#pre shadow and bone timeline

[elvenbeard]

Old and Happy

😭 my feels have been all over the place since I finally finished this! Don't even remember when I started, as I kept working on and off on it over a couple of months. But I think it was after writing something particularly angsty and going "you know what, they will get their happy ending though, so it's all good".

Some details and thoughts below the read more cause it got long hhhh ;A;

This is in about 2087 maybe, roughly "ten years later". Vince changed his hair, ditched the rattail for good (or again xD) for something still colorful but a bit more easy to style. But he might change it up again, he's done so repeatedly and still likes to experiment with his hair.

Not visible, he probably would've added some elements to his back tattoo after surviving all of 2077. Johnny's tattoo he covered up as well, he would've done that first probably before the back piece. Adding some things here and there over time, with colors and patterns and wings, some cherry blossoms ('cause a thing of beauty will never truly fade away - hence just not getting laser removal but covering it with something that suits him more, but keeping some elements like the J and V visible). It started with three roses below the "V" as a little homage to Jackie, and 2077 as the year that finally put him on the right track in his life, even if it almost killed him in the process.

Overall he is a healthier weight than he was for most of his life, and finally got some therapy he desperately needed to deal with all the crap he went through pre-2077 already. He's not dyeing his first grey hairs because hell, that he's even still around to get some is amazing with his line of work and life story. And he realized that there's no need to be super well put togeher 24/7, clean shaven and whatnot, when you know you're just gonna be hanging out with your man and cat all weekend (and actually allowing yourself to something like that - leisure time and pizza in bed, unheard of to 2077!Vince). He's doing good and feels good and comfortable, physically and mentally.

Kerry also changed, also embracing the dad bod over abs, probably still experimenting with his looks a lot now and then whenever the label feels like they need to draw attention to him for whatever reason. But to the brown eyes he returned in 2078 already in my headcanon for the Sun ending timeline, and he stuck with them.

Overall I think he might finally care a little less about other people's opinions too, the buzz and the drama, cause he knows that at the end of the day there's always gonna be someone waiting for him at home who loves him unconditionally. He's a bit calmer and at ease, but of course still up to no good whenever he gets the chance to stir shit up xD Vince and him remain to be a dangerous duo you don't wanna mess with. At that point Vince is a well-respected, even if somewhat elusive, fixer, so he's probably even more dangerous now than he used to be as a mere merc with an arsenal of connections and resources at his disposal that can almost rival Kerry's.

I also gave Kerry a lil new cyberware piece on his hand - he is an old man and I think, using his hands as a musician on the daily, at some point there's just gonna be some wear and tear to your bones and joints only tech can fix anymore... Especially if you're stubborn and refuse to retire cause no, you're not done yet, you still have so much to yell into the world and music to make, stuff to add to your legacy and all.

Last but not least: Nibbles is an old lady already as well here, but living her best life with her dads spoiling her rotten, of course!

And then öalkshjdfagsdföasgdfaösfh ;___;

Y'know, "to bad decisions" and all, and two very different pieces still fitting together perfectly somehow, and light and shadows, and the sun and moon and yeah. ;___; Brb crying, the feels are back xD

Thanks so much for reading if you made it this far!! They mean so much to me and aösdjhfajsfhasfk could go on forever about every little detail xD On to the next drawing!

[happyhauntt]

➡ gold rush masterlist.

here you can find all content for the gold rush universe, a nikolai lantsov fanfiction featuring anya kamenev, an original character. their story is told through a series of connected one-shots and is cross-posted on ao3.

─── summary:  She calls herself Anya Kamenev, the future Duchess of Balakirev. It doesn't matter where she comes from, or where she goes  ━  there will always be a child named Nastya in her heart, a little girl with grubby hands and a sweet smile, the kind who climbs trees and runs, giggling, through the rose garden. They call her soldier. Nobility doesn't save you from the draft, and Anya would sooner be an army grunt than the alternative. If she must go to war, then she'll do it well  ━  for this country that sits in her gut like a stone, for the family who will always be proud of her, always, until the first day she makes a man bleed without a weapon in her hands. She'll swallow that secret until the day she dies. Let her be a soldier. He calls her darling. The only one to know the truth of her, the only man who looked at her with gentle eyes and swore he'd give up his throne just to spend forever in her arms. But they are both too smart to be so naive  ━  their country is an open wound, and the pair of them have duties to fulfil. He, to rule. She, to fight. It doesn't matter what she calls him. Pirate, privateer, prince, sobachka. As many names as faces, her heart aches for a man she knows she can never truly have. Nikolai Lantsov, the hope of Ravka. Anya Kamenev, Ravka's bane. Oh, what a pair they make.

─── warnings: disability rep, ptsd & mental health, canon-typical descriptions of injury, war, trauma. angst, fluff, more angst. swearing. specific warnings will be included in each fic.

𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠. works will be posted in chronological order of the timeline.

forgiveness with teeth [1.6k] ➡ there's something about nikolai lantsov that makes her want to break things. (pre-shadow & bone.)

give your tears to the tide [2.8k] ➡ nikolai learns the truth at the heart of anya, for better or worse. (pre-shadow & bone.)

and i am coming home to you [2.5k] ➡ there are some things that cannot be saved. nikolai swears she won't be one of them. (pre-shadow & bone.)

if my wish were granted [1.4k] ➡ anya likes teasing nikolai. it’s far too easy to get under his skin. this time, enjoying some peace aboard the Volkvolny, anya claims that she prefers sturmhond’s rugged looks over nikolai’s princely features. (pre-shadow & bone.)

stay, i pray you [2.1k] ➡ nikolai has a decision to make. anya makes it for him. (during seige & storm.)

keep my hand in yours [2.4k] ➡ nikolai sees anya all dressed up for the first time since they were children. he doesn't handle it well. (post ruin & rising/rule of wolves.)

everything i touch turns sick with sadness [3k] ➡ anya still believes, sometimes, that nikolai made a mistake in marrying her. he’ll spend every day for the rest of their lives proving her wrong. (post ruin & rising/rule of wolves au.)

garnet & silver [0.9k] ➡ requested. nikolai has a gift for anya. (post ruin & rising/rules of wolves au.)

five fun facts about anya.

modern!anyalai headcanons.

𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐬.

gifsets ➡ 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7

videos ➡ 1 / 2 / 3

misc. ➡ 1 / 2

[redbelles]

5, 18, 69, and 76 for the fic writer meme!

5. how many wips do you have? what fandoms/pairings are they for?

yeah i've got wips

kidding! (mostly! not really. but only kind of. it's fine!)

i have just. so many fucking wips. don't wanna talk about how many i have because it's embarrassing, actually! this is absolutely because i consider anything i've written words for/thought about for more than a hot minute a """wip""" but that's a me problem, so here, have semi-comprehensive list of wips i'm determined to finish this year:

the chimneys hardly ever fall down masters of the air; post-war john/gale/marge

gonna stand here in the ache the punisher; post-season one frank/karen

our hands are cold, the moon sets low asoiaf/got; post-season eight jon/sansa

butchered tongue still singing berserk; post-canon guts/casca

something in the night gilmore girls; keg max!au jess/rory

don't you hear me howling, babe? shadow & bone; season one canon divergence darklina au

the second hand unwinds (time after time) stranger things; post-season four hellcheer au

and then, for fun, some wips that aren't top priority atm:

prophetic perfect tense dune; always a girl!paul atreides au

i've walked for miles top gun; post-canon icemav road trip au

more than kin and less than kind hotd; rhaenys flambés the greens at aegon's coronation au

the knife i turn inside myself dune; irulan/feyd post-kanly hatefucking + marriage of convenience au

18. do you enjoy research? which fic of yours required the most research?

yeah! i'm a nerd at heart and also i have a burning need to be canon-compliant with both canon and reality, so i love getting into the research weeds when i'm all in on a fic!

the most """research""" i've done for a fic was, astonishingly, for the fucking,,,,, robert baratheon story (that started life as, and i cannot stress this enough, a joke). i spent so many hours on a wiki of ice and fire i'm pretty sure i made up at least 40% of the site's traffic during the calendar year time it took me to write the damn thing. extremely normal behavior!

anyway! i'm actually in the opposite situation with chimneys, which is super weird. i know a staggering amount of information about the post-wwii usaaf/usaf, and i have to actively stop myself from a) infodumping about things like the development of the american bomber fleet and b) trying to make the timeline accurate, because the entire premise of the fic relies on me Ignoring what was actually going on. anti-research. insane! everyone pour one out for @sluttyhenley— she's spent the last two months taking one for the team and letting me rant at her about curtis lemay so i can get it out of my system and spare everyone who's there for porn instead of a dissertation on strategic bombing doctrine <3

69. what are your favorite fics at the moment?

first of all: nice 😏

second: i feel like i've blathered enough about my own fic today that i'm gonna take this as a question about what i've been enjoying as a reader, so! some recs!

moon's low (can't say no) by @meyerlansky delicious introspective curt pov that nuances an already insanely interesting scene! love this for me! in related news, i am barking and frothing at the mouth as i wait patiently for the follow up to dancing cheek to cheek (to cheek)! tumblr user meyerlansky comin' in hot with THEE definitive curt biddick voice!

never saw the sun shining so bright by @sluttyhenley absolutely shrieking about this series! marge deserves the world! and also both of the buck(y)s! good for her.jpeg! i'm lucky enough to be getting snippets of this as m writes it, and i cannot wait for the next few installments to go live

careful fear and dead devotion by @everyangel another john/gale/marge series i'm currently losing my mind over! the marge voice is so delicious, and i love the pre-war angle that underpins the first fic! cannot wait for more!

enter night by @rhaegang monsterfuckers and barry keoghan enthusiasts rejoice! the writing is top notch, the sex is blisteringly hot, and the tension and pacing are superb. rhaegang truly never misses

nothing safe is worth the drive (follow you home) by @yoursummerfrost i never really had a buffy phase, but i came across this fic the other day and boy howdy does it have me by the throat. deeply emotional, very sexy, and written with so much love it's got me thinking about giving the series more than a cursory "well, it was on when i was home sick from school way back when" watch. also! i've devoured every buffy fic they've written since i found this one and i'm happy to report that they're all incredible!

76. how do you deal with writing pressure, whether internal or external?

mature answer: i try to take a step back and remind myself that this is a hobby i am doing for fun and for free and i should calm the fuck down about it

follow up answer: and if that doesn't work, i whine ceaselessly at my writing buddies until i'm over it

send me some fic writing asks!

[mareenavee]

WIP WHENEVER! (Wednesday?!)

Hi, today is a bit of a write off day because it's spooky season and NY weather is telling me it's mid-July somehow.

I did manage a little writing :> And I'll be happy to share about ~300 words from two WIPS! But first, tags!

Tagging the amazing and wonderful: @paraparadigm, @changelingsandothernonsense, @thequeenofthewinter, @thana-topsy, @gilgamish, @archangelsunited, @wildhexe, @elfinismsarts, @throughtrialbyfire, @saltymaplesyrup, @snippetsrus, @rainpebble3, @kookaburra1701, @polypolymorph, @inquisition-dragonborn, @orfeoarte, @tallmatcha, @rhiannon1199, @expended-sleeper, @dirty-bosmer, @miraakulous-cloud-district, @nuwanders, @ladytanithia, @viss-and-pinegar, and @late-nite-scholar! Below the cut for shenanigans! WIP 1 has CW for creepy spooky season stuff and WIP 2 has CW for Neloth (yes) and his canon-typical racism (circa Nerevarine times in Morrowind.)

