#not to mention evelyn as a knight of life or a knight of hope

[quillyfied]

dozens...possibly over a hundred...of homestuck fanfictions written by me in my time...

and it’s a hypothetical dice camera action Homestuck AU that i learn to code pesterlogs on ao3 for

[fallenlightsif]

Hey there!! This concept is so cool!! I was wondering if you could tell us more about the ROs please? Thanks so much 😄💜

Of course! I'll try to avoid spoilers but here we go lol!

Florian Vasil is the Crown Prince of Ebia, the only child of Queen Evelyn Vasil and the late King Consort Leander Sidorov, who hailed from Oclesia, an Ebian territory. He watched his father be assassinated at a banquet when he was seven and the mystery surrounding it causes him a lot of doubt and anxiety. He holds resentment to the nobility of Ebia. Very soft with the MC if they have a good relationship, though he is very protective as he doesn't want to lose anyone else.

Emil/Emilia Renaud is the eldest child of the Renaud family, the noblest family in Ebia second only to the royal house. They hold a reputation for producing advisors to the king and queen of Ebia, not to mention they are very powerful mages. Their parents and most of their siblings are very cutthroat and devious, and they usually go along with it to keep the peace. They'd really prefer to be by themselves training or having a nice cup of tea, though.

Marcella Dumont came to Kesdon, the capital of Ebia, as a teenager from a smaller town in Ebia. She was meant to train under your brother, Ezrah, and quickly became his second in command. She tries not to talk about her life of training before she arrived in Kesdon, but gossip says she was from a peasant family. She is fiercely loyal to Ezrah and this transfers to the MC, as she knows how much your brother cares for you, and it's twofold if the two of you also have a good relationship.

Dimitri Volkov is a blacksmith in the village of Myrine, which is located in a territory currently occupied by Ebia called Oclesia. It formerly belonged to Leydon, and the two kingdoms use this land as a battleground. His parents were only civilians and died anyway when one of the conflicts got out of hand. He was taken in with fellow war orphans by the temple and its priestess, Anais Melnyk. He watched his fellow orphans be plucked off by the war, either as soldiers or innocents, and this has lowered his opinion of both Ebia and Leydon. He's hesitant to open up, even more so to someone so close to nobility. If he comes to care about the MC, however, he'd go to lengths he never imagined.

Ariadna "Ari" Novik is a priestess in training who also resides in the village of Myrine. She, along with Dimitri, help watch over the younger orphans taken in by Anais. She was taken in far before Dimitri, whose parents died when he was 13. Her parents were killed very similar to Dimitri's, but she was 6 when it happened. Myrine has no healer besides Anais, so she's training to become a priestess and a healer underneath her to be able to help others. She hopes she can stop other kids from going through what she did. Her goal is to fix things in any way she can, and her morals remain if she enters a relationship with the MC. She would definitely frown upon someone who takes power through hurting others.

Rowan Lozano is the archmage of Leydon and resides in its capital, Valrin. They were born to a peasant family with too many children and too little money. Their magical talent coupled with sheer stubbornness led to being noticed and then being one of the only non-noble mages in the Leydonian army. They rose through the ranks and became archmage under the now-dead King Aleksandr, who had very little care for nobility and didn't particularly care if his archmage was of noble blood if they were powerful. They are what one might consider cutthroat, and are determined to have Leydon win the war to stay secure in power and safety. Their title and skill have been the only things to matter to them in a long time, unless MC comes around and changes their mind.

Orion Morosov is the High General of the Leydonian Royal Army and has fought against the MC's brother, Ezrah, many times. He was born to a noble family formerly of Oclesia which specialized in magic, which he didn't have. His only choice was to become a knight, so he did. He's kept awake at night by many things, and prying the emotional armor off him will take some work. He genuinely wants to love and be loved, but he believes he doesn't deserve it after all he's done.

Cier Katsaros is a mysterious half-elf on the run from something he refuses to disclose, though he assures everyone he did not commit a murder, thank you very much. He currently resides in a tavern in Valrin, renting a room while he hides out from some foreign guards looking for him. One of his hobbies is annoying Orion, who frequents the same bakery he does, as much as he can get away with. He can be described as slippery at best and deceitful at worst, though if he truly cares about someone he might be willing to make a few sacrifices.

Kira Argyris is an elven healer who learned her trade purely for the coin. She didn't want to stay in a secluded elven village like the rest of her family seemed content to, so she set out into the broader world to seek riches and enjoy some of the finer things in life. She's opportunistic and wouldn't hesitate to cause trouble if it benefitted her or someone she loved. While you meet her in Oclesia, she's currently employed by a lady of Leydon's court and ends up in Valrin about the same time the MC does.

Ilaria Thayer is an assassin with a reputation. That reputation being deadly, of course, with her morals being just as murky as her past. She's never missed a mark before until the MC came around. Trying to decide between impressed and furious, even after her employer is killed she tails the MC, being sure to impress upon everyone including you and herself that she's only sticking around you so she can kill you. She's only getting rid of your enemies so they don't do her job for her, it's called work ethic.

[whump-a-la-mode]

Gilded Cage - Part 7

I can only describe this as tooth-rotting fluff. Our whumpee deserves it!

Thank you so much to everyone for going through this story with me. I’ve had so much fun.

@worstcasescenariolullaby

CW//Hospital setting, medical talk, talk of broken bones, talk of surgery, altered states of mind, mentions of death, mentions of building collapses, conspiracy

“Are you sure about this?” Sidekick’s face twisted in a mask of concern.

“I’m sure.” Villain nodded.

“The Heroes...”

“The city won’t let this happen again. Come visit me in hospital sometime, okay? I’ll be okay.”

“Okay.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The felt piece on the bottom of the chess pawn had long since worn away, leaving a dull screeching noise in its wake as Villain moved the piece forward on the board. In expectation, they raised their head to their opponent, before gazing back down at the board. Examining the playing field. Furrowing their brows.

“Don’t hurt yourself.” Their opponent, Old Friend, spoke, their tongue filled with equal parts laughter and playful teasing. “And... there goes your rook.”

“What!” Villain’s gaze darted about the board, before grumbling and removing their fallen piece, adding it to a quickly growing pile. “You’re cheating.”

“How does one cheat at chess?”

“By being better than me. There, okay, there goes your pawn.”

“And there goes your knight.”

“Asshole. Come on, you have to have a secret. You gotta tell me.”

Old Friend smiled.

“You’re so intent on taking my pieces that you don’t worry about your own. Also, I was in the chess club back in school, so...”

“Nerd.” Villain stuck out their tongue.

“Alright, candle boy.”

“Hey! I told you-”

“Sorry, sorry. It’s just really funny.”

“I could disintegrate a candle-”

“I know, I know. It’s your move, dude.”

“Fine. Is turning the board to ash a valid chess move?”

“There’s enough fire damage on the pieces as it is. Candle boy.”

“At least come up with something better than that. Like... Like blowtorch. That sounds cool.”

“Blowtorch? What are you, like, seven?”

“Eh, there’s worse villain names out there.”

“You don’t have one yet, do you?”

“Nah. I’m not that breed of cocky. They just call me the arsonist, I think.”

“That’s pretty underwhelming.”

“Meh.”

Again, Villain studied the board a moment. They sent a rook forwards, knocking over a knight on the other side.

“Your move.”

Old Friend nodded, and, for a few moments, they sat like that. Accompanied by nothing but the sounds of the city and the scraping of pieces on the board.

“Did Violet ever have a name?”

It took Villain a few moments to register the question. They moved a piece before looking up.

“What, like a villain name?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t think so. You could ask her.”

“Aw, man, you haven’t heard?”

Villain frowned, lips pursing together to form a thin line.

“She’s gone?”

“Bridge collapse. I was always warning her, taking roots out of the ground like that is gonna make something fall eventually. Just so happened to be right on top of her. It’s a shame, really. Gonna have to find somewhere else to get our lettuce, now.”

“Not funny.”

“I know. And... check.”

“What?”

“Checkmate.”

“Again?”

“Again.”

Villain shoved the board away from themself, sitting back and stretching their arms above their head. Old Friend swiped the remaining pieces from the board, beginning to once again set the stage for their next game.

“This time, think about the risk you might be putting your pieces in. It’s not worth it, losing a knight to take out a pawn, y’know?”

“I guess.”

“What’s got you acting so sad all of a sudden?” Old Friend looked up. “Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m gonna get a candle.”

“Okay. You good?”

“I just... I just need a candle.”

Villain stood, stiff legs aching with pins and needles as they moved across the small, damp-walled apartment. The kitchen, or what was little more than a countertop with a fridge and microwave, was barren, snack bowls long since left with nothing but crumbs.

They drew open the door of one of the wall-mounted cabinets, unveiling a series of shelves, stacked with white pillars of wax. Most lumpy and misshapen, the rest bent and folded in on themselves. Villain selected one, moving back to where Old Friend had just finished resetting the board. They sat in their spot, a place already well worn into the carpet.

“Do you want to play again?” Old Friend’s voice had grown quiet, concerned.

“Yeah... Just give me a second.”

“Need to let it out?”

“Yeah.”

The firebrand gripped the white-waxed candle in one hand, then the other. Feeling the film transfer from palm to palm. The flame in their stomach answered the call without hesitance. They had already felt the heat, struggling to escape into their veins.

It was slow, at first. The wax did not melt, simply molding itself, bulging and shifting as to allow Villain’s fingers to make their mark. Their eyes fixed upon the process: The control of it. The way in which the wax moved only on their call.

It helped them breathe.

“Violet...” They began, frowning again. “That’s the second bridge accident this year.”

“There’s a lot of bridges, to be fair.”

“But not a lot of collapses.”

“What are you saying?”

“It seems so much like a coincidence, but... How many have we lost, this year?”

“Violet and Argyle, uh, Aaron I think. Dana and Evelyn and-”

“And what month is it?”

“April?”

“Exactly.”

“I mean, we lose a lot, but...”

“And they’re always accidents. Car crashes. Building fires. Drownings. But they’re not accidents.”

The wax yielded with more readiness. A few droplets fell, deftly caught by Villain’s other hand.

“What do you mean, they’re not accidents? I don’t think people drown on purpose.”

“Well, yeah. But that’s not what I mean. If they were actually accidents, you would think they’d happen at random times. But-”

“It’s always when the Heroes are around. Always during battle.”

“Exactly.”

“I don’t think the Heroes are doing it on purpose, though. I mean, they wouldn’t just blow up a bridge to kill one villain. The battles just get too intense, I think. I mean, how many times have you almost died in battle?”

“A lot.”

“Same here. That’s all.”

“No. No.” Villain shook their head. “I’ve almost died many times. But I haven’t died. Because I’m not stupid. And the others weren’t, either.”

“I don’t think the Heroes are killing people, Villain.”

“Then what else are they doing?”

“I don’t know, protecting the city? Whatever nonsense they say.”

“Protecting the city from us. Supposedly. But it seems like they’re a hell of a lot more focused on these big battles.”

“That’s kind of our fault, to be fair.”

“Is it? Most of our didn’t choose this life.”

“We’re still doing, I mean, crimes. Like, we’re definitely criminals.”

“Then they should be taking us to prison.”

“Isn’t that what they do?”

“When is the last time you heard of anyone going to prison?”

“I mean, uh... What about Jared?”

“You mean the one they got in a van that then mysteriously exploded?”

“Oh. Right. What about, uh, didn’t they get Kara?”

“Yeah. And then pronounced her dead at the hospital.”

“Okay. Maybe... maybe you have a point.”

Between Villain’s fingers, a single droplet of candle wax fell.

“Yeah.”

Old Friend sighed.

“Do you want to play again?”

“Mhm.”

Villain drew the heat from their palms, allowing the remnants of the candle to solidify in their hands. They placed it down, then, though droplets of white still stuck to their fingers.

“I think...” Old Friend looked down at the board, considering their first move. “I think if the Heroes ever capture you, you’ll find they’re a lot kinder than you expect.”

Villain snorted in laughter.

“If the Heroes ever capture me, there will nothing left of my body to find.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

“It’s a miracle.”

“It is. The damage they sustained... I can hardly believe that there’s enough blood left in them to keep them alive.”

“Hardly any blood. Hardly any body, either.”

“Yeah.”

“A real miracle. The guys down in Radiology, they thought we got the scans mixed up. They confused them for those of the guy in the other room. The motorcycle crash one.”

“That makes sense. To think that a human did this...”

“Not a normal human. A lot stronger than a normal human.”

“But with the same morals as a normal human.”

“You’d hope so.”

“Oh. Crap, looks like they’re waking up. Let’s give a bit more propofol... They need their rest.”

Villain’s closed eyes twitched, as though dreaming. At least, they did not think they were dreaming. It was hard to say, these days...

Had it been days? Or just a couple of hours? They tried to think, to remember, but the will to do so was deeply buried under blankets and bitter-tasting medicines. They longed to sit up, to move, to open their eyes, but those thoughts came from such a small part of their mind. The rest of them was so tired...

The numbness, now, was softer. Warmer. It was not a force of overwhelming heat, laughing at them and telling them to forget their pain, to keep moving. Instead, this time, the numbness was simply warm. Pleasantly so. Urging them to rest, to sleep, to ignore the taste of iron on their tongue that refused to go away.

Sleeping and wakefulness, to them, felt to be a sliding scale. They spent much time at the former end, in blissful unconsciousness, but had yet to find themself at the latter. They struggled for it, struggled to get close, but their anxious murmurs and twitching were always responded to with soft words and hands and more warmth in their veins.

Vilain was floating for a moment. Again, the hundredth time, they struggled to part their lips, but only managed to exert effort to no end.

“Their leg... I’ve never seen anything like it before.”

“Are you sure they’re strong enough for this?”

“Yeah. We can’t wait any longer. The bone will heal wrong if we wait any longer.”

“Okay.”

The numbness was stronger, that time.

“Villain? Villain?”

Their eyelids twitched, again.

“They said you’d opened your eyes, earlier...”

There was more softness, in that tone. Not the pitying notes of a doctor or nerve-wracked surgeon, but the warm coaxing of a friend.

The hand on their wrist was cold.

Their fingers twitched, then their lips. They tried to utter out a syllable, but only managed a shaky breath.

“Yeah, that’s it. Thank you. Do you remember me?”

Did they? They weren’t sure what they remembered, anymore. They remembered being here. They remembered the blankets and the half-hearted attempts by the nurses to coax them into swallowing a spoonful of jello.

“It’s Doctor. Do you remember me? Do you remember Doctor?”

“Doctor?”

The word came out more like a croak. Their eyes twitched with more furor this time, until, at long last, the world flooded into sterile existence around them. They got distracted, a moment, by the pattern of white tiles above.

“There you go!” There was genuine pride in that voice. “I knew you could do it.”

“Mmm.”

“Can you hear me?”

“Yes.”

“Okay.” That cold hand moved from their wrist to their hand. Trying to hold it, to embrace their fingers. But Villain did not have the strength for such a thing. “I’m so sorry, Villain. I’m so sorry.”

“F- for what?”“

“I- I almost killed you! Had you stayed under my care... I’m sorry.”

Villain blinked a moment, trying to think.

“You...” Their throat felt so terribly raw. “You were right.”

“It wasn’t right to let Hero try to kill you.”

“No... Not that. You said, uh, about warmth. ‘Bout heat.”

There was a smile. Villain did not have to see it to know that it was there.

“You understood?”

“Yes. On th’stage.”

“Yeah. Yeah, you did good.”

“I get it, now. I think... Heat can, uh, it can destroy buildings.” Their words were awfully drawn out, hard to understand through their lengthy slurring. “But it can also... bake cookies.”

Doctor laughed, at that.

“You’re right. You’re right.”

Villain’s fingers finally agreed to move, wrapping around Doctor’s hand.

“Thank you.”

“Of course, Villain.” Another sigh. This one, warm. “Have you heard, what they’re saying about you? You lost so much blood. And your organs were all over the place. It’s a miracle that you survived.”

The grasp on Villain’s hand tightened.

“They said you only lived because you wanted to. Because you really, really wanted to survive. Is that right?”

“I... I think it is. Yeah.”

“Yeah. I’ll be back, okay? Get some rest.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

It was three weeks after, that they were allowed to have any more visitors. Three weeks of medicines and surgeries and treatments and x-rays. It all blurred in their mind, until the calendar held as little meaning to them as the results of their blood tests.

They weren’t healed. Certainly not. But wakefulness no longer felt like such a monumental effort.

The jello tasted like nothing as they placed it upon their tongue. Nothing but sugar and sweetener, desperately trying to mask the tastelessness of gelatin. By the time the door opened, which it did with such a force that Villain wondered if it had been struck with a battering ram, they were almost done with the cup of overly-sweet dessert.

They jumped, nearly dropping their plastic spoon as their gaze snapped upwards. For a split second, the figure in the doorway made their limbs begin to shake, a familiar pressure reviving on their neck. But, it only lasted a second.

Sidekick looked different. Their stature was the same, certainly, as well-muscled as ever, but it was no longer draped in any sort of uniform. Instead, a grey sweatshirt struggled to contain their form, marked with the logo of some sports team or another.

Villain took another bite of jello.

“Good news.” Sidekick’s smile had the same media allure that Hero once showed the cameras, sending a shiver down Villain’s spine. They strode nearer, confident steps striking the tile floor. Compared to them, Villain felt terribly small. “Come on, don’t you want to hear it?”

Another bite and the cup was empty. They placed it down on the small table next to their bed.

“Um... Yeah. Okay.” They could not muster up nearly enough energy to match that of their visitor.

“Okay, so, J- sorry, uh, you-know-who, they found the video. The real one. Without all the edits.”

“That’s... good.”

“Mhm. We have news stations willing to broadcast it, too. Put some doubt on the story, right?”

“Right.”

“You... Don’t seem as excited as I remember you being.”

“Sorry.” Villain’s gaze cast downwards. “I’m still just a little tired, and all.”

“Oh. Well, that makes sense. You got hurt pretty bad. Do you have any idea when you might be out of here?”

“Not really.”

“I’ll try to ask a nurse or something. When you’re strong enough, though, we’ve got this whole plan. You’re gonna be, like, our emissary. Between us and the villains, yeah?”

“Uh... why?”

“Well, I mean, the Heroes only really exist to stop you and the other villains. If we can just... convince them to stop doing villain stuff, then the public will start the see that the Heroes are, y’know, not all their cracked up to be.”

Villain struggled to suppress a smile. They couldn’t imagine trying to ask some of their former cohorts to all of a sudden go on the straight and narrow.

Still, even beneath the blankets and the medicine, they felt the smallest scrap of warmth return. A tiny ember, floating in their stomach.

The opportunity to turn their pain into something other than nightmares and tears in the hospital bed’s pillow.

“When I’m out of here... well, we’ll have to see, I guess.”

“That’s all we can really hope for. Now, uh, I kind of have to go. They’re about to notice I broke a window.”

“You w-”

“Sorry! Gotta go!”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

It was the smell that made Villain recognize their second visitor, more than their appearance.

They looked different. Quite different. Taller, slightly, with tight cords of muscle now curling about their neck. Nothing like the tiny twig they’d once known.

It looked like they’d finally hit their growth spurt, after all. A decade late.

The scent that they carried with them was one of freshly cut wood, the rural stench of sawdust, accompanied by the damp musk of a home long forgotten.

“Holy shit, candle boy.”

Four words. Four stupid words, uttered the moment Old Friend walked through the door.

Villain burst out laughing.

Not laughter of sorrow, or of venom. True laughter. The warmth that filled their chest this time had nothing to do with flame.

“So, am I allowed to hug you, or...”

“There’s no doctors here to tell us not to.”

“Good point.”

The warmth in Villain’s chest only increased with Old Friend’s embrace. Their friend buried their head in their shoulder. The tears wet quickly through Villain’s hospital gown.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry.”

“You didn’t have anything to do with it.”

“I should have-”

“It’s in the past, now. I’m just so glad you’re alive.”

“Just to be clear... you’re not a good guy?”

“I don’t know what I am. But I’m still your friend.”

“That’s all I care about.”

The embrace broke off after over a minute, though it was still far too soon.

“We have an apartment. Me and Aggie and some others.” Old Friend stepped back. “We have a room all set up. Even found some of your old stuff. I know it’s gonna be a while, but... you’ve always got somewhere to go, okay?”

“Okay.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The End

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 

I can’t thank you guys enough for reading through this story and experiencing it with me. This is the end of this story, but I hope to make another one soon!

There is no next part, so there are no story paths to choose from for next time. But, I still have options to pick from. I want to hear what you think Villain’s choice will be!

