#I’ll never get over that one scene in the ec

[scholliski]

AFTG (andrews version) (half of the book is Andrew, high on drugs, describing the texture of a veggie burger he’s eating for lunch that he’s lathered in hot sauce and pickles for no apparent reason)

#it’s canon actually #I’ll never get over that one scene in the ec #you know the one where he’s shredding a sandwich that’s covered in pickles for some reason #😭 #aftg #all for the game #andrew minyard #neil josten #the foxhole court #tfc #andreil #all for the gay #aftg shitpost #shitpost

[heichou-dancho]

FFVII Rebirth thoughts (Spoilers for everything)

I reemerge having finished Rebirth after four weeks and 92 hours in-game playtime. That’s an incredibly short but also massive amount of playtime for me, Yakuza 0 took me a year with pauses. I’m still reeling after finishing chapter 13, and since all my FF buddies from the old days are long gone, I’ll just vent here. I enjoy reading the reactions and thoughts of other players, so maybe someone else does too?

This post is full of spoilers and Shinra fangirling, but it’s about the whole game:

Shinra:

First, somebody on the team that wrote material for the Turks and Rufus must be some Shinra fandom veteran grown up with 20 years of fanon. Just Elena as a whole, Rude getting her that ice cream, Rufus in the Gold Saucer harassing fighting Cloud for fun, Dark Star not only obeying Rufus but also Tseng. Rufus complaining that Tseng is being overprotective… (faints) So much crack and shippy moments, I was grinning like an idiot.

(Is crack fic even a thing anymore? It feels like they’ve gotten rarer)

I expected maybe three or four scenes with the Turks, maybe less for Rufus. AND THEN SQUARE SHOVED THEM IN WHEREVER THEY COULD WITHOUT DERAILING THE PLOT. Elena was given so much room to breathe. Same for Rufus. Those little moments with Darkstar. I’m over the moon.

Okay, Rufus, so your father got stabbed, and the first thing you did after that was recording some motion-capturing and dialogue for a Turk recruitment hologram-video-thingy in an abandoned facility? It makes zero sense, but it’s my favourite protorelic mission and I’ll happily add it to my headcanon as a sign that Rufus gave Tseng his okay to recruit more Turks.

(The real answer would probably be automatically generated AI shenanigans, but that’s not very exciting.)

Viceroy Saruf. Just … Rufus, you’re such a cheeky idiot and I love you. Is there any faction in this world you’re not manipulating from the background? I can’t shake the feeling that being the man in the shadows suits you more than actually openly running the company.

Tseng and Reeve were great, I would love more little moments like that, where the Shinra folks just interact outside of action scenes and dramatic moments. The talk Tseng had with Reno and Rufus in Remake after the Sector 7 collapse hit the same note for me. I want more Reeve in part 3.

The scene between Tseng and Aerith at the temple made my eyes misty, but I wish it had been longer. Tseng keeping it short and abruptly leaving to "make a report" was perfect, and I know Cloud being so cold and cutting Aerith off fits his behaviour, but something about the timing just felt off.

I was surprised that Heidegger would take a bullet for Rufus. For President Shinra, absolutely, but Rufus? Hmm… This makes great fanfic material. I’ve read a fanfic before that tried to reimagine the Shinra executives (even Palmer) as more realistic people, and I found it to be really interesting, but then I’m a weirdo with plot bunnies in my head that involve a younger President Shinra, his wife, Veld, Vincent and the older Shinra execs.

I’ve never been a fan of Hojo but his R re-imagining is one of the few that doesn’t work at all for me. OG Hojo was far more unsettling. R!Hojo is just your typical mad scientist, I just can’t care about him, which is a shame, because him taunting Aerith in Remake with how he dissected Ifalna hit me hard.

I still haven’t quite grasped why Rufus is so obsessed with the Promised Land. It probably all comes down to wanting to be more successful than his father, right? I’m probably forgetting or mixing up details from Remake, Rebirth or the OG here, but I assumed that Rufus would outright dismiss it as a fairy tale.

Apparently there is a Midgar DLC for Power Wash Simulator. Square Enix, where is Hitman: Tseng and a version of Yakuza where I can play the Turks dealing with dumb crap doing missions in Midgar? Give us Shinra fans something, I'm still waiting for the EC version of Before Crisis. And I don't even like gacha mobile games. >:(

General game thoughts:

The open world is fantastic, I want to live in Gongaga or Kalm. So pretty. People online seem to hate the Gongaga map, but the soundtrack and the jungle theme made it work for me. I found the gliding parts in Cosmo Canyon far harder to navigate.

Shinra Manor is terrible with Vincent being it’s only redeeming part. The actual mansion looked great (the portrait of President Shinra was a nice touch) but the upper levels being inaccessible and turning it into another lab dungeon was boring. Same for the box throwing mini-game.

Dio the archaeologist turned body-builder is great, but Shinra knowing about the keystone and just not bothering to use it when President Shinra was looking for the Promised Land is a weird plot hole. It would have been a lot easier than trying to convince Aerith to come to them. There were some other little details like that, that bothered me but it’s a blur now.

Remake Barett made me into a Barret fan, Rebirth Nanaki into a Nanaki fan. The writers are genius when it comes to rewriting these characters from the OG. I’m not really bothered by Cid not being grumpy and swearing all the time. Him reminiscing about Ifalna was cute. Vincent using his old Turk skills (and having some lingering loyalty to the job?) was cool. Really looking forward to seeing how they’ll handle Lucrecia, the one character in FFVII I'm so conflicted about.

I’m still confused about Aerith’s death scene, especially the cuts where she’s lying in her own blood and then isn’t. I understand that she’s dead in her current reality, but is the scene without blood (and Aerith "waking up" in Cloud’s arms) Cloud’s hallucination or just a different reality? I’m also utterly confused by how many Aeriths we’re dealing with. The Aerith and Cloud we’re playing with and the sleeping Aerith (and Cloud) from the dimension where Zack lives are one and the same? It’s tying my brain into knots, and not in a good way. That’s why I usually can’t stand stories involving elaborate time travel loops or parallel universes.

(Man, why doesn't Tumblr allow spaces between paragraphs? I hope your eyes aren't bleeding)

I first played the OG as a young teen. Cloud’s mind being fractured and hallucinating was a neat bit of storytelling back then that I hadn’t encountered in video games before. Twenty years later, I’ve dealt with loved ones who are ill but refuse help, and known plenty of people who have some form of psychosis or schizophrenia. Whilst I would never seriously compare Cloud’s problems with rl mental illnesses, I found the scenes where he sees Sephiroth and no one else, or is completely out of it hard to stomach. Interacting with somebody who has hallucinations (even "harmless" ones) or paranoid thoughts is unsettling at best, nightmarish at worst. The group trying to passively bear it and keep things together rings very true (especially Tifa) but I’m surprised that even Barett or Yuffie aren’t trying to confront Cloud about his behaviour at least once.

(I tried to format in html, but it somehow looked worse. I'm old. This is how Vincent must feel like every day.)

Dyne, Myrna and Tseng talking to Aerith at the temple had me tearing up, and I lost it at Aerith’s "date" with Cloud in Ch. 14. Hoo boy, I know Aerith stalling off the inevitable just for a little time, was the game having a very direct conversation with the player about what’s going to come, death and how we deal with it. But to me personally, it was more about how one gets caught up in trauma and repeat it over and over in your head, mulling about the point of where things went wrong and what you could have done to prevent it. I know it doesn’t fit, but that’s what my weird brain made out of it. Also Dyne’s and Aerith’s (at the temple) speeches about how they deal (or didn’t) with grief and trauma hit me hard.

Damn you, silly anime action game, you really shouldn’t affect me this deeply, but then a lot of fiction hits me harder than it used to.

#rufus shinra #tseng #ff7 rebirth #ffvii rebirth #spoilers #ff7 rebirth spoilers #shinra #the turks

[altocat]

Alright, hope you are doing well and start getting some more pleasant interactions as time passes, my dear! Meanwhile, here are the final tidbits of Japanese insight I have garnered for EC chapter five!

Glenn seems to say “I’ll beat you up/beat you to a pulp” to Seph about the whistling instead of just “I’ll kick your ass!”

This is so aggressive but funny to me because of how effortlessly Glenn witnessed Seph destroy countless soldiers earlier, haha.

When Glenn mimics his younger self, Seph asks “Why the sudden apology?” and Glenn responds with “Growing up into an adult is complicated.”

I think he was definitely acting like his silly younger self, but also teasing Seph a bit or calling back to the little guy’s apology to lighten the mood. This is probably why it gets Seph giggling. He seems to feel more relaxed at that point. His team forgives him.

Alright, now for the heavier stuff:

The climax scene where Sephiroth explains his soldier philosophy is pretty interesting in the Japanese context.

For one, you guys should know that his injury seems to be a bullet wound.

He clarifies this in Japanese saying that, “One of the “kids,” as you called them, shot me. Their aim was precise/accurate, which tells me they were also trained soldiers.” (Callback to when he said “I am a kid on the battlefield too, aren’t I?”)

I am not sure what Seph’s healing abilities are, but I find it curious that he doesn’t make much fuss over a bullet wound in his arm. It doesn’t seem to affect him much.

Secondly, in the Japanese he says that the others, “were too quick to look down on those they “labeled” as kids or elderly.”

His specific statement implies that he knows people think lesser of and look down on kids and elders, and then he follows this up by saying that, “he is always fighting those looks/that look/those eyes.”

Basically, it is implied that people look at him that way too, that they look down on him for being a kid or “lesser” and he is fighting against those disapproving eyes. It comes off like he feels monitored and belittled and is trying to overcome that with his strength.

The English translation didn’t do horrible with this part and I think they got the message across, but the “People make assumptions about me too” was a little vague compared to the more clear statement Seph makes here. I can only imagine he felt Shinra’s watchful eyes on him at all times if this is how he thinks.

Next, Seph explicitly says that, “I am a soldier that was raised to stand on the battlefield. I learned that soldiers must be strong in body and mind.”

He seems to say this in a way that suggest soldiers are worthless if they don’t have strong bodies or hearts. This also the training dialogue, so it’s interesting that he says it more like he was literally raised to be on the battlefield. His training was his entire upbringing.

Another weird detail is how much it sounds like he is almost repeating a mantra to himself when he says the next bits about needing a strong heart. He goes on about “a heart/mind that does not shake, an unwavering heart/mind, a ruthless heart/mind.”

Honestly it sounds like his training is kicking in and he is listing off what he was taught about killing without hesitation. Furthermore, he says that soldiers led by their emotions are second-rate, or old-fashioned, and that such an existence is “pointless/meaningless.”

He believes that if he is not ruthless, there is no point in existing, because he will die, he will be lesser than what he was raised to be. He has no choice. It’s kill or be killed, either by his enemies or the people that trained him.

Finally, in the Japanese context, the cyborg scene really seems to imply that despite Seph’s monologue, he completely lets his guard down after Glenn consoles him and then confesses his real feelings.

“I am not an altered/hybrid human. I never wanted to be one,” drives home the sense that Sephiroth knows he is actually enhanced and different, but doesn’t want to be…and within the context of the scene, it gets across the message of “I really never wanted any of this.”

It’s not just that he didn’t want to be Shinra’s golden soldier, he didn’t want to be born into a position that allowed him to be that in the first place. He didn’t want to be different at all—just normal. He kills like he does because he has no choice, but that scene shows him honestly admitting, even after his entire speech, that he isn’t happy with any of what he has to face. It’s tearing him apart but there isn’t anything he can do.

And there’s some more free pain for you guys lol! I can’t wait for the next chapter.

Aghhhhhh my heart

These chapter updates are doing me a depression, I tell you hwat.

Thanks so much for these translations!! It's super neat to hear the context of certain scenes through a semi different lens! This new content is just absolutely heartbreaking.

#asks #ff7 #ffvii #final fantasy 7 #sephcanons #sephiroth #ffvii ever crisis #First soldier #glenn lodbrok #ffvii first soldier #ffviiec #Ffvii first soldier #ever crisis

[xxx-und34d-m3lod1c-xxx]

Welp... Is it somet)(ing about me? Like seriously am I really t)(at uncomfortable to be around?

I can’t )(elp but t)(ink t)(at my peers are uncomfortable around me. Is it because I’m still scene in 2022?? But I do my best to be outgoing and kind and )(elpful. I make sure to c)(eck on people and say )(ello to everyone and I’m trying so )(ard to be nice and )(appy and normal. 

I went around t)(e w)(ole day wit)( no makeup and normal clot)(es. I made sure to be as normal as possible... and people still didn’t like me. I don’t know w)(at to do anymore. 

Also I’m still )(ead over )(eels for my crus)( but I understand t)(at after almost 7 mont)(s t)(at if it )(asn’t )(appened yet, it’s not gonna )(appen. I want to be t)(e one )(e looks at from t)(e stage and I want to look for )(im in t)(e crowd at my s)(ows too, isn’t t)(at )(ow musicians w)(o like someone are? XDD regardless, )(e is very sweet and I am t)(ankful to )(ave a friend like )(im but I would never want to embarrass )(im by being )(is girlfriend. I know I’m not someone you’d want to be seen )(olding )(ands wit)( around campus cause I guess t)(ere is somet)(ing wrong wit)( me...

so I’ll give up because I’d like to t)(ink someone would like to be wit)( me one day

probably not but it’s a nice t)(ought

anyway, till next time ec)(o C)(amber, w)(en I feel like I mig)(t explode if I don’t get it out some)(ow

xxx Melody xxx

[swaps55]

.

Here we fucking go. 

We have a glorious moment, one of the best of the trilogy. Anderson dies, and Shepard has to get up. 

What do you need me to do.

No protests. No arguments. There is only the mission, and Shepard isn’t done. It’s the very essence of Shepard, the heart and soul of what makes them such a magic character. 

And we follow up that moment with this bullshit. 

I’ll take this moment to remind folks that in the original, vanilla ending, there was no explanation of the reaper origins. Shepard couldn’t ask questions. There was just, HEY. Pick a color. 

So to my jaded self, the Extended Cut and Leviathan are merely attempts to sleep in the bed they made. 

The biggest mistake BioWare made was attempting to explain the reapers. They are supposed to be unknowable. Beyond our comprehension. Yet here, in the final moments, they are distilled into something completely knowable and understandable, at the expense of everything the trilogy spent three years building. 

“The reapers are not at war with you.” 

Yeah, except you gave Harbinger understandable motivations, an ego, an obsession with a tiny organic, and a vendetta. You made the impersonal Cthulhu monster something with a very personal agenda. Those two ideologies are in direct conflict with each other. 

“Who designed the Crucible?” 

“You don’t know them, and there is no time to explain.” 

WHEN THE FATE OF THE GALAXY HINGES ON IT, YOU SHOULD PROBABLY MAKE TIME. Honest to god, this translates to, “we dunno, fuck off.” 

Now onto the color coded choices. I’ll further point out the reminder that the vanilla ending included no voice over, no slideshow depicting the outcome and consequences, no memorial for Shepard. It was literally exploding relays in three different colors, with no other differences between them. At all. 

The Extended Cut is a direct response to the uproar, which included the following: 

“The relays exploded. Everyone’s dead.” BioWare, astonished at this assumption, somehow forgot they put out a DLC that makes it explicitly clear that destroying a relay releases a titanic source of energy that would wipe out a system. So Extended Cut? Comes out and says, “everything that was broken can be fixed.” No why, no how. You have a decimated galactic economy, the bulk of half a dozen armies stranded in a single system, and the codex clearly states we do not know what kind of material the relays or the Citadel are made from. So...how do we fix all of these things in the next few lifetimes? Fuck you, that’s how. 

“...how the hell did my love interest get on the Normandy??”  Because in vanilla, there is no goodbye scene. Shepard runs to the beam, never looks back, gets blown up, then stumbles to the beam. There is no injured squad mates, no evac, no tender goodbye. One second they’re there, the next they’re exiting the Normandy on Lame Jungle Planet. Which is why Harbinger so patiently waits for Shepard’s ship to come take the wounded love interest away, because we had to have some reason for them to wind up on the ship, and there isn’t a way to do it that makes sense, so have a tender goodbye and don’t think about the fact that the Normandy apparently could have just dropped you right off at the front door and saved everyone a lot of time and trouble. 

