#what's interesting is that I'm sure some people wouldn't even look twice as her

[vole-mon-amour]

the genuine smile a woman gives to another woman when she compliments her with no gain or/and sexual subtext. 🥰🥹

[eternalxvenus]

⇢ ˗ˏˋ broken promises pt. 3 ࿐ྂ

summary: Rafe promised to take you out and spend your birthday with you, but you don’t hear from him all day and then suddenly he shows up at your door trying to explain.

wc: 1.4k

notes: part three out in less than 24hrs?!? who would've thought

previous chapters: part 1 | part 2

Topper: hey we need to talk, it's about Rafe.

Your heartbeat started to pick up, but you weren't sure why. Topper didn't say it was anything bad, but you knew realistically he wouldn't be texting you unless it was.

You: hey Top, what's going on?

Topper: are you busy? can I swing by?

You: i'm on the mainland right now, can you tell me over text? i'm worried

Topper: yeah... so I don't know if you know but Rafe went to Kelce's party a couple days ago.

You: yeah I know

The sinking feeling in your chest lifts a little. You figured Topper was going to tell you Rafe had been doing coke since he knew Rafe was supposed to quit.

Topper: while he was there he started doing lines off the table. then a little later he started making out with Sofia. i'm not sure how far it went

You stared at the message for what felt like forever. Then a video pops up in the chat, so you click play.

There are some random people doing lines, but then in the back corner, you can see Rafe and his ex-girlfriend Sofia practically trying to eat each other's faces. You couldn't seem to find the energy to be sad about it. You felt almost indifferent but shocked at the same time.

You: thanks for letting me know Top

Topper: of course and just know you don't deserve that.

You click out of your messages and before you can think twice, your phone is ringing, waiting for your call to be picked up.

"Hello?" Rafe's voice came in through the speakers. He sounded tired but not like he had been asleep.

"Rafe. I'm going to ask you something, and I want you to tell me the truth." 

"Okay... what is it?"

There was silence as you took a deep breath. Your voice was smooth and calm as you asked, "Did you cheat on me?"

You heard shuffling on the other end of the line. "What?"

"Did you cheat on me, Rafe?"

"No, I didn't cheat on you. What is going on?" He sounded baffled by your question.

"Don't fucking lie to me, Rafe! I saw the video," You tried to keep your voice low since your parents were probably asleep.

"Baby what are you talking about I'm not lying! I didn't cheat on you. You know what, I'm coming to the mainland. I'll be over there soon." 

He ended the call before you could tell him not to bother. The last thing you wanted to see was his stupid face, knowing his lips were all over Sofia's, and God knows what else they did. 

At the beginning of your relationship you were really insecure because of his history with Sofia but Rafe always assured you that he wasn’t interested in her anymore. You laid in bed staring at the ceiling while the video played over and over in your head. All you could wonder was what made your relationship with Rafe go left so quickly. You felt like crying and punching Rafe all at once. He made you feel so much at one time it could be so overwhelming.

⭑*•̩̩͙⊱✩•̩̩͙⊰•*⭑

Your phone chimed a while later with a text from Rafe saying 'I'm here. Please let me in so we can talk.’

With a sigh you begrudgingly made your way downstairs and to the front door. When you opened it Rafe was standing there with a tired yet worried look on his face.

"Can I please-"

You put a finger up to your lips. "Shh. You'll wake up my parents." You let him inside and signaled him to follow you into your room. Before you can close the door fully, Rafe starts asking questions. "Why do you think I cheated on you? What video are you talking about?"

"Rafe, I saw a video of you sucking face with Sofia at Kelce's party. Did you fuck her too? Is that why you didn't text me all day?"

Rafe was looking at you like you'd grown two heads. "I am so fucking lost right now. I don't even think I saw Sofia at the party!"

You pull up the video and show it to Rafe. He watches it a few times before sitting on your bed with a sigh, dragging his hands over his face. You watch him with your arms crossed, waiting to see what he'll say. Rafe then pulls his phone out of his pocket, pulling something up.

"Look, this is a picture taken the day of the party." He shows you a random photo that was taken of him and Kelce, also displaying the date on it.

"So what?"

Rafe grabs your phone going back to the video and zooming in on the spot where he is seen kissing Sofia. "My outfit isn't the same in the video. It's an old video from when we were together."

Looking at both the phones you realize that he's right. "Oh... well why would Topper send me this if it's old?" You question out loud

"Wait a minute, Topper sent you this?"

"Yeah he texted me earlier saying we needed to talk but I told him I was on the mainland." You show Rafe the texts from Topper and he's seething.

"I could kill that son of bitch!" He shouted, and you had to cover his mouth, reminding him your parents were asleep. You sat on the bed looking at him, now you were the one who was confused so you decided to flat-out ask him what was going on.

"When you weren't talking to me I had told Kelce and Topper what was going on and he was the one who convinced me you didn't wanna be with me anymore. You were ignoring my calls and everything so he said I should just forget about you and not make things worse." Suddenly Rafe was on his knees with his hands on your hips.

"Baby listen, I know that I can be a major fuck up sometimes and that I don't have the best way of dealing with stress and everything but I would never cheat on you. I'm sorry about y'know, the coke and your birthday and everything else that I've ever done wrong, but I hope you realize that I love you so fucking much. You mean the world to me, and I don't wanna lose you." You stared at him with wide eyes as tears started to fall down his cheeks and brought up your hand to gently wipe them away. "So if you still want space, I'll give it to you. But I know I'm ready to change and make everything up to you."

You leaned down to place a soft kiss on his lips. You definitely weren't expecting him to pour everything out like that. "I love you too, and I don't want you to think I'm ever judging you or being a hardass. I just worry about you. If something ever happened to you..." you sighed, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"I promise not to make you worry." Rafe stood up and kissed you hard while cradling your face. He tried to leave to give you space, but you insisted he'd stay and said you'd head back to the OBX tomorrow. Rafe wanted to talk to Topper in person, which you didn't see going well, but you'd worry about it tomorrow.

You gave him plenty of blankets and pillows since he didn't want to take up so much space in your twin bed and chose to sleep on the floor. Once you'd gotten under your blankets, sleep whisked you away. 

Rafe, on the other hand, could barely get his mind to calm down. He was fucking enraged with Topper for trying to pull some bullshit like that. Rafe should've known he was a snake. He noticed the way Topper's eyes would linger on you or how his hugs went on for a little too long. But Rafe didn't think Topper was stupid enough to try and break you two up.

Now that he had finally cleared everything up with you, he wasn't worried. Rafe was going to take care of Topper as soon as he got back to OBX. He'll make sure to get the point across that nobody fucks with his girl and his relationship.

part 4

likes, comments, and blogs are greatly appreciated!

taglist: @readingsmuts @1aarii1 @bingbongbum @stargirlsturniololover @babygirl229 @poisonedsultana @rafescamshoe @devils-blackrose @spiderflunk @quicksilversg1rl

[lokideservesahug]

Bound to falling in love

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Mick Schumacher x reader Soulmate AU

Warnings: None that I can see?

Notes: Unsurprisingly this won the vote. But I hope you like it :)

Summary: Mick Schumacher has been extremelyprivate with how soulmark his whole life. But what happens when the interest does ehat its best at, snooping. Well Mick Schumacher might just finally meet the celebrity that he doesn't at all have a tiny crush on...

-°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°--°•°•°•°•--•°•°•°•°-

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Yourusername

Yourusername: WE ARE SO BACK BABY!!🖤🖤 Mercedes CCH 2024 Incoming (I'm delusional)

Liked by Mickschumacher, Lewishamilton and 756,986 others

View all 533 comments

User1: I knew Y/N was an F1 girlie but I didn't know she was a Mercedes girl🤔

↳Yourusername: Have been for ever🖤

User2: Y/N is like me fr eith that caption

↳User3: Fr though😭 Like wdym 2nd place in sprint doesn't mean Lewis will get his 8th!?

↳Yourusername: Maybe he performed so well just to improve his ex-husband

↳User4: LMAO Poor Nico

Lewishamilton: Glad to see your support lies in the right place💪

↳Yourusername: OH my gosh. Sir Lewis Hamilton. It is an honour to speak to you

↳Lewishamilton: Maybe you should come to the Mercedes garage some time. I think certain people would love your company👀

↳User5: I think he just killed Y/N

↳User6: Wa she talking about himself or someone else. George perhaps? I'M so nosy!!!

↳User7: Well Mick is in the likes so that's where my money is...

↳User8: Sure grandma, the mkst soul ate obsessed obsessed In existence is caught up over Y/N...

↳User7: I mean it is Y/N Y/L/N

↳User8: True...

User9: Mick being in the likes👀

↳User10: Meh even if he does have a thing for Y/N, he'll still stick to his soulmate like he has done for decades.

↳User11: Hear me out, Y/N is his soulmate...

↳User10: Girl actualy shut up

↳User11: Just look at that twitter thread

↳User10: Hmmm interesting. It looks like it could be possible but the chances are 0.001% of it being her. Just because one user recognised it doesn't mean it's her

User12: Is anyone else really confused by all this talk of the twitter thread and that "one reply"

Liked by Yourusername

↳User13: basically people are trying to find out who Mick's soulmate is and currently people think it's Y/N

↳User12: OH... how random

↳User13: Yeah but tell me they wouldn't make the perfect couple...

Liked by Yourusername

↳User14: Y/N liking this comment + its replies twice is wild and shows she's as curious as us...

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Mick's phone

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Your phone | Mick's | Your phone

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

Yourusername

Yourusername: This guy wouldn't leave me alone in Italy. He says he's in the family business of driving cars or smt

Liked by Mickschumacher, Lewishamilton and 1,023,987 others

View all 674 comments

User1: NO WAY.... DOES THIS MEAN WHAT I THINK IT DOES

↳User2: Girl probably? Hopefully? Idk?

User3: We don't need confirmation now...but also we so do!!!

User4: Awww they really are perfect for each other!🥺🥰

Liked by Mickschumacher, Yourusername

Lewishamilton: Glad you two finally found the time to go on a proper date rather than letting Mick ogle you all day!

↳Mickschumacher: Thanks for that man...

↳Yourusername: Aww Micky, you stare at me all the time?

↳Mickschumacher: How can I not Schatz, you're the most gorgeous person in the whole world❤❤❤

↳Estabanocon: How sweet 🤢

↳Mickschumacher: Aww just let me be in love this once.

User5: Ugh he's so bf coded

Liked by Yourusername

↳User6: I SEE YOU LURKING Y/N

User7: did you guys see Mick say love? Ooh is this a new word added to the equation or....

Liked by yourusername

☆-☆-☆-☆-☆

New story from Mickschumacher

(My darling, my soulmate. Finally all mine to love)

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Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it.

As always, likes, reblogs and especially feedback is always welcome!

