#my brush testing saga continues

[sensitiveheartless]

[panicinthestudio]

Patients are losing Alberta’s public-private medical labs battle, November 1, 2023

Alberta’s medical labs have shifted between public and private delivery for decades, often depending on what party is in government, and now the province’s auditor general is investigating. CBC’s Christine Birak breaks down the medical and political saga that’s cost millions and had a negative impact on patient care. CBC News

@allthecanadianpolitics, @abpoli

I had my own brush with DynaLife three times in the last year, wait times and organization were horrendous at a lab that has always been high volume but was much better managed when they were public.

Their waiting room was not just crammed full, the wait times were so long they were paging people on their cell to return from their cars or from the mall across the way--some simply left without a word. Walk-ins alone were looking at least a hour seated wait time.

The single queue to check in was at least 30 minutes minutes standing, crammed in to the point people had to step out of the way of the doors. It included pregnant people, elderly, and others in need of priority with mobility aids and other conditions. Appointments were not immediately separated out from walk-ins or even simple drop off, the only instruction was for everyone to wait for the one person processing. Even when the line extended outside at the same location because of COVID social distancing it moved more efficiently.

There was clearly no regular process for stopping the line and refusing more patients despite this routinely being the case by the summer. While I was there one poor tech was delegated to end intake for the day early because they simply were overcapacity. After scrambling to make a couple signs to tape to the doors, they were completely ignored.

No one enforced a cutoff, the patients that were told they were the it remained silent or continued to open the door for more people. By the time staff reached what should have been the tail-end there was a a full queue again. I learned later that short of actually closing, policy was to continue to accept everyone in line and there was at least another hour after that to finish work and lock up.

This is one lab and next to one of the largest hospitals in Calgary, hospital internal labs and rural/community tests continued to be run by AHS's Alberta Precision (formerly Public) Labs. Only one instance that was relatively easy was right before the Christmas holiday when the transition to private was still new.

The technicians and phlebotomists were clearly struggling to do their best to keep the patients and their own morale up while understaffed and without the resources to preserve quality of service. I do not envy any of them being thrown the privatization curveball by the UCP and ultimately the people that voted to keep them in power, worse still for people that are depending on these services.

***

There is an entire history of neglect and privatization of Alberta's lab services under Conservative governments. Efforts by the Albertan NDP to consolidate, update, and expand the province's public lab services were quite literally bulldozed by Jason Kenney. Through the pandemic and now under Danielle Smith, the UCP has continued with plans to dismantle and portion off health care services, workers, and the facilities and now buying back our own labs, equipment, and employees less than a year later.

[darlighl]

just drawing this one made my spine hurt

[bellaslilpapercut]

The combination of how the cullens behave towards people and how little they care (as per therealvinelles metas) and fuckmeyers metas and how often they are incredibly immoral and strange, what is their motive for vegitarianism? Like, their reasons for why they do it are clear sometimes but what is their internal justification for it? What do they think their motives are?

This is an interesting question!! I think for some of the cullens it's clearer and more consistent than others:

Carlisle: was prepared to die rather than violate the "sanctity of life" right from the moment he was turned. Now, what he considers life is definitely influenced by his (and meyer's) christianity*. He had no qualms with eating animals as a human or as a vampire. He also cares about the shifters up to a point. Based on book canon, he would never kill one of the pack members and he does value the treaty more than the others Cullens (especially Edward) but I think he also sees himself as somewhat superior to them. He ran tests on Jake's blood without consent, valuing his own curiosity over Jacob's right to his own body. But that's a whole other meta lol. Anyway, I think Carlisle, like many christians*, values "human" (he's added vampires and shifters to this) life period over quality of life. He didn't let Rose die because it would have been a "waste" but he didn't consider what a curse immortality would be for her. Alive in any condition is better than dead for Carlisle and I believe that is his core motivation for continuing the diet (and for turning the 4 vampires that he did).

Jasper: I put him second because I agree with @therealvinelle that Jasper might have figured out the vegetarian diet on his own eventually even if he'd never met alice. Jaspers gift made it painful for him to feed and in Eclipse he tells Bella that he went so far as to starve himself for periods of time just to avoid the emotional pain of feeding. His self control still isn't perfect but he is the only Cullen who personally needs the diet, not for moral reasons like Carlisle, but because feeding from humans is almost traumatizing for him.

Esme: her only motivation for the diet is carlisle. Honestly during my reread Esme comes across as nice, not kind, and very nearly agoraphobic. She avoids most humans except for Bella and only works in isolation (renovating a house by herself during NM). She isn't doing the diet because she likes being around people and needs to control her urges and blend, she isn't doing the diet out of compassion (she told Edward he could eat Bella in MS if that's what he needed to do), and she has no physical or emotional need like Jasper to refrain from eating humans. She only does it because Carlisle, the man she had romanticized and adored since she was 16, "saved" her and taught her this diet. She does it for him.

Rosalie: Rosalie is also in a unique position within the Cullen clan because for her the diet is not about morals or need but control. And with her "origin story" so to speak, it makes perfect sense. The last moments of her life were senseless violence. For her, whether she would admit it or not, the diet is entirely about exerting control over her current undead life. Regaining the agency that was taken from her in her last moments of life and in the first moments of her life as a vampire. You can see it in the way she speaks of her record as well- she doesn't care that she isn't killing humans or drinking them, she cares because she has self control. She is empowered by her spotless feeding record and she feels justified in the deaths she did cause (even brushing off the two guards she killed to get to Royce).

Edward: Edward only does the diet for his own internal theater. He's wrapped up in his own unfolding drama- when he turns away from Carlisle he turns himself into a vigilante, scouring the night for sexual predators, drug abusers, pedophiles, and deviants. It's very Film Noir for him. He tells Bella that he couldn't bear to kill "good" humans which was why he went after "villains" when he did break from the diet but as we learn in MS when he fantasizes about killing literally the entire Quileute tribe, Edward doesn't care about killing "good" humans either. Edward would kill anyone as long as the reason was justified by his own theater. He'd kill Mike Newton out of "love," he'd kill deviants on the street to "prove" himself, he'd even try to kill to whole Volturi just to martyr himself and "prove" that they really were evil after all. Edward only does the vegetarian diet while it fits with his self image. With Bella, he sees himself as saintly, "like carlisle," punishing himself with thirst so that he deserves the Bella Madonna he invented in his own head. And of course, a lot of his self image and image of world is warped into a wonky Carlisle shape because he's fully obsessed with his creator. He does the diet in part for carlisle (which we see in NM when Alice "sees" edward killing hundreds of tourists in volterra and then changing his mind so that he doesn't disappoint carlisle) and in part because of his own mental theater.

Emmett, Alice, & Bella: all three do the diet because "that's what cullens do." They aren't motivated by love of carlisle, like Esme, even if they may all respect carlisle (tbh I wouldn't believe that any of them feel love for anyone though that comes down to meyers ability to show genuine love in the first place. But again that's a whole other meta lolol). They don't really care about humans at all as all three have the "slip ups happen, lol" attitude about eating humans. Alice does the diet because she "saw" it, Emmett does the diet because Carlisle turned him, Bella does the diet because she's a Cullen. If edward wanted to leave and go on a binge-eating road trip through every city in america, Bella would tag along.

Renesmee: honestly I don't remember BD well and I'm not there yet in my reread but I vaguely remember Renesmee being capable of biting humans (and Jacob) without killing them. If this is the case, I don't think Renesmee will be following the diet for very long at all because why bother reigning herself in if she can sip on a human with no real consequence of murder?

Of course, I assume Renesmee will still be "vegetarian" in meyers threatened sequel because the out of universe reason the cullens have to be vegetarians is simply, they need to be superior. They need to stand out from those other nasty vampires who are only vegetarians for sex or worse, aren't vegetarians at all! The theme of valuing existence over quality of life is really consistent throughout the saga, from Carlisle's choice to turn the cullens that he did to Bella's decision to keep Renesmee. Its a very pro-life series through and through.

* I didn't want to get too wordy there but I mean the US's specific brands of christianity like evangelicalism and mormonism. In the US, christians value "sanctity of life" over quality of life in every way. (Ergo why it's easier to pass abortion bans than universal healthcare here.) I don't think meyer really paid much attention to historical accuracy when she wrote Carlisle (if she thought london had sewers in the 17th century, I doubt she would know the nuanced differences between modern and early protestantism) so I think his own religious beliefs are more reflective of modern US christianity than 17th century britain's christianity. *

[cross-d-a]

Morai appeared in the Clone Wars season finale and I’ve realized that she symbolizes Anakin’s connection to Ahsoka

As we’re all reeling from the Clone Wars finale, I’m struck by the lingering image of a convor circling above Vader as he holds Ahsoka’s lightsaber. Since the convor is so strongly linked with Ahsoka I can only guess that it’s actually Morai and that this is where she begins to guide Ahsoka personally.

I’m sure we’ve all read meta about Morai’s symbolism as the Light Side of the Force, more specifically the Daughter from the Mortis Arc (especially since they share the same colour scheme). After Anakin helps the Daughter transfer her lifeforce to Ahsoka, the convorees begin to appear whenever Ahsoka is being tested. Filoni has even said:

"In some ways, I could say that it's a messenger, it's an observer. It is definitely something. And... I would rather have fans debate—but I would suggest... that whatever that thing is an avatar of has actually appeared in the animated Star Wars universe before. So decrypt from there."

This symbolism continues throughout Rebels where Ahsoka calls Morai by name, actually acquainted with the bird. Morai even leads Kanan to the Bendu when he was in need of guidance.

Ahsoka is intrinsically tied to the convor and through it, the Light Side of the Force. This lingering scene at the end of Victory and Death is absolutely so important, helping tie in the episode, and Vader as we see him, to the rest of the Star Wars universe.

Vader finds the 501st ship at last. We don’t know how long it’s been, how can we? All we know is that snow has covered the ruins and the carefully dug graves. We don’t even know if the troopers with him are clones or normal men. Silent and alone, Vader steps into the ruins. Eventually he stops and observes the wreckage, only to notice a glint in the snow. He bends his knee and reaches down. Almost gently, he brushes the snow away and discovers:

Ahsoka’s lightsaber.

He cradles it in his hand, brushing the snow away again with the other. Then, inexplicably, he flicks it on and we see Vader wielding a blue lightsaber for the very last time onscreen. Who knows why he turned it on. Maybe he couldn’t quite believe it was Ahsoka’s and that she’d lost it once more. Maybe he was testing to see if it still worked or if the colour was still that brilliant blue he tweaked it into.

Maybe it was one last goodbye.

But his gaze follows the point of her ‘sabre and when he reaches the end he sees Morai, soaring high above. He watches her for a long moment and this is when we see his eyes. Darth Vader’s eyes.

Anakin’s.

It doesn’t matter whether they’re blue or a sick-sulfur gold. All that matters is that we see them. We’ve never seen Vader’s eyes through his mask. In this one little moment, in Ahsoka’s lingering presence, we see Anakin Skywalker again.

It’s a clear parallel to Twilight of the Apprentice when Ahsoka destroys the side of his mask with her ‘sabre and Anakin leaks through.

Vader leaves and takes the ‘sabre with him.

It’s so, so obviously clear that he still loves Ahsoka in this moment. That Ahsoka still brings out the good in him. That this is, awfully, their final goodbye as they knew each other.

We always read about how Ahsoka and the convor are linked and how it’s really Ahsoka and the Light Side of the Force that’s linked. But I don’t think we’ve ever really seen anything about how Anakin is linked to the convor and Ahsoka.

The thing is, I think the convor also represents the link between Anakin and Ahsoka.

During the Mortis Arc, Ahsoka essentially dies. The Son kills her, inadvertently mortally wounding his own sister in the process. As the Father grieves, Anakin rushes over to Ahsoka and pleads with the Father.

“You must help her!” Anakin says.

But the Father only replies: “I cannot undo what is done. There is no hope.”

Despite dealing with his own trauma and insecurity and then, of course, eventually Falling to the Dark Side, Anakin has always been a hopeful person. We see this from the very first time we see him: a bright and cheerful slave who only wants to help others.

So of course Anakin pleads again: “Yes, there is. There’s always hope!”

Through his hope and conviction, Anakin convinces the Father to help, and so Anakin becomes the conduit through which the Daughter’s lifeforce is transferred to Ahsoka. As this happens, the main Star Wars theme rises.

This is so incredibly essential to the Star Wars universe, which has always, always been about hope.

Obi-Wan and Bail sequestered the twins away because of hope. The Rebellion rose and thrived and eventually won because of hope.

Luke saved his father because of hope.

Every single goddamn movie is about hope and the perseverance it takes to continue on, one step at a time, no matter how hard it gets.

The Star Wars movies have also always been about Anakin Skywalker. He’s the overarching shadow and the brilliant light in every single one, whether he’s actually in it or not. It’s called the Skywalker Saga for a reason. The only reason Star Wars exists is because of him. He is both villain and hero. He leaves behind a legacy that we can’t shake.

Luke saved his father, but only because Anakin had that little bit of light left in him. That little bit of lingering hope.

And we see it in the finale, in those few moments where Anakin holds Ahsoka’s lightsaber and she points him towards the Light, towards Morai. And we see him for who he is, who he was, and who he will become.

Anakin Skywalker has always been about hope, and because of that Ahsoka survives Mortis. Because of him, she survives everything that killed all the prequel Jedi. She survives the entire original trilogy.

Right after the Mortis Arc, Ahsoka gets kidnapped. It’s the first time she’s ever really been alone and forced to fight to survive. But she manages it, despite the other Padawans on the island giving up or succumbing to their fate. Again, out of everyone, Ahsoka survives. This is also the first time we see the convorees.

