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wantonlywindswept · 2 days

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adopted baby Guard Din idea that I am never going to write

because it would involve logistics and quiet moments and idle life which I am very down for reading but cannot for the LIFE of me actually sit down and write

So the war ends, Palps is outed as a Sith and an asshole and dies somehow, and the Senate eventually decides that the clones do count as people and thus are allowed to leave the GAR if they want. Give the bureaucrats another few years and they might even give out backpay and citizenship, so long as you stay in the service--wait what do you mean the entire Guard is resigning. What do you mean they've already left orbit?? WHAT DO YOU MEAN THERE ARE NOW MILLIONS OF FILES ON THE HOLONET ABOUT THE SENATE'S SHADY DEALINGS???

Guard, collectively: lol cya suckers

Fox is of course one of the last ones out, and since this was all planned on the down low, everyone's been split into groups so they can take commercial flights, since they're not about to be accused of stealing ships. (They also leave their weapons and their armor behind, in a giant macabre pile in the middle of Corrie HQ. Even their helmets, their faces, they discard: it's time for a rebirth.)

He and Thorn and a few other Corries have a stopover on some tiny station, waiting a week for a delayed transport to arrive, and in the meantime they're approached by some locals who just fled the planet below. Separatist remnants attacked their homes, forcing them to leave everything and everyone behind; can the big strong clones do anything about it?

The Big Strong Clones: Oh shit we finally get to kick some Seppie ass? Sign us the FUCK up.

The eager group does not include Fox, who could not care less about the Separatists and would very much like to finally catch up on his sleep. Unfortunately that means that the group that goes down to the planet is Unsupervised.

(Thorn does not count as supervision. Thorn, bereft of Senate oversight, has finally allowed his Inner Chaos Gremlin to fully emerge. Thorn needs more supervision than the shinies.)

Thorn, three days later, waking Fox from half-hearted sleep by dropping an entire natborn child on him: Hey boss, look what we found! None of the refugees claimed him, so we called dibs. Can we keep him? Fox, staring at the child: ...

Din, staring back: ...

Fox: ...no..?

Din: *sad but understanding big brown eyes*

Fox: Nevermind this is my child now.

Din has gone from two parents to one parent and hundreds of overprotective brothers.

Eventually his group makes it to their destination, Din in tow. I am uncertain of what the destination is but it is a planet that is as far away from Coruscant that the Corries could find. I am tempted for Tatooine not because I like Tatooine (I share Anakin's loathing of sand and deserts) but because Luke's description of Tatooine in ANH was 'if there's a bright center to the universe, this is the planet the furthest from'.

Corries, hearing that: Fuck it sounds perfect.

Anyway they make it to Tatooine, there is probably purchasing of some shitty land/buildings that nobody wants out in the wastes bc crime, scum, villainy, etc, but it's not like they have problems taking care of anything that tries to mess with them.

Where did they get the funds?

Shh don't ask about it.

Stone takes up moisture farming. Thire takes up farming-farming. Thorn shoots gleefully at anything that shows up unannounced within a ten-mile radius. Literally everybody dotes on Din. There are a surprising amount of peaceful days.

Eventually some dumb shiny goes: Hey don't kids need friends? Shouldn't we set up some playdates for him or something?

The shiny is not called dumb for asking the question, but they are called dumb for thinking that the question would only ever be taken rhetorically. Fox disappears for two weeks and then comes back with a black eye and a yowling hissing Boba tucked under one arm, looking stupidly pleased with himself.

(Boba is also pleased to be back with people he knows will keep him safe. Boba will not admit to this under threat of death or dismemberment. Boba is a SERIOUS SCARY ADULT BOUNTY HUNTER.)

Boba also decides he will be Mortal Enemies with Din, which after about ten minutes of meeting him morphs into If Anyone Hurts Din I Will Kill Everyone In This Room And Then Myself because all clones be the same, really.

Din has gained another brother/bestie. (Or potential future boyfriend, whichever floats your boat.)

Somehow they still end up overthrowing the Hutts.

Officially the GAR knew and knows nothing about the Guard leaving Coruscant as soon as the metaphorical paint was dry on their sentient status.

Unofficially Fox's batch harangues him every single day for photos of his new kid(s). They eventually show up unannounced, demanding time with their nephew. (They are shot at by Thorn.)

Din gains five new uncles.

The batch proudly show pics and holos to their battalions. Din gains millions of new uncles.

Fox finally gets a full night's sleep.