Taglist:@nikfigueiredo @mysoulispainted @leclercings @d3kstar @hiireadstuff @a-beaverhausen @nichmeddar @lozzamez3 @stinkyjax @marymustdie @littlesatanicassholebitch @mehrmonga @insanedeathwish @ems-alexandra @a-disturbing-self-reflection @cherry-piee

[moongothic]

You know I was wondering if Crocodile ever did have any kind of involvement with the Revolutionary Army in secret (lest the Government finds out and revokes his Shichibukai status), what kind of involvement would that even have been

And now, with both the Vegapunk/Ohara flashback and Kuma's flashback, it's being made very clear to us that the Revolutionary Army was broke as hell 22 years ago. Like the fact that this has been brought up twice now in a relatively short span of time is interesting to me, that's usually a sign it's not an unimportant plotpoint

But you know who would have had money to help fund the Army

A funny little warlord who would eventually go and build a fucking casino to run for funsies. A warlord who had to give the Government some of his Pirating Income to keep his warlord-status

Like Crocodile hated the Government anyways so why not help fund the Revolutionary Army in secret, out of spite if for no other reason

Vaguely related, but I keep on remembering this scene (post-Enies Lobby), which at first glance just seems like a basic Lore Dump

But then there's the

"Yet..."

(Or "however", she says "no ni" in Japanese and you could translate that in many ways, I would probably have gone with "however" but that wouldn't have fit into the speechbubble)

Mind you, the conversation just kind of ends there, next we see Garp realize he probably shouldn't have mentioned Dragon infront of such a massive audience, so wherever that "yet" was going to lead to we will never find out, because Oda conveniently changed the subject before we got to it

And you know. Like yes, Robin could be just expressing her shock over finding out that the leader of the Revolutionary Army had a child with someone

But also, Robin was a part of an organization that was trying to overthrow one of the founding countries of the World Government in an explicit attempt to go against said Government (compared to like, Blackbeard, who currently wants to make Fullalead into a "pirate country" that's a part OF the World Government)

Like you don't have to be a genius to look at Crocodile's ultimate goals and compare that to what Dragon is doing and find a few similarities here and there maybe

(Also like, Crocodile's equivalent in Romancing SaGa 2 is meant to be Wagnas, the queer-coded leader of the Seven Heroes (whom the OG Shichibukai are based on) who "hoped to help the world". You know, an interesting detail and all.)

Not to mention, during the time Robin spent with Baroque Works, if Crocodile was ever in contact with the Revolutionary Army at all, considdering she has the ability to easily spy on people and that she didn't trust Crocodile one bit, it wouldn't be unsurprising if she ever spied on Crocodile and/or just overheard a phone call or knew about Crocodile having secret spending habits or something

(Mind you, I'm not saying "she knew" Crocodile was involved with the Revolutionaries, more that she might've been Suspecting Things, that "yet" being about her connecting the dots while unsure if her conclusion was right or not)

Of course Crocodile's plans can't have been Dragon Approved by any means, especially considdering the Army had been looking for Robin for over 10 years (pre-timeskip)

Four years of which were with Crocodile. Like if he was FULLY allied with the Army and KNEW they were looking for Robin, surely he would've called Dragon and been like "hey I found the kid from Ohara, wanna come hang out" or something. But no, he had bigger plans and kept Robin a secret from the Revolutionaries and the Government alike

Also like, I have seen people question why the Revolutionaries weren't involved with Alabasta's rebellion at all, and "Oda hadn't come up with the Revolutionaries yet at the time of writing" (/"OP was meant to end at Alabasta at one point so there would've been no reason to introduce the subplot at that point") aside Between Baroque Works being a secret organization working undercover (thus the Army might not have been aware of the civil war being manufactured), the framing of the King making him look bad and very much the type of monarch that deserved to be overthrown in the Army's eyes, and Crocodile maybe lying through his teeth about what was happening in the country... Yeah, the Army's lack of involvement with Alabasta suddenly makes sense

EDIT Minor addition: Just realized that because Crocodile was technically working for the Government, if the Revs ever did send forces to participate in Alabasta's civil army and taking down the throne, the Government could've easily ordered Crocodile to step in to stop the rebellion and take down the Revolutionaries, right? Because he was supposed to be on the Government's side, right? And surely the Army wouldn't have wanted to fight against Crocodile if they were secretly allied (Croc's secret betrayal aside), and if Crocodile refused to fight the Revs the Government could've seen that as a reason to revoke his Shichibukai rights (which wouldn't be great if they wanted to keep Crocodile in a position where he could fund the Army?). So it could've also been a case of it being for the best for everyone's sake to let this one play out "naturally"

But my point is

I'm just deeply intriqued by these little details and wonder if I'm Actually Masterfully Connecting The Dots Like a True Genius or just seeing a pattern where there's none. Like this is far from confirming the theory, I'm just saying, the pieces do kinda fit together do they not

[accirax]

Disventure Camp All Stars Power Ranking (Round 19)

The finale begins!

In case you haven't seen my previous power rankings, the Power Ranking Format is essentially a way of ranking how well each player is doing in the game. So, in essence, this is a long form way of predicting who I think will be eliminated from the competition in the next episode. There will be spoilers for last week's episode (obviously) and its power ranking, so make sure to read that first if you don't want to be spoiled on how I ranked our last boot. If you want more clarification on the rules, that first post will help you out as well. Furthermore, I'm going to be spoiling the preview for next episode, so if you want to go in TOTALLY blind, save this for later. Let's go!

Recap - The Motel Episode

Current Score: 76 acquired/113 total

(Points versus @venus-is-thinking: 27 acquired/38 total)

Bench Points: 8/10 (so far)

(Note: Scoring for Fiore, James, and Yul was taken from the Motel episode. Scoring for Tom, Aiden, Lake, Connor, and Miriam are taken from the preview.)

Well, that was... not what I expected! I mean, all of the character dynamics and fun banter I mostly expected-- other than that one last shot at some Yul depth-- but the setup for the three finale helpers being chosen by a first-dibs challenge was not. And, even if I knew that that was going to happen, I probably wouldn't have guessed that Fiore, James, and Yul would be chosen as the helpers to Ally, Jake, and Riya. I look forward to seeing those unexpected pairings gain more focus in the finale.

Yeah, I think that pretty much everything else I had to say, I covered in my initial thoughts. There's less to talk about here when no one was actually eliminated. So, let's look at the trailer!

Trailer Analysis

Looks like Emily will literally have to drag Trevor into being complicit kicking and screaming. Surely Derek and Trevor won't have a misunderstanding this episode that is resolved romantically in the last episode, right?

I'm guessing that Ally and Jake are practicing here? Notably, it appears that Jake wins the practice race. I'm sure that won't get in Ally's head.

Ooh, are they doing the Survivor-style finalists' breakfast this season?

Is this one of their letters from home? Why is Jake smiling while reading it? Out of the two of them, I would guess it's probably Riya's letter, but it could also be a surprise Connor's letter or something.

We're back in the mines from Season 1! Some bonus trauma for Jake, as that challenge occurred in the episode where Ellie berated him before he got eliminated.

I guess maybe they have to mine/dig for clues?

Despite the two seemingly getting along while eating breakfast, Ally will still sabotage Jake's team via giving James a rock to the face. Maybe that'll make James think twice about emotionally supporting Ally. (/j)

So, Emily's act of sabotage (for this episode at least) is releasing the scorpions onto the campers in the midst of an otherwise peaceful challenge. Hooray for murdering people...?

First of all, Jake needs to stop engaging in long jumps where he barely makes it to the other side. Secondly, this is probably the same gap that we see Riya putting a bridge over multiple times in the trailer, which may imply that Jake and James reach this area before Riya and Yul.

Of course, everyone is going to wind up in the same tunnel at the same point in time anyways.

This is interesting because, in the last shot, Riya was in the front of the pack. But now, she's throwing a rock at Ally, who's ahead of her. I wonder which scene happens first.

"C'mon, everyone! Let's do the Jake cheer we've been practicing!" "One, two, three, four! Gooooooo--" "And, that's enough of that! Here come our finalists!"

James looking so dead inside while doing the cheer has me dead. Based on this, I'm guessing that Ally will have Hunter, Tess, Grett, Gabby, and Ellie, as well as picking up Alec, who's there to support Fiore. That would leave Jake and Ally with even benches, and Riya with no one other than a mandatory Yul. I feel really bad for Ally, though, given that Jake picked up both Ashley and Connor. It makes sense why both of them would pick Jake (they befriended him first), but I hope she doesn't take it too hard.

Power Ranking

I don't even think anyone is getting voted out this episode, so I'll keep this formality relatively quick.

#1: Jake

Jake is still my winner pick, as he has been for a while, and nothing other than his elimination is going to change that. Going up against Ally + Fiore and Riya + Yul is a stellar combo for Jake, because no way ONC wants Fiore or Yul to actually get their hands on any money. The only mildly confusing thing is that James would wind up winning money from the show again (despite being the first boot, even), but I have half a mind to believe that he'll just donate that money to Ally anyways.

I think that James is here to be an audience insert. Having barely participated in the game at all, James is still of the belief that Jake is exactly the same as he was at the end of Season 1, no matter what Aiden tries to tell him. By being someone who had no faith in Jake who learns over the course of the finale that Jake truly did become a more thoughtful and responsible guy, ONC will use a character that the audience loves to prove why they too should root for Jake's victory. They want to prove to the nonbelievers that Jake has improved, through him mending his relationship with his first DCAS burn. Or at least, that's how I see it, as a Jake winner truther since the beginning of the merge.

#2: Ally

While an Ally/Riya finale feels basically impossible to me, a Jake/Riya finale is plausible. Offputting, but plausible.

Ally has been in the strange position of being rootable but unlikeable for most of the game. I believe that she could turn it around and win, if ONC is going for a plot twist ending, or that she could be taken out now as the lesser of two evils to let the real baddie shine in the finale. Most likely, though, I believe she'll take second, learning some important life lessons and maybe getting some money from James.

Fiore is probably here to be the devil on Ally's shoulder. She'll suggest something cruel and unusual, and it'll be up to Ally to decide whether she can resist those urges, or whether her fate will fall to villainy. Fiore also may be here as someone who can comment on her relationship with Hunter. She saw the beginning where they were fighting, but she's also been at the Loser's Motel for long enough that she probably knows how Hunter feels about her now. If she's feeling nice, she could use that as motivation.

Let's go team Fiore!!!

#3: Riya

If someone is eliminated in this episode, it'll be confusing in and out of universe if it isn't Riya. She has Yul as a partner and a second disadvantage, and no one should want to work with or root for her. She's also obviously not going to win the season, so if the writers want to keep up suspense for who does, they should eliminate her and leave the finale to Jake and Ally. Really, the only reasons why I don't think she would be eliminated this time are because 1) it's so obvious and 2) I don't think anyone will actually be eliminated this episode.

I think that Yul is mostly here for the comedy of it all, and so that the writers didn't have to choose who he would genuinely choose to root for otherwise. There is also some juicy potential for something I've mentioned before-- for both of them to reflect on their shared tendency to sabotage themselves by always choosing material success over building relationships or choosing to be kind. If we're lucky, we'll get some reflection on that, but I'll be happy with just a Riya/Yul cringe comp.

Alright, I've probably hit my government-mandated word count now that I've yapped about the helper choices a bit. Excited for the finale! Let's end this season on a high note!

