#finally re-doing his bio for hopefully the last time

[loremastering]

~ - Mountain Sound - ~

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” - John Muir. 

- ESSENCE -

Alias: Halordin (Father name) Telphindor (Mother name) Daerhovan (Epesse and main name.) 

Other names: Heruthan (given by Mallovorel) Madhawin (by Lossenduin, shortened) 

Age: Mid 600's.

Born: T.A 2390. April 9th. 

Species: Silvan Galedhrim elf. (Quarter Sindar on his mother’s side.) 

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Bisexual. Monogamous. Demisexual, Demiromantic

Scent: Pine woods and decaying leaves. 

Vocals: Deep-ish voice with the musical lilt of the elves. Speaks loquaciously as his people do, but gradually begins to adopt quirks from other languages.

Build: Lean physique and sinewy limbs. 6′1 at the crown. Weighs at least 170 lbs. 

Occupation: Vine tender, (former) scholar of the trees (former)  nomad, wanderer, herbalist, conversationalist, biologist, zoologist, botanist.

Residence: Was both in Caras Galadhon, Lothlorien, but considers the whole world his home.

Ref sheet: X

Theme Song: Lonesome Dreams - Lord Huron.

- NATURE -

Protective - Independent - Playful - Affectionate - Nomadic -Adaptable - Inquisitive  - Patient - Genuine - Humble - Collected Circumspect - Neutral - Vindictive - Impulsive - Dense - Melodramatic

Daerhovan was always a restless soul from the day he was born it seemed. Desiring to find new lands and discover what secrets they hold. He has an almost ravenous yearning for knowledge, a trait that got him into trouble in his youth, and shaped him well into his adult years and onward. His favorite subjects are those pertaining to the natural world, but he’ll dabble in the histories of the free peoples on occasion. It can be said he never learns some things however, as Daerhovan gets rather impulsive, which has led to dangerous situations. He calls it thinking on his feet.

In social situations he can come across as aloof and even cold. With so few children to grow up alongside with and living in self isolation for centuries while he studied; conversation can be awkward with him. Getting him to talk about a subject he knows or likes can make him a little more involved and even lively. He does crave interaction at times, but doesn’t know how to go about it often. Small-talk is his bane. Jokes have a tendency to go over his head. 

While he’s happier than most of his elven peers during the years they’re still around it seems, he s subject to existential crisis’s every now and then, especially as he ages. Can be very melancholic during episodes as he thinks about the eventual fate of all temporal beings and his place in the big picture. 

He’s normally a calm sort when it comes to disagreements and can keep a level head most of the time. Hurting anyone or thing he loves or considers his own however, can incite a violence within him that can scare both the antagonist and the person who was wronged. 

- Has a long scar from his left pectoral to his navel from a maddened huorn that never fully heals. Though it becomes a white line that can be hard to distinguish in his older years. 

- A little bit neutral. But can be easily swayed by the opinions of close friends and loved ones. The only forces that are black and white to him are Sauron and the Valar. 

- Knows a vast slew of languages. Silvan, Sindarin and its dialects. Westron, and just a smidge of khuzdul.

- Will hoard things he finds interesting in chests buried throughout multiple regions of Middle Earth.

- Extremely connected to the natural world. Can mostly understand the language of beasts, and knows how to communicate with them in turn. Can sense when an environment is plagued with blight if it’s not obvious at first. Tends to feel depressed in places that have been ravaged somehow by disease or very heavy industry. The longer he stays in a place as such, the worse he begins to feel.

- Fond of wearing feathers in his hair in memory of avian friends. 

- An avid scholar, mainly of nature and history. Has written tomes on the study of living things himself. Likes to hoard books and find abandoned ruins or peaceful glades to spend days reading/studying in.  

 - COMBAT -

- Avoids conflict when he can, but will fight when the need arises.

- Uses his staff as a club when it’s useful.

- While he doesn’t claim to be a swordsman, he’s quite proficient with them thanks to training by his nephew. Often carries one and can dual wield on the battle field with both sword and staff, making him a force to be reckoned with.

- Used to be a very competent healer, but because of his much needed efforts to fight in the War of the Ring, has lost most of his ability to heal by elvish means. Can still do basic procedures, but the magic associated with elves who are true healers has gone.

- While not as in tune with the elements as he is with flora and fauna, has some influence over them. As little may be thought. Can beseech trees for help in battle to stir the earth. If purified by elvish means, can use water to more proficiently heal wounds and encourage plant growth. Senses that something could be done with fire, lightning, and air, but will need to study further on it.

Relationships:

here

Experience:

here

[clownattack]

Castor - character bio

I’ve been struggling with getting a bio out for Cas for waaaaay too long now, but i feel pretty ok with how it looks currently - i'm going to repost it on my art blog with some drawings of Cas and Hjalle in the future (hopefully). If you want to skip most of the nonsense and just get a feel for her personality, the section under the bio paragraphs is FULL OF POINTS.

links to drawn refs here and here

Longpost under the cut

✦ Early life in Hjalle:

Being born into the noble family Aran, Castor’s early life consisted mostly of being pampered by the attendants and strict education. Cas was a rowdy kid, and with time, lack of affection and validation from her family served to amplify the trait - she went from occasionally disobedient to full-on antagonistic towards her parents, and the nobility as a whole. She began to sneak out; spending her time outside of the Fort, spying on the guards and trying to bribe knights into taking her on as a page.

When Cas turned nine a sibling came into the picture, and she made it her duty to assure Aster’s upbringing would be better than hers. She poured everything she had into Aster, but soon developed a brash and overbearing streak, unyielding in her focus to teach the meek little sister to stand her ground. Aster became torn between Cas and the parents, who in all fairness, treated her much better than their firstborn. This would remain the case until Castor’s dragon-induced injuries.

In her late teens, Cas was seldom seen in the fort - to everyone's great relief. Her mood was always sour, she gave up on her studies and only seemed to care about Aster and joining the hunting parties. Her parents reached their limit when Castor announced she would not become one of the renowned judges of House Aran - this led to an explosive argument, which concluded with Castor storming out. For the following two years, she lived and worked with rangers tasked with protecting and providing for the town.

It was in those years that Cas acquired her battle prowess and scars, the most prominent being a gift from an especially large and angry dragon. A single swipe of its tail tore Castor’s chest and forearm open, forcing the hunting party to rush her to the fort in (what the hunters expected to be) a futile attempt to get her family to provide medical help for their dying kin. The reception was cold indeed, and if it weren’t for Aster’s hysterics and outrage over her family’s indifference, Cas would have not survived the grievous wounds. The upside to this event was a new high tale to impress people with, and strengthening the bond between two sisters. The downside - Castor was now under her parent’s thumb. They made her accept the position of inquisitor; to make up for the hassle she caused them. Taking up the mantle turned Castor’s world upside down - not only would she have to work in close proximity to her father, but her dreams of being knighted were shattered, as inquisitorial duties stand in stark opposition to virtues of knighthood. As Inquisitor she was tasked with investigating and interrogating for the court - the latter, as Aran tradition had it, was extraordinarily bloody.

 ✦ Vesuvia:

Almost as soon as she arrived, the city sparked something in Cas. This was unexpected to say the least; she was certain the years of gruesome work as inquisitor numbed her to simple joys of life. The sights and sounds of Vesuvia however, made her eager to explore and see how everything ticked - and the more she saw the more she wished to remain in the city. After attending the Masquerade and becoming acquainted with Asra, Cas was prepared to do anything to stay - even if it meant sucking up to the Buffoon count and begging for a job. Lucio proved to be anything but opposed - he’d heard of the “bloody good shows” (pun intended) Castor was infamous for, and was eager to take her off her parents hands. This led to working parallel to the count and his court, but also enabled Cas to dabble in magic under Asra’s tutelage.

This slight betterment of Cas’ situation would not last long however, as The Red Plague took complete hold of the city mere months after she took up her residence in Vesuvia. After perishing, and being brought back by Asra, she very slowly regains certain memories and traits - her sister, love of astronomy, sword skills. She sneaks out, snoops, and is a handful overall; but Asra is happy to see Castor’s “new” self free of bitterness and pain.

After this point, the “game events” take place. I like to imagine Castor braving an amalgam of Nadia and Portia routes, with a fistful (or multiple) of courtier drama. Castor is tasked with an investigation, slowly  but surely unravelling how deep the corruption runs in Vesuvia, and how much of it can be attributed to the courtiers. The conclusion of her story focuses on first facing off against the court, then the Justice Arcana.

  ✦ Physical appearance

Light olive skin, she picks up a slight tan in Vesuvia.

Dark gray eyes, striking marbling on the iris.

Long girl - 176 cm tall, loves being the “tall friend” (and manhandling people close to her). Being taller than her is taken as an indirect challenge.

She has a rectangular body type, could be described as a “runner’s body”.

Prominent scarring across right forearm and torso, missing right breast.

Tastefully disheveled. Her hair has a constantly windswept quality, and the gray streaks seem to be especially unruly.

Inherited the “Aran silver” (early graying), she tries to ignore it. “The more you hide it, the more it shows”.

Secretly really bothered by the many similarities to her father. Avoids looking at herself too much, and whenever she does it feels like he’s looking back at her, judging.

Only ever smoothes herself over before important court meetings and social events. She doesn't know how makeup works, so before any party she asks Asra to sort her out. Cas looking prim is both a treat and a source of friendly jabs.

✦ Character traits

Power walking by default. This can be somewhat intimidating, and she won’t stop if someone is in her way - just put them to the side and continue.

Puts up a really convincing pretence of formality and refinement.

In actuality she finds this facade tiresome, and just wants to talk fast about battle/hunting feats or astronomy. Maybe show off her pyromancy.

Loves socializing, it recharges her batteries.

Dilligent worker.

Tends to overwork herself and neglect her relationships.

Often scatter minded and wanting to do too many things at one time.

Doesn’t appreciate people instigating physical contact or getting up in her face. She needs to prepare herself for it, or be the initiator.

Stubborn as a mule. Never knows when to stop pressing people.

Extremely callous at times.

Annoyingly overbearing

Most of this springs from a place of fear - things had a habit of getting worse whenever her family imposed decisions onto her. In her mind, if she’s the one holding the reins, everything will be better. And if something does fail - she will be the only one to blame.

Starting arguments comes much too easily to her, but she’s just as quick to introspect, and seek out the person she argued with to apologize and approach the issue in an appropriate manner.

Forgives easily

Eternally scoffing at astrology. She knows shes being bigoted, but at this point its almost like an inside joke between her and Asra. “Astrology? It's baby stuff. PSEUDOSCIENCE!” (she cries as she worries over her afternoon tarot reading and preparing pretty horoscopes for the Shop...)

A huge hypocrite at times. “Do as I say, not as I do” could easily be her motto.

Both the upright and reversed Knight of Swords card sums her character up perfectly.

✦ Occupation & Residency

Vesuvia:

Beginning of her story follows the game canon almost to a T - Cas lives with Asra in the Shop, and works there. It bores her to death, and she plays tricks on every customer just to entertain herself.

After being officially hired by Nadia as the Palace Magician, Castor moves out of the shop and purchases a modest house in Goldgrave, much below the value of what Nadia offered her, and what she could afford. It’s convenient and that’s what matters to Cas. She continues supplying the shop diligently, and takes over whenever Asra runs off.

Nadia insisted on Castor having an office in the palace. It grew on her with time, and after The Devil is dealt with it becomes her little “hub”.

Hjalle:

Cas lived with her family in the castle site until 17 years old.

After denying her parents their plans for her future as a judge, she hunkered down in a hunting lodge outside of the town, and spent almost two years living that way - she still thinks of these two years as the most joyous time in her life.

The only thing she ever used her family’s wealth for was commissioning the construction of an extravagant observatory. Reminiscent of a gothic fortress, the stark exterior is contrasted with insides filled with artwork and art-nouveau ornaments. The central chamber is a vast library with a powerful telescope in its apse - it is a sight that could take the breath of the most haughty of nobles.

There’s a tiny living space below the main chamber, furnished sparingly, but with a lovely fireplace (in Hjalle, its a necessity). It’s where Cas stays after becoming the inquisitor/whenever she visits after the in-game events.

✦ Trivia

Cas is 23 years old when she first arrives to Vesuvia - 28 at the time of The Devil’s downfall.

She freed Merlin from a merchant’s cage in the Red Market, during one of her outings in the three year interlude after her death - Asra fumes after they find out she snuck out to the market - yet is amazed that Cas found a familiar.

Cas regained her first memories via touching objects linked to her past life - a letter from Aster, articles of clothing, a sword...

This self re-discovering takes a turn for the worse when Cas finally finds a large, ornate knife - the one she inherited after becoming inquisitor. The memories it resurfaces are a staggering blow to Castor, completely derailing the beliefs she had about her own person. She thought of herself as a paragon, and remembering the torture she inflicted upon others, the lives taken in the name of “justice” made her relapse into bitterness and disenchantment. She deals with those feelings as her investigation into the courtiers progresses.

Predominantly uses pyromancy, other types of magic are strictly used for her work at the palace, and rather sparingly.

Could be best described as a battlemage - enjoys being in melee range and assaulting her quarry with both sword and fire; the latter being used more as a way to distract or stagger the enemy than actually harm. There's no fun in just burning them up!

Doesn’t cook for herself, although she has a natural knack for it - will only cook for guests and short people.

Her dislike of Lucio clashes with gratitude for employing her when she first arrived to Vesuvia - he was the knife which cut Cas off from her parents, and it’s something she could never forget.

Demiromatic/sexual.

She was offered to be knighted by Nadia after defeating The Devil. Cas declined - It’s much more than a title to her, and accepting seemed like mockery (considering her past as inquisitor).

Short fuse, she learns to better control herself while working in the palace. But if someone really pushes her the nearby candles miiiight get a bit out of control. Or she’ll just throttle them.

Hates her full name - Castor is such a mouthful. Sounds stuck up too...

[k-llama-llama]

Can’t Be Bought

Seventeen AU: 14th member

Rei x Seventeen

This is also set pre-debut, early on in Dino and Rei’s friendship. 

Rei is not a permanent addition so if you have requests let me know…but she’s just an idea I had. She is NOT cannon with the rest of my AUs.

A/N: ALSO CHECK OUT MY PATREON FOR ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE CONTENT AND EARLY ACCESS (patreon.com/kllamallama)

Requests are OPEN!!!

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“Chan-Oppa?”

“What, Rei?” Chan didn’t look away from the computer screen. They’d gone to a PC room after school, and he’d been hogging the screen for over an hour.

“Can I play too?” She asked hopefully. 

He glanced at her. She wasn’t sure what he saw, but it didn’t seem to incline him to let her play. “It’s a shooting game, Rei. You won’t like it.”

She leaned her head down on the table in front of her, her cheek pressing against the keyboard of the computer that she wasn’t allowed to use. “We could go play Mario on that -”

“Rei, can I please finish my game?”

Rei pouted, crossing her arms. “But I thought we’d play together. Why’d you invite me if you weren’t going to let me play anything?”

“I didn’t invite you, Jeonghan-hyung said that I needed to take you home from school because you kept getting lost on the subway. So don’t be a brat and let me play.”

“Okay.” She was disappoainted. Honestly, she’d been so excited when Chan waited for her after school and told her they were going to a gaming cafe. He never wanted to hang out with her. Except then he’d only bought one pass and had ignored her since they walked in. 

She sighed and unbraided one of her braids, re-doing it and un-doing it over and over again just for something to do.

“Hey, Rei?”

“Yeah?” She looked up, hastily tying her hair.

“You wanna play?”He looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

She beamed. “Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Yes, I really really really want to play!” She leaned towards the computer excitedly.

Chan held up a hand. “You can play if you go buy snacks.”

She blinked. “Buy...oh yeah! I’ll go buy snacks!”

“I want chips, and a coke and if they have french fries get those.”

Rei jumped up and hurried towards the snack counter of the cafe, ordering everything Chan had requested and a strawberry milk for herself. It took most of her lunch allowance for the rest of the week, but it was worth it.

“I brought food!” She carried the tray back.

“Cool.” Chan switched over into the chair she’d been sitting in. “You can play until I’m done eating.”

“Okay.” Rei sat down, putting the tray in front of him and starting a new game. “So I’m just shooting the zombies?”

“Yeah, don’t shoot other people or you’ll-” He winced as she shot another person. “Lose points.”

Rei winced. “I didn’t see him.”

“It helps if you play with your eyes open.”

“I don’t like it when stuff jumps out at me.”

“Well then look for items or something. But don’t waste your time.”

The next day, a bunch of them went to a cafe after their practice. There were arcade games, but the boys just wanted to get some food before they went home.

Rei, however, settled her eyes on a Dance Dance Revolution machine.

She reached over and tugged on Chan’s sleeve. “Want to play with me?”

“Not really I-” Chan paused. “Actually sure. I’ll set it up if you go buy us some smoothies.”

“Okay!” She pulled her wallet out of her backpack and hurried away to the front counter.

“Why is she buying your drink?”

“What?” Chan looked over at Soonyoung. 

“Why is Rei buying your drink?” He repeated.

“Because I’m playing Dance Dance Revolution with her.” Chan answered. “Fair trade.”

“If you say so.” Soonyoung snorted. “Are you going to go easy on her?”

“Probably not.” Chan made his way over to the machine.

“Two mango smoothies, please!” Rei ordered, handing over the last of her money. She took the coins back and shuffled over so Jeonghan could order.

“Rei, do you have a five dollar bill?” Jeonghan asked her, flipping through his own wallet.

“Um, no.” She said.

“Any cash on you? I don’t want to use my card but I’ll pay you back.”

She held out her fistful of change.

Jeonghan looked at it, before turning away without taking it. He tapped his card on the machine and moved over to wait. He took her wallet out of her hands.

“Rei, where did all of your money go?” He asked.

Rei bit her lip. “Um, I spent it?”

“All of it? That was your lunch allowance for the whole week and it’s only Tuesday.” He scolded.

She looked down. “I bought snacks.”

“Rei, you need to save your money for-”

“Two mango smoothies.” The cashier called, placing them on the counter.

“Thank you.” Rei grabbed them and ran away before Jeonghan could ask her any more questions.

“Chan-Oppa! I got the smoothies.” She exclaimed, handing him his.

“That’s great, Rei. Okay, we can play for a bit.”

“Awesome!” She set her smoothie down and got ready to dance.

They danced for about twenty minutes, before Rei announced that she had to go to the bathroom and left. Chan hopped off the machine, still drinking the remnants of his smoothie as he sat down at the table with the others.

“Chan, did Rei go to the gaming cafe with you yesterday?” Seungcheol asked.

“Uh, yeah.” He confirmed.

“Did she play?” 

“No. She....um...bought some snacks though.”

“I knew it.” Jeonghan shook his head, looking at the others. “We seriously need to start watching her money. Apparently she didn’t buy lunch at school today.”

“Why would she buy snacks at the cafe if she wasn’t even playing. Would she-” Soonyoung trailed off, before turning to Chan. 

“What?” Chan demanded, sipping his smoothie.

“Rei bought you that?”

“Yeah, because I said I’d play-”

“Did she also buy you snacks yesterday at the cafe?” Soonyoung asked, his tone slightly accusatory.

The others all turned to look at him.

“She got stuff for both of us.” He insisted.

“What did she get?” Seungcheol asked.

“Ummm....I think she got a strawberry milk.”

“And you?”

He mumbled something, trying to hide behind his smoothie.

“What was that?” Jeonghan demanded.

“Fries, and some chips and-”

“Chan.” Jeonghan scolded. “Why did you.....did you make her buy snacks so that she could play video games with you?”

“She didn’t mind! And besides, she’s the one who was tagging along and being annoying. I figured I earned it.” Chan protested.

Seungcheol sighed. “Was she being annoying, or was she just trying to join in?”

Chan crossed his arms. “I wanted to play my game and she wanted to play Mario.”

“You’re being a bully.” Soonyoung told him. “She just likes to spend time with you and you always make her feel bad about it.”

“If she had a problem with it she could-”

“Rei is not responsible for telling you when you’re being mean.” Jeonghan said. “You’re older, so that’s on you. Come on, give me your wallet.”

“No!”

“Now.” Jeonghan said, his tone final.

Chan grumbled but handed over his wallet. Jeonghan took out a few bills, placing them on the table. He then dug through his own pockets, pulling out a lonely dollar bill.

Seungcheol and Soonyoung both placed a couple of bills in the pile, and the Soonyoung swept the whole thing up and went digging through Rei’s backpack for her wallet.

“That’s not fair.” Chan protested.

“Don’t argue. She needs to be able to buy lunch.” Soonyoung said, tucking the wallet back in her bag.

“Why are you in my backpack?” Rei’s voice cut through as she slid into the seat next to Chan.

“Do you have any chapstick?” Soonyoung lied smoothly. 

“Oh yeah, small pocket.” She reached over and pulled out a chapstick, handing it to him happily. She then leaned closer to Chan, looking up at him hopefully. “Can we have a rematch?”

“No, I-” Chan was cut off by three glares. “Sure. Do you want a cookie or anything? My treat.”

“Really?” She grinned. “Sure!”

He couldn’t help but smile. “One sugar cookie, coming up. You’ll need the energy if you want a chance at beating me.”

“Dream on! I’m the Dance Dance Revolution champion!”