#tcw #tcw fanfiction #commander fox #din djarin #coruscant guard #someone else should write that #tho tbh it's mostly written here just in rambling infodump form #btw this is half-inspired bc red is both baby din and fox's color #din is nonverbal for a little while because Trauma #and gets nicknamed 'Kit'#Fox refuses to be pleased about this #Fox is extremely smugly pleased about this

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g4yr4t · 2 days

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yesterday, annie and I had to make the difficult decision to put my dearly beloved childhood cat, annabell, to sleep. annabell was with me for eighteen years - since I was thirteen years old. I have so much to say about her that I'm going to put it under a cut for the sake of everyone's dashboards.

my aunt found annabell in a park when I was thirteen. or, more accurately, annabell found her. she walked right up to my aunt (and her german shepherd) and wanted to be taken home, so that's what my aunt (who had several cats and two dogs) did. my mom decided that it would actually be okay for me to have a cat after all, and she was with me for eighteen years after that. the only time we didn't live together was when I was in college and couldn't take her with me to the dorms/apartments.

she was kind of a bitch in the early days, to be honest. or at least, very strong-willed and sassy and not super cuddly. but when I was fourteen and my nana was in the hospital dying and I was crying all the time, she was sweet and snuggly to me. she was good to me when it mattered.

I thought for sure that I had lost her at least three times over the years. once, she got stuck in an attic crawlspace in my mom's house on christmas eve. I was understandably distraught, because we couldn't get her out. but then, on christmas day, she woke my mom up by yelling at her for food, having somehow figured out how to free herself.

she got also got trapped in a wall in my first apartment, and then went missing for twenty-four hours after having wandered out of my house when someone was moving in around 2020 or 2021. that was absolutely awful. she had already gone deaf by then, so even though my neighbors were super sweet and searched and called for her, I knew it was unlikely that she would turn up. then, the next day, my roommate and I were sitting in the living room and we heard this pitiful meowing. she had found her way back to our front porch and was sitting by the window outside. it had stormed the night before, and she was wet and matted and hungry but still very alive. after that, we got her a collar with a bell on it and a tag with her name and annie's phone number.

she mellowed out after she lost her hearing and became much more social, planting herself in the middle of parties and gatherings to take up space while sleeping. she got up into my lap sometimes, and while she wasn't exactly cuddly, she would sit there until I absolutely had to move her. she wouldn't take a hint or move when I changed positions - I had to physically remove her from my body.

she loved to go outside, even though she had been an indoor cat since my aunt found her in that park. we were planning on harness training her, but her joints became stiff and it got harder for her to walk and we had to move out of the house with the good backyard. she came with my to five different houses and apartments, with more and more moving in her later years. I am deeply sad that she will not be coming with me to my next apartment, or to wherever I eventually "settle down" (which will hopefully happen someday soon).

but she was sick, and had been for a long time. even though she was eighteen and had arthritis and respiratory problems that included a very upsetting cough, her sudden decline was surprising. within the past week, she lost her ability to jump, stopped eating independently (we fed her by hand), and completely lost control of her bladder. I picked her up and put her on the couch to sleep the last couple of nights so that she could be next to me. she couldn't come up on my bed to smack me in the face for food at 4am anymore (I would hear the jingling of her collar, then she would hit me in the face... jingle, smack. heavy breathing. smack.).

she was such a huge part of my life, and it even though she was doing very badly as of yesterday, I still had hope that we could give her meds and take her home so that she could pass here instead of at the vet's office. but that isn't how it happened. I hate that that isn't how it happened. we buried her in my mom's backyard because she loved to be outside and we don't have a backyard with real dirt right now and we'll be moving soon anyway. even though I know it isn't the case, I still feel like I let her down. leaving my mom's house still felt like abandoning her. I already miss her so, so much, and it's going to be very weird to live without her.

annabell, I loved you dearly. I still love you dearly. there is a hole in my heart where you were. you were a cat, but also a friend and a companion and the longest lasting relationship in my life outside of my (human) family members. we watched each other grow up for eighteen years. I will never stop grieving, even when I stop crying for you all the time, because that's how love works. I miss you, my old lady. goodnight.

#animal death /#pet death /#my cat #annabell #if you read all of that god bless you #it was a lot #but I felt like I needed to write a lot #to do her and her life and this grief justice #I miss her so much already

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somuchbetterthanthat · 10 hours

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A little Gwen&Alice with heaavy alice/sam, because I needed to write something after that last ep and tumblr ficlets are less intimidating than full fics.

