#and Zara is just like not all of us are size queens sorry

[meandmypagancrew]

Earlier today I asked @yeoldespacebuns to cast Spring Awakening using actresses from Six, which is something we do back and forth with each other quite often, and is always a joy, and so naturally she wanted my cast after she gave hers, so... here it is!

Explanations under the cut!

Melchior - Vidya Makan

It had to be a Parr, right? I mean, that thirst for knowledge, and for education. Vidya was my first thought. I think when you hear her Hurricane, you’ll see it too, because even that fits in with Parr as well, just… evil.

Wendla - Maiya Quansah-Breed

Maiya’s Parr for me is fairly soft-spoken, and is quiet and gentle, but inside has that deep fire. Like, her Parr holds her ground, but never loses it, which I think is important for the musical’s portrayal of Wendla. She’s not just a passive watcher to her story, she’s an active participant. Things don’t just happen to her, though a lot of commentary of the show often acts like she does, which I think mirrors Parr fairly easily- people just thinking she was someone who had things happen to her, but then she shows that deep inner strength, and I think Maiya does that best for me.

Moritz - Jennifer Caldwell

Now, when I asked Mollie, I specified up front that we were ignoring ages, because of course I would always prefer younger women playing the younger characters, but if I start with that, I’ll never stop. So instead we’re just going to ignore that, and Jennifer I’ve really enjoyed in every role I’ve witnessed her in, and as you pointed out, Moritz’s character changes. I think that if she can do that switch in seven minutes from Howard’s flirty celebration of her sex appeal to that broken realization of where she’s ended up and it isn’t what she wanted, then I think she could manage it.

Ilse - Alicia Corrales-Connor

Okay, so this was actually my first and more clear choice for me. In fact, in watching her I’d Rather Be Me was the moment that I started casting SA in my head with the Six girls, so Alilse is the heart of it. I think that normally Alicia is a little sunbeam, but a lot of times recently when she’s been experimenting with darker makeup really does paint Ilse’s sort of punk rock side, but then in the Heart of Stone, it also showed her on a deeply soft side that still has that inner strength inside, which I think we see in a lot of Ilse’s musical moments, like Blue Wind.

Hanschen - Kala Gare

I mean, a Boleyn seemed pretty obvious here. That’s the biggest flirt in the show, saving for Howard, but Howard comes around and realizes that it’s really not where she belongs and was done for others, whereas Boleyn more dies with her flirtation intact. I’m not really sure why I landed on Kala- she wasn’t my first choice, but once I decided on my Ernst, I came back because I feel like Kala would fit best with her, more than my first choice. Kala would hold her ground stronger in that dynamic, and Hanschen has all the power in that situation, so that’s important.

Ernst - Sophie Isaacs

When I was first introduced to Sophie, I wasn’t entirely sure about her as Howard, but the longer I’ve had to sit with her, the more she’s grown on me. And quite frankly, I can’t wait until I can start giffing the bootleg of her as Howard. But there’s just something about her that is quite soft and delicate, and the size difference between her and Kala is something that I would love to see. I adore height differences, and honestly that might be one of the few things that can make this dynamic comfortable for me. (I’m sorry, I just don’t ship any of the ships from SA, it’s hard for me to get on board with any ship that uses language like bruising each other in their love song.)

Georg - Hazel Karooma-Brooker

Hazel! Do I just miss giffing Hazel and wanted an excuse for it? Maaaaaybe. I don’t know, I would adore more content of her, but even with what little we have, she really speaks to me, and I think that comedic relief is something that Hazel could do beautifully, because even just the smaller Boleyn lines can totally kill me with her delivery.

Otto - Jasmine Shen

Truly, you worded it best. Otto is indeed there. Honestly, all we know about him is that he had a wet dream about his mother and he has that little moment in Touch Me. Which, what little we’ve heard of Jasmine I think she’s got a pretty voice and I would like to hear more, and also I don’t know, I wanted to gif her, because she’s so gorgeous.

Martha - Anna Uzele

Okay, so this was another one that came to me quickly. From what I’ve observed of Anna’s Parr, she’s a lot more... anxious. A bit nervous. Which is common in abuse survivors, you’re always expecting the next thing so your guard is up, and the first thought that came to me of that observation was Anna. I would also like to see her doing something with more internal parts- all of Parr is a presentation and performative.

Thea - Millie O’Connell

Thea is a character with not as clear characterization as some others, which can be a little inconvenient, but she does seem to me as one of the more excitable and higher energy of the girls, so of course.. who better than Millie? She’s cute and high energy and I think she would have a lot of fun with it which would be fun to watch on our part.

Anna - Shannen Alyce Quan

Shannen is really cute and I would love to see more content of her in the future, but due to the lack so far I can’t quite put her in a bigger role because I’m not sure about her, but she really does have a lot of promise that I’m looking forward to a lot more. And I’d take her as Wendla as well!

Adult Woman - Jodie Steele

Jodie is not one of the oldest queens at all, but... for some reason, she does look a lot older. I’m not saying she isn’t talented, because she absolutely is so, so talented and skilled, she just seems to have aged at a rate faster than most actresses. So I wanted to include her, and this seemed the best fit!

Adult Man - Zara Macintosh

Okay, come on, no one really needs another rant about how much I love Zara, do they? I’ve already done so many!

If you’ve read this far, congratulations! And if you want to see me do another show with just Six actresses (or just Six with Comet actresses or whatever, you do you, I’d like to see all of it) then please, send them all over!

[amphtaminedreams]

S/S 2020 Fashion Month: A Basic, Uneducated Fashion Heaux’s A-Z of Everything Noteworthy (Part 3/3)

Hi to anyone reading,

I’m finally at the end!

It’s only taken me, like, over 2 months but I’m finally about to review the last 5 shows I wanted to talk about from this year’s RTW offerings for S/S 2020. It’s very frustrating that I couldn’t include them in the last post and make this a nice, neat, equally sized two part thing but Tumblr was being difficult and so here I am. On the plus side, I guess I can also make this post a bit of a round-up of my ultimate favourite collections of this year and some of my absolute favourite looks!

To quickly finish my review though, I’m gonna start this post with Vivienne Westwood’s S/S 2020 collection!

And I hate to start the post on a downer but I wasn’t wild about it. The bridal look worn by Bella Hadid and the similarly structured red dress are the only pieces that I really love. The accessories are beautiful, especially the shell necklace, and the fitted corset upper halves are very flattering, however, there’s just nothing particularly exciting about this collection for me.

As for YSL’s S/S 2020 collection, my opinion is pretty similar. Don’t get me wrong, I personally love the embroidered pieces, and the jewell tones, and the whole art teacher/female Russell Brand vibe (I’m aware this is my second Russell Brand comparison of this review, don't @ me) but why does there have to be SO GODDAMN MANY FUCKING SEQUIN SUITS? I included a couple of the more interesting ones just for reference and can you believe that’s only about 1/10 of the sequin suits that were actually shown. I feel like they genuinely made up a good 33% of the show. It’s so boring and overdone from Saint Laurent, like you really can’t convince me that they didn’t do this exact same thing last year and the Eiffel Tower being in the background and the presence of the goddess that is Naomi Campbell and all the fancy lighting in the world isn’t a distraction enough because they DID THAT LAST YEAR TOO. It’s just disappointing from a brand like YSL who really has the money to take it to any wacky and inventive place that they want, and who has drawn on so many historical and cultural references in the past; the bohemian looks I am here for, everything else can go.  

