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familyvideostevie · 2 years

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can you write some eddie munson agreeing to be tutored by the reader after season 4 only for him to not be able to focus cause he's got a raging crush on the reader and she teases him because it's so obvious?

thank you for waiting for this! eddie is cute and he is going to graduate bc he deserves it, me and eddie are both bad at math we are soulmates (prequel blurb here) <3 | 1k, fem!reader, fluff

"When I agreed to tutor you I didn't think you'd spend most of it staring at me," you say lightly. Eddie is sat across from you at your kitchen table and he's just looking at you, chin in his hand as you grade his practice math final. He flushes a little, but doesn't pretend he's not staring. It's been like this for months, and you try not to call him on it out of fear that he'll stop.

"Can't help it! You're just so pretty. And much better to look at than calculus worksheets." He's grinning, his cheek smushed where it rests in his palm, eyes wide and full of mirth. It's nice to see him looking this way -- well rested, pleased, not in pain. When you'd started tutoring him, he'd just gotten out of the hospital after the strangest few days Hawkins had ever seen. But whatever happened was over now, and Eddie was innocent, and he was determined to graduate. When you were asked to help out, you didn't hesitate to say yes.

So, even when he makes you blush like this, you don't engage, because you are committed to getting him that diploma. You know how much it actually means to him.

"Did well on this one, Eddie," you say, sliding the paper back to him over the table, a red 86% scrawled on the top. "Nice work." His ring-clad hand reaches out to pick it up, and he looks at it with an indecipherable expression before chewing on his lip and looking back at you, no trace of flirt this time.

"I have to be honest," he says, softly, without the joking undercurrent you so often hear in his voice, "I didn't really have hope this was going to work out."

"Eddie," you jump in, trying to be firm. "Come on. You're smart, and I know you want this. You've been doing so well!" You feel a little worked up, honestly, because you hate when he doubts himself. So many people have doubted him and he has been through so much and while you're just now finding yourself in the Eddie Munson orbit you don't want to leave it. Because he's unlike anyone you've ever met before.

"No, I know," he sighs. He taps his fingers on the table, probably to whatever song has been stuck in his head this whole time, never one to sit still. "You've told me a million times. And I hear you, I swear." He grins a little at how much you want to stick up for him. "It's just hard to believe it's almost over and I might actually do it."

"You will do it. It's just your finals now. And we don't have to bother studying much for English because we both know it is your best subject when you actually go to class." He laughs, shaking his head at you.

"Hey! I got a B on my last history paper too, don't forget!" How could you? He'd found you in the hallway immediately after he got it back and picked you up and spun you around, right there in front of everyone. You'd blushed through your entire biology lab.

"Yeah, you did, Eddie," you say. You can't help the smile that sneaks onto your face. Eddie, for his part, can hardly take it. How good it feels to have someone believe in him so easily, how kind you are, how determined. You barely knew each other before this, and here you are, helping him graduate after the worst experience of his life just because you wanted to.

"Now, it's just math," you say, back to business. "I know we can shoot for a pass based on this practice, but let's not kill ourselves over it, okay?" You shuffle through your papers, looking for one of his past assignments, but Eddie is quiet.

"Hey," he says. He's more serious than before, and when you look up at him his eyes are on his hands, fingers tugging at his watchband. "I'm sorry for all the...flirting. It it's too much, even though you're nice about it. I know you're working hard to help me outside of your regular life."

Your mouth falls into a confused "o" and you reach across the table to grab one of his hands. He looks surprised at the contact, but curls his fingers around yours. You like him flirting with you and you usually flirt back, just a little. You just want him to graduate, and he's never actually addressed the flirting before and how much you know he likes you. But you can tell, and you like him too, this kind boy who has been to hell and back and is still good.

"I don't mind it. I like it, can't you tell?" You squeeze his hand. "I'll even go on a date with you. After you graduate. Because I know it means a lot to you and I want you to focus." He's grinning now, bouncing in his chair a little. He was pretty sure you liked him, but how sure can a guy really be?

"You think I can't do both? Graduate and date you?" He's joking, mostly. You roll your eyes and take your hand back, and he makes a noise that is so endearing you feel something in your chest constrict and you are griped with the sudden urge to hug him.

"I'm sure you can, Eddie, but I think giving you some extra motivation never hurts. Plus it's only two more weeks. You just have to get through finals, which I know you will."

"But I've had a crush on you for like, months," he whines, running his hands through his hair like you're stressing him out.

"If I can deal with my crush, you can deal with yours." You feel a little bold now that the truth is out, plain and simple, and you wink at him. He clutches his chest like you're causing him pain.

"So, just to clarify here, I can take you on a date after I graduate?" You hand him another math test and he takes it without looking at it, eyes locked on your face.

"Yes," you tell him. He relaxes back into his chair and picks up his pencil.

"First thing I'm gonna do after I flip Higgins the bird, baby." Your cheeks heat, and you wonder if you're just going to be blushing for the rest of forever because of this boy.

"Calculus first, though," you remind him.

"If you say so." He sends you a wink of his own.

want to be added to my tag list for full-length (non-ask) fics? send me a message and specify for steve, eddie, or both! reblog, send feedback, requests open, masterlist here!

#eddie munson x reader #eddie munson #eddie munson x female reader #eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson x you #eddie munson fluff #stranger things fic #stranger things x reader #stranger things imagine #stranger things fanfiction #i literally just got back from the airport and I'm posting this asap #please reblog and let me know what you think!#anon ask #emma's asks

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donaidk · 3 years

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Baby Badger - Daniel Ricciardo

Okay, there was this video, that did things to me sadly. And then this drabble was the outcome. Am I fully back to writing? Not really. Somehow it's hard for me to just sit down and write, but this one was really fun. Hopefully I will kick myself back to normal before summer ends and will finish up all the half done wips I have 🥺 But until then, I hope you will enjoy this and all my other works 😊 Have a great Friday everyone! 🧡

Prequel & Sequel & Hide&Seek

Masterlist | Taglist/Queue | Request

“ Do you have a bit of time after this? ” I looked up from my phone, turning my head towards Daniel who was laying on the massage bed while Michael worked on his back. He turned his head towards me immediately, his eyes a bit sleepy as they usually do during these sessions.

“ Yeah. Before the interviews… Why? ” He asked back, his lashes almost touching his cheeks already, the whole drowsy look on him making me chuckle. It was a mistake as his eyes shot open at the little cooing noise that Ava let out at me shaking her with my laughing.

For a second all three of us held our breath, staying as silent as possible in order not to let the situation fall out of our control. After 4 months we all knew well how this, otherwise deemed cute, sound was usually followed by crying that was always a challenge to make stop. Even Michael stopped his movements, looking at the baby who was laying on my chest, astonishingly still asleep, only getting back to the massage when we could be sure Ava didn’t actually wake up. I let out a relieved sigh, lifting a hand onto her back, gently stroking to make sure she really would stay asleep.

“ I just want to go to the bathroom before we leave if you have time to hold her for a bit. ” I got back to why in the first place I spoke up, watching as Mike got back to the massage as well. I was always amazed by how much he knew all the tiny places where Dan could have knots and tiny pains, and also knew how to help him with them. “ It’s going to be quick, and I can take her back before you have to leave for media duty. ” I added, although I knew he wouldn’t reject what I asked for anyways. He always took just as much care of Ava as I did, the both of us sharing every part of her life.

“ Course. Just a minute or two and I can take her. ” He sent me a smile and Michael nodded as well, agreeing with the time frame Dan gave us. “ You’re staying the whole day, right? ” Without looking in their way I just nodded a little as we didn’t have any plans other than supporting him through the Free practice and Qualification rounds today, and then going home together when he was finally free.

As promised, just a few minutes later Dan got off the bed, pulling on a McLaren shirt and coming closer to sit down right next to me. I carefully gave his daughter over to him and just watched as Dan leaned back, with his signature smirk already visible on his lips as Ava slowly blinked her eyes open. She already had her usual nap, meaning Dan would get to spend some time with her awake until they would have to leave. As much as I wanted to stay and just watch them until the world ends, my urges were stronger and got me to finally leave the driver room as soon as I had my hoodie on. It was already well into autumn but also an exceptionally cold and windy day right from the start. Even through the hoodie I could feel the air pricking my skin everywhere it could come into contact with. If I didn’t know better I would have guessed we were already at least at the start of the winter season. I was glad we could finally fly to a race together, but would have liked to pick one with better weather if I knew in advance.

I tried to be quick with my journey, but thanks to the hospitality’s bathroom having a bunch of people in front of it in a queue I braved myself and tried finding another one. However the paddock here, in the Netherlands, was totally new to me as I never attended the Dutch Grand Prix before. It took me at least 10 minutes to find another toilet and even on my way back I managed to get a bit lost between all the hospitalities and motorhomes. In the end, after around 20 minutes and getting help from a Mercedes employee, who probably recognized me and was quite surprised I required some assistance to navigate the paddock, I finally arrived back at the building and could get up to the driver room. It didn’t completely surprise me when the room was already empty both human and clothing wise, which told me they were either on their way to the media pen or already doing some interviews.

With another sigh I took my jacket from the hook on the wall and left the room in hopes of finding the media pen without another journey where I get lost in such a small and organized space. Fortunately the sounds helped a lot to lead me to the side of the pen, from where I could easily spot Dan and his communication personel right next to him. My face would have resonated with his grin anyways but the sight of Ava right beneath his jacket, with only the top of her head sticking out, made it even wider on my face. I was stuck in place, just watching him speak, with one arm under the little girl's butt just to give that extra bit of support, while the other flailed around in rhythm with his words. Moments like these made me realise anyone could have been sure she was Dan’s kid by how much she was kicking and flailing around even before she was born. Then she finally decided to meet us and came out as a perfect carbon copy of her dad in every way possible.

He was so focused on the questions and the answers he was giving to them, that he didn’t spot me right until I was truly in front of him and right next to the interviewer. She was someone I knew quite well, since Daniel somehow always managed to get a few minutes of conversation with her into his day, either about F1 or just general topics outside of the media pen. That’s exactly why I dared to interrupt them quickly, although she beat me to speaking up.

“ Oh, so you didn’t run away. ” She turned to me for a second, and I appreciated that the camera stayed the same way on Dan. As much as we were public all the way, I didn’t mind staying off screen most of the time. “ He said you left saying it’s only 5 minutes but then never came back. ” She jokingly rolled her eyes, letting me a bit closer so I won’t have to shout.

“ Yeah, I got a bit lost… Just the usual, as new paddocks always disorient me. ” Laughter bubbled out of me at my own stupidity, before turning to Daniel and Ava. “ But I can take her if you want. Don’t want her to be in the way. ” I reached out my hand in offering, but he didn’t seem like giving up his little cuddly package.

“ Nah. She’s pretty comfy. ” Dan shook his head, looking down at her tiny head and fixed the jacket to make sure it wasn’t too tight and also wouldn’t get in the way of her breathing. “ Right? We’re getting used to this kangaroo style. It should be in my blood anyways. ” He shrugged a little, making me chuckle at his Australia joke as I stepped back a little.

“ Just stay away from jumping around. ” I let out a sigh, but knew he wouldn’t do anything dangerous. As much as he had his few shares of sport injuries and extreme sports he liked to do, around Ava those tendencies got buried deep down. “ I’m gonna be with Michael, if you need me to take her anyways. ” I added, making sure she wouldn’t be in the way if she starts fussing or anything of that accord. As much as she was a peaceful baby, she had her moments.

“ We’re happy to see her, as well. I feel honored to get her first interview done. ” The interviewer turned towards me with a grin, which helped calm my anxiety about her being a nuisance for them in any way. “ Natalie tried to steal her away a few minutes ago though, so I would be careful around the paddock and pit lane. You can never know where she shows up. ” She shielded her mouth like anyone would try and hear what she told us, while I let out a quiet laugh at the idea.

We exchanged a few words but then I said my goodbyes and slowly got out of the media crowd, without stepping on anyone’s feet or bumping into them too much. Finding Michael wasn’t a challenge as he always stood out from the crowd, literally. Standing right next to him I watched as he prepared a few more things for the post-interview plans and also got his helmet half-ready for race day. I was always amazed at how much work actually goes into a race weekend like this and I was sure behind the scenes there was even more I will probably never see. Mike was just finishing up with the helmet’s visor when Dan left the pen and immediately turned our way. Without anyone stopping him on the way in just seconds he was already standing next to me, taking the little snack away that Mike was handing him.

“ So you introduced her to the big public and the world of interviews? ” My hand lifted to pull down the zipper on his jacket and reveal a bit more of Ava. The air was still chilly, but it didn’t hurt her for that one second while I left a kiss on her head and pulled it back up. “ Did you wrap the scarf yourself? ” I couldn’t wait for his answer before asking another question, now looking up at him.

“ He may have gotten a bit of help, but did it mostly alone. ” Michael beat him to it, not letting him tell any lies, and then endured when Dan decided to punish him by slapping his arm with the snack he got and was still just opening up.

“ I feel offended that you think I’m not paying attention when you show me. ” Dan huffed out, finally taking a bite from the bar and munching away. My brows might have lifted for a second but in the end I couldn’t hold back my laughter. “ I’m just a slow learner, and this can end with a scary situation if I mess it up. ” He added with a shrug, making me shake my head a little as well. We both knew he would be too careful and would take several precautions before trying anything new that could harm Ava or any child if we’re at it.

“ Let’s get back to the hotel. I’m sure she’s exhausted after stealing so many hearts throughout the day. ” I stroked Ava’s back gently through the fabric of the jacket and she let out a little groan, almost like she wanted to agree to my words. The three of us had a little laugh about how she probably will be the chattiest person in the future if this is where we start from, as we slowly walked to the parking lot.

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sirikenobi12 · 3 years

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War & the Jedi

This will be a long meta rant, FYI.

The Jedi Order, specifically the Prequel era Jedi Order, gets a lot of hate these days particularly regarding their involvement in the Clone Wars. Accusations are tossed at their feet constantly ranging from corruption all the way up to warmongering.

Let’s first look at the Oxford English Dictionary definition of these two accusations, shall we?

Corruption - having or showing a willingness to act dishonestly in return for money or personal gain.

Warmonger - a person who encourages or advocates aggression towards other countries or groups.

The definitions of these two words are so very misunderstood when it comes to relation to the Jedi. If the Jedi are truly “corrupt” then where are the examples of their dishonesty for wealth or personal gain? In fact, I’d argue that canon (and Legends) makes a point to show us that it is the Sith who are in it for personal gain, not the Jedi. The Jedi have absolutely NOTHING to gain from this war on a personal level, in fact they are losing members in terrifying numbers.

The Jedi are also not advocating aggression towards the Separatists, in fact what we see instead is the Jedi DEFENDING against the Separatists. I have yet to see in either canon or legends an instance where the Republic forces invade a Separatist planet who doesn’t have an army or some military involvement (i.e. weapon factories). However, time after time we see the Separatists forcing peaceful planets who want nothing to do with them to either bow to their cause or die (i.e. Ryloth, Lurmen planet, Kiros, Mandalore) the Jedi and Republic Troops will then follow the Separatists to these planets, but they try to do what they can to liberate the planet from the Separaist invasion and then they give the planet the OPTION to join the Republic for safety and economic reasons, but they never force them, as is super evident with Mandalore.

Yet people don’t seem to see this and continue to drag the Jedi through the mud.

Here are the top 5 other “woke” takes I hear -

Jedi are peacekeepers and should not have gotten involved:

First things first, let’s look at the definition of Peacekeeper - a soldier, military force, etc., deployed to maintain or restore peace.

I’d argue by that definition the Jedi were still peacekeepers, it’s true that they weren’t a 3rd party as they normally were before the war, but their position was trying to maintain or restore peace. Peacekeeper is not the same thing as a Pacifist, the Jedi were skilled warriors (training from childhood to wield a lightsaber), the difference is Jedi used their skills for defense not attack which is what we constantly saw throughout the Clone Wars.

With regards to the idea that Jedi “should not have gotten involved” I ask you then what exactly were they supposed to do instead?

We see at the beginning of Attack of the Clones that the Jedi are worried things will escalate to war, they have obviously gone to the Chancellor hoping that a diplomatic solution can be presented to avoid bloodshed. Or if that isn’t possible then that the Republic have some way to defend themselves other than relying solely on the Jedi (i.e. an army). The Separatists are the ones pushing them to a breaking point, were the Jedi just supposed to stand back and let innocent people be invaded/killed because they didn’t want to get involved? The Jedi were “Guardians of Peace and Justice” which means it was their duty to help bring about peace in the galaxy while also enacting justice.

Then after Geonosis (where they lost approx. 187 members mind you) they learned that the Sith are leading the Separatist army - the Jedi are duty bound by their code to fight the Sith, they had no choice but to join the war.

So, I ask again...what were they supposed to do instead?

2. Jedi used a slave army for their own purposes:

Okay, I can (and probably will) write a whole argument based on just this accusation alone. There are so many fallacies I don’t even know where to begin but I’ll try.

I guess my first question is the same as #1, what were the Jedi supposed to do instead with regards to the Clones?

Technically speaking the Clones didn’t “belong” to the Jedi, they were “property” of the Republic (as stated by Lama Su in Attack of the Clones). In fact, the Jedi Council not only didn’t know about the order, they had vehemently denied Syfo Dias’ earlier request to raise an army in the first place. The Sith KNEW the Jedi would be against it, this was all part of their plan to trap the Jedi (as was EVERYTHING about the war) - they clouded the Force, they literally deleted Kamino from the Archives so the Jedi wouldn’t discover it until the Sith WANTED them to (i.e. Jango just happened to use a Kamino dart?? Come on people). Yoda even states “blind we are if creation of this clone army we could not see” he fully admits they missed it because the Dark Side was clouding their vision.

Regardless, the army was created, there was no changing that fact. Had the Jedi not taken command of the army do you think the Clones wouldn’t have had to go to war? Do you actually believe that the Republic who couldn’t get their citizens to give 2 craps about the war would’ve taken up the mantle and fought instead? Do you think if the Jedi were like “thanks, but we didn’t order this” that the Kamioans would’ve just let the Clones go free?

The answer you’re looking for is...no.

So, like absolutely everything about the Clone Wars the Jedi did the best they could with the cards they had been dealt. They chose to lead the army on the front lines, putting themselves in just as much mortal danger as the men they were leading. They even sent a member of the Jedi Council to oversee the creation of future clones/training to ensure they were being treated humanely (something the Kamioans thought was ridiculous). They were the first to tell the clones that they were individuals, they constantly put themselves in front of their men to protect them (i.e. season 7 Obi-Wan deflecting the rocket from blowing up his men). The Jedi did what they could, just because we didn’t see on screen Jedi stopping to grieve every time a clone died did not mean that they didn’t care - real life Generals can’t stop in the middle of a battle to grieve over their fallen soldiers either, so why is it we consider it a moral crime if the Jedi don’t?

Another thing I’ll add is once the Jedi had evidence that the Clones were actually ordered by Dooku, did they immediately stop and say “oh hell no, these flesh droids can’t be trusted, we should just have them decommissioned”?? NO! They defended the Clones, stating that they were good men and should be trusted (and look where that trust got them in the end).