In hindsight, hiding in the loo is dumb. Sam's making her dumb, which is aggravating and bothersome and does not horribly ache like it used to, before, in those last few weeks they'd stayed together in the same flat while Sam prepared his trip abroad. Alice's a Cool Girl. Cool girls don't hide in bathrooms because their best friend who just so happen to be their ex arrived to the office at the arm of another woman with the sparkly bubbly smile that screams I had such a good time this weekend Celia is awesome at sex.

Then again, Alice's pretty sure her Cool Girl's crown's been stolen the moment Celia walked in with those stupid donuts for the first time (and it is painful, in a way, that Celia is cool to hang around with; pretty and fun and chill and blessed with the same ability Sam has to be friendly with everyone she meets immediately).

Whatever; Alice's excellent at building new narratives and looking away to survive. She'll withstand having Sam back in her life and then feeling like she's loosing him all over again like a fucking champ -- but she has to admit, hiding in the loo was just not a good move, 'cause now she's got to not only deny her sad moody depressing feelings, but also the fact that Gwendolyn Bouchard is clearly weeping on the stall next to hers.

"Hey," she whispers, after three long minutes of wondering whether she wants to deal with this, then deciding it's the sort of night where she'd definitely rather think of someone else's problems than her own.

There's mouvement on her left, then a sharp exhale. "What?" hisses Gwen.

"Want to tell me what this is all about?" Alice asks, staring at the door.

"No," Gwen snaps. Then: "We're in a bathroom, Alice, for god's sake, do you have any sort of decorum--"

"Exactly!" Alice cuts her off. "We're in a bathroom. That's basically being in a confessional for us ladies, innit? Sure we're not drunk out of our heads at the club or whatever, but I think this qualifies all the same. Everything you'll say is sacred in here my dear. Any sin is between you, me, and those awful scratchy paper roll that we're always out of. Hope you've got an handkerchief ready, by the way."

It must strike a nerve, because Gwen stays silent for a good thirty seconds before she mutters: "Anyone could come in."

"Oh, please," Alice snorts. "We both know Lena's not human enough to have to use the loo and Celia's too busy getting lost into Sam's eyes, we're fine."

"Why do you say that?" Gwen asks, her tone suddenly more alert.

"...'Cause Celia is getting lost in Sam's eyes? I mean, I know you have your whole thing going on and you're wayy better than us now that you got that shiny promotion you wanted so much, but they've literally been building this whole sickening little office romance just in front of our noses for like, two months, surely you haven't missed that. Kinda surprised you haven't actually told them this was against regulations or whatever."

"No not Celia, I don't care about her, or whatever's going on with Sam (Lucky you, Alice thinks meanly, and has to bite her tongue very hard). I mean about Lena. Do you think she's --" Gwen stops, exhales shakily. "Now, that'd be ridiculous. Obviously. She's nothing like --"

Oh, Alice thinks. Oh, Gwendolyn. She wishes people would listen to her, when she says to look away. Sam and Gwen are similar that way, she notes. All too ready to dig themselves into messes that are much too big for them to take on.

"I was making a joke," she tells Gwen. "I do that, sometimes. Oh, not very often of course, you know me, all too serious for this sort of nonsense, but I have heard before that it can lighten the mood here and there--"

"God, you are unsufferable."

"Is that how you talk to your priest, Gwendolyn? Shame on you."

"I'm leaving now. This is all pointless, and we've got work to do anyway."

"Do we ever," Alice sighs.

"You've been here for like, twenty five minutes, by the way," Gwen adds. "If you want to keep pretending you're not the one mooning over Sam, you might want to come out soon."

#i kept trying to add more sentences and i can't find any that strike like this one so i'm stopping this abruptly #it's the magic of a tumblr ficlet #anyway i'm pleased i got to write the girls a little #one day they're gonna kiss #the magnus protocol #tmagp spoilers #sort of?#tmagp stories #tma stories #dyehard #alice dyer #gwendolyn bouchard

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mayykith · 1 year

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sound on 🔊

Chay's POV

#kinnporsche #kinnporsche the series #kimchay #porchay kittisawasd #kim theerapanyakul #barcode tinnasit #jeff satur #my first attempt #sorry for the quality #had insomnia and inspiration at the same time #i was sad and decided to make it everyone's problem #if this doesn't flop.. I'll make Kim's pov 👀#my art stuff

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iwritenarrativesandstuff · 2 months

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This entire scene emotionally destroyed me but there's one part in particular that was like taking a knife to an already open wound.