“Why did the Normandy flee?” In vanilla, there was only the cutscene of Joker frantically mashing buttons while consoles exploded around him, with a swelling instrumental cacophony that ended with a discordant shriek, suggesting total disaster. When I first played it, I somehow thought, to my horror, that I’d killed Joker. And guess what? Joker and your love interest exiting the Normandy on Lame Jungle Planet is just where the game ended. That music is the credits music. That’s where the journey stopped. Not ended. Stopped. The only other scrap was the voiceover by Buzz Aldrin and a pop up saying, ‘you did it! buy our DLC.’ So the Extended Cut added a cry from Hackett to run from the Crucible, though there’s still no reason given for why, aside from ‘energy is bad for technology,’ and apparently the Normandy is the only ship that somehow winds up stranded on Lame Jungle Planet.

If the Crucible was essentially just a giant EMP that nukes all technology, then everyone is basically fucked, and how do you ‘outrun it,’ since it goes everywhere??

Fuck you, that’s how.   

The choices themselves can fuck themselves, too. Attaching strings to the trilogy-spanning goal of destroying the reapers is a cheap bait and switch. A human being somehow being turned into an immortal vessel to puppet the immortal machines is a complete disaster waiting to happen. Human minds aren’t meant for that, and we’re given no context or information on how that’s supposed to function. 

And Synthesis? You’re asking one person to directly violate the bodily autonomy of every single being in the galaxy? With zero explanation given for what that means other than a few utterly abstract sentences, how it works, what it changes, and what the consequences will be, good or bad? Fuck right off. 

Is my interpretation of the endings completely and forever impacted by experiencing the vanilla ending after playing ME1 when it launched in 2007 and waiting five years for the finale? Yes. I won’t even pretend that I can take an unbiased look at Extended Cut, because all I can see is how blatantly and poorly it tried to respond to the backlash. 

Beyond the incompressible narrative choices, the plot holes, the confusion, etc., the worst sin the original ending made was not giving the player an emotional release. There was no closure. No end. It just stopped. That haunted me. It sounds stupid to say I lost sleep over the ending of a video game. It sounds melodramatic and entitled and obnoxious. But I did. This world and these characters meant everything. I’d like to think that after having lived through a pandemic, it’s a little easier to understand why the fictional places we escape to so we can forget about the real world feel like a lifeline. It may be stupid that a video game means this much to me. But it does. And I have never gotten over how that ending made me feel, and I have never forgiven it. 

The only thing the Extended Cut does is provide an emotional release, in the form of goodbyes to your love interest, an ending slideshow, and a voiceover telling you all the ways the galaxy isn’t actually fucked, even though it is. For a lot of people that’s enough, and that’s a good thing. Emotional release is a big deal. Even if the ending isn’t satisfying, having somewhere to put your emotions makes it a lot easier to swallow. 

This is the first time I have experienced the ‘true’ ending since EC came out in 2012, and now that I have the achievement for finishing the game, I never intend to do it again.

I’m going to go boot up the Citadel DLC, which is the love letter send off the trilogy deserved, and what BioWare was capable of giving us all along. 

They just...didn’t. 

#tow cables on the citadel #in which i am angry and emotional and crying and in general a disaster of a human #apologies for the typos #of which i am sure there are many #i just can't bring myself to reread it

[mcwriting]

The Marriage Project (4)

Hi everyone! Sorry this came late! I was soooo busy this week that I had to push this chapter back but I’m hoping to drop chapter 5 on Friday next week like normal. As listed in the warnings, this chapter has some heavier topics than the other 3 but the scene is relatively mild and not too descriptive. 

Story Masterlist

Word Count: 2808

Warnings: Mentions of verbal s*exual harassment, mentions of fighting/injury, strong language, angst 

% approximately the last weekend in September %

You sat at the back of the team bus on the way to the hotel, since the tournament was all day Saturday. You shared a row with Julia and was working on some calculus homework and listening to music while she talked to someone across the aisle.

When you finished, you took out your headphones and looked over at her. She was now playing on her phone.

“Hey, do you wanna bunk together tonight? I don’t feel like sharing a bed with Emily this week.” you whispered, making sure the freshman sitting a few rows up couldn’t hear you.

“Yeah sure. I was actually gonna ask you the same anyways.”

You were one of only two seniors on the team, so you and the other senior, Anna, were asked to split up and chaperone the girls whose parents weren’t coming to the tournament. Both of your rooms had three other people.

Once the team got checked into the hotel, you all went to dinner at a nearby chain restaurant where you, Julia, Anna, and a few other girls sat at a table together joking around.

After dinner, the team headed back to the hotel and were allowed to either hang in the lobby or your rooms, so long as you weren’t disruptive and stayed in pairs. You stayed in the lobby for a while but decided to go prepare for bed around 10.

Julia tagged along as your buddy, not saying much as you rode the elevator up. 

After changing and brushing your teeth, you sat at one corner of the bed looking into a wall-mounted mirror as you combed your hair to pull it into a braid. Julia had been watching the TV when she piped up.

“Hey, y/n?” 

“Yeah?” you didn’t look back at her.

“What’s going on between you and Tom?”

You paused mid-braid, then continued. 

“What do you mean?” your brows furrowed as you finished off the braid, wrapping the end with a hair tie.

“It’s just… you guys have seemed super close lately, and Sam said you’re at their house pretty much every weekend now. I thought you guys hated each other or something.”

You turned your body to look at her.

“Uhhhh we definitely still hate each other. We’re just partnered up for this semester-long marriage project in home ec. It’s whatever.”

“Oh. Okay then. It just seemed like something else I guess.”

Something else?

“Wait, what are you trying to say? Do you think we’re, like, dating or something?”

“Well you guys go to almost every one of each other’s games. And Sam said their mom loves you so it just seemed like… I don’t know.”

“Whoever thinks we more than hate each other is wrong. Just the idea of him and I together grosses me out so much. Once this semester is over, he and I probably won’t speak to each other again until the day I’m chosen valedictorian over him.”

“Okay, well, I’ll let Sam kn-” 

She was cut off by the sound of the door opening as the two freshman girls who were taking the other bed came in giggling.

Glad to finally be out of that conversation. 

After a few more random conversations, you all decided to go to bed and rest up for the tournament early the next morning.

It’s when you rolled over onto your side to face the wall that thoughts of your conversation with Julia began racing. Did people really think something other than a fake marriage was going on with Tom?

Exhaustion got the best of you before you could dwell on it further.

%

You sat in calculus Monday morning listening to the announcements. Your name and a couple others were listed off from the winning sports. The team had won, and you’d gotten tournament MVP.

The class congratulated you, so you jokingly did a royal wave around the room, stopping to look at Tom.

“That’s how it’s done. You guys may have won too, but I think I beat you out this time.”

“Yeah, good job.”

What. Why was he congratulating you?

“Uhhh. You don’t have anything else to say? No insult, no witty clapback? Who are you and what have you done to the Tom Holland I know and hate?”

He shrugged.

“I just don’t have anything negative to say. I mean, you got MVP and the team won. That’s pretty impressive.”

Now you knew something was up. In all your years of knowing Tom, he’d never been this nice. Sure, he’d sometimes say “nice shot!” when you scored more than one goal in soccer but he usually was able to find a way to pick on you at the same time.

You were working on a new sewing project in home ec later, sharing what happened with Alexis.

“Maybe he’s just not feeling well or something? He probably just couldn’t think up something fast enough,” she suggested.

“You don’t get it, Lex. It was so not like him. After Thursday, and what Julia said Friday night, something weird is going on, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.” 

Wondering if anything was out of the ordinary with him now, you looked over to where he was, only to find him looking back at you.

Weird.

In senior art that afternoon, you worked on an acrylic beach landscape you’d been doing with a palette knife. 

You were listening to music and intently focused when you felt a presence loom over you and noticed a hand resting on either side of you.

You ripped out an earbud and turned to see Tom leaning over your seated position, looking at your artwork.

“What the- Tom! What in the hell are you doing?” you pushed him off you and he stepped next to your chair, arms folded over his chest.

“Just looking to see how you were doing, princess. I think it needs a sailboat.”

“Okay first of all I’m not even done but like… why were you leaning over me like that? I was kinda in my zone there.”

He uncrossed his arms and pointed one had around the canvas.

“Well I was mostly coming over to say you had a little something right,” he poked a finger from his other hand onto your nose, leaving a dot of paint, “there.”

“Thomas Holland. If you don’t get the hell away from me and my artwork right this second I will literally beat you up in front of this entire class. You know it’s true too.” you threatened through grinding teeth.

“Are we having a problem over here?” your art teacher interjected, causing you to both look at her. You pointed at your nose.

“Mr. Holland here doesn’t know how to keep his hands to himself.”

“Tom. You know how I feel about messing around with art supplies. Now go sit down, you still have a lot to go on your own painting.”

He sighed and headed back to his seat. 

“Y/n, why don’t you go wash that off real quick. I’ll keep an eye on your canvas for you.”

You got up, brushing past Tom. First, he’d been super nice this morning, and now he was putting paint on your nose like a little kid? 

It was infuriating to think about.

Wednesday, it was like he was even worse.

He flipped between being the nicest guy ever to trying to humiliate you every chance he got. 

The final straw was during your free period when you’d typically have volleyball practice (it was a game day). You’d walked by some of the football team who were practicing on the field and some players tried to catcall you, yelling disgusting sexist comments and whistling. Instead of sticking up for you, Tom just looked at you sheepishly as they laughed.

You just stuck up a middle finger and kept walking, as you were running errands for your volleyball coach and didn’t want to be too long.

After school, you stormed out of the school building and caught sight of him leaning against his car talking to a few of the guys from before as his brothers stood around nearby.

When you were about 20 feet away when you yelled out at him.

“Hey Tom! What the hell?”

His conversation paused and he turned to you. The other guys laughed and waved him bye as you approached.

“I’m sorry, but what?” he asked when you reached his car. You tossed your volleyball bag onto the asphalt.

“What is wrong with you? First you’re super nice to me, then I catch you staring at me in class and then the whole paint thing, and that was just Monday. Then today you flip from nice to asshole, and just sit idly by when your friends fucking harass me!?”

“I was just messing around like we always do! And come on, it was just a whistle and a couple jokes, y/n.”

“That’s the thing! It’s not just a whistle or a joke! Call it that when you read the countless stories of women who are attacked for simply ignoring a guy or trying to stand up for herself! I SHOULDN’T HAVE TO BEG YOU AND EVERY OTHER MAN FOR SOME SIMPLE RESPECT!” you were yelling and breathing hard. “I guess I thought that after the past few weeks we had come to some kind of an understanding, but apparently I was wrong. You’re still the biggest asshole I know.”

“Y/n, please. You know I would never do anything to actually harm you, right? I’ll talk to the guys and figure it out. I mean, what else do you want me to do?”

“Maybe we should get a ‘divorce’ on this stupid project. It’s obviously not working out,” you spat.

“I- okay.”

You were taken aback. Did he really just agree?

“Okay? That’s all you have to say? You really want to go through with it?”

“Well, if it’s what you feel is best, I’m not going to stop you from talking to Mrs. Flynn.”

“Okay, then. I’ll see what she wants us to do.” you said, much more calmly.

With that, you picked up your bag and walked off, wanting to cool down before your game.

“Damn, Tom. That’s rough,” Harry said once you were out of earshot.

“Yeah, dude. You should’ve stood up for her. That’s not cool,” Sam added.

Tom hung his head for a minute, not sure what to think, then straightened up, shaking it angrily. 

“You’re right. She’s right. I need to find those guys.”

%

Things had cooled down for you by the time you’d eaten a snack and hung out with some of the team for a little bit. You didn’t tell anyone what had happened, but by the way Julia kept looking at you, you figured Sam had told her.

An hour before game time, you went to go put on your kneepads and volleyball shoes. As you passed through the gym, Julia hopped up from her seat next to her boyfriend and rushed up to you.

“Whatever Sam said, I’m over it now. I’m just going to channel it into the game” you told her before she could get a word out.

“I just wanted to make sure you’re okay. Sam said you seemed pretty shaken up.”

“Look, jules, I know you’re trying to help, but now isn’t the time. I just need to focus on one thing at a time, okay? Let’s just win this and then maybe later we can talk.”

You sped up past her to where the group was in a circle, already doing stretches. You felt bad for blowing her off, but you had other things to worry about.

%

Your team lost the first set for the first time all season. You just couldn’t get your head in the game. You had fumbled a few sets and sent your hand into the net while hitting not once, but twice. You’d even sent a serve straight back to the wall on the other side of the gym.

You were now sitting on the bench listening to your coach yell at you, taking it all in. You were looking at her directly when a figure coming through the door caught your eye. It was Tom.

You tried to pay attention to coach, but the second she turned her attention to someone else, you glanced at him sitting by his brother. 

His lip was split and he caressed one hand in the other. His hair was also all over the place and one cheek swelled slightly.

Did he get into a fight?

Even though you were still mad, something inside you appreciated his presence. You also felt concerned, but obviously couldn’t do anything about it from the bench.

You instead decided to do what you knew best, which was win. The team came back in the end and did just that. A few people were congratulating you when you saw Tom and Sam leave the gym.

“Uh, sorry guys but I need to go do something. See y’all tomorrow though!” 

You jogged into the hall, frantically looking both ways before seeing them.

“Wait! Tom!” you called, running to catch up with them. They stopped, Tom not making eye contact with you when he turned as Sam watched cautiously.

He looked worse up close. 

Where his cheek had only seemed swollen before, now there was a blue and purple bruise beginning to form, surrounded by pink inflamed tissue. His bottom lip also was red and puffy around the split, and when you glanced at his hands you noticed the darker bruises on each knuckle.

“Tom…” you said softly, scanning him. “Are you okay?”

“What does it matter to you? We hate each other don’t we?”

Sam took that as his cue to go back to the gym, you assumed to find Julia.

You let out a sigh and looked away. 

“I don’t ‘hate you’ hate you. Yeah I hate when you’re better than me at something or you’re acting like a douchebag, but I don’t, like, want you dead or anything. I mean, you know that, right?”

You searched his face for a sign that he was getting you. After a few seconds of him staring at the ground nervously tapping his foot, he replied.

“Well I don’t hate you either! Yeah, you can have an ego and it gets on my nerves, but I’ve always thought we had just a playful hate-love thing. Like… I don’t know... Doofensmirtz and Perry the Platypus.”

You let out a chuckle at that one. 

“That… actually. Yeah. That pretty much sums it up. I never actually wanted to hurt you, and I’m sorry that I did but what you did today was so not cool, man. I thought we at least tried to look out for each other a little bit. That stuff hurts. A lot. Because being a woman means I don’t know when it might cost me more than just being the butt of a joke.”

“I realize that now, and I’m so sorry for trying to trivialize you. I didn’t really think about it in the moment because it’s never affected me. I might be in trouble tomorrow because of it, though.”

“What do you mean?”

“After you left, I was so mad at myself. I marched straight over to the guys, who were then trying to laugh about you coming to talk to me, and I just… swung right on Harrison. He’s the first guy that whistled.”

“Tom…”

“And then I may have gone after the other two while I was at it. They tried to fight back, which is why my face looks like this, and I just went nuts. They gave up after realizing I wasn’t gonna back down.”

You tried to hold back tears. You always knew in the back of your mind that Tom cared a little bit, but not like this. One slipped out onto your cheek.

“You didn’t have to do that,” you whispered, trying to keep a steady voice. He reached out and brushed his thumb over your tear.

“Yes I did. Who else was going to teach those dickheads, huh? Obviously no one else in their lives have cared to.”

“Well thank you. It means a lot… and I didn’t go talk to Mrs. Flynn after our little spat outside. I wouldn’t mind staying as your ‘bride,’ if you’ll have me.”

He looked at you skeptically for a few seconds then smiled.

“Yeah, alright,” he pulled his necklace from his shirt. “Who else would rub icy hot on my back and make pie with my mom?”

