#but they’re at a loss to How apparently. they’re looking to you to lead.

[see-arcane]

I’m glad it isn’t someone else.

I’m glad it isn’t another loss of the desperate, the poor, the threatened, the forsaken masses scraped off the consciousness and consciences of those steeped in wealth and power who couldn’t be bothered to care as they drowned.

(Thousands have died and disappeared in the waters of migrant routes. Some make it to the shore. Some are sequestered in camps. Some of them are forced back out and abandoned on rafts in the middle of the sea. Where are their spotlights after the flavor of their misery fades in a day?)

I’m glad it isn’t a brave group there for a good cause rather than a VIP in-person death tour of a submerged mass grave of the unfortunate and abandoned, a trip embarked on only for the sake of its exclusivity.

(Any commoner can look at the pictures of the site on a screen. What’s the point if just anyone can do it?)

I’m glad it isn’t people who had no idea what they were risking, who didn’t have a slew of repeated ignored warnings from experts, repeated ignored signs of danger, repeated ignored near-misses leading up to the sight of the vessel itself, sat inside a tin can that bolts from the outside and steers with a shoddy knockoff of an outdated toy.

(They paid enough per person to save lives. Enough to cover a year’s expenses for whole families. Enough to do something, anything better, for personal pleasure or for the paupers. $250,000 a seat. On a whim. For a little jaunt. In that. Which they saw with their own eyes before ever taking off their shoes and crouching inside. With the ink still wet on the waivers.)

I’m glad it isn’t the story of five people who didn’t know better, who were on a mission, who did not make their respective livings on monetizing a tragedy with exorbitant fees for a ride in a vessel proven again and again to be unsafe and cheaply built, or selling private jets to those wealthy parties who see personal planes as a little treat that’s well worth the cash and carbon emission, or being a billionaire and his college-age son sitting at the head of a company with a stranglehold on energy, fertilizer and chemical production, or being an apparent expert on deep dives and submersibles and having an entire career built around being ‘Mr. Titanic.’

(Five whole lives in that sinking can. Five lives untouched by any of the hundreds of pains and evils and clockwork despair that afflict the majority of the world’s population simply because they did not have money or privilege enough to be permitted a life that isn’t a constant struggle, let alone one of safety or happiness on demand. (No, of course you can’t buy happiness. But the items and actions needed to get to happiness all seem to come with a price tag.))

I’m glad it isn’t yet another update on how yet another group of people who luck never bothered with are suffering and dying for no other reason than their own disposability in the eyes of those who could simply cease to worsen the lives of anyone not themselves, and choose not to.

(Prince Prospero and his friends are safe in the palace and its endless party. The poor are locked out and the Red Death—all Death!—is barred with them. Life has proven they are blessed. Wealth has, anyway, which is just the same. Have enough of it, and nothing can hurt you. Nothing at all. (Who is that gauche man in the bloody mask?))

I’m glad it isn’t someone else.

(It is horror in itself to imagine. The most merciful thought is that implosion made it quick. The unfit window gave way and the crush of the ocean took them all too fast for them to know what happened. Painless. They’re already so much whalefall and the opportunists in the water will leave no scraps of them. But if they are alive?

(It’s too much. Far, far too much.

(No contact, no response. Perhaps even a power failure. It could be they’re sitting in perfect darkness. Even the vacuum of space has starlight. But there’s nothing down there, where they remain too deep for the sun, too high for the twinkle of bioluminescent fish to trundle by the glass.

(Can they steer? Can they move at all? They would come up if they could. They haven’t. Forward, then? Back? Or just endlessly down and down and down until they meet the carcass of the ship they risked their lives to visit up close? Would it be better or worse if a current knocked them along and away from the site? Irony might be a knife too many down there, their lives dwindling away in the extravagant paupers’ graveyard the sea has kept private to all but those endowed enough to come and gawp.

(Even if they reached the surface, even if they survived the nigh inevitable attack of decompression sickness, even then, the only way out is bolted shut from the exterior. They could sit like a bottle on the waves, peering out at the sky and the air and the seabirds, still waiting. Still dying. Clawing at a door that will never budge without somebody to open it for them, as doors have always been opened for them.

(The air is thinning. How much have they dared to waste on talk? Screams, shouts, sobs? Can they even muster the nerve to void their bowels in the convenient plastic baggies that stand in for a toilet when it risks the stench of waste crowding the oxygen? Did they eat before they descended? Or did they hold off, daydreaming of an ample seafood buffet when they returned to shore, filleted and steamed and ringed with little dishes of sauce and butter? Is there food aboard, or was that disregarded as too much clutter, too much risk?

(If they are alive, they are stranded. They are suffocating. They are starving.

(And if they are very desperate, very angry, and very aware, all at once, of what their host—the CEO wielding the off-brand toy with a history of defective operation as their controls, who sued the employee who tried to warn them of the vessel’s faults, who insisted that safety was a waste, who bolted them in a coffin he himself must have trusted to bend the rules of physics and regulation and reality itself in his favor as every other factor of life had bent for him before—has damned them to, perhaps there’s at least one less set of lungs to worry about.

(It's a horrendous idea, of course. Unthinkable. It always is until it isn’t.

(Just like it would be unthinkable to be in the situation those five are in, if they’re alive enough to have any situation now.

(Just like it would be unthinkable to have anyone else in that situation.

(Except.

(Who would that anyone else be, if not these million-and-billionaires?

(Other wealthy travelers lost under water and waivers? The ship up top waited hours before contacting the Coast Guard after they lost contact with the submersible, and that was with the CEO onboard. How long would they have waited for others? Would they have told anyone if they didn’t know there was important kin and associates waiting onshore for news?

(Or perhaps it would be those passionate enough to save and save and save for the chance, for one single extraordinary moment, burning what would be a fortune to them and pocket change to the sunken five, just for all that patience, work, and frugality to be repaid with this? Another handful of nobodies lost to a tragedy born of carelessness and callousness. A lawsuit would ensue, perhaps. No less, no more.

(And the world wouldn’t have batted a lash. Not for lack of care, but for it’s very mundanity. 

(Every day. Every day. Innocent people, good people, people living on tightropes and tripwires of varying levels of menace just because they exist in circles that have never and will never graze the gilded impenetrability of the 0.01% who own and choke the planet, they fall to pain and destruction like meat into a grinder. All while that blessed 0.01% rarely, if ever, have a brush with silly things like hardship or consequences or consideration. There are no real Ebenezer Scrooges.

(Though I would like there to be. I’d like a whole miraculous gaggle of them to be rescued from the sea. I want them to come stumbling from their carbon fiber casket, alive and altered. I’d like to see the CEO, the architect of said death trap who has sent multiple people down to those depths without thought to safety or science, to be skewered by his passengers, by the press, by a lifetime of reprisals for all he dared to tout as an enterprise far too innovative to bother with regulation or care for human life. I’d like to see revelations and second thoughts blossom in the survivors and the naysaying corporate heads who sneer at the lag and cost of proper safety measures, of the well-being of people other than themselves, of the powerful reality of nature.

(I’d like a miracle. But if there isn’t?)

I’m glad it isn’t someone else.

#I’m sorry if this is too much. I can’t stop thinking about it and I had to scrape it out of my head. #oceangate #tw: thalassophobia #tw: claustrophobia

[voloslobotomyservice]

thank you @necroticyuzu for the tag! 💫 and thank you everyone who participated in my poll! I love talking about my little Tavs and I can’t stop making them so I’m always down to be tagged in these sorta things!

no pressure tags: @beesht @grandmother-goblin @auspex-author (yk I’m always down for Shior lore)

Name: Saoirse Nic’Phaid

Gender: female

Pronouns: she/her

Sexuality: mostly straight (but she’s working on defining it)

OTHER

Family: A complicated conversation. Older human father who’s unable to work, younger wood elf mother who abandons the family often, and an older brother Arthur who was tragically murdered five years before the events of BG3 took place.

Birthplace: Lower City of Baldur’s Gate.

Job: Criminal, I suppose? She doesn’t really have a traditional job. Instead, she’s spent most of her life stealing and then selling items to make a living. It even brought in more money than Arthur was making when he was alive and working.

Phobia: Thalassaphobia. She never learned how to swim.

Guilty Pleasure: Hooking up with problematic men. They oh-so-bad but oh-so-good in bed. Her own ex-boyfriend was a member of the Zhentarim, after all.

MORALS

Alignment: Neutral Evil - rather selfish in her actions, yet will help others who are similar her.

Sins: Theft. Lots of it. Jealousy, coveting what others may have knowing she could never have it. Will usually say whatever pops in her head without thinking it through first, which gets her in trouble. Can be very self-centered in different situations (ex. she refused to take poison from Nettie at the Grove after she didn’t help the party cure their tadpole)

Virtues: Loyal to those she loves, almost to a fault. When able to, very much a “steal from the rich to give to the poor” type. Believes honesty is the best policy (unless your life is at risk, then lying to save yourself is acceptable). Family is also very important to her, especially her father, and she tried to make sure he had well over a years worth of gold before going on the run.

THIS OR THAT

Introvert/Extrovert/Ambivert - Likes to be social but also enjoys time to herself. Tries to keep a healthy balance of both.

Organized/Disorganized - in some aspects of her life, at least. When it comes to her money, she’s very organized.

Close Minded/Open Minded - No defining reason. She just is.

Calm/Anxious/Restless - Being on the run for a crime she may (or may not) have committed, she is constantly looking over her shoulder to make sure she and her companions are safe (but mostly her).

Disagreeable/Agreeable - That is, if you see eye to eye with her.

Cautious/Reckless/In Between - After the loss of her brother, she was very reckless in her crimes and overall behavior, but she has calmed down a bit. She will still do risky things for the fun of it, though.

Patient/Impatient/In Between - Do not test her.

Outspoken/Reserved - Almost too outspoken for her own good.

Leader/Follower/Flexible - Because she’s very headstrong, she easily fell into the leader position of the party.

Empathetic/Unemphathetic - To those that are like her: who’ve struggled, who understand how hard life can be. Won’t listen to the sob story of some upper class elitist.

Optimistic/Pessimistic/Realist

Traditional/Modern/In Between

Hardworking/Lazy - But hardworking in the way that she’s taking from others… yeah I don’t like to think about the logistics of it too much.

RELATIONSHIPS

OTP: Don’t hate me. But. Saoirse is absolutely crushing on Aradin, despite how much of an ass he is. She thinks she can fix him. Maybe she can.

Other Ships: Hooks up with Rugan after rescuing him from the gnolls, which leads to an interesting throuple dynamic when they’re all in Baldur’s Gate.

BroTP: Surprisingly, she and Lae’zel get along swimmingly. Maybe it’s because they have similar personalities. She and Astarion also gossip about the drama between their camp companions, as well as tease each other over their romantic pursuits. Also apparently she and Shadowheart get along very well!

NoTP: Gale annoys her, but she also sees him as a powerful ally and a good companion. Thoroughly rejects any of his advances.

#bg3 #baldur's gate 3 #bg3 tav #tav tag #oc: saoirse #tav: saoirse #ranger tav #does she fix Aradin? #did she m*rder her ex boyfriend? #only time will tell

[chronophobique]

Librarian!Hermione comes across 7 odd books during her shift

— 789 words

It was curiosity that had pushed Hermione to pick up the book from the pile.

“Another one?” she asked Will, her colleague, as she opened it and mechanically skimmed through it. “It’s as big as a novel.”

Usually, the works recounting Harry’s childhood were biographical. And certainly weren’t as voluminous.

“That’s because it is,” he affirmed, a pile of old handbound books floating in the air behind him. “And if I’m not mistaken, this is just one in a series of seven books. I don’t know how they got here, but they’re definitely Muggle-made.”

Hermione was at a loss for words. Seven books?! How could there be so much to say on his life from an external point of view?

Unless it was from a different point of view, which was apparently the case.

Harry’s? Impossible. Surely, if her best friend had suddenly decided to try himself at autobiographical literature, she would have been one of the first people to know.

It didn’t look like it was written by Dumbledore, McGonagall, or Hagrid either. Not exactly.

Yet the narrator had to be someone who knew them personally, because how else would they know of the exact discussion they’d had on their very first encounter on the train?

Overwhelmed, the witch closed the book shut.

“Alright, there?”

“Yes, um. I’ll send them back,” she said with no real intention of doing so as she levitated the whole series towards the back room, where she hid for the rest of the afternoon.

Her speed-reading glasses on her nose, Hermione read all seven books with an uncomfortable knot growing in the pit of her stomach as she neared the ending.

One she never got to as she realised the last pages had been ripped out, which sure was intriguing but not such a bad thing, given how scarily accurate the narrative was.

Whoever had written this knew everything about Harry and his inner thoughts.

About them.

Nothing happening in those books was fictional. Well, not for the Wizarding World, at least.

“Do you know what happened to this book?”

Busy rearranging the shelves, the wizard kept his eyes on the movement created by his wand as he said, “I thought you were sending them back?”

“I was going to, but—you know, Harry is my friend, and some writers have the bad habit of distorting reality just to attract an audience, so I just wanted to make sure…”

That made him chuckle. “I’m only joking. You can keep it, if you want. It won’t be put up for sale if it’s damaged, anyway.”

