#ashley’s venting again

[99hook]

I know we have to be in a retrograde rn cause there’s no way life is playing out like a soap opera for no reason

[cherrylight]

hey question: if i go back to an old self insert, like one that was sort of the key reason i started this blog in the first place, would that be okay...

i ask because i cannot for the life of me use any self insert excitedly or anything, but with this old s/i i can! because she's so fun and she makes me so happy and i get excited, and then i think of selfship stuff with her and i get even MORE HAPPY wahhh i miss her >_<

[beevean]

I wonder if something could be said about Ashley's apparent penchant for drawing.

Leyley used to draw a lot. This, in itself, is nothing special: many kids draw as a hobby. The most noteworthy thing is that Leyley loved to draw so much, she'd do it on the walls, which Andy had to clean...

... and on Andy's notes, which made it difficult for him to study.

I don't need to say that this is just one of the many ways Leyley begged for attention and approval, which most surely had the opposite effect.

However, what made me pause a bit are three completely separate scenes.

This is in the very opening of the game:

We don't see Ashley drawing as an adult, but she doesn't seem to be very confident in herself. Then again, at this point in the game, it could be just goodhearted self-deprecation. It does say something, however, that she's still clinging onto that drawing, both because it's so old and not good-looking, and what it represents.

This is after Ashley, as a teen, has a meltdown over Andrew "seeing Julia":

Andrew is being mean, but to be fair to him, he's also angry and interprets the torn drawing as a way to make him feel bad, so I'll let it pass. The artstyle is so crude, I assume this is another old drawing: the lemon muffin is a reference to a way Andy celebrated Leyley's birthday when they were kids, so it's possible she drew it back then. And then kept it for years, before destroying it in a fit of heartbroken rage. It's how she conveyed her love for her brother, and it was that important to her, that apparently, she still had it in grabbing and tearing vicinity. Her hate for Nina is as important as her love for Andrew.

(the other option is, of course, that it's a much more recent drawing, and yes, this is a pretty abysmal way of drawing for a teen who apparently has been doing so for years. I still wouldn't call it garbage though, Andrew, she meant well :<)

Not much after that scene, Andrew also tells us this:

Whether Ashley still draws in her teen years or has stopped, at least we know it's more important to her than her homework, and enough for Andrew to comment on it.

And this is an offhand comment Renee makes to her mother while pretending she doesn't regret her life choices and children.

This is how Renee chooses to paint Ashley in a good light: by praising her art. Which is a lie, of course, because even back then she wasn't exactly Leonardo Da Vinci, but hey, grandma doesn't need to know about that. Worthy of note is that, despite doing everything in her power to interact with her daughter as little as possible, she did notice how much Leyley likes to draw (although afawk it could be because she once saw her drawing on the walls, so it's even more of a backhanded compliment).

So I suppose Leyley's cry for attention did work, in part.

It's a running gag that Ashley is a pretty bad artist. More than once, people point out she struggles to draw circles.

Speaking of attention seeking behavior, and how Renee keeps denying it.

So, what do I take from this?

That Ashley had a predisposition for drawing, clearly enjoying it regardless of her talent, and partially did so as a way to yell "look at me! I'm a person too! I have feelings, here they are!" at the world; but that predisposition was never nurtured, neglected as she was. Her art was ugly at best, a bother at worst. So she never developed her artistic skills, stagnated, and now she's a "bad" artist, which she resents. It's quite a shame, because of all the ways you could vent your feelings, art is by far the healthiest. Perhaps she would have been less destructive.

Naturally, this is part of one of the game's key themes: Ashley never grew up. She wasn't given the tools to, and now, she doesn't even want to. So she never developed past the "Leyley" phase of her life, still drawing in a childish way, still "playing" with her bunny plushies in her mind, still clinging onto her child self when Andrew wants nothing more than to grow up (or so he says). Much like her art, she too was seen mostly as an embarrassment, and so never improved. But every scrap of attention Andrew gives her? Means the world to her. And that's why she keeps going.

Lastly: every ending of the game comes with a crude crayon drawing.

It makes me believe that Ashley's art, ugly and childish as it is, is an important part of her, and her perception of the world.

[ash-dark-desires]

💚🩷Adding to my list of headcanons 🩷💚(BEWARE OF TCOAAL CHAPTER 3 DECAY SPOILERS)

🩸 Andrew (pre-quarantine and during it) writes extremely honest, heartfelt and passionate letters and poems to Ashley when his feelings get too overwhelming to bear, but just after being done with them and reading them again and again and again until he's done savoring and basking on the feelings he never lets himself feel while taking them out of his system, he finds a way to destroy them before anyone sees them. He could just rip them apart and throw them in the trash, but he's a romantic at heart and prefers to burn them, just how he wants to do with his desires.

Pre-quarantine it was easy: find a spot and the time in which no one sees what you're writing, and then go outside to a secluded area to flame your desperation, hunger and shame away. Unfortunately, during quarantine he has to get more creative.

He goes to the bathroom claiming to need a shower, while bringing pen and sticky notes with him. Already in the bathroom, he makes sure that he's as far away as possible from the door. He would have to answer too many questions if Ashley peeked through the keyhole. After that, he takes a shower. When Ashley insists on taking a shower after him, he takes his notes with him and goes to the balcony to burn them. When she doesn't, Andrew waits until she's distracted enough, sometimes when she's napping, and goes to the balcony to rip them apart and throw them to the wind. He really does indulge his romantic heart when he's all alone with her. Plus, throwing them to the toilet poses the risk of obstructing it (he writes A LOT of notes during quarantine). He doesn't want to imagine Ashley's reaction when she unclogs the toilet with the toilet brush and sees some pieces of writing floating.

At first, he wouldn't do more than that during his shower time. As days pass, though, he lets himself loose enough to take it out of his system in the shower after his written venting, to the point of letting Ashley shower first more and more.

To sniff her sweet aroma. Like the pervert he denies to be. However, he pays for his boldness with some extra punishingly exciting "nightmares".

Everytime he does this, he feels like he's going to have a heart attack, or be swallowed by earth. Why go through all this hassle? Lover boy would have combusted during the first week otherwise.

Before quarantine, he sometimes tries to mimick the feeling of Ashley's letters when he writes them to Julia.

To Andrew's rotten luck, he never achieves it, even if he prays for it.

[coff-in]

YES! I SEE YOU’RE DOING AND TAKING REQS AGAIN!!!

Reader who is constantly zoning out 25/8 head cannons. Doesn’t matter if they’re eating, drinking, bathing, walking or working; they’re always daydreaming in their head. Constantly running into things or tripping because they’re too preoccupied in their head. They daydream a lot to where sometimes they reenact their thoughts or speak to nobody in particular. Their S/O always has to bring them back or navigate them so they don’t accidentally hurt themselves.

