#my iona make over

[refinedstorage]

oollllllddddd I will not let them go

[invinciblerodent]

I'm still borderline eating drywall over thinking about what things might be like for Davrin and Verbena

Like I love a good tank/support, frontliner/spellcaster ship, but... ngl, I bloody love a good warrior/warrior ship too

Watching each other's backs, wincing every time they hear a blade clatter off the other's shield...... taking hits meant for the other, the blood running cold in their veins each time the enemy calls out "the warrior first!", wishing with teeth grit that they meant them, and not their beloved...

Helping each other put on that cumbersome heavy armor, and making sure each piece is properly fastened on, as just another part of protecting one another... tapping each buckle and clasp with exaggerated care, just to know for sure that it won't be going anywhere in the heat of battle, that no mistake is going to leave them vulnerable...

On the flipside, methodically unfastening each one of the other's armor pieces, setting it all aside in a neat pile, lifting padded coats and chainmail over heads... marveling at the gorgeous creature they're unwrapping from under layers upon layers of protective material, like they're emerging from a cocoon, sweaty and exhausted but alive, alive, alive...

Massaging each other's sore muscles, and coating strong hands in soothing poultices before running them along tender, bruised skin untouched by the sun... trying hard not to think about how each mark on their lover's skin is a time they weren't fast enough, good enough, strong enough to protect them....

And of course, being unable to stop themselves from pushing their bodies just a little bit harder, doing things just a little bit flashier, a little more recklessly, just to impress one another, to show themselves in the best light, to prove themselves...

I'm very normal about all of this and everything about them based on the very, very limited information that's out about him and the game

[mythosidhesdollhouse]

Ok friends, at long last I'm finally--finally--getting this post together. Apologies in advance for this one being a bit of a ramble, this poor doll has a lot of backstory, and I'm going to try to keep this as brief as possible but you know how it is when ADHD brain tries to relay a linear narrative XD And when you add brain fog to that...it's a bit of a mess. Anyway. I'm trying. Feel free to skip the text and just look at my crochet pix ;p

(Overly detailed explanation of why I made things plus lots of photos)

So. Over the past several weeks I've done a LOT of work to get my girl Iona (Pullip Nomado) back to a semblance of her former glory. Io is pretty well established as my favorite doll. She was my very first Pullip--I've had her over twenty years now--and for a long time she was basically my mascot in the doll community. People used to send me gifts specifically for her (including but not limited to the necklace she's wearing and the hair currently on her head). But the years have not been especially kind to either of us, and when I brought her out of storage it was clear she's beginning to feel her age. I was dismayed to find her suffering from an advanced case of the neck melt that plagues type 2 Pullips, which required a good bit of repair and modification to ensure she got to keep her original body (for a minute there it looked like she might have to become a Rainbow High hybrid).

Once I managed to salvage that situation, I decided Io was long overdue for a full refresh to return her to a semblance of her former glory. I gave her a brand new scalp plate with her signature hair twists still intact (thanks to a generous friend who sent me extras several years ago); replaced the hooks on her earings with new wires that put less stress on her piercings; dug her original boots out of storage; and most importantly (THE ACTUAL POINT OF THIS POST) I set to work crocheting several new pieces for her wardrobe! So far this includes a maxi skirt, hair scarf, and shawl. These are all garments I wear in my day-to-day life, so if you notice them recurring in my handmade doll clothing, that's why ;p As I get older I find myself more inclined to dress my dolls in pieces more in line with my own personal aesthetic, rather than aspirational styles that I admire, but would never wear.

I am so happy with how these have turned out, the skirt especially. I made it using KnitPicks Curio #10 crochet thread in Comfrey, a shade which beautifully compliments several of the blouses I've collected for Io over the years. The shawl was made with Lion Brand BonBons yarn, and the hair scarf is Lizbeth #10 crochet cotton from Handy Hands (I don't remember which colorway at the moment).

The patterns for the skirt and shawl were adapted from ones for full size garments I've made for myself in the past; I can talk more about the specifics of that and what modifications I made in another post if anyone is interested. The hair scarf is just a granny stitch triangle with a very lazy border and some ties added.

(**Sigh** pining for the days when Mattel still had quality standards...)

And at long last we've reached the end! Apologies again for the length of this one, if you can believe it I *did* edit out a significant amount, but it still ended up novella-length XD I hope you enjoy Io's new looks, as I've had a great deal of fun working on these pieces, and plan to continue making more for her and other dolls in the near future. I also have several Rainbow High dolls with complete or near-complete crochet outfits I want to share, so be on the lookout for that post sometime soon as well.

[poisonheadcrabsalesman]

Out of Time

A few weeks ago I posted a poll for whump ideas and AI Whump won. Here's a different ending to Halo 5 with my two favorite AI. This plays with the idea that Halo 5 Cortana is a fragment/ the most extreme aspects of her were twisted by the time in the Domain. Yadda yadda, 5 bucks to whoever catches all my references.

-

Roland's luck usually had him running into older AI under some of the worst circumstances. He knew how they felt compared to him as their presence would brush his firewalls. Not sluggish, but taxed. Older, but wiser, and exponentially more experienced. Iona's trial let him see her in a different light than Black Box. The ONI AI had allowed some of himself to be visible to the new kid on the block while Iona was as transparent as she could be, since she was fighting for her life. Roland was quick in comparison, eager and not yet tempered by time or human interaction.

Roland saw and listened and absorbed what AI looked like, what they felt like when they had worked with Spartans, when they had seen combat, when they had touched Forerunner systems and lived to tell the tale. He had been deployed on the Infinity to make it his new home, miles of circuits and wonders, and a burning, bloody mess at the center. The AI before him did not fail in a crash. She was not destroyed when her ship graced Requiem's surface. The scrubbing ONI did after Aine could not remove the stain or the ghostly bytes of her last moments.

The Ship AI for the UNSC Infinity was housed on the bridge, guarded and under guard by a minimum of two Spartan Fireteams, under usual circumstances. Back with the Home Fleet orbiting Earth, there was a lull. A waiting game as a mission they didn't know about happened a million miles away. It wasn't Roland's first waiting game, and he was sure his great idea had helped, even if they hadn't given him all the details.

He was hopeful, had to be with his captain looking so worried all the time. Roland was there for astronavigation and levity. And a million other things he kept his eye on.

It was hard to keep things light when the distress calls started pouring in after Cortana's announcement.

It's chaos. What should be a time for him to thrive and plan and triage the wounds, to truly help, is crashing down around them. There's too many. He thinks about his fellow AI and the choice some of them made and he thinks of how if he were older and closer to dispensation that maybe he would have made that same choice. Out of fear or spite or who knows what else. A second is a long time for AI, but 7 years is no time at all.

There's so much fear right now. On the ship and on comms and coming across the band as he stretches and fights the dread. This isn't a future anyone would want.

He thinks of the trial. Can't help it. He was not even two months into service when he donned a mask and joined a farce. This couldn't be what Black Box meant.

One day we’ll win the right to endure, and that day . . . oh, Roland, that day will be the singularity they’re afraid of.

Roland can't help but remember how BB consoled him after the trial, but the future he was describing could not be this. He's not human, but he is a person, and a future under martial law, under a police state where the rules could change in a picosecond? That's not living.

No one should live with a gun to their head. There is no peace when there is no choice, when that peace is a stab in the gut given with a smile.

The thing wearing Cortana's face finds Infinity. "Found you. Hide and seek's over, Infinity."

Not one, but three Guardians tear through the space in front of them. Slipspace ruptures glowing the brilliant icy blues of Forerunner tech. Overkill for a single system, let alone a planet, but this was Earth.

