#finn and stark will surely be good friends

[books-are-my-life-stuff]

I love my crybaby boys of this season

[inkyycapp]

how i think characters would react

if you got (very) hurt: adventure time edition.

tw/cw : angst, fluff, blood, violence, gore?, terrible story building, implied romance, fionna and cake spoilers, a lot of cringe, self-indulgence, character hcs, etc...

[a/n: this is very sloppy and rush as i made this between classes so it's half edited half not and not at all proof read. forgive me. thank you for the love on my last posts!! i wasn't expecting my adventure time hcs to get the attention it did, thank you so much!! i have finished fionna and cake(twice) so, my hcs might slightly shift a bit. at the moment. thinking of cross posting on ao3. reader is usually always gender neutral in all my posts unless stated otherwise. that's all! i'm open to requests and my dms/pms are open. thank you! new additions as well!! this is all i have, i'm sorry. a few more are in the drafts. please tell me if i missed anything tag and cw/tw wise! thank you.]

[holy shit, fionna and cake's finn. honka honka. i don't deserve a platform.]

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|| it all happened so fast. you could barely recall what happened. one moment you're up-right, after the next you're trying to pick yourself off the ground. your breathing grew more labored at every attempt, and the smell of iron hung heavy in the air. the warm liquid on your hands was a stark contrast to cold that began to wrack your body. it wasn't long 'til your vision faded to black, leaving only questions behind into your last fleeting thoughts. ||

finn.

(the favorite. my favorite.)

-the both of you were exploring an old cave. deep, dark, and damp. it was said to hold treasure far back into the cave, and out of curiosity you both went to explore. what you didn't know was that many people sought out that treasure. many dangerous people.

-going deeper into the cave, you and finn found the treasure, though nothing cool to take back except for a few cool rings. turning on your way out, with your back to the entrance, a sharp pain was felt through your body. looking down you saw the bloodied blade of a sword. you had no time to react as you were shoved off the blade and onto the ground. from there, it was a blur.

-finn would (violently) remove anyone involved. while brutal, he makes sure to end it quick--he doesn't have time for them when you're bleeding out on the ground.

-finn never stopped talking to you, even if you're asleep. it's always optimistic-- he talks about; new things he's found, friends he talked to recently, any new news, old and new stories, the next date he'll take you on, etc... he rambled hours on end in a one-sided conversation. it's how he copes.

-finn's trying to be uplifting. but, by himself he's a mess. he rarely stays at the treehouse because he's too restless. he feels weak, and unable to do anything. when finn's not at your side he's fighting through his feelings. finn had learned it wasn't healthy to use violence as his only outlet, but it makes him feel something that isn't the heavy stone in his chest when he sees you.

-he's a patient man, he knows you'll wake up soon. he just had to be patient. but after around a few days he doesn't want to be "patient" anymore. he wants you to wake up now. finn knows he can't make that happen, but it was a selfish want to keep himself going.

-when you did wake up, he was all over you. there wasn't a time when he wasn't with you, or at least in the same vicinity as you.

-good luck trying to pry yourself away from his arms. this man has fought monsters thrice his size for fun. even your prettiest please wasn't going to work, not this time. you almost died. you could've died and he couldn't do anything about it. those memories never left his brain basket, even when your recovery was going smoothly.

-very anxious about letting you tag along, but knows you'll probably go off on your own if he refuses to take you along. he feels it's safer to allow you to come along, rather than go off on your own. with him, he knows that at least this time he could do better. he won't ever have a repeat of last time.

-finn keeps you close during each adventure, even losing sleep watching the surroundings to be sure no one sneaks up on you. he will refuse to sleep, so you'd have to force him. please give this man all the reassurance, he really needs it. it won't stop his anxiety, or his fear of it happening again, but it puts him at ease. even if it's just a little bit, it helps, nonetheless.

-

fern.

-the green knight has plenty of enemies. of course, fern could protect himself, and you could do the same. however, even if you could protect yourself, there wasn't any chance to protect yourself getting jumped, and a dirty stab to the back. the most dishonorable way to lose to a foe. the amount of ever growing disrespect.

-he loses his shit. sure, he gets mad quickly, but if you were awake to see him like this: holy shit. he grows plentiful thorns, and poison flowers all over himself subconsciously. (he's actually very pretty like this.)

-he's livid, and you're not conscious to do anything about it. and that's just it, you're unconscious, bleeding out on the ground. fern couldn't quite process it just yet. normally you'd stop him from going too far, but you can't right now. that's supposed to never happen. he's confused and angry, and you're not waking up. you're not moving. so, he cuts down anyone involved in a quick motion. he doesn't care how brutal, as long as it's quick. fern wastes no time in picking you up (after managing the thorns and flowers) and taking you to doctor princess.

-fern can't stand seeing you like this. laying weakly on that hospital bed.

-if you think finn's not good at coping, fern is much worse. he doesn't even cope. he's just...there.

-he's so confused, and just shuts down a bit. like he's still there, he's still the green knight-- fern. but, he's just distant. not quite himself-- off.

-fern is unable to wrap his head around what happened to you, but he goes about his 'normal' life. he tries to just go about his casual life without you there, and he's just confused. it doesn't take long before he grows upset, allowing the rage to boil.

-'they used to do that.' 'this was their favorite color.' 'they were supposed to fix that.' 'they like bird houses.' everything reminds him of you. it's impossible to go a single day without a reminder that you're still unconscious.

-i think it gets more apparent when he's out and about as the green knight. he's more violent. but, he doesn't mean to be. it just...happens.

-he's likely not there when you first wake, but when he gets there fern's complaining about everything under his breath. but when he sees you up, that bed isn't just for you anymore.

-he's holding you close, with a firm hold and refusing to let go. he's scolding you for not waking up sooner, and complaining about how life without you was too different. he tried to be casual, but he missed you a bit too much.

-there is also no prying fern off of you-- a common thing between all of them. once you're up, there is no separating you both for a few hours at the least.

-fern is also hesitant about letting you rejoin him on the adventures, but as long as you stay close, and keep weapon on you at all times, he'll agree. but, all of your wounds-- every. single. one.-- had to be medically evaluated as ok, and no threat to your health before anything.

-

farmworld!finn.

(post crown -- pre fionna and cake.)

-he's in shock, not moving for a few moments. he knew why he'd be hated, or hunted down, killed even, but why you? why did they have to drag you into this?

-someone in the many gangs around the parts found you somewhere in the clearing waiting for finn. you both had previously planned a picnic out in a nice clearing in the woods. he was running late. but, once he found you bleeding out and onto grass, he's thrown way off guard.

-finn is quickly trying to pick you off the grass, trying to get you out of there, and dragging you back to his cabin. finn manages to tend to each of your wounds. though, the moment he's done, and you're in a stable condition-- he's leaving the cabin for a few hours.

-he finds whoever did this to you, and doing what he couldn't earlier. finn is driving in the same injuries they gave to you over and over again. he doesn't let up until he's in tears. finn knows that this changes nothing. he knows this won't make him feel better, but he needed to do something. anything. even if it's for his own sadistic pleasure to see the regret on their faces-- to see them like this. pathetically clawing at the dirt in an attempt to ground themselves through the pain-- trying to crawl away from his bloodied hands.

-(robot hand included.)

-finn leaves them with their lives(barely), and a warning before disappearing into the woods.

-he is struggling to cope. finn hold your hand in his abnormally cold one running his thumb over your knuckles. he's constantly checking in on you, and rarely leaving your side. sleeping, and eating could wait. after all that's happened with the crown, you're all he has left. he can't lose you too.

-he stays by your side as much as he can. finn knows he should probably take his mind off of...your condition and stay productive but it's difficult. the only reason the cabin is warm is because if it got too cold you'd start to shake. he makes food only because if you wake up you might be hungry.

-he doesn't know what to do for the most part, just waiting and hoping that you'll be better in no time. a fear lingers deep inside him that you'll worsen the moment he closes his eyes. so, finn stays up. there are times when he has passed out around the house, and when he wakes up he's absolutely terrified; running to check on you, checking to make sure your wounds haven't reopened, making sure you're alive.

-a deep seeded fear the you'll wilt away in his arms. it keeps him up at night-- it eats at him day by day.

-you're finally awake, but even then the fear doesn't fade. he's at you're every call so much that it begins to worry you.

-you'll have to force him, and i mean force him to sleep. you're ok, he's ok-- everything is ok. he can finally rest.

-he's just happy you're still there with him.

-

prismo.

-you? hurt? nope. not on his time watch. prismo has you out of the situation in seconds, without a scratch. he refuses to ever see you in any pain.

-though, hypothetically, if there's ever a time where you do get hurt, and your wounds cannot be fixed with his wish master magic, and he's "too late", he's not so well.

-you're on a comfy little bed in the wishing room, laying on top of him. your wounds are bandaged up, and cleaned, with your breathing finally stable.

-he never leaves you side once. (sensing a pattern in everyone.) it's either him, or a copy of him. when he's granting wishes to whoever manages to make it to his wishing room, he keeps you in the cube with a copy of himself to watch over you.

-tries to make small talk with your unconscious self...it doesn't go well. the owl visits more often only to lay it's eyes upon the slum prismo is in.

-the cosmic owl tries to ease the depression, though fails miserably. if jake is still alive; his visits, brings gifts, barber sessions, the whole mile for his other best bud. it does kinda help, even if it was just a bit-- but, he's greatful nonetheless.

-while he could be doing better, prismo is doing the best out of everyone to be honest(if jake is around). jake's visits have been more than helpful to this guy, and honestly without jake, he'd be worse than just a mess.

-when you wake up he doesn't believe it at first but he's ecstatic. there is never a time where he's not with you, talking your ear off on how horrible it was without you. and while prismo wants to contuine talking you to your grave, he can't deny hearing your voice after so long does wonders to him.

-bonus if jake's around and prismo's like "and i like...really miss her. y'know? like she's right there but she's not..." "no, dude, i get it..." "i'd kill just to hear her voice just once..." "...prismo..." "ah, shit now i'm hallucinating!!" "no prismo, behind you." "jake, don't play into my delusions!" "god dammit prismo." "YOU'RE AWAKE!? FINALLY."

scarab.

-this man is already insane. he already needs therapy. the anger issues on this psychotic man are insane.

-he loses all sense of morality(that he had left) but surprisingly holds off and tends to you first. by sending you back to headquarters for someone to tend to your injuries while scarab spends the next few hours tearing their molecules apart.

-honestly the worst out everyone. like, if he has a chance to off someone, they're going to die but in the most unconventional, painful, most gruesome way possible. he's....coping?

-at this point it's hard to tell with him, one moment he's rambling under his breath about annoyances, the next....he's offically lost it!!

-sadly he can't be at you're side at all times even if he really wants to, but with his job and all that. when given any chance he's right there next to you. he excuses this behavior as protecting you against anyone who might try anything, but in reality: it's just hard to stay away when you're like this. he wants to stay close even if he can't sometimes.

-scarab has difficulties with intimacy, so he finds it difficult to express his concern the "right" way. others see him as uneffected, and taking it too easy, but he is genuinely scared. he's scared that he loses the one person who can see him for what he is. an emotionally fucked up person who can't stand rule breakers.(joking).

-he finds holding your hand a way to ease the tension.

-when you wake up, he just sitting there, holding your hand.

-he's never letting you go anywhere without a weapon three times your size. of course he teaches you how to use it, but just because he wants you to protect yourself when he cannot. scarab views your injuries as him failing as a partner in more ways than one. he should've made sure you could protect yourself even when he couldn't.

-later on after your wounds have healed you're allowed with him on his missions. he denies being scared. reassure him anyways, he really needs it.

e/n: sorry prismo's and scarab's are short! first time writing them :')

[themultifandomgal]

Hi love, can i request one for peaky blinders? Where y/n is in school with Finn and he knows she’s struggling at home so he asks Tommy and the others if they can get her a job or something to help her out. So maybe she gets to clean at the Garrisons and/or maybe watch John’s kids. One night when he gets home late she stays and help him clean up and maybe something happens. Then he says he doesn’t need any help with the kids anymore. Cause he feels bad dragging her in to that life and taking care of his kids and all. But everytime they meet they can’t keep away from eachother.. they end up together maybe Tommy speaks some sense into John or have a talk with y/ns parents to let her marry John? You can do with this idea what you like? I would love to read it!

John Shelby- Can’t Stay Away

Hey! So I changed it a little because of the ages hope that ok so instead of being in school with Finn YN went to school with John and they stayed good friends.

John and I have been friend since we were 4 years old when we started school. My home life wasn’t always great, my father was an alcoholic and my mother was abusive. Mrs Shelby ended up most evening cooking me meals, making sure I had clean clothes. When she passed away it broke all of us.

After wanting to leave my home, Polly gave me a place to live, but finding a job was very hard so I ended up marrying a man who I didn’t love, but he passed away during the war. Tommy got me a job at the Garrison and after Martha passed away I started helping John look after his kids, which caused me to start catching feelings for him. I’ve been doing this now nearly every other day, picking the kids up from school.

Today was no different. I just put them all to bed when John finally comes home

“Hey” I smile at him “have you eaten anything? There’s left overs….”

“I’m getting married” he blurts out making me stop walking towards the kitchen. I turn around with a frown on my face, my heart feels like it’s been crushed into thousands of tiny pieces 

“Oh” is all I can say

“It’s errr Lizzie. Lizzie Stark”

“What?” Lizzie? The woman who’s slept with all of the Shelby brothers, well all except Finn as he’s like 12

“Yeah so errr I don’t need to to help out anymore”

“Oh. Ok erm well I’ll erm see you round then” not really knowing what to say I give John a small smile “congratulations John. I hope she makes you happy” I quickly grab my coat and leave Johns house before he can see that my eyes are starting to tear up.

Over the next few days YN tries her best to stay away from John, but she just can’t. Not only is that her best friend but she loves him. Tommy being so wise knows how YN feels, but he also knows John also has feelings for his best friend. He’s just being stubborn.

Tommy and his brothers are sat in the snug at the Garrison nursing a whiskey

“She’s gonna change”

“She’s not. I offered her money and she took it”

“Fuck!” John yells running his hands over his face

“But ya know who wouldn’t take the money… YN”

“Tom…”

“Tommys right John. That girl loves you. She has from the day you met”

“But she got married” John frowns at his Aunt who rolls her eyes

“Men… she married because you got married”

“But…”

“Yes you did the right thing, but did you love Martha?”

“Of course I did”

“Like the way you love YN?” Tommy ask

“I….”

“Your a fool if you marry Lizzie” Arthur comments downing his whiskey. Just then there’s a knock on the door and YN walks in

“Hey I’m just about to go, but is there anything else you want before I leave?” YN asks looking around, mainly looking at John

“No thank you love. We’ll see you tomorrow” Polly smiles. YN nods her head and says bye to everyone before walking out. Tommy looks at John who’s staring at the door of the snug. Tommy then looks at the door then back at John

“Bloody hell, go after her!” John quickly gets up and leaves the room as quick as he can. Tommy downs his whiskey “thank fuck for that”.

John runs down the street shouting YN’s name. YN stops and turns round confused to why John is runnin after her. Had she forgotten something?

“John?” but before anything else could be said Johns lips are immediately on YN’s. YN pulls back still feeling confused “why did you do that?”

“Because I’ve finally had some sense knocked into me. I love you YN. I can’t stay away from you. It’s you I want to marry, to help look after my kids and maybe even had kids with… that’s if you’ll let me?”

“What about Lizzie?” YN asks

“I’ll break it off with her, I promise, but…” John then gets down on one knee “will you marry me?”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear. Of course I will” with that John gets up and spins YN round, kissing her lips. Little did the couple know that Tommy had also left the Garrison hoping to catch a glimpse of the two. He won’t ever tell anyone, but he did smile when he saw his brother and YN happy in each other’s arms finally.

[faith-forgxtten-land]

idek what you'd do with this but you're a Taylor fan so peaky blinders characters and their corresponding Taylor song/s

ooooh this is a good one. and surprisingly difficult. and i'm trying not to repeat songs which is hard when all of these people are so desperately mentally ill...

Peaky Blinders Characters + their Taylor Swift songs

warnings: needlessly long

Tommy Shelby

mr perfectly fine - does this need explaining? he is mr casually cruel, mr everything revolves around you

so dignified in your well-pressed suit / so strategised, all the eyes on you / sashay your way to your seat / it's the best seat, in the best room / oh, he's so smug, mr always wins / so far above me in every sense / so far above feeling anything

dear reader - burn all the files, desert all your past lives

Alfie Solomons

london boy - i laughed with this but i will stand by it for obvious reasons

getaway car - i will take no comments on this

i knew you were trouble - he is trouble

beautiful ghosts - it mentions london and that’s good enough for me

i know this life isn’t safe / but it’s wild and it’s free

style - we never go out of style (alfie to tommy probably)

look what you made me do - honey, i rose up from the dead, i do it all the time

Arthur Shelby

this is me trying - i’m not sure i can find a song more fitting

they told me all of my cages were mental / so i got wasted like all my potential

renegade - is it insensitive for me to say “get your shit together so i can love you”?

you fire off missiles ‘cause you hate yourself / but do you know you’re demolishing me?

forever winter - he’s up, 5am, wasted / long gone, not even listening

in short, poor arthur

Polly Gray

sad beautiful tragic - it just feels right

mad woman - i’m struggling to explain these choices but they’re correct

castles crumbling - yes

my tears ricochet - also yes

Ada Shelby

dorothea - i thought hard about this one so you better agree

you got shiny friends since you left town

it’s never too late to come back to my side

fearless - she is

a place in this world - i'm just a girl / trying to find a place in this world

ours - communism

John Shelby

i forgot that you existed - i am sorry john

the way i loved you - he and esme are crazy

but i miss screaming and fighting and kissing in the rain / it’s 2am and i’m cursing your name

can you tell i struggled

girl at home - you’re married john

Michael Gray

foolish one - he’s dumb as hell

never grow up - just is, could be him or polly

the lucky one - you wonder if you’ll make it out alive

bad blood - well

Grace Burgess

when emma falls in love - when emma falls in love, she paces the floor / closes the blinds and locks the door

she won’t walk away, unless she knows she absolutely has to leave

and all the bad boys would be good boys / if they only had a chance to love her

Lizzie Stark

don’t you - this fits her so well and i will not entertain any arguments about it

i heard she’s nothing like me / i’m sure she’ll make you happy

sometimes, i really wish that i could hate you / i’ve tried, but that’s just something i can’t do

you’re losing me - we thought a cure would come through in time, now i fear it won’t

now i just sit in the dark and wonder if it’s time / do i throw out everything we built or keep it

May Carleton

august - you weren’t mine to lose

Finn Shelby

exile - i’m hilarious

you’re on your own, kid - see above

Esme Lee

crazier - yes

[ashxllbey]

Starman - Poe Dameron x fem!reader - Chapter 16: Wanted Dead Or Alive

GIF by damn-stark

Previous Chapter | Next Chapter

Word count: ±13.3k Warnings: canon-typical violence, mild swearing

One of the universal truths in the Galaxy was that everyone had, at least, heard the legend about the Jedi. From Coruscant to the remote planets of the Unknown Regions, everyone had heard about them. And most likely, about the rise of the new Jedi, trained by Luke Skywalker. After the Battle of Exegol, everyone knew a Jedi had played a role in the fall of the Last Order. They didn't necessarily know that there were, in fact, two of them; Ren and Rey. Ren was dead; Y/N knew that much. And with him, the Jedi could have disappeared, but no; there was Rey. Trained by Skywalker, a fierce ally to the Resistance. That was what Finn had told her, anyway. Y/N had steered clear of the drama after her fall from grace, making sure she avoided both Sith and Jedi. But, as they waited for the briefing on the Bryx Sector mission, he had leaned forward conspiringly and given her some information about Rey. She was en route to Kuat, despite Poe's protests. He insisted that he didn't need to disturb her for something that stupid. After all, it wasn't the first time someone had put a bounty on his head. Which was true. But! This time was different, as Finn had pointed out.  Poe wasn't too happy in the spotlight. He naturally attracted everyone's attention, but that, too, was different. They had been back for what, a couple of days at most? And he was still brooding. The initial discovery of the bounty hadn't rattled him at all. But to know a Jedi was on her way was different. Y/N had guessed he didn't like to feel like he wasn't good enough to handle a situation. She would have joked about his male ego if she wasn't just like him. 

That was… strange. And not an accident; Y/N was sure of it. What were the odds, really? "Any other common point?" Finn asked. Poe hummed and nodded toward Calrissian and Zorii. "They're all from different planets," Lando said. "But all of them were kidnapped in systems under the Alliance's control. Peaceful planets, protected by the Senate." And that was worrying. "All of them are nobodies," Zorii added. "They don't know why they were kidnapped or by whom. But none of them have families, a high-ranking job, or anything. Them going missing doesn't affect anyone. The perfect candidates for a kidnapping session. Nobody would miss them." Y/N thought about the mom with her son. How could someone say they were nobodies? "Do we know how many of them were taken and when?" She questioned. Poe nodded. "According to one of the prisoners, who'd been there for four weeks, they brought around five new prisoners every month, and two went away each week. We're talking, hm, maybe fifty of them in total. So it's been going on for a few months. They probably started small, which explains why we didn't pick it up earlier. We have no idea where they were taking them or why. Or who ordered their kidnapping." So they had nothing. That was… Problematic. But not so surprising. The key was to not lose hope. And keep digging. "We're hoping to go to Tatooine and find who put the bounty on my head will help. They're obviously linked. Maybe they're even the same person or organization. Someone had to pay for the ships, the weapons, and the kidnappings." He was right. Chances were that they at least knew one another if it wasn't the same person/group. And they had to find out what was happening. They couldn't let other people get kidnapped for Maker knew what. And they had to make sure nobody would go after Poe. Well, other than the usual enemy pilots, which he could handle. Having all the bounty hunters of the Galaxy after Poe was… less than ideal.

"Lando and I will ensure everyone gets home safely," Zorii declared. Y/N felt slightly better upon hearing that. Zorii was many things, but she was dedicated to the causes she served, and she knew her masked partner would stop at nothing to bring everyone home. She smiled, and Zorii nodded in her direction.  "In the meantime, Finn and Rey will head to Coruscant and talk to some Senators. Try to get answers. If this is happening under the Republic's nose, I want to know why we didn't know about it." Y/N frowned. Wait. Wasn't Rey supposed to come and help with watching over Poe? Finn had sensed her confusion because he leaned toward her with a long sigh. "Yep. Poe always manages to get things his way. I couldn't do anything about it. Don't look at me like that; you try and convince him next time." Y/N giggled softly. She understood how frustrated he was, but she still found it funny that Poe was so childish sometimes. It annoyed her as much as it made her laugh. Poe was polarizing. "Senators LOVE Jedi. They'll be more willing to open up about their secrets if she's there. Plus, she can always force them to reveal the truth if needed," he added with a shrug, and Finn looked at him, horrified. "What? You know damn well it wouldn't be the first time!" So, Finn and Rey on Coruscant. Lando and Zorii were back around the Galaxy. Which left… Poe? BeeBee, and one or two people with him, for a secret mission?