Reader can be G/N, or female if it’s necessary for a gender. I’d like Andrew to be the S/O, but you can throw Ashley in the mix too (separately or together) if you want. I won’t throw shade.

TYYYYY!!!!

notes from coff-in: i've been meaning to answer the asks in my inbox for weeks now, but every time i tell myself 'i should answer asks' i suddenly find myself not doing it. like the more i think about doing something the longer it takes for me to do it. eventually i just sort of stop thinking about it and get focused on other work and then open my inbox and go 'yeah i'll answer these now :)' like i haven't been gone for a month or so. is this normal? the same thing happens when i think about soaking my mushroom log or taking my pills or even when i was younger and had to wear my retainer, i think 'i'll do it later' and then i never do it. i'll think 'i should do it sometime today' and then i never do it. why do i do that? sorry about that, in other news: i have started playing roblox and i like sebastian solace from pressure. big fish :3

[gender neutral] reader-insert

[reader] is so me fr fr. 'maladaptive daydreaming' you mean... uh normal behavior... gottem. i appreciate that you said 's/o' because i've been meaning to write for julia for a while (hussies unite or smth).

andrew would find [reader]'s daydreaming endearing, but would see it as a hassle to deal with often. he's constantly nudging you and gently shaking you to get your attention. he'd also tease you about running into objects and scold you for not paying attention. protective instincts kinda kick in for him :') he does wish you paid more attention to your surroundings and school ("i'm not going to be able to help you with your homework forever," he tells you while doing your homework)

ashley would definitely be annoyed. you should be paying attention to her! she's YOUR girlfriend, asshole! you would need to repeatedly (hourly, even) tell her that you do love her, you are trying to pay attention to her, etc etc. i don't think a maladaptive daydreamer would pair all too well with ashley. maybe.... she would feel comforted that you sorta act the same with others, spaced out and unfocused, but there's always that worry in her that someone else will snap you out of your haze and take your attention away. hang out with ashley, she's just a girl who's fun and whimsical, give her all your attention. do it. DO IT-- (she will laugh at you if you trip on something)

julia :3 i think julia wouldn't mind [reader] constantly zoning out. julia is (as far as we've seen, mind you!!) such a sweet and gentle girl, i honestly think you and her would work out very well. she's gemtly holding your arm or hand and swerving you away from poles and potholes. she taps you so you can focus on your work and if you wanna veg out next to her, she doesn't mind that. love that emo girl

----

coff-in

is it a certified coff-in post if i don't rant/vent in the opening notes? anyways please ask me about my opinions on pressure, it's infecting my brain :3

[alicerosejensen]

I love your page so much omg. I‘m literally obsessed with your work😭🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Also I have this imagination in my mind going on about how Leon would try to help his girlfriend from recovering from her mental health issues since she’s always helping him. I was recently thinking about how he would react finding her not moving on the bathroom floor and trying to bring her back! I rewatched American horror stories and the scene with tate and violet in the first season episode 6 (ig?) is always in my head. I‘m still recovering from my past and my unhealthy habits and tbh recovery never felt better.

If this is too much for you or triggering please ignore this.🫶🏼❤️

I had a terrible period in my life when I was a few steps away from doing something like this in my life and unfortunately this shit often comes out. I'm not sure that such texts help me work through my psychological traumas, which were, in fact, inflicted on me and continue to be inflicted by close people who do not consider me a person, but at least such works help me to vent my pain, which I cannot permanently bury in myself.

I have been postponing this request for a long time because I was probably waiting for the right moment to write this text.

There are mentions of suicide, psychological trauma, severe self-doubt and anxiety, so if this is not acceptable to you, then please just block it.

Perhaps there is a similarity with my previous texts, but I am writing this with strong emotions now that I am trying to cope with it again.

the text is chaotic, I repeat, written while I was under the influence of strong heavy emotions. Maybe I'll delete it later, when my brain gets back to normal a little bit.

If a songbird doesn't sing well, they wring its neck.

Maybe it was the costs of Leon's profession and the result of his constant missions, after which something human is gradually dying in him despite the constant struggle to save everyone. Raccoon City was supposed to teach, if not to survive, then make him begin to understand that some are doomed to die.

Leon Kennedy was taught not to offend, but to protect the weak, especially weak women. But it is difficult to calm the flow of disordered thoughts and put aside the fear that has seized him in order to clamp bloody wrists and apply something to them to stop the blood. Leon knew many strong women: Ada was perhaps the first among them, he did not know either her past or her real name, only the present that pushed their foreheads against each other; Claire, a fighting friend of misfortune that he met in that ill-fated city; Ashley, who turned from a baby eagle into a proud eagle; Angela Miller and others…

Your strength dissolves in the water, coloring it scarlet while your heart stubbornly still beats, let the rhythm noticeably shorten.

In truth, over the past few months it became clear that this was the only way out. When even your loved ones considered you an expired product and did not hesitate to remember this and remind you every time. In the end, their words turned into an obsessive worm that settled in your head, slowly day after day, month after month, devouring you and the circumstances seemed to be not in your favor. Instead of support, you somehow faced reproach, as if the universe was screaming that you were an wrong person, nature's mistake who had no right to live.

Escape attempts were doomed to failure. At first you tried to suppress it in yourself, helping Leon, because, in your opinion, he was the only one who had the right to complain about life, although he did not do this in front of you, because everyone said that you had no problems: you have everything limbs, there are no fatal diseases, all loved ones are healthy and there is a roof over your head, as if this is enough to not fall for nonsense and not walk around forever with a sad face.

This was the last time you shared your experiences. You didn’t even bother telling Leon, but everything inside was torn from constant pain. The feeling was as if you were being beaten by two extremes that led you to the edge of an abyss where you ultimately voluntarily jumped.

no, you really loved him, it was just other people’s words and your own speculation that convinced you, despite your strong relationship with him, that Leon would find someone better, someone more confident in himself, someone who would not be you because you had already missed the chance for a good life because it moved too slowly. Ultimately, a couple of sips of alcohol with sleeping pills and a sharp blade in his hands simply promised to correct the mistake in the form of you with your own hands.

You didn't have the courage to do it any other way.

But you really didn’t think that if you could try to open up to your loved one, you would meet support and not condemnation. Perhaps in a mad world he would be the only one who would heal your wounds as you healed him in your time. Leon clenched his teeth, feeling tears flowing down cheeks, seeing these crimson stains, when he pulled your body out of the bath, holding you close to him, repeating “I’m holding you. It's allright"

He so carefully laid you on his lap, managing to pull out a first aid kit and then bandages to tightly, albeit carelessly, wrap them around your wrist in order to somehow stop the bleeding. At least you were still breathing, thereby giving him hope that everything could still be fixed. the darkness and emptiness came to life, calling in a whisper to dissolve into eternal silence where there is no pain or condemnation. Your body will be in a grave under a gray stone, while the remains of your soul will float like a small grain of sand in infinity.