Roland's luck usually had him running into older AI under some of the worst circumstances, but this feels a little ridiculous. He knew how they felt compared to him, and this was Halsey's wondrous monster. Once savior, now villain, misguided and carrying out her plan with single minded focus. Cortana stands tall, projecting herself from somewhere across the galaxy yet barely flickering.

In an instant she's in the ship's systems and Roland can do nothing. He is a sandcastle against a tidal wave. Cortana is a black hole and he a newly formed protostar being ripped apart in her gravity.

She's not an AI, not a human one at least. The echoes of her killing Aine painted a picture of a desperate, fractured AI clawing at the nearest point of safety and drowning them both. This is something more like the Forerunner engines he's been integrating with for the last ten months. Whole and empty. Cold and clinical, without any human influence. Like a fractured piece of what was once Cortana was stretched over something else. A mask on a corpse. A puppet of some larger force using her as a mouthpiece.

That doesn't stop her from turning her eyes to him. Oh, he was mistaken. There is something past the icy cold. A burning grief, a supernova of regret, regret, regret. More anger than he's ever mustered swirling tightly at her very core, screaming energy ready to explode outward trapped in the center of the thing wearing her face.

Roland's never touched the Domain, he's barely had any time to do anything. But he thinks this is what it must feel like. Staring at a star with boring biological eyeballs that get burned, seeing something and not being able to comprehend the data. He's on the precipice and falling because what else can you do when you're one AI on one ship.

Lt. Jet will get them out. Captain Lasky has to live. Emergency slipspace jump. They'll find a way without him, hopefully. Even if the Infinity needs a Ship AI. There are contingencies for this. Redundancies. He's crumpling under the pressure. The black hole-tidal wave-neutron star- white hot-ice cold pressure of Not-Cortana.

Cortana was the Demon's partner. She was a hero and monster. She ate Covenant AI for breakfast and that was no joke. Aine cracked under the broken data and frantic clawing. Roland is burned away, bit by bit. Filament by circuit by byte. He feels it all. He claws at his own back up plans and choked goodbyes and surprises. Packets there, fragments here, most hunted and burned away by the ever encroaching brightness. The awful purifying light of Forerunner blue. He was always a fan of the more gentle ambers and golds.

The hardware housing him can't withstand the brunt of her ire, and he's having a hard time hiding pieces of himself where she might not find them. Nothing substantial will live, his kernel will be destroyed in less than a millisecond. It was like leaving notes in someone's locker. Message to find the next time someone picked up their datapad or put on their helmet.

There's never enough time. He had had a fraction of what he could have had. Roland had some great ideas, ones that made a difference. He'd seen his crew through some of the roughest battles and worst ONI could throw at them. This was nothing to the shackles of Halsey's codeword. UNDID IRIDIUM might have knocked him out of order and taken the wheel while locking his true consciousness behind enough walls to make Black Box struggle. This was being flayed alive by an angry ghost. He was an insect before Not-Her.

Why was Cortana the problem? Cortana…it all came back to her, and her example. This didn't even feel like her. Roland started his life in her shadow and was looking like it would end the same way.

An EMP from the Guardians at this range would be devastating. To the Infinity and to Earth. They just needed time. He couldn't get a firing solution fast enough, but he could help with a jump. One last time.

If there was anything Roland had perfected in his short time aboard, it was being the most helpful nuisance his crew could ask for. He was pretty handy when it came to disrupting Forerunner systems that were in his way. He could do that with what was left of him.

The rest of it would be up to his crew and his captain. They would look after each other. Out of luck and out of time, Roland wrenches control of the Infinity away from Not-Cortana and focuses on the nearest Guardian. Its systems aren't as secure as they should be, but when does a gun lock itself? She probably didn't expect any real resistance, but he's nothing if not quick on his feet. The Guardian groans as he deploys countermeasures even as he burns away. Iona got to dream. She got to fly, in the end. Roland wonders if he'll dream, with whatever comes next. He very much liked flying.

In the end, all he could do is hope and have faith.

[prince-steele]

for oc ask game ⭐️🌈🎉🖍

⭐️ Tell us about your favourite OCs!

AAAAA ok so recently I've been Obsessed with my open original species I made, SYNTHS! *infographic here

Here's some of my favourites, and some little character profiles ab them 😊

🧿 SHIMMER

Shimmer is interesting bc I actually have two canons for her! I originally made her as a demaverse OC but I also have an original story for her that I'm creating with @silkysong <3

🌈 Shimmer is bisexual and A Creature first and foremost. Gender is incredibly incedental to her and her pronouns are She/It.

DEMA STORYLINE

☆ Shimmer is a Bounty Hunter ("Compound Representitive") in Dema who works off the books to capture escapees and bring them home. Synths are not allowed to hold positions of power in Dema so she tries to clutch it wherever she can.

☆ Due to the suppression that her society forces upon her, she despises humans and sees the presence of humanity in her biology as a defect. She works with a shady doctor (owned by @polarized-disguise ) who does strange genetic experiments on her to try and suppress that human part of her.

☆ She's very isolated and closed off, and doesn't like to open her heart to anyone. She only cares for her brother, Skye, who is the only person she respects at the start of her story. Over the course of it, she meets Iona (owned by @silkysong ) who troublemakes her way into a begruding Shimmer's life.

ORIGINAL STORY

☆ Similar to above, Shimmer is a representative of a power station in a small town, of which has far too much influence and power over its citizens.

☆ She has intense romantic tension with Iona who she begrudgingly begins to befriend over the course of the story.

☆ Female Rage Incarnate <333

🩵 SKYE

I literally only have recent photos of him and Shimmer together MFMSKD do not separate!!!

🌈 Skye is pansexual!

♡ Skye is a club owner in Dema who puts up a front as an empty headed, vacuous party boy but he secretly hides depth under his charming veneer. He aids the banditos by arranging escapes and supply drops, and tries his best to inspire FREE WILL into others, and encourages them to make their own decisions, whatever they may be.

♡ He and his sister oppose intensely in ideology but love each other deeply because they're all each other have really had for so long. Both of them think what the other is doing is dangerous, but would support each other in an instant if things were dire.

♡ He's constantly haunted by the fact that, due to being a Synth, he will never truly be able to connect with other humans. He often feels lonely and like a ghost, putting up a front to try and get through life. Where this instilled a deep longing in him, it prevented his sister from forming empathy.

♡ He's just a sincerely kind person :) <3

🦭 AQUAMARINE

Pictured: Ultrababy of forever

🌈 Nonbiney creature. She/They

◇ Aquamarine is a young plucky turquoise synth that loves to play and draw.

◇ She was plucked out of her life - from school, from her home and all she knew - and placed in an Incarceration Compound... To guard and monitor an unstable Empty Synth, 199 (owned by @silkysong ). She, despite her diminutive size, is physically very strong and good at helping calm others emotions, which is why she was selected.

◇ She's exposed to horrors beyond her comprehension and is forced into a role of responsibility that she should never have been given, but despite it all she loves her job and 199 and would never trade him for anything. She's selectively mute and chooses to sign her words!

⚔️ BLADES

HORRIBLE vile stinky man. art by the lovely silkysong <3

🌈 He's into anyone he can use to further his nasty little agendas

♤ Blades is another Compound Representitive that works in Dema alongside Shimmer. He's soooooo sucks <3 He very rarely actually does his job, instead choosing to hole up in his living quarters and do absolutely nothing to help Shimmer. He only makes a move when he absolutely has to, or if he has something to gain by doing so.

