#what the hell is their official ship name I keep seeing like.. 12 different things

[fabahater]

GET THIS STUPID YAOI OUT OF MY HEAD OH MY GOD GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT G

[descendantofthesparrow]

Encore - Part of your world - Harry Hook x Reader - Part 25 - The Wedding - FINALE

The Wedding

=

You took a deep breath, staring at the calendar on your apartment wall. A very particular date circled in red

May 22nd - Wedding day~!

Today was the day…you would be getting married to Harry Hook, the love of your life. You squealed and jumped around your room, eyes catching onto your dress hanging off your door. You giggled to yourself and grabbed the dress, holding it to your chest and dancing around your room, closing your eyes and imagining Harry dancing along with you as you had your first dance as husband and wife.

“Someone’s excited~” you stopped and turned to face your door, seeing your aunt, (BFF name), Jazzy, Lily, and Emma standing there, fond smiles on their faces. Tonks stepped into the room and pulled you into a hug, your friends joining it soon after “You ready for today?” Tonks asked, smiling as you nodded against her rapidly, the girls pulling back and moving around the room to grab your makeup and other things you would need today, like your shoes, dress, snack bag, and vows.

You glanced at the clock, the time reading 10 am. The wedding started at 4 so you had a good 6 hours before everything happened. But everything you needed that wasn’t at your apartment was in the captain's quarters on your new ship, Harry was getting ready in a different cabin to prevent the ‘seeing the bride before the wedding’ thing.

“We all ready?” your friends and aunt nodded, their necklaces, which had been charmed by Uma to temporarily have the same properties as your necklace, shining for a moment. “Then let's go”

You took your key and stuck it into your doorknob's lock, turning it and opening the portal. You opened the door and stepped through, the girls following after you a moment later.

Tonks gasped a bit setting down the cake she had been holding on the table and spinning around “Wow~!! This-this is yours!?” you beamed and nodded, taking the dress from Jazzy and hanging it off the closet door.

As your friends admired the room and talked amongst each other, Uma stepped into the room, sharing a smile with you and turning to talk with Tonks, gesturing towards the cake.

Tonks nodded and Uma turned back towards the door, calling for Gil, who entered a moment later and took the cake. Not before greeting you cheerfully though. You laughed to yourself and looked at Uma, she already had her teal dress on, her hair curled to perfection and make-up on point, her usual shell necklace seeming to shine with polish.

“You ready girl?” Uma asked, walking up to you and tossing her arm over your shoulder, smirking as you nodded rapidly.

“Hell yeah, I've been waiting for this day for almost a year~” you hummed, unable to keep the smile off your face. “My cheeks hurt from smiling so much but I can't stop!” Uma chuckled, rubbing your shoulder and nodding towards the door.

“Harry’s been a nervous wreck all morning, he’s worried somethings gonna go wrong in preventing him marrying you today, but I shoved a paper bag in his hand and told him to breath, Ben and Harriet are with him right now to prevent him from trying to see you early and any nervous breakdown stuff” you laughed a bit as Uma’s long explanation and shook your head.

“That’s adorable” you chuckled, opening your arms a bit as CJ and smee twins ran into the room, CJ slamming into your side as the twins latched to your legs and hips. “Hello you three, what's up?”

CJ opened her mouth in an attempt to speak when Harriet yelled her name from outside the room. CJ pouted and squeezed your waist, dragging her feet as she walked back out to the main deck.

“Was-was that CJ??” Emma asked, stepping towards you and staring wide-eyed at the door where CJ had gone through “She looks so different than the animated show”

“Everyone does, but didn’t you see her yesterday at the rehearsal?” Emma shrugged and you laughed, patting the Smee twins back and nodding at the small table that had been set up with multiple chairs “You two sit down while we get ready, you’ll have to leave when we get dressed though” they nodded and raced to sit down, Uma taking your snack bag and grabbing some (f/s) for them, setting it down to distract them as Uma and Jazzy sat you down at the vanity and started to work on your hair and makeup, your aunt checking over the dress and making sure it was clean and ready to wear.

You attempted to turn to look at the door as Evie entered but Uma turned you forward again “Don’t move, I don’t wanna stab you with bobby pins” she muttered, continuing to mess with your hair to get it into the style you had chosen for your wedding.

“Okay okay” you laughed, looking at Evie through the mirror as she appeared behind Uma, smiling at your reflection. “Hi Evie~”

“Hi (y/n)~” she sang back, going to work on your hair to help Uma as Jazzy got your makeup ready to use “You ready for today?”

“As I'll ever be” nerves had started to buzz, sending butterflies throughout your body “I just want to be married to him already, and now I gotta wait like six hours to say ‘I do” Evie and Uma laughed, Evie patting your shoulders gently.

“I’m sure the hours will go by quickly, and before you put on your dress you need to look at the main deck décor, Harry went to go look at the reception hall so he’ll be off-ship for a small bit.” You nodded gently against Uma’s amble fingers, pinning your hair and styling expertly.

“Gil took the cake to the reception hall too, so everything is set up there, FG will be here about two hours before the ceremony, guests will arrive about an hour before and then~” Evie leaned down, wrapping her arms around your shoulders and pressing her cheek into yours “You’re married to Harry~”

“I’m gonna be honest, I never thought I’d see the day” Uma laughed, smirking as you and Evie looked at her with raised brows “to see Harry get married, he’s always been someone that everyone thought he would grow up without anyone, too rowdy, too rough, too wild spirited to be ‘tied down to anyone” Umas smile turned sad “then again, we all thought love was something worthless, weak…I’m glad you came into our lives (y/n), you taught us, especially Harry, that love is a strength, and one of the greatest things a person can know” you sniffed, quickly rubbing away the tears burning at your eyes and twisting around in your seat to hug Uma tightly.

“Aww” your friends, aunt, and Evie cooed, turning away as Uma gave them a look. You squeezed Uma and pulled back, giving her a watery smile.

“Thank you” you whispered, laughing as Uma wiped away the tear rolling down your cheek.

“No, thank you”  Uma patted your head and twisted you back around “Okay, enough sappy shit let's get you ready to get married to Harry!”

“Hey, that rhymed!” Emma cheered,  setting up mirrors on the table for the bridesmaids to get their hair and make-up ready.

“Let's do this!” you laughed as the girls cheered and got to work, putting on make-up and doing their hair as Uma continued to get you ready.

-

“Harry, breathe” Harry glared at Harriet as he paced around the cabin he had been in for the past hour, (y/n) was in the captain's quarters, getting ready for their wedding and all he wanted to do was burst in there and smother her in affection.

But no one would let him as apparently, seeing the bride before the official reveal meant bad luck, and Harry didn’t want any of that for their marriage. “Harry really” Ben grabbed Harry's shoulder, giving him a reassuring smile “you have nothing to be nervous about, Uma made sure the weather will be perfect the entire day, (y/n) loves you to death, you love her to death, everything is ready. This day is going to go great” Harry took a couple of deep breaths and slowly nodded, giving Ben a small smirk.

“Thanks, beasty boy” he mumbled, rolling his neck and stepping in front of the standing mirror, grabbing his cravat and tying it around his neck, Harriet and Ben talking in the background. He smoothed down the front of his black with red trim vest, corrected his sleeve cuffs, and took another deep breath.

He glanced at the clock, closing his eyes a bit and groaning.

12 pm.

Four hours left.

-

Dizzy and Celia rocked on their heels, waiting inside the captain's quarters as the ceremony drew closer. “Okay, guys!” Evie clapped her hands, drawing the attention of the bridesmaids and groomsmen/best maid. “You know the order and drill, Emma you'll walk out with Jay, Carlos with Jazzy, Ben with Lily, Gil with (BFF name), Harriet with Uma, and CJ you’ll be walking with the twins! Celia, Dizzy!” the two looked directly at Evie “You’ll be walking out just before (y/n) and Tonks, laying the petals on the pathway towards Harry before (y/n) takes her walk, okay?” they both nodded, Celia giving Evie a thumbs up. “Awesome~ okay!!! It's time~!! (y/n)-oh, my goodness~!!”

Everyone gasped and went silent as you stepped out from behind the changing screen in the corner of the room, the dress had been just as beautiful as when you last put it on, but now it was joined by your veil that gently flowed behind your head down to your waist, your hair elegantly pulled into (preferred hairstyle for wedding stuff), your face was painted with light yet alluring makeup, lips a softer red than your natural lips and shimmery (e/s/c) accenting your eyes with a curling wing finishing it off.

“Oh, my, evil” Uma gasped holding her hands to her chest as she stared at you wide-eyed, Evie walking up to you and looking over your dress to check for any makeup stains. “You look amazing (y/n)!”

“Thank you” you whispered, trying to keep the tears from ruining your make-up, laughing as Evie came to the rescue with her handkerchief. “Thank you” Evie smiled at you, pulling back and looking towards the door as the music began to play.

“Okay! It's go time! Go go go!” the groomsmen and bridesmaids all got into a line, Evie opening the door and letting them through, smiling as she spotted Harry staring directly at her, adjusting his shirt collar slightly as the wedding party made their way down the isle.

CJ grabbed onto the twins, one on each side of her as she walked out next. Evie smiled at you one last time and walked out of the room, quickly going to sit down with Mal and Jane as Celia and Dizzy skipped out into the isle, laying down the petals as a pathway for you to Harry.

Mal nodded at Harry to Evie, Evie cooing as she saw Harry's teary eyes filled with excitement and nervousness. “So cute” Evie whispered, gasping and turning as the wedding march began to play, the captains quarters door opening, and Evie heard Harry’s breath stop as you and your aunt stepped out.

The sun that was beginning to set illuminated you beautifully, your face set in a soft watery smile as you looked to Harry, who was crying. He wiped the tears streaming down his face, a bright smile on his lips as he looked at you. Harriet bumped his arm and handed him a tissue, Harry quickly drying his face and tossing it back at her.

Tonks kissed your cheek and held out your hand to Harry, who stepped towards you and eagerly took it, drawing you closer to him and taking a deep breath “Yeh…yeh look beautiful” Harry whispered, taking your other hand as you handed your bouquet to Uma.

“Thank you, you look very handsome” you whispered back, lifting one of your hands to rub your thumb against the red fabric of his black and red tailcoat. And it was the truth, Harry laughed a bit and wiped another tear off his cheek, FG smiling brightly as you both turned to her.

“Are we ready?” she asked gently, nodding as you and Harry looked at each other softly “Then let's begin” FG opened her book and smiled at the crowd, her eyes sparkling with Joy “Today we celebrate the union of (y/n) (l/n) and Harry Hook, on behalf of the bride and groom, thank you for joining us. By your presence, you celebrate with them the love they have discovered in each other, and you support their decision to commit themselves to a lifelong relationship.

Marriage is a bond to be entered into only after considerable thought and reflection. By making this commitment today, (y/n) and Harry’s relationship will become stronger, better, and deeper.

Today, (y/n) and Harry demonstrate their devotion to each other by dedicating themselves to a life together and they show their respect for each other. By setting forth to honor the vows they have created today, their lives, which began on separate paths, will be joined as one.”