A) Be a hero. Go with Sidekick, and liberate the city

B) Be a friend. Return to Old Friend. Make life good again.

[lettersandinkstains]

FORMERLY KNOWN AS ASPENSCRIBBLES & ASLANWRITES

Hello all -- I am back from my unintentional but needed hiatus.

My name is Elliot, or Eli. I’m 29 years old and have passed my third year anniversary in the writeblr community. I use they/them pronouns, and I am demisexual. I’m currently a fulltime student and full time worker, studying Political Science and Journalism doubled. I try to be around as much as I can. I struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, Clinical Depression, and Agoraphobia. 

The genres I write are:

Dark Fantasy

Horror

Biblical Horror

New Adult to Adult

All of my works feature primarily LGBT+ characters. I am an adult, so there will be, at times, more adult related content. All writing content is properly tagged.

My writing tag is look mom i write. For an extensive list of all my wips, you can find them here and here

Some people I find cool are @gideonshay, @klywrites, @livvywrites, @harrowingwords, and many more!

SOME OF MY WIPS ARE BUT NOT LIMITED TO -

So Said the King - Dark fantasy, wlw. When Sage’s father dies mysteriously, and her mother takes the throne, she is forced to run away. She ends up under the protection of a knight from the enemy kingdom, Nyx, who is relunctant in helping her. In their adventure to getting to Ayathia -- their last hope -- Sage finds herself uncovering the demons her mother so desperately hid from her. And seeing ghosts from her past. Tag list open. Warnings for fighting, body horror, and mentions of child abuse.

Where the Sky Met the Sea - Low fantasy, romance, wlw, nblw. There was once a time where people could meet their soulmates in their dreams -- it was the gods way of having a little bit of fun up until the people fought back under the guise of we should be allowed to choose. Yet, Evelyn met a mysterious figure in her dreams underneath a silver tree, but they’d never exchanged names. Every night, in her dreams, she met this person up until one day as though they belonged together, she’d stopped appearing. A few days later, she receives a letter in the mail from the palace, begging for her help and to head to the capital. Tag list open -- warnings for attempted murder, some violence.

The Price of Eden - Biblical horror, urban fantasy, wlw, mlm. Bailee Davis was 11 years old when her life changed. Her childhood home went up in flames and she met something that called himself Azrael -- and made a deal with him. If he were to keep her twin brother alive, she would do whatever he wants. And at 16, Bailee finds herself facing tragedy and demons that she’d tried to run from as a child. With her girlfriend dead, her cousin back in her life, and an acquaintance who has gone missing, Bailee finds herself entangled in the world of Covens and Angels. Tag list open -- warnings for abuse, graphic body horror, descriptions of anxiety, and religious abuse.

Blood Upon the Altar - Dark fantasy, paranormal, wlw, mlm, nblw. Aleksandra Tasheva was raised as a Soldier within the Church of Sariel. She is assigned with Aston Richards, a blase and quite rude man from the country of Edhel -- and they are sent on a mission to capture a serial killer that had fled the Church. Aleks finds herself at crossroads of choices when she is rescued by a vampire, Adrienne, and learns of the Church’s darker secrets.  Tag list open -- warnings for: violence.

[and-justice-for-zoisite]

~Ocean Eyes~ (Benny Weir x Reader) Part 9

Series Masterlist  //  Official Masterlist

Summary: Now that you’ve recovered, you and Rory are finally able to go on a date! The destination you choose is the movies, and you’re pretty excited. But because of this, Benny is overwhelmed by jealousy, and has to be pulled into line by his best friend who makes him realize how much of a jerk he’s been to his friend Rory lately.

~

(Just some extra info that I couldn’t fit into the story, it’s been a week since the Price incident and Evelyn isn’t home currently. Enjoy!)

God, you were so beautiful. Your hair had been done up and decorated in a few clear, sparkly hair clips. Your make up matched your clips, consisting of clear, sparkly lip gloss, and glittery eye shadow and blush. And your dress...

(This is your dress, my dear)

This was all courtesy of the talented ladies Sarah and Erica, and the second you stepped out of your room, Benny had his breath taken away and he was left absolutely speechless. Due to this reaction, you thought that maybe you didn’t look right, and you looked down shyly at your dress.

“I-is it too much?” You asked, Benny shaking himself out of his momentary daze as he shook his head and smiled. “No, you’re...” He looked you up and down once more, “...you’re beautiful.” Your face flushed red as you smiled sheepishly, looking down once again.

Benny was jealous. More jealous than anyone who’s ever been jealous in the whole wide world. He wanted to be the one to take you out while you looked that extravagant, but unfortunately that spot was already reserved by Rory for the night. Over the time they had saved you, Benny and Rory had fixed things as friends again. But now, Benny was just about ready to rip the blonde’s head right off and start fighting all over again. You were quite a powerful force, he knew that much. Not even Della, the mega babe from school, could make him go to the lengths he’d go to for you. 

“Gosh they grow up so fast...” Sarah said sweetly as she and Erica came out from cleaning up the make up, “You’re so pretty (Y/n).” “You really think so?” You asked in a soft voice, the two vampire girls looking at each other before nodding. “Rory better watch it, you’re gonna have men gawking at you all night.” Erica said with a small chuckle.

And that statement was enough to make Benny’s blood boil. Not only was Rory competition, but now the entire male population of WhiteChapel was too. 

“(Y/n), are you sure you wanna go on a date with Rory?” Benny asked as he stepped up to you, “You know he’s an idiot...right?” “God Benny, it’s only a date. It’s not like we’re getting married,” You sighed as you poked his cheek, “don’t stress, love.” Benny sighed as he dusted off your shoulders. “Alright, but make sure you’re back by 10. And don’t let him kiss you, he’s probably got rabies or something.” You rolled your eyes as you smiled up at the boy. “Yes mom,” You sighed, Benny chuckling softly at the joke before Sarah and Erica approached you from behind with a hand each on your shoulders.

“Time for your date, (Y/n). Don’t keep Rory waiting.”

~

“Wow, (Y/n). You look...amazing.”

Your dress glimmered against the streetlights, as did your beautifully done make up. You and Rory stood outside the cinema, about to go see one of the films they were playing. He was awestruck by your looks, so much so that he almost forgot how to function. He didn’t hear you quietly thank him before you looked toward the theater.

“So, what movie are we seeing?” You asked sweetly, the boy snapping out of his daze as he looked back toward your eyes. He blushed as he scratched behind his neck sheepishly. “I-I probably should’ve asked you first...b-but I bought us tickets to see this new horror movie...i-I mean if you don’t wanna watch a horror we can just-” “You must’ve read my mind Rory! That was what I was hoping you’d end up picking,” You gushed, the boy feeling his face heat up further as he smiled like a dork. “W-well, we better head in then, and get snacks before the movie starts,” He said in a shaky voice, yourself nodding and giggling as you wrapped your arm around his and held it tight. Rory stiffened up at this at first as his face went completely beet red. But soon enough, he relaxed and simply smiled even deeper as the two of you began heading into the theater with the other people that had you surrounded.

~

“Did you see that dude! She touched him! He’s probably using his vampire hypnotizing powers on her!” “Or maybe she’s being extra friendly because they’re on a date.”

Behind a set of bushes just outside the theater was Benny and Ethan, Benny spying on you and Rory with a pair of binoculars while Ethan was there to try and make sure his best friend doesn’t do anything stupid. But of course, Benny doing something stupid would always be inevitable, especially for a girl.

“I seriously think Rory must’ve done something to (Y/n) to make her even consider saying yes to a date with him,” Benny said as he continued to stare at the two of you through his binoculars, “I looked all through grandma’s vampire books but I didn’t find anything.” “Dude, can’t we just leave them alone? It’s just one date, and besides,” Ethan looked around cautiously, “If Sarah catches us spying on them, she’ll kill us. And unlike you, I very much value my life.”  “I don’t trust Rory with (Y/n), not one bit. What if he’s trying to eat her? They don’t call them pure bloods for no reason,” Benny asked. “I think you’re just jealous,” Ethan said, his friend’s head snapping up as soon as the word ‘jealous’ fell from his mouth. Benny stared at him for a moment with squinting, offended eyes, a questioning look upon his face. “Jealous?” He asked, Ethan nodding, “You think I’m jealous?” “I mean, if stalking a girl on a date with another guy creepily from behind a bush doesn’t scream jealous then I don’t know what does,” Ethan explained, shoving his hands into his jean pockets, “and besides, you have perhaps the most obvious crush on (Y/n) ever.” “I do not!” Benny screeched, Ethan tilting his head as he gave him the raised brow ‘oh really?’ look.  After a second, Benny sighed and rolled his eyes as he accepted it. “Ok fine, maybe there’s some romantic feelings in there for her.” “Some?? Dude! You’re still wearing her hoodie!”  “It’s comfortable!” Benny defended as he clutched the sleeves of your hoodie. “And you might as well holding a big fat sign in neon lights that says ‘I have a huge crush on (Y/n)’!” Ethan unintentionally shouted. “Ok, first of all, shut up, this is supposed to be a stealth mission,” Benny began, Ethan rolling his eyes before his friend continued, “Second of all, you’ve gotta understand my point of view on the situation.” “God, here we go again...” Ethan sighed as he spun around and crossed his arms. “I am seriously concerned that if this date goes smoothly, (Y/n) might as well be kissing her everlasting life goodbye and then diving head first into concrete.” “Do you hear yourself? You’re making Rory out to be this shitty guy Benny!” Ethan spun back around to face his friend, “He’s our friend, and even if he’s an idiot, we always look out for our friends. He saved your life just last week! Can’t you just be happy for him?” “Maybe I just think (Y/n) deserves better than him,” Benny growled as if he was trying to suppress his anger as he stepped toward Ethan in a sort of stubborn way. “Then why aren’t you the one taking her to see a movie tonight??”

Benny wanted to say something to that, but he found that he really couldn’t, considering that was indeed a very good question. Why wasn’t he the one taking you to see a movie that night? He wasn’t even sure himself, and it was evident as his face morphed into a softer and more perplexed look. 

“But...I was the first one to even take her on a date...I took her to the ice cream parlor...” “Dude, you gotta be consistent. You can’t just take a girl on one good date and then expect her to be securely yours because if she’s anything like (Y/n), then she’s gonna have all sorts of guys trying to impress her and steal her heart. You have to work for her, you have to wow her, you have to earn her. And doing stuff like this is literally the equivalent to using cheat codes on Knights of Ninjustu 4, and we both know that you’d never do that,” Ethan placed a hand on his best friend’s shoulder before continuing, “Do something for her everyday, get her something nice, compliment her, treat her like a princess. And I can guarantee you, you’ll be the one she wants at the end of the day.”

The green-eyed brunette stared at his best friend for a moment, taking a little time process his little speech. And once he had, he chuckled softly and, too, placed a hand on Ethan’s shoulder.

“How do you not have a girlfriend yet?” He asked, Ethan shrugging as he too laughed a little and they began subconsciously walking away from the cinema side by side. “Because I go for girls that are way outta my league,” He responded, Benny smirking as he nudged him with his elbow. “C’mon dude, Sarah’s not that far outta your league.” “Just shut up and walk to the pizza place in town with me, I need some pepperoni in my system.”

And with that, the two geek best friends made their way to the main street of town, where they ordered a pizza and chowed down with their nerd talk. Benny realized how lost he would be if he didn’t have Ethan to pull him into line, and for that he was grateful.

~

After the two of you had gotten snacks and had a little bit of small talk while you waited for your assigned cinema to be available, you and Rory were finally seated, and more than excited to watch this new movie. This gave you a moment to think about the current situation you had fallen into. 

Rory was an absolute sweetheart. He was a fun, energetic guy and you really did appreciate him. It’s just...you already had something for Benny. Romantic or not, it was still something. Every time you had cried recently, he was the one to comfort you, hold you, and he did it no questions asked. Not to mention the fact that he kissed you to save your life. You knew that Rory would’ve done the same thing, but...you didn’t even know how to finish that sentence, you just...felt different around Benny. This whole mess was something you were yet to understand, but understand it you would...eventually. 

~

After they ordered their pizza and bought some soda, the two geek boys took a short stroll and eventually found themselves at the local park, sitting across from each other on one of the platforms of the playground equipment, their half eaten and soda in between the two of them as Benny’s phone blared some pop punk music, neck deep and Paramore and all of that quality pop punk the two boys enjoyed. They did this even though it was dark and cold, they simply needed to get out for a bit, considering they never really did due to the amount of video games they’d play on a daily basis. It was nice though, just to take a moment to get away from everyone and everything and spend a bit of one on one bro time with each other as best friends. 

Benny really needed this if he was honest. He was so lost in his own emotions that he’d pretty much lost sight of his entire life. If it wasn’t for Ethan, he’d probably be in even deeper and worse than he already was. He felt more than guilty for the way he’d been treating Rory over the past few weeks, like he was competition over a friend. I mean, yes, in a sense, he was competition. But he was a friend first, and Benny had been a real jerk to him over something as childish as crushing on the same girl as he was. 

But on the other hand...

Ethan wasn’t wrong when he pointed out that Benny had perhaps the most obvious crush on you ever. I mean, it was kind of a crush...he wasn’t even sure of it himself considering he hadn’t even known you for too long. But one thing he did know was that he wanted to protect you at all costs, and be closed to you and hold you and...

“What’ya thinkin’ about dude?” 

Benny was snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the voice of his best friend from in front of him, his green eyes meeting the likes of brown eyes.

“Hm?” He hummed, not quite understanding what he was getting at. “It’s just...you’re really quiet, and you seem...lost, really lost,” Ethan leaned forward slightly, so that his elbows rested on his outstretched legs, “what’s going on in that crazy mind of yours, Weir?” Benny stared at him for a moment, trying to think of a way to put how he was feeling. He most certainly wasn’t even sure of what was happening in his mind himself, even though he had direct access to it. 

Benny leaned his head back so he was looking up slightly, letting it rest against the grubby jungle gym railings as he searched for an answer.

“Chaos, absolute chaos,” That was the best way he could describe it, “I’m such a piece of shit for treating Rory the way I did.” “You’re not a piece of shit Benny, you’re just...” Ethan paused to try and find the correct terminology, “...new to the concept of actually having a chance with a girl, but another guy also having a chance with a girl, and since that guy is one of your close friends, you actually have to be conscious of what you do so you don’t screw up the friendship.” “Ugh! This is all too hard...maybe I should just give up, at least Rory isn’t a jerk.”  “B, please don’t think like that, especially when you and (Y/n) are already so close. Do you not see the way her behavior visibly changes when you’re around?” Ethan asked, Benny rolling his eyes as he looked toward his friend. “Yeah? How?” “Well, for one, she gets a lot less shy. She becomes more bubbly, more energetic, she talks in a slightly higher tone. She starts fidgeting with her belongings, and seems to smile even bigger, if that’s even possible. But the thing that seals the deal for me...” Ethan had stopped counting on his finger, but instead let them rest in his lap, “...it’s one simple and easy to miss detail. Whenever she sees you, the ocean in her eyes changes slightly.”

Benny became intrigued at this statement, and it was evident as his eyes softened slightly.

And this well needed talk was what drove the idea of quitting out of Benny’s mind. 

~

“Jeez Louis, the directors really didn’t hold back, did they?” 

“You can say that again...that was intense.”

The movie had finished, and you and Rory had just left the theater. The night breeze was cold, not that you really minded, cold weather was always lovely. Rory had offered to walk you home, to which you accepted, even though you were more than capable of walking home safely by yourself. His company was nice, and you weren’t about to turn it down. 

With a reasonable amount of his goofy jokes and decent small talk, you had arrived at your home, or rather, the Weir household. You bid your goodbyes before he left and you entered the house.

Sighing loudly out of exhaustion, you slipped your shoes off and dropped your purse by the door before you headed through to the kitchen where you met Benny who was packing a half eaten pizza into the fridge accompanied by Ethan who was leaned against the kitchen counter.

“Hey,” you greeted simply with your sweet smile, the two boys turning to you when they heard you. “Hey, how was it?” Ethan asked, cutting to straight chase. “It was fun. I found out that Rory doesn’t take jump-scares too well, but it was fun. It wasn’t at all romantic, which is weird considering Rory had been extra flirty toward me to hype himself up for the date after he asked me, but y’know, I think I enjoyed it better that way.” You explained, sighing as you leaned against the counter next to Ethan.

Benny didn’t want to admit it, but he felt his heart jolt slightly when you said that, and he was relieved that that was the turn of events of the date. He really did have a decent chance after all.

“Well, I’m glad you had fun,” He said as he shut the fridge and turned to look at you, only to see that you looked rather tired with your half lidded eyes and droopy stance, “but you look super tired (Y/n).” “I am,” You opened your arms with a goofy smile, “You’d be willing to carry a tired lady to her bed, wouldn’t you?” Benny couldn’t help a chuckle as he moved from the fridge over to you. “Of course, what kind of gentleman would I be if I couldn’t?” He said as he scooped you up into his arms bridal style, Ethan chuckling sweetly at the situation while you giggled and wrapped your arms around Benny’s neck. “Excuse us for one moment,” Benny joked to Ethan before heading toward your room, you securely in his arms.

Of course, it didn’t take very long to arrive to your room, and once you did, Benny gently set you down on your bed, yourself simply taking the time to stare into his eyes for a good long moment, goofy smile still present. He noticed almost immediately, and couldn’t help a quiet chuckle as he sat on your bed beside you and stared back.

“Why’re you looking at me like that?” He asked, yourself giggling as you reached up and booped his nose gently. “Because you’re so pretty,” You replied, the boy giving her a slightly puzzled yet humored look. “Interesting terminology, but thank you,” He responded in a soft voice as he poked your forehead gently, “you’re pretty too.”

The two of you stared at each other for a moment more, with sweet smiles and a sweet atmosphere. You just couldn’t describe how you felt in that moment, like...you were so calm, yet so absolutely giddy on the inside. That was why you sat up, slowly, and wrapped your arms around Benny’s middle, pressing your face into his shoulder. He was slightly taken a back, and he felt his tummy twist slightly, but he also seemed to immediately react, and within seconds had his arms around you too. The two of you stayed like that for a while, enjoying each other’s warmth, scent, feeling...it was an indescribable emotion you both shared in that simple yet tender moment.  

You felt so safe in his arms, and they were where you wanted to stay for as long as you could.

~

A/n: So, I really wanted to do some character development in this chapter. Like, make Benny realize that he was being an out of character jerk and show Ethan’s adorable soft side and how much he cares about his bestie and how he brings it upon himself to pull him into line, since I don’t see a lot of their close moments in other fan fics. Anyways, 

I’d really appreciate it if ya’ll went and checked out my character list and made requests based off of the characters given, bc I’m heccing bored and I need writing motives. Please and thank you!!

Taglist:

@bisexualprinxexx @realityshifter111 @fandom-imagines1 @floppytheprofessionalflopper @libellule2001 @hayleythahuman @aziggya @pigtailedspinel​  @pettyjayy​ 

~  Stay Tuned!!

[another-rogue-trevelyan]

Cullen Fluff: Inquisitor’s in Trouble Edition

Cullen and Evelyn stood stiffly at either end of his office. After the chaos of preparing for and recovering from Adamant, Cullen had just finally dug into all of the reports from her time in the Western Approach. Evelyn leaned against the wall, arms crossed, knowing full well just how much trouble she was in.

“You baited a high dragon.”

It wasn’t a question, so Evelyn chose not to reply. She knew Cullen wasn’t done, anyway. The couple rarely argued, but where her safety was concerned, she knew she could expect a scolding.

“And if that wasn’t enough, I have pages upon pages of reports on all the other trouble you got into out in the Approach.” Cullen picked up the stack of paperwork to emphasize his point. It was large enough to be one of Varric’s books.

“I did what I thought was best for our people.”

“Evelyn, love, your safety is best for our people. You’re the only one who can stop Corypheus.”

“Really, Cullen, I had it all under control.”

Cullen looked her over. Maker, she was beautiful. Her fair complexion had burned in the beating desert sun, but had since faded into an uneven tan. Her brown hair had lightened a bit from the exposure as well. Even now, with her awkward armor tan, fixing him with an infuriatingly stubborn Trevelyan gaze, he was unsure of how he managed to be this lucky.

That didn’t mean he wasn’t angry, though.

“The dragon is just the finale of a series of dangerous events,” he continued. “First, you seized Griffon Wing Keep, an act I would normally send our forces for, and you burst in there with just Sera, Dorian, and the Iron Bull.”

