#but it's so easy to see this as just two besties on an adventure exploring the countryside

[nctangelz]

( 💌 ) LOADING . . . MONIQUE WITH NCT 127!

TAEYONG

MOM AND DAD!!! everyone always jokes that they are the parents / stressed mom and dad / co-leaders of NCT. taeyong said he offered the leader role to monique pre-debut, but she declined because she insisted that taeyong was the one who earned it 🥺. moni and taeyong are always seen watching in the corner as chaos begins…waiting together until they have to intervene.

tae + moni are probably the closest out of everyone in NCT, they grew up eachother living as neighbors, so they go WAY back. they love sharing stories from school to nctzens! moni always jokes that taeyong will be the one to walk her down the aisle when she marries (since yk, her dad left to get milk and never came back 💀), and taeyong doesn’t believe it…but she really does mean it! their relationship is just so precious, we love to see it!

JOHNNY

BESTIESSSSS, johnny & monique just clicked when they met as trainees, and instantly hit it off!! they bonded over the fact they were away from home, and they both taught each other things about their country! moni even successfully taught johnny how to speak in french somewhat! she accidentally switches from english to french when she’s have conversations w/ johnny, and johnny just stands there like 🧍‍♂️ i have no idea what your saying.

johnny loves to take moni on little adventures and they are always going sight seeing or going to other cities to explore whenever they have downtime! she is often a guest on JCC … even if she isn’t tagging along for the activity she finds a way to be in it, even if she’s unwilling. they always have a blast together! it’s so easy for moni & johnny to talk to each other and moni loves that she gets to relax around johnny and know she’s going to have a good time!

YUTA

THE BADDIES of NCT. lemme tell you, yuta & moni? baddest besties alive, they look like the could kill you, but actually are the sweetest duo known to earth. they are always hyping each other up and whenever they go out, they are DRESSSSEDD. they love to express themselves in anyway, and they are each other’s biggest supporters.

the two of them are always stirring the pot whenever they are eachother, they love to make stuff up and convince everyone it’s true and just mess with everyone…it’s typically doyoung or taeyong that realize their antics and in moni’s words “ruin the fun” they are also always just doing crazy things and the members are lowkey scared of them, esp moni. yuta brings out the chaotic side of her members never thought could ever exist 😭😭

DOYOUNG

doyoung just wants to worry and care for moni like a gentlemen, but moni makes it SO HARD. she’s always harassing him and making fun of him, and doyoung is just like 💀 girl be so for real rn. he would be in the middle of doing something for her like opening a chip bag and moni just starts screaming “YAH, DOYOUNG, DO YOU THINK IM INCAPABLE JUST BECAUSE IM A WOMEN? YOU DONT THINK I HAVE MUSCLES? HOW RUDE.” and doyoung is like WTF. he just looks at her with his crazy eyes and gives up 😭😭

but dw, doyoung will harass her right back and moni will giggle and say sorry. he always worries about her and makes sure she’s eating and drinking and will always try and prevent her from making self-sabotaging decisions…but does she listen? 9 times out of 10 she doesn’t but yk, he tried!!

JAEHYUN

moni is sooo affectionate around jaehyun, he just looks so cozy and comfy! whenever she sees him she loves to tackle him in a hug and lay her entire body weight on him. jae is dying while moni is in her own world, happy as could be. jae & moni are inseparable once together though, once they hang out and spend time together; there’s no going back. they will spend time together until moni passes out and takes a cat nap…and jaehyun just goes back to playing games.

moni & jaehyun are such a great team when playing games, because moni is really good at creating strategy and working out puzzles, while jaehyun has the muscle to actually execute the mission. moni always takes his strength to her advantage, for example having him carry her bags or even her when she’s super tired…not that jae minds though. he likes that moni allows him to protect her!!! if someone were to mess w/ moni…you better hide from jaehyun, he is moni’s #1 defender.

JUNGWOO

jungwoo LOVES to listen to moni. whenever moni needs someone to talk to to either vent or just talk about built up ideas in her head, she goes to jungwoo. he loves listening to his older sister talk…even if he’s worried for her mental health. he will always be moni’s shoulder to rest on! he will listen and let her talk, and then the two of them will work it out together…or just do something to cheer themselves up!

moni adores jungwoo with all her heart, she will spoil him always. if he briefly mentions wanting something one day, she’ll buy it and hide it until his bday/christmas. she would do anything for woo, and it’s so precious! all the members complain that jungwoo is her favorite because she always is doing stuff for him, and she will swear up and down she doesn’t have a favorite….but jungwoo knows he’s the favorite <3

MARK

mark is moni’s child - she’s always worried…she’s worried about his health but also worried about just how he acts. mark will say some weird stuff and moni is just standing there like 😀 should i be concerned? but besides her worries, mark makes her laugh SO MUCH. she will try and hold in her giggles..but mark makes it impossible 😭

make probably visits moni’s apartment the most out of 127, he likes to come visit after a long day when he needs to just power down and be in silence for awhile. moni always lets him crash in her bed and let him relax….she will usually just sleep on her couch or spend time in her studio. she will always make him breakfast before he leaves too! moni will always understand and let him come over when he needs to be alone…but he also comes and visits and watches movies with her! he tolerates her movies as long as she makes him food 🥺

HAECHAN

haechan will harass moni just like he will the other members, but moni just smiles and pats his head in response. moni will always have a soft spot for her younger members, and they can’t help but crumble under her love <3. moni will always be there to gently pat his head and tell him it’s okay…which causes him to be even more chaotic 💀, haechan just sticks his tongue out at moni and carries on

but haechan loves loves loves moni, he will always hug her and cling on to her, and moni just smiles and wraps him up in her arms. she took care of him and the dreamies a lot during training days because they were so young…so moni is lowkey haechan’s 2nd mom. haechan always knows he can rely on moni to save him whenever he is loosing or getting picked on too!!! moni will defend haechan until the day she dies <3

tags :: @yjjnfied

[mothergold]

Tighnari or Cyno, maybe?

This isn't my best work, but it was still very fun to write and it's not as bad as it could be, so here you go mootie!! I hope you enjoy it <3

| The Capabilities of a Man |

Afab!Gn!Reader x Tighnari 

Warnings: MINORS DNI THANKS, Brief Smut, Mutual Pining but their both oblivious idiots (not really explicitly said), Friends with Benefits relationship, Reader is an alchemist that works alongside Albedo & Sucrose, Reader is from Mondstadt, No pronouns for reader, He/Him for Tighnari, Tighnari takes off your shirt consensually, Reader is a sensitive baby bc me too bestie, Afab reader, Gender neutral reader, Biting, Scratching, Nightmares/Night terrors, Hyperventilating, No mentions of breasts but there’s alludings to it if you squint, the pacing of this is a little off but oh well, 1.9k words. 

“Fuck me, it’s hot.” You exclaimed, putting a hand above your forehead to block out the sunlight.

Although the weather in Sumeru was hard to adapt to, there was fortunately so much to be explored, or in your case, researched. You were sent from Mondstadt to do research on the local fungi lifeforms in the area. It was already proving boring and easy work to say the least, but the fact of boredom disappeared the moment you ran into him. 

“Well, what do we have here? Didn’t think I’d run into you here of all places.” You heard a familiar voice say. 

Looking up you saw the face of the familiar voice, Tighnari. 

“Hey, it’s you! How’re you, uh, how are things?” You tried to make conversation but ended up coming off nervous.. 

“Just patrolling the forest, making sure idiot adventurers don’t stray too far from the path.” He sighed. “The usual. But the real question is why are you here? You’re very far from home.” He asked.

You sighed and gave up on appearances. You’d think sleeping with the man in front of you a few times would make you loosen up around him, but you would be very wrong. There was something about him that made the tension so thick and so palpable that anyone could feel it just by looking at the two of you. 

“I was sent here by the chief alchemist on a research mission, as well as to collect some data on the lifeforms that live in these forests.” You replied, more focused on Tighnari than your research. 

Tighnari looked behind him towards the lit up forest ranger houses, and then back to you with a concerned expression. “Well, it’s getting dark, too dark for proper research. Let’s get you inside.” Before you could even protest he said, “Come on, you can stay with me for the night, then we’ll find you a proper place tomorrow.” 

He grabbed your hand without warning, causing you to tense up and become hot with embarrassment, and led you back to his home. Once you were inside the place you took a moment to look around and study the surrounding area. Inside it was lit up by candlelight, and a lone lamp that's design was quite elaborate, yet tasteful. Looking around at the rest of his living area you could tell just how passionate of his work he was, and you expected nothing less from your old friend. 

Friend. Heh, life sure is a bitch.

At least that’s all you could say to reason with the dull aching in your chest. It was as if the archons were taunting you, playing a sick game of cat and mouse. Seeing how long it would take to make you surrender, but you were tougher than nails, stronger than most people realized, so you lived on. Unfortunately, the downside was that you slept with a man on occasion who you had deep feelings for, who you knew didn’t feel the same. Still, you chose to torture yourself, and instead of the plethora of opportunities you had to speak your truth were left to die on your tongue. 

Turning your attention back to Tighnari, both gratefully and regretfully—joyous to see him again, but sad to live the same ending over and over, again—you watched as he made the bed. His bed. The bed you’d most likely be sleeping in, beside him. After all, you both had already had sex, so what else was there to hide? What’s the worst that could happen?

After he’d finished preparing the bed he gestured gently for you to crawl in, but still keeping his distance. “Get some sleep, please.” He said, exhaustion dripping from his voice.

You crawled into bed hesitantly and asked quietly, “What about you?” 

He smiled and shook his head. “I’ll be fine, you go ahead. I’ll stay up and keep watch.” 

You shook your head angrily and grabbed his wrist. “No, you need sleep too. Get in the bed, ‘Nari.” 

His ears pricked up then flattened as he looked away in embarrassment. He couldn’t win when you used that nickname of his, it was his kryptonite. “Fine.” He said begrudgingly and slid in bed beside you. 

He turned off the lamp on his nightstand and let out a comfortable sigh as he snuggled underneath the covers. He enjoyed this, he missed you, more than he was willing to admit. The forest was unusually quiet that night, too much for Tighnari’s liking, especially when he had you sweating beside him. He knew you weren’t used to the weather, but he was still a tad surprised by your ability to become so hot so quickly. 

“Are you comfortable?” He asked.

“M-me? Oh yeah, I’m okay.” You lied. 

He let out a small groan and turned on his side, taking some of the blanket with him. “If you’re gonna lie to me, at least do a better job.” 

You swallowed hard and tried not to let the tears surface, biting back your cries of shame. 

Then, he spoke up, again. “If you’re still hot you’re going to have to remove some clothes.”

You knew Tighnari was blunt, but maybe it had been awhile since you both had truly seen each other. The ache in your chest began to grow as did the sweat pooling over and under your chest. It was hot, hotter than you realized and as much as you hated to admit it, he was right, but you could’ve at least tried to hold out, and so you did. Well, you tried to, but Tighnari got annoyed very quickly.

He turned back over to face you and placed his hands on the sleeves of your shirt. “Let me.” He waited for your nod of approval before removing your shirt.

You were embarrassed, sure, but at that point the heat became too unbearable and you had given up on fighting him. 

“Better?” He asked, and you nodded in agreement. “Good. Now, get some sleep.” 

The rest of the night went by smoothly, you slept through the sounds of the forest and the soft snores of your friend. You’d finally cooled down, even let go of your shame enough to unknowingly wrap yourself around the forest ranger. It was peaceful in the purest of ways. That is until a horrible nightmare ripped you from your peaceful slumber. You tossed and turned frantically, causing Tighnari to stir awake where he watched you like a hawk, making sure you were okay, but that was before you started to hyperventilate. That’s when Tighnari tried to wake you from that dreadful nightmare, carefully. 

“Can you hear me?” He asked calmly, but feeling frantic on the inside. He was worried sick.

When he asked a couple times to no response, he then decided to wrap you up in his arms and sit you upright. Wanting to make sure you didn’t have any breathing complications. He waited patiently, shushing you softly and rocking you gently in his arms, until you awoke with a gasp. He let you have a moment to catch your breath before he talked to you.

“Are you okay?”

Silence.

“Do you know where you are?” He asked hastily.

You nodded and pushed the words out. “Tigh.. Tighnari’s house.” 

“Good. Now, make sure you’re breathing in nice and slow, okay?” He said firmly yet gently. 

You did as he said for a solid five to ten minutes before looking into his eyes. Tighnari watched as the light slowly returned to you, and gave you a great big hug. “You had me so worried.” He pulled away momentarily, studying you as he asked. “Are you okay, now?”

You nodded with a sad smile. “Yes, I am. Don’t worry.” 

“A bit late for that.” He teased with a playful smile. 

There was a brief moment of silence before you spoke up, placing your hand on one of his cheeks. “Can we hold off on sleep for a while? I’m a bit scared to go back to sleep to be honest…” 

He nodded and gave you another hug, this time tighter. You could smell his natural musk and it was intoxicating, along with the feel of his skin against yours. “Of course, we can.”

Pulling away he laid you back onto the bed and turned on the lamp. He wanted to see your face illuminated with light just once before you had to leave. Even if it was only for a mere moment, he wanted to indulge in that small blessing. Laying beside you he found his wandering hands finding your still ones, and entangling them together he hummed an unfamiliar song. If it weren’t for your recent rude awakening you would’ve found yourself asleep to the tune of the song, but instead you couldn’t help but focus on how warm his body and hands were. It was as if they were luring you closer and closer towards him until, finally the distance closed altogether as he sealed his lips against yours.

It took you by surprise at first, which was surprising considering the past you two shared, but still, you found yourself full of shock once he grabbed your face gently and pressed his lips to yours. But instead of questioning it, denying him the pleasure of your lips, or even pushing him away, you just let it happen. You enjoyed the bliss from beginning to end, pretending as if you had no problems risking your dignity or pride, but there was so much at risk with him. There were always risks when it came to Tighnari, but this time you let go, fully and unapologetically and simply allowed him to embrace you just as you were. 

Soon kisses became touches and touches became something more, till the two of you were tangled in the sheets with only your bare bodies for comfort. His nails dragged against your back as he pumped himself inside of you, moaning in your ear like a starving man. Your fingers tangled in his hair, tugging at it roughly for more than he could offer up. His hands pinned you down by your wrists and let go of his judgements and worries, he fucked into you at an unforgiving pace. 

It was almost as if he was chasing something. You? The archons? Or a righteous answer? Who knows, but one thing was for sure, he’d never flown higher than he had in that very moment. The both of you had scratch, bit, and moaned your way through the thick darkness and only stopped when the both of you grew weary. Too tired to keep going, but somehow managing to do so anyway. This cycle continued till the both of you eventually fell asleep naked in each other’s arms. Maybe, things could be different you told yourself, maybe come morning you could confess your long lived secrets, and perhaps things could turn out good for you after all. 

For now, you’d bask in the warmth of Sumeru in the company of your (hopefully) soon to be lover. For now you’d enjoy a moment untouched by ruin and simply be, which is exactly how it was all meant to be. 

[bluedalahorse]

wlw in the sad swedish teens show: some thoughts

I’m going to share some stedrika thoughts, not as a meta, just as a kind of… sharing of my unsolicited personal opinions. There was a thread going around with some idea-provoking discussion, but I also feel like I’d be hijacking said thread if I weighed in. So I figured it was better to make my own post and chat there.

So I’m aro ace, but I also kind of identify with the label sapphic. I’m more gray ace than full ace, and that grayness of ace identity is 90% of the time directed toward women. I was in a romantic-sexual partnership with a woman for 2.5 years before figuring more things out. (Also, my ex was pretty toxic, so there was that.) I attended a single-sex college, continue to hang in groups of women today, and just generally exist in a social culture that leans more sapphic/wlw, homosocial, and ace. Probably the most masculinity-dominated experiences I have are logging onto my dash and watching fandom interaction that is a lot more mlm-focused than the rest of my life.

In the gap between seasons 1 and 2, I wasn’t hoping for stedrika as my wlw representation. I was hoping we would get gay or bi or ace or otherwise queer Felice. It isn’t too hard to make up a queer narrative for Felice. She connects with Wilhelm, who’s also figuring himself out, and we know how it is with the queer kids all finding one another even before they fully understand themselves what’s going on. Felice’s pursuit of Wilhelm and then pivoting to August also feels like she’s hitting the two ends of the spectrum of compulsory heterosexuality. Wilhelm is that nice, approachable boy where it’s easy to convince yourself you have a crush on him, because who wouldn’t? Also he’s a prince! August is that guy where you’re like “well if the idea of dating men is generally unpleasant all around, then dating the most unpleasant one is doing heterosexuality right, isn’t it?” Felice’s mom also puts a lot of pressure on her about boys (and that line about whose babies are royal feels like it’s something Felice would have been told growing up) in a way where you can parallel it to Kristina putting pressure on Wilhelm. There’s a lot of good queer and wlw material to work with for Felice! And I’m glad fandom hasn’t entirely given up on that, even if it doesn’t seem like canon is going that direction. (Send me your gay Felice fics where she’s the center of the story, btw. Send themmmm.)

Stedrika as wlw representation brushes up against the archetype of two femme best friends who are also roommates, one of whom is secretly pining for the other, one of whom may or may not be pining back. That archetype in its requited form is… not my favorite wlw archetype. I don’t mean I hate it, but I do mean I’m pretty “meh” about it. I read a lot of YA fiction, for both personal enjoyment and career reasons. Best-friends-to-lovers wlw comes up a lot, especially in stories where a wlw couple isn’t the center of the story. It can be enjoyable for me, if the characterization is complex enough overcome the trope itself. But I can’t help noticing how many mlm YA stories let a boy crush on the hot new boy, or someone outside his usual social circle, whereas the message for girls is “the one for you has been near you all along! Girls achieve an adventure by clicking their heels and saying There’s No Place Like Home!”

I understand that the sapphic girl with a crush on her bestie is a trope that has some basis in reality, and for some folks it can be really empowering to see those kinds of pairs get a Happily Ever After together. I also think it can be empowering for the female character with the sapphic crush to come to the realization (either through rejection or other circumstances) that her bestie isn’t going to like her back that way, but she does understand herself better now. And she’s going to use that knowledge to build herself up and explore new values and seek out new wlw relationships and join the queer revolution. Hahaha you can tell what sort of storyline I prefer. Truth be told I would be more interested in a story where Fredrika doesn’t requite Stella’s feelings and Stella has to reinvent herself than I would a story where suddenly they love each other. I’m sure the YR writing team would make the latter interesting too, but if they gave me a choice between the latter and the former and promised they would be equally well written, I’d pick the latter.

Here’s the other thing about stedrika. I don’t entirely find them boring. I do like them! This is going to sound like me being a problematic queer, maybe, but… I like the fact that they’re mean. Not in a “you go girl!” sort of way where I’m cheering on their meanness and tendency to gossip. I don’t want them to stay mean. But I do find it interesting that Stella at least is hiding some part of her authentic self, and she and Fredrika haven’t gotten to discuss something honestly, and the price they pay is lashing out at others for their authenticity, especially their authenticity around romantic feelings. I think there’s some interesting narrative questions to explore then, in terms of how do you learn to embrace others and yourself? What toll does it take, being closeted? How do you empower yourself within structures that are harming you—is hurting other people going to do it? Like gosh, that’s a whole character arc! I also think it’s really interesting how Lisa and the writing team have addressed the role that misogyny and assumptions around sex and physicality play in oppressing wlw queer folks. Like that whole discussion around what counts as “real sex” and losing one’s virginity that we see at Sara’s birthday sleepover. That was interesting to see play out onscreen and I’m glad they went there! (Send me your fics about messy stedrika, send themmmm. Send these girls on some kind of journey.)

Anyway, I’m also glad that stedrika is not the only wlw representation we have in Young Royals. Because we also have Rosh, who I absolutely adore with every fiber of my being. Rosh isn’t white or upper class, and she’s more tomboyish and comparatively less femme. She talks about her rebound after dating Yasmin/Yasmina, and there’s this wonderful sapphic chaos quality to it. She’s an openly queer girl in a best friendship with an openly queer boy, and you can tell that she and Simon lean on one another and probably came out to one another in middle school. (I think I have read this fic a few times, but I will always read more of it!) I love Rosh’s sense of justice and how committed she is to athletics and making sure Simon succeeds on the rowing team even if, as we all know, rowing isn’t a sport. Overall Rosh feels very specific and that makes her very real. Also I can’t resist a confident soccer lesbian, obviously I imprinted on Keira Knightly and Parminder Nagra in Bend It Like Beckham like every other queer girl born in the late 1980s.

