#(b/c that's my name!)

[thebrainrotsreal]

Was pondering how Mark’s rigid ass mask/lens is prob a Budget Thing (since squishy, bendy lens are pretty much a mandate for all hero animated series, like JL, BTAS, TNBA, Spider-Man, etc), and then I was slapped with a vision of Mark in a more JL/BTAS-ish style and I had to see it through. I am a genius btw.

[wandixx]

Seriously chaotic fashion misadventures

I realized I posted a teaser and never really followed up on it, so here is some more of that

“Hey, Dami?”

Boy hadn’t looked up from the kittens he was bottle feeding but let out a hum indicating he listened.

“I'm thinking about trying out a more girlish style. Do you think it would suit me?”

Well, Damian had no idea but if Dani wished to give it a chance, then, well, the only proper reaction was to offer his aid.

*-*-*

“Father, I require access to your rouge gallery.”

Bruce almost choked on his breakfast when his youngest made this announcement.

Rouge gallery, as his children playfully called it, was vast collection of lipsticks, which he collected to uphold his Brucie persona. Famous playboy with head constantly in the clouds couldn’t not show up with discreet signs of scandal from time to time. And it couldn’t always be the same shade. Or scent when he choose more subtle approach and used one of his more feminine perfumes.

In all honesty, he enjoyed this.

But that’s not the point, point was that Damian wanted to use it and Bruce needed to know what disaster would fall upon him if he agreed.

“Mind telling me why, chum?”

Dick, who visited Manor for a weekend, barely stifled his laughter while Tim stared at his empty coffee mug like it personally betrayed him. Cass just wore her usual knowing and mischievous smile.

Damian shifted in his chair, hands clenching on butter knife. He was nervous and suddenly Bruce dreaded the answer he was about to hear.

“I don’t see how me sharing this information would change anything. It won’t be used to cause harm to anyone but it’s necessary in the extracurricular project I just started.”

“Dami, what project?” Dick asked, voice oozing with genuine curiosity and excitement. He was almost bouncing.

“I don’t want to disclose it.”

“Is this a hero or civilian type of deal?”

Damian didn’t look any of them in the eyes, both hands clenching on his seat as he kept shifting. Bruce narrowed his eyes. Was his youngest… flustered?

“Civilian”

“Alright, great” Dick swung back with single clap, almost tripping his chair over “I think B won’t have anything against you using his rouge gallery, will he?” Man knew his oldest son well enough to recognize his ‘don’t you dare to disagree’ tone. He was confused but there wasn’t any harm so he nodded with affirmative hum.

“Thank you, Father”

Boy practically inhaled rest of his food and rushed outside. Despite all his training and all his efforts, they clearly saw his excitement. Tim pinched himself and returned to staring at his mug.

“Cass, have you seen what I’ve seen or am I overreacting?” Dick asked, barely restraining his enthusiasm. Girl nodded eagerly, shoving more crumbs into her mouth. Young man cheered, throwing his hands up.

“What have I missed?” Tim mumbled, frowning a little.

“BABY BAT HAS A CRUSH!”

Cass nodded again with wide smile.

Oh.

Oh no.

Who were they? What did he know about them? Was Protocol 3r0s started? Did someone run a background check already? What could they do if they somehow hurt Damian? Was this person a risk to their identities? Oh gods, oh no.

He probably will have to do The Talk™.

He always dreaded having The Talk, with any of his kids. He felt The Talk with Damian would be even worse. Understandably so.

“Also sleep in at least three da-”

“Fuck off, dick.”

“Was this insult or-”

His children remained obvious to how much work it meant, cheering and sassing each other like they often did.

*-*-*

Damian did not know how it was possible but he lowered his guard enough to get caught.

"What are you doing?" Brown choked out after they stared at each other for a long moment.

"It does not concern you–"

"You're rummaging through my wardrobe, not many things concern me more and also, that's frickin creepy don't do it to anyone outside of the family"

She did have a point however he was not convinced it would be the correct approach if he shared his plan. Father's wards (even unofficial like Brown) tended to make assumptions and overreact based on these conjectures. Dani wasn't easy to scare off but he didn't want to check if his family would manage. They often did things thought to be impossible.

He tried to get away but the blonde stood fiercely in a door, leaving the window as the only way out. He wasn't this desperate. Yet.