[gauloiseblue]

Hearsay

Though he made the same mistake twice, he soon knew her name through other people's mouth

The town's people seem to take interest in her, as well as him. Whenever he walks through the market, one or two people will stop him, either to ask him about himself, or introduce themselves to him

It was nice and casual, until he told them where he lives

It's a wonder how people's face change when they hear it, and how her name immediately rolls out of their mouth, as if they're all under the same spell

Though he promised not to find out about her, he couldn't help it when people talk about her to an extent

"She's very strange, she doesn't talk too much either about herself."

"That girl is surely pretty. Pretty and mysterious. The kind of woman that mothers tell their sons to stay away from, don't you think?"

"She's a witch, I saw her feeding a black cat everyday, it must be her familiar."

"I think she's a mistress of some gang leader, or a politician. Have you look what's inside her house? You should, and you'll agree with me on this."

She's very kind, she bought my son a huge toy, telling me that it's rare for someone to like… what's that toy's name? Lego. She said it's rare for someone to like it."

"I heard she bought a bull for the cowman down the road, that's why the old man refuses any payments from her."

"She's up to no good. Did you know that she hired a young man to work in her garden? Oh, poor boy, he didn't know he'd get eaten by her."

"She's very misunderstood. Me and my husband almost closed our bakery because we couldn't manage our debt really well, but she helped us when I told her that. She didn't ask for anything, but people kept telling me that she's gonna take my husband. She's not! She just likes our bread. But people wouldn't listen. And because of that, she rarely visited us anymore."

"Oh?" He commented, "Have you talked about it to her?"

"Yes, I told her everything, I even told her that no matter what, I'd trust her more, but she dismissed me, telling me it's not wise." Her face heated up as she spoke, "You might think that I'm a fool, but sir, I can see people's heart. She's very kind, but she's lonely. I think she's been distrustful towards other people for so long, that's why she seems strange."

"Well, she does seem to be in her own world."

"But she's very kind, sir. I can assure you that. I hope you'll see it someday, because I think she really needs a friend."

He smiles, "She already has it. A good friend, in fact."

"Oh." She blushes at his words, "I'm not a good friend sir, I can't even defend her in front of people."

"But you did change my perspective on her." He told her, "I think that's enough proof."

"I'm glad if you do, sir." She smiles, which lets her innocence shine through, "Oh! If it doesn't bother you, sir," She then fumbles on the paper bag and puts a loaf of sourdough and other breads inside, "Do you mind if you give it to her? I know she's been baking her own bread now, but I want to give her something."

"Sure, I'll send your regards to her."

It seems to lighten her mood, and she shouts 'hope you'll come again sir' when he leaves

On his way out of the market, he replays most of his conversations in his head. Even though it's all just gossips, there should be a grain of truth in it, and it tickles him with the fact that he can easily find out about it

After 15 minutes of walking, he catches the sight of her home. It does look mythical from far, maybe that's the reason why the kids in town called her a witch

To his surprise, she opens the door when he knocks. She narrows her eyes when she sees his face

"You've visited my house three times in a row, do you like me that much?"

"Maybe I do." He gives her his smile, "Went to town today, someone from the bakery asked me to deliver this to you."

She picks up the paper bag from him, and furrows her brows when she sees the content

"Oh no… I just made bread today."

"You can always have room for one more."

"No, sourdough won't last that long." She said, "... Guess I have to give it away."

"Give it to me, then."

She eyes him and the paper bag in his hand, "Didn't you already buy one?"

"I always welcome free foods."

She looks at him, before chuckling, "So you're that kind of people." She said, stepping aside, "Come in then."

He takes the offer gladly

The inside of her house is as enchanting as the outside, with statues, colorful rugs, and artworks scattered around the room, making it almost like a museum

The kitchen is also the same, with different kinds of plates and mugs. The gramophone sits on top of the island, playing a familiar song

"You like Prince?"

"I do." She said while checking the oven, "You know him?"

"Big fan of him."

"I didn't take you as someone who likes Prince."

"What's your take on me then?"

"You like metal."

"I do like them."

"That's good." She takes her eyes off the oven, "5 more minutes, and it's done. Have you had breakfast?"

"Not yet."

"Does smoked salmon sandwich sound good?"

"Absolutely."

She pulls the ingredients and the plate, and cuts 2 slices of the baker's bread, lightly toasts them, before assembling the rest of it on top of the bread. He winces when she spreads the cream cheese on top of them, but he knows he has no right to complain

There's a change in her demeanor, as if she's no longer cold around him. Or maybe that's just his pride talking

"Here you go." She pushes the plate toward him, "Hope it's to your liking."

Which, surprisingly, it is. The cream balances the saltiness of the smoked salmon, and the leaves (he has no idea what those are) on top of it gives a slight bitter, but refreshing taste.

She takes the bread from the oven, and put it on a rack to cool it down

While he eats, he watches her unpack the bread from her friend

"She's too generous."

"Who?"

"Liv." She sighs, "I can't possibly eat this many breads. She even gives me brioche."

"You can always share it with other people."

"Yeah," She said, "Mr. Harris likes sweet bread."

She begins to wrap the bread with parchment paper, and ties it up. She then stores the rest of it, except for a small bread, of which she gives it to him

"Liv's brioche is good, you'll come to like it." She told him as she put it in the paper bag, along with her bread

"Thanks a lot, (name)."

"So you've learnt my name."

"Can't help it, everyone in town talks about you."

"Guess it's inevitable then."

Back at home, he unpacks his groceries, along with her bread

Out of curiosity, he slices himself a piece of bread to taste them, and although the sourdough he ate earlier was amazing, something about a handmade bread that makes him warm

Maybe he, too, has been alone for too long

《 Prev | Next 》

[linagram]

[ 𝙼𝚊𝚛𝚞𝚢𝚊𝚖𝚊 𝚈𝚞𝚛𝚒𝚔𝚊'𝚜 𝚃𝟹 𝚅𝙳 ] 𝙰 𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚛 𝚋𝚢 𝙼𝚘𝚘𝚗𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝙰 𝙼𝚊𝚒𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝙳𝚊𝚢𝚕𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝

it's time, yurika.. it's time.. I REALLY CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HER FINAL VERDICT LIKE WHAT IF SHE ACTUALLY GETS A FULL GUILTY COMBO. i do still feel bad for her though.. but i also want to write her execution.. hm...

Warnings for Yurika's VD: a mention of sexual harassment, implications of Yurika and Takame's relationship being toxic or at least somewhat unhealthy, Yurika ends up having a mental breakdown.

Warnings for Yurika's MV: there are heavy implications of violence and murder, but all of it is "censored" in a way and is not detailed, aside from some blood imagery closer to the end.

(sounds of footsteps)

Hinode: So.. You did it.

Hinode: You told him the truth.

Hinode: He accepted it surprisingly quickly, haha.

Miki: Yes, and I'm glad..

Miki: Hehe.. I still can't believe he had a feeling that I really am his sister. Maybe that's why he always wanted to spend so much time with me.

Hinode: I'm very happy for you, but..

Hinode: Please don't forget your duties, Miki-san.

Hinode: Yurika-san has been voted guilty twice. Her final verdict is especially important.

Hinode: Maybe she will have a chance to live if we vote her innocent..

Hinode: But if not.. She will definitely get a death penalty.

Miki: .. Right.

(the door opens)

Yurika: A-ah, you're here.

Miki: Yes, um.. Is something wrong?

Hinode: You look nervous, Yurika-san.

Hinode: You know we were supposed to interrogate you today, right?

Yurika: .. I-I'm most likely going to get my head cut off by the end of this, are you expecting me to act chill about it?!

(the screen turns on)

Eiji: Or maybe you will be executed in a different way. Who knows.

Yurika: I-it's you!

Yurika: Oh, what, are you too scared to interrogate me in person?

Eiji: This is for my own safety-

Yurika: Okay, coward. 

Yurika: Actually, who will even execute me if it comes to it? 

Yurika: Or more like.. when it comes to it?

Miki: Now that I think about it..

Miki: I-I don't know.

Eiji: I was hoping that I would be the one doing the execution.

Hinode: Jackalope never mentioned anything about how the executions happen, but..

Hinode: .. I have a feeling that it's not gonna be our job.

Miki: Huh?

Hinode: We're responsible only for the prisoners' verdicts and what happens after that.

Hinode: Death penalty sounds like a big deal. Like, it's nothing like Eiji-san's punishments or the memory machine.

Hinode: So I don't think that we'll be the ones doing it.

Eiji and Miki: ...

Yurika: ..Who the fuck is Jackalope?

Yurika: And hellooooo, can we get started already?

Yurika: Actually, I have a question for you all.

Miki: But we're supposed to interrogate you and-

Yurika: Take a look at this.

Miki: ..It looks like a letter.

Yurika: Oh, it sure does. Now, do you remember what I got for Christmas?

Miki: ...

Yurika: Come onnnn, Miki. Think, think, think.

Miki: .. A-are you implying that I wrote this?

Yurika: Ohh, and why do you think that I'm blaming only you for this? You're not the only guard here, you know?

Yurika: Unless you see yourself as the only guard.

Miki: ...

Hinode: Yurika-san, may I ask what does the letter say?

Yurika: No, you may not.

Yurika: Look, I know my manager's handwriting. And this was not written by her.

Yurika: .. I have to admit that the way in which the letter is written.. sounds a lot like something she would say.

Hinode: .. Now this is interesting.

Hinode: So, the handwriting is different, but if you ignore that, the letter looks like something she would write?

Yurika: .. What are you implying?

Hinode: Well, you see, Yurika-san, we still don't know what exactly your other job was.

Hinode: So I was thinking, if it was something really dangerous and illegal, what if-

Yurika: Don't you say another word.

Yurika: You're trying to say that she's associated with Milgram in some way, right?

Hinode: Well, they couldn't just take ten random people and-

Yurika: She wouldn't do that.

Yurika: She wouldn't do this to me.

Yurika: I'll tell you what my other job was, just don't even think of blaming her for all of this.

Yurika: .. Takame-san wasn't an angel. But she was one to me. 

Yurika: She did a lot of things that this society would call evil, but she gave me money, food and a place I could call home. 

Yurika: .. She wouldn't just send me here for no reason.

Hinode: But what if she had a reason-

Yurika: If you keep acting like this, I'll start thinking you're the one who wrote the letter.

Eiji: Why do you even care about this letter so much? It's like you care about it more than your verdict.

Yurika: 'Cause my verdict doesn't matter. 

Yurika: You all will just keep playing with our lives, voting us innocent or guilty based on your own likes and dislikes, so in the end there will never be any true justice for the victims. Or us, if you still care about us.

Eiji: ...

Yurika: So why should I care? Go on, vote a guy like Kei innocent. Do it! His crimes don't matter as long as he's attractive!

Yurika: Do it. Fucking kill me already. 

Yurika: Just at least answer my question first.

Yurika: .. Who wrote the letter?

Miki: .. We don't know either. Sorry.

Yurika: ...

Yurika: .. Fine. 

Yurika: *sighs* Anyway, you wanna know about my other job, right?

Miki: Yes. 

Miki: And we want to know what exactly you did to your victims and why.

Yurika: .. Well, what do you think my other job was?

Yurika: Hey, Eiji, have any theories?

Eiji: .. I can definitely say that it's something you've done many times and it's also something you were okay with doing for the money. 

