#but also i think i just need other aficionado to help me

[ladsofsorrow24]

commission link -> x

#akiden #hayakawa aki #denji #チェンソーマン #アキデン #ladsofsorrow24 #commission art #yeah this one... so fun to draw #i know the perspective kinda wonky but fuck it dude it's my first time drawing something this cool #thank you so much anita for commissioning me to draw this :'3c #i really miss drawing these two but i just... don't have the inspirations #somehow when i get this request tho... it really get me pumped up #so yeah... money is a good motivation #but also i think i just need other aficionado to help me #anyway if you want akiden art from me feel free to commission me >:D #or just any ship you want i'll do my best

[writing-for-life]

A Sacred Garden: Death & Delight—Michael Zulli

Oh… was the first thing I thought when I found this. I need your help, fellow art aficionados…

I am not entirely sure if the title should be “A Wicked Garden” or “A Sacred Garden” (I find the latter more likely because of the symbolism, plus a gallery also has it listed as that), because it is listed as both.

But what on earth are we looking at here?!

Because Death is tied up. I immediately had to think of Jesus on the cross here (not least because Delight’s positioning reminds me of many paintings of the crucifixion and both Maries, but naturally also because of how Death is positioned).

And the flower floating above Delight’s hand is a rose, like in so many of Zulli’s paintings (they often stand for love and passion, but especially with Death, he often uses them for grief and mourning. They don’t have a specific colour here—if they were blue or red, it would be easier to figure out what they stand for. Also, I have to think of swirling things the way the rose is floating 🍥).

But what is going on here? Who tied Death to the tree? And what with all the skulls? Are they symbolic for Delight dying/changing to Delirium?

And is this some sort of altar (the thing Delight is holding on to with her right, with the jug on the left and the ram’s skull on the right)? Who’s the sacrificial lamb here? Is she bargaining for more time as Delight?

Another connotation is that of St. Sebastian, in many depictions tied to a tree, although that’s less straightforward. People used to pray to St. Sebastian for protection against the plague, which could also make sense in this context (mental plague rather than bubonic—again, is there some bargaining going on here?). I’m honestly so confused…

Or could we actually turn this on its head, and it’s not about Delight turning into Delirium at all—at least not at this point. What if it’s actually about Death, and how she relates to her function, and her own struggles? I’ll just leave that question sitting there...

Zulli painted a Triptych of Death and Delight roundabout the same time which makes me think that could be also be an option, or at least that they are both affecting each other:

The individual paintings are called “She rides a pale horse”, “Sisters” and “Eternal Spring.” Here, the roses are actually coming out of Delight’s hair, and they’re red. And her hair is beginning to dissolve in the last one.

Edit to quickly remind everyone of this reference to the falling blossoms in her domain in Brief Lives:

This takes me in all different directions, and it’s immensely confusing.

Death as the saviour makes sense (well, sometimes I guess). But is Delight looking for salvation? Did she want to die? Is that what turned her into Delirium? Is it symbolic for the loss of innocence and understanding that this is what comes for all of us? Or is it also about Death?

“Oh” indeed…

Tagging @tickldpnk8 @windsweptinred without pressure—and everyone else who’d like to have a go at this one.

#the sandman #sandman #death of the endless #delight of the endless #delight sandman #delirium of the endless #michael zulli #sandman x art #sandman art analysis #queue crew

[flippythedoodle]

hey can u give some tips for a beginner ambigrammist to refine her ambigrams and make the process easier?

i'll just put what ive learned from others and my own experience (i kinda put a lot so imma put it all under a read more)

1. you need to really know what letters look like

one of the talents an ambigrammist needs is to know the details of what makes a letter a letter, and what strengthens or weakens this reading. for example:

on the right are what i would say are very readable letters, almost instantly recognizable. on the left however are essentially the same letters, but missing the core elements of what makes them them. i recommend looking at fonts if you really want to fully understand, but as long as you know the glyphs, you can ambigram them!

additionally, there are so many other forms to choose from. we're all used to the simple, elementary alphabet we were taught, but there is a vast sea of different forms of letters you can try! things such as style, form, and mutations if done correctly will look cohesive in a design! experiment with cursive, square, fancy, blackletter, capitalization, italicization, the world is possible! for example, here are the many ways to write an r that i've collected:

14!!

14 for the LETTER R ALONE. the modifications may be subtle, but in the world of ambigramming where totally legible ambigrams are far and few between, every possible form counts bc you'll have more options at your disposal to choose from. as you see more ambigrams (and trust me, you probably will), you'll learn more about what's possible with them!

2. get feedback!!

the unique thing about ambigrams is theyre made to be seen by others, to be read and gawked at by onlookers, and so any outside feedback means the world to development. let family members, friends, preferreably people that mostly read normal words, try to read them, if they missed any letters, try and improve it. reiteration and tiny modifications help so much, even the tiniest of changes can help. sometimes we may be tunnel-visioned into thinking our ambigram is legible, because we know the word already, we see what it's supposed to look like. but when you get opinions from others, its almost like getting a new perspective, the ambigrammists equivalent of flipping a canvas. there are also communities dedicated to creating good ambigrams out there! (to name some, Ambigram Aficionados the discord server and ambigr.am the website, both of which are linked if you want :3)

3. know the methods!!

there are two main methods that ambigrammists "officially" recognize, downstroke matching, and shape matching

shape matching

this is the more freeform of the two methods, providing more space to do whatever, and thusly, maybe come up with either cool new stuff or bad new stuff. this matches "shapes" of letters, straight, curvy, half curve, spirally, etc etc. this one takes more experience to master, but if done well works wonderfully. heres an example with "greener"

(hey, look! weird R from earlier!)

downstroke matching

is one of the easier of the two, and most often than not yields the best results. in essence, letters are broken down into their vertical strokes, which are then "cut in half" and aligned to each other. this comes from the notion that people read the top parts of a letter more than its undersides. so, when flipping, all that crazy stuff that used to be on the top is now on the bottom, becoming flourishes and designs. this is kind of a precursor to shape matching, as if pretending all letters are squarish before actually taking into account their shape. an example with the word "Basket" would be:

this of course, has its downfall in curvy letters like b and o, as these have specific curves to follow, which may get lost in how strokes are made straight. i got lucky here with the e curving the same way the B would normally, but this isnt always the case.

the best ambigrammists tend to find a good balance between the two, making sure both form and style are as optimized as possible!

finally,

4. not all ambigrams are possible*.

*as a normal rotational

unfortunately, jojo, hello, uwu, and many more words aren't (currently) possible just because of how theyre built at words. so don't be disappointed if some seem impossible, because (like chloe *wink wink*) they might just be. you can then resort to different types of ambigrams, or different modifications!

here jojo works okay as a lake, uwu works perfectly and naturally as a mirror, and chloe and hello work as chain rotationals! another somewhat crucial element of making an ambigram work is flourishes. these help hide the modifications made to a letter, almost like camouflage, or even to hade a letter itself. here are some examples:

this one uses a curvy flourish for the hoops of the Ps, tiny dots for the i tittle and the Es midline, and a bit more flourishes to hide them like serifs and extra curves

this one turns a C into a drawing of a cockatoo! the flourish being the cockatoo, hiding the otherwise awkward C

this one's rather extreme, S and e being turned into flourishes. these are then surrounded by more flourishes to hide them, which works semi-okayly

thats all i think i know about ambigramming, i hope it was semi-useful!

(find me on ambigr.am at chump, and discord as shin_dig :3)

bonus resources: John Langdon (ambigram god)'s advice: https://www.johnlangdon.net/thoughts/advice-on-ambigrams/

Write Words Make Magic (who's also on here @writewordsmakemagic! makes much more in-depth videos on downstroke matching and ambigrams in general on youtube and tiktok)

#ambigram #art #calligraphy #digital art #my art #rotational #ambigrams

[waspspirits]

📘 pls share

Oh no okay don't get skittish now, let's see...

I only really have the one so I apologize to any others who have also asked eheh

Current title is "Something Sanguine and Silver", it would kill me to avoid alliteration I suppose, will probably change eventually 🤔. It'll be Dracopia x OC, and though I am not a vampire connoisseur I am a monster aficionado! So scary awesome vampire transformations will definitely be present hehe. Vampire lore is all about making it your own right? Right? Bleh there are a million versions that people like to fight over so I'll research the ones I like and make up the rest hdsjshdhdh. I don't know exactly what time period we're looking at, but there are knights and Copia will be a count. Nngh research.... I'll get to you someday..

I really want to channel a very specific look for the OC. Heavy full plate armor that obscures her gender. HAUNTED. Need this woman to have a blank, unwavering stare. Tarnished armor and multiple scars, but a sword that is cared for worshipfully, shined to perfection so much so that she looks shabby and ominous next to it. Soooo many metaphors with the armor and the sword. They're driving me crazy. I'm taking an excavator to the shallow grave of my barely repressed trauma mostly for this woman. Mmm yes Catholicism. I'm SURE there's a phrase or something to perfectly describe this but, something along the lines of "I stopped believing a long time ago but I can't stop because what if there is nothing beyond it?" Girl is on a never ending crusade against herself 💜 haven't found a name that fits her yet..

In my murmurings about this in the hell pit server I mentioned wanting to make a poem-comic as a test run, that's still my plan! I am not confident in my writing abilities on their lonesome and visuals always help me convey things better. I'd love for continuous installments to follow it so we shall see hehe.

Copia, oh Copia my beloved wet sock. Copia my stress ball, Copia my most favorite little clown boy. The setting and overall tone is very very gloomy in my head right now so I'm trying to think of how to weave our beloved sweetheart rat man into the Dracula monologues. He's so fucking lonely. Most likely lives alone in a big fortress, but maybe he doesn't actually live there? My personal fantasy of the imposing antagonistic figure just wanting a nice cottage in the wilderness follows me everywhere I go. I wish I had more to talk about for him but atm its mostly him wearing all black and trying to talk so cool and eloquently like the books he spends all day reading.

Need me some dramatic action and women with swords and men baring their teeth so we're going for enemies -> friends -> lovers 💙

Weh.. I talked about it! I did it!! I uh have no idea when anything will come of this. I really like the ideas I have but I've totally fumbled and given up on complex stories before so I'll try to be gentle with this one. I think I saw another ask before I answered this one so I'll put some tidbits I've written under that one. Oh! Alliums, garlic flowers, have been important imagery so far. 🪻

#waspswriting

[photogirl894]

"Sun and Rain Part 2: Age of the Empire"

Chapter 8

"The Chain Code Escape"

A "Bad Batch" fanfic!

Pairing: Hunter x fem OC, Echo (more best friend pairing)

A/N: After all the crap I'd put you guys through recently, I felt I owed you something nice with that last chapter, so I'm glad so many of you loved it and were happy 😊 Seriously, I've been dying for months to get to that chapter!! This one is also a bit nicer, so enjoy!!

Taglist: @the-sad-batch , @nimata-beroya , @intrepidmare , @tmnt-leo-simp , @tech-aficionado , @ladykatakuri , @d1n0-dan , @sammi9498 , @darthzero22 , @scarlettroseog , @tech-deck , @thebadbatchscyare , @chxpsi , @ilikemymendarkandfictional , @4pplecider , @locitapurplepink , @l-lend , @nekotaetae , @eternalwaffle , @merkitty49

《 Chapter 7

》 Chapter 9

All chapters (Part 2) (Part 1)

Explanation: The Bad Batch help Cut's family escape Saleucami, but not without a few snags.

While Hunter was still quite irritated over the fact that Tech and Echo had gotten their ship impounded, Kimber went up to him, laid her hand on his arm and told him, “I know this wasn’t what you had in mind, but I think Tech’s idea might work. By hiding in the ship and having it taken to the impound lot, they’d have a better chance of sneaking in and getting the data for the chain codes. We have to trust them.”