[dogcopter]

Jane is Lore 2020

Ok, here’s the round up of the ghost part of the situation with @keepbeachcitysafe​ and @keepbeachcityweird​.

Theory: Ronaldo’s girlfriend Jane is the key to figuring out Rose Quartz is not gone, largely via a constellation of background clues. If that sounds ridiculous, I understand. I’m Ronaldo. Actually I’m not Ronaldo, but hopefully I’ll have a post about him too soon. I hope we can all have fun together tho

This post is very, very long and involves a lot of images. It will be confusing at first, but please entertain the thought and keep reading, and I hope it clicks into place. I may need to update it later. 

Three sections for supporting evidence:

1. Restaurant Wars, Jane, KBCW/KBCS blogs’ interaction & contents

2. Astral projection/ghosts/fusions

3. Dogcopter secrets

Restaurant Wars Saga & Jane’s appearances

So Ronaldo has a blog at @keepbeachcityweird​ - he also published a book based on his blog called Keep Beach City Weird: You Can’t Hide the Truth!!!, which is available for purchase.

On April 23, 2014, Lion 2: The Movie airs. Jane appears for the first time working the ticket booth at the movie theater and sees Lion and the kids fight a killer robot. Dogcopter 3 is playing at the theater.

April 23, 2014, Ronaldo at Keep Beach City Weird also posts about seeing Dogcopter 3 at the movie theater, where the parking lot is a mess, presumably from Steven, Connie and Lion’s robot training fight.

He mentions “First of all, it’s a huge mistake to turn the last Dogcopter book into THREE movies.”, but that’s less relevant to this particular post. The important thing is that he, like Connie, follows Dogcopter, who’s also associated with Jane. (We’ll get to Dogcopter’s appearances in SU in the last part of this once the context is established) 

Ronaldo’s posts in general document specific events and details in his home Beach City, but that’s another post entirely.

Exactly a year later, Ronaldo on April 23, 2015 posted about receiving a mysterious letter, which might be from Jane because (beneath a great deal of smudging) it appears to call Ronaldo the CUTEST GUY EVER! (This isn’t crucial or anything, just noting it as one of our first Jane points).

I GOT A LETTER TODAY!!!  But for some reason it was all wet and I can’t even tell what it says.  Is it a love letter?  Is it a death threat?  Please tell me!  I need to know if I should lock my doors or open my heart!

Jane also appears in Beach City Drift. After Beach City Drift, keepbeachcitysafe posts an episode reaction blog, on July 22 2016, and takes special notice of Jane.

Hey did you guys notice that girl that keeps appear. We saw her when Steven took Connie to the movies and now she’s here. I wonder if she’s involved in something. Hmmmm. So Stevonnie raced Kevin down the hill in his Himitsu X12, that’s secret in Japanese.

(Kevin’s Himitsu X12 is his car, in the middle there. We’ll come back to this and what KBCS means in a second.)

July 25 2016, Restaurant Wars airs, the third of Jane’s four appearances in SU. In this ep, Jane comes a long way to return Ronaldo’s Koala Princess DVDs, and catches Ronaldo with Kiki and is upset. 

KBCS posts another episode reaction blog, pays attention to Jane again, and says they plan to message Ronaldo.

Ronaldo says he can’t do it because of his girlfriend. Ooo, he has a girlfriend, that’s pretty cool, you just know whats gonna happen next.

Ok so, Ronaldo’s, GIRLFRIEND, (imagine me saying that in slow motion) showed up at the worst possible moment.

Everything was back to normal. Except poor Ronaldo, I should sent him a letter to cheer him up. Seen ya next week.

Almost immediately the KBCS and KBCW blogs play out a little interaction online:

Ronaldo goes through some stuff.

No post today.  If anyone needs me I’ll be at Brooding Hill… where I’ll be CRYING. I usually cry at Crying Canyon, but it’s closed right because of some flash flood warnings.  

Then Ronaldo posts KBCS’s letter.

Note how KBCW caps this message so the name is clearly visible? It’s referring to Ronaldo’s bio:

It’s not very cheering...but things work out shortly thereafter. Jane likes one of Ronaldo’s posts and all seems well.

I think it’s going to work out you guys.  Thanks for all your support.

After this, Ronaldo doesn’t post again until Rocknaldo several months later, and one last time after publishing his book. 

That’s April 18 2017. The KBCW tumblr is never updated again. KBCS’s final post is not long after, Jul 4, 2017.

Finally, Jane makes a cameo alongside Ronaldo in the very last scene of Steven Universe Future, “The Future.”

Koala Princess, Astral Projection and Psychic Ghosts

So some interesting patterns come up when you connect the two blogs, the clues associated with Jane, and some understanding of Steven’s powers. Let’s revisit Keep Beach City Weird, a Ronaldo’s primary blog, and Keep Beach City Safe, which contains mysteries too big for this simple Dogcopter/Jane-hime lore post.

Keep Beach City Weird - Ran from September 2013 to April 2017, with a lot of posts made in October 2015 and July 2016.

Keep Beach City Safe - Ran from June 2015 to July 2017, with most posts in 2016 of course.

Let’s look at a timeline of posts. I’m going to call out things that we’ll connect to the Jane lore at the end.

Keep Beach City Weird: Ronaldo’s blog

Nov 1, 2013, days before Steven Universe first airs: KBCW’s first post is all about Astral Projection.

Astral Projection!  The ability to travel outside your physical body and into other planes of existence!

I began to feel lightheaded and before I knew it, I was floating above my body.  Amazing!  I walked out onto the boardwalk in my new ASTRAL FORM, and you know what the weird thing was?  Nobody even said hello to me.  I was COMPLETELY INVISIBLE!  I mean, usually nobody really notices me, but this was a different kind of not being noticed.  This was not being noticed on another plane of existence - so I didn’t feel bad about it.Anyway, after being ignored in the arcade and Fish Stew Pizza, I got bored and I went back to the fry shop to re-merge with my body. 

Astral projection is a power Steven demonstrates a number of times, and you’ll see among these posts that certain powers of Steven involving this stuff are called out by the blog. 

Connie: What? Where are you? How are you...? Steven: I’m not sure, but I think it’s a classic psychic ghost type situation. Connie: Ah, of course! So, what’s the plan?

from Reunited

Steven: Oh man. I fell asleep and had this weird dream. I opened the door and Lapis was there, and- Pearl: Well, that doesn’t make any sense. Lapis is fused with Jasper at the bottom of the ocean. Steven: You’ve never had a dream before, huh? Pearl: Uh, I don’t think so.

from Chille Tid

August 28, 2014, Joking Victim, Ronaldo posts about ghosts. And an arsonist from about 150 years ago.

September 04 2014, Steven and the Stevens, Ronaldo posts about "cross dimensional travelers”

And all the cross dimensional time travelers I know don’t want to go on the record about their experiences.  

Not mentioning posts that don’t mention ghosts/astral projection/dimensions in some capacity, but in realtime Ronaldo liveblogs in response to episode events.

Ronaldo also answers some fan asks. On October 31 2014 after Keep Beach City Weird he answers this question about floaters with “BACTERIAL GHOSTS” in all caps, this one about his first encounter with the supernatural (the events shown in Horror Club, which aired February 12, 2015)

Nov 2014, Ronaldo posts twice about Watermelon Stevens and a review of the anime Soul Blaster, “Like every anime, Soul Blaster is about a high school student.  Our hero is a cool dude, with even cooler hair named Kyosuke.  He battles rogue spirits with the help of his Soul Blaster - which happens to be powered by the spirit of his deceased younger brother, Kettaro. “

On December 4, 2014 Ronaldo posts about Koala Princess, who will become important in this post when we get back to Dogcopter and Jane. Koala Princess is repeatedly used as a stand-in for talking about Steven’s journey. In this post Ronaldo says:

AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Ok, so I just finished the final episode of Koala Princess and I don’t want to get too emotional on you guys but I CAN’T STOP CRYING!  Koala Princess goes on a walkabout and enters dreamtime and finally MEETS HER KOALA MOTHER FOR THE FIRST TIME!!! SLKDJFSDJ:FS

I’ve got so many feels!  These feels are the real deals!  On wheels!  WHAT AM I SAYING?! I’M GOING CRAZY!!!

Lion 3: Straight to Video aired on the same day as Ronaldo’s post. In this episode Steven meets Dogcopter in a dream, and then sees his mother Rose Quartz for the first time - she speaks to him via a VHS tape.

After Alone Together, Ronaldo posts about Stevonnie, who is a fusion. He also gets stuck under a fridge for a bit after Future Vision in January 2015.

And I want TO GET OUT FROM UNDER THIS FRIDGE!

He posts like five times about it in the same day because he’s freaking out.

And also I want my body to be shot into space with a print version of my blog so an alien civilization can find me reconstruct my body and worship me.

On February 19 2015 after Winter Forecast, he posts about using time travel to fix bad decisions:

Sometimes I think about all the bad decisions I’ve made and how they’ve affected my life, and I wish I could go back in time and change them.  But unless I can find a way to break into the Pentagon and steal a time bike, I’m just stuck with having regrets.  

After Political Power Ronaldo claims glowsticks are filled with ghost blood.

Anyway, then stuff happens. 

January 4 2016, after The Answer, Ronaldo posts about seeing Dogcopter 4 and shares the poster for it.

One interesting thing about the poster is that if you invert it and mess with the contrast a bit, a strange diagram appears on the left. A true mystery.

And after months of avoiding and spoilers or teasers or trailers, I was in line for Dogcopter 4, and then some dummy walking out of the theater TOTALLY SPOILED EVERYTHING and was like, “I can’t believe that Dogcopter’s parents are actually cats.”  

Coming back to Dogcopter in a minute, but these are relevant details.

Dogcopter dies defending the planet but then he comes back to life because he’s actually part cat and cats have 9 lives.

On Jan 5, Steven’s Birthday, Ronaldo posts about celebrating his birthday on a different date every year.

Every year, I celebrate my birthday on a completely different day.  Why?  To keep my birthdate a SECRET so that no clandestine government agencies can steal my identity!

July 2016, the saga with Jane and KBCS above happens. When he’s sad about Jane breaking up with him, the same day Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service comes out (in which Steven astral projects into Kiki’s dream),��he listens to sad music.

Ugh, I wish I had some sad music to listen to at work.  All I have is a playlist of video game soundtracks and some EVP recordings of ghost hauntings.  I guess ghosts are sad.  I’ll just listen to those.

But if you’re feeling happy, I do suggest listening to the “Go-Go Gorilla Go-Go Kart Racing” soundtrack.  Some solid 16-bit J-reggae.

This post may partly be a reference to the Sadie Killer song G-G-G-Ghost, which is performed in The Big Show and wouldn’t air for a bit, but is also astral projection related.

Why can't you see me? Why can't you see me? I think I might be A g-g-g-ghost. Can't you see that I exist? And I don't need an exorcist To let me out Look at me and I'll appear Why can't you see that I'm right here? That I'm right here? Why can't you see me? Why can't you see me? I think I might be A g-g-g-ghost. I'm calling you from the other side

Once Ronaldo has gone through grief and anger, he resorts to begging her to come back. This post is from July 28, the day Alone at Sea aired in which Jasper begs Lapis to return.

Much like Koala Princess’ vision in the Eucalyptus Jungle in Season 5, Episode 13 what you saw on the Boardwalk the other day was not what it seemed. I was only pretending to date Kiki to defend my family’s honor, just as the Kanga-ronin did in Season 1, Episode 3!

Here is another Koala Princess reference. There are a couple SU references in the episode numbers in this post.

The events of Season 5, Episode 13 of KP was not what it seemed: for Steven Universe, this is Your Mother and Mine, in which Garnet tells a story told to her by Rose Quartz. It later turns out to be a false origin story to cover the truth that Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond.

Kanga-ronin pretended at something to defend family honor in Season 1, Episode 3, which in SU is Cheeseburger Backpack - where Steven buys a novelty backpack so he can carry things on missions to be useful for the gems, fails his first mission and pretends he’s fine. The events of this ep are later referenced in The Test.

Finally, Koala Princess’ vision in the Eucalyptus Jungle is a reference to Stevonnie’s vision in Jungle Moon, which is Stevonnie’s first interaction with Pink Diamond via a memory dream. In this dream, all was not as it seemed either.

Then the KBCW blog doesn’t post until Feb 2017, after Rocknaldo. A couple ghost and dream-y quotes from here:

In my searches for THE TRUTH, I’ve done a lot of listening.  I’ve listened to haunted houses to hear ghosts from other dimensions.  I’ve listened to radio signals from the cosmos for signs of alien life.

I’ve also learned that HUMANS NEED TO SLEEP.  I didn’t sleep for 48 hours and I PASSED OUT FOR DAYS.

Ronaldo’s final post is an ad for his book, which comes out during a hiatus, and he references Koala Princess again: 

I did have a little help from some fellow truth-stigators I met on a Koala Princess forum, Ben Levin and Matt Burnett, but most of the work was definitely done by ME!  

Now let’s look at Keep Beach City Safe.

Keep Beach City Safe: [???]’s blog

For KBCS, I’m only going to skim to address ghost/astral projection related content that comes back to the business with Jane, Dogcopter, Koala Princess and Rose. The rest of this blog is a little too big for right now. 

It’s interesting that KBCS seems to have mostly flown under the radar, but between the Jane arc and a couple other things I believe it to be legit. Suffice to say I’m treating it as real and you will see why in a minute.

For KBCS I’ll mostly mention which episode a post is associated with, but not the date like with Ronaldo’s.

KBCS’s reaction blog to Nightmare Hospital includes a couple relevant lines:

Where was the Gem M.? I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around! It was mom!

Don’t tell me It’s on the other side of the hall corner. That would mean it saw mo- Connie’s mom!

KBCS posts a blog between Too Far and The Answer, in which they review a number of events. (They post another blog about fusions in which they describe Garnet and Stevonnie’s components as well)

During the movie the TV just shut down and they were being chased around by a “ghost”. It was actually a gem stuck inside the house, making the house seem like it was possessed.

They also get pretty excited about Steven’s birthday.

Only a few more minutes until Steven’s Birthday!

Eeeeh! Only a few mins left until midnight. We finally get to learn about Garnet’s past! Are guys happy, I know I am. I can’t even express how happy I feel, but I’ll try. And I will not act crazy while doing it, Imma keep it cool. So it’s like Peace and Love had a son, and his name was Steven! Then Steven fused with Connie, who was the daughter of Happiness. And they formed Stevonnie, who was made of everything right within the universe!

On Steven’s Birthday they also post about the Dogcopter 4 movie.

I’m gonna be a Smart Spoiler and drop hints in my post for you guess. Only those who have watched it will notice the clues. Yep, watching it 9 times.

This clearly references Ronaldo’s post about Dogcopter having nine lives, but KBCS is a little more considerate about spoilers.

In KBCS’s “It Could’ve Been Great” post, they’re still talking about Steven’s birthday. There’s a promo image attached as well.

To start things off I just wanted to say: I did see Steven turn into a baby? And I would also like to say: DID YOU SEE STEVEN TURN INTO A BABY!?!?

So, by now your probably wondering what the second image is aren’t you? We clearly it’s a pic of Rose holding a cupcake candle.

We, here at Keep Beach City Safe, thought that Steven would’ve liked to have his mom at his birthday party. Happy Birthday from all of us at KBCS. Hope you like it.

Future Vision reference. (Some of this is less relevant to the Jane thing but I’m pulling quotes that are related to fusion and stuff in the hopes it gets clearer)

This reminds me of the time that Garnet gave Stevens her future vision. I don’t know what happens exactly, but I think you see what’s going to happen in the future hence the name future vision. Being able to see into the future would be awesome, yet terrified at same time.

There’s a great post about Pie Day - in fact, KBCS posts about Pie Day a few times. They call out Pearl, too, which reminds me of a certain prolific fandom video editor’s handle.

You know who else knows about Pi. Pearl, but also Peridot.

Pearl Doesn’t Like Pie. Happy Pie Day!

This is not a good photo of Pear let’s see if we can find a better one. Now that’s better.

Sorry for the tangent. Let’s talk koalas now.

KBCS posts about The New Lars. They have thoughts about Steven’s ability to hop into other bodies, namely the question of whether Rose could do this as well.

Steven is worried that Lars isn’t being truthful about his feelings. So through his dreams, Steven jumps into Lar’s body, and trys to make his life better. But he only makes things worse.

Steven somehow possessed Lars’s body through his dreams. He’s done it before and he’ll do it again, we have a word for it now: Dream Possession. But he can also enter dreams.

He did it with Lapis, the Watermelon Stevens, and now Lars. That’s one gem, one sentient plant, and one human. Well with lapis he was merely communicating with her. This, new power, is seems to activates itself whenever Steven wants to help someone, but can’t because something getting in the way. Could this be a power passed down from Rose, or is this a power he himself posses?

#koala vs sloth

in The New Lars, koalas come up twice. Koalas in SU are associated with Steven’s astral projection powers. Remember how Koala Princess met her mother in the dreamscape? 

Steven: For your consideration...The koala, a marsupial from the forests of Australia, and the sloth, hailing from the forests of South America. Who should be crowned the king of the "Hanging Around Doing Nothing" mammals!?

Steven in Lars’ body: Whatcha doing? Hanging out? Buck: Yeah. Steven: That's cool. Would you say you hang out more like koalas or sloths? Uh, I'm asking for Steven.

Steven: Um... I'm really, really sorry about yesterday. I got you a card, it's got a koala and a sloth.

From The New Lars. Steven references koalas three times.

KBCS gets to Beach City Drift. They take notice of Jane and of Kevin’s car.

Hey did you guys notice that girl that keeps appear. We saw her when Steven took Connie to the movies and now she’s here. I wonder if she’s involved in something. Hmmmm.

So Stevonnie raced Kevin down the hill in his Himitsu X12, that’s secret in Japanese.

So while we’re back on the subject of Jane, here’s something interesting about Dogcopter and the Himitsu X12. They both show up in advertisements together in the background of Empire City.

Mr Greg

Same Old World

This is what KBCS is talking about - Dogcopter has a secret.

For Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service, KBCS has more to say about dreams.

She has a nightmare and Steven, coincidentally, falls asleep after eating and enters Kiki’s dream. Now Steven The Dream Warrior, must help Kiki battle her dream, and finally end this nightmare once and for all.

Steven, who for some reason keeps going into people’s dreams, goes into Kiki’s dream.

Steven fought for about week, and he’s was tired by day four. And we know from experience that a sleepless Steven, is a cranky Steven.

This is the same power Steven used in Chille Tid. and look who showed up again?

After Monster Reunion airs, KBCS posts a liveblog and includes a far-fetched accusation that Rose Quartz is Pink Diamond.

Think about it! A Diamond should have access to all gem controlled tech, right. And if Rose Quartz was Pink Diamond, which she is, then she should be able to too, right. And Steven has Rose’s gem. So now Steven can access gem tech. And one more thing to prove this theory once and for all.

But there’s one thing that doesn’t add up. Rose Quartz… is a Quartz. How could she be a Diamond?????? Maybe I’m wrong, she could have been just working along side Pink Diamond. Maybe this just a crackpot theory about the impossible. I don’t think gems can turn into different gems? who knows, I guess we’ll find out sooner or later. 

When KBCS gets to Crack the Whip, they take note of Lion and tag him thrice:

Crack the Whip! Is it just me or is that foreshadowing?

Oh, did I mention that Lion was there. He was just there, when Connie opened the door, he walked up and just started hanging. It was so cool! It was like, Just Lion Things 2! So the snack break, that takes the whole day, ends at the beach, where the idea originally began.

Amethyst faces off Jasper, gem to gem, while Steven and Connie, and don’t forget Lion, fight the corrupted gem.

Lion was keeping the Gem Monster busy while all of this was happening. I was so stunned when Steven and Connie fused, without doing a fusion dance! How well they worked, together, they rode on Lion, and defeated Jasper, and poofed the Gem Monster all at the same time!!!

#just lion things 2 #lion fights #lion still fights

There’s also a weird Google Slides slideshow connected to the KBCS account, which includes this image featuring Lion, Tiny Floating Whale, (and Connie and Greg) and the word TRUE with Steven’s affirmative!

More Koala Princess

Two more Koala Princess references - although only one is immediately relevant - 

In Gemcation, Ronaldo keeps texting Steven about Koala Princess. Steven’s lockscreen is a selfie with him and Lion.

Also, as a sidenote, Koala Princess is implicated in sneople trolls on anime message boards.

Dogcopter

These are just the Dogcopter appearances (Thanks to SU wiki as well as my brain) Dogcopter fights robots in at least one timeline, and the book is allegedly really long. Bold Dogcopters are the pink dogcopter, everything else is an ad or grey.

Lars and the Cool Kids - Poster

Lion 2 - The movie they all go see.

Lion 3 - Gives Steven advice.

Chille Tid  - Shows Steven how to find Lapis. Meows. (Dogcopter’s parents are cats.)

Same Old World & Mr. Greg - Advertisement

Kiki’s Pizza Delivery Service - flies Steven away.

In Dreams and Growing Pains (Note this is grey Dogcopter) - Flies away in Stefan’s nightmare, proposes to Drew the driver (or at least offers them something) in the Dogcopter 6 Till Death Do Us Bark I Now Pronounce You Man and Woof trailer.

Snow Day - Pupcopter, a spinoff for babies.

