#girls pg in new friends colony

[brgirlspg]

Girls PG in Bhogal - Brij Raj Niwas Girls PG

Are you searching for a Girls PG in Bhogal, Jangpura, or nearby areas? Brij Raj Niwas Girls PG—a safe and supportive haven for young women who are ready to spread their wings. We only cater to girls, whether they are students or working professionals. At Brij Raj Niwas, we go beyond offering just accommodation. We provide a home-like environment where all your needs are taken care of, from food and cleaning to maintenance and more. Located just a 5-minute walk from Ashram Metro Station and near PGDAV College in Nehru Nagar, our PG offers top-notch amenities and a warm, secure atmosphere. Recognized as one of the best girls' PGs in South Delhi, we proudly serve areas like Hari Nagar Ashram, Bhogal, Jangpura, and New Friends Colony.

[gloves94]

Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 1

Warnings: None Rating: PG-13 Pairings: Zuko/OC Summary: "You have everything you've ever wanted." "No." He said softly. "Not everything..." His golden eyes looked at her with a melting intensity she had never witnessed before. "I guess not." She responded with glassy eyes as tears welled up threatening to break the dam of her eyes. 

My fanfiction: M A S T E R L I S T

"Uncle!" The young prince roared exasperated.

For once his uncle stood on the deck of the ship being quiet and distant. His eyes gazed out into the vast blueness that expanded so far you couldn't tell where the ocean ended and where the sky began. He wore a solemn expression on his face, both of his hands tucked inside of his sleeves. His eyes clouded with a rare sadness.

"I'm so close to capturing the Avatar! I'm going to lose his trail and we are losing precious time! I haveto regain my honor!" Prince Zuko barked. The dishonored banished Prince of the Fire Nation barked.

Iroh also known as the Dragon of the West, the retired general who had been disgraced at walls of Ba Sing Se remained pensive and let out a deep breath he had been holding.

"Why do we even have to go to the colonies?!" The frustrated prince threw his hands over his head.

"I already told you my dear nephew. I've received somber news. The sun has set on a dear friend Sencha's life. And so we must attend the service and show our respects to his spirit and his family."

"This is pointless!" Prince Zuko breathed out a cloud of fire, his exasperation boiling in the pits of his stomach. How he sometimes wished he could just shove his uncle into a sailboat and send him to out so that he could move on with his life and actually have a shot at regaining his honor. Why couldn't his uncle just go by himself?

Zuko was too blinded to see the pain in his uncle's amber eyes.

"Patience," Iroh sighed wisely and stroked his gray beard. "If you allow it, the howling wind shall carry you to your destiny. Who knows? You might encounter something interesting in the colonies."

The prince remained silent.

"Perhaps even the Avatar?" Iroh baited glancing at his nephew from the corner of his eyes.

Zuko gripped the railing tightly, his body tense. His uncle turned to look at him and flashed him a weak smile before squeezing his nephew's shoulder.

xxx

The prince's military vessel docked at the port of Yu Doa.

The city of Yu Dow was one of the first Fire Nation Colonies. It was known for it's unique architecture and surprising co-existence of Fire and Earth bending cultures as near equals. Because of this Yu Dao was the Fire Nation's most powerful asset and wealthiest colony. It was also famously known for having the finest weapon craftsmen in the world.

"This place is... odd," Zuko observed as they made away across the city.

No royal had set foot in the colonies since the war began one hundred years ago and it was safe to say that people from the mainland thought less of those from the colonies. Sneering at them, calling them colonials, and laughing at stereotypes.

The city was quiet, its citizens wore funerary colors and expressions of mourning. All windows were closed and shops were closing early.

"Of course, they are mourning their governor."

The Prince also noted how the people in the streets did not shy away from them like others would've back in the mainland. They neither bowed nor cowered with disrespect. The prince and his uncle entered the gates of the golden palace and were received by an escort who lead them inside the building. The architecture was a mixture of emerald green and square shapes typical of Earth Kingdom architecture with contrasting bold golden pikes, maroon carvings, and large figures and carvings of crimson and golden dragons on the walls which were typical of Fire Nation architecture and culture.

"General Sencha was appointed as the Vice Royal Governor of Yu Dao sometime after your grandfather Azulon rose to the throne. He was a brilliant general, brave, courageous, a good friend and also a worthy Pai Sho adversary," Iroh said with a smile as they were lead through a massive pair of intricately carved golden doors.

"His people, they mourn him. It's almost as if they care-" Zuko was interrupted. "They do," Iroh nodded. "Fire Lords don't often concern themselves with the Fire Colonies once they are tamed. Sencha took it upon himself to provide a life of equal opportunities to both Fire and Earth Kingdom citizens. Together they worked to build and grow the city making it the most powerful asset of the Fire Nation abroad. Because of that Yu Dao paved the way for its own culture and traditions to blossom. That's why this place seems so different to you."

For a moment Zuko thought about his grandfather, Azulon. Besides other aristocrats and the military it had been just another day when he passed. His people hadn't mourned him, he hadn't been missed by many. He certainly didn't miss him. The citizens of the Fire Nation didn't seem to care much for him, then again, he had been a cruel man. It was a drastic contrast to the ambiance in Yu Dao and the respect its people had for their passed leader.

It was then that they entered the heart of the governing room where the service was being held. It was dark and the room was barely illuminated by numerous candles which were burning at different heights. At the center hoisted above a bed of white arranged wild flowers and lilies lay a fine wooden coffin. There were few government officials and family in the private service. The disgraced prince and the retired general approached the front to pay their respects. Iroh knelt before the bed and meditated for a moment on his dear friend's memory. Zuko nodded his head in respect and he patiently waited for his uncle to stand. His eyes scanned the crowd as he attempted to distract himself, not wanting to linger his gaze on the coffin before him. It was then that a spot of red in the darkness captured his attention.

His eyes froze on a person with a hair color he had never seen before. He had never seen an individual with hair the color of fire. Auburn, red, maroon, he couldn't place his finger on the shade. The dim light made it even harder. She appeared to be around his age. Her blazing hair was wavy and reached down past midback, half of it up in the matter that was considered fashionable in the Fire Nation. Her expression was one of pure desolation as a woman whom he assumed to be her mother held her close while holding her hand.

"Prince Zuko!" Iroh whispered harshly elbowing him snapping him out of his train of thought. As he did the girl looked up and their eyes met. His lingered on her face for a second.

Her mother turned as did the man Zuko assumed to be her father. He turned his head sharply ready to walk away, but instead Iroh turned the opposite way and began walking in the way of of the Vice Royal family.

Xxx

"I-I think I need some air," gasped the girl as she took in a deep breath suddenly feeling claustrophobic. Her soul felt numb with the absence of her dear grandfather. She felt dizzy and partly nauseous. She had shed her tears and her eyes were dry from crying so much, over the past couple of days. Her nostrils felt irritated from blowing so many tissues. Her mom gave her hand a gentle squeeze and a sad smile before letting her go. She noted the two strangers that were approaching to pay their condolences.

Distraught she didn't bother in engaging with them or even checking out their improper attire. From the looks of it they were probably military from the Fire Nation mainland. She stepped out quickly suddenly feeling like she couldn't breath due to the stench of flowers, incense and burning candles. She in took a large gulp of fresh air when she reached the small garden outside the governing room. She sat on a stone bench that was placed before a small koi pond fountain and under a blossoming plum tree. Just a few days ago she had been sitting in this same bench with her grandfather. She had been holding onto his arm tightly, he had given her one of the plum blossom flowers, tucked it into her hair and was telling her stories about her late grandmother.

And now- he was gone.

She felt fat tears begin to swell in her eyes as her lungs felt heavy with woe. She had done enough crying. Death was part of life.

"Loss is part of life,"her grandfather had said to her sagely. "But nothing worth keeping is every truly lost."

Her tears certainly wouldn't bring him back. She sucked in a deep breath and sat up straight as an arrow, just as she had been taught her entire young life. Holding her head up with pride.

She didn't know how long she had been out here. Holding her breath, trying to hold it all together.

"The flower that blooms in adversity is the most beautiful and rare of all," a wise voice interrupted. Her ears had to be playing tricks on her.

It was her grandfather.

"W-What?" She turned bewildered.

Automatically a cascade of tears streamed down her unblinking amber eyes.

It wasn't.

She almost felt as if she had heard her grandfather. She wished it had been him. She sternly believed that those had been his words through a different voice. One that was unfamiliar to her. The man standing beside her was older. His hair was aged and gray and he was large. He seemed like a pleasant person carrying an air of peace and gentleness around him. The kind that his grandfather might've kept around for counsel or as a part of the governing cabinet. He was the one that had walked in late, with the boy with the scar on his face that had been glaring at her during the service.

"Blooming season can be powerful, glorious and intoxicating, but tragically short-lived," the man said wisely. "It is a visual reminder that our lives, too, are fleeting."

Who was this man that spoke in riddles with his wise tongue? Where had he come from?

"They also signify most important above all love." He reached down and with care picked up a lost flower. Lifting it up he offered it to her with kindness. Ceasing her crying the girl took the flower from the wise man.

"Thank you," she said quietly keeping her head lowered in respect.

"You must be Tsai, Sencha's granddaughter," it wasn't a question. He knew who she was. She nodded. The man lowered his head bowing before her. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss. Your grandfather was a good man, he was also one of my closest friends. Strange that he would pass on such a pleasant day," he commented raising up to view the clear sky above.

"My name is Iroh," he introduced himself. "I have come here with my nephew to pay my respects."

Tsai rose to her feet and bowed her head in equal respect. Of course she had heard of the famous General Iroh, the Dragon of the West. Afterall he had been first in line for the throne of Fire Lord just a couple of years ago.

"General," she acknowledged respectfully.

"There you are!" A woman of similar features to the girl approached the two. She wore a matching dark tunic and her hair was light brown and her eyes were a minty green.

"How embarrassing," she breathed. "I certainly hope Tsai wasn't bothering you with any nonsense General," her mother said as she wrapped her arms around her daughter's shoulders holding her close.

Being of Earth Kingdom decent Sanyu, her mother, had always been hyper conscious of her and her children's behavior. She couldn't afford for them to be shunned because of their Earth Kingdom heritage.

"Not at all," He smiled kindly. "And just Iroh, please."

"Has it-" Tsai turned asking her mother. She simply nodded. The body had been ignited in flames as it was customary in Fire Nation funerary tradition. Her expression twisted into a tormented one. "I really do apologize that you've come to visit us on such a somber occasion," her father stepped forward. It was the new Vice Royal Governor of Yu Dao. He had introduced himself as Azah. "It would truly be an honor if you could join us for lunch. It is not often that we receive such as esteemed guests. Specially royalty from the mainland."

"Uncle, send for the ship to undock. We don't have any more time to waste," a voice rudely spat into the conversation.

It was that rude boy who had been glaring at Tsai during the service. She eyed him warily as she approached her and her family in the plum-blossom garden. The governor's eyes narrowed at the royal's rude behaviors. Sanju seemed oblivious to this.

"Please excuse my nephew. We'd love to join you," Iroh nodded. "Tsai, have you introduced yourself to Prince Zuko?" Her mother spoke tensely slightly grabbing her by the shoulders and shoving her towards the prince.

"Uncle-" The other protested.

"Zuko you're always talking about honor. We are going to stay and join our host the Vice Royal Governor and his lovely family for some tea and dinner." Iroh grinned cheekily as he grabbed his nephew's arms tightly and slightly shoved him forward towards the other teen.

Both were awkwardly pushed to face each other as their families observed the impromptu match-making meeting all with knowing eyes and discrete growing grins. Tsai's older brother Mecha snickered from the back, she wanted to turn and glare at him but was instead once again nudged forward by her mother who was glaring daggers at her and poking an invisible knife at her back.

Her grandfather had just died, could they cut the match-making and courtship some slack?

The prince stood half a head taller than her. Maybe he appeared to be taller because of the way he wore his dark hair, in a tall ponytail, most of his head was cleanly shaved off and Tsai realized that he hadn't been glaring at her. That's just the way his face was, it was stuck in a mean scowling mug with suspiciously narrowed eyes. However the most striking feature was half of his face, which was scarred by fire in an ugly branding on his skin. Of course she had heard stories and rumors about the banished prince. Most girls her age would giggle and say he was extremely handsome, other rumors said that he got his scar in a training accident. However, it seemed that his temper and infamous bad character were no myth.

"Tsai of Yu Dao," She bowed down her head lightly bangs slightly falling forward as she did. "It is an honor your highness."

xxxx

AN: Woooooooooo, this Avatar Netflix revival is doing things to me. I think I LOVE Zuko more than I did when I was watching the series as a child. I'm super excited to see where this story goes. I'm almost done writing it at chapter 30 and I've grown super attached to these two characters.

Let me know what you guys think and send me some love!

Best,

xxx

First: [Here] Next:  https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/621143206633046017/sunburn-prince-zuko-2

CHAPTER MASTERLIST

[namjoonspiration]

ON [2]

Pairing: Jungkook x reader

Rating: PG-13

Word Count: 2.8k

Summary: You wake up in a new place surrounded by Mages; however, you feel the weight of Jungkook’s absence. In the meantime, you meet some new friends.

Warnings/tags: heartbreak, mentions of violence

Author’s note: Here is Part 2! I know it’s kinda short and I apologize for that, but Chapter 3 is pretty lengthy and I’ll be posting that in a couple days to make up for it :) Enjoy!

Masterlist

Part 2

Year 3049 – 388 years after the Fall of the World

A pungent, salty smell brings you to your senses. Your hands fall flush against rough cotton as you bolt up from your laying position. The hand that was holding the white rock jerks away. You survey the room frantically. A purple-haired young man is holding the salts. And that golden-eyed Mage who you saw at the Citadel was sitting across the room.

The Citadel!

Jungkook! Your screams of desperation ring inside your head.

You look that Mage dead in the eyes and feel your rage drag you to your feet to launch yourself at him. “You! You fucking prick! You left him behind!” You pound against his chest repeatedly and get a few hard slaps against his face.

“Get her to calm down!” He snaps at Purple Hair. You don’t even spare him a glance. You keep getting as many hits as you can on this stupid man.

“You left my Jungkook behind!” Soft, oiled hands wrap around the back of your neck. “You—you could have saved him…” Your muscles become like jelly, losing all their strength.  You feel your magic go to sleep. Purple Hair is quick to grab you under your arms and set you back to sitting on the bed. You look at his hands, and the bottle on the table. What is that stuff?

“No, we couldn’t. Trust me, if I had the chance, I would have done it. We went into that raid with the aim of getting every single one of you out. If I had gone back for him, our bodies, along with his and the other Mage kids, would be rotting inside that Citadel at this very moment.” The Mage explained.

“He’s probably already dead.” You protest, your anger melting into sorrow.

“They won’t kill him. They’ll hurt him, but they won’t kill him.”

“Why?” You ask in utter disbelief. “And why are we still here and not out there trying to rescue him?”

“Because your boyfriend had proven with his fight at the end, he’s worth more to them alive then rotting in the ground. Besides that Citadel is now locked tighter than a snake around its prey. There’s no telling when that place will let people in again. I doubt they’ll let their own people out to go on the trade roads again for months.”

“Trade roads?”

“Between the civilizations that are left.” His words surprise you. There are more people out there? The Governing Circle always said growing up that the Citadel was the last surviving place for humans left on Earth.

For humans. But Mages…

“That’s how we knew you guys were in there. I was on those roads when a trader from the Citadel was selling oranges, and for top dollar too. I knew it had to be magic that made those. Oranges haven’t grown in any land since the Old World, and I didn’t think the Mages that were making these were doing so voluntarily. The Citadel has a reputation in the outside world for cruelty and oppression of Mages that enter its walls.”

The story was slowly knitting itself together inside your head. You can’t believe it. Your magic gave them a smoke signal—a cry for help. You were the reason that so many Mages were freed from the Citadel. But it didn’t lift your spirits.

The most important person in your life was still in there.