“Ugh, don’t remind me of the first one,” you laughed.

After a few seconds, you held out your arms.

“We good?” 

He grinned, taking your offer for a hug and wrapping his own arms around you.

“Yeah, we’re good.”

%

A/N: Thanks for reading! Like I’ve mentioned in the past, this will not be the last of heavy topics and some future scenes will actually be more descriptive, but I will make it explicitly clear where those scene are so you can have discretion. Love you all so much!

Tag List: @jackiehollanderr, @one-big-fangirl, @l0lmk, @primadonnasdream, @bookworm06, @thenoddingbunny-blog, @agentnataliahofferson

#The Marriage Project #tom holland #tom holland x reader #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland imagine #Harry Holland #sam holland #tom holland x y/n #tom holland au

[lesbian-kyoru]

What do you think is each character's favorite subject in school?

tohru: not a surprise but baby girl loves home ec!! kind of has to work her butt off studying for her other classes, so she gets to enjoy herself and do something she’s naturally super good at in home ec. loves making little snacks in class for her friends and then sharing them at lunch. the sewing unit takes her fashion game to the next level. when they do a project where they take care of fake babies, she definitely ends up caring for half of the class’s infants like they’re her own. kyo is her partner and everyone teases them about it but she still has a really nice time and thinks kyo would be a great dad :’)) highest home ec grade of all time in their school

kyo: says his favorite is PE but it’s actually math. gets a 5 on the AP calc exam. tells no one but tohru, who then tells everyone and kazuma throws a party and kyo is Not Pleased. isn’t a great math tutor though because he can’t really explain how he gets his answers—he just Knows. checks tohru’s homework for her before she turns it in (read: fixes all her wrong answers when she’s not looking so he can see her huge smile when she gets a good grade back. only feels a little bit guilty). watches math tedtalks. nerd disguised as a jock

yuki: favorite subject is lit!! bullshits his way through class discussions and papers without ever actually reading the books because he’s smart and charismatic. has a premium account on sparknotes. favorite class specifically was one on ancient greek literature and epic poetry—spent the entirety of the class critiquing heteronormative readings of the iliad and taking the piss out of other students because “achilles and patroclus are clearly gay if you have eyes”

kakeru: …...i’ll be real he doesn’t like school lmao. senioritis personified. on his phone during classes constantly. laptop open playing world of warcraft or candy crush or neopets. could not tell you anything the teacher said in the last hour. doesn’t take notes because “i’ve got it all up here yun-yun…..” but doesn’t actually do half-bad on tests. only reason he does homework is because he can pretend to study with yuki while actually just flirting with him. if there’s one subject he doesn’t hate it’s history because he “thinks the fight scenes are fun” (yuki: “you mean world war 1??” “yeah it was exciting”)

uo: autoshop. hates the stereotype that just because she’s a lesbian she must like tools and machinery and automotive tech.....having said that she is a lesbian and she does like tools and machinery and automotive tech. gets a 100 on her project where she fixes a busted up motorcycle, and now she has two motorcycles. all the boys in the class call her senpai and worship the ground she walks on. smells faintly like motor oil all the time but she Absolutely makes it work

hana: creative writing. school is not her thing but she thrives in creative writing because her creativity is 100/10 and her stories are absolutely off the walls. excels in writing spooky yet also homoerotic ghost stories in particular. reads them aloud in class with the lights turned off and a flashlight illuminating her face. has made students cry out of fear. shigure beta-reads her writing. likes to subtly imply that her stories actually happened to fuck with kyo. it works

momiji: band/orchestra!! all the older students lose their minds over how well he can play. first chair violinist from day one. has a solo in every concert; tohru sits front row and films them, always cries. he’s the life of the party at Band Camp(™). even the grumpy bass clarinetists like him. doesn’t get in trouble when he talks waaaaay too much during rehearsal because the teacher loves him

haru: mr space cadet himself isn’t much of a science guy but LOVES astronomy. gets Ds on pretty much every test but he doesn’t care because his mind is expanding. buys a super nice telescope so he can look at constellations at 3 in the morning. develops very specific opinions about each planet. stans the moon. gets really into sleeping at last’s astronomy-themed album. becomes that guy whose personality is “i like space” until the class is over and then he never talks about it again

rin: art! she takes several art classes throughout high school. really loves drawing and painting, but also really likes doing ceramics projects because she likes working with her hands :’)) does a watercolor portrait for tohru as a graduation gift but gets really flustered when tohru sobs into her arms over how beautiful it is. also secretly likes doing little doodles of her and haru—he sees them once in her sketchbook and will never let her live it down

kagura: says her favorite is PE and it actually is PE. goes ham for capture the flag, tends to play too rough when capturing and gets taken out of the game. only person who is actually good at volleyball so she is constantly spiking, setting, and diving for the ball all in the same game, while the rest of her team just kind of fumbles around and tries to stay out of her way. gets first place every time they run the mile even though it’s definitely not a competition. definitely knows her mile time even though it is not a timed activity

hiro: this kid screams history nerd, but like Male History Nerd with a niche interest in military history and very specific opinions about how *insert historical figure* wasn’t actually all that bad. gets his ass handed to him in class discussions on the daily but won’t admit it. is genuinely really smart and has Better Opinions by the time he graduates, so he starts using his history nerd powers For Good as an adult—as in, arguing about inaccurate historical memes on facebook in his free time

kisa: choir. singing stresses her out, but she’s figured out that she can just mouth the words and no one can tell that she’s not actually singing! loves being in the group and hearing the beautiful music around her :’)) everyone is in awe of how cute she is in her lil choir robe. tohru comes to all of kisa’s concerts as well and films them from the front row, also while crying

machi: woodshop. gets sawdust on her clothes and loves the smell. obsessed with digging through piles of splintering and warped scrap wood. loses her damn mind when she gets to use the jigsaw. really enjoys making like…misshapen birdhouses and crooked tables, but woodshop is mostly participation grades anyway so her teacher gives her A’s on all of her grotesque wood creations. she is at peace and is One with the Wood. doesn’t wear safety goggles while chopping wood because she likes Risk

kimi: loves speech & drama. emphasis on the drama. it’s a chance to talk for a long time and everyone has to look at her and listen to her or else they’ll fail!! which is how she likes it. goes three minutes over for every speech but the teacher can’t get her to pause long enough to stop her. comes to auditions in a full professionally-made costume. knows her lines and everyone else’s

nao: AP statistics on the pre-accounting track. has known he wants to be an accountant since he was in diapers. does slightly below average in the class. still studies accounting in college because it’s too big a part of his personality to quit at this point. becomes an accountant. never quite feels fulfilled

#these are based on US hs because i didnt want to fuck up jpn hs but also i was homeschooled so i mightve fucked up US hs anyway skdjsjjsjs #fruits basket #furuba #tohru honda #kyo sohma #yuki sohma #kakeru manabe #kyoru #yukeru #the kyoru and yukeru is not subtle lmao #arisa uotani #saki hanajima #momiji sohma #hatsuharu sohma #rin sohma #kagura sohma #hiro sohma #kisa sohma #machi kuragi #kimi toudou #naohito sakuragi #fruits basket headcanon #ask #anon #long post #ty for the ask 👁👄👁 #fruits basket spoilers #tagging just in case idk #why is this like the length of an essay fucking kill me #zoe.txt

[lalalacriminal]

[trans] <GQ Korea> 2021 Feb Issue - Minho Interview

source: http://www.gqkorea.co.kr/2021/01/21/%eb%af%bc%ed%98%b8-%eb%9c%a8%ea%b2%81%ea%b2%8c-%eb%8b%ac%ec%95%84%ec%98%a4%eb%a5%b8-%eb%a7%88%ec%9d%8c%ec%9d%80-%ec%97%ac%ec%a0%84%ed%9e%88-%ec%a7%84%ed%96%89-%ec%a4%91%ec%9d%b4%ec%97%90%ec%9a%94/

* do not re-translate to other language.

-

I heard that you had a schedule until this morning, but you’re still lively. No matter how tired I am, I feel better when I wake up and take a shower. It’s a routine that starts my day.

You’re confident that you’re second to none when it comes to fitness, right? I remember what you said in the past. It’s not pride, but I know that I have stronger fitness than others. Being full of energy is my strength too.

Besides, it hasn’t been long since you got back from the Marine Corps. Well, I think my fitness did get better. Hahaha.

There must have been so many things you wanted to do. What are you enjoying the most these days? I’m spending a lot of time with my family because we can’t go anywhere freely. We spent Christmas and New Year together. I think it’s good because I haven’t been able to do this since my debut. When I was in the army, I wanted to see my people. That feeling was the strongest.

That’s why you showed up to Taemin’s waiting room in the music show on the day you were discharged. Still in my military uniform. I ran straight from Pohang. All the SHINee members gathered to support Taemin and there were staff members who have been with us for over 10 years. SHINee’s activities felt vague like a fun, pleasant memory when I was looking back in the military, but it felt real that day. That this is the reason why we’ve been together for a long time.

What do you talk about with the members? Since we’re preparing for our album, we talk a lot about the team. About SHINee’s directions, the things we need to show.

Are the pieces coming together? SHINee has often made unique and new attempts in terms of music and style. Some things were derived from what we started, and some were so bold that we asked ourselves ‘Is it okay to do this?’. But there were prejudices that were inevitable since we are an idol group and we didn’t ignore that view either. But now, our members have a consensus that we should show our music colours more clearly by playing to our artistic sides.

I agree. Can you tell me a song that represents that kind of identity by SHINee? The title track of our 4th regular album, ‘View’, was SHINee’s turning point. Before that, there was a strong perception that we are a group with a strong focus on performance. But we were able to show the music colours that we pursue through this song. We tried the deep house genre, which was unfamiliar to K-pop at the time. There were concerns but we achieved what we hoped. The album that contained that song has that kind of meaning itself too.  

Other than music or performance, what do you think of as a scene that shows the group SHINee well? It’s hard to define ‘this is us’ just by one thing because we’ve been through a lot. Instead, if there was to be a documentary made about SHINee, it would be better to have members showing their true sides in the opening scene rather than showing our glorious moments. With me for example, it would show me saying what I want without hesitation. Without worrying, without caring too much about what other people think.

Do you tend to save your words? I play pranks easily but I try not to spit out my words easily. I’m more of a listener than a talker.

You spent your time entirely as Choi Minho at least in the army. Have you been yourself as much as you can? Or did you get to see a lot of your new sides? Both of them coexisted. I had a lot of time to think deeply about myself. I thought about what was good and what was disappointing looking back on the past, and found a new side of myself that I didn’t know about while working as Minho in SHINee. It’s not that something has changed, but I am clearer about myself. I became clear about the things that I can be honest with others and the things that I should be careful about, and understand that what I thought as my strength could be my weakness.

In what way, did you think like that? I thought that I am an extrovert but it turned out, when I looked deep into it, that I cared more about others than myself. I realized that other people would feel comfortable only if I am too. I was busy being considerate and I was stressed, knowingly or not, because I thought I should be that way.

Minho reminds me of a good and sincere image, but it seems like the circumstances were complicated. Even I didn’t know. I think it’s a part that I have to work on to become a better person than now. It’s similar to the reason why I am looking forward to my 30s. I’m curious about what parts of myself that would mature in the future.

Some words that describe Minho are ‘passion’ and ‘trying one’s best’. When do you think the hottest time for you was? When I debuted as SHINee, I felt like I was lacking a lot of skills because I was practicing and promoting by blindly following, so I lost confidence. But after our first concert, I was able to feel less anxious and worried. I realized that there are so many fans who support me. The only thing that I was able to think about was that I should try my best. That heated heart is still ongoing. I feel that it hasn’t cooled down and has been going on so far.

What does passion mean to Minho? Does it mean that you’re greedy? Passion and greed. I thought the two words have similar meaning in the past. I was convinced that anything would come true if I worked hard by being greedy (overly ambitious). I think I hypnotized myself because I really wanted to be that way, rather than trying to be reckless. But as I gained experience, I am able to distinguish their meanings. If passion is the attitude of trying my best in what I can do, then greed is when I question myself ‘Can I really do this?’ and setting limits. So confidence is important. If you gain confidence, then you can boost your greed to positive energy.

Are you used to acting and promoting SHINee activities at the same time now? At first, I thought I would be able to do it even if it was hard. But it wasn’t easy like that. It’s not easy to handle both. I don’t want to let it go. This is a homework that I have to work on, rather than complaining that it’s hard or the results are disappointing.

Your first work after your discharge from the army was also acting. You guest starred in the drama ‘Lovestruck in the City’, what was your first line? “Wear this”. I can’t forget it.

What was it like? One of my favourite words is ‘first’. The first time, within many experiences, sticks to your mind strongly. Your second experience is blurry. That’s how much it means to be the first. When I first stood in front of the camera after I was discharged from the army, if felt like I was starting anew. It wasn’t a difficult scene but I was very nervous. Just like the first time I acted on the set, I vividly remember the situation, people, atmosphere, and the weather of that day.

Even the first scene you ever acted? It’s been more than a decade. It was a short drama, and it was a scene filmed inside a tow truck. I don’t remember my lines well but the actors next to me, the busy staff outside the car window, the sunlight beating down, the appearance of the first tow truck that I rode in, all are still very clear. Even if you tell me to forget it, it will not be forgotten.

Do you remember the first compliment you heard while acting? Well, a lot of people around me say good things to me but I’ve never thought of it as a compliment. It’s because I think I haven’t achieved anything that deserves a compliment yet. So I’ll just say that there’s nothing I can say as my first compliment yet.

It’s a very cool-headed and a cool answer. Then what are the things that you need to pluck up your courage in order to do it? There are a lot of everyday things… Cooking. I didn’t even dare to try it but I was wondering if I could try it before it was too late.

Anyway, somehow you started your social media. You revealed that you didn’t feel the need for a social media in an interview. What made you change your mind? I received so many letters from fans when I was in the army. I read every single one of them and many asked to share my everyday life on social media. I jokingly said that I’d rather open a personal photo exhibition than having a social media, but I started one because I wanted to give a present to fans who have been waiting for me for two years. But I don’t know if I can maintain it well.

Do you record your daily life as much as others do? Not at all. It’s what I’m trying my best these days.

When was the profile picture on your social media taken? When I was 3 or 4 years old. I thought about all sorts of things even with this. Like, should I upload a selfie or act cool?

#minho #shinee

[fanfalc-616]

Ḩ̵͘å̵̢͎̇͜c̴̼̼̣̉͝ķ̴̱͔̓̂e̵̦̒͛d̴͍̼̈̈

Right so this is the most graphic and bloody scene I have ever written so

MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING FOR BLOOD AND GORE AND TORTURE

Just so y’all know :)

{{ 12/? }}

Kai lays on the floor, staring at the ceiling. He failed again. He couldn’t protect another one of his teammates. Jay is gone, and maybe if he had been a little faster, he could’ve stopped Zane, could’ve rescued him.

But he wasn’t, and he didn’t.

He grits his teeth. He needs to do something, to find some way to help so he doesn’t feel so damn useless, but it’s been two weeks and he hasn’t come up with anything.

“Am I going to have to give you another lecture on taking care of yourself?” An annoyed voice questions.

Kai doesn’t bother looking over at him. “Go away, Cryptor.”

The nindroid sighs, coming over and sitting down next to him. “Please don’t make me be responsible; I’m only pretending to be because Zane’s not here to do it.”

Kai turns on his side and props himself up with an arm so he can get a better look at the former villain. He arches an eyebrow, waiting for him to elaborate.

Cryptor glares. “No. That’s all you get.”

“Why do you care? That Zane’s not here, about someone being responsible?” Kai questions.

“I told you no.” Cryptor snaps, clearly annoyed. “Now go take a shower so you can come patrolling with me; we can take a look at some of the harder to find places around the city.”

Kai feels a spark of anger ignite. “If you knew about these places before, then why wait until Jay got captured?!”

“Because having Jay is going to anchor him to one spot. We wouldn’t have been able to catch him when he’s moving, but a hostage forces him to stay put.” Cryptor explains. “Now go take your damn shower so we can get going- there’s no way I’m going on a mission with you when you smell like that.”

