#thank you to Naya and Naya alone

[iateyourparents]

hii I love your work 🙈🙈 can you do one with colby where the reader is a medium and the place is like really active?

medium | c.b.

pairing: colby brock x fem!medium!reader

summary: you’re a guest in sam and colby’s video.

warnings: use of y/n, the place they are exploring is totally made up by me, bad writing and grammar(sorry, english isn’t my first language)

an: thank you so much for this idea, i hope you’ll like it <3

“What’s up guys! It’s Sam and Colby!” Colby started video “Today we will be exploring this house” he pointed camera at the big white house behind him.

“It’s Mallory’s house.” Sam added ”The place where Mallory watched her family being murdered and then died there herself because of starvation.” he explained “People says she and her family to this day are there. Also, there’s a rumor that Mallory is waiting for the killer to come back to take her revenge. But we’ll tell you about it later!” he clapped his hands.

“But we’re not alone here.” Colby said and waved at you so you stood between them „For the first time ever, my girlfriend y/n will be investigating with us!”

“And it’s even more exciting because she is a medium.” sam moved his eyebrows suggestively and you laughed quietly “Y/n how are you feeling about it?”

“Excited, that will be the first time ever I will actually try to use my ‚gift’ intentionally.” you smiled at camera “I guess it won’t be hard since I already can feel this house.”

“Oh what do you feel?” Colby asked curiously.

“There is certainly something. I can’t really say yet if it’s good or how it feels about us being here but it’s not threatening.” you explained “I think it’s curious what we will do.”

“Good to know.” Sam smiled at you and then smiled mischievously at the camera and then at Colby “I have some surprise for you Colby.” he stated “When I was doing research I found some rumor that I didn’t tell you about.”

“What’s going on?” Colby already could tell he probably won’t like this.

“So like I said, there’s this rumor that, like you know, Mallory is waiting for her family’s killer to come back to have her revenge, but there’s also this thing that apparently she’s targeting mans that are similar to the killer.” he explained “And guess what? You have brown hair, blue eyes and you’re tall and pale, just like Many!” he cheered and you laughed while Colby sighed with resignation.

“Great” he said ironically „Let’s go, we can’t keep Mallory waiting to hurt me.”

“Don’t worry, I will save you.” you joked and he smiled softly at you and kissed your cheek.

“I feel safer now.”

|||

After your guide left you alone in the house you started to feel stronger emotions.

“I’m not sure why but now I feel everything stronger. It’s like guide was calming them.” you explained to the camera.

“They already were familiar with guide so maybe he made Mallory feel safer and now, without him here, she keeps her guard up.” Sam offered and you agreed that it was possible.

„So y/n, what do you feel, can you see something?” Colby pointed camera at you again.

„Yeah, I feel that here are few people but I can only see one. It’s a little girl standing next to the staircase. She’s observing us but she’s nice one.” you assured them „ I think it’s Mallory’s sister, Naya?”

You could see the little girl nodding and you smiled softly at her.

„Yes, it’s her.” you said „I have no idea who is it but there’s one spirit that is the strongest and definitely isn’t the nicest. Not bad or threatening but also isn’t inviting.” you stated „I can feel strong emotions like sadness and nostalgy. I think they might be trapped here.”

„That’s interesting.” Sam looked impressed „So only Naya is with us in the room?”

„No, there’s at least two more spirits but only Naya let me see her.”

„Okay, so I think we can start with a spirit box.” Colby offered.

|||

You were going from room to room and now you had only two more rooms left.

Mallory’s bedroom and playroom where Mallory was left by a murderer to die from starvation.

You were about to come into her bedroom when you started feeling weird.

„I feel uncomfortable.” you said and boys said they also felt like that „I don’t think she likes us very much.”

„So Mallory is in her room?” Colby asked and finally you all went into the said room.

„Yeah, I think she was here the whole time because I felt her before but only now I feel her presence so much.” you said.

„Okay, let’s start.” Sam pointed camera at himself and started talking „Hey Mallory, we’re sorry if you don’t like us but we’re coming in peace. We only want to share your story with the world. We don’t want to mess with you or disrespect you.”

You all heard knocks.

„Thank you for listening to us.” Colby said „We will use this box, it’s called spirit box and you can talk to it and it will communicate it to us.”

„I’m not sure what’s going on but I just started to feel really weird.” you stated and Sam pointed the camera at you „I feel uneasy, like something is about to happen. I think she doesn’t like the spirit box.”

„Oh, we are sorry Mallory, but we promise it won’t do anything to you, it only will help us to communicate with you.” Sam explained.

Colby turned on the spirit box and it immediately said „hurt”.

„Killer hurt you?” Sam asked and box said yes after a moment.

„Do you want a revenge on Many?” Sam asked and immediately after he said killer’s name you all could hear thud, like someone punched the wall.

Boys continued to ask questions but you keep quietly trying to breathe evenly. The feeling of uneasiness only got stronger and you felt as you were choked. Suddenly it stopped but the uncomfortable feeling stayed.

Your intuition was alarming you and you looked ay Colby. You could feel something you couldn’t name.

Your head started to pound and you felt need to sit down. You sat down on the floor and boys looked at you with concern.

„What happened?” Colby stood next you „You okay?”

„Yeah, I just felt like I need to sit down or I will fall.” you explained „My head hurts.”

„Do you want us to do a break? We can go outside for a moment.” Colby offered and wanted to help you up but you only waved him off.

„No, I’m okay. It’s getting better. We can continue but I need to sit for a moment, I don’t trust my legs right now.” you laughed and boys nodded but you could see they were keeping careful eye on you. They went back to asking questions.

You actually started to feel better but you couldn’t shake off the bad feeling that something was about to happen.

„Guys.” you said alarmed after a moment when you felt something „We should go to the other room. She doesn’t want us here.” just as you said it, the spirit box said „yes” and „get out”.

„Alright, lets go to the playroom.”

You changed rooms and started investigating. You still felt uncomfortable and your headache was coming back even harder but you said nothing not wanting to interrupt their conversation with Naya.

Suddenly Colby hissed „Fuck, something scratched me!” he explained and lifted his shirt showing two red lines running down his stomach.

You looked at him concerned but before you could ask if he’s okay your vision started to get blurry and you lost balance and if Colby wasn’t next you you would fall.

„Hey, hey, you with us?” you could hear concern in Sam’s voice while Colby carefully sat with you on the floor.

„Yeah, I just felt this uneasiness and headache when suddenly my vision became blurry and I couldn’t keep my balance.” you explained, blinking to make your vision clearer.

Then you felt something new and somehow you knew what that meant.

„Something is trying to target Colby.” you said and boys looked surprised „I think it’s Mallory. Sam, you said she’s targeting people having similarities with the killer?”

„Yes.” Sam confirmed while looking with concern at Colby.

„I’m not sure how but I think I already knew she was targeting him and I unconsciously was trying to shield him somehow but when she scratched him it also affected me.”

„Shield me?” Colby asked with confusion.

„I can’t explain this but when I see or feel a spirit I have some control over him. It’s like authority thing. It knows I know they are there so they aren’t sure about me. She must feel I care about you and it was harder for her to attack you but she tried.” you said and boys looked impressed.

„Amanda said something similar last time.” Sam said „Spirits doesn’t like mediums because they are afraid of their abilities. It must affect them somehow.”

„Yeah” you nodded.

„Are you feeling okay now? Do you want to stop, take a break?” Colby looked at you concerned but you denied.

„I’ll be okay but we should work faster and get out of here. Mallory doesn’t like us and I think she’s trying to hurt you.” you said, last part mainly to Colby who just nodded but didn’t stood up from where he was holding you behind you.

Sam understood what Colby wanted to do and also sat on the floor.

„We will continue investigating sitting in case y/n feel worse.” Sam informed viewers and you felt grateful.

„Mallory, what y/n said was true?” Colby asked „Do you want to hurt me but she’s stopping you?” you could hear a thud in answer. It was loud and very close to you three. „Is it because I remind you of Many?” again thud, this time even louder.

„We are sorry that Colby reminds you ab…” something interrupted Sam’s. And by something you meant a weird scratching sound that was dangerously close to Colby’s back.

„What the hell?” Colby looked at the floor behind him but there was nothing, then he suddenly yelped and his head leaned back, then he said „Something just…like pulled me by hair.”

„What the hell?” you narrowed your eyebrows and looked around the room „Mallory is angry.”

„Should we go?” Sam looked at you but before you could say anything doors to the playroom closed themselves „What the fuck.”

„I think she doesn’t want us to leave just yet.” Colby furrowed his brows and you heard knocks.

„Okay, Mallory were you the one who pulled Colby’s hair?” you asked after Sam turned on the spirit box. It immediately confirmed.

You wanted to say something more but you started to feel nauseous and your headache was back. You felt like you couldn’t move or even open your mouth, your vision became blurry and you couldn’t hear anything, just ringing.

And when you were in this state Mallory again attacked Colby, this time making bigger three scratches on his arm.

„Hey, what’s with y/n?” Sam asked concerned after they inspected Colby’s wound. Colby looked at you and immediately tried to shake you off this trance. He succeeded but only after few seconds.

„We should get out” you said panicked. You felt very off and you could feel yourself shaking „I can’t explain it but if we stay here someone’s gonna get hurt badly.” you stated and felt like someone placed their hand on your neck. You reached there and touch was gone but Sam gasped.

„Your neck, it has handprint.” he showed it to the camera and Colby immediately got up and helped you. You started taking your things when there was next thud.

„Mallory and everyone else, you can’t follow us out of the house and you can’t hurt us. You are not allowed to.” Colby said sternly and you all walked out of the house and when Sam reached to close the door after you, they closed themselves.

„Holy shit, I’m not sure if we ever got so much evidence.” Sam sighed and looked at the camera that was still recording „I think it was caught on camera how they closed.”

He stopped recording and you get into the car where boys decided to record outro and then Colby drove to your hotel.