1) Spooky Collab pending a title with @thequeenofthewinter and @thana-topsy! Uldwin is his OC, and this is the downfall timeline. (: Writing is mine.

The ramp that led up to the mushroom tower was itself rotting through, stringy, toxic orange webs of slime mold eating away at the fungus. Lydia balanced precariously on the wooden support beams, cursing the weight of the daedric armor Uldwin had gifted her. Its enchantment sang to her, too—a whisper of some Bosmeri prayer. Like his voice, scratchy from use of the Thu’um. She swallowed hard against another wave of grief. This, perhaps, had been the last of his efforts to spare her whatever fate he’d willingly walked into.

The door to the tower swung open of its own accord, iron hinges rusted and knob caked with mud and grime. Then… Whatever it was had become aware of her presence. This did not bode well at all. She stepped through into the darkness, unable even to cast Candlelight to guide her way forward.

Lydia’s senses were assaulted by the stench of death—mildew and rot, must, pine, the uncomfortable sweetness of fermentation—not at all unlike the smell of Nordic tombs, long undisturbed. She brushed cobwebs away as she crept through the shadows. Dawnbreaker glowed, though its light seemed stifled in this place. Dread settled over her shoulders like a mantle. One step after another. It was all she could do, despite the fear. Despite how very much she wanted to turn and run. She knew she couldn’t. Uldwin didn’t. And now it fell to her to end this nightmare…and to bring him home.As Lydia took another step, something crunched audibly under her boot. A bone. No. She held back a scream as something screeched above her, the noise traveling through her skull like a jolt of Shock magic.

2) Light the Way which is pre-World. Backstory for Neloth and Teldryn, the Nerevarine (: And how they both ended up in the Twin Lamps.

“If I have your attention,” Im-Kilaya said after a particularly grating and reptilian-sounding throat-clearing, “we’ll need you both to help an injured once-shackled individual. His name is Tul, a fellow Saxhleel. Our Eyes have noted his injuries are beyond the help of what potions we have available.” He paused and turned to Sero, handing him a letter. “This, and he will need to be defended until you reach Sterdecan.”

“Do you expect trouble?” Sero asked, scanning the letter. Neloth glanced over his shoulder. It was written in some kind of cipher—it had to have been. Otherwise, it was an egregious misuse of parchment, describing in detail a few fictitious landmarks of Azura’s Coast. He watched as Sero folded up the letter again and tucked it behind the dark chitin plate of his armor.

“Yes, unfortunately. The farmhouse is becoming more visible than we’d like. It’s why this falls to you, Nerevarine. Protect Tul. I don’t know what waits out there in the dark, but the news brings me great discomfort.”

“Orvas has wind of us, doesn’t he?” Teldryn said after a moment. 

Im-Kilaya said nothing, and opted instead to grimace, hands tucked once again into the sleeves of his robes. Teldryn nodded; whatever silent conversation had just occurred between them seemed satisfactory enough.

Neloth knew that name. Duke Vedam’s younger brother, and, at least at one point, the more powerful of the two. There had been rumors about nefarious dealings, and a more recent loss of his position within House Hlaalu. Something Fyr had rattled on about, as he was wont to do, but Neloth hadn’t bothered to listen. He cursed himself for his lack of foresight. Not that Neloth was afraid per se, but what should have been a fairly simple task now seemed infinitely more complex than what he’d at first believed.

[autumnleaves1991-blog]

I Need a Mechanic

A/N: Let me know if you’re interested in a smutty part 2! 

Pairing: Pre-Grogu Din Djarin x Female OC Grace Rayrunner 

Warnings: 18+ only for language, canon typical violence, broken bones, and jealous exes with an affinity for knives. This is young Din before Grogu back when he ran with a different crew. 

Word Count: 3,179 

“Do you work here?” she turns from the engine she’s welding to look at the voice behind her. Her hands flex from the pressure and the heat, and she pulls up the mask over her face giving him a glare; black tresses from her ponytail fall into her eyes, and she pushes them back. 

“You can’t park the hunk of junk here,” he looks behind him at the Razor Crest and crosses his arms over his chest. 

“That’s not a hunk of junk; that’s my ship.” 

She rolls her eyes, “well, this is my place, and I’m kriffing telling you, you can’t park it here.” She rises from her knees and is shocked at how broad the man before her is as he towers over her, leaving her half in shadow. 

“What are you wearing?” he scoffs, looking down at her outfit. A dark green button-up, unbuttoned halfway down to show off a white lace bralette, and black shorts with lots of pockets for all sorts of tools. “Nevermind,” he sighs, “do you work here?” 

“Yes, I do, and if you haven’t noticed, we’re in the middle of the desert, and it’s hot as hell here, so hence the clothes.” 

“Yeah, I hadn’t noticed,” he replies slowly, his helmet moving down over her body. 

“Little slow there, aren’t ya?” she sasses back, pushing around him to get back to the office and, tosses the helmet and welding gun down. “Now, if you’d be so kind as to get your...shit, I can’t think of a better word besides junk. Out of my shipyard, I’d be happy as can be.” 

He follows her close and blocks the doorway when she goes to exit, “are you a mechanic?” 

“Kriff,” she puts a hand to her head and sighs, “yes.” 

“Then I’ll pay you to fix up my ship,” he pauses when she barks out a laugh, bowling over with force and trying to catch her breath. 

“Ah, ha, ha, that is hilarious! You don’t have that kind of credit, honey; you are better off buying a new ship. It’s a HUNK. OF. JUNK.” She says each word slowly, so he understands the full effect of her words. But instead of leaving with a huff, he stands there, helmet pointed down, she can feel the heat of his eyes on her, and she flinches, taking a step back. 

“How much?” his voice is low, dangerous. 

She crosses her arms and glares at him, calculating some numbers in her head. “Okay, I’ll do a basic tune-up, make sure it’s running fine. It’ll be five hundred credits.” 

“What’s your name?” he takes a step closer, and she subconsciously takes a step back. 

“Grace Rayrunner. Now, that’s five hundred credits, half now and a half when it’s done. I won’t do it otherwise.” He pulls out a bundle of credits hanging from his dingy armor, littered with scratches and dents, and drops it into her outstretched palm. 

“Done, and absolutely no droids,” he nods, “I got a job to do on planet, so I’ll be back for my ship tomorrow night.” He turns towards the exit out into Mos Eisley, and she yells back for him. 

“Hey! Mando! What?! No droids, but how…This hunk of…” she stops when he reaches a hand towards his blaster, “ship won’t be done for a couple of days. Even longer without using the droids!” 

“Tomorrow night,” he replies like granite, hard and unwavering, before walking out the door and into the night. 

It takes her all night and most of the day to get the piece of shit even to turn over, and she curses that she should have charged him way more money, especially with a condensed timeline and lack of resources.

Grace curses as the panel spark, and she shimmies back underneath. “Dank Farrick,” she mumbles, putting down her helmet again to try another connection, “stupid, Mandalorian.” 

She screams when the board she’s lying on is pulled out and comes face to face with said Mandalorian. “Kriff,” she mumbles, pulling up the mask, “I’m not done yet.” 

“Now, who's the slow one,” he bends down, and she sits up, eyes level with one another. “I need to get out of here; when will you be done?” 

“Why? Got a hot date?” she snorts before lying back and pushing back under the panel. 

“I have a prior engagement,” she can almost feel the snark in his reply, making her stomach churn. “Don’t want to be late.” She ignores him, continuing to rewire the panel. “I got lots of credits on this last job; I was wondering if you might toss in a little something extra.” 

“What’d you have in mind?” His gloved palm stroking up and down the length of her thigh is a rude awakening, and she kicks at him, rolling out from beneath the ship. “Get the hell out of here!”

He chuckles, quickly taking a step back, “come on, honey, you’re not finding any action on this planet, and you could use the credits.” He crosses his arms and leans back against the wall, smug as can be. 

“I would rather eat bantha dung than ever consider sleeping with you. Since you’ve come here, you’ve done nothing but piss me off; you’re arrogant and selfish. If your hunk of junk ship wasn’t enough to see how well you take care of your things, that dingy armor would! I am not a whore; this is my shop; you can keep the rest of your credits and clear out! I kriffing hope you fall out of the sky!” 

“Is it done then?” he asks, ignoring everything else she’d said and walking towards the ramp to the Crest. 

She throws up her arms, exasperated, “I guess! And if I ever see you again, Mandalorian, it will be too soon.” He ignores her, walking up the ramp and closing the hatch behind him, a clink of coins hitting the sand as the ship powers up. With a scream, she grabs the bag of credits and hurls it toward the ship, watching as they explode against the side before splattering across the sand, “Kriffing Mandalorian!” 

The ship takes off through the atmosphere and she stews for a moment before collecting the credits, counting them as she goes. It doesn’t escape her notice that there are significantly more credits than should be, but she writes it off as him being unable to do simple calculations, what with being a nerf herder, hoping she never sees him and his stupid broad shoulders again. 

But unfortunately, life is never fair, and the Mandalorian does return not once or twice but almost monthly. No matter the number of screwdrivers she’s tossed at his helmet, he keeps coming back. The Razor Crest always comes in hot, nearly crashing into the shop and crushing whatever she’s working on most of the time. Her protests fall on deaf ears as he just tosses a bag of credits, far more than she needs, and leaves to the Cantina for work. 

But something had begun to shift in the last few months; he still came in hot and tosses her the credits, but he always came back early, and during those times between scathing comments, insults, and general displeasure (usually from her), he was almost…pleasant. 

And she couldn’t deny that he was attractive, those broad shoulders, and the deep husk of his voice through the moderator. He’d been the star of more than one of her nighttime fantasies. His armor pinning her down to the bed, hands tied up in those binders he has snapped to his belt, and then he would go to remove his mask, and she’d wake up, panting and alone, hand buried deep in her pussy, aching for him to come and take away the ache. 

“What are you thinking about?” he comes out of the shadows, watching as she furiously blinks away the images. 

“Nothing,” she snaps, tightening the bolt on the panel. “You know, I’m starting to think you should just invest in a new ship.” 

“Why is that?” he sighs, putting his hands on his hips and looming over her. 

“Because by the time you’ve got her into some semblance of working order, the number of credits you’ve paid me could buy you a new ship.” She stands, brushing off her hands on her shorts, wincing at the small cut on the nip of her finger, “kriff.” 

He stands there silent, a wall of armor and leather, before taking her wrist in his hand; she goes to protest before he’s slipped her finger beneath the mask. She can’t breathe, his warm wet mouth wrapped around her finger, his tongue flicking back and forth over the small cut. She can feel her panties dripping, and despite not seeing his eyes, she knows they are fixed on her. The T-shape visor stares down at her as he takes a step closer, “how does that feel?” he whispers, voice hoarse. 

Grace is speechless for the first time in her life, and when he slowly releases her hand, the whimper that slips out is far from silent. “I have to go,” he closes the last inch of distance, cupping her cheek with his glove, the leather coarse and rough from years of use. “I won’t be back for several months; I got a big job coming up.” 

“Why are you telling me?” she whispers, biting her tongue so hard to suppress the moan when he runs his hand from her cheek, down her side, just grazing the side of her breast, before wrapping an arm tight around her waist, pinning her body to his own. 

Neither of them mentions how she doesn’t push his away, how she leans closer, the helmet pressing to her forehead. “Because, little mechanic, when I return, I’m going to repeat my original offer, only this time it won’t be for credits. It’ll be because you want me to fuck you, want me to bring you so much pleasure you won’t be able to remember your own name when I’m done with you.” 