Kai knows that any argument with him would be futile, so he gets to his feet, and with a nod as a goodbye, goes into a bathroom.

This is going to be the fastest shower of his life.

{ { { { { { { { { {~} } } } } } } } } }

Jay had coughed up blood a few times in his sleep, but Echo made sure that he didn’t die from it, though he clearly wasn’t happy about cleaning it up and watching his breathing.

It’s been about an hour since the last time he started coughing, and Zane watches as Jay starts shifting, the blue ninja beginning to wake up. If Zane was in control of his body, he would’ve given him the few minutes he’d need to wake up fully on his own.

Echo smacks him across the face.

Jay flinches, eyes flying open with a small yelp. It seems to take a few moments for everything to register and for him to remember where he is.

It’s been two weeks since Echo had captured him, and Jay seems to barely be alive at this point- but Echo never pushes him too far, always keeping him balancing on the rim of his limit.

“You know, I was going to wait until the end of month one to do this.” The evil nindroid comments, getting up from the floor in order to grab some supplies. Some heavy gauze and padding, an odd cloth, a dagger, and…

And an eyepatch.

Zane feels panic race through him as he remembers how Echo mentioned wanting to tear his eye out. No, he can’t do that. He can’t.

Echo comes back over to Jay, dangling the eyepatch in front of his face. “I found one in the exact same style- it looks just like your old one did.”

By this point, Zane has figured out that there’s been some kind of big event that Jay went through that he never shared, but at the moment he’s not concerned by it. He struggles against the code imprisoning him- much like the way Jay strains against his chains.

“Ec- Echo, listen, I-“

Echo brings the knife against Jay’s lips, forcing him to stop moving them. “Shhhh.” He prompts lowly.

Tears have begun to form in the blue ninja’s eyes, and Echo leans in, studying them closely. “I think it was your left eye, wasn’t it?” He murmurs softly, taking the knife away from his lips in order to trace around the edge of the socket.

“Please, I- don’t-“

“I’ll have to be careful. I don’t want to injure your brain or hit an artery… so I’m going to need you to hold still. Nod if you understand.”

Jay swallows, still trembling. After a few moments, he gives a hesitant, subtle nod.

Echo smiles darkly. “Good.” Then he uses his free hand to press Jay’s shoulders against the wall.

He flicks his wrist, and the knife draws a thin line of blood just below his eyebrow.

Jay makes a small whimpering noise and squeezes his eyes shut.

Echo clicks his tongue. “I need those open.” He instructs. “Like I said, I don’t want to cause any brain damage, so I’m going to need to be able to see what I’m doing.”

A few moments pass before Jay warily raises his eyelids, the blue iris’ flickering around in fear.

“Very good.” Echo praises softly, his voice comforting and smooth.

Then he jams the tip of the blade into his eye.

Zane feels nauseated by the sight of the serrated piece of metal impaled in his friend’s iris, and feels like he wants to start crying from the desperate pained screams that escape him.

But Echo doesn’t stop or even hesitate. He twists the blade a little, and then tugs some.

The eye is bulging out of its socket, and crazed, hysterical screeches are flying from Jay as Echo moves his hand to wrap his fingers around the eye itself and pull it out even more-

Jay’s earsplitting shriek is deliberately ignored by the evil nindroid, who pulls it out further until the optic nerve is visible and blood, blood is everywhere, dripping all over the both of them. It spills from the would, pouring as it paints a deathly picture on the ground where it pools.

Zane feels sick at the sight, but he knows that he can’t fight back. One small slip of the hand could spell out Jay’s end.

Echo reaches out and uses the blade to trace the optic nerve, seeming to enjoy the pain that Jay expresses in the form of agonized screeching.

After a few moments of this, Echo stops fiddling with the blade and severs the nerve.

The frenzied scream grows louder and more intense, Jay obviously in unimaginable amounts of agony.

The blood is now gushing as the torn organ falls and splats against the ground, rolling in the crimson liquid that’s formed a puddle beneath them.

There’s a gaping wound in Jay’s head, a ghastly sight. The muscle inside his face should not be visible, but here it is, blood-soaked and exposed to the world.

Echo pushes the heavy padding against the large wound, but it doesn’t do anything to stop the horrible noises escaping Jay.

The eyepatch is used to hold the padding in place, and then Echo picks up the odd cloth from before.

‘That has chloroform on it!’

Echo doesn’t answer Zane’s realization, he just presses the cloth over Jay’s mouth. Within seconds, the poor lightning ninja is unconscious.

The evil nindroid sits back, letting Jay slump over. He looks down at the scarlet stained floor and sighs. “I’m not cleaning that up.”

Zane starts to try and say something, but loses his words when Echo picks up the damaged eye that he had torn from Jay’s head.

“I think I’ll send this back to your friends.” He decides.

Zane’s blood runs cold. How-

No. No, Zane doesn’t have blood. He doesn’t have veins or arteries or anything of the sort. He doesn’t have sensors in the places that would make him feel this way.

No, that’s his element.

Echo may control him, but Zane still controls the ice. It’s going to take a lot of work to build up the willpower to fight past the other and command his powers.

But he can do it. He will do it.

Because ninja never quit.

#ninjago hacked #hacked #ninjago fanfiction #fanfic #ninjago zangst #zangst

[rachelkaser]

Stay Golden Sunday: Job Hunting

Rose loses her job at the grief center and faces ageism when she searches for a new one. Blanche tries to lose three pounds.

Picture It...

Blanche is cutting vegetables while singing “Sleep, Kentucky Babe.” Sophia comes in (not wearing her glasses, for some reason) and is upset to see there’s no pepperoni in the fridge. She rejects both Blanche’s offer of celery stuffed with cottage cheese and Dorothy’s offer of chicken, as both repeat on her. Blanche, meanwhile, is trying to lose three extra pounds she’s gained.

Rose comes in, distraught (Sophia is, once again, indifferent), and tells the Girls that they’ve closed her grief counseling center. Blanche and Dorothy are immediately concerned that Rose has lost her job, but Rose is more worried about the fact that her former patients won’t have anyone to counsel them anymore. She says she plans to help them find other places to go, and then she’ll focus on finding a job. Dorothy is skeptical.

ROSE: I’m dependable, friendly, loyal, eager. *leaves the kitchen* DOROTHY: That’s great. If she learns to catch a frisbee in her teeth, she can get work as a Golden Retriever.

Later, Dorothy goes out to the lanai to read, and finds a strange man sitting there. He introduces himself as Milton, and Rose arrives to say that Milton is one of her former patients from the center, and even tells Dorothy his whole life story right in front of him. She sends him off and tells him to call her anytime, day or night -- the last three words sending Dorothy into a panic.

Dorothy confronts Rose about her job hunt and Rose says she hasn’t started looking, too preoccupied with helping the center’s patients. Sophia passes her phone messages from the patients and Dorothy gets one from an old high school acquaintance she had a crush on named Barry Glick. He’s visiting Miami and wants to get together, which sends Dorothy over the moon. Rose is drowning in her patients’ despair off to the side.

BLANCHE: I hate phone calls in the middle of the night! Now I’ll never get back to sleep. I’m as jumpy as a virgin at a prison rodeo. DOROTHY: Boy, that’s … pretty jumpy.

Dorothy bangs on Rose’s door that night to wake her, as Milton is calling in the wee hours. Blanche and Dorothy, irritated, retreat to the living room, where Sophia is sitting in the dark, and grouse about the situation -- Blanche has already lost one pound and doesn’t want to eat her insomnia, while Dorothy wants to look good for Barry. They decide to confront Rose, and sit her down when she comes out and tell her she needs to focus on finding a job. Rose tearfully confesses she has been trying to find one, but she’s been rejected after several interviews for her age. Distraught, she runs to her room and slams the door.

Dorothy and Blanche follow Rose to her room to talk to her about the situation. Dorothy tells her she’s recovered from a major life change once, after her husband died and left her as a housewife with no work experience. Rose says she’s older now, and Dorothy offers to help her figure out what she’s doing wrong in the interviews. Rose says she’s got one in the morning for a Hospital Administrator job, and Dorothy reviews her resume -- which stinks. She and Blanche find ways to pad the resume out, giving Rose some more confidence. Unable to fall back asleep, all three go to the kitchen for a snack.

BLANCHE: Oh I can’t fall asleep now. DOROTHY: Still at the rodeo, Blanche? ROSE: I can’t sleep either. Why don’t I make us all some warm milk? After I drink milk, I go right to sleep. BLANCHE: I can think of something else after which I go right to sleep. Huh, Dorothy? DOROTHY: … during.

In the kitchen, they somehow justify getting a three-course meal on the table, including our very first shared cheesecake (and Sophia’s precious pepperoni). Dorothy talks about her date with Barry, and how she wanted him to be her first lover. This leads into a lengthy discussion about their first lovers -- Stan was Dorothy’s, Charlie was Rose’s, and Someone-Whose-Name-Starts-With-B was Blanche’s. Rose’s first time was her wedding night, and she was appalled because she’d never seen a naked man before. Stan convinced Dorothy he was being shipped to Korea and “it would mean so much” and nine months later she gave birth. Rose not-so-subtly hints it took years for her to orgasm during sex, and Blanche is completely baffled, as her Southern heat gave her urges. The Girls transition from a full dinner to a full breakfast.

The next day, Blanche flirts with Milton on the lanai. He tells her to abandon her diet and they agree to a date later. Sophia comes out on the lanai, followed shortly by Dorothy, who says her date with Barry went very well. Blanche wants to know if he lives up to her high school fantasies, but Dorothy replies in the negative: Barry is gay. Sophia claims she’s always known that. Dorothy says at least no other woman can have him either.

SOPHIA: *about Milton* I thought he belonged to the other one. BLANCHE: Well I’m sure Rose won’t mind one bit. SOPHIA: He’s a man. It’s not like sharing a yogurt.

Rose joins them, all smiles. She didn’t get the hospital admin job, but she did find a job when she was out for a float after her failed interview: She’s now a waitress at a coffee shop. It’s not the job Blanche and Dorothy wanted for her, but at least she’ll be working and earning money. They congratulate her. Blanche asks Rose about Milton, and Rose says he’s just her client -- she could never date him, as he’s only interested in fat woman. The episode ends on Blanche’s furious face.

“Hell, if I’m gonna have cookies, I’m gonna have cheesecake!”

Usually, I’m on board with a Golden Girls Very Special Episode when it tackles relevant issues, but something about this episode -- ostensibly one about ageism in the job market -- just doesn’t land particularly well. I didn’t really love it as a child, and I don’t really love it as an adult, but I think it’s for entirely different reasons. I suspect there was some behind-the-scenes drama about this episode I haven’t been able to fully investigate, but suffice to say this episode is a throwback to the beginning of the season, when the show was much less certain of itself. That said, it’s saved from two-slice infamy by some very good lines and gags.

BLANCHE: You probably haven’t noticed it, but I’ve put on three pounds. SOPHIA: On each side.

I’m still not sure why I didn’t like it as a kid -- I think the fact that Sophia, who was my favorite, is in so little of the episode was part of it. Sophia’s role in this episode is basically to make weird remarks and hover on the periphery -- literally in the case of the living room and lanai scenes -- of the episode and make the occasional bon mot. She’s not in the extended kitchen scene where the Girls eat their way through a three-course meal (we’ll get back to that scene in a minute), so I think I was puzzled why this episode forgot about her.

As an adult, I can pinpoint a few more concrete reasons I’m not in love. Keep in mind I’m biased, as I was recently laid off and back on the job market, but I suspect that Rose’s problem might not be ageism. I’m not trying to be mean here, but the problem might be that Rose is trying to find a job with a community college degree and a 32-year gap in work history, and the fact that the episode doesn’t really seem to understand that is a little disconcerting.

ROSE: They closed the center. BLANCHE: Not your grief counseling center? DOROTHY: No, the Kennedy Space Center. She wanted to be the first Lutheran on the Moon.

I don’t plan to fully talk about the episode before the official SGS, but I think it’s necessary to fully give context here: Rose will get another episode based around age discrimination in the job market in Season 5 called “Rose Fights Back.” Suffice to say I think it’s much better than this one, because at least in that episode it makes it clear that the only reason Rose is having problems is because of people’s reaction to her age. But this episode is much less clear, and in fact, based on the one job we see Rose actually applying for, I think she may be aiming a little high here.

To be clear, you can do alright with a Home-Ec degree and business training. There are a lot of jobs you can reasonably get with those qualifications. “Hospital Administrator” isn’t one of them, and Dorothy’s attempts to fluff up Rose’s resume don’t do anything but draw attention to the huge gaps in her work history. “32 years with the same employer?” There is not an interviewer in the world who won’t ask which employer that is, and who is Rose supposed to say? Her husband?

I know I wasn’t alive in the 80s, but I refuse to believe it was so alien a time that someone with Rose’s qualifications would be able to get that job. Heck, if she lived in the modern day, getting a job at the Fountain Rock coffee shop would be a coup.

There are also a few continuity errors in this episode: For starters, Charlie goes from having died 15 years ago to 5 years ago. Rose will later get be a grief counselor with no explanation. I guess it’s possible that she could have gotten another job in the same field, but it’s still jarring that she’s a waitress for all of five minutes.

DOROTHY: I am so glad that my date with Barry is tomorrow. The fat won’t have time to show. ROSE: It won’t? DOROTHY: No, it always takes a few days before it shows. ROSE: Where does it go in the meantime? DOROTHY: To Connecticut! How do I know where it goes? BLANCHE: With me, the minute it goes in my mouth, I balloon up. I can go out to dinner, and in the middle of the meal, my pants are cutting off my circulation so bad my feet are turning blue.

I don’t want to be a Negative Nancy, so I’ll add that everything in this episode is saved by the excellent jokes and lines. Some of the most iconic lines and exchanges happen in this episode, so it’s memorable for that reason alone. The best parts are probably Blanche’s enraged reaction faces, as seen in the image at the top. Also, when I discovered that this was actually the second episode filmed, that explained an awful lot -- for example, why this episode doesn’t balance all four actresses well, why the writing doesn’t feel as concise, and all the continuity errors. Even the way the episode looks makes sense after learning that little tidbit.

As much as I like that scene in the kitchen where the Girls talk about their romantic history -- and also eat their first cheesecake together! -- it really has very little to do with the rest of the episode, and it takes up quite a chunk of time. I guess that’s why I don’t consider this a Very Special Episode: The tone is just a bit too inconsistent. Five minutes after Rose is lamenting that she can’t find a job because of her age, and she’s talking about how it took her five years to have an orgasm with her husband. A different kind of tragedy, to be sure.

BLANCHE: You know, in the South, we mature faster. I think it’s the heat. DOROTHY: I think it’s the gin.

I can’t be certain, but I think there was some behind-the-scenes drama with director Paul Bogart, who was fired shortly after this episode was shot. I can only find a couple of references to this episode in Golden Girls Forever, one of which calls it “troubled.” Don’t take my word as gospel, but it’s what I suspect happened. Bogart was liked by Rue McClanahan and Bea Arthur, but didn’t direct Rose’s character very well, according to Betty White. He wanted her to yell and scream during her big moment, which wasn’t very Rose, but she tried until Jay Sandrich, director of the pilot, took her aside and told her to do it how she felt comfortable. Bogart apparently told the staff (including the writers): “Just give me the show in the beginning of the week, and by the end of the week, you’ll have an Emmy winner.” That boast did not go over well, especially since he didn’t really include the writers or the hands-on producers, and he only directed four episodes.

One last thing: The kitchen scene in this episode was expanded and adapted for the 1988 Royal Variety Performance. In adapting this, they got smart and gave Estelle Getty lines to say. Not only do you get to hear Sophia tell the very posh emcee, “Let’s find a pub and get drunk,” you also get to hear Blanche make her usual joke about watching the changing of the guard. I’ve heard it was the Queen Mother who requested them, as she was a fan. Not only can you see her meeting the Girls backstage, but Sophia even references her when leaving the stage: “Hey, just because you’re over 80 doesn’t mean you can’t go out on the town at night. Just ask that fine-looking lady up there in the expensive seats.”

