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bytheanchorarchived · 6 years ago

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Hey, guys, B here. 2018 has been a pretty bumpy year for a lot of us, including me. It was an year of many battles, and some disappointments, and yet full of trying and hope. It has also been the year when I met, or got closer to a lot of people who’ve made me so happy, and helped me through the way, in real life, and also just inspiring me on this blog, and making me feel appreciated and talented. I know a lot of people make this distinction between internet, and real life friends, but I wanted all of you to know I never have, and I never will. Friends are friends, it doesn’t matter to me how we met, or how we communicate. It was thanks to them that I’m still here and that I grew to feel confident enough on my portrayals to love them, and a bit more of myself too. And that means everything. From those, some, are not around anymore, or might not be for a while, but I still wish them to know one day what they’ve meant to me, and take that feeling with them as they move forward. That’s all I can wish for all of you, that I can be a part of any happy memory you have in the future.

I also hope 2019 can be a happier year for all of us, and that at least we all get closer to our dreams, one step at a time. And as a last note, I hope you can forgive me any screw ups I might have made, or just still remember the good things too, and hope to be better myself on the coming year.

Happy New Year!

there's glitter on the floor after the party .

✲ @angelavenged ✲

dani, thank you so much for coming into my life, and helping to light up the end of this year. thank you for reminding me why i love isabelle so fiercely, and for speaking out about her when this fandom needs it so much. thank you for listening to my ramblings about the lightwood siblings, and for boarding the crazy ships with me, that i’ve always secretly loved in my heart. thank you for sharing headcanons with me, and discussing minute details of the book that mean the whole world to us, and making me feel like there was someone there with me to treasure every bit of it. thank you for being a light as bright and bold as isabelle, and i can only say i hope you will keep on writing her, and lighting up our dashes with her on the next year and for a long while yet.

✲ @cateyeswarlock / @headarcher ✲

i’ve said this a few days ago, and the more time i get to spend with you, the more true this becomes, but you are one of the gentlest persons i’ve met. we haven’t talked for long, but you are a bright, enthusiastic presence on my dash, that always makes me smile. thank you for listening, for being kind, for being so engaging and easy to plot with, and just try new things with. thank you for sparkling like magnus on our dashes, and being as comforting as alec to have around.

✲ @dnteverdoubtme ✲

andy, meu amor. i’ll always be thankful to min for introducing us. you waltzed into my life, when i most needed to feel wanted, and it was exactly what you did. at first i was afraid to mess it all up, but the more we talked, and the more we interacted, the more at home i felt. you filled my days, and long waking nights with magic, never turning any idea away, building new worlds with me, new characters, making me feel excited, and happy to be here. you gave me purpose, and kindness, and made me feel alive in days when i just really didn’t. you made me love creating aus again, and brought back the joy of rping for rp’s sake, and just having the pure joy of knowing your portrayal was loved, and that there was someone always willing to explore it with you. you made me smile when i was heartbroken, listened to me without judgement, and gave me endless stories to read that we created together, whenever you weren’t around. you encouraged me to dream, and plan, and try new things, and even if some of them didn’t work out, you made me feel strong enough, and like i had someone to lean on, so that i could be brave to want them in the first place. you truly made me feel like my jace has a home, and like maybe i did too. i love you beyond words, and hope you can know that, and know that you and your alec hold a precious spot in my heart, and i’ll always carry you with me.

i'll be cleaning up bottles with you on new year's day .

✲ @edomsmagnificent ✲

we’ve only just started, but what’s more wonderful than talking with someone for the first time and feeling as though you’re just meeting an old friend? since we started really talking, and interacting, this end of the year, you’ve immediately made me feel comfortable, excited to write, heard, and supported. thank you for being so open and easy to talk to, plot with, thank you for being just as excited as i am about ships, and being so willing to share your talents with me. i hope we go on to write a lot more together on the year to come.

✲ @erosbuilt ✲

cy, i don’t know if i was ever able to give you back even half of the excitement, care, joy, and encouragement you’ve given me, but i hope i was at least able to make you feel a bit as loved. when you met me, i was going through one of the hardest moments of my life yet, and for the first time in a long time you gave me back the spark to write. you made me feel praised, cherished, and like my portrayal was somehow unique and special, and that so was i. we spent so many nights up together, just writing, and talking, and sharing, and developing new worlds at light speed, and i rediscovered what it felt like to truly love a fandom based otp so much it hurt. i found that passion again with you, and it was truly when jalec latched onto my heart, for good, and for months i could not think of them without thinking you and i. you made me excited to lose sleep writing. you made me proud of every little line i was creating, and as though what i was doing was important, and it mattered. you shared your life with me, and made me feel as if i knew you better than anyone. you made a terrible patch a lot easier, and i know it wasn’t always easy for you either, but i truly hope somehow i might have eased some of it too. you listened to me, even when it was hard for you, and you made me feel special, and actually worthy of some kind of admiration, like i hadn’t believed in for a long time. i will always be grateful for meeting you, and for everything you’ve given me, even in a short time. i know i wouldn’t have come to feel competent, or even mildly like i know what i’m doing in writing in this crazy language, if it weren’t for your encouragement, and i hope you know that, even if i can’t always be as equally deserving in everything. you’re someone whose strength i admire, and you’ve come so far on your own hard work, and i know you’ll keep doing so on the time to come. i hope you always remember those first couple of months when we lived and breathed a ship and bonded fast over screaming headcanons at each other, and mutual cherishing. i know i always will.

✲ @erchommai ✲

so, though i’ve seen you around for forever, we haven’t really interacted until lately (apart from the middle of the year when you first reached out to me, just to be nice, and comfort me, and if that doesn’t say everything idk what does), and all i can say is, what a waste of time that was. i was so intimidated, but from the first time we started talking, all i felt was welcomed, and that somehow you were as excited as i was about writing together, or just talking the books and headcanons and theories with each other. there’s no better feeling to get us bubbly and happy, imo, than finding someone that allows us to express ourselves and responds with the same openness and enthusiasm. it makes us feel less alone, and like we’re anything but dumb for liking what we like, and treasuring what makes us feel good. so thank you for being already such a great rp partner, and for being just such a sweet person to talk to. you definitely made a hard end of the year better for me, and that is everything. i wish for a new year of hopefully more writing for us, and for getting to know you better, and for you a year of happiness.

hold on to the memories, they will hold on to you .

✲ @fairisfair ✲

d sweet. i know we haven’t written in a long time, but how is it that it’s so easy still to just get back into the universe we created together and start typing? you’ve made me so happy for such a long time, and even now just seeing you on my dash feels like being home with an old friend. you treasured my characters in a time when i wasn’t sure they were all that treasure worthy. you welcomed all of my headcanons, and character build, and gave me yours, and somehow made it all even better than when i’d started. you helped me consolidate so much of my portrayal of seb and sidney and made me feel like they were truly loved, and for that alone i will always love you. i wanted to say thank you for coming all this way with me. thank you for never forgetting me even when rp drifted us apart, thank you for still after all this time making me feel treasured and loved and wanted around. you helped me improve my writing like no other with endless complexes threads, and your replies always gave me a reason to smile. it’s like from day one we were dancing a dance we both had already rehearsed and when we write together it’s magic. that is so special, and so rare to find, and i hope no matter what we can stay connected in the times to come. i love you, always, and wish you to feel just as treasured as you go on, as you’ve made me feel. thank you for all of it.

✲ @fierccisms ✲

you were one of the first people to listen to me babble on about my childhood lightwood headcanons. you talked to me about their inner relationships, and you let me strengthen floating ideas into actual portrayals. you talked to me about izzy, and helped me build mine up, and make her strong. you were so kind and such a good presence on my dash, and so easy to talk to. i know we haven’t talked in a while, and sometimes things get hard for both of us, but i just wanted you to know that you are such a wonderful person, full of enthusiasm and generosity. and i truly hope you go on finding more people that will treasure that and make you feel as welcomed and happy, in life, as you’ve made me, in a strange fandom. thank you for everything.

✲ @heartguided ✲

clary, sweetheart. i adore you so much. i know it’s been a while, but i hope you don’t forget it. you were the first person to make me feel like my jace portrayal was any kind of special, or different. you were the one who opened the doors of the fandom for me, when i was still tiptoeing my way in, and trying to figure it all out. you made me feel valued, and gave me strength to be bolder and reach out to people i was too scared to reach out to, before. you made me feel like i was a part of it, and i’m certain i would had never made quite a few of the friends i did if it hadn’t been for you giving me a chance. you are such a talent, and such a wonderful person, and were always only kind, and loving to me, and i will always carry that with me. thank you for sharing your alec with me, and i can’t tell you how happy i am that you’ve found your own happiness this year. you deserve all of the love and joy in this world, and i truly hope the years to come only bring you closer and closer to that happy ending. i love you.

please, don't ever become a stranger .

✲ @heosphors ✲

bekah, fierce warrior princess. you were such a beacon of light, and an inspiration to me in this fandom, but also in life. you are so young, and have so much more grit and maturity than so many people i know. you made me want to strive to better myself as a writer, as an rp partner, and as a person. you made me want to be brave, and rise up, and protect the things i loved, and share my voice, without being scared of what someone that didn’t like it might do. you made me feel courageous for the smallest little steps i took in real life, towards a life you were already building for yourself, even being so much younger than me. i have no doubts you’ll go far in life. and if you see this, i hope you know you are a wonderful, incredible, survivor, who deserves nothing if not the best in this world. thank you for sharing with me your light, your thoughts, your headcanons, your writing, your support, your example, and just the privilege of seeing your passion for the things you love.

✲ @heronsofprey ✲

javi. i know it’s been a while, but i also know you check on this blog every now and then, and i wanted to tell you how loving and incredible you are. it’s not always easy for me to be as supportive as i wished i could be, but i hope my shortcomings don’t keep you from always knowing what amazing times you’ve given me. you’ve shared so much love in writing with me, and so many times you’ve made me feel like a rockstar. you listened to me several times when i needed someone, and you made me feel like someone understood, even though you, yourself, always had so much more in your plate than i ever did, you never made me feel like an imposition for it. you are such a brilliant soul, and i wish with all my heart that you find only happiness, and love going forward. i know your creativity, talent, and generosity, alone will get you there.

✲ @idumean / @parabates ✲

monroe ♥. raziel’s beard what a waste it was to spend so much time intimidated as i did, and too shy to reach out, or even follow you, afraid of ghosts in my head that never came true. you are a joy to have in my life, and i want you to always know that. you are one of the best writers i’ve ever met, in any fandom, and i could only wish i had realized sooner that you are also one of the best people i’d ever have the pleasure to meet. so much undeserved crap was thrown your way this year, and yet, you continue to be such a source of light, understanding, caring, gentleness, that i can only be in awe of you. already you’ve listened to me in moments i thought no one else would, and you helped me through a couple of the worst nights i’ve had this year, and i can only hope i’ve managed to help you too. you’ve given me this welcoming feeling and made me excited about this blog again. you made me want to write when i thought i had lost my muse, and made me feel special when i wanted to quit. i still don’t understand how someone as great as you can be this humble, but i can only hope you never let it overpower you knowing how amazing you are. how deserving you are of all good things in life. you are so quietly strong, so beautifully resilient in the face of so much, and often i just sit here and wish there were better ways for me to express how much i love and cherish you. i look up to you, as a writer, and as a friend, and if nothing else sticks, i hope this does. i love you. i wish for a new year of writing together, and getting to know each other even more, and you always know that when you’re with me, you’re with someone who thinks only the best of you.

i’ll stay when it's hard or it's wrong or we're making mistakes .

✲ @inkfated ✲

moony, love. i don’t think i ever told you just how much i cherish you as a writing partner. i can’t begin to tell you how many times i thought of just giving it up, and you would come around with wonderful replies that made my heart full again, and made me excited to write again. you are so freaking delightful to write with, not only because of how amazingly talented you are at every single one of your portrayals, but also because you don’t just ditch things halfway through, or easily gives up on plot whenever there’s a bump on the road. instead, you take those and make the plot even greater. you listen to my simplest ideas and give them so much richness, complexity, and layers, in your writing, that i am always, always excited to write with you. you put so much detail and thought, into every single thing you do, and damn this fandom is just so lucky to have you?? i know we don’t always chat ooc that much, but i also wanted you to know that i often just stare at your posts on my dash, and smile, and it makes my heart warm, and i hope you know i think of you as an old friend. i hope you never stop writing your portrayals because they really are so special, and i specially hope we can keep writing together for a long time and you have as much fun with it as i do. i am thankful for every single plot we’ve ever had, and no matter how many times you hop blogs i will always follow you, because you make my rp life so much better every single day. thank you for keeping our verses, our threads, for always being up for new things, for bringing up your own new amazing ideas, and never making me feel like you’ve grown tired of our pairings, or that i’m the only one excited to write them. it means everything to me. thank you, and i hope you feel as cherished as you are in the year to come!

✲ @magnusbanedfromperu / @aestheticdriven ✲

nanda bee. i’ve said it a thousand times that i wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you, but how literal that has become through the last three years. i know we’ve had our ups and downs throughout it, but i honestly believe (and like to) that it’s only made us stronger, and you, of all people, know how much that means to me. so many of my relationships crumbled under the smallest obstacle, but somehow we manage to stay together and stay strong, no matter what. even when i want to give up on everything, you never give up on me, and i don’t know what i would have done the last years if it weren’t for you. you are someone whom i genuinely find myself trusting will be around, and likes being around me, and enjoys more than writing with me, and that alone is so much more than i’ve often had through the years. you are wiling to listen to me, even when it’s hard to, and you want to hold on to me as much as i want to hold on to you, and that makes everything easier. i don’t think i’ve ever had someone want to be my friend as badly as i want to be theirs, before you, and for that feeling to last for as long as it had, i hope you know how much i hold it dear. you’ve brought me so much happiness since we met, and made me feel strong, and heard even when i was hurt, or didn’t think that i could be. we’re so different in so many regards, but it just seems to make things better, and more often than not matter at all, when at the end of the day, we just want to be friends, and nurture what we have, above everything else. i am so grateful to you, repeatedly, and you gave me the strength and understanding i needed to even start to progress any, for the first time in my life. and, of course, you are one of the best writing partners i’ve ever had. with you, it doesn’t matter how long it takes, because things never go stale, never lose the excitement of writing, and it doesn’t matter how many new shining things we create, we never stop treasuring the first plots and verses that brought us here. you not only helped me feel like i even could write the characters i do today, and strengthen them, but you actually managed to make me feel as though our crackship is the most special one in the world, much more than even our canon otps, and how many times can you find that? that alone would have earned you a spot in my heart forever, even if it weren’t for how lovely you are, and always try to be, to me, no matter what. i love you. happy new year, and plenty times of accomplishments and happiness for you.