Next is Zadig and Voltaire, which is obviously more of a pedestrian brand than YSL, but still...disappointing. 

I guess disappointing is the wrong word really because it’s not as if I had especially high hopes, it’s just that in comparison to a collection like Off-White’s, which was also a lot more of a “wearable” line, this is very Stradivarius/Zara/H&M/any member of the Inditex group. I like the ruffles, but we’ve seen them done in a much more interesting way in pretty much every other show and same with the blazers and suits. Even the styling of the teal faux fur coat, which I adore, is meh. Even Emily DiDonato can’t save it for me and that’s saying something because she honestly might be one of the most beautiful women on this planet.

On a more positive note, Zimmerman was beautiful. In a collection inspired by the ocean, the tranquil colour palette, the ornate, frothy ruffles and the flowing materials are dead on, and indulgently so. I can see most of these pieces having universal appeal and looking good on anyone, and yet this wearability doesn’t make the collection boring by any means; I think it really is a matter of having a clear concept and attention to detail that save more subtle shows from falling by the wayside. 

And lastly, Zuhair Murad, which is always a designer I look forward to; I love a good princess dress and on that, he always delivers.

However, whilst there’s a similar feel and colour palette to Zimmerman, I’d say this collection doesn’t have quite as clear a direction. There’s definitely a lot of recurring themes of the ruffles and the high necks and the bohemian prints and suits that we’ve seen throughout fashion month, but this still doesn’t feel like the most relevant or current collection I’ve ever seen from Murad. It goes without saying that the dresses are beautiful but in the context of a red carpet where every dress is a princess dress, I can’t imagine any of these taking my breath away which is usually the case. 

I really WANTED to end on a positive note, I’m sorry! And there were so so many amazing moments this season. In general, I’m excited for a lot of the trends that are seemingly going to be coming up: more of the milkmaid thing, peasant blouses, bohemian influences and a shit load of gorgeous suits!

I was going to try and do a top 10 but I honestly have too many favourites so I’m making into a...top 20. It sounds like a cop-out, but when there’s THIS many shows to go through I think a top 20 is perfectly fair. 

1. Gucci

It has to be my favourite overall. The clearest concept, the most beautiful colours, and a whole range of interesting accessories and structures. Blew everything else out the water. Might make like Elsie Fisher in Eighth Grade and just start randomly saying Gucci out loud at totally inappropriate moments to express my love.

2. Marc Jacobs

Kooky and in your face but also thoughtful and delicate. Every piece is a statement. 

3. Moschino

The intersection where art meets fashion is always my favourite place to lurk and so it’s not surprise that Moschino’s Picasso inspired collection ticked so many boxes for me. Aside from that, the structures are gorgeous and on trend and I love the accessories.

4. Valentino

So. Many. Heavenly. Dresses.

5. Mugler

Definitely the sexiest S/S 2020 collection.

6. Paco Rabanne

I mean, yes, it is a little primary school teacher-y (it’s probably the coloured socks), but a fashion-y, wear-it-to-the-club version of primary school teacher style.

7. Ralph and Russo

A prissy pastel dream that channels the Sandra Dee sleepover scene from Grease in the modern day, the only thing that could’ve added to the Ralph and Russo show would be a more diverse group of models.

8. Brock

There’s never going to be an appropriate moment to wear any of the garments from the Brock collection. Does that mean I’m going to stop thinking about it? Never.

9. Balmain

I know Balmain didn’t go down too well with the fashion critics but the noughties pop girls obsessed child in me loveddddd it.

10. Etro

Not the most high-fashion but I would wear.

11. Dion Lee

Dion Lee took corsets and suspenders and harnesses and turned that whole dominatrix trend on its head by pairing them with androgynous silhouettes, fresh whites and subtle nude tones, and I’m here for it!

12. Alessandra Rich

Eighties presidential candidate’s wife/sorority queen realness.

13. Dilara Findikoglu

Definitely my favourite of the more “avant-garde” shows we saw this year.

14. Oscar de la Renta

These dresses speak for themselves, do I really need to say any more?

15. Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane made galaxy print cool again for the first time since it was murdered by 2013 “hipster” Tumblr and then buried 6ft under by the plethora of £5 and under wholesale retailers who thought it would be a good idea to mass produce leggings with said print on. 

16. Loewe

Delicate, purposeful and refined, Loewe put out a practical yet very, very pretty and season-appropriate spring collection.

17. Thom Browne

Thom Browne brought Marie Antoinette onto the runway. ‘Nuff said.

18. Louis Vuitton

I will never turn my nose up at anything 70s influenced and Louis Vuitton’s collection was probably the most authentic (and thus kinda ugly at times) that I’ve seen.

19. Simone Rocha

If I ever became part of some modern day witchy, forest-God worshipping cult, I would expect us all to be wearing Simone Rocha’s 2020 S/S collection and nothing less.

20. Vera Wang

Jenny Humphrey in Gossip Girl for the 2019 e-girl xoxo

SO.

3 parts and 3 months later, this is my review of fashion month 2019 coming to an end. I mean, it’s actually closer to A/W 2020 fashion week now than it is to S/S 2020 buuuut let’s just forget that little detail because I had NO FUCKING IDEA it would take this long.

If there’s anyone out there who read this to the end (and I highly, highly doubt there is and I don’t blame you) or even anyone that looked at the pictures (which is probably what I would do), please let me know! It got a bit long at times but I have generally reallllly enjoyed doing this and more than anything it’s got me sad that I’ll never see these shows in person :( sad times :( oh to be on the benefiting end of nepotism :( 

Thank you sooo much!

Lauren x

[wolfpawn]

I Hate You, I Love You, Chapter 63

Chapter Summary - Danielle meets Sophie for lunch, then bumps into another friend who decides to give Danielle some assistance, but what will occur if she accidentally meets Tom?

Previous Chapter

Rating - Mature (some chapters contain smut)

Triggers - references to Tom Hiddleston’s work with the #MeToo Movement. That chapter will be tagged accordingly.

authors Note - I have been working on this for the last 3 years, it is currently 180+ chapters long.  This will be updated daily, so long as I can get time to do so, obviously

tags: @sweetkingdomstarlight-blog​ @jessibelle-nerdy-mum​ @nonsensicalobsessions​ @damalseer​ @hiddlesbitch1​ @winterisakiller​ @fairlightswiftly​ @salempoe​ @lys-syl @youcantcatchafallingstar

If you wish to be tagged, please let me know.

“Tom?” Danielle knocked on the door of Tom’s study before entering. When she walked in she was welcomed to the sight of him pacing frantically, repeating a line over and over in different tones, trying to find the right timbre to give it the emotion he wished to convey. He did not seem to notice her for a minute but stopped and looked at her as soon as he did. “You need some lunch.”

“I will, at one or half-past.”

“It’s two o’clock, Tom.”

“Shit.” He rubbed his hands over his face. “I don’t have time to go down and…”

Danielle left the room for only a moment before returning with a tray that had soup, a salad, two bottles of water, a teapot covered in a tea cosy and a cup with milk. “I know, so I brought it to you, read over lines, add notes and eat.” She ordered.