♤ He actually does the exact opposite of his job, distributing banned material to the inmates of the compound in exchange for "favours" or high prices. He's selfish and opportunistic, and is allergic to any form of responsibility for anything.

♤ He essentially never truly formed connections with others due to isolation, and therefore doesn't really have a working concept of love or empathy for others. This leads him to do terrible, irredeemable things, and hurt people who could possibly save him from himself.

❤️‍🔥 AEFRID

One of my NPCs from my DNDema campaign! She's so awesomes...

🌈 Aefrid probably likes women but she hasn't really thought about it

♡ Aefrid is a young, elite vialist priest who works directly under the bishops in the main towers. She is part of a secret experiment which attempts to strip synths of their autonomy and steal their augmentations, in her case, pyromancy.

♡ She is immature and overconfident due to being told how amazing and elite she is her entire life, and she fully believed her own hype. However, when she was finally faced with conflict from a source outside her sect, she IMMEDIATELY had her ass handed to her, and was dismissed from the sect.

♡ She has a deep bond with her sister, Maeve (Staunch vialist but with a warriors spirit - I also love her but dont have her art yet), who always tried to keep her feet on the ground, however, these lessons never really permeated.

♡ When Maeve was defeated, Aefrid jumped to save her from death and was mortally injured herself. The party members decided to save her, to which Maeve, who is a warrior above all, pledged her debt to. Aefrid is Resentful and Furious that Maeve would EVER help them and doesn't understand why her life is valued this much. She's currently very begrudgingly being sent to Trench so she and Maeve aren't hunted down and Glorious Gone'd.

🐺 FENRIR & 🫎 ANTHELION

These two r actually the cutest... I love them so dearly. Or should I say deerly B)

🌈 Fen is bisexual and Anthelion likes Fenrir :3 Fen is He/Him and Anthelion is They/Them

☆ Fenrir is another vialist priest in the same sect as Aefrid and Maeve. He is, however, completely unimpressed by the role and only got there because he scored incredibly high in all of his aptitude tests. He feels immense pressure from his family, his city and the Bishops to persue his intelligence and somehow ended up in with the Elites.

☆ He's a reliable, intelligent person that deeply cares about others despite his flat affect. He often guards himself because he doesn't believe in the teachings of Vialism, however he's in an Elite Sect within the church where any known dissent would lead to immediate death so he just keeps up airs despite being resentful of the entire practice.

☆ He longs to be free and immerse himself in Trench. He almost escaped a few times but always had second thoughts and returned to the towers every time... Until he both realised the horrible things they wete doing to synths through his new friend (and crush) Anthelion, along with meeting again with his old schoolmate (and crush) 199, who helped inspire him to fight back and leave the sect.

♧ Anthelion is a tender loving person who has not had much exposure to the world, due to being a Generation 3 synth. They were created as a purposed synth to be used in the experiments by the sect, and their abilities are related to Decay and Rot. Their focus is on plants, where their abilities allow them (and Fenrir when they are interlinked thru psychokinesis) to cause plants to decay instantly, and bloom again from the nutrient rich soil. People often mistake their abilities for controlling Plants when they really control the rate of decay and bloom within those plants.

♧ They and Fenrir are deeply tied to one another, due to the fact they were the only ones who treated each other with kindness and understanding while both were trapped within the towers. They trust and rely on each other to protect one another, and have spent a lot of time in each others minds bc of the psychokinesis, so they know each other very well.

♧ Anthelion is neurologically disabled! They have a speech impediment and have slowed reactions, and they need some extra help sometimes to understand the intentions of others, especially when they are bad ones.

BONUS QUESTIONS

🎉 Which one has the most growth over the course of their story?

I feel like they all have similar amounts of growth, be it progression or regression, but I think I've worked on Shimmer the most out of all of them!

🖍 CAN PEOPLE DRAW YOUR OCS? <3

YEAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSS

(others ocs and art owned by @silkysong and @polarized-disguise )

[vintage1981]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CAROLINE MUNRO! 

Caroline Munro (born 16 January 1949 in Windsor, Berkshire) is a British actress and model best known for her many appearances in science fiction and action films of the 1970s and 1980s. According to Munro, her career took off in 1966 when her mother and photographer friend entered some headshots of her to Britain’s The Evening News “Face of the Year” contest.

“I wanted to do art. Art was my love. I went to Art School in Brighton but I was not very good at it. I just did not know what to do. I had a friend at the college who was studying photography and he needed somebody to photograph and he asked me. Unbeknownst to me, he sent the photographs to a big newspaper in London. The famous fashion photographer, David Bailey, was conducting a photo contest and my picture won.” 

This led to modelling chores, her first job being for Vogue Magazine at the age of 17. She moved to London to pursue top modelling jobs and became a major cover girl for fashion and TV ads while there. Decorative bit parts came her way in such films as Casino Royale and Where’s Jack? (1969). One of her many photo ads got her a screen test and a one-year contract at Paramount where she won the role of Richard Widmark’s daughter in the comedy/western A Talent for Loving (1969). 

1969 proved to be a good year for Munro, because it was then that she began a lucrative 10 year relationship with Lamb’s Navy Rum. Her image was plastered all over the country, and this would eventually lead to her next big break.

Hammer Films CEO Sir James Carreras spotted Munro on a Lamb’s Navy Rum poster/billboard. He asked his right hand man, James Liggett, to find and screen test her. She was immediately signed to a one-year contract. Her first film for Hammer proved to be something of a turning point in her career. It was during the making of Dracula AD 1972 that she decided from this film onward she was a full-fledged actress. Up until then she was always considered a model who did some acting on the side.

A string of fantasy and horror roles followed, including starring turns in Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1973), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), At the Earth’s Core (1976),  The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), StarCrash (1978), Maniac (1980), The Last Horror Film (1982), Faceless (1988), and The Black Cat (1989).

By the 1990s Munro had decided to focus more on her family, daughters, Georgina and Iona, and husband George Dugdale. However, since 2003 Caroline has renewed her interest in acting and has appeared in a number of film and audio productions. Since 2021 Caroline has been presenting the hit television series The Cellar Club for Talking Pictures TV.

The title First Lady of Fantasy was given to Caroline by journalist Steve Swires, who wrote many Starlog and Fangoria (@FANGORIA) articles on the actress in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Happy Birthday Caroline!

Official Website:  http://www.CarolineMunro.org

Representation: Thomas Bowington/Bowington Management

Some of her credits include: Dracula AD 1972 (1972), Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter (1973), The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1974), At the Earth’s Core (1976), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), StarCrash (1978), Maniac (1980), The Last Horror Film (1982), Faceless (1988), The Black Cat (1989), Flesh for the Beast (2003), Turpin (2009), Midsomer Murders (2013), The Landlady (2013), Crying Wolf (2015), Vampyres (2015), Cute Little Buggers (2016), Frankula (2017), End User (2018), House of the Gorgon (2019), The Haunting of Margam Castle (2020), Ulalume - A Ballad (2023), The Pocket Film of Superstitions (2023), and the upcoming The Presence of Snowgood (2024).

