something important in common, they both find it immensely difficult to compromise.

Anakin, drawn in by a trailing r2d2 and fascinated by the little droid, r2d2 being top of the line at the present time, overhears their troubles and starts trailing and peppering them with questions. Padme is annoyed, Kenobi is bemused but jinn, jinn seems drawn in. jinns tendency towards the unorthodox is usually derived from a powerful sense of intuition, something he believes is derived from the force and so he has a tendency to be better able to ‘sense’ things out and future events through the force. And Anakin, Anakin is going to be important. Not only is he incredibly powerful, but the force seems to coalesce around him in such a way as if to ‘whisper’ about the monumental destiny this child will have in shaping the future of the galaxy. Convinced that he has to protect this child and tutor him for his eventual destiny, jinn makes a gamble with the force immune watto. If Anakin wins the upcoming pod race, something Anakin had been bragging about doing soon, then jinn gets the hyperdrive and anakins freedom. If Anakin loses, then watto gets jinn as a slave. Watto ups the ante to include the naboo ship, despite padmes protest, since even if jinn is a jedi hes still an old one and a hyperdrive in mos eisly can fetch a lot of cash. Jinn reluctantly agrees to the new wager, assuaging padme and kenobis concerns with a ‘I know what im doing’ kind of nod and wink.

As they leave they notice that it will soon become dark, and traveling through the tantoinne desert at night is dangerous. Anakin offers to let them stay at his place, where they meet anakins mom. Anakins mother is the long suffering sort, a dutiful parent to her child who she sports an almost picturesque relation of mother and son with. Outside of that though shes harried by overwork and the difficulties of not only being a poor parent but a slave raising her own child. Anakin regals her mother with knowledge of Kenobi and jinn being jedi, and excitedly tells her about how when he wins the pod race tomorrow her and him will be freed from that nasty ol watto. Kenobi and padme don’t think too much on this, but jinn internally flinches, making a late night stop at wattos shop. Jinn tries to renegotiate, the mother, Anakin, and the hyperdrive if Anakin wins but watto is unwilling to budge. Either both of the slaves, or one of them and the hyperdrive is as far as watto is willing to go. Grimly jinn acquiesces and returns to anakins house.

Kenobis awake and waiting for jinn, burning with questions. How does jinn plan to ensure Anakin will win the race, why is he so interested in Anakin to begin with, is it even possible for Anakin to win? Padme, after having a brief comedy scene with Anakin whos quietly tucked away in bed now, follows up by asking why don’t they just arrest watto for slave trading and take the stuff? Slave trading is illegal in the republic after all. Jinn replies by emphasising that it isn’t that simple, tatoinne is in hutt space [padme having revealed a gap in her knowledge about outer rim affairs through her comments as a ‘core worlder’] so republic laws don’t apply here since it lays outside their jurisdiction. Tatoinne being hutt space is also why jinn wont be, or rather cant, help Anakin in the race as jabba the hutt will be attending in person so if jabba catches him using the force they can expect swift and brutal retaliation. Anakin will have to win on his own. Kenobi and padme both aghast ask how jinn can be so confident in this gamble when they have to rely on some slave kid, but jinn cryptically answers “because he can’t lose, the force would not allow it.” Much to Kenobi and padmes confusion.

Race day, and Anakin is off with some advice from jinn to trust his instincts “as they will never let you down”. The race goes as you expect, Anakin showcasing his prodigious skills in a pod racer as his rivals attempt to trip him up, the final burning out stretch, and finally Anakin does it crossing in a healthy first place to the euphoria of the crowd and the shock of Kenobi and padme. Anakin is ecstatic, until the bad news comes, shimi will not be joining them. Anakin is upset, that mean ol wattos up to his tricks and his faith in the jedi is already slightly shaken as jinn doesn’t just bust out his lightsaber. At first he refuses to go, but eventually shimi steps in. Shes scared of the prospect as well, sad at the parting, but she also emphasises that this is the best for anakins future. Jinn approached her the night before, apologizing for being unable to secure a deal with watto for her release and asking for her permission to train Anakin as a jedi. The prospect scared her even then, of not being with Anakin, but the better future it would allow for him was something she was determined to give him. Giving her blessings she has Anakin promise her to be strong, and to become the best jedi in the galaxy, something Anakin tearfully accepts going with jinn and the others at his mothers urging.

On the way back to the ship, darth maul attacks. He had been following them since naboo for some time now, and had finally managed to catch up on tatoinne. Kenobi takes the opportunity to almost immediately duel with darth maul, but quickly ends up on his butt as darth maul proves to be the superior duelist. Jinn is forced to intervene, urging Kenobi to get the others on the ship and get it going as he distracts the zabarak. They do, and in the nick of time as well jinn manages to hold his own with maul its clear that the ferocious zabarak has the upper hand in the duel, opening the hatch and giving jinn a smooth get away. Things have gotten even more dire, a sith lord has just been seen for the first time in over a thousand years.

Making their way to corouscent, Kenobi broods a bit over his falling short against the sith zabarak before being interrupted by padme and Anakin. Padme is there to console her crush, but Anakin interrupts with somewhat frantic questions about who that was, and if the zabarak was the near mythical sith that often get mentioned in jedi legends and tales. Kenobi confirms that yes it was a sith, and a powerful one at that affirming to Anakin for both of their sakes since Anakin is still shaken by parting from his mother and the siths sudden appearance that Kenobi will be the one to defeat the dastardly sith [even though on practical terms neither he or jinn can measure up to darth maul alone].

Jinn meanwhile takes time to inform the jedi council, now that they’re back in republic space and out of danger, as to whats happened on naboo and on tatoinne. The council is understandably shocked, dispersing to inform the senate of what has transpired and prepare the jedi order for whatever actions they may need to take in order to bring the conflict to a swift and decisive end. Jinn also takes the opportunity to inform yoda/mace about his decision to bring Anakin into the order for jedi training. Neither of them are thrilled about jinn once again dropping something like this on their laps, but they agree to atleast test anakins aptitude for the force once hes on corouscent.

Arriving on courescant senator palpatine, representative for naboo and a well loved senator by the populace though more so for the cult of personality hes built around himself then for his policy or voting record which is otherwise suspiciously light. Palpatine has of course been informed of the tragic death of queen Amidala, giving his condolences to padme Amidala the queens cousin which comes as a bit of a shock to Anakin and Kenobi though not to jinn who had already puzzled it out. Padme toddles off with palpatine to discuss ‘matters of state’ and get ready for their upcoming meeting with the senate well Kenobi, Anakin, and jinn head for the jedi temple.

At the temple, Anakin marvels at the temples architecture which has stood for thousands of years, but gets somewhat bored of it commenting on the temple being stuffier then he imagined. Kenobi admonishes Anakin for his disrespectful tone, but jinn laughs it off adding that yes the jedi temple has become rather stuffy these days. Though he takes care to tell Anakin to be on good behaviour for his meeting with masters mace and yoda as they will be measuring anakins talent for the force with what time they can spare. He also adds some encouragement however, reassuring Anakin that he’ll pass with flying colours. Passing through the temple they enter a private room with mace and yoda, who ask jinn to leave so that they can test Anakin.

We cut to padme and palpatine discussing the business of queen amidalas death and having padme relay the events of her struggles to palpatine directly. It’s a tragic blow to be certain for naboo, but palpatine stresses that to the republic senate such an incident will still not be enough to incite them to decisive action. Valerian, though how he does like the man personally he insists, is weak willed and mired in bureaucracy after all, he wont force the senates hand and he will move slowly in order to ensure everything is done correctly and to the letter of republic law. And if the senate does not care, which they will not even for a place as respected as naboo, for what they see as a local system matter, they wont force valerians hand. Padme is despondent at this, she knows naboo needs action now not later, and that time is already short as it is. What can be done to save the people her cousin died for? Palpatine smiles slyly, “fortunately my dear I have a plan already in the making. All you need to do is follow my lead.”

Back in the temple itself, Kenobi is practicing his saber play dueling with other jedi padwans and even upstaging a jedi knight. Regardless, he remains frustrated because of how easily maul toyed with him and is determined to turn the tables in their next encounter. Jinn talks with him to try and get a handle on these emotions, reminding Kenobi that such feelings of superiority and inferiority lead not just to unjedi like behaviour but poor actions in general. Pride is one thing, pride to the point of ignorance is another. Kenobi is not convinced however, annoyed by jinns interest in Anakin and frustrated over his own career, though he keeps such thoughts private and instead lies to his master in order to assuage jinns concerns. Jinn is also unconvinced by Kenobi, but before he can prod further is called away by master yoda. Jinn reluctantly leaves, but not before trying to reaffirm his words to Kenobi and reassure and steady his padwan. Kenobi, is ultimately distracted by his own thoughts however and once jinn leaves, returns to practice with intensity.

At the ‘testing chambers’ door, we see a restless Anakin pacing when jinn arrives. Anakins clearly nervous and frustrated, as master yoda won’t tell him the results of the test and windu left to attend to ‘matters regarding the republic senate’ awhile ago. Jinn helps to calm Anakin down, sharing an amusing anecdote about windu from jinns own past to help make the man less freightning in anakins eye and assuring Anakin that no matter what happens he will be there for him. Anakins touched, thanking jinn profusely but before they can talk more two things happen. First, master yoda calls for jinn to enter, and second a republic senate guard appears with orders to escort the young Anakin to senator palpatines office. Jinn is suspicious about the guard, feeling a sensation of dread in his stomach that makes him momentarily pause. Usually following his instincts on everything, jinn decides to ignore them this one time after a brief pause and watching a now cheerful but confused Anakin follow the guard. He can’t keep yoda waiting and logically he knows that palpatine is a friend of the jedi, one of the few senators who actually listens to them and has helped them out on so many occasions. Hes never been comfortable around the man personally, but logically there isn’t any reason he should be worrying right now so against his instincts, he simply says wishes Anakin to be safe, to return to the temple as soon as possible, and he sweeps into the testing chamber.

Inside, yoda offers jinn a seat to wish jinn graciously accepts with humble reverence. Jinn may be unorthodox, but he greatly respects master yoda and yoda has always personally liked jinn even if he thinks jinns behaviour is troublesome to deal with and borderline worrisome at times. Regardless, they are here to talk about Anakin, and yoda opens up with the good news as it were that Anakin is indeed immensely gifted with the force, perhaps unparalleled in raw talent as far back as yoda can remember. Not only that but Anakin is very bright despite his background, mechanically gifted and well not academically inclined perhaps possessing a sharp wit and creativity. So why so much hesitance jinn asks. Not only is it rolling off of yoda in the force, jinn can tell just by looking at the old master thanks to the years hes known the jedi grandmaster. So yoda spills that neither he nor windu are considering allowing the boy to become a jedi. The boy is unquestionably talented certainly, but such talent breeds arrogance and isolation. Hes sharp witted and creative but inflexible in his mindset and views. Jinn argues that that’s hardly any worse then many of the jedi in the temple, even if its to a more extreme degree. Certainly that’s what training is meant to help anakin to overcome in part. But the grandmaster is not finished, because well jinn is right in his assertions there is another thing that concerns both windu and yoda. Fear. There is a deep rooted fear in the boys mind, one that drives his faults to such extreme lengths. Such Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the suffering of all. Combined with his age, it all makes for a dangerous combination that both yoda and windu worry will lead to dangerous consequences should Anakin fall to the darkside. Jinn is resolute though, he made a promise, he knows that Anakin will be a turning point in the destiny of the galaxy he can feel it. If training Anakin is a gamble, then it’s a gamble they have to take. Especially with the knowledge that the sith are possibly returning right under their noses, if they let Anakin back into the galaxy without guidance then the sith will simply take what the jedi passed up. Yoda retorts that they have no intention of simply letting Anakin out there with sith running around, instead windu and him both agree that at the next council meeting they will suggest that Anakin should be sent to the agricorps where he can be protected. Jinn angrily says that he made a promise to Anakin, to anakins mother that Anakin would become a jedi so if the council will not deem to train him then jinn will in their stead. Yoda sternly retorts that that is not jinns decision, before dismissing him with jinn angrily storming out.

Anakin meanwhile has arrived at palpatines office, still confused as to whats going on. The senate guard leaves Anakin and palpatine to a private conversation at palpatines request. And for the most part its rather innocuous, palpatine simply wanting luke to tell his own version of the events, or atleast what hes witnessed so far, and an opportunity for palpatine to learn more about this fascinating young boy from Tatooine. Annies initially hesitant but gets pulled in to trusting palpatine through the mans charisma and ‘fun grandpa’ demeanour joking along with Anakin and encouraging him. The conversation drifts towards the jedi and anakins excitement about becoming one, and palpatine replies with enthusiasm that some fresh blood like Anakin is exactly whats needed to shake things up in the order. Why, palpatine would know hes a dear friend of so many jedi, hes even friends with dear old master yoda, so he knows that for as good and diligent as they are they tend to be mired in their old traditions. Yes, palpatine assures Anakin, he will be watching anakins career with great interest as anakin transforms the very foundation of the jedi. Anakin is happy, palpatine feeding directly into anakins burgeoning ego and hero complex. Palpatine gets a call from senator serrano, its almost time for the plan to go underway. He thanks Anakin for his time and calls for a senate guard to escort Anakin back to the temple. Work is afoot after all. He bids Anakin goodbye for now as Anakin is escorted back to the jedi temple, smiling disarmingly friendly all the while, before turning to his desk and calling for an escort to the senate chambers.

Finally we turn to the senate chambers themselves. It’s a flurry of activity as senators angrily try and talk over each other, hurl petty insults, cling to rules and planetary identities and generally create chaos on the floor. It’s a discussion over matters of the naboo occupation, images compiled by the late queens guard detailing the horrors experienced. Its compelling evidence and a number of more humanitarian minded senators call for immediate action, those in the pocket of the trade federation or who otherwise dislike naboo or interfering in other plants want an investigation. The undecided are waffling for a compromise. Valrean is failing as a chancellor, trying to instill order but lacking the charisma to do so and getting caught up quoting republic law and procedures to the infuriation of all. The chancellors popularity had already been in sharp decline but this chaos is only serving to foul opinion even further and its been like this since the arrival of the queens attendants. Finally that’s when palpatine and naboos representatives finally take the stand as it were, alongside a dressed up padme. Palpatine though his strength of words and charisma is able to calm things down to a manageable level, before directing their attention towards padme Amidala for an important speech.

Padme is obviously nervous, fiddling with her attire and hesitant to begin. Palpatine reassures her however, reminding her of the people shes striving to save doing this which reaffirms padmes confidence. Padme begins her speech and it is impassioned, briefly detailing the hardships the late queen went through in order to save her people. Padme appeals to republic pride, to humanitarianism, and then she begins the important part of her speech included at palpatines insistence. She begins tearing into chancellor valrean. She drags him through the mud, reinforcing that such a failure of leadership and republic unity has happened on his watch, that his leniency against the trade federation has allowed them to act with impunity, it has fractured republic unity, and that people died because valrean failed. Her speech finished it is met with resounding applause and enthusiasm, much to her disbelief and happiness, and much bullying of valrean by the attending senators. Senator serrano stands, and proposes that a vote of no confidence be held immediately and that should it past, a senator of his peers choosing be given temporary executive power until a proper election can be held. Serrano in the same breath proposing palpatine as a potential candidate with other senators quickly throwing their hats and choices into the ring.

The votes go through simultaneously, a landslide majority to remove valrean and by a narrow margin propose senator palpatine as his replacement. Padme is relieved, palpatine is pleased. The plan went off without a hitch. With his new executive power palpatine approves immediate republic action in the form of a republic security fleet and a jedi strike team being sent to liberate the planet of naboo from an illegal occupation. Again to much applause. The senate breaks so that palpatine can legally enact these actions as the temporary chancellor, and as they leave the senate chambers he praises padme for her brilliance. Padme however is fired up, and she insists on being down there with the security team as they liberate naboo. Palpatine goes one step further, he’ll have her have immediate command of the security fleet on this mission as palpatines representative much to padmes shock. Grateful, padme tells palpatine that she wont let him down, palpatine smiles and says “I know you wont my dear.”

Cut to the courescant docks which is now in a commotion as a jedi strike team prepares to sortie with the republic security. The council isn’t happy about this, since they more so view the jedis role as mediators these days as opposed to the warriors, dare say the hitmen since their role is to capture the TF command on naboo, the senate seems to want them to be. Still, republic security is horribly outdated by this point lacking in both training and equipment so the assurance of having jedi on hand to help out is a comfort to the security forces. Plus with the reappearance of a sith its likely that he’ll be involved in naboo in some manner considering his hunt for jinns group on Tatooine. So, knock out two birds with one stone bringing peace to naboo and hopefully cutting off this sith menace before it gets out of hand.

Jinn will be in command of the strike force due to his familiarity with the situation and his seniority. Aside from him will be his padwan Kenobi and fifteen jedi knights. Republic security will be commanded by captain tarkin, a spoken critic of the jedi order and a military activist in republic politics but one who runs a tight ship and has experience as a commander. Jinn informs Anakin that anankin will not be coming on the assault despite anakins protests due to the danger it presents and that instead Anakin will be in the care of the temple for now. Jinn also informs anankin that a decision on anakins acceptance has not yet been made, but he lies that he feels confident in anakins chances. Anakin pouts and makes a reluctant goodbye and jinn prepares to leave with the strike team, though anankin quickly sneaks away and on board one of the republic security ships which takes off for naboo.

