#taking time out of their days to either a. defend the oscars | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

xxepherr · 1 month ago

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.ೃ࿐SLIP UP | OP81

summary — in which oscar wasn't exactly ready for the world to find out that he had a girlfriend, but he can't find it in him to be upset about the outcome when one slip up exposes the secret (au where oscar likes to stream)

pairings — oscar piastri x fem!unnamed!oc

pronouns — she/her, labelled as his girlfriend.

word count — 2253

note — this whole layout is stolen from @love-quinn . love her literally more than anything!!!! also this is just me emptying out my short wattpad drafts on here <3

IT WAS A TYPICAL summer break.

after settling back home and taking a few days to rest and recover from the first half of the season, oscar found himself sat at his computer, streaming to thousands because of his newfound, downtime hobby.

really, streaming was just an excuse for him to play games and be his entertaining self while doing it . . . and also because his lovely girlfriend had told him to stop annoying her while she cleaned their home.

annoying in the sense that he wanted to help but did it wrong, kept trying to distract her from the tasks at hand so that her attention could be on him instead, and was disturbing her alone time — after she'd explained that she just wanted some time for herself because she'd spent the last few days relaxing with him, he'd kissed her cheek with a smile and headed upstairs to stream.

he'd really got lucky with his girlfriend. she was a florist he'd met back in melbourne a few years ago when he was buying flowers for his mum to apologise for not calling her for a week ( it wasn't on purpose, of course, but it was a mistake he wouldn't make again ). she'd helped him pick the right flowers because he was clueless and then he had turned the charm on — learning her name, and also learning that she finished her shift at four-thirty and was free afterwards. the rest was history.

SHE knew oscar was streaming after he'd sent her a text. that had been two hours ago, and she hadn't seen him entering the kitchen for water or something to eat since.

"explain to me how he's always hungry but forgets to eat," she muttered under her breath. dropping the rubber gloves onto the dining table, she walked past that and into the kitchen to prepare something for him to at least snack on.

it was a difficult relationship for them outside their maisonette in the uk. She was nervous about people finding out that she was the lucky girl dating oscar piastri, and oscar, despite wanting to have her by his side at events, was happy to keep the secret just for the few that they could trust because he wasn't entirely ready either. some of the drivers on the grid knew, a few of his team knew, and their families knew. it seemed like a lot of people to know about something they were keeping secret, but everyone kept their mouths shut and mentioned nothing about it to the public.

the only one who did talk about oscar and relationships was his teammate in interviews, and that was only to tease oscar by saying that he wasn't in a relationship and could 'pull no bitches' because he knew that oscar couldn't defend himself and say that he could — not that he would call her a bitch though, not even as a joke. it just wasn’t in his vocabulary.

she threw together a simple mix of greek yogurt, berries and granola to the correct portions and filled up a glass of water before heading up the stairs to the open space — the study that had become his streaming and trophy room, and a little living space that was perfect for basking in the sun under all the windows above.

to her surprise, it was quiet. quieter than usual. usually she could at least her murmurs through the door when he was streaming because the walls weren’t necessarily thick. but there was nothing but silence to be heard, and she couldn't think of a time their house had been this quiet.

as silently as possible, she walked down the short hallway and stopped outside of the study, setting down the bowl and the glass and cringing when they made a soft clink against the glass table outside the door.

out of curiosity, she moved closer to the door, pressing her ear against the wood and waiting to hear a faint rustle or oscar’s voice to break through the void. silence.

it was an uncharacteristic silence that left her feeling uneasy. she knew nothing would be wrong, but it wasn’t right for full-blown silence, not even with how introverted he could be on rest day.

oscar, despite his own level of quiet, was still the louder of the two, leaning more into his ambivert side when he felt like it while she stayed comfortable as a full-time introvert. she never raised her voice above its usual quiet tone, not unless it was around oscar or one of her other friends and they had coaxed it out of her through jokes and laughter. the only time oscar was ever really this quiet was when he was tired or asleep or sometimes when he was eating dinner.

uh, she thought when she was met with nothing, do i knock? no, that makes it look like someone's here . . . um . . .

with one last thought, her simple idea was to open the door just a little, just enough so that it was barely obvious and so that she could look through the tiny gap to see if he was alive and breathing in there.

with a slow motion, she managed to turn the doorknob without a sound, and once she had it unclipped, she kept it still for a moment so that she could take a breath and let go of the one she had been holding.

she pushed the door a little as slowly as possible, and it was working, but she just needed to move it a little more so that a gap could form between the door and its frame.

there was something she had asked oscar to do months ago when he was back home with a two week break between races. it had been something so simple. it was just to oil the hinges in the house so that the doors would stop creaking every time they were moved. he'd told her he'd fixed the issue ( which she knew meant that he had asked his mum how to fix it ) and it hadn't been brought up again.

however, it was clear now that he hadn't fixed the hinges.

very colourful words circulated through her mind as a soft creak echoed through the quiet home, and more specifically, through the room that probably had a stream going. fuck. shit. motherfucker. fucking hell. what the fuck. son of a bitch. piece of shit door.

through the crack now in the door, she could just see her very much alive boyfriend sitting at his desk chair with his headphones on, and was . . . whispering? and, just to her luck, he had the camera positioned a little over more today, and the door was in frame.

OSCAR quit whispering ( because someone in the chat said that their cat was asleep and that was his default, sarcastic answer ) the second his eyes scanned his chat and saw multiple messages that read out the same thing: the door moved. it took him a few seconds to comprehend it, but then his head snapped over to the door and noticed that it was just barely ajar.

"one sec," he quickly said and then muted the microphone. once he was sure he was muted, he spun in his chair to face the door, covering half of his mouth from the camera so that no one could read his lips. "Hey?” he didn’t sound frustrated, just warm and soft all the same. “you there?"

"they saw, didn't they?" he heard the quiet voice of his girlfriend on the other side of the door. "i'm sorry, i was just trying to—"

"hey, no," oscar shook his head, voice soothing. "it's alright, baby, it's alright. i can play it off as something if you'd like . . . or you can come in and say hi. up to you." he didn't want to sound like he was pressuring her. they had been dating for almost two years now, and they had kept it quiet for this long. if she was ready, he was happy to show her off.

"uh . . ." she faltered. "i mean . . . do i have to talk much?"

"not if you don't want to," he answered gently. "we don't have to do anything you don't want to do."

but she thought about it, and looked to the granola bowl next to her. why not? "okay."

"okay," oscar turned back to his computer and unmuted the mic. "i have someone for you lot to meet. be nice.”

a few seconds later, the door opened a little wider, and she could now be seen in the corner of the camera's reach. taking a deep breath, she picked up the bowl and the glass with slightly shaky hands and took a few cautious steps into the room.

oscar’s eyes lit up the moment he saw her, his pupils almost forming hearts at the sight. so warm, so soft, so mellow. "aw," he stood up from the chair and took the food and drink from her. "thank you."

"you always forget to eat," she mumbled, refusing to look at the computer and instead keeping her eyes on him. he set the items down on his desk before moving back over to her, and once he was close enough, she clasped onto his forearm.

"was an accident, i swear," he shot her a quick smile before slowly walking her over to his set up. "chat, i guess this is . . ." he looked back at her, wondering if she was comfortable with sharing her name, and when she shook her head, and shot her a reassuring smile. "twitch chat, this is my lovely girlfriend. and lovely girlfriend, this is my twitch chat."

She lifted her free hand to give a little wave, "hi," she said, clutching oscar’s arm a little tighter. her reflection stared back at her on the screen — she'd straightened her soft pink curls today because it was easier to maintain until she had time to wash it, and she was still in the old, paint-splattered clothes she normally wore when she spent the day cleaning.

her eyes caught the chat that was quickly speeding past much to her dismay, but what she had found actually served to make her smile. people were being nice. there were greetings and people saying she was pretty, and wondering how oscar of all people managed to pull her. it was strange to have so many people commenting about her, but it was the kind of strange that she was starting to find nice.

after a minute of watching the chat roll by while oscar made small-talk, she mentioned that she would see him after he finished streaming before leaving the room.

"HEY," OSCAR CRAWLED INTO bed, laying on his stomach and looking up at her.

she, who had showered and started reading in the time it took oscar to finish streaming, glanced down at him from where she was sitting. she slid the floral-decorated bookmark in between the pages she was reading and closed the book.

"hi," she smiled as soon as she saw him, moving her hand to sit in his soft hair. "how was your stream?"

"good," he smiled back at her, his eyes crinkling slightly. "everyone loved you, y'know?"

she shrugged, "i thought they'd be scarier," she admitted. she wasn't blind to the treatment that fans gave to their favourite's partner — it happened in every sport, and every career of a famous person. it would probably get worse when she went out with him in public, but almost every chat message that she quickly read when she had been in that room with him had been positive. that made it a little less terrifying.

"aw," oscar propped up his chin with his hand. "don't worry, i'll protect you," he winked at her, but she just rolled her eyes.

"you ran away from a bee yesterday, osc," she reminded him, voice deadpan, "telling me to kill it before it killed you. it was nowhere near you."

oscar tutted. "if i can see it, it's a threat."

she giggled and dropped her hand from his hair to pick up her book once again. as soon as it was in her hands, she glanced back up at oscar in confusion when he pushed down on her knees so that her legs were flat against the bed.

with one heavy movement, he rolled over so that he was on her legs, wiggling a little so that he was laying between them on his stomach and his head was pressed against her stomach. "go back to reading," he mumbled, closing his eyes. "g'night."

she glanced over at the clock on the bedside table that displayed four pm. it was definitely too early for him to have a deep sleep because otherwise he'd be waking her up all night, so she'd be waking him up when she finished reading. "sleep well, my love," she leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead before flipping her book back open.

"also," his voice was quiet, riddled with tiredness at the words he needed to mumble out before sleep stole him.

"mhm?"

"'m proud of you for earlier. forgot to tell you."

her heart warmed at his words. with a newfound smile on her face and a flutter in her chest, she flipped through the pages of her book until she found her bookmark and carried on reading, the only sounds being that of the pages and the soft breaths from her sleepy boyfriend on top of her.

#oscar piastri #oscar piastri x oc #formula 1 #formula one #f1 fic #xeph writes about f1 #formula 1 fic #oscar piastri x reader #oscar piastri fanfic #op81

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unformula1 · 7 months ago

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angel (LS2 x OP81)

logan needs a list, more specifically snapshots and little films running in his head. w/c: 1041 day 17 of loscar posts until we get a loscar podium!! how fun! (series masterlist) masterlist

Remembering when Logan and Oscar were considered proper friends with proper conversations never made Logan feel good. It would twist his stomach into a dead knot and sting his throat endlessly.

Just thinking about those moments where both of them would lock eyes and either smile or chuckle at each other, when they were still considered proper friends.

His mind would constantly fill with memories of both of them, fuzzy and faded. They were like films that kept running in his head no matter what, small little snapshots of their past.

He needed a list.

Ten.

Logan and Oscar grew close pretty quickly. They were made for each other, their chemistry was impeccable, their personalities were built for each other. Both of them never had to hide anything from each other or build a false personality. Oscar felt like home. Logan would never pass up on an opportunity to talk to Oscar, even if he was low on energy, Oscar would always be there.

