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nighthazerpg · 17 days

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Patch May 4th

Well that got away from me a little bit, here's a bargain bin full of small fixes and clarifications. Any substantive change that's not just clearing up wording has bold on it:

Martial Arts involving a melee attack now specify that they inherit the damage type of the weapon you're using - this made sense intuitively anyway, but it was worth being clear

Some minor clarifications on Pin, Shield and Boost Kick so their intent is clear.

Quickload may now be used in conjunction with other Trickshots because otherwise it just kind of sucks

Added the ability for the Drift Technique Stunt to be used with two-wheeled vehicles so you can Akira slide - and do so under that tanker truck that's sideways, but you can only drift for one turn!

The Brake Check and PIT Manoeuvre Stunts can now be used against vehicles up to one weight class above yours because without that they're just Ramming But Worse

Specified that the Gotcha! Stunt refers to you catching people with your vehicle, not reaching out the driver side window to catch people that sounds like it would end badly

The Blend In trait now has an * on the "you can't take this as a Pony" rule because there are exceptions like Palominians but there isn't the space to explain that in the Trait box

Added the Staggered condition to the list of Crowd Control effects on tab 10. It's just reference in case you never read the Martial Arts section

Specified that Aim only benefits the immediately proceeding Action

Specified that Thermocompensator Vest targets Resistance

Changed the notation on special ammo for the Amount of Default ammo to be "-" rather than "Infinite" because that raises more questions than it answers

Specified that the Combat Power Wing does not lose its Cover bonus against Opponents at higher altitudes

Specified that Heelz don't do anything if you're flying

Specified that normal methods of Fall mitigation do not apply to the damage taken in car crashes

Carrying capacity of ASL Encore buffed from L to 0.5. We'll be monitoring this change closely and watching out for any shenanigans that result. We're really trusting the community not to go crazy on this one.

Cargo capacity of F512 Hovercraft nerfed from L to 0. This terror has finally been reined in. I know the F512 mains will have my head for this one but the toxic gameplay that came out of this just had to stop.

Specified what happens with drones regarding Mind & Spirit damage - drones can be disoriented by dazzling attacks, but don't take damage, and they also don't have feelings you can hurt. But also, they don't pass this damage to the pilot in manual mode - I would imagine that someone piloting a drone in combat is expecting gunshots to peak the audio on their device, and has the volume adjusted accordingly. Not the same as getting literally flashbanged yourself.

Broadened the wording on what drone pilots are allowed to take advantage of with an aim action to include Trickshots

Specified that the Martial Staff is compatible with the Target Sprint Routine and also that you spend the stamina for all three spells cast

Specified that After-Image only affects sight and sound, which opens the door for somebody to use an exotic sense to tell it apart

Expanded wording on Simulacrum to specify that it can affect a range of senses (1/rank in spellcraft) but it is phantom and can't push buttons for you

Specified that when using Projection you need to have a sense to be able to deceive or perceive it - you can't use Projection to temporarily gain senses you don't have.

Spelled out on Spirit Blade some of the finnicky details of how it interacts with Martial Arts and Action Economy

Rising Strike reworked to clear up the ambiguity around Fall Damage and streamline the spell a bit more. It now launches equal to Margin of Success instead of a fixed 4 (which means a lot of Rising Strikes are going to be kind of underwhelming but some of them are going to be really impressive), and the ceiling height does NOT affect damage - because if you think about it, getting rocketed into a low ceiling comes with the consolation prize of only falling one floor instead of three. However, there's now a clause that explicitly damages the ceiling if you do that, opening the door (or, the ceiling) for some real matrix kung fu antics where you punch someone into the floor above.

Specified that Steady Heart and Knit Wounds cannot be cast multiple times per short rest

Dragonbreath has had its range buffed from 4 to Cone 4

Shared Burden now times out at 15 minutes so you don't have a Breezie shoulder buddy who makes you ungrapplable forever

Stated explicitly that queued hacks tick down in parallel, not in sequence - parallel was always the intention because Hacking gets comically weak if you need to wait for each one to go off before you start the next one, but apparently this wasn't spelled out

#nighthaze #cyberpunk #patchnotes #ttrpg #my little pony

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cupids-cringe · 2 years

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OK SO BEFORE I SHOW THE ALTERNATE DESIGNS FOR THE HLVRV HEADCANONS I WANNA SHOW OFF THIS IDEA I DEFINITELY STOLE FROM MERKLINS AND THAT WAS THAT SINCE OUT OF THE GAME PLAYER HAS NO INVENTORY ON HIM AND WOULD LIKELY HAVE A BAG TO STORE HIS TRINKETS

AND

YES!!!

YES HE WOULD!

i gave him a satchel with little wing decals that he stores all his cool trinkets and the occasional bird that sneaks in to hide all cozy and his crowbar- before he eventually gets told he can't take a WEAPON everywhere with him in the real world- thankfully theres no xen aliens here so not much reason for one anyway

AND WITH THAT OUT THE WAY, ONTO THE WAVE 1.5 OF MY HLVRV HEADCANONS

to start i have alternate designs for Player, Kittle Freeman and Loverboy which are edits of their drawings in the previous post and then i have Neo and Spork

i'm currently working on something else but i would LOVE to do characters like Darnold, Benry, Sleepless,,etc because accidental multiverse hoppers have a lot of family and of course the episode 2 Gordons

(notes and Neo & Sporks below)

Player

- literally just the HEV suit, used this as a base for Kittles design

Kittle

- made his hair a bit messier and more spiked in comparison to Players original hair

- a bit of blood and stuff splattered on him from how Kittle is definitely one of those players who would go killing random things hes spawned in after hes done and/or ‘got home from work and is going to take his frustrations out killing random ai and blowing stuff up’ without consequences (until yknow the ais sentient and theres consequences)

and also due to godmode would just go through the maps not taking any damage when he was shot at or activated a planned sequence but still getting splattered with blood

- the circuits on his eyes are also further down his body and suit and would spread faster and cover more when he gets angry or overwhelmed (for a while now i’ve liked to think the circuits can react to his emotions so something really strong like anger would make the circuits freak out and branch out more)

Freeman

- based on his suit in In Your Dreams!! he matches with his family now!!

- the spiralling pattern on his cane is squid tentacle inspired and the paint glows in the dark cos i thought that was neat

- grey hairs,, unlike Doc its, unfortunately, stressed induced rather than a side effect of green goop

Loverboy

- so. many. PINS. this is still just a HANDFUL of his collection!

- his hairs filled with a lot more heart shaped curls and he often ties it in a lower ponytail or wears down, sometimes he puts hairclips and little decorations in it to match his pins!

- i think the several hundred hearts do a good job explaining themselves-

-and of course like B he has his name written on his earrings

NEW ADDITIONS: NEO AND SPORK!!!

Neo

- sort of mashed together 2 different refs i had of them and took the bone pattern from the trousers of the 2nd and instead turned it into a patch he stitched on, along with a clown patterned patch (this is specifically the clowngender xenogender flag)

- decided to make their hair a bit less spikey and more flowy ?

- pronoun badge!

- the shoes are based on his 1st design, the trousers are a little more blue just to try and break up all the dark greys and make the nails and shirt seem less out of place, kept the classic playstation hoodie

- his nails actually match with Swaps!

Spork

- i gave them earrings now- The one shown on the right (left??) ear is a pin and i did draw the other but it didn't look right as Sporks hair actually covers their ears so i drew over it

(and it was a lightbulb like on their hlvrv sprites)

- added a few more buttons to the cuffs of their shirt also

- i gave them a pocket with a notebook that they use for random notices, ideas and as a schedule diary

- (usually) safety pins worn are a way for the wearer to let people know they're a safe person for people who are often discriminated against or afraid, its a way to show you are safe, a symbol of solidarity and thats why i gave Spork one

#hlvrv headcanons #part 2!#hlvrv #cupids cringe #my art

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paigelts05 · 11 months

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[BLOOD] Prelude of Ruin Ness and Gregory [FNAF, Renegade AU]

Link: https://www.deviantart.com/paigelts05/art/BLOOD-Prelude-of-Ruin-Ness-and-Gregory-FNAF-968302885

Published: Jun 22, 2023

To bridge the Raid with the Ruin DLC, I've added a segment to my AU called 'Prelude of Ruin' which covered the basis of how Gregory got trapped back at the Pizzaplex and sets up reasonable grounds for Vanny to be back despite the Princess Quest games being completed, and also delves into Sylvia's distrust of Freddy.

°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•🌹•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°

Ness didn't see what happened when she was kidnapped by the three Faz Ent Execs. Her eyes hadn't adjusted to the light yet. She only heard the window breaking, a gunshot, and screaming.

By the time she could see, she had been shoved into the back seat footwell.

Gregory, on the other hand, had heard the gunshots and window shattering. He'd stayed hidden, and once things sounded like it'd be over, he ran to his parents room. Luis was alive but injured. Ness was gone. He dialed 911 on the nearest mobile, which would later turn out to be Luis's, didn't wait to see the results and ran outside. He managed to see a trio with distinct silhouettes tossing someone into the back of a car. And that the boot was open.

He stowed away in the boot, and once the car stopped and it seemed like everyone was out, he slipped away, finding himself back in the car park of the megaplex.

Despite the damage from the fire from both the initial explosion under the raceway and the results of the Raid, he couldn't find a way in. That was until Sylvia showed up. Her keycards still worked, so they both headded into the entrance lobby together. There, they were ambushed by Cheryl.

With an armada of staffbots under her command, she set them to disassemble Freddy, and Apprehend Sylvia and Gregory.

Gregory was the first to get pinned down, Freddy fell and was torn apart, looking as he did in that twisted vision he'd had during the raid. Sylvia fought long and hard, but was eventually overwhelmed and like Gregory, was apprehended.

Cheryl took the liberty of making use of her tranq darts to knock Sylvia and Gregory unconscious.

After getting subsequently also kidnapped, the duo managed to escape after Cheryl went to find the other execs. Gregory noticed that his FazWatch had been taken.

Thier next objective was to find Ness. It was a long search with zero leads, but eventually, thier search lead them to the west arcade.

Upon entering the office of the west arcade, the duo found Ness curled up in a corner, blood covering her abdomen.

When asked what happened, all she could say was "I don't know. When I came to, I was in Fazerblast, and had this incision down my body. I heard someone talking about needing some staffbots for thier experiment, so I ran. I made my way here, patched up myself and the costume, and... I've been here ever since."

Ness clung to Gregory like her life depended on it, because it somewhat did.

Finally a trio now that Ness was with them, they made their way back to the lobby, where they hoped to escape via the main exir, but as they reached the stairs, Freddy, who was now shattered and under Glitchtrap's command, chased them towards the daycare.

As Freddy caught up, Sylvia put herself between Freddy and the others as it attacked, taking a deep claw slash to the gut. This wound would have killed anyone else, and this is about where it finally sunk in that she WAS posessed.

She was able to attack Freddy back so it'd leave, and then once patched up, the trio decided to cut thier losses and leave without Freddy: they could always come back for him way later with backup, as a robot is inherently more durable and less likely to die if left alone without food or water for several days than a human being.

Once they finally made it back to the main lobby, the three execs were waiting for them, already armed and fine with taking corpses instead of prisoners.

The trio of Gregory, Sylvia, and Ness were forced into an immediate surrender in order to not die.

Charles Ramirez took Sylvia away to some unmarked office. Cheryl took Gregory to the Fazerblast service tunnels. Todd took Ness to Fazerblast's controll room.

What the hell kind of experiment were they planning that needed Ness, and was Gregory being kept as a lure, or was the control panel that was forced into his hands going to become a part of the experiment.