Her thoughts were interrupted by Zorii, who was on her way out. They had a lot of work to do, and she had overstayed her welcome. Her words. Y/N was just convinced she just wanted to get back to work. She couldn't blame her. "We'll keep you updated. And keep an eye out for anything that might come up about the bounty on your head. Watch your back out there." Poe nodded. But before Zorii could walk away, he smirked and sent her a flirty look. Wait. What on Coruscant- "Can I?" He said, voice full of humor and honey. Zorii snorted. "No." She walked away, followed by Lando, who waved at the group and disappeared behind the door. What was that about?! Y/N asked Finn that precise question, and the General laughed. "Oh, that's their thing. Every time Zorii and Poe part ways, he asks if he can kiss her. She always turns him down. Don't even ask." …Wow. Okay. Y/N blinked a couple of times, unsure how to process that piece of information. What the hell was Zorii's interrogation about if she still openly flirted with him? What was she missing? And why would he do THAT if he wasn't into her? She huffed quietly. Her mood had swung in an instant, and she hated it. She also hated how unstable these two made her feel. She was so deep in her brooding that she almost missed Poe calling her name. She had to bite back a very rude "what" as she looked up. "You know the planet better than anyone else here. You'll be coming with us." "I've only been there for a short time," she retorted. "I'm no expert." "It's better than nothing," Poe shrugged. Yeah, whatever he said.  "Klana will come with us as our interpreter, and Skylen will be our spy on the inside. His uncle was a bounty hunter; he can pass as one. We've contacted an ex-member of the Bounty Hunters' Guild and set up a meeting. Skylen will pretend to be interested in the bounty." That was as good a plan as it could get. 

Before anyone could add anything, the door opened, and a young woman ran in. She was out of breath, and some strands of hair had fallen out of her two slick buns.  "Connix?" Poe asked, curious. "Generals. It's- Rey. The Millenium Falcon just arrived in the atmosphere. You said you wanted to know-" Finn and Poe RAN outside the room, throwing a "thank you" over their shoulders. The poor woman watched them run away. Feeling a wave of sympathy, Y/N unhooked her water pouch from her belt and tapped on Connix's shoulder. She perked up. "Here. You deserve it." She took it gratefully as Skylen and Klana walked up to them. "My poor Kaydel, don't tell me you ran all the way from the landing strip?" Klana asked, horrified. The younger woman shrugged. "You know these two: they would've thrown a fit if I hadn't gotten here when I did. Rey has been gone for a while now." That much was true. Y/N had never seen her, and she had been there for a while now. And from her understanding, she had been gone longer than that. Half a year, maybe. That was a long time without seeing her friends. Connix handed Y/N her pouch back with a grateful smile. She almost dropped it when Skylen hit her back as he always did. "Heh! Our little Duckling will finally meet her first Jedi! Excited?" Uh… Y/N shrugged. She didn't know what to think. She did know of Force users. She had known one pretty well. And she wasn't as intimated by Rey as she was by Poe. Mainly because their paths would probably very rarely cross. She had to impress Poe daily. But Rey? She wouldn't work with her. "Sure. I'll be good if she doesn't whip out a red saber." Skylen cackled, and the four of them, now that Connix had caught her breath, made their way to the landing strip. It seemed like everyone who wasn't at work had gathered there. Y/N was surprised by how invested the people of Kuat seemed to be with the Jedi's mission. 

They reached the landing strip rather quickly, despite the pilots gathered by the doors; perfectly on time to see a massive ship on its landing phase. Y/N had never seen a ship like that. It was an old model, without a doubt. If her eyes weren't deceiving her, it was a model YT-1300f. Its blue reactor shone a light and blew wind around the base as it descended, and Y/N's hair whipped at her face. Even though the ship was quite old, it looked in stellar shape - pun intended. Y/N was impressed. She couldn't even keep her TIE clean for a week, let alone years.  Which… had earned her an earful from Hux quite a few times. But he had been lenient with her, seeing as she was his best pilot. Heh. Y/N was probably the only pilot who could ever brag about not being hated by General Hux. And that, in itself, was an accomplishment, especially with her antics. The ship finally touched the ground, and Poe and Finn ran to its door as it opened. A young woman with brown hair walked out, and she was attacked by the two men who hugged her ferociously. Y/N winced in compassion. Ow. This had to hurt.  R2-D2 soon joined the trio, zooming past the crowd, beeping excitedly, followed closely by BB-8. And then, coming from the ship, a Wookie appeared. Wait - she was traveling with a Wookie?! Y/N had never met one. During her time in the Order, the only times she had gotten close to their home planet hadn't been happy occasions. She was pretty sure her face was still stuck to the walls of various cantinas, with a bounty on her head. She winced. The creatures had a long memory, and she wasn't going to test it. But he (or she?) wasn't the last passenger - soon enough, another droid walked down the ramp. Its steps were hesitant as if it was limping or was unsure of where it was. Gold from head to toe, it was immediately approached by AreToo, and they engaged in a conversation.

"And here it is, the dream team complete," Skylen commented. "You have the best the Resistance had to offer before your eyes. These guys kept you busy during the war," he joked, and Y/N hit his arm. "Who are they?" She asked. Skylen pointed at the droid. "That's C-3PO. If you think Poe talks a lot, wait until you meet him. He'll talk your ear off and can't get a hint. The Wookie is Chewbacca; Chewie for short. He was Han Solo's copilot for years. He is family to all of us. And, of course, that's Rey in the middle." The reunion was over quickly, and the three humans went on their way, followed by Chewbacca. The Jedi waved at the soldiers gathered around her to welcome her home, and Kuat's sun caught the hilt of her lightsaber, swinging back and forth on her hip as she walked- Wait. They were walking in their direction- "Oh, nope," Y/N whispered, turning on her heels. She didn't want to meet a Jedi NOW- "Oh, Kriff, no. You're not getting away," Skylen said as he blocked her path. The damn Rancor was way stronger than her.  "Y/N! Here you are." Shiiiiiit. She huffed and glared at Skylen with all the strength she could muster. Okay, she had lied. She was nervous. And particularly wary of Force users. Her first encounter with Ren had ended with a mind-probing session. Still, it was rude to run away now. Y/N turned back around, coming to face Poe. "Rey, there's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Y/N Thunderbird. Blue Squad's newest recruit."

The woman next to Poe was younger than all of them. That was evident. It was also conspicuous that the battles she had fought had taken a toll on her. She had aged faster than she should have. For someone so young, she held herself with a lot of confidence. Her hair was tied up in three buns, and she had kind brown eyes. Her skin was tanned and sprinkled with freckles. She must have spent a lot of time in the sun. Her clothes weren't standard Resistance either, with the white part crossed on her chest and falling to her ankles. It was a Jedi-worthy outfit, without a doubt. If the lightsaber on her hip wasn't an indication enough. "It's nice to finally meet you," she said, extending her hand for Y/N to shake. "I've heard a LOT of things about you. I'm Rey." Yikes. What the hell had Poe and Finn told her?!  Y/N smiled timidly and shook her head. She was only half surprised when nothing came to touch her brain.  "Y/N. Likewise." Her hand was warm. This was a stupid thing to notice, but she did anyway.  Chewbacca stopped behind them, and his eyes fell on Y/N. For a second, he looked… Surprised? Not like he had been looking until then. "Hi. Chewbacca, right?" She realized slightly too late that it was witless to strike a conversation with someone she couldn't understand- He groaned. "Hello. Nice to meet you." "Likewise," Y/N found herself answering. Poe looked at her, surprised. "You speak Wookiee?" … She spoke Wookiee? Tilting her head to the side, she tried to remember something, anything that might tell her where she had learned the language. Certainly not in the Order. So this meant she had learned during her past life. Interesting… "Looks like it," she mumbled. 

Rey went on to greet both Skylen and Klana, who looked delighted to see her. But she had barely finished talking when Finn hit her back, catching her attention. "Okay, you've had a loooong trip. Let us treat you to a drink in the cafeteria." Rey laughed and shook her head. "No, Finn, I'm fine. I want to unload the ship before I sit down, or I'll never stand up again. Your call kept me up all night," she added, more seriously, and Poe looked utterly embarrassed. "I told you it's nothing." "Of course, you would say that. Now, can I borrow Y/N?" What- The woman blinked a couple of times, feeling oddly put on the spot. Poe shrugged. "I have no mission for her, so if she's fine with it." "She is okay with, uh… What do you need me for?" Y/N asked. Rey smiled. "Just some help with the crates. I'd like to get to know you better, and I could use a hand. Finn always knocks things up in the Falcon, and I won't let Poe near the cockpit since he blew both sub-alternators."   That rattled Poe, who glared at her, annoyed. "Okay, that was ONE TIME-" "One too many. And you blew up the compressor." "I was trying to save our lives-" "GUYS! Knock it off! Maker, every time," Finn interrupted, shaking his head. Oh, Y/N was pretty sure they'd had this argument already. But Rey was more amused than anything. She, apparently, very much enjoyed teasing Poe. They would get along JUST FINE.

With one last, curious look in their direction, they parted ways with the rest of the group. Chewbacca went with the rest of them (he highly admired Skylen's beard, which made the pilot tremendously happy), and Y/N followed Rey to her ship. It was even larger from up close. They stopped to admire the machinery. The hull was fuming in some spots, probably from the long flight home. Some mechanics were already hard at work and enjoying themselves; working on such a legendary ship was an honor they didn't want to waste. Y/N had already seen the Falcon - well, once, and it had been from a distance. She was still impressed. That ship had been a pain in the ass of the Empire for a LONG time. Way before she was even born. That was historical. "Beautiful, huh?" Rey commented. Y/N nodded. "I'm surprised it's still in one piece," she joked. "You'd think after so many rides, it would be falling apart. I mean, don't get me wrong. It's a hunk of junk, but a stunning one. The hydraulic system could use some care," Y/N added, nodding toward the pipes sticking out near the boarding ramp. "But Kriff, I've come back with a TIE in far worse condition, and it was brand new." Rey laughed, and Y/N realized she had been rambling. Whoops. She tended to get a bit carried away when introduced to new ships. "You're right about the hydraulic system; we damaged it on the way here. Poe warned me you were a big fan of ships in general, but I thought he was just exaggerating as usual. For once, I stand corrected. It's nice to see someone appreciate its history." She cocked her head to the side as if suddenly remembering something. "Funny choice of words, though…" she mumbled. Y/N frowned, but before she could ask about it, a robotic voice interrupted them. "Ah! Mistress Rey! I was afraid I had lost you! AreToo tried to convince me you were leaving without us. You are terribly rude, you greasy can of rust!" The golden droid, with his big eyes and visible wires, was nothing one could expect to see. His steps were awkward, and he was positively jumpy, shivering, and looking around when someone made some noise. The duo he formed with AreToo was very comical, and Y/N chuckled. "I would never leave you, Threepio. Now, say hello; we have a guest." "A guest! Oh, dear! How rude of me! I am C-3PO, human/cyborg relations. And you-"

He turned away from AreToo, and his glowing eyes fell on Y/N. This seemed to rattle him because he jumped back a bit. "Miss Y/N!" …Yes? Y/N squinted. "That's… me. I'm sorry, have we met before?" He looked at Rey, then at AreToo, then at Rey, then at Y/N. "Oh, no, my apologies, Miss. AreToo told me about you, and I was surprised to see you so soon." Y/N smiled and extended a hand for him to shake. "Well, C-3PO, I am Y/N Thunderbird, human/X-Wing relations. I'm glad to meet you." Stupefied, the droid shook his head to the best of his abilities while turning to look at AreToo. "You see? She is so polite! You could learn a thing or two from her!" Both women laughed at their antics but eventually left the droids on the ground as they walked onto the ship. They were, after all, on a mission.

What surprised Y/N was the filth. The ship was well-lived; there was no doubt about that. The white panels on the ceiling and walls were scratched and dirty. Some pipes protruded from the walls, and the hallway was littered with crates. "Sorry for the mess!" Rey said, walking around an open crate. "We didn't exactly have time to clean things up when we got Finn's emergency call. Came as fast as I could." "I've seen worse. I lived with male pilots for a couple of months. If you think that's messy, you've not seen half of it." Rey snorted. "True. You've also met Poe, so I guess you know a thing or two about men being messy." It was Y/N's time to laugh. Poe was… something. Apart from his ship, everything else was a mess around him. She had, once, caught glimpse of his desk, and Maker, how he got anything done was a mystery to her. Following Rey like a lost puppy, Y/N double-checked she wasn't knocking anything over. The Jedi noticed and turned around with a warm smile on her face.  "You don't have to be so nervous, you know." Ah. Well. "Is that what your Jedi sense is telling you?" Y/N joked - or tried to. In all honesty, she was very nervous. Her people skills were still rusty, and this was Finn and Poe's friend! She couldn't make a bad impression on her! "Oh, no, you look like you're gonna pass out," Rey shrugged, closing a cart as she walked past it. "…That's not as reassuring as you thought it'd be."

She laughed again. She was either very easy-going, or Y/N really was an idiot. She wasn't sure which scenario was the most probable. But she didn't have time to ponder on it; Rey gave her her first instructions, and they started working on the crates, putting things inside and putting away random metallic pieces. Without Poe or Finn knocking things around, they made quick work of the mess in the main hallway. Rey then led her to the main hold. Y/N had to admit that even if the ship was a mess, it was cozy. Far from the sterile hallways of the Finalizer. Now that she knew about Ren and his childhood, it was hard to imagine him toddling around these hallways, laughing with his dad.  "Also, don't worry. Poe and Finn only told me good things about you." Wait, what?! Y/N looked up so fast it gave her whiplash. Rattled, she stared at Rey, blinking like a deer in the headlights. "Sorry - I didn't mean to read your thoughts earlier. You were just projecting them a lot," she added sheepishly. Ah, yes… That was right. Rey could do that. Force user and everything. Kriff. Centering herself like Kylo had taught her to do in case she ever came to meet Snoke, she rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah… I've always done that. It's been a long time since I had to worry about keeping them in check, though." Rey nodded thoughtfully. "With Ben," she answered knowingly. But she caught herself, shaking her head. The buns on her scalp were starting to loosen up a bit, with meant she must have been running around a lot because they looked very secure. "Sorry. Kylo. Ren. I don't know how you called him." Master. Usually. Or Leader Ren, when they were around other people. My Lord, sometimes. "It… depended. Ren wasn't very strict about titles when we were alone. Which was nice; you could lose your head for a mistake like that with other officers." Rey nodded and bit her lip. She seemed… hesitant.

"I… don't want to make you uncomfortable talking about him. But you're the only person I've met I can talk to about his good side. Other than Leia, of course." Y/N couldn't help it: she snorted, and the Jedi raised both eyebrows in surprise. The pilot was quick to justify her reaction. "You're the first person I've heard who refers to him as someone who had a good side." She snickered. "They didn't know him as I did. They know what he did for them, and they're grateful… But he'll forever be the man who tortured Poe, who almost killed Finn. Who killed Han Solo. But you and me, we knew him differently." She had a point. And it was… nice. Poe had been very open-minded, but he couldn't possibly understand. Y/N wasn't sure even she could understand the nature of her bond with the Sith Lord (provided he could be called as such). But Rey… Rey understood. She hadn't been given any details regarding THEIR relation, but from her understanding, they had been quite close. Something about the Force. That escaped her comprehension. She got it, though. It must have been hard to have everyone hating on someone you knew didn't fit the light everyone was painting him in.  "…Did you know him well?" Rey wondered. They sat down on the couch. It squeaked a little. Y/N felt bad abandoning her task, but hey, if Rey said they deserved a break, then they deserved a break!

She thought about her question for a moment, eyes drifting around the room. The metallic panels on the floor were visible in a few spots under the white crates stacked around. But it was the tidiest room of the ship she had seen. In front of them was a Dejarik chess table that had seen better days… but Y/N could only imagine the legends it had seen playing.  "I don't know. It's hard to tell, sometimes. I was closer to Ren than everyone on board. But I don't think I knew him that well… I still saw that good side of his you're talking about, though." There was one moment she remembered in particular. She smiled, thinking about it. "One time, we were out on a mission. I can't remember where - all I remember is that it was freezing. I caught a terrible cold. I was so sick, but I dragged myself out of bed the following morning for routine training. Ren saw me looking redder than his lightsaber and sent me back to my quarters. He told Hux I had the Nabooian flu. I got to rest for three days while my second in command took care of the training. I asked about it later; he told me he didn't want me contaminating the entire squad." Rey smiled. Both knew that Ren had lied - Y/N had never pushed the matter further. She was grateful she got to rest. In her line of work, any mistake could be fatal. Also, working herself to the bone was exhausting. Y/N wasn't going to complain about getting a day off. Or three. "When we were on Exegol," Rey said, eyes lost in the distance, "I was dead for a moment. I mean - I died. Ben brought me back; he traded his life for mine through the Force. It was the last thing he ever did. Ben wasn't all bad. I think he had lost his way and could only see one in the First Order. He was lost. And he never forgot what he did to Han." Yeah, Y/N would imagine that killing your father would leave a mark. She understood, theoretically, why he had done it. She just couldn't understand. He had been lucky enough to get two loving parents… She would have traded everything for just one.

Still, she gently put her hand on Rey's knee. "I'm sorry. For your loss. I can't imagine how hard it was for you." She smiled gratefully but didn't say anything. The memories were still fresh in her mind, without a doubt. After all, it had only been a year. Perhaps time would never really dull the pain.  "I'm sorry. I didn't ask you to come here to nag you about Ben. So, tell me about yourself. How did you end up on Kuat?" They returned to work after that as Y/N recounted her origin story - how she had met Skylen and Poe (which sent Rey hollering with laughter. Apparently, not knowing his identity was a pretty big accomplishment). How she had made Blue Squad. Rey told her about her growing up on Jakku. Her life as a scavenger. How she had met Finn. It turned out that both of them had been introduced to the Resistance in very… eventful ways. Which wasn't so surprising, considering they were a bunch of troublemakers.  "From scavenging to starting a new Jedi order… You have quite the backstory," Y/N joked after a couple of hours. They had finally cleaned the ship - or, rather, tidied it. The only place they hadn't touched yet was the cockpit. Rey was saving that for last. "You can talk! An Imperial officer who ended up in Poe Dameron's squad? Talk about a change of path!" Y/N snorted. "Maybe! But I didn't get a lightsaber on the way there!" Smirking, Rey unclasped the weapon from its hook and presented it to her. "This thing? Maybe not, but you got an X-Wing!"

Y/N looked down warily at the inert stick. It was less scary when it wasn't ignited, and there wasn't a blood-red energy blade coming out of it. She still wondered what color it was, though. She knew about the red and the blue, but perhaps there were other shades? "I can't cut through things with my ship," she stated matter-of-factly. Rey nodded. "You have a point." But a lightsaber couldn't fly! Heh. "Wanna see it ignited?" Wait, WHAT? Y/N looked back up at Rey with big eyes filled with anxiety. Uh… Was it even safe to turn it on inside the ship? She wouldn't offer if it wasn't, would she?  "It's okay! It's safe. Just don't touch the blade. It wouldn't be too bad for you to see a lightsaber that hasn't been used to cut people in half." …She had a point. "You just wanna show off, don't you?" She taunted. Rey giggled. "I've already shown it to everyone on base! You can show me your ship after if it makes you feel better." Oh, they had a DEAL! Y/N nodded and Rey turned it on with a flick of her wrist. The familiar hum reverberated around the hallway as the yellow blade was ignited. Wait. Yellow! She didn't know you could have yellow blades! It was pretty. Not as vibrant as Kylo's - but very pretty. Rey moved it slowly, showing it off. "Not so scary like that, is it?" No, she was right, Y/N had to admit. She smiled.

But as the blade swayed softly back and forth, Y/N felt uncomfortable. As if something unwanted was coming to her mind. Oh, kriff. No. It couldn't be- But nothing touched her brain this time. She was just… feeling weird. As if she was trying to remember something, but couldn't. She shook her head as Rey turned the lightsaber off. "You okay?" "Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I get these headaches sometimes." Maybe she should get her head checked by a medic? No, it was probably nothing. Besides, Poe had told her they had given her an implant.  "Okay. Well, if you want to stop here, I understand. You've helped me a lot, and you didn't have to." "No, it's alright. We're almost done anyway." Rey stared at her for a moment longer before nodding. Then, they walked to the cockpit. The long hallway was remarkably spotless, which was good - fewer crates to put away.  But when Rey opened the door, Y/N stopped dead in her tracks. She… knew that room. "I've been here before," she whispered.  Somehow, the four seats were as she remembered them to be. Grey, well-lived, they had welcomed countless passengers. The dome-like shape of the ceiling was covered with various lights, metallic parts, switches, and buttons. They were powered off but still impressive.  On the other side of the room were the commands and the large canopy from which they could see the buzzing base of Kuat. The two passenger seats on her side were once yellow, but that had been long ago. "What was that?" Rey asked as she rummaged through one crate abandoned there. She put some things back in the slots where they belonged, on the walls. "I've been there before, in this cockpit. I… don't remember how or when," Y/N repeated, looking around. The place reminded her of a weird mix of… excitement, nostalgia, and sadness. "How's that possible? Did you know Han? Or Lando? He had her before Han won her," Rey asked, standing back up. Her white outfit was smeared with grease. The cleaning crew would have work to do with that thing. "I… don't know. I've met Lando, and he didn't say anything. Maybe I'm just imagining things. My memory isn't exactly… working well." Yeah, understatement of the CENTURY. But as Y/N looked at the commands more closely, and when she noticed the two golden dice hanging from the ceiling, and she remembered seeing them before, she knew it wasn't all in her head.

The time spent with Rey had been exhausting, both physically and mentally. The Jedi was thoughtful and open-minded, but she had opened up deep wounds Y/N had forgotten about. And that lightsaber of hers… Whenever she thought about it, her head stopped cooperating.  Still reeling from their meeting and her annoyance with Poe, Y/N had eaten quietly and as fast as she could before slipping away unnoticed. She hadn't seen Klana or Skylen since they had parted ways earlier that day, and she was sure they were busy eating with the crew anyway. Their talk had given her a lot to think about, and she would rather do that alone. After a quick shower and some reading, she slipped into her bed, turning off the lights for the night. It was still early, probably around nine, but she didn't care. She wouldn't fall asleep for a while anyway.

In the dark, resting on her back, she stared at the ceiling. Trying to remember where she could have come across the Falcon. Or the dice. Or anything. For years, nothing had triggered her memories, and now? She seemed close to uncovering some of the mysteries of her past life. It scared her as much as it excited her. What if it was somehow worse than what she had lived in the First Order? …Yeah, she could hardly have done something worse than killing people for a living.  That was… something at least? With a huff, she rolled over. What had the medic told her? She couldn't force it. That was Bantha shit: she had been patiently waiting for years. Maybe forcing it would have worked better. So, she tried, for what seemed like hours, tossing and turning, thinking about it, trying to make sense of what she had felt, seen, thought. Of what Rey had told her. It reminded her of the times she had done the same, alone in her quarters on the Finalizer, trying to make sense of her life. Of the tasks Ren had given her. She always passed out in the early hours of the day after, with no answer in sight. This time was no different.

Laughter. The fresh breeze of an early morning. The humming sound of a lightsaber. Water splashing. Delighted squeals. A yellow flash. Screams of terror. The smell of charred wood. The acrid scent of an inferno. Soot in the air, smoke darkening the sky. Blue against blue. "BEN! NO!"