You could feel the tears burn in your eyes as FG spoke, laughing quietly as Harry blinked away his own tears, hands clutching tightly onto yours. You looked to the side a bit, feeling another pair of eyes on you, and smiled as you saw Persephone and Hades, sitting at the back and watching the wedding. She had never quite explained why she was so invested in your relationship, but you never really bothered to question it either, just happy to be with Harry.

“Deep abiding affection, the magical and compelling shared impulse that makes us seek each other’s company, is among the greatest gifts of the human experience.” FG’s voice came back into focus as you looked back at Harry, reaching up and cupping his cheek as tears continued to streak down his face, wiping them away with your thumb, you heard some of the crowd coo as you did so, Harriet once again offering a tissue.

“Any of us who has been fortunate enough to find and express the kind of loving devotion that we are celebrating here today knows that it is an awesome and beautiful thing.

At this time, I would like to share 3 suggestions with the both of you:

My first suggestion is this:

Be constantly grateful for this precious person who has chosen to make a life with you.

My second suggestion is this:

Be generous with compliments.  Be attentive and helpful. The world can be a tough place and any of us can be subject to rough handling.  Each of you can, by your tenderness toward each other, kind words and thoughtful actions, make your marriage and your home an uplifting refuge.

Last, but perhaps most importantly:

Make truth the unfailing bedrock of your lives together. A happy, loving marriage is built on trust and respect. That trust and respect can only be sustained if you are both deeply committed to always being open and truthful in every exchange no matter how small.

My hope for you is this:

That you have many long years to delight in each other’s company, to feel gratitude for your great fortune in having found each other.

To a make home together that is at once sheltering and welcoming, to each do meaningful, productive work at home and in the world and to love and be loved by the friends and family who have come here today to support you”

FG smiled, letting you and Harry face her before she continued “(y/n) (l/n), do you take Harry to be your lawfully wedded husband, and travel the rest of life’s road with him? Will you love him, laugh with him, comfort him, honor and protect him, and forsaking all others, be faithful to him as long as you both shall live?” you rapidly nodded, squeezing Harry's hands, giving him a bright smile as your voice wavered.

“I do” FG nodded, looking to Harry as he sniffed and quickly rubbed his face as you gently laughed.

“Harry Hook, do you take (y/n) (l/n) to be your lawfully wedded wife and travel the rest of life’s road with her? Will you love her, laugh with her, comfort her, honor and protect her, and forsaking all others, be faithful to her as long as you both shall live?”

“I do” Harry's voice cracked as he spoke, making the crowd laugh quietly and coo again as he nodded along with his words, taking a wobbly breath as you tilted your head and smiled at him.

FG nodded again, looking down at her book before looking up again “And now, they shall say their vows, I've been told you’ve written your own?” you and Harry nodded “All right then, who would like to go first?” “ I will” you spoke up, taking back one of your hands and sticking them into the dress pockets, Harry gasping a bit in excitement

“Pockets~” he cheered quietly, biting his lip as you grinned back at him.

“Pockets~” you cheered back, opening the paper with your vows and taking a deep breath. “Three years ago, I fell into this world…literally” the crowd laughed, Bonnie and Desiree clapping a bit “and the one thing I didn’t expect was to see you, but I knew the moment I saw you that it was going to grow into something, but I didn’t know then that it would be love.” You bit your lip as Harry sobbed lightly, bringing up his free hand and wiping his cheek “I grew up thinking I would never find someone for me, I thought I would end up alone with twelve cats and fifteen dogs” Harry snorted at that, biting his lip “but that all changed when I saw you for the first time. And I knew that I was going to be by your side for the rest of my life, either as your friend or as your lover. I have never felt a deeper love for anyone else in my life, you are my sadness and my joy, but most of all you are my love. I promise to always protect you and your sisters, I promise to always love and cherish you, I promise to eat any leftover Brussels sprouts that Harriet makes you eat” Harry laughed, Harriet behind him rolling her eyes “I promise to always be there for you, and I promise to love you from now to the end of time, and just a little bit more”

You let out a small coo as you looked at Harry, who was softly sobbing and attempting to wipe away the tears that were streaming down his cheeks again. “Fuck” he mumbled, laughing as Harriet patted his back. “My turn I guess?” you and FG nodded, Harry taking your hand again as he took out his vows from his pockets.

“um, when-when I met yeh” Harry's voice cracked as he started, laughing a bit as you reached towards his face and wiped another tear away “I didn’t know I would love yeh this much, I didn’t know how much I would come ta care about yeh, but I’m so damn happy yeh came into meh life, and I know that I would be in a very different situation and I would be a different person without yeh. Yeh protected meh from meh father and so many other people who tried to hurt meh, yeh accepted my sisters and friends as yer own family even before we got together, yeh have been by my side since before we even really knew each other, and when-and when yeh stayed up with me all night when I had one of my nightmares, that was when I knew I loved yeh. But-but”

Harry sniffed, wiping another set of tears away as his voice cracked “I dinne know how much I loved yeh, until I lost yeh for almost two years, I-I love yeh so much that I was in physical pain when yeh were gone, and I could only breathe again when I saw yer face again for the first time” you gasped for breath as tears almost spilled from your eyes, but Uma quickly handed you a tissue and you saved your makeup, you let out a breathy laugh and looked back at Harry, giving him a blinding smile.

“I-I never thought I could feel so much for a person…as yeh…and-and I just desperately need yeh ta take care of meh because I’m a mess all the time” you laughed, squeezing Harry's free hand as you stepped slightly closer to him, staring into his bright ocean blue eyes. “I-I wrote a whole thing” he nodded down to the paper he was holding, the crowd laughing a bit as he crumbled it up and shoved it back in his pocket “But it's long and repetitive”

He took your other hand, giving you that smile that you oh so dearly loved of his “and ultimately, I just want ta promise yeh that I will love you forever…I will always show yeh affection, I will always be happy ta see yeh no matter how hard the day was, I will always be sad ta leave yeh when I have ta do first mate stuff fer Uma” Uma chuckled behind you, dabbing her eyes with a tissue “I will always care for yeh, if yeh are sick or hurt. I will always celebrate you and celebrate with yeh when yeh are happy. And most importantly, I promise ta be yer best friend…because yeh are my best friend” Carlos smacked Gil when he made a small noise, Gil laughing a bit as he did so. “And all of these things are promises I have ta make, but I have no intention of ever not making. Because I love yeh so much and I’ll never stop.”

You took a wobbly breath, squeezing his hands again and looking to FG, who was dabbing her eyes quickly. “Ah yes, of course, the rings?” Skipper and Sterling stepped forward, both holding a small red box in their hands. You took the box from Sterling while Harry took the box from Skipper, Harry patting Skipper's head before the two joined their father in the crowd.

“Now” FG started, turning to Harry “Harry, repeat after me;” he nodded, taking the ring out of the box and cradling your left hand, the golden band shining against the sun. “ With this ring”

“With this ring” Harry repeated softly, staring into your eyes, smiling as he slid the ring onto your finger.

“I am giving you my promise,”

“I am giving yeh meh promise,”

“to always love you,”

“ta always love yeh,”

“cherish you,”

“Cherish yeh,”

“honor you and comfort you.”

“honor yeh an’ comfort yeh”

“ I promise that I will love you”

“I promise that I will love yeh”

“and keep my heart open to you”

“an’ keep meh ‘eart open ta yeh”

“All the days of my life.”

“All tha’ days of meh life.”

FG nodded, turning to you and you repeated the same words to Harry, sliding the golden band onto his ring finger, intertwining your fingers as you did.

“(y/n) and Harry, we have heard your promise to share your lives in marriage. In the honesty and sincerity of what you have said and done here today, and in accordance with the laws of the state of Auradon it is my honor and delight to declare you henceforth to be husband and wife.” You beamed at Harry, jumping in place slightly as your favorite part was only a moment away “You may now kiss the bride” you grabbed the lapels of Harry's tailcoat and pulled him into you, sealing your marriage with a passionate kiss, Harry's arms wrapping around your waist and picking you up off your feet as the wedding party stood and cheered, some of the crew popping off confetti poppers.

FG beamed as you and Harry pulled apart, stopping for a moment to stare into each other's eyes “Everyone~!” FG called out, clapping her hands together as you and Harry faced the crowd “May I introduce you to Mr. and Mrs. Hook!”

-

An hour later, everyone sat in the reception hall, you and Harry sitting in the middle of the table at the front as your main wedding party surrounded you, Harriet on Harry’s left as Uma sat to your right, the Smee twins enjoying their macaroni and cheese as they ate dinner with their dad. Dizzy and Celia sat with Evie as they ate their chicken and potatoes, Mal chatting away to Evie as they sipped at their sparkling cider.

Harriet tapped against her glass with a knife and stood, giving an awkward grin as she did as everyone turned to look at her “Uh, I was told it's time for the best maid and maid of honor speeches so I guess I’ll get it over with?” Harry shook his head fondly, wrapping his arm around your waist and leaning against you, bumping his head into yours as the hall went silent to prepare to listen to Harriet.

Harriet took a deep breath and looked to you and Harry “I don’t have a big fancy speech all written down so Im’ma just go for it…so when as we were growing up, I was basically Harry and CJ’s mom, I took care of them the best I could and hoped they didn’t die when they went out to cause whatever chaos they had decided on, the first time I stopped worrying about Harry was when he made friends with Uma, because other than (y/n) and I, she is the only person who can ever tell Harry what to do and he’ll actually listen” Harry rolled his eyes at that, the party laughing along.

“But there was always a part of me that was scared for Harry, that something would hurt him…that part disappeared when I met you after the incident, when uncle Smee told me someone from Uma’s crew had destroyed my father and his crew all on her own, and saved Harry from him. When I met you after that day, I had expected someone cold, someone who had only saved Harry from my father for personal gain…but I was wrong” Harriet gave you a soft smile, tears brimming at the edge of her eyes

“you were someone that- while you hadn’t known him for very long, -that deeply cared about my brother, and I could see that as soon as I saw you. And as you and Harry started to be together more often than not, I saw him grow from the little shit that always bothered me, to the young man who I am so proud of” Harry sniffed and wiped away a tear, looking up at his sister with a watery smile “Thanks to you, my brother is still around today and I’m so glad you’re the one he fell in love with, you are everything I ever wanted for him and I am proud of you both” Harriet raised her glass a bit, the wedding party following her lead “I wish you an eternity of love and happiness, to Harry and (y/n)”

“To Harry and (y/n)!” Everyone drank from their glass as Harry stood and wrapped his sister in a hug, burying his face in her neck as she rubbed his back.

“Thank yeh” he whispered against her neck, laughing as she pulled back and kissed his cheek, something which she hadn’t done since they were kids.

“Thank you” she whispered back, the two sitting down as Uma stood with her glass.

“Dunno how I’m gonna top that but!” the crowd laughed again, Uma smiling as you squeezed her hand and grinned up at her. “Um…I guess I’ll start with this, (y/n).” she looked down at you, taking a deep breath “When Harry first dragged you into the chip shop to join the crew, I honestly didn’t think much of you, even after Harry told me you outran the Gaston twins, and then when you stole Gaston’s prize trophy the next day” you glanced at Ben, snickering at the shocked look on his face “When you arrived, I had no idea how much of an impact you would have on us” she gestured to her, Gil, and Harry, then the crew.