Oscar was like an angel, the one for Logan.

Nine.

Their relationship hit its peak when Logan cried in Oscar’s arms, there was not necessarily anything romantic between them but it was a moment Logan would never forget. If everything faded off, this one would stay crystal clear.

The world was a harsh place, racing was harsher. Oscar was like the knight in shining armour for Logan, always willing to defend him, always willing to sit next to Logan while he rambled.

Oscar was like Logan’s emotional support pillar.

Eight.

Who knew that one random day in November, the two of them would be going out to a carnival. Oscar had invited Logan prior and he accepted, obviously.

It was one of those defining experiences in a relationship, the random game stations Logan wanted to try out and how Oscar would follow him no matter how stupid the game station was.

And the horror ride… Logan and Oscar had a moment there. When Logan got scared by some silly little prop and Oscar laughed at him for a solid minute about it.

It was dumb but Logan could never forget about it.

Seven.

PREMA media days were always hectic, twenty takes for a five second shot or standing there while cameras from multiple angles flashed at you. It was always tiring.

Oscar would always be with Logan for media days, in the videos or photos, Oscar insisted on doing it with Logan. They were a fan favourite anyway.

Logan felt special when Oscar argued with a producer over doing media day with Logan. He felt accepted by Oscar, Oscar made him feel this warm fuzzy feeling.

Six.

Flowers were a stupid gift, unless they were gifted by Oscar. Oscar got Logan flowers for his birthday. There wasn’t any reason but Logan loved it. It was a simple bouquet of yellow flowers, which apparently symbolises friendship.

Logan held onto this bouquet the whole day, refusing to put it down anywhere. When he got home, he put them in a vase, and placed it on his trophy rack. He intended to keep it there as a reminder of Oscar.

Five.

The night before both of them were slated to make their F1 debut, they had one last night out. Both of them knew F1 would either make them or break them.

The balcony was cold as the chilly wind blew against both of them. Oscar and Logan leaned against the railings, overlooking the city. Oscar swung his arm over Logan and pulled him closer, whispering into his ear.

Logan chuckled and leaned into Oscar. Everything slowed down, the balcony didn’t feel cold anymore.

“Remember me alright? I’ll always be there for you.”

Four.

Their F1 debut was shaky for both of them, but at least they had each other. Logan and Oscar promised to always update each other on their races, their teammates and all that.

F1 was brutal, Logan felt like giving up all the time but Oscar’s gentle taps on his shoulder or his royal-like laugh made it all worth it.

He was going to make it in F1 and he was going to do it with Oscar.

Three.

Logan can’t exactly remember when it all broke apart. Perhaps it was the first time Oscar didn’t text Logan about his race or maybe it was the time Oscar forgot about their monthly meetup. Whatever it was, Logan was crushed by this. He didn’t know what went wrong, or if it was him underperforming or Oscar not seeing Logan’s worth anymore.

Logan cried that night, but in no one’s arms, in the cold embrace of his blankets.

Two.

Oscar won a sprint, he won a race in his rookie year. Logan was proud of Oscar, hopefully Oscar was proud of Logan too.

Oscar glowed in the podium lights, it sort of made him sparkle, like an angel.

Logan texted Oscar that night, Oscar responded with a heart. Just a heart.

One.

Logan can’t remember the last time he texted Oscar, or the last time he talked to Oscar. Oscar had so many more important things to do now, like winning races or media day.

Logan couldn’t see Oscar as much anymore, if he could, it would be for brief seconds before he was swarmed by some other people.

Logan never forgot Oscar though.

Sorry mate. Can’t make it this time. Got some media to do.

Their monthly meetups were cancelled after much deliberation.

At least they still texted, occasionally… rarely.

"I’d say Lando would be a good choice you know, I mean our chemistry surpasses everything else."

Then it completely shattered. Everything was gone. Him and Oscar were split, far apart. Glass pieces on the carpet floor.

The flowers which used to remind Logan of Oscar and how lovely he was now stood there like a haunting reminder.

Logan and Oscar were supposed to make it together in F1, standing next to each other on the podium. F1 made Oscar and broke Logan.

They were doomed from the start, failure in the making. Logan couldn’t do anything but watch as everything fell apart in front of his eyes. Oscar was talented, perfect and gifted, Logan was none of those.

Oscar was like an angel, forever out of reach.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ a/n: this is depressing.

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phatcatphergus · 8 months ago

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I'm sorry but your last few anon are taking the award show way to seriously

Quackity said this isn't community voting/competition.

Quackity didn't kick Tubbo out of the call; he couldn't join because of probably leaks, and he's doing a subathon. Quackity felt bad, and he said he should've been specific (which I agree, lol). For the record, Tubbo isn't mad at or taking it seriously.

You should have expected the award show to be scuffed; it's the first one. This isn't the Grammys, Emmys, Oscars, the streamer awards, etc. This award show is meant to be unserious. I can tell how much Tubbo was having fun, laughing, and not getting mad.

I understand you're mad, but at the same time, it doesn't matter who won/lost. At the end of the day, it's just an award show; it ain't that deep LMFAO

Okay well there’s a few thing here that I think we can agree on bc yes, it was a miscommunication and quackity didn’t kick Tubbo out of the call. People were upset at first because it seemed like a hypocrisy to let pol in the call when he was streaming too. After everything was cleared up people were fine.

Also, I don’t think I saw anyone actively upset about how scuffed it was. People expect it for live productions and most people were just joking around about it. I think there could have been more testing done beforehand (I think quackity said that it was the first audio test) but overall I don’t think anyone had incredibly high standards for it either. This isn’t the streamer awards lol.

Now I also agree that the awards weren’t that deep. It’s a silly awards show and it doesn’t make or break anyone career. But no one was really angry at the awards show, they were angry at repeated behavior towards creators that don’t deserve it. It’s not hard to point out the sever lack of French representation, the lack of art for certain creators (some who play a shit ton more then other), and the lack of animatics that has become the standard for the qsmp at this point. The qsmp awards was just another arrow to the back of repeated negligence and disservice to creators that play the server every fucking day of their lives. BBH and tubbo haven’t stopped playing the server even when the eggs stopped logging on and both had trouble staying positive and inspired.

They also both defended the admins and purgatory, and were two of the few people who actually played purgatory as it was intended, only to be harassed and targeted by people. Which we later come to find may have been purposeful. Both BBH and Tubbo had incredibly involved and amazing lore that got one image in the museum while other people who played maybe once a week had 3. How was it that purgatory 2 had 5 members of the server actively participating but most of the clips were of the rats or cellbit and baghera who were on for one day after not playing for weeks?

So no, people weren’t necessarily mad about the awards themselves, it’s about a pattern of behavior that hasn’t changed in the slightest and continues to sideline some of the most active and supportive members of the server. If you want to see a more in depth look at the bias then this post lays out how many nominations people received.

#qsmp awards #qsmp crit #qsmp neg #anon asks

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littlemisssquiggles · 2 years ago

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Here’s a crazy food for thought:

Imagine if…the season ends with Ruby never emerging and instead the others are either forced to return to Remnant without her or take Ruby back to Remnant as a wooden statue?

Like perhaps Ruby’s metamorphosis is far too complicated of a choice for her to just figure out in such a short space of time? So while WBYJ are successful in defending Ruby’s body against the Curious Cat, defeating it thanks to the help of the Tree itself and possibly the Jabberwalker, they did it without any assistance from Ruby since she’s still on her self journey.

While I highly doubt the showrunners will actually end V9 on a cliffhanger with Ruby remained encased in wood, this squiggle meister would still love to play with this little thought of mine.

Like picture the hero team returning to Remnant and creating a little chamber or tomb in Shade Academy or Beacon or wherever they end up where they planted Ruby’s statue, keeping it safe and hidden from harm until Ruby is fully ready to return.

I just really wanted to toy with this concept because imagine if…this little tomb where Ruby slept in her wooden cocoon got turned into a garden.

Picture Oscar, tapping into his ole farm boy roots and planting flowers inside of Ruby’s tomb transforming it into a little rose garden where every day, Oscar would come visit Ruby; sitting among the flowers to talk to her as a form of keeping her company while he waited patiently for the day his rose would finally return to him, reborn anew.

I know the likelihood of this happening in the actual canon story isn’t possible but I just wanted to entertain the thought since it would’ve been really cute and sweet.

~LMS (2023)

#rwby #oscar pine #ruby rose #oscar and ruby #rwby rosegarden #rwby theories #rwby 9 spoilers #rwby volume 9 theories

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nyxlarkyn · 2 years ago

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Jabberwalker Theory Master Post:

The Jabberwalkers mask is a silver butterfly.

The silver mask like face on the Jabberwalker is highlighted like a butterfly. As it twitches and jabbers the butterfly flutters.

The thorax is the nose bridge, eyes are the top wings, bottom wings are the cheek bones. There are even antennas.

Could be related to Ruby's growth with her eyes.

Last we saw a butterfly was V6 when Maria was giving Ruby more guidance with her power and role. Ruby steps outside trying to contact Qrow who is MIA drinking. Metaphorically stepping into the position of team leader of not just RWBY, but of JNR+Oscar, Qrow, and Maria.

This is also one of the first moment we see her pull back from everyone else.

"Sorry... The others went out to get food for tonight. "

"Why not go with them?"

"I don't know. I don't know anything. How can I tell Juane and his team when I don't even have a plan. Qrows out drinking and Ozpins still gone and even if he was back, I don't know if I can trust him. And there's always Jinn, but there's only one more question we can ask her. I feel like I'm letting everyone down."

"You don't give yourself enough credit."

"Thanks"

"That wasn't a compliment"

In this moment a butterfly Pops in frame enough to draw our attention as Maria says:

"If I have to explain it to you it'll just defeat the purpose."

That moment will get called into question for Ruby this volume and she'll finally understand if she keeps doubting herself, she will never reach her potential. With Crescent Rose gone and Ruby lacking a weapon; unless she takes arms with one of Penny's fallen blade like she did in the fall of Beacon, use the axegun shown in the trailer/ forge a new weapon with the blacksmith, or regain C.R at the end of her journey.

Regardless there will be a moment Ruby will need to defend herself without a weapon. The first time meeting the Jabberwalker she was weaponless and unprepared but did not have to fight.

Coming back to the Maria talk in V6:

Maria then begins a bit of backstory including what her father knew of their abilities. "He'd never been able to find more information on our abilities. Just legends of warriors whose eyes shown like mirrors. Reflecting the light of the world onto darkness." The camera moves to focus on a butterfly. "He found so little, in fact, that it made him cautious. How could such powerful bloodlines be so rare. Unless..." The butterfly lands on fruit and the camera cuts to Ruby as Maria finishes. "Something was actively seeking to destroy them."

The part where Maria's father could only find legends interests me.

Could be that Silver Eye Warriors are storybook legends that somehow managed to leave The Ever. (Rubys character allusions are Red Riding Hood and the Silver/Ruby slippers. Her silver powers are the key to leaving.)

The Jabberwalker could be related to the legends of Silver Eyed Warriors, either as beasts they had slain with their abilities, another form of a Warrior much like the Hound, or something seeking to destroy them. (Seeing the lack of reaction to Ruby I doubt it, yet the creature had a lot to process as well.)

