#I still am not comfortable with from the river to the sea | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lenathekiller · 8 months

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Unrequited

Buggy x Reader Angst

A/N: I just wanted to write something moody, it's not the best honestly but I might continue it sometime. I took inspiration from the song "DYWTYLM" by Sleep Token and a bit of dialogue makes it very clear.

You'd been left behind in some shitty run down town. The ship you had sailed on for the past decade had drifted out to sea along with the crew that's been like family to you. Your life had basically disappeared right infront of you.

You knew none of them meant to leave you behind, but you also knew it'd be far too late for them to come back for you when they do finally notice your absence. They'd all been so excited to Finally see the Grand line, practically buzzing as they had loaded the final crates of supplies they needed for the trip, far too distracted with thoughts of what they would see out there that no one had noticed you weren't back from running the final errand you'd been tasked with.

By the time you'd returned to the dock the massive ship was already far enough away that it looked no bigger than your hand. Shouting or swimming were far beyond the possibilities of working out in your favor. You fell to your knees heartbroken at the sight, watching everything and everyone you'd ever known shrink into the sunset never to be seen by you again.

You'd still been there when Buggy's ship pulled into the harbor late that night. The Clown's men had whooped and hollered in delight of finally being on land again as they past you. The crowd of them seemed to move around you as if you'd been a rock and they were a river flowing around you. None of them seemed to pay you any mind, too concerned with the prospect of getting drunk at the few bars the town had.

It was only Buggy who'd stopped, he stood there staring at your form now sitting with your knees to your chest as your eyes stared unfocused and empty out at the sea at the exact spot your ship had finally disappeared from view. He could tell from the state of your face that you'd cried, maybe even sobbed and we're now left shivering from the chill of being soaked in a mix of your tears as well as the water that had occasionally splashed up onto you from the waves of the sea.

Silently he had placed his coat over your shoulders, sitting down beside you to look out at the water as well. He knew what was wrong, he could tell exactly what happened to you. You had that undeniable look of someone who knew they'd lost everything, he'd seen it multiple times before on people whose lives the Buggy pirates had destroyed, and more importantly had seen it first hand on himself when Shanks betrayed and abandoned him.

"You'll catch cold if you stay out here any longer, especially with the state your in." Finally he'd broken the silence, broken you from your trance of despair, bringing you back to reality and the pain it brought with it.

"They're gone. They left me behind. I'll never see them again. My whole life was practically on that ship, I know nothing but life on that ship... and now it's just... Gone." Your voice was weak, throat hoarse from the lump that'd formed in it hours ago when you'd first began crying.

Buggy wasn't entirely sure what to say now, his initial comment was just to bring you out of that dark mindset he knew you'd been stuck in for what was practically all day. He wasn't use to comforting people, just threatening them or leaving them for one of his crew to take care of. All he could muster up in his head was generic bullshit. "I'm sorry, I've been in your shoes honestly but I don't know what to say."

"What am I supposed to do now? I have nothing left and no where to go." Finally you'd turned your eyes from the sea, looking over to the man sitting next you.

Buggy kept his eyes on the sea thinking for a moment, before turning to meet your gaze. "I don't know, but you're more than welcome to join my crew and I. Even if it's only till you figure out what you'd like to do next."

God were his eyes beautiful, the moonlight was making them practically glow, infact all of him seemed to glow in the silver light as if he were an angel. You gave a weak nod to him, a small seed of happiness planting itself deep within your hallowed heart.

He stood lending a hand to help you up as well, leading you onto his ship. He'd fed you, given you a change of clothes, told you all about his crew, all their flashy acts and adventures. He seemingly fixed you that night, taking you in as one of his own and taking care of you.

You knew it was due to the emotional mess you'd faced that day but when Buggy had tucked you in and bid you goodnight, your heart couldn't help falling for him.

A year had passed now since Buggy took you in and in that time you'd grown to become one of his most faithful crew members. You'd always assist him with all preparations for his performances, standing by during his shows with anything and everything he'd need. By now your dedication to the man could not be questioned, and no one dared to anyways, they could see you loved the man they all looked up to.

Everyone except the man himself could see how you adored Buggy since that fateful night, and some of them even tried to protect those feelings you held. Cabaji or Mohji would always distract you somehow when they knew the captain was 'entertaining' himself with someone, making sure you were too far away to hear any moans that would surely spill out of the Captain's room.

The pair often felt guilty for sheltering you but they couldn't stand to see their newest friend get hurt and deep down they were hoping the captain would eventually fall for you too. Sure your feelings had started out unhealthy, you initially falling for Buggy because you were broken and he was the one that had picked up your pieces, but by now you'd actually grown to hold a healthy love for the man and the both of you deserved to feel that love.

Things changed when Alvida was added to your crew. Buggy was often too absorbed with scheming up plans with the beautiful new co-captian, that he seemed to not have much time to spend with you or any of his crew anymore frankly. It was affecting a good chunk of his crew, especially you, and no matter how much Cabaji or Mohji tried to distract you from the hurt, the pair knew they couldn't fix the problem entirely.

Cabaji was stood out on the upper deck with you currently, looking out at the stars and holding mindless conversation about how to better his act for the next performance.

"Maybe I could teach you how to unicycle, then we could figure out some flashy synchronized thing to do as a pair." He placed his fist to his chin in thought.

You chuckled at the thought of you on a unicycle, swerving around the circus ring with a spotlight on you. Knowing your luck and coordination you'd probably wipe out midway through and end up somehow run over by your own unicycle or Cabaji's. "I'll let you teach me but I don't think I'd ever become as good as you are."

"That's bull, your good at just about everything!" Buggy's voice called out, interrupting your conversation.

Cabaji saw the way you froze and placed a hand on your shoulder whispering his next words to you. "It's just capt, she's not with him don't worry." He gave your shoulder a little squeeze and you a friendly smile before turning to face the Clown.

"I'm gonna let you two talk, I've gotta go practice my routine anyways." Cabaji excused himself, heading below deck to give you two privacy.

"Long time to see it feels like!" Buggy joked coming to lean against the railing beside you.

"It's your own fault you know." Your tone was cold and your eyes remained fixed on the night sky.

"Yea, I guess it is." He felt a little guilty now that'd you'd pointed it out. "Sorry bout that."

"Whatever. Why aren't you spending your night with her like usual? Did her beauty become too much for you, so you came to see me instead?." Your words were laced with hurt.

He glanced at you for a moment, confused at what you were trying to imply. "She's got some things of her own to do tonight is all. What does her appearance have to do with me talking to you?"

"What doesn't it have to do with it? She far more attractive than me, it's no wonder you abandoned me for her." Your gaze shifted downward to the sea below you, watching the waves shimmer in the lights of the night sky.

"I didn't abandoned you, what the hell are you talking about?!" Buggy turned to face you fully, trying to desperately read your body language or what little of your face he could see. "I spend time with her because she's a co-captian and we have to plan out how the hell to accomplish the things we need to!" You stayed silent, not moving at all from you spot, and just when Buggy was about to storm off you had spoken.

"I regret joining your crew." A few tears rolled down your cheeks.

"What do you mean?" The clown honestly couldn't believe your words. How could you regret being one of his crew? You had given no signs of ever being unhappy until now, you'd grown close to his 2 right hand men almost immediately and always seemed to eager to help him with his shows. So why are you just now telling him you'd regretted your decision?! Did he do something upset you? Were you silently hurting as a result of him never having time to spend with you lately?

"I regret everything that's happened since that night you found me. I regret agreeing to let you take care of me that night. I regret agreeing to join your crew and befriending some of them. I regret being by your side ready to help you with everything and anything. I regret letting the others distract me when you'd sleep with a captive or crew mate. I regret letting them try to mend me when Alvida joined and you'd grown distant. I regret feeling at home here. I regret you finding me that night at all. But most of all.." You paused, finally turning to face Buggy with tears in your eyes.

God did it break your heart to see him lit up like an angel just as he had looked on that faithful night. And Man did it break Buggy's heart to see your eyes were filled with that hurt of betrayal and abandonment like they'd been when he first saw you. You were both back to the same state of being you'd been in when you had first met.

You sighed, closing your eyes finally ready to say what you needed to. "Most of all I regret falling for you, letting not only myself but also the crew believe you could ever grow to love me back."

He felt like he'd been hit by one of his famed giant explosive Buggy balls. Every single thought that had been in his brain was gone with the only thing remaining was you admitting you fell for him, replaying over and over again. He knew you were deticated to him but it was normal for a crew member to be deticated to the captain. How had he missed the fact your looks and actions towards him were filled with far more adoration, than those of the rest of his more faithful members. He hadn't let himself see you in the same light as you did him, only letting you remain as someone who's pain he could relate to. He stopped making time for you, distancing himself without even realizing it. Somehow he had managed to push you from his thoughts entirely to the point he had grown to see as just another member of his crew.

"I- I didn't- I don't-" He was stuttering, desperately fighting for his mind to say something, ANYTHING at all.

"Save your breath, I know you didn't know my feelings for you were so deep." Your eyes opened finally, seeing Buggy fighting to get ahold of his own thoughts.

You watched him flounder his mouth open and closed a few times for a moment before taking a few steps away to lean on the railing to watch the stars again. "I'll be leaving ship tomorrow when we dock in Loguetown."

Finally his mind seemed to snap into place, allowing him to speak and think clearly again. "Why?! No one wants you gone."

"You told me that I could stay with you and the crew till I figured out what I wanted to do next." Your voice was soft and smooth, any hurting you felt was undetectable in your tone.

"So you decided what you want to do?" He moved a step closer to you.

"Not really, I only have a small idea of what I could do." You shrugged.

Buggy grabbed your shoulder, spinning you around to face him, his eyes searched yours intensely. "Then why the hell are you leaving?"

"Buggy do you love me?" You had ignored his question, asking one of you own and when he didn't reply you decided to ask a different one. "Do you wish that you loved me?"

He was silent still, causing you to sigh and push his hand off your shoulder begining to walk away. Though his hand quickly flew to stop you, he finally spoke. "I don't know how I feel honestly. I try to tuck away my own emotions so I don't have to deal with them."

"Maybe it's not that you conceal your feelings, they just don't exist. At least none for me anyway." It was a harsh reality that you knew he also knew but was trying to fight. "How ironic isn't, that you're so desperate to be loved by someone, but now that I do you can't bring yourself to love me back. You can't force feelings Buggy, no matter how viciously you try to and we both know that."

His hand released you coming back to rejoin the rest of him. "You're right, I cannot hope to give you what I cannot give myself."

With that you walked off going to pack your things, leaving the clown to think as endlessly as the stars above him. A hollow feeling formed in his chest, not because he was losing someone he loved or cared deeply for, but because he wasn't and it made him feel extremely guilty for not feeling that way.

By the time you'd docked in LogueTown the next day the whole crew had heard of your leaving them. Many wanted to try to convince you to stay, especially Cabaji and Mohji but they all knew you leaving was for the best after hearing of your talk with Buggy last night. Both Buggy and you had not spoken or even seen each other since said talk, a mutual feeling that there was nothing left to say between the pair of you.

The purpose of the ship docking here was to find the straw hats and reclaim the map of the Grand line from them. The two captains, your two friends and about half of the crew went off to complete the mission, so you really didn't have anyone there to see you off. You'd just grabbed your belongings, saying a few goodbyes to crew that was left on the ship, then left to go into town. Maybe you'd join the Marines now, or find some fishermen and offer to help them out, you honestly had no real idea of what to do now.

Due to the commotion in town caused by the mix of Buggy's crew, the Marines, and the straw hats, you'd somehow ended up on board with the latter. Setting sail for the Grand line with the band of misfit pirates Buggy and your friends had failed to capture.

"So what were you doing in a town like that?" One of the crew asked.

"Nothing really, just saying goodbye to my heart I guess you could say." You answered, a sad smile on your face as for the 2nd time in your life you watched the life you'd grown to know, shrink till it was out of view.

Though this time it was you onboard leaving someone behind to watch helplessly from the docks.

#op buggy #buggy the clown #buggy x reader #angst

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jewish-vents · 20 days

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I am a Jewish high schooler and my school has a relatively high Jewish and Israeli population. However, I still found "From the river to the sea Palestine will be free #SaveGaza" on one side and "Free Palestine" on the other side of a bathroom stall, both in large writing with the former taking up all of my line of sight. It's scary and I don't think that high schoolers know the implications of their statements. I do agree that Palestinian people deserve freedom and rights. Of course I do. But the use of that statement is terrifying. I'm scared to tell anyone about it because a lot of my friends are very liberal and they kind of fell silent when me and an Israeli friend were talking about Israel. Nothing political, just about the markets in Tel Aviv and how my rabbi went to Israel recently (for political reasons I did not bring up because that wasn't what the conversation was about). I'm scared to tell my mom about the graffiti because she'll freak out. I don't know what to do. Should I report it through the school's anonymous page? Will it even get flagged as hate speech at all? Would the school be more concerned about the fact that it's graffiti than anything else? I do plan on writing "עם ישראל חי you are not alone" on the wall next to it but will that just be counterproductive and make me get in trouble if I report the other graffiti as well?

I'm so sorry you're going through that. I would agree that highschoolers do not know nearly enough to be commenting on such a complex situation with that much certainty. I'm also not sure what the best course of action is. I can say I'm not going to encourage what is technically vandalism, but I'm also not going to discourage it. I just hope you stay safe.

I do think talking about it with your parents might be the best course of action here, if you feel like your parents are trustworthy. I would usually say to talk to the teachers or the administration, but we've also seen that in many schools and colleges won't actually do anything to protect their Jewish students.

Best of luck and stay safe. Also stay together, there is safety (and comfort) in numbers.

#jewish vents #antisemitism #leftist antisemitism #jumblr #israel #advice

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generalsdiary · 15 days

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there is no rain without clouds

rain deity!Dr. Ratio x nonbeliever human!Aventurine

warnings: kissing (?)

word count: 6.5k

a/n: the intro will be the og post reframed- jump to keep reading to get to the added writing, one cannot escape Ratio being tsundere wherever you go (it’s literally canon), not beta read Firefly you better come home

description: an au, sorta soulmate vibe of a rain deity Ratio and human Aventurine falling in love (with an alternative ending), a smidge of angst; mostly fluff

What if Ratio is a type of deity with control over the rain/sky and Aventurine is a nonbeliever except for his immense luck given by the Mother Gaiathra Triclops.

And what if every time before it rains, he feels a drop on his shoulder or person much earlier than the rainfall actually begins- like a warning to seek shelter. And when he realizes that others don't notice the rain that early on, he feels somewhat special.

And on one day he is walking below a gray sky and a drop, tiny, smaller than any other, falls on his lips. And he smirks to himself and says to the sky, why do you kiss me in the form of rain?, he wipes it off with his thumb like there's an intimacy between him and the oncoming rain, a lingering feeling on his lips. A minute passes and another tiny drop falls to his nose, he assumes the rain will fall down any second now.

But in all actuality, the deity of rain, Veritas, is blushed and looking away, frozen, not making the rain fall because he is shocked and flustered from being called out on his very obvious bias.

And what if when he swims in a body of water, Aventurine feels light and free, comforted by the waves of the sea or the current of a river. But almost every time he is swimming the rain starts to fall. It is a gentle, soft one and he feels even more in tune with himself. Like he is being hugged, held. Veritas can't help but be obvious with his preferences in every universe.

Ratio would curse the deity of the sea, because why doesn't he hold those powers so he may feel Aventurine in his embrace, he'd beg the nymph of the river to take their place for a moment only to be denied. So he caresses him in the form of rain, from which Aventurine seeks cover. He curses the sage of the wind, because why can't he dance across the blond's skin, feeling the softness of his cheeks. Cursed to bring rain. Bold to make a drop fall on his lips, and now have his feelings revealed.

It won't rain for days, he is hiding, out of fear of being rejected, ignored... Vulnerable.

So when the rain does fall, weeks later, the great deity of rain is on his knees in the sky upon the sight of Aventurine sitting down on the ground in the downpour with a smile on his face.