✲ @ofdemonicmagic ✲

richard, richie, our magnus incarnate. you know, i’ve said this before to a lot of people, but i’m not sure i ever said it to you. there are very few characters i love as i love magnus bane, and you, darling, are the most magnus bane person i’ve ever met, and as a result, i love you just as immensely as i would if he were real. you are bright, happy, talented as hell, loving, generous, always willing to help, extravagant, wonderfully excessive, amazingly bold, and beautifully full of life, and does that remind you of someone? i could not be luckier than to get to write with you, and, honestly, if it hadn’t been for you, i don’t know where my alec would be today. you helped me strengthen him, and make him into something solid. you made me feel like i had something special with him, and you gave me your jaw dropping portrayal in return, as though it was entirely natural that i could keep up. you’ve made me smile every single time we talked, ever since i met you. and though we’re not always as close as i’d wish us to be, i’m never sad about it, because every time you are around, you make it feel like we never stopped talking. more than verses, you helped give my alec a voice, no matter how extravagant our threads got, and that has brought me more joy than i can ever say. so thank you. thank you for listening to me when i needed. thank you for sharing your life with me, and being such a pleasure to have as a friend. thank you for making me feel like i had a real magnus bane in my life, and just thank you for existing in this world. you’re one of the greatest people i’ve ever met, and just the happiness of having you be yourself around my dash, would already be worth everything. i wish you a coming year with more love than ever, and that your life keeps blossoming with all the colors and happiness you deserve.

and I will hold on to you .

✲ @ofgoldenblood / @lilithblooded / @runedarcher ✲

min, sweet min, protective, incredible, stupidly talented min. i have never told you this, but you are the person that has made me feel safest, in a very, very, long time. it’s no wonder you play our shadowhunters so wonderfully, because you are just as fierce, strong, and protective as they are (except jon when he sucks). you’re the kind of friend i wish i’d had from earlier in my life, when i so needed to feel like there was someone who would defend me, and be there for me, no matter what. you are the kind of friend i will always wish to be closer to, and will always long to give back to all the support, care, encouragement, and loving you’ve given me. even when i didn’t know how to handle being cheered on, you were there. when i slipped on not knowing what i deserved, you were there. and when i thought of someone i adored with all my heart, you were there. you introduced me to amazing people who have made me so happy, and you shared them with me, without ever requiring anything in return. and most of all, you gave me yourself, your friendship, your loyalty, your compassion, your strength, and lord some of the best writing i’ve ever had the joy of reading. every portrayal you have, is at the top of my list, and for that alone i am so grateful. thank you for welcoming me into a side of the fandom i don’t know that i’d ever have reached if it weren’t for you. thank you for always being sweet to me, every time. and thank you for being one of the strongest, bravest, people i ever had to look up to. i wish you a happy new year, and for the days that come to only bring back all the rewards you deserve, for every bit of hard work you put in your life, and for everything you do for everyone you love.

✲ @pianokeysandbowties ✲

j, my angel. it’s funny how lucky i’ve been that so many people i’ve met are so much like the characters they cherish, and that i love. i have seldom in life met someone more suited to bubbly, loyal, happy, kind, talented, go-getter, strong, blaine anderson than you. you spoke to all my seb sides from day one, and never there’s been a day when you’ve showed me anything to doubt it since. you’ve been a happy presence in my life for i’m pretty sure over 4 years now, and you can’t go through that much time writing together, and talking to each other, without ending up treasuring that person in your heart. i know things get hard sometimes, and we both get a lot on our plates, but whenever we stop to talk to each other, it always feels like stopping to breathe. you make me feel like the most incredible seb that ever existed, and i hope you know i hold you just as high as my forever only blaine. you are one of the sweetest persons around, and i truly wish you to have a next year filled with light, and happiness, and care, and friendship, and the good things you deserve. i love you, j, happy new year.

✲ @seesbright ✲

dezz. lord almighty i think i need one of jace’s speeches to even try to start telling you how much i adore and love you. since i started on this website jace and i searched for our clary, both in writing, and in person, and though we found amazing people who were good fits, none of them were as instant, and perfect, as you. you truly are the bright, creative, loving, warrior of our hearts. just as jace can’t believe he has such a infinite good in his life as clary, i also still often wonder what i’ve done to deserve feeling as cherished and admiration worthy as i do when you’re around. you are so soft and loving, whenever we talk, and whenever you talk about your life, and the things and people you are about, and yet you can be one of the fiercest people i’ve met when any of those things or people are threatened. you carry all of clary’s best features, and the best one of all, is, no matter what life throws at you, it only makes you stronger and brighter. and how i admire you for it. you never give up, even if at times you might want to, and that goes to yourself, and also to the people you love. whenever we talk, i feel like you’ll never give up on me, and from someone who’s seen so many people walk out, it’s the best feeling in the world. you always make me feel good, and wanted, and cherished, and i truly hope i can make you feel the same. it’s a privilege writing with you, and with your perfect clary portrayal. it’s a privilege talking to you, plotting with you, building headcanons together, and being able to call you my friend. i hope and know the new year will bring you everything you deserve, and you will find yourself being the happiest yet. i love you.

you and me forevermore .

✲ @seraphinam ✲

em, i know we haven’t talked for a while, but i wished you to know you are one of the kindest people i’ve met in my life. i am so proud of how far you’ve come in your own real life, how hard you work, and how many downs you’ve made into ups by sheer strength of character, and bravery. you are an incredible writer, and even more incredible person, and i know no matter what, you’ll do well in life. you treasure the important things, the things that make you happy, you look on the positive side of things so gracefully like i never could, and you enjoy each victory and achievement in the way we all should do. thank you for letting me know you, and letting me write with you, letting me rant with you, and being this bright star to everyone around you. happy new year, friend.

✲ @silvcrtm / @berkilausihir ✲

faith, i know you’ve said your goodbyes, and i don’t know if you’ll see this, but i wanted to say mine as well. i wanted to tell you, for all the time i’ve known you, you have never, ever, been anything but sweet and kind to me. you listened to so much of my character rambles, you talked them out with me, you answered my questions, you made me feel important and special, and you encouraged me when i most needed it. and i am genuinely so happy for where you are now, and the love you’ve found, and the future you and taylor have ahead of you. you both were so protective and kind and warm to me, every time we chanced to talk, and you’ve given me plenty of happy memories to appreciate in my heart. i wish only the very best to the both of you, in all the new years to come. happy new one, for now, and all the love!

✲ @vcrlac-archived ✲

talia, sweet friend, can you believe i was ever afraid to talk to you? there was once a time when i wouldn’t have thought you’d give me the time of day, and how wrong i was, and how glad i was to be wrong. i think there are very few people as genuinely kind as you are in this world, and there is nothing i wish for more than that you never lose it, and that you have every bit of it rewarded in your life. never once, ever, since we met, have you made me feel judged, or lesser, or like i was annoying you. on the contrary, you have made me feel the most welcome, comforted, and so damn understood, when i was most hurt and in need of a friend. whenever i look back on our talks, be it about meta, books, life, or trials and tribulations, all i feel is warmth, and i will always cherish you for that. there are so few people in this world that have never made me feel scared, or afraid, and you are most definitely on the top of that list. even when you couldn’t understand what i was going on about, even when you disagreed, you never did so in harsh way, you never made me feel like that meant i wasn’t doing good enough. you always, always, had a sweet word for me, and you made me want to be a better, gentler, friend, every time we talked. on top of that, you have more talent in you than you could ever know, and for all of it i can only be grateful for having met you. thank you for being my friend, and teaching me about patience, tolerance, kindness, and gentleness. thank you for being one of the loveliest people i’ve ever met. happy new year, and that your years to come become busier and busier with the success you deserve.

don't read the last page .

people i’ve yet to really meet, or hope to get closer to in the coming year, people i admire, fangirl over, and hope to come to be good writing partners with one day. happy new year to all of you!!

✲ @argentelectrum ✲ @deservesthis ✲ @enoughrunning ✲ @inkedsnack ✲ @hellraiised ✲ @mossofash ✲ @snakedhand ✲ @stephenxherondale ✲

#𝕤𝕖𝕓𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕤𝕙 ↬ b talks #happy new year 2k19 #please forgive me any typos this was a very long write #ily all #happy new year to all my followers and anyone reading this

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fiftyeightminutes · 7 years ago

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@kala-wolfgang-trash prompted me to write a Verner fic of Dani and Felix getting together.

Okay, let’s be real, this fic has been a long time coming rofl. If you haven’t seen my multitude of Verner (Felix/Daniela) headcanons, you may not understand where this fic comes from. But TLDR, I ship Felix and Dani like whoa, and this is basically an amalgamation of a ton of headcanon discussions with several people. Special thanks to @wonderrbat and @chaptersonetoinfinity for assistance with dialogue! The beginning of this fic takes place the same night as this Kalagang fic in which Dani and Kala do shots together. I recommend reading that first for some context.

(also holy shit this is over 10k words what the fuck y’all)

---

When Felix left Berlin to look for Wolfgang, he didn’t expect to find himself hiding out in an abandoned warehouse with about a dozen people from all over the world. But once Felix starts to get to know them (and sees how far they are willing to go to save his brother), he realizes that he’s actually beginning to like these people. It had always been Felix and Wolfgang against the world before. Felix had liked it that way, and part of him worried at first that he was going to lose his best friend to these people. They share something with Wolfgang that he never can. But rather than pulling Wolfgang away, these people (Wolfgang’s cluster, he tries to remind himself) accept him immediately as one of their own. Over time, it dawns on Felix that Wolfgang doesn’t just share their feelings – they share Wolfgang’s, too. Suddenly, Felix has a lot more brothers (and some sisters now, as well).

It is explained pretty quickly to Felix that not everyone here is part of their cluster, though. He doesn’t say it, but he’s pretty grateful that he’s not the only one. He finds himself talking with the other non-sensates often. Although there isn’t that instant affection that he received from Wolfgang’s cluster-mates, all of them bond relatively quickly over just how surreal their lives have become.

As nice as it is, though, things are usually pretty tense. They are all on the run from a multinational organization that wants to dissect the brains of the majority of the people in the safe house, after all. So he’s happy when he learns that Daniela’s birthday is coming up and that the cluster have decided they can let loose for a night to celebrate.

When the night finally arrives, Felix learns something new about Wolfgang’s other selves – they know how to throw a party. It starts with the realization of who exactly Riley is when Nomi sets her up at the computer to start spinning music.

“Wait a fucking minute,” he says as hears a low bass beat pulse through the speakers. Up until now, Felix has only seen Riley in her role as a protector of her cluster. But with the headphones on her ears and the music at her fingertips, she lights up in a new way. All of the sudden it clicks for him that he’s seen her somewhere before. “Holy shit, Wolfie,” he says, turning to his best friend. “Are we living with The Riley Blue?”

Wolfgang chuckles at him, gesturing at Riley’s hair. “Who did you think she was?” he asks.

“I’ve only ever seen her in YouTube videos before,” Felix says in awe. “The quality is always shit, I didn’t know what she looked like up close, so I didn’t – how was I supposed to guess the random woman who told me to come to London to save your ass was a famous DJ?” Wolfgang laughs again, louder this time.

Not long after the music starts, the booze comes out. They weren't able to get Dani much for her birthday, but Riley’s contacts were able to get them plenty of alcohol, including a large bottle of tequila. Lito makes a show of giving the bottle to her, Hernando hugging Daniela tightly as the gift is given.

“So who’s taking shots with me?” Dani asks almost immediately. Lito and Hernando each take one with her, and while Felix hasn’t had tequila in a while he’s never one to turn down shots. (Riley’s contacts had been thoughtful enough to bring them a few limes to work with.) By the time the three men have put down their lime wedges, Daniela is already pouring herself another shot. “Any of you boys in for another?”

“No thank you, Dani,” Hernando replies with a smile. “I think I’m going to get myself a glass of wine. Do you want anything, Lito?”

Lito nods. “I’ll come with you, I want to see if they have brought anything to make a decent mixed drink.”

Dani gives them both a fake pout. “Going to leave me to drink alone?” she asks playfully.

Before he’s thinking about it, Felix says, “I’m in for more.”

She gives him a mischievous look. “How many more?”

“How many were you thinking?” he quips back.

Daniela smirks, and both Hernando and Lito are grinning like they know where this is going. “As many as you think you can handle,” she says, pouring Felix another shot. “You in?”

Felix raises his shot glass to her. “Only if you’re ready to lose.”

Laughing, she lifts her own glass and clinks it against his. “I hope you’re ready to lose to a girl.”

Both of them take their shots, each of them trying to keep as straight of a face as possible while reaching for their respective lime wedges. “It’s not about you being a girl,” Felix answers once he puts his down. “I just know I’m going to win.”

Lito laughs, and Hernando looks like he’s holding back from doing the same. “You two have fun,” the latter says after a moment. “Let’s go see if we can’t find you some mixers, Lito.” And with that, Dani and Felix are left together.

“Do this often?” Felix asks, smile reaching his voice.

“Well,” Dani starts, looking around the warehouse full of people, “Not usually quite like this.”

He laughs. “I know what you mean. This is nuts.”

Daniela nods. “I almost thought Lito was going crazy when he tried to explain things to us before we flew over. But we got here and all of these people were real.” Shaking her head, she pours them each another shot. “I knew Lito was a good actor, but I still can’t believe we didn’t know about any of this for a year.” She grabs her shot glass and looks at him expectantly.

He lifts his and throws back the tequila almost too quickly. Wincing hard, Felix reaches for his lime wedge before his glass is even back on the table. Dani is giggling at him by the time he finishes with it. “Wolfie’s always been a shit liar,” Felix says, ignoring the way his throat burns. (So maybe it’s been longer than he remembered since he did tequila shots. He’s still not about to give up after only three.) “So instead of lying he just doesn’t talk at all,” he continues, almost laughing as he says it. “I knew something was going on, but the most he ever told me was that he needed to take a trip to India.”

At this, Dani’s eyes fall to Wolfgang on the other side of the open floor of the warehouse, his arm wrapped tightly around Kala’s waist. She doesn’t have to know either of them very well for the love between them to be obvious. Daniela smiles fondly. But then she thinks for a moment about what Felix said. (She also briefly considers the awful days before the cluster had rescued Wolfgang. Dani pushes those thoughts away, relevant though they are.) “So they had never met in person before now?” she asks, curiosity getting the better of her.

“No,” Felix answers, shaking his head. “At least, not that I know of. There were, uh, a few months last year where I wasn’t around as much. But I’m pretty sure Wolfie didn’t leave Berlin.” He turns in his seat to follow Daniela’s gaze toward his best friend. “And I don’t think I would have seen much of him if she had come to him,” he says with a laugh.

Dani giggles, already a bit tipsy. “This whole thing is so weird. Looking at them, you would think they’ve known each other for years.”