We cut to naboo at last, in a state of disrepair due to TF occupation and the once pristine landscape now being prepared for industrial work and TF factories in which the population will “work diligently to pay off their debts”. Naboo security forces have organized small resistance cells and have been trying to hit the TF wherever they can but they have yet to make a break through, and have been demoralized by rumors of queen amidalas death. They intercept messages however that the republic security forces along with jedi will be coming to naboo in short order to liberate it from TF control once again invigorating the nabooians to begin the fight for the republic. So when the republic does arrive, they arrive to open conflict in the naboo streets much to tarkins irritation. Not only do they have to retake naboo, they now have to do with naboo security forces getting in the way. Jinn proposes they alter the game plan, instead of a first strike to take the capital by surprise the security forces will draw out the bulk of the TF droid army well the jedi strike team will infiltrate and arrest nute gunray for his illegal occupation and shut off the droid army with the captured nutes help. Tarkin begrudgingly agrees despite his own desire to bomb key targets and sweep up as a matter of efficiency when padme agrees to jinns plan. Not to mention that nute gunray has managed to bring a TF battle sphere to the party which means the space battle is likely to be far more intense then anticipated. As such ten jedi will sortie to help in the space battle and the other seven including jinn and Kenobi will arrest gunray along with security soldiers [led by padme at her insistence, which tarkin allows since it makes his job easier not to have her hovering around his shoulder].

So the alarms start blarin and people rush to their battle stations. Anakin is caught having snuck aboard after accidently sneakin on board the shuttle padmes team are using to land in an effort to hide himself. With no time to spare as the space battle erupts into chaos he tags along with padmes team who get separated from the jedi team during the chaos. Each group will take a different route, padmes group making a stop near the prisons and the broadcast system to help rally the nabooian people and the jedi making a beeline for the TF command. Things generally go well, Anakin and padme develop more of a camaraderie and retort during this time as he proves surprisingly helpful both in his mechanical knowledge and his skills with a blaster, and Anakin comes to more so admire padme as she displays her own appreciation of his skills and shows off her own skills. Eventually the jedi and padmes group reconvene in the hanger bay, the jedi having chased nute gunray to here after discovering that the rest of the TF command has moved to the battlesphere in orbit. jinn is upset that Anakin tagged along but glad hes safe and Kenobi frazzled and on edge biting a bit. Before anything else can really happen however, darth maul makes his appearance.

Maul had been serving as something of an enforcer for nute gunray on sidiouses behalf, casually putting down groups of naboo security resistance and being the silent ‘muscle’ to gunrays brains. If only on mauls masters orders. Gunray retreats and gives maul the order to capture padme and eliminate the jedi, one which maul is more then happy to do. Jinn sets up to take on the sith lord with four of the knights and tasking Kenobi and another knight to protect padme much to kenobis irritation. Kenobi at first follows this order, but veers back to the fight shortly afterwards in a moment of ego to the knights panic. Anakin meanwhile sneaks onto a naboo fighter in order to help clear the way for padmes group to stabilize the situation but suddenly finds himself in an automated take off along with other newly activated fighters as they head off to support the space battle above naboo. Padme is panicking herself but remembering that palpatine said hes counting on her marshals her spirits to help direct the battle in the naboo streets as the current available highest ranking political officer.

Meanwhile the lightsaber duel is not going well. Despite being five on one maul is easily toying with his jedi attackers if still pressed on the defensive. Using clever tactics however maul is able to bait out two of the knights further from the others and quickly cuts them down with the opening to the horror of the others, causing a third knight to rush in out of a desire for vengeance but get cut down easily as well. Kenobi attacks maul at this point having witnessed the death of the other knights, forcing jinn from taking a more defensive strategy to an aggressive one despite jinn initially switching to that out of caution. three on one prove to be capable of handling maul for a little bit but maul manages to push Kenobi out of the way and kill the last of the knights before engaging jinn one on one. Jinns clearly getting pressed but hes able to hold his own fairly well against the superior duelist through clever force powers and flexibility as well as using the zabaraks anger against him.

Everything effectively climaxes at once during this point. Anakin panics at first in the space battle but is able to regain control and help land the decisive victory for the republic through his prodigious piloting skills. Padme helps to bring control to the battlefield of naboos capital and keep their forces holding out until the battle sphere is destroyed and the droids lose central command making them easy to mop up. Jinn and maul continue their duel and for a moment jinn is able to gain the upper hand, however Kenobi in a brash bullheaded desire to triumph over the sith rushes into the fight costing jinn the victory as jinn in the chaos of the fight sacrifices himself to push Kenobi out of the way of a lethal blow. Kenobi is devastated and at first tries to overwhelm maul in a rage. Maul being far superior to Kenobi as a duelist is easily able to overcome Kenobi even taking the time to mock and taunt Kenobi in a silent playful manner [the cat enjoying its catch as it were]. Maul has Kenobi on the ropes and is about to finish the job, but a dying jinn takes the time to try and interfere against mal with the force. Kenobi, coming to realize his own foolishness and touched by his masters care and desire to protect him “releases his anger into the force” and calms his mind, allowing him to reengage maul and catch him off guard wounding the sith across the chest and causing maul to limply fall down a reactor pipe thing. Its Kenobis victory effectively but its bitter sweet, as Kenobi grieves a dying jinn who insists that Kenobi take care of Anakin and train him as a jedi before bidding Kenobi a tearful farewell as a master to a student.

And so victory at naboo! Anakin lands his ship to a heroes welcome, padme involved in the celebration and giving an impassioned speech about naboos freedom from TF invasion, and Kenobi grieving over jinns dead body and the fallen jedi on this day. We cut to a quite and somber funeral for the fallen knights and jinn, a previously joyful Anakin and padme saddened by the loss of the man alongside a precision of jedi and a newly minted knight Kenobi. If one sith was capable of this, capable of besting one of the orders currently best duelists [despite jinns protests], then if any more of them exist then the jedi order is sorely unprepared. More stubborn members of the council and palpatine insist that the sith threat though brief has now passed once more and not to worry about it but yoda and windu aren’t convinced and Kenobi is inclined to agree with them, even working past the grief. It is here though, privately, that Kenobi makes lay to jinns last wish. Regardless of the councils feelings on the matter, Kenobi will see Anakin trained. In the future, Kenobi will adhere to the council as strictly as possible and never defy them again if they give him this one time to honour jinns memory, though the validity of that claim is not a certain truth. Windu and yoda still aren’t sure, but they relent as a matter to honour the late jinn and shelter the obvious talents of Anakin skywalker.

Cut again, this time to the celebrations of naboos liberation. It is an intensely joyous affair, fireworks music and banners everywhere. Anakin is clearly enamoured with it, him being one of the people directly honoured by the celebrations, but he is also still sad about jinns death. Palpatine comforts him a little in the grandfatherly way he had previously and expressing his interest in anakins future career as a jedi. Kenobi talks to Anakin about it, expressing similar grief and helping to cheer Anakin up promising to always be there for Anakin. Both as his master and as family though only privately espousing the family bit to himself. Anakin is now able to enjoy the celebrations in Ernest and he and Kenobi enjoy the day together and the promises of a brighter future. We end however with the reminder that this tale will end in tragedy, as the now official chancellor palpatine, thanks to “his victory on naboo”, watches on in bemusement before quietly slinking away into the shadows. “Great things are afoot. Great things indeed.” He book ends with a sinister tambour, and cut to credits.

[lyricalt]

[ovw] steel / soul

Rating: T CW: violence, self-destructive behavior Note: Blackwatch era. Not very romantic, but, uh.

McGenji Week - Day 4: steel / soul

There’s a thing about most Blackwatch agents; there’s no sense in being humble. Being humble gets you nowhere fast and wins you zero favors with your handlers or captains. With the majority of Blackwatch made from criminal volunteers, you’re always on a bid for higher things—rank, pay, commissions, you name it—and sometimes a reputation is all an agent has to bargain with.

McCree knows how to brag. It’s nothing as obvious as grandstanding in the practice ring or oversharing his latest mission in the mess hall. Most people get it. He tells it like a rapidfire of bullseyes into five different targets or a written report with a killcount that Overwatch has to censor with more black bars than words. His scores in the firing range speak volumes more than any exaggerated bluster he can come up with.

Genji, he notices, has his own way of bragging. It’s subtle, though it has a habit of annoying McCree to no end. He sees it, every single damn time.

They all have their tells. Genji’s footwork is impeccable. His technique is solid. He’s fast. McCree cannot rightly find any faults without being nit-picky or petty.

But the thing is—the thing that bothers McCree so much—is seeing how Genji draws his sword with a flourish, a single spin with a turn of his wrist. It wastes a half-second of time. It’s not a habit and McCree doubts it’s a salute. You wouldn’t salute an enemy on the battlefield, after all.

It’s not something to get worked up over, but the next time Genji draws his sword in the practice ring, McCree shoots the blade from Genji’s hand before he can complete the flourish.

It’s insulting that Genji assumes he can afford that half-second against McCree.

The sword flips artlessly through the air, skittering across the floor with a terrible grating noise, metal against concrete. Genji’s empty hand flexes, fingers curling into a fist.

“Hey,” McCree says, reloading. “I’d appreciate it if you took me seriously.”

For a breath, Genji doesn’t move. He doesn’t even blink. McCree thinks he might’ve broken some circuits inside Genji with the remark, some part of the cyborg resetting itself to focus all its attention on him. The stilted way Genji starts turning his head reminds McCree of an omnic coming to life, blinking lights and shuddering mechanical parts not quite the same as human movement.

Genji walks back to pick up his sword, angling his foot beneath the blade to lightly kick it in the air so that he can catch it by the hilt. At first, McCree thinks it’s another gesture to show off, another kind of trick like kicking up a soccer ball, but the moment the hilt hits the flat of Genji’s palm, his wrist turns and his hand shifts into a grip.

Genji’s next move is to hurl his sword straight at McCree, one fluid motion from ground to air.

Funny how that looks entirely human, despite all the inhuman force behind it. McCree thinks he can actually hear the air being sliced, and then his second thought is—holy shit.

Might’ve said it aloud too, for all he knows. Genji’s sword comes windmilling at him, spinning so fast that it looks like a perfect steel disk flying across the room. The only good thing is that it’s an easy target to shoot, and McCree’s bullet sends it twisting off course.

The blade comes a shade too close to nicking McCree’s arm, but McCree doesn’t dare turn around to see where the sword has landed—though landed may not be the right word for it. He can hear the wall crack behind him, and it’s a wonder that it doesn’t do something ridiculous like split it into two, judging from the echoing sound alone.

After that, the rest of the fight seems a touch off-kiltered. McCree remembers going purely on instinct, every nerve and muscle on alert to simply keep up. Genji becomes a blur of motion, eyes gleaming red as he rushes McCree without a sword. McCree shoots, his own footwork steady and even. He can do fine, so long as he keeps enough distance between them, but Genji dodges death like the devil himself, and what bullets he doesn't dodge, he allows to sink into his mechanical parts without a care.

At one point, McCree tries to reload, flicks the empty cylinder of his revolver open, his finger hooked over the trigger guard. The gun dangles for a moment, caught in a half-spin.

A shuriken clips the side of McCree’s gun, effectively shutting the cylinder before McCree can shove the fresh cartridge in. He glances up, too caught up to register what had happened, and suddenly Genji’s foot his pressing too hard into his chest.

Now it’s McCree’s turn to know that he cannot afford to waste even a half-second with Genji.

All the air bursts from his lungs. McCree can feel something crack inside him, and he hopes it’s only his armor. It happens so fast that the fear hasn’t even caught up in his mind, only his body responding to the surge of adrenaline.

He flies back, hitting the ground and tumbling for what seems like too long. McCree can hear the multiple pings of his scattering bullets, but he’s got all his training to thank for the ability to go through the motions of reloading again, hands on automatic as he shoves a new cartridge into his gun. No more stupid half-spin anymore—he’s learned now.

When McCree finally slides to a halt, he raises his gun, body burning in pain, but his eyes are quick to pinpoint Genji running towards him.

It might’ve been all the gunshots Genji had taken on purpose, or his cyborg body failing him, but Genji is noticeably slower. It doesn’t make him no less dangerous though. In fact, McCree feels his heart go sideways, gone all slippery inside his chest before freezing in place. It takes a moment to realize the fear—flight or fight, and every nerve is screaming at him to run.

Genji’s got a the kind of staggering gait that puts McCree on edge. The look in Genji’s eyes is just the tiniest bit unhinged, not quite all there or all conscious, or whatever the hell you’d call something rational.

No time to waste, don’t even fucking think for a second. McCree shoots Genji with all he’s got, going for every weakness he can pinpoint, and when he runs out of bullets again, McCree rolls to his feet, ready to meet Genji’s raised fists with a punch of his own.

To his surprise, his fist connects with Genji’s face. Genji’s metal faceplate cuts over his knuckles, but Genji himself seems to pause, head turned to the side as blood drips from inside his mask and down to the floor. He bleeds, everywhere and all over.

“Just what are you trying to prove, Agent McCree?” he asks, words all cut up into a harsh rasp.

The sound of Genji’s voice shocks McCree into backing away, and he dimly realizes Genji had not said anything until now. He knows of Genji’s usual silences, his reputation among the other agents as either cold or morose, but McCree hasn’t known Genji to be like this.

“You are the best agent in Blackwatch,” Genji continues, straightening, and his voice seems to slow into a sardonic drawl, “Or so I’ve heard.”

His arm clicks, the glint of shuriken poking through, but McCree shoots the mechanism until it jams, and Genji’s hand flinches away. Something in Genji’s gaze tightens at the corners, pain apparently something the cyborg isn’t immune to after all, but McCree catches the satisfied flicker in Genji’s eyes, as if he had only been testing something of his own agenda all this time.

“How serious do you want me to take you?” Genji asks, raising his free arm.

He throws a punch, fist blurring, but McCree has been waiting for it. The blow gets blocked by McCree’s revolver, metal clashing against the synthetic part of Genji’s forearm and tangling with a corded artificial nerve.

For all that, McCree doesn’t have an answer. He starts to realize that Genji has no reason to brag, or make favors with his superiors and handlers. Blackwatch has such a thorough hold over him that it wouldn’t matter at all if Genji chose to improve himself or not. Genji as a failed agent would still be some kind of success in a different field, and Overwatch would only need to shuffle him around or rebuild him to prove it.

McCree lowers his arm, numb with the realization that he had tried to train the flourish out of Genji, the little spark of personality in his swordwork that he had indulged in. An unexpected pang of guilt hits McCree, but Genji immediately lunges at him.

“Thank you for showing me a flaw in my technique, Agent Mcree,” Genji says, grappling for McCree’s gun, trying to pry it from his grip. “But I will tell you something else—”

Genji’s broken arms are still strong, cybernetics causing his armor to heat up and steam. The gun gets yanked from McCree’s hand and Genji pulls the trigger, muzzle aimed at nothing, and doesn’t even blink when it only clicks to an empty cartridge.

“—I don’t care,” Genji finishes, tossing the revolver to the side, but his body goes taut, still poised to fight.

McCree slams him into the ground, heart pounding, and keeps his hand pressed to Genji’s broken faceplate, watching the blood pool beneath them and hearing it gurgle in uneven, angry breaths, until Genji goes limp and finally, finally falls unconscious.

McCree sits back, eyes fixed to the ceiling for a long while after.

[korogaki]

Young Love

Here’s the other half of the present for @midnightmunchies. I hope you enjoy it! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! ^.^ Link to ao3

“Kizashi, can you believe how time has passed? She’ll be attending the Academy soon!” “Do tell! I am quite emotional, if you ask me.” The kid could hear her parents talking in the kitchen. While it was heartwarming to know they were excited for her, there was an uncertainty in her soul regarding the whole ninja thing. It was something new, strange and kind of scary. Everyone knew that being a shinobi was not kid’s play. Was she actually cut for such a demanding job?

Shortly, Sakura joined them for breakfast, but she stayed quiet for the whole time. At first, her parents didn’t notice, as they carried on with their conversation about all sorts of stuff from supplies their daughter would need to small gossip. After a while, though, Mebuki realised Sakura had barely touched her food. There was also an obvious emptiness in her eyes; those were alarming signs to a mother. “What’s wrong, darling? How can we help you?” She didn’t reply immediately; the girl kept staring at her omelette for a bit. Eventually, she muttered that nothing had happened at all. It was clear that she was lying. Kizashi opened his mouth, attempting to say something, but Mebuki thought it was for the best to not push the matter for now, signaling her husband to stop. “How about the park? Would you like to go there with me?” While Sakura wasn’t exactly very sociable, she still enjoyed going out. Maybe some fresh air would help clear her mind. She nodded.

She finally ate something from her plate, then left the kitchen to dress up. For some reason, this walk got her really excited.

“I don’t really feel like going out.” “Sasuke, you could  make some friends before entering the Academy. It’s more important than you think,” his mother explained. “I’m not interested in such thing. Itachi is strong and doesn’t really have friends, so what for?” “Actually, I have some, thank you very much,” interfered his older brother, who had just entered the living room. He was ready for training, all dressed up in combat clothes. “Name one friend of yours that isn’t Shisui,” demanded Sasuke. The boy seemed determined to prove  his point to everyone, just for the sake of staying indoors. “Izumi is really nice company.” “Girlfriends don’t count.” Itachi turned red upon hearing his little brother. He covered his face with his hand, then replied almost whispering “We’re not exactly together.” He wasn’t telling the truth.

Itachi agreed with his mother about taking Sasuke out, he knew too well how important it was to have someone to rely on and treat you as an equal. He had a hard time at his age since he was an Uchiha. Despite having access to some sort of special treatment both for his name and skills, his classmates would never give him a break from all of that. While he had handled well the so-called bullies (that never did much besides teasing), he wanted the best for Sasuke. Having a good start was important.

“But what if I come with you?” asked Itachi, with a bright smile. Sasuke’s change of mood was sudden and dramatic. His eyes were big and brighter than ever. His brother’s presence in his life meant so much to the boy. “What about training?” “I think I could use a break from time to time. Anything for the kiddo, right, mom?” Mikoto only answered with a warm smile of approval.