“I am not.”

“I want to kiss you, hold you, hug you, have you- just-” he sighs, “and I know love and relationships can be much more than physical-“Aventurine exhales, looking up to the sky, his voice turning lower, “Why do you touch me like this?... Why does the water make me imagine your lips in their place- when I have never even seen you, why is it your hand which I wish to hold when I feel raindrops on mine... Why do you caress me,... Why do you touch me- it feels so personal every goddamn time and so… teasing.” When the skies bring no answer except the soft occasional raindrop, he turns and goes back inside.

About a week later the rain came again. Aventurine is standing behind a casino, catching a break from the heavy air inside. Veritas decides this is the right moment, the rainfall shifting to act as a waterfall and merely showcase an invisible silhouette like a ghostly figure, creating his shape.

“It is not easy to take a physical form.” There's no sound, Aventurine cannot hear his voice with his ears, but with his mind. His eyes widen upon seeing the elemental shape, he walks closer. This is the confirmation of everything- he isn't insane- well, that's still debatable, for some reason he doesn't feel shocked, surprised would be the better word. Aventurine reaches out with his hand, fingers moving through the rain which shapes a cheek. It is just water. Feels less real than the same drops that warn him. “I don't think you can call this a physical form.”

“Why me?”

“Indeed, why you?”

“I do not have to.” With a small wave of his hand, a larger raindrop falls on Aventurine's bottom lip, making him close his eyes. It isn't just the water, it gives him this feeling, this image of being kissed- of lips pressing into his own.

Aventurine ponders, a rain person, and his shape- it is a tall shape that much he can conclude.

“I wish to see you partake a physical form.”

“I can feel you, through the water- don't you wish to do it yourself?”

The elemental shape is quiet. “Things are more complicated than you know, Aventurine.”

Aventurine raises his eyebrows in small surprise from hearing his own name, “Introductions are due?”

“You know my name.”

“How could I possibly know your name, Veritas?” There it is. He stops, shocked, how do I know that name?

“Did you really think I'd make droplets fall to your lips without leaving my name there? It would've been rude.”

“This feels right- but I know it is wrong- I don't know anything about you.”

“Yes, you do, you just need to think- we have been communicating this whole time.” Within a blink of an eye he leaves, nothing left behind to mark his existence.

The facts list on in Aventurine's mind like pretty organized bullet points, Veritas is a rain deity, cold in nature, knowledgeable, etc.- and the list turns into... Memories? Or perhaps future memories; his mind fills with images, a fact of Veritas' dark blue hair showcased by Aventurine pulling his fingers through it, the high cheekbones shown with his lips on it... Aventurine feels dizzy, leaning back onto the wall of the building for support. What is this? It feels like he left a list, he wouldn't leave the second part as is. What is going on?

Veritas’ eyebrows furrow whilst observing the human. Why is he stumbling over a list- I didn't leave anything of such a mark on it. He didn't drink... Is he feeling ill? He moves past his worry when Aventurine goes inside.

III

One could ask the rain deity when it began, and how it started, this is what he would say.

„Darling… you ask a difficult question,“ Veritas says softly. His gaze shifts lower, and with soft eyes and a small smile he continues, „Allow me to quote a book…I cannot fix on the hour, or the spot, or the look or the words, which laid the foundation. It is too long ago. I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.“

With a sharp inhale Aventurine wakes up from the dream. He cannot remember what the man looked like and his voice is even fading from his memory. What was this dream- it didn’t feel like a dream. It felt like a memory that hadn’t happened yet. The dizziness he knows from the first time is there again. Luckily he is still lying in bed. From all the given information, he concludes this isn’t the doing of the deity… Veritas. This is something else entirely, frightening and eerie.

Aventurine is now aware of the rain deity, and his strange preference… and whatever they have together. Opening his phone he checks the weather forecast- it will rain. When leaving the apartment building, he leaves his umbrella by the door on purpose.

Aventurine ponders his…memories, visions? under the warm water of the shower head. They feel amazing and real and genuine- and overwhelming, exposing. Why is he seeing them- feeling them… living them?

Going about his day and obligations to the IPC, Aventurine ultimately forgets about today’s forecast until he feels the soft raindrop on his hand. It feels like putting on noise-canceling headphones, everything quiets down and slows down for him. He can feel the lingering touch, “Why don’t you hold my hand yourself?” Aventurine decides to call Veritas out early on; he has grown used to the water hitting his shoulder or shoes, and the rain deity is getting bolder by the day.

Out of the gambler’s sight, Veritas has his hand over his mouth, dumbfounded and astounded at the younger man’s forwardness. The second raindrop meaning to hit Aventurine’s shoe misses and falls beside him- out of pure lack of focus from Veritas, once again frozen and… one would dare say blushed. Much like the previous time the rain falters and falls later than the deity originally planned. Veritas can only observe from the sky as Aventurine smirks and walks cheerfully along; the happy feeling he has clears the sky of its clouds.

When Aventurine decides to go home, he is met with gentle rain outside. He somewhat regrets leaving his umbrella at home. The knowledge of how this communication works puzzles him, for a moment it is there and for a moment it isn’t. He speaks aloud, “Must we dance around like giggling teenagers? I will warn you, I am not a patient man. especially when teased like this.” He regrets saying the last sentence as soon as it leaves his mouth, I am so fucking touch deprived, I should keep my mouth shut.

The same elemental shape, that even if anyone saw would brush it off as nothing, shows up and walks beside Aventurine. “No umbrella?”

This is his moment, he will go all out. It is all or nothing. “I wanted to feel you on my skin.”

Unfortunately for him, Veritas came prepared, “Why don’t you walk naked then?” he asked with a snicker in his soundless tone.

Aventurine tilts his head, “Good one… maybe I should.” He teases, turning his head to look at the shape beside him.

Fortunately for him, Veritas isn’t that well prepared. With a silent cough, he quickly tries to think of something. “You could get ill.”

Aventurine stops in his steps, “Then take a physical form. I may then relish in your warmth” he pretentiously declares.

“Is this really something you want?” Veritas softly asks, or at least it seems soft in Aventurine’s mind. Another memory fills his sight and overwhelms him; his hand on the man’s cheek, breaths mingling- standing together- he can almost make out his eye color, the one of dawn? He can feel the warmth radiating from Veritas’ skin, the frequent how does he know it is frequent? blush in the man’s cheeks warm under his fingertips… Light-headed again. Aventurine blinks a few times, stabilizing in the present again.

There it was again, he almost fainted. Is he alright? “Are you okay? You seem unwell.” Veritas mumbles.

“I’m fine, don’t stress about it” Another typical hand wave from the blond. “Yes, I- I’m sorry, I..” The dizzy feeling threw him off his game, “Can we continue this conversation another time, I have to get home.”

Of course, the rain deity leaves silently.

Veritas is a deity who loves rationalization, thereby he is confused as to why he is so drawn to the human, so defensive over him. What made him make an actual move after a couple of years of silent appreciation passed? It would’ve not been an actual move hadn’t Aventurine called him out on it. Veritas feels like he knows him, like he knew him before… well, before anything he knows at this moment. Like they knew each other elsewhere, spent time together. Why must there be history here and now; to justify his feelings? It is not a crime to love what you cannot explain. I am one with the water and it too flows through me as do the affections I feel.

What can you expect from a gambler than to gamble? And this one uses his life as a chip.

Aventurine exits the worn-down building, made of brown moss-covered bricks, through the side door into an empty alley. A dead end one. He had fun, getting all the hard-earned and well-needed information from the players at the poker table and quite a bit of money.

One of the men followed him out, asking for another round, which Aventurine dismissed with a wave of his hand. They chat along, the man making different suggestions regarding other gambling businesses and potential scams.

“As intrigued as I might be, I prefer to work alone- and, you know, stick to what I know,” Aventurine says with a thousand credit smile.

“Yeah, yeah, understandable- but listen I got this gig- you will love it, it is made for you…” The man’s tone suggests hidden intentions, his body betraying him- the shaky hands, his eyes jumping all over the place… Maybe it is due to the strong smell of cigars and heavy alcohol that clouds Aventurine’s perception, or perhaps the few drinks he had (he isn’t actually drunk, not even tipsy), maybe he is tired or maybe he is just feeling so cocky at that moment that he doesn’t notice the imminent threat.

The rain knows, he- Veritas knows. He recognized the man’s intentions early on and tried to warn Aventurine, to no effect. The time ran out, the man gnarling his teeth and hitting Aventurine’s head, making him lose consciousness and fall limp on the concrete. A heavy downpour with sharp raindrops starts, and those sharp ones of course avoid the blond’s body. As if someone emptied a bucket of water, a curtain forms between Aventurine and the man. He appears surprised, but it doesn’t stop him from taking a step forward before a flash of lightning spooks him for a second. The lightning flash blinds him for another moment, Veritas tries his best to protect the young gambler, but it will not be enough and he knows it. Another flash of white and the curtain of heavy water normalizes, the man’s vision clearing up to see a tall man standing menacingly before him, practically towering above him. He has dark violet hair which is dripping with water, long dark indigo, and blue robes that flow to the ground, and a white shirt that is sticking to his torso. The arm which isn’t under the cover of the robes reveals a well-defined muscular shape. It is strange, the way the tall man appears to be soaked and completely dry at the same time. The water sliding off of his robes like off of a duck’s back, meanwhile, his shirt is stained and his hair drenched. There is power in his presence, the unnatural way he appeared already sent fear down the other man’s spine. Veritas raises his head, the sharp amber dawn-like eyes flashing a light blue when he in a deep voice with a sharp tone commands, “Leave.”

A heavy raindrop falls onto his shoulders, the prior blue sky turning a silvery shade of gray, almost purple. He knows this, what it means, even in his mind he disregards it, waving his hand around; seek shelter, yeah, yeah, it will rain. I’ll live. The conversation continues and a few more heavy raindrops fall onto his frame, unusual. The overblown self-confidence makes him ignore it, ignore the obvious warnings he doesn’t even see. It’s just rain, nothing more. It was never used for anything else except for a sign it would rain. Well except that one time…

Aventurine keeps talking, more raindrops fall- showing the rain is getting impatient, he even feels annoyed with the way it only keeps falling on him and not in the general area.

The man scours away in a blink of an eye. Veritas doesn’t turn back to look at Aventurine, he can hear him inhaling sharply and he disintegrates with the rain, leaving as quickly as he came.

When Aventurine comes to, there’s an ache in his head and his clothes are wet. He is disoriented, confused as to where the man left. His eyes drift to his jewelry and his personal belongings- all safe, all still here. He frowns. What happened? Slowly he stands on his feet, walking away to get a cab. While he stands in the heavy rain he ponders what went on. Was he really warned? It isn’t real, it can’t be real. Rain is just rain. And after all, he is a deity, why would he trouble himself over a mortal? Aventurine enters the vehicle and goes home.

With a yellow soft towel, he is patting his hair dry and looking out the window to the white sky. That man would not leave without robbing him or beating him up, he should’ve been more careful. A deity wouldn’t help. Why would they? They never did in the past.

Despite his thoughts, he doesn’t yell at the sky for explanations or behave like an angry toddler. For some reason, there is a certain amount of respect there. He can’t find it in him to converse in a rude way, even when he doesn’t believe in any of it. At the end of the day, it is just rain, and it isn’t anything special. Aventurine simply writes it off to his luck.

Veritas isn’t observing him at this moment. He lets the rain fall heavily down, not caring for it. How dare he be so careless with his life? He scoffs to himself, arms crossed and pacing around. Veritas feels angry and the masked emotion washes off of the rain deity to reveal the worried god underneath it. Thus, when Aventurine walks out on the balcony to grab a jacket left there before the weather changes, a raindrop falls on his cheek caressing it as if to say, don’t do that again.

And it is those simple, intimate moments where Aventurine feels like he is going crazy. How could he possibly explain all of it- or any of it? He felt water on his lips before so why did it that day feel like a kiss? A kiss he wants more of… why did this drop on his cheek feel comforting? No, he is losing it. I am not falling for rain- I cannot ‘fall in love’ with rain, what is going on? The rain stops and he finds himself drawing his fingers to the lingering drops on the outer side of his balcony door. If it isn��t real, why does this feel… like that? Cold droplets turning warm under his fingers, he sighs and leans his forehead on the glass door. Would the rain be able to hug? Maybe I’m just touch deprived… with that he goes back inside and ends his day.

“… if you’ll let me.” Veritas notices the way Aventurine wavers, losing balance as his eyes turn back into focus. “You worry me.” He whispers.

Aventurine is standing under a red umbrella and conversing with Veritas. Both gravitate to each other with slight confusion as to why it feels right- good. They are trying to have a normal conversation, and sort of get to know each other, yet the more they talk the more they realize that they already do know each other.

“I could show you so much, my favorite places; food, music…” Veritas’ voice fades off in Aventurine’s ears- another one of his visions…before the sound switches to normal inside this memory. “I will show you so much, my favorite places; food, music, art, culture- history of the world,” Veritas utters the sentence between kisses he places on Aventurine’s knuckles, looking up at him with a smile. Aventurine laughs, “And I will show you how to have fun- you will learn poker and so many fun, fun games and how to dance-“, Veritas jumps in, “I do know how to dance, and I am incredibly clever I will pick up poker easily for you, my love.” In a cloud of smoke, he loses focus and falls back into reality.

The hand wave every time, “It is jamais vu* from what I managed to find out.”

“From my knowledge, that doesn’t cause dizziness.”

“It is often related to migraines”

“You are not experiencing migraines.”

“How would you know my lack of pain?”

A sigh, “The same way you know things about me.” Veritas prettily forms the sentence to avoid the question he has no answer to. He simply knows, how could he not know?

Aventurine tries not to think about the intimate scenes the memories show him, he doesn’t want to spiral down the rabbit hole. And when he does try to recall how Veritas looked in them, it melts away from his mind like chocolate in the summer sun. The memory stays, with the visual and audible facts fading if he focuses on them too hard. He isn’t allowed to see them yet, is what he believes. The touch, the warmth- that doesn’t go away, it stays, lingering like the raindrops on his fingertips. It feels exactly like Veritas.

An hour later, Aventurine is back at his home, he takes off his jacket- staying in a white button-up shirt. He walks over to the glass doors to the balcony, sliding them open and his fingers drift to the unmoving raindrops on the glass, it takes his full attention… giving him comfort and he closes his eyes, turning the tables as to who is touching who through the raindrops.

Weeks pass with them having conversations and confused thoughts, shifting between yearning, flirting, and curiosity. The air around them stops for a millisecond when Aventurine makes a suggestion, “I want to show you my apartment.” He expressed with a smile, with no ulterior motive, but to show a more private part of himself which is his home. The elemental form, expressionless as ever is silent.

“I am certain you’ve noticed we only converse while it is raining and I take this shape, how would I go inside as this?” Veritas makes an excuse.

“Come in through the balcony- you can stay there if you must drip like that- but there is a way, don’t play dumb with me, oh great rain deity~” He flails his arms about and rolls his eyes with a big smile while he teases Veritas.

The shape disappears due to Veritas losing his concentration and falling to his knees once more from the teasing use of his title.

In his waterfall shape, Veritas appears in front of Aventurine- the gambler didn’t even have to call him, he felt his touch. What a strange feeling…

He stands still as ever, no emotion readable off of his figure, no voice able to be heard. He felt the… teasing way the phantom touch is, and felt a tad impatient- he would have great use of a few breathing exercises at that moment. To reframe his thoughts and ground- instead, he is on the balcony, in a distant form, as he said he would be.

“Why?” Aventurine asks.

“Ah, Veritas. You came! Allow me to show you my home~” Aventurine cheerfully exclaims and steps backward into the apartment, “Unless you plan on bringing the water inside- in which case you can observe through the glass…” Aventurine’s voice fades off exactly when the elemental shape shifts and Veritas takes his actual physical form, taking a step forward into the building, towards Aventurine. His eyes are the colors of dawn… The tall, attractive man steps closer until Aventurine’s back meets the wall behind him. Memories become clearer- the indigo hair, the dark blue robes, the deep baritone voice that soothes his ears- “Is this the form you wished so hard to see?” Veritas tilts his head and raises his eyebrows.