Tom’s frustration dissipated as he looked at the meal she had prepared for him, his grimace became a smile and he walked over to her and kissed her. “Thank you.”

“I told you, I would help keep you on track when we are both here.”

“I love you so much, Elle,” He kissed her again. “You’re never allowed leave.”

Danielle smiled before laughing. “Are you going to tie me up and forbid me from leaving?”

“That sounds like fun.” Tom grinned back before looking at her clothes. “You got changed, are you going somewhere?”

“I was going to meet Sophie for a while in Camden.”

Tom gave her another kiss. “But what if you are spotted?”

“Well then, when we become public I am sure someone will accuse Sophie of getting me to ensnare you and together we will rule the two boyfriends of the internet, Mwahahahahaha.” Danielle lasted only a moment before she erupted in giggles, Tom joining her immediately after. “But no, Ben’s not there either, he’s spending daddy-son time with Christopher, so no one will care and if they do see us it will be ‘Sophie Hunter and Friend’.”

“In that case, have a wonderful time, we are leaving for Luke’s at eight.”

“I plan on being home to cook a meal before we go.”

“Well, how about I have something ready for six?”

“How about I tell you I love you, but that I know you’ll be too engrossed in this so I will be home at five to cook?” Danielle retorted.

“Meany.”

“You know it’s true.”

“Well hurry along, every minute with me is wasting time you could spend with Sophie, are you driving?”

“I’ll get the Tube, quicker than finding parking. Text me if you need me to pick anything up.”

“Basil.”

“You’ve got it Sweet Cheeks, don’t work too hard.”

“No promises, have fun, Elle.”

*

“Hello, stranger.” Elle hugged Sophie as best she could with a baby belly in the way. “I was bold.”

“Do not tell me those are for my son.” Sophie scolded as she looked at the baby boutique bags in Danielle’s hand.

“No.” There was a sceptical look on Sophie’s face. “Some are for Bubble.”

“Elle!”

“I’m sorry, they were too cute.”

“We don’t know what we’re having.”

“They’re neutral, come on. I have no nieces and nephews, let me spoil your kids.”

“You’re terrible.”

“I know and I’m not even remotely sorry.” Danielle shrugged, earning an eye roll from Sophie. “So, how was Christmas?”

“Tiring. Thankfully Christopher hasn’t grasped it all yet, but he’s teething, so we were up half the night anyway.”

“Ooh, not nice.”

“Ben tried to let me get some sleep, but I can’t get comfortable so I was tossing and waking every time Kit was groaning.”

“There’s no winning, meds aren’t the answer, but they are so small it hurts them so much.” Danielle nodded sympathetically.

“Exactly, you seem to get it more than people with kids, all they keep saying is ‘try this’ and ‘try that’ and getting offended if it doesn’t work.”

“Saying that it worked for them so you either did it wrong, are calling them a liar or saying they don’t know what they are talking about.” Danielle finished.

“THANK YOU!” Sophie caused a few people to jump with her half shout. “Finally, someone who gets it.” She sighed, “I’m sorry, I am just unloading, I am so much stress and hormones some days and Ben is as tired, if not more with work.”

“First of all, you are allowed get annoyed, and secondly, give me learning lines over carrying a human being in my stomach, that shit is never easy.”

Sophie frowned. “How are you getting this more than most parents do, you don’t even have nephews and nieces.”

“Because I am able to see from the outside looking in,” Danielle shrugged. “So, what plans have you for tonight?”

“Dinner, then sleep.”

“Good plan.”

“Tim and Wanda are stealing Christopher for the night, I think Ben called hem to ask them for a night’s peace, I am not complaining. I need one good night’s sleep and I will be back to myself a bit, right now I feel like I am on the verge of erupting from tiredness.”

“So another coconut slice then?” Danielle offered.

“Fuck it.” Sophie turned to get out of the chair.

“Don’t you dare get up, I’ll get it, you cherish your decaf tea,” Danielle ordered going to the counter to retrieve the last slice of the cake for her friend. “There you are.”

“What happened your hand?” Sophie had not realised with the long sleeves that Danielle was sporting a wrist brace.

“Fell off a bike on Christmas Eve.” Danielle dismissed. “Small tiny fracture.”

“Not fun, how did Tom react?”

“Like I was base jumping, no he was scared because my phone was broken in the fall so it took hours for him to be told what happened to me.”

“Poor Tom.”

“Came to the hospital to bust me out, they wanted to keep me in because they thought I might have a concussion, but he demanded I come home, didn’t leave me do anything too strenuous all Christmas.”

“Of course not. So what are your plans for tonight?”

“Going to a party that Luke is insisting on having, though, between you and me, I think that’s his way of having all his clients in one place and not making a show of themselves in public.” Danielle smiled.

“You might not be wrong there. Have you something to wear?”

“Stop, Tom found this thing in my wardrobe I should never have bought and begged me to bring it.”

“Wait, you owned it?”

“Yes, I bought it a few years ago, I have no idea why.”

“Right, sorry, for a second I thought he was forcing you to wear something he got from somewhere, my brain is frazzled.”

“Jesus no, I don’t think Tom would ever do such a thing.”

“Do you want to wear it?”

“It’s very...not me.”

“How so?”

“Well, look at me, I am plaid shirts and jeans, not dresses.”

“So you can’t have both? You never were a girlie girl, were you?”

“We lived in the countryside, I had horses and helped my dad on the holidays with calves and testing and all that, what do you think?” Danielle laughed.

“Zara Phillips works with horses and look at her life.”

“Who?” Danielle stared blankly at Sophie, having no idea who she was talking about.

“Zara Phillips, the Queen’s granddaughter, Princess Anne’s Daughter.” Danielle shook her head to indicate she had no idea who that was. “I forget you guys don’t know anything about our Royal Family.”

“Don’t know, don’t care.” Danielle dismissed. “If it doesn’t affect my daily life, not interested. I only have enough energy to look after me and mine, after that, not interested.”

“Good way to be.”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“Tom and I have this thing planned with Luke, if we get a chance, we are going to release this ourselves, including all about me.”

“A great idea.” Sophie smiled. “Sort of like our engagement announcement.”

“Minus a baby for us.”

“Would you want that some day?”

“What?”

“Marriage, children?”

“Perhaps,” She answered first before smiling. “Yes. Why?”

“Nothing, curious, you were so good with Christopher.” Sophie smiled. “So, the question?”

“How do you prepare for it. I mean, meeting all these people he works with. I know you have your own name, but Theatre and Opera Director sounds so much fancier than me, I mean…”

Sophie put her hand up. “I am going to stop you there.” She declared. “Tom doesn’t care for that, you are enough as you are, you are everything he wants as you are. You were enough when you were a paramedic, something that actually matters. If films stop happening in the morning, if they are banned, who, out of the two of you, hell, the four of us, has an actual profession? You saved how many lives, that is amazing.” Danielle simply dismissed it. “Honestly, you will hold your own, if those people think less of you for your job, then they are just petty pricks, a film cannot go ahead without someone making sure the damn thing is safe, you are the reason we will no doubt have more dragons and battles soon.” There was an expectant grin on her face.