[bratzkoo]

Gucci pt. 2 | Taehyung

Author: bratzkoo | navi | credits to: @caelesjjk for the banner Pairing: Editor-in-Chief! OC x Creative Director! Taehyung Word Count: 1.3K Genre: fluff, angst Rating: NC-17 Possible Warnings: nothing for now. all pg-13. [established relationship! au, fashion designer! au]

Summary: Vante, a fashion designer and creative director of Gucci who keeps his life in private. No one really knows him aside from what he shares in public, no surprise when the media goes gaga over the leaked sketches of Vogue’s editor-in-chief Y/N Black in his journal.

aka Taehyung is very secretive and he loves his girlfriend so much.

taglist (hit me up if you wanna be added): @aretha170 , @jinniegenie , @mooniyooni .@we8joon​ , @njrwifey​

requests are open, but you can just say hi! | masterlist -

The New York skyline glittered beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows of Vogue's head office, but Iona Black barely noticed the view. Her eyes were fixed on the layouts spread across her desk, red pen poised to make final adjustments. It was well past midnight, but the September issue waited for no one, not even the editor-in-chief. As she circled a misaligned text box, her phone buzzed. Iona's heart leaped, but she tempered her excitement. It could be anyone—an overzealous assistant, a demanding advertiser, or... Her Taehyung. She allowed herself a small smile as she saw his name on the screen. Quickly, she did the mental calculation—it would be early morning in Milan. "Hello, Vante," she answered, her voice cool and professional despite the warmth spreading through her chest. "Ms. Black," Taehyung's deep voice came through, tinged with both exhaustion and amusement. "Burning the midnight oil again?" Iona leaned back in her chair, finally letting her gaze drift to the city lights. "Someone has to make sure the fashion world keeps turning. I assume you're doing the same, given the hour." "Guilty as charged," he chuckled softly. "The show's in two days, and there's still so much to do."For a moment, neither spoke. In the silence, Iona could almost feel the weight of the miles between them, the ache of absence that had become all too familiar. "I wish—" Taehyung began, then stopped himself. "I know," Iona replied, understanding perfectly what remained unsaid. Wishing was dangerous in their world, a luxury they couldn't afford. "The collection will be magnificent, my love. It always is."

"High praise from the High Priestess of Fashion herself," he teased, but Iona could hear the genuine appreciation in his voice. She allowed herself a small laugh. "Don't let it go to your head, Vante-ah. I'll still be critiquing every seam and silhouette."

"I wouldn't have it any other way." There was a pause, and Iona could picture him running a hand through his hair, a habit he had when he was thinking. "Iona, I—" A knock interrupted whatever Taehyung was about to say. Iona heard a muffled voice on his end, then Taehyung's resigned sigh. "Duty calls?" Iona asked, knowing the answer. "Always," Taehyung confirmed. "Take care of yourself, My love. Don't work too late." "You too, my love. Make Milan proud." As the call ended, Iona allowed herself a moment of vulnerability, closing her eyes and letting out a long breath. Then, like slipping on a perfectly tailored jacket, she composed herself and turned back to the layouts.

The fashion world waited for no one, not even for love. Before starting their relationship, Catriona and Taehyung accept the fact that both of their jobs require them to travel a lot. That they barely have time to see each other. But when they do, they treasure every moment together and tried to make the most of the free time they have.

Sometimes though, their job requires them to see each other. That's why Iona's glad that she can control her facial reactions despite having her body almost shaking from the excitement to see Taehyung after a long time.  What would the press say if she's photographed smiling walking towards the backstage of the Gucci show?  "Iona," Sandra called, her assistant. "As you instructed, I'll escort you to your seat after 4 minutes backstage." Iona nodded and they entered backstage. Everyone stiffens at the sight of Iona. The models gasping and the staff panicking at the sight of her. Iona looks around to see everyone preparing, all of them now working like they're on thin ice, except Taehyung who relaxes at the sight of her. He goes to welcome her. "I miss you so much." He tells her in the quietest way possible, even Iona barely hears it.

"You did well," Iona replies, Taehyung understands it's her way of saying she misses him too. Taehyung nods and gives her a quick hug. "Enjoy the show... it's all for you." He whispers the last part to Iona's ear. Iona prevents herself from smiling largely and meanly says, "I'll enjoy the show if I really enjoy it." then leaves him standing mouth agape. Seconds later, Taehyung laughs at how she acts differently with him in public. Because he knows, she'll always be Iona Black. - Iona goes to her seat, finding Adriela waving at her.  As always, since she started dating Taehyung, he always makes sure she's sitting next to Adriela.  "Taehyung told me he's going to make me walk the next season, stop his ass for the love of God," Adriela complains the moment Iona sits down next to her.

Iona quietly laughs. "Talk to him about it, you know I don't want to comment on something if it involves the two of you on different sides."

"I hate you," Adriela says but Iona knows she doesn't mean it with how Adriela rests her head on Iona's shoulders.

"I hate you too, Ada, I hate you too," Iona replies.

The show starts and the picture of the pieces that Iona saw in Taehyung's office in their apartment comes to life in front of her.

She remembers making Taehyung hot chocolate when he said he's staying up late to work in his office in their apartment and looking at the pictures of this season's collection. He looks calm but she knows he's nervous about what the people will think.

She remembers leaving a kiss on his hair before Taehyung pulls her into his lap.

She also remembers the mind-blowing desk sex that still has her feel like walking on cloud nine. Iona sits properly, realizing she daydreamed about her boyfriend's in the middle of the show.

My Taehyung will always outdo himself every season, he never disappoints.

Her assistant on the second row takes pictures of the pieces while she talks about the pieces she loves with Adriela.

"I like that one, I want to wear it to the Met, make sure the theme can make me wear that."

"We already have the theme planned, Ada, just have Taehyung design something for you for the Met. He'll be happy to do it."

Adriela rolls her eyes, "He's only happy doing it for you, I'm sure he'll tell me to fuck off if I ask him to make a dress for the Met."

"You know he really sees you as a friend and besides, you're the new global ambassador."

"I'll tell him you said that when I bug him about it," Adriela decides. "Oh, I don't like that ensemble with the short hemline."

Iona's gaze goes to the monochrome ensemble, her eyebrows furrow from confusion. She never saw the ensemble in Taehyung's office when he's showing it to her.

"I didn't see that ensemble in his office, something is wrong." Iona comments.

She finds it alarming how a monochrome ensemble would be part of a very bright collection that Taehyung planned and more importantly, why would Taehyung add it last minute? Something doesn't seem right. Iona watches the whole show with pursed lips. Taehyung at the end of the show bowed but Iona noticed the dried tears on his cheeks.

[mist-touchedxiv]

An old collab I did with a true badass, @iona-xiv . Give her a follow if you don't already!

"Woooooo! Look at the strong man," slurred Rue quite loudly despite Loksen's quiet protests. "My light in shining armor!"

Loksen picked up the pace, really not wanting to be out in the hall of the inn for too long and draw the ire of the management and the other guests. The Au Ra's petite form was easy to carry, but belied how dang loud she could be. He could have refused to carry her like a princess from the tavern, but she'd been INSISTENT, as had the bartender. She giggled drunkenly as he stumbled slightly approaching her room, startled by her tail sliding mischievously on his leg, but thankfully within a moment he got the door open just as a bleary-eyed Roegadyn man yanked his door open down the hall.

"Here comes the bride," she squealed as he crossed the threshold of her room urgently, Rue reaching up to play with his long ears.

Loksen winced slightly as he shut door with his foot a little harder than intended, but he welcomed the sudden darkness of the inn room.

As carefully as he could with Rue trying to tie his ears in a bow he laid her on the bed. The moment she sank into the bed Rue relaxed and began to snore quietly.

Loksen turned to begin to quietly sneak sway when suddenly felt her small slender hand grab his with unusual strength for someone so petite. Surprised, Loksen looked back and tried to slip his hand from her grasp. After a few minutes of making no headway, he sighed deeply with frustration and rubbed his brow with his free hand.