Hunter groaned in frustration. “This had better work. I’m not losing my ship over this,” he said.

“You’re not losing your ship,” she assured him. “Now, while you help the others get everything ready, I need to find Suu.”

“I saw her go into the barn,” Cut informed her.

With that, Kimber jogged off over to the barn and, when she got inside, she found Suu checking around in one of the stalls.

“Just making sure we didn’t leave anything in here,” Suu told her.

As she walked inside, Kimber said to her, “I wanted to thank you, Suu, for your advice earlier, but I also wanted to tell you that I…won’t be needing to worry about it anymore.”

Suu raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Smiling, Kimber explained, “When I went after Hunter earlier, we ended up finally talking things over and…he told me he still wants to be with me, so we’re back together now.”

The Twi’lek grinned proudly. “That is wonderful news, Kimber. I had wondered what had happened to you two after I saw you disappear behind this barn. Though, I just assumed you were talking, as you said...or other things.”

Kimber’s throat tightened. “Other things?”

Suu cast her a knowing smirk and proceeded to lift up one of her hands. In it was Kimber’s leather headband. Kimber hadn’t even realized that she’d forgotten that and she could feel the heat rising in her cheeks immediately, realizing that Suu knew exactly what had happened in there.

“Good thing we released our eopies yesterday,” said Suu, tossing Kimber the headband. She could see the flustered and embarrassed look on Kimber’s face and she just chuckled. “Don’t worry, my dear. You’re not the only one who’s had a roll in the hay in here.” Then she winked at her.

A surprised squeak emitted from Kimber’s throat as she put the headband back on and she covered her mouth, unsure how to react to Suu’s remark.

Seeing her timidness, Suu just snickered again, but then went up and laid a hand on Kimber’s arm. “I am happy for you, Kimber; for both of you. I’m glad you no longer need to worry. Hunter is a stubborn one, but I get the feeling you can handle that.”

“I wouldn’t have fallen in love with him if I couldn’t,” Kimber replied, grinning.

“Well said,” said Suu. Then she stepped forward and gave Kimber a big hug. “I’m happy to have met you. Take care of Hunter and your boys,” she told her.

As Kimber hugged her back, she said in return, “I will…and please, take good care of Omega.”

Suu could hear the faint tremor in Kimber’s voice as she voiced her request. “You care about her. You don’t want to leave her, do you?”

Kimber’s embrace tightened. “No.”

“I could tell Hunter doesn’t want to either, but he’s trying to protect her.”

They came apart and Kimber said back, her voice a little strained, “I just…wish he could see that we can still protect her, too. I trust you and Cut, but Omega chose us. I don’t think she’ll be happy with this.”

The door to the barn then swung open and Cut’s head poked inside. “Ladies, we’re almost ready to go,” he stated.

“We’re coming, dear,” Suu replied before she and Kimber started walking to the door. Then she said to comfort Kimber, “Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to. Omega will be in good hands.”

In response, all Kimber could do was give her a tiny, thankful smile.

“By the way, I had Echo take your rifle back to the ship while you were with Hunter, in case you’re wondering where that’s at,” Suu told her.

Kimber chuckled nervously as they got out the door. “I honestly had forgotten about that,” she said.

“Naturally,” Suu teased her.

Suu went over to her husband, kissed him sweetly and the two of them walked back towards the house. Kimber found herself standing in place, watching them for a moment and then looking over the house before her. Cut and Suu really had a good life here on Saleucami and now, the Empire was forcing them to leave it. They had a nice house, good land, enough food to feed their family, a strong marriage and two sweet children. It really seemed like the perfect life. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. This was something she hoped one day she could have…with Hunter.

At that moment, Hunter came through the door and handed some things to Jek, who ran off to add them to the pile of supplies lying in the yard. Hunter then looked up and his eyes found her, a pleasant grin crossing his face as he saw her. She gave him a smile back from across the way. Seeing him standing there in front of the house, dressed in civilian clothes and smiling lovingly at her was the beginning of a perfect dream she could envision of a life with Hunter. While it might be far away for the time being, it was a dream she would hold onto to help her get through the hard times they would surely have until then.

One day, she would have a home with him. One day, they would have a happy life together.

One day…she would surely marry him.

That realization hit Kimber like a blaster bolt to the chest. Now that they were together again and she was finally truly happy, she knew she would never let him go again and she wanted what Cut and Suu had for her and Hunter. She wanted them to stay together for the rest of their lives. Obviously, she knew it wouldn’t happen anytime soon, not with the current predicament of them and their squad being fugitives, but she was certain that marriage was inevitable for them. At least, in her mind, it was and she was willing to wait until the time was right, even if it was years down the road. She had already decided long ago that Hunter was worth waiting for. Though, she had no idea what Hunter’s thoughts on it would be. She wasn’t sure if Clones even had marriage customs at all. Most likely not since they were made to solely be soldiers. Maybe it was too soon to be thinking about such a thing after having just decided to be a couple again, but even so, Kimber made her choice in that very moment. If Hunter ever decided to ask her to marry him; even if he were to ask her right then and there, she would accept without hesitation and be his wife and he would be her husband.

“You all right?”

Kimber blinked and all of a sudden, Hunter was only a couple feet away, striding towards her. Having seemingly been lost in a daydream about someday being his bride, she hadn’t even noticed that he was coming her way until his voice broke her thoughts. He approached her, his hands coming up to her arms, and he looked down at her with a hint of concern.

When she didn’t answer him right away, he repeated, “Are you all right, my love?”

She hummed quietly and smiled, still happy at hearing him call her that again. “I am. Just thinking,” she answered.

“What were you thinking about?” he inquired.

Knowing she couldn’t reveal her true thoughts to him, she just grinned and told him instead, “Just how handsome you look in those clothes.”

He gave her a curious look. “Really? With how lost in thought you seemed, I would almost guess you weren’t thinking about my clothes,” he said.

“You’re right,” she said before smirking flirtatiously at him, knowing exactly what would get him. “I was really thinking about how handsome you look underneath them.”

Narrowing his eyes and grinning, he playfully leaned down and touched his forehead to hers, looking right into her eyes. “Don’t tempt me, sweetheart,” he warned her amusingly before stealing a quick kiss from her.

“I saw that!” they heard Wrecker cry out. When they both directed their attention to him, he was hoisting up a box over his poncho-covered shoulders with a pleased smirk as he then threw his head back, making his wide-brimmed hat flap around, and exclaimed, “Finally!”

Both Kimber and Hunter chuckled bashfully.

With Wrecker’s exclamation having caught the attention of everyone else, Shaeeah went up to them and asked with wide, awe-filled eyes, “Are you two in love like Mom and Daddy?”

“It would seem they are,” answered Cut, coming up behind her and putting a hand on her shoulder. Then he grinned at Hunter and Kimber and nodded his head, appearing impressed as well as proud.

Kimber snickered with gratitude at Cut’s clear approval. He and his family now knew about them and Wrecker knew. They would have to tell Echo and Tech when this was all over…but then her heart fell as she then realized that Crosshair wouldn’t know. He had been such a strong supporter of her and Hunter from the start and she recalled him being irritated with Hunter when he wasn’t choosing to get back together with her. It pained her knowing he wasn’t there to be a part of this. Not that long ago, he would’ve been glad for them, but now…she didn’t have an inkling of how he would react if he found out. He wouldn’t know for a long time…if ever at all.

She missed him…painfully so.

Her train of thought was cut short when she heard Cut announce that it was time for them to leave. Pushing those thoughts of her former partner out of her mind, she went ahead and helped collect some of Cut and Suu’s belongings, getting ready to head to the spaceport.

Lucky for them, the trek to the spaceport was the easy part. It was getting in and getting the chain codes from Tech that would be difficult. They made their way through the town towards the docking bay where the shuttle was.

As they got just outside the port, Wrecker accidentally bumped his head on a low beam and Hunter asked into his commlink, “Tech, we're in the spaceport. What is your status?”

“In progress. The encryption shouldn't be a problem,” they heard Tech reply.

The group kept going with Cut and Hunter at the front, Suu and the kids in the middle and then Wrecker and Kimber at the rear. The three Clones kept their heads down and faces hidden whenever any of the Clone troopers walked by so they wouldn’t be recognized. The soldiers monitoring all the movement in the streets were making the two kids nervous.

Jek sidled up to his mom and said, “Mom, I don't like this.”

“Everything will be okay,” Suu assured him, appearing calm so he would be less scared.

Hunter then said into his comm to Tech, “Hurry up. We need those chain codes to get them on the shuttle, or we're going to have to blast our way out of here.”

“Don't worry. I can slip through security unnoticed and deliver the disks to you momentarily,” Tech told him.

After Hunter lowered his comm, Kimber made the comment, “Security seems really tight around here. I hope Tech’s got a good plan to get in here.”

“Tech’s smart. He’s got it, no problem,” Wrecker said confidently.

The line moved further up and a minute or so later, more troopers walked by the line, informing everyone to have their chain codes out and ready for inspection. Cut, Hunter and Wrecker all subtly turned or lowered their heads to hide their faces again.

Hunter’s comm beeped again and he held it up to hear Tech saying, “The chain codes are en route... with Omega.”

“By herself?” Hunter immediately blurted out in shock. “You let her go by herself?” Then he right away signaled with his head to Wrecker to go off and find Omega. Wrecker handed the box he carried to Cut and ran off the other direction.

“Well, we didn't let her go. She ran off on her own,” Tech clarified.

“If something happens to her…,” said Hunter.

Kimber came up beside him, laid a hand on his shoulder and told him, “Calm down, love. I’ll go with Wrecker and make sure she gets through safely.”

Without waiting for a response from him, she darted off after Wrecker. She did want to help find Omega and make sure she got to the group safely with the chain codes, but the greater reason in her mind for leaving the group was because she knew Hunter had yet to tell Omega that he was sending her with Cut and Suu. She didn’t want to be around for that and to see Omega’s sad disappointment. She knew she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to say goodbye. Omega might resent her for it, but Kimber didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.

“Wrecker, wait up!” she called out as she got next to him.

Just then, they could hear the wailing of a Droid very close by; just up around a corner. In only a couple of strides, Wrecker came around, spotted Omega on the ground in front of an astromech Droid and gave one firm pound into its head, disabling it, before knocking it over.

“That hit the spot,” Wrecker proclaimed, getting down on a knee and helping Omega up to her feet. Then his commlink went off and Echo’s voice came through, telling him they could use some help back at the ship. After assuring him he and Kimber were on their way, Wrecker told Omega with a pat on the shoulder, “They’re waiting for you at the dock. Better get going.”

Omega gave him and Kimber a nod and ran off with the chain codes. Kimber watched Omega as she ran off and pushed herself over the railing to get to the others. How she wished she could’ve given Omega a big hug before they left, but she knew there was no time. She was going to miss the little blonde sweetheart.

Just after Omega got away, three Clone soldiers came around the corner and spotted them. “Halt! Where are you going?” one of them asked Kimber and Wrecker.

“Uh…,” Wrecker simply replied, caught off guard.

Then Kimber stepped up and lied, “My brother got lost and accidentally wandered over here. I was just bringing him back.”

“Show me your chain codes, citizens,” one of the other troopers ordered them, seemingly not buying into Kimber’s lie.

Then Wrecker replied, “Sure, I got it right here.” He opened up one hand in the air in front of them, revealing his empty palm, Then he exclaimed, “Oh right, must be in this hand.” Then, swifter than the regs expected, Wrecker brought both hands up and smashed all three of their heads together, knocking them out.