Felix turns back to her and nods emphatically, definitely feeling the alcohol himself. “You don’t even know how weird it is to see him like this. Wolfie doesn’t do girlfriends.”

“Looks like he does now,” Daniela replies with a smirk.

He shakes his head in response, but Felix can’t keep the smile off his face either. “It’s almost harder to believe than the psychic stuff.”

“So he’s more of a ‘wham, bam, thank you ma’am’ type?” she asks, eyebrows wiggling.

Felix laughs heartily at that. “You could say that. But it’s more like relationships would require him to talk.”

“Speaking of which, we are doing entirely too much of that,” Dani says. “Too much talking and not enough drinking.” She pours them each another shot. “That is, if you’re ready?” she asks, grinning.

He grabs his shot glass quickly, nowhere near drunk enough to admit defeat. “Oh, I’m ready.”

They each down their shots and suck on their respective lime wedges, then Dani gives Felix a questioning look. “So if Wolfgang doesn’t talk to anyone, how did you two meet?”

“Detention,” Felix says with a smirk. “It’s not that he never speaks,” he continues, tongue heavy in his mouth, “it’s just not really his thing. He only talks if he’s got something to say.”

Dani nods with understanding. “Detention, though? Really?”

Laughing, Felix confirms, “Really.”

“What were you in for?” she asks, a faux-serious tone in her voice as if she was talking about them doing time in prison.

“I don’t even remember what I was in for that time,” Felix replies with a sloppy smile, a bit too wide for his face. “Probably smoking. But I know Wolfie was there for fighting.” Daniela raises an eyebrow. “These assholes were always giving him shit about being from East Berlin, calling him a commie. Wolfie doesn’t take kindly to bullies.”

She looks over to Wolfgang now, observing his imposing demeanor that is only softened by the presence of Kala at his side. “I can only imagine,” Dani says. Her eyes light up as she sees that the two she’s watching are coming their way. “Speak of the devil.”

“Wolfie!” Felix shouts excitedly. Pretty drunk now, it takes him a moment to remember to greet the woman at his best friend’s side, as well. “And Kala! Beautiful Kala!” Wolfgang grins and Kala smiles shyly.

“Hey, Felix,” Kala says, then turns to Daniela. “Happy birthday, Dani! I know it’s not what you’re used to, but I hope this gives you a little bit of home.” Daniela grins and pulls Kala into a hug. “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had,” she says, kissing Kala on the cheek. Lifting the bottle of tequila that sits between her and Felix, Dani adds, “I’ve got all the reminder of home I need here.” “I’ll drink to that!” Felix says Laughing, Daniela pours herself and him another shot. They knock their shot glasses against each other, then down the tequila quickly. Wincing, Felix grabs a lime wedge. Dani takes a moment to just enjoy the burn before reaching for her own. “Ah, Dani. Do you mind if I go for a smoke break before we do another?” Felix asks. Daniela laughs again. “I understand if you need a breather.” “What? Hey. Sometimes a guy just needs a smoke.” Felix stands up and starts to walk toward the stairs to what had become the designated smoking area, then turns back around. “Wolfie, you coming?”

Wolfgang hesitates for a moment until Kala leans up on her toes and kisses him on the cheek. “Go,” she says with a smile. “I’ll be right here.” Wolfgang nods, then turns and joins Felix.

When they get up the stairs and walk over to the corner the smokers of the cluster (and Felix) have claimed for themselves, Wolfgang takes out a pack of cigarettes and removes two. He lights one and then hands it to Felix before lighting his own.

“So,” Felix says after taking a drag. “Dani sure knows how to party.”

Wolfgang gives him an amused look. “I wouldn’t get any ideas if I were you,” he replies.

“Why not? She’s hot, I’m hot, we’re stuck somewhere that almost everyone else is already having sex anyway.”

Chuckling, Wolfgang shakes his head. “You’re also somewhere you can’t get away if things end up poorly.”

Now Felix is laughing, too. “Why would they end up poorly? You know I know how to show a girl a good time.”

Wolfgang’s expression shifts into a stern look of disapproval, one usually only reserved for when Felix is talking too loudly about one of their plans in public. He takes a long drag off his cigarette, and he doesn’t wait to finish exhaling the smoke before speaking. “She is not just a girl you can sleep with and leave the next morning,” he says. “If you hurt Daniela, I am not going to step in to stop whatever happens to you.”

Felix’s surprise shows on his face. (Neither he nor Wolfgang had been relationship types in the past. It’s not that they didn’t respect the women they slept with - they were always upfront about their intentions. Their lifestyle just wasn’t exactly conducive to keeping people around for the long-term.) Trying to lighten the mood a bit, Felix jokes, “Wow, Kala’s really changed you, huh?” When Wolfgang’s stare only grows more intense, Felix backtracks. “Hey, sorry, I was just kidding. I’m not going to lie to her or anything. I just don’t see what’s wrong with having fun for a night.”

“She may think it’s fun tonight, but she’s drunk. And she is not someone who needs this right now.”

“What do you mean?” Felix asks, giving Wolfgang a quizzical look as he takes another puff of his cigarette.

Wolfgang closes his eyes. Memories of Daniela’s bruised face when he showed up at Joaquin’s house over a year ago flash into his mind, blurring with memories of his own bruises from his father as a child. He takes a deep breath, pushing the memories down deep. (Just like he does all of his others.) Rather than answering directly, he asks his own question. “Do you know why she lives with Lito and Hernando?”

Felix thinks about this for a moment. He had been a bit confused about their situation, sure, but given everything else that was going on it hadn’t exactly been on the top of his list of questions he wanted answered. He shakes his head no.

Nodding, Wolfgang says, “It’s not my place to tell you. But Daniela is tougher than she should have to be. She just hides it well.”

Recognizing the stoic look on Wolfgang’s face (the one that usually accompanies any mention of Anton), Felix nods back. “Okay, okay. No sleeping with Dani. Got it.”

At this, Wolfgang breaks and gives his brother a small smile again.

---

The rest of the conversation as they finish their cigarettes is uneventful, mostly just Felix drunkenly rambling as Wolfgang listens fondly. Once they stub out the ends of them, both men head back downstairs. Daniela and Kala are giggling when they approach, and when Wolfgang places a hand on Kala’s shoulder they only laugh harder.

“What did we miss?” Felix asks, wanting to know what’s so funny. He notices the shot glasses have moved since he last left. “Get started without me, Dani?” Daniela gives him a smirk. “You wish.”

Kala stands up to give Felix back his seat, which he not so gracefully plops himself into. She is also not moving as easily as when she first sat, and she sways into Wolfgang. As the couple get lost in quiet conversation with each other, Felix raises his eyebrow at Daniela.

“What?” she asks, feigning innocence.

Pretending to be scandalized, Felix puts one hand to his chest. “We leave you for ten minutes and you get Kala drunk?”

Face flush from the alcohol, Daniela laughs again. (Felix is struck by how beautiful she is in the moment, truly relaxed for the first time since he’s met her. But he brushes the thought aside almost immediately. What did Wolfie just tell you?) Once she catches her breath, Dani grabs the bottle of tequila. “You ready for round six?”

Felix flashes her a grin. “You know it.”

They continue like that for much of the night, drinking, joking, and occasionally talking to others who stop by their table. After round twelve and his stomach starts rolling at the thought of taking shot thirteen, Felix finally admits defeat. Dani whoops triumphantly, jumping up so quickly she almost trips on the back of her chair.

---

About a week later, Felix volunteers to take the same guard shift as Wolfgang. Felix hadn’t really been doing guard duty at first, as Will and Sun had insisted on taking it themselves exclusively. Once they had rescued Wolfgang and he was well enough for them to leave London, he had been added to the rotation. After a couple of weeks, though, the lack of sleep for them proved unsustainable. Kala and Riley finally convinced them to at least allow others to rotate shifts, promising that whoever was on duty would wake them if anything happened. So now everyone in the warehouse rotates through guard duty in teams of two to ensure they stay awake.

Before heading to bed for the night, Nomi helps Felix find digital copies of several action movies to watch. (To keep the adrenaline pumping, he had explained eagerly when both Wolfgang and Nomi had raised their eyebrows at his initial suggestion. Neither of them can really think of a great argument against it, though, and downloading movies is child’s play for Nomi.) As the others around them all make their way toward sleep, Wolfgang and Felix sit near the door watching Conan the Barbarian on the lowest volume they can still hear.

By the time they get about an hour into the movie, the warehouse around them is silent. Felix assumes that everyone else must be asleep until he catches a movement out of the corner of his eye. He’s about ready to jump to alert when he realizes that it’s just Daniela.

“Hey, Dani,” Felix says, giving her a curious look. Wolfgang looks up from the movie briefly to give her a small smile and a nod of acknowledgement, then turns back toward the film. “Everything alright?”

She nods as she sits down next to Felix. “Yeah, just couldn’t sleep.”

“Ah. Well, have you ever seen Conan?”

Laughing, Dani shakes her head no. “It’s on my list of movies to see, but I never got around to it.”

“What?” Felix asks incredulously. “But I thought you loved action movies! This is a classic.”

“I do,” she says. (Wolfgang doesn’t look toward them, but it’s obvious he’s listening by the little smirk that shows up on his face.) “But I’ve mostly seen recent movies and telenovelas. I didn’t watch them as much when I was younger.”

“Wolfie,” Felix starts, “Do you mind if we start from the beginning? Dani needs to see this masterpiece from the beginning.”

Chuckling, “Sure,” Wolfgang leans toward the computer and restarts the movie.

For the first half an hour or so, Daniela is really into the movie, quietly cheering for the action and asking little questions as they go. Felix, ever the fanboy, is more than happy to answer and provide random bits of trivia that he’s picked up over countless rewatches. As the movie goes on, Dani curls up on the old chair she’s seated in, getting comfortable. Before he knows it, Dani is no longer asking him questions. Instead, she’s nodding off, her cheek falling to gently rest against his shoulder. When he notices things have quieted down and turns to see the situation, Wolfgang gives Felix a look.

“She just fell asleep like this, I swear,” Felix whispers. Wolfgang laughs softly in reply.

---

Felix honestly does his best to try to forget about how attracted his is to Daniela. He’s never really had friends other than Wolfgang, but he figures he can give this “just friends” thing a try. It’s been working with the other people in the warehouse, after all.

At first, it is surprisingly easy. He still notices how beautiful she is, of course - he has eyes. But Felix finds himself much more interested in speaking to Dani. They can talk for hours about anything, from their favorite action scenes to not-so-legal shenanigans they got into when they were younger. (Felix doesn’t talk as much about his more recent less-than-legal activities. He never lies - she knows he and Wolfgang aren’t exactly model citizens. But Daniela seems less eager to talk about her own recent past, and if being friends with Wolfie has taught Felix one thing, it’s that some topics shouldn’t be pushed.) Being friends with Wolfgang for years, Felix is used to having to carry conversations. He’s surprised that he actually enjoys listening to Dani just as much as speaking to her. After so long doing most of the talking, it’s nice to just sit back and listen to someone else telling their stories.

And Daniela has some great stories to tell. She regales him with the tale of the night she found out Lito was gay, Felix nearly falling out of his chair with laughter as she mimics Hernando adjusting his glasses and telling her the problem was her lack of cock. Dani tells him about their weekend at São Paulo Pride, about how full of love and acceptance they had all felt during their time in Brazil. When she tells him about Lito’s speech, he notices her eyes light up with joy.

After a while, spending time with Dani becomes not only easy, but natural. Things are still tense, with the cluster keeping an eye out of BPO and trying to plan their next move, but neither Felix nor Daniela have ever been ones to let danger stop them from having a little fun.

At nights, when it’s less dangerous for them to make a bit of noise in the warehouse, both Dani and Felix make an effort to keep the mood as light as possible. Capheus and Amanita are all for it, and movie nights become a regular thing for their large family. (Well, as regular as anything can be when they’re constantly looking for information. They do their best.) First, they make their way through everyone’s favorite movies. After that, someone suggests that they all finally watch Lito’s films together.

When they finally get the time to sit down and watch the first one, Dani points out that she still has some of the alcohol leftover from her birthday party. Before anyone knows how they’ve started, half of them are playing a drinking game. Being the most familiar with Lito’s films, Hernando and Daniela make up rules on the spot. (Lito acts bashful, but they can all tell he is loving this.)

Felix sits to the right of Daniela during the movie (as has become the usual thing for them), with LIto and Hernando cuddling up to her left. When the movie actually starts, they can see Lito get a bit nervous. Dani leans over and hugs him close. Lito asks her something in Spanish. Felix doesn’t need to speak the language to understand Daniela’s sentiment when he hears the warm tone in her voice - they’re gonna love it.

She’s not wrong, either. The movie starts, and subtitles be damned Felix can quickly see that this movie is a gift to the action genre. It has all of his favorite tropes - confusing plot lines (“So which twin are you here?” becomes a new inside joke for their family), amazing fight choreography, hot people gratuitously making out. He decides that if all of Lito’s movies are like this, Felix might become one of his biggest fans.

“This is fucking awesome,” Felix declares after a particularly intense gunfight scene. “Why don’t we get these in Germany?”

“Thank you, my friend,” Lito says, flashing him a smile. He then says something to Dani and Hernando in Spanish again, this time with a more teasing tone. Hernando laughs and Daniela playfully smacks Lito’s arm, then glances quickly at Felix. Not wanting to be caught staring, Felix immediately turns his gaze back to the screen.

By the end of the film, those who have been participating in the game are all considerably drunk. Felix opts to go upstairs for a cigarette. Although Dani doesn’t smoke, she decides to go with him to stand next to the only open window, both the alcohol and numerous people sitting together making her warm.

When they get up there, Felix knows he’s drunker than he should be. He feels fine, but he’s having trouble convincing himself not to say something to Daniela that could get his ass kicked. As he lights his cigarette, Felix turns the idea over in his mind. What if I ask her for something more than one night? he asks himself. Would Wolfie be mad? Or did he just not want me to fuck her and leave her?

Felix watches as Dani takes a seat on the sill of the only open window. If it’s not just one night, what am I asking for? he wonders. Daniela closes her eyes and smiles contentedly at the fresh air. As a small breeze comes through, she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear to keep it from being blown across her face. The unfamiliar tightness in Felix’s chest at the sight makes him feel like it might be worth even pissing off Wolfgang. But he's not even sure exactly what he wants this to be. We’re in hiding, it's not like I can just take her on a date. He takes a long drag off his cigarette as he debates with himself.

When was the last time I even went on a real date?

“You alright?” Dani asks after a few minutes.

“What?” Felix asks in reply, having been lost in his thoughts. “Yeah, ’m fine, why?”

She quirks an eyebrow. “Jus’ unusually quiet.”

“‘m thinking,” Felix says.

Daniela gives him a smirk and teases, “Take some extra concentration ‘cause it’s been a while?”