It was sunny outside, but the breeze was a bit too cold for the end of March. The village wasn’t very busy, and neither was the park. Only a few kids were out, playing group activities, enjoying themselves. Sakura, on the other hand, did not dare to interfere, despite wanting to join them. Her mother could tell so, but she was very much aware of how her daughter didn’t want forced friendships because of her meddling; Sakura thought it would be awkward and embarrassing.

“You should try at least, darling.” “What if they think I’m… annoying?” Sakura worried at her bottom lip, eyes watery. “Oh, come on, they don’t even know you, no one could be this mean!” Her daughter just shrugged and looked up into the bright blue sky. She hoped it would rain, but no clouds seemed to gather at all.

The sound of some steps distracted her from staring into the void. Her eyes were now glued to the people who were approaching the park. The girl assumed the two of them were brothers, even though the only thing they visibly had in common was the pitch black hair and fair skin. One of them had a combat uniform on, but he appeared to be relaxed and carefree, grinning and having his attention focused only on his younger brother. The latter seemed to be bragging about everything going through his mind, as Sakura noticed he did not shut his mouth for one second.

They must have a wonderful bond.

However, when Sakura thought they were approaching her, she turned her gaze down, to the grass; she felt so intimidated. “Oh, are they not Mikoto’s children!” she heard her mother saying. Mebuki waved her hand, and the older brother did the same in return. Now they were clearly walking in their direction. Sakura freaked out on the inside, but then saw how the younger brother no longer had the same enthusiasm as before; he had grown  quiet and his moves were now minimal. “Long time no see, Itachi! How you’ve grown!” “Haruno-san, really glad to see you. I suppose she is your daughter?” Before the blonde could respond, the little girl spoke up. “Sakura, nice to meet you two.” She was now a bit more confident in herself. She smiled and looked directly into their eyes with warmth and kindness.

“Come on, do the same. It’s really not that hard,” whispered Itachi to Sasuke. While he had his arms crossed to his chest, probably trying to show some superiority, his insecurity was given away by the lack of eye contact with the girl. “Sasuke,” he proceeded to say after a few seconds. The boy finally looked into her eyes, and he noticed just how big and mesmerising they were. As he stared into them, his cheeks caught a pink tint, but so did Sakura’s. Her distinct features were something new to him, but also captivating. Another thing that stood out in her appearance, besides her odd pink hair, was her forehead.

Is it normal to have such a big forehead?

“Don’t just stand there, get to know each other! Who knows, you just might end up in the same classroom next week!” said Mebuki.

“Maybe they feel pressured, Haruno-san,” chuckled Itachi. “If you feel like it, mom is free today. I think she would be pleased to spend some time with you. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on them.” Mebuki pondered if she should let her daughter alone. But she noticed immediately how Sakura gave her a reassuring look, just like the older Uchiha. “I suppose I can trust you with this, Itachi. But be careful nothing happens to my beloved daughter!” she tried to sound fierce, yet her voice slipped into (ma playful tone “I’m sure that won’t be the case,” Itachi smiled in return. “Nice to meet you again, Sasuke. Sakura, take care! I won’t be gone for long.” “See you, mama!” she waved to her mother, then turned back to Sasuke. The two of them sat down on the grass, while Itachi made himself comfortable under a tree’s shadow to study some strategies. However, he was still careful the two children wouldn’t wander off on their own.

“Your brother is a ninja, am I right?” Despite Sasuke being the one asked, she gazed into Itachi’s direction, still fascinated with his uniform and overall way of being. “Not any ninja, mind you!” Suddenly, his excitement returned. “He became an ANBU member at 11 years old! I so want to be like him!” “Yeah, right…” she smiled politely and just nodded. The girl didn’t know how the rankings worked yet. She could tell, though, that Sasuke was really proud of his brother. “I think it’s cool that you already know what you’re aiming for in your future. I am still not sure what being a ninja actually means.” “What do you mean you’re not sure? Being a ninja means becoming strong so you can protect the ones you love!” Anyone could tell the kid genuinely believed in his words. And to Sakura, it somehow made sense. She always expected a sophisticated explanation of what a ninja has to do, but Sasuke’s point of view was a good start for her. Suddenly the Academy was no longer a dark mystery, but rather something she grew eager to discover. “But it’s tough to get at the top, so beware of everything,” he advised Sakura. “Is this a challenge, Sasuke-kun?” “I’m just saying I will do what I can to get at the top,” he tried to sound cocky and confident. “If you are so determined, then I’m rooting for you.” With such kind and selfless words, Sakura unawarely disarmed Sasuke of his earlier attitude; his face was once again warmer and pink. “You’re annoying,” he muttered. The girl was at first shocked and hurt by his reply; her eyes even turned a bit wet. But as she knew better than just crying, Sakura took a deep breath and gave him a piercing look. “That’s rude of you, ya know? I bet you don’t have any friends!” “Do you, though?”

Silence fell between the two of them for a while, as they frowned at each other. Shortly after they suddenly burst into hysterical laughter, as they couldn’t take each other seriously anymore. “Then that makes two of us,” Sakura managed to say after they calmed down. “But I think we have plenty of time.” “You think so?” “Mhm,” she nodded in approval, “For starters, I’ve heard we have to learn to work in teams. That usually means at least 3 people.” He now appeared a bit thoughtful. Why 3? It was an abstract concept to Sasuke for the moment. He wanted to argue that Itachi was doing well on his own, but that would’ve been a lie; he wasn’t exactly on his own, since he had Shisui by his side. Still, they were two.

“Nee, Sasuke-kun, what’s your favorite food?” the girl inquired. “Uhh, that’d be rice balls with tomatoes,” he replied. “That’s as easy dish to make! Maybe, one day, you’d like to try some made by me.” Her kindness was overwhelming to Sasuke, so he couldn’t help but blush for the millionth time that day. The girl really was annoying. But he had to admit he really enjoyed her company. “It would be nice.” Sasuke simply decided to just stare at her again, this time in a more obvious manner. This made Sakura question his decision, so she gave him a concerned look. After all, it was justified.

To him, her appearance was odd, but not necessarily in a bad way. All her traits were different from what he had seen until meeting her. What he noticed this time is how she wore her hair; it was short. Really short compared to the girls in his clan. It was also relatively spikey and kind of messy. “Have you always worn your hair short like this?” “Since I can remember, yeah. I like it this way.” “That’s such a shame, Sakura,” he tried to tease her, “I have a preference for longer hair.” She refused to fall for this, though. “But you said being a ninja is about being strong and able to protect your family. I don’t want my hair to get in my way. None of us can have it all,” she stuck her tongue out at him, and the boy laughed in return. “You certainly aren’t dumb.” “I have a good memory, that’s what my parents say,” she said proudly, “but if you really like someone, the haircut won’t matter.” “How can you be so sure?” “The duckbutt haircut is not my favorite,” her dorky grin was large and really funny looking, but Sasuke only wanted to hide his burning face. She did that thing again and it was simply embarrassing. And how dare she call his haircut in such way? He put his hand through his hair and almost whispered “It’s not a duckbutt. And you barely know me.” “I can tell that you are cute and somehow kind, despite your tough shell.” “…Thanks, I guess.”

For a short amount of time, they stayed silent as they looked nowhere at all. Laying in the grass, now, just like that, the kids felt good. Sakura was fascinated by Sasuke and felt like she had to know more about him. Plus, she also found him extremely cute. Teasing him about it was kind of funny, to a certain point.

Sasuke felt her pushing his shoulder lightly. She was now standing up and jumping from a leg to another. “Tag! You’re it!” To that, he couldn’t help but smirk. “You asked for it, Sakura.” Their giggles could be heard by everyone in the park, but they didn’t seem to notice, and neither did they care. They were enjoying themselves and it’s all that mattered. Itachi felt accomplished, knowing he helped his little brother realise something very important.

“Who gave you permission to skip today’s training?” he heard someone from behind, trying to sound bossy. Of course it was no other than Shisui. “I did,” he replied nonchalantly. “That’s not like you at all.” He paused and looked around. It took him a while, but he was extremely surprised to see that the boy running around with that pink-haired girl was Sasuke. Usually, he would be cold to anyone but his brother, so this was really unusual to see. But he believed it was a good change, nonetheless. “Did you make him befriend her?” “Yes and no. She is the daughter of an ex classmate of my mother back from the Academy days. We met by chance here. But I believe Sasuke would have stepped back if he didn’t like her.” “But I suppose he does.” Itachi slowly nodded with a slight smile on his lips.

“Who lost?” Sakura could barely speak. “I don’t know.” He could feel his heart beating through his entire body. “But I sure am tired.” The two of them were on the ground, almost out of breath. “I’m so hungry! I feel like I could eat a dozen bowls of soba.” “Ditto. Wanna come over?” “Huh?” She could easily feel how her entire face was slowly turning hot. Noticing that, the boy started blushing as well. He wished he could stay oblivious to his current state. “Don’t make such a big fuss out of it,” he broke the eye contact discreetly, “it’s just a meal. Mom would be glad to meet you.” “Oh, that is awesome!” she shouted full of excitement.

He looked at her again, observing how she drastically changed from a moment to another; that’s how she had acted throughout their day, and he found her energy and kinda goofy behavior at first annoying. But it didn’t take him long to realise it wasn’t something bad, that she had to change. That was her and just like that, she had her own charm. The girl’s face was also really cute. Those big emerald eyes were unique, something he could stare into forever. Sasuke was truly fascinated with Haruno Sakura. “Is there anything wrong?” “Eh?” he shook his head in confusion. “You’re staring at me.” Embarrassment was what he felt in that moment; how could he be so obvious about it? As he looked around, thinking for an excuse, his eyes landed once again on her face, but this time on her forehead.

Just what the hell is up with it?

He tried picturing Sakura with what would be considered a normal forehead, but the image was so out of place. Even if he barely met her that day, a Sakura with the smallest change is her physique would not feel right . She was just fine with that billboard forehead. With his index and middle finger, he reached for it, lightly poking Sakura. This was followed by a smirk and a confused look from her. “What about it? I know I have a huge forehead, let it be.” “It’s just perfect for doing this.” “Doing what? What did that mean?” “I’m not sure myself either,” he glanced with the corner of his eyes at Itachi, then returned to Sakura, “but I am sure it’s something important.” Despite not understanding what the brunet meant, the girl smiled. “Maybe we figure it out together someday.” Sakura wasn’t sure whether he heard her or not, but it didn’t really matter to her after all.

“You alright?”

Sakura was in her husband’s arms, in the bed of their house. After a long day of work at the hospital, she could finally relax and enjoy some time with Sasuke. The small lamp on the nightstand made the atmosphere lazy and sleepy, but both of them needed it. “All good, darling. Just a bit nostalgic.” He raised an eyebrow, giving her a somewhat questioning look. “I remembered about a lovely day that happened once upon a time,” she suggested in a teasing voice. “And what is that?” She put her index finger on her lower lip, thinking about a good hint to give Sasuke. “It’s such a shame you gave up on that haircut of yours; it was really cute. Though, it wasn’t really my thing at first.” He rolled his eyes at her words; it was clear what she was referring to. “How come you still remember that day? It’s been years.” “You just confirmed you remember it as well! Don’t try to play all tough and serious with me.” Quickly, she tried reaching for his abdomen to tickle him, but he acted a lot faster. Sakura was in tears from all the laughter, and when she managed to catch her breath, she tried to ask him to stop. When he decided to comply, Sakura made herself comfortable again, this time with her head in his shoulder. His eyes were now glued to hers; he found himself once again stuck on admiring something he had seen millions of times before, but he’d never get tired of.

“Sakura?” “Mm?” “I love you.” She widened her eyes at first, but then a playful smirk formed on her lips. She put her arm around him and closed her eyes. He sighed and nodded. “Annoying,” Sasuke almost whispered. “That’s more like you, darling.”

@narutosecretsantas

[autieami-blog]

Matters of Faith: Chapter 1 (a DS9 fic)

Yoooo I’m posting the first chapter (1,700 words) of a new fic below--

It takes place during the Dominion occupation of DS9. It follows a Vorta who comes to Bajor as a Dominion representative. Themes are religion, free will, ethics, found families, Kira being sarcastic, Odo being grumpy, the Vorta being very confused, cute little kids, and emotional turmoil.

Chapter 1 of like, 5 or 6 total probably?

Matters of Faith, chapter 1: The Dominion Walks Into a Bar

The bar was dimly lit. It always was, these days. Supposedly to save money on lighting costs, but Kira suspected that the real reason Quark kept the place so dark was so that he didn’t have to see the bragging, swaggering Cardassians and the sulking Jem’Hadar littering the tables that had been so recently filled by laughing Bajorans, talkative Humans, Andorians and Bolians trading jokes and playing Dabbo.

Or perhaps she was injecting too much of her own mood into it, and Quark was just staying true to his miserly ways. Either way, she didn’t mind the shadows obscuring the ugly faces of the occupying force.

 “Something on your mind, Major?” a gravelly voice said, interrupting her thoughts. She turned to smile at Odo, sitting next to her at the bar.

 “I’ll give you three guesses what,” she said, taking a sip of her drink.

 “Mmm. The color of the decorations for next year’s Gratitude Festival on Bajor?” he deadpanned.

 Kira snorted with laughter. A Jem’Hadar at a nearby table gave her a disapproving glare, and her smile faded.

“I wonder if we’ll have one,” she said quietly.

 Odo wrinkled his brow. “Why wouldn’t there be one? Has the Dominion shown any sign of opposing it? I can talk to Weyoun if so.”

 “Not yet,” she shook her head, earring jangling. “But you know how it is with takeovers. The Cardassians made sure one of their top priorities was cutting down on religious observances. You can’t have a slave thinking anything more than the day’s labor exists. They might start thinking there are more important things than bowing down to their scaly masters,” she replied bitterly.

 Odo grunted and turned to look at the entrance.

 A Vorta stood in the doorway, tailed by a group of hulking Jem’Hadar. The Vorta, who looked ludicrously small next to the soldiers, looked around the room until her gaze fell on Odo and Kira with a benevolent smile.

 “Oh, joy. Another visitor come to lick your boots,” Kira said, rolling her eyes. “I think an important duty has just come up for me on the other side of the station.”

 Odo raised an eyebrow. “I thought you found watching it amusing.”

 “Oh, I do, but the entertainment value doesn’t make up for the sickening factor.”

 Kira started to push back her chair and leave, but the Vorta had already waved her attendant Jem’Hadar off to another table and was approaching them, hands clasped behind her back.

 Odo cast a beseeching glance at Kira, who sighed in defeat and remained sitting, as the Vorta bowed her head in greeting.

 “Hello Constable, Major. Might I have the honor of joining you?”

 “Pull up a chair and join the party,” Kira said in a tone that sounded like an invitation to a funeral.

 “Thank you so much,” the Vorta said, seating herself carefully on a stool beside them.

 A low growl came from the table where the newly arrived Jem’Hadar sat. A stocky soldier glared at the three of them, before turning his head away with a sneer.

 The Vorta gave a tinkling laugh. “I do apologize for Lorin’Lar. I’m afraid he disapproves of my talking to the False Founder. He disapproves of most things, though, so it’s nothing personal.”

 “How reassuring,” Kira said sarcastically.

 The Vorta smiled beatifically. Kira wondered if oblivion to insult was programmed into the Vortan genetic code, or if it was just a cultivated talent.

 Odo steepled his fingers and gave the Vorta the sternly unamused look he reserved for suspects and people he disliked. “Who are you, and why are you here?”

 “What can I get you?” Quark interrupted as he came up to them and leaned on the bar with an elbow.

 The Vorta tilted her head in thought. “Hmm. Do you have anything with a good texture?” she asked.

 Quark grinned, showing off a row of crooked, pointy teeth.  “I have just the thing. Renarian whisky. As smooth on the tongue as a lie.” He filled a glass from behind the counter with a bottle of treacly greenish liquid, and set in on the bar with a flourish before moving off to serve another group of customers.

 “Vorta can’t taste much, so we mainly go in for interesting textures,” the Vorta said by way of explanation as she took a careful sip. “You should try Icthian Swampbrew sometime. It feels just like you’re drinking fur.”

 Kira suppressed a shudder.

 The Vorta took another sip of her glass, then placed it on the bar and clapped her hands together. “So! Who I am and why I’m here.”

 Odo crossed his arms “I’m waiting.”

 “My name is Dorriv. I have the honor to be a Dominion Representative to the wonderful planet of Bajor. After a brief stop at this station, I’ll be heading planetside to greet our new allies, and to oversee some minor technological manufacturing issues that have arisen because of the Federation’s lack of support. While I’m on the station, I could hardly pass up the opportunity to meet you, Odo.”

 “What a surprise,” Kira muttered under her breath.

 “Sarcasm, I assume, Major.” Dorriv chuckled. “You forget that we Vorta have even better hearing than your Ferengi.”

 “They’re not ‘our’ Ferengi” Odo said with irritation.

 “And thank goodness for that!” Quark called from the other side of the room where he was polishing a tabletop.

 Kira wondered, silently this time, why two of the most annoying species had been given such good hearing.

 “Anyway, as I was saying,” Dorriv continued. “I’ve never had the opportunity to meet a Founder, having been cloned in the Alpha Quadrant, so I’m not going to miss the opportunity to meet one now, even if he is misguided.”

 “You’ve met him. Congratulation,” Odo said.

 “Thank you!” Dorriv beamed. “I wanted to ask you about your side of the story. I’m trying to learn more about my faith and deepen my understanding of the Founders, so I thought that perhaps you could explain why you’ve decided to forsake the truth.”

 “What, the Dominion hasn’t come up with some propaganda-soaked explanation for that yet?” Kira said with a laugh as Odo snorted.

 “Of course they have,” Dorriv said. “You’ve been sadly led astray by the devious and hurtful solids, and it’s proof of just how amoral and wicked the enemies of the Dominion are that they could corrupt even a lonely Founder. But you will in time, inevitably, come to see the goodness and superiority of the Dominion and rejoin the fold.”