“Nicely done,” Kimber complimented him, holding her hand up for a high-five, which he gladly gave her.

However, their victory was short-lived as another small group of regs came around the other corner and she cried out, “Time to go!” as the soldiers began firing at them and the two of them ran quickly back towards the Marauder, avoiding the blasterfire. As they ran, they both picked up the blaster rifles of the unconscious soldiers. Kimber realized as she ducked behind some boxes close to the ship that the weapon was a Blaster Carbine rifle: the one kind she’d always had trouble with. As sparks from the blaster bolts flew over her head from impacting the crates, she steeled herself as the thoughts of the last time she’d used a Blaster Carbine returned to her mind…of Hunter’s arms around her, guiding her arms up and her hands down the barrel of the rifle, his chest right up against her back, his warm breath and deep voice in her ear, the intoxication she had felt at having him so close to her at the time…no, she couldn’t think of that right now! She had to remember the actual training part of that, not everything else. There was no time! She popped back out from behind the large metal crate she hid behind, gripped the blaster rifle tight in her hands and began to fire. There was still the kick from the blasts that she expected, but with her hand tight on the barrel, she had a better grip and was able to control the kickback better. It was a good thing because the regs were not letting up.

As she fell back behind her cover, she called out to Tech and Echo, “What did you two do?”

“Echo’s taking his own sweet time getting the boot off, so we got caught,” Tech called after taking a couple shots.

“I told you you’re welcome to come do this yourself if you think you can do better!” Echo cried back at him, irritated.

“You two are hopeless,” commented Kimber as she stood back up and fired back at the soldiers. “Call Hunter. We need to get out of here now!”

Tech gave her a nod, took more shots back at the regs and then ducked down again so he could comm Hunter.

Kimber could only hope that Hunter was ready to go at that moment. She’d hoped that he had gotten Omega off safely with Cut and Suu. She hoped that Omega didn’t hate them, even though only she and Hunter knew what was going on. Moreover, she hoped Wrecker, Tech and Echo wouldn’t resent her and Hunter for sending Omega off and not telling them.

Before long, Wrecker launched one of the crates at the soldiers just as Hunter arrived and Kimber watched as, like a hero in a holomovie, he jumped onto the crate as it landed and soared through the air, launching himself toward the nearest soldier and connecting his knee to their face, before hitting the ground and grabbing another soldier’s rifle while simultaneously punching him straight in the helmet. He disarmed the soldier and shot him, before firing upon another soldier closeby.

“That’s my Sergeant,” she thought proudly.

Hunter hoisted himself over the crates to the other side for cover next to Tech, who commented to him, “Glad you could make it.”

As the firefight with the regs continued, Hunter questioned, “What are we waiting for?”

“The clamp’s still magnetized. The system’s not responding,” Echo responded.

As Wrecker ran over to help get the boot taken care of, Kimber ran from her original over to where Hunter was, got down on the ground beside him and asked quietly, “It’s done then?”

Knowing she was referring to Omega, his face fell slightly as he gave a nod and answered, “It’s done.”

A few seconds later, they heard the creaking and crashing of the boot being forcefully removed by Wrecker and Hunter ordered everyone to move and get on the ship. Tech and Echo got in first while Hunter, Wrecker and Kimber continued to hold off the soldiers.

“Wait, Omega’s not back!” Wrecker pointed out.

With a sorry look on his face, Hunter told him, “Wrecker…she’s not--”

“Wait for me!”

In response to the cry they heard, all their heads turned and, to their astonishment, they saw Omega waving to them on the other side of the barrier, quickly darting into the impound lot to evade the guards. Kimber was startled but no less relieved. Omega had come back! She must’ve come running after Hunter had left her, but it was clear she wasn’t leaving with Cut and Suu after all. Kimber’s relief was short-lived, though, as a reg lying on the ground sat up and grabbed her by the legs to subdue her.

“Omega!” Kimber cried out and both she and Hunter leapt from the open ramp to the ship to the ground to help the young girl.

Hunter went straight for Omega, shooting down the guard that was manhandling her, while Kimber covered him and shot at the other guards coming their way. Once she was released, Omega ducked behind Hunter for safety.

“Go!” Kimber cried out to Hunter, who urged Omega behind him to run to the ship. Kimber continued to shoot at the regs, keeping them at bay, while Hunter and Omega ran to the Marauder. She heard the sound of a ship overhead and, when her eyes lifted to the sky, she saw the shuttle taking off.

Cut, Suu and their kids finally got away and were now safe. Hopefully, they could meet again someday.

“Kimber, come on!” yelled Wrecker once Hunter and Omega jumped inside.

With that, Kimber dashed back to the ship, grasping Wrecker’s outstretched hand that pulled her in as she got onto the ramp that was raising up as the ship was lifting up into the air, taking off and leaving Saleucami behind them.

Kimber spotted Omega right away, dropped to her knees and pulled Omega into a tight hug, surprising the girl slightly. “Omega, you’re okay! I’m so relieved!” she exclaimed.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I got back just in time,” Omega said back.

The two of them looked to the side and found that Hunter had removed himself to the back cabin of the ship, sitting in front of the navicomputer and typing things out on the keys, appearing deep in thought.

“I think Hunter’s mad at me,” said Omega in a sad voice.

Kimber put a hand on her shoulder. “I don’t think so,” she told the young girl. “He wanted you to be safe.”

“You know what he did?” Omega asked.

Hanging her head in shame, Kimber answered, “I did…but it’s okay now. You made your choice and you’re here. Though, you should probably go talk to Hunter.”

With a small nod, Omega made her way over to where Hunter sat. He turned in his chair when he noticed her approaching and just looked at her, saying nothing, but there was a mixture of emotions in his face: disappointment, melancholy, anticipation…but also a hint of solace. Kimber hung back by the cockpit, giving Omega and Hunter a little privacy, but she also wanted to hear how things went in case she needed to step in.

Omega then spoke up nervously at first, but then becoming more insistent, “I know I made a mistake and...I have a lot to learn...but you don't have to get rid of me. I left Kamino with you. This is where I wanna be.”

Kimber peeked around the edge of the doorway, watching Hunter carefully for his reaction. He seemed uncertain at first, but then his expression softened.

He told Omega, “Tell you the truth, kid, I guess I've got a lot to learn too. If this is where you want to be…then this is where you'll stay.”

A smile of ease crossed Kimber’s face. She was proud of Hunter. He didn’t reprimand Omega for not leaving with Cut’s family, he didn’t insist on finding something else to do with her just so she would be safe; he was accepting that she was there to stay. Then she watched as Omega sat down in the chair beside him and looked up at the computer screen. Hunter was watching the kid when she wasn’t looking and Kimber could see gladness in his face. She smiled even more, knowing right away that secretly, Hunter was glad Omega was still with them.

As she slowly came out into the doorway between the cockpit and the cabin, Hunter caught her gaze and she gave him a sweet smile, silently showing him that she was proud of him. Then she walked up behind Omega and told her, “You, my dear, should probably get some rest. Though, where are we going to put you?”

“We…do have an extra bunk,” Hunter said hesitantly.

Kimber’s breath hitched, knowing he was referring to Crosshair’s old bunk.

Though, before she could say anything, Omega replied in protest, “No, no, I don’t want to take his room or any of your rooms. It just wouldn’t feel right to me. I really don’t need much. I can sleep in a chair or the gunner’s mount.”

“Omega, I don’t think--” Kimber started to say.

“No, really, it’s okay,” Omega insisted, turning in her chair to look up at Kimber with her big doe eyes.

“Well…if you’re sure,” relented Kimber. “Then get up in the gunner’s mount and get some sleep. Let any of us know if you need anything.”

Omega nodded, pushed herself off the chair and made her way to the ladder to the gunner’s mount, but then stopped, turned around and said, “Tech, Echo and I heard you guys on the comms earlier. You were making weird noises.”

“No, no, Omega--!” cried out Echo from the front, but he cut himself off when he realized it was too late.

“What were you doing?” she then asked.

Both Hunter and Kimber were confused for a second, but when they turned around and saw the mortified look on Echo’s face, it hit them immediately. Hunter facepalmed and Kimber brought her hands to her mouth to stifle a gasp, her eyes wide and both of their faces turning red from embarrassment.

“We’ll…explain it to you another time, Omega. Right now, it’s time to sleep,” Hunter told her, trying to keep his composure in front of her.

Omega just shrugged, said “okay” and proceeded to climb up the ladder to the gunner’s mount, where she curled up into the chair. Once she was up there, both Kimber and Hunter quickly but quietly went over to the cabin, their eyes wide with shock.

“You guys heard us? How?” Kimber almost hissed at them.

“Don’t blame us. Hunter’s comm was left on,” Tech simply replied without even looking back at them.

Hunter pinched the bridge of his nose in response.

Echo, peeking through the fingers of his good hand, droned to them, “Believe me, we’re thrilled you two are back together now…but should you two engage in that again, I’m begging you: please make sure your commlinks are off. I don’t want to hear anything like that again for as long as I live.”

“I am in agreement,” added Tech.

Wrecker, who was just sitting near the back doing lifts with Gonky, simply said, “I don’t even know what you guys are talking about.”

“It’s best you don’t know, Wrecker,” Kimber told him and he just reacted with an indifferent shrug as he kept going with his exercises. Then she directed her attention back to Tech and Echo, her cheeks still bright red. “We are so sorry, we had no idea.”

Partially-teasing, Echo just said, “Well, ‘sorry’ isn’t going to help me unhear all those sounds that are now permanently ingrained in my head.”

“In that case, consider it payback for all the teasing you’ve ever given me,” she replied, giving him a playful shove in the arm.

He just groaned in exasperation.

“With that humiliation in mind, I’m getting some sleep,” Hunter stated before turning on his heel and walking to the back of the ship, disappearing around the corner where the bunk area was.

Kimber watched him for a moment, feeling as though she should follow him. Though, for some reason, she hesitated. Yes, they were a couple again, but she was tentative on joining him in his room. She didn’t know why. It might’ve been because he didn’t specifically ask her to join him or maybe he just assumed she would when she was ready and didn’t feel the need to say anything.

A few seconds passed and then she decided she would go back. She bade the other three a good night and then cantered towards the back area. However, when she turned the corner, she was a bit surprised to see Hunter standing there, his arm propped up on the door and his head leaning against his forearm, his eyes cast downward.

“Hunter? What’s wrong?” she asked, concerned.

A sigh escaped his lips. “For a moment, I was hesitant to go inside. I don’t know what I’m going to find on the other side of this door,” he said quietly.

Even though she wasn’t entirely sure what he meant, she could see that something was on his mind. She came up beside him and asked, hoping to be of some help to him, “Well…what do you want to find?”

His head rotated and his dark brown eyes found her amber ones and he just gazed at her briefly. His arm came down, he stepped closer to her, their bodies almost touching, and his hands found ownership of both of hers. There was warmth and sincerity in the way he looked at her, even something desirous and beseeching.

Grasping her hands with gentle strength, he told her, his voice full of longing, “I want to find you, Kimber…all of you. I can't spend another night without you.”

It then dawned on her that this was his way of asking her to join him in his bunk again like they used to. She smiled and shook her head, thinking it was silly how he didn’t just outright ask her that and instead, found some roundabout way to do it. He was strange and stubborn sometimes, but that didn’t change how much she loved the man standing before her.

“You’ll always find me, no matter where you go…and you know that,” she replied softly. “You told me that yourself once.”

He lightly chuckled. “I guess I did,” he said, a relaxed grin on his face. Then he pressed the button to the door, making it swish open, and gradually walked backwards into the room, leading her by their joined hands inside, their gaze upon each other never breaking. Then after the door closed, he then said to her, “You were right about Omega.”