During this arc, Anakin is left alone, as well. Fearful and lost, he worries for Ahsoka, but Plo, the Master who found Ahsoka in the first place, guides him.

“What is Ahsoka’s strength?” Plo asks him.

“She is fearless,” Anakin replies.

“That can also be a weakness. Is she a worthy apprentice?”

“No one has her kind of determination.”

“Except you.”

“I’ll find her.”

“This may not be within your power.”

“Whatever you’re trying to say Master Plo, just say it!”

“I am suggesting that perhaps if you have trained her well, she’ll take care of herself and find a way back to you.”

This, again, is so, so important. “Except you,” Plo says. No one has Ahsoka’s determination except for Anakin. No one has her hope except for him. Ahsoka was already a wonderful, resilient person, but Anakin brought it out in her. He taught her, guided her, and now those lessons must guide her as she faces the world alone. This is only reiterated when Anakin and Ahsoka reunite.

“Ahsoka, I am so sorry,” Anakin tells her, clearly very upset.

“For what?”

“For letting you go, for letting you get taken. It was my fault.”

“No, Master, it wasn’t your fault.”

“I should’ve paid more attention. I should’ve tried harder. I…”

“You already did everything you could, everything you had to do. When I was out there, alone, all I had was your training and the lessons you taught me. And because of you, I did survive. And not only that, I was able to lead others to survive as well.”

This is, of course, a recurring theme throughout the Clone Wars and Rebels. Ahsoka perseveres and survives. She saves and guides people in kind. Ahsoka will always be Anakin’s Padawan, his legacy. She embodies all his best qualities, including, of course, his ever-lingering hope.

And that is one of the reasons why Ahsoka is so important: Anakin’s goodness lives on within her. Of course she is her own person, I wouldn’t love her as much as I do if she wasn’t, but being Anakin Skywalker’s Padawan shaped her into the woman we know today.

“You never would have made it as Obi-Wan’s Padawan,” Anakin told her in that very first movie so many years ago. “But you might make it as mine.”

That has never been more true.

If Ahsoka had been Obi-Wan’s Padawan, she’d be dead along with the rest of the Order. If she’d been Obi-Wan’s Padawan, yes she’d be skilled, and yes she would have learned to persevere throughout hardship— But there’s a certain passion for life and hope in Anakin that Obi-Wan simply doesn’t possess.

Ahsoka inherited that from him.

So now we circle back to the convor.

In various cultures owls represent death and wisdom. Filoni has even confirmed that in the Star Wars universe, it is the same. This isn't surprising when Anakin and Ahsoka are constantly facing off death and rising above it, becoming wiser because of it. And, horribly, I'm reminded that this finale is the death of them. They cannot be who they once were, and they cannot be to each other who they once were.

But owls can also represent luck and good fortune.

“Master Kenobi always said there’s no such thing as luck.”

“Good thing I taught you otherwise.”

All throughout her life, Anakin’s lessons and influence guide her, and after the Mortis Arc in moments of great struggle: a convor appears.

What I’m trying to say, I suppose, is that the convor not only symbolizes the Light Side of the Force. It also symbolizes Anakin Skywalker.

And maybe that’s because Anakin Skywalker does embody the Light Side of the Force. Despite everything he goes through and everything he does, Anakin Skywalker clutches onto that bit of hope and comes back to the Light. He brings Balance to the Force.

The convor lingers above Anakin at the end of the Clone Wars after Ahsoka has survived despite the odds. It appears again after their duel in Twilight of the Apprentice. Morai watches Anakin limp out of the Temple, and then returns to Ahsoka after guiding her back from the World Between Worlds.

After guiding her back to Anakin.

“I am suggesting that perhaps if you have trained her well, she’ll take care of herself and find a way back to you,” Plo told Anakin that first time Ahsoka was lost. And he’s right. Ahsoka does find her way back. Again and again and again.

She loves him. He’s her brother and he taught her everything he knew, and she survives because of it. Ahsoka won’t ever let that bit of Anakin go. She won’t ever lose sight of the good in him, or in anyone else.

“I won’t leave you,” she promises him. “Not this time.”

It’s more a promise of hope than anything else. A declaration of loyalty and determination and love. She still believes in him, and she wants, no needs him to know that.

So yes, we talk a lot about how the Daughter and Ahsoka are connected through the convor, but we never talk about how Anakin was that conduit in the first place. The Light and life flowed through him into Ahsoka and so she survived.

As she continues to.

And maybe the ending of the Clone Wars was unbearably heartbreaking. And maybe it’s still making me cry as I write this, but we know how this story ends, and we’re reminded when Anakin, not Vader, looks up into the sky, Ahsoka’s lightsaber in hand and watches Morai circle above.

Star Wars is about hope. It always has been. Despite everything they’ve gone through, there is hope for Anakin Skywalker. And there is hope for Ahsoka Tano, too.

[imnotwolverine]

Signs 2

Geralt of Rivia x reader (smutty fic)

Word count: 1.954

Disclaimer: Witcher signs in the bedroom *wiggles eyebrows*, oral (F receiving), mild angst

Author’s note: It’s Frisky Friday my lassies! In follow-up on the previous Signs; the saga continues! And yes that includes more “pleasant, but piercing vibrations”.  😏

Dive right in, or, read part 1 first. Or go to part 3

(Link to my Masterlist)

--

Fire roused in your loins as you looked over your shoulder.

He was there still, the mysterious monster slayer with his simmering eyes.

With an unreadable quirk of his head he looked back at you, his step remaining one behind you. As if you were leading him. But the both of you knew better. It practically radiated off of him. Like a calm aura that you only saw around the most ballsy of a pack. Alpha. Yes, that was a good word for him. Though of course he had no pack to speak of. He was but a lone wolf, leading you on to his den.

And that was just what you wanted. You had made sure that you were most definitely NOT going to your place of residence; a room in Madam Corella’s house. The woman had a stick so far up her butt that if that room hadn’t been so cheap to rent, you wouldn’t live there at all.

‘So my place it is.’ The Witcher had grinned, gesturing you to head into the direction of the only inn of this town.

Darkness had swallowed you near whole as the rowdy town square was left far behind, the silence drowning the last of the screams and belts of laughter. It was good to be in the fresh evening air, the heat on your blazing cheeks somewhat subduing.

‘Taking a right here.’ The Witcher stepped in beside you. You hesitated. Right? That’s straight through a bad neighbou…DAMNIT! The white haired wolf had already turned the corner, near leaving you behind in the gloomy street. Like the alpha wolf he was, he didn’t give a damn about bad neighbourhoods. Or what awaited you there. 

Quickly pacing to keep up, you followed him into a darkened alley, the fickle moonlight dusting the dark stone with a blueish light.  

‘I’m not sure if..-’

Before you could even express your concerns the Witcher snapped into motion, a violent arm appearing out of the dark and near catching him in his throat. But the wolf was faster, teeth snarling in the pale light as he conjured a frail sign in the air, magic lighting your surroundings as a few men were blown into a heap of hay. They groaned and huffed in dismay, their egos crushed beneath the Witcher’s grin.

‘DARN YE..-!’

‘Quiet.’ The Witcher snapped, a quick flick of his fingers drawing another sign in the air, white and sparkling this time. ‘We are friendly folk, as are you. Agreed?’

Soft mumbles came from the bale of hay, limbs still sticking out in all directions. You had to make an effort not to chuckle, the sight quite comical indeed. Offering you his arm, the charming Witcher grinned all the same, daring you to laugh with him.

‘Is that what you’ll do to me if I misbehave?’ You asked, the mix of shock and admiration working a treat between your thighs. This man..was something else.

He shrugged and took your arm as you had still not taken it, carefully folding it around his bicep before nudging you on.

‘I can still bring you home if you wish.’

You laughed. He may be gruff, but he sure had a sense of humour about him. ‘Say, Witcher. Did you use your magic on the square as well? Be honest.’

His dangerous, yellow eyes sparked in the dark, making your body shiver with scared arousal. As of yet you hadn’t decided whether it’d be better to run away again, or crush yourself into his large chest and let him show you some more of his wolfish ways.

—

Well. 

It became the latter.

With a slight swagger in your step you followed the Witcher up the steep staircase of the inn, a few drunkards playing Gwent in the far corner, but other than that the place was surprisingly quiet. The whole town seemed to be at the feast, meaning there was little audience to whatever was going to happen now, upstairs.

Biting your lip, you watched as the monster slayer turned his key, the taste of your recently cut lip making you swallow on the nasty tang of fear and blood.

‘Milady.’ He gestured, ember eyes taking in your form as you slowly stepped into the room.

It was simple, but comfortable. A recently used tub was placed in the corner, and some soiled clothes were hung over a chair - needing mending probably. And of course a bed. Quite small, but it’d do, especially now you felt a nose sniffing up your neck. You sniffled in amusement and wished to turn, but the Witcher would have none of that, his hands instantly grounded you, keeping you just as you were. 

Alright, play time was over. 

Without warning he bit down. Gently. Like he was testing if you were edible, teeth nibbling before his tongue soothed the little bite mark. His hands smoothed up your arms, pulling you even closer to his chest - which felt like a wall, so strong and broad. Again his nose worked up your neck, then your hair, though more wildly this time as he inhaled deeply.

‘MMmm that smell.’ He rasped, the rumble heard deep in his chest.

Your breath was starting to falter, the heat in your loins back where it had been when he had dry humped you on the dance floor. How was this for an interesting night, hmm? Tilting your head sideways, you allowed him more access, enjoying the way how his lips, teeth and hands became more demanding, more rough.

‘Do it again.’ You finally mumbled, hands reaching back to ground yourself on his large thighs as he nuzzled and nibbled you to mush. The Witcher hesitated for a moment, confused. 

‘The..the tingly thing.’ You breathed.

He chuckled and pressed himself fully against you, hard and demanding, until you could do nothing else but step forward, on to one of the posts of the bed. His hands drug up higher, one coming around your chest and the other working its way through your hair, undoing the lose do-up.

‘You liked that.’ He purred, pushing you against the bedpost until there was nowhere else to go but heaven.

‘Mhm.’ You hummed, your tongue flaking back over your swollen, throbbing lip - darn that bloody lip was annoying.

And then he did it again; making you lose all thoughts of bloody lips or unkempt hair. The hand on your chest braced around one of your breasts, sparking another one of those orgasmically good tremors down your spine. You moaned quietly, air escaping from your tight lips as the hand in your hair pulled your head back against him.

‘Little wren.’ He repeated, sending more little bursts of energy through his fingertips until all you could was shake. And you were glad you were pinned down, with nowhere to go. Before long your legs became putty as the energy surged through your veins, his demanding tongue and teeth nibbling deliciously on your exposed shoulder.

‘Mmmm..’ You hummed, your fingertips starting to spark, legs quaking.

And then he stopped. The bastard stopped.

With an annoyed grit of your teeth you felt his weight move away from you, though still remaining close. Turning slowly he was back on you before you knew it, this time your back pressed against that bed post, the whole bed moving that last inch back up against the wall with the sheer force, floorboard screeching. You yelped softly, hands grasping at his vest.

‘Can all Witchers do that?’ Your lips were nearly touching and all you could see was his face, his lips curling up in that weird, hideous smile of his. Though.. it wasn’t ugly. It just lacked the joy that should emanate from a smiling man. It was like he was not feeling joy but mimicking it, or.. his face just wouldn’t reflect what he was feeling.

It reminded you of a saying; Witchers don’t feel emotions.

‘They can.’ For a moment you had forgotten what you had asked, confusion striking your face before you noticed his ember gaze meandering down yours, locking down on your lips. Again his fingers worked around your body, gripping you tightly, but not painfully. As he bent down, nose nuzzling yours, another crescendo of sparks was sent through your limbs. With every inch he moved closer, the feeling increased, your mouth falling open in a silent gasp as finally his animalistic eyes closed, lips brushing back against yours.

It was the combination of the warmth that trickled from his tingly touch in combination with the mild fear of his hidden strength, that made you near come at the spot. Your whole body turned to mush as you felt that strange scared arousal again. It was addicting.

Breaking away from the tender kiss he inhaled deeply again, hip bucking inadvertently into you - as if the smell aroused him deeply.

‘And is it true..’ You whispered onto his lips, a tease in your voice. ‘..that all Witchers have a crazy good..stamina?’

He hummed, then within a flash he has pushed you onto the bed, your body bouncing off the feather mattress as the Witcher removes his vest and shirt in one smooth movement. It gives you a moment to look onto his built physique. And..well..it was your wildest fantasy in fulfilment. Large bulging muscles, battle scars worthy a great warrior, and..from the looks of it a rather good endowment. His breeches were filling out nicely with a happy-to-see-you bulge.

You sucked in your bottom lip as the wolf man pulled you by the ankle, your legs now dangling off the side of the bed, hands above your head. You let out a surprised chuckle, eyes blinking as he got down to his knees, hands slipping beneath your skirts.

Another surprised yelp erupted from your lips when in one quick flick of the arm he had revealed your whole bare bottom half, his voice humming somewhere in the back of your mind; ‘And now about that kiss to make it better.’

Oh, that..HA. You had forgotten about that complete-comple-com-HOLY..!!

Without warning he latched onto your folds, wolf paws spreading out your thighs as he drank like a man starved.

OH SHIT. This was new. Oh this was very new. No man would ever..ever…HOOO

Like a true wolf the Witcher went straight for the kill, your whole body convulsing like a fish on the dry, your control slipping fast as you moaned lowly. Thankfully, the monster hunter packed muscle..and magic. Digging his talons into your thighs a bit more harshly, he nailed you down to the soft bed, more sparks starting to fly down his fingertips as his tongue continued its lavish assault.

And this time the sparks were much sharper, stronger, wilder. You couldn’t open your eyes even if you wished. His wish was your command. And like a fiddle he played you well, your mouth singing the prettiest - and most vulgar - of wanton moans. It was as if the lack of fabric between you and him made everything more intense. Skin to skin. Lips to lips.