So, Gon shuts down after the reveal that Kite was dead all along and his stunned and racing mind is disjointed and contradictory. Most of his statements fit into roughly three categories of desperate thoughts:

Vehement inability to process that Kite is dead. From the statement being repeated multiple times to the amount of "no"s everywhere on these pages.

Taking the blame for Kite's death, in a frankly horrifying show of self-hatred (especially given the context of what comes next).

Blaming Pitou and proclaiming that he "didn't do it" in an attempt to absolve the weight of his guilt.

Heartbreaking. But there's one thought here that's a bit different.

Throughout all of this, Gon has been adamant that Kite, and by extension the situation, can be "fixed" - after all, most every issue that's come up before on his adventures could be resolved nicely. But now, suddenly, it can't. Gon can't stand feeling powerless or helpless, and now he finds himself more helpless than he's ever been. And we get this.

"Somebody help me."

Gon is independent. Gon has a burning need to prove his worth through his own strength. Gon has a bad habit of equating "taking responsibility" with fixing things all by himself and rejecting help from others.

Gon has never pleaded for someone to save him before.

And it's just. Holy shit. Holy shit - he's a kid. He's just a kid. And in just a few pages, he's going to make a despair-fueled decision to throw away his life just to regain any semblance of power over a situation that was doomed to be unfixable from the start. He says, "Let it end. I don't care what happens to me now.", because this is the only way he can think of to make his pain and his guilt and Pitou all just stop, by losing himself to all of his power instead of his grief.

#hi. i'm sad and i decided to make it everyone else's problem.#i know i'm stating the obvious here but. ah well. i did say i was here to share the sadness #storyrambles #hxh #hunter x hunter #gon freecss #thank goodness a certain best friend of his actually did show up to help him huh...?#killua as always snapping him out of his own darkness...#hxh meta #<- does it count #omg should i use my analysis tag? i'm gonna.#call me ace detective the way i am ace. and also a detective #hxh spoilers

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gomzdrawfr · 4 months

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a purely self indulgent comic of me visiting the 141 and gifting them present

Gaz - Camera

Ghost - Baymax

Price - Christmas baked goods

angst and mcd ahead :3

Soap - candy cane dagger and bluebells

good night and happy holidays folks

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lucasino-a · 11 months

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I headcanon that insult was thrown around a lot before the incident

#Security Breach upset me with its save system and I decided to make my sad feeling everyone's problem #fnaf #five nights at freddy's #fnaf 4 #fnaf evan #fnaf michael #michael afton #the bite of 83 #my art #tw blood

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mistergandalf · 1 year

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ULTIMATE TOLKIEN BLORBO ROUND FIVE: SECOND CHANCE BRACKET

ÉOWYN vs. MERIADOC "MERRY" BRANDYBUCK

See the ULTIMATE TOLKIEN BLORBO MASTERPOST for details and follow #ultimate tolkien blorbo to cast your vote for the blorbiest blorbo of all!

#ultimate tolkien blorbo #lotr #lord of the rings #tolkien #eowyn #merry brandybuck #meriadoc brandybuck #I chose these two pictures SPECIFICALLY to make it harder for you to decide #because I am evil and I love causing problems #everyone always talks about how eowyn killed the witch-king because she's a woman #but no one ever talks about the fact that merry was able to harm him because he's a HOBBIT #TEAMWORK #they did it together!!! I love them!!!#also forever sad we missed out on merry's friendship with beregond that was in the books #don't mind me I'm just thinking about beregond now #anyway have fun voting

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taardisblue · 1 year

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also lowkey the master wearing all the doctor’s old outfits had “dumped guy putting on his ex’s shirt to have a cry in the bathtub” energy im sorry

#doctor who #doctor who spoilers #dw #dw spoilers #LIKE YES BBY I KNOW SHE DIDNT KILL YOU HERSELF ON GALLIFREY #but is that REALLY a reason to just #raid her closet and just. sadly play the recorder on a mushroom planet for who knows how long??#also the way it ties into that master novella #i do love that vibe #anyhow in short once again the master is a bitter dumpee and decides to make it everyone's problem #more news at 11 #also one day ill process all the doctor's sad lil remarks about it. but not today.

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cherikfirstclass · 4 months

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Hello, i've been crying for the last hour because of this scene.

Since the first moment they met, Mhok turned Day's life upside down.

He made Day realize that being blind doesn't mean being dead. It doesn't mean that he can't go out and have adventures or that he can't make friends (or have lovers). He's still alive, and he should take the most from that. Even if it's hard, even if some days it would be just better to stay in bed all day and hide from the world, he's still breathing, and he's sorrounded by people who love him.