 Kira grinned wickedly. “Poor Odo. I never knew how much we evil solids had corrupted you.”

 “I’ve hardly been brainwashed,” Odo growled.

 “Of course not, of course not” Dorriv said, sounding like she was reassuring a child. “And so I would like to hear your side of the story.”

 “So you can better understand what went wrong?” Kira asked innocently.

 “Exactly,” Dorriv replied.

Odo gave the jerk of his head that was his equivalent of rolling his eyes. “Do you believe the Founders always speak the truth?”

 “Of course,” she nodded immediately.

 “Did the Founders tell you that all Founders were infallible?” he continued.

 Dorriv was slower to reply this time.

“Founders may, on rare occasion, be misled. That has been proven by yourself.” she finally said.

 “Did they tell you all Founders were infallible?” he pressed.

 The Vorta twisted her glass nervously in her hands. “I was cloned in this quadrant. I only know the new rules,” she said defensively.

 Odo slammed his hands on the bar. Kira blinked and Dorriv jumped in her seat. At the tables around them, startled patrons looked up briefly, then slowly returned to their drinks and conversations.

 “Did the Founders,” Odo growled, his voice filled with contempt as he leaned forward and stared at the Vorta, a single strand of hair falling in front of the dark shadows around his unblinking eyes, “ever tell the Vorta that all Founders were infallible.”

 Dorriv squirmed in her seat like a fugitive being grilled. Kira almost—almost—felt sorry for her.

 “Yes,” Dorriv finally whispered.

 “So they lied to you,” Odo said.

 Dorriv started to protest, to make excuses, but Odo cut her off.

 “So they lied,” he said.

 Dorriv closed her eyes.

 “Yes,” she said flatly.

 Odo started to speak, when a heavy hand clamped on his shoulder. Turning, he stared into the craggy face of a Jem’Hadar.

 “You will leave the Vorta alone, false god,” Lorin’Lar snarled.

 “I thought you jarheads were supposed to worship the Founders,” Kira snapped, dark eyes flashing.

 “It’s quite alright, Lorin’Lar,” Dorriv spoke up. “You may leave us.”

 The Jem’Hadar still glared at Odo, without moving.

 “Lorin’Lar!” Dorriv said, frowning sternly. “You will leave.”

 The soldier turned and stomped off, heavy feet banging against the floor.

 Dorriv sighed. “My apologies. I’m still trying to housetrain that one.” Her hands trembled ever so slightly as she took another sip from her glass, but her gaze was steady again.

 Odo grunted. “This conversation has gone on long enough. I have duties to return to. Good day, Major. Dorriv,” he said, saying the Vorta’s name like an insult.

 Kira lingered behind as she watched him leave step into the light of the Promenade and walk out of sight.

 She turned to Dorriv with an incredulous smile. “You sure don’t act as worshipful as the other Vorta.”

 Dorriv frowned. “I know. I’ve been watching the Founder when the others talk to him, and he always seems so uncomfortable. I thought addressing him more casually might make him feel more comfortable. Do you think I went too far? I hope I didn’t offend him. Should I apologize?” she said, wringing her fingers and looking at Kira with confused eyes. “Should I-“

 Kira held up her hands to cut the Vorta off and shook her head, laughing. “I’m sure Odo preferred it.”

 Dorriv sighed in relief.

 “But,” Kira continued, her smile hardening, “you’re still a sycophantic little toady who would burn an orphanage if told to. You’re just trying to pretend you’re not. Cut the crap and think about what he said. Do you want to unflinchingly serve gods that lied to you?” Kira pushed her stool back and walked out without looking back.

 The Vorta stared after her for a minute with thoughtful eyes. Finally, she picked up her drink, swirled it lazily, and finished it.

[keijikunn]

Rivalry ── Chapter III

── A @babythotshq collab “To All the Boys I’ve Loved”

Old feelings

Pairing: Tsukishima Kei x gender neutral!reader Tags: college!au, angst, it’s kinda fluffy??? i don’t know, it’s not that angst either Summary: Tsukishima Kei had never imagined that you, his forever rival in high school, would write him a letter confessing your feelings. Does Tsukishima feels the same way? Word count: 3.7k

Author’s note: I’m dividing the last chapter in two, so I won’t be too long (trust me, it’s over than 6k and I wanna spare you all lol). Hope you all enjoy the chap III and I swear by the end of the month I’ll post the final part! Biggest thank you to @kaitycole​ and @newfriendjen​ that helped me out a lot, I love you two so much 🥺

WARNINGS: swearing, tsukki being salty but what’s new?, makeout (???), hints of anxiety

RIVALRY MASTERLIST

BECOME A BOOKWORM!

Ever since that… eventful day, you managed to avoid Tsukishima like the plague. It helped the fact you had classes in different buildings, not to mention the fact the college campus was huge. You were about to forget about the letter issue, as the courses have started a few days earlier and you dedicated most of your time to get things settled into a nice routine. Things were too good to be real, though. 

You couldn’t believe in what you saw the first time you stepped inside the extracurricular class, after the first week since classes started. Not only your love letters were sent to all your previous crushes (who seemed to attend the same college as you), but the person you dreaded to see again would spend the next semester with you during your afternoon activities. 

Tsukishima Kei smirked at your distressed expression, waving at you as if you were long time friends. He wants to irk you, Y/n, don’t give him this pleasure. You are better than him anyway, you repeated it as many times as possible before the bell rang - indicating the class was about to start. Fortunately you managed to sit on the opposite side of the room as Tsukishima, though you could feel his eyes burning holes on the side of your head. 

“Why is he so annoying?” You muttered to yourself, sighing in annoyance. The professor entered the classroom, quickly introducing himself and the upcoming project you would work on. You were excited for it when you researched about the university, it was as if a dream was coming true, and you made up your mind to not let Tsukishima Kei ruin this experience. 

“As always, we randomize the duos, so be prepared to work with someone who does things differently than you.” The old man at the front announced, and your guts were telling you that this wouldn’t be good. “Raise your hand if I call your name so your partner can find you.

The longer he took to call out your name, the more convinced you were that fate wouldn’t play nice with you. When the other two people left were paired up together, leaving you and Tsukishima without a partner, you had to hold the urge to scoff. As much as you tried your hardest to not bump into your old crush, the whole universe made sure to go against your will. 

I should have gone to another extracurricular activity, damn it.

“So… guess we’re a duo, now,” Tsukishima snickered at your disgusted face, laughing at your dismay. “It’s not that bad be paired up with me, Y/n, c’mon”

“You’re right, it’s not bad.” You started, sending him a sharp glare. “It’s the worst thing ever”

With that, you turned around to pay attention to the further details the professor addressed the class. You knew Kei would try to make your experience in this project a literal hell, but you weren't going to let his antics distract you from getting anything less than the best result. You internally hoped that the tall boy also aimed for that, despite his annoying demeanor around you.  

If not, you’d have a long semester ahead of you. 

“For God’s sake, Tsukishima, this is not how we’re supposed to do it!” You whisper-yelled at the blonde boy, angrily gripping on your hair, holding yourself back from screaming at his face. It has been two weeks since you two started working on that stupid project, and it’s been two weeks of complete hell and anger. Being at the college’s library didn’t help as well, since you couldn’t externalize your frustration.  “Can’t you read what I wrote down? Professor said we should follow this!”

“Yes, I’ve read it and decided that it sucks.” Tsukishima shot back, pushing away your notebook, writing a few words on your draft. “C’mon, Y/n, you should know by now that we don’t follow any professor’s instruction. We’re not at high school anymore, be more independent, won’t you?”

You hated to admit, but he was (at some instance) right. What hurt your pride more was that his suggestion was actually good- not that you would admit that, you’d rather die than say it out loud. This idea could easily work out with what you have thought previously, not to mention it would make more sense. 

The lack of response made Tsukishima’s shit-eating grin grow on his features, irking you the exact same way he knew he was able to. He proceeded to add a few details on the paper and neatly placed it inside his folder, collecting his materials from the table. You two have been workin for almost two hours non-stop on the project after the whole morning classes, you had to admit your energy wore off at that point.

“Give me the paper, I want to add a few extra things.” You demanded, holding out your hand for him. Tsukishima arched his eyebrows as if he was surprised by such a request, then he scoffed at you - like always. “I’m not joking, I do want to modify it a bit.”

“The point of this being a group project is that we work on this together.” He stressed the last word, zipping his bag and shoving it over his shoulder. “And you wouldn’t do anything, judging by how tired you are.”

“I’m not!” 

“Then care to explain how you didn't think about what I suggested earlier?” Suddenly your mind went blank at his response, what in the world does that mean? “You can think about this tomorrow, try not to melt your tiny brain.”

The tall boy left you without sparing a second glance, fumbling with his intertwined earphones as he walked. To say you were confused by his comment would be an understatement. Was he worried you would overwork yourself? No way, Tsukishima Kei would never care enough about you of all people. 

Yet he’s still your partner. 

“Fuck off, Tsukki.” You muttered tiredly, focusing on putting your belongings inside your backpack to (finally) head to your dorms.

The first time you’ve ever heard Tsukishima’s name was after the first exam of your freshman year in high school. Everyone was crying about their low grades, groaning at the prospect of having to study a lot more to the upcoming test. If you were not mistaken, a boy in your class named Yamaguchi commented how “Tsukki was smart” and he wasn’t surprised he aced it. 

“Hey, L/n!” The girl who sits next to you approached you, paper in her hands. “How did you do?”

“I got 96%.” You answered quietly, trying not to drag attention to yourself due to your great performance. People in middle school didn’t like when you mentioned your grades, claiming you did that just to brag. 

“Ehh? You’re so smart!” She said smiling. “Please, help me study! From what I heard just you and a boy from class 3 had such a high score. And Yamaguchi-kun said Tsukishima-kun doesn’t help anybody.”

“Of course, we can study at the library if you want to.” The offer seemed to appeal to her, given the fact she nodded quickly and proceeded to write down her cellphone number to you. “By the way, who is this Tsukishima guy?”

“He’s a tall, blonde boy. He uses glasses and if I’m not wrong he’s part of the volleyball club.” She answered, waving at you as she went back to her circle of friends, leaving you to think about who this boy is. “He’s not nice though. Always treats everyone as if he’s superior.”

You were able to put a face to the name you had in your mind after a couple of weeks, when another private school had a volleyball match against the male team of Hakone Academy. It wasn’t hard to figure out that the middle blocker with a poker face was Tsukishima, and you were surprised that he was actually good looking. Something that lacked in him, though, was passion in the sport - or rather in anything, according to your classmates. 

Ever since that game, it seemed like you started to see Tsukishima every day in the corridors. You’d see him walking down the halls, his headphones always placed on the top of his ears, muffling the loud noise caused by the other students. He was cold to everybody, even rude if you were to be honest, but he was something else. His interests were inviting, itching your curiosity to get to know him better.

You realized you had a crush on Tsukishima Kei when you noticed how you paid attention to whenever you saw him around school, hearing his steady tone (usually talking to Yamaguchi) and his snarky smirk. All information you knew about him was, being honest, too little to grow intense feelings, but what got you hooked up was exactly this: you wanted to get to know him. 

Things, however, didn’t work out the way you planned. The very first interaction you had with him was a disaster. You sounded way cockier than you wanted, you’ve never planned on teasing him and you have never imagined that it would backfire on you and lead him to dislike you.

After that incident, you discovered the aversion quite a lot of students had against him. Most of them claimed the same thing: Tsukishima Kei was mean, smug, had a superiority complex and always treated everyone poorly. A part of you didn’t want to believe in that, but how could you not when he mocked you in front of everyone?

Things didn’t get easier as the project progressed, not because it was too technical or that it required too many details. Yours and Tsukishima’s endless arguments and bickering always ended in screaming matches, hurtful comments and you two not on speaking terms. The premise of group projects was to create something together, but at this point you were doing your own thing while thinking about what the other was working on. 

“Are you a dumbass or do you just pretend to be one?” Tsukishima angrily asked, dropping your notebook on the table. “This is horrible, Y/n.”

“You think it’s horrible because you’re doing things as you wish, not considering what I have to suggest!” You responded, your voice tone a few octaves higher due to your stress. Currently you two were at his dorms - the library was not an option anymore, the librarian kicked you out after you were shouting at each other - both awfully close as his dining table was tiny. “This is a fucking group project, you said it before! So you have to listen to what I have to say.”

“I’m not listening when you suggest stupid things like this!” He retorted, ripping the page out and crumpling it to toss on the floor. You widen your eyes, shocked at his recent action. 

“Wow, Tsukishima, you are really being this petty.” A humorless laugh escaped your lips, you shook your head in denial, getting up to collect your paper off the ground. The tension in the air grew thicker and the man’s intense gaze burned holes on your back. “People were right, after all. You are unbearable.”

Tsukishima’s smug facade cracked a bit, you noticed, after hearing what you just said. His smirk left his face for a brief moment and his eyes mirrored mixed feelings, could they be sorrow, insecurity? You didn’t have enough time to decipher them as he quickly recomposed himself, offering you a snark grin. 

“That’s why you liked me, huh? Did you want to correct the horrible, mean, malicious person that I am?” Tsukishima teased, hitting your emotions with ease. Your mind was empty, only his words echoing inside it, bumping into your skull with force. 

You couldn’t understand him, honestly. 

One time he is all worried about you overworking, passively aggressively implying you’re capable of suggesting better ideas; and now he’s being childish and not sparing a single offense towards you. You knew Tsukishima Kei was a hard person to handle if you’re not as quick witted as him, but this? This level of pettiness and stubbornness? For a young adult like him, that claims he’s better than everyone else? 

“I’m done.” You stated, too burnt out to respond to his teasing comment. Your temples hurt due to the confusion the blond man was giving you, the constant push and pull between you two worn you out. 

“What do you mean ‘you’re done’? We’re not done yet.” He stated as if it was a matter of fact - which was, he wasn’t wrong. 

“Do I look like I care? I’m doing this shit by myself, you can do whatever you want, I’m done with you.” Silence engulfed the room, and you mentally thanked this peaceful moment. It, however, didn’t last long, because Tsukishima always finds ways to make things worse. 

“Are you giving up that easy, Y/n? Couldn’t handle a bit of teasing?” That was it. The mocking tone he used against you was enough to snap the last string of sanity inside you, freeing a rage you never knew you had against him. The angriness burned your chest as you slammed your hands on the table, making Tsukishima flinch at the sudden outburst. 

“Yes, I can not deal with your teasing ass.” You admitted shamesly, your mind ran a thousand miles a minute, not registering the words that left your mouth. “What I can’t deal  with is a petty boy that can’t take this goddamn project seriously!”

“It wasn’t me who suggested stupid ideas.” Kei spat back, leaning in your direction, inviting you to answer him - almost like a dare. 

“You always say my ideas are vain, stupid or whatever, but you never offered anything great or fucking brilliant,” it was indeed true. Tsukishima proudly belittled everything you said for the past few weeks, but never came up with something new. Instead, he modified everything you’ve given to him. “So please, before you put yourself above the others, do something that makes you actually the best-”

Any and every train of thought you had was interrupted by the aggressive contact of Tsukishima Kei’s lips against yours. Everything seemed to melt with the heat coming from the kiss, your hands sneaking behind his neck and gripping rather harshly at his blond hair. In between the feverish moment, Tsukki managed to sit you on the table and place himself between your legs. Gasps and soft murmurs interrupted the kiss every once in a while, your mouth occasionally made its way down his jaw and neck, nibbling and sucking his skin.Only until one of you reconnected them, tongues sliding against each other.

You honestly don’t know how long you two spent making out, but it was enough time to leave a few hickeys on each other's necks and clothes lightly pulled up. Tsukishima’s ears were as red as his swollen lips, the blond hair was a mess thanks to your roaming hands and the white t-shirt wrinkled.

“Still think I don’t suggest brilliant ideas?” Tsukishima teased, but the embarrassment he was feeling was written all over his face. To say you were speechless was an understatement, you’ve just had a full make out section with your biggest high school rival, the one you knew hated you the most. “Cat got your tongue? Or should I say- did I get your tongue, Y/n?”

“What the fuck did you just do, Tsukishima?” You demanded flustered, the feeling of his body close to yourself fading away. "Why have you done this?!" 

"Don't tell me you didn't enjoy, Y/N, I can feel the spot you left a hickey on." His comment made you groan in annoyance, because you knew you wouldn't be able to retort it. 

Not paying attention to your surroundings, you pushed Tsukishima away from you, quickly grabbing your bag to leave his dorms. You didn't mind if you forgot something at his place - you would see him the next day, anyway. All you wanted was to get away from him, to finally think straight.

The cool air of the end of the day would help you come back to a reasonable state of mind.

You kept acting around Tsukishima after the first encounter. Whenever you had the chance to irk him you did it, initiating an unnecessary banter. You felt stupid to say the least, how low could you go? 

Yet, you continued. Just to have his attention. Pathetic. However, you had a limit. And Tsukishima managed to trespass it with such facility you were surprised. 

It happened during your second year, exactly one year after you got so interested in that mean boy. Things weren't easy for you, many reasons were behind your unstable state. School was overwhelming like never before, you could barely juggle between regular activities and your club's. 

The stress weighted on you to the point you let your grades slip at one exam. You knew you had your worst performance so far, and the subject didn't help you as well. 

"I'm going to hand back the exams." Your homeroom teacher announced, earning heavy groans from the whole class. A sigh escaped your lips, knowing how screwed you were if Tsukishima knew how poorly you did. "L/n Y/n" 

As you got up from your desk, you felt a familiar pair of eyes burn holes on your back. The moment you read the barely 50% score written on the top of the paper, you blanked out. You missed how your teacher kindly smiled at you, reminding how this one performance didn't define you. The words didn't make sense to you, because for you it didn't matter. You failed. 