Without warning your body surrendered, a thousand sparks sending you off flying. And it had to be admitted; you had never in your life experienced quite such a thrill, your whole body still shivering and convulsing long after your body rocking orgasm had washed away. With a lazy grin the wolf got back up from between your thighs, hands brushing up your corset until he reaching your jaw, cupping it gently.

‘Better?’

Oh, he was a tease for sure! That shit eating grin was back on his beautiful wolven face and you couldn’t help but find a need to tease back. With a push you got up to your elbows, lip pushing out as if you were deep in thought.

‘HMm..ALMOST.’ You dropped back onto the mattress, shrugging. ‘I heard the third time’s the charm.’

--

Go to Signs 3

--

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[bluerosesburnblue]

Now that KHUx ending has been out for a week a or two and you've dissected it, I wanted to ask you how you would rank the various KH game endings, if you have the time?

Oh, wow, yeah. That's really an interesting question. I never think of the endings much, despite how important they are. Let's see...

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days - The nostalgia's got me bad with this one, but I've gotta put it at the top. It was my first KH game and I can only think of two other video games from my childhood that had endings that impacted me as much as this one did. It's clear-cut and succinct, it capitalizes on all of the character development shown in the game while wrapping up almost every plot thread it introduced, playing as Another Side Roxas is intense... and I think it's the only KH ending that's entirely tragic, but that just makes the tone so much more clearly defined than if it had been a mix of emotions. I don't know if I ever would have gotten into the series if the ending of this game wasn't as good as it was and didn't make me desperately crave more just to see how the Sea Salt Trio's story effected everyone else

Kingdom Hearts χ - It's kind of wild that I'm ranking a browser game so high, but the KHx ending (also known as The Keyblade War questline for KHUx players) was magical when it happened. And the thing is, it wasn't unexpected but still managed to be engaging. People were freaking out trying to fight the Foretellers who introduced you to the world of the game only to try and take you out of it. And the ending with Ephemer and Skuld coming to save you at the last minute was beautifully open-ended, while wrapping up all of the storylines from earlier in the game. It went from intense, to sad, to hopeful again and it did it all with chibi sprites. And not just that, but the external community came together just to see it happen. It was really special

Kingdom Hearts II - This one's just very emotionally satisfying, finally seeing everyone get to return home again after a three-game arc. Riku and Sora have a nice character moment where they finally respect each other that draws on their earlier rivalry in a satisfying way, then Mickey, Donald, and Goofy rush over to the boys in such a sweet way, and we even see Sora finally return Kairi's good luck charm! It feels like it really ties the KH1-CoM-KH2 arc to a close, and then leaves on a high note of even more adventures to come. It's beautiful and it feels like an actual, tonally-consistent conclusion

Kingdom Hearts III - On the one hand, this one gets big bonus points for managing to deliver on an ending that saw almost every character who'd suffered from terrible fates get happy endings in a way that felt earned, and to this day I cannot believe that they actually did the beach party ending that had been joked about for a long time. On the other, though, Sora's disappearance feels like a cheap hook to continue the story when it really should have been focused on just ending the Dark Seeker Saga without setting up for the next game (you could have had Sora disappear in the Re:Mind DLC though, I would have been okay with that). The highs are high, it's just really the last few seconds that bring it down for me

Kingdom Hearts - KH1 is a classic, but its ending is pretty basic all things considered. The world is saved! Kairi gets to go home! There's more adventure to come as Sora, Donald, and Goofy set off to find their friends lost to the darkness! It's perfectly acceptable, it's set up in a way where if they never made another game you'd be satisfied with it, but it's nothing remarkable, either

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, & Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory - I'm lumping these three together because I feel the same way about all of their endings. They're fine, but they're mostly setup for future games. Sora's promise to Naminé is cute, Riku teaming up with Mickey and DiZ and choosing dawn over darkness or light is nice setup for his future arc, the Wayfinder Trio's fates are sad but make sense in future games, MoM has some neat lore teases... but all of them rely on the existence of future games to bring the emotional satisfaction of those endings so they don't feel "final," and thus not particularly satisfying on their own

Kingdom Hearts coded/Re:coded: It exists. It's entirely a plot hook. Same issue as the three above, but it has even less substance since we never see Data Sora again. The only real purpose it has is letting Mickey know things that the audience already did. It's not awful, but it's not good either

Kingdom Hearts 0.2 Birth by Sleep -A fragmentary passage- - It's not really a full game, but I put KHx on here so I may as well. I think overall it's fine, and nobody was really expecting much from a short side story anyway. My issues with it mostly stem from the contrived way that it tries to shove Aqua into the KH1 finale without actually changing the finale, and that what Nomura said the original draft was is much more interesting and leads better into KH3 than the actual ending (originally Aqua was supposed to break down in despair and cry about how she wants to go home, which flows better into KH3's Anti-Aqua storyline). As it is, the ending is tonally discordant with the rest of the game

Kingdom Hearts Union χ - I think we all know what I think of Union X's finale. It's going here, because while I think that most of it should be ranked around where I have CoM and BBS, the parts that I didn't were so bad that it ruined the entire experience of it for me. It's only beating out the next entry because the parts that I did like were better than anything that happened in the next finale

Kingdom Hearts Dream Drop Distance - This game ends with a tea party and Sora in goofy glasses, which is so absurd that I have to give it some bonus points... and yet it's still at the bottom. I can't get over the decision to have Yen Sid fail Sora for being actively sabotaged (while Yen Sid did nothing to help) while promoting Riku, who was not a primary target and in less danger. They both should've been forced to retake the test. This decision is so bad that I don't even care about any good that it does for Riku's arc, because it's not like Riku even uses the Master status that he gets from this anyway so why was it important for him to pass the Mark of Mastery exam? They don't even have the decency to show Sora being all that upset about it, even in private. It's just brushed off! And the way that Lea gets a Keyblade entirely offscreen is so cheap. DDD is the only KH ending that I would classify 100% as a bad ending. It's frustrating to sit through, and that frustration can't even be ignored because it has a major impact on KH3

[sterling-silvers]

Star Wars: The High Republic #2 Review

Ultimately a 7.5 out of 10, this installment was slightly better because of how Cavan Scott decided to advance the plot. While there some are nice nuggets of good-story telling and character interactions, even worse than last time, it’s bogged down with cardinal errors that truly make me question Scott’s competency as a writer for this story.

The issue comes right off the back end of Keeve being promoted to a Master Jedi and chronicles her first mission in the position. She is still dealing with the growing pains of what it means to be a Jedi which is depicted with her ongoing internalized self-doubt as well as her difficulty expressing certain Jedi mantras, such as “May the Force be with you.” Arguably exacerbating this bottled up uncertainty are the Keeve-proclaimed legends of Jedi Masters Sskeer, and identical Kobati twins Terec and Ceret. These twins are Bond-twins and as so are able to share the same mind and experiences of each other.

As they exit “hyperspace” (more on that later), the four masters come across the leftover demise of a ship that has been attacked. The Jedi were tasked with responding to the scrambled distress call that the ship had sent out sometime ago but, it seems as if they arrived too late. Both Keeve and one of the twins, using the Force, are able to sense survivors within the ransacked ship. As so, they board and enter.  Almost as soon as they are inside, they are met with poisonous Nihilian ovax gas and utilize a device called “rebreathers” to mitigate the effects.  Fully aware that the Nihil have raided this ship, they continue their investigation and split up to cover more ground. Traversing in groups of two, Terec – who is accompanying Sskeer – can sense the Trandoshan experiencing extreme trauma which means that Ceret can feel it as well via their bond; specifically, Sskeer is having flashbacks to the exact moment he lost his arm in the Battle of Kur.

On Keeve’s side of things, she and Ceret come across the corpses of a Hutt and Gamorrean guards. Upon further examination, it seems the Hutt was killed via an amalgam of stab wounds, blaster bolts, and nagnol poisoning – the latter being a toxic natural gas, capable of disrupting starship sensors, poisoning beings based on dosage, and a key element in the Nihil smokescreen.

On Sskeer’s end, he comes across a barley crop and together the Jedi deduce that the Hutt was capitalizing on the grain shortage that has occurred thanks to the Great Disaster. As the twins work on trying to ascertain where exactly the crop came from, Ceret is attacked by a Nihil that has been left behind; this causes both twins to feel the pain but, the wounds are not fatal. Sskeer charges ahead and chases after the Nihil raider, who is already suffering from serious injuries previously sustained in the raid. While Sskeer is perturbed that he cannot sense the attacker he is able to fatally strike down the assailant; coming to gripes that he has just killed, Sskeer goes on a rampage and continually slashes the bifurcated carcass only be brought back to his senses when Keeve addresses him.

Afterward, the Masters relay their findings to Marshall Avar Kriss and with the analysis from Master Maru, come to the conclusion that the barley – specifically Vratixia Renanicus – is a key ingredient in bacta; moreover, the shipment likely came from the Sedri System – principally, Sedri Minor. With this in mind, Kriss assigns Sskeer and Ceret to got to Sedri while she and Jedi Master Rwoh convene with Keeve and Terec to collect the Hutt ship that is breaking trading sanctions. Keeve moves to go with Sskeer but, Sskeer stonewalls her to stay with Terec.

Arriving on the planet, Sskeer is met with unwecolmedness by a citizen, Kalo Sulman who makes it clear that the Jedi’s presence will interfere with the colony’s independence. As the two are discussing, Ceret sees a Rodian in the crops motioning him to come over – as Ceret goes deep into the brush he is attacked by Drengir.

Back on the ship, Kriss and Keeve are discussing the remains of the corpse that Sskeer has left; Kriss reprimands Keeve for not telling her sooner but, also admonishes herself for not looking deeper into the signs the Force were giving her – such as not being able to hear Sskeer’s “song”.

As this happens, Terec – who is being medically assessed by Rwoh – screams out in pain feeling his brother’s anguish and relays this to Kriss. Kriss immediately contacts Sskeer and asks if Ceret is with him; when Sskeer realizes that the twin is gone rushes into the fields only to find his lightsaber.

What I liked:

A growing plot pivoting off of the bacta manufacturing that was touched on by Jedi Grandmaster Veter; this is much welcomed world building within the parameters that is the High Republic.

A very competent and aptly written investigation, analysis, and deductive reasoning done by the Jedi as a whole. The way the Jedi got on the ship, looked for clues, relayed their information to the data analyst/forensic expert, and hash out a plan to go to the planet where the clue originated from was great and definitely resonated with the idea that these Jedi are analogous to Texas Rangers. They certainly seemed like proto-Jedi investigators, not unlike future Jedi Master Tera Sinube.

The continued delving into Jedi Master Sskeer. I like the balancing act that is being conducted with his character. He’s a virtuous being that is dealing with trauma but, that doesn’t, ultimately, stop him from being a Jedi – it just tests it. He is still a “knight” and applies that chivalry when it needs to shine. Witnessing his accident and how it is affecting his psyche, ability to use the Force, and his morality is the highlight of this issue. This is what should be focused on to establish WHY Keeve looks up to him – give her these thoughts in accordance with herself doubt.

The dynamics of Ceret and Terec as interconnected Force Twins (could be seen as “Dyad Force-bond” inspired). Their link is a double-edged sword that reminds me of the Tomax and Xamot Paoli from Cobra Command. The original Star Wars was centered around Force sensitive twins and it’s nice to see that element played with more here – haven’t really seen that since the Mikkian twin sisters – Tiplee and Tiplar – in Clone Wars.

The holster to the lightsabers – it’s a nice, subtle way to convey how the Jedi of this era are more in a time of peace and reservation. To have a weapon holstered means that they have to take the extra moment to consider brandishing it. This underlying detail syncs really well with the time period considering that most of their enemies would be lifeforms and could be reasoned with – “life is precious.”

This can be seen as succinct yet distinct dichotomy between this era Jedi and the Skywalker Saga Jedi, as their sabers were without a holster and normally fashioned around the hips allowing for both instant access and draw in an age encompassed by war with droids – “droids are replaceable.”

What I disliked:

The application of Keeve’s personality traits continues to feel like a mismatch for the particular time period and volk she supposedly has been training and studying with; Ezra Bridger – who by the High Republic’s standards would not even be a Jedi – acts more like a Jedi than Keeve does. If anything, the uncertainty, quirks, and misapplication of Jedi traditions would have fit Ezra WAY more than it does (or really doesn’t) with Keeve. The concept itself is fine but, the iteration is what is flawed. Keeve is fast feeling more like a Jedi from post revenge Revenge of the Sith – like Kanan Jarrus – that a High Republic Jedi.

The sloppy fan service – there is a scene not only of a Hutt but, the Hutt is dead with its tongue out, surrounded by dead Gamorrean guards. It would be one thing if we just had a dead Hutt, I can even look past the Gamorrean guards (even though it would be nice if we saw this race in more roles than guards – there are some but, it does seem like guards is niche as far as the universe is concerned) but, to also have the Hutt dead with its tongue out to me just screams “DO YOU REMEMBER THAT ONE SCENE IN RETURN OF THE JEDI WITH JABBA?!!!” Just, how much are you going to dilute a reference? Make the fan service substantive and or just not in your face – the Rodian luring Ceret is a good version of fan service; present, notable, but not impeding in terms of the narrative.

What I Marked Off:

The completely wrong depiction of hyperspace; Star Wars Hyperspace is blue and certainly not immersed in stars when one is traveling through it. This error is on the very first page of the issue. This shook me to my very core and yanked me out of the immersion. IT’S THE FIRST PAGE! HOW DOES ONE MESS UP ON THE FIRST PAGE?!!! To add grave insult to mortal injury, hyperspace is a FOCAL element of the High Republic Era – you CAN NOT mess this up. Ultimately, it’s a team mess up but, Scott gets the brunt of this reprimand because this is his story and arguably his script is the one that should be guiding the artist.