°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•🌹•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°•°*°

#2023 #art #artwork #fnaf security breach #fnaf sb #fnaf vanny #vanny security breach #vanny fnaf #fnaf gregory #gregory fnaf #fnaf ruin dlc #fnaf ruin #FNAF Renegade AU #FNAF Renegade AU: Prelude of Ruin #Renegade AU #blood #tw blood

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inquisimer · 2 years

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Happy Friday!! For DADWC, I'm thinking maybe "Kilig (Tagalog): The feeling of butterflies in your stomach, usually when something romantic takes place" for Alistair/Cousland, perhaps?

happy happy friday Gin!! Thank you for the prompt, here's Ember Cousland and Alistair being very somft™ + gratuitous descriptions of decorations and dresses, because I indulged myself

this is also the spiritual successor to this prompt, which I filled a little while back!

for @dadrunkwriting

~~~

Alistair stood in the early evening sunlight, Zevran to his left, and tried not to fidget.

Castle Cousland was aglow with the decorations for a party. Silk trappings covered every available surface, in varying shades of silver and gray and the occasional black. Eamon had, of course, wanted their wedding themes to be white—“It’s tradition for a reason”—but Ember had refused, just like she’d bucked his insistence that they hold the ceremony in Denerim.

“My parents will be present for my wedding, serrah,” she’d said, eyes glittering with challenge. Eamon had, wisely, acquiesced.

The damage from Howe’s treachery had been patched and mended for the most part, though the scars still lingered—not in the least because of the two still-fresh graves under the conjoined branches of several birch trees.

But the courtyard was stunning, nonetheless.

Rows of chairs lined either side of the aisle, which was marked by simple wire arches interwoven with gray and dark blue roses. The half walls that enclosed the space sported banners embroidered with a new heraldry, combining that of the Couslands with the Theirins and a subtle nod to the Wardens—Wynne’s doing, as were the dainty fairy lights hanging above, twinkling and waving slightly in the breeze. More flower petals, also gray and blue, littered the grass and stone walkways. Arrangements of the same roses, filled out with some paler blues, bronze, and sprigs of baby’s breath, stood at attention around the perimeter, connected by loosely hung lengths of silvery tulle.

For his part, Alistair felt trussed up like a Satinalia turkey. He’d just as soon have worn his armor for the ceremony, but unlike his wife-to-be, he’d bent under Eamon’s demands. He wore simple black slacks, tapered and tucked into the finest leather boots and his shirt was muted bronze silk, covered by a black waistcoat. Atop this ensemble was a gray cloak, pinned to his shoulders and cascading down his back like a waterfall. Ferelden imagery and their new heraldry had been subtly embroidered into the fabric, such that it was only visible when it caught the light just so, and dark fur lined the hem, collar, and interior.

It made Alistair’s nose itch.

The musicians, who’d been carrying a light, simple tune, suddenly switched to something a bit more dramatic and expectant. Alistair lost his battle with the fidgeting, only to have Zevran smack the backs of his hands.

“Stop that,” he murmured. “Here she comes.”

Indeed, the procession had officially started and very head in the congregation swung backwards to watch.

Flame came first and Alistair only just managed to hold back a snort. The mabari’s coat had been immaculately groomed and a little bow tie added to his collar for the occasion; in his mouth he held a small basket from which more rose petals fell each time he tossed his head.

A few paces behind the dog was Leliana, in a dress of pale gray chiffon with a slit up one side that waved in the wind each time she took a step forward. A simple fur mantle covered her shoulders and though she looked appropriately Ferelden, Alistair suspected that the slightest lift of her skirt would reveal a pair of terribly Orlesian shoes.

And then his eyes landed on the sight behind her, and his heart stopped.

There was the cliche, naturally, of the warrior done up in such finery that neither her friends nor her lover recognized her. But Alistair couldn’t imagine a world in which his heart didn’t immediately know the sight of his beloved.

Ember’s hair had been redone since their stolen moments before the ceremony; an intricately braided crown wrapped from one ear over top her head to the other, while the rest hung in loose, soft curls across her shoulders and back. They’d kept her makeup simple, just a thin line of silver along her lids, a dusting of glitter at the corner of her eyes, and dark matte red color on her lips, letting her natural tendency to blush provide the pink he saw in her cheeks.

Her dress had been another fight with Eamon, for it was far from the delicate white and cream garment he’d wanted. The bodice was black lace in a pattern of roses and leaves with a plunging neckline, trimmed with the thinnest strip of fur. It tapered out into an a-line skirt comprised of layers and layers of sheer fabric, dark gray where it met the bodice, then fading as it went on, first to a lighter gray, then to orange, then to a deep, fiery red. The train flowed out for several feet behind her, ending in fur-edged hem of more black roses. As she walked, the layers fluttered around each other; she looked like a pillar of walking fire in the glow of the sunset.

With every step she took the swarm of butterflies in his stomach and chest doubled, tripled, until at last she parted from her brother and joined her warm, calloused hands with Alistair’s outstretched palms.

They were meant to turn and face the altar, of course, but he couldn’t stop staring. This woman, this proud, talented, extraordinary woman had agreed to marry him—was in love with him.

Maker’s breath, but he was a lucky fool.

He was lost in her eyes, in the way her blush intensified and smile grew under his gaze, until a pointed cough sounded from behind him.

“She is lovely, hermosa, but you will have plenty of time to admire her later, no?”

His whole face burned instantly and he stumbled in his haste to bring them round to the Revered Mother. Ember looped her arm around his elbow, steadying him and drawing him close in the same motion.

“I love you,” she whispered, brushing her lips across his ear. And though he’d heard the words a hundred times before, though he’d returned the sentiment as many and more, though he knew them to be true, they calmed the beating in his chest, the fluttering in his gut just the same.

They stepped forward, to the rest of their lives. Together.

#dadwc #my writing #dragon age fanfic #dragon age origins #dao #oc: ember cousland #alistair x ember #queen ember #they're cute your honor i love them

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bonnienapierfilm · 1 year

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LONGBOARD NIGHTS PT.4 [MARCH]

ALL THINGS ALEX AND CASCA

The month of March felt like Longboard Nights was starting to swing! I have lots to share for each section/character for the film, so I'll do it in different posts, this one being Alex and Casca.

The script was closing in on finishing so I could properly start to think about costume/set design/sfx/props and everything else. I started collecting images for inspiration and adding them to the big fat shared google drive Ben had set up. Everything and anything Longboard Nights was to be found on the drive. Ben's most repeated phrase the whole process - "Did you check the drive?", after being constantly asked questions hehe. Anyway, here are some of my inspiration photos, mostly taken from Arcane or any cool futuristic/cyberpunk/steampunk animation, and then the process:

COSTUME

Originally, I had wanted to give them individual outfits, with touches of each character, like sewing and care vs scruffy and uncared for (Casca vs Alex). However, Ben mentioned how cool it would be to have boiler suits, like uniform for the job! Which I thought was very cool. By this point I had Cara from 2nd year on my team, helping me gather what I needed, and she had some leftover boiler suits from halloween costumes, which were perfect. Here are out actresses in the boiler suits:

Left - Eva/Casca Right - Claire/Alex

After the actresses tried on the suits, I started working on customisation. I wanted to tighten them both around the waist so they looked more cool action fighting girlie and not Super Mario Bros/Ghostbusters. Casca was a more organised and caring character, so I wanted to put in some patchwork to indicate she carefully repares her uniform after damage. Whereas Alex is the opposite, she has holes and marks all over her uniform and doesn't care to put in the effort to fix them. I wanted them to both wear black boots, which they both had so that was easy.

These are the only photos I can find of the full completed boiler suits... which is so annoying because the detail was there you just can't see it that well and Eva is covered in blood after filming the final scene... >:(!!

So, for Casca's (pic on the left) costume, I had this old patchwork top with different colours. I cut up the patches and sewed a couple to a boiler suit. Then I bought some frilly lace material and sewed it around the neck of the suit, like Casca had put in her own touches to her uniform hat was just repairing but also yassifying, if you will. For Alex's (pic on the right) costume, I ripped a bunch of wholes and cut slashes into the suit. For bigger cuts, I used safety pins to clumsily keep there fabric together, hence Alex's carelessness. I also drew a skull and cross bones on one of the pockets, I like to think that Casca tried to have an 'artsy' night with Alex, and Alex couldn't be bothered so just quickly drew a skull and cross bones while Casca spent a few hours sewing. They both also have the 'HuskHunters' logo on the top right, which my mum helped me design and print in vinyl, as she is a graphic designer:

The logo was also used on the projected news report and the app. I stuck them on with some strong glue adhesive spray I had, which was a lifesaver for many things on set. I will now never be on set without it, you never know what you have to make sticky...

2. BLOODY HAIR

I had originally planned on plaiting Casca's hair and having little plaits in Alex's hair, to indicate that Casca is a big part of Alex's life, and since I'm only doing lil production design stuff, I thought I could try show that through the hair!

However... I had big plans for using Casca's hair to hide certain things, and plaits wouldn't work so I went with this fun bubble plait type thing instead, which is cute and able to hide certain things!

So, the mentioned certain things I speak of... syringe and tube! I wanted to have Casca bleed on camera during our long take in the bathroom. However, I'd have to do it from a distance. I bought what I needed from eBay with our silly ole budget; syringe, tube, 11oz Mehron fake blood and got practicing on Eva as soon as possible. Here's how it went:

The tube ran from right at the top of her hairline by her forehead, through the plait and about half a metre to my syringe. I was pretty pleased with myself :)

3. SFX MAKEUP

TW: SCARRING!!

Maybe giving a trigger warning is too confident in my scarring skills...?

I had a meeting with Daisy Blue, who I met whilst helping on a grad shoot this year, she was makeup department. She practices sfx makeup in her spare time, so I figured she'd be great help to me. She recommended I buy scarring liquid if I want to make real looking scars, so I did and she was right! I did a patch test on my lovely assistant Tom, then when I knew he wouldn't react badly I practiced making the scars on his arms. I also used a bruise wheel that Daisy had recommended I buy, which also worked wonders. To ensure the liquid works properly, I realised you had to stretch the skin first and let it dry before you relax the covered area. Luckily, our lovely actress Claire was comfortable with us stretching her skin with our grubby lil art department hands covered in paint and glue!

The idea is that Alex was attacked by her father the night he was turned into the Husk. Physical AND emotional damage, a whole bunch on damage.

I also gave Claire some additional bruising on her knuckles and arms with the bruise wheel.

#longboardnights

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probeautyproducts · 2 years

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Hairstyling hacks to hide thinning hair using pro beauty products

It is a fact that hair thins naturally with advancing age, but when the start is early it becomes a matter of great concern. Thinning hair is frustrating especially if it is out of control. If you have already dealt with thinning hair, you must have tried many tips to control it especially using pro beauty products or hiding the thinning areas by applying different methods. And if this is a new experience for you, don’t worry, we have come up with a few hairstyling hacks to hide the thinning hair.

Increase volume with pro beauty products from VIP Pro Beauty

You can start by washing your hair with high-quality VIP Pro Beauty products. But please note that never wash your hair vigorously, since it can cause more damage than treating thinning of the hair. Use I AM HEALTHY Straightening Shampoos and Conditioners are the recommended products that you can use to strengthen your hair. You can also use I AM POWERFUL Straightening Hairspray wraps around the thinning strands to improve the overall volume of your hair.

Wear a bun over the thin spot

Your long hair can help you style it into a bun to cover the crown thinning. You can sweep the hair back and position it in a ponytail on top of the thinning spot and make a small bun. You might need some extra clips that can be used to secure the hair in the place you want to pin it up with a bun. The open end of the ponytail can be used purposefully to hide the thinning spot on your head.

A lower ponytail can help hide the spot

Pulling your hair up into a high ponytail is not recommended as the thin patch around the hairline can accentuate. You must try pulling the hair back into a loose ponytail that falls naturally. You can also pop in a headband or headscarf to hide the patch.

Blow dry the hair with a round brush

To create volume naturally, consider blow-drying your hair with a round brush. After you have applied your strands with a heat protectant, you can start with blow-drying hair and give it a lift with a round brush. Don’t drag the brush down the hair but pull it away from the roots. Once hair starts getting dry, mold the hair into the place to cover any thinning hair spot. You can also use VIP Pro Beauty products like hairspray to hold the hair back into the required spot.

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So, if you are looking to hide the thinning spot on your head, try using the above hairstyling hacks. You can take the assistance of VIP Pro Beauty which is a reputed name in providing practical tips to cover the thinning patch. You can also use its pro beauty products which are highly effective and made using botanical extracts that are not harmful to your skin and hair types. For more information, get in contact with VIP Pro Beauty.

#Vipprobeauty #beautyproducts #beautyproduct #beautyproductsonline #probeautyproducts #skincareproducts #buybestskincareproducts #Buy Best Skin Care Products #Buy Skin Care Products #hair products #HairLossTreatment #HAIRPRODUCTS #HealthyHair #professional hair products

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helliontherapscallion · 3 years

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Hello! Um hopefully this is ok but can you do a platonic poly relationship with tech reader and philza? And one day the reader comes over to there abode with a basket full of sweets and pastries (muffins bread ect-) also cottagecore quiet reader please she/they pronouns

Thank you! :D

(A/N): I’m back yall! Sorry I’ve been gone (in terms of writing/request doing) for so long, I just kinda lost motivation to write for a bit

Ok so you’re childhood best friends with Technoblade

You two met when you accidentally bumped into each other in the village by the sbi fam’s house