“Hey!” Felix says in protest, but he can’t keep himself from laughing a bit.

“Really, though,” she says after a moment. “You’re never this quiet. You’re almost starting to worry me.”

He shakes his head quickly. “No, no, s’nothing that important,” Felix insists. “Jus’ drunk.” She nods, but he can tell she doesn't quite believe him. They talk a bit about Lito’s movie as he finishes smoking, but he’s only half paying attention. (Felix is pretty sure Dani can tell, but that’s just another thing to tack onto the list of swirling thoughts he is having about her right now.)

When Felix stubs out his cigarette, Dani hops off the windowsill and starts toward the stairs. He doesn’t move, though. When she notices he isn’t following her, she turns back to him. “What s’it?” Daniela asks.

Just don’t be a dick, Felix tells himself as he takes a deep breath. Wolfie said not to hurt her. I can do that. (He doesn’t admit to himself how foreign the idea of not caring about Daniela’s feelings seems to him now. Felix isn’t quite sure when that started. He’s only ever cared about Wolfgang’s opinions before.) “When this is over,” he starts, licking his lips nervously, “would you want to...I dunno, maybe go see a movie together?” Felix swallows hard. “Just the two of us, I mean.”

Daniela takes a moment to consider his question before breaking into a grin. Ruffling his hair affectionately, she says, “You’re really drunk.”

“No!” Felix says, but the way he almost stumbles when trying to move toward her betrays him. “Okay, maybe I am,” he concedes slowly, noticing that he’s having a bit more trouble pronouncing his English.

She giggles. “We’re both drunk. Who knows if we’ll even remember this tomorrow?”

Felix knows she can hold her liquor better than him, and that she’ll probably remember all of this in the morning. While he’s not blackout drunk, though, Felix can’t argue that his memory of this conversation will likely be fuzzy when he wakes up. “What if I ask again when we’re sober?”

“You prob’ly shouldn’t,” she answers.

“Shit. Sorry, ’m an asshole. I’ll drop it if you want.” The last thing Felix intends is to make Dani uncomfortable. He didn’t think he was that far gone, but if he’s really misinterpreted things that badly he wants to back off immediately.

Swaying a bit herself, Daniela leans forward and kisses him on the cheek. “Didn’t say that.”

“Oh,” Felix says, not sure how to respond. (He can feel heat rising to his face, though, and he can’t blame the sudden blush on the booze.) “Why shouldn’t I, then?”

“So many reasons,” Dani sighs dramatically. “The first being that you prob’ly don’t mean to be asking me this.”

“What if I do, though?” Felix asks.

“This isn’t you,” Dani answers. “I know you n’ Wolfgang aren’t just locksmiths.” He opens his mouth to defend himself, but she continues before he can. “’m not judging. Lord knows with my family I’m in no place to.” (This is the first Felix has heard her say anything of substance about her family outside of Hernando and Lito. It makes him wonder about what Wolfgang said to him before. Do you know why she lives with Lito and Hernando? But he knows now is not the time to ask.) “But I don’t know if I can...if I can do that again. And after all of this, s’not like we’re even going to be living on the same continent.” Dani pauses. “You’re not exactly a commitment guy, so why fool ourselves?”

Felix is having trouble finding words for what he wants to say, his usually quick mind slowed with drunkenness. All he knows is how he feels. How Daniela makes him wonder what being a commitment kind of guy would be like. He’s not exactly sure what she meant by “do this again,” but Felix doesn’t want to leave things this way. “If you don’t - if you want me to leave it, I will.” He meets her gaze, hopes she knows he means it. “But it could be me, y’know?”

Dani gives him a confused look. “What could be?”

He grins. “This wasn’t me before. But it could be. Who knows who I’ll be after all this?” Felix shrugs. “I dunno if Wolfie is going to go back to Berlin, with the mobs n’ the police. I dunno if he even wants to go back.” His grin softens at this, thinking of Kala. It reminds Felix of when he first got out of the hospital, and he had joked to Wolfgang about finding a girl and settling down. Now that he knows that the India Plan was Kala all along, Felix better understands why Wolfgang was so ready to agree it wouldn’t be so bad. Felix isn’t sure what it would actually be like to settle down, but he thinks he might not have been so eager to have Wolfgang talk him out of it had he known Daniela at the time.

She nods and smiles. “Who knows?” Putting her arm around Felix’s waist, Dani begins to lead them both downstairs. “If you had talked to me two years ago, I would never’ve guessed I‘d be living with up and coming star Lito Rodriguez, let alone flying across the world with him to save some German guy because they’re not quite human.” Both Dani and Felix laugh at that.

---

Felix doesn’t get up until after noon the next day, trying to sleep through the worst of his hangover. By the time he wakes up, everyone else is already going about their usual business around the safe house. As he heads to the bathroom and brushes his teeth, Felix tries to piece together what he can remember of the night before. He knows that Lito’s movie was amazing, although he definitely recalls the beginning much better than the ending. He remembers Dani being upstairs with him when he went for a cigarette afterward, although the details as to their decision to actually go up there are lost to him. Felix pushes at his memory, trying to figure out what they talked about. Bits of conversation come back until he latches onto one.

When this is over, would you want to...I dunno, maybe go see a movie together? Just the two of us, I mean.

“Fuck.”

Flecks of toothpaste speckle the sink when he says it. Felix just stands there for a few moments, letting as much of the conversation come back as he can while hoping he didn't do something to get the whole cluster to beat the shit out of him. He comes back to himself enough to rinse his mouth out, at least. Further fragments of the conversation manage to filter through the haze, and Felix sighs with relief when he realizes that Dani and he left things on good terms. He doesn't remember all of the exact words that were exchanged, but he can recall the sentiments behind them.

As he leaves the bathroom, Felix is stopped by Lito. “Would you mind coming with me?” Lito asks.

(Felix is pretty sure he didn't do anything seriously wrong, so he hopes the air of drama around the situation is just Lito being Lito. He's not positive, though.) “Uh, sure,” Felix replies.

He's not sure exactly where Lito plans on taking him, considering there isn't much privacy with this many of them living all together. Felix follows obediently, though, as they head upstairs to the smoking corner. Wolfgang is by the open window, finishing up a cigarette. When he sees Lito and Felix, Wolfgang gives them both a look of amusement.

Lito pulls his own pack from his pocket, pulling out a cigarette and lighting it anxiously. He takes a couple long drags before pointedly staring Felix down. (The stare is remarkably similar to Wolfgang’s when he’s angry. Felix knows they’re all on some sort of pills to block their psychic stuff, but he wonders if they’ve rubbed off that much on each other over time or if Lito is just acting now.) “So,” Lito finally says.

“So?” Felix asks. He’s pretty sure he knows what this is going to be about, but he figures he should let them steer the conversation.

“So I spoke to Dani this morning,” Lito says.

Felix resists the urge to reply that Lito speaks to Daniela every morning. He’s pretty sure he’s in trouble right now, and even he knows snarking might not be in his best interest here. “Um, okay?”

Lito sighs dramatically. “How much of last night do you remember, Felix?”

“Most of it, I think,” Felix answers quickly. Wolfgang looks like he's holding back a laugh.

“What are your intentions with Daniela?” Lito asks.

At this, Wolfgang loses his composure, laughing openly. Felix is just in shock that this is actually happening. “Are you serious?” Lito continues staring him down as an answer. “Uh, nothing bad? I just asked her on a date, right?”

“Yes,” Lito replies. “But she was pretty sure you wouldn’t have asked her if you weren’t drunk.” Felix sighs. “Would you have?”

Felix scrubs his hand across his face. “I don’t know?” Now Wolfgang looks less amused, and Felix is being stared down by both Lito and Wolfie. “No, I mean - I totally would want to take her on a date. I just don’t know if I would have asked ‘cause I don’t think she’d say yes.”

Both Wolfgang’s and Lito’s faces soften. “I’m not sure she would either,” Lito concedes. Wolfgang chuckles.

“Does she want me to back off?” Felix asks. He’s pretty sure that’s not what this is about - given the way Wolfgang had spoken Daniela before, Felix gets the feeling it would already have been made clear to him if she wanted him to leave her alone.

Lito shakes his head no. “I do not think so. But I am under the impression she doesn’t think you want more than a night or two with her.”

Now Felix is sighing. “How do I get her to take me seriously?”

Finally, Lito cracks a smile at him. “Have you not had a girlfriend before?”

“Not one he actually cared about,” Wolfgang says.

“You choose now to speak up?” Felix asks, exasperated. Wolfgang just shrugs, knowing Felix can’t deny what he said is the truth. “Okay, fine. It’s not like you did before Kala, either.”

Lito looks to Wolfgang and laughs. “That’s a bit different,” Wolfgang says.

“How would I know?” Felix asks, tone teasing. “It’s not like you ever told me how you guys met. What did you do with her that was so different?”

“I don’t think that’s going to work with Daniela,” Wolfgang says. Felix isn’t sure what to make of the air of mischief in his brother’s voice.

At that moment, Kala walks up the stairs. “Wolfgang? I thought you were just having one cigarette?”

Wolfgang holds up his hands to show they’re empty. “Just got caught up with these two. Felix here was wondering how you and I met,” he says, giving her a wicked grin.

“Oh,” Kala says, covering her face in embarrassment while Lito smiles widely.

“Okay, now you have to tell me,” Felix pleads. “What did you do?”

Moving from the window, Wolfgang walks over to Kala and wraps his arm around her. She looks up to meet his eyes, and Felix can tell Wolfie is silently asking her permission to tell the story. She smiles sheepishly and nods, then buries her face into Wolfgang’s shoulder to hide from their reactions. “I was swimming one day,” he starts.

Felix raises an eyebrow, knowing where Wolfgang goes swimming. Neither have ever been shy about swimming nude. He gets the impression Kala probably would be, though. At this point, it appears to be taking all of Lito’s self-control not to laugh hysterically.

“We didn’t know that what was happening to us yet,” Wolfgang continues. “But as I was swimming, I felt like I was in the wrong place. I didn’t understand it, but somehow I knew somehow this wasn’t my feeling. Next thing I knew, I was standing in Bombay. Sort of.” This sensate stuff has always been a lot for Felix to wrap his head around, but he thinks he gets what Wolfgang means. “Kala was getting married.”

“You showed up to her wedding naked?” Felix asks incredulously. Lito loses it completely, and Felix is pretty sure that he hears even Kala giggling.

Wolfgang smirks. “Like I said,” Wolfgang answers with a shrug. “I don’t think it’ll work with Daniela.”

“No shit,” Felix replies, but he can’t help grinning at the story himself. Only Wolfie. Turning to Lito, Felix asks, “How do I get her to take me seriously?”

After taking a couple of deep breaths to quell his laughter, Lito replies, “There is no guide I can give you to the ways of the heart.” (Felix has to stop himself from rolling his eyes.) “But first, how serious do you want Daniela to take you?”

Felix is a bit taken aback by this question, not sure how to answer. What am I doing? Who even knows what will happen tomorrow, let alone after all this? But he thinks about it, and Felix finds that no matter what version of the future he pictures, he wants Dani in it. He’s not sure how it would work, given the completely different worlds they live in. Given the last year of his life, though, Felix is also pretty sure he can’t exactly go back to his old life anymore. Dani, though. She has a life to go back to. “I don’t know,” Felix finally says. “I have no fucking clue where I’m even gonna live after you guys stop being on the run. And who knows how long that’s even going to take?” He looks around at them, feeling bad as soon as he’s said it. Felix tries to steer things differently. “I mean, none of that matters anyway if she’s not interested. There’s something she’s not telling me, which is fine, but I don’t know if that something means I should stay away or what.”

Lito gives him a soft smile. “That is for Dani to decide. But I am curious, how interested are you?”

“You mean whether I’m just in it for the sex or not?” Felix asks. Wolfgang chuckles and Kala looks a bit shocked that he was so forward.

“Not how I would have said it, but yes,” Lito answers, “That is what I mean.”

Felix laughs a bit. “I mean, maybe at first? But not now.”

“What are you interested in now?” Lito follows up.

“I don’t know. I’ve never really gotten further than that before. But I know I like spending time with Dani, and that I don’t want to stop being able to talk to her when all of this is over. And yeah, maybe some day have sex with her, but that’s not really the point anymore, you know? ‘Cause I also want to just watch movies or party with her just as much. Maybe even more.” Felix knows he’s rambling, but now that he’s actually started vocalizing all the thoughts he’s been having, he can’t seem to stop. “And I know there’s something in her past she doesn’t want to talk about. I want to know what it is, but mostly because if there’s someone who hurt her I want to kick their ass.” Wolfgang smirks at this, which Felix takes to mean that he hasn’t fucked up yet. “She doesn’t have to tell me. If whatever it is means she doesn’t ever want to do more than just hang out, then that’s okay.”

Before Felix knows what’s happening, Lito pulls him into a hug. After he realizes what’s going on, Felix wraps his arms around the other man.

“Uh, thanks?” Felix says, not sure exactly why this is occurring. (Kala and Wolfgang both watch fondly, neither of them seeming to be confused like Felix is.)

Lito pulls back. “Sorry, sorry.” He gives Felix another wide smile. “I don’t know what Dani will choose, but if you speak to her like that, I think you have a good chance.”

“Oh.” Felix blushes a bit. “Thanks.”

“If it counts,” Lito says in a stage whispers, leaning in closer to Felix conspiratorially, “I’m rooting for you.”

Felix laughs and nods, clapping Lito on the shoulder. “Given you guys have been doing...whatever it is you’ve been doing,” he says, not really sure how to refer to the relationship Dani has with Lito and Hernando, “I think it counts for something.”

Now Lito is the one who looks bashful. “Oh, that’s not - I mean, we haven’t -” Felix raises an eyebrow at him. Daniela may not talk much about her past, but she’s certainly told him stories of her life with Hernando and Lito. When Lito realizes that Felix isn’t judging him, though, he concedes. “Yes, I guess you’re right. This doesn’t mean I am going to tell Dani she should date you, though.”

“Wouldn’t want you to,” Felix says.

“Good,” Lito answers with a grin.

---

Daniela is curious when Lito stops Felix as soon as he gets out of the bathroom and the two go upstairs to smoke. Considering the conversation she had had with him and Hernando that morning, she’s got a pretty good idea of what Lito wants to talk to Felix about. She knows something is up, though, when Kala goes upstairs to find Wolfgang and doesn’t come back down right away.

Going over to Hernando, Dani asks, “What are Lito and Wolfgang doing to Felix?”

“Nothing,” he answers, but his eyes flick over toward the stairs. “They’re probably just talking. We’d hear if they did something else, right?”

Giggling, Dani smacks his shoulder gently. “I only meant talking. Jesus, I don’t think they’re actually going to hurt Felix.”

