#i’m sure it’s more that it’s unexpected for someone in the far future to be using only candles and not electricity

[demigodofhoolemere]

I love that by the end of Jamie’s run on the show, he’s so acclimated to things of the future that he’s aghast when faced with things that he would have found very normal in his own time.

[hulhudhonado]

your work is fucking amazing.

hey! hi, hello, how are you? :)

may i request wanderer, (scara, whatever his goofy ahh name is rn), alhaitham, ajax and kaeya reacting to reader, who’s usually not a fan of physical affection, coming up to them and snaking an arm around their waists while resting their head into their neck?

thank you!! 🩷

CW: swearing in wanderer's part because I believe he would say fuck

HC: Reader is gender-neutral, Reader does not have a vision.

Characters: Wanderer, Al Haitham, Ajax (Childe), Kaeya [Seperately]

Note: Thank you so much! I apologise for the late upload as I am currently studying. I got some time for myself so here you go. I hope I do this justice. Please make sure to interact with the post and enjoy it!

Al Haitham

Al Haitham tends to be prepared for whatever is to come, however, the sudden feeling of an arm around his waist was not something he thought he would ever need to prepare for. 

Kaveh was finally out of the house, preferably looking for a job rather than complaining about everything Al Haitham did. This also gave Al Haitham the luxury of inviting you over without Kaveh taking your full attention. He wouldn’t say he was jealous, but Kaveh knew how to take care of company far better than he could. It was the one thing that left a sour taste in Al Haitham’s mouth, but he would never let Kaveh know about that.

You both were enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the room, nose shoved in books and lounging in your chairs. It was clear you both had chemistry which didn’t need to involve spoken words or gestures, Al Haitham liked your quiet company and you enjoyed his.

It didn’t take long but he finished his book, a little too fast it seemed because he could still see you weren’t done with yours. Not wanting to bother your reading, he closed the book and stood up to get another one. As he tried to quietly navigate the bookshelf, he didn’t realise your eyes slowly lifting off the pages to look at him.

Al Haitham, back turned, looked through the shelf thoroughly. It was clear he had pretty much read everything else on the shelf. He either had to reread another book or go out to find another one. Didn’t seem like a bad date idea to take you out book shopping with him. However before he could reach a decision, you began your attack.

An arm reached around his waist, followed by a gentle head on his shoulder. Al Haitham tried his best not to flinch but the shock of such an unexpected gesture made him shudder a bit. He turned to look down at you, who had slyly made their way to him without him realizing. You had a gentle smile on your face, happy to catch him off guard.

You both were typically not physical. It wasn’t something Al Haitham was against but it was pretty clear to him that you were not someone who indulged in that sort of affection. So seeing you make the first step was not something Al Haitham had prepared for. He looked back at the bookshelf.

“What are you looking for?” You perked up, trying to stifle a laugh. You knew what you did and you were fishing for a reaction from him. “ A book.” He answered, almost robotically.

“Hmm… I’m certain you read everything on this shelf” You could see the corner of his mouth twitch. It was small but he was reacting, you could feel your ego getting bigger. “Yes, you’re right.” Was all he could muster.

It never occurred to Al Haitham that he would enjoy such proximity to another human being. He tended to avoid any type of physical touch from most people. However, the way you held him just made him feel so warm, especially knowing you would never typically do something like this. He knew he would never recover from this, only wanting more in the future.

“Do you want to go out and get some new books then?” You ask, your head nuzzling closer to his neck. “That would be preferable.” He answered. You let out a chuckle, arm slipping off from him. But before you could pull yourself away, Al Haitham reached out his arm, forcing you to stay in your place, both of you now wrapped in each other’s embrace.

You let out a laugh. “Enjoying this much?” “Can’t say I don’t. “ His response only made you laugh more. “ Well it’s up to you, we could go get new books, or, we could just stay like this. What do you say?” Before Al Haitham could respond, a creek from the door could be heard.

“I’M BACK, OMG YOU WOULDN’T BELIEVE THE THINGS I HAD TO DEAL WITH- Oh you have company.” Kaveh burst in, welcoming you the minute he saw you. Luckily for Al Haitham both of your reflexes were fast enough to pull away before he had seen you guys so close to one another.

Standing in front of the bookshelf, barely an inch apart, you both stood trying to seem as normal as possible. Al Haitham couldn’t believe he was getting embarrassed by almost getting caught by his roommate.

Al Haitham wasn’t prepared for what had happened today but he knew you planned to do more of this in the future. Hopefully, he would be prepared for the next time you did attack, and maybe he should find ways to kick Kaveh out for longer. He definitely did not want Kaveh to walk into whatever you both had planned for the future.

Childe (Ajax)

The closest that Childe has ever been able to touch you was probably during your friendly spars. You loved your distance and tended to keep a lot between the two of you. Even though you both had been together for quite a while it seemed you were not the type to get touchy with others. So Childe himself was amused when you decided to wrap an arm around his waist.

“What’s the occasion?” He asked, trying his best to focus on what was written in front of him. It was like you had calculated it. For once he was at the bank properly reading documents at his office when you decided to pop by. Now here you were slithered next to him, wrapped around him with your head on his shoulder.

He tried not to react, but he honestly wanted to throw away whatever he was reading just to return the favour. It was bold of you to do something like this so suddenly at such a random time. You never came by when he was working, even though he insisted. Paperwork was not fun for him but you were a rule-abiding citizen when you weren’t on a battlefield. He just had to know what was going through your mind for you to do this.

“No particular reason. Just felt like it.” You answered, nonchalantly. Your tone was dull and meek, escaping your throat like a whisper. Your usual fighting spirit was not there and he could sense it the minute you spoke. He finally looked at you and it was clear as day that you were not feeling well. Your hair was dishevelled and your eyebags were very noticeable.

Every single scenario flooded his mind. Was it because of work? Was someone rude to you? What happened to the person who would maniacally laugh whenever they got a scratch on him? He wanted to bombard you with questions but he stopped himself. Maybe it was because he was using his brain at this very moment rather than his instinct to fight, but he knew asking questions was not going to make you feel any better. So he reacted instead.

Shifting the documents to one of his hands, he let the other one wrap around you, engulfing into his side, closing any gaps between the two of you. You only responded by letting him do so, completely enveloping yourself in his arms and him in yours.

“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”He asked, giving you one more chance to answer if you wanted to. “I’m alright. Just let me stay like this for a while.” Even if he was disappointed by your response he wouldn’t show it. Instead, he responded with a hum, not prodding you with any more questions and letting you enjoy the warmth he could provide with the embrace.

So you both stayed together, wrapped in each other's arms while he worked. It didn’t take long for you to fall asleep but that didn’t stop Childe from keeping you by his side. Even in your sleep, your arm refused to let his waist go which did make him chuckle, maybe he could tease about this when you were feeling better.

Honestly, he expected the first time you held him like this to be in a more romantic setting but he was not going to complain about what he was getting. It was already a big step that you decided to come to his side for comfort. Your usual method of letting go of bad feelings was always sparing so it was a nice change of pace.

Maybe next time you do feel bad and need his comfort he will be able to get some words out of you. For now, he’s going to let you do whatever you want, even if it means catching him off guard with an arm around his waist.

Kaeya Alberich

“Cheers for a happy 6 months!” Kaeya chuckled. You both clinked your glasses, giggling tipsy from the alcohol. You both had been dating for half a year now, which was unbelievable in Kaeya’s mind. Kaeya always had a one-sided crush on you ever since you both had done academy training together. Who knew you felt the same? And now here you both were, celebrating together.

Kaeya could see Diluc roll his eyes yet he didn’t care. He knew it was considered cheesy to celebrate every month of a relationship, but you were the type to enjoy such things so he couldn’t say no. He began to love these silly celebrations with you, it felt special.

“You guys do know this isn’t the most romantic place to celebrate right?” Diluc piped up, as he organized the wine shelf behind him. Kaeya stuck out a playful tongue at him before taking a sip, which only made your tipsy self giggle some more.

“Yeah yeah, but it’s the place where we first confessed! It has special memories, you should be glad your tavern can create such happy moments.” You say, words a bit slurred but still understandable.

As you spoke you could hear the other tavern people cheer, which only made you cheer along. Kaeya could only stare at how stunning you looked at this moment. He still couldn’t wrap his head around the fact he was dating such a wonderful individual.

Diluc sighed, preparing you both another glass. He slid the glasses over. “Here then, for a successful 6 months.” He mumbled, rolling his eyes as you and Kaeya once again cheered.

Kaeya took the glass without hesitation, ready to down it in an instant, but he wasn’t prepared for what you had planned. An arm wrapped around his waist, pulling him and his chair closer to you. Kaeya had already begun to drink but the sudden action caused him to choke on it.

He coughed so much, that the drink spit out of his mouth. Diluc looked in disgust while you only could worry. “Are you alright?” You ask concerned, but Kaeya couldn’t hear anything. It was unbelievable, you had wrapped your arm around his waist! You both have never been this close before!

You tended to always stay in your own space and Kaeya wasn’t going to push it, especially since you guys were still freshly dating in his mind. He wasn’t going to risk ruining a relationship he dreamt of for years. Maybe it was the alcohol but it seemed that you had the confidence to pull such a sneaky trick.

“I’m fine i’m fine. It went down the wrong pipe for a second.” He tried to laugh it off, wheezing between sentences. He hoped you didn’t notice his panic, he didn’t want you taking your arms off him anytime soon. You smiled at himy placing your head on his shoulders which only made his head spin more.

Diluc looked at Kaeya in amusement. He got front-row seats to see his brother who was typically cocky completely speechless. Kaeya looked as a devilish smile crept up on Diluc’s face. “You know, it really is such a special day. Here, more drinks. On the house.” He slid you both more drinks. Kaeya could only stare in disbelief as you continued to chug them down like nothing.

“You’re being kind today Diluc! Thank you!” You gleefully exclaimed, setting the glass down and wrapping another arm around Kaeya. Your head that was on his neck pushed closer, and Kaeya could feel your hot breath on his neck, which only made him feel hotter.

The alcohol wasn’t helping, he could feel the dizziness get more intense as you pushed yourself closer to him. He was certain you were going to melt and mould him into slime with all the heat he was accumulating.

He could see Diluc prepare another drink, a sly smile still on his face. If this was how you acted tipsy he wasn’t ready to face you when you were a complete drunk. He stood up from the chair, pushing the glasses away from you which only rewarded him with a whine.

“we had enough for tonight. I’ll take you home.” You pouted but mumbled an OK, standing up yourself. However, you refused to let go of his waist, forcing him to stay close to you at all times. He tried to control his shyness but it was hard when you were so close.

“Hope you both enjoy the rest of your anniversary!” Diluc called out, a smile on his face as Kaeya glared, guiding you out of the tavern. He hoped the next time you decided to pull a stunt like this, you both weren’t as drunk anymore.

He also planned on never having anniversary celebrations at the Angel Share ever again. Or at least not on Diluc’s shift. He wasn’t ready for what other PDA you had in store, knowing Diluc would fan the flames to embarrass him. Maybe next time you guys can go drinking at each other’s houses instead. You’ll have to see on your seventh anniversary.

Wanderer

“What the fuck?” That was the first words that came out of his mouth when you decided to wrap an arm around his waist, placing your head on his shoulder. 

“Shut up I’m trying to rest here.” You mumble, closing your eyes, enjoying the icy sensation from his porcelain-like skin. The Sumeru desert was hot, unbearably hot. You didn’t want to come here but when you’re working in the Akademiya you didn’t have a choice in what you had to do to progress your research.

Lucky for you, you were accompanied by a walking ice pack. It was a shame his attitude wasn’t as cool as he was.

“No, I won’t, get off me.” He hissed, trying to push you off himself. You just rolled your eyes, gripping him a bit tighter. You knew he could easily toss you aside if he wanted to get you off. He had a vision that allowed him to blow you away in an instant, so him being so meek was an act.

“Yeah yeah, good luck with getting me off, i’m quite persistent.” You continue to mumble, pushing your head into the crevice of his neck. Wanderer had a very peculiar scent. A mixture of grass and freshly picked kalpalata lotus. It was such an odd smell but you honestly have got a bit addicted to it. It also helped his frosty exterior enhance it. Either way, the smell felt clean and cool, a refreshing scent during such hot weather.

You could hear him scoff, the sound ringing in your ears a bit since you were so close. You were close enough if you just turned your head you could peck him on the lips, you would have done so if you weren’t so tuckered out.

“Whatever, I’ll let you off this time. I won’t let you pull this shit next time.” You could only chuckle. This wasn’t the first time he tried to threaten you. To be honest he seemed to dull down a lot more compared to everything that happened before. You both weren't usually touchy, actually, you were not touchy at all, so whenever when you do shit like this it always ticked him off. You were honestly surprised he hadn’t gone into a swearing fit like when you first held his hand. It was almost as if he was slowly getting used to your touch, which you didn’t mind.

However today you were just out of it, too tired to mess around with him or worry about touch. The shade of the cave you both sat under accompanied by his cool refreshing self attached to your side made you drowsy. You could feel your brain finally go into shut-down mode.

“Hey, don’t you dare go to sleep… ” You would think he was trying to stop you from falling asleep but his intentions were clear when you could hear how softly he whispered those words to you. You could feel his arm, which was nowhere to be seen until now, finally, wrap around you from the side. 

“If you fall asleep I’m going to leave you here to fend for yourself…” He continued to whisper. It almost sounded like a lullaby but you knew the sun would be rising from the west if that was the case. “Yeah yeah, at least bury me in the sand before you do.” That was the final words you said before you finally got knocked out.

- - -

To no one’s surprise when you did wake up, he was still at your side. Both of you were unmoved from the original position from when you had fallen asleep. The only difference was that the sun had set and the stars littered the sky.

“Good morning to you.” He grumbled which you answered with a yawn. “ What happened to leaving me alone to fend for myself?” You asked, trying to let go but as he remained unmoved you could not.

You huffed, trying to push him off but he finally decided to use his given strength to make sure you couldn’t. He didn’t turn to look at you, instead focused on the sky. You sighed, giving up and following his gaze up to the sky. Was the sky always full of that many stars?

“I changed my mind.”

[mithrilhearts]

BODYGUARD AU ↳ GOLDEN HEARTS BLEED FASTER

Summary: Bilbo Baggins, Prince of the Shire, has been left with a kingdom on his back and a ring in his hand after the unexpected death of his parents. Bodyguard Thorin Oakenshield has been brought in to see to the prince’s safety, and do a little investigating of his own on the matter in hopes of coming face to face with the one who turned his mountain, and his life, upside down a few years prior.

If you want to see this fic in the future, be sure to like, reblog, and/or comment!

How many times now had Bilbo warded off the waves of sympathies and condolences? It was all the same from each person, just a different face and voice conveying the genuinely kind words. He didn’t want to hear it anymore.

While his eyes had remained dry and his emotions in check, the day surrounding him had been anything but. The outside drizzle and gloomy clouds had set a damn near perfect tone for a funeral, and yet Bilbo never once seemed to fit the backdrop, aside from maybe his attire. The dark fitting garb that was quickly being shed at this exact moment once the funeral had come to a close, and he was escorted back to the palace entryway.

“I’m fine,” Bilbo protested once more, and this time with more force to his voice than he liked. “You don’t need to worry about me, I can take care of myself. I don’t see why everyone is making such a fuss about all of this.” Gandalf wasn’t the first person nipping at his heels in regard to his safety, or his behavior, but he was the one who had stuck around the longest.

“Belladonna and Bungo Baggins’ death is nothing to take lightly, Bilbo,” Gandalf chided, his brows furrowing and the lines on his face seeming extra deep with his displeasure. “You will do well to remember that.”

“I’m not making light, but I’m also not going to obsess over something that’s not there. It was ruled an accident, and that’s what I choose to believe,” Bilbo huffed while sliding out of his suit jacket and shaking off the rain water. He knew Gandalf meant well, after all, he had been one of the closest friends this family had. Naturally he would keep an eye out for the head of the Baggins household, and next in line for the throne. “Everything will be fine. If…a little quiet.”

“Insist all you like, but I am still under the impression that you need someone to watch over you–” holding up a hand to silence the younger man before he ever protested again, Gandalf cleared his throat and began to backpedal towards the doorway. “I’ve already taken the liberty of making some arrangements. Your parents wanted me to look out for you, and I can’t be here every waking moment to ensure you don’t do something silly.”

Watching with disinterest as Gandalf waved his hand to beckon someone forward, Bilbo quirked a brow and folded his arms, tapping his foot in annoyance. “So what, you hired me a babysitter? I’m an adult, and besides, this place already has security out the ass. What’s so special about–” The words clogged Bilbo’s throat, and his jaw snapped firmly shut as a suit-clad man with the bluest eyes he’d ever seen stepped in. There wasn’t an ounce of emotion on his face as he stood next to Gandalf with his hands behind his back. Bilbo just took a moment to let it all soak in as his own stance seemed to relax.

“Humor an old man, Bilbo, and let him watch over you for a time. I would be beside myself if something happened to you,” Gandalf pleaded with a pained smile gracing his lips, stepping aside to usher Bilbo forward–not that the young prince needed any direction.