“I am not telling you anything,” Danielle stated. “I had an NDA the size of a small country rammed down my throat, besides, I am more into the books, though I got them signed by Martin, that was pretty cool, he was there one day.”

“Wow, that is something.”

“I may have fangirled slightly.”

“Doesn’t everyone when they meet a particular person?” Sophie smiled. “I needed this.”

“You know where I am.” Danielle smiled. “I am off now until February.”

“I thought you had another job coming up?”

“My hand means no job, I was going to apply for another one but I decided to further myself before starting the next job at the end of February.”

“Anyone that belittles you does it because they are envious of your hard work, your fortitude and strong nature. Be yourself, Danielle, don’t let them beat you down, and remember, Tom wanted a strong fiery woman, show them why you are that woman.” She grinned.

“I will.”

“No better woman for the job.”

*

Danielle smiled to herself as she walked through Camden back to the Tube station. She thought about the shoes she had chosen for the dress Tom had chosen and groaned, she knew it was going to pinch and after a couple hours that was going to be a form of torture, passing one of the shops, she paused and looked at the shoes in the window.

“Danni?” Recognising the voice, she turned around to beam happily at the women walking towards her. “I knew it was you.”

“Nacelle,” She smiled, going to hug the other woman. “How are you?”

“Great, how was your Christmas?”

“Wonderful, how about you?”

“Great,” She turned to the woman next to her, “This is Becky, by the way; my fiance.”

“Fi...ah, you asked?”

“Wait, you planned to ask me?” The other woman asked.

“Yes,” Nacelle admitted.

“Wait, you asked Nacelle?”

“Yes, and she jumped out of the chair.” Becky smiled.

“I am so happy for you both, congratulations.” Danielle gave Nacelle another hug before Becky came in for one too.

“So you and Tommy boy better be free on June 22.”

“I can’t promise Tom, but I will make sure I am.”

“Why? Is everything alright with you and Mr Promotions?” Nacelle asked.

“Yes, it’s just that he sort of has to travel a lot for work so it is hard for him to get to a lot of events, and it is not always pre-booked, so I can’t say if he is free yet or not.” She explained. “I swear, he does exist,” she added laughing.

“I’m getting sceptical,” Nacelle joked. “So what has you in London for New Years?”

“Tom, we are going to a party tonight but I had to meet one of the girls for a late lunch, now I am looking in closed shops cursing the shoes I chose for tonight.”

“Pinchy?” Becky guessed.

“And high, he’s six foot one so I thought, you know, try and not look like a dwarf next to him.” both other women erupted in laughter.

“Wait, what time are you going at?”

“Well, I have to get dinner sorted for six if I ever want to get some way cleaned up.”

“And the party is at what?”

“Nine.”

“Where is it?”

“Some place called The Trinity Club.” the other two women stared at her. “What?”

“The Trinity Club, in Mayfair?”

“I think that’s where it is, why?” Her phone went off, causing her to read the text. “Tom’s cooking dinner.”

“Okay then, come on.” Nacelle half dragged her down the street.

“What, what are you doing?”

“You cannot go to a party at the Fucking Trinity Club looking like a hobo.”

“I don’t look like a hobo.” Danielle looked herself up and down.

“No, but there, if you are not perfect, you will be classed one, that is one of the best spots in London, how the hell did you get dragged into that?”

“It’s to do with Tom’s ‘sort of’ boss.”

“Seriously, is he in charge of Disney or something, because that is seriously cool,” Becky asked as they walked to a small building, before taking out her keys and opening the door.

“Sadly not, if he was, I would live there.” She smiled before looking at the open door.

“Relax, we are not going to steal you, I am going to do your makeup.”

“Nach,” Danielle shook her head. “No, it’s your holidays.”

“Girl, if you are going to the Trinity Club, you are going to be my business card, because these people can pay serious money for makeup.” Nacelle explained.

She was going to argue but seeing as it made sense, she conceded, after all, Nacelle was the best she knew, anything that made her look better for the party was a plus in her opinion. She sat in the chair and did as ordered.

“So, where are you staying?” Nacelle asked as she started the contouring after getting Danielle to wash her face.

“I...I moved in with Tom over Christmas.” the makeup artist stopped working and stared at her, “It was one of my gifts, a key to his place.”

“Didn’t I say you would be giving him the promotion?” Nacelle laughed. “You two will be married, wait and see, and have gorgeous little sassy babies with mummy’s sassy attitude.”

“Or Tom’s gentle nature.”

“He’s quiet?”

“Can be, he has two personas, the introvert at home and the extrovert for work.”

“I see it all the time with actors.” Nacelle agreed. “What colour is this dress by the way?”

“Midnight Blue, silver court-type shoes,” Danielle explained.

“That’ll suit your complexion and dark hair.” Nacelle nodded. “What are you going to do with your hair?”

“Let it down, maybe straighten it,” Danielle stated plainly, but Nacelle stared at her. “What?”

“Becky, love, get your straighteners.” She called to her fiance, who had gone to the bedroom to get changed. “Put it to two hundred.”

“I’ll just straighten it when I get home.” Danielle dismissed.

“Straighten? Danni straight doesn’t work with what I am doing to you. Is the dress sexy?”

“I guess.”

“Okay, sate my curiosity, will you have to attend the likes of this again in the future, business get-togethers and whatnot?”

“Yes.”

“Well, in that case, Becky and I are bringing you shopping next week to sort your wardrobe issues, you clearly need some help, because you are out of your depth.” Nacelle commented.

“I am not.”

“Danni, you have no idea if what you are wearing is sexy, no offence pet, but you are clearly not a girlie girl, and that is fine, not every woman is, but it means for the poshies, you need help.” Danielle bit her lip in embarrassment. “I am not trying to hurt your feelings Danni did your mum…?”

“My mam was sixty when I was a teenager. I was a surprise, so…”

“She was not much help.” Nacelle finished. “Well, that’s where it’s our duty as women to help you through girliness.” Danielle smiled slightly. “Becky.”

“Got it.” Becky came over, changed into her sweatpants and hoodie, smiling as her fiance worked on Danielle’s makeup.

“I thought you were a solicitor?” Danielle frowned, watching the ease that Becky had giving her ghd curls.

“I am, but I also know how to look good.” Becky laughed. “I’ve been on enough sets with Nach, she is close to hair people, they thought me a few tricks.”

“You should go into the caravan more often, they will give you a few tips.”

“Not everyone is as friendly as you,” Danielle commented.

“True,” Nacelle conceded, “Close your eyes.” Danielle obeyed. “But most want to show off how good they are.”

“Your home is so you, by the way,” Danielle commented as the other women worked.

“Aw, thank you.” Nacelle smiled proudly. “Yes, it suits us and Nero.”

“Nero?”

“Our cat,” Becky stated. “He’s asleep on the bed inside and rules the house.”

“They usually do.” Danielle smiled.

“Right, so how far do you have to go after this?”

“Just two stops on the Tube.”

“North or South?” Nacelle eyed her carefully.

“North.”

“Where are you living?”

“Belsize.” Danielle knew what was coming next.

“The Trinity Club, Belsize, Danni, you are living large.”

“Not me, Tom.”

“He asked you to move in with him, didn’t he, so you are part of that society now,” She teased.