Anyway. I actually think YR has a ton to offer us in terms of potential wlw representation, and interesting stories and characters that can be explored. (It has a lot to offer us in terms of female characters, period. I wish I had the time and fandom knowhow to create a female character centered ficathon. Is there any interest out there?)

The weird thing is I don’t know if I would feel confident writing this post at all if I hadn’t put in over 100k words of effort in fanfic for this fandom, most of it from female characters’ POVs. Some of that is het, sure, but I’m really, really proud of the sapphic self-discovery arc we gave Felice in Heart and Homeland. We let her struggle with her feelings at a time when she didn’t have the vocabulary for her feelings. We let Felice have a 19th century romantic friendship with Sara while also having sex and romances with other women, because lesbians can do both dammit. We let her kiss other women on the page, and do additional things beyond kissing also on the page. She was the first character we upped our rating to M for! We let her have friends-with-benefits hookups (because wlw characters shouldn’t always have to meet their forevergirl in their first girl) and we’re developing a new relationship in the upcoming chapters. (Okay, we did accidentally erase stedrika, because we wrote the first 19 chapters of our fic before season 2, and made occasional blink-and-you-miss-it references to a Stella/Henry sideplot. But let’s just say additional things are happening in the coming chapters.) I’m really happy with Felice’s storyline. I’m also happy that for a long time, I was the kid in fandom sighing and wishing there was more femslash, while feeling bad bad because I hadn’t written any myself. But now I have, and it feels a bit like achieving a Life Goal. I’m proud of myself!

And if you want to write femslash of your own, but you’ve always been a little scared or unsure of how to start? Hi. I’ll be your sounding board and your biggest cheerleader, if you want that. Tell me and we’ll have a lot of fun planning and writing! I BELIEVE IN YOU AND YOU ARE AMAZING.

[a-d-nox]

Hi I hope you’re doing well :))!

I was looking at my solar return chart and I can tell I will be going through a major transformation next year, assumably through myself because of that 8h stellium but also possibly through my career.

I make music and act, do you see any indications of that taking off or anything related to widespread attention in the entertainment field next year? I have sun conjunct saturn in my 8h Sr chart can you explain what that means? Do you see any indications of me traveling or moving next year?

Thank you so much for your time !!!

hello, I am doing okay - hope you are doing well too :)

i agree you will be going through some changes with the inclusion that your 8h is ruled by uranus! and uranus is in the 10h - so you changes with be seen by all those around you!

question one: I appreciate your inclusion of these objects/asteroid in your chart particularly vertex, fama (which i don't use as just fame but as the god equivalent “pheme” personification of fame, the renown, rumors, and the goddess of many eyes, ears, and tongues - which may be perfect for acting!), and euterpe (muse of music). what i would recommend to look at is orpheus (the singer), apollo (god of music), and melpomene (muse of acting) in your chart. it would be a good indicator to have these in the 1h (being seen as some who is a singer or actor), 5h (actively preforming), 6h (smaller parts and jobs doing singing or acting), 10h (being noticeable remarked in your profession, having big parts, or the change in how you are seen in society). these objects and asteroids are great to see at fame degrees (1°, 2°, 11°, 17°, 29°) or when aspecting the ruling planet of the houses pervious mention if they aren't already sitting in those houses (for you (just-some-indie-chick): sun (1h ruler), mars or pluto (5h rulers), jupiter (6h ruler), and mars (10h ruler)).

that being said with the ones i have in front of me... euterpe is your bestie here being at 1° and aspecting pluto with a rather tight orb. so long as you are actively putting yourself out there performing and releasing your work, you may find yourself being approached for your singing talents! with vertex aspecting jupiter you may get a smaller gig that sends you into the social atmosphere of where you wish to go in your career long term. 

question two: sun (8h) - saturn (8h): positive aspects: you could find yourself going back to your roots and exploring the life of your father. this could be a psychology exploration as well, in which you are healing and exploring you past relationship with him and the emotional intimacy there. you may do best to remember “slow and steady” wins the race when your ambitions are involved - do not quit because it’s taking too long or it’s not easy. “anything easy is not worth having.” negative aspects: this could indicate the death of a father or perhaps the loss of a connection with a fatherly figure. you could experience some sort of delay in the realm of intimacy or transformation in which you have a set expectation. you may appear depressed or as though you are having a crisis during this year.

question three, part one: if we want to evaluate being a traveller i recommend looking at mercury, jupiter, hermes (because mans was even capable of going to hell and coming back with souvenirs), midas (who became a wander/nomad), and odysseus/ulysess (a true adventurer, in my opinion). after that we want to evaluate them being in virgo or gemini for familiar travel or sagittarius for foreign travel, being in the 3h or 9h house, being at (3°, 9°, 15°, 21°, 27°), then whether they aspect mercury, jupiter, or the ruler of your 3h or 9h (for you (just-some-indie-chick): mercury (3h ruler) and/or jupiter or neptune (9h rulers). 

with what i have in front of me... virgo ruling over your 3h could be great for local travel and staycations within your area (especially at a cancer degree could be exploration of your hometown or in a culinary district) - perhaps you will be staying in a place near by but that you haven't really explored much of. you may run into some troubles though given mercury in the 8h. you may find one morning you have a flat tire, your car battery died, that the manager at the front desk wants to charge you more for something that is “wrong in your room” or because “the mini bar was open.” my advice here get your car inspected and take picture of rooms you stay in upon check in and before you leave the room at any point - could always be the staff and not you. 8h mercury could also be great for just recharging and renewing your energy at any point. pisces 9h with both neptune and jupiter present makes me feel like - if you aren’t expecting some type of graduation or religious commencement - you will definitely travel abroad. some warnings given the jupiter conjunct chiron: currency (i usually see this in people who go abroad and have no clue what the “new” currency means - do some research so you aren’t handing out too much (some people will just take it) or too little (you could insult someone), fashion more so how little or much you are wearing (some countries have fashion customs - try to look into where you are traveling so you don’t offend those living there or their culture), etiquette (i feel like general research should be done with pisces ruling this house (pisces tends to be a bit in the clouds on a good day) but with this conjunction your knowledge of the culture will either hinder or harm how others treat you while abroad - maybe it’s in how they eat, how they greet one another, door holding - just look up “things to know when travelling in ___” or “proper etiquette in ___”). lastly, imma play mom for a moment - it’s wonderful to see venus here conjunct jupiter. you could met a handsome masculine BUT beware of a tinder swindler moment - we want none of that. try to keep aware that you have only known them for a short amount of time - don’t ask them to hold your purse, don’t invite them back to your place without taking a picture with them and maybe seeing their ID (take a pic of that too) - i would hate to see you get swindled by someone you thought was a good person.

question three, part two: if we’re evaluating whether you are moving or not we want to look at the moon, 4h, hestia, and vesta. hestia and vesta are both homemakers in their respective myth cultures. good signs that you are moving that year are 4h moon, 4h cancer, cancer moon, 4h hestia and/or vesta, 4h/moon/hestia/vesta at a cancer degrees or in cancer (4°, 16°, 28°), and/or the fourth house ruler (for you (just-some-indie-chick): venus)/hestia/vesta aspecting the moon.

with what i have in front of me… the outlook is unlikely - with a the moon in gemini and trining mercury, you will likely find yourself constantly on the move - too much so to be buying or renting a new place!

hope this helps!

a.d.

return to nox’s guide to metaphysics

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© a-d-nox 2022 all rights reserved

[whatthe-tuckb]

[chase stokes, cismale, he/him] have you seen TUCKER BUCHANAN lately ? yeah, i heard they're TWENTY-THREE years old and a GOLF INSTRUCTOR now in charleston city. i mean, i don’t know if it’s their VIRGO vibes or that they’re -FLIGHTY and -SPONTANEOUS but also +RESOURCEFUL and +INDEPENDENT but they remind me of COME SAIL AWAY by STYX. here’s to hoping they don’t cause too much trouble around here(mads, 23, she/her, est )

HELLO FRIENDS! I’m sorry this took me so long but I applied then had to go away for a few days but now I am finally getting Tucker’s intro up and am ready to start plotting with you all lovley people! Here is a gist about him! He was a bby I had from another rp so some things have been tweaked but please give him some love he’s just a lil sweet bean and if you’d like to plot slide into my dms :) ok love u all 

GENERAL INFORMATION.

Full Name: Tucker Jameson Buchanan Nicknames: Tuck, TB, Tucks, Tuck B Age: twenty-two Date of Birth September 23, 1997 Place of Birth: Nags Head, NC Zodiac: Virgo Gender: Male Nationality: American Religion: Christian Orientation: Heterosexual Relationship Status: Single

PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES.

face claim: Chase Stokes height :6'0 weight :160 LBS hair color: Dirty Blonde/Brown eye color:Green tattoos: none dominant hand: right distinguishing: none outfit/clothing: beach, loose clothing, swimwear/surf wear

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

current residence:  Charleston, NC hometown: Myrtle Beach, SC spoken languages English financial status Lower Middle Class education level: high school diploma occupation: Employee at Country Club (odd jobs such as Lawn Matiance, golf caddy, life-guard, etc.) extracurriculars: Sailing, Surfing, Exploring

FAMILIAL INFORMATION.

mother: (birth)unknown (foster 1) Cindy Lorenz (foster 2) Eleanor Hammond father: (birth) unknown (foster 1) Michael Lorenz (foster 2) Justin Hammond siblings: unknown children N/A

PERSONALITY.

positive traits: agreeable, personable, respectable, humble, resourceful

negative traits: unplanned, impulsive, obsessive compulsive

likes: any body of water, sailing, fishing, boating, surfing, eating gushers, making people laugh, trying new things

dislikes: how his mother and father left him, sticks in the mud, following rules, people with money, celery, and the smell of rasberries

EXTRAS.

TV Show: Nathan For You Movie: Project X Book: None Color: Blue Flower: Daisy Scent: Fresh Cotton Food: BBQ Pulled Pork Alcoholic Beverage: Miller Lite Beer Music Artist(s)/Band(s): Sublime, Tame Impala, Styx, The Car Song: Come Sail Away- Styx Car: White, 1974 Ford Bronco

HEADCANNON

Tucker has been in and out of Foster Care his entire life. Only knowing two good families who kept him for short periods of time.

He was always one to explore, adventure, and likes all sorts of outdoor and water activities.

Being raised down south he has that sort of southern hospitality people care about especially with those he cares about.

When he turned 18 he became emancipated and took to trying to find his mother along the eastern coast. All he ever had of her was an old photograph, and her name. Melanie.

He’s a tumble weed blowing in the wind, never in one place too long. Working whatever odd jobs he can to help pay for things along his way.

Tucker enjoys the simple things, being he didn’t come from nor has a lot.

He finds it easy to move because he never really had a home and never really had a family.

Charleston has been the place he’s been the longest since leaving Myrtle Beach,SC. He met some good people here who made his desire to flea not as prominent.

He doesn’t know where he sees himself, his main goal now is just to one day reunite with his birth mom and ask her why she didn’t want him. Possibly form a connection now.

He’s a real down to earth guy, and would do anything for those he loves. Makes you wanna live your life to the fullest and take chances.

HIS WC ARE HERE

some most wanted are..

-possible roommate

-ride or die bestie 

-golden trio type friendship

-ex’s

-hookups/tinder date?

-romantic interest?

[peace-coast-island]

Diary of a Junebug

Rainy day gyroids

Rainy days are the perfect excuse to stay inside with a cup of warm tea and a good show to watch while letting the day pass on by. How fitting is it that the theme of this gyroid event happens to be rainy days?

Joining us on this rainy day adventure are Robert and Mace, two former members of Jamie's entourage back when she lived on Peace Coast Island. Robert Azarias is a writer and actor, best known for his work in the TV show Faerie Town, which just ended earlier this year. Mace Callaghan is an actor whose career kicked off thanks to people like Jamie and his cousin Amelia, who's also an actor as well as a producer. Both have been super busy as they're on a new show that's set to premiere in the fall so they're at the camp for a short vacation after pretty much working nonstop for the past several weeks.

The new show is called Mount Barley, RFD - which stands for rural free delivery - and it's about a journalist who moves back to his old hometown to take care of his aging father and reconnects with his old friends. Mace plays the main character, Alex, an ambitious creative who has a tendency to get carried away with his ideas. Robert's the co-executive producer/showrunner and has a recurring role as Jerry, a friend and colleague of Alex's who sometimes gets dragged into everyone else's problems due to bad timing. Other characters include Alex's dad Emmett, the wise father figure everyone looks up to, Blossom the pharmacist who's a neighbor to Alex, Leia, a childhood friend and work colleague, and Deedee, the hairstylist who serves as Alex's source for gossip.

Having insider information is kinda a blessing and a curse. Well, what I mean by curse is that I can't say too much about something because of non-disclosure stuff, which means I have to be careful not to let anything slip. Especially with a lot of show creators, writers, and actors being active on social media, it's kinda easy to accidentally reveal something that wasn't supposed to publicly come out yet. It's not usually anything super confidential but some companies are more particular about what people say more than others. While being able to interact with crew members has its perks, it also has its drawbacks - then again, that's social media in general.

Robert's previous show, Faerie Town, ended last year after five seasons. A good number of the entourage members were in that show like April Wingate, Melody Muto, Linus Cooper, and Cecelia Argent. Robert was a writer on the show as well as a recurring character who became more prominent from season three onwards.

Ending the show was one of those cases where they were told ahead of time that they weren't going to get renewed. By then, the overall story they wanted to tell was coming to a conclusion so it made sense to start wrapping things up. Being an ensemble show, it kinda suffered from a large cast - I'm overall satisfied with the way the main characters were handled but at the same time I felt that it could've been balanced better. And I'll admit, the writing during the last two seasons were weak, but not to the point where the show went downhill.

The way I see it, there's a difference between a show going downhill and a show where the writing isn't as top notch. Downhill is bad, as in this has a negative impact on how I feel about the show in general. An example of downhill is Popular Besties, which, looking back wasn't entirely good, but I enjoyed it as a kid. It was one of those shows which the quality dipped a lot - and knowing the issues going on behind the scenes, it makes a lot of sense as to why - and it gets to the point where you're watching a new episode out of obligation or dropping it all together.

Hogan Family Values is an example of a show that has fallen to weak writing. Like Faerie Town, it has a big cast, though it struggles more in terms of having too many characters to handle. It's ending after three seasons, which has ten episodes left. Season three started out pretty strong, but since then it has been a mixed bag. We all kinda suspected that it was ending as some of the episodes kinda had that vibe and that was later confirmed by the creator just recently.

I think the biggest problem with this season is that the pacing's kinda rushed and I feel like the show has kinda written itself into a corner by trying to wrap up various plotlines while introducing a bunch of new characters/plot points at the same time. On one hand the show could use another season just to pad things out a bit, but at the same time it makes sense why they would end it there.

The show's still good though, it's just season three doesn't have the same spark as the first two did. I mean, the stronger episodes of this season are some of the best in the show overall while the weaker ones aren't entirely terrible, just mediocre, or at worst, somewhat boring. And despite my reservations at the moment, I have faith in the crew that the ending will be satisfying, even if rushed.

A show with a satisfying ending is Star's Universe, which has become one of my top favorite shows of all time. I think, if it wasn't for the network, the show could've easily run for another season to even out the pacing towards the end. It also suffered from the uncertainty of being renewed, which then led to a movie. While working on the movie, the network decided to order an additional season at the last minute to fully wrap things up. There's still a lot the show can touch on but it's all extra stuff - and while it could've focused more on the supporting cast, I can understand why they couldn't because it's essentially not their story.

As for the overall story the show wanted to tell, they not only succeeded, but exceeded my expectations. The conclusion's satisfying in a way that it's open enough to revisit but if that's the end, then I'm happy with that as well.

I think Star's Universe has ruined me in terms of judging series endings. It still kinda doesn't feel real that the show literally just ended less than a year ago. The writing has also remained consistently strong for the most part and it's just a brilliant show. Now I feel like binging on a bunch of episodes. I guess you can say it's one of my comfort shows.

While collecting gyroids, we got to talking about Mount Barley, RFD a bit as well as catch up on life in general. Robert's got an interesting backstory that Hollywood has been wanting to make into a movie for years. He was known as the Etienne Falls Baby as he was born en route on the ill fated train that crashed in the desert. His father died in the accident while his mother passed away shortly after, leaving Robert in the care of three friends who helped bring him into the world. Only one of them survived and he, while carrying Robert, made a dangerous trek through the desert to find help. After the tragic ordeal, he adopted Robert, becoming somewhat known as a hero.

Mace is the nephew of actor Gary Stewart, who's well known on stage and screen, as well as his daughters Amelia and Lesley. It was Amelia who helped Mace pursue his dream of acting by helping him stand up to his father, who was against it. At the time he was going through a lot and as a result of everything, he finally had enough. It wasn't easy going against his father's wishes, but he had to or else he'd be stuck working at the bank being his father's successor.

He's still hoping for a reconciliation, though it seems unlikely at the moment. Since moving to the island, Mace rarely spoke to his father, who has pretty much disowned him. Back home he heard that his father's not too crazy about Mace having his own show as that'll make him more well known. At least his cousins and uncle have always been supportive of him - he had always been closer to them, especially after his mom passed.

It's been raining all day, though it started out as a light drizzle at first. I don't mind the rain too much - it adds to the rainy day theme! I love how gray and cloudy the sky gets - there's just something about rain that's calming and cozy. Also, it was the perfect excuse to break out my new umbrella - and it was worth every leaf ticket because not only it looks pretty, it kept me dry. Aside from the mud, collecting gyroids in the rain was a lot of fun!

When it started pouring we headed back to the cabin to begin crafting some stuff. I was surprised that we managed to collect a lot of gyroids today, then again, I think the rain might've helped some. We also managed to do some fishing and bug catching as well, which the guys had never done before. Robert's a fast learner when it comes to fishing - and a lucky one too as he managed to catch two king salmons!

Aside from collecting gyroids, we didn't get to be able to do too much sightseeing today. Once the weather clears up, I'm thinking of setting up a picnic in the meadow and a short hike along the trail. Then, depending on Gulliver's schedule, I was hoping we can catch a ride with him and explore an island or two. Robert mentioned that he always wanted to try out sailing so I want him to experience that. As for Mace, he says he's content with anything the camp has in store and he enjoys running errands for the campers.

With the rain pouring, we all were in the mood for some tea so I put on the kettle as soon as we got inside. While waiting for the tea we set up the TV to watch some shows while helping Daisy Jane package orders from her shop. Nothing like cozying up with a nice hot cup of tea on a cloudy rainy day!

[ruminantminds]

me, my dream, my desire, how it's killing me, like i laugh at it.

SIOBHAN BLAKE ( SHE / THEY ) is a NON-BINARY FORTY * year old TOWN MAYOR who has been living in Moorbrooke for THEIR ENTIRE LIFE. Right now, they are currently residing in ELMSETT GREEN. It has been said that they look suspiciously like ROSAMUND PIKE and if they had to choose a song to describe themselves, they would choose VOILA by BARBARA PRAVI.

                 * they were originally forty-one on the app but after working out the birth chart i have decided their forty-first birthday is the fourth of june ! just in case you want to plan birthday things for her <3

mun introduction ;

hi everyone ! i’m shannon, i’m a non-binary autistic lesbian, i’m twenty-one && i never fucking learned how to sleep ! 

BASICS —

NAME: siobhan adrienne louisa blake.

AGE: forty.

GENDER: non-binary.

BIRTH DATE: fourth of june, nineteen-eighty.

BIRTH PLACE: moorbrooke, maine, usa.

SEXUALITY: lesbian.

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: married to alante patterson.

ZODIAC: gemini sun, aquarius moon, libra rising.

MBTI: enfp-a.

ENNEAGRAM: four, with a three wing.

HOGWARTS HOUSE: hufflepuff. 

THEME SONG: voila by barbara pravi.

FAVOURITE SONG: no plan by hozier.

OCCUPATION: mayor of moorbrooke ( 2020 - present. )

PAST CAREERS: english teacher at moorbrooke high school ( 2004 - 2020. )

EDUCATION: bachelor’s degree in literature at yale university, the only period of time they’ve spent not living in moorbrooke. 

DREAM JOB: senator for maine.

PARENTS: ciara & severin blake ( deceased. )

SIBLINGS: none.

SPOUSE: alante patterson ( m. 2015 ; together since )

PETS: two cats, vita && virginia.

PREDOMINANT TRAITS: wholesome, compassionate, ambitious, unconventional, humanitarian, self-critical, discerning, sociable, curious.