“Right.”

“Just, Hermione. If you don’t plan to keep it, make sure not to throw it in some bin in front of the new boss. That’s not a good look for a librarian.”

She blinked. “We have a new boss? I thought you were—”

“Yes, you do,” a voice cut her off before the book was snatched from her hands. “And this book isn’t going anywhere without my consent, especially not in some bin. “Did I make myself clear?”

At least two heads taller than her, the blond man looked at her as if he found she belonged in said bin instead.

“Malfoy?!”

Her boss? Really?

“Did I make myself clear?” he repeated in a colder, more threatening tone, which only increased her interest for the books.

“I didn’t want to throw it away. I was going to take it home—”

“And why would you? It doesn’t even have a proper ending.”

Taking notice of their close proximity, she put some distance between them and crossed her arms over her chest. “Of course, you’ve read it.”

Obviously. It was his story too, after all.

“And did you savagely rip out the pages too?”

She didn’t really know why she asked. It was just a feeling.

“Savegely,” he snorted. “There’s no gentle way to rip paper, Granger.”

Her eyebrows rose to her forehead. “So you did do it,” she puzzled out. “Why?”

Eyes darting around, he suddenly looked almost like he regretted giving this information away.

“That’s none of your business,” he said sternly before turning on his heel and walking towards the stairs leading to the management office. “Get back to work.”

“My shift is over!” she nearly shouted as he disappeared behind the door.

Arsehole.

“Does it matter?”

At her friend’s question, she heaved a long sigh. “Not really. I just—don’t understand why he would do this. And I refuse to believe it’s because it’s Muggle-made, so don’t even think of bringing it up.”

“Fine, I won’t,” he said with a shrug before nudging her with his elbow as he always did every time she got upset. “Maybe the epilogue was trash, eh? What’s this book about, anyway?”

#dramione #draco x hermione #dramione drabble #dhr fandom #draco malfoy #hermione granger #harry potter #chronophobiquedrabbles #hermione x draco #dramione fanfic #dhr #dhr ficlet

[queen--kenobi]

Candy Girl Chapter One: New Beginnings

Story summary: You’re a regular jaded intern working towards a job in the Senate until one day, you lose the job to someone who couldn’t be less qualified. In search of a new job, you find a specific program catering to clones. It’s more of an escort program than anything else, but that’s fine by you. What they didn’t tell you is the job would lead to love, loss, and uncovering the truly dark city of Coruscant.

Chapter summary: It’s a brand new day on Coruscant. A brand new day means new ways to get screwed over until you decided enough is enough and to take matters in your own hands.

Author’s note: The rewrite is here! And by rewrite I essentially mean overhaul because wow. I changed way more than I thought I was going to when I started this. I think this updated version is tighter and better. I’m hoping y’all enjoy this as much as you did the original! I’ll be taking down the original in about a week, so you have until then to read it and come back to this one

Also big thank you to @galacticgraffiti​ for beta’ing this!

Warnings: Referenced abusive workplace dynamics The reader doesn’t see it/it doesn’t occur to them, but it does happen.

Coruscant is fairly quiet. 

It's not utterly silent; this planet could never be completely silent. Too many people live on Coruscant for it to ever be completely and utterly quiet. Even the upper levels have a consistent level of noise. 

As you stare out the window of the shuttlebus, you can see lights slowly beginning to flip on in the large apartment buildings. The sun hasn’t risen yet but threatens to do so. Some office buildings have lights on as well, although there’s no telling if it’s people who stayed far too late or people arriving early.

Once you get off the shuttlebus, you stop to adjust what you’re carrying. Your bag is slung over your shoulder, and you’re trying your best to balance a tray of caf on top of a box of donuts. You hold the box in one hand so you can get a better hold on the extra carafe of caf you have. Once you have that settled, you settle the box of donuts on your forearms and head towards the Senate building.

After several minutes of walking, you stop to take in your surroundings. It's sunrise. Golden rays peek from behind the main building. It’s beautiful. Not the building itself, but the light. The sun rising behind the Senate casts the buildings in darker shadows. It seems almost like a void, a large space of ominous nothingness looming over the horizon.

You shake your head. It’s just a sunrise behind a building. You’re overworked and stressed. Of course, your brain is going to make the Senate feel more menacing than it actually is. Nothing is... Well, a lot is wrong with the Senate, but not to the degree your gut thinks. It’s nothing. You’re just stressed. Once you secure this job, you won’t think this. It’ll look like a beautiful opportunity.

You concentrate as you walk up the stairs. No one apparently thought to consult an engineer; the steps are clean and neat, but they’re not even. Little dips and bumps and divots are worn into the stone material. The idea of dropping the caf makes your stomach churn. Not just because you spent so much money on all of this, but because you’re doing this as a surprise. 

Footsteps greet you. When you look up, Ghost stands in front of you. No one else is around; the only thing that might see him are the security cameras. He’s professed he doesn’t think whomever is watching all of this cares enough to pay attention to him. He’s not a commander or someone of importance; he’s just a clone. It always hurts your heart when he says it like that. He’s more than he thinks, but you don’t know how to tell him that.

“Thank the Maker.” Ghost carefully takes the caf tray from you. “It’s been a week.”

“It’s good to see you too, Ghost.” For a second, you swear you can hear a snort. “When do you not have a week?”

Ghost makes a disgruntled noise, but he doesn’t argue with you. He doesn’t seem too upset by your comment. 

“Who’s on shift change today?” 

“Why?”

“I need to know who isn’t going to be there so I can find them and give them their caf.” You nudge him lightly. “Duh.”

“They can take care of it themselves.” Even though his comment is flippant, you know he doesn’t mean it. Ghost turns and begins walking up the stairs. You fall into step beside him. “Commander Thorn is switching out for Commander Thire.” He turns his head slightly. “They told me they’d be in the mess waiting.” He doesn’t come right out and accuse you of anything, but something about it feels like he is.

“I bring caf for everyone. This is my day to bring caf.” You shrug. Now, you for sure can feel Ghost give you a look.

“I know that.” A slightly teasing edge slips into his tone. “You don’t have to justify yourself to me.”

You don’t know what to say to that. The two of you walk in silence for a bit before you bring up the latest piece of gossip. You hadn’t befriended the Coruscant Guard for gossip reasons, you had done so because it felt right. The gossip was an extra bonus. None of them could come right out and say who they thought was sleeping with whom, and what the hell happened that left massive amounts of damage in a senator’s office, but they could imply enough and confirm in their own ways when you asked.

Ghost sneaks you towards the mess through the back halls. The two of you had come a long way. When you first started bringing caf, Ghost would take it and disappear. Presumably they tested it for poison and the like. Enough trust was established you were allowed to bring it personally, but it was always in the hallways, close enough to the Guard’s section of the building so they could retreat if a nosey natborn came by, but not so close that you could easily follow them back to their office.

Now, Ghost was leading you towards their mess hall. A small, warm feeling begins to unfurl in your heart. You never thought you would have reached this level of trust with them, and it’s... it’s nice.

Ghost double and triple checks the coast is clear before letting you into the mess hall. You don’t begrudge him. This would be the worst time to get caught by some nosy person just looking to cause trouble. He ushers you inside quickly. At the end of the mess, you can see Thorn and Thire talking to each other. Thorn is the first to see you. He has his bucket on, so you can’t see his face, but he seems to visibly perk up when he does see you. His shoulders drop away from the edges of his bucket, and he straightens his spine out some. He nudges Thire with his elbow. Thire looks in the direction Thorn is looking.

“Here you go.” You set the box of donuts on the table and take the caf tray from Ghost. You hand one to Thorn and then the other to Thire. 

“My hero.” Thire almost drawls the words, but an odd sort of sincerity lies beneath his tone. He carefully takes the warm cup from you. 

“I could kiss you.” The grin in Thorn’s voice is evident. His fingers seem to linger on yours for a second as he grabs the caf. 

“Why haven’t you then?” You challenge, arching an eyebrow at him.

“He doesn’t want to ruin a beautiful friendship.” Thire mutters as he lifts up his bucket enough to sip the caf, just loud enough for you to hear him. You grin. Thorn goes to elbow his brother, but Thire swats him away.

“Where’s Fox? I got him some as well.” You also bought him a bag of light roast beans. He seems to prefer dark roast, but the light roast has more caffeine content. He seems to need it; he always seems so tired and burdened by the world.

“Right here.” The Marshall Commander of the Guard’s voice nearly makes you jump. You hand him his caf, which he accepts with a small ‘thanks’ and tilt of his head. 

“I also got you this.” You reach into your bag to produce the beans. “It’s supposed to be some of the strongest caf around. Consider it a thank you for the other week.”

He carefully takes the bag from you. Fox turns the bag over to read the back, and for a second, you think he might reject the gift. Maker, you wish you could see his face. It would make things easier. Fox is one of the hardest to read based on body language, so being able to see his face might help you. He takes a step towards you, then stops, as if he thought better of what he was about to do. He curls his right hand almost subconsciously.

“Thank you.” It takes him a moment to speak. He dips his head again before turning to Thorn. “Whenever you do get around to kissing her. Make sure it’s a good one.”

Fox’s comment nearly makes you choke. Something about the delivery, joking yet serious in a very dry way, and how unexpected it was takes you aback. Despite yourself, you smile. Thire snorts. It’s unfiltered through the modulator, and his voice is deeper than expected. Thorn’s bucket is trained on Fox. You wonder if his mouth is agape or if he’s trying not to laugh. When you turn to Fox to say something, he’s already gone. You can see him heading out towards the main halls. You turn back to the other two Commanders. Thorn stands up.

“I’ll walk you to your desk.” He offers. “Thire can get the last caf to Hound.” He takes the tray, gentle yet insistent, from you and hands it to Thire.

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to get in trouble on my account.”

“It’ll be fine.” He waves away your concerns. “Hound’s all the way in the kennels. You wouldn’t be able to get this to him and then get back to your desk on time. And somebody needs to walk out of here with you so it doesn’t look even more suspicious.”

You nod and carefully pick up the donut tray.

“Okay.” Maker knows you aren’t complaining. You’ve grown to like Thorn a lot over the past several months. He was the first to open up to you. The two of you had developed a good rapport. At least, you think the two of you did. As Thorn leads you out of the mess, Ghost waves. You smile softly and wave back.

Hopefully this is a sign today is going to be a good day.

The two of you walk in silence. Something about it makes you nervous. It’s not that Thorn isn’t talking; the two of you had gotten to the point where neither of you feels the need to fill conversational gaps with meaningless chatter. This silence is different, somehow. Thorn seems as if he’s almost weighed down by something. 

“Did I tell you...” You begin. “Senator Dalle is supposed to tell us who officially gets a job with him! Hopefully I won’t be a lousy intern anymore.” You beam at Thorn. Your throat constricts, though. To say you put your heart and soul into this was an understatement. Getting the internship had been hard, and you wanted to make all that work worth it.

Thorn stops. He lets out a sigh.

“Yeah. About that...” He clears his throat. Your heart sinks.

“Thorn. What... What is it?”

Thorn looks around for a second. Upon seeing no one, he gently takes a hold of your wrist and pulls you into an alcove. Your heart beats frantically against your ribcage. No way could this be good.

“Look.” Thorn pauses. His hands come up to his bucket as if he wants to run his hands over his face but stops himself. “You didn’t hear this from me, okay?”

“Okay.” You curl your toes. Despite your best efforts, you can feel panic surging through you, trying to overtake your body. Your body wants to shake, but you hold firm.

“I think Leena is going to get it.”

You arch an eyebrow at him. Leena...? Why her? Sure, she is your closest competition with this job, but it wouldn’t make sense. She isn’t as good as you. Right?

“How... How can you be sure?” Your voice threatens to break for a second. Thorn lets out a deep exhale.

“She’s been leaving Senator Dalle’s office as really odd hours of the night. Thire told me. I didn’t believe him until I saw it. And have you noticed how unusually chipper Dalle is?” Thorn pauses. You let the weight and implications of his words settle over you. It causes an unpleasant feeling in your throat. You have to swallow to prevent it from constricting too much. 

“Do you... do you think she’s sleeping with him? To get the job?”

“I don’t know. I could be wrong. I hope I’m wrong. Just... I don’t want you to be blindsided.”

You nod. “I... Thank you for the heads up.” You take a deep breath and look up, blinking to try and keep tears from falling. It’s speculation. That’s all it is. Nothing more, nothing less. The knowledge stings, but it could be wrong.

“Are you okay?” Thorn’s tone is oddly soft for him. You shake your head.

“Yeah. Sorry. I. I just don’t want to ruin my eyeliner.” You clear your throat. Thorn lets out a laugh that’s closer to a giggle than a true laugh.

“Really?” A teasing edge enters his tone. You drop your chin and give him a look. He brings both of his hands up in mock surrender.

“I spent too long on this to ruin it.” You huff. Quietly, part of you is relieved Thorn is joking with you. It makes the hurt dissipate a little. Thorn’s bucket tilts.