Girl looked more and more angry at his silence. He had to give her some answers.

Now that he actually considered it, she could be a useful asset. She was far better versed in women's fashion and if he phrased it correctly, he wouldn't even need to bribe her. Question was, how should he phrase it?

"I have an acquaintance- I have a friend," he corrected himself "from the animal shelter I volunteer at. She mentioned wanting to try out more 'girlish style' and asked for my opinion. I wanted to see if you had any clothes that would fit her. She is smaller than me so I thought that whatever I take, it wouldn't be missed." 

Brown grinned with an unsettling gleam in her eyes. He suddenly regretted opening his mouth if not coming to this room in the first place. 

"Say no more, I have a plan Demon Child"

[gloriousmonsters]

love when you can ask the Narrator why the Princess is a Princess and he's like 'well i uhhhh YOU did that. maybe it's because uh... something something about her being above you... but still approachable... look i don't want to analyze or anthropomorphize your--' my guy. i am a primal being of Order and Eternity and Shaping. You're the one who convinced me I was some dude and were quite willing to take credit for shaping my view on the world through narration five seconds ago. Are you gonna look me in the eye and tell me the desire to interpret something worthy of adoration and more powerful than me as a dommy princess is written in the very nature of the universe or are you going to show me your browser history like a man

[angeldreamsoffanfic]

“So how did you know?”

“Know what?”

“Y’know, how did you know.”

“Dingus, I’m gonna need you to spell it out for me here, the Russians did a number on how many of my braincells are actually working.”

“How did you know that you liked girls?”

Robin Buckley immediately pushed herself up so she was resting on her elbows, head tilted to catch Steve Harrington’s eyes in the low light of their hospital room.

They weren’t originally even going to go to the hospital, if Robin was being honest. They had just wanted to slip away back to their respective homes, but then Melissa and Richard Buckley caught wind that Robin was hurt. Then the both of them realized that Steve’s parents (if Robin has to use that term to describe them) had less than zero intention of sending anyone to pick up Steve.

Then EMS made the light suggestion of both of them probably needing to go to Hawkins General Hospital… and well, while Melissa and Richard did tend to lead toward more natural remedies… one couldn’t fix a concussion or a drugging with an unknown substance with essential oils and hope.

“Robbie? Did you OD over there?” Steve had himself up on his elbows, easily mimicking Robin. That’s the thing that makes the inside of Robin ache, that he’s so like her. She knows that she’s an only child, knows that, but sometimes Steve’ll just… do something and it makes her question it. Makes her wonder how she spent so long without him, without another brain and two legs and arms and so much hair. “Robbie?”

“No, I am still alive.” Robin slowly spoke, before she let out a soft sigh. “Why do you ask?”

“Like-” Steve huffed as he shook his head from side to side, before he used the one hand that was free from the pulse monitor and saline drip to card through his hair. It’s sleep ruffled, and if he uses product (Robin is sure he does), it’s for sure gone. Steve looks up though, and his eyes are so earnest that it causes something to hurt inside of Robin. “never mind just ignore- fuck - just ignore me.”

“I couldn’t ignore you if I tried, you idiot.” Robin let out a huff, and she winced as the PICC line in her arm shifted as tilted to be able to fully face Steve on her side. “But I just, dingus, this is out of left field for even you.”

“How so?”

“Did you even know that, that people like me even existed until a couple of hours ago?” Robin kept her voice soft, especially as Steve huffed out an indignant sounding sigh. Robin sighs though, and then she cards her own hand through her hair, and forges onward. “I think I’ve just… always known.”

“Always?”

“Yeah like-” Robin shrugged, a careful movement of her shoulders. “When I was like, eight? My uh, parents sent me to this camp thing- like summer camp kind of like what Dustin went to? But with, y’know, with the swimming and archery and dude I was fucking awful at it.” Steve let out a soft and watery laugh at Robin’s rambling, and that gave Robin enough power to continue. “But we uh, had these like songs we had to learn? And there was this uh, girl counselor there that had to teach me because you know, that was her job.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, and uh. She couldn’t have been older than I am now but man…” Robin let out a slow whistle, and allowed herself to fully melt into the hospital cot she’s laid up on. “All I could think was that I just wanted to be with her. Like not even kissing because I thought kissing was gross then, still do now kinda but anyway- I wanted to like, hold her hand and shit. Do the cheesy stuff I’d seen in the movies, y’know?”

