#and how that same kid went to a fob show with the guy i liked (they were friends ig idk) and i was so jealous

[yourknightinshiningplastic]

girl help I'm thinking. about that guy again.

#i wore my fob necklace today and it reminded about that time in science class that the kid across from me asked what it meant #and the guy i had (have) a crush on told him because he was sat next to me #and how that same kid went to a fob show with the guy i liked (they were friends ig idk) and i was so jealous #and when he was talking about it i just exploded basically #i mean i would have been jealous of anyone in my class seeing them in concert but the fact that it was him #i thought about how much fun that would have been #and ofc being like 13 and a fanfic reader yaknow #you can imagine what i daydreamed about #also apparently hes like mean now or so ive heard from my neighbor which was awful to hear #i dont think hes mean because he said hi to me that one time last year or whatever #also the friend i heard that from doesnt know i had a crush on him #i haven't told her #i dont really want to tbh #i did tell her about when i saw him tho i just didn't say who it was #just that i had a crush on him and was confused as to how he recognized me #basically what i posted here when it happened #man talking about this is so like exhilarating #i feel like mabel gravity falls rn #everytime i think about my real crushes it is like wow fictional crushes do not compare for me #at least not anymore #maybe i need a new real crush idk #winona has something to say #crush talk

[souryogurt64]

If I may ask, what series of events led to the bad headspace about bands?

I mean to be super concise about it I just think I got a little too much of interviewing bands and it started to become really negative for me.

I started doing it because I was really inspired and fascinated by the one billion interviews FOB did with random people with shitty Angelfire pages that were just transcripts of tons of interviews bands, and I wanted to like be that for some kid in the future where I was providing the most candid snapshot possible. Pete always did them and he had always been really nice and patient and you could tell he really was putting effort in no matter how shitty the website or questions.

However, now that I have done insane amounts of research, I think this was not really a normal thing but a thing that Hey Chris was partially facilitating via running the website. And it's probably why Fall Out Boy are Fall Out Boy and not like one billion other shitty bands. I don't think people really understood the project or my vision, which is fine and probably on me. Anyway--

People in Bands Fucking Suck

First and foremost, the bands were awful to be around most of the time. I get that's showbiz and I realize a lot of them were mean to me specifically because they don't think talking to journalists should be part of their job and they just want to "create" all day or whatever. And my zine didn't even have clout.

But it's hard to see one of your favorite bands the same way after the singer makes a really mean joke about how fat a guy in another band on the tour is, and then gets onstage and starts preaching about inclusivity. And then you have to decide if you're gonna put it in the interview or not.

It was also kind of disturbing because I just wanted to talk to as many bands as possible. But--especially when I was a younger-- I definitely felt that a lot of the bands thought I must've been a huge fan to ask to do this and saw me as a target for bullying and would do stuff like throw paper balls at my head or lock me out of the green room and then stand in the window laughing. It was all really dumb and juvenile and is expected of bands to an extent. But the thing that bothered me about it-- with the older guy bands especially-- was the fact that because they assumed I was a fan, they saw me as expendable, which I felt was egotistical and annoying.

Getting backstage

I would also be supposedly listed or supposedly interviewing a band and get stood up all the time. It wasn't as big of an issue when I was in college and had paid for tickets to the show anyway, but once I started to have to miss work (unpaid, I was a utility position at a brewery) for this stuff or the shows would be sold out and I had gone all the way there it started to really upset me. Once I got more experience interviewing, I started to realize that people weren't "forgetting," but PR people have a certain number of spots to give to press and probably just put me as a lower priority in case so-and-so from Rolling Stone was too hungover to show up or whatever and didn't care how that affected my life because I wasn't important.

In the same vein, I would be listed or have a band person/manager with me but security would be really difficult anyway.

Nepo Babies

As things went on, I also realized how many people in music are nepo babies. Some of them don't even want to be there. Many of them lack self-awareness to an extreme degree. They often don't care about the "cause" they're preaching for. They just don't want to work. That's all I'll say.

PR People

Once it got to a point where I was working with established bands and talking to "industry" people, it was really hard because I felt a lot of pressure to do/say what they wanted, which I know was on me. But they would string me along or bait and switch with very specific promises of interviews with real celebrities or other nebulous "opportunities" that never materialized.

They would also push me to edit the transcripts. I had no issues with fixing mistakes but it started to become "I don't like what they said, can you change it," which I didn't want to do. Part of why I only did transcripts is because people are way too sensitive and get upset with even nice things you say about them because, you should know, they're a bubble dream mermaidcore band and not a bedroom pop band or whatever.

Also, I was pretty young and naive and at first I believed these people really thought I was cool and had actually read something on the zine. As time went on, I realized they were lying and sending the same vague compliments like "we love your vibe" to an entire list of people with autofilled names.

They would also lie about reading the essays. I do not expect anyone to read the essays because they're long and insane. But I put so much work into them, it's really hurtful to have someone lie to about thinking they were good to try and get me to do something I don't want to do. Like, for example, interview a super racist band that was dropped by their label.

No Clout

I felt like it was hard to say no to everything people wanted from me because the zine had essentially no clout. In addition to the stuff with PR people, it was very reliant on the bands being okay with what I said and reposting it. I also felt a lot of pressure within the zine to be nice and say yes to everything instead of being honest or saying no.

I know the responsibility of gaining clout is on me, but the zine was always a just a hobby and I was not interested in spending all of my time following and unfollowing accounts on Instagram to be taken seriously faster. Also, it's more of an extension of my Tumblr, which has like almost 8k followers, but I wasn't about to like. Say that

The End

Anyway, everything kind of culminated in one shitty week-ish where:

1) a PR person we had been working with (who I did not like bc she lied about reading my gay My Chemical Romance essay) had promised us an "interview" with a bigger band. I had been doing a lot of feature articles I hated writing for artists whose music I thought was bad and I wasn't okay with writing them but then I'd end up doing it anyway in hopes of earning "ops" like this and for well. Other...Reasons. When we finally got the "interview" it was over email, several weeks late, most of the answers were like 5 words long and they obviously weren't going to repost it.

2) A band I really loved and had built a rapport with after interviewing them had invited me on tour and then cancelled last minute for the second time. The first time I got fired from my job for taking that much unpaid time off and had to start dogwalking in January. The second time I was out the flight money and the unpaid time off for tour. They--without being asked at all-- promised to pay me back and then ghosted me. I get shit happens and I'm not that important to the band but it is hard to deal with that kind of thing.

3) I had posted a huge feature on another band I really liked and they didn't repost it. I had never even heard of this band until their people reached out twice to ask us for some other stuff. I know I can never count on bands to repost shit, but I had put an abnormal amount of effort into this because I felt like if the band had asked us for coverage twice they would like. Be more considerate of the time and effort it took to do this and their manager would not leave me on read.

I had also begged to have a holiday off at work to do this, and I had someone visiting from out of town. The band kept us for almost 3 hours after the show ended. I hadn't been expecting this to happen because something like this had never happened before so I thought it would be to OK to tell my friend to show up hours after the show was over. My friend was like "Where are you" and was really upset with me. I had also said no to like 3 diff holiday parties to sit in a freezing cold bar soaking wet being berated by security to leave and being told "just one more minute" by the manager.

Because I was operating under the stupid assumption that the band was going to repost it, the feature was very glowing and did not mention some negative aspects that were more personal and important to me to bring up. So I also felt like I had like betrayed my own integrity for clout that never materialized, which also made me feel gross, but again is on me. This had been going on with a lot of features I felt pressured into writing, but this was something I actually cared about.

This also would've been fine and my issue to deal with, and IDK how to say this next part nicely or in a politically correct way, but the final straw was the same week they made some glowing post about how detailed and amazing an interview by a blonde girl who posted boobie shots on IG all the time was. There were some other critical details about the specific content of this that upset me way, way more than that, but I can't share them because I don't want people to immediately know what band this was.

Conclusion

This is also like fine I guess, but I realized I wasn't blonde, didn't have boobies, and I also realized I didn't even like doing this anymore and but I was wasting a ton of money, jeopardizing my job, ruining my relationships with people, seeing an unpleasant side of people I admired, and my social life was suffering. There were some creative differences with people too and other stuff I don't feel is necessary to share.

Some parts of this are probably like, all in my head, but this was how I perceived it. I'm sure parts of this had to do with like me not understanding stuff or being dumb or not doing a good job but I stopped having fun. This was all awhile ago but I think it started as a "break," then life happened, then I realized it stopped being a break. I'm still going to do the essays but it's just weird to not have your life revolve around something anymore after it revolved around that for 4 years.

[acourtofsnakes]

Tor - Rogue, Chapter 3| The Mandalorian x Force Sensitive! Reader (f)

Summary: A little bit of Mando pov for you all!! It’s a shorter chapter, just kind of the same as the previous but from our Space Dad’s point of view this time. Though there may be a little hint of your decision at the end…

Warnings: Injury detail/blood, swearing, angst? Hints of fluff?

AN: There’s a very small ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ reference to a certain Dornish prince and his nickname in here too. Wonder if you’ll find it? 👀

Also, thank you to @ithinkwehitametaphor​ for sending me the gif! i couldn’t for the life of me find it and you honestly saved my life 

Wordcount: About 3465

Rogue Taglist: @snipskixandbeskar​  @weirdowithnobeardo​

Rogue Masterlist | Introduction| 1: Solus| 2: Arir | 3: Tor | 4: Gaa'tayl ​

Mando’a Translation: Tor – justice 

He always thought it would end like this. Never in some big blaze of blaster fire or with his ship, but in some back alley, bleeding out, alone. 

Hell, maybe he deserved it. He’d killed enough people to warrant this end, slumped on the floor, too weak to save himself. 

He didn’t deserve a warrior’s death, a Mandalorian’s death. Not after all he had done.

Of course, it was his duty, his honour as a Mandalorian and a bounty hunter but… that sacred Creed did nothing to stop the thoughts that plagued him at night, the whispers that hissed in his ear during his waking hours. 

He almost laughed at himself. 

The Creed was all he had. 

Until…. Until the kid had come along. 

Until he saw that little wrinkly baby in the crib and… it had all changed. 

He couldn’t kill it, him, couldn’t take it back to the Client or his Clones. 

One look at that damn little silver ball, and eveyrhting went straight out the window. 

Fuck the Guild code. He would never kill a child, an innocent being that couldn’t even talk, could only make those little cooing sounds that even he had to admit were adorable. 

Rescuing him… it had given him something to live for. Something to fill his days and a reason not to go hurtling helmet first into danger with no regard for his own safety. 

Except… well, no. That wasn’t strictly true was it. He’d become more reckless since that moment, the rules that his bound his life for so long were slowly coming undone bit by bit. All of which made him so reckless, so… desperate?

You only had to look at the sheer amount of people lining up for his and the kid’s head to prove that. 

So maybe he didn’t always make the smartest decisions, but they were still alive, weren’t they? Had friends to help them if he needed it. 

In a short time, he’d gone from being Judge, Jury and Executioner, to being the person that people called when they needed help. Sometimes people didn’t even call him. He just showed up and offered his services. 

And truth be told… he liked it. He liked people looking at him with hope and admiration, rather than fear and jealousy. He liked the way people fussed over the kid, asking if Mando was taking good care of the child. Like they were a family. 

A Clan.

The sigil on his armour said as much. Him and the kid. A unit of two rogues. 

That’s what it all came down to, in the end. Everything was to keep Grogu safe. That’s why he stuck to the Outer Rim, taking jobs that would draw him further away from those that relentlessly hunting them, those who wanted to harm the Child. Besides, he needed the credits that came with the big jobs. Taking care of the little womp rat was expensive. Not to mention there was always something falling apart on his ship. 

So, when that guy in the hood had cornered him in the bar, given him the fob and told him about the bounty that no one could catch, he’d taken it without a thought. He’d had so many over the years that were supposedly uncatchable that the word had nearly lost its meaning. And this stranger had obviously sensed that, explained that it was true. Reeled off the sheer amount of hunters that had been sent that way, Imps, Trandoshans, Empire workers, IG-11 robots, even another Mandalorian. After hearing that list, Mando had expected some high-level bounty. An escapee from the deepest pits of the darkest prisons, someone who had done terrible, terrible things.

So… when he’d activated the puck, and the hologram of a woman’s face had come up… he was shocked. This woman… she was beautiful. Still young. She didn’t look like she bathed in the blood of her enemies, or killed children and babies, she looked… well, not exactly harmless. There was a glint in her eyes even on the hologram, a spark that warned of danger, promised pain to anyone that tried to hurt her. 

A survivor’s look. 

Something niggled at him, a feeling he couldn’t quite place. It might have been hesitation, but he ignored it. The bounty over her head was enough that he could take Grogu to one of those sanctuary planets and lay low for a few weeks. Maybe even a few months. The kid deserved it, to be able to play and explore. 

And himself… Maker, he was just so tired. 

So, he’d pocketed the puck and the fob, didn’t ask who the client was, went back to the Crest and then he was on his way to Sorgan. 

Maybe it would take him a little longer than usual to bring the girl in, but it was nothing that he hadn’t done before. After all, stealing back the kid, breaking into a prison, everything else that had occurred recently… this was a walk in the park. 

He still believed that, right up to tracking you. Even when he chased you. 

He had to admit, he did love it when they ran, even if his back was killing him. 

Something about the chase, the frantic fear of the prey as he hunted them down, the conclusion inevitable. It thrilled him. 

But… this felt.. different. 

You were different. You fought like it was a dance, whirling across the clearing and around his punches like there was a song only you could hear. And you were taunting him, laughing as you did. You lived for this, like you had been bred for it. No… you’d been shaped by it, shaped by the choice of cowering or turning into a wolf. A wolf, like those he’d seen in Lothal.

You were strong, you fought well, he had to give you that much. He knew he would have to work for it, but with the promise of safety lingering, he matched you move for move, determined to hold this out as long as it took. 

He’d read your file, read what had happened and used that to his advantage. The words had come easily, even though they had stirred something inside him, perhaps a mirror of the feelings he was encouraging in you. 

But then… then you just gave in. Straight away. And not like the others did. Not in the way that they had, thinking it would make him go easier, change his mind.

No, you had completely, utterly given up.  He saw it in your eyes. Saw that survivors glint gutter out, a wolf tamed back into her cage with her tail between her legs. 

And… it threw him. He had touched something, caught something deep within you as he taunted you. Something broken… that again whispered to his own deepest thoughts. Like calling to like. 

He’d ignored it, pushing that thought back into the part of his minds where his darker thoughts lay slumbering – for now. He’d carried you back to the Crest, shackled you to the wall and had made to leave you there. 

Only, he had seen that the wound on your shoulder was torn open again, ripped by your fight and his jamming with the rifle. It was bleeding through your tunic, and even with unconsciousness heavy in your body, you still looked somewhat pained. 

He’d hovered there, staring at the bleeding wound and having some kind of internal battle. 

It wasn’t fatal. It was just a recent injury that had torn open. You’d be fine. He nodded, turning around and making all of one step. 

But. A Trandoshan had been the last person to hunt you. They relished in the hunt, had probably fought dirty and used a poison. It might be infected. What if you died on his way back to dropping you off? Or got really, really sick?

Nevermind. The messenger for the Client stated you had to be brought back alive. Alive didn’t mean whole. He carried on walking, trying to focus again on something else… only to pause a couple of metres away. 

Help her. 

The Mandalorian had turned back around to look at you, a frustrated grunt slipping from his lips. He moved through the ship, grabbing a med-kit and then practically stormed back to you, nearly ripping your tunic as he’d eased up the sleeve. 

It wasn’t too bad, a deep wound but it hadn’t been infected, yet. He cleaned it up, spraying it with the last of his bacta-spray and binding it with the last strip of bandages. He’d have to get some more soon, dig up some credits from somewhere. 

A cruel reminder of why he took this job. What you were. A bounty. That’s all. 

Muttering a string of curses, he finished binding your wound, wrenching his hands away and then made his way back upstairs. 

A bounty. A means to an end. The way to getting a break that his aching body craved for. 

He was hunter. You were prey. 

That was the mantra he had to keep repeating to himself when he’d brought you up to the cockpit. 

Had to keep repeating when you were teasing him, which simultaneously ground on his nerves but also made his skin tighten in a way it hadn’t for a while. 

It had been a long time, so long since he’d that kind of verbal play with someone. 

Hell, it had been a long time since he’d had any kind of play with anyone. He just didn’t have the time anymore, not with Grogu and not when everyone knew who he was. How could you trust someone enough to sleep with them when nearly everyone wanted to kill you?

His new mantra had echoed in his head when you began to verbally poke at him, hitting home about being lonely. He wouldn’t have been surprised if you knew you’d hit a nerve. But thankfully you stopped. 

But not before that broken thing had called between you again. Your words were spoken with too much ease and casualness, someone who knew all too well the loneliness and starvation for touch and companionship. 

Maker, he had to get rid of you soon. 

It had almost been a relief to find the small bounty on this planet. You’d been asleep, the kid asleep too so he’d gone. He didn’t need to wake either of you up, you knew why you were here - he’d told you so this morning. 

Besides, it was a small planet, easy prey to catch when everyone here feared the dark. He’d be back in a few hours. 

With the way he was so wired, he’d probably be back in two. 

That’s the way it was meant to happen. 

Track down the bounty, disarm, bring him back, freeze him in carbonite and Mando would have you back in the sky before you’d even woken up. 

And it had happened that way initially. He followed the sharp tailed bounty from the fighting pits to a cantina. Had to sit and listen as he boasted about some girl he’d bedded the night before and had screaming his name. He then, of course, launched into detail of said night, drawling about this girl in such a derogatory way that it took all his training and restraint not to just shoot this creep in the head there and then and be done with it. 

But, the Mandalorian had endured it. Sat there for an hour or so and then followed him out into an alleyway. Mando kept hidden as the bounty had spoken to a friend, talking about another girl he’d seen. Apparently, this one was even better than last night. He had it on good authority that this girl would be game for anything he wanted to do and more. 

And then Spikey had started describing again, in detail, what he would do. And Mando had been disgusted, angry that this creep was talking about a woman this way, such sick and derogatory things. Spikey’s friend asked if this ‘slut’ had a name. 

And then…

Your name. That’s what he said. 

And that’s when it went wrong. 

Your name had barely come out of this animal’s lips when a red haze clouded over the Mandalorian. Everything in him screamed violence and his body went on autopilot, attacking this vile waste of space matter so quickly he hadn’t had time to breathe. Mando didn’t even notice the friend bolt, running away. He was just so focused on taking down the bounty, ripping him apart for what he’d said about you. This one would be brought in cold. He would say that it put up a fight, tried to kill him so Mando acted in self-defence. 

His previous mantra of the last two days was forgotten, overtaken by a need to defend you, make sure this guy stayed the hell away from you. Bring him down, freeze him in carbonite and get off of this planet. He fell back into that haze, relying on his skills and instincts. 

Except… except that when the haze cleared, he wasn’t leaning over the body. 

No, he was the one being pinned against the wall by the bounty, with a strength he hadn’t realised Spikey possessed. What the fuck was he?

Escape training came to him now, but before he could disarm and kill, the bounty began to spew those vile thoughts about you again. About how Mando was keeping you tied to a bed, for his own pleasure. How he was going to take you, ask to keep you, use you-

And then for the first time in his life, Mando forgot his training. He forgot about blocking and defensive maneuverers. He forgot about the myriad of weapons on his body, the Whistling Birds, the flame-thrower. 

He reached out in a blind fury to throttle this creep. 

He left himself open to attack. 

That was the first time he royally fucked up tonight.  

Pain had suddenly become a living thing in his side and waist as he slid down the wall, and then his only thought wasn’t of survival, it was of the kid, and you. 

You were back in the ship, both of you safe at least. Maybe you would know how to fly, know how to get yourselves out of there and run, escape. That’s what he’d hoped. You were smart, you were a survivor. You’d take the initiative and get yourselves out. Besides, he might not have admitted it, but he trusted you with Grogu. 

And then like he’d fucking summoned you… there you were. Launching into Spikey Tail’s side and getting him away. He could only watch as you engaged him in the fight, taunted him with that same tone you’d used on him. Only this time, he could watch you. 

Beautiful. 

There was no other word for it, as much as he might not have wanted to admit it. You fought like it was a dance, that prowling wolf in you giving way to a viper, striking and falling back with all the grace of dancers he’d heard about performing in Coruscant. 

He was almost breathless as he watched this deadly game – though that might have been the blood loss and blow to his head. 

He thought he might be sick when the sound of your ribs shattering bounced off the slick metal walls, the muffled cry of agony it tore from you. 

But still, the taunts kept coming, and he couldn’t help himself when you complained that Spikey Tail talked too much. You had possibly two broken ribs and yet you were still a cocky little shit. The impressed, huffing laugh that came from his lips was loud enough to be heard by you. 

And that was his second fuck up of the night. 

What started as an unexpected burst of warmth in his chest as you turned and smiled at him, had immediately frozen his lungs as Spikey slammed you against the wall, strangling you. 

Fear shot through Mando, colder than his body had begun to feel. He tried to get up, tried to help you but he couldn’t move. His limbs wouldn’t respond to him. 

He couldn’t save you. 

He was going to watch you die defending him. 

Just like his parents. 

No, no, no. He couldn’t. He couldn’t do that, not again. He swore against his body, gathered every remaining ounce of strength that he had and reached for his blaster, just as those sick comments of degradation and ugly lust began to fall from your attacker’s lips. 

All he needed was to give you an opening, just one tiny opening and you would do the rest. 

Spikey’s lips were creeping toward yours, fear bursting in your eyes as you scrambled for the vibroblade sheathed against your thigh. 

An opening, that’s all he had to do. 

And he did. He managed to haul his body back from the edge of death long enough to shoot the guy in the back. 

You took your opening. 

He saw the flash of your vibroblade, heard the muffled, wet noise as it sunk into his bounty’s neck. 

The guy fell to the floor in a dead weight. You dropped too and he managed to see you gasp for air, assure himself you were mostly okay before that flame of energy guttered out so quickly, he saw stars. 

Darkness hovered around the edges of his vision as he felt his life slip through his fingers – literally, his other hand was pressed to his side in an effort to try and staunch it but he didn’t have the energy to. 

This was it then. 

The way he would go. 

Nothing noble, or heroic. 

Bleeding out in a back alley. The creatures in the dark would take him soon enough. 

At least you would be able to take the kid and run now. At least there was that. 

And then he felt hands knocking his way, significantly smaller hands push into the wound. He couldn’t even make a noise of pain; it didn’t hurt anymore. His vision cleared again and there you were once more, leaning over him with blood sprayed over your face, falling from a cut on your cheek. 

No. No. 

What were you doing?? 

You were supposed to escape. You were supposed to flee the mess he’d bought you into and take the kid and run. 

He tried to speak, to convey these thoughts to you but his lips had stopped responding. His tongue felt heavy in his mouth. But somehow, it was like you got what he meant. 

Your hands began to lift, and he had a weak wave of relief that was marred by the fresh soaking of blood that oozed out of his side. How much had he lost now?

Too much, by the cooling temperature of his body and the trembling that had begun. 

He had come close to death before, so many times before but this felt different. This felt like he was losing something. Something that was just within reach but he hadn’t had the chance to grasp at yet. And it was being wrenched away, taken from him and trickling over the stones beneath him in a deep, scarlet puddle. 

Maybe he’d begun to hallucinate too, because you were back, leaning over him, hands pressed into him again like they could stop the blood. He lifted his eyes and something in him curled up and panged when he saw that you were already gazing at him. 

Gazing right into his eyes. 

How you knew where they were, how you looked through the blackened visor without seeing, he didn’t know. But he could read the war raging inside of you, the battle off stay or go. 

Go.

Mando tried to talk again, but only managed a faint noise, a croak that sounded so pitiful, he might have cringed at himself had he not started to hear a ringing in his ears. Time was nearly up, ticking away his life and that glimmer of something. 

So, he instead just looked at you. You were clearly not made up yet, so he did something selfish. 

He put his life in your hands. 

If you left him here to die, he deserved it. It was justice. Justice for every ounce of pain he’d caused. The grief he’d doled out to mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, children. 

Justice for the life of treachery he had all but dumped Grogu into. 

Justice for letting his parents die for him and not save them. 

But, if you let him live…

Then he would try harder. He would repent for his mistakes. 

He would make sure you were dropped somewhere safely. You couldn’t stay with him, he wrought death and destruction to those around him whether he meant it or not  

But he could take you somewhere safe, maybe to Greef and Cara. 

Then he would hunt down whoever came after you next, giving you the respite that he was going to keep for himself. 

They were the options. 

A deserved death, or a new determination to set right his mistakes. 

These thoughts swum through his hazy brain at a surprisingly rapid pace, only a few seconds worth of time as he still watched what you would do with this choice. He could see that you understood, understood the choice he had selfishly bestowed upon you. 

Only it was too late. 

Heavy darkness thundered over him in an unrelenting tidal wave and with a choked gasp, he was dragged under, so deep he might have imagined your arms winding around his battered body, hauling him to his feet as much as you could. 

His brain giving him one last reprieve, perhaps, or maybe a cruel taunt to what might have been before he was sucked under and everything went numb. 

Previous chapter| Next Chapter

#the mandalorian x force sensitive! reader #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian x you #din djarin x force sensitive! reader #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #the force #star wars #the mandalorian #rogue #pedro pascal x reader #pedro pascal x you #pedro pascal

[gh0stfacesho3]

Transfer of Words

Pairing: Jeon Jungkook x Gender Non-Specific Reader

Word Count: +3.5k 

Warning: Fluff, mild angst. Professor x Student (College Au, all characters are +18), language, mention of abuse, mention of alcohol. 

Summary: As a Professor in the states, you were used to transfer students. You weren’t exactly ready for this new transfer student who is the son of the owner of Mike Sneakers (we don’t do free sponsors here ) 

   You were especially used to transfer students because you had a doctorate in linguistics. Being this, you knew a plethora of languages, from English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Korean, Japanese, Greek, Latin, and a few native languages. You were always fascinated by languages and how people came up with these mixes of characters and words to make beautiful phrases. Since you were a kid you started to learn other languages. You had a French neighbor in your old hometown which is where you picked it up at age 7. Then, when you were 10, your family took a trip to Mexico which is when you became interested by Spanish. You fully understood the language by age 11 due to your prior knowledge of French. Then this process just continued where you would just learn languages mainly for fun. This lead to you being a linguistics professor who also taught second languages and would take in quite a few transfer kids. This lead to the journey of Jeon Jungkook and it was definitely a wild one. 

   You walked into your office at about 9:00 and placed your laptop onto the desk. You straighten up your outfit before settling in and getting to work. As you looked through your emails, you noticed an email that was about another transfer student. You kind of glanced over it, but didn’t pay too much mind to it, assuming it was just another kid from out of country. As 10:00 started to roll around, your students walked in. Some smiled, others chugged some unhealthy energy drink, some even chatted with you before finding their seats. As everyone found their seats, you looked out to see a new student. 

“You, new kid, come up front and do that cringe introduction.” You chuckle, emitting a chuckle from a few kids. He tilts his head in confusion, probably because he doesn’t speak English. Due to your gesture though, he assumes you want him to introduce himself. 

“You don’t already know who I am?” He whispered loud enough for you to hear in his first language. 

“Actually, no, I don’t.” You responded quickly as you clasped your hands before beckoning him to the front again. He was a little shocked that you spoke Korean so well, being he had no prior information on you. You were used to kids who thought they were all that but something about this kid who was ‘dressed to impress’ rubbed you the wrong way. He walks down to the front and rolls his eyes at you. 

“I’m Jeon Jungkook...23. Korean” He said in English the best he could. You smiled and introduced yourself. 

“I’m Professor Y/L/N, find your seat now.” You responded before turning to the large chalk board and continuing your lesson. After the two hour lecture, you dismissed class. Jungkook was asleep in the back, which made you walk up to him and nudge him. 

“Its lunch time, go eat.” You say as he wakes up. He shrugged off your hand before collecting his things. 

“Filthy commoner.” He mumbled as he shoved past you. You would’ve been insulted if it were true, but it wasn’t. You collect your things and head out to your favorite cafe. Being it was a Tuesday, that class was the only one you had for the day so you treated yourself to some coffee. You notice a bit of commotion outside, but you try to ignore it and sneak inside. 

“Y/N Y/L/N!! IS IT TRUE YOU’RE TEACHING JEON JUNGKOOK?!” 

“Y/N?!?!”