Maria then tells Ruby, "I owe my life to my training and my semblance. At the end of the day those are still your most powerful tools."

Ruby will spend this volume growing much about herself as she learns who she truly is. Her combat skills and semblance will definitely grow, but I believe her silver powers might be triggered or start to grow the next time Ruby encounters the Jabberwalker especially if she still lacks a weapon in this moment.

I suspect she'll be attacked by at the night market on the way to the mushroom forest next episode. We know WBY are still shrunken during that time so they could be at their weakest in that moment. Ruby has no choice but to fight the creature while WBY are otherwise incapacitated.

Others have mentioned, if the God of Light had part in creating Silver Eyed Warriors, then surely the God of Darkness could create creatures set out to destroy them. Perhaps in his likeness akin to his brothers' eyes in dragon form being silver just like his warriors.

I do believe there will be a moment where Ruby will finally realize that she doesn't give herself enough credit and knows how much she's capable of coming into her indominable character. The Jabberwalker might play into that change. Along with the curious cat driving a good portion of her skill development and character growth.

#rwby spoiler tag #rwby #rwby spoilers #ruby rose #rwby thoughts

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wellthatwasaletdown · 2 years ago

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Camille didn’t stay friends with H cause she has self respect. I wouldn’t be surprised if she does anything to stay in his circle no matter what

I think the reason Camille didn’t really stay friends with Harry is because their relationship wasn’t everything to her. Doesn’t matter if you think Harry’s relationship with Olivia was PR or not she definitely loved the attention that she got from it. She was never someone that the general public paid attention to. She was a fail doctors. Her acting career wasn’t going anywhere, if you think of all the actresses in her age group she wasn’t doing the things that they were doing. think Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt, Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis, Amanda Seyfried. those actresses Are the ones that the directors are calling if they are casting for a role in that age group. All of those actresses I just named either has Oscars or have been a part of critically acclaimed films or even Oscar-nominated. Olivia Wilde hasn’t done anything impressive since Tron Legacy. Which is why she made the switch to directing. She had a hit with booksmart and she thought that she was going to get something even bigger with Harry and don’t worry darling and whether or not you think that their relationship was PR she loved this newfound fame. She was in rooms that she was never in before, she was in conversations that she was never into, she was the talk of the town. She was getting magazines and interviews that she never would have gotten if it wasn’t for hairy. She would have never gotten Vogue if it wasn’t for hairy. She loved the 15 minutes of fame. So when the relationship ended she was pissed and she wanted to try to see if they could work it out or wanted to be seen at his concert one last time before the break up article comes out. She gave up her entire life, follow this man around the world, put her children on the back burner, and also her career for a guy who was never going to claim her. This man did not give a fuck about her and I don’t think that he took this relationship seriously. He refused to claim her, she was sent so much hate about everything about herself and her children and he never once stepped into defend her, when it was first and that if they were dating people had questions on if she cheated on Jason and he put out an article from a “source“ calling himself blameless, when GQ article came out confirming that he and Olivia broke up in November 2020 he made her leave Italy and she was seen at the airport the next day, when she was served on stage she didn’t do a thing, when the Shia LaBeouf situation happened before Venice he was it seen with her for weeks leaving her to stand for herself, When the nanny situation happened again left her to fend for herself and at Venice completely made her look like an absolute fool. She wanted to uproot her life to the UK to fit him and his needs and he ended up breaking up with her. I don’t think she ever took this relationship seriously and when things started to get messy in her life he saw her as a liability because it was now starting to affect him and his reputation and he dropped her. I don’t think they were going to last much longer but with all of the stuff that has happened I think he thought it was easier to cut her loose again he never took her seriously or the relationship with her seriously. The fact that he looked miserable half of the time should have showed that to people. But again not only was she upset with him she was obsessed with the idea Associated with him. She was using her stylus, being invited to events, wearing Gucci, getting to make connections and all of that backfired on her face. Harry was the thing that made her relevant and if you take Carrie out of the equation she’s not relevant anymore. By next month we won’t even be talking about her or the relationship anymore. And I think that’s what she scared of. She scared of fading back into obscurity. She will forever be a C list actress who couldn’t make it much into Hollywood who then had to turn to directing and will be known for making a flop movie and focussing more on her relationship with her lead actor than making the set and movie the best it could be that’s her legacy

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cyarskj1899 · 2 years ago

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Media reports about Dana white slapping his wife: I’m silent

media after slapgate and will smith:

I’m traumatized this is traumatic pornography

Shame on the media for not covering this disturbing incident and being so loud on their silence that we have to post it multiple times to demand more coverage about it as much as they were loud about the Oscars slap which by now we are overtired of hearing about rn! 😡

fquck the media! Racist biiiches fquck them and Dana white privilege

I’ll take a man slapping the crap out of someone who was talking reckless about his wife (though I think he could have handled it differently but then again Chris shouldn’t be talking reckless about jada either so make of that if you will) over someone being an abuser especially a woman beater any day and twice on Sunday . The media finna burn

Hey every celebrity who was so “traumatized” by slapgate: if slapgate was traumatic to you is this incident the definition of “traumatic pornography” to you ? Y’all “traumatized” people need to get over slapgate because there’s people who been through worse traumatic events than your “trauma” over a literal slap in the face . I sure enough hate to see the reaction if someone slaps you in the face. But then again I couldn’t care less .

Black Twitter Calls Out Scarce Media Coverage Of Dana White Slapping His Wife Compared To Will Smith

Coincidence?

Dana White speaks to the media on Jan. 11, 2023, for the first time since he was caught slapping his wife on New Year’s Eve. | Source: Icon Sportswire / Getty

Perhaps, by now, you’ve seen the video circulating on social media that shows UFC president Dana White slapping his wife on New Year’s Eve at a nightclub in Mexico. Or perhaps you haven’t. Or maybe you had to Google it because it hasn’t exactly been the subject of a weeks-long media frenzy the way similar events have been for celebrities that don’t possess the complexation for protection.

Anyway, if you haven’t seen the video yet, here it is:

Now, some people will note that White’s wife slapped him first. Those people will probably also ignore the fact that White, who is at least twice her size, was excessive in his response to what was a relatively a light tap on the cheek.

The funny thing is even White doesn’t appear to think his actions are defendable.

“One thing I do want to clarify in this thing that I didn’t talk about on TMZ, because I didn’t expect it or I didn’t see it coming, is the people that are defending me,” White said, ESPN reported. “There’s never an excuse. There’s no defense for this, and people should not be defending me, no matter what. All the criticism I’ve received this week is 100% warranted.”

Of course, it probably doesn’t help that he practically boasted about the fact that he won’t be punished for any of it outside of the court of public opinion.

From ESPN:

White said that internal discussions regarding the incident have taken place, including with ESPN, and that he has already been dealing — and will continue to deal with — his “punishment” from the incident.

“What should the repercussions be?” White said. “I take 30 days off? How does that hurt me? I told you guys as we were going through [the COVID-19 pandemic], COVID could last 10 years, and I could sit it out. It’s much like COVID, actually. Me leaving hurts the company. Hurts my employees. Hurts the fighters. Doesn’t hurt me. I could’ve left in 2016 [when the company was acquired by Endeavor]. Do I need to reflect? I’ve been against this. I’ve owned this. I’m telling you that I’m wrong.

“Here’s my punishment: I have to walk around for however long I live — and this is how I’m labeled now. My other punishment is that I’m sure a lot of people — whether it be media, fighters, friends, acquaintances — who had respect for me might not have respect for me now. There’s a lot of things I have to deal with the rest of my life that’s way more of a punishment than, what, I take a 30-day or 60-day absence?”

White did not outline any changes to UFC policy regarding its athletes and domestic violence, which has varied on a case-by-case basis. White has stated in the past, “You don’t bounce back from putting your hands on a woman,” and he said Wednesday that that is still the case.

“You don’t bounce back from this,” White said. “For the rest of my life, people will label me that. I did it.”

Yeeeeah, I’m pretty sure White is ignoring how short public attention spans are, especially for a story that hasn’t even gotten a fraction of the constant coverage Will Smith got for slapping Chris Rock—a thing Black Twitter had no issue pointing out.

Now, granted, Smith is much more of a household name than White will ever be, and the Oscars stage is certainly much more noteworthy than some random club in Mexico. Still, the coverage of Will’s slap seemed like it would never end, and it appears people are still waiting for wide coverage on White to begin.

Also, where are all the “traumatized” celebrities that immediately hopped on their soapboxes to condemn Smith? Why isn’t Rosie O’Donnell erroneously comparing Dana White to Donald Trump right now?

Hell, the media, as well as all these outspoken celebs, could at least have the same smoke for White as they did for Kyrie Irving.

As far as many of us are concerned, “White” is Dana’s middle name and his last name is “Privilege.”

That’s about all I have to say about that.

SEE ALSO:

The Academy Moves Faster To Punish Will Smith Than It Did For Cosby And Polanski Sex Assaults

Rep. Ayanna Pressley Addresses Deleted Tweet Saluting Will Smith Slap

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bollywood143114 · 2 years ago

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Anupama pleads for young Anu and will make a deal with Maya for young Anuj

Anupamaa next episode: The daily twists and turns in the Anupama series are amplifying the excitement of fans. Expectations for the next episode are rising as the suspense of the series grows day by day. Talking about the next episode of Anupama, young Anu went with Maya of his own free will but in this episode he will call Anuj and Anupama to tell them of his own free will and Maya left. As happy. Along with this, she will ask Anuj and Anupama to take care of her. Maya abstains with young Anu After that, as soon as Anuj asked Maya to talk, as soon as Maya answered the phone, he yelled at her and said that she would steal her daughter and ruin her. She will tell Maya that she is his daughter and that she should take her younger daughter. If he wants, she can try legally. Maya said her daughter was happy with her, after which Anuj would be seen asking her Maya to return her daughter with her hands folded. Hearing all this, Maya confronts Anuj and Anupama and tells them that they both have everything but only a daughter. Even if she comes up with her own legal way, the first day she can take her daughter all by itself. In this process, Maya says that not everyone can get everything in this world. She said that just as he could not have found Anuj, Anuj would not have been able to find his child either. After hearing all this, Anuj will beg Maya to bring her little child and they will sit together and find a solution. Anuj is seen begging to bring Chhoti back in front of Maya with folded hands. Anuj begs Chhoti in front of Maya. During this time, Anupama tearfully asks Maya to bring the little girl back and Anuj threatens Maya into complaining about taking the little girl to the police station. So she will be seen defending herself by saying that the same Maya will take her child to her own wish. During Anuj and Maya's fight Anupama calms them both down and after that we will see her telling Maya that a little child cannot be happy without her parents. During this time, Maya will unspokenly show her disposition towards Anuj once again and what seems to be happening is that she wants to live in that house with her daughter Chhoti. But Anupama abandoned her. In response, Anupama says that as long as she remains Choti's mother, she will continue to be respected. Anupama will leave Anuj for Chhoti. After hearing all this, Maya gets angry again and says that she cannot take her daughter away no matter what. Seeing the situation worsen, Anupama tells her that she can place her next bet and do whatever she wants, but once she gets home after introducing her daughter Choti... Hearing all this, Maya agrees, but for this she puts conditions to everyone. To know this status, she has to watch the latest episode. ALSO READ- Who is MM Keeravani who won the ‘Oscar Award’ for ‘Naatu Naatu’ and how did her musical journey begin? DISCLAIMER We’ve taken all measures to insure that the information handed in this composition and on our social media platform is believable, vindicated and sourced from other Big media Houses. For any feedback or complaint, reach out to us at [email protected] Read the full article

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ravenadottir · 2 years ago

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With the recent Oscar drama with Will Smith and Chris Rock, how far do you think the season 2 love interests would have to be pushed before they get physical with someone for disrespecting MC, if they would at all?

oh man, this whole thing about will smith smacking chris rock was... the only thing that made people google the oscars in a very long time. anyway, let's move on!