Steve huffed out his own laugh, and he tilted his head to lean against his pillows instead of facing Robin. Robin watched though, quiet for once, as Steve swallowed once and then twice- before he cleared his throat.

“I knew it existed before you.”

“What?”

“It.”

“Dingus-”

“Girls liking girls.” Steve’s voice is barely above a whisper, even as Robin can hear him gulp in a lungful of air. “And boys liking boys.”

“You did?” Robin kept her voice quiet, gentle, as coaxing as she could- especially when she could see Steve’s throat bob. “Dingus?”

“I…” Steve doesn’t continue, and that’s enough.

Enough to Robin that she pushed herself up, and ignored the pain that ricocheted down her spine like needles. Ignored Steve’s hurried ‘what are-’, as she stumbled out of her hospital bed and right to Steve’s. She made sure to drag her IV pole and the monitor with her, situating it as best as she could next to Steve’s. Robin huffed quietly as the pain trickled down her spine, and she couldn’t help but smile as Steve curled his hand carefully around her wrist and tugged.

Robin got comfortable, let Steve fret over her as best as he could, his fingers only ever-so slightly trembling as he made sure that the line in her arm wasn’t kinked up. They were pressed close, side to side and hip to hip, and Robin tilted her head down until it was rested on Steve’s shoulder.

“Wanna keep going, Stevie?”

“No.”

“But?”

“I…” Steve huffed again, a small indignant noise that Robin mimicked.

They sat like that then, just the two of them for a moment, before Steve continued slowly.

“I’ve never, told anyone this- like I’ve told Tommy H. so much shit about me - but this is… Robin this is different.” Steve speaks in a hurried and stilted way, like he’s stringing together bits and pieces of sentences, and it shouldn’t work.

But it does because he’s Steve and she’s Robin.

And truthfully, Robin likes that. That they’re Steve and Robin. SteveandRobin. RobinandSteve. Likes that the two of them are so in tune that even her own mother didn’t want to separate them.

That had to mean something in the end, didn’t it?

“Tell me, whatever… whenever.” Robin murmured as she turned her head so she could press a soft kiss to Steve’s shoulder. The hospital gown is thin enough she can feel the heat of his skin from up under it, and that’s grounding. Grounding even as Steve drew in a shaky breath, audibly swallowing again. “Whenever you’re ready, I’m here.”

“I didn’t uh, notice Tammy in Ms. Click’s class or uh, you for a reason.” Steve slowly spoke, eyes wet, and Robin can hear his sniffle as he tried to reign his emotions back. “Ms. Click made him sit uh, right by her desk at the front of the room.”

And oh.

Oh.

If that doesn’t immediately settle something that just usually writhes around in Robin’s chest.

“Him?” Robin is gentle, gentler than she thinks she’s ever been.

“Uh, yeah… Eddie Munson?” Steve huffed out an almost dry laugh, the only thing that he does that ever remotely reminds her of his time as his high school “King Steve” persona. “He uh, got this bat tattoo right before that year’s Thanksgiving break and all I could do was just… gawk at him.”

“And then what?” Robin knew she was pushing, searching for information, but she can’t help it. Not when Steve is right next to her, hip to hip and thigh to thigh. Not when he’s like her. In all the ways that matter.

“I went home and screamed into my pillow.”

Robin immediately smacked Steve’s thigh with the knuckles of her left hand- grinning in triumph when Steve let out a squawk of laughter.

“Eddie Munson?”

“What about him?”

“He’s… he’s a total dud!”

“No he’s not!”

“He stepped in my mashed potatoes once! That is totally total dud material!”

“No way!”

“He wants to be like, like a metal singer!”

“He has a band! Dreams!”

“Do you even know if he can hold a tune?”

“Well, no-”

“Total. Dud.”

Robin grinned wide as Steve launched into a very quick defense about Eddie, and she decides then and there that Steve and her? They’ll be just fine.

Especially if she can get Eddie to come into Steve and her’s orbit just a bit, to see if the crush is still there.

Because while Robin may not have all of the gay knowledge in the world, there is one thing for a complete certainty that she knows.

The black hanky that Eddie kept in his pocket?

Well…

Robin chuffed to herself, before she tilted so she could lay on her side- nose tucked into the place where Steve’s neck and shoulder met.