Despite wanting to take the chance at saying “I told you so”, she decided against it and said in reply, “She really is wiser than you give her credit for. She owned up to her decision with you; she knows what staying with us means. She knows what she wants.” She stepped forward, let go of one of his hands and brought her hand up to his warm cheek. “We’ll do everything we can to train her and protect her, I promise. I’m proud of you for accepting her decision.”

Hunter didn’t say anything back, but he smiled down at her in response.

Her thumb brushed his cheek down to his chin and she took notice of an indentation in his skin that she hadn’t seen before. Curiously, she said, “You know, I've seen all of your hidden scars yet somehow, I’ve never noticed that you have a small scar on your chin.” There was a small curved line at the base of his chin that was so light, it had taken her this long to see it.

Chuckling timidly, Hunter replied, “Yeah...that was a bad scrap. The other guy, though…I uh…roughed him up pretty good.”

Kimber, however, didn’t buy his story at all and she gave him a teasing smirk. “You cut yourself twirling your vibroblade, didn’t you?” she asked straightforwardly.

Hunter stammered, startled that she had seen right through him, but gave up trying to act innocent. “How did you…?”

"Because I know you, darling,” she replied, stealing a kiss from him. “It really wasn’t that hard to figure out. I know how much you love to show off how good you are with your knife."

"I mean, if it gets people's attention…," he stated. Then his arms snaked their way around her slender waist. "It got your attention, didn't it?"

Placing her hands on his chest, she just snickered. "It was far more than your knife twirling skills that captured my attention."

"Yeah? Tell me, sweetheart."

"Well…for starters, your handsome face was what got me initially…your eyes that could make any woman catch their breath, your fit form and your skills in battle…but more so than any of those, it was your caring soul and compassionate nature that drew me to you from the very beginning and they continue to do so now. How you've been with Omega...makes me love you even more than I already do."

With a grateful, loving look in his eyes, Hunter leaned forward and dotingly pressed a kiss to Kimber's forehead before replying, "I could take every word you just said and apply them to you, too. I can't think of anything better to say…other than that I love you more than words can describe." His head came forward until their foreheads reverently connected. "I know we have a long road ahead of us with the Empire, with Omega...but with you by my side, I know we can weather any storm together."

There was nothing more that needed to be said, so Kimber tilted her head up, her lips pining for his touch, and he obliged, closing the remaining distance between them and kissing her deeply. With so many uncertainties before them, it was clear above everything else that their love was the one thing they knew that they could hold onto.

#star wars the bad batch #the bad batch #bad batch hunter #bad batch fanfic #hunter x oc fic #sun and rain fanfic

[terrible-romance-reviews]

I would also like to go off about how terrible the book Touch Of Darkness was like holy shit (spoilers ahead if you care dont read further)

So like we got, our hades x persephone romance right? Now make it modern day. Now make Hades a night club owner?? But also he is still doing, underworld duties the gods are still all gods. Now add, consistent reoccuring flower themes, BUT, nothing is done with them.

Ok we on the same page now? No we arent it gets worse. Persephone? A cunt for no reason. Also licherally being? Gaslit by Demeter? The entire time thats the fucking twist. All the characters are completely 2 dimensional, you are not getting past they like sex and secondary characteristic that is brought up.

Random human best friend, does fucking nothing, enables Persephone being a massive cunt for no reason.

The entire book is held up by how banger the sex scenes are, I am talking IMMACULATE the shit is so steamy like hot DAMN.

Plot sucks Persephone hates Hades for no reason meanwhile Hades is actively out here being Just A Guy and not even?? Being that fucking terrible? He isnt bad honestly, like, at all really. Not only is he not really that bad he ACTIVELY FUCKING LISTENS TO THIS BITCH AND?? BECOMES A BETTER PERSON?? he deserves so much better. I hate persephone in this book and she is the main character and i just found her so unbelievably annoying. Like. Half the 2 dimensional, not at all fleshed out remotely characters were more enjoyable for me to read. I loved Hermes but he also read as flat and likes sex and games and thats it really. I visualized him as a silly little twink though and that probably helped.

This book was just so attrocious it sets up plot that just doesnt even need to be a plot line and conflates it so out of proportion and then NOTHING AND NOTHING THEY DONT DO ANYTHING WITH IT!

10/10 if you are looking for a trashy novel i think it took my slow ass 3 days to finish reading and then i did nothing but complain to everyone that would listen and THEN i bought the rest in whAT IS A FUCKING TRILOGY?? AND THERE ARE BOOKS IN HADES PERSPECTIVE????

Oh oh oh would also like to establish, it didnt occur to me that this was an aggressively smutty romance book when I first bought it, I didnt notice the lack of publication house, I just thought it would be a cute Hades x Persephone book with some tragic conflict. I felt no romantic build up or sexual tension while reading and the first sex scene hit me like a fucking truck I was astonished.

Also the Hades book reads better but I also just?? Liked Hades as a character significantly more and I havent finished it yet but already it felt, like it had better plot construction, and real conflict, instead of this fake ass shit that Persephone was making a huge massive deal out of.

It also deals with some rape-y shit so if that triggers you definitely don't read, that is one of the conflict points but I hated it and felt it was addressed as a way to move plot rather than bring actual light to the issue of it. It let Hades swoop in after his girl got drugged and had like no other repercussions or trauma tied to the experience or anything really.

I have to go back and read it again to get all of my major bullet point issues, I would also like to highlight every time they bring up flowers and then never use it for forshadowing or meaningful symbolism because it happens a lot throughout the book to the point of me, a notoriously dense individual, actually noticing and getting annoyed by it.

All of the annoyance of the book just adds to the charm, but really, only read it if you don't know what an actual good romance book looks like and couldn't get a better suggestion, OR, if you are just a bad book aficionado like myself.

#terrible romance reviews #a touch of darkness #this book is bad and I have so many complaints #i will actually genuinely take my copy and annotate this shit with sticky notes and why i fucking hate it #it is so bad its good #like watching a massive 5 car accident in real time #you just cant stop watching #i have so many issues with this book #books and reading #trashy romance #adult romance

[schismusic]

On abandonment, Lou X, the eternal recurrence of the same

Browsing through the people I follow (and my followers) I can't help but notice just how many of these blogs haven't been updated in literal years. That line Diane Venora has in Michael Mann's Heat comes to mind: "you live among the remains of dead people…".

The idea of neglect and disuse is a weird thing to me, in that I never registered it as an inherently negative thing - it's melancholic, sure, but not everything needs to keep being active and productive. In unrelated news I'm listening to Lou X as we speak, go figure. For my international followers, Lou X is a rapper from Pescara who made his last full record in 1998. It is called La Realtà, la Lealtà e lo Scontro and you could call it a conscious/gangsta rap record in Italian/Abruzzese dialect. Then he basically went off the radar except for maybe one feature or two on other people's songs and albums.

If you think about it Italy's greatest contributions to the culture of the past century mostly involve objects that either don't exist, are somehow crystallized into unserviceable forms, were abandoned years ago and have reached an absolutely dismal state that could only make them interesting as a work of art. Think about it: Neorealism in cinema (and maybe even the Realists' interest in decrepit/disadvantages rural realities, but that would be an overarching nineteenth-century European thing), Ennio Flaiano's Tempo di uccidere, the last writings of Cesare Pavese ("Tutto questo fa schifo. Non parole. Un gesto. Non scriverò più": what else here but the defeated realisation that nothing could ever change?), Italo Calvino's Le città invisibili, Luigi Ghirri's landscape photography work, CCCP and CSI even.

Europe is doomed to its binary division and therefore we are of course doomed to repeat stylings and "revolutionary" aesthetics in never-ending loops: Disciplinatha were smart enough to point it out, but like Whitehouse said: "grubbing job-hunting artists and art aficionados who prefer art that 'raises questions' are certainly as disgusting as those rubbered dilettantes who recognize that the answers are what you masturbate over". Whitehouse also had this to say, in the same context: "So better to just shut your fucking mouth".

Obviously mentioning a rapper from Abruzzo has implications for those of you who know anything about me. God knows there are very few places as left to their own devices as that region of Italy, and considering my violently antihumanist views regarding the Abruzzese people I'm inclined to say that the only reason this abandon should end is just so I can no longer hear these motherfuckers bitch and moan about nobody giving a shit about them or something. It's no big deal to be fair - people think Abruzzo is further down South than Rome is because it was added into the monetary help program for the South of Italy at the end of World War II. The Abruzzese people who have voted for Matteo Salvini in the past seem to have conveniently forgotten that if it didn't mean more votes to him, they would be seen as cannon fodder at best and shit under his feet at worst.

When the Amatrice earthquake hit in 2016 we knew that would be the end of the very little good things we had managed to get back after L'Aquila in 2009: the small towns in the province, which is unreasonably fucking big in L'Aquila's case but honestly what are we going to do, make Sulmona or Avezzano their own province like assholes?, anyway I'm getting distracted - my point being everything went even further to shit when that happened. A lot of the old people, some of whom not as old as you would expect, died in consequence to the quakes or went further down into some form of (if I had to guess) trauma-induced dementia. Happens even to the best of us - then, you can imagine how easily it happens to the average Abruzzese. I was setting up another band with some kids and if we had our way, honestly, I believe there would be no NUMBERS, simply because I had found people who really got me, in the typically effortless way that teens bonding through activities do, and I do believe I got them, too. When I meet them now, and I never meet them together because one of the two guys can no longer come to town now, it feels like I'm on a completely different wavelength. Yet I refuse to let go, because in true Abruzzese fashion I never fucking learn. We did manage to get a record out, though. Its only tangible effect was, likely, to stop NUMBERS and the Operators from playing the La Zona d'Ombra festival at Bronson, in Ravenna. Here in the future, everyone has their fifteen seconds of fame.

In relating to the theme of this post, I cannot seem to let go of this fucking post. I have been writing in circles for literal hours at this point because the idea of abandonment ultimately scares me, disproving what I said at the beginning. It's no surprise that the only things I can think of when they suggest to me the idea of abandonment are Burial, Forest Swords, Techno Animal, maybe some ambient music. No point in trying to prove at all costs that "I'm different" or that "I have something fundamental to say about it".

So better to just shut my fucking mouth.