Danielle stuck her tongue out. Nacelle never cared who was related to who, associated with who or how much they were worth, she was wealthy enough in her own right, she was highly coveted in her field, and Becky was hard working also, so she had liked Nacelle, and knew that she could actually tell her who exactly Tom was and know the other woman would not care for who he was, but that he cared for her. When she and Becky had finished, they showed Danielle what they had done, “Oh my, God. I don’t look like me.” She stared at her reflection. “Nacelle, you are insanely brilliant.”

“I know, I know.” Nacelle fanned herself.

“What time is it?”

“Ten to six,” Becky answered, looking at her watch.

“Shit, I really need to get home, and get basil.”

“Okay, look.” Nacelle went to the kitchen and grabbed a plant. “There’s the basil and we’ll drive you.”

“You don’t…”

“Girl, I have spent the last forty minutes doing you up, hair and all, so you better believe I am not letting you out of my home to get blustered up on a train,” Nacelle argued.

“I can’t believe you are giving me a plant.”

“Shut up and let me scope out your man’s house,” Nacelle ordered, shooing her to the door.

“Thank you, Nach.”

“June 22nd, don’t pretend I didn’t tell you.” She smiled.

“Oh, that’s a given.” Danielle winked.

It did not take long to get to Tom’s house and Danielle could sense the women looking at the structure from outside the tall gates. “Danni?”

“Yes?”

“He’s not a crime guy, is he?”

Danielle laughed, “He is not in crime, he is just good at what he does and wanted a nice house.”

“Well in that case, if we ever have a dinner date, we are so coming here.”

“How about when you are finished your next big job?”

“Deal, I’ll hold you to it, Danni.”

“Good, you have my number, thank you for everything Nach.” She smiled having gotten out of the car and looking in the window at Nacelle in the passenger seat.

“Anytime, I…” Nacelle ceased talking as the gate was half opened and Tom came out smiling at Danielle. “Wait your Tom is Tom Hiddleston?”

“He is,” Danielle stated nervously.

“Why did you say he was in promotions?” Nacelle seemed half hurt.

“Because he is, sort of. I didn’t want to say he was an actor on set, everyone gets nosy.”

“She’s got a point.” Becky conceded.

Tom was still looking at the car. “He is so confused.” Danielle giggled.

Nacelle opened her door and got out. “Hello, I’m Nacelle.” She stated confidently as she walked over to the actor, her hand extended.

“Nacelle, the makeup artist?” Tom smiled back.

“You told him about me?” Nacelle smiled to Danielle.

“Of course.” She smiled back walking over to Tom who looked at her in awe. “Nacelle found me in the street and demanded to attack me with makeup.”

“You look very beautiful,” Tom smiled honestly. “Nacelle, thank you for everything, she is, of course, beautiful regardless, but you know how Elle is with these things, she is so knowledgeable about the world of information, but her weakness is makeup.”

“She tries, but bless her, she is not good with these things, she had to have one fault.”

Danielle rolled her eyes but nodded in acknowledgement. “I was saying that Nacelle and her fiance should come for dinner sometime.”

“Definitely, whenever suits,” Tom smiled, “Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?”

“We better not tonight, you two have places to be. With regards dinner, I am busy with work for a bit, as I guess you guys are, so let me know when you are around and I will let you know when Becky and I are free and we can arrange something.” Nacelle grinned. “Remember, shopping next week.”

“Oh Jesus, I thought you were messing.”

“I'm as serious as a heart attack, I am sexing you up, especially when it involves this man and his industry, I got you covered.”

“As long as I remain covered,” Danielle demanded.

“With your breasts…”

“Becky, get her home, now,” Danielle ordered as Becky, Tom and Nacelle laughed. “I am going in, it is about to start raining and I will puff like a poodle.”

“Go, show my masterpiece to the aristocracy.” Nacelle smiled giving her a hug. “You did good Danni.”

“I beg to differ, I think it was I that struck luck.” Tom smiled looking at her before looking to the plant Becky was passing out to them, smiling from the driver’s seat. “Is that…?”

“You said we needed basil.” Danielle shrugged earning a confused laugh from Tom as he took it.

“We do, we better get inside and start eating, ladies, thank you so kindly for all your beautiful work and for getting Elle home safely; I cannot wait to see you both again so that I can get to know you better.”

“Likewise Mr Hiddleston,” Nacelle smiled. “So long as you don’t mind us stealing her for a day’s shopping?”

“Not at all, I am sure as much as she will grouse about the shopping, Elle will love it.”

“You know, Elle suits you better than Danni,” Becky commented from the car.

“That’s his fault.” Danielle pointed to Tom.

“It suits, guess you’re Elle now.” Nacelle laughed getting into the car, “Enjoy the prosecco and caviar.”

Tom and Danielle waved as the car left. “You came out?”

“Well when you text to say you had a slight change of plan I was concerned, curious and excited.”Tom explained, “When you said you bumped into another friend, I wanted to say hello.”

“What if they couldn’t be trusted?”

“You told me about Nacelle before, so when you texted you were with her, I was going on what you said, and you were right, she is completely unfazed.”

“A unique situation.”

“Very much so, come on, dinner is on the table and then we need to get dressed.” He placed his hand gently at the base of Danielle’s back as they headed back inside.

[lonestorm]

The Adventures of Sindad - 2

Summary: Sinbad is lucky to be alive after his whole “Taking over the world” phase. But with the fact that he had completely fallen off the deep end, the generals decide it’s time that Sinbad is reined in from is obsession. There are, perhaps, seven people that will be up for the job. Seven tiny people.

Basically a Sinbad post-Magi redemption story of him trying to raise seven children.

Chapters: Prologue | Night 1 | Night 2

Also on AO3 and ff.net

“So, ah, welcome,” Sinbad offered as the transportation magic fizzled out. With a smirking wink, Aladdin disappeared a second after. They stood before Sinbad’s estate--a mid size mansion, large, clean, and white marble with a garden that the children would surely play in or destroy. A blue dome rose from the middle of the building, replicating the palace that once was his in Sindria. It was honestly too much smaller than the living area of Sindria’s palace--it had about eight guest rooms so that all generals could visit at once (if he’d be so lucky ever again), six bathrooms, two master bedrooms, a spacious kitchen, living, dining, and sun rooms, and an expansive library. He owned several acres of land, all forest on a lake with hot springs down a wooded path. While Sinbad had a sort of apartment in the trading company tower for nights when work went late that he used to use more often than this house, it looked like coming home on time was going to become essential from now on.

Sinbad was still carrying the youngest--she didn’t seem to want to let go. Rei let out a squeal at the sight of the house and took off towards the door, Seti and Kaito close on her heels. While Leo and Kendria looked around in wonder, Sinbad caught Zara’s mouth part with a slight smile. Which, of course, morphed into an unimpressed scowl as soon as she caught his look.

He sighed--wasn’t the first time a woman had glared at him like that. He pushed open the double doors past the pillars framing the front stairs. Their footsteps echoed on the gray, blue-speckled granite tile floors. “Let’s go find your rooms to get you guys to bed, okay? You have school tomorrow. Well…”

Sinbad frowned in thought at Kaito and Samia. They were too young… perhaps Ja’far had some kind of child care planned for them. He’d call Ja’far in the morning.