She pulls her head back, a playful scowl across her lips, “Is that a threat, Mandalorian?” 

“No,” he shakes his head, sliding his hands lower to take two handfuls of her ass and squeeze tightly, leaving her gasping. He leans close to her ear and whispers, “It’s a promise.” His hands retreat before returning to give a sharp slap to her ass, and she moans, falling forward to dig her fingers into the thick cowl at his neck, nearly falling over when he steps backward and turns to the ship, pulling the ramp up behind him. The heat from the engine is nothing compared to the one swirling in her body, threatening to erupt like a volcano from a mere brush of his hands on her body. How the hell would she last if there was nothing between them? In a few months, she promised she would find out. 

Over the next three months, Grace tried to convince herself that every sound of an engine landing in the bay wasn’t him. But her body didn’t seem to get the memo, her heart pounding, lungs constricting with the anticipation that he’d returned. It was a foreign feeling, to be sure, but not unwanted as she lay in bed and recalled the past year of interactions with the Mandalorian. Yes, he was cocky, and at times his silence was infuriating, but there was something about him that made her feel safe around him; comfortable. 

The sound of an engine rumbling into the bay sent her heart into a tizzy as she stood from the droid she’d been working on, wiping the oil off her hands. “Can I help you?” Grace asks, coming from the office and taking in the sleek one-person cruiser, a purple-skinned Twi'lek coming down the ramp, spinning something silver and sharp around her index finger. 

“I don’t know,” she giggles, almost unhinged, and a chill creeps down Grace’s spine. “That depends,” she takes a step closer, invading her space; the knife comes down swift and splits her cheek before pressing sharply against her neck. “Does a Mandalorian ever come through here?” 

Her voice shakes, “no, I don’t know any Mandalorians; I thought the Empire killed them all?” 

The Twi’lek laughs, pressing the knife harder into her neck, “you’re not a very good liar, darling.” 

“I’m not-” Grace is cut off as the Twi’lek bares her fangs, hissing in her face. 

“You’re all he talks about, you know? His little mechanic…it makes me SICK!” She steps back, swinging the knife around, Grace barely moving out of the way before it slices her stomach. “He won’t let me even touch him anymore,” she rambles, her voice growing more distressed with each passing second. “He’s MINE!” 

Grace quickly glances around for something to use as a weapon, picking up an old plasma shield to use as a barrier between her and the angry Twi’lek. “If I can’t have him, nobody can!” One by one, she flicks the sharp blades at her, trying to block every attack; Grace almost falters when the Twi’lek screams in frustration. She doesn’t notice how the next knife blinks before the force of the blast envelopes the space in a blur of flame and she’s thrown back into the wall, hitting her head before the world goes black. 

When she finally comes to the Twi’lek is gone, part of the wall suspended over her, hiding her from view. She lets out a shuddering breath, lucky to be alive. Her head is pounding, and her leg is definitely broken, but she crawls through the smoldering remains of her shop, glass embedding in her palms as she claws her way out. “Grace!” she lifts her head to see Peli Motto, another mechanic bursting through the door, “you dead?!” 

“Not yet,” she groans, rolling over onto her back, “but they gave a good try.” 

“Kriff kid,” she stands over you, “what the hell happened?” She helps Grace, supporting her weight on one side and complaining loudly the whole time. “Jeez, who’d you piss off this time?” 

“It’s a long story,” Grace sighs, hobbling to the workbench and sitting down, “can you get me, Doc? I don’t think I will be able to walk that far.” 

“Yeah,” Peli puts her hands on her hips with a shake of her head, “your leg isn’t supposed to be bent in that direction.” 

“I didn’t notice,” she fails miserably at keeping the sarcasm from her tone, “please, Peli.” With a scoff, she walks off in the direction of the doctor, leaving you in the rubble of your life. 

Several hours later, Grace is tucked up in bed, her leg set and a couple of medications on the counter. Tomorrow she would need to go through the garage and pick out what’s left of her life before moving it over to Peli’s place; the older woman suggested combining the business, and Grace couldn’t think of a valid reason to say no. 

Given the situation, it was a smooth transition, and she fit into Peli’s shipyard as if she’d always been there. Healing was slow, but each day her leg was stronger, the cuts and bruises beginning to fade, although she would always have a long scar down her cheek from the Twi’lek’s blade. It was three weeks to the day since her life had literally collapsed around her when she finally heard his voice again. 

“Where the hell is she?!” he shouts at Peli, his voice frantic, “the entire shipyard is burned to a crisp; it’s like she was never there!” 

“How much does it mean to ya?” she hears Peli snark, always out to make a credit. He huffs before placing a handful of credits in her outstretched hand. “Why do you want her?” 

“She’s…” he hesitates before dropping his head in a sigh, lowering his voice, “she’s important to me. Please,” he all but begs, “just tell me if she’s alive.” 

Grace can’t stand it; the longing she’d felt since he last left her aching on the landing pad flares up, and she takes a hesitant step out of the shadows. His blaster is drawn and pointed at her before she can whisper hello. Both of them are frozen as they take the other in. She can almost feel his eyes trail over her body, taking in the bruises, cuts, and the cane gripped tightly in her left hand. He reholsters the blaster, taking a hesitant step closer, Peli makes herself scarce, counting her credits as she walks back into the shop. 

The Mandalorian closes the distance between them, his steps slow as though he’s scared to startle her, his hand moving to caress her cheek. Grace’s breath catches in her throat at the feeling of his skin warm against her own, his fingers tracing over the scar on her cheek. His voice is quiet, but its venom is crystal clear, “tell me who did this to you.” 

She closes her eyes, trying to collect herself before replaying the horrible affair, “it was some purple-skinned Twi’lek,” his other hand tightens into a fist. “She asked if I knew you, and I told her I didn’t, but she didn’t believe me. She…she told me that you were her’s and if she couldn’t have you, no one could.” 

“Xi’an,” the name comes out with a growl, and he lowers his hand and takes a step back. Grace steps forward, the cane dropping as she all but falls forward, bracing against his chest, his strong arms coming around to hold her up. “What did she do to you?” he whispers, keeping you upright. 

“Blew up the shop,” Grace mumbles, focusing on a scuff on his armor, “the wall came down, crushed my leg, and knocked me out. I think she thought I was dead.” His arms around her waist tighten, and she slowly raises her eyes to look at the T-shape of his visor, “she said you spoke about me.” He stays silent, “Is that true?” 

“Yes.” His hands run up and down her back, “It was reckless of me,” he sighs, “I know how possessive Xi’an can be. But she wouldn’t back down, she kept trying to get me alone, and once I started talking about you…kriff, I couldn’t stop.” 

“Why?” she asks, begging to know if he burns the same for her as she for him. 

“You know why,” he presses the helmet to her forehead. 

“Tell me,” Grace lifts her hands to tighten the cowl at his neck, fingers grasping to the fabric. 

“I’m not good with words,” she feels the disappointment bloom in her chest, but all the air leaves her lungs as he picks her up, “let me show you.” He cradles her like she’s made of glass, passing a smirking Peli, who loudly reminds them to use protection and keep it down. The door to her room opens as she silently directs him where to put her down, his knees hitting the ground hard as he kneels at her feet.

Let me know if you’d like a smutty part 2 :)

[beardedmrbean]

Ah the rumors are true (and these gaming companies coordinate)

https://x.com/xbox/status/1785308276063633588?s=46

I already figured out given last year Xbox revealed Star Wars outlaws and next day we had a gameplay reveal at the Ubi forward

Remember that leak AC red menu I sent? Well that was taken down to copyright, but I think that was a Xbox not a Ubi move.

Because the leak show the build being April third and most press conference game builds are usually a few months old as they are the most stable

So I heard original red would have it reveal in May 31st…hmmm if that still true

May 31st- a press event where we get a pre render cgi trailer, proper Yasuke and Naoe reveal, details, in game screenshots. And title reveal

June 9th- Xbox will have a gameplay demo showing off the capabilities of Xbox (and if Xbox bribed them enough. Ac red will be the first day one ac game on gamepass as the last three ac rpgs on it)

June 10th- a story trailer and “bts” video where they show how yes finally we are going to Japan and their ideas and inspirations for it

With probably the nice explanation why Yasuke was chose for the second playable character

Because people want red to be reveal at Ubisoft forward…but people need to digested Yasuke at first

Like my theory craft on how to use Yasuke in a what if continuation is interesting…but modern writers are not exactly smart.

Also there a fundamental difference between my black teen dad Jrpg idea vs writers who have critical theory plaguing their minds

Not to mention they think having more non whites will bring black people into fantasy games.

When the last time they went to the cookout? The vast majority of casual players only enjoy playing Cod, GTA, tekken and other fighting games, and the occasional license hero game

Okay okay fornite

Like here my pitch

Hey casual black gamers (who barely desire to play Normie games. WHAT I still deal with it) you remember Afro samurai? Well here a game where you play as the weapon bearer Yasuke in this game Assassin Creed Shadows (that is what some people saying the game is going called) where you help a secret ancient order unify Japan. And there more it’s a RPG where you can spend over 100 hours into and explore the beautiful recreation of feudal Japan!

Warning your dumbass might become a pseudo historian and desire more knowledge

(Or you might be interested in more ac games. Hmm here an Egypt one! Now might give you more! HEHEHEHE)

And noting bad wait- okay probably will be 70 dollars…..oh great a season and battle pass!….wdym online only?!

Ubi you now got 5-6 months to reform red market system (most ac game comes out on October or November) because you seen how your own game skulls and bones and SS kills JL flopped

Ugh why I had to be born during the hard times of gaming?

Maybe in May I get more leaks

Also college educated students, people do like organic diversity.

But white people don’t like the demonization of themselves from people who make more money they do in their lifetimes

Seriously what the fuck is the culture in California and New York where it socially acceptable to treat white people like fictional characters

June 10th- a story trailer and “bts” video where they show how yes finally we are going to Japan and their ideas and inspirations for it With probably the nice explanation why Yasuke was chose for the second playable character.

This all was the official timeline then, nice of them to post it, probably gonna be a few more leaks tho

Like my theory craft on how to use Yasuke in a what if continuation is interesting…but modern writers are not exactly smart. Also there a fundamental difference between my black teen dad Jrpg idea vs writers who have critical theory plaguing their minds Not to mention they think having more non whites will bring black people into fantasy games.

They need to stop with all the tokesism crap, even a MC can be a token if it's all just stereotypical nonsense. Then again certain parts of the audience that's all they want.

Gay guys need to be flaming, lesbians are lipstick or mega dyke, Latinos are gardners, and black people are thugs or you're doing it wrong.

If Yasuke breaks into a Undercover Brother type monolouge at some point I would laugh and cry.

When the last time they went to the cookout? The vast majority of casual players only enjoy playing Cod, GTA, tekken and other fighting games, and the occasional license hero game.

Oh I miss the cookouts, had a few friends that would invite me to different ones, damn fine food. Sometimes I acted extra white just to be funny too.

Prev and Warning your dumbass might become a pseudo historian and desire more knowledge (Or you might be interested in more ac games. Hmm here an Egypt one! Now might give you more! HEHEHEHE)

I like it, I also like tricking people into learning, makes things fun and interesting.

And noting bad wait- okay probably will be 70 dollars…..oh great a season and battle pass!….wdym online only?!

