#hairstyles for fine hair over 50

[naildesigns24]

45 Trendy Short Layered Haircuts for Women: Chic, Easy & Versatile 2024

Short layered haircuts for women offer style and manageability in one package. Discover 45 stunning looks that range from edgy pixies to sophisticated bobs. These short length hairstyles create volume, texture, and movement, flattering various face shapes and hair types. Learn how layered short hair can frame your features and add depth to fine or thin locks. From wispy layers to textured cuts,…

[sirnoddodielmincelebcoolgaming62]

Hey, I thought your thoughts on the new sky hair with braids was really interesting! I’ve been looking for conversations around sky and race, but I haven’t really been able to find any, so I was happy to see your post!

If you don’t mind, I was wondering if you have any thoughts around white players using hairstyles that are traditionally Black (or associated with Black people and culture)? Genuinely no pressure to answer! I’m gonna send another version of this ask with just the first half so that you can ignore the question if you want.

im taking 50 years to respond 🔥🔥🔥

i don't really fw it. especially in a game like sky where less than 10% of the hairstyle choices are even definitively black to begin with. i think it's just weird to have over 90% of hairstyles be for you and still pick from that 10% that wasn't necessarily intended for you. though ngl i do find it kinda understandable if you're white with curly hair there's like 2 choices for you too 😭😭😭😭😭 still find it a bit of a weird choice but we're in the same boat i'll let it slide

i also find it sorta distasteful because of how tgc seems to be participating in black erasure themselves, the way they keep adding styles that were likely inspired by black culture, but they won't actually texture the hair properly + seemingly cutting black inspired content??? (forgetful storyteller concept art having a coily blowout that seemingly got cut last minute)

it seems like the community doesn't care at all either, and participates too - today i saw someone draw the newly added to beta fortune locs (which have an issue themselves, why are the loose strands not locs but the ponytail is????) as dead straight hair in a sketch... the hair's supposed to look like snakes, which would naturally resemble locs 💥💥 (+ a lot of art people make of black-coded spirits tend to lack any black features)

if the community and the devs themselves weren't like this, i'd probably actually be somewhat fine with it. i'd find it easier to view it as appreciation, but in the game and community's current state, i just do not think its something you can do in good faith

[bestfriend4u]

Stylish Haircuts for Women Over 50 That Enhance Confidence.

A great hairstyle can redefine your look, enhance your confidence, and make you feel timelessly beautiful. These modern hairstyles for women over 50 combine sophistication with ease, ensuring you look and feel fabulous at any age.

Short Hairstyles:

Classic Pixie – Sleek, low-maintenance, and perfect for highlighting facial features.

Textured Pixie – Add layers for a playful and voluminous look.

Tapered Pixie Cut – A chic style with a slightly longer top for versatility.

Ear-Length Bob – Short and sharp for a polished, modern look.

Messy Crop – Perfect for a casual, relaxed vibe.

Asymmetrical Pixie – Add edge with uneven lengths.

Short Layered Cut – Volume and texture for fine or thinning hair.

Soft Spiky Pixie – A bold choice with a touch of femininity.

Chin-Length Bob – Frames the face and enhances bone structure.

French Bob – A chic, classic look with soft bangs.

If you know about more hair style visit my site > https://healthyesbeauty.blogspot.com/2024/12/stylish-haircuts-for-women-over-50-that.html

[badxsshottiexllie]

In Ellie's default verse, the whereabouts of her parents are a mystery as she was an orphan, adopted at age 10, and then left her adoptive parents at age 18. In the Captain Laserhawk AU though? She does eventually meet them in the threads with @spoocys-glade-of-dreams

Since this post will be super long, they will be posted under the cut. Feel free to blacklist the tag potters npcs if you don’t want to see these kinds of posts.

Name: Cliff

Alias: Thunder Tail (Resistance member after leaving Eden's army)

Species: Caucasian Human. Rusty blonde combed pushback hairstyle. Yellow eyes. Height is 4"8. Kind of muscular. Has a beard.

Status: Alive

Early 60's

Originally joined Eden's army because he thought it would make him popular with woman.

Back in his 20's, he was definitely a flirt.

He also hated his height when he was younger, and wanted to get leg enhancements. In order to do that, he had to prove himself to the Eden army. However, he injured both of his legs in battle and had to wait to heal before trying again.

Met Meredith as a brand new doctor for the Eden army and it was love at first sight.

Thought she was very attractive, but grew to love her for her kind and caring nature.

Continued to be around her as a friend, but still pined after her. No longer being the flirt like he used to be.

After spending time with her, his reason for being in the army had changed. He no longer wanted to be popular with woman, but instead wanted to protect Eden and its people.

Cliff could tell that she was unhappy in her relationship with her future husband, and convinced her to leave him for her own happiness.

Can be stubborn, hot headed, and blunt. But is very loyal to those he is close to and as such will defend them in any way that he can. He has even become more selfless as he got older.

Loves talking about his wife and daughter, regardless if people think it's obnoxious or not. Kind of like Maes Hughes from Full Metal Alchemist / Full Metal Alchesmist Brotherhood.

Besides resistance work, he is also a mechanic / jack of all trades guy in Utopia.

Name: Meredith

Species: Caucasian Human. Looks like an older version of Ellie except she does not have muscular arms and she has hazel eyes. Typically has a small braid in her hair. Height is 6"2.

Status: Alive

Late 50's

When she first joined the Eden army, she had just completed medical school in order to become a doctor. So this was her first job in that field.

Did not feel any attraction to Cliff right away. But she found him incredibly quirky, which she found charming.

In her 20's, she was shy / timid and sometimes had trouble speaking up.

However, she did convince Cliff not to go through with the getting leg enhancements because he was fine just the way he was.

Rejected him the first time, saying that she was in engaged to be married, but left the part out that it was arranged to avoid suspicion of it not being a good idea. Especially since her partner treated her like garbage.

As they spent more time together, Meredith was falling in love with him despite the fact that she already had a "fiance".

She could not face her "fiance" alone, so she had Cliff come with her. The fiance no longer had interest in her because Meredith recently found out that she was pregnant with Ellie. Which was also the first time that Cliff knew.

As she got older, she was no longer shy and had no trouble speaking up. Came out of her shell ever since she got together with Cliff.

Very smart, but also incredibly kind and caring. Always cares about her patients needs over money and will make sure their not ignored.

Currently a doctor in Utopia and in New York. Although in New York it's a smaller clinic. Where as in Utopia it's a bigger office / hospital.

Other Miscellaneous Fact About Them:

Both left Edens army after Meredith became pregnant with Ellie.

Decided to eventually elope and get married. Meredith cut ties with her family because they tried to put her in an arranged marriage. Cliff on the other hand, only talks to his parents once in a great while.

His parents knew about his relationship with Meredith, but didn't tell them that they got married until after it happened. This was also around the time that he told him that his wife was having a baby.

Meredith and Cliff eventually found out how awful Eden was, so Cliff eventually joined a resistance group against them.

Ellie was a healthy baby. However, they knew that raising a baby in Eden was a bad idea due to how Eden is. They eventually discovered Utopia (fan made location by Spoocy) from one of Cliffs resistance members and decided to move there.

Unfortunately, the family ran into trouble before the move. Wanting the best for their baby, they decided to use the portal gun from one of the resistance members to send Ellie to another dimension so that she would be safe.

They promised to come back for her once they were settled in Utopia as they knew she was in an orphanage somewhere in New York. The portal gun at some point either got destroyed or misplaced, and it took a decade just to find their daughter again. (At this point she is 10 and is adopted.)

Unsure of what to do without it looking like a kidnapping, they decided to look over her like guardian angels. Donning the nicknames sunglasses mom and dad.

It was thanks to a device that someone made for them that they were able to watch over her / travel to her dimension in secret to help her when they could. However, after seeing that Eden had contacted her, they knew they had sent her to Pre - Eden (the past) rather an entirely new dimension.

Using the same device, they tried to send her to Utopia, but with no success. All they know is that they sent her somewhere and hope that she is doing well. They have also made sure to watch Ellie's home back in New York in case anyone tries to buy it for themselves.

[universalhairclinic]

Is It Hair Shedding or Hair Loss? Stop Worrying, Get Answers from Dublin Trichologists

You’ve likely encountered hairs on your brush or clothes and wondered if what you’re seeing is normal or a sign of a more significant problem. The line between hair shedding and hair loss can seem as fine as a strand of hair, but there’s important information that can clarify this common point of concern.

Read on to learn about their key differences from Dublin trichologists. We’ll also learn about tips on prevention and treatment from trusted Dublin trichologists.

Is It Hair Shedding or Hair Loss? What’s the Difference?

Hair shedding is often confused with hair loss, but they are not the same issue. The difference between hair shedding and hair loss can be subtle yet significant. But knowing this distinction is the first step towards maintaining a healthy mane.

Hair shedding refers to the natural and ongoing process where hair falls out and is replaced by new growth. In case you didn’t know, hair growth goes through a natural cycle which includes shedding. Each day, it’s perfectly common to lose 50 to 100 hairs as part of this process.

Hair loss, in contrast to shedding, may present as not only losing hair but also experiencing a failure in regrowth. Since hair is not growing back, hair loss leads to thinning or bald patches.

What Causes Hair Shedding and Hair Loss?

While hair fall is a normal process, certain factors can cause temporary increases in shedding. These include:

Stress: Physical or emotional stress can push more hair follicles into the telogen phase, leading to temporary shedding. Once the stressor subsides, hair growth typically returns to normal.

Illness: Fevers, certain medications, and illnesses like thyroid disorders can disrupt the hair growth cycle and cause temporary shedding.

Hormonal Changes: Hormonal fluctuations, such as those experienced during pregnancy, childbirth, menopause, or starting/stopping birth control pills, can trigger temporary shedding.

Dietary Deficiencies: Deficiencies in iron, vitamin D, or other essential nutrients can impact hair growth and contribute to shedding.

Hairstyles and Hair Care Practices: Tight hairstyles like braids or ponytails can cause hair breakage, which can be mistaken for shedding. Harsh chemical treatments or excessive heat styling can also damage hair and lead to breakage.

Hair loss, however, can be caused by a variety of underlying medical conditions. Some examples include:

Alopecia Areata: An autoimmune disease that causes patchy hair loss.

Androgenetic Alopecia (Male/Female Pattern Baldness): A hereditary condition that causes gradual hair loss in a predictable pattern. This is one of the leading causes of hair loss in both men and women.

Telogen Effluvium: A type of hair loss that occurs several months after a stressful event, illness, or significant weight loss.

Scalp Infections: Fungal or bacterial infections of the scalp can cause hair loss in the affected area.

If the idea of hair loss concerns you, it’s important to understand which one you might be experiencing. Luckily, trichologists in Dublin are specialists you can turn to, ready to demystify the subject and guide you towards the best care for your locks.

The Fine Line: When Does Hair Shedding Become Hair Loss?

How can you tell if your hair shedding is a cause for concern? Here are some warning signs that might indicate hair loss:

Excessive hair loss: Losing significantly large amounts of hair every day over an extended period is a sign of hair loss.

Receding Hairline: In men, a receding hairline at the temples is a common sign of male pattern baldness. In women, hair loss may occur along the part line or in a widening pattern at the crown.

Patchy Bald Spots: Circular or patchy bald spots are a hallmark of alopecia areata.

Scalp Irritation or Scaling: Itching, burning, or redness of the scalp can accompany some types of hair loss.

Sudden or Unexpected Hair Loss: Hair loss that occurs rapidly after an illness, significant weight change, or intense stress could be telogen effluvium.

The timing and pattern of hair loss can also be clues to the underlying cause. For example, sudden hair loss all over the scalp might point towards a different cause than a receding hairline that develops gradually over time.

Simply put, a certain amount of hair shedding is considered normal. When you notice a few strands on your hairbrush or in the shower, it’s usually not a cause for alarm. The problem arises when you start to notice substantially more hair coming out, especially if it leaves bald patches or you can visibly see your scalp more than before.

How Dublin Trichologists Can Help With Your Hair Fall Problems

If you’re experiencing hair loss, it’s wise to seek professional help from a trichologist. Trichology is the scientific study of the hair and scalp. Trichologists are trained to diagnose hair loss conditions and recommend appropriate treatment options.

Unlike a self-diagnosis based on Internet searches, trichologists are trained to go beyond the basics. During a consultation, they will delve into your medical history, family background of hair loss, and current medications.

Additionally, Dublin trichologists don’t stop at conversation. They utilise advanced tools for a deeper analysis. For example, at the Universal Hair & Scalp Clinic, they use Trichoscan (microscopic hair & scalp digital camera technology) for magnified views of your hair follicles and scalp. In some cases, blood tests or scalp biopsies might be recommended for a deeper analysis.

The comprehensive diagnostic approach helps them determine whether you’re experiencing normal hair shedding or a more serious case of hair loss.

It is worth mentioning that trichologists do more than diagnose excessive hair shedding. They can partner with you to create a personalised treatment plan targeting the root cause of your hair loss, not just the symptoms. This plan might combine medications, laser therapy, and adjustments to your hair care routine and diet.

Additionally, throughout the hair loss treatment process, these specialists offer ongoing support, monitor progress, and adjust the plan as needed. With their expertise and your commitment, you can achieve healthy hair growth and regain confidence.

How to Treat and Prevent Excessive Hair Fall

Hair loss or excessive shedding can feel like a never-ending battle. But with the right strategies and understanding, it’s a fight you can win. By incorporating daily hair care tips, making lifestyle adjustments, and choosing the right treatment options, you can make significant strides toward healthier, fuller hair. Here’s how to arm yourself in the fight against hair loss.

Daily Hair Care Tips

Prevention is your first line of defense. A few daily adjustments can significantly reduce unnecessary shedding:

Gentle Handling: Avoid tight hairstyles that pull on the hair at the roots (like tight ponytails, braids, or buns) which can cause traction alopecia. Opt for loose, comfortable styles instead.

Proper Washing: Use a sulfate-free shampoo to cleanse your scalp and hair gently. Over-washing can strip your scalp of essential oils, leading to dryness and potential hair loss.

Conditioning: Apply conditioner to the lengths and ends of your hair, avoiding the scalp to prevent build-up that can clog follicles.