“But I knew how important you would become to us when you came back from the Jolly Rodger after dealing with James Hook for Harry, and I’m really glad you came into our lives, especially Harry’s because, without you, I don’t think any of us would be the people we are today. Then as the months went by, and I saw Harry fall in love with you, it wasn’t until you told me where you were truly from that I saw you truly loved him back, willing to hurt yourself to protect his feelings, which still, that was stupid as fuck and I have no regrets from yelling at you about it” you snorted and rolled your eyes, hitting Umas elbow gently as she smirked at you.

“And I feel like I've already talked too long so I’ll end it with, I’m glad you and Harry are together and I love you both, and I’m so happy for you” she raised her glass, the wedding party following her lead as they did Harriets “to Harry and (y/n)!”

“To Harry and (y/n)!!”

As Uma sat down you leaned over to wrap her in a hug, Harry doing the same and wrapping his arms around both you and Uma. “I love you” Uma whispered, grinning as you and Harry whispered it back.

Soon it was time for your first dance as husband and wife, Harry leading you out to the dance floor as the orchestra that Ben hired for you got ready. The reception hall went quiet as Harry's hand rested gently on the small of your back, a small gasp escaping you as he smirked.

-I’m going to describe this as best I can but in case I don’t clearly do so, watch this as you read or just watch to get the dance/music for the first dance-

The music began to play, and Harry started to sway you side to side, then he turned, spinning the both of you around, your back facing the crowd as he looked directly at you. “They’re all looking at you” you whispered teasingly, unable to keep the smile off your face as Harry gave you that flirtatious smirk of his.

“Believe me love, they’re all lookin’ at yeh” he pulled you towards him, stepping to the side as you turned slightly and stood at his side, his other hand resting on your back again. Since you had first seen the movie, the 2015 Cinderella, you had wanted the ballroom dance to be your first wedding dance, and Harry had listened. And he was doing all you had imagined and more, having practiced the dance over and over even when you weren’t available to do so.

He pushed you back in front of him, this time his hand going under your arm, pushing it up and down in time with the music, your quiet laughter making his smirk turn to a wide grin, watching you fondly as you enjoyed your first dance.

On the fourth push, he pushed your arm over your head, leading it to a spin from you and leading your arm to rest on his chest, his hand resting in yours as your fingers caressed his face. He pushed you back out, your dress flaring as you spun before going back to him, your arm switching to the other side of his chest.

He pushed you out one last time, now holding out his arm as you spun and grabbed it, walking the two of you in a small circle as you spun in time with the cadence of the music. You spun again and grabbed the front of his arm this time, laughing quietly as he winked at you.

He gently pushed you out to spin again, your dress flaring perfectly as you linked hands and pulled each other in, your arms above your head. You did that once more before Harry pulled you into him, one arm resting on your upper back while the other held your hand. You laughed, letting your head fall back as Harry danced you around in a small circle. The world had seemed to fade away as you danced, you and Harry being the only two in the room, your hearts and soul in sync as you swayed to the music and each other.

Harry pulled away ever so slightly, grabbing onto your hand and guiding you as you spun from one side to the other, he did that three times before pulling you back into him, your back to his chest as one hand rested on your waist while the other intertwined with your hand.

Harry spun you back around, you once again facing him as he lead you around the dance floor, the guests gasping in awe as your dress flared around you and shimmered under the spotlights. Harry spun you as the music flared, laughing at the small breathless gasp that erupted from you.

He gently grabbed your hip, pulling you onto him slightly as he lifted you and spun around, your dress flaring again as he did so. You laughed again as Harry pulled you into his lift side and dipped you ever so slightly, then joining your hands again as you spun. He released your hands, the two of you spinning away from each other for a moment then joining hands again, then spinning once more.

Harry caught your hand and upper back and started to dance you around the room. as you reached some of the guests, he grabbed your waist with one of his hands and lifted you in the air away from them, smiling at the laughter that spilled from your lips. He pulled you into the middle of the dance floor, spinning both of you around as he grabbed your hips and lifted you into the air as he spun, unable to keep his smile and laughter at bay as you gasped in shock and excitement.

He set you back down on the floor, your faces only inches away from each other as he spun the both of you around one last time, grabbing your hand and waist and dipping you slowly as the music came to an end. You both were out of breath as the violins played their last note, Harry taking your hand and pressing a soft kiss to your knuckles as he bowed to you, you laughed and lowered your head.

The hall burst into applause, the world fading back to normal as you and Harry excited your private little world.

Ben motioned the orchestra again as the applause died down, and they began to play fast-paced music for everyone to dance to, the guests flooding the dance floor as you and Harry joined hands again to dance.

-

A few hours later, the cake was cut, the dances were danced, the food was eaten, and you and Harry were all reception partied out. The crew and many of the vks had wished to continue to party the night out, so you and Harry gave them the green light to continue having fun as you walked out of the reception hall. Harry had driven you back to the ship by the ‘just married’ Mercedes Ben had gifted you for today. He pulled up to the docks and turned off the car, running to the other side and helping you out, holding much of your dress in one hand as you carried your heels.

You let out a small sigh as you stepped onto the main deck, the crew had cleaned it after your photos were taken and you and Harry had left for the reception hall so it was almost as if a wedding hadn’t taken place on the main deck.

Harry let your dress fall as you tugged the skirt away from him gently, kissing your cheek as you leaned into him “What a day” you whispered, setting down your heels and walking towards the front of the ship near the bow, leaning against the rails that faced the ocean. The sun had long since set, the moon slowly rising high in the sky as stars decorated the black of night.

Harry joined you a moment later, wrapping one arm around you as the other leaned on the rail, his hand only niches from yours as you both stared at the stars. “We’re married” Harry laughed quietly, knocking his head into yours gently as you pushed into him, closing your eyes “hard ta believe it really happened, it’s been wha’? three years since we met then almos’ a year since I proposed ta yeh?” you hummed against him, nodding.

“Yeah, it's been a while” you laughed, pulling back slightly and pressing a kiss to his jaw. “but I’m glad it happened”

“Me too” Harry hummed, pulling you closer to his side, kissing your forehead. “I love yeh”

“I love you too”

You both went silent, listening to the waves crashing against the ship and shore, just enjoying each other's company.

You pulled away from Harry slightly and looked behind you, feeling another presence on the ship. You smiled, seeing Persephone smiling at you. Harry turned, nodding in greeting to her. “Congratulations,” she hummed, looking up at the stars “what are you two going to do now?”

“Dunno” you answered simply, leaning against Harry again and closing your eyes, enjoying the warmth seeping from him to you. “All up in the air right now” “Any plans for children?” you snickered as Harry froze and shook your head.

“Not at the moment, again it's just…All up in the air” Harry hummed at that, looking out towards the ocean as he rubbed your back.

“…Question” Harry started, looking to Persephone, who tilted her head “Why-why are yeh so invested in our relationship?” Persephone paused at that, pursing her lips. “If I had to be honest? I’m not really sure, but when (y/n) landed in our world I got attached to her for one reason or another. It might be because the ember is why you are here in the first place?” your brows rose at that, tilting your head.

“The-the ember? Like Hades ember? How?” Persephone nodded, crossing her arms as she looked back toward Auradon city.

“well, you do know about the crack deep below the isle, right? The one that was very close to my husband's lair on the isle?” you nodded, Harry raising his brow, completely lost.

“I’ll explain later” you whispered, gesturing for Persephone to continue.

“Well, the crack allows magic to seep in, and the ember is a part of Hades powers, and he can control and guide souls, and I suppose some magic slipped in and affected the ember. The ember found your soul and then connected it with Harrys, and it realized you are soulmates and sought to bring the two of you together, and because it couldn’t take Harry and bring him to your world, it would take much more magic to do that, it took you and brought you here” you stared at Persephone for a moment before sighing.

“Soooo the ember is wha’ brought us together?” Harry guessed, wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you into his side again.

“That’s the gist of it, it’s also why the ember brought you back on the bridge after Uma dropped it, it had full access to its powers and again, sought to bring you and Harry back together…plus I manipulated it a bit to transport you here” Persephone laughed a bit at the last couple words, giving an awkward smile.

“Thank you” you laughed, and you were genuinely thanking her, because without her influence you and Harry might have never been able to meet or get married.

“You’re welcome…now I think I’ll leave you two lovebirds alone, and again, congratulations” you and Harry waved her off as she disappeared in a cloud of pastel green and pink smoke.

You and Harry smiled at each other, Harry leaning in to press a soft kiss to your lips before pulling away, both of you turning to look at the moon.

“So what are our plans fer the future?” Harry quietly asked, moving his hand to intertwine with yours.

“Well,” you started, pursing your lips as you glanced along the ocean, seeing some mermaids in the distance. “we could explore the world, or stay in Auradon, we could have kids soon or we can wait, or just not have any.”

Harry laughed, bringing up your hand and kissing your palm “Well, I’m up fer anything with yeh as long as I can be a part of yer world”

“Oh, Harry” you cooed, gently taking your hand from his and cupping his cheeks, smiling at him. “You are my world”

Harry gave you a teary-eyed smile, his eyes closing as you leaned in and kissed him.

Now we can walk

Now we can run

Now we can stay all day in the sun

Just you and me

Forever be

Part of your world

-The End~-

Wow…wow its-its actually finished…the original part of your world has been fully written. Almost 3 years of writing has come to a close, I started this in October 2018 and finished in May 2021, it has been 2 years and 7 months since I first posted the first part of this series, and honestly, it's weird to look back and see how much my writing has improved.

Well, this is the end of our journey, Harry and (y/n)s story is finished, this is open-ended so if you want to have kids with Harry you can, if not then you don’t, if you want to travel the world with Harry or not, it's all up to you, it's your story now. (that doesn’t mean you can continue writing the story just imagine it okay *yes I had to write that, some people would take the ending and decide to write their own continuation without my consent and I didn’t want to risk it*)

Again I am planning on revising and rewriting the first two parts of this series (Part of your world and Reprise) and then rewrite the first 15 parts of Encore cuz I feel like I need to so the old writing can catch up with the new writing. But ill be holding off on that until I finish Rewrite-POYW, which if you didn’t know is an AU of this fic that I have been writing since last year, and it's ongoing at the moment. The mini-series is being posted and written right now and it leads up to D3, which will be posted in August.

@queer-cosette @sephiralorange @lunanight2012���

@daughter-of-the-stars11​ @musicarose​ @random-thoughts-003​

@remembered-license​ @rintheemolion​ @verboetoperee​

@imtryingthisout​ @thecaptainsgingersnap​ @jatp-rules-my-life​

[star-wars-scribbles-ff]

Where I Belong | Chapter 1 | Prologue

Story Summary: The only family she’d ever known gave her a name; back when she belonged to something. But when that family is lost, she leaves it all behind. When destiny drops her in the last place she ever wanted to be, she has to earn back the trust and respect of the Republic that left her to die. Caught between the Jedi and the Grand Army of the Republic, she'll discover where she belongs.