Aventurine is speechless upon the sight of a literal god in front of him. He did expect him to look good, he is attracted to him, but oh dear gods, this is… wow. Why is he standing so close? Aventurine can feel the change in the room’s temperature, turning slightly warmer.

“…yes…uhm, it is good you… changed and now you can get a tour of the place.” It took Aventurine a few moments before he softly answered. His eyes shift around, surprised by the moment, despite it all, his thoughts calmed down since Veritas is physically here. Aventurine feels at peace, safe, and content. Until his eyes fall to Veritas’ lips and everything is out of the window, his head filling with thoughts of how it would feel to actually kiss him. Their breaths are mingling, why is he standing so close? he barely notices his hand moving the Veritas’ side to pull him even closer. The air feels heavy, filled with electricity and the scent of another man which is entirely new, but then again it is a scent he knows all too well from his memories- focus allowing only now to remember it clearly.

To Aventurine’s surprise, he isn’t the only one feeling like this. He watches Veritas summon a raindrop between his fingers and drop it onto his bottom lip. Veritas eyes trained on the way it falls, then closing them relishing in the feeling. It also makes Aventurine close his eyes, and he holds on to not just crash his lips against his.

“I… don’t know,” Veritas admits.

With the droplet still on his bottom lip, Aventurine raises his chin and presses his lips onto Veritas’. The heavy air, frozen, flows again when they connect. Lips opening to get closer, hands hesitant and shaking to bring the other closer, fearing to not get overwhelmed, minds connecting to ask the same question, why does it feel so good… why does it feel right? Aventurine’s hands travel up, one rests on Veritas’ chest and the other one cups his cheek, it is as soft as he recalls. Veritas embraces Aventurine, his arms wrapping around the shorter man’s torso and pulling him closer. Clouds fill the sky and no rain falls. The moment is theirs and it is hidden. It felt like the built-up pressure in the atmosphere right before a storm, was released. The tension loosens up when they finally feel each other’s touch and not through water.

When the kiss ends Aventurine’s head fills with questions such as, how dare he gatekeep this form- why?

Veritas, still close, quietly points out an observation, “Your eyes glow in the dim light.”

“So do yours.” Silence. They spend the next few minutes staring into each other’s eyes, Veritas is the one to break the silence and ask for a tour of the place that was promised.

“You will outlive me. I will die. I am…” he sighs, “just a human. I have, what, maybe 50 years left at best?”

They fit together like puzzle pieces, perfect in every way. Veritas takes his physical form much more often and spends most of his time beside Aventurine, going on walks, dinners, and spending simple time together. Veritas still sends the raindrops to his lips, embracing him through the rain. Their physical affection turns simpler and is shown through occasional lingering fingers and short-lived hand-holding. They find solace in each other’s company much more than anything else. It is another one of the simple days, both sitting on the couch, Aventurine is fidgeting with Veritas’ hands when he asks, “Are you immortal?”

“Hm… what a strange question. I am not immortal in the true sense of the word, I am meant to live forever- well as long as there is rain.” He explains in a gentle tone, causally watching the man caress his fingers.

“I will be by your side through every day then- and after, I will find a way, I will not leave you and you will not leave me- do not worry, dear gambler.”

Beat. Aventurine ever so slightly slumps, leaning back and looking up. “Are you sure?” he presses on in a shaky voice which he desperately tries to hide.

“I promise. I will do my best to make it happen.” Somewhat reassured by his words, Aventurine moves to rest his head on Veritas’ shoulder.

It can’t be all sunshine and rainbows- or in this case, clouds and rain. There’s turmoil happening inside the rain deity. Doubts fill him, guilt poisons his head, and self-consciousness traps him in a spiral of negative thoughts regarding his feelings and actions. He knows all emotions flow through him, water takes on any shape, and therefore at some point in time, it will take the shape of a whirlpool. The rain deity feels chained by his thoughts, trying to solve them- work them out, only for the bounds to get tighter. The days turn into weeks, the rain no longer warning Aventurine- he cannot focus, and the sky turns a shade of dark purple, calling thunder and lightning at times, it is loud, terrifying. Aventurine can’t help but worry, is someone punishing him? Every loud snap and whip sound burns his ears, Aventurine mumbles his name sometimes in distress- to no avail.

Months later, he stands on his balcony. Uninvited, he waits for Aventurine to return home. When he does, most part of the conversation is silent, Aventurine opens the door- sees him, and stares. Thoughts are exchanged without a sound, of Veritas’ pain and regrets, and of Aventurine’s anxiety. Am I even human anymore, why can I do this? He ignores that thought.

“Talk to me next time- let me help-“

“This isn’t something that would be safe to have you around for.”

“I agree, since when do you have control over the thunder and lightning?”

“I do not… When a deity, a sage, a nymph, or whichever being; goes through strong emotional turmoils- their power expands because they lose control over it. I apologize for making you worry.”

“Don’t do that again.”

“I cannot promise it won’t happen again.”

“I’ll make you promise” With furrowed eyebrows and a firm step he walks over, looking up at the rain deity with a frown. He shall put it in words even Veritas will understand, “Lack of your well-being leads to me not feeling good. If you care about me as much as I do about you, you will do better. I expect of you to do better- no better yet- I demand it.” Aventurine stands tall, chin raised and proud, putting a god in his place- equal to him, right by his side. His eyes focused on the man in front of him.

Veritas is weak, too weak to say no- to deny anything Aventurine may wish… He is the air I breathe, how could I ever reject him? His eyes scan his face, not a single tread of fear in the shorter man. Veritas nods, “I will have you near me, next time such a thing occurs. I promise.”

Aventurine’s shoulders relax, he nods to himself and steps back in, “Come inside, you’re cooking tonight.” Veritas politely follows with a shy smile on his face, his eyes looking down at where Aventurine’s fingers are pulling him and leading him inside.

VII

A century passes. Aventurine passed away years ago, and not a day nor night has gone by without Veritas building up his power to summon him here. Until he succeeded. A bright light blinds him, making him turn his head and look elsewhere in the plush, warm-toned clouds he was sitting in. Turning his head back he is met with a smiley Aventurine who immediately jumps and embraces Veritas- making him lie on his back.

“You did it- you actually did it! Took you long enough!” Through warm laughter he greets.

“It was no easy feat. It, indeed, took too long.” Veritas’ arms tighten around Aventurine’s frame, inhaling the scent of the perfume he missed so much, “I missed you- it feels so good to actually feel you- the human realm cannot convey the feeling of touch the way it does here.”

“It does feel different.” Aventurine props his elbow to look at the rain deity better.

“Now, it is a tad more complicated than I… originally explained. You are a… cloud deity now.”

Aventurine tilts his head and narrows his eyes, “A what now?” He laughs softly, “Aren’t you in control of that?”

Veritas slowly explains, “No, I am in control of the rain- and yes while clouds are water- they are not rain. By controlling the rain, I pull also the clouds indeed, but for example- I could never pull a cloud over a desert area where it won’t rain. Whereas, you can. Clouds are timeless and everywhere- you are free to manipulate them- all across the space and time.” He ends it with a smile, “There is no rain without clouds, my dear.”

The pieces all fall into space, their connection, his memories of the future- they have yet to happen right here in these clouds- he saw them happen, the way he felt less and less natural and more supernatural, the way they communicate- he knew Veritas wasn’t controlling that. It is also obvious that the rain deity did not plan for this, it is simply the way it all worked out. He provided them a… forever. The visions made so much sense now- clouds are timeless. It flows for him, time flows- he smiles and kisses Veritas’ cheek. “I knew this would- I- thank you, I am overjoyed to be here with you.”

All the memories become, soon enough, memories. Now, they spend their time almost always in some time of physical contact- hands never separating. They float around and smile at nature, Aventurine very excitedly leads Veritas through old games he had won, teaching him poker and blackjack, they laugh and enjoy this powerful life to the fullest.

On one of those countless days, Veritas takes him to the waterfall and the river, where he had previously begged the nymph to borrow their powers to hold him.

“Ah, Lord of the rain… and Lord of the clouds, what can I do for you today?” The nymph of the river smiles, their hair, the color of a cherry tree, flows with the wind, sending a scent of strawberries. The easygoing smile relaxes both men.

“We were passing by- how did you know about Aventurine?” Veritas is surprised, they do all know each other in the end- maybe it has something to do with his partner’s time-related affinities.

“It is written, the Lord of the rain will bring forth the Lord of the clouds. And no matter when he is brought forth, he shall be gifted the control of time so he has always been with us.” They say without a tremor in their voice like it is a well-known fact.

“I have not read this in the writing, Ro.” Veritas crosses his arms, mentally recalling every line in the very long text.

“You cannot know the lines which refer to you. Just as I didn’t know the ones that were related to me and my Lady of the Flower lotus.” Ro nods, the smile unmoving from their face, they seem at peace, content… happy. The beings of nature live pleasurable lives, and Aventurine feels fond of it.

“Wait- you have told me the previous time I was here that you loved a human and no one as well had borrowed you their powers to come closer- is this the same Lady? You didn’t tell me of this.” Veritas continues, Aventurine floats off to the familiar beach and jumps in the water, partaking in his old physical form. “I mean, I was aware of what was written… The nymph of the river will love the flower lotus.”

“Veritas, we have been over this, do not fret- enjoy the Lord of the clouds- and I shall go have tea with my Lady, it is late afternoon and I refuse to keep them waiting. I’d be more than happy to have you two join us, but I am afraid we won’t have enough biscuits for today- how does tomorrow sound?”

Veritas nods. “Enjoy your time, Ro. Tomorrow is fine.” Veritas leaps out of the clouds, taking his physical form as well and diving into the water. Aventurine is quick to swim over and put his arms on Veritas’ shoulders, “The water feels amazing, and you look good like this- we should go swimming more often~”

“Don’t belittle me, you just like the sight of me shirtless,” Veritas smirks, and Aventurine chuckles. Veritas moves his arms to his lower back.

“Mhm~ Yes I do, doctor” Aventurine moves closer to kiss him, there are drops of water on their lips and they mix along with the kiss, the sun shines brightly illuminating the water's surface and the wind blows over their shoulders. What a perfect world they got so lucky to exist in- together and in love.

VIII (alternative ending)

Aventurine’s eyes suddenly open, with a hollow chest and faster breathing than normal. He turns to his side to see Veritas already awake, his hand on Aventurine’s cheek wiping away… tears?

“Bad dream, darling?” He whispers.

“No- I… a lovely dream. I don’t know why I am crying…” He moves closer to Veritas, seeking his warmth, “You were a rain deity and I suppose the tears might be happy ones?... It feels like a beautiful world was ripped away from me… It was so real.”

“A rain deity? You truly have creative dreams…” Ratio pulls his head into his chest, hand in the blond locks soothing his partner. “You have me here, I am not going anywhere.” A soft kiss is placed on the crown of his head.

“I love you… thank you for being here. It was a nice dream, maybe somewhere utopian where it is all perfect and where we could be happy… it was a bit unrealistic but comforting. Although I could feel you were missing something, you also were human before you became a deity so perhaps you didn’t recall what drove you. Your motivation for knowledge and spreading it- I missed it in the dream.” Aventurine draws small circles on Veritas’ chest. The digital clock shows 3 am, they should go back to sleep.

“I love you too,” He whispers.

“When did you… when did you realize it? That you… ‘loved’?” Aventurine inquires, a sleepy mind asks strange questions.

“What a strenuous question…” Veritas answers softly, his eyes travel lower to meet the colorful ones of his partner, his own softening when they meet. With a small smile, he goes on, “To quote a wonderful writer; I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.”

Tiredly, Ratio nods and freezes once the words register in his head, “Mhm, yes, wait what- excuse me? That I will do what now?” The surprise is evident in his voice.

Aventurine’s eyes widen, dreams spill over into reality and every scene flashes before his eyes, he feels overwhelmed, his head running around with so many thoughts…

“I hope you will even in this reality kiss me in the form of rain.”

“Hush, go to sleep- I have an interview in the morning.” With a quiet grumble he listens to Aventurine and goes back to sleep.

a/n: s/o to J. Austen for being an amazing author; the quote is from the book called Pride and Prejudice, *jamais vu - a French loanword meaning "never seen", is the phenomenon of experiencing a situation that one recognizes in some fashion, but that nonetheless seems novel and unfamiliar

tags under:

@starfall-reef

#dr ratio #aventio #honkai star rail #hsr #aventurine #ratiorine #dr ratio fluff #veritas ratio #aventurine fluff #angst #au #rain deity x human #golden ratio #raturine #rain deity x nonbeliever

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cory-trevorson · 3 months

Text

we NEED to keep talking about Palestine. we NEED to keep talking about the death and famine in Gaza. we NEED to keep talking about the war crimes the IOF is committing and shamelessly flaunting online right in front of us. Why aren't there any tags regarding this on the trending tags page anymore?

I am so ashamed we can all sit comfortably in our homes and enjoy our fandoms while nearly almost 30,000 Palestinians, 29,692 human lives, have been mercilessly slaughtered and starved out, and thats only since October 7th to this day. The injured count lies almost around 69,879.

In the past 24 hours, at least 86 people were killed, and around 131 others are left injured.

These are not just numbers. They are REAL people who just had their whole lives violently torn apart in just a day. Entire family lines massacred and wiped out in just a day.

UNRWA says the last time it was able to deliver food to northern Gaza was January 23rd.

January 23rd.

That is well over a month by now, and people are starving. People are using donkey fodder to keep themselves going. They have so much hope and determination, but the world is still failing them.

Keep the discussion open. Keep reblogging and tagging updates on Palestine. Keep doing your daily clicks, and donate somewhere if you financially can. Keep striking. Keep sharing the atrocities committed by the I"D"F and its supporters (our own complicit countries) so the innocent people of Palestine aren't swept under the rug like the rubble that burries their martyred mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and children. I am painfully reminded of my own people lying in unmarked graves somewhere forgotten and hidden away, the horrors of residential schools shared to me by my poor grandmother and Canada's continued silence. And that pales in comparison to the mangled bodies piling up in Gaza before our very eyes.

This is genocide.

This is not a trend, this is real life. They are still dying, starving, mourning, and petrified. Never forget the genocide the IOF is carrying out for the whole world to see. Never stop talking about it long after Palestine is free.

From the river to the sea, Palestine WILL be free. 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

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psychopomp-recital · 24 days

Text

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

Let’s talk about working with the Water Element; divination, magical waters, workings and cultivating a relationship with it and its spirits.

🎶Sharing my experiences and thoughts, don’t rely on just this make your own experiences and thoughts.🎶

How do I grow my relationship with Water itself?

Begin opening yourself up to it more and incorporating it into your daily life. When I began building my relationship with it this is what I did:

To be done over a months period

Washed my hands & face with cold water when waking up and letting them air dry as much as possible.

Brushing out my hair and braiding it, picturing my hair flowing like a river with every movement of my fingers.

Beginning my day by intentionally drinking a glass of water, sitting down to really appreciate it and how it aides your body. I like cold water because you can easier feel it flow through you, I also like charging it beforehand.

Visit as many water sources as possible during this period. I am lucky enough to live by the pacific ocean and I would go and swim in it everyday to cultivate my relationship. However, if that is inaccessible for you there’s options such as sitting by a public pool, taking a bath, standing in the rain, eating your lunch by a river, etc.

While you’re spending time with water just talk to it. Tell it stories, sing it songs, ask it questions, water is living and it longs for a connection.

Record your progress throughout the month either in written journal entries, scrapbooking, or digital trackers. Just have a way for you to look back at how you’ve changed during this period.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

Examples of Magic that can include water:

research topics

Magical or Blessed Waters

Baneful Folk Workings

Release / Banishing Spells

Water Plant Workings

Elemental Spirit Magic

Death Work

Charged Sprays

Travel Magic

Weather / Storm Magic

Meditation

Shell Magic (like crystal magic)

Hydromancy

Carromancy (wax in water)

Magical Baths / Showers

Glamour Magic

And Much More...