The fact that Scott continues to fail to make the necessary references about crucial dynamics, events, and positions within this era. I had to learn from a YouTube video (link below) that Sskeer is actually the “Steward” to Kriss’ Marshall role. As of issue #3, this position is still not established to be held by Sskeer which is a real shame as it adds more substance and weight to his plight as a perturbed Jedi. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPeRcyJE5dk&feature=emb_title

In summary, this issue was a 7.5 out of 10; slightly better than issue one because of how the writer decided to advance the plot and who he decided to advance the plot with. The genuinely good moments of story-telling are bogged down by ineptitude that can literally throw one out of the immersion. Nonetheless, if you can tolerate the faults there are elements to enjoy, especially when it comes to the characters. I hope those elements promptly become prominent.

[avanalae]

Darkfic Saga Installment 9

The 9th installment of my old Darkfic Saga! It’s only been, like, five years. :| I hope you’ll all forgive me. 

And to those who aren’t familiar with this series, please be wary as this is pretty much my series where I abuse the heck out of the characters that I love. Mostly Tim. Most all of them are pretty darn dark. 

You can find the rest of the series on AO3. I started it on Dreamwidth and Livejournal aaaages ago. I uploaded everything to AO3 in one story right HERE, but the previous installment is on tumblr right HERE.

Enjoy!

__________

Title: The End of my Lover Fandom: DCU Pairing: Jason/? (written with Tim in mind but is open) Rating: T Warnings: Insanity, Implied Death or Major Injury, Blood Prompt: Madness (Darkfic 056)

Jason doesn’t remember much from his brief episodes of insanity. It’s a leftover from the pit, of course, these episodes. They’ve been getting shorter with longer periods of time between them, but they terrify him.

He has every right to be terrified.

During one of his episodes, he’d… Jason blinks back the tears. He can’t even think it. All that he can see behind his eyelids is that scene he woke up to.

Blood, blood everywhere, staining their bed and covering his lover’s body. His eyes were closed, and Jason’s heart felt like it had stopped in his chest as he stared.

He reached out to touch him and flinched back when he saw it.

Covered in blood.

Hoarsely he muttered his lover’s name.

There was no response.

The madness returned.

__

Title: Pretty Please Fandom: DCU Pairing: Slade/Tim Rating: Explicit Warnings: Non-Con/Rape Prompt: Please (Darkfic 057) 

“P-Pl…” he gasps, cutting himself off from finishing the word.

The pace slows, still hard enough to jerk his body with every thrust, but it drags and he whines. “No…!”

A deep chuckle rattles him and he tries to thrash but is held down easily. “Down, little bird. Just say it.”

Tim shakes his head frantically and tries to free himself, only making the man laugh again. He thrusts hard making him choke and nearly bite his tongue.

“Careful there, little bird,” he traps both hands in one of his massive ones. The other gleefully explores the small body beneath him. “Now, just say the word and we can get this over with. But, by all means,” he thrusts again and draws out a little whine before leaning over him and mutters against bitten lips, “take your time.”

Tim surges up and attempts to bite those lips but he backs off with a bark of laughter. Tim grunts at the movement and groans, “Slade, no…!”

“Mm. Slade, yes.” He twists one of Tim’s nipples harshly and Tim wails. “Go ahead, little bird. Just say please.”

A fresh bout of tears spill from Tim’s eyes and Slade wipes them away in a gesture of mock kindness. “Just say the word and I’ll end this,” his free hand brushes ever so lightly against Tim’s groin and Tim flinches with a whine.

“N-No!”

Slade smirks, “Then be ready for a long night.”

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 Title: Come Play with Me Fandom: DCU Pairing: Jason/Tim Rating: T Warnings: Implied Drugging, Dark Implications Prompt: Mask (Darkfic 058) 

The slim body sidles up to him, fitting ever-so-nicely against him. Chest to chest slender arms come up to wrap around his neck and he leans in, noses brushing.

“Jay,” Tim drawls, “What are you doing here?” One hand caresses his cheek, thumb skimming along the edge of his mask.

Jason growls, “You’re drugged, birdie. I’m taking you home.”

“Oh, truly? Mm,” Tim pulls him down closer by his neck and nuzzles him, “What will you do to me there?”

Jason tries to push him away but Tim rolls with the movements. There must be something wrong with him, too, because he can’t bring himself to be rough with the man. “Red Robin, you need to stop.”

Tim sighs and rubs against him, “Will you make me?”

“Red-” Jason groans and finally manages to push him away, though likely only because Tim let him. “Come on. We need to get whatever is drugging you tested and get an antidote ready.”

“Mm,” Tim sighs and stretches, “Won’t you play with me? Please?”

“No, Red, I don’t even know what you were drugged with.” Jason huffs and then grunts as Tim moves and knocks him out with a swift jab.

Tim smiles at the passed-out form of the bigger man, “You should have just said yes, Jaybird.”

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 Title: Burn, Baby, Burn Fandom: DCU Pairing: Ra’sTim Rating: T Warnings: Death, Fire, Burning cities, Destruction Prompt: Destruction (Darkfic 059) 

Ra’s brushes a few kisses along Tim’s temple, arms wrapped around the man sitting between his legs. Tim hums contentedly and continues to run his thumbs across Ra’s’ knuckles.

His kisses trail down to his neck and Tim sighs, tilting his head just so to invite the ministrations.

Ra’s takes the opportunity and continues to explore his lover with his lips, inhibited only by the clothes he wears. The neck of his shirt is wide, however, so he has plenty of skin to adore. And adore he does.

Tim turns his head in a plea for a kiss and receives one, a lingering thing that makes him sigh. Ra’s smiles into it and Tim licks those tempting lips.

“Come now, Timothy, I thought you would desire to view the scenery.”

Tim grumbles but does look out at the skyline.

The sky is red and black, filled with smoke and the reflections of flames. Flickers of flame are scattered around, bright red and orange, giving off a glow.

The city is burning.

The sounds of screams are distant, but audible and Tim closes his eyes. He can’t feel the heat of the flames from this distance, but he likes to imagine he can.

Eventually Tim huffs, “I do very much enjoy the sights, but I can imagine a better way to spend our time.” He rolls his hips back into Ra’s’ groin and leans back fully, dropping most of his weight onto the older man.

Ra’s chuckles and his hands slip down to spread Tim’s thighs atop his own. One hand squeezes his inner thigh and the other grabs one of Tim’s pecs, caressing firmly. Tim groans, pleased, and drags his nails along his lover’s arms.

Sirens wail in the distance and Ra’s nips at Tim’s neck.

People scream and Tim moans.

Chaos reigns and their kings kiss with a ferocity that is second nature to them.

__

 Title: Venom Fandom: DCU Pairing: None Rating: PG-13 Warnings: Implied murder Prompt: Poisonous (Darkfic 060)

Tim knows what’s wrong with him. He’s never not known. And he doesn’t consider it to be something wrong with him, either. It’s just a part of him.

He’s venomous. It’s easily controlled now, but he can still slip.

It’s always an accident, he would swear if anyone knew it was him.

Mother was both venomous and poisonous, but he is glad he isn’t, as it would make getting all those injuries a terrible inconvenience. Not only that but he’d be outed rather quickly as something abnormal.

Mother taught him all the ways to use his venom and he collected it on a regular basis to run tests on and for… other reasons. He always keeps a vial on him with a small injector.

Just in case.

Tim stares down at the unconscious criminal before him. Not one of the supervillains, for sure, but he apparently aspires to be one. Now then, whether or not to nip the problem in the bud.

He draws out the vial and swirls it.

Whether or not to waste a bit of himself on such trash.

These are the tough decisions he must make.

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Title: By the Light of the Moon Fandom: DCU Pairing: Jason/Tim Rating: M Warnings: Werewolves, beastiality, rape Prompt: Feral (Darkfic 061) 

“J-Jay, Jaybird, hey,” Tim is on his knees in the best submissive position he can manage, “Hey, it’s me, Tim. Jason it’s Tim.”

The beast before him growls right in his face, long muzzle scrunched up to bare wicked-looking teeth. But praises be, he snuffs and sniffs and seems to recognize Tim on some level. His nose tucks into Tim’s armpit and then his hips, rubbing his groin which startles Tim.

The jerky motion brings a growl from Jason, this werewolf before him, and he stills.

But the next thing he knows he’s being pushed onto his back and large paw-like hands are holding his wrists down. “Jay- What are yo- eep!”

Jason tears off Tim’s pants in one swift motion with his jaws, ripping the fabric beyond all hope.

“Jason-!” He licks a broad stripe along Tim’s groin and stomach, making Tim yelp. “Oh no oh no, Jay, please-”

But the pleas fall on deaf ears as Jason takes position to mount him. Tim’s panic is blatant, but his struggles mean nothing against a 400-pound beast.

His scream echoes among the trees as Jason takes him.

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Title: In the Night Fandom: DCU Pairing: Bruce/Tim Rating: M Warnings: Underage, Masturbation, Rutting Prompt: Shadow (Darkfic 062)

Bruce is always there, even if not physically. He’s always watching and always present, just like a shadow. He stalks and prowls and sees everything.

Tim knows this, but he can’t help it. He’s a healthy young teenager with an active sex drive.

So when he masturbates, he makes sure the cameras have the best view, no matter what he’s doing. Whether he’s pulling himself off to a release or fingering himself or playing with one of the many toys he’s gotten, he angles himself just right.

And it all comes to a head one night after patrol. He’s terribly horny and he’s rushing through clean-up so he can run up to his room and have a quick release when he’s stopped by Bruce. He draws him into conversation about their patrol all the while eyeing him, so Tim has no doubts that he’s doing this on purpose.

Feeling bold, Tim steps into Bruce’s space. He backs up until he’s sitting in the chair at the computer and Tim climbs onto his lap. Bruce’s stare is passive, but his eyes are burning so Tim grinds against his stomach. His moan is loud and echoes in the cave and suddenly he’s shy, covering his mouth with one hand.

But Bruce’s large hands grab his hips and pull him into thrusts. Tim gasps and starts following the rhythm, moaning louder and louder as his hands come away from his mouth to grab at Bruce’s shoulders.

He comes hard, his thrusts stuttering against Bruce’s toned stomach and he whines.

Tim eventually manages to open his eyes and he sees Bruce’s pants fighting against his own erection and-

He swallows. Bruce must be huge.

But something lights in his stomach, even after his orgasm, and he looks up to see Bruce staring him down.

Maybe just this once…

[sensitiveheartless]

They’re having a sleepover :0 (Neither of them are very familiar with sleepovers in practice, but mutually decided there should be plenty of pillows for ammunition purposes) (their battle shall be legendary once one of them inevitably decides to instigate)

[sassyhazelowl]

The dental saga continues.

I am back on the stuff I take for immunosuppression and inflammation control. Last week I was off it for blood test purposes, and I’ve been back on it for not quite a week, but long enough for it to kick in.

Dental Hygienist: you’ve had a lot of improvement with the inflammation! you must be brushing more!

Me: *hasn’t done anything new or unusual this entire time* I used the water pik [once]. It was cold because I was an idiot who didn’t use warm water to fill the container.

DH: Great! That seems to be working! Keep doing that.

Me: LOL sure.

DH: And you numbed up today.

Me: LOL...

DH: Good to see so much improvement.

What this tells me (along with the blood test results which were actually surprisingly low! yay) is that the supplements I’m taking ARE noticeably effective at reducing inflammation and controlling inappropriate immune reactions (my face isn’t swelling up like a chipmunk today).

Also, I seriously wonder what DH thinks I’m brushing with. A stick? Flossing with moss. She knows I have medicated, prescription tooth paste and mouthwash. OFC I’m using those instead of Crest or w/e. Why would I use Crest over the toothpaste my dentist wants me to use?

Additionally, it never fails to be creepy when medical professionals say something should be “very painful” and I’m sitting there like “yeah, well, it’s a 2 or 3 I guess? I don’t really pay attention.”

[istheresomebodywhocanimagine]

Late Nights, Early Mornings (PT. 3)

Another installment of the Brian’s journal saga... I should probably write a recap for y’all, but here’s a link to the first two parts instead. Buckle up again FOLKS (also, I feel like this is simultaneously a great stopping point for this and yet I feel like I could write this series forever. God bless Brian May)

Read PT. 1 here

Read PT. 2 here

The night dragged on as you tried to figure out what your best plan of attack was with the journal. Obviously, it would look suspicious if you just snuck into his room as soon as you got there and dropped it on the bed. Plus, where had it even been laying when you picked it up? You cursed yourself for your horrid mental block as you laid your head on Roger’s lap, trying to feign sleep so you wouldn’t be bothered while you schemed.

Roger played with your hair as he waited for his turn to record a drum section, braiding and unbraiding it. As it got closer to time for them to leave, Brian came in and resumed his spot on the other end of the couch, picking your feet up and resting them in his lap as he sat back and took a breather.

“She asleep?” Brian asked, Roger making a noise of confirmation as he focused on yet another braid that he would most likely give up on in a few minutes. “God, I’m beat, I don’t even know how the both of us will make it back to my flat at this rate.”

Roger snickered to himself as he toyed with the braid, fully aware of the cute little crush Brian had on you. “Are you goin’ to snuggle with her tonight, Bri? You sly dog, getting some action.”

“Oh, fuck off and die, Rog,” he muttered, and you could just imagine the annoyed expression on Brian’s face, which made a smile start playing at your lips, so you pretended to mumble something in your sleep and you turned over, burying your face in Roger’s stomach. Roger quietly made a frustrated noise as his previous work with the last braid was essentially ruined, so he resorted to just brushing his fingers through your hair as he snickered again at himself, pleased that he irritated Brian so much when he gave him hell.