„Are you sure you okay?” Colby asked for the hundred time since you got to your room.

„Yes, Colbs, I’m good.” you kissed his cheek.

„Promise me you will never again try to shield me. Not if it’s gonna affect you like that.” he asked „It pained me to even look at how you looked there, it was like you were about to leave your body. Don’t scare me like that ever again please.” he kissed your forehead and hugged you tighter.

You rolled your eyes, like you could ever let something happen to him if you could stop that.

„Can’t promise you that Colby, I love you too much to let something get to you.” you kissed him.

[sapphic-agent]

As a POC I could not handle any longer the way they excused Lea's actions on the Glee subreddit. I left permanently because of it. It angered me the day someone on the sub said that Lea apologised. Lea did not apologise. More than enough times, I've seen Lea be defended on that sub and people get upvoted for it and I couldn't stand it any longer.

The tipping point for me was that people started to say that Santana fans can't keep their feelings about Naya separate but at the same time they're known strong Rachel fans and Rachel defenders and have shown support to Lea multiples all the while being overly-critical about Santana. It was just brewing into hypocritical territory for me.

As a teen, Naya helped me in ways that's hard to explain. Her passing affected me deeply. To see that a few people, going off of the multiple upvotes, were agreeing with comments made accusing Santana fans of mixing their feelings about Naya with Santana in an unhealthy manner was hurtful. Lea fans also double down on putting Rachel on a pedstal to not talk about Lea's past actions on the glee sub but it's not spoken about.

So grateful that you spoke up about this major issue when it comes to Lea on the Glee sub. Your willingness to speak up about the issues on the Glee sub makes me feel less alone.

Omg thank you! That's so nice of you to say. I really do try to steer away from real people on this blog because I want to be primarily media-based. But the Glee sub makes me so fucking mad. They're the definition of performative activism and double standards. Supporting and/or forgiving Lea is just shitty, no matter how many times they try to justify it.

Naya- and Heather- helped me a lot too. They brought to life one of the healthiest, most important sapphic couple of the 2010s (my username was inspired by them lol, that's why they were my old pfp). They made me feel okay to be myself and comfortable in my sexuality. Her passing affected me for a long time too, it was like I couldn't process it.

I know exactly what you're talking about, when people would accuse Santana fans of conflating Santana because of Naya's passing. Like, right after it happened. It was really an awful thing to say because a woman was dead. Her life and memory were more important than their favorite character getting shit. They're vile.

If anyone can't separate the actor from the character it's Finn fans. Cory was a great guy- people always said him and Dianna were the nicest of the cast- and he also passed while the show was still running. A lot of Finn's "likability" came from Cory's charisma and comedic timing. If Cory was still alive I really don't think as many people would defend Finn.

(Tbh, I think Cory himself would shit on Finn. His mom once said that Santana slapping Finn was his favorite scene)

I also feel like people (including other POCs) don't actually understand why Lea was (is?) racist. Racism isn't just "I hate minorities and don't think they deserve rights." It's way more complicated than that. Lea might not have been throwing the n-word around (though, she was derogatory at least towards Samantha with that "shit in her wig" comment), but she absolutely viewed her being white as being superior to her WOC coworkers.

It's a pretty common thing for Black girls. Hell, I even experienced it from girls I called my friends. They're so "down✊🏾" but will be quick to remind you how more cultured and better than you they are.

If you haven't been taught about or experienced these things, you won't know that. But attempting to shut down WOC who have experienced it is shitty. Lea fans trip over themselves to defend someone who went out of her way to bully a younger Black coworker just because she could.

(Also, she was outwardly transphobic. Not letting anyone forget that either. If she was so willing to be transphobic, what makes you think she wasn't racist?)

Lea fans have no excuse. I liked and looked up to JKR too, but the people she hurt (and continues to hurt) are more important than how much I admired her or how much I enjoyed Harry Potter. I was disgusted by her and had no issues condemning her. Lea fans are hypocritical, self-righteous performative activists

[queeniecook]

January 22

True to his word, on the last night Rahmi is in Sulani, Ukupanipo takes her to the bar he works at.

Naya had helped Rahmi prepare for the night and she still isn't sure about the dress the blonde had picked out for her. It's shorter than she'd like it to be. Thankfully the drinks at the bar, which Ukupanipo gets a discount on, is helping with her nerves. They spend the first few hours just simply talking at the bar and having a few drinks together before Ukupanipo asks her to dance.

Rahmi hasn't danced with someone in years but finds it easily comes back to her. Between the laid back atmosphere of the bar, the drinks and the merman dancing with her, she finds herself feeling carefree and having fun.

The song changes and things seem to being to shift between the pair. The space between them seems to vanish as the music continues, Rahmi is beginning to feel things she hadn't felt in a few years. She isn't sure how to handle it.

"You look amazing tonight." Ukupanipo says quietly. Not that she doesn't always look beautiful and it's not the dress or the makeup that's impacting her look, it's the smile on her face and she seems lighter tonight. It looks good on her.

Rahmi blushes and looks down, which doesn't do much to calm her sudden feeling of butterflies in her stomach - because there's barely any space between them. "Thank you. Naya helped me get ready."

Ukupanipo shakes his head a little and catches her eyes as she looks back up at him. "It's you. It's your aura."

Rahmi is speechless. How does someone respond to that kind of compliment? She gives him a smile. "Can we walk on the beach?"

Ukupanipo leads Rahmi outside and they begin walking slowly along on the beach. She thought Sulani was stunning during the day - at night it's magical. Nothing is said for the first several minutes as they just enjoy the sound of the water and the island night creatures calling to each other. Rahmi starts to feel like she should make conversation, she turns to ask her companion if he prefers cake or cookies - she wants to bake him something at home and send it to him - but she loses her balance.

Ukupanipo is quick to catch her before she can fall. Maybe she shouldn't of had that last glass of wine. Instead of using his support to right herself, she lets herself lean into him for a few moments. It feels nice - to have someone's arms around her again. Someone she actually likes.

"Umm.." Rahmi mumbles, not sure what to say. She feels sudden desire flood through her body and it catches her off guard. "Thanks."

Ukupanipo helps her stand upright and looks down at her. He slowly raises his hand to run his fingers gently through her hair which causes Rahmi to grasp at his tank top and his side. He thinks her ex-husband is a very stupid man for letting the woman in front of him go and not just because of her beauty but because of her heart.

Rahmi is thinking that she just wants Ukupanipo to kiss her. She never thought she'd want that again after what happened with Thomas but it has. She brings her hand off the deathgrip she had on his tank top and gazes at Ukupanipo, she's too scared to try to kiss him. The idea of making the first move scares her almost breathless or maybe she's breathless due to her desire for him to kiss her?

Ukupanipo swallows hard and takes a deep breath. He wants to kiss her badly, especially with that look in Rahmi's eyes but they've both had something to drink tonight and the last thing he wants is for her to regret anything happening between them. She's been hurt and her heart needs to be handled with care.

"We've both have been drinking." He reminds her quietly. He watches her blink and slowly realize what he's saying to her. Before she can even get the thought that he's rejecting her because he doesn't want her in her head, he quickly pulls her close and kisses the top of her head.

That act alone seems to calm Rahmi's heart and she rests her head on his chest. She closes her eyes and focuses on his breathing. She isn't sure what's going on with them, is it just because of the alcohol and the fact that both of them have been without someone for a while or is something more going on with them?

[cerine0357]

How Yandere Xurex Leruis, Daisuke Himura, Raemous, Izumi Shimizu, Dejiyo Shimizu react to a fem!reader who is afraid of the dark, goes to their room, and asks them to sleep together

oc: Elentia Acurion, Shimizu family, MorningStar Court:-

Xurex Leruis, Daisuke Himura, Raemous, Izumi Shimizu, Dejiyo Shimizu X Reader

❆ Summary: The night is here, the solitude of darkness surrounds along with slumber. Of-course you don't trust your kidnapper, though they are such a sweet-thing...but maybe the fear of darkness, which should have left you in childhood, strikes and you have no other option but to run into their arms.

❆ Fluff|| hurt/comfort? || mentions of broken fingers, murder, decapitation, kidnapping, darkness, etc, yandere stuff, unhealthy relationship|| yandere version of OCs.

❆ Author's note: Thank you so much for requesting this, sorry it took so long to release this, I've been in a bad head-space regarding this particular blog of mine. I'm horrible at writing scary scenes...leave me alone..

Vocab:

Naya: love

The monster in the closet...

Xurex Leruis

Turning over and closing your eyes, the 36 hour regime of this world didn't help sometimes..As you fanned yourself. The light went out in the middle of the night, the warmth without the fan suffocating and the sounds of...whatever there was in the darkness was scaring you..along with the fact you couldn't tell what was two inches ahead of you.. But that was just imagination...RIGHT?

Yeah, well, who knows? You didn't...But still, you sighed, your eyes slowly adjusting to the dark, ever so slightly to let you wander around as you shifted from your bed, the rope around your anklet still burning in the skin...as you stepped on the wooden panels of the floor, the wood gently creacking under your weight.

Just as you tried to get something done to relieve the heat, you could feel the perfectly cool air coming from the gap at the bottom of the door to the floor from Xurex's room...You'd never go to him, you tried to take this opportunity again to get escape routes or something.

Your arms softly tried to lift the heavy metal grate kept on the window, pain still in your arms for the way he almost broke your finger in anger...an earlier caught incident of trying to escape...

You fixed your bandages a bit before again trying to lift the grate..and you were somewhat success, the grate lifted a few inches..but it had locks, as you softly dug in the wooden panel on the floor, the darkness throwing hills down your spine as you thought of what can happen...

It may be childish, but you hated dark...you just couldn't bear it, one thing Xurex had not found out and you hoped it to keep it like this....but right now...Xurex seemed better than this void which was your "room"...Besides, he was so loving when he wasn't threatening you or something..