Eiji: Your second video also made me feel like.. It's something you were taught to see as a good thing.

Eiji: Maybe you even saw it as a way to.. help people in some way.

Miki: "Eiji-san is really trying his best.. I guess I should've expected that he would know a lot about stuff like that because of his family.."

Miki: ".. But he has never actually killed anyone, right?"

Eiji: .. Hey. 

Eiji: Did you have to be really careful while doing it? 

Yurika: .. Y-yeah. Yeah, I've made a few mistakes before, but with Takame-san's help, I-

Eiji: You got a lot of money for it, right?

Yurika: Definitely more than what I got for working at a maid cafe.

Eiji: Did it feel gross? 

Yurika: What kind of question is that?!

Yurika: I-I mean, imagine a girl like me, who was so used to always getting what she wants no matter what, suddenly going through someone's insides-

Yurika: !

Hinode: ...

Miki: .. W-what..

Yurika: .. Haha. You got me. Congrats.

Eiji: .. Was it organ harvesting?

Yurika: .. Yeah. Yeah. 

Yurika: That's what I was ready to do for a living. I was that desperate.

Yurika: Just so you understand. Yes, we kidnapped people. Yes, we killed them.

Yurika: Yes, most of those people were our customers. That's one of the reasons why Takame-san came up with the idea of having a maid cafe.

Yurika: Look, fine, I killed more than ten of those guys to have their organs harvested, but who cares?! 

Yurika: Like, yes, it was some kind of.. you know, black market stuff that I never bothered to learn more about and Takame-san never told me and just said to see it as a good thing, because maybe their organs will actually be useful or something..

Yurika: BUT WHO CARES ABOUT THEM?! MOST OF THEM LIVED ALONE, THEY HAD NO ONE TO MISS THEM, NOBODY CARES WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM!

Yurika: SO MANY OF THEM HAVE HARASSED ME AND MY COWORKERS NOT ONCE, BUT MULTIPLE TIMES! TAKAME-SAN TOLD ME THAT THEY DESERVED TO DIE!

Miki: ...

Eiji: ...

Eiji: .. They.. really did not deserve to live.

Yurika: Right?! I just.. I just..

Yurika: *starts crying* I just.. I didn't want to feel like I was.. 

Yurika: Doing something bad..

Yurika: Takame-san kept saying that it's okay..

Yurika: "It's their fault", "We're not in the wrong"..

Yurika: S-she always hugged me after we were done and tried to comfort me..

Yurika: E-even if I fucked things up, e-even if I cried, even if I said I can't do it a-anymore..

Yurika: I-it's like.. s-she really.. loved me..

Hinode: .. So if those murders weren't really.. your fault, since you were only an accomplice..

Hinode: It's safe to assume that you're here for something you've done on your own?

Yurika: Takame-san helped me with it, of course, but..

Yurika: I-it was mostly my idea.

Yurika: T-that's probably why I'm here.

Miki: ..W-why did you kill them?

Yurika: .. One of them was really curious about my job, for whatever reason.

Yurika: Probably because she had a blog and didn't know what to post about or something..

Yurika: A-and she just.. kept getting on my nerves.

Yurika: She wanted to learn everything about me. Sometimes it felt like she was literally stalking me.

Miki: ".. Her first interrogation.."

Yurika: Her brother helped her too. So, uh, eventually they did find out and..

Yurika: .. I-I couldn't do this anymore.

Yurika: I needed them to die. 

Yurika: "How could you do something like this just for money?" SHUT UP! SHUT UP, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE ME!

Yurika: They needed to die. They deserved to die.

Yurika: I-it's okay, nobody would miss them anyway.. Who cares.. 

Yurika: Sure, they were pretty, I guess, they were popular, I guess..

Yurika: But it's fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine, it's fine..

Eiji: .. She's losing it.

Miki: I-I can see that.

Hinode: Since her manager is not with her, she's trying to comfort herself without her help.

Hinode: And I don't think it's working.

(bell rings, machinery sounds)

Eiji: We should extract her video. Hopefully she doesn't realize what's happening.

Miki: R-right..

Miki: Prisoner-

Yurika: NO!

Yurika: PLEASE, I DON'T WANT TO DO IT AGAIN!

Yurika: YOU'RE JUST GOING TO VOTE ME GUILTY AGAIN! YOU JUST WANT TO KILL ME ALREADY, DON'T YOU?!

Eiji: Didn't you say that you're okay with that?!

Yurika: SHUT UP, I'VE REALIZED HOW IMPORTANT MY LIFE IS! 

Yurika: Or.. no, no, it's not important at all..

Yurika: Actually.. I don't think anyone would care if I died.. Even Takame-san..

Yurika: .. BUT IT DOESN'T MATTER BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO DIE!

Yurika: PLEASE, DO WHATEVER YOU WANT WITH ME, PUNISH ME IN ANY WAY YOU WANT, USE MY BODY AS A TOY TO PLAY WITH, FORCE ME TO BECOME A MAID EVEN FOR THE FUTURE PRISONERS OR SOMETHING!

Yurika: JUST PLEASE, DON'T-

Yurika: ...

Yurika: H-huh?..

Yurika: What is going on?..

Miki: "Looks like the machine worked.."

Miki: Hey. Hey, you're okay. 

Miki: You're fine.

Yurika: W-who are you?.. W-what is this place?

Yurika: What are you-

Miki: Prisoner 008, Yurika, for the last time, sing your sins.

42% ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░ 100%

[ Yurika's Trial 3 MV: Secret Ingredient ]

The video starts with showing us a dark forest. We can see a young man and woman walking, looks like they're around the same age. They look nervous, but for some reason they keep going and it looks like they're looking for something or someone. 

"Hey, hey, what are you two doing here?

Maybe you should stop sticking your nose into other people's business?

Come on, just let me live!

Like what do you want me to do? Reward you and say how brave you are?"

Suddenly, they hear someone's steps and while the man tries to leave, the woman makes him stay and listens closer to the steps. She tries to follow that mysterious person and she's really determined to find them. She sees that person's footprints and as she stops to take a closer look, we can see someone sneaking up from behind and hitting her on the head with something that looks like a broom.

"Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you

This is what happens to disgusting people like you

Justice? Morals? Oh, shut up!

You would do the same if you were me"

The woman opens her eyes. She's sitting on a chair and everything around her looks like it's made out of candy. The colors are very cute and nice to look at. She notices that she's not alone and someone is sitting in front of her. That someone smiles and waves their hand at her.

It's Yurika who looks like she's dressed as a witch. 

"So you wanted to know what I do? Let me give you a tour!

Trust me, it's 100% safe

Nobody gets out of here alive, but that's okay!

You wouldn't want to continue living after being here"

The woman gets more nervous and she tries to talk to Yurika, but Yurika doesn't seem interested and instead turns to the door. The door opens and Takame, who is also dressed up as a witch, walks in. Yurika smiles and runs up to Takame to hug her. Takame smiles back and pats her on the head. 

"But I have everything I've ever wanted here

This is my home, it's perfect for someone like me

I've found love, money, warmth and my purpose

I guess you could say I'm completely satisfied"

The woman meanwhile tries to leave, but fails because Takame notices and pushes Yurika away. Yurika doesn't seem to mind and even seems excited about what Takame is about to do. The woman falls on the floor because of how scared she is. Takame simply smiles at her and claps her hands. 

Everything goes dark.

Now it's the man opening his eyes. The scene takes place outside of the house and both him and the woman from earlier are tied up. Yurika laughs at them as Takame is making a fire with her magic. 

"What do you two think you're doing? Hey, hey, don't you know it's dangerous here?

Well, it's your fault now, shouldn't have taken a walk in the woods when it's this dark

What should we do with you? Should we tie you up? Should we cut off your limbs?

I bet you two taste like fear and betrayal, let me take a bite!"

The woman looks at the fire and at their ropes and it looks like she's asking Yurika what's going on. Yurika smiles and pulls out a knife. The woman starts shaking as Yurika gets closer to her and gets surprised when Yurika cuts her ropes. 

"So you want to know why am I like this? Why do I do this?

Don't I feel any shame? Don't I feel any guilt?

Here's the thing: no matter how many times you point at me and say "Guilty"

I won't feel anything, I'm too busy trying to survive"

The woman thinks that she's free for a moment, but then we see her face expression suddenly change and it looks like she's in great pain. We see Yurika stabbing her in the stomach, but the blood looks.. weird. It's pastel pink and sparkly. Yurika doesn't even look at the man and simply walks past him and we see that the reason why he didn't do anything at all and why we haven't seen much of him is because he was already close to dying because of being stabbed in the chest and now he's clearly dead while his eyes are still open. His blood is the same as the woman's.

"I just want to live, I just want to live

Can someone let me live a normal life

I've never wanted this, but it looks like I was born for this

It's like I was born to be a witch ready to be burned"

Takame walks up to the man and puts her hand on his chest. It's unclear what she's trying to do at first, but then we see her trying to make the wound bigger and "opening up" his chest, making everything even more bloody. She tries to grab something out of his wound and it's revealed to be some candies. She throws them and Yurika quickly catches them and puts them inside of a bucket that has a Halloween pumpkin drawn on it. Later, we see that the bucket is completely full and that Takame is now doing the same thing with the woman and Yurika is helping her. Their hands are bloody and they have some blood on their faces and clothes as well, but they don't care. 

"Actually, I think what I do is great!

We're helping people, at least that's what I want to believe

Don't blame me, blame the system

Blame the society, just please, blame everyone but me!"

When they're finally done, Takame gives Yurika a nod and Yurika excitedly runs up to the fire and starts burning the bodies. The bodies start to melt, looking like they were made out of ice cream or something similar. At least we can say for sure that the bodies look like they definitely aren't human. 

"I just wanted to live, I still want to live

Don't hunt me down, don't light me on fire

I still have something to hope for, something to fight for, something to live for

Something to kill for, something to destroy for, something I'm too scared to die for"

When the bodies are gone, Takame walks up to Yurika and holds her hand. Yurika blushes and looks really happy. They watch the fire become brighter and brighter and they start to dance. While dancing, Yurika trips and it looks like she's about to fall.

"So just save me with your love-shaped candy already-"

The setting changes completely. It looks like some kind of dark room. We can see blood on the walls. It's dark red. It's real human blood and not like what we've seen earlier. We hear something being dropped on the floor. The music stops playing. We hear Yurika say "I'll go get it". We can hear her steps.

Suddenly, we see Yurika, with empty eyes, messy hair, a medical mask, and it looks like she's looking for what she had dropped. Except it looks like we're looking at her from the POV of that thing. She grabs us with her hand.

The video ends.

[acourtofthought]

Me again and on the same day, so... I hope I'm not being annoying...

But what do you think about ccity3? (if you have already read it)

I may end up releasing some spoilers, so if you don't want to risk it, don't continue reading!!

I mean, more specifically what do you think about the shadows of Az, Ruhn and Comarc?

Today I saw an E/riel girl saying that the shadows disappear when they (Ruhn and Comarc) are comfortable, so they insisted again that Az's shadows disappearing with Elain is a good sign... I don't believe it's the same thing, definitely.