Grrrrrr

Ugh why I had to be born during the hard times of gaming? Maybe in May I get more leaks Also college educated students, people do like organic diversity.

There really was a golden age for it, late late 90's till the 10's when things all started to go online, get really good complete games and y you could hit up gameFAQ's if you needed help with something (used to have to know someone who knew or call the Nintendo Power hotline at $1.99 a min if you were stuck.

Think most college educated people like that too, it's just the loud ones that are the issue.

Seriously what the fuck is the culture in California and New York where it socially acceptable to treat white people like fictional characters

Speaking as a Californian let me say, fuck those guys doing that.

this is more like it

[ninnekomata]

Verses - Basic Overview

This is just an overview summary of the very bare-bones information on Ronin's verses; more detailed information will be put into individual write-ups later and things are liable to change as the blog and Ronin progress over time. Some of these verses need more specific sub-verses for certain media (ex. Marvel, Star Trek, etc.) that will be expanded on as needed down the line.

v. main | do not speak of darker days. (pre-Naruto start)

takes place in the canon timeline of the manga / anime, prior to the events of the first chapter of the manga or episode of the show. This covers any events earlier in the timeline such as the prior Great Ninja Wars, the Warring Clans Era, and further back to the formation of the Bijuu and Summon Creature (as per my personal lore for Summons- X). generally speaking Ronin is either actively contracted to one of the prior Cat Contract Holders (X), or it may be a period between active signees. this period also extends back to when he was not the Boss Summon of the Contract, prior to when his father went missing and the title was passed down to him.

v. main | and onwards we roam. (canon timeline through Shippuden)

the time period we see take place during the events of the manga and anime, beginning from chapter one to chapter 700. This also includes any relevant movies, OVAs, and novels / games that reasonably take place in this era. Ronin is the Boss of the Cat Contract by this point in the timeline and has been for decades, and most of his time is spent wandering the Elemental Nations and the continents beyond in search of his missing father. the status of the Cat Contract is considered Inactive (no current Summoners are signed to it) by default unless someone signs on during a thread; happy to plot this out, and can make a bespoke verse to cover this.

v. main | for those that walk after. (Boruto and after)

anything that takes place in Boruto and in attached media to the series; I am not especially well versed in the Boruto segment of the timeline as the series has not held my interest, but am happy to research and do appropriate footwork to make plots work! unless otherwise stated or agreed upon prior, Ronin is still uncontracted.

v. au | wicked creature. (generic magical familiar verse.)

the assumption of this base verse is that Ronin is some flavor of familiar or magical assistant creature; the exact type and lore can shift to better suit the other muses' canon or system of preference. if nothing concrete is given the assumption is that Ronin is a spirit given corporeal form by the person that has summoned / created him to act as a familiar - similar but not quit the same as the system in the Bartimaeus series if you are familiar with those books! his purpose here is simply to help whoever has called him forth, though he's very likely to be rather snarky about being awoken from his 'nap'.

v. au | catching claws. (generic pokemon verse.)

generally speaking, Ronin is a bizarre sub-species of the Meowth / Persian line that never fully lost it's ability to walk upright. this subspecies is far darker than the rest in it's coloration, and tend to keep company in cemeteries and other places of quiet and shadow. the oldest among the species can rival Ninetales in longevity and spectral power - an effect of this having caused the subspecies to change type to Normal/Ghost as their connection to the afterlife became stronger over subsequent generations and time. Ronin himself is a Persian of considerable age, hailing from lands yet unnamed in the wilds beyond Orre. While he is certainly no legendary Pokemon, the few people that live and have explored this lands do have stories and legends to tell of an extraordinarily powerful cat-like Pokemon in the region.... this lore is of course malleable and Ronin can reasonably be made to be most cat-like Pokemon comfortably and moved to more established locations as needed for bespoke verses in threads.

v. au | beast of yore. (generic mythos nekomata verse.)

Ronin is some form of mythological creature in this verse; he is assumed to be a form of yokai called a nekomata to match his main verse more closely unless a different lore or creature fits better and is specified for a sub-verse. nekomata have a number of powers depending on the source you look at; Ronin generally retains his shadow-based abilities, ability to transform, and skills with illusion.

v. au | the void between stars. (generic space verse.)

travelling the stars on various ships that he has either wandered onto willfully or has been smuggled on-to as an assumed 'illicit pet' by crew or another passenger. a strange alien race, it's clear that he is far more than a mere cat but the similarities to the Earth animal are so apparent it has to be assumed to be done with a purpose, rather than a quirk of evolution. regardless of the reasons for why the similarities exist, the differences are marked; Ronin is capable of bipedal locomotion and object manipulation, and appears to possess some level of telepathy and other mental skills - making him skilled in deception and illusion.

[littlestsnicket]

i haven’t actually finished the season yet, but half way through, i think season 2 of shadow and bone is far superior to season 1. but the more i think about it, the more i think this has more to do with subjective experience.

i remember watching season 1 in this mad, kind of unpleasant sprint because i was convinced if i stopped i would never bother to start again and i wanted to see all the crows bits. (this sounds insane but is a reasonable feeling based on past experience, given the massive number of shows i have started and not bothered to pick back up again. even though i thought there were elements i was really enjoying but the overall thing wasn’t working for me.)

but this season is a lot more engaging, and i don’t know if it’s actually better written or if shadow and bone is a complete failure of an adaptation. i mean that in the sense that it doesn’t work without a pre-existing attachment to the source material. like i went into season 1 having only read six of crows and maybe the book after that (the exact timeline is a bit of a blur), but i went into this season having read the rest of the series after that (though i never went back and read the beginning), but most of the same characters from the earlier books come back in the nikolai plot line, so i have feelings for/about them now.

@gellavonhamster had mentioned the show being fanfic-y, and i think maybe it is but in a slightly different way. not so much that they have changed a lot of things (which they have), but in the sense that it relies on an emotional connection to the source material to work as an enjoyable viewing experience in a way that an adaption should not.

an adaptation is a success if it makes you want more and to go read the source material. it’s a failure if you need to have already read the source material to engage with it.

[dvrast]

okay full disclaimer the  ‘ netflix influenced ’  in my pinned is anchored mostly in the show’s ages for the characters, and even in fully book - based threads, i’ll be writing jesper in his early twenties / late teens. anything seventeen and younger will be considered pre - canon, which i am very down to explore!! i also think shadow and bone’s season one blends into pre - book canon very well with very few contradictions, and the few present being very fascinating to me  [ looking at you jesper somehow knowing about kaz and pekka to some vague and never explained extent. hello ], so generally, unless it’s contradictory, i kinda consider it to be pre - canon to the ice court heist in my head most of the time.

season two is a different beast for me, unfortunately. regarding timelines, i will be defaulting to the books for season two / crooked kingdom events, however, despite my little bones to pick with season two of the show, i’m down to plot out stuff with anyone who’s interested in exploring that specifically! it’ll just likely be upon request beforehand, unless something very specific pops into my head for a thread <3

[loverofstufflof]

*Opens drawer, revealing a comically long line of various LMK bookmarks organized into neat little folders*

The Heart Behind the Lie by Nekohime19

Shadowpeach

[Directly following Embrace Your Destiny] A mixed plotline that begins with Wukong recovering from LBD’s possession, and transforms into a pseudo-necromancy scheme.

✨Peach Blossom Jade by Six_Eared_Gremlin

Shadowpeach, Spicynoodles

[Post-Emperor’s Wrath] Best described as “Season 5 If the Writer’s Had Balls”. A fun original arc with new antagonists and a few OC’s added for worldbuilding. I worry for all of the characters. The explicit lack of content warnings haunts me.

Nesting Regrets by Marinara_Trench

Shadowpeach

[Post-Emperor’s Wrath] Wuh-oh! MK activated another cursed artifact and now Macaque is all funky. Whatever could fix this? Only the power of overcoming trauma!

✨A Garden Across our Collarbone by PittedPeaches

Spicynoodles, Freenoodles

[Post-Embrace Your Destiny] Soulmate AU that may or may not be a metaphor for internalized homophobia. Not much to add because of its sheer iconography.

✨Surprise Adoption by SupremeDramaOverlord

Shadowpeach

[Alternate Timeline] A standard “Brotherhood succeeded their siege over heaven” AU where two Monkies learn how to raise a severely traumatized child. They are terrible at it.

The Monkey and the Bull Demon by Midnight_Dream_Tides

Spicynoodles

[Timeline Unknown] Hurt/comfort fic with a handful of creative liberties on demon magic.

✨A Bone to Pick by SmilesThroughFandoms

Shadowpeach, Chimera

[Post-Embrace Your Destiny] What’s a gang of hero’s to do when a mystery girl washes up on shore and starts spewing nonsense? Ensue whacky hijinks, of course! A surprisingly charming OC-centred story.

Shadows on the Mountain by sillymonkey

Shadowpeach

[Timeline Unknown] A transmasc Macaque deals with the pains of being AFAB during a special time for monkeys on FFM. Instead of going where you’d think it does, the author reflects on their own experiences with dysphoria.

✨Couch Crasher by PittedPeaches

Mixtape

[Post-Emperor’s Wrath] Porty separated from MK months ago, and has been living his new life as a homeless DJ. It makes sense that he would do anything to have a couch… it’s just a coincidence that this one is in Red Son’s secret underground apartment.

Shit, this is NOT what I was Expecting by J3llyyfishDust

Shadowpeach, Freenoodles

[Post-Emperor’s Wrath] MK’s still overcoming the trauma of finding out he’s not actually human. This cool stone he found on FFM isn’t doing much better. Weird, why does it almost feel like it’s alive?

Sunbreak by LadyGreenFrisbee

Shadowpeach

[Pre-canon] A newly resurrected Macaque discovers an infant monkey that looks weirdly a lot like him. Shouldnt matter too much; he’s trying to escape his contract with LBD… taking the kid shouldn’t hurt too much though, right?

Prank Gone Wrong by dragzo

Spicynoodles

[Post-Emperor’s Wrath] MK’s doing his very best to admit his feelings to Red Son, and the best plan he has is to do it during a special speech he’s giving at a Gala. Mei, being the mischief incarnate she is, has a silly idea up her sleeve. A satisfying retrospective on coming out as aroace.

Second Chances by Zephyra_loves_fandoms

Shadowpeach, Freenoodles, Chimera

[Post-Embrace Your Destiny] Okay, fine! Macaque will help train MK. But he’s not happy about it. However, through this new way Wukong has contact with him, maybe he can actually get that closer on their relationship that he needs. A fun interpretation of pastdowpeach and Macaque’s backstory.

✨Of Blood and Bones by EmerialynCodeVenice

Shadowpeach, Spicynoodles

[Alternate Timeline] Another “Brotherhood overthrows heaven” AU, except LBD has a lot more strings to pull. With the wielder of the Samadhi Fire and Harbinger of Chaos answering her every beck and call, how could she not achieve her destiny?

✨In for a Penny, in for a Pound by PeaceOfArt

Shadowpeach, Dragonfruit, Freenoodles

[Alternate Timeline] Macaque is an infamous thief who has yet to find an item he can’t steal. This reputation is challenged when LBD recruits him to steal the Emperor’s most prized possession: a monkie. A fun royalty AU that’s too soft for the climaxe’s own good.

Squashed Apricots by sunplum

Shadowpeach

[Pre-Canon/Rewrite] The monkies finally got their crap together and worked their shit out. The sturdiness of their new relationship is challenged by a newborn arriving on their doorstep… Wukong makes it worse by feeding said newborn his hair.