“To be fair, the Bull counts as at least three people all on his own.”

“Evelyn.”

“And Knight-Captain Rylen has assured me that it’s a very useful holding!” She thought she might get him with that, but he was determined to make his point.

“You then raided an ancient Tevinter ruin, crawling with Venatori and enchanted with time magic that even Dorian says is too dangerous for use. You managed to break the enchantment, setting loose a bunch of demons and a fade rift, which you then had to fight through. Sera left me a lovely hand-drawn picture of that event, by the way. She claims she told you not to ‘poke’ the magic.”

Cullen strode over to Evelyn, handing her the drawing in question. The figures were comical. Evelyn was depicted quite literally poking at an object labeled “freaky magic shite” with her glowing hand. Dorian was grooming his mustache while throwing fire at a demon, and the Iron Bull was portrayed three times larger than all of them, knocking down Venatori, with a smudge across his chest. Upon closer inspection, Evelyn could make out “Venatori blood on bare man tits,” in Sera’s messy scrawl, followed by “he never wears a bloody shirt, does he?”

“Sera always makes our adventures look so much more interesting,” Evelyn said, stifling a laugh. She sensed the briefest hint of a smile from her commander, but he was back to business all too quickly.

“But why hunt down this ruin? Because you met a random man, alone in the desert, who asked for your help baiting a dragon, and you agreed. So after you found this information for him, you concocted a bait from other dangerous creatures you had to hunt down, and used it to lure a dragon to you. Of course it worked, and the beast attacked you because why wouldn’t it, so the four of you fought it, and now Josephine is parading its head around Orlais. And those are just the finer points.”

“That dragon was a hazard to our men and our holdings in the Approach. I’ve made it safer for them. And if Corypheus is using a dragon, then I will keep fighting them and learning about them so that I can be better prepared. I’m being careful.”

“No, love, you aren’t,” Cullen pleaded. He had softened now. He took both of her hands in his and guided her back toward his desk. He sat her upon it and stood in front of her, resting a hand against her cheek.

“I can’t lose you,” he said, finally. “I love you. You’re wonderful, and selfless, and more than I ever could’ve hoped for. Not to mention the most infuriatingly stubborn person I have ever met in my life, which is why I know that if you see a chance to help someone, you will run into danger over and over again. If it comes to it, I will burn this world down to save you. But please, be careful. If anything happens to you...”

Cullen’s voice hitched, and he pulled her into his chest, resting his chin atop her head. They stayed that way for a moment, feeling the comfort of being safely tucked in each other’s arms. When Cullen pulled back again to look into Evelyn’s eyes, the intensity held her gaze.

“I thought I lost you at Adamant. I can’t go through that again. I can’t lose you again. Please.”

Evelyn pulled him into her again, kissing him deeply. When she pulled away, she ran her fingers soothingly through his hair as she spoke.

“I can’t stay completely out of touble. They need me out there. I can bring reinforcements for our more dangerous missions, though.”

“That’s all I ask.”

“I love you, Cullen. I don’t mean to worry you.”

“You can let me worry about you a little. Just not too much.”

“I think I can manage that.”

Cullen pulled her close to him, leaving a kiss on the top of her head. They stayed that way for a while, stealing a moment away from their work to enjoy the soft murmers and warm cuddles before duty sent her off again.

[the-jade-cross]

The Lannister Wolf - Part 4 Chapter 9

Evelyn kept glancing back at Jojen, waiting for the boy to go into a trance all of a sudden without warning and she wanted to be ready to catch him should he fall. The boy was recovering quickly considering that the only thing keeping his wounds from killing him again was Lady’s death.

“To be honest,” Jojen told her, “I never dreamt of this place, nor you… or even my resurrection. I saw things that never came to pass but now that I think about it, I wonder if those things will occur, just not yet. It was like my visions wer blocked… by the fog of death.”

Evelyn nodded in agreement, “no one truly knows what will happen to them after they die…. Or after they come back to life. What were some of the things you saw that did not come to pass? Or is that confidential information?”

Jojen chuckled and shook his head, “not to the elementals. The things I see are vague and could mean multiple things but from what I can gather, there will be a fleet of dragons fighting the evil one… and at their head is a dragon of pure gold that will vanquish the stone hearted dragon queen usurper.”

“Daenerys,” Evelyn mumbled, earning herself a nod from Jojen.

“I do not know how or when this will come to pass but it is not too far off… and there is one other thing that I keep seeing,” the boy explained. “A girl… a child more like with curls as black as raven’s wings but skin a faded pale shade of cocoa. She never speaks a word in my dreams and I never see her surroundings but she is there, just staring at me like a ghost.”

Evelyn at first thought that the boy had seen Nanteza but the girl’s hair was brown, not black. “Perhaps she is not a ghost but… she has not yet been born. You said so yourself that she was a child so perhaps she will be born in the years to come.”

Jojen smiled, “You are very insightful Lady Stark. I can see why Bran looked up to you so much.”

Evelyn smiled at his words before she stopped in front of one of the huts that had the appearance of a smithy shop. A young boy who looked in his early teens stood hammering a horse shoe carefully outside.

“Why don’t you go on without me?” Evelyn asked Jojen, “I have a few things I need to do.”

The boy nodded and went off to explore on his own while Evelyn approached the young boy, “hello there.” she greeted. “Do you think you could make something for me?”

The boy looked at her shyly from under a headful of golden curls, his green eyes looking strangely familiar.

“MY pa is a better smithy than I am. He is Izac. I’m just learning.” The boy explained.

Evelyn smiled, “I understand, but I would really like you to make it for me. I promise that I am not looking for perfection.”

The boy pondered this, chewing his bottom lip and shifting from one foot to the other, “Okay… I’ll try. I am Camron by the way. What would you like me to make?”

Evelyn pulled a sheet of paper from her smock pocket and handed it to the boy. “Thank you Camron. Hey look like this but about the size of your palm.”

The lad studied the sketches before he nodded, “Small things take longer but I can try my lady.”

The girl beamed, “Just call me Evelyn. Thank you Camron. I will come by to see how they are going in a few days. Pray tell, do you happen to know where the Temple of Earth is?”

The boy turned and pointed up at one of the mountains that flanked the valley. “Up near the top is a giant tree. You cannot miss it. though, it has been empty for years and no one has been able to enter since Varsha disappeared.”

Evelyn nodded, “Thank you young sir. I will keep that in mind.”

As the girl headed off, she wondered if Varsha would appear when she reached the temple just like how Brisingr and Audra had. It was a stretch and just a hope in the back of her mind at that but she could not leave the valley until she had learnt the secret of the earth. The trek up the mountain was not that difficult since there was a small worn path that went up the side of the mountain. When Evelyn reached the halfway point, she found the tree. Camron was right, it was enormous, possibly forty feet in diameter not to mention that it was twice as tall as any tree Evelyn had seen.

Carved into the front of the trunk was a door but it looked like it was glued shut, almost impossible to see unless close up. Evelyn ran her finger over the intricate carvings and she felt a tingle run down her spine as if she could sense someone behind her. she turned around, expecting to find that Zinzi had followed her but there was no one there.

When Evelyn turned back around, she jumped back and reached for her bow in a defensive manner for standing between her and the temple was a woman… but her surprised was only momentary since she soon recognized the woman… as herself!

She wore heavy chainmail and leather, something Evelyn had never worn before and her hair was longer… was this perhaps a vision like the ones Jojen had?

She looked so real and yet… so thin and airy like she would blow away in a breeze. The other Evelyn lifted her hands in a cupping manner and there in her hands there appeared an egg… an egg so golden that it looked too unreal to be real. Then Evelyn remembered Jojen’s words about his dream… was that egg the egg of the golden dragon in his dream?

It must be! She watched as the other Evelyn lifted the egg until it was level with her face and she rested her forehead against it. the object seemed to glow brighter until the light flooded the other Evelyn’s body and then… the light faded as did the other Evelyn and the gg. Evelyn blinked, turning around a few times to be sure that her vision twin wasn’t going to reappear.

“Well that was both educational and puzzling,” the girl muttered to herself, brushing her hands over her face, “is Jojen’s sight rubbing off on me?”

As the girl turned to head back down the mountain, she heard another noise like before and looked back over her shoulder, hoping it was not another mystery visit from ghost Evelyn. Instead, the carving of the door in the tree trunk had begun to glow in a pale green as if it were on fire and the fire was green.

Suddenly the light faded and Evelyn waited for the door to creak open but instead, the green fire spread to the ground and began to trail around as if it were a snake on a mission. As the fire began to decisively flow downhill, Evelyn chose to follow it, watching as the fire moved from place to place but leaving where it touched, unburnt and unscathed… it was like the fire was not fire at all.

The fire just about reached the valley when it took a sharp left and headed deep into the woods that surrounded the village. Evelyn wondered if the fire would ever stop or reach its destination when she came upon a clearing and there in the center was a large nest made of stone and vines… and there rested in the nest was an egg… and egg as golden as liquid gold and about the size of a large grapefruit.

The green fire leapt into the nest and that was when Evelyn saw that the gg was resting on a tiny pyre that was constantly burning in green flame. Evelyn slowly approached the net before she reached out a hand to touch the egg. Just when she was about to, the egg wiggled and Evelyn reattracted her hand quickly. How on earth did this egg get here and what’s more, why had she been brought to it?

*******

Evelyn tilted her head curiously at the large golden egg. to say that she was puzzled was an understatement. up until that part, she had been informed of all the peculiar things that would occur but this time she was not.

The girl approached the nest and would have touched the egg if a voice had not spoken and the girl spun around to find a large handful of the villagers, including Jojen, Brienne and Podrick standing there while staring at her with wide eyes. Marinah was the first to approach.

“the egg called to you,” she observed in a whisper, “that has not happened since Varsha disappeared. The egg has remained here for centuries, waiting for the time when its host will appear. We have remained here ever vigilant over the egg but it has never hatched or even moved... not like how it just did for you.”

Evelyn turned and looked back at the egg in slightly perplexity, “its host? What is in there? A demon?”

Izac pushed through the crowd to stand beside his wife, “that we do not know. All we know is that the prophecy that has been scribed on the egg since it appeared here 3000 years ago says that.”

Evelyn peered closer at the egg and sure enough, there inscribed on the egg were words written surprisingly, in the common tongue. The girl circled the nest and the egg as she carefully read the prophecy inscription.

“Like the trusting patient child that waits ceaselessly for the return of their seeking mother, thus shall I remain until man has taken for granted the light and life given to them and then shall my host appear. Like a gallant Knight home from the wars shall they appear. My owner, my source of life, my life itself... my mother. When we shall join, we will be one heart beating within two beings inseparable in death as we were in life. Await the arrival of the host.” she read aloud.

Evelyn turned to look at the townspeople who were watching patiently, probably wondering why nothing had erupted yet in flames. When the girl looked at Brienne and Jojen, Brienne had a concerned look on her face and Jojen looked stunned but with a faint smile on his face.

He and Evelyn were thinking the same thing. this was the Golden dragon he had seen in his dreams who would protect the world from the scorch of the insane dragon queen usurper.

Ignoring her common sense that was telling her to turn and walk away, Evelyn approached the nest until she was leaning over it. She could not quite reach the egg so she placed one hand in the green flame and leant forward until she was able to scoop the egg into her hands.

When she turned around with egg cradled against her chest, the whole village had fallen to their knees, including Brienne, Podrick and Jojen who all looked ready to cry.

“so it is true,” Izac whispered, “the prophecy has finally come true after 1000 years.”

Evelyn frowned, “what are you talking about?”

Brianne smiled, “the Targaryen’s led everyone to believe that if you could survive fire without burning then you were a dragon but the Targaryen’s have ingested an herb for centuries that protected their hide from normal fire. That was why only some Targaryen’s survived fire. But what they kept hidden and what was believed to be only a myth is that only a real dragon can survive any flame, including the flame of a dragon that burns hotter than any normal flame. My lady, you are the true dragon mother, the Dragonoid...Dragon Queen.”

Evelyn swallowed, and she had been hoping to keep a low profile while she was here! The silence was broken by the earth shaking and the deep rumbling noise filling the air like a warning horn before an attack.

Everyone leapt to their feet and sprinted back down the hill to the village. The villagers who had not journeyed to the nest stood all together near the Great Hall staring like gob fish up at the left hand cliff that overlooked the valley.

Izac rushed over to the maester, “what is happening? What was that earthquake?”

The old man shook his head, “that was no earthquake. That my lad was a dragon.”

(let me know if you get that quoteJ)

As everyone lifted their eyes to see what the old man was talking about, several gasps erupted from the crowd and Jojen grinned at Evelyn.

“it seems like you got the Dragon's attention.”

There, rising from the side of the Cliff like a giant stone avalanche... was a dragon. The beast was enormous, larger than any of the other dragons Evelyn had studied under with before, with a strong, stony build that seemed to suit the Dragon’s element. Earth.

Trees grew on the Dragon's back, giving the creature the appearance that he had a spine. Powerful legs made of stone rumbled the earth, explaining the earthquake earlier. the dragon stopped his movement, standing on the edge of the Cliff, looking down in the Valley like the giant dragon that he was.

As the Varsha opened his mouth and roared, Evelyn felt a smile bloom on her face. It was not the reptilian vibrating bleat that Drogon, Rhaegar and Viserys made, nor was it the sharp, harsh growl like a giant Wildcat that she heard from Brisingr and it was certainly not like the echoing bird song noise that Audra made.

No, this was the bellow of the dragon of earth. Strong like a rumbling earthquake, the crumbling sound of an avalanche, the deep bugle of a wild bear tenfold. That was the call of Varsha.

A few people screamed while the rest covered their ears but Evelyn drank in the sound like she had been deprived of it. It was the sound of her kind.

A deep voice like a deep baritone clashing with timbre left the dragon as he slowly scaled down the cliff towards the villagers, eyes locked on the black haired, golden eyed dragon girl who still clutched the golden egg to her chest.

“Evelyn, the Warlock. I have been waiting for you. I see you got my gift. Clever thing that, only responding to the host. I never thought it would wake up.”

Evelyn looked down at the egg, “your gift? Don't tell me you laid this thing!”

Varsha chuckled, another earthquake rumbling, “far from it. I have watched that egg since it appeared out of thin air after the four Dragons of the Elements came together on the night of the Order of the Pinnacle and joined all of their power together. That egg was the result and because they trusted my talents of disguise and elusiveness, not to mention I was the strongest to protect the egg, the other Dragons left the egg to me to protect.”

The villagers all parted as the dragon reached the ground and strode towards Evelyn. The girl looked up at the giant dragon like the girl saw dragons every day at breakfast which was very quickly becoming reality.

“Are you ready to begin your training lady Evelyn? Brisingr has taught you to feel and Audra in her own peculiar way has taught you to listen but now, you must open your eyes can see things that no one else has ever seen or can see. You will spot an enemy's movements before the enemy even thinks of it. You will see with the eyes of a dragon for long distances, in tune with what you are and are not searching for and soon, if my teaching skills have not gone and rusted up on me, you will be able to see people 1000 miles away... with your eyes closed.”

Evelyn grinned, “like the sight? Like what Jojen has?”

Varsha chuckled, “it is similar but you will not warg into another being... you will be awake and present wherever you are but at the same time you will see the West of the West, the East of the East, and as North beyond the Wall as North exists and so South that you will sweat just from seeing it. Your eyes have been closed up until now Evelyn but now, they will be opened.”

Evelyn sighed and nodded firmly, “I am ready to begin my training.”

Varsha smiled before nodding towards the egg in Evelyn’s hand. “but first and foremost, you will need to know a little bit about that thing you carry. Best to be prepared before it hatches on you.”

As Varsha turned destroyed up towards the temple, Evelyn moved to ask the dragon when the egg would hatch but she got the answer to her question when the egg began to wiggle and there, right on the letter ”O” of the word “mother”, a crack had appeared and was growing fast!

“oh dragon scales,” the girl squeaked as she hurried after the dragon, constantly telling the creature within the egg to hold off a little longer until she learned how to be a host. Whatever that entailed of her to learn.

[isnt-it-pretty]

Inquisitor as a Companion

(template via dextronoms)

Based on this post I made about Young!Inquisitor AU, Ft. Reluctant Dad!Cullen

Inquisitor's Name: Evelyn Trevelyan (Age: 13)

Alternate name: When high enough friendship, she asks to be called Ellie.

Race, Class, & Specialization: Human, mage, spirit healer

Varric's Nickname for them: Wildflower. A special option will appear when relationship with both Varric and Evelyn is high enough, where the Inquisitor can question why he calls her Wildflower. Varric will explain it’s because Wildflowers still grow strong and beautiful, even in the harshest of climates, and that really sounds like our girl, doesn’t it?

Default Tarot Card: The Tower -  Changes, conflict and disruption of life. Bad news and calamity.

How they are recruited: Evelyn is there at Haven. She nervously approaches the Herald and introduces herself as a Spirit Healer, and asks if there’s anything she can do to help. The Herald has the option to tell her that there is no place for children in the Inquisition — thus sending her away and keeping her from joining the Inquisition, or to tell her that they are sure they can find work for her.

Where they are in Skyhold: Sits in between the battlements gazing out across the mountains, her legs dangling off the edge. If the third option is chosen in her personal quest, and Cullen is not taking Lyrium, she can be found in his office.

Things they Generally Approve of: Allying with the mages. Saving everybody in Haven. Executing Gereon Alexius or Knight-Captain Denam. Allowing Cole to stay. Becoming Inquisitor for what’s right. Allying with the wardens. Arresting Florianne. Allying with Abela in the Arbour Wilds. Pro mage actions, generally merciful actions. Saving and helping people.

Things they Generally Disapprove of: Siding with the Templars, or conscripting the mages. Evelyn will attempt to leave the Inquisition if either of these happen, saying she refuses to be captive again, but can be persuaded to stay. Saying that they will become the Inquisitor for personal power or vengeance. Exiling the wardens. Letting Celene die. Any pro templar actions, letting people die when they can be saved. Siding with Ishmael. Making mages tranquil. Lying to Dorian about his father’s letter.

Mages, Templars, Other?: Being a mage raised in the circle at Ostwick. Evelyn dislikes templars. If asked why she dislikes Templars when her relationship is too low, Evelyn will say she doesn’t wish to speak of it. If asked when it is high enough, Evelyn will explain that the Templars in her circle were cruel. When the circle fell, the Templars attempted to kill as many mages as possible; many of her friend’s died. She won’t explain what she means by cruel, and will only say that some things that are better left unsaid.

Friends in the Inquisition: Dorian, Cole, Varric. Cullen, after reaching Skyhold. Kieran, if Morrigan had him.

Romanceable?: No. Evelyn is thirteen and as such there is no options for it.

Small side mission: Evelyn asks that the Inquisitor please gather a series of herbs. There is a list of them, from Elfroot to Andraste’s Grace. When they are given to her at Haven or Skyhold, she says that they will make excellent potions.

Companion quest:

Post Wicked Eyes and Wicked Hearts and Here lies the Abyss, Cullen will approach the Inquisitor, asking if they have seen Evelyn recently. The  Inquisitor has the option to question when they became so close, why he’s asking, or as a romance option: “I didn’t know you’re good with kids.” No matter the choice, Cullen ends up explaining that Evelyn gifted him tea to help with headaches, and since then they’d grown closer. He’s been teaching her to play chess, however she seemed agitated over the last few days. 

Optional: The Inquisitor can investigate Evelyn’s bedroom, which is above the garden. In it, they will find the blankets pulled off the bed and piled in the corner, as if she’s been sleeping there. On the bare mattress, there is an envelope and a letter. The letter is from Evelyn’s parents, who express their joy over finding out their daughter is alive, and their concern for her wellbeing. They say that they wish for her to return home to them. The Inquisitor can also find a journal forgotten half under the bed. In it, Evelyn talks about her growing friendship with Cullen, and how he was more like a father to her than her own father ever was, despite being a former Templar.

Leliana can be questioned about Evelyn’s location, to which she will respond that Evelyn left a few days previous, but Leliana has been keeping tabs on her. If the bedroom was investigated, there is an optional dialogue to ask about the letter. Leliana explains that she also received one — a formal request from Ostwick to return Evelyn Trevelyan to her parents. She says that it is a delicate matter, and has been discussing it with Josephine before bringing it to the Inquisitor’s attention. If the journal was found, the Inquisitor can also ask what Leliana knows of Evelyn and Cullen’s relationship, to which she will respond, “it’s sweet, isn’t it?” and mention how she doesn’t see Cullen smile more than when he’s with her.