Episode rating: 🍰🍰🍰 (three cheesecake slices out of five)

Favorite part of the episode:

Sophia’s line, which I’ve quoted more times than I can count:

DOROTHY: Ma, would you get Rose some water? SOPHIA: What is she gonna do with water? Has water ever made you feel better when you were upset? Have you ever heard anyone say, “Thank God, the water’s here?”

#golden girls #stay golden #rose nylund #blanche devereaux #dorothy zbornak #sophia petrillo #stay golden sunday #s01e22 #picture it #job hunting

[blue-shaded]

This is not discourse or internet tea. This is honestly asking for advice on something.

Before I start the issue I’m stating happened 4 years ago but as the story progresses it will catch up to present.

My junior year of HS I met this guy in my science class we will call him satan (it’s my nickname for him and he knows it). Satan and I became really good friends over the course of the year and I started to like him and enjoy being around him. Homecoming came and he asked me to help him ask a girl and I thought it was going to be me...news flash it wasn’t. He was later rejected and well i offered him to join me and my friends. Soon he was a member of our friend group.

Now this is where it gets interesting, my HS had a intro to cooking class (nothing like home Ec) and whenever he made anything he would always give it to me or offer me the food they had. So I assumed he had a crush on me and stuff so I just kept waiting for him to ask me out, but he never did. Come around November he asks my friend (let’s call her Elsa ((she likes frozen))). So he asks Elsa out and she asks multiple times do you like D—- (which is me I’ll refer to myself as D) and Satan kept saying no I don’t. And they were very happy and if I’m being honest I was okay with it because I wasn’t sure of my sexuality at that point.

Come December of Junior year me and my friends have our usual Christmas party and well in my friends basement he held me because I was upset and I thought nothing of it. Come later that month I’m off in NY with my parents for a birthday weekend to meet a friend and I get a text from Satan saying “what if I left Elsa for another girl” I said “I will kill you” and then he said “that girl is you” and at the time I was flattered but I wasn’t about to break girl code so I said to Satan “don’t break up with because of me just tell her it’s not working out.” Satan didn’t do that he went to her and said “I’m sorry I’m breaking up with you for D marry christmas” and hung up the phone. Three seconds later he asked me out. I was said no maybe in a couple of months.

Come January junior year I developed a crush on this girl (now my best friend) and I asked her out and she said yes. And well he became very hostile TW/// suicide, guns, knife.

He started texting me about my dads gun and asking me to give it to him with one bullet, threatened to stab my at the time girlfriend and threatened to kill my other friends so I respectfully told the school and they were dealing with it. His parents blame me for his depression to this day.

Come end of Junior year me and my ex broke up and well he took his chances. Every month he would ask me out constantly, bring me gifts, give me food. I kept saying no.

1. Because I felt like if I was in a relationship it would be very controlling

2. He was my friends Ex and I wasn’t about to that

3. My parents would disown me and his parents would despise me

4. I Just wasn’t interested.

Now just last year my freshmen year he asked me out AGAIN after 4 years of rejection. It’s upsetting me at this point I remained his friend so he would always have someone to lean on since he has nobody. But it’s bothering me always having to say no to him because I hate upsetting people. And I don’t wanna drop him as a friend at all but I wanna be able to hang out and have fun and not have to worry about him thinking it’s more.

Just a month ago I saw him before he went off to college and he said that he was tired of seeing soulmate tik toks because his dosent like him back, called me pretty, called me beautiful and that he couldn’t look at me. I’m flattered but it comes from a different place and it makes me feel bad for him. I dont know. Plus on top of that i dont know anything about myself to even step foot into the dating pool.

I’m sorry this is long and I’m sorry if I wasted your time I just wanted to set the scene. Anyways anons? blue? What would you do if your in this situation?

My apologies for grammar and run on sentences I’m just trying to vent and get advice.

I honestly hate to see how he developed from an opportunity, into a huge ass red flag. Can he redeem himself from that? Yes, but I’ve barely seen anyone ever get over their red flags. I’m going to use my situation as an example here. My ex was the same kind of red flag at the end of our last relationship. He projected it all on me. We were in the same group of friends so we remained that way but he was horrible. I couldn’t stand being in the same room as him since he’d just gaslight everyone into thinking I was the evil being that was the red flag. I left it alone, all my friends left the situation alone. And now its better. For his depression, he needs help, serious help to get over that. I feel like right now he’s sort of, trying to convince himself that you are the solution to his mental problems and thats a lie. No one can make you better than you, yourself. Be mindful of him, support him when he needs it, but don’t join his pityparty in the sense of letting him date you. That’s not going to be good for anybody involved. The only thing you can do is be a good friend where he needs it. The 2 of you need to figure out yourself, and love yourself before you can love anyone else.

#Anonymous

[soysaucevictim]

Final week of current regimen!

-

Oct. 17

I woke up around 10AM.

First, yesterday’s DD. 40 knee-to-elbows with EC. Probably could’ve extended legs out more with each rep - but I was able to maintain my balance and feel it in my abs.

Second, today’s DD. 50 [balance] front kicks with EC (25/25). A fun one, almost lost center in first go around. But I managed to get it done handily in first try. A fun one!

(Decided to rewatch POF for rest of fitness docket...)

Third, Day 25 of the ICC. 3x3′ butt kicks, 30″ rest. Rhythm Redux was a fantastic pace-setter & distraction. I can tell this next week’s butt kicks are gonna be intense.

Last, Day 25 of the 30MDoY. This sequence was pretty intense on the quads. Appreciated the mountain/volcano poses for recovery and will always enjoy tree pose!

(I’ll never not be amused about Janus’s line about pushing people down stairs.)

I got started on early and finished that Scary!Janus drawing in the same day/session today. Spent rest of day streaming that and chatting.

Got to bed in the red zone - a bit later than yesterday.

-

Oct. 18

Got up around noon.

The first thing I got done today was exercise.

First, today’s DD. 30 single leg bridges with EC (15/15). Very manageable work.

Second, Day 26 of the ICC. 3x16 calf raises, done in one go. Very doable too.

Last, Day 26 of the 30MDoY. Just happy that this was a breezy sequence. Probably the only really hard part was the back arch balance holds - but meditative nevertheless. I think my right lats were a bit more tense throughout - but fun.

Then, I got to doing dishes and making today’s Hello Fresh meal. Jumpin’ jack chicken bowls. Everyone enjoyed this - I particularly enjoyed that it didn’t take as much effort to make too.

Watched Naked Gun 2 with a friend. Then, I shifted gears to start working on that nightmare scene involving iZ!Roman.

Got to bed obscenely late.

-

Oct. 19

Got up around 1PM.

The first thing I got done today was exercise.

First, today’s DD. 100 squat hold punches with EC. Took a bit of willpower, but going quick helps things along.

Second, Day 27 of the ICC. 3x3′ butt kicks, 30″ rest. Instead of SaSi, I decided to have some music going. Benefit of music being that it’s a good metronome for the brain clock - a bit of a coordination conductor sort of situation. More efficient, rhythmic, and fun to do cardio against.

(After making some trip reservations over the phone...)

Last, Day 27 of the 30MDoY. 35′ meditation. Though I swapped legs every 5′ interval... left leg felt the most parasthesia. But doing my best to keep my mind in observation mode (as opposed to evaluation/judging) helps make that experience more bearable.

Spent rest of day drawing/streaming that iZ!Roman scene and chatting.

Got to bed in the red zone, but a couple hours earlier than yesterday. *Shrug.*

-

Oct. 20

I woke up around noon.

The first thing I got done today was exercise.

First, today’s DD. 40 crunches with EC. Did start feeling it a bit in the end - but i could knock it out pretty easily.

Second, Day 28 of the ICC. 3x16 calf raises, done in one go. Yep, not much new to say here.

Last, Day 28 of the 30MDoY. This definitely had a few intense moments - #2-3 took some focus to stay balanced. #6 took a bit of deep breathing to sustain. Everything else I would say ranged from moderate to breezy. Enjoyable sequence.

Spent rest of day finishing that drawing/stream of iZ!Roman scene and chatting.

Got to bed really late... for no good reason afterwards. :P

-

Oct. 21

I woke up around 11AM.

First, today’s DD. 30″ squat hold with EC. Pretty manageable - all about the deep breathing!

Second, Day 29 of the ICC. 3x3′ butt kicks, 30″ rest. Music helped, listened to the iZ!AU playlist on shuffle (”you should see me in a crown”s BPM is a bit too slow tho for this exercise though) Last butt kicks day and last particularly intense day for this challenge. Huzzah! \o/

Last, Day 29 of the 30MDoY. Last really active day for this program, and it was largely a very chill sequence. Only intense bit was the O-pose. Did have a brief head-rush between #4-5, the first time (probably from sweating a bunch and getting on floor p soon after that cardio). But yeah, Loved it.

After hitting the showers, I got started on drawing/streaming Scary!Virgil and chatting the rest of night.

Got to bed earlier than yesterday, but still in the red.

-

Oct. 22

I woke up around 1PM.

First, today’s DD. 30 windshield wipers with EC. Just about manageable. Takes a good amount of core control, did get a few cricks out of back in process.

Second, Day 30 of the Indoor Cardio Challenge. 3x16 calf raises, done in one go. I nice and chill way to cap off this challenge!

(After cleaning some stuff...)

Last, Day 29 of the 30 More Days of Yoga. 35′ meditation. Not physically demanding but definitely still a challenge mentally. Mind did wander and I did get a bit fidgety. I did figure a bit out on how to position the legs to mitigate some parasthesia, however (alternated legs’ positioning and made sure both feet contacted floor instead of having one nestled on top of the other leg.)

I spent rest of night finishing drawing/streaming that Scary!Virgil picture and chatting. I basically nearly pulled an all-nighter for that... stayed up a bit too long afterwards... let’s just say dawn broke when i hit the sack.

-

Oct. 23

I woke up sometime around 1-2PM.

Listened to music and other things for a bit, before doing some dishes and today’s DD (only exercise, given active rest day). 40 full bridges with EC. Manageable, given how much energy I had.

Was too tired to make the family dinner / Hello Fresh. But spent rest of my day starting on drawing/streaming Imposter!Remus.

I hit my wall earlier than usual and turned in in the red zone... less than an hour off from the yellow zone.

-

Summary of Experience:

I completed my current program and challenge on October 22.

The Indoor Cardio Challenge was pretty manageable. I didn’t count my reps for butt kicks days - but kept my pace between a jog and light run. Still got pretty winding, but I didn’t need to break it up. I did all the calf raise days in one go - nice reprieves in intensity there.

I really enjoyed 30 More Days of Yoga Program! It was a welcome cycle of intensity and being given days to meditate (still ought to make that a regular thing). I wound up modding down pretty much all instances of upward dog (letting thighs rest on floor). I modded down 7 days out of of this program in total (mostly constituted in a few knee planks - but not all full planks).

#adventures with fitness #adventures with hello fresh

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Three Hundred Forty-Six: Food ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

It’s funny how food went from a thoughtless necessity to something so...important.

Sasuke had never really given the culinary arts much consideration. Food was just...food. Sure, you could get fancy and expensive with it. Some of it is healthy, some of it is not. Some he likes, some he can’t stand. But it had no real...meaning to him. No significance.

Not until his Home Economics class.

True, cooking and food wasn’t the sole focus of the class. There was sewing, cleaning, managing a home, knowing how to care for children. In a lot of ways it felt a bit...dated, and yet it was all handy to know, once he got over the fact that he was the only guy in a class typically known as a “woman’s subject”.

But, admittedly, the days where they focused on food preparation quickly became his favorite. As neat as it was to learn to sew his own stuff, there was something about knowing about such a basic and necessary skill that was...rewarding. Satisfying.

And, well...there was one other reason.

Most of the students were underclassmen. All girls. The only other senior in the hour block was Hinata Hyūga. Someone Sasuke vaguely knew due to meshing social circles, but had never really had a chance (or reason) to speak to. While everyone else seemed a bit unnerved at his presence as both a guy and an upperclassman, Hinata had greeted him amiably, and was more often than not his partner for any activities the class took on.

She was friendly, warm...and yet quiet and attentive. Not like most other girls Sasuke typically found himself around, like Sakura or Ino. Being rather reserved himself, he found it...refreshing. Even his best friend Naruto was unapologetically loud at nearly every moment, and it was just so exhausting!

Given that the class wasn’t exactly difficult (at least not compared to his other classes, several of which were honors and AP), and the atmosphere so much more relaxed and easily paced...it quickly became one Sasuke found himself looking forward to, especially given its position at the end of the day.

So when the time came to switch classes for the semester...he really didn’t want to.

He’d made friends in the class. Learned a lot. Enjoyed all the activities, but especially all the time partnering up with Hinata, and most of all when they were cooking. Food had become more than just something to do three times a day. It’d become a hobby, and a meaningful activity between two friends.

Stressing about the change for several weeks, he’d talked to her about it, learning more about her own plans before just...deciding to stay, his father and his stuck up standards be damned. If Hinata could stand up to her own about her future in a far bigger way, then...he could do that much!

So, the rest of his senior year passed with Home Ec as his last class. It was mostly more of the same, but...that was just how he wanted it. His little retreat from the rest of the world, the rest of its expectations.

Hinata, he knew, felt very much the same.

The rest of the year, then, was spent just...enjoy it. Come graduation, Sasuke found himself a bit uneasy about the future, as many of his classmates did. But there were some things he knew would be just fine.

“Promise you’ll write?”

“I’m not going to just disappear for a year,” Hinata laughed. The ceremony was over, everyone milling about as pictures were taken and hands shook. “I’ll have my phone, and wifi whenever I can find it. Odds are I’ll be at least texting you a few times a week, okay?”

“Just...be careful.”

“Of course. I’ve been networking all year - I have friends in all the places I want to visit that I’ll be staying with, so...I’ll be f-fine. And I’ll send lots of pictures!”

“You better.”

“...I sort of wish you could come with me.”

Sasuke’s brows rose a bit. “...yeah?”

“Yeah! I mean…” She’d sheepishly tucked hair behind her ear. “Y-you’re a really good friend, Sasuke. I’m...I’m really going to miss you. And our class. No more hanging out after school baking pies, huh?”

“...yeah, guess not. Not for a while, anyway. I bet we’ll make a day of it whenever you get back, huh?”

“Yeah...if I come back,” she lightly teased. “M-maybe I’ll find someplace I really want to stay. Open up my little bakery, right?”

Sasuke couldn’t stop a soft laugh. “Yeah...then I guess I’d just have to come to you.”

“...maybe over one of your breaks, you can meet me whenever I’ll be. If...if you want.”

“...maybe I will.”

The actual goodbye was a tearful one. Going to send her off on her first flight - Hiashi nowhere to be seen - Sasuke had been a bit startled when she latched onto him tightly.

“...I’ll text you when I land.”

“...okay, good.”

“I’ll be heading s-straight to my friend’s place - she’s going to meet me at the airport. So...I won’t be alone.”

“Smart.”

“It’ll probably take me a while to settle in, so...if I go q-quiet after that, I’ll just be busy. But I’ll reply when I can.”

“Yeah...don’t worry about it. Enjoy your trip, all right? Don’t be glued to your phone. Experience it, okay?”

Finally backing up a bit, she let eyes flicker between his own. “...I will. H-have a good Summer if...if I don’t see you before you start school, okay?”

“I’ll give it my best effort, but...no guarantees.”

Smiling, she opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off as the boarding was announced. “...I better go!”

“Yeah, don’t be late.” Waving, he watched her get into line, digging out her ticket and passing through onto the plane.

Moving to a window, he’d watched it take off, a strange tightness in his chest.

...he still hadn’t told her how he felt, but...well, given that she was leaving, it felt like a pretty bad time to try. If she rejected him, it’d probably hang over her and ruin her experience. And if she didn’t - if she returned the feeling - then they’d reach that point only to be separated for an entire year.