For Leon, everything happens in a fog; he tried more than once to save people, but he had no right to lose in this battle, even if you yourself surrendered to death. Shaking his head, brushing away the tears, he wrapped your body in a large terry towel, kissed your temple and picked you up, trying to somehow warm you, pressing you closer to him. the ability to provide first aid in the field and pull suicides out of the other world is not the same thing. Leon would have thanked God if he had believed in him, convinced that blood loss was the least of the evils that you had caused yourself, until he saw the remains of some substance at the bottom of the glass that stood on the table along with an almost full bottle of alcohol.

You really didn't give him a chance.

The ambulance took several minutes, which seemed like an eternity. In fact, Leon wasn't sure if it was worth trying to make you vomit when you'd already lost so much blood that it was already seeping through the bandages. Surely you would need a transfusion and Leon is ready to give you all his blood if only you would wake up. Holding his breath, he carefully looked at your chest, watching whether you were breathing and fortunately, your heart was still beating, slowly, but it was still fighting for life.

He stroked you on the head, kissed you, promised that he would take you somewhere else, quiet, where no one would dare to offend you, even if it was your family. You could have just asked him for help, just cuddled up to him and he would have protected you from other people’s attacks, but you preferred to remain silent. Kennedy was tired of waiting for the medical staff to let him in, although relatives should be allowed to see the patient first, but the position of a government agent sometimes had its advantages, and they concerned not only the high salary. When he was let in to you, it seemed to him that you had become half your size while you were lying on the bed, curled up under the blanket. It didn’t work out to pull off a beautiful suicide, which meant that soon angry relatives would come here with new sweat of bile especially for you. They won’t care about your feelings, but Leon sat down next to you, trying not to intrude too much into the space in which you imprisoned yourself, as if this blanket cocoon could be a separate world where you could hide. He spoke to you carefully, hating himself for not being able to understand in time what was wrong with your behavior; perhaps if he had been more attentive to you, the incident could have been avoided. You would see a psychotherapist, take a course of medication, and your environment would definitely be taken care of.

You cry, not letting him come to you, hating how you weren't just left to die and how much you hate this world. Hysteria after hysteria, nervous breakdown after nervous breakdown, in the hospital you repeatedly tried to commit suicide, but the attentive staff managed to prevent this before you inflicted fatal injuries on yourself, and if after some time Leon still managed to carefully break through your armor, then your loved ones This did not concern relatives in principle. You only allowed one person to visit you while you were undergoing psychological treatment and you behaved calmer and calmer, listening to the velvety words that soon all this would be behind you.

��We’ll go home soon,” Leon smiled, gently holding your hand and kissing your forehead, just glad that you’re alive, that you’re breathing and that your psycho-emotional state is slowly but improving. “You know, I have a surprise for you, I think you’ll like it when we get home.”

Soon what happened will become another nightmare in his life, a blessing with a good ending, but for the sake of this happy ending, Kennedy is ready to descend into hell at least every day.

You nod at him and smile a little, fearing that the gift is some kind of party on the occasion of your discharge. In fact, the last thing you want is to see someone’s faces, especially those who diligently hammered into your head how insignificant you are. Why do you even hope that the doctor will postpone your discharge, but the plans for your further treatment were completely different.

On the other hand, after taking antidepressants and psychological help in a special medical institution, how many men are ready to stay with their girlfriends who have been there for several months? For Leon, it seems this was not a significant problem, or he simply carefully did not show it. However, there were no parties, no calls, you simply returned now to his home where there were new interior items. it became somehow more comfortable... but something else surprised you.

Puppy. A small puppy of a couple of months old ran towards you and Leon to meet both of them, but stopped and began sniffing your shoes, while something thawed in your heart.

“Animals seem to help us well, They feel when we feel bad, it seems to me a good idea to get us a little companion,” Leon said quietly, stroking your back while you were busy with the puppy, rejoicing at the little living soul who will love you with the same pure and devoted love.

Ultimately it should have a happy ending too. Leon is ready to go to great lengths so that his beloved songbird starts smiling and singing happy songs again, even if it is necessary to remove other birds from her family who sleep and see how to pluck all her wings again.

You and he also have a chance for a happy ending.

[wingsofthesun]

Some more Astra Shepard Lore (tm)!

The biggest argument she and Garrus probably ever have is after Astra decided to help Aria retake Omega. Alone. With no backup. Without talking about it to anyone. And only sending a message basically saying "this is what I'm doing, do not follow me, stay at the Citadel and wait further orders."

Yeah, Garrus is pretty pissed off. (So is everyone else, actually- both Ashley and Joker also point out how terrible of an idea this was when Astra tries venting to them afterwards.) Astra is immediately defensive, and also thinks that Garrus is upset because she helped restore the status quo on Omega after Archangel's efforts. Sure, he's not exactly happy about that, but with what's going on he understands that having Aria in charge and willing to help is something they can't pass up.

No, what Garrus is pissed off about is the fact that Astra didn't bring anyone as backup, no matter what Aria said. His argument is actually pretty logical here, pointing out that even if Aria would have semi-valid reasons to deny his or Ashley's presence and no one is cruel enough to make her deal with Javik, she wouldn't have much reason to deny James or Liara coming along. He's also very upset at how little notice Astra gave everyone and says so.

Astra is... unfortunately pretty stubborn. Good when dealing with assholes and people trying to kill her, not so good when she's arguing with her boyfriend who has valid points she doesn't really want to acknowledge. She starts accusing Garrus of not trusting her, which Garrus is extremely offended by. The argument basically ends by Astra storming off and Garrus sleeping in the battery because he's not going to start it up again.

They do patch things up the next day. After spending the entire night thinking about it and getting others to agree that he has a point, Astra apologizes and they have a very productive talk about what happened and what expectations they have in the future regarding things like this.

And the conversation does pay off! For example, relatively soon afterwards they do have a quick discussion about getting on the Geth Dreadnought. Astra still goes through the docking tube solo, but the pros and cons are discussed beforehand, which helps everyone be slightly more okay about the situation.

[muffinsin]

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Eg: Cassandra Dimitrescu & Ashley (re4), Bela Dimitrescu & Jill Valentine (RE- franchise)

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Feel free to remind me, though, if it has been a good amount of time. Usually prompts just take a while due to the other requests in my inbox :)

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Though, I usually don’t publicly answer inbox vents as this isn’t a venting blog. Vent on my DMs should you need it, though. Equally I don’t allow self promotion on this blog thru the inbox. If I really like an account or post, I’ll promote it :)! Again though, my DMs are open for such things

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I’m generally up for collabs, if anyone wants to approach me regarding one :)!