(But I don't have much context from Ccity, I haven't read them yet. Well, just the third one to see my girl Ness and Az)

And if you've already read it, what did you think of the Bryce&Az&Ness extra, the ending in particular; from shadows dancing to Az humming; of the exact words "could have sworn" being used in both of Az's extras twice;

And the song "Stone Mother"; Do you think it has a "meaning" for the future? I've seen people saying this is about Elain, I particularly agree with something I read about it having some connection to his mother (who was briefly mentioned during the extra)

They distorted a part claiming that the shadows danced with Bryce's cell phone, but that doesn't happen. I've never met an Elriel who played fair, they're always trying to change what was said. (Some said they were very confident after Ccity3, and I honestly didn't understand why)

Well, maybe I'm just super paranoid, looking for a little Gwynriel in every line... lol

I actually feel special to have gotten two asks in a day from you so thank you!!

I think if we were to compile a list of everything Az's shadows have ever done from start to finish in series, we'd find conflicting information.

I imagine there was a time where SJM did not truly know what she was doing with Az's shadows or what she wanted them to do for a particular love interest because she wasn't even sure that Az was getting a book early on.

And I think it's also a bit difficult for us to compare them to Cormac because the way Az's shadows came to him is unique. We're told that they came to Az while he was born in the dungeon, an airless, light-less prison where he learned the language of the shadows and it's difficult to say if the relationship he developed with them is equal to that of those with similar powers. Ruhn and Rhys share similar powers however it's evident that Rhys is by far and away much more powerful.

Az's shadows aren't exactly "him". They seem to be a bit sentient when you consider that he tells us they keep him company, that they whisper to him. He is not fully in control of his shadows at all times, they told him to sleep and he thought on how he wished he could.

I'm not saying we'd want Az's shadows to be swarming and ready to strike like snakes at all times, that's clearly not a good thing for either Az or the shadows. But having them tend to vanish around someone when he tells us they've been his companion would be like a friend who you grow up with start disappearing anytime your girlfriend came around. Wouldn't it be better if his shadows remained but were at rest or calm?

That's not the narrative SJM put out there for his shadows around Elain in SF though. They skittered away from her, he says they tend to vanish when she's around. It's clear that in SF Az is not in a great place so for E/riels to say they disappear around her because he's calm and that's a good thing is a complete contradiction to him thinking on how he's been ignoring her because he's bothered by her bond. She clearly does not bring him peace.

In the same book we're told that his shadows are afraid of the Sun and in HOFAS, we get more evidence that they don't hold up to light very well.

When you consider how SJM often connects Elain to light and sunshine it seems pretty obvious that she's telling us Elain's penchant for those things is not going to compliment what we know of Az's shadows.

She also could not have made it more clear that the shadows responded to Gwyn in a way they never did with Elain. They danced and twirled with her breath, they were content to sit on Az's shoulders and watch when before the shadows were trying to get him to bed, they sang in response to her song (just as they sang in response to Az's humming). Saying they vanish around one female while having them curious and a bit playful with another, even if it's only in relation to her powers (as E/riels like to claim) is still better for the shadows......which are a part of Az but not fully him. They don't need to love Gwyn because the shadows are not possibly mated to Gwyn. But if Az is mated to Gwyn and his shadows have a bit of a thing for her song then is that not an extremely symbiotic relationship for all parties involved?

I'm not even sure Azriel understood the lyrics of the song because Nesta says she couldn't understand them so maybe it was truly just the melody that captivated Az. And the way the melody was described is a lot like the music of the priestesses service.

As likes music.

Gwyn is a singer.

Az himself began humming once the phone stopped playing.

They share a common interest and that's a valid thing to comment on in regards to a ship.

If Az was aware of the lyrics and the lyrics had to do with the Stone Mother legend than I'd hope no one would be trying to turn the words into anything ship related as the legend is Native American and Elain and Gwyn are white. But to your point, it could have something to do with his mother as she is Illyrian.

[trashboatprince]

I got a request for Fourteen and Shaun, and I've been looking for a good excuse to write something with them!

So, there will be mentions of books and audio stories because I LOVE the extended universe stuff for Ten and Donna.

As always, I write Fourteen with they/them pronouns.

On with the fic!

--

Shaun yawned loudly as he wandered down the stairs of the UNIT home his family was temporarily staying in. Donna was already off to work at this time, Sylvia was at her own home, same with Wilf, and Rose was at school.

Leaving Shaun, who didn't work until the evening, alone at home.

Well.

Not actually alone.

Because there was an alien inside the kitchen, staring intently at the toaster, as if it was challenging them. "Is there... an issue with the toaster again?"

"It burnt my toast." The Doctor pouted. "I put the dial on the exact timing for it to be perfect! And it came out black! Also, good morning, Shaun! Did you want any tea? Donna's got everything ready, you just need to start the electric kettle when you're in the mood!"

Shaun blinked, the mood changes on this guy still took him by surprise, even after a month of living with them. "Uhh... yeah, thank you. Also, you do know that this toaster doesn't have a timer, right? It has settings for how toasted you want the bread to be."

The Doctor looked at him before looking at the toaster. "Oh!" They slapped their forehead. "Dumbo! Of course that's how it works! Explains the little bread drawings around the dial, getting darker and darker..."

Shaun laughed and shook his head, activating the kettle and moved to grab some more bread for them. Toast sounded pretty good anyway, so he'd have a few slices too. "What are your plans for the day, Doctor?"

"Hm? Oh, uhh... I dunno. I'm still trying to get used to this whole slowing down thing, it's weird to figure what to do with my day! And Donna's got the TARDIS key and the TARDIS is on her side, she won't open for me!"

The Doctor was jumping in place, clearly annoyed with the lack of activities they were used to doing.

"Well, that's just how the normal life is, Doctor. Lots of boring things and not a lot of adventures. Well, unless if you make your life an adventure." Shaun shrugged, holding out the bread to them. "Donna's still got the key?"

"Course she does, reminded me this morning."

"She's a stubborn one."

"Always has been." The Doctor smiled brightly. "Wouldn't be Donna if she wasn't! Oh man, the amount of times that stubbornness saved me."

Shaun looked at him before grabbing the kettle, pouring himself a mug of tea. "Got an example? I'm sure you've got a lot of them."

The Doctor blinked twice. "You... want to know about our adventures?"

"Sure! Donna's mentioned some things, but she never goes into details, I'm rather curious." Shaun smiled.

"Brilliant! Let's get our food and then I'll tell you some stuff!"

Once tea and coffee were prepared, and toasts perfectly toasted, the two sat at the breakfast table and the Doctor was excitedly telling Shaun about some of the adventures from their past with Donna. They explained about the time that Donna and their tenth incarnation went to the 1990s to see Donna's favorite band. And that there was an alien invasion at the time that affected the band, but Donna was able to fix it!

And then there was the time that the world was in danger due to anger killing people, and how Donna stubbornness to do the right thing overpowered her fear of needles so she could save her grandfather, which allowed her and the Doctor to realize how to solve this with good deeds. Though Shaun noted that the Doctor seemed to skip over some things, as if it was something they weren't ready to talk about. But Shaun did learn that the Doctor hates planes, which was interesting to note.

"Oh, and there was that time that Donna and I were trapped in a giant, outer space apartment complex! It was... a lot, a lot! But it was amazing! Not sure how stubborn Donna was during that, we did a lot of running around and almost got killed a billion times, but it was all solved in the end."

"You two have had some strange adventures." Shaun pointed out. "Donna mentioned the other night while we were making dinner about you two visiting a water planet and her almost drowning because the... air dome was failing? And how she was annoyed you weren't carrying your phone."

The Doctor laughed. "Did she bring it up because I forgot my phone that day and didn't noticed she called me five times?"

"Yep!"

The two of them laughed about this. "Ah, my wife is a wonderful woman, but she has a temper."

"It's part of her charm." The Doctor chuckled. "It can get on my nerves, but I'm happy that she does it cause she cares. Honestly, she knew how to put my past self in his place, because he needed it."

"Are your... different, what did you call it, regenerations, different from you?"

"Oh yes, in a sense. I mean, we're always the Doctor, but sometimes the personalities are different. Like, there was a me who was all angry eyebrows and cool guitar riffs, or the one was smiling a lot but was quick to... well... quick to cause a lot of trouble. Didn't help that my friend at the time was good with explosives. Still is. It's amazing what Ace can do. Anyway, if Donna had met them, she'd keep them from being as outlandish as they could get at times. She did for me when I first had this face."

"And she will for this face." Shaun pointed out.

"Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less." The Doctor smiled. "You know, we haven't spoken much, Shaun, but you can talk with me whenever. Doesn't even have to be about Donna! It can be about anything, except football. No offense, but while I'm decent at it, I've never really understood it. I'm more of a cricket fan, actually."

"Good to know!" Shaun nodded, picking up their plates before he stopped. "What do you know about cars?"

"Quite a lot, I used to own one and that got me interested in how they work!"

"Think you can help me fix up my cab? Was making a weird clicking sound last night before the shift ended and I want to see what's up. If you can help, that'd be great, much better than going to a mechanic."

The Doctor was grinning, pulling their sonic thingy out of their pocket. "Sounds like fun! Heck, if you want, I can upgrade it so that it saves petrol so you're not spending so much on it!" They babbled as they got up from the table, making their way for the door.

Shaun watched them, clearly excited to be doing some sort of fiddling with a device. Donna had said they enjoyed tinkering, hopefully they could fix the car and not, well... do what they did to the microwave.

"Uhhh, let's see what you do about the clicking before you do that, Doctor!" Shaun said, following him to the door.

--

I think Fourteen and Shaun would get along, Shaun seems like one of those guys that instantly becomes your friend. Plus, if he makes Donna happy, then the Doctor is happy.

I was gonna mention the Pompeii adventure, but I'm saving that for a one-shot where the Doctor goes to a museum with the Noble-Temple family.

[jelzorz]

137.

Rayla keeps her hair long for one reason and one reason only, and that is that she doesn't have time to keep it short. She'd cut it twice herself in the early days of her quest, but both times ended in choppy, uneven haircuts that she needed to see hairdressers to fix anyway, and both times it cost her a rabbit.

It's easier, these days, to let it grow and to throw it into a bun to keep it out of her face. She hadn't thought it a particularly glamorous look, or even a particularly pretty look, but she catches Callum looking, and well...

Now there's impetus to actually try.

She starts off simple: just her bun and an extra braid in addition to the one behind her ear. She tries for a ponytail a couple of days later and finds Callum isn't quite so responsive to it, so she tries a half-updo after that.

She tells herself she's experimenting, but in her heart, it's because she and Callum still haven't really talked, and mostly she just wants him to notice. Any interaction is better than the awkward pining nonsense between them, and at least she knows he's still a little bit interested, and, in any case, it is experimenting. Sometimes something different is nice.

And, of course, other people start to notice. Not in the same way, but enough to point out that she's doing something different to begin with. Ez says he likes the extra braid. Opeli says the half-updo looks lovely and traditional. Soren surprises her most:

"Hey, pigtails! Cute! You want help trying something else?"