BACKSTORY —

apart from a few years at yale, siobhan has never lived away from moorbrooke. it’s where she was born, it’s where they were raised, it’s the place where she feels most at home. it’s filled with the people who watched them evolve into the who they now confidently are. but growing up with parents with massive expectations was never easy. 

because while they moved from new york, severin blake’s old money attitude never left him behind. 

( tw: fertility struggles ) and with old money, conservativism often follows. this is no exception. siobhan spent most of their childhood trying to be the golden child their parents wanted, even when it felt wrong. hopeful that some other sibling would come to take some of the weight off their shoulders, it never came to fruition, and she was their only child. severin blake — french-american businessman’s — only legacy.

siobhan was always more compassionate than their parents. when new people came to the town, she would always try to offer them a leg-up, no matter who they were, why they had come, or how long they were planning to stay. they had no issue playing chameleon to make others comfortable: wasn’t that what she’d always done, regardless? 

this rang true when alante patterson came to town. a few years younger than her, split from her siblings in the foster system, it just made sense for siobhan to try to be the other girl’s constant. the beginning of a close relationship that still runs stronger than ever, thirty years later. 

alante was always refreshingly honest, and always made siobhan feel safe to be . . . themselves, even if they were pretending to everyone else.

siobhan’s chameleonic tendencies made them highly popular as a teenager, her parents’ pride and joy, but the latter half began to fail when siobhan began to understand — began being operative, as it was a process that took them many years — their curiosity about their sexuality and gender. this relationship, and her parents’ desire for them to hide this evolving part of themselves, was a behind-closed-doors battle which led to anxiety & depression. 

a vicious cycle, because the attitude to mental health on severin’s part was also quite . . . medieval, and ciara certainly never intervened to stop him. 

( the blakes had always been protestant, though siobhan was reluctant to take part in any acknowledgement of such. siobhan has considered themselves agnostic since the age of thirteen, though she supports her wife in her faith as much as she can. )

siobhan came out when she went to yale at the age of eighteen, and her experience had been mixed. college took her away from her friends, estranging them from their high school friends and temporarily moving away from alante. when they returned from college studies and took up a job as an english teacher at the local highschool, her best friend was . . . married. 

which made feelings that began to blossom particularly problematic. especially when over the years that followed, no matter how hard they tried to let it go, those feelings persisted. and — eventually — became an affair so passionate that alante left her husband for siobhan some thirteen years ago. 

their relationship with alante is what made them truly decide to — and make them able to — exist fully as themselves. who they wanted to be. so now, they’re not quite as chameleonic, but she’s endearing to the people who are truly interested in her and that’s all that matters, isn’t it? ( isn’t it? they’re still learning, though they pretend the self-doubt is entirely gone. )

this part of their town-iconic relationship is not public knowledge, and thankfully never came to siobhan’s parents’ knowledge before their deaths five and seven years ago.

siobhan and alante married as soon as possible in 2015, but siobhan always had a dream of washington politics, buried for many years because the political climate of their youth would never take them. now... it’s possible, but alante likes this life, this town, their two cats, and wants to have children. 

as a compromise, siobhan ran for mayor of moorbrooke this recent cycle, and won. but here’s the kicker: will it be enough for them?

CONNECTIONS —

family: while she has no siblings, she does have cousins on ciara’s side, so if you’re interested in that then feel free to let me know & we’ll explore it! i love a good family tree, especially in town rps where i imagine it a bit more interconnected like broadchurch !

family-esque: if your muse has been living in moorbrooke a while, it’s likely siobhan knows them quite or very well. you know those people you call your aunt/uncle out of respect because they’ve been friends with your family as long as you can remember? a bit like that! it’s also a habit because siobhan has been . . . distant from her own family since she was a teenager. they never outright disowned them for what they were calling their ‘ ideas ’ — i.e. being non-gender conforming & lesbian — but their disapproval was... clear enough. she doesn’t want anyone else to feel like they’re without support. 

therapist friend: the thing about siobhan is that they are the ceo of telling other people to look after their mental health while letting their own degrade. ( see: she can’t help taking on other people’s problems & wanting to solve them. )

high school it squad: yes, this is my not-so-subtle way of pleading for more older muses here. these people were siobhan’s friends when they were trying to be who everyone wanted them to be, not who she herself wanted to be ; they were the popular clique, and she adjusted herself as necessary to ‘ ringlead ’ them. i’m thinking they split up when they all went to college, and the rest of them have only just come back to town. the siobhan blake they’re going to meet is . . . very different than the one they once knew. someone who is now comfortable ( at last ) unapologetically in their own skin.

ex-student: if your muse was in high school in moorbrooke anywhere during their tenure it’s likely that siobhan could have taught them! she was the emotional support english teacher. sapphics, you know what i am talking about. 

ingenue: someone interested in politics who siobhan is sharing their passion with !

neighbours: anyone who lives in elmsett court, who wants to live next to moorbrooke’s favourite sapphic it couple? it comes with invitations to dinner and two adventuring cats called vita & virginia that they might have to retrieve from your house.

TAKEN CONNECTIONS

confidante: the only person, aside from alante, who knows the truth. that siobhan and alante’s relationship first ignited in a blazing, letter-ridden extramarital affair, eventually resulting in alante leaving her husband all those years ago. the person siobhan confides her worries in, sometimes. [ alec barlowe. ] 

OTHER TRIVIA

owns a motorbike.

they can still write in anne lister code from letters to alante.

of course, she is a democrat. we do not fuck with republicans here.

watches vita and virginia three times in your average week.

has an eclectic music taste, but frequents the record store because there’s nothing like vinyl. 

( yes, they have hozier on vinyl. )

will only drink white wine. don’t ask them why. they don’t know. 

would have zero wardrobe sense if it wasn’t for alante. money just doesn’t equal style.

the only social network she knows how to use is twitter. please, someone, teach them how to use instagram. bestie needs a social media guru because the people who run the rest of her platforms don’t get it, either.

allergic to banana. but eats it anyway for the mouth tingles.

has kept a diary religiously since the age of twelve.

[maritimeericandersen]

BDRP Questionnaire 

Your Name: Sidney

Characters: Eric Andersen, Clara Baudry (Euterpe), Ferb Fletcher, Pedram Ratigan, Laszlo Robinson

Pick one of your characters and talk about their growth (we recommend choosing an older character, but it’s up to you!) What about their story has surprised you? What are you proud of? How have they changed from their original inception to now?

If we’re going by oldest characters, then Eric it shall be!! 

As far as growth, I think the major thing that I’ve really enjoyed is getting him to be self sufficient and taking care of things he wasn’t used to before being out on his own. Eric had always been one of those kids who got to take a back seat to planning anything! Like doctors or dentists appointments. He never had to deal with the bank or paying for things like his phone or the internet. And for Eric, a simple boy, if it isn’t right in front of him he doesn’t think about it. Out of sight, out of mind, baby! So him being out here on his own has put all of those things in his direct line of sight. Getting new clothes, shoes, food, water, balancing all of this on a limited budget. You know, taking care of himself.  I know the bare minimum is certainly a ridiculous thing to be proud of someone for, but here I am lmao. 

Obviously a big part of him having not perished and just going back home was Mr. Moon!! Huge thank you to Lauryl and Jun for taking pity on me and Eric when we first got here lmfao.  Eric getting a job, food, boarding, and pity taken on him got him started! And getting a pep talk to actually apply and go to university! Where he’s carving out a future for himself that he chose to do and that wasn’t influenced thinking about the Order or his family or anything but him! 

I also really enjoy all the friendships he has made!!! Ollie! And Alice, and Ian, and HARU, and Henry, (but Henry he already sort of had but I’m super jazzed to see where those two can go,) and although I’ve never done a thread with any one on the volleyball team (besides Jake and Olaf, but not in the context of them being on a team!!) I’m sure Eric assumes they’re all the Very Best of Friends. So I really love that he has friends and a little community of people that he can show for himself!! 

And Eric really hasn’t changed from my original thinking of him. I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing but he was always supposed to be that kid in class who showed up a little late and asked if he could borrow a pencil. I think, if anything, the things around him in his story have changed a bit in my own brain in order to fit in to the universe of BDRP now that I’ve been here a little longer (almost a year!!!) to have a better understanding of how the world works!! But yeah, all and all, he is still on the original path I had for him going into this. 

Pick another character (or the same character if you only have one) and talk a little about where you WANT them to go. What are your plans for them going into the new year?

Moving on to Clara:

What I want for her, personally, is to soften up and lean into her more excitable side. The one that isn’t so concerned with money or the way she looks or what other people are perceiving her to be. I want her to open up more!! Being a Muse will be super helpful to her because I think for a character to help someone else, they’re going to need to have a bit more vulnerability to them? Like, all mentor or helper type characters have to gain some semblance of trust from the person they're helping to get them to see that they aren’t in an environment to be judged or taken advantage of. Right? Like uh, Obi Wan isn’t necessarily up front with Luke about everything but he gives him many truths, like how he and his father were very good friends, so Luke trusts him! Or when Professor Keating is vulnerable with his students, telling them about how love and poetry and those deep dark feelings inside of you are what life is all about, and they trusted him wholeheartedly!

In order to do that, she’s going to need to let go of her own fears!! And grow! I want to see her learn that part of being people’s friends, or when being someone’s guide as a Muse. I think her coming to understand that sharing her story and history will be very helpful in her journey to becoming this generation’s Euterpe. I want to see her come into her more active magic by developing emotionally! Working through her anger and letting go of that to make more room for the part of her that wants to connect and be around people. 

I am also really excited to see where her connections take her in the coming future! The Groove Room as her first helping gig to Ber! Being in a band!! Working at Tiana’s place and performing original music there!!! Getting to talk more with Franny, her idol!!!, will be fantastic for her. I’m so super duper excited to see where she goes. 

Pick a thread or a plot that you’re proud of and talk about why you loved it. 

This is an insane question because I genuinely love them all so much you guys 😭 

For Eric: Any thread he’s had with Jun since that has helped move Eric along in getting to be his Own Person and getting his act together. Again, thank you Jun! I really really enjoyed his first interaction with Lou? I thought that thread was hilarious and yet cringed the entire time writing it because Eric is such a ridiculous person. I also liked his thread with Olaf when they went on the tour of the university!! Their conversation about the gryphons was really a challenge on Eric and having to think about hunting from the perspective of the other side, which he had never really done before. Also just him having a genuine and intelligent conversation with a fairy who is now also playing a sport with him has probably been very helpful to him!!! I love his threads with Haru because getting to write his reactions to her learning about the human world always brings me such delight. All this threads with Ollie are great because I get to write that part of Eric that is just a dumb boy hanging out with his bestie!! I love that so much since he’s so much more relaxed and I find their banter to be an easy back and forth. Getting to meet Isa for the first time was a blast, I really enjoyed their interaction. Most recently I was super de duper in love with him and Henry’s re-meeting. I hadn’t had a chance for him to really face the Order without him having to go all the way back to everyone, so getting that connection with Henry was a good inbetween and getting to write him talking to someone who knows the life and his plight was so cathartic for him! 

For Clara: Any thread between her and Franny is so fun!! Her first meeting with Franny was great because I got to try and capture one of those moments that’s like, you know and adore this person and they’ve done so much for you but they have noooo idea who the hell you are. So that was a lot of fun for me, not so much for Clara lmfao, but hey it was the first step in getting her to this stage in her relationship with Franny, which she never thought she would even have!!! I really liked the two threads she got to have with Callie before she departed, it was very kind of Pet to give me those moments of giving Clara the knowledge of what/who she was!! Otherwise she would be walking around, still in the dark about her magic! OH, I loved the thread with her and Mei Q. !! I think it was important for her to get the advice of being open to people from an outside, neutral source who had no stake in Clara at all other than to just tell her what was up. Even if she didn’t really trust it lmao, it planted the seeds in her brain. I also really liked her thread with Imelda where she was trying to finagle the truth about her and O’Malley out of her lmfao. It was a challenge for me to think of dialogue that wouldn’t give her away, so that was very fun!!! And thank you Imelda for not firing her! And then of course, her thread with Ber and getting him to let her help her with the Groove Room! It gave me a chance to use her magic and start to explore the beginnings of how she is going to approach being a Muse while also giving her the first taste of adventure. Getting to write a Clara whose mind isn’t wrapped up in her account balance and is instead thinking about the love of life is always a very fun time for me, so that thread has been nice to write. 

For Ferb: Literally any thread with his siblings. I want to take this moment to personally thank Emma and MK for giving me the Flynn’s in the span of ?? like four months?? Which was insane to me, because when I was writing his app I was like, “I will probably never get my siblings, and I will just have to accept that.” but then bam, next thing I know, there they were. So anything with them has been like my dreams come true. I loved his thread with Mei K. asking him to prom via sign!!! Too pure. The thread with Su when she was helping him work through what being a sibling is like and then cementing their friendship was really good because it got him to open up and doing that with Ferb seemed ?? impossible to me, so getting to write that was wonderful! Also his thread with JJ! Getting to gush about sign language was so much fun for for me, so thank you so much, Bee for giving me that opportunity!!! His and Vanessa’s thread at the carnival was really fun, too, especially since I made it my personal goal in that one to cut any dialogue from him and work on how he communicates without using words in that sort of fast paced situation where he couldn’t use his phone to know what she was saying, so, I thoroughly enjoyed that one, too. 

For Ratigan: I honestly find any interaction with Ratigan to be a blessing to me because I genuinely feel terrible for asking for threads with him since he is so mean. His thread with Tiana and getting her to take up his offer on a loan was awesome, especially since it was one of the first things I got to write with him!! Very much appreciate Emma for willing to put Tiana in that position! It also gave me the thread with him and Simba, which was really funny since they are such opposites and getting to write Ratigan playing nice but secretly envying everything that Simba is/has was really interesting. Both his threads with Errol of course because it just gives me the opportunity to write him being the mean spirited person that he is. I adored his thread with Franny when she told him the news that she was pregnant!!! It gave me the chance to reflect on him and his relationship with her and the fact that he actually does like her and would snipe anyone who came for her. Not that he would admit that at all. LOVE his threads with Bianca, them staring one another down like a pair of cowboys waiting to see who will draw first has been so much fun to write!! I love writing that part of him as his paranoia knows no bounds. And his thread with Zira?? Has been immaculate because writing him in a place where he doesn’t think he is the superior one in the room would never happen in any other context, so I absolutely love getting to write him getting put in his place lmao. Also, having just finished the AU thread with LP was really fun!!! I liked getting to play into the tropes and the campiness of the spy genre and getting to see what he would act like in the face of genuine emotion. 

For Laszlo: Literally all this threads lol. Writing Laszlo brings me such joy, as he is such a ray of sunshine. Him and Lachlann were a hoot and a half. I looooooooooved him and Eilonwy!! Both because she is such a treat but also because getting to write about him witnessing magic being put into his art while speaking to the person behind the magic was fantastic for what he wants to do in the future! Both his threads with Simba have been great, I love their vibe so much. The three-way thread between him, Lou, and Tiana for the mural was super fun!! I got my first taste into what discussing art would be like while also getting to think about how Laszlo would approach art while getting help from two other voices, so that whole thing was just chef kisses. His thread with Cornelius right now has been really lovely, I like getting to write them having a fun time together and being bros!! His threads with Franny have been so good, I adore them so much, their relationship is so fun to write. And of course, Marlin, too!! Their first thread was really fun and gave me the opportunity to write comedy as well as trying to figure out how he would react to embarrassment and all that. His thread with his mum is still coming along but I am in loVE with it so far. Petunia is the best, so getting to write with her and trying to figure out how that relationship has developed with them both being adults now has really been such a delight for me. I’m so happy because, bruh, like Ferb, when I was applying for him I told myself I would probably never get his intimidate family and that was going to be okay. Now look at us, who would have thought- 

In terms of your own writing, identify 1-3 strengths and talk about why you think it’s one of your strengths.

Warning: Cop Out Ahead

Hmmm, I think the only strength I can think of  would just be that I’m open to changes? I have no problems in people damaging my ego because I simply do not have one lmao. There’s really nothing I will be offended at needing to move around or change to fit. I like being able to hear what other people have to say about my writing, even if it’s to do something completely different with where I was going because I wouldn’t have ever thought to do it like that!! Which I’ve learned in rp is super great since there are so many people here with so many different ideas and perspectives and characters and it brings me such joy to hear you all talk and collab and read what you’ve written!!!! 

In terms of your own writing, identify 1-3 areas of improvement.

Oh gosh, where to even begin. 

1. I’m terrible with metaphors and comparisons lmaooo. I will attempt to write something lyrical or flowery and then I’ll come back to it and be like:

so that I definitely need to get better at!! Stop comparing things that don’t make sense!! Also not just using them to make my point as clear as glass. I think a big portion of why I write terrible, embarrassing metaphors is because I’m scared of being misunderstood so I feel like I have to give everyone a giant neon sign saying what I mean like seven times over. When in reality, everyone here is an intelligent individual who also writes very well so they will have no problem figuring out what I mean because, in all honestly, whatever I am writing isn’t going to be that convoluted!! 

2. My sentence structures are always all over the fucking place. I do run ons, fragments, repetitive, I do all the sins baby. I need to clean it up and get my act together. Which brings me to my next point,

3. Editing. I’m very terrible at editing my own work because a lot of the time I don’t want to read my own writing so it makes me reluctant to go back over and check what I did. But then when I DO go back and read it to remember what I did for a reply, I read all the easy mistakes I could have fixed which means the person I’m writing with read it, too, which makes me cringe more and makes me not want to read what I wrote all over again, and then it is just one massive positive feedback loop that ends with unedited work and a bunch of nonsense left for someone to interpret. I gotta stop it!! I either need to get some self confidence somehow or just suck it up and get to editing more so people don’t have to suffer for my mistakes. 

Pick one of your plots, or even just a character, and come up with a list of 3-5 “mentor texts” where you can look for inspiration or research, then write a short (2-4 sentences) why you picked those texts. (They don’t have to be books, either!)

I feel like I’m back at school doing a Work Cited page lmao. But okay, for Ratigan: 

Of course, the most obvious: The Adventure of the Final Problem by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Thank god this was a short story, lmao. Honestly, reading it you could tell a bitch was just trying to put a wrap on it because Doyle doesn’t really go into detail about anything besides Holmes and Watson’s road trip. Like it never goes into detail about the big back and forth game between Holmes and Moriarty, it just tells us that they had one and this story takes place at the end of it. We only ever get Moriarty through Holme’s storytelling and from afar from Watson’s point of view. So it’s kind of funny that this guy, who appears in one short story and only mentioned in one other book, who had barely any character besides being smart, has been turned into this notorious villain name. I mean….his power….

Anyways, the reason I read it was because Ratigan is the Moriarty of Basil of Baker street, so I figured it would be useful to read the source material since my only experience with the character was Andrew Scott’s in Sherlock the show and then Jared Harris’ in Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows, who I still reference since I think he was a brilliant casting choice and is closest to the guy described in the story besides the guy who played Niles in the Nanny showing up as him in that one episode of Star Trek Next Gen lmfao. It was actually very helpful when trying to think of how to adapt him into a person rather than a cartoon rat. It gave me more insight into the criminal world aspect of his plot, too,  and how he ran it and everything: “ He sits motionless, like a spider in the center of its web, but that web has a thousand radiations, and he knows well every quiver of each of them.” So that made me think, well why wouldn’t he want to be involved? Why would he want to sit pretty instead of being involved with things like Ratigan? Well, if I made him do it at one point and know that he hated it, then he would do everything in his power to not have to do stuff like that ever again. Hence why he was an assassin and why he worked his way to the top. This also gave him credibility and made people fear him. I also liked how petty the character was. Like the whole part about him trying to kill Holmes and paying someone to push a brick off a roof or run him over with a carriage had me laughing. “Kill him in the dumbest way to make his obituary look ridiculous!!” But yeah, aha, this was mainly very helpful to me when trying to think of how his criminal background would work. 

Die Hard (1988) because Hans Gruber baby!! He is one of my fave og villains for many reasons! He’s calculated, witty, intelligent, and dangerous. The movie does a good job of not just telling us these things, but showing us! In his scheme, in his back up plans, shooting the glass upon knowing a bitch is barefoot in there, and trying to get McClane to trust him by improvising in three seconds flat. Obviously the best part is when the police think they’ve got him on his heels by cutting the power when actually that was the plan all along to get into the vault since he knows their protocols!!! I really like that clever and planned out approach to crime and villainy for Ratigan (even if I am too dumb to know what I am doing (^: )  Like Hans, he doesn’t think that what he is doing is for the Great Good or that what he is doing is the right thing. He is fully aware that he is not a good person! He had the chance to get out, but it was of his own volition to go back to that life. I took that villain approach to Ratigan from Hans in that there is no complex reason as to why he does what he does. He’s not like the big purple grape who thinks he has to do it as a favor to the universe, he just wants money and to live comfortably, the end.