The children clustered around his feet followed him past the entryway, past the connected living room, dining room and kitchen. Down the left hall were a few of the guest bedrooms. When Sinbad opened the first, sure enough, two twin beds had been placed inside instead of one queen size. Honestly, he should take away Ja’far’s set of keys. “I assume this is for two of you girls. Whose belongings are where?”

Rei peered around the dark, wooden door. “That’s mine! And I know that jacket on the other bed is Samia’s.” She ran inside, giving a twirl so that her robes looked like wings. “Our very own room, Samia! It’s so big!”

Sinbad smiled in spite of himself, and put the three year old down on the carpet. “Set up your things however you like, I suppose. And, um, in the bathroom across the hall, brush your teeth, and then change into your pajamas before bed, okay? The girls can have the bathroom closest to the kitchen, and the boys get the farthest.”

Samia pouted at being set down, but seemed to understand. Luckily, Zara stepped forward took her small hand. For once, the older girl did smile, directed at her sister. It was a lovely smile, but maybe because he was comparing it to the only other expression he’d seen on her face. “I’ll help you get on your pajamas, okay? I think Mister Ja’far got us some new ones! Let’s find your toothbrush…”

Letting out a breath of relief, Sinbad beckoned the rest out to the next room for the other two girls, where Kendria carefully set her staff down on her nightstand and ran a hand over her quilt in fascination. Now that Sinbad looked closer in the light of the moon glowing from their window, each of them had a desk, like the room before, and atop the desk was a pile of books, notebooks, and pens beside each of their bookbags. Ja’far really did think of everything. How long had he been planning this?

Finally, the boys’ room. Three beds were here. Sinbad knew he enough rooms for each of them, but he figured Ja’far had set it up this way for all the children to learn how to share and get along better. “This is for you boys.”

With a cheer, Seti hopped up onto his bed and rolled around. Leo was smiling, heading straight to get ready for bed like he’d been told. Kaito stayed by Sinbad’s side, however, examining the last bed with confusion.

“I… get my own bed?” he asked.

Sinbad’s heart plummeted, coming to a deeper realization of just how little he knew about these kids. How many of them had lived in poverty despite Ja’far’s money? Had the mothers all used the money for the children, or for themselves? Were the mothers all still alive? How many children could he have saved from that?

“Absolutely,” Sinbad told him firmly. “Your own bed, your own desk, your own dresser!”

His mouth fell open, and he squeezed Sinbad’s leg in a hug. “Thank you, Papa!”

For a moment, the words threw off Sinbad so much that all he could do was swallow thickly. Finally, he managed, “Y-you’re welcome, kiddo.” Clearing his throat, he stepped back towards the door reaching the handle in a desperate need to escape. “Get straight to bed, now, okay? Big day tomorrow.”

Sinbad practically ran from the room to his own, where he took one of the longest, hottest showers of his life. Made especially long by how he leaned against the shower wall for about ten minutes, just letting the water stream down his body while he stared blankly at the wall. This was supposed to be therapeutic somehow, help him think through what had just happened in the last two hours. But most of the thoughts in his head resembled shrieking incomprehensibly.

After pulling on a comfortable shirt and loose pants, he dragged a hand down his face. On pure instinct, his feet were already walking to the kitchen, where he sluggishly opened the magical cooling box and automatically reached upward-

Instead of closing around the closest bottle, his fingers brushed against a note. With a frown, Sinbad looked drearily at the shelf to see it barren of all its beautiful, previous alcohol. In its place was a single note in Ja’far’s sharp handwriting:

Nice try

He deadpanned. “I hate you.”

The note didn’t answer.

Sinbad lowered himself heavily into the nearest dining chair, dropping his head into his hands. True, he shouldn’t have gone for the liquor anyway. It wouldn't do well to have a hangover with seven children to herd around.

I’m already a deadbeat to them, he depressingly mused to himself. Even if this is an insane, sudden, ridiculous situation that I never wanted… I don’t want to graduate to alcoholic deadbeat.

Breathing out shakily, his hands slid back to grip his hair that was still damp from the shower. What the hell made Ja’far and the other generals think he could handle something like this? Did it mean they were regaining faith in him, or were they trying to punish him somehow? Surely, these children would be better off with their mothers or in an adoptive family that actually knew what to do with them. An adoptive family that didn’t have horrendous drinking habits, a new woman in their bed every week, and that small issue of screwing over the entire world. If his friends mistrusted him so much for what he’d done, why would they think, in any universe, that they could trust him in being a single father of seven kids he’d never met?

I had better find a damn good babysitter, unless Ja’far has already gotten one and taken over more of my life, Sinbad thought, grimacing. I can’t do this. I’m the last man in the world suited for fatherhood, and they fucking know it.

Shaking his head, he lowered it onto the table. But I’ve held the weight of comrades, countries, the entire world on my shoulders for most of my life. Why are seven children any more difficult?

His shoulders shuddered with his breaths, but behind his arms, he felt a wry smile. Because I’ve proven that I can’t be trusted with the lives of anyone, much less my own children that require individual attention. Because I have a God complex that nearly got everyone I loved killed. Because I’m a complete mess.

But even when he’d made horrible mistakes in the past and been an utter mess for them afterwards, he’d managed to push through and achieve great feats. Why was this the first time he’d ever felt as if there was something he couldn’t do?

He had gotten more life-altering surprises in his life. Why did he feel like bolting at the word “Papa”?

“M-Mister S-Sinbad?”

He lifted his head from his arms and blinked blearily over at the voice. It was Kendria, clutching her smooth staff like a security blanket, dressed in a little, blue nightgown with tears streaming down her face. She seemed to be saying his name out of surprise, as if she hadn’t expected to find him out of his room.

Immediately, he stood and pushed away from his chair, crouching down in front of her and reaching out. The little girl flinched and scurried away his hand like a stray cat. Alright, so this one didn’t like physical contact. At least, not from… strangers.

That’s right. He had to remember that he was just as much a stranger to them as they were to him.

Realizing his mistake, Sinbad lifted his hands and said in his most soothing tone, “I’m sorry--I didn’t mean to frighten you. I was just concerned.” He dipped his head down further to look her in her tearful eyes. “Are you alright? Did you have a bad dream?”

Slowly, she nodded.

He sat down heavily against the base of the counter by the sink. Bad dreams were something Sinbad could understand. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I-I…” Her voice trailed off in a hiccup, and he realized she probably already had enough trouble trying to speak the native language when she wasn’t crying. Kendria gave up and launched herself into his lap, where she curled up, shivering.

After he got over the shock, Sinbad, wrapped his arms around her and pet the hair that was now down from her earlier braid. She didn’t say anything, but she gripped his shirt harder when he hugged her, and he hoped whatever little he could do was helping. Kendria was still shuddering against his chest, but not as often, and her breaths had started to even out. Her legs loosened, letting her feet fall on top of his crossed ones--

Where he saw the pink, shining scars around her ankles.

She must’ve felt his strangled gasp at the sight, and followed his gaze. Kendria self-consciously pulled down her nightgown over her ankles. Too late--Sinbad couldn’t help but give her the look of utter horror.

She had been a slave.

My own child was a slave and I wasn’t there to save her.

Kendria finally managed, “I-I dream th-that the b-bad men… got me again. Ran out o-of the room…”

“I’m sorry,” he heard himself say, voice far away. “I’m so, so sorry, Kendria.”