“It looks good.” He offers. His tone is warm and genuine. If you heard it under any other circumstances, it would make your heart flutter. It makes you smile. 

“Thank you.”

Whether he knew it or not, Thorn’s comment and soft words made the need to cry less urgent. You can hold it in until you know more. Thorn’s visor stays trained on your face.

“Ready?”

“Yeah. Ready.”

The two of you head back into the main hall. You aren’t sure if he likes escorting you or if he feels like he has to because you bring him caf. Hopefully, it’s the former. The idea Thorn might want to spend extra time with you causes butterflies to form in your stomach. He stops a couple halls down from your office. The two of you stand there for a second.

“Good luck.” Thorn offers.

“Thank you.” You smile at him. “Stay safe today.” It’s a simple sentence, but it holds so much more behind it. Thorn never gives any indication he knows there’s more to it. Hopefully, he doesn’t. It’s easier that way.

“I always do.” The grin in his voice is evident. Thorn slips out of the side hallway, leaving you to stand alone for a minute.

Carefully, you make your way to the desk. The office is abuzz, everyone eagerly awaiting to hear who might have gotten the job. Much to your surprise, Leena seems to be just as nervous as you. She aimlessly twirls the pen in her hand and on several occasions looks as if she wants to bite it. Not that you’re much better. It’s impossible for you to concentrate on work right now. 

The anxiety only worsens when Dalle begins calling the interns back one by one. It feels like you’re on some sort of sick and twisted game show. Everyone who leaves the office looks heartbroken. You screw your eyes shut. You can feel your hands start to shake. Fuck.

Eventually, it’s just you and Leena who haven’t been called. Everyone who is at their desk keeps on looking between the two of you. Clearly, people want to whisper but are too afraid to do so. You try to focus on your work.

Senator Dalle calls your name. 

Carefully, you stand up. A silent ripple seems to spread out among everyone. You know without a shadow of a doubt you didn’t get the job. Why else would he call you before Leena? Everyone else he’s called into his office he’s clearly rejected. You take a deep breath to try and steady your nerves. It’s hard to ignore. A knot has formed in your stomach. It stretches from the bottom of your ribs to the top of your throat. 

You get inside his office.

“You wanted to see me, sir?” 

“Yes. Would you shut the door behind you?”

You nod and carefully close the door. 

“Go ahead and sit.” Dalle leans forward and interlaces his fingers. Every step you take towards the seat is measured and careful. You sit. Senator Dalle lets out a sigh after a second before leaning back. 

“You’re a good kid. You really are. I can see your work ethic, and I admire it. But I’m afraid I can’t give you the position.”

At that point, you let yourself zone out.

You know what he’s going to say. It practically writes itself. Every lie and excuse pulled from the supervisor handbook. He explains how he really did want to give you the position, but he only has the budget to take one person on right now. The person in question is obviously Leena; you don’t ask who it is. He tells you he knows how hard you’ve worked and how he wants you to succeed. He looks forward to following your career. Who knows? Maybe next year he can take you on! Don’t let this minor setback hurt you.

You don’t know what hurts more. The fact he gave the position to the intern he’s presumably sleeping with or the fact, after months of working for him, he doesn’t seem to understand you at all. He keeps talking about you going into politics. Why would you go into politics now? 

You do what’s expected of you. You lie through your teeth.

Of course you understand, you really do. It was an honor to work with him, and thank you so much for the opportunity. You probably tell more lies than the Chancellor as you sit in Dalle’s office. No, you understand completely, of course you weren’t mad or upset. It almost feels like he called you in there to reassure him, to tell him he chose best. It makes your stomach hurt. You aren’t sure if you want to cry or throw up or both.

Maker. What are you going to tell your parents? Are you... should you go back home? You don’t want to stay here, stay in this fucking city built on lies and deception, but you also don’t want to go home. To be honest, you might have to go back. Finding a job is going to be more than a little difficult; the unemployment rate in Coruscant is incredibly high. As it is, you’re living month to month off the measly stipend you are getting. Sure, you could continue to work for Dalle if you really had to, but you don’t want to. What would be the point, especially now you know how corrupt and crooked the man is?

Twenty billion questions race through your mind. Each time Dalle speaks, even more come to mind. Fuck. What are you going to do?

Once the meeting is over, you make your way back out to your desk. You can feel looks of pity from the others. Nevertheless, you hold your head high. It’s better this way. It has to be better this way.

“Leena?” Dalle calls from his office. The entire office exchanges knowing glances. You look down at your paperwork.

Much to your surprise, you make it to lunch before you break down. It’s hard. Every time you blink, it feels like tears are going to fall. Your head swims with a crying headache, even though you haven’t shed a single tear. Your concentration is absolutely shot.

As soon as you’re cleared for your lunch break, you make your way into the bathroom. You cry. It’s the last thing you want to do because this internship, this place, does not deserve your tears. You cry anyway. You don’t let yourself sob like you want to because if you did, you wouldn’t get back out in time. So you cry for several minutes. Just enough to take off the edge.

Eating lunch outside seems like a good idea today. You’re about to leave the building when someone says your name. The voice is familiar; it’s Ghost. He doesn’t use his normally friendly tone but instead his neutral, slightly commanding, tone. For a second, you’re worried you’re in trouble. Having one of the Guard come get you, no matter how friendly you are with them, is more than a little scary. Automatically, you begin to wonder what you might have done wrong.

“Commander Thorn wants to see you.”

“Okay.” Dutifully, you go to Ghost’s side. You’re not as scared as you were, but you’re a little relieved. This might not be as bad as it seems. Ghost escorts you through the halls. It takes you a moment to realize Ghost is actually taking you to Thorn’s office. The more drab hallways tell you as much. When you reach the door to Thorn’s office, Ghost knocks.

“Come in.”

Ghost opens the door.

“You’ll be fine.” It’s the first words of reassurance he’s spoken today. You nod. Yeah, you should be. Carefully, you step inside Thorn’s office. Thorn looks up from his datapad. As soon as he sees it’s you, he places it to the side.

“You wanted to see me?” You lamely ask.

“How’d it go?” It’s clear from his tone he does not expect it went well, but he still wants to ask. You shake your head.

“You were right. I... I didn’t get it.”

“Osik.” It’s easy to guess the word is a curse of some kind, just from the way he says it. You slide into the only other open seat in his office. It’s barely big enough for his tiny desk and an extra chair. You wouldn’t be surprised to learn it used to be an old supply closet.

“Why’d you want to see me?”

“Well. I figured you weren’t up to seeing people so. Thought if you wanted to eat your lunch and hide in here, I’d offer.” His tone is nonchalant. You can’t help your smile. This isn’t what you were expecting in the slightest, and you’re more than okay with it.

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” You want to ask if he’s sure it’s okay you’re hiding out here, but you think better of it. He’s a Commander. He knows what he’s doing. At least, you hope he does. You have faith he does. Carefully, you curl your legs under yourself. Your lunch is a bag lunch so no need to worry about getting to the cafeteria or grabbing take-out in time.

“Are you going to go back home?” Thorn seems hesitant to ask. Maybe he’s afraid of what you’ll say.

“I... I don’t know.” You let out a long sigh. “I mean. I make enough to stay here, barely, but... I’m not sure I want to right now.” You huff. “Maybe I’m just being bitter.”

Thorn shakes his head. “I don’t think you are. I wouldn’t blame you if you left. I’d miss you. I wouldn’t blame you, though.”

You nod. You aren’t sure what else you want to say. Thankfully, Thorn seems to sense the awkwardness.

“Seriously.” Thorn leans a little across the desk. “I can’t speak to the others, but. I’d miss you. I miss you a lot.”

“You’d just miss the free caf.”

“That too.”

His admission makes you laugh.

“Do you want to hear about the time Thire and I scared a shitty senator? Grizzer helped us with it.”

“Of course I do.”

It’s nice to talk with Thorn. As you sit and listen to him tell a story clearly more fiction than truth, you realize something.

Quitting this job would mean leaving the Coruscant Guard behind. No feasible way exists for you to stay in contact with them. They, and these moments you share with them, are the only reason you wouldn’t quit. Nothing else matters. Hell, you should leave the job. The environment is toxic at best and abusive at worst. Why would you stay?

You’d stay for Thorn. You’d stay for Fox. For Hound, for Thire, for Stone. For each and every single member of the Guard. Not because they need you but because they’re your friends. At least, you think it qualifies as friendship. You certainly see them as friends.

Unfortunately, your lunch break is short. Time seems to pass so quickly, and it’s not long before you are on your way back to your desk. A multitude of thoughts are swarming through your head. Pulling out each one seems impossible. Yet you need to because you need a place, any place, to start. Your head pulses as you try to figure everything out.

“Hey.” Jethro, one of the few friends you have from this program, stands by your desk. “Ayssa and I are thinking about going out for drinks tonight. You in?”

“Yeah. That sounds good.” It does. Even if you don’t end up drinking, getting out of your head and spending time with people will help you. Who knows? If you bring your problem to them, they might be able to help. They could have a fresh insight to your problem.

“I mean, I’d quit.” Ayssa shrugs. “If you weren’t good enough this round, chances are you’ll never be good enough for him.”

You slowly exhale. She’s right.

“Easy for you to say. Daddy’s money lines your pockets.” Jethro nudges Ayssa. “It’s not so simple for us common folk.”

“I don’t know.” You sigh as you pick at your food. “I don’t want to leave because I’ve got friends. But also. I feel like I’m going to suffocate if I spend another minute in that place.”

Ayssa tilts her head. A glimmer creeps into her eyes.

“Maybe you don’t have to leave”

“Oh?”

“Look. I know someone who knows someone. There’s some… program, I guess? It’s for the clones.” Ayssa pauses to take a sip of her drink. “The government doesn’t like clones hooking up with civilians because it means higher chance of secrets getting out and all that. You can’t just deny them sex, though. So there’s this program where you get hired, and you’re essentially assigned some clones who you, you know...” She trails off with a meaningful look. 

You aren’t sure what to say. 

“So like. What? It’s a government sanctioned escort program?” Jethro laughs.

“Yeah. I heard you make mad money off it.”

“What’s the program’s name?” You eventually ask. 

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re seriously considering this!” Jethro looks at you as if you’ve grown a second and third head. You wave him away.

You shrug. “I’m just keeping my options open.” 

Truth be told, you don’t think it’d be a bad job. It would beat working at a cafe or restaurant, and you’d be able to see the Guard more than you could now. Vaguely, you wonder. How much would you get paid? If it means you’re not living month to month, then you’re certainly interested. 

The idea sticks with you the next several days. It doesn’t occupy your mind the entire time, but when you’re stuck doing something particularly onerous or thinking about how much you hate this job, the conversation comes back to you. Ayssa had given you the name of the program. You ended up looking it up that night before you went to bed. It didn’t seem unreasonable. You’d have to go through a background check and some other bureaucratic bullshit. It’s not like you hadn’t done it before; hell, you had to do more than this just to even think about the internship. You might even be able to fast-track everything.

One thing bothers you. You don’t know who you’ll get assigned to. From your understanding, the placement would be random, but you don’t want random. It’s silly, you know. You could do it. You’d just prefer to work with the Coruscant Guard. You know them so it’d make things less awkward. 

Ironically, Leena provides the solution to your problem.

As you stare at a sheet of flimsi, reading about something or other you honestly can’t bring yourself to care about because it’ll screw people over one way or another, you can hear Leena talking. She’s passing by your desk with her comm open. It’s not much you hear, but it’s enough to give you an idea.

“No, yeah. I absolutely understand. I just... Yes, of course. My issue is we can’t get to the bottom of this if we don’t know the source. Yes. I’m saying Senator Dalle wants to talk to this guy. If he’s the source, why can’t he? No. Oh, of course I understand. The senator just deserves to be able to talk to this person face to face, you know?”

She doesn’t stop at your desk, doesn’t even spare a glance your way. You’re more than okay with her walking right by.

...Huh. The source. Absentmindedly, you scratch the back of your neck. She’s not wrong. Why jump through hoops when you can go directly to the source?

The next time you see Ghost, you’re bringing caf in. Ghost comes down the last two or three steps to meet you.

“Ghost?”

He trains his visor on you. “Yes?” His tone is suspiciously wary, as if he knows you’re about to ask something of him he might consider to be a waste of his time.

“Could you...” You wrinkle your nose before sighing. “I want to talk to Thorn about something. By myself. How would I make that happen?”

Ghost regards you for a moment.

“Most people have to go through the proper channels. But for you? I think he’d be willing to make an exception.”

“Thank you!” You practically beam at Ghost. “Do, ah, do you think I could talk to him after my shift?”

“He probably can? If not, tomorrow morning.”

The rest of the day you wait. Keeping still seems impossible. You want to fidget the entire time. None of your work seems interesting. Then again, it hasn’t held your interest for a week now. Time crawls. You hate waiting. The longer you wait, the more you second guess yourself. A pit forms in your stomach. All the ways this could go wrong flit through your mind.

Everything drags.

Eventually, work ends. As you walk into the hallway, Ghost comes around the corner. It’s clear this is once again business. His gait alone tells you; it’s very much a march instead of how he normally walks.