Y/N gasped as she jumped awake, breathing heavily. She was shaking like crazy, her throat was sore, and she could almost still smell the smoke. She was drenched in sweat and chilled to the bone. She couldn't catch her breath. What was that? What was THAT?! She couldn't remember. That hadn't happened in the Order- Before she could even try to make sense of what she had seen, her door whooshed open, and the security lights were turned on, revealing the muzzle of a blaster and the man holding it. Poe. He looked ready for a fight, and his eyes scanned the room, alert, before he lowered his gun when he realized there was no threat. "Y/N! What the hell? Are you okay? I was walking outside, and I heard you screaming. Said something about Ren. I thought…" He shook his head and put his weapon away, frowning when he saw she was still shivering. "What's wrong? What happened? You look terrified." What had happened, indeed? Had she said something about Ren? Called after him in her dreams, or rather, nightmares? "Nightmare," she mumbled, rubbing her forehead with the back of her hand. "I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to alarm you. What time is it?" "Four in the morning." He kneeled by her side and gently pressed her wrist. He cursed. "Maker, you're burning up." Was she? She hadn't noticed. "Stay put; I'll get you a glass of water." Before she could refuse, he stood up and went to the bathroom. It was only after he had left and the door of her room had mysteriously closed that Y/N noticed BeeBee was there as well. She pushed the covers away from her body and sat down on the edge of her bed. The shivers were dying down, but the smell of smoke was still in her nose, faint yet ever so present. As if she had just walked away from a burning building. That's all she could remember. The smell… And the blue lights. And her screaming. Ren's name? That wouldn't make sense. She didn't know Kylo Ren before she had met him that day, on the Finalizer. That, she was sure of. BeeBee nudged her leg, beeping worriedly, and Y/N smiled softly at him. "I'm okay, little one. It's nothing. Happens sometimes."

It was true; she often got nightmares - but never of that intensity. And never of things she didn't remember. Maybe it was just the fragments of her imagination? But no, it had felt so real. It was a memory. Poe came back at that moment with the glass of water. He sat on the bed next to her and handed her the glass. "Here. It'll help." She took it and drank it in one go with a grateful look. She was parched. Her throat was still tender from having been squeezed so hard by the thug the other day and screaming at the top of her lungs definitely didn't help. "You get them often?" He asked after a moment, and she shrugged. "Sometimes. This one was different, though. I'm sorry you had to barge in here. Must have scared you half to death," she joked, but Poe didn't smile. Instead, he sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose between his thumb and index finger. "Don't joke about that. I thought someone had broken into your room, and you were in danger. Good thing you didn't change the code." Ah, yes. Y/N understood how he must have felt. How stupid of her! An intruder on the base was a serious issue. "Well, if Ren was somehow alive and here, I don't think I would've had time to scream for help." BeeBee let out a long, horrified beep, looking up at her with what would have been wide eyes if he had two and they could expand. Poe opened his mouth to answer, but she beat him to it. "I appreciate the concern, though. And I'll be taking notes on how my room isn't soundproof. This definitely limits my possibilities." The droid at her feet beeped again, this time in shock, as Poe slowly let a smile creep up his face. "Nope. But mine is." Y/N let out an appreciative hum. "Kinky." They both laughed. Y/N had stopped shivering and felt better. There was nothing Doctor Dameron couldn't cure. Who would have thought?

It took her a moment of silence to realize she was pretty much in her underwear, in her room, alone at night, with none other than Poe Dameron. Had she been any less tired, she would have turned bright red. But he didn't seem to mind. Ever the gentleman, he hadn't looked down once. Which was… equally insulting and commendable. "Wanna talk about it?" He finally asked after a minute or so. Y/N sighed. "There's nothing to talk about. I don't remember much. I don't think there's much to remember. There were mostly flashes. A yellow one, then bright blue lights, the smell of smoke. Maybe a battlefield? But the war ended before I was born. Must have been triggered earlier when I was speaking with Rey." He nodded thoughtfully. "She told me you have been on board the Falcon before. And that you had a headache when you saw her lightsaber. She shouldn't have ignited it with you there. That thing brings serious PTSD." Y/N shook her head no. It wasn't Rey's fault; she had said yes. Couldn't blame the Jedi for doing something she had asked about before. "No, it's not her fault. I'm not scared of it anyway; it must have triggered a memory. I hate it. I wish I could remember everything or nothing at all. But living in the middle is exhausting." Poe merely nodded. There was nothing he could do, or say for that matter, that would make things better. It was alright. Having Poe there was enough. 

"How do you do it? Live with half your life missing?" He asked quietly. Y/N thought about it, watching BeeBee in the meantime. He was listening intently.  "To be fair, it was never a big issue; I always thought I'd be dead by the time I reached twenty-five. So not having a past was no biggie since I didn't have a future. But now… I just try to not take things for granted, I guess. Live things fully because I could very well forget it all tomorrow again. It's harder to forget something crucial to you." She still felt incomplete, though. Like one half of a jigsaw puzzle. A doll with no head, an X-Wing without its wings. Poe put his hand on her knee and squeezed softly. "Things are starting to come back. That's good. They'll come back with time, I'm sure. But for now, you need to rest. BeeBee will stay with you until morning. He will wake you up if you start drifting off. That good, buddy?" Like the diligent watchman (watchdroid?) he was, BeeBee nodded eagerly, and Y/N chuckled. "My little guardian angel. But don't you have to charge him up?" Poe shrugged. "He is fully powered up. I woke up an hour ago and plugged him before going to sleep." Wait. Wait-

"…Why were you even awake at four in the morning? And fully dressed too?" She asked. Poe grimaced, embarrassed. He looked down at his droid to find some support, but the orange ball purposely looked away. "I, uh. Couldn't sleep. Went for a ride around the base to clear my mind. But don't tell Finn! Or Rey. Please." Y/N mimed locking her lips and throwing away the key. "I'll take it to the grave, General." He snickered and nodded towards the bed. "Take it to bed for now. I'll let you sleep-" "Poe. Stay, please? Just for a while. Until I fall asleep. I… going to bed alone makes it worse." Oh, how embarrassed she was to ask him that. He had better things to do than be her babysitter! But to her surprise, he nodded and leaned forward to take off his shoes. "Trust me. I know. I do." As he walked around the bed to settle on the other side, Y/N leaned down on her pillow and leaned over the bed to kiss the top of BeeBee's head. "Thank you, sweetheart. Good night." Then, with the voice command, she turned off the lights and rolled over. She couldn't see Poe in the dark, but she could hear him breathing. It was bizarre to lie next to someone she couldn't see. In any other situation, it would have been threatening. Perhaps with anyone else, it would have felt like a threat, even with the knowledge of the person's identity.  "Night, General." She heard him chuckle, which made the bed rumble a bit. "Night, Keebler." She fell asleep five minutes later.

When morning came, Y/N wasn't surprised to find the other side of the bed empty. She was, however, shocked to discover there was a note on the other pillow. She picked it up; Poe had scribbled something on it, probably in the dark. Thinking about him cursing to himself as he tried to write a note without actually seeing anything made her laugh.

Let you sleep. Set the alarm for 2 pm just in case. The briefing is at 3. We'll leave for Tatooine at 4. Pack light. xoxo Porg Head

She snorted and rolled over, finding BeeBee in his spot by her side. He perked up when he noticed she was awake. "Hello there! I didn't sleep for too long, did I? I'm sorry if you got bored waiting." Beep beep. No, I'm not bored. I rolled around the room to check for threats. Y/N laughed, pushing strands of hair away from her face. "You're the perfect bodyguard. Now, come on. I'll let you go back to your dad so you can see him before we go." He woefully beeped as she got out of bed. She stopped on her way to the bathroom, then put her hand on the sheets. They were lukewarm. Wait. Had Poe slept here? Beep beep. Poe told me not to say anything, but he accidentally fell asleep.  This time, Y/N burst out laughing and couldn't stop herself until she was under the shower. She washed the remains of last night's nightmare off her body before stepping out with a towel. "Oh, before you go, I have something for you." Opening her dresser, she pushed aside the toolbox Varun had given her a few weeks prior and produced a can of filtered oil. "I should technically keep it for the ship, but I know you droids love that stuff- Maker!" She couldn't even finish her sentence; BeeBee was practically vibrating from excitement, rolling around her. Wow, okay. With a fit of giggles, she kneeled and opened his oil compartment. "I know you're not supposed to be fed that. But I won't tell Poe if you don't. It'll be our secret. You deserve it anyway. He can fight me if he wanna." She filled the small tank and sealed it again. Whoops. No one would know. Well, Poe would probably notice how hyper his droid was, but… That was a problem for future Y/N!

She made her way to the door, opened it, and thanked BeeBee for his service again as he rolled away. Then, she got dressed, putting on a light yet durable pair of pants, a cotton tank top, her leather jacket, the holster with the blaster inside on her belt, a light pair of boots, and- She hesitated. Sitting with the rest of her stuff was a knife strap. Made for a vibrodagger. With a sigh, she strapped it to her right calf. She'd have to swing by the armory to get one, but considering how the last mission had gone, well. Maybe it was for the best. Last but not least, she grabbed a piece of beige cloth she could pull up to hide and some goggles to protect herself from the sand. It could always come in handy. Satisfied with her pick and the two braids she secured on both sides of her head, she tucked her necklace inside her shirt and went out. The hallways were quiet. Kriff! She hadn't even looked at the time yet. A glance at her commlink told her it wasn't even two yet - good. She had time to grab some food and get to the briefing.

She did just that and didn't run into anyone she knew besides some mechanics who nodded in her direction when she walked past them. Y/N reminded herself that she owed them some gifts after the miracle work they did on her ship that time she almost blew it up. The list of gifts she had to make on Life Day grew each day. She was sure her whole salary would be spent on trinkets. After a copious meal (she had to fuel up - Tatooine wasn't exactly known for its culinary delicacies), with little time to spare, she headed for the briefing room. On the way there, as she avoided yet another cleaning accident (these droids needed an urgent check-up), she bumped into Klana. It shouldn't have surprised Y/N, but she wore yet again another type of clothes. The woman seemed to have an outfit for every situation that arose. She could be easily confused with one of the sands people that populated the charred rock. "Hello there, stranger. Ready for the big mission?" "You mean the next big mission?" Y/N countered, and Klana chuckled. "You're not wrong. Can't complain about life being boring around here, that's for sure. And you've definitely become a fan favorite real fast. I mean, I don't think there hasn't been one high-stake mission you haven't been part of since you arrived. Not sure you're too happy about that one, though. Am I wrong?" Nope, she wasn't, as usual. Y/N grimaced as they turned around the corner of the hallway, eyeing warily another cleaning droid dangerously close to its bucket of soap. "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad Poe's taking me. But I've been avoiding Tatooine for a while now. I only have bad memories of it. The few good ones I had have been destroyed long ago. And the sand, Maker, it's SO coarse, I hate it!" Klana laughed and joked about how surprising it was to find sand in a DESERT. Y/N sassed her back by pointing out she was slowly starting to get Skylen's humor. "If I had known it was contagious, I would have whisked you away months ago," she said, stepping aside to avoid being whacked on the arm. "Rude!" The two women laughed as they got closer to the rendezvous point. It was always enjoyable to spend some quality time goofing around with Klana. When she was in the Order, the only woman close to her rank whom she could spend time with was… Phasma. And the shiny tin can had been anything but friendly. Or talkative. Y/N was sure she would've had better luck striking a conversation with an actual tin can. That, and she wouldn't have believed she could talk if she hadn't heard her speak to Ren once. She was pretty sure the Knight of Ren had snickered under his helmet when he had seen her face upon hearing her voice. That, or the half-whispered "wait, she can SPEAK?!" that had followed. Whoops.

"There's at least one good thing about that," Klana nonchalantly stated while she slowed down. Uh-oh. That smelled fishy. "Do I wanna know?" "At least Zorii won't force you to team up with her this time." Theeeere you go. "Our partnership wasn't a total fail. We got out of there alive and with all our limbs. I call that a victory, all things considered," Y/N commented, pushing one of her braids back out of nervousness. "Oh, you know that's not what I mean, Y/N. Is playing dumb when you're uncomfortable another leaf you've taken from Poe's book?" O U C H. Y/N visibly winced. That was a low blow! Okay, it might have been spot on, BUT! She rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly, trying to come up with something. "I mean, she's… something. And she makes me uncomfortable sometimes. She's so pushy." "Oh, I noticed that alright. Especially when I saw the face you made when Finn told you what their inside joke was about." …Yikes, she had seen that. Y/N sighed. It had been foolish of her to think she could escape Klana's keen eyes. "Yeah, it's just… Zorii gave me this long-ass lecture about her not being into Poe anymore, trying to make sure I was treating him right or whatever; he also laughed at me when I encouraged him to do whatever he wanted the other day. Can you believe it? I didn't ask to be part of the drama! Maker, I'm starting to regret being antisocial. At least Ren wasn't trying to set me up with Hux or anything." She snorted at the thought. That miiiight have been a lie. But, technically, forcing her to be Hux's date at a random showing-off event did NOT count as playing matchmaker. Right? For the sake of her trauma, she would not consider it.

Klana chuckled. "Oh, come on, you don't mean that. You like us. Besides, this is a joke between them. Poe doesn't mean anything by it. I think Finn told you that already, but I just wanted to see your reaction. For scientific purposes." Yep, she was just going to ignore that. Instead, she sighed. "It doesn't matter if he does or not. You know what, maybe you were right the other day. Maybe I should start dating or something. To keep me busy. And get Zorii off my back." If Klana could reach another level of existence from squealing too hard, it would happen in the next few seconds because she was vibrating with excitement. "YES! Oh, Maker, I already know who to introduce you to. Okay, describe your dream guy to me, and I'll make it happen. I have a list and-" Someone cleared their throat behind them, and Y/N just KNEW it HAD to be the only person she did not want to hear that. And yes, of course, it was Poe.

"Sorry to interrupt your critical discussion, but we have a briefing to attend. Skylen is waiting for us." Klana giggled but didn't look sorry in the slightest. What had she done?! Her friend disappeared inside the room down the hall as Poe lingered, waiting so she was out of earshot before he turned to Y/N. "Slept well?" "Yeah. Thank you. Didn't have another nightmare." "That's good. Remember that you can get some sleep pills from the medics if needed. You don't have to suffer in silence." He squeezed her shoulder and walked after Klana without another word. Sigh.  As she followed him, Y/N promised herself she would put some distance between her and... the rest. What had happened the previous night couldn't happen again. She would stay perfectly friendly with Poe, would let the drama die done, and get on with her life. The last thing she wanted was her heart broken by pretenses and wishful thinking. Once had been enough.

Somehow, the pre-mission briefing was always over quickly. Poe had given them the information they needed - the time and place of the meeting in Mos Eisley, the plans of the cantina they would hide in. Skylen's role, where they would sit to spy on them. The distinctive sign their contact had given them. It had been over quickly, and off they went. A quick visit to the control room (where they had waved goodbye to Finn, Rey, and Chewie) later, and they were boarding the ship. It was an older model - perfectly inconspicuous. No one would expect the best pilot of the Galaxy to show up in a flying trashcan. That was perfect.  Poe and Skylen were piloting, leaving the women in the main room. Laying on a makeshift bed, Y/N was thinking. So much had happened during the past week. She couldn't wait to get a day off. Sure, missions were interesting, but too many of them took a toll. Time always seemed to stop when you were in hyperspace. Or perhaps Y/N was just not too happy to be back and was hoping the trip would last for decades. Klana had taken the hint and was staying quiet. Y/N was grateful for that. She wasn't exactly thrilled to get into why she hated the planet. She hadn't told them about her escape from the Order and the following events, and she didn't want to. Hopefully, the mission would be over quickly, and they could leave the damn rock. Hey, one could dream, right?

She had been sharpening her vibroblade for a while when Poe climbed down the ladder and nodded. "We're landing. Grab your stuff." From his stern voice, Y/N guessed he was tenser than he was letting on. That wasn't reassuring. Poe was very chill, even under pressure. If he was on edge, then they all should be as well. When the rusty ship finally stopped moving, hitting the ground with more strength than anticipated — Y/N cursed at Skylen — Poe sighed and wrapped his head with his scarf, making himself some sort of hood. It wasn't unusual to see travelers with one, so he would be unsuspected. BeeBee had been left on base (a real heartbreak), and none of them had any identifying sign. They were pretty much invisible. At least they hoped so.  "Showtime," commented Skylen as he climbed down the ladder. His outfit was on point; body armor, strapped blasters left and right, two vibroblades protruding from his boots. With his broad shoulders and his beard, Skylen had the perfect look of a bounty hunter.  He hit the button commanding the opening of the ramp, and Y/N pulled her own scarf up, mimicking Poe's outfit. They let Skylen go first and talk to the owner of the spaceport. Once they heard him talking, the three pilots slipped unnoticed out of the ship through a maintenance ladder. They were quick to leave the perimeter. As soon as they reached the exit, they parted ways. With a nod, Klana disappeared into the crowd, headed for the cantina. The rendezvous wasn't until an hour later. But arriving at the same time would be suspicious.  Which left Poe and Y/N plenty of time to explore the planet's main city.

Mos Eisley had always been dusty. Speeders and people were picking up sand as they walked, and the atmosphere was saturated with filth. The buildings, with their dome-shaped roofs, hadn't been spared by the roughness of the suns. They were dirtier than the last time Y/N had visited. All in all, the only difference between then and now was the absence of stormtroopers in the streets. But it didn't help Y/N relax at all. If anything, she was tenser; with the shiny buckets, she could spot the threat in one look. Now, it was just hidden well, but not nonexistent. "So, where was your home?" Poe murmured once they were out of earshot. Y/N sighed and looked around, trying to situate herself. "A couple of kilometers in this direction," she said, waving in said direction. "But it wasn't my home. I hate this place. Only stayed there for a couple of days after I left." He looked at her from under his hood, brows furrowed. "You hid here after you escaped? It'd be the first place I'd look at if I were Ren looking for a deserter. That's your home planet. He didn't send troopers after you?" Y/N stayed silent for a second. Some kids ran past them, running after a makeshift ball. "…He did. He came down here himself." She wished she could have run away faster. But finding a ship wasn't easy. She had bought her way out of Tatooine from a slave trader, but he wouldn't leave right away - he had a deal to make first. Y/N had been forced to stay on the planet for two nights. Until the First Order had sent the Finalizer after her. She could still remember the screams as the star destroyer appeared in the atmosphere in the middle of the night. 

She and Poe stopped in the shade, pretending to look at a merchant's trinkets. "Took them two days. I crashed my TIE against an asteroid. Descended toward the planet's atmosphere and programmed the autopilot to return once I reached it, kinda like a big swing. I ejected myself and landed outside Mos Pelgo. Walked all the way here. I was hoping I could buy some time if they thought I had crashed the ship, but Ren knew better. I was too good of a pilot to die so stupidly." The merchant was growing impatient, asking them if they wanted something. Not wanting to look suspicious or be called on for steaming, Y/N waved at a trinket in one of his stalls. She slipped the credits in his hand, pocketed the thing, and they walked away. It was a small chain with two suns. Cheap and flimsy, but a nice gift for Klana to go with the rest of her collection. "What did he do?" "Ransacked the whole town. Shot anyone that would resist. I was in the cantina when it happened. T'was a bloodbath. The guy I had paid was killed outside; I stole his ship. I somehow managed to slip past the TIEs and jumped in hyperspace as soon as possible. But these poor people…" She shook her head. She didn't like to think about it. "If I hadn't hidden there, they'd still be alive. I knew what Ren could do, but that night, he was… I must have pissed him off a lot. Never seen him so cruel before." "Well, I have, and I can tell you that even if you hadn't been there, he would've murdered them anyway. He would've still come here to check even if you went anywhere else. That's on him, not you." She wished he were right. When she turned around, she could see the small alleys where people had been cornered and shot on sight by the troopers.

Klana's voice crackled in their earpiece. "Skylen just walked in. You can make your way over here. No sign of our guest for now." Poe nodded, and they strolled toward the cantina. Nobody was paying attention to them, and Y/N checked they weren't followed. If they were, they were good at hiding because she wasn't picking up anything suspicious. It took them ten minutes to reach the cantina. It was as Y/N remembered it to be; dark, full of outlaws, loud and smelly. The bar was made of a metallic U-shaped counter around which countless people were gathered. Against the wall, sitting at the counter, Klana. She didn't look at them when they walked in, but she nodded subtly. Poe ordered random drinks from the droid barman, and they went to sit in one of the smallest, more private rooms. It was on the right side of the bar, and if they sat facing it, they could see the room in the far left corner, where Skylen was sitting. He was probably on the seat against the wall, leaving the other one visible to the spies. The sea of people was blocking the view, but sometimes, they moved enough to give them a good panorama of the room. Y/N hoped it would be enough. Poe sat against the wall, and Y/N sat next to him, on the same side of the table. It was dark enough for them to take off their hoods - and less suspicious that way. The Mon Calamari waiter slid their drinks carelessly, and the beers spilled a little. Poe groaned. "Thank you, pal." He got no answer. Y/N chuckled. "Not used to the locals' hospitality yet?" "Where I come from, people don't spill the beer," he complained, and Y/N chuckled. She took a sip. How come the beer itself could taste like sand?! She made a face and forced herself to drink some more. Poe chuckled silently by her side. "What, not used to the locals' special yet?"

Unfortunately for him, they were so close to each other that Y/N only had to jerk her knee to the right to hit his. He hissed. "Ouch." "You're an ass." Even in the dark, she could perfectly see his grin. A glance at her commlink told her that their contact would be there any moment now. He was already running a bit late - which wasn't a surprise. The cantina was quieter than usual - the band was playing but not loud enough to cover the chatter of the patrons. From across the room, Y/N met Klana's eyes, and the brunette shook her head. No sign of him yet. "Seeing something?" Skylen asked quietly in their earpiece, and Poe informed him that nothing had changed. They waited some more, and five minutes later, Y/N started to grow restless. "Something's wrong. I don't think he is coming." "Me neither-" They were interrupted by a loud crash coming from outside the cantina. People screamed, and everyone went to grab their blaster. The pilots exchanged a look. Yep, something was wrong.

A few seconds later, a heavily armored man stepped inside the room, as Y/N saw when she glanced outside the alcove. "Bounty hunters. The real deal. Skylen, get out of here: it's a trap," she hissed in her commlink as the man and his friends started making rounds, roughening up some people to get a good look at them. Thankfully, Skylen managed to leave his seat and walk out of the room unnoticed, using the backdoor and the commotion the newcomers had caused. "We're looking for someone. High-profile bounty," stated the metallic voice. "All you lowlives have nothing to worry about. Let us have a look around, and we'll leave." Y/N turned to Poe as they both understood what he was saying. "Oh, Kriff, they're not here for Skylen. We've been compromised. We need to get the hell out of here, NOW." But they couldn't. There were three bounty hunters clad in some sort of armor. One of them wore ex-stormtrooper armor; it was in good shape. Metal plastron, full helmet, paldron on the left shoulder. It still had some traces of the First Order sigil. Y/N frowned when she noticed the pants he was wearing: black, made for TIE pilots. He was armed to the teeth. Fortunately for them, he went the other way. One of his friends looked at the people around the bar. Which meant- "One of them is on the way here. Must be checking the group behind us." "I know," Poe answered. "We can make a run for it, but I'm afraid we won't-" "Do you trust me?" Y/N interrupted him. Her fingers made quick work of loosening her braids, and her hair fell in soft curls around her face. Poe stared at her quizzically. "What the hell are you doing?" "I said, do you trust me, Poe?" "Yeah, of course, I just don't-" "Please don't hit me." "What are you-" She cursed mentally, already shaking from the adrenaline. The footsteps were getting closer: it was now or never. She already hated herself. With a shaky breath, she turned to Poe, raised her leg above his, and sat in his lap. Y/N didn't let him process what she was doing; with one flick of her wrist, she pushed her hair to the right side of her face, making a curtain of it as best as she could. And right as she heard the footsteps coming closer, she smashed her lips against his.