She looked confused as to what he was apologizing for. Sinbad reached up and pushed his hair away from his neck, pulled down the collar of his shirt. His own scars from the metal collar he once wore glinted in the moonlight--fading, but still there. They had nearly disappeared by the time he had gone to the Sacred Palace, but for some reason, when he’d reformed himself… they looked as if he’d only gotten them a month ago. It was as if his vivid memories of torturous weeks under the cruelty of Madara had been so subconsciously present in his mind that his new body had the nightmares etched permanently onto his skin.

The girl had a sharp intake of breath at the sight of his scars, reaching up to touch his neck with small hands. “Y-you… too?”

“Yeah,” he whispered, taking her little hand in his. “Me too.”

It was as if something had shifted, like a wall had crumbled that he hadn’t known was there to begin with until sunlight shone in its place. The girl finally relaxed, leaning more fully against him as she put her little hand up to his, as if comparing the size. They were quiet for a time, but it wasn’t awkward. A peaceful quiet, with just the moon and stars keeping watch.

Soon, she noticed his hair trailing on the floor, and reached for it. “Pretty!”

“You think so?”

She nodded, seeming to brighten a bit. After rubbing the tear streaks from her face, she reached around his head, gently pulled his hair to his front right, and began to braid. Sinbad let her, setting his head back against the wood and watched her hands weave back and forth. With each movement, she seemed to become more calm and content. She wasn’t bad at braiding, either--especially for a seven-year-old.

Sinbad let her find a band to hold his braid once she finished, and then suggested, “Let’s get you back to bed, okay? You’re going to need all the sleep you can get for your first day of school-”

“Papa?”

“Sindad?”

The two of them whirled to see Kaito and Samia peeking around the corner.

Gently easing Kendria off of his lap, Sinbad stood with a sigh. “What are you two doing out of bed?”

Samia just reached upward, big, glowing eyes expectant. So, of course, he had to pick her up. Kaito twisted his tiny hands together. “I… I can’t sleep! I miss Mama…”

At this, Samia leaned her head against his shoulder. “Ma.”

His panic seemed to be kicking back in, but he forced himself to think. Whenever he couldn’t sleep as a child, or when he’d been woken by Rurumu for screaming from nightmares of bloodshed and slavery...

“Sit down at the table,” he told them quietly, setting Samia down in the nearest seat. “I’ll get you something to drink.”

Sinbad got busy, pouring cups, putting them on the heater. Once ready, he let the tea steep before pouring in the cream. (One for himself, because why not?) In a minute, he checked to make sure the cups weren't too hot, and then gave one milk tea to each. “Here--this will help.”

The children took the cups eagerly. Pulling out a seat beside the boy, Sinbad sat down and watched them take gulps of the warm milk tea. He leaned his cheek on a hand. “Maybe I could help you write to your Ma, Kaito and Samia, or even better, call her. How about that?”

Kaito set down his cup, blinking up at Sinbad in confusion. “But I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Auntie Velma said I can’t see Mama or have her answer me,” Kaito said, voice trailing off sadly. “She is with Rukh, she says.”

Sinbad sat up, paling and feeling like an insensitive idiot. “O-oh. I’m… I’m so sorry, Kaito. But you know…” he leaned closer to the little boy. “The Rukh are all around us. I’m sure your mama is watching over you always.”

The boy’s eyes were wide, and then he broke out into a huge grin. “You think so?” “I know so.” He ruffled Kaito’s hair.

“It’s true,” Kendria confirmed, offering a shy smile to her little brother. “My mother watches me from the Rukh too!”

“Oh,” Sinbad muttered, swallowing. Two of their mothers were dead… and so young, too. Would he have been able to keep them alive, had he known? “You know, so does mine.”

“Really?” Kaito seemed much more reassured by this, and Kendria scooted closer.

“Do you ever talk to her?” Kendria asked. “I talk to my mom, sometimes, even though I know she can’t talk back.”

Sinbad hesitated, trailing a finger around the lip of his mug. “I haven’t for… a while.” Why haven’t I?

Samia had finished her tea, and set her cup down with a satisfied sigh. “What is Rukh?”

Frowning thoughtfully, Sinbad tried, “It’s… the life energy around us, made from every living thing and the spirits of all those before us.”

Samia’s frown matched his own, in a far more adorable version. “Mama said she wanted to ‘go back to the Rukh.’ She was very happy about it,” noted Samia. “She has not come back from it yet.”

Sinbad, who had been taking a drink from his mug, choked and nearly spat it all over the table. The children seemed startled by this reaction, but he quickly set the cup down and pounded on his chest a few times. After clearing his throat, he croaked, “Samia, when did your mother say that?”

The girl squished her cheeks with her hands, as if this would help her remember. “When flowers come up.”

Last spring. Four months ago. The world tipped. “Oh,” he choked, gripping the table. “I see.”

And as he watched the small child carefully pick up the cup of comfort he’d made her, all he could think was:

I killed her mother.

Sinbad hadn’t even realized that those who considered suicide might have taken his encouragement to ‘return to the Rukh’ as their last push and… before they had managed to stop David... And he’d made the rest of the world want to ‘return to the Rukh’--hadn’t yet thought of the fact that it meant these children had wanted to as well. That he’d forced them to want something they hadn’t wanted.

Sinbad’s eyes locked on Kendria...and the markings from her chains.

He could see his knuckles white on the table, clenched to keep from shaking. His stomach churned. “W-well just know… I’ll do my best to take care of you.” He stood. “And that means you guys gotta head back to bed, okay?”

They agreed quite readily, except Kaito, who bounced in his seat. “But what about a bedtime story?”

“I’ll tell you any kind of story you want if tomorrow night you get a good sleep tonight.” He put his hands on their backs lightly and herded them towards the hall. “Sweet dreams.”

“Goodnight, Papa!”

“Dreams, Sindad!”

Kendria smiled last. “Goodnight, Dad.”

Sinbad watched until they had tottered back to their rooms, and then made his way to his own. At first, he sat in his bathroom, sure he was going to be sick in the toilet, but managed to fight down the bile and pull himself into bed. The clock showed that it was past one in the morning.

And he laid awake in bed for several hours after, the whispered wailing of his ghosts refusing to let merciful sleep take him.

[dynoguard]

NaNoWriMo: Return of the DinoKnights (Day 9)

Day 1 & 2 text is here.

Day 3 is here.

Day 4 is here.

Day 5 is here.

Day 6 is here.

Day 7 is here.

Day 8 is here.

“So, lets have it.” 

Zara raised an eyebrow in response to Brach’s demand. “Have what?”

“The spike you’ve got shoved up your tail.” Brach chuckled. “I got this itch halfway up my neck that I just can’t reach.” 

“You are a loud and unpleasant person.” Zara grumbled.

“Suddenly I miss my mother.” Brach stopped in front of a jammed door. He examined it carefully, bending his neck down to get a closer look. “Sorry if I’m not properly deferential, Dutchess, but decorum is a box of lead when you’re treading water.” 

“Dutchess?” Zara huffed. “Hey, I work for a living!” 