“Commander Thorn wants to speak with you.”

“Of course.”

The walk to Thorn’s office is silent. You aren’t sure what to say. Since this is meant to be official, you’re pretty sure Ghost can do small talk.

Thorn practically drags you into his office the minute you get to it.

“Are you alright?” He asks. A genuine note of panic creeps into his voice. You smile.

“I’m fine. I just had something personally I wanted to ask of you.”

Thorn lets out an exaggerated sigh of relief. 

“You scared the shit out of me!” He slaps a hand over his chest piece. The sound from the plastoid is loud. “What’s up?”

You reach into your bag. After a moment’s hesitation, you fish out the brochure and hand it to him. He takes it from you.

“I...” You swallow. You spent hours practicing what you were going to say, but now the moment is here, you can’t say it. “I want to do this. I want to work with just you, though. The Guard, I mean. You all. I mean, if you want me.”

Thorn studies the brochure silently. He turns it over in his hands. You realize you’re holding your breath.

“Are you sure?” He looks up at you. Even through the visor of his bucket, you feel his eyes studying you. Something tells you he’s got warm, brown eyes. His tone indicates he’s not questioning you because he thinks you’re making a mistake. No, he’s double checking with you, making sure you want this.

“I’m sure.”

Of course you are sure! You wouldn’t have brought this to him if you weren’t double and triple sure. You nod. Thorn stays silent for a moment. He places the brochure down on the desk. Is he... Is he going to say no? Is he going to reject you? The thought had vaguely crossed your mind, but his actions make you worry. 

His hands go to the edges of his bucket. You hear clasps unsnap before he carefully takes it off and sets it on his desk.

“Hi.” Thorn grins at you. His brown eyes light up as he does so. His hair is long and pulled back into a thick bun. Several stray strands, some more sections of hair than one or two strands, hang in front of his face. He has dimples. Well, one dimple. A raised scar covers his right cheek. It looks to be from one incident where he got multiple injuries. A long line runs from just above the right corner of his mouth and curves out and down towards his jaw. Several short lines branch out from the main one.

Your fingers twitch. You want nothing more than to run your fingers over his scar and ask him how he got it. You want to place your hand against his cheek and watch his eyes close. The intensity of these feelings nearly sweeps you away entirely.

“Hi.” You smile back. Thorn’s smile is absolutely the infectious kind. Thorn sits back on his desk, balancing on the edge of it. “So. Is this a yes...?”

“I’ll have to talk to Fox, but I don’t see why he’d say no.” Thorn hums. “He’s going to want to make sure you’re really okay with this.”

“I should hope I’m okay with this, I’m the one who brought the idea to you.” You tease.

“I know you are, but others don’t.” Thorn’s eyes have barely left you since he took off his bucket. A warm feeling starts to build, making you curl your toes slightly. 

“So I’m going to have to jump through red tape and what? Tell them it was my idea? Make sure they know I came up with this all on my own?”

Thorn tilts his head to the side as if considering something and then nods. “Yeah. Probably.”

“Okay.” You step towards him. “How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Fuck if I know. Could take hours, could take days. It’s not our end that will be the problem.” His honesty makes you laugh. His expression brightens at the sound.

“Tell you what?” You reach him. Carefully, you place your hand on the desk beside him. “You talk to Fox, I’ll fill out any paperwork or whatever I have to do. Then once it goes through, I’ll quit this stupid intenrship, and we can have a glass of wine at my place. How does that sound?”

Thorn leans in a little. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to seduce me.”

“Is it working?”

“Only because I’m easy.” 

It takes you a minute, but when you get what he’s saying, you let out an indignant noise and pout. Thorn doesn’t laugh. He clearly wants to do so, though. His face scrunches up with a barely suppressed smile, and his shoulders shake for a second. He takes a deep breath and sobers himself.

“I would go ahead and put in the application. Fox will talk to whoever as soon as he can.”

“I’ll be good and wait until I actually get confirmation to quit my job.”

“Probably a good idea.”

You don’t move away just yet. Instead, you let yourself linger for a second. Thorn looks at you from underneath his eyelashes.

“You should probably go. People might get suspicious.” His tone makes it clear he doesn’t want you to go yet. You want to tell him fuck that. Fuck what people think. Deep down, you know he’s right. While it might not matter to you right now, it does have an impact on what happens to him. After a second, you sigh and then nod.

“Yeah. I guess I should.” You turn towards the door. Thorn softly says your name, and you turn back to fce him.

“I like sweet wine.” He tells you with a grin. He waits until you smile back at him before he puts his bucket back on and goes back to work.

Waiting for Thorn made you want to crawl out of your skin. Waiting for Fox is worse. You barely sleep. It feels like you should be a shoe-in, and yet, you worry. Your anxiety wants to latch on to any and all of your perceived imperfections. You almost growl into your pillow. All you want is to sleep, but your brain won’t let you.

Today you reread the same thing over and over and over again because you simply can’t retain it. Nothing wants to stick inside your brain today. Your lack of sleep shows when you stumble into work the next day. Jethro looks at you with pity.

“Hey.” He makes his way over to your desk. Much to your surprise, he holds out a cup of caf for you. You take it from him with a small ‘thanks’. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m okay.” Jethro makes a noise indicating he thinks you’re banthashitting him. “I’ll be okay. I just didn’t sleep well.”

Jethro stares at you for a second, concern written all over his face.

“Look. You know if you need to talk...” He stops himself.  “Tell you what. Lunch is on me today, my treat.”

“You don’t have to.”

“I want to.” Jethro’s tone is final. Arguing with him would just make him double down even more. 

“Alright. That sounds good to me.”

After several seconds, you stand up. Your head hurts. The words on the page don’t make sense anymore. You need air. Carefully, you navigate your way out of the office and into the main hall. As you go, you feel Jethro’s eyes on you. Hopefully he won’t follow you. Water seems like a good idea. You thread your way through the maze of hallways towards the closest water cooler. 

Someone calls your name. You look up from your water bottle and blink. A trooper you don’t know stands in the hallway.

“Commander Fox wants to see you.”

Oh?

Oh!

Well, maybe. You aren’t sure if it’s a good thing or not yet. Although, you’re not sure you care all that much right now. You have an answer and can work from here. The trooper, Lynx you learn, leads you back towards Fox’s office. To your tired mind, it feels as if he’s leading you towards Thorn’s office initially. The different paintings clue your brain back in as to where you’re going.

The hallway to Fox’s office is nicer yet somehow more depressing than the one leading to Thorn’s office. It’s not as overtly depressing. The walls are more similar in color to the main thoroughfares. Somehow, it feels more soulless. Art on the wall switched from paintings to generic motivational posters, ones that are closer to “hang in there” than actual professional photos. They’re still technically professional, but they don’t feel that way.

Corners knocks on Fox’s door.

“Come in.”

Lynx actually follows you into the office. Fox looks up from his paperwork.

“You can leave us.”

“Of course, sir.” Lynx nods before quietly backing out of the office. You stand awkwardly for a second. Fox points you towards a seat. His office is slightly bigger than Thorn’s. He has enough space for a bigger desk and more chairs. Hesitantly, you lower yourself into a chair.

“You wanted to see me?”

“Yes.” Fox looks at you. The intensity of his gaze filters through the visor. He sighs and leans back. “You’re not in trouble. Thorn told me about your conversation last night.” He slides a brochure across the desk.

“Yes. I told Thorn I wanted to do this, and I wanted to work with you all in particular.” You nod. You resist the urge to cross your legs. Fox nods.

“And it was your idea?” His voice is carefully neutral. 

“Yes. It was 100% my idea.” You relax a little. Thorn did warn you this would happen, so you’re not as nervous anymore. “Thorn didn’t even know until I talked to him last night.”

“Okay.” For a second, you swear a tinge of relief creeps into Fox’s voice. The note is gone quickly, so you can’t be entirely sure. “I needed to double check.”

“I figured.” Things feel stilted. You resist the urge to fidget. It feels as if you might not get the job. Fox regards you for a second.

“I talked to Nikali, who runs the program.” Fox places one of his hands on the table. His fingers twitch for a second. “They will have to run a background check and everything again. It’s standard. You’re sure you want to do this?”

“Positive. It was my idea. I want to do this.” You get why he’s double checking, but at the same time, the overabundance of caution is a little grating. It feels as if they expect you to second guess your decision. Certainly, it feels as if the company itself might worry it wasn’t your decision to make.

“I heard about what happened with Dalle. I’m sorry.” Fox does tap his fingers quickly on the edge of his desk, a fluid one-two motion you almost miss. He looks up at you. His eyes meet yours. You don’t know how you can tell, but you know he’s looking you right in the eye. “It is probably for the best. Dalle can be mercurial.”

You nearly snort.

“I’m aware he can be a baby when things don’t go his way.”

Fox nods. “It’s for the best. You would have gotten hurt.” 

The thought sticks inside your gut for a second. You hadn’t really thought about that part of it, but he’s right. Dalle slept with an intern. Who knows what the man might be capable of doing? 

Fox’s voice brings you back. “When I talked to Nikali, he agreed you could work just with us. You’ll have to iron out the specifics with him.” 

“Sounds like you think I’m a shoe-in.”

“I’m not an idiot.” He nearly drawls. “It’d be stupid to say no to you.”

The implication makes a pleasant heat curl through your veins. Your heart sutters for a second.

“Because of my tenacity?” 

You can’t see his eye roll, but you hear it.

“That’s it exactly.” You like this side of Fox, this dry and sarcastic side. It took a while to get to see it; he hid behind bland customer service tones meant for senators for a long time. Seeing this side of him feels like a treat.

“Don’t quit until you get the official acceptance.” Fox shifts in his seat so he’s sitting up more. You understand what he’s trying to get at. This place is filled with petty people. If you quit before you have something assured, someone somewhere might try to ruin it for you.

“I won’t.”

Fox nods, once. You take it to mean you’re dismissed.

As you make your way back towards your office, you think about the interaction. One thing sticks out to you. While this was mainly business, you can’t shake the feeling it was also personal. Fox clearly was checking in on you to make sure you were okay with everything. He’s protective of you.

All of them were protective of you in their own ways. Thorn warning you Leena might get the job was his way of protecting you. Thire had warned you on several occasions when a senator was looking for someone, anyone, to take their rage out on. Hound always made sure to walk you wherever you were going when you saw him. Stone had given you more than one tip on how to deal with some particularly obnoxious senators. Pinpointing how Fox kept you safe was more difficult, but you never doubted for a second he didn’t do something to protect or help you.

You reach your desk without incident. The datapad is just as dull and uninteresting as before. Fuck it. You aren’t going to stay at this job much longer. You pull out your comm. Thorn gave you his private line the last time you saw him.

“You like sweet wine, right? Is starcherry good?”

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#Cassandra writes #Fic: Candy Girl #commander thorn x reader #Commander Fox x reader

[scorpiongrassfield]

The field is as tranquil as ever

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The forget me nots must have been your own doing. They were supposed to have grown where you died. Theo hid you in an out of the way pocket of soul, separate from Pat, and your own soul propagated some flowers in it. You feel like a weed.

He must not think of you as one though, if he let you in here.

Or maybe he hadn’t expected you to wake up. 

Maybe he had already forgotten everything about you. 

The lighter is still hot, but it seems to be cooling down. 

You still aren’t sure why it does that. Every time you try to think about your past, every time you get close to the truth it gets warm. 

The inscription on the lighter says ‘Patience’. Which would lead you to believe that it’s from Pat. 

But Pat doesn’t have fire powers, do they? 

As you ponder this, it strikes you that you’re feeling awfully calm for someone who just fainted from blood loss and panic. 

Why is that? 

You think you’ve seen it in Theo, a bit, which makes you wonder if it’s a ghost thing. 

Then again you aren’t sure how much of what was going on with him was acting. 

Everything feels sort of distant and hazy. Like what just happened isn’t sinking in. It’s unclear if this is good or bad. 

You take a step outside the boundaries of the field. Panic grips your heart so tight you think it might burst. 

You step back into the field. 

You feel nothing. 

Interesting. 

You could probably just stay here. Wait for everything to blow over. It’d be safer, certainly. It would be more comfortable, for sure. 

But, unfortunately for you, no matter what you became after you died, you have a conscience now. 

You can’t just leave Pat and Theo to deal with Ametrine alone, not after they’ve tried so hard to keep you safe. 

Looking out past the threshold, you can almost see how Theo put this place together. 

You wonder how much time he had before Ametrine tried to ‘kill’ him. 

With that heavy thought in your head, you step back out of the field again. 

You’re a little unsteady on your feet. The blood is seeping through your hoodie again, but it’s not anything more than an annoyance at this point. It’s not like you can die of blood loss a second time. 

Oh you shouldn’t have thought that. You are not ready to think about that outside of the field. 

You close your eyes for a moment against the way your heart is being squeezed in your throat. 

You open them and you’re in the field again. 

Are you doing that? You doubt Theo has time to micromanage you like this. 

One more try. You march out of the field and very very pointedly do not think about how you’re dead and also maybe some sort of serial killer. 