He resolved to do it when she got back. Part of him was, admittedly, a bit worried she’d meet some cool foreign guy on her travels and forget about him. But at the same time...he also knew she wasn’t the sort to get swept up like that. Sure, she was a bit of a romantic, but...not that bad.

Summer seemed to crawl by. He kept up his cooking habits, still delighting his mother whenever he joined in to help with dinner.

“Going to be lonely around here, won’t it?”

“Huh?”

“Oh come now, Sasuke,” Mikoto had gently chided. “You think I didn’t notice you moping around after Hinata left?”

Startled pink bloomed in his cheeks, and his mother’s knowing smirk revealed she realized more than he’d let on.

“...she’ll be back before you know it. You two have something tying you together, after all. It might seem like ages, but...time has a way of flying the older you get. She’ll have her adventure, and probably be a different person when she gets back. But food, more than anything else, brings people together. And you two met over it, right? That’s a guarantee she’s a keeper.”

“Mom,” Sasuke had groaned, earning a laugh at his embarrassed tone.

“Sorry, sorry...I’m just so proud of how much you’ve grown this year. It’s nice to have this to share with you. And I know Hinata feels the same way.”

Staring down at the tomato he was peeling, he went quiet for a moment.

“...yeah. I hope so.”

                                                       .oOo.

     (This is a sequel to days 98, 108, 139, 227, 284, 301, and 331!)       This is...a little short, and I wanted to write one more scene, but I am just...too wiped, lol - maybe I'll have a chance to wrap this one up before the challenge is over!      And yes, to anyone just tuning in / behind, I'm still going though 2019 is over. I WON'T GIVE UP xD It's been 365 days, but I haven't written my 365 pieces, so I'm gonna plough through and finish up, no matter when it actually ends!      ...*coughs* Anyway...more of the Home Ec verse. I know this had a lot of time skipping in it, but...well, with the challenge almost over, and without much left to write, I figured I'd just hop forward. I have one more idea for it, and depending on how prompts go, maybe it'll happen in the challenge. If not, I'll just...write it on its own, lol      BUT, now I'm gonna go sleep. One thing I'll look forward to once this is over is (hopefully) getting to bed at a better hour x'D Thanks for reading!

#sasuhina #uchiha sasuke #hyūga hinata #best years of your life [ au ] #365daysofsasuhina

[deadtired03]

Ms. Edith

By DeadTired03

I live in a small neighborhood known as Spring Creeks. I know most of my neighbors, but I’m not very close to them and we barely talk. There is, however, one neighbor I’m very fond of. The house to the right of mine houses a sweet old lady by the name of Ms. Edith. Ms. Edith is seventy-three years old and lives on her own after her husband, Mr. Richard, passed away five years ago. She’s a very kind old woman that everyone in the neighborhood is friends with; she’s often called on to babysit when neighborhood parents leave their children. She’s known to be very gentle and soft spoken, able to calm down the angriest person.

Though she barely leaves her house, she’s made quite the reputation in our little neighborhood. I don’t think I’ve heard a single person express any dislike toward her. How could anyone possibly dislike her, anyway? There’s not a single thing about that sweet old woman to hate. I, for one, see her as my grandmother. Everyday, as I leave early to walk to school, I pass her house and talk to her. She’s always on the front porch, sitting in her little rocking chair, as if waiting for me. We’ll talk for about five minutes before she pulls out a plate of chocolate chip cookies, seemingly from nowhere, and offers me one. Of course, I can never decline her offer; her cookies are amazing! I’ve often thought about asking for the recipe, but I can never seem to remember.

Today is no different, and it goes just as the previous days have. I always make sure to wake up early so that I have time to talk to Ms. Edith before school. Talking to her before having to endure rude teachers and bullies always helps me get through the day. I practically rush to get ready, barely pulling my shirt all the way over my head before I’m downstairs and scarfing down my breakfast. When I’m done and throw on my shoes, I sling my backpack over my shoulder and run out toward the house next to mine. She’s already sitting on her porch, as always, and turns to me with a gentle smile as I rush up to give her a hug. She really is like a grandmother to me, especially since my actual grandmother passed away a few years ago.

“Ah, Kit, how are you, sweetheart?” Ms. Edith asks warmly, tugging gently on my bright red hair. I giggle, already feeling ready to take on school.

“I’m fine as always, Ms. Edith! How are you doing?” I ask in return, smiling shyly at the kind old woman before me. I don’t mean to brag, but I really do think I’m her favorite neighbor. No one interacts with or talks to Ms. Edith as much as I do, after all.

“Oh, fine, fine. I’m even better now that you’re here!” Ms. Edith replies, relaxing back into her rocking chair. She looks so fragile with her skinny arms, short white hair done up in curls, and her little blue dress with white flowers. She also has a little bit of makeup on her face, but not much. Despite sitting down, it was obvious to anyone that she was very small in height. I often get nervous at the thought of her living on her own; if someone were to break into her house she wouldn’t stand a chance. However, I’ve never been able to bring up the subject to her.

“Ah, Ms. Edith, is that a new dress?” I ask, sparking our usual five minute discussion. Before long, Ms. Edith quickly pulls out a plate of her famous chocolate chip cookies. I brighten up immediately, excited to start the day with a cookie. Politely taking one from the plate, I slowly bite into the cookie, hoping to savor it. My tastebuds are met with a nice balance of sweetness and chocolate chips. The thing I really enjoy about Ms. Edith’s cookies is how moist they are; she knows how I hate dry cookies. However, what’s so special about her cookies is a taste I’ve never experienced in any other cookie. I can’t describe it, which is quite frustrating, but what I’ll say is that it tastes amazing and makes the cookie even better.

“Mm! They’re always so good, Ms. Edith! I wish I could bake like you.” I say, a rush of happiness taking over; her cookies never fail to put me in a great mood.

“Oh, you’re such a sweet boy, Kit. You’re like the grandson I never had.” she replied, making me confused. I could’ve sworn she mentioned having a grandson, but maybe I’m thinking of something someone else said. Despite my momentary confusion, I ignore the sudden feeling of doubt and focus on finishing my cookie.

After giving me one more cookie, I reluctantly say goodbye before finally walking off to school. I can’t help but feel like I should do something for Ms. Edith in return, since she’s really nice. Maybe I can bake her something in my Home Ec. class? Then I could bring it to her on my way home. I’d do it with my mom, but she’s always so busy. Besides, I want to make Ms. Edith something as soon as possible! Now I’m even more excited to get to school. I don’t think anything could possibly ruin this day!

Several hours later, since Home Ec. is my last class of the day, I had to wait six hours before I could bake anything. I decided, after twenty minutes of struggling to make a decision, that I would bake Ms. Edith some brownies. I thought, since she’s always making cookies, that I could make something different. Luckily, I remembered her telling me that brownies are her second favorite dessert. Even if my brownies aren’t nearly as good as she’d make them I still feel like they’ll turn out good. I even had the teacher guide me more than she usually would so I wouldn’t mess up. I really hope Ms. Edith will like my dessert, since I always love her cookies.

Leaving school, I begin to feel anxious. I can’t quite imagine why I’m suddenly so nervous, since it’s just Ms. Edith. She’s the sweetest person I’ve ever met and I doubt there’s anything to worry about. Still, I can feel myself growing more and more excited as I make my way to Spring Creeks. Ms. Edith lives in the fifth house, on the left, and it’s painted a bright pink color. It’s very difficult to miss and I spot it as soon as I enter our little neighborhood. However, the bright pink color isn’t what immediately catches my eye.

Bright red and blue flashing lights assaults my eyes as I walk up to Ms. Edith’s house. There are around five police cars surrounding her property, with yellow caution tape spread in front of her yard. A crowd of people, whom I recognize to be the rest of my neighbors, are scattered around the shocking scene. With a jolt, I realize I’ve stopped walking. I hastily begin running forward, panicked and worried thoughts filling my head. What’s going on? Is Ms. Edith okay? Please tell me she didn’t get hurt! As I think that, I notice there are no ambulances. Then, what could possibly be wrong?

As I skid to a stop beside a man, I look just in time to see the police escort Ms. Edith out of her house in handcuffs. About four policemen walk out of her house, most of them pale and clearly disturbed. What is going on?

“I can’t believe she’d do something like this . . .” said the man I’d stood beside. Do what? What did she do? I’m so scared . . .

“Um, excuse me? What's going on? Why are they arresting Ms. Edith?” I ask, feeling a twist of dread in my stomach. The man looked down at me in surprise, clearly having not noticed I was beside him. He looked back at Ms. Edith being pushed into the police car, chewing on his nails. I waited patiently, understanding that he needed to get his thoughts together.

“Listen, kid, I don’t think I should be telling you this, but I don’t really care, either. Apparently, some guy ran out of Edith’s house and claimed that she’s been killing people and baking them into cookies. He said she was going to kill him, too, until he escaped.” the man finally said, his face turning pale. With that, I turned around and threw up.

#scary stories #scary story #creepy stories #literature #creative writing #short stories #tw: cannibalism #DeadTired03

[officialcolumbiauniversity]

February 15, 2020. It’s been a great start to spring semester on campus; I’m registered for 4 classes as well as research, but I decided today that I’m going to drop one of them. Puts me at barely 13 credits but it’s worth it: the psets for that one class had 10-15 problems each week, and it would take me around 4 hours per problem to finish. And it was only 2 credits! I only stayed in it this long because I love the subject, and it’s half a semester so I thought I could just suffer through it and bullshit my way through. BUT I love the subject, and I would rather take two years to understand it once than fail the class now then relearn it again in grad school. 

Anyways, with the absence of this class I suddenly have 5 days of the week off, and it’s Saturday so I’m gonna take a nap then try to get some work done for research. I’m in a new lab again this semester, after the last two labs over two semesters were definitely not the right fit lol. This semester is one I’m hoping to stay in for the rest of undergrad: it’s a baby lab because the PI was just appointed at Columbia last semester. Three grad students and me, potentially a postdoc that I had the honor of sitting in on his interview of! and asking questions along with the other team members (interviews are just an hour-long talk of the postdoc’s research history and what he plans to continue). I love love LOVE this lab because I feel like an actual member of the group, with agency, like I’m going up on the website n all that :) and I can stroll into work whenever I want and the PI is training the grads and I himself, etc. The lab is brand-new, so new that a good portion of it hasn’t been set-up yet and actually a good portion of my research will be creating some of the technology!! Because we’re trying to develop a way to image single electrons, so obviously it doesn’t exist and we’ll be developing microscopes to figure out how.

Anyways, that’s my academic life. Clearly I can talk about research all day so I’m just gonna move on. I will say that I’ve been taking so many math classes that I realized like a week ago I could totally get a math concentration too if I just took like another 4 classes, so I guess I’m chem/math now! Wow a whole STEM bitch y’all could never

I’m otherwise not too involved in campus life anymore, tbh. I can’t tell if that’s the norm, because I don’t think it is but when my sorority was preparing for recruitment and we quickly introduced ourselves to the rest of the chapter a surprising number of people upperclassmen were like yeah I kinda do this and I’m in this club but I don’t rlly go to meetings anymore and ya pretty much the sorority is what i’m most involved in now. And i was like huh. I do, however, still worry about it, and i keep trying to think of ways to get involved so that job or grad school applications are easier. Research takes up most of my time so when I get back from it, I’m pooped. I either go work out or watch Netflix, or cook, or chill w my dog, and I’m honestly happy with this life. I guess I’ve kind of figured out that clubs are pretty culty on campus, and not being involved in a club doesn’t mean you’re not passionate about it. It just means that those people who are just make it their whole life/social scene, the way I make my dog and research my whole life.

On campus, things have settled down since the Tess Majors attack. I don’t think I wrote about it before: just a few days before finals week a Barnard freshman named Tess was stabbed to death in a mugging as she was walking back to campus. It was terrifying not only because she was an unarmed, white, freshman, but also because it happened with no provocation and extremely close to campus. I personally ended up deferring two of my finals to the beginning of this semester, because I was too scared to leave my dorm to study. I also spent a ridiculous amount of money on Postmates and when I had to leave I took a cab even 4 blocks. Since being back on campus, things have quieted down, but I along with a lot of other people downloaded the Citizens app, and that awareness of all the crime going on in the city makes me feel much more vulnerable still.

Also, for some reason a facebook page called Columbia Confessions has blown up; I’ve posted three or so times myself and my most recent one, a shitpost about stealing people’s Canada Gooses at parties, broke a hunnid which I’m proud of! I actually wrote it to specifically target some kid who kept complaining about his lost Valentino, and someone actually tagged him lmao.

Lastly (that I can think of), the housing process has just begun and its a weird time on campus as usual: freshmen breaking down and losing friends over groupings, sophomores just trying to avoid the drama of last year, juniors angling to see if they can get an EC suite or a nice Hogan single. I personally was offered a nice single in my sorority house which i GAVE UP because a good friend of mine we’ll call Omicron wanted to room together and I’m tired of not having friends lol. She’s got ODS accommodations and theoretically so do I, so we’re trying to go for a Watt, EC, or Woodbridge 2-bedroom suite. I don’t know which I want because I’ve never been in any of those dorms, besides an EC townhouse, so I’m feeling really nervous about giving up my brownstone room. But I don’t really fuck w my sorority anymore, and worst comes to worst I’ll live in River because they have some HUGE ass singles, so for now i’ll trust Omicron and hope that we get a Watt 2br because they have lounges. 

OH lastly for real, I’m in art hum this semester! so keep ur luscious eyes peeled for a Core Review at the end of this semester~

#columbia university #journal entry #columbia journal entry #ivy league #columbia confessions #undergrad research #stem research #chemistry #canada goose #columbia college

[faithhudson]

How Domestic || Madeline & Fae 07.21

Tagging: Madeline Beiste (@miss-madeline-beiste) & Fae Hudson

Date: July 21

Location: Madeline’s Suite

Classes: Home Ec, Switch 101

Summary: Cleaning, a nice meal, and some important conversation

Normally, the idea of a scene wasn't something that Fae would have been interested in.  She didn't really care about the points and didn't have any real intention of getting out of the Institute before thirty, so it didn't seem important.  But what Madeline had helped her come up with was something that she actually didn't hate - a simple mix of cooking and cleaning that she could do without it being a super subby thing, and it would help Madeline gain the fifty valuable points toward the Domme getting out of Lima. "All right, Miss," she smiled, trying to get herself into the right headspace.  "How should I begin?  What would you like cleaned?"

Madeline was looking forward to this scene with Fae. She enjoyed spending time with the sub, and she’d be lying if she said she didn’t think about what it would like to claim her one day. But that was getting far too ahead of themselves. Right now, she would focus on taking care of Fae as a friend. She smiled over at her and put a finger in her textbook to hold her place. “There are some dishes in the kitchen, and the dining room table could use a polish before we eat. Once you’re done getting that taken care of, you can start on dinner. If you have any questions, all you have to do is ask.”

Fae's memory was not the greatest, and she'd always been up front about that, but two things at a time was very doable.  "Dishes and the table, then dinner" she repeated, more for her own sake than Madeline's, and nodded.  "I can do that, Miss, thank you."  She moved into the kitchen, sorting the dishes into easy piles and running the hot water.  As the sink filled she looked at the recipe once more, trying to find an easy way to hold it in her head.  With the sink filled she did what felt like a thorough job of the dishes before asking a few brief questions about where some of the dried ones went. Moving on, she asked for the location of the furniture polish before starting in on the dining room table - which wasn't that bad a task, really.  Once it was shiny and bright she put the polish aside with a satisfied nod.  The next part would be the most difficult.  "I'm going to get started on dinner, Miss," she called.  "If you happen to see me forgetting anything super obvious, then just please call it out for me?"

Madeline kept one eye and one ear on Fae as she worked on her orders, but she still managed to get through a page or so of her textbook while she got the cleaning done. At the sound of the sub’s voice, she slid her finger into the textbook again and moved to join her in the kitchen, slipping onto a stool at the island. “Which steps are you most concerned about, Fae?”

Fae worried her lip between her teeth.  "More than anything, forgetting that I put the pasta on the stove and having it boil over and make a mess.  Either that or forgetting to start the vegetables in time and not finishing them up together.  Like the individual pieces should be okay, but those ones that need me to remember something...I'm a bit less sure of those."