Fandom: Star Wars | Galaxy Far Far Away

Rating: T+

Story Genre/Warnings: action/adventure/found family | war violence, death, torture, discrimination, angst, fluff, [more]

Words: 13,623

Disclaimer: Majority of properties within this fanfic are owned by Lucasfilm/Disney. My OCs, as well as a few other things within this fanfic are of my own creation. Republic Cog header made by me :) 

CHAPTER NOTE: Haha I know you’re having a hard time getting past that terrifying word count above if you haven’t already said ‘to hell with this’ and kept scrolling, but I like writing long chapters because I don’t update as frequently as other writers so I wanna provide some good stuff to keep readers busy while they wait... Hope that’s alright? (All chapters aren’t that long; usually around 5k. Don’t worry there’s just a lot to unpack in this first chapter) If you’re still here I hope you enjoy :)

Masterlist | Next Chapter | Chapter Art & Map | Echo & Trauma Squad

“We’ve entered the atmosphere, Sergeant. You boys are clear to get ready.”

Pressing the button connected to the cockpit via a control panel on the wall, CC-4811, Sergeant Mash, went to respond. 

“Roger that. Drop us 3 klicks south of RV point Axe.”

“Will do, sir.” 

Lowering his hand, Mash turned, gaze finding his team doing a last minute equipment check before their coming drop into hostile territory. It was helmets on at 100 klicks, they still had another minute or so. 

“Alright, listen up.” Mash held up a datapad, tapping briskly on the screen, a holo of the location of interest shown up into the semi-lit shuttle bay. “Intelligence spotted a Separatist fleet five rotations ago within the Duluur sector. They lingered for one standard Coruscant rotation above Devaron before departing from this sector. It is unknown whether hostiles have taken RV point Bullseye.”

“Why couldn’t we get the debrief on Kamino?” CC-4999, or as they called him, Nines muttered. The squad member was finishing the assemblement of his Deece with a sniper attachment.

“This is a priority mission,” Mash continued. “Retaking Bullseye needs to be done quickly, quietly, and efficiently. Minimal destruction which means no rockets, detonators, or explosives of any kind, hence our silent entry - sorry Hawk.” The smidgen of sympathy in Mash’s voice for their demolition man causes CC-4998, Hawk, to give a small jut of his chin and a twitch of a smile. “The Republic seeks to turn this Temple into a staging ground for Surveillance Operations. Keeping Bullseye standing is top priority; sweep the grounds and wipe out any Separatist forces that may have taken it; preferably all in under a 12 hour window.”

“100 klicks out,” The pilot’s voice came over the shuttle’s com systems.

Shutting off the datapad, Mash tossed it to one of the shuttle seats lining the bay wall before grabbing his helmet. The rest of his squad did the same as they all put their helmets on.

“Didn’t really answer the question, Sarg.” Nines uttered while rolling his shoulders, the action causing the armored plates to clunk against one another.

“Skipper said the Jedi were touchy about it, Nines.” 

The kid was a bit of a hot shot but his skill with a rifle more than made up for the snarky attitude.

“They give us confidential assignments for a reason. They want this done quickly and quietly without word getting out.”

The sniper tipped his trigger and middle finger around in a salute that would have most likely made their training sergeant fume at the lack of maturity before turning towards Hawk.

“Bit strange they revived us so quickly.” CC-4803, Corporal Razor stepped up next to Mash. “From what Skipper told me- most get a couple months before they’re pulled for assignment again.” 

Like the rest of their kind, they were kept in stasis when not on assignment. Infantry weren’t because they dealt with the bulk of the war. 

“Personally I don’t mind - I guess it’s gotta mean we’re doing something right if they keep pulling us for jobs,” Razor added. 

Their advisor on Kamino, Skipper, acted as their go-to man during missions. He’d feed them intel on the ground and organize quick and dirty drops and extractions if the need arose. 

“Trying not to think about it, ner vod (my brother/comprade).” Mash said, the mando’a slipping through his mouth with ease. It wasn’t something other clones knew… More of a perk from their branch of the GAR. If you were lucky, your training sergeant may have taught you the Mandalorian language. The clone flash training made it stick too, so they were fairly fluent. 

Like the rest of their kind, they were kept in stasis when not on assignment. Infantry weren’t because they dealt with the bulk of the war. 

Not long after the Battle of Geonosis, their squad, Echo squad, was formed. It was created in the wake of each of their losses. Mash had lost all his men, his brothers, and so had Razor who had been Sergeant of his own men. Nines and Hawk together lost their Corporal and Sergeant. Higher ups had pushed them all together for a follow up assignment shortly after Geonosis and they had to get to know each other on the ground the hard way. 

Since then they’d done a few jobs here and there. They all had the same training sergeant so while there was a small grimmer of familiarity, they were still strangers to each other. It took some getting used to, but things had since smoothed out. 

“Sounds like this assignment really is priority. For the Jedi at least. Whatever Jedi was occupying the Temple previously was recalled to Coruscant. It didn’t take long for the Separatists to get word of the outpost’s vacancy it seems.”

“I’ll say,” Razor chuckled beneath his helmet before finishing the tie on his rappelling gear. They’d be dropping into the dense jungle soon. “From what I hear, intelligence still has holes in it. Intel is leaked more often than it isn’t, gotta wonder you know?”

Checking the knot of his rappelling gear a final time, Mash hesitated to respond to Razor’s comment. Razor had always been one for the gossip regarding the Republic’s works. Sometimes that curiosity was useful, but more often than not Mash wished his brother were more discreet.

Word had gotten around, but since the Republic were officially handed control of the army, they’d begun making changes. Their branch of the GAR was getting quite the makeover, however whether the changes were doing more harm than good was still up for debate. Clone Advisors was just one change that had been temporary, but had since stuck around. Certain Clone Officers without fieldwork would act as advisors or middlemen to non-Clone Republic Officers, like the Jedi, still getting a handle on how to efficiently induct the different clones into the conflicts. 

It was a surprise to the Clones when the Jedi, the legendary warriors they’d been told of all their lives, didn’t exactly meet textbook expectations.

It wasn’t their place to ponder the Jedi abilities as Military Leaders, but their corner of the GAR was quickly developing opinions, a ship Mash was hesitant to board. 

“You implying its a higher ups problem?” Mash asked.

“Not necessarily,” Razor responded. “Just something to think about is all. Although, I know you prefer not to.” 

He’d known Razor long before they’d been thrown together in a squad. He’d met him several times on the simulation battlefields during training, and he knew him well enough to detect the humor laced through his voice to understand when he was pulling his leg. 

“Stay focused, vod.” Mash muttered, thankful he could hide his own grin as a chuckle from Razor radiated through helmet comms.

“Coming in, we’ll be over the drop zone in 30 seconds.”

The turbulence picked up in the shuttle as they approached their destination and all members of the squad made their way towards the back of the shuttle bay.

Hawk hit the button for the shuttle’s ramp on the wall control panel and soon enough the roar of the ship's engines took over, causing the sound dampeners in their helmets to kick in.

The shuttle trembled as the pilots pulled up on the controls and the ship stalled above an area of jungle which was where their assignment was to begin.

“Go go go,” Mash ushered each of his men out before going himself. One hand on the rappelling line and the other holding his Deece at the ready, Mash kept his eyes on his comrades heading down the 60 or so meter distance passed a layer of fog into the darkness of the Devaronian jungle. 

Large vines as thick as the bay of the shuttle covered the planet as far as Mash could see, even through his helmet display. Data on the planet mentioned the unique flora which they would encounter; the vines breached the landscape like borrowing Rishi eels, knotted and intertwined together creating a blanket covering the terrain. 

Watching as each of his squad hit the ground, Mash followed as they did in stripping themselves of their rappelling gear as it zipped back up into the shuttle.

Switching comm frequencies, Mash looked up to the hovering shuttle around 100 meters about them. 

“We’re clear, pilot.” 

“Roger that sir, have fun down there,” The ramp of the shuttle began to close before it headed off. 

The jungle had fallen quiet once the ship was out of range, and soon enough, the chirping and rustling of native fauna began to grow in the shuttle’s absence. Looking around the terrain, Mash was quick to notice how the ground under the vine canopy was rather barren aside from sparse foliage in the form of smaller vine systems and shrub-like plants. They were going in under the impression that there would be greater amounts of foliage; it would complicate matters for reconnaissance and stealth-based action going forward. 

It was the first bump in the road, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last. Improvisation; its what they trained for in situations like this.

In a series of blinks, Mash pulled up specs on the surrounding landscape, including humidity levels. They were high enough. Readings indicated it had rained recently.

“Start dirtying up the armor. Foliage won’t provide enough cover so we’ll need to-”

An aggravated grunt caused Mash to turn, finding Nines with his hands braced on his lower back as he craned into a stretch, his Deece in the hands of Hawk.

“They changed this di'kutla (useless/stupid) armor again, didn’t they.” He grunted. 

“The Manual outlined the upgrades,” Hawk reminded his brother with a slight tilt of his helmet, only to receive a mild clock on the shoulder plate from Nines as he got his footing back.

“Who the hell has time for that, do I look like I got time for that?”

“Cut the chatter,” The statement came out firm, although the mild distraction of the hostile territory around them softened his words. “This is hostile territory, so let’s shift it,” Mash gestured forward with his Deece. 

“Dirty up.” Razor shrugged, emphasizing on the Sergeant’s first order before popping off in one direction to start camouflaging his armor. 

Mash watched as Nines lingered on their Corporal walking away before he audibly grumbled, going off in a somewhat similar direction with Hawk.

“I long for the day when I can put this armor to actual use.”

“And how would you go about doing that, Nines?” Hawk asked.

“By using it how it was meant to be used- urban warfare, close quarters… actual fire fights. Not writhing around on a dust ball like Geonosis or making mud angels on this heap.”

The comment caused Hawk to openly laugh, something that if Mash was being honest, wasn’t customary of his younger comprade; however he had to admit it pleased him. He’d always been less of a talker than Nines; more hesitant to accept the new squad; whether it was because of the fate of their old one, or maybe who he had ended up with, Mash wasn’t certain. 

“Keep your trash talk on internal comms, Nines.” Razor reiterated the words as if he had done so multiple times already, which he most likely had.

“Trash talk… Kebbur haar haat (try the truth).” Nines grumbled, before throwing a glob of mud onto his thigh plating, coating one leg in the darkly colored mud.

The kid was all talk. As soon as a superior was around he would 180 and they’d be none the wiser.

Another minute passed before the squad’s signature white armor with red and orange accents were covered helmet to boots in Devaronian mud. The humidity would prove troublesome as they’d need to reapply the camouflage again within the hour.

Exchanging a couple of nods with the men, Mash made a final glance exchange with Razor.

“We’re ready,” The Corporal gave him a nod.

“Then let’s move out.”

A couple hours had passed, and the position of Devaron’s two moons had since shifted across the night sky; they could be seen in the distance adjacent to RV point Bullseye’s structure. The thick layer of fog had been ever present since their arrival, and while it didn’t completely inhibit their line of sight, it was keeping them on their toes.

Spotting subtle obstruction on the ground ahead, Mash held up a fist before gesturing for the men to move forward to a position of cover cautiously.

The Sergeant came to a stop at a large vine almost a meter thick. He kept his back to it as Hawk stopped behind him. 