Person of Interest, for a lot of reasons actually, but mainly for the character of Elias!! And his whole organized crime operation. He is among that smart and calculated villain trope (even though he wasn’t really a villain over the course of the show lmao.) What I liked about him was that he went into the life of crime because he knew that was how things were going to get done in the world. Watching the show you see the hierarchy of the criminal underground and how he cultivated crime into an organized and sort of civil matter when given rules and regulations!! His overall poise, too, was the kind of villain I wanted for Ratigan. Also that Elias was the guy that people could go to if they needed something done that they themselves couldn’t get around or that was just too grey area for them to go through with themselves. He’ll pull the trigger, he’ll plant the bomb, he’ll ruin someone’s life. I love that concept a lot for a villain, because they already know they’re knee deep in the shit, why let someone else corrupt themselves when they can do it and do it without the whole fuss of morals. 

And now, a wishlist! Jot down a few themes or stories or genres etc that you want to maybe pursue in the upcoming year! (i.e. a good ol’ fashion forbidden romance, maybe you want to dig deep into racial identity etc) This doesn’t have to necessarily be attached to any characters or stories you have now– it’s just meant to help you see for yourself what kind of stories call to your heart.

More technology vs magic things! I feel like that theme of the natural vs the made would be fun and interesting considering the juxtaposition of the town to the forest and stuff!! 

Also, I mean even doing small, stupid shit with technology would make me very happy

More friendships!! (esp for Clara lol) More enemies! 

I would love to do something of like building a house or renovating a place together. if any one wants to go HGTV, please come see me :^) 

Scavenger hunt type deal? Like a video game! Get one thing in order to get the next thing so that you can get the next thing until they eventually find what they were looking for. 

Misunderstandings! Either ones that are funny and light hearted that result in hijinks or the good old fashion devastating kind that sets trust on the edge.  

And then to echo a few of yalls, and MK in the werewolf vs vampire chat, the opportunities of tension between those two parties. I think that would be SO cool??? not even for like a Big Boss Battle, but the build up to it would be really good! making alliances that wouldn’t otherwise be made, stirring the pot to make tensions worse, blackmail, threats. I barely have any stake in this, lmfao, but hey this question asked for things that didn’t have to be attached to my characters so. I would just be sitting on my computer with a bowl of popcorn for it. Big Vampire Diaries/the Originals Energy. 

OPTIONAL: Why do you RP?

Since this whole experience has been brand spankin’ new with my first go around in the rp world, the answer is just very simple: it is an absolute delight. 

Getting to write with people that double as this built in community/fandom that has been created is actually insane to me. It makes me so !!!!!!!!!!! because it’s so cool!! There’s really nothing out there like it! I like the collaboration aspect so much because it keeps everything exciting and fresh at all hours of the day! Not even just like within your own stories, but getting to see other people’s stories that I’m not even apart of. 

Honestly, getting to read the things you guys write for free makes me feel like I’m doing highway robbery. Every day I am a humble peasant who wakes up and is getting to feast upon what you monarchs come up with. 

Which just makes me want to say thank you to everyone here because I felt (and STILL DO) like such a fucking idiot coming in here not knowing what I was doing. But you all just welcomed me on in, made me feel comfortable enough to continue writing, and I sincerely believe you all kept me going on this wild and wacky year. I know I don’t talk at all in the big group chat because I am chicken shit!!!!!!!!!! but you’re all very lovely people, I feel lucky and blessed to have found you. Thank you for taking in a newbie like me into your long standing home!! 

[artificialqueens]

Galactica, Chapter 17 (Group Fic) - TheDane/Veronica

A/N: Hello darlings! Click here if you’re looking for previous chapters (or here if you’d rather read on AO3). 💫

Last Chapter: Violet got a much-needed apology, and a fancy night on the town.

This Chapter: A wild night, a lazy Sunday, and a Monday morning of pure chaos.

***

Courtney twirled and twirled on the dance floor, leaning into the dizzying feeling, the bass pumping to the beat of her heart, feeling freer and happier than she’d been in weeks. She was out with a group of her closest friends--girls she’d known since college, who all happened to find themselves in New York, trying desperately to make it.

Adore was there, of course, her bestie and soulmate and favorite person in the world.

They’d been joined at the hip since the second week of Courtney’s freshman year, when they’d both been cast in their college production of RENT.

Adore had a phenomenal voice, but her dancing left some room for improvement, so the producer had asked Courtney (who had also given a great audition for Mimi, but unfortunately had the wrong skin color so they saddled her with Maureen instead) to step in and help. Watching her tonight, Courtney couldn’t help but proudly note that her sexy stripper moves had certainly improved with time.

Courtney had grown up watching American movies and television and thus, couldn’t wait to join a sorority when she got to school. Even though it ended up being a bit different than she’d expected, she had made some fabulous friends there. Tyra was one of the most glamorous people she’d ever met, and she was constantly in awe of her style and grace. She had secured a coveted paid internship at one of the biggest ad agencies in the city, and Courtney knew she’d absolutely crush it there, rising to the top just like she always did.

Tatianna, her precious Tati, was the baby of the group. Two years behind Courtney in school, she’d been her “little sister” freshman year, but left school early to pursue a modeling career, currently pounding the pavement in pursuit of an agent. She worked hard, but she played hard, too. Courtney laughed as she threw back another shot with Adore, but then handed her a water bottle, never quite shaking the slightly protective feeling she had for her. She herself had learned long ago that trying to keep up with Adore and Morgan where drinking was concerned was a surefire recipe for an absolutely hideous hangover, but Tati hadn’t made that same discovery just yet. (Or, she just didn’t care, which was also possible, and part of her charm.)

Courtney had met Morgan before all of them, even before classes started that first year, at a welcome reception for international students. A brazen, hilarious Scot with a wicked sense of humor, she and Courtney had bonded instantly that night, laughing about how soft and prim Americans were, after Courtney’s roommate begged her to wear pajamas instead of sleeping naked like she always had. They had pledged together, and remained close throughout their whole time in school.

Tyra grabbed Courtney’s hand and pulled her in, and Courtney continued to dance amongst her friends, the music taking over, feeling alive in the best possible way.

***

Violet yawned as she slowly rose to the top of consciousness. She was lying in Sutan’s giant bed, the soft sheets all around her, the pillow and mattress feeling absolutely amazing. Violet rolled over on her side, stretching before she pulled the duvet up under her chin.

She was wonderfully sore and sated. Sutan had offered to take her home after their date, but Violet had taken his hand and kissed his palm, Sutan smiling as he asked his driver to take them to his apartment.

Violet loved Sutan’s hands on her body, loved how sure he was when he touched her, how he never hesitated. It was hard for her to come with someone else, nearly impossible for her to tip over. She might have pretended to come, a small gasp clearly convincing Sutan, but the sex was nice, very very very nice, and Violet wouldn’t say no to another round.

She reached out, her hand searching for Sutan, but no one was there.

Violet sat up and looked around. She was alone in the bedroom, but as she swung her legs over the side of the bed, she realized that she was naked.

Violet bit her lip. Her dress was hung over the door of Sutan’s closet, but she couldn’t very well put that on. Violet made a quick decision, grabbing Sutan’s shirt from the day before off of the floor. The cotton was creased, but it smelled just like him, and Violet smiled as she slipped it on, the fabric falling to cover the top of her thighs.

Violet opened the door to the en-suite bathroom. She had expected to be forced to brush her teeth with her finger, but right there, on the edge of the sink was a toothbrush still in the packaging. Violet washed her face, brushed her teeth and braided her hair.

She still felt a little gross, a little unprepared, the fact that she was walking around in only a shirt and nothing else a strange sensation, but it also felt a little sexy and dangerous.

As Violet exited from the bathroom, she heard the music come from the opposite end of the apartment, smooth jazz washing over her as she followed the sound.

***

“Hurry up, baby! I want to see them feed the birds in the indoor rainforest! Come on!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!”

Trixie yawned as he followed Katya, who was very, very, very awake and had already ran ahead.

It was 9:30 on a Sunday, and Katya had been a bundle of energy since she had practically rolled him out of bed to get him up.

The two of them were in the Central Park Zoo, where Katya had begged to go for the last two weeks, but Trixie had simply been too busy to go with her, his only free time spent in a near comatose state as he had tried to catch up on the sleep he hadn’t gotten during the week.

Trixie watched Katya, a smile on his face. She had even dressed up for the occasion, her backpack decorated with animal keyrings and her “exploring kit.” She skipped along beside Max, who’d been more than happy to join them for this adventure, always up for the opportunity to go back to his original love of wildlife photography. The two of them led Trixie around the zoo, pulling him this way and that until he fully woke up, with the help of some cotton candy.

“Oh, Trixie, look! Look!” Katya smiled, her entire face lighting up as she pointed at a small, blue, white and black bird. “It’s a Leucopsar rothschildi!”

“A what?” Trixie looked up from his project of taking the perfect Instagram picture of Katya and the birds.

“A Bali Mynah! It’s critically endangered.”

“There’s only 14 left in the wild.” Max chimed in.

Trixie came up to Katya’s side, and gave her a kiss. “I love it when you talk birdy to me.”

Against all of Trixie’s expectations, he ended up having an amazing day with Max and Katya at the zoo.

A seal splashed water at Max, one of the monkeys almost stole Trixie’s fanny pack, they all got more cotton candy and Katya even switched with Trixie halfway through so he could have both blue and pink--and at the end of the day, Katya almost cried when Trixie brought her a stuffed lion from the zoo store, all proceeds going to saving animals in the wild.

Riding home with the two of them on the subway, Trixie could feel the sugar coma taking over, his eyelids drooping, head falling forward as he leaned heavily against Katya’s warm body.

“I love you, baby,” Katya whispered, kissing the top of his head sweetly and wrapping her arm around his shoulders.

***

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beeeeeep!

Violet groaned as she recognized the sound of her alarm. She fumbled for her phone, the charger underneath Sutan’s bedside table. She swore under her breath as she yanked it out, finally getting it open so she could turn her alarm off.

She sat up, careful not to wake Sutan as she leaned against the headboard.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Violet nearly jumped as she felt an arm reach over her lap, a hand settling on her hip. Sutan was looking up at her, one of his eyes lazily cracked open, a small smile on his lips.

“Did I wake you up?” Violet put a hand in Sutan’s hair, carefully running her fingers through it.

“What time is it?”

“5:30.”

“Urgh,” Sutan groaned, sounding genuinely disgusted with the situation, and Violet couldn’t help but chuckle. She guessed that was the privilege of being senior staff, Sutan probably able to show up whenever he wanted to. “Come back to bed, right now.”

Violet had to go to the gym, but as Sutan pulled on her, she couldn’t resist. She crawled back under the covers, Sutan’s hand sneaking under her t-shirt, his fingers playing with the elastic of the shorts she had borrowed as he closed his eyes once again.

“Sutan?”

“Yes lovely eyes?” Sutan growled a little, and Violet bit her lip.

“Why am I still here?” Violet hadn’t expected to spend the day at Sutan’s, had certainly not expected to stay another night, but he was so easy to be around, the two of them spending the day on the couch where they had listened to music, watched movies (though Violet hadn’t cared too much) and made dinner between rounds of sex.

“Well-” Sutan opened his eyes. “Sometimes when a man asks a woman to come home with him, she says yes.”

Violet rolled her eyes. “Idiot.” She leaned forward, pressing a kiss against Sutan’s forehead, before she made another attempt to untangle herself.

“Hey-” Sutan gripped her hip, a flash of warmth rushing over Violet’s body. “Stay?”

“I can’t-” Violet sighed.  “I have to be at work at 7:30-”

“7:30? I really hope Fame pays you well.”

She didn’t, but Violet wasn’t going to point that out.

“I have nothing to wear.” She had to get going if she wanted to make it home to her apartment and change, but the last thing she wanted was to put on her dress from Saturday and go all the way from Harlem to her apartment in Kip’s Bay and then back uptown for work. “I mean, I don’t even have a bra.”

“If you stay here, you can borrow something from me.” Sutan was actually fully awake now, a wicked smile growing on his face.

“What?” Violet wrinkled her brow. “Don’t be stupid…” Violet could feel herself getting seduced, she could stay, technically, if Sutan really had clothes she could wear to the office. Ivy could pull clothes for her to borrow, and she could figure everything else out.

“Stay.”

***

Normally Sutan would have thrown a fuss from another dimension if anyone had forced him out of bed before 7, but somehow it was okay when he got to dig through a box of his boyhood clothes with a girl that looked like sin wearing his pants.

“Isn’t it a little worrying that we basically use the same pants size?” Violet turned to the side, her brown eyes watching herself in the mirror on the back of the door. Her upper body was bare, her still damp black hair spilling straight down her back, her small breasts on full display.

“They’re from when I was 21-” Sutan handed her a belt, and Violet took it. “I used to be a skinny little thing.”

Violet lifted a brow, looking up and down his body, clearly not buying the idea that Sutan had been even thinner, and he couldn’t help but laugh.

“Believe me, I know I’m slender, but Raja and I both used to be rail thin.”

Sutan dug into the box in front of him, quietly thanking Raja for saving all of his clothes in the back of his closet, his sister sealing them in plastic bins when he wasn’t looking.

“It was 95, everyone looked like they were on coke.”

(Not that Violet would ever need to know that he had actually been on coke for most of the 90’s.)

“Here, try this.” Sutan held out a shirt, Violet quickly pulling it over her head, and Sutan took a second to mourn the fact that she was no longer topless.

“You were 21 in 95?”

“I’m glad you can do math, darling.” Sutan smiled. “That color looks all wrong on you. Try this one instead.” Sutan held out a striped sweater, Violet taking it from his hands.

“In 95, I was excited to start preschool...”

“Does that bother you?” Sutan looked at Violet, the woman’s head popping through the hole in the sweater. Violet looked uncomfortable, like she would rather not be having this conversation, her teeth biting into her lips.

He had asked her once before, her reply then that she didn’t care, but Sutan realized that he had to know if it was still true. “Does it bother you that I’m older than you?”

“No.” Violet didn’t look at him, her eyes fixed on her hands that were slowly pulling at the fabric of the sweater she was wearing. “No, it’s just.. Sometimes I worry that, that I’m not… Enough.”

Sutan rose to his knees. “You’re more than not.” Sutan smiled, tilting his head up. “I promise you that.”

Violet leaned down, gently kissing him when her alarm went off in the background.

“God I hate your phone.”

***

Courtney ran past the dark reception desk, down the hall towards the office. Violet had called her fifteen times in the last 20 minutes, Courtney recognizing the sign of a crisis on the subway immediately as soon as the war dialing began. Apparently, there was some kind of disaster with the Fashion Week confirmations that she’d been handling, and she was terrified to find out what it was.

She rounded the corner at full speed, stopping short in her tracks by a sight she never thought she’d see in a billion years. Violet stood at the printer, wearing jeans. Not just jeans. Boy’s jeans, held up with a belt. She actually looked pretty cute, having paired the jeans with chic silver heels and a black and white sweater. But nevertheless, it caught Courtney completely off-guard and she paused, looking her up and down in wonder.

That’s when Violet looked up sharply, seeing her standing in the doorway, and the gates of hell opened.  

“Finally! Where the hell have you been?!”

“It’s only 5 til 8-” Courtney began, but Violet immediately interrupted.

“What’s wrong with you? Are you suffering from a head injury, or are you just this fucking stupid?”

Courtney set her mouth in a firm line. Her heart was pounding, unable to think of what her fuck-up possibly could have been, a lump rising to her throat. She wished that Violet would just tell her the problem directly instead of berating her and forcing her to wait in dread of what was coming, but she supposed that was part of her punishment for...whatever she’d done wrong.  

“No.”

“You’re not stupid?”

“I-”

“Did I or did I not tell you to call and confirm every single name on that spreadsheet last week?” Violet pointed at Courtney’s computer.

“You did, but-”

“And did I or did I not tell you to send me a status update before you left on Friday with all the confirmations checked off in green and a list in the email of anyone you couldn’t reach?”

“Yes!” Violet had left early, for once trusting Courtney to close things down and take care of all the end of day tasks. “I did that! Didn’t you get my email? I reached everyone, they’re all in green!” Courtney exclaimed.

She knew that she was new at this job, and still learning every day, but she had no idea why Violet was angry with her right now.

She’d followed her explicit instructions to the letter.

“Come here.” Violet’s voice was low and scary, and Courtney immediately joined her at the computer. “This is the spreadsheet you sent back on Friday.”

Violet opened the spreadsheet, and there it was. All names checked off in green, the day and time they’d been confirmed in column D.

“And these…” Violet began to click through 5 more tabs, each one a separate list, each one with names all in black, as yet unconfirmed. “These are the tabs you missed because you are too much of an absolute imbecile to understand how excel works.”

All of the blood drained from Courtney’s face, the room feeling off-kilter as she grew hot and dizzy, her heart pounding out of her chest.

“There were…” Courtney swallowed, “more tabs?” she managed to whisper.

“Yes, Courtney. There were more tabs. Which you would have known if you ever took your fucking head out of your fucking ass for long enough to pay attention to your job.”

“I-I’m so sorry, I-” Courtney’s eyes filled with tears, which only seemed to enrage Violet more.

“Do you realize what you’ve done? Do you realize how bad this could have gotten if I hadn’t caught your mistake?”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“I asked you, I specifically asked you, to check every, single, fucking name,” Violet groaned. “You better pray that we can fix this before Miss Fame finds out.”

“I will, Violet, I promise. I’ll do whatever it takes, I-”

“Sit, get to work. I’m handling the vendors in the third tab, and the staff for the photoshoot, because god forbid you screw that up too, we’d all be absolutely fucked. Do not talk to me until every name on every other tab is accounted for. Got it?!”

Courtney nodded, nearly tripping over her feet running to her desk. She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hands as her computer powered on, still feeling shaky and panicked.

Thankfully, the tab that Courtney had seen the week before was the one marked “VIP,” so all of Galactica’s important guests were accounted for. At 8 am, she decided that the smartest list to do next was “Press,” because at least she’d be able to reach a human being. Her nerves began to settle as she made her way through the list, every single press outlet confirming their attendance. When she finally got to the end, it was almost 9, and she reported her progress to Violet.

“Good.” Violet slammed a drawer shut, everything about her radiating annoyance.

Courtney sighed internally. She checked out the last two lists: “H/M - Run Through” and “H/M – Show,” and realized there was quite a bit of overlap, Alaska clearly intending to book as many of the same people as possible for both days.

She got right to work, mostly leaving voicemail messages and then following up with texts and emails. These people were freelance and since it was still early, she didn’t worry too much about them answering their phones. It wasn’t until she started to get calls and messages back that the real panic set in.

“Um...Violet?” she asked softly, after highlighting the 10th name in red.

“What?” Violet asked sharply, still clearly annoyed with her. She had only gotten in about 20 minutes of calls to the vendors before she had to stop to roll calls with Fame, and Courtney prayed that none of them would end up being a problem.

“I, um...some of the people on Alaska’s lists are...already booked on other jobs. So...I’m not sure what to do now.” Courtney took a deep breath, determined not to cry. For one thing, she knew that it would just piss Violet off. And for another, she was determined to weather this disaster like an adult, no matter how much she felt like breaking down and sobbing her eyes out.

“One moment,” Violet said into the phone, her voice soft and pleasant, professional as can be. Once she had Fame on the line, she muted herself and turned back to Courtney, dark eyes flashing with anger. “What now?”

“I just...there’s like...at least 10 people who can’t do it, and-and I don’t know what to do,” Courtney admitted.

“There’s nothing you can do.” Violet folded her arms.

“But...then what do I do?” Courtney asked, biting her lip, using all of her strength to keep her voice from breaking. “Are there any backup lists, or a place I can go to find other people...I mean I have to be able to fix it, right?”

“No.” Violet let out a long, put-upon sigh, eyes rolling up to the ceiling before she leveled her gaze back down at Courtney. “You can’t. So go downstairs, tell Alaska what you did, and pray that she doesn’t kill you on sight.”

Alaska. Somehow, in the midst of all of this, it hadn’t occurred to Courtney until this moment that her screw-up would be creating a huge problem for the one executive at this company who had gone out of their way to show her kindness, the one person she was most desperate to impress. The guilt hit her like a tidal wave.

“Who knows,” Violet said, going back to her computer. “Maybe you can use some of that patented charm to get yourself out of the mess you created.” Violet punctuated this statement with a dry, joyless chuckle, clearly not believing that Courtney would in fact get out of this situation alive.