That's why Day wants Mhok to be the last image he sees before going totally blind. Because, for him, looking at Mhok means looking at hope. Hope for a future in which he no longer believed.

What's also heartbreaking to watch is Mhok realizing that, this time, there's nothing he can do or fix to help his boyfriend. He's trying to stay strong for him, but in the end sadness prevails and takes over.

All I can say is that they love each other so much. I hope life has only good things in store for them. They deserve it.♡

#i'm just so sad and decided to make it everyone's problem #p'aof if i catch you #he has an habit of making me cry every january #bad buddy not me msp and now this #mhok x day #last twilight the series

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adipostsstuff · 2 months

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My @milgram-valentines-exchange gift for @good-beans. Honestly I was worried about getting this finished on time but I actually got a couple of weeks to spare at the end of it. Once I got it to a fairly good standard I ended up putting it aside to focus on studies. While I'm not sure if it's as good as I want it to be, it's good enough. This is the first fanfic I finished and it's the first Milgram fic I've written (I have a Danganronpa fic I've uploaded but it's multi-chapter and really long, I need to get back onto that). Taking this from my notes app and reformatting it was hell, I hope I didn't miss anything. Hope you enjoy this and Happy Valentines Day! (Please ask me about the writing process please ask me about the writing process please ask me about-)

What a pain...

Yuno looks up from her navigation to check her surroundings. A client was going to take her to the bar in the Ritz-Carlton Tokyo and asked her to dress up for the day, so she is looking for a beauty parlour to help her get ready. It was a well paying client, so she couldn't refuse him, but it did bother her to have to mould herself into the desires of others. Whatever. She had chosen this work of her own accord, so she needs to just suck it up and do what she does best: lie and keep appearances.

Ah. This must be the place.

Yuno stands in front of parlour her phone sent her to. She pulls up the receipt from her booking and walks in.

"Excuse me," she says to the receptionist. "I have an appointment for 10:15."

"Alright. Can I have your name?"

"Kashiki Yuno."

The lady behind the desk checks some things on her computer before looking back up at her. "There you are. Would you like to come with me?" She takes her to one of the stations and settle her down. "Your stylist will be here shortly."

Yuno takes a minute to take in her surroundings. This place seems quite well run and professional, and the products high quality; not a bad deal for the cost.

"Ah, hello there. I haven't seen you before."

Yuno turns to her side to find the voice. Next to her, a woman with light brown hair and round face sat by the neighbouring station. She looked from be in her early twenties and she wore a warm smile that felt like the sun itself.

Yuno attempted to match her disposition with a smile of her own. "Yeah, this is my first time here. I'm Kashiki Yuno."

"Shiina Mahiru. Nice to meet you, Yuno-san. I come here all the time. Usually its just for advise from my beautician. She's like my closest friend right now. Today I'm going on a date, though, so I need to look my best. Even though my boyfriend never really pays attention to how hard I try for him. Hey, what are you here for?"

"I'm going to be going out to a fancy place tonight so I'm dressing up for the occasion." She leaves out a lot of details, having no interest in telling a stranger about her job. She didn't need anyone's judgement on it.

"Ooh, fancy. Is it for a date?"

"Hm? Something like that." Mahiru giggles in response.

"Found it! This one is sure to - ah! Were you two talking?" a woman on the other side of Mahiru, presumably her beautician, perks up.

"Ah, yes, we were just introducing ourselves. This is Yuno-san, it's her first time here," Mahiru answers. Yuno gives the woman an awkward wave. She sure loves talking, doesn't she?

"Hi. I'm Sayori, Mahiru-chan's beautician. Nice to meet you. Mahiru-chan, I found the thing. This one is sure to catch his eye," says Sayori, holding up a bottle of something Yuno can't identify.

"Ah, I wanna try," responds the brunette. Yuno turns back to her own desk, assuming the conversation to be over.

"Sorry for the wait. You must be Kashiki Yuno, correct?" A ginger woman in her early thirties walks to her side.

"Yes, that's me," Yuno replies.

"Oh, she's a good one. You're in amsafe hands with her," says Sayori.

"Thank you, Nanami-san. Ms. Kashiki, Is there a particular look you are going for?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe something a bit more refined?"

"Alright. First, I am going to wash your face and clean up your nails. Is that okay?"

"Sure. You would know best, after all.