The Jedi were forced/coerced to fight this war as much as the Clones were!! Why are we willing to forgive the Clones, but not the Jedi???

3. Ki-Adi-Mundi killing Geonosians was the same as Anakin’s slaughter at the Tusken camp:

This is another moment where context is everything because there is a HUGE difference between Ki-Adi-Mundi on Geonosis and Anakin in the Tusken camp. The fact that I have to even spell it out makes me wonder how people can even dress themselves in the morning.

The Geonosians were an opposing military force, attacking Ki-Adi and his troops. Anakin slaughtered unarmed women and children out of vengeance.

Now, had Ki-Adi turned to his men and screamed “to the catacombs!” brandishing his lightsaber with a murderous glint in his eyes and proceeded to cut down the unarmed bugs below the battle then you’d have an accurate comparison on your hands and I’d be appalled right there with you.

But, as it stands this is not the same thing...not even close.

4. The Jedi sent children to war:

So, this is a tougher one and I can even understand the concerns behind it, and I even share some of those concerns. The thing I will say to this is, given what we see throughout Star Wars, what constitutes a “child” seems to be different than our own real world definition.

Padme, for example, was 14 when she was elected Queen, and she wasn’t even the youngest ever elected. She (and her handmaids) were trained as children to defend themselves and their people both politically and in battle (much like Jedi), but you don’t hear people condemning the people/traditions of Naboo the way we see the Jedi being condemned for theirs.

Jedi children arguably mature faster than your standard person, and with regards to Star Wars there are also species’ age ranges to keep in mind. Grogu for example is still a baby at age 50, could it be possible that Ahsoka at age 14 is on the same maturity level as a human in their early twenties due to her Togruta DNA?? We don’t know, it’s never stated other than Anakin saying something about because of her advanced skills he forgets how young she is.

Obviously Boba Fett is treated like an adult by other Bounty Hunters - no one even questions when he picks up a job and is placed in charge of a group at age 12 or 13 (and he is placed in an adult prison without anyone questioning it). It could be that by law according to Star Wars that 13 is actually considered an adult. Throughout history (and in many different cultures) 13 was when people were considered to be “coming of age”, So, once again we’re placing our cultural biases onto a fictional space fantasy world without realizing it might not even be an issue in that world.

But even beyond all of that I ask you again - what else should the Jedi have done?

Their young Padawans would eventually have to grow into Jedi Knights, even before the war by the time they are teenagers they usually followed their Masters on missions (often very dangerous missions) in order to get real world experience. At the time of the Clone Wars the real world they were living in was one at war. If they hadn’t brought their Padawans onto the battlefield how else would they have learned how to strategize, or how to cope with the emotions of battle? They would’ve been ill prepared if the war had continued on for years and years as it had looked like it was going to do...once again, the Jedi had no real choice in this.

5. The Jedi lost their way because of the war:

Did they though?? I’d argue they actually didn’t. We first have to ask ourselves what is a Jedi - well, according to the very first time we hear any type of a description about a Jedi they are introduced as the “Guardians of Peace and Justice for the Republic” I don’t see how the war took that away from them.

The Oxford definition of Guardian is a defender, protector, or keeper. I fail to see how the Jedi stopped being any of these things because of the war.

Here’s the bottom line, the Jedi’s biggest mistake was that they fell for a plot 1,000 years in the making. The Sith spent over a millenia perfecting/hatching this plan, there was nothing the Jedi could’ve done to prevent the war by the time the trap was sprung. As always, I’m not saying the Jedi were perfect (I hate that I have to always specify that when I argue that the Jedi were good), all I’m saying is they tried to do the most good that they could with the situation they fell into - few groups/characters can claim the same thing.

Everyone seems to forget that the Sith controlled BOTH SIDES to that war, there was nothing - absolutely NOTHING the Jedi could’ve done that would’ve changed or won that war. So, instead they saved as many innocent lives as they could and to me, that’s very Jedi.

#star wars #jedi #Clone Wars #jedi appreciation #jedi positivity #jedi positive #pro jedi #stop blaming the jedi #meta #rant post #war #The Clone Wars #attack of the clones #jedi culture #jedi council appreciation #jedi did not deserve genocide

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costellos · 3 years

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❥ ┋ ❝ nanami & where he’d take you on your first date together!

@densecloud said: aaaa new ask game!!! can i request for 'court' & nanami? thank you so much toya!! ٩(♡ε♡ )۶

a/n: YES U CAN LESLIE!!! I had so much fun thinking of all the dates Nanamin would take you that I had a hard time narrowing down one... so I wrote for all of them! I think it gives a neat, interactive twist to your original request. I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it. <33

tw: none.

ask game: 💌 15 valentine’s day questions (closed!)

disclaimer: I’m anime-only outside of the prequel, so apologies if my character interpretations aren’t accurate.

Nanami is a planner. he doesn’t like going about things on a whim. that applies for work, his days off, and most notably, his first date with you.

that isn’t to say he wouldn’t let you plan the date. no, Nanami just gets a certain pride taking you out. after all, he wouldn’t be courting you unless he had some sort of background with you. in this case, being jujutsu sorcerers has made you uncomfortably close. that just comes with working in a profession with so few colleagues. and with it being a horribly draining job, you’ve seen each other at your best and worse.

hence, Nanami lets you pick what kind of vibe you’d like for the date. he’d like to think he knows you well enough to plan something himself. but letting you have some agency allows him to gauge what to do. plus, the fact you’re not a Tokyo native lets him narrow down where in the city would be the best place to take you.

if you tell him you want something laidback, Nanami interprets that as a typical, casual date. nothing too strenuous. that doesn’t mean they have to be boring, though. he takes you to a hole-in-the-wall coffee shop in Musashino. it’s tucked away in some alley, and despite its sketchy location, the interior is surprisingly cozy. locals chat quietly while university students scribble notes in tattered workbooks. it isn’t much, you’ll admit. it’s not much different from any other coffee shop. but the moment your mocha hits your tongue, you immediately understand why Nanami likes this place so much. it’s sweet without being overly sweet, chocolately and warm. like a hug from your best friend: familiar and comforting. Nanami tells you how he met Gojo while you’re here. it’s casual conversation. you learn that despite their contrasting personalities, there are few people that Nanami trusts more. maybe one day he’ll trust you as much as he does your shared colleague. it’s a thought that makes your heart as warm as your mocha does for your hands. (and while you may not know it now, Nanami already trusts you with everything.) you find yourselves at Inokashira Park shortly afterwards. it’s a surprisingly warm day in March -- why not enjoy the weather while you can? he comments on the history about the park. something about how it was privately owned by the emperor until the twentieth century. when you ask when the cherry blossoms will bloom, he tells you not until the end of March. you click your tongue. “hm. guess we’ll have to plan another date for then, huh?” “...I suppose we do.” he wouldn’t admit how warm his ears felt in that moment.

if you tell him you want something fun, Nanami will take you to the Edo-Tokyo Museum. he honestly doesn’t know how you’ve lived in the city for this long without visiting it yet. there’s something exciting about it, though; to be the person you share this experience with. he’s thankful for that much. to say the museum is huge would be an understatement. the building is massive. there are tons of exhibits to explore and even more sections to learn from. it’s... well... it’s a little overwhelming. yet Nanami is patient with exploring the whole thing. he doesn’t yank you from display to display. he lets you take it at your own pace, following you wherever you want to go, adding his own quips of information he’d learned from the several field trips he’s taken here as a child. after all, the museum is a staple. it’s one of his favorite places in the city. that’s half of the reason why he brought you here. the other half is because he loves that look of bewilderment you get on your face. the museum features an interactive exhibit of Old Tokyo, with employees strolling the streets in traditional garb. they chat with visitors and offer small gifts, and boy. your face just lights up every time they give you some dumb knick knack. when you smile at him, showing him the pencil you got labeled EDO-TOKYO MUSEUM in red lettering, he can’t help but feel the corners of his mouth twitch just the slightest bit upwards, too. such a small thing to be excited about. that’s why he’s so enamored by you, though. he feels a sense of pride when you ask if he can bring you back to the museum sometime soon. he just guides you by the small of your back as you exit the front doors, his lips with another hint of a smile, before saying, “there are plenty of other places we can visit together. let’s plan for it.”

if you tell him you want something different, Nanami finds himself stumped. there are lots of “different” places in Tokyo. Asakusa has the traditional temples, Harajuku has the wild street fashion, and Roppongi has the wilder night life. “something different” doesn’t give Nanami a lot to go off of. but he’ll digress. none of those places would be appropriate for a first date. so he opts for a great hot pot restaurant in Shibuya. Shibuya itself is a great date location. it’s what most foreigners think when they hear “Tokyo.” bright lights, edgy streetwear, huge crowds of people -- all mushed together in one district. it makes your head spin as he guides you through the streets. but where he takes you takes the best parts of Shibuya and puts it in one, little eatery. string lights dangle across the ceiling, twinkling as if it it was the night sky. it’s such a nice contrast from the neon lights outside. teenagers in streetwear morph into dapper, young professionals laughing amongst themselves. and while it’s still a little cramped, it’s not the kind that makes you overwhelmed. it’s cozy. people maintain their space. the hot pot itself is delicious. Nanami orders a little of everything -- some seafood, some fancy meats, a variety of vegetables, and two noodle options -- and God. the moment you take your food from that broth and put it in your damn mouth? ugh. heaven. it’s so savory, perfectly seasoned and just the right texture. the saltiness from the broth brings all the right flavors out of your food. you might have burned your tongue but it’s so good you don’t even care. Nanami laughs when he sees your eyes widen. he carries the conversation while you stuff yourself with noodles and other foods. just some stories about his life before sorcery, about his time as a stockbroker and how much he hated it. although sorcerery isn’t much better, he can at least help the people around him. it’s not much, but it’s better than helping some rich asshole get richer. “you know,” you tell him in between bites, “you’re a better person than you give yourself credit for.” “maybe,” he responds. “or maybe it’s just basic human decency.” he didn’t mean it to come out that harsh. and judging by your expression, you don’t take offense to it. or maybe you just didn’t notice. either way, he hopes you also don’t notice how quickly he turns away. there are much less obvious ways to hide his blush, he can acknowledge that. yet in this moment, all he can think of is all the goddamn hoops you put his mind through.

#jujutsu kaisen #jjk #nanami kento #jjk x reader #nanami kento x reader #headcanons #scenario #densecloud #cut for length bc this bad boy got LOONNNGG #also can u tell that the quality gets better the more I wrote....#hhh I'm sorry friends who just want a laidback date w Nanamin

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fandom-blackhole · 3 years

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OK HOCKEY DIN BUT HOCKEY PAZ

just this HUGE, intimedating defense player and whos definitely given some guys concussions during his career

and then theres you, the sweetheart behind the snack counter who always has a hot chocolate ready for him after the game (his favourite, he once told you)

and hooooo boy has this big man fallen hard for you and your cute sweater and smile and the way you write his name on his little styrofoam cup of cocoa~

All I wanna to say is I know I have a bunch if older asks I need to get to, but THIS has been on my brain since I read it and I think I need soft Paz after posting the angst earlier.....

Also I know NOTHING about hockey, but I do like to watch it and think its hot af lmao...

The consessions job at the local hockey rink was only supposed to be a temporary job for you while you worked on your masters degree. In fact the position you had been hired for was only supposed to for a single hockey season. But said season came and went, and when asked to work at the hockey rink year round you had readily agreed, not because you liked the job, infact you found it stressful to add onto your schoolwork as well as agitating with having to deal with pretentious customers, but because the star defensive player of the Mythosaurs, Paz Vizsla, was sweet and caring and you may or may not have developed feelings for him over the course of the first seasons games.

The first time you had met the giant of a man, was after the Mythosaurs' first game of the season. You had been abandoned by the other workers to clean and take stock before closing and you had angrily been scrubbing at a mustard stain for five minutes when you had heard someone clear their throat. Looking up, ready to tell off whoever was there, knowing you had every right because you were technically closed, but instead you ended up staring silently with wide eyes and half open mouth as you made eye contact with a sweat(?) and large imposing figure wearing a tight shirt with the number 26 and the Mythosaurs team name stretched across his chest. Gulping you gave him a shaky smile when he had smiled at you. Before you could even say anything he spoke up, saying, "I know you are closed, but I was just hoping you may have any spare hot cocoa left over for the night," you found yourself only nodding and feeling a warm stirring at his deep breath. As you made him a large cup of the left over cocoa and handed it to him, you hand come to the conclusion, you either were terrified of him beyond comprehension or you absolutely and utterly attracted to him. After that first night you found yourself volunteering to close, just so that you would be able to see the large hulking figure and recieve one of his blinding smiles. You got so good at closing, that by the time Paz came around after a month, you had completely finished all the closing chores and had time to doodle little figures or animals or even the team mascot on Paz’s cups and have his drink ready for him by the time he walked out of the locker room.

After you had agreed to work year around, that was when you were shocked with a sudden revelation. You had been working one afternoon when the rink was open for skating lessons and just open to the public. Work had been steady, and you found yourself smiling as watched younger kids trying and walk past on skates, several loosing their balance and falling on their butts. You were slightly disappointed that from where your stand was situated you weren't able to watch the kids learning their way around. On your break though, you did manage to sneak out with a soft smile on your face, only to stop dead in your tracks seeing Paz bent over holding a young girls hands, keeping her steady as he skated through the rink with her. You couldn't help but place a hand on your lower belly trying to quell the heat that was rising there from the sight of the large man clearly whispering reassuring things to the girl. You had run back to the consessions after that, hoping to finish out the day and push the sight from your head. But nothing seemed to quell that warmth, and by the time your favorite hockey player came strutting up the the counter, you could only hand Paz his hot cocoa while looking away, flustered. Paz had instantly thought something was wrong, scared he'd done something to upset you when you didn't look at him. You heard him gingerly set his cup to the side of the counter and launched over it, landing in front of you, before cupping your face and making you look at him, instantly asking if you were okay. Gulping you knew your chest was heaving, and you let out a whimper before nodding your head, knowing your voice would not work in that moment. Then he softly lowered his voice, asking, "Then what is wrong, darling?"

Groaning you bit your lip and looked up at him through your lashes, you said, "I..I saw you helping a little girl on the ice earlier...and..."

"And," he whispered as he brushed your cheek with his thumb, waiting patiently for your answer. You took a deep breath and squeezed your eyes shut, "and i-it was probably one of the hottest and cutest things I've ever seen in my life. And I realized in that moment just how much I want you."

Paz froze and searched you face for any lie or deceit, be fore he slowly said, "Darling are you saying that...."

In that second you opened your eyes again and made eye contact, as you gathered up all your courage and said, "Paz, I have never felt as hot and bothered as I did in that moment, or as I still do. I cant shake the feeling no matter what I do. I...I want you so badly...."

What you hadn't expected was for Paz to pick you up and throw you over his shower. You yelped, as he launched over the counter again, pulling a worker who was wiping tables a few feet away telling them to finish your shift with a growl that did nothing but sent heat shooting through your belly. You didn't even have time to ask him what he was doing before you found yourself pressed to the locker room wall with his hot mouth on yours. Paz kept whispering about how much he had dreamed of holding you like this, kissing you like this, being with you like this. You were helpless to stop his onslaught of words or touches, only able to make pitiful noises and say Paz’s name as his hands finally started slipping under your thick sweater.

By the time the two of you walked out of the locker room, you both were overly pleased and had satisfied, happy smiles on your face. After you ran to grab your things from you work locker, Paz grabbed your hand and said, "I know I should have asked this before everything we just did, but, darling, may I take you out to dinner?"

P. 2/Prequel

#did i go overboard? yes #do i have so many thots about this? yes #do i have thots about how din is the offense star and be is head over heels for Luke Skywalker the local and famous figure skater??? yes #ask for more and I WILL write it #paz vizsla x reader #paz x reader

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omegas-spaghettios · 3 years

Text

An open letter to Kylo Ren and Bo-Katan fans, from a Crosshair fan

Very light TW, mentions that I was at one point depressed and anxious, no more detail past that but I did want to give a fair warning.

I want to start off by saying that I'm not happy I had to learn this lesson from experience and am pretty embarrassed about some of what I have said to y'all, but I want to admit that is how it went just to be authentic, you know?

Being a fan of Crosshair has been hard on this site. Now it isn't a "real problem" so don't come at me with that, but it still really sucks to want to go talk about a character you love and get hit with waves of negativity. Especially after the release of S1E15 of TBB, I have been called a Nazi so many times and it's so frustrating. Crosshair is a villainous figure. He has done awful things. I don't agree with him. But i see the best in him and hope he can achieve it. Now undoubtedly some fans of him have been awful, saying that he is 100% right in EVERYTHING and that he truly is superior. It's been so frustrating to see that minority of our little corner of our community get spotlighted and blown up to represent us all.

I have historically not been kind to you guys. Kylo not as much but especially Bo fans, you can go back to posts the day of Mando Season 2 finale and probably find me saying some really rude stuff about Bo, going through the tag and just going off on any positive post about her and being so rude to her fans. And then with Kylo fans I did judge you all for the longest time, doing what I have hated being done to me, seeing the worst of you guys and assigning it to everyone.

Bo, Kylo, and Cross have all done some undeniably awful things, but a lot of Cross fans acknowledge that and still hold him accountable in our heads, we agree that he needed to be stunned and that his rhetoric is harmful. And I'm sure many of you fans acknowledge that Bo indeed helped the organization that killed her sister and was out of line with Kenobi, that Kylo did indeed kill 6 planets, like we all know these things but I try to see the good and believe in Cross, and I never extended that to you guys.

A few months ago I was really down and realized that part of it was how negative I am. Now, this doesn't work for everyone with depression or anxiety, I just was feeling desperate because nothing was working, so i tried to just be positive about something. Again, this doesn't work for everyone and everyone's path is different, if someone tells you you HAVE to do one specific thing to get better than they're dumb. Anyway, I looked for something I hated in my life that I can try and change with little consequence, and I ended up on Bo. I watched all of her episodes in TCW, Rebels, and Mando with the explicit goal of trying to love her. Now I never did get to love her, but I think she's really cool and is a flawed character just like every prequel era character and that she is a definite positive in Star Wars.

So after a reblog I got on a post from @sleepyowlet bemoaning the hate for Crosshair fans that said Kylo fans got this too, it clicked for me. This isn't just a Crosshair fan thing, fandom arbitrarily picks villains who you are "allowed" to like and absolutely just harass you if you don't pick the "right" ones. It's so frustrating seeing Anakin, Maul, Thrawn, and Kallus getting love on this site for YEARS then loving my character gets me attacked, and that's probably how all of you have felt and I am so, so sorry that I contributed to that.

This has sucked but this is just my way to try and make someone a bit happier from all of this. So Kylo and Bo fans? You guys are awesome

#star wars #the bad batch #tbb #the clone wars #tcw #rebels #the mandalorian #mando #the force awakens #tfa #the last jedi #tlj #the rise of skywalker #tros #crosshair #ct 9904 #kylo ren #ben solo #bo katan kryze

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maxmagi · 3 years

Text

A List of My OTPs

because it's 11 and I can't sleep.