Hernando relaxes a bit. “Sorry. I think I’m going a little crazy, being cooped up in here.”

“You and me, both,” Daniela replies. Looking back over to the stairs, she continues, “I just hope they’re not interrogating the poor boy. He was just drunk.”

He gives her a knowing look. “Do you really believe that?”

“What, that he was drunk?” Daniela asks, feigning ignorance to what Hernando really means.

He sees through her, though. “Dani….”

She sighs and pulls him over to a corner, so they at least have a modicum of privacy. “Okay. So he may have meant it. But he may have also forgotten last night completely.”

“I think you give Felix too little credit,” Hernando says.

Daniela raises her eyebrows. “Did you see how much he had last night?”

Shaking his head no, Hernando clarifies, “Not about his memory - you may be right about that. I was referring to whether or not he meant to ask you.”

“You think he did,” Daniela says.

“Yes.”

“Then why did he wait until he was hammered?”

He gives her a grin. “Probably because he knew he would get the exact talking to that he is presently receiving.”

Daniela laughs. “Okay. I can see that. But why are you so sure he did mean it?”

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you,” Hernando replies. “At first, he was looking with lust. But over time I saw it change. Now he looks at you with...affection. Adoration. He doesn’t look at anyone else here that way.” She smiles. “But the real question, Dani, is do you want him to mean it?”

“I...don’t know,” Dani answers, her expression faltering a bit. “I think part of me does. He’s kind, and he’s cute, and so funny.” She thinks for a moment. “He’s loyal, too. I don’t know everything about their history, but Felix came all the way to London and trusted us when he had no reason to, all for Wolfgang.”

Hernando can tell that that’s not all she’s thinking about. “But?”

“But...after Joaquin, I’m don’t know if I’m ready….” She trails off, looking down as the memories resurface. Hernando pulls her in for a hug, and Daniela gives him a watery smile. “And I love you and Lito. I love whatever this weird thing we have is. I don’t want to lose that.”

“Oh, Dani,” Hernando says softly, pressing a light kiss to the top of her head. “Neither Lito nor I are going anywhere. You are our family.” Making a noise that is halfway between a laugh and a sob, she buries her face in his chest. “I cannot tell you whether or not you are ready. But I do know that Lito and the cluster trust Felix with their secret. With their lives. Regardless of what he may have done, I have to believe that means he is a good person. So if you are worried about being ready because he may be anything like Joaquin, I do not believe you have any reason to be.” He squeezes her tight. “Lito would not trust someone like that.”

Daniela nods against him. “You’re right.”

“If that’s not why you’re not ready, though, then do not force yourself into anything. No relationship can work on such an unsure foundation.”

She leans up on her toes and kisses him on the cheek. “Thank you, Hernando.”

“Of course,” he replies easily. “I hope I was able to help make things a little clearer.”

Shrugging and smiling up at him, Daniela replies, “I think so. Although this is all assuming that he doesn’t regret asking me.”

“If he doesn’t see how lucky he would be to have you, Dani, then he doesn’t deserve you.”

Before she has a chance to reply, they are both distracted by the sight of people finally coming down the stairwell. Daniela turns to see Wolfgang and Kala quietly leading the way down the stairs, hand in hand, while Felix and Lito follow behind while conversing animatedly with each other. From their good moods, she assumes that whatever conversation they had must have gone well.

When Lito parts ways with the other three and walks over to Dani and Hernando, she wastes no time. “So?” she asks him quietly.

“Yes?” Lito replies, feigning innocent.

Daniela rolls her eyes at him. “What did you say to him?” (She asks this in Spanish, hoping Felix won’t figure out they’re talking about him.)

Lito smiles sheepishly. “Nothing bad,” he offers, sticking to Spanish as well for Dani’s sake.

“What does that mean?”

“I just made sure that he has good intentions,” Lito answers.

Hernando chuckles quietly, bringing his hand up to his mouth to cover the sound, while Daniela just looks aghast. “You didn’t,” she pleads.

“I did.”

Daniela sighs. “I told you not to give him a hard time.”

“I didn’t give him a hard time,” Lito defends. “I just asked him whether or not he meant what he asked you last night.”

She puts her face in her hands, but Hernando lets his curiosity get the better of him and asks, “What did he say?” (Dani peaks out from behind her fingers in spite of herself.)

Lito grins. “He means it as long as you want him to.”

Hernando wears a grin to match Lito’s. He pulls Daniela close again, then pulls Lito into the hug as well. “We are here for you, whatever you decide.”

She looks up at him. “Thank you,” she says, then looks over to Lito as well. “Both of you.”

“Of course,” Lito says. “You are family, Dani. We love you.”

Hernando nods, and for a few moments the three of them just enjoy the embrace. After a minute, Daniela gives them a small smile. “I guess I should go talk to Felix.”

---

Felix is finishing lunch with Wolfgang and Kala when Dani walks up. “Hey, guys.”

“Daniela! Hi!” Kala says, a bit too enthusiastic. (Dani feels a warmth for Kala. Despite the high emotions that run among the sensates, so few of them wear their hearts on their sleeves like she does. Daniela hopes nothing ever makes that change.)

Wolfgang looks at Kala affectionately before turning and giving Dani a smile. Felix looks like a deer caught in the headlights for a second, but he quickly pulls it together and gives her a cool smile. “Hey, Dani.”

Kala’s eyes dart between the two of them, then she gives Wolfgang a look. “It’s about time for us to go take our blockers, isn’t it?”

Face light with amusement, Wolfgang nods. “I think so, yes.” (Thank god he has Lito, Felix thinks with amusement. If this is their idea of subtle, they would be fucked alone.)

“We’ll see you both later,” Kala says before grabbing Wolfgang’s hand and hurrying off toward their room.

Both Felix and Dani laugh at their departure. “Do you want to sit?” Felix asks.

She nods, taking the seat across from him. “So Lito talked to you?”

“Uh, yeah,” he answers, not sure where she’s going with this. “Did he, um, did he tell you what we talked about?”

Dani smiles. “Not everything. But he said you remember last night.”

“Ah,” he says, smiling nervously. “The important parts, anyway.”

“Well good on you for proving me wrong,” she replies with a smirk.

Felix chuckles, and for a minute they just enjoy each other’s presence. After taking a moment to steel himself, he takes a deep breath and asks, “Do you want me to ask you again?”

Daniela looks down, focusing on her hands in her lap rather than on his face. “I do. But...I’m not sure what this would even mean, with how things are here. And there’s...there’s something I should tell you about my past if we’re going to do this. But….” She trails off, not sure how to explain how overwhelmed recalling her time with Joaquin makes her. She hadn’t even been able to say out loud how bad it was to anyone until he had confronted her that night at Lito’s old apartment. More than anything, Daniela wants to forget that part of her life.

Nodding in understanding, Felix makes her an offer. “What if I told you something about me first?”

She looks up. “What?”

“You don’t have to tell me anything. But I figured maybe, if I told you something about my past, it might be easier?”

Dani considers it for a moment, then gives him a small smile. “It can’t hurt to try.”

Felix grins. “So. I told you that I met Wolfie in detention. But I didn’t tell you what made us friends.” She raises an eyebrow at him, and he explains. “Sure, we got along at school, but neither of us actually went to class enough for that to have made us friends.”

“So what happened?”

“Well, first I found out that his dad almost never let him watch movies, so he only watched whatever was on tv during the day when he skipped school. So I showed him Conan.”

She laughs. “Of course you did.”

“To be honest,” he says, “I was just excited to have someone to hang out with. I was just this scrawny kid from Wuppertal whose parents decided to move to Berlin after they tore the wall down. I wasn’t from the city, I hadn’t been there when it happened. But Wolfie didn’t care.” Dani gives him a warm look. “It helped that we were both outsiders, and Wolfie didn’t exactly go out of his way to make himself popular.”

Dani giggles. “Sounds about right.”

“Wolfie didn’t start many fights, but he sure ended a lot of them. But what got me was that he never wanted me to get involved. Even when we’d first met and a few kids ganged up on him, his first thought was for my safety. He didn’t run with me - he stayed to make time for me to get away.”

“Oh, god,” Dani says. “Was he okay?”

Felix chuckles. “Just because he tells me to stay out of things doesn’t mean I listen. I ran and got a pipe and knocked the biggest asshole across the head. I wasn’t about to let them kick the shit out of him.”

She smiles, starting to understand why someone as quiet as Wolfgang would pick a friend like Felix. “So you became brothers in battle,” Dani jokes.

“I wish those were the biggest battles,” Felix answers with a matching tone, but his smile no longer reaches his eyes. “I’d take on a hundred of those guys over Wolfie’s family any day.” Daniela’s smile falls. “His dad was probably the worst but he...died while Wolfie was still in school. So then he had to move in with his uncle, and I think we both pretty much gave up on having normal jobs after that.”

“Why? If you don’t mind my asking.”

“Sergei, Wolfie’s uncle, was uh...how do I put this? The mafia king of East Berlin?”

Dani had to stop herself from laughing. “That sounds like one of Lito’s movies.”

Felix grins. “Wolfie was already like an action hero before this whole being a psychic badass thing happened. Now it’s just not fair.” At this, Daniela gives in and lets herself giggle a bit. “We just stuck to petty theft for a long time. When he got old enough to move out, he wanted nothing to do with his family. But then I got a really stupid idea.”

“What do you mean?”

“I knew Wolfie was smarter than all of them. While the rest of them had moved on to breaking into safes with acid or drills, he kept learning how to crack every new safe he could get his hands on. And I mean crack it the old fashioned way.”

“Are you serious?”

He nods. “Wolfie’s the greatest boxman there is. I haven’t seen a safe he couldn’t crack. When I heard his dumbass cousin was planning on stealing these diamonds out of a supposedly uncrackable safe, I told Wolfie. I wanted to show his family they weren’t shit, you know? That no matter how fucked up they raised him, he was better than them all.”

“Did you get caught?”

“No,” Felix says. “Well, not exactly. Wolfie cracked the safe and we got out of there fine. But I was so excited, I couldn’t keep my mouth shut no matter how much he warned me. His cousin found out a couple weeks later.” He touches his chest briefly, trying to soothe the phantom ache that comes with the memory. “He shot me.”

“What?” Dani asks incredulously.

“When I said I wasn’t around for a few months last year...that’s why. Wolfie tried to fix things - he went to give the diamonds we hadn’t sold yet to his cousin, but the asshole tried to shoot him, too.”

“Oh my god,” she says, not sure what to think. On the one hand, her family’s business was equally as unsavory. But on the other, she hadn’t realized just how dangerous Wolfgang and Felix’s lives had been even before BPO showed up. “What did he do?”

“I still don’t know all the details. Although now that I know this sensate stuff had already started then, I figure they helped. But I know that when I got out of the hospital, they were, uh, not going to shoot me again.” Felix looks to Dani, sees the concern in her eyes. “I’m sorry. This probably didn’t help anything at all. I don’t blame you for not wanting to have much to do with us. With me.”

She shakes her head fiercely. “No. It’s...it’s more familiar than I would like to admit. I mean, I’ve never been shot, thank god. But my family aren’t exactly in the most legal line of business, either. I learned to act as a child because my parents didn’t want to risk anyone acting suspiciously, even their daughter.”

“Still. I can understand why you’ve been reluctant.”

“No,” Daniela insists again. “It’s not that. There was….there was a man who worked for him. His name was Joaquin.” She takes a shaky breath, trying to slow her racing thoughts.

He notices her anxiety. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. Don’t feel obligated.”

Trembling a bit, Dani reaches across the table to take his hands in hers. “It’s okay. I want to.” He looks down at their joined hands for a moment, then back up at her. Felix nods. “When I was in college in California, he would stop by whenever he was there for business. And it wasn’t bad at first. He was hot, good in bed, had lots of money. But then he decided he was in love with me. And he decided that when I finished college, we were going to get married. I tried to break up with him. It...it didn’t go so well.” Felix inhales sharply, but she continues. “He hit me. I don’t know how many times. The first time he apologized and said it would never happen again. I went to my parents for advice. You know what they told me?”

He has a bad feeling about this, but he plays along. “What?”

Daniela laughs hollowly. “They told me it was a sign of how much he loved me. That he was so scared to lose me that he lose control, and that in Mexico that’s just how men teach their women to show them respect. I knew my mom and dad fought, but they always kept it behind closed doors. I - I didn’t know my dad had been hitting her, but when they told me a lot of things made sense.”

“Fuck that,” Felix says.

“That’s what I said. So I left. I left Joaquin, I left my parents. But Joaquin wasn’t having it so I...might have fucked his best friend to drive the point home.”

Felix laughs. “Hell yeah. This is an approach I can get behind.”

Dani grins. “Lito and Hernando ended up taking me in. And it was great until I...how did you put it? I got a really stupid idea.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t as bad as mine,” Felix says.

“I don’t know. It was up there.”

“What did you do?”

“I may have taken pictures of Hernando and Lito having sex?”

“No way,” Felix says. Dani nods. “Holy shit, Dani,” he laughs.

“I like gay porn, okay?” she replies.

He puts his hands up. “No judgement here. But why were the pictures so bad? I mean, you live with them.”

“Joaquin broke in one night. As far as everyone else knew, Lito was my boyfriend and Hernando was his new bodyguard. He was drunk. When I tried to call the police, he took my purse, and I didn’t notice he managed to grab my phone until he texted Lito one of the photos the next morning.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. And after everything Lito had done for me, I didn’t want to ruin his career. He loves acting so much. So I did what I thought I had to do.”

“Wait. No. You didn’t,” Felix says, hoping it’s not true.

Daniela nods. “I went to Joaquin to see what I could do. We...negotiated for a bit. In the end, I agreed to marry him if he promised never to leak the photos.”

“Fuck, Dani.”

“It’s okay,” she says, giving him a weak smile. “Lito, and I think Wolfgang, came to the rescue.”

“Really?”

Daniela’s smile grows a little wider. “Lito and Hernando had seen I had a bruise when they dropped off my things. I thought I was never going to see them again, but then a few days later Lito rolled up like a character in one of his movies and told Joaquin he didn’t care about the pictures anymore. That I was coming home with him. Joaquin tried to stop him, and Lito punched him. But Lito doesn’t actually know how to fight, and it started going badly. Joaquin actually grabbed me again. But suddenly, something changed. I thought maybe he was just remembering something from a role he had played, but when LIto explained why we were going to London he told me that we were coming to help the man who had saved us. And looking back, it made sense. Everything about Lito changed - his posture, his expression, even his ability to fight.”

“Damn. Leave it to Wolfie to find an asshole to put in his place on another continent.”

Smile finally meeting her eyes, Daniela says, “I’m glad he did.”

“Me, too,” Felix replies instantly. After thinking for a moment, he adds, “Thank you for trusting me enough to tell me.”

