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babyjakes · 2 years

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darling dangers.

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event | kinktober 2022

prompt | vibrator

pairings | mean!dark!best friend!ransom drysdale and soft!dark!best friend!jake jensen x innocent!reader

warnings | non/dub-con (reader is reluctant and resistant.) ran and jake are absolutely taking advantage of reader. ran is an asshole, jake is a little better. heavy humiliation, babying, dumbification, mocking and degradation. crying kink. ransom holds reader down. pussy slapping. forced fingering and use of vibrator. heavy clit focus. multiple forced orgasms. squirting. overstimulation. jake is doing most of the work, ransom's just there to be mean lol.

word count | 2,312

an | um oh my godddddd, ,,, this idea has been swirling around in my brain for so long and finally, finally i get to bring it to fruition >:-)) welcome to kinktober, whores <333 also sorry if this one feels awkward or rusty? i've been writing whump for the past month so getting back into the filth felt a little clumsy :-((

As soon as you see the small black box sitting out in the open on the counter between your two best friends, both of their faces drawn in expectant expressions as they stand just waiting for you to walk in on the perfect scene they've orchestrated- you know you're in deep, deep trouble.

Ransom's crossing his arms, a small smirk forming on his face when he sees how wide your eyes have gone. Jake's giving off more disappointment than amusement, which honestly hits deeper than the twisted pleasure his counterpart's apparently finding in the whole ordeal. Gulping as you take a step forward into the kitchen, your voice betrays you by trembling as you dare to speak up. "R-Ran? Jakey? What's going on?"

"You know, it's funny, princess. We've been wondering the same thing," Ransom jests as he places a steady hand on the counter, crossing one ankle over the other as he pauses to glance at the blonde standing beside him. "Right, J? We never would've imagined our precious little angel- our sweet, innocent y/n- turning out to be such a whore."

Tears prickle in your eyes at the remark; bottom lip puffing out slightly in a pathetic frown, you shake your head in defense. "N-no, don't say that. S'not true."

"Aww, look at her, Jake. Think she's gonna cry already. Go on then, sweetheart. Know you can't help it, you've always been such a sensitive little thing."

Brow stiffening in anger, you glare at the brown-haired boy. "Stop it," you whisper through your hurt and confusion. Why are they doing this to you? They're your best friends, your Ran and Jakey. What would ever drive them to humiliate you like this? You would've never seen it coming. "Wh-why were you going through my mail, anyway? You have no right."

"Well, it helped that we were expecting the package," Jake finally breaks his silence, letting out a small sigh as he crosses his own arms. "An email popped up about your order status while I was helping you fix your phone last week. Couldn't believe it, our sweet y/n, ordering from a site like that. But it looks like there was no mistake here." Turning slightly, he reaches out to pick up the little box with a single hand. Eyeing the picture on the lid, his disappointment only seems to grow as he looks back at you, "Buggy, d'you even know what these are made for? You have no business buyin' something like this; you're much too little, y/n."

Cheeks burning at your friend's patronizing words, your eyes narrow further. "Of course I know what they're made for, Jake. I... I'm not stupid, I'm a big girl. I can order whatever the hell I want," you shot back.

At that, Ransom chuckles as Jake can only manage to shake his head in further disappointment. "A big girl, huh? We'll see about that, babycakes."

Everything happens so fast, you're barely able to process it. Before you know it, the pair have whisked you away to your bedroom, Ransom laughing cruelly as he carries you over his shoulder. In the blink of an eye, they have you surrounded on the plush duvet of your queen-sized bed, the brunette coming up behind you to trap you in his arms. As he leans back against the pile of pillows at the head of the bed, he brings you with him, pressing your back up against his broad chest as you squirm in haste. Jake approaches the two of you on his knees, the box with your new toy still clasped in his hand. Writhing a bit as Ransom tightens his grip on you, you finally find your voice. "What the fuck-? Let go of me, let me go! What are you doing? This is-"

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Jake tells you sadly as your other friend eventually gets a good enough hold on you to overpower your resistance. "This is for your own good, y/n. You need'ta learn not to mess around with these things. It's not safe for a little girl like you."

"Learn? What do you mean?" you cry as Ransom's large hands come up to pry your knees apart, using his own strong legs to hold you open. As soon as you feel the cool air of the apartment hitting the thin layer of fabric covering your delicate mound, you freeze. Peering down with wide eyes, you see that your little tennis skirt has flipped up in the most unfortunate of ways, leaving your lacy pink panties on full display for everyone in the room's viewing pleasure. Heart pounding heavily in your chest, you clear your throat.

"R-Ran, Jakey... please..."

"We're not gonna hurt you, baby. Just gonna show you how dangerous these things can be, that's all. You're safe," Jake hums as he lays down on his tummy before you, scooting up between your widespread legs to come almost face-to-face with your now quivering core.

"Pink lace," Ransom snorts from behind you as his hands rest greedily on your inner thighs. "She really is a little slut, isn't she, J?"

Tears pool in your eyes as your cheeks burn in embarrassment. "P-please, please don't look," you beg, your tears earning a sympathetic frown from the blonde beneath you as he reaches out to run a tender hand over the lace of your panties.

"We're gonna be doin' a whole lot more than lookin', sweet thing," he admits as his fingers press against your dampness. "And would you look at that, someone's already gettin' wet." Squeezing out a few more tears as the man prods at your thinly-covered heat, you can only whimper in response.

"Doesn't surprise me. Bet she likes us being all rough, holding her down and spreading her open. You like that, sweetheart?" Ransom teases as he brings a hand up to cup one of your breasts over the flimsy yellow tank top you're wearing. "Never wears a bra around us, either. She's just asking to be played with." At the feeling of his cool hand slipping under your top to search for your beaded nipple, you cry out, straining against his wicked hold- but it's no use. Compared to Jake and Ransom, you're nothing in terms of size or strength. And now that they've got you where they want you, you're completely at their mercy. And you're not sure how much you can trust their promise of safety, not after all they've just done to you.

The meaner of the two laughs darkly as he finds one of the little knots of flesh, pinching and rolling it between his fingers as you cry softly to yourself. "Responsive little thing, isn't she?" he marvels as Jake takes to dealing with your panties; for a moment, he pushes them aside, but then after a few seconds of rethinking, he instead just decides to simply take the thin strip of fabric in his hands, pulling harshly until the band snaps apart completely.

"There we go," he murmurs as his eyes settle down on your dripping folds. "Such a pretty little pussy you've got, sunshine. It's a shame you didn't decide to share sooner."

Looking down over your shoulder to take his own peek, Ransom groans at the sight of your untouched petals. "Fuck, y/n. You've been keeping that all to yourself? Bet no one's ever done anything like this to you before. This your first time, princess?" Your words only continue to fail you as you lower your head in shame, your response giving the two boys all the answers they need. "Well too bad it has to be wasted on a punishment. Dumb little girl thought she could order a big girl toy- these things aren't made for you, baby. You're gonna realize that very quickly."

Pulling his hands away to fiddle with the box, Jake takes his time removing the little blue bullet from its packaging. The friends were smart enough to make sure to charge it before their little ambush, meaning they now have the benefit of its full battery life to spend on teaching you your little lesson. "Here it is," Jake hums, clicking it on carefully to the lowest speed. "Now sweetheart, I'm gonna give you one chance to get yourself outta this," he bargains.

That catches your attention. Raising your weary gaze to meet the blonde's soft set of eyes, you nod reluctantly. "I want you to show me and Ran exactly what you were gonna do with this thing. Want you to use it just like how you were planning when you bought it. And if you're honest with me- with us, and show us everything it was gonna do for you, we'll let you go."

Blinking, you take a moment to think. It's a good offer, you will admit, and he even seems genuine about keeping his end of the deal if you follow through with it. But there's a part of you that just can't bear the thought of demonstrating the crude acts you were intending on performing with the toy, at least not to your two best friends in the entire world. He left it unsaid, but it was implied: Jake wants you to make yourself cum for them. And you just can't do it, you know you can't. So you decide to do the only other thing you can think of: play stupid and pray they buy it.

Swallowing thickly, you nod. Shifting a little, Ransom releases one of your hands, still holding your breast hostage beneath his fingers, almost as an impending threat. Watching you carefully, Jake hands you the buzzing bullet, the strength of the toy's vibrations causing your hand to tingle ticklishly as you suck in a deep breath.

"Go ahead, cutie. Show us," Jake encourages.

Trying to keep your hand from shaking, you brace yourself as you bring the object down between your legs, searching a little to find your glistening hole. Squeezing your eyes shut, you push in, letting the low rumble of the vibrator settle into your core.

"Alright, that's enough," Ransom snaps, causing you to jump as Jake rips the toy from your heat and grasp. "Stupid fucking baby, that was a big mistake. Are you really too dumb to know where it goes? Or do you just want us to punish you?"

Shaking his head in disappointment, Jake sighs heavily. "Good girls don't lie, y/n," he states harshly as Ransom resecures both of your arms down against your back before reaching between your legs to land a few forceful slaps against your bare pussy.

You sob at the sting, gasping as his hand comes up to pull back the hood of your clit. "Give it to her, she was asking for it," he nods to Jake.

Turning up the toy a few clicks, the blonde focuses in his gaze on your little bundle of nerves as he gently collects some of your wetness on the twitching head of the tool before easing it up against your button, earning a strained gasp from you as your whole world's set on fire. The burning is unlike anything you've ever experienced, heat blooming in your core as you burst into more tears at the sensation. Shaking his head knowingly, Jake's voice is full of disappointment as he chastises you, "I gave you a chance, y/n, but you either lied to me, or you're just way dumber than I ever imagined."

"Look at all those tears," Ransom all but moans as he twists and pulls at your nipple, grinding subtly into your back as he holds you down for Jake's torment. "Keep it right on the head, pal- don't cut her any slack. What's the matter, sweetheart- huh? That too much for you? I thought you were a big girl who could handle big girl toys. Of course you're not," he laughs darkly, only egged on by the feeling of you writhing against him, "you're just a stupid little baby who needs to be taught a lesson."

"Think she's learning pretty quick," Jake comments as he practically drools at the sight of your wetness leaking out onto the bed beneath you. Using his free hand, he gently eases a finger into you, curling up gently to rub at your soft, spongey ceiling as your eyes roll back in horrific pain and pleasure.

"Please, please..." you're reduced to mere sobs as you feel the pressure of your orgasm building up more and more in your tummy. "Please, n-no-... wait-... stop-..."

"There it is. C'mon, baby. Cum for us, it's okay," Jake coos as he twirls the head of the bullet over your swollen clit. "That's it, there you go," he sighs with a small smile as you're forced over the edge, your back arching painfully as you squirt out onto his waiting hands.

"Fuck," Ransom curses from behind you, his cock bulging needily at the sight of you being forced to cum. "She's a fucking squirter, would'ya look at that. Better than anything I was dreaming of," he groans as your little toes twitch from the overstimulation, your sobs growing louder as you come down from your high.

"P-please, please, no more!" you hiccup, the continued vibrations against your now engorged button enough to bring you to your knees.

"You think she's learned her lesson, Ran?" Jake asks doubtfully, already knowing what the answer will be as he stretches you open to add a second finger before turning up the bullet another few notches.

"No, I don't think we're anywhere near finished," the brunette responds cruelly as he slaps his hand down a few times against your throbbing heat before pulling back on your lips again to spread you out once more. "She needs at least one more, maybe two. Gotta really show her how dangerous that little thing can be."

#eun's writing #darling dangers #kinktober 2022 #ransom drysdale smut #jake jensen smut #jake jensen #ransom drysdale #ransom drysdale fanfiction #jake jensen fanfiction #dark!ransom drysdale #dark!jake jensen #chris evans #chris evans smut #jake jensen x reader #ransom drysdale x reader #jake jensen one shot #jake jensen imagine #ransom drysdale one shot #ransom drysdale imagine

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nocreativityfornames · 11 months

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Hi idk if you’re taking requests rn but if you aren’t you can just ignore this but

Could you do the brothers with a gn s/o that is touch starved? Like they’re kinda tense and uncomfortable, but when someone gives them any physical affection they just melt. Also could you do it in order of who finds out 1st to last?

I hope this isn’t to bad. Have a good day/night :}

The Brothers With A Touch Starved MC

First of all, I'm so sorry Anon for how long it took for me to answer this. I wrote like half of it weeks ago and then completely forgot to finish, only picking up on it now ಥ⁠‿⁠ಥ But yes, thank you so much for the request! <3

Asmodeus

• Asmo is definitely the first one to find out, because come on, this man is always being affectionate and touchy.

• It happens when you're in the kitchen getting some snacks for yourself. You were planning to watch a movie with Mammon, but he had cancelled it last minute saying he had been called for an important shoot.

• So you decide to just watch the movie alone, ready to leave the kitchen and hole up yourself in your room when Asmo shows up.

• He's holding up two different jackets and asking which one he should wear to the event he's going to. When you pick one, and he jumps with excitement, claiming he knew you'd chose that one because it really was the best option.

• In the heat of the moment he hugs you, ready to leave soon after. But then he notices how stiff you become the moment he hugs you, as if you weren't expecting his touch at all.

• You also look incredibly disappointed when he steps back, and he only giggles at first. "Aww, do you want more?" He teases, hugging you again.

• This time around is when he notices how serious the situation is, because the moment he hugs you you practically melt, your entire body relaxing to his touch.

• "Sweetie, why didn't you tell me you were feeling like this? You know I'm all for showering you with affection!"

• When you explain it's because not only him, but all the brothers have been busy lately and you didn't want to bother them, his heart sinks.

• He's so mad at himself and his brothers for not noticing any of this. And he will definitely send a message in the group chat later to scold all of them for it.

• "Alright, we're going to my room." "Wh– what about the event?" "That's not important right now, my darling is needy and I'm going to spoil them with love till they're sick of it! ♡"

Mammon

• Next up is Mams.

• He feels so guilty when he sees Asmo's message in the group chat explaining everything and does everything in his power to leave his shoot earlier so he can get to you.

• Comes barging into your room as soon as he gets home, makeup from the shoot still on his face. "Oi, you stupid human, why didn't ya tell us–"

• He stops himself immediately.

• "Wait. No, scratch that...! I-I'm sorry, I should've been payin' attention to this stuff. All of us should've noticed this… I'm real sorry, alright...?"

• You forgive him, knowing he didn't mean to make you feel this way.

• "So…about that movie you were talkin' about. You didn't watch it on your own, did ya?" "No, Asmo kind of interrupted that..." "Alright, good! 'Cause we're watchin' it now. And I'm not letting go of ya till it's done!"

Beelzebub & Belphegor

• The twins come to your room together that same night, each apologizing in their own words.

• Beel brings you your comfort food as a way to make up to you while Belphie himself had already started clinging to you, pulling you towards your bed.

• "Please tell us when you feel like this. No matter what we're doing, we'll drop everything and come to you, alright?" Beel assures you, hopping in bed to cling to your other side while Belphie is already burying his face on the crook of your neck.

• You nod and he smiles, pulling the covers over the three of you. "We love you more than anything in the world, MC..." Belphie mutters this time, bringing a smile to your face.

• "I love you all as well." You respond while getting more comfortable between the two. It's best sleep you've had ever in a good long while.

Leviathan

• Levi makes a point to apologize to you the next day, hugging you tight.

• "I'm sorry, I got into this new game lately and ended up shutting myself in my room again. I was expecting the others to keep you company and all, so I didn't think it was a big deal if I didn't show up for a few days…"

• He stays clinging to you, cleary feeling very guilty about the whole thing as well. "It's not an excuse though, I should've come to check up on you. I'm sorry, MC, I failed you… B-But I'm making up to you now, I promise!"

• Levi is now blushing, "W-We can play one of your favorite games together, or go out and do normie stuff like going on a date or something! A-Anything, I'll do anything, okay…?"

Satan

• He sends you a long text first, apologizing for not being present enough recently.

• And then invites you for a picnic date at the park, assuring you that he'll prepare everything himself as a way to make up to you.

• Everything is very beautifully done, and the food he prepared for the date is amazing as well. And he apologizes once again while you two are there, since he didn't feel like the text was enough.

• The date goes super well, and you two chat together while eating his amazing cooking.

• "You're never a bother, alright?" He reassures you as you two pull away from a kiss. "No matter how busy I am, please know that I'd never be mad at you for reaching out. You're my partner, and I love you, so don't go thinking I'd ever be upset at you for wanting something as simple as spending more time with me."

Lucifer

• It's night when you hear him call your name from the other side of the door, letting him know he can come in.

• Lucifer opens up a smile as soon as he sees you studying at your desk. "I hope I didn't kept you waiting for too long?" He plants a gentle kiss on your forehead, "Allow me to say this, I'm so terribly sorry. I was so busy with work that I forgot to check on how you were doing."

• He sighs apologetically. His later smile however is a soft one as he hands you a bouquet of your favorite flowers.

• "I'm free for the rest of the day, so what do you say we got out for a while? We can have dinner together, and I'll shower you with all the affection you've been missing the past few days."

#this was my first time doing a requestttt #did I do well...?#obey me shall we date #obey me headcanons #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #omswd #obey me #asks and requests ～⁠♡#☙ no creativity for names ✾

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oharabunny · 7 months

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His Cheating Allegations

Description: Going off of my yandere!caretaker!Miguel idea, here's what I think of him in regards to him cheating.

Word Count: 798

Warning: mentions of sex, cheating Miguel, OOC!Miguel, obsession, delusion, not beta read, completely self indulgent fantasies of the author

He has a past of cheating, and he's not proud of it. But ever since he met you, he knew that he would move heaven and earth, the multiverse if you will, just for you. You are literally his whole universe.

He can't really look at other women (or anyone of any gender) the same anymore. Nobody quite compares to you.

You don't really see how because you're dysfunctional and useless to him. You wonder if he's seeing someone else in you.

He doesn't, because there aren't any variants of you across the multiverse.

But still, you think you're a dime a dozen as far as your personality and looks goes. And most people would agree with you.

Which is why it's a mystery how there are still some women that want to throw themselves at him even when he's busy ogling at you through his orange screens.

Maybe they thought they could compete with you.

(To you, they probably could. They'd be more intelligent, useful, witty, pretty, and hard working than you.)

What you and them don't know is that it is going to be a huge challenge to get him to cheat on you.

He's not necessarily infalliable, yes, he can fold, but under very certain circumstances.

Such as, if he was away from home for too long and cannot keep his pent up feelings to himself. He would need the other woman to face away from him, mask on, quiet, body shaped, and skin tone similiarly to yours in order to go through with it. He has to imagine you and your face in order to immerse himself with her.

Even then, it's still not the same and he knows, and realistically, he'll stop midway because it just won't feel as good.

On top of the fact he doesn't want to hurt you. He doesn't want to give you a reason to leave him.

(He would keep it a secret to himself to the day he dies.)