Enjolras x Grantaire a.k.a. Enjoltaire a.k.a. ExR- Les Mis

How I fell into this I don't remember now. I vaguely remember reading a crackfic of this and then everything just went sideways.

This was also the fandom that helped me realize that I wasn't exactly straight and that it's okay to not be loud about my sexuality, that I can just be.

I think that explains my attachment to this ship, not to mention just the movie's Grantaire (played by George Blagden) also shipped the characters and played his character like how he thought it should be, Grantaire loving and pining after Enjolras without the revolutionary knowing it.

Except in the fan fics, Enjolras returns his feelings and they work it out, even though it's not easy because they're both stubborn as mules. Ah, ultimate fantasy I guess. And the number of great fics here, *whistle*

Also, the Les Amis? Is amazing? Especially in the modern AUs? Like they're great friends? I love this fandom so much! Permets-tu!

Shen Wei x Zhao Yunlan - Guardian / Zhen Hun

C'mon, Zhu Yilong & Bai Yu's performance and emotions? Plus just the fact the fanfic writers of this ship are absolutely amazing? Please, escape from this pairing is impossible!

Best opposites attract trope for me. An academic by day, superhero by night in love with a roguish police chief who has no powers but whose charisma, wit, and heart can get him to toe to toe with the legends.

Also, Professor Shen Wei constantly acting like an innocent civilian and lying badly? Gold!

Loki x Tony Stark a.k.a. FrostIron - Avengers

How did I honestly get to this ship? I really can't remember what started it all. I think it must have been a Loki redemption fic where Tony Stark and Pepper broke up and something something happened. Let me tell you, the writers of this ship have written sagas and ballads of epic and sometimes confusing proportions, and that is why I fell deeper into the pit. I mean, they gotta give justice to two brilliant but chaotic characters, right? Angst. This ship has sooooooooo much angst.

Eiji x Ash - Banana Fish

My god, if you want to keep your heart intact and not be reminded of all that's ugly in the world, DON'T WATCH OR READ BANANA FISH. YOUR HEART WILL NEVER HEAL!

If you're gonna watch/read it anyway, make sure to watch something fluffy and sweet after. There's a reason that people from this fandom go, "If you've seen Banana Fish's ending, then you can handle whatever angsty show you're watching now." ~ or something to that effect. Another thing we like to say in this fandom is, "Other fandoms: Let's write a Mafia AU! Banana Fish fandom: We are the Mafia AU." Yes, all of us in this fandom is dramatic af.

Yuuri x Viktor - Yuuri!!! on Ice

Uh, does this really need an explanation? Aside from the fact that you will surprisingly find a lot of Mafia AUs here because we all know that hiding behind that beautiful face of Viktor Nikiforov is a devil capable of... tearing down your self-confidence, like WTF Viktor, don't make Yuuri cry! Also, their dance together at the end, such beautiful love.

Magnus Bane x Alec Lightwood aka Malec - Shadowhunters

I never read the books and have no plans to in the near future. I just saw a video on Youtube about why Malec is life and now here I am, still reading some Malec fics from time to time.

Some stuff on the show were WTF but overall they were a really good couple who supported each other. Plus, they're a Power Couple.

Erwin x Levi aka Eruri - Attack on Titan / Shingeki no Kyojin

Not to be confused with Ereri, which is Eren x Levi, which I don't generally ship except for that one time when a writer wrote an epic fanfic series with Eren in his mid 20s and Levi in his late 20s/early 30s, reincarnation AU. Boy was that one a surprise. I did not expect that.

Anyway, I'm an Eruri fan through and through. Especially with that promise that Levi made to Erwin. And the reason he gave the serum to Armin. HE DIDN'T DO IT FOR THE KIDS YKNOW. HE DID IT FOR ERWIN. Plus, Levi, Erwin, and Hange are my special trio. Erwin's batch was really amazing.

Also, I really like the fact that the shorter and slighter person is the more badass fighter while the taller, bigger one is the more calculating and strategic one. Rocks the boat of stereotypes and all that. Bonus: how these two met. My god, what a meet-cute! 😂

Dani x Jamie aka The Au Pair and the Gardener - The Haunting of Bly Manor

It really is more of a love story than a ghost story. I dunno how to feel about this. I loved these two characters so much and I wished they had a better ending but I wasn't SO surprised because it was a horror series (Like, I was still hoping at the end that they'd be together forever but yknow...). In any case, Jamie was just awesome. And her nickname for Dani? Poppins?! God, what a lover and fighter. She was not afraid to cock a gun in a ghost's face.

... and now for my flexible BROTPs

Merlin x Arthur aka Merthur - BBC Merlin

Yeah, my brain is so chaotic multiple OTPs and BROTPs of the same pairing exist at the same time without clashing with one another or having major identity crises.

I actually really like BROTP Merlin and Arthur and also like reading OTP Merthur.

And when Merlin is paired with Morgana or Freya or sometimes even Gwaine, that's fine with me too. As long as his bromance with Arthur stays intact, because that's what drew me to the show in the first place. Personal preference. I see them as platonic soulmates.

*Shout-out to the Merthur writers though, you kept me sane during my "Post-Merlin Depression," which is actually a term thrown around in the fandom because of that horrid final season (not saying it's a good term but it's what it was called). A lot of amazing fics here, too, both Magic Reveal and Modern AU ones. Full of action and adventure too! I mean, there are boy-band-looking Knights and magic-wielding badasses!

Tim Drake x Conner Kent/Kon-El aka Red Robin x Super Boy - DC Comics

More like flexible otp. I dig Stephanie Brown and Tim Drake BUT I really really also dig Tim Drake and Conner Kent. When they're TimKon, it's like an entirely different entity from TimSteph. Ugh, hard to explain.

I mean, Kon telling Tim, "You'll always be my Robin" and Tim telling Kon, "And you'll always be my clone boy" is the shit. Also when Kon could pick out/recognize Tim's heartbeat. And when Tim nearly went mad scientist trying to bring his bestie back. Like, dudes, wtf. And at the same time, hell yeah.

Liu Kang x Kung Lao aka LiuLao - Mortal Kombat

- I see these two as more like ride or die best friends connected by fate/platonic soulmates. But also like their dynamic is so awesome, cute, sweet, badass, can't-live-without-you vibes.

Basically the same way I feel about Merthur. I like reading both romantic and platonic relationships between these two characters. Like, the LiuLao fan creators peeling off the layers of this relationship and exposing every raw nerve is beautiful.

They love diving into the characters' psyche, emotions, motivations, fears, and doubts and you get really amazed because... Aren't they just characters from a video game, you ask? Well yeah, but MK video game has several interesting storylines and the Mortal Kombat 2021 movie was just the perfect jumpstarter to this beautiful blaze.

I mean, "We swore that if we were to die, it would be together"? Hell no, you're not dropping that on us and not expecting us to create our very own spin-offs and 12-page essays on that shit. That's what we fans do, baby. And also, really, we need a shaolin monks/white lotus spin-off/prequel. We're starving here.

As this ship is the newest one on my list, it's the one I'm looking forward to the most. Not enough fan content, I tell you. Not enough. One of these days, I just might add my own.

But right now, it's past 1 and so I shall attempt to sleep.

***No images for TimKon and LiuLao coz apparently I've gone past my 10-images allowance 😤

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haliyam · 3 years

Text

interim (i)

zeke x reader/oc (warning: slow burn with some plot)

summary: You return to Liberio not long after the Warriors arrive home from their failed mission in Paradis and discover that things have changed. (Or they will, and maybe a little more with Zeke than you expect.) [Season 4 and manga spoilers ahead]

AO3 link | Ch 2

Hi everyone! This is part of the series I mentioned on my oneshot Asset, but it's a prequel. I'd love to continue the season 4 stuff, but I want to see how the manga ends first so I can plot out Reader's part in it all. (Also edit post-139, I've completely fallen in love with Zeke who deserves so much better and while I always intended to take my time with the Asset prequels, I'm in no rush to get to the Asset sequel. I do want to update as regularly as possible though, rl willing!)

The Reader/OC will be a cis-female Eldian character with a set background, as you'll find at the end of this chapter. Reader’s default name is Lucy, just because I personally don’t like writing ‘Y/N,’ but please feel free to set the substitution for Lucy to you or your character’s First Name using the InteractiveFics browser extension! So on the browser extension that would be: Lucy = Your or your character's First Name. Because reader will have a set background, you'll have a set surname as well.

I will say that Zeke may seem a little OOC/angsty in the beginning of this story, if only because Reader and Zeke were good friends before he became the shitstain we know and love today and Reader is fairly familiar with his true moods even when he is being annoying as hell. (And Zeke is annoying. I swear I do like this guy hahah...)

I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

It’s strange how easily you fall into step with the soldier ahead of you.

You don’t march, and your eyes wander stern walls and imposing doors that have long left your dreams, but your footfalls follow only one beat that echoes throughout the hallway as he leads you through it. There’s an almost comforting order to the sound that belies the way your heart tries to hammer its way through your ears or right out of your chest.

It feels like forever and far too soon when you arrive at a familiar waiting room. Motioning to the chairs around a small round table, the soldier knocks twice on the door opposite where you entered. When no one responds, he simply stands there, and you have no recourse but to take that seat.

Voices filter in, muffled, from the other room, and you slip your hands under the desk to squeeze your fingers together. Maybe this was a terrible idea after all. You can still leave, pursue your medical degree back home…

“No,” you whisper to yourself, even if you do abruptly stand from your chair. You just need a moment to freshen up. Facing the soldier, you begin, “I would like to—”

Alarm replaces the question in his gaze when two heavy knocks cut through your words. He stares at you a little longer, a new question, and you reply with a deep exhale.

“Never mind.”

He nods. “They’re ready for you.”

You enter the conference room, which is far too large for the four people sitting at one end of the long table there: an older man with more lapel pins and crow’s feet than you remember, and three others closer to your age—the esteemed Warrior Unit and their commander, Theo Magath.

Six long years later, they all look different enough that under other circumstances, you might hesitate to recognize them. But you know this place all too well, the lighting and their seating arrangement so familiar that you can mistake them for no other than Zeke Yeager, Pieck Finger, and Porco Galliard.

It soon appears from their expressionless gazes that they can’t say the same for you. Not that you can blame them—they had no reason to expect your arrival, and it’s Commander Magath who huffs at their frigid reception. “Is that how you Eldians treat old friends?”

The three glance at one another. You venture a small smile, and the recognition and surprise that sink into Zeke’s features make Magath snort as Pieck leaps from her chair, shattering the chill in the room as surely as she crashes into you with an embrace.

“Lucy!”

The joy in her voice sweeps aside your initial fears and brings your excitement bubbling out of your throat in your own laughter. “Pieck!”

She’s talking before you even part and still holding onto the back of your blouse when you do. “You look so… old,” she grins. “That is—me-old.”

Her languid excitement makes it difficult for you to keep your composure. “I am you-old,” you say, trying not to giggle, but your toothy smile already reaches from ear to ear.

Before you can say more, Commander Magath clears his throat. “If you two are finished…”

Both of you freeze instinctively at his tone. Stealing another squeeze, Pieck steps aside as Magath rises from his chair. “Good of you to drop by, Blanchard.”

You quickly cross the distance to shake his proffered hand. “Thank you, Sir. And congratulations on your promotion.”

He shrugs, taking a seat and gesturing that you and Pieck do the same. “Still not a far cry from playing nursemaid sometimes.”

Pieck shakes her head. “Don’t say that, Sir.”

“You’re right. I’m at least a pay grade or two above nursemaid,” Magath chuckles just a little, and to his right, Zeke continues to stare at you.

“Is that really you?” he asks, mouth set in a line under his new beard.

“In the flesh.” His expression remains neutral through your nervous chuckle. Shifting in your seat, you nod away toward Porco. “It’s so nice to see everyone again. Galliard.”

Though he gave you an appreciative once-over as you entered, Porco is now as uninterested as they come. “I didn’t think you’d still know our names. Thanks for taking the time to drop by, I guess.”

“Oh, come on, Pock,” Pieck teases, ignoring the air of hostility that starts to surround you. As though Porco is only an unruly child, she says in feigned apology, “A few days with the Jaw and he’s already this cocky.”

“Ah.” You can’t bring yourself to mirror her mirth. “I heard about that. I’m sorry about Marcel. And Bertholdt—and Annie…”

Pieck glances away, and because you can’t meet Zeke’s eyes at the moment, you address the commander instead. “What about Reiner? I heard he’d returned.”

“Braun is still undergoing a debriefing.”

A debriefing, you think, when they’ve been back a fortnight already? But it dawns on you easily enough that what Reiner is undergoing is an ideology test. Reindoctrination.

“I see… but…”

“It was on my recommendation,” Zeke cuts in, daring you, a civilian, to protest. His arms are crossed now. “Otherwise he’s in danger of passing on the Armor a full six years too early.”

“I only meant to say that Reiner is the most loyal Eldian I know,” you answer levelly, eyes boring into his. Your nails dig into the cloth of your skirt on your lap as you pretend not to hear Porco’s scoff. Taking the Armor from Reiner? The operation was a massive failure, but that consequence is far too severe... however expected. “After you, of course.”

Zeke tilts his head, obscuring his gaze from your view when the light above reflects off his glasses.

“It’s a good thing, in any case,” Magath explains. “Behind enemy lines for over five years, he—”

Whatever his opinion, the commander abruptly stops himself from sharing it and clears his throat instead. You know better than to protest when an unsettling pause rests over the room—exactly what you feared would occur.

To your surprise, it’s Porco who comes to your rescue, even if his disdain is palpable. “Why are you here, anyway?”

“Well,” you begin gratefully, “I’m—”

“I asked her to come,” says Magath, completely ignoring the tension. “But my meeting prior ran overlong, and I have another coming up. Can you come in tomorrow morning? Ten sharp?”

You sit up straight when he addresses you. “Of course, Sir.”

Magath smiles—still a novelty to you—and pushes himself up out of his chair. The rest of you do the same, following him to the door as he speaks. “Go ahead and catch up in the meantime. And Blanchard—it’s good to see you again. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Yes, Sir.”

“The rest of you—dismissed.”

He leaves the room with the Marleyan guard at the door. The other three let out a breath of relief once it closes.

“Blanchard,” Porco enunciates, stretching his arms. “Are we really still doing that? Who are we supposed to be fooling here?”

Pieck sighs, but it’s Zeke who stays him with a light backhand to the stomach. “Settle down, Galliard.”

Porco pushes his hand away. “Seriously? Of all people, you—”

“Your first transformation was pretty brutal, Galliard,” Zeke casually announces. He winces for good measure, like he’s actually worried. “Why don’t you get some rest?”

The hostility on Porco’s face quickly shifts to embarrassment, and you feel for him. “You’ve transformed already?”

“I wanted to go check on the Warriors anyway,” he says instead, eyeing you with a curled lip. “Nice seeing you again, Blanchard.”

“You too,” you call out, but he’s already stalked out of the room.

You feel Pieck’s hand loop around your arm. “Don’t take it personally,” she says gently. “Learning about Marcel was difficult for him.”

“I can only imagine.” She gives you a small smile at your words, and you understand. Casting a more pleasant gaze around the room, you ask, “How are you two? I thought it might be nice if we could get some lunch together.” You check your watch. “...Very late lunch.”

“I would love to,” Pieck says cheerfully, leading your way out of the room— “Tomorrow. I still have so much paperwork to do.”

Zeke snickers. “The joys of working with a team.”

“Life is unfair,” Pieck declares, but smiles when her hand slips down to yours. “I’ll pick you up after your meeting with Magath tomorrow. It’s a date, right?”

You squeeze her fingers in return. “Definitely.”

Her leisurely footsteps fade down the hallway, and you soon find yourself alone with Zeke. You dust at your blouse idly, but you must eventually look at him. “I suppose it’s just you and me today, then.”

He only eyes you, scratching the side of his bearded jaw. It’s even worse than him outright declining.

“Unless,” you quickly add, detesting the dead air, “are you… training the new Warrior class?”

Zeke snorts. “No. I’ve been busy with other work, but you can check in on their progress if you’re interested. Seems like the Commander wouldn’t mind, seeing as he invited you here.”

You ignore the jab: And you accepted. “What’s kept you busy?”

“Good question.” His smile is a facetious one. “But you know that’s top secret.”

You scoff, but you were braver in front of the others. Now his indifference is too much to bear.

It’s only after you turn away that Zeke asks, “Why don’t you drop by the house? My grandparents should be happy to see you again.”

“I… actually came from there. They asked me to stay. I hope you don’t mind,” you follow, and regret the words as soon as you say it. It’s like you’re trying to piss him off. “I’ll pay for my share of everything, of course.”

He doesn’t react with anger, but you were stupid to expect him to. “Oh?” he asks instead, managing the most sarcastic one-word question in existence. His voice has gotten so much deeper in the last six years, and somehow that makes it worse. “I would have expected the distinguished Miss Blanchard to prefer better accommodations by now.”

You resist the urge to wince. “Don’t say that. The Yeager household was like home to me for several years. More than home, sometimes.”

There’s a pause where only your footsteps, still in time with one another, are all you hear as you make your way down the empty hall. The thought of Zeke’s gaze right now shames you, but it’s ahead he’s looking when he lets out a whistle. “You’re making this difficult for me,” he laughs. “How can I kick you out after such high praise?”

Your last footfall echoes as you stop, reaching for his arm. “Zeke—”

He yanks it away without even looking at you. “We should head back before the Commander decides he wants something from me after all. Come on.”

Your face burns with humiliation even though there’s no one else around to watch him walk away, his long strides too fast for you to catch up.

The Yeagers are pleased to have you over for dinner and beyond, and though you already dropped by before making your appearance at HQ, Mrs. Yeager does not run out of subjects to discuss with you, updating you on several of your neighbors’ lives. Who has married, who has passed away, and whose children have joined the Warrior program themselves, only to fail. Zeke doesn’t talk except to comment on something his grandparents say, or very rarely something you say so as not to arouse their suspicion. They have none. They are too busy doting on you after your long, long absence.

After dinner, when your stomachs are full and your chest is light with laughter, you stand up to collect the dishes and bring them to the sink. “Absolutely not,” Mrs. Yeager says, realizing your intention once she hears the light clatter of tableware. “You’re our guest, Lucy!”

“Please,” you call from the sink. “I miss doing this with all of you around.”

Dr. Yeager sighs in agreement with his wife. “Not on your first night. Zeke.”

Zeke is already on his feet, leaving only everyone’s glasses as he makes his way to the sink with the placemats. Dr. Yeager has brought out their good wine to celebrate your return. “I can do this myself,” he tells you, trying to wave you aside.

You don’t budge. “But I can help. We’ll get it all done more quickly.”

He levels a look at you—one you haven’t seen since you were very young, from before you were friends. “Sit with my grandmother, Lucy,” he murmurs so that only you hear. “Don’t make her crane her neck just to talk to you.”

Shame and something completely unfamiliar fill you at his reprimand, and you surrender with a nod. You make your way back to the table and squint at Mrs. Yeager. “Only tonight, though.”