❝ᴇᴀsɪʟʏ ᴏɴ ᴇᴅɢᴇ❞

lucas. he definitely destroys people with arguments but... if pushed by a disrespectful type that is being insistent, sorry, lucas doesn't mince words nor punches. it doesn't have to be for a girlfriend by the way!

kassam. same as lucas, with less patience. a guy that has been harassing a girl will definitely get one from him. he doesn't give two fucks about it.

gary. the type to get to people's faces easily because one: his short fuse is as small as he is... you know the type! gary plays chill but watch him pop off on someone that has been disrespectful with someone that can't defend themselves! it could be bobby for all he cares, he's doing something about it.

lottie. i'm sorry, does anyone doubt she would slap someone in the club? 'cause i surely don't! charlotte doesn't have much patience to hand out and would definitely defend a friend, girlfriend or herself.

elisa. i would LOVE to see her pop off, and she would. i feel in many ways she and lottie are soulmates, and one of the twin reactions would be this one. she's skinny but feisty, don't push your luck doesn't matter your size.

❝ɪᴛ ᴛᴀᴋᴇs ᴛʜᴇᴍ sᴏᴍᴇ ᴛɪᴍᴇ❞

ibrahim. patience runs thick in his household. it would take something really serious or really recurrent to make him land a punch or a slap on someone. it would definitely be to defend himself or someone close to him, not only his girl.

carl. no, i didn't mispell. his post-villa story features a chapter about him losing control and absolutely laying a hand on one of the boys. that's what i feel it could drive him there, watching something happen for a while and let that anger pile up day after day. ((he's also the type that blacks out)).

priya. it would take a lot to actually make her raise her hand for anything, let alone to a nobody bothering them somewhere. granted if the insisting was from a guy i can see her popping off on him.

❝ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ɢᴏ ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ❞

henrik. nope, as much as he would love to be more like lucas i kind of like that he's not. he calls the person out and demands an apology, but i can't see rik getting angry enough to lay a hand on someone.

marisol. everything can be discussed, whether when it happens or in front of a judge. she doesn't believe in violence against other people and would definitely call the police herself before things got out of hand.

bobby. yeah, no, the most he would do is respond louder. i don't see bobby exchanging punches, or even slaps with anyone.

❝ɪ ᴄᴀɴ sᴇᴇ ɪᴛ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴇɪᴛʜᴇʀ ᴡᴀʏ❞

noah. he's a very... incosistent person, so it's hard to predict what he would do, if he would be pushed enough to act on his anger or just leave it untouched. i can see him losing his temper and raising his voice but honestly? it can go either way!

#litg #litg bobby #litg carl #litg elisa #litg gary #litg henrik #litg ibrahim #litg kassam #litg lottie #litg lucas #litg marisol #litg noah #litg priya #fighting #queue

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stormkobra-5 · 3 years ago

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The Heir of Djarin

Episode 1: Fledgling

Summary: Din Djarin has spent nearly a decade in retirement on the uncharted moon of Yëa in order to hide Grogu from the First Order, but he’s in his late fifties and is fearing the day when the little guy is left on his own. Never did he expect a girl to drop out of the sky at such a perfect moment.

A/N: Welcome to the eight-episode event that is the beginning of a re-imagining of the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy. This story I’ve been thinking up for awhile, after finishing the whole Star Wars series from start to finish recently (and developing an unhealthy infatuation with one Oscar Isaac...). Would Mando still be alive at the time of the Sequel Trilogy? It’s hard to say what he’d be up to if he were. This is written, of course, before season three of The Mandalorian, so... Inaccuracies are gonna suck after it comes out. This is also before reading the Poe Dameron comics by Charles Soule; I’ve only read up to vol. 2. In either case, this story is supposed to take place just before, maybe overlapping with vol 1? Although Poe already has Black Squadron formed...

Notes: I’m somewhat new to the technicalities of this fandom. Sure I can tell the difference between T-65 and T-70 X-wings, and I can remember almost every name and face, but a helluva lot of my knowledge for the Mandalorian culture comes from watching The Mandalorian and Googling my questions. You have been warned.

Warnings: This story is rated 14+ for canon-typical violence, action, and language. The OC main character is recovering from a traumatic backstory for the sake of the plot, so there is mention of distrust, social anxiety, self-doubt, and emotional damage. Later chapters may involve mature themes for drug usage (spice), excessive alcohol consumption, and clubs that imply adult entertainment (the main characters do not take part). Nothing explicit in any chapters.

_______________________________________________________________

STRENGTH is life, for the strong have the right to rule.

HONOR is life, for with no honor, one may as well be dead.

LOYALTY is life, for without one’s clan one has no purpose.

DEATH is life, one should die as they have lived.

This is the Way.

This is the Creed of the Mandalorian.

- - -

Resol’nare, The Six Actions:

Wear the traditional armor

Speak, read, and write Mando’a

Defend yourself and your family with the traditional arts

Raise your children to become Mandalorians

Contribute to your clan’s welfare

When called upon by the Mand’alore, rally to the cause

_______________________________________________________________

It’s the cold water on my face that wakes me up. Little droplets of freezing cold rainwater smack into my forehead, my eyelids, my cheeks, and I jump up, eyes snapping open and hands flying to wipe the water away. I’m overcome with dizziness-- the type that makes the world tilt dangerously, that makes you feel like you’ll just slide right off the Earth. I lay immediately back down to brave the cold rain with a pathetic groan, waiting for it to subside. Where am I? The question doesn’t even to begin to explain the confusion I feel as my vision clears and I start taking in my surroundings. Tall, green grass. There are some pine trees nearby. The overcast sky rumbles faintly with thunder, but no lightning flashes. This doesn’t make any sense at all, because the last thing I remember is laying down for a nap on the couch at home. My family... I’m annoying as hell, sure, but I very much doubt if they’d have drove me out into the middle of nowhere and dumped me. They wouldn’t do that to me. Besides, there are no pine trees anywhere near where I live. Not enough to make a forest solely of them. They’d had to have driven pretty damn far if that were the case. So what? Somebody break into the house and I manage to sleep through it? They decide to dump me for some reason? Was I drugged by the intruder? Did I sleepwalk right out the front door and nobody noticed? Though I haven’t sleepwalked since I was about four years old, so. Even after the dizziness subsides, I lay there in the growing puddle of mud trying to figure out what happened, why I’m here. I’m even considering alien abduction and a sudden ability to teleport when I hear footsteps. Footsteps means I’m not alone. Means someone might have answers. Maybe the one who did this to me? I don’t dare to move. Whoever it is has a heavy step, and something jingles, like a cowboy’s spurs. The grass rustles, shifts, and I’m greeted by a very strange sight. Leaning over me is a man wearing leathers underneath of a full set of mirror-shine silver armor, complete with a helmet akin to something a Spartan warrior might wear, without the mohawk of dyed horsehair. His cross-shaped visor is filled in with black glass, so I can’t see any details of his face. Or anything of him, really. Every ounce of skin is covered by leather, metal, or both. Hanging from his shoulders is a tattered old cape, and he wears a bandolier full of what looks like ammo. He has numerous pouches around his waist, holsters on his legs, and he holds a very long, sniper-looking rifle, though I’ve never seen anything like this gun before. For several minutes, the only thing to be heard is birdsong and the rain plinking off his armor. Then, he talks. “...You okay, kid?” He has the calm, stern voice of a soldier. I spend a lot of time around them, so I know this and take solace in it. I always feel safer and more at ease around military personnel. Always have. Though because of his helmet, it sounds like he’s speaking through a walkie-talkie. I’m surprised at the clarity, though. After a moment, I manage to nod, and start to push myself up. He leans down and helps me into a sitting position, offers me a flask of what I hope is water. Reluctantly, I take it, because my throat is dry and my thirst wins over my distrust of strangers. “Where am I?” “Yëa,” He replies, “It’s an uncharted moon, so I won’t be surprised if nobody finds you here. The interference from Elika probably messed with your sensors.” I have no idea what he’s talking about. I’m even more scared than I was before. “...Ship?” It’s all I can manage to say, all I can manage to pick out of the slew of confusing words he’s just spouted off to me as if I should understand him. “Yeah,” He answers calmly, “It was nothing but a fireball. It’s a miracle you survived at all, though how you were flung and remained unscathed is almost more of one...” He must see the terror in my face, because he adds, “You have no idea what I’m talking about, do you?” I shake my head, but remain silent. Now that I know I’m in the presence of a whackjob, my social anxiety has taken over and I want to run, very very far away, as fast as possible. He looks up at the sky, remembering his phony fireball, and sits down beside me. “Where are you from?” What am I supposed to do? Make something up? “Cincinnati.” I expect him to say something. Cincinnati where? Cincinnati, Ohio? Cincinnati, the home of the Bengals? Cincinnati, that’s not too far from here. What I don’t expect is for him to stare at me blankly. As if he’s never heard of it. “...Cincinnati,” He repeats, rolling the word around on his tongue like some weird new food. “What quadrant is that in?” “Quadrant?” Wonderful. I’m lost, have no idea why, and my only source of information is a crazy man. “Yeah. Quadrant.” When I give no answer, he tries something else. “What territory are you from? Outer, Mid, Inner Rim? Maybe you don’t know. What’s the last thing you remember?” “Laying down on my couch to take a nap,” I reply honestly, annoyed with how tiny and squeaky my voice is. What else am I supposed to do? I have no idea where I am or how I got here, and whether or not I’m lying or telling the truth, this crazy cosplayer is the only way for me to get home. Besides, he has a gun, even if it does look unusual, plus a lot of other guns and knives. He’s heavily armed. If I just keep my head down and play along, maybe he’ll point me in the direction of the shiny machines that carry people around. If I can find a road, I can find my way home. This, however, surprises him. He balks. “...You... A nap?” He asks this like this is unfathomable. Meekly, I nod. He stares at me for a second, then, “...That explains why I can’t find any wreckage of your ship, then.” Of course you can’t. Because it doesn’t exist. He points behind us, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. “You came from that way. Fell right out of the sky and landed here, though it seems awfully gentle for somebody going that speed. I can tell you this makes no more sense to me than it does to you.” I turn to glance where he’s pointing. I only meant to glance. But then I do a double take, stop short, and stare, stunned, at what I see looming over the treeline. The man sees what I’m doing and watches my reaction. Watches as my jaw hangs and tears spring to my eyes, as fear overwhelms me and I start shaking. Because this, whatever this is, can’t be real, can’t be, is impossible, and suddenly I’m hearing Dorothy’s voice from The Wizard of Oz, her words entirely too close to home: I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore. All of a sudden the concept of alien abduction doesn’t seem too far-fetched now, or I am in one very vivid dream that’s not at all lucid. Because there, on the horizon, just visible as the gray overcast starts to pull away in the distance, is a great, looming mass of fire and black rock and lava in the place of where maybe the moon would be if you could see it in daytime. What’s worse is that I can’t even jump to my feet in alarm because when I try, I fall right back down after tripping on my own ankles. It’s a planet, a giant fiery planet. No, I am definitely not even on Earth anymore.