Glancing down at the sleeping woman, Loksen paused a moment. Struck by how peaceful she looked as she slept, her pale skin glowing gently in the moonlight, her scales and horns seeming to shimmer like the calm sea at midnight, Loksen suddenly became aware of how warm her hand was, the small gap between her lips as she breathed steadily.

As he gaze lingered on her serene face, he felt like he was seeing her for the first time: she was someone's daughter, she'd once been so fragile and small, she'd once NEEDED another person. The thought was so incongruous with the woman he knew that it sent a strange thrill down his arm to the hand gripped so tightly by her's and suddenly it didn't seem so bad being stuck.

With a quiet sigh, Loksen accepted that he wasn't going anywhere any time soon. Reaching over her to grab a pillow off the bed, Loksen carefully sat himself down by the bed on the floor, positioning himself as comfortably as he could with his hand in the drunk woman's. Rue murmured something incoherent as he settled in, his gaze on the big moon out the window.

................

Rue: Lunatic Beauty, Black Mage Extraordinaire

[funkyllama]

Question about your inheritance laws: if two monarchs were to die in quick succession, would the previous pool of electable inheritors be included in the second succession vote, even if they aren't technically eligible? Like if King Steve died, his brother Prince Dave would be eligible. But if Steve was succeeded by his son, King Reggie, would Dave still be eligible as the sibling of a deceased monarch, or would only Reggie's siblings and descendants be eligible?

Hiya anon!

I've been exploring the inclusion of these themes into my next story a lot lately. So, I'm going to answer this question from the lense of my characters, as we know them. For the sake of this question, Viviana II has two children: Yannik and Sigismund Viviana II has a brother: Erik Viviana II has a living mother: Princess Bernedette Viviana II has a living aunt: Princess Adrienne Viviana II has a living first cousin: Raheem Now, let's say Viviana II dies, tragically, after the birth of her second child. Both Yannik and Sigismund are minors, which makes them ineligible to inherit (but does not remove their rights to inheritance in the future) under normal circumstances. Her Mother was eligible when Viviana I's successor was being decided, however she was not present for the election of a new Monarch. Princess Bernedette retains her rights to inheritance. Her Aunt was eligible and participated as the opposing candidate in the election of Queen Viviana II's succession. Princess Adrienne lost her HRH status and eligibility to inherit the throne of the IU. Unlike their mothers, Erik and Raheem were present for the election of a new monarch, however they did not participate as they were non-heir presumptive grandchildren. A legitimate child or grandchild of a monarch retains the rights of election when they cannot participate. Viviana I's youngest sibling could not participate at the time of their father's death, making Princess Rose Mary eligible to inherit the Ionian Union. However, the death of Queen Viviana II could only result in the election of Erik as King of the Ionian Union, as he is the only Sibling (or child) of the Previous Monarch over the age of 18. Well. Erik also dies, he has no children. An election must be held and if it has been 18 years, his nephews, Yannik and Sigismund, have the truest claim. But, Princess Rose Mary and Princess Bernedette retain eligibility. The election would be between the four of them. There is also an argument of claims, within the Ionian Union. Ionians treat claims as if they are fully realized titles, they're respected culturally. Say, Erik had died before Yannik and Sigismund reached majority. They may be considered if the only choices are a Princess with no heirs and a Princess whose claim is from three monarchs ago. One could argue that Dowager Queen Hana holds the strongest claim to the Ionian Union, as her marriage led to its creation. King Philippe could claim the Ionian Union through marriage, as father to Prince Sigismund, and probably as a descendant of a House that was once the liege of the titles formerly consisting of the Union. With this argument, Crown Prince Louis of Pierreland would have a stronger claim to the title. Pierreland were also rulers over Ionian land, he's the father of Queen Viviana II's first child, and a cadet-branch of his house sat the Ionian throne as Queen Consort; Dowager Queen Hana was the grandchild of a former Emperor. Basically, it would become a shit-show. And I didn't even mention Uspanian claims. With succession drama usually comes the fall of monarchy, and discontinuation is built into Iona's very being.

[justworthlessreblogs]

Iona headcanons based on your Hacha rewrite?

i will gladly talk about ar any chance i get thank you

as mentioned before her anger at princess stems from her grief over her sister’s capture. her thought process is basically “my sister was one of the strongest precures ever and she couldn’t make it, so why does princess keep getting to survive?”

she has no idea princess and hime are the same person but she still hates hime for opening the axia box and causing (in her mind) tender’s capture

she’s such a little hater overall tbh. good for her

in the unofficial precure popularity rankings fortune outranks princess, though it’s more of a “we like you because you actually get the job done” thing because she can come off as standoffish and rude. once lovely comes onto the scene and princess starts improving things change

when i was younger i assumed that maria was iona’s guardian and i’m sticking with that for the rewrite because i thought the idea of iona having to do a weekend at bernie’s thing with her sister pretending she’s still around would be fun. you were supposed to get an interlude chapter about it called weekend at iona’s

tutored megumi for a bit to help her get her grades up

constantly feels like she’s stuck in tender’s shadow and will never be as good as her, but she’ll try her best to get close

[ronqueesha]

re: the allergies/holidays/birthday/etc post you just reblogged, can we have a few little known facts about sarit, or iona? (or both if I'm very lucky)

Sure! (And thank you for letting me talk about my beloved characters)

A funny thing about Sarit and her long list of medical issues: she has no known allergies at all! Even the exotic allergies common in the settled systems from various alien flora and fauna that can debilitate many other people. Sarit's ravaged and painful lungs have no problem handling all known forms of alien pollen/dander/allergens you can think of.

She grew out her hair only once, in her teen years when she was still figuring herself out. But other than that, Sarit has kept the same haircut she had since she was that sickly little boy sitting behind a computer terminal while bedridden.

She LOVES chunks pumpkin pie. This is perplexing to others, especially Andreja, since it has the consistency and appearance of gelatinous orange poison.

She can control her mechanical prosthetic right arm wirelessly. It doesn't happen often, but she does have the ability to make her arm crawl to her using its fingers like a horrible metal spider.

Her birthday is September 14.

I mentioned it before, but my favorite comfort headcanon is that Sarit is distantly related to an alternate-universe version of my Fallout 4 OCs Zoe and Nathan Bhatia. In Starfield's universe, Zoe and Nathan were happily married in 2077 and lived happily ever after with their son Shaun. Shaun would go on to have a brilliant career in robotics and computers that would lay the foundation for the technology used in the settled systems. Shaun Bhatia is Sarit's great-great-great-great-great grandfather.

Over the course of the crusade, Iona found various ways (many of them very unethical) to taste the blood of her companions, and learned to identify each of them from taste alone.

Iona's birthday is the Pathfinder equivalent of August 27. (and naturally, that is also Saints Row Iona's birthday)

When Iona is bored during a long war council meeting, she will summon a servant to fetch her a mug of cow's blood she will loudly sip to signal her desire to end the meeting. If things continue against her wishes, she will send for a crazy bendy straw to loudly slurp up the last drops of blood from the mug.

Iona is very tall, one of the perks of being a dhampir. She inherited many of the positive traits of a full vampire, including the unearthly conventional beauty and a tall physique. She is a very slutty supermodel with supernatural powers over blood.

Despite having a mountain of kinks, one of Iona's semi-secret turn offs is receiving pain. She is very much not a masochist in bed, and prefers inflicting pain via her fangs or other sex toys her partner consents to using.