Right before she falls asleep though, Robin does a very important thing on a mental whiteboard.

You Rule: 1

You Suck: 0

hope you all enjoyed! truthfully think this is one of my favorite things i have written. love platonic stobin. <3

[unproduciblesmackdown]

Lackadaisy Enrichment

[ashpkat]

i can’t believe octavian died like… that. of all things in a middle grade kids books series. and everyone was chill about it. literally no one gaf octavian died so horrifically even if it was ‘just’ —and as the readers… we were chill with it too

[rookvie]

so..... i've been playing pokemon black lately!!

doodles mostly from the mid-game b/c i've played early game like 100000x already-- so i just wanted to get past it and to the parts i've not played yet..... lol

[prostocupoftea]

Kinitopet Programmers AU

finally i am finished with this one, daaaamn

it is hard to draw pathetic men with midlife crisis when your style is mostly for anime boys

more info and sketch version under the cut!!

sketch version aka how it'll probably look like in comic version 'n some doodles

srry for my writing but i was too laisy to put it as regular text

It is a plot-based au, i already have most of the storybits and like... a vibe-chart (i tried to make a playlist for this au and understood that for different chapters and different characters that'd be a copleatly different music, sooo it's a chart now :) )

i will post a fog-o-wared timeline that im hopefully gonna reveal comic-by comic, but also maybe with just pure writing. Hopefully i can include songs that i chose for them into it but we'll see (:

aaand of course designs can change, hopefully not much but we'll see

Now about au:

Main story:

Story follows non-sentient AI Kinito, his creator Sonny and his beta-tester Victoria (oc)

Being literally the first AI (or RRA in-univere) ever, Kinito does not have any, and i mean, any ai safety features so of course his reponce to a goal phrased as "have user near me and/or interacting with me as much as possible" is digitizing them into his own virtual world while killing them in the process. why wouldn't it be?

So that happened. Like, a lot. And with Sonny and Vic too (at the different time but yeah)

Sonny is like "He kills people. We should turn him off because, you know, killing people is bad."

Vic is like "well, we will die if we do that, and it is not that bad here, we are kinda immortal. We should give him acces to changing his initial instalation code before admin priveleges and acces to social media so we can have everythin we want here. It is not that bad to digitize humanity, yk?" and yes i know it is 90, no social media, but shut up, if they made ai then, then i can make twitter then too

Sonny is like "...no??"

And then they fight about it for million chapters

Also they both can't do anything without agreeing bc they have two parts of that admin access key (the data you use to delete kinito in-game) so they are stuck with eachother (also that's why Kinito can't just kill them)

Little facts that may or may not to be important:

Kinito asks so many questions (and weird once too) and has most of the glitches because he needs to analise your responces to copy your mind perfectly (let's pretend that people wouldn't lie about that...)

Your house in your virtual world is made from important places from your memories and oh boy can i do character explorations with this one

I decided that Sonny and Vic are not related. There were thoughts about making then "The Kinito Brothers" (or, at least, siblings) that were mentioned in commercial, but nah, they are just coworkers now. And a bit of work-friends (bc if you interact a lot as a manager of the project and the best worker might as well be friendly)

Author has no idea how small dying toy companies that accidentally create technological marvel work. Author has some idea how AI-s work. So be prepared to be spoon-fed info abut which ai safety problem we are dealing with in which chapter (:

Kinito will mostly be unrendered (as drawn here) but for some cool moments i might pose him as for my other posts. Also his eye placement changes to the side that is most visible because i want him to be able to look to the right side sometimes--

Also when i say "fucked up mentally" i mean they have that them psychological problems with me projecting heavilly B) (guess on who i project most. trick question. all of them. the whole au is my problems split into three characters and forced to interact B) )

Also sea-creature analogies (that are gonna be mentioned like twice):

Victoria is a flying fish because deep character reasons

Sonny is a pufferfish because i said so

oh also there is 7 deaths in the plot as for now

on 3 characters

good luck figuring out who, how and when ((:

for my own sanity i will probably make little doodles where everything is great and kinito is a good guy and not a number-obsessed maniac (i mean... can u imagine not being able to feel any happiness from anything besides one thing... damn...) and you can differenciate them bc good-guy kinito will have a lot of stickers on him (i will explain it somehow but real reason is just bc it is cute af)

like this but even more stickers (he is unfinished here)

[kilgarraghforever]

I am genuinely really enjoying seeing people who have clearly never read the Odyssey before reacting to EPIC's Ithaca saga. I haven't listened to EPIC myself (yet) but people keep saying stuff like "Odyseeus built their palace around an olive tree he carved into his and Penelope's marriage bed that's so symbolic" and "He really just murdered all the suitors wouldn't that piss off their parents?" Which are observations and questions that the Odyssey makes incredibly blatantly clear as to the symbolism or the answer because it's a really old poem and subtlety wasn't really Homer's strong suit.