Which is why he's even more reluctant to cheat on you even if he does find someone else attractive because he has to make sure they're completely clean. He can't risk giving you a disease. You're a fragile and helpless being where anything can kill you. (Well, that's just what he thinks.) Your health and wellbeing is above all else.

Plus, he doesn't really have the time to cheat. He's too invested in both you and keeping the balance of the multiverse. You think he has time to go looking around?

Even the most persistent homewreckers will eventually tire out from their attempt to break his gaze on you.

Even the desperate ones.

Here's a scenario:

Other Woman: Miguel~ I'd do anything for you. Please, just give me a chance! I don't even mind being your second wife if I have to.

Miguel: Then would you be able to bear the responsibilities of taking care of my "first" wife above yourself? You'll need to take care of our children too. Fill in for me whenever I'm not home to take care of her. You have to understand that I will always put her, our children, her pets, and her belongings before you. That also means if she doesn't want me to touch you, I won't. Also, if you and I have children, they won't be your children anymore.

Also Miguel: Wait, if I let you take care of her, she might like you more than me and leave me. Nah, fuck that, I don't want you getting in between us.

Other Woman: Okay damn! You psycho! 😥

I don't think he'd do well in a poly relationship like a triad or separate relationship either. In a triad, he'd be threatened by them taking you or even you preferring them slightly more than him in any way. He has to be your number one and only. Even if the dynamics were in his favor, he's so so into you that he's very biased to give all his attention to you since sex for him is about pleasuring you. He wouldn't be a good partner for the third person if they value his attention and care too (they'd be cucked and forgotten most of the time💀). He also doesn't have the time to keep up with other relationships.

Back to the idea of him cheating on you, another way to increase his chances of cheating on you is if you consistently reject his advances and feelings for you. He might do it out of spite and sexual frustration, but he wouldn't find any joy in it especially when he realizes you don't care and you just want to leave. He'd be busy trying to manipulate you into depending on him.

Either way.

He is a you simp through and through.

A/N: This is super self indulgent as you can tell. This will never be who Miguel is canonically nor is it super realistic, but wishful thinking yknow? 🤷‍♀️

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mysteryshoptls · 7 months

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SSR Ace Trappola - Platinum Jacket Vignette

"Happy 100th Anniversary"

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Ace: Huuuh, so this museum's been open for 100 years, huh. It's got some pretty cool exhibits.

Ace: Tryin' to appreciate art just seems boring, and I totally thought bein' a supporter was not my bag, but I might be able to enjoy myself here after all.

Ace: ―Ooh, found me the painting of some card soldiers! Look at 'em, all cool the way they're standing at attention like that.

???: Mhm, their perfectly aligned call to attention is quite the spectacle.

Ace: Ah, hey, Lilia-senpai. You must have great taste to see the true quality of this painting here! Haha.

Ace: If the rank and file are in disarray, then it doesn't look good at all. They gotta be in perfect formation, especially when marching.

Lilia: That's correct. So, you understand what it means to march as they do… Not bad, kid.

Ace: Not that much. I mean, back in my dorm, we just have certain days that all the students are required to march in formation.

Lilia: Kufufu, I heard that practice for that begins as soon as you enter. I've heard many a classmate complaining about it here and there.

Ace: Yeaaaaah, I can see why they'd want to complain. It's not just the Housewarden; even our usually nice upperclassmen come down on us hard during the training.

Ace: The first time I had to march after joining the dorm was the worst. We definitely looked nothing like the card soldiers in this art piece.

Ace: When we looked at the video that Cater-senpai took for us, we could see that the first years' walking was ALL OVER THE PLACE.

Ace: Every one of 'em couldn't get their arms and legs up and moving properly, and they were all looking down. It was sooo lame. I couldn't even laugh at how bad it was.

Ace: By the by, I got praised pretty much right out the gate ♪ They all said that my spirit fully embodied the heart suit card soldiers.

Ace: It's easy for me to just copy what I see the upperclassmen are doing, or what the video's showing. I don't get why all the rest of them were havin' a bad time.

Lilia: OHO～～～?

Ace: Eh? What's with that grin? You're kinda giving me the creeps all of a sudden.

Lilia: How rude of you to call someone as cute as me creepy! But aren't you actually quite the diligent one.

Ace: DILIGENT!? I don't think that word suits me at all!?

Lilia: Not only did you follow the examples set by your upperclassmen, you also watched went further and watched the videos and practiced on your own… I'm seeing you in a whole new light, Ace.

Ace: Ahh, c'mon. Stop patting my head like that. It's not like I was trying to study for it or anything.

Ace: It woulda been a pain and pretty lame if I had to stay behind to practice. That's why I just wanted to get it done ASAP. That's all!

Lilia: It's nothing worth getting all worked up to deny.

Lilia: I think it's rather commendable that you put in the extra effort in order to seek what you think is "cool."

Ace: I'm not getting worked up…! Wait, I got a feeling that if I keep responding, he'll just keep stringing me along to tease me.

Ace: Uh, I'm gonna go to check out the cool-lookin' painting over there!

Lilia: Hey now, don't leave me behind. Kufufu, this must be that adolescence I've heard much about.

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Lilia: Let me see, what cool painting were you talking about… Oho, it's of the King of Beasts. He looks oh so dignified, I can't help but find it charming.

Ace: Aaand he followed me… But yeah, I definitely agree that's he's pretty dignified.

Lilia: There are many legends swirling around the King of Beasts. Just from looking at this painting, I can't think of which scene they're trying to depict here.

Ace: Uhhh, based on this info they got plastered next to it…

Ace: Looks like… Oh, it's where he was talking about his vision for the country's future with his hyena retainers.

Ace: I actually really like the story of how the King of Beasts would always trust in his hyenas.

Ace: Oh yeah, and that one where he performed songs for his people!

Lilia: Mhm, that's a good one. He is a sophisticated king indeed to utilize singing to vow to improve his country.

Ace: Riiiiight～? Totally get why the hyenas were so excited that they were singing and dancing all through the night.

Ace: The King of Beasts looks pretty unapproachable from just a glance, but he must have had a ton of charisma.

Lilia: Well, he did have the power to move his people's hearts through song. If he had his due, perhaps he would have been able to sway the whole world with his song.

Ace: Totally. If I had lived during the same era, I would have loved to go and karaoke with him.

Lilia: Speaking of karaoke… I heard you and Sebek went for that.

Ace: Ah, did you hear that from Sebek? We went with Deuce and the two from Ramshackle…

Ace: Jack and Epel also tagged along. But maan, it was pretty insane.

Ace: So many of them were new to it, so I had to teach them everything, from how to choose a new song, to ordering food. You'd think they'd have common sense to figure out, but c'mon.

Ace: We literally couldn't sing a single song for the first 30 min or so, I was like, what did we even come here for!?

Lilia: Kufufu, now, now, you can't say that. I'm sure there's things you're not familiar with, too.

Ace: But c'mon～ …Well, I guess it was kinda fun to have a small competition using the karaoke's scoring system.

Lilia: So, you had a karaoke competition! I would love to tag along next time. So, who won?

Ace: Well, that's obvious… IT WAS YA BOY ACE-KUN HERE!

Ace: When I hit 100 points, everyone was lookin' up at me like idiots, all like, "you gotta be kidding!"

Ace: As a bit of a handicap, I chose of the recent viral songs and did the dance that went along with it, too～

Lilia: Oho, that's amazing that you can sing while moving your body without missing a beat.

Ace: I mean, unlike those guys, back in middle school I would go karaoke a lot.

Ace: And all those guys kept shouting that they'd practice singing so they could sing next time, but y'know…

Ace: There's actually a trick to getting the high score on that machine's scoring function. It's not enough to just be a good singer.

Ace: At this rate, I think I'll be taking home the win next time too ♪

Lilia: Kufufu, looks like even the ones who don't get to spend that much time together with you all had some fun, eh?

Ace: Well, I guess it wasn't too bad.

Ace: They'd choose stuff like old songs that were popular during my parent's heyday, or minor folk songs…

Ace: It was kinda neat that I heard a ton of songs that I normally wouldn't listen to. It was completely different to how it'd be if I was with my friends back home.

[Land of Dawning – National Museum of Art]

Ace: This painting is of those eels that served the Sea Witch…

Lilia: Mhm. It's said that whenever they found merfolk in distress, they would encourage them to seek the guidance of the benevolent Sea Witch.

Ace: Huuh, they look kinda scary, but… Guess you can't judge a book by its cover.

Lilia: Speaking of… Ace, I heard you went a little viral on Magicam the other day.

Ace: Geh! So, you saw that post too…

Lilia: Kufufu, I took it all in.

Lilia: "This scary-looking young man in a flashy shirt was kind to a kid in this burger shop," it said.

Lilia: You did a good thing, Mister "Scary-Looking Young Man in a Flashy Shirt."

Ace: C'mon, can you not tease me!?

Ace: The comments section was going wild with stuff like, "I love that personality gap～" and "The scarier the person looks, the softer their heart is."

Ace: I definitely don't like people just deciding that I'm scary just from how I look, or just assuming that I'm nice.

Ace: More like, I think it was 'cause I was with all my basketball teammates that I ended up looking scary too.

Ace: And 'sides, that patterned shirt I was wearing wasn't even something I'd pick out on my own.

Ace: Floyd-senpai made me buy it sometime back, so I thought it'd be bad if I didn't wear it, that's all…

Lilia: Hm, guess it was a mistake of them to comment on your appearance, then. But it was true that you were nice to the kid, right?

Ace: Nope. I just was throwing something I didn't want at 'em!

Lilia: You gave them something you didn't want…? So how does that turn into being "kind" to the kind?

Ace: So, when my clubmates and me went to the burger shop down in town, we got a free card with our orders.

Ace: Something about how they were doing a collaboration campaign with a movie that was recently released.

Ace: I at least knew what the movie was, so I opened it up, but just as I was thinking to myself that I didn't really need a card, or anything…

Ace: This kid who was nearby just randomly started crying. Apparently they wanted a hero card, not a villain card.

Ace: That's why I just gave him the card I had. It just happened to be the one he wanted.

Ace: I was able to get rid of something I didn't want, and I didn't have to listen to the sound of crying in the background. Win-win, right?

Lilia: Well, when you explain it like that, it definitely no longer feels like a heartwarming story.

Ace: Riiight? But then all the folks on Magicam had to go and try to treat me like a nice guy. Everyone's been teasing me about that too…

Ace: In the end, even the Headmage got wind of the video and just wouldn't stop praising me, saying "This is a fantastic thing you've done!"

Ace: Maan, preconception can be a crazy thing. I bet if I was wearing my school uniform, it definitely wouldn't have taken off.

Ace: They say that it's not all about appearance, but I guess that first impression you get is still important.

Lilia: Kufufu, I bet if the parents of that child were to hear your true feelings about it, they'd be shocked.

Lilia: Well then, I think I'll go on to check out the other exhibits. Bye then, Ace.

Ace: Whew, Lilia-senpai just couldn't stop teasing, huh. Wellll, what should I go and look at next…? Hm?

Ace: Woah, it's a painting of a walrus and the oysters. Lookin' at it here, the walrus really looks like a proper gentleman.

Ace: I bet those oysters were also tricked by how the walrus looked. Can't help but feel sorry for them… Heh.

Requested by Anonymous.

#twisted wonderland #twst #ace trappola #lilia vanrouge #twst ace #twst lilia #twst translation #twst birthday #mention: riddle #mention: cater #mention: deuce #mention: jack #mention: floyd #mention: epel #mention: sebek #mention: grim #mention: yuu #mention: crowley

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thepixelelf · 8 months

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Oh Baby, You Part 25 - Completely Surrounded

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You wonder, absently, if hearing the word "dividends" for the fifth time in ten minutes constitutes an emergency signal. Certainly, Jeonghan has heard the word an uncountable amount of times in his years as Mingyu's assistant, but to you, it's nothing rousing.

Choi Seungcheol seems like a nice enough person— well, if you were someone who didn't know he's asked someone out purely to squeeze information out of them. (Which he's doing a terrible job of, by the way, seeing as he's done 90% of the talking since you sat down.) He's good looking, in the guy you'd ask to chop wood for you kind of way (although the three piece suit detracts from that a bit and adds a more you can't afford me aura to his whole thing), plus he offered to buy your drink before he realized you'd already ordered.

But it's just so… awkward. You already know he's not actually interested in you, and you're so tense trying to keep all your secrets under wraps that you can only focus on what not to say rather than what to say.

At least part of what you're going to tell Seungcheol is true. You really do think you're not ready to get back into the dating game. It's not just that you need to keep everyone at arm's length — you're already skirting the rules enough with Vernon and Co. You've also thrown yourself so deep into raising your son that no one has even remotely caught your romantic eye. Or maybe that part of you is broken now. Retired.

You keep telling yourself that you're over Wonwoo and the unfortunate circumstances that tore you apart.

Sometimes it's not a lie.

It's not very nice, you know, to compare Seungcheol to Wonwoo. To think about how you miss the easy way you could always speak to each other; how Wonwoo used to let out these nerdy yet adorable chuckles; how he could make you laugh with just a side eye.

Then again, it's not very nice of Seungcheol to do this to you, either. Both the not-so-subtle interrogation tactic and the stocks talk.

As soon as your phone vibrates with an incoming call, though, you instantly regret wishing for an out.

No news is good news when it comes to babysitting, and a call from Vernon with no precursory text—?

Your heartbeat picks up.

"I'm sorry," you say, completely cutting off whatever Seungcheol was going on about. "I need to take this." Without a second more of hesitation, you bring your phone up to your ear. "Vernon? What's going on?"

He speaks quickly. "Have you talked to Chan?"

"No." You frown, one of your fingers tapping nervously against your leg. "Why?"

"Fuck…"

"Vernon," you repeat. "What is going on?"

"Okay—" Vernon takes a deep breath, and the words flow out of him so fast, you struggle to keep up. "So I had to go pick up my little sister because she found herself in a bad spot so I left Chan with Orion because he's a fully capable human being most of the time except when I picked Sofia up I texted him that I was coming back and he didn't answer at all and didn't pick up the phone when Seungkwan and I tried to call and now I just made it back to your apartment and Chan's car is gone and neither of them are in the room and I don't know what the fuck is—"

"They're gone?" you whisper. Your fingers have wrapped around a napkin, gripping onto it much too tight. Across the table, Seungcheol furrows his thick brows as he observes you, but you can't find it in yourself to keep up any sort of facade right now.

Vernon groans, and you can picture him running a nervous hand through his hair. "I don't know— I don't… wait."

"What?"

"Seungkwan said he might've found Chan's phone GPS location?"

You make a confused noise. "How?"

"I don't know," Vernon says, "but he said they're at the hospital?"

You stand abruptly, the legs of your chair screeching as they scrape against the floor. "The hospital?!"

"I'm gonna head there now." Vernon's starting to sound out of breath, not far off from how you feel despite not moving anywhere. "Do you want me to pick you up? But wait— that café is on the other side of town—"

"You go," you tell him, more concerned with finding Orion and Chan faster than you needing to be the one to find them. "I'll find my own—" You glance outside at the traffic flooding by. "Maybe a bus, or—"

"I'll drive you."

Turning back to Seungcheol, you see nothing in his expression except for concern. Your first thought is that he shouldn't look concerned. He should be smug. An opportunity to see your son in person has fallen right into his lap.

But you're anxious. And scared.

So you take him up on his offer.

You say nothing for the duration of the ride to the hospital, silently stewing over the idiotic choice to bring CEO Choi with you. It wasn't like you had many options, but still…

You ignore all of Jeonghan's frantic texts.

When Seungcheol pulls up in front of the building, you step out of the car so quickly that you almost trip. Before you swing the fancy car door shut, you lean down and give him a genuine smile. This is the perfect opportunity to leave him behind. "Thank you," you say. "For the ride."

The fact that there's a line to the front counter of the emergency room makes your heart clench painfully in your chest, but no sooner do you run up to the queue than you hear your son calling out to you. Frantically, you turn this way and that, until you see Orion sitting, perfectly unharmed, on Wonwoo's lap in the waiting area.

"Orion!" You hurry over to them, your hands immediately cupping Orion's face and brushing through his hair to check for anything amiss. He looks completely fine, as opposed to Wonwoo, whom you refuse to make eye contact with.

His eyes are watering at the edges, and he looks at you like you took his world and crushed it between your evil fingers.

You did, once upon a time.

Gathering Orion in your arms and standing up straight, you press a kiss to his forehead and pat his hair. "You okay, baby?"

He nods, attempting to fit half of his fist in his mouth. You can't help but laugh, relief flooding your veins as it settles in that your son is alright.

Which means…

You look at Wonwoo, despite every cell in your body begging you not to. "What happened?" you ask. "Where's Chan?"

And why are you here? But you don't say that.

Slowly, Wonwoo stands, his eyes never leaving yours. He's trying to read you, his lips pressed in a thin line, his arms limp at his sides as he stands right in front of you.

It's unnerving, and it makes you take half a step backwards.

Wonwoo takes one sideways glance at Orion before his eyes return to yours. "Tell me it's not him," he whispers, voice strained.

You try to brush it off with a breathy laugh. "What? What do you mean?"

This is why you didn't want Wonwoo to see Orion again. You know exactly what he means.

Wonwoo whispers your name like it hurts him to pronounce. It hurts you, too, but you push it all deep, deep down.

"Please," he says. "Please, just… If it was anyone else…"

"Is everything alright?" Seungcheol's voice appears behind you, and you instinctively hug Orion closer, hiding his face against your shoulder. He snuggles up without complaint, completely unaware of the turmoil happening around him.

You break away from Wonwoo's unwavering gaze, only slightly thankful for the reprieve considering the other option is a power-hungry CEO vying for your friend's position in their company.

"When did you—"

"Orion!" Vernon bursts into the waiting room, out of breath and sweating. He jogs right up to you and your son, and he pats his hand on Orion's head. "You okay little buddy?"

Orion shifts in your arms, moving to lift his head and answer, but in your panic, you gently hold him in place. Seungcheol is too close for comfort, and frankly, you don't want Wonwoo seeing Orion's face either.

Wonwoo says your name again, beckoning your attention, just as Seungcheol asks, "What happened?"

Vernon looks between the two men, and pauses on Seungcheol. "Wait, aren't you—?"

"Guys?" Chan emerges from somewhere. You're too disoriented at this point to tell. "What's going on?"

He joins the group, and you can't even chastise him for the dumb shit he did to land you in this situation because your blood is pumping so hard you can hear it in your eardrums. You're completely surrounded, all by people who don't know—

Once again, Wonwoo says your name, but this time he speaks clearly, loud enough for the three other men to go quiet and look at him even though the only one he's looking at is you. He reaches a hand up, and you're frozen in place as he places it gently on your cheek. The touch alone makes you want to cry.

"Tell me," he begs. "Tell me it's not Mingyu."

The silence that fills the space between you is solid and thick. It threatens to drown you.

"I…" You open your mouth, but it's suddenly dry. "I…"

You hear Seungcheol breathe out behind you.

"I have to go."