Mrs. Yeager laughs, reaching for your hands across the table. You give them to her easily. “You’ve grown into such a beautiful young woman,” she says. “Your parents must be very proud of you.” You nod with some unease, and Dr. Yeager, even as he enjoys his wine, clears his throat. Mrs. Yeager realizes her mistake. “Ah—I...I’m sorry, dear. I know they passed away several years ago. But I’m sure they would be proud of you now.”

“That’s all right,” you reassure her. “I hope it’s not too bold to say, but… you and Dr. Yeager were mother and father to me for a time as well, when they couldn’t be. I will always be grateful for that.”

“Oh, Lucy,” Mrs. Yeager smiles, her eyes quickly shining, “That isn’t bold at all. We felt the same way. We only wish you had written more!”

A scoff makes its way from the kitchen. “Grandma,” Zeke reminds her lightly, even as he scrubs the plates with renewed vigor, “you know Lucy has been busy.”

“I know that, dear, I wasn’t trying to—”

“No, it is my fault,” you agree. “I promise I’ll be better about that the next time I go.”

“Next time?” asks Dr. Yeager, suddenly sitting up straight. “Where are you going?”

You blink, turning your attention to him, and attempt to wave the confusion away with your hands. “No, no, Dr. Yeager, I’ll be staying here for a while. I only meant that for the next time I leave Lib—”

“Next time?” Dr. Yeager repeats, his hand knocking over his wine glass as he eyes your left sleeve with intent. It trembles as he grasps at his scalp. “If you’re leaving, why aren’t you wearing your armband?”

The faucet shuts off, leaving only the sound of alcohol dripping from the dinner table to the floor, and Mrs. Yeager turns to him nervously. “Dear—”

“Don’t leave without your armband again, Faye,” he pleads, looking straight at you. He rises from his seat, voice more and more frantic as he swipes at a nearby cabinet with nothing to show for it. “Where is it? Where did you put it?”

Zeke is already wiping his hands on the hem of his shirt, and Mrs. Yeager goes to take her husband’s arm. “Darling, no, this is Lucy, remember?”

But Dr. Yeager is already heaving. It’s not long before tears are streaming down his face and he cries, “Why would you do this to me again? Why did he let you remove your armband, Faye?!”

“Dr. Yeager—I’m Lucy. Lucy,” you insist, hurrying over and tucking your hair behind your ears to show him your face, smiling as you’ve done many times in an attempt to calm him. You hold his arms, trying to jog him back to reality, but by now he is screaming and weeping, digging his fingers into your arms and repeatedly calling out his daughter’s name.

“...Come on, grandpa.” Zeke pries Dr. Yeager’s hands from your sleeve with his grandmother’s help. Stunned by his sudden lapse, you can only watch—able to follow only when they are already struggling with him by the stairs.

“Zeke—”

“Stay there,” he hisses with rancor that freezes you in place. Mrs. Yeager apologizes, but of course you shake your head and return to the dining room. Your hands shake as you clean the spilled alcohol from the dinner table and the floor, going over what you could have said to set off Dr. Yeager.

This is hardly the first time you’ve seen him like this, but it used to take only very specific words to remind him of that event, and so much easier to bring him back from those memories. The memory of his weeping face seizes at your heart, tempting you to launch yourself upstairs and ask after him, but Zeke is right. You’ll only make things worse.

You’re getting started on the dishes again when you hear heavy footsteps plod down the stairs.

Zeke. You cuff the faucet off, mouth already open when he smiles, reaching over to graze your exposed ear with his thumb and his index finger. “Did growing up damage your ears? I said I’d take care of the dishes.”

The unexpected contact sends a strange rush through you, but it’s the insult you focus on ignoring. Even if you do untuck your hair. “I’m sorry about Dr. Yeager.”

“It’s not your fault,” he shrugs. “It happens more often nowadays.”

“I didn’t know it had gotten so bad.”

“How could you? You’ve been away.”

You gnaw on your cheek at that. “I’m sorry, Zeke.”

For a moment, you finally see it—the recognition of the words you’ve been trying to say since you met earlier that afternoon, and the reason why. An eddy of hurt and confusion reflects in his eyes, pulling at the air around you. You want to rise above it, or else drown, or just beg for his forgiveness, but he knows you, or knew you as much as you knew him, and he cuts you off before you can speak.

“You really have grown up.” His droll chuckle makes your heart sink into your stomach. “You never used to apologize for anything.”

You make a face. “That’s not true.”

“Maybe. You were pretty damn insolent when you wanted to be.”

“I guess I could be,” you murmur. Your eyes lift to his, on a tightrope’s edge. “Remember when Marras overheard me complaining about firearm maintenance?”

Zeke snorts. “Magath had you cleaning Warrior arsenal for a week.”

You can’t help but laugh. “That was awful. Only Marcel snuck out to help me at night, and that was to impress Pieck. Thank you for that, by the way.”

“You’re welcome.”

You squint at him. Zeke grins, warmly now, and hope almost finds you—but your words catch up with you first, and both of you remember when you really are.

“Marcel,” you can’t help but say with regret.

“Yeah.” Coursing a hand through his hair, Zeke brushes past you to the sink. “Anyway, I’ll take care of this. You go to bed. You have a meeting with Magath tomorrow—that’s why you came back, right?”

“No, not just—”

The sudden burst of running water from the faucet and the wall of his back means the conversation is over. Again. Clenching your fist, you bite your tongue and slowly breathe out your growing frustration.

“Good night, then, Zeke.”

You’ve already gone up the stairs when Zeke swallows the lump in his throat, staring at the spoon splashing water upon his palm. He’s been washing it for the last two minutes.

“Night, Lucy.”

Zeke has already left for HQ by the time you come downstairs the next morning. Dr. Yeager is still in bed, exhausted as he gets whenever he remembers his children, but Mrs. Yeager has prepared breakfast. Try as you might, you cannot resist sitting with her and sharing a meal together. You make it to the Liberio military headquarters just in time to hear the new Warrior instructor barking out to the children jogging around the courtyard.

You wander a little closer, unable to help your curiosity—but a nearby guard spots you and quickly corrals you away, back to the offices. “They’re expecting you,” he says, looking you over as he hands you back your permit. “Don’t know what top brass wants with a civilian, much less an Eldian, but...”

“Top brass?”

The soldier almost sneers at you. As if you don’t know, Eldian, it says, and you’re starting to think you actually don’t.

He’s led you not to the same conference room as yesterday afternoon, but to an office that you distinctly remember as off-limits. When the soldiers standing guard let you inside, you understand why.

Top brass is right. More than Commander Magath, there are a number of higher-ups waiting for you inside - some faces you’ve glimpsed since you were a child, and others you have seen as recently as months ago. One in particular stands out—an intelligence officer who reports directly to your brother. Three are generals at some of the highest levels in the army.

“Blanchard,” Magath calls out. You nearly stiffen at his voice again, but relax in time, to the chuckles of the men in the room. The commander ignores them, staring straight at you. You detect the slightest hint of an apology in his hardened gaze, or maybe that’s wishful thinking to keep your growing displeasure in check. “Glad you could make it.”

“Sir, I—”

A nearby general cuts you off. List. “You can dispense with that, Magath,” he says. “We’re all in the know here.”

“Yes, Sir.”

General List turns toward you.

“Thank you for coming, Miss Tybur,” he says. There is no smile in his harsh features, but he is not unkind. Careful, maybe. “Please, sit. We have a proposition for you.”

So... yes! I admit, part of the reason I wanted to write something in the AoT/SnK series is because I loved and hated the addition of the Tyburs. So I wanted to write a little more about the family but also since I'm thirsty, write a Zeke fic and eventually a Levi one (whether AU or not). Obviously we'll eventually go into why the Tyburs would send one of their own into the Warrior program, among other things, but bear with me for now.

Also disclaimer: This is a Zeke/Reader story set in the AOT world, so it’s a romance with a guy who gleefully murdered a shit ton of innocent people and helped Marley level countries. Please don’t look to this story for a completely morally upright character/reader/OC who makes all the right choices. (Though expect that Reader will take them into consideration.)

Last thing! This is a slowburn with some plot, so while you can definitely expect romance (and smut) down the line, and while this fic does go heavily into Lucy's/Reader's relationship with Zeke, it also features interactions with other characters. I just wanted to give fair warning if you expect it to focus only on Zeke.

Thank you for reading!

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sabraeal · 3 years

Text

Born to Make History

A prequel to this prompt from an earlier collection! The short program I reference here it based very heavily off of Nathan Chen’s 2021 short program which you can find here

[Read on AO3]

Obiyuki AU Bingo 2021 Figure Skating AU

“I hope you weren’t expecting me to go easy on you this morning.” Garrack’s voice booms across the ice, loud enough that a few other skaters slow, craning their necks to see who the fabled Coach Gazelt would chew out next. “Your work is just beginning if you want to call this a comeback.”

A groan rumbles in the back of her throat, dying to be let out, but it’s impossible to miss the small figure sweeping the eyes, dark hair curling over his eyes. Ryuu’s here already, picking at some footwork-- his transitions are his weakest element if his scores are anything to go by, but he’s determined to make it his best. Shirayuki breathes in, six counts in and eight counts out, and lets her protest die on her tongue.

Shirayuki slides out, stomping her skates beneath her to get feeling back in her legs. “I know you better than that.”

Her muscles ache as she eases into a lap, letting the ice settle beneath her. When she was small, she could blast out into the rink like a cannon ball, running across it like it was just another bit of ground beneath her feet. But she left it, and silly as it sounds, the ice hasn’t forgiven her. Her blades don’t tremble like the used to, but a few days off the ice-- especially folded up on an Transatlantic flight-- leaves her with a drunken lurch, the whole world passing by too fast.

But it’s quick to even out, her body warming to the chill of the rink, to the way her legs have to bend to keep her moving. After a lap or two, control is easy as breathing, as easy as swimming to a fish. The ice may not have forgiven her, but it’s missed her too.

She glides to a stop right at Garrack’s toes, sending up a little spray. It earns her a smile, tight-lipped but approving. She’ll earn teeth once she gives it a medal to sink in to. “I think if you let up on me for a moment, I’d have to take you to a hospital.”

Her coach barks out a laugh, blonde hair ruffling out like a halo from her bun. “Oh, Shirayuki. You say the sweetest things.”

It might be cold in the rink, but it doesn’t do anything but make her cheeks burn hotter. She forgets, but these Americans-- they don’t really take ‘hard ass’ as a compliment.

Well, most wouldn’t. Garrack looks quite pleased, though.

“Aw, coach.” Hands catch at her shoulders, and she knows them even before a sandy head peeps over them. “Can’t you give her one easy day? She’s finally made senior!”

“Oh, Higata, really, there’s no need--”

“Sure.” Garrack bares her all her teeth in a smile Shirayuki’s willing to bet has been the last earthly sight of some of her students. “But if I give her a pass, you boys will have to pick up the slack.”

Already, Higata’s hands loosen their grip. “N-now, I didn’t say--”

It’s far, far too late for him to quibble over exactly what was and wasn’t said on the ice. “What do you think? Balance drills? Or we can see how far you’ve come with your flexibility for spins.” Garrack tilts back her head, giving him a speculative look. “Maybe even run through her routine once...?”

“Ah, Shirayuki!” He gives her a firm pat on the back, sliding away. “I did what I could! Viel Glück!”

Garrack watches him skate off with a satisfied grin lingering on her lips. “Nice boy, that Higata. Thick as a hockey puck, but nice.”

Shirayuki knows better than to posit her own opinion when Garrack’s in a punchy mood. “The usual warm up, then?”

Garrack levels her with another of her measuring glances. It’s the sort that could bring grown men to their knees-- she saw it happen once, outside of a rink in Wisconsin-- but Shirayuki is used to it now. Assessment is a tool, and Garrack Gazelt has made her career by being good at it.

“Are you sure you’re all right?” she asks instead. “You only got off a plane yesterday. That time change is easier the other way.”

She nods. “Really, I’m fine.”

Garrack sits back in her hips, one arm tucked under the other, and takes a long, thoughtful drag out of her thermos. Shirayuki shifts on her skates, trying to look-- awake. Ready to seize the day.

I’ll push you. Garrack had made no bones about that during their first lunch in Strasburg. She’d given her a similar look then too, assessing, trying to see that promising junior skater in a university student’s body. But you’re a professional. You say stop, we stop. You say go, we push on. You’re at the wheel for this one. I’m just your emergency brake.

“All right,” she sighs. “Keep it simple, though. Think easy, for once.”

“I said I was--”

Garrack flaps a gloved hand. “It’s not about you. I took a look at the books this morning, and Haruka’s right after us.”

Shirayuki blinks. Strange, he usually grabs the first slot. “Are you avoiding him?”

“Me?” She presses her thermos to her chest, scandalized. As if she and Haruka don’t skulk about the rink when they see each other, hissing like cats when necessity forced them onto the same practice time. “I don’t avoid anyone.”

A dubious hum goads her to tepidly add, “No more than he deserves.”

Shirayuki folds her arms across her chest.

“No more than usual,” Garrack promises. “But that’s not why we’re going to get off the ice.”

She lifts a brow. “And why is that?”

If Garrack weren’t in skates herself, she’d be bouncing on her toes. “I want to be in the seats when he sends his students out.”

Shirayuki’s mouth pulls thin. “The season just ended, and already you’re trying to--?”

“No, no. I’m not looking to poach, and I don’t care what routines he’s working on for next season.” She huffs, hair fluffing out in agitation. “And his aren’t better than mine anyway, he just has top tier skaters because him and Haruto like to rub--”

A polite cough breaks her concentration, enough for Shirayuki to sneak in, “Then what exactly do you need to see?”

Garrack’s mouth curls into a smile Zen has, on more than one occasion, called grinch-like. She leans in, voice dropping to a whisper, and says, “Haruka’s putting someone new on the ice.”

“A new student?’ Zen sputters, skates limp in his hands. “Haruka never said he was taking on a new student.”

“They aren’t on the roster.” Shirayuki’s shoulders hunch around her ears, as if that might keep her words between them. “And the other coaches don’t know anything either.”

Zen settles back against the bench. “We just got back from Worlds three days ago. How could he possibly have someone new that quickly?”

“Maybe it’s someone who just promoted from juniors.” She should be excited; a new student with that level of ability would be someone to watch, to learn from. But instead anxiety twists in her gut, a snake that slithers itself into tighter and tighter knots. “I saw your program, by the way. You did well.”

“I got fourth,” Zen grumbles, sliding his foot into a skate. “No wonder he already scouted a replacement.”

“Haruka would never replace you, and certainly not because you were a jump shy of bronze.” Or silver, which if he’d skated clean, he would have earned in spades. “Kiki placed second. It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s jumped to a coach with someone on the podium when they started competing at the senior level.”

“Sure,” he grumbles, “but usually it takes long than--”

“What are you two talking about over here?” Kiki drops her duffel unceremoniously between them, the bench warbling beneath it. “Gossiping, I hope?”

“Just our progress at Worlds,” Zen lies smoothly, sending her a secretive wink. She’s not sure why-- Haruka’s always favored Kiki; if anyone knew anything about this mystery student, it would be her. “Shirayuki was just saying how impressive it is to get so close to the podium, but I said--”

“Right.” Kiki casts her gaze over the ice; a few weeks ago there would have been nothing to that, just a casual glance, but Shirayuki knows her better now, enough to see the hopeful perk of her chin and the inquiring lift of her perfectly shaped eyebrows. She’s looking for someone; even when her gaze swings back to Shirayuki, she knows it’s not about her. “What were you two talking about?”

Zen squawks. “I said--”

“I know.” Her voice is even, logical. “But Shirayuki can’t lie.”

Shirayuki wants to protest-- she can, really, she’s done it before-- but takes one look at her and blurts out, “Haruka has a new student.”

Her skates clatter to the floor. “What was that?”

“Well,” Zen murmurs, mouth twitching. “I guess somebody isn’t the favorite after all.”

Garrack may be content to sit in the seats as Zen and Kiki take the ice, but Shirayuki leans on the barrier, letting the chill brush over her face. At this level, they’ve all been skating since they were old enough to fall and get back up. But unlike her, Zen and Kiki have never stopped, and the gap in skill has never been more apparent than now. They take to the rink like birds to air, winding around each other in complex circuits, slapping hands and turning circles around each other.

That’s the other thing: they’ve always had each other. Kiki’s hardly twenty, but there’s already rumors of Milan being her last Olympics, of what she might do once she’s over the hill-- and the first word on anyone’s lips is pairs. The second and third are Zen Wisteria, since there’s not a person alive who can imagine a competition without either of them on the ice.

Her fingers grip the rail’s rubber rim hard enough to leave crescents. They’d look good together-- they do look good together. It makes sense to go that route if Zen picks up a gold. It’s what his father did, years ago. For his mother.

The gate swings open, and they both glide to a stop. But then, to be fair, so does most of the rink.

There is no official size for a skater-- not like gymnastics, where smaller equals better and taller equals a very gentle nudge toward ballet-- but still, there is a trend to fall on the shorter size of average, at least in singles. Height might give more control on the ice, might give an extra spin or two, but when it came to jumps, the less bulk heaved from the ice the better. But Haruka’s student--

Well, he’s certainly not Mitsuhide’s height, but even with his slouch he’s taller than most men here. In his skates, he even looks down at Haruka-- though it’s not much of a feat; the man never comes onto the ice, just stands behind the barrier to shout his way through practice. Not that he needs to raise his voice to make his displeasure known; a single frown usually sends Zen and Kiki gliding back to him, heads bowed.

He’s outright glowering now, but his new student only rubs at his hair, a half-gloved hand riffling through black bristle. There’s something about him, something about the way he moves that seems familiar, if only she could catch his face--

But then the thrum of a guitar rolls over the ice, tinny on the rink’s speakers-- Zen’s song, his short program. The one that fell just short of the podium, because he put a hand down after a jump got away from him. Haruka’s student turns around, and even from where she stands, she recognizes the grin.

Oh no. No.

It should be Zen at the center of the ice, but this guy pushes out instead. His black clothes making him a stark contrast to the ice, to the barriers around him. Zen’s already halfway to the center, confused and a bit agitated, looking like he’s about to have words-- and then Haruka’s student glides out, Spanish guitars warbling in his wake.

He moves like water-- no, like a blade through water, each motion of his arms both flowing and sharp, carving through the air with a grace than even Zen would be hard pressed to copy. His hips swing, daring angles that should throw him off his footwork, that should leave him stumbling, but instead he’s mesmerizing, a flamenco dancer that does not need to touch the ground.

“Who is he?” Ryuu murmurs, shifting in the seat behind her.

“I wish I knew.” Jealousy drips thickly from Garrack’s voice. “Just where did Haruka dig up a gem like this?”

Tanbarun, Shirayuki nearly says, but she can’t speak, can’t do anything but watch this man skate Zen’s routine like he owns it, like it was made for him. She expects him to mark the jump sequence-- quad toe, triple toe loop-- but the moment he jumps, she knows-- it’s clean. No, more than clean, because this isn’t a joke, not a sly wink and smile to his new friends--

He’s come to compete.