“I mean, what’s the harm?” Bilbo shrugged as he had stepped forward, leaning on his toes before beginning to slowly circle the taller man whose eyes had locked onto him at some point. “If only to humor an old man, of course.” Letting his eyes rove over that suit and every inch the seams hugged, there was something delightfully delicious in this arrangement Gandalf was making, wasn’t there? “So, this is my bodyguard, then?”

“Far better than a glorified babysitter, I assure you.”

Humming and nodding in agreement with Gandalf’s words, Bilbo finally came to a halt in front of Mister Blue-Eyes, tilting his head and tapping at the side of his chin in thought with one more drop of his gaze as a smirk crawled across his lips. “I like what I see.” Meeting those blue eyes, there was something undeniably furious within them, just as there was a soft dusting of rose across the other’s cheekbones. It didn’t negate the danger in those blues, and Bilbo had an itch to play with a little fire today.

Okay, maybe Gandalf’s worries about silly behavior weren’t completely unwarranted.

Gandalf chuckled, bringing no attention to Bilbo’s current behavior in ogling his newfound source of safety. “He is experienced in this line of work, and can probably teach you a thing or two about what to expect once you’re crowned.”

“And does he have a name? Or speak, for that matter? Or is this one of those ‘pretend he’s not there’ cases, much like a shadow?” Reaching a hand up to straighten out the other’s tie, a hand quickly grasped at Bilbo’s wrist, and tightly. “I have a feeling you bite.”

“Thorin,” came the hissed word from between the teeth of one Thorin Oakenshield as he shoved Bilbo’s hand away. “And it’ll be in your best interest to keep your hands to yourself, Mister Baggins.”

“Not very polite, is he?” Bilbo snorted, rubbing at his wrist and taking a step back to give this Thorin some space. “You can take it easy, Killer, I’m just teasing you.”

“I’m sure you’ll find him suitable company, don’t worry.” Gandalf’s eyes locked with Thorin’s with a bit of a plea in them, and much to his relief, Thorin’s shoulders relaxed a little. “Mister Oakenshield here is your protection, and I advise you treat him as such.”

“Of course, you wouldn’t set me up with a deadbeat plaything, after all.” Bowing his head slightly, and putting on a little more decorum, Bilbo simply smiled, pushing up the glasses on his nose once he rose back. “I look forward to getting to know you, Mister Oakenshield. Would you like a tour of the place?”

“Not really–”

“Give us a moment, Bilbo, and then I’m sure Thorin would love the tour.” Grinning, Gandalf gave the universal shoo motion towards the prince in the room, who reluctantly shoved his hands in his pockets and began to drift to the farthest side of the entryway.

“You can’t honestly expect me to deal with this, Gandalf?” Thorin hissed under his breath, finally moving from his once stationary position to keep the conversation between him and the one who had brought him here. “I will not bend to the likes of him.”

“That–that was not the intent, Thorin, this is strictly business–”

“I meant business!” A more potent shade of red took over Thorin’s cheeks as he dared to cast a glance over his shoulder to the curly haired prince who was twirling some sort of gold band between his fingers aimlessly. “Surely this has to be a mistake?”

“Belladonna and Bungo Baggins’ deaths were no accident, I am sure of it. I fear for him, Thorin, someone went through an awful lot of trouble to put him in this situation. I have theories…and if they are correct, this is one you will want to be a part of,” Gandalf assured lowly, clapping Thorin on the shoulder. “You know as well as I do that precious treasure can make a man do unthinkable things.”

This caused Thorin to pause, his eyes dropping and a falter in his stance as he shifted uncomfortably. The wheels in his head were grinding in agitation, but also in memory of what he himself had witnessed in his years. “Do you truly think he is involved?” The one that Thorin had been after for years now, but never gotten a chance to come face to face with.

“I do. This wouldn’t be the first royal family he’s laid waste to, would it? I owe not only the Baggins family to figure this out, but to yo–”

“Fine. I’ll deal with it, for now,” Thorin interrupted.

“Give it some time, I promise he isn’t nearly as impish once you get to know him. His mother was once a fierce young thing too.” Gazing over at Bilbo and sporting a more cheerful expression, Gandalf gave Thorin’s shoulder a gentle nudge. “You two get acquainted, I am going to step outside for a quick call and will rejoin you later. And Thorin?” Dropping his tone low for the retreating Oakenshield to hear only, Gandalf’s chipper demeanor washed away as quickly as it had come. “Let’s keep the details of this between us for now.”

Nodding in understanding, Thorin braced himself as he stepped up to the young royal–perhaps only a few years his junior–who was waiting for his company in what looked like anticipation. “Mister Baggins.”

“Come, I’ll show you around, and we’ll find you a place to stay for when you don’t have your eyes glued to me at all hours of the day.” A cheeky grin spread across Bilbo’s lips as he nudged his elbow into Thorin’s. “Unless you want to keep your eyes on me at night–” a flash of Thorin’s fierce glare had Bilbo raising his hands in surrender. “Just teasing, remember.” Bilbo’s sing-song voice sounded off teasingly. Or was he? Definitely not. If it kept Thorin from snapping his jaw like a rabid dog in his direction, then Bilbo could insist he was just teasing until his parents crawled out of their respective graves.

This was going to be fun, Bilbo could tell already. Normally he was used to getting his way, what with his status and all as Prince of the Shire, but this suited man seemed unmoved, though not completely unaffected. That was the fun part, witnessing the discomfort and the flushing beneath his scrutiny. But if it helped soothe a few of Gandalf’s frayed nerves in the process as well…what was the harm? It’d been a long time since someone new graced Bag End’s palace walls and given Bilbo something else to focus on.

Something that wasn’t wrapped around the tragedy that was the deaths of his parents and the precious treasure they left behind.

[nightmarerodent]

Expecting the Unexpected (part 1? IDK)

A Jakeda one shot that’s no longer a one shot because it got a bit out of hand (as they tend to do)

Jacqui’s heart dropped to her stomach and lodged itself in her throat all at once when she was read the results from the doctor. Positive. Without a shadow of a doubt. The test she took at home wasn’t a fluke. She was pregnant. She was undeniably pregnant. What the hell was she going to tell Takeda?

They were carful. Usually. As careful as two people that rarely got any alone time could be, married or otherwise. Her father was still pissed about that. He never got behind the idea that her and Takeda were going to be a forever thing. He hated that he, and by extension now her as well, was a Shirai Ryu, and Scorpion’s adopted son no less. News that she was now knocked up might just put her dad over the edge enough for him to finally make good on his promises and actually kill the poor boy. It was not a conversation she was looking forward to. At all.

She went home that day in a daze, mind a million miles away from her body. At least she had the wherewithal to go to a clinic in town and not the hospital on base. This way news wouldn’t spread as quickly. If people were going to find out, she wanted it to be on her terms. And putting off the lecture Auntie Sonya was undoubtedly going to give them would be nice too.

Cassie was the first to find out. Takeda was still gone, out on some mission for the clan, and probably wouldn’t be back for the next few days. She was bursting to tell someone, to get advice or reassurance, something, and Cassie knew something was wrong with her best friend. She’s noticed Jacqui behaving strangely; she was more tired and had excused herself more than once to use the bathroom, only to be found vomiting a few moments later. So Cassie showing up at her on base housing with take out and a worried look after Jacqui’s visit to the doctor was unsurprising. Nor was her reaction.

“Pregnant!?” Cassie was out of her chair in an instant, “Are you sure? For how long? Does Tak know?”

“No. I only found out yesterday. And I’m only seven weeks along.” Jacqui told her.

“Am I the first you’ve told? Aw, JB.” Cassie moved to hug her and Jacqui gratefully accepted.

A small weight felt like it lifted off Jacqui and it was enough for what strength she tried to carry since receiving the news to finally break. Tears welled up in her eyes and she began to tremble.

“What am I going to do? This wasn’t part of the plan. Not yet. I’m going to be discharged. My career is over.” Jacqui sobbed.

“Hey, no it’s not. Briggs’s don’t quit,” Cassie reassured her, “You’re the smartest, most badass, most determined person in SF and you’re going to have the smartest most badass baby to ever grace Earthrealm. If the brass has a problem with that then they can kiss my glowing green fist.”

“I can’t defend Earthrealm and have a baby, Cass. They’re going to kick me out. It’s protocol.”

“Says who? Have you forgotten who runs this place? I mean, I wasn’t planned and I sure as hell didn’t stop my mom from pursuing her career.” Cassie pulled back on the hug so she could look her friend in the eye but still held her close.

“Auntie was way further along in her career than I am. She was a commander when she had you, I’m just another Sargent.”

“That’s married to the second in command of one of our most important allies. No one if firing you without pissing off Hanzo. Or me. Or Tak, but most importantly me. Trust me, we got you. You’re not going anywhere. I promise.”

Jacqui wanted to believe her. She really, truly did, but the fear was overwhelming. This whole situation was overwhelming. She didn’t even know if she wanted to be a mom. She was open to the idea. Her and Takeda have talked about it, sure, but always as some vague eventuality, off in the far distance that was some undefined future. A wishful daydream of peaceful times not filled with oni from the netherrealm or some new nightmare crawling out of god knows where in Out World. Now it was being thrown into her face in a time of such uncertainty. And Takeda wasn’t here.

But he will be, she reminded herself. He will be back in a few days and they’ll figure this out together. Always together. That was their promise. And Takeda never breaks a promise.

“You’re going to be an amazing mother,” Cassie believed every word she said with her whole being, “And Takeda is going to be the greatest dad. He already has the humor of one.”

That actually got a chuckle out of her, “His jokes are so bad but he looks so happy when he tells them.”

Over the next few days Cassie kept her promise and didn’t tell a single soul what she knew. She covered for Jacqui too, claiming a stomach bug that Jacqui was too stubborn to acknowledge whenever she was caught throwing up. Cass was always ready with a convincing lie and had the acting chops to pull it off too. She was a Cage after all.

Jin at one point commented that she looked terrible, causing Jacqui to start crying uncharacteristically, blabbering that she felt gross, freaking him out. He immediately started apologizing, saying that she looked fine, it was a joke, she was supposed to snap at him and they’d have their witty back and forth and then she’d punch him like always. It was their thing. She just cried more. She didn’t want to punch him. She never wanted to punch him. He was her friend and she was always so mean to him and she was sorry. This only freaked him out more. He just bear hugged her and desperately looked around for Cassie because this was not his department. He had no clue what to do with a crying Briggs or what was causing it. Was she possessed? Did she need medical attention? Chocolate? A cat? Where was Takeda when you needed him? What was happening? Eventually Cassie showed up and got Jacqui to calm down back to normal but Kung Jin was thoroughly freaked out by that point and refrained from being his usual sarcastic self for the remainder of the day.

All the while, Cassie kept an ear out for news about Takeda’s return. She was hell bent and determined to have Jacqui be the first thing he sees when he exists the transport or portal. When she finally received word after a few days that he’d be returning within the hour, she booked to tell Jacqui. She’s never run so fast in her life.

The second Takeda stepped out of the portal he was hit with the force that was his wife barreling into him and wrapping him into a desperate hug. One he was equally as desperate to return. Before he could even breathe so much as a word, she had already grabbed his face and pulled him into a forceful kiss. He wasn’t complaining. He chuckled as they pulled away from each other, jokingly asking if she missed him, only for the smile to drop and worry to set in as he noticed her nervous smile and wet eyes.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Did something happen?” He asked.

“Only good things,” she told him, “I just- I really missed you.”

As soon as they were alone back at home she told him. A whole mix of emotions flew across his face in a matter of seconds. Shock, disbelief, confusion, fear, joy. He finally settled on ecstatic as he hugged her tight, laughing, and asking her a whole slew of questions. She was relieved he took it so well, though she wondered why she had thought any different. He was always the one that brought the topic up, even if it was just as a hypothetical. He wanted kids. He never said it in as many words or so directly, but it was clear to her it was a thing he desired. His infectious joy was evidence of that.

They celebrated the way couples that were young and in love do, Takeda becoming completely unable to keep his hands to himself for more than a fraction of a second and her being more than willing to receive any and all affection he was able to give. By the end of the night they were curled up together, his arms wrapped around her and a hand pressed gently against her stomach where their future was growing, peppering her with kisses and muttering sweet nothings.

Uncertainty still hung in the air. How they were going to make this work. How they were going to tell people. What their positions as Earthrealm’s defenders would look like now. How and where they were going to raise the child. If they were even fit to be parents in the first place. All conversations they were going to have to have sooner rather than later. But, for now, for a moment, they were allowed to be happy and unashamed. Opinions and outsiders be damned.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

LMAOOO nah dw abt embarrassing me it must be done….Id rather you see it than have me send it to someone who doesn’t match my freak and have them think im insane

Omg Karasu in the lead?? Guys…….Mira you’ve fr cultivated Karasu nation LMAOO but no you’re so right I remember seeing a poll awhile ago from someone and ofc there were the fan faves like Nagi Reo Kaiser as options and I was shocked to see Karasu there?? Ofc he was dead last in the results but not unexpected ig….also BAROU THIRD GUYS!!!! Barouism rising too??

No seriously Isagi would be sooo cooked if Nagi wasn’t there….trust I know that Nagi goal in u20 is gonna make him skyrocket I’m imagining all the edits to it now LMAO

It’s just the miraverse of content….new genre it’s called “would Mira watch this?” The parallels do go hard though I wasn’t expecting to find so many LOL

HAAHA SHIDOU lowk that’d be really funny….imagine like a 200k wc fic of Shidou shenanigans and sus quotes

Maybe I’ve been too desensitized because when you said too extreme I was expecting a lot more violence LMAO you got the perfect amount though I think when you said extreme I was thinking of Shidou level oops

NO FR?? Like he’s not gonna ever take the top spot but lowk I’ve grown to appreciate him….youre so right though LOLL closeted sweetheart >>> closeted asshole bro wait the grape candy scene was so cute I forgot to mention….its so funny how he kinda just gives it to her without saying anything about it like how people would do secret deals or something but no it’s just grape candy LMAOOO

THREE bro….the aura is crazy…to the dude who wanted your insta you should’ve been like “if you buy me a $50 cupcake I’ll give it to you” /j lowk investing in a bodyguard does not sound like a bad idea tho

OOOOOOH very excited for everything….also the whole masterlist layout for the oaeu>>>>>>>> the visuals look so CLEAN omg but guys look it’s aiku on Mira’s blog!!!! I saw the poll and have not touched it like wdym I’m supposed to choose???? Let’s see if I can be decisive for once but just know I was debating between tabieitaken and barou….speaking of im kinda curious to see which idea of mine will spark inspiration first LMAO take ur time tho im being so well fed with everything in the lineup so far

Im also laughing missing the cutoff is so funny to me because (unless I didn’t read something) it’s like if you didn’t safely get something in before the impending arrival of aiku you’re in for the long ride LMAOOOO

Ok actually real time update I just put them into a random generator to pick and voted LOL because there’s no way I’m deciding in time but I needed to show some opinion somehow….ok but anyways the main point I came back for was why is Nagi tied with your vote tracking option LMFAOOOOO I’m ngl I’ve never set up a poll here what’s the purpose of that…I just know that people aren’t supposed to pick it but I’m crying why does it have more votes than otoya and yuki

- Karasu anon

HAHA okay that is fair i will def keep you posted on any future typos 🤩 honestly they add to the experience though i mean what is a translator without occasional goofs (/j but also as someone who read a 1.5 million word novel translated online from korean #orv i am very used to wading through odd phrasing to get to the heart of a story so ngl sometimes my mind just skips over typos entirely and i don’t even notice)

unfortunately karasu nation has fallen…he’s in second now (w barou as a very close third) because SAE ITOSHI has a healthy lead 😭 honestly it was expected that man just has too many fans 😓 and most of the other characters on there aren’t AS popular (i’m sure there would’ve been more of a split if rin kaiser or isagi were included but honestly none of them were screaming oaeu to me…sae is kinda in the same category as them for me but he had strong oaeu potential hence why he’s included despite not being a miraverse all star like nagi karasu and barou)

I AM SOOO HYPE FOR THE EDITS PLSSS karasu and otoya edits from third selection?? nagi edits from the u20 game?? BAROU EDITS FROM THE U20 GAME 🤤⁉️ AHHH it’s going to be so good i just know those editors are going to cook up so many delicious concepts i’m actually hype (barely one more month we’re so close!!) and LMAOO no literally iirc nagi scored like four of the five goals against barou and naruhaya or something like if he hadn’t done that isagi would’ve had the naruhaya treatment and been out for good 😭 tik tok fans forgetting who the og goat of bllk was 😢 okay but honestly that’s why i love having nagi AND barou as my favs because one or the other is always up!! truly no losing there (and bllk bros automatically respect anyone who loves barou because most of them are barou glazers as if barou is ANYTHING like them 😒)

i guess part of it is also probably just kaneshiro using typical character archetypes too?? like girly dude white haired dude flirty dude etc etc the nagi dragon art was insane work though like what was the reason for that except to cater to us specifically

nah because yk i’d cook even for shidou 😭 but he would not be my first choice (or my second, or third, so on and so forth) HAHA he’s just a bit too chaotic plus like we’ve mentioned i don’t really find him too attractive even though ik some people do?? LMAOO omg idt i could ever write a character as violent as him especially not kiyora…like he’s chill for the most part just not hesitant to punch someone if needed i guess is how i interpreted it?? whereas shidou would just do it for funsies