✨Monkies Deserve Better by Artemis Moore

Shadowpeach, Spicynoodles

[Post-Embrace Your Destiny] Have you ever wished that the LMK writers weren’t restricted by writing for a Chinese kid’s show? Have you ever wanted the canon to reflect an in-depth understanding of the mythos? Have you ever yearned to see your favourite characters go through absolute hell for 800k words? This spiritual Season 4 (5, 6, 7, and 8) is perfect for you. This series is so good there was a point it occupied more of my brain than the show itself. The writer is the spouse of Six_Eared_Gremlin, so if you like their writing, you’ll also probably like this!

These are all incredible fics in their own right, but a ✨ next to it means I’ve screamed over at least one update.

Ships in italics take place in the background

I'm sooooo bored I miss lmk :(

can someone recommend me some good fanfics wether it's shadowpeach or dragonfrut or spicynoodles any ship is fine or just any duo

[amsgrey]

Warmth In the Cold

Original OC x Aleksander Morozova

Warnings: bad writing lol

Snow days at the Little Palace were Natalia's favourite days. She would forget all duties and snatch Genya away from her tasks to force her to walk in the snow with her. Her husband, General Kirigan, never understood her fascination with the freezing weather. To Natalia it was the only time she could excuse not doing her duties.

As Princessa of Ravka, twin to Crown Prince Vasily, she was expected to be around the Grand Palace and attend all her mothers many tea and lunch parties with all the other noble women of Os Alta. Up until a few years ago Natalia lived away from the capital for “safety”, when she returned on her 18th, she was married to the General of the Second Army as a means of controlling him. Not that it worked, the two only acted married when at fetes or balls. The general still left for weeks to travel around Ravka for the war effort, being married to the princess didn’t change a thing.

Although the two slept in the same bed at night, whenever Natalia woke in the morning, Aleksander was gone, left for meetings and war strategies. Natalia refused to let herself get lonely, she became fast friends with Genya and spent most of her time in the Little Palace with her.

The Little palace was filled with so much more life and happiness than the grand palace, especially on snow days. When the sky opened and dumped inches of snow around the palace, Natalia and Genya would make their way to the training courtyard with most of the other Grisha and play in the snow with Botkin.

Today Feydor had been excused from his duties for the morning and he joined them in the courtyard as they watched the other younger grisha play in the snow. Natalia loved watching the younger grisha snow fight, it was almost as if they werent being trained to fight and kill for a war their king had inherited.

Natalias husband’s was away at the northern boarder with Fjerda, rallying troops and what ever else he was required to do. Natalia had grown used to the quietness around their shared chamber, the only noise coming from the guards quarters down the hall.

Botkin had wrangled the grisha around him to start a loose training lesson in the deep snow, he had the inferni clear the snow in a loose circle, allowing for grisha to spar without tripping over the snow. The three friends watched the sparring from across the courtyard. Beside her, Natalia could hear Genya mumbling about the cold.

A heartrender in a rich red kefta won his spar with the much smaller and scuriner tide maker than himself. The Corporalki around the courtyard cheered, making mocking comments amoungs themselves.

Natalia turned to Genya, “How can he celebrate beating a child half his size?”

A few of the grisha in the sparring circle turned to look at her, most of them despised her existence.

“Pick your next opponent!” Botkin roared, completely ignoring the whispers and frowns on the faces around him.

“Anyone?” The heartrender asked.

“Anyone!” Botkin replied, gesturing around him to the circle of Grisha.

“Lady Kirigan.”

Immediately the circle broke to make a path to where Natalia was standing, whispers went through the grisha.

Feydor turned to the lower ranking corporalki, just as he began to say something, Natalia interrupted.

“Are you sure?” She called to the man in front of her.

“Are you?”

Genya grabbed her arm, “Don’t even think about it Natalia, its not worth it.”

Natalia ignored her, she had been training with Botkin ever since she moved to the little palace, and before that when she grew up out of Os Alta she learned from her “dance instructor”.

Botkin seemed extremely pleased with the sparring match, he didn’t intervene or even attempt to change anyones mind, he knew Natalia could hold her own. The only disadvantage she had was she wore no Kefta, a way of showing her rank as a ‘rumored’ nongrisha.

Natalia gently closed her hands into a fist, holding them up before her and moving to face side on to the heartrender. Now that she was closer to him, she recognized him as Anatole, the heartrender that had been spending the last few weeks talking about how stupid and useless she was. Rumours didn’t usually get to Natalia, she was princess everyone in the country had an opinion on her without ever meeting her. But Anatole spread such foul language she had begun to grow irritated of his persistent lies. Anatole was at least a foot taller than she was, but he also had a massive tell of when he would swing a punch. He would always shift the heel of his left foot outwards in the slightest way when he was about to throw a punch, all Natalia ahead to do was dodge him until he grew tired of throwing punches then use his own weight against him to take him down.

A few minutes into the spar, Anatole grew angrier and sloppier because he couldn’t land a blow against the graceful princessa. Eventually, he dropped his arms in exhaustion, and Natalia moved close enough to land a sharp kick to the side of his knee, forcing them to buckle and making him land harshly on the ground. Natalia smiled, “Thank you for the practice, Corporalki.” She turned from the man, heading back to Genya to head inside and laugh about the mans arrogance.

She got a few steps away when she felt all the breath leave her lungs. Immediately she reached her hands to her neck in shock, suffocating against her will. Natalia could hear Genya shouting to her and she fell to her knees, on the snow under her, red drops stained the half melted snow. Natalia was all too aware of the warm blood that was spilling out of her nose and onto the snow, the intense burning in her chest as her body screamed for breath.

From all around her, the Grisha had started erupting, “Stop Him!” Many shouted, Feydor had advanced from the other side of the courtyard and was shouting, “Stand down, stand down now!”

Natlia fell forward as her body began to give up, Genya was at her side all of a sudden hugging her to her chest as her head swam. Corporalki had swarmed around the two, “Healer!” Someone shouted.

Feydors face was appearing above Natalia next to Genya, he reached out and placed a hand on her chest, she knew he was willing her to breath, trying to get her to fight for herself but in the moments she had been starved of her own will to breath she had forgotten how to draw in air. The sky above her and Genyas face shifted out of focus and Natalia slipped into the cold darkness of unconsciousness.

Genya and Feydor had felt Natalia’s body go limp, Genya had panicky tried to wake her friend, while Feydor quickly forced her lungs to inhale, willing her heart to beat. A Healer was ushered through the crowd to help Feydor. Then Natalia was being gathered in Feydors arms and rushed to her chambers to keep healing her. It took three healers to get Natalia's heart and lungs working for themselves, the eldest most experienced grisha healer had ensured Genya and Feydor, Natalia would wake in a few days, but her mind and body still needed to rest. In the meantime, news was sent to the Grand Palace and to General Kirigan, who happened to be on his way back from the north and forced his party to ride through the night when the news reached them. Although her husband was quick to respond to the news, Natalias parents and brother a stones throw away in the Grand Palace didnt react quickly at all. In fact, they didnt bother to come and check on her, instead relying on servants to pass on her condition.

General Kirigan arrived not two days after he received the news. Although the married couple would refuse to admit it to one another, they did truly care about the other. Aleksander left his party and horse at the gates into the palace grounds, himself and Ivan quickly walked the grounds to the Little palace and through the corridors to The Darklings chambers. At every doors entrance there were two guards, they let the general through with no issue. Aleksander was glad to see they had stepped up the security.

Walking through the doors into his and his wife’s shared chamber, he noted first Feydor and GEnya sitting close to the bed looking stressed and exhausted. Looking past them, he spotted his wife. She was slightly propped up against a plethora of soft pillows. Genya has brushed her hair off her face and from across the room, Aleksander could see how pale and clammy she looked, like all the blood had drained from her once rosy cheeks. Aleksander walked further into the room, Feydor and Genya jumped to their feet to greet him. Genya and the two heartrenders knew the general well enough that he let his guard down ever so slightly around them, they were all friends with Natalia and in extension himself.

“What happened?” He demanded, “Is she okay?”

The only news he had received on the way to Os Alta was that his wife had been attacked and she was ill.

Feydor and Genya shared a look, stuttering over their words to explain themselves clearly.

Ivan walked towards Natalia, he looked from her sleeping figure to Feydor and Genya, “A heartrender?” He asked incredulously.

Aleksander looked shocked, just the look of his frown sent the explanation spilling from Genyas lips. She didn’t fail to mention that the heartrender who had attacked Natalia was the same who had been speaking ill of her for weeks. Genya explained the whole thing, how fast it all happened but also how slow it felt watching Feydor trying to make Natalia breathe again.

“He stopped her heart?” Ivan asked when Genya had finished.

Feydor nodded, “He only stopped when Zoya sent him flying into a wall.”

Aleksander walked over to his wife’s side, the three grisha moving to allow him through. He gently soothed his hand over her hair, she was so still and pale Aleksader was confronted with the fact he might have been seeing her dead if not for Zoya and Feydor.

“Where is this Heartrender now?” Aleksander demanded, whoever he thought he was, trying to hurt his wife, he would pay the ultimate price.

“In the cells.”

Natalia breathed in a deep breath as she forced herself to open her eyes. Her shared chambers were cast in the soft glow of the evening sun and the fireplace in the right of the room. In front of the bed, the doors to the war council room were slightly ajar. Natalia could hear her husband and Ivan speaking with other Grisha Second Army Corporalki. Natalia couldn’t hear them from where she was, but she didn’t really care to. On the side table to her left there was a small glass of water. Natalia tried to reach out for it, but her hand shook so badly the glass slipped and landed with a thud on the hardwood floors. The talking in the other room ceased, then Aleksander was opening the door, a frown on his face.

Natalia looked up at him, “Sorry,” she said sheepishly.

Aleksanders frown fell, he entered the room, gently shutting the door behind him. “It’s okay,” he said, he walked over to her side of the bed, picking up the glass and putting it on the far side of the side table before waking to the water pitcher across the room and pouring her a new glass. Aleksander returned and sat on the edge of the bed, he gently held the glass to Natalias lips and helped her drink it.

“Thank you,” she sighed, relaxing back into the pillows behind her.

The light from outside the windows has started to get darker, the fire's orange glow casted over Aleksanders face as he watched his wife.

“How are you feeling?” He asked.

Natalia sighed, “Tired.”

There was a pause between the two.

“How was your trip?” Natalia asked quietly.

Aleksander quietly chuckled, “That's what your asking?”

Natalia looked away, “I thought you weren’t coming back for another few weeks.”

“Things were wrapped up early,” Her husband turned to face the window where the sky hard turned dark, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.”

Natalia reached out for her husband, she forced her weak muscles to grab Aleksanders hand, “I shouldn’t have fought him,” she sighed trying to get comfortable in bed but being unable to make her tired body comfortable, “It was foolish.”

“He shouldn’t have attacked you,” Aleksanders eyes darkened, “He wont be a problem anymore.”

“My husband, the hero,” Natalia poked her husband playfully.

“You gave Feydor and Genya one hell of a fright,” Aleksander laughed.

“Oh,” Natalia tried to sit forward, Aleksander snaked hus hand around her back and helped her sit forward, holding her close to his own body to support her. “Oops.”

The general laughed, he could see in Natalia’s eyes she was growing more and more exhausted. “Do you want to lie down?”