“I’m not criticizing. You’re a snob, some of my best friends are snobs. My ex, hoo, she was queen of the snobs.” Brach said, gripping the door and wrenching it open with a grunt. “Probably still is, we only broke up sixty-five miillion years ago.”

“I’m not a snob!” Zara snapped. “And how can you be so glib-”

“Glib? Who even says that?” 

“-it is a perfectly normal word!” Zara shouted. “You all act like it doesn’t matter! It’s all gone. Everyone we know, everything we love, it’s all dust. We’re just like the Dactyloid civilization, or whatever built the ruins in Swordbeak bay. Only we get to watch it, we’re going to watch our civilization go extinct and everyone is fawning over the mammals that replaced us!”

“You feel better now?” 

“No.”

“I’ve fixed every non-super-science machine in this building. That means asking people how things got broken.”

“’So I know when people are lying!’“ Zara quoted back at him. “If I admit I feel a little better, will you leave me alone, Mr. Longstride?”

“Sure thing kid.” Brach said. “Long as you call me Brach, and hand me a hammer and about a decimeter of patch cable. We found our first problem.”

He motioned to a section of wall that was interrupted by a block of stone about the size of his fist. At the edges, clumps of blue-green chronal crystal sprouted in finger-length shards. 

“You’re not going to smash that apart with a hammer.” 

“Of course I am, the main power runs right through there.”

“We should pull it out, whole if we can.” She said, running her fingers carefly around the edge. “Its spherical, it might be a naturally occurring chronal geode.”

“And?”

“We don’t have the equipment to process the crystals into artificial geodes without Section 3, but we might be able to polish a natural one into a time core.” She admired the chunk of stone as if it were a flawless gemstone. 

“What good does that do us, we’re far enough into the future as it is.” Brach asked.

“In addition to being able to time-slip physical objects, a time core can be made to work as a battery, sweeping up ambient radiation to charge itself. It’s not quite zero-point energy but it’s the next best thing.” She smiled with her broad bill. “Geode this size could power a large ground cruiser, a small aircraft, maybe even an industrial fabricator.” 

“Do we have any of those?” Brach asks.

“Really?” Zara replied, flustered. “Life gives you a free reactor and you worry we won’t find something to plug it into? What kind of engineer are you?”

“No kind. I’m the groundskeeper and handysaur.” Brach said.

“The bull tricero on my grandpop’s ranch dropped smaller loads than that.” Zara replied. “Everyone says you’d get Journeysaur certification if you took the test, probably Master.”

“Who says that?”

“Everyone.” Zara asked. “Plus I’ve seen your groundtruck. If a handysaur can customize the intakes like that then we are sorely underpaying our handysaurs.”

“I think I liked it better when we were talking about you.”

“I’ve got an easy solution. Give me the cutter and scout ahead, see if there’s more breaks in the cable.”

“Sure.” Brach said, handing her the cutter and turning to move down the corridor. “Wait... when did you start giving the orders?”

“You’re the one who said I was a Dutchess. You’ve only got yourself to blame.” Zara said, as she activated the cutter, a glowing yellow-white blade extending from its tip. 

[threezerothree-blog1]

May 29th, 2017.

Just a’lil blog about my day😊

Today was such a productive day; I got some stuff done and treated myself too😛 It was even warm enough to wear shorts so my #ootd was some thrifted levis (see them on my insta) from an awesome shop called Public Butter on Queen Street, a drop shoulder striped black and white t-shirt from Zara, faded camo button up from Forever21, black Converse, a black cross body bucket bag from AE & some cute brown circle sunnies. I shoulda taken a pic but ya girl was slippin’ today.

Soooo to start my day off I had to return some Nikes I ordered online forever ago. I love them and they’re so comfy but I ordered too big so I had to take them back☹️ I almost ran out of time bc i had 30 days to return ‘em and I’m pretty sure today was day like, 27. 

😎me in a gif😎

The mans at the post office was annoyed that he couldn’t scan the package properly so he had type the code in manually and he acted like it was the biggest deal in the world, he literally scanned it repeatedly with the most dead unimpressed look on his face and then sighed so loud the people get help beside me heard and said “I guess I’m gonna have to put it in manually” and gives me a look like sorry sis Nike told me to tape that shit up and keep that code safe🤷‍♀️ 

After that I did some boring bank stuff and then I decided to try my luck and go thrifting! I’ve been to Value Villages before, as well as Black Market in downtown TO and Public Butter but I’ve never been to an O.G Salvation Army so I gave myself a $20 limit and dove in.

I can’t speak for all Salvation Army’s, but this one was a fairly decent sized store with a couple fun t-shirts. I think the best advice when going thrifting is to not set your expectations high and give yourself enough time to look at everything you wanna look at. I spent a good hour looking around with my headphones in and I started out with a bunch of stuff but ultimately ended up only getting 5 things but get dis it was only $16!! 

I’m a complete sucker for t-shirts so of course that’s all I ended up buying. I’ll tell ya a bit about each one:

🎽 (top left): Look for brands you already know and love!! I already have this top from H&M in a burnt orange but while I was scaling racks I found this light blue one for $1.99! 

👋 (top right): If you want to change something, then do it guuuurl. It’s what I think is a customized American Apparel (R.I.P) t-shirt that says “hello hello” and it was originally a regular crew neck but when I got home I decided to just go ahead and cut the bottom off. I’ve never had good luck with cropping anything but this actually worked out and it looks hella cute when you roll the sleeves too so ya 10/10 recommend !!!! oh ya this was also $1.99

🐬 (bottom left): This is a really cute boxy drop shoulder shirt from a brand called Sweet Tiger with this lil embroidered dolphin on the top right corner. Honestly the dolphin IRL is alittle bit eerie to look at straight on but it’s still sorta charming and the shirt material is the perfect not too thick, not too draping material. It hits right at the hip bone and fits really well! $3.99 well spent!

💥 (bottom right): Honestly I just picked this up because I liked the intense blue and orange contrast, it’s your basic crew neck and I have no idea what the phrase graphic mean but it was $1.99 and I liked it so here we are😂

I also picked up this geometric square picture frame! ($5.99, and the picture is of my grandparents❤️)

I decided to go downtown to the Eaton Centre and picked up some boyfriend jeans before grabbing a slushie and heading back home after my errands/date with myself.

For dinner I was gonna do my regular pasta and fancy sauce concoction but I’ve started to get bored of that lately so I decided to just do a bunch of different stuff that would be somewhat healthy but still fill me. I steamed some broccoli and added cheese, pretzels & hummus, crackers with avocado and ham and this monster english muffin sandwich. I love coming up with elaborate over the top sandwiches and tonight was no exception. Top to bottom it goes garlic mayo, seasoned sliced chicken, tomato, avocado, cheese, honey smoked ham, a basil leaf and laughing cow creamy cheese. It was soooo good and I STG President's Choice garlic mayo is made by the gods ugh it makes anything taste 100 times better.

 The rest of the night I’ve just been relaxing by using my Lush “Don't Look At Me” face mask and watching The Mindy Project. Honestly Jeremy is low key sorta me lmao

Overall today was a success in my books! I hope this obnoxiously long blog post about my exceptionally mediocre day wasn’t too much of a bore but let me know if I should keep doing stuff like this!! Go follow me on allll the socials, insta & twitter lol and I’ll see you in my next post👈😎👈