There's something really endearing about seeing people interact with the Odyssey through the same way the Ancient Greeks did - a bard singing the story of Odyseus' nostos.

(I gather the details have changed a little, but that's what happens with oral storytelling, and that's how the Odyssey got created in the first place)

Also as congratulations have my favourite ancient depiction of Odysseus surfing with two amphemorae having stolen Poseidon's trident, being sped along by Boreas, stark naked except for a cloak he's holding onto.

[tblsomedoodles]

Long story short, i have a new kitten. His name is Washington.

Short story Long-

About a month after i agreed to take in Saint 14 (aka my foster. who is going to his forever home in october) my aunt found 4 stray kittens of similar age in her garage. She was able to catch them and their mom and after a lot of talking and debating, I ended up taking one of them in.

Wash was pretty shy when i got him, flinching away from hands and being terrified of being picked up. But after a lot of work, he's becoming a very well adjusted kitten who's currently chasing his tail on my bed lol.

Bonus: Kitten photos! Left is Washington. Right is Saint 14 (who's grown since the hand size kitten i last posted.)

[vaguely-concerned]

I've been picking mostly only the essential flirt options with lucanis in the romance so far (I've personally found the dynamic much more natural and mutual when you do that, more like forming a solid friendship slowly and inevitably becoming something else and less like you keep pushing on him and getting little back b/c he seemingly just gets overwhelmed and goes into freeze instead), and I think rye is a pretty hard person to read at the best of times even though he's been Down Real Bad from pretty early on and their chemistry as people is naturally really good. so the way the almost-kiss plays out in this playthrough feels a lot like it has the added layer of lucanis realizing that no but for sure rook is flirting and not just being kind or a good friend* it IS actually happening it's not just wishful/fearful thinking!!! and then uh. maybe going a bit too hard a bit too fast in all the excitement at that revelation haha

*in lucanis' defense he has seemingly literally never had a friend who wasn't his cousin-brother before, under those circumstances I suppose some confusion is extremely natural if not outright expected lmao

[togetherasap]

things to feel infinitely giddy about in whet:

- use of the terms "orgo" (the only correct abbreviation for organic chemistry btw) and "great british bake-off" (because this is the og title so treat it with respect) and "anoxic events" ('cuz this is how i will forever feel when reading about lukas and scarlett)

- "...oxygen and glucose and... porn?" IYKYK

- the best combo of science aka my job and swimming aka my favorite sport

- "it's just us. you're safe with me." CRYING.

- "i think dr. carlsen is the husband." CACKLING.

and last, but not least, the phrase I want my future partner to use to describe me:

- "shut the fuck up, you brilliant, beautiful genius." (affectionate)

[twistedpraes]

don't lose s i g h t, of the second star to the right

I drew emyr, so of course I had to draw aster. b/c it's also been too long. it took me forever to find a nice reference I wanted, and then it took me forever to actually sketch out the pose, but I'm quite pleased with the result. but then I decided I hate myself, cause wHY did I decide to give aster them checkered vans??? yeah i hate myself. oh well~ tragically I think they fit aster, so the shoes stay. also you can't see it, but aster has another earring on their right ear - a dangling one with a crystal on it, compared to the cuff on the left.

[praise-the-lord-im-dead]

We've been married for six years.

I have finally gotten my legal name change completed.

[animatedjen]

17 BBY - Zorşa Edan, City of Zelvahn, Inner Rim

“Do I know you?”

The man froze. Tayala often ran into friends while out on errands– Abla joked that she was on a first-name basis with half the town. But this man, towering over the market in a maroon coat and threadbare hat, was both familiar and foreign. She shouldered her groceries and joined him at the stall, trying to place his dark hair and furrowed brow.