As you shivered from the fear of the dark, your fingers trying to look for a pin or something to open the grate again..It now definitely felt like someone or something was watching you...But that was probably the fear of darkness, you were fine...

As you pulled a tiny hair pin, maybe it was time for a movie-styled move to open the grate? You don't know, but a weird feeling kept moving around, as you took in a deep breath and slightly creeking of the wood, the darkness filled weird...it felt as if someone was watching you, as you lifted up the grate after FINALLY opening the locks with the hair pin.

As you finally sighed, the creeking again going off behind you as you stared around...nothing, and stared out, the sound of low breath was behind you, as you stared to find nothing yet again-

fuck..You felt all air knocked out of you as you screamed when you were pulled by your throat and shoved harshly against a wall, banging your head against the wall behind you. Shoving your eyes close, you tried not to cry right there, but softly the harsh chocking grip on your neck loosened as you opened your eye, the light from the outside the window, throwing some glow inside.

Xurex stood there, glaring at you... he caught you attempting to get out. AGAIN., his blue hair messed up, his eyeliner messy as his glaring eyes softened a bit at your shaking, as he pulled you close,

"You're gonna be the death of me.." he sighed and suddenly it just felt the moment to hug him back, as you tried to calm your heart which was going miles per hour as he sat you down, banged the grate shut and sighed, "again?"

You didn't have an excuse as you smiled sheepishly, while he simply sighed, as he sat on his knee infront of you, right on the floor, "you get out again, I'll break these pretty feet of yours" he whispered, kissing your anklet just gently as he held your foot in his hand...

You sighed, of-course....there may not be any real monster here...Except Xurex, but...he was a nice monster...somewhere...

Daisuke Himura

You softly tried to calm your breath in the darkness of this room, Daisuke already asleep beside you...on the floor, actually. As you tried to take deep breaths to calm yourself...there was creeking and you did not particularly enjoy that, as you tried not to cry..the suffocation in your throat and chest felt too hard as you bit your quivering lips to not let out a sob, as you took deep breaths...

your hands were tied, and so were your legs to the footpost of the bed, so you couldn't really do anything aside from sit there as you sighed, not knowing what to do...

As you gently bent down, feeling warmth and the smell of vanilla with lily-of-the-valley flower near you and you held whatever it was closest to you and shook Daisuke a bit...gently though, as to not anger him, though he could never be angry at you. NEVER.

Though he did not wake up, you shook him again a bit harsher this time as suddenly the warmth was gone as you were forced to sit up, and hugged gently into the warmth instead as you heard a mumble and suddenly tiny golden and blue glow came from right beside you on the wooden bookshelf built into the wall

As you pulled away as Daisuke stared down at you, wiping your eyes gently his palm to remove the tears you hadn't notice were dragging down your cheeks, the suffocation from your throat going back down, as he pulled you up gently and place you on his lap, as he stared at you..

his hooded eyes even more hooded and even more intimidating looking as he softly cradled you as he dragged himself back, stood the pillow against the wooden headboard and leaned against the pillow, pulling you close enough and laying your head on his chest as he gently put his fingers through your hair to calm you. And...now embarrassment was catching up to you for being scared of the dark.

He softly yawned, covering his mouth, "Shhh, what happened, Naya...", "...drk..", "Naya, what?" he asked confused as you again mumbled, in embarrassment as he sighed,

"fine..you're embarrassed, I can tell, Naya. But you need to answer me." he said, nuzzling his jaw right on top of your head, as sighed, "It was the darkness.", "the darkness..it bothered you, didn't it?" he asked, smiling as you hit his arm roughly, as he apologized but smiled,

"You're fine, I'm fine...Sorry, should I keep these lights on?" as you nodded, snuggling into his collar..as he grinned, his naya..

Izumi Shimizu

You turned in your room, trying to calm your breath from the darkness..it was childish sure, but not like you could do anything..not at this moment anyway, as you shoved your face in the pillow even more and heard soft sounds as you jumped and tried to calm your heart having mini heart attacks every few minutes...

As you turned over, taking deep breath, as you tried to calm your heart, when there was a sound of the lock..creeking as the door opened and the lgihts came on, as you squeezed your shut and squinted a bit to get used to the large lights.

Izumi stood there a the door, crying as he held a plushie tightly in her hands, with her father and mother, both of whom who stared at you apologetically...Even if they kidnapped you, they had taken a responsibility for care for you.

Because Izumi loved you a lot..too much actually, as she ran towards you and tackled you on the bed, "She got scared of the dark..." her mother began sighing, onot knowing how to put her thoughts into words,

"for you..." her mother said..sighing, smiling sheepishly while Izumi cried in your neck as you held her a bit over your lap.

You nodded your head to their explanation that Izumi got scared..for your behalf..As you patted her back while she peppered kisses on your cheeks, "Okay." you began, huffing.

Her parents stood there, staring at you awkwardly as you patted her back awkwardly, before her parents decided they needed to leave to wake up tomorrow. As they shut the door behind them, greeting you both a "goodnight".

As Izumi pulled away from the hug, her pale face all reddish and nose red and eyes swollen from crying as she pulled you into a kiss, as you sighed and kissed back. You didn't like her a lot, but sometimes..you felt bad for not being able to love her as much as she loved you, even if she kidnapped you, took away your freedom and everything...maybe that's what they called sympathizing with your demons.

You sighed as she pushed back, laying on top of you as she kissed you, not pulling away as her fingers dug themselves in your hair, as your hands tied in black metal handcuffs, held her waists as you rubbed her sides to calm her crying.

She softly pulled away, her lips glossy with your drool as you wiped them off and pushed her off you onto the bed as she happily snuggled into your side, "Love you~" she giggled, as you sighed. Maybe one night, you can be in love.

Dejiyo Shimizu

You huffed, staring at the darkness, trying to calm your nerves. Dejiyo apparently caught you "cheating" on her with Hyuna, because Hyuna was being a bit too nice..

....And that caused a fight in the family, as you awkwardly sat aside, as Hyuna angrily walked away in annoyance form her elder sister and Dejiyo thought to leave you locked up in the attic in anger.

You sat there, huddled in the corner of the attic, where she kept you, with majority of the attic being a bed for you, a tiny space for a closet, and some space for walking. With a hole at the bottom with stairs to get out, except she locked it, so you were stuck..in utter darkness, because lights were controlled from outside..

As you tried not hyperventilate, calming your nerves as you tried to sleep it off, you couldn't hear anything, everyone was either asleep because it's late or everyoe was gone from the house for who knows how long...

Because they might be gone for a tiny staycation and dismissed ALL servants...Maybe this was a way for Dejiyo to punish you for "cheating" on her...

You just hoped that her anger calms soon and she'll remember you have a fear of the darkness and you're still stuck up here...and the fact this is gonna be the reason' you're mad at her the next time and she has no right to be be upset if you don't be affectionate with her.

You sighed, trying not to panic as you took deep breaths, trying to get your eyes to adjust to the darkness so there can be a bit of light for you to see from...

But apparently...nothing, it stayed pitch black, even as you laid there for what felt like hours, tears slipping down your eyes to your temples, wetting the pillow cover a bit.

You eventually fell asleep and woke up the next morning, feeling pressure on your chest and no space for you to move your limbs as you woke up, large gift decorated with bows, one of those ribbon bows flapping in your, hitting your lips a bit as you plucked it off, Dejiyo laying on your chest, snuggling into you...how sad...

Raemous

You cried your eyes out, hands and legs hurting from multiple cuts you had gotten from trying to escape...again...Wiping the blood from your hand on your clothes as you again tried to remove it, you knew Raemous was watching...but if he put his foot down, even Zional couldn't help you...

You hiccuped a bit, feeling pressure in your chest with every breath you took...over the fear for things, the dark wasn't fun...it reminded you of how he could control you so-so easily, despite being such a bright and...kinda of dumb, he was so cruel...killed off anyone you dared talk to and offered their soul to Zional, who enjoyed them.

You don't even remember the last time you saw a single loud or a star or even the sky at all...i had been too long, being stuck here, even after gaining his trust for so long...

It was ruined by a simple argument and you trying to run away...it was all a game and he ENJOYED the pain you went through at times, though he adored you above anything. You cried softly, feeling creeps down your neck...or the thoughts of the bloodshed you've see, the pain you felt after he slapped you...he was crying, he felt bad..yes. But it was important for you, in his opinion atleast.

You sighed, trying to calm your rapid breathing a bit, as you softly tried to stand up, but fall right over...ankles burst apart from the single cut he placed on your ankle....it hurt...unbareable, but this was even more so...mentally...as you cried, not able to take it anymore,

"FINE! I'M-I'M SORRY, RAMEY...PLEASE!" you cried, and it was long before suddenly you were transported somewhere else, Raemous sitting infront of you on a chair, fixing his stone guitar while whistling, not caring about the pain he put you through, until you sniffed softly.

His golden, black-scleraed eyes looking up at you as you immediately climbed into him and hugged him tight, as he put his guitar down, hugging you back,

"I'm..sorry, you know I don't mean anything I do or say..it was all wrath, I'm a demon after all, bright-eyes! And besides, it all got out of hand because you tried to run away..I'm sorry, yes, yes, I know shhh.." he smiled, patting your hair, knowing it'll take time for you to even think about defying him again.

© cerine0357. All characters belong to me; Aurelia, Moon, Cerine. Reblogging is appreciated, but plagiarizing or copying my works is forbidden, thank you for ready and if you like this check out my blog!

[firstelevens]

sambucky (bake off AU mayhaps?? 👀) + “bloom” 🪷

“Okay, but why did bodyslamming the dough seem like a good idea?”

Sam scowls at the phone. “I didn’t bodyslam the dough, Bucky. I just applied extra pressure so it would roll out.”

“You threw your entire body weight behind that rolling pin and fucked up your neck and shoulder, Sam; I think that’s a little more than extra pressure.”