“DO YOU KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT JUNGKOOK?” 

You were confused by all the bombarding questions so you ran into the café and shut the door along with someone else. You turned to see the brat himself, Jeon Jungkook. 

“What mess have you fuckin brought me into?” You huffed as your back pressed against the door. 

“I didn’t do anything! I just went for a walk and got lost!” He huffed back at you. 

“Why are you so popular?” You asked as you held your hand on your forehead. 

“Ugh, you’re a horrible teacher if you can’t read a simple email. I’m the son of the owner of Mike tennis shoe company.” He responded. You rolled your eyes as stood up and walked in line, happy to see police shows up to wrangle up paparazzi. 

“What? Don’t care about my father’s company?” He mumbled. You go to order your drink and the barista looks confused. You realized you just ordered in Korean. You apologized before trying again. After you pay, Jungkook walks up and tried to get a drink. 

“C-coffee?” He basically asked, leaving the barista to ask a series of question. Jungkook looks over to you for help, making you chuckle. 

“Why should I help? You called me a shitty teacher.” You faked being offended which made Jungkook embarrassed. 

“I’ll pay for you.” He said, making you more than willing to help him. Being you already bought your drink, he just handed you a 20 like it was nothing. 

“That's way to much money Jungkook.” You said as you grabbed your coffee and went to hand him the money back. 

“It’s nothing to me and my father always says to help the less fortunate.” He said before drinking his coffee, which intern made you laugh. 

“You’re a brat but you’re a cool kid.” You say as you sit down and he follows. You quirk an eyebrow at him and he does the same back. 

“Who said you could sit with me?” Making him tilt his head. 

“Who said you got here first?” Jungkook barked back at you. You held your hands up in defense. 

“You’re going to have to get used to me being I will probably be your living translator...also whos your host family?” You waited for his response as you took a sip of your coffee. 

“I-...I’m not sure.”

“You didn’t check your email?” You teased like he did you which seemed to piss him off. 

“I can’t fuckin read English!” Which made you shocked. How could a school send this kid an email in a language he doesn’t know. You hold your hand out for his phone which he reluctantly gives to you. You mumble out the email before getting to the important part. 

“Your father has entrusted Professor Y/N with your care being they have the most experience with transfer students.” You were used to hosting kids but you thought someone of such class would be with, well you didn’t know, maybe someone the kid knew? 

“With you?” He almost sounded disgusted. You were actually upset that you didn’t read that email but you had a rough weekend. 

You sighed, “Look kid-”

“I’m not a kid!” He fussed. He was right. He said he was 23 and so were you. (Seems young for being a professor right, you’re just pretty smart and graduated early) 

“Okay, sorry. But look, you either live with me for the what, 3 months you’re gonna be here? Or ask your daddy for money to live in a hotel for 3 months.” You teased, making him sigh. 

“I’m not talking to him...that's why he sent me here.” Jungkook looked down at his now empty iced coffee. 

You stood up and patted his shoulder. “Then suck it up buttercup. Lets go get your shit and move you in.” 

“Want me to call an Uver?” The boy asked. (again, no free sponsors in this house).

“Nope. My car isn’t too far from here.” You smiled as you walked closer to the college campus. You turned before getting to campus and walked up to the car park. 

He pointed to an abandoned car that has been there for years, “Is that yours?” he teased. 

You smiled as you pulled out your key fob, clicking the unlock button to see a black lambo unlock. Jungkook stopped in his tracks and stared in awe. 

“Come on pretty boy, not scared are you?” You smiled as you hopped in. He scurried into the car with a wide smile. 

“Here I was thinking you were some poor teacher.” 

“I’m a professor first of all, second” you start the engine with a loud purr, “I have my perks.”  You smirked. 

Its been about a month since Jungkook has been moved in. One day y’all were sitting at the table, awkwardly eating dinner like you guys did every night when he got a phone call. You have never seen him smile since the first time he got in the car and besides that, he’s been a pain in your ass more than anything. Good thing is, he’s actually learned quite a bit of English and can order his food in public. 

You were snapped out of your thoughts when you heard him fussing. 

“No Dad! Please you can’t make me stay here! I am studying and doing my work! This isn’t fair!” He argued, pacing back in forth before heading to his room which was a guest room. “YOU CAN’T JUST KEEP ME IN AMERICA BECAUSE YOU DON’T WANT TO TAKE CARE OF ME. MY PROFESSOR ISN’T MY BABY SITTER, THEY HAVE THEIR OWN LIFE WHICH IS BETTER WITHOUT ME!....you were only right about one thing dad... I’m a bother to everyone around me.” Jungkook finished before in went quiet. You didn’t know what to say. He knew he was being difficult because he wanted to be. He wants you to be upset and kick him out so he can go home. He wants to be out of you hair. You walked to his room and knocked, and saw something you never saw you see. Tears. 

“W-what?!” He sniffled as he turned around and rubbed his eyes. You just walked up to him and turned him around, pulling him into a hug. He was reluctant at first before he finally gave in. 

“You’re a brat yes, but you’re not a bother. And if you’d stop distancing yourself, we might be able to make this extended time more enjoyable.” Was the only thing you could say. 

“I’m sorry I’m so mean to you...I just thought if maybe,”

“Maybe if I got annoyed enough I’d kick you out so you could go home?” He nodded to your question. 

“Welp, I’m a tough cookie to crack.” You smiled as you pulled away. 

“God we are the same age but you talk like a 80 year old.” He laughed as he wiped his face again. 

The two of you then go and talk about him and his life back at home. He explains how his grades are slipping and that is why he is forced to stay here longer. How he doesn’t like going to college because it’s not what he wants to do in life. Jungkook explained that he wanted to be a singer and even showed you a few songs he has covered and composed. They were really good in actuality. You agreed with him if he can get English down pat and pick his grades up, you’d help him peruse his career. 

-

It’s now been 3 months and Jungkook is basically speaking fluent English. He is also passing all your classes and is starting to open up to you a lot more. It was Spring break so you decided to go out with a few friends to get a drink. You invited Jungkook but he said he wanted to finish a paper he got an extension on so you just went out on your own. You and all your friends were dancing in the club and downing drinks like fish. You may have gotten a little too drunk being it was your first night out by yourself. Jungkook recently started to get more friends so you had some free time, but you haven’t gone out since he got here which is why you let yourself get as drunk as you did. It was towards the end of the night and the bouncer would not let you out with your keys due to how drunk you were. 

“Move you b-big bo-ouf...” You stumbled as you tried to squeeze past him. He grabbed your arm and pushed you back. You huffed before pulling out your phone and smashing keys in and calling whoever popped up. 

“Professor? Are you okay?” Jungkook asked, concerned as to why you called him after not responding to his text asking when you’d be home. 

“I-im dr-drunk and this fuckin cunt won’t let me out.” You whined as you still tried to squeeze past him. “Don’t-...Don’t fuckin touch me.”

“Look, I’ll get an Uver and come pick you up.” Jungkook said as he got his things and hung up on you. 

You looked at your silent phone with an angry expression,”...bitch” 

Jungkook came walking in and saw you sitting on the floor poking the bouncers leg. 

“Can you get this parasite off of me?” The large man asked looking down at me. 

Jungkook stoops down and helps you up. You stumble toward him before you turned to look at the bouncer and stick your tongue out. You also flipped him off before Jungkook grabbed your hand and brought you to the Uver. You sat by the window and he did the same. You two finally got to your house and he helped bring you up. You tore your arm away from him as you stumbled up the stairs. 

“I’m not a fuckin baby.” You grumbled as you immediately fell on the stairs. The male huffed as he helped you up. 

“Get OFF of ME Jackson!” You pushed him away as tears filled your eyes. “I’m not your fuckin victim anymore!” 

“Y/n?” Jungkook put his hands up and came to you slowly, “Its just me...Jungkook.” You finally started to calm down as you slowly tried to climb the stairs to your home. Jungkook helped you up and brought you to the couch. Jungkook grabbed a wet cloth and wiped the palms of your hand that were scrapped up. He then wiped your eyes and petted your head. 

After Jungkook helped you that night, there was this awkward air again. He felt like walking on eggshells around you. Who was Jackson and why did you say you weren’t his victim. Jungkook asked his classmates around campus and even a few teachers as best he could. He finally found a teacher who was willing to give him a small amount of information. 

“Now, I’m not going to say a lot because it isn’t my story to tell, but Jackson is Y/n’s ex....and let’s say he won’t be getting boyfriend of the year award.” Dr. Nick explained. Jungkook had enough information to make a firm decision. He was going to show you what a man should treat others like. He wasn’t your boyfriend or even considered you that much of a friend, but he felt guilty for living with you almost rent free (even though the school payed for his stay). 

Jungkook went to the store after he was done with classes and picked up a lot of food to make you dinner as payment for all the times you made him dinner. He bought you your favorite candy, or so he assumed because he’d always find the wrappers in the trash. He even bought you a gift card to the coffee shop you love and headed home. Being it was a Friday, he knew you would be home a little later. The more Jungkook thought about it, the more he realized he knew a lot more about you than he thought. Jungkook started to think about all the little things you did for him. How certain foods would pop up more after he mentioned them. How you would cook different meals just for his liking and make sure he had a decent environment to study in. How you would stay up late and call of work a few times just to help him study. Jungkook smiled as he started to mentally prepare himself for cooking. He also hoped he wouldn’t burn your house down because he had very little cooking experience. 

Jungkook starts cooking a dish he often enjoyed back at home: Spicy Ramen with rice cakes and kimbap. The button down shirt he wore to school was now slightly disheveled and stained. He rolled his sleeve up as he looked at the time-- 5 more minutes. Or so he thought when he heard your keys jingle at the door. He mildly panicked before setting up the food at the table and cleaning up quickly. He ran to the door as you finally started to open it and he stopped you.

“Huh?” You asked looking at his slightly sweaty face. “Jungkook if you’re having sex-” 

“AH No no no!! But I have to ask for you to stand out here for 5 more minutes...trust me.” You don’t know why but you did trust him, and so you stood there for 5 whole minutes. You thought about all the possibilities you could walk into: A girl or a guy running out half naked, your house destroyed, drugs...etc.  Jungkook came back looking a lot more put together and opened the door. You were hit with a mix of smells and were shocked. 

“J-jungkook, did you ? You didn’t- no you can’t cook can you?” You asked as you walked in and admired the kitchen. 

“I noticed you’ve been working more and I felt bad for staying here, even longer than expected... So I wanted to show you that I can be a proper man and treat another human being with respect.” 

“I don’t care the reason as long as it taste good...and it looks amazing Jeon.” You quickly wash your hands and sit down ready to eat. Jungkook sat closer to you which you didn’t think much about being the ramen was in a big shared pot. You start digging in but you try to avoid the kimbap. You didn’t know if it had seafood and you didn’t want to take a chance. Jungkook picked up a piece and brought it up to your mouth. 

“Made without seafood.” He smiled before you opened your mouth and took a bite. You smiled as you continued to eat. Jungkook ate as well before making the perfect bite. You even noticed it and tried to follow what he did, but before you could, he offered it to you. You were about to take in the food before you paused. 

“Where is all this coming from?” You asked before taking the bite You smiled and almost forgot you asked a question until he cleared his throat. 

“Well, like I said I felt bad for staying here and being a brat...I also wanted to give you a taste of my culture since you’ve welcomed me into yours.” He explained with a small blush and a smile. 

“Yeah I get that, but what's with that stuff?” You asked pointing to the flower bouquet lined with your favorite candies and snacks. 

“Oh...well the same reason.” He smiled. You were suspicious but you decided to finish eating. You heart was really warmed but he wasn’t that much of a brat. Yeah it was inconvenient on occasion, but he’s helped you a lot. He helps with chores and keeps his area clean, he is good company since you’re always alone, and well...he’s a pretty boy to keep around. Not to mention he saved you from that club when you were piss ass drunk. The two of y’all were cleaning up and things were going good...until Jungkook said the forbidden name. 

“Y/n...who is Jackson?” You almost drop the plate you were cleaning. 

“I fuckin knew you were up to something...Did you go through my room?! My fucking personal life?!” You started to fuss but by the look on his face, he didn’t. 

“When you were drunk, you called me Jackson and said ‘I’m not your victim anymore’...” He paused, looking down before looking back at you, “he hurt you didn’t he?” 

You stared at the wall, looking for the right words to say. “Yeah...he did. And I’m sorry I did that that night...but I’m not a baby. I don’t need your sympathy or your fuckin pandering.” You huffed as you started to leave the kitchen but he grabbed your wrist. 

“I’m not doing this to make up for him,...Nothing I can do can heal those scars. But I’m doing it to make up for me and my actions. And its my way of showing-....” Jungkook trailed off. 

“Showing what?” You said looking down at his hand holding your wrist. 

“It’s how I show affection to people I care about.” Jungkook said the words without really thinking. You were taken aback and pulled away from him. 

“Jungkook...I-” You started before he cut you off. 

“I know what you’re going to say. I’m not the first kid to say this am I? And you tell them all the same thing. ‘We can’t be together because I risk losing my job’ and all that...I know.” He said looking down at his feet. You were shocked he even had feelings for you. He was completely wrong because since Jackson, you kept these walls up and didn’t let anyone like you. You normally noticed when people would catch feelings and immediately turn them away...but this was different. You hadn’t realized he liked you because you were to busy pushing yourself away from him. You noticed you liked his presence more which is why you stayed later at work, to push yourself away. 

“Jungkook, that’s not it. I actually really care about you too. But there is the case with work that I don’t know if I can get passed...but I do appreciate this. And I appreciate you so much, but after Jackson...” You trailed off. 

“You don’t know if you’re ready and I understand that...but out of all the people I’ve met, your the one person I wouldn’t mind waiting for.” Jungkook admitted. He didn’t realize how strong he felt about you until he was in this moment. You also didn’t realize how strong you felt until you realized you moved closer to him. You always had your guard up around people, but you realized you were more venerable with Jungkook than with anyone else. You peered up at him to see his eyes were red from holding back his tears. 

You chuckled softly, “You’re such a baby.” You teased making him laugh before nudging you. 

“Yeah well this baby just cooked your dinner so whose baby now?” He retorted. 

“There’s that smile...”You mumbled, smiling as you two just stood there looking at each other. Jungkook’s eyes darted down to your lips before saying fuck it. He leaned in and held your cheeks in his hand. You felt this weird tension finally dissipate. You leaned in closer and placed your hands on top of his. 

“If you think about it, I graduate this year in a few months...so if we wait it out, you won’t have to worry about your job.” Jungkook reasoned as he pulled away. 

“That is true...even if you weren’t, I can always find another job.” You smiled, kissing him again. 

A/n: Sorry if this is a little rough, but I have been on a hiatus for about a year now. Writing is something I love doing but I’ve been so busy with school and have had so little motivation. I really wrote this whole thing within 2 days and I’m proud of myself. If you really liked it, hit that like and share button! If this gets enough love, I might open request again. 

#bts #bts jungkook #jeon jungkook #jungkook x reader #jungkook x male reader #jungkook x female reader #jungkook x gender neutral reader #fluff #angst #bangtan #bt21 #self insert #bts x reader #bts x male reader #bts x female reader #bts x gender neutral reader

[robinruns]

Ok, Hella Mega Minneapolis weekend recap, let's go (also this post is long sorry not sorry)

I already told yall about Sunday: drove, met up with Maria 🖤 wandered around, found one (1) restaurant, but it was good so it was fine.

Monday: got up and went to the zoo... a zoo? There were animals, here are some that spoke to my soul

Then we got snack and lunch and waited until it was time to walk to the stadium. The line was already pretty long when we got there but it was prime people watching. Also once we got up close they just started ushering peoplw through the "VIP" gate just to keep us moving. Things were NOT moving at the merch table though. Like this whole ass family had so long in line to figure out what they want to do and got to the front and were still talking to their small children about what they wanted.

We grabbed gatorade (because it was still around 87°) and headed to our spot. Luckily we were on the aisle so we had extra space. The girl in front of us was double fisting beers all night, was a MASSIVE fan of Weezer and was generally super cool. She also dumped a drink down a guy's shirt because he and his Jake/Logan Paul lookalike friend were being obnoxious AF and the security guard was just flirting with them instead of dealing with them.

But The Interrupters were great, Weezer was awesome even though there were a couple songs I didn't know.

Then came the main event (for us at least), Fall Out Boy! This was my 3rd FOB show, and actually the 2nd time they were second billed (the last time was when they were on tour with Blink 182 and Panic in 2009). I loved that their set was more elaborate than either of the other bands' and they changed it midway through, and there was a whole narrative to it.

(I'm running out of room for photos)

What I really really loved was seeing how totally fuckin stoked Patrick seemed to be about being up there and performing. Like Pete is always up there talking, and I feel like Patrick can be more subdued, but he just had a real energy to him.

Hi can you tell I love Patrick Stump?

Anyway. I had to go get water mid set because I felt like I was thisclose to passing out. Like at this point we'd been on our feet 4+ hours (not counting time at the zoo) and temps were not cooling down, if anything it was hotter due to the people.

Before Green Day came out, they played Bohemian Rhapsody and I've never heard a crowd all singing like that before, it was great!

So Green Day comes out swinging, it's AMAZING, there's fireworks, it's like it's 2004 and everything nothing hurts. I know they've been pulling a person on stage to play a little with them and the kid they pulled on stage was so freaking stoked, like I'm getting chills right now thinking about how amazing it was. But then the moment I'd been sorta... dreading came.

They played Wake Me Up When September Ends and I lost it. Bless @maria-the-ghoul for putting up with my embarrassing self. Also shout out to beard dude from the other side of the aisle who gave me a hug and then apologized for being sweaty, as if we all weren't drenched in sweat (literally my shirt was totally soaked).

I think that's part of why it took me so long to process the whole night. That moment found that raw spot in my heart and just sorta... I dunno, poked at it. Driving back today I cried again because I just thought about the song. Granted I am very tired (very little sleep, very much activity) and so that probably isn't helping things, but at that point I'd luckily changed my spotify from just playing all of my liked songs to just My Chemical Romance. It really helped. Like I can't convey right now how thankful I am to have their music because it just soothes me so much.

But another thing I felt on my drive home was some goddamn closure on the shit show that was fall 2019. I had songs play that I discovered during that time and that same feeling I'd been carrying for two years was gone. I finally feel at peace with that time period. Hell, maybe it's because I'm more focused on this year's shit show, but either way, I feel better.

And I'm ready to do it again next week

#hella mega tour #hella mega Minneapolis #fall out boy #green day #weezer #the interrupters #personal

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 26

A/N: I don’t usually say stuff like this but y’all can thank me later for the ending.

TW: mentions of covid-19

March 10th, 2020

Aberdeen Bloom was about to show Camden around Scotiabank Arena.

“Don’t touch anything that’s not yours to touch, okay?” she warned him as they were just outside the doors to the arena.  She looked down at him to make sure everything looked okay – that his hair was nicely brushed, that his shirt wasn’t wrinkled, that his pants weren’t drooping, that his shoes were tied – before she bent down.  “I mean it.  We’re taking extra cleaning protocols because of this coronavirus thing and you don’t want to make extra work for the cleaning staff, right?”

“Right,” he nodded his head.  “Don’t worry, Aberdeen.”

“And no touching the sticks.  The guys are super-finicky about their sticks.”

“No touching the sticks.”

“And no touching anything in their stalls, either.  A lot of them are superstitious so if one thing is off, they’ll know.”

“No touching the stalls.”

“And no touching the—”

“No touching!!!” he yelled, clearly getting the point.  “Can we go inside now?”

Aberdeen was nervous.  But Camden was a good kid.  She had confidence that he wouldn’t embarrass her.  “Yes, we can go in now,” she said, about to get back on her feet.  And then she remembered.  “But one last thing—”

“Aberdeeeeeeeeeeeen!”

“The most important thing,” she said over him.  “You cannot tell anyone William Nylander came to our house for Christmas and you cannot talk like you’ve met him before.”

Camden nodded his head.  “I knooooow.  William spending Christmas with us has to be a secret always and forever.  I get it.  Can we please go inside now so I can see everyone before mom and dad get here?”

Aberdeen smiled.  What a kid.  “Let’s go,” she said, standing up and putting her arm around his back as they walked into the arena together.  Aberdeen flashed her fob to open the door and led Camden towards the elevators, taking it up to her office.  Camden was looking around at everything – everything was big and shiny and very sports-y, and he knew that if he was good, Aberdeen would take him to the Raptor’s locker room too.

“Heeeeey,” Brendan smiled as he saw Aberdeen ushering Camden into the office, getting up from his seat.  He’d never seen Aberdeen look so proud as she did as they walked into the room.  “How you doin’, buddy?  Remember me?  The candy man from Christmas?”

Camden nodded his head.  “Hello Mr. Shanahan.  I remember you,” Camden held out his hand.  

Brendan chuckled as he shook his little 11-year-old hand.  “You’re just like your sister.  Very formal.  She wouldn’t call me Brendan for months.”

Camden looked up at her.  “Yeah, mom and dad make sure we always call people mister and misses.  If we didn’t and mom heard about it, she’d have a fit.  Same with dad.”

“My mom was the same way, you know.  I think it’s because they grew up in Belfast,” Brendan winked.

“Probably.”

“So what do you want to see, bud?” Brendan asked.  “I don’t think you want to see the offices, right?  But not a lot of the guys are here yet.”

Camden looked around at Brendan’s office.  He clearly had something on his mind, though he seemed a bit nervous to say it.  “Can I ask you a question?”

“Of course.”

Camden bit his lip slightly.  “My sister told me the guys get to eat here if they want to.  But where do they eat?”

Brendan had the most amused look on his face.  Aberdeen couldn’t help but chuckle from behind Camden too.  “You want to go see catering?”

“I guess so.”

Brendan shook his head.  He loved kids.  “Then we’re going to catering.”

***

Camden, Aberdeen, and Brendan went to catering.  Camden met the head chef and got to stir some onions and garlic frying in a pan as the base for the pasta sauce that night.  He even helped set the menu, deciding to go for grilled chicken for the guys.  He originally suggested fried, but the chef told him the guys needed to eat clean and that if they had friend chicken, John Tavares would get mad at everyone for eating it, because they would eat it.  

They saw Kyle, who brought them out into the empty arena, and brought them all the way down to ice level where Aberdeen was able to take some pictures of him on the empty ice, on the Leafs bench, and even in the penalty box.  Camden got a kick out of it all, and got less shy and more boisterous as the minutes passed and Brendan and Kyle allowed him to do funny things.  He was even able to see the Zamboni.  He was smart enough not to ask if the man tending to it was David Ayres.  

When they were back in the corridors of the arena, Kyle looked down at Camden who was practically skipping through the hallways.  “I heard your sister got you a pretty cool Raptors jersey for Christmas,” Kyle said.

“Yup!” Camden nodded his head.  “A Kyle Lowry one.  He’s the coolest.  I wore it on my first day of school back from Christmas break and all my friends thought it was soooo cool.”

“Do you want to go into their locker room?” Kyle smiled, already knowing the answer.  

Camden’s eyes lit up like the fourth of July.  “Can I?!  For real?!” he asked.

“For real,” Kyle nodded.  “Come on, let’s go.  Maybe we can get a picture of you in Kyle Lowry’s stall.”

Fireworks were practically shooting out of Camden’s eyes as they walked inside of the dressing room.  He looked at every stall and every player’s name written at the top.  The only thing he could keep saying was “This is so cool!” and “Oh my God!”  Aberdeen hung out at the perimeter of the room as she watched him, letting Camden get the full effect.  He kept looking back at her and smiling from ear to ear, clearly not believing anything was real.  Aberdeen would smile back and urge him to keep looking.

Suddenly, she heard a door open from behind her.  She turned around quickly to see who it was and make sure she wasn’t in the way, but realistically, there shouldn’t have been anyone else there besides them, so she was skeptical.  When she saw who it was, her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.  “Oh, hello Miss Bloom!” Masai greeted her after he’d poked his head through the door.  He had a casual sports jacket on with a plain black polo shirt and a nice pair of pressed slacks.  “How are you?”

“I’m fine Mr. Ujiri.  How are you?”

“All good here.  What’s the occasion?” he asked, nodding his head towards Kyle, Brendan, and Camden.

“That’s my little brother Camden,” she said, only to see Masai’s smile grow.  “I think he feels like he’s won the lottery right now.”

“Camden?” he clarified the name in a low voice.  She nodded her head before watching him close the door and step into the locker room confidently.  “Hello Camden!” he beamed.

Camden whipped his head around.  When he saw that it was Masai Ujiri, his face dropped.  Brendan and Kyle smiled.  “Masai Ujiri?!” Camden yelled.

“That’s me!  Are you having fun?”

Camden didn’t know what to do.  He couldn’t formulate words, and he couldn’t move, and the step forward he took was mute when he froze in place because he didn’t think it was polite to hug Masai Ujiri, so he just sort of stood there in a weird stance with his jaw on the floor until he could formulate one simple word.  “Hi.”

Everybody laughed.  Masai made his way into the room.  “You’re a big Raptors fan?  Who’s your favourite?”

“K—K—Kyle Lowry,” Camden stuttered out.  

“Good choice,” Masai smiled.  “Do you want a picture in his stall?”

Camden could only nod enthusiastically.  He walked towards the stall, and Aberdeen knew it was her cue.  She took out her phone and began snapping pictures of him standing, sitting, pointing at Kyle’s name – everything.  Camden had the biggest smile ever on his face.  Then Masai posed with him too, and an even bigger smile appeared on his face.  It was all so cool.  And then—

“Hey!  Who’s that in my stall?”

A shiver went up Aberdeen’s spine.  From his spot in the stall, Camden’s face dropped again – if it was possible, even more this time than when Masai walked into the room.  She turned around to see the man himself, Kyle Lowry, walk into the room.  “What’s up, buddy?” Kyle asked, smiling from ear to ear.

“K—Ky—Ky—” Camden couldn’t get his name out.  “K—Kyle—”

“That’s me.  You having fun?” he asked.  Camden nodded.  “Have you ever been in here before?”

“N—No Mr. Lowry, I—I’ve just s—seen it on TV,” Camden stuttered out.  

“Who’s Mr. Lowry?  Call me Kyle,” he said as he walked towards him.  “You excited to be in here?” he asked.  Camden could only nod his head.  “You watch us at home?”

“I watch you at home with my dad all the time,” Camden said, which was true.  They’d watched almost all the games last season (until Camden’s bedtime, naturally), and he stayed up past his bedtime for all the playoff games.  This year, he and Mirza were continuing the tradition.  

“Do you have a jersey to wear while you watch them?”

“Aberdeen gave me a jersey for Christmas.”

Everyone laughed at his innocence.  It was only then that Aberdeen noticed a jersey draped over Kyle’s shoulder.  Even she was freaking out, because she knew how much this meant to Camden.  “So I guess you don’t want this one then?” Kyle asked, pulling the jersey off his shoulder.  He opened it up to reveal a vintage-style jersey, one with the original logo.  He took a Sharpie and asked Camden for his name and how to spell it before writing it on the jersey and signing it.  “You want a picture, buddy?” Kyle asked.  Camden could only nod.  He was too shocked.  Aberdeen was glad they were being so patient with him. 

They posed together with Kyle’s stall in the background, and then Masai joined in, and then Aberdeen got in, too.  Camden was rendered speechless.  When they were led out of the locker room, Kyle and Masai said goodbye before they disappeared into the elevator.  Kyle said a few parting words as well since he had to take an important phone call before the game.  Brendan left Aberdeen and Camden alone to go to his office, expecting Orla and Mirza anytime now.  It left Aberdeen and Camden alone, with Aberdeen knowing Camden was still star-struck by what just happened.

“Ab—Aberdeen,” Camden said finally, once the men were gone.  He was clutching onto the jersey so tight, like it would float away.  

“Are you alright, Cam?” she asked, bending down on her knee so she could look him in the eye.  

He shook his head.  “I w—wasn’t ready for that,” he said, his voice shaky.  “I didn’t—I didn’t look like a loser, did I?”

“What?  No way!” she exclaimed.  “Camden, you never look like a loser.”

“He was so cool Aberdeen!  I mean he’s Kyle Lowry!” he said as he began to cry.  

“C’mere,” she cooed, wrapping her arms around him tightly and pulling her brother in for a big hug.  “I know it was overwhelming, but that’s okay!  You just met your hero!  I bet if any of your other friends met their hero, they wouldn’t know what to do either,” she said, trying to get him to calm down.  