Courtney closed her eyes briefly and printed the two hair and makeup lists, then stood up.

“Okay. I’m going downstairs,” she said, to nobody in particular, since Violet was back at her computer, typing an email and trying to stay on top of Miss Fame’s phone calls.

Courtney took a deep breath, clutching her phone in her hands as she pulled the pages from the printer and made her way towards the stairs.    

[moonwolfhowl]

Yuletide 2k19 edition

Hiyo, first off I’m moonwolfhowl on tumblr and nightmoonz on AO3. I’m really excited that you got me and I just want to thank you so much in advance and I really hope you have fun with this!!

Secondly, here are a couple things that I like and dislike, (and some prompts but you can take ‘em or leave ‘em). If you’re not 100% sure on if something is or isn’t my deal my ask box is open and the anon option is turned on.  

Ratings: I prefer through T-M, but tbh I’m pretty easy so if you wanna go up to E feel free ^__^“’

Likes, Loves and DNWs:

Likes and Loves!

AUs! No, seriously, every kind of AU

Humor! Especially: sarcasm, witty banter, etc…

Angst and hurt/comfort are awesome!

Slow Burns

MUTUAL PINING and/or SEEMINGLY unrequited feels

idiots to lovers, this can either be enemies to lovers or friends to lovers. sort of related to the point straight above XD

found families

Fake relationship/dating/marriage you know for a cover/mission/(fill in the blank)

Bed Sharing

Sex Pollen

“In Vino Veritas” 

Happy Endings!!

Squicks/DNWs (do not wants):

Character Bashing

Abuse of any kind

Cheating

Actual unrequited feelings

Harm to animals

Non-Con

Incest

Mpreg

Major Character Death

Scat and/or Watersports

2nd and 1st person perspective

Spiders especially Tarantulas, this is a huge trigger for me

Okay! I’m gonna put a break here because this is a long post and all prompts/ideas are below.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alrighty, so these are just some silly prompts or ideas that you can take from or totally ignore altogether! It’s really just some ideas that you can look to if you’re stuck or need a jumping off point.  And man, like if you already had an idea? Please feel free to go with that instead, I just want you to have fun  = ^__^ =  

Also again, if you have any questions the anon option is turned on for my ask box.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~OOctopath Traveler - Therion, Tressa Colzione, Cordelia Ravus, and Leon Bastralle

Oh boy this game. I have no words that can even describe how much I LOVE this game. The storytelling was fantastic and I got really invested in not just the main 8 but in all of the minor/side characters too. I know I have Therion, Cordelia, Tressa and Leon specifically but if you want to throw in any of the other characters in the tagset you totally can, same with any side ships (here’s looking **You don't have to include ALL the characters I selected here in your fic, you can mix them up or follow a prompt I have. I only request that you include at least one of the ones picked here <3

I’m kind of open to anything but if you do need a jumping off point (and/or want to see me gush over my favs) check out the prompts below

Therion - I love him and would die for him he is my perfect little trash bandit. It kills me how he longs to belong somewhere but is equally afraid of it for very good reasons. Because of this he’s so heavily guarded and *sobs* his reactions to people (the 8 and Cordelia) genuinely caring about his wellbeing? It just hrrk! I’m so happy I started with him, that I got to see his growth throughout the story and how his emotional wounds finally seem like they’re on their way to healing. Tressa - My adorable little gremlin, she’s such a little badass! While money may be on her mind a lot she’d never cheat anyone! She’s genuinely kind and her travel adventure is so interesting because it’s about exploring the world, experiencing new places—and while she has a certain understanding of this—she learns the true meaning of sentimental value in things. I love her so much. Leon - I love how much of his character is wrapped up in some mystery and that he seems like a tortured but mature soul (as you can see I have a type.) Cordelia - I love Cordelia and she is entirely underrated. She’s been through quite a lot and her faith in my best boy helped him come back into the world able to to trust and love people again. She’s very soft and caring and now that her stolen heirlooms have been restored to her she can come back into the world herself.

Gen ideas:

Tressa and Therion teasing TF out of each other doesn’t matter what about or who about. I just love them and they have such a brosis vibe

Tressa spear fishing and shocking Therion or everyone by it, you can add any and/or all of the characters in the tag. (Inaccurate Tressa, "What? I live in a Port Town my dudes.”)

I know this is cheesy but Therion having his first Apple Pie would destroy me ; __ ; it can be when he’s little or an adult, AU, Canonverse or Canon divergent it can be a Birthday treat to himself, it can be the first thing he pays for with money he earned on his own. If you want to include any character my sign up sheet or want to include any other octo character(s) that’s fine too!

Shippy ideas (which I’m a little more into but whatever you are comfortable with is a-okay by me):

Cordelia Ravus/Therion (Thordelia)

THEM *SWOONS* I just love them, Cordelia helps my baby boy trust in people again and brings happiness back to his world… and he has so much respect for her I’m just— ; __ ; I just love them

Actor & Author relationship: AU, Canonverse or Canon divergent you name it!

Again Tressa teasing TF out of Therion but specifically about Cordelia (esp after his chapter good god. *swoon*)

Cordelia’s POV on her Noble Thief

Anything post game like I wouldn’t mind seeing her rebuilding Bolderfall, visiting each layer of the city and helping it thrive

Fake Dating. Any Setting XD

The “I’m supposed to take out the target but I fell for them instead” is also very good

Tressa Colzione/Leon Bastralle

; w ; their relationship and care for each other—like Thordelia’s—makes my heart melt

Any kind of them traveling together and developing feels on the open seas post game

Her being his apprentice and learning from him while teaching him some new things

Does Leon have a thing for the arts? Is that why he’s particularly enamored endeared to Tressa spotting the painting?

yeah ngl anything, my thirst is real

A Very Shippy and utterly ridiculous prompt. Tressa x Leon (Treon? Lessa?) and/or Thordelia (however if you wanna include other side ships like Olberhardt or H’aanit x Ophilia for example you can go for it!)

Masquerade! Can be Canonverse, Canon Divergent or AU!

A Masquerade ball in which: 

They can either know each other beforehand or not

Halloween Party, Adults, College AU

idk this is just something to have fun with and hey lol if you wanna make it more mature feel free

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Promare - Lio, Galo, Gueira, Meis

Man this movie messed me up and all the right ways. Honestly one of the most chilling things was to see all of the Burnish being used as engine fuel… I like—ngl I cried, and then when Lio gets used as the core? ; __ ;

Honestly I will be happy with anything you come up with, there are so many possibilities just know that a heavy angst fic is A-okay by me, but if you want to do a flufflier or humor fic those are also so Very VERY good. I have some ideas below but again like if you have an idea in mind or started something by viewing my likes list go for it!

**You don't have to include ALL the characters I selected here in your fic, you can mix them up or follow a prompt I have. I only request that you include at least one of the ones picked here <3

Lio - Um yes I love him. He’s just such a tortured soul and true cares about people. I like—honestly he is my favorite character. The way he used his flame to protect Galo? How hard he fights for the Burnish? How hard Gueira and Meis fight for him and stop at nothing to save him speaks volumes about the kind of person he is. I just love him and want him to have nice things

Galo - This wonderful brilliant dumbass. I also love him and despite me calling him a dumbass he’s actually pretty with it when it comes to adapting to his environment. He also takes in new information and rather than reject it out right he examines it critically. Like the way he approached Kray about the Burnish experiments was not the smartest… However, he still went to find the truth no matter how much it could have hurt him and that really defines what kind of guy he is.

Gueira & Meis - So unfortunately we didn’t get to see much of these two but what we did get to see was GOLD. I love them, I love how they fight so hard to protect their fellow burnish and how loyal they are to Lio. Like omg when the Burnish were being rounded up but they used the last of their strength to save Lio, believing—knowing that he would come back for them? *hrrk* My heart.

So okay!!! Ideas and/or prompts! Again you don’t have to use these if you don’t want to <3

Anything Shippy with Lio and Galo + hurt/comfort?? 10/10

An AU where the Promare gift the Burnish with their “fire bending” abilities permanently

Anything found family esp if it's adopting Lio's litter fam with Galo's ; w ;

I'd love to see what was going on with Gueira/Meis while they were locked up side by side. What did they talk about? Their faith in Lio? Them possibly growing up with Lio? Their feels for each other? And honestly you can go as angsty as you want to with this.

Gueira & Meis being over protective (big bros) of their boss and bestie Lio. (Poor Galo lmao)

Feel free to include any other characters you want from the tag set or canon in general ^___^ 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Crescent Moon - Any

Ah… my poor beautiful tiny manga fandom… I love this 6 volume series so much. The storytelling can be fast paced at times but it doesn't even phase me considering how detailed and intricate the themes, lore, relationships and monsters & magic are. For this fandom anything goes, like any AUs, tropes, canon compliant or divergent is all welcome here.

Bonus points if you have your own take of the song/legend: “Princess Princess why do you cry?”

If you want to make a fic about the Princess and the Demon boy when they were kids, or have any fic at all featuring them (kid or adult) I'm all for it.

I love Mahiru Shiraishi/Mitsuru Suou they are such little disasters anything with them would be amazing but I’m a multishipper so if you have a ship that isn't them and you've been dying to write your ship? Write your ship! I'd love to read it!!! 

And anything including Akira is god tier - he is the bestest boy. 

I’m sorry I know this prompt is very open ended and very vague but like I’d just be happy with anything

[ryoflame]

Welcome to Melburn Roobaix!

Any cyclist worth their salt knows about Paris-Roubaix, the gruelling French race known for its difficulty, danger and cobblestones. Well sometime ago (forever, if you believe them) the wonderful people at FYXO decided Melbourne, my home city, needed it’s own version of the race.

They took the seriousness down a notch, tracked a route through our fair city totalling about 50km, gave everyone scavenger hunt-style question sheets to fill out en route–and this year was the first year I gave it a go.

Loads more photos below!

I had bought a ticket to the Melburn Roobaix at the last minute; it was something I’d been trying to decide on for a while and it was only when a close friend of mine said she’d do it with me that I decided to take the plunge. Recently I’d been lucky enough to get my hands on a beautiful road bike that was absolutely worth more than what I paid for it, and I’d owned this bike for a week before deciding to put it through the gruelling 50km event.

Juicy!

The FYXO team wanted to create an event that would be a challenge, while at the same time remaining fun, tongue-in-cheek and family friendly. There was a less devastating ‘petite Roobaix’ for parents with young kids, but I was amazed to see a lot of kids 10-15 giving it a red hot try on BMX bikes or road bikes of their own. Families were out and about together and it was awesome to see.

A big part of it was the dressing up aspect, too! They encouraged costumes and crazy bikes, so we saw everything from a cardboard Pac Man being chased by an equally cardboard Ghost, to a Mad Hatter and Alice in Wonderland on a tandem bicycle with the dormouse in a basket on the back, to the full team of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

All with bike helmets, of course. Safety first!

Loads of people had poured creativity into their outfits and I felt a little under-dressed! As I’d come in so late I hadn’t planned for anything except my signature citrus-y vibe which I made sure to bring in with me. Melbourne had treated us with the perfect weather for cycling; the sun was out and the air was brisk, just perfect for getting warmed up with a nice bike ride.

There was a crazy amount of people on the starting field, more than I had expected to be there. We were soon picking up our starter kit which had our map, our question sheet and loads of fun little goodies like a sticker pack and pen, other Roobaix bits and bobs.

We headed off sometime just after 9:30am on this brisk and hectic Sunday morning.

One thing I quickly noticed; Melburn Roobaix was a fantastic way to see a city that I had lived in for years, yet somehow had never properly explored. We started off along a beautiful river trail I had always admired from a distance, winding through gorgeous forest area, that I had always thought to myself I’ll ride that bike path one day.

Even once we hit the streets we went down laneways and through areas I had never previously visited–had a reason to visit–and there was so much to see and do! So many gorgeous old buildings and great little cafes!

There were so many riders doing the Roobaix that you were really never on a stretch of road on your own, there was always a group of cyclists within eyesight somewhere, which was very useful if you lost track of where the signage was. It varied between actual signs with arrows pointing in the right direction stuck to things and stencilled arrows on the pavement, but neither were very frequent which led people to pause in their cycling trek to often check their maps, or simply to follow the cyclists who seemed to know where they were going..

If you were set on completing your scavenger hunt questionnaire you had to pay even closer attention though… where was the answer to that darn question?!

At many places there would be clusters of cyclists stopped, whether they were reassessing the route, grabbing a much-needed drink, fixing their bikes or just having a good rest. My cycling buddy and I didn’t want to stop anywhere too early because we figured once you got to sitting down it would be much harder to get yourself moving again! There were lots of cafes and rest places along the set route and we saw stacks of bicycles at each one.

One of the cafes was also a scavenger hunt answer, with two other answers nearby, and it was one of the most popular spots for people to stop for this reason. It was also a solid third of the way into the run, and by this point we decided we’d deserved a rest; by now it was getting to 12pm so we’d been cycling pretty solidly for two hours.

Can you spot me?

I had packed food for myself which I had brought with me, but I couldn’t resist a small reward in a maple and brown sugar glazed donut and a tasty soy chai. While we rested I also took the opportunity to eat my homemade peanut-butter and jam sandwich, which was definitely needed, and immediately felt renewed! Peanut butter gave me the protein I needed, the yummy seeded bread the carbs and the jam was a bit of a sugar kick to get me going again.

Up until this point we’d had a few small laneways of cobblestones which had been uncomfortable. The largest stretches of cobbles came in the second half and boy were they unpleasant!

The cobblestones are a defining characteristic of the Roobaix so we had kinda known what we’d be in for, but that didn’t make them any easier to traverse. I was on my roadbike, a carbon-framed beast that weighed next to nothing with tyres barely wider than the width of my finger; this is a bike suited to smooth flat streets and not the uneven terror of cobbled laneways.

Every time my bike’s tyres skidded on stone my heart stopped for a fraction of a second as I tried to straighten myself up. My cycling buddy’s bike was heavier with thicker tyers and fared much better, but I really had to take it easy on these stretches and concentrate as even the slightest lapse in judgement was going to send me crashing to the ground.

Not gonna lie, pretty terrifying.

It was getting tougher with every additional stretch of cobbles too, they seemed to go on forever sometimes and then even when we ended up on smooth surfaces my butt and arms were so sore (the latter from tension mostly, trying to maintain steering) that I hardly seemed to find any kind of rest. Plus we still had a lot of ground to cover!!

Honestly, my favourite part? Watching where the cyclists congregated. Seeing everyone just getting along doing the same thing, stopping for coffee or a beer, stopping along the side of the road and chatting with strangers and sharing tips, scavenger hunt answers and directions. There was a sense of camaraderie, mutual understanding and overall fun. There were people of all ages, going at all kinds of paces. Even when we didn’t stop at the same place as other people, seeing them as we rode by all having a jolly old time was an uplifting experience that energised me and kept me going.

That, and I had a cycling buddy. I don’t think I would have had nearly as much fun if I hadn’t had someone to share it all with, so a big thanks to my bestie who is always there to come with me through my crazy adventures, you’re the best!

More importantly, WE DID IT!

Here we are at Brunswick Velodrome, the finish line of the Roobaix, which we hit just after 3pm which meant we’d been out and about for approx. five and a half hours. By the time we got there the sun had disappeared, the wind had picked up and we were cold and exhausted but we had DONE IT! We took advantage of the tasty food trucks at the finish line before taking our bikes for one last cycle to the train station to head home (it was too cold for anything else!).

It was overall an amazing experience and one that I’m really glad I got to do, even if it was a super last minute decision. I’ll definitely be doing next year’s, and I’ll definitely work on a costume for it!!

Sadly I had forgotten to activate my Fitbit at the beginning so I have no tracked map in my phone, but my stats do say I have 289min of cycling clocked up all up for that day, cut in half by our lunch stop at around 12pm. I think that’s a bloody good outcome!!

See you next year, Melburn Roobaix!!

[kelhirt]

The next leg of my journey: Deutschland und Portugal

Two days later I was on the absolute worst flight of my life to Germany. That is a whole other story in and of itself, so let’s keep it short and hit the high points: 4 delays, 3 airport changes, landing 7 hours later than planned at Ulster Airport, making me take a two hour taxi ride south with strangers at 3 am to get to Cologne, my original destination.  Shout out to the Claussens, my German family, for being patient and still waiting for me to arrive via taxi at 5 am…9 hours later than planned.

The next five days were filled with both fun adventure and relaxing with the Claussens at their home in Bad Honnef, a city right on the Rhine. Jette left the day after I got there to work at a hostel in Portugal, but we were able to visit Burg Eltz and have a family picnic on the island park in Bad Honnef before she left. 

Each day was something new; except for brekky, I always ate the fresh laugen (pretzel bread) with jam because I can’t ever get enough. My mouth is watering just thinking about it! I fell off my bike on a journey with Elise to get cheap Birkenstocks because it was too big, which made for a good laugh for both us, and the people passing by. We hiked one of the seven mountains in the Rhine area, explored Köln, drank lots of Kölsch during a last minute stop at the city’s Kölsch Fest, drove the Rhine River path, and had a cookout. All this time, I was able to practice my German and look like a fool while I was doing it. The last night I had there, I helped Peter coach soccer, which was a grand time! I was playing with and against young soccer stars who wanted to practice their English with an older American woman. When the scrimmage came around, I had a young boy who was my ally and assisted in a goal I made. I tried not to get into my competitive mode and I’ll absolutely give those girls credit for whooping my butt most of the time.

Elise and I overlooking the Rhine Valley

Because the Claussens are family to me, leaving was really tough. Peter dropped me off at the bus stop at night and I woke up in Berlin the next morning. I used the public bathroom at the bus/metro station to brush my teeth, change, and quickly oriented myself with the metro. I dumped my stuff at the hostel and headed out for a full day of sightseeing. I started my day at 8am and ended back at the hostel at 8 pm, where I paid 5 euro for a freaking towel because I was disgusting from walking the city in high heat. I’m sure I looked like an absolute wreck, because the guy in line behind me offered to pay for my towel when I was debating spending the money or not...my desperation was evident and very real.

The day was fantastic though! At first I was overwhelmed with my map of points of interest, so I started with a boat tour through the city which helped to familiarize myself with directions in the city. Don’t worry, if you know me and my love for maps, I still had it out about 85% of the day. I was a full-blown tourist that day as I made a big loop of Berlin, hopping on and off the metro to make sure I saw all the things. I sat down in places that radiated good energy or cried for more attention. I played in a sprinkling fountain at the Berlin Cathedral with two other tourists because it was hot as hell, and we thought there was power in numbers: they wouldn’t think oddly of 3 people vs 1 cooling off in there. When I got back that night, I was exhausted but eager to journal about everything I saw that day so I didn’t forget anything. As I was journaling, a guy from Syria started talking to me.

Side note: The intro line for guys who are smoking: “do you have a lighter/want a cigarette” is NOT a great way to start a conversation. But I had that happen three times abroad.

Memorial to the Murdered Jews

Berlin Cathedral

Back to Berlin and the Syrian guy that disrupted my journaling to ask for a lighter (though he ended up having one, go figure!)  He and his family were refugees and he opened up to me about living in Syria during the war. It was one of the most eye opening conversations I’ve ever had the privilege of having. I ended up being speechless because I had a human being telling me what their “normal” was, which involved bombings a village away and death being a constant. I could never imagine what that was like, a topic I later reflected heavily on. I mean, how blessed are Americans that our (whole) country has not been destroyed physically and socially. (I might argue it’s on its way to social destruction but eyyy, I’m not about to get political. Please just be a genuinely kind person, honestly).  Because he was so open, I felt comfortable asking questions, which led to some pretty intense conversations. He surprised me when he casually showed me where he was shot one morning while enjoying breakfast outside. Holy man. Three weeks earlier I was sitting outside enjoying tea and biscuits, listening to the birds and the ocean on an Irish island, worried about absolutely nothing. Again, I felt overcome with deep sadness for him and the countries that are war ladden and overwhelming gratitude for what I had at home. He moved to Berlin to get a college education in IT, and disclosed that if he hadn’t been shot in the shoulder and taken to a Turkish hospital, he and his family would have died in a bombing that annihilated their village just days later. I can’t make this stuff up you guys. Talk about humbling and opening your eyes to different perspectives.