Low Heat: Minimize the use of heat styling tools which can weaken hair strands, leading to breakage and loss. If you must use them, apply a heat protectant spray beforehand.

Lifestyle Changes for Healthier Hair

Your hair reflects your overall health, so it’s crucial to nurture your body from the inside out:

Balanced Diet: Incorporate a diet rich in protein, vitamins (especially A, C, D, E), minerals (like iron and zinc), and omega-3 fatty acids to support hair growth.

Stay Hydrated: Dehydration directly impacts your hair growth, making drinking plenty of water throughout the day essential.

Stress Management: High stress can trigger hair shedding. Adopt stress-reduction techniques like yoga, meditation, or regular exercise.

Adequate Sleep: Aim for 7-9 hours of sleep per night to allow your body to repair and regenerate, including your hair follicles.

Over-the-Counter vs. Professional Hair Growth Treatments

While there are numerous over-the-counter (OTC) products promising hair loss solutions, understanding when to consider professional treatment is key:

OTC Treatments: Products containing minoxidil are FDA-approved for hair loss treatment and can be effective for some individuals. Natural supplements and vitamins for hair growth can also be beneficial but do your research and consult a healthcare professional before starting any new supplement regimen.

Professional Treatments: For persistent or severe hair loss, professional treatments under the guidance of a dermatologist or trichologist can offer targeted and effective solutions. These may include Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) therapy, laser therapy, or prescription medications specifically formulated for hair regrowth.

Ultimately, through a proactive approach encompassing daily hair care, lifestyle adjustments, and the judicious use of treatments, it’s entirely possible to combat hair loss and excessive shedding. Remember, the key to winning any battle lies in understanding the challenge and deploying the right strategies—hair loss is no different.

In conclusion, the difference between hair shedding and hair loss is crucial for maintaining and nurturing a healthy head of hair. While shedding is a part of the natural hair growth cycle, hair loss could signal underlying health issues needing professional attention.

If you’re worried about persistent hair shedding or loss, it’s best not to self-diagnose. Consult with a trichologist in Dublin instead. With their expert guidance and advanced diagnostic approaches, they can help you differentiate these conditions and address your specific needs.

Armed with the right information and professional support, you can take proactive steps to prevent unnecessary hair loss and maintain your hair’s health. The journey to understanding and treating hair conditions may seem daunting, but it’s a comforting thought that expert help is just an appointment away.

Still unsure if you’re experiencing normal hair shedding or something more? Don’t wait any longer! Dublin trichologists can provide expert advice and personalised hair loss solutions to get your hair health back on track. Call us today on +353 (0)1 679 3618 to schedule a consultation and take control before your condition worsens!

[ausetkmt]

Sadé Lewis of Queens, New York, has suffered migraines since she was a kid, and as she started college, they got worse. A recent change in her insurance left the 27-year-old looking for a new neurologist. That’s when she found West 14 Street MedicalArts in New York.

MedicalArts recommended that she get an electroencephalogram (EEG) and an MRI to make sure her brain was functioning properly.

An EEG is a test to measure the electrical activity of the brain. It can find changes in brain activity that can help in diagnosing conditions including epilepsy, sleep disorders, and brain tumors. During the procedure, electrodes consisting of small metal discs with attached wires are pasted onto the scalp using adhesive, or attached to an electrode cap that you wear on your head.

A little over a week before her EEG, Lewis was given instructions that she didn’t remember getting before a previous EEG appointment.

To Lewis’ surprise, patients were told to remove all hair extensions, braids, cornrows, wigs, etc. Also, she was to wash her hair with a mild shampoo the night before the appointment and not use any conditioners, hair creams, sprays, oils, or styling gels.

“The first thing I literally did was text it to my best friend, and I was, like, this is kind of anti-Black,” Lewis said. “I just feel like it creates a bunch of confusion, and it alienates patients who obviously need these procedures done.”

The restrictions could discourage people with thick, curly, and textured hair from going forward with their care. People with more permanent styles like locs — a hairstyle in which hair strands are coiled, braided, twisted, or palm-rolled to create a rope-like appearance — might be barred from getting the test done.

Kinky or curly hair textures are typically more delicate and susceptible to damage. As a result, people with curlier hair textures often wear protective hairstyles, such as weaves, braids, and twists, which help maintain hair length and health by keeping the ends of the hair tucked away and minimizing manipulation.

After receiving the instructions, Lewis scoured the internet and social media channels to see if she could find more information on best practices. But she noticed that for people with thick and textured hair, there were few tips on best hairstyles for an EEG.

Lewis has thick, curly hair and believed that explicitly following the instructions on the preparation worksheet would make it harder, not easier, for the technician to reach her scalp. Lewis decided that her mini-twists — a protective style in which the hair is parted into small sections and twisted — would be the best way for her to show up to the appointment with clean and product-free hair that still allowed for easy access to her scalp.

Lewis felt comfortable with her plan and did not think about it again until she received a reminder email the day before her EEG and MRI appointment that restated the restrictive instructions and added a warning: Failure to comply would result in the appointment being rescheduled and a $50 same-day cancellation fee.

To avoid the penalty, Lewis emailed the facility with her concerns and attached photos.

“I got kind of worried, and I sent them pictures of my hair thinking that it would go well, and they would be, like, ‘Oh yeah, that’s fine. We see what you see,’” said Lewis.

Soon after, she received a call from the facility and was told she would not be able to get the procedure done with her hair in the twists. After the call, Lewis posted a TikTok video detailing the conversation. She expressed her frustration and felt that the person on the phone was “close-minded.”

“As a Black woman, that is so exclusionary for coarse and thick hair. To literally have no product in your hair and show up with it loose, you’re not even reaching my scalp with that,” Lewis said in her video.

The comments section on Lewis’ TikTok video is full of people sharing in her frustration and confusion or recounting similar experiences with EEG scheduling.

West 14 Street MedicalArts declined to comment for this article.

The New York medical center is not the only facility with similar EEG prep instructions. The Neurology Center, which has several locations in the Washington, D.C., area, provides EEG pretest instructions for patients reading, “Please remove any hair extensions or additions. Do not use hair treatment products such as hair spray, conditioners, or hair dressing, nor should you fix your hair in tight braids or corn rows.”

Marc Hanna, the neurophysiology supervisor at the center’s White Oak location in Silver Spring, Maryland, has more than 30 years of experience performing EEGs. He oversees 10-12 EEG technicians at the facility.

Hanna said the hair rules are meant to help a technician get an accurate reading from the test. “The electrodes need to sit flat on the scalp, and they need to be in precise spots on the scalp that are equally apart from each other,” Hanna said.

For people with thick and curly hair, this can be a challenge.

A 2020 article from Science News detailed a study that measured how much coarse, curly hair could interfere with measuring brain signals. A good EEG signal is considered to have less than 50 kilo-Ohms of impedance, but the researchers found unbraided, curly hair with standard electrodes yielded 615 kilo-Ohms.

Researchers are working to better capture brain waves of people with naturally thick and curly hair. Joy Jackson, a biomedical engineering major at the University of Miami, developed a clip-like device that can help electrodes better adhere to the scalp.

Experimentation with different braiding patterns and flexible electrode clips shaped like dragonfly wings, designed to push under the braids, has had promising results. A study, published by bioRxiv, found this method resulted in a reading well within the range for a reliable EEG measurement.

But more research has to be done before products like these are widely used by medical facilities.

Hanna said the facility where he works does not automatically ask patients to remove their protective styles because sometimes the technician can complete the test without them doing so.

“Each one of those cases are an individual case,” Hanna said. “So, at our facility, we don’t ask the patient to take all their braids out. We just ask them to come in. Sometimes, if one of the technicians are available when the patient is scheduling, they’ll just look at the hair and say, ‘OK, we can do it’ or ‘We don’t think we can do it.’ And we even might say, ‘We don’t think we can do it but come in and we’ll try.’”

In practice, Hanna said, it’s not common for hair to be an issue. But for patients whose hairstyle might make the test inaccurate, he said, it becomes a conversation between the doctor and the patient.

When Lewis arrived the following day for her MRI and EEG appointment, she was told her EEG had been canceled.

“It was just kind of baffling a little bit because, literally, as soon as I walk in, I saw about four different Black women who all had either twists, locs, braids, or something,” she said. “And on the call, the woman was saying if you come in and my hair is not loose, we’re going to charge you. And she did recommend to cancel my appointment. But I never approved that.”

After Lewis explained what happened during the phone call, she said, the receptionist was very apologetic and said the information Lewis was given was not true. Lewis said she spoke with one of the EEG technicians at the facility to confirm that her mini-twists would work for the test — and felt a sigh of relief when she saw the technician was also a Black woman.

“The technician, I think overall, they just made me feel safe,” Lewis said. “Because I felt like they could identify with me just from a cultural standpoint, a racial standpoint. So, it did make me feel a little bit more valid in my feelings.”

Lewis later returned to the facility to get the procedure done while still wearing mini-twists. This time, the process was seamless.

Her advice for other patients? “When you feel something, definitely speak out, ask questions.”

[topteny]

70+ Latest Haircuts and Hair Trends for Women Over 50 to Look Younger in 2022

Picking a proper over 50 haircuts might be tricky when it comes to striking a careful balance between modern hairstyles designed to restore a youthful appeal and maintain a graceful and respectful look in the meantime. Flaunting the right haircut can go a long way in taking years off your face and instantly granting you … ... Discover More @ https://www.pouted.com/haircuts-for-women-over-50/

[howtodothis]

Shoulder Length Hairstyles For Fine Thin Hair

Shoulder Length Hairstyles For Fine Thin Hair

A line bob long is a stunning modern haircut makes your thin hair looks so stylish and brings out your beauty and it is really doable. Blunt lob for women over 40. View Video For Shoulder Length Hairstyles For Fine Thin Hair View Video Review 23 Gorgeous Medium Hairstyles With Bangs 2017 Short Thin Hair Thin Hair Haircuts Bob Hairstyles For Fine Hairsave image 12 shoulder length thin hair…

[nezebel]

♡ jojos + jobros doing black!readers' hair ♡

a/n: i was talking to some friends about how badly jjba characters could fuck up our box braids. i'm gonna do multiple of these, but for now i'm just gonna do the first 3 jojos/bros. there's a lot of parts so I wanna split them equally- the next one will be part 4, 5, and 6 (maybe 7). hope you enjoy! also ty for over 50 likes on my first post! mwah mwah mwah

Part 1 Jonathan Joestar

Very gentle with your hair. Despite his size, he tries to treat you (and thankfully your hair) as if it might break at any moment. Unfortunately, this means he isn't very willing to actually detangle it.

"Jonathan, please. I need you to actually comb the tangles out of my hair or we'll never be finished."

"I know, my love. I'm sorry. But it might hurt..." "You can be insufferable at times, darling."

Eventually leaves you to detangle your hair by himself so he can do the braiding part, which goes WAY faster. He's quite skilled with his fingers. Makes your braids gorgeous and even adds in crystals and little accessories to spice it up. Overall, 8/10!

Robert E.O. Speedwagon

Very confused. Did you say twists or braids? What's the difference? How do you know? Where did these hairstyles even come from? No matter. Despite his confusion, he's determined to help you out. He's good with detangling and decent with braiding, but decides twisting is the easier way out. It takes him a bit of time to do it though.

"Are you almost done with that twist, darling?" You mumble, exasperated. "Yes dear, just give me a second- oh, that doesn't go that way- sorry, dear-" You giggle as he struggles to finish a single twist, still having half of your hair to finish.

Finally finishes your hair after many, MANY hours. At least he made your hair cute, though. Buys you charms and hair ties so you can style your twists. 7.5/10 for Speedwagon!

Part 2 Joseph Joestar

No idea what he's doing. Tugs, knots, and pulls at your hair accidentally as he simply tries to put it into passion twists. The extensions made it even more difficult as he fumbled with them, trying to make them mesh into your hair seamlessly as you always had. Still very confused.

"Joseph, what the actual fuck are you doing?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" "You better figure it out, Jojo. Please. Do you need a little help?" "For the last time, dollface, I don't need any help. 'M Joseph f'ing Joestar. I can figure this out," He mumbles as he continues to struggle and stress your hair.

When he's done, you look like you got jumped. You give him a kiss and a pat on the back. He tried his best. You secretly take the twists he did out and put your own in overnight, then tell him the twists simply settled last night.

"Huh! Guess I'm not so bad, eh?"

You sigh, then give him a sweet smile. "No, sweetheart. Not at all."

Overall, 4/10. He tried his best, but unfortunately his best was not enough.

Caesar A. Zeppeli

Shocks you with how skillful he is. Even adds in color to your passion twists! Blonde, of course, so you can match with him. Works efficiently and without struggle, but leaves the ends of your twists looking kind of funny.

"Why do the ends of the twists look like that?" "Like what?" Caesar stops and looks at a twist. "Ah. I wasn't exactly sure how to end them. Mi dispiace, amore." Oh well. It wasn't all that bad. And besides, whenever he calls you amore, you can't stay mad at him.

"No worries, darling. I'll fix them later."

Helps you fix the ends of your twists and gives you a pearl necklace to go with the finished look. Overall, 9.5/10!

Part 3

Jotaro Kujo

Very grumpy. Almost says no when you ask him to help you with your hair because he thought it'd be too difficult (and he was kind of right), but you assured him he'd be fine and you'd guide him through the steps of the hairstyle.

"...What did you say this hairstyle was called?" "Goddess braids! They're like box braids, but you have to crochet water wave extensions through the top of the braid." You show him a photo of the hairstyle and he damn near faints.

"...Yare yare. Why do you have to choose such complicated styles?"

"One thing I won't do is hear complaints from a man who didn't wash his hair for 50 days. Better start detangliinggggg..."

He sighs, chuckling a bit, then begins to do your hair.

Finishes relatively quickly and gives you the color of your choice. Buys you an extra large bonnet to keep the curls from getting too frizzy and gives you some silver and gold charms that match some of the charms on his hat. The braids could be better but for his first time doing braids they're pretty good. Overall, 7.5/10, especially for his patience! (still looks irritated about the amount of time it took though)

Kakyoin Noriaki

Very good with washing, detangling, and parting your hair. He does feel stuck about how many braids he has to do or how fast he has to do them. You simply tell him to take his time (but not too much time) and that you can tell him what to do.