I HAD FUN WRITING THE GRAPE CANDY SCENE IT JUST FELT SO HIM like the way he gives her a piece after she successfully swallows a pill as if she’s a dog or smth it’s just so innocent 😭 meanwhile reader is like “wow our tongues will match 😏” FBXJFKDS and him writing his number on the empty box so he doesn’t have to throw it away OR actually give her his number in person for fear of rejection…kiyora my underrated goat fr 🥹

JFNFJDDJSJ PLSSS just drop a quick “erm have i known you since you were four years old?? yeah i didn’t THINK so!!” and move on…i fear writing has made my standards very high hence why i’ve never been in a relationship but you’ll never catch me settling fr 🥱 if they’re not like bfb karasu or peregrine nagi or white butterfly hiori I DON’T WANT THEM 🤣 or ig someone like seabird sae would work too HAHA i’ll sacrifice the pining for a man w money and a sense of humor 🤩

OMG YAYYY I’M GLAD YOU LIKE IT i was inspired by those dollar store self help books as well as rom com movie covers when i was making it and i think it turned out well!! and then i saw one of the graphics accounts i follow had posted the green and purple hearts divider and i was like holy shit this is PERFECT it matches so so well w his entire aesthetic…also peep oliver and aiku being diff colors like his heterchromia 😮 LMAOO genuinely this is probably aiku’s first appearance on my blog (besides his cameo in the last part of fwtkac) but ahhh i’m trying to figure out which req to do next myself!! i have a few to choose from so there’s def a bit of variety…i’m thinking of your requests i’ll probably do chigiri?? because barou is part of the oaeu and idk if i feel connected enough to bachira to write for him yet 🙂‍↕️

NFJDBXSNK no because that’s literally what it is…after the gagamaru req my inbox was pretty stagnant in terms of new reqs so i was like ok let me just get these ones cleared out and then i’ll go back to posting my own things again as well 😭 literally the two hiori requests are from my 500 follower event so from back in JUNE like i need to wrap these up and post them 😭 but idm making the newer ones wait like they can go on the crazy oaeu ride w all of us in the meantime 😩

OMG WHO DID YOU END UP VOTING FOR (unless you want to keep it a secret because if so i understand 🫡) also omg that annoys me sm like fr a pet peeve…basically no one can see the results of a poll until they vote but that includes the creator of the poll?? so if you don’t want to skew the results you just make another option so you can keep track of the poll while it’s still open 🤩 but i absolutely HATE when people pick that option like are you seriously that desperate to know the answer that you pick the option that literally says it’s only for me?? it doesn’t matter what you put people will vote on it but it’s so annoying ughhhh i can’t stop putting it because i’m nosy and like to know what’s going on with the poll in real time but it fr irritates me that people pick it like literally just choose a random option if it’s that deep 😒 i think part of what annoys me is like it so clearly says don’t pick it…and then people still pick it…like were you all dropped on the heads as children or smth…ANYWAYS sorry i feel like i’m so chill normally but there’s random things that genuinely make me crash out for no reason 😭 ALSO POOR YUKI AND OTOYA they’re still behind the FOR MIRA ONLY OPTION (me rn: 🤬���) atp i’m not going to do polls anymore…like damn sorry i tried to get you all involved why are you being stupid and illiterate rn

actually tbh it’s not that deep idk why it enrages me sm 😰 but uhhh i fear it does for some reason

[gingersnappe-9]

In a Crowd of Thousands: Beskar vs. the Dark Saber (16)

Din Djarin/Mando X Fem!OC || Star Wars/The Mandalorian Universe

Series List || #star wars anastasia || PREVIOUS || NEXT

5.4 K words

Warning: canon violence (lethal weapons use), near death experience(s)

A/N: chapter banner art by @followwhereshegoes​ & myself

The plan was to announce her reunion to Leia and reaffirm their family’s legacy of fighting for the greater good of the galaxy. 

Ava tried convincing herself that it was for the best. No, that it was her rightful place to be by her sister’s side fighting the good fight with the Rebellion and serving as a diplomatic attache to underprivileged reaches of the galaxy. It’s what they talked about at least, but the more Ava experienced it, the stuffier she rediscovered it all was. She recalled how much she disliked wearing dresses that she could potentially trip over and fall on her face in front of some important foreign dignitary – she actually remembered doing that once when she was younger – She had forgotten how most of the individuals in law and diplomacy were decades older than her and never quite appreciated her humor. Ava accidently scandalized a maid when she dropped a book on her toe while practicing her walk – like he did back on the Crest – and swore like a spice runner. 

Try as she might, Ava was just having a far more difficult time fitting in to her birthright. She’d watch the maids flit around and coo about the fine jewelry and dresses she and Leia would be wearing to the event. She had to agree though, the gowns and finery were stunning. The material felt like starlight across Ava’s fingertips. The bright colored gemstones of her necklace were as red as sand stone. A pair of crowns, however, remained in their storage boxes. Leia suggested they hold off on donning their headdresses until they arrived at the venue. 

“They’re gorgeous but I’ve knocked mine off my head getting out of a cruiser or two.” The sisters shared a good laugh. Ava wasn’t sure what being a “someone” should feel like but only deep down in her subconscious did she consider that she really only needed simple things… perhaps a simple person. 

Sooner, rather than later, everyone was dressed and being ushered into sleek, black cruisers. Leia and her secretary or personal assistant immediately began chatting about her schedule and future events. They didn’t seem to need her attention so Ava allowed herself to gaze out the tinted windows and onto the passing by cityscape. The light had already begun to bleed from the sky as dusk settled over Canto Bight. The lights streaked by not unlike the stars at lightspeed, though they paled in comparison.

They arrived at the Starfield Legacy Center far earlier than even the ravenous reporters who were always far more interested in capturing the glitzy regalia or a moment of weakness between a supposedly madly in love couple. Ava and Leia calmly walked through a side entrance with grand capes covering their ensembles with ushers following closely on foot with the crowns, locked away in protective boxes. One of the event coordinators brought them up to a secluded room where they could freshen up and wait in privacy before the speeches and press rounds. Ava sat down quietly on a plush chair tucket into the corner. She fiddled with her opera length gloves to keep herself from messing up her hair or makeup or her dress. She watched as Leia moved through the motions with ease. How her sister handled unexpected questions with ease and firm command. Leia was a natural born leader and Ava adored watching her in her element. If Ava had been left to her own devices, she would’ve shown up with a smear of grease on her cheek, a pair of work coveralls all rumpled and disheveled only to say, “Hi, I’m her. So, yeah that’s it”. 

Lost in thought, Ava didn’t even notice that Leia had approached her with one of the large lock boxes balanced in her arms. She had already placed her silver crown neatly on her head. It resembled a solid halo that sat across the center of her head with five slender peaks jutting out. Alderaanian jewelry was rather simple, but in its simplicity they were always striking. The necklace – small squares of Alderaanian silver linked by delicate jump rings – was a piece that their mother wore often. The necklace must’ve been stored off-world at an embassy for it to have been saved from the destruction of Alderaan.  

“I believe it is time.” 

Ava stood up slowly as Leia rested the box on the nearby side table. When the cover was lifted, the light in the room seemed to shift to a golden hour. The halo-shaped crown was fitted to her scalp with a tapered point resting just below the center of her hairline. Teardrop shaped pearls rested across her forehead. The thin bands that reached out were like rays of the sun with even more pearls inlaid in between. Ava let herself adjust to the weight of it, glad that Leia suggested she hold off wearing it until necessary. There was music beginning to play from the hall, though muffled it signaled the evening was beginning. 

The two of them walked over to a large full-length mirror on the other side of the room. They looked very much like the sun and moon – Ava in her striking gold crown, cream colored dress with a deep green sash; and Leia in her midnight purple gown, silver jewelry, and similar sash made of a maroon satin – Their father used to call them his sun and moon. Leia placed a hand on each of Ava’s shoulders and allowed her cheek to rest on her sister. They stood there taking in the sight of one another. Taking in the other’s presence and the reality that against all odds they were together again. Family. 

Leia squeezed Ava’s shoulders and took a step back. “You look so much like her.” 

“Who?” Ava responded quietly. 

Leia only smiled. “Mama. You have her presence.” 

The younger of the two sisters smiled right back. “You remind me of Papa. You’re always so sure, and just as fair.” 

“You’ve done well, you know,” Leia spoke calmly, “I know none of this has been easy. But you’ve done really well with handling everything that’s come your way.” 

“The journey was interesting to say the least.” Ava quipped. 

The two of them stood silently together for a moment more. But only a moment before Leia took Ava’s hands and helped her slip her gloves on. For some reason, when she focused on the gloves, she thought of Mando and how his gloves slipped on and off his hands. 

Leia half smiled. “But I can't help but wonder if it’s what you really want.” 

Ava pulled her hands back while Leia regally collapsed hers together. “What does that mean?” 

“I just mean… You were born into this world. It was your destiny from birth to wear that crown and carry on the legacy of house Organa as much as it is mine to carry on the Organa and Skywalker legacy,” Her voice never waivered, never accusatory or disappointed, just very truthful, “But I can’t help but feel that it might not be meant for you after all.”

The pair of them stood in the room alone in silence for a moment after Leia finished. Ava had similar thoughts float into her mind but she’d always dismissed them as trivial since everything the Mandalorians had told her was a lie to get her sister’s money. “Whatever happened, happened. I can’t change it and I will not go back to it.” 

Leia gave her a look only older sisters could make. “He must have been special then for you to be digging your heels like a ton-ton.” 

After she had to throw back a lighthearted grimace at being called a ton-ton, Ava didn’t know what to feel. No, she knew exactly how she should feel. It was a lie for money. A cash grab. Nothing more, nothing less. Ava knew Leia could sense her feelings so there was no point delaying the obvious. 

“They did what bounty hunters do. They delivered their quarry and now they’re probably halfway to a new sector by now.” She said with more sorrow than intended. It hurt to put power into her fears. Out of the corner of Ava’s eye, she caught her sister with a somewhat hesitant look. “What?” Leia’s face shifted rather quickly to one with a soft, knowing smile. 

“Aurie, he didn’t take the money. And I can’t imagine their withholding information makes you feel better, but for what it’s worth, they brought you back to me. But this is the life that I have chosen for myself. I supposed, now, it’s your turn to choose.” 

Leia let go of Ava’s hands and began to walk towards the door and didn’t turn back to see if her sister was following until she opened the door. When Leia turned back, she truly looked like their mother. Though Ava knew the two weren’t blood related, it was in the way Leia carried herself. Her poise, the way she tilted her head and said, “Ava, Aurelia, it makes no difference to me. You are mine and Luke’s sister. We will always love you.” And then she calmly walked out into the world Ava was uncertain of reentering. 

It felt as if the world had spun off its axis and was floating farther and farther away from its sun. So Ava decided to go outside and take in some fresh air. 

The gardens were large and expansive – but most importantly empty – on a large earthen terrace that overlooked Canto Bight. From its vantage point, Ava could see the city cresting out towards the bay. The calm waters glittered in the early moonlight. Distant sounds of life were carried in on the wind. Below, each and every person walked their own path. Difficult ones. Easy ones. Some that were hard one day then a breeze the next. What path will I take now? She’d found her family. More than she was expecting, two whole siblings who expressed their unconditional love for her. What was next? 

What indeed?

A foreign voice echoed in her mind and all of a sudden Ava’s body stiffened. She turned around quickly and found the path empty. But something or someone was out there. A new energy swirled in the air. Ava felt like her nerves were on fire as her blood began to pound behind her temples. The energy, the presence, she’d felt it before crawling in the back of her mind. It was cold and filled with a quiet and dangerous rage. 

“I know you.” Her voice wavered as she spoke out into whatever darkness was drawing closer. 

A man appeared. The same stern face and severe eyes. His hands were placed behind his back as he walked with precise steps. In a word, elegant, or more accurately, predatory. His dark eyes stared her down, hungrier than his demeanor gave off.  

“Yes. We’ve met before. In a manner of speaking.” He continued to stalk forward. 

She put her hand out – as if the gesture would protect her – “Who are you?” 

“My name is Moff Gideon, your Highness.” He gave a short nod after her title. 

A chill ran through her spine. “You have me confused with someone else.” No sooner did Ava try to turn around, a powerful feeling wrapped around her mind giving her a splitting headache. It nearly made her drop to her knees. 

“Oh, I’m not confused at all. You are the lost daughter of Senator and Queen Organa,” His voice was cold and seemed to strike with a blunt edge with each word, “Though my plans need a little adjusting you’ll do just fine.” 

She turned around to face the man and slowly backed away with each step he took; but even so, she felt like she was being backed into a corner. “Stop.” 

He kept advancing with a ceaseless gaze. 

“Stop.”  

Her head hurt.

“Stop.” 

Everything seemed wrong and her hands twitched. 

“STOP!” 

Ava thrust both of her palms out towards him and felt a surge of energy release. It was like a pulse, her pulse, magnified outward. It was not unlike what she experienced at the opera with Mando. 

She opened her eyes, not even realizing she’d squeezed them shut. Ava saw Gideon down on one knee, huffing to try and bring air back into his lungs. Ava channeled whatever courage she could muster, and tried to remember Luke’s lessons. But it felt like her memory was failing. A few stints in force sensitivity training did not a Jedi make. 

In her mind she asked for help from the cosmic forces of the universe, the Maker, Luke… Mando… anyone. 

A terrible sound came from his throat. It was strained laughter, or at least some form of it. “Excellent. Most excellent.” Gideon pushed himself up with visible struggle but quickly regained his footing. He moved his cloak to the side and revealed a hilt clipped to his belt, took it in hand, “You do indeed have what I want, Princess” and ignited the blade. 

It was unlike anything Ava had ever seen. It mimicked the way Luke’s lightsaber emitted light, but it was dark. The blade was black with white edges. The energy surrounding the weapon was just as dark. Ava sensed how it wrapped around Moff Gideon’s mind and body, twisting and warping what was already malevolent to begin with. It was consuming him. Alarm bells screamed out in Ava’s mind. Run. 

She took off in an instant without direction or awareness. Ava gathered as much of the dress into her arms as she could, but the weight of the fabric still seemed to slow her down. It didn’t help that she’d lost sight of the building between the impossibly tall greenery. Ava figured her best bet would be to hide where he wouldn’t expect to look or would be least likely to find her. So Ava ducked into a nearby cluster of trees. 

The more she pushed her way through, however, the sleeves and hem of her dress caught and snagged on branches and twigs. It ripped the delicate overlay of her dress and muddied her heels. Finding they only got stuck in the dirt and undergrowth, Ava kicked them off and daringly threw them away in hopes it would possibly fool Gideon into going a different direction. 

It felt like her heart was going to burst from her chest. The more time she spent in suspense, the harder her blood pounded. The greater the ringing in her ears became as the sky grew darker and the shadows became more and more menacing. Her mind felt cloudy. She couldn’t hear anything or anyone. They must’ve been deeper into the garden than she’d realized. Despite her mental haze, Ava gently tried closing her eyes and reaching out to feel for presence. She’d barely touched the surface when something came screaming into her mind. It felt like claws digging into her nerves. Her skin became so cold so quickly it felt as if it were burning. And despite her best efforts, she couldn’t help but scream out in agony. 

I found you. 

Before she even knew it, a deep reverb echoed in her mind alerting her not a moment too soon before a blade struck out just millimeters above her head. 

Ava scrambled to her feet and ran back out onto the path. Her body still cried out in pain, and her breach into energy opened like a flood gate. Gideon was still gaining on her. She reached out and felt the finely laid stone beneath her feet; she focused on the craggy surface and motioned with her hand as if she were clawing it out from the ground and flung it back with all her strength. A large chunk flew up and back at her pursuer. Ava heard rock crumbling, and when she looked back, saw the slab sliced in two. 

Impossible. 

“No, not impossible, my dear.”

Somehow the lunatic was in her head. He was the clawing in her mind, like a poison slowly creeping into her bloodstream. 

“Why are you doing this?” Her voice felt hoarse and her body was only growing weaker. 

“Why does anyone do anything? Power. Power is the way of the world. It always has been. It brings the greatest change and is the strength of the longest lasting empires. And with the dark saber and you, my goals for the galaxy are well within reach.” 

“You’re forgetting that most power-hungry madmen are spineless cowards who use others to get what they want.” Her voice was horse and growing strained. 

Gideon chuckled with a false humor. It was cruel and mocking. Ava could feel it pulsing behind her eyes and the pain brought her down to her knees as he skulked closer. 

“You’ve just never seen true power before. This,” He brandished the blade up towards her face. So close, Ava could feel the cold energy pulsing off it. “This is what power really is.” 