 On a lighter note (no pun intended), I did the same thing the next day. Started with some laugen (OBVI!) Jumped on the metro and got off near the Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery. I walked it twice and found something new each way. I sort of got scammed, which was absolute crap because I’ve spotted every trap on my travels. Needless to say, all I wanted to do was sit down and cry for being an idiot, but what good would that have done me? None. So I took a hard lesson, got back on the metro and headed to a beautiful little city just outside of Berlin called Potsdam. I saw most of the palaces, relaxed in the gardens, and chatted with other visitors. I still had lots of negative self-talk that I fought with all day for the morning’s unfortunate happening, but I persevered in site seeing anyway. This is one of my favorite things about travel. Making a really stupid mistake and being able to acknowledge it and move on.

Berlin Wall, East Side Gallery: a mile of amazing art!

Potsdam Palaces

 Berlin was so unique; it was equally as exciting and huge as it was cozy and welcoming. Definitely a place I would love to spend an extended period of time in! But I had places to be; namely Portugal with my German bestie, so the next day I hopped on the plane and headed to Faro, Portugal on the Algarve Coastline. My hostel room had 8 beds and was filled with Spaniards my age to a 40 year old Italian men. Quaint and homey, the hostel was not ready for what it would experience during the upcoming week. Brekky everyday was fantastic in the sense it was a time for connection and community. Everyone was eager to learn something new about everyone. I usually ended up eating with two Belgians, one of whom was a pilot, so my fears of flying were squashed when he gave me some very helpful information on planes. It was when I could talk to the people I shared a room with and through that, the Italian man, Luigio, took a liking to me. He was genuinely concerned that I had a great time in Faro, always asking if I slept alright, making sure I knew about the best places to go and reminding me that it is super easy to burn, so make sure I applied sunscreen regularly. When I burned like a tomato, he said: “Kelli, I warned you. What happened?” then told me about his prescription sunburn relief that was in the fridge. He was my acting dad for a few days. He always made me smile.I stayed a week, so people came and went, and later ended up meeting a Brazilian that lives in Dublin. Fast forward three weeks and I’d be staying at her apartment with a friend. Cool how that stuff happens.

Breakfast was also where I met two guys from Austria and Azerbaijan who seemed discombobulated and grumpy the first time I interacted with them. After I got to know them, I realized they were both just to the point and was hangry. Both can attest to that, and they soon became good friends. Wherever Jette and I would go, they would decide to come along. I can only describe them as lost puppies or the background noise you needed on your adventures; I say this in the most endearing way and they know I called them that, just to make sure we are on the right page. I refer to the friends I made in Faro as “a dysfunctional family” because that’s exactly what we were. We went to different beaches every day, out at night, hung out at brekky and on the roof of the hostel playing cards and made up Eastern Europe geography quizzes.

I was supposed to leave on a Wednesday, but Jette and the guys not only talked me into staying, but also found me cheap flights, because obviously money was the only thing holding me back. Nothing but a few solo days in Belfast were waiting for me in Ireland. So, in a last minute move, I extended my trip to spend four more days baking on the beach with a group of really great people.  In that time I was able to: perform at a bar with a musician, learn a new Brazilian dance, see another city, eat what some people might consider a sickening amount of falafel kebabs, attended a boujee rooftop pool party, and spend time with one of my favorite people. Faro was the epitome of the things I love about travel. Connecting with new people and hearing their stories and making friendships that continue beyond the trip. Also a bonus I got to lay on the beach an extra couple days. Thankfully it is easy to stay connected this day in age, and I talk to the friends I made somewhat often.

Germany and Portugal were two spectacular weeks. I know I’m not alone in the feeling of being a goddess following a day at the beach where your skin smells like the sun and sea salt. I experienced so much and built strong connections with others in this time. I still thank God for the people and experiences he brought into my life in these two weeks and for the adventurous soul I was born with.

Luckily, I wasn’t headed back to America yet; I still had four weeks to dog sit in NW Ireland and a visit from my best friend.

[fuzz1912]

I’ve got an okay feeling about this

A fan’s review of SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY.

(Spoilers ahoy, matey. Proceed with extreme caution. Running on extreme low sleep, so this will probably be updated over the next day or so.)

I’ve been pretty clear about the parameters for what I consider to be a good Star Wars film. My initial concern has been that they should at least be internally consistent, and consistent within (let alone respectful of) the established lore of the Star Wars universe. Beyond that, my mind also turns to whether or not it merely repeats what has come before or extends the universe in logical and interesting ways. Is there a need for this story to be told, or does it excessively rely on (or trivially extrapolate from) a known backstory? And finally, does it strike the right balance of humour and fan service while telling a decent story that stands on its own?

So, having been quite critical of Disney’s previous Star Wars releases on that basis, how does this latest instalment fare?

May the month of May be with you

There’s something right about Star Wars in May. Despite the attempts by all and sundry to turn a stupid dad joke into ‘Star Wars Day’ (May the Fourth - get it? No, Cinco de Quatro is much better), in fact the month of May has its own enduring significance for the franchise. Each of the original and prequel trilogy movies were released around the mid-May Memorial Day holiday. In the US, this means summer, when kids are on break and sitting in an air-conditioned cinema is preferable compared to just about anything else. For us on the other side of the world, it is on the cusp of winter, just as the weather really starts turning for the worse - the wind picks up, the chill sets in, and darkness falls before you know it.

It’s those memories of fighting to stay warm while making it to midnight on a dark, crisp winter’s night that have always accompanied first watching a new Star Wars film for me. For some entirely silly commercial reason, Disney has thus far eschewed the traditional May release window instead choosing  December for its premieres, which has never felt right to me - December is for Christmas movies and Lords of the Ring, not Star Wars. So if nothing else, there’s some small satisfaction for me in being able to enjoy a new Star Wars movie for the first time again in the cold of May - perhaps its karma, but it feels like that’s translated to my reaction to this second anthology film.

Why make a movie about Han Solo?

Here is a character who is infamous for his intrigue. Many so-called fans criticise George Lucas for adding context to Star Wars where they believed none was necessary - see the “Han shot first” controversy (the real objection being that Greedo shot at all - which changes nothing about Han himself)(1) - in which case, why sacrifice the ultimate lamb and give him an origin story? That being said, I am loath to be too critical of the raison d’être for the ‘Star Wars Story anthology’ films (this and ROGUE ONE) - they have to date been somewhat respectful of Canon, made some generous nods to what is now ‘Legends’, and taken some interesting new directions in filling the gaps in the existing story. We don’t necessarily need them (much like we don’t need the Saga to continue an already concluded story), but that doesn’t mean they don’t have anything interesting to add to the stories we already love. 

Back in the very early days of the Star Wars Expanded Universe (what would now be called ‘Legends’) there was a series of novellas by Brian Daley about a pre-Yavin Han Solo and his adventures with Chewbacca and (you guessed it) a couple of droids on the Millennium Falcon, as he tried to eke out a living as a white hat smuggler in the Empire-lite Corporate Sector.(2) They were some of the first EU books that I read, and simple though they were, I enjoyed them because they were episodic tales set in a different part of the world of Star Wars established by the films. They weren’t high stakes, and didn’t give Han Solo an origin or back story - they just gave a glimpse into some of the sort of swashbuckling adventures that we assumed the character we met in the Cantina Bar would have had.

This movie is nowhere near as light or insignificant as that - much like ROGUE ONE before it, it takes a throwaway line mentioned in the original film and turns it into a definitive origin story about how Han Solo became that guy who shot first.(3)

Now the story of a film that lost everything and the one director who had no choice but to bring it all together

From what little has been made public, this film has not had an easy gestation - even more so than ROGUE ONE, whose ending was completely changed (undoubtedly for the better). THE LEGO MOVIE directors were fired during the shoot due to “creative differences” with writer Lawrence Kasdan, who wrote the brilliant EMPIRE (but also the lackluster AWAKENS). Apparently their take was too humorous and not the sarcastic selfishness that characterises Han Solo - which I guess is a good thing considering how ridiculous the obvious jokes in the Disney ‘Saga’ films have been. Their replacement is none other than early Lucas protege and all-round pretty damn talented Ron Howard of Imagine Entertainment (not Orange County Imagine), whose voice is embedded in many of our heads thanks to his shoddy narration of ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT.(4)

Ron Howard reliably makes good movies. He might not have the most stylistic flair, he may not be the most innovative or creative, he may not use the most challenging source material, but it would be difficult to suggest that any of the movies he’s made are anything less than solidly watchable - and most of them have been, in their own way, pretty great. He now runs a director’s masterclass, and you’d be hard pressed to find a better teacher from whom to learn the craft.

George Lucas had offered Howard the opportunity to direct previoud Star Wars films over the years, but as with Lucas’s other bestie Steven Spielberg, Howard didn’t want to take the reigns from his longtime friend. Now that Lucas has rather foolishly handed the keys over to the Walt Disney Company, that reluctance seems to have diminished. I’ve been disappointed with the direction Disney has been leading the franchise enough times to have serious doubts about this film, but the one thing that kept me optimistic about it was that it was ultimately left to Howard to deliver the final product.

That faith was well placed - this was the first Star Wars film in some time that I really enjoyed.

“You’re the good guy”

The fundamental premise of the film appears to manifest itself in this line of dialogue that Qi’ra casually throws away towards the climax. This information will spoil the payoff of A NEW HOPE, just like knowing who Darth Vader is spoils the reveal in EMPIRE. But it’s nevertheless true to the core of the character of the Han Solo that we know and love - despite being a selfish cad and a scoundrel, he is a softy underneath.

Given the context above about the importance of the tone of the film, it would appear that the decision made by Lucasfilm to bring in Howard was on the money (though really, the question is why he wasn’t there from the start). Moments of over the top humour have been toned down (at least from what I can recall of one of the early trailers showing Han being interviewed to join the Imperial Academy). That’s not to say there aren’t any funny moments, but for the most part they feel earned and not simply played for easy laughs (like *ahem* Poe/Hux).

There are some call-backs in the dialogue to the original films that might go a little too far (L3: “They don’t even serve our kind here”), but they are mostly effective when they subvert our expectations (“I hate you”/“I know” and “I’ve got a GOOD feeling about this”) which is nice when the film itself is a giant call-back. On the other hand, there were a couple of lines of dialogue that strayed towards uncharacteristically real-world expletives - especially Han’s use of the phrase “Bantha crap”, when we all know the correct terminology is “poodoo”.

Visually the film was just as much of a treat as any Star Wars movie, exploring some new frontiers with the Maelstrom / Maw surrounding Kessel, as well as the WWI-style trench warfare and snow train hijacking scenes. What I loved about each of these was that they created new unfamiliar environments with their own mechanics that drove the plot and the plight of the characters, as Star Wars does at its best. The Kessel Run - in particular the climax with the Millennium Falcon trying to escape both a hideous space monster and a black hole / gravity well at the same time - was both spectacular and incredibly intense to watch, despite the fact that you know that the chracters you’re invested in are going to survive (and that the Falcom reliably has trouble making the jump to lightspeed). From that perspective, it far exceeded anything in the last couple of ‘Saga’ films (two hour long chases of fuel attrition, anyone?).

The music was serviceable and on par with, if not a little better than, Michael Giacchino’s score for ROGUE ONE. It was used effectively and enjoyable, with impactful use of the well-known themes and leitmotifs. While I wouldn’t have called it as memorable as John Williams at his best (he was only partially involved), it was adequate if not decent - and unlike the ‘Saga’ films, it didn’t have to be any more than that.

Finally, the performances were for the most part quite good. Alden Ehrenreich faced the near impossible task of stepping into Harrison Ford’s shoes to recreate one of cinema’s most iconic characters, and he did it pretty well. Rather than attempt to mimick or channel Ford’s trademark smirk or swagger (let alone be forced to undergo make up or CGI as was done rather poorly in ROGUE ONE), he simply stayed true to the character and made it his own. Within a few minutes, I was on board and completely accepted him in the role, made all the easier by not constantly being reminded of how Harrison Ford would have played it. To each of their credit, Howard and Ehrenreich have created a perfectly believable young Han Solo that stands on his own two feet, not in the shadow of a legend.

Similarly, Don Glover (aka Childish Gambino) perfectly captured Lando Calrissian and at no point did I feel like I missed another legend in Billy Dee Williams (though I feel like Glover may have had some prosthetic teeth put in). Having to portray the dashing Lando in his prime provided Glover with the opportunity to bring greater depth to the character than Williams, who pretty much just played himself. Woody Harrelson and Thandie Newton were both solid as far as their roles allowed them to be - as was Joonas Suotamo, for the first time reprising his role as Chewbacca (despite the subtleties of the Wookiee costume, not for a moment did I doubt it was the same character created by Peter Mayhew). Paul Bettany chewed the scenery as the slimy crime boss Dryden Vos. Wherever there is Bettany, Jon Favreau can’t be far behind, giving a short but charming life to the personable alien pilot Rio (bonus point for giving the universe a little more needed diversity). Also bringing her vocal talents to the fore was Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who created one of the more sympathetic droid personalities in L3. Perhaps the only slightly disappointing performance came from the otherwise brilliant Emilia Clarke as Qi’ra, through no real fault of her own - despite playing a duplicitous badass, she wasn’t given much meaningful to do.

“Assume everyone will betray you and you will never be disappointed.”

The film is at its essence a heist movie, and a good one at that - it effectively uses the tropes of the genre, and though largely predictable it subverted them enough to keep me engaged the whole way through. The number of double crosses was just right enough to reflect that none of these characters were naive, but they all had their fundamental weaknesses.

I feel like Lawrence Kasdan and his son Jonathan did a pretty decent job with the script. Having said that, while the plot overall was thrilling, the story itself was a little disjointed. Other than Han’s relationship with Qi’ra, there was no real thread that wove all the way through and connected the somewhat disparate few escalating heists that resulted in Han’s independence and acquisition of the Falcon. Perhaps that’s enough, given most of the second and third acts focused largely on the famous Kessel Run and its consequences - most amusingly, how the Falcon goes from Lando’s souped up, sleek hot rod, into the bucket of bolts we’re introduced to in A NEW HOPE.

The side plots involving the competing crime syndicates and the mysterious motivations of the marauders weren’t particularly compelling until they each revealed their secrets towards the conclusion - but they did an effective job of believable world building, and setting up things that we already know will follow (like the Rebellion). However, the ‘droid rights’ concept inspired by the new character of L3 seemed a little underdeveloped and out of place.(5) It actually reminded me more of Hermione Granger’s Elf welfare from Harry Potter mixed with Korg’s ‘revolution’ from Thor Ragnarok, though I’d love to see the idea more fully explored within the Star Wars universe.

The film introduced the concept of ‘hyperfuel’ (also known as coaxium) as the primary MacGuffin for driving the plotting of the heists. This acted as a deus ex machina at several points with some interesting results in the execution of the Kessel Run itself (Where were the spice mines by the way? Was Disney afraid of being sued by the estate of Frank Herbert?). While fine in isolation to this movie, this did also feel a little bit on the nose given the central role fuel bizarrely played in the plot of the last ‘Saga’ film (not to mention the ongoing focus on Han’s lucky gold dice, which was overplayed in that film and introduced here as if they were far more significant to Han’s established identity than they actually are).

But there was one final touch to the plot that got the kind of ecstatic reaction out of me that I haven’t felt in years - it genuinely shocked and thrilled me, but more on that later.

“I’m putting together a crew? Are you in?”

A good heist requires the building of a good crew that brings a variety of talents to the table. To be frank, the actual Kessel Run heist in this film itself was somewhat anticlimactic. Other than the diversion created by L3 and the subsequent fire fight, the stakes involved in boosting the coaxium from Kessel were not particularly high. On the other hand, the escape and ensuing ‘Run’,(6) as well as the inevitable series of double-crosses and competing moral and selfish imperatives after pulling it off, were full of thrills and gave the characters an opportunity to really shine through - and this was nothing if not a character piece.

The Anti-Hero: The eponymous Han Solo. Well, this is his movie, you can hardly expect us not to start with Han - who is for the first time the sole protagonist of a film. As this is an origin story, he’s not going to be leader of this pack, but he’s hopefully going to show us why he will be when he meets the Skywalker family. Despite a stray reference to his father being a shipbuilder on Corellia, we never get Han’s true family name or any other indication of his lineage; he was dubbed ‘Solo’ by the Imperial recruiter quite literally for being on his own.(7) We meet him as a street kid with a conscience and a mouth - who’ll happily point out to a superior officer in his company that they are themselves the hostiles, not the natives of the planet they’re invading for the glory of the Empire. Much like his father-in-law before him, he starts off idealistic and a little bit twee in his oft-repeated desire to become the best pilot in the galaxy (the title actually held by said future father-in-law). Also like Anakin Skywalker in PHANTOM MENACE, we don’t actually get to see a lot of those skills before he slips into the role; Anakin at least was a Force-sensitive pod racing child (let alone the Chosen One), but other than the pretty nice speeder chase opening the movie its’s not until the Kessel Run itself that we actually see Solo’s exceptional skills. Han in this film is very much driven by the loss of Qi’ra right at the start, and his quest throughout is to first find her and then win her back. Having seen his cynicism while Luke is under Obi-Wan’s tutelage, it’s a nice change to see him as the earnest student trying to learn the game from his own mentor, the master con-thief Tobias Beckett. He slots easily into the role of rogue, deserter and mercenary, and through Beckett and his crew he also learns never to trust anyone but himself - with one notable exception. And the fact that exception exists, is also why underneath all that bravado, Han truly is still the good guy - when given a choice between a quick score or the greater good, he chooses the latter. Han may start off street smart but somewhat naive, but by the end he demonstrates empathy and a canny insight that lays the foundation for the scruffy looking nerf herder with a heart of gold that Luke meets in the Mos Eisley Cantina. At the very end of the film, we can see conclusively why Han had to shoot first.(8)

The Brawn: Chewbacca. The one notable exception to Han’s rule is his future trusty co-pilot, who we’ve never yet seen not by his side. Here we get to see how they meet for the first time and forge their lifelong partnership. While I was fully expecting Chewie to show up at some point, I must admit to being misdirected by the set up leading to his meet-fight with Han. Howard’s staging suggested that the ‘beast’ the stormtroopers were feeding Han to would be something like RETURN’s Rancor and the muddy fur that was our first glimpse of him also echoed EMPIRE’s Wampa. Hearing that familiar growl was both thrill and relief, as Chewie engaged Han in ferocious combat until we hear Han speak Wookiee for the first time in order to persuade Chewie that he can devise a way for them both to escape.(9) The two are literally bound together until Han tracks down Beckett - who immediately recognises that Chewie, not Han, is the prized recruit. Han learns of Chewie’s desire to reunite with and free his tribe / family, something he can and can’t relate to at the same time. Chewie appears initially skeptical of Han, but circumstance conspires to keep them together from one job to the next and along the way they continually pull each other out of the kind of pickles that would well establish the life debt he later owes to Han (but nothing specific is singled out here as the sole cause for it). At a critical moment, we see Chewie choose to stay with Han rather than return to join others of his own kind. This cements the fact that Chewie isn’t simply sidekick, but that Han and Chewie are in fact partners in crime. It’s also probably the most agency we’ve seen Chewie use throughout the saga - except perhaps for the moment that we’d all been waiting for (and had been teased at least once with Beckett), when he finally pulls someone’s arms out of their sockets. He’s also the first to throw cold water on Han when he starts bragging about making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs - as Chewie points out, he was already rounding it down.

The Money: Lando Calrissian. When we first met him on Cloud City, Lando presented as a smooth-talking, responsible administrator with shades of a dark past. Lando is just as charming as he ever was, but in his younger days we can see more of the conniving, selfish operator he needed to be to survive as a renowned smuggler in the galactic underworld. However, as with Han, a glimmer of his true nature shines through his relationship with L3, his partner in crime (and possibly life). While Lando’s side of that relationship wasn’t that well explored at first (other than L3 suggesting that he may be what Futurama would call “robosexual”), and it’s not clear how sympathetic he was to her robot rights crusade, it is clear following L3’s death just how much she meant to him.(10) In return for an ever-diminishing cut,(11) Lando provides the getaway vehicle for the heist - his highly-polished and specially-modified freighter, the Millennium Falcon. The Falcon we see for the first time(12) is pristine and complete, including the escape pod completing its front that we’ve as yet not seen. Having cheated Han out of his first opportunity to take possession of the Falcon, we see the foundations of the mistrust underlying their chummy rivalry, and the guile that Han brings back to the table to finally win it fair and square. Given the considerable damage Han does to the ship through the maelstrom to turn it into our beloved hunk of junk, it’s somewhat ironic that in RETURN Lando promises Han to bring the Falcon back from the Battle of Endor “without a scratch”.