"Okay, I'm starting the braids now."

"You said that 10 minutes ago."

"..." "I mean it this time."

Slightly hesitant about actually starting your hair, but he makes it work. Asks if you want to do light pink to match with him and gives you cherry-shaped charms. Also adds pink, red, and white beads to the ends of your braids because he saw someone do that once and thought they'd look cute on you. Overall, 8/10. The braids are pretty and he didn't take too long at all.

Looking in the mirror, you gasp as you look at your gorgeous new braids. "Oh my goshhh, Kakyoin. Have you done this before? You aren't walking around wearing box braids, right? These are so cute!"

He smiles, giving you a quick peck on the cheek. "I tried my best. I'm glad you like them."

idk when part 2 is coming out. maybe later today. hope you enjoyed this little fanfic or whatever, it took me a little while to write lol. feel free to send requests of what you'd like to see next!

[under-the-cherrytree]

Hi! If that's okay could i request Hanako with a gn(gender neutral) s/o who's as touch starved as he is and very casual about it? Like, if they're in class and he starts cuddling them they lean into him and act as if nothing happened. Or even before dating they were fine with him being all over them and never really minded (We all know how Hanako is lol).

They also start phisical affection themselves and they often pepper his face with kisses 🥺

Hanako with a touch starved s/o❣︎

Warning: None! Just fluff!

A/n: Hey!! And of course it’s okay!

Thank you so much for requesting!

Not me totally relating to the request lol-

Not me listening to a sad Hanako playlist so I’m crying to ‘fly me to the moon’

Anyways, I hope you enjoy and have a nice day or night!

Hanako is in heaven

Hanako has always been touch starved and begging for any form of love

I mean he was alone for like 50+ years so-

When he’s hugs or cuddles you he gets so excited when you hug him back

Like he will blush, smile, hug you tighter

Before you two started dating he would be quite clingy

He was developing feelings for you so he was way more clingy than he was with anyone else!

But when you would hug and cling to him back

He would get so blushy and fluffy inside

He thinks you are so cute sjhjshsjg

Protective Hanako mode… on

“Hanako maybe you should let senpai go-”

“No! My Y/n! No touch!” >:(

He’s the type to start clinging onto you when he’s being bullied

“Y/n! Kou is made at me!” He says jumping on your back.

“Y/nnnnn! Yashiro slapped me!” He hugged you, nuzzling his face into your neck.

But when you two start dating

He has a reason to cling to you now!

“Heehee I’m just hugging my baby~”

“I love you so much! Cuddles!!”

“Come on kid, you will understand when you get more mature! Why don’t you go and cuddle Yashiro hmm?”

He will always visit you in class and start randomly playing with your hair, hugging you, or annoying you

You will just let him like theres not a ghost braiding your hair rn

He will often complement your hair before doing it as well saying it’s soft or it smells nice

And he will also give you good hairstyles (unlike Yashiro)

I feel like he knows how to braid and stuff so he will give you a nice hairstyle

He would also have the mokke give him pins and nice accessories to put in your hair!

(That was quite random lol)

When Hanako would cuddle you in class and you would just silently lean into him

Love.

When he’s cuddling you he will often trace hearts or little things like ‘I love you’ into your back

He just finds it very comforting and might even doze off

He would just sit in your lap, lay his head on your shoulder, and close his eyes

Rip if Tsuchigomori is your teacher

Rip you and Hanako because Yashiro took tons of pictures

Rip Hanako because he’s dead-

He would also try to kiss your face to distract you in class

Like surprise little kisses on your cheek and forehead

If you ever kiss him back (even though you are in class) he is gone-

Like he will be blushing non-stop because he didn't prepare for that

“Aw are you blushing~?” You wrote in your notebook for him to read

“No I am not blushing…!”

When you start the physical affection

(Give me a second I’m dying from cuteness-)

He would be a blushing mess

Like if you cup his cheeks and kiss his forehead

He will be so flustered

He would be a little squirmy like this

But if you stopped then he would be pouty

He would ask for you to continue giving him attention

He would be pouty like “You should give me more attention..! I am your boyfriend after all…”

Just start hugging him and he should be back to normal after a few minutes

He is honestly the cutest thing ever and is so happy you are just as clingy

I mean even if you didn’t want him touching you he’s cuddling you anyways-

He’s so grateful he could find an s/o who is so perfect and fits so well with him

He loves you so much and will cling to you all day! <3

“Hanako!” You entered the bathroom. The ghost boy smiled hearing you call out for him. 

“Hey Y/n! I missed you!” He floated to you.

“I missed you too!” You suddenly cupped his head in between your two hands. His cheeks were very warm and squishy. He looked up at you with wide eyes before shutting them tight. You chuckled and started to kiss his cheeks peppering his face with kisses. You felt him slightly squirm from between your hands as you continued to kiss him. Once you stopped he opened his eyes, cheeks bright red.

You smiled before kissing his lips softly. Hanako, almost instantly, kissed back. He put his hands on your waist, before you two parted.

“Well, I will get cleaning now! Yashiro and Kou had to go home early so they won’t be here today.” You let go of his cheeks to get the cleaning supplies, bringing the cold back to his already cold body. He reached his hand out to grab your arm but you were already off. He opened his mouth to say something but no words came out. His hat lowered, covering his expression. You turned around when you felt someone grab the back of your uniform.

“Y/n… maybe you don’t have to clean today…?” He looked up at you, cheeks still pink.

“Okay, we can talk instead! You will never guess what happened to Yashiro today!” You smiled thinking about the funny incident in the gardening club. You grabbed his hand and brought him to the windowsill. He sat down and layed you on his chest. You giggled on top of him as he stroked your hair. He placed one hand on your back pulling you closer to him.

“I can’t wait to hear your story, love...” He smiled, happy he got to share these moments with you.

Because he wouldn’t want anyone else.

[naildesigns24]

51 Stylish Medium-Length Hairstyles for Women Over 50: Chic & Low-Maintenance

Medium-length hairstyles for women over 50 offer versatility and elegance. Discover 51 stunning looks for 2024, perfect for all hair types. From curly and wavy styles to sleek cuts for fine or thick hair, we’ve curated options to suit every taste. Learn how to style medium-length hair with bangs or without, and find low-maintenance cuts that work beautifully with glasses. These hairstyles blend…

[choicesenthusiast]

Representation at Pixelberry: The Follow-Up

One year ago, on June 15, 2020, Pixelberry released a statement regarding representation at the company. Here is the LINK to the original blog post, and here was MY RESPONSE. Oh, how naïve and optimistic I was. It contained a list of goals and promises they hoped to accomplish within a year. Well, a year has passed, and here is my attempt to hold PB accountable. I'll be going over the five main points of their representation plan and if they achieved what they promised. All criticisms are about content released after June 15th. Long post beware, but I'm not putting it under a read more because I feel like it's important for all to see.

1. Commitment to diversity of Love Interests - FAIL

We’ve already been moving towards having Love Interests have customizable skin tones. We will continue to do this with some stories, while also having some characters with clear ethnic identities. At the same time when we have multiple love interests of different ethnicities, we are aiming for those Love Interests to have equal game time.

"LIs with customizable skin tones" mean they come in three flavours: white, black, and ambiguously Asian/Latinx interchangeably. So far I have rarely seen an LI as connected to their culture/ethnicity as Rafael Aveiro, and he just talked about his Vovo's food if he ever were on screen. They had many chances with the other OH LIs as well. Even Ayna Seth and Tatum Mendoza were confirmed to be Indian and Filipino, respectively, though FA gets a little leeway, as it was set in a fictional west-European continent.

As for equal game time? I'm sure the biggest example we can all think of was the mess that was Open Heart 3, which was written during the hiatus (which only existed because they were going to straight up kill Rafael in Book 2). Game time was not equal among LIs, and the white male LI was heavily favoured. PB also continues to pay female LIs dirt by giving them no screen time. In addition to that, LGBT+ players, who are consistently underrepresented, receive one (1) unprepared pride month survey, prpbably only because someone asked them about it on Twitter.

This is the meat and potatoes of everything because it's what they're outputting to their audience. It's what the people see. Given that things haven't been going so well lately in this department, consider this promise a big fat fail.

2. More authentic and diverse hairstyles for people of color - QUESTIONABLE

Our team will focus on providing more authentic and representative hairstyles. We are prioritizing these hairstyles outside of our normal book processes and will introduce them in new books as they are ready.

While, yes, they have added two new hairstyles in WEH, they also just took Jade Bonet's hair and recycled it for LoA F!MC. PB recycles all their hair more often than not.

3. More diverse book covers - QUESTIONABLE

This is an initiative we started in January of this year. As a result the number of Black, Latinx, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islander, mixed, and other characters on new book covers increased from 35% of characters in 2019 to 60% characters in the first half of 2020. However, the number of black characters is still not high enough this year. More are already scheduled for books later this year. We will make sure that Black characters are well represented on our covers in the future.

"Diverse" does not just mean by race, but also gender, sexual orientation, etc. FA has the only recent MLM cover. And don't tell me that the FA and LoA covers are any different from each other. The only black characters on covers are Zoey Wade (QB), and Black!Gabe Ricci (LoA) and Bastien (WB), which aren't even their canon races unless you choose them to be. This is the case for many single-LI books, such as Cassian Keane (W:ABR, which technically premiered on Mar. 16, but the sentiment is the same), Sam Dalton (TNA), and Dakota Winchester (WEH). Not to mention the customizable/multi LI books like DS, RT, BaBu2, MTFL, etc. Majority of these covers are just cishet couples delicately cradling each other's bodies or whatever. And we're not even gonna get into how PB literally put the Open Heart LIs in order of their favouritism on Book 3's cover.

4. Writers/Staff - QUESTIONABLE

We will be engaging in professional training on historical and current racism for our writers to ensure more of them have a better understanding and more context for views of diverse characters in Choices. We will also create a program that gives more authority to people of color in the studio to advise writers and artists on more authentic portrayals in both writing and art of black, brown, and minority characters.

A story with a Black-led cast is something I have asked for in the past, but failed to follow-up on. We will very likely start this with a Black-led cast story led by Chelsa, one of Pixelberry's Black writers.

We will increase the number of diverse writers we source for new stories, starting with hiring more Black and Latinx writers to lead the charge.

For all teams at Pixelberry we will actively work to bring in more Black and Latinx candidates with the goal to increase the number of Black and Latinx employees at Pixelberry. Although Pixelberry is over 50% female, on teams where females are not at 50% we will actively work to source more female candidates.

This promise seemed like a copout from the start because we have no way of knowing who works on what at PB unless we very meticulously stalk their LinkedIn or Twitter or whatever. We have no solid statistics except for what they feed us. I do know, however, that they recently let the Ms. Match writers go and were hiring for external writers, but there really is no way of knowing what's going on behind-the-scenes with their 112+ employees, and of course there would be NDAs involved. We are yet to see a book with an all-Black cast, and receive rare development updates with new books. Actually, I think a really good way to promote diversity is to do staff showcases on their social media. Just a way to show the public who's responsible for what. Writers, game devs, the art team, etc. Don't think it'll happen, but it's always a good idea.

5. Donations - QUESTIONABLE

Pixelberry will also be making $100,000 in donations to Black Girls Code, the Black Writers Collective, and the Latinx Writers Collective at Techqueria. Rather than as a lump sum, we will be making these donations over the course of a year to remind us that we are not making short term changes, but are committed to long term sustainable actions. We’ll also be donating up to an additional $100k from profits for this week, 6/15-6/21.