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

What can I benefit from working with water?

Regardless on where you are from, what path of life you are following or anything else we are connected by our need for water. It is not only our connection to other humans but our connection to the natural world as well. It makes up 3/4 of our planet and 60% of your body. You can get a better understanding of yourself just by going back to that fundamental need to sustain yourself with water as a life-force. The element itself is well known to be a very introspective force and most spirits representing or associated are similar (spg). When you are inviting it into your home you are inviting that connection and energy in too.

Water takes life without discrimination, just as it gives life. Working within that provides a confidence and at least in my experience a sense of balance within ones self. If you are feeling like you are being tossed by the path of life, as if you are a lone ship at a storming sea, this might be your sign to stop fighting the current and start moving with it. If you can make the waves move at your asking then what is there to stop you.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

Hydromancy

hy·dro·man·cy /ˈhīdrəˌmansē/

noun

divination by means of signs derived from the appearance of water and its movement.

Some argue this is the first form of scrying Hydromancy is a very useful tool. It can be done with natural bodies of water, or things like tubs, cups and bowls. It can be frustrating to begin so this is how I would begin if I were you: (works better with an established connection to water)

Go somewhere quiet and still, I prefer outside at night but do what is safe and comfortable for you.

Prepare your space and yourself however you normally would set the tone for a divination reading. Some choose to say a blessing prayer, drink a divination tea blend, or anoint themselves with particular salve or oil. I will usually ritually prepare myself (let me know if you want me to go more into this).

In a shallow dark colored bowl (or scrying bowl), pour your preferred water of choice. I usually go with waning moon water.

Relax and begin to gaze into the water. Let yourself open up to messages. Sometimes it comes as scenes of images, or a shape or even words that can come through.

Write down anything you receive to interpret later on.

If you are struggling try this ritual but use the light of a candle or the moon to interpret those shapes. Or meditate with the bowl and pour it out onto the ground and scry the shape it leaves behind.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝

Magical Associations

✦ Death & Life ✦ Duality ✦ Change ✦ Rage ✦ Grief ✦ Peace ✦ Creation ✦ The Moon ✦ Ice ✦ Emotions ✦ Mental Health ✦ Cleansing / Purification ✦ Storms ✦ Distaster ✦ Dreams ✦ Cancer / Scorpio / Pisces ✦ Psychic Abilities ✦ Shape-shifters ✦ Travel ✦ Corrosion

Irish Divine Beings Associated

✦ Brigid (keening mother & keeper of the sacred well) ✦ Boann (river personification) ✦ Aengus (The Young Son) ✦ Lir (sea personification) ✦ Manannán mac Lir (son of the sea)

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anamericangirl · 16 days

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To give that anon a little comfort about women:

Remember, even if there's a billion rotten evil women in the world, there's still 4 billion good girls.

Even if there's 4 billion evil girls, there's still 1 billion good ones.

Even if it's the latter, you're likely only going to meet about 2000 of them in your life and with those odds what, 400 of them will be good? I'm not doing the math I just guessed that's probably 20%. But if you make an effort you can meet a lot more, and if the odds really are 1 in 5, you just gotta keep rolling the dice.

To think you're hopeless to find love is silly, you just need to make the effort to actually look. You can't spend your whole life just assuming the 400-4,000 horrible women you've seen on the internet (of all places!) are a healthy representation of women on earth as a whole.

There are so many good girls, and so many of them want a good man, whether he's cute, hot, ugly, fat, rich, poor, they don't care. There's a lot of picky girls, but there's a much bigger lot of girls who just want to be loved, cherished, and have a man who helps them be comfortable in their life.

If you anons truly are good men, you need to let women know that. Don't hide, don't be shy, go meet girls.

Personal advice though, try not to meet them on the internet unless you're in a specific shared-interest place like your favorite video game. If you're on social media, you're in a sea of every single opinionated woman from every single walk of life no matter how radical or calm! That's like going fishing for a nice clean freshwater fish in the middle of the ocean. You're straying way too far from the river.

And to people who I know are gonna take this out of context and violently misunderstand my analogy: Yes I am absolutely saying women are fish, that is the point I'm making. Think about it. If you take all the letters of "Female" and move them around and add a few and remove a few it makes "Fish." Government thought we wouldn't notice.

Being pro-active is great advice.

And wow mind blown with that whole fish thing. It’s so obvious and yet I never caught it.

#answered

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hyperfixatedfandomer · 1 year

Text

An EXTREMELY angsty Spider and Quaritch thought #3

I woke up and chose violence AGAIN 🥰💅

Imagine, during the final confrontation on the burning Sea Dragon ship, Spider finds Quaritch lying dead, killed by Jake, his body still and a hatchet in his chest.

And it’s great is it not? All should be well! A happy end am I right?

Except…Spider doesn’t feel an ounce of positive emotion when looking at a corpse of a man whom he spent months with, waking up and falling asleep to his stupid face, who he spoke to every single day, who became his constant companion day in an out. He doesn’t know why.

The world becomes a blur as Spider disassociates. He can see himself falling to his knees in front of the recom, he can see himself reaching out his shaky hands to hold the man’s arm, he can see tears spilling from his eyes like a river.

When he comes back into his body though, that’s when his death truly sinks in.

There is something burning deep within Spider. Some terrible flame is burning his insides, and it hurts so bad he wants to claw at his chest until the skin and the muscle comes off so he could release it, but he can’t bring himself to let go of Quaritch’s arm.

The fire inside Spider becomes too strong and he lets it out in the form of a scream. He never knew he could let out a noice so gut-wrenching and loud, but there it was.

And it attracted the one who caused it.

Jake Sully found him, alarm on his face from hearing Spider yell written on his face.

The kid looked so vulnerable like this. So tiny and scared and broken. God, Jake thought, how could he have let this happen to him?

The fact that Spider was clinging to his sworn enemy did not matter to him. He leapt forward, cradling the kid and tearing him away from the recom as he screamed at his rescuer in a fit of emotion he clearly could not control.

“What have you done!?!” He tried to yell, but his voice has hoarse and he began coughing as Jake put a hand on his back and rubbed it, carrying him into the ocean.

“It’s alright Spider, I got you.” he whispered into his ear.

But it did not feel comforting.

#avatar #avatar 2 #avatar spider #avatar headcanons #avatar way of water #spider socorro #miles quaritch #miles spider soccoro #recom quaritch #avatar quaritch #avatar miles quaritch #spider avatar #spider soccoro #miles soccoro #miles socorro #na’vi quaritch #jake sully #avatar jake

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scribble-dribble-writes · 2 years

Text

Loveless - (6)

<<<Prev Next>>>

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Pairing: Namor x Shuri and Attuma x Okoye 🥹

Word Count: 1800

Warning: none

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Chapter 6

It was a sight to behold, Talokans walking around with their masks and blue skin. The conflict between the kingdoms had eased with the new strategies that were implemented. Fear had to be deconstructed, they had to see it the way she did. She found herself back in her lab, tinkering and building, the Talokan youth who wanted to meet her were progressive. Intelligence at such young ages, they reminded her of the children she met through the Wakandan out reach program. Their flaw was that they were unexposed, misguided by the prejudice of their ancestors. Combining their technology proved to be useful, their water bombs were well made, their armour was much lighter than the ones Wakandans wore. Shuri created more units of the 'midnight angel' allowing her warriors to train with the Talokans in their way of fighting. Languages were being shared, the markets were now filled with food from under the sea, jewelers seeling pearls and Talokan artefacts. Trade was established, people grew into a wondrous community aiding in each other’s growth.

She purposefully took time away from the lab often, to walk through the city and enjoy the peace of solitude. But as she kept track on the submariner, she observed how he buried himself in duty. He spent time on the surface more, now that his people were here too but he never overstepped his bounds with her. He did not hover around her or shower he with gifts. He let her be, he would catch her gaze in the crowd and she would not look away. In her head, she was trying to recreate the peace they had in his cave, where she had been emotionally vulnerable with him. It was felt easy with him then, unlike the other men she had dealt with. Her mind felt valued.

She could talk about history, art, technology to deep sea mysteries, no topic was off limit. She was unable to fill that small vaccum with anyone else’s company. But it was too soon to decide if she was going to reconstruct that bridge between him and her. For now, it did feel better that he was here, sharing the burden and responsibility. She walked out by the river bed to see a troop of midnight angels undergoing training and in the middle, he stood on the deck with his spear. Teaching them to swivel and swing, like a dance that he was so well accustomed in it’s pattern. It was rather odd, not seeing him in the air, majestic and commanding, his ankle was still bound in bandages. She walked to the pier to observe the proceedings. His presence made her feel less alone in these changing times, his silence felt comforting. He glanced towards her and fumbled with his spear. He raised his hand, bringing the session to a pause.

“Training seems to be going well.”, she told him to which he smiled. “Yes, however I miss not being able to join them yet.”, he looked at the warriors who were at ease, their deep blue suits tinting the water around them. “The kids.”, he turned to her with excitement etched across his face. “They love you.”, he exclaimed. She’d only seen him like this once before, when he took her to Talokan. He beamed and behind his façade she saw the boy he was never allowed to be. “Its almost as if our conflict never happened.”, she looked around the busy place but he was looking at her. “If only it was.”, he replied softly. It was something she thought of often, she held his gaze, he held the same magnetism as the current she was pulled into. “I should let you go, princess.”, he broke away first, a supple smile on his lips. “I am sure you have better places to be.”, he turned to continue his training.

He sensed her move away after a pause, he ran through the rest of the routine and let the troops go. He found some task or the other to help with, putting up stalls around the market place, helping rebuild elements that had been destroyed. He spent time with the surface beings here, they were hesitant at first, when he came to understand that it was not their inhibition but rather their fear. They had only seen him once before, when he invaded their land. But through determination and perseverance, he found favour with them. His wounded wing was still healing, so he had to walk around a lot than usual. Turning a corner, he spotted an empty wall, one that had not been touched by any other work of art. His fingers itched for his brush, he borrowed paint from a passerby and settled himself by it to get to work.

Attuma was new to all of this. The only time he ventured to the surface was to put an end to witnesses and keep their secret safe. So to walk about other beings rather than his own was difficult to wade through. He didn’t know the language. He walked around like a sea monster, his head piece often bumping into something. Namora kept watch over Namor and in the time she didn’t, it was clear she wasn’t having a great experience. He wandered the streets till he saw a familiar face. “Warrior”, he called out and the figure turned to him. It was the woman he had fought with. She huffed and turned to walk away. “Wait.”, he caught up with her. “If you’ve come to ask me about a rematch, it’s a no.”, she spoke as she walked briskly weaving through the streets that was too fast for him to keep track, so he did his best to match her stride. “I won that fight fairly.”, she pointed a finger at him and he couldn’t help but chuckle. Her intensity amusing him.

“You did.”, he raised his hands in defense. Her face contorted into confusion. “Then why did you call for me?”, she folded her arms. “I wanted to try those.”, he pointed to the charcoal grilled chicken pieces. “I don’t know how to ask for it.”, he rubbed his neck. Okoye inhaled sharply as she realized. “Oh.”, she exclaimed. “Can you even digest those?”, she asked confused. He shifted his weight. “We’ll never know till we try.”, he told her and watched as she weighed out her options. Knowing there was nothing else to be done and how the others kept away from him, she knew that she was the only one who could help. “Fine. Come.”, she led him to the shop. The seller took a double take at his new customers. “Two of those please.”, she ordered but with a sidelong glance she could tell that Talokan warrior was busy observing her. “What?”, she asked annoyed. But it only made him smile. “Can you teach me?”, he asked her, “Your language.”, she heard and felt surprised.

Most people came to her for her ability to fight not her linguistic skills. She contemplated, it wasn’t about teaching him the language but rather all the time she would spend with him. “If I defeat you in a game of strength, I will teach you.”, she gave him the hot plate of chicken and took a seat in front of him. “Ok, what is the game?”, he asked and she placed her elbow on the table. She will lose and be free from this commitment. He followed her once he knew what she was doing. “This is the challenge?”, he asked, she nodded, so he clasped his large fist around hers. She counted down, and he felt her use her entire strength to topple his arm, his focus however was on her. She knew she had no chance against him. So slowly, he let her overpower him. His arm tilted like a meter, the people around began to cheer. Her surprised eyes caught his, he put up a fight and then, let go, his fist hit the table, she looked at him, stunned but even through her tan skin he detected the mild flush on her cheeks.

“You let me win.”, she told him. “No, you won the challenge fairly.”, he folded his arms in the fear she would ask for another attempt. The cheers died down, “Alright, I will teach you.”, she conceded as he smiled. “Don’t let it get to your head.”, she smirked as she got to leave. “Here.”, he nudged his plate towards her. “Our victory treat.”, he was sharing his meal, the gesture asking her to stay a while longer. Ever since her husband’s betrayal, she struggled with trusting people she didn’t know. If someone you thought you knew well enough, could turn against you? How can she believe him of all people? But his deep brown pleasing eyes looked like her pet rhinoceros, he had higher chances of getting lost and being involved in a fight. So in order to keep an eye on him, she dropped her bag and joined him. This was only to keep him in check, she told herself.

Shuri closed the lab for the day, the moon was high in the sky as she took a walk around a sleeping city. She found herself in new part of the town when it struck her as unusual to see a crowd gathered around a wall lit by a torch. She recognized it, from afar, it was a memorial. She eased herself, it was quite common for Wakandans to do so for people they had lost but it was the crowd that felt out of place. The closer she got, the faster her heart began to beat. It wasn’t a Wakandan memorial, the painting was in ancient Mayan. The flames flickered over the beautiful piece of artwork. She mindlessly walked through the crowed, enchanted, they parted to give way. It was a collage of her mother. She knew the artisan as she got closer, it was his work. He painted her in different versions, depicting her as a queen, a mother, by the bush defending her land and her final moment saving riri. Tying it all together was text written in Mayan. “Crio, translate this.”, she instructed her Ai. “Yes, princess.”, a blue light scanned the wall as she held up a kimoyo bead.

“I vow my life to protect the legacy she built. To never bring upon wakanda another dark day. This I, k’uk’ulkan, pledge and mark as proof that from henceforth in my eyes, we are one.”

Crio translated the written verse. The silence that followed was loud. She could not understand him. Unknowingly, tears streamed down her cheeks, not of sadness but from a place of happiness, that she got to witness her mother’s presence and have known her in all facets of her life.A feeling of gratitude encompassed her. She caught a glimpse of the paint supplies that had been left behind. She picked up the brush and translated the message such that her people could read. The crowd didn’t disappear but rather settled there for a while in the night. She sat amongst them on the ground, watching the painting shift with the flames making it look like her mother was alive. People shared stories of her mother, some that she knew and a few she didn't. History, lessed the weight in her heart, making her value the present, open with the possibility of forging a future that was not tainted by the past. Home was beginning to finally feel like it.

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My sweet precious fishboys 😩🥹

Tags (��💖💖💖):

@mazune @lilsadb-itch @orlandoblumhouseofguccimane @hypernhappy @elmush @paperback-writer0807 @sirenbeloved @aslutforscarletwitch99 @gotship123456 @girlymusiclover09 @hoeforsuk @plutosundercoverking @championofthegalaxy @theheartofgrey @wonderkimi-chat @theamericanjewitch @amillylove20 @goldshawty1001 @lvnamiller @euphoricjupiter @queenoffantasyland @terrab3 @dumbbcam @1000heartbeats @agirlwithwinter @fartdart25 @wxnderstruck @sheisbrunetteworld @ijustwanttopasstime @namurii @presidentlokiluvrsblog @itgetzweird08 @littlepadika-main @did-i-ask-no @sorandomfangirl @babybubastis @denise-huxxtable @mhj-url @yippeeki-yah @darlingdandridge @gervi86 @geeyooo @therealoutereffect @notredamneit @Ilevame-a-la-lunaa @queen-of-knowhere @deluluzone @sheontcare

#shuri x namor #tenoch huerta namor #namor #mcu namor #namor x shuri #queen shuri #shuri #shuri black panther #princess shuri #mcu shuri #mcu fic #attuma #general okoye

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yonemurishiroku · 11 months

Note

https://www.tumblr.com/yonemurishiroku/719280649358442496/what-belongs-to-the-sea-always-returns-to-it-its?source=share

My brain quickly set up a tragedy.