Tears pricked the corner of yours eyes, shallow breaths escaped your parted lips as you sat down once again, barely sparing a glance at the paper on your desk. You truly didn’t know if someone tried to approach you, mind far away from reality, engulfing itself in a spiral of self doubt, worries and self depreciation. 

“Well… looks like the top 2 student failed miserably on the test.” The steady, yet teasing tone of Tsukishima’s voice broke you out of your own head. “You’re fake, couldn’t even get more than half of it correct. You’re a lie, Y/n.”

“Not now, please.” It took most part of your will to mutter these three words without letting your voice crack. Tsukishima arched his eyebrows, amused by the scene unfolding in front of him: you lowering your head against your forearms on the table, shielding your tears from anyone. “Tease me all you want, but please do it another time.”

However, he kept going. Tsukishima pointed out every single question you got wrong, rubbing in your face how he aced another stupid paper while you were a failure. The classroom was noisy, the end of the period let the students talk freely, but you only heard Kei’s voice, adding to your pre-existent stress and pressure. 

As far as you could remember, you’ve never underestimated him in any interaction you two had. Sure, you threw a teasing comment every once in a while, but always bragging about yourself, how you’ve outsmarted him. But you were sure you never humiliated him - and you’d never do such a low blow like this. 

“Enough, Tsukishima!” You raised your voice, everyone now was paying attention to you two. The embarrassment heated your entire face and your tears finally ran down your cheeks, the blond boy seemed startled with your sudden outburst, though his smirk quickly returned to your face. “I got that you’re better, now can you please shut the fuck up?!”

Thankfully the bell rang, indicating classes were over for the day. You quickly shoved your test on your bag, throwing it over your shoulder as you turned to head to the door. With the sleeve of your coat, you wiped the reminiscent tears from your eyes and left the room. Not only you exited that suffocating place, but also you left behind the stupid crush you had on Tsukishima Kei. 

Since that day, you couldn’t stand being near him, all teasing interactions reduced to none and you’ve never checked the scoreboard as soon as the grades were out. You focused on your own stuff, trying your best to clear your thoughts from Tsukishima - which didn’t work as well as you planned. 

Every once in a while, in the middle of a studying session, you found yourself pushing your limits like you used to do to get a higher performance than him. As much as you hated to admit, Tsukishima was a great incentive to do better, to set higher goals academically speaking. And though he caused you a lot of pain, a part of you (the stupid one, in your words) still thought he was attractive, you still had a tiny interest in the true guy behind that acting. 

That’s why you decided to write him that letter. Perhaps admitting your “crush” on him would make you realize you’ve created almost an entire new person using his name and face. In a way it actually helped, you truly thought you have moved on from him and college would give you a new beginning away from Tsukishima. 

Fate, on the other hand, had other plans for you and here you are: walking slowly towards your dorms, emotionally drained and confused. The prospect of Tsukishima Kei having the slightest interest in you was shocking, especially after all those three years of. endless insults. 

Are those feelings coming back? 

“Oh, no.” You muttered to yourself, immediately stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, frightened about your last thought. “Oh my, there’s no way I’m crushing Tsukishima once again!” 

If you concentrated enough, you could still feel his chapped lips against your skin, his large hands roaming through your body. He was right about you enjoying it- in reality, you did more than you’d like to admit. Tsukishima Kei was annoyingly filling your mind with both his smart and arrogant ass and that unexpected (but surprising) heated moment. 

You needed to get to your dorms and take a long shower to put your thoughts in order, because there’s no way you’re having feelings for Tsukishima Kei once again.

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[ask-svt-hearteu]

Hogwarts! Woozi

Anon requested: “I love the hogwarts au!! Please continue with other members, maybe Jun or Woozi?????” and "Hello! I was wondering if I could request a woozi hogwarts au like wonwoos, I absolutely love the seventeen hogwarts au's I find them so cute and I need more 💘💘💘💘"

Genre: fluff

Word Count: 2312

he’s kind of a mystery to everyone who doesn’t really know him

he’s just known as a fourth year slytherin who comes from a pure blood family

never brags about it though and no one would even have known

he never treats anyone like he's superior

he's just mysterious

friends with Wonwoo, Soonyoung, and Jun and their friend group

all 13 of them are pretty well known as one of the biggest friend groups at Hogwarts

even though they're all from different houses

they always hang out and sit with each other for meals

and they're split into groups by age for classes

but they're all like one big family and no one in Hogwarts can deny how close they all are to each other

and although they're all pretty different, they all somehow fit together perfectly as if fate deemed them destined to be best friends with each other

Jihoon doesn’t really talk all that much in his classes

but from his exam scores he’s basically acing everything

most people call him Jihoon, his friends call him Woozi or Jihoon

but again, no one really knows what kind of person he is besides his own friends

since he's pretty quiet and doesn't ever start conversations with anyone unless he's forced to

though don’t ever call him cute

for some reason whenever someone calls him cute

like this fourth year ravenclaw in potions

they end up getting hexed

that ravenclaw had his shoes turned into spiders

and Jihoon just walks past listening to him shouting and tries hiding a smile

“Again?” Soonyoung asks Jihoon as they walk to their next class

“It was just a small hex, no harm done.”

“You’re too mean, Jihoon.” Soonyoung says laughing

Jihoon simply replies with an evil giggle

“I know.”

never gets caught for it either because he's mastered casting hexes without saying incantations aloud

the one always hexing his friends too since they tease him and call him cute too

cast the full body bind hex on Mingyu once just because he told Jihoon

“but hyung, you’re shorter than me”

his favorite subjects have to be potions and charms

again always using hexes here and there to annoy his friends

or slipping them a potion that makes their voice sound high-pitched for the rest of the day

and although he’s quiet, he really loves his friends

and everyone is always surprised to know he plays as the other slytherin beater on the quidditch team

because he doesn’t seem like the type

but everyone cowers when Jihoon has his beater’s bat

the guy may be short, but his swing is no joke

and the bludgers he hits don’t generally miss

him and Minghao are a deadly duo as the slytherin beaters

and you're the fourth year slytherin seeker

so you know most of his friend group pretty well since the two of you are close friends

you both met on the Hogwarts express during first year

he had asked to sit in your compartment

and although you both didn't say much at first

he saw a pin on your trunk

the one with a broomstick

"Do you play quidditch?"

"Yea, I'm going to try out for the team at school." you say smiling shyly

"Me too."

and you both took off from there

realizing you both got sorted into the same house

giving him a high five as you both sat next to each other

and had all your classes together

and when you went to try-outs

the both of you practiced together in the rain really hard for hours each day after the homework

and you both made it in

which forced the two of you to get to know each other a lot more

you watched as he grew up in Hogwarts and earned himself a sort of mysterious guy image

especially when some of the girls in Slytherin were always coming up to him while the two of you did hw in the common room

younger girls who would giggle and push each other forward to congratulate Jihoon on the victory of the latest quidditch game

and you weren't sure why but you would always get annoyed at them

but Jihoon never really acknowledged them

"Thanks but our seeker, y/n, did most of the work" without even looking up from his paper

which made you smile and blush

while the other girls gave you dirty looks

"Don't all the fangirls get annoying?" you say rolling your eyes

"What fangirls?" he'd say, "Just finish your paper so we can go practice"

and you weren't sure why

but every time Jihoon brushed off the fangirls like the savage he was

you would always be pretty smug and satisfied

you and Jihoon would always hang out at Hogsmeade together with the others

though you didn't really have many friends outside of Jihoon and his group

you were close friends with the other fourth years; Wonwoo, Jun, and Soonyoung

and Jihoon would always make time for you even if you told him it was ok to just hang out with his friends

"You're their friend too, come on, won't be the same without you."

which is kind of how you became part of that huge friend group

you and Jihoon would always work on hw together

and anytime you needed help, he was there in a heartbeat to explain confusing concepts in a way that made sense

or just occasionally letting you copy

though if Soonyoung came around, he'd refuse

"Why does y/n get to copy but I don't?" Soonyoung would whine

"Because y/n and I have practice and she's smarter than you" Jihoon would say looking at you to hurry up

you both walk around the grounds a lot too

discussing strategies and talking about the opposing team's game plan and how best to beat them

"You're probably not going to catch the snitch if Jun's actually playing that day." Jihoon says

"Junhui, my worst enemy," you joke, "yea I never win against him."

"That's ok, just stall him long enough for us to get a more than 150 points lead." he'd say

"That I can do."

he's someone you can always rely on to talk about stress since you both take the same classes and have quidditch practice

and he talks to you about his fears and worries because he trusts you so much

at some point, just to save time

you both share food and water like you've been friends your whole life

he's always looking out for you

once you got hit by a bludger and ended up in the infirmary

and he stayed there all night catching you up on the win and helping you with the hw

and being the best friend you could ever ask for

staying up and helping you with anything you needed

"I can get water by myself just fine Lee Jihoon" you smirked

"Nope, I can get it hang on."

and you weren't sure when

but your feelings for Jihoon kind of outgrew just being friends

the classic falling for your best friend cliché

and that complicated shi

it hit you once when you were about to hex a girl who gave Jihoon chocolates

like you felt jealous

which is weird and gross and what the heck was wrong with you

in all your time knowing Jihoon, he never once showed any interest in dating girls or having other feelings for you besides friendly ones

and so your one-sided feelings sort of consumed you

but little did you know that the rest of Jihoon's friend group can read him a bit better

especially after another slytherin fourth year tried hard core flirting with you in herbology

but you weren't paying his advances any attention

and later Jihoon hexed the poor boy until he was hanging upside down from a tree

"You obviously like y/n, why don't you just ask her out?" Jun says smirking

"Just because you have a girlfriend, have you decided you're our official cupid now?" Jihoon says blushing

"OH MY GOD IT HAS TO BE TRUE LOOK HE'S BLUSHING."

"Soonyoung, I'll turn your food into spiders, I will."

"Just tell her already!"

"No! We're friends, you know how that goes." Jihoon sighed

but that didn't stop the rest of Svt from always trying to put you and Jihoon together

and Jihoon always blushes like crazy because of them trying

but you're low key ignorant of it

"Hey y/n, Jihoon was complimenting you on your flying the other day." Jun says sliding next to you

"Hahaha Jun, you can't distract me, I'll finally beat you this match. And Jihoon never compliments me, he's the one giving constructive criticism, and I like that better anyway." you smile leaving the table

and you don't hear Jun screaming

"Jihoon you don't ever compliment her?!?!? JUST BE SINGLE FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE THEN!"

which results in Jihoon complimenting you that night when writing your charms paper

you nearly choking on your water

"Jihoon, are you sick?" you laugh

"I can't compliment you?" he said blushing furiously

causing you to blush too

"No thank you, it's just you never do so..."

"I SWEAR THEY'RE BOTH SO HELPLESS" you and Jihoon look up at Jeonghan who yelled that

Jeonghan just waves meekly and runs away like shi they heard me

followed by awkward silence

before Jihoon stands up and tells you night before going to bed

leaving you sighing

you knew that whole bs with ruining friendships because of feelings

and you didn't want that to happen

and it seemed like Jihoon was catching on and avoiding you for that

when in reality it was quite the opposite

Jihoon liked you too, but didn't know how to express it

and he was scared for your guys' friendship too

and all the others just watching the two of you like we have to do something before we die of old age and these two lovesick fools still haven't confessed

also low key trying to get Jihoon back for all the hexes and potions pranks he's pulled on them

but also they don't like seeing the two of you obviously not happy because of the whole situation

and so they use Seungkwan as a sacrifice

"Woozi-hyung, you're so cuuuuutttee." Seungkwan running away for dear life afterwards

and Jihoon just fake smiling like Seungkwan I'm going to get you later

and he makes a potion that turns the person's hair color a shade of minty neon yellow green and then to pink lemonade

and he slips it in Seungkwan's goblet during lunch waiting for Seungkwan

but surprise surprise

you get pulled over by Seungkwan who hands you the goblet

and Jihoon is terrified

and grabs the goblet from you and drinks it before you can

with all of Svt laughing their heads off

as his hair changes color

and you're standing there confused af

"JIHOON JUST PRANKED HIMSELF TO SAVE YOUR HAIR COLOR Y/N!"

causing Jihoon to turn as pink as his turning pink hair

"Just admit you like each other already, legit the whole castle knows except for you two!"

everyone smacks Soonyoung for yelling that

as you turn as pink as Jihoon's hair too

and Svt kind of leaves the two of you

"I mean..." you start, "I've known you for a while Jihoon and I didn't want to mess up anything, so I get it if you want to pretend my feelings for you were never like that and just stay friends." you finally say sighing

ready for a cold rejection like the ones you've seen before from him to other girls

"But I want to date you, I like you a lot, y/n" he says looking away

and like that first day on the train

instead of awkward silence

the two of you clicked and everything worked itself out

Jihoon taking your hand in his and smiling into your face incredulously

thinking he must have gotten hella lucky

and that you're incredible and amazing for liking him too

that's why they say falling for your best friend is the best thing ever if it works out

because you both realized you liked each other

and you were both already so comfortable with each other

you'd both be holding hands and whispering sweet nothings during quidditch practice before the captain yells at the two of you to practice

at the same time not a lot changed

you both still did just about everything together from hw in the common room to practicing on the quidditch field

but now all the fangirls backed off from Jihoon, knowing very well they stood no chance against his best friend

which you were happy with

always ready to hex some witches though if they ever came close to even batting an eyelash at Jihoon

same with any guys around you

they were always careful so as to avoid Jihoon's wrath

you both become known as the most famous couple in Hogwarts

with all your PDA in the hallways like hand holding, hugs, and him carrying your stuff sometimes or you carrying books for him

you both always sat together for meals with one hand on your fork and another holding his hand under the table

and with Svt making gagging gestures every time the two of you were doing something cute

"UGH YES YOU TWO ARE TOGETHER NOW, YOU CAN BUY US FOOD TO THANK US LATER JUST STOP WHATEVER IT IS YOU TWO ARE DOING RIGHT NOW!"

the both of you always together in the library for papers with one of you usually sleeping on top of the other

and the celebratory hugs where he'd pick you up and twirl you around if you won the quidditch match

and all the "aw's" everyone gave the two of you

because wow what a cute couple

The Seventeen Hogwarts AU Series:

| S.coups | Jeonghan | Joshua | Jun | Hoshi | Wonwoo | Woozi | DK | Mingyu | Minghao | Seungkwan | Vernon | Dino |

MASTERLIST

[artsy-alice]

TREMONTAINE Season 3, Episode 5 Reaction + Review

We’re seeing more consequences and actions finally taken from most of the things set up from the last episode. Characters have made decisions and we see them pushing through with those decisions in this episode, and I can’t wait to see it all come together.

Tremontaine S3 E5 is out NOW in the Serial Box website! New to the series? The pilot episode is available online for free!

As always, spoilers under the cut!

From the relative peace from last episode, we’re speeding up again! So many happenings, so let’s go!

RAFE & FLORIAN

I admit that I joined Rafe and Joshua’s laughter upon finding out that the “new” potential school building recommended to them was the very same building they first scouted with Will. Huge kudos to Paul Witcover because those descriptions of the house’s design and decor gave me a good laugh. When I read “that monument of poor taste masquerading as a door”, I was just cackling. Ah, good times.

Anyways! Joshua and Micah finally both lost their patience and called Florian out. DRAG HIM, MY CHILDREN. Outnumbered, Florian walks out on them, and the trio continue on their quest to productivity. They’ve confirmed Goodell’s backing and Rafe is determined to just get the best and let Diane worry about the money. Congrats, Rafe. That’s progress. Now move on and don’t even think of looking for-

But he did. He tracked Florian down and whoops, there go the breakup. Or at least, I think it’s a breakup. Florian snaps at Rafe, upset, and he obviously knows about what happened with Shade.

And fine. As much as I love my trash son, I agree that Rafe can be self-absorbed and sometimes he does tend to have a one-track mind (specially about the school and Will). And yes it would be annoying to be told to celebrate something while you’re in mourning for your dead lover, but Florian really had this coming.

I mean. Florian. Dude. You just pop up and attach yourself to Rafe, and so far you’ve always been a jerk to his friends. You’ve been constantly and unapologetically rude about something they’re obviously very passionate and dedicated about. Now that things are going their way and they’re starting to celebrate, you hold it against them because they couldn’t be bothered to be sorry for you even though there’s no way they could have known what you were going through?

Like Rafe said, he didn’t know, and how could he, when Florian never said anything? So yep. I’m sorry for your loss, Florian, but you’re not earning any sympathy points for me, bro.

.

DIANE VS. DAVENANT

Now that my annoyance for Florian has been put out there, let’s move to the political battle that’s been steadily building up and we’re now witnessing more clearly.

Gotta admit that last episode I might have been blindsided by worry over Micah that I forgot that the intruders probably would’ve succeeded in finding the ledger. That, and I assumed they wouldn’t find it there because of course Diane would have hidden it elsewhere.

Whoops, seems like our Duchess made a miscalculation. It’s a rookie mistake, getting attached to her victory tokens. She had indulged too much in one win. It was a big win, but was not enough to fully bring down a man as powerful as Davenant.

Diane assessed the damage and decided that the ledger has already served its full purpose. But has it? I can’t help but think that it’s still a very major loss. It was her primary bargaining chip.

-and my suspicions were immediately proven because as soon as Davenant reacquired the ledger, he starts going on the offensive again! So he proceeds to go through a power trip. Because of course he does.

DAVENANT NOT THE SCHOOL. NOT THE WAREHOUSES. I SWEAR!!!

How did he know about the school in the first place? Sure, Rafe goes around bragging about it... but I didn’t think it would reach Davenant and make him think it’s something he can use to strike against Diane. But oh well. He’s probably got a really reliable info network.