“Can you believe that?” Zen normally floats like a cloud on the ice, but right now he looks like he could thunder and storm too as the song switches to the next on deck. “He did my whole routine.”

Kiki’s mouth cants, wry. “Better than you did.”

He snaps to her like a lightning crack. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“I would.” Garrack saunters up to the barrier with a barracuda’s smile, raising a brow. “If you’d gone that clean at Worlds, that would have placed you. Maybe would have brought home gold.”

Zen only glowers, and Shirayuki sends her coach a pleading glance. It’s a hopeless cause to wish she’d keep her mouth shut, but maybe Garrack might blunt her tongue.

She really should know better.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen someone move like that,” Garrack sighs, tapping her hand on the plastic. “Not since...”

Your brother, she doesn’t say; a small mercy. Zen’s grimace says he heard it anyway.

“Where’s he from?” Ryuu asks, appearing at her elbow. His brows are drawn, grave over his already serious eyes. “I haven’t seen him at any competition.”

Shirayuki bites her cheek to keep from saying, I have.

“That’s the question,” Garrack grumbles, looking greener by the second. “Where did he find an unknown that can skate like that? It can’t be--”

“Korea.”

The accent that says it is distinctly not that; oh no, there is a deeper rumble on the ‘r’, a harder ‘k’ at the start. A thicker accent than he’d sported when he loomed over her, gold eyes cold as coins, and asked, I think you get my point, da?

When she turns, there he is: her saboteur in the flesh.

“Well, well, devushka.” His grin stretches wide, elbowing in between Zen and Kiki. “Long time no see.”

#obiyukibingo21 #obiyuki #akagami no shirayukihime #snow white with the red hair #figure skating au #my fic #ans #okay consider this a teaser for a fic i might one day write #where shirayuki used to be a promising junior skater in germany but ended up dropping out #when her grandparent got sick or died or what have you #and then decided to come back when she was in university because she misses it #and probably something to do with raj and zen but like *waves hand* not my problem right now #obi is russian but he's from the eastern part and thus doesn't look kievan #and so despite his skill he never was put on russia's competitive team #and thus has rented himself out to korea #whose star skater just took a terrible tumble and will be out for the season #and he has juuuuust enough korean blood for the international skating committee to allow it #YES YES LIKE PAS DE DEUX you all know the reference i am making and also rent-a-russians are a thing SO #today i borrow my sister's sweater #it fits very nice

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hutchhitched · 4 years

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So Wrong, So Fast

Written by: @hutchhitched

Prompt 79: Peeta has been planning this marriage proposal for months. It goes horribly wrong. Tell me all about it and what happens next? [submitted by @katnissdoesnotfollowback]

Ratings/Warnings: T

A/N: I’m continuing to post the nine @everlarkficexchange prompts I took and then sat on throughout the early months of the pandemic. This is the fourth of the nine. Thanks for your patience, and I hope you enjoy. Huge thanks to @javistg for understanding the delays. Hope this helps ease your stress during hurricane season, @katnissdoesnotfollowback. This story can be read in the universe of An Everlarking Christmas as a prequel.

____________

“Finn, have you seen my tie?” Peeta Mellark yelled down the hall of their apartment. “I’ve got two minutes before I need to head out.”

“Nope. Haven’t seen it.”

He turned and burst out laughing. His roommate stood in the doorway in ragged sweatpants and a threadbare t-shirt. Wrapped around his neck was Peeta’s favorite tie.

“Are you trying to ruin this night for me?”

“I would never do such a thing,” Finnick crowed and loosened the tie. With an exaggerated wink, he tossed it to Peeta and plopped down on the bed. “So, what’s the plan? Wine and dine Everdeen and then bring her back here for a little roll in the hay? Should I change your sheets for you? Make myself scarce?”

“I don’t know how Annie puts up with you,” Peeta muttered and tugged the knot in his tie. It wasn’t quite sitting right, and it was driving him a little nuts. It had taken a lot for Katniss to agree to a formal dinner for their anniversary. She was much more comfortable out of the spotlight or working behind the scenes. Peeta’s insistence that she be showered with affection made her squirm anxiously any time he brought it up, but he’d wanted to do something special to show his girlfriend how much he really loved her, and a fancy dinner date seemed like a tried and true method for demonstrating affection.

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary, Finn. I’ll probably stay at her place tonight. I mean, I am planning to pop the question.”

Finnick yelped and sprang from the bed to engulf his roommate in a bear hug. Lifting Peeta off the floor, he spun them around and finally set Peeta down again when they were both completely dizzy.

“How could you keep this from me?” Finnick barked in a mock offended tone. “You know how much I love romance, and I’m running out of fresh material. What have you got planned? Music? A special menu? The ring in the dessert? No, scratch that. In the champagne? Got her favorite flowers? Rose petals at her place and lit candles? Tell me everything.”

“You’re worse than Delly,” Peeta snorted, referring to his childhood best friend who enjoyed being a woman more than almost any other female. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to jinx it. There’s only so much a guy can handle before he breaks down in a puddle of nervous goo.”

“Can I see the ring?” Finnick asked, still practically vibrating with excitement. “I need ideas for the one I’m gonna buy—because we both know it’s going to be sooner rather than later.”

“You’re a mess. You know that?”

“I am a lovable, sex god who’s given up my reign for the fair Annie Cresta.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“An idiot in love who supports you in your inferior attempts to romance women.”

Offended, Peeta glared at his friend. “I am very romantic. Katniss just doesn’t really like it.”

“Oh, really?” Finnick hooted and crossed his arms. “You still haven’t told me what your plan is.”

“You’ll just have to wait until tomorrow because I need to go.” Turning to his friend, Peeta exhaled and held out his arms. “How do I look?”

“You look good, man. You got the ring?”

“Shit! The ring.” He scrambled to his nightstand and opened the top drawer. Rifling through the contents, his fingers settled on a velvet box, and he grabbed it and stuck it in his pocket. “Gotta go. Wish me luck!”

“Good luck!”

Finnick’s well-wishes rang in his ear as he rushed out the door. Jumping into his car, he slammed the door, turned the key in the ignition, and…nothing.

“No, no, no, no, no! Not tonight.”

Turning the key again, Peeta groaned when the battery didn’t turn over and smacked his palms on the steering wheel. Frantic, he leapt from the car and ran into the house.

“Finn! My car won’t start. Can I—?”

“Keys are on the counter. I’ll have Annie pick me up. You’ll need to get gas.”

“Thanks, man!”

He was halfway to his girlfriend’s house when he glanced down and saw the gas gauge was almost on empty. Swearing, he crossed his fingers he could make it to Katniss’ place and then to the restaurant before he had to stop. Irritated that he’d hit almost every red light between his house and hers, he jammed the car into park and rushed to her door.

“You look gorgeous,” he breathed when she opened the door, and he grinned at her shy smile. He leaned forward to kiss her. Closing his eyes, he inhaled her scent and nudged her lips open with his. She tasted amazing, her lips soft and coated with lip gloss. When she moaned into his mouth, he pulled away and took a shuddering breath. “You ready to go?”

She nodded and took his hand. “I’m not used to heels,” she laughed when she wobbled a little against him. “Or dresses. Or makeup. Or not wearing a braid. Why do I let you talk me into these things?”

“Into dinner?” he teased as he helped her into the car and shut the door. He hurried around the car, jumped in, and turned to her. “Sorry. My car wouldn’t start.”

“Into a fancy dinner,” she answered. “What’s wrong with your car?”

He shrugged and grimaced. “Probably a battery. I’ll figure it out tomorrow. How was your day?”

Peeta listened as he drove. He was still jumpy, but having her by his side calmed him a little bit. She wore a slinky peachy, salmon colored dress that dipped low on her chest and hinted at a tiny dip of cleavage. Her gorgeous legs stretched from the hem that rested just above her knees to strappy, gold heels that elongated her legs and made them look twice as long. Her dark hair, which she usually tucked back in a braid, hung loosely in waves around her shoulders and halfway down her back. God, he loved her.

He pulled into the restaurant’s parking lot and helped her out of the car and to the door. Still unused to the heels, she leaned against him, and he reached over to kiss her forehead just as they got to the maître d. He gave his name and frowned when the man looked over his reservation list with a bored look.

“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t seem to see your name.”

“That’s impossible. I made the reservation two weeks ago. Mellark, table for 2. Can you check again, please?”

“Certainly, sir. Let me just check tomorrow, too. Just in case. Sometimes we make mistakes. Ah, yes, here it is. I’m afraid we have you down for tomorrow evening instead.”

“But—”

“Not to worry, sir. I’m sure it was a miscommunication,” the man assured in an infuriatingly disinterested voice, but Peeta flushed with discomfort. He had a niggling feeling that maybe it was his mistake and not the restaurant’s, but he was grateful they seemed willing to accommodate them—even if the guy looked like he’d rather do anything than speak to them. Possibly it would all still work. Perhaps the uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach would be soothed by good food and attentive service. Maybe he’d ask the woman of his dreams to marry him and she’d say yes. Otherwise, he might die of humiliation.

“Uh, I—”

Katniss watched with a bemused expression. When Peeta seemed incapable of stringing together more than two words, she suggested calmly, “Perhaps we could wait at the bar while the table’s prepared?”

“Yes, miss. If you’ll just step this way, we’ll serve you there. Might I suggest a red?”

Peeta followed and sagged gratefully onto a stool. The bartender asked for their orders, and Katniss surprised them both when she asked for a gin martini. Taking his cue from her, he ordered a bourbon. The smoky, caramel flavor washed over his tongue and eased his jangling nerves. Grateful for her calm, he entwined his fingers with hers and rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.

“Sorry for the confusion,” he said in a low voice. She took a sip of her drink and looked at him over the rim through her eyelashes. A bead of liquid lingered on her lower lip, and he gave her a soft kiss to lick away the stray drop.

She hummed against his mouth. “I think I can forgive you,” she murmured and kissed him again.

By the time they got their table, his stomach rumbled, and Katniss had the look in her eye she always got indicating she’d crossed into hangry. However, the waitress, a slight young woman named Rue, took care of them graciously and attentively. She suggested flash fried spinach for an appetizer and left them to themselves.

Dinner was spectacular. The food was delicious and they chatted and laughed as they enjoyed each other’s company. Wrapped in each other, they shared bites and tangled their spoons over the last bit of sorbet and ganache. Everything was perfect until the bill came and he reached into his back pocket. Peeta’s face drained of color. Stricken, he looked at Katniss. He couldn’t believe what he’d have to do.

“What’s wrong?”

Devastated, he answered, “I can’t believe I did this.”

“Did what?”

“Katniss, I forgot my wallet.”

“You forgot…”

“Yeah, my wallet,” he repeated, his cheeks flaming with humiliation.

She laughed and leaned across the table to grab his hand. “It’s no big deal. I can get it.”

“That’s not the point, Kat. I asked you to dinner. I made a huge deal of it, and now I can’t even pay. I’m so sorry.”

“You know, I don’t think I’ll be able to forgive you for this gaffe,” she teased. “I might as well just break up with you right now. I mean, how could I ever trust you again? Be honest, hon. You’re really just looking for a sugar mama, aren’t you?”

He knew she was teasing, knew it meant nothing and was intended to make him feel better, but he was sick to his stomach. After all this time, all the planning he’d put into proposing to the love of his life, and he couldn’t even manage to remember his wallet. If nothing else, it seemed like a terrible omen. How could he handle a marriage if he forgot such basics? He tried to tell himself he’d never done this before, that it was the only time he’d ever been quite so careless, but his insecurities got the better of him.

He was quiet as Katniss paid the check and they walked to the car. Maybe there was still time to salvage the evening. He had the ring in his pocket. The proposal would make his mistakes all better. He’d planned for weeks. Arranged for every variable. It was going to be perfect. He just had to get them to where they’d first met.

Music played softly as they drove with the windows partially lowered. A gentle breeze whipped through the car, and her hair created a cloud around her face. She sang softly, and his heart clenched at the joy on her face. He always wanted her to sing more, since it brought her such pleasure, but it was highly personal to her. He didn’t get to hear it nearly enough.

They were less than a mile from their destination when the car started to chug, and his stomach dropped. “No, no, no!” he growled. “Please, no.”

“What’s wrong?”

“God, please keep going,” he begged, but Finnick’s car shivered and shook and ground to a halt. If it’d been a person, he would have said it coughed itself to death. “Shit.”

“Peeta?”

“We’re out of gas.” Slamming the palm of his hand against the steering wheel, he released a long groan and thumped his head against the headrest. Grumbling, he closed his eyes and took in a huge gulp of air. “What a fucking night.”

“I don’t know. I don’t think it’s so bad.”

He glanced over at her and gave her a sad smile. “You’re so amazing.”

“I’ve heard that before,” she grinned. “My boyfriend tells me that all the time.”

“Does he?”

“He really does.”

“Lucky bastard.”

“He really is.”

The way the moonlight fell across her face was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. He wanted to paint her in that moment, so he could freeze time and live in it forever. More than anything, he wanted to spend the rest of his life with this woman.

“How married are you to the idea of those shoes?” he asked suddenly.

“I despise these things, Peeta. You know that.” A smile played across her lips, and he stretched across the seat to kiss her.

“Take them off.”

“Why?”

“Just do it. I have a plan.”

Full of renewed energy, he bounced out of the car and ran around to open her door. Offering her his hand, he pulled her upright and threaded his fingers through hers. Without a word, he kissed her forehead and led her down the street.

“Are we going to the meadow?” she asked as they rounded the corner. “Sweetheart…”

He grinned and guided her to a tree at the edge of the open area before hauling her in for a passionate kiss. She melted against him, and he cradled her to his chest.

“I love you so much, Katniss,” he murmured against her lips. “I can’t remember what my life was like without you.”

“I love you, too.”

“Do you?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Grinning, he dropped to his knee and looked up at her. Her eyes widened when he sank down, and he reached into his pocket to pull the ring box free.

“Every day since I’ve met you has been better than any best day I had before we met. I don’t want to have another one without you. Katniss Everdeen.” He paused and opened the ring box. Holding it out to her, he asked, “Will you please make me the happiest man in the world and spend the rest of your life with me?”

Katniss nodded vigorously. “Of course, I will, Peeta. Yes, I’ll marry you.”

Relief flooded through him. He hadn’t even been aware how nervous he was until she agreed to his proposal, but he suddenly felt like his limbs were limp noodles. He couldn’t comprehend the buzzing in his veins, but he was sure his blood was florescent with endorphins. That wasn’t a thing, but still. Thrilled, he reached into the box to get the ring and—

“You have got to be kidding me!”

The ring box was empty. The ring he’d picked out for her wasn’t there. Instead, the slit where it should have been grinned at him manically, and he wondered briefly who he’d pissed off in a past life to make this night go so spectacularly terrible. After all the planning and soul searching and angst, the perfect proposal had disintegrated into such a total pile of—

“What’s wrong?”

Katniss stood over him, trembling and half-grinning/half-weeping. The longer he remained on his knee, the more concerned she became. He looked down at the empty box that mocked him and huffed in annoyance. He realized as the moisture from the ground soaked into his pants at the knee that he’d grabbed the box he’d kept from a prank gone wrong with Finnick on Valentine’s Day. In his rush, he hadn’t even bothered to make sure he got the one with the ring in it.

“I’m an idiot. That’s what’s wrong,” he groaned.

“Are you— Do you not want to…” she asked in a tortured whisper.

He popped to his feet and wrapped her in his arms. “Oh, no, sweetheart! Of course, I want to marry you. I’m so happy you said yes. I just, uh— I forgot the ring.”

“You forgot the ring?”

Frustrated, he nodded and hung his head. “I really, really did.”

Silence hung for a few seconds, but then he felt panic bubbling inside him until— Laughter poured from him in lusty bursts that shocked him and caused her to chuckle. Before he knew it, he was doubled over, heaving for breath, and laughing so hard, he almost fell over. Katniss joined him after a few seconds, his mirth contagious as he struggled to gain his composure. Soon, they clung to each other as they guffawed, unable to stop.

“Who proposes and forgets the ring?” she howled, her eyes sparking with humor.

“I do!”

“Runs out of gas. Forgets his wallet.”

“Me!”

“Why is this so funny?” she giggled. “Bless your heart. You tried so hard.”

He forced himself to get it together and pulled her close. Brushing her hair back, he tilted his head and kissed her. “I really did.”

She hummed against his mouth and opened it as his tongue swept inside. The kiss grew heated quickly, and he slanted her mouth so he could devour her. When she whimpered, he tangled her hair in one hand and let the other drift lower to cup her hip and then pull her leg up and over his.

“Katniss,” he hissed as she rocked her hips against his.

“How mad do you think Finnick would be if you abandoned his car?”

“Furious. Why?” he asked between heated, open-mouthed caresses.

“I really don’t want to wait for help when we could get a ride to your place.”

“I thought we were staying at yours tonight.”

“We could,” she breathed against his cheek before catching his earlobe in her teeth and biting it gently. “Or we could go to yours, put that ring on my finger, and consummate our engagement.”

He grinned and nuzzled her neck. “That sounds pretty amazing,” he breathed as he nibbled along her jawline.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Hmmm. Maybe we can salvage this night after all.”

“You mean me agreeing to marry you wasn’t enough for our date to be a good one?” she teased as she pulled away and started walking back to the car. “Shoes. Purse. Would like to take them with me.”

He tugged his phone from his pocket and arranged for a car. Grinning, he called after her, “It all went so wrong, so fast, but I think we’re on our way to making it even more memorable.”

“I love you, Mellark,” she yelled over her shoulder.

“I love you more, Everdeen! Gonna marry the hell out of you.”

She backed away from him, and he followed. The last thing he wanted was to let her slip away from him into the darkness.

#everlarkficexchange #springtime edition 2020 #prompt 79 #everlark #everlark fanfiction #peeta mellark #katniss everdeen #so wrong so fast

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ariainstars · 3 years

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Congratulations, We Fell for Another Love Bombing or Thank You, Disney, You Did It Again

Sigh. Luke Skywalker is back. And Din Djarin and his child had to say goodbye. I never thought I would curse and say “Oh no!” when Luke appeared in that fateful corridor.

I wonder why the Disney studios are doing this - trying to "make up” for the oh-so criticized sequels, I suppose?

The Jedi have made their time. It was shown and proven over and over again that their attitude is wrong and needs to change, and Luke was the last of the old school Jedi. Again, a Force-sensitive child is all but kidnapped by a Jedi: he obviously did not like to go. Mando is no longer the hero of the story, he was stripped of his agency and all of his personal choices were questioned and valued for null and void. But the Dark Saber is in his hands now, so he’s the heir to the throne of Mandalore I guess. Like he ever wanted that.