You were calmly along the cobblestone path when a cute dress in a store window caught your eye. You kept walking, but you were eyeing the dress as you walked by it. It was just your aesthetic: a vintage ruby red dress with laces tying the two sides together, a floused opening to the bottom of the dress, and puffy white sleeves. It looked like it was in your size too. It was absolutely perfect.

Just as you were about to walk into the store to check out the price, you bumped into someone and fell to the ground behind you. Looking up, you saw that the person that you bumped into was also on the ground looking at you. You saw that the boy was about your age with fair skin and long pastel pink hair tied into a messy ponytail. Peculiarly, he had small tusks poking out from his bottom lip, floppy pig ears on the top of his head, and crimson eyes. A piglin hybrid perhaps?

Feeling a small blush work it’s way onto your face, you quickly got up and held out a hand to the boy. “I am so sorry, I wasn’t looking where I was going! Are you okay? Here, let me help you up.”

He looked at your hand for a bit before he grabbed it with his own and allowed you to haul him up to his feet. You looked him up and down scanning him for any injuries he might’ve gotten from the fall. Luckily, it didn’t look like he got hurt. The boy looked down at his feet and bent over to pick up the picnic basket and the few muffins that dropped out of it. Putting the muffins back in, he handed the basket back to you with a small smile and a blush of his own.

“It’s really no problem, I’m fine so it’s no harm done. Actually,” he chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, “I wasn’t looking where I was going either. I got distracted by that sword in the window.” He pointed with a thumb over his shoulder at the armory shop next to the dress shop. In the window was a shining golden sword glimmering in the bright sunlight. If you squinted, you could see a sign that said that it had a high level fire aspect and looting enchantments.

“Well, it looks really pretty. I don’t know much about swords, so maybe you could tell me about them? I’m (y/n),” you gave him a small smile and stuck out your hand once more. He shook it with a grin, “Technoblade.”

That was the start of a beautiful friendship with him and his family

You met Philza, his father

The avian was extremely excited and happy that his quietest son finally made a new friend

He treated you like you were his own daughter

You might as well be a part of the family with how much you came over to babysit Tommy or to just relax with Techno

You always bring over a basket of baked treats/pastries whenever you came over

Lemme just say, the family feasted and always fought over the last one

When you started to come over at least once a day for a bit with a basket full of sweets, Philza had to pull you aside and ask you to slow down a bit with the treats

“Hey (y/n) could I actually talk to you for a second?”

“Sure! Tech, I’ll be out in a sec.” The piglin hybrid curtly nodded and walked out the back door to the backyard. You smiled at Philza before you set the basket down onto the table and started to put the rolls onto a plate.

“I know it’s not much today, I didn’t have much time yesterday to bake.”

“That’s fine, but it’s not what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Internally, you began to panic slightly. Oh Ender, you didn’t do anything bad did you? You couldn’t think of anything you did wrong. In fact, you actively avoided any wrongdoing or talking to strangers. Oh no, were you accidentally rude to someone?

“You aren’t in trouble,” he smiled lightly when he saw you slump in relief, “I was just wondering why you always bring over baked things. Don’t get me wrong, they’re delicious and we really appreciate that you take the time to make us things, but we kinda have a little too much. Maybe slow down a bit with bringing them over?”

You felt an embarrassed blush spread across your face as you nodded and put all your focus into transferring the bread rolls over to the plate. “Sorry Phil, I just bake whenever I’m stressed or bored and I just have a lot left over after I give some to my family.”

“And that’s completely valid! Just maybe don’t bring over so much, breaking up the fights with Tommy, Wil, and Tech just gets a bit much at times,” he grinned and clapped a hand over your shoulder.

As the years passed, you and Techno only grew closer

You taught Techno how to do meticulous neat braids in his hair while in turn he taught you some self defense

Mans makes sure you can properly and efficiently wield a sword and shoot a bow and arrow

Poor guy can’t lose another friend

When he moves to the tundra, he invites you to live with him but you reluctantly refuse

You had Tommy and Wilbur to look after in L’manberg

Being pissed at Schlatt when he exiles them

Following them into exile leaving behind shocked Manbergians

They didn’t think you were capable of the screaming, let alone such profanity

Practically launching yourself at Techno when he agrees to helping Pogtopia

Him making sure that the withers don’t harm you, even going as far as hitting them and luring them away from you

Staying with Techno after L’manberg is reinstated under Tubbo’s rule

Starting to dislike leadership and governments in general after Tommy gets exiled (again)

Convincing Technoblade to let Tommy stay with you two

Absolutely hating governments when the Butcher Army places Philza under house arrest and rolls up to your guys’ house and takes Techno and Carl

They lock you in the house, but you pick the lock with the bobby pin you kept the bandana pinned to your hair with

You follow them to L’manberg and break down when you see the anvils crashing down onto Techno

Screaming profanities at the Butcher Army and taking out your sword to attack them not noticing when Techno runs away safely

Philza watching everything from the balcony and cheering you on

You almost take away one of Fundy’s (whom you considered to be your nephew until the whole Butcher Army incident) lives before you feel a sword slice your arm and an arrow shooting its way through your thigh

Turning, you gave Tubbo and Ranboo the fiercest glare you could as you were standing over a half-dead Fundy with a sword dripping blood hanging at your side

You, the soft spoken and sweet one that gave everybody baked goods wherever you went, screaming profanities at the festival and the execution was scary enough, but this?

Absolute nightmare fuel, gonna stick in their minds for a long time

You attempt to fight them but you lose and end up with injuries too severe for you to continue fighting

Philza being the one to yell at you to go home to the tundra telling you that Techno’s alive bc of a totem of undying

You felt kinda stupid after that, Technoblade never dies (you often half joked that he was immortal like Philza)

You limp home and get met with a bone crushing uncharacteristic hug from Techno

He patches you up after reassuring you that the blood on him wasn’t his (he tells you about the duel in great detail)

In turn you tell him about your 3 v 1 duel, feeling a bit dejected bc you ended up losing

Him being literally so proud of you for facing 3 people at once, but also scolding you slightly for going into it blindly

When Philza moves in, everything feels complete and fulfilled (at least to you)

You help Philza clean and dress his damaged wing

Also helping him do some physical therapy so that he could at least move it

Comforting him whenever he felt down about not being able to fly again

You invite him and Techno to cook with you and it surprisingly ends up better than you expected it to be

When Tommy betrays Techno, you and Philza end up being the only ones he could fully trust (later slowly adding Niki and Ranboo to the mix when The Syndicate is formed)

You are Harpocrates when The Syndicate is formed due to your quiet nature

Philza and Techno fully 100% supporting your decision of not wanting to reveal your identity

At the second meeting you show up with a full mask covering your face and the opposite of what you normally wore (more of a grunge type beat)

Only communicating in nods and writing at meetings, living up to your nickname

You never reveal your identity to Niki or Ranboo

Pleasant late night conversations around the fire with hot chocolate and your baked goods

Techno still lets you braid his hair (sometimes you even put flowers in it) from time to time

You braid Philza’s hair when it gets too long

Braid chains when yall get too bored? Hell yeah

Ultimately, you three become a strong family unit (goals)

General taglist (comment if you want to be added):

@crybabyjabby @izzybobizzy13 @goldenstarofthunderclan @bunnyz-pxstel @averytiredfanfictionwriter @dcml04 @sparkling-gayyyy @bbigbbrainn @thaticecreambish @kiinokochii @satansphatass @bxkubitch @bxmentchildxx @roxy3457 @montygator17 @feverish-dove @the-fictionwriters-hairdo @jichuuchaeng @404rynnotfound @luluwinchester @laura--444 @the-cult-classic-bitch @youngstarfishdinosaur

#sbi x reader #sleepy bois x reader #sleepy bois inc x reader #philza x reader #technoblade x reader #mcyt x reader #dream smp x reader #requests #hellion's requests #1k special #hellion's 1k special #tw: blood #tw: injury #tw: violence #tw: near death

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desdemonafictional · 3 years

Text

Crush

You know I have all this loose Gon content from an RP that dead ended years ago, and I kind of hate to delete it... so here it is in a bit of a starter drabble. Several lines added back in after the fact, by me

Gon shrugged on the fresh-smelling new coat and allowed himself to be steered out of the shop. It was a pretty sturdy coat, a bit too big for him, and not worth nearly what Hisoka had paid for it. He had watched Hisoka gathering up their travel things at the counter and paying with bemused uncertainty--he hadn't really been sure that any of it was meant for him until it was literally in his hands.

Was Hisoka always so free with his money? Was this going to be a debt that hung over Gon's head for the rest of the mission? Part of him had really wanted to refuse the gift, which he did not like accepting without appropriate compensation and which he could definitely not afford to pay Hisoka back. But it was already paid for, and if he demanded they go back in their and return his half of the purchase it was only going to slow them down more.

Under the pressure of thick falling rain, as heavy as hands pressing down on the dome of his umbrella, Gon peered down the length of the street. There was a subway entrance a few blocks down, and at the end of that line the air harbor waited. Then, because he couldn't seem to put the itching of his pride to rest, he said, "I can't pay you back for these. And I didn't ask for them."

Hisoka glanced back at him, a sheen of malevolence in his yellow eye. “You could pay me back in bodies,” he mused. “The way assassins do. What do you think they’re worth? Ten lives? Twenty?”

"No..." Gon said, thoughtfully, "your life shouldn't be counted in money. Leorio says people with power buy and sell others, and I don't want to be like that."

Hisoka faced back to the road. “Just as well,” he said, “I have no use for the dead.”

If Hisoka was a friend, this would all be so much simpler. With friends you could just do what felt right, without counting up the costs. With Killua in particular it was always adamant that they not worry about exchanging debts--there were just things you did for the people you cared about, and if they cared about you it would come back around. On the other hand... maybe Hisoka wasn't his friend, but they were a team now, weren't they? At least for a little while. That had to count towards something.

"Alright!" he said at last, over the white noise of the pounding rain, "When you're out on a mission with someone, sometimes there's little things you have to buy. Supplies and stuff. Since we're in this together, you can just let me buy you dinner or something after we've got you patched up. That's what I used to do for Killua."

As sudden as the changing of the winds, Hisoka spun on his heel and advanced towards Gon, the swing of his hips like a cat’s stride. You would never know that he had been so horribly gored not even a day before.

“You could pay me back in other ways,” Hisoka purred.

“Oh?” Gon said. He gave ground, a step at a time, while Hisoka matched each retreating step.

“A date,” Hisoka said. “You and I. When this is all over.”

Ohhh. In a way this was actually kind of a relief. Hisoka couldn't be in that dire straights if he was back to oozing predatory interest all over the place. Gon allowed himself to be herded back against a wall along the street without struggle--maybe Hisoka wasn't on death's literal doorstep after all, but Gon had seen the damage to his body close enough to be wary of aggravating it.

So Hisoka was talking about dates in the way Leorio talked about dates. From what he understood about that, it was basically an abridged courting period ending in sex, which would explain why Hisoka's knee was currently pushed between his thighs. Which was distracting.

There was a shiver of something where Hisoka's fingers touched his arm, but then, Gon always felt a disconcerting urgency when Hisoka turned the full brunt of attention to him. This was just the first time Hisoka had touched him like this, he reasoned, and so it wasn't any surprise that he found the flash of interest in his skin distracting.

Gon smiled at him, pressed his hands together, and ducked out from underneath the bracket of his arms. "Sorry," he said, "but I don't trust you enough to do that with you."

Hisoka tilted his head to watch Gon go, but otherwise remained where he was. “You don’t trust me?” he said. “Oh, that’s too bad...”

And then Hisoka pulled away from the wall and brushed an absent hand down his side, where the wound was, before turning his attention back to the road.

“Well, no accounting for taste,” he said, and walked on.

Gon pursed his lips as he watched Hisoka’s interest shift as quickly as it had come on. It was kind of a physical relief not to have all that pinned on him--and against him--but it was also kind of unbalancing. He'd expected Hisoka to at least make a case for himself; it seemed out of character for him to take ‘no’ for an answer so easily. He guessed that was a good trait though? After all, Gon always said what he meant, and he much preferred people to take him at his word rather than prod at him for coded secondary messages.

Still, the place where Hisoka had touched his skin buzzed with fading sensation. Without thinking too hard about it, he wrapped a hand around his bicep, covering the echo of strange fingers with his own.

"Sorry," he said. But he didn’t think Hisoka was listening.

It would be good if Hisoka would look back at him again. Not for any particular reason, it would just be... good. He trotted after Hisoka, down toward the ticket machines, eager not to be left behind. He had been up and down these transport lines plenty of times, and he suddenly felt that he needed to do something productive to usher out the lingering weirdness in his system.

"Here," he added, "I'll get the tickets. I'm already in their system."

#hisogon

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grailfinders · 3 years

Text

Fate and Phantasms #146: Medusa (Lancer)

Today on Fate and Phantasms, we’re making the mini-dusa, Medusa Lancer. In this build, Medusa is an Eldritch Knight Fighter, and only that. Sadly Flesh to Stone is a little to high-level to get, but we’ll make it work.

Check out her build breakdown below the cut, or her character sheet over here!

Next up: The closest thing we’re getting to a Tiamat build.

Race and Background

Having been kicked out of godhood by Athena, Medusa is the ultimate Hermit, giving her Religion proficiency. We’ll also switch things up and give her Acrobatics proficiency for sick anime flips while fighting.

Like her sisters, she’s also a Yuan-Ti, giving her +1 Intelligence and +2 Strength, thanks to Tasha’s. She also gets Darkvision, Innate Spellcasting for the Poison Spray cantrip and unlimited uses of Animal Friendship on snakes. At third level you can also cast Suggestion once per long rest. All these spells use charisma to cast. You have Magic Resistance and Poison Immunity as well, the former giving you advantage on saves against magic, and the latter making you completely immune to poison damage and the poisoned condition.