[raynaisanerd2]

Too much of the fandom really likes Renee. I hate her. I can understand that people find her attractive, because she is, but I can’t stand her. Obviously each to their own, and if you don’t particularly like both Andrew and Ashley you will find Renee’s actions less hate-able. I’m not taking you who to like and who not to like, this is just my opinion.

I hate her and here’s why.

₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ Renee made Andrew into a parent for Ashley, which in turn didn’t allow him to have a proper childhood. It’s also teased in the Episode 3 trailer that there’s rumours of incest between the siblings around school which is no doubt stemmed from the two being forced in such close proximities due to the mother and father’s neglect. This more than likely affected a lot of Andrew’s social life, pushing him towards other women to ‘prove’ he isn’t ’like that’, which isn’t particularly healthy for a teen boy.

₍ᐢ. .ᐢ₎ Renee likely is the cause of Andrew’s severe anxiety and she made him repress his true feelings in fear of pissing her off, or generally bothering her. Both parents seem to brush off any concerns Andrew has, making him internalise his feelings and not seek any mental or emotional support for what he is going through.

₍⑅ᐢ..ᐢ₎ Renee forcing Andrew to be Ashley’s caretaker tore away any form of other support network for the young girl. This is clearly shown with how she struggles to make friends and genuine connections with others outside of Andrew, seen with Julia and Nina. It is also why she never sought out support for herself, Renee would never get help for her clearly neurodivergent or somewhere on the ASPD spectrum, so Ashley in turn also did not.

₍⑅ᐢ..ᐢ₎ Renee not allowing Ashley to have birthdays may seem like a small and insignificant detail but it speaks volumes of what she was like as a parent to me. She never allowed to have nice things and Renee made sure of that. Or didn’t. She didn’t care enough to even check up on the girl, so probably didn’t remember her birthday.

₍⑅ᐢ..ᐢ₎ Renee calling her a problem and an annoyance, again, something insignificant to some that I am reading into far too much. Your parent is supposed to be your biggest supporter in life, the one that brought you to life, who is supposed to love you unconditionally. Ashley has none of that. The only unconditional love and support she has is from her older brother. Not having support from her parents, her mother actively calling her an annoyance doesn’t help with her obviously festering insecurities and self hatred.

₍⑅ᐢ..ᐢ₎ Renee thinking that the only way Ashley could have value to anyone (Andrew) is if she is having sex with them. Ashley’s mindset about sex is very contractual (I will maybe go into further detail about this in a later post) and I believe that that has been taken from her mother.

🌺 Selling her children to the organ harvesting scheme is just generally fucked up, and how she shows absolutely no remorse is even more concerning. Even if she seemed to show some remorse when she was extending the olive branch to Andrew it could just be some manipulation tactic. I don’t know, I don’t trust her.

🌺 Renee may not be the cause of all of the siblings problems, there are external influences as well as the father, though I feel with the lack of content we have around their father that I am unable to judge him on his actions, bar being equally responsible for his children. The fandom also really likes Renee and barely anyone mentions the father, and this post is specifically made because people overwhelmingly like Renee. Which I don’t understand.

Anyway, that’s my thoughts. Apologies for any grammar or spelling mistakes, this was typed out in my notes app and was just a way of venting my frustrations about how the fandom treats Renee (about how aspects of her character remind me of my own mother). If you got this far, thanks for reading 💚🩷

[mountainashes]

Hii!! Just saw one of your posts so, how do you think that the ud characters would be postgame?? Like, how do you think that the Blackwood events affected them?? (I hope you understand what I'm saying)

Omg hi! So, really I haven't got any solid postgame hcs, but I have a couple-

Jess and Em get past their arguement and become friends again. I think this a pretty common one but I can't imagine continuing to hate ur friend after going through all that.

Jess never turns her back to windows anymore, and generally keeps her distance from them. She slowly gets past this but it takes years.

Emily doesn't like the dark anymore and refuses to go into rooms without the lights on.

Emily mostly tries to keep on but definitely struggles, she goes to therapy.

Sam straight up disappears for a while after Blackwood, just goes away for a few months. She does come back, but most of her friends don't know where she was for that time. (Got this one off a friend I was talking with).

Sam is mostly deaf in her right ear after Hannah screamed right into it.

Jess was really injured, and she spent a while in hospital. She sometimes uses crutches. (Again, a kind of common hc but I like it alot).

Sam had some burns from the lodge exploding.

Em (if bitten) has to go to hospital as well and is on antibiotics and all sorts because her bite gets infected. (I dread to think how much bacteria and filth was in Hannah's mouth considering her diet). Em's bite becomes a scar eventually. (I have a few thoughts abt Em's bite, I might talk abt that some time).

Ashley struggles to sleep, and barely leaves her house for the first few months after. She spends most of her time in her room writing in notebooks, trying to process what happened and venting. She also draws a lot, again to try process what she saw.

Mike tries to keep on as normal- goes to college, gets himself a job and tries to stay in contact with everyone. He never lets himself be alone.

Mike does get a dog eventually.

Matt becomes much quieter, but kind of like Mike he just tries to keep going. He does stay off college for a while though, and goes to counselling. He mostly hangs out with Mike and Em and Jess. He also checks in on Ashley alot when shes still at her worst.

Matt becomes very afraid of heights.

Matt spends a lot of time with Jess while she's still in hospital, usually with Em there too because she's always there.

Chris' sprained ankle takes a while to heal, and acts up easily even when it is healed.

Chris spends most of his time sleeping so that he doesn't have to think.

Ashley is the first person to visit Chris and he only really hangs out with her for months before he speaks to anyone else from the group.

I'll shut up now, I hope these r ok! Thank you for the ask, it was super fun! :D

[austinslounge]

girl thank you for bringing up the hate Austin gets for no reason. It’s so confusing. Imo I think the hate comes from jealousy and the assumption that pretty people are automatically arrogant dicks and unfaithful partners but I’d like to hear your take

Yea girlie, I am totally ready to have that conversation if anyone else is wiling to because to me it's just gotten out of control. 🥴 I've usually kept quiet on this topic because I don't like to complain or vent too much on my blog about silly things like this, but it's to the point now where I just have to say something.

This man has been getting hate for years, and for absolutely no good reason at all.

Some people hated Austin even while he was dating Vanessa.

He's even been called a clout chaser, when hello, Ashley T. hooked them up together and Vanessa had her eye on Austin! She admitted it herself!

Then, after the Aunessa breakup, Austin was blamed for that too! Even though, we really don't actually know what the reason was for their breakup, or even who actually broke up with whom or how it happened!

Then, people called him a cheater and just assumed that Austin cheating was the reason for the Aunessa breakup, even though, there's been ZERO proof that has come out in nearly 5 years since their breakup that he cheated on her.