She nods. “I want you to understand where I’m coming from. Because I like you, Felix.” He grins widely. “I like you a lot. And I don’t want to let Joaquin have that kind of hold on me - I have a new family now. One that actually loves me. So as much as part of me is scared, I think maybe I want to try.”

“If it makes you feel better, I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing here,” he offers. “We can just go at your pace, whatever that is.”

“I think I can manage that,” Dani says, smiling softly.

Felix looks down at their hands, then back up at her. “Would it be okay if I kissed you?”

She laughs. “That would be okay.”

“Awesome,” he whispers, before leaning across the small table. Felix brings one hand to her cheek, tilting her face up and kissing her gently. She replies in kind, finding this feels more natural than she expected. When then pull away, Felix is grinning from ear to ear. “I think I could get used to that.”

#verner #verner fic #daniela velasquez #felix berner #sense8 #sense8 fic #felix bernner #because no one knows how to spell his last name #not even me lol #my stuff

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lady-alayne · 7 years ago

Text

Game of Thrones: An Angry Recap

Season 7 Episode 5: Eastwatch

Winterfell:

Bran wargs a bunch of birds, sees that the army of the dead are approaching, and concludes that maybe it's time to tell people. Wait, what? The Night's Watch have been trying to tell people this since Season 1 Episode One 0:00:00 sec, but only now that a creepy kid is saying it, people are beginning to believe it? Ugh.

Meanwhile... Ohhhhh, Sansa is ruling the North like a pro! After the King in the North left the North to go shack up with some blonde emo chick with a bunch of dangerous pets, the Northern Lords are not too pleased about their ruler and go to his trueborn sister, WHO SHOULD BE THE QUEEN IN THE NORTH ANYWAY, to complain. They are joined by the Vale Lords, who for some reason 1) are still hanging out at Winterfell (who's holding the Vale at this point??? Shouldn't the hill tribes have taken over the Vale by now???) and 2) suddenly remember that they came in to help Sansa and not Jon, even though they had no problem proclaiming him King in the North last season instead of Sansa, WHO IS NED STARK'S OLDEST LIVING CHILD AND HEIR AND THE ONE THEY CAME IN TO RESCUE I'M STILL BITTER.

So anyway, the Northern and Vale Lords complain about their brand new king leaving them all. It's a brilliant opportunity for Sansa to do what she does best, which is being diplomatic and wonderful and handling explosive situations with charm, but also not taking anyone's shit. I would say Petyr has taught her well, but then I remember that Petyr never taught Sansa in the show because D&D decided to rape her instead, and I am angry again. Ugh. So apparently Sansa just picked these things up along the way, because the FIRST RULE OF STRONG FEMALE CHARACTERS(TM) dictates that being abused and raped always makes you a stronger woman, and is generally a wonderful thing for your character development.

Speaking of empowered abused women! Arya is not really on board with Sansa being the flawless Queen she is. Even though Ed Sheeran and his friends were super nice to her like three episodes ago, she still believes killing people is always the best way to solve problems and wastes no time suggesting just that to Sansa. The two sisters naturally disagree over this, and this ends in a very petty fight that came out of nowhere and made absolutely no sense but I guess the plot commanded it so of course it's perfectly acceptable and yet another reason why D&D totally deserve all the Emmys. Wait here while I go scream into a pillow.

Also screaming into her pillow, I am quite certain, is Random Northern Girl, who is the newest piece in Littlefinger's game. I mean, did you see how she leaned in when she was talking to him? That beautiful face of his will stay in her thoughts for a while, I am sure. Not to mention that she was close enough to smell him. Random Northern Girl, you're living the dream.

It turns out Littlefinger is kind of back to his old self again, and trying to scheme his way onto the Iron Throne and/or into Sansa's skirts. He super discreetly and not suspiciously at all obtains a very mysterious letter and hides it in his room to use that letter... to bring forth the Long Night, probably, because Petyr is so evil, according to people on the internet. (So it must be true.) But oh no! He forgot about Arya! That psycho killer child knows how to lurk! And how to break into his chambers! And how to search his chambers! Whooooaaa!!!! We find out the mysterious and suspicious letter was sent by Sansa wayyyy back in Season 1, asking Robb to come to King's Landing and bend the knee to Joffrey. BUT IT WAS A DOUBLE LURK YOU GUYS!!! Because just as Arya is leaving Petyr's chambers we find out that while he was suspiciously being suspicious and Arya was suspiciously lurking and watching him, he was suspiciously lurking and watching her suspiciously lurking and watching him suspiciously being suspicious! I'm so glad Petyr is back to his old, scheming self before he will inevitably meet his doom in two episodes.

The Reach:

Jaime has survived his fall into the lake, because apparently Bronn dived in right behind him and dragged him out. Seriously? So Jaime's armor does not weigh anything??? After we explicitly read in the books that knights who fall into bodies of water always drown because their armor is dragging them down? Oh, but I forgot, the show and the books are not the same.

A few miles down the road, and...

Oh boy. Daenerys is not done with her humanitarian mission, and rallies the surviving Lannister soldiers to “give them a choice:” Bend the knee, or burn alive. “I'm not here to murder,” she tells them after having murdered a bunch of people. “Now bend the knee before I murder you.”

Most of the soldiers bend the knee because, OF COURSE THEY WOULD, THEY DID NOT HAVE A CHOICE. Not so Randyll Tarly, who politely explains that he has moral concerns bending the knee to a foreign woman who just flew in on a mystical killer dragon and torched a bunch of people. Tyrion, who is... also there for some reason, urges Dany to chill the fuck out and maybe let him go to the wall, but Dany refuses to do so. Classic, and how very kind of her. I can totally see why people would want to follow her!

I wonder what happened to those other people who bent the knee. Did they have to follow Dany to Dragonstone? Or were they free to go home? Is anyone keeping track of the people who have bent the knee? Would it be possible to just bend the knee to avoid getting murdered, and then go back to King's Landing and rejoin the Lannister army?

Not to mention that we kept hearing about Randyll Tarly being a dick for, like, 6 seasons, and now he's the only man who still uses his brain and genuinely cares about his son beyond the “You shall be my heir” minimum. Speaking of his son... DICKON DID NOT DESERVE THIS. Rest in peace, House Tarly. Also, HOW DID DROGON KNOW WHO TO INCINERATE AND WHO TO SPARE???

Dragonstone:

Dany returns from her humanitarian mission of burning people, and it's heaving petting with Jon! Well, he pets Drogon, but close enough; Dany is turned on enough as it is. Jon chides her for murdering all those people, and Dany respons that she only killed them so she could help them. So she murdered out of love! That makes it totally acceptable.

Dany is just about to ask Jon about his res-erection, when Jorah returns AND IT HURTS WHAT WAS THE POINT OF HIM HAVING GREYSCALE ANYWAY AND HE IMMEDIATELY RUNS BACK TO HER AND IT HURTS TO WATCH HIM FRIENDZONE HIMSELF OVER AND OVER. He explains he found a cure for greyscale, one of the most deadly diseases known, and everyone is like, “Read: 2:53 pm.”

Jon Snow's only words to Jorah are that he served with his father, thus once again reminding everyone that he was A MEMBER OF THE NIGHT'S WATCH, and NO ONE thinks of asking him how he could possibly be King in the North, given that, you know, members of the Night's Watch vow to WEAR NO CROWNS AND WIN NO GLORY.

Meanwhile, Tyrion and Varys get drunk in the throne room and bond over their mutual predicament of serving a pretty mad tyrant queen who burns people alive when they displease her. A raven scroll reaches Jon, and he finds out Arya is still alive. ARYA, the girl he gave needle to. ARYA, his favorite sister. ARYA, the one he literally died for. But Jon seems to have forgotten all that, because all he wants to do is catch a wight! Oh dear, that sounds like a very stupid idea. Also, can we please talk about that camera angle? Was that the Dany going down on Jon POV shot? Yikes.

And so Jon and the gang make their way to Eastwatch...

King's Landing:

Jaime returns to Cersei, and the two hold an impromptu war council. “This isn't a war we can win,” concludes Jaime, which makes Cersei wonder about a possible armistice. Jaime also tells Cersei that it was Olenna who killed Joffrey because...... she wanted to be the true ruler of the Seven Kingdoms?!?!?!?! FOR FUCK'S SAKE. IS EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER ON GOT TRYING TO BECOME RULER OF THE SEVEN KINGDOMS????? And thus Olenna sadly joins the other cardboard cutouts of “generic person who wants the Iron Throne because reasons.” Queen of Thornes, you were deeper than that.

A little while later Davos and Tyrion have teleported to King's Landing and Tyrion sneaks into the dungeons beneath the Red Keep for a little brotime with Jaime to convince him to let them have an audience with Cersei once they have caught a wight. For a reason unfathomable by me, Bronn knew all of this before and thus was able to lure Jaime into the dungeons for this. Logic!(TM)

The brothers agree on an armistice, and Jaime brings Cersei the good news that Dany is not planning on incineratingher in the near future. Cersei also shares her good news: She's pregnant, and she will reveal her twincest, and then the family will live happily ever after! Aww, romance is real.

Meanwhile, Davos is on a tour through Flea Bottom looking for someone, and then.... IT'S GENDRY, YOU GUYS!!! He did not row all the way across the sunset sea, he rowed straight back to King's Landing and into his old job! While casual show watchers try to remember who the fuck Gendry was, snobby book readers rejoice when they see his badass war hammer; just like the one his dad good ole King Robert used to fight with (except Robert's war hammer was probably not so obviously made out of plastic).

Gendry joins the band because HE WANTS REVENGEEEE ON THE LANNISTERS, once again underlining the message of Game of Thrones: Violence begets violence, and it's awesome! GRRM would be turning in his grave. What's that, you say? He isn't dead? Then where is The Winds of Winter??????

Speaking of violence, Gendry immediately puts that war hammer to use to mindlessly kill two gold cloaks who are admittedly a bit nose, but in no way nosy enough to deserve such a cruel death. RIP Member of the City Watch #1, and RIP Member of the City Watch #2.

Oldtown:

OH MY GOD. ARE YOU KIDDING ME. WHAT THE FUCK. D&D JUST DECIDE TO CASUALLY MENTION THAT RHAEGAR GOT AN ANNULMENT FROM ELIA LIKE IT'S NO BIG DEAL. OH MY GOD. I THOUGHT THE WHOLE “SAM FINDING A CURE FOR GREYSCALE IN EPISODE 2” THING WAS THE MOST RIDICULOUS PLOT COMING OUT OF OLDTOWN BUT THAT WAS BEFORE THE WHOLE “RHAEGAR GOT AN ANNULMENT FROM ELIA” THING.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????? AN ANNULLMENT. AN ANNULMENT?????? RHAEGAR WAS MARRIED TO ELIA OF DORNE AND THEY HAD CHILDREN AND IT WAS ALSO A POLITICAL ALLIANCE FORGED FOR VARIOUS POLITICAL REASONS. IT'S NOT LIKE RHEAGAR AND ELIA GOT DRUNK MARRIED IN LAS VEGAS TWO DAYS BEFORE. THEY HAD A LEGIT WEDDING CEREMONY AND THEY HAD CHILDREN. YOU CAN'T JUST ANNUL A MARRIAGE BECAUSE, OH, YOU MET SOMEONE HOTTER A WEEK AGO. OH MY GOD. NO. NO. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.

Eastwatch:

Davos is really teleporting all over the map this episode, and he reaches Eastwatch after a short row in a tiny little rowboat. I guess that was because the sea is generally so smooth in winter, and not frozen at all. Jon and gang sit down to talk to Tormund about Operation Catch a Wight, and he is understandably not convinced, but eventually decides to give them a little help by hosting a quick speed dating round of men wanting to go beyond the wall, which—surprise!—includes the Hound and Beric Dondarrion! Reunion #2556123 in Season 7 alone!

Because they are all breathing, the men decide to set aside their differences, and embark on their next adventure. Let's hope Jon makes it back in time for the epic boat sex.

#game of thrones #got an angry recap #game of thrones recap #anti d&d #got negativity

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jodiwalker · 7 years ago

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The Best Things Happening on Game of Thrones Right Now

If the current season of Game of Thrones is fan service, then consider me — a fan — serviced, and sign me up, baby. We've been through the hard stuff, we deserve this. This series has finally broken through the stratosphere of TV criticism and into the land of pure joy where Arya can be both a raging lil' sociopath and a beloved protagonist.

So this is neither a review nor a recap, a critique nor a thoughtful analysis influenced by my superior status as a "book-reader." Instead, it is the most advanced of all literary art forms: a list of I've been tickled by in the first two episodes of season 7. The best things happening on Game of Thrones right now definitively are:

Very Silly Reveals That Are Supposed to Change the Game (of Thrones) But Are Kind of Just Really Obvious Solutions

1. There's a Shit Ton of Dragon Glass at…Dragonstone

Of all the things I expected out of this season—reunions, rifts, Cersei dramatically guzzling wine, Arya masked-murderin', Dany sittin' on thrones, hopefully the glorious return of Gendry's biceps—I never anticipated quite this much focus on igneous rocks. Jon Stark's laser focus on digging up dragon glass is starting to sound like a Goop newsletter, and it's not that I wouldn't subscribe (imagine: the fur recs! the tips for sultry lashes! the straightforward syntax without any annoying exclamation points!), it's just all a little more plainly sated than I expected. Jon calls, like, eight Big Chamber Meetings to tell all the Northern elders, plus Lil' Lyanna Mormont that their number one priority is to find dragon glass because it's the only thing they can create weapons out of in mass to kill white walkers. Those meetings go a little something like this:

Jon: How are we gonna kill white walkers?!

Northerners: DRAGONGLASS!

Jon: And where are we gonna find it?!

Sam, from Oldtown: AT—AND YOU'RE REALLY NOT GOING TO BELIEVE THIS—DRAGONSTONE!

[Ed. note: I've edited out the regular interruptions from Sansa that give me extreme conflicting emotional anxiety, but we'll get to those later in the "So You're Co-Ruling with Your Half-Sister Who's Actually Your Cousin and She's Recently Developed a Mind of Her Own After Surviving Extreme Trauma" section.]

Sending Sam to Oldtown to train as a maester is like the coconut oil/Franks RedHot of Westeros: that shit works on everything. At the Citadel, Sam begins scooping soup, souping poop (in a scene I would have exchanged for an hour-long loop of gruesome murders), and most importantly, sneaking into the restricted section of the library like some sort of chubby lovechild between Voldemort and Harry Potter. He even gets shut down by Jim Broadbent (aka Archmaester Marwyn, absolutely killing the wise, gives-no-shits maester game) and sneaks in anyway. And what did Samwell find in the restricted section?

Well, Sam steals maybe five books and finds the exact answer he needs, plus one he didn't even know he should be looking for—more on that in a minute.