“Only if you join me,” Natalia responded, gesturing to his side of thier large shared bed. Aleksander smiled, he gently supported his wife with one arm while moving the pillows behind her so that she could lie down. Natalia watched him walk around the bed and put out the candles and lanterns around the room. He walked back to his side of their bed and took off his embroidered Kefta and boots then peeled the covers off the bed to join his wife. Natalia smiled, gently scooting her tired body to lie her head on her husbands chest.

“Thank you,” Natalia sighed, she felt safe with her husband, for the first time in a while she felt the warm feeling of love again for her husband. She could almost forget they were in a forced loveless marriage.

“Goodnight,” Aleksander whispered, gently soothing Natalia's hair as she fell asleep.

[wine4thewin]

EvilPeaches Shadow & Bone Fic Masterlist

All my S&B fanfics in one place, listed by pairing. Please be aware, the majority of the tags are not listed here, but you’ll see them on AO3.

Lies Like These

Rating: M Tags of Note: Aleksander POV, Smutty man thoughts, he does the thing with his tongue & Alina likes it Complete Summary: He wonders if she’s ever felt the touch of a man before. If he’ll be her first- because he’ll have her, one way or another.

…and if he’s not her first, he’ll certainly be her last.

Paint It Obsidian

Rating: Hard E for dark, disturbing themes + D/s Tags of Note: Darkfic, Criminal Underworld Darkling, Street Rat Alina, Modern AU, WIP Summary: Aleksander Morozova may be beautiful, but his world is not. It drips with sin, blood, and a distinct lack of morality. He’s dangerous. Corrupt. He’s a powerful man, and powerful men have lovely treasures.

Alina Starkov is about to become one of them.

Forgiveness Doesn’t Taste Like This

Rating: Hard E Other pairings: Darklina, Fivan Tags of Notice: Angst, SLOW BURN, Gratuitous smut, 140K words, Heavy Plot, immortality & amplifiers, long timeline so many tags Complete Summary: Being amplified, the way they are, means more than just being powerful. It means watching everyone you love die.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo / more under the 'keep reading’!!!

What Hides in the Heart

Rating: E Tags of Notice: Pre-canon, Pre-relationship, Angst w/happy ending, Complete Summary: They’ve been friends since forever and somehow it only took one night to change it all. Fedyor isn’t thinking about it. He’s not. 

Just like Ivan is pretending everything is fine, pretending it all never happened, with all the emotional tact of a complete rock. Fedyor almost isn’t surprised, but he’s not down with this pretending game. Not one bit.

The Empty Halls

Rating: T Pairing: Fivan, slight background Malina pining, hint of Darklina Tags of Notice: Jealousy, public BJ, Alina POV / Alina realizing that Fivan is a thing. Complete Summary: Alina isn’t adjusting to life at the Little Palace. Hells, she doesn’t want to. She may as well be a prisoner that they’ve ordered Genya to politely dress up as a guest. It’s like a sick dog and pony show and it just doesn’t end. Mal is the only person she needs and he’s the only person she can’t have at her side, trapped in this new, odd place, full of strange people, no matter how welcoming most of them are. She’s a mapmaker, but frankly, navigating the tricky relationships in the Little Palace is the last thing she really wants to do. 

She's noticed one thing for certain; the friendlier Fedyor is with her, the more unpleasant Ivan becomes.

As the Moon Chases the Sun

Rating: T Pairing: Fivan Tags of Notice: Pre-canon, Pre-relationship, jealousy, lust, Zoya & Ivan being awful people together way more tags Complete Summary: Prequel to ‘What Hides in the Heart’. Zoya does not give good motivational talks. Ever.

This Bed Has Three Sides

Rating: Hard E Tags of Notice: Modern AU, Dysfunctional poly, jealousy, Past Darklina, Lots of Bickering, P w/Plot, Dirty Talk, Light D/s, Extreme Smut. M/M/F and eventual M/F/M. way more tags WIP Summary: All relationships have their struggles. Especially relationships like this one. If you told Alina Starkov months ago that she’d end up in bed with not just one, but two men after her ugly breakup with Aleksander Morozova, she would have laughed you down the street. 

She never imagined her post-breakup life would be this risqué.

Easy, Steady

Rating: Hard E Tags of Notice: Modern AU, Pegging, Established Polyamory, Pw/Feelings, Dirty Talk, Extreme Smut Summary: Fedyor wants her to top tonight, but not in the way Alina’s expecting. (part of the ‘This Bed Has Three Sides’ AU)

xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

EXTRAS

Once More, But With Actual Feeling

Rating: E Pairings: Ivanlina, Fivan, slight Fedyor/Alina, Darklina, Darklina/Alina/Ivan Tags of Notice: Angst, Bonus Scenes from other fic, Smut, love triangles, so many more tags Summary: They've all been in the darkness for so long, they've forgotten what it's like to walk in the light. But sometimes...sometimes things taste better in the dark. All the bonus and deleted scenes from Forgiveness Doesn't Taste Like This will be posted in this title, each chapter featuring a specific pairing. Many of these will be explicit in nature. More pairings to be added, more tags and chapters to come.

[gallows-into-oblivion]

hi, hello, hi

i'm not sure which of these you already know about:

BOOKS:

Tamora Pierce. i recommend starting with her Tortall universe: the Song of the Lioness quartet, followed by the Immortals quartet and the Protector of the Small quartet. after that there's the Tricksters duology and the Beka Cooper trilogy (which takes place much earlier in the timeline but i recommend reading it after the first 3 quartets because it references stuff). then, if you like, you can sidestep to her other fantasy world, beginning with the Circle of Magic series, then the Circle Opens, and concluding with the Circle Reforged. features: nuanced women protagonists, lady knights, romance, varying levels of political intrigue and war, slightly complicated magic system.

Naomi Novik, Scholomance series. this one is more urban fantasy, but stay with me. teenagers at a magic school with no teachers, where the school itself is a living entity that the students have to learn how to survive in order to graduate. mixed-race queer female protagonist. the third book blows the sociopolitical scale wide open and reveals the inner workings of why and how the school operates.

Leigh Bardugo, Shadow and Bone trilogy and Six of Crows duology. there is also a Netflix show (2 seasons) based on these books. a little bit trope-y, but great if you want that high fantasy vibe. i personally like the duology more, but ymmv. canon disabled character who uses a mobility aid (cane).

Kristin Cashore, Graceling Realms series. the first two books follow different protagonists; the third and fourth follow the same, Queen Bitterblue of Monsea. unique magic system, TONS of high stakes sociopolitical intrigue, romance, canon disabled character (who is able to use his unique magical gift to work with his disability).

Suzanne Collins, The Underland Chronicles. you're probably at least familiar with The Hunger Games, considering the recent release of the new movie, but i want to highlight her urban-ish fantasy series set in/under NYC and featuring a pre-teenage boy from a working class family. there's war. there's prophecies that people struggle to interpret. there's massive talking animals (bats, cockroaches, rats, and more) and social customs regarding interacting with said animals. there's even a little romance.

Diana Wynne Jones, Howl's Moving Castle. if you're coming to this from the movie, be warned: the book is VERY different. like, Sophie actually has a personality. (sorry to movie enjoyers lol)

Christopher Paolini, Inheritance Cycle. i honestly am meh on these books, but they do have a lot of what people are looking for when they ask for high fantasy recs: dragons, elves, magic and consequences thereof. these books are LONG, so be prepared.

GAMES:

i mean, obviously Baldur's Gate 3. it did just come out, so it'll likely be a bit buggy for a while, but the devs are regularly releasing patches. the fandom is VERY active and there's a lot of disc horse which i personally am avoiding like the plague. however, the game itself has a lot of good things and is, at least in my opinion, a really fun time.

you could also try the original Baldur's Gate, and Baldur's Gate II: they are old (initially released in 1998 and 2000, respectively) but the first Baldur's Gate is often considered to be one of the best video games ever made. BG1 and 2 follow the same protagonist, so it's advisable to play them in release order.

Baldur's Gate 1 and 2 use modified AD&D (2nd edition) rules, while BG3 uses modified D&D 5e rules.

Dragon Age. there are currently three games in the series, as well as a bunch of comics, a movie (Dawn of the Seeker), and a short animated show (Absolution). i do recommend starting with Dragon Age: Origins. it is old (though not as old as the original Baldur's Gate) and the graphics and gameplay are a little clunky, but it's just a delightful experience. then you have Dragon Age II, which was made under ridiculous time crunch and as a result has been criticized a lot; it's still one of my top 5 games of all time. finally, and most well known, is Dragon Age: Inquisition. for a game that is nearly a decade old, it's held up really well.

WHEW, that was a long post. i hope this helps!! /gen

Anyone have any movie/game/book/series recommendations for old timey fantasy sorta stuff? Like lord of the rings or Skyrim? If you have any please let me know I'm like desperate

[lunaajade]

Everything You Need to Know about “Shadow and Bone” on Netflix (*UPDATED: POSSIBLE LANGUAGE OF THORNS ADAPTATION INFO)

 Since it’s recently been confirmed that we’d be getting S&B content in a few days (finally!), I thought I’d compile and summarize as much info as I could to refresh everyone’s memories! Please spread the word/share this post to those who aren’t up to date! (I’ve seen some people online who are worried about how it’s going to turn out, and I’d like to be able to hopefully reassure those people)

Now, there’s a LOT of stuff, so there’s always the chance I missed/forgot something. This post will be split up into categories based on type of info, so here we go! I went back and listened to/watched both of the big live streams (NYCC and the S&B Charity Competition), went on the Grishaverse Reddit, etc. to find as much (extra/bonus) stuff as I could. (If I missed anything/got something wrong, please feel free to leave a comment!)

Update: A lot of people have been asking where it was confirmed we were getting content soon. I found out from one of the update accounts I follow.

Thanks for reading, everyone!

General/Key Info About the Show

-This first season will be adapting both “Shadow and Bone” and what has been dubbed a “Book 0″ (most likely meaning prequel/backstory/set-up) for “Six of Crows” -In relation to the above point, the timelines are being brought together for the show. (Normally in the books, the two series are set two years apart)(We don’t know how exactly or what this means for the story, but I have a really interesting theory that I thought up in relation to this, message me if you’d like to hear it.) -Leigh acknowledges and understands that some of us have doubts and are worried about the show, but she has publicly assured us (numerous times) of how much she loves the show and cast, how well she thinks the crew/writers did in bringing the Grishaverse to life, etc. See a later point below in the Facts/Tidbits section -The first season will have 8, one-hour long episodes -Alina has been made half Shu (half Asian) for the show! Leigh stated that was decided on after she and Eric had a lengthy discussion on Alina’s character. -The main cast (as in confirmed to be in all episodes) is comprised of Jessie Mei Li (as Alina), Archie Renaux (as Mal), Ben Barnes (as the Darkling), Freddy Carter (as Kaz), Amita Suman (as Inej), and Kit Young (as Jesper) -Wylan and Nikolai are NOT in the first season. (Nikolai didn’t appear until the second book, and Leigh confirmed that at this point in the story, the Crows had not met Wylan yet.) -Other cast members include Danielle Galligan (as Nina), Calahan Skogman (as Matthias), Daisy Head (as Genya), Sujaya Dasgupta (as Zoya), Luke Pasqualino (as David), Julian Kostov (as Fedyor), Simon Sears (as Ivan), Zoe Wanamaker (as Baghra), and more! -The Darkling will also be called “General Kirigan” in the show. From what we know, The Darkling will be the “enemy” to Ravka (so in essence, General Kirigan is his alias/fake persona (what he’ll most likely be referred to for most of the show), and no one knows that he’s actually their enemy. (Meaning it’ll most likely a super big moment when they learn their general was actually the Darkling in disguise)). -The show was shot on location in Budapest, Hungary. (And additional filming took place this past fall in Vancouver) -In order, the 8 episodes are titled the following: “A Searing Burst of Light”, “We’re All Someone’s Monster”, “The Making at the Heart of the World”, “Otkazat’sya”, “Show Me Who You Are”, “The Heart is An Arrow”, “The Unsea”, & “No Mourners”.