“I’ve got eyes on the South road.” Nines came to a stop a few meters to their 3 o’clock, kneeling down on one leg before resting his rifle over a low vine breaching the ground, leaning in to look through the scope. 

The Temple had four roads that branched out in each direction, the primary Northern and Southern Roads drew an imaginary line through RV point Bullseye while the secondary Western and Eastern roads connected the courtyards and other smaller facilities to the overall structure. 

“It’s called a promenade, not a road.” Razor muttered as he came to a stop beside the sniper, blaster raised and alert as he observed the surrounding area.

“Yeah I know, the HUD said that, but what the hell is the difference- its a road.” Nines grunted. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy to hear they’ve updated the HUD’s terminology index on architecture. I can’t think of more vital information to the mission.” The cock of Nines’ helmet only enhanced the sarcasm leaking from his filtered voice as he glanced up at their Corporal. “Looks clear up ahead.”

“No droids?” Mash questioned.

“Doesn’t look like it, Sarg. Zero movement.” Nines responded, gaze back through the scope.

From his crouched position on the ground, Hawk looked up at the Sergeant for a brief moment before glancing towards Razor. 

Going in they’d be simultaneously at an advantage and disadvantage. The enemy had the high ground and not to mention the location in question that needed to be retaken, but the squad had the element of surprise. 

“Alright. Let’s start moving in. Stay sharp and switch to internal comms,” Mash instructed and with a couple of hand gestures, fleshed out their movements going forward.

Like the vigorously tested training exercises on Kamino, the squad began to move in on the target location quickly and quietly. Using the native flora to their cover advantage, the small group made their way up to the Temple road before branching off to the structure’s right side. They’d stay between the Eastern and Southern roads in order to get as close to RV point Bullseye as possible without leaving the cover that the Devaronian vines provided. Once close enough, they could make their way across the courtyard and to the Temple. From there execution of the mission would change. How, was something Mash didn’t know yet.

Loosely following the road’s edge closer and closer to the Temple which was growing up into the sky the further they traveled, Echo Squad finally came to the wall of the courtyard, an area that surrounded the Temple. The wall was just under two meters; a quick scale. 

Stepping up to the wall, Nines lowered his rifle, resting its barrel on the wall before perusing the open and exposed ground ahead. 

“No visuals. All quiet.”

“I’m not liking this,” Razor muttered, tilting his body only slightly towards the Sergeant. “Its sloppy. Even for the droids.”

“Maybe we just came at a bad time,” Nines offered, continuing to scope out the area. “Caf break or… battery recharge- quiet time. What’d droids have these days?” 

“Let’s give it another minute.” Mash decided, craning to look up towards the main Temple structure which was significantly larger than its sibling tower. “We’ll move in if we don’t get-”

“Wait, I’ve got a visual.” 

Mash jerked his head to the right to see where Nines’ scope was aligned, towards the smaller of the two towers. The shutter and chung of metal clanking together in a uniform manner was a sound that had since become familiar to them. 

On Kamino they trained against other clone squads, training staff, and simulation targets. The droids which were now being used by the Separatists weren’t entirely unfamiliar, but it was a somewhat impersonal enemy nonetheless. The droids were designed to overwhelm, something that proved effective against the Republic at Geonosis, especially their branch of the Grand Army of the Republic. 

Part of the reason missions concerning their branch of the GAR were no longer to overlap with Infantry (unless under special circumstances) was because the Jedi thankfully came to their senses on that account. Their branch lost half of their entire force at Geonosis. Their first battle and their kind were cut in half… It unsettled Mash to the point where he preferred to not think about it, but his head constantly reminded him that those nerves wouldn’t help whether he ignored them or not. The Jedi, while they may not have been what they’d expected, were warriors and leaders nonetheless and they’d been taught all their lives that they’d been created to help the Jedi. Things were seemingly off to a rocky start but they’d level out. It seemed they already were, which Mash was thankfully for. He hadn’t worked directly with a Jedi yet, but when the day came he hoped they’d be up to the task of using him and his men to the best of their ability.

The enemy force finally emerged from around the farthest tower, revealing a squad of eight B1 battle droids. The standard, not a problem. However whatever forces may wait within the Temple or around the perimeter was the standing issue. If they had more time, Mash would have ordered a sweep of the perimeter to be safe. But they didn’t have that luxury. Looks like they’d be doing a hard contact entry, sweeping room to room and floor to floor until the entire structure was clear. 

“Well you wanted close quarter combat, ner vod.” Mash finally stated, watching alongside his squad as the droid squad went about their patrol of the Temple grounds. “We’ll eliminate this squad first.”

“Soft entry?” Hawk questioned.

“We’ll have to improvise on that front. Debrief mentioned a security system in the Temple. Nothing the droids can figure out, apparently its more of a force user problem, but with the cams they’ll most likely see us coming. We’ll have to hit quick enough to have the advantage inside.”

“What’d you call that, a medium entry, sir?” Nines chuckled, still zoning in on the droids.

“Call it what you want, Nines.” Mash nodded with minor amusement before giving his rifle one last check just to be safe. 

“I’ve got a second droid squad coming in, 2 o’clock off the Eastern road… Looks like it might be a rotation change.” 

“Watch em, Nines.”

“Roger that Sarg,”

“Razor?” Mash turned his attention to the Corporal. 

They always threw ideas off of each other. While Mash was officially in charge, he preferred to keep the title as loose as possible. Razor used to be Sergeant of his old squad, and was demoted to Corporal when transferred to Echo Squad. While they had differing ways of handling situations, Mash understood the wisdom in getting a second opinion. 

An audible sigh came through the Corporal's helmet as Razor looked up at the structure. 

“No easy way we’re getting in there without almost immediate detection. Without the use of explosives or detonators-” The nod he gave was decisive, his voice level and collected. “Looks like we gotta do this t-”

The fading of clanking metal from the droids was quickly and suddenly overpowered by the rumble of a familiar sound.

Looking up through the vine canopy, the members of Echo Squad are met with the image of a Republic Nu-class Shuttle swooping in over RV point Bullseye.

“No,” Mash muttered. “No no no- what the hell are they doing!?” 

“You get anything over comms? Change of plans?”

“No,” Mash growled through grit teeth before quickly swinging a leg up, getting over the wall before gesturing for the squad to follow.

The uninvited guest had already caught the attention of the two squads of B1s as they all began to open fire on the vessel. The fire would do little against the shuttle’s shields. 

As Echo Squad members quickly finish entering the courtyard, the Attack Shuttle’s ramp lowers and four similarly dressed troopers begin rappelling down to the adjacent courtyard.

“I don’t believe this-” Mash snapped before gesturing for the squad to move out and join the fire fight on the other side of the Temple grounds around fifty meters away. 

“There go our medium entry plans!” Nines laughed over the growing sound of blaster fire as they ran to join the conflict.

“Not the time, kid!” Mash barked. 

As they entered the Eastern courtyard that wrapped around the structure, a couple more droid squads came into view. The other Squad of clones that had arrived were keeping a relatively loose formation as they took out the enemy force, for their kind it looked pretty sloppy; or at least not Echo Squad’s style.

Mash knew his squad was on him, and he didn’t have to remind them to keep it tight. They’d cover the enemy force closer to Bullseye and leave the straggling droids to the newcomers. 

B1 Battle Droids had a rather standard targeting system; as they clunked along on a relatively straight path, they’d fire their blasters off in even intervals. They were a fairly easy nuisance to deal with on assignment. When high grades of Separatist droids joined in, and their numbers increased tenfold, that’s when their years of training met their match.

As they made their way across the courtyard and towards danger, Mash got that liquid feeling in his lower body, like his legs would give out and he felt ten times heavier running towards the firefight, he knew that feeling would always disappear as quickly as it appeared. As his training Sergeant would say: It’s your forebrain shutting down; a fear reflex. He wondered if his brothers ever felt the same; that trickle of fear. He didn’t doubt it. You’d have to be a fool not to to some extent.

As soon as their presence was made known, and the droids turned their attention to the second squad of troopers approaching, the weight was lifted from Mash’s body and the noise in his head quieted. Time to get to work.

The sound of blaster bolts firing off rang loudly into the silence of the surrounding jungle. Picking off the droids one by one, Echo Squad drew further out into the courtyard, near where the newly arrived squad was. 

The last couple shots came from Hawk as he took down a few straggling droids before the men exchanged a couple of quick glances. The spike of adrenaline that one got during the fight was almost euphoric; relaxing when a brief moment of silence came during the action. 

That feeling was cut short when Mash and Razor turned in time to see the Sergeant of the other clone squad about to throw a detonator at another squad of droids approaching from the Eastern road, most likely coming back from another patrol.

“Hey!” Mash barked before running over. 

By the time the Echo Squad leader was within fifty yards of the other squad, the small explosive had detonated; dirt, droid parts, and some rubble from the road shot up into the air. 

“Haar'chak (Damn it).” Hawk muttered, exchanging a brief look with Nines before going after their Sergeant. 

“Are you insane?!” 

The shouting caused the members of the other squad to draw their attention back, and eventually the Sergeant turned as well. 

“Who the hell are these guys-” The Sergeant muttered, patting the shoulder plate of one of his men before continuing towards Mash. “Can I help point you back in the direction of whatever mud pit you all crawled out of?” The sarcasm was strong in his voice as he looked over Echo Squad. To be fair they were all completely caked in the Devaronian mud.

“Sarg-” Razor tried to subtly stop his brother from getting physical but Mash was already close enough to shove the other Sergeant backwards a couple of steps. “Udesii, vod! (take it easy/calm down, brother!)” 

“Under what authority do you think you can just waltz in here an-”

“Authority? Listen here vod,” The armored clone points towards Mash. “I’ve got orders to secure that building back there, so unless you’re here to sit back and run recon while covered in that osik (feces/dung) I suggest you back off and let us take it from here.” The other Sergeant seemed all too eager to start smack talking and it took what was left of Mash’s self control to not get any more physical. Ten years of systematic, precise, orderly training, and as soon as the Republic is given control of the military, everyone seemingly falls off the rails. 

“I don’t know what kind of information you’re running on, but our orders came directly from the Jedi Temple that we were to scout this location for enemy activity and retake the building with minimal sustained damage.” Mash made clear. “It is obvious that you did not receive the debrief.” 

Taking a step forward, the other Sergeant came within inches of the Echo leader’s helmet with his own.

“What are you implying?”

 “Read between the lines.”

“I’m warning you now, vod. Ne shab'rud'niÖ (Don’t mess with me).”

“Bax, come on, vod.”

Razor inched his way between the two Sergeants as the other squad member that had spoken up tried to coax his Sergeant into taking a step backwards. 

“Regardless of who should or shouldn't be here- the objective appears to be the same.” Razor made clear, his hand residing on the breastplate of his Sergeant, his other held out towards the other Sergeant who was being held back by who now appeared to be their squad’s Corporal. The tension could've been cut with a vibroblade in that moment.

Razor knew Mash preferred to work alone; at least he preferred their squad working alone. If it was one thing the man hated, it was the liability of variables he couldn’t control - other people potentially ruining his way of doing things. Whether it be Infantry clones, Jedi, or other squads like them, Mash preferred the assignments where it was just their squad, and their squad alone. 