This show, which grew to be so well-beloved in only a few episodes, now is not “The Mandalorian” any more. Its new title is “Luke’s Skywalker’s Comeback”. Hardcore fans may be out of their minds with joy, but for us, who admired Mando both as a badass hero and as a father figure and loved the dynamics between him and Grogu, the whole purpose of the show is destroyed. And here I naively had thought The Rise of Skywalker was bad enough to teach the studios not to repeat its mistakes.

~~~ more under the cut ~~~

Star Wars ought to be a fairy tale. It is and always was one. I can understand that the prequels had to end in a tragedy, we all knew that from the start, but why the sequels? And now, why must this generally acclaimed and beloved tv show again appease hardcore fans of old with Luke coming to save the day, cancelling in a matter of minutes what the story had built up within two entire seasons - the relationship of the two protagonists, heart and core of the narrative, as it had been with Rey and Ben Solo? And when both of them had their relationship just getting started - Rey and Ben kissing, Din calling Grogu by his name and the latter seeing him and touching his face? Why make Rey a queen without her king, and Din a father without a son?

Again, a Force-user is denied having a home: „Jedi training” matters more. By Luke of all people, the guy who never was trained in the first place (only very briefly), who except for a few lessons with Obi-Wan and Yoda was self-taught in the Force, and never understood that his strength lay with his compassion and his connection with other people, not with his alleged „superpowers”.

Think back to how Anakin, Luke and Rey were before they met the Jedi: unaware of their powers, compassionate, idealistic, brave. The Jedi mindset tainted their characters and lives, making them believing that they are (or have to be) untouchable and invincible, compelling them to live for duty instead of love, condemning them to a lifetime of loneliness. Will the Jedi never learn?

Though I practically grew up with the classic movies, I loved The Last Jedi; I can accept that Luke failed, and also that Han and Leia did. Nobody is perfect, and the Jedi mindset as well as the universally accepted idea that „Jedi” is a synonym for infallible saint-like hero was wrong in the first place, else the Empire never would have risen. Making Luke not the cavalry who came to save the day - until the battle on Crait, that is - but a man who failed and picked himself up again was much more meaningful, and I know not a few fans who felt inspired by this. Luke had saved his father choosing love over power, not the contrary. Some fans just never get it. To appease them, why not simply give him a new storyline of his own, instead of making him intrude in other Star Wars related shows? Why stop the new stories in their tracks just to bring him back?

Instead of seeing Luke as the grand kickass hero in a tv show that never had anything to do with him until now, it would have been more to the purpose to finally shed light on the thirty years between his father’s and his nephew’s death, to explain us where the Jedi and the Skywalker-Organa-Solo family failed to make such an outcome possible - the granddaughter of Palpatine taking over with their own blessing. There must have been a huge build-up between the end of the original saga and the fateful night at the temple when Luke briefly panicked looking into his nephew’s mind. Many fans still are convinced that „Kylo Ren just chose to be bad” because we hardly know how the relationship between these two was in the first place. (A very easy plot twist would e.g. have been Snoke warning Ben that his uncle sooner or later would turn on him, frightened by his power. The fulfilment of that prophecy would have made the night at the temple much more impactful.)

I understand that the studios want to tease us, to make us watch the other shows, too. But honestly, I’m getting tired of feeling duped. Tired of getting attached to new heroes to have their purpose smashed just so the Star Wars dudebro fans can sleep quietly at night because „some Jedi will take care of it”. First the characters from the sequels, now the ones from The Mandalorian. You get to love the new characters, you root for them to find happiness or at least some closure, and then, at the last moment, poof!, the hero of old comes back and the story development stops right there.

It is not right and it never was for the Jedi to take Force-sensitive children away from home, to enforce „you have to become a Jedi, like it or not” on them, to teach them not to have attachments, to make them focus on the Light Side thereby bringing the Force out of its much-needed balance. While Ahsoka saw that Grogu has formed a strong attachment to Din Djarin, Luke obviously did not, or he did not care. The irony is that he always wanted a father, and knows the pain of losing a father you’ve just found.

The Mandalorian felt like a consolation after Episode IX, a blessing for the fans for whom heart and soul are more interesting than nostalgia and „Jedi superheroes”. Now it’s just another kick in the guts. It’s painful and embarrassing to get to love characters so much, to get invested in their story so deeply, and then to realize again that they seem to mean nothing in the shade of the heroes of old. Ben Solo died young and miserable and Din Djarin and Grogu can now, I suppose, be miserable too. Can someone please explain to me why after the classics, no Star Wars film or show had an uplifting ending any more? With the possible exception of Solo, which was a nice filler but not a really important storyline. (I do not count Episodes I and II, they officially had a happy ending but it was tainted by the knowledge of what was to come.)

Fans are not blind. We saw the parallels between Darth Vader and Din Djarin as well as the differences - both being cool and tough but the latter not disdaining to be a caring father at the same time. The entire show lived from the dynamics between the gruff but kind bounty hunter and the innocent-looking powerful child, ever from the first episode. Two years of build-up for nothing, as it was with the four years of the sequels. Mando has to relinquish Grogu, Rey loses Ben. What was all that for? Both Mando and Rey are fighters, they have done nothing else their entire lives. What is to become of them now that they have nothing to fight for any more, nor anyone to live for? Except staying on a planet that is foreign to them and, for all they know, inhabitable or at least inhospitable?

With Rey and Ben Solo, the situation was different: she had proven good intentions but bad attitude (arrogance, violence, judgement) over and over, unable to deny her heritage, and even impaled her „antagonist” once while he was only defending himself. He had been the head of a criminal organization for years, and had committed patricide. Of course there are nuances to these characters and I still believe that they would have deserved another chance; I understand however that would have been unfitting to let the sequels end giving them a happy ending.

But in the case of Din Djarin, a man of honor, who has made friends and brought peace wherever he went throughout the galaxy? Grogu, the last surviving padawan of the old Jedi temple, who saved both his and Greef Karga’s life despite the danger for himself? What did they do to deserve being ripped apart like that?

So, all I can say: thank you, you did it again. And, once more, just before Christmas. I wish at least these depressing endings would be released at some other time.

I would dearly want to see a galaxy that finally learned from its faults, where family and attachments and Balance and free choice are not contrary to being a Jedi. I am in my late forties and I’m beginning to give up hope that I will live to see it. By now I am wondering whether George Lucas himself will live to see it.

I always loved Luke. He is one of my favorite heroes. But now he’s become an insensitive know-it-all who suffered from his own daddy issues to the point that he almost died crying out to his father for help, yet did not learn not to separate fathers from children and vice versa and, on the contrary, is doing it over and over again. He did not even tell Mando his name, or where he could reach him. We don’t have a clue as to if, when and how the Clan of Two will meet again.

I get it that since this show is set five years Return of the Jedi, it would have been difficult to ignore Luke’s existence altogether. And of course, we can rest assured that Luke will do his best for Grogu. But still: he has made his time. I wanted to see the new heroes going their own way, not hanging on the sleeves of the former generation. Mando is a man of honor, he had promised to bring Grogu to his own kind and he relinquished him despite his own wishes. (Not to mention that technically, since he identifies as a Mandalorian, by being a Jedi Luke is his enemy.) Why did Luke have to take the child away? His greatest strength always was that he was first and foremost himself and only in the second place a Jedi. What became of his trademark compassion?

Before The Mandalorian, we have never seen a healthy and working father-son relationship in the saga. It was incredibly refreshing and heart-warming to see these two traveling through the galaxy and living through adventures together; also, contrarily to Yoda, Grogu saw a lot of the bad things happening in the galaxy with his own eyes, which certainly was good for his character development.

But in the end, both he and his „father” did not go anywhere. Like Rey in Episode IX, they found a) power and b) a surrogate place, but neither got what was actually his heart’s wish - a home. I can’t understand why. Deliberate cruelty? We never knew whether Han and Leia and Ben felt how painful it was to break up their little family for the sake of „Jedi training”. You bet Din and Grogu did feel that pain and loss.

Both as a person with a heart and a brain and an almost lifelong Star Wars fan I am sickened by the readiness of the studios to end all that this well-made show had built up, for the appeasement of Jedi worshippers who just don’t want to see that the Jedi mindset needs urgently to change. It can’t be that difficult to renew them for the better; there is no necessity to erase the Jedi completely and there is nothing bad with making them grow wiser and stronger by finally understanding and accepting the importance of attachments and family ties. Yes, I realize that being a father also means learning how to let go; but here we are speaking of a literal child, not of a young adult who chose his own way in life.

I thought that George Lucas knew why he sold his franchise to the Disney studios, given their tradition in telling stories about family and friendship. This development is not a triumph, it is unworthy both of the studios and of the entire Star Wars saga. I’m tired of producers bowing down before fans who see every shred of the saga through „Jedi are always right”-tinted glasses respectively who value coolness over compassion even though it always was the saga’s central message.

Whatever happens in Season 3, countless fans will only be watching it asking, „Where’s Luke?” If Grogu should choose to join Mando again, everybody will be like, „But how can he want to leave Luke Skywalker of all people?” Some already see Grogu die prematurely, killed by the oh-so-bad guy Kylo Ren, for no other reason than to just to further prove how evil he is. In which case both Ben Solo and Grogu will have lived and died for nothing except for leaving a lot of heartbreak behind.

There must be another and better way to honor the legacy of both Luke Skywalker and the original trilogy than to think up new heroes and then destroy their purpose for the sake of old times’ glory. Lucas himself had said that Star Wars is basically for twelve-year-olds. It seems not: it’s for the fans who were twelve years old forty years ago, when the first movies hit theatres.

There are enough voices crying out for the sequels to be erased from canon. Who knows? This may be the next step into the past instead of the future. The sequels were hinting at a better future (Balance), Grogu was, too (family). But the grand past is so reassuring. The sequels tried to tell the audience to grow up and learn to do without their heroes, to see that even they were flawed and that the new heroes could grow beyond them. Fie on them, said the hardcore fans. Now it’s the turn of the younger generation, who got to know and love the saga with the sequels or The Mandalorian, to be like „WTF”.

Rogue One also had been a huge disappointment to me. Not that I found it badly made, but I went into a depressive mood for three days for the same reason: I did not like that I had grown so attached to all of these characters only to see all of them die. The infamous Darth Vader scenes and the design with the huge hints at the classic movies were no consolation. Nostalgia does not make me happy. Heart does. Rogue One, the sequels and The Mandalorian were all, in the end, deprived of all human feeling except loss and regret and many, many thoughts about what might have been.

The Mandalorian was an excellent story on its own. It did not need Luke Skywalker. It is and ought to be Din Djarin’s story, who lost or gave up everything because he was afraid to lose the child: and now he did. It’s not comforting that he lost him to the alleged Good Guy. Luke of course won’t turn a hair on Grogu’s head, but he can’t offer him a home, we already know that. Ahsoka saw the attachment between the two and she knows the dangers of it; Luke does not know what drove his father to his terrible fate. If the sequels remain canon, then we already know that Luke will not allow his pupils having and keeping healthy attachments. And that does not promise well for the child’s future.

Unless the studios commit the madness of officially erasing the sequels and starting the saga anew, we can only hope that the child will not stay with Luke for long since it’s a good five years before he will start his own Jedi temple. Maybe he will die of a broken heart, poor little guy. And Din Djarin might become the new ruler of Mandalore, though sad and alone. But who cares: Luke is back. Please: I did not subscribe to Disney+ wanting to see Schwarzenegger movies. The lonesome hero can ride into the sunset for all I care, out of sight and of mind. Star Wars’ greatest strength always was its heart.

My own take was that Grogu is meant to be a healer, and since Luke is not, there is no way he can teach him this particular skill in the Force. Anakin was a pilot and a mechanic, Luke and Ben also were pilots. None of them were Jedi by choice. Grogu is older than Luke and he was already trained at the old Jedi temple: he’s more likely to be a teacher to Luke than the other way around. Grogu as the first Force-user who values attachment and family over power and Jedi training, that would indeed have been a new hope. This backpedaling is shallow and useless. Even if Luke sends Grogu back to Din Djarin, this won’t teach him not to take a child away from its home, since only a few years later he will do the same thing to his nephew. (Although it would admittedly be an interesting plot point to see a small Ben Solo interacting with Grogu for a while.)

Please give us back The Mandalorian the way it was, with its characters and dynamics. The themes and messages of The Last Jedi already were almost all aborted in The Rise of Skywalker; we didn’t sign up on Disney+ to see the exact same thing happen with The Mandalorian. I for my part am fed up with this kind of love bombing followed by a quick and coldblooded let-down. Star Wars may be a cult, but it need not be the kind of cult where you get hooked and then unwittingly follow a carrot hanging before your eyes. I thought the exaggerated Jedi cult was mostly made by the fans: the studios did not need to jump on this ship. This is not the Way.

Now everything I feared is flaring up again - fans jubilating because “the Jedi are taking matters in hand” instead of accepting the failure of the Jedi mindset at last; and even insisting that since things are going so well, all Disney needs to do is to cancel the sequels from canon and everybody can be happy again.

Please, please, give this tormented galaxy a chance to heal at last. We don’t need Luke Skywalker to save the day by killing all the bad guys. We don’t need the oh-so-powerful and perfect Jedi. We need faith in the Force. We need a home. Don’t take it away from us again. Thank you.

P.S. If we see Luke again in Season 3, at least give the role to a live actor. That digital “rejuvenation” made him look wooden. Luke’s best trait, apart from his compassion, always was his smile.

P.P.S. What’s with Boba Fett claiming Jabba’s throne? I thought Jabba had a son. What in the galaxy happened to him?

P.P.P.S. I don’t mind kickass women, but honestly, I’m getting somehow tired of them. What became of the ladies of Star Wars, the diplomats, the good queens, the loving mothers, the accurate librarians, who contribute to the galaxy without killing (or hurting) anyone? I’m feeling kind of underrepresented here...

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free-boundsoul · 2 years

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That’s cool for people who like certain aesthetics to be able to capture them. Oh, pointy ears. That’s… unexpected. Definitely no judgment to people who choose to get those types of implants. I guess I’m wondering… what magical race are they attempting to imitate with pointy ears? I don’t know of any group that has naturally pointy ears.

It’s a pretty popular franchise in the empowered world. A lot of spinoffs, prequels. Oh, and don’t get me started on the merchandise… Last holiday season, everyone absolutely have to have a plush version of the cute fox creature-thing that Igor, the sonal energetic, finds and keeps as a pet. It was THE hottest thing for a moment.

If Lasko has two cats and you have a cat, then that would mean I have access to three cats. I like that math.

Thanks again for the massage, Freelancer. No, you haven’t lost your touch at all. I feel so refreshed. Another pun, I see. How quaint. But for real, that was… incredible. I’m sorry I ever doubted you.

The woods? Did you live in the woods when you lived in the unempowered world, Freelancer? That seems like a pretty difficult place to live. With animals? What kind of animals? Aww, thanks, Freelancer. I have no doubt you could handle yourself as a kid. You can handle yourself as an adult just fine.

No need to get all mushy about it, Freelancer. Oh, Jesus, that group chat… I muted the notifications weeks ago. Everyone uses it so much, it was literally draining my phone battery every day. I can’t stand how Lasko sends ten messages when you could just put it all in one. I don’t think you should do that, Freelancer. If you do, it’s going to blow up even more and… And I see that you already sent the message. And there goes Lasko… Right on cue. Oh, no. Now Hux is emoji-bombing, too? Just great. Ugh, c’mon, Freelancer. Why must you torture me like this? I see you typing to change the name. I swear if you make it a pun, I am going to scream.

Yeah, seared vegetables sounds delicious. Here are some carrots, green beans. How about some zucchini, too? We’ve got a couple. Might as well toss them in. I’d love some peppers, but I thought you said you didn’t go for spicy stuff, Freelancer. I don't understand. Why would you cook something you don’t like?

Oh, I assure you, Freelancer, there’s nothing little about my fire.

-Damien (with an N!)

Oh, like the fae? Pointy ears like elves, I think. If I'm remembering right, some interpretations of vampires have pointy ears too? And demons? I think it's just something that's considered 'other' or 'not human' so it can be used to signify that?

There are plushies of the fox?! I mean... that's cool. It's a franchise, so I'd be able to get the other movies, right? I really want to know more about that universe. If you like cats that much, why don't you have one? Then you'd have four cats.

Haha, that pun was on purpose. You're very welcome, I hope it helped your neck? If you ever want another one, don't be afraid to ask, okay?

We lived on the outskirts of a small town, and there were woods all around the house. It was secluded, which was nice. No nosy neighbors at least but I didn't really have friends because there were no kids my age around. As for animals, all kinds. Deer, foxes, rabbits, coyotes, there was a wolf pack you could hear sometimes at night. Our dog got sprayed by a skunk once, and I had to stop her from going after a porcupine. There were a lot of wild berry bushes too, I fell into a raspberry bush once...it wasn't fun. Haha, I guess I did, even if I was accident prone. Some things don't change.

Hehe, is it really torture? And I was just going to call it Found Family. I'm not that creative. So, if you can think of anything better, I'm all ears. Oh wow, Hux is going all out too. I think some of those are button mashes. I think our next game night will be eventful!

Well, I can always pick them out. I want to make sure you and your parents like it. And you can always make fun of my abysmal tolerance for spicy food. Zucchini sounds like a great addition! Thank you, Damien.

I like playing with fire, Damie, I thought that was pretty obvious.

#damien anon!!🔥

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whump-tr0pes · 3 years

Text

Honor Bound 5 - 9

This is a series. Start here, continued from here.

This is a sequel to Honor Bound, Honor Bound 2, Honor Bound 3, Honor Bound 4, and the prequel Vera.

AO3

Content warning: past torture, chronic pain, jealousy, bad self-esteem, past implied noncon of a minor, discussion of polyamory, discussion of sex, implied future spice