Wait. “What about my mother? My family? The village?” You rush out. “In the Southeast corner, we all lived in a village with our family and neighbors. Did they get out too?” Your heart beats faster in anticipation.

The Mage raises his eyebrows, “Village?” He thinks about it for several long moments, and then he stiffens, jaw clenching. Finally, at last, he says, “No.”

Your spirit drops even further. “So, they’re still in there too?”

“No. There are no Mages left in the Citadel besides your boyfriend. They were all killed when they took you and all the other children several years ago.”

“What?” Tears prickle at your eyes. “How—how do you know that?”

“We heard about it on the roads, and we investigated it. I even saw their bodies being carted out of the Citadel myself before they buried them in a mass grave about a week’s travel away from the city.” The weight of the loss sits heavy on your chest, making it hard to breath. “The Governing Circle only saw your village as a population problem, and when they had finally picked out what they wanted, they destroyed it. They never planned to free you from your prison or for you to ever see your families again. You would have served, worked, bared children, and died within those walls, with your children and your children’s children to live the same fate.”

“Sir,” Purple Hair speaks out of the blue. “She’s not well, and I don’t think this conversation at the moment is going to help her recover.” His voice is so gentle compared to the gruff of the giant man sitting across from you.

He huffs, “Fine. Please send word when she’s recovered then.” And he leaves without another word.

Purple Hair fiddles with bottles and jars, the clinking and clanking poking at the silence in the room. Then he’s laying a tray of food next to you and gestures towards it. “Please eat as much as you want. I can get more if you don’t feel it’s enough.” You don’t say anything. “My name is Namjoon. I’m the doctor here. I’m human, but I’m not here to hurt you obviously, otherwise I wouldn’t be a doctor,” he laughs nervously. You don’t say anything still. He clears his throat awkwardly. “Sorry. My comedic skills aren’t that great, but I’m a good listener when you want to talk. I’m not just a doctor that takes care of physical wounds. Everyone has emotional wounds, and right now I know you have many. We don’t have to deal with them all today, or even tomorrow, but I’m here to help you heal.” Namjoon pats your shoulder tenderly before getting up to give you some space.

You don’t move for hours, even for days for that matter. You nibble twice at the fresh food and water Namjoon gives you three times a day, but then you stare at nothing. Not thinking, not feeling, not sure what to do. Nothing happens inside Namjoon’s clinic the whole time you’re there for that first week until he gets two new patients.

They walk in. A boy and a blindfolded girl. The boy was much older than the girl, and she couldn’t have been any older than three. He appeared to be about your age with a tall, skinny but somewhat muscled build like how Jungkook was.

Is.

“Please come in. Make yourselves comfortable,” Namjoon gestures to the empty bed across from yours. They tentatively sit down. You’re sitting down yourself, nibbling on a piece of bread. They face you, the boy looking you directly in the eyes, like he’s waiting for you to do something. “Ah, I guess some introductions will help with the… tense atmosphere in this room. This is y/n. Y/n, this is Taehyung and his little sister.”

It really didn’t help with the tension at all.

“Okay, never mind,” Namjoon mutters. “I’ll just take her to the other room to treat her injuries and check for any broken bones and infections,” he lays a gentle hand on the little girl’s wrist to lead her. Taehyung is quick to grab Namjoon’s arm that’s holding his sister, warning flaring bright in his black eyes. “It’s alright. I’m not taking her from you. I’m going to help her,” Namjoon speaks with an open and honest tone. Trust.

Taehyung considers his words for a few long moments before letting go. The little girl hops down, and Namjoon places a hand on her back to guide her. Just before they are out of the room, Taehyung warns, “Don’t take her blindfold off. It must never come off.” His tone sent chills down her spine. Namjoon nodded wordlessly.Once they were gone, you and Taehyung returned to your staring contest. It was hard to get a complete read on him, but you could tell he’s been through hell.

“What’s with the blindfold?” You ask after several minutes of silence.

“None of your business.”

“Why does she need it?” You cast another line.

He doesn’t bite. Instead, he fires back with another question, “Where are you from?”

“The Citadel.” There was no point in being mysterious.

“Shit. No wonder you look like hell.”

“I could say the same thing about you. You want to tell me what that black scar on your shoulder is about?” You eye the part of his skin where his oversized long sleeve has fallen to exposure the portion where his neck meets his shoulder. He quickly tugs his shirt back into place, scowling at you. “Are you a Mage?”

“Yes. Are you?”

“Yes.”

“How did you get here?”

“I was rescued with several other Mages I grew up with. I’ve been here about a week. Although, one of us got left behind,” you mutter bitterly.

Taehyung doesn’t bother to prod further in your last comment. “My sister and I, we’re from a Mage colony from the West.”

The West. You knew what that mean.

That’s where the darkness travel from, swallowing civilizations whole, scorching the lands and poisoning the waters.

Taehyung and his sister must have escaped from it. And from the looks of it, it didn’t seem that they did so with much ease and that they were the only ones who made it out alive.

“Must have been pretty bad out there,” you say.

He nods slowly. “Yeah, it was. I can imagine the Citadel isn’t a picnic either.”

You shake your head. Silence befalls both of your again, but the tension in the room is definitely gone at this point. Now it’s just you and Taehyung, sitting in Namjoon’s clinic with bleeding internal wounds.

He was just like you in a way. Hurt in several ways, seemingly lost, not knowing how he ended up here. The first person you’ve seen in days that wasn’t so interested in how you were faring and when you might recover so they could interrogate about your life in the Citadel.

You hold your uneaten bread out to Taehyung in a gesture of respect and understanding. He searches your face and seems to know what you’re offering him beyond just a chunk of bread. Thankfully, he accepts the bread from you and begins to eat.

…

It takes another week for you to walk out of Namjoon’s clinic, feeling less numb than you had when you first arrived at the Mages’ camp. There were so many other Mages here. You almost couldn’t believe that so many have survived after hundreds of years when you thought at one point your village was the last one left. It was overwhelming at first trying to settle in. You struggled with sharing a hut with other girls your age, who were happy and moving about their normal days. You just didn’t fit in. You returned to Namjoon’s clinic in the middle of the night the first day out, and he offered the spare room in his clinic to stay in if it meant you’d get some sleep. You were truly grateful for his kindness. It also allowed him to keep an eye on you and to monitor your progress.

After your first meeting with Taehyung, Namjoon noticed an improvement in your interactions with your surrounding environment, so he thought it would be a good idea to have you two have some level of interaction every day.

At first, you and Taehyung were somewhat reluctant to listen to him, but after you both realized this would be a chance for you to share with each other about the hell you’ve both been through and to commiserate with each other.

So, you did for hours every day. You would tell Taehyung about life in the Citadel, and he would tell you about what it’s like running from a faceless darkness, that never gets tired, for his whole life he’s lived in the West. Before he and his sister got here, they’d been traveling for months non-stop. Their camp got too close to the darkness one night, and they were attacked by whatever unspeakable horrors were inside it. Their parents sacrificed themselves to save Taehyung and his sister and died a grisly death. However, in their process of escape, Taehyung was attacked by the darkness. It had entered his body, leaving him in constant pain. But he couldn’t stop running and fighting to get away because he had his sister to protect. Thankfully, they stumbled across some Mages from this settlement.

Namjoon didn’t even though what to do about the darkness in Taehyung, which had manifested itself in the form of a living scar on his shoulder. Namjoon didn’t want to try to cut it out from him for fears that he might upset the living darkness and put Taehyung in more pain. It hadn’t mattered to Taehyung anyway. He could barely feel its presence there anymore.

One evening, he finally tells you about his sister.

“She’s a Seer.” Your mother had mentioned them in the bedtime stories she told you. You thought Seers only existed in Mage Folklore. It made sense why Taehyung insisted the blindfold be kept on. Seers constantly see visions of the past, present and future, so to see all that along with the world in front of her, she wouldn’t be able function properly. The overload of information could even kill her, and she might lose her Sight. “Besides, if she keeps that blindfold on, she doesn’t have to see how far this world’s fallen into shit. I can keep her from witnessing firsthand the pain and hell of this world if that blindfold stays on. I won’t ever let her take it off until we’re in a better, happier place.”

You didn’t have your first interaction with his sister until she was almost six years old. You had traveled with her and Taehyung out to a nearby wooded area—a very rare sight—to collect herbs Namjoon needed to make medicines. You’d been examining a cluster of leaves and flowers near a pond when you see them.

Lilies.

Jungkook’s face fills your thoughts. All his sweet words and caring heart. The love you gave each other the few months you had together after you first kissed.

It broke your heart to think about it. Three years… It has been nearly three years since you’ve arrived at the Mages camp. You’d asked that silver-haired warrior every time you saw him when the Citadel would open and when you can rescue Jungkook. His answer: I don’t know. Maybe soon.

As if she heard your distressed thoughts, Tae’s sister placed her small hand on yours. “Let go of your heartache, y/n. He’s where he needs to be right now.” Her voice sounded nothing like a six-year-old’s. She sounded ancient, like she’s been alive for thousands of years. You knew she was telling you the truth, and you can’t lie, it was hard to swallow. But you wouldn’t just sit idly by, waiting for that warrior oaf to bring you news of the Citadel.

No.

Instead, you took action. You learned from the experienced Mages in the camp how to do offensive and defensive magic. No longer would you just know how to make plants grow. Now you would learn how to fight back.

You convinced the merchants to let you join them on their travels through the trade roads after persuading Namjoon for some medicines to trade for promise of bringing back rare items he needed. It took more time than you would have liked, but one day you finally heard news on the Citadel.

They’ve strengthened their numbers again since the attack, and apparently, they’re bragging about some secret weapon they have. You know what I say? What a load of bullshit. I’ve heard from some traders who have direct contact with the Governing Circle that their weapon is nothing more than a Mage boy with some spitfire in his soul. Weapon? Pish. What can a single Mage do against other angry Mages, much less against the darkness that continues to blacken the soil.

Jungkook. He was still alive. That brought you hope that there might still be one day you’d see him again.

But that’s not all I’ve heard. There’s a war on the horizon, and whoever is left on this Godforsaken Earth needs to be prepared.

[artificialqueens]

Under Her Eye - Chapter 2: The Handmaid (Branjie) - Gab

a/n: The next chapter is here! Many many thanks to @artificialmeggie for beta-ing. Her words of encouragement are everything ❤️ This chapter is a little more violent, so be ready. I’ll always do my best to include as many tw as I can in the tags but do inform me if I miss anything! Needless to say, this is not a pg fic. My writing sideblog is @gabby-writes if you want to drop an ask or get an update. In the meantime, enjoy!

Vanessa isn’t normally quiet, but when the tide changes it seems she has no choice.

Chapter 2: The Handmaid

Word Count: 2964

Vanessa was never quiet.

She was loud and manic and angry.

She was electric, and every injustice she saw sparked her into action. When the law changed—replacing constitution with religious canon, banning performance art, and stripping women of every right they’d ever bled for—she rioted right out on the streets, screaming for her life. Screaming for the lives of everyone she knew.

Vanessa was a performer by trade. She thrived under a spotlight, pouring her heart out every night yet still having enough left for an encore. When the arts center shut down, the rallies against the new government became her stage. She was no public speaker, and definitely no writer, but she had a fire in her eyes that set crowds alight. She was told to stop, threatened to stop, but the people loved her. They needed her.

It was five months into her protests, organizing rallies and mobilizing a small group—this time outside the White House—when it happened. As the president gave his address on the rising pressures the US was facing, a shot rang out, amplified across every speaker and every TV screen in America.

For a moment everything was silent, the guards stationed around the area looking far too calm as the president’s body lay behind the podium. Vanessa watched from her place behind a set of barricades, only one thought in her head.

It could be over.

She waited, prayed that the next person to take the stage would be an ally. Praying that the next words she would hear would be that this hell was finally over. She had yet to know hell.

Her hopes were crushed in an instant as a man approached the podium. He stood wearing a military uniform, with a cross fixed firmly onto his vest and a gun strapped to his back. The crowd, as if just registering the murder that took place, grew tense—screaming and wailing out as he spoke from the Bible in his hands.

The great dragon was hurled down - that ancient serpent called the devil, or satan,

Vanessa—suddenly desperate to get away—grabbed the nearest protester, forcing them to start walking as she saw more men in uniform dispersed into the crowd.

who leads the whole world astray.

She was screaming for them to head for the street when she saw one of the soldiers pull out his gun. She saw him take aim into the crowd.

He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

The sounds of the screaming nearly rivalled the bullets that came from every direction.

Vanessa ran, pulling everyone she could from her group into the street, then into the buildings. They forced their way into a small store, ducking into the back room until they could no longer hear chaos outside. Until the sounds of shooting silenced.

The group made it out after a few hours, dodging the military men in the street, finding passage out of the city. What Vanessa found back at home was not any less unsettling. Her street was quiet, deserted. She made her way into her apartment, frantically trying to call for her mom, her friends, anyone—but there was no use. Her lines were cut, every radio signal jammed. The only thing playing on the TV screen was the same scene she had just escaped. The man in uniform speaking to a dying crowd.

God will wipe every tear from their eyes.

There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain,

for the old order of things has passed away.

—

It had been two weeks since the assassination. Two weeks since the borders were ordered shut, and Gilead was declared open. The people in her neighborhood had already left, or perhaps they were taken? Killed? Vanessa didn’t know. It was only a matter of time before they took her. She still fought until the bitter end.

The secret police, the Eyes, came to her with chains and bindings one morning. When the black van had stopped in her street she knew what was coming. She screamed about her rights, though they meant nothing now. She kicked and flailed as they grabbed her arms. It was no use. They bound her hands behind her back and gagged her, forcing her mouth shut. She nearly blacked out as she was shoved into the van.

She was taken to a hospital first. The number of tests and needles and samples they took from her left her dizzy. Next, she was brought to a courthouse, before a tribunal of commanders—who she was told were her new leaders. They accused her of being a lesbian, a gender traitor, violating the laws of nature. They accused her of treason against the state for her riots. She spit each charge back at their faces, earning her a strike across her own. It was harsh and wet, and she couldn’t see anything but flashes of light behind her eyes. This is it, she thought, she almost hoped. At the end of her trial, when she was sure that she would be sentenced to death, there was a final, deafening accusation.

She is fertile.

The tribunal silenced at this, looked towards Vanessa’s bloody face and wide eyes. No. No no no NO—. She wanted to stop them, to beg for death. She had heard the rumours, she knew enough history to know what this could mean to their twisted, perverse minds, but she couldn’t speak. She couldn’t fathom anything so cruel. She didn’t register the dismissal of the court until guardians were dragging her away.

—

She found herself in another van—god, they loved their black vans—being driven for hours and hours. She was sure that she wasn’t in her own state, much less her own city anymore. When they finally stopped, she was led into a building that could have once been—a school? It had the same long halls, except without the lockers and bulletin boards. The classrooms had crosses over each doorway and posters with biblical figures plastered on every wall and window. She was still bound and gagged, sitting in what could’ve been a counselor’s office, as the Eyes left her with a warning to stay put. She wanted to laugh; where else could she go? She waited for a long while. Was it minutes? Hours? She didn’t know, there was no clock for her to read. In fact, the place was devoid of anything you could read.

“So you’re the feisty one.”

An older woman strode into the room. She was dressed in what could only be described as an old-fashioned nurse’s garb. Or maybe she was a nun? Or something in between. Vanessa looked at her wearily, not knowing if she wanted to slump over or charge her. She heard shuffling at the door and turned her head to see some other women standing just outside the room, heads down.

“Blessed be the fruit dear, you have been given a chance at redemption,” she said reaching for Vanessa’s gag, removing it.

“I—what the fuck.” Vanessa was vibrating with anger yet she had nothing more to say. She couldn’t even begin to speak to the woman in front of her, looking at her with such cruel amusement. She barely even got the words out before she was slapped clear across the face.

“No no, we can’t have that language anymore.” She tutted, forcing the smaller woman to stand up and join the line of girls outside.