The Inquisitor can gather a party and head to The Hinterlands, where Evelyn can be found at the crossroads, healing. When approaching her, if any mage is in the party, they comment that she’s been overusing her magic, and seems exhausted. A cutscene will begin upon speaking to her.

Evelyn looks up, and before anybody can speak says “I won’t go back. You can’t make me.” The Inquisitor can scold her for leaving, ask why she ran away — or if the letter was found, tell her she’s causing problems for the Inquisition, or ask why she doesn’t want to return to her parents. To the first option, Evelyn will apologize guiltily, but refuse to return to Skyhold. To the second, she will say it’s complicated. To the third, she will become agitated and say that the Inquisition has caused problems for her, too, and that she won’t return just because somebody else says so. If questioned about her parents, Evelyn will look down and explain that they hate mages. They let the Templar’s take her as a child, and even when she wrote letters explaining the Templar’s hurt her, her parents only told her that it was Andraste’s will.

After this conversation, the Inquisitor can either let her remain in The Hinterlands, causing her to leave the Inquisition permanently, threaten her to get her to return to Skyhold, or persuade her to return to Skyhold.

Another cutscene begins after returning. Cullen, Leliana, and Josephine meet them at the gates, with a richly dressed couple who are introduced as Lord and Lady Trevelyan. When her mother goes to hug her, Evelyn flinches. The Inquisitor can decide to send her away with her parents, or keep her with the Inquisition. 

Option 1: Send her home with her parents. Evelyn will refuse to look at the Inquisitor, but will relent. She returns to Ostwick with her parents, permanently leaving the Inquisition. The Inquisitor receives a sizable amount of gold in return. Cullen will later comment that it’s quiet around here, and that he must admit, he misses her. Varric will be angry that she was sent back with the people who enabled her abuse. Vivienne will say that it was good of the Inquisitor to send the girl home.

Option  2: Evelyn remains with the Inquisition. Lord and Lady Trevelyan accuse the Inquisitor of abducting their daughter, and that there will be consequences for the action. Unlocks the war table mission Smooth Things Over with Ostwick, which will have the option for Josephine to send dignitaries to handle the situation (results in a letter of apology from the Trevelyans and an amount of gold to care for their daughter, a note from Josephine at the bottom says it was likely forced by the Ostwick Viscount), or Leliana to have the Trevelyans assassinated (results in a letter from Ostwick saying there will be no further action will be taken against the Inquisition.)

Option 3 (only attainable if the letter and Journal were found): Cullen will care for Evelyn. Cullen sputters a response at this, but will accept, saying she’s an easy kid to handle. The Trevelyans are unhappy, but will accept it when Leliana mentions that they did give up their parental rights when she was sent to a circle, and that Cullen is a former Templar. Evelyn can be found in Cullen’s office from then on. After What Pride had Wrought, upon entering Cullen’s office, a cutscene will trigger. The Inquisitor walks through the garden to find Evelyn and Cullen playing chess. Evelyn smiles and mentions finding Varric before running off. Cullen says she’s grown quite good at the game. He thanks the Inquisitor for allowing her to stay with the Inquisition, and that he’d miss her terribly if she were to leave, at which point the scene ends. In Trespasser, Cullen mentions his daughter in passing while speaking with the Inquisitor. If romanced, he says he hoped that the Inquisitor is okay with it. NPCs can be overheard mentioning “Evelyn Rutherford” in reference to a powerful Spirit Healer.

**Note, if Cullen resumes taking Lyrium, a different cutscene will trigger. In this one, Cullen tells Evelyn that he be expected to take care of her. She argues that she can take care of herself, but he won’t hear it. She rushes away in tears, and Cullen sighs. Upon seeing the Inquisitor, he tells them that they should have send her home, and that keeping her there is too dangerous, at which point the scene will end. Evelyn can no longer be found in Cullen’s office, and is instead in the spot on the battlements she was on before. If asked about Cullen, she simply says she doesn’t want to talk about it. If this happens, Evelyn will disappear after Corypheus is defeated and will not be a playable character in Trespasser. Cullen does not seem to remember her very well in the DLC, having difficulty recalling her name.

Tarot card change

Option 1: The Tower, crossed out to show she is no longer playable.

Option 2: The Star - meaning hope, faith, renewal. 

Option 3 (Cullen off Lyrium): The Sun - meaning positivity, joy, fun, warmth.

Option 3.5 (Post cutscene, Cullen taking Lyrium): The Hermit, inversed - meaning isolation, loneliness, and withdrawal. 

[captainofthefallen]

Aurelia

Because I feel like it, I’m going to talk about Aurelia more. And her completely batshit personal quest.

She was raised in the Dominion of Rhom, the god-king who brought an end to a civil war several decades ago. Magic in the Dominion is... frowned upon. To put it mildly. Though she’s starting to learn that it is not infrequently used, if it benefits those in power. Aurelia was born with magic--natural magic, specifically. For the first few years of her life, she didn’t quite understand the necessity for keeping it a secret. Her parents were executed when they took the blame for something she had done, and she was sent to an orphanage. She never forgot that lesson. Her parents died because of her magic. She was afraid of herself, afraid of nearly everything, for a while.

When she was ten, she was... adopted is the wrong word. She was recruited into a secretive order of monks called the Umbral Repentia, by a woman named Emilia Mercer. She saw it as an opportunity to learn the discipline she had lacked when she was younger, to try and suppress her magic. Part of her hoped that maybe, with enough training, she could eradicate it entirely.

The trials that recruits into the Repentia undergo are... not kind. Most say that they are saved by a vision of Rhom himself, that their faith is rewarded with salvation. Aurelia agreed with them, but for the most part kept silent. She saw no vision of Rhom during her trials. She survived because of the magic in her blood, and she spent the next years at war with herself--part of her was terrified that someone would find out what she was, and she would be killed; part of her believed that she should want that, to keep the world safe from her magic.

As she progressed in her training, she was assigned to work with a team: a human boy named Roderick and an elf girl named Farah, all three of them trained by Mercer. Roderick was assigned to lead their group, and they began to undertake missions--targeting dangerous magic users and defeating them for the glory of Rhom and the protection of the Dominion.

Their third target was a druid who had been ambushing military patrols, and that was when things went wrong. Aurelia saw the trap a split second too late to stop Roderick, but with just enough time to push him out of the way. She was caught in his place. Badly wounded, bleeding out, she ordered the others to leave her behind and finish the mission, and they did. She died not long after.

She woke up. That, first and foremost, was a problem. She’d died, and if she was still around, that meant that she’d been corrupted by the touch of magic, even more than she had always been. Before, she’d hoped that if she served well enough, if she proved herself and suppressed her magic, she could still be saved. But now that might as well be beyond hope.

But it was worse than she first realized. Her right arm was missing, replaced by some kind of metallic casing. When opened, the casing revealed a tentacle. Each of the others who awoke with her--Saphir, Korver, Kallista, Val-Grimm, and Scabby (it was a childhood nickname, and he never actually got a real name. Scabby needs no name. Scabby is chaos incarnate who prefers to live in the sewers, and that is all you need to know.)--had some other kind of mutation, some more easily hidden than others. Kallista was changed entirely--the girl who was once a half-elf (I’m pretty sure) now resembled something like an opalescent dragonborn.

They learned, as they escaped the abandoned lab where they awoke, that they were alive because of something in their blood, a corruption called ikhor. A parasite. Because of it, they can’t die, not permanently, but there are things worse than death, and Aurelia is pretty damn convinced that this is one of them. She also learned that she’d been dead for fifteen years.

But even knowing what little she knew of the ikhor, she knew that the magic and the evil that was now a part of her had put her beyond any hope of redemption. And so, almost subconsciously, she started to think strategically, as she was trained to think of her targets and her enemies. Only now her analysis was directed toward the Church, and the Repentia. What she’s found so far is... well, she doubts. She doubts a great deal.

Also while escaping the lab, the party met one person who wasn’t either dead or consumed by ikhor-induced madness: a warforged monk named Jonas Evanwood, who was himself investigating the source of the ikhor, and if there was any way to stop it. For a while, Aurelia knew almost nothing about him, except that he worshiped the Jensai, some vague power which, as she had been taught, was a power opposed to Rhom. But he happened to be the one who was walking with her the first time she broke down, when she admitted that she fully believed she’d lost everything that gave her worth, that gave her a purpose. And he understood. He was built, originally, to serve in Rhom’s army, to kill. He and several other warforged were sent to assassinate the leader of the monastery of the Jensai, and instead of killing him, she took him in, taught him to be more. And he told Aurelia that she could be more too, if she wanted. And for the smallest moment, she almost believed him. She’s still... struggling with that, a bit, believing in her own worth, but at the moment Jonas is the one person in the world she trusts completely, so... that’s something.

About a week after she came back, she found herself being followed. She managed to slip into the shadows and get the drop on them, only to be met with two very familiar faces: Roderick and Farah. Older now, almost twice her age (she was eighteen when she died), but still recognizable. They gave her a mission from the leader of the Repentia himself--the Grey Knight--along with a promise that if she completed it successfully, she would be welcomed back into the Repentia, no questions asked.

The mission was this: Emilia Mercer fled the Repentia several years ago, taking with her a relic that contained a small piece of the divine power of Rhom. Since, there have been a few sightings, some traces, but no one has been able to track her down. No one, as far as any of them know, were ever close enough to know her very well, but Aurelia was the closest. They’re hoping that Aurelia will succeed where others have failed.

This was her mission. She’d always operated alone, or with Roderick and Farah, and this was her assignment, so she kept it from the party. She mentioned once to Kallista that she’d been given an assignment, and she told Korver a bit more about it, and she’s told Jonas nearly everything, as he believes they can help each other. But most of her searching has been done on her own. And what she’s found has led her to a web so tangled neither of us are really sure if it can even help find Mercer. But it all has to lead somewhere.

Here begins what I call my conspiracy notebook. I literally have a journal with every piece of information I’ve gathered written in it.

I mentioned this in an ask post a few weeks ago, but one other thing: while she was in the orphanage, there was a girl brought in, one with magic so powerful even her guards seemed to be afraid of her. Her name was Evelyn. Three things about Evelyn: she’s somehow connected to the ikhor, she seems to be some kind of antichrist, but for Rhom, and she’s also Rhom’s daughter. Her mother, though, was Emilia Mercer.

For a while, Aurelia was afraid that Mercer had abandoned the Repentia to join Evelyn, which... well. Evelyn is trying to bring down Rhom, but she’s using terrorism and murdering a bunch of innocent people to try and get them to lose their faith. Mercer was always vehemently opposed to harming innocents or people getting caught in the crossfire. It doesn’t fit. Aurelia doesn’t know if Mercer has contacted Evelyn at all since she was sent to the orphanage, or even if Mercer raised her until then, but it doesn’t fit. Mercer wouldn’t condone this.

Other bits of information: based on evidence found at an abandoned campsite believed to be Mercer’s, Farah has theorized that Mercer gave birth at some point during her travels. Both Roderick and Farah noticed that, in the few months before she disappeared, she was quieter than usual, not speaking out against harming innocents or collateral damage in the way she usually would. Roderick also knew that Mercer had spoken with Rhom directly around the time she went quiet.

Jonas has been one of Aurelia’s best assets. Mostly for his perspective, but also because his connection to the Jensai enables him to sense connections between others. He felt the connections between Aurelia and Roderick and Farah, allowing her to prepare herself to face them. He has attempted to use this connection to find Mercer, only to find his attempts blocked by a stronger power, some type of divinity. He doesn’t believe it to be simply the artifact Mercer stole, however (a relic known as an Augur, containing a small piece of Rhom’s divinity.) He said that the power he felt had an energy that felt... childlike.

The current working theory is that Mercer somehow, intentionally or otherwise, transferred the divinity from the Augur into the child that Farah believes she had. That doesn’t help us find her, really, but I’m trying to get a picture of what happened, what made her leave, and what she’s hoping to accomplish, so anything helps.

Something else we learned: she had a second child. There’s no record of who his father was, but his name was Alexander, and he died when he was six years old. Aurelia and I both think Evelyn had something to do with it, intentionally or not.

Someone had been leaving flowers at his grave. We needed to leave the city for a bit to complete a job, but Aurelia asked Jonas to keep an eye out, and he did learn something: a mysterious woman, too young to be Mercer herself, was the one leaving the flowers and taking care of the grave. He gave Aurelia some locations this woman was known to frequent, and she tracked her down.

This bit may not be entirely coherent, because I’m still processing all this and that woman scares the shit out of me. She claims that in addition to the three branches of the Church (the Repentia, the Dictorum (scholars mostly) and the Maledictum (knights, guards, the police equivalent, the people who murder people for magic)), there’s a fourth, consisting of fourteen people who answer only to Rhom and make all the decisions for literally everyone. I’m not entirely clear on that point tbh but that’s not the important part. This woman--who goes only by N--claims that she’s one of these people, and that Mercer used to be one too. N says that she’s hunting Mercer as well, but only for the Augur that she stole, that she has some kind of claim on the power that used to be within it. She gave Aurelia the empty vessel, the thing that used to be the Augur, but now it’s impotent and worthless. And she’ll do whatever it takes to take back what she believes to have been stolen from her. She’ll kill Mercer, without a doubt, and Aurelia has no trouble believing that she would kill a child if it got in her way. She left Aurelia with a warning: if Aurelia can get her back that power, she won’t kill Mercer outright. But she says she’s very close to finding her, and Aurelia is very, very far behind.

Needless to say, Aurelia is fucking terrified right now. My DM did allow me to make a disadvantaged insight check on my memory of the conversation, since I was too caught up in plot to think of it at the time, and I was able to get the general vibe that maybe she doesn’t know quite as much as she thinks she does, but still.

But we did get one more lead. One of the places N was known to frequent was a grocer, and after easily kicking the asses of some thugs who were threatening the guy running it, Aurelia was able to get a bit more information. The man’s name was Enoch, and he knew Mercer. He’d been friends with her, actually. But the last time he saw her was a few months before, and all she said was that she was “going home.”

We’re still trying to figure out what that means, because she didn’t really have a home. She had where she was born, which was our initial thought, but she barely ever lived there. She was raised in the Repentia, and at least as far as Aurelia knew, she never really thought of a physical place as home. We can only hope that N made our initial mistake, thinking that she would return to where her family came from, and that she was dropping some kind of hint so Aurelia could find her before anyone else.

Last bit of information that Aurelia doesn’t know yet: we’re about to be majorly fucked over. Kallista, last session, encountered an asshat of a cardinal who seems to think he has the right to conscript the six of us to the front lines of the war (the war being, pretty much, the Dominion vs the Rest of the World). And he threatened to destroy the mind of Kallista’s best friend if she doesn’t bring us back, fully on board, in the next twenty-four hours. So that’s, y’know. Not great. I do have an idea to get around it, but I have no idea if it’ll work for all of us, or even for more than just me. But, ah. We’ll see, I guess.

This has been me ranting about my D&D character. If you actually read this whole thing, congratulations! Also thanks. I really do love her. If you actually read this whole thing and have questions, feel free to ask me questions! There’s a lot of stuff going on, and mostly I was hoping to gather a few of my thoughts by typing them up. Haven’t had any new epiphanies yet, but the night is young. Also @risualto wanted to be kept apprised of the situation, so. Here’s the situation.

[gluupor]

Andreil. A Knight and Day AU, please!

So, uh, I have no idea what this is. I’ve never seen Knight and Day and only have the vaguest idea what it’s about (spies, maybe???). Instead of doing the logical thing, and admitting that and turning down the request or looking into the movie, instead I wrote this: which is definitely not what you wanted or asked for. Oh, but @annawrites it has a fake relationship! But again, probably not what you wanted. Sorry anon! Enjoy anyway, I guess?

Whenever anyone asked Neil what he did for a living, he responded by saying he was a spy. This always was met with impressed faces and probing questions about his job. Was it like being James Bond? everyone always wanted to know. Was he out there, taking names and kicking ass? Neil always tapped the side of his nose conspiratorially and said that he couldn’t talk about it, that it was classified.

He wasn’t lying. He was a spy. What he didn’t mention was that he didn’t work for the CIA or the FBI or the NSA. No, he worked for the IRS. He was an accountant spy.

His job consisted of going undercover at suspect companies and looking for evidence that they were committing tax fraud or other white collar crime. He suspected that all the people who were so impressed with his profession would be less so if they knew the particulars.

Luckily, there weren’t all that many people who asked. He socialized mainly with his coworkers at the IRS (who, obviously, were aware of what he did for a living) or with his coworkers when he was undercover (and it’s not like he could tell them that he was spying on them).

In general, he liked his work. It brought together his two biggest talents: math and lying about his identity. He knew that some of his coworkers, like Dan and Matt, had lofty goals and ideals about making the world a better place by punishing the rich, but Neil was in it for the money.

As good as he was (and he was very good) every so often he made mistakes. Like today.

“Come on, pick up,” he muttered into his phone. “Pick up, pick up, pick up.”

“Foxes’ Dry Cleaning,” answered Dan’s cheerful voice. “We clean up your messes.”

“Hey, babe,” said Neil.

“‘Babe’?” repeated Dan. “Our relationship seems to have gotten a lot more serious without my knowledge.”

“How are you? Still free tonight?”

“I’m pretty sure that your current identity doesn’t have a significant other,” sighed Dan. “What happened?”

“Well, you know how I wasn’t planning on being out at work?” asked Neil.

“Neil,” groaned Dan.

“I know, but I was caught off guard, Chad,” said Neil, testily. “So I need to know if you’re free to come to the office party tonight?”

“Everyone’s busy.”

“Mmm-hmmm,” said Neil. “I know that, but I would really appreciate—”

“I’ll see what I can do.”

“Everyone wants to meet my husband.”

“You’re usually better at obfuscating,” grumbled Dan. “Someone will be there by five.”

“Great,” said Neil in relief. “It means a lot to me. Love you.”

“I’m going to tell Andrew you said that.”

“Okay, bye.” Neil hung up and rubbed a hand through his hair. Goddamn Barbara. This was all her fault.

She was one of those well-meaning busybody types with her nose in everyone’s business, telling them how to live their lives. Neil did not feel guilty at all that he was probably going to be arresting her for tax evasion in the near future.

He’d been doing pretty well at brushing her off when she asked about his personal life, sharing only little bits about his fake background. He’d also been successful so far at shutting down her attempts to set him up. All it had taken was one momentary lapse when he hadn’t had his guard up.

“I invited someone to the office party tonight that I really think you should meet,” Barbara had said.

“Mmm,” said Neil, completely noncommittally, focused on his calculations. He was missing something, somewhere. It wasn’t adding up properly.

“I really think you’ll like her, she’s super great.”

“No.”

“Oh, come on. You need someone to take care of you.”

“I’m married,” Neil had muttered, his mouth saying the words without permission from his brain. “Uh,” he said, catching himself and looking up. “I mean…”

Her eyes had narrowed at his left ring finger which was completely bare. She raised one eyebrow skeptically. “Really? How come you never mentioned it before?”

“Look,” said Neil, checking around to make sure no one was close enough to eavesdrop. “I didn’t say anything because I wasn’t sure how people here would react to… him.”

“Oh!” said Barbara, suddenly flustered. “I didn’t know you were— not that there’s anything wrong with that,” she hastily tacked on.

“If you could keep it to yourself?” he asked. “I’m not ready to be, you know, out here.”

“Of course,” she said, nodding a lot and watching him with newfound interest. “Of course I won’t tell anybody.”

Neil had not had high hopes and his lack of trust in her discretion had been proven correct less than an hour later when Evelyn, a very professional HR rep, had stiffly stood next to his desk.

“I am sorry,” she’d said, “Mr. Jacobs, that you have felt the need to hide your sexuality.”

“Oh, please don’t—” started Neil.

“This company is very accepting of a variety of different lifestyles and I want to ensure you that we will swiftly deal with any person that is making you feel uncomfortable.”

“Uh,” said Neil, stupidly.

“As such, we request that you invite your… partner to the office party tonight. He will be welcomed with open arms.”

“I don’t—”

“Oh, Neil, you have to,” said Barbara, popping up from god-knew-where. “We feel simply horrible that you’ve felt the need to keep this from us!”

Neil opened his mouth and closed it, feeling like a fish. He turned back to Evelyn. “This whole conversation is making me feel uncomfortable,” he tried.

“We look forward to meeting your partner tonight,” Evelyn replied.

“Husband,” Neil said grumpily. He hated the term ‘partner’.

“I can’t wait!” said Barbara.