Rayla stares at him. They're on their way down to the blacksmith to see if he can do some maintenance on Rayla's blades which are a bit more complicated than his usual commissions but Soren promises he'll enjoy the challenge. Rayla'd been feeling sentimental this morning, so her hair today is two pigtail braids like the ones she wore when she was younger. She'd actually been thinking about cutting it, now that there's time and it won't cost her an entire rabbit for a trim. "Pardon me?"

"Oh, you've just been... doing different stuff with your hair recently. Just wondered if you want ideas or a hand doing something new."

"You have experience with hair, do you?"

"Sure do," says Soren brightly. "What, you think I would trust someone else to manage these gorgeous locks?" He flips his hair dramatically and Rayla fights the urge to shove him off the path. "Nah, this is all me. Been trying to get Corvus to help me dye it but he's just not an artist in that way."

Rayla stares some more. "You dye your hair?"

"Obviously," snorts Soren. "Seriously, if you need a hand, just say the word. I'm happy to help."

Rayla isn't staring on purpose anymore, she just can't stop. "Oh. I. Didn't think you you were the type to experiment yourself," she admits, although why is less clear. Soren's always taken a little bit of pride in his appearance. It shouldn't be such a surprise. "Where'd—uh—where'd you learn to dye your hair?"

His face falls a little. He shuffles his feet. Rayla figures out the answer before he says it, and she curses herself silently for being so stupid.

"Claudia used to help me do the bits I couldn't reach," he says. "I used to help her braid her hair to pay her back."

"Oh." Oh, because duh and because Rayla doesn't really know what else to say.

They lapse into silence. Soren stares at the flagstones in the bailey as they cross it and Rayla tries not to push herself off the path for being so dumb. She coughs. "I can help you dye it?" she offers at last. "I can probably do a better job than Corvus, anyway. And... maybe you could give mine a little trim if you know how to do that?"

Soren laughs at that, the tension in his shoulders easing a little as they walk. "That'd be nice," he says. "Although, no, I wouldn't trim it. Callum likes it long."

Rayla blinks. Then flushes. She doesn't ask how he knows. "He does, does he?"

"More than he'll admit. He liked the pony tail. Ez and I caught him staring while you were doing it up."

Rayla laughs at that and makes a note of it for another day.

[lanabeey]

Kylo ren x Reader

𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒓

A/n: Sorry for the delay, I ended up being swamped with work and a bit of a creative block, please take it as a joke in certain parts 🤍🙏 Sorry for any spelling mistakes, English is not my first language.

Summary: Working for The First Order is scary, and your only moment of peace is dinner time, but maybe you need company...

1665 words

2/3

Despite all the lost hours of sleep, sore muscles, and a tired look, the good mood remains. I'm already very used to some places on the ship, with just a few months working in this place I can guarantee that there are incredible places, cleaning some sectors gives you the advantages of cleaning interesting rooms, such as training rooms, or even bedrooms. from some superiors.

Cleaning the rooms takes a certain amount of time to ensure there are no mistakes, patience and a lot of attention is required to avoid valuable objects and belongings disappearing, despite this work it is gratifying to see the environment so clean. But one place that piques my curiosity is the Supreme Leader's room, although the man is scary, his mysterious nature is considerably captivating, isn't it a perverted desire and just genuine curiosity, why hide behind the mask? Maybe convey coldness, superiority, or hide your true form? I'll never know for sure, but I don't intend to lose nights of sleep, so curiosity must be put aside for my own good.

_________

Now, this time of night is one of the calmest shifts, at least no more serious incidents have happened at this time, and cleaning takes place more calmly and without people to disturb our work.

"Finally, it's the last room.." Honestly, today was extremely tiring, several sectors needed cleaning and apparently they laid off a good part of the cleaning team, thus doubling the work for us, the team I'm part of doesn't big but it is enough to hold for now due to the lack of demand. So we face the last one of the day, it is a large hall of high level equipment and devices, containing equipment for battles, maps of the sectors, some trackers and something that seems to me like others are for torture, it seems like something specific to really hurt someone.

"So shall we start cleaning?..Korys?" I think the little old lady isn't feeling so well, she seems so tired, despite being great at work lately, the hours have been very inflexible for her, the demand is very high making her work twice as hard for someone that age. "Korys, are you okay? If you want, you can go and rest, we've been working since early in the morning, you need to rest."

"I think this time, just this once I'm going to accept it, my legs are killing me from walking so much, darling" the weak voice is a sign of fatigue and his drooping gaze forms little bags.

---------

Now I realize how big this room is, and probably thousands of equipment to clean and organize, I honestly don't think I could handle it alone, but I said I could do it and I don't intend to call Korys who is going to rest.

On a panel with several buttons, something tells me that it is to see the cameras in this place, maybe seeing a little wouldn't hurt just to satisfy curiosity, these buttons have the names of some sectors and specific rooms and some green lights are on and others are on. red. Pressing the cafeteria button in sector 2, thus turning on one of the screens, just a few people from the kitchen team arranging the next day's meals; How about the hallways, just to see who's there.

In the corridors, some are empty, others are with people going to the dormitory, and then the corridor of this sector is with some people are coming in this direction...they are coming to this room, THIS ROOM.

It seemed automatic when pressing the buttons to turn it off, the automatic doors opened, luckily the screens turned off in time.

"I don't think those prisoners are useful, the best.." now his eyes are on me, with the mop in his hands looking at the floor.

"Who are you? What do you think you're doing here? This place is restricted to employees without permission."

"General Hux, I have permission, I mean, I'm cleaning and I'm... I'm just doing my job"

"At this time? Cleaning doesn't work at this time." "Of course we work with just a few employees, so the shifts are being divided until they find more employees, do you think the rooms can clean themselves?"; the last part sounds more like a joke to try to ease the tension but it doesn't seem to please him.

"Are you making fun of me? Do you think I'm kidding you?" From the tone of the voice you can see the anger building up, the face easily turning red, it looks like I'm arguing with a spoiled child who doesn't understand a joke.

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you,.." "I don't care about your intention, or your apology, I just want you out of this room immediately."

The shiver down my spine is painful, perhaps the tone of voice or the angry look is the reason for my extreme fear at the moment, it only takes a few seconds to return to reality. This is not the first time I have been warned, I have already been called to attention a few times. Sometimes for making comments at inappropriate times or speaking without thinking.

I leave the room abruptly, and a little embarrassed, I wouldn't like to hear more words from Hux, I understand his warnings but always his venom in his words, sometimes I've heard unnecessary comments being directed at other people, variations like "useless, stupid , idiots, imbeciles" even... "even a tapir knows how to do that, and then you, someone with your rank doesn't know how to do that, pathetic".

---------------

Despite the quick steps, I was far from the dorms and today I'm not in the mood to go to the warehouse for dinner, work exhausted my brain and fried my neurons like scrambled eggs. Without thinking that tomorrow I will have to tidy all of this up again, and again, without even receiving a compliment or a thank you for cleaning and organizing the damn ship, still being paid very poorly. Honestly, if it could get any worse, I'm sure I would cry in the fetal position.

It's just a few corridors to the cafeteria, in the meantime I hear footsteps followed by voices, maybe it's Hux again, if I'm being honest I even think the Supreme Leader is running away from this man. With quick steps I turn the first corner to perhaps escape the annoying presence of that demon.

It's possible I'm wrong about fearing Hux's presence, without even realizing that the man I should fear is the one in the hallway walking with long, heavy steps, with that damned mask that gives me goosebumps just thinking about it. As much as the Supreme Leader is intimidating, scary, and a little enraged at times, I can't deny that he is enigmatic, always with that robot voice. Well, she really would be easily enchanted if she weren't a little scared at the moment.

Maybe with the heavy footsteps making noise, or the loud ventilation turbos, you didn't notice that something fell to the floor, a strange object even looks like a strange little hammer. The rush really makes him not realize that something is missing, now passing me without noticing my existence. Deep down something tells me to leave that object there, maybe someone will find it and return it to him but on the other hand if someone doesn't return it. The leader would be without his toy hammer, maybe it's something sentimental.

With light and quick steps I pick up the object, and now in my hands it is heavier than I imagined, it no longer seems like a toy. Now I just lack the courage to face him, it's no big deal, just hand over the damn object and leave. I quicken my pace to get closer, but not enough to get in the way of what he's doing.

Being much taller than I imagined, and his clothes don't help improve his image, it doesn't match kindness, just darkness.

"Ex..excuse me, I'm sorry to disturb you.." [..a deer ready for the feast, not even to notice that it was shaking, it's very humiliating, it's your leader, not an animal that will moderate you...]

"..Yes?"

That robotic voice, no matter how human it seems, is not his real voice, that's what gives me goosebumps.

"Eh.. while he was walking he dropped this, I don't know what it is but I assumed it was.. important"

Reaction was somewhat surprised, the hand checking where his saber was and now realizing that he had lost it until now. Taking it from my hand quickly, behind that mask I can feel the eyes watching me, trying to see any trace of a lie.

"Eh... I ask permission to leave, I need to go to my quarters, my lord, to rest" Trying his best to remain calm, so maybe he can put this small inconvenience aside and go back to his tasks, Hux's humiliations are enough , just thinking about what the Supreme Leader would do would be suffocating.

"..Of course, you're free,..thank you for giving me back" So he turned around and started walking again, really as if nothing had happened, being a huge relief for his heart that was about to explode. Now maybe you can sleep better, without too many worries on your mind.

-------

As normal as the gesture of returning something lost to someone may be, it was unusual due to the normality of the situation, for so long trapped in the dimension of being someone so important and being feared by the people around, perhaps it was that night the great leader wouldn't be able to sleep for the night. stupid situation that left you embarrassed; Maybe it was his busy day that didn't make him realize that something was lost; Maybe it's the shame or maybe it's your gesture, it was you who left him embarrassed, it was you.

[allfortzu]

the entire world, them

-- tzuyu / twice. 876 - fluff, gen - requested, hcs. MEN DNI

what would tzuyu do if her members forgot her birthday?

it's a strange feeling 

there was some disappointment when she didn't receive any wishes at 12, but that was more of an above-and-beyond hope rather than an expectation 

now it's 11 in the morning, and she still hasn't received a single one

it's a chest tightening sadness, the sort that tugs at her heartstrings and blanks her mind completely

of course, other people have remembered; casual friends, colleagues, even that old lady down the street who sells custard bungeoppang

but it's not the same when the people who actually matter don't say it 

not that everyone else didn't matter, but these were her favourite people

the ones she would drop the entire world for 

wouldn't they do the same for her? 

she tries not to make a big deal out of it, though 

it's just a birthday; they've been together for so long that even birthday wishes lose their significance, right? 

she doesn't register most of the day, really

every moment she has with them, there's a suffocating urge to ask: it's my birthday, aren't we celebrating?

and it shows, too

she's quieter, more sullen in her movements. doesn't even really want to spend the day with them anymore

but she's got a job to do, so it's less of a choice for her 

"tzu, you okay?" jeongyeon asks, sensing the change in tzuyu's demeanour

you know why i'm acting like this 

though, now that someone's actually noticed, she feels a little pathetic for being so obvious  

it's less that she thinks they've forgotten, because they would never forget, she's sure

but that would mean they've simply grown to stop caring about it 

so was it wrong that tzuyu still looked forward to it, then? 

was it weird that she looked forward to them showering her in their love all day 

that all their attention would be on her, they would hug her, kiss her, and everything would go as she wanted? 

tzuyu manages her most convincing smile. "i'm fine, just tired." 

the day is a blur

she finds that she doesn't enjoy her birthday that much 

if birthday wishes were real, she wishes wasn't the type who cared

holds back her tears because she's angry and she doesn't want to cry about something not worth her emotions

normally, they would have a birthday dinner together 

tzuyu thinks about treating herself, but even that only serves to remind her of the lack of an actual birthday dinner with her members 

she walks back to her apartment, and for once, can't wait for her birthday to be over 

but then it comes 

and it hits suddenly

she's startled for a second, eight girls in the doorway of her apartment 

"happy birthday!" 

pure, unadulterated joy

she doesn't know why she starts bursting out in tears 

"i thought you all forgot…" she sniffles, rubbing at her nose with the back of her palm, hiding her swollen face behind her hands

"hey, why are you crying!" nayeon panics, lifting the cake up to tzuyu's eyes. "happy birthday?!"