“I had to get five dozen danishes shaped, what was I supposed to do?”

“You could have waited literally any amount of time for the dough to warm up.”

There’s no video on the call, but Sam can perfectly picture the look on Bucky’s face anyway, frustration mingled with fondness, and he would call the feeling that blooms in his chest homesickness if he wasn’t already smack in the middle of Delacroix.

“Put Alpine on,” he says, instead of I miss you or thank you for worrying about me. “She’s much more sympathetic than you are.”

“Can’t,” says Bucky. “She’s at my parents’ place.”

“And where are you, exactly? You left her all alone?”

Bucky snorts. “I dropped her off a while ago. She’s busy hanging out with my parents while they set up for the party; I just needed to make a quick stop.”

That, at least, explains why Sam thought he heard a GPS earlier in the call. The neighborhood that Bucky’s parents live in might as well be a labyrinth, and for all George and Winnie’s well-intentioned directions, one visit was enough to put Sam firmly on Bucky’s side of the ‘this is why no one should live in New Jersey’ debate. 

(Not that Bucky ever needs to know that. During his last visit to the city, Sam had shamelessly baited Bucky by praising a bagel spot in New Brunswick, and the resulting angry makeout session had absolutely been worth listening to Bucky’s rant about the superiority of New York tap water.)

Sam doesn’t realize that he’s gone silent until Bucky’s voice breaks through his thoughts. “I didn’t interrupt you setting up at the truck, did I? Tell me you’re not there right now.”

“You’re worse than my Mama, you know that?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” says Bucky, and it’s actually stupid, the way a corny line like that makes Sam’s heart stutter.

“I’m not at the truck,” says Sam. “Freddie said he could cover the lunch rush, and Naya has practice after school today, so we’ll just close things up early.”

“Sorry, sweetheart. I know you were looking forward to seeing everyone before tonight.”

He sighs. “It’s fine; I’m just glad we didn’t have to shut down completely. I should’ve been more careful.”

“You think I could have that last thing in writing? Get it notarized, maybe?”

It’s very obviously a ploy to make Sam laugh, but it works anyway. “Shut up, Barnes. I’m always careful.”

“Oh, did you get rid of Redwing and just forget to tell me? That tiny little plane that you flew during a storm the other day, because you live to stress me out?”

“I live for other things; raising your heart rate is just a bonus.”

Bucky snorts. “You’re impossible, you know that?”

“So I’ve been told,” says Sam. He starts to ask something else, but cuts himself off as the doorbell rings.

“Sam Wilson,” Bucky says, faux-scandalized, “did you just call me to kill time while you were waiting for company to arrive?”

“Not this time,” says Sam, as he pushes away from his desk. “I’m not even expecting anyone; Sarah and Freddie already took the truck.”

“Maybe they forgot something.”

“I think I’d have noticed eight batches of croissants lying around.”

“Maybe they just really wanted to see you again.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s that one,” laughs Sam. “Hang on a second, let me just see who it is.”

He’s still got the phone pressed to his ear as he pulls the door open, which is maybe why he’s so confused to find his boyfriend standing on his porch and not a thousand miles away in New Jersey.

“Like I said,” Bucky says, grinning crookedly at Sam, “I just wanted to see you again.”

[nowandthane]

tagged by @mxanigel to play a get to know you game <3 thank you for tagging me!!

no pressure tags @xoshepard @malabadspice @sillyliterature @sweetmage @menacingmetal <3 <3

ill put these below a cut

Three ships Last song Last film Currently reading Currently craving

three ships: well sarani's polycule (which involves garrus, tali and thane in different dynamics) aka three snipers and a shotgun. they are never not on my mind 😅 and then sarani (faerun version) and shadowheart, which im slowly playing and gosh theyre so good together... and nayima/leliana/alistair <3 its been ages since i worked on them but ive been thinking about them lately. mainly naya and leliana skdjgf im having wlw brainrot rn

last song: another one of those days by cavetown. my younger sibling was just talking about cavetown so yeah xD

last film: i... genuinely cannot remember. i think it was last christmas? the one emilia clarke was in? i think i had a movie night with my friends last month... yeah sorry my memory is not great 😭

currently reading: nothing specific i think? uhhh. a book i was waiting for was just released. ill probably read that soon. its a historical romance. i tend to binge read books for like a month or two and get a lot of reading done and then nothing lmao.

currently craving: this is probably about food but i guess my friends? the two who live on this island with me, theyre the only ones i physically meet and theyve been crazy busy so we havent been meeting as often and i live alone so im getting kinda stir crazy, but my younger sibling is here now and im gonna see them tomorrow hopefully!! <3 <3

[feith-rikya]

All these characters are from an RPG campaign called; Gehenna's Gates, set in the world of Vampire The Masquerade. Feel free to ask any questions!

Sometimes getting up it's hard even for Vampires!

So who we have here? In order!

Danya and Rudolf: My Ravnos character Danya is quite a lazy person and getting up is always a challenge, while her Vile boyfriend Rudolf seeing his military background is always the first to get up… but he still misses coffee very much.

Elizabeth, Van Helsing, Devon: Elizabeth and her companions can make quite a mayhem. even for a Ventrue, Lizzie knows how to have fun, but sometimes they tend to get carried away. it's what happen when you put an ex serial killer Lasombra, a power-hungry-ventrue and a crazy damphyr in the same room.

Jonah and Aaron: Jonah is now living permanently with Danya and Rudolf, posing a bit as a son to them. While Aaron, being in someway Rudolf's sire is kind of the hottest grandma around. Jonah being a malkavian can't always have a peaceful sleep or a peaceful awakening. While Aaron being a drug addict and an alcoholic Toreador (so a Junkie, but with glamour) never has a good awaking.

Philippe, Luc, Simone: The Gossens family is loud and messy, their morning is a reflection of that. Luc a Brujah with the soul of an old man sometimes still feels back pains. Philippe, the perfect and proper Toreador, thanks to his boyfriend strength sometimes wakes up with a few hairs out of place (a tragedy really). For Simone well, only a Brujah as strong as Luc can get a Werewolf out of bed.

Anselm: A noble True Brujah always stays alone, lives alone, fights alone, dies alone… except for the five cats that expect to be fed in very strange hours and said True Brujah can't seem to say no to them.

Nate and Naya: A baali and a Serpent of the Light, is surely an odd couple, but once Nate got Naya's interest, the little snake never lives his side. they fight together, they sleep together, they wake up wrongly together.

[rememberingnayarivera]

I really get you about feeling guilty about your grief. I had a family member pass away around the same time as Naya, and when I cried about her I was like “damn am I not crying enough for my own relative?” Such a weird feeling, no? Idk just wanted to let you know you aren’t alone in feeling that way.

Really weird. Thanks so much. I appreciate that. Makes me feel a little better.

[capnhanbers]

Rant person here, mod how could you like- okay. Okay, bit by bit.

First of all - grilby! The dude!

Also I love how everyone's happy for Asgore and for SunDay you made it feel like a little atmosphere of a small town like finding out someone's married, which the underground basically is just on a larger scale. Close knit is perhaps what I'm looking for.

But IT STILL SOMETIMES BOGGLES ME THEY AREN'T MARRIED YET JWJDM

anyway, flowey time!

Flowey confirmed Introvert, that's me at parties right there, hi Flowey

Also, also. Frisk. Or uh, Chara? I couldn't... Quite tell, I'm going to assume Frisk but I'm leaving a question mark there. Frisk(?), cmon they were having a moment!

I feel like those 2 will *never* leave flowey and Naya alone like I don't think there was one time where they were alone for long enough

I mean, I know why but.. It's always like Frisk having a feeling and going there, like, let Flowey get some air man

Additionally, after that, MARRIAGE MARRIAGE

Are they like, married now? Genuine question, I have no sweet clue I haven't been in a relationship (ah the wonders of AroAce) but like, that seems like they're married, are they married?

If so: KEKSKISSJNFHF

THEY EVEN LIKE DID A MINI DIVE THINGY! DIVE! WOOOOO!

Also I am going to say that lil like feeling that made Naya say yes to going to the haunted house was Gaster because I feel like it's funny if he was tinder, but also because it's an neat HC.

But still!!!!!!!!!!!

Man! Like invite me to the wedding mod like, I'm waiting for my invite/j

But all in all, BANGER chapter, 10/10

THANK YOU FOR THE RANT everything you pointed out makes me so hapy :3

they're casually engaged now lol!!! i'm actually glad you asked about it so i have the chance to say: hey. this isn't typical guaranteed romance formula where now that they've proposed, it means we're gonna end on a big ol wedding and that's their happily ever after. sanaya's like.....they've already made the commitment to be together. i actually consider this exchange from ch94 to be a way heavier capital c Commitment moment:

this is just them saying "know what?? we DO wanna get married! at some point!" they don't have rings. there's no rush. yes it was a proposal and yes they're engaged but this doesn't mean they're gonna launch into wedding plans right freaking now.

[annaberunoyume]

🏳️‍🌈A list of more monogamous gay (wlw and mlm) medias for those of us that loves romantic comedies and fidelity. 🎞️🍿

Have you ever noticed how the modern LGBTQ+ community is often...how do I say it, promiscuous (not that there is anything wrong with it)? Sadly, unfortunately, there are some of us queer ones that feels rejected and left out, because we wish for all the hallmarks of a romantic comedy as our idea of pride. I know, because I am a lesbian that wishes for a good old 1950s-style date with a woman. And I often feel alone in a world that puts forward (with all due respect to the community) a provocative, quasi-porn-like pride. It is just not my cup of tea. Long story short, therefore, I compiled my own list of movies, tv series, comics and even fanfictions that are more like my taste. I do hope that someone else find solace in this list. ENJOY AND HAVE A BEAUTIFUL DAY!

List of more monogamous gay movies and other medias:

Movies:

Imagine Me and You

Love, Simon

Can't Think Straight

Spoiler Alert

Strange Frame: Love and Sax (one of my favourite. Thank you, Tubitv!)