Which was when Neil had given up arguing and decided to call Dan for help. There was only one thing that could solve this problem: a fake husband.

He’d teamed up with several of his co-workers before, pretending to be married. It was easier to work with a supporting partner and having a spouse that came to visit him at work was a good cover. But he didn’t need a normal husband for this. He needed Chad.

It was originally Erik who had made up the persona. He’d been working with Dan at the time and she needed him to pretend to be her boyfriend at a party at the company she was investigating. She told him to be as distracting as possible but to remain above suspicion.

Erik had taken these directions and created Chad: a golden retriever of a human being. He was a personal trainer/masseur/underwear model, who had a smile like sunshine and absolutely nothing going on below the surface. He was so pretty and dumb that everyone instantly understood that he was arm candy. He’d smiled beguilingly and let Dan’s middle aged female coworkers pinch his biceps. He’d been so distracting that Dan had successfully planted several bugs in executives’ offices while everyone was looking at her perfect boyfriend. After that, Chad had been a tool that all of them used from time to time.

Nicky, Jeremy, and Matt were all very good at being Chad (Erik was still the master), Kevin and Neil were passable, and no one asked the twins to do it after Andrew had tried once and made everyone incredibly uncomfortable with his wide grin.

There was also a female version of Chad, called Candi (with an i) that Allison always had too much fun pretending to be, although she was better at being a bored, bitter trophy wife.

Neil knew that they were swamped right now; there was a reason that he didn’t already have a backup fake significant other. He felt bad for his slip up, but having a Chad at the party tonight would be useful. He’d found quite a few irregularities in his accounting and he wanted to bug his boss’ office to get an idea of how widespread and intentional the tax fraud was. He hoped that Matt was available to come, although Kevin would be fine, too. Those were the two he worked with most often.

He spent the rest of the afternoon half-focused on his work and half-worrying about the party that evening.

It wasn’t until Barbara was standing by his desk, rocking excitedly on the balls of her feet that Neil was made aware of the time.

“Jameson,” she said, addressing him by his undercover name. He was pretending to be a trust fund douchebag and he had a name to match. “Is he on his way?” Her excitement was palpable, although Neil had no idea why.

“I’m sure he is,” answered Neil. He actually had no clue who was coming or how to contact them, but he trusted Dan not to let him down.

“What’s he like?”

“Uh,” stuttered Neil, desperately trying to come up with the most generic description ever that didn’t include any hints to Chad’s physical appearance. “Nice.”

Barbara gave him an unimpressed look, but he was saved by his office phone ringing. He pointed at it and she sighed happily.

“Mr. Jacobs?” said the gruff voice of the building’s security guard. “I have a Chad Jacobs here to see you.”

“I’ll be right down,” said Neil, heading to the elevators. Barbara was still watching him with heart eyes as the elevator doors closed between them.

He spent the trip down wordlessly thanking Dan for sending someone to save him. Once he arrived, he smiled in relief at the familiar blond head. He always felt best with Andrew at his back, even though Andrew made a poor Chad. It wasn’t until he’d taken a couple steps out of the elevator that he realized his mistake.

Aaron looked like he was on the way to the executioner’s block as opposed to an office party where he’d have to pretend to be his real-life brother-in-law’s fake husband for the evening. Although, Neil was in agreement that there wasn’t a lot of difference between the two.

“Babe,” he made himself say, reaching out a hand. “Come upstairs.”

Aaron pushed past him into the elevator without acknowledging him.

“Ground rules,” he said as soon as they were alone. “I’ve decided that Chad is uncomfortable with PDA.”

“Remember that Chad is gay and shouldn’t be caught staring at women’s breasts,” Neil said snippily in return.

“Maybe Chad is bisexual and is considering leaving you.”

“You’re here to back me up, not to make this harder,” grumbled Neil. “Could you try to pretend to like me?”

“It’s not like you like me.”

“You are not even in the top three people who I hate most in the world right now.”

“Really?” said Aaron with interest. “I thought I was usually number one. Who’s beating me?”

“Well, Dan, obviously, for sending you.” Aaron nodded in agreement. “Andrew, for not being available to come himself. And Kevin.”

“Kevin? Kevin didn’t do anything.”

“Everything is at least partially Kevin’s fault.”

“Fair,” Aaron paused. “What do they know about me?”

“That your name is Chad, that we are married, and that you’re nice.”

Aaron glared. “Fine,” he muttered, and took Neil’s hand. His palm with warm and clammy and Neil resisted the urge to snatch his hand away and wipe it on his pants.

“I’m going to murder Dan,” he muttered, as the elevator arrived at his floor. “Smile!” he added. “We’re in love.”

“Great,” sighed Aaron, pasting an unconvincing smile on his face.

As soon as they got back to headquarters, a raucous cheer greeted them. Matt popped the cork out of a bottle of champagne.

“Mazel tov to the happy couple!” he shouted.

“Yeah, yeah, you’re hilarious,” muttered Aaron. “Give me some of that so I can forget this ever happened.”

“Aw, did your husband not treat you well?” chortled Nicky.

Aaron set his jaw and didn’t answer.

“Did you get the bugs placed?” Dan asked.

“Yes,” said Neil, giving a full-body shudder.

“What?” said Dan, noting his reaction. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” replied Neil. Dan was not impressed, her expression demanding. “I almost got caught. It’s okay, it worked out.”

“How did it work out?” asked Allison, sounding completely delighted.

“Give me the alcohol,” said Aaron sharply.

“Come on, tell us!” cajoled Erik.

“I hate all of you,” said Aaron.

“It’s all in good fun,” said Renee.

“Yes,” said Neil dryly. “Hopefully one day we’ll find it just as funny as the rest of you already do.”

“Tell us! Tell us what you’re hiding!” said Katelyn.

Aaron sighed heavily. “He dragged me into a closet and got on his knees. Then I had to make fake sex noises until one of his coworkers caught us. It was the worst moment of my life. I would appreciate the oblivion of alcohol now.”

Everybody laughed heartily and looked to Andrew for his reaction.

He shook his head at Neil. “I don’t answer your call once and you elope with my brother?”

“Serves you right,” replied Neil.

Andrew stepped closer to him, lips twitching.

Neil glared at him. “Not you, too.”

“I always wanted the two of you to get along better, but this is not what I meant.”

“You’re going to regret making jokes when I leave you for him.”

“You’re not going to do that,” said Andrew seriously, although his hazel eyes were still amused.

“You know how petty I can be.”

“You won’t,” reiterated Andrew with confidence. “You only swing for me.” He pulled Neil into a kiss and he immediately melted. He didn’t know how Andrew could affect him like this, after seven years of marriage and over a decade together.

Still. He wasn’t going to let this go that easily. “Mmm,” he moaned. “Aaron.”

Andrew pinched his waist in retaliation.

Nearby, Aaron whimpered unhappily into his champagne.

[fyeahfantasticfour]

Can you tell me the backstory behind Nathaniel Richards(Reed's father) and if possible maybe Franklin Storm(Sue and Johnny's father) as well?

Sure! First Franklin Storm because he appears in significantly fewer comics and is less complicated than the time-traveling lothario who is Nathaniel Richards.

Franklin was a famous neurosurgeon whose life fell apart after his wife died in a tragic car accident. He performed the surgery on her and failed to save her life, and of course blamed himself for all of it. (I suspect the sliding timescale would erase the surgery part at the very least – there’s no way that anyone nowadays would allow a man to operate on his own wife, especially if he’d just survived a terrible car accident.)

After his wife died, he began to drink heavily and gambled away his family’s entire fortune, leaving Johnny and Sue penniless, and, when a loan shark showed up to collect on one of his debts and pulled a gun, Franklin attacked him. The gun went off while they were struggling over it, the man died, and Franklin was sent to prison for murder, partially because he was too despondent to try to defend himself. 

Sue told Johnny their father died, and they were sent to live with their Aunt Marygay Jewel Dinkins. Sue kept lying to Johnny for YEARS about their father’s death, which is, uh, pretty messed up. There was never any real emotional fallout between Johnny and Sue over the revelation that she’d been lying to him for so long, even though there should have been.

Cut for length.

This is the backstory we get in Fantastic Four v1 #32:

How old Johnny and Sue were when their mother died and father went to jail has varied significantly over time as canon has shifted, but Johnny was likely extremely young at the time.

But, honestly, Franklin Storm checked out of being an actual father to Sue and Johnny long before he was stuck in a jail cell – even before his wife died. In Fantastic Four v1 #528, Reed speculates that Sue’s invisibility may have been a byproduct of feeling neglected by her bickering, indifferent parents:

He was never a good father.

In Fantastic Four v1 #31, Sue sees a newspaper headline saying her father escaped from jail – apparently, however, no one in the press had connected the dots between her and Johnny and their father:

Sue doesn’t mention any of this to Johnny because he still thinks his father is dead.

We’re never given an explanation for why he escaped, but when Sue’s badly injured, he shows up at the hospital and operates on her, thus saving her life and sort of, supposedly, redeeming himself for failing to save his wife. This, by the way, is how Johnny finds out his father is still alive.

Franklin operates on Sue, saves her life, and immediately gets carted back off to prison, where he’s attacked and replaced by the Super Skrull, who then escapes and goes around masquerading as him, dressed as a guy called the Invincible Man. The FF, of course, are sent to take him down, but Johnny and Sue don’t know what to do because they don’t want to hurt their father:

Reed figures out he’s an impostor, so he contacts the Skrulls and arranges a prisoner exchange – the Super Skrull for Franklin. When Franklin is teleported home in the Super Skrull’s place, however, he warns them all to stand back, rolls over, and thus shields them all from the bomb that’d been strapped to his chest. Somehow, he lives long enough to give a dying speech to his children about how he always loved them and how he hopes this all redeems him for having been a terrible father:

So, yeah, that’s the story of how Johnny and Sue had to watch their father die.

I also wonder how much of Johnny’s personality was influenced by his dad – when he’s hurting, he drinks and parties, the sacrifice play is his go-to…and, look, I’m not convinced that there isn’t a lengthy history of chronic depression in Johnny’s family that Johnny inherited.

On to Nathaniel!

Nathaniel Richards began working, in the 1950s, as a member of the Brotherhood of the Shield alongside Howard Stark. They were told that they had to abandon their families and both agreed. Howard had no qualms whatsoever, even arranging to have his death faked, but Nathaniel swore he’d come back to his son someday. Given the fact that Howard says “them,” I’m assuming Nathaniel’s wife, Evelyn, was still alive, meaning Reed had to have been younger than seven at the time, since that’s how old he was when she died. This means also that Nathaniel was likely gone a lot during Reed’s childhood.

This is from S.H.I.E.L.D. v1 #5:

….I’m beginning to wonder if Nathaniel was even around when Evelyn died. Nathaniel’s basically the guy who chose science and the greater good over family – i.e., everything Reed haters accuse Reed of being when he isn’t, and that’s in direct reaction to his father. Reed tries so hard to be a good, present father because his father wasn’t.

We know that when Nathaniel visited Reed in college a few years later, Nathaniel acted as though he hadn’t seen Reed since Reed was a child – probably since he began working for the Brotherhood. This is from Hickman’s run – Fantastic Four v1 #581:

We find out in Fantastic Four v1 #271 that Nathaniel disappeared for good about three years before the spaceflight crash and left Reed two billion dollars, which Reed used up to fund his rocket. Reed hadn’t seen him at all since then.

He clearly knew he was going to be gone for a while.

Reed and the FF find Nathaniel’s time platform in his lab at the Richards family estate, and Reed realizes that his father’s blueprints are incorrect and that he must have been shunted off into an alternate universe, so they go to rescue him. In Fantastic Four v1 #272, they discover that there’s a cruel warlord who has taken over the alternate Earth, who Reed realizes, much to his dismay, is his father. 

Yeah, this account of Reed’s childhood doesn’t entirely match up with what later writers did with Nathaniel.

But anyways, it turns out Nathaniel’s been fooled by his wife, who is actually the warlord and had been using Nathaniel’s scientific knowledge to conquer the planet. Nathaniel eventually decides to stay on this parallel world and try to make amends, and also raise his baby son, Reed’s half-brother. It turns out at the end of this issue – which is expanded upon in Avengers v1 #269 – that this reality is actually the one Kang the Conqueror is from, and that Kang, whose real name is Nathaniel Richards, is actually Nathaniel’s descendant and/or son, and thus distantly related to Reed or his half-brother. 

So Nathaniel basically went to an alternate world and started a new family, away from Reed.

Nathaniel doesn’t return until Fantastic Four v1 #375, but when he does it’s just to cause trouble. This is the characterization of Nathaniel that’s stuck. He cares about his family, but he’s almost ruthlessly practical when it comes to protecting the timestream, and he’ll lie, manipulate, and deceive his family to make that happen. Reed and Sue discover that in Fantastic Four v1 #376, when Nathaniel kidnaps his grandson in order to prevent some apocalyptic future from occurring.

Franklin returns moments later…but instead of a 5yo, he’s a teenager, raised in the future by his grandfather. Reed and Sue discover they’ve missed his entire childhood, and Sue, for one, is livid and refuses to believe it.

The FF, understandably, have a very difficult time forgiving Nathaniel for this. They mostly think of him as manipulative, self-serving, and largely uninterested in his family.

When Reed is seemingly killed in action, Nathaniel shows up for the reading of his will…and Ben clearly despises and distrusts him. From Fantastic Four: Unplugged #2:

Despite Nathaniel’s mistreatment of Reed, Reed keeps seeking his approval and love, but Nathaniel consistently denies it to him. We see this in Marvel Knights 4 #18, when Reed begs his father to stick around and actually be a parent, and Nathaniel just…leaves.

Reed always sees the best in everyone….even if it’s difficult.

We discover too that Nathaniel has been posing as Doom because he is searching for his son, who is destined to become the absolute ruler of Latveria. Sue at first assumes he means Doom, but it turns out he was talking about Kristoff, Doom’s adopted son, who is thus Nathaniel’s biological son and Reed’s half-brother.

In Fantastic Four v1 #581, we find out that an explosion that occurred while Nathaniel was working for the Brotherhood left him potentially immortal and with the ability to travel through time. Also, that it affected every Nathaniel in every universe, and that they were all ordered by Immortus and the Time Variance Authority to hunt each other down and kill each other until there’s only one left. Nathaniel gets Reed, Ben, and Victor to help him murder the final one. I am…so impressed by Nathaniel’s parenting skills. What kind of parent wouldn’t disappear for YEARS and then reappear only to ask their college-aged kid and his friends to help them murder their alternate self?

He is so bad at parenting. It’s really a wonder Reed turned out so well.

Hope that helped!

[kcaruth]

Movie Mania: Top 10 of 2018

This one was difficult. Those who have followed this blog for a while will know that for the past two years I have done a top 15 list of favorite films. That is largely because 2016 and 2017 cranked out so many great films, and I could not restrict myself to 10. However, 2018 turned out to be a rather lackluster year for film, in my opinion. Sure, there were some high points, but overall it was disappointing. It was actually easy to stick to a list of 10 this time, and those 10 films are all deserving of praise. I just wish they had some tougher competition to go up against. I digress, though. I now give you my spoiler-free list of favorite films of 2018.

Honorable Mention: Bumblebee

A collaboration between Travis Knight, the director of Kubo and the Two Strings, and Hailee Steinfeld? Count me in!

I stopped following the Transformers franchise after 2011′s Transformers: Dark of the Moon. One can only endure so many mind-numbing Michael Bay explosions before all of his or her brain cells die out. Here is a fun exercise that one of my college professors taught me; try it next time a Michael Bay Transformers movie comes on. Every time there is a cut, tap a pen or pencil or clap your hands. Frankly, it is quite overwhelming and hard to keep up with, and it is difficult not to notice every single unnecessary, jarring cut after becoming conscious of them through this exercise.

Contrast that with 2018′s Bumblebee. At Knight’s direction, the film forgoes most of those flashy explosions in favor of a more intimate approach to actual character development. Knight wisely chooses to keep the audience grounded and focused on the human characters, namely Steinfeld’s Charlie Watson, a teenage girl who is still struggling to come to terms with the death of her father while harboring resentment of her mother for remarrying. As far as the robots go, while the other Transformers movies went overboard with filling the screen with as many Decepticons and Autobots as they could, Knight really only has the titular Bumblebee and a couple of Decepticons hunting him down, ensuring that the action scenes and the film itself do not feel too bloated. Bumblebee is the course correction that this franchise so desperately needed.

#10: Eighth Grade

I was cringing throughout the run time of Eighth Grade, but somehow that is a compliment to this film. Uncompromising in its excruciating honesty, Eighth Grade hits the bullseye when it targets the audience’s empathy for an anxious 13-year-old during her last week of eighth grade named Kayla Day, played by Elsie Fisher. As his debut feature film, writer-director Bo Burnham has stated that he drew inspiration from his own struggles with social anxiety, so the script feels genuine and absent of any Hollywood edits. While Kayla is certainly the main focus of the film, Burnham provides a surprisingly touching character arc for her single father, Mark, played by Josh Hamilton. Mark desperately attempts to connect with his teenage daughter, but it seems like all she cares about having a connection with is her phone and social media. With themes of mental health, heavy use of social media, and sexuality, Burnham delivers one of the most uncomfortable scenes I have ever sat through in a movie theater, which is most likely exactly how he intended it to feel.

I cannot help but compare Eighth Grade to 2016′s Edge of Seventeen, another coming-of-age comedy-drama about a teenage girl by a debut director. If I was given the choice between the two films, I would pick Edge of Seventeen, which I believe is much more re-watchable, garnering that intended empathetic response from the audience with half the cringe. Both are brilliant, but those who have not seen Edge of Seventeen should do themselves a favor and give it a watch.

#9: Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

With so much hate and negativity in the world today, Morgan Neville’s documentary about Fred Rogers is a shining beacon of hope that restores one’s faith in humanity. Using archival footage as well as interviews with those closest to Rogers, Neville paints an intimate portrait of the man who welcomed audiences into his neighborhood through his pioneering television program. Without deifying Rogers, Neville shows how this American treasure dedicated every fiber of his being to teaching children how to be upstanding human beings who care deeply for one another, despite our differences. This documentary proves that Rogers’ lessons were not just for children, though. In fact, Won’t You Be My Neighbor? often feels like a one-on-one session with Rogers, encouraging audience members that they are all capable of good through simple acts of kindness.

#8: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

Unfortunately, this American western is sure to fly under most people’s radar because it was a Netflix release that I do not recall having much fanfare and advertising. Written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen, this film is an anthology of six different vignettes set in the American West. Sporting a stellar cast with the likes of Liam Neeson, Tim Blake Nelson, James Franco, Zoe Kazan, Brendan Gleeson, and more, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs flexes the Coen’s signature style of dark drama and black humor while impressively tackling all of the sub-genres within the greater Western genre.

Each of the vignettes are tied together by death in some form or fashion. While my ranking of them changes from day to day, my favorite and least favorite remain consistent. It is virtually impossible to not fall in love with the first vignette, “The Ballad of Buster Scruggs,” which is about a cheerful outlaw known just as widely for his singing as his gunslinging. The final vignette featuring a handful of characters cramped together on a stagecoach ride called “The Mortal Remains,” on the other hand, feels somewhat out of place and ends the film with a bit of a dud. Along the way between these two vignettes, however, viewers encounter enchanting tales of a bank robber, an impresario and his artist, a prospector, and a wagon train on the Oregon Trail.

As the Coen’s first film to be shot digitally, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs boasts some impressive cinematography, especially when it comes to wide sweeping shots, like any decent Western should. It also features a wonderfully delightful score that I desperately hope gets an Oscar nod. Not a week has gone by since I have watched this film where I do not find myself humming one of the songs or music from it. The acting throughout the different vignettes of the film is topnotch, and the actors look like they are having a blast in their roles.The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is a fun time that leaves viewers longing for more time in the American West. For those who cannot find the time to sit down for the whole film, I must urge them to at least watch the first vignette about Buster Scruggs, which is worth the price of admission on its own.

#7: Isle of Dogs

Set in a dystopian Japan, Wes Anderson’s stop-motion animated Isle of Dogs tells the story of a boy searching for his dog on Trash Island after an outbreak of canine flu. Voiced by an all-star cast including Bryan Cranston, Jeff Goldblum, Scarlett Johansson, and Bill Murray, Isle of Dogs is an epic adventure with its fair share of plot twists along the way. Alexandre Desplat provides a brilliant score for the film that matches Anderson’s comedic quirkiness and thematic choices. I would not consider myself a fan of Anderson’s distinct film style, but I do consider myself a huge fan of dogs and enjoyed Isle of Dogs. (Get the title of the film? Pronounce it out loud quickly. I Love Dogs.)