There has been no proof, no receipts, no evidence from PB that they have donated anything to anyone, and as far as we're concerned, their word doesn't mean anything. No news or updates news about it. I would love to believe that they did something, but as you can see, I've become quite the pessimist. BWC still uses PB's old logo (like, pre-Choices) on their sponsors page, and the last interaction they've had with BGC was in 2013. They don't even follow each other on Instagram. In fact, BGC received a huge donation from MacKenzie Scott, formerly Bezos last July. Yes, that billionaire Bezos, and that got coverage from them. Obviously donations don't need to be for publicity, but in this case I think it's important there should be proof. Again, it's really hard to tell with these behind-the-scenes things, but given how PB loves to gloat and hates to keep promises, we can assume that none of this happened.

~~~

So, what's the takeaway? That PB's fallen down the drainhole of shitty content and empty promises and has no intention of climbing out as long as they still make that bank? Seems counterproductive, because good representation gets good feedback and income. They pump out bad books with barebones "representation" if you can call it that, then drop their precious merch and pretend all is fine and dandy. But just as I suspected one year ago, none of this matters, because people forget things, and people move on, and shit gets swept under rugs. Yet, here I am, yelling at a company in a post I for sure doubt they'll see. Because if not me, then who?

@playchoices Your move. It's been your move for a year now. When will you actually make it?

[firstofficerwiggles]

Chapter 4: A Rather Indecent Proposal

Links to other chapters: Chpt. 1, Chpt. 2, Chpt. 3 Chpt. 5

Pairing: The Mandalorian x female reader

Rating: T

Warnings: Jealous!Din, a little bit of canonical violence

Word Count: ~9900 (I know it’s long, but it felt better as one chapter instead of split into two.)

Author’s note: Happy Mando Monday! I hope you enjoy this new chapter! First though, I need to apologize if the man you love or you yourself are called Eugene, but please don’t hate me for thinking it’s an unsexy name. Also, apologies to skinny men everywhere, you might not be my type, but I’m sure someone is into you.

“Do you think you could come with me for a business meeting? I could use your language skills.” Mando surprises you with his request. So far, he’s always conducted any business on his own, and except for a few weeks ago when you asked him about his bounty, he hasn’t shared any details of his work with you. But as always, you’re eager to help him if you can.

“Of course, I can. What do you need?” You’re actually kind of excited at the chance to accompany him.

“The client comes from the Unknown Regions and I hear he prefers to use Sy Bisti when possible,” Mando explains, “He’s also known to be very particular, so anything that can impress him would be helpful.”

“Absolutely, I can be your interpreter,” you agree, “When is this meeting?”

“As soon as we get to Canto Bight in a couple of hours.” He tells you. Oh, you look down at your lounging-on-the-ship comfy clothes; you’ll need to get yourself pulled together for a business meeting.  

“I better go get changed into something more presentable then. Can you watch the little guy?” You ask him.

“Why? You look fine.” Mando is such a guy sometimes. You just give him an incredulous look with a small raise of your eyebrow as if to say really? “I mean, sure, I’ll watch the kid if you want to change.”

“Thanks. But, yes, I definitely need to change before we meet your client,” you reply and head down to the hull; you’re almost out of earshot when you hear him mutter to the child, “Don’t get it, she always looks fine to me.” It makes you smile to yourself that he thinks that, yet there’s a part of you that’s eager for him to see you dressed a little nicer for once.

For about the millionth time you tell yourself that you shouldn’t have a crush on Mando, but that voice is getting drowned out more and more by another one that keeps telling you to enjoy it. After your trip to Crucival, you know that he finds you attractive at least. And Maker knows you’re even more attracted to him now that you know him even better. Plus seeing him almost naked was hard to ignore! So what if he considers you just a friend, as long as you don’t let things get out of hand, or say something stupid to him, you might as well have fun with your silly little fantasies.

You rummage through your clothing and pull out a nice black dress. It’s stylish but without being too fussy and you think, it will be perfect for a meeting with a client. Besides, if you’re going to Canto Bight, you know most of the women there will be dressed to the nines so you want to make sure you’re helping Mando give off a good impression. You take the time to style your hair and put on some make-up too. You give yourself a once-over in the small mirror in the fresher and, even in the harsh industrial light, you have to say that you look pretty nice. You knew that being a nanny to a toddler was never going to be a glamorous job, but the chance to clean up like this is fun every once in a while.

“We’re landing soon, you need to come sit down!” You hear Mando calling to you, so you quickly make your way back up to the cockpit.

“Thanks,” you say as you get back to your seat, but before you sit down, you turn to Mando with a little flourish and say, “See, much more presentable for your client now.”

Din stares at you in the elegant dress; you’re literally taking his breath away and he can’t even speak for a few seconds. Finally all he can think to say is, “You look good.” And he immediately chides himself for not being able to come up with a better compliment. Thankfully, you seem pleased with his pathetic words and just give him a happy smile before buckling yourself in. He’s still staring at you, taking in the pretty hairstyle you’ve created and looking at whatever it is that you’ve done to make your lips seem redder and fuller. It isn’t until a sensor on the control panel starts beeping loudly that Din snaps back to reality and focuses on landing the Crest.

“Wait, what about the child, do we bring him with us?” In your excitement, you’ve forgotten your primary job, as you’re getting ready to head out into the hustle and bustle of this flashy city. You look at the little one’s big eyes and like his father, he also seems to be fascinated with your done-up appearance.

“Sure, I have a satchel he can ride along in. And he’s plenty old enough to get into the casino; the age to get in is 18.” Mando chuckles as he maneuvers his 50-year-old toddler into a small brown shoulder bag. Mando’s cape partially obscures the little one making him less noticeable. You suppose he’ll be all right, it’s only a meeting in the restaurant of a casino; it’s not as if you’re taking the little one to the gaming tables. Although if you’re honest, you wouldn’t be surprised if Mando said that was perfectly ok too, so long as he’s safe. You give his tiny hand a squeeze and he coos back at you seemingly eager for your little adventure.

You follow Mando off the ship and through the throngs of men in sharply tailored evening jackets and women beautifully attired in chic gowns. Everyone looks very cosmopolitan especially against the stunning background of the decadent casino. You have to admit that you were expecting something a little more garish based on the descriptions you’ve heard of Canto Bight, but this particular establishment is quite nice with marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and unique modern art pieces strategically placed throughout the large lobby. With Mando in his beautiful beskar armor and you in your fashionable dress, you make a dashing pair as you pass by the colorful lights of the gaming machines.

Din leads you to a restaurant entrance and tells the maître d’ that he is here to meet a Mr. Omseki. The man seems slightly taken aback by the presence of a Mandalorian but when his gaze lands on you, his face softens and in a crisp accent he says, “Right this way, Madam” and then he barely glances at Din, as he says, “Sir”. It’s not surprising that the man would rather keep his eyes on you with your eyes shining in delight as you take in the scene around you. Din’s never cared much for Canto Bight and its rather pompous atmosphere, but he’s finding some charm in this place as he watches your reaction to it all. Not to mention, Din knows he would have received a much frostier welcome here without you by his side and he’s very glad you came with him. As you reach the client’s table, this feeling is renewed, as Mr. Omseki is all smiles as you greet him in the unusual language. Despite not understanding the words, Din can tell by the man’s animated speech, that he is positively delighted at the prospect of meeting with a beautiful woman and not just a Mandalorian bounty hunter. The man also seems happy to see the child and he gives him the flower from his lapel to play with as a small gift. Din listens as you interpret the client’s words and you all begin to exchange some welcoming small talk. Greef Karga had been the one to pass on this client to Din as a lucrative off-the-books bounty, but the man he described was temperamental and moody. Mr. Omseki is anything but moody tonight and if Din didn’t know better, he’d swear the man was flirting with you. He doesn’t love that idea, but if it helps this meeting go smoothly, it will be worth it.

Mr. Omseki is a charmer and he is thrilled to be speaking to you; he’s told you several times how pleasant it is to talk business in an ‘appropriate’ language and how overjoyed he is to speak to you. You suppose it must have been a while since he’s had the opportunity to speak Sy Bisti and perhaps that’s why he’s enjoying himself so much now. You’ve felt a little abashed at times, as you’ve interpreted his rather flowery praise of you to Mando although at least some of it has also extended to him. However, this client seems more interested in just chatting with you than he is in talking business with Mando. You try to steer the conversation back to Mando’s work, but each time you do, Mr. Omseki manages to ask you another question about yourself. Mando must sense your worry that you aren’t doing a good enough job and he drops his hand down to cover yours where it is sitting on the table. He gives you a reassuring squeeze and you continue making polite conversation with the client. You figure this must be part of his business negotiations.

Din leaves his hand covering yours in a clear message to the client that you belong with him. It’s a subtle gesture, but one that Mr. Omseki is shrewd enough to understand as shortly afterwards he shifts the conversation to the bounty that he wants Din to capture. He listens carefully as you interpret the details and he begins to formulate a plan for the hunt. Din almost has all the pertinent information, when a sudden commotion interrupts the conversation. He immediately pulls his blaster and shields you behind him. A man in a disheveled suit is pushing past the maître d’ and several waiters as he stumbles towards your table. Din realizes disappointedly that this man looks exactly like the quarry that was just described by Mr. Omseki.

“Mr. O-Omseki, I have it, I have all your m-money and the in-interest,” the man stutters out as he begins pulling out bags of credits from his coat.

“Well, well, Mr. Sanditore, looks like this is your lucky day,” Mr. Omseki drawls out, “I was just about to send this Mandalorian off to kill you.”

“Th- thank you Mr. Omseki, thank you, I promise you won’t have any trouble from me again.” The disheveled man is practically shaking with gratitude.

“Well, I am sorry Mr. Mandalorian, it was delightful to meet you and your most lovely interpreter, but I am afraid I no longer have need of your services.” Mr. Omseki says to Din. Then he turns to you and speaks in Sy Bisti in a soft voice. Din obviously can’t know what he’s saying but the mild look of surprise on your face is enough to raise his concern. Whatever it is though, you handle it gracefully and end the conversation with a pleasant tone before shifting back to Basic to say good-bye. As you exit the table, you reach for Din’s arm, threading your hand around his elbow. He is surprised by your touch but says nothing as you walk towards the large bar near the center of the restaurant.

“What did he say to you?” Din wants to know.

“He asked me if we were romantically involved, because if we weren’t he wanted to know if I was free for the rest of the evening.” You reply looking a little embarrassed.

“What did you tell him?” He really wants to hear this answer.

“I lied and said that we were. It seemed like the best solution.” You’re slightly looking away from him as you say this as if you’re worried about making eye contact.

“Good.” Din’s pleased you lied, and it’s petty, but he likes the idea of that rich man thinking that Din has something that he wants and can’t have.

“I’m sorry about the job though,” you’re saying to him now, “I know you must be disappointed.”

“It’s alright,” Din sighs a little though, “these things happen.” He sees you look around the bar area with a wistful look and realizes that you’re not ready to leave. “Besides, now we have time to stay and have a drink, just the two of us, well, us and our little sleeping bundle here.” The baby has curled up and is napping in his little satchel.

“Really?” You look so pleased that it makes Din smile to himself. You settle into one of the stools at the bar and Din motions to the bartender to order your drinks. He orders one for himself too, asking for a straw in his.

“Wait, so you do use straws?” You ask with a small laugh.

“Sure, it’s the easiest way to drink in public.” He shrugs matter-of-factly, but that just seems to make you giggle more. “What’s so funny?”

“I don’t know,” you say between giggles, “but there’s something so cute about you using a straw.”

“Cute?” He says, sounding slightly insulted.

“Oh stop, I mean it in a good way,” you say and light push his shoulder in a playful fashion, “It’s probably just because I’ve never seen you use a straw before.”

“So when you see me do something new, it’s cute to you?” Din is playing up his affront to the word cute because he’s enjoying teasing you.

“No, not everything new.” You roll your eyes at him. “It’s just when you do something ordinary, I guess, because I tend to think of you as extraordinary.” You let your lashes flutter a little as you say that last word, flirting with him.

“Extraordinary, huh?” He cocks his helmet to the side as he looks at you, “I like that better than cute.”

“Whatever, you’re still cute too.” You give him a wink and then turn to the bartender who has your drinks. Both glasses have a straw and you make quite a show of using yours, so much so that Din can’t help but let out a laugh. You’re both enjoying the moment so much that neither of you notice a thin, lanky man approach you.

“Ex-excuse me?” The man is trying to get your attention. Mando shifts back into alert mode almost instantly as he says, “Yes?”

The man is about as tall as Mando with very fair hair and pale skin. He looks to be in his mid-thirties and seems a little out of place here in a casino. Although, like the other men here, he’s wearing an expensive suit, but everything about him looks slightly uncomfortable and it’s as if he doesn’t quite know what to do with his body, like the way he holds his shoulders and moves his hands looks anxious.

“I’d like to hire you for an evening,” the man says, but weirdly he looks at you instead of Mando, but you figure that’s because he’s probably too intimidated to look directly at the Mandalorian.

“What sort of work do you need?” Mando asks in an even tone.

“Oh?” The man turns and looks at Mando directly, “I- I didn’t mean you. I want to hire her for an evening.”

Mando’s reaction to this statement is so swift you almost miss it. He instantly pulls his fist back and punches the man square in the face, knocking him to the floor. Mando looks down at him and grits out in an angry voice, “She’s not for sale.”

Well, this is a first. You thought you looked pretty nice tonight, but apparently, you look like a prostitute.

“Wait, wait, I’m s-sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” The man cowers on the ground but tries to explain himself, “I didn’t mean to insult her, or you.”

“So what did you mean?” Your curiosity has gotten the best of you.

“I just need a beautiful woman to pretend to be my girlfriend for an evening, that’s all.” He says.

“Exactly how is that different?” Mando is still towering over the man in a very threatening manner.

“Just to attend a party with me, and help me look good,” the man says quickly, “I promise nothing s-sex related at all.” He holds his hands up in a defensive posture. He looks back to you with pleading eyes, “I can pay you really well, and all you need to do is go to a party and wear a pretty dress.”

You admit you’re intrigued by the idea and you know that with Mando losing out on this latest bounty, any extra funds would be helpful. You put your hand on Mando’s bicep in what you hope is a calming motion as you say, “It can’t hurt to hear him out, Mando.”

“Are you serious?” Mando asks you in a low voice.

You shrug, “If we don’t like what he has to say, you can punch him again.” The man on the floor lets out a little whimper at that, but Mando gives you a small nod and backs away from the man.