"The woman, who Yuno assumes to be her stylist for the day, begins to apply a scrub to her face. It feels weird on her face, though her touch isn't too rough. She leaves it on and washes her hands before picking up a nail file and taking Yuno's hand in her own and getting to work on them.

"Hey, Yuno-san," Mahiru says, causing Yuno to face her slightly. "What do you normally like to do?"

"Oh, I like shopping and going out with my friends. I'm also part of the theatre club at school, so you could say that's also a hobby of mine."

"Theatre sounds pretty exciting. I've been to a few shows. It looks like a lot of fun."

"It is. At least I think so. Very different from watching." Yuno is pretty used to playing a part, but at least with theatre it was entirely for fun, with no one assuming anything about her based on her role.

"Ooh, maybe I should try it. There's a theatre group at my university. I'm in my final year at Aoyama Gakuin University studying literature. Me... I also enjoy shopping. I'm into fashion and astrology, and I like reading magazines and watching dramas. I mainly do running and film watching because those are my lover's hobbies."

"You just copy your lover's hobbies?"

"Oh yes. In order to have a good relationship with your partner, you must adapt to them. Relationships are about compromise."

"Yep, yep. As said in the Lain magazine, a good relationship relies on shared interests. It is important to take interest in the things your partner likes and abide by what they desire," says Sayori.

"Even so," says Yuno, "to change your lifestyle for their sake... you have to leave something for yourself, right?"

Mahiru says, "No need. I'm ready to give all of me for my lover, and I only ask for him to do the same. Say, have you ever been in love before?"

Yuno thinks. "There was this one boy I had a crush on in middle school, Haruto-kun. I wouldn't really say I was in love with him, though. So, no, I haven't been in love."

"A shame. Don't worry, Yuno-san, I'm sure it will happen to you eventually. Love is like a time bomb that will explode one day. You can't stop it from happening. And when it does, you will understand just how beautiful it is."

To Yuno, this all seems a bit idealised. She has been empty for so long she can't remember what it is like to form close bonds with people. Sure, she cares about her friends and family, but even they don't fully understand her, so she cannot truly feel close to them. For someone like her, does 'true love' really exist? "I hope so." Yuno trails off. "Say, Shiina-san -"

"Oh please, Mahiru is fine."

"Mahiru-san, then. What's your boyfriend like? You've been talking about him a lot."

She brightens up at this. "My boyfriend is a really kind person. He takes care of me really well. We get into arguments sometimes, but we always come out of it closer than before."

"Uh huh. What else can you tell me?"

"What else... Oh! Do you want to see a picture of him?"

Yuno didn’t miss how she dodged the question. "Sure." Mahiru pulls up her phone and opens up her photos, showing Yuno a selfie of her and her boyfriend smiling together. He looked somewhat plain, but still cute. They did look happy, so Yuno may be overthinking their relationship. It wasn't like it was any of her business anyways. "He looks alright."

"I know. But it's not just his looks that make me like him. He has a charming personality too."

"Haha, that's nice to hear."

"Miss Kashiki, can you lean forward?" her stylist asks, gesturing to the sink in front of her. She does so and her stylist washes her face before placing her back and wiping it with a small towel. She then picks up a foundation from a shelf. "This is the product I am going to use for your face," she says, applying it on. Yuno suspects this is a way of trying to advertise it to her. Once she is done she takes a contour pen and applies to to different pats of her face, blending them with a beauty blender. "This is how you look so far. How do you think?" The beautician turns her to the mirror. Her face looks natural, barely as if anything is there, but she still appears to be somewhat older and more mature.

"Looks good so far," she says.

"Alright." The lady picks up a book. "You said you wanted a refined look. Do you have an outfit prepared?"

"Hm, I think I do."

"OK. Describe it to me and I'll see if I can come up with something that matches." Yuno opens her mouth to reply, but at that moment a voice calls from behind her drawing her stylist's attention.

"Natsumi."

Yuno turns to see what she is looking at and finds a man with bright red hair wearing a union jack hoodie running up to them.

"Futa? What are you doing here?" the beautician, apparently named Natsumi, asks.

"Dad called. He wants to talk to you."

She sighs. "Now? I'm in the middle of an appointment."

"He says it's urgent."

"Fine. Hand it over," she groans, taking the phone from Futa's hand. "I'm sorry about this, ma'am. Stay here, Futa, I'll be back."

"I'm not staying in a beauty parlour. That's gross."

"Maybe you should. It might make you less misogynistic."

Futa stares at her in disgust as she walks away. Nearby, Mahiru's stylist whispers "I've never heard Kajiyama-senpai speak like that before."