She’d never seen energy like it before. The blade both emitted light and yet somehow seemed void of it. As such close proximity, she felt it draining her energy even more. Only one sort of thing in the known universe drew in energy like that – a black hole. The dark saber was some sort of contained black hole. It had to have been. It appeared to be the antithesis of a lightsaber which projected the wielder’s energy. The dark saber fed off it. It pulled in the life force of its wielder, even those around it. 

“That thing is killing you.” Something flashed quickly across Gideon’s face. He wasn’t expecting her to say something like that, and Ava caught it. “But you didn’t know that, did you? How could you, you don’t know anything real about power you-” 

He quickly slashed the blade through the air and swiped Ava’s cheek. It burned. It was cold and yet burned hotter than anything she’d ever felt in her life. The pain rendered her speechless as she was knocked to the floor grasping her cheek. 

“I know more about this power than anyone else in the galaxy,” The tip of the blade hovered precariously close to her face, “Pity. You could’ve been something great. But you’re just like all the rest of those feckless fools in the Resistance. You’re just standing in my way.” 

Ava’s world suddenly came to a screeching halt. She’d heard those words before spoken in that very same voice. Out of nowhere she recalled crouching behind a hallway corner, then a hand falling to the floor. It had been her father’s hand. Ava could hear her mothers scream before her body hit the floor with a sickening, and lifeless thud. “It was you…” Her voice caught in her throat, “You killed them.” 

When Ava looked up at Moff Gideon his face was twisted into a mad grin. He relished in her horrifying realization. 

His eyes were wide and wild, “I’ll take what I need. But don’t worry, you’ll be with them soon enough.” Gideon raised the darksaber to dish out what could only be a mortally wounding blow. 

Please… 

A blaster shot rang out, as if from thin air, struck the flat side of the saber blade, ricocheting off into the ground. 

A feeling swept over Ava, it was good and young. Grogu. And where the tiny green creature found himself, another was never far behind. 

Ava turned her head in the direction of the shot and saw a familiar silhouette slip into the shadows. She sensed how he stalked through the dark and cover of the greenery ever closer. His watchful gaze never left hers. Ava could feel in her own muscles the way his pulled and strained against his bones. The strength in his hands as he gripped his blaster artfully. Teeming with energy and an overwhelming urge to seek and destroy. 

Without realizing, Gideon slashed down again.

Ava’s body reacted before she could even think. Her palm extended outward just as the saber came down. The scene around her became perfectly clear in her mind. The stone surface of the pathway through the soft and tearing material of her dress; she became one with the plant cells slowly blooming while others had fallen to the ground and went through the final stages of decomposition. The air molecules surrounding the blade snapped and popped as it moved through the air. And just before the saber made contact with her flesh, it stopped. 

It stopped the same way two magnets of the same polarization repelled one another. The blade held against nothing in midair. The two of them stared at each other with a look of awe but even during that moment, Ava could feel her control slipping. 

Another blaster shot, this one straight to Gideon’s hands, knocking the saber from his grip. The next thing Ava saw was the bulk of Mandalorian armor hurdling out from nowhere and tackling Gideon to the ground. The two men grappled on the ground for the upperhand. They seemed to match each other blow for blow. Though Mando was strong, Ava could sense something in Gideon had been altered by the blade. He fought back like an animal possessed, clawing and punching and the soft points between Mando’s armor. Gideon somehow managed to rip off one of Mando’s thigh plates and used it to completely slap Mando clean across his helm. 

The sound of pure beskar striking beskar was loud for Ava, so it must’ve been somewhat deafening for Mando. The Mandalorian stumbled back and Gideon managed to reach for a blaster hidden on the opposite side of his hip. Ava cried out just as Gideon pulled the trigger, striking Mando in the shoulder, just below his pauldron. She barely registered the distressed sounds coming from Grogu’s pram just a few meters away. He tried to come forward, but Ava intentionally held his little craft back. 

In the moments afterwards, it felt like the shot kept ringing in her ears. 

“There is a reason his kind is all but extinct,” Gideon’s voice was wicked and chilled, “Too noble for their own good.” He took aim again, this time, where the hollow of Mando’s throat would be. She could feel his pain rippling throughout his arm, she felt his racing pulse slow. Mando fought to maintain his composure as his thoughts grew fuzzy till they all disappeared into unconsciousness. 

Ava’s hands twitched again. They needed to hold on to something. They needed to defend. Her mind reached out, and no sooner could Gideon place his finger on the trigger did the dark saber skitter across the ground and fly into Ava’s hand. She surged forward with a speed she didn’t know she had. The blade sliced up through the barrel of the blaster as if it were nothing. The force of her attack was strong enough to knock Gideon back a few paces. 

Something took Ava over. She felt a thrum of electricity coursing through her. She felt like a star about to explode, just teeming with potential power and energy. So she took off. 

Gideon barely had enough time to react. The saber came down hard against the plate. It was beskar versus the dark saber. Blow after blow, Ava continued to swing with every ounce of her strength that she could muster, and the blade responded in kind. She let her anger roll through her like the undercurrent of a torrent river. It was a rage she’d never felt before, or had only become aware of the moment she realized Gideon was the man who slaughtered her parents. Ava slashed and punched and kicked and all he could do was use his small shield against her. The ground beneath them quickly bore the marks of their opposing efforts. Scorches here, slashes there, the concrete and stonework ripped from the ground. Sweat crept down Gideon’s brow, the weapon he once envisioned himself conquering the galaxy with had been turned against him. It drew on his fear. 

He was responsible for her suffering. He was the one who’s greed had led to the deaths of so many innocent lives. He’d nearly killed Mando. He had tried to kidnap and do Maker know what sort of horrible things to little Grogu, and possibly even her. Ava’s hands grew hot from the fury surging through her body. It felt as though her eyes glowed in anger. The dark saber responded, it hummed and sang in her mind to the very same tune of revenge. It craved it as much as she did. Moff Gideon needed to pay for his crimes, and they decided he would. 

With a swift punch backed by the force, Ava swiftly knocked the air clean out of Gideon’s lungs. He lay on his back atop the wreckage they’d both created. Ava hadn’t even realized how far they’d traveled till she caught a glimpse of herself in some sculpture. The polished metal reflected back an image of herself that Ava didn’t recognize. Her dress was torn and mottled with dirt and debris. Her crown was long gone and her hair was coming undone. What startled her most was her eyes. They weren’t brown anymore, they seemed brighter with flashes of red on the outer edge of her iris. She was changing before her eyes. The blade sang out in protest of her stalling. 

Ava paused and looked for a moment at the strange sword. She listened to it with a more careful ear, and what she heard was different from her initial judgment. 

The blade wasn’t inherently evil. It wasn’t anything much at all. Energy was constantly flowing through the crystal within. Raw potential. It called for revenge because she had wished for it in her mind. Standing there and witnessing how quickly hate had made her change frightened Ava. The potential had always been there, but it took the blade to make herself realize how much of her emotions she had been ignoring. It stung. The hilt grew heavy with doubt, and it was in that split second Gideon acted. 

He lunged up from the ground like some feline creature with his teeth bared ready to sink into the soft flesh of its prey. 

His hands wound around her own on the hilt of the dark saber. The two of them grappled with strained muscles. Ava nearly bit into her lip with the amount of effort it took to keep the blade away from Gideon’s effort to drive it into her throat. The man’s eyes were as wild and feral as her own, but Ava felt her anger slipping away. It pained her to look him in the face – the man responsible for her mother and father’s deaths – but a new sensation began to whisper in the back of her mind… 

We will always love you. 

We are with you.

It was Leia. Luke. Her parents. Everyone who cared for her, near and far, alive and gone. Their essences melding together like a balm that soothed her soul. Their love and spirits were with her. They would remain in and all around her. No matter how angry she was, how hurt and betrayed by fate she felt, Ava realized that would never die. It would sustain her, it had thus far. She’d traveled clear across the galaxy for a feeling she did not have a name for… but it was the love for her family, found or otherwise. 

In her hands, she could sense the saber mirroring her conflicting emotions. How it cried out in confusion from her influence as well as Gideon’s. It was the oldest song in the galaxy: one of struggle, light and dark. Only Ava seemed to be listening to it.  

“Why don’t you seem to understand?” He hissed, close enough Ava could feel the heat of his breath against her face, “The only way to exist is to take and maintain order.” 

Ava was close. Even with her limited knowledge of sabers, she felt for the housing unit within the hilt. She could feel the power circuits and the wiring leading to a central unit. All the while, Gideon’s grip had become so fierce he pushed her palm so hard into the hilt they’d begun to bleed against the detailing. His fingernails bore into her skin leaving red crescents dribbling. 

There. 

The image of it came clear in her mind. It was no bigger than her thumb, deep like onyx and vast as a moonless night. 

“For take, there should be give. After death, life should grow,” She planted her feet and dung down deep, “The galaxy will continue forward long after any of us leave this world. Any attempts to out last it are foolish.” 

She bore down on the housing unit. Felt it break and warp under her pressure. Release. Gideon sensed it too. He began to yell and scream in vain. Ava had already cracked in, uncontained energy had begun to spill out. 

“The way of existence is balance.” 

It broke and like a supernova, energy poured outward. The saber sparked and burst, sending out white hot particles. Ava and Gideon were knocked back with scorch marks across their exposed skin. 

Ava landed hard on her back, the wind knocked clean out of her. In her attempts to pull air back into her lungs, she struggled to look around. Gideon lay in a smoldering pool of his black cloak. Unmoving. The crystal lay amongst the debris of the destroyed hilt, calm. She pulled it into the palm of her hand with little effort. It was indeed as black as the void of space, so much so, it seemed her hand had developed a blackhole. Vengeance no longer silently plagued her mind. That part was done and over. It was time for growth. 

Ava whipped her head back to see if Grogu had avoided the flair. The doors of his pram opened with a soft hydraulic hiss and sweet eyes gazed down at her as he floated in her direction. 

“Where’s your dad?” She wheezed. 

Grogu hovered off in a direction and Ava stumbled behind as if she were a babe just learning to walk. When Mando came into view the adrenaline had begun to wear off. From the distance, Ava couldn’t even tell if he was still breathing.

All of her strength gave out leaving her no choice but to crawl the last few feet to Mando. His beskar was scorched and scored from the saber. Bits of his flight suit were singed and the place beneath his right pauldron was soaked in red. Panic seized her heart and muscles. Her once steady hands shook uncontrollably as she lifted the pauldron up and off. The site was black and oozing. Knowing she didn’t have enough strength to see if the shot had gone clean through his shoulder, Ava had to lean her entire upper body weight to apply pressure. His breathing was shallow, his heartbeat slow. The bleeding had been prolonged without any intervention and his body was showing the toll. Her entire body shook. She was beaten and aching. Shrapnel had certainly lodged itself in various points of her body, but none of that mattered. Ava reached for whatever energy she had left. 

She felt the dimming hum of Mando’s life. It was slipping away. 

“No,” Tears fell across the motionless helmet, “Not you too.” Her voice was barely there. Desperation and despair thick enough that she practically choked on it. “Please… I need you… I… love… you.” 

Grogu appeared beside her. His small hand reached for the site. Ava wanted to pull his untainted fingers back, no child should have to witness and partake in such misery. But something washed over her. Energy pooled in a different direction the closer Grogu came. 

She rested her hand atop Grogu’s significantly smaller one. Ava allowed herself to follow the gentle current. Beneath her trembling fingers, Ava could feel Mando’s skin shifting. Torn cells joined again. Layers of epidermis repaired itself slowly as the current flowed from hers and Grogu’s hands. Mando’s heartbeat rose. But Ava’s dipped. She was giving so he could take. 

Slowly but surely, with their conjoined effort, the wound was mended. The viscous remnants remained, but the bleeding had stopped. He took a deep breath which meant Ava could finally take one herself. 

By then, there was shouting and disturbance from the crowds above. Ava sent off a brief moment to her sister and to Luke. Whether or not they sensed it, Ava didn’t care. Her eyes were heavy and her body had already slumped across Mando’s chest. The coolness of the beskar soothed the heat from the mark across her cheek. Grogu had already succumbed to his much needed rest. Whoever would find them would be in for a surprise. 

A princess, a bounty hunter, a small child all together. 

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[peonierose]

Unexpected

Chapter 3

Nightbound AU vs. Hänsel & Gretel

Book: Nightbound

Type: Series / Chapter 3

Characters involved: Hänsel van Andresen (M!OC), Gretel van Andresen (F!OC), Grey (M!OC)

Words: 3,000+

Rating: Mature, NSFW

Summary: Hänsel and Gretel are now in New Orleans. Looking for clues. They’ll encounter someone new. Friend or Foe?

A/N: A huge thank you to @annieruok94 for brainstorming and reading through 💚 @jerzwriter Thank you so much with the smut scene (I’m super nervous though 🙈) 💗

2nd A/N: Thank you to anyone who reads my stories and gives my characters a chance. It truly means the 🌎 to me. Also please let me know if you’d like to be tagged for future stories ���

Playlist for Chapter 3

In case you missed the first two chapters, you can catch up on them here Chapter 1 & Chapter 2

Grey

I wasn’t sure if the purple sleep powder would work on her. I catch her before she can fall to the ground and carry her in my arms. I teleport us to Vi’s shop. Not many Fae can teleport.

Though it seems as if I’m the exception to the rule.

Viandra or Vi for short is my best friend along with Vine. Vi owns her own spice and herb shop called “Blue Moon“.

She found this old apothecary that was ready for demolition, but she saved it and opened up her herb and spice shop instead.

Opening it for all supernaturals who needed help with illnesses and couldn’t go to a normal doctor.

Vi is amazing. She can make all kinds of potions and antidotes. She’s also using the shop as a cover to remain hidden from certain Fae.

She can also make love potions, but Vi always says those aren’t for the faint of heart. Ironic really since the heart region is the aim of the potion.

We met a long time ago at one of the grand balls of the season.

It’s a gathering of Fae royalty from all the Courts. Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter. Since all three of us hail from different Fae courts, no one could’ve foreseen we’d become such close friends. Yet here we are. Proving everyone wrong.

When I was banished from the winter court, Vi and Vine left with me.

Making all three of us outcasts. I couldn’t be more grateful for having such wonderful friends by my side.

I’m breathing hard as I’m entering Vi’s shop. Using my magic to create a glamour to mask my appearance and then teleporting us into Vi‘s shop? It’s straining to say the least. I can feel myself becoming tired from using so much magic.

Vi stops what she’s doing and stares daggers at me. Her hair glowed like a bright orange sunset. The top half was a bright burning red, her light orange tips falling to the half of her back in cascading waves. Her dark eyes outlined with coal, are glowing like embers in the ashes.

“Who is that? And why have you brought her here?“ She asks, pointing with her chin towards Gretel. Her full lips turned down in a suspicious frown.

“Help me and I’ll explain,“ I say.

Vi walks towards me and together we place Gretel on the plush red chair and tie her hands behind her back.

Gretel moans softly but stays out. I let out a breath of pure relief. The magic must’ve worked better than I thought it would. It was made by Vi after all. She might be a giant pain in the ass, but she knows her way around potions and mixtures.

Vi takes a closer look at Gretel. When she recognizes Gretel she steps back and whirls around to pin me down with a gaze.

“Are you out of your damn mind? Bringing her here? Do you know who that is? She’s going to expose all of us,“ her dark eyes blazing like an inner fire. Considering that’s her power it’s not that far off.

“Relax. She doesn’t know anything,“ I say not worried in the slightest.

Vi laughs but it’s hollow.

“Yet. How long will it take her to realize who we are? Who you are? She’s a freaking Grimm. Making her one of them. She’s not going to just lie low and be told what to do. Neither is her brother. You should know better than that Grey,“ she shakes her head at me.

The Brothers Grimm aren’t just two guys who went around collecting stories to write down. Oh no. They’re far worse than that. They’re supernatural hunters. Collecting stories? That was their way of knowing more about supernaturals. With time they’ve become more and more dangerous. They have a database for almost all supernaturals. Their strengths and weaknesses were collected and passed on to the next generations of Grimm.

I shudder just thinking about it.

The stories of them are all true.

Though there is one Grimm who isn’t cruel and that Grimm's daughter is currently sitting on the chair we tied her to. Hänsel and Gretel are direct descendants of the original brothers Grimm. Wilhelm and Jacob Grimm.

And from the looks of it, neither Hänsel nor Gretel has any idea about their heritage.

I turn my gaze towards Vi again and take a step closer to Vi until we’re face to face and our noses are almost touching.

“Then you should know that I’m not some stupid faeling that doesn’t know how to survive. We both survived far worse in the Fae courts. Or do I need to remind you of that?“ My voice is cold as ice.

She’s not batting an eye. But after a few seconds, she shakes her head in response.

I incline my head.

“Good. Let’s see what she knows. Afterward we’ll make her forget she ever saw us,“ I say.

Vi looks concerned. Which is rare so I’m on high alert.

“She doesn’t strike me as the type of person who’s going to forget for very long,“ she says.