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oby tagging 1, 50/50: @shiningstar-byulxx @shuabby-woowoo @90s-belladonna @xavi-in-kpopland @kachren @xmessaroundx @chwevernonlover @kwanisms @dalamjisung @1ntaktak @crazywittysassy @butterfliesinthenightsky @ddaengpotate @dorrysstuff @ckline35 @vanishingboots @potatofrieswithketchup @minhwa @oncecaratorbit @sugacookees @royal9 @doodlelibrary @myjaeyunn @yksthings @jundundun @amosmortese @jaeskz @seungmintree @woozarts @my-chaos-in-stars @yoonychoik @ksywoo @kellesvt @candidupped @sharkipoonis @wooahaeproductions @capsiclesworld @hellodefthings @sunshineshouchan @calumsfringe @caratinluv @pinkysinnerbaby @winterwallacehenderson @jvhoons @woo8hao @sxftiell @wondering-out-loud

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unbidden-yidden · 4 months

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I feel myself having so much less patience these days, and I don't like it.

Patience and compassion and kindness are things that must be cultivated like tender plants - they grow by the inch and die by the foot.

Seeing into someone's heart is something that takes a little effort, but the way to do it is by reframing your outlook, like you might adjust your vision to see through water. There are layers to a person, and you have to look past what they say or do on the surface in order to get to their true motivations.

And it takes patience and holding space for people, because they are used to operating in an unsafe environment. It's like when you go to the pond, you're not likely to see frogs right away. You might need to sit quietly for a half hour before the frogs re-emerge and float to the surface. But once you see them, suddenly there are frogs everywhere! You just had to wait until your mind allowed you to take them in. People's vulnerabilities and intentions are the same way. You might need to wait a while until the person is sure you are safe to be around, or they might have been exhibiting all of those vulnerabilities and motivations pretty openly; you just couldn't tell until you knew what you were looking for.

This gets much, much harder to do when you yourself don't feel safe, especially when you aren't (or feel like you aren't) being seen as human. You also (obviously) must see the other person as equally human to yourself, or this doesn't work. Perhaps a broken, deeply flawed person; but a person nonetheless.

I work in the domestic violence field, and so I end up talking to a lot of abusers in my professional life on behalf of my clients. I've found that it helps a lot to be kind. Why? Not because it's deserved, but because it's unexpected. They come into the situation ready to fight and argue, and instead, I speak to them kindly and explain why what my clients are asking for is in everyone's best interests. This seems to deflate them pretty immediately. They come into the situation thinking I'm the boss level for "fights with my ex (or whatever)" and then I listen. I take them out of earshot of my client, I let them vent (which helps me figure out what they actually want) and then I patiently explain our position and how we're offering to resolve the situation. And you know what? It works. A lot of the time, they were expecting me to treat them like a monster. But they're not a monster; they're a person who has done some inexcusable and horrific things, but they remain a person. I think about both my abusive exes, and the truth is that they're both people I loved, and loved for a reason. I wouldn't want someone else to hurt them (even if it was in cruel words only) just because they hurt me. Sometimes, the abuser is the father (or mother) of the client's children. There is typically always anger, but what good does it do for me to vent that anger for my client? Who does it help? Nobody. If we can't agree, then fine. I will do my job of asking the tough questions without mercy. But before that? Far better to de-escalate if possible.

Another conflict resolution thing: you have to remove the aggressive third parties that are angry on one side or the other's behalf. They tend to aggravate the party and escalate the situation by talking in the person's ear and saying how unfair this is and generally making it about their own feelings rather than problem solving.

But here too, finding out where the third parties who have involved themselves in the situation actually want is critical to diffusing this as well. They are people who are righteously (at least in their mind) angry on behalf of one of the parties because they love them and this has activated their protective side. And sometimes people really do need an advocate, yes. But sometimes (a lot of times) these third parties actually get in the way of de-escalation and problem solving.

All of this requires patience, effort, cultivation. And I work hard to do that. But lately my patience has been worn thin by too many people seeing me as subhuman, and it's really starting to wear on me.

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blind0demon · 1 year

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Little Soldier

Summary: Your work alongside the recom team went on normally until your body went into a heat cycle and you couldn't help but keep getting distracted from your missions. Fortunately, your Colonel knows just the right way to help you out.

Pairing: Na'vi! Miles Quaritch x Na'vi! Gender Neutral! Reader

Genre: Smut

Word Count: 4,3K

Author's Note: No amount of water will stop my thirst for this man. Part two is up, you can read it here:

"I think they're gone" You whispered, as quietly as possible so as not to attract anyone to your location. Quaritch nodded and the both of you got out of your hiding place from under a big tree. None of you said anything, too busy looking for any signs of danger as you kept your weapons ready. After a moment of making sure that nothing is going to kill you, Miles turned towards you with an angered expression. "Do you have any idea that your distraction almost got both of us killed?" He snapped, making you look away in embarrassment, your fingers nervously tapping on the surface of your gun.

"I'm sorry, Sir. Won't happen again" You answered with humility, trying to ease the tension. It seems to have worked, as your Colonel signed in frustration and ordered you two to keep moving forward and find the rest of your crew. The two of you split from your team when you were attacked by Na'vi warriors as you were venturing through the forest. Fortunately, you were able to resist the attack without any losses. In the middle of the confrontation, you hid behind a tree to reload your weapon and couldn't help but stare at Miles.

Your hungry eyes unwillingly trailed through every part of his body, his focused expression, his muscles tightening and relaxing as he was shooting, everything about him made you lose concentration of the situation and almost get yourself killed. The man noticed you looking at him and pushed you on the ground, before an arrow could hit your skull. You were so busy admiring your Colonel that you didn't even realize that you were partially exposed from your hiding spot and became an easy target.

Luckily, your partner saved your life. You didn't have much time to think as the two of you began running away from the firing shots and before you knew it, accidentally fell into a trench that was impossible to notice. You met the ground many meters down the deeper part of the forest. You were lucky to be in the body of an Avatar as normally you'd break most of your bones from the impact but instead, you only received a few bruises and cuts.

Nothing serious happened to Miles either, at least those were good news. The two of you waited for a few minutes, trying to make sure that you weren't followed and now you're here. Your feet dragged you after your partner as you tried to find a way out of this place. Barely any light shone through the thick tree crowns and gigantic leaves while everything around you seemed quieter than usual. Unfortunately, your communicators broke due to the fall so you had no other way but to move forwards and find your team on your own.

You wanted to hit yourself in the head for being this stupid and ruining everything but you tried to keep your cool in front of Quaritch. You could sense this weird feeling growing in your body again as you looked at the man walking a few steps ahead of you. Your ears tilted back from the discomfort you experienced when you tried to keep yourself together and not think about Miles again and the things he could do to you.

Becoming a recom, you only expected the positive things coming from a new body. You are stronger, faster and overall a better version of your human self. However, after a few weeks of living as an Avatar, you noticed something unusual happening to you. You become horny but not just once in a while, everyday. At first, you thought nothing of it and assumed that it would go away after a few days but it didn't.

Your thoughts constantly drifted away into scenarios of you getting intimate with a certain person, your Colonel. Guilt ate you up every time you thought about him in an inappropriate way and you hated your organism for letting you know how much it wanted to get screwed by Quaritch. It felt as if your mind and body were split in two. Perhaps, you were in a mating cycle but you've never heard of it happening to Na'vi before and you felt too awkward to ask anyone else about it.

You are a soldier, you were trained to control yourself in the worst moments of war and now you can't even do that. You felt like a disappointment compared to your recom team and to Miles. You were never attracted to him as a human but after you two became Avatars, it changed. Out of all the other crew members, your stupid brain had to choose Quaritch to root over. Maybe it's because he was physically your age now and his features weren't too bad to look at either but you mostly assumed that it was because he had authority and was your leader.

Your dirty mind couldn't stop imagining him pinning you to a wall or bed and forcing you to listen to every command he'd give you. This man brought out thoughts from you that you never suspected yourself to have and it disgusted you. Unfortunately, you also loved it. A sight left your lips as you rubbed your hand against your face to put yourself together. Who knows when your problems will start to bother others to the extent that it might cost you your job.

What would the RDA do? Send you back to Earth as an Avatar? Right now, all you have to concentrate on is getting out of this place, seems easy. It would've been simple, if you were to walk with anybody else but Quaritch. You bit your lower lip, just imagining what those slim fingers could do to you while your eyes stared at the man's hands like a creep. So much for your focus on the mission.

Eventually, you encountered a river on your way and decided to rest nearby for a few minutes. You used the time to wash your face with the cold water to clear your head while Miles tended to the few wounds he got from the impact. Compared to you, he earned a few more injuries. It made you feel even worse about yourself for screwing up. "I'm really sorry for what had happened. I've been just… really distracted lately" You said, breaking the silence and catching his attention.

"It's alright, everyone fuckes up sometimes. Do you need to talk about it, (F/N)?" He asked, while turning towards you and looking at you in interest. You immediately tilted away and shifted in your seat. "No, I'd rather keep it to myself" You murmured awkwardly, trying to make it sound as polite as possible, your cheeks slowly turning red. No way in hell that you're telling him any of your recent thoughts. You won't be able to look at your reflection in the mirror for a week.

You felt his gaze lingering on your body as you tried to keep yourself busy, staring at the moving water in front of you. "If it's what I think it is, don't worry. You're not the only one" Quaritch said with a grin on his face and began to laugh when you shot your head in his direction and stared in shock. "What?!" You shouted in embarrassment, making sure that you didn't just hear things. "Well, I've also noticed myself lately getting a little 'distracted' as you'd say, and by observing you for the past few days, seems like I'm not the only one" He concluded, making you hit your hand against your forehead.

You wondered who else also realized your weird behavior recently, you had no idea that the others also experienced the same phenomenon. It felt shameful to think that you were the only one who struggled with keeping it a secret. Maybe it's because you're the youngest in the group, at least when you were a human. "I'm trying to keep myself at bay, I really do" You explained, hoping that he wouldn't think of you differently from now on. You wanted to be known as one of his best soldiers, not somebody who died in action because they couldn't stop feeling horny.

"I know, it's hard for everybody and I have to admit, it felt adorable to know that you couldn't keep your eyes away from me. I didn't know I was this charming" Quaritch jokes, only adding to the sheer embarrassment you felt from the whole situation. "Maybe I did, but it's not like I can control it! My mind just drifts away whenever I… look at you" You mumbled, just realizing what you just confessed to him.

You watched in horror as the man looked at you in surprise, before a smirk painted his face and he got off the ground. "Oh? And what exactly were you thinking about me?" He asked intrigued, putting a hand on his hip. Your heart was beating like crazy and you wondered how he didn't hear it from afar, he was just messing around, right? "Nothing, just forget what I said!" You shouted, your tail nervously sweeping around the grass behind you.

Your nervous babbling only seemed to amuse him more as he took a few steps towards and kneeled down to face you. He could only notice now how turned on he made you. Your chest was moving rapidly, your pupils were dilated and legs tightly held together as if they were going to fall off. "Look, I'm responsible for my team and for their members so when there's a problem, I will do anything to solve it" Miles said in a deep tone, while keeping eye contact.

You were barely able to keep yourself together by how close he was as his words hit your twitching ears. "It looks like I need to put my soldier back to their great shape again, what do you think, (Y/N)?" Quaritch's fingertips trailed along the side of your face as he gently spoke, his eyes digging into your own. Everything felt like a fever dream, you would've never imagined him offering anything like this to you. You felt like you could climax just by listening to him talking like this to you.

"But like, right now in the forest?" You asked, your voice trembling from the excitement and stress. "I told you before, we eat like Na'vi, we ride like Na'vi, we think Na'vi and we might as well fuck like Na'vi" Damn it, he really was serious. His words driften from your ears right into your lower regions, only worsening the arousal you felt for him. At this point, you wouldn't mind him screwing you up even on an aircraft full of people, you just needed to get off this horrible feeling.

"So, what will it be? Will you let me help you?" Quaritch asked, gently tugging onto the metal pendant wrapped around your neck, the slight force adding to the excitement. You swallowed and nodded nervously, not sure if you could trust your voice at that moment, earning a smile from him. "Good answer. So, what were you thinking about the two of us?" He gave you another question, eager to know every detail of your fantasies that might help him work you up.

"We had sex" You blurted out matter of factly. The man smiled awkwardly and tilted his head to the side. You weren't exactly the best at showing your thoughts, didn't you. "Yeah, I could've predicted that… How about we start with something lighter?" He proposed, before resting his hand on your cheek and pressing his warm lips against yours. He could feel them tremble as you tried to relax under his ministrations, too exhilarated from everything happening around you.

His kisses felt surprisingly gentle and you soon calmed down and started returning the gesture as well. Every movement of his skin against yours sends thrills to every fiber of your body. You flinched away from him when you felt the top of his tongue run along your lower lip. "What a baby. First time?" Quaritch chuckled, making you look away and nod. It felt embarrassing to admit that even when you were in your late twenties before you died, you still hadn't slept with anybody besides for sharing a few kisses.

On Earth, you spent most of your time focusing on your career as a soldier and didn't care too much about relationships. The same thing happened on Pandora. "Don't worry, I will take good care of you" Miles reassured you with a toothy grin and pressed his lips against yours yet again but this time, you didn't resist when he deepened the kiss. You signed, as his tongue began exploring your mouth, the alien sensation radiating onto the rest of your body, setting it on fire.

You tried to mimic his movement, sloppily kissing him as well while your hands gripped the tall grass beneath you, too scared to touch him. Even if he allowed you to do this, he still felt inaccessible to you as Quaritch was still your leader. Like a forbidden fruit. Your lips separated after an intense session, gasping for air as you looked at each other in hunger. Miles looked even hotter than before, as he was now eyeing you like a predor about to eat its prey alive.

You wouldn't mind it though, too fixated on the throbbing feeling in your body, that was begging to be released. The last bits of rational thinking left you, when the man began sucking on your exposed neck, earning a moan from your lips. You couldn't help the lewd noises escaping, he just felt too good. In this state, your skin was even more sensitive than ever and it didn't allow you to keep quiet and collected.

Noticing your reaction, Miles took another step and traced his fingers along the exposed skin on your stomach in a tantalizing manner. His other hand took a firm hold on the back of your neck to keep you in place, as he kept on leaving marks under your chin. Your recom throat communicator stood in his way, so he swiftly took it off and kept going. You also wanted to touch him, but you had no idea what you were supposed to do in that situation, so you awkwardly wrapped your arms around his neck and let your fingernails drag across the bruises on his shoulder.

You smiled as Miles sighed each time your delicate digits traced patterns across his sensitive skin. You let out another moan when Quaritch found your sweet spot, that you had no idea existed, and began enthusiastically sucking on it, entitled to break you. Your fingers curled around his queue, enough to make his groan in excitement as his hand grabbed your hip, giving it a squeeze. His other limb roamed over the abs beneath your shirt, feeling your muscles tense underneath his touch, turning him on even more.

"Oh fuck, I will make you go insane once I stuff you nice and good" He growled in your ear. "You want this right? Having me fuck your tight little ass, don't you, soldier" Miles continued, taking a firm hold of your jaw and making you look at his heated eyes. "I do, Sir. Please" You breathed out, feeling your body tremble for more. "Let's get you ready then" Miles said with a satisfied smile, knowing how desperate he made you, just by making out. He got you wrapped around his finger.

You were told to lay on your elbows and relax as he will do all the work of preparing you for him. Relaxing wasn't exactly possible in your state as you laid on the grass nervously with your heart beating like you've just ran a marathon. You watched him slowly unbutton your pants alongside the belt and get rid of them and you sighed as the air hit your most vulnerable parts for him to see. Quaritch chuckled, seeing you fully exposed, swollen and throbbing just for him.

"Aww, it seems like someone's been struggling for a long time. Don't worry, sweetheart, I will make it up to you" He cooed and licked two of his fingers, before rubbing them around your opening. You didn't need a lot of preparation, as you were already on edge for days on end, so he didn't waste much time and pushed one of his fingers inside of you. You moaned at the pleasurable feeling, never experiencing anything like this before but it felt amazing.

Your muscles hugged him tightly, tempting him without intent as he worked on you. Soon, he joined another finger to stretch you further and you were now a mess underneath him, thrashing and moaning at the astonishing sensation he provided you. The burn of his digits twisting your insides gave you a bit of discomfort but you knew that the real deal will be a greater challenge. Just seeing the tent in his pants told you enough about his size and lord, it's going to break you.

You tried not to think about it at the moment, too busy consumed by the ecstacy in your system. After all, it's not everyday when you're getting fingered by Miles Quaritch. This moment will stay in your memories till the day you die. A curse left your mouth, when you started to feel your orgasm rapidly approaching but to your disappointment, your partner stopped and pulled his glistening fingers out of you, before you could finish.

You groaned at him, making him laugh at your pathetic state. "Easy, soldier. The main course is about to begin" He reassured you and took off his pants alongside his underwear, freeing his hard member that was ready to tear you apart. Just like you predicted, he was enormous. It's not like, you've seen anybody else's equipment but you could tell that he wasn't just average. It was hard and pulsating as Miles stroked himself while spreading your legs apart.

"This may hurt a little" He warned you, before entering you, immediately making you hiss in pain as you gripped his shoulder. Quaritch stopped halfway in, drawing little circles on your hip to try and ease your discomfort. The word 'little' didn't really identify the feeling you had at this moment as the burn spread through your body, making you ache. At the same time, you also experienced a great rush of dopamine from the pleasure of his manhood inside of you.

It's what you wanted from the start. No matter how many times you tried to touch yourself and make the terrible feeling go away, it was never enough. But now, your body finally got what it desperately craved for. "I will give you a moment to adjust, okay?" Miles asked, making you feel better to know that he cared about you but you're not going to wait. "No, keep going" You answered. "You sure?" He asked again and you only nodded, closing your eyes to endure another wave of pain when he pushed himself even further than before.

You breathed rapidly, trying to relax yourself while your muscles hugged his member, that was now fully seated inside of you. "Feels good, doesn't it? It will get only better once you get used to me" Miles breathed out, leaving kisses on the side of your face to soothe the pain you felt. "It's alright. I've been hunted, shot at and just fell a few stories down on the ground, I've been through worse" You joked, making him grin in amusement of how you tried to ease the situation.

"I know that you can handle it, you're my little recom after all" He said seductively and started to roll his hips against yours, making you melt at the sensation. It was already hard not to make a sound when he was fully inside you but now, that his manhood was massaging every sensitive part in your body, you couldn't help but be vocal about it. The pain slowly disappeared each second he thrusted into you, as you dug your nails into his back, unable to control yourself.

Your partner tugged his arms behind your shoulders and changed the angle of his entry to meet every sensitive spot in your body. Miles also wasn't silent about his experience. Each time you scratched his skin a little too hard, he growled in your ear and hit your insides even harder than before. Your tight ass drove him crazy and he forced himself not to lose control and fuck you like an animal. You were so pure and quiet compared to the others in his team that scraping you of the last bits of your innocence gave him the reason to live.