As Aberdeen continued to hug her brother, rubbing his back so he’d calm down a bit, she heard people making their way up the stairs, and soon, she saw William and Auston making their way up.  William noticed her first, looking her straight in the eye even though Auston was talking to him.  When Auston noticed him not responding, he looked and saw Aberdeen.  

“Hey,” William greeted them, looking at her skeptically.  “Everything okay?”

Aberdeen nodded her head against Camden’s shoulder.  “Camden just had a big moment,” she said, giving them both a look.  “He just met Masai Ujiri and Kyle Lowry.”

Both William’s and Auston’s eyes bulged out.  “Ooooooh, wow!” they cooed together.  “Dude, that’s so awesome!” Auston said, sounding excited, trying to make Camden as comfortable as possible as Aberdeen let go of the hug so Camden could face Auston and Willy.

“I’d be the same way, bud!  Don’t worry!” William said as he noticed the nervous and embarrassed look on Camden’s face as he wiped away whatever few tears fell.  He noticed the jersey hanging from Camden’s other hand.  “Is that it?”

“Yeah,” he nodded.

“Let’s see it,” Auston said gently.

Camden unfolded it gently, as if the autograph would rub off.  When the guys noticed that it was a vintage jersey, they commented on how cool it looked.  And when they finally saw the personalized autograph, they were all but screaming.  “I don’t even have one of these, bud!” Auston exclaimed.  “You’re sooooo lucky!”

“Yeah, me neither!” William joined in.  “You’ve gotta frame that or something.”

“I gotta show all my friends at school first,” he said.  The more Camden calmed down, the more he came to his senses.  He took a second and third look at the men in front of him – he of course noticed and knew William, but it was Auston who he finally realized was standing in front of him.  “Holy moly, you’re Auston Matthews!”

Auston giggled.  “Yes I am.”

“You…you’re the coolest!”

“Thanks, bud,” he said.  “Has your sister brought you into our locker room yet?”

Camden shook his head.  “Not yet.  There was nobody here yet so we went to catering.”

“Catering?!” William was shocked.  “You brought your brother to catering?!”

“I told him how you guys could eat before the game and he wanted to see!” Aberdeen tried to defend herself.  

William shook his head.  “Come on, Camden.  Let’s see who’s already here.”

With Auston leading the way and Camden in front of him, William looked back at Aberdeen behind him and winked at her.  “By the way Aberdeen, how do I look?” he asked.

She smiled.  “You look like if the song ‘Africa’ by Toto were a person.”

Auston threw his head back and cackled loudly like a seagull.  William shook his head.  Camden looked back at his sister.  “What’s Toto?  Isn’t that the dog from the Wizard of Oz?”

“Don’t worry about it, Cam,” she said.  

Camden was nervous as they approached the doors of the locker room, so he waited for his sister to be near him before he stepped through.  When he did, he was wide-eyed and amazed; he couldn’t believe he’d just been in the Raptor’s locker room and now he was in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ locker room, too.  Most of the guys were actually already in the room, but luckily they were not in various stages of undress yet.  Morgan was the first one to notice them – it was his first game back from injury, so his energy level was off the charts.  “Aberdeen!” he yelled her name, giant smile on his face.  His eyes moved to Camden.  “Who’s this?”

“This is Camden, my little brother,” she said, introducing him.  “Camden, that’s Morgan Rielly.  He’s one of our alternate captains and it’s his first game back tonight.”

“What’s up, Camden?” he asked, smiling gently.  

“Hello Mr. Rielly.”

“Camden just met Masai Ujiri and Kyle Lowry, so he’s a bit shocked at everything right now,” Aberdeen said, making a face at Morgan that Camden couldn’t see.  

Morgan got the hint.  “That’s the jersey then, huh?” he pointed to the jersey still in Camden’s hands.  Camden nodded.  “Isn’t Kyle just so cool?” Morgan asked.

A smile spread on Camden’s face.  “He’s my faaaaavourite,” he said.

“Me too.”

“Do I hear a Bloom brother is here?” Tyson’s voice boomed from the other end of the locker room.  Aberdeen watched him walk through the door with a big smile on his face.  “What’s up?!  You must be Camden!”

“Hello Mr. Barrie.”

“You excited for the game tonight?”

Camden nodded.  “It’s my first ever hockey game.”

“First ever?!  Okay, we gotta make it extra special then,” Tyson smiled.  “Where are you sitting?”

Camden looked up to Aberdeen, because he didn’t have a clue.  “Mom, dad, and Camden are sitting in row 20 at centre ice,” she said.  “If he’s good he’ll be back after the game too.  But only if he’s good.”

“Hey!  I’m always good!” he objected.

“I’m not sure about that.”

***

As Aberdeen sat with Brendan in the box, she noticed him checking his phone a lot more than usual.  It was especially peculiar because this was a game against Tampa Bay – a very good team and many saw this as a must-win for the Leafs, especially since they won their last game against Tampa Bay on her birthday.  And like with the game in Ottawa, when Siena was there, and on her birthday, when he scored that insane between-the-legs goal, William was just showing off.  He was playing great, and had scored a goal in the first period.  Aberdeen knew he was hamming it up for her and her family, knowing they were in attendance.  

When Auston scored in the third period to get the score to 2-1, Brendan was happy but it didn’t last long.  He began furiously typing away on his phone.  She wondered if there was a problem with one of his kids or with Catherine.  He usually wasn’t this distracted during games.

“Is everything okay, Brendan?” she asked once the final buzzer went.  The Leafs had won 2-1 and she thought he’d be much happier.

He pursed his lips together, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head.  “Trying to keep up on the coronavirus,” he said.  The media had already been put at bay and weren’t allowed close to the players anymore.  She wondered if new restrictions were being implemented and the media wrote a pissy open letter demanding access again.  “It’s not looking good.  I mean, the entire country of Italy is in a fucking lockdown.  They can’t control this thing.”

Aberdeen heard that news yesterday.  It was a shock to her, mainly because she didn’t think it was possible an entire country could go into lockdown.  But the north was getting rattled by it, and it seemed like the only logical thing to do, however draconian it was.  She had a lot of Italian friends from high school whose family were still in Italy and were affected by it.  “What do you think will happen?” she asked.

“Don’t know,” he said.  “I mean…it’s getting serious.  Really serious.  And I’m not convinced it can be contained like we all hope it can be,” he said.  

“What do you think will happen with us?” she followed up.

“If…ah, I honestly don’t know, Aberdeen.  They could postpone games by a few days.  I mean, I think that’s the worst-case scenario right now – everything being delayed by a couple of weeks.”

Aberdeen bit her lip.  “Yeah…I guess that’s totally worst-case scenario.”

“Absolute worst-case scenario,” Brendan repeated.  “Do I think it will get that bad?  I don’t know.  I don’t think so.  But I have no clue about these things.”

“What…I mean, the directive has to come from the league, right?” she asked.

“Of course.  It always comes from the top down.  We’ll see what happens.  We can’t worry about hypotheticals.”

Aberdeen nodded.  He was right.  “So I guess I’ll see you on Wednesday when Nashville is in town?”

“You betcha.  Let me walk you down and say goodbye to your family.”

***

Aberdeen had barely taken her shoes off when she got into her condo before she felt her phone buzz in her hand.  

can i see u?

She couldn’t believe him.  But at the same time, she could.

You’re lucky you can.

i’ll be there in 5

She took the five minute opportunity to change out of her work clothes and take off her makeup.  When the calling buzz rang from her phone, she immediately let him in.  Within minutes, he was knocking at her door, and she was letting him in like she always did.  

“How’s your brother?” he asked as he took off his shoes.  

“He’s fine,” she smiled slightly, liking that William was asking about him.  Camden had returned to the Leafs locker room after the game (if the media found out, she knew they’d have a hissy fit since they weren’t even allowed back there, but Brendan didn’t care) and Auston gave him his game-worn jersey, which all the guys ended up signing.  By the end of the night, all of the excitement of the day and the game had caught up to him, and he was practically falling asleep standing up.  “He was tired by the end but I could tell it was the best day of his life.”

“He’s a cute kid,” William commented.  “You guys are alike, you know.”

“How?” Aberdeen was curious.

“You’re both…like, pure.  You both light up the room when you enter it,” he smiled.  The shy smile on her face was his favourite.  He approached her, not wanting to wait any longer.  “Is Kasha home?” he asked before he put his arm around her.  

“No.  She’s with Evan tonight,” Aberdeen said.

“Sleeping over?”

Aberdeen nodded, a smirk on her face.  “Aren’t you a lucky boy.”

William smiled.  “The luckiest boy in the world,” he mumbled, wrapping his other arm around her and pulling her against his body.  

“You always know the perfect opportunities to show up,” she said.  “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you’re in cahoots with her as to when to come over and get in my pants.”

William chuckled, leaning down. “In cahoots?” he mumbled against her lips.  “The only thing or person I’m in cahoots with these days is you, minskatt.”

“Not Rasmus?” she asked.

He grumbled at her before deciding to get her to be quiet by kissing her.  When his lips planted on hers, she let out a slight gasp before wrapping her own arms around his shoulders, kissing him fully and sticking her tongue down his throat in no time at all.  As they kissed in the middle of her kitchen, William slipped his hands underneath her shirt and up to her bra, feeling her breasts through the cotton fabric.  “Bedroom?” he asked.

Aberdeen nodded.  “Please.”

***

March 11th, 2020

Good afternoon.  In the past two weeks, the number of cases of COVID-19 outside China has increased 13-fold, and the number of affected countries has tripled.  There are now more than 118,000 cases in 114 countries, and 4,291 people have lost their lives.  Thousands more are fighting for their lives in hospitals.  In the days and weeks ahead, we expect to see the number of cases, the number of deaths, and the number of affected countries climb even higher.  WHO has been assessing this outbreak around the clock and we are deeply concerned both by the alarming levels of spread and severity, and by the alarming levels of inaction.

We have therefore made the assessment that COVID-19 can be characterized as a pandemic.

***

Aberdeen’s brows were furrowed as she and Kasha watched TV, the both of them feeling like they were in the twilight zone or something.  The basketball game was supposed to have started, but never did.  People were rushing off the court.  Nobody knew what was going on, and the announcers were just speaking in hypotheticals.  It was all very confusing – that is, until, the headline came:

Rudy Gobert tests positive for coronavirus.

The girls couldn’t keep their eyes off the TV screen.  Now the Utah Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder were being quarantined inside the arena and being tested.  Just the other day, Rudy Gobert was making light of the entire situation and touching all of the reporters’ microphones after his interview with them.  Now he had the virus.

“Oh my God,” Kasha muttered as she looked down at her phone.  

“What?  What’s going on?” Aberdeen asked.

“Tom Hanks just announced he has it,” she announced, looking up.  

The girls looked at each other, speechless.

***

“Did you hear the NBA has suspended their season?” Aberdeen asked as she lay in her bed, holding her phone along the pillow as she looked at William through the screen.  He was doing the same thing.  His disheveled hair and sleepy blue eyes would have made her swoon in any other situation, but right now, she wasn’t swooning.  

“Yeah,” he nodded.  He noticed she was wearing the hoodie that he left there by accident last night.  “It’s crazy.  I mean it’ll probably be for the next few days until they have everything under control, you know?”

“Yeah,” Aberdeen said, but she wasn’t so sure.  “What do you think the NHL will do?” she asked.

“No clue.  Maybe they’ll suspend the next few days of games too, just to make sure everything is under control too.  We’ll probably have to get tested.  I heard they stick something all the way up your nose,” William said.  There were a few moments of silence between them.  “Are you scared, minskatt?”

It was the first time somebody actually asked her that question – asked her if she was scared.  Everybody talked about it but nobody ever stopped to ask if she was actually scared.  She felt herself nodding her head.  “A little bit,” she admitted.

“Don’t be scared, minskatt.  I don’t want you to feel scared.  But I’m here if you want to talk about it.  You know that, right?”

She nodded her head.  “Are you scared, Willy?”

He nodded too.  “Yeah.  A little bit.”

***

March 12th, 2020

Aberdeen had an incredibly early morning.  She actually went into the office at 7:30 in the morning because Brendan requested she be there for some additional prep and to scribe the minutes of the meeting taking place with the NHL and the Board of Governors.  With a tired body but overactive mind, thinking about all the possibilities that could happen, her fingers moved a mile a minute across the keyboard as she sat with Brendan and Kyle.  Up until this point, everything in the league was carrying on as normal, despite the NBA postponing their season not even twelve hours prior.  She knew for a fact other teams around the league were still preparing to hold practices because those who were on the call said so and asked about it.  The Nashville Predators were already in for a morning skate, and the Leafs were going to have their practice right after.  

When the decision was made, and all that needed to be done was tell the players before the statement was drafted and released to the media, Brendan took a long, hard, exasperated sigh.  He rubbed at his temples and let his pen drop from his hand.  He leaned back in his chair before he looked at Aberdeen.  “All the guys are present and accounted for in the locker room.  We have to go and tell them.”

The thought of having to tell the team was daunting.  She knew it wasn’t her that was going to be delivering the bad news, but it would still be disheartening just being in the room and seeing their faces drop.  They’d probably have so many questions and Brendan and Kyle wouldn’t have any answers for them.  She looked at Kyle to see if he could offer her any solace but he was rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses.  “What do you think they’ll say?” she asked.

Brendan shook his head and shrugged his shoulders.  “Who knows.  But nobody will be happy.  I know that much.”

As they made their way towards the locker room, Kyle texted Sheldon to make sure all the guys and all the personnel were congregated in the locker room to hear the announcement.  With the Predators also being there, Aberdeen knew there’d be overlap.  So many of them knew each other so she wondered if they had already gone to see each other.

When they got into the locker room, everyone was waiting like kids in class.  Aberdeen locked eyes with William and moved off to the side as Brendan and Kyle stood at the front of the room.  They were told the news.

“For how long?”

“Even practices?  I mean this is just going to be for a few days, right?”

“Are they releasing a statement?”

“Did the league say anything about making up the games?”

“When are we going to start again?”

“Does that mean the season is being extended even further into the summer?  Doesn’t that delay next season?  What about the CBA?”

“What’s the PA have to say about this?”

“Is the PA making a statement too?”

“What do we do with our equipment?  Our stalls?”

We don’t know.

We don’t know.

We don’t know.  

“Listen, the only thing we do know for sure is this: it’s been classified as a pandemic now by the World Health Organization and it’s spreading quickly.  This thing can’t be contained.  With Gobert testing positive last night, it was only a matter of time before this thing affected us, too.  We share so many locker rooms with NBA players.  It might already even be in our league and we don’t know it,” Brendan said.

“Schools have already announced an extended March Break.  Nobody knows a lot right now but what we can tell you is that we’re going to listen to the public health officials and their advice,” Kyle said.  “We’re hockey players – we’re not epidemiologists.  If someone tells me to stop playing a full-contact sports to stop the spread of a highly infectious diseases even the world’s best epidemiologists still know very little about, I’m going to listen to them.”

“So what do we do now?” Morgan asked.

“Go home.  Until you’re given further directives from us, go home and stay home.”

***

"In light of ongoing developments resulting from the coronavirus, and after consulting with medical experts and convening a conference call of the Board of Governors, the National Hockey League is announcing today that it will pause the 2019-20 season beginning with tonight's games.”

"The NHL has been attempting to follow the mandates of health experts and local authorities, while preparing for any possible developments without taking premature or unnecessary measures. However, following last night's news that an NBA player has tested positive for coronavirus -- and given that our leagues share so many facilities and locker rooms and it now seems likely that some member of the NHL community would test positive at some point -- it is no longer appropriate to try to continue to play games at this time.

"We will continue to monitor all the appropriate medical advice, and we will encourage our players and other members of the NHL community to take all reasonable precautions -- including by self-quarantine, where appropriate. Our goal is to resume play as soon as it is appropriate and prudent, so that we will be able to complete the season and award the Stanley Cup. Until then, we thank NHL fans for your patience and hope you stay healthy."

***

When Aberdeen got home, the news had just been announced that Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, Justin’s wife, had it.  The anxiety Aberdeen felt only multiplied.  Kasha wasn’t home when she got home – she was at work, obviously – so it was just her alone with her thoughts, and it wasn’t going well.  Aberdeen prided herself on watching the news and keeping up to date with current events, but the doomscrolling she was doing on her Twitter and the CNN feed she turned on in the background wasn’t helping.

Then she heard the buzzer for her apartment.  That could only mean one thing.  

“Are you feeling okay, minskatt?” William asked the first second he saw her, which meant she was unable to ask him why he showed up at her place.

“I…I don’t know,” she admitted.  “I’m scared, Willy.”  Knowing it was still mid-day and that Kasha was at work, he took the opportunity to move closer to her and engulf her in a hug.  Her arms were pressed between their bodies as he hugged her tightly.  She took a moment to take in his scent and compose herself and try to snap out of all the doomscrolling she’d just done.  “What are you even doing here?”

“I needed to see if you were okay.  Plus I left my hoodie here the other night and—”

He was interrupted by her phone ringing loudly on the kitchen countertop.  They both looked down at it and saw Brendan’s name flash across the screen.  A pit formed in Aberdeen’s stomach.  She let it ring a few more times before reaching out to pick it up and answer it.  “Hello?”

“Did you have contact with anybody from Nashville today?” he asked, not bothering with formalities.  “Including staff.”

“Y—Yes,” she said.  She had seen and spoken with a bunch of the staff about the situation as everyone was packing up and going home.  She was ruminating how it would be more dramatic for them to fly home whereas the Leafs just had to drive.  “Why?”

She heard him take a long breath.  “We’re getting information about precautions and what you can do to minimize the spread and exposure, and…listen, Aberdeen, the government and every public health official is instituting a policy of a fourteen day quarantine period—”

“Quarantine?!  What do you mean quarantine?” she asked.

“—Immediately.”

“Immediately?!”

“It means no leaving your house.  At all.  For anything.  You…you can’t leave, Aberdeen.”

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.  She didn’t know what to think, how to feel, anything.  She was void of emotion.  “Oh my God.”

“I know.  Believe me.  The entire country is going into lockdown.  This is more serious than I could have ever imagined.  I’ve gotta call the rest of the team to let them know.”

He hung up the phone.  She looked over to William.  She knew he’d heard Brendan through the phone.  And before she could even utter a word, his phone began ringing.  Brendan’s name flashed across his screen this time.  He looked her in the eye as he answered.  “Hello?..........Yeah.  Yeah I caught up with Filip Forsberg for a bit, some of the other Swedish guys too……….okay…okay…what do you mean quarantine?  Like stay at home?  But like, if I’m out—I—okay, go home immediately?  Yeah yeah, I’ll drop everything..........Fourteen days?...Uh, I guess so.  I mean I have no choice right?......Yeah I’ll be fine.  I’ll have groceries delivered like I always do……Yeah…Yeah…Okay.  Bye Brendan.”

They were both speechless.  

***

Aberdeen called Kasha.  Kasha was going to take the opportunity to stay at Evan’s place for fourteen days, and would be by after work to pack, during which Aberdeen would lock herself in her room.  Aberdeen didn’t know how Kasha would be able to hide a fourteen-day stint at Evan’s place from her dad.  But then again, Aberdeen was hiding William from everybody.  They both had secrets.

Once everything was arranged, she could finally look at William sitting on her couch.  She didn’t even know if he had clothes.  Underwear.  Anything.  She looked at him.  “Does this mean we’re living together for fourteen days?”

William couldn’t believe what was happening, but at the same time, he couldn’t help but smirk slightly.  “I think it does.”

#william nylander #william nylander imagine #william nylander fic #william nylander fan fic #toronto maple leafs #toronto maple leafs imagine #toronto maple leafs fic #toronto maple leafs fan fic #william nylander blurb #toronto maple leafs blurb #nhl #nhl imagine #nhl fic #nhl fan fic #nhl blurb #hockey #hockey imagine #hockey fic #hockey fan fic #hockey blurb #the president wears prada series

[raiseyourcups]

Cabur

Chapter Five

Pairing: Din Djarin x Original Female Character Warnings: none, it’s a pretty chill chapter setting up Sorgan Word Count: 2.8k Also on AO3 

Masterlist

Summary: Our trio makes it to Sorgan but will they be able to stay?

They landed in a clearing in the middle of nowhere and Aili was quick to head down to the gangway. She was already tired of being on this ship with the Mandalorian just silently sitting and staring. She didn’t have anything but the silence on her own ship but even that was more comfortable. She couldn't make out what the Mandalorian was telling the Child, who really needed a name of some sort, but she could imagine that he wouldn't listen. Her suspicions were confirmed when she noticed the small kid waddling after Mando. She bit her lip to stop from smiling.

The Mandalorian opened the gangway before he finally looked down at the Child beside him. Aili could hear him let out a sigh, it sounded crackly thanks to his helmet's voice modulator. 

“He’s not going to stay if we leave.” Aili said quietly. She tried hard to keep the amused smile off of her face but it wasn’t working. The Mandalorian looked at her before looking back down at the Child. 

"Ah, what the hell...come on, kid."

The three of them walked through the wooded area silently, Aili making sure to take in everything around them. She knew the Mandalorian was probably doing the same thing, just because they hadn’t been followed didn’t mean they were in the clear. They came across what looked like a community hub in Aili’s opinion, maybe a common house. Everyone was talking amongst themselves and absolutely no one looked ready to start throwing punches.

The Mandalorian chose a table away from everyone else but not too far back just in case they had to run. He picked up the Child and placed him on the seat next to him and Aili sat on the other side of the little green kid in order to flank him just in case something happened. 

Aili did a quick glance from one end of the common house to the other and noticed a woman sitting against the far wall by herself. Hmm, interesting. What was she doing here? Aili let her gaze fall onto the proprietor walking their way figuring they wouldn’t have any trouble from the woman in the corner. She knew when someone was trying to hide from their past, she saw it every time she looked in a mirror.

“Welcome travelers, can I interest you in anything?” The proprietor, a woman who had probably spent her whole life on Sorgan, came up to them with a smile on her face.

“Bone broth, for the little one.”

“Well you’re in luck ‘cause I just took down a gringer, can I interest you two in a porringer of broth as well?" The proprietor asked, eyebrows raised in the hopes of a bigger sale. 

“Yes, please.”

“No.”

Both Aili and the Mandalorian said at the same time. 

Aili tried not to glare at the Mandalorian. She wasn't sure how he wasn't hungry but she hadn't eaten anything since before they left Nevarro. She smiled up at the proprietor and makde her next words drip with sugar, “I would love some, ignore him. He gets a little grumpy after a long flight.”

“Oh where did you come from?”

“Would you believe if I told you we came all the way from Batuu?” Aili wasn't stupid. She wasn't going to tell the woman the truth, that way if anyone showed up asking about them, the information wouldn't match. Nevarro was a ways away from Batuu after all. And if they were lucky, Karga was dead and no one knew to ask for a Mandalorian travelling with a woman and child. 

“Really?”

“We got to talking with someone who said Sorgan would be just as beautiful as the Spires and so we decided to come right over. But the trip was very long, could we actually get a porringer to go so he can have some later when he’s less grumpy?” Aili could almost feel the glare the Mandalorian was giving her behind his helmet but she didn’t care. For someone who wanted to lay low he was exceptionally bad at making himself less intimidating. Playing up the odd couple and their alien kid would work in their favor making them fit in easier. And if Mando wanted to stay here for longer than a night, they needed to fit in.

“No problem for someone as nice as you."

“Thank you."

She was about to leave when the Mandalorian made a sound. “Excuse me, but that one over there. When did she arrive?" He tilted his head towards where the shock trooper that Aili had spotted earlier was sitting. 

“Um, I’ve seen her here for the last week or so," the proprietor shrugged her shoulders, unsure why they wanted to know.

“What’s her business here?"

“Business? There’s really not much in Sorgan so I really can’t say. I mean she doesn’t strike me as a...log runner.” She trailed off as Mando placed several coins on the table between them. Aili hid a cringe behind her hand. “Thank you, sir. I’ll get that broth to you right away and I’ll throw in a flagon of spotchka just for good measure.”

“Really?” Aili asked as soon as the women left. “You call that laying low, asking questions and bribing someone, and where are you going?”

She glared at his retreating back and wondered if she should follow before deciding that if he wanted to get his ass handed to him by a rebel shock trooper then he could be her guest. But she wasn’t about to leave the kid on his own and the proprietor was so nice that she would feel bad if they just left now. Besides she had given too much of a cover story for them to just leave. She thanked the proprietor when she placed the bowls of bone broth in front of her and the kid and even though she could tell the kid was itching to follow Mando, she was able to get him to take a few sips of his broth.  

"Want to go see what he's up to, kid?" Aili asked, looking down at the Child. He let out a coo and she picked him up, bowl and all. She gave the proprietor a quick nod, pointing back at their table to let her know they would be back.

As soon as she stepped outside she heard boots dragging on dirt and small grunts. She looked up towards the sky and asked for any higher power to give her the patience to deal with this. She put the kid down and they both walked over towards the sounds.  Well, she walked and the kid shuffled after her. 

Aili looked down at the two with a raised eyebrow and pursed lips. She was not amused by them choosing to fight each other rather than talking it out. The Child seemed to be amused though, sipping his bone broth contently as he watched them. They both slowly looked over when the kid took a loud slurp of his broth. 

“Anyone else want some soup?” She didn’t wait for either of them to get up, turning on her heel and scooping up the Child so they could head back into the small cantina. She heard them get up to follow her back and they all sat down at the table. There was a short silence between them before the shock trooper broke it. 

“Cara Dune.”

“Aili Verdella.”

The Mandalorian stayed quiet but neither of the women were that surprised. 

“So, shock trooper?” AIli asked, her curiosity needing to know if she had gotten it right from her earlier glance. 

“Saw most of my action mopping up after Endor, mostly ex-Imperial warlords. They wanted it fast and quiet so they’d send us on drop ships. No support, just us. Then the politics started and I didn’t care for that so I left.”

“How’d you end up here?” The Mandalorian asked. 

“Early retirement of sorts. Look I could tell you were Guild, thought you had a fob on me, that’s the only reason I came at you so hard.”

“I figured.”

“So what are a Mandalorian and an...ow!” Cara was cut off by a sharp kick to the shin. She glared at Aili who gave an icy stare back. The Mandalorian looked between the two of them, eyes narrowed from behind his helmet. He didn’t like not knowing something that everyone else knew. 

“What am I missing here?”

“My leg slipped, sorry,” Aili said before Cara could say anything. “He skipped on a bounty and now we need somewhere to lay low.”

“Well, unless you want to go another round, this planet’s taken.”

“Clearly,” Aili said. She knew better than to steal someone else’s hiding spot and she figured the Mandalorian was the same way. 

They stayed in the common house until the kid finished his bowl of broth before they headed back out. The proprietor had come by before and gave them the bowl she had promised to save for the Mandalorian along with a bottle of Spotchka. They made it back to the Razor Crest shortly but not quick enough to make it before the sun set. 

“I need to make some repairs before we leave,” Mando said, already going into the ship and returning with a tool box. 

“Need help?” Aili asked as she watched the Mandalorian place the tool box into the ground before he went to move onto the ship again. 

“No.”

“Not even to bring out your lights?” Aili didn’t much care for the Mandalorian’s tough guy, ‘only I can help myself’ attitude. It wouldn’t help in the long run at all and the sooner he realized that, the sooner she could help him. 

“Fine.”

They made quick work of setting up the lights in a way that he would be able to see what he was doing but not be too bright in the dark forest. The last thing they needed was to be found because they were shining a literal beacon leading to them. Aili sat on the back gangway as Mando worked on some of the wiring under one of the landing gears. The kid had gone to sleep a while ago, something they were both grateful for since he was a handful already. Aili still wasn’t sure she really believed that he was 50 years old. 

There was nothing but the chirping sound of whatever bug life Sorgan had when Aili heard hesitant footsteps coming their way. No bounty hunter would be that obvious or that hesitant. She hopped down and made her way to where Mando was just in case. There were two locals looking scared out of their minds. No threat to anyone except maybe the bugs flying around. But she kept to the shadows of the ship for now.

“Excuse me.” 

The Mandalorian made no move to acknowledge them but Aili knew that he had to know they were there. 

“Excuse me, sir.” The other local tried this time, voice a little louder but nonetheless scared. 

“There something I can help you with?” Mando moved under the landing gear, not stopping what he was doing. Aili took note that he sounded more than a little annoyed. 

“Uh, yeah. Raiders,” one of the men said.

“We have money,” the other added quickly. 