- - -

I hear the man saying something to me, but it takes a second before I can hear him. “Are you okay?” “Where am I?” “I told you,” He says, and I realize he’s not crazy, “You’re on Yëa. The uncharted moon of Elika, that planet you see there.” He’s standing now, looking down at me and clearly thinking, like I am. Except he’s calm where I’m panicking, trying to wake myself up my pinching my arm so hard it leaves a bruise, or even using my short nails until I bleed. Nothing happens, and the pain is all to real. “...You said you were from Cincinnati. Is that a city?” I nod. It’s all I can do. “What planet are you from?” “Earth,” I reply. He’s staring again, or maybe he’s closing his eyes. I can’t tell with his helmet on. “...Earth.” He crouches. He’s treating me like an injured, scared animal. I might as well be. “...Everybody learns about Earth in school. It’s where we all came from, eons ago...” I stare. I listen. And I try very hard not to scream. “...It’s a fairytale. A legend. But that would explain what I saw.” He looks back toward where he had seen me come in. “Everything went silent. The sky kind of... warped. There was a flash of light. A beam, a fireball... and then, I found you instead of a ship.” He looked back to me. “...What were you doing before you decided to take a nap?” “I was... I was...” I’d been doing what I did every day. I got up. I studied to prepare for my upcoming college classes. But I was so damn tired... Neither my brother or sister rejected the idea of me taking a nap to recharge. “I was at home,” I finally am able to say, “I was at home, with my brother and sister.” He swings back on his heels, not losing his balance even in all that heavy steel. “...At least, I know you’re not lying.” “How do you know that?!” I exclaim plaintively. “For all you know, I could be crazy!” He regards me carefully for a second. “I have a little friend who told me you were coming. That you’re special. Now I see what he means. You’re just lucky you didn’t end up on a Star Destroyer, or right in the hands of a Sith. You’d be dead or brainwashed by now.” Star Destroyer... Sith... Now he’s giving me words that I know I should remember but don’t. They sound familiar, but that’s it. He recovers his flask from where it landed in my staggering scramble away from the flaming planet in the sky. “Can you walk?” “I-I think so...” But I’m wrong. He helps me to my feet, but my legs give out almost instantly. I feel weak, like I haven’t eaten in days. All I did was skip breakfast. Thankfully, he says nothing. He leans down and scoops me up, carrying me toward the woods. “Do you have a name?” “I’m Laylah,” I reply, glad to have something I’m sure of. “Laylah Evergreen.” “I’m Din Djarin,” He says. “Din Djarin?” I repeat. His name sounds familiar. Too familiar. Like something I should know. Something I should automatically relate to a specific person... “Have you heard of me?” He sounds curious. Rightfully so. I would be. “I don’t know,” I tell him honestly. Maybe if I keep being honest and nice, he won’t turn on me like all the others. It’s never worked before, though. Not in my life. I better appreciate how nice he’s being to me now, because I know how quickly people can shift. Minutes, hours, days, sometimes even weeks. Never in my life has anyone ever stayed nice. I’ve never known why. I’ve just come to expect it. I need to get all the information I can out of him before he turns away, too. “...I bet that you’ve got memory implants,” Din Djarin says. “Huh?” He shakes his head. “Sometimes when a slave escapes or a First Order traitor slips out of their grasp, when they’re caught, they implant artificial memories and abandon them somewhere. Drives the person mad while they try to figure out who they are. It’s a sick form of torture.” “Oh,” is my squeaky reply, because that thought is terrifying. The thought of my mother, my brothers and sisters, none of it being real... It’s something that I’m gonna pretend isn’t a possibility. So I try to bring the conversation elsewhere. “Why do you wear that armor?” “This is the Way,” He tells me as he carries me into the treeline, following an old, beaten path. Under the shelter of the green pines, the rain subsides a bit. It’s a relief. “I’m a Mandalorian. What I wear is pure beskar, straight from the mines of Mandalore and very hard to find. I doubt any exists now, with the Empire having destroyed the mines and destroyed the planet... Its impenetrable. Not even lightsabers can get through it. It's a part of my sworn Creed to wear it with honor, and none can ever see my face.” “Why?” “This is the Way,” He says again, and I know that’s all I’m going to hear about the beskar. “What’s a lightsaber?” “The weapon of choice for Sith or Jedi. Laser swords. Very rarely, someone who is not either might have one.” “Are they like you? Following Creeds?” “In a way.” My stomach drops as he starts to walk a log suspended over a gorge. A waterfall barrels loudly and violently below, pounding into a river. One wrong move and we’re both dead. But Din’s strides are confident and unwavering, and before I have time to hold my breath we’re on solid ground again. “I know little of either of them. My people are the ancient enemies of the Jedi, but the few I’ve met have been alright. They’re more wizards than warriors, though.” “So, what? Space Harry Potter?” “I don’t know what that is.” “They’re just a bunch of fictional wizards.” I want to ask more questions-- about the Mandalorians, the Jedi and the Sith, about where I am-- but I go silent. I know that if I talk too much, he’ll be less inclined to answer me kindly, if at all, and I’m relying on his kindness right now. I need to time my questions carefully. Thankfully, the Mandalorian doesn’t point out the fact that I’ve gone silent. He seems just as eager to keep to himself as I am. Good. I don’t want to talk. With the adrenaline fading, my social anxiety and severely-introverted feelings are coming back. I’m suddenly aware of the fact that he’s carrying me, and I really don’t like it. It feels alien and is completely unwelcome, being this close to someone. I have to resist the urge to squeeze my eyes shut and wait until it’s over, or just fight my way out of his grasp and run screaming. Fight past it, I tell myself, and force myself to remain calm, You need the assistance of Din Djarin. He’s your only source of survival. Luckily for me, the journey is over quickly enough. It feels like an eternity of discomfort, but probably only twenty minutes have passed. Our destination is what looks like a cave at first glance, but upon closer inspection I can see that the branches and underbrush have been placed specifically to hide a little wooden door. It’s a hut hidden in the rocks, one most people would pass by unless you were being taken right to it. Carefully, Din sets me down on a rock. The door is jammed into a crevice in the rock rather than locked, so it takes him a minute to open it. Inside, it’s very dim, lit by candles and one hole between two massive boulders that serves as a window. Smells of cinnamon and what might be mint tea waft out, comforting me. Cinnamon has always calmed me, and I’m thankful for the unexpected familiarity. Am I dreaming, or is what Din says true? Has my whole life been just a fabrication for a traitor or escaped slave? If I’m dreaming, then all I have to do is wait to wake up, although I’ve never experienced a dream where I feel every second, every minute, as realistically as I am now. Where I can smell and feel so vividly. It’s so much like real life that I’m suddenly worried about Din’s theory being true. If that is the case, though, and my whole life has been nothing but an implant for a fugitive... it would explain a lot. It would explain why my life has been a series of one bad thing after another, an essential prison for the seventeen years I’ve been alive. Although the thought of my family being nothing but a lie terrifies me. They were all I had, all I’ve ever had. My mother, Rochelle, my older siblings Thomas and Julia, my younger siblings Tristan and Jade. If they weren’t ever there, then does that mean I’ve always been as alone as I’ve felt? They have to exist. Even memory implants have to have something to go off of, right? So maybe they do exist, in this place where a galaxy actually has territories. I just have to find them. Once Din has the door propped up, he carries me inside. It’s small but comforting. There’s a single bed against the far wall, covered in pelts for blankets. Beside it is what looks oddly enough like a baby carriage. Hanging from the ceiling are herbs to dry, and what I think are rabbits and pheasants except they’re odd colors of green and have more limbs and eyes than I remember. I’m starting to feel a lot like I’m in Wonderland. Except I don’t remember chasing any white rabbits. There’s a table with a stool, a very small kitchen, and an open lean-to which holds changes of clothes. He sets me down on the bed and retrieves a blanket, wrapping it around my shoulders. He starts a fire in a tiny fireplace that doubles as a stove. Movement out of the corner of my eye startles me, and then I see something that probably tops the flaming planet and the six-legged green rabbit with a ring of teeth instead of a face. At least, it’s cute and non-threatening. Sitting up out of the cradle is something that looks a lot like Gizmo from Gremlins, except he’s hairless and green. He’s dressed in a tiny burlap robe, and his long ears twitch curiously when he sees me. He blinks, slowly, with large dark eyes that seem to know more than an infant should. “Say hello, Grogu,” The Mandalorian tells him softly from across the hut. “Badu,” Grogu says to me in the sweetest little voice, and waves a three-fingered hand in my direction. For the first time since I got here, I smile. I’m overwhelmed with a sense of relief and safety that I didn’t feel before. It feels like something is connecting me to the little guy, and maybe it’s the fact that this might be the friend that the Mandalorian was talking about-- it’s a ridiculous prospect, that a baby told him about me, but I’ve got this odd, strong feeling that I’m right. “Hello, Grogu,” I reply with my own wave. “I’m Laylah.” I want to ask Din what Grogu is, but that seems insensitive. Instead, I ask, “Is the the friend you told me about?” “Yes,” Din answers, “He sensed you