As Sam carried their bowl into the kitchen after dinner, Edrissa met their eyes with a shy smile. They stacked their bowl by the sink as Vera rolled up her sleeves and turned on the hot water. Isaac and Gavin began to pile the cooking pans by the sink, Gavin’s eyes a little red-rimmed, and Isaac watching Gavin as they moved around the kitchen. Finn and Ellis had decided to eat dinner in Burmingham after they’d spent all day fixing up their house. Tori kissed Vera gently on the cheek and stood to the side of the sink, ready to dry dishes as Vera handed them to her.

Zachariah hovered at Sam’s shoulder, an anxious, near-constant presence since he’d called Edrissa ‘sweetheart’ that afternoon. He wrung his hands, glancing every now and then at the sink where Vera was now scrubbing each dish, rinsing it, and passing it to Tori to dry.

Almost without thinking, Sam gently placed their hand on Zachariah’s arm.

Edrissa’s gaze flicked to Sam’s hand, and back to their face. Her clear blue eyes darkened, just a little. Faded. Her smile was still there, as gorgeous as ever, but the corners of her mouth fell slightly as Sam watched. They wet their lips to speak.

“Want to go for a walk?” Edrissa said first. Her gaze flicked to Zachariah. “Um… just… just you and me.” She smiled wider, but it seemed forced, that sadness still tightening in her eyes.

Sam’s mouth went dry, and they swallowed. “Yeah,” they rasped. They glanced at Zachariah and squeezed his arm.

Zachariah’s eyes went slightly wide, and he glanced around at the others.

“They won’t bite,” Sam said gently, and smiled at him. They stepped away and followed Edrissa to the back of the house, and out into the warm night.

The sun was still up, shining over the lake, not even behind the trees yet. Sam blinked and tilted their head back, breathing in deep the clean air, the smell of the grass and sand and trees. They felt the wind play through their hair, felt Edrissa’s warm fingers clasp through theirs as they walked through the overgrown yard and out the back gate to the beach. The grass was patchy, giving way to sand that shifted under Sam’s bare feet.

The moon hadn’t risen yet. It was almost the full moon – Edrissa kept track of things like that, the moon, the seasons, the time when the herbs in the garden sprouted and bloomed. She had a little journal Gray had given her where she drew plants and charts of the starts, patterns for clothes, sketches of Nata where he sat in the sunny windowsills. It occurred to Sam that the last time they saw Edrissa scribbling in her little book, she’d been close to the end of it. Sam had seen a shop in Crayton that sold pretty things like Edrissa seemed to like: notebooks, pens, tiny jars of colorful ink that they’d seen her staring at when they went into town. They were unbelievably expensive, all of it either taken off luxury syndicate shipments or purchased from black market dealers – who knew there was a black market for fountain pens? – but if Sam started volunteering with the refugees and saving the credits Daniel Schiester gave them…

Maybe I should get her a new notebook, they thought to themself. Maybe she’d like the one with the pink flowers on the cover. Or… she seemed to like the leather ones, too. Maybe I could get one for her birthday. When was that again? I think it was—

“We missed your birthday,” Sam whispered.

Edrissa blinked and looked at them. “What?” The sun shone on her hair, making it seem like liquid gold.

Sam reached out and tucked a lock behind her ear. “Y-your birthday,” they said softly. “It’s in May, isn’t it? We… we missed it.”

Edrissa shrugged and looked at the sand shifting under her feet as she walked. She turned slightly and they both began to walk along the shore of the lake. “It was May fifth. You were, um… s-south,” she murmured.

Sam stopped where they stood. “Oh.”

Edrissa stopped beside them and squeezed their hand. “It’s okay,” she said gently. “Gray celebrated with me. We went into town and went to that restaurant that makes the cheese they light on fire. Then we went to Ms. Clancy’s nursery and Gray let me pick out any herb I wanted.” Edrissa glanced back at the house. “I picked the lemon balm. It’s loving the cool weather. That’s what I made the tea from.”

Sam turned to fully face Edrissa. She had a proud little smile on her face, and a sparkle in her eyes that she always got when she talked about her beautiful things. The breeze made wisps of her hair float around her face, and her lips were curved up into a smile that made Sam want to lean forward and kiss her.

Without a word, they cradled her face and brushed their lips against hers.

Edrissa sighed and pulled Sam close, her fingers winding into their shirt. She trembled as Sam carefully pulled their right arm out of its sling and wound it around her waist, holding her close. Their right shoulder was sore, but there was no flash of pain, no bolt of agony through the wound. Edrissa ghosted her tongue over Sam’s lower lip and they whimpered softly. They didn’t meet her tongue with theirs, though, because Edrissa didn’t like that.

But Edrissa liked kissing Sam, and Sam loved that.

Edrissa pulled slightly away, breaking the kiss but keeping her forehead pressed against Sam’s. She shivered in the breeze and blew out a slow breath as she held Sam.

“Edrissa?” Sam said softly. They gently pulled their hands away and let them fall to their sides. Their right arm twinged, and chewed the inside of their cheek as they held back their groan of pain. Their gaze moved over her face. Her fingers tightened in Sam’s shirt and she bit her lip like she was holding back tears.

Sam’s eyebrows drew together. Their stomach dipped. “Edrissa?” They licked their lips. “What’s the matter?”

Edrissa finally released Sam and wiped her eyes. She sniffed. “Um… I was just thinking… um…” She shrugged jerkily. “I’ve been, um… w-watching, um, you. And Zachariah.”

Sam’s eyebrows shot up, and they pushed down the stir of warmth in their chest. “Y-yeah?”

“Yeah,” Edrissa said. She cleared her throat. “And you, um… you seem to, um, do really well together. You look, um, good.”

Sam ventured a smile. “So do you, Edrissa,” they said gently.

Edrissa waved the comment away. “He’s… he’s big, and, um, and strong, and he’s really nice.”

“Yeah, he is.” Sam reached out and squeezed Edrissa’s hand. The sling hung empty around their neck.

“And… he seems to like, um, you.” Edrissa shrugged again. She wrapped her free arm around her waist and looked at the ground.

Sam’s heart skipped a beat. “You think so?” they croaked, and glanced back towards the house, shining white-yellow in the sun.

“He’d be really good for you, Sam,” Edrissa said, and Sam was confused to hear a hint of sadness – of dismay – in her voice. “He’s good, and kind, and he’ll protect you. And he’d probably be okay with… he’d… probably…” Edrissa released Sam’s hand and wrapped her other arm around her waist, squeezing herself tight. Tears glittered in her eyes.

Sam’s eyebrows pulled together, and they tilted their head as they looked at Edrissa – their beautiful girlfriend, their sweet Edrissa, gorgeous and talented and special. They chewed their lip. “Edrissa… I don’t…”

“What I mean to say is,” Edrissa said, tight-lipped, “Is that… I think you two should go together.”

Sam watched Edrissa carefully. “Okay…”

“Because… I would understand if…” Edrissa blinked and two tears ran down her cheeks. Edrissa swiped them away and stared at the ground again. “You deserve… everything, Sam,” she rasped. “You deserve someone who’s strong, and not broken, someone who can, um… h-have sex. I don’t know if I’ll… ever want to. I don’t know if I can.”

Sam reached out to her. “Edrissa, I—”

She pulled away from their grasp. “He’s good for you, Sam,” she whimpered, her voice trembling. “You’re good together. And I mean… he’s… he’s gorgeous… and so considerate, and he’d… he’d… treat you s-so well…”

Sam’s heart pounded in their chest. “Edrissa, are you… b-breaking up with me?” Their chest ached. Their skin felt too tight, their lungs not quite able to expand.

“N-no!” Edrissa cried, and grabbed Sam’s hand. “No, I… I want to be with you, I just… I want you to be… happy. And Zachariah can make you happy.”

“You make me happy, too,” Sam whimpered. Their mind reeled, grasping for an answer, a reason why Edrissa would do this. “And… you like him too, right?”

Edrissa blinked. “Well… yeah, I mean… he’s… he’s wonderful. I like his arms, and his voice, and his lips, and how he always wants to help me in the kitchen, and… and…” She blushed a furious crimson.

Sam drew in a deep breath, trying to calm their pounding heart, trying to soothe the ache in their chest. “So… if you like him… and I like him…”

“He’ll choose you,” Edrissa whispered. “I know he’ll choose you. You’re…” Edrissa’s gaze flicked up to Sam and back. “You’re… He’d have to be crazy not to choose you.”

Sam looked at Edrissa for a long moment, searching her face with their gaze, swallowing against the lump in their throat. “Um… Edrissa, we could just… be with him… together?”

Edrissa blinked and raised her gaze to Sam’s. “We could… what?”

Sam shrugged. “I mean… you don’t have to? But… if you like him, and I like him, and he seems to like both of us…”

“You think so?” Edrissa breathed. Her eyes shone with painful-looking hope.

Sam suddenly thought back to Edrissa clambering up onto Zachariah’s back, holding the baking sheet aloft like a shield – and of how Zachariah’s hands had gently curved around her legs, how he’d been so careful as he dodged Sam’s handful of whipped cream, how he’d kept her safe, even from that innocent attack.

“Yeah,” Sam said with a nod. “I think so.”

Edrissa swallowed hard. “Is that… something people do… a lot?” she murmured. “I thought… I don’t know, I’ve never seen that before. My parents were married only to each other, and my boyfriend and I were only with each other, and my o-owner only ever had—” She cut herself off with a gasp and looked back down at her feet, sinking into the soft sand.

“I just know it’s something people do,” Sam said gently. “And we don’t have to if you don’t want to. But… Edrissa…” They stepped forward and cupped Edrissa’s face, tilting her head back so they could see her eyes. “I would, um… really, really like that. If we could all… be together. And… please know that…” They leaned forward and gently kissed Edrissa’s cheek. She drew in a short, quick breath. “I like you. A lot. And just because you’ve been through… what you’ve been through…” They kissed her other cheek, and she whimpered softly. “…doesn’t mean I don’t want to be with you. I told you.” They gently pressed their lips to hers. “I don’t need to have sex, if you don’t want to have it. You’re my… my girlfriend.” They smiled at the shiver of her breath against their lips as they said it. “And you told me what you wanted when we started this, and I told you that’s what I wanted, too.”

“Oh,” Edrissa murmured. She pulled Sam close and laid her head on their shoulder. “So… did you want to talk to him… tonight?”

Sam’s stomach flipped at the idea of pulling Zachariah close, kissing him, as Edrissa touched him, too, as he touched them both, together. Their mouth went dry. “Um, yeah,” they croaked. They laughed softly. “Yeah. Tonight. Sounds good.”

They turned back towards the house. Sam slung their left arm over Edrissa’s shoulders. She laced her fingers through theirs, and wound her arm around their waist. They laughed as they bumped hips, stumbling over the sand, as they made their way back to the house.

Continued here

@untilthepainstarts, @womping-grounds, @free-2bmee, @quirkykayleetam, @walkingchemicalfire, @inpainandsuffering, @redwingedwhump, @burtlederp, @castielamigos-whump-side-blog, @whatwhumpcomments, @cursedscribbles, @whumpywhumper, @stxck-fxck, @omega-em-z-02, @whumps-the-word, @justwhumpitwhumpitgood, @justplainwhump, @moose-teeth, @whumpywhumper, @finder-of-rings, @inky-whump, @thatsthewhump, @orchidscript, @insanitywishes, @this-mightaswell-happen, @newandfiguringitout, @whumpkitty, @pretty-face-breaker, @cinnamonflavoredhugs, @inaridriscoll, @im-just-here-for-the-whump, @endless-whump, @grizzlie70, @oops-its-whump

#honor bound 5 #Sam/Edrissa #Sam/Edrissa/Zachariah #the throuple #it's happening!!!#Edrissa makes pretty things #past torture #chronic pain tw #jealousy tw #self-esteem tw #implied noncon of a minor tw #polyamory #mild implied spice tw

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daisylincs · 3 years

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Today is, officially, the last day of 2020 - so it's literally just in time that I'm getting to @aosrecweek's amazing challenge. But that does go to show the nature of this crazy year a little bit, right? Time has just been INSANE, and I honestly cannot believe it's so close to over.

That said, I want to put it out there that everyone - absolutely everyone - who created something in this mad year, is a SUPERHERO. Like. We could have hidden away in dark corners, curled into little balls, and lost touch with our creativity entirely - but instead, we made some of the most fantastic content I have ever seen. And, excuse the language, but that is fucking amazing, of each and every single one of us. We're bloody INCREDIBLE, you guys. We really are.

Now, the rules of this challenge dictate that I've got to start with some of my own things, then repeat with the same number of creations by other people. So I'm going to do that, and I apologise for the sheer length (and self-plug-iness) of what is about to follow - but, bloody incredible, remember? I really mean that. 💜💜💜

My Own:

you could call me babe for the weekend - 19k of Spideychelle being oblivious, mutually pining IDIOTS while being snowed in. And, you know, fake dating. (This thing was SO MUCH FUN to write and though, yeah, it got completely out of control, as evidenced by the 19k, I still really love it.)

'tis the damn season - my first attempt at writing a multi-chap, and, yeah, it only has one chapter as of now, but I really love said chapter. Basically, it's Daisy and Mackelena being friends, and honestly just the BEST friends - I adore the style I managed to achieve in this thing. Plus, the Skimmons I have planned up next is going to be da bomb.

the closest thing - Philindaisy plus fake family. Also; amusement parks. And for a fangirl like me - well, it was pretty much a dream come true to write!

oh valley of plenty - in this fic, I basically told myself, so AoS won't give us Huntingbird in the finale? Fine. I'll just do it myself then - in the fluffiest way possible. And that's exactly what I did - making them, and their kids, be best friends in Perthshire.

maybe life should be about more - a very angsty Skimmons and Daisy-centric AU, focusing on the internalised homophobia Daisy has experienced through her life, and shaking it off (and eventually, y'know, getting together with Jemma.)

and it's dark in a cold december (but i've got you to keep me warm) - Fitzsimmons just make such a supreme pairing for hurt/comfort, what with how insanely well they understand each other and care about each other, so I'm really glad for the Fitzsimmons Secret Santa giving me the chance to write this! Basically, this follows our science duo through a stressful mission on Christmas Eve (so yes, it's a mission fic!!) and realising that the two of them can do anything together.

july second - ahhh, one of my personal favourites to write! Daisy birthday surprise fluff will always be top-notch for me, especially for all the team-as-family fluff you can add in, especially especially that this is set in Staticquake times! Also, it's from Hunter's point of view, which will forever be the most insanely fun thing to write, I do think.

i just wanna be with you - man, I'm such a big royal fan, so getting the chance to write a modern royalty AU for my OTP was nothing short of amazing!! This is Princess Daisy and her fiancée Lincoln Campbell at their official engagement interview

see the line where the skye meets the sea - shameless season 1 bby Bus Kids fluff, featuring movie nights, singalongs and... so much fluff your teeth will rot. Also I'm really freaking proud of the pun in the title okay

'cause all that you are is all that i'll ever need - Huntingbird waking up together fluff (because, fight me, Huntingbird in their sweet moments is one of the sweetest things you will ever get to read or write.) This is also my, fluffy, take on the origin of the Franny's Saloon keychain.

we love you, we love you (and we hope you love we too) - aha, my first polyship fic! Also my first try at some actually fancy HTML formatting (forever thanks to Kat for explaining.) Both of these things combined to form a fic that even I think is ridiculously fluffy and funny, and kinda amazing, at that.

and man I don't know where the time goes (but it sure goes fast like that) - Another Bus Kids movie night fic, but this one set post-season 7, and reflecting on how far they've come. A little bit more hurt/comfort-y than it's pure fluff prequel, but still super fluffy and soft. And, of course, with a happy ending.

she shares my dreams, i hope that someday, i'll share her home - snowy Fitzsimmons fluff, complete with them falling in love at the Winter Olympics, as you do.

then you walked in and my heart went boom - 16k of Dekesy for the wife, and remarkable for that, because literally a month ago from this, I hated Dekesy with my entire soul. Then I started reading Kat's fics, and, well, fell in love with them... so much so that I wrote sixteen thousand words of enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, bed sharing holiday fluff for them.

a love like that - a Fitzsimmons Cinderella AU, featuring my two favourite science babies, in true science bby style, falling in love over science and how stupid the whole courting thing is. Also, Daisy makes a brief appearance, and she's the freaking best.

ever after - ah, probably the one single fic I'm proudest of. A post-season 7 Daisy character study focusing on her emotional rollercoaster re: losing her family/things never being the same again, which just achieves... an emotional level that I have never managed to replicate again. I was full-on sobbing while writing it, and, guys, it also part-holds the Closest To Making Kat Cry prize.

blue - Daisy character study spanning snapshots of seven seasons, and before - but tied together by something blue in every moment. Researching for this, and finding all the blue moments, was very interesting, and immensely satisfying, especially since all the moments where a little bit of blue was present actually combine to chronicle Daisy's journey on the show remarkably well.

who is that girl I see - the one time I decided to write straight angst, and straight angst with no happy ending. Melinda May post-Bahrain, folks.

take my hand, take my whole life too - aww, the first thing I wrote that I really and truly loved. A Staticquake and Fitzsimmons Actors AU, featuring a proposal on set and INCREDIBLE amounts of fluff and softness.

hold out your hand, 'cause friends will be friends - the wife's favourite, and, as second fics go, pretty damn good, if I do say so myself. It's a Soulmates AU for Staticquake and Mackelena, with the focus being on DaisyMack friendship, and lots of denial, angst, and guilt about finding their soulmates. (They figure it out eventually, don't worry - it's me, of course I made them happy.)

Fitzsimmons + Fake Dating moodboard - Fake dating will always be FAB, and picturing it out in a moodboard - especially for my clueless bby best friends in love - was the best, and super satisfying.

Staticquake + Orange moodboard - One of the cooler ideas I had for Trick or Treat (which I still have not finished, heaven help me) was to make a series of moodboards for my OTP plus different colours. This orange one is just so light, and cheerful, and happy, and honestly I kinda adore it.

This Philindaisy + Family Moodboard - making moodboards can be insanely frustrating when you just can't find the photo that fits exactly right. With this one, however, I found all the pics I needed pretty insanely fast, and, better, the whole thing just worked, and really nicely so, too.

This Bus Kids + Baking Cookies moodboard - there's absolutely NO faults to be found with tiny, adorable Skye, Fitz and Jemma concocting choc chip cookies - but I'm actually doing a tiny cheat here, because, cute as my moodboard here is, the accompanying fic by my love @eowima is the SWEETEST and best thing you could ever wish for!!!

This Daisy Johnson Appreciation Week Photoset - Day 3 of Daisy Johnson Appreciation Week focused on an emotion, and I picked confidence and power, because honestly, it's nothing short of amazing how confident and powerful our gorgeous girl has become.

This Daisy Johnson Appreciation Week Photoset - One of the times I wish I could gif, because this quote about struggling though never giving up just suits Daisy perfectly. The photos I found are cool, though, and I mean, it's Daisy, so that's already absolutely fabulous.

Other People's:

I managed to find twenty-six of my own things that I liked enough to put up there (because, yes, I'm that big a dork, 26 things for me being 26 is the way to go :D) Anyway, now that gives me the amazing chance to spotlight twenty-six of my favourite creations by my FANTASTIC mutuals! 😍

To start, my wife - Kat said I couldn't put everything she's ever written on here, so, ugh, I guess I'll just do my top five then. *grumbling* Everything by Kat is on here in spirit, though!!

Chasing Cars (even after the story ends) by @aleksandrachaev - the epic Dekesy roadtrip AU and incredible Daisy character study itself, which, I do believe, finishes today!! Words aren't enough to describe how freaking AMAZING this thing is, or how spectacularly well characterised. Just: if you haven't read this yet, you are missing out. You will laugh, you will groan, you will want to wrap Daisy in a very tight hug, and you will probably cry, too. This fic just has it all, really!