"oh, poor baby," sana coos, pouting herself. "when have we ever forgotten your birthday?" 

she's smothered in an overwhelming group hug, barely able to reciprocate from how much she's crying and the sheer force of it 

she hiccups through her words, the sentences coming out in incoherent mewls

no one can really understand, so they all pile on with their own version of an explanation

"we just wanted it to be a surprise," dahyun purses her lips, downturned

"it was jeongyeon's idea!" chaeyoung points accusingly.

"excuse me," jeongyeon scoffs. "it was a group effort, mind you!"

momo suddenly develops an acute interest in the ground

"personally, i thought it would be a bad idea," mina shrugs, holding her arms up in defense 

"ya! don't lie!" jihyo screams, smacking mina on the shoulder 

an uncontrollable laughter escapes from the base of tzuyu's throat, spilling over in between sobs 

"see! it wasn't that bad of an idea!" jeongyeon says. "she's happy… ish?”

looking at all of them, she finally notices the the little things throughout the day

how chaeyoung let her lay on her shoulder to rest 

how mina got her a cold drink from the cafeteria 

how nayeon paid for her lunch

how dahyun bought her desert after

how momo gave her a thumbs up when she got the choreography down right

how jihyo watched her closely through the mirror, more than she usually would 

and how sana would pat her gently on the head whenever they talked, tip toeing and grinning but never saying why

of course they cared

"i love you all," tzuyu mumbles under her breath, sheepish. "don't do this again, though." 

"ah,” nayeon hums, taking a step forward to pinch tzuyu's cheeks. “you really are the cutest.”

it sets off a ripple of coos and teases from the other members as well, and she's smothered in hugs and kisses once again 

by then, they've created a circle around tzuyu, right in the middle of her apartment 

a bubble from the rest of the world

a place for her to whine and complain about not receiving any birthday wishes 

a space for her to be the type that cares too much, unashamedly 

this is her world — what is there to drop?

[lieutenanthowell]

ACT I, chapter i, STORY BEAT - Introductions

He wasn't late. Just arriving no earlier, at all, than was remotely acceptable. Because he didn't want to fucking be there. It was nothing more malicious than that. Guin could read a goddamn site map. Could keep himself fed, watered, laundered, caffeinated. When a need arose, he'd hunt down whatever was on the other end of it. Point was, given back the who-knows-how-long this whole affair turned out to be, he'd figure out some better way to spend the time. Wouldn't be hard.

Still, low as his expectations were, Chi-00 managed worse. Ankle-shattering, really. He'd swayed to a stop just inside the door, his scan of the small, settling crowd fixing once, twice. Christ. So. That's how it was. That's just how it was gonna be.

Well. Spared him figuring out a few texts, anyway. Didn't it? No. Not really. He'd never been one for silver linings. That shit was always thin as tinfoil, when you really looked at it.

So he sat. At the back. Nearest the door. Easy to see everything he might need to, from there. Easy to leave, first, after however these my-dumbass-callsign-is-s were done with. Not that it mattered too much, in his case; what the hell could a codename really do for him? Hardly any of his life at all was on record. At least, outside the Foundation itself. And the closest thing he had to connections, people to keep compartmentalized away from all this - if he'd been the kind of moron who figured he could pull that off, which he never was - were here. Or dead. Or gone.

The get-to-know-yous dragged on for a little longer, out there; Guin, he'd set his combat boots flat on the floor and closed his eyes. Against the simmering fluorescent lights, all these eyes he did and didn't know. Didn't do dick for the noise, of course, echoing off the glassy walls of this too-small room. Couldn't close them out, either. Both of them, the last two people he - Christ. Both of them. Vera, with that loved-thin green jacket slung over the chair next to her. Like she was waiting for someone. That someone they'd been waiting for, ever since that night in the snow. And Nadia, wound tighter than any steel trap. Could see that grip she had on herself working all the way up her arms, caught between her teeth, the lock of her jaw.

He'd seen them. They'd seen him. And they'd all have a goddamn year locked into this, to - do their jobs. Together. Again. Shit.

He could do that. Sure. He could do this, too. Wasn't even any microphone in hand, onstage crap. Guin stayed put as the first impressions kicked off, tracking the room's interest from person to person. His own ticked to each face in turn, then away, as he listened to everybody storm or stumble through their introductions. Then - then all that attention settled on his shoulders. He didn't stand. Just spread his hands. Present. Accounted for. "I'm, ah - Dying Breed. Apparently." Which was funny, seeing as... he had something like a laugh about it, anyway. Only vaguely like a laugh. "All you need to know is: I'll do whatever I can to get you out of any trouble you're in. That'll be the case even if I don't like you much. And if all you are is pieces, then - same goes. I'll get something of you home, if I can." He side-slid his jaw, feeling the tug of that still-newish scar, tight. His stare had found the analog clock tick-ticking on the wall; it glared back, like there was something else he was supposed to say, or do, but... God, there was always something. Wasn't there? That's what all that debriefing always came down to, right? That there was always something you should've done different. Would've, could've.

His cut-up cheek twitched - snarl-like, a glimpse of teeth to it - as he lipped a cigarette out of the pack he'd fished from his tac pants. "But chances are you won't hear shit from me until we're in the field in any kind of way. Or unless this place goes to hell." Guin scuffed the low knuckle of his thumb across and around the socket of his left eye, squinting as he considered his matchbook. "So - until then. Uh..." Another toss of his hands, a half-shake of his head. "Watch out." On that dead-flat note, he rocked out of his chair. "Taking a fifteen, boss," he rasped, flicking a loose salute in the general direction of their new commander, presumably. Then he did precisely that.

[cantsomeoneelsedoit]

Ch 41: Couldn't Care Less About Pain

Meeting for the first time, twice.

Is it just me, or does this Andy kind of remind you of Frankenstein's monster? The expressions and the bandages remind me of when the monster was first on the run after he escaped from Victor's lab. Also, the name "Victor" hmmm... Is whoever "created" Andy in UU a literary Victor Frankenstein parallel? Is Victor a kind of Victor Frankenstein? Is Andy a kind of monster?

Anyway, they are in Longing! But he doesn't answer regarding the year. It's interesting that he can already speak Japanese.

If this part of Andy's past is just after the Civil War, then the US hasn't been in official contact with Japan for very long. How did he learn Japanese?

Maybe it's that only Victor's memories are locked in the memory card, but not his skills. If Victor could speak Japanese, then Andy can, too. Obviously, Andy could still speak English after Victor was suppressed, so there are some things that were passed along.

Oh, Josh doesn't want this new chick moving in on her captain! (Captain of what, exactly?)

None of them trust Fuuko from the start, so she thinks of the best way to prove she's not a threat. It's a similar situation to when she earned the trust of the kids in Longing; winning people over is something Fuuko's going to be doing a lot in this story.

Fuuko proved she knew Andy by identifying his tattoos and scar, just like Juiz did when she pointed out his mole! Poor Andy having people come up and tell him about parts of his body that he hasn't (knowingly) showed them!

But also--- damn, Andy has a lot of ladies after him! Everywhere he goes! Gina, zombie preschool teacher, Fuuko, Josh...

The rescued children all return to their parents, and the group accepts a meal as payment. The woman at the bar has an apron that appears to say "Sunflower Saloon." They just can't stop naming things after sunflowers in this town, I guess. It's almost like Longing longs to be a certain way.

It's like a setting that the author reuses just because they like it so much. They even included a similar premise with the kids needing to be rescued. In some ways, Longing functions in the meta in the same way it functions in the story: as a movie set.

Shen told us in Ch 11:

Yes, except the THEY in this sentence is the Author/God! They reuse this setting for all things Western. I'll bet we see Longing a few more times before the series ends.

Alexa, please add "Quantum Leap/amnesia traveler" to the list of genres.

Andy's crew still doesn't trust Fuuko, and it gets even weirder when she said she knows him from his rampant nudity.

Andy gives Fuuko the initiation test, and now she's looking as reckless as Anno Un! She was so sure that her Andy wouldn't have put real bullets in the gun. Again, she knew him almost better than he knew himself!

And that's how Fuuko joined Cap'n Andy's Wild West Adventure Crew! And then, almost immediately, he loses everyone except her.

I'm not even sure present-day Andy has ever made a face like this. It's so distant and cold.

What a disappointment that the saloon lady sold them out! I get that she was trying to protect the kids from more harm, but these are people who literally just protected the kids! What the hell, lady?!

OTOH, I think the narrative reason for having her sell them out is to prove to the readers that the bad guys shooting up the place wasn't any kind of effect from Fuuko's Unluck, from when Captain Andy caught her or when Josh touched Fuuko's hair, or any other theory. It was pre-planned before Fuuko even came into the scene. It would've happened anyway, because it's part of Andy's past.

"It makes more sense to get in close." That's a line spoken by someone who has killed before and expects to kill again. And if Captain Andy were a villain, that'd be a pretty chilling thing to have him say! It's so detached from emotion.

But Fuuko knows his heart, and she knows how much each loss hurts him (even Red, who we hardly met...)

Compare this reaction to what he said about his war buddies in Russia and his tone when he told Fuuko they were all dead:

He said they'd back them up when they need it! And he was looking forward to the restaurant (he was probably gonna introduce Fuuko to them!) And then he just says they're dead, just like that. And when she asks "what now?" he assumes she's talking about dinner bc he's not thinking about his dead friends OR dinner right now. He's pushed down grief for so long just to keep fighting! T.T He's a lot like Juiz.

Masterpost

[cherokeegal1975]

Question

I live with abusive people and I'm financially stuck so that's the only reason I stay. The people I live with are definitely not evil or malicious. They don't know or care about how much stress they put me under.

I will be seeking help sometime next week, but I doubt that I'll get any. I am an adult...some might say I'm old enough to have grandchildren, but I've never married. I'm also mostly ace, so even if I could find someone, nothing more than a platonic friendship might come of it. I don't know, I haven't really had the opportunity to explore that part of my nature. I just know I'm not personally as interested in sex as other people are and would literally have to be in love and in a committed relationship before considering getting down with the man. I'm not gay. Point being, I don't see children in my future.