When I give her another look she holds up her hands. Her dark magenta-painted nails caught in the soft, dim light, and sparks emanate from her fingertips.

“Don’t bite my head off. I’m just saying. She‘s a descendant of the Brothers Grimm. They aren’t easily fooled. You know that Grey. Better than anyone,“ her voice got soft.

I close my eyes. Not wanting to think of the people responsible for the death of my whole family. Almost my whole family I amend. One member of my family is still alive, though I try not to dwell too much on that.

When I re-open my eyes I’m in control of my raging emotions again.

Vi grabbed my shoulder to lend me some strength. I cover my hand with hers.

Letting my guard down. Showing feelings and emotions of the softer side is something that’s very rare with Vi. Vi is like the sister I never had. So I cherish these moments even more.

When I look at Gretel all I see is my family screaming for help.

Her family eradicated my own. She’s no different I try to remind myself when I look at her soft face, her rosy cheeks, and her long blonde braid reaching almost the middle of her back.

I’m trying to decide on how to proceed when Vine enters the shop.

His dark blue hair is cascading down his back. Put in some complicated braid.

“Hello, party people…Oh my god. Grey, who did you bring that for?“ He says upon entering.

He stops in his tracks and sees Gretel tied back behind a chair. Vine takes a closer look and steps back when he recognizes her.

“Really? Gretel? I didn’t think you’d be that stupid,“ he leans against the counter.

I turn towards him and put my hands on my hips. What is it with these two tonight?

“Mind your place,“ I say coldly.

He shakes his head at me.

“Dude you know I’m right,“ he says and hops onto the counter.

As Gretel’s moans are getting louder, everyone stops doing what they’re doing. Looks as if the sleeping powder is wearing off quicker than we thought.

She’s fully awake now and on high alert. Her eyes darted left and right.

She seems to want to reach for her right boot where her dagger was, realizing her hands are tied behind her back. She grits her teeth. Her hazel eyes take on a more green hue. Glowing like the eyes of a cat.

“Are you looking for this?“ I ask her.

Too bad I found it earlier when I searched for her. I hold it up into the light. Admiring the craftsmanship.

The small blade has a dark emerald hilt, with the initials KVA inscribed into it. Making my whole body go taut. Though I school my features I wouldn’t want Gretel to know that those initials are well known to me.

The blade itself is made out of a dark, smooth black material. One that seems to absorb any light nearby.

One I’ve never encountered before and that says a lot. I’ve been alive and wandering this earth for over a thousand years now. You could say I’ve been around for a while.

She keeps staring at me as I’m carrying the blade.

“That doesn’t belong to you,“ she clarifies as if it wasn’t evident enough.

I ignore her and ask her in turn.

“Where did you get this?“ I look at her and she sighs in return.

She gulps down and sighs.

“It was my mothers,“ she says while trying to get the rope off of her hands. All it seems to be doing is digging deeper into her flesh.

I put it on the counter. It’s not as if she can fight her way out of here but I don’t want to take any chances.

She takes a look around and when she notices we’re not alone she sits up straighter in her chair.

I know I won’t get anything out of her if Vi and Vine are here too.

Without looking back I say quietly.

“Leave us,“ my voice low.

With their sensitive hearing, they hear well enough, without me having to raise my voice.

Vi and Vine start to protest.

“Now!“ I say louder this time. My tone booking no argument.

Vi knows not to test me and so she walks into the other part of the shop and drags Vine with her.

Before they’re completely out of sight Gretel stares at Vine and mutters “Nice rose and vine tattoos,“ she admires it for a couple of seconds longer as if she’s staring at an oil painting. Vine’s eyes widen a fraction.

I whip my head towards her. How does she see through our carefully constructed glamour? Even Grimms usually don’t notice our tattoos.

Because they‘re only visible to Fae eyes. I take a closer look at her and breathe out slowly.

Maybe Vi was right. It’s going to be hard to make her forget she ever saw us.

Gretel

The rope is burning into my flesh.

I look up and see a beautiful guy. With long dark hair and forest-green eyes. I instantly turn my guard up. Making my voice sound emotionless.

A guy like him? He’s dangerous for various reasons. Especially for my heart. He could make me want and feel things I haven’t in a while.

I try to distract myself by taking a look around to avoid having to look at him. I guess I’m meeting The Shadow earlier than I thought I would. I mean who else could it be?

The place looks bigger on the inside than you’d think, not that I even know where we are. Keeping my breath even, as I’m trying not to break out into a full-on panic.

I clear my throat and see all sorts of herbs and plants adorning the place. Making you feel as if you’re inside a greenhouse. Only smaller.

Strange liquids and items are sitting in jars on the shelves. Making me curious as to what those are, but at the same time not want to know.

“Who are you? And what do you want?“ I ask, not looking at The Shadow.

“So demanding,“ he says, his voice smooth as silk.

I snicker in disgust and look back at him.

”If this is you trying to turn on the charm? Try again.“ I say as if we’re having a nice little chat. Not me being tied to a chair like a hostage.

He smirks even more at the fact that I’m uncomfortable and trying to hide it.

“As to your question. I brought you here for a reason Gretel,“ he replies.

A shiver runs down my spine at the tone of his voice. I shake it off. My blonde ponytail swung back and forth.

“How do you know my name?“ I ask.

He smiles down at me.

“I know a lot of things about you and your brother,“ he says ominously.

“Yeah, that’s not creepy at all. I know that you’re Fae. Your glamour won’t work on me. Find a better victim. Cause I ain’t playing one,“ I say.

He seems a bit taken aback that I discovered so soon what he is and that he’s trying to use Fae glamour on me to coax information out of me.

I hate people who play games with me. Either say what you’ve got to say or don’t say anything at all. That’s what my mom taught me.

“Again who are you?“ I ask him again.

He ponders over that for a second before he bows elegantly and smiles through his eyelashes.

“You can call me Grey,“ he says winking at me.

I roll my eyes at his attitude.

“Alright. We’ll pretend that’s your real name,“ I reply.

Grey nods his head at me.

“Fair enough,“ he says.

I let out a frustrated growl.

“I want you to stop looking into the case you’re investigating. You don’t need to concern yourself with this. It will be taken care of. You have my word,“ he promises.

These are his next words.

I laugh bitterly at his promise. I learned early on not to trust a pretty face. Two words, the witch. That’s all I’m going to say.

“I know next to nothing about this case. That’s why I was seeking you out,“ I say.

“We will handle it,“ he tries to reassure me.

“I don’t trust you or your word. Fae never do anything out of the goodness of their hearts. You want something. As for stopping to look for these people? You’ve got another thing coming hot stuff,“ I say with more confidence than I feel right now. Totally trying to bluff my way out of here.

He laughs and it sounds like the proverbial forbidden fruit. Something you know you shouldn’t want. But are drawn to.

My heart beats faster and he turns his face to me as if he could sense it. With his heightened hearing he probably can.

Grey is crouched down in his leather pants and gives me a look. As if trying to decipher what to make of me.

I can’t show what I feel. Even though I’m scared shitless I don’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

He grins.

“So you think I’m good-looking?“ he asks.

“I didn’t say that. So wipe that smirk off your face,“ I say.

He smiles and for a second his face seems blurry again. Showing me white silvery hair instead of inky black and crystal clear blue eyes instead of moss green.

I smile to myself and he gets a confused look on his face.

There’s a secret as to how Hänsel and I can unmask all these supernaturals and see behind the mask so to speak. We’ve been able to ever since we were born.

So this is going to be fun.

I lean back in my chair as much as my tied hands let me.

“Interesting that you’re masking your appearance. Are we a little vain?“ I ask mockingly.

His smile disappears and a careful look enters his eyes.

He steps closer and grips my chin to look into my eyes. He moves his fingers to reveal any sort of magic. But he won’t find any. When he realizes that I’m not under a spell and that there’s no magic involved he steps back.

Grey studies me more carefully, the scent of lush green grass wafting toward me.

“You just became more fascinating,“ he mutters almost as if to himself.

“Glad I could be of service. Although you look like a stone sculpture. I’d rather have fun with my vibrator than with you. So if there’s nothing else can you untie me?“ I ask him

Grey’s eyes glitter in delight.

“Your vibrator must be bad if you’re this frustrated,“ he says in a sultry tone.

I laugh in surprise.

He chuckles in turn.

“You know it’s funny. How mortals think they know everything about pleasure and how to achieve it,“ he says.

I raise my eyebrows.

“And you’re the expert?“ I ask, teasing him.

He shrugs.

“I’ve never heard any complaints.“

“People were probably too scared to tell you if they weren’t satisfied,“ I say.

He smiles though his green eyes have gone cold. Oops. Look like I hit a sore spot.

I gulp.

Suddenly the scenery changes and I’m in a different room. Lying in a big canopy bed. Dark silver-grey sheets surrounded me. Grey is lying next to me.

His long silver blond hair falls to the side, surrounding him like a curtain and he has that smirk on his face. He traces a finger across my bare skin before I feel a sticky drip on my skin.

I look in his direction and my eyes opened wide when I saw him dip his hands into a bowl filled with honey. Next, the stickiness is on me as he spreads his honeyed hands onto my stomach and leans down to lick it away. His warm tongue feels like fire as it licks and sucks at my sin. Making me moan.

I push my hand into his hair and pull him towards me to kiss him. He tastes like lilac honey. Sweet and decadent. Making me want more. We break apart only for the image to fade away…

I get back to the here and now. My heart is racing in my chest and my chest is heaving like I just ran 10 miles. I’m left unsatisfied and wanting more.

He walks up behind me and leans down to whisper into my ear.

“What’s got your heart beating so fast, little rosebud?“ He asks, his voice barely above a whisper.

I swallow and try to wipe away those images. As horny as they made me I can’t give in.

“You know there’s a saying in Fae. If you find someone attractive you can project your wants and needs into the person's head,“ he says, his voice sending shock waves down my spine.

“Then stop doing it,“ I demand.

He laughs before he leans even closer to me as if to place a kiss on my neck and I lean closer to him seeking his touch, but then he lifts his head and denies me that contact.

Grey chuckles darkly making gooseflesh cover my whole body. And anger flashes through my body because he made me want more and then he took a step back.

“I wasn’t projecting anything. You were the one who put those images into both of our heads. I find myself wanting to know how it’ll end. How about you?“ He asks curiously.

I gulp and try to escape those pictures. I want to know too, but I feel as if he’s playing a dangerous game with me.

“Stop playing mind games with me. Please. Make it stop,“ I say trying to make him stop projecting.

It takes me back to the gingerbread house when the witch held us, hostage. Mind games were her favorite pastime.

She liked poking into our heads and putting images there.

I hang my head and try to escape anywhere. Just not to be used like that again. He must’ve realized that something is off. He steps closer and this time I can breathe again. Like I woke up from a dream.

A single tear slipped out and our eyes connected. I don’t make any effort to wipe it away. Letting him see my vulnerability and pain for a second.

Grey seems to debate what to do. He breathes out and flicks his fingers. At that, the rope that was binding my hands together slips off landing like a small heap on the wooden floor.

I rub my wrists from the burn of the rope.

My breath goes faster, indicating a panic attack is near. I try to regulate my breathing. When I trust my voice again I say.

“I don’t like mind games. If you want to know something ask me. Just don’t play mind games with me. Please.“

He takes another chair that I haven’t noticed was there before. It almost seemed as if it materialized out of thin air. Maybe he conjured it with magic.

Grey’s eyes take on a softer tone.

“I wasn’t playing any games. If I had to take a guess then I’d say the witch liked to do that.“

I whip my head in his direction and stay still as an ice sculpture. Not moving an inch.

“How do you know so much about us?“ I ask him. Genuinely curious, about how he seems to know almost everything about me and my brother.

He stretches his long legs in front of him. My gaze falls to his leather-clad legs. Leather looks damn good on him.

“I’ve been following you and your brother’s stories for years. It’s always fascinated me how two regular humans can survive all this, without any special powers.“

I laugh at that.

“We’re special snowflakes, didn't you know? It’s not creepy at all how you’ve been following us. Regarding the case. Why don’t we work together? We could solve it faster if we do,“ I say to him.

If we work together, I can keep an eye on him. But I don’t tell him that.

It’s his turn to roll his eyes at me.

“I don’t trust you,“ he says with finality.

I furrow my eyebrows together.

“Are you scared you’d work well within a team?“ I ask him.

Grey laughs but it sounds hollow.

”I work alone.“ He says his tone is colder than an ice wind blasting through the tundra.

I look at him with some understanding. Something in me just wants to help him heal. I don’t know what has hardened his heart so much, but I can’t deny the need to help him.

My brother often said I have a soft heart and that soft heart of mine will get me into trouble one day.

But I can never deny someone who needs my help.

“I know how hard it must be to let go of the past and to let someone new in. But I really think we’d work well together,“ I try to convince him.

Grey eyes me with a steady gaze. Blue gaze meeting hazel eyes.

“We’ll see,“ he says.

I look around for a piece of paper in my jeans project and find a gum wrapper. I also slip my dagger into my right boot where it belongs.

I see a pen on the counter. Quickly I write down my number and put it in his hand.

As soon as our hands touch I feel like an electrical zing jolted through my whole body. As if I put my finger into the power outlet.

We both take our hands back. I can see that it didn’t leave him unbothered.

I clear my throat and rub my hand against my leather coat. To feel the soft leather on my skin. I turn to Grey again.

“In case you’ve made up your mind and want to work together, here's my number. But be quick, because these people are running out of time,“ I say.

“I will need some time to think about it,“ he says and looks down at the purple digits scrawled on the wrapper.

I nod and leave the shop. Finding myself in a small street outside of the French Quarter.

I smile as I leave a speechless, open-mouthed Grey behind.

Feeling kind of satisfied that I could stun The Shadow.

This was not really what I was expecting. But life rarely is.

Always expect the unexpected.

Bonus:

[youhavethewrong]

Horror/Comedy: The most elusive genre of fiction

 In many regards, it is easy to consider Horror and Comedy to be about as opposite as two genres can go. Horror seeks to cause dread and fear in the viewers, while comedy (usually) seeks to comfort them and improve their moods. A good comedy can help you feel better after a bad day - a good horror can completely ruin a good one. Maybe this is why these two don’t often collide. Another reason could be that although Comedy is easily combined with other genres, like the RomCom, Horror is hardly ever mixed. More often than not, it just branches out into other kinds of horror, like Psychological horror or Slashers.

 However, something that is easy to forget is that Comedy and Horror are far more similar than one would assume. Both rely heavily in misdirection, surprising the viewer with an unexpected result. Both require perfect timing to pull off, and... well, this is not really related to my point here, but both have a tendency to be done reaaally badly when the people making them don’t care. Hack Comedy uses the not-actually-funny shorthand of fart jokes and falling down, while Hack Horror uses the not-actually-scary shorthand of jumpscares and loud sounds. Anyways.

 So if they supposedly go hand-in-hand so well, why is it they almost never meet? How come there’s almost no horror/comedy? Well, for starters, they’re each separately extremely difficult to pull off. Making someone laugh is not fucking easy, and neither is scaring someone. They require tremendous amount of talent and effort to do separately, so at the same time? When they already feel opposite? Forget about it! Secondly, it’s already quite difficult to picture something that is equals parts funny and scary. How would you even do that??

The first thing that came to mind when thinking about horror/comedies were those Scary Movie movies. Though I don’t really think they fall into horror territory? They’re not scary at all, they’re just spoof movies. They don’t even come up with their own ideas, they just borrow from popular horror. And they’re not even fucking funny. Comedy (in quotes) with horror elements, not what I’m looking for.

 Then I started looking for artists that are good at making both Comedy and Horror. The one with the biggest audience right now is obviously Jordan Peele. It’s certainly curious to think how he went from making a sketch show to becoming a horror movie director! There’s certainly a conversation to be had about how making the former helped him become better at the latter. Problem is, he either makes one or the other, not both at the same time. So is he what I’m looking for at the moment? Nope!

 Then my mind then went to a favorite of mine: Jack Stauber. His unique way of creating art has allowed him to make both hilarious comedy and touchingly deep horror. His masterpiece Opal is one of the most unique takes on the Horror genre I’ve seen! It’s not only stop-motion, which is quite rare, but a musical, which is even rarer! However, that one’s just horror. What about his individual sketches? The one that got closest to what I’m looking for right now is Future, though it’s... pretty hard to say it’s a joke? I’m sure some people would find it funny, but it’s difficult to say whether it was intended as such.