After a hard battle [with Gaia or another fight], Percy is badly, almost fatally wounded, but they still try to save him.

Will is pale as death and almost faints, but still presses his sparkling gold palm to Percy's wound.

Jason sits on his knees next to him, pressing Percy's palm to his chest and constantly talks to him, reminding him of their common dreams and hopes, begging him to hold on.

Tears flow from his eyes like a river, and his voice breaks.their friends crowded around in a semicircle — Annabeth is sitting on her knees and banging her fist on the ground, she had to come up with a better plan so that the fish brain would not have to go into trouble again, Piper comforts her by pressing the girl's head to her chest, although she herself is crying.

Frank hugs a crying Hazel, who repeats like a mantra that Percy is strong and will definitely get out, although his nose is red and salt burns his eyes, Poseidon's son was an older brother and friend for them.

Leo stands to the side with his head bowed low, the lenses of tears dripping onto the ground, if he were faster or stronger, or just more useful.

Nico is sitting next to Will, looking incredulously at Percy's fading soul, it just can't be that Percy Jackson died like that…

But when Percy's heart almost stops, his eyes close, and his breathing subsides, an unexpected happens…

His body turns into water, pure azure-blue ocean water, the contours of the figure, eyes and hair are outlined in bright white light.

At first, the guys naively rejoice, believing that this is either Poseidon's blessing, healing Percy and saving his life, or some special trick of Poseidon's child…

Percy gets to his feet as if nothing had happened and looks into the distance, not paying attention to anyone.

When a joyful Jason tries to hug him, he falls through him, soaking his hair and clothes, as if he walked through a waterfall, and did not try to hug his beloved guy…

Then Annabeth recovered from the shock, she smiles reassuringly at Percy and promises him in an excited voice that they will come up with something, return him to normal.

Percy uncomprehendingly raises a white sparkling eyebrow and in a strange deep soft voice, rising and falling like a sea wave, asks what a normal state means, he is already at his best.

surprise and silence hang for a while, only Hazel started babbling about "they will accept anyone Percy" and "they will definitely learn to live with him like that"…

Then suddenly the clouds in the sky part and the sun covers the sea surface with gold and Percy turns his head to him.

"Father," he says tenderly and entranced, "he's calling me, I have to go home...

his voice is so strong and caring, I'll be fine there.

"Percy turns to the ocean and moves towards it with confident, even steps, swaying slightly, like an azure-white waterfall.

out of surprise, the guys don't even try to stop him, all except Jason, he quickly gets to his feet and runs after him.Chiron joins him quite unexpectedly.

They catch up with Percy, Chiron just stands aside, watching Jackson with an expression of heavy sadness on his face, and Jason begs him at all costs to remember who he is and not give up, Percy smiles at him tenderly and says to the son of Jupiter; "I am Percy, I am a child of the sea, I am one with the ocean.

"Percy kisses Jason, leaving bitter salt on his lips and a mute promise to remember and love him.

Percy goes into the water turning into not even a ghost, but just a white light.

Jason falls to his knees and sobs.

Chiron comes up to him and puts a fatherly hand on his shoulder.

This is definitely something that should belong to AO3 museum and not my poorly managed askbox excuse ME I have to stay in the corner and cry for the next 3 hours why must you hurt me in this way.

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the-travelling-witch · 2 years

Note

Hello. 6 for Zhongli, please for the Second Constellation? I want it to be fluffy, if you're amenable of doing so. Thank you! ^^

Anon 🫧

hi nonnie!! thank you for participating!! ♡

i´m sorry for the long wait, i was having a bit of a writer´s block but i hope myself to be cured now; fluff is a very good keyword for you have rolled a 6 and landed on

AMOR VINCIT OMNIA

…et nos cedamus amori

trope: first kiss [space nr. 10]

pairing: zhongli x gn!reader

genre: fluff!!

warnings: hint of slightly insecure!reader, mention of reader´s hair once

second constellation event masterlist

“Here, take my hand. The path in front of us is rather treacherous and I would not want you to stumble and come to harm.” Gratefully, you took the outstretched arm Zhongli offered you. Pulling you up to where he stood, he cupped your face and pushed a strand of hair behind your ear. “How are you feeling, my dear? Are you still enjoying yourself or would you rather we rest for a while?”

“I´m fine, Zhongli. I´m just not used to this kind of terrain.” Leaning into his touch, you gave him a genuine smile. “But I know I don´t have to worry with you around. I trust you know what you´re doing.”

“That I am. Yet, I am still very much elated hearing such high praise come from the one I treasure so dearly,” he chuckled fondly. “Very well then, shall we continue? I assure you, our destination is worth the arduous ascent.”

“In that regard, I trust you, too.”

You had been dating Zhongli for a few months now and you couldn´t wish for a more perfect boyfriend. He was kind, well-mannered and knowledgeable; a tried and true gentleman if you had ever met one. His every action exuded confidence without the bitter sting of arrogance, giving you the necessary security to feel comfortable in your new relationship.

Dating was a whole new world to you, so having a partner who was self-assured without being patronising eased your nerves endlessly. Additionally, Zhongli was very patient and never rushed you into anything, wanting to take things at your pace, something you were eternally grateful for.

As light graces and soft touches slowly turned into loving pecks to the back of your palm and then into fleeting kisses to your temple or the crown of your head, you slowly grew bolder in your own advances, allowing yourself to seek your boyfriend out for cuddles or giving him a kiss on the cheek. There was something, however, which turned your stomach upside down with anxiety.

Having never been in a relationship before, the ominous first kiss had yet to happen and it had plagued you for a while now. You had no idea what to do! What if you completely messed it up? The idea of your first kiss being an awkward disaster made your stomach sink as if you had swallowed a lump of coal. And even if Zhongli reassured you countless of times there was no need to rush and he was patiently waiting for you to grow comfortable with the thought, you couldn´t help but wonder if he was getting tired of having to accommodate for your indecisiveness.

Truth was, you wanted to kiss him, you really did! But the image of messing up due to your lack of experience swept every possible attempt to the side.

Mulling the issue over in your head, you barely noticed you´d arrived at the top of the mountain overlooking the valleys of Liyue. You weren´t high enough to be above the sea of clouds quite yet, but the scenes of rivers bending along the foot of hills and sunlight dipping between boulders and rocks was breathtaking in and of its own.

“Wow… It´s so beautiful,” you breathed, not daring to raise your voice of a whisper.

“That it is. There is nothing quite as stunning as the landscape Liyue is graciously presenting us with.” His voice was filled with pride and fondness as if he was talking about an old friend. Then, his tone notably softened. “Well, there is one exception.”

“More beautiful than this? What would that be?” Turning to face him, you found yourself already staring into intense amber, Zhongli´s gaze locked on you in a way that made your knees weak.

“It´s right here, in front of me.” Reaching out to hold your face between his slender fingers once again, his thumb strayed to trace along your cheek as he gifted you with the warmest of smiles. “Never in my life have I perceived a more wonderful sight, capable of moving both my heart and soul in ways I never could have imagined before. Had I not had the grandest of fortunes in meeting you, I would never have believed it to be possible. Yet, here you are, right before my very eyes.”

“Zhongli…” Looking to the side in hopes of lessening the burn in your cheeks, you tried to gather your bearings. “Seriously, you can´t just say things like that! How am I supposed to come up with an even slightly comparable answer?”

As his arms embraced you, you could feel his laughter vibrate through his chest. “My deepest apologies, dearest (Y/N). I suppose I simply couldn´t help myself. After all, the finest of masterpieces should never go uncommented.”

Burying your head further into his chest, your words came out muffled but Zhongli still picked up on them clear as day. “You´re doing this on purpose…”

“Perhaps,” he admitted, hints of normally suppressed mischief shining through. “Just know, my every word is as genuine as it is true.”

Peeking up at him, your gaze swept from the serene grace of his eyes down to the dip of his lips before quickly averting your eyes again when you caught yourself.

“Is everything alright, love?” Stepping back, Zhongli studied your expression and posture, then gently placed two fingers under your chin and turned your head back towards him when you didn´t shy away from his touch. The downtrodden glace in your eyes tangibly tugged at his heartstrings. “I couldn´t help but notice you were unusually quiet on our trip up here as well. Darling, you know you can confide in me whatever it is that is weighing on your mind. I never want you to feel like you have to hide your feelings from me.”

“It´s nothing really, just got caught up in a thought is all,” you mumbled. You knew you should probably tell him, he was your very understanding boyfriend after all. But… why were you hesitating? “Zhongli, I-”

The warmth of his fingers left your face as he clasped both your fidgeting hands between his own, giving them an reassuring squeeze backed by an equally comforting smile. Releasing the breath you didn´t know you were holding, you tried to calm your racing heart. As you closed your eyes you focused on the thought that there was nothing to be nervous about.

“I´ve just been thinking about how we´ve been dating for a while but still haven´t had our first kiss and I guess that´s kinda my fault,” your voice drifted off as the mountain winds almost swept away words, carrying them, however, directly to your boyfriend. Before he could start though, you already shushed his objections. “It´s not that I don´t want to, it´s the opposite really but… I also really don´t want to mess up. Guess I´m just scared.”

“I was not aware you were agonising about this, love. I´m sorry for failing to realise a silly notion such as this was troubling you so.” This time it was him who made your rebuttal at the word ‘silly’ die on your tongue with a tender kiss to your temple. “Yes, it is silly, my dear. Maybe not to you but in the grand scheme of life, it very much is. Whether having experienced a lot of life is a blessing or a curse is an eternal question without definite answer, yet in this very moment, I can truthfully tell you, a first kiss is not monumental enough to change your life´s trajectory, much less my opinion of you. After all, that is what you were truly worried about, was it not?”

“I´m not sure if I like this ability of yours to read me like a book,” you huffed. ”But yeah, something like that.”

“I think it quite a useful skill,” Zhongli mused. “Rest assured, my love, I do not think any less of you whether you choose to be intimate with me in this way or not. Although I cannot deny, kissing you would give me great pleasure, I did vow to take this relationship at your pace and I have every intention of keeping my promise. Don´t rush for my sake, I treasure every moment with you regardless.”

In your mind, it should be illegal for someone to so effortlessly stirr each and every butterfly in your stomach just by being their honest self. Zhongli, on the other hand, seemed to see nothing wrong it, considering just how often he made use of it. “As I said, I want to do this and I think I´m ready, I just don´t know where to start.”

“You think or you know?”

“I know,” you said more firmly this time. “I want this, Zhongli.”

“Hmm, I quite like the sound of that.” His lips might have lifted into a barely-there smirk but his eyes held nothing but adoration as they connected with yours. “Then, as this is clearly something you and I both desire, would you want me to take the lead and guide you for now?”

“Yes, please,” you mumbled, starkly aware of the hand that moved to cup the back of your head.

“As you wish, dear.” Leaning closer, he gave you one last chance to pull away as his breath fanned over cheeks. When you didn´t and instead moved to close the gap on instinct alone, the last thing you saw before closing your eyes was molten gold, shining so warmly, it drove every doubt from even the last fibre of your being.

His lips felt so soft as they slowly pressed against yours and you automatically blanked when thinking about what to do next. Sensing how you tensed up underneath his palms, Zhongli pulled a hair's breadth away to mutter, “Don´t think too much about it, just do what feels right. Follow your heart, not your head.”

Allowing yourself the possibility of making a mistake was not something which came easily but your courage was instantly rewarded as you responded to Zhongli´s movements. Your hands developed a mind of their own as they braced themselves against his broad chest before one ventured to his nape.

As that bliss continued, there was a moment where your teeth clacked together but instead of hiding in shame, you couldn´t help but giggle as you rested your foreheads together. Your boyfriend´s chuckle filled the air as he held you close.

“So, how do you feel? Was it as petrifying as your mind made it out to be?”

“Not at all. It was wonderful,” you said, curling a strand of his hair around your finger mindlessly. “I don´t know what I was so afraid of, really. I'm with you after all.”

“Trying to fluster me, I take it? In that case, I shall gladly accept your praise,” he smiled. “But yes, there is no reason to feel threatened, yet, it seems a lot of people are. Society has engraved the idea of an ideal first kiss in the minds of young people, leaving no room for error and thereby also no room for the humanity of the moment. A first kiss is not special because it is a perfectly crafted, world-changing moment as theatres and operas make it out to be. Instead, it is special because this delicate expression of intimacy is shared between two lovers to show their affection for the other by choosing to be vulnerable in front of them. If their feelings for each other are true, this demonstration of trust will allow them to grow closer from then on out. That is the beauty of a first kiss.”

“I quite like that take on it,” you grinned. “Well, I look forward to growing alongside you then because my feelings are definitely genuine.”

“And so are mine.” Intertwining your hands, Zhongli placed a promising kiss to your knuckles. “I have known this ever since we first met but I am most fortunate to have the chance of going on this journey with you.”

tag list: @mccnstruck @silentmoths @teyvattales @ainescribe

#holly´s potions #stella fortuna event #second constellation #genshin impact #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact fluff #zhongli x reader #zhongli fluff #zhongli #genshin impact zhongli #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact scenarios #genshin x reader #genshin fluff #genshin headcanons #genshin scenarios #genshin imagines

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athenasparrow · 11 months

Text

A microfic series inspired by @jilymicrofics July Prompt List. All the times they touched...

Lay All Your Love On Me | Rating: M

Chapter Three | Beginning

Prompt: firm Summary: The first time Lily kisses James, he doesn’t even know.

Midnight patrol is Lily's least favourite shift. The wind outside rivals the mournful howls of Moaning Myrtle and the cold, a silent thief, relentlessly pursues her, determined to rob her of every ounce of warmth she contains. A frustrated huff escapes her lips as she casts yet another warming charm, seeking respite from the chilly air. Hands thrust deep in her pockets, she quickens her pace. This year's patrols are better yet somehow worse than before (for the very same reasons, nonetheless) and serve as a cruel reminder of their friendship —charming, lovely, endearing, yet unattainable. Nothing sucks joy from her very existence quite like the reminder of being friends . At least they weren’t fucking professionals.

Lily is so lost in thought, James’ commanding tone jolts her from her daze and she glares at a portrait that has the gall to laugh. She pauses at the corner, fingers grazing the comforting weight of her wand. How should she proceed? She briefly peers around the corner, careful not to be seen. She sees James’ (broad and delicious) back as he faces down three Ravenclaw upperclassmen, who stare stonily at the floor. Two wide-eyed first years – barely visible behind his towering figure – look on in awe as James thunders like an angry sea. Lily can’t blame them; if she had less control over her face, she'd spend the day gawking at him too.

A surge of admiration washes over her, sparked by James's protective stance against the injustice of older students tormenting younger ones. He’s undeniably attractive like this and she finds herself wanting him. It's neither new nor surprising, but she still finds herself annoyed. His authoritative voice only enhances her admiration (and her arousal). If it isn't for the expectation of her presence – he’ll worry himself silly if she disappears – she'd retreat, draw a bath and submerge herself in relief .

Sweeping her thoughts aside like fallen autumn leaves, she composes herself and makes her way over to him. The Ravenclaws are gone. "Alright?" she asks softly.

James's eyes, now devastatingly soft, meet hers. "Yeah, we're just going to walk these two back to their common room."

One of the young girls smiles shyly at Lily, and she sends a warm grin back. "What brings you two out so late?"

"Following in your footsteps," James teases before either of them can answer her.

"My footsteps?" Lily laughs as the first-years watch wide-eyed. "Isn't wandering around after midnight more your territory?"

"Not since they were in the library," James whispers conspiratorially, winking at the children. "Keep it up, and you'll become almost as brilliant as our Head Girl here."