It’s a shame you aren’t Small, but no race is perfect.

Ability Scores

Even if you’re wearing armor it doesn’t cover much, so make sure your Dexterity is pretty high. After that is Strength, which actually becomes your highest stat after racial bonuses if you’re using the standard array, because you’re swinging around a giant scythe and you aren’t a monk. Third is Intelligence, you know more than you let on and that’s the stat your eyes are attached to. Your Constitution isn’t amazing, but it’ll be plenty. Your Wisdom is kind of low, but we’re dumping Charisma. You just are not a people person, and you’re easily bribed with sweets.

Levels

1. First level fighters get a Fighting Style, and Thrown Weapon Fighting makes your scythe and chains a little more deadly, adding 2 to its damage rolls. Drawing the weapon can also be done in the same action you attack with it. You also get a Second Wind, letting you heal yourself as a bonus action. Your goddess core might protect you, but it’s important to pace yourself too.

You also get proficiency in Strength and Constitution saves, as well as two fighter skills. You’ve been on your own for a bit, so Survival is a good pick, and your character arc starts with you not being a fan of humanity, so I bet your Intimidation rolls will get a workout.

2. Second level fighters get an Action Surge, letting you slap an extra action onto your turn once per short rest. Copying an anime is always hard to do in D&D, but this’ll make it a bit easier at least.

3. As an Eldritch Knight, you get a Weapon Bond, letting you summon a weapon to your hand as a bonus action. You also can’t be disarmed while you’re conscious, but you’ll be throwing that thing around so much it probably won’t do much.

The big draw of the E. Knight, however, is the Spells you can cast with your Intelligence. Most of the spells you get will be abjuration or evocation, but that doesn’t stop you from getting Booming Blade and Mold Earth as cantrips. The former makes your scythe a bit scarier, and the latter is one of the few things proving your legitimacy as an earth goddess. You also get Mage Armor, because let’s be honest that outfit doesn’t count, Snare for some quick and dirty immobilization, and Longstrider to make yourself a little more mobile.

4. Speaking of mobility, use your first Ability Score Improvement to grab the Mobile feat, making you 10′ faster per round and making it so you can ignore attacks of opportunity from creatures you’ve tried to hit this turn.

You also learn the spell Protection from Evil and Good, making it harder for the gods to continue to ruin your life. Gods: not even once.

5. Your Extra Attack lets you attack twice per action, or four times with your action surge. Chains aren’t that deadly a weapon, it’s more about the quantity over quality.

6. Use this ASI to bump up your Intelligence for stronger spells. Trust me, you’ll want them.

7. Seventh level eldritch knights learn War Magic. If you use your action to cast a cantrip, you can then use your bonus action to hit somebody. How nice of them. You also learn the first of the two “none of the spells from 2nd level really work for you so we’re taking things that could reasonably be construed as Not Magic” spells, Enhance Ability, which lets you try a bit harder to gain advantage on one kind of ability score check. If you pick one of the physical scores, you also get a little bonus for your troubles.

8. Use this ASI to bump up your Strength for stronger scything. You also learn the one good 2nd level spell, Hold Person, forcing a wisdom saving throw (DC 8+proficiency + int modifier) on a humanoid, or they become paralyzed for the duration of the spell, up to a minute. They get to remake the save each round, but we’ll get a way to deal with that in a bit.

9. Before that though, you’re going to be Indomitable, letting you re-roll a failed save once per long rest! Your wisdom save’s looking a little weak, but we’ll patch it up in a bit.

10. Tenth level eldritch knights get an Eldritch Strike, giving creatures you hit disadvantage on saves against your spells for the next round. That means hitting people makes your hold person work better, and hold person makes your hitting people work better. It’s symbiosis.

Your war magic is so powerful it almost makes True Strike not useless, and you also get the second NOTSF2LRWFYSWTTTCRBCANM spell, Arcane Lock. It’s a lock, just pretend you’re carrying a lock around for some reason.

11. I hope the Extra Attacks aren’t getting too repetitive yet, because you’re getting another one this level! Now you can attack three times an action, or six times a turn with action surge.

You also learn the spell Thought Shield, because I was so tired of second level’s nonsense I turned to the UA to pad this out. For eight hours, one creature you touch can’t have their mind read, and it has advantage on saves that would determine if it’s lying. If people could figure you out, you wouldn’t be a god.

12. Twelfth level fighters get another ASI, and this one is making us Resilient, giving you +1 Wisdom and proficiency with wisdom saves. Actually getting magic cast on you is for plebians.

13. Your second use of Indomitable per long rest isn’t that flashy, but what is flashy is getting to use third level spells, like Intellect Fortress! For up to an hour, the creature you target has resistance to psychic damage, and gets advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saves. You already have advantage on most of those saves thanks to magic resistance, but now you can pass that onto a chosen champion as well. You could also use that third level slot for hold person, to hold two people at once.

14. Let’s make your magic even stronger with another ASI going right into Intelligence. That should make your eyes almost inescapable! You also learn the spell Haste, doubling your movement speed, adding 2 to your AC, and giving you most of an extra action each turn for the duration of the spell. You have to take a bit of a nap the turn after it ends, but the fight should be over by then.

15. Fifteenth level eldritch knights get an Arcane Charge when you use your Action Surge, letting you anime teleport behind someone immediately before or after your second action, to make sure the enemy knows it’s “nothing personnel, kid”.

16. Use this ASI to round up your Dexterity and Wisdom for better saves and a higher AC. You also learn Counterspell, because your scythe is literally sharp enough to cut magic. I’m sure Medea isn’t jealous at all.

17. Seventeenth level fighters get an extra use of Action Surge and Indomitable. Not much else to say about this level. You’re just you, but better.

18. Your last eldritch knight goody continues the trend of “you, but better” with Improved War Magic, letting you attack as a bonus action after casting any sort of spell. Hit some people, action surge, cast hold person on them while they’re weak, then hit them again for more fun.

19. Use your last ASI for more Constitution for better concentration and more HP. You also learn the spell Stoneskin for even more defense, giving you resistance to physical damage types.

20. Your last level gives you yet another Extra Attack, giving you four attacks per action or eight with action surge. You also get your last spell, Protection from Energy, which can give you resistance to one type of damage: acid, cold, fire, lightning, or thunder, for up to an hour.

Pros:

Normally hold person’s “save every turn” weakness would be an issue, but thanks to eldritch strike you can use it effectively for crowd control. Hit people, freeze them in place, then hit them some more!

You’re also pretty mobile, with 40-50 feet of movement and teleportation making it hard to pin you down for retaliation.

On top of all of that, you’re strongly resistant against magic, with ways to cheat spell saves and reduce damage even further with Protection from Energy.

Cons:

Using daggers, scythes, and whips to represent your chained weapons is fine and all, but it does mean all your attacks only do 1d4 damage. Even paralyzing your enemies for guaranteed crits isn’t going to make you scary.

Eldritch Knight spell slots only go up to level 4, so you won’t be able to cast Flesh to Stone. Maybe the big you can do it...

Your mobility spells, Hold Person, and protection spells all use concentration, so you’ll only be able to do one of those at a time.

#fgo #Fate Grand Order #D&D 5e #Medusa #Fate and Phantasms #Fighter

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chokemeanakin · 4 years

Text

Patched Up- Anakin Skywalker x gn Reader

(aka ‘How To Make Your Jedi Boyfriend Simp Hardcore’ on ao3)

masterlist

Read on ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24603544

Summary: Reader gets her face all cut up during a mission, fluff ensues where Anakin helps patch her up, wash up, and get fed. Just some worried, protective, adorable Anakin with lots of fluff because soft Anakin is the best Anakin :)

You didn’t know you’d been cut until the blood dripped from your forehead onto the white linoleum floor between your feet. You stared at it, shocked for a moment before you realized the bounty hunter was getting away. The bomb he had set in the abandoned pub ticked in your ear menacingly, counting down the seconds you and your team had to live.

Ignoring the obvious fact that you’d been wounded, you stood and sprinted after the bounty hunter. It was hard-- the fact that you weren’t a Jedi certainly didn’t help-- but with your learned skills from training at the assassin academy for more than a decade, you managed to corner them against a wall. A group of clones came up on either side of the bounty hunter, trapping him.

“You put up a better fight than I expected,” you admitted, walking closer to the hunter with your duel daggers out. Once you got close enough, you knocked the gun out of his hands and pinned him against the floor. The clones watched closely as you dug your knee into his back and tied his hands together. “I’m sure the Republic will love hearing how you’ve tried to blow up this secret Sepratist weapon manufacturing hub,” you added, although the bounty hunter laughed in response.

“Not ‘tried to,’ love,” he chortled. You could hear the timer tick again, then stop. Realization dawned on you, and your eyes widened.

“Get to the ship!” you yelled, and dropped the bounty hunter. The blast would take care of him-- and you, if you didn’t move NOW.

Debris shot past your head as you rocketed out of the pub, the battalion of clones that the Jedi offered you to complete the mission following close behind. They shielded you with their armor as bits of the exploded pub shot through the air, but a sharp piece of metal managed to pierce the skin of your cheek. Adrenaline numbed the pain, and you made it back to the ship breathing hard, trying to drag in as much air as you could into your abused lungs.

As the clones filed into the spaceship, you looked back at the sight of your mission. All that was left was a smoking pile of debris. There was no way the bounty hunter had gotten out alive, and although the Senate would have liked to have him stand trial, your mission for the Jedi had been completed. Destroy the weapon factory.

Now all that was left to do was to make it back to the temple, without dying of blood loss first.

Holding your hand underneath your cheek, you tried catching as much blood in your hand as possible so that it didn’t get on the floor. Not that it mattered, this ship had seen enough blood in its days, but you’d rather not add to the mess the workers back at the temple would have to clean up. Doing so proved more difficult than anticipated, as you moved to close the door and then sit down at the piloting station and start the ship. Blood ran down your face fast, and soon your hand began to overflow.

Wiping your hand off on your shirt, you then tried soaking the blood up with your sleeve, although it mostly managed to smear further across your face. You’re not sure which slasher film victim you resembled once the Jedi council picked up your hologram message.

You relayed the details of the mission, and the outcome to Yoda. He looked pleased, and thanked you for taking on a mission the Jedi could not complete due to their busy schedules fighting the war. Before the call ended, he pointed out the obvious.

“Blood on your face, you have,” he said. “Medics when you return, will be sent.”

“There’s no need,” you assure him. “It’s just a scratch. Or two. But I can take care of it, the medics should stay with injured soldiers.”

“Very selfless, you are,” he bowed his head, and the call ended. Now that no one was watching you, you leaned back in your seat and blew out a long breath of air. Time to go home.

*****************************************************************************************************

Hyperspeed brought you over the planet of Coruscant in no time. Within 15 minutes of departing from the planet where the bounty hunter had been, you landed the ship carefully-- flying ships still made you nervous sometimes, although your boyfriend Anakin had certainly helped you gradually get over your fears-- and stepped out of the ship. You dropped to the ground of the docking bay, the blood in your head suddenly plummeting. Your vision went all fuzzy and your knees went weak, so you steadied yourself against the metal of the ship. Thankfully, someone else was there to catch you before you could fall and truly embarrass yourself.

“Woah,” Anakin met your waist with his mechanical arm, pulling you back to your feet. You met his blue eyes, which were swimming with concern. “What happened here?”

You touched your cheek with your fingertips, and they came away wet with crimson fluid once again. You frowned, thinking the bleeding had at least slowed in the time it took to get back. The cut must be deeper than you thought.

“I’ll be okay,” you told him, already anticipating his onslaught of mother-henning. Anakin was a worrier, understandably so regarding what happened with his mother, but you appreciated the fact that he cared.

“Y/n, your whole face is covered in blood,” he brought his flesh hand up to try and rub some blood off your uninjured cheekbone, frowning when it proved pointless. “Those cuts need to be looked at-- you’re coming with me.”

Before you could protest, Anakin whisked you away from the docking bay. Removing his hand from your waist so it wouldn’t raise suspicion with the other Jedi, he settled for taking your bloody hand in his and pulling you all the way to his quarters. He brought you into his bathroom, sat you down on the toilet, and handed you a wad of rolled up tissue paper to hold to your face as he dug through his cabinets for medical supplies. All the while, he chastised you for… well… everything.

“What happened? Why didn’t the medics meet you at the docking bay? Does the council know the extent of your injuries?”

“Yoda offered to send medics, but I told him not to. It’s really not that bad,” your voice is muffled by the tissue paper.

“What were you thinking? What if you bled out? What if you passed out before I could catch you? You could have hit your head. How did this happen in the first place?”

“Anakin, I’m fine,” you laughed, finding his worrying adorable. “Yeah it’s a lot of blood, but it doesn’t even hurt.” You pause. “...much.”

He glanced at you from the corner of his eyes for a moment, then went ripping back into his cabinet for pain killers. Filling up a glass of water with the Force while simultaneously opening up the pill bottle with his hands, you barely blinked before he thrust them into your bloody palms.

“Down the hatch. Now.” he ordered, and watched with his arms crossed as you slipped the pills past your lips and sipped the water. You laughed all the while, although it looked more like a grimace due to the fact that you couldn’t move your face much without a piercing pain. Once you swallowed, he knelt down to your level and gently covered the hand holding the tissue paper to your face with his, peeling it back to see the damage. You watched his eyebrows draw down, his lips curve into a pout as he inspected your wounds.

“You’re cute when you’re worried,” you tease him, hating the fear that flashed through his eyes.