Just hearing your voice calling out for him made his member twitch in excitement as he was eager to finish, thanks to your body. "Harder, please" You begged him, wrapping your legs around his waist in an attempt to keep him even closer than before. "Eager, aren't we?" He taunted, before sliding out of you, changing the position and sitting up, forcing you on his lap. "How about you take the lead, tiger?" Quaritch proposed with a smug smile.

You had no other choice but to comply when your body started to complain about the emptiness it felt. You circled your arms around his neck as you sunk yourself on his hard erection, both of you sighing at the returning bliss. You sucked the air in your lungs as the pleasurable experience of getting filled by him came back. Your hips started to move up and down his shaft, a bit sloppy as you've never done anything like this before.

Miles helped you out and took a hold of your hips, guiding you along him and thrusting upwards. He was so deep inside of you, that you could feel his balls brush against your ass when you moved. You breathed heavily against his ear, occasionally letting a moan slip by as your fingers ran along his short dark hair. Despite the growing pleasure and approaching climax, your pace didn't slow down as it only nagged you to go faster.

Quaritch knew that you wouldn't break under the pressure, you were trained to endure it after all, even if it wasn't meant for fucking. He watched in delight as you screwed yourself on his shaft, your muscles spasming each time the tip hit a deep spot in your insides. You were basically the same height, the only difference being that he was built a bit more than you. A curse left your lips as you felt yourself on edge again, glad that this time Miles won't stop you from finishing.

The man noticed your struggle and leaned into your neck, biting hard into your flesh, breaking the final straw and making you climax. You left out a broken moan, your body tightening around Quaritch as waves after waves of ecstasy hit you like a train. Your body was trembling and shaking at the overstimulation Miles gave you, still chasing his own orgasm. He wasn't far behind either, letting his fingers sink into your hips as he rapidly thrusted in your insides, before pulling out and cuming on your exposed stomach.

You watched him come undone under you, tilting his ears behind his head and shutting his eyes, letting the pleasure wash over him. Even at this state, he tried to keep himself collected in front of you but you knew that he struggled a lot. The two of you sat in silence for a while, trying to catch your breaths and pull yourself together. You felt a tingling sensation as the remains of his fluids ran down your abdomen and on your private parts. You didn't mind it too much, It would've been harder to clean up if he came inside you.

Only now did you realize what you had done and how close your face was to his so you flinched away from him in embarrassment, making him laugh. After a moment of cleaning and dressing up, Miles helped you get up and you now stood facing each other, your legs still slightly shaking. "Everything okay?" He asked. "Yeah" You answered, feeling a grin slowly creep on your face, remembering all the shameful acts you've done just a while ago.

"I'm glad to be of service. If you even need my help again, feel free to ask" Quaritch said, winking. A blush crept on your face again, as your tail swayed in excitement. Will there be another time? Right now, you felt relieved that the throbbing feeling in your body finally disappeared. Your mind was no longer occupied with thoughts you shouldn't have, especially in the middle of a serious mission. But you didn't know how long it's going to last. Perhaps one day when you'll need him again, you may just come by to his room. Just maybe.

"Oh, you forgot something" Miles said, as you were ready to leave and walked over to pick up your recom throat communicator from the ground that he removed before. He took a few steps towards you and slowly put it back on its place around your neck, his fingers tickling your still fragile skin. You found it sweet that he cared for such little things but in reality, Quaritch just used the opportunity to look up close at the hickeys he gave you. They were barely visible on the dark blue patterns of your skin but they were still there, letting everybody know that he made you his. His little soldier.

#avatar #avatar the way of water #avatar 2 #miles quaritch #miles quaritch x reader #quaritch x reader

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marrogerson · 1 month

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Hi Margaret,

I absolutely adore Sorcery of Thorns. As an aspiring writer, I wanted to ask you how you started worldbuilding? The world just seemed so lively and detailed, just as if it was real. While reading I imagined it like in the Victorian era, were there special things you researched? Worldbuilding just seems so daunting to me.

Sending you all the best wishes, and I‘m waiting patiently and excited for new stories from you :)

Hi anon,

Thank you for the lovely ask. I was also daunted by worldbuilding when I started trying to write books. (Key word, trying... my attempts didn't work out too well for the first few years.) Since this is turning out to be a longer post, I'll put the rest under a cut.

Initially, the thing I struggled with the most was having a great idea for a world, fleshing it out, and then trying to populate it with characters and an interesting plot. This worldbuilding-first strategy works for some writers I think, but it didn't for me. I personally had a breakthrough when I started instead focusing on creating the main characters/their central conflict first, and then constructing the worldbuilding around them to support the story's needs. For example, the premise of the magic system in Sorcery of Thorns (sorcerers who summon demon servants at great personal cost) was one that I created specifically to facilitate the angst between Nathaniel and Silas.

I always say that I don't consider myself much of a researcher, but then I glance across my desk and see the stack of books that I ordered secondhand from Ebay because they're no longer in print. If you're writing in a similar time period, I highly recommend The Victorian City by Judith Flanders (this one is still in print and easy to find). The most curious one (to me at least) is probably The Victorian Bathroom Catalogue which is a book full of historical advertisements including illustrations of old bathroom fixtures.

My best advice when it comes to research—if it's something you struggle with—is to try reading things that are fun, which you would enjoy reading anyway even if you didn't have a reason. The most useful research I've ever done was just-for-fun reading that I did not realize was important research until much later. Forgive my weird analogy, but all that reading turns into sort of a yeast culture in the fridge of your brain, which you can draw from when needed instead of having to go searching for yeast every time you need it. And the yeast culture will also creep into your bedroom at four in the morning, and whisper tantalizing ideas into your ear... ok, let's stop there.

The nice thing about writing fantasy is that you don't need to sweat the small stuff. Just worry about writing a fun story first.

Some of my favorite specific topics that I've researched online lately include elevators in the first half of the 1800s, and whether gunpowder would have been used to demolish a large building just prior to the invention of dynamite.

Best of luck!

#writing #ask

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woah-uhuh-uhuh-uhuh · 7 months

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Christine Canigula was socially ostracized & developed a complex to protect herself: an essay

(suddenly i NEED to infodump about Christine actually so here)

Something I only noticed on rewatch: the way Christine will say something silly and then just kind of gingerly wait to see if Jeremy reacts well to it before continuing, almost like she's asking permission?? (e.g. the gap after the first stanza of "Play Rehearsal"). And it's only after he riffs off her bowling alley bit that she feels comfortable talking about her personal feelings with him (right before "Guy that I'd Kinda be Into"). The same happens with their "weird noise" exchange immediately before "It's pretty killer to sit and chat with you." I know theater relies on being succinct, and that 'bonding over shared quirks' and 'feelings talk' are both just crucial parts of relationship development... but I don't think it's a coincidence that it always goes in that order!

It's like Jeremy has to pass these *trials of weirdness* before she feels safe opening up to him and it drives me BONKERS so I wrote a whole 1000 word thing about it under the cut and this got too massive and I'm sorry. Also some autistic Jeremy meta at the end if that sweetens the pot hehehe

Table of contents:

Why she was ostracized

How she was ostracized

How that might inform her pattern of relationship development with Jeremy and Jake

How gender caused Jeremy's experiences to differ from hers, and how that affects their current relationships with "popularity" and peer acceptance.

1. Why she was ostracized

I am just so certain that Christine has been bullied or at least majorly outcast for a lot of her life. She's very obviously neurodivergent and because of that she can have these obnoxiously deep and repetitive interests, she can't judge if a piece of information will be genuinely interesting to someone, and she doesn't take social cues very well.

She frequently interrupts people when they're talking (an ADHD symptom btw), even when they're literally talking to her about the thing she wants to hear!

(C: "Do you find that? Because I totally find that!" J: "Uh, yeah, I-" C: "-And no matter how hard I try....")

(J: "I know the last thing I deserve is another shot, but-" C:"Jeremy, just... say what's on your mind.") (girl I'm sorry but that's what he was doing..... I have a whole other thoughtpiece on how this particularly fucks with Jeremy while they're dating but thats another thing...)

She doesn't seem confident in her interpretations of people's emotions and she'll ask/talk about them point blank (both theirs and her own) in a way a lot of people would find rude

("Uh, you seem really nervous...") ("Popular people are fucked up! *mutual laughter* …I mean, you're one of them!") ("I am flattered, this is new / still I'm not sure what I should do" <- as a response to getting asked out, that's pretty bold! Plus the entire part where she laughs at Jake's "rich boy routine") (also compare and contrast to Jeremy's "I don't know what I'm supposed to say right now." idk. are your allistic stage dorks in the room with us right now motherfuckers)

I'd go on about her hyperfixations/special interests too but I think Play Rehearsal pretty much sums it up lol

2. How she was ostracized

All this to say that I am CERTAIN she spent a lot of her schooling having "nice girls" patiently let her sit with them at lunch for weeks at a time until they finally get sick of her rambling and faux pas. Only when they leave does Christine realize that they didn't actually care about anything she said... And this happens over and over and over. (I know this seems hella specific but I swear it's an actual phenomenon... at least I'm pretty sure? sdjflksjf)

But anyway, it's clear that by the time they're juniors, Christine has kind of (and I do only mean kind of) figured out what behaviour other people respond poorly to. And from evidence I stated in the intro, I think she's become really careful about which people she lets herself get attached to. She doesn't want this to ever happen again - which means if she's going to hang out with someone, she has to know that they actually care about her, that they know she will sometimes be obnoxious or blunt, and they'll still be okay with that forever.

3. Applying this to her canon relationships

You can extend this to Jake, someone who sees her in her element in drama rehearsal (the thing everyone finds annoying about her because she won't shut up about it) and STILL likes her. I think it's a totally valid reading that her bluntness with him later ("Upgrade") is just because she misreads him / doesn't quite get the social standard that she should be white lying instead. But I think you could also read her as testing the waters. If she's really going to commit to dating this guy, she's gotta know he's okay with her being herself. And the fact that this guy (and I think it's significant that he is a boy, for reasons I'll explain in the end note) genuinely seems to like her is a whole new level of peer validation ("I am flattered, this is new") -- so of course she's gonna fall at least a little! It doesn't hurt that he's "tired of being the person that everyone thinks that I am..." just like her!

Her history with being pity-liked makes Chloe's "advice," that Jake's just toying with her and is going to move on soon, even scarier, because that's genuinely happened to her (on a platonic level) so many times before.

Jeremy is also a good candidate from the beginning because he's weird he's a weirdo he doesn't fit in and he doesn't wanna fit in you ever see him without this stupid cardigan on? that's weird! And she keeps warming up to him not only because they're getting to know each other but because he gets progressively more willing to not only tolerate (as Jake does) but *participate* in her weirdness!

First, she does something weird and he tolerates it ("Play Rehearsal"); the next time she's weird, he participates! (bowling ball before GTIKBI). Then finally finally finally he initiates the weirdness and lets her join in! ("weird noises" exchange before GTIKBI reprise).

And notably, it is THIS moment that canonically signifies that they've hit the apex of their canon relationship development. If there was an achievement called "Befriend Christine," it would have popped up right then and there!!!

IN CONCLUSION: YOUR HONOR I LOVE THEM T_T

4: Christine vs. Jeremy: Gender differences & how that ultimately impacts their social goals

I also think all of this would have happened to Jeremy too if he'd been a girl. But because, generally, young boys feel less social obligation than girls to take pity on the autistic kid (and because boys tend to be more quickly recognized as autistic) he just ends up completely alone for most of his school life (Michael nonwithstanding - and yeah there's an important distinction between your childhood friend putting up with you and knowing that, woah, I guess literally nobody else ever will).

Meanwhile, Christine has had people "put up" with her, and she's SICK OF IT!

That's part of why their complexes are so different, because Christine is trying to check everyone she meets to make sure they'll be okay with her weirdness before she gets attached, Jeremy is trying to eliminate his weirdness altogether because he's never even experienced his peers listening out of *pity* so how the hell can he expect someone to ever listen to him out of *interest?*

Jeremy has never had someone pretend to like him before, so he completely lacks Christine's fear of befriending someone who secretly hates you. He doesn't realize how bad it'll hurt him if he destroys his real self for popularity, if he befriends people who would have bullied his real self. He doesn't know what disingenuous friendship feels like, so like a very young Christine he's still actively trying to get there because he thinks it's the only kind of validation he'll ever get.

Do you see what im saying? Do you see it???? AUAUGUGUUGGH

THANK YOU FOR READING!!! If you have thoughts or even rebuttals please share i am so desperate to discuss the blorbos

#theres gender theres autism theres stagedorks what more could you want #bmc #be more chill #christine bmc #christine canigula #jeremy heere #stagedorks #bmc meta #my posts #meta #essay #my meta #jeremy #christine #character analysis #guys academia ruined me actually #this literally genuinely hits the full word count requirement for a midterm paper i was supposed to start writing today #but instead i did this

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yesbutmakeitgay · 25 days

Text

Once Upon A Time I Used To Know A Girl

Chapter 2

Carol Danvers x Reader

Masterlist | This work's masterlist | AO3

Summary: Kamala helps you as you begin your journey to recovery.

Angst, Slow Burn, Amnesia.

Word count: 792

Like A Summer Day, She Could Push The Night So Far Away

Kamala walks you into the living quarters and you stop by the kitchen to rummage inside the fridge, she takes the opportunity to pop by Fury’s office and persuade him to let her go through with her half thought out plan.

After you finish eating the girl takes you upstairs and pauses in front of one of the many identical doors, "This will be your room while you, uh-"

"While my brain gets fixed, got it." You decide you might as well just go with it. You walk inside and try to get comfortable, Kamala says her goodbyes and tells you she’ll be back tomorrow.

Later that night Kamala calls Carol after not finding her anywhere in the compound, she tells her the plan and The Captain reluctantly agrees, still overwhelmed with guilt and heartbreak, on one condition: She cannot tell you about your relationship with Carol.

For the remainder of the week you stay on strict bed rest on doctor's orders. Kamala comes by every day and talks to you about current events and pop culture which, even before the injury, you weren't very good at keeping up with. She makes sure you eat and drink enough liquids and even tries to sneak in little details about your former life to see if you'll remember.

It is the first day after your mandated bed rest is over and Kamala comes back as promised, "How are you liking your room?"

"It’s fine."

"They'll bring all your stuff back from your former residence soon."

"Where was that?"

"You were doing a lot of intergalactic work so you were living in a spaceship," she says, trying to find the most objective way to describe it.

"That sounds awful."

"Well, according to your most recent reports you were really enjoying it."

"You have my reports? Can I read them?"

"They are being held in hopes they might contain information about the ambush." Her words are only half true as you weren't exactly subtle when writing about Carol.

The girl walks you to a conference room to have some privacy and hopefully get started on your recovery. She pulls out her S.A.B.E.R. tablet, "Do you know where we are?"

"The Avengers compound," you answer plainly.

"What do you know about them?" She starts making annotations.

"The Avengers? They're a bunch of stuck up assholes with a hero complex who think they're so special because they can shoot lasers out of some part of their body."

"Right," Kamala exhales heavily, "Do you remember any of them?"

"Uh, let's see, there's Stark, paying his way to the top, there's grandpa America-"

"Captain America," she writes down.

"Big green guy,"

"The hulk."

"Red witchy witch,"

"Scarlet Witch."

"The guy with the arrows, how did he even get in?"

"Hawkeye."

"Oh and tiny bug-man."

"Ant-man. Anyone else?"

"I think that's about it."

"I don't suppose you'd be willing to talk to any of them, see if they can help bring some memories back?"

"You suppose right."

"What about someone else? S.H.I.E.L.D.? Defenders?" she starts to wonder out loud.

"Defenders? Jones?" You let out a small chuckle.

"Yes! Do you know her?" Her eyes light up.

"No," you let her down, "but even if I did, she doesn't seem like the kind of person who likes to talk."

"I guess you're right." She begins to mindlessly scroll through her clear tablet hoping to find an answer when you see a familiar face.

"Rambeau. I'll talk to her if she's around."

She opens her mouth to speak but nothing comes out, "Captain Rambeau is unavailable at the moment," she says, carefully choosing her words.

"I can wait," you respond, really trying to be helpful.

"Indefinitely." Her harsh tone tells you this is a conversation for another day.

After a moment she continues with the interrogation, "What's the last thing you remember?"

"Paris," you answer with certainty. Kamala searches on the device, "You're scrolling back an alarming amount, how long ago was Paris?"

"Many years ago," she responds in a quiet voice, a feeling of discouragement taking over you. She begins to read aloud, "Let's see, Paris. Mission to retrieve stolen files. Success. Black Widow." She looks at you when she gets to the last part.

"Yelena," you say, almost like an afterthought.

She gives you a perplexed look, "Natasha."

You accept her correction, "Romanoff."

"You remember her?" You nod in response, "Will you talk to her?" she follows expectantly.

"Absolutely not." Kamala scoffs, "I barely knew her, that's the only mission I ever went on with her. I didn't even live here with them, I had my own home in Louisiana." Your last words peak her interest and she discreetly writes them down.

Tell me all your thoughts!

Tags: @graniairish

Let me know if you wanna be tagged :)

Chapter 3

#carol danvers #carol danvers x reader #captain marvel #captain marvel x reader #carol danvers angst #kamala khan #valkyrie

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charliehoennam · 5 days

Text

dinner date

summary: David tries to compensate for his demanding job and swoons his girl

Pairing: David Loki x F!reader

Warnings: Fluff, language

SHARING IS CARING, SO PLEASE REBLOG

David knows how you've been looking forward to this day the whole month. Ever since Crumble Crumbs opened up on main avenue, you've been counting down the days to try out the new café and bakery.

It's been a beehive since opening day, so you told him you wanted to wait a while for the hype to die down enough for you guys to enjoy a sweet little date without all the pushing and yelling.

Conyers was a small town. Nothing really new happens here, which happens to be one of David's favorite thing about it.

It's small enough for him to know almost everyone and to be predictable enough for his job.

Every grand opening in Conyers is the highlight event of the month and Crumble Crumbs has been no different; it's been the talk of the small town since then.

Everyone's been there, and word of their wide assortment of large, fresh cookies has been spreading like wildfire which only made you even more excited to finally try it.

The day is cold - sunny enough to enjoy it outside despite the winter season - as you and David walk down the sidewalk, hand in hand.

"They literally have every cookie you can imagine."

"I seriously doubt that. I mean, that's a lot of cookies. And who even is that obsessed about cookies?" David smirks, being his usual skeptical self.

"Who isn't?" You scoff playfully at him. "Cookies are seriously underrated desserts. They're crunchy and soft at the same time, not to mention salty and sweet too. They are the literally the ying and yang of desserts!"

"I'm pretty sure it's yin and yang, babe." He can't help but smile at your excitement.

"And there's a cookie for every season! Summertime? You got lemon cookies, lime cookies, coconut cookies. Fall? Snickerdoodle, peanut butter, s'mores and don't even get me started on chocolate chip."