The Beauty and the Brains: L3-37 and Qi’ra. I feel terrible conflating these two, particularly between the two female members of the crew, but unfortunately that’s the sort of movie this was. Qi’ra may have conceived of part of the scheme, and been the mastermind who ultimately ended up on top, but she didn’t actually have a whole lot do other than drive the plot. It’s arguable that she may have used her emotional leverage over Han to ensure that she always had the upper hand throughout most of the film. Perhaps hers is a character that has scope to grow over the course of a greater story, but in this chapter alone she felt a little underdeveloped; you never got a sense of why Han was so besotted with her, to the extent that he would spend years trying to get her back - and her convenient reappearance at just the right time was a little contrived. But I find it more interesting to look at L3 as the one who used her appearance and/or emotions most effectively to create a robot rebellion diversion to allow the heist to proceed, despite the fact that it was literally her brains that ultimately enabled the getaway. Unlike the prissy C3PO and the sardonic K2SO from ROGUE ONE, L3 is the first protocol droid we’ve encountered that is idealistic and empathetic, and she tolerates no nonsense from her beloved Lando or the rest of the crew. While her demise was somewhat inevitable, she’s probably the most ‘human’ droid to date across all of the Star Wars movies. The other resonant feature of L3 is that she literally becomes part of the Falcon, and is as such retconned into the Saga itself as the ‘peculiar dialect’ that always seems to bring bad news to C3PO.

The Leader: Tobias Beckett (and his partner Val). Beckett also doesn’t have much to do beyond driving the plot and be a representation of the mercenary that Solo would become - his Fedora Man - without the redeeming qualities. When Val vainly sacrifices herself to try to help Beckett settle the score to end his indebtedness to the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate, he loses what little remaining connection and trust he had with others (at least, that’s what Beckett would have us believe). The challenge for Han will be not to do the same when Qi’ra walks away from him (or at least, not until he rescues a princess from a hidden fortress). Beckett is a ruthless mentor for the hungry young Han, but his commitment to making sure Han learns his lessons ends up being own weakness, resulting in his ultimate demise as Han catches him monologuing. Truly the student does become the master, with some regret but no hard feelings.(13)

The Competitor: Emphys Nest. Now this is an interesting character. Initially set up as a brutal marauder captain with a proto-Ren mask, it turns out that in fact she is the leader of a group of outcasts dispossessed by the Empire, who are not in the game for the money but for survival - and ultimately, rebellion. I found the the portrayal of the marauders and their motivation a little hard to follow at first, but ultimately far more believable and earned than the ‘resistance kids’ in the ‘Saga’. Also, I love the realism of the idea (reflected in the REBELS series) that there are disparate cells of resistance across the galaxy fighting their own wars against the Empire, who eventually coalesce into the organised Rebel Alliance. The fact that Warwick Davis’s PHANTOM MENACE cameo character Weazel returns as one of Nest’s lieutenants is icing on the cake.

The Heavy: Dryden Vos. I was fully expecting the boss of the Crimson Dawn crime syndicate to be a Hutt, so it was a surprise to see an apparently humanoid villain instead.(14) Vos appears recklessly tyrannical and limitless in his arrogance. It’s hard to believe that he’s effectively just a middle manager, though he alludes to that fact along the way, setting us up for…

The Big Bad: Holy poodoo. Darth F’ing Maul (sorry, simply ‘Maul’ now that he’s ceded the mantle of Sith to the little brat watching him from the fighter cockpit). I could not contain my glee when I saw his horned face reappear. Now this is probably going to be confusing for the casual viewer, because most would have assumed that Maul was dead after Obi-Wan bisected him in PHANTOM MENACE. But those who have had the benefit of watching CLONE WARS and REBELS know that Maul survived and has tangled with our heroes (and even his former master) a number of times, all the while plotting his comeback and revenge against his almost-murderer Kenobi. Along the way, Maul and his brother Savage Oppress took over the alliance of criminal syndicates known as the Shadow Collective (of which Crimson Dawn is one part) and took control of the planet Mandalore (in the process killing Kenobi’s beloved Satine - yes, just like in MOULIN ROUGE). We also have had the benefit of seeing his final rematch with Obi-Wan on Tatooine, possibly one of the most meaningful duels of the saga. So with context, given CLONE WARS and REBELS are technically Canon, it’s unsurprising in a way that Maul would be revealed as the ultimate villain of the piece. Nevertheless, the reveal of seeing this iconic and criminally-underutilised antagonist once again in live action was simply breathtaking. Maul was portrayed by original PHANTOM MENACE actor Ray Park, and voiced by Sam Witwer. I was somewhat disappointment that the amazing Peter Serafinowicz didn’t return to reprise Maul’s voice, but given the substantially greater amount of work Witwer has done for the character since in CLONE WARS and REBELS, it’s fair to say that Witwer is now to Maul as Hamill is to the Joker.

“You look good. A little rough around the edges, but good.”

The rather unsurprising conclusion to all that is that this film has managed to meet and perhaps surpass, the bar I’ve set for what makes a good and enjoyable Star Wars movie.

Simply by virtue of the fact that they aren’t recreating the figurative wheel, Disney seems to do a much better job with these Star Wars anthology movies than the ‘Saga’ they are unnecessarily trying to continue (but in fact are simply rebooting). I really hope they take advantage of the favorable ages of Ewan McGregor and Daniel Logan to tell the Obi Wan and Boba Fett stories that are dying to be told, let alone find a way to bottle a tiny bit of Don Glover brilliance before he becomes bigger than Yeezus and stops acting altogether.(15)

At this stage we know that there will be at least two ‘spin-off’ trilogies, by Rian Johnson (ugh) and the Game of Thrones showrunners (Qi’ra returns?). If each of those manage to continue to follow the trend set by SOLO, and to a lesser extent ROGUE ONE, rather than the tired tropes of the ‘Saga’, then my outlook is optimistic on the future of Star Wars on the silver screen for years to come.  

So for now: I’ll happily go see another Star War.

Notes:

(1) I’d add that despite sketching out a potential back story and cameo for an orphaned young Han Solo adopted by Chewbacca and present at the Battle of Kashyyyk in SITH, Lucas exercised restraint and omitted it from the shooting script. While not begrudging the creator his licence, it appears in hindsight that this was probably a wise move and certainly created an opportunity for this film.

(2) Actually, now that I read that back with decades of hindsight, I can totally relate!

(3) In this case, that line was Solo’s reference to the Falcon making the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs - long maligned as an incorrect reference given that parsecs are units of distance not time, though there have been some novel explanations of how that might still work that were Canon-ised by this film.

(4) Actual narration may be brilliant, please see a theralyst if doubt persists. Speaking of which, I wonder (did someone say WONDER?) which still life image he used as inspiration for this movie?

(5) I feel like the galactic resentment towards droids was signposted a little more effectively indirectly by the prequels, given the years of destruction caused by the Separatists’ droid armies.

(6) Lando set the bar at 20 parsecs, which is way higher than what Han eventually claims he achieved. It makes you wonder about the significance of the “less than” part of the claim. 

(7) It may as well have been “Corellian” or “Corleone”, for that matter.

(8) But let’s not blind ourselves to the fact that that says nothing about whether or not Greedo would have taken a shot too - Greedo already delivered his verbal coup de grace and allowed Han to get a response in before Han shot (back). Han’s mid-monologue blow to Beckett was more along the lines on Indiana Jones’s similar shot against the swordsman in RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. As I said before, whether Greedo shot or not changes nothing about Han, who had already been preparing for the shot himself. 

(9) It’s a shame we didn't get an allusion to how Han picked up his stuttering Wookiee language skills or knowledge of their Imperial enslavement - particularly given the fact that the reason probably would have further demonstrated his empathy - hat tip to my friend Justin Scott for that one.

(10) I’ll be honest - as a COMMUNITY fan, it’s always a joy to watch Don Glover cry hysterically.

(11) He can’t seem to avoid deals that get worse all the time!

(12) Technically we did see the Falcon briefly in SITH, but let’s say that Lando has done a bit of a refurbishment since then.

(13) There hasn’t been such an effectively executed succession plan since the soon-to-be Darth Vader got ‘ahead’ of Darth Tyranus.

(14) It appears that the Hutts are being set up as the antagonists for a future Solo movie.

(15) I still vainly hold out hope for #SixSeasonsAndAMovie.

[c00lmint8123-blog]

TWO Hidden Waterfalls At This Georgia Park

David Brodosi

David Brodosi - Fall road trips and adventures do not have to be expensive or lavish. You can find great adventures in your own backyard that you might have never known were there. This massive State Park in Georgia is one of those places with many activities for you and your besties to do.

Cloudland Canyon State Park is one of the most beautiful places Georgia has to offer. It has so many hiking trails, waterfalls and amazing views as you hike through the trails. Admission to the park is only $5 so you will not be hurting your wallet on this adventure.

Within the 65 miles of trails, you can choose the one that fits your needs the most. If you are looking for a short, easy hike, you will find that here. If you are looking for a longer, more difficult hike to challenge yourself, you have to take the Sitton's Gulch Trail.

On this trail, you will hike to the bottom of the canyon to see two massive waterfalls and you will have a great view at the summit.

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This entire trip is 5.1 miles and is one of the more difficult hikes at this destination. In the summer, it is not ideal to hike Sitton's Gulch, but as the weather begins to cool, it is the perfect outdoor adventure.

As you start your hike, you will descend quickly down to the bottom of the canyon to see Cherokee Falls and Hemlock Falls. Cherokee Falls is a massive 60-foot waterfall that plunges into a pool of some of the clearest water. Hemlock Falls is the larger of the two coming in at 90 feet.

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After taking a dip in the pools here, you will be on your way across a large wooden bridge. You will explore the deep depths of the Cloudland Cayon's floor before you start your 900-foot scale to where you began to end your hike.

Seeing the two beautiful waterfalls and exploring the calming forest depths, you will enjoy this long hike more than you would expect.

If you want to chase more waterfalls, you have to travel to this park with a suspension bridge and a 76-foot waterfall.

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Sitton's Gulch Trail

Price: $5 for parking

Address: 122 Cloudland Canyon Park Rd, Rising Fawn, GA 30738

Why You Need To Go: Even though this is a challenging hike and trail, you will go into the deep depths of the canyon floor and see beautiful waterfalls you can actually swim in.

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8 Awesome South Georgia Hikes You Need To Add To Your Bucket List This Fall

Sweater weather is the best for hiking.

David Brodosi

There's a lot of hype when it comes to hiking in North Georgia, and though there are some great spots up there, we need to give South Georgia some credit where it's due. Down south there are tons of gorgeous beaches, swamp land, palm trees and more that will make you feel like you're on an out-of-state getaway, not to mention these eight South Georgia hiking spots perfect for fall that will help you find your zen.

Canyon Loop Trail at Providence Canyon

Address: 8930 Canyon Rd., Lumpkin, GA 31815

Why You Need To Go: This trail takes you everywhere you need to go to discover the awe-striking peaks and valleys of what is known as "The Little Grand Canyon."

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Hooked on a feeling

Peter Quill/Star Lord x Avenger!Reader

Words: 5605 Just an idea I’ve had rumbling around in my head.

Why you believed that Peter Quill might just be able to save you, you couldn’t say. Of course, it had been him to get you into danger in the first place but his steady hand over yours and his sincere gaze catching yours as you hurdled towards a battle against a Kree overlord, well it was suddenly easy to forgive the fact that he’d bargained your life away to the Ravagers. It was hard to ignore Rocket’s mocking kissing noises and Drax’s booming laughter echoing through the ship behind you but you managed it – barely. Quill’s face flushed and he squeezed your hand with his before retracting it, trust those arseholes to ruin a perfectly good moment. Though you shouldn’t be having moments with a man that you barely knew, you could practically hear the words lectured at you in Clint’s voice. God how you missed that arrow wielding idiot, he could make you feel save, even in the expanse of space. But Quill was turning out as a good second and you were so well on your way to being smitten that it was hard to imagine your life back on earth now.

---

Your life on earth was exciting enough – or it had been before your adventures in space.

As a Shield Agent you had seen some of the most beautiful and dangerous people and places in all over the world. You were a fighter and a damn good one at that, it didn’t run in your genes your mother had always been against violence but you’d grafted your whole life to work to the top of your field so you provide a good life for yourself and your mother. She’d fallen pregnant with you as a young teen and, having been ostracized by her whole family, she’d raised you singlehanded sometimes working two or three jobs.

But it didn’t matter, you had each other and when you introduced her to your close friend and mentor, you gained a stepfather. She became Laura Barton and Clint refused to stop lording his new positon over you on missions. He even adopted a special ‘Dad voice’.

It was impossible to hold it against him, it was cheeky and adorable and was laced with the same mocking humour that your half siblings had inherited – thank god for Natasha and her unbelievable Russian vodka for drunken nights of debauchery to keep you sane.

That sanity came under threat, as it did for most people, the day that you met Tony Stark and the rest of The Avengers. It wasn’t the best circumstances for them to meet you, truth be told, Clint being abducted was at the very top of your worries. You didn’t give a shit about the Aliens, no matter how muscular and blonde the one who wished to call you friend was.

Life could never be the same after that. For one, you now knew that aliens existed and they had Army’s. But mostly it was because you’d been drafted into the world’s ultimate boyband and you doubted if either Clint or Tony would ever recover from their individual traumas. You tried your best to support them and taught the other Avengers how to handle panic attacks. Clint was fortunate enough to have you at home as well to help him if he felt like he needed to get away from your mother and siblings, though he hardly ever showed when he was overwhelmed.

These small tokens helped both men greatly and eventually Tony felt strong enough to share with you the footage of space that his suit had recorded when he dis-guarded the bomb.

And it was beautiful.

Sans the awaiting Alien invasion, you enraptured by the galaxy stretched out in front of you, colours swirling and crashing – the stars dancing just for you. The sight painted your mind; it was your happy place when Clint and Tony were attempting to make Bruce snap and the closing scene of your thoughts every evening as you settled to sleep.

You had to see it for yourself.

You could practically taste the despair of your family and friends when they learnt of your plans but they were powerless to stop you and they knew it.   “Impossible to get logic through to her brain with a skull that thick.” Tony had mocked and Clint crossed his arms and agreed and fixed you with his best parental stare. Both he and Natasha had spent the last few days prying into your business to see if you were trying to escape something or someone and constantly asked if you were happy.

And you were, how could you not be happy when your family so big and loving?

But you craved adventure and had perfected the art of staying close to other Avengers when Clint was around, they knew that you were close but they had no clue about your real relationship or the rest of your little family and both of you wanted to keep it that way, by staying close to Tony or Steve then Clint couldn’t emotionally blackmail you with thoughts of your mother.

Which he barely had to try to do anyway, she’d cried uncontrollably when she realised that even her superhero husband couldn’t dissuade you of your plans. Her only consolation was that you wouldn’t be alone, you had your ‘Blonde Alien Bestie’ as Clint had once dubbed him. Your mother may not have ever met Thor but she trusted Clint’s judgement on him.

It turned out that getting a hold of the Asgardian prince was harder than you’d anticipated and in the end you got in touch with Jane, Thor had given you both each other’s details so that you could check on her for him and so that she could contact you if she found herself in any trouble because Thor rarely got back to earth these days. ‘Lots of work in space.’ He’d laugh every time you had seen him; he looked older since you’d had to defeat Loki, heavier with the weight of reality and the Realms. When he arrived unannounced in your room at Stark Tower, he looked more a king than ever.

He was barely in doorway to your room before you were up and embracing him, he gave a hearty laugh and returned the gesture, he always seemed so happy of affection after your initial coldness to him.

He placed Mjolnir down gently on your bed next to your over spilling backpack. He studied the backpack for a moment before pointing at it and catching your eye, “Jane informs me that you need my help with something. Are you in some form of trouble?”

You rolled your eyes but it was hard to be mad at his loving nature, “Why does anyone assume that I’m a trouble causer –” “-Because you are.” He interrupted with an enormous grin. You barely resisted the urge to stick your tongue out at him before continuing, “I wanted to ask a favour,” his expression turned serious, “I want to go explore the galaxy. I want to see every creature, every star. I want to live it all.”

If he was angry at your request then he didn’t show it, instead he spoke like the calm ruler that he was becoming, “Do you think that wise?” “Does it matter if its wise?” You asked, “I’ve seen the footage from Tony’s suit Thor, and its beautiful and I need to see it.” His large grin split his face against, this time filled with pride and he shook his head lightly, “I should have expected no less passion from such a mighty warrior. I would be proud if you were to accompany me to Asguard as my guest. We would be honoured to host one of Midgar’s mightiest heroes.”

You didn’t suppress the small squeal as you dove at him giving him a tight and laughing embrace.

The day you left was full of tears, at you home you bid farewell to your mum, brother and sister promising to be back for their birthdays. Cooper and Lila where told that you were just going away for work like you usually did, you couldn’t tell them about space because they were only young and you didn’t want them fearing for you safety. You were the oldest, worrying was your job not theirs.

Afterwards Clint drove you to Stark Tower where you said goodbye to him and Nat first before joining the others and, after nearly getting crushed in Steve’s bear hug, you finally finished your goodbyes. Thor waited patiently; assuring them all that you’d have every luxury during your stay in Asguard, which quietened Tony’s moaning about only taking one backpack. But you had everything that you needed including clothes (Thor promised the finest robes as well), weapons of your own choosing and some sneaky extras that the others had snuck in. Tony had made you bracelet that when you flicked your wristed aggressively transformed out into an Iron Man gauntlet, it was the same colour as his suit but felt heavier. He’d been experimenting with technology that could survive space after his experience with the fall and he was about 57% sure that the gauntlet should work as it would on Earth.

But the colours were just so that you wouldn’t miss him, the charmer that he was.

---

Having seen Thor leave Earth with a flourish on more than one occasion, you weren’t sure how smooth the journey would be and in the end when you arrived with a crash on the other side, you were glad that you’d clung to Thor so readily. After a few moments of queasiness, and a long string of curse words, the world came into focus and you met Heimdall for the first time after hearing of him from Thor. “Lady Y/L/N, I am Heimdall,” His voice was deep and his eyes hinted that he knew everything about you, he was unnerving but you found yourself trusting him almost instantly, “Welcome to Asguard.” “Nice to meet you Heimdall,” You smiled and extended your hand to shake which he took but bent down and kissed the back of your hand.  When he pulled back you dropped your hand and offered him a cheeky grin, “I’ve heard all about you from Thor. Truly awful things really, you should ashamed of yourself. Oh, and please call me Y/N.”

Thor looked ready to dive into an explanation about Midgardian humour but Heimdall was already smirking at your joke. Huh, maybe he did know everything about you. “Have a well journey, Y/N.” He told you and returned his focus to the other realms as Thor led you away. “Hey Thor, why didn’t you warn me that he was hot?” You asked your friend as you walked away and Thor rushed you along as though he was worried that Heimdall had heard you and when you glanced back at the smirk on his face you knew that he had.

--

Days in Asguard flew by and Thor was true to his word when he had promised that you’d be treated like royalty, everyone was astounded to meet the Midgardian who had helped defeat Loki and had not been put off the pursuit of adventure.

Odin seemed indifferent to you and you had a suspicion that he felt superior to humans and hated the idea of Thor loving Jane but that really had very little to do with you. A fast and hearty friendship had found you and Lady Sif and you were extremely grateful of her company when Thor had to go play at being royalty. On her part she admired your warrior nature and was fascinated by her sense of humour, her favourite thing being your skills when it came to practical jokes.

Together you found that your phone wouldn’t work properly in space – shocker­- but certain functions such as the camera and the calculator still worked even though were slow and laggy. The bracelet-come-gauntlet that Tony had given you certainly did work and had resulted in both you and Lady Sif fleeing the Armoury after blowing a hole through the wall and bending one of the swords round into a circle.

Fuck, Tony had come good on this gift.

Inevitably, you became bored.

Asgard was glorious but after a few weeks of exploring it, being held as a hero and having people dote treasures onto you (seriously you could probably retire when you went back home) it became boring and you itched for the adventure and wonder you had set out looking for.

After spending the day bothering Heimdall with silly questions like, ‘So you see everything, are you Santa?’, ‘Can you see through walls?’, ‘How many people do you see picking their nose a day?’, and ‘How cool did I look kicking Alien ass? My hair looked good right?’, Heimdall must have sensed that you were close to going out and potentially causing trouble and warned Thor.

So on the first opportunity to go on what Thor described as a small errand, you jumped at the chance. You were to go and check on a man known as The Collector with two of the royal family’s guards. Thor and Lady Sif both looked bemused at you as you ran towards them in your Earth Attire with your backpack slung over one shoulder, they had both expressed regret at being unable to attend but they had ‘an urgent matter to deal with’.