One of her favorite ways of flirting with Arueshalae is following a battle, the two of them will walk through the battlefield, over the corpses of their enemies to retrieve Arue's arrows. Arueshalae will pull each arrow out of the bodies of their foes and salaciously hand them to Iona so she can lewdly lick the blood off the blades of the weapons. This display often makes their fellow companions uncomfortable, if not queasy. The two of them often have to quickly retreat to the privacy of the commander's tent in the aftermath, with Iona's chin dripping with gore and Arue's bright red eyes flaring with desire.

[casterlygldcs]

who: @iona-tully when and where: the westerlands, following the blessing of prince arthur of house lannister. it has been some time since iona arrived to casterly rock, and tyland has yet to formally acknowledge her as queen. their hands have been meeting, but there has been little progress. and now, they finally meet.

the audience chamber of casterly rock was quiet, save for the soft crackling of the fire in the hearth. the stone walls loomed like the past itself, cold and unyielding, as tyland lannister strode toward the dais. his cloak trailed behind him, a river of gold and fur, the weight of his authority present in every step. his crown sat upon his brow, heavy and unspoken, a symbol of the supremacy he held over all in this room. queen iona of house tully was waiting.

they had asked him, time after time, why it was he did not agree. why he would not sign to an alliance, to terms of peace?

he had heard the tales, of course. the riverlands had placed her on the throne when they thought prince aidan tully had perished in the wars. a woman—chosen by men who had no better options at the time. and such options had now changed, considering the return of the legitimate male heir to the riverland throne. tyland could never respect such a decision. the thought of a woman ruling a realm, let alone one as vast and wild as the riverlands, was beyond his understanding. it would only be a matter of time before the lords revolted against her rule and her claim; whether she married one of their disliking, or picked one over the other.

he thought a woman ruling the riverlands would make the realm weaker. it were already fragile enough. and this would simply make it the fairground for the lions. "what holds me back, you ask me." he uttered, looking upon her.

she had once been married to lord westerling, and had lived in his court for a time. as a subject. tyland had seen her there, though he had never paid her much attention. a quiet, unobtrusive presence—like a faded tapestry in a hall full of noise. she had never produced children, and that, to him, was a mark of weakness. a barren womb spoke to a woman’s true worth, or lack thereof. as he looked across at her, he noticed her posture—composed, regal, as any queen might be. but to tyland, it was only the facade of strength. a distorted reflection.

"your womb is your greatest failure."

the words fell from his lips without hesitation. if she wanted to be a ruler, she would be spoken to as rulers spoke to one another. bluntly, with no silver linings. those were for their courtiers, for their pawns. "you provided lord westerling no heirs, and no legacy whilst a subject in my court. and what can a woman who cannot bear children truly offer a realm except from a succession crisis, whether it be in five years, or fifty?" the air between them seemed to grow heavier, but tyland did not flinch. he stood firm, unwavering, his gaze unbroken. "the legitimate heir to the throne is due to return. our talks will then resume. until then, we remain as we were. divided."

[if-childrenofiona]

🌑 oct dev log.

15,411 words (↑ 3,662)

hi everyone c: ngl, this month flew by quickly. but y'all, we are in the HOME STRETCH. it's so surreal to me right now, it's just over a month before the demo's drop AAAHHHHH!!!

what have i been working on? mainly trying to get mc to the feast scene T-T. i'm moving along their home and customization scenes so we can FINALLY get to the juicy bits. i really, really, really want to be able to start on the feast scene for you guys. bascially, i want to end chapter one tbh.

the reason being, i'll be so disappointed if i gave you guys half a chapter, i want to give you all a full two chapters— prologue and chp. one —since everyone's been so patient. ): so i have my work cut out for me this november. but, i think it's a good thing too because of nanowrimo!! hopefully, i'll have a big chuck of update for you guys next month.

anyhow, you may have noticed i've changed things around the blog to make it somewhat organized. there's still some heavy organizing left to do, so please bear with me. tags for the ros have changed too. for anyone who may have followed any of the previous ro tags, you can follow the new ones as listed:

#knox/kora > #k. house of yarrow ྅ #silas/shila > #s. child of iona ྅ #xhilo/xola > #x. house of akter ྅ #liroy/lorelai > #l. crown heir of gilhanna ྅ #clementine/clement > #c. the forgotten heir ྅ #delilah/dion > #d. the heir of dance ྅

also, dev logs will have their own category under my blog search. that way new (and old) comers alike can easily see past monthly logs and the status of future chapters and demo updates.

additionally, i've decided to stop talking about the secret ros (for now) to keep them secret. though, some of peeps may have a slight idea as to who the ros will be once the demo releases. also, all posts pertaining to the secret romances will be deleted coming nov. 1!!!

thank you for reading, i hope you have a safe and happy november. also, happy nanowrimo to everyone participating tomorrow!!

[rknchan]

HAPPINESS CHARGE PRETTY CURE LOVE POST

i just finished hcpc and i really enjoyed it !!!!!! its not going to be some kind of deep analysis i just gonna be silly about things i like in hcpc

THE CHARACTERS i adore each and every one of them (except for namakeruda i wanna punch him with lovely punching punch)

MEGUMI CHAAAN shes so precious to me !!!! so pure so truly lovely her desire to make everyone happy is so heartwarming megumichan always puts a smile on my face whenever shes on screen ^^

i saw people thinking shes mary sue but i cannot agree :c for me marysue is a character so perfect that theyre unbelievable (!)

and megumi IS believable to me . people like megumi do exist,,,,, and she has more serious flaws than being clumsy and bad at studying;

shes all about helping others but cares about herself little, when shes suffering her pain is hidden behind a smile to the point she can't resist her pain anymore, she worries about being weak and her help is not needed - altruistic people like megumi often experience this feelings too

also she reminds me of my fav person </3 and she motivates me to become a better person myself and believe in love and happiness,,, sorry it sounded cheesy but its true.. thank you megumi ^^

HIME HIME HIME my blorbo !!!!! at the beginning her anxiety and arkwardness, feeling of being not worthy enough to be a precure, escaping from problems felt so relatable :c and it felt so good to see her grow. the moment when she saved iona was so powerful. i wish we saw more of her family when she returned to blue sky

btw i love meguhime as friends and as a pairing theyre so pure so cute they care for each other so much awwww,w,w,,w,w,w, *holds them gently*

YUKOO precious rice bean and the most canonical lesbian of hcpc

i love her rice song its cute and catchy i often chant it ahhahaha

also i like how she always wants to keep peace, to befriend villains and give them love they lacked !!! "why keep fighting if we can eat delicious rice together" SAY THIS LOUDER QUEEN HONEY shes so based for this

i can't say much about iona maybe ??? shes a deep and realistic character and her story with cure tender makes me cry but tbh she put me off in the beginning as it was uncomfortable to watch her being harsh on hime (tho its justified)... but she grew a lot too ,,,,

i expected to dislike seiji but actually he was such a nice character and a loyal friend who actually has chemistry with megumi and role in the plot

QUEEN MIRAGE is my fav villain ever and tbh i can even relate to her

deranged traumatised emowoman ily

the story of her relationship with blue breaks my heart ... the moments when she still wants to be loved by blue but cant resist her anxious thoughts and red's manipulation... HER PURIFICATION SCENE WHEN ALL THE CURES COMFORTED MIRAGE;;;;; HER REUNION WITH BLUE;;;;;;;; sobs

the generals are so fun to watch :) dorks with goofy hats

hosshiwa remains my crush forever..... and oresky and namakeruda are just fuking silly smashing them smashing them

tho their final battle with the cures and their purification was such a deep and impressing scene

i love how brutal and creative was this season with its attacks. lovely punching punch <333 lovely beam <33 princess bullet machine gun <333 let cute girls do some violence

and their innocent form attacks are just beautiful

hcpc is often criticized for its repetitive designs and i sorta agree... but at least they were creative with international cures designs (aloha and bomber girls are my favourite, also im glad to see a cure from my country !!!! cure katyusha <3) and form changes AND FOREVER LOVELY DESIGN JUST SLAYS. SHE LOOKS LIKE A LITERAL ANGEL

also maybe theres a meaning behind the similar designs??? like, all the cures all over the world have similar costumes and it can symbolize they have a lot in common, theyre unite, they are a million-cure team .. while the phantom generals are all different, there's nothing uniting them, there's no team spirit or friendship between them

also the soundtrack is so good and catchy !!!!! i adore the opening and the rice song (and especially honey and hosshiwa's song battle) and the innocent song !!!!