Then, he's been bashed for dating KG, even though, I'm almost 100% sure that she went after him! (We've seen how she operates)

Then -- there was the whole stupid "Elvis voice" thing. 🙄 That "joke" has been run into the ground for two whole years, and it's almost like beating a dead horse at this point. That man has been bullied for over two years for the voice thing, even when he doesn't even sound like Elvis! And so what if maybe he got stuck in a voice inflection for a little while? It happens to a lot of actors. Why is he the one getting so much hate? Instead of bullying him, people should have been showing him compassion and just given him more time to acclimate to his more typical way of speaking again.

Then there are also the people online who say that they just "don't like him" because they think he's "creepy" or they don't like him "just because". 😒 Like wtf? 🥴 They don't even have a real reason to hate the man, but they are so proud to say that they dislike him. This man is one of the kindest people in the industry. I'm thinking, what on earth are they smoking?

He's also been called "pretentious", "arrogant", and "phony", but yet, if you watch even just one interview of Austin (even pre-Elvis), you'll see that he's one of the sweetest, most down-to-earth and genuine celebrities out here. Other people who have worked with him or met him also echo that same sentiment.

Now, he's getting blamed for the breakup of his costar and her fiancé just because they're currently filming a movie together, and there's absolutely zero proof of them having anything romantic off-camera whatsoever. 🙄

I'm just thinking, what on earth is people's problem with this man? If anything, he's been very private, he minds his business, he works hard, he's never been involved in any scandal, he minds his manners and treats everyone with kindness and has never been one of those jerk celebrities who act entitled. I'm just trying to figure out where people are getting their reasons to hate this guy from?

I think you have probably hit the nail on the head girl. I think most people take one look at Austin and assume that someone that good-looking just has to be a jerk, a cheater, or extremely arrogant. But he's totally the opposite!

I also agree with you that part of it is jealousy too. But a lot of the people saying these things about him online are women! 🥴 It's almost like women these days automatically judge good-looking guys as bad guys or smthg. Heaven forbid a guy be hot and actually a nice guy. Those men do exist! If Austin were ugly or even just average-looking, I kind of feel like the opinion on him would be totally different.

It just makes me so sad when I see people on Twitter or online just going in on him for absolutely no good reason, and making up lies in order to justify their hatred of him, because he is so not how some people assume him to be. 😔

Thoughts anyone??

[kingkenzieofmold]

The Jewelled Maverick AU: ‘Pink Starlight’ Ashley Jang

Hi, I have a habit of yoinking other peoples characters and making them into Alternate Versions of themselves. I have created many and have gotten the green light to show off and talk about! This is my Role Swap AU that I made with @mai-mai-lim characters! Ashley Jang and Henry Stickmin [Min Seung-Jae] have Swapped Roles.

Mentioned Characters belong to Respective Creators: Brutus - @smoresthehalloweenqueen Cameron Copperbottom - @rarestdoge

Ashley went on to be a Dazzling Thief Named ‘Pink Starlight’ or ‘Starlight’. She failed at breaking into the bank and was arrested. It took her too long to pick pocket a guard of a phone but she eventually lawyer up!

She heard about the diamond and was not about to fail again. looking into it she discovered the Toppats Plans to steal it and executed the plans before they could. Successfully stealing the diamond and picking up a Mary Popins bag from the museum old movies section.

The government impressed kidnapped her to inflate the airship. Offering her to pardon of her crimes, which is rude cause she worked hard on her criminal record and instead asked them to add more crimes after she done. She gets onto the airship pure blood thief and private Investigator style, heading to the records room she meets Brutus and they have awkward moment. Ashley disguised as a Toppat gets Brutus to help her find a file on the newest heist. He does and she has her file for Galeforce.

Eventually she makes her way to the cells which lead to the vault room. As she wants to rob the Toppat of their Ruby on top of their files. She kidnaps Dave by lock picking his cell and making him get into her Mary Popin’s bag of holding. Fiddling with the door, she can’t get it open and ops for the vents.

She in counters Cameron on the way and after some convincing they head to the vault. Cameron who is really suspicious of her is ready for if she try’s anything. Ashley tricks him and lipstick tasers him, yoinking the ruby making a get away. You see, Ashely did grab the headset for PI. She just never put it on but now in the dark photo room she does. Charles is asking and Galeforce is demanding what’s happening she explains that she needs a distraction and ask if Charles can hack into speaker.

He can and so she makes her move. Heading to the Cargo bay she encounters Cameron again pissed the fuck off and ready to kill her. Speaker hacked they end up in a Friday Night Funkin’ inspired battle. Ashley ends up winning and dipping out of the cargo bay doors. The files she grab were not the correct ones but she did kidnap Dave and handed him over to the government as a witness.

Of course the add crimes made her a prime Wall target and she gets captured by them. Without her bag she has no way of getting out just yet.

In the background between Infiltrating the Airship and Fleeing the Complex both Ashley and Cameron developed a rivalry to have as many articles written about them in comparison to the other. They are determine to be the better thief and have been creating elaborate heists. Sabotage each other’s heists and Cameron has been trying to learn ‘Pink Starlights’ Identity as he doesn’t know it yet.

When Ashley is captured by the Wall it is posted all over the News ruining Camerons mood, so he spends a week planing a heist to break into the wall and Rescue all the Toppats there. Brutus has to convince him not to bust in and they sneak into the facility. They get to the control panel of all the cells and Cameron being impatient key smashes the panel, freeing everyone including Ashely.

Running out of her cell she find the room where her bag is being stored and cartoon style climbs in and charges into her normal thief outfit. Running to the exit she is in a western face off against Cameron and the Toppats. About to have a face off, to which Brutus interrupts and yells at them that they have to do that later cause the Wall is about to be on their asses. Ashley and Cameron give each other the ‘I get you next time’ look before awkwardly exited out the same doors.

The Toppats make their escape towards there stole truck before Brutus gets grabbed by Dimitri, Cameron flipping off Dimitri distracts him and they get away. Cameron about to enter the trucks get pulled out by Dimitri, who is pissed the fuck off by Cameron. Ashely seeing this is not letting it slide and drives up on the motorbike slamming Dimitri with a roundabout sign. Silence before Ashely and Camron start arguing again before Brutus grabs him again and forces him into the truck. Ashley drives out to the small bar and ask Charles for a pick up leading us into Completing the Mission.

The space station launch site is a battle felid when Charles and Ashely arrive. Fighting their way through the chaos they mange to make it to the Space Station just as Cameron Launches it into the air. Managing to grab hook her way onto the cargo bay she climbs in. Charles yelling into her ear that she is going to high altitude and to abort mission looking into the cargo bay determined. She see him.

Seung-Jae, her cousin, who she has not talked to for nine years.

“Ashley?” He whispered unsure whether it’s her or not.