And you know what? That's kind of dumb and unrealistic, but Sam deserves this. He's had a tough life and his dad is a jerk that wanted to kill him and his brother is (well, used to be) the hot guy from Unreal, and everyone shits on him all the time even though he is legitimately the nicest person alive in their godforsaken, feces infested world — dude has earned finding the solution to saving mankind after exactly 10 minutes of cozy reading with his cute wildling life partner and their ageless baby.

So, Sam finds out (via a super lame picture that Jaime could have drawn with his strong hand) that there's a big ol' dragon glass mine at—you're not going to believe this—Dragonstone. All they've gotta do is dig it up. Well, and, y'know, get past Daenerys Targaryen, heir of Dragonstone who recently arrived on its sandy, glass-filled shores. And that other thing that Sam found?

2. The Cure for Greyscale is Just…Peeling Off the Greyscale

Well, no fucking shit, Sam. I mean, listen, I know I was just singing the kid's praises, but it's pretty crazy to act like you just found the magical cure for Greyscale in your magical secret books when that cure is…peeling off the Greyscaled skin and then putting a bunch of medieval Neosporin on it. But whatever, it's really sweet that Sam wants to help Jorah Mormont so badly because of his affection for Lord Commander Mormont and is willing to flay him to save his life (and definitely give himself Greyscale with the way he's using those gloves). So go ahead, Sam, peel off that Greyscale in your secret Dr. Pimple sessions—your solution might be obvious, but at least it's not dumb, dumb, dumb…

3. The Dragon Feller That's Just…a Crossbow

So, John is concerned with defeating the white walkers because, y'know, strong moral fiber and a her survivor's guilt complex and all that. But Cersei is mainly concerned with defeating anyone who would try to take the Iron Throne from her that she didn't already blow up with magic fire. And that means she's got to look alive about the tiny blonde Targaryen heading her way who's bringing, along with her legitimate claim to the throne, her three big ass dragons that were, coincidentally, born from a magic fire.

It's going to take something big to defeat those dragons. Something magical. Something much more powerful than even wildfire. Something like…

A BIG ASS CROSSBOW, BABY! Yeah, that will be great for killing dragons — if the dragons are sitting still, 1,000 years old, and already dying peacefully of natural causes. It's okay, Qyburn. They can't all be skull-crushing Frankenzombies held together by Husky R' Us armor level ideas, buddy.

Arya and Her Whole Thing

I remember when How to Get Away With Murder premiered there were a bunch of think pieces that were all, Finally! A Female Anti-Hero for Us to Love Just Like All Those Dude Anti-Heroes We Loved on A&E and HBO! Of course, no one loved Viola Davis' anti-hero like they loved Walter White because people don’t like to love flawed women like they like to love flawed men (and the show's not as good, but Viola is). And so, when Arya gave the best revenge performance of all time at the top of the season 7 premiere, there were a bunch of (to be fair, legitimate) articles that were all Should We Really Be Rooting for Arya? Is Arya a Sociopath Now? Arya Sure Looked like She Wanted to Kill Ed Sheeran, an Innocent Soldier, Who We Will Tell You Later How WE'D Like to Kill, But for Different Totally Valid Reasons.

So let me just say, yes! Arya is a probably a semi-psychopathic now, and yes! We should be rooting for her. She is but a simple mercenary setting out to avenge the death of her loved ones using humble blood magic. Yes, she killed Walder Frey, and yes, she fed him to his sons, and yes she then skinned him and wore his face in order to poison all those sons who she had just fed a pie made out of their dad, but you know what she also did…spared the women who hadn’t done anything wrong except be born into that nasty family. And yes she maybe only spared them to have this bad ass parting line, delivered with just perfect level-headed menace by Maisy Williams: "When people ask you what happened here — tell them the North remembers. Tell them winter came for House Frey."

But she is Arya and I love her, and I support her in anything she does…unless she kills any of the characters I like, in which case I will have to write some think pieces.

Sibling Dramzzz: Stark Edition

And speaking of Starks you have to keep your eye on, Sansa and Jon are having kind of a hard time co-parenting the North, and that's probably because people just loooove putting Jon in charge, even though Sansa should kind of technically be in charge, the only problem is, that Sansa's so annoying. Now, Sansa has made large strides toward being less annoying. But for every two steps forward (occasionally telling Lord Baelish to go fuck himself, knowing about war, not being a moralizing idealist), she interrupts Jon six times in their council meetings and tells him how stupid he is.

And listen, I get it — I have siblings. No one knows you better, and no one knows they know you better. When someone acts like they understand you better than you understand yourself, and worse, they're probably right, it can be trying. When Sansa tells Jon that he's going to get his head chopped off like his virtuous father and brother before him, she's not necessarily, but she is annoying. In a made-up world with dragons and child-sacrifice and, like, constant incest that's often not very relatable, I find this Jon and Sansa stuff frustratingly relevant.

The complexity of familial bonds is a language that spans universes (I mean, I guess that's ignoring the thing I just said about near-constant incest), so when Sansa says just the right bratty thing — "Joffrey never let anyone question his decisions, do you think he was a good king?" — to set Jon off, or when Jon and Sansa get on the same page about something, then he immediately changes his mind and announces it at the dinner table, so she questions his decision in front of all their gossipy cousins…it's normal family stuff, just at much higher, head-chopping stakes.

My great fear is that the tentative but often sweet partnership these two eldest "children" of Ned Stark have formed will somehow be ruined by Littlefinger. So boyyyyyy was it gratifying when Jon choked his old ass out when he was all I wanted to fuck your step-mom and now I want to fuck your half-sister, just thought I'd tell you that right here in front of your dead dad's crypt. And mannnnn was it concerning when Sansa backed down from publicly challenging Jon about his decision to leave the North and sale to Dragonstone the moment she learned he was leaving her in charge of the North in his absence, then immediately looked to Littlefinger for…what? Approval? Guidance? Shared joy? None are great options.

Just get though this Jon and Sansa — I promise you’ll be best friends when you’re adults!

Sibling Dramzzz: Greyjoy Edition

Yo, this family is Messed! Up! Theon jumped off a ship rather than risk saving his sister Yara from their super-pirate uncle who's now taking Yara, Ellaria, and the last remaining Sand Snake, Tyene as his gift to Cersei which will totally make her want to marry him so he can be king, I guess, and not just of his raggedy salt islands.

It will never not be distracting how much Euron looks like Pacey though. If Pacey had a run-in with an H&M clearance rack and the entire smoky eye section of Sephora.

Sibling Dramzzz: Lannister Edition

And speaking of Cersei's current romantic status: Jaime is giving her a looooot of side-eye because she's, y'know, terrible. But she is doing a really fun thing this season where she's constantly recapping how much she hates everyone while subconsciously remaining us how much everyone hates her in return. While roaming around her Etsy map of Westeros, Cersei tells Jaime: "Enemies to the east. Enemies to the south: Ellaria Sand and her brood of bitches. Enemies to the west: Olenna, the old cunt, another traitor. Enemies to the North: Ned Stark's bastard has been named King of the North, and that murdering whore Sansa stands beside him. Enemies everywhere, we're surrounded by traitors!"

Girl, anymore zingers and maybe a concluding paragraph, and they'll give you a byline at Vulture. It is my one true hope that Jaime will realize his sister is insane and kill her before she kills him or Tyrion.

Everything Lil' Lyanna Mormont Does

I don't care if it's Disney-Channel-level precocious, I don't care if they're just giving us more of what we want…actually, I do care. Give me more of what I want! And what I want is the Lil'est Lady of Bear Island repeatedly telling a bunch of giant grizzled dudes to STFU. "I don't plan on knitting by the fire while men fight for me," she says when it's proposed that girls should be trained to fight in the war to come. "I might be small and I might be a girl, but I am every bit as much a Northerner as you. And I don't need your permission to defend the North." Yes, my tiny queen! I don't know if they heard you in the back, but at this point in time, just about every major house in the realm is run by a woman And speaking of…

Jon and Dany Said Each Other's Names and Hopefully That Will All Be Fine

That's it, that's all I needed. Now they can either become best friends or fall in incestuous Targaryen love, there is no other option.

Images: HBO; BlondieTVJunkie/tumblr

#game of thrones #game of thrones recap #episode 7.1 #episode 7.2

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bestfriendforhire · 5 years ago

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Entry 399

A month had passed since the birth of Mariasha, who started calling my son “Four”. He called her “Messy or Mar” instead of Mariasha, so I had been really tempted to say something. My wife considered the lot to be friendly nicknames. Dani had taken on babysitting them, spending time with my parents as they visited, which was frequent.

Today, those who were home had gathered in the ballroom again. Kayla, James, and Mariasha listened to Dani telling them stories on the floor. Most surely thought those stories were made up on the spot, not truths from other worlds, but James would surely learn one day. The rest of us were playing Ancient Tribes of Earth.

The front doors opened, and I could hear excited whispers from Ai and Mai as they accompanied Jarod toward us. Finding their reassuring whispers odd, I quickly retreated from battle and sought safety for my character at the top of a large tree. The nearby predators in the game couldn’t climb.

“Everyone…” started Ai as she entered with Jarod and Mai.

“We have an announcement.” added Mai, elbowing Jarod.

The twins were both smiling, looking completely happy. Jarod seemed… resigned? Relieved? I wasn’t honestly certain how to take his current expression.

He smiled as he spoke, saying, “We’re having children.”

“Both of us.” announced the twins in unison after a wave of congratulations.

There were more cheers.

“Not everyone here seemed to have guessed as of yet…” started Ai when the cheers died down.

“But my sister and I have an incredible telepathic bond.”

“So much so that we feel everything the other does.”

“You’re accustomed to seeing out of one set of eyes.”

“We see out of two. We taste from two mouths and smell with two noses.”

“Every thought is shared and every feeling.”

At first, they were taking turns speaking, but the last sentence was smoothly said with each alternating words. As they continued speaking, they spoke with perfect unison.

“We only ever share this information with our closest family, so we ask you, our family, not to mention this to others. We decided the time had come to share our secret because we’re expecting to be a bit touchy in coming months. Pregnancy can be rough, and we’re getting a double dose, so please bear with us.”

Grinning again, Ai said, “Maybe even forgive my sister if she snaps at you.”

“Not Ai. She’s doing it on purpose.” insisted Mai mischievously.

“So that’s why you both married Jarod!?” exclaimed Brandon, having been gaping at them for half their speech.

Mai nodded. “We can’t help loving the same person. Every feeling is shared.”

“When I touch his cheek, she knows how rough his whiskers are.” explained Ai as she demonstrated, grinning up at her husband as he kissed her head.

“I feel his lips on her hair and his arm around her. As we told you, we share everything.” insisted Mai, grabbing Jarod’s arm and pulling him roughly toward her.

Not resisting, Ai said, “Imagine reading a book and laughing during the death of your favorite character because you are also watching a comedian miles away who just told the best joke. This is our lives. This might be the lives of our children. We don’t know.”

“I’m going to have to rethink every conversation I had with you.” suggested Maple. “Can we talk with Iris, Dejon, Noelle, and Brenna about this?”

The twins laughed.

Jarod smiled and said, “Of course. Everyone who lives with us will be in on our secret, though I don’t expect Noelle to remember in the first place.”

“This is probably the most accepted the two redheads will ever feel.” teased Ai.

“Poor Brandon… Poor Brenna...” added Mai.

“Hey now… I still say that Alma’s borderline ginger.” he argued.

“Careful, Brandon. I haven’t incinerated anyone in a while, so I might be itching for a chance.” teased my wife with a devilish grin.

Brandon nodded, holding up his hands defensively.

“Dani, what does ‘incinerate’ mean?” questioned James.

“To eradicate through burning.” replied Mariasha immediately. “Don’t interrupt the story!”

Looking horrified, James said, ”Messy! Mother wouldn’t do that!”

“She was making a joke! Don’t get mad at me for what she says.” snapped Mariasha.

“You two are wonderful!” exclaimed Dani, squeezing the babies a little tighter for a second.

Only a month after Mariasha’s birth, and I didn’t think my daughter could injure Mariasha or James without effort. The two would need to be careful when their new playmates came into this world.

“Dani, more story!” complained Kayla, reaching over to take Mariasha. Kayla was really enjoying the babies as well, marveling at their ability to speak.

“Aren’t you too old for stories?” asked James.

“You can’t get too old for stories!” insisted Kayla. “Dejon reads constantly! I bet your daddy does too.”

“Father.” corrected James, but he seemed to be considering what she said.

“No one reads more than my mother.” argued Mariasha.

Reaching over to poke her belly, Dani said, “She prefers when you call her ‘mommy’”

“My sister calls her ‘mother’, so I will too.” insisted Mariasha.

“Your poor mommy is going to be sooo discouraged!” exclaimed Dani with a grin.

“Not possible. Mila told me.” argued Mariasha, crossing her arms.

Dani seemed to consider for a moment before saying, “You might be right. I don’t think Daddy’s ever managed to discourage her from anything.”

“But if courage helps you to do things even when they frighten you, why does discourage not involve fear?” questioned James.

“Hmm… I think that discouraging someone can involve making them too afraid of the consequences to hold onto courage.” replied Dani. “But good question!”

“Consequences? What could happen?” asked Mariasha.

Without a moment’s consideration, Dani said, “Daddy gets mad.”

“I don’t have a daddy.” replied Mariasha with a frown.

“Just don’t make my daddy mad.” insisted Dani with a grin.

“Our father.” stated James.

“Never make big James mad.” agreed Kayla. “But for now… more story! Please, Dani.”

Nodding, Dani continued telling them of the time we visited the Seething Marsh of Mor’gadlu Seven, making everything sound far more eventful than I remembered. Of course, even Gandalf from Lord of the Rings said that good stories deserve embellishment.

As I watched the children, the others had continued questioning Ai and Mai, who were being far more generous than normal in demonstrating what they could do. How many more children would be born here in the coming years? How many weddings would I host? New friends would surely join us, and some might already have kids of their own. The future was going to be a very lively place.

#Best #Friend #For #Hire #Jovial #Times #Fantasy #Fiction #Story

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worldofsurvivortibet-blog · 8 years ago

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EPISODE 1 (Part 2) - “I'll be sharpening my knife just in case” - Eddie

SEB

I'll be happy if I never have to see another fucking Robot Unicorn for the rest of my life...

NICHOLAS

Hey guys! So I am going to send it here so it's easier, but I already LOVE my tribe! Everyone is so sweet and easy to talk to (something that isn't always the case in these games). I am really trying to be super active and friendly and supportive towards people so that they feel like they should keep me around,,,, and i think it's working well since I got added to that fun alliance! I'm working hard for this reward challenge so I can prove my worth to all of these people on my tribe! That's about it for now! xoxoxoxo Nicholas

AMANDA

OK i have found that i hate this unicorn game. Like HATE IT. I am so over it. everyone seems cool so far. there is some people that i am already kind of nervous about because they just seem like they are already trying to play games and stuff. IDK but they just have me on edge but oh well. I think i am going to try to become close with them but idk i don't really want to be close with hem bc i don't trust them.