I'm expected to shut up and do as I'm told. Even when that means losing sleep. Being stressed out. Taken advantage of. Most of the housework doesn't get done unless I do it. Even when there's at least one physically capable person that could take over for me.

I went through a particularly bad case of PMS that started to manifest as being tired, irritable...then irritated with the internet, so I took a break.

Keep in mind that I just had to quit a job after one day because my heart could not take the freezer in the warehouse. Then surprise surprise surprise, I got another job as a housekeeper in a care facility. Okay fine. And this is when things really went wrong.

I kept begging my mom not to irritate me because I knew the depression and the irritability was caused by an unusually bad chemical upset. I didn't look forward to my new job, I wanted to hide from it. So I rested as much as I could, took a break from the internet because I still was irritated with it. No harm there, so I let that one happen.

Then my job started. And things really took a turn for the worse. I would have done fine, PMS, period and all, even the minor cramps, though I did go through one day were they were particularly bad. All I needed was enough sleep. My phone told me to go to bed around 8:30 p.m. I thought that was reasonable. My mother on the other hand wouldn't let me go to bed earlier than 10:30 p.m. and blasted the TV as loud as possible, while her asshole husband refused to wear earphones of any kind on his computer. So there was that added noise. I am also expected to keep a very large dog locked up in my room which on most nights, doesn't bother me.

Four days of almost no sleep. Three and four hours a night. Me begging my mom to let me go to bed sooner. Her telling me I'm acting weird and crazy for wanting to make sure I got enough sleep. Calling me a brat and acting years younger than my actual age because that's what she does when she doesn't get her meek servant she wants out of me.

The night before I quit my job, I wasn't permitted to go to bed before eleven at night. I was due to get up at five in the morning. I managed to sleep until one in the morning and then my mom insisted on letting the dog into my room. Then I had to pee. So I did that, managed to get back into bed and then my mom calls and asks me to get puppy pads from the garage and to make coffee. AT ONE IN THE MORNING!!!

I was naturally pissed. But did as asked and went back to bed. Only it was too hot for me and the dog, so she panted all night, paced and needed to be taken out to pee and get a drink-twice for the drink. The second time, Lilly, the cat decided it was a good idea to pee in my closet.

By the time I cleaned everything up and settled the dog down, it was four in the morning and I really wasn't doing well. Three hours of sleep, if that. After a week of stress and sleep deprivation.

This added on to years of crap I've had to deal with that had been placing thoughts of wanting to die in my head and remnants of that must be lingering because even though I can't suicide because I'm incapable of it, I looked at myself this week and thought, if I was really suicidal, I'd end myself today.

I fell apart at my third day of work, not thinking clearly and quit my job. If I was in my right mind I would never have quit. Because I had quit the freezer job, I really wanted to succeed in this one. There was no plan to go there and then quit.

Every time I came home from work I was almost tears because no one had bothered to take out the trash. Clean up the urine in the basement because that stupid dog that shouldn't be here pees there. Could have also cleaned up the bathrooms and put away the dishes. I know it wouldn't have broke him to do that much.

When I finally caught up with my sleep some and my head cleared of intense emotions...I came to conclusion that it was mostly my mother's fault I lost my job and I was really mad at her. I fully acknowledge that no one really made me quit my job, but I was so upset and stressed out that I couldn't think straight and there was no time to sit and pull myself back together on the spot.

I tried to explain this to my mom to point out that it was her fault I quit, explained that yes, I know she didn't force me to lose my job, but what she did at home was a direct cause of my poor decision. That if she had just let me get enough sleep, then I'd be okay enough to keep going back. And eventually I would have found the words, "Next time I have a job, you better let me get enough sleep so I can function."

She screamed at me to just shut up. Refused to listen and both she and her asshole husband wholly blamed me for losing my job. Like neither of them could've been at fault.

Also, it would have been helpful to stow the dog elsewhere besides my room so she could have access to the water dish and my mom's husband could've taken her out instead of me. It's an uneasy thing to be out alone with a crippled dog at nearly four in the morning.

My mother won't listen to that reasonable request. I am constantly shut down whenever I have something serious to say. I'm not even screaming, only speaking firmly. Trying to be reasonable while expressing why I'm so upset.

I almost cried again when they decided together that it was all my fault. I had a bad case of depression caused by my home life, tiredness, and extra bad case PMS and added stress from home and my job! How is all that my fault?!!!

My peer has recommended that I call the crisis center, only it's closed for the weekend. I've calmed down a lot already, but now it feels wrong to be unemployed and I keep thinking I should still have my housekeeping job. The same one I was dreading, but accepted as needed because of the money.

I could have managed one night with half rations of sleep, but only one. If only my mom's husband were more useful in the house. He mostly just eats, sleeps and stays on his computer all day to the point no one will be surprised to see that he had died there.

I also noticed that I'm like the staff here. Very little gets done unless I do it. I get very little help, get yelled at a lot and then called childish or making excuses to get out of my work if I protest. Not trying to get out of my work, wasn't even looking for a way to get out of my new job. My mother just assumes that and won't believe that she's wrong. Or that when I point out to her that all she really wants is a meek and obedient servant and she denies it, means it, but her actions scream otherwise.

There is in fact very little difference between home and that long term care facility I was working at. That made me even angrier. It was like I was working two jobs and was without pay. I often feel like a slave and I have no ground to stand on because I'm dependent on them for survival. I really hate that, it's driving me crazy...and so are they. I'd rather be independent and I'm not handicapped enough to prevent me from working...just a small heart problem and a sensitivity to certain odors. Allergies...that's it.

I've been going to mental health services for about two years and I've talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked and talked....and got nothing for my trouble. Barely any help at all.

My peer recommended Safe Harbor to run away too, but there's a problem with it. I'll have to come back and I'll have to return to the screaming, the demands on my time...I can't go to bed until about 2:30 to almost four in the morning because of them. This isn't my choice. I won't hear the end of it if I leave and then have to come back. So I'm actually afraid to use Safe Harbor's services.

I don't know how I'm supposed to become a successful and independent adult if I can't do what I need to do to maintain myself properly, get to and from a job (because I have no car and never did), and have to live with two mean people that are way too dependent on me to get things done in the house.

I miss drawing. I miss coloring. I haven't had a chance to do any of my drawing projects for the past three years. Mom and Larry have taken up most of my time and energy so I can't have the time I need to draw. So they are taking that from me too. Especially my mother. Not on purpose, but she's doing it all the same.

I'll call the crisis center to see if they can help me, but I doubt it. I've asked and asked for help and got nothing for my efforts except my mother yelling at me to just quit, blaming them for my outbursts that are purely from myself and no one else, threatening to call the police on my peer. Yelling at me, calling my peer my girlfriend or my new mother. Which is hurtful, because even though my mother has become a horrible bitch, I remember there's a good person in there and I still love her. And I know my peer isn't my friend and her job is to come get me and talk. Mom likes to point that out too, as if I can't possibly be aware of that fact.

My step father is an asshole, pure and simple. Not someone I want to know.

Sadly, my mother, who has been my literal hero more than once over the years, has become worse than her husband.

Both are driving me insane. Sometimes I feel like my sanity is slipping away. I don't know how I can cope with their crap and get a job so I can hopefully someday get a small apartment and silence the screaming. I'm so mad at my mother that I keep thinking I'll give her a year's silent treatment once I move out...only I know she wouldn't understand why. She blames everyone and everything except herself. If she breaks me again, it's my fault, not hers. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think, I hate my life and I wish I could do something about it.

[sansxfuckyou]

one way mirror

summary: Uzomi and Detah parallel play their similar sufferings.

warnings: its just fucking angst

authors note: i had a thought which will be divulged at a later date with a more 'life and death psychological torture' type of fic, have emotional stuff for the time being. @sobredunia look at your critters in angsty situations boy. @bree-sae look at this detah angst boy. hope ya'll enjoy kenikari fans and if ya do consider dropping a reblog.

-/-/-/-

"What happened to your hoodie?" Uzomi asked as she watched Detah cook, having dragged in a chair with her to sit and watch. It felt right.

"Oil spill, too lazy to get a fresh one," Detah said bluntly before turning to face Uzomi, cast iron pan in one hand and spatula in the other. Frying pieces of beef lay in the pan, schnitzel perhaps. "You're not allowed to say anything about my shirt."

"Sonic's cool," Uzomi answered with, crossing her arms over the top of the backrest and tapping her foot on the ground. "I played it a lot when I was a little kid, me and my brother."

"You have a brother?" Detah asked, turning back to the stove to return the pan to the closed off heat. He flipped the sizzling meat to find a crispy golden exterior.

Uzomi gave a hum, "Yeah, he's a year older than me, maybe two. I," she falters briefly, scouring desperately for knowledge only to find it's just out of reach. It makes her skin crawl, knowing that she knows something but not being able to grab it. "I can't remember."

"I can't remember my sister much at all, so I'd say you're better off than I am." Detah laughed a bit as he spoke, but it was really discomfort over humor. He knew she was real, knew she existed, knew everything about her from her favorite color to her favorite, her favorite... He doesn't remember her obscure interests. Or her favorite color. Or her face.

His joints are slowly but surely locking, grinding to a halt as he cooks and realizes just how little he remembers of his existence pre-killing game. It's devastating, really, all he can do is reach over to flick off the burner and transfer meat from pan to plate before just going completely still. It hurts, the heat of cast iron on hands is nothing compared to the anguish of an unwanted ignorance.

"Hey, you good?" Uzomi's voice slices through Detah's fog of dismay with some ease, posting straightening as he turns to face her. He washes off his hands and towels them off.

"I'm fine," Detah lied, and it was clear really. But Uzomi didn't know him well enough to dig any deeper even though she wanted to help. He takes a seat on the counter and nods towards her, "How about you, what do you remember?"

"About my brother?"

"What else would I be talking about?"

"Right, yeah, my brother. He took good care of me, before and after mom and dads passing. He was defensive about everything. He didn't come with me when I offered." She goes quiet, "That's, that's it. What about you? What do you remember about your sister?"

"Younger than me. I think she was quiet in public but loud when it was just us. I helped her with dying her hair once or twice and then she could manage by herself. Didn't need me anymore. Even after the parents died. She left but I don't know when or why." He goes quiet, then a singular low and weak laugh escapes, "Our siblings suck."

Uzomi nodded, "They do, she just left? Damn."

Detah smiled a bit, "And he didn't come with you? What an idiot."

-/-/-/-

"Well this is interesting."

The Mastermind simply watched, microphones picking up their conversation as she crunched through a bag of microwaved popcorn. She was tempted to pop in, give her two cents, but that'd ruin the fun of this new dynamic.

Uzomi and Detah, even she'd be unable to see it coming in spite of their unremembered pasts. She herself won't even dare think it, might jinx them remembering it which wouldn't be any fun at all. No, no, a pair of people with pre-existing relations would botch the excitement of the bonds being created.

She'll tell them later, when it's life or death, force them to choose. That'll be fun to watch, see their psyche's crack and peel back as the truth comes rushing back. Until then she'll enjoy watching them bicker back and forth about siblings they'll never meet themselves.