When wide eyes find Lily, she blushes like a rose in full bloom. She hopes he perceives her reaction as embarrassment rather than deciphering the true reasons for her flush. Blushing at the attention of first years is appropriate. Her thoughts on James are not.

James carries the conversation effortlessly, his words as smooth as a gentle river, and Lily lets herself sink into the rhythm of his voice, humming in agreement on occasion, but only half-aware of the exchange.

"You alright?" James mutters, bumping his hip against hers, grounding her wandering mind. Don't shiver . They’re well on their way back now, having ascended two flights of stairs while she’s been stuck in her thoughts (fantasies, really, but that’s just semantics). I’m far from fine . I am completely and utterly taken with you and I’m too late . "Yeah, just thinking—"

James freezes at her pause and his gaze follows hers to the end of the hallway. Mrs Norris emitted a menacing, drawn-out meow, fixing them with her piercing stare.

"Shit!" James curses, gripping Lily's hand and yanking her— rather ungracefully—around a corner and behind a tapestry. The world outside the tapestry fades to a distant hum, echoes of footsteps and a muffled voice carrying on the wind like whispers of ghosts.

"Why are we hiding, James?" Lily murmurs, once she’s (somewhat) regained control over her wild heart. "We're allowed to be patrolling."

"Right! Shit!" James curses again , his voice strained. "Old habits die hard, I suppose." Discomfort radiates from his large frame. He doesn’t want to be this close to her. "Should we...?" He gestures towards the door.

"Not with Filch right there!" Lily hisses. "Then we'll definitely look like we're up to something."

They’re flush against each other in the confined space – breath ragged, hearts pounding – and Lily can feel every contour of his body. Her flushed face radiates warmth; his presence is exhilarating. James' warm exhale on her ear ignites a familiar heat between her legs. Surely, he must feel it—the rapid cadence of her heartbeat. They remain pressed tightly together, a tangle of limbs and she takes a moment to marvel at his proximity. Their bodies meld together like molten metal. They fit perfectly. And then she shifts again and feels it: he’s rock hard against her belly and twitches as she moves. Her cheeks burn as she steals a glance at him, but his gaze isn’t fixed on her. Instead, his head is tilted back, his lips moving silently, and Lily suddenly yearns to trace the line of his throat with her tongue.

Don’t read into it Lily chides herself. It's just a physiological response to being pressed against another body. It would happen to anyone. James pulses against her again, eliciting a responsive throb between her legs. She wants to kiss him. She can’t. Perhaps he's experiencing a random boner —guys get those all the time, right?"

He must notice her stillness, her abnormal breathing, her racing heart. He must mistake her internal tumult for something entirely different; a strained apology falls from his lips as he attempts to shift away from her (he only succeeds in brushing against her again). Lily doesn’t want his apology. She yearns for him to press against her more firmly, to trace the shape of him through his trousers. She longs to feel the heat, the softness, the hardness beneath her fingertips. She wants to guide him inside her and discover what it feels like to be consumed by him. Yet, she remains frozen, immobile. She can’t move; she can’t speak. All she can do is stand there, silently gazing at him as he composes himself. His face is tight and red in embarrassment and Lily wishes she could make him flush for entirely different reasons.

"It's fine," Lily squeaks before he could say anything. She holds her finger up, urging him to maintain his silence as she strains her ears. "He's gone, I think we're in the clear."

The first time James is pressed hard against her, Lily can’t even fucking appreciate it.

#jily #jily microfic #lily pov #james x lily #jple #james potter #lily evans #marauder era #lay all your love on me #athenasparrow

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mylifeisactuallyamess · 1 year

Text

Chapter 16: Faster

A/N: So, this chapter is the longest so far. I started this one ages ago as a one shot with the prompt “You’re not going. That’s an order.” Probably a little OOC for Tech but I also didn’t wanna erase what I’d written because, it kind of fits?

Warnings: 18+ So many feelings, ND behaviour, protective Tech, enraged Stitch.

Word Count: 9.2k+

Tagging: @idoubleswearimawriter @ravenclawbitch426 @dreamqueenkala @highlylunar

1 month later

Screams.

Disembodied and faceless, echoed in the darkness. You were no stranger to the screams of men. They had haunted the deep crevices of your mind for as long as you could remember, gnawing at your sanity whenever they felt like it. Stripping you down to the barest part of yourself as you cowered within your own walls.

Except this time it was different.

Your hands were sticky. You tried to wipe it off but the sensation wouldn’t leave. Your feet touched on something cold and wet, a thick viscosity that bled between your toes.

Another scream, closer and louder than the others. Your body moved of its own accord, tripping in the blackness and finding more puddles of this gross wetness. Your hands slipped on the smooth obstacles that you were resigned to crawl over. Dragging your tired and broken body over what you assumed to be rocks until something brought you to a standstill.

A whisper…

Something so precious as it floated on an unseen wind, caressing the side of your face as it fed you a word you hadn’t heard in so long.

Searching in the dark you grabbed something, your fingers curling round only to find you were holding a hand. Your voice was stuck, trapped within and not able to be set free. Nothing could stop the screams. They weren’t so distant anymore, sounding louder until the hand you held tightened its grip.

You couldn’t let go, you wouldn’t! They needed you, needed help. Moving closer you felt the way up their body, trying to find the source of their discomfort aside from the slickness that covered them.

Colours seeped into the void, lighting your eyes to the horrors that surrounded you. The white armour of the clones, marked and twisted, bent out of shape and mutilated as far as the eye could see.

Blood ran in rivers, spreading over the ground and pooling in the dirt. Looking down you felt your world fracture, faces you recognised and faces you didn’t all looked up at you, their sightless eyes unfocused and still.

You were holding Tech’s trembling hand, hearing his screams, covered in his blood. His helmet was cracked in half, goggles smashed, chest plate ravaged. You tried to help but nothing stopped his life from slipping away.

Your screams joined that of the dying. Mournful cries at the endless sea of destruction, chased up by a whisper.

Your name.

Sitting upright in your bed, you used the blanket to angrily wipe the tears that flooded from your eyes. It was like this more and more, the visions so vivid and they always came for your heart. Your lips shivered, a breath shuddering in your chest as you tried to calm yourself. Automatically you reached for the com beside your bed but your hand dropped mid-motion.

You knew why the visions were so extreme, the comforting presence of Tech was distant and now, neither of you reached for one another anymore. Your support struts were gone, the hand in the dark that had always been there, had vanished. Once again you were alone drowning in the waves of your trauma. Right back where you started.

The parlour was empty, seeing as it was out of hours. Bolo and Ketch were sat in a corner and Wrecker glanced up from his dejarik game with Omega to give you a smile, which quickly turned to complaining when Omega made a move he didn’t like.

“She’s cheating again, Stitch!” Wrecker called to you.

“I am not!” Omega defended, crossing her arms and glaring at Wrecker.

“Fine. ‘Nother game then, and I’ll beat ya this time.”

“Double or nothing,” Omega said with narrowed eyes and Wrecker hesitated for just a moment before agreeing.

Tech was sat by the bar on his own; the absence of Hunter and Echo was obvious, the last you had heard they left on a small job for Cid. Tech glanced at you as you slipped onto a stool beside him. It was time for his checkup which he always tried to avoid. He knew it was necessary, he would just rather not.

Ever since you’d all returned from Maridun things felt different for you. Tech was distant, no late night chats, no visits unless he had to and you had holed up in the medbay. You stared at the bottles of alcohol that lined the back of the bar, thinking you could really do with a drink right now.

“Tech…”

“I realise why you are here.” You sighed and leaned back against the bar, observing Wrecker and Omega, smiling softly as she beat her big brother once more. Still, your attention was half on Tech, hearing his small sigh of defeat when he finally switched off his datapad. “I am ready,” he stated simply.

“See ya in a bit, Tech!” Wrecker shouted.

“Do not—do anything while I’m gone. With Hunter and Echo not here, I’m loathed to leave you two alone.”

“They’re not alone, Goggles.” The Trandoshan appeared from the back room and crossed her arms. “Make sure he’s fixed up good,” she said to you with narrowed eyes. “I gotta job coming up and I need him tip top.”

“I only ever do my best work on these guys, Cid.” Tech followed dutifully behind you, his eyes downcast, nervously adjusting his goggles and you could sense he was already dreading the appointment. “Hopefully this will be our last one,” you told him in an effort to reassure him.

“Highly likely. The ache I was experiencing has got considerably less, like you said.”

“I’m sure one of you will be back in my medbay before the cycle is over.” You opened the door and stepped aside to let him precede you.

“Of that I have no doubt,” he muttered. He stood awkwardly for a moment, his eyes scanning everything, fingers gripping his datapad tightly. You greeted Tesama with a small nod and led Tech back to the room he probably despised above anything else. The one that had no doubt felt like a prison for him all that time ago.

“You know the drill,” you encouraged quietly.

“Yes.” The last view you had was him disappearing behind the screen with a stiff back. You busied yourself tidying the room, even though it was spotless, until he told you he was ready.

You knew the sight that would greet you, but you were never prepared for it. Tech sat on the edge of the bed, legs dangling, hands resting in his lap; he still had his goggles on and he eyed you somewhat nervously as you approached.

He had taken the lower half of his garments off, revealing the scar you had worked hard to reduce in size and shape on his thigh. Tech was apprehensive, sucking in a breath as you grabbed a stool and sat down before him.

“You said the ache has gone?” You queried as you reached out. The stool glided easily with a tilt of your hips and so you were able to stretch out his leg. Tech leaned back on the bed, hands supporting him on the surface of the spongy mattress.

“Uh, yes.” Clearing his throat you allowed your gaze to alight on his tense features. He watched your hands as they glided up his thigh and pressed along the edge of where his scar was. You were watching for any change of expression to indicate pain or discomfort but he just looked terrified that someone, you, were touching him in such a manner.

“No other discomfort? Soreness? Heat? Tightness?”

“N-no,” he stuttered, forcing himself to look at the blank wall opposite. You hummed in approval watching the colouring of his face grow heated as you manipulated the limb. The muscle stretched beautifully under your fingers, no resistance, no bulges, just fluid movement.

“How much pain relief are you relying on?”

“None.”

“Good…Ok,” you announced, withdrawing suddenly. “Can you walk the length of the room for me?” You allowed yourself to watch him, noticing the way his gait was just like it always was, no limp or favouring of the once wounded leg. When he turned back around you buried your face in the datapad and got off the stool. “Well, I think I can release you from my service. Until next time,” you joked, moving to the other side of the screen.

Disappointment blossomed in your chest and now you cleared your throat to shift the emotion that gripped you. Tech didn’t say anything, just the rustle of his clothes and the click of his armour sounded as he slowly put back on his orange streaked katarn. “I’m sure Cid will be happy to have her team fully back up and running.”

“Yes. I have grown tired of her sniping at my condition, even though I was injured doing a job under her orders.” He came to a stop just behind you as you updated his notes in your datapad.

“There. All done.” Turning you found he was closer than you were expecting, a hand lifted to adjust his goggles, honey brown eyes darting away from your own. His helmet was nestled under his other arm and that’s when you noticed he was missing something. “Tech…”

“Yes?” He replied so quickly your brain stuttered for a moment and you had to pull yourself together.

“Your datapad.” He glanced down in surprise to see his empty hands giving you the chance to slide away and retrieve it from behind the privacy screen.

“Thank you.” He was still so close, gently taking the device from your grip and into his possession. When he looked at you, his eyes magnetising to yours straight away; such a simple motion created a little tingle down your spine. It had been so long since he’d even looked at you…

“Be careful,” you blurted out.

“I always am, to the best of my ability. I should be going, no doubt Omega and Wrecker are up to no good.” You smiled, trying to hide the ache inside as you imagined just leaning forward and planting a chaste kiss on his cheek.

Trust you to fall for a man who had no room for anyone else, or someone who didn’t seem romantically interested in anyone, let alone you. He put his helmet on only for his com to spark to life straight away. “I’m on my way back…Wrecker…don’t say yes.” He sighed and removed his fingers from the side of the helmet. “It seems my hopes on that front were misplaced. I fear without Hunter or Echo it falls to me to keep them in line.”

“Yeah, go.” He seemed to hesitate at the doorway, his fingers drumming on the back of his datapad and he looked over at you one more time.

“Thank you again, Stitch.” And then he was gone. The door closed with a soft shnnnkk behind him, leaving you alone with your fracturing heart.

The day drew to a close and you wandered across to the parlour. It had been a long day and you really, really wanted a decent drink. You had come a long way recently, forcing yourself to come over here and try to seek out some semblance of social interaction. Now you couldn’t rely on the boys so much anymore. It had been difficult and probably contributed to the ferocity of your visions but it was better than nothing.

AZI served you some mooften which you sipped quietly, just listening to the hubbub of the bar. Cid appeared and to your annoyance planted herself firmly next to you. Still you disliked the Trandoshan and the feeling she created inside you but she was your employer after all.

“How’s it going, Needles?”

“Can’t complain.”

“I just came to tell you the debt is finished.” Now you looked at her, surprise making your eyes wide. “Don’t look at me like that, like I wasn’t going to stick to my word,” she huffed. “It’s all paid, yours and theirs.” You stared into your cup, hands flat on the bar.

“What happens now?” She shrugged.

“We could negotiate a wage. Won’t be much mind,” she pointed at you with a wicked claw. “Still gotta make a profit somehow and pay for that assistant of yours. Think about it…but don’t take too long.” She slipped down and disappeared, leaving you reeling slightly. If only Hunter were here, you’d have asked him for his opinion.

After another restless night, you made yourself get up and head to the parlour early to talk to Cid. As soon as the door opened you were grinning, feeling their presence by the bar. When you entered, they all turned to look at you and your smile faltered.

“What’s going on here?” Cid glared at your unwanted interruption while the others shifted on their feet. “New mission?”

“What you so nosy for all of a sudden, Needles?” The green scaled parlour owner asked suspiciously.

“Because you all look like you’re about to do something Hunter won’t like,” you stated.

“Errrr…” Wrecker looked the most nervous, rubbing a hand over his head. “Cid has a job for us.”

“A place called Safa Toma,” Tech merrily chipped in. Your fist clenched tightly and you shot a heated glare at the Trandoshan. You wanted to shake her screaming, “why are you taking three of the most precious people to that sarlacc pit?!” What you actually said was: “Is that really such a good idea? These guys, Serolonis?”

“Suuure,” Cid drawled out. “Especially Muscles here; they’re going to be my security detail.”

“Then I’m coming too!” You demanded.

“Absolutely not,” interjected Tech firmly. “You need to stay here for when Hunter and Echo return.” Wrecker and Omega shared a wide eyed glance while you stared at Tech trying to figure out why he was refusing you this.

“You can’t be serious…?”

“I am.” Tech looked you square in the face, his expression stony and unreadable except for the telltale nervous adjustment of his goggles. “You’re not going. That’s an order.” Your mouth opened and closed as Cid chuckled.

“Didn’t know you had it in ya, Goggles. Come on you three, we’ve got a shuttle to catch.”

You defied that order.

You followed them to the spaceport and hopped on the next Star Commuter, willing it to go faster; you couldn’t stop the thoughts of what could happen in a place like the speedway.

You’d heard the stories, you’d seen the races played on the holonet and your heartbeat quickened with worry. What if he was shot just watching a race? Or if someone noticed the way he recorded everything and thought he was trying to help someone cheat?

A place like Safa Toma had no rules.

As soon as you landed, you realised this hadn’t been a good idea. You were bombarded by noise and crowds, clawing at the palms of your hands through your gloves, you tried not to feed the panic that lived in your chest, making your breathing short and shallow in the confines of your helmet.

Music boomed out, tinny and basey at the same time as it clamoured from the speakers. You accidentally bumped into a Weequay who shoved your shoulder. The numbers on your visor were going crazy trying to read everything at once.

You just wanted to find them.

The sound of speeders caught your attention and you headed in that direction, ignoring everyone around you as you pushed your way delicately through the crowd.

There they were! Standing near the edge as Omega leaned over the side. Your heart fluttered with relief and you made your way towards them. Tech glanced in your direction, his helmet doing a double take and you saw the hardening in his eyes.