That caught Aili’s attention. She had a decent amount of credits saved up but didn’t know about the Mandalorian. Eventually though they would need more money now that they were obviously blacklisted from the Guild and on the run. 

“You think I’m some kind of mercenary?”

“You’re a Mandalorian, right?” The one man said and Aili cringed. Not all Mandalorians were mercenaries and she had only heard rumors of one during the war. So this man’s comment was ill-advised. 

“Or at least wearing Mandalorian armor? That is Mandalorian armor, right?” The other man sounded more in awe of seeing an actual Mandalorian than his friend. 

“It is.”

“See? I told him. Sir, I’ve read a lot about your people...tribe. If half of what I read is true--”

“We have money.” The first man interrupted before the other could go on a rant. 

“How much?” Aili asked, walking out of the shadows and bringing their attention onto her now. She could tell Mando wasn’t interested but that didn’t mean he had to be an ass about it. 

“Everything we have. Our whole harvest was stolen.”

“We’re krill farmers.”

“We brew spotchka, the whole village chipped in.”

The Mandalorian turned to look at the small pouch the one man was holding. “It’s not enough.”

“Come on, Mando, we don’t even know what the job is,” Aili could tell they were desperate people. It took desperate people to come looking for what they hoped were mercenaries. She assumed they had seen them flying overhead when they came in to land. 

“It’s not enough,” Mando said, looking straight at Aili before turning to the men. “Good luck.”

“This is everything we have, we can give you more after the next harvest.” The men jumped back when the gangway started opening and Aili glared at Mando. He was being a kriffing ass to these people for no reason. 

“Come on...let’s head back.” The dejected sound in the man’s voice pulled at something in Aili. She never had been able to ignore the desperate and unprotected. Hadn’t been able to since she was 18 and stupid. 

“Stay there.” Aili said to them before storming over to Mando. “Hey! Stop being an ass and maybe think about helping them.”

“No. It’s not enough and we’ve already spent too much time here.” He didn’t even bother to look at her as he spoke which made her annoyance with him just about shoot up into the atmo. 

“Is that the best you can come up with?” Aili turned on her heel to call back towards the locals. Maybe their village would be in a place they could lay low for a while. She really needed a break from the Crest before getting back on it with the buckethead. “Hey, where’s your village?”

“About a day’s ride from here, middle of nowhere. On a farm, weren’t you listening?”

“I was, he wasn’t.” Aili said before continuing. “You have lodging?”

“Yeah. Absolutely.”

Aili turned to face the Mandalorian with one eyebrow raised. The helmet stared back at her for a long moment before his shoulders went up and down in a sigh. He turned towards the krill farmers, “Come up and help”

“You’ll help us?”

“Yes.”

“Sorry about him,” Aili said as they walked up the gangway. The four of them made quick work, unloading everything the Mandalorian deemed necessary. Aili grabbed her bags and the kid from the little cot the Mandalorian still dared to call a bed. Her back had actually ached for the first time in a long time when she slept on it the one time. 

“I need one more thing, give me those credits.”

“Where are you going?” Aili asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion. It wasn’t like they needed any ammo or even more weapons. Between the two of them they could fit a small army. 

“To get a shock trooper.”

“Huh, good idea, I knew you had a brain in there somewhere.”

“Stay with the Child.”

“Obviously,” Aili said as she hopped onto the repulsorlift and made sure the kid was okay. She moved a few of the boxes around knowing they’d need more room if they wanted to be comfortable in any way. 

“So are you and the Mandalorian like…” the more excited of the two men trailed off and Aili gave him a deadly stare. 

“I’m gonna stop you right there,” Aili said bluntly. They let silence fall over them after that which Aili was thankful for. It didn’t take much longer for the Mandalorian and Cara to show up. The two women exchanged short nods before everyone climbed onto the repulsorlift. The repulsorlift began to move and the Mandalorian began to explain the job to Cara. 

“So we’re basically running off a bunch of Raiders for lunch money?”

“They’re quartering us in the middle of nowhere. Last I checked that’s a pretty square deal for somebody in your position. Worst case, you tune up your blaster.  Best case, we’re a deterrent. Can’t imagine there’s anything living in these trees that an ex-shock trooper couldn’t handle.”

Cara stared at him before conceding and turning to speak to Aili. “Is he always like this?”

“A condescending pain in the ass?” Aili asked before smirking and shrugging. “Wouldn’t know, only been stuck with him for a few days and they have been long.”

“Are you two finished?” The Mandalorian asked before stretching out to lean back against one of the bags he had brought off the ship. Cara and Aili shared one last glance before settling down as well. They all drifted to sleep, Cara on one side and the Mandalorian on the other. Aili wound up in the middle with the kid to keep him warm.

#din djarin x reader #din djarin x original character #din djarin x original female character #the mandalorian x oc #mandalorian imagine #din djarin imagine

[infintyonhigh]

pls i know most people arent gonna read the whole thing so i have to share the gems of this article with yall:

"Patrick loved Travie and wanted to help Gym Class, so him jumping on ‘Cupid’s Chokehold’ really was the start of the collabs. It ended up being a #1 song three years later."

"He took us to Del Taco, and it’s funny because you hear these stories about major labels winning and dining you, but we got bean and cheese burritos in a questionable part of Las Vegas." 

(spence about panic getting signed by pete)

"I remember when Pete came to see Armor For Sleep support us in Chicago, he said hi to them and didn’t say hi to us, and I was hurt by that." 

i just thought that bit was funny bc, years later, gabe said the same thing about pete not inviting him to his birthday party but inviting mikey lmao like pete?? the man u have tattooed on your leg how could you?!

"At the end of the tour the Fall Out Boy guys pranked us, and me and one other guy thought it was hilarious, but two other guys got pissed off. That was the beginning of the end for Midtown" 

not only that but fob was directly responsible for midtown breaking up lkjgfd

"When we started, My Chem was the biggest thing in the world and they were so serious and so dramatic. I love My Chem, don’t get me wrong, I grew up with those kids, but it’s like: ‘Hey, smile once in a while!’" 

i just really love gabe saporta okay 

"I listen to The Hush Sound’s first EP to this day, holy shit. Oh, wow. Shout out to Greta, for real. Make sure you print that." 

I ALSO REALLY LOVE TRAVIE MOST LOYAL MFER ALIVE 

"I didn’t even read the contract, I just signed my name as a peace sign."

GABRIEL

"When the snake bit the dude’s dick, I was like, ‘I’m out. This shit is trash.’ But I had to wait for Sam Jackson to say, “I’ve had it with these motherfuckin’ snakes on this motherfuckin’ plane!” After that I went and got wasted with Kelly Osborne." 

theres not a single bit of decaydance history that doesnt feel like bad wattpad fanfiction

"I remember Sonny Moore, aka Skrillex, back when he was in From First To Last, would sometimes join me at the table while I was doing schoolwork. He told me then, “I want to make music like Aphex Twin. I don’t know why I’m singing in a hardcore band.” I also remember meeting Hayley from Paramore at Bamboozle festival one year when we were both 15 or 16 and she bemoaned the fact that her parents insisted on touring with her band because they were so young. We had a bonding moment about our gripes with having to keep up with homework on tour."

lmao skrillex but also, thats so cute!!!

"We didn’t make any money on the ‘Fever’ tour because we had to pay to take the windmill everywhere. There were definitely shows in the middle of America where we couldn’t get the windmill through the door."

"I would text Pete lyrics, he would text me lyrics. We’d give each other input, and I’d be like, that line is cool but you could say it better. He’d be like, that’s cool, but you could do it better. It was a brotherhood, you know?"

#i tried to narrow it down but theres so many good ones im #uwuing and howling #fob #cs #gch #tai #patd #mr stump #pweezy #gay supporter #travie #bilvy #spencer smith #the hush sound #greta salpeter #hayley williams #paramore

[emmy-writes-sometimes]

Broken Glass

Sebastian gets a call that you’ve been in a car accident and isn’t sure if you’ll make it. The worst part is that he hasn’t told you he loves you yet.  

-

           “I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetheart?” Sebastian asked, looking down at you as you hugged him tightly. He’d done what any good boyfriend would do when you had an 8:30 class the next morning – he drove you half an hour back into the city, knowing you would need to sleep in your own bed.

           “Yeah,” you responded. He pulled your hair away from your face and tried to savor the feeling of you. It was one night, but you’d been spending nearly ever night together since the holidays and this was your first night back. “I don’t wanna go.”

           “You didn’t have to take the 8:30 class, you know,” he suggested, “and drop add isn’t over yet.”

           “I know.” You shut your eyes and leaned all of your body weight into him as he kissed your forehead.

           “Okay, you’re tired. I can’t walk you in, can I?” You shook your head.

           “I’ll be fine. It’s literally across the street.” You stood on your toes and kissed him goodnight, only wishing you had more time.

           “Alright. Good night, gorgeous.” Your heart beat a little faster as he kissed your forehead one last time, like he just couldn’t let go. He watched you scan into the building before getting back into his car. He hesitated, though, as his finger stroked the Jaguar logo carved into his key fob. Something just felt off and the last thing he wanted to do was leave you. But he did anyway, knowing you needed some time to do reading and to sleep. It still felt off later that night, but he just brushed it off and wished you were next to him.

-

           “I’m telling you, man, I just feel like something’s up,” Sebastian insisted to Anthony as he started taking the fake dirt off of his face. The prosthetic artist was working on his fake arm, trying to get it off.

           “Dude, you’re just paranoid. She’ll be fine. There’s half an hour between her dorm and your house and she’s probably on the way there right now.” Sebastian sighed, thanking the makeup artist as she pulled the prosthetic arm off, finally relieving the tension. She left soon after, leaving him and Anthony.

           “You’re right. I mean, I just…” Sebastian was going to finish his sentence, but his ringtone lit up the makeup trailer. It was you. He smiled a little when the screen showed a picture of the two of you. “Hey, sweetheart, are you on the way?”

           “Hi,” another, unfamiliar voice said. “This is going to sound weird, but are you a friend of Y/n’s?” It asked.

           “Yeah. Yeah, I’m her boyfriend, why?” The voice sighed in relief, but Sebastian could just feel that something was wrong.

           “I’m an EMT with Fulton County. Your girlfriend was just involved in a car wreck and we were going through her phone to see if anyone could come be with her.” Sebastian’s heart just stopped.

           “Is she okay?” The voice didn’t answer at first. He heard sirens in the background and he could feel that his heart was breaking. “Is she okay?”

           “Her SUV rolled over twice and hit the median. She’s unresponsive right now. I can’t lie to you. She’s not doing well and we’re unsure if she’ll make it. Is there a hospital you’d prefer us to take her to?”

           “Whatever’s closest.”

           “Emory. Can I get some more information from you?”

           “Yeah, whatever you need.” By now Anthony was standing outside of the trailer too, wondering what was wrong and why Sebastian’s eyes looked terrified. But Sebastian gave them your name, your birthday, and told them what you were allergic to. “If she wakes up can you tell her Sebastian loves her?”

           “Of course. If you need anything, call back at this number and someone will try and answer.” Sebastian hung up the phone. His breath turned to white clouds in the cold air and they came out in puffs. He was crying.

           “Dude, what’s wrong? You ran out of there like a bat out of hell!” Anthony said, joining Sebastian outside the trailer.

           “I thought it was Y/n but it wasn’t. It was some EMT. She was in a car wreck and they said she’s not waking up.” Anthony’s face turned to one of pure shock.

           “Whatever it is, I’m sure she’ll be okay. She’s a strong-ass kid.”

           “But what if she needs me and I’m not there?” That, he realized, was what he was the most scared of. He was terrified that you would never get to hear him tell you he loves you. And he knew that you knew already, but it wasn’t the same as saying it.

           “You’ll be there, man. Drive. And not like a maniac, you won’t make anything better. The last thing she needs is you getting into something, too. I’ll follow you.” Anthony walked to his car and waited until Sebastian got into his car, starting the engine. Sebastian did his best to drive, just drive, and ignored the sickening feeling in his stomach. He looked at his phone every chance he got, just in case someone was calling him again. You could be dying right now and he wouldn’t even have gotten the chance to tell you goodbye. He must have looked like an idiot – crying his eyes out as he drove, but he was scared. He needed to get to you, now. He needed to be there.

           The next half an hour was a blur to him; he vaguely remembered parking his car and waiting for Anthony, asking a nurse about you, and them telling him to sit and wait because you were in surgery and they couldn’t tell him anything else. Sebastian walked back over to Anthony, who was already sitting down, and sat.

           “Said she’s in surgery. That’s all.” Sebastian’s voice broke. He heard a radio go off in the hallway, something about an accident victim, and he swallowed a lump in his throat. He hated hospitals. He just couldn’t stand not being in there with you, even if he couldn’t do anything. You hated being alone.

           “Whatever it is, you’ll get through it.” Sebastian put his head in his hands, trying not to cry like a baby, and brushed his hair behind his ears.

           “You know something really shitty?” He asked.

           “What?”

           “I haven’t told her I love her yet. I was gonna do it tonight. Now I might not ever get the chance to.” You already knew he loved you – the way he put his hand on your back as you were walking, the way he would let you hang onto him like a koala, the way he would take you back to school in the middle of the night, or that one night when you had food poisoning and he sat with you the entire time. You knew because of the way he talked to you and the way he looked at you, and he wished, more than anything, that he could just tell you.

           “Oh, no, man. Don’t pull that Hallmark movie shit. You’ll tell her. You’re going to storm into that hospital room and tell her you love her.” Sebastian laughed, actually laughed, and sniffled.

           “Thanks, man.”

           “Hey, I’m here for you. Whatever you guys need, I got it. If you wanna play Candy Crush I’ll give you my credit card.” He handed Sebastian a portable phone charger, too, knowing they would be there for awhile. Sebastian almost lost his mind playing the game on his phone until a notification popped up. He scanned the article about the accident. Your accident – The crash was the fault of a teenage boy who was supposedly driving over 100 miles per hour, 30 miles per hour over the speed limit. He was killed upon impact. He hit an SUV containing one woman, causing the SUV to flip over six times before coming to a stop at the median. We are told that the woman was unresponsive and taken to Emory.

           “Un-fucking-responsive,” Sebastian muttered to himself. Anthony looked over at his friend and grabbed the phone, turning off notifications where Sebastian could see them.

           “You see that? What I just did there? It’s called making sure you don’t see something you don’t want to see. You should try it sometime.” Sebastian scoffed, but he didn’t say anything. He just played solitaire on his phone even though he could never win.

           “Mr. Stan for Y/n Y/l/n?” A nurse asked, walking out of the mysterious doors. Sebastian stood up, praying everything would be okay.

           “My girl,” Sebastian said softly. “How is she?” The woman was young, probably about your age.

           “She was dead for five minutes before we were able to bring her back. She’s awake and asking for you.” Sebastian’s heart felt the smallest bit better, but so much worse at the same time.

           “Can I see her?”

           “I’m sorry. She’s in another surgery right now.”

           “Can you tell me how she is?” The nurse sighed.

           “They’re doing everything they can to keep her comfortable.” No, he thought. No. He knew what that meant. It was never good, ever. It always meant someone was dying. Keeping someone comfortable was like giving a dog a bone before shooting it in the backyard. There was no use. It wouldn’t make anything better.

           “If she’s asking for me, can I at least give her something?” The nurse nodded after thinking about it for a second, and Sebastian shed his sweatshirt. You liked to steal it all the time. It was your favorite of his. “And can you tell her I love her? Please?”

           “Of course. We’ll update you as soon as we can.” The nurse carried the sweatshirt into the hallway, leaving Sebastian to go sit by Anthony again.

           “What’d she say?” Anthony asked.

           “They’re keeping her comfortable.” He started crying. He couldn’t help it. He buried his face in his hands and sighed, wiping tears away even though they just kept coming. “She’s dying.”

           “She’ll be okay,” Anthony assured him. “Everything will be okay.”

           “I can’t lose her.” Sebastian’s chest was burning with the thought of losing you. He felt like he was going to combust because it filled him with so much rage and sadness and he could’ve sworn his heart was actually broken. The universe could suck his dick, he decided, if they were going to do this to you.

           “You won’t. And she knows you love her. She’s got your shirt now and they’re gonna tell her. I’ll get you some coffee. It’s gonna be a long night.” Anthony stood up, grabbing his wallet, and went to go get coffee.

           They waited for another hour after Anthony got coffee. And then another hour. And then the nurse showed up again. Sebastian’s eyes were bloodshot from crying so much, and his body was shaking from how cold the room was. But he didn’t care. He just wanted to see you.

           “She’ll be alright,” the nurse said. A weight lifted off his chest. “She’s stable. You can come see her, if you’d like.” Sebastian listened to the instructions and told Anthony to just go home and get some sleep. Then he ditched his coffee and walked right into the room they said you were in.

           “Baby?” He asked. You were awake like they said you were, but you couldn’t sit up. You could barely move. Your hair was pulled up, your makeup was cried off, your eyes were barely open. The sweatshirt he’d given you was in one of your arms, clutched in your fist like it was your lifeline. You turned your head toward him and started crying, unable to move, unable to do anything. Sebastian closed the gap between you and kissed you, hard, and took your hand.

           “Hey, baby,” He said softly. His voice cracked. “I thought I was gonna lose you.”

           “I just wanted you.”

           “I know. They came and told me you wanted me, but they wouldn’t let me so I gave them my sweatshirt,” he explained. A machine beeped loudly as you tried to move, and it must have been your blood pressure because it only got worse as you tried moving. “Don’t try to move, don’t try to move. I don’t know what those machines are. Just rest.”

           “I want you.” You were desperate to get to him, on so many drugs that you barely realized where you were. All you knew was he was there. It hurt him to have to say no, but he didn’t want to take the chance of you hurting yourself.

           “You have to stay there. But I’m right here. I promise.” You finally listened to him and stopped moving, even though you were uncomfortable. You could feel pain in your ribs, but it was buried underneath all of the pain medication. Eventually he just offered you his arm and you tucked your head into it, holding onto his hand with both of yours. He resisted the urge to say anything to you, not wanting to wake you up. If you’d been just a single second earlier or later, what would have happened? Or what if you’d called him before you left, or you’d gone a different way, or… He had to stop thinking or he was going to go insane.

           “Seb?” He heard you call his name and felt your breath on his arm and looked down at you. You played with the ring on his finger that he almost never took off.

           “Yeah?”

           “I love you.” Your eyes were pleading with him. You just wanted to be loved after everything, and you wanted to hear it. You needed to hear it. It was about time, he thought, because he couldn’t even fathom a day without you. He knew things could change, but from how scared he had been, he knew it wouldn’t come easy. Fuck being scared, though, he thought. You mattered more.

           “I love you too,” he muttered. You finally fell asleep again, this time at peace because you knew he loved you just as much as you loved him.

A/N: Oh boy was this one to write 😭 If you want a sprinkle of extra angst, just listen to Broken Glass by Boston Manor while reading. That’s what I did!

#sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan fluff #sebastian stan angst #sebastian stan imagine

[sapphiics]

even numbers for the top 10 long answer asks !! <3

oooh thank you leah!! this is long i’m so sorry

2. Top five songs right now and why

Edge of Midnight by Miley Cyrus and Stevie Nicks

I’m really into Miley’s whole rock thing right now, and the song just reminds me of like Blondie and Kiss! and the lyrics hold up enough that I can not only enjoy the tune and musicality but sing along and actually enjoy it.

La Lune by Madeon and Dan Smith

i first heard this song in this instagram edit for one of my favorite ships, nathan and haley from oth, over a year ago and it is still one of my favorites. The best part is definitely the pre chorus, but the chorus itself is really good to. It just talks about how things don’t feel the same, and whenever I listen to it I get like a burst of energy I can’t even explain.

I’m just a kid by Simple Plan

That song sounds like a documentary of my life. I feel as if I’m wasting away and not doing enough (even in a pandemic where the whole point is to stay at home as much as possible) and I feel alone most of the time, like nobody cares about me. Plus it’s early 2000s grunge(?)/rock so It’s an automatic favorite.

Figure 8 by ellie goulding

Oh my not only is her voice so amazing in this song, the music just sounds good. reminds me heavily of 2014 type stuff, like when Calvin Harris and Avicii were in their prime, and it’s a song that I scream the lyrics to while dancingaround my kitchen at 2am while sweeping.

23 by Jimmy eat world

This is me and my older sister’s song. She’s a senior in high school and our relationship was very tumultuous for most of our lives, but we’re in a really good place right now and this song is one we scream together in our kitchen whenever rit comes on one of our playlists. I first heard it on one tree hill, and I showed it to her and the entire song is how you have to reach for what/who you want before you’re alone for the rest of your life, and it pushes me to reach for my dreams before life passes me by. I won’t always be young forever.

4. Least Favorite memory from school

I’m 9 years old sitting in the principals office.Fifth grade. I was such a mean kid, and I acted out a lot because of unresolved issues at home, and bullying form earlier grades. I remember picking on this new kid, and I found out his chrome book password and logged in to his computer. I got my chrome book revoked, and I just remember sitting there and having my counselor look me in the eyes and say ‘ you’re a bully. I’m sorry to say it but that’s what you are.’ i’m sad and ashamed and angry, because this was the woman who did absolutely nothing when I was getting horrifically bullied by this one boy in the third grade, who called me a mistake from god, but I was also horrified by myself for becoming the person J hate the most. Elementary School was just bad tbh.

6. Describe one of your favorite people: My Brother.

Technically my half brother (same dad) but even though he didn’t live with my dad as a kid he’s only ever known my dad’s family, and his kids call my mom grandma. He’s 18 years older than me, but we’re pretty close and I tell him almost everything about myself. He’s open-minded and really nice, and most of my best memories as a kid were with him.

When he first moved in with us, me all of 3, my sisters 6 and 8 respectively, and him a good 21, we barely conversed. He had school and multiple jobs, on top of learning to speak english. It wasn’t until my second oldest sister went to him, crying about how he never spent time with us, that he quit one of his jobs that week, and dedicated the next years to being someone who I have always counted on in every capacity.

My parents worked a lot when I was young, my dad gone to work at the airport early in the morning, and my mom finally getting the nursing job she wanted since she moved to America, so my brother took us everywhere. We lived within very short walking distance of an elementary school, so he took us to the park, pushed us in the swings, helped us ride our bikes, and spun us in this little yellow swirly thing, like a wide funnel with small railings that you sit in.

For my tenth birthday, he took me to the water park with one of my friends. My oldest sister’s fourteenth birthday, he took her to an amusement park with friends. My other older sister’s 12th bday, he took her and some friends to the movies. A girl in my sixth grade class had her parents surprise her at school by coming to lunch and eating with her, and I wanted the same thing. Not even thinking about my parents, cause I knew they were too busy, I ask my brother (and my sister-in-law) to come, and they did with my baby niece.

When Frozen came out, he took all of us to go see it. When Maleficent came out, he took us to the movies to go watch it. The very first movie we ever watched together was the Adventures of Tin-tin. I haven’t watched it since, but I recommend it to everybody I know. The night he proposed to his now wife, it was after taking all of us to go watch Mr.Peabody & Sherman, and to Johnny Rockets afterward.

Also he’s really funny, 6’2, and we have this long running joke on what year he was born. I still don’t know for myself, and I’ve seen documents, passports, and old photos. Gave me two perfect nieces, an amazing sister-in law, and hates on God as a joke. I don’t think I know a better guy.

sometimes when I sit with and talk to him and my sisters, this moment just happens where I’m looking at all of them and the epiphany of‘these are my siblings. nobody will ever be closer to me, both biologically and emotionally, than these people. I am you and you are me, just scrambled differently.’ Even though he has a different mom, he’s such an integral part of my life that he’s just automatically included.

8. Childhood Band I liked.

Fall Out Boy. I was a huge pjo fan, as were my siblings, and I watched those little mvs on youtube with viria(are they still a thing)’s art to fall out boy songs, and as a kid who was growing up and learning things at an alarming rate that has definitely messed up the way I understand my world, Fall Out Boy’s music was the perfect vessel to express my anger. I can remember the day in 2014 where a new pjo mv dropped, to the tune of The Phoenix by FOB.

this is already super long and gianna asked for ten so i’ll link the answer here

#long post #a day in the life #leah🦸‍♀️ #ask

[loser-poser-emo]

why emo changed so much in 00s?

why emo became mainstream? (in 00s). or why emo became commercialized? (in 00s). or why emo is like that? why emo became a label, which people started to use to mark everything that is sad? and more alternative headings. first, i'm not talking about emo rap here! it's a completely different genre and it's a theme for another post. although, it wouldn't be fait not to mention them, cuz a lot of emos say that label is wrong. and i will try to write about wrong labels tonight! i will say that emo rap may be named this. just it's not real emo! but it's not fake in mcr-fob-atl way it's just rap, not rock. it's a valid genre... okay, back to the theme. it is interesting, how of something that was more of a scene thing, emo became a huge thing. a huge label. i don't wanna say that sunny day real estate were underground. hell, even rites of spring weren't completely unsuccessful! but the thing is, if you ask people on a street which is the most popular emo band - most of them will say my. chemical. romance. and that is the problem. and it's not just emo evolved!! you don't get it!! bla-bla-bla!! it's something more. way more.

it all started in 00s, when people realised they can make a profit of emo stuff and there were tons of bands who were positioned in society as emo bands while being their own form - and like that, fifteen years ago almost every popular alt-rock band was called emo! some kind of fashion became a deeper point in whole subculture - you know what i'm talking about - all this heavy makeup, huge fringes... this kind of style became inseparable of the word "emo" back then - and even now! everyone was emo, everyone was listening to mcr, p!atd, the used... (none of them are emo)... while in 90s - aka "second wave" - everyone just dressed up as nerds and copied weezer's rivers cuomo . but there were "real emo" bands in 00s, don't worry.

this was an insert of my last post's draft. what else can i say? emo became a subculture. a huge one. and now you're probably like whaaat? but it was in 90s? when me and my friend went to the get up kids' show and there were christie front drive fans? the short answer is... yes. the wrong answer is... no. i'm gonna do something that you all will never forgive me. i'm gonna compare emo to... grunge. no! no! don't close the post. i'm gonna explain. you probably thought i'm gonna say nirvana are emo here's proof. insert long silence. no. but the point is- it's a pretty famous fact that grunge scene and emo scene (at least, in the 90s) were maybe a bit but tied. maybe it was inevitable. two alt-rock scenes, originated in 80s, with hardcore roots... you want proof? sunny day real estate(i think, the most popular 90s emo band) were signed to the same label as nirvana. and guys from there were playing in foo fighters for some time. yeah. also, jawbreaker. they toured with nirvana. my point is, in my opinion grunge now is having something really alike with emo. hear me out. i'm not saying it also started in 00s. in my opinion it was at least in 2010s. but i'm not really a grunge expert. feel free to correct me about it and well, everything. so in 2010s, with popularity of tumblr(ironic) the grunge became more of a lifestyle? if it's not your first day on the internet, you may know what i'm hinting at. to add to my point, i would like to quote from aesthetics wiki (please don't sue me): "Grunge is a darker, edgier style that is usually depicted these days with glitches, vinyl records, cigarettes, neon lights, and the color black (which has absolutely nothing to do with the original grunge)."

so grunge became a style. really hip, huh? and it was inspired by original, real grunge. and you may say "well, if it was new kind of grunge, why mcr aren't emo?". BECAUSE. arctic monkeys were called grunge. did it make them grunge? no. but try to search grunge on spotify. it's really funny. but the fact is, the grunge became into it's own internet thing. but now most of people say what is real grunge and it's a common thing. but it's different with emo. cause the majority here accepts mcr as emo. maybe i should look from a different side. maybe in 00s there just became a subculture inspired by sdre and they had their own music, and clothing, and everything. but why is it also called emo? WHY?? WHY?? god i stopped understanding everything emo doesnt exist nothing matters

#emo #midwest emo #emocore #real emo #loserposeremo

[boldlyvoid]

Raising Dawn | Star Wars Fix it fic

AO3

Summary: Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end. Poe's taken it upon himself to house and raise the ex-stormtrooper kids who've lost their families, and in a sense, he made his own.

Word Count: 4.1K

The first child they found was on Exegol, a small boy who was issued the number and told he would become a stormtrooper one day, just like the rest of the children they eventually found. They brought him back to the jungle moon of Ajan Kloss with the rest of the surviving resistance members. He walked off Lando’s ship, 6 years old at most. He was scared, he was sad, but he seemed to warm up to them all the more he wandered around.