#6: Game Night

Game Night made me laugh out loud like I have not done in a long time at the movie theater. Starring Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams, the film follows the hilariously ridiculous premise of a group of friends whose game night gets wrapped up in a criminal escapade. In addition to Bateman and McAdams’ great, fun chemistry as the husband and wife duo of Max and Annie Davis, Jesse Plemons’ portrayal of Gary Kingsbury, Max and Annie’s weird neighbor, delivers some moments of pure laughter. For a film that is high on laughs, Game Night manages to string the audience along with its surprisingly competent mystery, complete with reveals and twists that both shock and amuse viewers. Be sure to stick around for the credits and post-credits.

#5: A Quiet Place

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big baby when it comes to horror movies. I absolutely loathe jump scares and will watch horror movies through my fingers if I am forced to watch one. However, I had heard so much positive buzz about John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place that I could not allow myself to make this list without seeing it first, and boy am I glad I summoned the courage to see it. A Quiet Place is a masterclass in tension, tone, pacing, sound design, and character development.

The plot centers around the Abbott family in a post-apocalyptic world inhabited by blind monsters that attack any source of sound with their heightened sense of hearing. Nothing is known about the origins of these monsters, only that they have wiped out most human and animal life on Earth. In this hopeless world, Lee and Evelyn Abbott struggle to fill their children with hope for the future.

The performances in A Quiet Place are some of the best of the year. The actors have an added degree of difficulty of having very minimal to no dialogue during the entire film, so their facial expressions and body language have to do most of the talking. One of the more impressive feats of A Quiet Place is the characters communicate in American Sign Language, and the actors actually learned ASL for the film. Millicent Simmonds, who plays Regan Abbott, is deaf and knows ASL, so she was able to help her co-stars with ASL, make corrections, and suggest improvements.

Krasinski has said that A Quiet Place is all about parenthood. Along with this theme, the film contains many Christian images and themes that are fascinating to pick apart and ponder. With so much depth, A Quiet Place delivers an original story that grips audiences. Although I did not see it in theaters, I am sure that people could hear a pen drop in their viewings.

#4: Bohemian Rhapsody

For all of its inaccuracies, creative liberties, and unevenness, Bohemian Rhapsody took the world by storm as the highest grossing music biopic and reinvigorated a love of Queen and its leading man, Freddie Mercury. Rami Malek runs away with the film as he disappears into his role as Mercury, so much so that audience members might have to pinch themselves to remember that they are not watching the real Freddie Mercury. Seriously, Malek has to be a surefire Oscar contender for this performance. Not only does he masterfully recreate Mercury’s mannerisms and moves onstage, he also channels his pain and feelings of isolation to bring audiences a fully realized depiction of the superstar. The supporting cast is good too, although Malek’s stellar performance does overshadow them, through no fault of their own.

For its finale, Bohemian Rhapsody gifts audiences with one of the most moving, memorable set pieces in all of film for 2018, the 1985 Live Aid concert. In a word, it is epic. Bohemian Rhapsody teaches lessons of acceptance, love, individuality, and the power of music and leaves viewers wishing they could have had a few more years with the amazing Freddie Mercury. This is one of those instances where the majority of critics should be ignored. Even if viewers are new to Queen, they should not miss this film.

#3: Green Book

Bolstered by fantastic performances by Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali, Peter Farrelly’s Green Book takes a relatively unknown true story about a concert tour to the Deep South in the 1960s with African-American pianist Dr. Don Shirley (Ali) and his driver/bodyguard, Italian-American Tony Vallelonga (Mortensen), and tackles its subject matter without being too heavy-handed and maintaining respect for its characters. The script treats Vallelonga and Shirley as real human beings. Contrary to most film tropes, neither completely changes his character after a single event or incident. Instead, that change occurs slowly over the course of their road trip. Both men learn from one another, despite their disparate backgrounds. Mortensen and Ali are both worthy of Oscar nominations, though I think I would give the edge to Mortensen.

For a film about racism, identity, and the dangerous Jim Crow South, Green Book remains accessible to all audiences. It is full of heart and is brimming with that feel-good aura. As Mick LaSalle wrote in The San Francisco Chronicle, Green Book is “so big in its spirit, that the movie acquires a glow. It achieves that glow slowly, but by the middle and certainly by the end, it's there, the sense of something magical happening, on screen and within the audience.”

#2: Annihilation

I have not stopped thinking about Alex Garland’s Annihilation since it came out way back in February. Garland, the director of one of my favorite films released in 2015 Ex Machina, puts together an impressive cast starring Natalie Portman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Tuva Novotny, and Oscar Isaac to deliver a truly intoxicating film that leaves audiences deep in thought well after the credits roll. Based on Jeff VanderMeer’s novel of the same name, Annihilation follows a group of scientists who enter a mysterious quarantined area known as the Shimmer. Inside the Shimmer, flora and fauna undergo uncontrollable mutations. The scientists explore the Shimmer in an attempt to learn its secrets and discover what happened to the military team that was sent in before them.

The atmospheric, bone-chilling score sticks in viewers’ memories and adds to the intense tone of the film. Speaking of tone, Annihilation might bring audiences to the verge of suffocation because of how breathtaking it is. It has possibly the scariest, most dreadful scene of any film from this decade that comes from the stuff of nightmares and leaves audiences haunted. For all of its terrifying elements, however, this sci-fi film also showcases some downright gorgeous scenes that let the imagination run wild. Unlike many sci-fi films these days, Annihilation is not afraid to slow down and let scenes marinate in viewers’ minds. With so many avenues to explore as far as themes go, from ethics to grief to depression to humanity’s propensity for its own self-destruction, Annihilation is a film that should be talked about for a long time to come.

#1: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

This was the easiest decision on my whole list. No other film came close to the number one spot after I saw Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. I remember seeing trailers for this film throughout 2018, but I did not have high expectations for it and almost blew it off. After all, with all of the Spider-Man films we have had in recent years, how could this one stand out apart from its animation?

The hype is real. Spider-Man is one of the most well-rounded films of 2018. It expertly balances its genuinely funny comedic moments with its emotionally moving dramatic ones. It takes risks that pay off with its bold storytelling, which is full of charm and satisfying superhero action. There is obvious care and attention to detail poured into every frame of this film, a work of art that is a love letter to superhero comic books. The creators of the film wanted it to feel like "you walked inside a comic book," and they hit it out of the park. The computer-generated animation works in concert with line drawings, paintings, dots, and various comic book art styles to make the film look like it was created by hand. It even has word boxes and bubbles that somehow are not too obstructive or distracting. As Todd Howard, the director and executive producer at Bethesda Game Studios, is famous for saying, “all of this just works.”

For such a large ensemble of characters voiced by ingenious choices like Mahershala Ali, Hailee Steinfeld, and Nicolas Cage, Spider-Man gives each of them equal footing while keeping the spotlight squarely on Miles Morales (Shameik Moore), the new Spider-Man. Lily Tomlin voices what may be my favorite version of Aunt May, and many other Spider-Man staple characters make great appearances.

The soundtrack is catchy and fits the bill for what a kid Miles’ age would listen to. There are tons of Easter eggs for hardcore Spider-Man fans to uncover, and there are pop culture winks and nods that most people familiar with the Spider-Man franchise will understand and enjoy. Of course, the late, great Stan Lee has a touching cameo, one of his best yet.

Every part of this stand-alone story feels fresh, and the characters have so much depth to them. It is hard to come up with an original concept that reinvents the superhero genre, but Spider-Man has done just that and more. This revolutionary, culturally important film was a joy to watch, and it may go down as the best Spider-Man film yet. Certainly, it has to be a serious contender for the best film of 2018.

The following are a list of all of the films I saw from 2018, in no particular order:

·         Green Book

·         The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

·         Pope Francis: A Man of His Word

·         My Hero Academia: Two Heroes

·         Black Panther

·         Annihilation

·         Game Night

·         Ready Player One

·         Isle of Dogs

·         A Quiet Place

·         Avengers: infinity War

·         Deadpool 2

·         Solo: A Star Wars Story

·         Incredibles 2

·         Ant-Man and the Wasp

·         BlacKkKlansman

·         Bad Times at the El Royale

·         Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle

·         First Man

·         Ralph Breaks the Internet

·         Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

·         Aquaman

·         Bumblebee

·         Bohemian Rhapsody

·         Bird Box

·         Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

·         Eighth Grade

My 2017 film list: http://kcaruth.tumblr.com/post/171040800751/movie-mania-top-15-of-2017

My 2016 film list: http://kcaruth.tumblr.com/post/156340406236/movie-mania-top-15-of-2016

[bellmcres-blog]

Character Basics:

Full Name:  Evelyn Caista Masters.

Age: Twenty-Five.

Occupation: Actress.

Pronouns: She/Her.

Gender: Female.

Hometown: San Antonio, Texas.

Current Neighborhood: Nottingham

Highest Education: College Graduate.

Character Quote: “I know you want me to care, but I don’t so you’re gonna have to get over it.”

Family and Relationships:

Parents: Joseph Elijah Masters (father, 48, Actor, Producer, Director), Miranda Louise Anderson (mother, 48, Actress, Author, Fashion Designer, entrepreneur)

Siblings: Efraim Uriah Masters (eldest, 30, Doctor), Elrad Wesley Masters, 2nd eldest, 30, deceased) Ezekiel Omari Masters (older half-brother, 27, rapper, actor), Giovanni Nora Masters (older half-sister, 26, aspiring heiress), Guinevere Raquel Masters (twin sister, 25, former actress, journalist), Elijah Dishon King Masters (younger brother, 23, actor, musician).

Children: None.

Other: Evelyn Guinevere James-Masters (niece, Efraim’s daughter 6 months old)

Pets: 2 dogs.

Sexual Orientation: Bisexual.

Romantic Orientation: Biromantic.

Marital Status: Married. (technically)

Anything else: Nope.

History:  

—— IF THERE WAS EVER TWO PEOPLE IN THE WORLD WHO

were never meant to have a child, let alone six, it was Joseph Elijah Masters and Miranda Collette Rivers. Now as fate should have the two selfish individuals met the summer after they had both turned seventeen, on the set of a movie they both hoped would launch their careers and the instant they laid eyes upon each other sparks flew between the two. As time went on working so close together the inevitable happened and in-between the fits of passion and lust circulating between them came, their fights making it obvious the two were not meant to last. Both wanted to be the dominant one in the relationship, both wanted to be right all of the time, and often fought over silliest of things, neither one ever willing to be wrong. By the end of the summer, the two were at each other’s throats never wanting to see the other again. Unfortunately from their passion came a baby or so they thought. The moment Miranda discovered she was pregnant she turned to her older sister Evelyn for comfort, leaning on her for support hoping she would agree with her when she decided abortion was the only option. Unfortunately for her, her happily married sister who had been trying for a baby for three years and had finally just found out she herself was pregnant did not see it the same way. She went behind her back and told Joseph and his father about Miranda’s plans to get rid of the baby and immediately Joseph’s father took action.

—— THE MAN FELT GUILTY ABOUT THE SELFISH & CHILDISH MAN,

his son was starting to become and decided he was going to have to take responsibility for his actions. not to mention he desperately wanted to be there for his grandchild, knowing full well what idiots its parents were. The man went as far as to make a deal with Miranda to keep the baby and exchange she had to marry his son and would receive a share of his inheritance. Knowing what Hollywood royalty came with being a Masters Miranda seized the opportunity the moment it came to be rich beyond her wildest dreams and kept the baby. It wasn’t until her first ultrasound that they discovered it wasn’t one baby, but two and from that moment on the woman grew very attached to her two growing children and through her own pregnancy relied heavily on her older sister to take care of her, help plan the wedding, get everything the babies would need, unknowingly stressing the woman out so much that Evelyn had almost lost her own child to handle the needs of her darling little sister. Evelyn stayed on bed rest two months after that, before finally giving birth on  September 30th, when her son Caleb Tobias Knight was born.

—— THURSDAY, OCTOBER 3RD, 1987,

Efraim Uriah Masters and Elias Wesley Masters were born. From the moment their mother laid eyes on them she was in love with them. They were the greatest thing she had ever done in that moment, but that feeling didn’t last long. Only a few months later Joeseph, his father, and a nanny were mostly dealing with her two boys while Miranda was off enjoying her new status in Hollywood. Planning and over the top wedding where anyone and everyone was invited, and getting back in shape so she could audition for all the roles that came with her new title as a Masters. Joseph and Miranda Married on February 14th, 1988 and life was good for Hollywood’s newest and Youngest power couple in the public eye. Behind closed doors, Joseph had his mistresses, and Miranda had her money and social status as a distraction, the two weren’t exactly parents of the year, but their children were alive and well so that was something. Three years later it seemed as if Joseph hadn’t learned his lesson when a young girl came knocking on their door claiming to be pregnant and the baby leaving Miranda more annoyed with the inconvenience than shocked by the infidelity of her husband. They made a deal with the woman to sweep it under the rug for the time being and on May 24th, 1990, Joesph’s third son,  Ezekiel Omari Masters was born. Though Miranda didn’t want to be associated with the little brat she had enough common sense to know her sons needed to know their brother and allowed visitation between the families.  

—— THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 19TH, 1991,

Another woman came forward claiming to have Joseph’s child, but this time made the mistake of going to Miranda before anyone else. The woman was tired of dealing with these people. She threatened the woman off to stay away from Joseph and paid her off to get rid of the child in question and to her knowledge the woman did as she advised and disappeared and Joesph and Miranda entered into marriage counselling both having decided they wanted a real relationship with each other for the sake of their children (they were relying on other people to raise) It took a lot of counselling and communication but they had fallen back in love with one another resulting in another child for the two of them and by some kind of cosmic joke for Miranda ust like before it was twins. This time girls though this revelation had the opposite on the woman than before it felt like a bad omen to her for the start having two girls and though Joseph reassured her everything would be fine Miranda couldn’t drop the feeling that something bad was going to come from the girls inside of her. None the less she continued the pregnancy.

—— TUESDAY, APRIL 7TH, 1992,

Guinevere Raquel Masters and Evelyn Calista Masters were born. From the moment Joesph laid eyes on them they were his angels.  Guinevere and Evelyn had to have been the most beautiful babies anyone could have ever seen. Though from the moment Miranda saw them she refused to touch either of them, leaving the motherly duties to the rest of her family and focusing on building her career and occasionally her other children until she finally saw the value in the girls. Money, careers, and more power. She’d began booking them in everything from commercials to movies and from the moment they could talk Eevee and Guin were thrust into the spotlight for all to see. Evelyn & Guin were put into beauty pageants, dance classes, and acting classes, booking job after job and was rocketed into child stardom and being forced into a life they didn’t really want at the time. They just wanted to be kids and their grandfather could see that. He made it a point to get both girls enrolled into school, and homeschooled when they weren’t home in Texas and on sets. At a young age, Eevee was a very bright girl. Reading everything she could get her hands on and learning everything she could. She grew to love acting as well, but being in the spotlight was never something she wanted and as she grew she developed depression. By the time she reached high school Evelyn was intelligent and beautiful and famous and given the most unwanted attention by everyone and her depression worsened as time went on she didn’t know who her real friends and only really trusted her siblings. it was a pretty lonely life that she was leading, but she couldn’t stop acting. She thought if she did her mother would stop giving her praise and paying attention to her.

—— TUESDAY, APRIL 7TH, 2008

Guin and Evelyn’s sixteenth birthday changed everything for everyone. Like any sixteen years old with an elaborate amount of money and need for attention they threw an over the top and extravagant birthday party. Everyone who was anyone was there to celebrate the girls and though the party was filled with people Eevee felt isolated and alone. She painted on a smile like she always did and spoke to whoever she needed to only find comfort in the moments it was just her and her siblings enjoying the party. Sometime in the night Elias had taken Eevee and Guin to the side away from everyone around them and presented them with their birthday presents. Identical white gold necklaces with their very own charms both symbolizing their relationship with Elias. The two girls were thrilled and though Guin was called away by one of her friends soon after that Eevee stayed to just hang out with her brother. unbeknownst to them they were being watched. For months the two girls had been stalked by an older man who was obsessed with the twins and though they had been reassured that everything was being taken care he’d sneak past security and came across Eevee & Elias.

—— FROM THE MOMENT THE TWO SPOTTED THE STRANGE MAN

Elias had become protective of his little sister subltly blocking her from the man, who when he finally did notice the hostility of the two in front of him took a gun from his coat. The moment Elias saw the gun he tried to reason with the guy and Eevee watched on in terrified horror hoping someone would notice they were away from the party and come looking for them. Elias refused to move from in front of his little sister and it escalated from there. Soon enough Elias had rushed the guy and tried to get the gun from his hands before it went off. A shock went through Eevee’s body as she watched her brother fall to the ground and she rushed to his body to try and stop the bleeding as quickly as she could. It didn’t take long for her hands and parts of her dress to splattered with her brothers’ blood and the man to take action. He grabbed her by the arm and held the gun against her ushering her up and away from the scene before anyone could come inspect what had happened and as Eevee struggled against him her eyes never left her brothers as she was pulled away from his bleeding body and stashed into a van, tying her up, covering her mouth, and effectively kidnapping her. Evelyn had no idea how long she’d been in the truck or even where it was taking her. Fear and worry racked her body as she cried in the back not knowing what was going to happen to her.  Eventually, the van stopped and the door opened. The man dragged her out and into a room. Evelyn could barely pay attention to the words he was saying only bits and pieces, From “soon we can be together”, to “your so beautiful” as he stroked her face and out of fear she didn’t pull away from him. He still had the gun after all. He dragged her into a bedroom and sat her there leaving her alone. Once again the girl had no concept of time. It could have been minutes or hours she was alone by herself she didn’t know which. Eventually, the man came back into the room with a cloth to wash the tears and ruined makeup from her face. While he did this he told her the delusions and fantasy’s he had of the two of them living together. Just the two of them. He’d only just finished cleaning her face and moved in for a kiss when a loud noise came from somewhere in the house effectively stopping him.

—— A FEELING OF RELIEF WENT THROUGH EEVEE’S BODY

as he left her alone she heard shuffling and yelling coming from the other room and ruffling before the door opened once more and a woman stepped into the room. She explained to Eevee that she was a police detective she was here to protect her and untied Eevee from her confines. It was a while before she was placed in a car and taken to the hospital where she was immediately met with a hug from her father the moment the door to the car was opened before anything could be explained to her she was being taken for tests and questioned to make sure she was unharmed. After she was returned to her family and though her father looked relieved to have her back and grief struck her mother glared at her through tearful eyes. Eevee knew something was wrong and as she looked around she saw a grief-struck Efraim, Ezekiel, and her younger brother Elijah, but no Elias. She looked toward Guin and had barely gotten Elias’ name out of her mouth before she was slapped by her mother who was dragged away by Efraim and her father. Guin rushed to hug her and explained that Elias had died while they were looking for her and both guilt and grief raked through Eevee’s body. Her brother was gone and her mother refused to let her anywhere near his body. She was the reason her son was dead.

—— A FEW WEEKS HAD PASSED BEFORE THEY SAT SHIVA

It was a terrible day for the family. Since Elias’ had passed her mother hadn’t said a word to Eevee. Clearly blaming her for her son’s death and the girl felt terrible. Ignoring the signs of trauma and depression the death and kidnapping were causing her and she had a bit of a breakdown after the first day. Eevee was admitted into the mental ward of the hospital for a while to recover from her trauma. She began therapy to cope though they found out quickly that group sessions were not an option for the girl. At least for the time being. Eevee was in the Hospital for about four months before she was finally released. Only a month upon her release, Eevee filed for emancipation needing for her own mental health to get away from her parents. Her father had taken control of monitoring her finances, her decisions, and become too controlling of her schedule and time out of concern for her and her mother had just become cruel and cold toward her. It was an environment detrimental to her health and sanity so she did what she could to get out of it and try to live her life. Eevee went back to High School where everyone either seemed to be gossiping about her or treating her with kid gloves. The girl did her best to ignore them and focused on her studies and staying out of the spotlight as best as she could.