Tentatively, the man picks himself up off the floor and extends a hand out to you, “I’m Eugene DeWitt, I own a company that creates high-end gaming machines and I develop algorithms for those machines.”

You shake his hand briefly, and give him your first name. “So, Mr. DeWitt, why do you need a pretend girlfriend to go to a party?”

“Please, call me Eugene. It’s the annual celebration for the casino owners and it’s my best chance to network with them. I’ve been to the party the last three years, but I haven’t been able to barely get a word with any of the important owners.” He explains.

“What makes you think I’d be able to change that?” You’re not sure what effect your presence would have on his ability to do business.

“I need to find a way to catch their interest and impress them, and I think a woman like you would be the best way to do that.” He tells you.

“I’m flattered, but I think you might be overestimating my appeal,” you reply, “besides, why don’t you just ask out a woman you want to date?”

“I’ve tried,” Eugene admits, “but honestly, even if they’d said yes, I know they wouldn’t have the same effect as you; you’re drop dead gorgeous.”

“He’s right,” Mando says softly, almost under his breath. Your head snaps to the side to look at him after that comment. You don’t have any time to process it however because Eugene is still speaking.

“I’ll pay you 20,000 credits just to go to the party with me and pretend to be my girlfriend.” He offers.

What?!? Is he serious? Suddenly this job has real potential. But you’re still skeptical that he wants you to just attend the party, it feels like that amount of money would come with additional stipulations.

“Let me get this straight, you want me to just go to the party with you and pretend to be your girlfriend, but you’re not expecting sex or any other sexual favors?” You state this outright because you need everything to be clear.

“Yes,” he confirms, “I would need you to be affectionate towards me, but only in an appropriate way in public.”

“Define what you mean by affectionate.” You want to make sure you know precisely what he wants.

“Hold my hand or arm, let me put my arm around you, dance with me, maybe let me give you a small kiss?” He suggests.

“No kissing.” Mando interjects all of a sudden.

“O-Ok, no kissing,” Eugene agrees, “But would you be alright with the rest of that?”

“Yes, I can do that.” His terms seem reasonable and honestly, that much money to just attend a party? You’ve had way worse jobs.

“I’m going too,” Mando states and from his tone of voice this is not up for debate, “I’ll be your bodyguard for the evening.”

“That’s a good idea,” Eugene is intrigued by the prospect; “A Mandalorian bodyguard would also be impressive.”

“Good, then you can pay us 40,000 credits for the evening,” you counter-offer. You know it’s ballsy to ask, but truthfully Mando’s skills are worth a lot and he should be paid as well.

“That was uh more than I was hoping to spend,” Eugene says.

“Maybe so, but now you’re getting both of us to help you impress these future clients,” you smile flirtatiously and look him right in the eye holding his gaze.

“I can do 35,000,” Eugene offers.

“Alright, 35,000 and you buy me a new dress and shoes for this party.” That last part is really only because you don’t own any other dresses that would be suitable for his event, but also part of you wants to see if you can get him to give in to you.

“Can the dress be red?” Eugene asks.

“Sure, I’ll get a red dress, if that’s what you’d like,” You’re totally fine with that.

“We have a deal.” He says.

“One more thing,” Mando speaks up again, “Pay her half the credits now.”

“How do I know you won’t just take my money and leave?” Eugene asks.

“You have my word as a Mandalorian.” His tone is serious and just intimidating enough that Eugene capitulates. He takes out a holopad and asks for your information and just like that, 17,500 credits are in your account. It’s more money than you’ve ever had.

You finalize all the arrangements for tomorrow, with Eugene offering to have his mother watch the child for the evening. Mando is a bit reluctant at first to have someone else watch the kid but he realizes it will be hard to pull off looking like a bodyguard with a baby in tow. Likewise, you can hardly play the role of trophy girlfriend if you have the little guy. You wait until Eugene takes his leave of you for the night before you turn to Mando to exclaim over this crazy turn of events.

“Oh my, Mando, can you believe it? 17,500 credits for each of us, just for one night of going to a party?” You can’t help the excitement in your voice.

“Hmm, yes, it’s a lot,” he says, with a lot less enthusiasm, “but it’s all your money.”

“What?” He catches you by surprise, “No, Mando, I’m going to split it with you.”

“He only wanted to hire you,” he states firmly.

“Yes, but I was never going to do this without you. I was going to suggest you come too but you beat me to it.” You explain to him.

“Were you really?” He sounds a little skeptical, but there’s a small note of hope in his voice too.

“Absolutely. I’m not so naïve that I would agree to go to a party with a total stranger without you there to protect me.” It feels so natural to you now that of course he would be there to watch over you. “Besides, I know that you being there will keep Eugene from getting too handsy.”

Mando makes a little snorting sound, “Yeah, I could do without the affectionate part.”

“Don’t worry, I can do just enough to make it look believable without letting it get out of hand.” You link your arm through his and lean a little onto his shoulder, “C’mon, Mando, be a little happy about the money with me.”

He reaches up and pats your hand where it holds onto him. “Alright, since it means that much to you, I’m happy.”

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

The next day you are in a swanky boutique recommended by Eugene where you are on a mission to find a red evening gown for tonight. You tried to tell Mando that his presence was not necessary for this, but he insisted on coming along with the child in tow. It’s been an adventure already because as you were looking over possible dress choices with the saleswoman, the mischievous toddler managed to climb out of his satchel and onto a table in the lingerie section. When you caught him, he was playing in a pile of lace thongs with one pair dangling off his ear. Even more amusing was Mando who was trying to extract the kiddo from his panty pile while trying hard not to touch any of the thongs. Thankfully, the saleswoman thought it was all utterly charming and laughed right along with you. Now Mando and the little guy are sitting together looking only slightly out of place on an elegant velvet sofa while they wait for you to try on dresses.

It’s been so long since you’ve shopped for anything this fancy, you were feeling a little intimidated at first. Yet the more you viewed the beautiful gowns, the more excited you became at the prospect of wearing one for the evening. The selection in this shop is lovely and since you know Eugene is paying, for once you’re not worried about the price. You slip on the first dress and can’t help but smile at your stylish reflection. This first one is a slinky satin gown that hugs your curves. You step out into the main area of the dressing rooms where Mando is waiting and where there is also a large three-sided mirror.

“Oh that looks very nice on you,” the saleswoman says.

You turn to look at yourself in the multiple angles offered from the mirror, “I’m not sure, what do you think, Mando?”

“It’s fine,” he says flatly. Well, with that lack of enthusiasm, you know this dress is out.

The next dress is more of a ball gown style and it’s kind of a lot with a beaded bodice and a full tulle skirt. Still you figure you should see it in the better mirror for the full effect.

“Oh no, I look like a red powder puff!” You say in dismay.

“I like it better,” Mando says, and then under his breath you just barely hear him say, “You’re more covered up.”

“I can’t wear this and be taken seriously.” It’s on to dress number three.

As you adjust the straps for the third dress, you find your face heating up at your reflection. This dress screams trophy girlfriend as it is super sexy. The deep sweetheart neckline shows off a lot of cleavage and there are thigh-high slits on both sides of the skirt.

You’re barely out of the dressing room when you hear, “Absolutely not.”

You can see Mando’s visor trained on you and it feels like that black T is boring a hole into your body.

“I don’t know, I think I look really good in this one.” Wow, when you turn around you can see that this dress is practically backless.

“You look fabulous! Very hot!” the saleswoman coos at you.

“Go change.” Mando’s voice sounds deeper somehow and he’s using his this-is-not-a-request voice. A little naughty part of you wants to argue back with his demand, but you did tell him that you didn’t want Eugene to get too liberal with his definition of affection, so you figure Mando’s probably right.

When you head back to the dressing room, you’re down to just one more dress and as you slip it over your head, you know that this is the one. It’s made of a soft, floaty chiffon with a bodice that accentuates your bust and your waistline. The skirt flows down your hips and legs gracefully and while there’s a slit in this dress too, it’s more hidden and only offers a glimpse of leg as you move. When you step out of the dressing room this time all you hear is a soft murmur of approval from the saleswoman.

You smile at your reflection as you twirl a little in the mirror and imagine how nice you will look with your hair styled and with your evening makeup.

“This has to be the one,” the saleswoman is saying to you now, “Doesn’t she look enchanting?” and she turns to Mando for his approval.

Mando nods his helmet slightly, but remains quiet. You didn’t really expect him to say much, but you were hoping for a bit more than that. At least he isn’t disapproving of this gown though.

“I have the perfect shoes to go with this dress. I’ll be right back!” The saleswoman tells you.

Din waits until she is out of earshot and then says softly, “You look beautiful.” He watches as your face lights up with his compliment and you thank him, reaching out to grasp his arm briefly as you do. That seems to be a thing you do now when you’re particularly pleased with something he’s done. You turn back to the mirror to inspect the dress more and he lets his gaze roam over you.

The truth is Din thought you looked beautiful in all of the dresses, even in the silly puffy one. He didn’t want to encourage you too much with the first dress because although you looked great it in, the style was fairly revealing and he disliked the idea of Eugene seeing you in it. But then, that third dress, Maker, he almost had a heart attack when he saw you in that. It was so sexy he wanted to rip it off you right there in the middle of the store. There was no way in hell any other man was going to see you in that. This dress you’re wearing now is more sophisticated and gives off more of a sensual elegance than outright sexiness. He still hates the idea of Eugene seeing you in it and what’s more thinking that you chose the dress special for him. This whole job is stupid, but he can’t deny the money is too good to pass up. Still he doesn’t trust Eugene to have such pure intentions as he claims and he knows he won’t let the man have a single moment alone with you if he can help it.

You’ve finished choosing the shoes and now you’re heading back into the dressing room to put on your regular clothes. Din breathes a sigh of relief at seeing your normal self again and he feels himself relax a bit. He follows the saleswoman to the register station and watches as she carefully places the gown in a garment bag. You’re about to give the woman Eugene’s account information, when Din hands over his own credit chip to pay for the dress and shoes.

“Mando, what are you doing? Eugene is going to cover the cost of this.” You voice conveys your confusion at his actions.

“I’m not letting another man buy you a dress,” Din mutters.

“Why not? It’s only to wear for this party tonight.” You’re looking at him completely perplexed.

“Because I want to buy it for you,” he says more firmly this time. Din sees a flash of something in your eyes that he likes; it’s a mixture of respect and awe, and perhaps a touch of desire too if he’s not being too hopeful.

“Well, if you’re certain,” you reply softly still looking at him in that new way.

“I am.” Din takes the garment bag from the saleswoman and motions for her to charge everything to his chip. “You’re sure you didn’t want the big puffy dress, though?” And even though you can’t see the smirk on his face, he’s fairly confident you can hear it in his tone.

“Thank you, Mando, but I think this is the best choice.” You let out a light laugh and give him that beaming smile again that he loves to see. You follow him out of the store and then grasp his arm again as you say, “I really do love that dress, thank you for buying it for me.”

“You’re welcome,” Din tells you, wishing that it would just be the two of you going out tonight.

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

“You’re sure you want to do this? We could still turn around and leave.” This is the second time Mando has asked you that. The first was when you came out of the fresher after finishing your make-up and he saw your completed look for the evening. He didn’t compliment you again, but the long pause he took to look at you and the way he tilted his helmet to the side made your insides flutter nonetheless. Now you’re standing outside Eugene’s door and it seems he’s still having second thoughts.

“It will be fine, Mando. Just remember that this money means you can take a break from hunting and spend some extra time on finding the Jedi for the little guy here.” He sighs in response and knocks on the door.

You shift the toddler in your arms and you look down at him. He’s been having fun playing with the soft material of your dress and he’s got a big handful of your skirt in his little claws right now. The only worry you have is about leaving him with a stranger tonight. Eugene’s mother will probably be fine, but you’ve grown so attached to the child you’re feeling more anxious about being away from him that you anticipated.

“You’ll be a good boy tonight, won’t you, buddy?” You say to the child as you carefully extricate your dress from his little hand. “Mando and I will miss you but we won’t be too late.”

The door opens to reveal Eugene in a tuxedo with a red flower on his lapel and next to him, a cheerful looking older woman.

“Good evening, you look spectacular,” Eugene greets you enthusiastically.

“Thank you, you look dashing yourself,” you respond with a slight flirtiness to your tone. You figure you might as well get used to your role now.

“Oooh! Is this the sweet little baby I get to watch tonight?” The woman seems kind and the child coos at her with interest.

“Yes, thank you for doing this,” you respond pleasantly. You give the little guy a hug and a kiss on his forehead before handling him over to her.

“What a little charmer! You don’t have to worry about a thing, my dear. I’ll take good care of your baby and you take good care of mine.” She says with a wink towards Eugene.

“Th- thank you, mother.” Eugene sounds embarrassed and you try your best not to snicker. “We should get going.” He extends his arm to you and you lightly thread your hand around his elbow.

This whole time Mando hasn’t made a sound and is standing so still you’d almost think he was a suit of armor on display. But when you take Eugene’s arm, Mando lets out a little grunt that sounds like disapproval. You turn to look at him and mouth, “It will be OK” and give him as encouraging a smile as you can. The nod of his helmet to you is slight, but you know he understood.

Eugene leads you out onto the city walkway with Mando following close behind. The party is being held in the largest casino and it’s a short walk from Eugene’s home. Once again, the streets are filled with fashionable people ready for a night on the town. You feel the soft swish of your skirt against your legs and smile again at how nice it feels to be dressed up like this. You make small talk with Eugene, getting comfortable with him so you can make this look like a real date. You resist the urge to turn back and look at Mando though because you know if you do, your feigned interest in Eugene will falter.

By the time you reach your destination, you’ve managed to perfect a nice light laugh at Eugene’s jokes and you feel comfortable enough to lean into him in an affectionate way. As you enter the opulent ballroom of the casino, you paste a brilliant smile onto your face as if you’re simply delighted to be there. Eugene has told you he wants you to help draw the attention of various men in attendance so you figure you’ll sort of openly flirt with the room and see who notices. You catch the eye of a well-dressed older gentleman, and your technique works wonderfully as he comes right over.

“Good evening, I’m Mr. Belvers, the owner of this casino; it’s so very nice to have you here, my dear.” He greets you with a small bow and flourish of his hand.

“Why, thank you!” You respond warmly, “It was so nice of my boyfriend to bring me here tonight. You must know him, Mr. Eugene DeWitt of Advanced Gaming Enterprises?” You introduce Eugene with a smile.