Madeline slipped a scrap of paper into her textbook to hold her spot and stepped over in front of Fae. “I believe in you,” she said, more seriously than normal. “And if it’s not all done at once, that doesn’t matter. We’ll eat eventually.” She squeezed Fae’s shoulder. “Go ahead and get started, and anytime you need to set a timer according to the recipe, let me know and I’ll set it for you. Does that help?”

Those might have been the scariest words anyone ever said to her.  Fae was the screw up, the one no one counted on, and so she'd never really had to handle being believed in before.  That was a new kind of pressure, one that she didn't quite know how to cope with.  "Thank you," she replied softly, trying not to let on that she was worried.  "It does, thank you.  I'll let you know if I need one."  It might be helpful at least for the pasta, in case she forgot it. She started with the vegetables, as that part was simple.  Her hands didn't allow for fine knife cuts, but from the pictures she'd looked up that wasn't too important as long as the pieces didn't get too big.  With those done she pushed them aside and found the pasta, filling it with water and a bit of salt (she didn't get the salt thing, but that's what the recipe said).  "Could you set a ten minute timer,  Miss?" she asked as she dumped the pasta into the boiling water.

Madeline squeezes Fae’s shoulder before sitting back down at the island. She opened her textbook up, but didn’t read anything. Instead, she watched Fae work, an absent smile on her face. It was nice, this feeling of domesticity, watching a sub work so carefully to create a meal for them both. “Sure,” she said when asked for the timer. She set one quickly on her phone. “How’s it going? Anything I can do to help?”

Fae's focus was on her work, and the fact that Madeline had an eye on her wasn't even something that she'd considered.  "Thank you," she smiled, glad to know that there would be some reminder of the pot she'd begun boiling.  "It's going okay, I think?  I'm just going to cook the vegetables...but if you have any...uh..." Fae leaned over to check the recipe, "parmesan cheese you could grate up, that would be awesome, Miss."

Madeline smiled to herself at the way Fae double checked the recipe. God, she was adorable, and it made Madeline’s heart swell that she was doing this to try to do something nice for her. Of course, the points didn’t hurt, either. “Coming right up,” she said as she got up and got a block of Parmesan from the fridge. She grated it into a bowl, her attention still mostly focused on the sub. “You’re doing a good job, Fae.”

"Thank you," she smiled.  Digging out a pan from where she was directed, Fae poured some oil in and heated it on the stove.  The vegetables seemed like a simple step, but they could easily get burned, and she wanted it to be perfect.  Madeline's words brought a rare blush to her cheeks, and she laughed softly as she poured the vegetables into the pan.  "You should probably taste it before you say that, but thanks, Miss."

“I don’t care how it tastes,” Madeline said quickly, before amending, “Well, I do care. It would be nice if we were to have a delicious meal at the end of it all, but it’s the lead up to the meal that I care about. I can tell how much effort you’re putting in, Fae, and that makes this whole scene worth it to me.” She looked down at her phone as it started to go off. “Ten minutes are up.”

Madeline was impossibly patient with her most of the time, and impossibly kind.  Fae knew that little could come of what they had, nor should it, but for as long as she was lucky to share the Institute with her she would count herself lucky.  "I wouldn't give you less than my best, Miss," she promised.  Not for her, at least - there were many others she'd have half-assed the task for.  "Shoot," she looked at the pot, and the pan still in her hand.  "Can you spell me on veggie duty, Miss?  I just need to go drain that pasta.  I think the veggies are almost done!"

Madeline set the grater aside and put the Parmesan back in the fridge. “I’ve got it,” she said sliding easily over in front of the stove to take over for her. She turned the heat down a bit and stirred the vegetables. “I think they’re just about done, too.”

"Wonderful," Fae grinned, smiling her thanks at Madeline as she took the pot and moved it to the sink, only just remembering a strainer before she dumped the lot of it in.  Locating a serving bowl, she set the drained pasta inside and moved closer to Madeline, setting the bowl to her left.  "So we just need to put the veggies in there, and then some cheese on top, and unless I'm forgetting something we should be done..."

Madeline smiled at Fae and took a step back. “Sounds like you’ve got this under control,” she said, moving back over to the island to sit down and give the sub a bit more space to work. “I’d like you to set the table before we eat, too. “I can get us our drinks. What would you like? Water? Soda?”

Fae's eyes widened a little.  "I'd call 'under control' a radical reading of the text, Miss, but hopefully you're not wrong.  Um - a soda, please, thank you," she replied distractedly as she tried to assemble the pasta in a way that at least looked like the picture.  Adding the cheese with a flourish, she was suddenly struck by a thought.  "Um...what do we serve this with, Miss?  Like a big spoon?"

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Madeline said as she got them both a drink from the fridge—a glass of Coke for Fae and a glass of water for herself. She set them down on the table before rejoining the sub in the kitchen. “It looks great,” she said, and she meant it. The dish didn’t look like something out of a fancy restaurant, but most of her food didn’t meet that standard, either. “I don’t know if it’s the proper tool for it, but I’ll grab a ladle and that’ll suffice. Are we all ready otherwise?”

"Thank you, Miss.  I'm glad it looks good."  She was a bit surprised at how well the meal had come together in the end, even if she'd needed Madeline's help to pull it off completely.  "That sounds like the best way to go, I think."  Fae tried to tick her mental list of steps, and looked over at the stove with wide eyes.  "I never turned the element off," she announced, leaping back to her feet and quickly turning the knob to the off position.  "Sorry, Miss, that was dumb," she sighed.  "But now we should be ready."

Madeline grimaced at the thought of the burner being left on, but she tried to hide that reaction from Fae. The sub had remembered it in the end and nothing had actually caught fire. “It wasn’t dumb,” she chided gently, “but it’s something to remember in the future.” She settled back in her chair, the ladle with the dish on the table. “Would you do the honor of serving us dinner, Fae?”

Fae huffed softly, trying to keep from feeling too stupid.  It would have been bad enough if her swiss-cheesed memory had let a pot of water overflow or something, but to leave a hot element on that might have damaged something was a whole different story.  She needed to move on, though, at least until the scene was finished and she could vent.  "Of course, Miss, it'd be my pleasure."  She spooned a generous portion of the pasta onto Madeline's plate and some onto her own as well, and took her seat with a smile.

"Thank you, Fae," Madeline said with a smile. She waited for the sub to get settled in before placing her napkin on her lap and getting a bit of pasta and vegetables on to her fork. "Bon appetit." She took a bite, and as the food hit her tongue, she gave Fae an appreciative nod. "It's good!" she said after her mouth was empty again. "I think you'll like it!"

Fae waited nervously as Madeline tried her first bite, half expecting the food to be spit out or something the moment she got a taste of it.  But when she received a nod and a compliment instead, she couldn't hide a proud grin.  "I'm glad you like it, Miss."  She took a bite for herself and nodded.  "That's not half bad.  Good idea for a recipe to make, that one wasn't too complicated for me."

"And it's healthy," Madeline added, smiling at the pleased look on Fae's face. "Plus, vegetarian recipes tend to be a little more... forgiving, I suppose? It's not like with meat, where you have to make sure it's cooked to a certain temperature to avoid getting ill." She took another bite, really savoring the flavors together. "That might be a place for you to start, if you're looking to explore any more recipes on your own."

"That's probably for the best," Fae agreed.  "I love meat, but I have no idea how to tell whether a chicken wing or a steak dinner is cooked right.  Most of my eating happens when I'm drunk, so I don't even remember what it looked like."  Those days, she hoped, were behind her - but it was still true.  "I don't know if...I'd need help with that.  If I buy groceries and put them in the fridge I'll forget to use them before they go bad.  I'd have to figure out some way to plan to help me keep things straight."

Madeline nodded. "I eat meat sometimes, but I generally prefer it if someone else does the cooking. The cafeteria's meat isn't the best, but I'd rather have that than make it myself," she explained. "Have you ever done meal prep? You could choose a new recipe each week, cook it on the weekend, and then portion it out for a few meals throughout the week. You'd still have the cafeteria for other meals, but this way you could practice and try some new things without the food going bad before you can use it up."

Fae smiled.  "Sometimes I wonder if they're just feeding us prison-grade meat or something.  It'd explain a lot."  She did find it easier than cooking her own food, though.  She shook her head in answer to the question, taking in the idea as Madeline explained it.  "That could actually work," she agreed softly.  "That's simple enough that I don't think I'd make too much a mess of it."  And cutting down the amount of times she ordered in was probably a good choice too.  Fae thoughtfully chewed another bite of the pasta as she thought that over.

Madeline laughed at Fae's joke before pulling a face. "God, I hope not, though it wouldn't surprise me if that were true," she said. While there were certainly some good things about this place--trips included occasionally and the extracurricular options, among others--she had had enough experience in the past few months to know that they don't actually care that much about their students. She swallowed back her memories of the mark-wide and took another bite of pasta. "If that's something you'd want to try, I'd be happy to help."

Tipping her a wink, Fae laughed.  "Me either.  Not from the stories I've heard, at least."  She finished her bite of pasta and sipped at her Coke before she replied.  "I'd like that, actually.  I don't think I'm ready to cook without supervision."  Without that who knew what sort of mess she'd make.

"Why don't you come up with a list of meals you'd be interested in trying to make and we can go grocery shopping this weekend?" Madeline suggested. "We'll be doubling the recipe so there's enough for both of us to get a few meals out of it." She took a sip of water and wiped her hands on her napkin. "You really ought to give yourself more credit, you know."

"I can do that," Fae nodded.  She wasn't sure how many meals she'd be able to come up with on her own, but she at least knew what she liked to eat and that was a start.  "Sounds perfect - it'd be nice to work on this together."  She shook her head, though, at Madeline's observation.  "I think you might give me too much, Miss.  I've spent almost half my life screwing everything up including myself, so I don't know how much credit I really deserve."

"That's exactly it, though, Fae," Madeline said after finishing her last bite of pasta. She set her knife and fork down on the empty plate and sat back in her chair. "None of this is second nature to you. You're used to considering yourself a screw up, and the thought of doing anything properly is probably a bit overwhelming to you, isn't it? So the fact that you made a successful dinner for us tonight is huge. I saw how much effort you put in, and that's huge, Fae. You're not a sub who things like this come easily for, and that makes me even more proud of you for what you did tonight and for all of the changes you've been making since I first met you."

Far worked at her meal as Madeline spoke, although it grew harder to swallow as a lump formed in her throat.  She felt seen in a way that no one had done to her in a long time, and she had to set her fork down and take a breath.  “Thank you,” she replied in a choked voice.  “I’m glad that’s how you feel, Miss.  I really am.”

"You're welcome," Madeline said, picking up her water glass to hide some of her face. She could tell how emotional Fae was at her comments, and she didn't want to make her feel self-conscious about it if she could help it. She wondered how often other people paid enough attention to see how hard Fae was trying. Slowly, she put her glass back down on the table. "Your past is part of you, but you define your future. I can't wait to see where you decide to go."

Part of Fae had always assumed the future was a non factor - that if she didn’t have one there was no point in planning it.  Now, sitting there at the table and thinking about what it might mean, she was all the more unsure.  “I’m sure it’ll be a surprise to us both,” she chuckled softly, trying to pivot away from how emotional she’d felt a moment earlier.  “You’ve probably noticed my decisions tend toward the spur of the moment.”

Madeline laughed lightly. "I have indeed noticed that," she said with a grin. "And there's nothing wrong with that--though maybe you'll find something you want to start planning toward, too. You could have it both ways, if you wanted." She looked down at their plates and clasped her hands together. "If you're done, why don't you go grab some tupperware to put the rest of the pasta in. You can put it in the fridge and take it back to your place tomorrow. Get everything soaking in the sink, and then you can come back over here and sit down again."

"That would be a surprise," she smiled, tucking dark hair behind her ear.  "But I won't rule it out."  She was beginning to find many things were possible that she wouldn't have believed.  "As long as you're sure you wouldn't rather hang onto it, Miss," she hadn't expected to take the leftovers, but it was a nice bonus.  "And understood."  Fae carried the dishes and the pasta over first, digging through a small cupboard full of tupperware until she found something that looked close to the right size.  Spooning everything inside she closed it up and set it in the fridge, hoping she'd remember it when the time came to head back to her room.  The dishes, pot and pan and the serving dish went into the sink and she filled it with water and soap, leaving everything to soak the way Madeline had asked.  Only then did she stop, pointing to each of the things she'd been meant to do in turn with a determined look on her face, and nodded when she was sure she had them all. Returning to the table, she relaxed into her chair and sipped her soda.  "All set, Miss."

Madeline watched Fae as she did as she was told. They were simple orders, but she knew it was hard for the sub to keep track of more than one thing at a time, so she was proud of her for remembering everything and double checking herself. "Good girl," she said when she returned to the table, and she got up and moved around the table. She put a hand on Fae's shoulder. "Don't turn around, okay? I'll be right back." She headed off behind her into the kitchen and pulled a small ice cream cake from the freezer. After putting a few candles around the edges of it and lighting them, she brought it into the dining room and set it in front of Fae. "Congratulations on level three," she said proudly. "Don't forget to make a wish!"

Fae's expression turned bemused, but she nodded agreement easily enough.  "No turning around," she promised.  "I've got it."  Trust was such a difficult thing for her to give, because hardly anyone seemed worth it - but Madeline had proven, over and over, that she was one of them.  And so Fae didn't peek, not even once, as she waited for the Domme to return.  The ice cream cake had slipped her mind utterly, and so when it was laid in front of her her whole face lit up with the sort of smile that made her look years younger than she felt.  "Thank you, Miss!" she beamed, thinking up a wish and blowing the candles out with enthusiasm.  She wasn't young enough to believe that they came true, but it didn't stop her from hoping.  "That looks amazing."

The look on Fae's face was worth every penny of the ice cream cake and about a million more. Madeline loved making the sub smile for her, and she would never get tired of seeing that easy, happy expression on her features. After removing the candles, she took a knife and made one slice down into the round cake, starting in the center. She then rotated the cake a bit but didn't slice down yet. "How much? A little more than this?"

Normally she didn't eat big meals - they tended to be lost when she drank as much as she did.  But she was on a regular schedule now, her intake way down, and dammit if she didn't want a big slice of the cake.  "Just a little more," she smiled, holding her fingers an inch or so apart.  "I want to enjoy this."  It would be delicious, and she'd earned it.

"You deserve it," Madeline said, and she widened the angle of the knife a bit more before slicing down. She slid the slice out onto a waiting plate and served it to Fae before cutting herself a slice, slightly smaller than the first one. After handing them each a spoon, she sat back down and looked across the table at Fae, waiting for her to take the first bite. "I hope it's what you were expecting."

Fae wasn't sure she'd smiled as much in years as she had in the time that she spent with Madeline.  Not real smiles, the ones that touched her eyes and made her feel good inside.  Like a lot of expressions, she'd learned to ape them over the years - sad when she didn't want to be kicked out, forlorn when she was trying to bum a drink, happy when someone offered her one - but the real thing felt different.  Better.  "Thank you, Miss," she accepted the spoon and dug in, taking a bite and moaning appreciatively.  "Oh my god, that's good.  That's like if someone made heaven into a cake."

Madeline couldn't help the bright smile at Fae's reaction to tasting the ice cream cake. All she'd wanted to do was make the other woman happy, and it seemed like she'd succeeded. "I'm glad," she said before taking a bite of her own, and her instinctive moan matched Fae's. "That really is good! I can't remember the last time I had ice cream cake."

Madeline's moan was dangerously attractive, and Fae was immediately glad that she had something in her mouth that kept her from commenting on it.  It would have been inappropriate at best, and very unwanted at the worst, and she didn't want to cross a line by saying what she thought.  "Me either," she agreed.  "I think it was for a birthday, but I don't even remember whose."  Another of those fuzzy memories of her father, ones that she wished would come back to her.  "That is amazing, though."