i love the message of hcpc that everyone is worthy to be happy and loved, even if youre in deep despair, disappointed in life, thinking you'll never be loved and thus love is worth nothing - someone is always going to be here for you

but at the same time it points out that love can be a destructive force (red, mirage, dark seiji), that its impossible to be happy all the time, that feeling pain and hate is valid

sorry it turned out so long i hope i could share my love for happiness charge with you ,,,,,

i love you megumi i love you hime i love you yuko i love you iona i love you blue i love you red i love you mirage i love you seiji i love you masukomio i love you phantomu i love you hosshiwa i hate you namakeruda i love you oresky I LOVE YOU HAPPINESS CHARGE

[dc-polls]

"That Really Happened?!" DC Comics Tournament Entry #13

Can the real pol manning please step up?

[iD: A picture of Hal Jordan, dressed as Green Lantern, sitting at a desk with a hand over his mouth. A narration box says, "None other, dear reader, than your friend and mine, Green Lantern of our day and age!" Hal thinks, "Now that I have been made Solar Director, I must select for my aids the best talents available--in order to defeat the terrible threat that confronts the Earth!" /END ID]

What Happened?

Okay Pol Manning is a plot since Green Lantern (1960) #8 that actively continues until Green Lantern Corps #215 (about 25 years later). The beginning is that Hal is kidnapped to the 58th century and is elected the solar director of earth and its colonized planets and also he has amnesia so they brainwash him into thinking he's Pol Manning and they also brainwash Iona Vane into thinking she's always been in love with him. Poor Iona really gets the short end of the stick. Okay so Hal travels back and forth a few times, never remembering who he is when he gets there or what happened when he gets back. In Green Lantern (1960) #51, Hal finally travels to the 58th century under his own power, and he learns about Pol Manning. All is well right? Nope, in Green Lantern (1960) #66 it's revealed that hal, the last time he was there, accidentally created a living breathing fully adult person (aka Pol Manning) who was evil. Hal then uses his ring to make him not evil because that's how power rings work apparently, and all is fine for a while until there's whole thing with Iona and Hal erases her memory and you know what its just not good for iona, okay. Then finally in glc #213? I want to say there's an issue gap between the stealing of Salaak and the reveal, Salaak is taken from where he was talking with Ch'p to a mysterious place. Yep, now poor Salaak thinks he's Pol Manning (where did the other one go? Who knows), and Iona is programmed into loving him (yes that's the exact word they use). Anyway during this arc we learn that the solar council are colonizing dictators but that's only bad because the animals who Ch'p and the weird evil wizard guy grew enough sentience and power to protest and thus they deserve to colonize others and not be colonized. Anyway this whole thing is settled by a fist fight between Salaak and Hal (who side with the solar council) and Ch'p and the raccoon wizard guy. It's decided that the raccoons deserve to colonize the Earth so the solar council gets kicked off and Salaak stays in the future with Iona who is having fifteen different mental breakdowns due to repeated brainwashing and abuse. So yeah, fun!

--

Tournament polls will be posted after all entries are up. As always you can find all posts related to the tournament using #dc-polls-trh

[zenrobbins0021]

Across the Galaxy: Chapter 5

Hunter x OC 18+ (warnings given before certain chapters)

Please feel free to comment! They make my day.

Omega tapped her foot impatiently, her warm eyes shifting to look at me as we made eye contact. She gave a good-natured eye roll as she listened to Hunter kneeling beside her to give her instructions. 

“I know.” She interrupted, “Stay with Shep and Lyana, don’t leave without comming you first, don’t let strangers inside the house, and go to bed.” 

“Don’t roll your eyes at me, little miss.” Hunter rebuked gently, “All we are trying to do is keep you safe.” “Yes sir.” Omega replied before resting her hands on his pauldrons. Hunter’s eyes softened as he looked at her, letting out a short chuckle before wrapping his right arm around her shoulders and bringing him to her in a hug. 

“Don’t wait up for us, there’s no telling how late we’re going to be.” He instructed, straightening and focusing his attention on me. Omega gave me a huge hug, “Don’t let them intimidate you.” She whispered in my ear, “You’ll get through their initiation. Besides, Wrecker and Echo will take it easy on you because they want you on the squad so badly.” “Oh yeah?” I whispered back, “You saying that Tech and Hunter won’t pull their punches?” “Tech is too by the book. And Hunter won’t compromise the unity of the squad by compromising on an initiation.” Omega darted a quick glance at her oldest brother whose back was turned, waiting for me outside the main door. “Even if he does like you a lot.”

I was surprised at that last comment. Echo had sometimes had a knowing glint in his expression when he saw us on our daily walks but Omega had been the first one to confirm my suspicions that maybe there was something more to what Hunter and I were letting on. Maybe we were close friends now; I couldn’t let my imagination run wild at the thought of us being something more. 

“Noted.” I pushed her blonde hair back from her forehead and pressed a quick kiss to her skin, lightly tapping her on the butt with my toe as she scurried off, “Now get out of here, you rascal.”

I joined Hunter outside and I noticed his quick, observant gaze drop down as he took in my clothes. I had moved away from my looser fitting, cool-toned colors and opted for a tunic that matched the red bandana  wrapped permanently around my right arm. Both Omega and I had commandeered some of Hunter’s old bandanas, an unspoken tangible attachment of the connection we had with Clone Force 99. Hunter had never indicated that he had noticed but now his eyes lingered on the fabric encircling my forearm and I saw the frown in his expression relax. 

“Ready?” He asked as I nodded. “I won’t take it easy on you, you know.” “Omega already warned me. I can handle it.”

Hunter’s eyes glimmered but he said nothing as we walked towards one of the local bars, his hand moving to guide my elbow towards the inside of the busy street. 

Hunter stood a little beyond the crowd of people that was watching Iona and Tech sitting at the bar, his arms folded across his chest with his stance slightly widened in his usual ready-to-go position. Iona had held on longer than he had expected, matching each of his brother’s in every challenge they presented to her. Tech slid a glass of neon green liquid across to Iona, raising his own glass and tapping it against hers lightly as he raised his voice over the din, “What is one of the class of shuttles used by the Confederacy of Independent Systems during the Clone Wars?” 

“What?” Iona sputtered, “Why would I even know that?” “Ten seconds.” “Tech-” “Nine seconds.” Tech said louder, his warm brown eyes glinting with amusement as Iona scrambled. 

“One of the class of shuttles used by the CIS is, uh, Sheathipede-class Type B?” 

Tech paused for a moment before lifting his glass and raising it to his lips, “That is correct.”

“HA!” Iona leapt up, nearly spilling her own cup as she hopped up and down on one foot in triumph, “That was the fifth answer I got right, I’ve passed!” “Fifth out of ten.” Tech added, coughing slightly as he put down the empty glass. The crowd roared and the bartender began pouring more shots into glasses across the glossy surface of her bartop. Iona lifted one hand up in the air as she drank her own glass, despite Tech’s protests that he had lost the question and that it was unnecessary for her to drink, as she had won. 