#schismusic #musica #music #whitehouse #cccp fedeli alla linea #consorzio suonatori indipendenti #disciplinatha #lou x #la realtà la lealtà e lo scontro #a lot of really terrible shit #abandoned #abruzzo #ennio flaiano #italo calvino #luigi ghirri #cesare pavese #Youtube

[bonesandthebees]

this question seems a little silly to me but alas google was no help and you seem like something of a concert aficionado, but i just got tickets to an outdoor lovejoy venue and have no idea how it works when it’s outside since the only concerts ive been to are indoor venues or free outdoor ones (which def isn’t the same) and am happily overthinking the hell out of it. ive been to one other lovejoy show (still riding that high) and was as close to the mic as physically possible without being on stage, which was just from getting there very early. is getting close to the stage the same principle at outdoor venues? is there even a line to queue in still? Do they have a “doors open at 7!” moment when there’s no doors? are people like. more or less insane about getting there wildly early when it’s outdoors. i just have no clue what to expect so any little bits of knowhow would be hugely appreciated <3 also I love your writing

hi this question isn't silly at all! the only outdoor venue I've been to for lovejoy was a music festival, so if you're talking about a music festival I can help with that? but also all music festivals have different rules and setups for things like that so what applied for mine might not apply for yours

for my music festival, the entire festival opened up at 12 noon. I knew what stage lovejoy was playing on, and they weren't going to perform until 6 or 7pm I think. so while I didn't try to show up super early, my friend and thought the trolley that took us downtown was going to take longer than it would so we ended up there around 11 am. people had just begun to line up to be let into the festival, so we met up with some twitter mutuals of mine and lined up. now keep in mind this was just to get into the festival, the stage lovejoy was going to be on was further in the grounds.

so when 12 noon hit I was like the 5th person let in I think? and I just sprinted for the lovejoy stage. no one was there yet so I claimed a spot at the barrier, and the rest of the people I knew trickled in behind me and we all claimed our spots. from there it was just a matter of waiting at the barrier and not giving up our spots there until lovejoy came on. now regardless of venue type, all gigs are going to have different barrier variations. some barriers are going to be only a few feet from stage, some, like, at that music festival i was at, are going to be a bit further back. theres nothing you can do about that, but it's very rare to be so close to the stage you could practically touch the mic. that usually means there isn't an actual barrier fence for the stage, and the only time i've been to a gig like that was the lovejoy bowery gig in nyc last december

so basically, at least with the music festival i went to, there's no real 'queue' unless you count the line to get into the festival when the doors open. basically you just run and try to claim a spot at barrier as fast as possible. if lovejoy isn't performing until later in the day, you're either going to have a hell of a time waiting in the sun all day (although of course if the people around you aren't dicks they should be willing to hold your spot and let you come back to it if you need to get food or use the restroom or something), or because there's so much shuffling of crowds between performances as different artists come on and off the stage you have a higher chance of being able to slip closer to the front if you didn't get there at the start. (i'm not saying to shove past people to force your way through. i'm just saying other people might leave the barrier after the artist they're there for has performed, and you can swoop in and take their spot)

overall I'd just look up what time the venue opens and plan to get there an hour early or so if lovejoy is performing later in the day. if they're performing earlier, you might be more likely to see a typical 'queue' to get into the venue. and even if you do get barrier, there's a likely chance you're not gonna be that close to the stage as you described again. i'm still chasing the high of that bowery gig. best of luck to you though!

#ask #anon #lovejoy

[blithe-imperial-underling]

*Written in a slightly shaky hand on flimsiplast*

Translation:

I need to sort through my thoughts to get some perspective. That portrait of Commander Echo, bared to the waist with his back to the viewer - it keeps sneaking into my mind. It's part of the Imperial outreach program, so of course I posted it to my blog with an appropriate caption. But he's my commander, for kriff's sake. And though I know participation was voluntary, the commander as I know him is an entirely proper, modest man, so it felt almost too personal to post.

Should I allow myself to even think about it now, in private? The portrait was intended for the public eye. Several other officers are also being featured, for the good of the Empire. I've even heard that ISB agent Kallus might be included, though that may be wishful thinking on the part of the other aides I overheard in the break room. At any rate, the portrait of Commander Echo is entirely tasteful. There's nothing provocative or improper about it. So why shouldn't I look at it? Because I can't be objective about it, that's why. And I have tried. Oh, how I've tried. What I want is to linger over the image and drink in every detail the artist captured. I can't help it. The commander is a striking man, and the artist portrayed him beautifully. Lean muscle over a perfectly proportioned, lithe frame; the body of the hero he is, with an indefinable something that hints at the master tactician within. The pose they chose allows him to retain a measure of privacy, even while cybernetics and scars normally hidden by his uniform are exposed, including narrow plates that cover his spine like a strip of armor. Unlike the showy augmentations you see on some mod aficionados these days, they're martial-looking. Utilitarian. They suit the soldier they serve and, like his prosthetic arm, they don't detract from his appeal. I almost wish they did. It would make it easier to keep my thoughts from straying into - no. Stop it right there. If I didn't have feelings for him, I'm sure the portrait would be no big deal. Another attractive man without his shirt on. Admire for a moment and move on. But I do. And just thinking about that image, while working, my face flushed until it felt like I was glowing. Commander Echo was across the lab from me with his eyes closed in concentration. But, scomped into the network as he was, he could still have seen me blushing if he had turned any of his virtual eyes my way. Oh, stang. Stang, kriff, and karking nerf balls. He may still see if he checks the logs. Was it as obvious as it felt? I don't know how closely he watches the lab while we're present, or if that's something he'd notice. The commander mustn't find out how I feel. As crucial as his work is to the Empire, the last thing he needs is a fawning admirer where his aide should be. And I just couldn't bear it if he thought I saw him with any less than the respect he deserves. That decides it. It's time to pack that mental image away so my traitorous blushing cheeks can't betray me. It's the respectful thing to do.

*Document disposed of securely shortly after writing*

The portrait in question can be seen here:

#blithe #flustered underling #personal musings

[relationshipsshrink]

Can My Ex and I Still Be (Only) Friends?

Dear Dr. Deb,

What’s your take on staying friends with exes?

My first love and I dated all through high school and college until we finally made it official and got married. We had been inseparable, and there was no doubt that we were best friends. Eventually, time led us to change in different ways, and by year ten, we finally made the decision to go our separate ways. And although the divorce was an unavoidably painful process, we managed to remain amicable with each other.

We’re each in our own new partners these days, but to me, she will always be one of my best friends and confidants. So much so that we still get together for coffee every few months.

Lately, my current partner is feeling uncomfortable and threatened by my regular coffee date with my ex. In my view, my ex and I are just being friendly, but she thinks there is more to it than that. I can’t seem to reassure her otherwise.

Dr. Deb, is my partner being too demanding or is she right that I should stop meeting up with my ex? Why does it seem that staying friends with exes always makes the current partner feel insecure? I’d like to think that if the situations were reversed, I wouldn’t want my partner to cut off such an important relationship.

I hope you can give me advice on how to finally resolve this situation and stop the exhausting back and forth with my partner.

Sincerely, Ex Aficionado

——————————————————————————————————

From The Desk of Dr.Deb

Dear Ex Aficionado,

As with many relationship dilemmas, my take on the situation is: it depends. There’s no definite standard you can use to justify whether you should continue seeing your ex or end it to make your current partner feel reassured.

It’s definitely possible for ex-spouses to stay friends (especially if they are co-parents), but what’s a good arrangement for other exes may not be the right you and your ex.

Breaking up is hard to do. So hard, in fact, that we might have a difficult time completely ending the relationship.

Ultimately, the full answer to your question may depend on your answer to this one: why do you want to remain close with your ex?

You mentioned in your letter that you don’t understand why this arrangement bothers your new partner. As far as you’re concerned, you and your ex have moved on from the relationship and you both accept and support each other dating others.

But there are other important details to consider. You didn’t mention how much time, if any, had passed before you and your ex decided to remain in contact after the divorce. Have you considered if the friendship affected your post-divorce healing process? It’s worth asking if you’re maintaining the connection to “soften the blow” or avoid making a clean break. If that’s the case, friendship and healing are not always compatible.

What do you and your ex talk about over coffee? Does your closeness with your ex hinder your emotional bonding with your new partner?

Your partner’s insecurity or jealousy are reactions to be expected when faced with such closeness between exes. The resolution to this depends on what you and your partner decide together – especially when it comes to establishing boundaries that’s fair to you both. The relationship you have with your partner now is what’s most important, after all.

Fondly, Dr. Deb

It’s also important to remember that there’s always help and resources available for relationship issues. The best way to gauge whether a relationship needs serious consideration is to seek the help of a licensed professional therapist.

#Ex #Friends #Relationships #Relationship Tips

[detective-royalty-persona]

BAD ENDINGS - Detective Royalty AU

Contents: - Palace Deadlines - Taking Sae’s Offer - Maruki Palace Deadline - Accepting Maruki’s Offer

PALACE DEADLINES

Sae Nijima: Hm? Akechi-kun?… is that the entirety of your testimony?

Goro Akechi: … yes.

Sae Nijima: … Do you have no intention of saying anything more? Or is the overdose affecting your memory…?

I pause. Then I look up. I feel like… I’m meant to remember something. Something… important.

(Kamoshida Palace bad ending extra line: Sae Nijima: It may also be because we’re discussing Kamoshida… your relationship with him has impacted you so severely, correct?)

Sae Nijima: In any case, it seems it’d be a waste of time to speak to you any longer… it’s unfortunate.

I see Sae-san leave. And I sit there, trying to remember. My eyesight goes blurry. When it clears, there’s a gun pointing at me.

Lavenza: Trickster! Can you hear me? Trickster, you need to remember! Trickster! You can’t let it end like this? Can you hear me?!

Her voice can’t save me now.

???: Ahaha… looks like you’re too late, ‘Detective Prince’. A pity. Really. You’ve been going around, trying to be all just… but this is where your story ends. Scum.

Click.

TAKING SAE’S OFFER

Sae Nijima: There’s much more I need to ask… but I have to leave soon. Of course, being a Royal Detective myself, I know some things. But I can’t bring myself to do others. I have an offer for you. If you take it, I think I might be able to let you off.

Goro Akechi: A deal?

Sae Nijima: … of course I already know who was involved. A trainee gymnast, Kasumi Yoshizawa. Your friend at Shujin since day 1, Ren Amamiya. The admin of the Royale-site, Yuuki Mishima. And… the Studemt Council president at Shujin Academy, Makoto Nijima. If you’ll allow me to prosecute those four, I’ll try my best to give you a lighter sentence. I can’t bring myself to do that decision. I’ll let you decide.

Goro Akechi: …

I don’t know… what am I supposed to do?

Goro Akechi: I’ll let you prosecute them. You can do that… I won’t mind, Sae-san.

Sae Nijima: Really? That’s very much unlike you, Akechi-kun. I would have expected you to say no. Are you sure this is what you want me to do?

Do I… I really want to do this?

Goro Akechi: No. I’m sure I want you to do this.

Sae Nijima: … if you’re certain. I’ll be back soon. Hang tight… I don’t know what I’m going to do without you anymore. Is this the end of the road… for both of us?

She left the room. And I just sat there. Did I make the right decision…?

Before I knew it, two people entered the room - a police officer, and another person. Someone I knew all too well. That person shot the officer and turned the gun to me.

Aficionado: I know it shouldn’t have ended up like this, Akechi-kun. I admired you… really. But I can’t deny the darkness in my heart anymore. Goodbye. This is where your story as the Detective Prince ends.

Click.

MARUKI PALACE DEADLINE

Takuto Maruki: Hm? Ah, Akechi-kun. It seems you’ve finally woken up. I’ve been watching you. And it seems like you haven’t made a decision on what I said. In all honesty, I really wanted you to accept my gift of your own free will. But I see that demanding a decision from you is only making you suffer.

Goro Akechi: …

Takuto Maruki: I’ve been your counsellor in the past of course. I’ve helped you with your struggles. You coming to terms with your trauma, dealing with your phobia of touch… you’ve been suffering so much more than anyone I’ve ever met. And I don’t want you to suffer anymore. I’ll make sure you’re happy.

Goro Akechi: Hm?

Takuto Maruki: I apologise for what I’m about to do. But it’s the only thing I can do.

My vision suddenly went black.

I woke up again, ever so slightly. How long has it been? Why do I feel like I’m going to fall asleep any moment now? I can’t deal with this… I can’t deal with how… tired I am… it’s like the cold chill of death… I want to scream but I can’t. What’s… what’s wrong with me…? I… I’m falling asleep again…

Lavenza: Trickster! Trickster wake up! Trickster!

ACCEPTING MARUKI’S OFFER

Goro Akechi: So. Here I am. Facing this new reality… it seems I have to accept it.

Yuuki Mishima: A-Akechi-kun! Wait! You can’t- you can’t be serious! I can’t let you-!

A flash of white.

I wake up from my daydream in my house. All my friends are already there, and everyone is talking.