"I'm not misogynistic. I just think girl talk is boring," Futa complains.

Yuno comments, "That sounds pretty misogynistic to me."

Futa glares at her. "And who are you?"

"Kashiki Yuno. Nice to meet you. You are..." Sayori called her stylist Kajiyama and, from them appearing to have the same father, they are probably siblings. "...Kajiyama Futa?"

He rolls his eyes. "Why are you acting do friendly with me? Its weird to talk that way to strangers, you know."

"All relationships start with strangers."

"What makes you think I want to be friends with you?"

"How rude," Sayori whispers.

"Just ignore him. He's being a jerk," says Mahiru. "By the way, didn't you say you were in school? Which year are you in?"

Relieved to change the subject, she replies, "In my final year."

"Oh, that means exams and applications and all of that. How's that coming along?" asks Sayori.

"It's a struggle, but I think I'm doing well. I go to cram school, so that should help."

"That's good to hear. What universities or courses are you thinking of applying to?" says Mahiru.

"I'm not sure. To be honest, I'm not if I even want to go to university."

"Oh, you absolutely should! It's a completely different experience from school. You get to meet so many new people and try new things in a new environment. You might even find your true love there. I believe it's worth it."

"It really isn't," chimes in Futa. "You barely learn anything and all the people there are so lame. There's no point, most degrees are useless anyways."

"Didn't you say you didn't want to be friends with us?" Mahiru retorts. Futa huffs, looking away.

"Why did you go then?" Yuno asks. Mahiru gives her a look but Yuno shrugs. I'm curious.

He sighs. "My dad made me. Said I would never get anywhere without one. Not that having one would get me anywhere. Besides, it was what everyone else was doing, and I didn't want to start working immediately or do a vocational course."

Yuno hums. "Honestly, the main reason why I'm not sure is because I don't know what I want to do with my future. I haven't thought that far ahead yet. I don't want to choose a path and end up regretting it."

"You're probably better off than me, in that case."

Mahiru says, "What I did is choose a subject I liked in school and look up universities that offered it. I knew I wanted to move to Tokyo because it's a busy city with lots of things to do..." she trails off. Did the city not live up to her expectations? She brightens back up. "So I looked into universities here that offered courses in literature, and I really liked Aoyama Gakuin's course because it's really varied. Of course, there's also admissions tests and tuition fees to think about: they weren't particularly a problem for me but I can imagine you different people have different needs. You just need to think about what's important to you."

"Nice going, Mahiru-chan," says Sayori. "Personally, I knew I wanted to be in the beauty industry, so I went to a junior college and took a course in it."

"That was really helpful. I might have a better idea now. To be honest, it's figuring out what I like that's the main issue. Most of my friends are going to different unis, so it's not like I can just follow them."

Mahiru says, "You are going to make new friends at uni anyway. What about theatre?"

"Well, I'm not sure if after 3 or 4 years I'll still like it, and I don't think I can change my course half way through. I'm really worried about not having good time. It may be a bit self-centered, but I hate things that are boring."

"That's understandable. If you really can't think of anything, why not take a gap year? You can try lots of different things in that time and decide what you enjoy the most that way."

"That's a good idea, actually. You're like a dependable older sister who sounds very wise."

Mahiru laughs. "Really? That makes me so happy. I'm an only child, but I've always wanted a younger sibling to fawn over. Maybe I'll have that chance when I have a child of my own."

"Hoping for the traditional lifestyle, are you?"

"Yep. Isn't that the ideal?"

"You know some people would call you old-fashioned for that?"

"Not a problem. It's my dream, after all."

"Well, I wouldn't put that much stock in it. I have a younger brother myself, and it's really not super exciting."

"Don't you get along with him?"

"I do, and I'm glad to have him, but he can be annoying at times. That's just how younger siblings are."

"More like older siblings," Futa mutters under his breath. Unfortunately for him, Yuno is close enough to hear.

"What was that?" she asks.

He begins, "My older sister loves to get on my nerves. Every chance she gets, she keeps interrupting me whenever I'm doing something and going on about how I should try harder in life and make real friends. When I was younger and she first started out on here, she would try to test her stuff on me. Do I look like I'd be into that girly shit?"

"Do you not like her very much?"

Futa pauses. "Somewhat. She did take care of me when I was younger, especially after mum left. It's just sometimes, she can get real grating. H-Hey, don't tell her I said any of that!" he nervously tacks on at the end.

Yuno giggles. "Don't worry. I won't. Say, did your parents get divorced as well? For me it was my father, instead."