You ignore the path. You want to find a different sort of nexus. 

The trees have leaves now, in the places where they haven’t been burned. But these ones are still pointing. 

You chose to follow them and ended up going deeper into Theo’s soul, last time. 

Where are they pointing away from? 

The trees don’t try to get in your way as you follow their trail back to their source. 

It’s a field of flowers. They’re a dark purple red, and you can only assume that this is where Ametrine first entered Theo’s soul. 

You wonder… 

Stepping into the field is a strange experience. 

Gone are the lukewarm colors and the cool breeze. 

The world is in murky monochrome. It looks as if everything has been drawn with a charcoal pencil. 

You hear a shriek, Ametrine’s voice. The sound resonates with everything around you, resonates inside of you. 

You go back the way you came. 

So that’s Ametrine’s soul. 

You could probably do something with that. 

A dark thought bubbles up to the top of your mind unbidden. 

If you went back in there you could probably make her stop trying to kill you. Make her think the two of you are friends. You have the power to do that apparently. You could do it. 

But this thought makes you feel sick. 

You don’t want to be that sort of person. Maybe you already are, maybe you always have been, but you want to change now.

You have to. 

Next

#choose your own adventure #writeblr #interactive fiction #original writing

[mckinlily]

Voltron post-s2 AU

Voltron fix-it in year of our lord two thousand twenty three? More likely than you think! Or rather, if I were writing Voltron after season 2, here’s what I’d do:

First of all Shiro doesn’t die. There also isn’t a clone arc because I could never figure out a path that totally satisfied me but that’s a me issue. Shiro does disappear at the end of season 2, but he gets sent to an alternate reality like in this post. Short form is that reality’s Takashi Shirogane was the Blue Paladin and died died ten years age. The alternate!paladins (inclusive of alt!Allura who is the Blue Paladin) are much older than their canon counterparts and low-key having a crisis about this baby version of their long-dead teammate suddenly dropped into their mist. Especially when they realize how traumatized and young he is—and utterly lacking in self worth. These older paladins cannot stand letting another Takashi Shirogane get himself killed and will do anything to ensure that doesn’t happen.

(Just so long as everyone’s conflicting trauma doesn't get in the way)

But while Shiro’s stuck in reality universe getting a crash course on self worth and YES you matter, don’t you dare freaking die (and also getting some helpful Voltron tips from much more experienced paladins) back in our OG reality…

The canon team is struggling.

They’re trying. But Shiro is GONE, and no one knows what happened to him. The remaining paladins are four teenagers who were thrown into a war without warning, have essentially been on the run ever since, and now just lost the only remaining source of stability they had. They’re scared, overwhelmed, and fighting like cats and dogs. Allura’s trying to lead them, but the hole that Shiro left is gaping and almost too painful to touch. It doesn’t help that Allura feels the personal loss keenly but believes to be an effective leader she has to put on a strong face. This causes certain paladins (Keith, it’s obviously Keith) to be furious with her, thinking she doesn’t care, and everything deteriorates from there.

In addition to the interpersonal issues, the Black Lion is offline. It won’t turn on—not for Keith, not for Allura, not for anyone. And they’ve all tried in desperation, but it won’t even flicker. As long as the Black Lion is unresponsive, they try everything they can think of, but they can’t find a single hint of a clue of what happened to Shiro or where he might be. And still, the Black Lion does nothing. So in addition to the terror and uncertainty in missing Shiro, they are now down a Lion and completely unable to form Voltron.

Not good. Especially not good because while Zarkon is down (though for how long, they don’t know), there are still plenty of Galra commanders who are ready and gunning for blood. Vengeance is swift and the paladins are only escaping by the skin of their teeth. The stress is putting even more pressure on the already flaring tensions and tempers in the wake of Shiro’s absence, and Team Voltron is in serious danger, both from the outside and within.

Then Lotor shows up.

Now this Lotor doesn’t have his generals, and it’s not entirely clear where he came from. He says he’s here to help. And he just so happens to have Altean heritage, which obviously interests and intrigues Allura. (He just oh so conveniently forgets to mention the tiny little fact that Zarkon is his father.) Allura, who is alone and desperately aching for support without Shiro, obviously jumps at the opportunity to connect with another Altean. 

The paladins are less charmed. Hunk is immediately suspicious. Lance is jealous of his apparent interest to Allura. Pidge is barely speaking to her teammates these days. She doesn’t give a shit about some random purple guy. Keith hates him immediately. Then again, Keith seems to hate everyone since Shiro has disappeared, so maybe that doesn’t mean anything. 

And look, Allura isn’t stupid. She knows she should be cautious. And she is. But she also desperately needs a friend, and Lotor steps up while the other paladins have been failing her. 

Obviously, they can’t hide the massive Dead Black Lion issue for long, and Lotor is very interested. But he keeps it cool. He talks Allura into letting him try. The other paladins are deeply unhappy about it but not too worried because obviously it’s not going to work, right?

Expect then the Black Lion lights up.

It’s only for a moment and then the Black Lion goes dark again. But it’s the most reaction anyone has been able to get out the Lion. 

And they’re desperate.

Keith is BEYOND offended at the mere idea of anyone other than Shiro being the Black Paladin and nearly splits from the team over it. It’s only Lance going after him and, in a surprising show of maturity, overcoming his jealousy and practically begging Keith to stay that keeps him from vanishing completely. He’s still furious though. Hunk is beyond anxious, and even Pidge, who has been trying to check out from all emotion and people up until now, is becoming suspicious and anxious. 

But Allura… Look, she’s the sole leader right now. She sometimes feels like she’s the only one who still cares about saving the universe from the Galra anymore. But she also is very aware that she is now solely responsible for the remaining young paladins. If she owes Shiro anything in his absence, isn’t it to protect the team he gave his life for?

And to do that…they need Voltron. 

So when Lotor confesses to her that he had felt the Black Lion but suspects the Black Lion was damaged in the last fight against Zarkon, she listens. Lotor has access to some rare surviving records of Altean alchemy. He says he has a spell that, combined with Allura’s connection to the Lions, could fix the Black Lion. He says if Allura helps him strengthen his connection to the Black Lion, he’ll help them fight the Galra.

And Allura… it’s not that she doesn’t want Shiro back, of course she’d rather have Shiro! She can’t trust Lotor like she knew she could trust Shiro (even if he is Altean), and the other paladins clearly don’t like him. But she’s all alone. She has to keep Shiro’s team alive for him. They NEED Voltron.

So, at night, behind the other’s backs, she preforms the ritual with Lotor. 

And it works. 

Lotor is now the Black Paladin. No, it’s not ideal, and there other paladins are deeply unhappy, but all the Lions functional. It’s the best option they have available. 

… Right?

(to be continued)

#voltron #vld fic #vld fix it #post s2 au #alternate realities crossover au #mckinlily writes: vld fic #full disclosure: i'm not a lotor stan #this won't include a lotor redemption arc fyi #in case anyone was getting their hopes up #i am and remain a One True Black Paladin Shiro stan #i will use lotor for nefarious purposes though

[heartfeltletters-written]

She ignored her instincts for now, certainly, the quadrant wouldn't kill them all right before the crossing of the Parapet.

Hahaha. . . Ha. .

“I’m telling you it’s more work for us” Ridoc kept saying, “they pretend that second year is all about not having any responsibilities…”

Second year is all about having bruises and broken bones 😀👍 We shall not talk about mental torture yet.

“It’s embarrassing, I tripped down the stairs and landed on my hand. I went out earlier in search of Nolon but apparently, he’s full to the brim.” Nadine sighed.

*sighs and take out a Machete* looks like we have a certain someone to deal with. Just give me the sign author, really won't mind killing him (Jakey Backey).

“I have some mild painkillers” Violet offered, “I take them sometimes when the pain is too much to get through the day. They don’t make you sleepy, but the muscles become more relaxed.”

I want to cry whenever this is mentioned in any fanfiction 😭

I know we should not treat Violet like a fragile flower but I can't help feeling worried about our girl.

“Last year, you learned how to ride the dragons who chose you. This year, you’ll learn what to do if you fall off. Welcome to Rider Survival Course, or RSC for short.

Solutions for riders falling off their dragons:

Sadle ❌️

A bunch of broken bones and PTSD ✅️

Anyone who wants to start a college should definitely take lessons from the guy who set these rules 👍

Violet knew for sure that if Caroline had the opportunity she would kill her without hesitance.

And I know that Andarna, even if she does not have the opportunity, will love to get a temporary chew toy 👍👍

His expression fell, “Don’t.”

I really don't want to imagine what they do to those people.

She had the conduit strapped on her today, close to her skin inside a bracelet Mira had given her years ago.

MY HEART HURTS SO MUCH WHENEVER MIRA IS MENTIONED- THE SORRENGAIL SISTERS AND THE BEST AND THE STRONGEST HANDS DOWN

She was aware that both him and Garrick were not her biggest fans but at least Garrick was civil. Ever since they arrived at Basgiath Bodhi had been more hostile towards her.

Clearly, Garrick has some decency left in him 👍 And also, he would not want to face the wrath of his future girlfriend, now would he?

“Her and your friend in the same squad won’t go well, or are you expecting that by putting them in the same squad they won’t want to kill each –”

Bodhi is such a smart guy yall 🤌🤌 He thinks that the prince will come announcing his name to the whole world.

“I’m warning you Bodhi, step down. The last time I flung a dagger at someone I didn’t hesitate,” and the last time she’d done it had been to her brother, who unlike Bodhi was family, “the only reason why you’re still unscarred is because I know Xaden cares for you and would hate to see you hurt especially by me, but don’t test me.”

Bodhi, ILY man but back the FUCK off. Thank you 😀

“Or what Sorrengail?” he provoked.

Dear readers and author,

We are gathered here to mourn the loss of Bodhi Durran, Xaden Riorson's cousin, who is a victim of homicide. Rest in piece dear one.

*whispers to myself* Violet has done a pretty good jod by feeding the body to Tairn.

Thank you!

“I’ll allow it but you need to get a reign on your squad, Mathias.”

Get a reign on your signet and tongue first. You'll never know which one will lead you to your doom.

She couldn’t avoid her feelings, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to. The least she could do was have fun with her friends.

Okay, that's enough. *gets a warm fuzzy blanket with black and golden dragons printed on it* I'm taking her for a while. *wraps her up in a blanket and hugs her*

Violet reminds herself to thank Mira again for gifting her this the next time she writes to her. She wipes her head around in her search for Ridoc, Sawyer, Rhiannon and Imogen, they’re alive and safe.

MIRA W SNSKJSKSKSSKWN I MISS HER SO MUCH

“Ciaran is dead.” she simply states.

I-

“You do not have the right to burn what is mine” Tairn warns

*bawling my eyes out* here *sniffles* take the award for the best male at the moment in this masterpiece of a fanfiction.

omg thank you so much for reading <3

second year is fine .... idk what you're talking about nothing suspicious happening *nervous laugh*

jack barlowe pisses me off and i could have killed him but unfortunatelly i have plans for him so we'll have to deal with him a little longer plus nolon being shady

i always try to insert Violet's EDs in the most "normal" and casual way possible, she has it and she has to deal with it but dont diminish her casual pain.and yes i want to hug her very bad and beg her to go rest and listen she can be a badass and still need that care !!

if u ever plan to open a dragon's college read Basgiath as in: what not to do

Andarna deserved to eat someone in canon my baby is just hungry she's done nothing wrong !!

Violet and Mira are the definition of sisterhood !! those girls love each other soooooo much they're so special to me !!! i can't wait to start writing them together (also no Violet being upset about getting a letter from Mira that doesnt happen in MY canon)

Imogen has Garrick wrapped around her finger but neither knows it yet

Listen Bodhi is smart BUT he's mad at life he's not thinking very clearly right now.

Tairn is carrying the male population on his back and he's tired he's too old for this

#we never knew peace #asks

[spacemagicandlaserswords]

The Clone Wars 2x6 ‘Weapons Factory’ and 2x7 ‘Legacy of Terror’ Reaction

So this whole Point Rain arc was an interesting one. Back on Geonosis so soon after Attack of the Clones and it’s somehow going even worse than before. If there’s a Third Battle of Geonosis then it’s going to end up with the planet imploding and taking everyone with it. I talked about this in my reaction to 2x5 ‘Landing at Point Rain’ but the immense number of clones that are killed is beyond horrific. They’re just cannon fodder at this point. All of the groups (regiments? brigades?) take heavy losses. Sure, the Republic ends up just winning the day, taking the capital city of Geonosis, stopping the droid forge, capturing Poggle the Lesser and taking out the Geonosian queen and her horde of zombies. But at what cost? So many clones were just blasted to bits or Thanos snapped out of existence by the Geonosians' sonic blasters. I’m surprised there were any clones without plot armour left. 