For a split second, nothing happened. Y/N couldn't even breathe, let alone hear what was happening. If the bounty hunters didn't kill them, she knew she would die from a heart attack. She was kissing Poe Dameron. Oh, Kriff. Kriffing hell- But after one second, or two, Poe got the hint. His left arm snaked itself around her back, pulling her closer to him, and his right hand went to the side of her face. Very softly, he angled it a tad more so she could hide his face better- And he kissed her back. His lips were surprisingly soft against hers; they tasted ever-so-slightly like beer. The rough stubble of his chin was scratching against her skin, and she was pretty sure it would leave a mark. But Kriff was he a good kisser. She knew he could feel her heart thundering against her chest. Or maybe it was his? She wasn't too sure. Y/N didn't know what to focus on: that, the hand on her back or the one against her cheek. His lips moved against hers, and for a second, she forgot where they were, why they were kissing in the first place- Footsteps stopped behind her, and she could feel someone staring at her back. Praying her plan would work, she distanced herself from Poe a smidge, turning around swiftly enough to whip her hair the other way. And then, with her best drunken voice: "Do you mind, asshole?" She slurred. The bounty hunter was a woman older than her, and her armor was made from several parts, undoubtedly picked up on bounties. She looked away, embarrassed, and walked away as Y/N turned back to Poe. This time, she merely rested her nose against his. He was looking at her in perfect silence, waiting expectingly. "It, uh… Displays of affection make everyone uncomfortable." His hand was still on her back, and the other had gone to his blaster, just in case. He stayed silent for a moment before coughing softly. "Yeah, uh, that's… Smart. I mean, I was NOT expecting that, but it was… good thinking on your part." Kriffing hell, he was flustered. Oh, no. She had made him THAT much uncomfortable. She bit her lip, and his eyes trailed down, following her move. "I'm so sorry. I had no time to give you a warning." Her face was still tingling from the scratch of his beard, and her lips were certainly bruised. The kiss hadn't lasted that long, but she was out of breath. His damn hand certainly didn't help. That was the exact opposite of what she had promised herself she would be doing from then on. "Stay there for a moment. We need to make sure they're gone before we get moving."

The two minutes that followed felt like an eternity. Especially since Poe was still staring at her. Y/N tried her best to see through the curtain of her hair, but she could feel his eyes on her. What was going through his head? Was he mad at her? He had been so thoughtful of her personal space, and there she was invading his. Yeah, okay, it was an emergency, but still! "They're leaving."  Klana's voice was a much-needed relief, and Y/N sighed as she relaxed. She waited a few more seconds for extra safety before climbing down Poe's lap. In a swift motion, she secured her scarf around the lower part of her face and her hair. Poe did the same. He nodded, and they walked out of the alcove. The bounty hunters had left; they were nowhere in sight. Poe grabbed her hand with the one he wasn't holding his blaster with. "Backdoor." They hadn't taken three steps when a blaster shot zoomed past them and hit the wall right by their heads.

People screamed in terror, and both pilots turned around, only to find the woman from earlier standing at the entrance, blocking it. Her eyes were focused on them. Shit. But a blaster shot came from the other side of the room and missed their attacker by a hair - Klana. Her blaster raised, she fired relentlessly at the other woman, who had to duck for cover. The other clients flew from the scene with no issue. They weren't there for them; they were there for Poe. They hid in the orchestra's alcove, weapons raised, ready to defend their position. Y/N would be damned before she let anything happen to him.  "There's a fourth one right outside! You gotta leave through the main entrance; I can't get to- HEY, FUCK Y-" Skylen's voice went silent. The cantina was empty, now - save from the three bounty hunters, Klana, Poe, and Y/N. The pilot turned to her leader, awaiting orders. "What do we do now?" He stared at her for a second too long. Y/N knew they didn't have a choice. "We fight like hell." That, she could do. She quickly addressed a prayer to whoever was listening and jumped out of her hiding spot. 

The blaster shots missed her by a hair as she ran across the room, throwing herself above the bar. She slid on the metallic counter and fell behind it as another shot hit the spot she had been in a mere second ago. Only two shooters. Where the heck was the third one? She heard Klana moving as she engaged in a fight with the woman. That was one down. Coming to sit against the counter, Y/N raised her bust ever so slightly, trying to sneak a peek at the second- The shot hit an abandoned glass by her side, and she jumped, startled. Poe immediately took it as his signal to jump into the fight, firing at the second shooter. Klana had gotten closer to the entrance, forcing the other woman to back down. Okay. They could fight their way out if she could lure out the last shooter. She crawled across the floor to the other side of the bar, breathed in deeply, and jumped to roll across the counter a second time. She landed with both feet on the ground and made a run for the alcove- Something hit her leg, and she was pulled to the ground. With a yelp, she rolled on her back as she realized someone had grabbed her ankle with a grapnel. Kriff! And here he was, the last bounty hunter. Dragging her toward him with his gun raised at her- Oh, hell, no. Y/N aimed and fired at his bracelet, efficiently breaking the mechanism and freeing herself. The impact made him recoil, and he raised his gun again. Y/N rolled to the side as he fired, noticing his blaster was in incapacitating mode. No, she would not get captured AGAIN. She tried to grab her blade to sever the rope, but she wasn't fast enough. The guy yanked it toward him, and Y/N was thrown against a table. She hit it, and it toppled over as she grunted. The metallic taste of blood filled her mouth as her lower lip split. With his foot on the rope and Y/N proverbially in the ropes, the bounty hunter raised his gun, but the woman beat him to it. She pulled the rope with all her strength, and it slipped from under his foot, making him lose his balance. She yanked it close to her and used it as a lasso, hooking it around the muzzle of his gun and jerking it from his hand. Then, with lightning-fast reflexes, she grabbed aimed at his eyes- …Right as he unhooked his second blaster and aimed at her head in return.

Both of them were immobile, blasters raised, eyes unmoving. Y/N realized a second later that the cantina was quiet. She carefully looked to her side without moving her head and noticed that her friends were in the same situation she was in. Blasters raised, eyeing the enemy down. They were stuck. Footsteps were heard, and although Y/N couldn't see the newcomers, she guessed who it was. "Welp. Looks like we're in a dead-end, huh, fellas?" Yep, Skylen with his own bounty hunter. Okay. So there were four of them, four of them, and nobody was going anywhere. …That would end well. "Y/N? You okay?" Poe asked quietly. He must have seen her hitting the table. Even though he probably couldn't see her, she nodded. "Yeah. I'm fine-" "What did you just call her?"

The voice of her sparring partner was modulated by the helmet's vocoder, but not enough to erase all of its familiarity. Something twitched in Y/N's brain.  Recognition. No. It couldn't be. With slow movements, the bounty hunter raised the hand that was free of any weapon. Y/N sent him a warning look, but he continued to move. "Easy. I'm just gonna take that off." She was tense, tenser than she had been during the fight. Her heart was in her throat, beating like crazy. She hoped she was wrong. Oh, how badly she hoped she was wrong. Time seemed to slow down as the hunter unclasped the helmet and took it off his head. It took Y/N five seconds to acknowledge what she was seeing.

His hair was longer than she remembered, and he had grown a beard that wasn't a five o'clock shadow. He had aged a bit, maybe faster than he should have, because of the war. But his eyes were still as warm as she remembered them to be. He still had the brown locks she liked so much, and his skin, albeit marred with more scars than she remembered, still was sun-kissed. And he still was handsome as hell. He looked at her expectantly for what felt like an eternity, and Y/N hesitated. She wasn't sure she wanted him to see her face. But she also wanted him to know it was her. With a sigh, and while ignoring Poe's question, she pulled the scarf down, and his eyes lit up in recognition as her hair fell from its restrains and her face came free of its mask. Silence hung in the air for a moment longer before her lips parted to let out a name she had tried to forget and had hoped she would. "...Kit?"

[peggyrose19]

Day 19: Soulmates

Jeez formatting this was a bitch. Advent for tonight is a little bit different, because the prompt was an accidental double. So, instead of being a sensible human being and just writing a different one-shot off it again, I decided I should get my O’Knutzy soulmate AU done instead, thinking it’d be fairly simple. Oh how wrong I was. Who knew writing an actual plot and developing a relationship was so hard? Me, but I started it anyway so really I did this to myself. So if it’s complete shit, I apologize in advance. Some day I will go back and edit and add to it. Characters by the always amazing @lumosinlove 

Summary: Finn and Logan were soulmates, and had been since the moment they were born. Both had a journal filled with messages to each other, given to everyone once they turned 18. When Leo turned 18, he opened his journal to discover something rather peculiar. What did one do with two soulmates?

Sorry the summary is shit, I suck at them :) Journal entries are in italics and text messages are in bold because tumblr won’t let me underline. Hope you guys enjoy, leave a comment and I’ll love you forever <3

Leo stared down at the paper in front of him. His mind had gone blank when he’d opened the book. His soulmate journal, given to him today, on his 18th birthday. He had imagined this going hundreds of different ways. It had consumed his every waking thought for the past six months at least, what he would say, how his soulmate would respond, the possibility of words waiting for him already. What he hadn’t imagined was the words from two distinct hands written on the pages. 

He thumbed through the book as word after word flashed by. Conversations flowed between these two people, going back nearly three years, according to the dates on each page. The handwritings were different. One was messy, scrawled, and Leo caught a few words of French here and there. The other was neater, script-like, and the ink was dark and consistent.

Unsure what to do, Leo began reading some of the journal. He had never heard of this happening before; he wondered if the other two knew. 

What’re you doing up, it’s nearly 3 am? was the first thing Leo’s eyes fell upon. 

Can’t sleep. What’re you doing up?

Reading. But that’s irrelevant. Go to bed. I’ll be here when you wake up.

Okay fine. Night, Fish.

Night. 

Leo could feel the affection between the two, even just from those simple words. He kept reading, flipping back through conversations that felt too private for him to be reading. His eyes found the words “I love you” written in big stark letters, filling nearly half a page. He slammed the book shut.

What was happening? Why did these two already seem to have a life? Why were they in his soulmate journal?  He pushed back the tears forming in his eyes and slowly opened it again. Words began appearing on the page. 

Finn, you there?

A moment later, answering words appeared, Yeah, what’s up?

Shit day. Then, I miss you.  

Leo wasn’t sure how to feel about all of this. He didn’t know who these people were, why they were in his journal, what to make of the clear connection they had. The best way, he supposed, to resolve this was to see who they were.

Hesitantly, Leo grabbed a pen and set it to a blank page.

Hello? 

Umm… hi? one of them wrote back quickly, the messy one. 

Who are you? the other, Finn, added. 

I’m Leo, he wrote, unsure of what else to say. I just got my soulmate journal, he added. 

There was no answer for a while. Leo had just about given up when words began appearing on the page.

This is our journal. We’ve had it for about four years now. I’m Logan, by the way, he added. 

I’m Finn.

Uh, well it’s nice to meet you both. 

Neither Finn nor Logan were sure what to make of the situation. Finn grabbed his phone, watching Leo’s words spread across the page, telling them about who he was and what he’d discovered when he’d opened his journal for the first time that morning.

Lo, is it even possible he’s also our soulmate? Is that even a thing? He sent the message to Logan, turning back to the journal.

Leo, where are you from? he asked curiously. 

New Orleans, came the response. Born and raised. What about you both?

New York City, Finn responded right before his phone pinged. 

He pulled up Logan’s response. I’m not sure, maybe? I’ve never heard of this happening before but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t. 

Quebec, came Logan’s response in the journal a moment later. Leo answered, but Finn wasn’t paying attention.

He was focused on the message on his screen, mind running through all the soulmate stories and tales he’d heard over the years. He remembered his brother getting his, being ecstatic at the messages he’d received. His friends all getting theirs, writing excitedly to their soulmates from the first moment. Even his parents talked fondly about it, the two of them meeting after a year and already being in love. None of them had two soulmates.

But then, in the back of his mind, a memory surfaced. His grandmother, telling him a story, late one night when he couldn’t sleep, about her best friend from high school. She had had a girlfriend when they went off for college, her soulmate. When they connected some years later there had been a boy too. She had never questioned it. After all, this had been the 60s. People didn’t ask questions like that. 

But maybe it was possible. Maybe this could explain the hole that still seemed to exist between him and Logan, no matter how much they loved each other.

~

As the months passed, Leo slowly made it through the journal. Finn and Logan had both given him permission to read it, although initially he had been surprised. He barely knew these people, why were they trusting him with their deepest secrets? But Finn said that’s what a soulmate journal was for and so Leo spent each night before bed reading a few pages, getting to know his apparent soulmates better and better with each word. 

He learned that Finn was a year older than Logan, 23 now, and his birthday was in August. Logan’s was in December, four days before Christmas. He read page upon page about their siblings, Finn’s older brother and Logan’s three older sisters. He wondered briefly what it was like living with siblings. 

They’d met before, in person, two years ago, Logan flying from Quebec, where he lived, to New York City for New Years. Leo’s heart ached when he read that. He wondered what the city had been like, what it had been like when they met. 

He wished he could meet them. 

He learned the small things about them, too. Logan had a terrible sweet-tooth. He was French-Canadian and could speak it fluently. (Canadian French was very different from New Orleans French). He couldn’t dance to save his life, despite his sisters trying. Finn knew how to figure skate, but had switched to hockey early on. He still kept up with it.The only food he could make without burning was hot chocolate the way his brother showed him. Finn liked to feel useful, to make people feel better. He liked to read. He liked to write letters to Logan while he slept. And Logan would scold him for staying up late, then absolutely melt at the words written on the page.

Leo wanted one of those letters. 

By the time he reached the entry from his birthday, three months had passed. It was quickly becoming summer in New Orleans, despite it being only May. As he got to know his boys better, and they got to know him, Leo wished more and more that he could meet them, see them. He wished he’d known them four years ago when they first met. He wished they’d had that time together. 

He wanted them to fall in love with him.

~

Hey Le! Logan wrote cheerfully late one afternoon. Leo sat outside in the shade of a nearby tree, flipping aimlessly through the journal. He felt conflicted. But the nickname sent flutters through his heart. What’re you up to?

Not much, he replied. Sitting in the garden. What’re you up to?

You have a garden?

Leo chuckled. Yeah. I can see the ocean from here actually.

You can see the ocean?? Jealous. 

Yeah, it’s also 85 degrees.

Nope, I’m out.

That made him laugh again. That’s what I thought.

I just don’t know how you do it! It’s like a million fucking degrees there all the time. I would actually die. 

And it’s always a million fucking degrees below freezing where you live. 

….touché. Leo could sense his reluctance through the paper. He wished desperately to see Logan’s face in that moment, see the pout he undoubtedly was wearing right then. To kiss it away, maybe press him back against his bed…

No. He wouldn’t let himself think of that. Because if he started down that path there was no coming back. And he wasn’t sure he could handle that. 

~

Finn we need to talk 

The text came one day as Finn was getting ready for bed. He paused in brushing his teeth, typing out a response.

FaceTime in 5?

Sounds good

If he was being honest with himself, Finn had expected this a while ago. He had known it was coming, knew it needed to happen. From that first message, Logan laughed at something Leo had written. Finn knew in that moment he was gone. They both were. The only problem now was how to say it.

The ringing of his phone shook him from his thoughts.

“Hey, Lo,” he answered as the call connected. 

“Hey.” 

“What’s up?”

“We need to talk.”

“Yeah, I gathered that from your text.” Logan didn’t laugh, and that’s when Finn knew this was really bothering him.

“Logan, I know what this is about. It’s okay.” Logan’s eyes snapped to his face. 

“What- how?”

“Babe, you’re not exactly subtle. And, well, neither am I. I know it’s about Leo. It’s okay.”

Logan sighed. “I just- I know he’s our soulmate, obviously. But it still feels like I’m betraying you? How can I love both of you? How does that even work?” Finn’s eyes widened at Logan’s words. 

“You love us? Both of us?”

“Harzy, how could I not? You’re my soulmates. But it’s more than that. I love you for you, not just because of some match in the system. And I want us, all of us, to be together.”

Finn was quiet for a long time. Eventually, he said quietly, “That’s why we never made sense. Why there always seemed to be a, a hole. We need Leo to complete us.”

Logan smiled. “Exactly.”

~

Leo, you there? Finn wrote.  

Yeah, came the reply a moment later. 

We have something we want to tell you.

We?

Hi Nut, Logan added hurriedly. Finn smiled at him through the phone screen. He wished he was there in person. He wished both of them were. 

Logan?

Yeah, it’s me. Fish and I talked. About this, us. We want- 

“Don’t take my moment!” Finn scolded playfully. “Besides, no one can read your shitty writing, I would know.” Logan pouted, but let Finn continue. 

Sorry about that. What we were trying to say is that we want you. If you’ll have us. I know all of this is new for you, it is for us too. But we need you. You’re the missing piece of our puzzle, and we don’t work if we don’t have you. 

Leo read the words over and over. Silence buzzed in his ears. It didn’t seem real, that these two boys, who had been each other's for so long, now wanted him. His mind couldn’t make sense of it all, of the love he could feel even through the thin pages of his notebook.

Leo, you there?

I’m here, he managed. I just don’t know what to say. 

Good or bad? Finn asked cautiously. 

Good, he laughed. Of course I want you two, do you know how long I’ve wished for this to happen? 

Oh yeah? Tell us.

“Logan!”

“Sorry.”

Okay, you don’t have to tell us. But please tell me you’ll come see us? I need to see your face. 

Please? Finn added for good measure.

Leo could have jumped up and down in that moment. Of course I will come visit. Of course. Then, a moment later, heart in his throat, he added, I love you guys. 

[whataboutmyfries]

Russian Roulette

Okay, okay. I am fully aware that it has been an absolute AGE since the last chapter but Life(tm) got in the way of this one and I'm so sorry it's getting to you so late.

Additionally, I hope you guys are aware that minimal editing has happened here.

@lumosinlove thank you so much for letting us mess around with your characters!!

~

Chapter 5

Logan slammed another cup of coffee to the table, running a hand through his already dishevelled hair. “Shit,” he breathed. “This is….this is probably enough for us to completely wreck their operation”

Finn leaned further back in his chair, blinking at the stacks of paper spilling onto the desk; about as much surprise as he’d show in front of Leo. “It is.”

Leo looked utterly unfazed as he sipped from his cup, closing his eyes at the feeling of the hot caffeine sliding down his throat. He rubbed at his eye, fixing the other one on Finn, then on Logan. “Will you do it then?”

Logan and Finn exchanged a glance. “I think you already know the answer to that.”

Leo studied the two of them before dipping his head in a nod of thanks. His voice was hoarse when he spoke again. “Thank you. For all of this.”

Finn waved him off, taking a long sip from his coffee. “Mm, I was wondering if you’d ever come around and show us that brilliant magic of yours.”

Logan laughed. “Forget magic. How would you feel about a game of cards?”

Leo’s eyes glittered “oh darlin’, I’m going to beat your asses.”

And damn if Leo didn’t deliver on his promises. An hour later, the three of them were sat around the table, staring intently at the cards spread over the wood. Finn tossed his knife, the blade making complicated swirls around his fingers as he caught it.

“You’re gonna have to do better than that to win nutty.” He chuckled; not even turning his head as he threw the knife at the dartboard.

Leo didn’t have to look up from his cards to know it’d hit the bullseye.

“Remind me again, which one of us is the magician here?” Leo drawled, eyes twinkling with mischief as he threw down his card.

Logan and Finn groaned, slapping down their cards in exasperation. Leo had won. Again.

“How does he do it?” Logan groused, pouting at the table, pulling one of Finn’s knives free of the wood.

Leo laughed, reaching behind Logan’s ear. And with a complicated twirl of his fingers, he unfurled a fan of cards

Piercing blue eyes looked over the top of the cards and Leo winked at the both of them.

“Magic.”

~

Three am found them sprawled around the room fast asleep. Mugs and cups and pots of coffee on every imaginable surface, papers spilling onto the floor. Leo blinked his eyes open to warm sunlight, shoving his face off the desk. Disoriented, he blinked his eyes frantically, trying to make sense of his surroundings. His eyes landed on a halo of red, and the memories of the previous night came back to him; only to immediately be ignored in favour of the beautiful boy in front of him. Finn’s head leaned back against the couch, exposing the column of his throat, the freckles there mapping constellations onto the creamy skin. Leo wondered if maybe Finn would ever let him trail shapes into those stars; if he tried hard enough, Leo was sure he could trace a wonky version of his namesake onto the alabaster skin. Unable to help himself, his eyes trailed upwards, crimson eyelashes fluttering against high cheekbones like trapped birds searching for a freedom he wasn’t sure he could offer.

He ripped his eyes away, his traitorous heart beating furiously against his ribs. It proved an even bigger mistake to look away because his eyes found smooth tan skin instead. Logan was almost devastating in his beauty when he slept, Chocolate-y hair shimmering in the early light. Sunshine dripping like honey from aristocratic cheekbones and hazel curls. Leo’s thoughts went into overdrive, his brain offering him vague snippets of poetry and literature in a futile attempt to describe the beauty of gods. The sunlight threw shadows across their faces, casting them in stark relief, and Leo’s heart all but crawled out of him to repent.

His heart was beating so loud it honestly surprised him that the two of them hadn’t awoken. This was a mistake. He never should’ve come here, let alone stay the night. Cursing his idiocy, he got up on cat-soft feet and gathered his things, chiding himself for letting down his guard so easy. He saw himself out, sparing one last look for the ethereal beings asleep on the couch. And as Leo let the door fall shut; he failed to realise that he’d been so caught up in cursing his mistakes; he hadn’t noticed hazel eyes trailing him on his way out.

~

Logan— on the other hand— woke to Finn’s feet sliding out of his lap. He knew he was home. He was safe. The syrupy darkness of sleep pulled him back under. Finn woke him again with a hand to his shoulder, the distinctive smell of coffee taking over his senses. Still drowsy, he grinned, a hum rumbling through him. Finn laughed, ruffling his hair.

“I don’t remember adopting a cat, but I can’t say I dislike it.”

Logan shoved at his knee with a socked foot, grumbling incoherently, though the smile on his face rather took away from it.

“Shhhhh it’s too early for your stupid face.”

“So no coffee for you then? More for me I guess”

“Touch my coffee and I’ll punch you”

“Oh shut up, you like my face too much to punch me.”

Logan blinked one eye open. “Who said I was punching you in the face?”

Finn laughed, nudging Logan’s cup closer to him. “Touche.”

Logan took the mug, nursing the warmth of the ceramic between his palms. “You know, that may be the only french thing that sounds halfway decent in that accent of yours.”

Finn flipped him off over the rim of his mug, drinking deeply. “Drink your sugar crash and leave me alone.”

Logan raised an eyebrow “Is that what we’re calling it now?”

“It is the sole cause of diabetes in this world and I am willing to die on this hill.”

Logan huffed, shoving papers out from under him so he could shift his feet up onto the couch. The events of the previous night still weighed on him. Lizard had given them….everything. Every detail, every nook and cranny of the snake house was documented. He’d left no stone unturned.

And he’d lost everything, anyway.

“Harz, he’s given us everything we were looking for.”