there goes the maddest man this town has ever seen by @aleksandrachaev - the post-season 7 Deke-crashes-the-Framework-Zoom-call fic I didn't know I needed (but spent the next two weeks rereading every single night.) It is absolutely INCREDIBLE, with all the Deke & Team feels we missed in the final outro scene, and honestly just the most fantastic writing. I cannot recommend it enough!

To Box It Up And Start Again (everything must go) by @aleksandrachaev - bloody hell, this BROKE me. Deke never really got to say goodbye in canon, but Kat gave him the chance to do it here. And, my freaking GOODNESS, she made it so incredibly bittersweet and heart-shattering. 10/10

i am a leaf on the wind by @aleksandrachaev - a little bit of a stretched-out, reflective moment in the season 7 finale. As Daisy lingers on the edge of death, she reflects on all the lives she could have had - and, man, what a study in bittersweetness!! This entire fic is utterly incredible, and something I think all Daisy fans should read.

Falling Into Place by @aleksandrachaev - here's a tiny cheat from me (sorry, babes, lmao) because technically this isn't one fic, but a series of three. Way too amazing to miss out on, though!! Set mid-season 7, this has the Chronicoms go after a young Mary Sue Poots to kill Quake before she can become a problem for them. They stop the Chronicoms, yes, but not without a TREMENDOUS dose of feels and hurt/comfort. There's also a wonderful little dose of Dekesy friendship, and then an adult adoption (!!) that honestly made my entire day to read. Actually, that's true for the entire series - I really canNOT yell about it enough!!

destroyer of worlds by @bobbimorseisbisexual - a study in incredible parallels between Jiaying's daughters. Utterly breathtakingly done, this will give you ALL the feels for this small and complex Inhuman family.

Muscle Memory by @robotgort and @bobbimorseisbisexual - a Huntingbird!! Bones!! AU!! And also a collaboration between two of the most fabulous Huntingbird authors in the fandom - honestly, what more can you ask for?! This will make you laugh, and gasp, and wince, and keep you guessing at each new plot twist (and also screaming at your screen for Hunter and Bobbi to get their acts together and TALK ABOUT IT.) In short: it's completely and utterly amazing, and I cannot, cannot recommend it enough!!

You Belong Among the Wildflowers by @libbyweasley - a freaking incredible Scis & Spies Regency AU! I only just started reading, but I was hooked all the way through, especially on the way Libby writes all four characters' complex relationships (and their attraction, and their history!) Everything about it is just completely stunning, and I for one cannot WAIT for these beautiful idiots to figure out they all belong together.

Family Snapshot by @tomatobookworm - if it's family fluff you're after, especially Staticquake family fluff, look no further! This tremendously soft and utterly amazing fic follows a day in the lives of a pregnant Daisy and her husband Lincoln, and their not-so-little family of Inhumans, both adopted and biological. There's also shopping with Grandma May, lots of feels, lots of shippiness, and just AMAZINGNESS all the way through!!

Best Day Ever by @loved-the-stars-too-fondly - Jemma and Daisy want to adopt a pet, and make a very special trip to Wisconsin to do it. Also, whether he knows who he is or not, Jemma has an important question to ask Cal - and just, AHHHH, everything about this is utterly stunning! For starters, Aubrey's writing is FANTASTIC, and the scene she sets is absolutely beautiful, and so very bittersweet. I was actually misting up a little with happy tears towards the end of this - really, I cannot recommend this enough, to any Skimmons fan.

so why don't we go somewhere only we know by @loved-the-stars-too-fondly - more Skimmons (platonic this time, though), more hurt/comfort, and, yes, again, more absolutely INCREDIBLE writing. This one is canon compliant, following a shaken Jemma struggling to sleep after Maveth, and how Daisy finds a way to help her out. Incredibly sweet, tender and BEAUTIFULLY written, this one was an instant favourite the moment I read it!

Unspoken by @anxiouslynumbme - a birthday fic for yours truly, and, honestly, one of the most STUNNING Staticquake introspectives I've read. It follows Daisy and Lincoln in a beautifully tender missing moment in season 3, with them both realising their feelings, and just... AHHHHHHHH, everything about it is utterly incredible!! I cannot, cannot recommend this gem of a fic enough

the thing about water droplets and ruffled hair by @que-mint-tea - here's another fic that proves, once and for all, how good Kat's Dekesy is, because it managed to convert T to write some Dekesy smut. And, oh my GOSH, what Dekesy smut - so goshdarn angsty, but so FANTASTICALLY characterised and written that it leaves you more than a little breathless, and gaping at your screen. The first chapter initially left us on the most HORRIFIC cliffhanger, but then T fixed it, and it's just... this thing is really a whole new level of emotional writing, raw and gripping and intensely perfect for both of these characters. My haw still drops whenever I think of this thing, and how utterly AMAZING it was, so yeah. Fic rec!!!

beautiful stranger, there you are by @justanalto - I do believe I still owe Serena a long and very gushy comment on this thing, because, MAN, does it ever deserve that!! Pipsy and fake dating, with the most HILARIOUSLY incredible writing, plot and characterisation, and honestly just a giddy "askhdfkhsfh" whenever I think back to how much I enjoyed it. Yup, it was that good.

Jumping to conclusions by @eowima - a very special one, because it marks my love Océane's first venture into writing AoS fic! It's an AU of 1x06 (the Fitzsimmons episode of s1) where Fitz does actually jump out of the plane to save Jemma. Realisations of feelings, and some of the most genuinely FANTASTIC Fitz characterisation I've read in a while, follow - and, yup, I was shouting at my screen for them just to get together already. Amazing stuff, really!!

Look into your eyes and the sky's the limit by @eowima - okay, this. This. Another gift for me, and one that I will probably treasure forEVER, because it is just?? so?? utterly?? perfect?? Just for starters, the title is a Hamilton reference - and then the theme of Hamilton references continues into the fic itself, I'm delighted to say. There's also the most BEAUTIFUL, playful Skimmons friendship, and teasing, and then of course the bet about who can make out with their crush first... Staticquake & Fitzsimmons perfection. And all rendered in Océane's delightful, best-thing-ever-to-read writing!! I'm going into a giddy keyboard smash just THINKING about this, so yeah, cannot recommend it enough.

lullabies and clear blue skies by @springmagpies and @bobbimorseisbisexual - okay, I never thought I'd catch myself shipping FitzBobbi, let alone shipping it this hard, but... wow. Maggie and Al teamed up to completely blow me away, and MELT MY WHOLE ENTIRE HEART with the sheer cuteness of this!! It features Fitz, Bobbi and adopting two daughters, and it's just the most tender, beautiful development through that little family - I love it so, so much.

We made all the wrong choices by @browneyedgenius - the winner of the AoS Angst War 2020, how could I not include this one? It is such a well-deserved win, though, whoa - I was sobbing, full-on sobbing, at least twice while reading. It follows the season 5 team through the events of the time-loop, after they failed to save the world - and, oh my gosh, it ripped my heart right out of my chest, but beautifully so. Everything about this fic just hits so hard, and it's written so well - yeah, really a most AMAZINGLY deserved win, for an utterly SHATTERINGLY incredible fic.

I threw stones at the stars (but the whole sky fell) by @nazezdha321 - this is Z showing us all how to write a backstory for a minor character, and write it so well that everyone's hearts break all over again when she dies. This one is about Victoria Hand, and it builds a stirring and profound childhood for her, also making her rise through the ranks of SHIELD and just her entire character mean so much more. Really, fic-wise, this is goals, and I take my hat off to you, Z, 1000%, for writing it.

in which the universe is put together by @besidemethewholedamntime - Rebecca's emotional writing, particularly Fitzsimmons' emotions, is incomparable, and she proves it all over again in this fic. If follows Fitz and Jemma before, after and during the bloodwork, and I just... wow, honestly. The emotion!! And the characterisation!! Absolutely stunning, and honestly all I could wish for in a we-had-time fic.

Agents of SHIELD Season 8 by @egumal - THIS. This, this, this, oh my gosh - as fix-it fics go, this has to be the most spectacular one I have ever read. What it does is find a way - a potentially canon compliant way, too - to bring back Lincoln Campbell, and reunite Staticquake. Basically: just about as season 7 finishes, the Astro Ambassadors get an unexpected visitor from another timeline, who asks them to come help out against Hive. Case in point, Daisy meets her lost love again (... but he has no idea who she is) and also has to relive the Fallen Agent drama. It all gets even more complicated when Kora restores Lincoln's memories, and Daisy meets the full team Deke has assembled around him in the 33 years (for him) that they've been apart... in short, this is one of the most thorough, well-written and downright SHOCKING plot-twist-wise fics that you will ever read, and honestly, saying "I can't recommend it enough" is an understatement. This thing is thd BEST, plain and simple!

Black Roses aren't real (but you and I are) by @ohwriteiforgot - ahhhh, a fic that will always have an incredibly special place in my heart, because it introduced me to one of my best fandom friends. The main focus is on Clintasha, it's true, but it's also a crossover with AoS in the sense that Clint was adopted by Coulson and May. Also, Daisy is his little sister, and their bond is gold. Also - there's Staticquake!! And flower shops!! And rivals to friends to lovers!! All I'm going to say is, what more can you ask for?!

A book to shield my story by @maybebrilliant - Staticquake High School AU, ahhhhhhhh!! There are only two chapters out so far, but the way this is shaping up is making my DAY - with Daisy as the new girl who meets Lincoln and his group of friends, and, though her foster parents are absolutely shit, starts to find actual happiness in a school for the first time in her life. Also - THE REFERENCES. Guys. I'm crazy for those, and in this book, so are my favourite dorks, Daisy and Lincoln - and let me tell you, it's nothing short of the best thing ever.

This AoS Finale Gif Edit by @heysteverogers - AoS really has been the most INCREDIBLE journey through the years, but what's really made it special is the company - and that's summed up perfectly in this gorgeous gifset. Also, the graphics on this are just, ahhhh, stunning - I'm in awe, and I've spent very long periods of time just looking at this thing in a state of heart-eyes.

This AoS Finale Gif Edit by @jemannesimms - combining Auld Lang Syne and the final scenes of my favourite show was a raw emotional - but utterly brilliant experience - for me. It's just so absolutely beautiful, and perfectly suited to the team, and their goodbyes!! Breathtaking editing work here, too.

This Daisy as Peter Parker and May as Tony Stark moodboard by @agentsofcomedyandchaos - ahhhh, a crossover of two of my favourite fandoms!! And what a lovely one, too - the colour scheme, quotes, and just the whole FEEL of this is absolutely genius, and I am guilty of being inspired by way too many fic ideas by it. Stunning stuff!!

And... whoa, that was long, but I really do feel that we deserve a bit of a proper pat on the back after creating such magical content in such a messed up year. So that's the note I'm going to leave you with for 2020, my friends: hell-year or no, look at the absolute beauty we were still able to create!! We really are freaking amazing, guys.

#aos best of 2020 #fic rec #massive fic rec list #and honestly; WHAT a list!!#despite this utter hellstorm of a year #we as a fandom have still been nothing short of INCREDIBLE #and honestly; I am SO proud of us #💜💜💜

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merinnan · 3 years

Text

Fic Tag Game

Grabbed from @hils79, because it looked like fun.

Name: Merinnan, which I’ve gone by for... fifteen years now, I think? Prior to that, I mostly used Calicia (and sometimes Zoi).

Fandoms: Like Hils, I’m only going to list the fandoms I’ve actually written fic for.

Star Trek: My very first fandom, and the one I’ve written the most fics for (so far - I suspect that DMBJ will overtake it. It certainly already has in terms of word count). I was (and am still) primarily a DS9 fan, and was a huge Kira/Dukat and Garak/Bashir shipper back in the day. Most of my Trekfics are DS9 fics, but I also dabbled a little bit in TOS and TNG, and had one or two crackfic crossovers that involved Voyager characters. Discovery has tempted me with a few fic ideas, but I haven’t written anything for it yet.

Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon: aka, the show that first had me seriously questioning my sexuality. Look, Haruka and Michiru are #goals, don’t judge me. This is also where my Zoi name came from, after the first season villain Zoisite, whom I cosplayed several times. Unsurprisingly, my main ships are HaruMichi and KunZoi. Despite this fact, neither of my published Sailormoon fics are HaruMichi.

Bubblegum Crisis Tokyo 2040: A short-lived fandom, but one I still liked enough to write a fic for and get the OST CD.

World of Warcraft: I wouldn’t say I’m really part of the fandom, per se, but I’ve been playing since the dying days of Burning Crusade, am a huge lore nerd, and started writing a crossover fic that is currently on indefinite hiatus. I do plan to come back and finish it, but first RL got in the way, and now I have to try and remember where I’d actually been planning to go with it.

A Court of Thorns and Roses: That crossover fic I just mentioned? Yeah, this is what it’s a crossover with. ACoTaR fandom went sleepy for awhile, but it’s back up and kicking now that A Court of Silver Flames is out - if any of you are still following me, it’s great to see everyone active again! To the surprise of no-one who knows me, I’m a big Nessian shipper.

Mo Dao Zu Shi / Chen Qing Ling / The Untamed: I came to this fandom via ACoTaR, actually, after a certain person (hi, @rhysand-vs-fenrys!) wouldn’t stop gushing about it :-) This is the fandom that really and seriously got me back into regular fic writing again after 15-ish years. I’m a multishipper here, and have written / am writing WangXian, NieLan, XiCheng, XuanLi, and XiSang.

Guardian / Zhen Hun: MDZS fandom led me to Guardian, which, along with DMBJ, has devoured my life in a way that hasn’t happened since my Star Trek days, and I love it! WeiLan is my major ship, but I’m also quite fond of the DaMian life raft.

Zhu Yilong: Yes, I’m going to list a person as a fandom. Zhu Yilong is one of the stars of Guardian, and is both incredibly pretty and an incredibly talented actor. So much so that I have suffered through some truly terrible dramas just to watch him in them. I do not write Z1L-fic, since RPF of living people is a personal squick of mine, but I am working on a massive crossover fic of most of his characters.

Mo Du: Guardian led me along to more of Priest’s works, such as Mo Du, which is now officially my favourite book, and I adore the main WenZhou ship. The Mo Du fandom right now is pretty tiny, and I’m still working on my first fic for it, but I hope that it will grow with the donghua due out this year, and the drama having just started filming.

Daomu Biji / The Lost Tomb: I initially came into this fandom because of Zhu Yilong, who played Wu Xie in the Reboot / Reunion / Chongqi drama, and then I got sucked into the fandom pit of all of the books and dramas and spinoffs, and it’s wonderful and fantastic. I have written so much for it, and have so much more planned. PingXie and PingXieSang are my main ships here, but I’m also a HeiHua fan, and very much enjoying the RiSang pool noodle that @kholran created.

Tropes: Hurt/Comfort and crack are my major ones.

Fic I spent most time on: A toss-up between Endings and Beginnings and Reunion, both DS9 fics. Endings and Beginnings is an alternate ending to the show, while Reunion is a Gul Dukat-centric fic set around, oh, season 5ish? Both were written for and initially published in print fanzines, so in addition to time spent writing, there was a lot of back and forth for editing, etc.

Favourite fic(s) you’ve written: Look, I honestly couldn’t say. I like most of the fics I’ve written, and there are several that I’m really proud of and really like.

Fic I spent least time on: Silent Graves, a super angsty DMBJ/Lost Tomb Xiaoge fic. I think I wrote it in like 15 minutes.

Longest fic: Cat’s Paw, a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXieSang canon rewrite fic I co-wrote with @xantissa, at 247 826 words. For fics written by just me, not with a co-writer, then that would be Nevermore, my WIP MDZS/CQL XiCheng Pacific Rim AU, at 22 276 words and counting.

Shortest fic: Every entry in my DS9 Drabbles series, with each one at exactly 100 words. Although if you count them as a quintdrabble, then Indiscretion (a DS9 missing scene vignette about Gul Dukat, set during the episode of the same name) at 169 words.

Most hits/kudos/comments/bookmarks/subscriptions: The answer to all of these is either Cat’s Paw or Nevermore, so I’m going to give the next highest.

Hits: Those who fear darkness have never seen what light can do, a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXie supernatural AU fic co-written with xantissa.

Since this fic also takes the highest kudos, bookmarks, and subscriptions after Cat’s Paw/Nevermore, I’ll skip to the next fic along on each of those.

Kudos: Stars fall like diamonds, a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXie missing scene fic from Reboot/Reunion/Chongqi.

Bookmarks: A Knight in Bloody Armour, another DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXieSang supernatural AU fic (but a different supernatural AU) co-written with xantissa.

Comments: Ears and Other Related Calamities, yet another DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXieSang supernatural AU fic (of a different again supernatural AU) co-written with xantissa.

Subscriptions: The Rescue Job, a Guardian WeiLan Leverage AU, currently at one chapter complete and posted out of a planned five chapters.

Fic you want to rewrite/expand on: We have plans for a prequel and a sequel to A Knight in Bloody Armour, and a spinoff fic for The Zhang Identity (a DMBJ/Lost Tomb PingXie AU that is complete but not yet posted. It will be posted in April as part of the Small Fandoms Big Bang).

Share a bit of a WIP: This is from an as-yet-unnamed post-canon fix-it fic for the Guardian drama:

It was hurting again. Zhao Yunlan curled up into a tight ball under the hospital blankets, trying to ignore it enough to try to get back to sleep. He knew it wouldn't work, because he couldn't remember a time when it ever did, but it was always worth a shot, right? He squeezed his eyes shut and held himself tightly for a few...moments? Minutes?...before grabbing his stuffed cat and clutching it while he forced himself to breathe deep, slow breaths the way the doctors back in Spring City had taught him.

Eventually, the pain died back down to its usual dull ache, the one that was bearable and let him play, and watch TV, and do school lessons with his mother. One day, she said, they'd find a doctor who knew what was wrong, why he hurt all the time, and the doctor would give him medicine that would keep the worst pain away so that he could go to an actual school and meet more kids than the ones who lived in their apartment block or who frequented the same playground that he liked to go to.

Zhao Yunlan tried closing his eyes again, seeing if he could go back to sleep, but he was far too awake now. He sighed, sitting up in bed and looking around the room. Again. It was just like the hospital rooms in Spring City, and in Kiyota City. He figured that if the doctors here in Tomorrow Mountains couldn't help, his parents would take him to yet another city, and the hospital rooms there would probably look the same, too.

Then, over the faint beeping of hospital equipment, and the quiet murmurs further down the corridor of nurses at the nurse station or seeing to other patients, he heard a soft sniffling sound, like someone was trying not to cry too loudly. He picked up his stuffed cat and looked at it.

"What do you think, Dead Cat?" he asked it. "Should we go and find them?"

Dead Cat didn't answer, of course, but that didn't stop Zhao Yunlan from assuming that it agreed with him, and slipping out of bed. His feet touched the cold tile floor with barely a sound, and, still holding Dead Cat tightly, Zhao Yunlan padded over to the door. He looked up and down the corridor, then left his room to track down the sniffling noise.

He wasn't surprised that it came from the next room. He was surprised that it came from another kid, a boy who looked to be about his age, huddled in bed and wiping his eyes.

"Hi," Zhao Yunlan whispered. The other boy looked up in surprise, then stopped to clutch his chest as he began to cough. Once he'd finished coughing, Zhao Yunlan and Dead Cat were perched on the end of his bed.

"I'm Zhao Yunlan, and this is Dead Cat." He held up Dead Cat, moving one of the paws to wave hello. "What's your name?"

The boy wiped his eyes again. "Shen Ye."

I tag: ALL OF YOU! Are you a writer who hasn’t done this yet? Consider yourself tagged if you want to be.

#fanfic meme #dmbj #daomu biji #guardian #mo du #star trek #ds9 #bishoujo senshi sailor moon #sailor moon #mdzs #cql #acotar #bubblegum crisis #world of warcraft #zhu yilong

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