"A birthday sounds about right," Madeline said between bites. She was trying to eat slowly to savor the taste, but she also didn't want to let the ice cream melt too much. "Probably when I was in middle school. Is ice cream cake more of a younger kid thing universally?" she wondered. "I think we ought to change that if it is."

"That doesn't sound like so long ago, Miss," Fae smiled.  She'd never actually asked how old Madeline was, but she was sure that the woman must be younger than herself.  "I think it must be, because I don't remember any adults in my life who were ever into it.  But you're right, we do need to change that."

"Well, at least there are two of us here who we know will enjoy it, and that's all that really matters, isn't it?" Madeline asked. "We can celebrate when you hit your next level, and for birthdays as well. Assuming you still want ice cream cake--it's obviously your decision to make for your special days." She smiled. "I'm not sure I know when your birthday is, though?"

"Definitely," Fae agreed.  "Our opinions are the important ones around here."  She'd never say that where anyone else could hear it, especially not the Headmistress, but she still amused herself with the joke.  "I think that'll probably be a while away yet," she confessed.  "I don't know how many points it is between three and four.  But I'm good with this stuff for any occasion, I think."  The question made her smile.  "December third, Miss.  Do you mind if I ask yours?"

"I seem to remember Level 4 being a thousand points total, but I'm not positive how many it is for Level 3," Madeline said, "but if you're already at Level 3 after the length of time you've been here, I'm sure you'll be at Level 4 before you even realize it." She scooped up the last bit of her slice of cake and ate it, moaning softly again at the taste. "Right between Thanksgiving and Christmas," she commented as a way to help her remember. "Mine's April 30th."

Fae shook her head.  "Me either.  I read the brochure on my way up here, but trying to read while handcuffed isn't the easiest thing and I never really figured I'd have to pay much attention anyway."  She wasn't sure what getting to level four would even really mean, but it was an interesting thought.  That moan, again, sent a bolt of want through her that she did her best to ignore.  "You got it.  Late enough people can buy me presents on black friday, but not late enough that they can get away with one gift and call it my birthday and Christmas presents," she teased.  "April 30th.  Sorry I missed it this year."

Madeline frowned. “Why were you in handcuffs on your way here?” she asked, not sure she actually wanted to know. “I’ve always been glad my birthday is on the other end of the year,” she added. “I always felt so bad for my friends who had a late December birthday. It seemed like they really missed out. And you can’t be blamed for missing someone’s birthday when you haven’t even met them yet.” She glanced over at the remaining cake. “Would you like any more before I get that back in the freezer?”

Fae snorted.  "Because that was how they insisted on bringing me here.  Apparently the girl who was half their size was going to overpower them and drive off with the car or something, I don't know."  She nodded agreement.  "It's not great, but what can you do?  I mean when I was a kid it annoyed me more but I'm supposed to be grown up now, right?"  Fae smiled as if she knew how unlikely that was.  "I suppose not, but I'll have to make up for it in 2021."  Looking down at the cake, she thought it over for a moment and shook her head.  "Much as I'd love some more, Miss, I have a feeling I'd regret it.  Thank you so much again, though.  This was wonderful."

Madeline nodded and got up to put the cake back in its packaging and then back into the freezer. “Sounds like a rough trip here,” she said as she returned, brushing her fingers along Fae’s shoulder as she walked past her and around the table to her seat. “And it sounds like we both have birthdays to look forward to in the next year. Will you take these dishes in and clean up for us? I think everything can just go in the dishwasher. There’s some Cascade under the kitchen sink. Once you get that sorted, come and join me in the living room, okay?”

"It could have been worse," she admitted.  "They cuffed them in front of me, at least, so that was something.  Had cops treat me a lot worse than that."  Which wasn't a complaint, as she tended to deserve what she got, but it didn't change that they were dicks.  The slight touch of her shoulder, after listening to Madeline moan, was enough to raise the hair on the back of her neck.  "That we do, Miss."  Fae took in the instructions, looking curiously at the dishwasher.  "Is it obvious where the soap goes, Miss?  I don't think I've loaded one of these before."

“Well, at least here, you don’t have to wear handcuffs unless you agree to,” Madeline said, trying to make a joke. She cringed at the way it came out, though. “Come on, we can do it together.” She left the dessert dishes on the table for Fae to bring in with her and went over to the dishwasher. She didn’t open it, though. She planned to walk Fae through anything she had questions with, but for the scene, the sub would be doing all of the actual work.

Fae burst out laughing, head tipped forward as she tried to hold it in.  "You do make an excellent point there, Miss."  She wasn't sure anyone would be offering that in the near future, but the thought wasn't horrible.  "Thank you, Miss," she smiled, glad for the help.  Fae carried the dishes over, opening the dishwasher and judging how to place everything inside.  "Cutlery in that thing there?" she pointed.

“Though I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t want anything to do with handcuffs in a scene,” Madeline added, stepping back to watch as Fae got to work. “That’s right,” she said. “Put them in handle first. And when you’re putting dishes in, make sure the top part faces the center so that it’s getting more direct water from the center of the machine.”

"Wouldn't bother me," Fae promised.  "If you wanted to lock me in a cell, that would be a whole other story.  I don't want to think about the drunk tanks I spent nights in."  She nodded, turning the utensils in her hand to orient them the way Madeline wanted.  "Top part...facing the center," it was to herself more than the Domme, but out loud all the same.  "Got it."  She loaded each item as carefully as she could, looking to Madeline for confirmation that she'd gotten it right.

"You're doing great," Madeline said, continuing to give approving nods as Fae loaded the dishwasher. There were a lot of different correct ways to load a dishwasher, and all she cared about was Fae following instructions, which she did beautifully. Once the last item was in, she stepped forward and wrapped the sub up in a hug. "You'll never have to experience that again if I can help it," she said, and she squeezed her close before stepping back. "All right. Where do you think the soap goes?"

Madeline's approval was a drug.  The more time they spent together, the more time Fae craved it, and the more of it she got the more she wanted.  But unlike her other vices, it was decidedly more healthy.  "Thank you, Miss."  The hug was unexpected but wonderful, and she leaned into it with a contented noise.  "I appreciate it very much, Miss, thank you."  Fae hoped never to experience a night in one of those cells, that was for certain.  She'd done her time, and she didn't want a repeat of the experience.  "I think..." she pushed the trays in, searching the dishwasher and finding two likely spots.  "That one?" she offered, pointing at a small receptacle.  It looked like it would hold soap, she thought.

"That's exactly it," Madeline said, smiling her approval over at Fae. And luckily, they were almost at the point where she could just pull the sub into her arms and they could relax without the pressures of doing a scene for points any longer. "I use little pod things of soap, so you just grab one, pop it in, and turn the lid over it until it catches. Always make sure you use actual dishwasher soap and not soap made for handwashing dishes. I like the pods because you don't even have to pour anything out. Just grab one and pop it in."

Fae grinned in response, glad that she'd guessed correctly.  She found one of the pods and slipped it into the compartment, reaching for the lid and turning it the way she'd been told until she felt it click.  "I'm going to guess that using regular dishsoap just makes a whole lot of bubbles?  The pods make sense to me, I use them for doing laundry.  That way I don't measure anything wrong, simple as can be."  She closed the door and locked it with the little latch she could identify on the front.  "Normal wash?" she guessed, pointing at the dial.

"Yes on both counts," Madeline said. "I'm sure there are reasons for the other types of washes, but I just do the normal wash and figure that's good enough. If I had a need to know what the other cycles were, I'd already know. And yes, lots of bubbles. That would be an absolute mess to clean up." Once the machine was started, she wrapped an arm around Fae's waist. "Scene's over," she told her. "How do you feel about joining me on the couch?"

"I'm sure it's like any technology," Fae chuckled.  "They put way more options on it than anyone could possibly know how to use.  It's a good selling point at least.  'Our machines have twelve options!'"  She nodded, trying to imagine just how horrible it would be cleaning up after that.  Once Madeline wrapped her in her arms and declared the scene over, Fae leaned in and smiled.  "That sounds pretty perfect, Miss."

"Twelve options, and you'll use exactly one of them 99.9 percent of the time!" Madeline added with a chuckle. "Come on." She guided them over to the couch and sat down with Fae still against her side. She reached behind them to grab the blanket from the back of the couch and wrapped it up against them. "Too much?" she asked. "I know that wasn't a particularly intense scene, but they say that blankets are good for aftercare."

Fae laughed along with her.  "But hey, we've got twelve!  Just in case you're washing dishes for the Queen or something."  Following Madeline was as natural as breathing, and once they were seated and covered by the blanket she felt immediately better.  The scene, as the Domme pointed out, hadn't been intense - but it had been a scene, and she felt better having a defined end to it.  "Mm-mm," she shook her head, burrowing against Madeline.  "Perfect, Miss.  Just like that."

Madeline laughed. "God, can you imagine what your life must be like if you're washing dishes for the Queen?" She shook her head and pressed a kiss to the top of Fae's head before pulling her in just a bit closer to her side. "Tell me how you're feeling right now. Is there anything you need or want?"

"Probably a lot like washing dishes for just about anyone else, I'd guess," Fae offered.  "Just nicer dishes."  And yes, the Queen probably didn't use a dishwasher, but never mind that.  The soft kiss was a wonderful feeling, and she happily moved in a little closer.  "I'm feeling...really happy, actually.  I can't remember the last time I had a cake with candles, or really celebrated anything, and I really like spending time with you.  I think you get me in a way that most people don't, and you've done more for me than I could ever have imagined."  Fae shook her head.  "Just to be here in this moment with you.  That's all."

Madeline's heart swelled in her chest at the knowledge that Fae was feeling happy right now, here with her. "Then we'll be here in this moment together for as long as you'd like," she said, smiling contentedly to herself. "I'm glad you feel that way, Fae. You make it almost impossible to not want to do whatever I can to take care of you. Thank you for letting me."

"You're welcome, Miss," Fae smiled, letting her eyes shut as she got comfortable.  "I like being taken care of by you.  Which isn't something I thought I'd say about anyone.  I don't know..." she hesitated.  "I don't know how all this works.  I mean I'm taking the classes, but being good at being a submissive.  All I know is that I can put myself in your hands and know that I'm safe.  That you won't ask me to do things I can't do."

Madeline rubbed her hand absently along Fae's arm. It was comforting to have the sub curled up next to her, and it felt good to just feel her there, nice and solid against her side. "I don't know what you learn in your Switch classes," she said, "but I do know that a big part of being a submissive is trusting your Dominant. Your trust is the basis of our scenes, and it means a lot to me that you do trust me. As long as you try your best within what you're comfortable with, that's all a Dominant can really ask for, in my opinion."

Fae was nearly purring at the quiet contact.  "A little of everything," she nodded.  "Trying to cover both sides in one class is tough.  But we've talked about trust, too.  And I do - trust you, I mean.  You've earned that from me.  And I like," the next thing seemed important to say, but she didn't know how to say it right.  There seemed like such a series of pitfalls between what she wanted to say and how she hoped it would be taken.  "I like being yours."

Madeline was quite certain her heart would beat right out of her chest if she weren't careful right now. She wasn't entirely sure what Fae meant with her last comment, but she knew that whatever it was, this was a beautiful moment. "I like when you're mine, too, Fae," she said, lifting her hand up to brush some hair off of the Switch's forehead. She tucked a strand behind her ear as well. "You have no idea how good it makes me feel to see you actively trusting me."

Fae bit down on her lip for a moment, trying to turn what was a simple thought in her head into words that weren't too complicated.  The gentle brush of her hair was good for her bravery, though.  "I'm glad that it makes you feel good, Miss.  Would...ugh, I don't know why this is so hard to ask."  She did, really.  Because it was a level of vulnerability that she didn't like to show, ever.  But it also bothered her that she had such a hard time with someone she trusted so much.  "Would you want me to be yours...in the long term?"

Madeline didn't respond immediately, instead leaning forward to press a long kiss to the top of Fae's head. "That's certainly something I could see us working towards, Fae," she said, hoping she would do a good job of saying what she meant without sending any wrong signals. "Right now, I can picture you in my future very easily. But I also think there's a lot we haven't talked about and a lot of ways we may or may not be compatible. Does that make sense? Is that something you would want, too?"

Despite her nature, Fae was patient as she waited for Madeline's reply.  She knew it had been a bit of a leap forward, something that may even have been unwelcome, and if so she was going to owe her a huge apology.  When the reply did come, though, she felt good that it wasn't turned down out of hand.  "That does make sense," she promised.  "You're right, I mean there's...a lot that goes into a decision like that.  It's huge."  She nodded hesitantly, curling up a little tighter.  "I think it is.  I...never imagined that I'd even think about it.  But I do, now.  It's not a rush, or anything like that, I just wanted you to know it was on my mind."

"Thank you for telling me," Madeline said, giving the top of her head another kiss. "I'm glad that you're thinking about it. I've been thinking about it, too. But I also want you to think about what your future might be like with another Dominant. I... worry that you might be happier with someone else, but that you haven't given yourself the permission required to even consider a claim with anyone before you met me."

Fae smiled as she felt the kiss, but her brow furrowed a little at Madeline's words.  "Respectfully, Miss, I think that has more to do with you being the only Dominant who's treated me like I was worth it.  Who would have done everything you've done to help me.  But I will take the time and consider what my future might look like with someone else.  I promise you."

"Thank you," Madeline said again. "I know you feel like no other Dominant has treated you properly, but I also just want to make sure that it's not simply a result of you not allowing yourself to see it. You've been so convinced that you're not destined for a claim for such a long time, that my persistence in wanting to take care of your might just be the first thing to break through. But you are so worth it, Fae. You deserve to have a Dominant--or a submissive--who shows you how worth it you are."

It was a lot to consider.  It was easy, she knew, too easy, to jump into something without considering options or consequences.  And Madeline was right, despite the way she wanted to disagree - maybe it was the fact that she'd been the one to break through, and maybe that had tainted her perspective a little.  "I'll do my best to consider all of my options," Fae promised.  "Like I said, I wasn't trying to rush you into anything, but I've been thinking about it.  And if I do consider those options, and they lead me back to you, then I'm glad to know that you're considering it too."

“Good girl,” Madeline praised. It made her feel better to know that Fae would consider her options before actually committing to anything with her. She knew she had some hang ups of her own that would likely make Fae not interested in spending the rest of her life with her, and she didn’t want the girl to limit herself when she might find more happiness elsewhere. “I’d also like you to think about your future and what you’d like for it. I know you haven’t been thinking about it very much, but it’s important for you to know what you do or don’t want. Think you can do that for me, Fae?”

Fae nodded.  Her future was sort of a black hole, at least as far as she'd ever been able to see.  Slavery, or a more permanent end, and very little else in the way of options.  But being with Madeline...finding someone who actually cared...it had opened a little bit of light into that darkness, and now she had to decide what that meant.  "I can try, Miss.  It's sort of...starting from scratch, if that makes sense.  Like when you've literally never thought about it, you have to come up with something totally new.  But I'll do my best."

Madeline smoothed down some of Fae’s hair before kissing her head again. God, she could get used to this. “I know it’s a lot to think about. You don’t have to come up with anything right now, or anytime soon even. Just think about it. It’s part of figuring out if you’re compatible with me or with any other Dominant or submissive.”

Those little kisses were the most relaxing thing she'd ever known, and Fae could happily have laid there accepting them all night.  "That makes sense, Miss."  If a future she had in mind didn't mesh with Madeline's, or another person's, then they would never work in the long term.  "I will.  I promise."

“Thank you, Fae,” Madeline said simply, and she lapsed into silence. Her thoughts easily wandered into the future. Specifically, she pictured what a future with Fae might be like, and who else might be involved. She hoped that she’d be able to make the other woman happy, most of all. While she thought, she played absently with a few strands of Fae’a hair, the feel of the girl in her arms a comfort to her.

Eyes still shut, Fae adjusted herself a bit on the couch to fit more perfectly against Madeline's body.  Thus far, this was what she pictured when she thought of a future - being able to lie just they were, contended and warm, with someone who thought the world of her as she did of them.  She let herself drift, content to shut out the world for as long as they could manage.

#gleedsmscene10 #thread: how domestic #c: madeline