Other (Fun) Facts/Tidbits About the Show

-Upon seeing Jessie’s audition, Leigh loved her audition/portrayal of Alina so much that she apparently stated that she wanted her to play Alina or she’d be out of the project. She was sent five auditions to watch, Jessie’s was the third, and she said she didn’t bother watching the rest of them. -Leigh stated that she and Eric Heisserer (the creator of the show) said they were on the same page from the first meeting. All other past meetings with producers and companies about possible adaptations had left her with a bad feeling, but she said they’d had the same ideas about inclusion, story, staff, etc. She said she’s loved the respect he’s shown towards the work (and, in a way, to us the fans) -Netflix apparently also has the rights to adapt “The Language of Thorns” , though we’ve gotten no info on that adaptation yet. (UPDATE: I just watched a Leigh Bardugo event from Feb 2019 (a few weeks after the show was first announced, I think): As of  that day, she said that she thought that they were going to use LoT more for "texture” (IMO that might mean worldbuilding?) in the show. And I don’t know if she was talking about LoT specifically because she was very vague, but she said that there were certain things in the show that she thinks readers will be really excited about. Again, this was over a year ago, back when they were still in pre-production and stuff, so don’t take my word for it. Besides this, I couldn’t find anything else relating to a possible LoT adaptation. Maybe they’ll have the stories from LoT appear as actual folk tales told in the show, and that’s the “adaptation”? IDK. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpHnw8Ygw5c&t=1906s)) -Leigh is an exec. producer on the show! I’m no expert, so I don’t know how much say/power she had in the process, but she definitely had some. -There is a RAVKAN edition of the “Shadow and Bone” book that Leigh says makes a cameo in the show! -Jesper’s guns had custom etchings done on them by a Hungarian antique gunsmith! (And they were so good that Leigh and Eric said that it looked like it belonged in a museum--they were also described to be quite heavy!) -Eric Heisserer is the creator of the show, he is an award-winning writer, well known for “Arrival”, “Bird Box”, and more. (If I remember correctly, Leigh said that he’d reached out to her about making the show!) -A DeKappel painting (maybe the one owned by Van Eck?) was confirmed to be in the pilot episode. -Pekka Rollins and Tante Heleen have been confirmed to be in the first season, but their casting has (up to this point) not yet been revealed. -Bo Yul-Bayur is confirmed to be in the show! (Though Kuwei has not) -Leigh will have  a cameo in (I think) Episode 5! She will be wearing a Materialki kefta and will be opening a door, if I remember correctly. -A lot of the crew was also extremely passionate about the project and fans of the books -The “Lives of Saints” book that was published in October is an actual book/prop that is appearing in the show! -I’m personally fine with Mal, but Leigh says that Archie is going to change everyone’s minds with his portrayal! -The costume designer for the show is Wendy Partridge, known for her work on “Thor: The Dark World”, “Pompeii”, and more!  -The composer for the show is Joe Trapanese, known for composing for “The Greatest Showman”, “Straight Outta Compton”, “Lady and the Tramp”, and more! At the NYCC Grishaverse panel, they revealed a little bit of the score (”Grisha Theme”): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFxIEbsHKJA 

Fun Cast/On Set Stories/Facts

-The cast all loves each other, and are all extremely passionate about this show, which is great! (Leigh said that on her second visit to the set, she heard them singing together) -Leigh says that Ben Barnes once snuck up behind her on her first day on set and scared her by whispering “Fine, make me your villain” -Freddy’s favorite Grishaverse book is “Six of Crows”, but most specifically the first line of chapter 2 (”Kaz Brekker didn’t need a reason.”) -Jessie would apparently come to set on some of her days off to support the cast and crew! -Sujaya has stated that her favorite Grishaverse character is Nikolai! (#Zoyalai) -Freddy has become famous/popular with the fandom, one of the reasons being because he often comments on posts/live streams asking something along the lines of “What was it like working with Freddy Carter? xoxo” -Danielle loves Nina and her journey in “King of Scars” -According to a Tweet, Freddy and Leigh said that there had been a scene with “a very pesky gate”--Freddy said that it “wouldn’t be proper to tweet the expletives [he] used that day” and that he thinks he “scarred” Amita and Eric. -Amita’s favorite thing about Inej is her silence, and her favorite Grishaverse book is “Six of Crows” (as of May, where we learned this during a live-stream, she said she’s read it three times and listened to the audiobook twice.) -There was a waffle truck on set on the last day of shooting! -Calahan says that if he could play any other Grishaverse character, he’d want to play Nikolai! -While she did work with the trainer to get more physically fit, Amita learned most of her knife techniques by herself! -Leigh said she cried a lot while on set! (She said there was one scene they were shooting that she has a very clear, vivid memory of writing many years back--based on the context of which she was talking about it, if I had to guess, I’d guess she’s describing the Winter Fete.) -Leigh also said that on one of her first days on set, it was funny/weird to see all the extras in First Army uniforms chilling on their phones, drinking coffee, etc. -One of Calahan’s favorite character dynamics in the books is the dynamic between Kaz and Matthias -There was a moment where Amita was fully in costume and doing amazing, graceful knife work, only to trip and fall when she’d finished. -Amita and Jessie and Sujaya were best friends on set. -Sujaya loved everything about playing Zoya. (Especially her confidence) -Leigh says one of her favorite props was Kaz’s cane, especially because of what it meant to her and the story. -If he could be any Grisha order, Calahan says he’d want to be a Corporalki -Calahan loves Matthias’s journey/arc. -Kit’s favorite Grishaverse book is “Crooked Kingdom”!

Links

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X65iI1YXrbU (NYCC Grishaverse Panel) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHou5rVs6o0 (S&B Talent Show Charity Live Stream ft. the S&B Cast!--the IG video got taken down because Archie deleted his IG account and switched to a new one) -https://www.netflix.com/title/80236319 (”Shadow and Bone” on Netflix!) -https://twitter.com/shadowandbone_ (Official “Shadow and Bone” Twitter!) -https://www.instagram.com/shadowandbone/?hl=en (Official “Shadow and Bone” Instagram!) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRh-Pmbynww (Annoucement made by cast when filming wrapped! (can be found on the social media accounts, but here’s a link to YT)) -https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bpY8uLtyB4 (A S&B Cast Crack video by HeartPhantom--it highlights a lot of the inside jokes and memes that we’ve gotten to witness among the cast, and also just generally shows off how hilariously chaotic everyone is (this cast is the definition of chaotic good, lol))

[dirkjakeweekly]

DIRKJAKE FIC RECS

This is a rebloggeable version of our sidebar page reproduced in full, for those who prefer to save things on their own blogs for later!

INTRO

This page is not intended to be an encyclopedia, but rather a non-exhaustive list of a few Dirkjake Fanfics (and Fancomics) for those that may be interested in the ship, but a little too tired of trawling through AO3 search! Some of these contain NSFW or suggestive content, viewer discretion is advised.

[ FIC RECS (last updated Jan 2021, click readmore for full list) ]

It’s only a canvas sky

Their guardians dead at the hands of the Condesce, growing up in the shadow of her slow takeover of the Skaian Federation, Dirk Strider and Jake English have spent their whole lives alone up until shortly before their twelfth birthdays.

Or: Dirk fixes a transmitter, makes a friend, builds a robot, and tries to communicate affection over distance to the barest possible minimum.

Read here!

GOD’S BRAND NEW FATE SELECTOR (Fancomics)

In ONE PARTICULAR TIMELINE, detached from many similar ones, an aspiring divorcee stands by his baby’s cradle and attempts to hatch an escape plan with some aid from the ghost of his long-deceased boyfriend. He’s not exactly helpful.

SOMEWHERE ELSE ENTIRELY, Dirk Strider is overcame by the nagging feeling his splinters may be getting a little out of hand and far too into his head, when he gets a booty call.

One timeline is Epilogues-Compliant, another Epilogues-Divergent. 

Read here!

We’re All Friends & Family Here (And Frankly, We’re Sick Of Your Shit)

It’s been about a year since the big Fast Forward, and sure, things on Earth C aren’t perfect for everyone. But they’re fine. Really. It’s fine. Everything is super fuckin’ swell, and that’s that.

It’s not like one night is going to change anything.

Read here!

Perpetuity

“Call it a car crash waiting to happen, you’ll just call it your downfall”

Dirk is a romantic, just not a particularly optimistic one.

(Written pre-epilogues release, post-game, fix-it)

Read here!

Tailspinning Into the Epilogues with Dirk and Jake (complete series)

Read here!

Stark Nonfiction (Part of the Tailspinning series)

Jake tries his hand at a gentler epilogue.

Read here!

Between the Lines (Part of the Tailspinning series)

“It’s just… I can’t remember the last time I felt so at peace, I guess. It was such a lovely jaunt with Jade, and instead of being all torn up about coming home, I feel even better, now. It’s actually been a real while and a half since I felt… bad, you know? Like actually bad.”

You don’t have much in the way of emotional permanence about that sort of thing. Surely it was months ago, when you were staring gloomily at the bottoms of bottles like the world’s most up-his-own-ass useless overdramatic dilettante. Did it even really happen, if it all, in hindsight, just seems like a dumb pantomime of misery to get attention? A successful dumb pantomime of misery to get attention, mind you, you definitely got it, and a boyfriend to boot. Was it ever really as atrocious and apocalyptic and unsurvivable as it seemed?

Read here!

A Palate Cleanser (Part of the Tailspinning series)

ROXY: hay everybody its jakes turn! ROXY: hes got a few words hed like to say about our dear departed buddy

The eulogy we missed on Candy’s page 15.

Read here!

Eschewal

“you hope he’s a benevolent god”

Read here!

Grublr. (Fancomic)

In the consort kingdom, atop of the large, humongous mansion where the god of Hope lives, there is an apartment complex.

Read here!

The Hitchhikers Guide to Your Ex-Boyfriend (Fancomic)

Jake English waking up sore and alone on a cold floor is not a strange occurrence for him as of late. The ethereal beam of light and sluggishly churning floor is new, but he’s woken up in stranger places.

If circumstances were better he’d probably have something shocked and relevant to say about this strange landscape he’s found himself in, but circumstances are in fact legendarily shit right now.

(A comic/fic where Jake English gets rights)

Read here!

The Four Kings, the God Thief, and the Black Diamond Pirates

Dirk and Vriska have it good. They raid ships, pillage merchant vessels, constantly poison each other, possess a lucrative pact with the Wind King, sing a lot of dope fuckin’ sea shanties, and captain a loveable crew of pirate scum. They’re ready to kick back, take it easy, and become the vile and revered scourge of the diamond trading line.

Then they find someone in the water.

Read here!

Sea shanties for Thots (Four Kings continuation)

Jake English has never done anything wrong, ever, in his life, if you don’t count literally all that stuff from the first installment of oxfordRoulette’s diegetic-musical-cum-found-family-pirate-AU. Luckily, that was in the last story, and he is completely better now in all respects. None of that nonsense is a thing anymore and it will not be relevant at all! Surrounded by friends and allies, with a very cool piratey boyfriend and a hold full of treasure from his recently decimated country, he’s got everything a fellow could want.