He slowly walked up to Rey, Finn and Poe where they were speaking about everything that had happened. “I heard the voices of the Jedi who came before me, people I have come to know now. Obi-wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Mace Mindu, so many powerful Jedi came to me, to believe in me. To help me.”

“Wow,” he said, causing them all to turn around. “You’re a Jedi?”

Rey smiled at him, “yeah, I am.”

“Look,” he said softly, holding his hand out and raising a rock from the ground to his hand, seemingly with the force. “You can do that too, right?”

They all looked at him, dumbfounded, both Rey and Finn nodded.

“What’s your name?” Poe asked, getting down to eye level with him.

“DO-1134,” he replied.

“You know, Finn was a stormtrooper, his name was FN-2187. I helped him pick a real name,” he said with his classic Poe Dameron smile. “Would you like to pick a name?”

“FN, Finn,” he whispered to himself, thinking over how the name came to be. “What was that name you said before?” he asked Rey. “Kenobi?”

“Yeah, Obi-wan Kenobi.”

“What about Kendo?” he asked softly.

“Kendo is a wonderful name,” Poe smiled. “I’m Poe, that’s Finn and Rey. Welcome.”

Lando reached out to them with an idea shortly after being reacquainted with Jannah that day. He had said he wanted to redirect his efforts to help all the parents who lost children and help them find each other again. They knew all too well how it felt to be without one another, wondering if they were okay and if they’d ever see each other again.

He got in a ship with her, and they set off first to find more children like Kendo and then to find their families. Poe offered them a safe place in the middle while they waited, knowing that was what Leia would want him to do. To love and support children without their parents, the way she loved him growing up.

-

Kendo sat with them in the Falcon a few weeks later, they watched from the window as Rey walked into the desert with BB-8 in search for the old Skywalker house. “Where is she going?”

“We lost 2 of our leaders, General Organa and her brother, Master Luke. This was Luke’s home, it seems like the best place to pay tribute to them,” Poe explained.

“Where is our home going to be?”

“Um, we’re looking for somewhere, a nice place where we can find more kids like you before we find your families.”

“I don’t have a family.”

“Yes, you do. Either you have one waiting for you or you let us become your family,” Finn smiled down at him, “if I’ve learned anything from being here, it’s that these people become more your family than anyone else.”

Rey was going to take a few hours, leaving Chewbacca to want to play Dejarik with Finn while Poe sat in the captain’s chair, Kendo in his lap, showing him all the buttons and controls. “There’s an old legend I heard from the original owners of this ship when I was your age, would you like to hear it?”

He nodded.

“Well, Han Solo was a famous smuggler, eventually he helped Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker defeat Darth Vater, but when this story took place, he was just a boy looking for a way to make money for his own ship one day.

“He joined a band of smugglers in search for some Coaxium, and the only place he could find some was on a planet called Kessel, however, there it was only available in it’s purest form and they had limited time to get it reformed once they stole it. In order to do that they had to do the Kessel run as fast as possible, which at the time was in 20 parsecs.

“But!” he shouts dramatically, “their droid, L3 who was supposed to help them navigate their way out was badly damaged! Leaving them without a way to properly get to where they needed to go! That was until Lando Calrissian had the brilliant idea to plug her into the ships hard drive.”

He hugged Kendo close, looking around carefully like someone was watching them, “and some people say that at night, when the ships all quiet, you can still hear her giving them directions, but not always to the way out.”

“Stop scaring the boy!” Finn said from the doorway of the cockpit.

“It’s a right of passage!” he argued. “Han scared me with it when I was little, he needs to hear it too.”

Finn just shook his head and walked back to his game, leaving Kendo still sat on Poe’s lap, looking out at the window.

“So Han Solo went from being a bad guy to a good guy?” Kendo asked.

“Kinda,” Poe said, “he didn’t believe that everyone was only good or only bad. He’s seen too many good people with a bad reputation and vice versa.”

“So even because I was going to be a stormtrooper, I can be good again?” he asked again, a lot softer.

“If you feel it in your heart that you’re a good person, then that’s what you are.”

“I’m a good guy,” he smiled.

“Yeah,” Poe agreed, placing his cheek on Kendo’s head, holding him close, “we’re all good guys.”

-

Rey came back later after the sun had set and Kendo was asleep in the other room. “That was really nice.”

“Are you okay?” Finn asked her.

She nodded, “I feel at peace. Like I’m where I’m supposed to be.”

“I still have something to tell you, and I don’t know if it’ll disturb your peaceful feeling but you need to know Rey, I,” Finn said softly. Everyone was looking at him rather seriously, “I have the force too.”

“I know, I can feel it when I’m around you,” she said with a soft smile, she held her hand out for him to take it. “When we get to where we’re going, I can show you what I know.”

“Speaking of which,” Poe cut in, “where are we going to go? We need somewhere big enough for all the children Lando is going to end up finding.”

“Excuse me, sir,” C3P0 said from the hallway. “I was searching my memory for a place that would be adequate for you, I remembered mister solo and the general have a large home on Chandrila that would be available to you.”

“Oh yeah,” Poe said, remembering his childhood there. “I forgot about that place, I haven’t been there in years.”

“Leia would want us there, we should tell some of the others. Then they can join us too,” Rey suggested. “Rose and Kaydel don’t have any family either. We should all make that our home.”

“We’ll need all the help we can get with the children that will come.” Finn said, “It wasn’t easy for me to break out of the conditioning, it’s still hard for me to understand that I’m free and okay, they’re not going to be easy no matter how little time they spent in training.”

“I’ll set a course, we’ll go right there,” Rey said with a tight-lipped smile. “You guys can go sleep or talk or whatever it is that you do. Chewy can stay with me.”

Poe couldn’t help but smile as they reached the closet at the back of this ship. A place that he’d go as a child with Ben to play dress up in Lando’s old capes.

“I was worried that you were in love with her,” he said softly.

Finn laughed at him then, “I do love her, but she’s my family. I felt close to her when we met because of the force, and she was there for me when I thought you had died.”

Poe wrapped Finn up in his arms, he put his face in his neck like he always did when he hugged him. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you too.”

-

Chandrila was a small world, green land and blue seas. Rolling hills and calming water that mesmerized them as they flew through the land on their way to Leia’s old home. It was on the water, she said she loved it so much because the city felt like Alderaan but the lakeside felt like her birth mothers home on Naboo.

The house was dusty and empty, it didn’t have the same lively ness to it that Poe remembered from his childhood. But that wouldn’t be hard to recreate, himself Finn and Rey have the same dynamic that Han and Leia had back then. Loving, fun, serious yet go with the flow.

It was going to be okay.

It took some time, but they cleaned it up. They added more beds to the few bedrooms that there already was and turned the study and closets into bedrooms too. They were prepared for as many children as possible, Poe would even sleep on the ground if it meant a child had a bed.

He wasn’t sure where this sudden fatherly instinct came from, but he loved it. He felt like he finally found something that he was fully good at. Sure, he was a wonderful pilot, he was a good commander, but he was an absolutely amazing guardian.

Lando brought them many children. From the ages of 2 to 16, there were kids in need of a home before they found their families. At first, they had no way to find what children belonged to who.

An old friend of Lando’s suggested they use a version of a bounty hunter tracking fob, they’d show a hologram of the child so that when Lando met with families of missing children they’d be able to pick them out of the bunch. The Mandalorian man helped them set everything up and even joined Lando in finding the children.

Dan Djarin was a good man, he helped reunite lots of children with their families.

-

Over time they went from having 20-30 at a time to only having 6 full time.

The 6 children they had left had been with them almost the whole time. They would likely stay with them forever. Poe didn’t have the heart to tell the youngest ones, but there was a very high chance that their families had died the day they were kidnapped, and that they’d never see them again. The older ones understood, they felt sad at first but understood that the remaining resistance members their family now.

Every single child that came in sat down with Poe and picked a name. Like Finn and Kendo, every single child understood that sometimes they could create a name for themselves based on their old stormtrooper number. It wasn’t permanent, they could go back to their birth names when they found their families, but for now, it was a place holder. It was something that made them feel like a person, instead of a robot.

A little girl was brought in one day, she clung to Chewbacca as he walked with her off the falcon. She was only 4, the youngest they had ever had. She didn’t speak a lot, but luckily she still had her tags on her. Unlike the other children they had.

IR-1019.

Poe and Chewbacca sat with her later that day after she had a nice lunch and a long nap. “Do you know your name?” he asked.

She shook her head, she pointed to the tag he was holding and snuggled into Chewy a bit more. “Would you like a new name? A person name, like Rey, or Kendo?”

“Yeah,” she whispered.

“Is there anything you like? Anything you’ve seen that you’d want to make a name from? You can use the letters in your number.”

“I like the water outside,” she whispered. “I ‘member water, at home.”

“Did you know that the name Iara means lady of the lake?” he asked her with a smile.

“Can I be the lady of the lake?”

Poe nodded, “Iara is a very pretty name.”

“Thank you, Poe,” she smiled. Her first little smile.

He moved from where she was beside Chewy, her little brown pigtails bouncing as her feet hit the ground. Her beautiful brown skin shining in the daylight, her smile was so pure and kind. She gave him a quick hug before running off to play with Kendo in the garden.

He kept a close eye on them even though Rey was over there as well.

In the garden outside the room that was once Han and Leia’s, she had planted flowers for them. And a rock that she engraved;

‘Dedicated to General Organa, Han Solo, and Jedi Ben Solo. for their valiant efforts in the resistance that helped bring balance to the galaxy once again.’

“It’s beautiful,” Poe said, rubbing his hand on her back.

“I miss them, I barely even knew them. But I miss them,” she whispered, crying softly. “I can’t imagine how you feel, you grew up with them.”

“My family is very large because of them,” he replied, softly that no one else heard them. “They brought so many people into my life so that when they passed, we were all still family. Their legacy lives on, their love is in all of us now, and we’ll be okay.”

She turned around and hugged him. “I always wanted a brother.”

He laughed lightly, holding her close. “A sister wouldn’t be that bad.”

-

NE-3002 was a 14-year-old girl, she walked off the falcon with MX-1136. Both of them were found in a crashed star destroyer near Exegol. They were very grateful, they hated the first order as most people did, they couldn’t wait to feel free again.

For the first day that they were on Chandrila with them, they let the girls look around. They went on walks, they swam in the lake, they had lots and lots of food. They were happy, but then it became time for Poe to sit down with them and ask them about their names.

He sat down with NE-3002 first. She looked a lot like him, tan skin, curly brown hair, and a very large scar on her arm.

“Do you remember anything from before you were taken?”

She nodded lightly, “it comes back to me in bits and pieces. Like I know we’re from Mandalore, I know my mom died trying to save me, but I don’t remember my name, and I don’t know what year it is, or how long they had me.”

“The conditioning they did was very deep, it might take a while to remember. But you don’t have to try and remember. Sometimes remembering is more painful than forgetting,” he said, trying to make her feel better.

“Is this the part where we pick my name?” she asked, “I know how Kendo picked his name, and how Finn got his. And I think I know mine.”

“Yeah?” he smiled, loving the tradition that he started with these kids. “What were you thinking?”

“Well, I’m from Mandalore, and I heard that once there was a queen there named Queen Satine. My number was NE, so I was thinking of keeping that in my name,” she explained, like she had been thinking of it for a while. “I like Delphine.”

“That is a beautiful choice,” he smiled. “There is a Mandalorian helping Lando find children, next time he’s in you should meet. He might know of your family.”

“Thank you,” she said as she stood up. “Should I call Max in to talk to you?”

“Max?” he asked.

“Yeah, when we were on the destroyer, her number was too much to keep yelling when I needed her. MX-1136 is a mouthful, so I started calling her Max,” she explained to him.

“Makes perfect sense,” he smiled, “I guess she doesn’t need to come to talk then if she has a name but tell her I’m always here if either of you needs someone.”

-

NF-2203, a 16-year-old boy, was found where Jannah had run off to on the moon of Endor. He was on the mission to drop off Kylo when he fought Rey, but he couldn’t do it anymore. He said he felt the energy of the other ex-troopers and couldn’t stay. He survived off the land, he felt happy.

He was okay there for 6 months till he was found. Now he quietly sits in the garden on Chandrila and meditates, he says the anger he feels for how his life turned out gets too intense, and he needs to sit down and forget it. It doesn’t always work but he tried very hard. He doesn’t want to ever be angry like the people he worked for.

After a few days, he finally sat down with Poe and Rey to talk, “I have something for you,” he said to Rey.

“I see you tend to the garden every day. I have seen you talk to Kylo Ren through the memorial you made for them. I can feel the love you had for their family, and I think you should have this,” he reached into the bag that he brought from Endor’s moon.

He pulled out Kylo’s lightsaber. “I saw him throw it into the water, I reached out for it in shock, not wanting him to lose it. I was still a stormtrooper, my mission was to watch him and make sure he defeated you. Upon reaching for it, it came to me. It washed up on shore at my feet a few minutes later. You should have it.”

He handed it to her. She held it, she ran her hand over it, turning it around to look at it better. “The memorial site is for my friend Ben,” she said softly. “This wasn’t Ben’s. Kylo was manipulated into being who he was. I don’t think he ever fully made his own decisions till he threw this into the ocean. This doesn’t represent Ben. He wouldn’t want it here.”

“I’ve just held onto it because I knew if you didn’t want it, you’d find a way to dispose of it so that no one else can use it,” he explained, his face was soft. He reminded Poe of Ben when he was around 13. Before he went to train with Luke full time.

He even looked like Ben. Long brown hair, brown eyes to match. Freckles from the sunlight. He was tall and slender, he must have lost his muscle from being stranded, but that just made him more like teenage Ben. This kid made him miss him so much.

“Do you remember anything from before you rebelled?” Poe asked.

“No, it’s completely dark in that part of my memory.”

“Do you have a name that you’d like us to call you while you stay here?”

“I was thinking Sabé?” he said softly. “It might be silly, but seeing him get rid of the lightsaber, and it coming to me made me feel like Sabé was the best choice for me.”

Poe was so proud of all the kids who came in knowing who they wanted to be, “Sabé is a great choice, welcome to our family.”

Poe stood up with him to leave, Rey was twisting the lightsaber in her hands and staring at it closely. “Sabé would you mind staying here with me for a moment?”

“Sure,” he smiled, tight-lipped and anxious.

Poe continues to walk away, far enough to give them space but close enough to listen.

“You have the force too?”

“Lot’s of us did. I think they stole us on purpose, to keep up from training and allowing Kylo to be the most powerful.”

“If you’d like to train, Kendo and I meet at Dawn every morning in the garden. You can join us if you wish.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

Poe smiled, seeing Rey redirect her efforts to train as Luke and Leia did before her, it was beautiful. She found her family, she found her purpose. She was a wonderful person, a wonderful teacher, a wonderful friend.

-

When CP-0017 came in he was very timid and shy. He didn’t want to talk to anyone. They all tried, he wasn’t interested in taking. They left him alone after a few tries, telling him when he was ready he could come to them.

Next door, however, Lieutenant Connix had been communicating with other resistance members. She had called them, they were sending her messages and radio calls. He stood in her doorway and watched as she worked.

“Hey, buddy,” she smiled. “Are you interested in this kinda stuff?”

He nodded lightly.

“Did they teach you how to communicate when you were a trooper?”

“Yeah,” he said in a soft voice. He moved in closer to her, looking at all her technology in amazement. “They never let me touch the real ones, only the teaching tools.”

“Well, I have to make a call to Lando to see his progress, would you like to help?” she asked him.

“Yes please, ma’am,” he smiled.

“Oh buddy,” she smiled back, “you can call me Connix, or Kaydel, whatever feels right.”

For the first time, he looked like he felt safe.

He knew all the buttons, he found Lando’s frequency and set everything up for her to make her call. “Well done buddy,” she said, putting out her hand to give him a high five. “I know it’s been kinda scary, everything you’ve been through is really rough, but I’m always here if you want to escape and play around with some tech.”

“Thank you,” he smiled.

“What should I call you?” she asked him, getting down to sit at his level and look at his soft blue eyes.

“Cooper,” he said softly.

“Coop for short?” she asked.

“Yeah, that would be cool!”

Poe had passed the door and witnessed their meeting, he smiled at him finally opening up to someone. “You know,” he said softly. “If you’d like to be a mentor to him, or even watch him in while he’s here, you can.”

“Yeah?” Kaydel asked.

He nodded, “you have an extra room, we’ll have a bed sent over. It’ll be good for you both to have someone.”

Kaydel had been sad without the others. Without Leia as a mentor, without her friends to hang out with, without the family she lost before she joined the resistance. This was what she needed, she needed her own family again, and so did Coop.

-

The sun rose like a fire across the sky. The rays made their way through the small cracks in the blinds and somehow perfectly laid across Finn’s back, illuminating him in a gorgeous glow. Poe was sitting up, drinking the strongest mug of warm caf that he’s ever had. There was only a short period of time before the children woke up and wondered in and started asking about the plans for the day.

He didn’t think that 2 years after the events of Exegol that he’d be living on a planet he visited as a small child, with the man he loves, raising children who were once stolen. He felt himself loving the children like they were his own family a lot faster than he ever expected himself to.

The youngest came knocking at the door first, “Poe?” her tiny voice said as the wooden door squeaked open.

“Come on up Iara,” he whispered with a smile, putting his mug off to the side and holding her in his arms.

“Morning,” she yawned as she settled against his chest, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Finn rolled over then too, he looked up at them and smiled. “Good morning.”

“I have a question,” she asked.

“What is it, sweetheart?” Poe said, rubbing his hand on her back softly and watching as the thought of what to say.

“Are you my dads now?”

He smiled wide, Finn laughed and sat up. He wrapped his arms around both of them. “Yeah, I guess we are.”

“And that means Kendo, Max, Del and Sabé are my brothers and sisters?” she asked again, “does that make Rey my aunt or my sister?”

“She’d be more like an aunt,” Poe confirmed. “So would Keydel.”

“And Lando is my grandpa!” she cheered.

“He’s gonna love that,” Finn laughed.

“We’re one big family now.”

They were a family. He found his family, and it felt perfect.

#star wars #poefinn #fix it fic

[blankdblank]

Next Caller Pt 34

“Let’s see, everything’s in here,” after checking the bathroom you said, “Got the swimsuits and my wrap,” looking through your satchel you said, “All there,” You looked around, “What am I missing?”

Thorin looked you over asking after noticing you were barefoot, “Shoes?”

Looking down you groggily said, “Shoes...” shifting on your feet you circled your bed asking, “Where are my shoes?” Crouching down lifting the bed skirt seeing only the platform base to the bed making you huff and crawl around the bed, “There is no under to hide...” lifting the sheets all the way around only for the door to open and Kili to come in holding your shoes.

A smirk ghosting across his lips when he walked around the bed finding you plop down cross legged with a huff when you ran out of bed to search. “Auntie your shoes, left them outside near Mal’s.”

“Shoes! Thank you.” You said popping up to sit in the bed and pull them on over the socks you added.

Grabbing your case he said, “I’ll take this down for you.” Walking to the door smirking at his uncle whose bag he had wheeling behind him.

When you were done Thorin led you out for the last time and smirked up at Roac when he landed on his shoulder ready to be eased back in the carrier waiting with your van.

.

“So, we fly back, drive to drop you off, I grab the trunks and then the painters will be over in the morning after your show but before I come since I’ll be packing. Then I should be there by the time the washer arrives.”

“What about Roac?” You asked once you were seated in the plane between the brothers once again.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean if you wanted to leave him when you get the trunks so you won’t have to move him and the stuff tomorrow you can.”

Frerin tilted his head in Thorin’s quick glance at him, “Would simplify things.”

Looking at Roac he asked, “Would you be alright with that? Or would you want to help pack your things?”

Roac grinned with cheeks puffing up at you for the offer you made, “I shall allow you to pack my things.” Then proceeded to go into detail on how he wanted them pack making you smirk and write them out for the stunned Dwarf holding his carrier while Frerin tried not to laugh at the absurdly long list lasting more then half the flight.

.

In his try to think of what to say while Roac began to chat with Dwalin’s Raven Thorin’s eyes dropped and he smirked seeing your head resting against his arm. Carefully he shifted his arm closer to your side so you wouldn’t be laying against the armrest and he settled in that slightly out of place position aiming for your comfort over his. The position captured on camera by Frerin when he noticed the landing was coming up. And in the aftermath of the flash he reached over to tap your arm causing you to shift mumbling, “I’m up, tube socks, we were on tube socks.”

Frerin chuckled, “Yes we were.” Smirking as you sat up smoothing your fingertips on one hand around your eyes in a try to wipe the urge to sleep away before your furrowed gaze at the window. “Almost to landing.”

You nodded and struggling to stay awake he had to bite his lip as you lowered your legs and wrapped your arms around Thorin’s arm. Each breath deepening and your head kept nodding into and away from his arm until you were on your feet and led out to the van under Thorin’s arm to ensure you didn’t fall asleep while walking or waiting to climb into the van.

The teens with you were first to be let off and somewhere between the door closing and your house you had dropped into another nap.

A sharp inhale when the door slid open again had you blinking the stop into focus and you unbuckled climbing off of his chest to be your pillow. Carefully you got out of the van and behind you Frerin grabbed your bags and Thorin brought Roac up to your door in front of his brother. Finding your keys took you a moment and you were inside your home that beckoned you to come back to your bed. Roac free from his carrier sat on Thorin’s shoulder being patient not to fly through the house to wake the others until you informed them of the news. Frerin took your bag to your room and left Thorin’s and the carrier in his new room and followed you to the larger storage room to gather up some trunks that would help aid his packing greatly.

“Keys,” turning in a circle you pursed your lips and the pair smirked following you, “Where do you live now...” Into your closet you went after checking your study and from your sock drawer you pulled out a pair of orange socks rolled up you un-tucked revealing the spare house keys and the small mithril spoon charm Gloin’s firm hands out with each new house. Offering the keys to Thorin you flashed him a sleepy grin, “Keys, Mug Dealer.”

“I’ll make copies so you can put a pair back in your socks.”

Frerin pointed to the socks and you said, “It’s a Maiar thing, you keep your spares by orange. I would hang them in my tree but Belly might take them to add to his chimes.”

Roac in a downward glance shifted on his feet and hopped down to your shoulder in the guys’ path back to the van. At the door Thorin stated, “I will call tomorrow when I’m on my way.”

“You do have a key you know.”

Smirking at you he replied, “All the same. I’ll call first.” Your finger rose and he paused only to see you hurry to the coat rack pulling off your spare garage key fob he added to the ring already in his palm. “Get some sleep.”

You nodded and they stepped out allowing you to close and lock the door. Turning around however with your head hanging back in a grumble your eyes opened hearing wings shifting only to see Belly hanging from the arch there. “Hello Belly.”

Roac shifted his feathers anxiously and the upside down raven replied, “Welcome home! I see you have brought Roac, Dot is sleeping however.”

Roac replied, “There is no need to trouble her.”

Belly looked to you as you said, “I should tell you and Kuu together.”

Belly smiled and let go leading the way, “He is watching a film.”

Following him you reached up to stroke Roac’s nervously tapping toes in a try to calm him then sat on the edge of the lounge when Kuu fluffed up excitedly seeing you. “You are home!”

“Yes, I wanted to let you both know that Thorin and Roac are moving in with us.”

Belly fluffed up his feathers excitedly, “At last. Dot will be pleased, Darling as well missed your jokes.” He looked to you, “Where is Thorin?”

“Packing, loaned them some of the empty trunks he will be here tomorrow. His family will paint his room and he will set it all up and he has a home for Roac until Dot would be alright with sharing a dwelling with him.”

Roac nodded, “It is a lovely dwelling, Dot would be pleased to see my pictures as well I will hang around it.”

Kuu looked you over stating, “You are tired, you should sleep. We will aid in welcoming Thorin tomorrow.”

Belly nodded, “At sunrise I will pick the freshest berries to offer him,”

Kuu, “I shall find him a shiny smooth pebble.”

The offer making you smirk and say, “Thank you. I missed all of you. Tomorrow after work I’ll show you the pictures I took as well.” Making them grin and wish you a good night. Kuu turned his film back on when you left and Belly hurried back to his dwelling to nestle up next to Darling after having stayed up to welcome you home.

Down the hall you went and climbed onto your bed turning to untie your shoes you dropped beside it, laying your bag on the nightstand where you set your phone on it’s charger. Across your arm Roac walked to the table and settled next to your bag in his belly wishing you good night as you laid back in his fluffing up to sleep himself. His content sigh muffled as your head hit the pillow and were lost to the world.

.

Pictures can say a thousand words, a text message with four however had Ecthellion up half the night wondering what it could mean, “We need to talk.”

Those words he repeated when you had parked. Turning around you said, “Right, sorry, I was falling asleep when I texted that. Meant to elaborate a bit.”

He nodded and said lifting a Manila envelope, “I received this not ten minutes ago from a lawyer representing a Thorin Durin.”

“Yes, it’s about that.” You said pointing to the folder in his hand.

“Have you read this?”

“No. But I have a fairly good idea what it says.” He gestured for you to walk inside the building so you wouldn’t be late and you pocketed your keys.

“Because it reads a lot like a prenup.”

You nodded as he opened the door for you, “Ya, I kinda got that vibe when we were discussing it.”

“Jaqi,”

With a sigh when you were in the lift you turned to him saying, “Ok, I told you I was going to the Durin home?” He nodded, “Well we get there and there’s a dinner then Thorin is asked to show me to my room, only we’ve been assigned the same room,”

“If you tell me there was only one bed I’m going to scream like a schoolgirl.”

“There wasn’t,” And he huffed, “but there was no fireplace,” and his grin crept out, “I ended up on his back and apparently holding his beard,”

“Ooh,”

“Which apparently means we had to get married,” he gasped excitedly. “Or move in together or he’d lose all his hair and all of his babies would be bald for their lives.”

“Oh that’s bad.”

“I don’t get how Dwarves survive with all these rules, donkey days, now this, and Mal never told me why not to touch his hair she just said not to,”

“Bad idea for you, like a big red,” you finished the sentence together, “Button!”

“Yes! You get it! So I’m at breakfast and they drop the bomb on me and Thorin is packing and apparently moving in requires a prenup contract, so, ya.” You said gesturing at the contract.

“Well this seems like a fair contract but after your shift I would like to go over it with you at your house all the same.”

“We’ll have company though, his cousin’s kids are coming to paint his room and then more to move in and he bought a washer and dryer.”

“Yes that was in the contract.”

“Oh and Gorgo is coming too. I let the cat out.”

“She did leave me a message as well she had set an appointment with you.”

“She’s just so nice,”

He chuckled and said, “It is good that you are having friends in your new clan.” Deeply you sighed and he said, “I am going to talk to Glori and I will follow you home after the show. Just relax. This will be a painless as a salamander.”

 *

Trunk open with shelves on display steadily being filled Thorin’s room steadily was being emptied and his grin deepened the less there was to move. Sheets pulled from his bed he pulled his mattress off the frame him and Frerin got to taking apart. Large yawns broke the efforts for the night and on a pile under his sheets they collapsed to get some sleep with an alarm set to finish the work and get over to his new home by the time things picked up.

.

With radio playing he finished gathering his things and into the truck waiting downstairs him and his relatives. Every single thing was cleared from the room eventually with his tidbits around the living room and office next, bitter sweetly Frerin helped to ensure all was gathered up knowing he was next to pack up and move out with the boys eventually leaving this place clear when his house was modified a bit. Touring through the kitchen he eyed his blender and sighed remembering his challenge of finding one that the birds wouldn’t be able to go crazy with. It was one challenge in his path of settling into the home you had made. Just like having coupled with a single mother there were children of sorts to be nestled together including one of his own, and children could be a blessing and a disaster depending on what you leave them around unattended. But he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t excited for it just to get closer to you.

A confirming message that the painters were on their way had him inching a bit towards rushing just to be there with you having hoped that he had been there before his eager family showed up to start his moving process already. Fully loaded up the tuck door was closed and inside his car he turned off his phone display seeing the confirmation email on his change of address form including the copy of his new license to print out until the one with his new address on it. Another notice however popped up that the appliances were on their way and soon to arrive.

 *

 “Excited?” Mal squeaked out and you shrugged, “Oh come on, having your practical boyfriend moving in with you.”

After a sigh from you she smirked as you said, “This is not a boyfriend situation. I wouldn’t even know what to do with a boyfriend, clearly you feed it but past that-,” she giggled and you said, “Day one, just saving the poor Grump’s hair so his babies-,”

“Your-,” She cut you off making you arch a brow at her, “Your babies, be honest, you can say his babies but you are crushing on him at the very least and ‘his’ babies in your mind are yours too.” You rolled your eyes, “Hey, I’m planning on jumping into the clan too, I can say he’s stunning from a long line of stunning.”