JARED

Honestly I am PISSED I was not put with Daniella or Trysten, and I’m stuck with the damn furry! But this will not bring me down, I am here to WIN and I will do whatever it takes to do that. Right now my goal is to just be social and try my best to talk to everyone, because god knows I do not want to be the first one voted out!

CHRISSA

we won that reward which is cool there's a reason i like that game, I hope we win immunity too so nervous still. I am hoping i am safe if we don't win either though. Voting if we had to, would be so hard.

ELENA

I am so happy that we won reward! I am a little bit confused about what exactly they are able to do at "the summit" but hopefully Dani and Darian will share with us when they get back! So far as tribe relations go, I haven't had a chance to speak with everyone yet, but I have made a couple of friends it seems in Seb and Darian. I hope to speak with everyone at least once before Immunity challenge is over.

DANI

I WANTED THAT GODDAMN IDOL CLUE! ME! I did! But my freaking Papa Jabari or whatever that dish was called didn't have jack SHIT! Grrrr.... I Didnt even eat that shit it tasted like acc trash! So I'm starving and now I'm stuck on a fucking mountain peak with a furry, someone who plays the victim all the time, a photographer piece of shit who I'm targeting, and a few other assclowns I haven't had the privilege of conversing with. GET ME OUT OF HERE NOW!

MATT

My lord Seamus got angry over something I called toast. I need to do that more *eyes emoji*

CHRISSA

flag challenges are ugly but I am here for it and the summit twist is cool that's all

JARED

Honestly, I’m mad. I wanted to go to the summit because I wanted to talk to Daniella… *starts sobbing* I just feel so ALONE! It’s not fair….

TRYSTEN

I'm not going to lie. I feel defeated a little. I just feel like the weakest link, and I'm not going to be surprised if they vote me out.

KENDALL

Okay I just found out newlyf's name, it's Ally. I was right the first time, which is weird because I am usually never right at all. So chances are we are in the Matrix, sorry to shatter your fragile reality :/. Now on to more substantial things: 1. The Reward Challenge Yeah fuck that challenge man. I'm not going to lie, for the first ten minutes it was sort of fun. I like addicting things and the music was pretty good but everything went down hill and it went down hill fast. I still have the bloody song stuck in my head. :( 2. Summit Interesting concept and I like the idea of having an excuse for not being as social. Unfortunately I couldn't jump at the opportunity because that would be stupid. It would put a target on my back if I did, as the possibility of me having an idol would increase. Plus the odds of someone from my group going was very high considering we make up 4/7. And low and behold I was right. Two of the people I trust the most went to the Summit and I got to keep my hands clean. I guess this also means that the idol thing was fake which leads me to say, really guys, really? I stressed out about this. 3. The Immunity Challenge Flag making challenge, I volunteered because nobody else knew how to use photoshop and I am really good at drawing. I'm no Picasso (early Picasso, not late Picasso, I could do that shit) but I think it will work. Not to mention I hate relying on other people because people are gross and that I need to prove myself of some use. If I'm not careful, they'll catch on that I am virtually worthless in most scenarios. Like I wouldn't even be good bait for the wild animals, I taste too much like arsenic. Anyway that's all folks, I'll be back with more scheming, paranoid ramblings and zombies. Well, maybe not those first two.

DARIAN

SHIT HIT THE FAN kinda. I got an idol on my first try today. But it wasn't for my tribe... I know..Im sooooo lucky that I find someone else idol. So I was than told that I had 45 min to decide who I was going to give it to. Instantly I had two ideas in my head Keyonjay or Ally. Keyonjay- He clearly is decent in challenges and would be a string partner to attempt to align myself with. He has also agreed that if he finds my idol that he will give it to me. So theres a win win there for me.. maybe Ally- She did really bad in the first challenge and that honestly puts a huge target on her back because she is the easy vote. The team stays strong and no one gets butt hurt. But if she has the idol she can make a move and take out a big player EARLY... Like Keyonjay hahaha. After talking it out with keyonjay and getting his opinions and than a little self reflection I decided to give Keyonjay the idol in hopes that he could be the one to find my idol and maybe even become a strong alliance member!! Ahhhh so stressed!!!!

KEYONJAY

Okay so a couple things. I got the best score on the first challenge out of pure luck. Like just somehow I literally got to like 55k on level two when the previous times i played i couldn't get over 10k on all three levels. Unfortunately we still didn't win which fucking sucks because I didn't wanna go to the goddamn summit at all, but the other tribe chose me because i got the best score apparently. Didn't really wanna be away from my tribe for anything to change with my alliances, and really didn't wanna be put in a position that complicates my game. Ofc immediately that changes because Darian just gave me an idol. like dsfsdsf wtf. I just met the kid. It's really nice though and obviously from my last game I see that you can't abuse people's kindness like that so I'm not gonna use it against him or anything or brag and call him dumb (I'm sorry Mitchy D:) but this definitely complicates things because if I had an idol, I'd rather be the only person that knows about it and now I have to contend with the fact that this idol is basically mine AND Darian's and I have to use it in a way that benefits both of us or risk a pissed off juror. God. DONT GIVE ME IDOLS! I DONT WANT THEM! THEY COMPLICATE THINGS! He wants me to use it on Ally if my tribe loses the first immunity, but hopefully I can protect her and make that not happen regardless, or we can win, which I doubt since it's a flag challenge and I fucking suck at these.

ACE

Alright we got 2nd on the challenge which is decent. And then the next chall is a flag making competition and considering Kendall and Jared know of my abilities hopefully they can leave it up to me. I'm gonna make a wicked gif. Anyways the Summit twist is kinda cool, I got food that gave me an idol clue but it at least told me where NOT to look. I'm probably gonna stick to mountainside since random.org told me to. The Summit is Me and Keyonjay, Matt, Darian, Dani, and Johnny. I already know Dani and Matt, Darian talked with me a bit and they seem alright. They use phone emojis a lot and Im not use to seein those on my computer so its weird a bittttt! Johnny isn't online yet so idk about them just yet. Before I left Jared wanted me to talk to Keyonjay about making an alliance with them. When I heard keyonjay would be at Summit I decided to volunteer myself so I could get the question in. Keyonjay said they were ok with Jared and wanted him to join the alliance with Kendall and Nicholas... uhh no I think we just meant something between us 3 we don't need that big of an alliance even though our tribe is amazing and we'll probably barely lose anybody =') Also Kendall and I sorta already settled Jared as our possible first tribe boot so that'd just make things a bit harder maybe? WHo's even left? Ally and Amanda... that's it rofl also I don't think Ally is Mega anymore lol delete it

JOHNNY

Since joining the game, I’ve found it really difficult to legitimately communicate with people. I can’t help but think a lot of these people are dweebs, who just sit behind the computer all day blogging on tumblr and obsessing over Survivor games online I’m sure, and there’s no way I can compete with no lifes who do nothing but scratch their ballsacks all day. Any who, I do kinda know Dani, who is in the Summit with me right now, and i recognize Jared from a few other games I’ve played, but I’ve yet to approach him yet about the game, but I’m glad I have that in my back pocket. I’ve really gotta start forming some bonds with people, because the conversations I’m having with most of these people are not strong, and I wouldn’t be surprised if these try hard motherfuckers already have a majority alliance, but all I can do is contribute in challenges and hope for the best since my social game isn’t going to be too strong this early on. I’ve made a bond with Crimson on my team because we have a mutual friend, so hopefully that can take me a long way for now. My plan is to just bond with Matt since he’s the only one from my tribe I can talk to, maybe strike a deal, let him think he can do anything with me in this game, when tbh I’ll probably slit his neck soon enough anyways

tbh I get the very scary feeling that a lot of people know each other in this game, and I honestly don’t have anyone in this game that I can truly rely on like some do, and I’m never going to know who is friends with who. Now I know what it feels like to kinda be a newb in the games I play when I just target the people I don’t know… Guess I’m getting a taste of my own medicine here

DANI

Darian is getting on my nerves so badly. Like ugh, shut up for like two seconds nobody cares if you're a photographer.

So Darian's dumbass comes up to me saying Carson/Julia have an idol in the game. Do I believe him? Yeah. Do I not wanna believe him? Yeah... But that's just how the game works. Oh how I wish I had that idol... *licks lips* Oh the things I would do to it... Grrr....

CARSON

Ok so I'm pretty sure Darian just exposed that he has the idol by trying to give me a fake clue. On 1/4/17, at 7:23 PM, Darian Goggin wrote: > I got a clue to an idol On 1/4/17, at 7:23 PM, Darian Goggin wrote: > It wasn't much but it's something On 1/4/17, at 7:23 PM, Carson (albania host) wrote: > omg On 1/4/17, at 7:23 PM, Darian Goggin wrote: > Don't search the Forrest On 1/4/17, at 7:23 PM, Darian Goggin wrote: > Or the mountainside On 1/4/17, at 7:27 PM, Carson (albania host) wrote: > I guess that can be kind of helpful lol So apparently you get clues to the idol at the Summit. Hell, there could even be an idol at the Summit. But regardless he got a clue... but he should have quoted it if it was real. Plus I went to the mountainside already and got THIS: On 1/3/17, at 9:24 PM, carson (tibet host) wrote: > You come to the spot where an idol looks to have been hidden, but there's nothing here! https://media.tenor.co/images/fb3f2d1e814190100a4ae401b1660d5b/tenor.gif He told me not to go to the mountainside because he already went there and got it and he didn't want me to find out its gone! And I guess its safe to say he's working with Dani now, who I also wanted to work with. I would go to her about it, but idk if she'd leak to Darian that I'm onto him. Right now, I'm just going to lay low with this until I need to use it. It sounds to me like Dani, Seb and Elena already know each other, and if Darian goes with them, they'll have majority. I wanted to work with Julia (and by extension Chrissa), but idk if it'll work out. Once again, I don't want to pry at all because no one really has a target yet. There isn't an easy first boot, so one slip up could cost me the game. OK THE PLOT JUST THICKENED Apparently, the Namtso idol is gone... which means all the tribes are searching the same area. So maybe Darian doesn't have it... but he could be protecting someone that does. I mean he's probably in cahoots with the ppl at the summit, And we can find the other tribe's idols. I'm so fucking shook.

JULIA RAE

ok so right now i dont know what im doing bc i dont really play survivor ,,, but i think im doing alright. i talked to everyone and i rly like carson and darian but that just my opinion! also darian told me that he'd be willing to get rid of seb if it came down to it ,,,, which is ok with me idk that dude and he kinda weird ngl! hopefully we win immunity bc if we dont idk what to do!! hehe love survivor!!

TRYSTEN

Holy Shit! I fucking did not expect us to get first, but thank yoouuu Johnny! *blows a kiss to the camera* moi!

CHRISSA

I am so glad we are not going to tribal, fuck the people who said those things lol just kidding it's their opinion honestly we just don't know who will judge and what they will like. it sucks.

DANI

I feel good I feel nice I've never felt so Satisfied I'm in love I'm alive Intoxicated Flying high It feels like a dream When you touch me tenderly I don't know if it's real But I like the way I feel Inside

DARIAN

Yasss we won immunity! No tribal! Which is great because no one really is on the outs rn so no one can really be an easy vote and that's scary! But I don't have to worry about that so yay!

KEYONJAY

So we lost the first immunity challenge and this really sucks, but luckily I'm in the majority alliance and then we kinda have Jared as an extra number even though he's not really IN the alliance or the alliance chat. I still have my idol that nobody knows about so I could make some kind of move if I wanted. Darian wanted me to use it to "take out a power-player" but I'm like, not gonna do that. It's WAY too early to make a big move like that and it would be completely illogical and senseless. It's better to just go with the numbers right now and not rock the boat. Plus I don't really see anyone on our tribe as a power-player necessarily. Kendall is definitely the leader of our alliance but I wanted it that way so I can continue flying UTR and focus on my social game. Now to see who will be the first to go from our tribe. :( Sucks because I really like everybody.

MATT

Well damn. Johnny is actually the MVP for this one. We can literally just relax and pretend like we give a shit about who's leaving only because it's none of us lmao.

ACE

I'm sad we lost, I like everybody on this tribe. I don't feel like bringing Jared down just yet, I brought up that Ally had the lowest score on the Reward challenge so we could possibly just go with her. Everyone in the Mofos alliance said they wanna keep me and Kendall for doing good work in the challenge but we'll see about that. I think I'm good with mostly everybody except for Amanda and Ally. I just spoke to Amanda and she said she'll vote Ally bc they haven't spoken at allll. Amanda doesn't seem to be in any alliance whatsoever. Kendall is a strong leader in the Mofos and I like that she's more leading than I am even tho I'm the one who suggested Ally. Hopefully that'll keep the target more on her than me later on in the game. Kendall just told me Keyonjay gave her an idol clue and it's the same one I got. So that didn't help any. I guess I gotta continue filling up that mountainside grid.

ELENA

I am so happy that we aren't going to Tribal Council because I really like everyone on our tribe right now! It will be sad if we lose any time soon because they are all just very nice and interesting people. I am so greatful for Carson for doing the most of the work on the flag, I do wish he had somehow incorporated the Yaks since I did the research on Tibet, it felt like my idea was ignored a little bit. But what matters the most is that it was a very good outcome! I can't wait for the next challenge!!

KENDALL

Welp, I might have fucked myself. Why did I volunteer? Why did I think that combining two mediums is a good idea? Dear lord, what have I done? Well anyway, here's a quick recap: Ace and Keyonjay went to the summit and when they came back Keyonjay told me he had an idol clue. He gave it to me because he really didn't want an idol, apparently they are more trouble than there worth. Ace didn't tell me anything about the summit and only talked about making the flag. She only brought it up when I revealed my idol clue. This proves to me that my loyalties should lie more with Keyonjay than Ace. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway after we lost the challenge I typed in the alliance chat "well at least we know it's either me or Ace". I meant it as a joke but they freaked out and thought I was pulling a Zane. I managed to clear up the misconception but I am still not sure if they still doubt me. In order to repair some sort of relationship with her, I showed Ace the idol clue which was the same clue she got. And now I'm nervous maybe she will show receipts of the conversation to Keyonjay and shift the target on to me. It wouldn't be too difficult, I'm a bit of an unusual person to talk to and I mostly hogged the challenge that we failed. Though chances are I'm being irrational so I'm not going to risk it. If I do start panicking and try to get my alliance mates out, I'll end up putting the target on my back that I've been trying to avoid. God I hate feeling fear, it's very gross. Well, all feelings are gross... it's just this one is inconveniencing me the most currently.

#wostibet #confessionals

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