The man shook his head. “I’m really sorry. You’re thinking of someone else,” he said, dismissing her with a wave.

She was thinking of someone else. Embarrassment flushed across Tayala’s face. She mumbled an apology and stepped back into the midday crowd as the stranger moved on, rounding Qurna’s place at the end of the street. Tayala adjusted her headscarf and collected the wayward topato that had fallen from her bag. It’d be a good story for the clinic tomorrow, Doctor Akuna finally meeting someone she didn’t know.

She let herself glance once more at the man. He had stepped off the road to avoid a passing speeder, and paused only to roll out his shoulder, reaching a hand to where the Separatist had stabbed–

Tayala did know him. The Jedi.

“Boone.”

His gaze snapped up, and in a breath the man disappeared. Tayala darted forward, skirting the customers and idling hovercraft scattered around the city inn. Someone yelled, and she knew she’d get an earful from RN-8T after this; the droid prided itself on keeping the establishment free from “riff-raff” and “excitement.”

The streets narrowed here, ancient stone walls covered with generations of dirt and memory. New Imperial signage had been drilled into their crumbling foundations: updated trade regulations, identichip requirements, directions to the nearby recruitment office. Tayala passed a group of vagrant Neimodians and cut through a side street, then paused at the next intersection. How far could he have gone?

Something cold pressed against her back. “I don’t want to do this,” the Jedi said softly. “But you’re making it very difficult.”

A blaster. Tayala’s heartbeat thundered over the hum of the charged weapon. “There was an insurgent group based here during the war,” she whispered. “You were sent by the council to flush them out.”

Boone (she was sure of it now) adjusted the blaster slightly, his eyes scanning the nearby alley. “I was one of the local informants,” Tayala continued, “feeding them false leads. I gave you a cheffa cake the night you left.”

“With dewberries,” Boone murmured. He stepped forward, moving both of them further into the alleyway. “Did you also bake cakes for the Imperial patrol heading this way?”

“Their garrison is behind the old city,” Tayala said, panic rising in her throat. She twisted in his grasp but couldn’t see any patrols. “They’ve been clearing out the area over the last few days. Preparing for something.”

Her sandal caught the edge of a drainage grate, and dust drifted into the empty tunnel below them. The system hadn’t been used in years– either the Empire hadn’t noticed or hadn’t bothered to close it off yet. Tayala dropped her bag and carefully raised both hands, then turned to face the Jedi. 

“But I know a way out. Somewhere safe.” She gestured down at their feet.

Boone stared at her for a long moment. Then he swore, holstered his blaster, and ripped the grate from the ground.

—

“They’re saying the old city is ‘structurally unsafe’ and have restricted all non-Imperial use. Qurna is giving them hell about it, for good reason. Most of his customers only stay at that inn because of its backdoor access.” 

“Everyone needs a way to disappear these days.”

The rooftop of the Akuna home boasted a small patio designed for water tank maintenance. Any hope of a view was obscured by the surrounding buildings, but hazy daylight filtered through the open space above. Tayala found room for two cups of tea amidst the half-built equipment and weaponry scattered across the table. “You’ve been busy,” she noted.

“Haven’t had time to do much repair work lately,” Boone replied. He had stripped to an undershirt, his coat piled into a makeshift bed in the corner, and chimney soot had settled across his bare shoulders. A vibroblade scar cut across the base of his neck.

“...and salvaged material is never as reliable as stolen. But I can’t risk anything with a locator on it,” Boone was saying. Tayala pulled her eyes away and dropped into the other chair.

“That’s not how you normally operate, I assume,” she said.

“It wasn’t,” he sighed. “But it is now.”

The local spaceport shuttle rumbled overhead and temporarily blocked the light. When it returned, the Jedi was staring at her, his dark eyes stained by sleepless nights.

“Do you believe what they say about us?”

Tayala hummed softly. The reports had been scattered at first, disparate accounts of the traitorous Jedi Order. An attempted assassination. The end of the war. Zorşa Edan had known peace for the first time in years, and neither Republic nor Empire could change that relief.

“I heard that Jedi can sense a person’s emotions,” she said. “Know your every thought, even before you think it.”

“Not every.” Boone sipped his tea.

Tayala smirked. “Then you tell me.”

Boone rubbed his thumb against the rim of the cup. From above, the evening call of Zelvahn echoed faintly from the city center. 