Finn nodded, “He did, didn’t he?” He gave Logan a look. “What do you want to do about it?”

Logan shrugged a shoulder, staring absently out the window. “We said we’d help.”

“You know you don’t have to follow through, you don’t want to do it, we don’t do it.”

Logan met his gaze, Finn’s sharp edges smoothed into something softer by the early sun. “I want to. It just…..” He trailed off with a vague gesture.

Finn hummed. “I think I know what you mean. But, Lo, we don’t have to do anything that you don’t want to do, okay? The second you want to drop it and leave, we leave, yeah?”

Logan swallowed past the lump that formed in his throat. His chest full to the brim with a feeling he’d come to describe simply as ‘Finn’. It was ephemeral and fleeting but felt like warmth; it felt like coming home. It was the feeling of waking up to find a blanket thrown over you, the feeling of a mug of steaming cocoa pressed into your hands on a bad day, the feeling of sunshine after tumultuous storms. It was the feeling of Finn, joyful and constant and forever ready with a bright smile or dry wit.

Logan smiled at his friend, shoving at Finn’s knee with his foot. “Awww, look at that. You might care about me after all.”

Finn shot him a look, the only warning he gave Logan before tackling him to the couch. Logan let out a somewhat aborted choke-squeal as he fought to get Finn off of him, wrestling his tickling fingers away from him. Logan cackled when Finn yelped overbalancing and falling onto the carpet—followed shortly by Logan, who had been too busy laughing to notice that Finn had grabbed him in a desperate attempt to stop his fall. They both lay on the floor, gasping for breath between peals of laughter, shoving at each other playfully.

Finn let his head drop to a side, catching Logan’s gaze. “You know…..It’s not like we have much to do today….”

Logan grinned “Ice cream and movies all day?”

“You know it.”

~

To put it quite simply, Leo’s brain refused to leave him alone. His smile was more facade than anything else, his beloved cards feeling clumsy and distracting in his hands. His train of thought had derailed almost an hour ago, his body running completely on autopilot as we walked the streets of Gryffindor.

They’d said yes. They’d said yes, and now Leo was going to be working with them. For a considerable amount of time. He couldn’t afford to throw something like this away on some fickle feeling, much less fickle feelings for a mob boss of all people. There was too much at stake.

Leo revealed the card in his hand with a flourish, the gasps of the people around him little more than background noise as he slipped through the crowd, surreptitiously pocketing a couple of fifties he certainly didn’t have before. He strolled unnoticed through the city, checking his watch as he went. He was early. good. He slowed his pace, watching passers-by go about their lives as he marvelled at the busy streets. It never stopped amazing him; the fervour that filled the city. Every street and bend so rife with potential, the possibility of wonderful things just itching to happen.

Like anyone else, Leo was wont to miss his home, the sprawling fields and endless forest of the countryside, but there was nothing quite like Gryffindor, with its skyscrapers shoved next to beggarly hovels and the hum of activity and excitement haunting every corner.

As his thoughts wandered through the city, his feet carried him to a familiar street lined with cafes and charming little stores. He ducked into one of them— a quaint bookshop, the well-worn sign hanging at the door proclaiming its availability to its patrons. The tiny bell above the door announced his arrival, the chime sounding through the magical place.

Leo had always thought that walking into Moony’s was like stepping through a portal to another world. Most bookstores were organised, neat. Books lined from A-Z subject to subject. Not Moony’s. Moony’s was a labyrinth. An explosion of literature and colour and homely comfort in every direction. Books covered every imaginable surface in the store, the shelves full to bursting. Haphazard piles of literature graced the floor, leaning against potted plants and comfy little armchairs scattered across the place. The books were stacked layers deep, some piles reaching as far as the ceiling, teetering precariously alongside narrow walkways. Leo loved it. The smell of tea and well-loved paper wrapped around him like a blanket as he walked to the checkout. An indignant meow drew his attention to the plush armchair, the stacks of books leaning against its arms fashioning it into something of a floral throne.

“Cheshire! How are you, you stinky little muffin?” Leo cooed, scooping up the ball of fur that had taken up residence on the chair. The cat in question purred happily, head butting Leo’s hand demanding head scratches. The blond laughed, indulging the cat and dropping a kiss onto his fuzzy little nose as he walked to the front of the store. A head full of tawny curls shuffled around under the till, clearly looking for something underneath.

“Found that treasure you’re looking for, Loops?”

Remus jumped, standing up with a smile, nearly knocking his head on the counter in the process.

“Missed me enough to come in early today?”

Leo snorted. “You wish. No, I just finished up quicker today.”

Remus raised a brow. “Sure you did. What’s bothering you Nutty? Tell me things.”

Leo’s chest warmed with affection. He sighed deeply; the singular breath seeming to take some pressure off his bones.

“You remember what went down with Pascal a while ago?”

Remus nodded.

“And that I went to the Lions for help like he said?”

Another nod.

Leo took a deep breath. “Well, they said yes.”

[missscarletta7]

The Broken Crown- Chapter 4

Enjoy chapter 4!

Summary: All Margaret Shelby ever wanted, was the opportunity to write her own story. Only now is she beginning to realize that her brother may have already written it for her...

OoOoOo

"When your dreams all fail,

And the ones we hail, Are the worst of all,

And the blood runs stale"

~Demons~

OoOoOo

1919

Maggie was so excited. She dragged Cara toward the pub the moment their school day was finished.

"Why are we going into the Garrison?" The blonde asked curiously.

"You have to meet the barmaid who works here," Maggie explained.

"I've seen her," Cara informed her. "What's so special about her?"

"We've become good friends." It was true, after such a long period of time had passed without seeing her older sister, Grace inevitably filled the gaping space that Ada had left behind.

"Should I be jealous?" The blonde teased.

Maggie flashed a loving smile, "No one could ever replace you."

When the dark-haired girl opened the pub door, the first thing they heard was Grace's melodic voice singing. "-As I've never loved before..."

Maggie spotted Grace serving drinks to the regular customers. Unfortunately, one of those customers was Ross, who was sitting with a group of men who would hang around the betting shop. Cara was quick to notice him too, her body immediately tensed.

"Since first I saw you on the village green..."

"Sorry Mags, I forgot my mum wanted me to fix stitching on some dresses," This was one of the few times Maggie had ever seen Cara looking embarrassed, "Maybe next time, yeah?"

"Come to me ere my dream of love is o'er..."

The dark-haired girl nodded, not wanting to refute the her friends claim, and watched Cara hurriedly exit through the doors.

"I love you as I loved you when you were sweet..." Maggie moved herself over to the row of empty barstools and took a seat as Grace was finishing her song. "When you were sweet sixteen."

Grace then walked behind the bar while Maggie applauded at the performance. "Hello Maggie," Grace greeted happily, grabbing a dirty pint glass off the bar. "Don't look behind you,but a handsome young man is staring at you."

Maggie felt her stomach turn, responding, "Let's change the subject."

Grace smirked, "How was school?"

"Dull," The girl said truthfully, "Harry out again?"

Grace nodded, "It's been slow."

"What have you been doing today?"

"I had a meeting with the gentleman who will be installing the pub's brand new phone."

"Neat." Maggie beamed at the thought of the new technology.

"Your brother is trying to go legitimate." Grace informed her, "He wants to make this place seem a bit more respectable."

"Which one?" The dark-haired girl asked.

"Arthur." She answered back unenthusiastically, "Though he doesn't seem too interested in fixing anything. I mean, look at the state of these." The barmaid picked up a carton of cigarettes that was ripping apart. "Where do these even come from?" She asked, hoping this question would lead to where the guns may be hidden.

Maggie just shrugged at her question. "How should I know? I think they have a few warehouses in town."

Grace nodded, taking in the information, before noticing a customer beckon her over, "I'll be back." She told the girl.

Maggie sat by herself for a few moments before she felt a presence inch closer to stand beside her. She knew there would be a confrontation at some point, she had done so well in avoiding him. She didn't have a chance to say anything before Ross spoke first, "I had instructions to give this to you."

Reaching into the pocket inside of his coat he pulled out a folded piece of parchment, placing it on the bar he slid it towards her. She was surprised but nevertheless relieved when he said nothing else and walked back to his table. Taking the note, she unfolded it to read the message that was scribbled out. As she read a smile crept onto her face. The message was from Ada.

OoOoOo

In the parlor, Maggie had been writing in her journal when Polly descended the down the stairs. "Put your shoes on," The older woman ordered, "Johns called a family meeting."

Watching Polly walk across the room, Maggie raised her eyebrow, "Thought I wasn't allowed at family meetings."

"John says it's not that kind of a meeting," Polly said, exiting into the tiny kitchen. Maggie happily closed her book and slipped on her black boots which were resting right underneath the old coffee table, before following her aunt into the kitchen.

"Pol?" Maggie asked worriedly when she noticed the woman standing rigidly by the table. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing." Polly said after a moment, "C'mon, we don't want to be late." Polly moved to enter the betting shop with her niece in tow.

"Where's John?" Tommy asked his aunt, agitated his brother was not at his post.

"John's in the Garrison, says he wants a meeting about a family matter," Polly informed him, placing her hat on her head. "After he's said his piece he'll come back and take his place with Scudboat."

Maggie tried to follow her aunt, but was stopped by Tommy's outstretched arm, "Where are you going?"

"To the meeting. John told Polly I could come," Maggie explained to him.

Though Tommy didn't look completely persuaded, Polly called on the large man taking bets. "John will be here in ten minutes"

"Five," Tommy corrected before the family walked out of the shop onto the cobblestone pavement.

"What does John want to talk about?" Tommy asked his aunt.

"Your guess is as good as mine. Always been one for dramatics, our John" Polly replied jokingly causing Maggie to chuckle out.

"You're in a good mood," Tommy noted to the smiling girl as he pulled out a cigarette to smoke.

"I like going to the Garrison," Maggie responded.

"She likes talking to that barmaid." Polly translated her nieces' words.

"You and Grace seem to chat a lot," Tommy spoke, exhaling a breath of smoke.

The girl shrugged. "I like Grace, she likes my writing," quickly adding, "We're friends."

"You trust her enough to share your work," Tommy said, impressed by the sudden growth of his sister. "I'm thinking of asking her to be my secretary," Tommy suddenly informed the ladies.

"Only a secretary?" Maggie asked, raising her eyebrows cheekily.

He flashed her a ghost of a smile, "Never you mind."

"Secretary, eh?" Polly finally spoke up as the Garrison came into their view.

"We're going, legitimate Pol." Tommy reasoned, "What's more legitimate than a secretary? Or maybe I’ll make her a bookkeeper. Arthur mentioned she’s good with numbers and helped him fix the books." Polly said nothing and this seemed to spark something in the gangster, "Got something to say?"

"Just don't let your cock do your thinking for you Thomas," Polly warned. He remained silent, but a small smirk was fixed on his face causing the aunt to roll her eyes.

When they entered the pub, it was empty, except for Harry, who stood behind the bar drying some glasses with a white rag. They saw Finn leaning against the outer wall of the private room, which Maggie assumed John and Arthur were already in.

"Stay out here Finn," Polly ordered the eleven-year-old who tried to enter with them.

"But Mags gets to go in!" The boy protested, yet his words went unheard. This made him look jealousy at his sister, who had stuck her tongue out at her little brother as she walked into the snug with the rest of the family. Both John and Arthur were already seated, and she took a place right next to Polly.

"All right John, there's only one man-," Tommy spoke, before declining the drink Arthur poured for him continuing, "There's only one man guarding the house. What's troubling you?"

"Aunt Polly, Maggie, you two know what it's been like since Martha died." John began.

Maggie gave her brother a sad smile as Polly took his hand and said, "God takes the best first."

John looked to his sister, "Mags, you've been a big help with them, but the truth is my kids have been running bloody rings around me." With hopelessness in his voice, he continued, "Running barefoot with the dogs until all hours."

Maggie's heart ached for him, but Tommy was not having it, "Pol, give him ten bob for some new shoes. Is that it, John?" He asked his brother impatiently.

"Tommy it would be better to do this without you," Polly scolded before turning her attention back to John. "Now what's your point?"

"What the kids need is a mother." John spoke again slowly, "So that's why I'm getting married."

Everyone in the room exchanged glances of surprise. Polly was the first to speak, "Does this poor girl know you're going to marry her? Or are you just going to spring it on her all of a sudden?"

John replied matter-of-factly, "I've already proposed, and she said 'yes'."

"I think that's great John," a smiling Maggie announced. Finally! She was officially off babysitting duty.

"I think there's a shell about to land and go bang," Tommy stated mockingly, before lighting the cigarette hanging in his mouth.

Hesitantly John spoke again, "It's um- its Lizzie Stark."

"Oh, eww," Maggie breathed out, crossing her arms as her family cackled at her expression.

Polly managed to compose herself, "John, Lizzie Stark is a strong woman and I am sure she provides a fine service for her customers-"

"I won't hear the word! Understand? Do not use that word." He told them angrily.

Tommy sighed out, "What word is that, John?"

"You know what word that is," John growled out.

"Everybody bloody knows" Arthur finally spoke out and pointed at his sister, "Shit, even Mags here knows."

John gritted out, "Everybody can go to Hell."

"Whore. That word?" Tommy finally supplied. "Or prostitute? How about that one?"

Fury flashed in Johns' eyes, "Right I want it known, if anyone calls her a whore again, I will push the barrel of my revolver down their throats and blow the word back down into their hearts."

"Well, that's not dramatic at all," Maggie mumbled out her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Men and their cocks never cease to amaze me." Polly berated, "John, Lizzie Stark never did a day's work vertical- "

"She's changed!" John insisted, "All right?! People change! Like- Like with religion-"

"Lizzie Stark has got religion, eh?" Tommy interrupted.

"No! No, she doesn't have religion, but- well she loves me." John asserted, "Now listen Tommy, I won't do it without your blessing. But of all the people in the world- I want you to see it as brave."

"Oh, it's brave all right," Arthur muttered before taking a swig of his drink.

"Brave is going where no man has gone before. And with Lizzie Stark, John, that really is not what you'll be doing" She told him, unable to hold back the laughter.

But he ignored her, looking back at his older brother, "Listen, Tommy, welcome her to the family, as someone whose had a hard life. All right because I need someone. The kids need someone."

Tommy looked as if he was about to give his reply before Finn pushed open the door forcefully panting out, "Tommy, we've been done over!"

"What?" Arthur asked in disbelief.

Quickly Maggie followed her siblings and Polly, who all practically ran out of the Garrison. Not stopping until they all were back in front of number seventeen, Watery Lane. "You and Finn stay outside," Polly ordered once they were outside the entrance of the betting shop.

Maggie was about to object until Tommy echoed their aunts' instructions and followed the rest of his family inside. The pair of Shelby's eventually moved from the noisy street to the alley where the car was parked. Finn carefully crawled onto the hood and contorted his way over the front window. Maggie followed her brother, stepping up to sit on top of the hood, letting her feet lightly kick the metal of the vehicle that protected the thin wheels.

"Look, Maggie," Finn giggled and the girl twisted her upper body to see her brother playing with the steering wheel, "I'm Tommy!"

The girl smiled, "If you're trying to be Tommy, you should work more on your scowl." She told him jokingly. Overdramatically Finn made a scowl but immediately broke character by breaking out in even more giggles, triggering Maggie to laugh as well.

Suddenly Tommy was at the entrance of the alleyway in front of them, he looked instantly distressed. "Maggie, Finn." He began slowly, "Both of you stay exactly where you are."

"What's wrong?" she asked him worriedly. Did something happen inside?

Raising his arm out to her spoke out cautiously, "Mags, as careful as ya can, I need you to slowly slide off the hood."

She did as she was told, while Finn kept snickering, "I was pretending I was you." The child told his brother, but Tommy ignored him instead he directed Maggie to move against the dingy brick wall.

Once he felt like his sister was out of danger he went back to the child in the car, "Which door did you open to come in Finn?"

"I didn't," He told his big brother proudly. "I climbed in."

"I want you to climb out exactly the same way you climbed in, okay?" Tommy instructed, but Finn disobeyed and opened the driver's door.

Maggie watched as Tommy ran to grab an object that had been on the side of the door, yelling out, "Clear!" before flinging it to hit the brick wall on the opposite side of the street. Maggie yelped out at the sound of the explosion, which caused working men to drop to the ground. "That's why you should never pretend to be me, okay?" Tommy told Finn, visibly shaken by this incident. Tommy then took a deep breath and pulled both of his younger siblings close to him.

OoOoOo

Polly and Maggie had just entered the washhouse Ada had informed them she would be visiting. It was a large space, but luckily there were not very many people who decided to do their laundry at the establishment that afternoon. Alone in the corner of the washroom, sitting on a stool, was a woman with a long brown coat, wide black hat, folding trousers onto the small table beside her.

"Need help?" Polly asked the woman eagerly.

The woman looked up to see her family members and smiled, "You got my letter." Ada grinned and stood up with a bit of difficulty, Polly was the first one to embrace her.

Once the aunt and niece pulled apart it was Maggie's turn. Though the hug was more on the awkward side, due to the sizable stomach that was in the way. She muttered into her sisters' ear, "Fuck, you're huge!"

"Oh, shut up." Ada happily retorted, smacking her sister's arm lightly.

"What's with the glasses?" Maggie laughed and pointed at the large spectacles on her sister's face.

"Freddie wants me in disguise when I go out now." She spoke with a bored tone and pointed to the strange-looking eyeglasses. "Can't bloody see anything with these."

Maggie grabbed a pair of socks, which she assumed was Freddie's, from Ada's hand, "Here let me help you." She told her sister and began to fold the newly laundered clothing.

"Has Freddie got you hiding somewhere near?" Polly asked hostilely.

"It's fucking rat hole," Ada spit out, "the entire flat is about the size of your room, Mags."

Maggie felt sad for her sister. Sure, the Shelby family didn't have much to their name, but they were better off compared to most of the population in Small Heath. "Is that Copper still looking for Freddie?" Ada inquired to which Polly nodded.

Ada cursed and placed a hand on her large stomach, "I just want to live in peace with my family. But instead of thinking of me or the baby, all he cares about is the bloody cause. Freddie even gave someone two hundred bloody pounds."

Polly leaned in closer to the pregnant girl, and with a hushed tone asked, "Who?"

OoOoOo

Maggie walked down the hall from her room to Tommy's, she was hoping she could borrow a pen since hers ran out of ink. Before she opened the closed door, she could have sworn she heard noises. Had her brother come home early?

"Tom?" She asked, opening the door, but that wasn't who was in the room, "John?"

Being caught, the third oldest Shelby stopped his rifling through their brothers' things, though seemed relieved it was only her, "Mags-"

"What are you doing here?" She asked before she noticed that his eyes were watery, "Has something happened?"

"The weddings off," He informed her with an irritated tone and moved to the dresser drawers.

"Oh." Was all she could manage to say awkwardly, "I'm sorry."

"Don't," he told her bitterly, shaking his head then went back to rifling through the dresser flipping over Tommy's clothes. "It ain't your fault I'm a fucking idiot!"

"You're no idiot, John," she assured him yet he just scoffed at her words.

"Never fall in love Maggie, leads to nothing but fucking agony."

“What does falling in love even feel like anyway?” She surprised herself when she asked.

John stopped and turned his red eyes to her for a moment before continuing his search, “You know it… it's like this feeling in your gut.” He told her somewhat uncomfortably, “Your heart beats a little faster, your mind always wanders back to thinking about them, no matter what you're doing; when you eat, when you sleep, when you work… Why the fuck are you asking me this?”

“No reason”, Maggie said quickly. "What are you even looking for, anyway?"

He didn't respond to her question, causing her to become frustrated. "Fine, don't tell me." Maggie walked over to the nightstand, picked up the first writing device she saw and left the room.

OoOoOo

The next evening Maggie had fallen asleep on the sofa in the tiny parlor of their home, at least until she was shaken awake by her aunt. "What's the matter?" she muttered out, quickly sitting herself up. Was something wrong? Had the Lees come back?

"Nothing, love" Polly reassured her, "I left a new dress on your bed, go put it on."

"We're going out?" The girl asked, confused, no one had told her they had prior arrangements.

"Yes," Polly nodded, "Now c'mon, we don't have that much time."

Maggie rose from her spot, "Where are we going, Pol?"

"To a wedding," The older woman huffed impatiently and made her way up the stairs to the bedrooms.

This confused Maggie even more, "Whose?"

Not two hours later Maggie had gotten her answer. She and Polly met Ada near the Lees campground and walked into their enemy's territory with no trouble at all. They approach the crowd of witnesses just as Johnny Dogs begins the ceremony. Ada stopped to stand beside Tommy.

"Let's stand over here, love," Polly said, guiding Maggie past her siblings to get a better view of the union. She watched on as Johnny officiated, taking notice that her brother actually looked happy to be up there. Her attention was taken off the bride and groom when she spotted Ross standing about ten feet away with the rest of the Peaky Blinders. Smiling softly at his familiar face, she waved, her stress alleviated when he did the same.

"I now pronounce you man and wife," Johnny said happily as all the witnesses cheered at the new couple's first kiss.

As the night went on the partygoers were all in a festive mood. Sitting on a wooden barrel, Maggie watched as everyone mingled and danced. Tommy was sitting and chatting with the matriarch of the Lee family, Arthur was in the middle of what looked like a drinking contest, and John danced to the music with his beautiful new wife, Esme. Even she had started to sway to the music as the firecrackers sounded off over the happy noises.

"Mags," Ross greeted her, walking up next to stand next to her seating place.

"Hello," she replied, followed by an awkward pause, "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you." She told him after a few moments.

"Understandable." He responded instantly, "I've been a wanker and not just to you." Taking another puff of his cigarette, he exhaled, "I'll talk to Cara."

Maggie was surprised by this proclamation, "Really?"

"I'll sort it out." He nodded looking at the others dancing, and with a smile continued, "I miss walking with you two."

Maggie returned the smile, "We miss you too."

Ross stuck his hand out, "Care to dance?"

Maggie felt her face flush, and waved her hands in protest, "Oh, no I couldn't."

"C'mon, it's a party." He urged, with his hand still outstretched. Smiling, the girl cautiously took it and was led to the crowd.

Feeling like an idiot, she tried to keep up with the fast-paced music, but it seemed like her feet couldn't move fast enough. She felt someone clumsily bump into her backside nearly knocking her over. "Oi! Watch- Oh sorry love." Ada slurred out.

"It's alright," Maggie assured her sister, regaining her balance.

Ada then awkwardly cupped her little sister's face with both hands, and with a very stern tone warned, "Don't you ever let a man call you a 'Fucking Shelby' you hear me." She then rounded on the man next to her and jabbed a finger close to Ross’s face. "You hear me."

"Don't you worry, Ada," Ross guaranteed her, which seemed to be good enough for the older Shelby girl whose demeanor quickly changed back to her delighted drunkenness, dancing away from them.

As Ross spun her around, she caught a glimpse of John and Esme, sitting together and happily getting to know one another, "Seems like love at first sight." She heard Ross say.

"Seems so," Maggie replied happily. Very soon her attention was drawn to Tommy and Arthur trying to get a drunken Ada under control, "Oh no." She breathed out, walking closer to her feuding family members.

"Come and look, Esme!" Ada shouted, "Come and look at the family you joined!" The music ceased and now everyone's attention was on the intoxicated woman. "Come and look at the man who runs it! He chooses his brother's wives for them!" Ada shouted out for everyone to hear. She wasn't finished though, the woman then pointed at her younger sister, "Have you got some old perverted man lined up for Maggie?!"