“You see, you’re all sinners, impure stains on God’s earth. But He forgives, and He has given you all new life.” She turned to all the girls, unclipping a two-pronged rod from her hip. Some girls flinched as she pulled it out. “You will only speak words of praise from now on. Is that clear?”

Vanessa grit her teeth at the tone. She could not stand this woman, could not stand how she was smiling at her as if she wouldn’t strike her again.

“Go fuck yourself.”

A sharp, searing pain hit her ribs as she was knocked to the ground, the girls around her gasping in shock. Electricity crackled at the tip of the device in the older woman’s hand, still positioned right at Vanessa’s side as she grabbed her hair, tilting her head to face hers.

“No. We say ‘Yes, Aunt Maria.’ Can you do that for me dear?”

Silence. Vanessa could barely hear with the stinging at her side. Another jab had her doubling over in pain.

“‘Yes, Aunt Maria.’ That’s easy enough isn’t it?”

“Yes, Aunt Maria.”

—

There were things that the girls were allowed to know.

They were allowed to know that there was fighting. Of course there was no fighting in the country, not in Gilead, but resistance groups in some of the states that managed to escape were fighting. Pushing back. They were allowed to know that they were far from the borders, whatever those borders may be. Far from any freedom.

They were allowed to know that they were to be called handmaids, and were to be gifted to the commanders to bear children. They were allowed to know that they were property, branded with a metal tag pierced into their ear. They were allowed to know that they were nothing. No name, no history, no connection to anyone. They were allowed to know that, if after six months, they were not pregnant, they would leave their commander’s home and move on to the next. They were allowed to know that if they could not become pregnant after some time, they were sent to the colonies.

They were not allowed to know that it wouldn’t matter. They were not allowed to know that they were already dead.

Vanessa liked to say she believed in God, but there was no amount of prayers, no amount of holy symbols you could surround her with to convince her that God was watching over her now. In the center, she couldn’t speak much. Each word that wasn’t uttered in prayer earned her another slap across the face or a shock to the side.

There were some openings, small pockets of time where the aunts weren’t listening, where she could turn her head to the side and speak to the girl beside her. She learned that her name was A’keria. That she was a sex worker. That she had a son. That she was afraid for him. That she missed him. Vanessa shared as much. About how she missed the stage. About how she missed her mom.

Each of those moments would come and go so quickly, but Vanessa clung to them, collected them, and carefully stored them in the back of her mind where she hoped no one would ever look for them. She held on to any chance to hear her name again. Held on to any chance to feel like a person again.

—

“What is this?”

Vanessa couldn’t help but flash a smile as Aunt Maria stepped towards her waving a white cap—her white cap—stained with soup, at her face.

“My dirty bonnet, Aunt Maria.”

“And what is on the bonnet?”

A crude outline, clearly printed in orange broth, earned stifled giggles and gasps of shock from the other girls. Vanessa’s smile grew wider.

“Never seen a pair of tits before, Aunt Maria?”

She knew the strike was coming, first at her legs, forcing her to crumple to the floor, the pain nearly blinding her. She could feel her arms being dragged up from her side as a strike to her hands brought them down again. She didn’t know if she wanted to laugh, or cry, or perhaps taunt death a little longer. A little harder.

Vanessa cried out as Aunt Maria pulled her up by the arm and dragged her to her bed. She was stripped and stinging antiseptics were applied to her wounds as she lay there, told to pray and beg God for forgiveness. The cycle would repeat as the young Latina refused to sit silent, and Aunt Maria grew more cruel.

Vanessa hated her.

One reason was the abuse. The other was her name. Perhaps one of the top two ironies of her life is that she was delivered to a woman that bore the same name as the holy lady of Guadalupe herself. A name that she had always found comfort in, now striking her face and burning her hands. She didn’t believe God played tricks as cruel as this, but it was getting harder to think otherwise.

More than that, the aunt was observant. Maybe it was because Vanessa couldn’t help but wear her heart on her sleeve. The older woman saw how her hands shook and her body tensed when the other handmaids were punished. She saw how the young handmaid would so tenderly reach out to the other girls when she believed no one was watching her, so she used it to her advantage.

When Vanessa had another outburst, this time kicking the other aunts away as they positioned her to practice for the ritual, Aunt Maria was ready. She dragged A’keria to the floor by her hair, watching Vanessa’s eyes grow wide and fearful. She kicked the poor girl until the sounds of her boot hitting her back echoed in the room.

Vanessa had sat there watching, defeated, and for the first time, quiet.

—

She did well enough since that day. Spent far more time at the center than any of the others, but she did well enough. Ever since the incident with A’keria, they stopped talking, instead settling for sympathetic glances and gentle touches in the night. It was comforting, almost normal, but it did nothing to ease the static under Vanessa’s skin. It did nothing but remind her of the horror out there in this new world.

As the other girls left for their assignments, with their new names and new lives, Vanessa tried desperately to forget. She tried to forget her old life, her old family, her old name. She was jealous of those who could. Even A’keria—who was now Ofdavid—talked so beautifully about bringing a child into this world. As if she forgot how it would happen. As if she forgot about the one that was taken from her.

It had been a little more than two years since she was taken when Vanessa was set aside by Aunt Maria. She was given a small file—unlabeled of course, after all, handmaids must not read—with a single photograph of a man inside.

“This is Commander Hytes, a truly great man of God,” the older woman said reverently. “You will be given the honor to be handmaid to him and his wife. You who is now named Ofgeorge.”

She felt sick looking at the man who was to violate her, possess her. She wanted to rip the picture apart. She wanted to channel all the rage she’s been filled with for months on end. Instead she handed it back, stood up, and smoothed out her dress. “Praise be, Aunt Maria.”

The turnover was quick. She was led out of the center with a small case of clothes and a rosary and driven to the new house at dusk. She wasn’t told about the old Ofgeorge, nor was she given any indication of what the family was like. Maybe they would be kind and leave her alone most days, only touching her when necessary. Maybe they would be cruel, and she would be beaten to death, and her blood would stain the perfect white walls of the pristine city. Maybe she would escape one day. The lurch of the vehicle as it stopped in front of the house was what brought Vanessa back to present. She did not expect to walk out into a beautiful front garden, surrounded by trees. She did not expect to see a woman—a martha she recalled—with kind eyes and a smile of joy, taking her bag and guiding her in by the small of her back.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you dear. My name is Nina. We’ll just have you meet the mistress before settling in, hmm?” She was warm, and definitely did not seem like the type to carry an electric stick. Nina led her into the home, into the living and dining area. It was perfect—neat, clean, luxurious in comparison to the stiff cushions and austere living area of the center.

“Is Commander Hytes not here?” Vanessa tried, her hands beginning to shake at the thought of meeting the man.

“No dear, but he’ll be back in a few days,” Nina replied. She seemed sad, like maybe she didn’t want that either. Or maybe Vanessa was projecting. “In the meantime, you’ll meet Mrs. Hytes. You know your responses well, my dear?”

“My—“ Of course. Responses, verses, etiquettes that control everything. That control everyone. “Yes, of course.” Nina gave a small nod before leading Vanessa to a hallway. She tapped twice on one of the doors before pushing her way in.

There wasn’t much in the sitting room she found herself in. Bare shelves that must’ve contained books once. A simple rug, a simple sofa and chair set. A barren desk with only knitting needles and a ball of yarn that looked practically untouched. A woman.

Vanessa locked eyes with her. She looked younger than Vanessa had expected. Weren’t these women supposed to be too old to have children? She was doll-like, with her pale, barely flushed skin, and perfect creaseless dress. Her blonde hair was neat and styled away from her face. Her eyes were piercing green, looking straight at her.

She had said something, Vanessa responded appropriately, and that was that. Before the handmaid had a chance to say anything else, she was led out by Nina, into her upstairs bedroom, quiet once more.

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

Drunk Punch Love 2: Chapter 2

Pairing: FemShep and Garrus Vakarian (Shakarian)

Rating: PG-13 (with some tossed F-bombs)

Summary: Their awkward, badass journey through saving the galaxy and accidentally falling in love

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22089466/chapters/54170929

Part 2- Chapter 2: Alliance Stowaways

Before she could even adjust to being back on the Normandy with people she didn't know, and even before she could introduce herself to any of them, they were passing by a new colony hit by The Collectors, Freedom's Progress. Anya remembered duty-life was high pace and unexpected, but it kinda felt like she hadn't had time to breathe.

And the entire thing was overwhelmed by waves of emotion, because not only did they find a derelict colony, but they found Tali, too. Her Tali, engineering extraordinaire, cute laugh, and all. She was a leader, now. Watching her felt surreal, seeing the awkward wingwoman of Ash Williams so sure of herself now. They pushed down opposite sides of the pavilion, but all Anya wanted to do was fight by her side again.

But that wasn't her place anymore. It was Tali's team.

When they shot down the last bots and got to the one survivor, Veetor, he was a mess. They did some quick questioning, but it wasn't long before the guy just needed a blanket around his shoulders and to get cared for back home. Tali's people were walking him back to their ship and Anya felt so desperate to not let her go. Not again.

Being an emotional wimp about asking people to stay was part of her charm, though. And how could she ask Tali to give up being a leader just to be on her ship again? That'd be selfish. So she hugged her, told her to keep in touch, and made a few jokes about coming back from the dead.

Then, she watched Tali walk away from her.

She understood how important it was for Tali to continue supporting the Flotilla and getting Veetor home. But also her chest deflated as one more reminder of who she really was floated away.

Walking down the halls of the Normandy, wondering when they'd get to the Citadel so she could get some proper sweats instead of these ridiculous Cerberus slacks, it all was just too much. Too-friendly Jacob had barely let her breathe post-mission before he was taking her on this tour of her own ship.

It made sense why he was doing it, there were a lot of changes to Joker's beautiful baby. At the same time, though, she could feel wisps of memories in every corridor. Pressley used to give her bad jokes and every opinion he'd ever had on the command deck. She met Kaidan in the cockpit, where now it was just Joker and some AI named EDI bickering. Tali's engine room station was replaced by two funny engineers named Gabby and Donnely, but the way they played off each other was a little overwhelming for her jumbled brain.

And when they passed the battery, and he told her this was where the ships' gun calibrations were, she knew this was where Garrus would've belonged. But he didn't, because this wasn't quite her Normandy, and he wasn't here. The turian that got her through Saren was MIA. Maybe even-

Anya couldn't think about that or everything felt even more hazy.

Things brightened up, though, when Jacob walked her into the med-bay. Much to her surprise, the doc wasn't a stranger. She was an old friend. Prim, silver-haired, and beautiful as ever.

Much faster than she could get a word out, Anya pulled Dr. Chakwas into her arms. She said, "Good to see a friendly face."

"I'm sure, Shepard." When she pulled back, Chakwas touched her cheek. Part of it was affection, but the doctor also had her intense "medic" glare on. "Cerberus still hasn't erased the scars they left on you."

Her fingers waved away the woman's hand and brushed her own cheek; it was sensitive, but not painfully so. "Yeah, well, I'm no stranger to scars. Adds character."

Chakwas laughed at her. "Like you need any more character." A million moments and memories seemed to pass between them, half with Shepard in sweats swearing about some stitches. While she didn't mind scars, stitches always made her skin itch.

But that wasn't important. What was important was that she sniped another top-tier Alliance officer just by coming back from the dead. "How'd you end up here? I never thought-"

"I'd leave the Alliance? I haven't quite. You wrack up a lot of shore leave by my age. And when I heard there was going to be another ship captained by Commander Shepard, I had to join."

Jacob coughed into his hand and stood up straight, giving Anya an apologetic look. Considering he was interrupting Chakwas, it wasn't nearly apologetic enough. At her glare, he looked a little unsettled. "Hate to break up the reunion, but we still have a lot to see."

"Fine." Crossing her arms over her chest, Anya gave Chakwas a serious look. "I'm coming back later for you. You, Joker, and I are having dinner."

"I wouldn't miss it."

Following Jacob out of the med bay, she kinda wished she could karate chop his head off. It was like she got a new Alliance lackey without as many Chain of Command perks. And at least Alliance soldiers looked at her like a living legend; Jacob looked at her like a cash prize Cerberus won after some high stakes gambling. She was pretty sure she hated that more than the heroic evangelizing.

Anya also didn't enjoy being stuck in an elevator with him and, with four floors on the Normandy SR-2, it had happened way too much in one day. The dude radiated an uncomfortable amount of self-confidence and heat. She wasn't sure yet if any of it was justified.

Lucky for her, when the door opened he gestured for her to walk onto their final floor: the captain's quarters. Anya entered her room and was barely listening to him, marvelling at it. There was a great desk spot, shelves, a huge bed, a couch that looked even nicer than her Alliance one. If she ever did movie night-

Before she could stop herself, Anya winced. Once she stood in the center of the room, Jacob said, "And this is where you'll stay, concluding our tour."

She was a little cranky about that. Anya definitely could've talked a few more minutes with Chakwas and shown herself this room. But Jacob just kept talking. "Since we're not military, things can be a little more luxurious than the typical Alliance ship. Keeps the people happy."

"Wild to think this is mine." She pressed her fingers to the glass of the empty fish tank. Guess Cerberus wanted her to upgrade from her plants on the Normandy. Feeling a pang of nostalgia in her heart, Anya remembered how much she loved waking up to her succulents and ivy. She'd have to get some more since hers got blown out into space.

That thought didn't make her feel so good, either.

"Best Commander in the galaxy deserves it." Anya nearly vomited. She wasn't great with the overblown compliments, but she hated it even more coming from a soldier subordinate. Gave her too many memories of regretted conversations with one Kaidan Alenko.

Jacob didn't seem to catch her distaste, though, and continued gushing like a proper fanboy. If only he knew how much she hated it. "Just wanted to say, it's an honor serving under you. I expected the best, but being in a fight with you.. It's something else."

Yep, this was three steps too close to Alenko territory. Remembering what happened the last time someone talked like that and got her alone in her quarters, Anya got a little overwhelmed by the panic in her gut. It was seething, begging for things to be less complicated this time. She was a soldier first, not her teammate's fantisized sex dream.

Shepard blurted, "I have a hard rule against intimate relationships with my subordinates."

Turning towards her, Jacob peered. If anything he seemed surprised. Shit. He was just being a fanboy, not the Alenko kind, wasn't he? With an uncomfortable nod, he said, "O-kay. Duly noted." He walked past her, careful not to touch her at all. "If you need anything, Miranda's just a deck below and I'm by command."

Then, he was gone.

Of all her years as a commander, she did a great job being everyone's friend. At some points she almost convinced herself she was charismatic. But the second a topic made her uncomfortable? Anya clammed up.

That was normal enough in the early days, but since her last mission she panicked about someone having the hots for her, becoming even more of a bumbling idiot.

Liara, Kaidan, and Garrus broke her, didn't they?

Deciding she was over thinking about the romance politics on the old Normandy, Anya went over the dossiers The Illusive Man gave her. He recommended first to pick up a Salarian scientist on Omega, one who might be able to synthesize against the Collector nerve bugs. Past that, there was an old, seasoned merc named Zaeed that Cerberus bought out, some merc-killer named Archangel, the Krogan Warlord Okeer, a high-stakes thief named Kasumi, and some super-biotic, Jack, on a prison ship.

Cerberus' picks of team members were definitely a bit more... colorful than hers ever were. The shadiest person she worked with was Wrex, and that one was currently trying to create a unified Tuchanka. Wasn't exactly the same as a straight up war criminal.

Considering the calibre of people The Illusive Man wanted her to get, brilliant but dangerous, Shepard thought it best to read over the whole files. All it took was a glance over Jack's file to realize she was a girl, and that would've been a dumb, unecessary false assumption. Also, Zaeed had beef with the Blue Suns and Okeer was working with them, so that might cause some conflict she had to be aware of.

But just as she was opening Kasumi's file, arguably the tamest of the bunch, her omni-tool pinged. It was Joker. The guy preferred audio files because texting put too much pressure on his bones sometimes, so she turned up her volume. "You wanted dinner? Get your ass down here."