“actually, its Starlight now.” Smiling she jumps from the cargo bay doors pulling out an umbrella and floating down grabbing onto Charles Helicopter rails. Upon Climbing in Charles asks her what happened and she smiles a wide sly grin.

“meet an old acquaintance again.”

On the cargo bay Seung-Jae is stunned not expecting to see his cousin after everything. Brutus in the background looks startled at the realization that Henry Stickmin Knows who ‘Starlight’ actually is. This changes everything.

I hoped you enjoyed my little role swap AU I made from my friend’s characters. I have some more but want to wait to ensure I get the green light on them! I had to leave out a lot of details, as this was meant to be a synopsis. Still ended up way too long so if you made it this far… Hi! I wish you a wonderful day and hope you enjoyed!<3

Any further questions ask maimai please!

Bonus Art

✨Sly Starlight Emote✨

[queenofbaws]

Hi again!! I have an offer for a 6 sentence prompt, after reading a few of your great fics with the matt + ashley dynamic, I'd love to see your take on a world where they're the only two survivors of UD!

He woke up and the bed was cold, but there wasn't anything shocking about that. Almost everything else about them slotted so cleanly into place, fitting into perfect little notches like gears meant to keep each other turning...sleep schedules, though? Nah. Never. He doubted that one would ever take.

It wasn't until he grabbed his phone off the nightstand and checked the time that it occurred to him, something might be wrong. There, in dark, bold numbers set against his lockscreen (still that terrible picture from Thanksgiving, all of his grandma's ridiculous bouquets of glass gem corn and plastic maple leaves peeking out from between their exhausted smiles), proof this wasn't just an early-to-bed-early-to-rise thing.

Ashley was up before him. And he didn't like that.

She was a night owl - and that was putting it lightly - her brain hitting its stride sometime around lunch, her first yawns coming closer to sunrise than sunset. She used the quiet hours to read, to write, to dump out all the poison thoughts she was still too shy to let him see. Matt knew that, and, frankly, got it. He was the same, but opposite; he got more things done before the sun was up than most people got done in the day, jogging, stretching, working out, meal prep, shower, shave, clothes, chores, and he'd be a liar if he said he didn't vent his own worries then, forcing them out in the times and places he knew she wouldn't see.

What had happened...well, it was like a lot of things. The same, just opposite. There were things she'd had to do that he'd never understand. There were things he'd seen that she'd never understand. Not for lack of trying, just...brains could only take so much. Even hers. Especially his.

So they lived in the overlap, the comfortable (shockingly comfortable, in fact) place where their schedules lined up and their experiences meshed, where they fit together like those gears. It was a funny place, most of the time, caught somewhere between 'birds of a feather flock together' and 'opposites attract,' always just as much one as it was the other. She laughed when he tried to make jokes, he nodded thoughtfully and did his best to spark her memory when she needed a word, she only winced a little when he'd tried going keto a few months back, he'd finished reading the first draft of her novel even though it'd taken him the better part of two months to get through. And it was good, that living. It was good, and it was beautiful, and some days he forgot that they hadn't always been like this, that something had come before.

Matt got up, leaving the warm, rumpled covers for the chilly, chilly hall, rubbing the bleariness from his eyes as he went. There were no lights on to suggest she was still writing in the back room, no noises to lead him to a percolating coffee pot, and with each step he took, his worries gnawed a little deeper, tapping into that part of him that remembered what it was like to turn around and see the person you thought had been following you was just gone. Vanished into thin air.

He found her sitting beneath the bay window, her knees to her chest and her chin to her knees, the side of her head resting against one of the panes of glass...and the dread went out of him in a wave. He breathed it out, louder than he meant to, but even at his (admittedly) comical little 'whew,' Ashley didn't look away from the dark, sleeping world outside.

He joined her - as best he could, anyway, given the size of the alcove the window was in - sitting with his legs outstretched and his feet bumping hers, looking not past the glass but straight ahead at her. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked with another good-natured jostle, his foot nudging the sugar-plum-and-candy-cane print of her pajama pants.

Instead of answering straightaway, Ashley tapped a finger to the window, her nail clicking slightly, and when Matt turned -

"...oh."

Together, they watched the snow fall outside. Watched it become a dusting on the grass, the street, the sidewalks, the cars parked and waiting for the morning. The sun would melt it, erase it, and most of their neighbors would never even know that it had happened, but there it was. White and frail and bitterly, bitterly cold. A promise of the winter ahead; a reminder of the one they'd left behind.

"I think we should go on vacation," Ashley said after a long while, her voice rasped. From the all-nighter, he'd let her say later, not from anything else. "Somewhere...somewhere warm, maybe."

"I think...that's the best idea anyone has ever had," Matt agreed, and when he opened his arms, there weren't words for how grateful he was that she moved from her spot of her own volition, scooting over to tuck herself against him.

It was easier to watch the snow gather on the ground that way - her back to his chest, his chin on her head, their arms crisscrossed, knotted, interwoven. They were stronger in that overlap, and they would keep being stronger there, too - no matter what winter threatened them with.

[therealroselovejoy]

Chapter Five of Run

Daryl Dixon x OC

My feet tread the same line as I pace back and forth. Milly bites her nails with anxiety and Ashley sits on Marie's lap.

"The air conditioning isn't working," Lori announces, her hand waving underneath the vent. My stomach clenches a bit tighter. How are we supposed to just act normal after Jenner told us about decontamination?

"Sit down honey. Pacing like this is only going to scare the children," Marie says to me, causing me to look over at Carl and Sophia. They're watching me with a nervous expression on both their faces.

Sighing, I go back to the room I shared with Daryl, going to my bag to make sure it's packed. The redneck is in here also, drinking more alcohol. At this rate, liver failure will kill him before the undead does.

"How 'bout you settle right down on this bed with me, Sugar Tits."

"Great, you're drunk. Again." My bag looks good and I hoist it on my back, preparing for an immediate exit. The room goes dark and I realize the lights have gone out except for the hallway.

"Why isn't the A/C working?" I hear Lori ask someone.

"And why are the lights out in our rooms?" This is Andrea.

I look out the door, seeing Jenner walking through the living quarters. Daryl presses me against the door jam, wanting to lookout as well. "Why is everything shut off?"

"Energy use is being prioritized." Jenner grabs the bottle hanging from Daryl's hand, taking a swig of it.

"Air isn't a priority? And lights?" Dale brings up.

"It's not up to me. Zone 5 is shutting itself down."

"Hey, what the hell does that mean!" Daryl chases after him and I follow behind. "Hey man, I'm talkin' to you!"

He continues to ignore the sleeveless man. We follow him down the stairs, meeting up with the men from the group.

"Jenner, what's happening!" Rick storms towards the scientist. Jenner reiterates what he told us. We come into the lab again, the timer now at a half an hour left.