 Don’t worry though, I didn’t come here just to talk about an idea that I thought of with 0 examples. The whole reason I wanted to make this post talking about Horror/Comedy is because I watched the perfect example, and it made me realize that I hadn’t seen much else quite like it. And the example I watched came... from The Onion

 Although The Onion hasn’t been on its... best streak lately - mostly reposting articles from 7 years ago and making unimpressive TikToks - the Youtube content they created in the late 2000′s early 2010′s was... brilliant. And I don’t mean that as in “funny”, I mean that as in brilliant. Expertly written, produced, and performed layered comedy that drove points home. In The Know with Clifford Banes, and Today Now! being two of my favorite pieces of satire comedy. The Onion also seems particularly qualified to tackle Horror/Comedy, as the heart of their satire was pushing the inherent darkness and cruelty of the 24 hour news cycle to its highest possible, most absurd degree. And tackle it they did, in their 9-episode mini series Porkin’ Across America

 Porkin’ Across America is a parody of travel shows, where Jim Haggerty, host of morning news show Today Now!, travels around the 50 states looking for the best pork he can find. As this happens, his life starts steadily falling apart in the background, unraveling into a grotesque cacophony of errors. This show is, in my opinion, the best example of the Horror/Comedy genre. Because it’s not just comedy with horror elements, or horror with comedy elements: it’s the perfect combination of the two. The setup - misdirection structure that gives both genres their kick is used in tandem, intertwined. Punchlines to jokes are also horrifying revelations and imagery. I won’t spoil the ending, but I’ll just say this: the last line that is uttered is both the hilarious punchline to a series-long running joke, and such a horrible thing to say at that moment that it will send shivers down your spine. I highly recommend watching it, but be warned: the specific type of horror this show uses is body horror. You’ll be laughing, but you’ll also be extremely uncomfortable by the imagery. Definitely avoid this if that’s not your thing.

 Horror/Comedy is one of the rarest genre combinations in fiction, for a variety of reasons. It’s difficult to pull off, horror hardly mixes with other things, and most people don’t even know it can exist. But it can! And when it’s done well it’s an extremely unique experience, one that I believe is worth experiencing.

 I hope my explanation of this topic was clear enough, and I’m really excited to hear what you guys think! Can you think of any other work that could be defined with this genre? If so, I’d really like to hear it~

 Thank you for reading this whole stupid thing if you did! Yui OUT!

[veebs-hates-video-games]

Ok this is mostly going to be rambling about Tears of the Kingdom, but I'll at least briefly mention a couple other things I keep meaning to say something about and not getting around to.

Pixel Puzzle Makeout League was surprisingly good and deserves its own post because it does some unexpected things.

Theatrhythm Final Bar Line is still mixed but overall more good than bad and generally has similar positives and negatives to the previous Theatrhythm games and Melody of Memory (which is better as a game than any of the Theatrhythm games even if it still has some issues too).

The Outer Worlds is...a game. I totally forgot I started it at some point, and it hasn’t made a huge impression on me in the first five hours or however long.

Cadence of Hyrule is great for a while and does a lot of things right, but there’s a kind of frustrating spike in difficulty near the end, and I’m not sure if I’ll bother finishing it.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Future Redeemed is already GOTY 2023 for me, even if 99% of other people will say it’s TotK. Some day I’ll get around to that XC3 post...

Anyway, as someone who liked a bunch of things about Breath of the Wild but found enough frustrating about it that it took four attempts at playing the game to make it past a single Divine Beast and then give up forever, Tears of the Kingdom brings almost all the same problems along with it but mitigates them enough that I’ve finished a temple without giving up on the game and stopping playing for several months a single time so far.

The really short version is that I think everything in Steph Sterling’s soon-to-be infamous review is true and accurate, and the main thing I disagree with is that at least based on my enjoyment of actually playing the two games I’d have to give BotW an even lower score. Come at me, haters please don’t actually and go do something more fun like playing the game you like so much because I’m glad you’re enjoying it

Yes I’m 100% one of those people who thinks weapon durability has never been a positive thing in any game I’ve played (with the possible exception of certain Fire Emblem games) and Skyward Sword introducing a stamina meter to Zelda was a mistake. I’m happy for people who think they add something to the game for them, but for me they're actively anti-fun and constantly interrupt me when I’m trying to engage with all the neat systems the game has. Please just incentivize me to try new things by rewarding me positively for doing it (see: XC3 and in particular Future Redeemed) instead of punishing me for not playing the game the way you want me to.

Thankfully new additions like weapon fusion and ascend go a decent way to mitigate the frustration I have from stuff like that. I can skip a lot of the tedious climbing, and between avoiding most combat and gooping items together I’ve never had a shortage of actually decent weapons since like halfway through the tutorial.

Another positive is the ability set this time around. It’s a bit weirder on the surface, but they complement each other well and feel a lot less janky to me. Half the time with stuff like stasis I felt like I was fighting against the game trying to get the correct angle and momentum, but the new set of abilities pretty much always does what I want it to and lets me do all sorts of silly things in ways that don’t even seem like they should work at first. The game is at its best when I’m just messing around with that stuff to invent and solve problems in unusual ways.

And then the game is at its worst when I have to do combat of any kind. I can tolerate it better than in the previous game, but I’m still not a fan. I’m still reluctant to use my best weapons or any items I don’t have a reliable supply of, and the controls are still wack. You cannot convince me that run on B and jump on X isn’t crazy or that not being able to remap them is a good idea. I’m also still not a fan of the half dozen popup menus for changing weapons or selecting items or whatever because while they do technically work they’re so awkward to use and would really benefit from a third hand. Finally the N64 controller’s true purpose is revealed.

And speaking of menus, the menus still kinda suck too. Why is every food ingredient and every rock and every bug and every plant and 7000 other things dumped into a single tab instead of having sub-categories? Why is every single one of them available in the popup menu for attaching them to arrows or throwing them or whatever with apparently no way to at least favorite things? Why are there no options in the options menu like changing the volume (ideally with music/voice/sound effects separately adjustable)?

And why is the map? Why can’t I reveal stuff on the map just by going there? Why after the map is revealed is there no way to tell which parts of it I’ve been to already and which ones I haven’t (especially annoying so far for tiny random sky islands)? Why do I have to mark every stupid little thing on it by hand? I am playing the game on a computer, and my map exists on an in-game computer. Computers are supposed to deal with this crap for me so I can do something fun instead. And this is coming from someone who drew their own maps for the NES/SNES games on graph paper and actually enjoyed it.

A lot of these things aren’t huge deals on their own, but I’ve been spoiled by the vast number of quality of life features in XC3 and its DLC recently, and the little things add up. And I know there are people at Nintendo who know how to address these things because literally people from Monolith worked on both BotW and TotK, just not on those specific parts of them as far as I understand (mainly with building the open worlds because they already had previous experience doing that).

On the plus side, even if I’m a little underwhelmed by the story and storytelling (thanks again for ruining everything for me, Monolith), it was immediately much more engaging to me than BotW’s was. Wow, there are actual characters with motivations and stuff right off the bat. Neat! No offense to anyone who liked Calamity Ganon and the Calamity in general, but that was the least compelling antagonist in a Zelda game since probably the NES for me, and I’m glad they’ve taken a bit of a different approach this time. We’ll see what I think if/when I get further through it, but so far it’s at least better even if I don’t entirely love it.

I dunno, it’s something I guess. There’s just enough there for me that I’m still going, but it sure is good at discouraging me from doing stuff that would be lots of fun for me with minor tweaks. But hey, at least locking on to enemies actually follows them with the camera again now, so that’s nice. You know, that feature they literally invented for Ocarina of Time and nearly every 3D game anyone’s made has used since then but then they decided not to in BotW because...reasons?

In conclusion, it seems to be a great game for many other people and a decent but frequently frustrating one for me, but shifted a bit more toward decent and a bit less toward frustrating than the previous game. I’m still not convinced either one of them is a Zelda game though. They feel like something totally different to me with a vague Zelda theme overlaid on them. Oh also the puzzles are much better this time around so far. So that’s nice and more Zelda-y. And maybe we’ll get a Musou game out of it again in a couple years like we did last time, which would be nice because Age of Calamity was the best Zelda game since A Link Between Worlds (not counting remakes and stuff).

[aeoki]

High and Low: Epilogue 2

Location: High and Low Stage Characters: Tetora, Hajime, Tomoya, Hinata, Midori, Touri, Mitsuru & Sora

Season: Autumn Writer: Akira

Midori: Ahh~ I’m tired… I tried to be all energetic but now I’m exhausted.

Tetora: That’s so fast! You’ve gotta train more, Midori-kun~

If you trained, people will probably stop being disappointed with you and won’t say there’s less than meets the eye! Hard work and muscles will never betray you!

Midori: That’s such a pain… They’ll just make me do all sorts of stuff if they think I’m “someone capable”, so I’m fine just doing a moderate amount.

Tetora: It feels like you’ve been pretty gloomy this whole time, Midori-kun. You were pretty cheerful when you came to save us.

Midori: That’s the whole reason why I’m so tired… It’s all your fault so I won’t let you complain, Tetora-kun. Don’t make me do something that’ll take a lot of time and effort.

Tetora: Osu. Sorry. I’ll make sure that doesn’t happen again in the future.

Midori: You say that but you're repeating the same mistakes over and over… I can’t trust you. It’s like you didn’t grow at all.

Tetora: I have a bit! You just can’t see it!

Here’s proof – Look, tadaa ♪

Midori: ………!?

Tetora: I might be someone experienced who’s not that smart but I’ve learnt a thing or two after repeating those mistakes. In order to make you motivated, gathering a whole bunch of cute things is the best method.

How about it? There’s this plushie? Stuck on the tree over there so I’ll take it off and give it you as a present ♪

Now, you’ll definitely feel motivated ♪

Midori: Ko-Ko-Ko…

Tetora: Ko-Ko-Ko?

Midori: It’s a koalaaaaaa ☆

Tetora: Woah, you scared me! What? Koala?

Is that a koala? This is really Australia, huh. They’re just hanging out over there.

Midori: No, this is just a decoration. It’s wearing clothes.

I’ve seen real koalas but they weren’t anything special… I was so excited to go and touch them but they got angry and scratched me.

Tetora: I see. I’m, uh, sorry that happened to you.

Midori: It’s okay. If it’s something given to me by a cute animal, then pain and scratches are more than welcome…♪

Tetora: Osu! You understand that too, huh, Midori-kun! Scratches are medals in the eyes of a man!

Tetora & Midori: “♪~♪~♪”

Hinata: Uh, I feel like what you guys are talking about doesn’t really make sense.

Touri: Well, they both look like they’re happy so it’s probably fine?

Sora: HaHa~♪ Exactly~! Everyone’s shape of happiness is different so it’s something no one has the right to deny!

If Tetora-chan and Mido-chan are smiling happily then that’s fine! It’s a happy ending~♪

Touri: …We still have a mountain of problems, though.

Like, what will happen to Kurone-san.

Hinata: Knowing Anzu-san, she’ll probably forgive him even after betraying her trust and causing all that trouble.

Anzu-san really loves everyone, after all.

Tomoya: Yeah. It seems “High and Low” will end in success too, although it was kinda forced that way.

We reached our destination, met up with Hajime and the others in one piece, and we’re now rounding it off with a performance.

There were some unexpected things that happened with the TV show but it’ll still be completed as planned.

You could say we’re in a favourable position since we managed to stand out with our weird trip, for better or worse.

They’ll edit the footage we filmed and there are some parts that weren’t filmed too. The people who watch it will have no idea what we were caught up in.

Their understanding of the show would probably be one where they see we’re forced to take part in a weird low-budget travel show and things turned out to be a mess.

It was the same for us during the “Old-Fashioned Sports Festival” but this time, we got to touch the thing that exists at the bottom of the idol industry.

The thing that Kurone is confronting.

He’s got some sort of goal and he’s definitely headed in a bad direction.

This time, he caused all that trouble for Anzu-senpai and us, and even went as far as doing something that would make us hate him…

Maybe he did it so we wouldn’t have to come in contact with that bad thing. Maybe he thought if we hated him, we would distance ourselves from him and we wouldn’t be involved.

Hinata: Ahh, the thing that our upperclassmen often do at Yumenosaki?

Tomoya: Yeah. But we’re used to that so we can’t hate him the way he wished.

He caused a lot of trouble for us but he helped us too. He’s also one of our colleagues, a “producer”.

I’d like to do something for him if that something exists.

Just what can we powerless children do?

Mitsuru: Baam ☆

Tomoya: Gyaaaaaah!?

Mitsuru: Tomo-chan! Don’t just stand there and talk. We’re idols so let’s get to work. Let’s sing and dance and have fun~☆

Let’s give our thanks to Australia for giving us such a fun time!

Hajime: He’s right, Tomoya-kun! After all that time thinking I wouldn’t be able to meet up with you!

A small miracle happened so let’s be happy! Together!

Let’s show the world how happy we are~♪

Tomoya: You’re so laid-back, you guys… I’m sure ignorance is bliss for Hajime but how are you so cheerful after going through all that awful stuff, Mitsuru?

Mitsuru: Heheh, that’s “Ra*bits” for you, y’know~!

Even if we experience something horrible, we’ll have the time of our lives with a smile on our faces! If other people see us like that then they’ll automatically be happy too!

Tomoya: Yeah… You’re right. That’s “Ra*bits”.

I’m the leader of “Ra*bits” on paper so that makes me the most distinguished.

But I’m still inexperienced and there’s so much I have to learn from you guys.

Tetora: Osu. I feel the same. I learnt a lot from Midori-kun this time.

A school trip is all about learning new things…! We had a blast so we’re probably the ones who got the most out of this school trip!

Midori: Yeah… It feels almost silly to think I was worried about all that stuff before we even came.

Oddly enough, you don’t really have to worry about every little thing that happens in life.

Preparing for a trip is the most fun but at the same, it’s also the most stressful.

Midori: But nothing will change unless you actually set out on a journey.

We still have no idea what the future has in store for us.

But if you make up your mind and dive right in, you’ll be surprised to see that things might just work itself out on its own.

“♪~♪~♪”

← Previous Chapter

[hell-much]

Once In A Lifetime - Chapter 5

Pairing: Sansa Stark / Margaery Tyrell Rating: Explicit Summary: On a farm, in the far north of Westeros the path of Sansa Stark’s future seems destined. The four days in the summer of 1973, when her husband and kids are away, promise to be no different than any other day.  Yet, when photographer Margaery Tyrell, happens to turn into the Stark farm and asks Sansa for directions, everything changes.  Soon  Sansa finds herself faced with an unexpected fork in the road, and a love that causes her to question everything she had come to expect from  life. A love that happens just once in a lifetime, if you’re lucky.

…

Shaking her head, Margaery drops back in her seat and fishes for her cigarettes in the middle console, taking the last one out of the pack. “I’m usually a better driver than that, you know.”

“I believe you.”

The empty cigarette pack lands crumbled next to Sansa’s feet, and lets her spot the thermos lid. As she bends down to pick it up, she hears the rasp of a lighter and a deep inhale.

“Don’t mock me.”

“I’m not,” Sansa returns, screwing the lid back. A small smile plays at her lips at the way Margaery’s posture slumps with that first drag. Somehow, with her eyes closed and her head tilted back, she manages to make even that look graceful. “You drive through the entire country by yourself, so you can’t be that bad of a driver.”

A sly smirk builds on Margaery’s lips. “If you think that’s impressive remind me to tell you about the car I took through Essos where the reverse was broken.”

Sansa chuckles. “What?”

Rolling down the window, Margaery nods and inhales once more. “It was so annoying. The worst was getting off the ferry. It was one of those you back out off.”

“So what did you do?”

Shrugging Margaery holds the glowing cigarette out and Sansa ignores the instinct to tell her, that it’s too early for her. “Popped open a few buttons on my shirt and found myself a guy who pushed it off the ferry for me.”

“You’re kidding.” As she brings the cigarette to her lips, she finds the filter is slightly damp. It feels strangely intimate, and adds to the lightheaded feeling that comes with smoking on an empty stomach. It’s as if their lips just touched. With that thought, she tears her eyes away from Margaery. “That’s not very feminist of you.”

“What does that have to do with feminism?”

Sansa takes another deep drag to delay having to answer. That’s what you get for saying words just to fill a silence. She’s still caught up in that last train of thought. Her stomach feels queasy and as much as she would like to blame it on the cigarette, she has to admit that it isn’t that. “I don’t know. You could have pushed the car yourself?”

In passing the cigarette back, Margaery bestows her with a slightly patronising look. “Just because you are able to do something on your own, doesn’t mean you should do it.”

Sansa hums and wraps an arm around her middle, staring ahead, where the light cone illuminates the dark road. 

“You disagree?” Margaery probes.

“No. I just wish someone would have told me that ten years ago.”

“Well, now you know. Better late than never.”

Sansa isn’t sure how true that is.

Her hand trembles slightly when accepting the cigarette one more time. Wrapping her lips around the filter she takes a consciously slow and deep drag. It takes everything not to wonder why the simple and harmless act of sharing a cigarette churns her this much. Why, when Margaery puts the cigarette out in the ashtray, part of her wishes they’d have another one, and could repeat the whole thing right away.

...