The part that really rubbed me up the wrong way was when Ki-Adi-Mundi was leading his group (platoon? company?) through what looked like the Geonosian equivalent of a spooky forest. Clones were constantly being atomised left, right and centre and all he’s doing is telling them to keep going and forge ahead through the shortcut that he found?! It’s a pretty rubbish shortcut if none of you make it out alive. Yes, I get that this is a vital campaign whose success hinged on all three groups (legions? corps?) making it to their positions on the battlefield. This was made abundantly clear at the start of the arc in 2x5 ‘Landing at Point Rain’. But at some point you have to reassess, use some of that apparently famed jedi logic, reasoning, and divesting-thine-self-of-emotions, and consider if you’re going about this the right way. Probably just before the last of your men, and you, are ruptured to bits by a swarm of angry Geonosians with sonic blasters. Of course the jedi and clones won in the end. Can’t have the hero’s not saving the day. But it was only by the very thinnest of margins. I was wholly unimpressed with Ki-Adi-Mundi’s approach, and he wasn’t the only new jedi that I was disappointed by.

(I’ve since realised that I should’ve included this paragraph in my reaction to 2x5 'Landing at Point Rain' because Ki-Adi-Mundi doesn’t actually appear in either of these episodes. I wrote a good chunk of this as a reaction to the characters introduced in the Point Rain arc rather than addressing specific episodes and it makes more sense in this context so it’s staying here.)

I did not like Luminara Unduli’s characterisation at all. I can see from a narrative perspective why she, and Ki-Adi-Mundi, are written the way they are. They’re both there, Luminara especially, as narrative and character foil to Anakin. An example of the Perfect Jedi. Calm, at peace, one with the Force, not driven by emotions. The complete opposite to Anakin’s bold and rash actions, emotions clouding his judgement, and attachment to his padawan. Or at least they’re trying to frame it in this way. I know at one point Luminara specifically says to Anakin that he’s misjudged her on thinking that she doesn’t care about her padawan Barriss most likely being dead. But it really did not come across like that. When it appeared that Ahsoka and Barriss were squished under the rubble of that explosion, it seemed like Luminara just gave up, immediately accepted without hesitation or thought that her padawan was dead and didn’t even bother to try and see if she could save her. It was just like ‘well that one’s kicked the bucket, fetch me a new child soldier from the nursery’. I am fully aware that this is probably not how it was probably intended to be portrayed. This is my viewing experience of TCW and that is how her characterisation and actions came across to me and how I interpreted them. And it really rubbed me up the wrong way. There was a lot of that in this arc. I guess this is another example of The Clone Wars tackling fairly weighty, tough, difficult topics where there’s not always a right or good answer, even though it’s “just a kid’s tv show”.

Anakin has many, many, many problems and is absolutely by no means even close to being a good or vaguely decent person. Yet in this particular specific singular instance, at least he had a bit of fight and passion about him and actually seemed to care about the wellbeing of the literal child that is under his care and who he is responsible for. He didn’t just give up immediately and actually tried to see if he could save her. There’s a difference between acceptance and giving up and I think Luminara’s characterisation fell too far towards the latter. 

Her characterisation also wasn’t helped when, after the Republic has saved the day and finished leading clones to the slaughter, she promptly does a philosophical 180 and hares off into an oncoming sandstorm on a reckless pursuit after Poggle. Luminara seems particularly obsessed with trying to capture Poggle, which is in complete contrast to her portrayal earlier as the Perfect Jedi who would never be affected by such base things like emotions. She’s so driven to go after Poggle that she makes reckless decisions and her actions result in the unnecessary and completely avoidable death of more clones and puts the lives of even more clones and her fellow jedi in danger. That’s not particularly Perfect Pious Jedi now is it, and just makes her apparent initial abandonment of Barriss even more hypocritical. 

(Editing me has also realised that I may come to reassess my opinions on these characters. I'm coming back to this quite a while after writing it and now I'm not as sure about what I originally wrote. However, I need to post something so it's staying for now and may be a useful comparison for when I eventually, hopefully, rewatch TCW again.)    

We’re also introduced to Barriss in this arc and this character just makes me so, so sad, though for a purely personal reason. Barriss is portrayed as the model student, the perfect padawan. She follows orders to the letter, doesn’t dare to even consider contradicting her master, goes above and beyond in everything, like memorising the catacombs. She’s terrified of failure and is so desperate to please. Everything has to be perfect and done exactly as her Master said it had to be. Barriss is the Gifted Kid. And I saw so much of my younger self in her. I just wanted to hug her and tell her that she’s ok just as she is. She doesn’t have to try and impress everyone and be the perfect model student. She can just be herself and that’s all that matters. Because it never ends well. It doesn’t end well for Barriss (I know what happens and I’ve got plenty to say about that when I get to that episode). And it didn’t end well for me either. My body, mind and soul are now completely crushed and destroyed and a lot of it started with that Gifted Kid nonsense. I was tearing up writing this paragraph remembering it all and to see it all reflected in Barriss was just as heartbreaking.     

I don’t know how to transition to this next paragraph without it being a completely record scratching change of tone. So just imagine that as some sort of transition. Plus we need some humour after 1000+ words of general grimitude.

The scene in the lair of the Geonosian queen Karina the Great had me absolutely cackling. I always enjoy Obi-Wan and Anakin sassing each other and there was plenty of that here. Especially the part where Anakin steps on the brain worm and Obi-Wan just looks so sad and dejected about not being able to study it and then Anakin tells him to study the bottom of his boot. Obi-Wan you absolute nerd. 

Look at him. He's so sad he can't study the brain worm.

In the lead up to this, where Luminara is being menaced with the brain worm, I did have a brief moment of thinking that Obi-Wan was actually going to watch one of his fellow Jedi be controlled by a brain worm just because he wanted to see what would happen. Evil Scientist Obi-Wan?

Luminara is being held captive and being threatened with essentially being brainwashed and Obi-Wan and Anakin just wander straight into the evil lair and start idly chatting about what they think will happen to her. They’re both absolute little shits but in entirely different ways. I’m not sure Obi-Wan had as much control of the situation as he thought he did.

Was 2x7 ‘Legacy of Terror’ the first proper horror themed episode? Or as proper horror themed as an animated kids tv show on Cartoon Network is going to get? Maybe horror homage is a better description. Basically like episode 2x11 ‘Metamorphosis’ of The Bad Batch where they reenact Alien while discovering the Zillo Beast. The fandom seemed to lose their collective minds at that reveal so I’m looking forward to finally finding out what all the fuss is about. I think I’m going to have to rewatch The Bad Batch, or at least certain episodes, after finishing TCW and Rebels to get a greater sense of some of the reveals that happen. 

Random Thoughts Having encountered Poggle the Lesser, could this imply the possible existence of a Poggle the Greater or Poggle the Better?

As Geonosians have sonic blasters and sonic canons, could that possibly mean the existence of Geonosian sonic screwdrivers? The Doctor would not be pleased.

Obi-Wan’s quip to Cody about the first time he was on Geonosis was peak sass and flirting. Don’t tease the poor Marshal Commander with a good time that he wasn’t there to enjoy.

(Editing me has also only now realised that this moment was also from 2x5 'Landing at Point Rain'. This is why I need to finish these reaction posts much sooner after watching the episode.)

Occasionally there are some utterly ridiculous and unbelievable moments even by TCW standards and Luminara and Anakin “climbing” under the bridge planting bombs was one of them. How are you dangling vertically under the bridge and somehow managing to hold onto the rocks with the tips of your fingers like that? What are you, Force geckos?

I know I’ve said this before but I am now definitely just here for the clones. The jedi can go wave their glow sticks somewhere else. Just give me everything to do with the clones. 

#watching the clone wars for the first time #the clone wars #tcw #star wars #tcw 2x6 #tcw 2x7 #Weapons Factory #Legacy of Terror #tcw 2.06 #tcw 2.07 #tcw weapons factory 2x6 #tcw legacy of terror 2x7 #tcw weapons factory 2.06 #tcw legacy of terror 2.07 #ki-adi-mundi #luminara #luminara unduli #barriss offee #tcw gifs #obi wan kenobi

[the-technicolor-whiscash]

So I was reading a rolling stone article abt that decision to shut down old YouTube accounts (apparently they’re not taking down videos, just shutting accounts down, which is shitty but it’s slightly less bad) and this line stuck out to me

Because really, it’s true. Unless you have made your website yourself and you own the domain and everything, the existence of your platform is 100% at the whim of whoever owns it. And when things change, when sites get shut down or altered beyond recognition, it’s a dramatic and often nearly irreversible loss because of the nature of the internet as a virtual state. It’s something I see a lot of in looking for old twin peaks fan archives, stuff from the 90’s is almost entirely lost. What’s left is preserved piecemeal on the internet archive, filled with broken links and abandoned screen names, all leading to dead ends. It’s like archaeology in that the further we pass through time the more history is destroyed, but unlike in archaeology it’s far more difficult to figure out how to preserve it. You can’t lock a website in an airtight case, or encase it in resin. The internet archive is a good start, but like I’ve been saying for years, we need redundancy. You need multiple copies of a thing so that way if one copy goes down, you have a backup.

#the whiscash administration

[ladyvillainous]

Eric Coulter – This is what happens when you don’t wake me for breakfast!

I’m writing a full length story that will be posted on Wattpad when further along that includes my own original character.

Izzy joined Dauntless with Four from Abnegation but knew Eric when they were children. In my AU he and Eric are from the fringe and were inserted into the city by the bureau, they are both divergent but like Four to a much lesser degree. The story serves as a prequel to the original Divergent films and then will pick back up towards the end of insurgent at which point it will diverge from the films story line, they’re a bit of a blend of the books and films but are closer linked to the films.

Each of these One shots/Imagines are either excepts from around the midway point of the story I’m working on that I think stand up quite well by themselves or are pieces I couldn’t fit into the overall narrative but liked too much to get rid of completely.

Description

Izzy’s arrives late for breakfast leading to an altercation with one of the cockier Erudite transfers

Warnings

Mild SA and violence

Word Count: 1123

If only James had learnt from his previous mistake but if anything his sound thrashing by Izzy at Eric’s suggestion only seemed to serve to make him worse. At every available opportunity he would deride or undermine them both apparently only listening to Four who found even his patience was wearing dangerously thin.

Izzy didn’t care what James said to her, she could tell it was bravado because every time she moved quickly towards him, he flinched as if she’d struck him. Though he was getting cockier by the day his confidence returning far quicker than she would have liked, what really concerned her was how hard he was pushing Eric’s button’s, expecting him to snap and beat him to death any day now.

By the end of the fourth week of training he went too far but surprisingly it wasn’t Eric that snapped first.

Four and Izzy didn’t eat with the initiates they wanted to maintain that distance and respect for the chain of authority, as Amar and Clara had done with them. Instead, they ate at the leaders table with Eric, Max, Sasha and the other instructors, though Max rarely joined them often being too busy to enter the mess hall notably absent for weeks at a time.

Today was the first time they’d seen him since before the choosing ceremony and he was eager to understand how the new initiates were getting along. He was engaged in a lively debate over Transfer initiate determination vs Dauntless born attitude with Eric, Four and Amar as Izzy was making her way to their table. She was running a little late because Eric had failed to wake her up this morning, something he was finding very entertaining as she crossed the dining hall, his ever-present smirk following her across the room.

As she squeezed past the tables full of her initiates, she nodded to them curtly acknowledging their calls of good morning when she felt a hand swat her sharply on the backside as she passed, an echoing smack that drew the attention of the nearby tables who fell silent in disbelief.

The sudden loss of noise coupled with Izzy’s shocked face caused Eric to pause with his spoon halfway to his mouth, his eyes widening as he realised what must have happened.

“What the…” he ground out starting to rise from the table, both Max and Four looking up at him before following his furious gaze across the hall to Izzy, just in time to see her whip around and slam James’ smirking face into the table so hard she broke his nose.

Howling in pain he clutched his bloody face as she leant over him, fury radiating from every cell of her body, the initiates either side of him scattered leaving the table empty, though lingered on the side-lines waiting to see what happened.

“If you ever touch me again initiate” she hissed out the last word with as much venom as she could muster “I promise you, they’ll never find all the pieces of your body”

James audibly gulped, choking a little on his own blood as it ran down his throat.

“Do I make myself clear initiate?” She finished, a dangerous edge to her voice that made it clear to everyone around her she was deadly serious.

He nodded once, eyes wide with horror “Best get yourself off to the infirmary, it appears you’ve had an accident” smacking him on the shoulder roughly she strode away to the leaders table as if nothing had occurred.

Settling herself down on the bench next to Eric, who was still half raised out of his seat glaring daggers across the room towards James, who was now attempting to escape from the mess hall with difficulty as his eyes were watering in pain.

“That was a bit extreme don’t you think?” Four asked, with more concern than he really felt, watching Izzy’s once again impassive face, she shrugged reaching for a piece of toast and tugged Eric back down into his seat without even looking at him.

He wound an arm around her at once hugging her to him with a scowl still on his face, Izzy frowned up at him “Hey look at me” she said softly, gripping his chin and forcing his eyes down to meet hers “It’s done don’t worry about it”

Eric grumbled but his expression softened as he gazed at her “See what happens when you don’t wake me up” she smirked, dropping her hand and backhanding him gently in the chest to punctuate her point, he smiled despite his bad temper “Yeah alright fair point”

“Well damn” Max spoke up at last “I should come to breakfast more often, I miss all the fun” he chuckled into his food.