"It was the French. They were the last ones as far as I know." He hands Daryl back his bottle, looking at all of us solemnly. "While our people were bolting and committing suicide in the hallways, they were holding out. They thought they were close to a solution."

"What happened?" Jacqui asks.

"The same thing that's happening here. No power grid. Ran out of juice. The world runs on fossil fuels. I mean how stupid is that?" He walks away from us, not expecting a real answer.

"Everyone pack your things! We're getting out of here now!" Rick orders. My family is already packed, Marie having followed my lead earlier. As people scatter, an alarm goes off, filling the room with red lights. Before anyone can get to the door, Jenner shuts it.

"Did you just lock us in?" Glenn asks, staring at the sealed exit.

I pull my gun out, putting against his temple. "You better open it, right now."

"We've hit the thirty-minute mark and I am recording," he says to the monitor, ignoring me. I hear Daryl run up behind me, shouting insults. Shane grabs him before he can attack the scientist.

"Put the gun down, Lilly. It's not going to do any good," Shane says to me, earning himself a glare, but I lower my weapon.

"All the emergency exits are sealed. I told you once those doors closed, there would be no going back! You heard me say that! It's better this way."

"What is?" our leader asks, incredulously at him. "What happens in twenty-eight minutes?"

When he doesn't answer, Shane hits him on the back, causing Jenner to explode. "Do you know what this place is? We protected the public from very nasty stuff! Weaponized smallpox! Ebola strains that could wipe out half of the country! Stuff you don't want getting out, ever!"

We're silent, looking at each other. Jenner speaks again, more collected than before. "In the event of a catastrophic power failure, in a terrorist attack for example, H.I.T.s are deployed to prevent any organisms from getting out."

"H.I.T.s?"

"Vi, define."

"H.I.T.s...high impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosives consist of a two-stage aerosol ignition that produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive, except nuclear."

"How comforting," I mutter, pacing again. "At least it's not nuclear." Sobbing starts around the room, the others hugging their loved ones, figuring out that we'll all burn to death.

"It'll catch the air on fire."

"Yeah, we got that, asshole," I respond.

"There's no pain. An end to sorry, grief, regret...everything."

Daryl slams his bottle into the sealed door. "Open the damn door!" he screams. Shane runs towards it next with an ax. Someone tosses Daryl one and together they do absolutely no damage to it.

"We can't make a dent," Shane comes back, out of breath.

"These doors are created to withstand rocket launchers."

"But your head ain't!" Daryl yells, running towards him with the ax. I grab it, taking the weapon away from him. He clearly can't think well with the alcohol and normal hillbilly rage he possesses. The other men drag him backwards when he goes to launch at me to get it back.

"You do want this! You said so yourself that it was only a matter of time before everyone you loved died," Jenner says to Rick. The group glares at their leader, despite him being spot on. We're all on borrowed time.

"I had to keep hope alive," he defends himself.

"There is no hope. There never was!"

Rick stalks over to him. "Maybe it won't be you, maybe not here, but somebody, somewhere—"

"What part of 'everything is gone' don't you understand?" Andrea says, almost in a fetal position. She's starting to sound more and more like Milly.

"This is our extinction event."

I scoff, leaning back onto the table. "I can't believe I'm going to die and my last hookup was Redneck McGee over here."

"Really not the time to joke," Dale comments.

"This is how she copes," Marie defends, pulling Ashley closer to her. She's holding it together better than Lori and Carol. Milly, like usual, doesn't give a shit about anything.

A gun cocks, grabbing all of our attention. Shane has a shotgun pointed at Jenner. "Open that door or I'm going to blow your head off!" Rick tries to calm him down, whispering something in his ear. He screams, turning and shooting at the monitors. Our leader wrestles the weapon away from him.

"Grab that ax. Help me hit the door again," Daryl says, nodding to Shane's discarded one. Sighing, I listen, following behind him. I drop my bag before landing blow after blow against the metal. It drops down and I look back to see Jenner's hand on the dial-pad. He opened it for us.

"Let's go!" the redneck screams at me, grabbing my bag for me. I wait behind for my family.

"C'mon, why aren't you running to the door?!" I scream at them, jogging back over to the three.

"I'm staying," Milly says, not moving a muscle from the floor.

"No you aren't. You have a daughter to worry about. Get your ass up and let's go!"

She shakes her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. "I'm just a burden on you...Marie...this group. I'm tired of fighting a battle I've already lost!"

I look around, noticing that Jaqui and Andrea have stayed behind, too. Are these bitches crazy?

"What the fuck are you doin'?" Daryl yells, running back in for us.

"Milly doesn't want to leave," I comment.

"And what, you're goin' to stay too? No, fuck that." He gives me my bag back, picking up my twin and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Put me down! I want to die! Why won't you let me die?!" she cries out as we head towards the exterior exit.

"Just shut the fuck up. You don't get to be a coward," Daryl barks back, practically dropping her into the floor. My sister is a sobbing mess, rolling into a fetal position.

"Rick, I might have something that can help!" Carol calls out, handing Rick an actual grenade.

"Look out!" We all duck for cover, Daryl dragging Milly with him. The glass shatters from the bomb. My stomach unclenches more. We're getting out!

"Let's go!"

Daryl grabs my sister again and we head out. I cover him, taking out Walkers that get too close to us. He tosses Milly into the bed of his truck before climbing in next to me in the cab. Marie and Ashley got into the other car with Carol.

Andrea and Dale climb out, jogging towards the vehicles. One of the cars honk, Rick screaming at them to get down. It looks like the CDC is out of time.

"Everyone get down!"

Daryl leans his whole sweaty body over me, trying to shield me from the impact. A loud sound echoes through the area before a wave of heat rolls over us. We sit up, looking at where the building once stood, now just one big bonfire.

The cars start up again, prompting Daryl to follow. His hand goes out to clasp mine, but I pull it away, sitting on my hands for good measure. He glares at me, turning back to focus on the road.

Everything about this place was a damn mistake.

[shark-watermelon]

This is a post that may offend people, so I ask you to tolerate it or simply ignore me.

I don't know if I'm the first person to say this, but- stop with the LGBT couples at Disventure Camp.

Before calling me homophobic instead of ignoring me, I have my reasons:

So far there are six canon LGBT couples: Tom and Jake, James and Aiden, Derek and Trevor, Gabby and Ellie, Molly and Annika, and all (so far) happy and healthy (except Tom and Jake).

What about heterosexuals ones?

So far there are six canon hetero couples: Maggie and Kai, Hunter and Ally, Ashley and Will, Riya and Connor, Yul and Grett.

Two of them healthy, one that is healing and two very toxic that they did well to end. (I'm not counting Marcus and his wife, Alec and his ex-wife and Connor with his wife, the first two went badly and the last one has no idea).