And for Steven’s Birthday - Connie points out a Dogcopter constellation.

Astral Projection

Another quick summary. I’ve written a lot on this psychic ghost stuff so check my blog if you want the tags, idrc. Summary of astral projection powers Steven has shown:

Leaving his body (Reunited, Escapism)

Possessing other bodies (New Lars, Escapism, SWI)

Traveling to others’ dreams (Kiki’s Pizza, Chille Tid)

Interacting with fusion components within the fusion’s mind (Chille Tid, Mindful)

Regarding KBCS’s question of whether Rose could have done this, it doesn’t seem impossible - and as of Fragments and Homeworld Bound, we know that Gems don’t die when they are killed. (Lol.) That is, the personality/soul can appear in the same gem if it’s shattered and repaired. And Steven’s mom’s gem is perfectly intact, inside him. 

Literally what is the point of all this

So after KBCS and KBCW spent so long talking about astral projection, ghosts, dreams, fusions, etc etc. they never actually got to the point - just pointed us in the direction of a bunch of clues that 

Rose Quartz isn’t gone.

Obviously. She’s in his gem in him, like Lapis and the mirror, or the lighthouse gem. She uses astral projection to help Steven in his dreams as well as see him in Rose’s room, like other fusions speak in the mindscape. (There’s a lot more to this but this is enough to ask anyone to wrap their head around atm) 

She also interacts with him through other bodies, the same way Steven takes over Lars’ body, or the Watermelon Stevens. 

Remember this?

We, here at Keep Beach City Safe, thought that Steven would’ve liked to have his mom at his birthday party.

Who came to Steven’s birthday in which Connie points out that Dogcopter constellation?

Who gave Steven advice when he wished he could talk to his mom?

Who showed Steven where to find the tape?

Who else could have asked Steven, “What do you want” in Susan Egan’s voice? 

(Why did they choose to hire Susan Egan to voice a cameo in Under the Knife in the first few seconds of Fusion Cuisine, where she says “It’s my son!” while Lion is onscreen)

Or reassured him that Rose’s tape was telling him the truth?

Who first brought him to Pink Diamond’s moon base?

Who knew where Rose’s armory was and how to train with it? (Note the giant penny)

Who showed Steven the location of Pink’s fallen palanquin?

Who found Rose’s lost scabbard?

and knew where Pearl would run to when she’s upset?

Who (reluctantly) brought Steven to the landfill and Pink Diamond’s ship?

Who showed him how to find Malachite?

Twice?

Who showed him how Pink Diamond tried to stop the Earth’s colonization, and who to ask for the truth?

Who tried to entertain him on Mask Island when he was trapped on Homeworld?

And then rescued him from the open sea?

Who showed Stevonnie the password to Yellow Diamond’s moon base?

Much like Koala Princess’ vision in the Eucalyptus Jungle in Season 5, Episode 13 what you saw on the Boardwalk the other day was not what it seemed. 

So yeah Rose is Lion 2020. Thanks for reading this extremely long nonsense.

Also thanks to @babybeetlebongos​ for both mindscape lore and fixing Ronaldo’s cheek in the banner image, lol. I made a Twitter thread about this as well (and the more in depth Lion and astral projection theory threads are quoted at the top, if you need them. the #mindscape deeplore 2020 tag/tags on this post have stuff too.)

[mrswalkers-blog]

Falling in love with you

Chapter 13 - The Emptiness

Book: The Royal Romance AU ( Drake x MC & Liam x Olivia)

A/N: This is an AU that happens two years after Riley weds Drake. Drake has lost his memory of last 2 years due to an accident. He doesn’t remember meeting Riley who is pregnant with their first child. Unaware of this fact and not able to cope with the strange new life he has woken up to , he flees Cordonia.

Liam marries Olivia for purely political purposes. Olivia on the other hand marries him because she is madly in love with him. But after two years on marriage and unable to produce an heir and unable to get Liam to love her, she asks for a divorce.

Summary of last Chapter : Two years back : Liam is suddenly obsessed with having a heir - a child in his life. Olivia feels she is not ready, but still supports Liam in trying for an heir. Now : Liam feels empty without Olivia. Media on the other hand is having a field day spreading rumors about Duchess Riley’s pregnancy, mysterious absence of Duke Drake and Farmers protest for Dam.

Liam meets Olivia at their first hearing for the divorce case. According to Cordonian law, they need to wait for six months before the divorce are finalized. Olivia tells him about whereabouts of Drake and asks him to bring him back.

Warnings: PG

PLEASE NOTE: Past chapters links are available in my bio.

Please Re-blog, Comment or at least hit like if you like this series.

Six months after the Royal Wedding “Still no sign of Royal Heir!” Olivia heard Regina talking - rather loudly - to Liam in dinning room. She stopped outside the room, looking at her husband and her step-mother-in-law at the breakfast table. “Mother, your voice is getting loud.” Liam said without looking up from the file in his hand. He kept flipping pages.

“I can see you are trying to avoid me.” Regina said sternly. Liam sighed and looked up at her, “Mother, there might be other pressing issues in a kings life that need his immediate attention.”

“Do you have any idea that failing to produce an heir can cause you to loose your throne?” Regina asked him, “I am aware, and we are trying.” Liam admitted, “What more do you want?”

“I think she should see .... I mean both of you should see a doctor. I am sure that would help.” She said softly , trying to sound concerned.

“Thank you for your concern, Queen Mother”  Olivia said entering the hall. ”Of course,” Regina forced a smile.” I worry about both of you.” ”That is kind of you, but this is not the time to worry” Olivia sat beside Liam and took the file from his hands.”Its time to have some breakfast.” ”Liv!,” Liam glanced at Regina and cleared his throat ,”Olivia, I need to sign and send this trade agreement to China today. I was trying to figure out if it is beneficial to us.”

“It is not.” Olivia said serving a plate of poached eggs to Liam and herself from the spread on table.

Liam sighed “I am afraid you are right.” Liam said to Olivia,”but we will have to agree on their terms.”

“Even when you know that it is costing us dearly” Olivia said digging in her plate.”And not just the initial cost, we will be tied to pay them for decades.” “You must not interfere in the matters you dont understand” Regina advised Olivia,” We have been in good terms with China and not agreeing to their terms will mean...”

“It will mean we will be finally standing up for ourselves” Olivia said firmly. “But...” Liam was cut short by Olivia.

“Your Majesty.” she smirked.” You make a new agreement and write whatever terms you want. I will make sure that they get agreed on.”

Liam beamed,”I know that smile. You definitely have something up your sleeve.” he finally took a bite of his breakfast. “Care to share?”

“A lady never reveals all her secrets.” Olivia chuckled.” Just know that I have dirt on some pretty important people.”

“What would I do without you?” Liam smiled gratefully to Olivia.  Both of them enjoyed their breakfast, talking to each other and completely unaware that they were ignoring Regina sitting at the same table. None of them realized when she left the table rather fuming at the turn of events.

--- Later that day, Olivia did visited an OB/GYN. After several tests and examination, she was sitting with doctor in her cabin. Her clasped in each other , waiting for the report. She was looking hopefully at the doctor engrossed in the file , across the table. She took a deep breath, bracing herself for the news doctor had for her. “Your Highness”, the doctor paused, pressing her lips.

“Don’t worry.” Olivia said realizing the hesitation in doctor’s voice,” you can lay it  on me. I can say the report is not good from your face”. She braved a smile.

“Honestly, there is still hope” she showed her the report. “Your one ovary is completely damaged.“ she pointed at a sonogram apparently showing a damaged organ in her body supposed to be producing eggs. ”But there is another ovary, so I still have chance, right?” Olivia asked hopefully.

“Yes, but there are some complication in that too.” Doctor explained her.” You have a condition called PCOS. It is the reason for your irregular periods. And it is making it difficult to conceive.”

“So what options do we have.” Olivia asked. She didn’t want problems, she wanted solutions and desperately. 

“I will give you some medicine. But the main reason for PCOS is stress. You should try meditation. Relax a bit.” Doctor wrote a prescription and explained her the dosage and precautions she should take.

After listening to the doctor for several minutes, she asked the doctor, ”What are the chances of me getting pregnant doctor?”

"Well, right now there are very less changes, but after proper medication and working on your stress, i believe you will have good chances.” “Thank you, Doctor” Olivia said to the doctor and took her leave. There was still hope that she can produce an heir. She didn't know why she was so desperate to produce an heir. She never imagined herself to be a mother. Was she doing it for the throne? She didn’t care about it either. There was only one man whom she loved so much that she was ready to turn her life upside down and take up a responsibility of producing and raising an heir. She knew what the baby meant to him. How his eyes lit up when he talked about their future kid.

She was not sure how he would react knowing that Olivia was the reason they didn't have a heir yet. Would this push him away?

--

That day, when she entered their bedroom, Liam was working on his laptop on bed. He looked up and gave her a smile , before getting busy in his work. She thought about telling him about the slim changes of them getting pregnant. But she could never pluck up enough courage to talk to him. She changed in to her comfortable shorts nightwear and stood by her side of the bed for a moment, looking at Liam still busy on his laptop. She wished he looked at her. She wished he notice the turmoil going inside her. But Liam never looked up.

Olivia lied down on her side of bed , keeping her back towards Liam. She couldn't sleep, even after closing her eyes, her mind was playing several different scenes where she tells Liam that they might never have kids or Liam find out about it. And in each scene, she somehow always ends up loosing him.  

--- Now

Drake had his long hair tied carelessly in a man bun. Riding his favorite horse and feeling of air blowing through his hair made him feel alive for a while. He had fled Cordonia because he was feeling trapped, suffocated even. But now he was feeling empty. Only thing in his life was his time with the stallions in this ranch. He had hoped that moving away from Valtoria will help him clear his mind, but all he could think now was his brief time there. He wished that just as he had forgot about the last two years, he could forget the last two months as well. Make a new start.

But his past was not leaving his mind, and it seems it had caught up with him. His eyes caught the sight of two well dressed men near the gate talking to one of his fellow rancher. Before the rancher pointed to his direction,, he knew they had come for him. Their attire were enough to tell them apart in this part of the world.

He knew one day they would find him. He didn't expect it to be so soon. He turned the horse towards them. He climbed down the horse and walked toward his best friend and his god father. He gave a tentative smile to his childhood friend, who was now a king. But Liam didn't return the smile. His eyes were burning with hot anger.

'Liam!' Drake cautiously approached him, 'didn't think you will find me here.'  Liam took a quick steps towards him, and before Drake could understand anything else, a hard punch landed on his face making him stumble back a few feet.

'Hey you!' Three ranchers came running to rescue Drake.Bastien immediately stepped in front of Liam with one of his had on the gun in his belt and other stretched towards the men to stop them.

This did stopped the man, but they were now more alert on seeing the gun in the stranger’s belt.

Drake recovered from the blow he just suffered to see the tension in the air. He turned towards the ranch men , holding a hand up to gesture them to stay back. "It's alright! " He managed to say rubbing his jaw ," He is an old friend."

“Get me some ice please.” Drake asked one of the ranchers. The men disbursed leaving them alone - murmuring to each other and giving them a glance every now and then , just to be sure.

"Let's talk in my cabin." Drake led Liam and Bastien to his room. Bastien stood outside guarding the door after Liam and Drake went in.

"Great place you have" Liam said looking at the room Drake called his cabin.

"Well, it's enough for me." Drake shrugged. He opened the window to let some light and air in room. He switched on the small table fan.

“Seems like you are working out.”  Drake said rubbing his jaw.

“Exercise helps me focus." Liam replied weakly. His tone and choice of words were enough for Drake to understand his friends current state. Liam was using exercise a distraction to help him get over the divorce.  

Drake grabbed two tumblers and a cheap whiskey bottle. He poured small amounts in both the tumblers. Just about then, one of the rancher bought some ice in a small bucket.

“You didn’t say,  how you find me here.” Drake dropped two cubes in a tumbler and handed it to Liam.

“Olivia found you. She has her sources.” Liam took a small sip of the whiskey.”But Riley always knew where you were.”

“Did you notice the guy who didn't react when I punched you? The big guy - clean shaved. He is from Cordonia”  Liam informed him.

"I thought his accent was funny.” Drake smirked. But there was something which was not making any sense.“But why is she doing this? I mean keeping watch on me like this.She could have reached out.”

“She is trying to keep you safe and giving you freedom that you want. what more could you ask for,” Liam replied. He clenched and opened his fist looking at a bruise forming on his knuckles.

Drake wrapped some ice in a napkin and handed it to Liam. He took some more ice and started dabbing it to his jaw through another napkin. 

Liam was wrapping the napkin on his hand when he noticed the familiar looking news papers and magazines on his bed side table.

“You seem to be keeping an eye on us.”  Liam picked up the magazine that had run the article about speculating Riley’s pregnancy.

Drake felt his throat turn dry. He couldn't get this news out of his head since he saw in the magazine. “Is .... is it true?” he said gesturing to the article.

Liam looked in his eyes for a long moment before answering a short - “Yes”

Drake rubbed his hands on his face. He flopped down on the bed, hiding his face in his hands.

“I didn't know.... She didn't tell me. I wouldn’t have left...” he murmured excuses to calm down the overwhelming guilt.

“Why didn’t she tell you, Drake?” Liam asked. Although his voice was calm, Drake felt it hurt more than the punch he just received.

Is it mine? He wanted to ask, but he didn’t.

I thought you and her....he wanted to say, but he couldn’t.

“Why did you leave, Drake?” Liam sat down besides him.

“I thought if I left....” Drake paused , “You were getting divorce from Olivia....” Liam looked at him more confused.

Drake took a breath,”I knew you loved her.”

“Is it was this is about?” Liam asked.

“Why didn’t you marry her?” Drake asked, finally with a courage to look Liam in his eyes.

“Because , she chose you.” Liam sighed. Drake mock chuckled.

“What?” Liam asked.

”Ya,Like that could be true.” Drake scoffed,”Why would anyone chose me over you? I mean you are literally the King! and you are pretty amazing!”

Liam laughed,”I know! right?!” he shook his head,”Even I thought she was out of her mind. “ Liam paused, “It took a long time for me to accept the fact - but you are not that bad your self, Walker.”

Was it true? did she really chose him over Liam? There was no one in the world who would have chose him over Liam - for anything - let alone for something as important as marriage - to spend their entire life with him. The over caring, the keeping watch - all was because she cared for him. Drake sat frozen as the realization slowly downed on him.

“But.... you....” he paused,” Did I ? ....came between you two?” he stammered. 

“Drake!” Liam placed a hand on his knee.” You love her and she loves you. That’s what matters.”

“And You?” Drake asked trying to read his face. Only few people could read past Liam’s stoic expression. Drake was one of them.

“I?”, Liam gave him reassuring smile.”I am over her Drake. He is my dear friend and wife of my best friend - whom, by the way, I miss so much.” Liam wrapped an arm around his shoulder.

Drake smiled. “I miss you too.”

“Then let’s go. “ , Liam clapped his back, “I am here to take you home.”

“I ..don’t think I can face her, Liam” Drake shook his head. The way he behaved with her, pushed her away.

“God, Drake!” Liam stood up,” If you cannot own up to your mistakes and try to correct them, you are not  the man I thought you were.”

Drake looked at him conflicted. He knew he wanted to go back. But was he ready to take up the responsibilities of his new life? To face Riley?

“Come on buddy,” Liam said to him,”She needs you, Cordonia needs you.I need you”

When could he ever refuse to Liam? Not only did he felt obligated to be there for Liam, he knew he could trust Liam with his life.

“How can I ever say no to you?” He smiled and stood up.

Liam smiled and wrapped him a brotherly hug. Drake hugged him back , feeling relaxed after a long time. He hoped this would be the beginning of a better time.

“Okay then lets hurry.” Liam pulled away and checked his watch. They might still make it.

“We might have to give you a makeover on the plane.” He said looking at Drake from head to toe.

---

Disclaimer: The characters belong to Pixelberry.

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[pianosmasher]

I find it... interesting that Resident Evil 8, subtitled Village, is the first to introduce vampires and werewolves to the series. Up until that point, the series had always been about biological weapons, mainly of the viral kind. As a Dracula fan, I immediately pledged myself to catch all the way up on the series in anticipation for VIII after seeing the announcement trailer in June 2020. I basically didn’t know anything about the series, as I was too young for M-rated games during its heyday (at least by my parents’ standards) and had no older cousins or siblings who’d introduce me. I didn’t even make the pandemic connection at first. All I was thinking of was how my new PS4, bought with the money I’d originally saved to go see my mom in Tennessee one last time, was slowly becoming my new favorite thing. It’d gotten my roommate through April with The Last of Us Remastered and it got me through May with Horizon: Zero Dawn. If I’m gonna make the switch from Nintendo to Sony, I may as well get to know Resident Evil starting in June.

The pandemic parallels came in much later. I’m playing them in release order, and it’s not until the second game that the characters have the time and awareness to consider synthesizing a vaccine. The characters in the first game have to figure out what’s going on as it’s happening to them, and it’s important to remember that zombies came back into popularity due to the efforts of that first game, meaning the exact nature of the threat would have come off more ambiguous at the time. The game’s Japanese title, Biohazard, holds the clue: we’ve scarred an ecosystem, and the human damage may be beyond repair. All you can do is try to save all the people who don’t deserve to be there as it happens.

Starting in the second game, I'd hear the characters talk about vaccines. I myself will reach full vaccination status tomorrow afternoon, and here I am playing games with characters who’ve killed just to get close to making one. The difference between our viruses in theirs is that we actually have some hope of curing ours, as in the world of Resident Evil, everything seems unstoppable. Momentum never seems to end once it’s been picked up - not for the virus, not for the destruction, and certainly not for human greed. The player is supposed to survive and nothing more, not live and thrive but to continuously struggle, lose, and sacrifice as they make their way through an environment that is either mastered or deadly to the touch. “Don’t get too close,” the special operatives say to their fellow agents. Resident Evil offers the power fantasy of knowing how to handle something impossible through trial and error. The horror is overcome by learning to live with it. 

At least that’s how the first three games work. Starting with the fourth, all the atmosphere, pacing, and level design keep their levels of quality, but instead serve a much more direct fantasy of power in the form of a dread thriller with a pint of action thrown in for good measure. It’s clear that our relationship with the environment had changed by the time it was released. RE4 became the blueprint for third-person shooters, but funnily enough, going back to it reveals that it’s everything around the shooter that allows the main mechanic to shine that deep into the spotlight. The characters, for instance: Leon, now a professional, is infected with the game’s new virus himself early on, and he begins to have nightmares about what it might be doing to his body. If you’ve just come off playing through Leon’s first day as a cop in RE2, this is terrifying. He is practically a special agent at this point, meaning he’s accomplished quite a lot since the last game, so his plot armor can’t exactly be thick. Are we gonna see a character in Resident Evil, a game requiring a lot of death at first, actually die in canon? 

More importantly: what does he do now that he has the virus? Is he gonna be okay? Am I hitting myself too close to home? Or is this the only piece of media that feels relevant to me anymore?

Resident Evil 5 takes place in Africa, and despite semiplausible claims of racism actually ends up being a staunchly anti-colonial parable about overcoming a world of fear. Chris Redfield finally lets go of fear when he looks over at Jill Valentine and Sheva Alomar, the two women who have now saved his life too many times to count. RE5 was built for co-op play, and its story is based around the vulnerability and necessity of partnership. It’s not defeating the big bad in a giant volcano that helps Chris live uninhibited. It’s his support network, however small it may be. (There’s even a woman of color in it). The characters of RE have always been at the forefront of the experience, but 5 at least tries to make it clear that there really are people worth fighting for out there, and ten times out of ten, you can spot them as the ones who’re fighting right there with you. 

RE6 picks up on this theme of connection, gets high on nostalgia, and plays fast and loose with tone in a sort of victory lap. I’m not finished with it but it isn’t great so far. I also haven’t touched RE7, Code: Veronica, or Zero, as I want to finish those last two spinoffs before I move on to another phase of the mainline titles. And all the while, all my gaming channels are covering RE:Village without really covering it at all. I know that Capcom is bound to have some scientific explanation as to why vampires and werewolves made their debut in the series with this game, as it’d been in development for three years prior to its announcement, an echo of the past finally heard. But still, even if we’re grading on a curve, context is context. How wild is it that a year and change after the pandemic began, a game series known for its bio-weapons turns a gothic corner and drops its original moniker? Indeed, RE:Village is also the first not to have “biohazard” on any release title anywhere, regardless of region. In truth, I can’t quite blame the publications - I wouldn’t have noticed if I didn’t sit down to write this tonight.

Would I have boarded that hype train in June if the game had kept its chemical warfare? The Last of Us: Part II, another franchise brought to me by Sony, also had its virus and pandemic in the foreground, and that’s a top ten game for me now given my specific experience with it. But then, Resident Evil is special. The beautifully detailed graphics, endearing character moments, atmospheric pacing, motivated sound design, and confrontational control schemes have all made it stand apart to me as a series. I really have no comparison for how these games have challenged me and made me feel during this time. I’ve watched Chris become a soldier, Claire become a mother, Leon become a hero, and Jill come back from the brink, all while underneath the heavy horrors of a natural environment turned unstoppably hostile. One way or another, I’m glad I met them.