[READ CHAPTER ON AO3] [READ FROM THE BEGINNING]

[trashpandafiction]

We Survive (6)

Summary: What happens when the Behavioral Analysis Unit comes across a situation they weren’t trained for? When the dead begin to roam the Earth, it challenges the BAU to something they’ve never dealt with before: the apocalypse. Along their journey for survival, they come across Rick Grimes and his group of survivors. Among the survivors is Jocelynn Russo, who thinks that the new group could be helpful to them. Things seem to go well until an unexpected enemy appears. Will Negan and the Saviors be the one thing to break the groups, or will they be able to defend themselves? All anyone knows is they have one common goal; to survive. Pairings: None yet. Word Count: 3,126 Warnings: None. A/N: Do you guys like to have back-to-back action/events, or do you enjoy the slower/filler-ish chapters? I'm trying to figure out how to break things up in the future. If you’d like to be tagged in future updates, just let me know! Please do not redistribute my work without my permission! Reblogging is fine with credit intact.

Six - A Request

          A few days had passed and the BAU was fitting in seamlessly to Alexandria. Penelope was tasked with helping Olivia with inventories and with medical needs as they came in. Spencer would help Eugene with figuring out ways to supplement their group and how to make ammunition with the supplies that he found on a run with Abraham. JJ and Hotch were given guard jobs to start, and once they were comfortable with the group, and showed off their gun knowledge, they would be able to join in on runs eventually. Everyone in the group seemed to be getting along just fine with the new members, and vice versa; things were going well so far.

          Jocelynn took up a guard shift with Hotch to make sure that they were doing alright and to also give him a few pointers if he needed any. Rick felt that since she seemed to be able to get him to open up a bit, she would be the best person to send up to help him. She climbed to the bell tower of the church that they remodeled into a watch tower. Hotch was already standing in the window, looking out at the field behind Alexandria’s walls. She smiled to herself and walked over to him, rifle in hand.

          “Afternoon.” She said, hoping not to startle him.

          He looked over at her and gave her a nod, a small smile on his face. “Hey. I know I’m a little early, but I figured I’d get a head start on my shift.”

          She nodded and set her gun down, looking out the window before looking back at him. “Anything exciting happening today?” she asked, crossing her arms.

          “No movement so far, besides our own people.” Hotch answered. When he realized that he had included himself in the group, he corrected himself. “Your people.”

          A small smile crept over her face as he spoke. “I think if you’ve been trusted with a gun to protect these people, that would make them your people too, right?” She said and moved to sit down in one of the chairs that were brought up for the people keeping watch there.

          He listened to her and nodded, knowing that she was right. Maybe there was part of him that didn’t fully believe that they were really welcomed here.

“So how is everybody else doing so far?” she asked.

          He kept watch over the fields and shrugged. “Well, no one has complained, so I think that’s a good sign. Your people have done a really good job at making us all feel welcome, and we all appreciate it.”

          “Well, I’d like to think that we’re pretty welcoming. Rick’s good about giving people chances. I know he came off a bit guarded, but he has reasons to be.” she added.

          He looked over at her and nodded. “In this world we’re all living in now, I think everyone has their guard up. We’ve all lost something.” He said before looking back at the fields.

          She got up and walked over to stand across from him. “At this point, I think it’s more abnormal to find someone that hasn’t lost something or someone.”

          He nodded, “That’s just the world we’re in now.”

          “Did they not have zombie apocalypse training at the FBI?” she asked him, trying to lighten the conversation.

          “They did but I skipped that course.” He answered dryly before looking at her with a half-smile. “They prepare you for just about everything. But this? I don’t think all the training in the world could prepare anyone for this.”

          “Maybe it’s better that way. When you’re prepared, you overthink, and overthinking can get people hurt or killed. If you’re winging it, you go on instinct. I think all of this helped a lot of people get back in touch with their gut feelings.” She mused.

          He looked at her and nodded. “I suppose so.” He said. He opened his mouth to ask her about how she ended up here, but he stopped himself, not because he didn’t want to know, but because he wasn’t sure if she wanted him to.

          The two of them continued their post and chatted a bit about their lives before all of this. Of course, neither of them opened up too much to the other, but they were getting there. Whenever the conversation seemed to start getting dark, one of them would change course with a joke or a dry remark. Once Maggie and JJ came to cover the next shift, Jocelynn gave them an update on how things had gone and took the opportunity to ask JJ how things were going while she was at it.

          “Strangely enough, it feels good to get back to work.” She laughed softly.

          “She’s putting us all to shame out there.” Maggie joked before taking Jocelynn’s rifle and heading up the bell tower.

          “Then she’s already back to being her old self.” Hotch teased back, handing his rifle to JJ.

          “Thanks, Hotch.” She said with a good-natured eye roll.

          “I’m just glad that you guys are feeling comfortable.” Jocelynn added.

          She nodded and bit the inside of her bottom lip before speaking up. “Hey, can I run an idea by you that maybe you can run by Rick?” she asked, earning a nod from the other woman. “I know that we’re not quite seasoned enough to go on runs, but we’d like to at least take a ride to the cabin we were at.”

          “JJ…” Hotch started, thinking it was too soon to ask for too much.

          “You know that the longer we wait, the smaller the likelihood of them still being there is. I’m just asking to take a run to the cabin, check it out, and we’d be back in no time. We could even pick up some more supplies if we find them.” she offered, looking between Hotch and Jocelynn since she felt like she was trying to convince them both.

          “We don’t know if they even made it out of that.” He said in a low voice.

          “What’s the harm in making sure? If it was one of us back there, they wouldn’t stop until they knew for sure.” She reasoned.

          Jocelynn took in both sides before speaking up. “I don’t see the harm in trying. We can check the maps and see where the cabin is and see if there’s any places we can hit on the way. I don’t know if you’ll all be able to go though, but at least a couple of you could.”

          “That’s perfect. I just want to check and see.” JJ said.

          “I’ll talk to Rick and see what we can come up with and get back to you later.” She offered.

          “Thank you. It’s a huge favor, I know, but it would mean a lot to our group, and we can get some supplies for everyone while we’re out.” She said.

          “I can’t make any promises, but I’ll see what he says.” She assured.

          “Thank you.” She said again before heading up the bell tower for her shift with Maggie.

          Jocelynn was sure that a quick run to the cabin wouldn’t be a big deal, but she wasn’t sure how Rick would feel about risking people for such a quick run. Still, she was going to try, if this could give them closure about their friends, she was going to try.

          “If it’s a big deal, you don’t have to ask about it just yet. I told her to wait it out and see first before asking for favors.” Hotch said.

          She looked up at him and gave him a small smile, “It’s not a big deal. We know about covering all your bases with friends and family. If there’s a chance that they could still be there, or just a chance of closure for you guys then it’ll be worth it. C’mon.” she said and started walking towards the ‘city hall home’ so they could radio Rick.

          He followed her lead, trying to come up with the words to say. “If I’m being honest, I don’t have much hope that they made it out of there.”

          She looked up at him and nodded some. “I get it. It won’t hurt to ask though, right?”

          “I suppose not.” He mused.

          “Do you know what your next shift is?” she asked him.

          “I think that was all I had for the day. I can go see if Reid needs a hand.” He said before shaking his head. “Sorry, Spencer. I’m still getting used to not using last names.”

          She smiled and nodded. “It’s okay. I’ll talk to Rick and keep you and JJ posted.” 

          “Sounds good. Thank you.” He said and headed off to Eugene’s house.

          Jocelynn paged Rick over the radio and told him to meet her so they could talk about JJ’s request. She sat at the large dining table that had been used for meetings, mapping runs and routes, and planning around Alexandria. She only had to wait a few minutes before she heard the front door opening, followed by footsteps, then Rick appeared in the entryway of the dining room. He was covered in sweat and dirt, causing his white t-shirt to stick to his body like a glove. She forced herself not to stare as he walked towards her.

          “What were you doing?” she asked.

          “Had to change a tire on the van.” He answered, pulling a bandana from his back pocket and wiping it across his face. “How was your shift?”

          “You’re really living up to your last name.” She teased.

          “Funny.” He said as he sat down in the chair beside her. “What did you want to talk about?”

          “JJ brought up the possibility of a run to the cabin they had been at.” She started, wanting to gauge his reaction before she continued.

          “The one that was overrun by walkers?” he asked.

          “She just wants to make sure that their friends aren’t there waiting for them or something.” She leaned forward in her chair and tapped the map that was spread across the table. “If it’s close, we can make a supply run out of it too. Then it’s a win-win.”

          He quirked a brow at her comment. “Joce, the chances of them still being there…” he started.

          “I know. And I think they know that too, but maybe having some closure one way or another would be good for them. She was the one to bring up using it as a supply run too so it wouldn’t be a pointless trip.” She added.  

          “So, they want to take a ride to an unknown cabin to see if their friends are still there?” he asked, running his hand over his beard.

          “JJ said she wouldn’t even ask for all of them to go. We can keep some of them for collateral.” She joked some. “If we let them do this, I don’t think they’d ask for anything else.”

          “You have a gut feeling about this too?” he asked her.

          “Rick, they just figured they’d ask and I told them I’d ask you. They’re not asking for a miracle.” She said, leaning back some.

          He looked at her for a moment before getting up and going to the radio. He paged out, asking JJ and Hotch to come by city hall so they could chat. When he came back to the table, he put his hands on his hips. “If it’s too far or too deep in the woods, it’s not gonna happen.”

          “I appreciate this.” she said sincerely.

          He didn’t know what sort of hold she had on him that had him letting guards down, but it was a strong one. Feeling like he might have come off a bit harsh, he tossed the bandana at her. “That’s for calling me grimy.”

          “Ew.” She flinched back, grabbing the bandana and throwing it back at him. “You are grimy.” She laughed softly.

          “That’s Sheriff Grimy.” He smirked; his second throw was interrupted by a knock on the door. He schooled his features and nodded towards the door. “Why don’t you get it?”

          Jocelynn got up and nudged his side as she walked past him to get the door. She let JJ and Hotch inside and led them to the dining room where Rick stood. “Just so you guys know, you don’t have to knock here. It’s our city hall so it’s open for business hours.” She said with a small smile.

          Rick said hello to them both before they all sat down at the table to talk about the cabin plan. “Joce told me a little about your request.” He started.

          JJ nodded and cleared her throat. “I know that it’s soon to be asking for a favor, especially after you all let us stay here. We just want to be sure that they’re not waiting for us. Our plan was that if we got separated, we’d meet back at the last location we were all at together and if that’s the case, they might be waiting there for us.” She explained.

          “We know there’s not a high probability that they’re there, but at least we could know for sure.” Hotch added.

          “Do you remember where the cabin was?” Rick asked.

          She looked down at the map and then back at him, “If I could see the map?” she asked before leaning forward to see the map better.

          Jocelynn leaned forward and pointed to a spot on the map. “This is the diner that we all met at. I don’t know if that helps at all.”

          She furrowed her brow and shook her head, “No, that’s actually a big help.” She stood up so she could see more of the map, running her finger along the road. “We went about this far, I think.”

          Rick leaned forward and pointed to another spot. “This is the road that we turned on to get to that house you were at.”

          Hotch joined the search and studied the map for a moment. “We stayed on this road, but I don’t know how long. The cabin wasn’t part of a neighborhood, it was secluded.” He explained.

          “It had to be right here. It wasn’t that far off from the road.” JJ said, pointing to a spot on the map. “And that’s gotta be the stream we crossed. I’m almost positive it’s right about here.” She tapped the spot on the map and looked at Rick.

          “Almost positive?” he asked.

          “If it’s not there then I don’t know where it would be.” She shrugged.

          Jocelynn looked between the two before speaking up. “There might be some tools or something we could scavenge from the cabin.”

          “There wasn’t much left, but we weren’t there long enough to really scout it out. If I had a vehicle, I’d just go on my own, so no one was risking their lives for a potential dead end, but I’m not stupid enough to ask that.” she said truthfully.

          Rick scanned the map for a moment before looking at Jocelynn, and then at JJ and Hotch. “There’s not many places we could check out there.” It started to sound like a no, but just as she was about to plead her case, he continued. “You and one of yours can go out there with two of ours, nothing crazy just a quick trip.”

          “I’ll go with them.” Jocelynn said.

          “I don’t know about that.” He said, looking over at her. He wouldn’t say it in front of JJ and Hotch, but he wasn’t crazy about sending Jocelynn into such an unknown situation, even with collateral.

          “Then come with.” she said with a shrug. “Then you can assure it all goes smoothly.”

          How could he argue with that? He eyed her before looking back at JJ. “We’ll leave tomorrow morning, just after sunrise so we can get back as soon as possible.”

          Relief washed over her while surprise washed over Hotch. “That sounds great. Thank you.” She said, giving his arm a gentle squeeze. She didn’t want to chance a hug just yet, but she wanted him to know they were grateful. “We’ll talk to the others and two of us will be at the gate tomorrow morning.”

          “Alright. No promises.” He said again.

          “The chance is enough.” She said.

          The four said their goodbyes before going outside, Hotch and JJ headed back to their house while Rick offered to walk Jocelynn home.

          “Am I in trouble?” she asked as they headed down the street.

          “Not at the moment.” He replied. “I don’t know how I feel about you going into this, if their friends are there and it turns into an ambush…”

          “I’ll be just as capable as anyone else would be. I’m starting to think you don’t think I can handle myself.” She said, trying to keep a light-hearted tone to her voice.

          “I know you can handle yourself. It’s not you I have a problem with, it’s other people.” He said.

          “You don’t get this worried about Maggie or Michonne. Glenn doesn’t get this treatment.” As they approached her house, she turned to face him. “If this is about that run, that was one mishap and we made it out alright.”

          He copied her movements, turning to face her. “You almost didn’t.”

          “But I did. You got me out of there, and tomorrow you’ll be there again.” She tilted her head to the side some and gave him a half-smile. “Besides, our last run went just swimmingly.”

          “Yeah, and somehow, you talked me into taking in four new people.” He said, leaning one hand on the railing of the porch steps.

          “Four good people who have worked hard since the moment they were invited to stay. If something goes even slightly wrong tomorrow, I’ll never leave the gates of Alexandria again.” She said, holding her pinky out in front of her. “Pinky swear.”

          That got a crooked grin from him, and he shook his head. “I’m gonna hold you to that.” He said, linking his pinky with hers. “Go get some sleep before you talk me into anything else.” He said, unlinking their pinkies and patting her arm gently.

          She smiled and gave him a salute. “Yes, sir.” She headed up the porch steps and into the house, waving to him before she shut the front door.

          Rick waved back and scoffed. “Sir.” He mumbled as he headed back home. He knew that she was right, and he was glad that she hadn’t pressed the issue of his protectiveness further than she had. He knew why he was more protective of her compared to Maggie, Glenn, Daryl, or any of the other adults there. Even if he didn’t want to admit it to himself, he knew.

[tuiyla]

Buffy s4 + Angel s1 summary thoughts

I really should have been doing these as I made my way through the series but what can you do, waiting to gather the motivation to write these would have seriously put off actually watching the show. But this post BtVS season 3 era feels like it needs a take-a-step-back moment of reflection before I go into Buffy season 5 and Angel season 2. I’ve heard nothing but promises to these two seasons being better than their predecessors but that’s for a future me to decide on.

Buffy season 4

Despite many really good or even excellent one-off episodes and juicy character bits it’s hard for me to come away from this season feeling satisfied. The crux of that is the season arc/big bad, possibly the most lackluster so far. The Master was underwhelming as well, sure, but the Master lived in season 1 of Buffy where the show was finding itself, and so was Buffy herself in the role of the Slayer. Three years, a graduation and many intimidating and heartbreakingly personal villains later, the Initiative and particularly Adam felt so weak. I understand that there were certain production reasons, such as the character of Maggie having to be written out, but I can’t imagine the season arc would have been that much more compelling with Maggie still there in the second half.

Hate to be that person but I hardly think I’m the the last 23 years to observe this: much of the blame is on Riley. Not Riley as a character or his actor, but the mere fact that they put so much on the shoulders of this new character who was ultimately just not interesting enough to carry the emotional weights he was supposed to. My only reason, even after a whole season, for caring for Riley remains the fact that Buffy cares about him. But after how tedious their relationship has been at many points, not to mention how I felt myself liking Buffy herself less when she was with Riley, that really doesn’t seem enough. I was fully prepared to have him be written out by the end of the season, potentially as a face-heel turn or heroic sacrifice, or seeming face-heel turn followed by heroic sacrifice. Not like I want Buffy to have yet another loss but it’s also not like they have a future and that way Riley’s inclusion would have actually made sense. He felt so inconsequential in the finale.

My problems with Riley, a character this season has put a lot into and what for aside, the Initiative was so underwhelming after just a few episodes that I don’t even think it’s worth much of a discussion. Very often when watching BtVS I catch myself self thinking, “oh, that’s a really good writing decisions” particularity with twists. It started small like with the Anointed One’s reveal, which didn't end up amounting to much but then the series really picked up space and choose to go down the most interesting and somewhat unexpected routes. The Angelus twist in season 2 had me thinking, “oh, of course. of course, this is very clever” and brought new dynamics and new stakes. I’m of the opinion that Angel’s return in season 3 undermined some if not a lot of the season 2 tension, but still it was well done. Season 3 felt similar in its decision to introduce a rogue Slayer, Faith a dark mirror to Buffy. I had my issues with it, as I think Faith’s turn could have used a better execution and she went full moustache twirly too fast for what the story was building up, but a great choice more or less well executed.