Ren Amamiya: Hey, sleepyhead! Glad you woke up! We were just talking about everyone’s recent accomplishments!

Kasumi Yoshizawa: You’ll be glad to hear I’m acing my practices! I think the Olympics is just going to be a pebble step away!

Ren Amamiya: That’s great, Kasumi-san! I’m also pretty excited to say that Sojiro is offering to let me stay at Leblanc! I’m really excited of course!

Kasumi Yoshizawa: That’s brilliant news, Senpai! How about you, Akechi-kun?

Goro Akechi: Me? Huh?

Sae Niijima: I’m glad to say that the Detective Agency is going well. It seems as if I made the right choice in meeting Akechi-kun in the first place.

Goro Akechi: Of course…

This feels so strange… but everyone is so happy…

Makoto Nijima: I’m proud of you, sis. You deserve it.

Sae Nijima: Hm? Oh, thank you Makoto.

Yuuki Mishima: I’m not sure of what I should do. But I’m going to do my best to help all of you, no matter what! Actually I was thinking of applying to a magazine.

Ren Amamiya: That’s great to hear Mishima-kun!

Goro Akechi: …

Ren Amamiya: Also, Sojiro is gonna take a group photo, so everyone better sit down and get posing!

I… do I really want this…?

Kasumi Yoshizawa: Hey, Akechi-senpai. Are you alright? You look a little under the weather. I’m sure it’s nothing a quick drink won’t handle!

I feel Kasumi’s hand on my shoulder. It’s… it’s strangely comforting.

Goro Akechi: Hm…? Oh, sure.

Everyone’s laughing, and smiling. Is this… really the peaceful reality?

#| extra

[jacketpotato7]

All About Top 33 Home Renovation Blogs You Should Be Following

“How splendid it is that nobody need wait a solitary instant prior to beginning to improve the world.” It turns out that Anne Frank was appropriate. There is no necessity to stand by additional than a couple of mins for points to improve and I urge everyone to provide yourself a appeal at how the new modern technology might enhance your life - it could be helpful at final!” How to utilize the absolute best app on the market How does it profit those who use it on their smartphone? She could have been talking about something else completely, but she surely attacked the nail on the head when it happens to home improvement tasks. One of his preferred traits in lifestyle includes going to a new home without possessing anything to build there. The trouble along with having even more loan than you need doesn't quit there. You can include anything you yearn for to a residence improvement job, featuring timber. House remodeling kits that are just starting to ended up being popular feature everything coming from home packages to home-made home appliances. Therefore if you are organizing on sprucing up your residence or just looking for new concept concepts to try out in your additional time, the observing listing contains some wonderful write-ups and resources that are a need to read through for any kind of home renovation aficionado. So, if you think you would such as to hear coming from a house improvement designer regarding Home Box style that you have found beneficial for house usage, be sure to check out our significant listing listed below at RPS. Best Home Improvement Blogs Designer Trapped Designer Trapped is run by a North Carolina mommy named Tasha, who utilized to be a lawyer in her previous lifestyle. A independent professional and business owner, she mentions she discovers herself at a job celebration when some of her fellow designers are having a poor time. Caught is constantly finding work in the exact same spot and finding different viewpoints to work. She and some others like her work at this site attempt to assist anyone who is skipping out and get support. She acquired intrigued in DIY ventures because it was the only way that she and her spouse could manage to redesign their home back in 2002. It's like leasing out your house! Also after Answers Shown Here , she got enthusiastic concerning the house because then she can purchase it for a portion of what she'd paid for for. The house had been in her household for virtually 40 years. It suit like a handwear cover – she was so delighted. She didn't presume concerning it for years. The existing blog configuration makes it really quick and easy for readers to find layout subjects. It's also a excellent way to quickly generate themes that you need to have or can easily effortlessly discuss with others. Producing Design Patterns Making design designs for website styles is significant. It additionally helps those in the know to calculate how to integrate concept patterns into their very own layouts. If you don't know how to produce a layout pattern, read through regarding the sources and how to generate a design template (to comply with along). It even splits the articles by targets such as crafts, furniture, and floor. The only distinction between it and an write-up of apparel is the name of the manual author. For this explanation, one could make the claim it was developed through someone other than the author, which would require added evidence. For the objective of this post, I just possess the real message of the book I'm working on for my once a week update, that are going to be published in May, 2016. Of course, her business tasks are certain to come in helpful, particularly for parents or anyone else with even more things than room. At least, that's what Sillerman said to me through phone. With no actual assistance, she chosen to phone university her personal college. "We've shed so several students in institution due to this," she pointed out. The only various other moms and dad that had been a trainee of Ms. O'Leary's in her own family members is James. This is absolutely one to bookmark for potential use. The upcoming variation is a lot more advanced and integrates more attribute that are utilized in the past times. Some of them could be created into the brand-new user interface; others are simply the traits you might require. The brand-new toolbar controls for iPhone 5 are: This one is still far coming from finished. We view it in this last bit on the brand new internet site. There's a second one that is mainly merely a small button in the best left behind corner.

#blog for home improvement #home improvement news #studonelectric.com

[robertsonreynolds]

How To Win At Sports Betting - Free Tips

Although betting in sports can look simple, it can also be confusing incapable to sell .. Of course, betting in sports are don't just about picking the winner of the game. There are and a lot of choices and kinds of bets that you can do choose from and does not you know where to put your money wisely. There are different regarding bets in sports every time one has many chances in winning the jackpot. That will help you doing wiser decisions in betting in sports outcome, you can even find sports betting systems that probably will make your choice easier and wiser. The spread broker may have in place certain odds which come from 0 to 100. The binary Betting bid or spread offer can be converted to general fixed odds. With regard to example whenever a bid is ready at 5 the fixed odds can be approximately 20 to 1 (20/1) how the event could happen. If the binary bid is placed at 33, the fixed odds are going to be approximately 2 to 1 (2/1). Betting exchanges are slightly different for the there could be more choice. For example, an exchange member might use the option of 9 or less, 10 to 11 and 12 or more corners. The point about this system is so it doesn't provide you with alone in the process of betting. สร้างเว็บพนันออนไลน์ shouldn't! You pay to use betting tips, so these items use these betting approaches for life. Anyone have get an access towards system, definitely will receive exactly the same tips that very few professional bettors use to win their table bets. As a sports bettor I am not particularly interested each morning cause among the injury. I'm more so concerned the actual use of risk of betting on the fighter who comes into the fight with a serious injury that I do not comprehend. When I place a bet I'm putting my money on their own line, I'm putting my clients' cash on the line (since that the majority of them place bets in my recommendation), when compared to am putting my reputation as a qualified handicapper to the line. For me, seventy one of these factors matter, then when I place a bet the monetary and reputational stakes are high. Getting thing We need to do is to get myself and my clients money by betting on the fighter who, unbeknown to us, is fighting by injury as well as only fighting at 50% of his capacity. Yes, require only a few a system that works most times to become an investor making involving money on sports betting. Sports betting should seen as an investment, method you cash most times. Though fun in sports betting cannot be left out for those that have adoration for the games, the passion can become lots of cash using proven betting systems and strategy. Football (soccer) has most systems and techniques because it provides more betting options than any other sports. The ultimate aim every and every bettor is make your cash. Whether you are betting on sports or horse racing, carried out properly, you can make significant profit and this is when sports betting advice providers come all over. Soccer is very popular with betting aficionados. As the number of soccer fans has grown so uses the number of soccer betting markets situated on a soccer game. Soccer over under betting is definitely an obvious candidate to help explain how over under bets be employed in more detail. In football betting, that is also one within the popular sports that people often bet with, you additionally choose from different kinds of bets. A straight bet is one where without a doubt on a team you simply think will win. You could also bet on parlays which can actually find two greater wagers. The types of bets can be found in other sports as incredibly well. You must place your betting bank into a totally separate account with a bank set up for this purpose alone (ensure that the account comes with a debit card facility) Don't repeat one particular my early mistakes. Initially when i first started getting serious about my betting, I kept a dedicated betting bank but stupidly kept the funds in the course of personal bank account. It got very messy along with an adverse effect smaller betting psychology. When you encounter a long losing run it really is best for you to see this impacting upon the funds in your everyday account. It will become very greater stressful laptop would be if most likely losing quantity of money from a free account solely centered on your betting activities. Furthermore, when one has had a good win, there happens to be temptation to up your existing spending surely feeling do away with. Know the game and members of the squad. Although you don't have to totally know how you can play sport and the rules, additionally you can easily an power if impact . them because will in order to check out which team has steps over the other. Of course, there is also high tendency that widely recognized the game where you are betting on if you happen to be sports enthusiast and you currently have your favorite team. One important tip is always to know the teams that are playing. It is necessary that you know their play records plus their past routines. This will also give you an understanding on their chances of winning on the game.

#Betting Website #เว็บพนัน

[mygyftr]

Not Sure What to Gift? Here are 5 Gifting Websites to Turn Up Your Gifting Mojo

The very idea of shopping is quite exciting, at least it is to me! And being a shopping aficionado myself, I am always on the lookout for a great shopping experience that could offer me attractive deals and the best discounts.

There are times when I shop for my dearest friends and loved ones. Because I like gifting. I believe that the very idea of gifting is something that comes straight from the heart! Needless to say that gifting is one of the best ways to express your love and gratitude to your near and dear ones. It is something to look forward to; whether it be a celebration, a birthday, or an anniversary. 

I believe that you can gift someone just to say thanks, to remember someone or be remembered or to just keep in touch with your buddies. That’s how diverse the idea of gifting is and that’s why it is so lovable! Perhaps because it orbits around love and respect for others.

So, without any further ado, here are the top 5 online platforms that I personally shop Gift Vouchers from and would love to share them with you guys too! 

1) GyFTR 

Happiness Delivered. Instantly! This is the credo by which GyFTR, a top online gifting website operates. GyFTR has been in the business of buying and selling Gift Cards for a decade and is working with all the major brands in the industry. It won’t be an understatement to say that GyFTR acts as a springboard of happiness for its users, helping them score exciting discounts on Gift Vouchers. 

It gives you the choice to buy from a wide spectrum of categories right from Health & Wellness, Food & Beverage, Mobile & Electronics and others. As a user you get to do both: save big as well as gift the best out of the lot to your dearest friends and family members. The best thing that I found really great about this website is its seamless shopping experience. Plus, you can also find their Gift Vouchers for top brands like Bata, Ola, Blinkit and many others on websites like Amazon.

2) Zingoy 

What I love about Zingoy is that it is a 2-in-1 destination for getting cashback and online Gift Cards! So, if you want to experience double the fun then go for Zingoy. With Zingoy as your online gifting platform, you get to choose from more than 400+ merchants and 200 stores right from Amazon India, BookMyShow, Paytm, Flipkart and many more. You also get features like instant cashback. 

3) IGP 

Earlier known as IndianGiftsPortal.com, IGP lets you choose and buy E-Gift Cards from multiple categories that resonate with your gifting needs. With IGP, you can shop from major brands right from Amazon, Flipkart, Westside and many others. With its innovative and out-of-the-box thinking, it has taken a massive leap forward in addressing consumers' gifting needs. 

4) HDFC SmartBuy 

If you are a loyal HDFC customer then you can consider HDFC Instant Vouchers to buy online Gift Cards for your loved ones. With HDFC Instant Vouchers, HDFC card users are subject to additional discounts and reward points. That makes it worth your time and energy. Here you can find and choose from a wide range of categories right from groceries, travelling to discovering exciting deals on Gift Cards.

And hey, did you know that you are eligible for up to 10x Rewards Points on HDFC Bank Infinia, Diners Black, Diners Privilege & Regalia Credit Cards?