Anya ran her hands through her hair. Typical. Of course she would forget a dinner she planned herself. Literally only twenty four hours back with Joker and he already had something to give her shit about.

She was doing a great job turning over a new leaf in her second chance at life.

Trying to act casual, Anya quickly brushed her messy as hell hair and used the elevator to get to the crew dec. When she got there, Joker and Chakwas were leaning back in their chairs, like parents who caught their kid sneaking in late. They even had a pizza in between them.

Joker smirked and gave her the snark she expected. "We were waiting here for half an hour before we realized your dumb ass got all workaholic on us already."

"There's a lot to catch up on, Sue me." Shepard sat down and put a slice of pizza in her mouth. Classic cheese and garlic. She gave Chakwas a thumbs up for her cooking prowess. Sure, it was probably a frozen pizza, but Chakwas' always tasted better than anyone else's. In between bites she said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Shepard."

After she wolfed down half a slice, she asked, "While I eat like an animal, is there anything big in the Alliance I missed?"

Joker started. "Without your backing, Udina took over the council seat. Granted, I think Anderson was relieved."

She shrugged. That was what happened when you chose a seasoned, bad luck soldier to make your political decisions. Anya always figured Anderson would quit the job eventually. "Figures."

Chakwas looked a lot more hesitant with her comment, but she still did it with a smile. "I did a mission stint on the SS Marakov. Can report you're an easier Shepard to have a meal with."

Joker added, "I also spent some time with Oksana. She's buried herself in work. They left for a deep space recon mission a few months ago. No clue when they'll get back."

Anya kept chewing, trying to wrap her head around everything they were saying. The doctor's eyes were soft and sympathetic as she said, "To be quite honest, other than losing you... Not too much has changed. Although, the space you left was very real " Chakwas placed her hand of hers and it was so tender that Anya swallowed down the last of the pizza in her mouth. Everything was a wild mess, after dying, but it was so comforting to know people had her back.

And then Joker somehow ruined and enhanced the wholesome moment all at the same time. "To be really quite damn honest, it never felt real. I always felt like you should be showing up any moment to kick my ass for doing something dumb."

Before she could tell them how much their words meant to her, Miranda was over the intercoms. "We've made it to Omega, Shepard. Meet me in the briefing room."

Anya grumbled. "Dammit, I only got one slice of pizza." She shoved another one in her mouth and basically swallowed it whole. It was better than no pizza.

Chakwas just kinda stared at her in awe. Joker, on the other hand, said, "Fuck. Well, I guess I'll give this to you now."

He handed over a box and, while Shepard inhaled another pizza slice, she opened it. Inside was a pair of classic, cozy Citadel sweats. With a gulp, she beamed at Joker. "Thank-"

"Nope. There's another thing."

Pulling the sweats out, underneath was a set of ballet flats. Joker had seen her practice a few times when they were roommates, but she never knew he understood how much it meant to her. She couldn't smile wide enough for that one. Putting the sweats back on top of the shoes, Anya said, "Thank you. But you tell anyone what's in here, you die "

With his annoying smirk, he started to walk towards the elevator. "I know."

Her eyes flicked back to Chakwas and she grimaced. "Sorry I couldn't have a nice long dinner with you two. I'll make it up to you."

"I know you will."

Shepard saluted and then, with her box, ran towards the elevator. After it dropped off Joker, it was her turn to go to her room and suit it. She said to herself, "After we pick up this Salarian scientist, I'm going to remember the sweet feeling of sweats again."

And that was enough of a beautiful, human thing to make coming back to life really worth it. After all, she needed something to be excited for, beyond saving the galaxy. Sweats and those two Alliance stowaways didn't give her back the team she lost, but for now? They were enough.

/

Awww I love the Alliance babies. And knowing what we all know about Kaidan *glares* it's nice to know that some other friends still have Shepard's back.

I normally do a “please support my writings and discord and future Twitch” bit here, but I’m tired. I’ll write one-shots for you if you are so inclined, but if not, checking out my brainstorm blogs there is neat enough. Or my other cool sites and whatnot. I just want to share my stuffs :)

Patreon: patreon.com/gracejordan

Twitter: (at)Steph_Marceau

Wattpad: user/GraceJordan13

Anyway, thank you so much for reading! And some serious double stuffed thanks to my lovely patrons:

Danyell Jones

Amy Connolly

[gwystyl]

Antz Wants To Let Ant Woody Allen Fuck

consensus on antz:

the animation for the time is quite good, and there’s a really great attention to detail to the worldbuilding and i like the textures. the more realistic basis on actual ant/insect society is cool and lends itself into some actually funny jokes. every major character’s face is very distinct and individual, something you don’t find in cgi NOW....

and that’s all the positives

the movie is so grim, dark, and edgy to the point it’s less “appeal to adults” and more “something probably unsuitable for actual children masquerading as a pg family film”. i WOULD say they should have just said hell with it and made it an adult cartoon, but the aspect of an R-rated Antz given the Adult themed animated films nowadays TERRIFIES me!!!! keep it as it is. that being said, dreamworks certainly had not yet mastered the “good for kids but appealing to adults on an APPROPRIATE level” like shrek. like, there is a LOT of sexual undertones, cursing, violence, and perilous moments-and not like some weirdo saying you shouldn’t take kids to incredibles 2, but like gross weird implied sexual stuff, just, adult tones, and also that war scene with terrifying termites and literally EVERYONE being slaughtered and the main character talking to his friend’s severed head. speaking of humour, there are a lot of funny things in this film, and a lot of great CONCEPTS, but woody allen’s dumb fucking voice making unfunny wips at EVERYTHING is .....not funny! i read something about alllen ad libbing a lot of the script and, trust me, we can tell! speaking of, i HATE the main character. he’s a neurotic, ugly, middle aged incel woody allen but an ant. he’s insufferable, and making a wip about everything. every scene. every moment. the princess character is a manic pixie dream girl who i end up agreeing with when she berates Z for being a fucking weirdo. ant sylvester stalone/jlo are fine, and much more compelling as characters and a love story than the MAIN CHARACTERS.....

other than that there’s about....3 characters? the cast is laughably small. the pacing is weird. we spend almost too much time setting up z’s life in the colony, meeting the princess, switching places, the planned coup, the war scene, etc scenes, until finally leaving the colony, which feels like it lasts for 10 minutes. this movie trudges incredibly slow in the beginning and seems to fly by in the middle, until Z and Bala return to the colony for the climax. also, them leaving has no real justification other than getting alone time together to develop their relationship, which, would feel like it would take up a lot more of the movie than it does, like some adventure out of the colony, but it does not. also, their relationship development is a montage of hanging out at trash city and they have NO chemistry, just a few perils that last 30 seconds and that they come out of somehow growing as a pair despite not interacting with each other. 

this movie also has so much ham fisted social commentary, but i literally can’t tell.....WHAT it’s trying to say? the overarching theme is ....being an individual? i guess, but there’s literal mixed imagery and commentary that i can’t tell if this movie is anti capitalism, anti communism, what. it’s decidedly anti war, but besides preaching to the ants repetitively 100 times that they need to THINK FOR THEMSELVES, SHEEPLE, it gives no indication as to WHAT this new system would be (if anything, it implies that Z is now just the new leader, and the puppet monarchy is still the monarchy). i ended up just saying “social commentary” every time they forced a line because it happens so often. the symbol on the baby work place and on a manager’s hat is remarkably similar to the hammer and sickle emblem of communism, and yet the climax of the movie portrays the ants making a ladder with Z punching a fist through the earth, a not so subtle reference to countless depictions of disillusioned working classes breaking through to the rich’s floor (this time the military state). i dont know what the FUCK this movie is trying to say to me

also, laughable that there’s ONE neurotic ugly middle aged incel ant who is the only person with any sort of grasp on the political situation and with any sense of individualism, of course so he can make his funnyyyyyy quips.

also antz is undeniably a rip off a disney project.

this movie sucks

[thedandeliondays-blog]

• sometimes you just need a few bad-ass females to perk up your day. •

1. WILD A biographical book-turned-film based on the true story of Cheryl Strayed. A recent divorcée with no prior hiking experience, Cheryl embarks on a motivational, inspirational journey of self-discovery and healing - hiking the Pacific Crest Trail.

2. Colonia Also known as ‘The Colony’ -  stars Emma Watson (Hello, ultimate feminist Queen!!) as Lena, one half of the young German couple who the film is based around. During the 1973 Chilean coup d'état her boyfriend Daniel is abducted by the secret service after getting caught up in a military operation where supporters of the President Salvador Allende are being rounded up by the military. Lena tracks him to a secret organisation ‘Colonia Dignidad’ which presents itself as a charitable mission run by a preacher. She joins the organisation in hopes to find a way to Daniel, only to then realise that it is actually a cult which no one has ever left alive.

3. Bend it like Beckham A romantic comedy based in London, telling the story of Jess, an 18 year old girl who breaks the mould. Raised in a family of Punjabi Sikhs her family expect her to go on to university, secure a high-end job and become a model housewife for her Sikh husband, but Jess has other plans. Jess has a love and remarkable skill in football, her family’s worst nightmare as ‘girls don’t play football.’ She secretly joins a local girls team, meeting her best friend Jules (Kiera Knightley) and eventually falling for her coach Joe. It all seems like the perfect secret, a double life until the all important final is scheduled for the day of her sisters wedding!

4. Memoirs of a Geisha A Japanese-American epic drama based on a novel by the same name. Chiyo, born to a poverty-stricken family is sold along with her sister into a life of servitude. Satsu, her older sister is sent to a brothel while Chiyo is bought by the ‘Mother’ of a geisha house in Kyoto. Chiyo strives to become a world-renowned geisha with a lot of troubles and setbacks on her way, mostly from the cruel and jealous rival she has in older geisha Hatsumomo from the same okiya. A story of love, strength and self-worth - I recommend both the film and the book.

5. Matilda Although it’s a film aimed at the younger generation, Matilda addresses some major subject matters such as sexism, child neglect and personal identity. Matilda is a gifted child from a broken home, constantly put down by her slob parents and favoured less than her older brother. She teaches herself to read by visiting the library when her parents leave her home alone as a young child (the film and book imply that she is around four or five), her parents do not value education but she begs them to let her go to school. At Crunchem Hall elementary Matilda meets the tyrannical headmistress Agatha Trunchbull who abuses her position to bully the children in her care. Along with the help of her kind teacher Miss Honey, Matilda rids the school of Trunchbull and eventually is adopted into a loving home with Miss Honey. 

6. The Help An insight into the world of African-American women forced to work in White households in Mississippi during the 1960′s. Skeeter, an aspiring writer from a White family who has been raised by her beloved Constantine, a maid who brought her up and then was cruelly dismissed by her Mother when Skeeter was away at university - works in secret with the housemaids around Jackson, collecting stories and insights from those who have experienced life as “The Help” - some accounts describe generous and loving households while others reveal the cruel, brutal lives they have faced as employees of White families. This book adaptation is not just a pivotal movement for women, but especially for people of colour too. 

7. Cadet Kelly You may have come across this one if you watched Disney Channel during the early 00′s. Starring Hilary Duff, Cadet Kelly is the story of an 8th grade girl sent to military school by her Stepfather who is a commandant of the George Washington Military Academy, where she initially has trouble fitting in, especially with her Cadet Captain who dislikes her instantly. It’s a story of growth and acceptance, resulting in a happy ending - like all Disney’s! 

8. Carrie A classic film with many remakes, Carrie tells the story of a troubled girl - neglected by her overly religious Mother who frequently locks her in a cupboard to pray for repentance. Carrie is bullied at school, one of the most cruel attacks being when she begins her period in the school showers, something which her Mother hadn’t warned her about - and thinks she is bleeding to death, causing a hysterical reaction which the other girls find hilarious, cruelly chanting at her and banging the doors to the showers until a kind PE teacher rescues her. Carrie experiences unexplained powers which she regards at first as miracles, but then researches Telekinesis and  realises that she has a gift. She uses the gift to fight back against her Mother, determined to go to prom which her Mother declares a sin. The prom is a disaster after the school bully rigs the voting of prom Queen so Carrie is up on stage in time for a bucket of pigs blood to drench her, the bucket knocking her date unconscious. Full of rage Carrie releases uncontrollable powers that kill all but 11 of her school peers, setting the gymnasium on fire and causing carnage throughout the town. 

9. Mulan A classic Disney movie based on the true story of Hua Mulan, it tells the story of a female warrior from the Han Dynasty in China. Conscription means one male from each family must join to fight against the Huns, Mulan’s father is an elderly war veteran who wouldn’t be strong enough to make it home from war, so Mulan cuts her hair and dresses in his armor so she can pass herself off as a man eligible to enlist. Mulan fights against the Huns, falling in love with her Captain but of course she can’t reveal her true identity or she faces being killed for her deception. 

10. Tracks Based the memoir of the same name by Robyn Davidson, tracks chronicles her nine-month journey on camels across the Australian desert, documented by a National Geographic photographer. The cinematography is exceptional in this film. 

11. Erin Brockovich A dramatisation of the true story of Erin Brockovich who fought against the  ‘Pacific gas and electric company’. Starring Julia Roberts, Erin is an unemployed single mother of three children who has recently been in a traffic accident and is suing her doctor. She loses the case and after a lot of persuasion her lawyer feels sorry for her and gives her a job. She begins researching the case notes in the files she’s employed to file away, eventually finding a loophole in a case against the PG&E, she takes them to court - resulting in $333 Million for the victims of the case. Erin herself receives a $2 Million bonus, enough to set her and her children up for life. 

12. Belle Both empowering for women and also for people of colour, especially those who are mixed race. Belle is inspired by the 1799 painting of Dido Elizabeth Belle, the illegitimate, mixed-race great-niece of the 1st Earl of Mansfield. She is found living in poverty by her father and entrusted to the care of Mansfield and his wife. The fictional film centres on Dido's relationship with an aspiring lawyer; it is set at a time of legal significance, as a court case is heard on what became known as the Zong massacre, when slaves were thrown overboard from a slave ship and the owner filed with his insurance company for the losses. Lord Mansfield rules on this case in England's Court of King's Bench in 1786, in a decision seen to contribute to the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act of 1807.

13. 10 Things I Hate about you So much more than a 90′s chick-flick! 10 things is a modernisation of Shakespeare’s ‘Taming of the Shrew’ - revolving around Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) who plays a headstrong, feminist with no interest in social hierarchy or boys. Her sister is forbidden to date boys until Kat does, spurring off the beginning of Patrick’s (Heath Ledger) interest in her. Paid to date her by the popular boy who wants her sister, Patrick eventually falls for her and she him but this is so much more than a love story. We get to watch witty Kat verbally destroy sexist classmates, high school norms and social status, making this one of the best girl power movies of the 90′s. 

14. Pocahontas Another Disney classic based on a true story, Pocahontas is the adapted version of the life of Matoaka (later nicknamed Pocahontas) the daughter of Chief Powhatan, also the name of their tribe in North America. A free spirit, she fears being married off to Kocoum, a brave yet serious warrior from her tribe. She visits Grandmother Willow, a talking willow tree for advice - who alerts her to the Englishmen arriving in the new world. Though historically inaccurate in significant parts, Pocahontas became the first Native American Disney Princess and first woman of colour in a leading role in any Disney film. 

15. The Craft A film showcasing female empowerment and sexuality, also showing dramatic examples of what can happen when women tear each other down instead of building them up. The craft tells the story of a coven of modern-day witches, using witchcraft and black magic for their own gain, and the negative repercussions they encounter.

[snibnoom]

Netflix Watch List—Series

Alternatively: a list to show people when they say there is nothing good on Netflix.

version: March 31, 2018

These are in no particular order. I watched all of these (in completion) myself.

(n) by the title means it is a Netflix original. PN means personal note.

3% (n)

Episode 1 “Chapter 01: Cubes” synopsis: In a grimy near-future, 20-year-olds stream to a sleek testing facility to compete for a spot in an idyllic land known as the Offshore.