—— JUNE 3RD, 2010

Eevee had finally graduated High school. Though she had been offered a few roles in big movies and even her own reality TV show the girl refused all the offers. Choosing instead to accept her acceptance at New York University. She attended the college along with her twin sister, rushed Alpha Kappa Alpha a historically black sorority, and eventually majored in Theater. Throughout college, Evelyn accepted small roles in indie films and even managed to score a few off-broadway roles in musicals she’d dreamed of being apart of. Though she did lose control for a bit with a lot of partying and made a few stupid mistakes, one being a marriage to someone she’d barely even met in Rio her freshman year and then bailed on them quickly after never to speak of it or see them again. four years later graduated with a drama degree. Now twenty-two and out of college the girl decided to travel around the world and discovered her knack for philanthropy and activism and need to help others as much as she could.  She did nothing but charity and philanthropy for the next two years before she got back into acting at the age of twenty-four. Landing huge roles in big movies, her first on Broadway role and even the first season a Netflix series by the time she turned twenty-five. Now before season 2 begins filming she’s moved to North Bellmore, bought herself an extravagant house that she’s allowing her sister to live in with her.

[thebgo]

BGO Staff Picks 2016

The fine folks who put in the work behind the counters at Beat Goes On stores all over the world have humbly submitted for you their lists of their most favourite albums, movies, tv shows, games, concerts and other miscellany for you approval.  Enjoy responsibly.

Brantford

Chris

Albums

David Bowie - Blackstar

Claypool/Lennon Delerium - Monolith of Phobos

Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression

Leonard Cohen - You Want it Darker

Mudcrutch - 2

Films

Hail Caesar!

Concerts

Jeff Martin @ Welland Canal Days

Grady @ Kitchener Blues Fest

Cedric Burnside @ Kitchener Blues Fest

Ronnie Baker Brooks @ Kitchener Blues Fest

Justin

Albums

Dinosaur Jr - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

John Frusciante - Foregrow

Mike Watt - Ring Spiel Tour '95

Jimi Hendrix - Machine Gun

Jeff Beck - Loud Hailer

Concerts

Red Hot Chili Peppers @ Ottawa Blues Fest

Radiohead @ Osheaga

Hayden @ Dundas Montessori School

Karen

Albums

Massive Attack - Ritual Spirit

Tricky - Skilled Mechanics

Jim James - Eternally Even

Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Getaway

Steven Wilson - Transcience

Nathan

Albums

With Confidence - Better Weather

Water Parks - Cluster

Pretty Reckless - Who you Selling For

Sixx AM - Prayers for the Blessed/Damned

Good Charlotte - Youth Authority

Films

Hacksaw Rodge

Sully

Suicide Squad

Deadpool

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Concerts

Statechamps

Sum 41

Gob

Monster Truck

Billy Talent

Rob

Albums

The Radio Dept. - Running Out of Love

Yeasayer - Amen & Goodbye

Nothing - Tired of Tomorrow

Plants & Animals - Waltzed in from the Rumbling

Avalanches - Wildflower

Films

Closet Monster

Sing Street

Green Room

The Accountant

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Concerts

Mother Mother

Bif Naked And Jordan Alexander

Burlington

Nick

Into it. Over it. - Standards

Jeff Rosenstock - Worry

Pup - The Dream is Over

Modern Baseball - Holy Ghost

Chris Farren - Can't Die 

Cambridge

Alex

Albums

Katatonia - The Fall Of Hearts

The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation

Dream Theater - The Astonishing

Meshuggah - The Violent Sleep Of Reason

Every Time I Die - Low Teens

Films

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (obviously)

Doctor Strange

Captain America: Civil War

Zootopia

Triple 9 

Jake

Albums

PUP - The Dream is Over

Jeff Rosenstock - Worry

Pkew Pkew Pkew - Self Titled

Belvedere - Revenge of the Fifth

Against Me! - Shape Shift With Me

Films

Swiss Army Man

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Cloverfield Lane

Green Room

Midnight Special

Kayla

Albums

Megadeth - Dystopia 

July Talk - Touch

Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness

Meshuggah - Violent Sleep of Reason

Blink-182 - California

Films

Warcraft (For the Horde!!)

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice

Doctor Strange

Captain America: Civil War

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story 

Kevin

Albums

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Stranger Things - Original Soundtrack

David Bowie - Blackstar

Tycho - Epoch

Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker 

Films

The Nice Guys

Captain America: Civil War

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Batman v Superman: Ultimate Edition

Doctor Strange

Shane

Albums

David Bowie - Blackstar

Drive By Truckers - American Band

Lennon Claypool Delirium - Monolith of Phobos

Brian Fallon - Painkillers

Crystal Castles - Amnesty

Films

Ghostbusters

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Doctor Strange

Kubo 

Guelph

Dan

Best

Slow Cookers

Vintage Canadian Guitar Amps

Swiffer Wet (not jet, just wet)

Not Getting the Flu This Year

Vacuum Tubes

Worst

Anime

Alt Right

Butt Rock

The Holiday Season

2016

Jake

Albums

Maxo Kream - The Persona Tape

Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition 

DJ Esco - Project ET Esco Terrestrial 

Kanye West - The Life Of Pablo 

Migos - YRN 2 

Concerts

Blood Orange 

Skepta 

Boris 

Jazz Cartier 

Tory Lanez

Joel

Albums

Ian William Craig - Centres

Aidan Knight - Each Other

Nick Cave - Skeleton Tree

Civilian - You Wouldn't Believe What Privilege Costs

David Bazan - Blanco

Films

One More Time With Feeling

Hell Or High Water

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

The Nice Guys

Loving

Steve

Albums

Suuns - Hold/Still

David Toop - Entities Inertias Faint Beings

Botany - Deepak Verbera

SIANspheric - Sominum (reissue)

Dreamboat - Dreamboat

Hamilton

Dylan

Albums (Alphabetical)

Anohni - Hopelessness 

Black Star - David Bowie - Blackstar

Case/Lang/Veirs - Case/Lang/Veirs

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds -  Skeleton Tree

Leonard Cohen -  You Want it Darker

Deerhoof -  The Magic

Hannah Georgas -  For Evelyn

PJ Harvey -  The Hope Six Demolition Project

Radiohead -  A Moon Shaped Pool

Regina Spektor -  Remember Us to Life

Violent Femmes -  We Can Do Anything

Josh

Albums

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

The Dear Hunter - Hymns With the Devil in Confessional

Yndi Halda - Under Summer

Explosions in the Sky - The Wilderness

Original Broadway Cast - Hamilton

Games

Overwatch

Stardew Valley

Battlefield 1

World of Final Fantasy

Mafia III

Sonja

Albums

Beyonce - Lemonade

Beyonce - Lemonade 

Arkells - Morning Report

Alicia Keys - Here

Beyonce - Lemonade 

Kitchener (Fairway Road)

Brady

Albums

Claypool/Lennon Delirium - Monolith of Phobos

Nels Cline - Lovers

Snarky Puppy - Culcha Vulcha

Wilco - Schmilco

Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker

Films

Pete's Dragon

Jungle Book

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

Kubo and the Two Strings

Shin Godzilla

Films (Old)

City Lights (1931)

The Artist (2011)

Phantom of the Opera w/ Lon Chaney (1925)

The Time Machine w/ H.G. Wells (1960)

Strings (2004)

Grace

Albums

Jeff Rosenstock - Worry

Angel Olsen - My Woman

White Lung - Paradise

Beach Slang - A Loud Bash of Teenage Feelings

Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial 

Oliver

Films

Hacksaw Ridge

Neon Demon

Shin Gojira

The Nice Guys

Hail Caesar!

So Bad It’s Good Honourable Mention

God's of Egypt

Games

Dark Souls III (PS4)

Pokemon Sun (3DS)

Titanfall 2 (‎PS4)

DOOM (PS4)

Pokken Tournament (Wii U)

Mike

Albums

Common - Black America Again

Royce Da 5'9" - Layers

Game - Streets of Compton/Block Wars/1992

De La Soul - And the Anonymous Nobody

KXNG Crooked - Statik KXNG/Good Vs Evil

E-40 - D-Boy Diaries 1 & 2

Snoop Dogg - Coolaid/Cuzznz (w/ Daz Dillinger)

Atmosphere - Fishing Blues

A Tribe Called Quest - We Got It From Here

Smoke DZA - He Has Risen/Don't Smoke Rock (w/ Pete Rock)

Honorable Mentions

Jeezy - Trap Or Die 3

Banks & Steelz - Anything But Words

Ras Kass - Intellectual Property: S012

Planet Asia & DJ Concept - Seventy Nine-Havoc & The Alchemist

Havoc & The Alchemist - The Silent Partner

J. Cole - 4 Your Eyez Only

DJ Quik & Problem - Rosecrans

Freeway - Free Will

CZARFACE - A Fistful of Peril

Tech N9ne - The Storm 

Kitchener (Highland Road)

ANTHONY

Albums

Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker

David Bowie - Blackstar

Nick Cave - Skeleton Tree

Tindersticks - The Waiting Room

Angel Olsen - My Woman

Honourable Mention

Tim Hecker - Love Streams

GREG

Albums

Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker

David Bowie - Blackstar 

Tove Lo - Lady Wood

Sing Street Soundtrack

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

Films

Moonlight

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Hell or High Water

Arrival

The Lobster

Sing Street

Star Trek Beyond

The Nice Guys

Captain Fantastic

Imperium 

Maddie

Albums

Jeff Buckley -  You And I

David Bowie -  Blackstar

Gord Downie -  Sectret Path

Beyonce -  Lemonade

Films

Deadpool

Alice Through the Looking Glass

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

Ghostbusters

Matt

Albums

Pup - The Dream is Over

Kendrick Lamar - Untitled Unmastered

Dinosaur Jr - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

Weekend Nachos - Apology

Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book

Descendents - Hypercaffium Spazzinate

Every Time I Die - Low Teens

Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition

Childish Gambino - Awaken, My Love!

NxWorries - Yes Lawd!

Films

The Nice Guys

Hell or High Water

The Lobster

Hail, Caesar!

Midnight Special

Everybody Wants Some!!

Neon Demon

Deadpool

War Dogs

Sausage Party

Nikki

Albums

Panic! At the Disco - Death of a Bachelor

Bruno Mars - 24k Magic

BIGBANG - Made

Weezer - White Album

Blink 182 – California

Films

Zootopia

Moana

Ghostbusters

Ryan

Albums

Jadea Kelly - Love & Lust

Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

July Talk - Touch

PUP - The Dream is Over

Beyonce - Lemonade

The 1975 - I like it when you sleep, for when you sleep, you are so beautiful & so unaware of it

David Bowie - Blackstar

Childish Gambino - Awaken, My Love!

Jeff Rosenstock - Worry

Kanye West - The Life of Pablo

Honourable Mentions

Protest the Hero - Pacific Myth (only here because half of it was released last year)

Mandroid Echostar - Coral Throne

Chance the Rapper - Coloring Book

Dinosaur Jr - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

Watsky - x Infinity

Films

Arrival

Ghostbusters

Deadpool

Nice Guys

10 Cloverfield Lane

Hail, Caesar!

London

Hank

Albums

Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

David Bowie - Blackstar

Drive By Truckers - American Band

P.J. Harvey - Hope Six Demolition Project

Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome

Brant Bjork - Tao Of the Devi

Neurosis - Fires within Fires

Charles Bradley - Changes

Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits

Dinosaur Jr. - Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not

Films

Arrival

Hell or High Water

Knight of Cups

Green Room

Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice

Handmaiden

The Witch

Neon Demon

Loving

* Although have not seen the following movies, the author notes that they could very well be entered throughout the top ten list in varying places...

Silence

La La Land

Manchester By the Sea

Julieta

Nocturnal Animals

Waterloo

Dalton

Albums

Green Day-Revolution Radio

Billy Talent-Afraid of Heights

The Pretty Reckless-Who You Selling For

SIXX:AM-Prayers for the Damned

Jeff Beck-Loud Hailer

Films

Deadpool

Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (Ultimate Edition)

Suicide Squad 

Derek

Albums

David Bowie - Blackstar

Ray Lamontagne - Ouroboros

Bon Iver - 22, A Million

BadBadNotGood - IV

Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression

Films

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

The Nice Guys

Sausage Party

Green Room

Doctor Strange

Emily

Albums

Ty Segall - Emotional Mugger

The Kills - Ash & Ice 

Kyle

Albums

Red Hot Chili Peppers - The Getaway

Ween - God Ween Satan Live

Basia Bulat - Good Advice

Colvin & Earle - Colvin & Earle

David Bowie - Blackstar

Ryan Bassett - Ryan Sings Bone Jovi 

Scott

Albums

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - Skeleton Tree

Badbadnotgood - IV

Avalanches - Wildflower

Jack White - Acoustic Recordings

Kendrick Lamar - Untitled, Unmastered 

Tom

Albums

David Bowie - Blackstar

Leonard Cohen - You Want It Darker

Badbadnotgood - IV

Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome

Iggy Pop - Post Pop Depression 

Head Office/Distribution Centre

David

Albums

Beyonce - Lemonade

Kanye West - The Life of Pablo

Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool

Car Seat Headrest - Teens of Denial

Charles Bradley - Changes

Television

The Americans

The Night Of

Stranger Things

Westworld

The People Vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story

Meredith

Albums

Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats - A Little Something More From…

Strumbellas - Hope

Ray Lamontange - Ouroboros

Billy Bragg & Joe Henry - Shine A Light

Sia - This Is Acting

Wilco - Schmilco

Roan

Albums

Danny Brown - Atrocity Exhibition

DMX KREW - You Exist

Thee Oh Sees - A Weird Exits

Animal Collective - Painting With

The Pattern Forms - Peel Away the Ivy

[the-jade-cross]

Knight of the Forest - Chapter V

Lillia tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for Nanteza and mild limbered from the empty bedroom that would serve as Maya's residence at least while her sister's wedding preparations were underway. when Jamie had learned that a childhood friend of Evelyn’s needed a room to stay in without his sister's knowledge the night was more than willing to oblige telling the servants it was for one of the Tyrells which wasn't a lie but a good enough fib to make anyone think it was for any one of Maya’s other four siblings. the bedroom door swung open and out stepped Maya and Nanteza. Maya wore a lovely dress of pale blue silk with detailed white embroidery from the chest about halfway down her hips with a lazy top shawl attached the top of her dress and laces lacing up the whole back with blue ribbon.

Lillia nodded in satisfaction, “there is no denying that you are a Tyrell now.”

Maya smiled before looking left and right as if fearing to be found. she was so used to her mask obscuring her view that she turned her head completely to look left or right.

“I am a little dehydrated. the sun is so bright up here.” Maya explained. “I need a water source.”

the two girls nodded in total understanding. this Nanteza did not feel a breeze occasionally she felt claustrophobic and Lillia hated being indoors longer than necessary. her maid often wondered why she found specks of soil in Lily's bed, but she never bothered to question it.

“I'll take you to the garden pond fishy.” Nanteza offered, looping her arm through Maya’s. “Lillia weren't you supposed to be doing some maid of honor things?”

Lily's lime eyes rounded, and she spun on her bare feet before bolting down the Hall. “I'll see you later!”

Nanteza and Maya chuckled as they watch the girl go before wondering how Lillia would manage to not lose her mind while helping Margaery with the wedding. Out of the girls Lillia was the least organized and her head was always in the trees… literally.

when Lillia came barreling into the gardens insert of Marjorie she in fact came in contact with a rock-hard chest. wincing she looked up into the kind blue eyes of a young Knight. Lillia searched her brain for a name to match the face. incredibly tall with curly dark Brown hair and a Rouge curl over his forehead that would make a girl swoon. a dimple on his chin and cupids bow lips with the body of a God and the razor kind of jawline.

“Sir Henri!” Lily gasped relieved when she remembered his name which earned her a gorgeous smile in return. “I am so sorry!”

the bear of a man chuckled, and his crisp baritone voice made Lillia shiver. “do not worry yourself lady Lillia. out of all of things I have bumped into today I would rather bump into you for I enjoy running into someone as pretty as you.”

Lillia blushed and went to talk a stray curl behind her ear only to remember that she was wearing breaches underneath her skirt and her white blouse was slipping off one shoulder her leather corset being the only thing from her chest being exposed. her feet were bare, and her hair looked like a Crow made a home in it. she peered around Sir Henri and spied several nights sparring in the grassy lawn but with blunted swords. Sir Henri unnoticed Lillia’s intrigue and held out his arm to her.

“care to join me? I was just about to select an opponent in my practice.”

Lillia was about to reject his offer when she spied the all too familiar figure of Loras sparring with another man. She beamed at Henri and took his arm.

“I would be delighted.” she told him.

Henri led her over to where the Squires were guarding the assortment of weapons and Henri began to inspect each. Lillia's eyes fell on an especially large battleaxes and she lifted it to test its balance.

“you favor the axe my lady.” he asked.

Lillia smiled. “I rather prefer to wield a larger weapon than a sword.”

Henri’s eyes widened. it was no secret that Lillia Arryn was skilled in arms, but no one knew of her preferred weapon.

“would you care to spar a bit?” the Knight asked the girl. “all these weapons are blunted.”

Lillia swung the axe and decided that it would do. “that is a shame. I would like to have a scar to showcase my sparring days. the only scar I have is from falling from a tree.”

Henri chuckled as he selected an axe for himself. “I am guessing you do not want me to go easy on you.”

ignoring the curious looks she was getting from all the men present Lillia tide her hair back from her eyes and walked to a corner of the lawn.

“do your worst.” she taunted.

Loras pushed to the front of the crowd they have formed around Lillia and Henri about ready to tell Lillia to back off, but it was too late. Henri took his first shot. Lillia swung her axe up easily to block the first blow and was able to decipher Henri strength through the blow. they drew back and began to pace each other waiting for a weakness or a stumble or even an opening. Lillia made the next move swinging the axe around to get a left strike and Henri was just in time to protect his side from a bruising. that was when the fight began. the two axes swung in the air clashing at swiping to try and take out the other's opponent. Henri was strong and big but Lillia was swift and a small target not to mention her muscles were of iron. while the onlookers began to cheer in place bets Loras kept his eyes on Lillia preparing to interrupt if the girl was in any kind of danger. Lily spied a pattern in Henri strikes: head, left side and then right. If she wanted to beat Henri, she needed to break his pattern. As she ducked to avoid the left strike, she drove her fingers into the earth, gathering soil in her hand. She would need it to form metal. Henri took a strong right swing and Lillia blocked it with her axe, but the blade of her weapon was facing her neck. Henri was big and a little more push and Lillia would lose her head if the blades had been sharp. Loras moved to intervene when Lillia brought up her free arm and criss crossed it against the edge of the axe like an X. What no one else knew was that beneath the cloth of her sleeve, her arm was coated in metal she had formed from the soil. She faintly heard Loras yell her name in fear, believing that the blade was piercing her skin.

Lillia drove her bare feet into the grass and hoped no one noticed that she had moved the grass to wrap around her ankle as an anchor. Henri and Lilia pushed against each other until Lillia finally pushed enough that Henri stumbled back, and he found the blade of an axe in his face. Cheers erupted from all those present except Loras who stormed over to Lillia with a glare that could melt glass.

“Have you completely lost your mind?” he snapped at the girl who was helping Henri to his feet. “You could have been hurt and where would that leave you?”

Lillia turned and met the fury in Loras’s grey orbs with the green anger burning in hers. “I would be on the front stoop of Highgarden manor, waiting for a certain young Tyrell to get off his arse and say farewell as I left his life forever.”

Loras brushed off the comment but Henri saw the way the boy’s face paled at Lillia’s words. “The next time you do something so stupid, you will be answering to me.”

Lillia scoffed, “I do not answer to you Loras Tyrell. I do not need your protection or anyone else’s for that matter.”

“I believe that.” Henri said, smiling even though Loras shot him a scowl.

“You stay out of this,” Loras snapped, “As for you. A young lady shouldn’t even be sparring! Let alone with an axe!”

“You seemed to have thought differently all those times I beat you when we were little,” Lillia objected, planting her hands on her curved hips.

“I was a child then but I’m a man now with sense,” Loras said, fighting the urge to look at where her hand was forcing her skirt to showcase the shape of her hips. “You are still the naïve innocent little girl you were then!”

Lillia raised one eyebrow and Henri could practically see the fumes coming from her ears. “I am naive and innocent enough to know about the bees and the bees!”

Loras frowned in puzzlement, “Don’t you mean the birds and the bees?”

Lillia shook her head, “In any normal relationship it would be birds and the bees but, in your case, Loras, it is the bees and the bees. You need a woman for it to be birds and the bees.”

Henri swallowed, trying to not interrupt Lillia who was turning red from anger or Loras who was puzzling over the meaning behind the girl’s words. Lillia, seeing that Loras needed a moment to figure things out, looped her arm through Henri’s and allowed the man to escort her from the lawn. When Lillia came storming into the pavilion where Margaery sat waiting, the girl’s eyes narrowed and grumbling something about stupid gorgeous men, Margaery opened her mouth to speak.