“Maybe she’ll even give you a handy as thanks for letting her sleep over,” Roger suggested, twirling a piece of your hair around his finger. You made a mental note to beat the shit out of him for this, but you couldn’t blow your cover now. “Or one of her famous back rubs, full body style.”

“You’re sick, you know that?” Brian retorted, a hint of disgust in his voice as he rested a hand on your leg. “She’s literally right there. Practically in your crotch.”

“I’m well aware,” Roger laughed, letting go of your hair and resting back against the couch, stretching his arms out. “Jealous?”

Freddie disrupted what was sure to be another testy argument between the two as he walked in, clearing his throat. “I think that’s all we can take for tonight, dears, let’s call it.” Gently grabbing your shoulder, he shook you to ‘wake’ you and you pretended to groggily open your eyes, covering your mouth as you yawned. Brian smiled a bit awkwardly at you as you withdrew your feet from his lap, and you shot him a sleepy smile before climbing to your feet, hugging your coat to your body.

“Done for the night?” you asked, Roger nodding as he got up and stretched. You all walked out together, Freddie and Deacon both having driven, while Roger had hitched a ride with Freddie. Everyone said their goodbyes, and you made sure to hug Roger last, hugging him tight and burying your face in his hair so no one would see you whispering to him. “I heard everything. I’m going to beat your ass tomorrow, Taylor.”

He pulled back from the hug, a mildly mortified look on his face as it all dawned on him. Quickly covering up the awkward moment with a cough, he nodded at you and shoved his hands in his pockets, Freddie giving you an odd look as he was the only one to notice Roger’s suddenly horrified state. You mouthed ‘I’ll explain later,’ and Freddie left with a nod as you and an unassuming Brian started heading back to his flat.

The chatting was light as you both walked back, Brian keeping a respectable distance from you as you walked side by side down the streets. The journal was extremely heavy in your pocket now, and weighed just as heavy on your conscience as you tried to figure out what the hell you were going to do.

But when you both finally got back to his flat around 6 a.m., Brian presented you with the perfect plan himself. “You can nick any of my clothes to sleep in, I don’t want you to get uncomfortable in those jeans or anything,” he offered, nodding towards his room as he locked his door behind him. “I’ll be in there in a minute, you can go ahead and change.”

There really is a God, you silently cheered as you walked back towards his room, shutting the door behind you and doing a quiet victory dance as you pulled the journal out of your pocket, sitting it on an indentation left in the blanket earlier by one of the two books. Surely, he wouldn’t notice that much if they had switched?

You grabbed a cutoff t-shirt of his and changed into it, figuring it was long enough that you wouldn’t be too provocative if you just neglected to wear any pants with it. Besides, you usually slept naked, and as much as Brian would probably enjoy that, you were already testing God a lot tonight.

All of a sudden, you heard a gentle knock on the door, and you padded over to the door, opening it to find Brian standing there patiently. Smiling at him, you opened the door completely and let him enter as you crawled into bed, choosing to be near the wall in case he had a certain spot he liked more. Christ, this mattress really is like the clouds. I’m a terrible person for enjoying this.

You noticed Brian swiftly pick up his journal from his bed and put it away in his desk, apparently none the wiser that you had even touched it at all, and he proceeded to kick off his jeans as you got comfortable. All of you were comfortable being somewhat undressed around each other, the boys probably more so, seeing as you’d all been on tour together several times.  

He joined you in bed after turning out the light and just leaving the closet light on, and you laid on your side facing him as you realized you were more wired now than you were a couple hours ago. Maybe it was the adrenaline from successfully lying to him, or the guilt from successfully lying to him, but you were as wide awake as you had been all night. Brian noticed that you didn’t appear to be that sleepy, and despite his own exhaustion, he turned on his side to face you and raised an eyebrow.

“Slept too much at the studio, huh?” You nodded and smiled softly, pulling the covers up to your shoulders as you looked down at his braid, giggling softly.

“It suits you,” you murmured, reaching over to pick it up gently and twirl the rather heavy collection of hair between your fingers.

Brian hummed in appreciation, still watching you as you played with it. “Maybe I’ll keep it in all the time, make it a new fashion statement or something.”

You had to giggle at that, rolling over to lay on your back as you let go of the braid. “Lads will be braiding their hair left and right just to look like Brian May, the rockstar guitarist of Queen. Girls everywhere will swoon, and parents will make sure it becomes another part of their quest to demonize everything rock and roll.”

“Oh, I’ll be the talk of the globe,” he continued, laughing along with you as he sat up a bit, propping his head up on his hand and looking down at you. You glanced over at him and smiled, giggling even harder before closing your eyes.

“As if Queen already isn’t,” you murmured, hugging yourself and slowly opening your eyes to stare at the ceiling. “This next tour is going to be really big, Brian, I can feel it. You’re going to sky-rocket after this, and I don’t know how in the world I’m going to keep up with you all.”

“Oh, don’t worry there, love,” he chuckled, reaching over to play with some of your hair that was laying haphazardly across your pillow. “We’ll keep you on no matter what, Fred and Roger are too infatuated with you to ever threaten your job security.”

“I’m glad at least Roger and Fred think that,” you teased, looking over at Brian as his cheeks turned a deep shade of red and his mouth went slightly agape. He stumbled over his words as he tried to recover from that fumble, but you laughed and cut him off. “Relax, Brian, I know what you meant. Don’t have a coronary on me now, your mattress is far too comfortable for me to take you to the A&E right now.”

Giving you a playfully hurt look, he gently tugged on the piece of hair he had between his fingers. “Glad to know what your priorities are, Y/N. Let it be known, if you were having a heart attack right this moment, I’d have you at the A&E faster than you could say A&E.”

That hit you hard. You knew he didn’t mean for it to be so serious, but the air suddenly got heavy as you realized you had to tell him. He didn’t deserve to be tricked like this, and you knew sooner or later you’d have to tell him, whatever the reaction would be. Now that he said that, you figured you had to go with the former. Swallowing hard, you sat up in front of him and took his hand that had been tangled in your hair, trapping it between your hands as you stared at him, not completely sure how to start this conversation.

“Are you alright, love?” he asked, a worried expression crossing his usually subdued face. “Are you going to be sick?” he asked, suddenly sitting up as well, but you shook your head and took a deep breath before looking down at his hand and chewing on your lip.

“Brian, promise you won’t hate me if I tell you something bad that I did?” you murmured, holding out your pinky to his free hand. He sat cross-legged in front of you, horribly confused at the situation, but he wrapped his pinky around yours nonetheless. “I made a mistake, and I’m so sorry for doing it, and I hope you can forgive me because I really had no idea what I was doing until it was too late.”

“Jesus, Y/N, did you kill a man?” he joked softly, trying to lighten the mood, but you only gave him a weak smile in response. “What’s wrong? You’re scaring me, sweetheart, I promise I won’t judge.”

“If I tell you, will you wait to talk until I’m done so I can explain myself?” you asked, Brian nodding slowly as he watched you carefully, his compassionate hazel eyes searching your face for any answers he could find, which were none. You mustered up all the courage left in you, and then let it spill. “Earlier, when I came to get you and you asked me to come in here and get your black song book, I came in here and had no fucking clue which one of the two books sitting on your bed was your song book. They both looked identical, so I grabbed both of them and brought them with me.”

A sickly look passed over Brian’s face, and his hand went stiff in yours as you knew he’d realized what you were about to say. “When I handed you the song book in the booth, I swear I had no idea which one was which, I just happened to grab the right one out of my pocket. And I can prove I didn’t even think about looking at the other until later, because you saw it right before I… looked at it.”

“Jesus,” he muttered, curling up his hand and looking down at his lap as he tried to hold back all of the panicking he wanted to do.

“Brian, I’m really sorry, I truly am!” you persisted, squeezing his hand, but it remained rigid. “I heard you getting ruffled up because you couldn’t find something in your song book, so I went to go hand the other book to you and Freddie stopped me because he recognized that it was your journal. He took it from me, and I almost lost my shit and admitted it to you right there, but Freddie started reading it and I didn’t want to embarrass you, and I – I, I don’t know, Freddie was reading last night’s part, and then he stopped all of a sudden when he saw my name, and I got curious, I don’t know, fuck. I’m so sorry, Brian. He tried to hide it from me, really, and shoved it up his shirt, and that’s when you saw me elbow deep in his shirt. And I got it from him anyways when you guys went back to playing, and I…”

After far too many moments of silence as you tried to word it gently, Brian looked up at you, a pained expression on his face as he quietly spoke for you. “You read the rest, didn’t you?”

“Don’t be mad,” you whispered, tears stinging at your eyes and threatening to come out as you continued, Brian’s ashen face making you want to sob and beg for forgiveness, which probably wouldn’t be the worst idea at this point. “I read the rest of it, and then Freddie told me to hush about it, and I didn’t tell Roger, I swear! I was up the rest of the time trying to figure out how the fuck I was going to tell you or get it back here without causing a scene, and I heard everything you and Roger said right before we left. I felt awful, I really did, I wanted to sock Roger right in the fucking balls, but I was afraid you’d panic and ask me to go home instead if you knew I’d heard his teasing.”

Brian looked near death as he stared at you, trying to process all of this in a short time. After a long time of just staring, he retracted his hand from your grasp and went to sit on the edge of his bed, hunched over like he was about to cry. His face was buried in his hands as he reckoned with the situation, and you decided not to test his limits by trying to touch him again, instead just opting to sit next to him on the edge of the bed and quietly wait for him to speak again.

You’d never felt this terrified in your life. It was like a nightmare come to life, and the worst part was that you couldn’t wake up from whatever happened next. Brian could throw you out of his house, fire you, whatever he felt like doing, and it would probably be justified. Those were his thoughts, his own private thoughts, and you had invaded that safe space. That was something that could easily be unforgivable, even with Brian’s easy-going, sympathetic nature.

“Y/N, I’m not mad at you,” he finally muttered, his voice muffled by his hands as he remained crouched over the edge, unmoving. “I just.. fuck!” he cursed, sitting up and rubbing his face before staring at the opposite wall. His eyes were brimming with tears, and you felt tears sting at your eyes again as he looked over at you. This was the first time you’d ever seen Brian cry. In fact, it was probably the first time you’d ever seen a man cry. “That’s my journal, not a bloody autobiography!”

“I know, I know, Brian,” you stammered, tugging at your hair nervously as he let his tears roll down his face, unafraid of showing his disappointment at what had happened tonight. “There’s no way I can ever make up for what I did, but I didn’t want to lie to you and pretend like nothing had ever happened. It wasn’t right, you didn’t deserve any of this. You’re too sweet to me, and I’m just a giant fucking dickhead for invading your privacy. I understand if you want me to go, just say the word, okay?”

Brian was quiet as you rambled on, wiping away his tears intermittently, and after you quieted, he took a shaky breath and clasped his hands together, staring down at them as he resumed his crouching position. “No, I don’t want you to go,” he denied in a trembling voice, closing his eyes for a few seconds to blink out any remaining tears. “And I swear, I’m not mad at you. I’m just… a bit upset, is all. Obviously, I never wanted anyone to see those things, but it’s my fault for having similar journals.”

“No, Brian,” you murmured, reaching over and resting your hand on his forearm before shaking it gently. “It’s my fault for being a nosy cunt, I should have just asked you which was which in the first place. I’m so sorry, I don’t think I’ll ever being able to apologize as much as I need to for this.”

Brian was quiet for a minute as he willed himself to calm down, letting your hand remain on his arm as he took slow, deep breaths. After that minute, he carefully took your hand in his, wrapping it with both of his hands and chewing on his lip as he gently ran his thumb over the back of your hand, just staring at your fingers.

“Did you read anything else besides last night?” he asked quietly, playing with your fingers in order to distract from the fact that he was all too aware of what he’d written about you last night, as well as previous nights. You shook your head as he looked up at you, and you offered him an encouraging smile.

“If it makes this any easier, I really do want you to ask me out,” you said softly, Brian’s hands pausing as soon as he realized what you’d said.

“You do?” he practically whispered, his emotions all over the place and clearly showing in his expression of pure turmoil as he looked at you. “Are you just fucking with me to make me feel better right now, or do you actually want to go on a date with me?”

You had to laugh at that, despite the tear running down your cheek, and you sniffled before nodding. “I really, really do want to go on a date with you. Freddie gave me hell after I smiled like a fucking moron when I read the last part. God, I hope I didn’t fuck up my chances on that date with this, because that would be a bummer. I’d understand, but still… I don’t know how many more excuses I can give Roger on saying no to dates with him.”

That brought a small smile to Brian’s face, and he chuckled faintly as he shook his head and looked down at your hands again. “We wouldn’t want your reserve to run out, I suppose?” he finally said, the end coming out as more of a question but still making you smile widely. “Anyways, I’m so fucking crazy for you that I’m kind of okay with the fact that this happened, even though it still sucks quite a bit. I didn’t know how else I was going to ask you out, so… thank you? I guess?”

You started laughing at that and couldn’t help yourself, tackling him down to the bed in a tight hug as you half-laughed, half-cried into his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around your waist as you laid halfway on top of him, his face nuzzling into your neck while you proceeded to be a general hot mess as you thanked him over and over. He didn’t mind, though, and let you cry from relief onto his shoulder until you’d worn yourself out again.

Exhausted from the night’s proceedings, you rolled off of him and rubbed your eyes so they weren’t completely tear-stained, Brian’s arm still wrapped loosely around your waist as you laid there and silently praised every God there ever was that you’d gotten lucky enough to receive Brian’s mercy. “I swear, I’ll let you sleep now,” you finally laughed, Brian’s body almost visibly deflating as he quickly remembered how long he’d gone without proper sleep.