This was the year everything in my life took off in directions that I could no longer follow or keep up with. I can’t describe to you how much I feel like I’ve lost, despite all the incredibly important personal work I have done behind the scenes. I realize now that there are some changes that simply can’t be stopped or unchanged, only survived, endured, and adapted to. It’s taught me that we hardly ever seek change - it seeks us, and we are offered the task to accept it or defend against it. There’s something that feels right about playing these games at this time, of that I’m sure. I find it interesting that, by the time I get to RE:Village, the franchise itself will have changed into something quite different. But with each new game I’ve crossed off my list, RE has earned more and more of my trust as a series that knows all too well how changes come and go. Hopefully I will change right along with it. 

[revengeworld]

My King XII

Kylo Ren x Reader

Words: +2.400

Warnings: Angst

MY MASTERLIST - Can be found in my Bio if you´re interested in more of my work!

-

In an instant Kylo stopped her fall with his force before he took her in his arms.

His first reaction was to shove his gloved fingers down her throat until she had emptied everything that was in her stomach out onto the floor.

Until somebody had even noticed something Kylo had already picked her unconscious body up.

“NOBODY WILL LEAVE THIS ROOM UNTIL I KNOW WHO THAT WAS!!” Kylo screamed and the Knights immediately followed his orders, shutting down every door while their Leader run out. As quickly as he could, Kylo made his way to the infirmary constantly reaching out through the force to have an eye on Y/Ns and his childs life force hoping it would not be too late.

Doctors and nurses rushed towards them and Kylo could only stutter something about poison until he was pulled away from Y/N.

Lydie was stumbling into the infirmary, tears already streaming down her face when she saw Y/Ns dress stained with blood.

“Wh...what happened…?” she whimpered while helping Kylo sit down onto a chair since he seemed completely in shock.

“She … she drank from my cup and … the blood...” he mumbled while looking down on his trembling hands.

“Will she make it?” Indo and Hith were standing in the doorway.

“We don’t know yet.” Lydie answered.

“I let everything get confiscated, food and drinks. The guests are questioned right now.” Hux entered and explained the situation to the Supreme Leader.

“Everyone but one.” confused everyone looked up at him, but the ginger had his eyes focused on Y/Ns handmaiden who was weeping in Hiths arms.

“What are you implying?!” Indo hissed and pulled his weapon.

“She could’ve done it as well. Being close to Lady Ren could have made her jealous. It would be a valid motive.”

“How dare you!! Lydie loves Y/N like her own sister!” Hith was standing up and pushing the General away.

“I’m just stating the obvious. And if you want to find the culprit Supreme Leader, you should consider everyone. If you want revenge for your Lady.”

The Knights wanted to speak up then they had noticed Hux manipulating words but Kylo only nodded, his head hanging low.

“Kylo! You can’t do this! Lydie would never harm Y/N!” Hith plead to his Master but also old friend.

“Somebody did this to her! Not only her but our child!!” pointing at Y/N who was laying there unconscious while the Doctors tried to safe her life.

“And somebody will pay for what they did and I don’t care who it was!!” he screamed at them before Hux dragged the handmaiden out of the infirmary, while the two Knights begged Kylo to see things clear.

“ENOUGH!” the whole room started to shake. 

“Leave… or disobeying will be the last thing that you do.” Kylo threatened and Hith and Indo left the room before the Supreme Leader felt back into his chair, devastated.

All night long Kylo was right by her side. Desperately reaching out for her and their babies lifeforce just to be sure that the Doctors and Nurses said the truth. That they would make it, that even though she bled so much Y/N was out of danger, at least for now. 

Looking down on her unconscious body, Kylo rested his hand on her stomach. The fate of their baby was still unknown, even though it was alive there was a chance that the poison might have harmed it. For now all he could do was wait, but he wouldn’t waste it on just sitting around. No, he interrogated every single person that was on that horrible feast, if they wanted to give him answers or not.

Without Y/N he felt lost and not knowing who did this to her made him ruthless like never before.

Standing in front of the crying handmaiden with her cuffed hands, Kylo was walking up and down his room.

Since hours she had told him that she knew nothing about what happened, that she would never harm Y/N in anyway.

But she was the last one left and Kylo didn’t know what he was supposed to do. WIthout Y/N he had nothing left but revenge and the urge to find the culprit.

“TELL ME THE TRUTH!” he screamed at the shivering girl who only shook her head while tears streamed down her face.

“I already told you… please Kylo… I could never ...” she whimpered slowly sinking down on her knees until they were suddenly interrupted. Hux came into the room, his hands like usual folded behind his back.

“I have new information regarding your search for the culprit.” the General spoke and Kylo turned away from the broken woman.

“What is it?!” he hissed and followed the Ginger when he left the room.

“Her little friend, that demanded Y/Ns hand. You hopefully didn’t forgot that you put me in a cell next to him. At first I didn’t bother about his words but… i got word that he indeed did conspire to harm her after rejecting him.”

“And how in stars name was he supposed to do this while he was in solitary?” Kylo shook his head, ridiculed by these accusations since they didn’t seem to make any sense with these circumstances.

“With the help of the one who is denying the truth to you at this moment.” nodding towards the closed door, Kylo knew that Hux was meaning Lydie, which sobs he could still hear.

But why would she? After helping them to finally get together, help him with the proposal. It didn’t make sense that she suddenly would harm Y/N, expect Anwir had poisoned her mind with his words.

“I will question him.”

“You shouldn’t wait to long. If they found out Lady Ren survived they might try a second time.” the General only suggested before going back into the room to bring Lydie back into her cell.

The Knights were following Kylo towards the cells, Indo and Hith still didn’t talk to him or followed his orders, which he was fine with, for now. He would find the culprit, with or without their help.

Days later he was sitting in his chair in the conference room, just staring into nothingness while General Hux was going through informations he had supposedly gathered.

At this point Kylo was just waiting for Y/N to wake up, she should be there when the one who had hurt her would be executed.

Folding his hands together Kylo rested his hand onto them while glaring at Hux.

Suddenly the doors were swung open while three people entered the room. Y/N, still weak on her legs was standing between Indo and Hith before she grabbed one of Indos throwing daggers and tossed it in the Generals direction before it landed in his shoulder.

“Ah you goddamn Lunatic!” he screamed while trying to pull out the knife. Quickly Hith and Indo used the force to pin him against the wall behind him, so he wouldn’t be able to resist.

“Y/N… Are you okay? You shouldn’t be on your feet!” Kylo was quickly to be by her side to pull her in his arms, but she pushed him away.

“How could you believe that Lydie had something to do with this?!” she asked him, her voice still weak but firm.

“I didn’t believe it.” surprised all three of them looked at Kylo.

“I knew something was wrong with whatever Hux tried to make me believe but I had no proof. Lydie and Anwir are somewhere safe so he couldn’t harm them.”

“So you knew that she was innocent and you didn’t tell at least us?! You questioned her for hours on end.” Hith almost screamed.

“No we made a plan how they could get away for now, but Hux wasn’t supposed to become suspicious.” he explained to them and Y/N could only sighed relieved while she felt back into his outstretched arms.

“Let me bring you back to the Doctor so you can rest.” lifting her off her feet, Kylo wanted to leave the room but she started to struggle.

“No! I’m not leaving this room until this rat is dead! I will kill him myself if I have to!” Y/N tried to get off Kylos arms but he held her tightly.

“You will not do such thing! I will not let you stain your hands with blood, ever. It’s bad enough for our child that one of its parents is a murderer. It doesn’t have to be both of us.” with a defeated voice, Kylo leaned his head against hers and he could feel her hands dig into his shoulders while she silently nodded.

“I will do it...” Hith was the one who spoke now.

“Not only did he harm Y/N and the baby. But he tried to get Lydie executed for his crimes.”

All of them looked to Hux who was bleeding profusely from his shoulders, the rest of the Knights of Ren had already surrounded him.

“He is all yours.” Kylo agreed. He didn’t want to give the General an official trial or a public execution. Hux should be forgotten like the low life he was.

Walking out of the room with Y/N in his arms, both of them could hear Hith pull his weapon before the doors behind them closed and Kylo brought her back to the infirmary.

Y/N endured so much already that Kylo didn’t want her to see how another men would be killed by his command. If he could have, he had avoided this situation all together.

“Where is she?” leaning her head on his shoulder, Y/N sighed deeply.

“I sent here with Anwir and a few Guards in a Estate in the Mountains. I will let somebody bring her home to you.” Kylo promised, while kissing her temple.

“What about Anwir?” seating her on one of the beds, Kylo shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t want him here… not even here in town. It’s not safe with him so near to you...”

“You think he would harm me?”

“He hurt you, not physically but emotionally. And besides … he was the one who killed Shari. It might have been an accident from what I saw when I looked into his mind, but who says he wouldn’t have such an outburst again.”

“H… he killed her?” she asked shocked and Kylo could only nod, wanting to spare her from the details.

“H...how…?”

“That doesn’t matter. But he is a danger to you in my eyes.” calmingly brushing up and down her back, Kylo leaned his head against hers. 

“Gyaru… you could send him there. If you don’t want him around then I don’t want it either.” leaning his forehead against hers, Kylo chuckled lightly. Thankful that she was so understanding to his selfish request.

“Why did Hux do it … I still don’t understand… Why did this happen to us...” she quietly mumbled while she was close to breaking down in front of him. Indo and Hith had immediately told her what had happened as soon as she woke up. That she was poisoned and that Kylo, her Kylo, was accusing the wrong person and being manipulated by Huxs words.

“He didn’t meant to poison you. I was the target. He wanted to kill me and accuse you of doing so. Giving you the choice to stay with him and alive when he would’ve taken over or die as my murderer. To be honest it wasn’t even a bad plan, but he always forgets how sloppy he is to execute them.” gently caressing her cheek, Kylo looked worried into her face.

She still looked tired, especially with the red and dark rings under her eyes but even now she was so beautiful to him and he couldn’t describe in words how unbelievable happy he was that she was alive and fairly alright.

“The baby… will it be alright? The Doctor said it would be fine but … Could you feel something?” Kylo could feel the tight grip around his hand and silently laid his hand on her stomach.

“I can feel it’s little heartbeat.” he whispered while leaning his head against hers.

“It’s strong. Our Baby will survive, Y/N. It will be fine.”

“I know it’s alive… but what if something will be wrong with him?! It was my fault...” slowly tears were building up in her eyes and Kylo laid his arm around her. before he raised his eyebrows.

“Him?” he smiled surprised.

Leaning her head on his shoulder Y/N slightly nodded.

“I .. I just feel like it’s a him...” she whispered remorsefully.

“Well.. if it is, I’m sure he will be fine and if not … I wouldn’t love him any less and we will help him to have a comfortable life. Our baby will be fine. Don’t worry about it and especially don’t give yourself the fault. You didn’t poison yourself.” feeling her suddenly slouch down his chest he looked worried down at Y/N.

“Kylo… I’m dizzy...” she mumbled weakly.

“It’s okay my Love. Rest your eyes, I will be right here.” gently letting her sink down onto the medical bed, Kylo held tightly onto her hand.

Kylo staid by her side, trying not to give into his exhausted mind and tried to stay awake.

Slowly his head started to sink until the door to the infirmary swung open and the Supreme Leader flinched awake again.

Lydie was immediately making her way onto the other side of Y/Ns bed.

“She really woke up?” the maid asked and Kylo nodded silently.

“Just for a little while because she immediately came running to make things clear. She got dizzy shortly after.” he explained.

“I’m sorry for putting you through this, but you don’t have to worry now. Hith will take care of Hux.” he assured her.

“I’m just relieved that she is alright. And I understand why you had to do it, if Hux had noticed that we saw him as the suspect he might have tried to kill her again or you.” sitting down on a chair that a droid had brought her Lydie took a deep breath.

Hith and Indo joined them a few moments later, to wait with them until Y/N would finally wake up again. Even Umi sneaked into the infirmary and soon laid down next to her owner, gently pushing her head against Y/Ns hand before starting to purr.

Everyone who grew so important to her, was now by Y/Ns side when she needed them the most.

-

Tags: : @celestiaelisia  @sdavid09  @ayatimascd  @acunningstargazer  @agirlwithlonelymusic  @ev3e

[irrelevantwriter]

Mommy’s pregnant, Daddy’s sick, and Who’s in the basement?

Pairing: Negan x OFC, Non-apocalyptic AU

Rating: Explicit, NSFW, Mostly fluff

Warnings: Language, tiny bit of Daddy kink, pregnancy, vaginal fingering, hungover Negan, domestic Negan, lots of fluff

Word Count: 4.6K

Summary: Camilla is expecting. Negan is in rare form. And someone decides to show up unannounced.

A/N: Hey guys! This idea would not let me be and I’m not entirely sure why because there is literally nothing to it. I have a writing challenge piece to finish and I could not even touch it without getting this all down. Its fluffy with a dash of smut and hopefully now that it’s out I can get back to more important matters. Read, comment, and re-blog! Hope you all enjoy!

Masterlist in bio. 

***

Camilla stirred from sleep as a heavy arm tightened around her stomach. The heat radiating off the prone form made her pull away in displeasure. A low groan sounded from behind her, but no movement followed. She smiled softly at the action and went to fall back asleep but a distinct urge to use the bathroom had her throwing the comforter off her body.

Bleary eyes settled on the clock sitting on her nightstand.

8:15 am

It was early for a Sunday morning, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep. She padded on bare feet to the bathroom, careful not to wake her slumbering husband. She quickly used the facilities as quietly as possible, briefly noting that her once favorite night shirt was now starting to become tighter around her six month pregnant belly. The shirt actually belonged to her husband, but she’d stolen it years ago and cut the collar out so that it dangled off one shoulder. There was a time it nearly swallowed her, but now, like much of her wardrobe, the article of clothing was being invaded by her unborn child.

She made her way to the kitchen, laughing noiselessly at the man who lay sprawled on his stomach in just his boxers on their bed. The clothes he’d worn last night sat in a messy pile on the floor. It looked as if he’d barely gotten his pants off before he was diving face first into the king sized mattress. His head was turned towards her and she could hear his heavy breaths with random bouts of snoring filling the room. She could swear she saw a small line of drool leave his puckered lips.

Negan had come to bed early in the morning. She’d been jostled awake by his drunken striptease. He almost looked like Woody from Toy Story; his long limbs a hinderance in his altered state. When she’d turned to face him, she could instantly tell he’d been intoxicated. A lazy smirk had adorned his mouth. His cheeks were red with warmth and alcohol, his hair mused from his hands running through it. When he realized he’d woken her up he immediately tried to coax her into a two AM romp…she shut it down, though it was hard for her to do. She was six months pregnant and her hormones were running rampant inside of her body, but she couldn’t stomach the smell of whiskey on his breath or the scent of cigar smoke that clung to his skin. Not to mention the bastard had passed out when he’d been edging a thick finger past her panties.

Camilla scoffed at the memory as she put on a pot of coffee for her most likely hungover spouse. She started on breakfast, knowing Negan would be hungry when he woke. He was the kind of hungover person that needed to eat as much greasy food as possible to cure the sickness. She was more of a water and broth kind of gal when she was nursing a killer hangover, but to each his own. Greasy food just also happened to be what her baby boy was craving that morning, so she happily obliged.

The night before, Negan had hosted his weekly poker night with a few of his friends. The guys gathered in their finished basement, or as Negan liked to call it: ‘Big Daddy Dick’s Dwelling’. It was a heinous name, but anyone who knew Negan knew that it fit his personality (and from personal experience she knew the words to be true). And despite the constant threatening, none of his friends addressed it by the official name. She’d made a comment about changing the name when the baby arrived, but Negan assured her he’d only refer to it as ‘The Dwelling’. The man was persistent.

The smell of cooking bacon and coffee started to penetrate the air and Camilla could feel her mouth start to salivate. Her hunger never seemed to be satiated lately, in the kitchen or bedroom. She whisked eggs together for herself, but set two aside for Negan since he liked his over-easy. Hash browns sizzled in a pan next to the bacon while two pieces of toast popped from the toaster. She hummed to the radio she’d turned on as she cooked, focused on her mission of feeding her family.

Nearly an hour later a muffled moan from down the hall made her smirk as she cracked Negan’s eggs into the pan. She could hear his heavy feet shuffling as he made his way to her. A pair of thick arms encircled her from behind, large hands coming to rest on her stomach. His chin settled onto her shoulder, his scruff pricking her skin in a familiar manner.

“The dead has risen.” She teased, avoiding the pops of grease from the hot pan below her. He hummed against her, the action making his chest vibrate against her back.

“Fucking barely.” He groaned, his voice still gravelly from sleep and the cigars smoked the night before. It made a shiver travel up her spine. The effect the man had on her seem to triple in size now that she was carrying his child.

She laughed, remembering his actions the night before. Negan didn’t make it a habit of getting drunk. It was a fairly rare occurrence and now Camilla was annoyed with herself that she hadn’t thought to at least record the spectacle on her phone. The video could’ve been a source of real entertainment for her, as well as blackmail.

“At least you had the forethought to shower before you came to find me. You reeked last night.”

He leaned into her as he moved her dark hair to one side, molding their bodies tighter together as he planted a kiss on her exposed shoulder. “I’m sorry, baby. I know how sensitive you get to smells now.” He rubbed her stomach affectionately and she could hear the real apology in his voice.

Since the day she’d found out she was pregnant, Negan had been amazingly supportive of all her pregnancy ailments. He rolled with the punches and accommodated to a lot of things in the early months. She’d had morning sickness for weeks and he’d instantly stocked the fridge with ginger ale. When the smell of cooking beef became too much, he’d stopped buying and cooking the meat until the aversion wore off. She knew how hard that was for him. Negan was a steak man. But he understood she was carrying his child and he was going to make her as comfortable as possible. His words, not hers.

“It’s not so bad anymore. Although we’ll need to wash the sheets. I think whiskey was spewing out of your pores this morning.” She laughed as he released another groan, his large frame cocooning against her as she continued to cook.

“Don’t say whiskey.” He muttered gruffly.

Camilla moved his now cooked eggs to a plate and turned off all the burners. She turned in his arms, her own coming to rest around his neck. The only way she could reach was because he was hunched so far down. His face was a little off in color, but for the most part he appeared relatively normal, save for the miserable look reflecting in his eyes.

“Coffee?”

He nodded and she moved to pour a cup, dressing it the way he liked. Two sugars. No milk or cream. She handed the mug to him and watched as he took a sip, his eyes closing in pleasure.

“Thank you, baby.”

The raspy quality of his voice was doing things to her and she was fighting hard against the urge to let him take her over the counter.

She moved to stand in front of him again, craning her neck upward to meet his gaze. “Did you at least win last night?” She asked, an eyebrow arched in question.

“Fuck no. Rick and Ezekiel cleaned everybody out.” Negan pouted, his hands setting the cup of coffee behind her and coming to rest dangerously low on her back.

She tutted disapprovingly up at him, shaking her head in mock condemnation. “Momma doesn’t like losers.” She provoked, arms encircling his neck once again.

His eyebrows shot up and that gleam she loved so much appeared in his hazel eyes. “Will Momma let me make it up to her?” He asked huskily, his mouth already descending to the bare flesh of her neck.

Camilla allowed him access, unable to fight against the strong attraction her vagina was currently experiencing towards him. He’d come into the kitchen wearing a clean white t-shirt and low-hanging grey sweatpants. He may feel miserable, but he was oozing sex and her hormones were picking up on it.

“Maybe.” She finally breathed out, her heartbeat pounding in her ears as Negan continued to lather her neck with sensual kisses. His hands slid to her ass, pushing her into him gently. She could feel the situation fast-approaching the point of no return and she begrudgingly pulled away.

“Hungry?” She asked, hoping to diffuse the tension. Her question only fueled it. 

“Fucking starving.” Negan replied with a lavish lick of his lips, his eyes feasting on her body from top to bottom. The man had a way of making her feel completely naked while fully clothed. It was a real talent.

His hands went to pull her to his lips but she put a hand to his chest to stop him. “I made you breakfast.” She gestured to the food behind her and watched as his eyes took in the feast.

“You’re too fucking good to me, baby…” He trailed off as he kissed her. The kiss represented a different type of desire than the one that’d been present moments before. The kiss was sweet and filled with pure love. It was a thank you; a token of appreciation.

Camilla was breathless once they pulled apart, her fists tangled in the fabric of his shirt. She looked up at him between her lashes and she knew she looked completely dumbstruck.

“God, you are fucking gorgeous.” He whispered with an air of awe. The sincerity and seriousness of his tone made her blush, something she didn’t think she was capable of anymore since being married to Negan.

“You know,” She started, hands caressing the salt and pepper scruffiness that adorned his cheek. “This is exactly how I got pregnant. You flattering me and me letting you ravage me all over this house.”

He chuckled at her words. “I’m a man of many talents.”

“Except at winning poker.” She quipped with a smirk, enjoying his reaction. His eyebrow rose in amusement and surprise, his tongue poking into the side of his cheek.

“You’re full of jokes today, aren’t you?” He didn’t give her a chance to reply before he was hovering dangerously close to her lips. “I guess I still got some making up to do with Momma so I’ll let it slide.”

She smiled up at him, feeling his hands start to pull at the shirt she wore. His calloused hands felt delicious against her skin as he caressed her thighs. Again the situation was veering off course, but she was tired of fighting it. If she wanted to fuck her husband multiple times a day and accomplish nothing else, then she was fucking going to. He’d just have to adjust and keep up, you know, for the baby.