Seasons: 1 (2017), season 2 release on April 27

Rating: TV-MA

Language (audio): Brazilian Portuguese (original), English, Spanish

Subtitles: Brazilian Portuguese [CC], English, English [CC], Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese

PN: This is one of the series I like more on this list. Despite English audio being available, I never once turned it on, but that’s just me.

Sense8 (n)

Episode 1 “Limbic Resonance” synopsis: Eight strangers from cities around the globe begin having experiences that defy explanation.

Seasons: 2, finale in 2018

Rating: TV-MA

Language (audio): English (original), French, German, Italian, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese

PN: A really freaking cool series, filmed in multiple locations across the world, with tons of LGBT representation in comparison to most series.

A Series of Unfortunate Events (n)

Episode 1 ”The Bad Beginning: Part One” synopsis: The dreadful history of the Baudelaire children begins with a deadpan narrator, a terrible fire and the ominous arrival of a distant relative.

Seasons: 2 (2018)

Rating: TV-PG

Language (audio): English (original), French, German, Italian, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese

Supernatural

Episode 1 synopsis: Two brothers witness their mother’s paranormal death and are trained to fight by their father, who aims to hunt down the thing that killed his wife.

Seasons: 12 on Netflix (2017), 13 aired on TV

Rating: TV-14

Language (audio): English (original), Spanish

Subtitles: English, Spanish

PN: It feels like it takes forever for Netflix to put a new season up, so I’m constantly behind. Also makes for a really good show to watch when you have nothing else to watch because there is just so much to watch.

Black Mirror (n)

Brief description (by yours truly): Originally a British sci-fi television series that first aired in 2011, the show has been picked up by Netflix as of 2016. Each episode is a standalone story, typically set in the future or an alternate present.

Seasons: 4 (2017), 5th season expected

Rating: TV-MA

Language (audio): English (original), French, German, Italian, Spanish

Subtitles: English, French, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese

PN: I really love this show because you can start watching from any episode in any season. It really feels like this is a series of 19 short films.

American Horror Story

Season 1 Episode 1 synopsis: Therapist Ben Harmon, his wife, Vivien, and their daughter, Violet, move across the country to Los Angeles to escape their troubled past.

Seasons: 6 on Netflix (2016), 7 aired on TV

Rating: TV-MA

Language (audio): English (original), Spanish

Subtitles: English [CC]

PN: Each season is a different story line but with the same (or at least similar) cast, which a really interesting spin on a TV show.

Stranger Things (n)

Episode 1 “Chapter One: The Vanishing of Will Byers” synopsis: On his way home from a friend’s house, young Will sees something terrifying. Nearby, a sinister secret lurks in the depths of a government lab.

Seasons: 2 (2017), 2nd season expected

Rating: TV-14

Language (audio): English (original), French, German Italian, Spanish

Subtitles: English [CC], French, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese

Money Heist (La Casa de Papel) (n)

Episode 1 synopsis: The Professor recruits a young female robber and seven other criminals for a grand heist, targeting the Royal Mint of Spain.

Seasons: 1 (2017), season 2 release on April 6

Rating: TV-MA

Language (audio): European Spanish (original), English, French, German, Italian

Subtitles: European Spanish [CC], English, French, German, Italian

Alias Grace (n)

Episode 1 synopsis: Young American doctor Simon Jordan arrives at Canada’s Kingston Penitentiary to study the perplexing mind of Grace Marks, a convicted murderer.

Seasons: 1 (2017)

Rating: TV-MA

Language (audio): English (original), French, German, Italian, Spanish

Subtitles: English [CC], French, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese

PN: Based on a book written by Margaret Atwood (the writer of The Handmaid’s Tale). 

Orange is the New Black (n)

Episode 1 “I Wasn’t Ready” synopsis: Sentenced to fifteen months for a crime committed in her youth, Piper Chapman leaves her supportive fiance Larry for her new home: a women’s prison

Seasons: 5 (2017)

Rating: TV-MA

Language (audio): English (original), French, German, Italian, Spanish

Subtitles: English [CC], French, Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese

Million Yen Women (n)

Episode 1 “The Mysterious Million Yen Women” synopsis: A strange and sudden series of offers leads Shin to host five beautiful residents in his home. But he’s not allowed to ask questions of them.

Seasons: 1 (2017)

Rating: TV-MA

Language (audio): Japanese (original)

Subtitles: English, Japanese [CC], Simplified Chinese, Spanish, Traditional Chinese

Colony

Episode 1 synopsis: In occupied Los Angeles, a former FBI agent attempts a risky smuggling operation and is later offered an unsavory job with a tempting payoff.

Seasons: 2 (2017), season 3 release on May 2

Rating: TV-14

Language (audio): English

Subtitles: English [CC]

The Five

Episode 1 synopsis: A woman’s murder at a hotel leads detective Danny to discover a shocking DNA match to blood at the scene. A traumatized girl is found on the streets.

Seasons: 1 (2016) **complete**

Rating: TV-MA

Language (audio): English (original), French

Subtitles: English, English [CC], French

The Walking Dead

Episode 1 “Days Gone Bye” synopsis: Rick searches for his family in a world terrorized by the walking dead. Morgan and Duane help teach Rick the new rules for survival.

Seasons: 7 on Netflix (2017), 8 aired on TV

Rating: TV-MA

Language (audio): English (original)

Subtitles: English [CC]

Cancelled shows that are still really worth your time

Dark Matter: 3 seasons, 2015-2017

The 4400: 4 seasons, 2004-2007

Merlin: 5 seasons, 2008-2012

Not technically cancelled, but the ending leaves something to be desired and many fans are still hoping for a revival of the show

[brightbeautifulthings]

The Last Girl on Earth by Alexandra Blogier

"'No matter what anyone says, I want you to know that you always have a choice. You can choose to do the right thing.' He pauses. 'Sometimes doing the right thing isn't doing what you're told.'"

Year Read: 2017

Rating: 3/5

Context: I received a free e-ARC through NetGalley from the publishers at Random House Children's/Delacorte Press.

About: Li is the last human left on Earth. When the Abdoloreans first came to her planet, they were there to help, but humans proved too destructive to survive. Li's father took her from the planet before the nuclear bombs went off and returned with her when it was safe, raising her as one of his own alongside his Abdolorean daughter, Zo. Li has always lived in secret, and she must work twice as hard to be as strong and clever as an Abdolorean. With an assessment coming up that will decide her entire future, Li can't afford to be distracted by the new boy, Ryn, and she has to decide between surviving in safety and putting herself in danger by living a full life.

Thoughts: This book never quite took off for me, and it fails to really develop past its interesting concept. It's difficult to tell what direction it’s going to take because the conflict isn't obvious for most of the book, and then it resolves too quickly to be satisfying. The places where it has the potential to be most interesting--Li's feelings about the loss of her entire race, the Abdolorean culture, and whether or not the Abdolorean invasions on other planets are justified (which could make an interesting parallel between British/American colonialism)--are left mostly unexplored, and the story suffers from it. Blogier could have a fascinating world if she went past the surface details, and those were the times I was most interested in the novel.

For the most part, the writing is good on a sentence level, and I never felt distracted by it. The relationships are a little overdramatic; it's the end of the world when Li and Ryn have some setbacks, and neither of the romances are as interesting as Li and Zo's sister relationship, which is probably the strongest in the novel. The characters themselves aren't overwhelming. I never really got a good sense of Li; her descriptions are split between her own struggles to keep up with the Abdoloreans and keep her secret and the somewhat startling way that her friends see her, which is among the best of all of them. Outside of that, they all seem like fairly typical teenagers, with the exception of Braxon. He's a lukewarm villain, and I had trouble seeing his motivations.

As I mentioned, the end conflict is a little too quick and neat for me, and the rest of the novel is open-ended. I think I would have found it frustrating had I been more invested in it, but at that point, it was much like everything else in failing to have an impact. The younger demographic of YA readers might like it for its easy romance and science fiction, which is appropriate because it's all fairly PG-13. I didn't dislike it, but it's just kind of... forgettable.

[sartle-blog]

Marie Antoinette Undressed: 5 Things You May Not Know

[brgirlspg]

Top-Notch Girls PG in Bhogal, Jangpura in South Delhi

Are you searching for a Girls PG in Bhogal, Jangpura or nearby areas? Brij Raj Niwas Girls PG—a safe and supportive haven for young women who are ready to spread their wings. We only cater to girls, whether they are students or working professionals. At Brij Raj Niwas, we go beyond offering just accommodation. We provide a home-like environment where all your needs are taken care of, from food and cleaning to maintenance and more. Located just a 5-minute walk from Ashram Metro Station and near PGDAV College in Nehru Nagar, our PG offers top-notch amenities and a warm, secure atmosphere. Recognized as one of the best girls' PGs in South Delhi, we proudly serve areas like Hari Nagar Ashram, Bhogal, Jangpura, and New Friends Colony.

[gloves94]

Sunburn [Prince Zuko] 39

Warnings: Cursing Rating: PG-13  Pairings: Zuko/OC  

Sunburn Chapter M A S T E R L I S T My fan fiction M A S T E R L I S T

It had been three days since the end of the One Hundred Year War.

Parts of the Fire Nation Capital had been burnt to ash during the sibling’s conflict for the Nation’s crown. Traditional red roofs had been turned into charcoal black and were missing walls and tiles.

Regardless of it all it was a beautiful morning and the Fire Nation people seemed eager to welcome their new Fire Lord and for the war in which they gained yet lost so much to be over.

Tsai stood on the Capital’s entry docks, her arms crossed over her chest. Wind swaying her hair lightly. She held her arms lightly embracing the comfort of her recovered hidden blade gauntlets. Who would’ve thought Azula had kept them as some type of sick trophy all this time?

The warship approached and she stood with her back straight ready to welcome her guests into the nation. The ship docked and after several moments two figures emerged from behind a several escorts.

“Welcome to the Mainland- the Capital- I mean- the Fire Nation? I still can’t get used to these terms.” She said nervously holding the back of her neck awkwardly.

“Home will do,” one of the emerging figures said dully.

“How do you jail birds feel?” She laughed nervously unsure of how to interact with Mai and Ty Lee.

She was taken aback when she was engulfed in a tight hug. She looked down at Ty Lee uncomfortably.

“Tsai, your aura is golden! Oh! It just makes me want to hug you!” The brunette cried out dramatically. “Yeah,” the other dead panned. “It’s because I’m the sun.” She explained awkwardly slowly leeching her hands from around her.

“Is it true?” Mai asked, her pose mirroring Tsai’s proper one. “About Azula?”

“Yeah…” She trailed off. “Physicians said she had some type of schizophrenic meltdown. She was also badly burnt. Most of the right side of her body suffered second to third degree burns.” She paused for a brief moment and a shiver went up her spine as she remembered Azula’s horrifying screeches. “She’s been committed to a mental health ward where hopefully she’ll get the help she needs.” She offered the princess’ ex-friends a small sad smile.

“And Fire Lord Ozai?” Ty Lee asked bringing a hand to her chin in a pensive pose.

“He’s alive as well. Imprisoned. The Avatar succeeded and took his bending away, so he won’t be able to hurt anyone any time soon.” Her smiled widened slightly.

“That is not going to go well. I can assure you my father is not happy about that. I’m assuming yours won’t be either.” Mai sighed sounding irritated. “I wouldn’t count on the Fire Lord to sit pretty and still on his cell…” She trailed of.

“Yeah,” her tone lowered enough to match Mai’s. From what she had heard Ba Sing Se had been taken back by the Earth Kingdom with the help of the White Lotus. The Fire Lord had been defeated by the Avatar and Yu Dao had been taken by her brother who was rumored to sit as the new Vice Royal Governor of the colony. “I’m still waiting to hear back from my brother. It sounds like things went… well as well as they could go.”

It was then that a lightbulb went off in her head as she remembered something she had been pending.

“Speaking of-,” She said reaching for a scroll she kept tucked in the back of her sash. “My brother asked me to give this to you Mai. I’d more than understand if you want nothing to do with it, or him.” She rolled her eyes lightly and handed the girl the scroll just as she had promised.

Mai starred at the scroll with a dead expression that was first natured to her. She had no reaction to this. Man, she really was hard to read. Ty Lee on the other hand bounced eagerly and snatched the scroll from her best friend’s hand excitedly opening it, breaking the seal.

“Mai! Is that the dreamy rugged boy with the body scars and the green eyes you were telling me about? Wait- he’s your brother?” She gaped for a moment. Tsai’s sighed lightly irritated. “’Mai, I just wanted to say-’” Ty Lee began reading and slowly her face grew from pink to red to marron.  

“Woah,” She fanned her face. She turned to Mai with a sheepish expression. The other girl simply took the scroll with a stoic expression and hid it inside her sleeves without much enthusiasm. “You colonials are something else,” Ty Lee giggled.

“We all know the stereotype,” she shrugged with a lazy smile. “Also, we’re going to the Earth Kingdom tomorrow. To Ba Sing Se for King Kuei’s coronation and to regroup with Uncle Iroh, my brother and everybody else. You two should come. You’re more than invited.”

“Really?” Ty Lee clapped her hands together, eyes shinning in excitement. Mai quirked an arched eyebrow as if testing her.

“Of course,” she responded timidly. “You’re both Zuko’s oldest friends. I know he’d want you both to be there.” She paused and looked at the onyx haired girl. “And Mai you’ve been a friend to me too, so I want you to come as well. I also never thanked you for saving my brother and my friends at the Boiling Rock. It must’ve been a hard decision to make. Considering your dad’s political post and your uncle’s... So, because of that I thank you. She stretched out her hands and reached for the other girls which she gave a light squeeze.

Mai simply nodded averting her eyes away from the girl. Maybe she didn’t smile back but the gesture might as well have been the same.

Regardless, it was an accepting one.

Xxx

The former banished prince stood on a parlor room. The massive balcony windows allowed him to the city. His city. The nation that he was now responsible for, his empire. Ha gazed at it lost in thought as he attempted to dress in his ceremonial robes.

The room was traditional with a red carpet that sprawled out across from one wall to the other. Giant lanterns hung at the top from the ceiling. The entrance doors were carved with golden arches. Four story, red, velvet curtains adorned the large windows.

He let out a low hiss when he picked up his robe and attempted to slip it on. He grimaced slightly at the slight pain he felt on his chest. Struggling he managed to get one arm through one sleeve. The other proving to be more challenging.

“Need a hand?”

He turned excited a rare smile on his features. The smile stretched as he drank up her ceremonial appearance. She wore a golden ochre long-sleeved traditional dress with a golden trim. Both of her hands were hidden inside of her sleeves just like she wore when they first met. Her hair was clean and parted to the side, worn half up. She wore a small diadem composed of thin golden rods which resembled a sun’s halo.

“You look… nice,” he struggled to find his words.

She approached him and walked around him helping him put his robe over his arm and tied his robe. He couldn’t take his eyes off her. “Better than nice,” he added gawkily.

“You look…” He said tenderly really struggling to find the perfect word.

She accepted the unsaid compliment and interrupted him by placing a deep kiss on his lips, both smiling through it. “Thanks.” She knew he meant well.

“How do you feel? Your Lordness,” She joked resting her hands on the neck of his robe lightly stroking the fabric.

“I still can’t believe it. A year ago, my whole purpose in life was to hunt Aang down and now it’s like I’m in a completely different place.”

“We both are.” She agreed. “A year ago, my purpose was to unite the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. My grandfather was still alive…” She sighed. “But now that I think about it, we probably wouldn’t have met if it weren’t for the funeral.” His uninjured arm snaked around her shoulders bringing her close. “Do you remember? The same funeral in which you were extremely rude to my family?” She poked.

He rolled his eyes slightly. She was never going to let that go was she?

“You didn’t even say anything when I introduced myself to you! You just walked away!”

“I didn’t say anything because I was nervous,” he admitted sheepishly. “You’re an awful liar.” She laughed pushing away. Who did he think he was fooling? He had been simply and plainly terribly rude.