"Alright, alright. Let's get a cookie in ya 'fore your lose your shit, cookie monster," he laughs opening the door for you.

You walk inside with a playful smack to his arm and giggle excitedly. The smell of the freshly baked goods strikes you immediately and wraps you in the warmest hug.

The café looks like as cozy as a scene from small town rom-com.

Little yellow lights strung across the ceiling glow warmly like candlelight against the pale, cold hue of the snowy streets outside that filters through the frosty windows. Bright green leaves planted on dark wooden boxes brighten the dullish red color of exposed bricks on the wall. Christmas stockings and decor hang against the dark teal bar beside the display cases of desserts.

"They got coffee in this joint?"

"Actually, they do. I'm gonna get a simple latte. How about you?"

"I'll join you and get one too."

"No black this time?" You smirk as your gloved hands lock together between you.

"You're rubbing off on me," he smiles and kisses your head. "Let's choose the cookies first and then I'll order the coffees so you can save us a table."

You and David work together to select different flavors to share between you both. You'd have one of every flavor if you could, but you know you wouldn't finish them all even with David's help.

He lets you choose first and he notices there's a a few you leave out. Not because you don't want to try them, but you feel like you should limit yourself. So, he makes a point in ordering the ones you'd left out and a couple of simple flavors he happens to love like the peanut butter and the classic chocolate chip.

You find a table to sit at near the window and take the cookies over to it as David soon follows with your lattes in hands.

Setting your gloves aside, you take turns choosing which cookies to try, chatting endlessly in between every bite and sip.

He just wants you to be happy today. He loves seeing you like this. He knows he doesn't spend enough time going on these little dates, letting routine to dominate your relationship.

He's always had trouble dating because of his job. There is no greater passion for him than helping people in need.

It's a subconscious deed that heals his inner child daily. He hadn't realized it until you pointed it out after he had told you about his rough upbringing one night.

Most of the women that came into his life felt it hard to compete with. His career always found a way of coming between his relationships until David eventually decided to give up on pursuing lasting relationships...until you came along and turned his world upside down.

At first, he didn't get his hopes up since he figured you'd eventually leave too. Only you didn't leave, nor did you hold it against him or make him feel guilty for his job.

Instead, you became his haven. His little peaceful cocoon to shelter him of all worries.

He admired that about you, the strength you had to understand and accept that your relationship wouldn't be as normal as others. Most of all, he was grateful that you still chose to stay with him knowing that.

He promised himself that he would always try his absolute best to make every rare second you had together as memorable as possible.

That's why he feels his heart sink in his chest when you both hear his cell phone ring in his pocket.

You smile at him and nod after seeing the regret on his face as he closed his eyes and exhaled sharply through his nose.

You assure him with a gentle smile and a hand on his arm that it's alright, that the call could be important or urgent. You know he wishes he didn't have to take it, but even days off aren't entirely free for him.

"I'm sorry, babe. I really am. I'll just be a minute. It- fuck," he sighs shaking his head as he reads the caller ID, recognizing it's his captain.

With reaffirming strokes of your thumb on his forearm, you already know from David's curt replies that he has to go in today.

The minute he hangs up, his heart is filled with dread.

"I'll get these to go while you bring the car around, yeah?"

He only nods and looks at you doey, apologetic eyes.

"Hey, it's alright... We can always come back. I'll make sure not to leave you any so we can come back soon," you smirk trying to poke some fun at him to ease his guilt.

He chuckles and nods as he gets his gloves back on.

"I'm taking this one with me" he says lifting the peanut butter cookie to his mouth as he stands with his latte in hand.

---

You barely see David the couple following weeks.

Despite being able to find incidental pockets of fleeting time in your schedules to just be together, David can't stop thinking about that date and all the others that he's had to cut short.

He's thankful that you're understanding of the fact that he takes his job very seriously, but he still wants to remind you of how much he loves and appreciates everything you do for him.

Dealing with an absent partner isn't easy at all and things between you aren't always perfect. His job really does take a toll on his mental health. He hadn't noticed how bad it was until the Dover-Birch case.

Convincing him to see a therapist to talk to wasn't very easy, but he realized it was necessary after Bob.

Although the girls were safe and Keller was found - fighting for his life in the cold damp hole Holly Jones forced him into - and treated at the hospital before being taken in custody, Bob and Alex were the ones that really haunted him afterwards.

The day Bob took his life repeated itself in his dreams.

Even in his sleep, he couldn't run from the stress of his job or from the failure that he felt he had been to Bob. And now, he felt like he was failing you too.

On those nights, he would wake up covered in cold sweat with hands that trembled uncontrollably. Looking over his shoulder as he’d sit up on the bed, he’d make sure he hadn’t woken you up. He’d just feel worse if he had, but sometimes when he did, you helped calm him down and he was grateful for the patience you had with him.

Having you was the only constant he had in his life. You gave him a reason to want to come home. You filled his bleak days with love and relief. You are what makes his house a home and the thought of losing you is absolutely terrifying.

Most of David’s romantic history consisted of one-night stands and short-lived relationships. Although he did really have feelings for the women, he’d had relationships with, it always ended the same way: with them leaving because they demanded more attention that his schedule simply couldn’t provide. And, even though he had tried to move things around to have more free time, it wasn’t enough for them.

David shut himself off from the world in that romantic sense after that. He felt he would only ever fail anyone he got with, so what was the point?

Then, you came along and proved him wrong. He knew he would never find anyone like you, so showing you how much you meant was important to him.

----

"Babe?" you call out.

You’re walking into the shared house you live in, sensing the delicious smell of your favorite dish wafting from the kitchen as you slide off your boots and hang your winter coat up alongside his.

"Ah, fuck" he winces lightly burning his hand on the handle of a frying pan., grabbing it in a hurry to set it on the back burner before the food in it could overcook. "In here, babe!"

Running cold water over the burn on his palm, he smiles proudly at you with a dish towel hung over his shoulder when you reach the kitchen, marveling at the romantic set dining table that was waiting for you along with lit tall candles, a bottle of your favorite wine and clean empty plates with thoughtfully arranged silverware resting upon a place mat.

"What's the special occasion?" you chuckle surprised.

He feels so proud watching you admire the effort he had put into making a simple night the most special.

"I finished the paperwork early. Worked through lunch, so I wanted to make you a special dinner, ya know?"

You grin, thanking him as he walks over drying his hands on the dish towel to grab the bottle to open it up and pour the maroon drink into a couple of glasses.

"I just wanted to do something for us... I know it's nothing special. Just dinner but…"

Your eyebrows narrow as you look at him curiously. He doesn't think it's enough to make up for his absence. He wishes he could do more because he knows you deserve more.

“But nothing. This is wonderful, Davie. Thank you so much” you complete and reassure him with a kiss. “You just made my day.”

Just knowing that he's gone out of his way to do something romantic reminds you of exactly why you stay. Under his stern facade, there's a heart of gold that he's learned to hide.

He doesn't reveal it to just anyone. He doesn't drop his guard and expose that vulnerable side with just anyone. He does that with you because he trusts you and he loves you so much.

Through these small acts of affection, you’re reminded that he’s pulling back yet another layer to let you in.

After quickly washing your hands, you take the glass offered to you. While you’re enjoying your wine, he moves around the breakfast bar to plate up the food.

Over dinner, you go on to share the highlights of your day.

Work isn't the most exciting part of your day, but every now and then, a couple things happen here and there and there’s always some gossip that you just have to share with David.

He listens to you with all his earnest attention because he loves listening to you. He could listen to you talk for days. He loves watching how excited you get to talk about your day, no matter how futile the little details seem to you because they’re details that were important enough for you to remember.

He’ll poke fun and let his sarcasm bleed through just a tad to make you laugh.

He doesn't stay silent though. He's a very honest person and he isn't afraid to share what he thinks in a carefully edited manner to avoid hurting feelings: a talent he's acquired over the years on the job.

He just adores watching how eager you get to share these things with him. His days are usually spent solving crimes that are sometimes incredibly daunting and hard to forget, so listening to you talk about your day reminds him why he decided to become a cop in the first place; to keep the town safe so genuine, kind-hearted people like you could enjoy your habitual everyday life in peace and safety.

When you ask him about his day, he's careful to leave the disturbing case details he had to type about the latest case he’d solved. Instead, he goes on to share a couple of stories shared by some of the beat cops from the job and personal lives.

They’re mostly stories about the weird situations brought on mostly by the drunks around town. One being about a crazy drunk in the holding cell stripping down and singing Chaka Khan’s ‘I’m Every Woman’. Another being about a mysterious and suspicious package that was delivered to a bank manager’s house that turned out to be a box full of dildos.

Hearing his laugh is almost like hearing angels sing. So rare, but still so refreshing to hear. You can feel it chase away all the troubles of your day as the corners of his eyes wrinkle with each smile.

Neither of you seem to notice the time passing by. It must be the wine that he keeps filling your glasses with every time he notices they're running low.

Dessert sobers you both up quite a bit after dinner.

"I didn't make it myself, but we can pretend that I actually know something about baking" he laughs setting out the small cake of your favorite flavor from your favorite bakery.

You thank him with a grin and a kiss that he refuses to break.

You already know you want to show him how grateful you are and you know exactly how to show him what.

His kisses are warm, wet and flavored by the red wine and the sweetness of the cake as they meld against your own. He kisses you so passionately, the room seems to spin around your as his lips intoxicate you all over again.

You pull back, cradling his prickly cheeks in your hands to admire your boyfriend.

“I love you, Davie.”

“I love you too.”

#david loki #david loki x reader #david loki x y/n #david loki x you #detective david loki #prisoners #david loki prisoners #jake gyllenhaal

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sweetpandorabox · 1 year

Text

Oopsy Daisey - Neville Longbottom x Female Reader (One Shot)

⋆ ˚｡ ⋆୨sweetpandorabox୧⋆ ˚｡ ⋆

⋘ 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑎…⋙

Synopsis: Cielo is one of the most popular girls in Gryffindor's house, known for her beauty, kindness, and witty personality every boy is falling practically down on her feet juniors or seniors. They're willing to do anything just to be able to have a small conversation with her or go out on a date with her, but every guy has tried, and pretty much failed only being able to adore her from afar except for one. An insecure, shy, and clumsy plant-loving boy who's a year below her has had a crush on her since his 3rd year, not knowing how to get her attention to notice or like him back, he grew disappointed in himself every day for wasting time. One day a group of slightly older Gryffindor guys decided to help Neville caught your attention, but was it genuine help or are they trying to set him up to fail his chances with you?

Pairing: Neville Longbottom x Cielo (Female Reader)

Story Settings: This fanfiction is set in your 6th of Hogwarts, during the Order of the Phoenix time (You're a Gryffindor student for this one and you're also a year above Neville). Anything that's bolded and in italic is a flashback scene.

Terms 📖:

Y/L/N: Your last name

Y/E/C : Your eye color

Y/H/C : Your hair color

Warnings⚠️: Bullying but other than that it's pure fluff.

A/N: Why hello there sexy people, so first off this fanfic is actually a personalized gift for a fellow friend @milivanili99 a.k.a the lovely Cielo, she's incredibly amazing at making scrapbook collages and she happened to make me one for Valentine's day this year, which you can check out by clicking here. I love her so much she's amazing and just such an angelic human being so give her a follow if you can because trust me you won't regret it. Anyways I'm trying to make this readable for everyone as well but I will be using Cielo's name here as the Y/N female character and will be using the She/Her pronouns okay enjoy bye bye, I love you all. P.s. I'm so sorry if the ending isn't all that good, I was struggling to write the ending but I hope this is okay 😓

Word Count: 4,714

✯¸.•´¨*•✿ Oopsy Daisey✿•*¨`•.¸✯

"Hmm, do you reckon Honeydukes will be busy this Saturday? I've been wanting to try one of that new grape flavor sugar quills" Ginny wondered towards Luna and the seemingly distracted Neville staring off into the other side of the library no longer interested in his potions homework. "I'm not sure, but would I be able to come along with you? father happens to love sugar quills, and it wouldn't hurt to mail him some while he's writing the next issue of the Quibbler. I can't wait to hand more copies around" Luna smiled sweetly wearing her multicolored Spectrespecs giving her a look of a demented yet adorable owl. Ginny giggled at the sight of Luna moving her head around swiftly, trying to find those invisible Wrackspurt creatures that float through your ears and make your brain go fuzzy, "Well of course Luna, you can totally come along. I wanted to go with both of you actually so how about we meet at around noon tomorrow? by the fountain in the clocktower courtyard? Ginny proposed.

Luna gave her an enthusiastic double thumbs up but Neville seems to be in his little world, leading Ginny to call out after him. "How about you Nev? are you down to come this Saturday?" Nothing, he can't even master a small nod, Ginny is pretty dang on sure that Neville didn't hear anything she said nor ask him, so she tried again. "Hello, Neville… would you like to go to Honeydukes with me and Luna this Saturday?" she asks raising her voice slightly but no, nothing once more, Ginny grew concerned, and turned to look at Luna who was all caught up with what's happening so she tried tapping him on the shoulder gently. "Huh? I'm sorry what was that?" Neville migrates back to reality shaking his head in an attempt to focus, confused about what he's been missing, without answering his questions Ginny and Luna move their heads away from Neville to spot a certain person he's been staring at across the room for the past 10 minutes.

And there sat Cielo studying alone, she's a popular and extremely pretty girl in her 6th year, she was sorted into Gryffindor in her first year and instantly became best friends with one of the Gryffindor chasers Katie Bell. She's known to be a kind and immensely brave witch, she was one of the biggest supporters of Hermione's S.P.E.W cause as she believed the same thing Hermione did, that all Elves should be freed and instead receive wages, pensions, sick leave, and other benefits that a normal worker earns. She helped Hermione in any way she can like handing out badges and standing up to those who even dares to try and criticize Hermione for her beliefs, earning herself respect not just from Hermione but from Harry and Ron as well, who both made it quite obvious that they fancied her. She was also selected as a perfect in her 5th year which double the number of boys getting themselves into trouble just to talk to her, Fred and George seem to have it bad for her compared to the others, pulling stupid pranks and stunts knowing that she'd lecture them about it so they can spend about 45 minutes just staring at her pretty face, Y/H/C and soft looking hair matching her glimmering Y/E/C eyes get all worked up about how childish their actions were.

But boys aside she truly was a great young witch, she was pretty, brave, and kind, a triple threat of some sort to all the other Gryffindor girls and even those outside the red and gold house. Ginny and Luna smiled simultaneously at Cielo's sight and return their attention to the now beetroot-faced Neville looking down at his advanced potion-making book shyly. Ginny and Luna shared a quiet giggle knowing how bad Neville's crush on her has gotten over the years as it all started in his 3rd year. "Well then…" Ginny cleared her throat trying her best not to sound amused, "Nev would you like to go Honeydukes with me and Luna this Saturday?" The red-headed girl repeats for the last time, with Luna giving the shy Gryffindor some gentle rubs on his left shoulder, he masters up a small nod this time unable to face his two best friends, embarrassed that after all these years he can't seem to just talk to her like all the boys had, he needs to at least try but his shyness and insecurities seem to be holding him, hostage, preventing him to do what he wants to do. Luna being the smart and wise Ravenclaw she is lets out a small gasp over an idea, "W-what is it Luna?" Neville asks finally being able to lift his head to look at her concernedly.

Luna turned her head towards a confused-looking Ginny and Neville before filling them in on the idea. "Neville you've liked Cielo for almost 3 years now, I think you need to step it up and stop beating around the bush before some other guy actually got a chance and goes out with her" Luna states determination coating her tone, Ginny and Neville looked each other for a second before returning their attention to the blonde girl, "An idea popped into my head about 2 minutes ago, why don't you just send her a letter confessing your feelings for her since you're so awfully shy, and maybe send her some flowers, surely you know everything about her at this point right?" Luna asks bluntly which left Neville red once more. Ginny smiled at Luna's bright idea "That's a great idea, Luna, I mean it'll be nice to let her breathe while also getting Neville's feelings across, just look at her over there, I heard her study period are the only times she can be alone without boys up her arse or girls giving her dirty looks and spreading ugly gossips about her because they're jealous" Ginny mentioned giving a sympathetic look towards the busy looking Cielo.

Neville couldn't speak at this point, a perk of having two girls as his best friends is that he understood a lot about girls but a disadvantage of this is that he can't seem to disagree with them, they always win in the end so he opts to stay quiet and maybe this plan would work in his favor. "Great that settles it then we can plan something more tomorrow during our Hogsmeade trip" Luna added giving both Ginny and Neville a supportive smile before raising her hand out to do their three-way handshake, Ginny joined her hands in, soon both girls waited for the emerald-eyed boy to join them, "You in Neville?" Ginny asked in a reassuring tone before he reluctantly joined in, ending the adorable and long handshake between the two girls with a group hug. Days passed after the plan-filled Hogsmeade trip between the silver trio, Neville had a great time then, he never actually chipped in on anything as it was mostly the girls coming up with ideas on how Neville could catch Cielo's attention and what to possibly get for the plan.

Neville sat himself down on an empty section of the Gryffindor table inside the great hall during breakfast this morning, with a well-written love letter for Cielo ready, placed inside the pocket of his robe, and a small bouquet of roses in hand, he quietly waited for Cielo to turn up this morning so he can finally get it over and done with. Nervousness starts to swallow him whole, his palm was sweaty and his heart is beating out of his chest but he tries to soothe all these things away, by remembering what Luna and Ginny had instructed him to do during that helpful and fun Hogsmeade trip. "Okay so I think the best move for you Nev, is to write her a letter like we planned, just a short and sweet letter confessing your feelings for her, why you liked her, and if she's willing to go to Hogsmeade with you that following weekend when you give her that letter" Ginny suggested enjoying her grape flavor sugar quills while walking back to the castle, linking her right arm into Neville's left arm while Luna links her left arm to Neville's right arm.

Luna nodded along with Ginny's suggestions and manage to add "Oh and if you have time before giving her the ready-made letter, you should pick up a bouquet, even if she didn't reciprocate her feeling back to you, she'll appreciate your sweet gesture and I'm sure she's more then willing to be your friend after" Luna almost comforted Neville to ease him that if she didn't like him back as a worst-case scenario, she's still a kind person and she's sure that Cielo will never put Neville in a spot where she embarrassed him or unnecessarily tell others about her rejecting the poor ole Neville. The herbology-loving boy, couldn't look at either girl as he merely focuses on the ground making sure they were walking safely, but he did master a small nod to each of their brilliant ideas. Once the trio reached the clocktower courtyard, they sat on the antique fountain surrounded by statues of eagles.