Secret Asgardian business you guessed. “It is only a small errand, Lady Y/N.” Thor reiterated as he gestured to your fighting clothing. You clicked your tongue at him, “For one Thor, I look great so shut it. And, you can’t be too prepared.” Thor shook his head and smiled in resignation and Lady Sif laughed, “A good point well made. Do take care of our men.” She nodded her head back towards the guards that you accompanying and the pair of you shared a giggle before you left.

----

This was the type of adventure that you’d been craving, a seedy bar inside the decaying head of a massive celestial being?

Yes please!

It hadn’t been hard to ditch the guards, The Collector or whatever he called himself was freaky and after several comments about what a prize one of Earths Mightiest Heroes would be for his collection you had excused yourself and ran through some back alleys to the bar. It was a novelty to soak up the atmosphere.

During your time with Thor you had learnt of a few species that looked especially Human, like Xandarians, and some that really didn’t but you couldn’t pronounce their names, it sounded a bit like blowing bubbles through custard.

Keeping up with what they called you was the hardest, on Asguard you were a Midgardian, everywhere else you seemed to be classed as a Terran. But everyone seemed to know that you were one of the few humans to have fought and defeated Loki who had been using Thanos’ army, it made you very famous and when you really thought about it, it wasn’t surprising.

It seemed that as big as man’s ideas were on themselves, no one in the galaxy cared about the little laughable planet that had barely managed to explore its own moon. The fact that it had taken only a few of its inhabitants to hold off and defeat and invasion of that magnitude and volume, well, it had sent out a message to the universe loud and clear.

The Earth was defended and it was ready.

Though most of the establishments focus was on the betting and music, you grew sick of the feeling of being watched and ventured out onto the balcony with your drink that looked like gravy but tasted like Sherbet Lemons.

Barely a moment of peace had passed before you sensed someone behind you on the balcony thanks to all the years of training with Nat and Clint, who coincidentally were the only people who could beat you at hide and seek because of it. You turned to face your follower in no mood to relive your fights on Earth for anyone tonight when you were confronted with a man; well he certainly looked like a man, with his hair swept to one side and tidy facial hair.

Where those headphones around his neck?

His hands where splayed slightly as though he was ready to calm you of any anger or fear from him suddenly appearing. You watched him lowly and sipped your drink. “You’re Terran.” He said, his eyes disbelieving as he took in the sight of you. You watched him steadily, “So they tell me. And you’re following me.” He gave a charming smile, “I didn’t mean to scare you –” “Good because you’d have to try harder.” You sipped your drink to hide your amusement at his eyebrow irking your interruption. This guy was a talker for sure, always trying to talk his way out of a tight spot but you could see in him that he wasn’t shy to throw his weight about if he needed too. He reminded you a bit of Steve that way.

“Sorry, I’ve just not seen another Terran in a long time.” He spoke still looking marvelled at your existence. You nudged down the balcony, silently giving him permission to join you, which he did, before asking, “How long is long?” He let out a low whistle and rocked his head slightly as he weighed up his answer; it seemed that he chose honesty, “Over twenty years.” You irked your eyebrows in response but said nothing because it was none of your business and he seemed happy that you didn’t ask.

You spoke idly for some time, he explained the betting games they were playing inside and different breeds of Alien that you could see inside the bar. It was only when you spoke about the songs on his tape and complimented his song choice that he introduced himself.

“Star Lord?” You asked slowly, watching him for any hint that he might break into laughter. He didn’t, he looked incredibly proud and smug with himself like he expected that the mere mention of his name should be enough to get women to start stripping off their clothes.

You, however, were not impressed.

“Famous badass outlaw?” He added with a huff, seemingly defeated by the lack of recognition. “What’s your real name, outlaw?” You asked with a grin. He pouted and sighed but extended his hand and gave his name anyway, “Peter Quill.” “Nice to meet you Quill.” You grinned at his awaiting expression for you to offer your name and usually you would have but it was just too funny watching him gesture for you to continue and watching how the tips of his ears turned red when he was annoyed.

In the end the decision was taken out of your hands.

“Y/N L/N.” A voice hissed and you turned back to the club doorway to face three Kree males, “You are to come with us.” “Oh, they’re blue.” You spoke calmly which made Quill’s head snap in your direction, he studied your bored expression before stepping closer to you between you and the Kree. “They’re Kree and not all of them are blue, most of them look Terran but the strongest, the ‘pure bloods’ are blue and they seem to know you, you owe these guys credits or something?” He asked you as though he was ready to talk you out of whatever situation you’d gotten yourself into. You shook your head, you didn’t know them and as far as the credits things went, Thor had given you a communicator of sorts that held these credits and Lady Sif had been in the middle of explaining how it worked before you’d left.

He nodded to himself and turned to the Kree, specifically the smallest at the front who seemed in control of the bigger, uglier two. “Sorry guys, think you’ve got the wrong girl.” The Smaller Kree ignored him and focused his attention on you, “Y/N L/N you are to come with us. And shut your pet up.”

Peter gave a shout of indignation at his new nickname but you caught his arm with one hand and urged him back towards you before asking your confronter, “How do you know me and what do you want? If you don’t answer my questions I will not be cooperative.” He seemed to roll his options around in his head before answering, “Everyone knows of the Terran’s that defeated Loki. You would fetch a good price.”

You growled to yourself, that fucking collector, you knew he was a freak. Quill’s head snapped around to your again so fast that he nearly head-butted you, apparently this was new information to him. You patted his arm that you were still holding onto, “Careful now Quill, you’ll give yourself whiplash.”

“Enough talking.” The smallest Kree demanded in a voice that he assumed was commanding but it didn’t bother you nor Quill and he inclined his head towards the both of you. The bigger of the two stormed towards you and Quill jumped inelegantly between you and him and punched the Kree straight in the nose. He fell back instantly but his buddy shoved Quill to the floor with a crash. “Y/N!” Quill hollered in warning as the other large Kree dove for you. Jumping back you threw your empty glass at his face which gave you enough time to snap your wrist letting your bracelet transform out into the gauntlet. Whipping your hand up, you flexed your palm and shot energy like Iron Man did at the larger Kree sending him back crashing through the wall.

Quill lay on the floor staring up at you and the smaller Kree stumbled over his words until you held the gauntlet up in his direction and he ran off terrified. “Er what was that?” Quill asked you as you helped him up and he wiped the blood from his lip. You retracted the gauntlet and Quill stared at the innocent looking bracelet on your wrist. “Just a leaving present from a good friend of mine.” You smiled and held your wrist out so that he could examine it, you could tell that he was eyeing it up, “Try to rob me and I’ll smash your tape player.” You warned. He gulped and released your bracelet, “Noted.”

Crashing in the bar alerted you both and Quill groaned, “Ugh, those fucking idiots.” He gestured for you to follow him and suddenly you were in the middle of a fight between a massive tree, a racoon and a diluted Hulk.

Well…you did want adventure.

Quill defused the situation, like you knew he would and after he introduced you to his associates he invited you along to their meeting with The Collector. You huffed, “No thanks that guys a freak. I think those Kree men where sent by him.” “Hey, hey, hey!” Rocket snapped, “I don’t care if you want to get your pants in a twist about another Terran but I don’t care. She is not getting a cut.” Groot and Gamora made noises of agreement.

“I don’t want a cut, but my ride back to my friends is at the collectors. I’ll hang around outside, I don’t care about seeing him again.” You defended yourself and they seemed to accept the answer. You followed them to their meeting with you and Quill bringing up the rear and chatting idly. “Soo,” He started after a moment, “A hero of Earth? How’d you get all the way out here?” You shrugged, “I wanted adventure and a friend who didn’t mind me coming to stay with him.”

“So your friend let you come out here on your own?” He snarked and you couldn’t help the flutter of excitement when he accentuated the question as though he was testing the waters to see if you were single. You smirked, “Yeah, Thor of Asguard. I keep an eye out for his girlfriend while he’s up here and he lets me take an extended vacation in space.”  You dropped the hint in, not as subtly as you would have liked but he caught your eye and gave you a cheeky little smile.

“Asguard, eh?” Rocket caught your attention, “Plenty of expensive treats out there.” “I am Groot.” Groot agreed. Laughing, you warned them, “I’d be careful, they get really whiny about people touching their stuff. I blew a hole in the Armoury and Odin will not let me hear the end of it.” “You blew a hole in the Asguardian Armoury?” Rocket asked before nudging Groot, “We’ve been hanging out with the wrong Terran.” “Hey!” Quill snapped as you said, “It was an accident!”

-----

Waiting for people was one sure fire way to get you in the mood to cause trouble. Outside of the entrance to The Collectors ‘den of creepy’ you were scouting the area when you found the guards. They were both dead. You stumbled away from them and whipped your knife from your back pocket and surveyed the area. Whoever it was had long gone. The men’s necks were cut hastily and without skill, if you had to guess it was the Kree men that The Collector had hired to acquire you. You kept your knife in one hand and extended your gauntlet as you headed back into the lion’s den. You weren’t sure where the fierce loyalty to the group had come from all of a sudden and you inwardly you blamed Nat and Clint’s years of influence.

Even though they hid it, they both had bleeding hearts.

The explosion came when you’d barely reached the doorway; it knocked you off of your feet and sent you rolling over. Groot and Rocket landed next to you and you rushed over to check that they were okay. Quill and Gamora stumbled out of the doorway. “What was that?” You hissed at Quill as he came to stand next to you, his hair was a mess and he looked freaked out. “Something that can destroy a planet and I’ve been carrying it around in my bag!” He huffed and gestured wildly at the orb in Gamora’s hand before settling and looking you up and down, “Didn’t find your ride?” Putting away your knife you slid your finger across your neck and his face paled but he didn’t get chance to ask you anything further as Rocket stormed up to you. “Why do you still have that?” He pulled at his face. “We have to give it to the Nova Core, maybe they can contain it.” Gamora told them and you vaguely remembered Thor having mentioned them before. “We’re wanted by the Nova Core, just give it to Ronan!” Rocket argued, his voice getting higher.

“So he can destroy the Galaxy?!” Peter exacerbated. “What are you, some saint all of a sudden?” Rocket snapped, “Just because you got a new Humie hanging around, stop trying to impress her!” You raised your hand and ignored Quill’s slightly flushed face, “I may not fully understand what’s going on but I am in favour of the Galaxy not being destroyed.”

Rocket ignored you, “What’s the Galaxy ever done for you? Why do you want to save it?” “Because I’m one of the idiots who lives in it!” Quill snapped.

Gamora pleaded with Quill to take it back to Nova but he suggested finding another seller. You quirked an eyebrow at him, you knew that he was implying that you take them to Asgard so that Thor could purchase it, Asgardian gold was highly valued – which was why you had a bundle at the bottom of the backpack. Gamora snarled at him but as she turned to storm off the ships arrived and were greeted by a bellowing Drax.

“Isn’t he one of yours?” You asked Quill who groaned in response.

“Quill! Don’t you move boy!” A voice bellowed and your eyes found yet another blue man. Quill hissed a curse word and snatched your hand as you chased after Gamora. You caught up to her as she bundled into a small pod and Quill stopped you, “I gotta get up there, you think you can stay out of trouble?”

You scoffed at him, “No, but I can be your cover on the ground.”   He looked sceptical until you pulled him out of the way of enemy fire and stared at you wide eyed and accepting.

----

Hissing every Russian curse word that Nat have ever taught you, and let’s face it that’s all she ever taught you, you thrashed against your captors as they carried you through the ship.

Or at least you let them think that you were struggling. That was another trick that Nat had taught you.

When Yondu was told that his men had caught one of Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, he thought of one thing: how much money the ransom would fetch. What he hadn’t expected was for the hero to be so unassuming and nor was he expecting Quill and Gamora both to stiffen and panic as the hero was thrown to the floor in front of them.

But damn did it make things more interesting.

Hitting the floor dramatically was something that Clint had taught you, not through choice but it was easy to copy the expressions that he gave when Nat threw him around on the mat during training. “Y/N you good?” Quill’s voice was steady but you could sense something lingering in his tone, he had done something stupid, you could tell.

“So this is Y/N.” Yondu clicked his tongue and smirked, “I wouldn’t have let you use her as bargaining tool if I’d have known she was would be so easy to catch.” Quill practically flinched as Yondu threw the statement out into the open.

That fucking asshole. Who did he think he was?!

Heat flushed to your cheeks and your heart quickened, Clint had done a lot of work with you to help you combat your anger but sometimes you just couldn’t help it and unfortunately it was a close Ravenger to suffer.

You swung around and whipped your hand out and up letting your bracelet slip into its gauntlet form and with the added strength it gave you seized the closest man around the throat and lifted him high.

“I am no one’s bargaining chip.” You spoke slowly. His hands scratched at the gauntlet but it didn’t waver, he whimpered and you didn’t need to look around to sense the weapons trained on you. Your captive squeaked, “He d-didn’t mean to, he was trying to find out if you were injured down on Nowhere.” You shot Quill a small smile over your shoulder before focusing your attention on Yondu, “You seem to be the man in charge. Tell your men to put their weapons down for I’ll rip this guy’s lungs out.”

You jerked the guy in your hand for added effect and he squeaked. Yondu stared you down and you hoped that he’d make his decision soon, because this was heavy even with your gauntlet and you could feel the strain in your arm. “Do these guys even have lungs?” You asked Quill. You could picture his shrug without turning to face him, “They do, but not how you’d think. Yondu we need her for our plan.”

After another moment of deliberation Yondu nodded his head and when the men had lowered their weapons you dropped the man to the floor.

-------

As you moved back to Quill’s ship, Gamora caught your attention, “The Army that Loki used to attack Terra belonged to my father and what you did back there, I’m impressed.” Unsure of the sincerity of her statement you raised a brow, “Should I be happy about that?” Quill pouted, “Well I’ve never got it out of her.”

You gave him a cheeky grin, “That’s because you’re not impressive.” Quill scowled at you and Gamora chuckled softly as she stalked further into the ship towards where Drax and the others waited for you. When Quill slowed to a stop you joined him and for a moment you stood awkwardly in the hallway before eventually you decided to save him from wrestling with the words trapped on his tongue, “I forgive you for accidently bargaining me away to space pirates.”

He gave a low breathy laugh and looked up at you through his dishevelled hair, “Yeah I guess I did kind of do that didn’t I? I’m sorry.” “It happens.” You shrugged because it did; Tony Stark had managed to accidently do it twice. For a genius he was an idiot.

His hand caught yours and squeezed it reassuringly, “I mean it, I’ll get you out of this. If we survive this and the Galaxy is still in one piece then I’ll drop you straight off at Asgard, I’ll even take you right up to Thor’s front door.”

You smiled and, you still never knew what possessed you to be so bold, you reached up to push his hair back, “I know you will, not even Ronan would be brave enough to fight the famed Star Lord.” He grinned at your comment and brought his hand up to cover yours and guide it down to his cheek so that he could kiss your palm gently.

An oddly soft gesture from an outlaw badass that made you swoon.

Hope you guys liked this, just had the idea knocking around for a while.

[brittanyyoungblog]

6 Ways to Make Your Long Distance Friendship Closer than Ever

Let’s not mince words: making friends as an adult is hard. When the friendship-fostering glory days of college end, careers and families begin seriously cutting into the time and energy we have to invest in making new friends. This fact of life gives extra value to the friendships, old and new, that blossom despite these obstacles. It also makes it so much more heart-wrenching when one of those friends decides to move away.

Fortunately, long distance does not have to sound the death knell for your friendship. Here are six tips that show how you and your friend can stay close no matter how much distance life puts between you.

1. Keep making new memories. Reminiscing about bygone adventures can be fun. But the truth is, long distance friendships are much more likely to fizzle out when the real substance of the friendship is all in the rearview mirror.

If  you’ve noticed how your enthusiasm for rehashing old memories with high school friends decreases every time you’re home for the holidays, you know first-hand that a shared past is often not enough to fuel an ongoing friendship. That means if you value a long distance friendship, you have to keep breathing new life into the relationship by making new memories together.

For inspiration, look to the activities that helped you bond when proximity wasn’t an issue. If you were roommates who religiously split a bottle of Chardonnay every time The Bachelor aired, why not pop a cork in your respective apartments and FaceTime during the show? If you were gym buddies, try doing an at-home workout together over Skype, or pledge to call each other on your commute home from a new workout to complain about your sore glutes in real time.

Every relationship is different, and you might have to exercise a little creativity to invent long distance bonding opportunities that are relevant to your friendship. So long as you’re finding a way to continue cultivating shared experiences, you’re doing long distance friendship right.

Team up to pursue a goal. One of the most challenging parts of keeping up a long distance friendship is remembering to put effort into the relationship. Because out of sight really does mean out of mind, it’s easy to lose track of a distant friend as you reflexively turn to the people you see on a daily basis when you need to vent, celebrate, or seek advice. A great way to overcome this inevitable obstacle to long distance intimacy is to choose a shared goal you and your friend can work towards in parallel. Remembering to keep your focus on an achievement that is important to both of you will naturally put more focus on the friendship as well.

Maybe you both want to train for a 5K or a half marathon. Maybe you’re both trying to get a side hustle off the ground. Whatever your goal, making a shared commitment to pursuing it will open up new avenues for strengthening the friendship. You can critique each other’s work. You can set up an accountability system for reminding each other to stay on track. You can vent to each other about frustrations. And you’ll eventually be able to share the joys of success. Most importantly, you’ll stay on each other’s minds and remain active participants in each other’s lives—the key to preserving any friendship, irrespective of distance.

Close the gap when you can. Modern technology has given us a myriad of useful ways to keep in touch, but there is no real substitute for being in the same room as a person you truly care about. If your long distance friendship is drifting apart despite your best efforts to hold things together, taking some time to bask in the joy of each other’s presence can make all the difference. And if you and your bestie have stayed close despite a long separation, taking some time to hang out together will help ensure you continue to thrive.

Of course, it would be ideal if you could both dedicate a week or a long weekend to exploring a new destination or revisiting your old stomping grounds. But if you don’t have the luxury of dedicating tons of vacation time to reconnecting, try multi-tasking instead. Stay on the lookout for a conference in your friend’s city that you could make a good business case for attending, or a flight connection that would give you a long layover you could spend with your friend. Even if you only have time to sneak in a quick happy hour before heading to your next commitment, you’ll be glad you made the effort. A little bit of face time can go a long way in fueling your friendship.

Accept that it’s going to take some work. We tend to fall into close friendships because these relationships are both comfortable and convenient. But convenience is definitely not a hallmark of any kind of long distance relationship. Once distance becomes a factor, you and your friend will need some time to find a new rhythm in the friendship.

The effort this process requires may make you question whether you’re really as close friends as you thought. But don’t be surprised that it’s more difficult to maintain a feeling of closeness when you no longer have a structure that brings you together regularly, whether that was your living arrangement, your work environment, or your weekly running group. Distance adds a layer of complexity to even the closest relationships. Recognizing that any awkwardness stems from your circumstances rather than your compatibility will help keep doubts about the strength of your friendship at bay.

Don’t put pressure on yourself. There are going to be periods in your life when you have the energy and time to put into building on the foundation of your friendship. And there are going to be periods in your life when you really, really don’t. Remember that ebbs and flows in the amount of contact you two have are totally natural, and don’t put pressure on yourself to be the perfect long-distance friend all the time. Set calendar reminders for birthdays and other important events you really can’t miss. Have faith that your friendship can successfully coast for a month or two when you don’t have time to nurture it. And then remember to put in the extra effort when you can.

Be forgiving. Your friend is similarly going to have their own set of challenges and busy periods. They may not return every phone call. They may have to reschedule a FaceTime session or two. They may even forget your birthday. Assuming best intentions and being forgiving of these kinds of oversights will be crucial to making your long distance friendship work.

This can be especially difficult if you’re the kind of person who remembers birthdays when your friend always forgets, or if you enjoy sending thoughtful gifts and letters often, while your friend seems to struggle to put a postcard in the mail. Giving your friend a hard time for not measuring up to your long distance friendship ideal is more likely to weaken the friendship than it is to change your friend’s behavior. Appreciate your friend for who they are, and don’t leap to interpreting differences in your and your friend’s communication styles as a sign that they’re less committed to the friendship.

Making a long distance friendship work may take a little extra time, effort, and understanding. But distance doesn’t have to prevent you from being there for each other, from sharing new experiences, or from growing closer over time. Rest assured, no matter the distance, your long distance friendship can stay just as close as it has always been. And as time goes on, you and your friend may even find yourselves growing even closer than ever.

The post 6 Ways to Make Your Long Distance Friendship Closer than Ever appeared first on The Date Mix.

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