“Seeing you carrying my kid has made me the horniest son of a bitch.” He mumbled against her neck. Camilla moaned, her body receiving his attention willingly; nearly begging for it. It was as if he hadn’t just fucked her into oblivion the day before, which he had.

“Carrying your kid has made me the horniest son of a bitch.” She retorted breathlessly. Her hands moved under the fabric of his shirt, eager to feel bare flesh. He was solid where she was soft. He was hard edges where she was delicate curves. They complimented each other and yet, in many ways they were the same.

“Filthy fucking mouth on you…” He teasingly chastised, catching her earlobe between his teeth.

“You love it.”

He thrust his hips into her, letting her feel how true her words were. She hitched her leg around his waist, eager to feel the friction. He aided her movements by holding her against him and rutting into her.

“Fuck…” She trailed off, her sensitive body already building to that familiar crescendo. Negan loved how easily responsive her body had gotten during pregnancy and he often liked to test that by making her cum multiple times. It was fun for everyone.

A thick finger eased under the waistband of her panties, reminding her of his unfinished task the night before. She gripped his wrist and placed his finger at her entrance, her hips rocking forward to take him in.

“Impatient?” He goaded. Even in his hungover state, Negan made sure he tortured her. He got off on seeing her in such a blissed out state. She felt much the same where it concerned him, but patience was not a virtue for her as of late.

Camilla sighed in frustration as he traced her flesh, unwilling to go deeper and give her what she so desperately craved.

“Negan-,” She whined, unashamed of her attitude. He knew what he was doing. 

“I love how fucking wet you get for me.” He growled as he relented and pushed past her lips to massage her soaked walls. A moan flew from her lips, loud and almost comically enthusiastic.

Her nails dug into the skin of his back as he worked her over the way she liked. Since being pregnant, she found that the need for foreplay was useless and she much preferred Negan to go hard and fast. She craved the finish without extra theatrics. And Negan being Negan, happily obliged his darling wife.

A sudden low groan and shuffling of footsteps penetrated through Camilla’s lust-fueled fog. She tried hard to concentrate on the sounds, thinking she’d made a mistake. Negan seemed none the wiser, his fingers still fucking her with ridiculous precision. Her eyes searched beyond his shoulders for the source and she caught a shadow walking towards the kitchen. She yelped and pushed at Negan’s shoulders, trying to alert him to their intruder.

“Holy shit…”

It was another groan, as if someone was in pain. Camilla realized she knew that voice and before she could pull Negan’s hand from her underwear, Simon was standing at the entryway. His clothes were rumpled and somewhat askew, as if he’d slept in them. His hair was sitting at odd angles and his skin held the same pallor Negan’s had moments before.

He didn’t seem to catch on to what he’d walked in on. One hand was rubbing at his eyes, the other holding his head as if he was in agony. Camilla was thankful of his cluelessness as she and Negan adjusted their clothes. He pulled her to stand in front of him and she rolled her eyes upon feeling his raging hard-on poke her lower back.

“Simon, what the fuck?” Negan bellowed. He was pissed and Camilla noted she was only slightly turned on by that fact. Give it time and she knew she’d be a puddle.

Simon startled at Negan’s booming voice, both eyes now wide open and alert. He looked around in confusion, his ruffled moustache making him look like a character from the Three Stooges.

“Not so loud.” Simon grumbled, cradling his head again.

“What are you doing here, asshole? How the fuck did you get in?” Negan fired back, his voice only getting louder as he spoke. Camilla put a calming hand on his arm as she stepped back, finally able to move now that her husband’s erection was gone.

“What’d you mean?” Simon asked with bewilderment, his voice ravaged by sleep and tobacco as well.

He looked hilarious in his disheveled state and Camilla struggled not to giggle. The situation almost seemed like a glimpse into the future with their family, minus the half-balding man child. Negan was in full parent mode and Camilla was trying hard to focus on why Simon was randomly in their house and not on how sexy Negan sounded reprimanding his friend.

“What do I mean?” Negan mimicked back angrily. “What the fuck are you doing here at nine in the fucking morning?”

Simon held out his arms in surrender, obviously still confused by his friend’s strong reaction to his presence. His eyes flicked to Camilla in hopes that she’d offer some assistance. She imagined she gave the same puzzled expression he wore because he went back to trying to calm her husband.

“You said I could stay. Last night.”

The words seemed to jog something for Negan because he instantly shut up. She could see he was struggling to piece the previous night together. His jaw unclenched and his tongue did that thing where it darted out and wet his lips. It’s his normal go-to move for seduction, but Camilla had noticed over the years that he also did it when he was concentrating hard on something. It was adorable.

“I got pretty hammered and you said I could crash on the sofa bed downstairs.” Simon explained, his words finally seeming to spark something in Negan.

“Shit…” He breathed out, hazel eyes meeting her onyx gaze. She could tell he thought he was in trouble, and normally he probably would’ve been. But for some ungodly reason, Camilla found the whole thing humorous.

“So let me get this straight,” She started, eyeing both men with amusement. “You both got so plastered that you-,” She pointed to Negan. “Forgot that you invited him-,” She pointed to Simon. “To stay the night in our basement.” She finished, eyes darting between the two men.

Negan had the audacity to look slightly sheepish. “Sounds about right.” He admitted, his hand rubbing at the back of his neck guiltily. “Fuck, sorry baby.”

“Yeah, sorry Camilla.” Simon chimed in. To his credit he did look apologetic, even though it wasn’t his fault.

“It’s fine.” She waved them off with a laugh, but eyed Negan with a look that said he still had some groveling to do.

“I should head out.” Simon interrupted, suddenly looking embarrassed by the situation. He went to leave, but Camilla stopped him.

“No, stay. I made breakfast and you should eat before you drive.” She demanded, unwilling to take no for an answer. He looked to Negan, as if for confirmation but Camilla interjected. “Get Simon a cup of coffee, will you?” She directed to Negan. He knew better than to say otherwise and moved to the cupboard for a mug. Seemed like she had the parent thing down too.

“Stay, Simon. Have a cup of coffee. A bite to eat. Say your goodbyes. Because my wife is going to kick my ass once you leave.” Negan joked, though she could see he was half serious.

Simon chuckled and moved to sit at their dining table, gratefully accepting the warm coffee Negan handed to him.

Camilla scoffed and shoved at Negan’s shoulder. “Overdramatic much?” She teased as she moved to make Simon a plate of food, turning the burners on once again so she could scrounge up more for herself. She went to start about cooking again when she belatedly noticed what she was wearing. Suddenly, the length of her shirt felt too short and the tightness across her belly and breasts felt too revealing.

“Ummm...I’m gonna go change first.” She announced, garnering the attention of the two men sitting at the table. Negan seemed to catch on to her sudden awkwardness and jumped into action.  

“Have some fucking respect, man. Close your eyes.” Negan admonished with a light shove to Simon’s shoulder. Camilla shook her head. Discreet her husband was not.

“Not necessary now, Negan.” She deadpanned, but Simon was already holding a hand to his face to shield his eyes.

“Sorry!” Simon called out, looking ridiculous with half his face blocked from view. The image made her laugh.

“No worries. I’m gonna go change. You guys help yourself.” She gestured to the food and moved towards their bedroom. She could hear Negan get up and say something before he was following her down the hall.

“Need help?”

Camilla pulled off her night shirt and started to put on a black bra. She turned to answer her husband who was leaning in the doorway looking sexy as fuck.

“Sure.”

She turned her back towards him and waited. His footsteps moved closer until he was standing with his chest practically pressed against her back. His warm hands pulled the two halves of her bra together, clipping the clasps in a few swift movements. She adjusted her ever-growing breasts in the cups and turned to face him. 

“Thanks.”

He was eyeing her with a glint in his orbs that made her thighs clench. He knew he had some recent missteps and he was apparently going to try to make it up to her now. 

“I’m sorry for being a drunk piece of shit last night.” He apologized as he reached for her. She let him pull her in his arms, soaking up his affection like a house cat.

“I’m not mad, Negan. I’m annoyed. And it’s not because you got drunk.” Camilla explained against his wide chest. He pulled her chin so that her face was angled towards his, her lips ripe for the taking.

His questioning gaze made her continue on.

“Do you know what it does to a pregnant woman when you don’t finish what you start?”

Again he said nothing, but his eyes lit up and his lips cracked a wide grin.

“You can’t do that to me! I’m ready to cum if I sneeze at this point.” She grumbled, not liking the way he was finding amusement in her pain. Though she supposed she deserved it for her teasing of him earlier. Karma was in fact a real bitch.

“Oh my poor nymphomaniac…” Negan cooed, his hands cradling her head against his chest like he was comforting her.

“Not funny, dick.” She pushed away from him and went to finish getting dressed when he tugged her to him. He caught her just before she slammed against him, but it was enough to throw her off balance. His hands were suddenly everywhere. One was palming her ass while the other made its way under the lace of her panties and into her depths.

“Daddy owes you one.” He taunted, two fingers deep in her pussy while another teased her clit. She dug her nails into his shoulders, making sure he felt the sting of pain. He did.

“Negan,” She began, unable to focus on stringing her words together. “Simon is in…fuck…” She felt her walls start to flutter around his fingers, felt his lips suction against her heaving breast, felt his hand dig into the flesh of her ass.

“Don’t worry about it, baby. Lemme take care of you.”

His words set her off. She froze and tightened around him, sparks of light dancing behind her eyelids. His smell engulfed her. His touch set her on fire. His voice encouraged her. She was finally reaching that crescendo that’d been just out of reach. Her muscles spasmed and Negan’s hot breath in her ear made her whimper, her walls soaking him to capacity.

“Goddamn…I’ll never get sick of seeing you like that.” He mumbled against her now flushed skin, his grip loosening. He gently eased out of her, careful of how sensitive she was.

Camilla gasped at the loss of him, but felt her insides hum with life again when he licked himself clean of her.

“Bastard.” She said in faux aggravation. His teasing was merciless and she planned on making him pay for his sins later.

“Aw…you say the sweetest things to me.” He laughed, mirth dancing in his eyes. “No thank you?”

Camilla pouted her lips, her signal to let him know she wanted a kiss. He delivered. His tongue danced with hers, her lips devouring his like he was the sweetest chocolate to hit her taste buds. Her fingers ran through his hair and she nibbled on his lip just the way he liked. He responded by rubbing against her, his dick hard and ready to feel her clasping at him.

They pulled apart and Camilla mentally patted herself on the back when she saw the goofy look Negan was wearing.

“Thank you.” She said, lips now swollen and chaffed from his stubble. She walked around him and picked out a pair of sweats and a t-shirt to change into.

“Smartass.” Negan retorted, eyes watching her dress like he hadn’t just finger fucked her minutes before.

She smiled triumphantly as she pulled her shirt over her head, ignoring the way he feasted on her half-dressed body. Being pregnant was certainly having an effect on her husband’s libido too. You’d think he had pregnancy hormones coursing his veins.

She finished dressing and turned to face him, waving him towards the door. “Come on. Your son is hungry.”

Negan immediately attached himself to her rounded stomach, caressing her flesh as if their son was already in his arms.

“You sit and I’ll make you a plate.” He gently demanded. Camilla wasn’t going to argue, especially when her heart still stuttered after he said and did such sweet things for her.

They walked hand-in-hand to the kitchen, but upon turning the corner they found the room empty.

“Where’d he go?” She asked, though she knew her husband had about as much of an idea as she did.

Negan walked to the table where Simon had been sitting and grabbed a piece of paper she hadn’t noticed. She watched as he read whatever words were printed on the sheet before laughing heartily.

“What’s it say? Is it from Simon?” She questioned, eager to know what he found so funny. He handed her the note and she read it silently.

Took a plate to go. You guys took too long and by the sounds Camilla was making, I’m guessing you didn’t need me to stick around anyways. Thanks for letting me crash and the food.

Camilla wanted to be mortified, but couldn’t conjure up the emotion. Instead, she laughed along with Negan, clutching the paper to her chest.

“Oh my god…” She said between giggles.

“Well, guess he got more than he fucking bargained for.” Negan chuckled, pulling Camilla with him onto his lap as he sat in a chair.

“Guess so.” She agreed, nestling herself into Negan’s chest and neck. Her eyes suddenly felt heavy and her limbs felt utterly relaxed. Negan’s hand in her hair didn’t help matters either. His heartbeat sounded beneath her, the warmth of him further soothing her.

“Need a nap?” His chest rumbled against her as he spoke. She was tired, but the promise of food still kept her conscious.

“Food first.” She mumbled, fingers playing with the hem of his t-shirt. They sat in comfortable silence until a movement within her belly made her smile. She wordlessly placed Negan’s hand on the spot where their child was making his presence known. She didn’t have to look up to see the smile that adorned his face. She could feel it. She had the image painted in her mind for eternity.

“I fucking love you. Both of you.”

Camilla squeezed his hand that sat beneath hers. Her heart felt like it doubled in size in that moment. As hot as the fire of desire burned for him, the extent of their love was immeasurable. It was what made their two souls partners in life. It was what had made a family. 

“I love you too.”

[x5red]

Sixty fun & fascinating facts about the classic Supergirl (4 / 4)

At last, the final fifteen fun facts in a series to mark the sixtieth anniversary of Kara Zor-El’s debut in DC Comics. This is the last batch of Supergirl info-nuggets, bringing the trivia total up to sixty, one for each year since her introduction.

As before, each snippet of data relates to the original Supergirl, the intrepid Argo City teen who leapt from that crumpled Midvale rocket ship. Covering her original Silver and Bronze Age incarnation, in comics and on screen, each factoid is calculated to intrigue and delight – hopefully even seasoned Kara fans will find a few morsels of trivia that had previously escaped their attention.

So, one last time: enjoy…

46. At one point she was blacklisted from being mentioned in DC publications.

In 1985 to mark its 50th comicbook publishing anniversary DC Comics launched a mini-series, Crisis on Infinite Earths, that sought to rejig its entire fictional universe to better address the new, more mature, direct sales audience. Childish elements were removed and iconic characters rebooted. Superman was to be recast as the only survivor of Krypton, meaning Supergirl not only had to die but be erased from all past events too. DC, however, decided that erasing Kara from fictional history was simple not cruel enough -- in a move straight out of a George Orwell novel DC airbrushed her from in-real-life history too.

Supergirl became she who shall not be named, seemingly banned from being mentioned, even in the editorial pages. When DC couldn’t avoid using her name, as happened in Secret Origins #42 (July 1989) when discussing Phantom Girl’s first appearance, they masked it with asterisks like an expletive -- ”S*P*RG*RL”. DC even went as far as to exclude Kara from a bio of writer Paul Kupperberg in the pages of Power Girl #2 (July 1988), despite Kupperberg‘s long tenure as Supergirl’s chief writer, and Power Girl being a parallel-universe re-imagining of Kara. Yet the Maid of Might remained popular with at least some DC staffers, as Alan Brennert proved when Kara made a highly unauthorised crafty cameo in his Deadman story inside Christmas with the Super-Heroes #2 (1989) -- Brennert only avoided censorship thanks to DC editor-in-chief Dick Giordano volunteering himself to do the story’s artwork.

47. Prior to her role as Supergirl, Helen Slater had struggled with eating disorders.

In an obscure 1988 interview for UK tv with psychologist Oliver James, Helen Slater talked frankly about how winning the role of Supergirl helped in her ongoing battle with Anorexia and Bulimia. Asked about the cause of the conditions, “Control was one part of it”, Slater admitted, adding, “I think Bulimia especially, which I did suffer from from 13 [...] is a lot to do with not having a safe space to express anger.” She went on to credit her Supergirl fitness trainer, Alf Joint (“the most beautiful man in the world”) with overcoming some of her fears around food by using Chocolate Brazils (chocolate dipped nuts) as positive reinforcement after a hard training session.

48. She celebrated her 75th birthday in 2018.

It is generally accepted that Kara Zor-El’s birthday, when using the Gregorian calendar on Earth, is 22nd September. That date comes from a reply to a reader’s letter published in Adventure Comics #389 (Feb 1970), but said reply didn’t give the year of Kara’s birth, meaning readers couldn’t work out Kara’s age. (“One should never trust a woman who tells one her real age”, wrote Oscar Wilde, ”A woman who would do that would tell anything.”) Fortunately a little bit of detective work means that fans can work it out. A story in Action Comics #305 (Oct 1963) gives the date of Kara’s arrival on Earth as 18th May 1959, and both the Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #1 (Nov 1982) and Action Comics #270 (Nov 1960) suggest that Kara was 15 years old when she landed. This means that she was born in 1943. So, as of her most recent birthday at the time of writing (22nd September 2018), she would require 75 candles on her birthday cake. Good thing she has Kryptonian super-lungs..!

49. Her nickname was Hot Dog.

Every fan knows that Kara Zor-El is Supergirl, and that Supergirl is Linda Lee Danvers, but how many fans know that Linda Lee Danvers was also... “Hot Dog”..?!?!!

Yup, that was her name when she was dating Philip Decker, music conductor and part-time lecturer at Lake Shore University, Chicago. The pair’s romance had blossomed in the pages of Supergirl Vol. 2 thanks to a shared love of Jazz music, and they spent an increasing amount of time together in each other’s apartments. It was during one such session of intense snuggling that Philip let slip his nickname for Linda: “Hot Dog”, a name what was met with uncontrollable giggles from Linda.

50. Her makeup bag hid a couple of super secrets.

Of course, if you’re one of the world’s greatest superheroes it is important to look your best when saving the world, but Kara’s beauty kit not only helped keep her looking immaculate while fighting injustice, but also concealed a couple of tricks to keep her dual identity a secret too. In Action Comics #270 (Nov 1960) Kara celebrated her sixteenth birthday. Her gift from the Man of Steel was an innocent looking lipstick which, in reality, hid a secret compartment to stash her super-compressed costume. “If you ever have to conceal your costume quickly, or remove it to go swimming...”, explains Superman (perhaps anticipating other activities that a young woman might get up to that could require stripping off clothing.)

Years later, in Supergirl Vol. 2 #17 (Mar 1984), Kara added more secrets to her makeup bag when she finally decided to ditch her brunette Linda Danvers wig. She still needed a way to switch from Supergirl’s flowing blonde locks to Linda’s brunette bob, of course, and the alternative she devised was a special energized comb that reacted with colour-sensitive molecules to instantly transform her hair’s style and colour. Clever stuff..!

51. She and Brainiac 5 weren’t really an item.

Despite now being firmly romantically linked in the eyes of many comic fans, Brainiac 5 and Supergirl’s relationship only really became serious during the 1990s Earth Angel era. Back in the Silver Age, when the pair first met in Action Comics #276 (Apr 1961), Kara was initially weary of Brainy, recognising his family resemblance to Superman’s arch foe. Her attitude softened, however, as the story unfolded, even calling him “sweet” by its close. As the years rolled by Brainy is clearly smitten by Kara, but she rarely reciprocated his affections. Finally, in Legion of Super-Heroes Vol. 2 #294 (Dec 1982), Brainy brings matters to a close: “You remember that crush I had on you? [...] I think I’ve finally worked it out of my system.”. In response Kara teases, “Really? What a shame. Here I was, starting to think how cute you were.” (Needless to say, Brainy is left dumbfounded as Kara promptly flies off.)

Kara dated numerous men during the Silver and Bronze Age, including long-term relationships with Dick Malverne and Philip Decker, but these were generally in her Linda Danvers identity. Brainy is the closest thing “Supergirl” came to a boyfriend -- perhaps that’s why some fans like to focus more on him rather than Linda’s beaus.

52. She was a fan of The Bionic Woman.

One of the problems of being a superhero is that your evenings are often taken up saving the world, leaving little time to catch up with popular tv shows. But on her odd evenings off-duty, what was likely to be on the Maid of Might’s tv screen? Unsurprisingly, Kara seems to have been a fan of superheroine shows, as demonstrated by comments in Superman Family #184 (July 1977) while she was battling an unnaturally fierce electrical storm in the skies over Santa Augusta. “Great way to spend an evening out”, complains a frustrated Girl of Steel, “If this storm doesn’t let up, I’ll miss ‘The Bionic Woman--!’”

53. She was a big fan of seat belts and personal computers, apparently.

Being a superhero doesn’t pay very much, if anything at all. That’s why DC Comics always liked to line up product endorsements for its big stars, and the Girl of Steel was no exception. Supergirl’s first apparent appearance in adverts (outside of selling DC’s own magazines) was in a late 70s commercial for kid’s underwear, but pretty soon DC had secured more prestigious work for Kara when in 1981 they had her extol the virtues of Tandy’s new line of 8 bit micro computers. More important work came in the mid-80s, when Kara teamed up with Honda and the US Department of Transportation to promote the adoption of car seat belts. The Maid of Might appeared in two full-length give-away comics (and on-screen Helen Slater even appeared as Supergirl in a tv advert.) Kara was so committed to the cause of road safety that she even did the second give-away comic after her death in Crisis on Infinite Earths -- now that’s dedication for you..!