“Oh yes, of course, Mr. DeWitt, how nice to see you again.” With the introductions made, Eugene launches into conversation with Mr. Belvers. You listen as best you can to the business talk and smile and nod like the perfect trophy girlfriend. It’s boring, but really easy when you realize that not much more is expected of you. Finally, with a promise to dance with Mr. Belvers later, the conversation ends and you breathe a small sigh of relief that if anything at least you got Eugene a few minutes with the owner of this place.

“That was incredible!” Eugene is saying excitedly, “I’ve never even met the man before but he acted like we were old friends. You are fantastic!” He gives your hand a squeeze and pulls you a little closer to him. He steers you deeper into the ballroom, eager to make another contact. You turn your head to look at Mando and give him a smile and a subtle nod, which he returns.

The pattern continues throughout the party, you spy an older man, make eyes at him, and reel him in for Eugene. When you’re between conversations, Mando has taken to checking in with you to make sure everything is going well. All in all, it’s about what you expected and you have to admit that Eugene was right; apparently, these men are all easily swayed by the look of a pretty face. You’re please to see that Mando’s presence is having a good effect too. These bigshots are very impressed that Eugene has a Mandalorian for his private security. Several of them have even asked Mando if he’s available for future security jobs too. Who knows, maybe Mando will come away with some business contacts of his own at the end of tonight.

As the evening continues, Eugene seems to be growing more confident, and you’ve noticed he’s taken to placing his arm around your waist. It doesn’t bother you, but occasionally his hand does seem to be a touch low. He also leaned in just a moment ago and let his lips brush your cheek. It wasn’t really much, but still you’re surprised he dared to try it.

“I said no kissing.” Mando’s voice is hard and direct, causing Eugene to flinch and instantly put more space between the two of you. “Keep your hands above her waist too.” Your heartbeat stutters at Mando’s protectiveness and you look at him with a grateful smile. When you’re sure no one else is looking, you give him the flirtatious look you’ve been using all evening and then top it off with a wink. You notice that he clenches his fists as you do this and then gives you a deeper nod in response.

I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. Din’s mantra for tonight is not a pleasant one. He’d much rather be hunting down a bounty right now than having to watch you flirt and simper to every man in the room. He’d rather be slogging through a swamp or crossing a frozen tundra to catch a quarry than have to watch yet another man ogling you or touching you. And then, there’s Eugene; Din would like to punch him in the face again. The man keeps getting bolder as the night progresses. Din’s caught him staring at your breasts and your ass several times, and he’s clearly getting too handsy. The only thing making this night remotely bearable is the way you keep looking over to him with such sweet glances, as if you’re sharing a secret with him. Although the way you looked at him just now made him want to sweep you up in his arms and haul you out of here as fast as he could. If you do that again, he doesn’t know if he can be responsible for his actions.

Din groans to himself, and prepares for this night to get worse because Eugene is leading you out onto the dance floor. There’s no way for him to follow close to you while you’re dancing and he’s willing to bet that Eugene takes advantage of that opportunity. In an attempt to stay in Eugene’s eye line as much as possible, Din stalks around the dance floor following your swaying movements. He can’t help but watch the graceful way you move as you dance, noticing the soft arch of your back and the delicate glide of your feet across the floor. As he sees Eugene’s arms pull you in closer, Din feels a deep burning anger in his stomach and once again thinks about breaking Eugene’s nose with his fist. This is the worst job ever.

Dancing with Eugene isn’t so bad you decide. It’s a nice break from all the forced flirting and extremely dull conversations you’ve had to put up with all evening. And despite the fact that you’d much rather be dancing with someone else, it’s still a pleasant activity. Moreover, after Mando’s warning, Eugene is back to being a gentleman and keeping his hands in polite territory. He does seem to be enjoying the dancing himself, quite a lot by the expression on his face, although every once in a while his confidence seems to fade for a moment.

“May I ask you a personal question?” Eugene looks at you quizzically.

“Alright,” you agree, curious.

“Are you and the Mandalorian involved? Romantically, I mean?” He looks nervous as he asks this.

“Do you think I would have agreed to this date if we were?” You deflect his question somewhat because you find that you don’t really want to admit that there’s nothing between you and Mando. Especially because it feels like you’ve been growing closer. You think about when he insisted on buying you the dress earlier today, and how special that felt, definitely not something a friend would do. Even tonight, there is this energy between you and Mando that you can’t deny, nevermind that you’re technically on a date with Eugene.

“He seems extremely protective of you.” Eugene replies.

You shrug lightly, “He is.”

“You know, if you wanted something else, a different life, I could make that happen for you,” Eugene looks at your earnestly, “After tonight, I’m going to be an even wealthier man. I would treat you like a princess.”

“Eugene,” you sigh, “I appreciate the offer, but-”

“Don’t answer yet,” he insists, “Think about it. Please.” He pulls you in closer to him so that you’re dancing cheek to cheek. You know he means it to be romantic but you feel nothing. There’s nothing to think about.

When the music ends, you feel relieved that you can put some space between the two of you. You’re turning to look for Mando when unexpectedly you hear a loud crash followed by blaster fire. As if he materialized out of nowhere, Mando is at your side pulling you to the floor and covering you with his body.

“I’ve got you,” Mando says, holding you close with one arm as the other holds his blaster. Your heart is racing and you hear the commotion of many people shouting, rushing feet, and general mayhem. You pull yourself tighter under Mando, squeeze your eyes shut, and try to keep as still as you can. Suddenly, Mando lifts off you slightly and fires three shots in rapid succession.

“It’s alright,” He tells you, “I took care of them. Everything is alright.”

“You’re sure?” Your voice comes out shaky and high-pitched.

“Hey, look at me, come on, look at me” Mando’s voice is soft and comforting, and you tip your head up and open your eyes to look at his visor. “You’re safe, no one will hurt you.”

“Thank you, Mando,” you breathe, feeling relief flood your body. Even though you can’t see his eyes, you know he’s looking back at you and it’s soothing.

“You have to let go of me now, cyar’ika, so I can help you up off this floor.” His voice is still soft and you can hear a lightness to it now. You hadn’t realized but you have a death grip on the material of his thick protective shirt on the side of his body. Chuckling weakly at yourself, you release him and he climbs off you before reaching down to pull you back to your feet.

“That was incredible shooting, Mando!” Eugene can’t hide how impressed and excited he.

“I’ll say it was!” the casino owner from before, Mr. Belvers, is coming over to offer his praise to Mando too. He gives Mando’s hand a hearty shake and then raises his voice to address the party, “Folks! Everything looks to be all safe now, thanks to this heroic Mandalorian!”

The partygoers erupt in applause and for the next several minutes, people are coming up to thank Mando personally. You’re glad to see Mando get appreciation he deserves for saving everyone, but from his body language, you think he seems a bit embarrassed by all the attention.

“Who were they?” You turn and ask Mr. Belvers.

“Some thugs who have been plaguing the casinos for weeks now. I think they came here tonight trying to rob people of their valuables. By the way, there is a reward for their capture and I’ll see to it that those credits are yours, sir.” He says this last part directly to Mando.

Din thanks the man and gives him a small card with his guild information, explaining how best to pay him. Now that the danger in the room has cleared, quite literally by casino workers who’ve come to take away the bodies of the dead men, people are starting to go back to the party. These people are so wealthy and spoiled that these violent men and the Mandalorian who dispatched them are already just an amusing anecdote to be shared over cocktails. He is so ready to leave this place. Din looks over to you and sees that while you’re calmer now, you are still visibly shaken from the intrusion of the would-be robbers. He wonders sheepishly if maybe he scared you a little too by yanking you to the ground so quickly, but it was pure instinct to protect you. Nitwit Eugene is rambling on about what an exciting evening it’s been to whoever will listen, completely oblivious to your discomfort. Din decides Eugene’s gotten more than his money’s worth and he’s taking you home right now.

“It’s time for us to leave.” Din’s voice is stern as he steps closer to you and Eugene, not caring that he’s interrupting the man.

“So soon, the party is still going-” Eugene tries to protest, but when he sees Din’s rigid posture, he trails off.

“I am rather tired, Eugene,” you say, and then lower your voice “Besides, it will be better to leave them wanting more.” Din watches as you bat your eyelashes at the man and give him a soft smile, and then like magic, Eugene is agreeing to leave. Din does have to admire your skill at using your feminine wiles to get men to do your bidding. He also knows that if you ever choose to try that with him, he’ll be putty in your hands. He smiles at the thought, but it’s short-lived as soon as he sees Eugene slide his arm around your waist again as he steers you towards the exit. Din tromps after the two of you, at least this stupid job is almost over.

You’re close to Eugene’s place and you’re feeling quite glad that this fake date is almost over. You just want to get the child and hurry back to the Crest so Mando can fly you away from here. Eugene is wittering on telling you how great you were and what a wonderful pair you make, but you’re only barely listening to him. Blessedly when you get to Eugene’s door, Mando is all business.

“It’s time to make the final transfer of credits,” Mando tells Eugene.

“Of course,” Eugene replies, taking out his holopad and completing the necessary functions. “Thank you again, you were both very impressive.”

Eugene opens the door and you and Mando wait for a few minutes until he returns with the little one who is sound asleep. He hands the child to Mando and then turns to you, “I’d like a moment alone to speak to you before we say goodnight.”

“Eugene, I think I did everything you wanted tonight, but our fake date is over.” You say pointedly.

“Please, it will only take a moment.” He looks at Mando, “Please.”

“Fine,” you say and give Mando a small nod. He doesn’t exactly give you any privacy, but Mando does take a few steps away and turns his body slightly so he’s no longer facing you head on.

Eugene takes your hand in his and says in a soft voice, “Please, tell me that you’ve thought about my offer?”

“There’s nothing for me to think about; I belong with them,” you tell him as you pull your hand from his grasp and gesture towards Mando and the child.

“But there’s so much more I can do for you, I can give you more than he can. I can give you a safe home, beautiful clothes and jewelry, you’ll never want for anything.” Eugene must think you’re completely shallow and nothing but a gold digger. “And, I would worship you.” He’s really piling it on thick now.

“Eugene, you don’t even know me, and if you did, you would know that I’m not interested in that life,” you state firmly, “I think it’s time to say goodbye. I wish you all the best with your business.” You turn to go but Eugene reaches out for your arm. Fortunately Mando is already back at your side and he brushes Eugene’s arm away roughly as he says,

“She said no.” Din turns to escort you away, placing his arm around your waist, mimicking Eugene’s earlier touch. It means he’s holding you much closer to his body than he has before when he usually just places a palm on the small of your back. He feels you relax into his touch and for the first time this evening, he feels a sense of rightness. Still though, Eugene’s words I can give you more than he can are ringing in his ears and his self-doubt makes him sigh.

He waits until you are far enough away so that Eugene cannot hear him and in a small voice, Din forces himself to ask you, “You’re certain you don’t want to stay? He did make you a good offer.”

“What? No, I absolutely don’t want to stay with Eugene.” Your answer is swift and a bit shocked.

“I would understand if you did.” Din says, his voice still soft and trying to hide his emotion.

“Mando, do you want me to stay?” You stop and turn to face him so you can look directly at his visor, your face openly displaying your displeasure at his words.

“No,” he says strongly, “I don’t. Not at all. But it would be wrong of me to hold you back if you wanted to leave.”

You slip your hand into his and look at him with soft eyes as you say, “Mando, I don’t want to leave you, or the child. I’m happy with you both, happier than I’ve been in a long time. Eugene is wrong; he doesn’t know what you can give me.”

Din’s heart pounds at your words, as he says, “I’m glad,” he pauses just for a second before he tells you, “I don’t want you to leave us.” He gives your hand a small squeeze and turns to continue walking.

“Besides, there’s no way I could stay with a man I’m not attracted to in the slightest.” Your voice has a lighter tone to it and it breaks a bit of the tension.

“He wasn’t that ugly,” Din shrugs and you laugh in response.

“No, it wasn’t really about his looks, just the overall way he carried himself. I prefer a man with more confidence.” You say.

“Confidence is attractive.” Din agrees with you.

“Yeah, it is. I like a man who can walk into a room and earn everyone’s respect just by the way he holds himself. That’s incredibly attractive.” You give him a slight side-glance as you say this. “But if we’re being shallow, then I also wasn’t physically attracted to Eugene either.”

“Why not?” Din’s curiosity is peaked.

“He was much too skinny.” You wrinkle your nose a bit as you say this.

“You like chubby men?” Din chuckles, and while he’s not chubby, he thinks of his own stomach which isn’t quite as flat as it used to be when he was younger.

“I like bigger men,” you clarify, “Men who are broader, more muscular. Although chubby is cute too. When I cuddle with a guy, I want something to cuddle in to.”

“Is that so?” It’s not lost on Din that what you’ve just described is essentially him and he can’t deny how much he likes hearing that. Plus, now he’s imagining what it would be like to cuddle with you. He doesn’t have time to dwell on that thought however, because you’re giggling at something.

“Well and then there was the worst part, his name,” you say rather playfully.

“What was wrong with his name?” Din’s never thought about a name being part of someone’s attractiveness.

“Honestly, I don’t think I could seriously moan out Eugene in a moment of passion.” You’re consumed by giggles at the idea.

Din is stunned by what you’ve just said and all he can think about is what your voice might sound like if you were to moan out his name, his real name. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to need to respond to you as you’re still wracked with laughter.

“Oh no!” You stop laughing and gasp, “I didn’t think.”

“What?” He has no idea what could be bothering you.

“Your name isn’t Eugene, is it?” Your eyes are wide as you look at him.

Din lets out a loud laugh at how comically horrified you look at the prospect. He’s still chuckling as he tells you, “Hell no.”

“Thank the Maker,” you mutter under your breath, making Din laugh again.

You’ve made your way back to the Razor Crest now and it isn’t until you have to let go of him so that he can open the ramp, that you realize you’ve been holding Mando’s hand this entire time. It felt so natural and easy to walk holding his hand, and you hope he felt the same way. You watch as he tucks the child into his pram for the night. You should probably go get yourself ready for bed, but you want to keep talking to Mando.

“May I ask you a question?” You say as he turns back towards you.

“Of course.” He nods to you.

“Why were you so adamant about no kissing tonight? I mean not that I wanted to kiss Eugene,” you make a face at the idea, “But, it seemed to really bother you?”

“Oh” Is all that he says and then he looks away slightly. You wait patiently but for a while it seems as though that might be the only answer you get, until he finally says, “I didn’t want to see him kiss you. I don’t want to see any man kiss you.”

The air between you feels suddenly charged, and you look into his visor where you think his eyes are, and you can’t help yourself from asking, “Why not?”

“Because I can’t kiss you.” Mando admits.