#eric coulter #eric coulter fluff #eric coulter imagine #eric coulter fanfiction #divergent fanfiction #divergent #divergent imagine

[ellz9800]

Teen Wolf Fic Recs (Sterek)

...Because I’m re-watching the show and am now in a hole :) 

All fics have happy endings, are complete, and are on the longer side  >53k

As always, mind the warnings and tags. Happy reading!

------

Baking My Way into Your Heart by theSilence   178k

Derek is an uptight college student, all work and no play. His carefully scheduled life is thrown kilter when his regular barista is replaced with someone new.

This is literally my fav sterek fic I’ve found so far. Talk about slow burn, wow. It’s a college AU, but has everything from pack goals to tooth-achingly fluffy moments,  I constantly read it and it never gets old. Absolutely wonderful! 12/10

When I’m Gone by MissYuki1990   108k

Stiles is leaving. For good if he has any say in it. He gave everything to them and received nothing in return, so who can blame him for wanting to leave and find his place in the world. Apparently? Everyone and their uncle.

Stiles is such a badass in this one by the end, and who can resist a little angst in the beginning? 8/10

The Feelings That I’m Under by wearing-tearing   294k

Stiles is a paramedic and Derek gets into a bike accident. It's kind of love at first sight.

I cry every time I read this. It’s an AU, but focuses on how much Kate fucked him up. Stiles is the biggest cinnamon roll and Derek’s family is amazing throughout it. 9/10

I know that you love me, even when I lose my head by LunaCanisLupus_22   135k

“We’re not mates, Cora,” he insists. “I mean look at him-“

“Ouch,” the kid says, no longer pushing that shit eating grin.

“He’s- he’s,” Derek tries, at a loss of how to explain why this can’t be possible. Why it shouldn’t be possible.

Or the one where Derek gets attacked by hunters, ends up with amnesia and forgets Stiles is his mate

The obligatory amnesia fic, at your service. Stiles and Derek are mates, but Derek gets amnesia. Hurts in the feels, but Stiles is such a badass and Derek is basically along for the ride that the ending totally makes up for it. Plot is strong and there isn’t a lull at all 9/10

We Are All We Are by  Takara Phoenix   83k

After everything with Gerard, Stiles wonders where his place in the pack is. Or rather, to which pack he belongs and what is going on in general. New faces and the threat of an Alpha pack are really not helping him there. So now he’s stuck-- once again-- rescuing a bunch of werewolves while trying to deal with his own feelings not just romantically, but friendship wise because he really needs to help Scott sort things out. 

Kind of crack-fic but has some plot! Basically just entirely packmom!Stiles. It’s a feel good fluff piece, essentially. 7/10

stuck in reverse by crazyassmurdererwall (smartalli)   65k

Look, Derek is the worst. Everyone knows that. Their fearless leader is a total and complete failwolf.

Which means the rest of them? Are kind of the worst too. They’re a ramshackle, slap dashed, sorry excuse for a pack that’s about a half second away from getting one of them killed. And this is a problem, because Stiles would really like to survive high school. Thanks.

Still, nobody deserves what Derek has gone through. Nobody.

And it’s about time somebody told him that.

Basically, Stiles goes with Derek’s pack because Scott is kinda an asshole in this one. Jackson is a GOAT tho and totally makes up for it. It’s cute. 8/10

Sound of Setting by SilverFlameAlchemist   30k

“Is she a mermaid? Did you find a mermaid on your doorstep? Why didn’t you just say so, man, what—who is she? Why are mermaids turning up at your place with bullet wounds in the first place?” “She’s not a mermaid,” Derek explained (far too) calmly. “She’s a siren.”

This one has it all, fluffy moments, crack, and a good plot. I love the OFC in this one. Definitely a good light-hearted read for fun! 8/10

Lead Me Wild (series) by iamthelightning   158k (in total)

Beacon Hills is the newest target in a pattern of attacks on werewolves designed to 'out' them as a violent threat to humanity. Derek Hale should have more important things on his mind than wondering what Stiles Stilinski sounds like getting fucked into a mattress.

Another all-time fav of mine. If you are a fan of angst, this series is perfect. The first part sets up the plot (kind of crack, but the plot is definitely there), but the second part is kind of entirely angst that features Derek’s classic self-pity. Kind of graphic, so mind the tags in part two, but definitely worth a read. 9/10

With Feeling (Series) by Crimson1*   53k (in total)

"Derek Hale, if you refuse to learn from your past…then you will be doomed to repeat it." In which Derek is turned into a 16-year-old and has to stay with Stiles until they figure out how to turn him back. 

What happens if Stiles fell in love with Derek when he was 16? It’s super cute and sweet. 9/10 

*Love this author, btw!! She writes amazing ColdFlash fics if you like that ship and wrote a phenomenal Supernatural fic on FFN called Incubus (sorry for the shameless plug, I’m just obsessed with this fic)

------

I have more...like, a lot more : )

#sterek fic recs #teen wolf #fic recs #sterek #fluff #angst #fic rec #stiles x derek #fanfiction #ao3 works

[theodore-lasso]

Okay I’m just gonna do a little Ted Lasso vent under a cut feel free to keep scrolling this is just so I don’t ruin someone’s day in DM’s by being salty as hell

TLDR this season has just been: go girl give us nothing for me. 

I’ll start with overall vibes, I just think they’re doing too much. Maybe this is personal preference re: ensemble shows but there are so many plotlines and while I disagree that Shandy and Zava and Anastacia are useless and time fillers (they’re side characters to advance main characters personal arcs.... that’s how side characters work) I do agree that they feel flat and one note, but I think that’s just because there’s too many characters and too many plots, and they’re not able to go deeply into any of them anymore. Like we’re not often sitting with characters, it’s like a quick scene then moving onto the next person and issue. 

Unfortunately I’m feeling that with Henry and Ted now, which sucks, because it’s one of the most meaningful relationships on the show. But Henry had an issue this ep, and by the time Ted spoke to him it had already been solved by parenting he’d done in the past. Which... I feel like we as an audience don’t need more reminders that Ted is a good dad, we already know that. Also I don’t feel as if “count to ten until you don’t feel angry even if that’s infinite” is the lesson that Ted has been learning this season? Hasn’t he been learning to occasionally be assertive and stand up for himself? I think this plot line could have been a bit deeper - Henry being insecure because his dad isn’t there and taking it out on other kids instead of... undisclosed being mean for no apparent reason and immediately apologising. Anyway that’s just one moment in the entire episode that fell flat for me. 

Rebecca, bro idk. She feels like 2 different characters to me at the moment. Like she’ll yell at Ted to make them win a match and then literally isn’t doing a single thing about it outside of that and will just be like hi :) to him in the hallway. Loved the moment where Higgins said maybe they needed to find another manager so much, I love his growth from S1 and actually saying brave things now, but I hate that it was brushed aside especially if she’s yelling at Ted on the regular now about losing. I’m glad she got her fertility tested because I feel like otherwise there’d be this huge “what if” for her. As a single person I was rolling my eyes at the emergency contact thing but yeah I get it she wants to find love. I think this is where my main criticism of the season comes in, and that is the reliance on the psychic, things that have been “set up” in previous seasons rather than characters actively doing things. Like as someone who has been watching closely for years now, I haven’t really been surprised by any of the directions they’ve taken s3. 

Rebecca is walking around looking for signs related to the psychic, which is all well and good especially if it leads her to getting her fertility tested and stuff, but same with Ted, not currently doing anything about the teams losses, not doing anything about the team & Zava when he was still there. He hasn’t spoken to Colin about benching him and then playing him when like... S1 Ted would be all over that. He hasn’t spoken to Beard about Jane. Idk I think there’s so much reliance on “it will all work out in the end” that they’ve forgotten you need to make active strides in the middle. We haven’t yet seen Roy working on himself to figure out what he wants with Keeley, Jamie has had no arc this season so far other than being suddenly a genius (like nothing has come from the 4am training sessions yet?)

Literally shocked that the writers can’t seem to think of a meet-cute that isn’t with someone’s boss, like I do think it’s odd that it’s happened 3 times now (Sam and Simi, Keeley and Jack, Sam and Rebecca) but I am here for seeing sapphics kiss onscreen even though I’m slightly concerned about the long-term of that for Keeley (but tbf I was about Sam too and that ended fine) 

Shandy Keeley stuff, I know it was a mirror with Sam Edwin but fml, I thought Keeley was going to learn to be a good manager and grow Shandy as an employee but... no. 

Final note even though I could probably rant for longer: I miss Phoebe SO MUCH

Anyway highlights of the season are: NATE!!!!, BeardRoy, Trent although I wish he’d say more, Higgins, and Colin has potential 

#ted lasso #ted lasso season 3 spoilers #vent post

[redtutel]

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

The rights issues of Spider-Man have given the character a troubled film history. But only by two companies sharing custody can a non-MCU movie like Into the Spider-Verse can exist. I love the MCU, but it’s great to see new version of these characters as well. Combine that with a great directior and an amazing artstyle, and we get a work of pure art I look forward to seeing again. I regret not seeing it in theaters

At a Scolastic Book Fair, I got a collection of the first 5 issues of Miles’s comic, which gave me a unique perspective on the character, so it’s awesome to see him get a movie

Love the craziness of the opening logo

The begining of the origin comic sequences

“There’s only one Spider-Man” love the irony

The fact Miles is also Lantio is a really overlooked aspect of the character, so I’m glad to see it shown for a bit

Love the down to earth nature of the begining

Ned took inspiration from Ganke, so Ganke sadly doens’t get to be in the movie much. Hopfully in the next one

“You gotta say I love you back” classic moment

Love how the cut out the scientist’s name

The relationsip between Miles and Aaron is great

The hey soilder touch. Classic

The grafitti scene is also fantastic. And how ot leads to the spider bite

Apparently Aaron Davis wasn’t this loving in the comics. I think it’s a great change. It makes him more like the Prowler I remember in the 90s Cartoon. A well intentioned man suffering from hard times who gets in with the wrong crowd because of it

Love the joke of the roommates never meeting

The comic thoughts are a visualy amazing touch

This is another movie that does a great job showcasing high school awkwardness

I love how the hightened Spider senses are used in the movie. And how they’re combined with traditional high school  anxiety

“Play dumb. Not that dumb” classic

Love that the jacket is Miles Spider-Man colors

They refrence the Ultiamte Universe with the Hulk Goblin. I don’t mind him getting this small a role

And much like in the comics, Miles gets powers around the same time of Peter and Goblin’s final battle

It’s so sad that Miles looses who seems like a perfect mentor in favor of a less-then perfect one. But it makes the characters’ growth so satifying

First look at the Power and first listen of his theme. A fantastic introduction

Love that we finally get a Spider-Man movie with the Kingpin

Cris Pine is a great young Peter Parker

We can hear Olivia early. Nice touch

Love the color scheme of the multiverse

The Kingpin killing Spider-Man is a change that works for this movie. I’m glad the Miles Morales included the death of Spider-Man. It’s a part of the characters that later versions exclude

It’s so heartbreaking to see my favorite superhero die. And in a way where the villian wins too

The first chace scene with Miles and the Prowler. I guess he didn’t get a good look at Miles’s face

I admire scenes where Spider-Man parents know somthing is wrong, but not what, and decided not to press

Poor Miles blames himself for Spider-Man’s death.

Love Mary-Jane’s speech. And how it ties into the movie’s theme

The Post Death Stan Lee cameo. It hits so hard. And then we get that no refunds joke. It’s great

And Miels decides the world still needs Spider-Man, and he needs to be it

And the devise breaks, causes the loss of the thing Peter died for

The Venom Shock. A part of the character not in the first 6 issues, so it suprised me. I am a fan of the extra powers

Peter B. Parker took a bit longer for me to warm up to then the other Peter Parkers. A washed up 30 somthing isn’t quick what I expect from Spider-Man. Maybe that’s what the old mad Luke haters feel. But I grew up and warmed up to the character.

I love how cartoony this movi can get

Both Spider-Verse and Homecoming did the deep voice joke

“The Goober” Love that gag

Love how Spider-man just walks on the walls. Meanwhile Miles is clinging for dear life.

And the two Spider-Men meme. Classic

It’s impressive how many Spider-Man villians they cram into the movie. But it all works because it goes back to the Kingpin and the Prowler

This movie has some solid self aware humor, with plenty of sincere moments too

And we get the camouflage. Another power I didn’t read so I was suprised to see

And first Olivia seems nice, but then things seems suspicious

 I love the Doctor Octopus reveal

Kathryn Hahn has played two awesome Marvel villians

The Doc Ock chance scene is fantastic

And we get Miles’s first swinging lesson

And we get our Spider-Gwen. An awesome introduction. I like the subtlty of her backstory

“What’s Comic Con?” Love the differences in universes

I’ve noticed that across many, many versions, the Kingpin is a family man. He loves Vanessa and Richard so much. So I love his motive being to find a new one in a new universe. It’s a troupe I’m fond of, I like it in Voltron and Multiverse of Madness as well

Love Aunt May as Peter’s mission control. It’s a great twist on the character

The other 3 Spider People don’t get a lot of screen time, but they have very memorable personalities to make up for it.