54. Only one woman worked on her comic-strip during the entire Silver and Bronze age.

It is a sad reflection of the industry in the 60s and 70s that if one totals up all the writers, artists, and editors, who worked on the Supergirl strip during the Silver and Bronze Age, there’s only one female name on the list: Dorothy Woolfolk. Editor for Supergirl Vol. 1 #1 (Nov 1972) only -- yup, a single issue -- Dorothy launched the Girl of Steel into her first self-titled comicbook before giving way to industry veteran Robert Kanigher for issue #2. Allegedly a larger-than-life figure, Dorothy was a rare example of DC allowing a woman to work outside of the romance genre during the Golden and Silver Age; she is even credited by some with suggesting the idea of Kryptonite to Superman writer Jerry Siegel.

(Away from Supergirl’s own strip, two other women briefly worked as editors on comics featuring the Girl of Steel in a guest capacity. Karen Berger and Laurie Sutton both edited 1980s Legion of Super-Heroes issues containing Kara cameos.)

55. Her most iconic costume contained a pair of clocks.

The problem with slinky skin-tight superhero costumes is that they don’t leave much room for the practical necessities of life... like pockets... or watches. But that never stopped the Girl of Steel from sneaking a few hidden practical elements into her outfits. Most fans know that the inner lining of her cape hides a secret pocket (where she stashes her everyday clothes when out superhero-ing), but how many fans realised that the three discs aligned over each hip on her iconic 70s hot pants outfit actually acted as a pair of clocks? According to Krypton Chronicles #2 (Oct 1981), by placing three fingers on the discs over her right hip Kara is telepathically informed of the time in New York (her then home), while the same action on her left hip reports the time in Kandor (Krypton’s capital, famously miniaturised in a bottle by Brainiac.)

56. The USA was actually one of the last countries to see the Supergirl movie.

The Girl of Steel may have been able to zip around the world in an instant, but apparently her movie couldn’t. After opening on Thursday 19th July 1984 in the United Kingdom, then days later in Ireland and Japan, the movie slowly made its way around the world, opening in the Philippines, Australia, and Spain during August, and then France and Canada during October. By mid-November, however, American audiences were yet to see the Maid of Might grace cinema screens.

The delay was caused by Warner Bros. withdrawing from its US distribution deal near the end of production, causing producers to scramble for a replacement. Eventually, on Wednesday 21st November -- over four months after the UK debut -- the Supergirl movie hit US cinema theatres thanks to fledgling distributor TriStar Pictures, but with almost 20 minutes of material chopped out. It wasn’t until 1998 that the full international cut was legitimately available in the US thanks to an Anchor Bay VHS video release.

57. She was Wonder Woman’s sister.

Incredible as it may seem, for a brief period Supergirl was Wonder Woman’s sister. The incident happened in Supergirl Vol. 1 #9 (Dec 1973) after Kara finally had enough of being two-timed by boyfriends as Linda Danvers, and hit upon by men as Supergirl. When Kara bravely rescues an Amazon warrior ship under attack by fierce sea creatures, Queen Hippolyta offers to adopt her as a daughter, making Kara the sister of Princess Diana (aka Wonder Woman.) Realising that the Amazon’s island home is free of men, Kara accepts, but a medical emergency forces her back out into the Man’s World to seek the ingredients for a serum. With the emergency over, Kara considers that maybe she was too hasty in turning her back on all men, and leaves her new Amazon home to give them a second chance.

58. She valued her privacy.

When you have as many extraordinary abilities as the Girl of Steel, the usual fears and phobias just don’t apply. Why be afraid of heights when you can fly? Why be afraid of snakes when your skin is not only fang proof, but bullet proof? But Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #4 (Feb 1983) revealed that there’s one thing guaranteed to make Kara Zor-El flee in terror -- fear of having her everyday identity exposed. The issue sees Kara hypnotised into seeing her greatest fear by the villain Ms. Mesmer: as a result Supergirl continually sees her Linda Danvers identity reflected back at her in windows and mirrors. Convinced that everyone can see through her disguise, Kara seeks solace with her adopted parents. It is only thanks to the calming influence of her mother, Edna Danvers, that Kara has the courage to go back out onto the streets as Supergirl to defeat Ms. Mesmer.

59. Her first kiss was with a very hirsute Jimmy Olsen.

The opening season of the Supergirl tv show teased a possible romance between Kara and James Olsen, and in some ways this echos very early Supergirl stories where the pair were occasionally seen as a potential love-match. Indeed Jimmy Olsen was actually Kara’s first kiss, although the event came about in a highly unorthodox way. The pages of Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #44 (Apr 1960) saw Jimmy transformed into a werewolf, and Superman reasons that the curse can only be lifted by the kiss of a young girl. In steps a fifteen year old Kara Zor-El, who gives the cub reporter a delicate peck on the lips, reversing the spell. A year later Jimmy managed to turn himself into a werewolf for a second time(!) in Superman's Pal Jimmy Olsen #52 (Apr 1961), but Kara’s kiss proved ineffective that time.

60. She didn’t entirely die in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Obviously it is a matter of record that the original Kara Zor-El gave up her life in Crisis on Infinite Earths #7 (Oct 1985) – at least until DC later saw fit to retcon that particular story line – but in their attempts to erase the Maid of Might from existence, DC had forgotten about a rather inconvenient story published just a year before, in Supergirl Vol. 2 #19 (May 1984).

The tale dealt with a Supergirl clone who had assumed the identity of Linda Danvers. The clone had no super powers, but she did have all of Kara’s memories and personality. The story ends with a twist: rather than take the easy way out by having clone-Kara conveniently fall under the wheels of a speeding bus, writer Paul Kupperberg has the two Kara’s work out a deal. ”It’s a big world out there… with plenty of room for two people with this face!“, explains Supergirl, “We can find a place for you… a name of your own…” And with that the two Karas go their separate ways, meaning that although superpowered-Kara may have surrendered her life in Crisis, powerless-Kara (her clone) presumably continued to live out a regular life anonymously somewhere in America.

And that’s it -- all sixty..! Thanks for reading, Hope you enjoyed the series and learned at least a few snippets of trivia along the way that you found amusing or thought-provoking.

Don’t forget to come back in 2048, when it will be time to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Matrix Supergirl... Or maybe not..!

[themiddlelayer]

Just when you think it’s getting better...

Maybe it’s all of the cosmic activity... all of the retrogrades and all that. Maybe it’s the space between therapy sessions. Maybe it’s the drop in energy from My Mr. because of him getting assigned real work for the first time in awhile. Whatever it is, it sucks! 

I officially moved back into the master bedroom over the weekend. I’d been sleeping in there for about a week and I knew it was time when I got up to go to the bathroom and went into the master and not the hall bathroom. It’s the little things. We re-rearranged the room with the new furniture so my vanity and mirror would fit. He reorganized the closet so I’ve got my side back and I cleaned almost everything out of the guest room just in time for Smalls to come crash in the middle of the night. 

I started school last week, finally working on my Bachelor’s degree in psychology. I’m taking Applied History and BIO: Anatomy/Physiology... I’m liking history and hating BIO. Hopefully I’ll get a good routine down so I don’t end up chained to my desk for such long stretches. 

The thing with Tampa is kind of a thing, and kinda not since I’m not officially “dating” again, but we had sushi last week and ended up sitting and talking for over 3 hours. Aside from totally being my type physically- big, broad chested, bald with a beard... he’s ridiculously smart. There was a goodbye kiss, but just a kiss: not kisses, not kissing... but I’d be lying if I said that was all I wanted. The next morning he messaged me asking if I’d put a spell on him because he never opens up so quickly. 

Saturday morning I woke up in full-blown PTSD mode after having nightmares. It used to be that my nightmares were all about ExH and the kinds of things he did during our marriage. This time the nightmare was about My Mr. In the dream, Pixie came to me upset because he’d stopped seeing her when I moved back into the bedroom. In my dream, he had been seeing her behind my back, even after we starting having sleepovers. Physically, I was absolutely triggered to the hilt. I could feel all of the pain and anger of the things from my dream and couldn’t talk myself through it. Cognitively, I knew it wasn’t real, but my body was reacting as though it had actually happened. 

It was how My Mr. handled things that showed me that I made the right choice in coming all the way back home. He held me and let me cry, offered a spanking (which is not his thing, but is something that helps me a lot) and ended up giving me a massage before taking me to breakfast. When we got home, he worked on hanging the mirror from the dresser on the wall and hung up the sex swing that had been in a box for over a year. I’ve got to tell you... you haven’t lived until you’ve gotten into full “Superman” pose and laughed in a sex swing! 

I spent almost all of Sunday at my desk doing schoolwork and did a sensory deprivation tank thing yesterday. Tampa had mentioned that the “floats” do wonders for his PTSD and I found a Groupon for the same place he goes. I’d been looking forward to it for weeks and have put off coloring my hair and getting a tattoo so I could go enjoy it. It wasn’t worth the hype...

The place is in the mall and I had trouble finding it on the mall directory. Tampa gave me a store for a landmark but I parked and walked in on the wrong side of that store. The interactive map was not helpful so after walking in circles, I called them and found it. My anxiety was through the roof by that point. 

The room was nice enough, but I was told I would have 5 minutes to get undressed and shower before my time in the pod would start. At the end of it, I had 5 minutes to shower, wash my hair and get dressed again. There were no clocks and my sense of time sucks, so I felt rushed and stressed. Inside the pod, I couldn’t relax. Even taking a full, deep breath was nearly impossible and... fun fact! breast implants can fall much further back than I realized, which hurt. A lot. By the time I found a way to hold them and still relax a little, the music started up again indicating my pod time was almost up. I, of course, shot right out and hit the shower. The light and sound of the pumps were overwhelming, which took me right back up to the verge of a panic attack. I managed to get myself together, get a Jamba juice and get to my car before melting down. I cried most of the way home. 

I tried so hard to shut down the voice in my head chastising me for not being able to relax and calling me a failure because I can’t even succeed in the act of doing and thinking nothing for a few minutes without medication. I know that if someone else drove me and I had an edible before going in that I might be able to reap some benefit, but I’m not going back until my next round of hair color fades. 

Last night was another rough one- I tossed and turned and had night sweats (those are back again) and had another nightmare- this one about My Mr. and Queen Bee. Fortunately the details had escaped me and I’d come down a bit before being woke up by a phone call. My mammogram results warranted additional screening, but I have to figure out how to be sure my insurance will cover it. 

I’m on edge and really want to just go back to bed. It’s too hot to go for a walk but I may attempt another TRE session here in a bit. I’ve got to get started on this week’s schoolwork and Smalls is supposed to be coming up to meet me for lunch in a few hours. I hate this. 

I’m afraid that I’m pushing myself too hard and at the same time, feel like I’m being lazy about things. I haven’t gotten a reply from the insurance company about my disability claim, but was approved under FMLA until August by work. That means I get to keep my vision and dental insurance at the same rate I’d been paying. That meant that I got to order a pair of bifocals last week because despite my distance vision barely changing, I need reading glasses now. I’ve already got 2 new pairs that I ordered online- one awesome pair of red glasses for distance and another more subdued reddish/purplish pair for reading. I guess getting older means new accessories! I’ll look at it that way. 

Schoolwork is going to have to wait again. I’ve got an appointment tomorrow but the rest of my week is open so I know I’ve got the time. Right now, I don’t have it in me to do more than check my school e-mail and clear some notifications. Smalls is prone to last-minute cancellations, so if she does then I’ll try again later after I’ve done some cleaning. Physical movement is the only way out of this feeling right now. The other things that balance me out are unavailable right now, but maybe I’ll try to get out for a small tattoo after my appointment tomorrow. That always helps! 

Self-awareness sucks. But here I go... 

[smallhatlogan]

do you have any theories about what pandora was like before it became populated by humans/taken over by corporations/etc.? i think all the giant skeletons scattered throughout the world and dried up areas that were once oceans are super cool but we don't have much info on pandora's history which makes me :/

Oh boy, I actually think about this all the time? I love natural history topics and speculating about the Eridians.

(I accidentally wrote a small essay and I’m putting it under a cut and I didn’t edit at all so hopefully this is remotely readable) 

Okay so Sanctuary has apparently been in the ground for a few centuries so people have apparently been on Pandora for quite some time? Pandora has some wacky shit going on with seasons and rapidly changing environments, which would explain a lot of those giant skeletons. Places like Oasis seem to have only dried up a relatively short period ago (Judging by the Pierfest signs it’s probably been less than a hundred years? It seems implied that it was surrounded by ocean only few years ago, but it also could have been dry for much longer and they just had another water source that gave out?), and the Southern Shelf is confirmed to have frozen less than 5 earth years before BL2. 

I think it’s pretty likely that over the course of Pandora seasons (idk if it’s still canon but I think in the first game it was said that a Pandoran year lasts 10 Earth years?) the environment just rapidly changes and this is the main cause of the death for these giant fish, skags, and lizard-looking things. 

That said, I feel like those giant skeletons are pretty old partially because that supports my “Decomposition is broken on Pandora” theory (I know a lot of video games tend to just occasionally just ignore logical decomposition, but Borderlands does it SO MUCH and to such a extreme degree? Plus I think it makes for interesting world-building if on Pandora the organisms that facilitate faster decomposition don’t survive well or the eridium in the atmosphere acts as a preservative, and bodies instead are mainly broken down by larger scavengers. I hold this theory so close to my heart). 

Maybe they age from a time similar to back when earth had dinosaurs? Like the biggest modern skags we see are skagzilla and Dukino’s mom and they’re still smaller than some of these skags. Or maybe even now there’s just occasionally Skags that big, and they just grown indefinitely provided they have enough food. There’s probably still some massive fucking fish in Pandora’s oceans because I think the ocean needs to be at least 10 times scarier than the land as a rule.

But yeah I guess that’s what I’ve got for the environmental side of things. 

Eridian side, though, oh boy.

Eridians were so stupidly technologically advanced that they very well could have created the entire damned planet and bio-engineered all the life on it (perhaps experimentally, to play god for the fun of it, or maybe the life itself acts as some kind of power source?). Which makes sense, for one, the inside of Elpis is pretty chock full of Eridian stuff, maybe it wasn’t built in there, but instead built along with the rest of Elpis? And secondly why the heck else would there be so much goddamn Eridium- their power source- in Pandora? I honestly don’t think eridium is naturally occurring. An idea that also lends itself to the idea that the Eridians were SUPER FUCKED UP? 

 Okay like we’re really not given a lot to go off of regarding their society or pretty much, anything about them? So I’m using literary parallels to come up with my own, possibly completely wild theories. 

By literary parallels, I mean that racist piece of shit, HP Lovecraft (who, admittedly, has a lot to draw on when it comes to sci fi, and tbh it’s always nice to see his works taken and reshaped into something better, with messages he would have hated):

-Ancient advanced alien race. Mysteriously wiped out without a trace (except maybe not) (also I did not mean for that to rhyme)

-Eridium drives people insane. IMO I don’t think this is mental illness or from damage to the brain (partially wishful thinking because, obviously, making the mentally ill folk the ones running around with buzzaxes screaming about murder and attacking people is just bad). I think there’s something sinister behind eridium. Those voices you hear when Krieg goes into Release the Beast might not all be from his brain? Maybe Eridium has a life of its own? Maybe this is some “soylent green is people” shit except with eridians?

-Eridians were very clearly warlike. Most of what remains of their civilization besides the ruins are weapons. Either they fought among themselves or against another alien species? If the latter, they really obliterated them to the point we have no evidence of them, (but tbh it seems fitting). It seems to me they were conquerers, and the now human-inhabited planets were once their empire.

-Also okay the Destroyer just looks like a lot of depictions of Yog-Sothoth

-They seem to have been religious? All of their ruins resemble temples or shrines. Heck, there’s even an element of blood sacrifice, considering the Vault in Badass Crater?

-This isn’t necessarily canon, but I think it’s an interesting thing to consider: In the Tannis comic she mentions they had some real fucked up math system where they could “count in six directions” and stuff. And they’re language has no word for “year” or “time”. 

-Heck, Tannis, the one who knows the most about this stuff, is also insane. That’s pretty thematically in-line with Lovecraft. 

There’s two of Lovecraft’s creations that I feel like it’s easy to draw parallels to with the Eridians? 

-Elder Things: Alien creatures who resided on earth long before humans. They were ridiculously technologically advanced, warred against other aliens, and capable of creating other lifeforms via bioengineering. One such lifeform was the Shoggoth, an originally nonsentient creature intended to serve the Elder Things. Over time this creature evolved and rebelled against their former masters, playing a huge role in their extinction. The Eridians also could have easily been wiped out by their own creations, whether the Guardians, or a Vault monster? 

-The Great Race of Yith: Also extremely technologically advanced alien creatures that inhabited earth a longass time ago. These guys are continuously traveling through time via swapping their consciousnesses with beings from other time periods, in an effort to escape their doom. Now, I don’t think the Eridians had that ability (though hey, maybe they did and instead of the Guardians only being creations they were formerly host to Eridian minds? They’re so goddamned mysterious I’m willing to entertain anything), but it seems entirely possible (Maybe even probable, considering The Watcher’s warnings) that they’re capable of time travel and could have not gone extinct at all, just fled through time. Maybe the human race is finally catching up to their point of re-entry into the time stream, or they’re about to encounter whatever it was the Eridians were fleeing. 

Heck maybe the Eridians themselves are what the Watcher is warning them about, and the Watcher is betraying their own race (or maybe they’re not actually an Eridian at all, and maybe everything we think we know about how they look is wrong. Like I said, we super don’t have a lot of concrete information and also I love to speculate on everything). 

Actually, I could probably write an entire other list of theories based on greek mythology parallels. I won’t but the name “Eridian” presumably comes from I won’t, but I’ll mention the name “Eridian” presumably comes from “Eris” (fittingly, what with all the bloodshed surrounding the Vaults). 

TL:DR I feel like the Eridians were probably super bad dudes and/or pulled an Icarus and wiped themselves out with their own creations. They also probably have some sinister Eldritch god shit going on. 

They may have built Pandora and Elpis, partially just as a place to keep their superweapons? 

[laketaj24]

29, 30, and 74 for Ubbe

Yay!!! I’ve been waiting on releasing my next Ubbe Series and this might just be the perfect time to. He will have a Songbook Series, Simply entitled Songbook Series: Ubbe, similar to what I have done for Erik. 

The first installment is based off of a Ed Sheeran song called Friends. Listen HERE!!! This taglist will be open and I will tag some regulars!! My Ubbe love runs deep. Brace yourself for the ride. 

Songbook Series: Ubbe: Friends

It was simple. UbbeLothbrok was not good for you. He had a way of finagling his way into your hearteven when you knew that it was doomed. He sat at the table across from youdiscussing some random numbers with your dad. It was bad that they workedtogether. Because quite often Ubbe found a way to get to you where you couldn’twonder away from him. Like this dinner table.

“I totally agree with you, it would be extremely more rationalto use solar energy rather than natural resources. We ‘re depleting the earth’sresources, why not use the source of energy that grows trees.” Your dad cutsinto his steak shaking hi head avidly at Ubbe who has simply made his day fromone sentence. What about you Y/N?”

“I stopped listening when you said something about nuclearenergy and math.” You admitted as you sip your wine. How did this demon findhis way to the Sunday table? Your parents loved house guest.

“Of course, you did.” He wipes his mouth and chucklespointing at Ubbe. “He has a good way of teaching things, it might help you inthat bio class. Ubbe you think you could teach her something?”

“I wouldn’t mind helping her at all.” Ubbe’s gives you aknowing look and you stand from the table. “Leaving so soon?”

“I have a final and my uber is here.” You kiss your dad’scheek and maneuver to your mother in the kitchen watching her juggle rinsingdishes and dessert. “Mom, I have to head out.”

“Okay, you want a to go plate?”

Ubbe is behind you quicker than you think placing his platein the water and handing her your father’s. “Y/N, I can give you a ride home. Idon’t mind.”

Persistent bastard. His hair was somehow messy and neatfalling to his face but just in the right place. It didn’t cover his eyes andthose eyes were not to be covered. He stood beside you folding his arms againsthis chest as leaned against the counter, and he awaited your reply. “I will passthis time.”

“Nonsense let him take you. WE know him and would muchrather you go with someone who actually cares for you. And we know he livesclose by, be a doll ride with him.” Your mom wasn’t crazy. She knew what shewas doing. She smiles never looking up from her dish and you feel it. The ridehome was going to be ridiculously awkward.

“Sure, thanks Ubbe. I appreciate it.”

Having won the small victory, he grabs his wallet and wavesto your parents. “Come on, hopefully we can beat traffic.”

There was no reason you truly couldn’t be with Ubbe. Andthere had been several times you and he had done things that friends never done.The first occasion being your twenty-first birthday party. You wanted to say itwas all the liquor but from the moment he hit the door wearing his white shirtand jeans you were doomed. It didn’t help that his eyes never left yours with themusic pulsating around you, hip thrusting and hands touching, you’d nearly fuckedhim on the dance floor. He leads you away from the place and you could still rememberthe way his lips felt on yours Full, soft and perfect.

Your eyes are hooked on the road. There is no way in hellyou can fuck him again. He was around the family too much to be the guy youwanted to jump on. “You never answered my text.” He said skipping the smalltalk.

“I didn’t have an answer.”

“Yes or no would have been just fine.” His eyes are also lockedon the road as he grips the steering wheel. “Did I do something to you?” Hewhispers and you feel a tad bit of guilt seep into your heart. He’d donenothing and it wasn’t fair.