As usual, reading through Davenant’s point of view still grosses me out. The guy is nasty. But it also serves as an interesting commentary on men and their sense of superiority and entitlement over women. Their inability to accept a simple two-letter word as a proper answer. NO IS NO, DUDE.

And when he took her in his arms again, and pressed his lips to hers, she would understand that surrendering to Gregory Davenant was no surrender at all but a submission as natural as that of moon to sun. She would shine the brighter for it.

Pictured above: Diane Duchess Tremontaine, probably.

And GOD. It’s saddening that we all probably know a person like Davenant.

But yeah, this Diane vs. Davenant storyline is the one I’m most excited about so far!

.

DIANE & ESHA

I continue to love Diane and Esha. Diane is getting attached and is trying to withdraw because Attachment™ Is Weakness™. But Resistance™ Is Futile™. Her first thought on who to confide to is Esha. She eventually gives in and confides to Esha. And Esha is just as smitten. 

“You must think me an awful coward.”

At this, Esha laughed. “Must I? My lady, you have won an exalted place for yourself in a world of jealous men who are eager to wrest it from you by one means or another. I have some small idea what that is like! Your position depends upon trusting no one. Upon hoarding bits of knowledge and information to use as bargaining chips or even threats, if need be. Yet now you come to me with just such a secret. What advantage is there to you in telling me? None. Some other motivation has driven you. I do not call that cowardice.”

*dreamy sigh* they’re beautiful my crops have been watered my skin is clear and my debts have been paid

.

TESS

So I love this line:

She had no reason to expect trouble, other than the fact that she was a native-born Riversider. Which was reason enough, of course.

Because. It is. Very. Accurate.

I’m pretty sure it’s the first time this season that we are seeing Tess missing Kaab. She thought of Kaab back in the start of the siege but that was with resentment because of the circumstances, but now she’s allowed to lay low and wallow and feel the emptiness in her flat.

Let it bleed, she thought with a lash of guilty satisfaction. And meanwhile, her hand would not tremble as it traced another’s hand, nor would any crack appear in the mask of calm competence she showed the world. Even a face could be a forgery.

GOSH. I loved the the dynamic between Vincent, Kaab and Tess. THEY MADE MY OT3 DREAMS COME TRUE. It’s just sad to see them all separated now...

On another note, we continue to see Tess’s talent in dealing with her fellow Riversiders. And someone finally points this out. Madeline basically tells her that what Tess can do with their people is a kind of leadership. Tess rejects this, she doesn’t want the responsibility, or the burden.

And our Riverside queen finally, finally breaks down on someone. It’s okay baby let it out I’m not cryin’ with you no i’m not there’s just something in my eye, a branch or something.

.

KAAB

Things haven’t quite sped up in Kaab’s side just yet, but I’m expecting it to happen anytime now.

It’s nice to see Kaab and her growing fondness and protectiveness over baby Peapem. And it’s heartbreaking to read about Chuleb being so broken up over Saabim’s death. Oh, Kaab, you better get someone else, even temporarily, to fill in for your uncle. He’s a good man with good intentions, but he’s really not doing any of you any favors right now, specially in such a critical time.

Ninja Kaab strikes back, and I expected some action, but I guess they’re taking their time for this.

I kinda expected this though - the inspector’s concern is more about Kaab’s age and experience than her legitimacy as leader. Better prove him wrong fast, Kaab.

As tension-filled as this particular story arc is, though, I want Kaab to interact with other characters. For me, she shines best when plotting and conspiring with her friends and allies.

.

OTHER STUFF

We get a background on the Perry family via Dennis Perry, which I thought was nice. The only other Perry I could recall was Lucius Perry from TPotS. The background we get for his family here explained some things about Lucius, which is great because I love the guy.

Lionel is quickly becoming a wild card for me. He’s somewhat a double agent now, and things are much more risky. I’m quite convinced that his allegiance is still with Diane, but imo Diane oughtta keep a closer eye on him. Davenant has Plans and I never like his plans.

I’ve become quite busy this week so I might skip the challenge. But I’m looking forward to everyone else’s entries!

[ephemeralem0tions]

Make story about Ererihan feat 104th cadet please❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

Your wish! Is my command

I TBH wrote this while listening to Some Nights by FUN (great song). So have some immature jokes along the way, I wanted it to be a bit funny since the last three fics I have written last time were all sad XD

Some Nights (EruRiHan x 104th Cadets - Midnight Breaks)

Theme: Drinking and Bets

Rating: PG

Warning: Curse Words

AOT WEEK || send your asks/requests here x.

They watched as the squad leader took another swig of her mug, gulping all the contents in one solid motion. Cheers erupted, as her cheeks flushed pink under the influence of alcohol, smiling goofily and eyes seeming to wander into all directions.

Connie and Sasha watched her with fascination as she laughed it off, their minds equally affected with booze as she was. Jean Kirchtein had been bragging how he was better than the squad leader while Eren had challenged him, the poor boy spitting out a his drink after having too much, the others laughing at him as he scolded them, a facade for his embarrassment. Historia quietly had her fill, hesitant at first, but letting herself drown her sorrow of loosing Ymir after a few nudges by Sasha. Amongst the 104th squad, only Mikasa and Armin were sober. The raven haired girl seemingly unaffected even after calling some shots for Jaeger, Armin as always, said no to any form of beverage that would put him off his right mind. The Commander and Corporal had also joined their fun for the night, sitting across the young scouts with a drunk off her ass Hanji between them. Erwin had been admittedly buzzed from all he took in the past hour, Levi, still going strong, not even a single finger twitching as he took on more liquid.

These were the rare nights of the Survey Corps, wherein they’d be goofing around after a long and tiring day. Some of the nights they’d cherish, drinking under the subtle lamp light inside the pantry after dark. The Commander, even after loosing an arm a couple of weeks ago, would not pass this moment up. Levi, just right after his leg was healed took part in the chaos as well, claiming they would need someone sober to look after them. Hanji drowned herself, avoiding the thoughts of her fallen friends in the last expedition. The 104th cadets were still accepting the fact that Reiner and Bertholdt were the titans that wreaked havoc and ruined peace five years ago.

They let themselves indulge in the cheap alcohol Mike had left them in one of the cellars of the kitchen. A few bottles immediately going empty while the stronger ones were reserved for the long run. They were already on half of a bottle of Bacardi, taking shots alternatively as they laughed and share stories, forgetting about all the problems and sadness for now.

“More!” Hanji slurred, raising her mug up as Jean shakily slid the bottle across the table, Levi grabbing the glass and stopping it before it reached the brunette woman.

“That’s enough shitty glasses” he hissed, pulling the alcohol away from her direction, while she flailed her arms up lazily in an attempt to reach the item.

“But I want more” she pouted, as he used a free hand to push her away from her forehead.

“You’re already bat shit drunk. You’ll have a damn headache again and complain about your shitty hangover tomorrow morning” he growled, still holding her off.

“He’s right Hanji, you should stop” Erwin spoke from her opposite side, taking another swig of his own share.

“I really get the same answers from the same old men” she laughed bitterly. “You are all no fair”

The two men, upon noticing her distress, looked at each other and nodded. Levi let go of the bottle and poured her half of her glass, which she immediately obliged to. She was most likely thinking about Mike again, and it would beat the whole purpose of their drinking.

Levi knew it would take her only a few more drops to be knocked out, that was all they needed. As selfish as it is, they wanted to forget everything even for the night and act like everything was alright. They just needed a small break from reality before facing the truth again come day break, they didn’t need the squad leader sharing gloom after already an hour of being stress free.

As Levi predicted, she let down her mug and let it tilt till it dropped from her grasp with a thud once it hit the wooden table. Levi winced at the noise and possibility that the glass broke. He lifted it up carefully and sighed as he eyed at her peacefully sleeping figure. She had always bee the same, resistance low for booze, always the first one to be knocked out cold during their sessions.

He reached out a hand to carefully remove stray strands of hair that framed her eyes, another set of fingers hitting his before he could do so. His gaze met the blonde man from the other direction, eyebrows equally furrowed as his as they showed the same concern for the woman between them, tension slowly building up that the new recruits seemed to notice.

“I bet they both have a thing for the squad leader” Connie first whispered to Sasha, way too loud that the two men heard it, and whipped their attention towards the boy.

“Seconded” Sasha laughed, totally oblivious to the stares of her superiors.

“What are you brats talking about?!” the Corporal hissed, making the duo pipe down as they stared at them with fear.

“N-nothing sir! S-sorry!” The girl trembled, trying to brush them off.

“Well I guess the truth cannot be held off for long” Erwin laughed, surprising the short man nearly a meter away from him. “Relationships aren’t really forbidden amongst us soldiers, but it is a choice” His only hand reached out for her, finally tucking the loose hair behind her hair.

“So is that a confirmation that you indeed like her Commander?” Jean smirked, before Eren nudged him and he managed to spill a few drops of liquor on his pants.

“Why are we even talking about this?” Levi groaned, shooting an intimidating look to the cadets in front of him who seemed to take entertainment into the lives of their superiors.

“I actually do like her, but I’d rather not be selfish for my own feelings” Erwin declared, earning a holler from the scouts.

Levi was becoming confused, not being able to say a word as he stared at the Commander with anger, or rather jealousy. He couldn’t fathom it why he was so affected by Erwin’s proclamation of Love for the filthy woman, but he was beyond annoyed, his heart bubbling an unfamiliar feeling to his senses.

“The Corporal is suddenly quiet” Sasha snickered, earning another glare from him.

“He’s just jealous” Connie pointed out to him.

“Enough about this topic” he growled at everyone, yet they did not pipe down. He started getting tickled off by their alcohol induced systems. They will surely be consumed by their own faults the next morning, through a hell of a hangover. He knew they probably will not remember anything about their activities the next morning, and will wake up groggy and in pain.

“Just admit it Corporal, what happens in this room stays here” Eren gave him a small smile, one that felt weird. Jaeger was surely getting too close with everyone today. He did not even lash out on Mikasa for taking his shares a few times. He only teased Jean quite a fewer times than usual and was getting all good boy manner to everyone else.

“My personal life is none of your business” he took another shot, feeling the pressure everyone around him threw in his way.

“So you admit it?” Armin taunted this time. He shot a look at the boy who who only gave him a playful smile.

“The corporal is blushing” Jean teased, he felt like he could never get tired shooting death glares to the scouts, yet they’d never pay any respect for him in their drunken state.

“So what is it to you if I bathe four eyes, save her from her damn titans, and clean her shitty glasses from time to time huh? You should all just find another brat to like and care about your own damn relationships” he hissed, surprised faces coming his way.

Silence enveloped them, as he realized what he had said. He had just revealed to the young ones that he cared for the woman. Erwin looked at him with a stoic expression, yet fiery eyes which dug into his soul. He returned the favor, having confidence to fight for her but never knew where the feeling came from. A fight on intimidation lingered between the two men, the one they are fighting for safe and soundly asleep under their gazes.

“I bet on the Commander” Jean broke the silence.

“How could you say that?!” Connie shot back. “I’ll put all Sasha’s secret food stash under her bed for the Corporal” the two superiors had directed their attention to the boy. Levi, knowing that he’d be the sober one, took note to check the cadet quarters the following morning for some stolen loots of food.

“Connie!” the brunette nervously hushing her partner.

“Just put your bet on the Corporal and I won’t point it out” she nodded her head.

“I’d say the Corporal” Eren followed, their eyes landing on the people who haven’t voted yet.

“Wherever Eren goes, I go” Mikasa followed.

“I say the safest bet would be the Commander” Historia finally spoke, sudden interest spurting out that the topic.

“But did no one think about Moblit who seemed to admire the Squad Leader so much too?” Armin spoke.

“Shut up Arlert” Levi growled at him, before returning his fury back to Erwin who was still unfazed.

“That was not even in the choices Armin” Eren scolded him while the blonde boy gave an apologetic look.

Their staring contest went on for a few minutes, none of the men showing intent to cave in. Even though it seemed ridiculous that they were fighting about a woman who will probably wake up the next morning without knowledge of what happened, everyone seemed so entertained about it. Two superiors bantering over another one, a rare issue between soldiers that was definitely eye and ear candy for anybody else.

“This is stupid” Levi first groaned, knowing the fight would not result to anything.

“But its already amusing Levi. Besides, I never intend to loose” Erwin added fuel to the fire.

“Shut up Erwin. I bet your brainy ass won’t even remember a thing tomorrow like the rest of you brats” they only laughed at him.

“They may not remember captain, but you’re not the only sober one in this room” Armin gave him a wicked look which sent chills up his spine. The kid has his own way of mental torture that can fuck up everyone in his way. He certainly had something up his sleeve, like the two smart veterans he was fooling with at the moment. They always had a plan, and Arlert seemed to be on their level as well.

“This thing would be useless if you all plummet to unexpected death on the next expedition” he growled, silence suddenly stopping their fun. He touched a sensitive topic which immediately made him want to take it back for a moment. How dare he mention their precious lives into their jokes.

“Yeah that’s right!” Connie screamed. “Therefore, we must all live to witness this great moment of who gets to marry squad leader Hanji” although annoyed, he silently thanked the boy for easing the gloomy aura he caused. The others began to perk up and join him.

“Yup! We will live for years long and watch weather the Commander or Corporal wins” Eren followed short after.

“I still bet on the Commander though” Jean declared.

“And I still bet Sasha’s food stash on the Corporal” he got a glare from the brunette.

“Just shut up and get over with all already” Levi hissed.

“Then I say we survive and see the greater days” Erwin raised his newly filled mug up the air. He sent a smile on Levi’s way as he raised his own glass to the middle.

“Survive and live a better life!” Connie joined in.

“Survive and reclaim land for more cattle and meat!” Sasha piped up, eyes looking up as she imagined all the food opportunities.

“Survive and regain peace for the land” Historia added, somewhat already sounding like a proclaimed queen.

“Survive and reclaim Shiganshina, uncover the knowledge my father had left behind for me” The last trio merged their own glasses to the circle.

“Survive and find out the truth about my titan babies!”

“Survive!” They all chanted, clicking their mugs together and chugging the last drops of liquor they had. A smile on everyone’s faces as they vowed to live.

“Well that was great booze!” her laughter erupted once again, making everyone turn their heads towards her. “What did I miss?” she asked, hazel irises wide as all her comrades stared at her.

“Hanji” Erwin laughed first, clearly intoxicated.

“You fucking four eyes” Levi followed, earning soft chuckles from everyone.

Still, after that night, she was oblivious to everything that happened around her.

[sorcieresque]

naisy gossip from the past couple of days on: ai’s shapeshifting and the legitimacy thereof, the shape of daisy’s head, trans troubles, daisy being offended by her implied sluttiness, a detour to dick jokes,  a detour from dick jokes to feelings jamming, a detour about ines’s annoyingness factor, lesbian island and clea

nickatnightwalker brief interjection: you doing okay with tweedle drunk and tweedle drunker over there?

sorcieresque Are you.

nickatnightwalker well, ive been completely cured of the siren charm probably forever

sorcieresque Good. He's not that cute either way. Tyler's a mess. It's embarrassing.

nickatnightwalker it's amazing how fast my interest in either of them dropped.  like watching a rock plummet off the empire state building and then kill some passers by

nickatnightwalker anyway me and damian are going for a walk until their blood alcohol levels drop below .6. wanna come

sorcieresque I take a low res picture, fry it, and caption the rock in comic sans: My interest, the passers-by Tyler's chances of getting laid, the empire state building is captioned God. I'm not going to third wheel you. I’ll have you know I have better social skills than that.

nickatnightwalker this is an escape run daise take it or leave it

sorcieresque Fine. This doppelganger fiasco is getting boring either way.

nickatnightwalker shes not real good is she

sorcieresque No. Having a 3D mirror was fun for all about twenty minutes, which makes for better bragging rights than most people have ever had. She should be proud.

nickatnightwalker now do you get what i mean about your head being weird shaped

sorcieresque Fuck you. My head is perfectly round.

nickatnightwalker round ish

sorcieresque Your face is round-ish.

nickatnightwalker no it's not my jawline is the only good thing my dad ever gave me and you cant erase that fact

sorcieresque I could if I wanted to. Take back that my head is weird-shaped.

nickatnightwalker you cant change my face

sorcieresque I can and I shall.

nickatnightwalker cant and shant

sorcieresque Take it back.

nickatnightwalker you must have seen it though

sorcieresque I was too busy being mesmerized by the acute angles of my cheekbones.

nickatnightwalker huh you really missed an opportunity there then

sorcieresque Let a shapeshifter pour themselves into an unholy you-shaped mold and then you shall throw stones.

nickatnightwalker absolutely not hey do you think ai could even turn into me she doesnt really know what i look like

sorcieresque What do you mean.

nickatnightwalker i mean it's not like ive stripped and tap danced through the quad shes gonna get shit wrong

sorcieresque Right. I assumed that was left to her vague interpretation. It's not like she knows what the hot goods look like beneath my skirts.

nickatnightwalker kind of unsettling maybe everythings just barbie and ken under there when she turns into us

sorcieresque On a scale of one to very, how rude would it be to ask her to take her clothes off.

nickatnightwalker for you i think she would happily

sorcieresque I know. It's charming. My intentions are only pure and scientific.

nickatnightwalker that part she might not love

sorcieresque That sounds like a her-problem.

nickatnightwalker itll be a you problem if she says no

sorcieresque What if she knows how to mold us to a T.

nickatnightwalker how could she possibly

sorcieresque Magic? (Finger waving, etc.)

nickatnightwalker no, she has to know what somethign looks like to be it theres no way shes gotta just be vague nothing underneath

sorcieresque Then what's the big deal. Don't be a pussy.

nickatnightwalker well excuse me for being reluctant if the odds arent 100% against her finding out ive GOT one

sorcieresque What, did you forget you're not the only one in the world? She didn't seem to know about me.