“Do- do you want to kiss me?” You can’t believe you’re daring to ask him that but you need to know.

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” he says and you can hear frustration in his tone, “I shouldn’t and I can’t.”

“I would like to kiss you, but only if it’s something you want too,” you admit to him softly.

“I do want to kiss you,” Mando sighs and he moves towards you slightly but then holds himself in check.  

“So Mandalorians don’t kiss? I just want to understand, I don’t want to pressure you to do anything you don’t want to do or that goes against your beliefs,” you explain, wanting him to understand that you respect his creed. You can’t deny how much you want to feel closer to him and show him how you feel, but the last thing you want is to make him uncomfortable or do something he’ll regret.

“They do, there are… loopholes, but I- I’ve never-, I want to, but-” Mando shifts his feet and looks down.

“It’s ok, I understand.” You’re quiet for a moment and you think perhaps you should just drop this. But then you can’t stop yourself from asking, “What about the Keldabe Kiss? Didn’t you say there was something softer?” Your face heats up as you remember that moment well; you’ve thought about it often.

“You remembered that?” Mando says in a low voice.

“It was pretty unforgettable, Mando,” you reply with a smile.

“There is a softer version. I could show you. If you’d let me.” His voice sounds hopeful.

“I’d like that.”

He steps closer to you then and seems to stare at your face for a long moment until you decide to close the distance between you two. You’re so close you can hear him breathing. He reaches up and places his large hands on either side of your face, holding you still, as he slowly brings his helmet down to touch your forehead. When he finally makes contact, you hear him let out a shaky breath. You bring your hands to his waist and pull him in a little closer to you as you maintain contact with him. While this isn’t what you pictured when you thought of kissing him, you can’t deny how intimate and special it feels. Just from the deliberate way that Mando is holding you, tells you how important this is for him. You stay like that holding each other and feeling suspended in time.

“I know this isn’t the same as real kissing,” Mando says, “but I like holding you like this. I’ve thought about doing this a lot.” His voice is so soft you almost feel like you imagined his confession.

“I like it too,” you tell him. You’re about to tell him how much you’ve thought about being held by him as well, when suddenly the child’s cries fill the air. Just like that, the moment between you and Mando is gone and you hurry over to pick up the little one and soothe him.

“I guess I should go get us on our way. Besides, he always sleeps better when we’re in hyperspace.” Din takes a step towards the ladder, but then pauses before coming over to you and dropping his helmet down onto your forehead again for just a few seconds. It’s a small gesture, but his heart soars at being able to do it. He gives the child a comforting pat on the back before turning away and heading to the cockpit, his head full of thoughts of you.

P.S. Don’t think that you missed hearing him call you cyar’ika, you’ll be sure to ask him about it later ;)

--------‐------------------------------------Thank you for reading! Here's the link to Chapter 5 Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged in later chapters.

Tag list: @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @theravenreads @nicotinebirds @boomtownboy @nova646 @wandering-storm-lost-shadow @becks-things @sleepwithacommunist @mackycat11 @som3thingcr3ative @punkdalek @pinkninja200 @s-unflowxr @ladyjenny19 @peppywitch @haley7242 

[canary3d-obsessed]

Restless Rewatch: The Untamed Episode 03

(Masterpost)(Previous Episode) 

Warning: Spoilers for all 50 episodes!

 Wei Wuxian demonstrates the purple nurple technique of the Jiang Clan

Should’ve Used Trivago

The Jiang Clan’s reservation got cancelled while they were on the road, so they are going to wander around this small inn for hours being fussed about it, rather than trying another inn. Yes they say the other inns are all full but…so is this one, now. 

The Jin Clan sends an advance party to fancy up the inn for them.

Fuckboi Wei Wuxian

Wei Wuxian decides to use his considerable powers of prettiness to get them a room.  He drops some poetry on Mianmian and brazenly flirts with her before shifting to properly introducing himself and asking for a room. 

This actually works.

...until her boss shows up.

(Much much more after the cut!)

Worst Person // Best Jin

Jin ZIxuan is an ass and a snob. 

I guess we have to give him credit for having a beautiful sidekick and never hitting on her, given that his dad is a rapist and one of his half-brothers is (reputedly) a sex pest and the other half brother is (definitely) an incest perp. But I feel like it doesn’t take much to be the best Jin of his or his father’s generation.

The Jin folks are snobs and talk about how great their fancy and expensive stuff is. It’s an interesting contrast with true connoisseur Nie Huaisang, who loves everything that is fine and beautiful and can quote stacks of poetry off the top of his head, but is not even a little bit of a snob. 

This Tea Smells Like Farts

Ok, let’s talk about generation names in the Jin clan. Ru is the name for Jin Ling’s generation, hence his courtesy name Rulan. The name for the current generation is apparently Zi (子), because both Zixuan and his jerk cousin Zixun have that as their name.  Sect Leader Jin Guangshan would seem to be using the generation name Guang, but then names his son Jin Guangyao so…the whole system breaks down. 

Anyway, my point here is that even considering generation names, if I had a baby and named it Zixuan, and my sister-in-law promptly had a baby and named it Zixun, I would slap her. 

Find you a lover who does not make you feel like this 

Jin Zixuan is mildly intrigued by his betrothed, and expresses it by being rude to her in front of Wei Wuxian, starting a chain of events that will culminate with Wen Ning’s fist going all the way through Jin Zixuan’s chest.

Side Note: Look at these young Jiang Brothers and their casual shoulder hugs. Sigh.

Wei Wuxian’s Combat PlayBook

When Wei Wuxian wants to throw down, he starts with smack talk, moves along to boundary crossing, then to direct threats, and then brings out a weapon if he hasn’t won already. 

Here he starts shit with Jin Zixuan by complaining at him for taking up too much space and having too many sycophants.  Then he goes for the unwelcome shoulder touch. 

Having been sufficiently provocative to get someone to draw a sword and threaten him with physical violence, he shifts to formal verbal sparring. 

This gets the other guy to back down, because even at this age no-one actually wants to tangle with Wei Wuxian, and Wei Wuxian gets to claim the moral advantage, although he still doesn’t get to keep his hotel room. 

Actually Not A Fan of My Sister’s Betrothal

Jin Zixuan and Jiang Yanli have the first of many, many moments of heterosexual ineptitude together. Wei Wuxian quickly rescues them.

Hi, I’m Young Master Cockblock.

Neither of the boys understands what Yanli sees in Zixuan and neither do I, at this juncture. He does improve later after multiple beatings from Wei Wuxian.

This Is The Day Your Life Will Surely Change

Yanli’s encounter in the Inn is the first step toward the inexorable end of the three of them as a unit, although it’s still a long ways off. They are all growing up and she and Wei Wuxian are both going to fall in love at summer camp, like in a 1980s teen movie but without the virginity betting (presumably). 

Meanwhile poor Jiang Cheng is going to be swept along just trying to keep up with events, which becomes the story of his life for the next two decades.

Welcome to Transylvania

We meet Wen Ruohan. He is boring and he sucks. Also I’m summarizing the Transylvania parts out of order because they break up the rhythm of the story. And are boring and suck.

We meet Xue Yang. He seems nice.

Wen Ruohan’s living room is like a shitty nightclub where everyone is too drunk to dance except Xue Yang.

Dee Jay: Undead undead undead, Bela Lugosi’s dead

[OP can’t get a video to embed in this post with looping enabled, so the alternate version of this joke has its own post right here. That will teach OP to get fancy.]

Anyhoo

We meet Wen Qing. She is the bestest most wonderful girl in the world but this isn’t actually when we find that out. 

Right now we just find out that she is absurdly pretty, that she loves her brother deeply, and that she is helping Wen Ruohan with his “take over the world by murdering cultivators” project. OKAY, PROBLEMATIC, BUT SHE IS THE BESTEST GIRL OKAY? 

Gatekeeping

The Jiang Clan don’t get another inn but they do manage to change into immaculate white robes while they’re out on the street, so - nice work, Jiang Clan. Be free!

They get stuck outside the gate because they don’t know that the secret to getting into Cloud Recesses is to set the gate guard on fire. 

Walking Thirst Trap Hanguang-Jun

Lan Wangji shows up and everyone except Yanli, who is already in love with Sir Golden Pants, makes thirst faces at him. Including Jiang Cheng tho he will never admit it. One girl in the background is actually biting her knuckle. 

Note: Lan Wangji knows exactly how fine he is. Look at his fucking hairstyle. 

He is sixteen years old. The only person in the entire cultivation world with fancier hair is Nie Mingjue, and that’s because he indulges his dìdi’s braiding hobby. 

Wei Wuxian loudly stage whispers that LWJ is their key to getting in and LWJ is is like, not fucking likely, person I didn’t glance at yet. 

But then Wei Wuxian says a smart cultivator thing about the puppet dude, and Lan Wangji turns around and has the first of many long mutual staring sessions with this boy he totally isn’t going to like at all.

Jiang Cheng has a bad feeling about the future: a 2-frame gif

Unrelated gardening note: the red-crack puppet is more commonly grown in Gusu and Dafan, while the black-line puppet is native to Yiling

I Must Arrange a Date with this Uninteresting Boy

The rest of the evening is a series of tests that Lan Wangji puts Wei Wuxian through. Wei Wuxian doesn’t know this and Lan Wangji probably doesn’t exactly know it either. 

First he sends WWX back to town to get the invitation. Yes, go get it. Not your entourage; YOU, talky person who thinks he can manipulate me and is smart and looks...intriguing. Go find it and come back. 

When Wei Wuxian complains, Lan Wangji silences him, which is literally the most boss move he could have used on smooth talking Wei Wuxian. 

You tried, Fuckboi.

Would you like to try some more because I think I would like you to try some more

Jiang Cheng is the Better Baby Brother

Sorry, he just is. Wei Wuxian is all about being taken care of and adoring Yanli without actually doing much for her. Jiang Cheng is the one who thinks about her feelings and giving her what she needs, even to the point of arranging that wedding rehearsal dinner so she can be with her favorite brother again -- the favorite who isn’t him, much as she also loves him. 

Date Test 1: Can You Get In.

Once Wei Wuxian is definitely gone, Lan Wangji shows up again and collects the entire retinue, guaranteeing that Wei Wuxian will be stranded outside the gate when he gets back.  LWJ doesn’t wait by the gate; he goes and waits up on the roof instead of going to bed or whatever else he’s supposed to be doing. Because he already knows the route Wei Wuxian will be taking. 

Wei Wuxian passes the “get in through the wards” test with no problem besides a minor headache and bent fingers. 

Is that Xiao Zhan’s hand or did they use a double-jointed hand model?

Date Test 2: Fight Me (Lan Wangji’s Combat Playbook)

As soon as Wei Wuxian shows up on the roof, Lan Wangji picks a fight with him. 

LWJ fights all the time; he’s perfectly comfortable when he’s fighting and it’s a good venue for him to express himself. His style is graceful and aggressive. 

Attack attack attack strike a pose, vogue, you know it.  

He starts by going all in on swordplay, but that doesn’t gain him the advantage; Wei Wuxian fends him off without ever drawing his sword. Which is probably the hottest thing that has ever happened to Lan Wangji in his young life.

Do you like me better when I’m horizontal? 

Next Lan Wangji deploys the pettiness by breaking WWX’s wine. Then when Wei Wuxian starts insulting him he upgrades to next level pettiness by dropping another silence spell, this time with the added bonus of preventing WWX from drinking. 

Wei Wuxian’s Combat Playbook, Redux

Meanwhile Wei Wuxian is running his own fight routine, starting with a charm attack, which doesn’t work at all. 

Are you admiring the moon? 

He keeps trying to de-escalate for the first phase of their fight, until they reach a pause and he reflects that Lan Wangji has real skills. As soon as he makes that determination he goes on the offensive - with words. 

He very formally says he’s too busy to continue fighting, and turns away, which is a pretty solid roast when you say it to someone who’s been trying really hard to kick your ass. Then he continues defending easily until Lan Wangji uses the wine against him. 

At this point the gloves come off, with Lan Wangji lecturing Wei Wuxian, Wei Wuxian making ad hominem attacks, Lan Wangji forcibly shutting him up... 

...and then throwing him on the floor in front of Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen. 

Sincere Grief for the Death of our Colleague

Lan Qiren and Lan Xichen feel really bad for their disciple who has been horribly turned into an undead creature. Ha ha j/k

Date Test 3: Face the Authorities

Lan Wangji gets to pick Wei Wuxian’s punishment.  This probably won’t awaken anything in him. 

Surprise surprise, Wei Wuxian actually passes the Authority test with flying colors. Lan Qiren doesn’t like him, but listens respectfully to his thoughts about the undead cultivator. And Lan Xichen clearly does like him.

When Wei Wuxian learns that Lan Wangji was nice to his sister, his entire demeanor changes, to such an enormous degree that Lan Wangji starts to run away.

He’s not going to let this boy (who has passed all the tests oh no he passed all the tests) make out with him in front of his family like he is obviously planning. 

But once again, Wei Wuxian’s cultivation knowledge captures Lan Wangji’s attention and breaks through his reserve. 

This Hardy Boys moment is the beginning of their cultivation partnership.

Lan Wangji is brave but is extremely constrained: by the authorities in his life and by his own rigid reserve. Wei Wuxian is brave and is also free. His companionship gives Lan Wangji an opportunity to engage with a much broader range of the things that interest him than he’s ever had before. 

After Wei Wuxian has been sent to bed, Lan Wangji stands outside and -- just as WWX had suggested at the beginning of their date/fight -- admires the moon, with an expression that’s anything but upset. 

Sure, sex is cool (probably), but have you ever analyzed a walking corpse with a beautiful boy in the moonlight?

If you’ve got your true honey Life can be pretty funny If you've got money, money to burn Rooty toot toot for the moon It's the biggest star I've ever seen

The Fine-as-Hell Brothers

Alone together, Lans Xichen and Wangji talk over the various things on their minds. 

Xichen: What the fuck is up with you? ...Rooftop fights and dropping spells on boys?

Wangji: You and uncle were ignoring me so I was making my own fun

Xichen: Yeah, we are dealing with this zombie situation; shit’s going to hit the fan

Wangji: what are you going to do about it?

Xichen: fuck-all

Wangji: Well, you can rely on me

Xichen: I totally do. So how about you get to know this Wei kid, he seems like a fun ride.

Wangji: *death glare*

Xichen: You know, since Dad died you’ve become even more uptight. I wonder if I’ve been too strict with you?

Wangji: Um, you think? 3000 fucking rules, dude. Fortunately I’m not going to go off the rails and fall in love with my polar opposite and cause havoc in the cultivation world or anything like that.

Xichen: good, me neither

Outtro

Writing prompt: Lan Xichen’s secret nightly letter to his Mom’s memory or spirit (your choice), in which he confides in her about his day. May be written in flute solo form. 

(As always if you use this prompt feel free to post a link to your fic in comments!)

Soundtrack: 1. This Is The Day by The The  2.  Bela Lugosi’s Dead by Bauhaus 3. Rooty Toot Toot for the Moon, Greg Brown version 4. Madonna, Vogue

Bonus: FineAsHell-Jun

Episode 04 Restless Rewatch coming soon!

[autistic--cryptid]

hey! just wondering if you have any mlp or hermit headcanons? also i hope you have a great day your blog is great!! <3 /p

indeed i do!

mlp:

twilight, luna, celestia, pinkie, maud, ocellus, and sunburst are all autistic

celestia, rainbow dash, scootaloo, gallus, silver stream and pinkie all have adhd

cadence is the only neurotypical princess. everytime the 4 princesses meet she spends the whole time sitting there listenting to the rest of them infodump

luna was a pegasus who earned her horn

sunset is essentially the human world equivalent of an alicorn. it doesn’t translate to the pony world because equestrian magic is different, as stated in the movies. the reason twilight is an alicorn in the pony world and in the hula world when she pony’s up is because ponying up happens bc of equestrian magic