Maggie felt her stomach drop at the thought, she felt everyone's gaze turn to her as she remained frozen in place. The only comfort that she felt was when Ross put her arm around her waist, as if to protect her. Tommy just stood in front of Ada looking at her stoically, but the mother-to-be wasn't done yet. "He hunts his own sister down like a rat, and he tries to kill his own brother-in-law!"

"Ada, that's enough!" Arthur tried to intervene.

"And now he won't even let me have a fucking dance! Not even at a fucking wedding!"

"Sit her down!" John barked out.

"Calm down Ada," Polly kept repeating, trying to soothe her. "Holy Shit. Water, right."

"Not now Ada," Arthur whined, obviously devastated the party was now unavoidably cut short. "Bloody hell, you do pick your times."

Tommy rushed over to Ada placing his coat over her and assisted Pol with leading her out of the vicinity and into the family car.

Maggie turned to her friend, "I have to-"

"Go." Ross finished for her.

Maggie rushed towards her family, who all made their way to the car. "It's too early!" she heard Ada cry out as she was ushered into the vehicle. Maggie too jumped into the front seat next to her brother.

"It'll be ok, love." Polly soothed sliding in next to her, before turning to the driver, "Step on it, Tommy."

OoOoOo

"Freddie," Ada kept repeating as she laid down on the sofa in the small parlor. "I want Freddie!"

"I know," Maggie sighed out uncomfortably, moving a sweaty piece of hair out of her sister's face.

"I can't do it, Mags. I can't do it on my own." Ada whimpered.

The younger girl's heart ached, "Hey, look at me, you can do this," She assured her, "You are so strong, if anyone can do this it'll be you."

Luckily for them, Esme had finally arrived moments later.

"Ada!" They heard Polly scream before she re-entered the home. "They're getting the word out to Freddie. He'll be here, love." She assured her niece, who grunted out as yet another contraction commenced.

"I think it might be the wrong way 'round," Esme told them, "I attended three sisters."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Polly agreed.

Maggie squirmed in place nervously, "What does that mean?"

"We should lean her forward," Esme suggested and Polly nodded, helping Ada up.

"C'mon, it's not that long to go, darling," The aunt encouraged the screaming woman. "Push, two, three!"

"Holy shit," Maggie muttered out, as she watched a new life was making its way out of her sister.

"Keep going, that's it!" Polly cheered before pulling out the baby completely. "It's a boy, Ada," Polly told the exhausted woman over the newborn's cries as Esme cut the cord connecting the mother and son with some old scissors.

Polly cleaned the new baby boy off tenderly with a small rag before returning him to Ada, who was beaming at the small life in her arms. Maggie heard banging from the front entrance and if she had not gotten out of the way fast enough Freddie may have run over her. Maggie smiled at the sight of the little family. The feeling didn't last long though, because the front door opened once again, and she felt herself being pushed aside the wall by a copper. Esme could be heard yelling, the baby boy began to shriek, and Ada sobbed, clinging to her newborn to her chest.

"Freddie!" Ada cried out as the group of officers dragged the new father out of the home.

"Tommy," Polly said darkly before letting out a string of curses in Romany before storming out of the house.

[chokemeanakin]

How many shots it would take for me to sleep with each Star Wars guy🥂: (part 1)

Anakin Skywalker:

2 for confidence bc he’s super hot and sexy and scary and sweet. But shots or not, I would bang this man like the little drummer boy took steroids on Christmas Eve. Fuck 😩💦

Obi-Wan Kenobi:

10 because in my eyes he’s more of a friend/uncle/teacher, but like he’s handsome and sweet so I’m not opposed.🤷🏼‍♀️

Kaleidoscopic Rectangle:

4 because I’d have to get to a point where my vision goes blurry to be able to find him hot. He’s not too bad, but his personality is off putting (sorry stans). I’d smash more out of curiosity than anything.

Yoda:

0. No explanation needed, he’s Master of theJedi and Master of this 🐈. But also I would never fuck Yoda that would be disrespectful to @simping-for-fives 😔🙅🏼‍♀️

Palpatine:

ZERO. DO YOU HEAR ME. ZERO. He would be the best lay hands down. So nice, tells you exactly what you want to hear, lets you feel like you’re in control but really he’s dominating everything the whole time. A total daddy. Not to mention his balls are canonically gigantic I mean what more could you ask for 🥰🥰🥰

Poe Dameron:

Hmmm he’s cute and funny but I feel like we’re too similar. Like.. our personalities are basically the same except he’s more stubborn and outspoken. I feel like I’d be fucking myself, but honestly I’m great so that’s not much of a problem. I’m gonna go with 3, just cause I think it would be fun to Tipsy Smash him.

Finn 228/&;$,!28383~£]*|*~€\}*293828:

0. He’s so sweet and soft, I feel like I’d just love to see if I could make him cry during it. Otherwise I think he’d be pretty nice, he’d for sure treat you right 😤💪🏻 But I’d only do him once and then never again.

Luke Skywalker:

Return of the Jedi Luke is sexy so 0 shots needed. Honestly I would smash him so hard. I’d see if I could make him cry also. He’s the kind of guy I’d like to just turn into a porn star with and scare the shit out of. Yeah he’d be really fun, and I also think he’d be good in bed. So zero shots 🥰🥰🥰 (but only for rotj luke 😠)

Tony Stark:

This is a hard one. Probably like 3 bc he’s kind of old, and he’d probably make me do most of the work. But he’s hot so. 🤷🏼‍♀️

Han Solo:

8 shots. I just do not want to fuck Han— I don’t know why, he’s great and all but that would be so disrespectful to Leia, and honestly I don’t want any chance of Kantalope Remission spermy bois to be anywhere near me. So yeah, I’d have to be blackout. 😬😬😬

(Part 2)

[staarshines]

It’s Not All Roses Chapter 1: astra (HighSchool!AU) || P.D.

| It’s Not All Roses Masterlist |

Warnings: cursing

Word Count: 3.1k

Excerpt: “Meet Rey! She’s in our english class, remember?” You can’t believe it for a minute—Wait, was this Poe’s doing? No, he was walking up the stairs with you… You look around, seeing him walk into the row from the other side. What the hell were the odds?

[A/N]: i haven’t been on here for months but we don’t talk about that❤️ also, the pandemic doesn’t exist here. bonne lecture.

Your Sour Patch Kids and Sprite, Finn’s Milky Way and Gatorade… You look over the items in your hands once more, hurrying through the crowds of kids masked in orange and white, proudly showing off Amidala-Skywalker High School’s colors; a stark contrast to the crowd bathed in red and black on the other side of the podium.

You mentally curse yourself for even wanting to come to the Homecoming game between Amidala-Skywalker and Geonosis High—dragging Finn along with you on top of that.

If Homecoming was this overhyped, you were going to be pissed.

Lost in thought, you unavoidably manage to run into someone, wincing when you hear the crack of your Sprite can hit the ground and open.

“My bad.”

You look back up to see a cute guy looking back at you with apologetic eyes, grinning, while his wild chocolate-colored curls frame his face.

“No, you’re good. It was my fault for running into you.”

“Nah, that was me. Got a little too focused on the game.” Both of you erupt into awkward laughter, bending down to pick up the snacks now lying on the ground. “I’m Poe, by the way.”

You look up once more, breath hitching in your throat because of how close you are to him—had you moved five inches closer, your lips would be pressed flush up against his. Your cheeks heat up at the thought and you forget how to speak for a few moments, watching him hold back a smirk.

This fucker knew exactly—

“I’m Y/N,” you quickly blurt out, flashing him a quick smile and grabbing the candy and sports drink, noticing another Sprite can that Poe hadn’t picked up. “I think that’s yours.”

“No, that one’s yours.”

“Even if it is mine, I ran into you, so you should have it.”

“Honestly? I was hoping you’d say that. Rey would kill me if I didn’t come back with her Sprite.” You chuckle and nod, standing up and smiling when he motions for you to go up the steps first.

You’re thinking about where you’ve seen him on the way up to your row, realizing that he was the one who pranked a girl—you’re guessing Rey?—in your english class by removing her headphones from her laptop’s jack while she was in the bathroom. Mr. Kenobi nearly fell out of his seat when he heard “WAP” blaring at full volume.

Needless to say, she was not happy.

You slide into the row Finn is sitting in, throwing him his candy and the Gatorade bottle—the latter of which he nearly doesn’t catch, which would’ve resulted in it hitting the brunette next to him.

“Y/N! Meet Rey! She’s in our english class, remember?” You can’t believe it for a minute—Wait, was this Poe’s doing? No, he was walking up the stairs with you… You look around, seeing him walk into the row from the other side.

What the hell were the odds?

You then remember that Finn and Rey are watching you look around like a madman, snapping you back to the situation of introductions and small-talk at hand.

“Right! The girl who—”

“Whose music blared in a dead-silent classroom in the middle of our english class? Yeah, that’s me.” You chuckle slightly, nodding to her and sitting down. Poe’s gaze catches your eye and he quirks an eyebrow, tilting his head.

What are you doing here?

A quick tilt of your head in Finn’s direction, then the game’s direction. Watching the game, apparently.

Raised eyebrows and the hint of a smirk. You following me?

An eyeroll and a bit-back smile. Oh yeah, definitely.

He shrugs with a smile on his face and sits down next to Rey, and you stifle a chuckle when you see her snatch the Sprite and Airheads from him, cracking the can open.

“What, do you two know each other?” It takes you a second to realize Finn’s question is directed at you and Poe.

“I mean kinda, we just ran into each other a while ago. Oh, that’s Poe. Poe, Finn, Finn, Poe.” They exchange warm smiles but nothing more.

“Well, I promise I’m not aiding him in anything,” Rey reads your mind, winking and eliciting a giggle from you. You look over to find him scrolling through his phone, earning a slight frown from you as you resume your normal position and pop a Sour Patch Kid into your mouth, mindlessly watching the game go on. Your phone buzzes in your pocket and you lazily pull it out, checking the notification.

      Instagram Poe Dam(n)eron (@damndameron) has requested to follow you.

        You look over at him once again, finding him now watching the game. Hm, so we’re playing this game? All right. Opening the app, you accept his request and click on his profile, a bit surprised when you see that he’s private—he pegged you as the type of guy to have a public account. Nevertheless, you hit “Follow”, waiting a few moments before refreshing and seeing that he’s accepted, giving you full access to his profile.

You see about four posts and a few story highlights, but nothing out of the ordinary. You click on his most recent post, scrolling past the beach, a hot tub at a cabin, a picture of him and Rey at Pike’s Peak—was she his girlfriend?—and lastly, a picture of someone who you guessed was his mother and him as a baby. He’s standing on her feet in what looks like their living room and you can tell that they’re dancing, a grin frozen on his mom’s face while Poe flashes a toothy smile—his dad must’ve taken the picture. It was dated November 21, posted almost one year ago. Curious, you click on the comments and start reading through them.

kare_kun_ Thinking about all of you.

r.skywalker you'll always be her flyboy, poe.

snapwexley01 she’d be so proud of you, man.

j_pava  Wish she was still here with us. Stay strong, Poe.

The last comment makes it all click into place, and you feel a pang in your heart. He’d lost his mom. How long ago? He was maybe four years old in that picture. You suddenly feel so empathetic that all you want to do is give him a hug—he was a momma’s boy; you could read it right off his face. You keep the date in mind: November 21st.

“Well, we won.” You look up in a daze to see that the clock was 6 seconds away from halftime, the score being 31-9 in Amidala-Skywalker’s favor.

“How do you kick someone’s ass that badly?” you ask with a sort of wince even though you were on the triumphant side, clicking your phone shut.

“Like that, apparently,” Poe remarks, just before the halftime buzzer rings. “You guys wanna get out of here and go to the baseball fields or something? It’s a lot less noisy but you can still hear the game’s commentary.” You’re a bit surprised at his proposal, seeing as you four just met, but you’re definitely not opposed.

“Why not?” Finn responds, shrugging his shoulders. You four get up and leave the row, nearly getting trampled in the number of kids leaving their seats to either go get food or leave the game entirely.

“C’mon, flyboy, you’re gonna get lost!” Rey yells from behind you. Flyboy. Wonder where he got that nickname.

“Oh my God, please— He did not!” you laugh, clapping a hand over your mouth while giving Poe a disbelieving look.

It’s pitch black outside now and you four are bathed in the floodlights of the baseball stadium, sitting on the grass just by home base.

“There’s fight, there’s flight, then there’s complete idiocy. Guess which one Poe has programmed into his DNA.” Poe narrows his eyes at Rey, throwing Finn’s empty Gatorade bottle at her which she catches with ease.

“It’s not my fault I wasn’t thinking—”

“Thank you for admitting that.”

“—I was panicked! There was a s’more in my hand and I just threw it in the other direction!”

“While not thinking that the bear would come after you for more,” you add, watching him huff, seeing a hint of a pout on his face. “Remind me never to go anywhere near the woods with you.”

“I like her already,” Rey remarks, to which you crack a smile.

“How long have you two been dating?” you try to crack the question as casually as possible, but let’s face it: the anticipation is eating away at you. To your surprise, they both burst out in laughter—so they’re not together?

“Oh my God, I wouldn’t date Poe in a million years. I couldn’t handle being that much impulse control for him—He’s already a liability as my best friend,” Rey laughs, shaking her head.

“I— Rude. But honestly, I wouldn’t date you either. You don’t know how to have fun,” he exaggerates the statement with his hands. You smile at their banter, a bit surprised at their relationship’s similarity to yours and Finn’s. “How long have you two been dating?”

“We’re most definitely not dating,” Finn chuckles, earning a slap to the shoulder from you.

“No need to act like you’d never date me! Remember the kiss on the playground in third grade?” you ask sarcastically, the memory bringing back a bout of nostalgia.

“That was third grade! And I was dared to do it!” You laugh, throwing an arm around him.

“I mean Finn, you seem pretty passionate about making sure she knows you don’t like her,” Poe winks, earning a fake gag from Finn.

“Oh, please. She’s like my sister.”

“Literally,” you add. “I’m pretty sure I saw you more than I saw my own parents during my childhood.”

“You, Ben, Han, and Leia, yeah,” he nods.

“Ben, Han, and Leia..?”

“Ben’s our best friend. The three of us practically grew up together with Han and Leia—his parents.”

“Han and Leia like—Dr. Solo and Dr. Organa? The ones who teach at the school?” You nod, answering Poe’s question. “I don’t think they’re married—are they divorced?”

“Never got married,” Finn explains. “Just two best friends who had a one-night stand and actually stayed civil with each other after learning about the pregnancy. They raised Ben together—and us, too, basically.”

“I miss him,” you murmur. “Why’d his stupid ass have to want to go to that college prep school way over in New York, anyway?”

“Probably just to make Han and Leia proud after all they’ve done. Mark my words, he’ll be back here in a year or two. You don’t get the high school experience at a prep school.”

“Are you talking about First Order Preparatory, the big one in New York?” Rey interjects. “That’s not a boarding school last I checked.”

“Nah, he’s living over there with his Uncle Luke. I mean, we FaceTime and all, but it’s just not the sa—”

“Shit. Shit, shit, shit. Poe, she’s coming over here.” Both Poe and Rey scramble to get up, leaving you and Finn to do the same while you steal a glance behind yourself, trying to see who Rey is talking about.

“Run,” Poe whispers in a panicked tone; Rey grabs his arm before he can take off.

“We’re not running, genius!” she hisses, looking behind you once more. You turn around, finally spotting a blonde wearing an orange shirt and white shorts, stripes of white paint just under her eyes. “We’re walking away. Quickly. Very quickly.” You turn around, finding them nodding to you and Finn; the four of you begin in the opposite direction from whoever the blondie was.

“Who are we r—walking very quickly away from?” you ask, keeping up at a brisk pace.

“Zorii Bliss. She’s been after Poe ever since fifth grade,” Rey explains, picking up her pace.

“Just tell her you’re not interested. Simple,” you mutter, arching an eyebrow.

“You think I haven’t tried? What was this summer, the seventh time I’ve turned her down?” Poe groans, and you suddenly feel terrible. They were actually running from this girl who’d been after them for five years. Couldn’t you get a restraining order or something? “She’s been with five guys—”

“Six,” Rey corrects.

“—six guys in the past four months. All she does is play them then blame them, all while still somehow looking like the victim. The Smoky Mountains trip we were just talking about—the bear and the s’mores? You don’t know how hard she tried to get in on that trip.”

“Sheesh,” Finn starts, “someone needs to—”

“Poe!” you hear someone, presumably Zorii, call out from behind you four.

“—get the hint,” Finn mutters, and the four of you turn around to find her just maybe fifty feet away. What the fuck, did she run to catch up or something?

“Hide me,” you hear Poe whisper, and before you can ask how, he’s already crouched behind you, arms around your waist.

“Long time no see,” she calls out, sauntering now. Aw c’mon, how about you run like you were doing before? Look all desperate for the cameras?

“What—She knows you’re here!”

“But I’m not.”

“Yes you are!”

“Nope.” You start to argue with him but then stop, realizing he really didn’t want to see her.

“Aw, that’s cute.” Christ, even her voice was insufferable. She looked like a bitch, too.

You really just wanted to punch her in the face.

“What do you want, exactly?”

“Who are you, his girlfriend? Funny, Poe hasn’t really ever dated anyone.” She shuffles a bit to the side and you copy her footwork to guard Poe, watching her raise her eyebrows and laugh in disbelief. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“And you didn’t answer mine,” you quip smoothly, hearing Finn quickly stifle a laugh from beside you. She gives Finn a dirty look, and you swear you’re about to drag her from her hair right now. “What do you want?”

“I just came over to say hi to Poe since we didn’t get to meet too much over the summer,” she shrugs. “Zorii Bliss.” You don’t respond, waiting for her to make her exit. “Aren’t you going to introduce yourself?”

“Couldn’t be more bothered to.” Rey sucks in a sharp breath and you’re worried that you’ve crossed some sort of line, but your stance doesn’t waver. She rolls her eyes and blows a kiss to Poe before turning on her heel and walking away—you’re sure she’s swaying her hips on purpose.

“Damn,” Poe murmurs, getting up from behind you. “You really said ‘no, bitch’ to her.” You laugh a little bit at his statement, shaking your head.

“She just really pissed me off. Hopefully that taught her a lesson and she’ll leave you alone now.”

“We can hope. I nearly fought her in the middle school parking lot once.” Finn raises his eyebrows at Rey but you just nod impressedly.

“Y’know, we should take a picture so we have something to post on Instagram,” Poe suggests. “I haven’t posted for a while.” He’s actually one of the boys who cares about his Instagram? Respect.

“Yeah, neither have I.” You shush Finn before he can start to whine about taking pictures, but Rey seems to have the same reaction as him. “Aw, c’mon you guys, it’s just one picture.”

“Fine,” Finn drawls. “Just one.”

“Maybe two,” you add with a giggle, watching him shake his head as you pull out your phone, opening the camera. “Okay, any ideas on where we should set it? Because the four of us sure as hell aren’t fitting in a square if I take a selfie.”

“If you have a popsocket, you can try to hook it inside the diamonds of the fence.”

“Good idea, flyboy,” you test the nickname out, watching his reaction closely to determine whether you’re crossing a line. He smiles, the corners of his eyes crinkling up, so you breathe a sigh of relief.

After having set your phone up on the fence—“You’re taking too long. Let me do it.” “Finn, you’re not going to have any more luck than I am.” (He, in fact, didn’t)—you press the shutter button and quickly run back to the four, throwing an arm around Finn and watching Rey neck Poe, earning a laugh from you. It’s a bit too late when you realize the picture’s already been taken, and it takes about three minutes for you both to coax Finn and Rey into taking another one. The second one turns out almost perfect, though, seeming like one of those cliché VSCO pictures that everyone posts around this time.

“Numbers,” you state simply, handing your phone to Rey. She starts adding her contact information, taking a quick selfie for her contact picture and then handing the phone off to Poe. “And give me your Instagram handles, too. I’ll tag you guys when I post.”

“You already have mine,” Poe remarks while not looking up from the phone, and you’re sure that you’re the only one who can hear the slight smugness in his voice. He hands your phone back to you and you see that he’s set the picture of his annoyed face after Rey necking him as his contact photo, which makes you giggle a bit.

After you’d sent them the pictures—Poe had named the groupchat “the avengers”, which sparked a conversation about Marvel (Finn and Poe were arguing over the best Avenger right now)—you edited the pictures slightly to make them better, uploading them to Instagram with the caption, “no friendship is an accident.”.

You four were now walking out of school boundaries towards your neighborhood—yet another thing you four discovered you had in common—but you were lost in the stars, hearing traces of the current conversation on hand (something about Asgard and the Tesseract).

“Hey. Snap out of it.” Poe snaps his fingers in front of your face and you blink, shaking your head and looking back at him.

“Huh? Sorry.”

“Staring at the stars?” he asks, looking up at the sky himself.

“Yeah. Found Ursa Major and Cassiopeia,” you point out, watching him genuinely look for the constellations, humming when he sees them too. “You like stargazing?”

“I do, actually. Have a telescope in my room and everything.”

“Oh?” You’re stepping in stride with him, completely forgetting about the other two who are also with you.

“Yeah. Y’know… you need a nickname.”

“Oh? Why’s that?”

“I dunno, I just think…” he looks up at the sky then back at you, grinning as if he’s figured something out. “Astra.”

“Astra?” you ask, recognizing the word to be Greek for “star”.

“Astra,” he confirms, nodding. You raise an eyebrow, but you can’t deny that you like it.

“Well, it’s not terrible.” You were understating. You kind of loved it.

“I’ll take that as a win.”

Masterlist

All taglists are open! Send me an ask or a message :)

Permanent: @becausewhyknotme, @criminal-cookies, @theladyoffangorn, @officialtonystarkprotectionsquad, @justmebeingtheweirdmeiam, @fantasticcopeaglepasta, @talk-geek-to-me, @letsmellowjello, @thescarletknight2014, @bbluespiritzuko, @brooklynsmorales, @marvel-dameron, @marvelinsanity​, @softly-sad, @yourbucky084, @mcolbz14

Star Wars: @kittyofalltrades​, @arkofblake​, @m1rkw00dpr1ncess​, @propertyofdindjarin​, @coldbreadbouquetworld​, @melvls​, @waatermelon-sugaar​, @thedevilwearsbeskar​

Poe Dameron: @yougottakeeponkeepinon​, @poe-damnnn-eron​, @lapilark​, @peterhollandkait​, @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol​, @twomoonstwosuns​, @writefightandflightclub​, @lady-sloan, @poes-stardust​, @legamelo​, @xremember-me-notx​, @imtheoutgoingsidekick-baby​, @yourbucky084​, @agents-assemble​, @asianravenpuff​, @daydreamerinadazedworld​

“It’s Not All Roses” Taglist: @marvelous-capsicle​, @fishswimbetterunderwater​, @r2fucku, @missmadwoman​

[mrsbrekkers]

FIRST OPENING

hi there fellow friends!

i have decided that i want to get back into writing, so i decided this would be my call to anyone who wishes to request there own little blurbs, preferences, one-shots, imagines, etc.

i prefer writing

- fluff, angst, enemies to lovers, best friends to lovers, etc

but i will write other stuff as well, as long as i'm in the sort of mood to try out that sort of writing style

( aka smut, i'm down to write, but i am not sure if i'd be any good haha )

FANDOMS/PEOPLE I WILL WRITE FOR

all fandoms are in order of who i wish to write for most atm

s&b/soc!!!

have seen show / only have read soc + ck

- kaz brekker!!!!!!!!!!