That did the trick-- he flicked his gaze up to meet with yours, his annoyed glare hard and unyielding.

“Can you blame me for being concerned? I was waiting for you to come back so I could take you to a picnic I set up in the gardens, only to find you falling out of the ship, covered in blood, your face all slashed up, and on the verge of collapse. Anyone would be a little upset.”

“A picnic?” Your voice raised hopefully. “Ooh, that’ll be fun. I’ve never been on a picnic before.”

“Yeah, well, we’re not going anywhere until you’re all patched up. And even then, you’ve lost a lot of blood. Maybe we should push it back for sometime else.”

Anakin took the tissues from you and threw them in the garbage bin. He wet a cloth in the sink, then came back to stand in front of you. He tilted your face up to look at him as he began running the cloth over your face, gently cleaning the blood away.

“Where in the gardens were you thinking?” you ignored his plans on cancelling.

“The south end, with the red flowers you like so much. I moved some stuff around to block the path and shield us from view, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Always one step ahead,” you close your eyes so he can get your eyebrows and eyelids.

You could feel Anakin’s cool breath wash over your face as he sighed. The cloth moved to the injured half of your face, slowing and dropping in the pressure used as he cleaned around the cuts. Your eyes were closed, but you could practically sense the look he had on his face right now.

“You still never told me who did this to you.”

“The bounty hunter,” you kept your eyes closed, fighting back the urge to wince as the pain in your face heightened. He was being astronomically careful, but the wounds had to be cleaned and that meant pain, unfortunately for you. The least you could do now was mask it so that Anakin wouldn’t feel bad for hurting you. “He threw a knife at me and it hit me in the forehead. Then he blew up the pub and a piece of shrapnel hit my cheek.”

“Force,” he muttered under his breath. “You know I know you’re capable of carrying out these missions, but I still don’t like the prospect of you getting hurt like this.”

“I know, Ani,” you open your eyes to look at him. His face was as expected-- drawn eyebrows, pouty lips, dark curls shining in the bathroom light. He was beautiful, protective, and all yours. “I don’t have to remind you how hard it is to watch you leave for missions. You’re fighting a WAR out there.”

“So are you, now,” he dabbed at a spot of blood on your temple. “This mission with the weapon hub was the first of many for you. The council says so. They’ll only get harder from here on out, and I just don’t know how safe it is…”

“I’m no Jedi,” you tell him softly. “But I am a fighter. I can handle myself, you know. Plus, I have you to patch me up if I ever get hurt again.”

He rolls his eyes at your crooked smile.

“Plus,” you continue. “Maybe now they’ll send us on a mission together! Imagine us, side by side, kicking some Separatist ass. That’d be kinda cool, wouldn’t it?”

At this, Anakin rewarded you with a small sideways smile. “It would.”

Deciding your face had been cleaned as much as it could, he dropped the dirty washcloth into the sink and grabbed a tube of some kind of antibacterial ointment. He used his gloved hand to tilt your chin back up again, and began softly running his real finger over the cut on your forehead, spreading the ointment along with it.

“They don’t look deep enough for stitches, and I don’t think you’ll have any scarring. You got lucky in that case,” he mumbled as he concentrated on keeping his touch feather-light. “However, these aren’t just ‘cuts.’ They’re deep, and they’re gonna take some time to heal. Tell me if I’m hurting you.”

“Aye aye, Captain.”

Anakin captured your chin between his thumb and pointer finger, moving it so the injured half of your face was closer to him. You took the opportunity to shamelessly stare at your beautiful boyfriend, studying every flawless inch of his face. Sometimes you wonder why someone like him would choose to be with someone like you. He was never shy to tell you time and time again how beautiful YOU were, but you always rallied it back on to him in which he just laughed and shook his head at you. Stupid, protective, heroic, reckless, kind, stubborn, beautiful boy.

As Anakin smoothed some ointment over the gash on your cheekbone, you couldn’t help but flinch at the sharp stinging pain that flooded your face. Obviously the cheek had gotten hit the worst, and as the last of the adrenaline wore off, you were beginning to feel your whole face come alive with a pulsing sting.

“I’m sorry,” Anakin murmured, moving quickly to get the hard part over with. “The painkillers should start kicking in soon.”

“It’s okay,” you reassured him. “I can handle a bit of pain. Now, let me see how gorgeous I look.”

You pushed his hands off you and stood, swaying slightly on your feet but hiding it by gripping onto the sink under the mirror. With one look at yourself, it was hard to keep yourself from cringing at the gory mess your face had become.

Anakin was right-- the gashes on your skin were deeper than they seemed, and were a bright angry red. One ran from the middle of the your hairline to the edge of your brown, and the other started at the outside corner of your eye and travelled diagonal to the corner of your nose, then down near your mouth.

“It got your dimple,” Anakin frowned, washing his hands in the sink while studying your reaction in the mirror.

“I have another one,” you point to the uninjured side of your face.

He responded by kissing it softly, before moving past you to throw the empty ointment tube in the trash and to grab the gauze from the sink counter. He held it up and smiled with the corner of his mouth.

“Ready for the fun part?”

“Make me look cute, baby.”

He huffed at the pet name, but muttered anyway, “You always look cute.”

You stuck your bottom lip out and scrunched up your eyebrows. “Aaaaaww. You’re the sweetest! The sweetest little baby. Thank you, Ani.”

“Careful, or I’ll take it back,” he warned, carefully placing a square of gauze on your forehead. He ripped some tape off from the roll with the Force and gently smoothed it over your skin.

“So about this picnic,” you moved your face when he nudged your chin with his finger again. This had you staring at the wall now.

“Not happening.”

“Why?” you whined.

“You can barely stand without falling over. You need time to rest and heal up. The picnic can wait.”

“You don’t STAND at a picnic, Anakin.”

“You won’t be able to walk all the way there. And I can’t carry you without people asking questions.”

“I can make it there just fine! Plus, I don’t want all your hard work to go to waste.”

“Please,” he chuckled. “Moving a couple flower pots was not hard work.”

“But all the food you got…”

“I’ll have Obi-Wan retrieve it and bring it back for us. We can just stay here and eat it. Besides,” he used the Force to change the window from white to show the outside city of Coruscant. “It looks like it may rain.”

“Oh,” you study the gray clouds outside. “I love rain.”

“I know you do,” he smiled softly, smoothing down the last piece of gauze and tape on your cheek. When he finished, he enveloped the sides of your neck in his hands, using his fingers to push your head down. He pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the untouched skin on your forehead, breathing in your scent.

“I love you,” he said lowly before pulling away. You can’t help the grin that broke out on your face, the warmth from blossoming in your chest.

“Ow! Don’t make me smile,” you laugh through the pain, but bring your hands up to hold onto his wrists to keep him there anyway. “But I love you too. I really do.”

Anakin’s eyes shift to your hands holding onto him. His face darkens again, and he moves to hold your palms in his. “You’re still covered in blood. You wanna wash up here?”

You nod, and then lean back as he gets up to throw the rest of the supplies in the cabinets and then start readying the washing area. “Shower or bath?”

“Mmmmm bath please,” you decide, rolling your shoulders and feeling the uncomfortable stiffness plaguing your movements. Between the blood loss and your sore muscles, you don’t think you’ll be able to stand for very long.

While Anakin twisted the knobs in the shower to start the bath, you pushed yourself to your feet and pulled the ponytail from your falling-out hairdo, shaking your messy locks. A cute look, for sure-- all gauzed up like a paper mache volcano, hair falling wildly around your face like a lion’s mane, hands still caked in dried blood. A damn catch, if you’re being honest.

Anakin turned and moved toward the door to give you some privacy. “Uh, shampoo and everything is in there, towels are over there, just turn the bottom knob all the way to the right when you want the water off.” He opened the bathroom door and stepped out. “Shout if you need anything.”

As soon as the door closed, you yanked off your nasty shirt, followed by your bra and pants and underwear. It seemed like your blood had gotten everywhere on your clothes, even your boots, and you suddenly realized you didn’t know what you would wear when you got out.

A problem for a different moment, you decided, and stepped into the warm bath. Immediately, it was pure bliss, soothing your muscles and washing the sweat and dirt away. You got to work scrubbing the blood from under your fingernails first, then carefully dunked your hair and shampooed it to get the dried blood out of there too. Once you lathered your body up in soap, you decided to just soak for a while, turning the knob to slow to a trickle so the bath wouldn’t overflow.

Outside, you could here Anakin talk to Obi-Wan over hologram.

“--Yeah she’s here, pretty beat up but otherwise she’s fine. Hey, can I ask you a favor--” he then requested Obi-Wan clean up the picnic he had set up, being the only one who knew of your relationship, he was the only one who could without being suspicious. Obi-Wan agreed to bring the food over, and Anakin thanked him. A moment after they hung up, you heard a soft knock on the door.

“Y/n? I have some of the clothes you left here to wear, if you’d like.”

“Oh, yes please,” you closed the shower curtain so Anakin could come in without seeing your bruised body in all its naked glory.

“I’m leaving them on the counter,” he informed you. You could see his silhouette bend down to pick up your dirty clothes and boots, and then he left again. You sunk further into the water, the bubbles in the bath tickling your chin.

He was just so damn sweet.

You don’t know how long you stayed in the bath. Honestly, you think you might have fallen asleep at one point. You just loved being able to relax, knowing Anakin was right outside as you let the dripping water lull you into a peaceful meditative mode. The stinging in your face had dulled-- not disappeared, but it wasn’t a constant hum of pain anymore. You could honestly stay here like this forever.

However… the water was getting cold. And the darkening sky outside told you the rain would start soon, and you wanted to be in Anakin’s room where he had a big window overlooking the entire city to watch the storm.

Careful not to slip, you maneuvered your way out of the tub and wrapped yourself in a towel. You pulled the drain and made sure the water disappeared as you got dressed in the sleep shorts you kept in Anakin’s dresser for when you wanted to sleep over, as well as one of your sleep shirts and even a pair of your socks. You towel dried your hair, folded it up, and then hung it back up on the wall before opening the bathroom door to Anakin’s quarters. He was sitting on the couch, watching the skyline through the window when you walked up behind him and wrapped your arms around his neck, resting your chin in his soft curls as you scanned the storm clouds with him.

“Obi-Wan’s coming with the food, he should be here any minute now,” he told you, bringing a hand up to cover your own. “You wanna take this to the bedroom?”

“Oh, would I,” you waggled your eyebrows, smirking with the good half of your face.

He chuckled and stood, keeping your hand in his. “You know what I mean.”

“Take me, Anakin Skywalker,” you begged wistfully as he walked across the apartment to his bedroom with you in tow. “You know you want to.”

“I know I want to,” his tone was serious despite your joking one. He closed the door behind you with the force, and then led you to sit on his bed. You crawled up onto the covers and crossed your legs, wondering where he was going with this.

He stood before you and rested his hands on your knees, keeping you rooted to the spot. You watched his chest get closer as he leaned in close, his lips near your ear, and you could feel his breath tickle your neck, raising goosebumps on your arms. You sat, wide-eyed and staring at the golden skin of his collar bone, barely breathing, awaiting his next move.

“Too bad Obi-Wan just got here with the food,” he whispered, and planted a warm kiss underneath your ear before pulling away. He left with a cocky grin, leaving you frozen on the bed so he could retrieve the supplies from Obi-Wan.

“Jesus…” you muttered, pressing a hand to your chest to stop your heart from beating so quick. No doubt Anakin could sense it.

Once the heat from your cheeks cooled and your heartbeat returned to normal, you laid back on Anakin’s bed and stretched out like a starfish. Your muscles protested, but it felt good to be on the soft, cushiony material of his bed.

“Some food for you, m’lady,” Anakin held a sandwich over your face when he returned, and you lifted your hands to take it from him. You immediately began eating it, not realizing at first how hungry you were. It had been over 24 hours since you’d left for the mission and had last eaten.

As you ate your sandwich, Anakin picked at some grapes and walked around the room, waving his arm over the wall to switch it to the window. Rain pattered against the glass now, droplets racing each other to the bottom. He adjusted the temperature in the room, and then began fiddling with one of the many new contraptions he’d been tinkering with, and then began to undress. You tore your eyes away from the storm clouds to watch him set his lightsaber on the desk, then unclasp his belt and set it beside the saber, followed by the tunic which left him in a loose fitting shirt and his pants.

He ran his hands through his curls as he walked the clothes over to his closet, and then started messing with the thermostat again.

“Would you just come here and sit with me already?” you moan, throwing your sandwich scraps in the trash. Anakin turned to look at you from his place across the room.

“One moment…”

You waited patiently, and soon you felt the bed dip beside you and you sat up to scooch over and give him more room. He passed a cupcake your way-- chocolate, your favorite-- and then brought a glass of dark red liquid up to his lips.

“Is that wine?” you laugh through a mouthful of cupcake. He narrowed his eyes, but smiled at your awkward facial expression anyway.

“Am I not allowed to drink wine in my own home?”

“You are, I just didn’t peg you as a wine type of guy,” you admit.

Anakin shrugged, then brought the bottle over to his free hand with the force. “You want some?”

You and Anakin then sat and watched the storm, sipping wine and eating chocolate cupcakes. A perfect way to end a shitty mission.

#anakin #anakinskywalker #injured reader #whump #caretaker anakin #blood and injury #soft anakin #secret relationship #fluff #worried anakin #protective anakin #playful reader #rain #baths #cupcakes #wine #badass reader

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notes-from-sarah · 3 years

Text

Take My Hand (Take My Whole Life Too)

Link on Archive of Our Own

Link on Fanfiction.net

Rating: G/K

Summary: “Never let somebody pin you down.” this is Kanan’s personal philosophy, but sometimes someone comes along and you realize being grounded isn’t that bad after all. Kanan/Hera. Set pre-Star Wars: Rebels. One-shot. Canon compliant. A Valentine’s Day fic.

Kanan paced back and forth in the cargo bay, Chopper bumping along at his heels. He stroked the small patch of hair on his chin thoughtfully and tried to suppress a curse each time he turned around and almost tripped over Chop. The droid didn't try to suppress its curses and let Kanan know what it thought every time he accidentally kicked the robot. It aggravated Kanan because he was here trying to figure out a solution to his problem, and Chopper was constantly distracting him.