“So, what are we going to do now?” He asked her as she walked back to him holding a different part of his Fire Lord armor. “You could… move here?” He suggested brashly. “You could have your own room. Your own everything,” he added apprehensively, swallowing a nervous knot that had formed in his throat.

“About that… I actually wanted to talk to you and Aang.

Xxx

Aang was sitting against one of the walls outside of a Royal Balcony, the one which lead to the Royal Plaza just where Zuko and Azula had had their face down Agni Kai a couple of days ago. He sat with his legs crossed underneath, a solemn expression on his face as he meditated on the events that had transpired the last couple of days. Despite the time he felt as if his trek from Ember Island to this moment had been one very, very long day.

He heard light laughing from the distance and looked up to see Zuko dressed in his new Fire Lord armor. His hair was combed and pulled back in a traditional Fire Nation topknot and he seemed genuinely happy as he made his way down the hall that lead to the coronation temple. His girlfriend walked next to him laughing at some comment he had just said. He wondered just what he could’ve said to make her laugh like that. Let’s be real, Zuko was known for a lot of things and being funny wasn’t one of them. Both looked regal as they walked down the hall together standing tall in their elegant robes.

Aang felt a pang of jealousy hit him. If the war was over then why- why couldn’t him and Katara be like them? ‘Ugh…’ He thought irritated.

The couple stopped walking and stood before Aang. Zuko smiled faintly at him and paused before the curtain that lead to the balcony.

“We were just talking about where we were a year ago. I still can’t believe a year ago my purpose in life was hunting you down." Zuko commented with small shake of his head, "And now..."

Aang opened his eyes and looked over at his friend with a smile, "And now we're friends."

"Yeah." The Fire Nation prince agreed with his own smile, still kind of amazed at all the growth and development they had accomplished. "We are friends."

"Well," Aang pushed himself to his feet and stood in front of the couple. He shrugged and smirked slightly, "I can't believe a year ago I was still frozen in a block of ice. The world's so different now."

Zuko walked towards Aang and put his hand on his shoulder, "And it's gonna be even more different. We'll rebuild it together."

Aang smiled and hugged his friend warmly, Zuko easily returning the embrace before they separated.

“That’s actually something I wanted to talk to you two about…” Tsai stood at a close distance both hands hidden inside of her sleeves. “But it’ll have to be some other time.” She smiled at the two.

“Good luck Aang.” She turned and gave Aang a hug. “Good luck handsome,” she kissed her boyfriend’s face.  

She walked away, making her way to meet the others on the Royal Plaza. Aang noted the lovesick expression the Fire Lord wore on his face. Toph was right those two, they were just way too much sometimes… ‘Fire Nationers.’ He shrugged to himself.

“Uh, shall we go?” Aang interrupted Zuko’s lost train of thought.

“Y-Yeah!” He said his cheeks turning slightly pink in embarrassment of being caught distracted.

The Fire Lord cleared his throat composing himself and brushed the curtains aside stepping through them, Aang following in a moment later.

Xxx

Tsai made her way outside, wavering through the heavy crowds sticking her head up trying to find any familiar face in the crowd.

“You’re that girl,” a burly man in the crowd suddenly said looking down at her. She looked at him oddly. “The Blue Spirit, the one that freed the Avatar and took down the Pohuai Stronghold.” He stated his expression blank. She was about to respond when his expression shifted into an angry one. “You’re the one that costs us the siege of the North!” He accused pointing a finger at her. “My brother died because of you!”

She gave a small step back feeling unsafe wanting to create as much distance possible between her and the threatening man.

“Tsai! There you are!” She turned just in time to see Suki reaching out to her from the crowds. She exchanged a look with the man who made a vulgar gesture to her with his hand before spitting at the floor. Without another word she parted with an uneasy feeling taking Suki’s hand.

“Hey!” She greeted with a cheesy grin. “Everyone ready?” She asked excitedly.

Everybody was there: Sokka, Katara, their father, Toph, Suki, Ty Lee, the Kyoshi Warriors, Mai, some of the people that had been with them during the in the Western Air Temple and even some swamp people and others she had never seen before.

Just in time.

All eyes turned towards the Royal Balcony when a Fire Sage stepped forward and struck a gong three times. She smiled proudly as she watched Zuko cross to the front of the stairs. The crowd loudly cheering and applauding to their new Fire Lord. The only person that was missing was Iroh. She still couldn’t believe he was missing his nephew’s coronation.

“Please,” Zuko spoke to his people raising an arm. The noise diminished as the people quieted hoping to hear their Lord speak. “The real hero is the Avatar.” He said stepping to the side. Aang stepped from behind him wearing a pair of elegant robes which were shaded in the traditional colors of Air Nomad fashion.

"Today, this war is finally over." Zuko declared. Again, the crowd went wild in cheer and applause. The people in the plaza raising up their arms in pomp. "I promised my uncle that I would restore the honor of the Fire Nation, and I will," He continued with a serious expression. "The road ahead of us is challenging. A hundred years of fighting has left the world scarred and divided." Zuko looked over at Aang who was looking back at him. "But with the Avatar's help, we can get it back on the right back, and begin a new era of love and peace."

The crowds cheered in applause once again and Zuko inclined his head bowing to his people and others. Aang stepped to the side. A Fire Sage stepped forward holding up the Fire Lord’s headpiece crowning artefact in his hands.

He lowered his body coming down on one knee. The crowds held their breaths waiting for the coronation. Tsai watched with her eyes peeled holding onto Suki’s arm tightly with emotion. She hid her proud smile behind a half-closed hand she had brought to her lips.  

"All hail, Fire Lord Zuko!" The Fire Sage said loudly, his voice carrying across the entire Royal Plaza. He lowered the headpiece officially crowning the banished prince.

The crowd went wild. The Fire Nation specially. It was obvious that his own people loved him. The girl from the colonies cheered loudly raising both hands up in the air proudly. Suki grimaced and lightly clapped, just happy to feel the circulation in her arm once again.

The Fire Lord rose to his step and walked towards the stairs that lead down to the Royal Plaza. He paused for a moment and looked over at his friend, the Avatar, motioning him forward to join by his side. Aang returned the smile and came to a stop behind him also marveling at the cheering crowd.

“So, how does it feel to have your boyfriend he the new Fire Lord?” Sokka teased a certain red head in the crowd nudging her side. “Ha!” She said to him giving him a flat look. “You should ask him what it’s like having me as a girlfriend.” She said with an arrogant chuckle.

Xxx

Sometime after the coronation ceremony, Zuko somehow managed to slip away from his friends and girlfriend and snuck out of the palace grounds. He took a path that was much too familiar to him, the one that lead to the Fire Nation’s Prison Tower. He walked alone; his brow twisted as he was determined to get answers to questions he had had for years.

Guards opened the metal doors of the cells and he walked inside the narrow, humid hallway, coming to a halt before bars at the end of the room in the secluded isolation corridor.

All of his life Zuko had been tormented by the sight of his father, but now. Looking at him down and disheveled with his hair loose, oily and tangled around his face, he looked like a completely different person. He looked like a slimy, small man. Not the terrifying man he had once feared.

His father’s golden eyes narrowed as they flickered towards him. "I should count myself lucky. The new Fire Lord has graced me with his presence in my lonely prison cell." Ozai grimaced.

"You should count yourself lucky that the Avatar spared your life." Zuko replied coolly, standing his ground. He ignored his father's scornful sarcasm.

"Hmp." His father scoffed looking away from him.

"Banishing me was the best think you could have done for my life." Zuko admitted after a moment. "It put me on the right path. Perhaps your time in here can do the same for you."

Perhaps there was some redemption in his father’s future. Ozai glanced over at his son in disinterested and asked in an almost weary voice. "Why are you really here?"

His scarred son certainly hadn’t come to grace him with his lordy presence on the day of his coronation.

"Because you're going to tell me something." Zuko said and leaned closer to the cell bars continuing in a low, unforgiving tone.

"Where. Is. My. Mother?"

Ozai remained silent. He simply glowered at his son. The man had nothing else to lose. Why would he surrender the last clutch of power he had over his son?

“Ran your tongue out?” Zuko pressed.

An evil smirked graced Ozai’s gaunt features. “Tell me Fire Lord, do you still keep that filthy half-blood around for entertainment?”

“That’s none of your business.” Zuko snapped defensively. He never wanted to hear mentioning of her or her name coming from his father’s tongue. It unnerved him and made him feel ill. As if it was something was his and only his, something private. His father let out a low malicious chuckle as if holding back a cruel inside joke with himself. His laughter mocking, almost haunting.

“What’s so damn funny?” The young Fire Lord snapped.

“Your forefathers are probably rolling in their tombstones. As if you couldn’t bring enough shame and dishonor to the crown. To your name. The one thing you could’ve done to redeem yourself and this nation... You don’t. A colonial…” He scoffed. “Let alone a mudblood with tainted Earth Kingdom blood sitting on the throne! This… Her… You… It’s the worst thing that could’ve happened to our nation.”

“Worse things have happened.” Again, he responded cooly in his best attempt to maintain his cold composure.

Again, the man began to cackle.

“Enjoy it while you can…” He threatened his words ominous.

“What are you going to do about it? Nothing-bend at her? You better watch yourself or she’ll break your nose again.”

His smirked edged further to the sides of his face. It was vile, evil, threating and heavily filled with menace.

“I wouldn’t be so careless if I were you or your blushing moll Fire Lord Zuko.”

Struck, he faltered his emotions betraying him. “Guards!” He called. “Take him to the dungeons! Where he’ll be placed in isolation. I don’t want this man to see the light of day every again!”

Zuko excited the prison his mind racing with violent thoughts as he made his way back to the palace. His mind now corrupted flooded with concern at his father’s empty threat. He told himself it was most likely a mind game the man was playing, that there was nothing he could do to bring any actual harm to him or his – what had he called her again? Moll. Whatever the fuck that was it didn’t sound complimentary. But- today was not the day for that. He forced himself to push those thoughts to the back of his head.

After all, today was a day of celebration.

The war was over.

Xxx

Team Avatar found themselves enjoying lunch in the Royal Dinning room. The friends laughed and shared roast duck, apple tarts and pork dumplings toasting with cranberry juice and others with some fine wine.

They had been here for a while and the Fire Lord himself was nowhere to be found.

Tsai was currently sitting in between Sokka and Toph. The three currently bickering if a duck’s quack actually had an echo or not.

“Lady Tsai!” A courier suddenly stormed in making quite a dramatic entrance. Everybody froze, stopping in their celebrating, looking up to see the panting man holding his rising chest with one hand, on the other he held a sealed scroll.

“Urgent message, from the colonies,” he said breathlessly. “News from my brother!” She clapped her hands before excusing herself from the room with a poker face. ‘Finally, a word from the man…’

Once outside the room she took the scroll from the courier’s hands and as if it were on fire, she ripped the Vice Royal Colonial wax seal open and read her brother’s messy handwriting.

‘Tsai,

Word of Zuko’s and the Avatar’s triumphs over the Fire Lord and the Nation have reached Yu Dao. And I have to tell you. It has not been well received. The colonies, not just Yu Dao, are in turmoil. People are protesting in the streets revolting in uprisings.  The news of Ozai’s fall has not been well received by most and people are scared of the uncertainties the future brings.

Our people, some don’t know if to embrace a Fire Nation identity, others want the territory to be reclaimed by the Earth Kingdom. I know mom does... Mom is well, I’m with her. She wants you to come home as soon as possible. She’s not even mad anymore, she just wants you home. Dad on the other hand well… It’s best if I explain in person.

I wish I knew what to do, but you’re the diplomatic genius. I am simply the muscle. I feel so lost. I know I told you to go back to the Mainland, but I need you here. Your city needs you. Now more than ever.

Be well and travel safe, things are about to get very ugly.

I’ll see you on the other side of the pond. - Mecha’

You knew it was serious when he didn’t even mention Mai or the scroll, he had asked her to give to her. She guessed going to King Kuei’s coronation was out of the question too…

She took in a deep breath and rolled the note up tightly, squeezing it, hugging it against her chest still holding that deep breath.

Of course, it wasn’t over.

“Lady?” She blinked back the tears that had welled in her eyes and looked at the courier with a frightful look. “Oh, um...” She fished out a coin from her back pocket and thanked him quietly dismissing him.

She would take care of this tomorrow. Today was not the day for this. She forced herself to push all thoughts of fear and concern to the back of her head.

After all, today was a day of celebration.

The war was over.

Xxx

The celebrations continued well into the night.

Presently the Fire Nation’s people gathered outside in the streets of the capital toasting, cheering and celebrating the end of the war and the coronation of their new monarch.

Fire Nation Dragon costumes composed of rows of people underneath filled the streets in celebration. Children ran around laughing loudly holding sparklers. Fireworks set off continuously dazzling the skies with sparkles of red and gold. From all the celebration you’d think the Fire Nation had won the war…

The group was currently gathered in the Royal Plaza. Paper lanterns were about to be released into the night skies. A celebratory tradition in which people wrote and burned notes with their good wishes and hopes that were supposed to elevate the paper lanterns into the skies. Tsai looked around concerned. She hadn’t seen Zuko since the crowning ceremony at noon. She guessed he was busy with his new Fire Lord duties, but she was beginning to grow concerned. She looked at Aang, Toph and Katara who were getting ready to light their own lantern. Then at Sokka and Suki who were also nearby.

‘Where on Earth was he?’ She shook her head lightly and ascended to the top of the stairs that lead to the temple above the plaza where the crowning ceremony had taken place earlier. She hoped she’d be able to gain a better look at the mingling crowds and spot him somewhere in between.

“Sorry I’m late,” she heard a mumble next to her. She turned to see Zuko descending from the steps. “There you are.” She let out a worried breath she didn’t realize she had been holding. The stress from the news she had received earlier getting the best of her.

“Do you have your wish?” He placed a hand on her waist, and they stepped forward standing directly under the skies as the fireworks ceased once again painting the skies black, ready for the lanterns to float. “Yeah,” She smiled slightly holding the folded note up between her fingers.

“What did you wish for?” She nudged nosily.

“You can’t say what you wished for. Then your wish won’t come true.” He shot back defensively. “I’ll tell you what I wished for if you tell me,” She again nudged his side a sly look on her features. “No,” he responded irately.

“Well, I wished for-“He removed his hand from her and covered his ears. “Don’t say it Tsai.”

“I know, I love you too,” she reached for his arm affectionately lowering it slightly. She couldn’t help but laugh a little at their inside joke about not saying certain things. “I wished for times of peace to come and here we are. So, in a way it already came true, right?”

He couldn’t help but look back at her with a dumbfound expression. “That’s what you wished for? World peace?” The irritated expression becoming more pronounced, almost laughable.

“Yeah?” She raised a brow. “Now, are you going to tell me what you’re wishing for?”

He remained silent for a second and turned away from her hiding his folded paper in a hand behind his back. “No,” he said self-consciously. “Fine,” She rolled her eyes lightly with a small smile caving in, accepting he wasn’t sharing and that it was okay. She walked towards the closest balcony railing placing the paper lantern on it as she got ready to light it.

He looked at her and then at the small paper he was holding his hand and sighed in defeat. He approached her and without saying another word held it up in front of her between his index and middle fingers.

He looked away from her sheepishly. He would never admit it to her, but he had spent hours pondering on what to write and then actually writing it. It was one of those things he felt he just had to do right. She took the note from him and a moment later upon hearing weak sniffling turned to see her struck expression. Her eyes were wide and pooling with a cocktail of emotions.

“Y-You can’t burn this,” she managed weakly starring at the seven words that were written on the small paper with large, watery eyes.

“Are you… crying?” He asked confused. How had he royally managed to fuck this up now? He knew that words weren’t his forte, but he wasn’t expecting her to react in such a way. She wiped away a handful of fat tears and shook her head lightly. “I’m keeping this,” she said holding it against her chest.

“No. You have to burn it,” he insisted.