coming hours before you arrived. Those Jedi I was talking about? They use something called the Force. It’s some kind of celestial energy. I don’t understand it, but it gives them strange abilities-- glimpses of the future, communicating telepathically, moving things with their minds... Sometimes, very rarely, Grogu will make an effort to tell me something if its important, but it tires him. So when he told me that a special girl was going to fall out of the sky, I watched until you did.” “Special?” “Badu,” Says Grogu. I smile again, reaching over to take his little hand. He’s tiny, and fragile, being so young; but as soon as our hands meet, I feel something... odd. A surge of power, a static and palpable energy that bursts into my arm. I feel it like the cold liquid of an IV, being pulled up into my veins and dispersed through the rest of my body. I snatch my arm back with a gasp. Grogu doesn’t look surprised by my reaction. His big eyes narrow almost knowingly as we stare at each other. “What is it?” Din asks. He’s stopped what he’s doing to see what’s going on, but only Grogu seems to know. “What did you do?” “N-nothing!” I cry, terrified that now I’ve lost my only means of survival over a misunderstanding. He’s going to kick me out into the woods because he thinks I did something to his kid, and I’m not sure I could survive out there-- I’m not Katniss Everdeen. “Not you,” He specifies, and my heart falls from my throat back to its proper location. “You, Grogu, what did you do?” “Du.” Grogu only grunts and buries himself deep into the blankets in his cradle. I’m rubbing my hand up my arm under my sleeve, trying to get the feeling back into it. Pins and needles prick at the whole length of my arm and my body feels fuzzy. “He always do that?” “No,” Din answers, setting the stool across from me. He hands me a cup of what I’m going to believe is tea, and I hold it in both of my freezing hands, grateful for its warmth. “I’ve only seen him react like that to someone once.” “Who?” I immediately reprimand myself internally for asking such a personal question-- but really, who would have been able to resist? Gizmo-baby from space injecting people with magic power isn’t exactly normal. “Sorry.” He waves me off. “Her name was Ahsoka Tano. She said that he was communicating with her, through the Force.” He pauses for a second, maybe for dramatic effect. “She was a Jedi.” I can’t help but scoff, though it’s also partly a laugh. “So you’re saying I’m a Jedi?” “There’s a difference between being a Jedi and being Force-sensitive,” Din explains softly, absentmindedly leaning over to tuck little Grogu in. “Being a Jedi means that you’ve been trained to harness the Force, be one with it. Being Force-sensitive means that you are aware of it, more so than most. It can be useful to you, I’ve heard. Some people who are Force-sensitive do end up becoming Jedi, but with you, we’ll have to wait and see.” “So Grogu...” “He’s a Force-user,” Din tells me, “Once, he was being trained in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant, and when it was attacked, he was the sole survivor. He would have been a very powerful Jedi. When I found him, I took him to Luke Skywalker, but Grogu decided that he would rather stay with me than swear himself to their training. Skywalker let him go, but Grogu can still utilize the Force. I’ve seen him lift creatures larger than speederbikes, stop explosions, heal fatal wounds, and even calm a rancor. Now, he’s sensed you... and at precisely the right time.” “...Right time?” Here’s the catch. There’s always a catch. The Mandalorian leans back, using the table to support his back. “I’m getting older. Any self-respecting bounty hunter in their late fifties is still out there, doing their job, but with the rise of the First Order, I took Grogu and went into hiding. He's powerful; if they found him...” He leaves the apparently horrible ending of his sentence for me to interpret, and I get the feeling this First Order isn’t very friendly. “The interference from Elika is the only thing that’s kept us safe. I can’t protect him like I used to. We haven’t left Yëa in a little under ten years.” My silent question is obvious. My eyebrows shoot to my hairline as I point to Grogu meaningfully. Din shakes his head. “His race ages slowly. He’s only the equivalent of a two-year-old human. Maybe in another fifty years, he’ll be more able to fend for himself. But I am human. I don’t have fifty more years in me. I’ve outlived all of my trusted friends, or the First Order has made their worlds unsafe. You can imagine how hard it is to try and find someone to take your place when you can’t go out and look.” I cock an eyebrow. What, you don’t have galactic internet? Though I guess if you’re trying to hide, posting a big Help Wanted: Need a Lifelong Babysitter for Space-Wizard Gizmo ad on your space-Facebook would probably be counterintuitive. But I see what he’s getting at. Here he is, worrying about dying of old age and leaving his kid unattended, vulnerable. Then I literally fall out of the sky, ripped from my home and my world for no foreseeable reason. “Not only that...” Din continues, blatantly ignoring any expression I might have as he watches Grogu sleep. He starts to rock the cradle. “But I’m one of the last Mandalorians. I don’t even know if there are other Mandalorians anymore. My legacy is over. I have no wife or children; my only family is Grogu. He’s a foundling, yes-- but it will be many years before he can continue the Creed.” “The Mandalorian Creed?” “Yes. He cannot do it on his own, not yet.” “And... you want me to follow in your footsteps.” He hesitates. “...Maybe. We’ll see. If you were to continue my legacy, I would have to take you as my daughter. You’ve only just arrived here, even if Grogu says you’re special. After all, how do I know you’re not crazy? Or a wanted fugitive with memory implants? In fact, there’s only one way for me to tell for certain.” His words leave me shifting uneasily. He wants me to take his place... And the fact that he would have to make me his daughter because of a Creed sets me on edge. The only father I had ever known was negligent and abusive. I’d come to associate that term with fear, unease, and abandonment. Just the word makes me want to run very far, very fast. I’ve been having a lot of urges to run recently. The Mandalorian seems to look me in the eye. “You were clearly sent here for a reason, Laylah Evergreen. We just have to figure out what it is. I know someone... if your arrival was that spectacular, she may have sensed you already.” “Another Force-sensitive person?” “In a sense. Her name is Maz Kanata. She always seems to know everything that’s happening everywhere. If anyone, she’s the safest person to go to, save for a Jedi, and nobody knows where Luke Skywalker is. She won’t speak a word to the First Order about us.” I scoff. “Seems just about everybody but you and me know more about my coming here than we do.” “So it would seem,” He agrees. “It’s going to take her a few days to get here after I send the message. Until then, you can stay here. Make yourself at home.” Oh. Wonderful. I’m grateful. Really, I am. If not for Din’s hospitality, I’d still be laying in a mud puddle. But I also detest the thought of staying in the same little hut as a stranger. I’d much rather be on my own. But I can’t actually voice any of this. “Thank you, sir.” Din nods, standing and moving over to the closet. He pulls out a couple of items-- a longsleeve shirt, pants, a belt made out of rope-- and sets them next to me on the bed. “You should get out of those wet clothes. These aren’t going to fit you very well, but maybe Maz can bring you some.” Before I can even finish saying thank you, he’s already back by the door. “I’m going to go send the message. I’ll knock before I enter.” After struggling with the door a bit, he exits the hut and closes it up. I hear him pull some of those branches over the door to conceal it. I wait until his footsteps and jingling belts fade before I so much as move. I put the tea on the table and change as fast as possible. The clothes he’s given me are soft and comfortable, dark brown-- but he’s right, they don’t fit at all. I’m swimming in them. I have to roll up the pants several times at the ankles and the hips, looping the belt twice around my waist to hold them up. The shirt is better, since it’s more of a dress to me and I can easily cover myself with that blanket for now. What’s worse is I hardly eat; I’m so skinny the pants threaten to fall down at the slightest movement. I fold my own outfit neatly, taking in how strange the skinny jeans and green flannel look against the homespun outfit I’m now wearing. Once I’m done, I set the clothes on the stool and sit back where he had originally placed me, blanket and tea and all. I try to sip it. It’s warm and sweet, like honey. I wonder if it’s drugged. What are Tristan and Jade doing right now, I wonder? I always tell them never to let me sleep for more than an hour. At fifteen and ten, my little brother and baby sister are fully capable of handling themselves, but has the hour already passed? It sure as hell feels like it to me. Have they tried to wake me up and discovered that they can’t? Din is knocking sooner than I expect. I jump, heart leaping into my throat. “I’m dressed,” I manage, voice cracking. He enters and wordlessly takes the clothes outside. I want to ask what he’s doing with them, but refrain from doing so. He turns in the doorway as if sensing it. “I wash all my clothes in a bucket at a nearby stream. I’ll put yours in with mine.” I thank him and he departs, leaving the door open behind him. When he returns, he closes the door most of the way but leaves it cracked. Outside, the sun is shining and birds are singing. At least, I hope it’s the sun, and not that planet, and birds instead of freaky rabbit mutations. Din pours himself a cup of tea. “So... How old are you?” The question catches me off-guard. It’s clearly an attempt at conversation, but I overthink and wonder why he’s asking. I clear my throat after a moment and answer him. “Just turned seventeen last December.” He stares at me. Now it’s my turn to ask, “You have no idea what December is, do you?” Din takes a deep breath and sits himself on the stool. “Well, Laylah Evergreen... It seems we have a lot to learn about each other.”