It had taken him a lot longer to figure out than it probably should have, but he didn't have a lot of experience in this area. He'd known he liked Hera from the get-go, after all she was smart, confident and brave. It was when it went from just liking her to feeling a lot more that things started to get complicated. He didn't know what to do.

A person with a more conventional background might just talk to her, make his feelings known and let the chips fall where they may. Kanan was absolutely not going to do that. Actually, he didn't want to feel this way at all – for a lot of reasons.

If he admitted that he was in love with Hera it could jeopardize their friendship and their work relationship. He could imagine how awkward it would be if she didn't feel similarly, and he wasn't sure that she did.

If he admitted that he was in love with Hera she might say that she loved him too. And what then? He'd made it a habit in his life to not stay one place for too long. To not get stuck anywhere. To keep free and keep moving. Being in love kept you tied down and he couldn't afford to be trapped.

If he admitted that he was in love with Hera that would mean that he really had abandoned the Order. He really was no longer a Jedi if he loved her. Love was an attachment, and attachments were dangerous, wasn't that what he was always taught? Jedi didn't have attachments, but loving Hera meant he did. Meant he wasn't really a Jedi anymore. He didn't know if he was ready for that.

Maybe it would be better if he just pretended everything was normal. He could do that.

Hera appeared at the top of the ladder to the cargo bay. "Kanan, can you help me out in the cockpit for a second?"

"Sure," said Kanan as he tripped over Chopper for what seemed like the tenth time. Giving the droid a glare he climbed the ladder and followed Hera into the cockpit.

Hera pointed to the panels behind the second row of seats. These covered Ghost's computers and shield array. "I need to get into those panels, our shields took a beating in our last adventure and I'm pretty sure there's been some carbon scoring in there. I want to get it cleaned up, but I need you to climb up there," she pointed to the top of the panel where a variety of switches and levers were displayed, "and disconnect the power supply."

Kanan nodded. "Got it." Clambering up the back of the second seat he balanced there awkwardly and popped open the panel. Glancing around he found the fuse that controlled the power supply to the array Hera wanted to clean and unhooked it. "There you go." He held the fuse between his fingers, he might as well stay up here since he was going to have to put it back in just a minute.

Hera looked up at him and smiled appreciatively. "You're much better at this than Chop. Last time he pulled out half the wrong fuses and I ended up rewiring everything for the next week." Hera leaned forward and began unscrewing various plates so she could access the array and its related parts.

"You know me," said Kanan, "way more helpful than a droid." The moment he said it he regretted it. It sounded so dumb.

"Sure are," said Hera as she found what she was looking for. Taking a small wire brush she attacked the scoring with some special cleaning fluid.

Kanan grimaced. At least she didn't seem to mind his incredibly stupid remark. It wasn't even funny.

"You know, sometimes I don't know what I'd do without you," Hera continued, still focused on her task. "You've really made a big difference."

Kanan looked down at her, his face unexpectedly burning. "I have?"

"Of course." Hera looked up at him. Her fantastic green eyes sending a jolt of warmth through him. "We do a lot of good work together, it wouldn't be possible without you."

"Yeah, of course, our work." Kanan was trying to ignore the fluttering sensation in his chest.

Hera gave him a swift smile then went back to her scrubbing. "We've done so much more together then we ever could have apart."

"Yeah, it's been great." Kanan nodded. She was only talking about what they did, not them. He needed to stop being so silly.

"I'm glad you like it," said Hera as she pocketed her wire brush and pulled a cleaning cloth from her jumpsuit. Wiping the cloth over the scrubbed areas she removed all the excess cleaning fluid. "When we first met I wasn't so sure about you. I didn't know if you'd stick around."

When they'd first met, Kanan hadn't known if he'd stick around either. There were times that he still didn't know. Sometimes he'd think to himself I can leave any time I want. "Really?" was all he said.

Hera folded the cloth so the dirty part was on the inside and tucked it back into her pocket. Picking up her screwdriver again she went about refastening the panel. "Really. You seemed like a drifter, I didn't know how long you'd want to drift in my direction."

Trying to sound casual he said, "Well I like your direction." Another stupid remark. Apparently his tongue was intent on sabotaging him today.

Hera looked up at him, seemingly immune to his idiotic comments. "Do you?"

Kanan tried to make it better. "I mean, your direction is a nice one to drift in." He internally cringed. "It's got a nice view," he added. That was even worse. Maybe he should just shut up.

Hera raised an eyebrow. "And what does the view look like?"

He tried he best to salvage the situation. "Nothing."

"Nothing?" Hera sounded somewhere between slightly insulted and amused.

"Well, not nothing," Kanan rubbed his hand over the back of his neck. "I suppose it's really nice," Kanan said before rushing to add, "not that I'm looking." This was going from bad to worse faster than he could keep track of. "What I really mean to say is-"

Hera suppressed a smile. "Kanan," she said as she reached out and put a hand on his leg, "I-"

Her words were cut short. Kanan had not been expecting physical contact like that and had panicked. In an attempt to move back from her touch he jerked his leg off the seat altogether and lost his balance. Vainly, he grabbed hold of the panel underneath the one he'd just opened, but it gave way instantly. Kanan, still holding tight to the fuse he'd just detached, tumbled down from his perch in an undignified heap. Electricity sparked and the smell of burning plastic filled the room.

Hera had managed to jump clear of the small disaster. "Kanan!" she said, clambering over the seat Kanan had just fallen from. "Are you alright?"

Kanan sat up rubbing his head. If he'd thought he was embarrassed before it was nothing compared to how he felt now. "I'm okay." Looking over the damage he'd caused he sucked in a breath. "Sorry about that."

Hera looked at the mess herself. Half of another panel had been dislodged and a spill of wires were protruding. "We'll just have to spend tomorrow fixing it." Looking back to Kanan she held out a hand. "That fall did a number on your head, we should get you cleaned up." Just then the panel let out another spark and a small fire began in the midst of the wires.

Shouting something about saving the day, Chopper rushed forward to spray the broken wires with its fire extinguisher, rolling over Kanan's hand in the process.

Kanan shot the droid a dirty look and shook his crushed fingers. Gingerly dabbed his forehead and temple area, he felt the familiar trickle of blood from a laceration. Great. Why was he such an idiot. Taking Hera's hand she pulled him to his feet.

Hera took him to sit at the table and sent Chopper for the medical kit. "I didn't mean to scare you like that." Taking a clean, damp cloth she washed the blood and dirt from his forehead.

"Scare me? You didn't scare me," Kanan said without thinking.

"Then why did you jump like that?" Hera stood back from him, a quizzical expression on her face. Chopper returned with the medical kit and waved it around as if he'd done something heroic. Hera accepted the med kit from Chopper and opened it on the table.

"Oh, uh," Kanan's mind raced to come up with something less stupid than I didn't expect you to touch me and I panicked. "There was a spark of static electricity and it took me off guard." He knew it was a lame excuse, if there'd been static electricity wouldn't she have felt it as well? Shouldn't he have just said it was a spark from the wire he was holding?

Hera looked up from the med kit. "Oh, okay, I guess I just didn't feel it then." Hera leaned back over him and began dabbing a bacta paste on his wound.

Kanan breathed a sigh of relief, then gave a small yelp as the paste started to go to work. It had a warm stinging sensation that he hadn't been entirely prepared for. He had been completely preoccupied by Hera's proximity and forgot what she was doing.

"Sorry," said Hera as she finished patching up his head. "There, good as new."

"Thanks," said Kanan. He felt like the biggest fool in the galaxy right now.

Hera stood back again and put a hand under his chin and tilted his head to observe her work under the lights. "You can hardly tell there's a hole in your head."

Kanan laughed but he could feel himself blushing from her touch. He put a hand to his head as if to run it through his hair, except he couldn't because his hair was tied back. It was an unconscious gesture of discomfort he'd done since his padwan days. "I appreciate you patching me up."

Hera smiled at him, dropping his chin and putting away the bacta cream. "I need you in good shape if you're going to help me repair all that wiring tomorrow."

"Oh yeah, that." Another rush of embarrassment flooded him. "Just call me when you need me."

"I will," she promised.

*****

The wiring took longer to put together than it had to accidentally take apart, but fortunately Kanan managed to help Hera get it working again without inciting another small disaster. In fact, it had been almost three days since he'd made an obvious fool of himself in front of Hera and he hoped it was the beginning of a streak.

Except, there was a new problem. Over the last few days since he'd really started admitting to himself that he had feelings for Hera he'd begun to wonder if she just might have feelings for him too. The thought made him surprisingly nervous.

Feelings or no, however, Kanan was in a bit of a situation. He knew he'd been acting really weird over the last few days and Hera had definitely noticed. He had to do something and he didn't like the prospect. He really didn't want to humiliate himself in front of Hera. Again.

Laying on his bunk, trying and failing to get to sleep, he went around and around in his head about his feelings, the possibility of her feelings, and what that might mean for him as a fugitive. He didn't want to ruin their friendship. He really didn't want to limit his freedom. Most of all he didn't want to sever one of the last connections he had with the life he had before. He had a lot to loose.

He wondered what his master would have told him to do in this situation. Somehow he just couldn't imagine her having any advice for him. Should he continue in the way he'd been raised? It didn't really matter anymore. He wasn't a Jedi anymore. The Code didn't mean anything to anyone anymore. It shouldn't be this complicated.

Still, the thought of abandoning that one secret aspect of his life, of severing that one secret link he had to his old life, was painful in a way he didn't fully anticipate.

He shook his head vigorously to rid himself of those haunted thoughts. Kanan, he told himself, you are getting way ahead of yourself. You don't even know if she likes you yet and you're getting all dramatic about leaving the Code behind. He took in deep breath. He knew what he had to do.

Rising, he left his room.

Crossing the hall he tapped on the door. He hoped it wasn't too late. Hera didn't particularly like having her sleep interrupted unless there was an emergency, and while this felt kind of like an emergency to him he doubted Hera would see it that way. He thought about going back to his room but it was too late, he'd already knocked on the door. He had to face the music. Chopper opened the door, fussing at Kanan with its usual foul temper.

"I know, I know, but I want to speak to Hera." Kanan held up his hands in a placating gesture.

Chop jabbed one of its little hands at Kanan and scolded him.

"Chop? What is it?" Hera's voice came from her bunk, she definitely sounded like she'd been all the way asleep. Kanan felt a little bad about waking her.

"It's me Hera," said Kanan. "Sorry to wake you up, I just needed to talk to you about something."

Hera got up and came to the door, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Is everything okay? Is something wrong?"

"No, it's nothing like that." Kanan suddenly felt very stupid again. His hand found the back of his neck as he tried to spit out his thought before he chickened out. "I wanted to talk to you about us."

Chopper came over to the doorway and complained to Hera noisily.

Hera shot the droid a frown. "Chop, I need to talk to Kanan right now, why don't you go check the cockpit and make sure everything is okay."

Chop fussed.

"Go." Hera pointed out the door. Chopper left the room sulkily.

Hera looked back at Kanan, then she motioned him to come into her room. She didn't say anything as she sat on her bunk and invited him to do likewise. She sat down cross legged so she could face him and Kanan did the same.

Kanan took a deep breath, his face burning again. The dim light from the hallway was the only thing illuminating them, he hoped it was dim enough that Hera couldn't see his blush. He could feel her eyes on him and a large part of him wished he could go back in time about ten minutes and not do this. He squashed those feelings down. He'd faced armies of Separatist droids when he was little more than a kid, why was it so much harder to face one woman he was in love with and tell her how he felt?

Hera reached a hand out and touched his arm. "What is it Kanan, what do you need to say?"

A rush of warmth flushed through Kanan at her touch. He took another breath and looked at her. "Hera, I've got something to tell you. I've been thinking about it for a few days now and, well, I think I need to just get it out in the open."

Hera looked a little alarmed. "I know something's been on your mind."

Kanan ran his hand into his hair, this time successfully as he wore it loose for sleeping, and forged on with his confession. "You and me, we've been together on Ghost for a while now." He cleared his throat. Why was he stating the obvious?

Hera nodded. "Yes we have, we're a great team." She seemed to be a little more concerned than Kanan thought she would be.

"Yeah," said Kanan, suddenly conscious of how close Hera was to him. "We've been working together for some time, but I think maybe things have changed a little, maybe we should do something different."

Hera's eyes grew big and the hand on Kanan's arm tightened. "What are you saying, Kanan?"

Kanan was surprised by her reaction. Did she want him to not say what he had planned on saying? Was this a mistake? Had she known about his feelings and was just ignoring them as a sign that she wasn't interested? He swallowed. "Well, I guess what I'm saying is that I-" Kanan rethought what he'd been about to say. Maybe saying he loved her right off the bat was a bad idea. He'd definitely heard somewhere that you shouldn't say I love you too soon.

Hera looked worried. "Kanan, are you trying to tell me you're leaving?"

Kanan was taken off guard. "What? No. I'm trying to tell you I love you." There it was, he'd gone and said it anyway.

"You love me?" It was Hera's turn for a question. She seemed completely unprepared for that statement.

Kanan gulped. He must have said the wrong thing. He couldn't backpedal now. "Yeah," he said, lamely.

Hera's eyes were big for a long second before a smile started to break across her face. "So, you're not leaving? You want to stay?"

Kanan was lost. "Why did you think I was leaving?"

Hera squeezed him arm. "You've been acting kind of weird ever since we were working on the wiring in the cockpit. I was afraid that something I said reminded you that you'd been here a while and you had started thinking about moving on."

Kanan looked away from her. "Well, I do think about that sometimes, but it wasn't anything you said in that conversation."

"You want to leave?" Hera leaned closer, looking at him intensely.