“Taking Bullseye is priority.”

“Taking what?” The other Sergeant muttered. His posture had since relaxed but it was clear he was ticked off and eager to get a move on. 

“RV point Bullseye.” Mash said. It sounded like he spit the statement out through his teeth. 

“...You mean the Tower?” The other Sergeant deadpanned. 

Silence followed and Razor exchanged a small glance with the other presumed Corporal. 

“I’m Corporal fifty-one-thirty-four… 34.” The Corporal stated, lowering his hand from his Sergeant’s breastplate. It was common to just use the last two numbers. Your name was almost always kept within your squad group, and maybe with your training sergeant unless you were comfortable sharing it. It wasn’t the time to exchange such personal details even if the atmosphere wasn’t so tense. “This is fifty-seven-eighty-seven and five-two-sixty.” The Corporal, 34, pointed to the other two men part of their squad. 

The one identified as 87 appeared to be their tech man, while 60 appeared to be carrying the demolitions ordnance. 

34 gave his Sergeant the smallest nudge with his shoulder and the man seemed to begrudgingly think over his options before his shoulders lowered a fraction.

“Sergeant five-one-eighteen.” He muttered.

“I’m Corporal four-eight-oh-three,” Razor gestured to himself. “This is forty-nine-ninety-eight and forty-nine-ninety-nine.” Pointing the two out, Razor watched as Nines gave the other squad a jut of his helmet, a sort of nod, and Hawk dipped his helmet down in acknowledgement.

Razor only had to turn a fraction towards Mash for his brother to know he would have to speak up.

“Sergeant four-eight-eleven.” His voice was tight, the remnants of his frustration still hung heavy.

“Now that that’s out of the way, would you all mind moving so we can get to work?” Sergeant 18 gestures somewhat dramatically with his blaster in one hand and a cock of his helmet, swinging the barrel of the blaster with smooth precision to the side.

The silence of the courtyard was growing increasingly harder to ignore, no doubt more droids were on their way from within the Temple walls.

“Sarg-” Corporal 34 started to speak

“We got here first, I suggest you step aside and let us take it from here.” 

“I’ve been dragging my men through the mud of that jungle for five hours- We were on the ground working this mission before you dropped in on the front karking door-”

“I don't give a mott's backside if you’ve been stuck here for weeks I-!”

“Sir, I’ve got movement, south entrance,” The statement came from Nines, currently training his rifle on two squads of droids, including some SBDs (super battle droids), exiting the main doors of the Temple. 

Both Sergeants having turned to see the incoming hostiles seemed to quickly come to the realization that neither of them were getting what they wanted.

Sergeant 18 shot his Corporal a look before cursing under his breath and 34 nodded before he turned more so to face Echo Squad.

“Your call. You were here first.”

Mash clenched his jaw from under his helmet. He didn’t need this but… He couldn’t have it completely his way. 

“Can you manage taking the East Tower without blowing it up?” Mash questioned.

The reluctance was evident in Sergeant 18’s movement as he turned towards Mash and finally nodded.

“...We’ll clear it.”

Exchanging a glance with Razor, Mash returned the nod to the other Sergeant.

“We’ll take the main structure; meet up in the communications center after the Temple has been cleared. If you need to, use comm frequency 0374.”

“Roger that,” Sergeant 18 quickly signals to his men and they take off hastily towards the oncoming droids.

With a shake of his head, Mash turned and watched for a brief moment as the squad of newcomers ran off and began blasting away at the droid force.

Nines watched their Sergeant for a moment before exchanging a glance with Hawk before clearing his throat.

“We uh- clear to move in, sir? I’d rather not let them have all the fun.”

Breathing out through his nose, the Echo Squad Sergeant gave his brother a nod before gesturing for them to get moving. 

“Keep it tight.”

“You say that like we’re gonna run off, Sarg.” Hawk chuckled, falling into a loose formation at Nines’ side with Mash and Razor behind them. 

“Just don’t follow in that crack squad’s shoes, please.”

“Looks like their Sergeant is just a little…” Razor trails off, swallowing the breathy laugh he almost let loose.

“Dini'la? (insane?)” Nines tried.

He managed to earn a few chuckles with the comment. 

“Let’s just focus on the task at hand, vod.” Mash responded, voice a little more at ease. Razor had a tendency to keep the atmosphere as light as he was able, especially in instances like this when tension was high. Nines had his own way of trying to do the same, which usually consisted of poking fun at someone or something. “Same rules apply; no explosives. This building needs to be standing by the time we clear it.”

“Copy that, Sarg.” The humor was laced through Hawk’s voice. 

He was the most mellow one of the squad. Mash didn’t really consider himself to have a great sense of humor, but somewhere along the line, Mash subconsciously decided to always play with Hawk and pretend like he was the trigger “explosive” happy one of the bunch. Hawk played along with it. 

“I call entry,” Nines called out, causing Razor to chuckle before moving up closer to the younger clone to cover his six. 

Despite their mismatched squad, formulated as a result of the losses they’d each received, they were quickly becoming a working unit. If it was one thing Mash knew they all took away from their training, it was the constant snippets of advice and encouragement they’d received from their training sergeant. Traat'aliit gar besbe'trayc (The squad is your weapon). Remember that; you are nothing on your own, and everything together. 

“I’ve got movement in the dining hall,” Nines muttered over comms. They were using their internal comm frequency so the droids wouldn’t overhear anything. The other squad hadn’t initiated contact with them on the channel yet, but perhaps that was a blessing in disguise. 

“Tion'solet? (how many?)” Hawk spoke up.

“I said I’ve got movement not a five course meal worth of information ready for you,” Nines shot back.

Hawk just shook his head at his brother’s humor. 

Leaning around the corner, Nines’ HUD marked the number of droids in the room within a beat and he quickly retreated around the corner where the squad was.

“Twelve including a B1 Sergeant and five SBDs. We can use the EMPs right?” Nines questioned quietly to Mash, despite knowing they were on internal comms. 

Electromagnetic Pulse Grenades… Debrief didn’t specifically outline that they couldn’t use them. 

Mash audibly sighed before lowering his rifle a fraction. 

“This is the dining hall. If we end up stuck here a couple days I’d rather raid the pantry than eat ration bars.”

“That’s your argument for not going in with blasters?” Razor questioned, cocking his helmet to the side. 

“.... Yes.” 

“Just this one room.” Mash grunted while shaking his head. “We need to hold onto that ordnance.”

Giving a jut of his helmet, Nines lifted a hand towards Hawk who had the EMP grenades on hand. 

Tossing one to his brother, Nines made his way around the corner and activated the grenade before rolling it into the large room.

A few beats passed before the shuffling and clunking of the metal droids moving about became prominent. 

“What’s that?” The high pitched, animatronic voice was becoming reluctantly familiar before the grenade went off, cutting off any chatter from the hostiles. 

Echo Squad swarmed into the space with deadly precision, shooting down the few remaining droids that were outside the EMPs blast radius before covering the bases of the room.

“Clear!”

“Clear,”

The room was relatively small for a dining facility. Then again, the debrief did reveal this Temple was rarely occupied by more than a few Jedi at a time. 

“What’s left?” Hawk looked towards the Corporal.

“Just Communications; top floor.” Razor turned towards Mash who nodded in agreement.

“While I’m not complaining, the fact that the crack squad hasn’t made contact is a little unsettling,” Nines spoke up once more, taking a seat on one of the tables, slinging his rifle over his lap. 

“Nines-” Mash muttered, waving a hand towards the younger clone. “You're covered in filth, try not to get it all over everything.”

“This building is still under Separatist control last time I checked. I think they’ve got bigger problems then my dirty shebs (backside/rear/“ass”) sitting on their dining tables. Just saying.” Nines shrugged, catching the way Razor quickly looked down and breathed out sharply.

“Don’t encourage him.” Mash didn’t skip a beat in lightly scolding Razor’s reaction to Nines’ humor. 

Wearing full armor and helmets did inhibit one’s ability to read some body language, but they all grew up learning how to read it. He wasn’t completely there yet, but Mash was beginning to pick up on the little details that clued him into each new brother of his. He could almost identify each of them by their breathing in combat. Nines was the easiest to pick out because he always breathed in such an even and controlled manner; a sign of a sniper; the slightest inhale or exhale could mean the hit or miss of a shot. Hawk and Razor were a little harder to tell apart but Mash was getting there. 

“Let’s head up to the top floor.” Mash gestured out of the room with his Deece. “Keep it tight.”

B1 Battle Droids littered the hallway farther down where they had come from. Every floor and room below them had been cleared. All that remained of the main structure was the top floor, the communications center. Whether the other squad had cleared the East Tower was a question Mash hated leaving up in the air. More droids could pour into the lower levels that they had already cleared if the squad didn’t hold up their end. 

Making their way to the end of the hall, they came to an open spiral staircase heading up. Sure there was also a lift, but they didn’t know what they were walking into. The stairs would allow them to survey the situation better. 

It didn’t take long for the squad to make their way up to the top level and to a small hall that led to the opening of the communications center. No doors. They’d just have to move in relatively quickly to get the jump.

Mash followed behind Nines on the left side of the hallway as Hawk and Razor did the same on the right side of the hall. 

“Tactical Droid 12 o’clock.” Hawk said.

“I got it,” Nines had already raised his Deece.

“Pare (wait),” Mash held a hand out, Deece still trained forward, held by another hand despite the pressure it put on his wrist. “Keep it intact, if we get the jump we might be able to salvage information out of it.”

“...Fine.” Nines uttered but kept his rifle in position.

Evaluating the room for a moment, Mash’s HUD marked the hostiles in a moment. Fourteen, a mix of B1s and SBDs not including the Tactical Droid. 

“Razor?” Mash questioned.

“Hawk and I got the right side, you guys take left?”

“Copy.” Gesturing forward with his pointed middle and forefinger Mash quickly grasped his Deece as they moved in. 

Nines headed into the room quicker than the others, shooting down several of the droids before making a run for the Tactical droid before it could register the situation playing out.

Mash shot down what droids remained around Nines, dodging a couple of blaster bolts that came close to his body. 

Razor and Hawk went about taking down droids on the other side of the room, conscious of the blaster charge they were using as they took the droids down as quickly and efficiently as possible; a head shot or correctly positioned body shot; nothing else would do. 

Mash had barely caught Nines finishing off the Tactical droid as he finished ripping the droid’s head from its body before standing up with a laugh, tossing it in his hands twice before looking the intact head over. 

“Vod, gaanaylir (brother, catch).” Nines tossed the droid head towards Hawk who fumbled for a moment, only one hand free as the other grasped his Deece. The droid part clattered against his armor before he secured it properly in his grasp. Hawk then handed the droid head to Razor without much thought and Echo Squad’s slicer made his way towards the command console a couple meters away. 

“Nines, door.” Mash said. 

“Copy that.”

Heading to the front of the room where computer stations lined the walls, Mash lightly ran his fingers over the controls of one of the stations before stepping once to the side to where the security cam screens were. Cycling through them briefly, it took Mash a while to finally find a cam that showed the other squad. By the looks they were making their way towards the communications center and they looked calm enough so they must’ve held up their end. 