Ginny noticed a worried look swarming over Neville's face before she reached her hand onto his right shoulder, "Nev, you've got nothing to lose, trust me if she isn't the one for you there will be other people alright?" Neville placed his hand on top of hers and nodded as she was practically right, Luna joined in and says "You got this, we believed in you" she smile kindly which puts a smile on Neville and Ginny's faces, ending the Hogsmeade trip sweetly. Looking back at the memory has helped soothe his nervousness and fast heartbeats away for now, it soothes him enough in fact that now he's able to have an appetite for breakfast and ate about 2 slices of toast with butter and jam. Although it would probably be so helpful to have the girls here at this moment for a little encouragement, sadly both couldn't make it as Ginny got an early morning quidditch practice while Luna is busy sorting through piles of the next issue of the Quibbler so it's all ready to be hand out by lunchtime today, both girls were upset that they couldn't be there but they wished him all the luck which gave Neville some sort of a confidence boost.

Trying not to think so hard as he anxiously waits for Cielo's arrival, eating his toast, a couple of delinquents and arrogant Gryffindor boys from Cielo's year has sat themselves a couple of spots away, not far off from Neville, laughing loudly and obnoxiously while disgustingly eating their breakfast with no manners to be found. This particular group of year 6 boys has it bad for Cielo too, just like any other Gryffindor boys have, but above all else, they value bullying, embarrassing others, pulling stupid pranks, and picking on others because they think being an arsehole is a personality trait and girls find it attractive. Well spoiler alert they don't and that includes Cielo as she couldn't stand them, but it doesn't look like those boys would stop anytime soon as one of them starts talking, "I'm bored out of my mind, see anyone we can pick for fun before class starts?" one of the taller boys ask his 4 other friends, "Hmm I don't know, I don't suppose any of have you seen Longbottom have you?" the weird one asks around the others. They all look around the Gryffindor table until "Aha got him" the pudgy one mentioned, making all the other 4 boys look in his direction.

"There he is sitting all alone eating some toast…looks like looney Lovegood nor carrot top pretty Weasley won't be saving his arse today" the Athletic one mentioned with sinister lacing his voice, as the other nodded in agreement, "What do you say boys should we come and say hi to our fellow herbolodork of a friend, I see he's got a bouquet there with him… wonder who it's for" the vain one laughs mockingly as all the others did as well, in unison before finally getting up out of their seat and make their way over to the nervous wreck of a boy sitting alone. Neville had finally finished his breakfast, and as he tossed his dirty plates aside still waiting for Cielo, he looked desperately and impatiently over the grand entrance of the great hall, just hoping that everything is going according to plan but of course, things are about to go downhill. "Longbottom haven't seen you in a while mate" The athletic one greets him by putting a gentle hand on his left shoulder which forces Neville to look away from the entrance and face the familiar voice and laughs trailing behind him.

"U-Uhm what can I h-help you guys with?" Neville stammered scared for his well-being, the boys sat around him, some by his sides and some across from him. "Oh relax Longbottom we're not going to do anything to you, just wanted to have a chat" the pudgy one explained with slight wickedness in his voice, Neville was reluctant but he nodded trying to keep the letter hidden, but unfortunately he couldn't keep the bouquet of roses away as it was larger. "Oh, I see you got a bouquet of roses. are they for someone special? perhaps miss Y/L/N?" The vain one smiles at Neville, trying to hide his evil side, Neville shook his head but then "Hmm are you sure mate? you don't need to lie to us, it's fairly obvious, you stare at her for hours it feels like. I mean I don't blame you but still" the tall one added, Neville felt trapped, he couldn't breathe properly as he takes a quick scan of all the guys sitting around him while they show off their best most sincere smile, after a while he nodded, admitting to them that yes these are in fact for Cielo, soon all of them started sharing amused glances.

"Oh well, why don't we help you? I heard she loves pumpkin juice, maybe you can get up out of your chair once you see her come in, take the bouquet along with you and a goblet full of fresh pumpkin juice, then you can ask if she'd like to have breakfast with you this morning. then we can leave you be" the weird looking one suggested, the others nod in agreement and hyped the weird looking one with his brilliant idea. Neville paused and think to himself about this, he is right after all she loves pumpkin juice and what could honestly go wrong? so he did just that and filled up an empty goblet filled with pumpkin juice as the boys sit chattering quietly amongst themselves waiting for Cielo's arrival, and about 5 minutes later there she was, she couldn't have looked more beautiful as her hair was styled in a single braid with a red ribbon tied into a bow holding her hair together eyes glue down on a 'one thousand magical herbs and fungi' a Herbology textbook, she seems to be distracted, a perfect opportunity to mess up Neville chance don't you think.

One of the boys signals Neville that you've arrived and to be ready to get up out of his seat and walk towards you, "Good luck Longbottom she's going to love those roses, that's her favorite after all" one of the other boys mentioned. Neville nodded and steady himself before walking over to you, once he got close enough, 5 of those awful boys knew where this is about to go, soon one of them whip their wands out and pointed at Neville ready to go, meanwhile, Neville tried his best not to look so nervous and grip on the goblet full of pumpkin goodness tightly making sure he doesn't spill, and hold the bouquet close to him as he watched Cielo's beautiful yet highly focused face still glued down on that book not watching where she was going. As he got closer and closer he tried to greet her saying "H-hi…" before "Impedimenta" as one of the wicked boys who held his wand out, cast the tripping jinx onto Neville's foot, and as time will have it 'Thud' followed by 'Clank!' dropped loudly catching all the students inside the great hall's attention.

After what felt like a pause, laughter started to roar all over the place from every student inside the big room, including those 5 Gryffindor boys. They were having the time of their life watching Neville display a look of sheer horror on his face, looking up from the ground and realizing that he'd not only managed to fall straight on his face, and got the bouquet ruined since he dropped it, but he also managed to spill all the Pumpkin juice inside the Goblet all over Cielo's Gryffindor uniform. Cielo's mouth dropped as she watched her uniform soaked in the orange liquid, and watch as her book lay flat on the ground wet and stained. Cielo's still paused at the messy sight unsure of what to do as everyone else laugh at her and Neville's collision finding it hilarious. After some time Cielo takes a breath before composing herself saying "Whoopsie Daisy, are you alright there Neville?" Cielo asks in the best sympathetic tone she can master at the younger and now highly embarrassed Gryffindor boy.

Neville still displayed that look of sheer horror, only this time he apologized immediately and more times than he actually needs to, "Oh my I'm so sorry Cielo, I-I didn't m-mean t-to do that I-I just wanted to offer you, your favorite drink" he stammered, the stuttering has started to get worse, as slight panic and worried run through his tone as he apologizes to you immensely. Although he expected her to be extremely mad and upset over this incident all she did was smile it away sympathetically, and offer her hand to help him up. "Oh Neville it's alright don't worry about it here let me help you" she offers, a true angel she was, how can somebody be so patient and kind towards somebody who's put them in the most humiliating position ever? she's so kind she could easily pass as Hufflepuff student making Helga Hufflepuff proud.

Neville reluctantly takes your hand, and you pulled him up revealing the height difference between you and Neville, never noticing how short you are next to him. Neville's face was tomato red, he couldn't even look at you, embarrassed of what he has done, as all he can do now is say thank you for the help and apologized countless times repeatedly, in hopes that you don't resent him for this. "Watch where you going next time Longbottom," the tall one shouted as all the other boys laugh along with him. Cielo noticed the yelling and immediately frown before looking over at Neville who was visibly upset and guilty. "Neville let me ask you this, did those guys try and encourage you to walk with a goblet full of pumpkin juice?" Cielo ask in a stern yet questioning tone, it left Neville dumbfounded as he never heard you speak in such a tone, but all he did was looked at you and nodded, shamefaced.

You sigh, not at Neville but at that stupid group of year 6 boys who have finally calmed down and chatted amongst themselves the laughter has begun to die down as people start to get disinterested and class is about to start soon anyways, but after looking down at your messy uniform you finally said it, "Well then… class is pretty much in 5 minutes so I better go down to the lavatory and fix this" Cielo smiled at Neville who's fiddling with his fingers silently, still upset at what happened. She pick her wet book from the ground and kept her thankfully cleaned bag away from the mess by carrying it, and as she was about to say her farewell she noticed minor cuts and scrapes on Neville's forehead area and his left cheek, you'd completely forgotten that he'd managed to fall flat onto his face, and that must have hurt but all he can focus on was apologizing to you and making sure you're okay which you thought was the sweetest most cutest thing Neville has done for you, you knew you always liked Neville, ever since 5th year when you saw him walked around on the shallow parts of the black lake trying to find gillyweed for Harry's 2nd task in the Triwizard tournament or when you saw him all alone happily taking care of the plants inside the greenhouse dancing around to some music on the weekend's, just being himself, he was adorable you thought and he was certainly different from most boys, but you didn't know if he liked you back or not.

You smiled at the tall and herbology-loving boy before reaching to grab his left hand, his eyes shot up, and looked at you in surprise, only to find you smiling. Neville's face was redder than ever but his facial expression manage to soften at your smile, it's almost like you're smiling to ensure him that you're fine and that you forgive him. "Neville, you have some cuts and scrapes on your face do you mind if I fix it for you before class? I promise it won't take too long" you ask in the sweetest tone. Neville nodded face still bright red and a body stiff as a board over how nervous yet excited he was. "Alright then follow me" you instructed him as you lead him out of the great hall hand in hand not seen by anyone. Cielo took Neville into one of the not-so-frequently used girl's lavatories and sat him down on the floor as she takes off her cardigan only to reveal her white collared shirt and Gryffindor tie which also had a bit of orange liquid stained to them, Neville watched you carefully as you try and wipe off a much orange liquid that there is with some toilet paper before pulling out her wand and casting a spell that manage dot get all the orange stain out in minutes, making her uniform look nice and tidy again.

Although Neville can clearly see her uniform is all better now he still has this need to just apologized again one more time. "Cielo I'm so sorry I spilled that juice all over you, I swear I didn't mean to I just tripped out of nowhere" he explained still with guilt lacing around his tone. Cielo put her cardigan back on and tidied herself into a nearby mirror before taking a seat next to the upset-looking boy, "Neville, you've apologized about 10 times now, I think that's enough, isn't it? It's quite alright you know? thank merlin we're witches and wizards it should be an easy fix, and see it didn't stain or anything" Cielo smile sweetly and soon giggled adorably, he was sure his heart was about to beat out of his chest if he dares to move a muscle, he couldn't quite comprehend how kind and attractive she was, everything he had seen or heard of her around the school was true, he was the best a girl can truly get, a goddess in his eyes. she takes a quick look at the minor cuts and scrapes before pulling out her wand and performs a nonverbal healing spell on to Neville's face and watched them disappear, after it did Cielo ran her thumb across his left cheek and forehead making sure that it all healed properly.

Her touched hitch Neville's breathe she was so close to his face that he can see just how soft her lips look, and how much he wanted to experience that softness with his lips, after making sure it was all good Cielo smiled again, and told Neville to look in the mirror nearby, he did just that and his eyes shot up like dear in headlights, it was gone, and there was no visible mark on his face, he smiled happily and turned to look at you. "Thank you, Cielo but how? Healing charms are such difficult spells to perform, you did it so perfectly" Neville compliment you with his cute and genuine smile, the stuttering flying out the window. His words left a visible pink hue on your cheeks as you couldn't make sudden eye contact with him, "Oh well thank you, Neville, my father's a healer you see, he works at St. Mongos hospital so he made sure to teach me some healing spells over the summer, and I've just learned a nonverbal one like this recently so I'm glad I got to show and perform it on someone" you explained smiling.

Neville was happier than ever chuckling after finding out how talented you are, until he looked over the ruined bouquet of roses that was sitting right next to Cielo's wet and sticky herbology textbook, by then he frowns. Cielo noticed the sudden silence that falls between them however and got up to check on Neville. "Are you alright Neville? is something bothering you?" you ask laying a gentle hand on his left shoulder, he nodded in disappointment and has a sudden bluntness to him, that he gave you an honest reason as to why he was upset. "Those roses are meant for you, I knew how much you loved roses. I had a solid plan, I wanted to ask you something and I thought it'd be nice too but of course, something bad has to happen and I had to be gullible enough to listen to those bullies and filled a whole goblet with pumpkin juice and walk over to you when I should've just waited for you to sit down for breakfast and offer you some." Neville hadn't realized but he's been ranting nonstop, he wasn't supposed to reveal all of that but there he goes.

Cielo paused as she studied Neville's defeated face before looking over at the not-so-badly ruined bouquet and picked up her wand and handed it over to herself, she smiled at it and thought about how precious Neville was getting this for her, Cielo might not know the reasons why he went out of his way to get her such beautiful flowers but she loved it, and without a second thought, she got on her tippy toes and placed a soft kiss on to Neville right cheek, leaving him love-struck. "Neville I love them they're beautiful thank you" Cielo appreciated with pink hues still apparent on her cheek, after the kiss Neville looked over with a joyful glow and smile on his face as you did and vice versa, neither of you had seen this and coming, but it sure graved this memory deep into both of your minds forever. "Well we should probably get going we've been here awhile and we don't want to miss any more class time than we already have" you suggested, you didn't want to leave, you wanted to stay with Neville but school was indeed important.

He nodded and as you were about to turn away and leave he calls out after you. "Cielo wait" you paused and looked back at Neville, "Yes?" you answered softly, "I have something for you" he mentioned rummaging through his robes to find an envelope, an envelope containing the letter he's written for her. Neville handed it over confidently and watched as the smile stays on your face, as you accept the envelope from his hand. "Promise me you'' read it when you have the chance and get back to me with your answer?" he asked in hesitation, you smile brightly at Neville, nodded, and kiss him on the cheek one last time, before saying "I will have a good class, Nev, I'll see you at lunch" Cielo farewelled rushing out to get to her class still so excited to read what's inside the letter leaving Neville Longbottom the happiest guy in the world.

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rshmra · 9 months

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PRETTY BOY!

plot: niki swears he met the girl of his dreams at the convenience store late one night- however, his discovery proves to be misguided. the "girl" he likes is actually just a really pretty boy, and he's the main vocalist of the new and wildly popular boy group of four, X_CAPE.

small warning: mention of drugs (it's nothing serious dw)

<- prev. masterlist. next. ->

written: 1.4k words

chapter fifteen: chaeri snorts meth

it's only the first of many joint recording sessions, and much to jungwon's relief, the studio they've convened in has not yet descended into chaos.

after some discussion, the two groups decided to work with what yn and his members had already created. they'd gotten through a lot, surprisingly, with nearly all seven songs on the track and two already recorded. one song that each member would write individually, two full-band b-sides and a title track would be included, but now it was just the matter of figuring out how enhypen would fit into it.

"who's gonna be on which song?" jake queries after ivory lays out all of the information, and almost instantly the latter jumps right into a detailed explanation.

"in the end it's up to us, but we did receive suggestions based on how well each of us will work together- and no, you two, that doesn't automatically mean you're getting paired," he scolds yn and riki sternly, who open their mouths in protest as they've just moved to sit side-by-side on the couch.

"we didn't even say shit-"

"be a buddy not a fucking bully-"

"anyway, you seven will be split among our four so that only one member will have an individual feature," the white-blonde plows on. he glances over at the shorter leader, who takes the lead from here.

"that single feature is likely going to be left to me with kuli, since our vibes and style are really similar. it's still up for debate, though. jay, you're gonna join ivy on this, and sunghoon as well because your compatibility's high, according to management." the trio move to high-five, and ivory grins as he resumes the rundown.

"chaeri's going for a new approach in the song he's writing. it's more vocals-based, so heeseung and jake will be coaching him on that." and what duo could have possibly clicked with the youngest better? they're ridiculously quick to take him under their wing, but that may have also had to do with his shared obsession with ramyeon.

"which leaves sunoo with yn. both of you have a strong voice and have the capacity to hit high notes, but the contrast of your ranges make you a great matchup."

"finally, i've been needing to tell you something," sunoo's mischievous smirk is nothing short of excited, but ni-ki's frown is a stark contrast.

"what about me? what am i supposed to do?"

jungwon rolls his eyes in exasperation. "was it not obvious? you're with them, you can balance their voices with your low notes more than any of us can." the effect is instantaneous; the teen's crestfallen expression morphs to sheer thrill as he relaxes back in his spot next to yn.

sunghoon snorts. "not like he'd work with anyone else in the first place." he grumbles, and kuli muffles a giggle behind the sleeve of his sweater.

"so everyone's happy with their teams, yeah?" a chorus of approval is all the tallest receives, ranging anywhere from "yes" to "fuck yes". "now that's dealt with we can move onto the titl-"

"wait, so we basically just got into groups for no reason?" chae interrupts, finding that all the talking is giving him a headache.

"we need them for after, dumbass. as i was saying-"

"oh fuck's sake, give me that," yn takes matters into his own hands- quite literally, as he snatches the laptop ivory's using for reference from his possession, loading the draft for their main song with a couple clicks. the white-haired boy fixes him with a death glare that he chooses to ignore as he sets the device on his lap, riki casually sliding closer until their knees touch in order to peer further. all of a sudden sunoo leaps from the sofa as if the surface is boiling hot, clearly not in the mood to be a third-wheel at the moment. he side-eyes the boys with a passion, who seem to have departed into their own universe with their temples gently pressed together and poring over the lyrics, muttering suggestions so soft that only the other can hear them.

"since when did they get so close," heeseung mumbles, and jay's about to call him fucking stupid for not knowing before realizing that he doesn't either.

it's been several weeks since the two met, and yet they clicked with one another like pieces of a puzzle in mere days. the other nine can't quite recall when their friendship began, however; the introductions were abrupt but not unwelcome. suddenly the 17-year-olds had taken to spending time together at least once weekly (if not more frequently), and still not a single person is aware of the details of their initial run-in.

except for sunoo, of course. but he isn't aware that everyone else is not as well informed as he.

with crossed arms he raises an eyebrow. "you guys seriously don't remember?" he assumes it's a unanimous "no" as they turn to him, interest piqued. "like, two or three months ago? when riki was out late at the convenience store and he..." but then it occurs to him that maybe he should've kept that to himself, because up until now he was the only one that knew niki thought yn was a girl when they first met. well, the truth was bound to be released eventually, sunoo's always been a sucker for gossip.

he's cut himself off too late. the realization has dawned on chaeri, and before sunoo can stop him he lets out a small exclamation of understanding. "oh yeah! yn met him at, like, midnight in a fuckin' CU-" after silently comprehending the look sunoo's giving him kuli slaps his palm over chae's mouth, but the damage has been done. a second of processing is all it takes for the others to compute and gasp in unison.

"do they think we don't know they're talking about us?" yn murmurs under his breath, glancing at the circle of their members aggressively whispering from the corner of his eye.

"they aren't very slick, are they," riki replies quietly. "you made a typo here."

"you literally wrote that."

"i literally didn't-"

"SO THAT'S WHY RIKI DELETED THAT POST ABOUT THAT HOT GIRL HE SAW WHEN HE FOLLOWED YN- IT WAS ACTUALLY YN?!" sunghoon has the decency to whisper, but the intensity of it is so powerful that it's more like a hushed scream. needless to say, he's flabbergasted, but it's not just him.