nickatnightwalker theres a lot less to guess on with you daise

nickatnightwalker no offense but im pretty sure everyone heres seen you shirtless or close enough to to make a good approximately of nearly everything going on up there

nickatnightwalker and most of us have seen your ass too

sorcieresque That's an exaggeration, but you're welcome. There is not "less" going on with me, just different issues in the downstairs department.

nickatnightwalker no, not less, just less that people dont know about it's the public semi-nudity daise

sorcieresque You make it sound a lot worse than it is.

sorcieresque You'd think after all these years you wouldn't be so scandalized of my alleged indecency.

nickatnightwalker oh no im not but everyone else isnt hardened to it yet

sorcieresque Haha. Hardened.

nickatnightwalker i dont get it can you explain?

sorcieresque Penis Havers + Sight of Skin = Profit.

nickatnightwalker hm. yknow ive always managed it without the sight of skin part?

sorcieresque Ooh, Mr. Nick, ooh.

sorcieresque The mere sight of your melaninless face sends every phallus in a two mile radius from solid to mega solid.

nickatnightwalker you joke and yet

sorcieresque Deepthroating a banana is cheating.

nickatnightwalker no it is NOT besides thats just how i eat them

sorcieresque Perhaps you and Ines are much more similar than you'd like to believe.

nickatnightwalker please, as if she could eat a banana like i can

sorcieresque She can unhinge her jaw, Nick.

nickatnightwalker you got me there but that really seems like a sacrifice in terms of pressure and suction

sorcieresque I suddenly don't care about this.

nickatnightwalker some principles are universal daisy

sorcieresque I hardly see how unhinging your jaw would aid one outside of pleasing the mighty sword of Venus, oh Great Kahuna of Oral Sex.

nickatnightwalker itd kinda be win some lose some just because youd get greater range of motion but lose a lot of use of your lips

sorcieresque Not that this conversation isn't dripping mystery and pulsing with excitement, but are you okay.

nickatnightwalker what oh yeah he just asked if i like being human

nickatnightwalker like...idk man do i like that ive been consigned to a particularly fragile and ill-fitting meat suit? sure i guess, since the alternative was not existing at all shout out to my dads poor planning aaaaaaaay

sorcieresque Aaaay! Asking you that must count as a micro-aggression around here.

nickatnightwalker oh fuck if i know everything is a micro-aggression around here asking somebody their favorite food is a micro-aggression around here "hey whats your favorite color" "do you not know how PERSONAL colors are to me once a color murdered my entire family and now im forced to brood silently yet threateningly whenever i see it"

sorcieresque Does he like *not* being human? Respond in 2000-5000 words MLA format on your desk by tomorrow.

nickatnightwalker as a matter of fact thats exactly what i just told him

sorcieresque Twinsies.

nickatnightwalker i bet we could start telling people that tomorrow and theyd swallow it hook line and sinker

sorcieresque On that note, has Damian grown out of his sisterwife kink yet?

nickatnightwalker while i dont know what his personal feelings are on it knocking that joke out of the repertoire was part of the motherfucking bargain in exchange for letting him talk to me after hurricane daniel

sorcieresque You've always been good at haggling.

nickatnightwalker thank you you know i really, really debated putting an allowance in there for a while?

sorcieresque Ha! Perhaps not quite so good, then.

nickatnightwalker that was a trade off for my own self respect daisy

sorcieresque I suppose some of you /humans/ have that.

nickatnightwalker oh god dont even go there or i'll vanish your hair too

sorcieresque Someone's touchy.

nickatnightwalker shes just about as annoying as an asscrack full of sand

sorcieresque An asscrack full of sand and sticky hands from a rapidly melting Popsicle?

nickatnightwalker with sand glued onto your arms and legs with too-thick sunscreen scratching gently but persistently at your sunburn

sorcieresque And your sunglasses are smudged.

nickatnightwalker and your towel is too sandy to clean them on

sorcieresque And there's Sandflies.

nickatnightwalker when you shower youre gonna find dried seaweed down your bathing suit thats been there for hours

sorcieresque Like lovingly cradling Satan against your crotch. Anyway.

nickatnightwalker anyway shes real fuckin annoying

sorcieresque She's not so bad. I would have stopped around the sunglasses.

nickatnightwalker you havent seen her raging superiority complex up close and personal

sorcieresque I've seen her raging Mine Song complex.

nickatnightwalker that is one can of lesbian worms i am not gonna go anywhere the fuck near

nickatnightwalker im gonna just stay over here in my lane and not get in anywhere near anything the amazon warriors have claimed, up to and including the entire proteus dorm

sorcieresque What about /my/ problems, Nick.

nickatnightwalker cleas gotta come out, im not goin in

nickatnightwalker i dunno if you wanna take on the sapphic equivalent of the mongol horde  that's your bad choice not mine

sorcieresque Well mark my death as "mysterious" on my Wikipedia page and call me sexy Genghis Khan, I'm ready.

nickatnightwalker is there anything really worth conquering over there anyway

sorcieresque Yes.

nickatnightwalker name names bitch!

sorcieresque What is this, a middle school sleepover?

nickatnightwalker yep

nickatnightwalker ive got the popcorn in the microwave now spill

sorcieresque You're subscribed to the Daily Daisy, I was under the impression that you would have an idea. Unless it's tagged Nick don't look, in which case you do not, because we respect each other's privacy.

nickatnightwalker of course i dont but i have YET to see a name drop

sorcieresque Are you asking me if there is a lucky military strategist I would particularly like to conquer?

nickatnightwalker yes imagine some clapping emojisfor me

sorcieresque You're very insistent.

nickatnightwalker well yeah

nickatnightwalker course i wanna hear whats up

sorcieresque Oh.

sorcieresque Well, no single tactician has caught my eye just yet, but I find some of the army members, how do you say, cute. Ines among them.

sorcieresque You love to joke about it, but I don't actually find Tyler's game plans all that exciting. Val's too annoying and Gabriela too dumb to strive beyond eye candy. I've caught glimpses of Clea, you know.

nickatnightwalker thats vague and intriguing keep going

sorcieresque That's all there is to say.

sorcieresque Sometimes they are there, and then they are back to being a walking kaleidoscope on steroids. I think they're cute.

nickatnightwalker they sent me a picture of them before yknow, before why can you see them?

sorcieresque I don't know. And oh. How very juicy of them.

nickatnightwalker dyou want it

sorcieresque Absolutely I do.

nickatnightwalker [it's an incredibly middle-school mirror selfie]

sorcieresque I see. Thank you for your candor.

nickatnightwalker youre welcome you and clea all straightened out? after what they said and everything i know they apologized but still

sorcieresque I made them clamber up the vine and hang from my window. It was very romantic.

nickatnightwalker oh thats so smooth im impressed of you i mean since you told them what to do

sorcieresque And isn't that a most excellent quality in a person.

nickatnightwalker obedience? generally speaking a better quality in a housepet than a person but cleas got other perks

sorcieresque Yes? And what would those be.

nickatnightwalker a fourth dimension australian accent

sorcieresque The compulsive chivalry grew on me.

nickatnightwalker it really is compulsive i swear they keep trying to stop

sorcieresque Interesting.

sorcieresque I could've sworn that was supposed to be their shtick.

nickatnightwalker i thought their shtick was quirky 90s friend

sorcieresque They contain multitudes. That's why they look like that.

nickatnightwalker well shit youre not wrong there i feel threatened by their only-sane-man and rational-human motifs though that's really kinda my thing

sorcieresque Your shtick is far more interesting than being a "rational" person.

nickatnightwalker thank you i do try to work that in though at least sometimes

sorcieresque Do you think it brings an eclectic factor to the jittery je ne sais quoi of your attractiveness?

nickatnightwalker absolutely i do i think it emphasizes that my jitteriness is not unfounded

sorcieresque Wow, you're even internally consistent.

nickatnightwalker oh yeah definitely what you see is what you get with me

sorcieresque Whatever happened to the mystery!

nickatnightwalker new school new me

sorcieresque Your transparency of character disgusts me.

nickatnightwalker oh man daise it disgusts me too

[shewhowantsmouseears]

Love Like Lava, 3

Notes: As always, big thanks to my editors Drucilla and BlueShifted.

Managed to pop one more out before vacation time! One of the hardest things about this story was what to do with the Pygmalion mythos. At first glance it seems sweet, but once you take a closer look it does get pretty creepy. So I wrestled for a while how to fix it - and only in the last month or so did it finally come to me. What will happen to Goofy and the statue? You'll have to wait to find out.

For those new to my stories or just need a refresher - Millie is a fanmade OC made between myself and my friend Ange.

Summary: A woman lost to the sea, and a god lost to time. In her own way, Minnie will bring her gifts to those who didn't ask.

Whenever Daisy was informing Minnie about the ways of the world, which had almost become a daily routine by this point, the love goddess always paid rapt attention. She wanted to memorize every single detail her first friend gave her and to no longer feel as though she were a pathetic infant. But as the two immortals strolled around a quaint village of cobblestone, Minnie found herself unusually distracted. Daisy was explaining the differences between demigods, regular gods, and “The Big Three” as she called them, but Minnie kept sucking in her cheek and smacking her lips.

“Demigods, like myself, have only half the power of a regular god,” Daisy said, having chosen to wear a sunflower in her hair. Like all the other times they had taken casual walks through mortal homes, the two were invisible to the common eye. In an earlier lesson, Daisy had proven this by plucking off one of the seeds from her sunflower and flicking it at an elderly man's cheek. He had paused, picked up the fallen seed, and decided that it must have fallen from the mouth of a bird flying overheard. “For example, I can't summon a Viewing Mirror and I can't influence the mind of any mortal. Now the Big Three, they're all powerful, but it comes at a cost. Like my husband-”

The longwinded explanation came to an abrupt halt when she heard Minnie's lips smack once again. She stopped in place, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms. One of the things that Minnie adored about Daisy was that she was never shy about how she felt, and right now she was obviously annoyed. “Do that one more time and I'll have you sit in a garden full of corpse flowers. Three guesses what they smell like and the first two don't count.”

Minnie hung her head like an ashamed child, twiddling her thumbs. “I'm sorry, Daisy. I just – I can't explain it...”

“Then ask. It's what I'm here for, apparently.” The two temporarily stopped where they were, and any mortals walking along the same path felt an inclination to walk around, perhaps thinking they wanted to avoid stepping in a puddle of mud.

“Oh, I do appreciate you teaching me so much! But – But sometimes I get worried I'm annoying you.”

“You are,” Daisy replied calmly, her bluntness another odd but helpful stable of this friendship. “But I figure the sooner you learn everything you need to know, the sooner we can get to know the real you. Knowing something doesn't define you. It's what you do with the knowledge.” Plus it gave Daisy's ego an extra boost. After being treated like a fool and a damsel in distress by her mother and those superior snotty gods on Mount Olympus, having someone admire and look up to her was more than welcome. “I'll admit, you being so cute does cut the annoyance down by half.”

It was supposed to be a compliment, but Minnie frowned, still being adorable as her pouting exposed dimples in her cheeks. She hated to have her friendship watered down by her own beauty. “All right, but you'll think it's strange. I...I've just been having the strangest craving for peaches the last couple of days.” When she told Pete, Mortimer, and Gladstone this, she was hoping to get some kind of answer. Instead, she got armfuls of peaches, followed by the men throwing peaches at each other because each one believed they should have been the only one feeding her.

Daisy blinked slowly three times before getting an idea. “A craving like that might mean someone offered peaches at your temple...And you have a temple! Way to go!” In congratulations, she ruffled the top of Minnie's head, and was both amused and miffed to find that each delicate curl of fur simply bounced right back into place.

“I have a temple?” Minnie asked out loud, but in that same second she felt it was true. “I have a temple! Oh goody!” Having so very few things she could call her own, the idea filled her to the brim with excitement, especially because as Daisy had told her on day one, mortals built temples. “People actually worked on it and built it, with their own hands! They didn't have powers or anything! Daisy, I want to go see it, I want go see it!” She skipped in glee, frolicking ahead of Daisy.

“Okay, but don't expect much!” Daisy called after her, trying to catch up to Minnie's dancing. “You're a new goddess! You won't have any statues or paintings or wall carvings! Slow down, will you?” But no matter how hard she tried to put a lid on Minnie's happiness, it wouldn't simmer down. She wound up having to chase after her friend, stifling chuckles in her throat. If this was a glance at Minnie's real personality underneath all the questions, perhaps she was as cute on the inside as she was on the outside.

Minnie thought it was sheer coincidence that her temple was in the very same village they were visiting that day, but Daisy didn't believe in coincidences. When you lived as long as she had, it was easier to see that random happenings were part of fate's ultimate design. As the duck had tried to warn her beforehand, the temple was nothing to brag about. It was smaller than the average house, with red paint that had already begun to show signs of scratches. The entrance was a little lopsided, and inside was only one altar in the middle of a tiny room. But Minnie loved it, loved it, loved it to pieces, running her hands on the walls and twirling around to make sure she'd seen absolutely everything. This was hers, and hers alone. “It's beautiful!”

“If you say so,” Daisy winced as she stepped inside, a wretched stench hitting her nostrils. “Ugh...and I think we found your craving.” Placing a hand over her beak, she approached the altar where a crate with now rotten peaches sat. “Oh, for goodness sake! They're supposed to burn the offering! That's how we get it! Whoever did this must be a few horses short of a full stable.”

Still, Minnie's mood wouldn't be beat, and she even hugged the crate, despite suffering from the same ghastly smell hitting her nose. “It's what they did with the knowledge, remember? And I think it's a wonderful gift...even if it is going to going to make me throw up in a few minutes.” Swallowing down an urge to gag, she now inspected the crate with loving care to find a name or an identifying feature. “I want to thank whoever did this!”

“Well, that is your right.” Daisy inched back towards the entrance, trying to waft away the smell with her hand. “If a god or goddess really likes what someone offered, they can reward the mortal who gave it. I've helped a few farmers with their crops after the nice stuff they gave me. All you have to do is concentrate, and you can find whoever left this here.” And maybe give them a good smack upside the head, she mentally added.

“Yes, I'll concentrate! … Outside!”

Once the duo were out in fresh air, Minnie closed her eyes, concentrating long and hard about whoever it was that left her an offering. It was slightly more difficult than Daisy's blasé explanation, and she found she wasn't really sure what exactly she was supposed to be doing. In a fit of frustration, she wished whoever it was gave her some kind of sign.

“YAAAAAA-HA-HA-HOOOOIE!”

Minnie hadn't quite meant it like that. As she and Daisy heard the holler, they tilted their heads in unison as a runaway wagon careened down the nearby hill, rolling over and over on anything but its own wheels. The horses that were supposed to be guiding it were on top of the hill, in no rush to after the lost cargo. Fruits and vegetables splattered off the wagon – including peaches, Minnie noticed – and the villagers stepped aside, many wearing an irked expression as if this was the sign of another Monday. The wagon only stopped when it crashed into a fence, but its rider kept on going, rolling on the ground until gravity and exhaustion made him plop face-first in front of the girls, half of a watermelon stuck on his head.

“Minnie, don't concentrate so hard next time.”

“Sorry.”

Whoever it was dizzily tried to sit up, tugging on the watermelon but finding it hard to remove. The villagers got to work cleaning up his mess, with their irritation obvious in every shout.

“Nice going, you big goof!”

“You really put the pig in Pygmalion!”

“Why don't you do us all a favor and not cause trouble for ONE day?!”

The rider didn't reply, still too focused on his entrapment, now even using his feet in an attempt to pry the fruit off of his face. Daisy didn't know who to feel more sorry for – this mystery oaf, or for Minnie that said oaf was her very first worshipper. Yet Minnie didn't sound disappointed, as she tugged on Daisy's arm and pleaded gently, “Okay, so, how do I make him see me?”

Daisy raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure you want to 'meet' him? He seems kinda...”

“Welp,” said the mystery man, “May as well have a snack, long as I'm stuck.” Daisy felt the chewing noises that followed said more than she needed to.

“Yes, I'm very sure.” Minnie nodded once, holding her head with pride. “He did something very nice for me, and he didn't have to! All the gods on Mount Olympus fawn over me and give me things just because I look nice. But he's never even seen me before and he gave me a whole crate of peaches! And without breaking the crate, which...might be a very big deal for him.” Minnie had only known this man for roughly fifteen seconds and she was already overwhelmingly proud of him. Even though he had messed up, it was the thought that counted.

Daisy could see that Minnie wouldn't be persuaded otherwise. “Very well. But first? We don't tell him we're goddesses. That'll just cause a world of trouble.” She grasped Minnie's right hand, and Minnie felt warmth seeping into her skin. “Second, we can't look exactly like we already do. Might make a few of them go nuts, and that'll probably go double for the 'goddess of beauty'. So you have to think of how you want them to see you. I'll help you out, just this once.” Attaining a form that mortals could see required a lot of energy, and there was no way Daisy was letting the newborn goddess do this all her own.

As for the mortal man, now that he'd eaten his fill, the fruity cage on his head was easier to yank off. Now that he was free, the girls could see he was a dog, with long black ears dripping with red juice. His muzzle stuck out the same way his limbs did, a little too much to be considered handsome. His buck teeth didn't help any, and his slow blinking eyes didn't give any signs of great intelligence hiding behind them. He was pretty much what one expected when you hear someone being described as goofy.  But one probably didn't expect them to keep it as a name. Goofy was full of surprises, not all of them pleasant, but it was his turn to be surprised today.

He lifted his head and saw two exceptionally pretty ladies standing directly in front of him. They wore matching dresses colored pink and green, with matching sandals and even matching hairstyles that stretched over the same shoulders. But they couldn't be called twins, as Daisy had chosen to make herself look like an older woman of refined dignity, perhaps the matriarch of a rich family. She had found that mortals tended to respect the elderly even if they were complete strangers. Minnie on the other hand, had decided to go as a young girl, nearly budding out of childhood, as she felt it was unfair to “lie” to her worshipper about how old she was, or at least how old she felt.