Turning your head you spotted Echtellion with another bag of mail for the show and the envelope in hand stating, “Sorry, took a bit to finish something.”

Shaking your head you said, “Not a problem.” Joining him to the lift telling Mal, “I can feel you still looking at me with those boyfriend eyes.”

Ecthellion smirked as she fired back, “He’s your boyfriend, in the least.”

“Roommate.” She looked at you readying to say something only for you to add, “Whose family is expecting a wedding in the future.” You sighed and looked up at Ecthellion, “Does that make him my boyfriend? You had a boyfriend, now husband, what do you do with a boyfriend?”

He chuckled and replied, “Same thing you do with your friends, not counting the kissing part, and dates obviously. Or the talks about planning your wedding.” He smirked in a glance down at you seeing your helpless gaze up at him, “You like him, give it a few days, if he doesn’t bring up the conversation you bring it up.”

“I don’t want to force it,” Mal groaned making you look at her, “Guh?”

Looking you over she said, “From someone who loves you, just plant one on him. Put us all out of our misery.”

You looked to him again for him to say, “Few days.” Making you smirk in his flinch of a wink and glance forward in the doors opening.

A brief pause on your scooter, while he loaded up the bag in his trunk and climbed in his car to follow you home, and you were off. Shortly after and you were home again with the garage open and he parked on the street keeping the driveway open for Thorin and the moving truck then strolled his way through the front gate while you went to check your mail. Eyeing the box with your runes on it you turned back to the door wondering if he would want to have his name added today. The front door was unlocked and you showed him through to your study that he left the bag in, pausing to admire your desk and chair while you closed the hidden doors closing it off and taking him back to your dining room.

Next to you he brought out the contract stating turning over the first couple pages after describing what each section was, “It all seems fairly simple, beginning this is a listing of his assets and I have supplied what I am aware of yours, with an estimation on future liquidated assets to be left open. This whole paragraph is stating that up until the date of cohabitation all these assets are yours, separately not jointly and will remain so unless chosen upon at a later date which would involve an amendment on the contract.

For this next section it states that upon arrival Thorin has agreed to pay half of the rent and the trash fees, both of which are listed here, from steadfast funds, meaning funds that would not be subject to sway from the market or otherwise. Then this is the detailed part. It is a full financial grid on his tea shop earnings that he co owns with a ‘Balin and Dwalin Durin’ all funds of which are strictly barred from being used to pay bills or for funding the furnishing of this house. That those funds as agreed upon by Thorin will remain strictly for preservation of the company.”

“I was very adamant on that clause.”

His brow arched up, “You added that clause?” You nodded and he said, “Hmm, impressive.” Shaking his head he got back into the contract, “This next part goes into the clauses for his move here. Thorin agrees to take up residence in the back room as to not disturb the designs for the guest rooms already in the process of being decorated to your original designs. A washer and dryer set has been agreed upon to be supplied by him, as well as furnishings for the parlor, an agreed upon communal space to be designated as a possible game room for future guests or yourselves.

There is a clause here, further discussions of additions to communal areas have been welcomed for discussion on each item suggested to ensure the comfort and taste of both residents.” You nodded and he wet his lips to continue, “For outright refusals the use of an open faced blender has been barred with an agreed upon trial basis of a single cup contained blender that will be kept in the possession of Thorin on an as needed basis and stored to ensure the preservation of the harvest grown for your joint consumption. Negligence upon this clause resulting in damage to the harvest levels due to its undesignated use by the winged population inside the dwelling shall find complete removal of said appliance and reimbursement of lost goods by him.”

He looked you over again and you said, “It sounds a bit over the top on paper but he insisted.”

Flipping the page he said, “It’s a good thing. Moving on to the greenhouse, a designated plot has been assigned for his sprouts. Not much flourish on that one, just stating another agreed upon point. Above the statement that jointly a chosen mate has been presented to his bonded Raven, and upon the regrettable dissolution of cohabitation said raven would remain here should it be his and his mate’s wish. Any and all hatchlings would be subject to the wishes of their parents over either of you, then there is a listing of your flock that have all been listed as above his request to take custody of should a split occur.” Your eyes met his and he said, “Best to have that down now rather than later.”

He turned the page again showing the final page of the contract. “Thorin has accepted custody of a ring of spare keys, one garage key fob in accordance with his moving in. The latter to grant access to the communal garage agreed upon by yourself to share in protection for your vehicles. He has agreed to purchase mattresses for the sea foam guest room as well as the orange and blue guest room in anticipation of his kin and yours possibly visiting in the future to ensure comfort of guests and protection of private sleeping quarters between the pair of you from the guests. And the final clause is that he agreed not to take the itemized lists of furniture you have already purchased or chosen for communal or non communal areas based solely on the matter of who purchased them should the cohabitation dissolve. Each item inside those spaces, should he wish to take them with him, would be discussed concerning custody of it.”

“And that’s it?”

“Yes. It is quite the agreement hard to imagine how much time all of this took to be hammered out.”

“Again, ambushed in a breakfast.” His eyes flinched to you and you asked, “Why does everybody look at me like that?”

“You managed this in a breakfast?” He asked removing the lid from his pen he had been trailing along on the contract that he read out to you. “How long was breakfast?”

“30-45 minutes?”

“Jaqi I’ve worked with Dwarves before, how hard did you press these issues to get them in the contract in 45 minutes? Sometimes it can take weeks for these to be finalized.”

“Well it’s just common sense most of it. Basic rules it wasn’t that hard we talked civilly, I told him up front I wouldn’t accept embezzled funds to pay the rent in the expense of his shop.”

“You said embezzled?” He asked with a smirk.

“Well I couldn’t think of the term in any language but Troll and none of them speak that,” you said taking hold of the pen he offered you to sign beside the signatures already there. Passing the pen back you asked, “How is it all so astonishing?”

He signed and dated the contract blowing the ink dry before closing the contract he slid back into the envelope to smirk at you, “Because writing out contracts is possibly one of the most intimate forms of courting duels between couples. This, my dear, is possibly one of the most romantic battle of wits you could have mustered up. And you managed it in 45 minutes, you are an assassin at that rate. Protecting the home and his future in his business. Granting him a communal space to his own taste to shape and guaranteeing him input on others. Allowing him to shower you with objects of your desire while still holding the reigns on how far you will allow him to splurge granting you your own show of wealth security and grounds to aid in provision for the future of your coupling. All that aside of the custody of those birds you have given him keys, half the garage and a patch of your earth before he even stepped foot in the door with a box.” Tapping his finger on the contract he continued, “If he managed the discussion without blushing it is a marvel because terms like these issued verbally could have very well ended in an elopement had you mentioned it.”

You let out a sigh, “I’m never going to be able to keep up with all of this.”

He chuckled again and patted your shoulder, “For now, I am off to deliver these, enjoy your day, try to relax.”

Rolling your head you stood to show him out only to grin at the paint crew all smiling, allowing him past before following you through to his bedroom to allow them to get to painting.

..

Across your kitchen counters bubbles spread as you scrubbed them down and wiped them dry after with wash rags added to your laundry. Bowls sat with supplies around them in your usual conveyer belt fashion for your bread making. To the end of your supplies you mixed a bowl of dough that you kneaded then left to rise while you started on the next, adding the first into the heated oven while the second rose. On top of a heat resistant set of wood blocks you laid over your counters you left the hot trays of bread to cool while you started to mix the next bowls worth. Knuckle deep in dough was how Gorgo found you. Passing one of the paint crew heading out for the detailing brushes she was pointed your way and in the doorway of the kitchen she stopped and gave the frame a knock after noting just how much bread you were making.

“Hey Gorgo, nearly done.”

“Take your time. Do you always make this much bread?”

“Usually, ya. I tend to have a lot of soup jars I set up for easy meals.”

“Soup jars?” She asked and you glanced at her.

“Pre diced and mixed soup ingredients you just have to throw into a pot to boil up.” A final push, turn and plop of the dough back into the bowl you covered with cling wrap later you moved to scrub your hands and dry them. Using the rag by the stove to pull out the loaf of bread filling the room with its tempting scent making Gorgo inhale deeply watching you set it aside and replace it with the next in line. Keeping hold of the rag you said, “I bet you’d like to get started on the reading.”

“If you don’t mind.”

You nodded and said, “If you like you could read in my sisters’ room so you can relax on the bed and stretch out. Door should block out the music from the crew or any noise the guys make when they come to unpack Thorin’s things.”

“That would be nice, ya.” She looked over everything on her path seeing how lovely you had made the house so far even half furnished. “Have you considered the format for the etching reels for your books yet? We could give you a few drafts of you like?”

“I’ve already etched it,”

That had her look at you when you pushed on the door to your closet, inside which you had set the quartet of leather bound books parting her lips at its foot and a half stance. Once you had reached them you lifted the first from the wooden case you had made to hold them in place as a set coated in etchings from the tale. “Best you pace it a movement at a time.”

“You bound them?”

You nodded, “One of my friends’ father runs a binding shop and they might have conveniently left the shop unattended all night so I could get my draft together.” Flipping through you said when you landed on a certain page, “There are three edits written in, actually written in, but I changed them on the etchings. Everything else is ready, illustrations and all. It’s still single sided so I could bond in my illustrations so the final books won’t be so intimidating.” Her eyes scanned over your face and she asked, “You did all this thinking that no one would ever publish your books?”

You nodded patting your hand on the closed book, “Every story deserves to be respected. And this one’s very old. So it deserves to be pampered.”

She smiled awkwardly trying not to tear up and nodded turning after cradling the book you passed to her she pressed against her chest for the walk from your room to the peach guest room. “I would have you in mine but the birds sometimes like to hide there with company. Bath is through there and there’s plenty of pillows and the blankets-,” all of which was stacked near the steps between the beds making you nod then step out of the room, “Leave you to it then.” Behind the closed door her lips quivered and she inhaled sharply tilting her head back fighting her tears then turned to build up he perfect reading fort to get started already feeling her skin tingling in anticipation.

.

Again with their paint cans emptied and the now navy and silver accented room sat ready to be filled barely an hour after their arriving. Simply leaving the windows open for some spare time to air it out some more. They had it down to a science and confirmed Thorin had already paid and hurried out to let you relax waiting for Thorin to finally arrive.

All your bread had cooled and been put away and halfway through the second book Gorgo accepted your offer of lunch to pause her eyes and just internally buzzed about what was coming up next and just how much more phenomenal the book had been compared to the three chapter draft that got her through the past five years. While you ran your dish washer you stood alone uncertain of what to do, only making your way back to the couch to stare blankly at the show playing as your birds decided to remain in the greenhouse until Thorin was the only other person here with you.

Pt 35

#Thorin x Reader OC #Hobbit #lotr #Ecthellion #Glorfindel #Gorgo

[fantasiesxwritten]

01 | Unrequited | Surrender

Pairing | Ransom Drysdale x fictional character

Summary | Ransom and Ivy have known each other since childhood. After failed travel plans, Ransom ends up at Ivy’s house, which leads to tension as well as confessions about their past. 

Warnings | Sexual tension, language, anger, and angst

Word Count | 6,915

Note | Ransom is an asshole. The character, Ivy, is an asshole. Things get a little physical between them, and it leads to further physical issues in the future or next installment. If you like this, please like or leave a comment. I’m working on the next part and plan to post soon. 

"Excuse me," I said, shouting and pushing my way through the crowd. I knew I was going to miss this flight, and I had no one to blame but myself. I had to have that extra drink last night. Plus, I refused to fly private despite my family's wishes.

I ran as fast as I could, dodging people and luggage while carrying my own. I reached the gate in time to see the plane taxi away from the airport, sinking my heart. My mother would kill me if I did not make it home in time to cook for her parties to honor the New Year.

Luckily, I had a few days before I technically had to leave New York. I pulled out my phone, shooting off a quick text to smooth over missing the flight. With my eyes on my phone, and not where I walked, I ran smack into someone's back and knocked the wind out of my lungs. Their reflexes were quick, catching me before I fell and righting me on my feet.

"Ivy Aldrich, as I live and breathe," the person said, and I knew that voice. I, however, was not particularly fond of the person attached to that voice.

"Ransom," I said, trying to regain my composure. "What are you doing slumming it in a public airport?" I adjusted my clothes and looked up to see a cocky smirk stretch across his face.

He shrugged, "Sending the latest conquest back to her family after making her call me Daddy all weekend." He said, his smirk turning into a full smile.

"Wow," I said, with a small nod and pursed lips. "Still an asshole, I see." Ransom helped me pick up my luggage and handed it back to me. Hugh Ransom Drysdale did not carry his own bags, let alone those of others.

I've known Ransom since before we could talk. Our families gravitated towards each other because of their financial means and ruthless attitudes. Ransom and I attended the same schools for decades.  We lost touch after high school when I went to Columbia, and Ransom went full trust fund playboy at Harvard. I was grateful for the distance; Ransom was always on my case about something when we were young. I still saw him during family events and holidays occasionally, usually drunk with some socialite pawing at him all night. He, on the other hand, rarely talked to or acknowledged me.

"Why would I change perfection," he said, throwing his hands up with a shrug. I rolled my eyes as we both headed towards the door. Ransom's steps fell in line with mine. "Wait, why are you here?" he said, pulling a bag of candy out of his pocket and offering me some. Still always eating.

"I was supposed to fly home today," I said, taking a handful of his sour candy. "I missed my flight, though. I have to find another one."

Ransom shook his head, "I put, um," he paused and stopped walking. He scratched his head and chuckled, "I put whatever-her-name is on the last flight out. It's supposed to snow. They canceled all flights this morning."

"What," I shouted, causing multiple people to turn around. "Are you serious? I have to get back home. I'm cooking for my mother's dinner. Fuck."

I pulled out my phone and did a quick search, Ransom was right, there were no flights in or out for the rest of the day and possibly tomorrow. The earliest flight would make a tight schedule to get the entire dinner prepared. I went down a quick rabbit hole of other modes of transportation and ran into the same issue. I almost forgot about Ransom standing next to me until he tapped my shoulder, scaring me.

"I didn't know you were making the dinner this year," he said as we started walking through the airport again. I looked at him for a moment, confused.

"Ransom, you haven't shown up for it in three years," I said, laughing. "Why would anyone tell you?"

A smile crept across his face, "Aw, you noticed my absence? How sweet."

"It's not hard to notice when the loudest asshole in the room is missing," I said with a chuckle, making his smile vanish.

"That's the second time you've called me an asshole," he said. He stopped walking and grabbed my arm, causing the candy I was holding to fall, "Keep it up, and I'll show you what kind of asshole I can become."

A couple walked by, the guy eyeing us closely. His gaze fell to Ransom's tight grip on my arm. The man gave me a thumbs up, secretly asking me if I was okay. Ransom didn't notice, his glare never left my face. I nodded to the man, giving him a reassuring smile. He shrugged and walked away, seemingly content to leave me alone with a jerk.

I turned my attention to Ransom, "Do not cause a seen in a public airport," I said, reminding him that we were not in a private hanger like we were used to.

Ransom dropped my arm, and we both looked around to see if anyone was watching us. We walked out of the airport in silence with me one step in front of Ransom. I've known about Ransom's hot temper and aggressive nature since we were kids. Every single person who knows him has been on the receiving end. You had two options when Ransom put you in his crosshairs: cower and let him win, or stand up for your self and show him you're not afraid of his little power trips.

I tend to choose the latter.

When we got to the parking lot, I did a quick scan to make sure we were alone. I turned around quickly, spinning on my heel and stopping Ransom in his tracks. Before I could say anything, the automatic doors opened, and more people with canceled flights filled the parking garage. Ransom and I smiled politely until they passed us and were out of earshot.

"I know your whole schtick involves testing how far you can push people," I said, keeping my voice low as people still wandered the parking lot. "But if you think for one moment, I'm going to take your shit, I'd be more than happy to show you how wrong you are."

This is how it always was with Ransom. The people around him were pawns in whatever game he wanted to play. I've held my own with him, though, for decades, and I didn't see that changing any time soon.

Instead of taking a step back and retreating from his personal space, I stood still. I had barely been in the same room as Ransom in the last few years, definitely not this close. There were no words to describe how attractive Ransom was. His jawline was sharp, his eyes a beautiful crisp blue, and his lips were full and pink. Inviting almost. I didn't notice I was staring at his mouth until I saw him smirk. I took a step back, clearing my throat.

"I have to go," I said, retreating slightly. I kicked myself internally for letting Ransom catch me checking him out. I used to have a crush on him growing up. It was natural, giving how good looking he was. And it was just as easy to push the feelings away as we got older when he opened his mouth, and bullshit flowed freely. I turned towards my car, reaching for my key fob when I heard Ransom's footsteps.

"Where are you going," he asked, jogging to catch up with me.

I opened the trunk of my car and heaved my luggage inside, "Home?"

"Boring," he popped a few more candies into his mouth and turned to face me, "I think I'm going to get a hotel room and see what else this city has to offer until it's time to head home." I laughed.

"If they canceled the flights," I said, situating my luggage in the car as Ransom watched. "You're never going to get a hotel room that's up to your standards." I watched the realization I was correct sink in, and his face fall. "How do you not have a place in New York," I asked, closing the trunk and facing him.

"Now, who sounds privileged," he said, his voice flat and his face full of concern.

As much as I would like to see Ransom uncomfortable, stranded in a hotel most would find beautiful, but he found abysmal, I invited him to my brownstone. It was not the contemporary place he was used to, but Ransom could slum it on the Upper Westside for a few days. Besides, my mother would have a fit if she learned I left "Dear Ransom" to struggle. I'm convinced she loves him more than he loves himself, and that was a lot.

"Are you attending the dinner, Ransom," I asked, already regretting my next words as he nodded. "Then get in. You can stay with me until we leave."

"Perfect," Ransom said, his smile wide but fleeting. "Wait, do you live on the upper east or west side?"

I rolled my eyes, "Just get in the damn car."

We made it to my place as the first snowflakes started to fall. I tried giving my staff a warning before I let Ransom loose, but there was no use. Ransom started in on my team instantly. He told them how he wanted to be addressed, then where to put his things, and which rooms needed another sweep through. I put them all out of their misery and sent them home to beat the snow. I might want to kill him by the end, but I could handle Ransom alone for a few days.

"Are you hungry," I asked when Ransom joined me in the kitchen and stood across from me at the island. I grabbed a few items out of the refrigerator to make sandwiches for a quick lunch. 

"Not right now," Ransom said, eyeing his watch. This was suspicious. Ransom always wanted to eat, and at the risk of sounding egotistical, he never turned down a single meal I made over the years. It was the reason why he hopped in my car this afternoon anyway.

I crossed my arms over my body, "Okay, what's wrong with you?"

"Nothing," he said, but his eyes continued to roam between his watch and my driveway.

I snapped to get his attention, "I'm not buying it. What's wrong?"

"I'm just waiting for someone to get here, and she's late," he said, snapping at me. "Can you get off my back?" He walked past me and pulled a twenty-five-year-old bottle of scotch from the cabinet. I didn't even bother to turn around.

"You have a girl meeting you here," I pointed down at the floor. "To my house? What the fuck, Ransom?" I could hear the liquor splashing into the glass, and it sounded like a heavy pour. 

"Are you jealous, he said, I could tell a smile was plastered on his face by the tone of his voice. "It sounds like you're jealous."

I turned to fully face him, "What would I be jealous about, Ransom? I just do not want some stranger in my house tonight!" I said, throwing my hands up in the air.

The doorbell rang before he bothered to respond. I wiped my hands on a towel and followed him to the foyer. Ransom opened the door and pulled who stood outside into a tentative hug. They seemed to know each other well, but his shoulders drooped, betraying his ever-confident persona. There was sadness here. I could feel it. I could see it without seeing the face of the girl buried in Ransom's chest.

Ransom took a step back, and I let out a gasp when it registered just who stood in my entryway.

"Jane," I said. "Wow." She smiled brightly, bringing one to both Ransom and me. She offered a small wave and stepped around Ransom to hug me tightly. Jane looked the same, hell, she even smelled the same. The hug was over as quickly as it started.

Jane took a step back and really studied my face, "Still beautiful, Ivy. And killing it, I see." She motioned to the house around us, laughing slightly.

"Yup, she is," Ransom said, speaking up behind Jane. "Some things never change." He winked at me, and Jane caught it.

"I guess they don't," she said, laughing and pushing Ransom playfully.

"Well," I cleared my throat. "I'm going to let you two talk," I turned to Jane again, "Jane, you are more than welcome to stay for dinner."

Jane hugged me again before disappearing into the house with Ransom. I returned to the kitchen, stunned by what just happened. I hadn't seen Jane Cavanaugh since high school, or 'the accident' as we called it. A classmate decided to throw a party when their parents left town and the who's who of adolescent high society planned to attend. On the way there, Ransom picked up multiple vessels of inebriation. He didn't take anything before climbing into the passenger seat with John, Jane's twin brother. John, on the other hand, washed and Acid tab down with a few swigs of whatever alcohol bottle they decided to open first.

They crashed less than a block away from the party. Ransom walked away with barely a scratch, sober and safe. John died at the scene. A week later, I attended my first funeral. A week after the funeral, The Thrombey/Drysdale clan swept the entire thing under the rug. No one talked about the accident or how Ransom procured alcohol and drugs. Harlon, Ransom's grandfather, made it clear; he believed Ransom was not at fault, and that was all that mattered. The Smiths moved away shortly after that, marked as social pariahs for a situation they did not create. Ransom's level of abrasiveness skyrocketed, and I thought he never looked back.

I returned my attention to the cutting board, trying my best to figure out why Ransom kept in contact with Jane. From my understanding, he and his family were to cut ties with the Smiths. Out of sight, out of mind. Not one to shy away from the truth, I planned to ask him about his relationship with Jane. Were they sleeping together? Had they slept together? I should fling myself into the Hudson for the thoughts. Was I jealous? Was Ransom right?

No. Maybe? Oh, God, help me. 

I poured myself a glass of wine and tried shaking off the thoughts as Ransom emerged from their meeting without Jane. He sat at the breakfast bar in silence, his attention solely on me. He heard the bottles in the fridge clink and asked for one. I handed over a beer, fighting with myself not to ask him about Jane, but I couldn't help it. I asked tentatively if Jane decided to eat with us, already knowing the answer. Surprisingly, Ransom spilled his guts and revealed he and Jane never lost contact. Once Harlon paid off the family with a lump sum, the Smith's blew through the money quickly. After some convincing, Ransom kept in touch with Jane to make sure she got through school and into the job she wanted. They reached out to each other during the holidays, knowing it was hard for the other. I was touched, to say the least.

"What," I asked when I looked up and saw his face. He looked like a little kid about to ask his parents for something expensive.

"I was wondering if you'd make that risotto," he asked, "Like the one you made for Granddad's birthday?"

I looked down at the raw vegetables I already chopped, "You want me to make crab risotto?" I was incredulous. It was the middle of winter. On the east coast. During a snowstorm. All of which Ransom knew. I was already in the process of butchering a chicken to roast. Dinner was supposed to be done in minutes. Unless that is, you were cooking for Ransom Drysdale.

Ransom looked at me, expectantly, "Ransom, I don't have the crab. That dish takes at least forty-five minutes if prepped well." He looked at me as if he knew what I was talking about. He also looked like he needed a win. "You know what, fine," I said, one hand in the air while wiping the other on my apron." If you get the crab, I will make you the risotto."

Ransom called my name about twenty minutes later and reappeared in the kitchen with his hair still damp from his shower. Dressed simply in blue Nike sweats and a white t-shirt, he was one of the most attractive men I'd ever seen. Literally ever. I caught myself stealing glances at him as I moved around the kitchen and decided it was time to knock out the rest of our dinner prep to soak up some of the alcohol.

True to form, Ransom delivered with the crab, having it flown in from God knows where via chopper. I didn't even do that at my restaurants for the most affluent customers. If I didn't have it, you didn't get it. Things were always different in the world of Ransom Drysdale, and you could thank Harlon for that personally.

I could feel Ransom's eyes on me as I moved around the kitchen. I offered to show him how to do what I was doing, but he opted for a seat at the breakfast bar. His gaze pierced a hole through my subconscious as I struggled with a mix of sexual frustration and a resurfacing need for his approval.

I asked if Ransom wanted his meal at the table or the bar where he took up real estate for most of the day. He opted for the living room, informal and in front of the television. I handed him my wine, his scotch, and glasses for the two of us. Thankful I clean the kitchen as I cook, I grabbed our plates and followed after him.

The two of us settled into the couch and decided on a tv show quickly: You. Ransom admitted he never watched the show because it hit too close to home. Growing up, Ransom had the tendency to look into every aspect of his girlfriends' past. To me, I saw nothing wrong with that. Hiring a private investigator was normalized in our youth. We were not allowed to let anyone into our family circle without proper vetting. There was far too much money at stake. Ransom got called a stalker a time or two over the years.

I didn't realize I moved closer to Ransom until he got up to use the restroom, and I had to move. I felt awkward and didn't know what to do when he came back. Ransom made the decision for us, moving my legs and draping them over his as he settled into the couch. Instead of protesting, I let him and leaned into him, enjoying the warmth his body gave off. I rested my head on his shoulder, his fingers tracing my the inseam of my leggings. It had been a long time since I'd been this close to a guy.

"Hey," Ransom said, tapping the inside of my thigh. "I have to tell you something, and you can't get mad at me."

Intrigued, I turned my head slightly to look up at him, "I'm not making any promises." Ransom took a deep breath and rolled his eyes but kept them on the screen, his fingers still working at my inseam.

"You remember that Joe that you dated in school," He asked."

"Yeah," I said, studying his face. Trying to figure out where the hell he was going with this. "We dated for a year, and he ghosted me after the Bacchanal. Why are we talking about him ten years later?"

"Well," he said with a smile spreading across his face. "Joe didn't ghost you. I told him to leave you alone and threatened him at the party."

My jaw fell open, "You did what?" Ransom just shrugged, smile in full effect, face riddled with entitlement. "Why the hell would you do that?" I was, in no way, in love with Joe. I hadn't even thought of the guy since high school. I just could not believe that Ransom would step over boundaries in that way.

Who the fuck was I kidding? This is Ransom Drysdale. Why was I surprised?

"Because I liked you, and he wasn't good enough for you," He said it so matter of fact as if it was common knowledge. He glanced over at me, eyebrow raised, "Why do you look so shocked? You must have known."

"I didn't," I said, shaking my head. "I had no clue. It's not like you were nice or weren't fucking everything that moved."

Ransom's eyes flicked back to the screen, "I was nice to you. You just thought I was an asshole. Like everyone else." Everyone else. That hurt him. There was undeniable sadness at the end of that sentence. And as quickly as this vulnerable side appeared, it disappeared just as fast. His fingers started back up again, trailing up and down my thigh lazily.

I went to move my legs so I can turn to face him fully, but he applied pressure, holding me in place. He finally looked at me, I mean, really looked at me. The combination of Ransom's hand on my thigh, the alcohol, and the look he was giving me had me spinning. His hand was warm and heavy. I wanted it off of me. But then, at the same time, I wanted to feel that same hand all over my body.

Okay. That was definitely enough wine for me.

"Ransom," I said, placing my hand on his to stop him from stroking my leg. It was distracting, and I couldn't think. I needed to think. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

He nodded towards the tv, "You. The guy's name is Joe in the show. It made me think of the past. Also, liquid courage helped."

He smiled, and it was contagious. He leaned in slightly. I could smell the whiskey on his breath, but all I could think about was his mouth on mine. On my neck. On every part of me. I pulled away slightly, trying to shake off the warm hazy feeling clouding my judgment.

"I am not fucking you, Ransom," I placed a hand on his cheek, tapping it slightly. "You just fucked a girl yesterday. Treated her like a slut, I'm assuming. Then you sent her on her way, and you don't even remember her name."

"This morning, actually." He said shrugging.

I scoffed, rolling my eyes with disgust, "You are not helping your case, Ransom."

"Are you jealous again," He asked, his heavy hand back on my thigh, his fingers traveling higher and higher, leaving my body aching for more. Ransom was getting a kick out of this and leaned in again. His lips were practically on my neck, his breath warm and steady. I rested my hand on his chest, but I decided not to resist. I wanted to know how far he planned on taking this little game of his. I wanted to see how far I planned on letting him go.