"SHH, SHH SH!!" noticing the others' stunned faces, sunoo is quick to shush them. "listen, you can't say anything about this to them! if riki hears he'll know i spilled and i'm fucked! if yn hears then i'll be equally as fucked!" he groans.

"okay, sunoo," jungwon has to stifle an amused smile at his distress. "we won't say anything. right?" pointedly, he stares at the rest, who nod rather unconvincingly.

sunoo feels ready to cry. i'm so fucked.

"hold on." chaeri blinks densely. "you six knew all of this shit that we didn't and still didn't do the math?"

kuli tunes back into the conversation at the wrong moment and mishears the statement, sending chae a dirty look. "meth?"

"the fuck? i said math-"

"chaeri snorts meth?" riki yells abruptly, yn snickering beside him.

"you couldn't tell?"

"you're ADOPTED!" jake practically guffaws at chaeri's retort, and yn doesn't even spare them a glance as he lifts both middle fingers. however, niki's patience has worn thin.

"are any of you guys gonna, i don't know, help at all?" he sneers sarcastically.

"sorry, we didn't want to interrupt your cuddle time," jay hollers and is met not just by twin leers, but also a sharp glare and hard smack on the back of the head by sunoo "ow! what the f-"

riki and yn dissolve into peels of laughter, holding onto each other for support. "deserved!"

"shut it, both of you."

"mkay, so jay gets ZERO lines in this song-"

"oh, fuck you!"

sunoo breathes a sigh of relief as he and the crowd surround yn and riki. he's spared for now, but if a slip of the tongue ends with riki discovering that he spilled his lovely little secret, someone is going to get SLAPPED.

notes: excuse the meth joke, had that exact convo earlier n used it as inspo. mb. rushed ending again, also dont expect me to shut up bout skz anytime soon im on my bs for AT LEAST 2 months,,, likely we r right around the middle of this smau but nothings set in stone yet !!

taglist: @silkentides @nikikids @totoroblop @winter-world @phantom-butterfly @simsoobean @byu @noredplz @sh0uj0-r3i @onementally-unstabel-kid @thepeachyhub @en-riki @ao5riki @bearseulgs @le0-0nidas @gothhyucks @to-toad @ddeonubaby @nootnootpinguuu @sunseeking-cryptid @priochebun @lanamoonroh @rodygr @mikahrh @mutlishipperfangirl @chuu74 @heelover5 @cha0thicpisces

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frostycatblr-fandom-files · 3 months

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Poets and Painters (Deep Night) - Wolffe x Reader [Mature Fic]

Warnings and Information: In desperate need of just one day to take his and his men's mind off the war, Plo Koon orders that everyone make a stop on a relatively uninhabited planet in a peaceful sector of the galaxy to… have a picnic? Just what does he have in mind? A certain flint-gray Commander is finding it hard to believe that they're just on the planet for a day of R&R in the middle of a war, so he isn't letting his guard down. Perhaps someone will help Commander Wolffe find some way to help him relax before the day is over…

2nd person POV. Reader is undescribed save for minor details like personal touches to a uniform, and has a gender-neutral alias. Allusions to canon-typical violence, mention of injury and loss. Plo just being a dad to the 104th Battalion in the background. Swearing. Discussion of more adult themes and some lewd jokes (this is not an Explicit fic but it is Mature; Minors please DNI). Takes place on a fictional planet.

Word-count: 7,300

Since Commander Wolffe left you with the sketch in your hands so suddenly, you've been in something of a daze, trying to make sense and meaning out of the phrase he left behind below the sketch of you in phase two armor.

‘Behind the teeth and claws, there is a beating heart.’

You don't understand. Is this supposed to be about you? Is the phrase in reference to him? And regarding what, for that matter: how he feels about himself, or something he sees in you?

You selfishly wish he would have explained what he means with the deliberate fashion of these nine words before answering the Jedi's summons. Who are these words meant for, and why did you choose them? will have to wait until Wolffe is dismissed, however. He, Sinker, Boost and Plo Koon have been locked in something of a private discussion for what feels like the last half hour.

Arguing.

(If you can call it that.)

“We should contact another general and let them know what's going on in the event something happens.” Wolffe has insisted for the fifth time.

“And exactly what are you expecting to happen, sir?” Boost asks just as insistently for the fifth time. He's known that his brother and leader has been on edge all day, he’s been far from blind to it. But the perceived unwillingness, perhaps even stubbornness to refuse to elaborate on what it is Wolffe fears will happen to the battalion in this encounter is starting to get on Boost’s nerves. Why won't you tell us? you're sure he wants to come right out and ask.

“This is a largely uninhabited planet. We don't know by whom, or how many times Little Archossi has been visited by someone other than us.”

“What are you getting at?” comes the half-snarled reply to Commander Wolffe. You’re not sure which sergeant the question came from. Or why the Kel Dor hasn’t said a single word in this whole time. General Plo, in your opinion (and experience with risk analysis), is not helping matters by choosing to remain silent rather than encouraging his commanding officers to pause and take a few clarifying breaths before tackling the concerns at hand.

Paranoia and overcautious stratagem verses being a smidge too lax.

Commander Wolffe must be paranoid enough for the whole of the battalion. These are his men, his brothers. Whether it was drilled into him under Kamino's rainy skies, or taken up as his own, personal creed since the Abregado battle, he sees to it that they will stay safe at all times whenever they are not in the thick of battle.

That much is clear to you now.

Were it not for a duty to the Republic, his General, you want to, almost could imagine him abandoning his post and absconding with every brother he can, or at least wish to. I refuse to lose you to war, were I a more selfish man.

Not another brother lost.

And throw a largely-untrained civilian in the mix, someone without those primary and secondary instincts these men rely on, it’s hardly surprising that you hear your name cropping up in hushed or hissed voices that have only become easier to hear since everyone has been instructed to ‘tighten formation’, more or less.

“Hold on- Is- Isn’t that one of the Commander’s blasters? Why does Arcadia have one of Commander Wolffe’s blasters?” one Clone asks, nudging a brother with the edge of his elbow.

Their voices drop into deep, conferring whispers for a moment, and they either work out that it was offered to you for the purposes of self defense, or come up with their own creative explanation. You can't hear a word they say before the second man turns to the first and tries confirming suspicions.

“You think maybe the two of them-? What? Don't look at me like that! Commander Wolffe has been spending an awful lot of time with Arcadia today, don't tell me you haven't seen it, Hash!”

Hash shakes his head and answers he hasn't been paying much attention to what everyone else is doing today, murmuring something about how it ‘must be a sniper’s thing’ to pay that much attention to everyone at all times. He's been too busy daydreaming about new and unique ways to lay waste to the Seppie clankers the next time the 104th battalion faces them.

“It is not just a “sniper's thing”, Hash...”

The brother's glowering look is answered with a confused (or maybe unconvinced) shrug. “Sure, Ricochet, if you say so.” Ricochet sighs bitterly, the words forget it jumping from his lips in that same breath. Getting up, he brushes away what he can see of the wet, loose blades of grass that cling to the sterile white plastoid, and politely excuses himself before Hash calls out to remind him of something left behind in the grass.

“Wait, Ric, your rifle!”

Everyone has been reminded of the sentiment from this morning that above all, if it can be helped, the one-oh-fourth should not appear to the inhabitants of this little, largely unrecorded planet as an open threat. You’re all encouraged to keep your weaponry close as a precautionary measure. Besides: say you did have the means to contact them in the early morning, what could you have said?

Come to think of it, would either party understand each other’s intentions if there was a barrier in language? Hmm… Suddenly that’s of some concern to you, but you’re not willing to crash the discussion being had by the Jedi and his commanding officers, now that Plo has stepped in to offer his thoughts and insight. Now doesn’t seem like a good time, given what concentrated expressions you can make out in the moonlight, so you’re going to give it a few minutes, at least.

That should give you the time to come up with some solutions to offer them, actually. In the event you find the inhabitants don’t speak Basic, how best could you come up with a way to draw or show such broad concepts like peace, or convey a message that promises you mean them no harm in the spiral bound pages of your sketchbook or the screen of someone’s datapad?

… This is proving harder than you thought.

And you are not alone in your confusion, your mild frustration, that the conversation between Plo Koon and Commander Wolffe, has continued even now that Sergeants Sinker and Boost have been dismissed. (What could they be talking about now given the comforting nature of the Kel Dor’s hand clasped over the Clone’s shoulder, just above the symbol of the wolf head?) It’s none of your business, but you’re certainly free to wonder, free to let your mind wander in the same way the fireflies continue to float through the glade.

Roused from your thoughts, you find someone calling your name. “Man, the Commander's still busy… Arcadia! Hey, Arcadia, do you want to join us for a quick strategy game or something?” Tack offers, holding up his datapad in demonstration. “It's real simple. I can teach it to you while we play since it's team-based.”

What the hell. Why not? “Who are we playing against?” you ask with a curious perk of your brow. You pull your datapad out of the canvas bag among your other things, hiding the art book away for the time being as you scoot over next to Tack in the grass.

“Suds and Orchid.” says Tack.

“Oh hells,” Soapsuds moans in mock-complaint, “we're doomed.”

“Don’t be such a cadet about it, Suds, we'll be fine! Just gimme a second to finish what I'm reading…” Orchid insists, halfheartedly raising his right index finger to say one minute please.

Soapsuds makes the mistake of leaning sideways to read off the screen of his shoulder-partner’s datapad, lips fluttering wordlessly as he indulges curiosity. He swears for the first time all day to your knowledge. “What the fuck are you reading? ‘There was only one bacta tank’...?”

“Great flying Aiwhas, shut up!” Orchid demands in panic, trying to flip over the screen where it lands face-down in the grass in his hurry. “If you're gonna look, don't read anything out loud, bucket-brain!!”

A knuckle is stuffed into your mouth in efforts to keep yourself from giggling at Orchid's expense; you feel it's only fair after how he covered for you this afternoon. What you read is your own business. Just like what he reads is his. If fanfiction (because there's no damn way that's not a fanfiction trope) for some medical holo-drama is Orchid's guilty pleasure, then good for him. Tack pointedly says nothing altogether, instead taking it upon himself to make sure you either have or need the necessary game installed to your datapad.

Orchid groans defeatedly when he picks up his device. “Oh fuck, I lost my place…” Sighing, he says everyone might as well start playing the strategy game. He won't look Suds in the eye right away, either, clearly frustrated.

“I'm sorry.” Suds says timidly, gap between the top of his shoulders and his ears shrinking in shame.

“I… I know you are, Suds, you just-” Shaking his head, the Clone with the namesake of a flower just silences himself before he says something he might either regret, or knows will only serve to hurt a brother's feelings in order to spare his own. “Let's talk about something else.” Orchid mumbles after a rather pregnant pause. “Have you played this game before, Arcadia?”

“Not sure what we’re playing and if I have,” you say, trying to find a more comfortable position to sit in, “but Tack’s offered to teach me.”

Suds visibly perks up, retracting his teasing statement from earlier. “So maybe we’re not doomed.” The optimism is short-lived, but it’s precious to see in the moment.

“Don’t be so sure about that...” Tack returns ominously with a shit-eating grin and a wagging finger just for the sake of theatrics. “We’re all going to play a short and simple game so Arcadia gets a feel for it before anything, and then we’ll play one round for real.” While he walks you through the settings, Tack explains that the game is an espionage simulator of sorts, and a proper game can carry on for ages, making it perfect for those prolonged periods of deep-space travel. Maybe the next time the one-oh-fourth is tasked with a peace mission, they’ll come find you if they can and wrangle you into someone’s team so you get the full experience.

You find that offer very sweet. “Heh. I think I’d like that very much. Sounds like a plan.”

Just as Commander Wolffe predicted: his brothers would likely wish you were around more, or looked to include you when it came to “doing nothing”. Surprised that it happened this soon, perhaps? Whatever. You’ll take whatever reason, whatever excuse to keep your mind from gravitating towards worrying about what could come crawling out of that living sea of bark and leaf and twig that goes beyond the pale of typical anxieties.

You’re not going to demonize or vilify or think poorly of the inhabitants before you even meet them, of course, that would be wrong of you. Same way it would have been wrong of you to pass verbal judgment of Commander Wolffe this morning before talking to Tack, before giving Wolffe a chance to prove his character to you.

He was a touch dour, at times, certainly… but wouldn’t you likely be, too, if you endured such things and survived? When you survive hard times, you are forever changed by them; the evidence of your ordeal clings to you like thousands of tiny, root-like tendrils, invisible to all but your own eyes.

But forgetting all that for a moment, you really should focus! You’ve been invited to play a game, and while the nature of it invites ample opportunity to sit in long stretches of silence and thought, you can’t keep getting distracted while Tack has offered to teach you the ropes.

You can spend as much time as you want thinking about the once-maroon commander’s history when you’ve completed the game and raised your concerns to him and the Jedi about communication with the people of Little Archossi.

It’s been easy enough so far, helping Tack deploy countermeasures and set up defenses in hopes of trapping Orchid and Soapsuds while each team navigates a large, digital compound in order to steal generically labeled “galactic secrets”. The idea is each team must contend with not only the facility’s failsafes, but deliberate sabotage efforts that will trigger impassable blockades meant to slow the other infiltrating team down, and find an alternate route. Soon enough, you and Tack are roughly neck-and-neck with Orchid and Suds.

It’s currently their turn to make a move, leaving you and the Clone researcher to wait. Suds taps Orchid’s shoulder-plate to get his attention “Hey what if…?” Orchid shakes his head, showing what he has in mind. Suds doesn’t seem to approve, grimacing. “I dunno… Bit much to execute that on someone who’s never played before, don’t you think?”

“Mm? That’s not what I- Oh, sithspit, sorry. Showed you the wrong thing.” Orchid apologizes, making a few hurried taps along his screen to fix the mistake. “This. I meant this.”

“... that’ll work.”

They activate the responsive measure, meaning you and Tack are now sealed off from taking that route, and they’re a step ahead in claiming the prize. You’ll have to take a longer route to get around the doors, unless you want to waste time and risk the codeslicing at the control panel failing.

“What happens if codeslicing fails?” you ask everyone as you and Tack plot your new path, “Like what can happen, as some general examples?”

“Failing to codeslice triggers a few things, and it’s all randomized.” Orchid jumpstarts the explanation for everyone. You might end up sealing up the entire compound and locking everyone in by mistake. Sometimes you end up electrocuting yourself… somehow. Sometimes the wrong thing opens, instead, like a trapdoor. There’s a couple of other outcomes that you’d have to worry about if you were playing on a higher difficulty, or against others of their brothers who believed in ‘gunning for it’, too. All and all it’s a rather informative summary.

(Never blindly agree to play against an ARC trooper, is heavily emphasized advice.)

“Huh… yeah, think I’ll leave any slicing to the researcher, just in case.” you offer with a slightly nervous chuckle as you adjust the position of your legs. You’re not used to sitting for most of the day, and you’re uncertain if you’re becoming antsy, or if the slight tingle in your toes hails to a budding circulation issue. You never really thought about just how much walking you do around the durasteel halls of the Triumphant until your expectation of a typical day had been taken and turned on its head. When you spend so much time on your feet, so little time at rest, you kinda just get used to being on the move.

Kinda like Commander Wolffe, actually… Except you’re privileged enough to know how to relax; to even have that option.

The game is over rather swiftly, Orchid and Suds beating your team by a matter of seconds. Incredibly, the secret files contain actual information, always in the form of either a recipe, or some general trivia. It’s a recipe for roasted nuna legs on a bed of your least favorite vegetable, glazed with bantha butter, in this case. Orchid generously offers to share the spoils with you and Tack even though you lost since he’d want a brother, or a friend, to do the same for him.

You make sure to tell him that’s rather kind of him, smiling over the transferred file name he sends. (anythins_better_than_rations.file)

“Hey, good effort, Arcadia.” Suds tells you encouragingly, and not just as a show of good sportsmanship. “I think you did pretty good! Seemed like Arcadia was picking it up pretty quickly, right, Tack? Was going really smoothly for the first time playing.”

Tack agrees with a wink while you gather up your things. “You’ll get even better next time. But where are you off to in such a hurry? I thought you were interested in doing a real round after the practice.”

There’s a slight slowdown in your gathering, wondering how to explain yourself. “I, uh, had a question for the General and- and…” you say haltingly, glancing in the direction of where both Commander Wolffe and General Plo had been, only to find it is now just the Kel Dor on the crown of the hill. “... where’d Commander Wolffe go?” He won’t be far, surely, but with some cloud cover creeping in, it’s limited your visibility allowed by the moonlight. Dawning on you now, you don’t have a ‘plastoid sunbonnet’ to utilize night vision like the rest of the Clones in the 104th who are compensating for the shifting environmental conditions without so much as a murmur while each man dons his helmet.

“Question about what?” Tack tries to ask, hoping that with a bit of gentle prodding, he can make sense of why you’re acting like this. Maybe he thinks you’re feeling fearful, apprehensive of the pressing dark while more and more men don their helmets, the soft hiss of setting seals sounding off all around you. “Do you need a light, or something?”

You shake your head politely. You can probably make your way to the other hill even in the semi-darkness safely enough without one, if you mind your footing. By what moonlight you still have, and maybe a little guiding glow of a datapad or a light clipped to someone, you're confident you'll make it okay.

You’re not a lamb, you tell yourself. You only look the part among so many armored men in the glade. You find you feel more instances of courage than fear in your steps as a lamb walking among so many wolves, today.

“I’ll be okay.” you promise.

With a subtle turn of his head, your approach is acknowledged before you’ve spoken a word of greeting to Plo Koon, his eyes trained on the space between two trees in particular. Trees where the moonlight has not yet been snuffed out by the continual, creeping cloud cover.

He greets you first, while you’re distracted, your name almost a pleased purr. “Arcadia… What can I help you with?”

Plo Koon breaks apart the loose lacing of his fingers and lays one of those same steady hands, previously folded against his stomach, on your own shoulder in a gesture of comfort, a silent measure of guidance. “I… well I had a question for both you and Commander Wolffe, General Plo, but I’m not seeing him.” you explain, any tightness of fear in your voice answered by a slow stroke of his thumb along the top of your shoulder. You suppose you could just tell the Jedi from Dorin, if needed, but… you’d rather Wolffe was there too.

You think the Force-wielder can sense that, too.

“Don’t worry, Wolffe will return from the gunships in a moment. We’ve put some preparations in place before I intend to return to the settlement discovered earlier.” you’re promised in a tender tone, though he makes no elaboration of the preparations. The shoulder he grasps is graced with a comforting squeeze, just for a moment. It reminds you of times involving your family, your relatives, the people you call your close friends have offered you some of your greatest comfort. “If you would prefer, we’ll wait until he returns before you pull out your sketchbook and explain what concerns you before I depart.”

Voicing your amazement can’t be helped. “How’d you know I had something in my-? The Force?”

“Mmm… Perhaps…” Plo Koon suggests. “Many gifts can be found in the Force, little one.” he adds sagely. (Deduction likely swings in his favor when people are creatures of habit, as well, if one thinks about this from all sides.)