twilight uses she/they pronouns

rarity and pinkie both use she/her and will tell people their pronouns are she/her but rarity is not opposed to any neopronouns as well

rainbow uses any pronouns with no preference

applejack uses they/she/he, in order of preference

fluttershy uses she/her and bun/buns pronouns

discord is agender and aroace and uses any pronouns but has a preference for he/him

celestia uses she/her and so/sol

luna uses she/her and they/them

cozy glow is set out of stone at some point between the coronation and the future and spends time with diamond tiara to learn how to use her special talent for good, and as an adult she’s fully reformed and takes on the role of captain of the royal guard

spitfire essentially did what rainbowdash did when she was in the wonderbolts academy: she was confident in her abilities and didn’t let the instructor break her, and then proceeded to excel at every task

spike learned how to sew from rarity, and learned how to bake and cook from pinkie

while celestia takes on ponies who have bright futures ahead of them to set them on the right path to reach that future, luna takes on ponies with dark pasts to help them with their feelings and guide them towards their brighter future

before her banishment, luna was in charge of whatever protection equestria had pre-EUP. she didn’t take it over again as she wasn’t caught up on the many many changes their military underwent

hermitcraft:

xisuma has a very consistent sleeping scheduel. he will pass out at 9:30pm on the dot regardless of what he’s doing or where he is and then wake up at 5:30am exactly everyday without fail

xisuma has several suits stored in his base, all of which are of different mobs (excluding the 50 plain green ones), and that’s how he’s able to change his skin so often

unlike xisuma, ren never sleeps. he’s constantly awake until sunrise or even beyond then working on whatever project he’s started. often times he ends up falling asleep at the base of a nearby tree or on his unfinished project because he kept himself working for too long to be able to fly to his bed

for the same reason why he never sleeps, ren never brushes his hair. if he doesn’t have time to sleep how would he find time to do that?? his solution is various hairstyles: one day it’s braided, the next it’s a ponytail, the next it’s a bun, and so on

tango has redstone freckles that glow as he smiles

impulse can touch wither roses just fine and sometimes forgets that his friends cannot. similarly, tango has shoved his entire arm in lava before to reach netherite that fell and briefly forgot his friends were so shocked bc they aren’t able to do that without losing hearts

cub has nearly infinite knowledge on all mobs and minecraft rules. somewhere in his giant pyramid or storage system there’s a book with all you could ever need to know on ravagers, and there’s probably another book on unicode, and then another on biomes, and then anoth

joe, on the other hand, does not know much about mobs. he knows what to avoid and what he can befriend, and the rest he learned through from experience. sometimes he’ll show up at cub’s base and take one of his books as if it’s library with no book organization just so he can figure out why tango just went flying over the shopping district saying something about his magic ravager teleportation system or whatever it is that time

false and wels talk about cool swords together and show each other their sword collections on a regular basis

the only person who knows more about minecraft flowers than cub is stress. sure cub knows everything about anything, but this is stress we’re talking about. if you ask her to talk to you about poppy’s you’ll leave the conversation knowing their spawn rates in every biome, the hex codes for each color, when they were added, why their spawn rate is what it is, etc.

mumbo has no idea what going on 90% of the time. he tries, he really does, but he occasionally stops in at his hobbit hole to see if grian’s left him any messages and he’ll read a letter about the turf war and something called moo-pop and the next thing he knows he’s on HEP. he has no idea how this kinda thing keeps happening to him, but he doesn’t know how to make it stop either, so he just rolls with it

tfc knows a bunch of really cool obscure facts. he also owns a lot of really cool obscure items. if you walk up to him and ask him about coal ore, you’re bound to learn something about why it spawns where it does or whatever. he’ll be able to tell you the origin story of endermen, and he’ll be right, but no one will ever be able to figure out how or why he knows this

just like tfc owns a lot of obscure things, he collects a lot of things too, which is often how he has these obscure things. he’s got a collection of coal, dating back to the first one he ever mined, all the way to one he found with a little bit of iron in it

xisuma knows how to sew and evil xisuma knows how to knit. if you bring up sewing to xisuma he’ll show you something he recently made, but if you ask ex about knitting he will fight you

doc likes to play the villain in a storyline for the aesthetic of it. in reality he’d do anything to help his friends, even if he is a bit chaotic in doing so

joe is chaotic great good. just. he is.

[i-rely-on-you]

44!!!!!!!

Thank you so much dear! 

This is the 50 Ways To Say “I Love You” thingy so here you go @faytalepsy

My ask box for those is still open in case anyone is interested and you can find this prompt list here 50 Ways To Say “I Love You”

You don’t have to pretend with me

He found her sitting at her desk on this late September evening, still working on grading papers. Hunched over forms, an uncharacteristic hand to her forehead seemingly worried.  

He had come to check up on her as he had taken to doing since she had come back from the dead.  

It was hard for him to be parted from her for more than a couple hours at a time and he knew she felt the same.  

After she had come back and they had fought off Rosalind he had been adamant about not leaving her side, fearing their old mentor could come back to finish the job should he not have his fairy within reaching distance at all times.  

He had clung to her like his life depended on it when she had started breathing again after they had dug her up. Soil and vines of the surrounding flowers still clinging to her.  

He had carried her inside their school and up to her quarters and taken off her clothes, helped her shower and put her to bed, keeping vigil over her until she had woken up again several hours later.  

Her sleep muddled brain still in the throes of a nightmare of being trapped underground had not been able to discern dream state from the real world until he had slid into bed beside her, holding her to him tightly. He had soothed her gently, whispering sweet nothings and reassurances into her ear until she had fallen asleep again.  

Seeing her like this now, agitated him. She looked stressed and almost frail. A look he didn’t like seeing on his fairy at all.  

Looking up from her work upon hearing him enter she gave him a small smile. It was a genuine smile but strained nonetheless making it seem almost fake if he hadn’t known her better.  

Quickly closing the door behind him Saul strutted into the room, a concerned expression marring his features.  

“Farah what is it? Are you alright?” The questions tumbled from his lips without pause as he came to a halt by her side.  

Reaching for her upon coming to a standstill right next to where she was sitting he laid a hand on her shoulder, the other grasping her hand delicately.  

Leaning back a little in her chair the headmistress looked at the forms in front of her again, a big sigh escaping her lips.  

“It’s nothing, really.” Casting a warm glance up at him she closed her eyes for a moment before opening them again. Fixing him with a deep meaningful stare. ”I’m fine.”

Not believing her for a second the soldier stooped down a little and crouched next to her to be more at eye level with her.  

Sliding his hand to the crook of her elbow now he murmured softly, “What is it?”

Shaking her head the woman sighed again before loosening his hold on her hand. Letting her face fall into both of her palms dejectedly she let out another sigh.  

This worried the man greatly and he wound his arm around her back and took hold of her upper arm gently, his fingers encircling her biceps. Angling himself so as to see her more clearly he tried again. “Talk to me love, what’s wrong?” But the fairy just shook her head once more.  

Letting go of her back and arm Saul began to scoot back the chair in a way that she was facing him now and not the desk anymore. He then loosened her hold on her own face as gently as he could taking in her sorrow stricken face and the frown marring her beautiful lips.  

She had her eyes closed as he took in her features.  

Laying his hand on her cheek softly he made her look down at him with the words, “Hey, look at me.”, to which she obliged instantly.  

Her soulful deep brown eyes were pooling with unshed tears and it made his heart stop for a second.  

Taking all his willpower not to bundle her up and flee the realm all together right this second the soldier murmured instead, “Come on now, Farah. You don’t have to pretend with me, you know that. Tell me.”

Biting her lip momentarily she looked at him and whispered, “I’m worried, Saul.”

Now it was his turn to shake his head as he frowned up at her, clearly not understanding.  

Yes, they hadn’t defeated Rosalind completely and she was still out there but they were careful and had doubled their efforts to keep unwelcome guests from passing through the barrier. He had seen to it himself to have guards patrolling the building at all times.

But they also knew how powerful Rosalind really was and that scared the soldier too. More than he would like to admit.  

Standing up tall again he chanced a glance outside the window half expecting to see their tormentor standing at the edge of the training grounds looking up at him mockingly. But of course there was no one there.  

Turning back around to look at the headmistress again he wondered, “Did you see something? Was anything amiss today? Has something happened that made you believe something might be off?” He knew when to trust her instincts, as they had rarely ever been wrong. So he contemplated the possibilities that could have spooked her so while letting his eyes scan the training field again.  

Her voice shook him out of his observations gently.

“No, nothing was amiss. It’s just-…”, her voice trailed off slightly as if unsure how to proceed.  

“I’m just so worried for the children, Saul.”  

This he understood. They were under an extreme amount of pressure caring for all of these lives every single day, keeping them safe and away from harm. He instantly knew where she was coming from with this.  

“I would not be able to look myself in the eyes again if something happened to one of my pupils. I am so afraid she’ll come back and do something terrible to them like she did to us.” Halting as her words grew more shaky with each syllable passing her lips the fairy closed her eyes again in shame.  

Seeing her like this, all worried and frightened made his heart ache in his chest.  

Feeling the need to be close to her again he took the half a step towards her and enclosed her in his embrace.  

Her arms settled around his lower hips snugly and her head came to rest on the spot between his chest and belly. Pressing her face into the material of his jumper the mind fairy breathed in deeply as if for the first time today, treasuring the smell of him.  

Sauls arm snaked around her shoulders and his other hand came to rest on the back of her head where he began to rub soothing circles into her loosely braided hair.  

That was also something that had changed with Rosalinds attempt on her life. It seemed like almost losing her life had made her lose her grasp on this stern persona she had crafted so meticulously over the years of being headmistress.  

Her trademark hairdos pinning the golden brown locks high on top of her head had given to a more delicate style now.  

She had taken to wearing her hair in less strict but no less intricate hairstyles these past few weeks and he liked the look on her. It made her appear softer and slightly more approachable which the students had taken as an open invitation to get closer to her after she had come back.  

Hugs had become a daily occurrence now.  

Students seeking out guidance in the middle of the hall and after a quick chat grabbing her around the middle gently and letting go just as quickly, throwing her a timid smile in thanks and vanishing off to where they needed to go next.  

The first time it happened had been almost comical to say the least but she had taken it in stride and learned to cherish those moments.  

The student body was different now. They appreciated her more with each day passing and each and every single one of the pupils made sure that she was well taken care of at all times throughout the day.  

Be it juice boxes left at her desk before class had even begun or an apple sitting on top of her books intended for the lesson. It could be a muffin waiting for her on her desk in her office or pupils holding doors for her and accompanying her to her next lecture.  

The students made sure to take care of this second chance they had been given with her. Of having their beloved headmistress back.  

It was always rather simple things really. But they were greatly appreciated and didn’t go unnoticed by Saul. He was grateful for all these children being there for her.  

Rubbing at the base of her neck and sinking his hands into her hair more fully now he massaged her scalp gently, all the while being mindful of the few pins holding the strands up.  

He drew her nearer slightly before craning his neck down to whisper to her softly, “We will get through this Farah.”  

He knew it was futile to be making silly and unwarranted promises because he knew some things were just out of his control but he could promise her one thing.  

Letting his arm drag across her back gently and holding her to him tightly he vowed to her, “We will bring an end to this. She has caused us so much misery for way too many years and she will pay for what she has done to you, I promise you that.”

Feeling her nod into his belly and grasping onto his jumper more forcefully now he promised her one last thing.  

“And I will not part from you ever again until my dying breath. This I swear to you.”

He had been given a second chance too, he knew. And he would make damn sure to make this one count.  

He heard her sniffle slightly before pulling away from him a fraction to be able to look up at him. Her eyes shone brightly, tears still clinging to her lashes but her face was clear and open.  

Her hopeful look had him smile in return and lean down to press the softest of kisses to her forehead. Lingering there for just a minute breathing her in, he relished in the feeling of her warm and soft skin.

They stood like this for a while, never relinquishing the hold on the other. For how long they stood there they didn’t know. And it didn’t matter.  

It was Saul who broke away from her first.  

Taking in her sleepy look he held out his hand for her to take and pulled her to her feet slowly but surely.  

“How about something to eat? I’m famished.”

This made the woman giggle, a sound he would never tire of hearing for as long as he lived he was sure.  

“You are always famished Saul.”  

Pulling her around the desk he stopped by the coat hanger and helped her into her jacket, making sure to pull her hair out of her collar as he did so.

“Ah yes, that may be true. And you know what really helps with that? Spaghetti!”

The laughter this pulled from her lips made the specialist practically beam with pride at being able to make her forget the world around them even if only for a little while.  

Pulling her into his side he began leading her out of the room and into the hallway all the while keeping a firm grip on her side.  

To any other person it might’ve seemed possessive the way he was holding her to him but to her it was heaven. She felt safe in his embrace, surrounded by his scent and warmth. His strong arms banding around her, encasing her and holding her close.  

“Is it because it’s the only thing you can actually cook without burning down the kitchen?”

Chuckling at her jest he looked down at her and found her gaze seeking out his, her face glowing with mirth.  

Positively beaming now he gave back, “Maybe? Are you complaining?”

Shaking her head she whispered a soft ‘no’ before letting her head fall to his shoulder gently. A small sigh of contentment accompanied the movement as she let him lead her through the narrow hallways and dark corridors of their beloved Alfea.  

There was nothing they couldn’t get through together she believed that now.  

Always had, really.  

Because they weren’t just ordinary people. They were Farah Dowling and Saul Silva. A fairy and her specialist. A powerful unit and a force to be reckoned with.  

And as long as they were together, they would be fine.  

They would just have to make sure to hold onto each other tightly.  

Nothing easier than that.  

-fin

Thank you so much for reading ☺️ I hope you like it. Be sure to leave a comment to let me know what you think 🥰 kudos is also greatly appreciated ♥️

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