Set in a future where humans left Earth a long time ago for the moons around Jupiter, a woman named Parker falls in love with a musician named Naya and forms a band. But a cunning producer tries to tear them apart. Interesting world building and animation. Very psychedelic in style.

The Rainbow Bridge Hotel (Tubitv)

A gay couple tries to get married in a old motel, while the silly owner gets in trouble with inspection. (Tubitv)

Strange World (the latest Disney movie. This movie's main protagonist (Ethan) is gay and no one makes a big deal about it. Plus, Ethan and Diazo (his crush) are so dang cute, together.)

Ringolivio (Tubitv)

A young woman passionned by insects visits her girlfriend's brothers for the first time and spends a peculiar holiday, struggling to fit in with these strange brothers.

Bros (some might like it, but I hated it. Such a whiny and unlikeable, yap-yapping protagonist.)

The Falls triology (Tubitv)

A triology about two mormon young men falling in love. Nice story,

but filmed in an extremely boring way. I understand that these are independant movies

with less budget, but dang, stop filming with a still camera all the time. All three movies

were on Tubi tv, last time I checked if you are interested.

Straight Jacket (on Tubitv, as of July 10th, 2024)

A lesser-know little gem of a movie that explores, in a humorous, but sincere way, the plights of being a hearthrob of a male actor in the 50s...While being a closeted gay one...Delightfully campy in execution, but made with love! Would definitely recommend it! A big thank you to youtuber Matt Baume for making me discover it! 👍😀

TV series with monogamy in it:

Heartstopper

The L Word (at least in the beginning. Please do not spoil me as I am not done with this series, yet. I love how each woman in his series is developped beyond their orientation.

Something that Netflix should learn, frankly.)

Steven Universe

(UPDATE (07/11/2024)):

My Pride (Youtube animated Webseries)

This awesome, epic webseries follows the tumultuous life of a young lioness living in a rather cruel society in which male lions must kill the chief lion of a pride and his cubs to claim a pride and become a Mane (Leader of a pride).

Our heroine (which will be named in a moment, for lionesses have no name at birth) heroically wounds a Mane that killed her father one day and thus, is allowed to live, along with her remaining brother. But at a terrible price, that of limping and having a deeply scarred face. When she becomes an grown lioness, this handicap earns her the name of Nothing. That same evening, Nothing meets a Prideless lioness named Hover...And a new destiny begins.

FULL SEASON 1:

Our Flag Means Death (Crave (Canada), HBO Max (USA))

This series, very loosely based on the real life Stede Bonnet and Blackbeard, follows the funny, but touching adventures of a gentleman, Stede, leaving his wife and children to become a pirate, after financing his own boat and crew. One day, Stede's crew comes into contact with the “dreaded” Captain Blackbeard...And soon enough, a camaraderie and something more starts to bloom...

Good Omens (Prime video)

From the writers behind the famous Discworld book series, comes a funny, whimsical, fantasy series about two angels that goes way back when (Arziraphale and Crowley) trying to prevent a child that is destined to be the AntiChrist from bringing the end of times. Funny and touching. And real cute.

Hazbin Hotel (Prime video)

A great classic-in-the-making that was at first the baby of a Polish-American (if I remember correctly) lady named Vizziepop on Youtube. After a couple of years...It finally got financed by Prime...And the result is an amazingly queer animated musical with such unique bangers of songs! A MUST SEE!

Anyway, for those of you that do not know that series, it is about the bubbly princess of hell, Charlotte “Charlie” Morningstar, who is determined to reform sinners to save them from an annual extermination in Hell. She thus builds a hotel that will act as a rehab center of some sort, helped out by her girlfriend, Vaggie, a cat-like sinner called Husk, a strange little cleaning lady, Nifty, a mysterious overlord named Alastor, and a horny porn star named Angel Dust. One thing for sure, strange shenanigans will ensue in the Hazbin-I mean, Happy Hotel!

PILOT EPISODE ON YOUTUBE (WHERE IT ALL STARTED):

Comics with a monogamous gay relationship:

Heartstopper (obviously) (by Alice Oseman, available in most libraries and on

Amazon, plus its original web comic format (Tumblr and Tapas). :

A sugary-sweet comic about two british teenage boys falling in love. Famously adapted into

a Netflix series, recently.

Puu (by Nabi):

Set in India, this comic follows a man named Jameel that lives with a quirky, flower-loving roommate named Saboor. They slowly developp feelings for each other, but struggle in a rather unwelcoming India. Lovely, simplistic art.

Bingo Love (by Tee Franklin, Jenn St-Onge and Joy San)

A most gorgeous comic book romance about two black girls falling in love in the 60s, then after being separated for years, finding each other at the same Church Bingo where they met as kids.

Rock and Riot (by Cheriiart)

A most beautiful, inclusive comic about basically the lesbian version of Danny and Sandy (from Grease) falling in love in a sort of alternative universe where it's the 50s and queer ones are rather accepted.

Ivy comic by mimimar

A dream come true for a lesbian that loves sapphic, disney princesses vibes. I feel like I'm reading a Disney Golden Book. So darn cute so far.

Fanfictions with gay monogamy in it:

Fanfiction: medicine (fandom: Watchmen, Pairing: Nite Owl x Rorshchach)

This beautiful 18+ fanfiction is about Nite Owl and Rorshchach developping, or rather revealing burried feelings after Rorshchach gets wounded on a patrol, coupled with being sick. While Nite Owl (alias Daniel) nurses him back to health, Rorshchach lets down his guard and accidently shows himself without his mask to him for the very first time. Thus the Walter Kovacs underneath begins to timidly show itself from the cracks. Slow-burned and very tender. My new favourite fanfiction.

100% Exhausted (fandom: Mob Psycho 100, Pairing: TeruMob (Teruki Hanasawa x Shigeo Kageyama)

A most adorable TeruMob fanfic in which a worn-out Mob returns from work and Teruki is the best, caring boyfriend to him. Bonus appearances of Shou and Ritsu.

[lazytyphooncollector]

Here's some cute selfies of my precious good sweet loving gorgeous baby girl doggy aka Tikaani. I kid you not guys but I've been through hell and back especially she has because she's legit literally been I kid you not going in and out so many health problems ever since September more so than the average dog as it's been back to back nonstop. Ever since the worst thing that she ever went through back in September she I can tell you for a fact is traumatized because of that. She literally refuses and doesn't walk on any kind of hard floor inside anymore like wood and tile and also now refuses to jump off and on furniture and only let's me help her by picking her up gently and carefully or set her down on the ground on carpet floors. She stayed for 2 nights in a speciality animal hospital 2 hours away up in Manhattan Kansas where she got an MRI like how I did her human and her mom a couple years back for migraines but I was told that she was getting lots of love and care from all the female employees that worked there when she was there and they apparently just couldn't stop telling my mom and I how much they all loved her and how she's just the sweetest thing which is no lie at all. She was given the diagnosis of an extremely rare condition that she unluckily went through as it's not very common for any dog to get it called FCE for short where one day a dog's perfectly fine with their motor skills to literally being on deaths door the next friggin day. She was completely paralyzed on all of her right side and because of that she couldn't pee poop walk sit or stand at all or the right way but through strict crate rest for nearly 7 weeks on top of giving her steroid oral medication every day all those weeks the percentage was very slim if she would even get her good quality of life back let alone if she would ever sit stand or walk again. But like the friggin miracle she is astounded and shocked everyone where she overcame all the odds and she can now sit walk and stand again without a problem. Then from last month up until recently this month she went through hell again where she had bloody vomit and bloody mucus diarrhea on and off a few times nonstop to where she was diagnosed as either having colitis or pancreatitis. She's now on a low fat diet the rest of her life and thanks to the medication she was taking it appears to have all fully gone away and stopped for now. Today she went to the vet again because ever since Sunday she's had abnormal colors of eye bugars right by her right eye so they did 2 eye tests on her today and yep there is something going on. She was prescribed eye drops and another oral medication that I have to give to her. One drop of the eye drops on her right eye 4 times a day basically every 8 hours for 10 days and a half tablet of the oral medication every day until gone. I hope to god she once again recovers gets better and stays better. As long as she has that fight in her and the will to live and not give up neither will I. She's my little strong brave powerful warrior fighter and miracle and she means everything to me. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers guys and wish her well. Anyway sorry long rant over and here's pics of her now in her brand new valentine's day sweater

@raph-red-fan @primroseprime2019 @mistyroselove @naya-queenzie @tulipvalley27 @nikitaboeve @lady-maria-the-wolf225 @lasttriptonyc @miyokovektor @raphsgrl @rebellious-mutant @doctorelleth @jaenisamusculargurl @camibanani @darkhoodedvendetta-blog @immadollfacelove @kkloco @redhoods-daughter-from-hell @hotredphoenix @swagtreecrown @pissybird @knobsshamanics @tamitaninja2007 @sweetshepherdslimeartisan @lovelylulu1 @rin-oroku @dasdummenutellabrot @chuu-u3 @kawaii-anime-life123 @cattonmilap @landsel @janet-the-dark-queen @ninjagirlsworld @lolatheatiny @michelangelokin @shortgremlinaxolotl @scarlettestitch @foreignbrunette @slutforoptimusprime @themonsterarchive @temenos-empath @xxcirus-masqueradexx @skeezpyuff @screamingnoodl

[darthmarrsgf]

💢🌌🎭🎵📎💧❄️🌪💚 (anger, milky way, masks, music note, paper clip, droplet, snowflake, tornado, green heart). Okay friend, this is for any OC(s!!) your heart desires! I know went nuts with the choices so feel free to pick your favorites 💖😬

omg omg ok ty so much for the ask and sorry it took me a second to think through everything bc i loveeee to ramble!! i picked my faves for my inquisitor/darth imperius, unayah (who btw is really slaying kotfe with the color crystal you gave me! thank you again!!):

• 🌌 MILKY WAY - what was the inspiration behind your oc? what was the first thing you decided about them?