“Anything, Sarg?” Hawk asked.

“No droid activity. That squad’s on there way it looks like. Hawk-” Mash got the attention of his comrade and gestured to the console in front of him with a nod.

Hawk nodded and approached him.

“Refresh security systems and realign motion sensors in the building.”

“Sir,” Hawk gave a nod before getting to work. 

“So what’s the plan now?” Nines looked over his shoulder back into the room towards his brothers.

Mash exchanged a glance with Razor who was standing over the command console; the hub for long range communication. 

“I’ll start securing a line to Kamino,” Razor decided. “Enlighten Skipper on our progress.” He turned away and got to work on the console. 

Mash’s eyes dotted over the console where Razor began working before his eyeline fell to the floor and followed the path of destruction towards the door where Nines was. From there his eyes found several moving figures coming down the hall, the other squad. Great.

“Well well,” Sergeant 18 began, the eyeline of his helmet shifting around the room for a moment before settling on Mash. “Su cuy’gar (you’re still alive).” 

“Don’t act so surprised.” Mash muttered before gesturing them over. 

“The East Tower is clear.” The Sergeant continued to look around the room for a brief time before his gaze landed on Mash once more, giving the littlest dip of his head. Mash was quick to reciprocate the gesture in gratitude. 

“Looks like the droids were tampering with the transmitter,” Razor called over. “It’s gonna take some time to get to working.”

“Alright.�� Mash’s eyes had quickly found the squad of men who had since entered the room once more. They were so familiar to him and his brothers yet so incredibly different it almost made his blood boil with just how different they were - how different they approached the mission. “In the meantime we need to secure the greater perimeter.”

“You know how long that’ll take?” The Sergeant reprimanded. 

“It needs to be done,” Mash countered before turning towards Nines. Hesitating in his words for a moment, Mash evaluated the men he had present in the room. 

“Let’s send three men, including a Corporal.” Mash wasted little time in subtly waving Nines over.

“If you’ve all got a slicer who can take over this, I’ll take a few men out.” Razor called over, now lying on his back with his head inside a compartment under the command console, helmet on the ground next to his legs. One of the other squad’s men, 87, had since traveled over to where Razor was. After a moment he looked up from where he was knelt down near Razor. 

“I can handle this, sir, if you wanna send someone out with them.” His voice was just a hair higher in pitch and the detail, as small as it was, already told Mash that the clone was younger to some degree; maybe closer in age to Hawk and Nines. 

Sergeant 18 turned towards Mash for a brief time before turning towards the two of his men still at his side. He nodded to one of them and he stepped forward.

“Alright 11… We’ll play it your way. 60 will go with’em on the scouting,” He nods to the comprade that had since stepped up.

Clenching his jaw for a brief time, Mash reluctantly thought over his next move before carefully removing his helmet. Positioning it under his arm, he relaxed his jaw before holding out a hand to the Sergeant.

The soldier was still but the slight movement of his helmet indicated he saw the outstretched hand.

“Echo Squad. They call me Mash.” It was a longshot. But it might make things easier going forward if they stepped past the formalities of numbers for names. 

The Sergeant was unusually still for his seemingly gung ho attitude prior; but the man finally looked down at the hand after an uncomfortable beat of silence before raising his hands to his helmet. Removing the piece of armor, he went to tuck the helmet under his arm before returning the gesture. 

Mash met the same set of eyes. “Trauma Squad... Baxter.” His hair was relatively unkempt, but part of that might have been due to helmet hair. It was not the standard military cut all clones were required to maintain on Kamino; it appeared as if he’d let it grow out a bit, his bangs were just teasing his brow. 

Mash shook his hand once before they each pulled away from the gesture.

Looking to his left, Mash met Razor’s eyes as his brother walked over.

“This is our Corporal’n slicer.” Mash nodded towards him.

“Razor.” He responds.

“That’s ours.” Baxter nods to his right to the clone next to him.

“Ram, Corporal and sniper” The Corporal previously known as 34 chimed in with a dip of his helmet. 

Mash gave a small nod in response to the clone.

“Nines, sniper.” Nines took the opportunity of silence to speak up.

“Hawk, demo.” Hawk waved a loose hand while continuing to fool around with the security system console on the other side of the room. 

The man behind Baxter adjusted his stance before clearing his throat. “Char, demo.”

Mash gave the man a small nod of acknowledgement before he met the eyes of the Trauma Squad sergeant.

Baxter turned and gestured towards the last man who hadn’t been named, currently with his head inside the command console where Razor had previously been.

“The kid over there’s Jack; our slicer.”

“Razor, you alright taking Nines and Char on a perimeter sweep?” 

“Just the courtyard or do we wanna start covering this in sectors?” Razor inquired, looking between the two Sergeants. 

Mash glanced at Baxter momentarily and the Trauma Squad Sergeant did the same. 

“I don’t think we need to start heading off into the jungle just yet,” Baxter’s voice was controlled and somewhat reluctant. 

“Maybe just walk the perimeter outside of the courtyard for now. Take an hour and sweep it; check each road for damage or foot traffic and call in if you see any signs of more droid patrols.” Mash continued to eye Baxter as he spoke. 

“Alright,” Razor nodded before briefly meeting the eyes of Nines and then the one identified as Char, giving them a small nod to move out. 

Mash firmly gripped Razor’s shoulder plating as his brother went to walk by before leaving with the two soldiers in tow. 

“How’s it coming, Jack?”

“Corporal Razor mentioned the power cell might’ve been tampered with.” Jack strained to look out from the small space he had his head in, hands up under the console inside the cylinder structure. 

“Well if that’s the case then we can’t get any messages out at the moment. Not even to a nearby fleet.” Baxter muttered, kneeling down next to his comrade. “May not be the time,” Baxter raised his voice enough to catch Mash’s attention. “But what exactly did your mission debrief necessitate… In detail?”

Mash watched the Sergeant for a moment and remained silent until he got to his feet to face him fully. 

“I’m not sure if we’re there yet.” Mash was calm in his statement but still firm. This could get ugly again and Razor wasn’t there to mediate. Not that he needed it… But when it came to this Sergeant, he found his fuse seemingly much shorter than normal.

“Not sure if we’re there yet.” Baxter repeats with a nod, a hand coming to the back of his head before he ran his fingers through his hair quickly. “Y’know if I didn’t know better I’d say-”

“Go on,” Mash cut him off slightly.

Baxter almost smiled before glancing around the room for a brief time. While his expression said amusement, his eyes held a certain reluctance similar to Mash’s. 

“... Let’s just contact Kamino and get this mess sorted.” 

“Good answer.” Mash gave a nod and crossed his arms; as well as he could in the armor at least while watching the Sergeant walk over to his man at the command console. 

Shaking his head, Mash headed over to Hawk.

“Any luck?” Mash braced a hand on the station Hawk was sitting at and let his eyes graze over some of the cam screens. 

“Systems should be finished with the reboot soon.” Hawk nods. “I’ve got no trips on the sensors aside from us so… I think we’re clear for now.”

Mash lifted his gaze and looked out one of the transparisteel viewports of the Tower, eyes picking up on the large vines that coated the planet surface.

“For now.”

The jungle just surrounding the Temple held an eerie silence. One that hadn’t been present when Echo Squad was on their approach from RV point Axe. The firefight had since quieted any fauna in the vicinity of the Towers. 

Making their way across the courtyard and towards the East road, Nines kicked a few crippled B1s out of his path as they walked. While the sniper was content to keep his eyes forward and on the task at hand, his eyes eventually traveled over to the Trauma Squad member with them; Char. 

Nines let himself look the clone up and down for a beat. He walked different; fought different; no doubt probably did everything a little different too. While your average civvy probably couldn’t comprehend that fact, for a clone, it was just part of the job - part of the job that the Kaminoans never taught them. It was something they just learned early in their lives, despite being manufactured to be the same, there was always that little bit of human that the longnecks could never fully scrub out. Nines figured every training sergeant probably instilled some sort of mindset that reinforced their tendency to individualize themselves; he’d heard rumors about other trainers. 

The Trauma Squad member, like the rest of his squad, had green-like color accents on his white armor. While there was no way in hell that the other squad could tell due to the mud they were still covered in, Echo Squad’s color was red; their armor was accented in the red to orange colors. 

Nines’ eyes caught the couple of stairs ahead that went down a foot before smoothing out into the road heading into the Jungle; the place where one of Trauma Squad had thrown a grenade was prominent in the blasted off pieces of stair that littered the vicinity.

“You’re demo right?” Nines gestured down to the rubble with the barrel of his Deece. “This you?” He laughed. 

The Trauma Squad member came to a stop and slowly looked towards Nines, taking a beat to process the question.

“Was the Sarg,” Char finally responded. He had a somewhat deeper voice, more so than Mash or Baxter too. 

“Guy’s not one for the rulebook is he?” Nines raised an eyebrow from under his helmet before maneuvering down what intact stairs were left. 

“Least he didn’t have us rolling in osik,” The man chuckled and Nines felt annoyance prickle his skin.

“First off its mud. We were running recon and needed to take precautions. Second, we were following a strict outline from the Jedi… They wanted the location taken quickly and quietly to avoid making a scene; I imagine they didn’t want their meditation-force-Temple lookin like a battleground when we were done.” He gestures back to the blown up set of stairs that were getting further away as they continued down the road, checking for any droid activity. 

“...Smells like osik.” Char stated. 

Nines clenched his jaw and caught the way Razor gave him the littlest shake of his helmet. 

Don’t. 

Nines let silence fall, although it took every ounce of self control he had left not to start picking this guy apart. It was in his nature to just… Wind people up. This guy was winding him up and was looking like he wasn’t even giving it his full attention. 

Glancing down at himself for the briefest second he caught the sight of the thick layer of mud still caked to his armor… It did smell terrible.... But it was mud…. Hopefully.

The soldiers continued down the quiet path that led deeper into the jungle until they reached the end of the architectural road that ended at some stairs and a small dirt path, not even a road, that continued into the wilderness.

“Well that was eventful.” Nines muttered before turning to head back in the other direction.

They still had the north and south roads to walk. They’d already swept the west road now opposite their position. “Remind me again why they needed us for this job. This is infantry level work.”

“Says the talking osik pile.” Char surmised, following the sniper with his gaze as he went to leave. 

“Wayii- copaani mirshmure'cye, vod? (Good grief- are you looking for a smack in the face, mate?)” Nines had whipped around, coming relatively face to face or- helmet to helmet with the Trauma Squad member.

“Alright, easy you two!” Razor interrupted the two, putting a hand on each of their shoulders before pushing them apart. “Same team.”

Char glanced towards Razor for a brief time before bowing his head in a small nod. Turning towards Nines he eyed the sniper for a brief time before stepping past him to continue their patrol back to the Temple. 

Nines muttered once more under his breath before meeting the gaze of the Corporal.

“You may know how to wind people up, but you make it relatively easy for others to do the same to you, vod.” Razor chuckled before patting his brother’s shoulder plating. 

Nines rolled his eyes before walking alongside his older brother back down the road to continue their sweep.

“How about- now?” Jack grunted, half of his armored body cramped into the small compartment under the command console. 

“Nothing,” Baxter responded, staring at the dark holotable. 