“This isn’t even a wish!” She exclaimed her voice cracking with emotion.

“It-It’s not the words. It’s the intent behind them,” he argued back.

She opened the note again and quickly glanced at the words that had shook her to her core savoring the sentiment in them.

‘Tsai, My heart burns for you. Always.’

Again, for somebody that was terrible at communication and overall painfully awkward Zuko still managed to surprise her.

“I’m keeping it.” She said in defiance turning away from him. “This is the nicest thing anyone has ever given me.” She said tucking the paper inside one of her sleeves for it to be hidden away forever.

He was about to protest but was interrupted as she turned back just as quickly. “I have an idea.” She said a wide smile stretching across her features. She reached into her pockets and pulled out a small charcoal twine. What else did she keep hidden under those sleeves? She unwrapped her paper and leaned on the railing to write.

“Why don’t we share our wish?” She smiled at him brightly. He couldn’t help but smile back. They were late. Everybody else had already let go of their paper lanterns which currently hovered in the air illuminating the night sky and their surroundings with hundreds of warm lights.

“Together, we wish for a new era of prosperity, peace and love.” She read out loud holding the wish in her hands.

“It’s perfect,” he said taking her hands in his. Both holding on to their wish. He firebended a small flame and both held it, together, in their hands. The flame was small and beat like two heartbeats as one as it slowly consumed the parchment paper.

They placed it inside the paper lantern making it lightly glow with a heartening warm light. Together the two released it.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned into his body resting the back of her head on his shoulder. She held onto his arm tenderly. Both looked up content enjoying the moment, enjoying each other as their hopes, dreams and wishes elevated into illuminated sky of the night.

The End?

xxx

Here’s the link to the short Sequel: Kingdom of the Sun MASTERLIST

Xxx

Sunburn Chapter

M A S T E R L I S T

PREV https://gloves94.tumblr.com/post/623698183927758848/sunburn-prince-zuko-38

AN: AHHHH!!!! I am so emotional. I can’t believe we have reached our ending. I know what some of you are thinking. WHAT is this the end----?

Yes. It is the end of Sunburn. However, the people have spoken, and I read what you guys wanted to see/read so here’s what’s going to happen. I felt like I couldn’t make a lot of things happen because let’s be real they’ve known each other for less than a year and they are both 16 (17, at the most.)

Soooooooo I’m making a short sequel 10-15 chapters at the most called Kingdom of the Sun.

In the sequel both of these dorks will be in their 20’s. And we will have: - A very awkward proposal - A Who-dun-it type of murder of a main character - And a Zutsai mission field trip (yay) - A revolution - Plenty of NSFW activities *clears throat*

I’m really excited for what’s to come and thank you so much for reading. I hope you enjoyed.

Love,

-       G

[elianamontalvosblog]

A Woman’s Fight Against Dominance

In the novel ​Future Home of The Living God ​society is changing based off of the new government that goes by “The Church of the New Constitution”. What happened to separation of church and state? As we know in today's society many branches of the government are controlled by men. According to Drew Desilver, 24% of Congress is women leaving the other 76% to be men. The Church of the New Constitution is assumed to be created to take control of a virus

spreading causing still born babies and fatalities amongst women who give birth. This novel to me didn't portray men to be as aggressive and hostile towards women as some other works do. It was more of men and women being controlling towards pregnant women rather than just women in general. Pregnant women were ripped out of their homes and dragged through the streets where they would be brought to a “hospital” to be “taken care of”. Edrich illustrates the control men have against pregnant women with the scene “The police ignored him and started dragging his wife. She planted her feet in refusal. Her husband was a medium sized man, but suffused with anger and protective belligerence he seemed to grow larger...He grabbed the male officer and tried to wrestle the man down, but the police officer, more agile and trained, quickly flipped the man onto the ground and drew his gun.” (Pg.75 Edrich). When the women are taken away by these officers, they are transferred to a hospital.

Cedar, our main character of ​Future Home of The Living God,​ is found in her home pregnant so she is brought to the hospital to receive the “proper care” for her child until born. In the hospital the women are not to leave their beds. They are actually given a medication which makes the drowsy and unable to comprehend reality. Agnes, a character Cedar meets while in the hospital warns “Just wait until you flush your happy pill. Realities a bitch. A heavy bitch. Fuck. I'll be outta here though.” (Pg.128 Erdrich). Cedar learns the medication they are being given is controlling their bodies to be sleepy all the time, unaware of what the nurses are doing to the patience. This is where the resistance comes into play.

Agnes, the character who warned Cedar about the pill tries to plan her escape but fails horribly. The next day Cedar asks a receptionist if Agnes ever delivered her baby but the

receptionist replied, “They cornered her in the lobby, took her down. Knocked her out, solid. Agnes never made it to the delivery table”.

The result of the control forces Cedar to resist against these inhumane conditions. Agnes is quickly replaced by another pregnant lady who does not speak at first. Cedar learns later on that her name is Tia. Tia had stayed silent to protect herself stating “First law of capture. Never let them know you know their language.” (Pg 162 Erdrich). Cedar notices this mysterious lady was also tossing her pills and not taking them. Cedar observes that the woman is picking at her blanket. As Cedar watches she realizes the woman is waddling up string from the blankets to make a rope to escape. They both end up creating 20 foot rope. The rope has become so large they have to ride it in the heating vent. Orielee, a nurse working in the hospital, comes into Cedar and Tias room. She becomes suspicious of the heating vent and hints to opening it. This causes Tia to launch and attack Orielee. Tia takes Orielee’s body and flips it onto the floor. Tia then looks at Cedar asking for help. Cedar then gets on top of Orielee where Tia “keeps twisting with both fists, more, tighter, until Orielee’s eyes and tongue pop out and her face turns purple.” These woman felt like they had murder someone, because that someone was taking away their basic human rights.

The Handmaids Tales a​ lso portrays male over female dominance. A new law took place when birth rates dropped 60% in one month. In the show men are the ruler of the household and the government. In a household there is a husband, a wife, a servant, a driver and a handmaid. Each have certain duties and responsibilities they must abide to everyday for God. The husband goes by commander followed by their last name. The commander of the household is usually a man of status. The husbands duties are to love and provide a child to their wife. They do so by

having intercouse with a handmaid. The handmaids only duties are to bear children. The wives are infertle so when the handmaid has her baby, she is forced to give it up blessing the husband and wife with a child. The handmaid is then sent to another house to continue this cycle forever. The driver must earn his wife with status. The wives assigned to the drivers are young girls about the age of 15. Since the birth rates dropped, they use the younger children because they have a high rate of fertility.

June Osborn is the main character of the show. She is a handmaid and is forced to go by Offred. All of the handmaids newly given names begin with “of” and end in their commanders first name. Junes’s whole life is controlled by her household and even her friends. All handmaids are to walk in pairs everywhere. June believes they are enforced to do this to provide surveillance amongst each other. There are also men with guns are every house and every corner.

The ceremony is the name of intercourse. The ceremony is when the wife lies the handmaid on her back with her feet hanging off the edge of the bed. The wife then grabs the handmaids by her wrists and the handmaid is to stare up at the ceiling. The husband then comes into the room to rape (because its not consentual) June against her will and have her concieve a child.

When the handmaids become pregnant they lose even more control over their bodies. After giving birth, the babies are given to the wives and the handmaids are transported to conceive more. When June becomes pregnant with Commander Waterfords baby, Aunt Lydia and the entire household control June’s pregnancy. Aunt Lydia is the one who educated the girls to learn how to be handmaids. Aunt Lydia diets june, watches her bathe, and forces her to get

exercise. The wife also is to monitor Junes eating habits and exercise habits. There is no escape from the control, only attempts to resist.

There have been many times where June tried to escape, or resisted the new way of life. When June was first brought to the women's school for handmaids she tried to escape with her friend Morina. June and Morina try to escape on a train to Boston when June is caught by security for not having an ID. When she is returned to the school, Aunt lydia and other officials tie her up on a table and whip the bottom of her feet for trying to escape.

Offwaren, a handmaid June meets at the school, has her right eye taken out for “talking back”. Morina looks at June when Offwaren returns and says “we are a baby factory now, what do we need a left eye for? The control causes Offwaren to lose her sanity. After Offwaren has her baby she becomes attached, as any mother would. Offwaren tries to kill herself with the baby in her arms saying “I don’t wanna live in a world without my Charlette”. Her punishment for almost committing such a selfish act is to be stoned to death by the other handmaids. When the time comes for Offwaren to be stoned, the girls resist. The result of their resistance, they thought, was to be hanged. All the handmaids involved were brought to a hanging site where they had the ropes put around their necks and made to think they were going to die. Aunt Lydia spears them and says this is a “lesson to be learned”. The handmaids were then each individually tortured. Some had there flesh burned over a stove while others had their tongues ripped out.

Another friend of June, Offglen, stole an official vehicle, ran over and killed a guard. She was then captured and woke up in a hospital. When Offglen looked down she noticed they had cut her clitorus off as a punishment. Aunt Lydia knows Offglen used to be a lesbian but that is now forbidden and the term “gender trador” is used to catogorize LGBTQ. Offglen is then sent

to the colonies. The colonies where a nuclear bomb took place. A war had happened and is lightly touched upon in the TV show. The colonies are full of radiation that burns your flesh off. When you are sent to the colonies you are forced to work yourself to death digging holes to clean the radioactive chemicals.

The handmaids resisted yet again with the best attack yet, a bombing. There was a bombing in an official office where they seemed to be presenting the handmaids and the accomplishments made so far. June’s shopping partner Offglen #2 sets off a bomb at the Rachel and Leah Center which is basically the control office. Many official men, handmaids and even Offglen #2 die from the bombing. Mr.Waterford is injured in the bombing and is unable to work for a short period of time. While he is gone his wife and Offred tamper with the laws since he is in charge of creating them. Mr.Waterford finds out when he returns from home and severely whips his wife on the back while Offred is forced to watch.

Although these scenarios don’t seem likely, women are facing similar issues in contemporary society. You should be able to control anything you want to do with your body. Alabama thinks much differently. The official Alabama Law website states that abortions are infact, illegal. A lot of other states are considering illegalizing abortions as well. Missouri, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Georgia have pursued bills that would ban abortions as soon as a physician is able to detect a fetal heartbeat. The law does allow an abortion if the mothers life or the fetus’ life is at risk. The law does not permit any abortions for rape or incest. Under “The Alabama Human Life Protection Act”, preforming an abortion would be a felony due to “homicide purposes”. If the law is broken you will be cited for a Class A felony charge and serve up to life in prison. If you attemp an abortion you are cited with a Class C felony serving up to

10 years in prison. Women in 2019 are being punished for a choice they should be able to make with their body. When looking online at the officials of the Alabama government I noticed every single one of them were men. Men passed this law prohibiting a woman to be able to make a choice with her body. Men in 2019 are controlling women's rights just like the women in the dystopian fiction novels.

The dominance the males have over the females in these novels is the same dominance the government is trying to have upon women in our society. Women should become more aware of the control that is being put upon us. As the women do in these novels, we need to resist. We need to protest, we need to make people more aware of what could come to our state or even country. We are living in such a dangerous world of dominance and power. When given so much power how are you to please anyone? It is understandable and acceptable for people to disagree with abortions, but what about the victims of rape? What about mothers who are drug addicts who know they can’t mentally handle a child? What about victims of incest? What are we to do when dominance and power between men and women will always be a problem in contemporary society?

Citations

FindLaws Team. “Alabama Abortion Laws.” ​Findlaw​, Thomson Reuters, 15 May 2019, statelaws.findlaw.com/alabama-law/alabama-abortion-laws.html. Law, Tara. “Abortion Bill Details: Alabama, Georgia, Missouri Laws Explained.” ​Time​, Time, 18 May 2019, time.com/5591166/state-abortion-laws-explained/.

[thesydneyfeminists]

Ditch the Witch: The problematic portrayal of witches in popular culture

Recently I sat down with my partner’s family to watch the film “Hocus Pocus”, a story of three old Salem witches who steal the life force of little children to perpetuate their own, and the three modern children who accidently bring them back from the dead.  It’s a fun adventure romp, a scary children’s film that was a childhood favourite of mine.  Upon re-watching it, though, I found in me a quietly distressing ambivalence towards its content.

The stereotype of the ugly old hag, the spinster who deals with dark magic and deadly potions, is a culmination of a number of misogynies; from the hatred and fear of an independent (and sexually liberated) woman, to the disdain for the unmarried female, to the phobia of age and ugliness in the “fairer sex” to the mistrust of traditional women healers (hence the potions).  All of this and much more goes into the modern day incarnation of the so-called witch – the dark, often elderly and hideous female being that wrought havoc with her voice (spells) and arrogant rebellion (heresy).

The reality is that witches were never a real thing.  They never actually existed.  The “witch’ is a concept, one that was invented and used as an excuse to execute people for a wide variety of reasons.  The idea of the witch as a devil-worshipping deviant was embedded in the public imagination thanks to the publication of the Malleus Malleficarum in 1486, written by two Dominican inquisitors as a handbook for witch hunters.  Sales of this book during the time period ran second only to the Bible, and it was a major source of justification for the trialling and execution of tens of thousands of women.  (Exact figures are unknown.  Estimates vary wildly from 30,000 deaths to millions.  The most commonly accepted figure is between 30,000 and 50,000 from the year 1500 to 1700.).

Using the Latin, Malleficarum translates literally as “female evil-doers”, and reasons for why women were by and large the perpetrators of witchcraft ranged from their supposed inherent weakness to believe anything, including the words of the devil; their slippery tongues when spreading such evil information; their deceptive nature, and their lack of faith.  The most important reason stated, however, was that “All Witchcraft comes from carnal lust, which is in women insatiable.” (pg 56,digireads.com)

Sexually impure or promiscuous women were obviously major targets.  Indeed, the obsession with women’s chastity dominated so much of the rhetoric of that time, as it still does today (albeit to a lesser and subtler extent). Radical feminists, such as Andrea Dworkin and Mary Daly, argued that the “witch craze” was a “gynocide”, a deliberate attempt by powerful men to annihilate all traces of independent, single or empowered women.  Having myself read Daly’s harrowing chapter on the European Witchburnings in her book Gyn/Ecology, it’s no surprise that I found myself deeply offended by this everlasting caricature of the female deviant: old, deformed and sexually liberated (all of which are portrayed and mocked in Hocus Pocus, as in other films and media of modern times.)

Given the atrocities that happened to women across the centuries, why is it that today at Halloween we don costumes at parties or watch our children dress up and pretend-curse their friends?  Grotesque caricatures of witches hang in all the stores in the lead-up to the evening, including the supermarkets, and we unthinkingly accept this without wondering about the history behind it.  Why aren’t these caricatures as offensive as Golly Wogs are today?  Although they symbolise different things, they are alike in that they are a white man’s mockery of group of human beings they saw fit to persecute, enslave and ridicule.

Of course, if you look deep enough into all our religious (or pagan) festivals throughout the year, you’ll discover plenty to be unsettled by.  It’s downright absurd the way we “celebrate” things we know almost nothing about.  But if you do know something about it – some of the history and symbolisms – the stereotypes and distortions embedded in pop culture and modern festivities can leave you wondering if you’re the only sane person alive.

I know that if I were to voice these concerns, I’d be told I was too earnest, taking it too seriously, and lacking in the spirit of fun.  But I cannot dismiss my discomfort, because I know that in reality people still cling to some of these notions, especially the witch.  Anyone remember this summation of then Prime Minster Julia Gillard?

Ditch the Witch

[Source: Daily Telegraph]

We still use the term to denigrate powerful and ambitious women, or women we don’t like; women who speak too loudly or take too many liberties.  The hatred and fear that feminists have argued underpinned much of the female-centric persecutions during the Early Modern Period is still with us today, whether we’re aware of it or not.