Not so much inspiration I guess, but part of why I gravitate toward the Inquisitor storyline so much is because I really like characters who’ve been betrayed or taken advantage of people they thought they could trust (esp people who were in a position of authority over them), and how they grow and assert their independence from that. So pretty much from the beginning, I knew that because of her background, Naya would be pretty skeptical and independent. I have a really hard time picking the mean options in video games lol so I also kind of knew all along she would end up mostly light side but I think that’s consistent with her character—she’s always been more motivated by freedom than power. The power is nice if it’s on offer but she’s not going to lose herself to attain it.

• 🎭 MASKS - do they act differently around certain people? what's different between the way they act around friends, family, strangers, etc.?

Definitely. It’s a survival mechanism, and one she takes pretty seriously, as she knows that any perceived weakness is dangerous when dealing with other Sith. I think she definitely shields the kind of impression she gives in the Force to hide her use/acceptance of the light side and doesn’t drop that for anyone (except Ashara, to gain her trust, and Lana, because she trusts her) until well after she’s escaped the Empire and established a life as a member of the Alliance. In terms of general demeanor, she definitely lets her cold and snarky side rule when she’s dealing with other Sith. Andronikos sees the softest and most thoughtful sides of her, though he quickly realizes the snark is 24/7 and not an act, which is one of the things that initially drew him to her.

• 🎵 MUSIC NOTE - what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

I didn’t expect to have such a hard time with this one!!! I’m not sure what kind of music she would be into, but I think the #1 song I associate with her is La Paura del Buio by Måneskin, especially the chorus (I don’t speak Italian and it also obvi sounds better not translated but you get the gist):

And so take me, bite me, strip me of everything I still won't be afraid of the dark When I'll be on the ground, shattered I still won't be afraid of the dark And so spit on me, tear my clothes off of me I still won't be afraid of the dark And so buy me, sell me, do everything to me You're the only one afraid of the dark Not us, not us, not me, me

• 📎 PAPERCLIP - a random fact.

She was very close to Darth Marr and was gutted by the death of someone she saw as a parental figure. She definitely felt his death in the Force when it happened. (Ok maybe I should’ve put this under angst headcanon lol)

• 💧 DROPLET - random angst headcanon

Omg ok I hate myself for this but I think about it a lot… Naya isn’t my canon Outlander but I did have an idea that wouldn’t leave me alone for a while so I wrote a little bit about it—she’d had a baby a few months before Arcann iced her so the reunion with Andronikos and her daughter would have been really fraught and emotional in that alternate, angsty universe.

• ❄️ SNOWFLAKE - do people consider them cold? if so, what made them this way?

People who don’t know her on a personal level definitely consider her cold, but not thoughtless—she’s always scrutinizing different angles to a problem to find an advantage. Those close to her know that the coldness is mostly a front, and if she does carry it into their interactions, it’s because she’s trying to cover for something that’s actually troubling her.

• 🌪️ TORNADO - what is the biggest change you've ever made to them? how have they changed from their original version?

Ooh this is so interesting. I can’t think of anything off the top of my head but I did actually stop playing through her class story for a bit to make a sorc (before the combat style changes lol) and I thought that new character was going to be Thee Inquisitor but once I switched back to finish things up with Naya, I ended up really getting attached to her!

[werewolfoverlord12]

Shadows in Crystal Part 1: Nightmare

“Would you join us?” Ajani asked.

Seraphina blinked; she was back on Alara, in the same clearing she'd first met him at. His nieces and nephews were playing in a crystal clear lake at the center, the warm sun above. The heady scent of jungle blossoms and various greenery surrounded her. And her gaze drifted back to his outstretched hand.

She reached towards it... but stopped. Exposed, bright red flesh ran from his wrist down his arm into the darkness. As she looked up, and recoiled in horror; his skin had been peeled from his body and bone white porcelain plates decorated his desecrated flesh. Two burning red eyes focused on her and as he grinned, black ichor began to seep between his teeth.

“Seraphina,” he said, “join us. Please.”

She turned to run only for the forms of her three children to emerge from the darkness. Alistair with his father's size, strength, and wisdom; Jazal, with his father's gentleness, intuition and kind heart; and Amelia, with her father's Sky diamond blue eyes, sense of humor and sense of honor; all three now had black cabals, metallic plates and exposed flesh across their bodies.

“Join us, mother.” They said.

The point of view changed, and she was now gazing at an older version of herself; bloodied and haggard, this version of her stared with hopelessness at her children. Their gazes finally met,

“I wish I had done something sooner.” the older Seraphina whispered.

Ajani turned her to face him, before kissing her, black ichor pouring down her throat.

Seraphina sat up, the feeling of cold, black oil choking her.

“Mom!” Amelia called from the other side of her bedroom door, “Mom are you okay?”

“It's...” she cleared her hoarse throat, “it's open.” she croaked.

Her daughter opened the door and rushed over to where her mother was sitting on the edge of the bed, “I heard you shouting. What happened?”

Seraphina pressed the palms of her hands against eyes, “A warning. A nightmare. Both.”

Her daughter knelt beside the bed, “Do you want me to call one of the uncles or aunts?”

Seraphina nodded, reaching for a glass of water on the nightstand, “Yes, as many as will come.”

Amelia nodded and left the room.

Seraphina spent a few minutes catching her breath, as her eyes drifted over towards the windowsill. A small white flower sat alone in a bud vase, eternally blooming.

A flash of Ajani's gentle smile...

“I will get you back.” She whispered, “and nothing will stop me. Nothing.”

Kamigawa was the first to arrive; Seraphina's Haven Plane was located near Alara, but far from most of her family, so him arriving so soon after Amelia's call made Seraphina think he'd been already heading here.

“You're early.” Seraphina said. She thanked her daughter as she handed her a cup of hot tea, “I'm guessing you were half-way here when we called?”

He nodded; Kamigawa was dressed in the futurist ninja attire so many of the Shinobi on his plane now wore, plus the addition of an ancient white Oni mask that concealed his draconic features. He removed the mask and tied it to his belt before walking over to the hearth where Amelia was stirring a pot of soup.

“I had another nightmare. The flying city was pierced by that accursed tree like a butterfly on thorns.” He said, pouring himself a cup of tea.

“Are you sure it wasn't just a nightmare?” Seraphina asked,

“I know it wasn't. I'm guessing you had a similar experience?”

She nodded, “It was the day I met Ajani formally. Turned into my worst fear at this time.”

Kamigawa said nothing, before glancing over at the door; Naya Alara, the piece of Alara who thought of Ajani as an adoptive son, entered, followed by three other Spark Givers: Ikoria, a young woman with mammalian, reptilian and avian features and wearing clothes covered in glittering crystals; Ravnica, an androgynous figure wearing a blue suit, hooded coat and black face mask, gloves and boots; and Kaldheim, a massive bearded man covered in Tattoos, wearing a leather jacket, breeches and boots, a two-handed axe on his belt.

All looked sleep deprived and worried,

“You, too, hmm?” Seraphina asked.

They nodded,

“I saw my Snapdax being compleated as his siblings held him down; the roars of pain and fear were unbearable.” Ikoria said.

“The World Tree was burning in mine,” Kaldheim said, “compleated valkeries were hunting down in the incompleat as Koma fought his compleated brother.”

Ravnica sat down heavily, “Niv Mizzet, was trying to hold them back while the other Paruns were all turned.”

“Where's Zendikar?” Kamigawa asked.

“Outside,” Ravnica said, “they've had at least two in the past few days, maybe more.”

Seraphina sighed, “Is Dominaria here?”

“Not yet,” Amelia said, “Eldraine is going to be late, and I think a few others are coming from far away.”

Seraphina nodded, “We'll have to wait as I don't want to discuss this more than once. But in the mean time,” she raised her hand and they all felt something in the temporal makeup of the plane shift, “I've sped up time in here. One minute outside is at least six months in here, so while we're waiting, I say we have a late dinner or... early breakfast? and then rest. We're going to need it and won't get another chance for a long time.”

*******

Seraphina stepped out onto the porch; Zendikar sat a few feet from the door, leaning against the house. Made mostly of stone and vine, their face and head was made of water and fire. They glanced over and nodded to her.

She smiled at them then walked out into the wide open field of wildflowers and tall grasses in front of her home. Hands down at her sides, she let them brush against her palms as echoes of laughter floated past her on the quiet breeze. Crossing her arms, she glanced up at the sky; thick white clouds obscured any blue or sunlight. When she tried to change it to make it sunnier, the clouds grew darker.

“Weather's always been fickle with me, too.”

She glanced over as Dominaria joined her; her sister wore rust colored pants and vest and a dark shirt beneath. She had her long gray hair loose and it covered her down-turned face.

“Why's that?” Seraphina asked.

“Weather is a complex formula of heat, rain, and air. Feelings are a complex formula of hormones, emotions and coping strength. They're too similar.”

Seraphina nodded slowly and looked out towards the treeline ahead of her, “Why did you want to meet with us now, of all times?”

“To apologize.”

“We told you--” Seraphina began.

“I know! I know. But..." Dominaria paused, "Yawgmoth was terrifying as a Thran; when I saw what he'd become and knowing I was one of the reasons the Phyrexians returned? I didn't know what to do! So I hid; I tried pretending the Planeswalkers could handle this massive of a threat by themselves and I would have to do nothing. But I know they can't, and I will not be one of the reasons Phyrexia succeeds.”

Seraphina finally turned to face her, “Dominaria, I understand fear will drive us to do stupid, selfish things, and honestly, as loath as I am to admit it, I can't find fault with you fearing Yawgmoth and his abominable spawn.”

Dominaria began to speak, but Seraphina held up her hand, “That said, I won't forgive you until you prostrate yourself before your people and ask for their forgiveness.” She moved closer, “And that is after you do the same for my children, their father and any others who have been or will be Stolen.”