“Thank God,” he murmured, burying his face in your back as you turned on your side to face the wall. His arm remained around your waist, not firm or loose, but just enough to hold you back against him. He was warm, comforting, and everything you’d been praying for as you both began to drift off to sleep. “Good night, Y/N,” he murmured against your back, his voice making your heart skip a beat as it rumbled against your shoulder. “Or should I say, good morning.”

“Good morning, Brian.”

PT. 1 PT. 2

taglist -  @moreinfinite @shae-is-not-ok @fourmisfitz @ilovemycrayons@mjsholland @anita-e-taylor @sherlokiantheatrenerd @alexfayer @just-ladyme @fruityfreddie @s-e-l-e-c-t-i-v-e-listener @weebethyboop123 @rogerfxckingtaylor @poachedhazontoast

[shapoodle]

Twilight Saga

Here is a fic requested by @ask-villegas-sides, based of their OC sides, hope you all enjoy!

"I don't think we're in Kansas anymore you guys..."

"What are you talking about Lev?" Flint questioned "I don't recall ever being in Kansas."

"It was a movie reference, obviously" Reese sighed "Beckett, you doing okay?" The fanciful side turned toward their anxious friend, who was currently curled in on themself, hugging a pillow.

A muffled scream came from the pillowed face.

Reese nodded "I'm going to take that as a no..."

The sound of metal clattering onto a table brought all four sides' attention to the couch, where their host was sitting, mouth agape and still very filled with the cereal they were eating before they dropped their spoon.

"Kiddo, what have I told you about eating with an open mouth?" Lev tutted.

"I believe we have more pressing concerns than manners  at the moment" Flint objected "Though, please do close your mouth Riley, you'll make a mess of the carpet.”

Riley gulped.

"I feel as though I should be concerned."

"You should feel concerned" Beckett moaned.

"Ah! There's the anxiety kicking in, I'm now very concerned, guys how did you get here?"

"I feel as though if we knew the answer to that Mr. Pillow Face wouldn't be screaming...into a pillow.

"Your getting more creative by the day, ain't ya curly font?" Beckett shouted, pointing his finger accusingly at Reese, though still refusing to remove his face from the pillow.

"Wow, that was pretty muffled" Lev whistled. They turned to Riley "Duvet they think they can lift their head so I can see my darling kiddo's face?"

“Pillow based puns? Is that the theme for today?” Reese joked.

"I'm electing to ignore all three of you for the moment. To answer your question though Riley: We have no clue." Flint responded.

"You seem awfully calm about that lack of knowledge, logic" Riley eyed suspiciously.

"There is no reason to get frustrated at things I do not know just because I haven't had the opportunity to learn them yet." Flint nodded "This is an opportunity for us all to learn something new, and we should approach it rationally and maturely."

**

"YOUR MUM IS A BLEAK AND UNFORTUNATE FUTURE!" Flint screamed as they threw their coloured fine liners in the air.

"Besides, we don't have a mother, Beckett" Lev chimed in to Beckett's previous insult "Though you do have one punny dad."

"Let me get this straight." Riley groaned, head resting firmly on the dinner table "We have spent the last two hours going over theoretical physics, quantum physics, biology and psychology: and what we have is that my manifestations of the different aspects of myself taking physical forms, is impossible."

"Yep" Beckett responded, adding an extra pop to the end of the word.

"But you're here"

"Yep."

"So it's not impossible."

"Yep."

A further groan escaped Riley's lips.

"Wow, you and Beckett are sounding more and more alike" Reese purred.

"I'm really not that whiny." Beckett protested.

"Your are still holding onto that pillow from before."

"Its name is Ignatius and I've adopted it as an emotional support pillow. Back off."

Flint took a deep breath and re-brushed his hair back to its typically neat presentation "We are getting off topic, Reese stop distracting Beckett, I need their input here"

Reese turned to Flint with an offended gasp "Does my opinion not matter here?"

"Of course your opinion matters" Flint reassured "...it just doesn't matter to me."

"It also doesn't matter when we're trying to have a serious conversation." Beckett responded in a snarky tone.

Reese raised his finger toward Beckett and glared "It's a good thing I love you."

"Alright kiddos, let's get back to  topic, this is a very important matt-ress."

"...that's a very weak connection to pillows." Riley paused.

"That won’t stop them" Flint sighed. "Look, does anyone remember what they were doing when this happened?”

"Writing"

"Baking!"

"Brooding"

"I was eating breakfast and marathoning episodes of the Twilight Zone."

"... you were watching the Twilight Zone?" Flint raised an eyebrow.

Riley nodded "Yeah, I've been meaning to watch it for a while now, there was this one episode where a couple were watching this film when they suddenly got transported into the films universe and....Oh I'm dreaming aren't I?"

"Yeah." Flint nodded, a slight agitation creasing his brow "Yeah, you probably are"

"Wow Reese, you ripped off the synopsis of the episode to a T, really getting creative."

Reese looked around, lips pursed "Um... I didn't do this."

"What do you mean, how can I dream without you?"

"Wish I could tell ya, but I have photographic memories when it comes to my creations, I could tell you how many leaves I put on that willow tree in that one dream. Y'know the one with the willow-”

"Yeah the one with the willow tree, I know Reese"

Flint stared at the creative side "How many leaves?"

"196,812"

"..."

"Why would you ask that question?" Beckett scoffed "You don't know the answer either."

"I know it's just... why would creativity need a photographic memory?"

"Well..." Riley paused "Doesn't the imagination rely a lot on a person's subconscious thoughts?"

"Yes!" Lev clapped "Like how it's impossible to create a face of a stranger, any person you see in a dream you don't recognise is likely a face you've passed down the street and the brain just remembers."

"Which explains why Reese can have a photographic memory, where as Riley can't remember what was on the last page of a book they just read." Beckett added.

"A little harsh" Riley winced.

"Sorry."

"But that still doesn't explain how Reese doesn't recognise this dream, if it even is a dream" Lev continued.

The sides paused for a moment, looking to and from from each other, searching for an answer. It was Flint who spoke out first.

"Well, why don't we test it?

"Test it?" Riley pressed.

"Yes, if one has a hypothesis one should test it. We need to find out whether or not this is a dream. For instance, now that Riley is aware they are in a dream, this would be a lucid dream now, right?"

"I suppose so." Reese nodded.

"And a person who is lucid dreaming can control the narrative of the dream. Riley you can decide what happens next. So if you do something which wouldn't happen in the real world, then we know this must be a dream."

"So... say I make something appear?"

"Yes that should work."

"Alright then..." Riley shrugged, a little unsure how effective this would be. They closed their eyes and controlled their breath. Sure enough they heard a large thump occur next to them. Sure enough as they opened their eyes a large jar of crofters, coming up to Riley's hip stood on the floor.

"Oh. My. Gamma Velorem." Flint stared on in shock.

"Crofters and a reference to stars. Now that's a space jam if ever I heard one" Lev snickered.

"Why is it so big?" Beckett asked, eyebrow raised.

"That's the beauty of imagination!" Reese cheered "Now fill the room with puppies!"

"No!" Flint pulled his eyes away from the jam "No, we should keep this short and sweet."

"Sweet like Crof-"

"Thank-you Lev" Flint interrupted "So: we can confirm this is a dream, which means Riley has the power to end the narrative."

"Do we have to end it so soon? I mean this could be really fun."

"Didn't you say you were eating cereal before you fell asleep" Beckett asked.

"Yeah"

"So you're probably drenched in milk and honey hoops, passed out on the couch."

"Ohhhh, yeah that is embarrassing I should, I should probably go fix that."

"Awww, I was kind of looking forward to going on an adventure with you." Reese sighed.

"Maybe next time buddy" Riley reassured as they closed their eyes. Lifting their hand up a vortex of blue and green appeared before them.

"Guess we go through there then?" Reese mused "Well, Onwards! Let's go my anxious squire."

"What? No no no no. There's no guarantee that's actually going to take us back. It could lead somewhere far worse, what it this portal actually takes us to the real real world? What if it's like inception and we just end up in another layer of dr-"

Beckett was cut off as he was pushed into the portal by Reese.

"Such a romantic" Flint rolled his eyes.

"I'll make it up to them" Reese winked "Aufwidersehen Riley, see you in the next dream!"

"And you'll see me when you wake up so I can take you through the process of getting milk stains out of fabrics." Flint added as he made his way to the portal "Also, we may want to discuss how we eat food from now on"

"I just got out of one of your two-hour lectures I don't need another one" Riley reassured.

"Hey kiddo!"

"Yeah , Lev?"

"Don't forget to put some sugar under your pillow tonight"

"...why would I do that?" Riley cocked their head.

"So you can have sweet dreams!" Lev cheered as they jumped into the portal. Soon the vortex a colours began to diminish, and with a pop of sparking energy it was gone entirely.

Riley sighed "Of course I had to end that on a pun."  They grimaced, as they picked up the discarded spoon.

[javathewildone]

Ty Chronicles - A Walk to Remember (Pt. 11)

Summary: Meghan Donovan is a girl no one pays attention to until the day Ty Borden discovers something about her that so closely relates to his own life he finds himself becoming attached to her. But the closer he gets, the worse things become. And no one makes it through unscathed. The first installment of the Ty Chronicles saga. Set pre-Heartland/pre-juvie/pre-group home. Told in first-person through Ty’s point of view. Rating: PG-13 for swearing and domestic violence. Author’s Notes: I tried the Comic Sans writing hack... and either I just had a lot of pent up muse or it works. This 1,600 word chapter was written in one sitting. Parts: P | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8  | 9 | 10 ... 12

To everyone’s surprise, including my own, I made it through the remainder of that school year without skipping. Not once. Meghan and I made a pact that no matter how terrible things were for either of us, we would rally our inner strength and make it to our daily meet ups. They turned into more of a support group – for just the two of us. Occasionally, Tommy or Seth, even Jason once, would wander in. Personally, I think they were just curious to see if the rumors they heard about her stepfather were true or not as I didn’t break the friendship code by divulging anything I found out. Our conversations were highly personal and sometimes triggering. It was why when I managed to get my lunch changed to her period we didn’t actually spend it in the cafeteria but rather an unused classroom that had been turned into storage. We could rage and cry all we wanted without worry of gawkers. She cried. I raged. Usually.

We survived the school year by leaning on each other, but summer would bring a whole new challenge. The last day of school was essentially a free-for-all. We were to attend our classes as usual, but exams and lessons were long finished so the time was spent goofing off however we pleased.

Meghan and I chose to hole up in our place. I was used to her tears by now. They still left me uncomfortable, wishing I could stop them, but I learned not to cringe and pretend I didn’t notice. Besides, she finally grew comfortable enough accept my touch. I could rub her back, fold her into my chest, even rake my fingers through her hair without her shying away. At least I could try to help ease her pain. That day, nothing I did seemed to help.

I stood in front of her as she sat perched on a desk, my arms folded around her as she sobbed into my chest. Her legs shifted apart to let me between them to rest my chin on her crown. I decided to just let her get it out. She was told that she wasn’t going to pass the year. Despite all of the work we did together to get her caught up, no dice. She was going to get held back – repeat the year. The unsettling thing about it was, I was moving up. Surprised the hell out of me, too. In hindsight, I sincerely believed it was because the school just wanted to be rid of me. It didn’t seem fair, but they knew I had no intention of ever taking their threats seriously. So they just passed me along until my time was up. They cared about Meghan more than me; though she didn’t see it that way. They were trapping her to her stepfather for another year. She’d failed. Literally, failed, despite getting passing grades on the assignments she managed to turn in.  I’m not sure I ever saw her so broken before. Even the times she practically dragged herself to school after a sleepless night holding a baseball bat curled to her chest.

Her painful sobs made my own eyes sting and I blinked quickly to abate any lurking tears. I didn’t cry. But I sometimes found it difficult to bear Meghan crying, especially like this. I understood her frustration and fear with the situation.

“What about summer school?” I had asked when she broke the news.

She shook her head solemnly. “I won’t be able to pull that off. He’d think I was lying – sneaking off to be with you, or someone else.”

“They send home paperwork, don’t they? There would be legal proof you were telling the truth.”

“It wouldn’t matter. Legal documents could be forged. He does it all the time. Besides, he’s so jealous and paranoid, he thinks anything my mom or I do is to pull one over on him. He has control over everything.”

Sounded familiar.

“But-“ I paused, racking my brain for something else to offer.

“It’s okay, Ty.” She said, sensing my hesitation. “Maybe we’ll have lunch together again.” The smile she offered was weak.

“We still have the summer.” I hesitated to mention it, wondering how we’d be able to see each other without school as a viable cover story. At least if Meghan was forced into summer school, I could show up to that. A joke, some would think, but I would have done it for her.

“We can’t Ty…” Her voice was so soft I almost didn’t catch what she said, but her fallen gaze and the slight shake of her head said it the same.

I stepped up to her, my chest tightening with a fierce determination. “We can. I won’t allow an entire summer to go by without knowing how you are doing. That you’re still in one piece and breathing.” The mere thought of what could happen to her in those three months scared me more than I would ever dare to admit. Scared me as much as the time my mom went to work and didn’t come home for two whole days. I was left alone at the motel, not knowing if Lily was laying in a gutter somewhere or sprawled on a dirty mattress with a needle in her arm. It made me so physically sick with worry the room reeked of vomit by the time she did return and I couldn’t stop shaking beneath the quilt from utter weakness and exhaustion.  

“I told you, Ty. He can’t-“

“I don’t care about him.” I cut her off sharply, making her wince and instantly regret my tone. I sighed and dialed it back a notch. “I don’t care about him,” I repeated in a calmer voice, slowly reaching out to lift her chin, urging her to look at me.  “I care about you.”