What will he do?

Befriend an octopus god. Learn to fish. Kick back. Take it easy. Kiss his boyfriend a lot. Open a jewelry company? Pursue immortality. Confront his past. Embrace his future. Maybe save the world. One thing’s for sure: there will be a lot of songs involved.

Read here!

Two idiots at Homoville, N69, TX

In a moment of desperation, Dirk goes on r/relationships. Things get oversharey real quick. He types as follows:

“I [23M] cannot understand my [24M?] roommate. He is the most bizarre man to ever set foot on earth and I’m afraid I’m losing him.”

or, and They Were Roommates.

Read here!

Drive it home with one headlight

Some mistakes are so fucking big that they divert the path of your life entirely, sending you somewhere you were never meant to go. Some mistakes are so seismic and so obvious that when you look back on your life all you can see is the beacon where you made them. Some mistakes leave you so far off course you don’t even recognize who you are or why you’re still here.

You don’t usually get a chance to make amends.

Read here!

A Tallied List of Various Occasions in Which Jake English Encountered the Elusive Smile Belonging to One Dirk Strider

Jake English, explorer extraordinaire, tracks down the most unique treasure of all: a nerd in pointy sunglasses.

Read here!

BONES OF BLACK MARROW

Dirk summons a demon for the exclusive purpose of ‘cathartic boning.’ He gets what he wants.

NOTE: This fic is ergodic (think House of Leaves), which means it cannot be downloaded for offline perusal on your kindle/pdf reader. Also has CYOA elements, so clicking “Entire Work” will make the fic impossible to read.

Read here!

fire fly

A wedding. An anxiety attack. A daring tryst.

Read here!

DIRK TOPS (Fancomic)

Ever think about how Dirk Strider got full narrative awareness of the fanfics where he’s the big scary hunk in charge and went “I can do that” when he wasn’t, in fact, able to do that? i do. i think about that.

Read here!

MLM stands for Moron loving Moron (Fancomic)

aren’t you TIRED of longing? don’t you just want to go APESHIT while dating your best bro? i mean, you’ve earned it, right? (Collection of oneshot comics. marked as complete, updates whenever)

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fist is a four letter word

Jake’s face quirks. “App?“ 

“Yeah, app. Like, application. You know your phone can do other things right? Like, apps.”

“You sure do keep using that word! I’m not quite sure I understand what you mean.”

“You know, apps.” You try to think of how to explain apps. You suddenly can’t think of what apps are.

What’s the name of an app.

Literally just name any app.

He’s staring at you.

Oh my god.

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Witching Hour

There’s something almost magical about that time between too late at night and too early in the morning. It’s the perfect time to meet a stranger and go on an adventure.

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[kyogre-blue]

My best guess about the Agartha thing is that it has some combination of boring explanations that are just... not intuitive enough and not satisfying enough to be easy to keep track of.

Agartha's fall is thousands of years ago, and the entire continent seems to have been rendered nearly uninhabitable in the process. So it's not surprising Rhea and Seteth don't think anyone from that period survived and just assume some other evil cult came to power in the interim to manipulate things from the shadows. There can, logically, be more than one evil conspiracy other millennia. And the old time Agarthans were just humans with technology. They must have modified themselves to be bone white and also shapeshifters in the millennia since then, so of course Rhea and Seteth wouldn't have known about this unless they'd caught one doing it in the time between. Etc, etc.

This isn't even like... surprising, but because the Agarthans are the biggest villains of the setting AND get so much focus in school phase, it feels weird to keep track of how little almost everyone involved knows about them until basically the second to last map of the game. And then we can't even talk about it because the story is over now, I guess.

I actually really wonder about the Enbarr timeline, because Edelgard says at one point that the entire concept of nobility was established 1200 years ago, which seems to suggest that it was made by... Seiros? So like, are we supposed to take this as humans of the pre-Nemesis was period just lived in small tribes with little civilization or government and then Nemesis did a genocide, so Seiros elevated her allies into a proper city and nation and class structure and oops this bites her in the ass a thousand years later...??

In CF, Aymr - Edel's weapon - reveals its secrets, you cannot repair it using Umbral Steel, like other relics, but you have to use Agarthium to repair it. It's a made in Agartha relic copy.

Oh, interesting. Well, logically, it should be the same as zombie Nemesis's creator sword copy, since he uh... has one. Somehow.

I know I joke a lot about Edel's beef against Rhea'n'Sothis, tbh, after playing CF the "their ears are pointy they're not like us" argument felt like the strongest, but I'd be curious to hear what you think about it when you'll tackle CF.

I don't even know what to think, tbh.

On the one hand, the writing is SO blatant about it that I find it hard to believe the writers didn't realize that Edelgard was attributing Agarthan sins to the Church, whether she did this intentionally or out of pure ignorance. They had to know, right? It's meant to be irony, right??

But on the other hand, I always remember how, when Claude finally talks about Church Bad to people other than Byleth, they immediately agree with him and it's not even slightly meant to read as him manipulating them. So it's not that he has a bad take, it's that the writers think he's right.

So I feel like they might actually want to sell Edelgard as being right about Church Bad too...? But Edelgard is SO blatantly evil... I don't even know. I hate it.

Ah yes, that cutscene. She lets her feelings for her teacher take over her cold and emperor persona one last time or... tries to sway Byleth to her side until the end ? Or the devs really wanted to hammer the "feel sad for her" to sell more goodies/alts in fe heroes?

Since Edelgard basically makes no effort to sway you to her side before declaring war or during or in the five year reunion, and it's fairly clear she never believed you'd side with her, I don't think she's attempting to get you on her side, at least. (Especially since lol you get this scene even in VW where you have no support ranks on her.)

Seems to be just a "don't you feel bad for her" play, yeah.

I don't see Hubert as going behind her back, but Hubert wanting to spite Thales even in death, to the point of telling us where to find him to kill him.

I have a really sus view of Hubert, so I 100% believe he'd go behind Edelgard's back if he thought there was reason to do so. Not to her detriment, his obsessive devotion to her is real, but I get the impression that he doesn't necessarily think all that much of her judgement in the micro.

It's just... something, that he will spite-help Byleth+Claude (whatever) and also Byleth+Seteth and Church (Edelgard's most hated creatures) but NOT Byleth+Dimitri....? Hubert hates Dimitri more than anyone else, I guess. Or are we supposed to read it as Hubert thinking that, without Thales, the Agarthans aren't a threat anymore?

The route stuff is badly handled, is what I'm saying.

Quickly dumping out the Enbarr notes, since I'm sure the Shambhala section will have a ton of infodumping to note.

I think the only difference from VW is that we run some weird plan where a lot of our troops sneak into Enbarr ahead of the rest of the army moving in. Because uuuuh I guess we're weaker than the united army with Leicester? Everything else is pretty much exactly the same, including Dedue's part and the Edelgard death cinematic.

tbh I think it actually ends up feeling even weaker here? I thought it would fit better, since this is the "you like Edelgard but can't agree with her" route, but since she appears so little and her writing is so bizarre and confused... It actually feels kinda worse, since her dialogue feels incredibly inconsistent.

I thought I'd have some more appreciation for Edelgard after this route, but uh. I don't. Hm.

Anyway, onto more interesting points, I am starting to get the impression that Rhea and Seteth don't actually know much about the Agarthans. I think they might not actually know that the mysterious "those who slither in the dark" are from Agartha (and that's why they have beef), and it's basically explicit that they don't know who helped Nemesis make the Sword.

Which isn't an issue, but it's hard to remember that they know so little in practice.

Liveblogging:

A priestess mentions that they lost contact with all church personnel in Enbarr when the war started.

A soldier mentions that some of our troops have already departed for Enbarr dressed as merchants and traveling performers. We have an entire plan to have small squads sneak toward the capital and link up with the main army. The Empire apparently thinks we have abandoned our plans to invade (after Merceus).

Sylvain didn't think he's live this long (in the war)... bby. He wants to strike down the empire for Dimtri...

Apparently, we think Rhea is in Enbarr because of a soldier from Merceus. I guess Judith only told us that the Empire captured her. I already forgor.

The pre-battle blurb also mentions the troops moving in secret and our surprise attack on Enbarr. I don't recall this from VW. We were already outnumbered there, so I guess here with just the Church and Judith's troops, we're even worse off.

Based on the map close up during the pre-battle exposition, it looks like Enbarr was built on the delta where a river forks into two, with both ranches leading into the sea on the west.

Oh, Dedue is here! AC lied to me :( (/jk)

The music for his entrance is uh... imo it's a bit too heroic, given that he's here because Dimitri ended up like that.

He came after Gronder field, so... two months ago, since there was Merceus in between but not anything else. He gives us info on the inside of the castle (layout, presumably) and tells us that Rhea is at the palace.

Edelgard's axe, Aymr, is described as "a Crest Stone weapon designed to Edelgard's specifications, allowing her to use Raging Storm."

Edelgard's class, Emperor, is "With unparalleled defense, Edelgard appears as an unstoppable force in the legendary armor of the Adrestian Emperor." Note that her armor is a boobplate. So like... did they modify it for her, or....

Edelgard is so confusing. Even to the last, she goes on about how determined she is to "free this world" from the "vile grasp" of the "false goddess and her minion." But like... Edelgard has NO basis for beef with Sothis or Rhea. It's so puzzling and empty.

Dialogue with Seteth: He tells Edelgard to return Rhea and release her grip on Fodlan. Edelgard says that if we strike her down, "they" will return. So she can't permit what we desire (????? what? like, you'd assume she means the Agarthans, but everything else points to her talking about the Nabateans). She also knows that Seteth is a child of the goddess and thinks he can't be permitted power over the people. This is SO wild.

Anyway, to get this dialogue, I let Seteth get the last hit. The Edelgard death cutscene makes equally little sense on this route, btw. Edelgard was going "fuck you guys, I didn't think you'd make it this far, but I don't care and I'm never giving up" in the battle, but now she's all "you must strike me down to move forward, I wanted to walk with you..." GIRL WHAT

Hubert going behind Edelgard's back to write us a letter where he's basically entrusting the future and Fodlan to us is like....... l m a o This was whatever on VW, but on a route where we are the Church and those lizards Edelgard hates so much... god.

Anyway, Seteth apparently didn't really believe the Agarthans were behind all this, or else even around at all. He's very shocked and unhappy about Hubert's letter.

OK, unlike VW, where Claude is there for the info dumps and Rhea holds at least some stuff back, here she has no reason to hide anything. And she says she does not know where or how Nemesis got the Sword of the Creator. They only guessed that someone must have given him this power and tried to investigate it, but they never found the answer. They only NOW surmise that it was the Agarthans. ...hang on, do they even know that "those who slither in the dark" are from Agartha....

Felix and Sylvain are together at the monastery, cute. Felix even calls Dimitri by name when talking about defeating the Empire and the Agarthans to let him rest in peace.

Catherine backstory: She was born in House Charon in Faerghus > was called Thunderstrike Cassandra > attempted Officers Academy, was saved by Rhea as a student > was implicated in "a plot to kill the king" (seems to be Duscur) > fled to the monastery since she felt it was safe > Rhea hired her > and had her execute Christophe when he tried to assassinate Rhea, though the charges given publicly were regarding Duscur.

Is that right?

Anyway, next time: Shambhala