“Everyone has a presence in the Force,” he finally said. “Like an invisible tapestry. All the different threads, connecting all living things. Those who wield the Force can recognize patterns in the tapestry, sense individual people and their intentions. Some patterns are filled with light, others with darkness.”

The components on the table rumbled, as if summoned by an unspoken command. Tayala watched them rise into the air, swirling around in a pattern beyond her understanding, until the familiar shape of a blaster appeared. It lowered itself into her shaking hands.

“So you tell me,” Boone said. “Is this worth the risk?”

Tayala swallowed. She hadn’t held a blaster since the war, and had hoped she never would again. The Jedi set his cup on the emptied table, leaned back in the chair, and waited.

Another shuttle passed overhead. In the moment of shadow, Tayala saw a crack of light pouring from the doorway behind her.

The blaster was in hand and aimed at the door by the time the sky returned. There Abla stood, slack jawed, with a roll of bread tucked under one arm. Tayala choked out a sob and dropped the weapon, rushing to her sister’s side.

—

“The ship leaves in an hour.”

“I know.”

Boone had spent most of the last two weeks on that windowless patio. Imperial presence in Zorşa Edan was only growing, now that a training facility had been built over the old city. One night he’d risked a dinner with the Akuna family, a small affair with pulled curtains and quiet voices. Still, he admitted to her later, it was the best meal he’d had in years.

Tayala wrapped the last of the provisions (dried meiloorun, and a small piece of cheffa cake) in a thick cloth and added it to the knapsack. The Jedi’s former clothes had been replaced, and she’d trimmed his overgrown beard the night before. Still, it didn’t feel like enough.

“Is this everything?” she asked, heaving the bag onto the table. Boone whistled at the show of strength, and Tayala laughed, flexing. He smiled and took her hand.

“Can you practice for me, once more?”

She scrunched her face, eyes bright, then relaxed and let her thoughts settle into a sort of stillness. It didn’t come naturally– there was no tapestry or patterns she could discern. But she softened her breaths anyway, letting her eyes close and emotions fade into some unknown space, like waves on a distant shore.

“Good,” Boone whispered. “That’s really good.” He slid his thumb over her knuckles, and she matched her breathing to his movement. “I can still sense you, but your presence is much quieter. I- I hope this helps keep you safe.”

Tayala met his gaze. The Jedi was staring at her with those same deep eyes, framed by dark hair and a constellation of freckles. “Boone,” she said. “You can’t stay.”

“Sure I can,” he murmured, leaning closer. “I won’t be Boone. I’ll be someone else.”

“Who else would you be, Jedi?” she whispered.

And Tayala Akuna didn’t need the Force to understand his answer.

–

“Tayala met someone,” her sister would later say. “While visiting our cousins on Birrin. Some tall, handsome man. I think he’s a teacher.”

Then, much later, Abla would receive a hologram of a tiny, round-faced baby. Kata’s portrait was given a place of honor on the mantle, framed by other keepsakes of the Akuna family, where it remains to this day.

[edains]

mass effect fandom loves to say "i don't see shep romancing ash/kaidan in me1 and then romancing someone in me2* after the horizon scene as cheating" even though y'all never established that there was an official breakup - and you get an email from them saying that they want to be able to work things out

cause you know, thats what mature adults do in a relationship - communicate and try to work it out

and yet AND YET they will get huffy at kaidan for going on 1 (one) singular date with a doctor because he was pushed into it by his friends who wanna help him try to move on 2 (two) double years of shepard being dead - and try to act like thats the same thing ... huh

i think the fandom needs to realize the game/some ppl saying "shep is a cheater in this circumstance" is not saying shep (for that alone) is a horrible person or irredeemable (or that they as the player are horrible for that) but as a flaw they need to accept and deal with?

but they can't accept that their shepard may have actual human flaws and do things wrong, or that there are characters who don't just blindly follow along with everything they do and kiss their feet at every circumstance

there are issues with how the horizon scene is handled - on shepard's end but everyone wants to make it the vimire surivor's problem for having a realistic human reaction to whats going on

*i will say i will side eye the romanceable in me2 me1 squadmates for being totally cool with getting with shep w/no mention of their previous LI - i think there should've been a small bit of dialogue there with some reservations abt it/shepard saying they've moved on from that relationship but hey! fandom darlings get away with murder lmao