- - -

The first few days I spend with Din Djarin are peaceful but hellish. In all my life, I’d never had one kind instance with a stranger that has stuck. Everyone has always treated my family and I like enemies, and so we had grown used to it. Grown to expect it. Not to mention, social anxiety and being an introvert are making it very difficult to seem normal around a stranger. I speak very quietly and only to ask a question, or in response to something he says. Otherwise, I comment on nothing and make no attempts at conversation despite awkward silences. I ask where I should sleep, and he makes a new bed in thirty minutes with a couple of sticks and a stretch of hide. He gives me a few hide blankets and a pillow made of burlap and bird down, and I’m grateful. I watch how he does it and make mental notes, learning. He notices and gives tips and shows me tricks, which knots hold best and such. I’m grateful, but I don’t sleep. I can’t sleep because Din Djarin’s house is full of weapons. He’s very clearly trained and could overpower me in a second. My only option is sprinting as fast as I can out of the door he usually keeps open, using Din’s age and armor against him if he attacks. I can’t sleep because Din Djarin sleeps in his armor, leaving early in the morning to wash it and bathe before making his rounds, checking his snares and traps for food. But he sleeps in his armor, as if always prepared for battle. I don’t ask him about it because I’m scared of his reaction, and a part of me knows that his response will be “This is the Way.” Maybe he was a soldier once and old habits die hard. The only thing that puts me at ease is the fact that he sometimes shifts, half-asleep or maybe fully awake, to rock Grogu’s cradle. During the day, in my own clothes, I ask him what I can do to help with the daily routine. I don’t want to feel useless and I need to keep moving. He has me collect firewood. He shows me where I can wash clothes and where his traps are, how to collect the animals without damaging the meat. He shows me his garden, where he collects herbs. We split the daily duties, half-and-half. I’m terrified of doing something wrong, like I always do, and then Din will return to doing it all himself, leaving me useless. But when I do get something wrong, Din only quietly shows me how to do it correctly once more, and then I get it. The worst he got was showing mild frustration when I brought home one of the demon-rabbits with a torn leg. “Dank farrik, did you just pull on it?” “I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry.” “Let me show you how to save what you can of the catch.” He’s being nice, and I’m not used to it. I want to tell him to yell at me and tell me how I need to be doing it, why didn’t I do it that way in the first place, why can’t I get it? But he doesn’t. He remains calm and honestly it’s scaring me. I cry a lot in those first few days. Privately, of course, because I vowed a long time ago that nobody would see me cry, especially strangers. It would take a lot for me to cry in front of somebody. My “safe place” was always the bathroom, curled up beside the tub, where nobody could reach me. But there’s no bathroom here, only an outhouse, so I cry all my tears when I’m in the woods by myself. I think maybe Din might be able to tell sometimes, when my face is still red and splotchy, but he never says anything to my relief. Because if he asks me what’s wrong, I know I’ll break down, and if I cry then I show weakness. Weakness isn’t something that I can afford. Already, I’m too quiet, but quiet means thoughtful and careful. Wary. Weakness, on the other hand, means vulnerability. And if I’m vulnerable... No, I won’t let Din or Grogu see me weak or vulnerable. Sometimes I think maybe I am like Katniss. I feel like her a lot, trekking through the woods to collect game and forage. Although my braid, however, is much longer. Dark and thin and entwined with a russet ribbon, it goes all the way down to my mid-thighs. I keep it long in honor of my Cherokee heritage; I’m quarter Cherokee, and I’ve always been proud of it, even if my skin is pale instead of tanned. A very special thing to me I always carry on me, and still thankfully have, is a bear claw on a suede cord, the head of which has been carved into an eagle’s head. It was given to me by my grandfather, and since I’ve only ever taken it off to sleep and to shower. Now, I don’t take it off at all. I won’t lie, I miss my family with everything in me. But whatever this is-- death, coma, a dream, even recovering from memory implants-- I’m starting to feel more and more like it’s home, even with the presence of Din and Grogu. Here, everything is easy. At least, for us it is. We eat, we work, we live. There’s no struggle for money. No struggle for jobs that won’t hire. No struggle for college or constantly hearing of one catastrophe after another. Of course, there’s the war. Between the Resistance, a band of rebel fighters led by General Organa, the once-princess of Alderaan and an esteemed senator; and the First Order, a cruel organization bent on ruling through power and force. Merciless, without empathy, they steal children to brainwash into mindless soldiers designated by numbers rather than names, and are ruled by a mad Sith Lord named Kylo Ren-- although not everybody is convinced that they’re all bad yet, and they’re not exactly at war. Yet. The Republic remains unconvinced, so General Leia Organa has formed a Resistance to oppose the First Order. This galaxy isn’t perfect, not by any means. There’s cruelty and loss and a constant battle between good and evil. But it’s a hell of a lot better than having everything condensed onto one, suffocating planet. Ten days have passed since my arrival here. Ten days since Din sent out the message to Maz Kanata. Sometimes now, I’ve fallen asleep, whether out in the woods or at the hut, and I’ll wake up to Din having found me and carried me back or placed a blanket over my shoulders. Exhaustion has won over my distrust, and I can sleep again, although the strange location still has me waking up long before I used to. Din and I are up just before dawn most days. And just when I think Maz Kanata isn’t coming, Din gets a call on his comlink in the middle of breakfast, making all three of us jump. A whole two weeks for the Galactic Standard Calendar, Din has only just told me. A whole two weeks of days named strangely on a calendar with ten months instead of twelve and 368 days instead of 365. Grogu nearly spills his gruel. Din-- who was eating outside because I can’t see his face since he strictly follows the Way-- does drop his food, and it clatters onto the rocks before the front door. He pulls his helmet down before kneeling down to pick up the bowl. “Dank farrik...” He comes inside to grab the comlink off the counter and goes right back out. I hear him talking to somebody as he walks away, and I’m suddenly nervous. Butterflies do somersaults in my stomach. If Maz gives me the option to go home, will I really take it? I’m comfortable with my family, but we suffer. I don’t want to leave them behind, but I don’t think I could bear to leave this paradise where I might be able to grow used to Din Djarin and Grogu the space-Gizmo-wizard. I might even be able to grow used to the disturbing wildlife. And honestly, the more Din has taught me, the more appealing becoming his apprentice sounds. I want to live here. I want to learn the Galactic Standard Calendar, their letter system of Aurebesh, their slang and even Mando’a. But saying all of this is very difficult for me, especially when I don’t trust Din. I’m still waiting for his kindness to fade. Although, he’s making it very confusing for me. Seventeen years of mistreatment has left a lasting imprint that I hate, but can’t fight. My instincts are torn between thinking I might be able to trust him and warning me that I should not. The fact that I’m wearing one of two outfits he helped me cut and resize so that I have something more fitting to wear only adds to it. The fact that he’s simply accepted the girl that was suddenly flung onto his planet, disoriented and confused, makes it even worse. I wonder what Mom would do. Or what any of my siblings would do. They’d stay, definitely, so long as we were all together. But this decision I need to make for me. They may love me, and I love them more than anything, but if this is my path... Strangely enough, I hear the voice of Din echoing in my head: “This is the Way.” Din returns shortly. He peers around the corner, gesturing to someone behind him. Following is a very old woman-- but she’s not human. She’s a spry elderly female humanoid, but the resemblance to a human ends there. She’s completely hairless, her wrinkled skin the color of apricots. She squints at me from behind a pair of silver goggles strapped to her over-large head, her spindly body fidgeting as if anxious to move. “Hmmm...” She drawls out. I stand, nervous. I hadn’t been prepared for her visit. My hair is still messy from bed and I haven’t changed out of the outfit that I designated for pajamas. It’s been splattered with gruel from Grogu’s spasm when the comlink flicked to life, and I’m nervously trying to smooth down the shirt-tunic and pat my bedhead down all at once. Din clears his throat. “Maz Kanata, this is Laylah Evergreen. Laylah, this is Maz.” “I know who she is,” Maz replies mysteriously, adjusting her goggles and coming closer. I may be short, but I still kneel to be at her eye level. “Everyone Force-sensitive in the galaxy knows who she is.” “That’s dangerous,” Din says, and I know I’ve bought my ticket to getting shipped away just by existing. Maz waves a hand, but doesn’t take her eyes off me. “I said they know who she is, not where she is. Most people only felt something off. I’ve been hearing about the disturbance for days now. Those of us whom are more in-tune with the Force...” She reaches forward and grabs my chin, moving my head from side to side. But here’s the problem: it takes every fiber in my body not to leap back from the sudden contact, especially there. Imprinted into my brain is my father trying to make me look at him, and fearing his wrath, I hadn’t been able to move. Every time someone touches my chin-- which, it’s rare for anyone to touch me at all besides my family-- I see his face. It brings tears to my eyes, but if Maz notices, she doesn’t say anything. She steps back, and I take a few shuddering breaths, trying to push the thought of my father out of my head. Maz’s eyes bore into mine. “...We saw her. Leia sent for me immediately. Luke, I’m sure, wherever he is, saw her too. Horribly enough, this means that we know Kylo Ren saw her. Thankfully, they don’t know her location. They only know her as The Girl Misplaced. She’s not from here. She’s from another time and space entirely. The Force wouldn’t have reacted so otherwise.” “Wh-what does this mean?” I mutter softly, now wondering how many other people saw me before their eyes. “It means,” Maz says, “That your destiny is meant to play out here. Which is why you are here. I haven’t felt a ripple in the Force like that in a thousand years--” I balk at her age; she doesn’t look that old, “--and I doubt I’ll see it again for another thousand, by which point you’ll be long gone.” “So... You mean...” “Leia knows that I came to you; she told me to tell this to you gently, but I can’t think of any other way to say it,” Maz shakes her head, taking my hands in her tiny ones. “This is your home now, Laylah of Earth. I would make your peace with it now, and accept your fate sooner rather than later, else it will come upon you too quickly.” I’m crying before I realize it. I’m screaming at myself internally for showing weakness in front of not one, but two strangers, but I can’t help it. I missed my family, but I didn’t realize that I should have been grieving this whole time. I can’t go home. I’m stuck here, for the rest of my life. But isn’t that what I’ve always wanted, to get away from Earth? Isn’t this a good thing? My siblings would be upset-- Mom would be devastated. But I know that given the option to come back and I was happier here, she’d want me to stay. Our happiness has always come first for her. But knowing that I’ll never see the faces of my family again hits me hard. I don’t even have any pictures. All I have is the bear-claw pendant at my neck, all I have left of them. I squeeze it hard enough for the edge to cut into my palm, trying to sear their faces into my mind. Their voices, their smiles and laughter. All the good memories. Every time I look at it, I’ll think of you. Always and forever. If I’d have known that nap would have been my last day on Earth, I would have told Tristan and Jade I loved them. I’d have called Mom at work. I’d have called Thomas and Julia. But they know I loved them, right? Maz pulls away, turning to Din. “She’s in your charge now, Din. This child-- she needs your protection and care. It’s unlikely that the First Order will find her here, but you can never be too careful.” “I know, Maz,” Din replies, and I realize that he’s already come to this decision. Taking me in, like he took in Grogu. He’s been teaching me since the day I got here, because he knew I would likely never be able to go back. She hands him a bundle. “Clothes for the girl. When she’s ready... don’t question her path.” “I won’t. And thank you.” Din bids her farewell, and I manage to thank her as well, and then she’s gone. As if she hadn’t just delivered life-altering news. For several minutes, Din stays in the doorway, unsure of what to do. Grogu has somehow managed to climb down from his chair and is resting his hands on my thigh, babbling soft noises of sympathy. I scoop him up and hug him, the first hug I’ve had since my arrival here. After a moment of hesitation, Din sets the bundle down and crosses the room, wrapping his arms around both of us. “I’m sorry, Laylah.” “I already knew,” I managed, torn between hating the embrace and leaning into it for some semblance of comfort. Grogu uses his sleeve to dab at my face, and I can’t help but smile. Your destiny lies here. I refuse to lay here and bawl my eyes out for days. I’m going to do what I was sent here to do, wherever my path takes me, for better or worse. I’m not going to let my sudden breach of time and space have been for nothing. Then I really will have always been useless. I refuse to repay Din’s kindness by becoming lethargic and wasting away. I’ll get strong, and I’ll... I’ll learn the Way. What else can I be meant to do? Din needs an apprentice, and I just happen to land here of all places? I’ll accept that as more than coincidence. For you guys, I think, envisioning my family. I’m still crying though, even as I smile. I know the grief will last for a long time before dulling, but I’ve been through loss before. Hasn’t everyone? “Foundling sounds stupid for a girl my age,” I choke out, somewhere between a laugh and a sob, “Makes me sound like I’m four years old. How about fledgling? Sounds like I’m just about ready to sprout wings.” Din chuckles and rubs my shoulder. Grogu chirps excitedly and squeals, hugging me tighter. “Fledgling it is.”

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itsclydebitches · 3 years ago

Note

It really doesn’t help that Ruby’s breakdown happens after Salem’s whale fortress gets destroyed. Now that the problem becomes possibly manageable is the time you completely give up?

That too. I mentioned in the previous post that the group is laying out all the challenges they're facing, but it's important to note that all of this is comparatively better than where they started out.

"Qrow and Robyn are still in custody" — and you've already proven that you're capable of breaking into Atlas' HQ. Also, they've been in custody this whole Volume. It's not like you lost them as a resource over the course of Volume 8.

"May said that the Atlas security drones are watching the crater, so they’re trapped too" — except you wanted them there in the first place? The entire Mantle-specific plan was to move everyone to the warmer, more easily defended crater. Why are they suddenly "trapped"? Ignoring the likelihood that these drones are programed to defend those people from leftover grimm (AKA, helping to make up for the lack of numbers with the Happy Huntresses), it's not like the drones are much of a threat when Ironwood has already threatened to bomb the whole city. "Those drones have the civilians trapped and might turn on them" is a potential problem, sure, but it's like worrying about the potential of cutting yourself while cooking when you're already bleeding out from the stab wound. It doesn't matter how "trapped" the civilians are if all of Mantle is nuked.

"And Salem isn’t going to stay gone for much longer" — but she is currently gone which is a huge improvement from her actively attacking Atlas.

Her whale has also been destroyed, ceasing the endless grimm invasion.

Oscar has revealed that he still has power left in that deus ex machina cane of his.

Ozpin has returned, the one person capable of providing insight into this kind of problem (not that the group is interested, but still).

Ruby already succeeded in sending her message.

The group has already reconvened and been saved from kidnappings.

Emerald has turned to their side and Hazel is dead.