“That sounds… That must be very overwhelming.” Admittance that it sounds rather confusing is traded for sympathy in its place. If the Force is in every living thing, surrounding and combining everything in an inexplicable weaving, then making sense of all the extra noise must be nothing short of challenging. That’s the moment when the usual comfort found in ‘the Force is available to all lifeforms’ sentiments becomes perverted and transformed by doubt and fear. How can you use the Force to calm your mind - like the young troopers were shown just the morning - when you’ve received no training, you wonder.

Because as far as you understand there involves some level of training in order to wield it, no matter one’s capacity.

Certainly doesn’t take training to discern the sound of boots picking their way through the grass and knowing they belong to Commander Wolffe before you and the General turn around to acknowledge him. After hearing him patrolling the edge of the clearing for hours this morning, the perfectly-paced drumming of his feet even across uneven terrain has become well known to you.

“General Plo. Arcadia.” His bucket is neatly tucked to his waist in the crook of his arm, rather than adorning his head, when he draws nearer. Action-ready best describes his appearance, even in the thick of twilight. “Didn’t I see you with Tack, Orchid and Soapsuds, just over there?” He’s asking you more to be sure of something, rather than accuse. “Unless, I’m mistaken. Apologies, if I… perhaps kept you waiting.”

The honeyed timbre of his voice sparks an odd warmth in your chest. “N-no, I was over there. They were teaching me a game, while you and the General were talking.” Suds offers an endearing, jovial wave when he sees the three of you looking in their direction.

Saving the two of you from yourselves in the slow bloom of bashfulness he notices taking root, Plo Koon steps in, offering assurance and spurring the conversation along. “We haven’t been waiting long. Arcadia had something to ask us, Commander.” The unspoken oh, good in the release of Wolffe’s previously tense brow and overall expression is promising. If he hasn’t kept you waiting long, then there’s no need for further apologies.

Instead, he’d like to get straight to it. “Understood, sir. When you’re ready, Arcadia.”

Extracting your spiral-bound, you quickly flip past all the spent pages once it’s in your hands to what you need, but you hold off on showing them the loose, airy sketches in graphite and ink right away. “I had a concern about a language barrier, in the event the native peoples don’t speak Basic. Is there a plan for that?”

The Kel Dor and the Clone trade silent looks, only briefly. It gives you pause. If you went with your gut and hazarded a guess, you’d conclude that they have no such plan.

In place of cupping his chin, Plo Koon taps a component of his anti-ox mask once in thought. “I don’t recall a protocol droid currently aboard the Triumphant… Commander?”

“No, General. Hasn’t been a protocol droid aboard in some time.” Rather than regret, the reply seems like masked relief. “Which is unfortunate for today.” Wolffe adds a little too quickly to be a casual afterthought or a follow-up.

“There are soldiers with experience in communications,” the Force-wielder points out, “so it would be wise to make them aware of these valid concerns.” While it is always a relief to have one’s concerns validated, validity given your current situation feels that much richer paired with the comforting hand that finds its place once more on your shoulder. “I will ask them to be prepared, soon, if that would bring you comfort, Arcadia.”

“It would. Thank you, General Plo.”

You can sort of tell, or at least guess, that Commander Wolffe is wrestling with something to say following up with this; in the end all he can offer you is a curt nod. Funny, that a simple gesture can tell you so much.

That answers that. Glad your concerns could be addressed.

Expressing further relief, further gratitude, you laugh off those dark graphite illustrations you tried coming up with. “Guess that also means we - heh - likely won’t need to fall back on these right away.” Though it will force him to either clip his bucket to his belt, or set it at his feet, you choose to give the art book to Wolffe to look at everything you tried coming up with. Giving it to Plo Koon, you worry he’d see his commander’s sketch of you by mistake, and doing so would put him on the spot. Force an explanation out of him in an inorganic manner, maybe. “I… I had the thought to start making those. Just in case we- well, y'know.”

Again, all he offers is that same, curt nod while looking over the simplistic depictions. Each page is examined silently, tucked back tenderly when he's seen all there is to see. Loosely-shaped silhouettes, some with the ends of their arms overlapping - meant to depict shaking hands - makes him smile when he comes to that page square in the middle of the rest of the spread.

“Friendship or peace?” he asks you, showing you your own creation and offering the general the chance to see it himself.

You offer a shrug. “Either. Both.”

Closing the book, Wolffe extends his hand to return your property to its rightful place. You reach out to take it, expecting him to release his own hold, only it remains in his hand as well. Just for a moment.

One singular, eternal moment disturbed only with the low whistle of the wind through the forest and the glade. And the look on his face, between the scar, the cybernetic eye, you see an understanding of sorts. Sympathy. It’s a pity to him that you’ve done so much to help his anxieties today, and now you’re experiencing anxieties of your own and he feels he can do, say, so damn little to help.

“Mmm. I suppose I see both.” he says at last, his voice a low, throaty hum when he prompts you to take the book back from him. “Here, you should hold onto this, for the time being, Arcadia.”

“I’ll keep it handy, just in case.” you promise in a short, breathless whisper. “Should you and the General decide to show it to the… the uh…” There was a flash of something in the trees in the now-scant rays of light from the moon, just over his shoulder, something swooping through the peripheral zone where forest meets clearing. It had been so swift, so silent, you can’t be completely certain you saw something to begin with.

The right, scarred brow quirks with curiosity before it furrows with concern. “Arcadia?”

You point over his shoulder to both the Jedi and the Clone. “I saw something in the trees… just for a moment.” Instinctually, a gloved hand reaches for one of his DeeCees before the flint-gray commander fully turns around, facing down the forest. Just when the prickling dread begins to fade into the thought that your eyes are playing tricks on you and filling in information due to the low light, there’s a second sighting that is entirely enveloped in shadow, moving just as swiftly and as nimbly as before. A slight tremor begins in your hands, making it difficult to put away your things within the canvas bag you brought today.

If they suspected danger, you’d likely be asked to shelter in the center-most LAAT. Something. You trust they’d keep you safe, without question. Without doubt.

“Quick, small. Movement pattern suggests it's likely a bird.” Wolffe determines as he resettles the weapon into its holster while turning to face you once more. “Nothing to be too frightened of.” He places the softest of emphasis he possibly can on the fourth word, a small action of assurance and compassion. I understand that you are scared, but I think you can relax. You’ll be safe.

The initial, innocent murmur of reply that he’s right, it’s just a bird is followed up with self-scoldings and further rambling. You feel silly for feeling this anxious. Actually, you’re not even sure why you do feel this anxious. Yeah, everyone’s nervous of course about General Plo’s intent to return to the settlement and make contact with them, even though it’s a relief he won’t be going alone this time, but- Wait. Who’s even supposed to go with him?

The general begins with an apology. “My apologies for failing to bring this up sooner, dear Arcadia…” He had forgotten momentarily, and had meant to inform you that in the discussion with the sergeants and the commander, you had been considered among those who would be coming with him. Commander Wolffe will be making this venture, along with Sergeant Sinker and a few other Clones while Sergeant Boost was left in command of those remaining behind in the clearing. But if you would prefer, you could stay with Boost instead.

It should be your choice to go, no one will pressure you, or question your decision because you are not a soldier.

It feels like an incredible honor, a privilege even, to have been counted among those considered given your civilian status. But you’re not sure. Yes, you’d love to be of further help - because that’s what you’re here for, this is what you signed yourself up for. But what if things go wrong? Yes. you’re oh, so very curious about the Archossians. But there were so many concerns you were unaware of before, worries that had not previously existed. You’d be so exposed, ill-equipped compared to a Jedi and members of the wolfpack.

“C-can I have time to think about this? I’m sorry, I just think that bird got me a little worked up.”

Yes of course, you’re promised. Taking time to think about this would be for the best, would have been given to you anyway had Plo remembered to tell you when he meant to. You don’t need to apologize or feel poorly for the nerves, either. That was only too understandable.

It is Plo Koon who speaks, but Commander Wolffe’s hand that is laid on your shoulder this time, heavy and grounding. He is so warm through the raven-black gloves, the slate gray of your uniform. These are not insignificant layers, so how is he so warm? It could be because the ambient planetary temperature has dropped, but the heightened awareness of his touch makes it feel so much more intense. How does the entirety of something so small like his hand remind you of times you’ve basked in the glow of firelight, the warmth that encompassed you, cradled you head to toe simply sitting near it?

(Oh, Maker. How could one be so warm when he’s cloaked in glacier-cold plastoid?)

“We will leave, only once you’ve decided. Take what time you need.” General Koon promises, bowing his head as a mark of his sincerity to you.

The warmth of his touch remains with you even after he’s released you, even after imparting his advice to you with an encouraging nod and a kinder, more tender tone you can’t recall him speaking to any other civilian crew before now. Before you.

When he tells you “Go take a walk to clear your head, Arcadia.” you hear it in the voice of a concerned friend, rather than that of a superior.

“I’ll- We’ll wait for you.”

On forested planets, the fresh air should feel so rejuvenating, so invigorating. It should remind you of those beautiful vernal times in your life, the tender sprouts of new growth so precious, so timeless, poking through winter-hardened soil. It should bring to mind things like frog-spawn and the skittish, hooved things that stare at you in mingled fear and wonder as they stand shock-still; their thorning, arching crowns of bone that always look too heavy for such a delicately shaped creature. You should think of those wispy childhood memories punctuated with the presence of crisp linens and budding fruit and petrichor in a place like this.

So why do you feel so suffocated instead?

You told your fellow crewmates that you were staying. Staying for whatever reason. First you’d be armed with Soapsuds’ blaster. Now it’s one belonging to the flint-gray commander. There had been no initial, serious qualms about meeting with the Archossians, but now, you’re practically dragging a growing web of worry after you with every additional step in the ankle-high grass as you ponder. Every step is measured, deliberate. For safety, you shouldn’t get too close to the trees while you plot along in your pondering patrol.

You had been considered. But you don’t have to go. Maybe you had been wanted for your risk analysis. But they would have said as much, when they told you. Perhaps Plo Koon, his commander, thought you’d be safest if you were kept in closer proximity to them, being responsible for your safety. So surely, they would have laid that out as their reason, were that the case?

And what in the Maker’s name is going on when it comes to your thoughts of - for - the gray commander anyway? Where are all these thoughts coming from now that the sun has been felled from the sky, and the pewter moon has taken her place?

“What is wrong with you, Arcadia…?” you hiss under your breath, not for the first time, or the fifth. Not even the nineteenth, if you count all your unspoken self-questioning. Something just feels amiss. There’s something that’s wormed its way in between the folds of ever-churning thought and new observations from today.

Commander Wolffe is the epicenter of all of it.

You’re sure of it.

The planet, the patrolling, the history of the armor paint, the sketches both done by you and of you… it’s all becoming so connected to him. You could never disentangle him from what’s transpired today. From tension to tenderness, you’ve been witness to too much to forget anytime soon.

You almost fear you’ve gotten yourself too involved too soon, entangled yourself too tightly by making your goodness and your heart so freely available to a man who only just this morning had you questioning if a briefing was overboard. Now it just seemed so harmless. Tame, even.

Ground rules laid out with good intentions, his brothers’ safety in mind… How could you think he was overbearing for that?

You didn’t know. Tack had to tell you, was the one who volunteered information about Abregado to help you understand as someone fairly green to the one-oh-fourth. It was the researcher who first divulged that a formidable enemy to the Jedi was responsible for claiming his commanding officer’s right eye. Eyes that have watched you, studied you, tracked you since calling across the other hill to ask what you were doing from his place under the tree.

Terra cotta, marigold and sunflower leaves. Fawn trunk. Sage grass. And no gray coloring pencil.

You struggled with allowing yourself to call him a friend only a short time ago, but now, that doesn’t feel like it’s enough for the profound respect and sympathy he’s extracted from you. No. There’s something more.

Is what you're feeling merely limerence? Is it love? Has Wolffe charmed you so quickly - perhaps without even truly trying - that you're in such a tumultuous tailspin that you're… almost scared? Almost afraid that should you continue to chip past a grizzled exterior and the ever-roiling anxieties Commander Wolffe keeps a lid on, you'll find yourself truly and too deeply entrenched? Know for a fact that you are falling in love? (Loved by him in return?)

Distracted in all your storm of thoughts, you’ve strayed too close to the edge of the clearing without realizing; for this, you are targeted.

The people of Little Archossi are awake.

Something lands with a sharp thunk! at your feet, narrowly missing your left foot. In the darkness, with the moon still enshrouded in clouds, it’s hard to make out exactly what it is, but it looks to be a… A blow dart?

"What the-?"

"Arcadia, GET DOWN!" Commander Wolffe shouts, nearer than you’d think. You're suddenly pulled backwards, and Wolffe, in most of his kit, throws himself on top of you. You're trembling and twitching in fright below him; wracked with disbelief that he's using his body as a shield for you, of all people.

You're not one of his men. You're not too important to the crew of the Triumphant. You're by and large unimportant. But it's you who Commander Wolffe has put himself in harm's way for, growling into the sensitive skin of your neck to stop squirming as he tries to ensure you're properly covered under him and make sense of why you’re flailing so much. "Are you hurt? Arcadia, were you hit?" The combined, pressing weight of his body and his armor feels crushing with him practically sharing oxygen with you.

His helmet must lie in the tall grass somewhere, forgotten. There is no narrow, oddly crimped visor that can soften, or break the strength of his roaming gaze over you now. Storm gray and warm hickory bore into you, and you’re sure nearly through you with the intensity of that gaze. And it’s not the burning, lustful intensity you’d read about in some trashy, guilty-pleasure romance novel either: it's the intensity that you find in the desperate and frightened.

"You're heavy!" you wheeze, fingers clutching the grass for some semblance of support or as an anchor. "Ge-get off!!" Being forcibly pinned down, almost caged, by the man on top of you is a hair's breadth away from triggering your fight or flight response.

You understand he's trying to protect you - shield you from harm as there's a few more muted phoomp!s coming from the treeline - logically, but… Instinctually, your brain is saying this unexpected bodily contact needs to be fought off.

Suddenly an amber emergency flare sings into the sky with a shrill FWEEEEeeeeeeeee! before bursting apart far above the glade, and there's a cacophony of panicked voices from the hills.

"The Commander's been hit!" you hear Soapsuds call - he must have been the one who shot off the emergency flare.

You do your best to shout back, trying again to shove Wolffe off of you as you hear someone racing down the last hill with the tell-tale buzz of a kyber-blade drawing near. "No! No, we're fine!" One of your palms is planted on the chest plate of his armor, and it just so happens that it's directly above the Commander's heart. Even through the firm and immovable shell of the plastoid, you feel his heart hammering madly.

You've never felt a heart beating quite so fast in all your life.

Has he been hit?

"R-right?"

The Kel Dor expresses his concern for his soldier as he encourages Wolffe to sit up, "Come now; let little Arcadia breathe… Are you hurt, Commander Wolffe?"

"N-no, General," Wolffe fails to swallow back his stammers, at last pushing himself off just enough to allow you the clearance to scramble backwards out from under him, "I only… I was only trying to pro-protect Arcadia…"

Plo disengages his lightsaber, and first looks into the thick shadows of the treeline, then up the hill where more soldiers have gathered, weapons drawn. "Wolfpack, stand down."

On your feet, you take a cautious half-step closer to bridge the distance between yourself and the strangers before you, peeling themselves in increasing number from the treeline. You hear the Clones bristling in their nervousness behind you, feet scuffling through the grass and soil as they shift their weight, and the soft squeeze of their gloves as they slowly, deliberately re-holster most of their blasters at the order of the Jedi.

“Steady…”

Hands raised to chest height, you show them flat, empty palms to prove you don’t intend to do any harm with the weaponry tucked in your waistband. The darts were merely warning shots, you assume. Another half-step. A half of a half.

“He-hello-” Your voice comes out in a slight tremor, but it's nothing you can’t recover from. “My name is Arcadia. I’m sorry for coming too close to your forest before we had a chance to introduce ourselves to you.” The other party in this delicate encounter only stare back in return; not immediately extending their own greeting or lowering most of their own weaponry.

It’s apparent, at least from what you can immediately see, that the weaponry they possess is a lot more traditional than modern. You’re seeing bo staffs and short, hooking knives in the hands of those with graying hair, adorned in copper-based jewelry that has lost most of its luster thanks to the gradual development of patina from the look of things. There are very few who boast something that looks like it would be only slightly out of place in the weaponry of the Grand Army of the Republic; these… Archossian (you don’t know what else to call them!), some men, some women, are younger, their hair dark like shadow and tied with twine up out of their faces.

The features are familiar and human; the most marked difference in their appearance when compared to you or the Clones is the ash-colored, leathery skin and the long, unbroken lines of what appears to be either chalk or mud painted on the skin of their arms from shoulder to wrist. Their nails are long, almost claw-like, as well.

All eyes, pale yellows like the color of starmelt, are trained on you rather than Plo Koon, who is much closer to them than you are. You seem to be the only one who can’t seem to fucking shut up no matter how urgently either Sinker or Boost advises silence. “We don’t mean any harm. What… what do you call yourselves?” Commander Wolffe has been steadily creeping closer, just an arm’s length away from reaching you and possibly saving you from yourself, intent on pulling you back and away.

“Arcadia… What are you doing?” He’s nearly pleading with you to come to your senses, to let the General take it from here as he intends.

One of the Archossi raises their left hand in a futile attempt to stay the Commander’s, speaking for the first time in raspy, imperfect Basic. “Now come, gray one, there is no need to silence your messenger. The one who calls themselves Arcadia was speaking, had not yet invited us to speak. Merely being polite.” It’s an elderly man with a bent back who leans on his staff for support that addresses you and the commander, likely some figurehead to the people you’ve encountered, or at least someone who is deeply respected. Many nod in show of agreement when he concludes the word polite. “We are the Chossi. Simple, humble star worshipers.”

“Chossi. What a unique name.”

The compliment is paid in hopes that it will settle everyone, temper the challenging expressions given by those presumed to be young adults of their people at the very rear of their group. This is when you notice some women and men alike are carrying children on their backs. From the inhale that hitches in many men’s throats behind you, the Clones have noticed too.

Breaching the thick blanket of mounting silence, Plo Koon addresses one of the curious children who has walked forward with a Dorin greeting and a solemn oath. Offering his hand to the child, the Force-wielder speaks, “Koh-to-ya, little one. As my friend Arcadia promised, we mean your people no harm.”

Humble clone-simp baffled that the story continues to gain more segments. Okay, not really. Commander Wolffe and Arcadia (Reader) just had other plans for me and I wasn't about to subject anyone to a chapter larger than it already was. Taglist form, for any interested, can be found here.

Taglist: @msmeredithrose @lonely-day3636

[Masterlist]

[Early Morning] [Midday] [Late Afternoon] [Evening] [Here] [Golden Dawn part 1]

[Golden Dawn part 2]

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