The tears began to surface then, her eyes shimmering with the threat of their release. “Then you need to leave me alone.” She blinked, releasing the first of what would become many. It curved over her cheek and traced the outline of my knuckles before dropping.

My gaze found itself trapped within hers, watching the light reflect off her tears. She held mine just as steady, making my heart begin to race. My stomach twisted in a weird way like the time I lost my footing on the catwalk of the water tower and almost toppled off the edge. My gut made the same jolt I felt then in a more prolonged way.

“I can’t.” I spoke finally. My voice sounded distant even to my ears.

“Why not?” Meghan’s response was just as delayed.

It took me another prolonged moment to think of a reason, but my mind was sluggish and I couldn’t seem to form a cohesive thought. “I just can’t.”

It was then that I blacked out. When I came to, Meghan’s hand was pushing off my chest, the other sliding over her lips to create a barrier between us. And she burst into tears.

I stood there for a stupid moment trying to make sense of what happened. My lips tingled and were still warm from having made contact with hers. I don’t recall doing it and despite the reaction it caused, I couldn’t say I regretted it. My racing heart slowed to a heavy thump as a stillness settled over me in spite of the hysterical girl before me. Words continued to fail me. I wouldn’t apologize for my actions; though perhaps I should have considered more carefully how they could have triggered Meghan’s negative associations with her stepfather’s “clients.”

Hesitantly, I reached out to her, testing the waters by brushing my fingers through her hair. She didn’t recoil. In fact, she leaned into the touch, my palm cupping her cheek. I stilled, cradling her face, damming her waterfall tears that eventually carved a path over the back of my hand. She reached up to place her hand over mine, curling her fingers so tight her nails began to dig into my flesh. Still, I didn’t move. As broken as the moment was, it was still beautiful. But it wasn’t just the moment. It was Meghan. Even through the tears. I was seeing it then. Through eyes beholding a tender new feeling born from the complexity of human emotion whittled down through one simple touch.

With Meghan’s hand holding mine captive, I used the other to brush my thumb below her eye. It didn’t help in drying her tears as more followed, but did cause her to look at me. The expression I found resting there sent my gut jolting again.

This time I didn’t black out.

I held her face between my hands as our lips connected. Her fingers flexed against my chest but no other force was applied to push me away. Her lips were salty from her tears. It was a wet, sloppy kiss. But it was warm and sweet, tender like Meghan.

When I felt her tremble is when I finally let go. I searched her eyes that were stuffed with so much emotion I didn’t know which one would finally win out. I hoped it wasn’t fear and regret; though that would inevitably find its place to roost before long. Just, please not now.

“Why did you do that?” Meghan whispered, her voice trembling.

“I couldn’t suffer through a whole summer wanting to and not knowing if I’d ever get the chance,” was my truthful answer, though perhaps not precisely the thought I needed to remind her of as she broke into a fresh round of tears.

“You shouldn’t have,” she choked out, bowing her head to my chest. My arms wrapped around her as she shifted her legs apart to let me between them and drew me closer to allow my chin to rest on her crown. Her arms slipped around my waist and I felt her grip tighten as she clasped her hands behind my back.

She was right: I shouldn’t have.

[scarletraven1001]

Stay

36 – “I wish I could hate you.”

A post-Cell saga Vegebul one-shot for prompt #36 on this post, for @hellsbells9000.

I hope you like it!

Chapter Warning: Angst; Fluff.

Also on Ao3.

All Fics in this Series:  1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9

8-8-8-8-8

Stay

8-8-8-8-8

He was starting to get too strong for Bulma to handle.

Her baby boy, Trunks, a child of only seven months, was easily destroying his high chairs, crushing his toys, and biting through solid metal teethers.

Trunks wasn’t usually a fussy baby, but when everything he wants to play with just crumples in his hands, he gets a little irate, and takes it out on other furniture.

He had very nearly injured her the last time he threw a tantrum, and she, still getting used to the life of a mother, had screamed in fury, handing him off to her own mother, Panchy, while she herself dealt with her mini breakdown.

It wasn’t easy.

And though she loved her son, Bulma sometimes missed the life of a single woman with no attachments, a woman who was not responsible for another life that she needed to tend to.

It would have been easier, if he had stayed.

It would have been more ideal, if Vegeta had not left.

Vegeta stayed in Capsule Corp after the Cell Games only long enough to bid the future Trunks goodbye, and then he had promptly disappeared, leaving in the middle of the night and taking nothing but the tattered armor he had worn to the Cell games.

No goodbye, not a whisper or a hint.

He never told anyone that he was leaving, and Bulma had choked in disappointment when she realized that perhaps, Vegeta truly wasn’t interested in building a family on Earth.

He had left her to journey into space just as they learned of her pregnancy, and so, she had been ready to raise Trunks on her own.

That was, until he had suddenly come back after his excursion, a manic look in his eyes as he woke her from sleep.

“I have done it, Bulma. I have ascended!”

She had been the first living being he had told, the first he had shown, that he had finally attained Super Saiyan, and she had held him tight, tears of joy streaming down her cheeks as she celebrated his greatest triumph with him.

That night, as he shared himself with her one more time, he had given her hope for a future together.

It seemed more painful to have lost hope, rather than to have never had it, at all.

She dashed the frustrated tears from her eyes as she sat on her work chair before a large inductor machine, working on inventing an alloy that was strong enough to withstand Saiyan force. She contemplated calling Gohan for help so that he can help her test it out…

Since Goku was no longer there for her to call, either.

She figured, she would share the alloys and reinforced cribs with Chichi once her own little surprise bundle of joy arrived.

She turned up the heat on the furnace, forcing the alloy to thicken, and she thought she had finally gotten it, when the specimen suddenly began to melt, letting Bulma know that she had failed, yet again.

“Aaaargh!” she screamed, throwing her pen across the room in her fury, slapping a hand on the large red button in front of her to disengage the machine, before she buried her face in her hands to stem the angry tears before they fell.

“Dammit! God dammit!” she yelled, standing up to stomp around her lab.

She was not expecting to see anyone standing behind her.

She definitely had not been expecting Vegeta.

He was just there, watching her, his handsome face placid, looking out of place with his torn clothes and chaotically spiked black hair.

Bulma stood in stunned silence for a second, before her indignation bubbled forth and she angrily jabbed a hand against his blue-clad chest.

“Why the hell are you here?” she screeched.

Her anger made her chest physically ache, and her eyes narrowed into slits as she regarded the man who seemed to make a hobby out of stringing her along.

“Who the hell do you think you are?” she yelled, surprising herself when her voice shook as she watched his dark eyes stare into hers. “Just showing up here at anytime and then leaving whenever you feel like it… What are you playing at? Huh?”

Vegeta’s face remained impassive as she ranted, and she raised a fist, wanting so badly to just slap him, to make him feel even a fraction of the hurt that he had given her.

“Dammit, Vegeta. Dammit!” she said, shoulders sagging in resignation as he stayed silent through her tirade, simply staring at her with eyes that grew more and more unreadable with each second that passed.

He had the gall to look slightly offended, and Bulma raised a hand to her eyes, squeezing them shut behind her grasp as the tears leaked out, beyond her control.

The sobs started, and she groped around behind her for her chair, sitting down on it before she hunched down and started weeping.

Her shoulders shook, and she was mortified at how she had shown such weakness in front of Vegeta, when she had sworn to herself that she would never let him come back into her life after he had left her alone once again.

She was hoping that he had left while she was in the midst of her emotional outburst, but she stiffened when she saw his shadow approach her, and she watched through blurry eyes as he kneeled down before her, cupping a hand on each of her knees.

“I suppose,” he said, “I should apologize for leaving without telling you,”

“You suppose,” she spat in spite, angrily pushing her chin-length blue hair back from her face as she lifted her head to regard him.

She found his eyes, deep and unfathomable, staring intently at her mottled face as she desperately tried to stop sobbing.

“Do you wish for me to leave, then?” he asked.

A resounding “yes” sat at the tip of her tongue, but something within her stilled her lips, and all she managed to do was gape disbelievingly at him.

“Don’t you dare act as if anything I say to you has any bearing on what you will decide to do,” she seethed.

His eyes narrowed.

“I thought you were going to stay with me,” she accused, placing a hand on her chest to hold back her heart that was stubbornly still pounding madly for him. “I thought you wanted to stay. But you left.”

Bulma ran a hand through her hair, before she leaned down, resting her elbows on her knees.

“I was fine when you left me to have Trunks on my own. I had resolved to not wait for you, even though it hurt, Vegeta…”

He was watching her timidly as she kept speaking. “And then you came back… you touched me like you cared, held me like you wanted more, and then you left again. I can’t do this, Vegeta.”

He looked down, away from her eyes that were trying to pierce through the thick armor of his pride. “Do you resent me, Bulma?”

She stilled… Did she?

The way her heart still bled for him, how her arms still ached to hold him, said otherwise.

She took a deep breath.

“I wish,” she whispered, “I so, so wish that I could hate you.”

Vegeta looked up, staring back into her eyes as he did, and she thought she saw him flinch as he waited for her to continue.

“I wish I could say that I don’t want you here. I wish I could say that I don’t want to see your face,” she sobbed. “But… But, I can’t.”

His hands, that had been clutching her legs, loosened slightly into a soft caress that teased unwanted goosebumps across her skin.

She was surprised when he rose up, and without warning, he dragged her to her feet, and Bulma found herself caged within his arms, his large hand holding her head against his chest as he buried his face into her hair.

Her arms acted before she could think, wrapping desperately around his waist as she sobbed helplessly against him, angry at herself for being so weak, even while her heart soared at the feel of being held by him once again.

“I left,” he began, his voice a nearly inaudible growl, brushing warm puffs of his breath across her ear, “since I needed to understand my place here, on Earth. It seemed as if nothing was left for me here, and that perhaps, I should just go back into space and find my true purpose among the stars.”

He pulled away from her then, still holding her tightly against him, while he raised a hand to brush her riotous hair behind her ear.

“I thought that perhaps it would be best if I just left, but something held me back,” he whispered.

Bulma swore that she could feel his heart pounding madly against her chest, and she held her breath as he started speaking again.

Vegeta let out a long breath in a shaky exhale, staring deeply into her eyes.

“I wish that I could say that I had the strength to truly leave you,” he murmured. “But… I could not.”

And with those words, Vegeta kissed her, his lips desperately drinking from the fount of her affection.

He held her possessively, his hands against her promising, even without words, that this time…

This time, he was going to stay.

8-8-8-8-8

End

[acekyloren-blog]

Anakin, Luke, Rey, Kylo Ren & Balancing the Force: Why Love is the Answer, Not Hate

It astounds me that there are people who still believe that in order to bring balance to the force it means killing all Sith/dark side force users. 

Time and time again throughout canon Star Wars depictions this is seen as a misunderstanding to balancing the force. However, as it is never explicitly stated exactly how one brings balance to the force in the films (just the Jedi assumptions), I can also understand why people don’t know that in order to bring balance to the force, both the dark side and the light side must exist in unison with each other (as told by cosmic entities). I also find it confusing when people brush off the importance of balancing the force in the new trilogy, when one of the very first lines of dialogue we hear in TFA introduces us to the concept and need of balance in the Force. The Force is integral to the Star Wars films, as integral as it is to Star Wars’ own universe, and the concept of balancing the Force has been prevalent throughout the instalments of the franchise. They are not going to just drop the concept in the new trilogy, especially not when they’re trying to tie all the films together by the end of it.

This meta will attempt to explain what I believe, according to what canon evidence we’ve been given, it means to “bring balance to the force”. I will also discuss Anakin’s involvement and prophecy, and then what this could all mean for Rey and Kylo Ren going forward as “dual protagonists”. Disclaimer: this isn’t to say the other lead characters aren’t protagonists, but merely that we are being told that Rey and Kylo Ren are “two halves” of a protagonist’s story, together, in conjunction with the other protagonists. It is my belief that the new trilogy will most definitely touch on this ‘balancing of the force’ based on J. J. Abram’s claims that they are meant to bring the entire saga full circle, and that Anakin’s story (as the Chosen One who will bring balance to force) will play a crucial part in this circle that Episode IX will tie into - but that will be discussed in more detail later on. I would also like to say that I believe the importance of this ideal explains Luke’s withdrawal and belief that “the Jedi must end” in Episodes VII & VIII.

So, what exactly does it mean to ‘bring balance to the force’? We’ve heard it countless times as something so important, like some ideal goal that is never achieved. Let’s see what the movies give us.

Anakin as the Chosen One in the Prequels and Original Trilogy

Anakin, who was said to be the Chosen One, is supposed to have indeed brought balance to the force, if we are to believe George Lucas’ confirmation that he did so. I am under the belief that his fall to the dark side, and his execution of Order 66, played a key part in this prophecy. 

The Jedi had assumed that the balancing of the force meant killing all the Sith, but I believe this was a biased assumption on the Jedi’s part for reasons I will explain further on (the true idea of ‘balance’ introduced in the Clone Wars) - and Yoda realizes this towards the end of the animated series as well. Through executing Order 66 and killing all the Jedi, Anakin essentially removed what had so far been the unbalanced, overbearing presence of the light side - and, while I’m not excusing Anakin’s actions and his intentions were by no mean good, I believe this ultimately benefited the force. The effects of this imbalance of ‘too much light side’ were being seen by the Jedi Order becoming misguided and too focused on bureaucracy and war rather than their original intentions. They pretty much became glorified soldiers for the Republic, and their actions at times could be seen as questionable. This isn’t to say they were “baddies”, but I believe this imbalance in the force was showing through the conflict and fear (of the dark side) and misguided actions of the Jedi - when true balance to the force is supposed to bring harmony.