"Do you want me to do the same things to you," His voice was low and soft, and his hands were practically between my legs, exactly where I wanted them to be. Well, almost. "Do you want me to treat you like a slut?"

"What do you want to do to me," I asked, leaning into Ransom's body more. He liked it that, but still refused to put his lips on me entirely, opting to graze my neck as he mulled over my question.

He brushed my hair off me should and out of his way, "Oh, I intend to do just that if you'll let me." Ransom brought his lips to my collarbone and paused, "But, I think I'll take my time at first."

Ransom placed the softest kiss on my collar, surprising me and causing me to jump slightly and moan. That was all the encouragement Ransom needed. He peppered my neck with light kisses, his lips soft and light. I let Ransom push me back on the couch, and his lips finally found mine. I could taste the whiskey I smelled on him. I enjoyed feeling Ransom's body on top of mine. He made me feel small and tiny. His hands explored my body, gripping my thighs, dipping underneath my sweater and grazing my skin. It didn't take long for my hands to do their own search as well. I wanted to touch all of him just as much as he wanted his hands on me. He moaned when I pulled his hair hard, exposing his neck so I could leave a trail of kisses of my own.

Ransom's phone buzzed in his pocket. We both tried our best to ignore it until the buzzing became nonstop. Frustrated, Ransom groaned into my mouth before fishing the phone from his pocket. His face twisting up when he saw the notifications.

"Who is it," I asked, still trying to catch my breath. I tugged on the bottom of Ransom's t-shirt, wanting his attention again.

"My mother. She wants to know about the party," he said, I dropped my grip on his clothing. If there was ever a mood killer, it was Linda fucking Drysdale.

Ransom noticed me adjusting my sweater and swatted my hand away. He sent a quick message to his mother, confirming his plan to attend the party. There was no backing out of that one now. Ransom slipped his phone back into his pocket and returned his attention to me, placing himself between my legs. The touching and kissing started back up again instantly. His hands roamed my body with no hesitation, and it took everything in me to fight the fuzzy feeling. I stopped him, cupping his face and making him look at me.

"We are not having sex, Ransom," I said softly, running my thumb over his lips. "I don't want to get you worked up." He let his head fall against my thigh, I could feel his breath through my leggings.

He lifted his head, "I'm already worked up." He groaned quietly, sneaking a few kisses on my thighs before reaching up and landing a few kisses on my lips.

Ransom helped me sit up, "I'm just happy you responded the way you did, and you didn't call me an asshole."

"You are an asshole," I said, smirking when he shot me a look. "But, I had a crush on you while we were growing up too."

"Why didn't you say something back then," he asked. "You're not one to hold your tongue."

I shrugged, "You literally had sex with half of our classmates. You had sex this morning with another girl, and here you are, confessing unrequited feeling from years ago."

"Oh, would you forget about that girl already," Ransom said, turning away from me. "I already have."

"Yeah, really encouraging." I couldn't help but chuckle. "When's the last time you've been tested? How many women are you currently sleeping with? When's the last time you actually took someone on a date?

Ransom turned towards me, "I got tested right before whats-her-name. I'm clean for the record. Always have been, and God willing, I always will be." His face was flushed, and his words came out clipped. I pissed him off, but he continued. "I'm not sleeping with anyone actually, contrary to what you think, I don't have a harem of women I'm rotating through. And I do not like getting grilled."

"What about dates," I asked again, not letting him skirt the question. He was already upset, asking one more thing couldn't make it any worse.

He threw his hands up in frustration, "I've been on plenty of dates. Are you done slut-shaming me now?"

"Okay, let's call it a night," I said, standing. "It's late, we're frustrated, and I have to wake up early tomorrow." I stacked our bowls and started making my way to the kitchen. After a quick rinse, I loaded the dishwasher and decided I was going to my room. I was still tingly from feeling Ransom's body on mine. His lips on mine. When I passed the living room, Ransom called my name, waving my phone in the air. He reached for my hand instead of handing it over.

"Don't be mad at me," his voice was softer than before, but you could tell he was still irritated.

"I'm not mad at you, Ransom, I didn't mean to piss you off."

"I'm not pissed either. This is just not how I saw this day going," he said with a sigh. "And I was so close to having you. My dick is hard, and I can't think straight right now."

I ran my thumb over his knuckles, "Then do it the right way. Take me on a real date."

"Why," he asked, looking up at me finally. "We have known each other since we were babies. You already know me by now."

I shook my head, "Um, no. Knowing you still take care of Jane shows me you have a softer side you've kept hidden. So," I said, leaning down, "If you want to fuck me, and if you want to have me, you have to date me.

A smirk appeared across his face, "I'll do whatever you ask me to."

"We both know that's a lie," I laughed, and Ransom did too before he let go of my hand. I kissed him quickly, without thinking, and didn't let him pull me into another situation.

I left Ransom on the couch and went upstairs, still buzzing about what just happened. This whole day was wild. Brief flashes of Ransom's hands and mouth on my body kept me tingly and on edge. I took a quick shower, opting for just a t-shirt and underwear. With Ransom somewhere in the house, the last thing I wanted was to run into him in the hall with no clothes on. Come to think of it, I didn't even know what room Ransom picked.

I turned the lights off, and the tv on, but I couldn't focus on anything other than Ransom. What would have happened if I had another glass of wine? Would I have let him fuck me on the couch? I reached for a pillow and stuffed it between my legs. I rolled my hips against it, moaning instantly as the fabric slid against my aching clit. I rocked back and forth, growing faster and faster, chasing the release I desperately needed. I gripped the pillow tightly with my thighs and rolled over, straddling it. I thought of Ransom's hands on my body, in my hair while I begged him to fuck me harder. I trailed my hands up and down my body, but it didn't feel the same. I wanted him. His hands. His roughness. His cock. I sped up the pace as I grew more desperate to cum, Ransom's name quietly rolling from my lips over and over again. I threw my head back, my humps becoming more pathetic as I felt the pressure building in my stomach. I bit down on my knuckle to hide the moans as I tumbled over the edge, and relief washed over me. I rode it out until I couldn't sit up anymore. I let myself fall to the bed, and allowed my fatigue to consume me.

The next morning, I started early with prepping for the drive to Massachusetts and dinner. Between Rachel and me, we were moving at a steady pace, and the car was almost packed. I wanted Rachel driving ahead of Ransom and me; I would not subject that poor girl to a three-hour car ride with him.

"Oh," he said, looking over at Rachel. "You're not alone." Clearly intimidated, Rachel began gathering her belongings.

"Would you like me to make you breakfast before I go, Ransom?"

I cut Ransom off before he could respond, "I've got it, Rachel. I've already started his breakfast." Ransom raised an eyebrow but stayed quiet. I gently ushered her out of the kitchen and quietly reminded her of the way Ransom likes for staff to address him.

I turned to face Ransom, "Do not treat my staff poorly. And do not start any shit today, Ransom." I watched as a slow smirk stretched across his face, causing me to reissue my threat. He held up his hand in mock defeat earning an eye roll from me.

"Can you make me-" I didn't stop moving. Ransom and I still needed to get ready and get on the road. I let him sleep longer than I should, and I'll hear about it for hours if we're late.

I shook my head, cutting him off, "I already started your breakfast. I made you crab eggs benedict."

"Making my favorite meal," he asked. I could hear the amusement in his voice.

I placed the plate down in front of him, "Please, do not flatter yourself. I didn't want the crab going bad while we're out of town." I quickly washed the pans and ditched my apron. "What do you think," I asked over my shoulder as I finished wiping the counters.

"It was perfect," Ransom's voice scared me. I had no idea he had finished, let alone walked up behind me. He placed his plate in the sink and lingered as I washed it.

"What," I asked, turning to face him. Dressed in blue jeans and a chunky sweater, he looked as handsome as ever.

He trailed a finger up and down my arm. I expected to see a smirk or smile, but I could not pinpoint his mood or where this conversation was going.

"So, last night," Ransom said, trailing off slightly. I wanted to cut him off, tell him he didn't have to tell me he regretted it or blamed it on being drunk. I had already cut him off twice, and he didn't seem upset. I figured it was better to not push my luck before a road trip.

"I heard you last night," he said and continued when I gave him a puzzled look. "In your room. I heard you moaning."

My mouth fell open, but I remained silent. I felt my entire body heat up with embarrassment. How the fuck could I forget to check which room Ransom was in. Ransom was not the kind of man to let this go, and he relished in the embarrassment he caused in others. What did he hear, and more importantly, what did he plan to do with that information?

He stepped closer to me; his cologne filled my nose, "Do you want to know my favorite part?" I nodded, I was curious, I still couldn't force my brain to process real words. Ransom placed his hand on my hips, pinning me between him and the sink, "You were moaning for me." He moved one hand up my body slowly and placed it around my neck. Thank God he didn't squeeze, that would have ended me. He kept one hand firmly on my waist, holding me exactly where he wanted. He lifted my chin and shot me a smirk before his lips touched my neck. My eyes fluttered shut, and I moaned softly.

"Close," Ransom said with a chuckled. "That's not my favorite part of what I heard last night." He returned to placing soft, but deliberate kisses across my neck, this time tightening his grip.

"Ransom," I said, my voice coming out more like a whine. He was practically holding me up at this point.

He pulled away slightly, "There it is. Good Girl." He said as he kissed my forehead.

The door leading to the garage opened, and I heard a gasp. I looked past Ransom's body and saw Rachel standing there with her mouth agape. Ransom did not release me, he simply loosened his grip on my neck, making it easier for me to speak. I hoped.

"What do you need, Rachel," I wondered, clearing my throat and finding my voice again. "I thought you left already."

"Your mother wants to borrow one of your coats. She called me and insisted I turned around." She tried her best to ignore what she was seeing and remain professional. I nodded, but Ransom beat me to the punch, speaking for me.

"Grab the coat and get the fuck out," Rachel spun on her heels and disappeared without another word. Ransom returned his attention to me, leaning in for more.

I tried pushing Ransom away, "Do not talk to her that way." My tone came out colder than I anticipated, especially for how fuzzy I still felt. "I don't treat my staff the way your fucking family does."

"Oh, come on, Ivy," Ransom said with a groan. "Don't be mad at me."

I dodged his kisses again, "Apologize before we leave, Ransom."

"Oh, fuck that," He said with a laugh, his body still pressed up against mine. He took his hand from my neck and pointed at himself, "I do not apologize."

I slipped away from him, "Well, you're about to." Ransom reached out, and I was suddenly in the same position, my small frame feeling the weight of Ransom pressing into me.

"I'm sorry, Ivy," he said. He did not fucking mean it, but he said it. "I just didn't want someone else interrupting us. Again."

"Apologize to Rachel, Ransom." He looked at me like I had four heads with 3 eyes apiece.

This time he was the one to step away, "I am not apologizing to the fucking help." He was such an asshole.

"You will apologize to Rachel," I said. "She helped you. She helps me. She did not sign on to deal with your arrogant and entitled ass. Just say you're sorry before we leave." I turned to walk away, and Ransom stopped me again this time by the arm, pulling me close to him.

"If you make me apologize to your staff," he said, the disdain evident in his voice, "You will regret it later. I promise you."

"If that's how you want to play it," I said with a smile, "Then, by all means, let the games begin." He let my arm go, a scowl plastered on his face. I heard him call out for Rachel, his voice booming throughout the townhouse. I left Ransom to figure out his apology on his own and made my way to the car.

 I didn't know what the hell was going on between Ransom and me, or what we would decide to do about this attraction. There was bound to be drama tonight now that he had to apologize. Having Rachel drive separately was the best decision I made in days. I could not let her think I'd allow Ransom to treat her that way. While my family had their own issues, The Thrombey/Drysdale family was the worst. Ransom was close to his grandfather, but everyone else treated him as if he didn't belong.

Ransom stormed out of the house with Rachel scurrying past her. I figured I would check in with her once we got back to Boston. She knew how the Thrombeys were, but Ransom was a new terror. I watched as he walked past the passenger seat and made his way to my door.

He opened the door roughly, "Get out, I'm driving."

"Absolutely not," I shook my head and reached for the door. "You are way too angry."

Ransom explained how driving helped calm him down, and it was in everyone's best interest if he didn't show up at the party angry. I could not argue with that. We switched seats and started the drive in silence. Until I couldn't take it anymore.

"Ransom, you cannot be this upset you had to apologize to Rachel," I said. "She's nice and accommodating, just leave her alone and she'll stay out of your way."

To my surprise, Ransom laughed, "I'm not worried about Rachel anymore. He kept his eyes on the road as he continued, "You're the one that embarrassed me. I'll just have to embarrass you too."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean, Ransom," I said, watching a smug smirk pop up. "Do not ruin this dinner because you want to be petty."

"I don't care about the dinner, Ivy," he said. "But you'll have my undivided attention tonight.

I eyed him carefully, but his attention remained on driving. I swear to God, if one thing went wrong at this dinner, I'd burn that ugly gothic house to the ground. Ransom made me jump when he draped his hand in his lap. He squeezed my thigh then returned to lightly rubbing it, causing the tingly feeling to come back.

Then it dawned on me. That's what Ransom wanted, exactly what he wanted. He wanted me flustered and embarrassed, and my attention on him. Well, two can play that game, and I can play it well. I settled into my seat, head back, and eyes closed. I didn't get much sleep last night, and apparently, I needed to be on my A-game.

#ransom #ransom drysdale #ransom thrombey #ransom drysdale smut #ransom drysdale fanfic #ransom drysdale fanfiction #knives out #knives out fanfic #chris evans

[eldritchsurveys]

1135.

by ausmuh

1. What's one TV episode that makes you laugh out loud every time you watch it? >> There’s an episode of Person of Interest -- “Number Crunch”, I want to say the episode’s name is? -- where an antagonist slips MDMA into Harold Finch’s drink and then pops something explosive in the microwave and leaves him to his fate. And here’s Finch, dopey and smiling, thinking it’s popcorn in the microwave and sway-dancing happily as he waits for it to be finished (meanwhile, one of his companions has broken into the place to rescue him and is just like “are you fkn kiddin me” lmao). He’s just so adorable in his impending doom, haha. Sigh... I love that show so much.

2. Who's one person you'd like to see a biopic made about? >> I don’t care.

3. Is plot an important aspect of books and movies to you, or do you care more about things like character development, themes, etc.? >> I really can’t imagine a plot that doesn’t include extensive and intricate character development. I guess I just don’t read plot-driven books, or something? I don’t know what a “plot-driven” book is. All the stories I enjoy are character-driven and the characters drive the story along... that’s just how it works for me. I guess I’d need an example of a different kind of story to understand.

4. What song hit you so hard that you remember where you were the first time you heard it? >> Awake O Sleeper by The Brothers Bright was like that. I was living with Hallie at the time. I wish I’d awakened to the bullshit I was dealing with, lmao. Regardless, that song hit me like a ton of bricks the first time I heard it sitting on the couch in the office in that house.

5. What's your "brand" of fictional character, the type you always get attached to (ex., "perky girls with deep-seated mental health issues," "guys who you would want as an older brother," etc.)? >> A few of my brands are “grumpy old magic man”, “probably a trickster god”, and “queer-coded villain”.

6. Are there any conspiracy theories that you kind of believe in? >> Nope.

7. What's the best "fake" song (one that exists only in the world of a TV show or movie)? >> I would name Dethklok songs but those songs are pretty real, lol. They used to have concerts and everything. I can’t think of any fake songs.

8. If you use Spotify, share your 2020 Wrapped! What are your overall feelings about it? Is it what you expected? >> Here’s the playlist link. And yeah, it’s what I expected -- the car playlist skewed a lot of the results, which is why there’s far more MCR and FOB and shit on there than seems logical. But You Ain’t Coming Back by Zeal & Ardor being the number one song is absolutely on point, lmao. I put that song on repeat on several occasions, which is novel for me because I don’t usually do that.

9. What's a film you watched recently that you can't stop thinking about? >> Possessor was wild. Fuckin Cronenbergs.

10. If you’ve been in lockdown/quarantine for most of the year, describe the different “phases” of quarantine you’ve gone through (whether defining them by an obsession you had, what you were doing most at the time, how you felt, etc.) >> I didn’t really have phases. Being forced to stay inside all the time was only different from my normal life in that I couldn’t choose to do anything different, which is the main frustration -- I didn’t exactly go out a lot before, but at least I knew I could if I wanted to (and sometimes I did). But in practice my life didn’t really change all that much, so I didn’t feel as disrupted as most people did. I kept doing the same shit I’d already been doing.

11. The last TV show you watched is now getting a crossover with the last video game you played: what is the unholy abomination that has just been created? >> It’d be fairly easy to recreate Bridgerton in The Sims 4, I’d think, particularly if you have some custom content installed.

12. What's an invention you’ve spent a lot of time wondering about the creation of (ex., "how did hourglass makers decide how much sand was needed and how thin the waist had to be???")? >> I think about that kind of thing randomly, but not extensively enough to warrant notice.

13. If you’re a ~gamer~, what are your top 3 all-time favorite games? >> FFXIV, Journey, and Hades are my current faves.

14. If the pandemic had happened just a year earlier, how different would your life be? >> Well, the wedding would have been cancelled. I might not have gotten to see Phantom of the Opera. 2019 was a good year and I’m really glad it wasn’t ruined by a pandemic.

15. Post a screenshot you particularly like from your favorite film without mentioning the film’s title. >> Nah.

16. Name the movie, book, TV show, etc. that you were most out of step with this year (meaning both the reviews and overall discourse was the opposite of how you felt about it). >> Hmm... I’m not sure.

17. What’s the biggest red flag you’ve ever ignored? >> Oof, just... Hallie’s whole fucking thing, lmao. But at that point I was so used to being treated any old way without care or consideration that I guess it must have seemed more normal than abnormal. Which really sucks. Because the stuff I went through with him is definitely abnormal and when I see other people going through similar things with their partners it’s really eye-opening.

18. What are some albums that “molded your brain” during middle and/or high school? >> My Own Prison by Creed, Something Like Human by Fuel, just... mainly those two. And my various mixed CDs recorded from the radio.

19. Without saying your age, post your favorite film that was released the year you turned 18. >> Hmm... The Jacket was good... Walk the Line too.... oh, Constantine! Fuck yeah! That’s the one.

20. What’s something extremely bizarre you believed as a very young child? >> I’m not sure, but I always think of this one story that this kid tried to convince me of when I was in second grade. He was light-skinned and he said that he used to be dark like me, but he started picking at his cuticles one day and peeled a piece of skin back and it kept going until he peeled all of his skin off and his current complexion was what was underneath. Kids, man... lol

#surveys #survey #random survey #not for reblogging *glare*

[entering-mymind]

The Mandalorians

This is the first episode to a fanfiction of my take on the Disney+ series “The Mandalorian” I have added my OC character (Mando’s daughter) into the series, allowing the reader to get a deeper insight to Mando’s decisions. I do not own these characters and the story and dialogue goes to the respected credit of the screenwriters and creators of the show. I would love to hear feedback.

Chapter 1

           The frosty planet had no effect on the Mandalorian, he stood fierce, monitoring the tracking fob as it guided him to a local cantina.

           “Look at his glands, I bet we could sell them at the port,” the gangster declared to his buddy while speaking in Huttese.

“Please, please I have credits. Take them,” the blue fish looking Mythrol desperately pleaded.

“He’s young. The musk will be sweet,” the two gangsters picked up their target but spilled their drink in the process, “And now the real prize,” but he was interrupted by a stranger walking into the cantina.

The Mandalorian received many stares but caught the attention of the two hoodlums.

“You spilled my drink,” the gangster addressed the stranger but the Mandalorian walked to the bar ignoring all.

“Hey Mando!” the hoodlum walked towards the bar and spoke his phrase again, “You spilled my drink, Mando.”

Again the gangster was ignored when the bartender translated in case the Mandalorian didn’t speak Huttese, “He says you spilled his drink,” seeing a brawl about to unfold the bartender got the gangster a new one, “It’s fine, it’s on me.”

But the gangster turned his attention back on the Mandalorian, “Is that real Beskar steel?” when the two gangsters boxed Mando in as the bartender passed the drink.

“Here,” but Mando intercepted and took out his two assailants with ease, even killing one in the process.

Everyone in the cantina stared in apprehension and fear but the Mandalorian turned his attention on the Mythrol instead.

“Thank you, thank you very much,” the Mythrol began, “You have my heartfelt gratitude,” but Mando stared unenthused, “You know what? Here, you take my credits, buy yourself a drink,” when Mando illuminated a hologram with the Mythrol’s face.

“Huh, is that a bounty puck?” the Mythrol played dumb, “Is that me, uh look there must be some mistake. I can get you more credits.”

“I can bring you in warm, or I can bring you in cold,” Mando reached for his blaster as the Mythrol received the hint.

                                                   *   *   *

The two walked up to a Ferryman who spoke Kubazian, it awaited for orders, as Mando stated a request, “I need passage to the yards.”

The Ferryman played one note on his recorder when a speeder approached with a droid driver.

“No droids,” Mando stated in distain.

“I assure you, this speeder is brand new. It’s the latest model,” the Ferryman tried to sell but Mando flipped him a credit as the Ferryman signaled for another transport, which was spitting smoke and all beat up but at least was piloted by a human driver.

“Where to?” the pilot asked.

The three sped off approaching a ship in the snowy distance.

“You know what he’s looking for?” the Mythrol said pointing in the distance with his cuffed hands, “You’re looking for Ravinaks, right?” he asked the driver.

“It’s clear right now, but be careful near the port. Everyone dumps their Gray Holds out. They think the whole entire planet is their own personal stink pit. Here you are,” the driver eased up to a ship.

“You’re kidding me right,” the Mythrol said to the Mandalorian but Mando commanded him to get out of the speeder.

“I’ll hire us a Livery cruiser. No big deal. It won’t come out of your end. I’ll pay for it,” the Mythrol hoped to bribe, “I’m just trying to make it pleasant,” he ended.

“Hey it’s time to go, so let’s settle up,” the driver said as Mando paid, “I’d stay off the ice if I were you,” when he pulled away.

“You think there’s really something to worry about?” the Mythrol questioned in fear but his assumptions were clarified as he watched the driver get devoured by the massive creature that just emerged through the ice.

“Open the hatch!” the Mythrol ran but became stunned by fear as the creature made haste in his direction.  Quicker than he thought, the Ravinak broke through the surface with its massive jaws and tried to claim another meal, but Mando pulled the Mythrol safely on board.

The two entered the cockpit rapidly while Mando fired up his ship.

“Dank farrik, that was close! Stay off the ice, that’s the understatement of the millennium,” the Mythrol exasperated.

The ship’s engines ignited with life when Mando began flight, but the Ravinak took hold of the landing gear preventing further movement.

“It’s taking us down. What’re you doing?” the Mythrol said in distress, “It’s got us. It’s gonna take us under. You gotta do something! We gotta get out of here,” the Mythrol pleaded where it seemed as if the Mandalorian was waiting for assistance but it never came, instead he took matters into his own hands.

Mando rose from his seat and grabbed his pulse rifle, he made his way to the lower deck of the ship taking a glance around, he realized the severity of the situation and gave up on the search in order to deal with the creature himself.

Mando lowered the hatch and gave the Ravinak a good electric shock from his rifle. With luck the creature released the ship and they were on their way. Mando made his way back to the cockpit as the two sat in silence, eventually the Mythrol began a one-way conversation.

“I like your ship. She’s a classic, Razor Crest am I right? Pre-empire? I have credits, by the way. That’s why I offered to hail a cruiser,” continued silence, “How much are they paying you?” The Mythrol could see the Mandalorian wasn’t interested and stayed focused on his flying.

“Is it true that you guys never take off your helmets? Oh boy I think I have to use the vacc tube, I mean I could do it here but if you’ve never see a Fledgling Mythrol evacuate their thorax, you’re a lucky guy, trust me,” still silence.

“Clearly there’s nowhere for me to go. So uh…I’m gonna look for that vacc tube if it’s all the same to you? Great,” the Mythrol got up from his seat when the cockpit door opened as he went to the lower deck, but Mando wasn’t worried because she didn’t like strangers in her artistic workspace.

                                                         *   *   *

The Mythrol climbed below in anticipation and began to explore. In the back far corner of the ship a vacc tube stood as the Mythrol declared he found it.

“Thanks it might take awhile, I’m molting,” he began to walk around hoping to find an escape pod and continued talking for a distraction, “Oh, this feels a lot better, I haven’t evacuated since the solstice,” he walked further and entered into another room of the ship, sheets of paper were spread along the floor while art supplies were scattered all around.

The Mythrol took interest, analyzing the works of art that depicted sceneries of different planets across the galaxy when a few had weird interpretations of what appeared to be from a dream.

He never thought the Mandalorian was the artistic type when he continued talking and looked for the hatch, “Yeah I was hoping to be free for Life Day. Maybe even, uh,” when his journey continued further but a solid golden slab of a Rodian caught his attention.

In panic the Mythrol noticed a series of hanging golden slabs, one behind the other, consisting of a plethora of specimens.

“Even uh, get home to the family,” he said losing his words, quickly he started to side step away from the carbonited prisoners hoping this wouldn’t be his fate, when he felt a presence directly behind him, “But I guess that’s not gonna happen this year,” he ended.

In terror the Mythrol turned around fearing the Mandalorian’s wrath but a different Mandalorian gazed upon him.

“You talk to much,” the young female Mandalorian pointed out. Without hesitation she kicked the Mythrol into the machine making it roar to life. Once the carbonited process finished she glared at her newest blank canvas and decided to give the Mythrol a little flare. She chose to give him an over exaggerated expression making him appear almost cartoonish. Once finished with her masterpiece she hung their latest bounty with the others wondering if she should spruce up any of the others with her talent.

Once she was done with her fun, young Mando made her way up to the cockpit and took her usual seat, “You know I don’t like it when you allow the bounties to just roam freely about the ship,” she stated in annoyance.

“I don’t like when Ravinaks think my ship is a snack. Where were you, did you have an episode?” Mando questioned in concern.

“No, I’m fine. I wasn’t aware fighting off giant Ravinaks became my responsibility, next time I’ll just shock it with my pulse rifle…oh wait I can’t because I don’t have one, so remind me again how I was suppose to get the Ravinak to detach? Ask it nicely?” young Mando got up irritated and headed back to the lower deck. There she would create more works of art hoping this would calm her down due to being frustrated with her father.

                                                     *   *   *

The Razor Crest made it’s way to the planet of Nevarro so Mando could drop off the bounties him and his daughter collected. Once landed on the outskirts Mando made his way below.

“Stay on the ship and help with the unloading once Karga’s crew arrives,” Mando instructed his daughter.

“What, why don’t I get to come along?”

“No arguing,” Mando stated firmly and left to meet Greef Karga, head of the Bounty Hunter’s Guild.

Mando made his way through the small town and entered the Guild’s cantina with all eyes on him. Mando never let the other Guild member’s jealousy affect him when he approached Greef Karga who sat in the corner booth.

“Ah, that was fast, did you guys catch them all?” Karga questioned while Mando laid down a bunch of tracking fobs, “Good. I’ll command the off-load,” when Karga spoke Huttese to some crew as they left for the Razor Crest.

Mando took a seat opposite of Karga when he began to make small talk while he got out Mando’s payment.

“So where’s the kiddo?” Karga referred to Mando’s daughter, “Grounded for painting on the carbonited prisoners again?” Karga joked but didn’t mind the artistic flare she exuded.

“No,” was all Mando replied.

“Now I know it’s not my place but Naboo has an excellent art program. She could study music, theater, art, maybe even politics. I heard that planet turned out some great politicians in the past. You should consider it, a talented kid like her shouldn’t be involved with bounty hunting,” Karga set the payment on the table when Mando ignored Karga’s suggestion.

“These are Imperial credits,” Mando said not thrilled.

“They still spend,” Karga stated.

“I don’t know if you heard, but the Empire is gone.”

“It’s all I got.”

Quickly Mando picked up the fobs when Karga stopped him, “Save the theatrics. Fine, I can do Calamari Flan, but I can only pay half.”

“Fine,” Mando handed over the fobs and took the payment.

                                                    * *   *

Back at the Razor Crest young Mando let Karga’s crew on board as she helped them unload the bounties, finding this as demeaning she kept to herself when suddenly one of the crewmembers cautiously addressed her.

“Um…Greef Karga wanted me to give this to you,” he slowly stepped forward afraid of what she could possibly due to him.

Finding his hesitation amusing she approached and noticed a small rack filled with a line of tiny jars. Each one was unique and filled with a specific color she had never seen before.