“Nothing, I just don’t…” Your voice wanders for a second. “Idon’t want to mess up things between us Ubbe. We have always been greatfriends. Always been people who can talk to one another without…”

“Do you know how many times we have slept together?” Heasked.

“No.”

“Eight. How many times have you came to me about your shittyday or something your dad did. How many times have you called just to hear my fuckingvoice? We’re more than friends. I hate hearing you say it. I hate knowing you’redeceiving yourself.” Ubbe stops glaring at the road and now his eyes are likedaggers on you. “I can’t keep kissing strangers and pretending that they are you.”He adds.

“Ubbe.” He parks in the back of the parking lot, nearly ahalf mile from your front door. “I don’t want to do this…”

“Too fucking bad, because we are fucking doing this.” Hesays matter of fact. He adjusts his seat. “It’s becoming tiring Y/N. I know theysay that half of the fun is in the chase well I’ve done all the running that Ican do.” His voice is as weary as his proclaimed run.

“Friends should have some boundaries. Right, I’m sorry if Imade you feel some typ-,” His lips crash on yours and wherever the conversationwas going you didn’t care. His lips felt so soft as the parted hers. His deepbreaths consume you and he pulls you over to him making her straddle him. Thisfelt so right. His hands grip your hips pushing into the plush flesh andstrategically pulling your shirt over your head. “You’re trembling.” He mumbles.

And you were anxious. You don’t know how his belt buckle gotundone or how he lifted your dress that easily but it was done and he sunk yourboy down on his cock. He stretched you locking you into place as he adjusted himselfwith gritted teeth. You move first lifting yourself and then lowering back downslowly at first but then quickly finding a rhythm that had you both writhing.He met your movements stroking with you knocking you against the steering wheel.Your hips wind and grind into him, feeling him prod against your g-spot was onething and then the added contact to your clit had you spiraling. Your erraticcries into his neck drove him crazy.

“I’m not going to last.” He plead into your hear. “Getthere.” He pushed you against the steering wheel and his hand made it’s way toyour clit rubbing strategically in a rhythm that had you panting as he fuckedup into you. Your walls clamp on him as you come landing on the horn so thewhole neighborhood could hear your climax. He snatches you down on his chestslamming into you the last few times until you feel him get harder than beforeand he spills into you.

It’s quiet as you gather yourselves. You climb back over toyour seat getting your purse and keys from the floor. Ubbe grabs your hand. “Lookme in the eye and tell me this meant nothing to you.”

You swallow that huge lump in your throat that wanted to sayotherwise. “This meant nothing to me.” Your had wraps around the door handleand you step out from the car. “Thank you for the ride, Ubbe.”

Tagging a few: @ivarsshieldmadien@equalstrashflavoredtrash@whenimaunicorn@akamaiden @siren-queen03 @titty-teetee@sparklemichele @greennightspider@tomarisela @scumyeol@raindrop-dewdrop @naaladareia@vikingsmania @readsalot73@oddsnendsfanfics @amour-quinn@wheredidallthedreamersgo@unsure-but-trying @leaderradiante@microsmacrosandneedles@valynsia @captstefanbrandt 

[emilyplaysotome]

Chapter 3 - The Hard Sell

It’s strange that the first thing I thought about was whether or not I should return to my apartment (now that it was no long inhabited by Zyglavis).

The sentimental part of me wanted to be comforted by all things familiar, but it was for that reason and that reason alone that I pushed myself to follow through and stay at Meg’s. My problem had been that I’d gotten too comfortable, both in my relationship and with other men whose affections towards me felt like a constant.

Between my time in otomeville and my time back home with Zyglavis, I had forgotten what it was to be truly alone. It was unsettling, returning this place where no one was thinking of me. As fiercely independent as I once was, I was now a domesticated version of myself - lost and weak and without a shoulder to cry on.

I had drawn strength from these relationships without even realizing it and now that they were gone I felt as if I was adrift at sea.

I took my phone out and sent a text to each of the otome men in my phone. It was a total Hail Mary on my part, and I had absolutely no expectation that I’d get a reply so when Leon immediately texted back I felt slightly relieved. He and I had never been close or even liked one another for that matter, but knowing that there was at least one person in this world who understood my history reinvigorated my drive to win the king’s new game.

We met a few hours later by his apartment for dinner, and I filled him in on everything that had happened.

“That makes sense,” he mumbled. “The last time I came by your place I could tell that Zyglavis was keeping something from me. It must have been the return of his powers…”

“And yours?” I asked hopefully.

Leon shook his head, “No. I could feel the king’s presence but I am not the God I once was in my world.”

I felt my heart sink as I kissed goodbye access to in-game cheat codes that Leon’s godly version possessed. In the hours before our meeting, it had started to sink in that this was going to be much harder than my first attempt had been at romancing otome men.

For starters, three months was not nearly enough time if you considered the fact that I still had to work most days. In otomeville, my days had been free to research and run about the city as I looked for clues and went on dates before finally getting myself home.

Now, both myself and the men were theoretically working 9-5s, Monday through Friday (if not more) and I still had no idea who that fifth mystery guest might be. As much as I hated it, I’d already re-activated my Tinder account (seeing as how the king had made it fairly explicit that I’d be needing to find the men in this world through conventional means) and I’d also downloaded Bumble, OkCupid, and Hinge figuring that the more apps I was on, the more chances I’d have in finding them.

I had hoped that Leon’s powers were back and that he could snap his fingers and cut through some of the noise, but it was becoming clearer and clearer that I was going to really need to strategize in order to find the most effective plan to locate and win the hearts of these men. Finding them would be only half the battle - I worried not only about the fact that they were all so attractive every woman in NYC was no doubt swiping right and without my advantage I was just another face in the crowd.

There was nothing particularly memorable or beautiful about me, and on apps like Tinder, superficial first impressions remain king. It was for that reason and that reason alone that I shared my profile with Leon. He tapped through my profile photos and with a scoff read my bio.

“No, this will never do. Don’t you have anything more…I don’t know…personable?”

“What do you mean?”

“Look at these - you’re just so…forgettable.”

“Hey!”

“You don’t have time to get upset Goldfish. Think. You need to find 5 men - what do they like? Why would they swipe on you? Right now you’re just another smiling face and you know it. Think.”

As tough as it was to hear Leon validate my feelings, I soon found myself searching for particular photos I knew I had in the annals of my facebook.

I started by finding a photo from 3 years ago at a motorcycle show I’d attended for work when Harley Davison was one of our clients. I hoped Hiroshi would see that and swipe right, knowing how much he loved motorcycles. For Soryu, I found a picture that he’d actually taken of me a month ago as I successfully completed my most challenging lift. I hoped that would also appeal to Jin and Hijikata, but taking no chances I added photos from a trip that I’d taken a fears years back at a traditional a Japanese temple long before I’d fallen down a rabbit hole to a bizarro version of the place. I also found a photo from halloween where I was dressed up as a sexy lady cop (something I’d hoped never to publicly share but figured that desperate times called for desperate measures).

Not knowing who the mystery fifth man was, I opted to use the last 2 of the 6 pictures Tinder allowed to appeal to Zyglavis.

The king had so cruelly wiped all my devices of our shared photos but for whatever reason had not taken ones of just me (such as all the solo shots he had taken of me on his birthday). In the photo I selected, I was holding up a chocolate ganache cake I’d made for him from scratch with a warm smile on my face. His birthday had happened before any of our problems had really started, and as a result it was clear as day by the way I looked at the camera that I was in love with the man who was holding it.

For my final picture, I recovered another photo that Zyglavis had taken at Maya and Omar’s wedding. In it, I’m wearing a form fitted dress, holding a slice of wedding cake, and smiling at the camera.

Leon nodded approvingly at my changes and noted, “What about the bio?”

I chewed on my bottom lip as I thought for a moment and then wrote the following: “We will be lost and found a thousand times on this cobbled road of us.” - Atticus

Leon chuckled and noted, “A little heavy handed but I like it. It’s a bit of a riddle and it speaks to the situation. Perhaps it might jog a lost memory or feeling.”

I smiled in an attempt to hide how overwhelmed I felt. I was starting over in such a big way and it felt daunting to be at the starting line again. Leon saw through my fake smile and awkwardly noted, “It’ll be fine.”

“Will it? The king is right - without the advantage...”

“It pains me to say this but your problem with the men in this world has nothing to do with you and everything to do with how you view yourself.”

“Come on, you’ve seen the women in this city and -“

“Naomi, you make it hard for me to believe you’re competent at your job. You’re in marketing, no? You must understand the concept of selling a product.”

“Of course I do!”

“In dating, you’re the product. Why would I want to buy a product that believes that all the women around her are better? Men don’t need a lot of convincing if you’ve already decided you’re inferior on your own. They’ll just take your word for it and go look for something better.”

Once more, though Leon’s words cut deep in my heart I knew he was right.

Dating in this world (before I’d found myself living in a fantasy) had robbed me of my confidence. As time went on, I found myself believing less and less that I’d ever find happiness and that in itself proved to be a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts.

I wondered when it was that I started feeling this way which conjured memories from previous heartaches and feeling of inadequacy created by men who were too emotionally stunted to ever be a real partner in the way that I wanted.

As my mind mulled over the root of these problematic beliefs I held for myself, Leon continued, “The ego of man is a fragile one. Far more fragile than that of a woman’s feelings. If you believe that you are the best product a man can have, he will believe it too. Courtship is the perfect balance of self confidence and affirmation. You use your looks to make the first impression, then you show off a product that is so highly desired you wouldn’t ever settle for the first bidder, yet you maintain clear interest by expressing a reasonable level of affection somewhere between total indifference and complete thirst.”

“What do you mean?”

Leon sighed, annoyed that I didn’t have the tools to unpack what he felt was obvious and said, “Just find a way to casually tell a man he’s handsome. That word is kryptonite for men - it can be used in a familiar way without coming across desperate but at the same time makes it obvious that you find them attractive.”

“Leon…you’re really good at this.”

Leon shrugged, “I suppose a millennia of hearing the wishes of men makes it fairly obvious what they desire most.”

“Seriously. You’ve opened my eyes to something I couldn’t figure out from years of therapy. You should teach classes or something.”

“No time. Besides, that would only get in the way of my political career.”

“Your what now?”

With a cocky grin Leon polished off the rest of the beer that was sitting in front of him and said confidently, “The next few months will be busy for me. I plan to run for mayor here. You goldfish need someone like me in charge!”

I let out a laugh and it was oddly comforting to see that even though much had changed in the course of a weekend, Leon’s arrogance would remain a constant in my life for the foreseeable future.

That night I found myself in Meg’s guest room on Tinder.

I’d forgotten how tedious the process of weeding through such a large pool of men could be. There were the guys that were an obvious no, with profiles that made it clear they wanted sex and nothing more. There were the trolls and the geeks and the men that made me feel superficial and mean for not ever giving them a chance despite the fact they seemed to be good people underneath a less than desirable exterior.

Finally there was that elusive 1% of attractive, but not so attractive that they were guaranteed to be players. The smart, cute, totally dateable man who (statistically speaking) had a line of women waiting to hang out. I was an underdog in so many ways but as I continued my adventures in swiping I reminded myself that Leon was right.

I needed to value myself more or no one else would.

With that in mind, I found myself walking to the full length mirror in the guest room, momentarily leaving my phone behind as I evaluated the product I was currently hawking online. 

She was average female height at around 5’4” and 145 lbs. She had dark hair, dark eyes, full lips, and a nice smile. Her skin was looking a little ruddy at the moment with dark circles under her eyes and thanks to her laziness when it came to cosmetics meant that whenever she was sleep deprived she never attempted to hide the fact she looked less than ideal.

I thought about the Naomi I wanted to be, and how when I looked good I felt better about myself. I didn’t wear makeup just because I was a tomboy - really, I never wore makeup because I was too self-conscious to learn. I pretended that I was above it all, but in actuality I just perpetually ran behind and between not having time and not having any idea what I was doing started hanging my hat on the fact that I am “all natural”.

I decided that thanks to Leon’s verbal push I was going to be Naomi 2.0 - a better version of the self that had already made great strides to becoming better in the months since her fall down the rabbit hole. Beyond just introducing me to men, my time in otomeville had reminded me about all the things I liked about myself and now it was time to work on those things I still struggled with.

The next day, my coworkers were sad to learn that our salad runs with Hiroshi and Jin had come to an end. I came up with a story that they’d gone undercover and as a result even I didn’t know where they were.

As a result, I spent that lunch hour trying to familiarize myself with some basic products that I hoped could help give my appearance a bit more polish and my fragile ego a bit of a boost. The lady at Sephora informed me as she applied some powder with a brush that “I made hilarious faces” and as self-conscious as I was by the end of my time there I walked out with a good set of makeup brushes, powder, blush, bronzer, eyeliner, an eye kit for special occasions, an eyelash curler, and some mascara.

I’d gone back and forth on the lipstick, ultimately deciding that I’d be too self conscious in a bright color and would opt for my usual chapstick gloss.

No one said anything about my new look back at the office, and the day flew by as it usually did now that I was back in the rhythm of my usual life. At the moment, I’d spent the last few months working on a few different accounts ranging from athleisure (Adidas) to skincare (dove). After returning from otomeville and my quick stint at Addison & Rhodes, I’d requested a change of clientele from my boss and was happy that she accommodated my request.

My life at work was far more enjoyable these days, and it was nice to once again feel creative and inspired at my day job. The hours flew by and before I knew it 6 pm hit and I made a slight detour on my way back to Meg’s apartment.

In addition to the makeup, I decided to purchase a few “date night outfits” that were less stuffy than my “biz-cas” (business casual) work attire and very casual t-shirt and jeans. I’ll admit that even though I’d turned my nose up in the past at women who poured a lot of energy into their appearance, I was eating crow at the moment.

I looked nice - better than I had in a long time and as a result I could feel my confidence growing to the point that wooing 5 handsome men over the course of 3 months no longer seemed impossible.

With my high end shopping sprees complete (though not even comparable to the shopping I’d once done during my time as the bachelorette) I was found myself riding high on a mix of newfound confidence and positivity. I swiped my way from the shops near my office in TriBeCa/Soho to Meg’s apartment in the west village yet there was no sign of any of the otome men.

The tinder gold icon let me know that 99+ men had already swiped right (aka “yes”) on me and realizing that it might make sense to expedite this process through additional capital I took the leap and discovered that I already had 900 suitors at the ready. Feeling quite good about the number of men lined up to date me, I scrolled through the faces hoping to see someone familiar and just as I was close to the bottom who should I see but a very familiar cinnamon roll.

Wearing a leather jacket, holding his helmet in one hand, Hiroshi’s first Tinder photo had him leaning against his parked motorcycle. I was so excited that I almost hastily swiped right and instantly messaged him, but thinking about the king, Leon, and the fact that I did not know this version of Hiroshi I knew that I needed to play it smart.

I took screenshots of his page, hoping that there would be a clue seeing as how if I managed to blow this shot with him somehow I’d need a backup plan. From the images I gathered (paired with the miles away) I deduced that he was somewhere in Queens, had joined a local bike club there, and frequented a certain bar (two of his photos were in the same pub and in his profile he noted that he loved an inexpensive dive).

Once I’d properly archived all the information I could get on Hiroshi, I swiped right and hoping to appeal to his inner bike nerd I wrote, “Hey! Cool motorcycle - how long have you been riding?”

I felt good about that opener until a few minutes later I saw his reply and my newfound confidence shattered.

“Hey sorry - u were an accidental swipe. Cool u like bikes tho. Always up 2 chat about that but ur not my type haha.”

The king wasn’t playing around this time and it was already obvious that a little makeup and some new clothes weren’t going to help me much with a game that was clearly rigged from the start. 

The old Naomi would have gotten down on herself, but this new and improved 2.0 Naomi who believed in her product was ready for what was clearly going to be the biggest challenge of her life...

Next to Chapter 4

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[amorestart]

rhiannon ‘rikkie’ marx • lynn gunn • 23 • she/her • lesbian • portrait & editorial photographer • valentine cottages

introduction

bio (tw: eating disorders, depression, death)

rikkie doesn’t really like to remember just how she got here. she doesn’t like to remember the blowout fights with her parents, the stress and support of therapy programs, or the way her shaking hands once did up her school uniform, only to find stability behind the camera. but for the sake of reminding herself that she's not a cloud of smoke who doesn’t exist on this plane sometimes she has to think about it.

the chaos of her upbringing didn’t start at the beginning. when she and her brother were born, they were received by a loving home in the valentine cottages, to two exceptional parents. johnathan marx and mackenzie ess did their best for a long time. they covered the fighting, they put their kids first, they focused on the security of their family. but that facade could only last so long.  it wasn’t until the was 12 that she felt that shift. her father moved back to his home town of paterson, nj, while her mother maintained the home in the valentine village in san amore. she and her family left, while her mother stayed behind. back in those days, rikkie feared that her mother simply hadn’t tried, hadn’t fought for them to be together, but that wasn’t entirely true. now, as an adult, she had a better understanding of the break down of her family. even though her summers were spent in san amore, it was clear that the longer she left, the more she didn’t want to come back.

the next upheaval was when rikkie was 15. mackenzie got sick, so rikkie and her brother moved back to san amore and spent their summers in paterson. johnathan marx was nothing if not loyal, and he had raised his children to be exactly the same way. there were no other options, other than to go back. she wouldn’t be able to handle it if she did. but rikkie has always run like a wind up toy, and the gears were starting to slow down. she wasn’t going to be able to keep going the way she was. the hole that had always been in her chest, that had opened even wider when her family split was starting to get bigger. watching her mom suffer was hard, taking care of her was harder, and no one noticed that she was starting to lose herself in her own mind. food, calories, and exercise consumed all of her free time. she had nothing else to do to cope. she didn’t know where she was going, what she was doing, and no one seemed to notice it anyways. so she found herself on her knees in front of the toilet, praying to a god she didn’t believe in and purging herself of the chaos in her mind, and whatever transgressions she had committed to deserve this fate.

seventeen was a worse year than any had been before it. sweet seventeen was rock bottom for rikkie. her mom’s cancer became metastatic, and within six months, she was gone. her last breath like a whisper of love and light, and somehow the darkness encroached from there, consuming rikkie. destroying her from the inside out. she went back to new jersey, a ghost of her former self, and finally someone noticed her. noticed the way she had wasted away, the way she seemed to suffer. that was the first time she was sent away, truly on her own. residential inpatient program. those three words still make the hair on the back of her neck stand up. it was two days after her eighteenth birthday when her father had the intervention, just short of two months after her mother’s death. she went, she did her best, she really tried to get better. but she wasn’t ready. she couldn’t have been, or at least that’s what she tells herself. because after college, it felt like dejà vu all over again. another intervention, another inpatient to php to iop style program, another year lost to losing her mind. another perscription to lexapro; god, it all felt so repetitive. when she finally had the all clear to leave, she did the only thing she new how to do. she returned to san amore, the town she had left behind without so much as a backwards glance, five years prior. she moved back into her mother’s old home, craving a slower pace to life than what she had back in new jersey. she converted her mom’s old office into a photo studio, her bedroom into a dark room, and hopefully, she can make this work out. but who knows? maybe she’ll just pick up and disappear again.

chaos bullet points about rikkie

don’t get her started on bagels or pizza

doesn’t like to talk money bc she doesn’t know what to do with it

mom’s from san amore, dad is from paterson

kind of a callous bitch. always short, keeps ppl at arms length

doesn’t do vulnerable bc she’s got a ton of issues

literally loves music too much for her own good

bumps so hard to brand new it should be a crime

favorite color is pale yellow

so gay but has no game. literally drools over pretty girls & can’t think

absolute klutz

dumb as fuck when she drinks. climbs on laundry machines, disappears on adventures, will talk in ad nauseam about vines

loves weird jokes. will laugh at literally anything

she ghosted literally everyone after her mom died

she likes to sing n dance n play guitar bc when ur in res there’s literally nothing to do (and also i’m a bitch for pvris so um yeah)

can do some magic shit with a camera bc like i said in res u have nothing to do and her last res was super lax

connections

RIKKIE MARX is searching for HER FIRST EX GIRLFRIEND with the following suggestions of UTP. You DON’T have to contact the player prior.

RIKKIE MARX is searching for HER BEST FRIEND THAT SHE GHOSTED with the following suggestions of UTP. You DO have to contact the player prior.