5) Axis Edge Rewards 

However, not being an HDFC customer doesn’t bar you from getting good deals elsewhere. The purpose of my writing this blog is to help you figure out the best websites from where you can shop for Gift Cards. Being an Axis Bank cardholder can also get you exciting deals. Here’s how!

With Axis Edge Rewards, you get to shop from 200+ brands across a wide range of categories for a seamless online Gifting experience. The Axis Edge Reward experience will make your heart sing. Let’s just say that this is the perfect destination for seasoned shoppers to explore. And hey, did you know that being an Axis user, you can also shop your GVs from Amazon as well.

In the end, the idea of gifting is all about appreciating your loved ones. And the aforementioned platforms have been engineered to help you browse and shop e-gift vouchers at amazing discounts. 

So what are you waiting for? Never miss an opportunity to spread joy! 

Happy Gifting!

[cassiale]

Original vs Soft Footbed What's your decision

We have been repeatedly questioned in regards to the different Wholesale Birkenstock Kyoto footbeds. I wrote a post explaining the visible difference in between the original footbed vs soft footbed Birkenstocks. But, individuals always keep inquiring, "would you much like the original footbed or perhaps the soft footbed far better?" My desire, certainly is subjective. What I like, someone else may well not like because we all have various feet.

Choosing a Birkenstock footbed depends on an individual's personalized preference. It's like wondering somebody who wants dark chocolate whether or not they favor ordinary or peanut M&Ms. Presuming there are no nut allergy symptoms engaged, a chocolate partner is likely gonna eat a variety of M&Ms. For me personally, I love ordinary and peanut M&Ms, exactly like I like original footbed and soft footbed Birkenstocks.

Although I may appreciate ordinary and peanut M&Ms, I truly do favor 1 within the other. When you positioned a container of basic M&Ms and a bowl of peanut M&M facing me, I would personally take in the ordinary versions. Nevertheless, let's claim that I used to be using a chocolates wanting and also you only experienced peanut M&Ms to talk about. Would I decrease the peanut M&Ms because I enjoy simple M&Ms? Besides no, I would devour the peanut M&Ms as they are tasty too.

With regards to Birkenstock footbeds, I enjoy the original footbed. Nonetheless, occasionally Birkenstock only makes a number of designs from the soft footbed. If I like the design on offer in the soft footbed, I am not likely to abandon the shoe because it doesn't may be found in an original footbed. I am going to buy the soft footbed Birkenstock and revel in wearing it.

For instance, when I wanted to find the Birkenstock Arizona together with the gold uppers. I searched for it in an original footbed at Birkenstock Group, having said that i acquired it was only made in a soft footbed. Since I did not have the choice of an original footbed, I journeyed ahead and bought the soft footbed version. I knew my feet could be content from the soft footbed, simply not as happy because they can be in an original footbed.

One of many reasons I prefer the original footbed is because they provide far more arch help in comparison with soft footbed Birkenstocks. Even though a soft footbed may offer much less all round assist than an original footbed, still it provides me a lot more foot assist than any other kind of shoe in the marketplace. I have a tendency to dress in my soft footbed Birks to work and around the home. I often dress in an original footbed Birkenstock once i realize that I am going to be walking very long ranges.

People who have level feet or hypersensitive feet will most likely should you prefer a soft footbed. I am aware that my mom has a very much slimmer arch than me and she could barely go walking around the space in a original footbed Birkenstock without her feet hurting. The extra covering of foam which cushions the soft footbed Birkenstock makes the shoe more endurable for my mother. My Birkenstock Mate has hypersensitive feet as a result of medical problem and requires a soft footbed Birkenstock at the same time.

In the plus part, soft footbed Birkenstocks are much easier to crack-in compared to an original footbed Birkenstock. For a Birkenstock aficionado like me personally, I could dress in a soft footbed Birkenstock proper from the pack without needing a lot of time to break-within the shoe. For somebody like my mom who may have never used Birkenstocks, a soft footbed Birkenstock would need a longer break-in period of time. Yet, nonetheless not as lengthy for any non-Birkenstock wearer to acquire used to using to a original footbed Birkenstock.

I love the challenge of busting-in the new set of original footbed Birkenstocks. It's just like a activity to me. I think that the champion whenever I successfully bust-in the new couple of Birks.

I like original footbed Birkenstocks over soft footbed Birks, exactly like I enjoy simple M&Ms over peanut M&Ms. Nonetheless, when I have got a longing for chocolates or Birkenstocks, I would personally be happy with any solution that is provided to me. For those who have never donned Birkenstocks, I would recommend which you try every type on to find out which footbed would greatest meet your requirements. You can't go awry with either kind because both will give you far more foot assistance compared to any other type of shoe you ever have donned.

I love original footbed Birkenstocks and that i much like the soft footbed ones way too. Exactly what is your preference?

#Wholesale Birkenstock Kyoto

[andreafmn]

Collision - Chapter 4

Word Count: 3,821

Characters: Female Reader Uley Character, Sam Uley, Allison Uley, Charlie Swan, Bella Swan, Seth Clearwater, Billy Black, Jacob Black, Emily Young, Paul Lahote, Harry and Sue Clearwater, Leah Clearwater

Story Description: (Y/N) Uley is back home after being away for four years. Her life at its first standstill and she is taking this time to find out who she is without school. But she never thought that coming back to the reservation would turn her whole life around. In the midst of secrets and mystery, a man crashes into (Y/N)’s and her life will never be the same.

*DISCLAIMER* I do not own in any way Twilight, all credits of the pre-established characters, script, and storyline belong to Stephanie Meyer and Summit Entertainment. The only thing I own is Uley Reader insert, any upcoming characters, and her storyline, as well as her effects in the others’ story line.

Chapter: 4/?

A/N: Don’t know if I ever mentioned it, but the story takes place before New Moon but after Twilight. It starts at the end of May after the dance, so it’d be the summer before Bella’s birthday in September. If you enjoy my writing I’ll also be posting them in AO3 and Wattpad along with other stories (I also hope to start taking requests if ya’ll want) Hope you enjoy and all constructive criticism is encouraged.

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Chapter 4

The next time she awoke she was back in sight of the blinding hospital lights. Her head was heavily pounding and the clothes on her body felt alien to her. Her eyes struggled to adjust to the white lights of the sanitized room, but they were suddenly off.

“Back again, Miss Uley?” She recognized the voice, Dr. Cullen. “I’ve already turned the lights off so don’t worry about that.”

Her eyes finally opened to reveal the smooth pale face of the doctor. A wave of calmness rushed over her as soon as her eyes connected with his golden ones.

“What can I say?” She chuckled. “I just couldn’t stay away.”

“Well, it seems you’ve been having a recurring headache, insomnia, memory lapses, and a lack of appetite. It looks like post-concussive syndrome. Your mom told us you were feeling like this for a few days, why didn’t you come back?” Carlisle questioned. He was trying his best to look like he was breathing but if he took even a single breath all his years of self-control would be over in an instant.

“I thought if I could just make it to at least seven days it could clear me from coming back to the hospital, at least as a patient.”

“What do you mean?” This comment had perked the interest of the man. Thoughts raced through his head faster than he could analyze them.

“I was thinking of applying for a medical assistant job here in the hospital. I recently got my degree in biology, and I’ve been thinking of going to medical school after.”

“That sounds like a plan, but let’s work on getting you better first.” It did sound like a good plan to Carlisle. He wanted to be as close as possible to her every single day, but it also meant he would have to work triple as hard to control his thirst. “We’d like to keep you for the next few days and make sure you’re in good health before you can go back to business as usual.”

“How long would a few days be?”

“About four to five days, just to make sure that the symptoms don’t worsen, and we can give you an all-clear.” It would also give him a few days to grow accustomed to her smell. “We can work over that application for medical assistant, make sure it’s something you want to do.”

“Yeah, that’d be great.” She smiled at the man in front of her, her heart fluttering with every breath she took. “Thank you, Dr. Cullen.”

“Please, call me Carlisle,” he smiled. “Now, why don’t you continue resting, and whatever you need just call. My office is right down the hall, I’ll be here in no time.”

The girl stared at the retreating form of his body and covered the heat that was rising to her face with her pillow. The butterflies in her stomach had made her uneasy and had her hands shaking. She didn’t understand why she was feeling this way. It had only been a week since her first encounter with the doctor, but those few seconds were enough to have her drooling over the man like a lovesick schoolgirl.

A few days had come and gone quickly. (Y/N) had grown attached to Carlisle, seeing and talking to him every day had felt like a dream. In his free time, she would go over to his office and pick a book to read, which they talked about the next day. They spent hours talking about nothing and everything.

It had been a long time since Carlisle had felt this way, centuries. Being around her had gotten easier each day that passed. Her smell becoming comforting instead of a trigger to the endless hunger for human blood – he’d never had a simple drop of it, but nothing could explain how much he wanted to have hers. Getting to know her had been a welcomed activity by the young doctor. He could spend days upon days listening to the sweet sound of her voice, admiring her curious-filled face when she started a new book – which she read swiftly, taking only a couple of hours to finish most of them.

“Can’t believe you have so many first editions, and you leave them at work.” She ran her hand across the spine of Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment. “I would keep them in a well-preserved chamber, and no one would be able to even breathe on them.”

Carlisle smiled as the girl gawked once again at his book collection. It wasn’t hard to acquire first edition novels when you were alive when they were published. “If you’re impressed by this collection, you’d be completely astonished by the one I have back home.”

“You have more?!” He nodded. The girl shined like a kid on Christmas, her eyes gleaming at the thought of a big library. “Oh, that sounds like a dream.”

“You’re more than welcome to come over any time. It’s always refreshing to meet a literature aficionado such as myself.”

“Really? That’d be amazing!” She grinned brightly. “I could spend all day reading, forget about work.”

The duo laughed. “Too late to withdraw the application but you’re always welcome to pass your downtime in my office.”

“Sounds like a plan,’’ she smiled. “Now, doctor, what will you ever do now that I’m not going to be here every day?”

“Oh, how will I ever go on?” He chuckled. “But if you ever need help during that time, just come by. My office is always open. And hopefully, you’ll visit from time to time on personal time.”

“I’m sure it’s something that can be arranged.”

If there was still blood rushing through his veins, the capillaries in his face would have widened. He felt like he now understood Edward; how being with her made him feel human again. And there was nothing more that he wanted than to take their friendship to another level, but he wasn’t sure if she would ever feel the same. Carlisle knew that she was unaware of the supernatural since (Y/N) had allowed him to be in her life. But what would happen once she knew everything? How could he ever come between her and her family?

“Miss Uley, your mother is here,” a nurse spoke up, peeking her head through the office door. “Discharge papers have already been filed.”

“Thank you, Nurse Dalen. She’ll be out in a moment.” Carlisle smiled.

“Well, the time has come.” (Y/N) took her phone out of her back pocket and handed it to the doctor. He looked at her with a question-ridden gaze. “I’m gonna need your phone number so we can arrange any future endeavors.”

“Right,” he laughed, typing his number into her directory. “I’ll be waiting for that call.”

“I’ll be making it soon enough,” she grinned. “I’m gonna go now. I’ll see you around, Cullen.”

“I’ll see you, Uley.”

She left the office with a huge smile on her face, holding her phone close to her chest. For the first time, she was experiencing something she had heard of most of her teenage years. Once she had met Carlisle all she wanted to do was get to know him better, spend her time with him, just being near him would suffice. It was the first time she was learning what falling for someone was, and even though it was scary, she was jumping in headfirst.

“Hi, honey. Ready to go home?” Allison hugged her daughter for the first time in five days. (Y/N) nodded, truly ready to finally sleep on her own bed.