"No," said Kanan, "well, not most of the time," he amended. He looked back at her. "I've been adrift in the galaxy since I was fourteen years old, I don't really know what else to do with my life besides keep moving."

Hera sat back a little, thinking. "I understand," she said at last. She rubbed her hand up and down his arm in a comforting way. "But I want you to know that you have a home here. No matter what, you are part of the crew of Ghost and you will always belong with us."

That strange fluttering sensation filled Kanan again. Her words were at once some of the most beautiful and most terrifying words he'd ever heard. "You really think that?"

"I do, that's why I was so worried you wanted to leave." Hera gave his arm another gentle squeeze.

Kanan sighed. "I guess that's part of the problem." He searched for the words that had so easily been flying around his head just moments ago when he was laying on his bunk. "If I stay here, make this place my home, then I'm stuck here. I can't leave. I'm not safe." The last three words sort of fell out of his mouth before he could stop them. His eyes darted away from Hera's face. Along with the burning embarrassment he was feeling, a rush of shame was added. He was afraid. He wasn't supposed to be afraid.

Hera scooted closer to him, their knees practically touching. "Kanan, I want you to look me in the eye."

Kanan looked back at her. Her green eyes beautiful and almost luminous in the shadowy room.

Hera put her hand to Kanan's face, it was gentle and comforting, but there was a strength behind it. "You are safe here. You always will be. This is your home. I won't let anything happen to you, not on my watch."

Kanan gave her a small smile. He actually believed her. He knew, deep down, that he could trust her like he hadn't trusted anyone in years. The thought of being stuck here was seeming less and less bad every second.

"And me loving you isn't going to ruin us, ruin our friendship? It won't ruin what we've already got?"

Hera shook her head. "Not a chance."

Some of the tension that had been gripping Kanan dissipated. He wanted to lean into Hera's hand. To be held in her arms, but something was holding him back. There was that other thing that was bothering him. "There's something else," he said, he had to get it all out now. There was no turning back.

"Tell me," said Hera. Her thumb brushed over his cheek affectionately.

Kanan chose his next words carefully. He didn't want to give away too much, not yet. "I was raised different than most people." That was an understatement. "I was raised thinking that I'd never have a relationship with anyone. I was told that falling in love, was something I should avoid." When he said it without the context of the Order it really did sound weird.

"And do you still think that?" Hera's voice contained a hint of worry again.

"Not really." Kanan studied Hera's face. He couldn't imagine anyone being more beautiful than she was right now. "I don't live like I was raised anymore, I haven't in a long time. But a part of me still feels like I'm betraying my past by falling in love with you." It felt a little odd how many times he'd used the word love in this conversation. So much for playing it cool.

"Kanan, I'm not going to push you to do something you're not comfortable with." Hera dropped her hand from his face to take one of his hands and give it a little squeeze. "And if you think the best way you can honor your past is by not acting on your feelings, then I will accept that." Hera took her own deep breath and for the first time Kanan realized that she was also nervous about this conversation. It was Hera's turn to look away. "But if you want to give this a try – give us a try – then you should know that," here she stopped she didn't seem quite prepared to continue. "Kanan, I wouldn't normally say this so soon, but," she took another breath, "I love you, too."

Kanan had never had anyone say those words to him before. He was simultaneously filled with elation and uncertainty. He had no road map to navigate this.

"I want you to stay with me," Hera continued, looking back at him. "No matter what you choose you're a part of my life and I want you to stay in it. You, me and Chopper, we're a little family now."

Feeling silly, but earnest at the same time, Kanan put his other hand on Hera's and held it. "I don't know what I'm doing with any of this. It's all new to me. I'm still worried that I'm doing something wrong. That this will all go sideways. But," Kanan leaned forward so that he could see Hera better. He had an overwhelming desire to be as close to her as possible. "I want to give it a try." Kanan's eyes traced over the features of her face, the embarrassment he'd felt earlier was starting to recede into a warm glow. "My past is complicated," another massive understatement, "I'm never sure how much I should ignore what I was taught or how much I should follow it. The path forward from my childhood has been hard to find and I've made a lot of mistakes. I don't know if I'll be any good for you."

Hera put her other hand on top of Kanan's. She rubbed the back of his hand and leaned close. "You are a good man, Kanan Jarrus. If we keep talking like we are now, then we can solve any problem. We can figure this out together. We can do this."

"You really think so?" It had been a long time since Kanan had hoped as much as he did right now. For the first time since he was very young he had hope for a future. Loving Hera meant a whole new beginning, a new way of life he never could have imagined before. This was a first step of a journey into an undiscovered country where he didn't know how to live. But, somewhere along the way in this conversation, he'd stopped being afraid of what that meant. He was excited by the prospect of this new adventure.

Hera beamed. Her smile warmed him all over. "I really do." Then, leaning even closer, she pressed her lips to his. Their hands still tangled together, their futures intertwined.

#Kanan Jarrus #Hera Syndulla #Kanan/Hera #Kanera #Valentine's Day #Star Wars #Star Wars: Rebels #Fanfiction #Fanfic #Falling in love #Romance #First Kiss #OTP #4k words

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12timetraveler · 4 years

Text

Hi! Welcome to angsty, hurty pain town!

This started out as a thought, but I ended up writing a whole scene around it. And now I am pain and you must also join me.

Hosea/f!reader

TW: Blood. Death

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Hosea!" Arthur's yell pierced through the trees as soon as he was in earshot of the camp. You whimpered as he turned his horse too fast, his hand pressing hard against your wound. He murmured apologies as he rode into camp.

Hosea took one look at you, covered in blood, a bullet wound in your stomach, and his face went pale. Your lover was a smart man. He knew as well as you did that where the bullet entered, you weren't going to survive. That didn't mean he wasn't going to try to save you.

"Susan, I need clean water and bandages now!" Hosea ordered as Arthur carefully passed you down to Charles, who was waiting to carry you to your tent. You couldn't help but cry out in pain as the movement jostled your wound.

"It hurts," you whimpered, stating the obvious.

"We're back at camp now. Hosea'll fix you up." Charles said as he carried you to your tent, setting you down on your cot. Hosea was by your side the moment Charles moved out or the way, brushing your hair back and meeting your gaze. You could see the emotion swimming in those hazel eyes. The emotion he was trying to push down.

"What happened?" He barked, glaring up at Dutch, Arthur and Charles who had all been on the job as well. You could hear others gathered outside, trying to glimpse what was going on.

"We don't know," Arthur admitted, ashamed. "We had the camp surrounded, took out all their men. But she never showed once the firing stopped. We found her laying in the bushes bleeding."

"Was Colm," you gasped, voice raspy and hoarse. "Shot me... 'fore I could... Shoot him." You grunted in pain. "I got him in... The shoulder but... Doubt I did... Real damage."

"I saw him and a few survivors riding away. I was gonna track them down, but then we found her," Charles added.

"Hosea," you whined as the pain in your side washed over you once more. It was everything you could do just to hold still. Hosea grabbed one of your hands in both of his.

"It's alright dearest. I've got you." He soothed "Susan!" He called over his shoulder. Mrs. Grimshaw appeared carrying an armful of medical supplies.

He lifted your shirt and the makeshift bandages Arthur had applied. He began to examine the wound, and winced when he got a good look at it. There was absolutely no way it had missed your vital organs. It had to have punctured something. Hosea could try to patch you up, but you'd be dead from sepsis in days. A slow and painful death.

Hosea grabbed a rag and tried to wipe the blood off your skin to get a better look, but more blood took its place. If he didn't stop the bleeding, you'd die. But even if he did, you'd still die.

"Hosea," Mrs. Grimshaw said carefully. She could tell too. Anyone who knew wounds knew this was fatal. Hosea shook his head.

"Give me that bottle of alcohol, and the needle so I can get her stitched up."

"Hosea," Mrs. Grimshaw said again, glancing up at you. You nodded your head at her.

"Hosea, don't," you said quietly.

"No!" He snapped, glaring at you. He turned towards Susan and grabbed some of the rags. "We just... Need to slow the bleeding first..." He grumbled, pressing the bandages to your wound. You groaned in pain and your body began to thrash in reflex. Charles gently pinned your shoulders to the cot, though you were pretty sure it was only to ensure you didn't hurt yourself further, not because he agreed with Hosea.

"Hosea," you whined, trying to get his attention, get him to look at you.

"I'm sorry, my love. Just a little more." He soothed.

"Old girl I think you should listen to her," Dutch said hesitantly.

"It's just the pain talking" Hosea snapped.

"Hosea. Stop." You said, resting your hands over his. He stopped moving, his head hanging low in defeat. "My love" you said softly. Slowly he turned his head up to look at you.

"My dearest you can't just give up." His voice was almost pleading.

"I don't want... To die slow." You said, pausing to gasp for air. "If I have... To... I'd rather... Go quick than... Slow and...painful." you said. You could see the tears in Hosea's eyes.

"I don't want you to go at all." He whimpered, doing his best not to cry. He sounded so young, his voice choked with tears.

"I don't... Wanna go but... I don't think... I get to... Make that... Call." You said. You took Hosea's hands and gently lifted them off your wound, taking the bandages with them. The blood started flowing from your wound once again.

"You gotta... Promise me... You won't... Won't... Won't..." You stopped to take a deep breath "won't turn into Swanson." You said. Hosea chuckled, despite his tears.

"I promise. I won't go to the drink again like I did when Bessie passed." He vowed.

"We'll make sure of it," Dutch assured you. You nodded in thanks then turned back to Hosea. He held your hands clasped tightly in his.

"It wasn't supposed to go like this," he murmured. "I was supposed to go first, and you... You were supposed to go on and find yourself a nice young buck to love you for me." He said. You smiled.

"Guess you'll... just have to find... another young... doe... to take... care of you." You teased. Hosea sucked in a quick, sloppy laugh and shook his head, sniffing.

"No love. I don't think so. You were my second chance at love and I doubt God will give me a third." He said, kissing the hand that was clasped between his.

You felt cold, and the pain was starting to lessen. As much as you were grateful for that, you knew it wasn't a good sign.

"I love you," Hosea whispered.

"I love you too," you replied.

The world was starting to go black. But a soft voice caught your attention, one you didn't recognize. But right away you knew who it was.

"Thank you for taking care of him for me." The soft voice said. Bessie. Had she come to take you to... Whatever was next?

You opened your mouth to say something to Hosea, but you couldn't find the energy for words. Just soft gasps. Well maybe that was for the best. I love you were some pretty good last words.

Your eyes slipped closed, and you heard Hosea's wail of despair as you took your final breath.

#tw death #tw blood #hosea/f!reader #rdr2 fanfic #campfire stories

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likeawildthing · 4 years

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in terms of design advice, any ideas for a broke college student apartment room? 💕💕

college is a weird time because you are kind of a grown up but also definitely not! and your interests and tastes will change so rapidly in the next few years. so honestly it’s a great time to experiment and be creative. this advice all depends on your particular space, but in any small space everything that can be double duty, should be double duty (night stand is also a tv tray/laptop tray, art is also bulletin board or jewelry holder), the more uses you can get out of something, the better! going vertical on the walls where you can get away with it is amazing. here are a few easy and cheap ways to upgrade and some basic design principles:

take this design quiz to find out your style (plug in a fake email) and then google or pinterest away. you’ll see repeat themes (for ex. major bohemian trend is macrame, which easily DIYable, or MCM is all about legs and clean profiles). maybe that would be fun post - to highlight different styles and trends. but here are some upgrades that translate to any design style for cheap:

PLANTS

don’t go to a nursery and drop a hundred dollars you don’t have. a plant or two or three you really love will change the vibe of the whole space, and give you something to take care of, which is ofc good for your mental health. tips for getting plants and planters on the cheap!

think of a relative or friend who already has houseplants and ask for free ones next time they’re splitting. i literally did my entire garden this way in my first place.

look on like FB marketplace or whatever your swap site is because people are often selling plants or cuttings for a discount.

i have literally split the cost of a plant with a friend and then split it in half, like a baby before Solomon

pothos plants of any kind are easy to take care of and can split into smaller plants pretty regularly.

succulents are usually a few dollars at the store and everyone loves them! start with one simple succulent.

herbs! if you get herb garden seeds or plants you literally make what you eat!

if you have pets, make sure they are pet friendly.

i do not spend a lot of $$ on planters! i use terra cotta because 1. they’re cheap as hell and 2. cute! some of my favorite planters are terra cotta pots kristina painted for me! you can also thrift pots, which i would encourage, or reuse food containers by putting small holes in the bottom.

create hanging plants by making yarn macrame holders! youtube is your friend on this! you can get a ceiling hook for like $3 if it’s a solid ceiling (drywall) and super easy to patch up when it’s time to leave.

ART

function + form. something organic that you can change out inspiration or art, like a cork or inspiration board (look on like a varage sale or in a thrift store for this). you can get four12x12 cork boards from target for $7 and create something like this from two of them, which is in and of itself a piece of art (and you can take it down w/out damaging walls)

other cheap things i have done for art:

calendar or magazine pages in thrifted frames (my favorite cheap tricks is to get matte black or white craft paint for $1.25 from wm or target and paint a bunch of odd frames to unify them)

a picture ledge like this from ikea is your best friend because you can interchange the art to be whatever you want!

embroidery hoop fabric bulletin boards

seriously, posters are cool. get a cheap poster online and hang it with washi tape. it’s not precious. if you want something more grown up, try to thrift a frame for it for cheap. if you don’t like the color of the frame, paint it! if you can’t hang something heavy like this on the wall, use command velcro strips OR set it on top of a dresser or bookcase and lean it against the wall.