“Thought you might need some back up,” you shrugged, turning when Omega grabbed your hand.

“Stitch!” Omega was too excited about everything around her to really think much about you being here.

“Oh, hey Stitch,” Wrecker said looking back at the track when the credit dropped and he turned to you and Tech. “Uh, Stitch is here,” he whispered to his stoic brother who seemed frozen and nudged his shoulder. “She ignored your, order.”

“Astute as always, Wrecker.” You’d never really heard Tech angry before, irritated and frustrated yes. But never angry, although you imagined he was toeing that line right now. A large crunch drew all your attention as a speeder went down and Wrecker gasped happily.

“Wow! Did you see that?”

“It appears anything goes out there,” Tech replied. You flinched when a loud voice announced over a booming tannoy that another racer had taken the lead.

“That’s my new racer, TAY-0!” Cid exclaimed. “He’s a real ringer. He’s gonna make me a lot of dough.” You watched the speeder cross the finish line, a mixed reaction from the crowd and you automatically took a step closer to Tech. “Follow me, I guess you as well Needles.” You and Tech flanked Omega, Wrecker a step behind Cid as she led you all down to the pits.

It was quieter here, just the rumbling of the speeders coming back in after the race. The series 12 speeder came to a stop, the fin retracting as the canopy popped open and a tall, teal coloured droid jumped out.

“Greetings, Boss Lady!” Immediately your eyes were rolling behind your mask, this droid had the most annoying voice and you wondered if he was as conceited as he sounded. “Did you enjoy the show? It was impressive, wasn’t it?” He continued without a breath.

Oh yeah, he was as conceited as he sounded.

“Did you see me out there?” Tech rested on one leg as he looked at the droid and then to Cid.

“Your ringer is a droid?” He sounded curious and fascinated at the same time.

“Oh I’m so sorry,” TAY-0 held up his hand in Cid’s face and approached Tech with a clunk of his cybernetics. “You have a problem with droids, human? You think you can make the split second calculation to win out there? You wanna challenge TAY-0?” Tech’s eyes didn’t change behind the helmet, not giving the droid the cowed reaction he wanted.

“I do not have enough information about this sport to determine that at this time.”

“Then take a seat, spectacled spectator.” You glared at the droid and his ridiculous three photoreceptors as Wrecker chuckled deeply next to you.

“Spectacled spectator,” he repeated with a punch to Tech’s shoulder.

Finally Cid stepped in with a wave of her hands. Your gaze wandered down the row of pits, checking out the other speeders and racers. Wrecker touched your shoulder letting you know they were moving and you fell into step with him.

The pit droids gathered, reversing the speeder into the bay which Omega watched with interest. Wrecker was going around looking at the tools and spare parts while Tech stood to one side resting easily on his left leg, right leg cocked as he surveyed the speeder with his arms crossed. You stood near him, hands on your hips as you thought about talking to him. You did defy a direct order, putting the pair of you even more at odds than before.

“This is a twelfth series speeder,” he suddenly said and you thought he was talking to you but he directed his helmet in Cid’s direction. Thankfully your own helmet covered the look of disappointment on your face. “They were not built for racing speed or durability.”

“Which is why we modify them,” the droid told him. “Behold! And be amazed.” Wrecker peered round as Tech moved closer to the speeder, his hand resting on the bottom of his helmet as he pondered the vehicle before him. “Impressive, is it not?” Didn’t this droid have any down time? Did he need to recharge his powercells because you were fed up with his voice? Tech looked at the droid which prompted him to carry on talking. “TAY-0 is an artist.”

You turned abruptly, a tingling sensation of icy fingers swept up your spine and edged towards Omega as a large Dowutin approached with a group behind him. He had thick horns coming from his chin and his yellow eyes tracked over you and the kid before flicking to the Trandoshan.

“Ciddarin Scaleback.” His voice was deep, almost melodic when he spoke but you shivered at the hidden threat beneath his words. You ushered Omega round the back of the speeder and stood with Wrecker. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen your shiny claws around Safa Toma.”

“Millegi.” Cid crossed her arms. “I’m busy. Get out of my pit.” He stepped forward, his large feet flattening slowly on the ground as he approached you and Omega. The boys crowded behind you, Tech nudging into you as he watched every move Millegi made.

“Not gonna introduce me to your new crew?” He laughed and you scowled at him, putting a protective hand on Omega’s shoulder. “They’re not gonna help you win.” Cid put herself between Millegi and you, clawed hand pushing the pair of you back more into Wrecker.

“Oh, I know I’m gonna win,” she replied firmly.

“You think your droid can beat my champ?” The Nosaurian stepped forward, prompting Tech to lower his visor to watch the curses be translated.

“What’s he sayin’?” You heard Wrecker ask.

“You do not want to know,” Tech answered wearily.

“I want to know. So I can return the favour.” Your voice slid out from the vocoder in your helmet and Tech looked at you, unable to mask his surprise.

“Even with your training from Hunter, it would not be wise to tangle with a Nosaurian.” You wanted to tell him you didn’t care, that anything would be better than this pit of misery that resided in yourself but you didn’t. Choosing to ignore the way his head tilted as he regarded you with a slight narrowing of his eyes.

Millegi was leaving and you watched him walk casually away. “The familiarity between you two suggests this race is personal.” Cid glared at Tech for a moment.

“This is business. And we’ve got a race to win.” She barged past you all and started ordering the droids around, ready for the next race in a couple of hours.

You sat with Omega against the wall, waiting for Wrecker to bring something back to eat while Tech took delight in hassling the droid about his speeder. You toyed with a sonic screwdriver, practising weaving it in and out of your fingers like Hunter did with his knife. After a few attempts, Omega picked up a tool and tried to copy, her tongue protruded slightly between her lips as she watched you.

“How does he do it?” She asked, prompting a sigh from you.

“I don’t know. He always just smiles and tells me it’s practice.”

After your brief show of skill on Maridun, Hunter had been harder than ever on you and it made you worse than ever. Whatever reservoir of skill you had tucked away before, it had vanished. You didn’t see any improvement though Hunter praised you all the time. Maybe he upped the skill level so it never felt like you made progress. You’d have to ask him about that.

“Look what I got!” Wrecker announced as he reentered the pit. He knocked his helmet up to his forehead and brandished three meatsticks.

“Oh! Cool!” Omega grabbed one and Wrecker handed you the other.

“The race will start momentarily,” Tech announced, his fingers tapping on the datapad. “I suggest we find somewhere with a better view.”

“Aw, YEAH!” Wrecker high-fived Omega and they disappeared ahead. You walked slower, your own helmet notched up like Wrecker’s so you could eat the food, stripping it from the stick piece by piece. Tech trailed a pace or so after you, his attention clearly elsewhere.

You found Cid already across the pit lane, her yellow eyes narrowed as she watched them set up on the track. Leaning easily on the edging you could peer down and watch the pit droids all running around. Now you’d found the boys you were much more comfortable. There weren’t so many people up here and so it allowed you to tap into the atmosphere of the place.

Whenever you were in crowded places like this you kept a tight hold on your…abilities. Not wanting to soak up whatever was out there, but the more you meditated the more you realised you could exercise some semblance of control over them.

Now you let go, it felt like expelling a breath you’d been holding in your chest while trying to breathe around it. Excited shouts went up as the race started and you coolly watched the speeders dart off the starting line. Cid was intently watching on a datapad while Omega looked through her binocs. Tech stood next to you, his presence radiating that familiar warmth you missed so much. You wanted to talk to him, to say something, but you had no idea what.

“Wh-wh-what did I miss?” Wrecker said from behind you, apparently he had been and grabbed another meatstick.

“Jet Venim and TAY-0 are in the lead,” Tech looked up as some speeders went past. “Given the unpredictable nature of this course, I cannot determine who the victor will be.” One of the speeders turned, shooting at the crowd opposite and you choked on a piece of meat at the sensation. It was light, but you felt the bolt in your chest like a burn.

“Oh, hell!” You cursed, backing up slightly and bending over as an announcement sounded over the speedway tannoy. Reigning everything back to you like an elastic band, serves you right for relaxing here, of all places.

“Stitch!” Wrecker went to put a hand on your back but Tech put his own in the way, giving his brother a you should know better glare.

“Are you all right?” Tech asked.

“Yeah…I was not prepared for that.” Tech looked across the speedway as the body was removed and he quickly pieced it together.

“Your senses are growing,” he stated calmly. “It is only natural.”

“An expert now, huh?” You straightened, refusing to look at him as you tried to rid yourself of the feeling. Not liking the way it crawled over your skin, making you shudder.

“It is just like any skill or talent that gets better with practice. I should imagine a connection…such as this, is no different.”

“If you say so.” You lost interest in the race, absently rubbing just above your plate of katarn as your eyes went lazy. Tech focussed back to his datapad while the others huddled around Cid to see the outcome.

It wasn’t until TAY-0 rolled over the finish line, thrown from the canopy of the speeder that you realised this race had gone badly. Shoving your helmet back down you went with the others.

Choking black smoke billowed from the broken speeder. Crouching down at the front you could see where the saw had ripped through the weapon casing. Wrecker was looking for pieces of the droid as Tech assessed the damage with Omega.

“This speeder is in bad shape, but some of it is salvageable.”

Cid sighed. “That’s the least of my problems now, Goggles.”

“Hey!” You looked up to see Wrecker swinging the body of the droid from his large hands. “Found TAY-0! Huh, or most of him.” That tingle ran down your spine again and turned to watch Millegi come onto the speed track with his cronies in tow. The others watched him wearily and you made your way to Omega’s side.

“I’m here to collect, Cid.”

“You’ll get your credits. Just give me some time, I’m good for it,” Cid demanded but you could tell from Dowutin’s smug expression he wasn’t accepting that.

“That’s not how this works.” Your helmet tilted up as Millegi drew closer, a sigh fell from him and he lifted a finger to tilt your helmet further back, pushing it up to your forehead so he could see your face. He ran a hand down your exposed cheek, a soft chuckle sounding deep in his chest. “I know why they’re here,” he rumbled. “But why are you here?”

“She is none of your concern,” Tech stated loudly, briefly drawing Millegi’s gaze to him.

“Isn’t she?” He whispered, knocking your chin with a thick knuckle. “You are out of time,” he told Cid.

“Wanna step in here?” She hissed. “I didn’t bring you two for the company.” Millegi grinned wildly at you as his guards armed their weapons, pointing them at Tech and Wrecker before they could draw theirs. He was close enough to touch, if you could reach him, restrict the blood flow to his brain, mute the billow of his lungs, squeeze his heart…you'd all be shot dead.

“Wait!” Omega’s voice cut through your thoughts. “How much does she owe?”

“More than you got, kid.”

“Well, we’re not done yet,” she said firmly.

“Looks like you’re done to me.” Millegi chuckled darkly.

“One last race!” You gripped Omega’s shoulder and ducked down.

“What are you doing?” You wanted nothing more than these guys to leave, they twisted up your insides and made you feel slightly sick. She shrugged off your hold and boldly stepped closer to the Dowutin.

“If you win, we pay you double.” Inwardly you cringed. This wasn’t a game she was playing with Wrecker and you wanted to tell her so. “If we win, we get Cid.”

“You don’t know what you’re getting into, kid,” Millegi replied and finally Tech stepped in.

“I’m inclined to agree with him, Omega.”

“Yeah, I’m inclined to,” Wrecker added gently. “We don’t know anything about racing,” he whispered. But Omega had that look in her eye, the one that said her mind couldn’t be turned away from this.

“They’re gonna hurt Cid if we do nothing.” You cocked an eyebrow, keeping your thoughts to yourself but you wouldn’t mind seeing a Trandoshan get their comeuppance. Tech and Wrecker shared a look, giving Omega no resistance and she turned back to Millegi. “So we have a deal?”

“We race tomorrow. And I keep Cid as collateral.” You watched Cid get led away, not particularly sorry to see her go.

“For your sakes, you better be able to pay up.” Millegi’s gaze lingered on you longer than you liked, making a show of putting your helmet back on. He smiled smugly and disappeared with the rest of his crew.

“Come on,” Tech’s voice broke the quiet. “We don’t have long and we need to repair the droid and the speeder.”

It was late. Darkness had fallen on the speedway and exhaustion had taken Wrecker and Omega. She lay on his chest as he lay on a bench, gently snoring. Your eyes were sore but Tech and the pit droids were still going. Even TAY-0 was working on the speeder now Tech had fixed him up completely.

Clenching your teeth you forced yourself to keep going, holding the solder in your hands as sparks flew, your face protected by your helmet.

“Stitch.” You switched it off and looked up to see Tech holding a warm cup of caf. “We are 85% finished with the speeder.” He waited for you to pull your helmet off, following your example and picking up his own cup.

You leaned against the wall with a groan, setting yourself down with your legs crossed. “I have been wanting to…discuss something with you.” You were tired, your senses were tingling from being contained so much and the last thing you wanted to do was talk to Tech about anything meaningful. He settled down next to you, knees up as he leaned against the wall. Sipping your caf you waited for him to continue, except nothing came. You glanced in his direction, seeing the way his eyes darted around from his feet, to his hands, to the speeder that sat motionless before you.

“What about?” You asked and it seemed to break his internal thought pattern.

“I understand we are not as—communicative as we used to be.” You felt the pang in your chest, the extra knock of your heart that he had noticed this dip between you. “I am well aware this could be my own failing.”

“You’ve been off world a lot,” you mumbled, tracing the rim of your cup with a finger.

“Not just that…” he sighed loudly, a noise so full of frustration it made you really look at him. “I—recognise I am not—the best…” his stilted words trailed off.

“We don’t have to do this now, Tech.”

“We do. I…do.” He still wouldn’t look at you, almost like he didn’t want to make that connection with you. He knew the power of it, when both your barriers were lowered; finding strength in one another but, for some reason, he didn’t want to give into it.

“It’s fine,” you said with an air of dismissal. “You’re angry at me for disobeying a direct order.” His head jerked slightly in your direction, mouth downturning in displeasure.

“Yes. But that is not what prompted me to approach you.”

“I’d be angry at me too. You were angry at me Maridun and you’re angry at me now.”

“Maridun?” Now he frowned. “I do not recall harbouring such feelings on Maridun.” Pushing up from the floor you dusted your bodysuit off and downed the last of your caf. He got up in one fluid movement, his looming presence reminding you of the first time you met. The way he encouraged you to come, his surety and steadfastness as he disabled the transmitter in your chest, you wanted to go back to that feeling of safety and not flounder anymore.

Tears threatened to brim over your bottom lashes and you turned your back on him, making sure he couldn’t see the emotion in your face.

“It doesn’t matter.” To your annoyance your voice wavered ever so slightly.

“I have upset you. Again. Am I doing something wrong?”

“I miss you.” Those three words were a whisper, something spawned from the desperation that ached in your chest all the time. It was the truth, you did miss him. Missed the way he would smile when you got something right, or his closeness, even the way he rattled on about anything and everything. You didn’t feel right without it. Raising your eyes to the ceiling you forced yourself to carry on. “I miss our talks and the way they kept my nightmares at bay.”

“Have you kept up with your meditation?”

Smirking a little you felt brave enough to turn around. “That’s like saying have you put a tiny plaster on your open fracture.”

“That would not provide sufficient coverage.”

“Exactly.” He frowned, trying to unpick your meaning.

“I do not understand,” he finally admitted. “Something is clearly working to sustain your connection and make it stronger. I had assumed that was your—meditation.” You shrugged. Who knew? No one alive could help you, no one could give you the answers you so desperately needed.

“It’s just something I have to deal with.”

“I must confess, this is a little out of my knowledge range.” Anger flared in your gut. It wasn’t aimed at Tech, maybe it was, you didn’t really know anymore. It was so swift to surface, maybe the failings were all with you and not with him. No…he was the one to react poorly to something on Maridun that started off this whole mess.

“I realise I am not Hunter…”

“No, you’re not.” Your spat words had the desired effect and he frowned, reaching up to nudge his goggles as he recoiled from your venom.