“Not a word,” Lillia warned.

Margaery’s mouth snapped shut and she chose to ask her brother about it later.

*******

“psst.” Nanteza hissed in Lillia's direction who sat on the other side of Margaery at the breakfast table, “pass me the peas?”

Lillia saw that the peas were closer to Mya than Lillia but she knew that Nanteza preferred to not face Maya's wrath after how the two had set the girl up with Oberyn Martell the day before in the gardens. Lillia turned her eyes to the bowl of bright green peas and smirked. No one was looking, too busy digging into the meal or talking with Margaery and Maya. Lillia concentrated on the peas, imagining them growing little green legs and trotting over to Nanteza's plate. She heard someone mutter her name and looked up to spy Tommen who sat across from her giving her a pointed look. She looked down and saw that one by one the peas had rolled out of the bowl and rolled single file across the table straight onto Nanteza's plate. Lillia smirked at Tommen who grinned back. She had revealed her powers to the boy one day when he had come in on her growing Flowers in the washbasin in her room and he had done well in keeping it a secret but he insisted on watching whenever she called the girls for it fascinated the boy. Lillia almost choked and the grin on her face faded faster than it had appeared when a certain blonde Knight strode into the dining room , slightly sweaty from a morning workout and liking his sword for once.

“Ah Loras!” Margaery called, “we were just discussing attire Phil wedding. Maya will be wearing blue naturally, Nanteza claimed red and Lillia wants yellow. What color suits you best?”

“Pink?” Lillia muttered too softly for anyone but Tommen to here and she and the boy stifled snorts of laughter which did not go unnoticed by Loras who frowned in suspicion as he sat down across from his sister, diagonally across from Lillia.

“I am not sure. I was planning on just wearing my green doublet…”

Margaery shook her head, “you where that all the time period what about that Golden grey doublet you had made before we left home? It brings out the color of your eyes and it would match Lillia's dress!”

Lillia turned to glare at Margaery but Loras smirked and locked eyes with the girl, “I think I will.”

He smirked rather proudly but Lillia stuck her chin out in defiance and began to drink her Apple juice. She needed to change her plan of attire.

“That is quite a lot of peas you've got there Nanteza,” Loras observed.

Lillia peered over the top of her glass to see that she had forgotten to stop the procession of peas and now Nanteza's plate was full and overflowing with the green balls. Unable to stop herself Lillia laughed violently into her Cup and in response, the whole bowl of peas burst like a firework, raining peas down on everyone. After the rain had ceased and the room was swallowed into silence, Tommen and Lilly burst out laughing. Soon everyone was joining in but only four of those present knew how such a thing could have occurred and Loras used his laughing as a disguise for his irritation at seeing Tommen grab Lillia's hand under the table as they bellowed. An hour later, Lillia, Maya and Nanteza were walking down the corridor back to their rooms to change into simpler clothes before joining Margaery on her daily charitable expeditions.

“When breakfast is as disastrous as that was,” Maya chuckled, “You can tell that your day will be far from ordinary.”

Lillia giggled as Nanteza elbowed Maya in the arm playfully, “And what about last night? Any roses catch your attention during your afternoon stroll in the gardens?”

Maya shrugged, “other than the spiky yellow Dornish thistle that the Lannister’s have imported from overseas, nothing struck my fancy.”

“Ooh!” Lillia crooned, “So you find spiky yellow thistles more attractive than smooth, beautiful tulips?”

“Not unless you have a thing for kittens,” Maya muttered.

“but of course lovely Mayaka Tyrell has a thing for vipers… ow!” Lillia cried when Maya pinched her on the arm near the end of her ranting.

Nanteza snorted as she headed to her bedroom door, “I’ll see you two in a bit. I am going to signal Evelyn before I head out. Have either of you seen her in person recently? Since Maya last saw her?”

The two girls shook their heads before Nanteza dove into her room and Maya parted from Lillia to go into her own chambers. Lillia skipped down the hallway joyfully to her own room when she came upon a horrifying sight. The unmistakable figure of Loras was entering a bedroom down the hall and at his side… was none other than Olyver… the prostitute from the same brothel Maya had been at for years… the same Olyver whose brother raped Maya in her unconscious state… the same Olyver who was rumored to be as gay as they come in men. And he was sneakily entering a room with a grinning Loras. Lillia kicked open her door, surprised that the hinges did not break and locked herself inside. Changing into a brown tunic and breeches, she shoved her hair into a hat and tried to make it look like she was a boy but eventually gave up but stuck with the breeches and vest. She grabbed a bag full of jewelry and coin she did not need as well as. Few dresses that Cersei had given her that were too skimpy to be called dresses and climbed out the window, vowing to never enter or exit by the door again. When she joined Maya in the courtyard to wait for the others, Maya could sense something was bothering the girl hence the intense glare the girl was giving her shoes.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Remind me to ask Margaery about any eligible bachelors that are open to marriage… anyone who isnt blond, grey eyed and a douche.”

Maya’s eyes widened in shock but she decided to not even bother asking. She recalled seeing Loras storming onto the sparring field after breakfast in a similarly pissed off attitude. Something must have happened. She looked back to Lillia, about to ask her if Loras had said something only to find the girl gone from where she had been and there she stood across the courtyard talking happily to Ser Henri… well that was fixed quick!

[the-jade-cross]

Knight of the Forest - Chapter IV

“Absolutely not!” Lillia objected. “I will not be wearing a cinch or a corset of any kind!”

“But my lady,” the poor maid tried pleading with the 16-year-old girl who had not work a cinch or corset in her life. “King Joffrey has announced his new betrothal and his marriage coming up in a few months and people from all over Westeros will be attending the wedding. You know your parents would want you to look your best.”

Lillia’s shoulders slumped in sadness and the cherry color of her cheeks faded. “Father has been dead for almost five years Mary…and Mother… let’s just say she never held love for me… and I doubt she held love for Robin. She just fawned over him because he was a son… let’s just say she was disappointed that her son was girly, and her daughter was like a boy.”

Mary nodded sadly, knowing full well that it had only been a few weeks since Lillia had received word of her mother’s act of suicide and while it had inflicted pain and misery in the young girl, the pain was not as much as some would deem since the only motherly love Lillia ever felt in her life was from Mayaka Tyrell.

“My lady… it will be a good 5 months before the wedding. The houses of Marbrand, Rowan, Stokeworth, Martell, Redwyne and the Prince of the Red Flower Vale will be attending the wedding. If you do not wish to wear anything appropriate for the time being, please consider it for the wedding.” Mary pleaded. “Not for me but for yourself. If Cersei Lannister does not like what you are wearing, your stay here could be painful.”

“The only reason I haven’t been assaulted, attacked, thrown out or poisoned is because Tommen is my friend and Ser Jaime has taken on responsibilities of my guardian now that my parents are dead,” Lillia pointed out as she finally selected a simple cream dress with a silver ribbon around the waist with long sleeves and a white underdress to hide her lower arms and her ankles. “Did you hear anything about who Joffrey will be wed to?”

Mary shook her head, “I thought he was to be married to Lady Sansa Stark.”

Lillia shrugged, “That was how it was for a while, but Sansa wouldn’t be sitting in the garden grinning from ear to ear if that was the truth. I have a feeling Joffrey’s lustful, evil eye has landed upon another poor soul and he has discarded Sansa. Personally, I am glad because he would have destroyed what little life is left in Sansa… but now I feel bad for whoever will be occupying the other side of his bed.”

Mary giggled slightly as she helped Lillia slip into her dress and then proceeded to gather a few strands of Lillia’s long golden curls and pull them back to the back of her head. Lillia, despite the fact that she was still the type to climb trees and joust with Ser Jaime and Tommen, had decided to not cut her hair and now the long golden curls fell to her round backside and not only drew the attention of many of the men in the castle but also the annoyance of Cersei Lannister who already hated the fact that Sansa was a lovely girl in her own home and now with a second lovely girl (not to mention that previously Evelyn Stark walked the halls of Kings Landing).

“Well,” Lillia chirped, taking up the valerian necklace that Jaime had procured for her, she placed it around her neck so that it rested against her slightly tanned, freckled skin and decided to lose any other jewelry, “I am going on a walk and hopefully Sansa will be able to tell me who the lucky bastard is.”

When Lillia finally located Sansa, who had departed from the gardens and had climbed to stand upon the battlements, the girl was looking down upon the cavalry that was arriving but sadly, due to Sansa’s slightly taller height and Lillia’s lack thereof, Lillia was unable to tell whose calvary it was.

“So… I heard about Joffrey’s marriage,” Lillia said as she tried to stand on her tiptoes to see over the battlements but failed miserably. “But by the smile on your face and the color returning to your cheeks, I am guessing it is not to you.”

Sansa turned and beamed at the girl. She had not gotten to know Lillia incredibly well like Evelyn had when they visited Highgarden but in the past months that the two have been in Kings Landing, the two had found each other’s silent company very enjoyable.

“Renly Baratheon has died, and his wife is left a widow. They aided Joffrey in the War of Blackwater and as thanks for their involvement, Joffrey agreed to marry her,” Sansa replied, her shoulders relaxing in relief.

“And who are the poor souls?” Lillia inquired, grabbing at the battlement railing in the hopes of heaving herself high enough to make out a flag.

Sansa chuckled at the petite girl’s struggles. “Margaery Tyrell.”

Lillia had just succeeded in lifting herself almost all the way onto the top of the battlement when she dropped down, almost twisting her ankle but luckily saved herself before staring at Sansa with a gaping mouth, “Say that again?”

“Margaery Tyrell,” Sansa replied, confused. “She is the one to wed Joffrey. Why?”

When Sansa saw Lillia’s face go slightly pale and then a bright crimson, hope and excitement in her eyes, she caught on slightly, “Lillia? Do you know them?”

Lillia grinned widely and grabbed Sansa’s hands, “I grew up with them at Highgarden! I cannot believe it! I haven’t seen Margaery in years! And Willas and Garlan and….Loras…”

“I do not believe Willas and Garlan are here,” Sansa replied. “It was just Mace Tyrell, Margaery and Loras. Loras helped in the fight and when Joffrey asked him what he desired in payment, Loras requested Margaery wed Joffrey. I owe them everything! If they had not suggested it to Joffrey, I would be the one wedding him!”

Lillia’s face paled, “So…. Loras…. Is here…”

Sansa nodded before frowning, “Lillia… are you alright?”

The girl hastily reached down and grabbed the bottom of her skirt before heading off, “I’ll tell you later!”

Sansa had a hard time keeping up with the fast footed girl as they rushed to the Great Hall. When she finally caught up with Lillia, the girl was peeking around one of the large pillars, looking at the crowd of Tyrell men who were feasting and drinking after their long journey.

“Why are you hiding?” the red head inquired.

“I want to see Margaery but not Loras…. Let’s just say we parted on not so good terms a few years back.”

Sansa smiled in understanding before pointing out the youngest Tyrell girl, “There she is, with Joffrey.”

Lillia spied the girl and quickly made her way through the crowd, leaving Sansa to remain hidden behind the pillar, the red head not wanting to encounter the king.

When Lillia came upon Joffrey and Margaery, she had to stare in wonder at Margaery. There was a time with the girl had been the same height as Margaery who had a few years on her but now, Margaery was a good few inches taller with slightly shorter auburn hair than Lillia but had grown with matured features and a beautiful face and elegant posture.

“Margie?” Lillia said softly, not wanting to interrupt since Joffrey was boasting loudly to the girl who pretended to be listening.

Margaery turned her head and immediately her eyes widened in joy at the sight of the girl before she rushed over to her, drawing Lillia into a tight hug.

“LILS! I cannot believe it! It is you!” She cried, pulling away to get a good look at the girl. “I never forgave father for sending you and Maya away. Oh, it is so good to see you! You have grown up! And Maya, have you seen her? Do you know where she is?”

Lillia giggled at Margaery’s many questions, “I’m so happy to see you too! Out of the two of us you definitely grew up right. And yes, I have spoken with Maya. I have not been able to see her personally, but she promised she would visit soon and with you here and your marriage to King Joffrey, I am sure you will see her.”

As the two girls chatted like two hens, a pair of blue eyes watched them from afar. Loras had been drinking and laughing with some of the men when he had spied his sister having a joyful heart attack and almost run over a petite, blond haired girl before the two had entered that state of girl chatter that Loras often deemed dangerous and scary.

However, he found his eyes drawn to the girl. She was a petite thing and standing next to Margaery who was almost the same height as Loras, the girl only reached Margaery’s shoulder. Her long golden hair was curly and fell to her hips that swayed just right. Loras was never interested in girls and had found himself drawn to men but this girl… made him forget all of that in an instant.

From what he could see from his side view of her face was that she was rosy with a little more plumpness than Margaery who was perfectly slender and elegant. The blond girl wore a simple cream dress that accented her curvy hips and perfectly rounded chest and the paleness of the dress brought out the rose of her cheeks and the freckles upon her skin that was slightly darker than Margaery’s pale complexion.

Loras found himself striding over to the two and greeting his sister, only for the strange girl to freeze before slowly turning around, green eyes wide and Loras didn’t have to ask to know exactly who the girl was.

“Loras…” The girl whispered, almost shocked with her green eyes reflecting a feeling Loras couldn’t distinguish.

“Lillia!”

(The past couple of chapters have been set roughly in season 1-3. However, for the rest of Part 1, it will be set in season 4:))

***************

Lillia’s eyes widened as round as the giant water lilacs that grew in the garden of Kings Landing when her eyes locked with the all too familiar and yet unfamiliar Loras Tyrell. It had been a good couple of years since she saw him and the last time she did, they had been nothing but children but now… the Loras standing before her was a man… a grown man with curly dirty blond locks that fell almost to his shoulders, thin quirked lips, straight nose, stormy grey eyes framed by dark, thick lashes and the just slightly cleft chin.

He wore a simple dark grey doublet over a dark green shirt, the high collar of the doublet accenting his sharp cheekbones. His eyes were trained on her and Lillia fought the deep urge to fidget with her blond curls so instead she gripped a pinch of her skirt in her hands discreetly and began to knead it between her thumb and pointer finger to keep from blushing or practically breaking down in tears.

“Loras…” the girl managed to choke out, not surprised at how soft and almost shy her voice sounded.

Lillia saw Loras’s deep, calculating orbs scan her up and down before observing each corner of her face as if trying to memorize every detail though she wondered why it took him so long since due to her “couple of goats too thick” figure according to Cersei Lannister, her face and figure did not require that much attention since she lacked the sharp features someone like Cersei would possess.

“It…” Loras said, smile still evident on his face and his tongue darting out to wet his lips. “its really great to see you again.”

Lillia beamed at him and Loras felt his heart flutter at the rosy way her cheeks flushed as she smiled.

“You too,” she said, voice still gentle but with a slight bubbly excitement edge.

Margaery smirked knowingly at her brother and best friend before speaking, “I was just telling Lillia that I hope we see Maya while we are here.”

Loras tore his eyes from the blond, “Oh, I almost forgot! You haven’t seen Maya since you’ve been here?” he immediately asked of Lillia, turning his attention back to her.

Lillia shook her head, gold curls bouncing, “No. I have not seen her since I left Highgarden.”

This wasn’t a lie since she had only been communicating with Maya via the pinnacle which was just their spirits talking, not actually seeing each other face to face and she was not about to reveal to Loras who, she knew for a fact was protective of his sisters and an avid swordsman, that his big sister was living in a brothel and Lillia could talk to her because of her strange ability to control earth and plants. It was crazy enough explaining it to Evelyn, Maya and Nanteza without showing them. She couldn’t even tell Jaime because she would then have to tell him everything including the fact that his wife was alive, in the wild and some dragon mother with fire powers.

“There you are Lills,” a familiar voice said and Lillia sighed at having been rescued before her heart exploded.

“Ser Jaime!” Lillia chirped joyfully, turning her eyes from Loras and over to Jaime who had a wickedly smug look on his face.

“Ser Jaime,” Margaery greeted, “lovely to make your acquaintance.”

Jaime bowed to the Tyrell, “My Lady. Ser Loras.” he greeted.

Loras bit back a growl when he saw Lillia inch closer to Jaime as if seeking out protection.

“You are wed to Evelyn stark is that correct?” Margaery inquired.

Jaime nodded, “That is so. I have not seen her in almost two years.”

Margaery gave him a sad smile, “I am sure Evelyn is well. I remember meeting her at my sister’s name day and if Eve is anything like she was then, she is safe and well.”

Jaime smiled gratefully at the kind and encouraging words from his soon to be in-law but Loras ground his teeth. He watched as Jaime lent down and whispered to Lillia just loud enough for the Tyrells to hear.

“Tommen wanted to know if you would dance with him tonight.”

Lillia chuckled and snorted in the process, making Margaery giggle and Loras and Jaime smile at her unladylike action.

“It seems I am doomed to be Tommen’s dance partner until he learns the steps. Fear not though, I coated my shoes with iron.”

Jaime chuckled and planted a fond kiss in the girl’s blond hair. Anyone could see that the love between the two was like father and daughter but to Loras, it was not like that but much more extreme.

“It must be difficult,” Loras said to Jaime, trying to keep his voice calm, “To have lived two years without the comforts of a wife.”

Jaime saw the way Loras’s eyes practically burned green with jealousy as they drifted back to Lilli and he caught on to the root of the boy’s comment. Pretending he hadn’t heard, Jaime spoke back.

“I heard that you remained in your sister’s cap while she was married to Stannis. I suppose you and your brother in law were close?”

Lillia’s jaw dropped, having heard the rumors that Stannis Baratheon’s wife had been left a virgin due to the king’s lust for a certain knight but she hadn’t realized it was…. Oh gosh, that explained many things!

Margaery pretended to be vastly intrigued by her wine and Loras’s jaw tensed as he and Jaime stared each other down. When Lillia touched Jaime’s arm to snap him out of it, Loras’s eyes turned to the girl and was shocked to find the light and color in her face gone, replaced by misery and pain.

“Will you excuse us?” Jaime asked, sensing Lillia’s desire to depart and when Loras made to speak to Lillia, a single scowl from Jaime shut him up.

Once Jaime had escorted Lillia to one side of the hall and fetched her a glass of water, Lillia collected herself.

“Why did you say those things to him?” She asked Jaime, “He has done nothing to you and yet you treated him like he was your childhood bully.”

Jaime sighed, “You love him Lills. I can see it as plainly as you have a nose upon your face. But he doesn’t see it because he is a foot, an idiot and most definitely interested in men. I will not have him treat you all friendly and sweet and lead you to believe he is in love with you, only for him to break your heart. You are too good to have to experience a broken heart.”

“I know!” Lillia snapped before her voice became soft, “I know he doesn’t love me and never will. That was made clear to me long ago.”

Jaime let out a breath before gathering the girl into a hug, well aware that Loras was glaring at him from across the room. If only the young fool knew that five months prior, Jaime had named Lillia his ward. Mostly to keep Cersei from forcing the girl into an evil marriage since if a girl is claimed as a ward, whoever her guardian is cannot lay sexual hands on her and is the only who can determine the ward’s husband.

“Lillia Arryn?” a girl’s voice squealed.

Lillia pulled away from Jaime and almost fainted when she recognized the tanned skin, big dark eyes, plump smooth lips, petite slender figure and brown hair immediately.

“Nanteza!?” The Dornish girl rushed into Lillia’s arms and began to ramble as a smiling Jaime left to give the two some privacy.

“I cannot believe I’m seeing you right now!” Nanteza squealed. “When uncle Oberyn told me we were coming to Kings Landing, I never thought I would actually get to see you!”

Lillia beamed, “You are definitely a sight for sore eyes!” the blond exclaimed. “Where is your uncle?”

Nanteza smirked mischievously, “He dropped by the brothel right when we landed, and you’ll never believe who he met!”

Lillia frowned before she realized the truth and her eyes rounded, “Maya!?”

Nanteza nodded, “OF course the dim wit didn’t recognize her, but I went with the guards to bring his trunks to the brothel and I saw her! She wears a mask and surprisingly modest brothel clothes. She keeps her hair covered but there is no mistaking those eyes.”

“Oh this is just getting better,” Lillia squealed before her face went serious, “But Nan… you do realize that this is the opportunity we have been hoping for. We need to get Maya out of that brothel as soon as we can and make up a reliable story to hide the truth about you know what.”

Nanteza nodded. This was going to be interesting.