i love tassels and buntings. just google either of those and you’ll get thousands of cheap ideas. in my last bedroom i just had a bunting i cut and made over my bed and it acted like a bedframe and i loved it.

just free prints from the internet hung up with little clips like this ($2 from target) or bulky push pins – those holes are so easy to patch!

when my kids were little until two weeks ago i had an entire wall covered with their artwork. i’m saying maybe go to the thrift store, get some ugly canvases with your friends, and have a painting party. everyone brings a $4 thing of acrylic paint and a brush and have a party. good memories + new art for everyone. swap at the end!

pictures! actually print out those pictures and tape them to the wall with washi tape. you can also do something like this with push pins for as big or small as you want to make it (i have this in my living room

here’s a proper primer on the 7 elements of design, but you can skip that and go here if you want!

BALANCE

white space and focal points. in the same way that you need to break up one massive wall of text into digestible paragraphs, you also need to break up the focus in your room. a FOCAL POINT is a statement area in your room (i.e. the window, over your bed, your desk) that your eye is drawn to, and where you want your eye to be drawn to. ideally rooms should have ONE focal point (that’s like the adverb room for writing) but in a dorm apartment, that isn’t practical because it HAS to be multifunction. the important takeaway is that white space on your walls is okay, and important. it gives you a soft space to land, visually, which is important in making you feel more relaxed and even productive.

groupings – grouping like with like makes great sense organizationally AND design wise. a collection of postcards will look amazing on the wall together rather than spread around the room.

LAYERS

adding layers can make a space feel luxurious – curtains, rugs, extra throw pillows or an extra blanket on your bed or chair. plants are great for this, but fabrics and baskets can add another layer. these can be pricey so i would a. raid your mom’s house if that’s an option and ask if she needs ‘x’ rug or curtains anymore. you can also thrift curtains for cheapppp or even look for clearance fabric – once you wash the curtains they really are safe to use. clearance frabric can be hemmed without being sewn and hung with curtain rings if you need to. and $5 tension rods can work as a curtain rod inside a window frame if needed. i could do a whole post on this but a cheap rug next to your bed and something soft on a window can do wonders! dude i have also bought cheap cotton weave cloth from walmart and used rit dye to make turqoise curtains and i loved for years. see also: RIT DYE

so decorative pillows are expensive as HELL but regular, cheap pillows are like $4. i get cheap fabric or thrift fabric and sew my own, which you could do by hand, really, and use the pillow stuffing to make it. ikea also sells great cheap pillow covers!

COLOR

gosh there are no hard and fast rule here but here is a great primer series on color theory for design that you can translate to your room

simplifying a color palette will feel more calming to you, and so will using cool colors like blues and greens. but again, no hard and fast rules. repeat a color or element (shape, pattern) throughout a room 3x (ex. i have a blue rug and that same blueish tone is in a chair and also on a bookshelf. they don’t have to be the same blue, just color family, and it makes it all seem more intentional)

HOW TO DO IT CHEAPLY

buy secondhand. there are entire thrift makeover and upcycle youtube channels that are amazing! same for diy blogs.

reuse and repurpose what you have. i turned a dvd player box into a toy oven for my kids and they used it as a play kitchen for four years. my bookshelf that stores our games in my living room was $12 from salvation army - i just painted it and added casters for $15. my dresser was a thrift from the REstore, a habitat for humanity store. my end tables are actually butcher block pieces that were in my dad’s factory for forty years. i love bringing old things back to a different life. and you don’t always need a ton of tools to do it.

barter and trade. i traded a one of my kid’s dressers for the hutch that holds our toiletries outside of our upstairs bathrooms.

sell and repurchase something that works for you. i sold my old bookshelves on fb marketplace and bought another that actually works better. this isn’t applicable to everyone!

make muffins for someone in exchange for their sewing skills or knowledge. i’m teaching my friend to sew right now! libraries often have classes and such to learn new skills.

OK so i have rambled enough. i could ramble more. i hope this gets you started and if you have more specific or follow up questions, on this or organization side of things, let me know! remember these are all just guidelines and the most important thing is having a space you love, that makes you feel comfortable and that you’re proud of and happy in. comparing yourself to others isn’t always the best and you can make it a space you love no matter where you are.

#linds dispenses hack job design advice #Anonymous #dorm room #design

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quickspinner · 4 years

Text

Meant to Be or Not to Be

I don’t even really know what to call this since I’ve gone kind of completely off the rails as far as the holiday prompts go, but anyway, this is Part 3 of the story that began in 18. Elves and continued in 19. Naughty and Nice. I’m planning a part 4, but it’s not even started yet, so it may take a couple more days.

ETA: Part 4 is here!

Juleka sat waiting, flipping through one of the fashion magazines sitting on the table, and reflected on how annoying it was to have to come back to work when she’d barely had a real vacation at all. At least she got to work with one of her favorite clients today, and not one of the annoying designers.

“Hi Juleka, come on in,” Marinette smiled, beckoning her towards the back. “It’s good to see you again,” she added as they walked back to the designer’s space.

“Same. How was your vacation?” Juleka asked, slipping out of her clothes and letting Marinette help her into the gown that needed fitting.

“It was good. I did some volunteer work and then I spent Christmas at my parents. How was yours?”

“Miserable,” Juleka grumbled, standing patiently as Marinette fastened up the dress. “We all got sick, it was horrible. If it weren’t for my brother and my mom I think we might have lost our will to live entirely.”

“Oh, that’s too bad,” Marinette said, with genuine sympathy rather than polite disinterest—one of the reasons she was one of Juleka’s favorite clients. She was a genuinely a nice person who was interested in everybody. “I’m glad you’re doing better.” Marinette shook her head as she helped Juleka up on the pedestal and knelt to start pinning the hem. “That must be going around. S-someone I met at my volunteer job said that his family was sick too.” Her shoulders hunched slightly and Juleka’s eyebrows rose.

“Ooh, would that be someone interesting?” she teased. “Come on, Marinette, give me the details, or I’ll just be bored to tears standing here like a doll.”

Juleka could see the back of Marinette’s neck turn red in the mirror.

“I met a guy,” the designer admitted. “He was really cool and sweet and we kind of hit it off but...I don’t know, we had dinner and we talked a lot, and then—and then he kissed me and I k-kissed him back, and it was...it was really good but it was kind of a lot, and it just felt like things were moving really fast all of a sudden, and when he asked for my number, I kind of panicked. He was really nice about it, he didn’t push me and he even told me where he’d be the next day if I changed my mind.”

Juleka raised her eyebrows. “Did you?”

“Yeah,” Marinette sighed. “I mean, I did like him and I thought, you know, maybe we could talk about it and slow things down a little. But, something must have happened or he must have changed his mind, or maybe I just missed him…he wasn’t there when I went.” She sighed, and tried to smile up at Juleka. “So I guess it wasn’t meant to be.”

“I’m sorry,” Juleka said sympathetically, and then she chuckled. “Guess that’s going around too, my brother said the same thing about a girl he met last week. He’s been pretty depressed about it actually. Maybe I should set you guys up,” she teased.

Marinette laughed. “I don’t know, what’s he like?”

Juleka smiled fondly. “You can’t tell him I said any of this, but he’s the sweetest, most honest and genuine person I know. He’s compassionate and caring, he’s always supported me even when mom was skeptical about some things, and he may look like a punk but he’s a softy underneath. You should see him with my daughter Angie, they’re adorable.”

Marinette froze and Juleka frowned. “Are you okay? Did you stick yourself?”

“I’m fine,” Marinette said, but she didn’t sound fine. She sounded kind of panicky, actually. “Um, what did you say your wife’s name was?”

Juleka blinked. “It’s Rose.”

Marinette looked up at her, white-faced. “You’re Jules,” she whispered.

Juleka frowned at the look on her face. “That’s what Luka calls me, yeah,” she said, crouching down very carefully to put her hands on Marinette’s shoulders. “Marinette, you’re not breathing.”

“You’re Jules and your wife is Rose and you have a daughter named Angie and your brother is Luka that I kissed and ditched and—“

“Breathe, Marinette,” Juleka said sharply. “Breathe with me. In...out…”

It took a few minutes to get Marinette to calm down. Juleka stood back up slowly and watched Marinette go back to mechanically pinning.

“So, let me get this straight,” Juleka said after a moment. “You’re the sexy elf my idiot brother hit on while she was working, invited to his gig, kissed out of the blue, and gave his favorite hoodie to?”

“It was his favorite?” Marinette gasped, looking up. “He said it was old!”

“It is old,” Juleka snorted. “He’s had it forever.” She looked down at Marinette and smirked. “Anything you want me to tell him?”

Marinette sighed, shoulders slumping. “I don’t know, Juleka, after I was so rude to him—“

“He didn’t think you were rude at all, in fact he’s been kicking himself for scaring you off. Rose and I gave him hell, too, because he knows better, jumping a girl like that.”

“But the park,” Marinette wailed, hands to her forehead.

“They hadn’t even been there half an hour when Angie had a bad fall. Luka panicked and he spent the whole day with her in the emergency room.”

“Oh, no, is she okay?” Marinette gasped.

“She’s fine,” Juleka assured her. “It looked bad, but the actual damage was pretty minor. Just some bruises and a cut near her scalp that was bleeding like crazy, but no stitches and no concussion.”

“Poor Luka, he must have been scared,” Marinette sighed. “I could see how much he loved her.”

Juleka was silent a moment, deliberating what she should say, and knowing Luka would rather she said nothing at all. Sorry, bro, I gotta check. “He’s actually her biological father,” she said quietly, earning another startled look for Marinette. “I mean, Luka being Luka he’d probably love her just as much if she wasn’t his, but...When we decided we wanted children, Rose really wanted to have the baby herself but neither of us were comfortable with the idea of a stranger, so Luka agreed to be our donor.” And Juleka liked Marinette but she wasn’t about to try and patch things up between her and Luka if Marinette couldn’t handle their slightly unorthodox little family.

There was a moment of silence as the two women looked at each other, one shocked and the other measuring.

“That’s...that’s so beautiful, Juleka,” Marinette whispered, eyes gone glassy. “You guys must love each other so much.”

Juleka relaxed. “Yeah. We do. All of us. We’re pretty tight.” She hesitated. “I’m not trying to pressure you or make excuses for him, but he really likes you, Marinette. Luka’s an insightful person and good at reading people, which makes him a great friend. At the same time, it means he can be kind of intense, especially when he‘s got a crush. I promise, he’s normally got excellent boundaries and he would have backed off the instant you asked him too.”

“I know, I knew that,” Marinette groaned, folding her arms on the pedestal Juleka was standing on and dropping her head onto them. “I’m so lame, why couldn’t I just talk to him. He was so nice and when he kissed me—I mean it was sudden but it’s not like I pushed him away, I kissed him back, and...it was all really good...it wasn’t until he went to get his things and I had time to think that I started to freak out, and then when he asked for my number I couldn’t get anything out. After we talked for almost two hours and we kissed and I...oh. Juleka, I’m so lame.” She covered her head with her arms and moaned. “He probably doesn’t want to talk to me anyway. He probably thinks I led him on, but I didn’t mean too—”

“Hey,” Juleka said, nudging Marinette gently with her foot. “Stop that. Nobody blames you, not even Luka. Like I said, he’s good at reading people, he knows he came on too strong and you were overwhelmed. If you’d rather never see him again, that’s fine. I don’t have to tell him I know you. But if you’re really regretting the way things went down, I know he’d love to see you again.”

“You really think so?” Marinette asked, raising her head.

“Guaranteed.” Juleka smiled. “You might have to be the one to make all the moves for a while though. He’ll be scared of screwing up again.”

“I didn’t mind it,” Marinette sighed.

Juleka rolled her eyes. “Yes, you did. Even if you enjoyed the attention, he clearly made you uncomfortable. I promise, though, he’s not normally like that and he’s not the type of guy to be offended if you tell him no or ask him to slow down.” She caught herself. “But again, I’m not trying to pressure you either, and now I’m the one making you uncomfortable at work. Sorry. Why don’t we just finish this up before we both get in trouble, and you can think about it? You don’t even have to decide today if you don’t want, you know how to get in touch with me if you need to.”

Marinette smiled up weakly at her, picking up the hem again. “Thanks, Juleka.”

Juleka mulled the whole confrontation over on the metro home. She glanced at the time as she went up the stairs to her apartment. Rose was still at work and Angie should be napping, so hopefully she could catch Luka alone.

Sure enough, Luka was propped up against the arm of the couch, snoring lightly. Juleka rolled her eyes, walked up to him, pulled the throw pillow out from under his head, and whacked him in the face with it.

“Ow,” Luka complained, rubbing his face. “The hell was that for?”

“You’re an idiot,” Juleka deadpanned. “And you owe me.”

“I just spent two weeks taking care of your kid, fixing you soup, and holding your hair,” he said grumpily as he sat up. “How can I possibly owe you?”

She chucked his hoodie at his chest. Luka caught it and held it up, staring at it for a moment, and then looked at Juleka, confused.

“Where did you get this?” he asked.

“You owe me,” Juleka repeated, smirking as she held up a pink envelope between two fingers. His name was scrawled across the front in very feminine handwriting. “You owe me so big.”

Luka’s eyes grew round. She held the envelope out to him and let him take it.

He opened it quickly and pulled out the note inside, pink and white with a monogram M on it. He looked up at Juleka. “Marinette?” he whispered. Juleka folded her arms and watched as he opened the note and read it.

“I owe you so big,” he agreed, awed. ”Wow...Jules, how the hell...I mean...” Juleka walked behind the couch toward the kitchen, and he winced away from her hand when she reached for him, but she just patted his head lightly.

“She’s a designer, I’m a model. Do the math, bro. She’s a cool person, but kinda jumpy. Slow the hell down and don’t screw it up this time.”

“Right,” he said absently, still staring at the note—and the phone number written at the bottom.

Part 4!

#quickspins #lukanette #i am lukanette trash i admit it #miraculous ladybug #miraculousladybug #marinette dupain-cheng #juleka couffaine #mlfics #luka couffaine

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