But in a way, since the Angelus reveal it feels like these great ideas are getting sloppier executions. I’m yet to see where Spike’s character goes but the chip method of having him interact with the Scoobies but not kill them was another excellent idea. On paper, having Buffy tentatively trust someone again and date him only for him to be on the side of the insidious government operation was also a good enough idea. Again, Riley as a character couldn’t carry that plot but even beyond just the Buffy and Riley of it all the Initiative falls flat as a threat and their presence is tedious, no matter what they’re aiming for. Adam... Adam hardly feels like he’s worth dignifying with words. He’s the most boring and least intimidating big bad since the Master. Not for lack of effort but the shock value of him killing children and dissecting demons can only take us so far and “so far” wasn’t the finale.

Those were mostly frustrations but there are plenty of things I loved about this season. Some of the scope felt ambitious and rich in characters, the overall progress of our mains is engaging and it’s just fun for the majority of its run. I don’t think I’ll get into specific beats and characters here but as always just drop me an ask if there’s anything you’d like to discuss at length. My hope for Buffy season 5 is that it lets itself have fun with the next big bad and frees Buffy from the Biley relationship.

Angel season 1

My main concern going into Angel the series was its lead’s suitability to have his own show. I had nothing against Angel as a character int he first three seasons of Buffy and knew Boreanaz was a good actor, his stint as Angelus proving this point, but I had doubts about the ch. I think my main problem was that he so intensely existed in relation to Buffy, his character outside of that relationship and his bonds with others overshadowed. In this sense, it felt right to have Cordelia be the other BtVS character joining him, also someone who suffered form not having sufficiently developed relationships with the majority of the cast. And Doyle’s addition as a third, different character rounded their little group out.

That said, season 1 took a long while to really capitalize on the dynamics it had. By the time they really felt like a trio, Doyle was suddenly gone. And I stand by the fact that next to Angel and Cordelia a new, unknown character was a nice way to make this show its own thing and more than just a Buffy spinoff, but Wesley’s arrival was a breath of fresh air. He already feels like a character much more integral to the universe of Angel rather than that of Buffy. There’s a lot to be developed, too, and though, if not for irl events, I would have liked to see Doyle stay just a little longer, this feels right. The Angel-Cordy-Wesley trio, despite all originating in BtVS make Angel the series feel like it has its own identity.

Now, mind, that took a while too. It took until episode 9 in my simultaneous Buffy and Angel watch until I stopped putting off ATS episodes in favour of BtVS ones, until the two had more or less the same quality in my head. Angel season 1, despite Buffy season 4′s faults feels like a more uneven series but it feels like an unfair comparison, anyway. I didn’t mind the one-off case of the week noir adventures but the end of season 1 took more care to actually develop its core characters and establish a larger plot, which I appreciate. The beginning was sort of rough and felt too dark and gritty for the sake of it but I’ve grown to appreciate ATS’ tone. I particularly wish that we continue steadily developing the main cast and their dynamics with each other because without that, Angel has no place being its own series.

If episode 9 was when I started getting invested, episodes 18 and 19 with Faith were when I started feeling like ATS was its own thing, Angel his own character. His handling of Faith was rooted in his view of the world, not Buffy’s, and that distinction felt right to make. Maybe Faith would have deserved a different fate on BtVS, but she’s a character on Angel now. Or, at least I hope she’ll continue making appearances.

That is mostly it for now, more to say of course but I want to march on with the series themselves and process all before maybe returning to some topics.

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Biweekly Media Roundup

- The Adam Project (Movie) - This sure was a movie huh. It wasn’t so bad that I feel like writing a dissertation on it but boy it wasn’t any good either. Everyone in the movie just spoke in that Ryan Reynolds quip humor which I have liked in the past but here it was way too much and not particularly clever or funny, and really got in the way of any sort of emotional depth or realism the story was trying to convey-Everything just felt forced and unnatural. The story also didn’t make much sense, I like time travel stories as a whole, but the characters were time traveling to prevent time travel from being invented which?? Maybe you’ll stop it from being invented at that specific time but if it's a possible phenomenon then someone will invent it at some point dude, I don’t think this is solving anything. They also pull the “I can’t tell someone that they're going to die cause that might change the future” despite the fact that everything they are doing is actively and intentionally changing the future. I think the only thing I was impressed by was the protagonists house which was this incredibly nice open-air Cabin in the wood, wish I lived there. Anyway, don’t watch this, you can find better things to do.

- Buddy Daddies (Anime) - The only non-sequel anime I decided to watch this season, I am having fun with Spy X Family Gay Dads addition. I can’t say it’s doing anything unexpected but if you like this kind of thing it’s competent enough, and I do really like the perpetually tired half-shaved updo character design of the darker haired father. The ending theme is quite cute and the comedy is solid so far, my main hopes going forward are that the child character is allowed to have some depth outside of “cute toddler” and that we get more backstory/interactions between the male leads and what their deal is. Good wholesome show for now.

- The Vampire Dies In No Time (Anime) - Hey it’s back. I’m actually surprised it got a sequel season as I didn’t think the first one did that well but hey, I’m happy it’s here. The comedy can be hit or miss and even actively cringey sometimes so it’s hard to recommend, but I really enjoy these characters and their unconventional family. There’s just no other series I can go to where a guy comes over to his arch-nemeses house to show his roommate a PowerPoint Presentation he made of why that guy’s the worst. It’s stupid in the best way possible. Can’t wait to see more of Best Boy John as well. 

- JJBA: Stone Ocean (Anime) - People turned into Snails last time, that was fun.

- The Greatest Estate Developer (Webcomic) - I’m so tempted to just read the webnovel for this, as I do plan to eventually, but I told myself I would finish ORV first so it might be awhile. It’s just the perfect comfort food though, I love the asshole best friend's dynamic of the leads and the continuous betterment of society Lloyd brings to the World. We’ll see if this will motivate me to finally finish ORV or if I’ll just cave first. 

- Demon Slayer (Anime) - Don’t have much to say, rewatching this with my sister, it’s cute with good animation and nice characters, I enjoy it a reasonable amount. 

- The S Classes That I Raised (Webcomic) - Successfully got my sister into this now which I consider a win. 

- Sense8 (TV) - Yup.

- Persona 5 Royal (Video Game) - Okay so here’s what I’ve actually been doing all week, this game has consumed my life. I’ll save most of my thoughts until I’m closer to the conclusion but for now I really adore the visuals and stylistic flair of the game as well as the character interactions-I appreciate that the Phantom Thieves actually hang out and feel like friends, it’s surprisingly common for media to just have the cast say they’re close without ever actually showing them spending time together so I’m grateful. The music's also solid, though 50 hours in it’s starting to haunt my daily hours as well. I’m going to make this my whole personality in February, watch me. 

I also watched the first episode of The Last of Us, though I’ll hold off on judgement for now. Demon School has also gotten better so I’m keeping up with that too.

Listening to: Persona 5 OST, Troublemaker by Olly Murs, As It Was by Harry Styles, Anti-Hero by Taylor Swift, Tangled Up by Caro Emerald, Hell’s Comin’ with Me by Poor Mans Poison, Kaibutsu - AmaLee cover, The Fine Print by The Stupendium, Do It All The Time, Waste by Oh Wonder, Stay by Reinaeiry, Black Magic by Little Mix, Kiss Me Son Of God by They Might Be Giants

[dankusner]

REAL ESTATE

Investor’s vision to reinvigorate Brentwood

He wants to offer mid-priced housing near transit, commercial hubs

Despite a recent trim, downpours encouraged thick and thorny underbrush filled with smilax and hedge parsley to persist.

But there was something that Paul Carden had on his mind that kept him trudging through the overgrown, scratchy weeds in the tucked-away pocket of Brentwood on a humid June afternoon.

He’d navigated to the dead end of Ridge Street, which gave way to a gravel road before the short walk began.

“This is my ace,” said Carden, the moment a break in the canopy of oaks, pecans and chinaberries gave way to the Dallas skyline.

The view over the gaping bluff was as unexpected as it was breathtaking.

Carden has assembled nearly 10 acres in the pocket-sized Brentwood community within Oak Cliff, east of the Dallas Zoo and south of the Tenth Street Historic District.

It marks one of the oldest sections of the area, dating back to the late 19th century.

‘Keep pushing’

His vision for the holdings is simple: Offer mid-priced housing while creating a destination anchored by thoughtful commercial projects and near existing transportation hubs that future development will gravitate toward.

Carden was raised in Oak Cliff and has spent his career working in retail real estate after earning a degree in finance.

It’s a direction he took as he listened to a common refrain growing up.

“I kept hearing, ‘Could someone else go and solve this issue? Could someone else go and do this?’ And I thought, I’m just going to do it myself, keep going and keep pushing,” said Carden.

He began purchasing his first lots in Brentwood in 2016, believing someone else might see the potential and want to go in alongside him to build in the area.

About two years ago, he realized no one else was coming. He started buying again.

“I thought, if I have a good idea and I try to do the right thing, I’m pretty sure people are going to work with me. So far, that has been the case,” said Carden, who started bringing in outside equity that buys into his vision about a year and a half ago.

The lots Carden acquired with downtown views are reserved for dwellings.

He controls prime swaths that dead-end into one another that will share in the panoramas.

It’s meaningful in that he can create a walkable, transit-oriented community and never worry about a street suddenly becoming an unpleasant and busy cut-through.

Transit, lush spaces

Closer to the zoo and the under-construction Southern Gateway Park are more potential sites for dwellings and projects that could house retail.

Carden is also a minority investor in the EastDock adaptive-reuse project, which Proxy Properties LLC is aiming to position as a mixed-use development.

He previously worked with the firm on the zoning for its Oak Cliff Assembly project that stands within Brentwood, as well.

Design for Carden’s planned homesteads will take cues from Swedish cabin-style architecture.

Six-foot-wide sidewalks and lush landscaping will permeate the publicly accessible mixed-use spaces he plans.

All of the acquisitions from Brentwood Carden Equities capitalize on the notion that there is inertia from not only the Dallas Zoo, but the completion of the new deck park moving south of Interstate 35 East.

It also leans into a feature that is unique to just a few neighborhoods outside of Brentwood in a spread-out city like Dallas.

It has access to three DART stops a little more than 10 football fields apart from one another.

Carden potentially plans to put retail on his lots that fall between the zoo and deck park and the ample public transportation in an area that currently lacks such resources.

Carden points to the over 90 acres of the RedBird revitalization when he thinks of a project hyper-focused on a particular area like his.

In the case of his 10-odd acres in Brentwood, the footprint is smaller.

With that comes the need for intention per Carden’s philosophy to create an ecosystem of projects that are interrelated and support each other, even if they’re not necessarily next door.

“Every project should ultimately further the mission of bringing economic opportunity to the community in collaboration with it,” he said.

Carden, who self-funded his initial acquisitions, is not seeking nonprofit or not-for-profit backing to get his projects off the ground.

“Part of respecting the potential of the community is demonstrating that not only can you do the right thing, but you can do the right thing profitably,” said Carden.

Missing piece

His process includes conversations with neighbors around the sites he’s acquired.

Beyond building advocates, Carden wants to ensure he’s asking people that live in Brentwood what they want to see in their own neighborhood, whether that’s for commercial or residential development.

He’s eyeing a unit or two with an elevator among his future multifamily development at what he’s dubbed the “Grant Trio,” a collection of three lots positioned along Grant Street.

He’d heard from a neighbor that they desired a place where an older parent could be accommodated, and he listened.

He’ll also consider small, fenced-in yards for pets per another suggestion.

Another key push for Carden is working to address housing’s missing middle.

“We see chain reactions where people can’t afford to stay close to somewhere like Bishop Arts because there isn’t a variety of housing prices and types. They move closer to Uptown or somewhere else because there is variety,” said Carden.

“Then you start liking the neighborhood, like being closer to work and, lo and behold, you start having a brain drain because it turns out people don’t want to commute further than necessary.”

More options

He believes the same migration also occurs when workers receive raises and no longer qualify for area median family income programs, whether those be Amazon employees or teachers.

“Not having a variety of housing options is essentially encouraging displacement, and a lot of my housing works to correct that,” said Carden.

While Carden acknowledges interest rates are a challenge, his good fortune has come from having investors who are patient and understand the mission behind the deals, he said.

Plus, most of his deals are all equity, which removes a lot of strain.

“Right now, we have time for the interest rate side of things to sort itself out because I need to make these zoning changes anyways,” said Carden.

“I have some wiggle room to work with in terms of getting things right.”

[aquaticlime]

JIMMY FALLON INTERVIEW

February 11th of 2024 I was invited to guest star on an episode of the tonight show which Jimmy Fallon. The teaser trailer for my debut film had just been released on February 8th creating a lot of excitement and buzz surrounding my name.

I’ve mentioned this interview before I believe on my BAFTAS post. But it’s the first interview I do in my Fame Dr, in it I almost reveal my celebrity crush on live Television, how girly pop of me! I seriously had so much fun with this idea I’ll probably be so embarrassed by the repercussions of it but c’est la vie! Below is what I wore nothing to crazy, fancy but still comfortable and of course red for the movie I’m promoting. Enjoy!

❝ [Transcript of the interview]

Jimmy Fallon is in bold, My answers are in normal text.

I cut out the pleasantries in the beginning.

"We saw the trailer for your new film, and everyone here was blown away by it. How does it feel to finally be starring in your first full-length feature film?"

“Euphoric is the first thing that comes to mind. It’s all happened so quickly and now I’m a guest star on jimmy Fallon of all things”

"No kidding? I would have thought you'd been in the business for years judging by that trailer. Tell me, is there a lot of pressure working on a big film like this for the first time?"

“I think there should be but I haven’t felt much, I’m still riding the high from everything. Plus everyone I’ve met and worked with so far has been so kind and supportive.”

"Ah, so you've gotten lucky with your first project, then! How do you feel about all the hype surrounding this film? does it make you nervous, excited, how are you feeling?”

“It’s amazing I hope everyone loves the story and my Character Dinah as much as I do. There’s a lot to appreciate in this movie from costuming and world building to the more behind the scenes like camera work and editing.”

“So how did the whole journey of becoming the star of a blockbuster movie happen? Was it something you always wanted, or was it somewhat unexpected?"

“Uhm A bit of both, I hadn’t known want i wanted to do in life til I was 14 or so, once I found acting though I dove straight into community theatre. But for this particular project I had read the book series it’s based on and fell in love with the story, so I practically stalked the authors instagram and found it was in the process of becoming a movie, I auditioned and the rest is history.”

"Wow, you really went for it, huh? You didn't just wait until an opportunity came along; you made your own. And I see that things are looking bright for you. Besides this film, do you have any other roles or projects lined up in the future?"

“I may have something else coming in the near future”

"Alright, now to get to know you a bit more personally. I'm sure some of the people in the audience here want to get to know you better. Do you have any siblings?"

“Yes I have two younger siblings, we’re quite far apart in age though.”

"Oh, really? How far apart are we talking?"

“My sister and I are 5 years apart while my brother is 14 years younger than me.”

"Wow, that is quite a gap, especially between you and your brother. I imagine you were pretty close to your sister growing up, since she was closer to your age?"

“Yeah we definitely were pretty close, she’s at that age now though where she thinks I’m embarrassing and would rather be with her friends”

"Ah, I know how that goes. It can be tough when your younger sibling just wants all their friends around or to be out living their lives. So, for your next question, let's talk about love and relationships. Are you in a relationship right now?"

“Oh haha nope nothing”

"Really? Nothing at all, not even a special someone?"

“You mean like a crush?”

"That's right. Is there someone in your life that you secretly have a crush on, maybe a school crush or someone you met on set?"

“I’m guessing you’re referring to David Iacano, who plays Wardley my characters love interest, but no. There’s nothing like that between us.”

"Okay, so not David. He's a very good looking guy, though, right? Plus, I heard you had some amazing chemistry during filming. Are you sure you don't have a little crush on him, even if you won't admit it?"

“Nope we’re just great friends, I’m sure my saying that isn’t going to change many peoples mind though.”

"Well, I'm not sure you'll convince me and a lot of people out there. But we can drop that line of questioning. So let's move onto the "Celebrity Crush" bit, then. Got any Hollywood actors that you swoon over?"

“Yeah I do”

"Oh? And who might that be?"

“I won’t say, if they know I’ll be so embarrassed. I’m hopeful that I’ll meet him on day and that I can play it cool, instead of freezing or saying something stupid like ‘omg you’re aar-‘“

“next question please”

"Alright, alright, let's leave that for the audience's imagination because we still have some questions about the movie. Without spoiling anything, can you tell us your favorite aspects of this show/movie?”

“Uhm- ooh that’s a good question. I- I would say the world of Wonderland is unlike any other you’ve seen yet. It’s fully flushed out but it changes with Dinah. She’s sort of the lens you see everything through. That might be my favorite bit, the audience seeing the way I saw it when playing Dinah.”

“Where will we be able to watch this movie once it comes out?”

“In Theaters April 20th”

❝ [End of transcript]

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