There are many ways of being Spider-Man, and it’s hard for Miles to figure out what to do. Being young is about have a ton of options for the future, and not being able to pick. I’m still at that phase in my life, and it’s stressful

Uncle Aaron is the person Miles can turn to without fear of judgment

Love the tension whenever the Prowler appears. And the reveal that Aaron Davis is the Prowler. And how the Prowler’s them is amplified

Love the implication that Aunt May and Dok Ock know each other

The sinister six vs the Spider-Man team is another fantastic moment

Aaron never wanted Miles to see this side of him. It’s such a tragic scene

In a world of crazy powers and technology, a simple gun proves to be the most tramatic thing in the movie

Aaron’s last words are amazing. Such a tragic end to this character. I have family that’s made some mistakes that I was sheltered from as a kid. Most them them pulled though. Aaron could’ve if he got the chance to live.

I’ve heard that the scene where Miles is chased from the police was the hardest one ot make in the movie. It’s distrubing in a deeply realistic way

This is the only time Aaron and Jefferson are in the same place at the same time. And you can really tell just how complicated their relationship was, and how despite that, Jefferson misses his brother and regrats not spending more time with him

I love seeing the Spidys share their grief. 

The Spidys need to keep Miles safe, because he’s not ready. They were hoping he could control his powers, but he couldn’t.

It’s a leap of faith. That’s how you know your ready. It’s true in real life too. I need to take my leap of faith. I’m not sure when I’ll get the chance. ideally, college will prepare me for it

I love the scene with Jefferson. And how it’s his dad that finally helps Miles get into the head space to figure out himself

What’s Up Danger. Dare I say, one of the greatest movie moments of all time. 

Love how the song incorperates the Prowler theme. Miles is carrying on his uncle’s legacy

Love that he spay painted his costume. It brings the grafitti element back

I love how Miles’s animation becomes more fluid, since he’s finally discovered himself. And his comic appears. This is his origin story, and he is now Spider-Man

“They fit perfectly.” Great line for this moment

This song is THE Miles Morales song.

Love that the bus gag comes back

The Kingpin hosted a Spider-Mam memorabal is just salt in the wond

“In Poor Taste” Love the comic easter egg

And Peter lets out his regrads to this world’s MJ. And awkward moment, but a great way to see what’s in his head

Peter is selfish for a lot of the movie, so it’s really admirable to see him willing to sacrifice himself for the others

Love how Miles is brought back in the movie with his camofloge

And Peter realized he does like kids, and can take repsonability for them

Love all the stuff from the multiverse flying around. The climax as a whole is stunning

“You Got a Problem With Cartoons?” Film and Televersion people in a nutschell

I feel bad for Penni for loing her robot. I hope it’s fixed in the next movie

Love the set up and pay off of this movie

The Spidys saying goodbye is a touching moment

Peter feels like he doesn’t have much to live for, which is why he’s so self sacrifying.

It’s a Leap of Faith. People need that and many, many poitns in their lives

Spider-Man vs the Kingpin. It’s amzing to see it on the big screen

And of couse, even in another dimision, his family doesn’t approve of the Kingpin

“The real Spider-Man couldn’t beat me” Hey look, Kingpin is those guys on twitter who looks down on Miles

And Miles proves he’s the sort of person who will always get up

Love how the solulder touch ends the fight.

Love seeing Miles and Jefferson get close. And Jefferson accepting the new Spider-Man

And Miles get’s his origins speech. Fantastic ending

“Anyone can wear the mask.” What a great ending line

And a tribute to Stan Lee and Steve Ditko.They were far from Perfect people, but they produced some fantastic stories

I look forward to seeing Spider-Man 2099

Love the meme refrence.

Overall, this movie is a one of a kind work of art, that’s gone on to inspire other animated projects. It’s a work of art, and there’s nothing else like it. I have to make it #1. It gets better every time I see it. It perfectly blends the down to earth and the sci fi craziness. It’s Miles’s story though and though, but it’s also a solid Peter and Gwen story as well. It’s a work of art, Id ont’ know how many more tiems I can saw it

Next time we’re back to the MCU with the strongest weakest Spider-Man movie.

Current Ranking

7. The Amazing Spider-Man 2

6. Spider-Man 3

5. The Amazing Spider-Man

4. Spider-Man

3. Spider-Man Homecoming

2. Spider-Man 2

1. Into the Spider-Verse

Quip Rankings

6. Spider-Man 2 (1)

5. Spider-Man 3 (4)

4. Spider-Man (5)

3. Spider-Man Homecoming (12) /Into the Spider-Verse

2. The Amazing Spider-Man (14)

Amazing Spider-Man 2 (16)

#spider-man #marvel

[percontaion-points]

Lifeblood chapter 20

Today's review might be difficult for some; reader discretion is advised

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Chapter 20

My parents were good to me...at first. The older I became, the more involved they became in their work. Dad was a representative in the House of Myriad, helping to pass realm laws for humans. Mom had her paintings. One day, I woke up, cooked my own breakfast and realized I had been raising myself for years. 

They spent time with me only when I required discipline, and the knowledge had hurt. Badly. I’d become an afterthought to the people who were supposed to love me.

Not only that, but they were still expecting for her to blindly follow in their footsteps simply because they demanded it? Yet at the same time, couldn’t be bothered with their own child? 

It’s even worse when you think of how the book is trying to redeem Ten’s mom. Like sorry that you started having second thoughts, but it’s literally too late. Especially when you remember that mom broke the law and had a second kid, but subjected said BABY to a life of suffering, and almost immediate death. A LITERAL BABY. 

At sixteen, I became a bargaining chip. Because of my supposed Fusing with a Myriadian General, the realm offered my parents more money, more fame—but only if I made covenant. I wasn’t a daughter. I was a key. 

I’m pretty sure that I said this a lot during the first book, but not one single person seemed to give a shit about Ten. They only wanted her power, and the things that she wanted to do didn’t seem to matter. 

Look me in the eye and tell me that Troika gives a shit about Ten’s wishes. They talk an awful lot about free will, yet demand that she go into the field after like a week of training. 

“And my dad? How is he?” 

“He’s being trained as a Laborer, but not with the new arrivals. He has a private tutor because he’s on the fast track.” 

I’m not surprised. At the end of his Firstlife, my dad’s love for me—if he ever really loved me—had darkened into hate. He blamed me for the loss of his fame and fortune, and paid to have me killed.

I enjoyed how Myriad had branded daddy dearest as a traitor who tried to get around the child clause in his contract by having a second baby. But all of that was apparently for show, since they’re treating him WELL in Myriad. 

“Any leads on the spy?”

 “Nothing yet.” 

Who could it be? Kayla, Reed, Deacon, Victor? I trust them. Elizabeth? I would love to blame her. Levi? Even though I’m angry with him, he doesn’t strike me as a fox but a shepherd. He fights foxes, keeping them away from his flock.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but the entire idea of a spy is acting like nothing is wrong. Even if you’re sometimes acting against the side that you’re spying for in order to maintain your cover. 

So literally any one of those could be a spy. 

He can’t pass through the Veil of Wings to reach me in Troika, but I suspect he would try if he thought I was in trouble—try until he died.

Chapter 20 summary: Ten and Killian start making out on the patio of the French cafe. As he pulls her away to somewhere more private, Ten randomly thinks about how shitty her parents were. Not only at the end, but how neglectful that they’d been before that. 

They start making out in an alley, but then they move to the cave that they camped out in right after Killian and Archer helped Ten escape from the asylum. There, they continue to make out. Killian eventually stops her, and says that he doesn’t want their first time to be when they’re wearing their shells, which is fair. But it’s also kind of a terrible thing to say, especially since he’s still refusing to deflect. 

Killian tells her that Levi comes to him sometimes. But during their last chat, Levi told him that he’d found a barrister for Ten’s mom, so now her trial is going forward. Ten is relieved to hear that, and asks about her father. He’s basically being treated super well, which pisses Ten off something fierce. 

They talk about the Troikian spy. Killian says he kidnapped Victor to prove that he wasn’t the spy. But even after all of that, he’s still not convinced Victor wasn’t somehow getting messages out while in captivity. He also says he didn’t wipe Victor’s memory, which is super suspicious right now. 

He goes on to tell her that he knows that the souls in Myriad are not resurrected. Ten says she thinks that they end up in Many Ends, but he isn’t sure about that. He explains his reasoning in the resurrection thing in explaining about his mom. His leaders had been hedging around about the new identity of his mom, which was frustrating him to no end. So he looked up the info on his own, and went to visit this woman. Except he knew that it wasn’t her when she tried to sleep with him. Ten isn’t sure about that, since Killian died when he was a baby; he never knew his mother, so how does he know that she wasn’t a slut? She goes back to the Many Ends thing, and describes the lake that she, Kayla, and Reed had to swim through to get to Myriad. Killian is lost in thought, so she thinks that there’s a similar lake in Myriad. 

Before they leave, he gives her a Pi necklace, with an emergency beacon connected to him. She gives him the gun-ring Meredith had given her. 

#lifeblood #everlife series #bookblr #book review #scifi #dystopia #ya novels #religious imagery #romance novels

[itsukismoon]

Event story - Chapter 6 (Grateful Days)

>> part 7

Emma is sent off by the members at Tokohana so that she can continue her walk around the park. She notices how all the guests look happy, and that this festival really is amazing.

Crow, flying?: Hey, Emma!

He gets off the (flying??) car together with Lagoon (apparently it’s a car they use for tours of the park), who asks her if she’s having fun. Crow notices that her throat sounds a bit sore, and asks her if she’s feeling unwell. She answers she’s fine, she just talked a bit too much. After all, she ended up working and helping everyone here and there. It’s very much like her, says Crow.

Lagoon: Still, we also have to make sure that the young lady here has fun too, right? Is there any place you’d like to see? I’ll take you there with the car.

Emma: Wah, really?! Thank you so much!! (Note: shes so happy eheh)

Game area. Crow and Emma are seen playing a game against Cinis. The latter obviously wins, but Crow doesn’t know when to give up and asks for a rematch. Welck suggests that Cinis takes it a bit more easy, after all what’s most important is that Emma has fun. He refuses, saying that facing off against her at full power is his way of thanking her.

After leaving the Game area, they visit the Machine area where one can enjoy different types of machines, and the Fairy Tent, where it is possible to watch various shows.

Crow: Where do you want to go next?

Emma asks Lagoon to stop the car for a bit. She gets off the car and meets Cyrus and Emilio, thanking them for their hard work, saying that she can enjoy herself without worries thanks to everyone at Chevalier. Still, she hopes that the two of them can also take it a bit more easy. Cyrus says that since there’s many public figures and dignitaries, they have to make sure nothing goes wrong. Emilio agrees, though he’d love to have fun with Emma. After all, seeing Emma’s smile is enough, states Cyrus.

Emilio: Nice words, Cyrus. Did you graduate from being a bad talker?

Cyrus: …Don’t make fun of me.

Later, she goes back to the car, until she hears Kent calling out to her. He gets scolded by Suzuka for being so loud. Victor is also there, and he invites Emma over to their area for later; he prompts Ren to say something too, aka if she doesn’t want to come, to at least bring someone else (yk, so that they dont miss a client. Ren pls….🙄). Looking out from the car window, Emma can see all her friends, coworkers and acquaintances. Her smiles makes her happy, and she wonders whether her work is one of the reasons behind their happiness. Suddenly, the central hotel catches her eye.

flashback: Adel told her to come to the central hotel when she had a spare moment.

Central hotel. The place is huge, and apparently Velvet is having a theatre built inside the hotel, and he wishes to open it to the public very soon. Adel appears, sighing. She apologises for being late, though he figures that it’s not really her fault anyway, but the other Meisters’. Though it is of utmost importance that she has spent a delightful time, he will need to put up with him for a little while now. He takes her by the hand and leads her to a hotel room that has will be put to use for his work. Before he can explain, Jin appears again, whimpering and moaning (again) and pretty much repeating the loss of control scene from chapter 3. Adel yanks him away from Emma and slams the door in his face (lol).

Adel: Until what needs to be done is done, don’t you dare get out of there.

Adel gives a signal, and a lady standing next to Emma, starts taking her measures with a tape in hand. He refuses to tell her anything, and just focuses her gaze on her, making her blush. To fight the embarrassment she asks him how the Royal Area is faring. It’s a success: Volks is handling all the important guests, whereas Bezer is assigned to monitor the slacking-off Canaan; in particular, Merry Rose is doing really well with customer service. Still, they’re craftsmen, so giving it their all, to the best of their abilities, is totally normal to them. And yet, he is aware that Emma’s presence is essential to him.

Emma, blushing: A-Adel-san—

Adel: I. Told. You. To. Not. Move.

At first, he looks at her with a harsh glare, but then it melts into a softer one, making Emma’s heart go all crazy.

#mobage #otome #yume100 #ymkr #ゆめくろ #yumekuro #joseimuke #yumekuro translations #dream meister and the recollected black fairy #otome games #grateful days