Dominaria nodded, “That's more than fair.” she chuckled bitterly, “For a plane as embroiled in war as mine commonly is, you'd have thought I'd have found a backbone sooner.”

Seraphina closed her eyes; she could hear the pain in her sister's voice, and knowing what kind of being her sister was, she couldn't hold onto her anger, “You're here now, aren't you?”

Dominaria looked at her and gave a wane smile, “Better late than when the multiverse is burning down, right?”

Seraphina nodded and pulled her sister into a hug, “I missed you.”

“I missed me too. I am so sorry. I really truly am.”

Seraphina pulled back and wiped her eyes, “I know you are. If you weren't, you wouldn't have had the spine to face me, even with the Phyrexian Problem.”

“Speaking of... is Urabrask really staying at Sanctuary?”

Seraphina nodded, “He's been Deprocessed and is using what he knows to help us translate any information we come across.”

“Deprocessed.” Dominaria said, “I've heard many of the Sleeper Agents were vanishing from my Plane. I assume they're at Sanctuary?”

Seraphina nodded, “For now. We want to return them home... but fear what their communities might do to them.”

They both glanced over at a popping sound as Eldraine, a tall, high cheek-boned woman with bronze skin and long, platinum hair in full plate armor, a sword at her side, appeared in the field. She shook her head,

“Time manipulation? Really sister? Was this 'Emergency' really that important?” She asked.

Seraphina snapped her fingers and Eldraine sank waist deep in mud, “I can manipulate other things too. Remember, you're on my plane and I'm inviting you into my home to help curve a disastrous possible end to yours.”

Eldraine blinked, her mouth open in shock, before nodding, “Sorry.”

Seraphina snapped her fingers and Eldraine rose back out of the ground, armor pristine, “Everyone here has had multiple Warning Dreams in the past few days. I changed the time so we can rest. If you would like, I can extend the time once the others get here.”

Eldraine took a step back, “I'd heard rumors about your husband; I take it they were true?”

“Unfortunately, they are. And I'm in no mood to deal with your attitude when the ONE person in this existence who can make me stand you isn't here.” Seraphina said.

Eldraine nodded, “Understood. Some of the others have sent me ahead to find out what we're planning. I imagine there's going to be a lot of that, considering how vast the Blind Eternities are.”

“Fine. Come inside, get warm, get something to eat and drink, and then let's discuss how to shove that tree down Elesh Norn's throat.” Seraphina said.

[quasisuspect]

First of all, I hope that wherever you are in life you're healthy and as happy as you can be. I also must confess that I did reactivate my tumblr account from eight years ago to send this message.

In high school, I used to read your Glee fanfics at night alone in my room when I was so far in the closet that I was eating fucking Turkish delight in Narnia. Those stories breathed life into me and unraveled a beautifully complicated and seemingly unattainable fantasy where two women can be together romantically. Granted Santana and Quinn did have a hard time staying together, but you get my point.

I used to get butterflies in my stomach when I saw that there was a new chapter update, not only because I got to crawl away into a queer world, but because the creation of this world was done so carefully and artfully. The complexity of LIALTHI and IBYM are impressive and exhilarating, it was better than watching a thrilling movie. While much of the thrill was the queer representation--if it can really be called "representation," when it was simply was just the queerNESS--but the writing and storylines were beautifully crafted while both heartwarming and heartbreaking. I felt like I experienced every emotion outlined in the text on screen of my iPhone 3 before I panically cleared my browsing history out of fear someone might discover my sins.

You didn't ask, but don't worry, things got better. I'm out and have worked through plenty of internalized homophobia. Even in a healthy gal pal relationship. Glad I didn't place bets on how my future would pan out when I was that sad sack in high school because I'd have lost a lot of money.

I recently reread LIALTHI and IBYM , they were wonderful again as I expected. And while we've come a long way in access to queer storylines and leading characters and shows, I can't seem to stop thinking about Quinn and Santana's story in this series. I'm left a little hollow thinking about them swimming around in the abyss, unfinished, unrequited, undeserving of being left on the precipice.

Let me be clear, this is NOT me shaming you for not finishing the story. These characters are creations of your brain and they don't "deserve" anything. You did unpaid labor that probably benefited thousands of people, and for that you should not feel bad about dropping off. This was meant to more be a "thank you" for creating this world. And while I'm sad the world now exists in a plane that doesn't intersect with our own, I'm better off for crossing through it for the time that I could. Sometimes I like to think that unfinished stories go off into space and finish themselves (wanky) purely for their own benefit.

Like many, I was devastated about Naya's death. I felt like she played a character I knew in so many other ways, from so many other non-canon stories, and now they were all lost. I thought I would feel queasy reading anything in this world again, but it felt like coming home to friends. To friends who were there for me when I needed them most. And who I'm still invested in after all this time.

Now I know I just (genuinely!!) said I feel no type of frustration or sense of injustice that you didn't finish the story, because you're a person who has a real life that exists outside of fanfiction.net. And I can't emphasize enough how that is far more important. However I would low key pay you to finish lol. Kidding, not really, name your price, jk... :)

Anyway. Thank you for giving so many extra layers to these characters and for serving a community with your creative mind. It was special for me to be able to go back and read one of my favorite stories. Again, I truly hope you are out there living a life you love. Stay well xx

Whew,

This is a such a gift of a message. I wish I could ping you in some way, Anon, to tell you that I've finally responded to this.

Love the Narnia reference. The wanky one later as well.

Writing fanfiction really helped me. I had been "out" for years before I started writing but my imagination when it came to queerness really expanded when I began writing and engaging with the community here.

I want you to know that they got a happy ending. That was the only plan ever for me. They are healthy (working more towards whatever that is bit by bit) and happy together.

Feel free to message me off anon and we can discuss the things I had planned or how happy you are with your gal pal. I am happy for you and I am fucking proud of you.

[gravesung]

It’s midnight, and Keon is still in the music room. He plinks away at the piano keys in a steady, mournful melody, but his thoughts are far away from the instrument. 

When a knock sounds at the door, he doesn’t stop playing. He pretends he doesn’t hear it. Everyone who lives here knows that when Keon is in the music room, he is not to be bothered, and if it were an emergency, he knows his housemates would simply barge in or call his name. They’ve all established their boundaries well enough by now, thank goodness, and he has no intention of conversing with anyone until the melancholy has left him. He is the patriarch of this found family — they cannot see him weak.

The knock comes again. It isn’t insistent; it isn’t loud. Keon’s hands lift from the keys, an irritated vein twitching in his temple, as someone walks in without any invitation at all. Even before he steps into the room, Keon knows who he is by the smell alone: brine, sea wind, gravedirt. 

Peter Lukas stands by the door and gives Keon a smile that holds very little depth. A customer service smile. A distant smile, like a lighthouse so far in the distance you can barely make it out through the mist. Keon avoids shooting back a glare. Lukas was one of the few members of the company board that stuck with him after his father died, rather than jumping ship in anticipation of stocks crashing. His assistance, unfortunately, has been invaluable, and he has never once been unpleasant, in all of Keon’s years working with his father and the company.

That being said, he never got a key to the house. Somehow, that doesn’t matter to Keon in the moment. 

“Mr. Lukas,” he says, standing from his seat. Lukas waves a dismissing hand, gives him a chuckle. 

“Peter, please, Keon. It’s been some time. How have you been? Bad, I assume.”

“Bad,” echoes Keon, dryly. “Well, somethings never change. You certainly know how to cut to the chase.”

“I think you know as well as I do that pleasantries are all well and good, until you don’t need them anymore.” His chipper London-accented voice does nothing to cut through the silence. Paradoxically, Lukas being in the room with him makes him feel more isolated than being alone. The voices from downstairs have completely vanished; a wisp of fog rolls under the music room door.

Perhaps everyone is out together. Keon looks down at his hands where they hover over the keys. “To what do I owe this pleasure, Mr. Lukas? Everything alright with the company?”

“Everything’s fine. Personal call, I’m afraid.”

“Really. What could possibly —“

“You know you’re hurting them?” No downturn in his upbeat, matter-of-fact tone, like he’s recommending a nice bar for after-work drinks. 

Keon starts. His eyes fly up to meet Lukas’s, then immediately turn away, because the man’s gaze is iceberg blue, and looking into them puts Keon in the open ocean with no land in sight. He tries to shake off the chill, but it clings to his arms, clings in gray wisps and misty tendrils. Fog around his feet, around the piano, pooling over the marble floor. 

The strangeness of the situation does not occur to him. What does, immediately, is the answer to the question. “Yes,” he murmurs. 

“I assume you plan on doing something about it. You’ve always been one to act, haven’t you, Keon?”

“I—“ His words catch. Keon lowers the piano lid. 

“Your family is gone. You’ve created quite the gaggle of a new one, though. And then, one by one, they started to get hurt. The common denominator really isn’t hard to figure out.”

Naya’s screams, echoing through the portal, finding him in his half-dreamstate as she writhed from a burn by his hand. Fahey’s screams, too, as a virus burned them from the inside out. Casimir, cowering and alone in the basement, because of his father, because of him. The ritual: every injury Naya and the others suffered, every mote of agony they’ve endured because of him, because of him. Because they cared. 

“Yes,” Peter says. “It’s rather too late to fix any of that, I’m afraid. But you can easily prevent any more of it.”

“They need me.“ He responds too fast. His voice is desperate, even to his own ears.

“Do they?”

“We’ve come so far —“

“To do what, Keon?” Peter’s voice remains calm, steady. Just friendly enough. “Now, I’m only viewing the facts of the situation and guiding you toward a rational judgement. I know you appreciate that. Here — a visual, if it helps.” 