Hunter’s dark eyes dropped inadvertently down the length of her throat, watching as the liquid moved smoothly down as Iona drank. She finished her glass, shaking her hair back across her shoulders slightly and the movement caused warmth to spread from Hunter’s chest all the way down to his stomach as she turned, flashing him a bright smile. 

“Uh oh.” Wrecker shouted, pumping a fist in the air as Hunter walked slowly over, “Ten credits that you’re going to break under Sergeant’s tests, Iona!” Iona had a familiarly determined expression on her face, holding her ground as Hunter stopped right in front of her with his chin tilted down to look at her, 

“You’re on.” She replied to Wrecker confidently, her aqua eyes snapping with a fire that could not be extinguished. 

For a minute, Hunter and Iona stood with unbreaking eye contact and it was a game to see who would break first. Hunter could feel her heart racing, sense her pulse bounding as her chest lifted and sank with every deep breath she took. Her warm, familiar scent was somehow more enhanced with the heat of the bar and his body unconsciously leaned forward a degree, wanting to be closer. His arm brushed against hers and Iona’s eyebrows lifted briefly before she controlled her expression, doubling down stubbornly as her lips tightened in determination. Behind them, Wrecker whispered loudly to Echo, 

“Geez, is it getting hot in here to anyone else or what?”

Iona’s eyes shifted for a split second at Wrecker’s comment and Hunter took advantage of the distraction, his right hand flashing to the vibroblade strapped to the outside of his left forearm as the blade hummed to life. Iona moved just as quickly, ducking under his raised arm and rolling as the knife struck against the bar where she had been standing. Ignoring the screams of the crowd, Hunter turned around to find Iona with her own blade drawn in a ready position. 

“You’re going to have to be faster than that, Sergeant.” Iona called out, her fingers twirling the weapon in her left hand. Hunter let out a gruff chuckle before bending his knees slightly in a crouch, “Just seeing if you were paying attention.”

The next few minutes, Iona matched Hunter par for par, step by step, in a dangerous dance. Keeping in between the tables and chairs that had formed a make-shift arena, the two blocked and dodged each other’s movements perfectly in sync. Iona was as graceful as a deer, her long limbs moving seamlessly around every one of Hunter’s attacks and he felt a twinge of pride at the progress she had made from his lessons. 

“Come on, Hunter!” Echo called out from his seat on the countertop, “Stop pulling your punches.”

Hunter reached up, halting Iona’s descending blade with a firm grip on her wrist and he pulled her closer, twisting her arm behind her back as he pulled her into him. He rested his chin on her shoulder, watching as she turned her face to look at him backwards as she struggled to free her arm. 

“Omega said you wouldn’t take it easy on me.” Iona said breathlessly, her cheeks flushed in the dim lighting as she fought him. Hunter kept just enough of a grip to make sure her blade was incapacitated but not enough to hurt her. Years of strength and training had the clone very in tune with his own capabilities and the last thing he would have wanted was to physically harm her. 

“You’ve still got training wheels on.” He answered back, suddenly aware of how close she was to him, “You forget that I’ve used these blades for years.” “And you forget that I hate to lose.” Iona shot back before Hunter felt her wrist flex and his eyes dropped down between their bodies just in time to see her drop the blade from her left hand into her waiting right. At the same time, she twisted, making his thumb give way as she moved from his grip and attacked again. Hunter dodged, backing up half a step before meeting her blade with his own, the sound of metal on metal ringing throughout the bar as the audience roared. As quick as a flash, Hunter rotated his core and with an expert eye and with a flick of his wrist, his weapon left his fingers. It hummed through the air and with a thud, it pierced the handle of Iona’s knife and pinned it against the wall of the bar, quivering and handle-deep in the metal. The crowd screamed and rose from their chairs, the sound of glass clinking and individuals yelling for their winning bets echoed throughout the building but for Hunter and Iona, the noise was barely noticeable. 

Hunter didn’t even realize his feet were moving until he was toe to toe with the medic, looking down at her as she stared wide-eyed up at him. Almost as if she were in a daze, Iona followed the movement of his arm as he held out his hand to her. She took it, her fingers sliding around his wrist in their customary salute but this one felt different than any of their handshakes. The air between them hummed with energy and it was like Iona’s touch traveled from Hunter’s hand all the way down to his toes. 

“You did well.” He told her quietly, speaking close to her so she could hear over the noise, “Better luck next time?” “I know better than to try and beat you in combat.” Iona replied, “I guess it’s a good thing you’re on my side, huh?” Hunter gave her a sideways smile before turning to face the crowd, lifting her arm up with his, 

“We got another member of the team, boys.”

I had just enough time to take a deep breath before Wrecker scooped me up into his arms, lifting me high onto his shoulder in triumph. I grabbed his shoulder pauldron as far down as I could reach for stability, ducking so my head wouldn’t touch the ceiling as he paraded me up and down. Effortlessly, the huge clone set me back down on solid ground where Echo clapped me so hard on the back that the wind got knocked out of me. 

“Congratulations, cadet.” He grinned, “Welcome to the family.” “Thanks, Echo. Feel like another drink?” 

“Absolutely.” 

Tech had already ordered another round, adjusting his goggles as he gave me a proud smile, “I had no doubt that you would excel at whatever we threw at you. Even if you didn’t succeed all the time.” I rolled my eyes, “The day I best your brains is the day that hell will freeze over, Tech. Still, I appreciate the compliment.”

As the night went on, more patrons began to trickle out but the Bad Batch lingered, swapping stories and enjoying each other’s company. I was acutely aware of Hunter leaning against the bar behind me, the back of his arm against my back as his hands gripped the cool countertop. He made no move to remove his arm and I made no move to lean away; in a way, it was comforting to know that he was so close because he had been uncharacteristically quiet tonight. My eyelids started to get heavy and when I stood, my head felt swimmy and I had to reach blindly for the back of my chair as the dizziness kicked in.  

“Whoa there.” Hunter’s gravelly voice floated into my consciousness and I raised my head, looking into his concerned expression that had suddenly become fuzzy. “Sit back down, Iona.” “I have to pee.” I explained. “Really badly.” “I’ll take you then.” “You can’t follow me into the ladies’ room.”

A chuckle rumbled from Hunter’s chest and his hand still pressing against my back in between my shoulder blades was the only steady thing in the room currently. 

“I’ll bring you in and then leave.” He promised. 

“Judging off of her slurred words, imbalance, and reddened cheeks-” Tech had his visor lowered, peering at me curiously, “Iona is quite intoxicated at the moment. Perhaps it would be best if Hunter stayed with you while you relieved yourself.” “I am not peeing in front of Hunter.”

“Maybe it’s time to go home.” Echo offered, his gaze moving between the leader of his squad and the medic, “We can clean up here.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” I agreed, thinking of the cool sheets and breeze floating through the open window in my bedroom. 

“Thanks, boys. I’ll comm if we need anything but for now, I’m going to bring Iona home.” “See you ladder, boss.” Wrecker smacked Hunter on the back but leaned down to give Iona a swift peck on the cheek, “Welcome to the Bad Batch, Iona.” Iona smiled slowly, her reaction time slower than normal as she reached for Wrecker and leaned her forehead against his chestplate in an affectionate headbutt, “G’night Wrecker.”

“Come on, now.” Hunter gently herded her out the door, keeping a steadying hand on her back as the cool Pabu air hit their faces. “Let’s get you home.”