Of course, men were also persecuted as witches during the same time period, although to a much lesser extent.  But it was always men who made the decision to put a woman to trial, often after she had been tortured into admitting her imagined crimes.  Public executions and graphic descriptions of their “abominable behaviours” served to terrify the public into submission, to ingrain sense of distrust in one another and to imprint on the memory and consciousness of generations to come the dangers of / of being the deviant woman.

If women did not conform to the mould of appearance and behaviour expected of them (even moles were cause for alarm and suspicion during that era) then they ran the high risk of persecution.  How different is it today?  If women don’t fit the young and beautiful mould of the good girl (always sexually available but never promiscuous), they get called ugly, a bitch, a witch, a hag, frigid or a slut.  Women today are persecuted by the advertising industry for failing to meet its impossible standards of ideal beauty, and society condemns a woman who fails (or chooses!) to be both a wife and mother and a careerwoman.  Women may no longer be hung or burned for failing to measure up, but they are still tortured in a way, and some of that torture is now self-inflicted.

Seeing witches in films or cartoons depresses me where before it frightened me.  Hocus Pocus scared the living daylights out of me as a child; I loved the story and the bravery of the kids, but feared the witches themselves.  I feared the witch in Snow White and the sea-witch, Ursula, of The Little Mermaid.  The Blair Witch Project played on this ingrained fear in our imaginations and was tremendously popular.  This vicious, sadistic caricature of the empowered woman survives today, and is at once reviled and ridiculed.

Despite all this, I’d still recommend “Hocus Pocus” as a fun film for older children to enjoy.  In and of itself, it’s a well-made, entertaining film with good humour.   But I’d also recommend giving children a history lesson on the real story of witches.  Being aware of such things might take some of the fun out of pop culture from time to time, but as the saying goes, knowledge is power.  We’d be wise to remember that.

By: Tessa Barratt

First published on DiscordiaZine, September 20, 2014

 Sources:

Gyn/Ecology: The Metaethics of Radical Feminism, Daly, Mary, 1978 [The Women’s Press]

History.com http://www.history.com/news/history-lists/7-bizarre-witch-trial-tests

The Oxford Handbook of Witchcraft in Early Modern Europe and Colonial America, pg 551.

Malleus Malleficarum, Kramer, Heinrich; Sprenger, James. Digireads, 2009.

Lewd Women and Wicked Witches: A Study of the Dynamics of Male Domination, By Marianne Hester [pgs 115-118], 1992, Routledge.

Fantasies of Gender and the Witch in Feminist Theory and Literature, Justyna Sempruch, Purdue University Press, 2008. [Pgs 20-24]

Ten Common Errors and Myths about the Witch Hunts, Corrected and Commented by Brian A. Pavlac, King’s College London, >http://departments.kings.edu/womens_history/witch/werror.html<

[incorrectly-quoted-queers]

Drunk Punch Love 2: Chapter 2

Pairing: FemShep and Garrus Vakarian (Shakarian)

Rating: PG-13 (with some tossed F-bombs)

Summary: Their awkward, badass journey through saving the galaxy and accidentally falling in love

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22089466/chapters/54170929

Part 2- Chapter 2: Alliance Stowaways

Before she could even adjust to being back on the Normandy with people she didn't know, and even before she could introduce herself to any of them, they were passing by a new colony hit by The Collectors, Freedom's Progress. Anya remembered duty-life was high pace and unexpected, but it kinda felt like she hadn't had time to breathe.

And the entire thing was overwhelmed by waves of emotion, because not only did they find a derelict colony, but they found Tali, too. Her Tali, engineering extraordinaire, cute laugh, and all. She was a leader, now. Watching her felt surreal, seeing the awkward wingwoman of Ash Williams so sure of herself now. They pushed down opposite sides of the pavilion, but all Anya wanted to do was fight by her side again.

But that wasn't her place anymore. It was Tali's team.

When they shot down the last bots and got to the one survivor, Veetor, he was a mess. They did some quick questioning, but it wasn't long before the guy just needed a blanket around his shoulders and to get cared for back home. Tali's people were walking him back to their ship and Anya felt so desperate to not let her go. Not again.

Being an emotional wimp about asking people to stay was part of her charm, though. And how could she ask Tali to give up being a leader just to be on her ship again? That'd be selfish. So she hugged her, told her to keep in touch, and made a few jokes about coming back from the dead.

Then, she watched Tali walk away from her.

She understood how important it was for Tali to continue supporting the Flotilla and getting Veetor home. But also her chest deflated as one more reminder of who she really was floated away.

Walking down the halls of the Normandy, wondering when they'd get to the Citadel so she could get some proper sweats instead of these ridiculous Cerberus slacks, it all was just too much. Too-friendly Jacob had barely let her breathe post-mission before he was taking her on this tour of her own ship.

It made sense why he was doing it, there were a lot of changes to Joker's beautiful baby. At the same time, though, she could feel wisps of memories in every corridor. Pressley used to give her bad jokes and every opinion he'd ever had on the command deck. She met Kaidan in the cockpit, where now it was just Joker and some AI named EDI bickering. Tali's engine room station was replaced by two funny engineers named Gabby and Donnely, but the way they played off each other was a little overwhelming for her jumbled brain.

And when they passed the battery, and he told her this was where the ships' gun calibrations were, she knew this was where Garrus would've belonged. But he didn't, because this wasn't quite her Normandy, and he wasn't here. The turian that got her through Saren was MIA. Maybe even-

Anya couldn't think about that or everything felt even more hazy.

Things brightened up, though, when Jacob walked her into the med-bay. Much to her surprise, the doc wasn't a stranger. She was an old friend. Prim, silver-haired, and beautiful as ever.

Much faster than she could get a word out, Anya pulled Dr. Chakwas into her arms. She said, "Good to see a friendly face."

"I'm sure, Shepard." When she pulled back, Chakwas touched her cheek. Part of it was affection, but the doctor also had her intense "medic" glare on. "Cerberus still hasn't erased the scars they left on you."

Her fingers waved away the woman's hand and brushed her own cheek; it was sensitive, but not painfully so. "Yeah, well, I'm no stranger to scars. Adds character."

Chakwas laughed at her. "Like you need any more character." A million moments and memories seemed to pass between them, half with Shepard in sweats swearing about some stitches. While she didn't mind scars, stitches always made her skin itch.

But that wasn't important. What was important was that she sniped another top-tier Alliance officer just by coming back from the dead. "How'd you end up here? I never thought-"

"I'd leave the Alliance? I haven't quite. You wrack up a lot of shore leave by my age. And when I heard there was going to be another ship captained by Commander Shepard, I had to join."

Jacob coughed into his hand and stood up straight, giving Anya an apologetic look. Considering he was interrupting Chakwas, it wasn't nearly apologetic enough. At her glare, he looked a little unsettled. "Hate to break up the reunion, but we still have a lot to see."

"Fine." Crossing her arms over her chest, Anya gave Chakwas a serious look. "I'm coming back later for you. You, Joker, and I are having dinner."

"I wouldn't miss it."

Following Jacob out of the med bay, she kinda wished she could karate chop his head off. It was like she got a new Alliance lackey without as many Chain of Command perks. And at least Alliance soldiers looked at her like a living legend; Jacob looked at her like a cash prize Cerberus won after some high stakes gambling. She was pretty sure she hated that more than the heroic evangelizing.

Anya also didn't enjoy being stuck in an elevator with him and, with four floors on the Normandy SR-2, it had happened way too much in one day. The dude radiated an uncomfortable amount of self-confidence and heat. She wasn't sure yet if any of it was justified.

Lucky for her, when the door opened he gestured for her to walk onto their final floor: the captain's quarters. Anya entered her room and was barely listening to him, marvelling at it. There was a great desk spot, shelves, a huge bed, a couch that looked even nicer than her Alliance one. If she ever did movie night-

Before she could stop herself, Anya winced. Once she stood in the center of the room, Jacob said, "And this is where you'll stay, concluding our tour."

She was a little cranky about that. Anya definitely could've talked a few more minutes with Chakwas and shown herself this room. But Jacob just kept talking. "Since we're not military, things can be a little more luxurious than the typical Alliance ship. Keeps the people happy."

"Wild to think this is mine." She pressed her fingers to the glass of the empty fish tank. Guess Cerberus wanted her to upgrade from her plants on the Normandy. Feeling a pang of nostalgia in her heart, Anya remembered how much she loved waking up to her succulents and ivy. She'd have to get some more since hers got blown out into space.

That thought didn't make her feel so good, either.

"Best Commander in the galaxy deserves it." Anya nearly vomited. She wasn't great with the overblown compliments, but she hated it even more coming from a soldier subordinate. Gave her too many memories of regretted conversations with one Kaidan Alenko.

Jacob didn't seem to catch her distaste, though, and continued gushing like a proper fanboy. If only he knew how much she hated it. "Just wanted to say, it's an honor serving under you. I expected the best, but being in a fight with you.. It's something else."

Yep, this was three steps too close to Alenko territory. Remembering what happened the last time someone talked like that and got her alone in her quarters, Anya got a little overwhelmed by the panic in her gut. It was seething, begging for things to be less complicated this time. She was a soldier first, not her teammate's fantisized sex dream.

Shepard blurted, "I have a hard rule against intimate relationships with my subordinates."

Turning towards her, Jacob peered. If anything he seemed surprised. Shit. He was just being a fanboy, not the Alenko kind, wasn't he? With an uncomfortable nod, he said, "O-kay. Duly noted." He walked past her, careful not to touch her at all. "If you need anything, Miranda's just a deck below and I'm by command."

Then, he was gone.

Of all her years as a commander, she did a great job being everyone's friend. At some points she almost convinced herself she was charismatic. But the second a topic made her uncomfortable? Anya clammed up.

That was normal enough in the early days, but since her last mission she panicked about someone having the hots for her, becoming even more of a bumbling idiot.

Liara, Kaidan, and Garrus broke her, didn't they?

Deciding she was over thinking about the romance politics on the old Normandy, Anya went over the dossiers The Illusive Man gave her. He recommended first to pick up a Salarian scientist on Omega, one who might be able to synthesize against the Collector nerve bugs. Past that, there was an old, seasoned merc named Zaeed that Cerberus bought out, some merc-killer named Archangel, the Krogan Warlord Okeer, a high-stakes thief named Kasumi, and some super-biotic, Jack, on a prison ship.

Cerberus' picks of team members were definitely a bit more... colorful than hers ever were. The shadiest person she worked with was Wrex, and that one was currently trying to create a unified Tuchanka. Wasn't exactly the same as a straight up war criminal.

Considering the calibre of people The Illusive Man wanted her to get, brilliant but dangerous, Shepard thought it best to read over the whole files. All it took was a glance over Jack's file to realize she was a girl, and that would've been a dumb, unecessary false assumption. Also, Zaeed had beef with the Blue Suns and Okeer was working with them, so that might cause some conflict she had to be aware of.

But just as she was opening Kasumi's file, arguably the tamest of the bunch, her omni-tool pinged. It was Joker. The guy preferred audio files because texting put too much pressure on his bones sometimes, so she turned up her volume. "You wanted dinner? Get your ass down here."

Anya ran her hands through her hair. Typical. Of course she would forget a dinner she planned herself. Literally only twenty four hours back with Joker and he already had something to give her shit about.

She was doing a great job turning over a new leaf in her second chance at life.

Trying to act casual, Anya quickly brushed her messy as hell hair and used the elevator to get to the crew dec. When she got there, Joker and Chakwas were leaning back in their chairs, like parents who caught their kid sneaking in late. They even had a pizza in between them.

Joker smirked and gave her the snark she expected. "We were waiting here for half an hour before we realized your dumb ass got all workaholic on us already."

"There's a lot to catch up on, Sue me." Shepard sat down and put a slice of pizza in her mouth. Classic cheese and garlic. She gave Chakwas a thumbs up for her cooking prowess. Sure, it was probably a frozen pizza, but Chakwas' always tasted better than anyone else's. In between bites she said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome, Shepard."

After she wolfed down half a slice, she asked, "While I eat like an animal, is there anything big in the Alliance I missed?"

Joker started. "Without your backing, Udina took over the council seat. Granted, I think Anderson was relieved."

She shrugged. That was what happened when you chose a seasoned, bad luck soldier to make your political decisions. Anya always figured Anderson would quit the job eventually. "Figures."

Chakwas looked a lot more hesitant with her comment, but she still did it with a smile. "I did a mission stint on the SS Marakov. Can report you're an easier Shepard to have a meal with."

Joker added, "I also spent some time with Oksana. She's buried herself in work. They left for a deep space recon mission a few months ago. No clue when they'll get back."

Anya kept chewing, trying to wrap her head around everything they were saying. The doctor's eyes were soft and sympathetic as she said, "To be quite honest, other than losing you... Not too much has changed. Although, the space you left was very real " Chakwas placed her hand of hers and it was so tender that Anya swallowed down the last of the pizza in her mouth. Everything was a wild mess, after dying, but it was so comforting to know people had her back.

And then Joker somehow ruined and enhanced the wholesome moment all at the same time. "To be really quite damn honest, it never felt real. I always felt like you should be showing up any moment to kick my ass for doing something dumb."

Before she could tell them how much their words meant to her, Miranda was over the intercoms. "We've made it to Omega, Shepard. Meet me in the briefing room."

Anya grumbled. "Dammit, I only got one slice of pizza." She shoved another one in her mouth and basically swallowed it whole. It was better than no pizza.

Chakwas just kinda stared at her in awe. Joker, on the other hand, said, "Fuck. Well, I guess I'll give this to you now."

He handed over a box and, while Shepard inhaled another pizza slice, she opened it. Inside was a pair of classic, cozy Citadel sweats. With a gulp, she beamed at Joker. "Thank-"

"Nope. There's another thing."

Pulling the sweats out, underneath was a set of ballet flats. Joker had seen her practice a few times when they were roommates, but she never knew he understood how much it meant to her. She couldn't smile wide enough for that one. Putting the sweats back on top of the shoes, Anya said, "Thank you. But you tell anyone what's in here, you die "

With his annoying smirk, he started to walk towards the elevator. "I know."

Her eyes flicked back to Chakwas and she grimaced. "Sorry I couldn't have a nice long dinner with you two. I'll make it up to you."

"I know you will."

Shepard saluted and then, with her box, ran towards the elevator. After it dropped off Joker, it was her turn to go to her room and suit it. She said to herself, "After we pick up this Salarian scientist, I'm going to remember the sweet feeling of sweats again."

And that was enough of a beautiful, human thing to make coming back to life really worth it. After all, she needed something to be excited for, beyond saving the galaxy. Sweats and those two Alliance stowaways didn't give her back the team she lost, but for now? They were enough.

///

Awww I love the Alliance babies. And knowing what we all know about Kaidan *glares* it's nice to know that some other friends still have Shepard's back.

In other news, excited to share some new Dragon Age stuff today! I'm participating in Merribela week on Tumblr so I will have 3-4 one shots about a pirate and a cute elf to share over the next few days. Yay!

Anyway, thank you so much for reading! And some serious double stuffed thanks to my lovely patrons:

Danypooh80

Amy Connolly

If you want to help support my writing, my Twitch aspirations, and my goal to create a fun, pro-fandom community, please check one of these places (or my bio) for more information:

My Patreon: patreon.com/gracejordan

My Twitter: (at)Steph_Marceau

My Wattpad: user/GraceJordan13

[brgirlspg]

Modern Girls PG in New Friends Colony

For female students and professional women seeking a secure and comfortable PG in Delhi, Brij Raj Niwas Girls PG is the perfect choice. Situated in Hari Nagar Ashram, this PG offers affordable AC accommodation with modern amenities, ensuring a hassle-free living experience. Conveniently located near Ashram Metro Station, it provides easy access to educational institutions such as PGDAV College, Jamia Millia Islamia, Dyal Singh College, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, Gargi College, Delhi University, Ramanujan College, and Deshbandhu College. Brij Raj Niwas Girls PG is an ideal option for those looking for a modern Girls PG in New Friends Colony, Bhogal, Jangpura, or Hari Nagar Ashram in South Delhi.