“So, how are you liking Dr. Cullen?”

“MOM!” Allison laughed at her daughter’s reaction. It was easy to see that (Y/N) had taken a liking to Carlisle Cullen, and vice versa.

“What, darling? If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck.”

“It’s not like that, mom.”

“But you’d like it to be like that.”

“I’m not talking about that with my mother.” (Y/N) placed her cold hands on her cheeks, trying to cool down the warm blood that had rushed onto her cheeks. The cool air of the car’s A/C was only helping her so much.

“I just want you to be careful with that, honey. He’s older than you, technically has kids, and rumor has it he is married.”

A breath hitched in her throat. Married? She knew he had adopted five kids, most of them her age, but not that he was married. Had she read the situation wrong? He didn’t wear a ring, he didn’t mention any relationship, he had no pictures of a woman in his office. Then again, they had only spent five days together at the hospital. She didn’t know what he did when he went home at night, who he went home to at night. (Y/N) shouldn’t feel betrayed—they weren’t anything, and they weren’t on track to become anything.

“Don’t worry, mom. I’ve just been picking his brain about working in the hospital, and he’s been helping me with what I’m gonna be doing this summer.”

“Oh, have you decided what you want to do?”

“I’m gonna get my medical assistant certification. It’s a three-month course then I can work at the hospital.”

“That’s great, honey.” Allison smiled at her daughter from the driver’s side. “Is that where you’d see yourself making a career?”

“Not sure. I want to take this time to see if life in a hospital is truly where I’d like to work – see if medical school would be it for me.”

(Y/N) hadn’t taken the time to focus on her future. In her high school career, she spent her time focusing on the present and piling on as much as she could, and now she had no sense of direction. She would take every day as it came, hoping one day she would find her purpose.

Finally, back home, she hopped off the truck and stretched out her limbs, stiff from the days on a hospital bed. Taking a deep breath of fresh air and basking in the afternoon sun. The cold that had seeped into her bones from the hospital melted off, and she smiled feeling the warmth surround her.

“Why don’t you go upstairs, honey?” Allison told her daughter. “There’s a surprise waiting for you in your room.”

(Y/N) smiled and quickly made her way up the stairs to see what her mom meant. Opening the door, tears forming in her eyes. Her room had done a 180-degree turn. The walls had been painted a light beige color, and plants hung from the walls bringing warmth to the room. The bed was adorned with a white cover, and a fluffy duvet to keep her warm at night. A wooden frame sat atop the bed dressed in white linen and ivy vines. A bookcase lived in the corner of her room, filled to the brim with her collection of hardbacks and peppered with potted plants. Opposite the bed was a small desk with a dark green suede chair, her laptop set up in the workspace. Her room finally felt like hers.

“Do you like it, honey?”

“Mom, did you do this?”

“I wish I could take credit, but your brother and your friend Paul came over when I was at work and redecorated. I was actually surprised that they even came over.”

“I’ll have to thank them,” (Y/N) grinned. Even though their relationship was strained at the moment, and she had yet to see Paul since coming back, she was glad that they had taken time out of their days to do this for her. “I’ll go over to Sam’s house for a bit, maybe now he’ll have time to see me.”

“Why don’t you go tomorrow, honey? You should take it easy.”

“I feel a lot better, mom. You don’t have to worry too much.”

“I’m your mother, I’ll always worry. If you’re gonna go out, go see Jacob. He was really worried about you.”

“I will.”

(Y/N) kissed her mother’s cheek and grabbed her bag to head out. Her first stop was to the Black residence. Jacob saw her coming down the street and ran out to wrap her in a hug. When she collapsed last week, he had been very concerned when she collapsed in his garage. Jacob was glad that she had made a full recovery and was now back home, with minimum side effects showing. The visit was short, only a quick hello to ensure the boy that she was okay.

After spending some time with Jacob, she walked towards Sam’s house – she hoped to catch Paul there too since she had heard he now spent his time there alongside Jared Cameron. It hadn’t clicked in her head why Paul would ever hang out with her brother and Jared. Even when they were back in middle school, he never paid them any mind, having a separate friend group. She had only become his friend by spending time with him away from school, and her brother had always disliked them together, claiming he was a bad influence.

Outside of the small house, (Y/N) could hear the low chatter of manly voices, a higher-pitched one joining after. There was no mistaking that Sam was home. She started feeling nervous as she raised her hand to knock on the door. The shaky limb was able to make contact with the blue door twice before it opened wide open, revealing a shirtless Paul Lahote.

“(Y/N)?” He questioned. Paul knew she was back, but Sam had given him clear instructions to stay away from her due to their situation.

“Hey, Paul. Long time no see, huh?” The girl smiled at her friend that now towered over her. A few years ago, they were still of the same stature, but too much time had passed since then. She went in for a hug, and Paul cut it short – worried she might note his burning temperature. “Is Sam home?”

“Uh, yeah.” He scratched the back of his neck, turning towards the kitchen. “Sam! (Y/N)’s here.”

The older male appeared in front of them, a soft smile playing on his lips. “Hey, (Y/N). Good to see you’re doing better. What brings you around?”

“I just wanted to thank you both for what you did in my room. Mom told me you worked on it while we were away. It’s a dream.” Sam smiled at his younger sister and shared a hug with the smaller girl.

“I’m glad you liked it, (Y/N). We wanted to give you a place where you could rest better after the accident. It’s the least we could do.” The alpha could hear the duo that was left in the kitchen had grown curious about who was at the door. “Do you want to come in for a bit?”

“Are you really inviting me in?” (Y/N) was taken aback – the last thing she thought was that she would get that invitation.

“Yeah, there’s someone I want you to meet,” Sam responded, keeping his doubts of the encounter to himself.

(Y/N) walked through the threshold and instantly felt the warm aura that emanated from inside of the house. It was a welcoming environment that she had grown to love from her own mother’s house. She walked behind Sam, Paul following behind them. `There was nothing that could prepare her to the sight she was met with.

In front of her stood a beautiful woman. She had tan skin, long black hair, and a beautiful smile. But there was something that stood out to her, something she was sure stood out to everyone – three long gashes ran through the front of her face. Yet, they didn’t distract from the alluring atmosphere that surrounded her. Sam moved to her side, and (Y/N) quickly connected the dots and figured that was Emily Young. The Uley girl wanted to be indifferent to her presence, knowing how one of her friends had been hurt by the union in front of her, she couldn’t help but note the love that radiated from the pair. It had been a long time since she had seen her brother as happy as he looked as he stared at his fiancé.

“(Y/N), it’s an honor to finally meet you.” Emily stretched out her hand towards the girl, which (Y/N) gladly took. “Sam has told me so much about you.”

“I wish I could say the same,” (Y/N) joked. “Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to get to know each other more. I’d love to get to know the woman my brother is set to marry.”

“I’m sure we’ll have enough time now that you’re back.” Emily smiled and grabbed a basket filled with muffins, offering them to the girl. (Y/N) gladly took the baked good in her hand, picking at it and placing the piece in her mouth – a wonderful taste that quickly melted in her mouth. “You’re welcome over any time. Any family of Sam is family to me.”

“Thank you, Emily. I’ll be sure to take you up on that.”

Not much time passed before Sam had cut the meeting short, claiming there was something important the duo had to do. “We should do this another time, (Y/N). Paul and I have to go.”

“Go where?” (Y/N) questioned. “It’s already night, not much to do.”

“I can’t really tell you, sis. But it’s important.”

“So still guarding secrets?” Sam shrugged. “It’s fine, Sam. I’m growing used to it.”

“(Y/N)…”

“I can take a hint, Sam. I know when I’m not wanted,” (Y/N) smiled. “Thank you for the muffins, Emily. They were divine. I’ll be sure to take you up on that offer and visit sometime soon.”

“Of course, (Y/N). I’m sorry we had to cut this short.”

“It’s okay. I’ll see you guys.” (Y/N) took her bag and exited the house. She was confused on why Sam had welcomed her in only to have her leave soon after – there was something big he was hiding, and she needed to find out what it was.

“(Y/N), wait up!” Paul jogged up to her, turning her around. “Look, I hope you understand that we’re not trying to push you away on purpose. There are things that Sam is protecting you from.”

“Like what, Paul? What danger could possibly be surrounding us that he would stray from his family?”

“I’m sorry, but it’s not my place to tell you, (Y/N). As much as I hate keeping this from you, Sam would not allow it to come from anyone but himself.”

“Are you serious? What kind of power does he have over you?”

“PAUL!” Sam shouted, gaining the attention of his beta. “Let’s go.”

“I’m sorry, (Y/N). I hope one day you’ll forgive us.” Paul kissed her forehead and went to meet up with his alpha.

(Y/N) stood still as she watched their bodies disappear into the woods. She debated whether to follow them for a brief second, but she was exhausted. She left back home with a million questions running through her head. The pair of Sam and Paul was a strange view, and she was determined to get to the bottom of things.

When she got home, (Y/N) noticed her mother asleep on the couch, the tv in front of her still playing. The years that passed were clear on her face, the worry that she carried for both her children plastered in the lines of her face. She could see the exhaustion that she held, years of caring for two kids by herself taking a toll on her. (Y/N) grabbed a blanket and laid it on top of her mother’s body, making sure that she was warm during the night. She left a kiss on her cheek, thankful for everything her mother had sacrificed for her.

After showering the day off, (Y/N) changed into her pajamas and laid in bed staring at her phone’s screen. She thought if she stared at it long enough a message would magically pop up. Minutes passed and her phone kept silent, not a single notification appearing on the screen. She scrolled through her directory until it landed on the newest listing. Carlisle Cullen, it read. Her finger clicked on it and selected new message.

Her fingers danced atop the keyboard of her phone, no words coming to her mind to send to the doctor. Should she even send him a message? What if he truly was married? She would never want to come between a couple. But her fingers did not follow her thought train. Unconsciously, they started typing away a message and before she could analyze her actions, she sent the message.

Hi, Carlisle. It’s (Y/N). I made it home okay and don’t have any symptoms, seems like you fixed me up! Anyways, wanted to know if you possibly had some free time this weekend to join me for some dinner at La Bella Italia. Hope you had a good rest of the day at work!

Her jaw fell when her screen read message sent. There was no way to delete it now. It was out there, and it would make its way to his phone. (Y/N)’s head fell onto her pillow and muffled a scream that escaped from her throat. This feeling was alien to her, and she was learning what steps to take to grow closer to the astonishing man. Minutes felt like an eternity to (Y/N), thinking that she had imploded the friendship she had built with the man over the past week.

Beep.

The sound from her phone caught her attention. She scrambled for her phone and quietly shrieked at the words on her screen.

Hello, (Y/N). I’m glad you’re feeling better, hopefully, no symptoms will arise once more. And I did have a good day at work, although I missed our afternoon book chats. I have a free day on Sunday. Tell me a time and I can meet you in Port Angeles. Hope that day is good for you.

“He said yes. If he were actually married, he wouldn’t have said yes,” she thought.

So, she typed back.

I’m glad you had a good day, and the book chats have an easy fix. I’m just a phone call away. As for Sunday, it’s a perfect day. I think around 5:30 would be a good time for dinner. Let me know if it works.

Sent.

Seconds later, another beep.

I’ll make sure to schedule those calls then. 5:30 sounds perfect. I’ll see you there. Have a good night, (Y/N).

See you then, Carlisle. Good night. 😊

(Y/N) smiled at her phone, joy wanting to burst from her body. She was reveling in this new feeling and the happiness it brought her. If it was Carlisle, it was worth it, she believed.

That night she went to sleep with the biggest smile she had experienced in her life. Unbeknownst to the life-changing moments that were to follow this meeting.

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