Everything they're going to use to save the day — Penny, Emerald's semblance, the Relic — is already available to them. Nothing will change between now and the courtyard to improve the situation further. Actually wait, that's not true, Winter will also come back to their side, but based on how the fight against Ironwood goes, I don't think she was a deal breaker. "Okay, Ironwood wants Penny, otherwise Mantle is done for. So, how do we stop him?" By sending Team JNOR to knock Ironwood unconscious. That's it. Sure, having Winter and Emerald's semblance made things a little easier, but I don't think either was actually necessary. They could have simply told Ironwood they were giving Penny up (like they did) and then the second the airship landed (without Penny on it) they jump him. It's 4 vs. 1 at a minimum. 6 vs. 1 with Emerald and Winter. Given that Ironwood was written to be both stupid (sending all his guards away) and arguably nerfed, that half of the plan amounts to simply beating him in a fight which is, apparently, pretty easy. It's the same "plan" as taking down the Ace Ops. Or getting to Atlas in the first place. So it's really weird that not only does Ruby grow hopeless at the moment where things look (comparatively) bright, but that this hopelessness hinges on the question of how they'll stop Ironwood... when the answer really is just, "Beat him unconscious." Sure, Ruby also figures out how to evacuate people, but that's not the challenge she's currently grappling with. If your heroes are crumbling under the "impossibility" of a scenario (Ironwood is gonna bomb people) and the solution to that scenario is "Oh yeah, we can fight him!" in what is explicitly a fighting show... that's not a well-written breakdown.

I mean, if we strip away the flashy details and convoluted side-plots, what we're basically left with is:

Ironwood: I want to use the Relic to escape Salem.

Ruby: No, you can't do that. Also I want to solve my problems by fighting you.

[Later]

Ruby: Things are exactly the same as they were yesterday!

[Things are markedly improved from what they were yesterday]

Ruby: This is impossible. It's hopeless. There's just no way to solve this horrific situation.

[20 minutes later]

Ruby: Omg wait. We can... use the Relic to escape Salem and solve the Ironwood problem by fighting him!

Cue a lot of debates about whether this is brilliant or not lol

#rwde #rwby #mymetas

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aphrodite-would-be-proud · 4 years ago

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Reading through your wedding post made me so happy, but then I read about Falco's family 😭 Do you think you could write some of your headcannons of you and Reiner watching Falco for a week while his brother goes on a business trip or something. I can only picture by the end of the week that the house is full of the kids because none of them want to go home because Falco misses his brother and hes sad!! 😭😭

I'm so happy you enjoyed it! And that's such a sweet and thoughtful request how could i say no :( my god it sounds like the perfect comfort fic to write and honestly Falco deserves it💛

And the kiddos comforting Falco is a really adorable idea especially since he's the one looking out for everyone and comforting them most of the time, i can only imagine how loved he'd be by them.

Falco spending a week with you and Reiner

{ Reiner x reader | tw:deceased parents tw:neglectful parents | reverse comfort, fluff | modern }

{ "Tales of Enchantment" by Frank O. Salisbury 1874–1962 }

Around 5am, you and Reiner were waiting in the living room, each holding a cup of coffee. In the past days you got a call from Colt, asking if you can take care of Falco for a week, he sounded really apologetic and so you reassured him it's not trouble at all.

Apparently him and Zeke had a work related trip to a far away town, being understaffed in that town and all, the situation was dire and they couldn't refuse without their rating taking a huge hit not to mention morally too. But as a compensation, the company promised a higher pay to make their effort worth it.

You didn't notice the repeated knocking on the door till a couple seconds later, lack of sleep delaying your senses.

Opening it, you were met with an anxious Colt carrying his little brother in his arms, still asleep in his pajamas. Zeke from behind him carrying a couple bags and backpacks, he waved to you with a smile.

As Reiner took Falco in his arms and some of the bags too, you carried his Marvel school backpack and a list Colt made for all the things Falco needed and liked. He seemed to put a lot of effort in it, somethings in it you didn't even know yourself.

While tucking Falco in your bed, Reiner couldn't help but express his worry over Colt working himself to exhausting, both mentally and physically.

Yeah it was only a temporary thing till Colt graduates college and finds a stable good paying job, whilst taking care of his little brother as much as he can. He's been carrying Falco's responsibility on his shoulder since the funeral without a twitch or a complaint.

You think back to all the times you saw Colt, most being for mere minutes when he came to drop off the kids or pick them up just as his classes ended and before his shift at work started, barely having time for himself yet he chose to spend that little remaining free time on Falco and his friends.

You sit next to Reiner on the bed, gently brushing Falco's hair away from his face as he's sound asleep. He always looked up to his brother more than anyone else and would never let anyone talk badly about him.

It's like his own personal superhero.

"Do you think he'll be sad knowing he didn't get to say goodbye before Colt left?" You ask, still looking at Falco.

Reiner thinks for a moment before answering, "probably, but won't show it" he secures the blanket more around Falco, "sometimes I wonder who's more stubborn with showing their emotions, Gabi or Falco."

"I'd say Zofia wins the acting Oscar" you turn the lights off on your way out, "wasn't it for Udo, we wouldn't know how she's feeling half the time."

Around 10am, a very sleepy Falco merges out of the dark bedroom. Making his way to sit between you and Reiner on the couch, while carrying a blanket around him.

He leans into Reiner's hand when he strokes Falco's hair while you secure the blanket around him. Seeming unusual quiet, you and Reiner shared a knowing concerned look.

Offering to make him his favourite food for breakfast got a smiles out of Falco, Reiner even let him choose what shapes he wants his sunny side eggs as.

While he went to cook and prepare food, Falco shyly leans into your lap as if testing the water.

Please assure him it's okay to seek physical comfort from you, wrap your arms around him and he'll be embarrassed at first to ask to sit on your lap but will love it afterwards.

Just don't tell anyone about it okay? It's something his parents used to do when he was little.

When he heard about Gabi coming over today, he seemed to light up. While Udo and Zofia have weekend music lessons they couldn't make it till tomorrow.

While looking away, he asked if you could watch teen titans go with him.

The rest of the day went smoothly after that, Falco was a good kid in general and a really helpful and understanding person. He helped you both with chores and even attempted to cook pancakes.

While it came out burned, don't tell him that! He's really worried so please make him know you loved it and it was super delicious.

You and Reiner even took him to the dogs park nearby, he had pet so many good dogs till he couldn't count, even played fetch with one. After that you got ice cream on the way back.

When Gabi finally arrived, full of energy and enthusiastic about Falco staying over meaning she too will be staying over

All hell broke loose, it's like a switch had been flipped and the well behaved good boy Falco you know was completely weoponised by Gabi as she pulled him into her mischiefs

By himself, Falco is a good kid, well behaved, polite and responsible for his age. But with adding Gabi to the mix? They're a force to be reckon with.

You could see that Reiner was trying his hardest to deny that his closest cousin Gabi, was the bad influence on other kids all along.

You know? The one leading you off a cliff that your moms tells you not to follow? The rebellious kid with very strong opinions and the will to fist fight god? Yeah that one.

Apparently, no one gave Falco the cliff talk yet because he seemed far too eager to follow her to the end of the earth and down that cliff, he'd even jump hand in hand with her just to protect her from the sharp rocks under.

Gabi was actually looking forward to Falco staying over, since either way she'd spend a couple of days with you and Reiner whenever her parents are away or are too busy. She can't handle feeling lonely in the house, it's one of the worst feelings she's ever experienced.

It reached a point that Reiner gave her a copy of the keys, just so she could come in whenever even if you were at work. He too didn't like the idea of her being alone in a house all by herself, yet her parents didn't seem bothered at all.

But now she has a friend to spend the time with!

Falco was finding comfort in the fact that him and Gabi are currently in similar situations, while his was temporarily he felt better knowing he wasn't alone in this.

By the end of the the day, they managed to build a pillow fort in your living room. No one allowed to enter unless they're bearing offerings snacks

Around 10pm, when both of them fall asleep inside the fort. Falco hugging a pillow to his chest while Gabi still had a controller in her hand.

Of course Reiner took some pictures, how could he not? Especially with the way Falco's fingers were tangled with Gabi's as she had cookie crumbs around her mouth.

He also sent it to the groupchat Zeke made, reassuring Colt that Falco is having the time of his life whilst also sharing their adorable cousins with the rest of his friends.

The week went by faster than anyone could notice, good times always fly fast eh?

Each morning you and Reiner would walk Falco to the school bus before watching him sit next to Udo, sending him off with packed lunch and waving as the bus went away.

After school the rest of the kiddos will come with him home, keeping him company and helping him with homework too. They'd make sure to play Videgames right after.

Porco actually took over the duty of taking Zofia and Udo back to their houses, let's just say their mothers didn't like him at all, but reluctantly agreed after Reiner assured them he's a close family friend.

Each day around 6pm, Colt would video call him on his work break, sometimes with Zeke and other times alone. Falco would tell him about his day and Colt would praise him for all the good work he's done, he'd even share stories of his own and remind him to brush his teeth and eat his vegetables.

After each call, Falco will be noticeably more...down. can you blame him? He really misses him brother.

Sit next to him and hug him close please, he really needs it but he can't bring himself to ask for it. Soothe away his worries and don't mention it if his eyes start watering, just pull him against your chest and let him cry his heart out.

On nights he's particularly sad, he'd sneak into your bedroom to sleep between you and Reiner. It's something he used to do back when he was little, he can't help but miss his parents.

It makes him feel safe so make sure to keep a space for him in there always.

Please stroke his hair till he falls asleep like his mother used to do each night, and let him lean against you while watching cartoons like his father did.

You also noticed how...dotting the kiddos are around him during these times.

Gabi is more gentle with him, even willing to play the games he wants instead of hers. She always teams up with him and her words whenever they win make him smile.

Zofia shares her food with him, something so scarce. She gives up her turn on the tv for him and even defends his choice in what to watch if the others complain.

Udo is the one making him space on the school bus and walking with him home too. Helping him with his homework and holding his hand whenever he seemed to get sad.

Udo and Falco are a great emotional support to each other, they're not afraid to speak about their emotions to the other.

And naturally they're the most comforting, with Zofia botteling up her own emotions and Gabi wrestling through it, it's the two of them who work as the group emotional support backbone.

Reiner couldn't stop talking to you about how proud he is of Udo when he saw him comforting Falco these days, you couldn't agree more.

By the end of the week, the three kids were surrounding Falco on the couch as they played Mario karts.

Zofia was threatening to throw hands with whoever threw that blue shell at her making her last place, Gabi was too busy securing her first place spot.

Udo was leaving strategtic traps in his trail while in third place, making Zofia even more frustrated as she fell into every single one.

Falco was racing with Gabi in second place, attempting to push her kart or power through to the finish line.

When the black and white line came into view, Gabi and Falco's karts were separate by mere inches, both of them attempting to outrun the other.

And when Gabi managed to get a hold of the first spot for three seconds, a flying blue shell knocked her away. Making Falco the winner as he crossed the line.

To this day, Gabi doesn't know if which one of Zofia and Udo were the cause of her demise, but oh she will find the traitor and they will pay.

After that intense scene, they all shared a bag of cookies she brought from home! It was animal shaped.

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