"Really? Yeah, they did."

"Guess we are more similar than we thought."

"Don't even try that. We're nothing alike. Besides, you're probably more like my sister."

"Yeah, Yuno-san, don't insult yourself like that," Mahiru adds, which Futa tries to ignore. But Yuno could tell. While their outward appearances were very different, they had things in common. His apathetic attitude to life, his fickle and shallow relationships, all were things he shared with her. Yet in some ways they were different. He didn't hide the way he thought about things the way she did, yet he appeared to care more about what people think about him. In a way, they were like fire and ice.

"Sorry for the wait," Ms. Natsumi hurries to her side.

"My phone," says Futa, extending an arm.

"You're so addicted to that thing," she retorts, handing it back."I'm not addicted. It's the 21st century, everyone's on their phones these days. You're not in the 90s anymore."

"You say that as if I'm some old woman. You're only, what, 13 years younger than me."

"Exactly. Ancient. Besides, you flaunt that around all the time when it's convenient, so you have no right to get mad when I bring it up. Whatever, I'm getting out of this dumb place with all of it's dumb people." Futa turns away and walks out, not taking a second glance back.

Natsumi sighs. "That boy. I'm sorry if he disturbed you in any way. Anyway, where were we? Ah, yes, you were going to describe your preferred look. Would you please continue?" Yuno starts explaining what she's planning to wear. Mahiru watches her for a moment before turning back to her own stylist for her own job.

The rest of the session passes smoothly with little interruption, and by the end her stylist turns her to the mirror. "What do you think?"

Yuno watches herself in the mirror, hardly able to recognise herself. She has not changed much, but she gives off a subtly sophisticated aura. "It's perfect," she breathes.

"That's good. That would be time, so you are free to go. If you liked any of the products used today, you can purchase them at the counter. Have a nice day, I hope you come again."

"Thank you." She moves to leave, but gets stopped by Mahiru.

"Wow. You look great," she says.

"Thanks. You look really good too," Yuno says. And she did. She was given a more youthful appearance that really brought out her features in a very flattering manner.

"Thank you. I hope my boyfriend sees this as well."

"Did your session end just now as well?" asks Yuno, surprised she's still here. Mahiru was here before her, so surely her session would have ended earlier.

"Nope, ended a while back. I waited for you."

"Really? Why?"

"I wanted to talk to you again," she says, as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. "Are you heading to your outing now?"

"I'm going home first to change. What about you? Are you going on your date?"

"Hehe, yep. Do you live nearby?"

"Uh huh. I'm assuming you do as well."

"Yes. Hey, do you want to exchange Lines?"

"Huh? Sure, why not?" Of all things to happen, Yuno didn't expect to make a new friend here. They exchange Line numbers and Mahiru promises to keep in touch with her before leaving. Yuno stands there for a second watching her go, before turning away herself. In a sense, Mahiru was different to Yuno as well, in a way that made her similar to Futa, though neither would admit to it. They were earnest, willing to be genuine with others and trust them with their hearts, while Yuno could only lie her way through life to be accepted. If Yuno was ice, Futa would be fire and Mahiru the sun.

She walks off; she needed to get back to work anyway. Whatever friendship Mahiru thinks will come out of this, it probably won't happen. By the end of the day, they'll forget about each other. Not like her compensated dating gives any warmth either, but it's not like she can quit it now. She goes home, gets ready, lies to her family about where she's going again and heads out to another lonely luxury date with a client who will refuse to see her as she is and spend the night with her to offer her temporary warmth that will fade just as quickly as it came, leaving her empty once again.

When she arrives home that night and is about to tuck into bed, she gets a message.

Hi Yuno. How was your day?

And, for a moment, she feels slightly warmer.

#milgramvalentines2024 #I was playing around with a few ideas but decided I liked this one the best #I am not surprised these are the people you picked #At first I wasn't sure how to make all three of them interact but I got there in the end #I know you said you could do two of but I wanted to include everyone. I like a challenge #You did give ideas but frankly I prefer coming up with my own. I find it easier #Obviously if you said do this I would have but since it wasn't like that I decided to do things my own way #I wasn't sure if I was going to make them friends at the end of it but it felt a bit sad not to. So I did :D #Unfortunately they only talk to Fuuta once. Couldn't force them into a friendship.#They hang out with each other a lot and do fun things together and eventually help each other get over their problems.#Because it's my focus and I get to make the rules #hope you like this!#milgram #yuno kashiki #mahiru shiina #fuuta kajiyama

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