“Karga said these paints are very rare, only can be made from certain seashells that surface once every fifty years. He says he doesn’t have favorites but I think that’s an understatement.”

In excitement she took the gift mesmerized by it, she couldn’t wait to start creating with them and finally, in what felt like forever, displayed a smile under her helmet that no one would ever see.

                                                   *   *   *

“I have a bail jumper, a bail jumper, another bail jumper, a wanted smuggler,” Karga put several pucks on the table when Mando declared he would take them all. “Now hold on, there are other members of the Guild, and this is all I have.”

“Why so slow?” Mando questioned.

“It’s not slow at all, actually, very busy. They just don’t want to pay Guild rates. They don’t mind if things get sloppy.”

Frustrated Mando made a suggestion, “What’s your highest bounty?”

“Not much, five thousand.”

“That won’t even cover fuel these days.”

“There is one job.”

“Let’s see the puck,” Mando said.

“No puck, face to face, direct commission, deep pocket.”

“Underworld?”

“All I know is no chain code,” Mando glared at Karga in frustration as he held out a card, “Do you want the chit or not?” Karga waited while Mando hesitated and then vigorously took it.

Mando stood and half turned showcasing his hand on his blaster, more to display a warning than a threat, “And you’re right about one thing, it’s not your place when it comes to decisions for my daughter,” Mando stated sternly and then walked out leaving Karga shaking his head in scrutiny, but with a smirk on his face knowing his gift brought the kiddo some joy.

                                                    *   *   *

Trying to disregard Karga’s suggestion, Mando couldn’t help and ponder over her future. Was this the way for her, a life in bounty hunting or should she be able to choose a life for her own? A debacle Mando continued battling over since she entered his life, he wanted nothing more than her happiness, but her safety was main priority.

Mando meandered his way through the town when he ventured down some secluded streets and came upon the client’s door. He knocked loudly as a droid popped out from the wall asking for clearance when Mando showed the chit. The droid scanned the card and then allowed his access.

Mando followed a droid down a dark hallway, always on guard when he entered a room showcasing four Stormtroopers and an older gentleman – who appeared Imperial- sitting at a table located in the center of the room.

“Greef Karga said you were coming,” the client said as Mando approached the table.

“What else did he say?” Mando replied.

“He said you were the best in the parsec,” when unexpectedly a side door opened when a man – who appeared to be a doctor- walked through.

Immediately Mando thought this to be a threat and so drew his weapons as the Stormtroopers also reacted, “Freeze!” One trooper yelled.

“Drop your weapons!” Another commanded.

“No, no, no, pardon. Uh sorry,” the doctor stated nervously, “I didn’t mean to alarm,” as Mando kept one blaster pointed at the doctor and his pulse rifle on the troopers.

“This is Dr. Pershing, please excuse his lack of decorum. His enthusiasm out weights his discretion. Please lower your blaster,” the client requested.

“Have them lower theirs first,” Mando demanded.

“We have you four to one,” one Stormtrooper stated in blind confidence.

“I like those odds,” Mando said without hesitation.

“He also said you were expensive,” the client tried to draw Mando’s attention, “Very expensive, please sit,” when he commanded the troopers to lower their weapons with a wave of his hand.

Mando lowered his also and took a seat at the table hearing out his assignment. When everyone was settled down the client unveiled an item Mando had not seen in years.

“Beskar,” Mando said to clarify.

“Go ahead. It’s real. This is only a down payment,” the client said while Mando picked it up to inspect the small slab for himself, “ I have a camtono of Beskar waiting for you upon delivery of the asset.”

“Alive,” Dr. Pershing chimed in.

“Yes alive, although I acknowledge that bounty hunting is a complicated profession. This being the case, proof of termination is also acceptable for a lower fee,” the client said.

“That is not what we agreed upon,” the doctor said in confusion.

“I’m simply being pragmatic.”

“Let’s see the puck,” Mando requested.

“I’m afraid discretion dictates a less traditional agreement. We can only offer you a tracking fob,” the client signaled the doctor to give the fob over to Mando.

“What’s the chain code?” Mando asked.

“We can only provide the last four digits.”

“Their age? That’s all you can give me?” Mando stated in confusion.

“Yes. They’re fifty years old. We can also give you last reported positional data. Between that and the fob, a man of your skill should make short work of this,” the client said in certainty as Mando rose to exit when the client continued, “The Beskar belongs back into the hands of a Mandalorian. It is good to restore the natural order of things after a period of such disarray, don’t you agree?” the client ended but Mando walked out before giving an answer.

                                                 *   *   *

Mando walked back to the Razor Crest to collect his daughter because together they would visit the secret covert of the Mandalorians.

“How many bounties do we have to slave over this time,” she said unenthused.

“Come, we have some upgrading to do,” her father said cryptically.

Confused yet intrigued young Mando stored her supplies away and followed. The two walked down the hatch when Mando glared at his daughter disbelieving her constant mistake.

“How many times do I have to remind you?” Mando questioned.

“Obviously every time I leave the ship, geez what’s the big deal, no one would be stupid enough to board, let alone steal,” she replied.

“Don’t argue with me. The galaxy is filled…” but Mando was cut off.

“Yah, yah, with scum and villainy, blah, blah, blah. I don’t need another lecture. I understand, lock and activate the security protocol always before leaving the ship. Message received Papi,” she said while playfully saluting but her father didn’t find her antic cute.

Teenagers, he never acted like this when he was her age, but every generation seemed to turn out differently, he would just have to keep at her until she reached her age of independence, which was right around the corner. Only a little over a month, he pondered saddened, then she would receive the honorary title of Mandalorian and be able to choose to either continue bounty hunting with him or another. A clan of two there always were because this is the way.

Mando and his daughter made their way through the town discreetly. The citizens knew better than to mess with a Mandalorian, let alone two, so they shouted for passing customers to stop by their shops while ignoring the two bounty hunters. This upset young Mando because even though she appreciated the people’s respect for them, she hated the constant fear. She always imagined setting up her own booth to sell her art, but this was not the way, so she kept her dreams to herself.

The two made their way to a secret underground corridor, descending down the staircase and into the bleak darkness. This was where the remaining Mandalorians stayed hidden and safe.

Mando and his daughter walked down the corridor to find their destination with the Armorer, along the way young Mando waved at the younglings who ran playfully past her, returning her gestured happily to see them again. She always enjoyed the little ones company, telling them stories of her and her father’s adventures or teaching them how to paint and draw.

Unfortunately she knew their stay wouldn’t be long and so followed her father into the armory. She took a seat next to him as the Armorer acknowledged their presence and sat opposite. Mando placed the Calamari Flan and the slab of Beskar on the table for the Armorer to inspect.

“This was gathered in the Great Purge,” the woman Armorer picked up the Beskar almost in disbelief, “It is good it is back with the Tribe.”

“Yes,” Mando replied while young Mando stayed silent and in shock she was witnessing this event.

She had only heard tales of Beskar from other Mandalorians, but to see it in the flesh had a different meaning.

“A pauldron would be in order,” the Armorer suggested to Mando, “Has your signet been revealed?” she addressed to Mando knowing his daughter was not yet of age.

“No,” Mando said in honesty.

“Soon,” she reassured, rising to begin her work when Mando made a request.

“I would like my daughter to receive some Beskar as well.”

“Of course, it appears a new thigh guard is in need, it shall be done,” the Armorer began her work melting down the slab of Beskar to formulate the armor pieces, “This is extremely generous. The excess will sponsor many Foundlings.”

“That’s good, I was once a Foundling,” Mando reveled when his daughter glared at him in sadness.

She knew of her father’s childhood, losing his parents at such a young age during the Clone Wars and the reason for his disdain for droids. She would hate droids also if they killed her father, but instead she tried to control and understand the machines, she hoped to change her father’s opinion on them someday but that was a lost cause.

It didn’t take the Armorer long before she finished her masterpieces, once completed she securely placed the armor on her two subjects and sent them on their next mission.

                                                  *   *   *

The Razor Crest made way towards the planet of Arvala-7, a desert looking world located on the Outer Rim Sector. Unable to pinpoint an exact position of the asset, Mando landed in a general location so then he could use the tracking fob to his advantage. He lowered the hatch and pulled his pulse rifle ready in case of any danger, he was unfamiliar with this planet and didn’t know the terrain, locals, or wildlife.

“Stay on board until I surveillance the area,” he commanded of his daughter.

“But…” she was about to argue when all he did was give her a glare of warning, silencing her debate, “Right, stay on board until you give clearance, story of my life,” she said under her breath while making her way back into the ship.

Mando walked a few feet away, pulling out the tracking fob to get a read of where the asset might reside. The fob began beeping a little faster when he pointed it North, seeing this as the best option to lead with, Mando looked through his rifle’s scope and noticed some weird creatures ahead in distress.

They appeared large, but half the size of a Dewback, and walked on two legs. Their mouths were filled with rows of teeth but had stumpy arms that seemed to do nothing but hang. He continued watching the herd and noticed their path of direction change course as they headed his way, but out of the corner of his eye another herd – of the same creatures- side swiped him.

Mando was knocked onto his back and almost trampled when he began rolling side-to-side maneuvering himself in order to avoid their feet. The herd continued their stampede when out of the blue a massive cat like creature sprung for the attack. It leaped on top of one of the Blurrgs but their hide was impossible to penetrate with a normal blade, but the Nexu cat had its razor sharp claws.

The Nexu, upset with its miss of prey, scrambled through the herd looking for another attempt when it’s four eyes laid upon Mando. It pounced with force, securing its jaws on his arm, thrashing him around like a rag doll. Grunting in distress, Mando had to get this creature off of him fast because the gauntlet the creature had a hold of was giving way.

From the ship young Mando heard the commotion and her father’s distress, she ran down the hatch and instantly to her father’s aid. Mando tried to tell her to get back but he was to pre-occupied trying to stay alive and not lose his arm. His gauntlet was slowing cracking under the cat’s jaws of pressure when young Mando pulled out her Vibroblade and stabbed the Nexu in the brain, or so where she thought its brain was.

Becoming enraged, the Nexu let go of Mando and turned its attention onto his daughter, leaping on her and going for the kill. All of her father’s teaching flashed into her mind as she fought the menacing creature. Her arms stayed crossed in front of her, resting the Nexu’s chin on her forearms, this was to prevent the Nexu’s jaws from clamping down on her head. Her Vibroblade held tight in her hand but she was inebriated to use it.

Her heart palpitated, sweat began to manifest, along with that suppressed feeling beginning to awaken. She could feel it vibrate from her core ready to release without warning, she had to keep composure and not allow her fear to overrun her, fear clouded judgment and now was not the time to lose one’s head; literally.

Mando immediately rose to his feet ready to fight the Nexu to the death but the hysterical Blurrgs turned their distress onto Mando, taking their anger out on him. They used their large heads to battle ram him, he was thrown to the ground multiple times as they ping ponged him with their feet.

Mando couldn’t have this be their demise and tried everything to get free so he could reach his struggling daughter, when suddenly he felt the ground beneath him quake. He knew if he didn’t reach her in time to help calm her down unthinkable events would manifest.

Mando ignited a stream of flames from his crushed gauntlet as this sent most of the Blurrgs back, but two instantly went down due to being hit by a tranquilizer. The herd immediately ran away when Mando loaded his pulse rifle and fired multiple shots at the Nexu, finally penetrating through its fur and killing it.

At once Mando rushed to his daughter’s aide noticing her panic, the heavy cat laid on top of her when the surrounding terrain began to vibrate more intensely as he approached. The loose gravel and small stones started to take life, floating ever so slightly off the ground as her terror escalated. Mando, with all of his strength, rolled the cat off of her and over looked her for any serious injuries. Luckily her armor with held the Nexu’s claws as she laid there, shaking, with Vibroblade still in hand.

“You’re alright,” Mando placed his hands on the sides of her helmet, forcing her to look at him, “Focus on me, breath, relax, you’re safe, breath,” Mando continued repeating this mantra as if this would calm her down, “Listen to my voice, focus, breath, you’re safe,” he continued and noticed his daughter’s body calming, her breathing returning to normal, while the quaking seized and everything became stagnate.

“Good, good, can you sit up?” Mando questioned looking at her as if she would break, all she did was nod her head “yes” and performed the motion with his help.

Mando sensed someone approach behind him and realized this was the individual who shot the tranquilizers, stunning the Blurrgs who had a hold of him, and if not for this individual his daughter might be dead. Mando helped her to her feet and turned to the individual who was riding one of the Blurrgs so he could give his gratitude.

“Thank you,” Mando said in sincerity.

“You two are bounty hunters?” the Ugnaught – a small pig like creature - lead with.

“Yes,” Mando replied wondering this stranger’s intention.

“I will help you. I have spoken,” when the Ugnaught kicked his Blurrg and lead the two hunters to his living quarters.

                                                *   *   *

Everyone sat inside the Ugnaught’s tiny home, circled around the fire as tea brewed while Mando fixed his damaged gauntlet.

“Many have passed through. They seek the same one as you,” the Ugnaught told.

“Did you help them?” young Mando asked.

“Yes. They died.”

“Geez, maybe we don’t need his help,” she said in all seriousness to her father.

“You do, I can show you to the encampment,” the Ugnaught reassured.

“We will need his help,” Mando said to his daughter when he placed down a tool the Ugnaught gave him as he pulled out the destroyed fob.

“Great,” was all she said.

“What’s your cut?” Mando began negotiating.

“Half,” the Ugnaught replied.

“Half the bounty to guide? Seems steep.”

“No. Half of the Blurrgs you helped capture.”

“The Blurrgs? You can keep them both.”

“No, you both will need one to ride. The way is impossible to pass without a Blurrg mount,” the Ugnaught informed.

“We don’t know how to ride Blurrg,” young Mando chimed in.

“I have spoken.”

The next morning Mando and his daughter began lessons with the Ugnaught, but lessons were not going so well. Repeatedly Mando was thrown from the Blurrg while young Mando and the Ugnaught watched.

“Perhaps if you remove your helmet?” the Ugnaught suggested.

“Oh that’s a big no, no,” young Mando stated, “It’s smart he protects his head, one to many concussions in the past,” she tried to joke but the Ugnaught wasn’t amused.

“Perhaps he remembers I tried to roast him,” Mando shouted frustrated.

“This is a female. The males are all eaten during mating,” the Ugnaught clarified.

“Eww,” young Mando expressed, “Come on Papi you can do it,” she encouraged as Mando attempted again but was thrown once more.

He made his was to the surrounding fence hoping for a new form of transportation, “We don’t have time for this. Do you have a land speeder or speeder bike that I could hire?”

“You both are Mandalorians. Your ancestors rode the great Mythosaur. Surely you can ride this young foal. Why don’t you let her try,” the Ugnaught pointed to Mando’s daughter.

She stood there unknowing what her father was thinking when he nodded his head to signal her the go ahead. A bit nervous, she entered the enclosure and slowly approached the Blurrg, arm extended, while trying to read its body language. Was it frightened of her, was it angry with someone trying to tame and ride it, or did it only want to choose and give its acceptance instead of being forced?

“I got this, I can do this, no worries,” young Mando encouraged herself seeing those huge eyes peer at her and jaws slowly opening to revel its teeth. Slowly she approached when something deep inside spoke to her, practically guiding her on how to assess this creature.

She seized in her step while keeping her hand extended, nervously the Blurrg became anxious and appeared to attack as Mando was ready to intercept, but the Ugnaught encouraged him for her to be able to do this on her own. In anticipation Mando watched from the sidelines hoping his daughter knew what she was doing.

The Blurrg started to do a dance and then ran towards her in full force, she continued to listen to the inner voice as it said to show respect. How could one show respect to a creature? Make yourself look small, not infuriating, so she kneeled to one knee and bowed her head while still extending her hand out.

With this gesture the Blurrg immediately stopped its charge and approached slowly, placing its snout gently on her outstretched hand. Feeling its gesture, young Mando lifted her head and stared into the creature’s black eyes almost as if she could hear it speak to her. She rose to her feet and stroked the Blurrg’s head awaiting approval for her to mount. With a jerk of its head the Blurrg lifted young Mando to its back as she sat on top shocked she had achieved this task. Smiling under her helmet, young Mando peered at her father proudly as she could see his pride for her radiate in secret.

“Sometimes the child becomes the teacher,” the Ugnaught stated when Mando glared at him realizing the truth behind the statement.

Mando knew soon she would have to eventually go on her own, maybe even make a clan of two with another, but he still had time.

“Now it’s your turn,” the Ugnaught said to Mando, “I have spoken.”

Luckily Mando took his daughter’s achievement into consideration because this allowed him to tame his Blurrg quickly. The Ugnaught lead the way to the asset while Mando and his daughter followed. The terrain was rough, large cracks stretched for miles along the ground, ones the Blurrgs could easily jump, where a human could not. Finally the three approached a hill and stopped.

“That is where you’ll find your quarry,” the Ugnaught said.

Mando handed him a small pouch filled with credits but the Ugnaught refused.

“Please. You deserve this,” Mando declared.

“Since these ones arrived, this territory has been an endless stream of mercenaries seeking reward and bringing destruction.”

“Then why did you guide us?” young Mando questioned.

“They do not belong here. Those that live here come to seek peace. There will be no peace until they’re gone,” the Ugnaught explained.

“Then why do you help?” Mando asked.

“I have never met a Mandalorian, I’ve only read the stories. If they are true, you two will make quick work of it. Then there will again be peace. I have spoken,” when the Ugnaught collected their Blurrgs while waving farewell to Mando and tipped his head to young Mando.

                                                 *   *   *

Walking a small distance, Mando and his daughter approached a ravine, situated below was a series of buildings but defended by several guards.

“What do you see?” young Mando asked as Mando glared through his hand held scope.

“About eight Nikto’s stationed around the premises,” he informed.

“Should be easy enough, once you take your primary position and snipe most of them away, then I’ll draw the rest so you can obtain the asset,” she suggested.

“How about you take primary position this time,” Mando said while unbuckling his pulse rifle and handing it to his shocked daughter.

“What?”

“You’ve proven yourself, take your position on top of that building. I’ll wait here and surveillance until you’re set.”

“Are you being serious or is this an undertone for a lesson you’re trying to teach me? I can’t tell because you’re face is always so hard to read.”

Mando just tilted his head in annoyance and handed her the rifle.

“You know I’ve only taken practice shots with this…I mean cleaned it for you while you were sleeping,” she caught herself but Mando knew better.

“Go before I change my mind,” he said shaking his head while displaying a half smile underneath, “Turn your close range comms to channel two,” he reminded by tapping the side of his helmet because that was where their communications resided.

Performing the action so she didn’t forget, young Mando quickly made her way down the ravine to get into position, excited to finally be able to actually contribute to her father’s mission.

Mando kept a firm eye on his daughter, if anything went array he would intervene immediately when some of the guards became distracted. Mando followed their stares through his scope and noticed an IG-11 bounty hunter droid approach.

“Subparagraph 16 of the Bondsman Build protocol waiver compels you to immediately produce said asset,” IG-11 computed but the guard’s didn’t respond, instead one drew its weapon sending IG-11 into attack mode and opening fire, taking most out.

“Whoa!” young Mando said in shock, she had never seen an IG unit before and boy were they lethal, “Papi do you see this, they are securing the perimeter,” she radioed.

“Huh, droids,” he replied in irritation while making his way down to clean up the machines mess.

“Subparagraph 16 of the Bondsman Guild protocol waiver compels you to immediately produce said asset,” IG-11 repeated.

“IG-Unit! Stand down,” Mando shouted while stepping around a pillar.

The act of surprise made IG-11 shoot first and ask questions later, luckily the blast hit Mando in the pauldron.

“Papi!” young Mando shouted and put the IG-Unit in her scope, “Do you want me to take it out?”

“No, we might be able to use it.”

“Copy that because we are going to need all the help we can get,” as she could see approaching militia.

“I’m in the Guild,” Mando exclaimed to the IG-Unit by showing his fob.

“You are in the Guild? I thought I was the only one on assignment,” IG-11 stated.

“That makes two of us. So much for the element of surprise.”

“Sadly, I must ask for your fob. I already issued the writ of seizure. The bounty is mine,” IG-11 declared.

“Unless I’m mistaken, you are, as of yet, empty handed,” Mando reminded it.

“This is true.”

“I have a suggestion.”

“Proceed.”

“We split the reward.”

“What, are you kidding me!” young Mando stated but was ignored.

“This is acceptable,” IG-11 agreed.

“Great. Now let’s regroup out of harms way and form a plan,” Mando began, “My partner is positioned on top of that building and she sees a convoy making their approach,” Mando informed.

“I will of course receive the reputation merits associated with the mission,” IG-11 demanded.

“Can we talk about his later?” when blaster fire started in.

“Papi, they are getting closer. They have shield protectors, I don’t have a clear shot,” she stated.

“I require an answer if I am to proceed,” when hidden guards revealed themselves on top of the roofs hitting IG-11, “Alert…alert…alert.”

Suddenly more Nikto guards filed out from the buildings and gave hell towards IG-11 and Mando. Quickly Mando radioed to his daughter, but she was unable to respond because she was taken by surprise and was in a brawl herself.

“Come in, are you alright?” Mando screamed in case her comms was a tad out of range, but no response. He had to trust her, plus his situation was becoming to hot and shouted for IG-11, “Let’s go.”

The two began shooting their way towards the main double doors that had sealed, they each made it behind a pillar when IG-11 stated the obvious.

“It appears we are trapped. I will initiate self-destruct sequencing,” revealing a thermal detonator in its chest cavity.

“Whoa, you’re what!” Mando exclaimed.

“Manufacturers Protocol dictates I cannot be captured. I must self-destruct.”

“Do not self-destruct, my partner will take these guys out, come in,” Mando radioed his daughter again but only static came through.

She knew she couldn’t lose her cool, she had to stay calm and complete her mission to protect her father. The Nikto had her pinned to the ground, pulse rifle pushed firmly against her throat, choking her to the point of unconsciousness.

She couldn’t go under, he was counting on her, he felt she was ready for this task, she wasn’t going to disappoint him, but mostly herself. With quick thinking, she slide her foot in position and bucked the Nikto forward with her hips, giving her a window to get her knees up to her chest and placing her feet on the Nikto’s stomach. Without hesitation she flipped the Nikto behind her as it plummeted off the building and onto the ground distracting the others below. She immediately rolled into position and began taking out the exposed guards.

Seeing this as their opportunity Mando yelled for IG-11 to cover him as he attempted to over wire the blaster doors so they could take cover inside, but even with his daughter’s friendly fire there were still to many of them. Again Mando and IG-11 took refuge behind a pillar realizing that they had become pinned.

“I thought your partner was a skilled sniper?” IG-11 pointed out.

“She’s doing her best,” Mando defended.

“I will initiate self-destruct.”

“Do not self-destruct. We’re shooting our way out.”

Young Mando was just about to inform her father of the huge blaster canon when he stepped out into the open, guns a blazing, when he found out for himself.

“Okay,” Mando realized his outcome and again took refuge behind the pillar as the blaster canon opened fire, “New plan.”

“Beginning self-destruct countdown,” IG-11 stated exposing the detonator again.

“No. Stop it,” Mando pressed the side of his helmet to communicate with his daughter, “Aim for the barrel.”

“Okay,” she responded and began firing but this had an opposite effect, instead this drew the canons attention onto her and gave hell to her position.

“NO!” Mando screamed, “IG draw the others fire, I’ll take out the canon.”

“Acceptable.”

“Go!”

IG-11 stepped out of hiding but was immediately hit, falling to the ground. Mando could see the destruction the canon made to the building his daughter was on when the structure began to collapse.

The Nikto continued his reign of fire determined to make the building crumble and so it did. Furious beyond belief Mando shot his gauntlet’s grappling hook, wrapping the wire around an opening of the canon, swinging off the Nikto occupant while taking the gun for himself.

In rage Mando used his body weight to rotate the blaster fire around the complex, leaving no survivors. The situation appeared to be in their favor when Mando ran towards the crumbled building, rummaging through the debris in a frantic.

“No, no, no, please, please,” when from the corner of his eye something caught his attention, in a limp his daughter approached from an adjacent building she must have jumped to.

Without thought Mando ran towards her and embraced her; not caring if anyone saw his affection. He then held her at arms length overlooking her for any signs of serious injuries.

“Are you alright, are you injured?” he pestered.

“I’m fine really,” young Mando tried to sell but once she placed pressure on her left ankle she winced in pain and slightly lost her balance, “Okay, maybe I twisted my ankle from the jump. No big deal, I’ll walk it off, okay maybe that’s an understatement,” she tried to lighten the mood because she knew how protective her father was over her.

“Can you walk?”

“Yah, I’m good, really. Here,” she tried giving back his pulse rifle in case he had to wield it.

“Use it as a crutch for now,” Mando suggested.

“Will do,” as he guided her towards IG-11 who sat stationary across the way.

“Well done,” IG-11 said to both, “ I will disengage self-destruct initiative,” when the droid put the thermal detonator back into its chest.

“It was going to self-destruct,” young Mando said in shock.

“Several times,” Mando clarified, he released his daughter and went to help the IG Unit to its feet, “You know, you’re not so bad, for a droid.”

“Agreed,” IG-11 replied.

“That blaster hit looks nasty. I could take a look at it,” young Mando offered knowing the droid took the hit so her father could obtain the canon.

“That won’t be necessary. Running a quick diagnostic,” a few beeps and whirls sounded through the droid when it came back with a result, “It has missed my central wiring harness.”

“Is that good,” Mando said not to concerned.

“Yes.”

“Well, now we just need to get the door open,” when all three turned and thought of the same thing.

Rapid canon fire spewed through the metal doors creating a nice chisel when they soon fell on their own. The three walked in like they owned the joint as one final Nikto guard made its stand, but was met by Mando’s blast.

“Anyone else?” Mando shouted but there was nothing but silence.

“My sensors indicate that there are life forms present,” IG-11 reported.

“Yah, us,” she said to herself.

Mando shook his head by his daughter’s witty comment but unsure on how exactly they were going to track the asset down.

“We might have to spread out and search,” Mando suggested.

“What about your fob?” IG-11 questioned.

“The fob was damaged.”

“Then how did you get here?” IG-11 began to interrogate making Mando irritated.

The two hunters were deep in a squabble, only focused on each other and not on Mando’s daughter. Somehow, as if she was in a dream, she was being called, no, more like drawn to an egg shaped pod, which was piled on top of other items. Slowly she walked towards it, almost as if she could hear something inside.

“Hey,” she pulled herself out of the dreamlike trance, practically wondering how she got in front of it, but the two were still arguing when she shouted again, louder, getting their attention, “I think I found something,” she pointed towards the little white pod as the other two stepped forward meeting her.

“What makes her accurate?” IG-11 inquired.

“Because I say,” Mando replied in complete certainty.

He glared down at his daughter seeing her intensity focused on the container. It appeared as if she was somewhere else, looking past this world and into another.

“This one?” he clarified by pointing to the egg shaped pod, all she did was nod her head in confirmation.

Analyzing the device gradually, Mando discovered three buttons in the front of the mechanism and pressed it, the tiny door hissed and half slide backwards, reveling the asset inside. All three peered in but Mando spoke first.

“Wait, they said fifty years old.”

“Species age differently,” IG-11 informed, “Perhaps it could live many centuries,” as a small green baby like creature, with a tiny nose, long ears, and huge brown eyes, reveled itself behind a blanket, “Sadly, we’ll never know,” IG-11 drew his blaster and pointed it towards the creature.

“No!” young Mando pleaded almost throwing herself in front of the child.

Mando put his arm up preventing her from sacrificing herself and agreed with his daughter, “We’ll bring it in alive.”

“The commission was quite specific. The asset was to be terminated,” IG-11 was ready to pull the trigger but was instead met by Mando’s immediate action. Taking a shot directly to the head, IG-11 fell to the ground with a thud and sizzled.

Unable to fathom the events, Mando turned to his daughter visualizing a past scenario, she could feel his gaze upon her when she glared up at him sensing an inner struggle. She never could tell what it was because he never gave anything away.

Even through her helmet Mando could see his daughter’s intent face, his face. He would do what must be done and he hoped his daughter would forgive him. Their gazes turned back onto the cooing child as it reached its hand out, extending with its little three fingers, trying to make contact with its new guardians.

#starwars #the mandalorian #mando #disney plus #din djarin #pedro pascal #jon favreau #fan fiction #sci-fi fantasy #baby yoda