Goofy was very sure he'd never seen either one of them before in the village, but instead of regarding that with suspicion, he smiled pleasantly and offered both of his hands. “Well, hello there! You folks must be new in town.”

“Why yes, we are,” Minnie chirped, having no idea what to do with the hand in front of her. “I'm Minnie, and this is Daisy!” Was she allowed to give out their chosen names like that? She quickly glanced at Daisy for approval, but thankfully her elder quietly nodded and took Goofy's hand to shake. Minnie eagerly copied the action. How fun!

“I'm Pygmalion, but everyone 'round here calls me Goofy!” When his hands were free, he pushed himself to stand, towering over both of them but making sure not to use his full height. “Nice ta meetcha! I'm sure you'll like our town real nice. We got the world's first temple to that new goddess, Aphrodite!” He tugged on his robe with his thumbs, bits of lettuce tumbling off as he did so. “Why, I even helped build it!”

“Will wonders never cease,” Daisy mumbled under her breath.

“You did a wonderful job!” Minnie had to physically jump and grab Goofy's hand to shake it again, which she did with much more vigor this time around. “It's so beautiful! It's a perfect temple! I couldn't ask – I mean, Aphrodite couldn't ask for one better!”

“Aw, shucks. Weren't nothin',” Goofy blushed with full rich color, allowing Minnie to have his hand as much as pleased. With every shake he lowered his head lower. “Every god's gotta have a temple, right? Even mean ol' Hades!” He would have gone into the details of how the temple was truly a group effort had Daisy not given him a good smack upside the head.

“My hand slipped,” Daisy lied through bared teeth. “Apologies.”

Goofy blinked slowly, but seemed to actually believe this. “Shoot, that's all right! No worse than what I do most times.” Speaking of which, he finally looked to survey the damage he'd done. His shoulders sagged as he saw his neighbors lift the wagon back onto its wheels and lasso the horses back to their proper places. “Oops. I was just tryin' to make some deliveries on the side. Maybe I should help clean up.”

“What do you mean, on the side?” Minnie asked, giving his hand an extra long tug to distract him.

It worked, as Goofy whipped his head around, right as rain again. “Just to make some extra money! No one's been buyin' my art, so I gotta find some way to put food on the table. But I think today I might wind up eatin' the table.”

Daisy had to admit she was getting curious. “You make art?”

“Can we see?” Minnie had almost started to hug Goofy's arm, which he would have allowed, but Daisy grabbed her by the shoulders and finally yanked her off. “Please, I would love to see your art, mister Goofy!”

The dog's eyes widened slightly, clearly surprised by such a request. His sad feelings about lost food and lost coin would have to wait. “Sure you can! My house is just a jump, skip, and a hop away! Oh boy, I ain't had visitors in a real long time.” With an extra bounce in his step, he walked along the stone pathway and the girls followed, trying to imagine what a man like this could make with his hands. They weren't very surprised to see his home resemble the temple – it was boringly average with scrapped paint, the windows and doors at odd angles. Daisy was afraid that if she sneezed too hard it would all come tumbling down. Minnie thought it was quaint.

“Home sweet home,” Goofy said, pushing open his wooden door that fell over onto the floor. He shrugged it off, and walked inside with a whistle. “Make yourselves comfy! Sorry about the mess. Can't prepare for what you don't expect, I suppose.”

In seconds Minnie would learn what a sculptor does, as the one floor home was decked in marble life. The floor was covered in broken bits of stone and dust, and a chipped shelf held rusty tools that had seen better days. Yet even Daisy was stunned because she, like everyone else in the village, hadn't expected anyone named Goofy to be good at carving statues.

“Oh, my! These are amazing!” Minnie exclaimed, and despite having an inexperienced worldview, she was absolutely right. These were amazing statues, because each one looked ready to spring to life. In one corner sat an elderly man reading bedtime stories to his dozing grandchildren. A mountain lion on the prowl took over a good portion of the floor. Collections of birds sitting on shy girls' shoulders lined up on a windowsill. Each masterpiece was filled with emotion and devotion, and the only thing to find displeasing about them was that they took up so much space that it was hard to move around.

“I don't believe this,” Daisy walked around a marble deer that was sniffing a fake flower. “I've seen statues in temples that don't look half as good! How do you do it?”

Goofy shrugged, unsure of how to answer what he thought was a fairly silly question. “I just do it. Been doin' this ever since I could hold a chisel in my hand. It's what makes me happy.”

Daisy had to bend in an awkward position in order not to knock off a young athlete throwing a sharp javelin. “And you're telling me nobody wants to buy these? Are they blind?”

As long as he was there, Goofy decided to get a bit of work done. He picked up his aging hammer and rusty chisel from his tool shelf, and began to add another layer to a princess' wedding cake. “Folks don't really believe a guy like me can make anythin' purdy-lookin'. Can't blame 'em, really.” He knelt down, wanting to make sure the strawberry that fell off the icing had the right number of leaves. “Folks see a sickly gardener, they might think his veggies ain't good. They see a weaver with shaky hands, they might think her baskets fall apart. Way of the world, I learned by now. People see what they see.”

“But that's not fair!” Daisy scoffed, her flippant hand almost knocking over a flock of hummingbirds. “People shouldn't judge you based on what they see!” Although she had to pause as she realized she had done the same thing mere moments ago. She lowered her hand, nervously twirling her hair around her finger. “And if they do, they should feel terrible about it.”

Goofy chuckled, thanking her kindly for her sympathy. But neither of them had yet to notice the missing third member of their party. A moment ago, as Minnie had been admiring the works around her, she'd noticed a room that instead of holding a door had a blue curtain serving as an entrance. Her inquisitive nature naturally led her towards the room, paying no mind to the conversation being held without her.

It was a bedroom, if Minnie had to fathom a guess based on the sole frayed excuse of a mattress lying on the floor covered by a blanket that in no way could cover the extremely long dog. Unlike the rest of the house, only one statue was in this room. But it was more brilliant and beautiful than all the others – perhaps more brilliant and beautiful than anything Minnie had ever seen in her short life.

A woman stood on a sandy beach, seashells decorated at her bare feet. She was a dainty poodle, with cut puffs of fur around her neck and wrists. Her dress had only one layer, yet it pooled around her as if it could go on for miles. Her eyes were closed, her chin down, and she smiled with peace and serenity. In her cupped hands lay a necklace, shabbily made with bits of broken seaglass and string, yet she held it as if was the most precious treasure on earth. Even those who could claim not to have an appreciation for such things could tell this was a statue made with purest, deepest love – and Minnie felt it within the depths of her very soul.

She reached out to touch the woman's dress, almost startled to feel marble instead of silk, and as she continued to gaze at the woman's blissful expression, tears filled Minnie's eyes. She could feel every second that Goofy had worked on this piece, every passionate chip, and it was indeed made with love – with a heart broken in untold agony. Minnie fell to her knees, unable to stop crying, as if Goofy's heartache was also hers.

By then the other two realized Minnie had gone, and when Daisy pushed aside the curtain to see her sobbing companion, she ran to throw her arms around the younger goddess. “Minnie!” She held her close, trying to see her face. “What is it? What's wrong?” Unable to form words at the time, Minnie wildly gestured at the statue. Daisy looked up – while she too thought it was far more gorgeous than anything she'd seen in the entrance, she didn't understand why it had sent Minnie into a fit. “It's a happy statue! Look at that face, she's smiling!” Worry gave way to anger, and she glared at Goofy since he was more or less responsible for this mess. “Help me out here, will you? What's this one supposed to be?”

Goofy was at a loss for words for several reasons. He had never intended for this particular statue to be seen by anyone else, and since he never had visitors, it had never occurred to him that a curtain wasn't exactly a way to ward someone off. He'd also never handled a sobbing girl since – since – hm. Well. Since her. “She's...She was...a girl I loved a long time ago.”

Was – that one word diffused Daisy's anger like throwing water on a candle. Married to the god of death, she knew more than anyone the power of “was”. All she could say in response was a diminutive “Oh.”

Goofy hadn't told anyone this story, so he wasn't sure how to go about it. He took his time walking towards the statue, his voice distant and pained. “Her name was Millicent. She liked 'Millie' better, though. Said she always thought the name was for a fancier girl, not for a sailor's daughter. She taught me all about nautical ropes, and always untied me when I got it wrong. We'd make sandcastles on the beach and make up constellations when the stars came out. She never made me feel dumb. Said I was just smart about different things. Millie always knew how to make me smile, and she always knew when I was sad. She was special, but she wanted to be with me anyway. I always thought she deserved better than the likes of me, but anytime I said so, she made me take it back. Said nobody deserved anybody. That hearts loved who they loved, no more, no less, and that her heart loved me.”

His fingers touched the necklace embedded into the statue, and while Minnie's cries had quieted down, he felt compelled to finish what it hurt to speak of. “Her Pa was always sailin' to other places, and when he had to go, so did she. Last time he did, he and Millie weren't sure when they'd be back. I thought long and hard...and then I made her a necklace. I knew it wasn't good, it's not like carvin'. But I told her how much I loved her, and that if she wore it when she came back home, I'd make her my wife.” How many years had it been since he'd stood on the port, waving her goodbye until her boat was a speck on the horizon? He'd long since lost count, or more accurately, had stopped counting when he learned of its fate.

“Sailors can prepare for the worst. But they ain't gods. They can't predict the weather perfectly. Nastiest storm on record...nothin' left but planks floatin' in the water. We had folks search all over the ocean, and that was all they could find.”

Goofy's cheeks were dry, perhaps unable to cry after years and years of howling over Millie's cruel fate. Daisy's cheeks were wet, yet despite her blurry vision she noticed a vital detail about the statue. “She's – she's not wearing the necklace.”

“Didn't think it'd be right.” His fingers slid off the marble, his hands hanging at his sides. “Didn't wanna make the choice for her.” Goofy looked down at the women, and then knelt down, tenderly petting Minnie between the ears. “Real sorry to make you hear that sob story. Last thing I ever wanna do is hurt someone. We can still make this day end on a good note, if'n you want. Always thought makin' a new friend was the best part of any day.” He pointed to his face, where despite all that had been said, a smile lay there with warmth and invitation. “You might not feel like you'll smile again, but you will.” A mantra he'd told himself thousands of times, no doubt.

Minnie didn't smile, but she did throw her arms around Goofy's neck for a tight hug. Daisy joined right after, and while Goofy was temporarily stunned, he embraced them both. “Ain't you ladies sweet as pie.” His stomach seemed to have no connection to his heart, as it began to growl at the mere mention of dessert. “Huh. Dinner for three...might be a little tricky.”

With that, Minnie pulled back, wiping her face. “Oh, no, we wouldn't dare intrude. You should feed yourself.”

“Anything we eat is going to taste salty at this rate,” Daisy added, pulling Minnie to her feet. “We should get going.”

Goofy was slightly disappointed to be deprived of company so soon, but he'd never impose. “If'n you say so. You two ever wanna come by, my door's always open! Or on the floor. Either way, you'll be welcome! And to make up for all that cryin', I'll make a special statue, just for Minnie here! It'll make you smile, that's a guarantee!” He jabbed a thumb to his chest, allowing himself to have a few handfuls of pride if it meant cheering someone up. “Whaddya want made?”

Minnie blinked with wet lashes. What did she want? That was a new one. She'd never been asked that before. The men on Mount Olympus assumed her wants and needs, and Daisy either gave Minnie a lesson in whatever she felt like teaching at that moment or waited for Minnie to ask something. No one had ever directly asked her what she wanted – so she said the first thing that came to mind. “Can you carve a peach?”

Such a bizarre answer made Goofy pause for half a second before bursting into charmed laughter, holding his belly with both hands. “A carved peach! Ain't ever thought of that one before! Why, I could carve you a whole peach tree, but just a single peach? Ain't you somethin'!”

Daisy smirked, glad to hear the sound of mirth again. “I think that means yes.”

Minnie was relieved she could give Goofy joy, her own was short lived as she concluded she was missing something very important. “Oh! Oh dear, I don't have any money on me!”

“Wouldn't take it even if ya did.” Goofy held up a hand, his fingers flat out. “I'd never charge a friend, and now we're all pals! You just come back in a little while, and I'll have the best carved peach anyone's ever seen! Gunna be a real beaut! Why, I'm gunna get started right this minute!” He paraded out of the room, whistling a merry tune.

Minnie watched the blue curtain flutter as he left, her tiny hands over her heart. “Mortals are amazing,” she said in a breathless whisper. “He can smile after losing the love of his life.”

“Well, mortals have to be made of stronger stuff than us,” Daisy agreed after snapping her fingers – their mortal disguises vanished, and they were invisible once more. “They can only live for a couple of decades, and lose people all the time. Takes a lot of work to kill a god. I don't think I'd want to live if someone I cared about died.” If something ever happened to her husband – nope, nope, nope, she wasn't even going to entertain that notion. “Okay, that's it, I've had enough of the blues. You know what always cheers my husband up? Sailing!”

Minnie gave Daisy a curt look and the duck realized once again she hadn't thought clearly. “Ah. Right. Maybe not today...but the beach is a close second! We'll think about what we can give Goofy as a reward.” She offered her hand.

“I don't think I could ever give him anything that would be enough,” Minnie lamented, her entire body sagging like a dying flower. She might have curled up on the floor and thought about Goofy's tragedy for millennia to come, but Daisy snatched Minnie's hand and forcibly teleported the two of them to the nearest beach – although without Minnie's immediate mental cooperation, they fell in the water instead of the sand.

Daisy popped her head out first, spitting and sputtering. “If I have to taste salt one more time today, I'm going to lose my mind! Tears are salty, this water's salty, I'm about to be salty!” Minnie's sudden giggling interrupted her ranting, making her temper flare even hotter. “What's so funny? You were crying a minute ago!”

“I'm not t-trying to laugh! S-something's tickling me!” Minnie shrieked, flailing her arms and kicking her legs. Daisy was about to tell her it was merely seaweed, when she too felt tickling fingers on her arms and legs. She tried to demand the assailant stop before she brought the wrath of a demigoddess upon them, but it wasn't really threatening when it was said before fits of high-pitched laughter.

It went on relentlessly until Minnie sunk underwater, being too tickled to keep herself afloat. The sensations suddenly stopped, and when Minnie swam back up, she saw their attackers. “Mermaids!” Daisy snapped, smashing the water with anger fists. “I should've known! You stupid things are always causing trouble!”

“I win!” the chubbier mermaid declared, oblivious to Daisy's fury as she spun in the water. “I win, I win, I win! Now you have to give it to me!”

“Awww, that's not faiiir!” the skinnier mermaid whined, her shoulders heaving up and down as she wailed. “Can we go for two out of three?”

“No, you can't!” Daisy knocked their heads together, making them squeak and roll their empty heads about. “Minnie, don't you ever try to go near these things. Mermaids are just a bunch of ditzes! If we were mortals, we might've drowned!”

“Well, maybe they knew we weren't mortal,” Minnie pointed out. If Goofy had taught them anything, it was clearly not to judge people by first glance. “What were you two doing? Was that some kind of game?”

The girls looked at Minnie and – as usual when people got a first look at her – they were awestruck by her beauty. With wide eyes and stopped hearts, they quickly forgot their squabble and began preening and playing with Minnie's hair and fur. “She's pretty!” “She's sooo pretty!” “Let's dress her up!” “Yes, yes, let's play dress up!”

Daisy rolled her eyes, tempted to give a very loud “I told you so”. But Minnie touched the girls by their shoulders, pushing them back. “She's right, you know. If we weren't goddesses, that little game of yours could have hurt someone! That's not very nice!” How else would they know if someone wasn't going to tell them?

To Daisy's surprise, the mermaids appeared to consider this, though not for the reasons she thought. They looked at each other, concern twisting their scaly features.

“Not very nice? That means not very good!”

“Oh no, we're not good girls!”

“Only good girls get gifts!”

“I want to be a good girl!”

“Me too, me too!”

Minnie smiled, feeling like the smarter one. It felt nice to teach someone else something, and she clapped her hands together. Daisy huffed, but tried to wait patiently as the lesson continued. “Now then,” Minnie instructed, trying to imitate Daisy's confidence. “If you want to be good, an apology works! Just say you're sorry and we'll forgive you.”

“I won't,” Daisy felt obligated to mutter.

“We're sorry!” the mermaids said together.

“Whoever got someone to sink won.”

“And I won.”

“And I have to give her this because I said she could have it if she won.” But as the skinnier mermaid began to take off her golden bracelet, she gasped with an idea. “But an apology with a gift, that's twice as good! I'll be an extra good girl!”

“I'll be an extra good girl too!”

“Maybe Mickey will give us extra gifts because we're extra good!”

As Minnie took the bracelet, noting its lovely features and how it perfectly glinted in the sunlight, she asked, “Who's Mickey?”

“Mickey's our friend.”

“He's a god.” “He's the best god, after Poseidon.”

“But Poseidon doesn't give us gifts for being good.”

“So we like Mickey better.”

“Mickey's the best!”

Minnie assumed she wasn't going to get too much detail from these girls, so she turned to Daisy, and asked the expert on everything. “Who's Mickey?” she asked again. If it was a god, Daisy had to know them.

But for the very first time since Minnie had met Daisy, Daisy didn't have an answer for her. Daisy herself seemed to be bewildered, her hands open and closing with confusion. She knew every single god on Mount Olympus, she knew who ruled over the dead and who ruled over the ocean, she knew the demigods like herself that had mortal parentage, she knew many centaurs and satyrs and favorite mortals, she knew what happened at the beginning of time and the cursed lineage of Zeus and his ancestors.

“I...I've never heard of a god named Mickey!”