- jesper fahey

- inej ghafa

- wylan van eck

- the darkling/general kirigan

- alina starkov

( willing to write kanej here too, and wesper! )

harry potter! ( seen movies, read book 1 + 2)

- harry potter!

- fred weasley

- george weasley

- cedric diggory

- hermione granger

bridgerton ( seen show )

- anthony bridgerton

- colin bridgerton

- benedict bridgerton

criminal minds ( all of show )

- spencer reid

- aaron hotchner

- emily prentiss ( preferably wlw )

- derek morgan

game of thrones ( seen show, no books )

- jon snow!

- robb stark

- margaery tyrell ( preferably wlw )

star wars ( seen all movies )

- anakin skywalker

- kylo ren/ben solo

- obi-wan kenobi

marvel!!

- bucky barnes

- baron zemo ( tfaws/au in sokovia before ultron )

- natasha romanoff

- sam wilson

- steve rogers

( willing to write for ships as well )

the 100

- bellamy blake

- finn collins

- octavia blake ( preferably wlw )

the red queen series ( just the first book but i'm willing to try )

- maven calore

- cal calore

- mare barrow ( preferably wlw )

- shade barrow

the queens gambit

- beth harmon ( preferably wlw )

- benny watts

i likely have more but haven't listed them

i'll be opening asks soon!

thank you!

- another kaz brekker whore :)

[themultifandomgal]

Shelby Sister- Help

Trigger warning- Near rape, violence, death

Walking around Small Heath I don't usually have a problem. I'm a Shelby after all, and although my brothers are super protective of me and I haven't been able to have a proper relationship with a man, my name almost gives me instant protection, except for tonight.

I was on my way to the Garrison where my brothers and Cousin were with my close friend Isaiah

"That's a very nice dress" a man leaning on a wall

"Thank you" I reply while I continue to walk past the man but he has other ideas

"Where are you going? I've heard a lot of woman say the Shelby boys are a good fuck. I've always wondered if the girls are and well there's only one in Small Heath now" I ignore his comment and carry on, but he grabs me and pulls me down an alleyway

"Get the hell off me!" I shout ripping my arm away from him but I'm thrown into the wall "get off me!" the man uses his body weight to pin me against the wall

"Wonder what your brothers will think when they found out their sister is a whore. Maybe you should start to get tips from Lizzie Stark"

"I swear if you don't get off me your gonna be dead by tomorrow"

"Ahhh you see Princess I'll be long gone by tomorrow. Now let's get some of these clothes off" the man lifts up my dress, but I throw by head back hitting him in the face. I turn around and see blood coming out of his nose

"You fucking bitch" the man throws me back to the wall and I hit my head. I'm scared... this mans a lot stronger than me so I begin to yell out for help, but no one comes. I try getting away but it's no used and once again I'm thrown at the wall his body weight keeping me there. I begin crying, now giving up on trying to get away. I make one last attempt to yell for help as he starts to pull my dress up

"What the fuck do you think your doing?" I hear a familiar voice yell, Michael! the man is ripped off me instantly "Isaiah go make sure YN's ok. Finn and I have him"

Isaiah carefully walks over to me making sure he doesn't spook me

"Are you hurt?" he asks

"My head, he threw me" I cry out

"Can I look" I nod my head still crying. He checks my head and says there is a lump but I should be ok

"Tommy, Arthur and John will want to deal with him" Finn says to Michael

"Yeah let's go. They're at the Garrison. Actually lucky for you, the Blinders are also there. Should be a fun night" Finn and Michael take the man in front of Isaiah and I. Isaiah helps me walk to the pub with his arm around me.

As soon as we're at the pub Michael calls out my brothers

"Tommy, Arthur, John you better get out here now!" the door opens and our walk my brothers

"What the fuck is going on?" Arthur says walking out. When he sees me his eyes soften "Isaiah get her in our private room"

"Come on YN" Isaiah and I walk into the room. He sits me down and Aunt Poll comes over to try and comfort me

"Oh YN love" she hugs me while I cry

"He wanted to...."

"Hey hey shhh YN your ok now. Your brothers and Michael are dealing with him" Isaiah kneels down. The others come back into the room making me cry more

"I'm sorry Tommy"

"Why are you sorry?"

"I couldn't get him off me. I'm a Shelby for god sake" I cry out. Tommy walks over to me and does something very rare, he hugs me and I cry on his shoulder

"You have nothing to be sorry for" Tommy pulls away and looks at me "you hear me? you have nothing to be sorry for"

"You did well fighting him off" John pipes up

"Yeah. I even think you even broke his nose" Arthur chuckles

"Thank you Michael, Finn, Isaiah"

"Don't have to thank us. We're family"

"Ok. Let's get YN home. Get a cup of tea down her and get her into bed" Polly says "come on love"

"Michael, Finn go with them, Isaiah your with us. We need to sort the body out"

"The body?" I frown looking at Tommy

"You don't hurt our sister and get away with it" John smiles "just close your eyes leaving"

[unmaskedagain]

Best Birthday Wishes

Quick one shot. I rushed through at work. Nothing special. But I thought this was a decent idea.

           It took less than a year for Lila to make due on her promise to turn the class against her. Most of her former friends would go out of their way to avoid her. Some took the cowards way out and just did nothing; Adrien and Rose. A few went out of their way to bully Marinette in a misguided idea of revenge; mostly Alix, Kim and Alya. The ice-out got even worse when Marinette resigned from being class president and no one (Lila) could managed to manage to do the job as successfully as she did. School field trips were with really bad or just cancelled altogether. School dances sucked. Fundraisers always fell short. No one would speak to Marinette because, as Alya said, if she just stopped being such a brat none of this would’ve happened.

           Marinette shrugged it all off. She had decided if they could buy into Lila’s lies and turn against her so easily, they weren’t worth her time or effort. She made friends in other classes Aurore, Ondine, Claude and Marc quickly became her best friends. Once she did this, and the rest of the school saw she was out of the clutches of her class, the drama club quickly approached her and commissioned her for work for the school play. They were right to do so, as Marinette gave them a great deal, mostly because someone offered to pay her instead of just expecting her to do it. The art club practically got on their knees begging for help with funding their field trip. Comic Book club did the same but Marinette did one better and got them a tour of Marvel studios.

           The funniest request was from the home economics class and cooking/baking club who just wanted a tour of her parents’ bakery. And maybe an internship or two, pretty please. Her mom and dad had been stunned when she asked. However, they were more than happy to lend a hand, and an internship, to the next generation of baker’s.

           The best part was that no one expected her or left her to do the all work herself. The other students, her new friends, made sure that it was clear they were on a team. And if they asked her to make them something, they expected to have to pay for it. This allowed Marinette to have a lot more free time then she thought she’d get.

           So much so that Marinette decided to create a website for custom designs by MDC. Once she spread the words about that, Jagged and Clara requested commission, naming her as the designer. This sparked a slew of celebrities reaching out for their own MDC design; from futball players, a few tv stars, singers, directors, a b-list movie star, were among them. Marinette got to meet them to do the designs.

           Word quickly spread about the lovely young designer who didn’t bat an eye when she met them, and provided better quality then they could ever dream of. That brought in other celebrities. Celebrities who, when they publicists called Marinette, she fainted. She swore her heart stopped.

           When one celebrity asked for a environmental fabric, Marinette was quick to show ones she had already created. It was a synthetic fabric that she created with the help from a local engineer and scientist who’s wedding dress she designed.  It was cheap and easily replicated. The material was a hit; gaining the attention of Prince Ali who was always looking for new go-green projects to fund.

           Marinette learned quickly just how tight-knit her class seemed to be. So close, other students don’t even try befriending them, after seeing many others fail. It was like there was a wall around Bustier’s class and no one could get in. And those inside never even bothered to really look outside it. It was suffocating to think about.

           Marinette ended up joining the fashion club, gamers’ club, and got on the student council. Her popularity at school rose dramatically. Though, her classmates never realized.

           When Marinette’s birthday rolled around, her classmates snickered when they realized that no one would be planning her birthday party. Alya guessed she spend the day with her parents but otherwise alone like she deserved. Alix vocally hoped even her parents forgot what day it was. Kim nodded along because Marinette was mean to Lila, and Lila was… Everything. A few were sad that Marinette would have such a bad birthday.

           Bustier’s class were surprised when they received a text invitation to Marinette’s birthday party. Lila gets an idea and of course gets someone else to instigate it; Alya.

           When Marinette arrives to class, Alya is quick to tell her that they can’t come to her birthday because they already have plans. She makes sure to add that Marinette wasn’t invited.

           Marinette just shrugged, and said, “Okay, just trying to be nice.”

“Little late for that,” Alix snapped.

           The class expects Marinette to announce that she cancelled her party but the news never comes. On the day of her birthday, they all threw a picnic to celebrate their new “Everyday Ladybug” Lila.

           It wasn’t until Monday, did they learned just how bad of a decision that was. The moment they walked into school, it was clear that something was amiss.

“Jagged Stone was there!” A student said excitedly as she showed off the pictures of her phone. Alya tried to sneak a peek but couldn’t get close enough.

“I saw Chrissy Teigan.”

“Clara Nightingale,” Another said as Nino walked by. “I nearly died.”

           A group of girls were giggling with each other. “Stranger things,” One hissed with a red face. “I got pictures with Finn from Stranger things.”

“Screw Stranger Things,” A girl taunted. “I got pics with the Stark sisters.”

“They have real names,” A girl tried to correct.

“Who cares?”

           Nathanial overheard Marc saying something about a party, “Jagged Stone dedicated a song to her. And Clara brought her up on stage.” He wanted to ask his old comic book partner what he was talking about but after Lila convinced him to go solo, Nathanial couldn’t bring himself to.

           Rose heard, “Prince Ali was there. They danced together. It was so sweet,” While walking through a crowded hall. And nearly had a fit trying to figure out who said it.

“Jonas brothers!”

“Gigi Hadid!”

“Selena Gomez!”

“Tony Stark!”

           And the name drops went on and on until the entire class thought they were going crazy. Particularly Lila who was used to being the only ones dropping names.

           When the warning bell rung, Sabrina, surprising was the first to ask the question on everyone’s mind, “Does anyone know what’s going on?”

           Heads shook no. Alya stood up frustrated, on her phone, “No. But I’m going to find out.” Within seconds the determined expression on her face, shifted to surprise, then disbelief, then shocked. And when she looked up, the stunned look was still on her face. “Marinette’s party,” She said slowly as if she couldn’t believe what she was saying. “Everyone’s talking about her party.”

“No way,” Alix sneered as she pulled out her own phone. Others followed suit. Lila had her phone out before anyone could blinked.

           Jaws dropped. Marinette’s birthday was a tag trended of Twitter, Instagram and nearly every social media site. Celebrities who couldn’t make it gave their best wishes to the young designer.

           The pictures were everywhere. Marinette with one celebrity after another. Even Ladybug (Master Fu letting Trixx, Tikki, and the other Kwami giving their regards) wished her a happy birthday.)

           They quickly recognized the faces of other students they knew at the party, some pictured with a celebrity or two, themselves.

“Luka was there,” Juleka whispered.

           Mylene frowned, “He performed without us. Without kitty section.”

“Prince Ali,” Rose whispered. “Marinette danced with Prince Ali.”

           Lila quietly seethed. How could this happen, she wondered. How come she never knew Marinette knew all those celebrities. The worst picture of them all didn’t even include a celebrity just the mountain of presents she got.

Adrien was supposed to be my way in, Lila thought with a frown.

           Alya gasped, “You were there!” She hissed at Chloe. “You don’t even like her.”

“But I was invited,” Chloe smirked, “Of course I was. Dupain-Cheng throws the best parties.” She stated. “Like I’d be stupid enough to miss it. Even Mama went. But that was mostly because Miranda Priesley announced she was going. As did Wilhelmina Slater. It seems anyone and everyone in fashion wanted eyes of Marinette Dupain-Cheng, MDC, the up and coming designer for the stars. Including Gabriel Agreste,” She added with smug look.

           This caused Adrien to frown. He didn’t know his father had been invited. Or that he’d actually gone. Why didn’t Marinette tell him?

           The bell rang just as the bluenette in question walked into class. Only to once again see all eyes on her. She ignored them and went to her seat in the back. Marinette had a great weekend, and so was going to let anyone ruin her good vibe.

“So… Marinette,” Lila purred, in a way that reminded Marinette of the way she said Adrien’s name. “How was your birthday?”

           Marinette eyed her suspiciously, “Good. More people than I thought came.” That was an under-exaggeration if that was possible. She didn’t know exactly how word spread but she blamed Jagger… And Clara… And Audrey Bourguis… Nadja.

“Girl, everyone was there,” Alya said excitedly. “Ladybug was there. I forgot you two knew each other.”

“Yeah,” Marinette raised an eyebrow. “I figured.”

           Alya continued on like she never said anything, “I’d have killed to be there. Jagged Stone sang you a song.”

“Well I’ve known him for a few years now,” Marinette said, because, duh. “He’s like my uncle.” Her crazy, wild, decide to do an entire firework show, and nearly get everyone arrested uncle. “I went to his wedding. I design Penny, his wife’s dress. And his tux. And the bridemaids gowns. The tux for Fang,” Freaking Fang.

“Fang?” Ivan asked.

“His pet crocodile,” Marinette answered. “The same pet he’s had for twenty years. Anyone can find article about Fang, if they. Checked. Their. Resources.”

           If Alya noticed the callout, it didn’t phase her as the girl didn’t even blink.

           Nino looked confused, “I thought he had a cat?”

           Lila’s eyes widened.

I thought you had a brain, Marinette nearly snapped. “Turns out a lot people were wrong.”

“Why didn’t you tell us who’d be there?” Adrien asked. “That my dad was invited. I would have gone. He hates parties.” (“He hates fun,” Chloe snorted.)

“Yeah,” Alix huffed. “Do you have any idea how awesome it would’ve been to meet a pro-skater.

“Or a Futball player,” Kim added.

“A director!” Nino went. “Or those actors.”

           Marinette leaned back in her seat. “I didn’t know who all was coming,” She said. “You were invited. I just to invite Everyone I worked with as well. It was a party for a fourteen-year-old girl, I didn’t think they’d come.” At all, what’s so ever. Marinette had just did it to be polite.

“Worked with?” Rose’s mouth opened in awe.

“I designed for them,”  Marinette offered. “But I didn’t think they show.”

“Nearly everyone in school was there,” Nino complained.

“No,” The bluenette was quick to correct. “I invited my friends; the ones I know from gamers club, design club, drama club, backing club, the students council. And I invited you, because I thought it was the polite thing to do.”

           The clear distinction between the two was obvious.

“My friends came,” Marinette said. “Celebrity or otherwise; they all came. They wanted to wish me a happy birthday. Because they care.”

“Some of could’ve had our big breaks.” Alya snapped, anger in her eyes.  “You invited us because you knew we wouldn’t show up!”

           Marinette just stared at her before shaking her head, “I had guessed you wouldn’t,�� She admitted, and then smiled. But you were invited.”

[darkmasterofcupcakes]

Makes for Good Practice

Summary:  Glimmer and Bow babysit Finn for Catra and Adora....And start to wonder if maybe the kid is more closely related to Catra than any of them originally expected. Originally done for the 2020 Glimbow Week Countdown Prompt “Babysitting”.

-----

“I still can’t believe those two had a kid before us,” Bow marveled aloud to Glimmer as they watched the scruffy-looking magicat child gather up their toys for the game they’d been developing.

Finn had only been at Bright Moon for a few months, but it seemed like they’d already more than made themselves comfortable. It was quite the stark contrast from when Catra and Adora had first brought the child in from the forest. The couple could hardly believe there was a time when Finn had insisted on hiding under the furniture, only being coaxed out by the promise of food; now they seemed to all but demand attention unless they had their mind on something else.

Glimmer smirked a little at her husband’s words. “Yeah, well,” she began, leaning back slightly in the cushioned chair she was sitting in. “They did kinda cheat, so I don’t know if we should really count it.”

Considering how competitive their friends could be, Glimmer almost had to wonder if it really was a coincidence that the two of them had found Finn mere weeks after learning that she and Bow were expecting their first child. But, she decided not to think much of it, mostly because the kid was pretty cute – not surprising considering they were basically just a giant kitten, acting even more like one than Catra tended to.

Bow couldn’t help but grin at Glimmer’s comment, and was about to open his mouth to respond, but instead the only thing that came out of his mouth was a yelp of surprise as he ducked his head to avoid being smacked by one of the toys their charge was haphazardly tossing about.

“Finn!” Glimmer scolded as the six-year-old darted over to grab the toy they’d accidentally launched at Bow’s head.

One of Finn’s ears twitched before the turned to face the Queen, their expression so innocent that literally anyone who had any common sense would be able to tell it was absolutely fake. And if the expression didn’t give it away, their tone of voice when they spoke definitely did.

“Yes, Auntie Glimmer?” Finn asked, practically purring as they spoke, tilting their head to the side as though to try and make themselves seem all the more childlike and innocent. Glimmer wasn’t going to call for it.

“Finn, you can’t just throw stuff around like that. You could really hurt someone,” she told the child, trying to find the rest amount of firmness for her tone of voice.

The blank look on the child’s face made her seriously wonder if maybe she hadn’t been firm enough. In her defense, it wasn’t as though she’d had much practice in this area; she hadn’t even been expecting to have to do anything like this for at least a couple of years.

Finn’s blank expression quickly morphed into one of indignation, their light blue eyes narrowing into slits and their tail flicking back and forth in clear signs of anger, most likely an anger that stemmed from being scolded.

“S’not like I threw it at him on purpose, Aunt Glimmer,” Finn practically growled. “And he didn’t get hit anyway, so doesn’t matter even if I did.”

Glimmer was genuinely torn between being frustrated at the response…and being just as amused by it. Of course her friends would take in a kid like this, one who seemed to dislike authority almost as much as they despised being forced to take an actual bath instead of simply liking themselves clean. It probably didn’t help that – most definitely the result of wanting to avoiding being anything like the woman who had raised them – neither Adora nor especially Catra had actually done much in the way of the disciplinary part of childrearing in the months since Finn had come to stay with them.

And Glimmer understood why they were worried about going too far, she really did. But, times like this made her wish that maybe she’d understood that being put in a time out was probably not gonna make their kid think they were horrible people and hate them forever?

She couldn’t help but let out a frustrated groan – which came out sounding a bit more like a growl than she’d want to admit, considering who she was dealing with. The groan soon gave way to a small gasp as she quickly covered her mouth with her hand. Whoever called this morning sickness should be questioned what they thought ‘morning’ meant…as should whoever wrote in all those books that it should start to fade once she was out of the first trimester.

“Are you okay?” Bow asked, momentarily distracting her from both the talk she’d been trying to have with Finn, as well as the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied once she felt confident enough that she could speak without gagging. “I’m fine.”

The nausea had sapped away what little energy she had for arguing with Finn, so she just gave her charge a warning look and told them to be more careful with their toys….or else she’d ground them herself; she had the guards to help her enforce it, if it came to that.

Finn grumbled under their breath but gave a begrudging nod, tail still flicking back and forth in anger as they stomped off to continue their game. Once they were left alone again, Glimmer flopped down next to her husband, leaning her body against his as she asked, “Why did we agree to watch them again?”

The feeling of Bow’s fingers running through her hair got her to feel considerably better, even though she was still fairly tired; though at this point, she wasn’t entirely sure if the exhaustion was the result of the kid the young couple was watching over…or the one that she had currently developing inside her belly.

“Because we’re good friends who wanted to do a favor for Adora and Catra,” Bow replied, still stroking her hair with one hand, while the other arm wrapped around her, his hand resting on her stomach, which was just beginning to grow. Glimmer rolled her eyes.

“Oh, right,” she said, leaning back into him a little more. “Kinda forgot that being a good friend can sort of suck a bit.”

A small chuckle escaped from Bow’s lips and Glimmer was suddenly hit by a strong sense of realization. Considering their past, if there was anyone who knew exactly what she was talking about with friendship sometimes being a pain, it was him.

She muttered an apology, worried that perhaps she’d brought back some painful memories with what she’d said, but Bow simply wrapped his arm a little tighter around her; she figured that meant he wasn’t too upset by it.

There was a sudden crashing sound coming from nearby, and without even thinking, Glimmer immediately teleported over to the origin – completely forgetting that Bow was still holding onto her, meaning that she ended up dragging him along for the ride. She also forgot that teleporting tended to make her nauseous, and found herself doubling over, struggling to keep the crackers she’d eaten earlier down, while Bow held onto her to help her stay on her feet. Glimmer was still trying to focus on settling her stomach her attention was pulled away by the sound of her husband’s voice.

“Finn?” Bow asked, the tone of his voice making it very apparent he was struggling not to raise his voice too much. “What are you doing with that? Actually, never mind why you have it – just put it down, right now.”

Now somewhat confused and more or less recovered from the nausea, Glimmer looked up to see exactly what Bow was so worked up about. What she saw upon lifting up her head made her almost start choking on nothing, just out of pure shock; there, perched on the kitchen counter, was Finn, holding a knife that was almost as long as their whole forearm in one of their hands.

How they’d gotten their hands on the knife was a question that briefly passed through her mind, but it was gone just as quickly. How they got it wasn’t the main issue – getting it away from them was. After all, she still felt like she was unprepared for parenthood, but even she knew they a kid that young shouldn’t be anywhere near a knife that big, much less actually be wielding it like Finn was currently doing.

Unfortunately – but probably not surprisingly – it didn’t seem like the young one was listening to the demands of their “uncle”. Rather than handing over the knife, Finn simply plopped down so that their bottom was resting on the counter, their legs dangling over the edge. As they swung their feet back and forth, they looked at the two adults with an undoubtedly defiant expression clear as day on their face.

“Why should I?” they asked, and the tone in their voice made Glimmer realize just why her mom had always gotten on her case about the tone she used when they had argued during her younger years.

If she had made her mom feel like how Finn was making her feel right now…Well, she didn’t have time to think about that at the moment; the more important issue was getting the knife away from Finn before they managed to find a way to chop their own tail off.

The kid may have been getting on her nerves, but the last thing Glimmer wanted was for them to get hurt, especially that badly.

“Finn…” she began with a sigh, despite trying not to make it too clear just how tired she already was. “What do you even want with a knife? If you just think it’s cool, I’ll give you something else to play with that’s just as good – probably better, actually, since it won’t make you have to worry about cutting yourself by playing with it.”

That seemed to get the kitten’s attention. They didn’t let go of the knife just yet, but they did look intrigued as they looked at the Queen; the fact that they hopped off the counter with a gleam in their eyes was an even better sign.

“Really?” Finn was practically purring as they started to step closer to Glimmer, tail flicking back and forth in what they’d learned from the years with Catra was a sign of excitement. “What is it?”

The next sound out of the child’s mouth was an outraged yowl, let out in response to Glimmer simply reaching out and snatching the knife out of their hand.

Before they could say anything else, Glimmer teleported away, reappearing a moment later without the knife and with a noticeably flushed face, mumbling something under her breath.

Without even looking, she knew Bow would be looking concerned, but that wasn’t where her attention was focused at the moment. Instead, the first thing she did was look at a positively fuming Finn.