The benefit of Order 66 to the force was not immediate, however, as in doing so Anakin instead tipped the active force power towards the dark side (i.e. Palpatine’s and Vader’s powers combined, and possibly even the Inquisitors from Rebels despite not being Sith), which still left the force unbalanced as we head into Episode IV. I would not count Yoda and Obi-Wan as particularly active force users, as they pretty much went into hiding (and in Obi-Wan’s journal in the comics he states his reluctance to using the force after going into hiding). Besides Jedi and Sith, there were of course many other force users (it’s a big universe, after all) but I believe that because Jedi and Sith were the most extreme, elitist force users that we know of, their impact on the force is ultimately greater than most other force users, who we can usually see dabbling in bits from both sides of the force rather than restricting and dedicating themselves to the extreme of one side or another. 

It isn’t until the end of the OT that I believe Anakin finally fulfils his destiny of bringing balance to the force - if anything, it would make sense from George Lucas’ point of view to sort of tie the end of the OT up with the beginning of the PT through this prophecy fulfilment (which I suspect will then be repeated in the new trilogy). How, exactly, does Anakin finally bring balance to the force? Originally, I had assumed he had not, as killing Palpatine and dying himself while Jedi were still alive, in my opinion, wasn’t balancing - but if George Lucas says he did, then I can only assume that George Lucas intended the killing of Palpatine to indeed balance the force. At least for that moment in time. At the end of the OT, Anakin also balances the force within himself, which could also be seen as part of the prophecy being fulfilled - he reconciles his dark side with his light side, with the help of Luke.

How do you really bring ‘balance’ to the Force?

Before delving into what this means in The Force Awakens, I would like to bring attention to three story arcs that I believe are integral to the discussion of balance and the Force: the Mortis and Yoda’s Destiny arcs from The Clone Wars, and Yoda’s Secret War from the main Star Wars comics. I will use these arcs to point out my theory that while Anakin did bring balance to the Force, it was not the kind of balance the Force needed. The complete eradication of both Jedi and Sith, while technically being of equal balance, is not what was intended - and didn’t last because of this, considering Luke continued on as a Jedi as we will see in TLJ.

Possibly the most well-known of the three arcs is the Mortis arc. This is the arc where Anakin is drawn to a mysterious planet called Mortis (described as the conduit or fulcrum of the Force) in order to determine whether he is the Chosen One. On this planet exists just a family of Celestials, or cosmic entities. There is the Father, who maintains the balance between the Daughter - the embodiment of the light side of the Force - and the Son, the respective embodiment of the dark side of the Force. The Father stresses the importance of having balance between both the Daughter and the Son, between both the Light and the Dark, and that one cannot exist without the other if true balance is to be maintained. 

This symbol, that looks a lot like yin & yang, is also used in the arc, lighting up beneath Anakin when he is controlling both the Daughter and the Son together:

Ultimately, after passing the test, the Father tells Anakin that he needs to take his place and maintain this balance as it is his destiny as the Chosen One, but Anakin refuses and leaves as the Imperial March plays in the background, which then results in tragedy for the family on Mortis. The consequences of Anakin’s actions is that amongst the conflict of the family, the Daughter is killed, followed by the Father sacrificing himself so that Anakin could kill the Son. 

Again, instead of balancing the Force by maintaining a living connection between the Light and the Dark which Anakin had refused to do, Anakin actually ends up eradicating both sides - and there is nothing left, much like in the OT.

To me, the importance of this arc isn’t necessarily to show Anakin’s refusal of his destiny (since he supposedly fulfils it later on anyway), but instead to foreshadow the importance of connecting both the light side and the dark side together, alive, and achieving true balance, and the tragic consequences if this balance is not maintained. This could be seen literally, with two powerful force users (one for the light side and one for the dark side) being united much like the Daughter and the Son, or it could also be more symbolic of the need to maintain balance between the light and the dark with oneself (the Daughter and Son being parts of the Father that he must maintain). 

Speaking of maintaining both light and dark within oneself, next up are the episodes at the end of the Clone Wars, called “Destiny” and “Sacrifice”, in which Yoda discovers the importance of mastering his dark side. 

The key here is mastering his dark side. He does does not destroy it, he cannot fight it - for in doing so it only makes the dark side stronger. At first, Yoda does indeed try to fight this ‘dark Yoda’ and realizes he’s only giving it more power. So instead, Yoda chooses to accept and acknowledge his darker self, and in turn he masters it. 

The answer here, as Yoda discovers, is not to eradicate the dark side of himself. It is not to try and ‘kill’ or ‘hate’ this dark part of himself, but to accept it - to understand it. In doing so, he becomes stronger. I think this concept is extremely important going forward into the new trilogy, as “accepting” and “understanding” the dark side will play an important role for our light side protagonists, much like it did for Yoda.

Last but not least is a story arc called “Yoda’s Secret War” that this video brought to my attention, which takes place in issues 26-30 of the main line of Star Wars comics, and it is the one I believe has the most obvious parallels to the new trilogy (aside from perhaps Mortis). Yoda follows a disturbance in the force to an uncharted planet with two warring societies of children: the Mud dwellers and the Rockhawkers. The mud dwellers had used what they called their “stone power” (which was actually the Force) to send a distress signal across the galaxy out of fear the warring between the tribes would ruin what little ‘stone power’ they had left. They saw Yoda as the prophesied “deliverer” - the one who would destroy the Rockhawkers. Yoda eventually went into the heart of a mysterious force-influenced mountain with the help of a Rockhawker named Garro, and then discovered that the mountain was actually a living giant. Originally the giants had roamed the world peacefully, protecting the lands against threats until people came and warred with each other for the right to control them. 

Eventually the giants became so weak from all the warring that they retreated into the earth and became mountains, yet still the people continued to ‘butcher’ them for their own needs and power, until there was only one sleeping giant left. Upon leaving the mountain, Yoda is confronted by the Rockhawkers but refuses to tell them what he had discovered as he believes they aren’t ready, but Garro tells them regardless. The Rockhawkers then begin to meditate immediately, waking the giant up and bringing it under their control. Consumed by the Rockhawker’s vengeful emotions, the giant becomes a creature of hatred and anger, with a thirst for revenge. The giant sets out to destroy the mud dwellers, but Yoda uses his powers to wake the remaining giants who then rise up and destroy their corrupted kin. Yoda then manages to broker peace between the two tribes, after which the people begin to leave the planet and travel the galaxy for curiosity and exploration. 

Later on, Luke returns to the planet thanks to Obi-Wan’s journal, and finds an old Garro who says that as everyone left the planet, the giants and their ‘stone power’ had begun to diminish more and more. 

Garro attempts to kill Luke in order to sap his life force, so that he can slaughter the remaining children and become the supreme master of the remaining ‘stone power’ (sound familiar?). However, through his selflessness, Luke manages to persuade Garro to give up on his dark pursuit and instead sacrifice his ‘stone power’ into becoming one with the dead giant. 

Afterwards, the remaining stone children brought Luke to the heart of the dead giant where he was able to reawaken it. 

Essentially, this story is the main saga condensed into a smaller scale narrative. The mud dwellers are the Jedi, the Rockhawkers are the Sith, and the “deliverer” is the Chosen One while the ‘stone power’ and the giants are the Force. Like the Jedi believed that the Chosen One would rid the galaxy of the Sith, the mud dwellers believed the Deliverer would rid the planet of Rockhawkers. The warring of the tribes resulted in the butchering and chipping away of the giants’ stone power, similar to the warring of the Jedi and the Sith chipping away at and unbalancing the Force. Although eventually the Deliverer does bring peace, it also results in the giants diminishing into dormancy as people leave the planet, possibly akin to Anakin supposedly bringing balance to the force only for it to once again become unbalanced or diminishing later on, only to be reawakened in the new trilogy. 

What are the important lessons of this story?

That the force, in itself, is natural, and good. Only when people seek to use it for their own gain does it get “chipped away”.

Constant warring is not healthy for the force. It is not balance.

But then neither is retreating from the force for the sake of peace, seen on the planet as it then causes the powers to diminish.

The key to bringing the force back to life, to ‘balance’ it, is instead, the “willingness to give” of oneself rather than to take. It sounds, to me, a lot like compassion.

I reiterate: balance for the sake of peace did not ultimately bring life and harmony back to the giants. It was an act of true compassion, of dark reconciling with light, whether seen through Garro’s inner darkness reconciling with his light, or Garro himself as the Dark doing something compassionate for Yoda, that brought true life back to the giant.

Altogether, I believe that it is not the complete non-existence of the dark side and the light side that answers the question of balance. According to these stories, both the light side and the dark side need to exist together to form one whole - and only an act of compassion and understanding can bring them together in order to restore the Force’s balance.

What does this mean for Luke, Rey and Kylo Ren going forward?

(Lor San Tekka, who brings us the first line of dialogue about bringing balance to the Force in TFA)

So now you’ve read all the context of my theory, it comes to a head. What does this mean for not only our dual protagonists, but also Luke?

First of all, after Anakin went through all that trouble and finally brought some semblance of balance to the Force, Luke went ahead and... trained more Jedi? Bless his soul, I’m not saying Luke’s at fault here, I fully believe he had the best intentions, and also as I said, I don’t believe Anakin brought true balance to the Force in the first place. Regardless, Luke trains more Jedi, and of course, this ends in tragedy - as imbalance in the Force always does. Now, we don’t know whether Ben Solo betrayed Luke on purpose or not, there are multiple factors to consider, such as Ben Solo being manipulated by Snoke, his untamed and possibly explosively uncontrollable power, or possibly even just the Force retaliating out of the imbalance as it has its own will. Of course, the possibility that Ben Solo really did just betray Luke out of malicious intent is entirely possible, nothing is impossible until we see what actually happened - and it doesn’t have too much impact either way on what I’m trying to say. Either way, it ends in tragedy, and Luke retreats away from everybody and from the Force. So far we haven’t seen him with his lightsaber once, not even in the promotional clips or images. The only lightsaber we have seen him with is the one Rey brings to him, which he seems reluctant about, and it makes me wonder... Did he throw away his own lightsaber? Did he swear some kind of oath to himself he would never use the Force again? Why would he feel the need to travel to the oldest Jedi temple, where we discover from the trailers that there exists books on the principles of balance between the light and the dark? To me it seems as if Luke had realized his mistake, and out of guilt, he retreated and swore never to train more Jedi for fear of once again causing imbalance to the Force. How much Luke would have learned from the old temple, I don’t know, and how this will inform his actions going forward, I also don’t know - a lot of this we won’t know until TLJ comes out, but I do believe that this fear of causing imbalance to the force is a primary concern for Luke, and will be as we go forward.

However, as we have seen from Mortis and Yoda’s Secret Wars, retreating from the Force is not the answer to balancing the Force, nor is having neither Light nor Dark. What we have learned is that the key to balancing the Force is having both Light and Dark present, together. How can we resolve this, then, in the new trilogy? How can we bring both the Light and the Dark together?

I present to you, our “dual protagonists” Rey and Kylo Ren. With so much emphasis on this ‘balance’, not only in general Star Wars but especially in the new trilogy (first line of dialogue in TFA, Rey’s monologue in TLJ trailers, etc.) and no other equivalents being set up thus far that I can tell (looking at you JJ and your Finn Jedi bait, not cool) this only leaves them as the characters that will bring balance to the Force - likely, I suspect, with Luke’s help somehow. Kylo Ren and Rey are both incredibly powerful and gifted with the Force, with one leaning towards the light side and the other towards the dark side. I don’t think I have to go into too much detail as to why exactly they’d be the perfect characters to bring balance to the force, as I’m sure there are already metas on that somewhere. My goal is to see how this balance is going to come about between these two, and possibly three characters.

I, personally, would just like to see Luke play a big part in balancing the Force again - I feel he would be the most attuned to understanding it, and understanding what needs to be done by the end of the movie (or trilogy). It would be incredibly poetic if he assisted in balancing the Force both times. Unfortunately, I do think that it may spell out his sacrifice either in TLJ or Episode IX. I really don’t want Luke to die, trust me on this, but after seeing multiple occasions of sacrifice for the sake of compassion and selflessness, it could be something he would consider, especially with selflessness itself being such a key part of Luke’s character. Interestingly enough, it could also give way to the theories that used to float around about Luke actually being the Chosen One, if he managed to bring balance to the Force through uniting Rey and Kylo Ren. Alternatively, it could also be Leia that assists in bringing them together, on the same basis of compassion, and I am under the impression that she will play a big role between both Rey and Kylo Ren.

However, what is needed to bring the Dark and the Light together may not have to be sacrifice exactly - even though that’s what’s been presented previously - but merely an act of compassion, or love. It is through compassion for his son that Anakin finds balance. It is through compassion for Yoda and the planet itself that Garro brings life back to the ‘stone power’ giant. George Lucas himself states that “it really has to do with learning. Children teach you compassion [...] Anakin is very different in the end [...] He takes the ounce of good still left in him and destroys the Emperor out of compassion for his son.” Is it mere coincidence, then, that Snoke says to Kylo Ren, “You have compassion for her”? The specific word ‘compassion’, to me, appears to be used in very specific circumstances: it is the key that brings the Light and the Dark together. And people still think that these two parallel sides of the Force are going to end the trilogy hating each other or trying to kill each other?

No matter what way you look at it, who brings them together, the fact is that there is the Light (Rey) and the Dark (Kylo Ren) and in order to bring balance to the Force, they must be brought together by compassion. The elements are already there, the key is there, now all Rian and J.J. have to do is bring them all together in a way that will both satisfy and astound audiences. J.J. Abrams has already said that Episode IX will be “the film which unites all three trilogies and brings everything together”. 

So I ask you, what is more satisfying than seeing a goal, so many years in the making, throughout all the films, finally achieved in the end to tie it all together?