[breakingmllc]

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Last night I congratulated donald trump and offered to work with him on behalf of our country I hope that he will be a Anyone But Him Donald Trump T Shirt successful president for all americans this is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for and I m sorry we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country but I feel pride and gratitude for this wonderful campaign that we built together this vast diverse creative unruly energized campaign you represent the best of america and being your candidate has been one of the greatest honors of my life I know how disappointed you feel because I feel it too and so do tens of millions of americans who invested their hopes and dreams in this effort this is painful and it will be for a long time but I want you to remember this our campaign was never about one person or even one election it was about the country we love and about building an america that s hopeful inclusive and big hearted we have seen that our nation is more deeply divided than we thought but I still believe in america and I always will and if you do too then we must accept this result and then look to the future donald trump is going to be our president we owe him an open mind and the chance to lead our constitutional democracy enshrines the peaceful transfer of power and we don t just respect that we cherish it it also enshrines other things the rule of law the principle that we re all equal in rights and dignity and the freedom of worship and expression we respect and cherish these things too and we must defend them and let me add our constitutional democracy demands our participation not just every four years but all the time so let s do all we can to keep advancing the causes and values we all hold dear making our economy work for everyone not just those at the top protecting our country and protecting our planet and breaking down all the barriers that hold anyone back from achieving their dreams we ve spent a year and a half bringing together millions of people from every corner of our country to say with one voice that we believe that the american dream is big enough for everyone for people of all races and religions for men and women for immigrants for lgbt people and people with disabilities our responsibility as citizens is to keep doing our part to build that better stronger fairer america we seek and I know you will I am so grateful to stand with all of you I want to thank tim kaine and anne holton for being our partners on this journey it gives me great hope and comfort to know that tim will remain on the front lines of our democracy representing virginia in the senate to barack and michelle obama our country owes you an enormous debt of gratitude for your graceful determined leadership and so do I to bill chelsea marc charlotte aidan our brothers and our entire family my love for you means more than I can ever express you crisscrossed this country on my behalf and lifted me up when I needed it most even 4 month old aidan traveling with his mom I will always be grateful to the creative talented dedicated men and women at our headquarters in brooklyn and across our country who poured their hearts into this campaign for you veterans this was a campaign after a campaign for some of you this was your first campaign ever I want each of you to know that you were the best campaign anyone has had to all the volunteers community leaders activists and union organizers who knocked on doors talked to neighbors posted on facebook even in secret or in private thank you to everyone who sent in contributions as small as 5 and kept us going thank you and to all the young people in particular I want you to hear this I ve spent my entire adult life fighting for what I believe in I ve had successes and I ve had setbacks sometimes really painful ones many of you are at the beginning of your careers you will have successes and setbacks too this loss hurts but please please never stop believing that fighting for what s right is worth it it s always worth it and we need you keep up these fights now and for the rest of your lives to all the women and especially the young women who put their faith in this campaign and in me I want you to know that nothing has made me prouder than to be your champion I know that we still have not shattered that highest glass ceiling but some day someone will hopefully sooner than we might think right now and to all the little girls watching right now never doubt that you are valuable and powerful and deserving of every chance and opportunity in the world finally I am grateful to our country for all it has given me I count my blessings every day that I am an american and I still believe as deeply as I ever have that if we stand together and work together with respect for our differences strength in our convictions and love for this nation our best days are still ahead of us you know I believe we are stronger together and will 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I would like to take this opportunity to thank the hosts brasil for an incredible experience during our time in brasil thanks for all the support a special thanks to all our fans in holland brasil and everywhere around the world you’ve been truly amazing and I would like to thank our own family’s friends for your great support towards all of us players staff during the wc in brasil especially my own beautiful family who are always there for me to support me whatever happens in good and bad times thats what family is about I love you bouchra shaqueel dina one love ️ ️ ️. My official mimibot got a festive makeover ️ come chat with me get your playlist and you ll see what I mean don t forget to tweet me your playlists so I can listen smarturl it mariahcareychatbot See Other related products: Corona Extra and shirt

[sapphicscholar]

Could you write a fic where all of the Superfriends (starting with Alex) get turned into the animals of their Hogwarts Houses? (For instance, Alex would be turned into a snake.) probably due to an alien virus or something, or alien tech, or any other reason you can think of.

Re: the prompt with the Superfriends turning into their House animals: that could be done via magic too, and maybe would make more sense to do it that way since why would a random alien know about Harry Potter, right? Maybe Mxy decides to play more pranks. (I think fifth dimensional imps are magic. Probably) I dunno.

Just posted on AO3

A/N: So, since I had requests for more Hogwarts AU, I went ahead and aged them up to make them HP AU adults for this one to make sense – apologies that not all the superfriends are here, but I went with the crew most likely to be found at the downtown base of the DEO minus J’onn (you’ll see why soon enough). Hopefully this works for ya!

Also…holy crap, I’ve never felt more high without being high nor been more grateful for having immersed myself in the world of Animal Studies and read (and reread) Donna Haraway or Thomas Nagel’s “What Is it Like to Be a Bat?” Also…learned SO MANY animal facts.

Chapter Text:

“Wake up,” Maggie hissed, nudging Alex with her elbow.

“Huh?” Startled, Alex jerked awake, her quill streaking a dark scratch across her notebook.

Rolling her eyes, Maggie waved her wand and wordlessly erased the extra ink so that Alex would be able to read her notes, not that they said much she didn’t already know.

“Your fault I’m this tired,” Alex murmured back, pulling a smirk and a low chuckle from Maggie.

“Didn’t hear you complaining last night…”

“Danvers! Sawyer! Is there something more important right now than your first day of work?”

“No, Director J’onzz,” Alex replied, looking appropriately bashful even if she knew he only said something to avoid the appearance of favoritism. She caught Kara’s expression as she spun around to stick her tongue out at her. It suddenly felt like the few years they’d spent together in muggle school before beginning at Hogwarts, back when her mom had managed to convince the school that Kara would be more comfortable being in classes with her big sister whenever possible.

“As I was saying,” J’onn continued, “today marks your first day as a member of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement’s Auror Office. You have all proven yourselves worthy through years of study and testing, but I warn you against thinking that might be enough on its own. None of you will be allowed into the field until you have completed your first year of intensive training. From here on out, you should think of your task force like your family. You will eat together, train together, and, when the time comes, go out into the field together.”

“Like Hogwarts houses!” Kara chimed in.

“Yes, Ms. Danvers,” J’onn admitted, dipping his head and trying not to let his smile at her chipper demeanor show.

“Or like the muggle military…” Alex trailed off, not wanting to be outdone.

“Yes, Ms. Danvers…the elder. Given the rigorous nature of this training, that is, perhaps, the more apt comparison.” Alex arched an eyebrow at Kara in challenge when J’onn turned to pace in front of the room. “Now your task force captains will take you for the rest of the day for some team bonding and an overview of your next few weeks of training. I ask that you give them your full attention and respect.”

The new recruits nodded and quickly moved to gather their belongings before finding their teams. Alex and Maggie sauntered over to where James, Kara, and Winn had already gathered, then followed them down the hallway to their assigned meeting room.

“I’m so glad we’re all together!” Kara squealed, nearly bouncing in excitement as she carefully stacked her belongings on one corner of the small conference table.

“More like glad that J’onn likes us enough to let us all be on the same team,” Alex corrected her, sinking down into a seat and pulling at Maggie’s hand to try to get her to join her.

“It’s a shame Vasquez couldn’t come with us,” Winn sighed. Sure, Vasquez liked pulling pranks on him every now and then, but they had gotten close over the years at Hogwarts, and he would miss seeing her every day.

“I’m sure she’ll find some way to amuse herself with Lucy out at the East Coast branch…” Maggie trailed off, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she leaned into Alex’s side. James rubbed at the back of his neck, trying to find the right expression that showed how supportive he was of his ex-girlfriend’s newest relationship without looking overly enthusiastic either.

“Recruits!” came a booming voice, and Alex felt her posture straighten as she looked for the source of the sound. “I am Auror Potter—no, no relation, and you would do well not to ask. I’ll be your task force captain for the next year. I expect you to show up to work on time each morning and be ready to give me 110 %. I don’t promise this will be fun, but if you follow my lead, at the end of it, I promise you’ll be ready to go out into the field alongside the very best we have to offer.” He surveyed the group of them, trying to place the faces to the bios he’d received from the Department.

“Winn Schott!” he called out, smiling to himself when the smaller boy stumbled forward, quickly righting himself as he saluted.

“No salutes necessary, Schott.”

“Oh, uh, right.”

“We’ll go around and do brief introductions – I want to know what you all bring to this team. You can start.”

“Yes, sir!” With a deep breath, Winn began, “I, uh, I spent the last year doing some tech work with the Muggle Relations Division. We—er, muggles, I mean—they have certain kinds of technology, like, they have portable phones instead of two-way mirrors or floo powder calls. Anyway, some of them had found ways of using technology to detect our presence—finding signs of life in places we had hidden from their view, the like. I worked on creating measures to combat detection” Alex looked beyond intrigued, though Maggie just bit back a laugh at how amazed everyone seemed by muggle technology. She’d grown up around it and, if truth be told, still thought some of it was vastly preferable; she’d take a text over the dizziness of spinning her head into a friend’s fireplace any day, though of course, with so few muggle friends left, she rarely had a choice in the matter.

“Given the nature of your position on our team, you’ll be spending part of your training with our codebreakers and the rest of your time with your team,” Potter explained to Winn, who nodded and sat back in his seat when it was clear that his part was done.

“Danvers?”

Alex looked up, while Kara jumped to her feet, smiling broadly.

“Ah, right…the sisters.” Kara and Alex glanced at each other, wondering how much J’onn might have mentioned to their captain, who looked very much like he was trying not to smile. “We’ll start with Alexandra.”

“It’s Alex, sir.”

“Noted.”

“Well, I took some time off after graduating from Hogwarts before beginning the Auror Training Program to travel. I went and worked studying magical creatures—their physiology, magical properties, uses in healing. But I’m back now and excited about my work here.”

“Suck up,” Maggie whispered, stifling a laugh at the annoyed expression that flashed across Alex’s features.

“It says here you specialized in dragons?”

“Mhm,” Alex confirmed with a nod.

“Interesting…could come in handy.” Alex grinned. “Now Kara, you’re fresh out of Hogwarts, right?”

“I am, but I am more than ready!”

Potter couldn’t help a small smile at her enthusiasm. “You wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think you were qualified. Next up: James Olsen.”

James raised his hand a bit in acknowledgement. “I know I’m a bit…older than most of the new aurors, but I just…I liked my career at the Daily Prophet, but I couldn’t help but feel like there were ways I could be better at serving the community, doing more good than what I could do behind a desk or a camera.”

“I didn’t start out as an auror myself,” Potter admitted with a small shrug of his shoulders. “No right or wrong way to get here. Well…I wouldn’t recommend floo powder, actually. The department’s fireplaces are rather small—personally I almost always end up banging my head on the way out.” He turned to Maggie, the last on his list. “And last but not least: Magdalena Sawyer.”

“Maggie,” she clarified. “Yeah, I spent the past couple of years traveling with Alex, though I was working as an apprentice to a wandmaker.”

“Ah, which one?”

“Violetta Beauvais’ granddaughter.”

“Interesting choice. Not Ollivander?”

Shaking her head, Maggie cleared her throat, figuring there was always going to be the moment of outing at any new job. “No, I, uh, I wanted to support a woman working in a male-dominated industry. Plus, she’s a queer woman and all—felt like we would work well together.”

Alex managed to cover her small snort of laughter with a cough. “Felt like you would work well under her is more like it,” Alex whispered when Potter turned his attention to the board in the front of the room.

“Didn’t hear you complaining that New Year’s Eve we all spent together,” Maggie taunted, stopping only when she caught sight of Kara’s scandalized look. Turning her attention back to the front of the room, Maggie heard their captain saying something about team-building exercises. She tried not to groan at the idea as he motioned for them all to follow him down to one of the training rooms.

“And this is the one,” he finally announced. “Now hand me your wands.”

Slowly but surely they handed them over, though Alex eyed him suspiciously, wondering if this were some kind of test. It seemed like they should know better than to leave themselves defenseless, though she eventually relented.

“Head into the room.” James led the way, looking around to try to figure out what their first exercise might be. The room was fairly plain: one table, one small window, and a few chairs. “Your task will be to escape.” Winn furrowed his eyebrows, looking between the captain and the unlocked very much open door. “Ah, we’ll be locking you in here. The key will be directly outside of the door.” They looked between themselves, shrugging. It didn’t seem a particularly difficult challenge. “Once you escape, you will need to retrieve a set of three small sensors.”

“How will we know where to look for them?” Kara asked.

“You’ll know,” he answered, dismissing further questions with a wave of his hand. “You’ll have half an hour.”

Even with the two tasks, it still seemed rather doable. Their confident expressions soon gave way as a team of aurors—all slightly older—approached, a few of them not bothering to hide their smirks. After all, it wasn’t every day they got to haze the newbies. In unison they raised their wands then brought them swishing down. With five flashes of light and a few cut-off cries of surprise, they stepped back, locking the door behind them with a loud laugh. Left behind in the room were five sets of robes and five animals—two confused badgers, one coiled snake, one squawking eagle, and one massive lion.

Alex found herself enveloped in darkness, and she fought to see in front of her. Her senses were suddenly overwhelmed with the sound and feel of low vibrations, and she surged forward, feeling as her whole body slithered, moving forward in one lithe, curling movement. Eventually she felt her head emerge from the cloth. Acting on instinct, Alex let her tongue dart out from her mouth, though she had to admit, nothing quite felt like a mouth or tongue in the sense that she knew. But as she did, she was overwhelmed with the scents of animals that she was fairly certain she wouldn’t have recognized by smell before this moment. She spun around and was struck by the startling outlines of the animals she smelled—two smallish badgers, both of whom somehow smelled familiar; a bird that she watched flutter about; and a lion that seemed to be pacing the room. Hit with a desperate need for warmth, she slithered toward the ray of sunlight illuminating one small square of the room. She would think once she was warm.

Maggie and Kara clawed at their robes, and once Maggie was free, she took off toward the scent of another badger and came to stand beside her. Kara tried to look forward but found she could barely see at all. She suspected this would make the task significantly harder, though she found that she could smell everything. Maggie sniffed the air, finding the scent of something that seemed intensely familiar. She waddled across the room, noting the clicking of long nails. That was quite the change from the usual, she laughed to herself. As she got closer to the smell, she could feel her fur raising, but she tamped down on the instinct to treat as prey and possible dinner what smelled and looked, in its vague outline, like a snake, trying to remind herself that what she knew from before needed to outweigh any animal urges. As a large beast lumbered toward her and the snake that for some reason she felt compelled to protect, Maggie’s lips curled back and she pushed her claws forward, her hips and hindquarters raising slightly as she let out a loud hiss.

James reared back at the small but somehow intimidating creature in front of him, crouching and letting off a fairly repugnant odor. He thought perhaps he was the only one from the group left as he pawed at the ground, letting out a small growl of annoyance that had another one of the creatures raising its nose in the air and turning in his direction. He wondered if his new form would be able to simply knock the door forward. With as much of a running start as he could manage in the small room, he lunged forward, finding himself flung backwards with what he could only assume was magical force. So the door was out.

Winn fluttered nervously above the others, looking down at the sight below him. He swooped in high circles above the room, eventually coming to roost on the narrow windowsill after one mistaken attempt at crashing through the glass pane. As he looked through it, he was astounded at just how far he could see, looking out over the treetops and well into the surrounding neighborhood. He wondered if they’d ever make it out of the room and watched as the lion was sent sprawling back across the stone floor.

Despite her instincts screaming at her to flee, Alex found herself slithering under the badger that had come over to her, basking in the warmth of the thick fur. Maggie lowered her already short body down.

Across the room, Kara dug desperately at the floor, finding even her thick, long claws futile against the weathered stones.

Noting the attempts of many of those around him to help, James reasoned they might actually be his team. In an attempt to get their attention, he let out a loud roar, unaware of the crowd of aurors that had gathered outside the enchanted door who flung themselves back at the sound.

Alex popped her head up at the sound, having felt it vibrate and rumble across the ground. She hissed back, as did the two badgers, and the eagle let out a squawk. Oh. Oh! As she watched the other badger dig and the lion lunge at the walls and the eagle fly into the window for a second time, she realized that perhaps this was her team. She hadn’t been transported into some other dimension. She darted her tongue out, flicking it against the side of the face of the badger who she’d been cuddling, and somehow, she wasn’t sure how, she just knew it was Maggie. And oh! Badgers. Two of them. That smelled like home. Because they were home. Because they were Maggie and Kara. Because they were Hufflepuffs. And she was a snake because she was a Slytherin. Which made the charging lion James and the now perched eagle Winn. And oh dear god they were never getting out of here.

But James’ roar seemed to help everyone gradually realize that they were still a team. A team without language or opposable thumbs, but a team goddammit. Having seen James repelled from the door and having watched Kara’s vain attempts at digging through the floor, Alex slithered around the perimeter, finding herself slamming face first into the walls a few more times than she would have liked. Eventually, though, she made it back, disappointed in the lack of any cracks she could exploit.

Realizing his squawks weren’t attracting much attention compared to the roar, Winn tapped loudly against the glass pane of the window. His beak wasn’t going to crack it, but at least he hadn’t been magically forced backward, which must mean something. Eventually he flapped down, settling on James’ back and finally catching his attention. He flew back and forth between James and the window until he finally caught the motion and seemed to understand.

James sat back on his haunches, regarding the window. It was small—much too small for him to fit through. He suspected if he lunged forward, he’d catch the stone wall before he ever had the opportunity to smash through the glass. But then he felt a cold thing twisting around his paw, and as he raised his arm to shake it off, he felt it coil tightly around him before two small fangs sunk into him, and he let out a loud mewl of pain.

Alex would have rolled her eyes if she could have. She barely even bit him, but at least she had his attention. Once he settled down and Alex uncurled herself from his front paw, he finally seemed to catch her meaning and backed up as far as he could in the small room, lunging forward paw first at the window as soon as Winn had flown away from it. The first time it wavered but didn’t crack. The second time he heard the sound of the glass splintering, though it didn’t give way. And finally it crashed through. He bounded back with a yelp of pain, sitting back and licking at his paw, attempting to knock the small shards of glass out.

Meanwhile, Winn flew out through the broken window, allowing himself just a few moments of freedom as he swooped and soared over the trees before flying back to the building and darting in through the front door. He ducked and swerved out of the way of the other Ministry employees, watching with glee as they squealed in surprise and dove out of his path. Eventually he made it into an elevator, perching patiently on the railing as the wizards and witches who were unlucky enough to be with him regarded him warily. When they made it up to his floor he flew down the hallway, catching sight of the glinting key and hooking it with his claws before soaring back out the way he came and finally returning with the key. He managed to push it into the small lock, though he found himself unable to turn it.

Alex hissed until Winn finally landed near her, and she slithered up his body, winding himself around his neck and pushing at his beak until he finally lifted her up. Once more, she wrapped herself around the key, twisting until it turned with her, finally hearing the satisfying click as the door popped open. James rushed forward, nosing the door all the way open, and a snuffling Kara and Maggie followed close behind, running into a few walls as they went. Maggie wondered if this was how Alex felt without her glasses. Once they were out of the room, which, Maggie reasoned, must have been somehow enchanted, Maggie and Kara found their ears assaulted with a loud beeping. The sensors, Kara thought. Potter had told her they would know how to find them. Of course, being able to hear them didn’t make the lack of proper vision any less of an issue.

Between Winn and James, however, they had enough vision and size for the group of them, and they followed their impromptu pack leaders through the halls of the Ministry, delighting in hissing, nipping, and growling at the more senior aurors as they passed. Eventually Winn led them outside, and Maggie and Kara got straight to work, running as fast as their short legs could take them to the sound of the beeping that seemed to be coming from the heart of the grounds that surrounded the building. Suddenly feeling useful, Kara dove nose and claws first into a patch of dirt, burrowing until she latched onto the beeping sensor. A few yards away, Maggie did the same, feeling grateful she’d been able to do something other than help to keep Alex warm during their team mission.

With two of the three sensors gathered, the team followed the noise—whether felt as vibrations or heard as a grating sound—over to one of the gnarled old trees. James pawed at it, but found nothing. Kara and Maggie dug around the perimeter of it, only to find that the deeper into the ground they got, the further away they were from the sound. Eventually they turned to Alex, who slithered her way up the tree, attempting to focus on the feeling of the vibrating sounds, tracing them to a small crack in the trunk that she managed to wedge herself into, finally getting to what she was fairly certain was a sensor—not that it gave off any kind of heat for her infrared vision to catch it. After multiple attempts to angle herself properly to nose it out of the tree, Alex gritted her teeth (in theory, she couldn’t do much with a pair of fangs) and opened her jaw wide, fitting the whole thing into her mouth and praying it wouldn’t kill her when she turned back into a human.

With the three sensors in (figural) hands, they made their way back to the building, feeling every bit the part of the heroic team even if they didn’t look it.

“Two whole minutes to spare. Very impressive,” Potter greeted them at the entrance, watching as two clawed paws deposited sensors at his feet, and a snake unhinged its jaw, managing to get the sensor back out of its mouth. “Now back to the room with you!”

They all followed dutifully, finding the group of slightly older aurors waiting for them, wands at the ready. Once they had been shepherded back into their initial locked room, they were hit with transfiguration spells once more before the door locked—for their privacy, they soon realized, as they stumbled forward human once more but clothed no longer. Alex and Winn quickly threw on their robes, as did Maggie and Kara, whose attire littered with small, badger teeth-sized holes chewed across them but was at least passable. James, however, stood in the corner, clutching Winn in front of him like a shield. His robes lay in tatters; they hadn’t quite withstood the challenge of accommodating a lion, though he didn’t think Madame Malkin would accept that as an excuse for a return.

When Potter returned and tossed back their wands, Kara was kind enough to magic James’ robes back together before turning her attention to the small holes in her own, while Maggie patched up the damage she had wrought on hers.

“So…you passed day one.” Potter looked between them, gauging their reactions. “How does it feel?”

There were a few long moments of silence before Winn finally spoke up, his voice cracking slightly as he asked, “That’s day one?”