There’s a hand on his shoulder, cold, firm. It isn’t the hand of another person. Keon closes his eyes and sees Baz and Naya sitting in the library, laughing over a book that amuses them. He sees Fahey lope in and drape their arms over the back of Naya’s chair, Brekker stretch out his bad knee by the fire. He sees Pashar, perusing the shelves, chatting idly with the others. He isn’t there, and it’s better. The scene dissolves. A yawning cavern in the catacombs builds itself around him, the faceless members of Vox Obscura surrounding Keon with knives and magic and guns. He stands alone, but he knows he can fight them — or, at least, he can give it a good try. The scene dissolves again. Keon is back in the music room now, and he hears faint voices echoing very, very far away, as if the house is three times as big and his friends are on the other end. “It’s easy,” Lukas says, removing his hand from Keon’s shoulder, “in a house this massive. Keeping them safe shouldn’t be much of an issue, now, should it? You did it for two years. All you need to do is remember yourself, pick up the slack. Follow the fog, if it helps. Should provide some assistance.”

Keon turns his head downwards, only slightly, so that the sliver of his cheekbone is visible to Lukas. “You… whatever you are, Lukas. Can you promise me it will help them?”

The old man shrugs. Muffled sunlight catches his stark-white beard. “Is a promise really going to change your mind one way or another? I can promise to make it a bit easier to keep it up, if they get a bit too inquisitive. If that’s any help.”

Keon says nothing, his eyes trailing to the corner that the Collector disrupted during their last visit: Kimber’s things, covered in dust, her crayons and her drawings. The remnants of a girl whose memory he can’t erase. “She’s gone, Keon,” the captain says. For the first time, there seems to be a facsimile of sympathy in his soft voice. It only makes him feel more hollow. “Her and your mother both. But you have their memory, no? You can’t exactly harm the dead by caring for them.” He’s right. Keon knows he’s right. “I … should have separated myself long ago,” he murmurs. 

“That’s the spirit.” 

“What should —“

“You know what to do.” Lukas taps his hat with a finger. “As I said. You did it for two years. And don’t worry. It won’t be nearly so difficult once you get used to being alone.”

He wants to ask more questions. He wants to, but he knows, deep down, that the only reason to do so would be to keep Lukas in the room, and. Well. That would be antithetical to what the man is proposing. “What if they need me?” he asks, but his voice is weak and small. 

“I think you know as well as I do the answer to that, Keon.” Calm, steady. Factual. They don’t. He looks up from the keys, but Lukas is gone. All that remains is the room, the crayons, the dust, the fog — and the hollow thing in his chest that aches and aches and aches.

[riddikulus-writings]

Born To Run

FRISAL; 3ABY

DAY 3; Late Afternoon

“I think he’s fucking following us.”

Anaya’s tension made Cal bristle, “I don’t doubt that.”

“Why?” Anaya’s hiss was prominent in his ear. She hooked their elbows together and pulled him closer – pulled him down to her level, “Stop here, let me pretend to window shop. Is he still back there?”

Cal stopped with her outside a clothing shop. While she was eyeing up a decent looking men’s outfit – saying something about how he would look in it – Cal made casual work of scanning the busy street. Dusk was setting, the street lamps beginning to light themselves as the sky melted from pink to deep purple.

Sure enough, a few shops to the right on the opposite side of the street stood Javal, wearing something that looked like a pajama set, “Naya, I think he’s in his pajamas.”

“Well shit, if I knew it was socially acceptable, I would’ve been, too,” she snorted, following where Cal was looking, “This pair of shorts aren’t my favorite, they don’t have front pockets. I like the other ones better.”

The black shorts she had on now hugged her better than the blue ones from yesterday, but they indeed did not have front pockets; he’d been listening to her fret about that all day, “Naya, focus. We’re being followed.”

“Slice him to bits and be done with it,” she said it so simply as she tugged his elbow.

“Naya, I can’t just slice him to bits. We’re in public”

“Oh, so now you want to play the waiting game? Let’s go get something to eat, I’m starving.”

They’d been able to get a table in the back with a full view of the rest of the restaurant [and Cal silently thanked himself for leaving the droids at Anaya’s apartment that day]. Their conversations were sparse as they ate, keeping more focus on watching the door, instead. Her aura was distracting, to say the least; fluctuating between a soft, dark green and a green so dark it was damn near black; no matter how many times she closed her eyes to collect her feelings, the fear was always creeping around the edges.

“Think he’ll follow us here?”

“I hope not.” Cal took a drink from his wine glass – the glass that Anaya insisted he have.

She took a gulp from hers too, making a face as she swallowed, “As far as I know, he’s a pretty respectable man. Whatever he wants, he won’t make a scene of it in a busy eatery. He can follow, but he has to be civilized about it at least.”

“I guess that’s a slight improvement.”

“And that’s why my ideas are good.” she beamed at him.

“How are we going to… y’know,” Cal glanced around, making sure none of the surrounding tables seemed interested in them – they weren’t, “Deal with him?”

“Give it time, Kestis,” her tone was almost admonishing as Anaya busied herself with… fluttering her eyelashes at him…? “Not everything is a two-day-deal. Do as I’ve been doing; trail him, find his patterns. Maybe you’ll find something I’ve missed and find a better window than I’ve been able to. Short of busting into his house in the middle of the night, the man is almost never alone.”

Cal bit off the end of a breadstick, “He needs to be gone.”

“And I need to be dicked down,” she muttered it to herself – just barely audible in the way she does whenever she makes a lewd comment – but then met her gaze with Cal’s as if he hadn’t just heard her say that, “He needs to do something where we can get at hiiiiiii–” she cut off and changed to a drawn out greeting, her entire expression changing as she looked over Cal’s shoulder.

He did a double take and followed her gaze to find Kolphi standing directly behind him, “Evening.” Cal’s greeting was far more cool and collected than he felt.

“Evening,” Javal’s smile was predator-like, despite having an overall kind appearance and soft-spoken voice, “Mind if I join you guys?”

Cal turned back to face Anaya, making a face at her that hopefully screamed no way in hell to her. She quirked a quick eyebrow back at him; can’t avoid it, “Yes, of course,” she smiled warmly at Javal and motioned for him to drag a chair from a nearby table.

He did, and Javal sat and folded his hands on the tabletop, “I’ve seen you around a lot lately, are you new?”

“I am not, no,” Anaya shook her head, chewing through a mouthful of her dinner, “I’ve lived here a few months already.”

Shit, he’s noticed Anaya trailing him, “I’m new to town,” Cal chimed in, “My lovely–” he hesitated. Cleared his throat, trying to think, “--wife, here, has been showing me around the last couple days. It’s most likely why you’ve seen her out and about.”

Kolphi smiled – legitimately gave Cal a warm, welcoming smile – and offered his hand, “Welcome to Frisal! I’m Kolphi Javal. And you are?”

Cal shook his hand, trying to think of a quick alibi, “Jaxskyl Windral. I’ve been on Japeal the last few months, away on business. I’m glad to finally be back with my love.” he flashed his new wife a big, toothy grin from across the table.

Fuck. He was really hoping Anaya wasn’t upset that they were married now.

“Congrats to the both of you,” Kolphi nodded at them, “Mrs. Windral, you are absolutely beautiful, your husband is a lucky man.”

“Miss Valena Duvessa, actually,” she corrected lightly, pouring Kolphi his own glass of wine, “We’re not quite married, yet. A few more months. Jax just gets ahead of himself. He’s excited, is all. But thank you, I think I’ve caught quite the man, myself.”

Kolphi accepted the wine and raised his glass, “A toast to the soon-to-be newlyweds, then.” Cal raised his glass in unison with Anaya. The three of them tapped their glasses together and each glass was quickly drained just as fast. When the three of them lowered, Kolphi wiped his chin off with a napkin, “My wife, Iavys, wishes to take our son out on the water tomorrow afternoon. It’s one of Orron’s favourite family activities. Why don’t the two of you come along? We can show Jax the true beauty of Frisal,” Kolphi half laughed, nudging Anaya with his elbow.

She laughed along with him, “The city is truly beautiful, especially at night. The brick walkways are such a nice touch. Easy on the feet, too.”

“I love seeing the street lanterns lit up in the evenings,” Javal told her, “Especially when you see the skyline from the water. The two of you absolutely need to come out tomorrow.”

Cal nodded, “We accept, thank you Mr. Javal.”

“Please,” he began standing, “Call me Kolphi. Mr. Javal was my father, may he rest in peace.”

“Thank you for your kind invitation, Kolphi,” Anaya stood, too – she almost stood taller than Javal – and reached her arms out to him, embracing him in a half hug. She gave Cal a desperate help me look over the man’s shoulder, “Bright and early in the morning, meet out at the docks?”

“Absolutely,” Kolphi agreed.

Cal stood, now, too, and reached to shake Javal’s hand, again, “Thank you, Kolphi. We look forward to spending the day with you and your family.”

They bid him goodnight outside the doors of the restaurant and they went their separate ways. Once they knew they were out of earshot, Cal let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding, “Shit, what just happened?”

Anaya blew a raspberry, “I’m not sure, but I guess I’ve got a fiance, now.”

Cal’s ears turned as red as his hair, “About that, I am so sorry–”

“Don’t be,” she hooked her elbow through his, “I think this is going to be fun. Good preparation for if your sorry ass ever finds a woman.”

Painfully, Cal remembered Merrin, “I’ll have you know that I’ve dipped my toes in the dating pool, thank you very much.”

Anaya placed a hand over her heart, “You’ve been cheating on me? How dare you. I can’t believe you, Jax.”

“Oh, be quiet,” he bumped his hip into hers, “I’m sure you’ve been just as unfaithful these past few years.”

“Not really,” she fell into seriousness again, leading him blindly through the streets, “Kind of hard to dip your toes in the dating pool, as you put it, when you’re busy as all get-up with the Rebellion. Now that we’ve kind of won the war a bit, though, maybe I can get out there.”

“Back to cheating on me, I see.”

“If you get a freebie, so do I,” she declared, “Now c’mon, the droids are probably wondering what’s taking us so long.”