The child was clearly hoping that their angry look would be enough to make Glimmer feel sorry for what she had done, or maybe even afraid of what they might do in response to having “their” knife taken away. Unfortunately for Finn, Glimmer was well past the point of caring that they were upset, if she ever had reached that point at all.

Instead, she simply walked over to where they were standing, looking them straight in the eye with an expression that probably would have given her mother a case of déjà vu had she been around to witness it.

“Listen,” she began, her tone making it clear that she wasn’t going to let the kid argue with her. “I get that you want to find something to play with, and I can even get wanting to check out some kind of weapon…But, if you think we’re just going to let you wave a knife around, you better thing again.”

Finn opened their mouth to say something, but ultimately seemed to decide against it. Instead, they just grumbled something under their breath, and walked over to Bow, barely even giving Glimmer a glance as they walked past her. Once the cat-child was standing in front of the King, they tiled their head up to look him in the eyes, tail flicking slightly back and forth as they said, “I want a snack.”

The brief glance they’d given Glimmer as they approached Bow had already felt a little bit like a challenge, and their tone as they made their request just proved it in her eyes. There was a part of her that wanted to speak up, to call the kid out on how much of a brat they were being right now, but she didn’t say anything.

Glimmer had plenty of faith in Bow to know how to respond to what Finn was really asking for; they may have said they wanted a snack, but she could tell what they were really looking for – proof that they could get at least one of the adults to give into their demands, whatever they were and whether or not they were deserved.

There was a moment of tense silence in which both the child and the Queen awaited an answer from the archer-turned-King, who briefly glanced at his wife before turning his eyes back to their charge.

“Sorry, Finn, but it’s almost time for dinner – if we let you have a snack now, you’re not going to eat any of it,” he explained, sounding like he was somewhat apologetic…but also that he wasn’t going to step down. Which Glimmer had to admit she was thankful for – she really didn’t need to have Bow turned against her right now.

Finn’s cheeks puffed out in anger, making the sitters briefly wonder if they were trying to hold their breath in an attempt to break at least one of them. Once they seemed to realize that it wasn’t going to work, they released the breath in a combination of a huff and a hiss.

“Fine, but I’m not gonna like whatever we gotta eat,” the young cat-person proclaimed, their ears twitching slightly as they made their way out of the kitchen, heading back to the direction of the living area.

As they left, Bow and Glimmer both let out a small sigh of relief before sharing a look that clearly said, “I think we can live with that.”

Still, they did follow after Finn, if only to keep an eye on them. Despite the earlier issues, it didn’t take long before the child seemed to have forgiven their sitters, and was practically demanding Glimmer and Bow take part in whatever game of pretend they had come up with in the past fifteen minutes. Which was a pretty good way to describe the game, since the whole time they were playing, Finn would periodically change or add something new to the rules or the storyline, seemingly completely out of the blue; though they always seemed to think the sudden changes made perfect sense.

The game went on for a while, until the chefs came to announce that dinner was served, at which point the three of them went to eat, though not without a bit of complaint from Finn, who had tried to insist on finishing the game beforehand.

Until they learned that the main course was roasted waterfowl, at which point they immediately tossed away their toys and darted towards the dining room, not even glancing back when Bow told them to slow down a bit. And despite their earlier insistence that they wouldn’t like the meal, Finn not only devoured every bit of food on the plate, but they also asked for seconds.

They almost asked for thirds as well; it was only the reminder that dessert was still on the table that prevented them from doing so. Still, between the two servings of the main course and quite a bit of dessert, the child ended up being quite drowsy from a full stomach by the time they finally decided they were done.

In fact, Finn had already started to nod off when Glimmer had finished her last piece of the mixed-fruit pie the kitchen staff had prepared for the night’s dessert; and seemed to be fully asleep by the time the table had been cleared off and the staff had been dismissed for the night.

“You know, when they’re asleep like this, it’s almost easy to forget the whole knife-stealing thing,” Glimmer commented with a slight smirk, looking down at Finn, curled into a ball against Bow’s side; the Queen herself was snuggled tightly against the other.

Bow let out a small chuckle at the comment.

“At least now we know that we’ll be able to handle this little one,” he replied, moving slightly – and carefully, so as not to disturb the sleeping child – to place his hand gently on Glimmer’s belly.

Glimmer couldn’t help but laugh a little at the comment, though she did mumble an agreement to the statement, even as she found herself starting to get a little sleepy as well. Not that anyone could blame her – taking care of Finn for the past few hours had been kind of exhausting, not to mention she was typically falling asleep earlier lately even without that being a factor. The fact that she felt so comfortable snuggling up with her husband on the sofa really wasn’t helping matters, either.

“Wake me up when Adora and Catra get back, okay?” she requested through a yawn, allowing her head to rest upon Bow’s shoulder.

She was already starting to fall asleep when he responded, but figured he was most likely agreeing to do just that. So, after letting out another yawn, Glimmer snuggled up closer to Bow, feeling secure and content as she felt herself drift off to sleep after the eventful day they’d had.

[moral-turpitudes]

College Headcanons: Modern!Peaky Blinders Edition

Part 1 | Part 2

Grace Burgess:

Major: Criminal Justice Minor: Fashion Merchandising

10/10 would join a sorority. She has the look and loves the parties.

Has beauty and brains, surprisingly.

Works part time as the barista at Starbucks.

Loves sticking her nose in people’s business so her major is pretty fitting.

She loves a challenge so when she gets to know Thomas Shelby, she knows he’s gonna be fun to figure out.

Studies a decent amount but uses her spare time to try to look into the Shelby’s and why they practically run campus. A little birdy told her about them.

Knows Tommy’s coffee order by heart.

Always DTF.

Is suspicious of Tommy’s inability to use technology but goes along with it cuz she wants to get to know him more.

Didn’t think she’d fall for the mysterious man with a smoking problem but here we are.

When introduced to his family, she asked too many questions about their finances and such, making them think she worked for the cops or something.

Polly still didn’t trust her despite it being a while since they first dated.

Her professor likes her, and encourages her to keep investigating as part of her project on corrupt institutions. Only her professor is a little too enthusiastic. She passes the class, but tells Tommy about him being creepy from time to time.

The next day the professor isn’t there. Hmm. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Almost fought a guy who spilt his coffee on her new dress.

Dreams of being well-off and having a fashion line of her own. Envying Ada’s knack for clothing.

Gets drunk with her sorority sisters on the weekends at the bar and does karaoke. It’s not the best, but she gets an A for effort.

About halfway through her junior year she has to leave cuz she’s dramatic and Polly may have blown her cover. So in a rash decision, she leaves Tommy on his own, making him have a fit and almost getting himself suspended but it’s fine. Polly tells him he’ll meet someone else.

Esme Lee

Major: Horticulture

Her friends all have crazy majors but she wanted something simple, so she chose horticulture. It also lets her get out of the dull college life for a while, or so she thought.

Knowing she can get her mind set on her studies, they decided to help her out and invited her to a frat party.

Everyone who was popular was there so she felt a bit out of place, until she met John randomly when she went to grab a drink.

She’s a wild one kind of like John so they mesh well together. They ended up getting drunk and dancing the night away, letting all their college worries leave them.

In her spare time she can be seen roaming campus with John or hanging out with her friends, and occasionally yelling at some people to get away from her plants at the schools gardening area.

She got along with the blinders really well, except she liked to challenge Tommy at times.

She may be small but she’s one hell of a yeller. She intimidated John the first time she yelled at him.

No one messes with her unless they want to be beaten up by her boyfriend.

Polly likes to chat with her about the business sometimes, sparing some of the details, but she knows Esme can be trusted, and besides, Esme can always force it out of John if it’s something too shady.

Apart from her social life, she does quite well for her studies, and runs a small etsy shop where she makes jewelry.

Her favorite part is uploading aesthetic photos of them to her insta and trying to get John to model for her pictures.

She, like the rest of the family, knew Grace was a snake, and always got bad vibes from Linda…smh.

When she heard news of Grace leaving, she shared a glance with John and did a happy dance internally. In regards to Linda, she wanted to claw her eyes out a bit but she held herself back. Linda would eventually get what came to her. Karma really is that bitch.

As time went on, she found herself agreeing on a whim to marry John, and later falling pregnant with her first of many children. But she’s fine with this situation as long as he helps her live her cottage!core dreams with a bunch of chickens running around while they raise their 10,000 kids.

Linda Shelby

Major: Agriculture

Minor: Religious Studies

Unhinged™

Joined a philanthropic sorority, so she mainly focuses on serving people at shelters and charities instead of serving looks at frat parties.

Claims to be a Christian.

Has the eye for anyone with a penis.

Spends most of her agriculture classes daydreaming about shooting Arthur.

Prays she has the knowledge to pass her exams instead of actually studying for them.

Just wants to live on a farm and be a housewife.

Gives off major bitch vibes no matter how many crucifixes she wears around her neck. Polly tolerates her, and so does the rest of the family, but it’s only a matter of time before someone snaps.

Textbook good-girl-gone-bad trope. Everyone knows her around campus for preaching about no sex until marriage but she be doing the nasty with her side-bae after prayer night.

Enjoys eavesdropping on the Shelby family’s conversations. She supplies Grace with information in exchange for free coffee.

Gaslighting is her second language, speaking in tongues is her third.

When she’s not planning things, she can be seen talking to Grace at Starbucks or stress-baking. She hooks her friends up with weed brownies and later switches to coke because of her boyfriend’s family *cough* Arthur.

Binge drinks on Saturdays and crawls to church on Sundays.

Gets clingy and manipulative at times.

Loves doing her religious studies homework in the chapel or the huge library on campus.

She’d do okay up until finals week, then she’d have many a break down that only cocaine could fix.

Drunk calls Arthur and lets it slip she’d been sleeping with someone the whole time they’d been together. Has 2 working braincells at that point.

He goes off on the dude as they both went to the same bible study. He begged for mercy in the middle of the church floor for Arthur to stop with the punches but we all know hell hath no fury like a person who’s been cheated on. May have almost killed him but it’s fine.

Linda finds him bleeding almost as much as Jesus did.

After crying to Grace on the phone, she snorts a couple lines and downs some shots and heads to Arthur’s dorm. Sos Linda’s got a gun.

Gets shot and lives to tell about it.

She leaves to find god perhaps after all this...or more coke, and just says “fuck it” to her degree. College isn’t for everyone, it’s ok Linda.

Poor Arthur is confused in the weeks leading to the shooting and Linda leaving. Isiah tried to warn him since he was her partner for some projects but he didn’t listen. He wanted to question Tommy’s barista bae about her too but she dipped tf out. The world may never know.

Lizzie Starke

Major: English

She’d taken up an assistants job at the business college and so she worked for nonother than Professor Polly Gray.

She got along with her well, and on Friday nights when she’d be invited out for drinks, she’d overhear Polly divulge one too many secrets about her business.

She kept her circle small so she never felt the need to tell anyone, also fearing that she wouldn’t live to see tomorrow if she did.

Polly trusted her with all her paperwork, often having to proofread and go over Tommy’s insanely long assignments and political debate notes.

Tommy would often be seen around the office, talking Polly’s ear off about business and legal issues, all while she’d get lost in his eyes as he spoke.

She knew she was out of his league, at least while Grace had him wrapped around her finger, but Polly said her day would come so she believed it.

In her spare time, she’d read poetry and sip tea, and on occasion try to teach Tommy about the world of laptops, but even she gave up after a while.

Her major took up a good deal of her time, constantly writing papers and re-reading books, but there was always one silver-lining. Tommy would often skip getting Finn’s help and go straight to her. He said it was because she gave good advice, but his demeanor said otherwise.

When he’d arrive, she’d notice him gradually improving his appearance, much like he did with Grace. And when he’d leave, Polly would shoot her a knowing look.

She may be quiet, but she’s smart, and knows when to make her moves, which both impresses Polly and intrigues Tommy.

Ends up being one of the only ones able to call Tommy out on his shit.

When she’s not around the Shelby’s she’s with her friends or hitting up bars and bookstores.

When she and Tommy finally get together, some students turned their heads at first, but they were good for each other in the long run, it just took Tommy longer to see it.

Gina Gray:

Major: Business Management

Minor: Fashion Merchandising

She came in the picture shortly after Grace’s departure. She was studying abroad but decided to come back for her business classes.

When she first laid eyes on Michael she knew he was the one, but she had to go through Polly, her professor first.

They dated for a while until he popped the question one weekend, leaving everyone in shock.

When she wasn’t fooling around with Michael, she could be seen around campus with her sorority sisters and some of her close friends. Since she was a fashion minor, she always made sure she was dressed to the nines and turned heads almost as much as Michael’s cousin Ada, almost.

Gives off bitch vibes 24/7. No one can really tell if she’s genuine in her feelings, not even Michael, poor bud.

His family thought she was suspicious like Grace, and Polly still can’t put her finger on why she feels she may have a trick up her embellished sleeves.

Michael tends to follow her like a lost puppy of sorts, but she loves the attention, and when he mentioned how his family worked she didn’t seem very phased by it, coming from a somewhat dysfunctional and power-hungry family herself.

She tries to study a decent amount but she’s always hanging out with Michael or getting herself into trouble with the cops when her sorority sisters throw parties.

She’s smart and very convincing, but Polly sees right through her, leading up to a very heated discussion between the two women after class one day.

It’s safe to say that her grades for Polly’s class are holding on by a thread, much like Polly is to her sanity.

She loves a game, whether that’s messing with people’s heads, or trying to beat her friends on game night. She always enjoys watching how they work through their problems, picking out the weakest ones in order to beat them while they’re down.

When she’s not scraping by in her business classes, she’s brainstorming fashion ideas for her numerous projects she’s left until the last minute. Somehow she’s passing the class with flying colors though.

Like Michael’s cousin Tommy, she’s always scheming over something, and so it’s only a matter of time before she fucks something up.

Aberama Gold:

Profession: Philosophy Professor

Side Job: Hitman

His teaching styles are eccentric, often taking the class on field trips to immerse them in the experience.

Goes on for hours about various stories and theories, often losing the class after 30 minutes.

Sometimes he gets called out of class by the teaching assistant because he got an “important” phone call.

“Important” phone calls mean hits and he can’t turn them down unless he wants beef with his rival gang members or people involved in the mafia.

For these reasons, he has two phones. One for his usual work and family, and one for the dirty work.

His son always teases him about having hella phones, but he ain’t no drug dealer, although he most definitely knows some by association.

Asks hard questions to his students and expects good answers.

Doesn’t believe in homework, but makes the classes very challenging and hard to skip.

In his spare time he helps out at the boxing ring, teaching his son the ropes and prepping him for competitions. Other times he helps Arthur and Finn train, all in an attempt to get them to mention their aunt Polly.

He’s in love with the woman but is a bit shy like his son. It takes him a bit to get the courage to meet her but once he does they hit it off.

Polly wasn’t turned off by his dangerous lifestyle, in fact she was turned on by it as she’s lived the same life.

When he wasn’t with Polly or helping his son, he could be seen roaming campus in his signature hat, resting in alleyways or leaving campus abruptly, obviously to go kill someone.

He’d often spend nights away from home alone in the forest, away from Polly and his family, using “philosophy research purposes” as an excuse so he could stake out targets.

He always kept his end of the bargain up, even when he had to deal with Polly’s family and their gangly family business.

Bonnie Gold:

Major: Sports Management

One of the more quiet, reserved students on campus. He can get mouthy when challenged though so watch out.

Would definitely hang with the art and english students, they’re chill.

Can be seen carrying his boxing gloves between classes and doing routine jogs around campus.

All the bitches love him but he only has his eyes on his future. He just wants to win his matches and then he’ll think about love, or so he says. He has the eye for someone in class though and it’s not long until his dad finds out.

He’s health-conscious af.

Has never eaten Ramen noodles a day in his life and doesn’t plan on it. Even if his friends Finn and Isiah try to bribe him. It’s one of the peak college experiences after all.

May have gotten drunk at a frat party and fought a tree.

Would throw hands if someone was being a dick to someone he cared about.

Takes his major seriously. He studies decently well given his dad is always on his ass about it, but when he’s done he goes to parties or hits the ring.

Often has his head in the clouds, dreaming of being a famous boxer, or at least managing a very successful sports team.

Helps his dad on hits. Not many people know this so it’s hush hush.

When he’s not shooting at his fathers enemies, he’s in the ring practicing for the big competitions.

Often spends weekends with his dad, helping to plan attacks and meeting with his blinder friends.

Almost got suspended for knocking out a couple guys cuz they insulted his father.

Attends his dads lectures just to keep an eye on things for him and because he actually finds the subject interesting. May also have a “thing” for a girl in the class but most likely won’t make a move because he’s shy af most times.

Isiah Jesus:

Major: History

Minor: Religious Studies

Despite his wild lifestyle, he likes learning about religions and how they all came to be, given his dad is a preacher.

He may not be a saint but he tries to do well in the classes at least.

Can be seen fucking around with his buds Finn and Bonnie, and going to one too many frat parties.

Finn and him would do lines of coke as soon as Arthur helped move a new supply in, and he’d try to bribe Bonnie to try it but he’d refuse and say he “has to stay clean for his matches.”

When he’s not doing coke or studying for his history or religion exams, he’s out helping the blinders on various jobs.

He often gets in trouble with security because he’s always sneaking about the dorms with some girls he met at parties.

Call it divine intervention, but he couldn’t help but feel something was “off” with the girl Arthur was seeing, cuz he’d gotten partnered up with her for some religion projects in the past and her ideas were concerning. He told Arthur to be careful but we all know what went down.

He likes joining the blinders on their business trips, often leaving his schoolwork until the last minute, just to get the opportunity to help in the business.

He and Finn rant about them not getting enough exposure to the family business but Polly quickly shoves the ideas from their heads saying they need to focus on school, at least then maybe the family could have some other potential.

Daydreams of being a full-blown leader like all the ones he’d read about in his history books. He often looks up to Tommy just as much as Finn does, which sometimes gets them both hurt.

He can be seen often at the ring training with Finn and Bonnie.

He sticks up for his family and friends, even if it means putting himself on the line. No one messes with him unless they want trouble from him and everyone he knows.

[peggyrose19]

The Broken Down, The Left Behind

Sooooooo. I’m back. With angst. It wasn’t intentional. But the new Clandestine chapter brought up ideas. This is a collaboration through discord between myself, @peanut-the-goalie, and @heyitssmiller that I put together into a full fic. I have no regrets. Characters belong to @lumosinlove <333

cw: character death, hospital mention, depression

Logan shuts down, after Leo dies. 

It wasn’t supposed to go this way. He was supposed to make it back. He was supposed to be okay, he was supposed to make it out and they were supposed to be happy and together. 

And now they’re not. 

He cried, at the hospital. Seeing Leo lying pale in the hospital bed, machines beeping around him until one day they stopped and never started again. The tone of the heart rate monitor going flat is a sound that will never leave Logan’s mind. It broke something in him, never being able to tell Leo he loved him, something that can never be put back together again. 

It’s been years now and Logan hasn’t cried since. He’s been stony-faced and blank since that day the beeping stopped and he can’t even bring himself to react. They’re all dead and none will ever hurt as much as Leo, so what’s even the point? He was supposed to mourn Leo, supposed to uphold his memory. Except he hasn’t because he can’t. He can’t. The guilt tears him apart. But he has no tears left.

“Sometimes it’s okay not to be okay,” Sirius says to him one day after a particularly difficult mission. A million thoughts begin running through his mind. Images flash, of blue eyes, blood pooling on the floor of Riddle’s office. Suddenly he can’t breathe.  

Sirius’ words echo in his head, voice turning softer, familiar, a hint of Southern in it. He doesn’t hear Sirius anymore, but Leo.

Nothing he ever does is okay, nothing ever will be okay because the loves of his life are gone, one dead and one silent, and none of it will ever be okay again. He can’t take it anymore.

Logan breaks down that day. He’s tried to be strong for so so long and suddenly he just cannot do it anymore, any of it. It’s all collapsing around him and there’s nothing to be done about it. He wants Leo back. He wants the pain to stop.

Two days later he gets the words tattooed on his ribcage. He finds the best approximation of Leo’s cursive, a reminder of what he lost. He knows he’s not supposed to, knows it goes against everything he’s ever been taught as a spy, but he can’t bring himself to care. He bears the words with pride, ink stark against tan skin, and refuses to let the regret seep in.

Tattoos are recognizable, individual. It’s why spies can’t have them. They can ruin a ruse in an instant, one glance and the whole op can go sideways. 

In the end it leads to his downfall.

He’s sent to track an enemy, a long-surviving member of the Snakes causing trouble in the city. Logan befriends him. Lures him in. The Snake doesn’t know who he truly is. It’s a part of the con.

But one day he finds out. One day Logan fucks up. He takes his shirt off. And his new ‘friend’ sees the dark ink on his torso and he knows. It’s common knowledge among their enemies, the characteristics they all have that make them identifiable. Logan’s tattoo is high on that list. 

Logan doesn’t come back from that mission. 

And Finn panics. They’re not together anymore, haven’t spoken in years. But it’s impossible to forget the connection they once shared. And it’s impossible to lose the love they once shared. But Logan never comes back.

It's heartbreaking.

It’s his fault.

The loves of his life, both now gone forever.

Finn blames himself. He knew Logan shouldn't have gotten that tattoo. But he didn't fight him on it. 

The thing is... The thing is. He knows Logan was planning on leaving. This was his last mission with the agency and then he was quitting for good. He may not have said why but Finn knew. He knew it had become too hard for Logan, to see his face every day and the stupid bird paperweight and the picture on the wall. 

He was so close, is the thing. Just one last mission. Finn had hoped maybe they could reconcile, both of them getting out of the organization. Foolishly, naively hoped. But he missed his best friend, his love. 

And as Finn sits in Logan's office staring at that old picture in his hands, he doesn't understand why he didn't leave sooner. He doesn't understand why none of them didn't leave. Because now he's the last one standing, and he really wishes he wasn't.

When Logan didn’t come home, too many memories resurfaced that Finn wishes he'd never made. Not because he regretted them, but because he was the reason they ended.

It was his fault. He had gotten kidnapped, it’s his fault Leo died. And that led to Logan dying too. It’s all his fault. It’s all his fucking fault and there’s not a damn thing he can do about it. 

He really isn't sure if he can make it on his own. Sure, they hadn't talked in years, but its different when someone is no longer around. Now there’s no hope, there’s no going back. 

Finn quits the agency. He moves back home with his parents. They tiptoe on eggshells around him, speaking in hushed tones and quiet whispers behind his back. He knows what they're saying. He doesn't want to hear it. He's drowning without Logan, without anything to hold onto. But he brushes off the concerns, saying he's fine, because what else can he say? He's not fine. He'll never be fine.

He's broken. The two things he needs more than anything in this life are gone, and he’s so scared that soon he will be too. 

Everyone acts so fake around him now. It's so hard to grasp onto reality at the end of the day. The guilt is eating away at him. When Leo died, he got the hard-drives and completed the mission. When Logan died, he got the information back to headquarters on time. But what did Finn do? Compete with his brother over some stupid bird that Leo hated? Ruin their mission and cause their deaths?

Finn can’t handle it anymore. The ghosts of them everywhere he turns, haunting every mission, every corner, painfully real in his dreams but gone the next second when he opens his eyes. He packs up and moves back to NYC. The silence and mundanity of life after everything is almost just as bad. The ghosts become constant companions now. Maybe it’s better that way.

Maybe he deserves it.