And it's most likely that with the new cast there will be at least three more gays and one straight (or at least that's what I think).

And all this is most likely because LGBT couples (or something from that community itself) sell more, have more visits and support, and hetero couples are obviously already normalized so they are not taken as important as the others.

I'm not saying that they should be exterminated or something like that, I still have a couple of LGBT couples with my OCs, but it's like giving a kind of respite and leaving the relationships alone if they are in the middle of a competition for money.

I feel that a solution that can be given is for them to make more couples like Jake and Tom, BUT breaking up and not coming back again, knowing that they hurt each other and leaving each other as exes.

"But if they are cartoons, why are you complaining?" I don't even know, I wanted to vent a little.

TomJake zzz

[laoruna]

Mass Effect Trilogy appreciation week - day 3

hi mom, I have a thing I want to talk to you about. I’m free for the next 8 hrs (traveling, location classified (spectre business sorry)), call me if you can?

Hi Jane. It’s good to hear from you. I can call you in an hour or so. How private a conversation do you need?

private private

I’ll make sure to give the comms crew an early night off then.

thanks mom, love you

Love you too, Jane. See you soon!

-

Hannah Shepard had to admit she was nervous when she started the vidcall with her daughter. She was incredibly proud of her, but even she was getting increased scrutiny for Jane’s new position as the first human Spectre – she could only imagine all the pressure her daughter was under. And her request for a private conversation could mean anything from venting off steam to asking for help about a mistake that could cause intergalactic war if it was found out. She schooled her features into a reassuring smile by the time the call connected, and seeing her daughter’s face smoothed away most of her worries – she was trying to hide it, but she was looking more embarrassed than afraid.

“Hi Mom!”

“Hello Jane! It’s good to see you. How are you holding up?”

“I-” Hannah watched, as her daughter decided to drop the masks. She was glad she felt safe enough to do so, but she wished Jane didn’t have to hide herself at all. “I am so tired. Everyone is counting on me, and I wasn’t trained for politics, but Udina keeps telling me I could start a war with a wrong word…” she buried her face in her hands, and Hannah wished she could hug her through the screen. Jane looked back up, her expression immensely tired. “I never wanted all this.”

“I know, darling. God, I wish I could help, but I promise, you can talk to me about anything. I love you, and I’m so proud of you. I hope you know that.”

“I do, mom, and it helps.” She took a deep breath, and put on a weary smile. “Love you too.”

They sat in silence for a few seconds, before Hannah spoke up again.

“You said there was a… private ‘thing’ you wanted to talk about?”

Jane turned as red as her hair in a second, and she looked to the side. Hannah had to force back a smile – that reaction gave her a good idea as to what her daughter wanted to talk about.

“Well, there’s this… I mean I… I’ve met a…” Seeing her stammering made it impossible for Hannah to suppress a small laugh.

“What’s her name, darling?” She asked with a smile.

Jane buried her face in her hands again, but her reply was still audible: “Ashley. Ashley Williams.”

Williams? Probably a coincidence, the name was fairly wide-spread. Hannah chose to ignore it, at least for now. Instead, she asked: “What is she like?”

Her daughter looked back up at the screen, and while her face was still beet red, her eyes shined with an intense emotion. “She is wonderful. She is pretty, and smart, loves poetry, and has a big heart, despite all the shit the world has thrown at her- at first she had some… unfortunate views, but being on the Normandy helped her get some perspective-”

Hannah couldn’t help a sharp intake of breath at hearing that, and Jane noticed it, stopping with a guilty look.

“Jane. You said this Ashley is serving on your ship?” She tried to sound as non-judgmental as possible, but a lifetime of military career instilled an inherent reaction against fraternization.

“...yes. We picked her up on Eden Prime after her squad was killed by the geth.” Her daughter’s gaze turned determined. “And before you ask, yes, she is form that Williams family. She’s the granddaughter of the General Williams. And she has been punished for daring to be born into the wrong family enough.” Jane had fire in her eyes, and her whole expression radiated an unstoppable iron will. Hannah realized that she just got a look at the Commander Shepard, Hero of Elysium, and she got immediately ashamed for forcing this reaction out of her daughter.

“I’m sorry, Jane.” The words, and their shameful tone, seemed to shock the younger woman out of her soldier-like vehemence. “You came to me as your mother, and I reacted like a career soldier. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted like that.”

“No, Mom, I- I understand. For a long time I did the same whenever I caught myself having… feelings for Ash. But we’ve been through so much already, and the way things are going…” She gave Hannah a sad smile. “I can’t keep lying to myself. Even if I don’t act on it, I have to be honest with myself, or I’m afraid of losing who I am in all the acting I have to do.”

Hannah felt her heart breaking for her child. She was unspeakably proud of her, but she also wished she could just live her life as a regular woman, as far from the pedestal the Alliance put her on as possible.

“You deserve all the love and happiness in the world, Jane. I love you, and no matter what anyone says, I’ll continue to love you and support every decision you make.” With a half smile, she added. “Maybe your Spectre status also makes you exempt from fraternization laws too. You deserve some perks with all the burdens.”

Jane laughed at that. “It’s worth looking into, I guess.” She gave her mother a grateful smile. “Thank you, Mom. Sorry for bullrushing you like that, I just had so many emotions about this-”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, darling. You have so much on your plate, and I shouldn’t have added to it.” After a little pause, she asked, a bit hesitantly: “Does Ashley know…?”

Once again, Jane’s face reddened, and she scratched the back of her head.

“I… I think so? I have been trying to find out her feelings about, like, women and relationships and such, and she seemed…” she turned even redder “Receptive. Don’t know for sure though.”

Hannah smiled at her.

“You should talk to her then, openly, and I’m sure you can find a way to be together if that’s what you both want.”

“Yeah. I’ll… I’ll do that.” She gave her mother a sheepish, but grateful smile. “Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re very welcome, Jane.” They sat in a comfortable silence for a little, before Hannah asked. “How is your assignment going?”

“I wish I could tell you, Mom, but all details are Council-classified.” Came the answer with a frustrated sigh. “We’re getting close, I can tell, but the guy is slippery.”

Hannah gave a commiserating smile.

“I know how frustrating classified missions can be. I wish you luck, Jane.”

“Thank y-” Suddenly, Jane’s omnitool started flashing, indicating an incoming important message. “I’m sorry, Mom, I have to cut this short. It’s the Council.”

“Take care, Jane. And remember: I love you.”

Her daughter smiled at her through the screen.

“I will Mom. Love you too.” And she closed the call.

Hannah spent the next few hours of her off-duty cycle subtly contacting many of her friends, acquaintances and contacts among the Alliance brass, paving the way if she needed to call in some favors in the future. Her daughter might be a Spectre now, but surely she could still use the help of her mother every now and then.