“You are not yourself,” he almost scolded. “Nor have you been for a while.”

“Did you ever ask yourself why?” Your hand danced over the workbench, fingertips pressing in the gaps between the tools as you tried to distract yourself.

“Multiple times, but I could not fathom this change in you.” You could hear it, the slight panic in his tone, the way his words came faster as his brain worked overtime to try and see where you were taking this conversation and why.

“Maybe it started with a change in you.” The accusation was there and he was swift to respond.

“I have not changed.” Your fist slammed onto the bench making the tools jump and knock into one another. You had so much to say. It wanted to boil out of you in a torrent of words, you wanted to scream and set fire to the world; to show your pain in the open palm of your hands as you begged him to once again go back to how it was.

“I have changed.” It was coming. Brewing like the magma in a volcano as your breath quickened. Pressing your teeth together you tried to contain it but the hurt was too much. You were sick of seeing Tech dead at your feet, you were terrified of watching Jango walk away from you over and over again; it made you sick to your stomach smelling the fire that ruined your life and seeing your friends littering the grass like garbage. “I am angry all the time!” You gasped, not caring now the tears slid visibly down your face. “I opened myself up, I allowed myself to…feel!” Your fist closed and pressed it into your wounded chest.

There—the moment you’d been looking for, the realisation. Screwing your face up as clarity hit you so hard and so squarely you nearly fell over. “I-I have c-changed!” You changed the moment you realised Tech would never reciprocate. Sitting by the fire on Maridun, listening to him speak with undisguised displeasure at the idea of love. That was when you changed. “This is my failing,” you sobbed. Tech stepped towards you, a hand ready to rest on your shoulder but he didn’t. He wouldn't, not without your permission.

“We are both to blame,” he replied heavily. “I could have reached out more, I did not realise the amount you relied on our interactions.” You gasped in a breath, nodding at his words as you reeled back in the emotion, burying it inside you once more. He didn’t grasp what you were saying and you didn’t want him to, not now.

“You didn’t have to order me to stay behind.” Brushing hastily at your face, you wiped your hand down your thigh.

“I did what I thought was best in that situation.” Casting a look in his direction you saw him carefully move his goggles back up his nose.

“By bringing Omega, here?” You said with a shake of your head. “You could have left her with me, Tech.”

“I—did not consider that course of action.” Now you laughed. For someone so intelligent he really could be stupid at times.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I am so tired.” The fuzziness was encroaching but you couldn’t leave him to finish this on his own.

“If you are completely sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure.” I’m always sure when it comes to you, Tech. “One last thing though,” you said and Tech turned on his heel.

“Yes?” Now you felt self conscious, wringing your hands together as you breathed in his closeness. “What is it you require?”

“I would require…a hug,” your bottom lip trembled slightly and you refused to meet his gaze. “It’s fine if not. I’ve been feeling really isolated recently and I haven’t had much inter—.” Your words were cut off as Tech threw his arms around you, clonking together your plates of armour and pinning your arms tightly into your sides. You thought you were going to sob, closing your eyes and hoping sheer will kept you from dissolving as you leaned into him.

He smelled so good, his neck was warm and you sought it out, breath easing out of you in relief, your own arms coming up around him and his hold shifted slightly. Mostly the hug was awkward due to the katarn, but it soothed something inside you. You had been hurt and it had festered for a long time, taking a life of its own that you had to let go.

You felt the squeeze before he released you, clearing his throat and adjusting his goggles as he retreated. “I—hope that was sufficient?”

“More than. Thank you, Tech.” He nodded, apparently not able to say anything else and he vanished round the back of the speeder.

The morning dawned, finding you stretching on the pit level. Sunlight flooded the ground and you took a breath that filled your lungs to their capacity, slowly letting it out. Tech quietly came up beside you, rubbing his eyes before repositioning his goggles.

“All the repairs are complete. The speeder is back at racing capacity. As well as it was before, anyway.”

“Hopefully this day will be over soon and we can get on a shuttle out of here.”

“Agreed,” he muttered wearily.

The pits started to come alive, the droids woke up and racers took their speeders out before the races of the day started. Tech and TAY-0 did some last minute adjustments and Wrecker cleared up all the bits from the night before. You made sure the speeder was ready to go, hearing them all approach.

“You’re racing next TAY-0,” Omega told the tall droid and Wrecker grunted.

“Think you can win?” Turning to Wrecker, the droid gave a fake laugh that had you wishing he’d get run over or something.

“I will ignore that obvious question.” There was a pause as the droid looked at Wrecker. “Yes. I can.”

“Well, you lost last time.” Crossing your arms you leaned against the speeder, smirking at the way TAY-0 shot out a response in his defence before stalking over to where Tech was standing.

“He annoys me,” you told Wrecker who smiled smugly at your comment.

“As long as he gets us Cid back,” Omega replied and you nearly shrugged to show your indifference. You watched the irritating walking, metal can make its way back to you, waving his arms around as he spoke to Tech. You didn’t hear what he was saying as a ringing filled your ears. Lurching forward you tried to get his attention, but not even Tech was looking at you.

The screech of the speeder was loud, swiping TAY-0 with a clank and casting dust everywhere. Your vambraces came up to shield your eyes until the hiss of it all had died down. Lowering your arms you saw Tech staring with horror at the wreckage. The pit droids ran out straight away but you already knew the droid was a lost cause.

“We have a wipeout down in the pits!”

“Whoa!” Wrecker clenched his fists as the racer who caused the accident walked past like it was nothing, you honestly thought about letting the big clone use those fists. Omega cried out and Wrecker pulled the droid's body from the scrap heap. “Oh boy. Uh…I don’t think he’s gonna be able to race.”

“What are we going to do?” You asked as Tech approached only to be interrupted by Millegi parading Cid through the pits so she could see what he’d done. You knew he had a hand in this.

“Safa Toma’s a dangerous place,” he rumbled gleefully.

“You!” The word slipped out as a snarl and you advanced a step before Tech grabbed your wrist while the Dowutin watched with open amusement.

“I like this one,” he rumbled. “Got more fire in her belly than all of them put together.”

“I’ll show…” Tech jerked harshly on your arm surprising you into silence. Millegi gave a wide smile, showing all of his teeth.

“He’s fine!” Cid said. “Snap out of it tin bin!” Everyone could see the droid was anything but fine. His circuits were sparking and all Tech’s hard work piecing him together was wasted.

“I regret, nothing.” TAY-0 powered down in front of everyone and you balled your fists up in frustration.

“Tough luck. Looks like a forfeit. No racer means Cid loses. And so do you.” Wrecker stood up and you readied yourself for a fight as well, putting a hand on Omega’s shoulder to push her behind you.

“We have to do something!” She pleaded to Wrecker but all you could think about was getting close enough to Millegi to stop all his necessary functions.

“I will be the racer.” Your eyes widened as you whirled round to face Tech.

“What?” Wrecker laughed, only for it to die down. “Wha—he’s not joking.”

“Tech…” whatever you were going to say as Tech met your startled gaze was lost when Cid interrupted.

“You heard him. The bet’s still on.”

“I will never stop a fool from giving his life to make me rich.” This time it was Wrecker who stopped you, wrapping a full arm across your front and hauling you away into the pit as the group walked off.

“Hey! Calm down!” Wrecker growled. “Let me deal with this.” He put you down, his arms spread as he backed up a step and you nodded in silent agreement. “All right.” He turned on his brother, expression hardening and he put his hands on his hips.

“What in the Galaxy do you think you’re doin’?”

“This is not a rash decision I can assure you,” Tech sighed.

“You could have fooled me,” you muttered.

“I have analysed the course and run through countless scenarios. I am confident I can win with strategy.”

“Have you been watching a different track?” You spat coming up beside Wrecker who nodded and pointed a finger in your direction. “There is no strategy! No rules!”

“Well, it is too late to debate this now. I have a race to attend.” Wrecker moved off with a sigh, taking a sad looking Omega with him while you stood there still seething in front of him. “I sense you do not approve.” He wasn’t nervous, just wearily tracing the outline of your shoulders with those rich brown eyes.

“I know why you’re doing this,” making your voice soft and his eyes widened. He’d expected you to yell at him, to disagree and get your point across like you had yesterday. “I just…don’t want to have to piece you back together. Again.”

“I will do my utmost to make sure that does not happen.” He went to walk away, turning to give you that two fingered salute which you returned before he disappeared down the ramp.

Omega glanced up and you gave her your best, untroubled smile, all the while your insides were churning with anxiety. Moving closer to Wrecker he automatically shifted so he was pressed lightly against you. For now, that was enough.

You kept your eyes on him as he got in the speeder. You hoped this wasn’t the last time you saw him walking and talking. Your hands gripped the edging, fingers curling to feel anything except the tingle in your fingertips. If anything happened to him…anything…

Shaking your head you ignored the loud visions that decided to push forward, the images of his body, the blood, his cracked armour. No no no! This wasn’t how it happened. And if it did, you’d die making your way to make sure Millegi paid with something he couldn’t afford to lose.

“Ya all right?” Wrecker asked in your ear and you nodded.

“Mmm.”

“Tech wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t think he could win,” he explained softly. “Stitch, he’s going to be ok.”

If only Tech wasn’t last. At least he was in one piece, that was pretty much the only comforting thought you had as you watched nervously over Omega’s shoulder. “What place is he in?” Wrecker, it turned out, preferred to keep himself occupied while his brother was risking his life.

“Last, but he’s catching up.” You were glad Omega was here, she grounded you a little, her continual optimism countered your continual pessimism.

“Tech! You gotta be in front to win!” Wrecker huffed into the com. You couldn’t watch. Teeth ripped at the skin of your fingers as you hugged yourself with one arm.

“I know what I am doing. It’s called strategy.” It was that word again…he said that far too often and you hoped he wasn’t relying on it blindly.

“No!” Wrecker disagreed. “It’s called losing!”

“He took some hits!” Omega squealed. “Shields are holding.” Dragging a hand through your hair you turned away. This was torture. Watching Tech put himself in harms way…for what? A good for nothing, hustling Trandoshan? “Tech! Don’t take the left tunnel! Cid said it’s a death trap.” There was a pause and then you heard Tech replying.

“Transmit the schematics of the left tunnel to my display.”

“I can’t do this,” you muttered, starting to walk away. But you couldn’t do that either.

“Right now?” Wrecker shouted. “Shouldn’t you just focus on not getting blown up?”

“I can do both.” You wanted to get on the com and tell him no, he couldn’t do both. Just stay alive!

“Your shields are overheating!” Omega gasped and you closed your eyes in horror, listening to what was happening behind you was worse than actually watching the race.

“Yes. I am allowing for adequate energy to be distributed from weapons to shields.”

“Tech! They’re all over you!” She cried. “He’s coming in!”

“Well, what’s he doing?” Wrecker demanded. You stepped back, expecting him to slow down but instead he carried on at the same speed. De-magnetising the weapons array and vanishing back down the track. You stared at them in fear in the clearing dust, your hand resting loosely around your throat but it might as well have been a noose.

“Your weapons!” Omega shouted while Wrecker stared with utter disbelief

“They were slowing me down.” You slumped to the floor, resting your elbows on your tented knees and digging your fingers in your hair. Breathing was laboured, scorching the inside of your already dry throat. “That worked. I now have increased speed and manoeuvrability.” Wrecker sighed and slapped a hand onto his forehead before pressing the com button.

“Yeah, that’s great, but you’re still in last place,” he snarled. He was only worried, you could feel it coming off him in rippling waves.

“Wait! A large part of the track is missing! That’s why the racers avoid it.” Great, another death inducing item on this track that Tech was on. If he went for this and survived, you were either going to wring his neck or break down.

“It is also the shortest tunnel. I can use it to my advantage.”

“It’s too dangerous. The speeder can’t make that jump!” Omega was on the verge of panic as she looked at the schematics, her emotions fed into your own making you want to hurt yourself to get rid of it.

“I will, if I’m going fast enough.” He sounded so sure, so confident in his abilities but you couldn’t stop the feeling of dread as it leaked into every pore of your form.

“Wrecker!” He was at your side in an instant. “If something happens to him, Wrecker…”

“It won’t!” He gingerly reached out and brushed the tears you had no idea you’d shed, off your cheeks. “We have to believe he’s got this.” The announcer boomed gleefully as Tech disappeared into the left tunnel and you smacked your head on the wall in frustration.

“It worked!” Omega punched the air, her eyes never leaving the datapad. “You’re closing in!” Then her expression faltered. “He’s in between the two that took out TAY-0.” Your misted gaze drew to the weapons still laying on the pit lane floor and you burst into tears. Heartfelt, body wracking, tears as Wrecker tried to comfort you. Everything zeroed into this moment, this tiny moment that felt like it spanned across galaxies and time itself. Nothing else mattered, except Tech crossing that finish line in one piece.

So wrapped up in your despair you didn’t see or hear anything that came next, you didn’t witness the manoeuvre gone wrong. You didn’t see the way he slid across the finish line or hear them announce him the winner until Wrecker bodily lifted you off the ground.

“Stop crying! He made it! He won!”

“Wh-what?” Now the noise of the crowd cascaded over you, smashing into your ears and vibrating through your weak limbed body as you swiped your face.

“Come on!” Your feet were uncoordinated as you let Wrecker practically drag you down to the track.

Omega ran ahead with a gleeful, “You did it!” The relief clearly showed on her face as well as pride that her brother had done the impossible.

“You sound surprised,” Tech replied, his nonchalant gaze drifting between you all and finally resting your dishevelled form.

“Yeah!” Wrecker laughed and punched the air. “I thought you were a goner.”

“That’s not what you told me!” You thundered, reacting and throwing a punch into Wrecker’s shoulder which he took.

“Uh, yeah. I didn’t like seeing you all,” he waved his large hands around. “All upset.”

“You were upset?” Tech frowned as he peered at you but thankfully the crowd stepped in, chanting his name over and over as he looked up at the stands.

“Can we go and get Cid now?” Omega whispered to you through the noise of the crowd.

“Yes please,” you moaned. “I’ve had enough of this place.”

You got word he was waiting in the bar, the four of you entered slowly until Omega rushed forward at seeing Cid sitting there. “We’re here for Cid,” Wrecker growled as he slammed a fist into his hand and you knew he’d had enough of all this as much as you.

Tech tensed next to you, fingers flexing when the guards lifted their weapons but Millegi stepped in. “A deal’s a deal.” He assured them. “We’re square.” You could feel a tension in the air, something that made your helmet turn to watch the Nosaurian who was on a stool close to you. Cid was talking but you could only hear the beat in your ears. Trust your instincts… Hunter always wanted you to follow your feelings, he said they never lied.

His clawed hand flinched and you reacted on impulse. Swinging your right fist round you pounded on the soft spot in his back, making him cry out and arch in pain, leaving him wide open for you to wrap an arm around his neck. He tried to head butt you, so you wrenched his head to the side, breathing heavily through your helmet as the sound of Millegi’s rumbling laughter broke the noise of the tussle.

“I knew you were something,” he chuckled, uncrossing his arms and sliding the blaster away from anyone else. “Say, what was your name again?”

“She is none of your concern,” Tech stated more firmly this time and Millegi rolled his eyes.

“Put him down, Needles. Let’s get outta here.” You pushed Jet away, making him fall into the bar and went to follow Cid.

“Hey, you four.” You would have kept walking but Tech and Wrecker turned around. “You could have walked away, you wanted to walk away,” Millegi said pointing to you. “You don’t have so much loyalty for Cid as you do these guys.” Crossing your arms you hoped to adopt the bored Hunter pose and wished this guy would get to his point quickly. “Just watch your backs with Cid. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

“We’ll take that on board,” you replied sarcastically. “Let’s go.” You were the last one out, still feeling the gaze of the Dowutin like lasers in your back even as you boarded the shuttle back to Ord Mantell.

#sanctuary #tech x reader(stitch)#tech x f!reader #tech x you #tech x reader #tbb tech x you #tbb tech x reader #the bad batch

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