Mash watched the two quietly while his arms crossed, trying to keep his expression as blank as possible before he exchanged the smallest glance with Hawk and Ram who was standing a meter or two from them. 

A string of curses in Mando’a left the clone before the clattering of metal parts followed. The holotable flickered to life moments later.

“Wait that did it,” Baxter held a hand down to the opening where Jack was.

“You serious? The power cell isn’t even in place I’m holding it-”

“Just don’t move.” Baxter cut him off before going about the controls.

Mash took a couple of steps forward and began putting in a secure channel code. 

“I’ll contact our advisor,” Mash explained, fingers working quickly along the bottoms of the console.

Baxter seemed to stall in his movements as the Echo Squad Sergeant stepped up and he retracted his hands from the console. “You do that,” The Trauma Squad Sergeant moved back slowly before crossing his own arms. 

Mash slowed his actions as he processed the dramatic response from the soldier before resisting the urge to roll his eyes. Finishing the code, Mash activated the transmitter and stood up straight, watching as the holotable, now illuminated, hummed to life. 

It seemed much longer, but a few seconds later a hologramic figure emerged from the table and Mash was quick to recognize him.

“Sergeant, how is your assignment going?” Skipper questioned, hands loosely on his armor belt.

It was a relief to see their Clone Advisor, but Mash found the words leaving his mouth to be far from that thought that grazed his mind.

“Temple’s been retaken, but sir, would you mind explaining to me what the hell high command is playing at?” Mash leaned forward on the console, hands on either side of the controls.

“...Excuse me, Sergeant?” Mash rarely ever talked to a superior with such an aggressive tone. 

“Let me,” Baxter less than gently shoved Mash out of the way before taking his spot in front of the hologram. “What he means to ask is what high command’s been doing with their thumbs up their shebs while we trip over our own feet down here trying to recapture a Jedi timeshare.”

“Wayii.” Mash roughly rubbed a hand over his shaved head before cursing. “Show a little decorum,” Mash seethed.

“Me show decorum?” Baxter turned towards the Echo Squad leader, a hand to his armored chest. 

“Alright, settle down!” Skipper almost had to yell to get the attention of the two Sergeants before they both finally directed their attention to him. “Mash, what’s the state of the Temple? Enemy activity?”

“We’ve secured the position, sir.” Mash said. “We eliminated a small Separatist force holding the location; wasn’t nearly enough to hold it indefinitely; most likely just a temporary force to hold the grounds.”

“They may send reinforcements then. Be on guard.” Skipper warned.

Mash gave a nod before glancing around at the others temporarily. “When will the Jedi be arriving?” 

His question was followed by silence, and Baxter was the first to react as he adjusted his stance and took a step forward.

“Well?”

“...The Jedi don’t have a replacement lined up yet.” Not only did his reluctance to respond clue them in, but the hesitation in his voice as well. 

“Excuse me?” Baxter slowly blinked in response, posture twitching.

“Meaning?” Mash questioned.

“Meaning,” Skippered sighed lightly. “You all aren’t going anywhere until they send a Jedi.”

Baxter, being the first to react again, kicked the command console, causing the hologram to flicker.

“Hey!” Jack called from under the console. 

“You gotta be-” A string of curses in mando’a followed Baxter’s proclamation as he took a couple steps away from the console. 

“Take it easy,” Mash put a hand up.

Returning to the console, Baxter rests both hands on the rim.

“I need to talk to our advisor. He’ll get us out of here.” Baxter made clear.

“Sergeant, your advisor has been pulled for an assignment, so Trauma is officially under my jurisdiction until he returns.”

The man was fuming, but he remained quiet, much to Mash’s surprise. 

“You both are to hold the location and report back any Separatist activity or attempts to retake the Temple. It shouldn’t be more than a couple of days.” Skipper eased, holding out a hand as he spoke. “The Temple has a storage facility with foodstuffs and rations to keep you comfortable if you all are stuck longer than your dry ration packs will allow.”

“We better not be,” Baxter grumbled under his breath, glancing towards Ram.

“You don’t have to worry about a thing, sir.” Mash reassured the Advisor. “We’ll keep the Temple secure.”

“I’ll contact you when I have word on the Jedi.” Skipper gives them a final nod before the hologram disappears and it falls quiet.

“...Can I get up now?” Jack grunted, a foot kicking slightly as the man was still on his back halfway under the console. 

“Alright,” Mash mumbles quietly, meeting Hawk’s eyes before glancing towards Baxter as the man had since began pacing around slowly. “Well-”

“Jetiise (Jedi; plural),” Baxter uttered under his breath before shaking his head. 

“Hey,” Mash’s tone lowered in a warning manner. The man seemed quick to want to bash on any of the higher ups.

“It’ll only be for a few days.” Ram spoke up, meeting Mash’s gaze for a brief moment before looking towards his Sergeant. 

Walking over to the computer stations lining the far wall, Mash stepped past Baxter to grab his helmet and put it on.

A couple careful blinks later, he activated their secure comm channel.

“Razor? How’s the patrol going?” Mash spoke up, eyeline shifting to the left as Jack crawled out from under the commander console and put a hand through his hair with a mumble. 

The comms crackled briefly before he got a response.

“All qui… out here, Mash. No sign u-... oid traffic around the T… ple yet. We’re almost done ch... south road th… be heading back.”

“Transmission was fuzzy but I understand. Let me know if anything changes,” Mash responded.

“Yes sir. Any news?”

Mash clenched his jaw and thought it over for a moment before shaking his head.

“Long story short- we’re stuck here together until the Jedi can send someone. Could be a few days.”

“Did he j… ays!?”

That was Nines alright.

“I see,” Razor responded. “Brief us when w…. back.”

“Will do,” Mash finished the transmission before taking his helmet off with a sigh.

“Just great.” Nines growled under his breath, his grasp on his Deece tightening and loosening as he fidgeted. “Stuck with crack squad for-”

“Who’re you calling a crack squad, mate?” Char cut him off. “We’re not the squad looking like they just crawled out of a swamp.”

“Keep talking and I’ll make sure they find your body at the bottom a swamp, mate.” Nines barked back, having turned on his heel to stop Char in his tracks.

“Gev! Take it down!” Razor ordered, shouldering Nines to get his younger comrade to back off. “Both of you,” Razor turned a look on Char before gesturing them both forward. “Squabbling like Infantry cadets for galaxy’s sake-” He cursed before walking ahead of both of them. 

Nines begrudgingly followed, but not before exchanging a small glance with Char before they began heading back to the Temple. 

The walk back was quiet and by the time they’d gotten up to the communications center, the atmosphere had leveled out. 

“The perimeter is clear.” Razor announced, removing his helmet as he entered the communications room. 

Mash turned and met the eyes of his Corporal with a nod.

“Seppies won’t stay quiet for long,” Baxter chimed in, leaning against the command console with his armed crossed, expression almost belligerent as he looked back down at the ground with a scowl. “They’ll send reinforcements and soon.”

“We’ll be ready,” Mash agreed, hands resting on his armor belt. “First things first, we need to start organizing patrols; keep an eye on local air traffic an-”

“Who- put you in charge exactly?” Baxter questioned, his expression revealing genuine confusion but also fatigue. 

Mash clenched his jaw and breathed out quietly through his nose before shooting Razor the smallest look. 

“It’ll only be a couple days, I’m sure we can balance leadership.” Ram proposed, sitting at one of the chairs at the computer stations at the opposite side of the room.

Baxter’s body jolted as if he was trying to prevent a scoff before he nodded.

“Better only be a couple days.”

ONE WEEK LATER… 

Nines clenched his jaw, staring down towards his hands before his gaze lifted and he met Char’s eyes. The Trauma Squad member stared back at him, expression hardly set but relatively at ease despite the fact. 

Tapping his finger lightly, Nines swallowed before he finally nodded.

“I’ll raise you three Nuna jerky strips.” Nines finally stated before tossing the packaged meat into the center of the table.

“I’ll match that, vod.” Char nodded before grabbing some packaged jerky strips from the backpack next to his feet, tossing them into their pot where other small foods and rations resided. 

From the other side of the communications center, Ram watched the two playing cards with a tightly knit brow.

“I don’t get it,” Ram finally muttered, giving a shake of his head. 

“What?” Razor questioned while chewing on a ration stick, eyes on the SOP manual up on the datapad balanced on his propped up leg. 

“They’ll be at each other's throats night and day- but as soon as the Sabacc cards come out they turn more civil than jetiise.”

Razor let a hard breath out through his nose in amusement before shrugging lightly, using a knuckle to scroll down on the datapad. 

Those two were always going at each other, but over the past several days they’d each discovered their love of the card game, Sabacc. They’d started developing an awkward love/hate relationship with the game at the center. 

“As long as they’re quiet,”

The week had passed by slowly. Razor and Ram were getting along alright during the time, however Mash and Baxter were still at opposite ends of a spectrum. They butted heads but a brotherly atmosphere was starting to settle in. 

Turning in his chair, Ram faces the computer station and quickly goes about cycling through the comm channels, listening for any chatter that might clue them into a hostile force. Alongside that chore was looking for any Separatist activity on the air traffic scanners. So far they’d had nothing all week.

The beeping of one of the air traffic scanners causes both Ram and Razor to look up from their distractions. Ram is the first to swing around in his chair and lean over to the neighboring computer station. 

Razor got up from his chair and walked over.

“Got something?” He questioned.

Ram evaluated the reading before narrowing the scanner range.

“I’ve got a ship entering the atmosphere, around 50 klicks out.” Ram responded, brow knit as he watched the screen on the station plot a hypothetical course for the ship that was approaching. “Computer's plotting its course; it looks like they’re heading for us.” Ram muttered before getting to his feet. Cycling through the channels for a moment, Ram found the only other active one and pressed one of the buttons on the panel to unmute the transmission.

“Incoming ship, you are entering restricted Republic Military airspace,”

Razor eyed the image on the screen that estimated the ship’s trajectory as Ram continued to recite one of the standard messages from the SOPs manual.

“Do you copy?” Ram waited but only static came through on the comms. 

“I repeat, incoming ship, you have entered restricted Republic Military airspace-”

“They’re coming in way too fast.” Razor muttered, eyeing the readings on the computer screen built into the station. “Reads are coming through… Ships heavily damaged.”

“Specs?” Ram inquired. 

“Hull integrity is at critical levels, heat spikes all over the ship, scanner’s reading engine failure. That ship’s not being piloted, it’s going down.”

“What’s the estimated crash path?” Ram asked, finger hovering over the comm button, allowing the static to come through. 

Going about the controls on the station, Razor expanded the aerial map of the surrounding area and the computer AI marked an estimated crash zone. 

At seeing the area, Razor leaned in further, brow knitting tightly. 

“Something wrong?” Ram questions.

“That’s just near RV point Axe… Aren’t they patrolling that area?” Razor questioned, turning to the fellow Corporal.

At processing his comrade’s words, Ram quickly abandoned the comm frequency he was using to contact the unknown ship and set the frequency to their squad comm channel.

“Sergeants we’ve got a ship coming in with a projected crash zone in your area… Baxter? Sergeant Mash?” 

Razor watched the fellow soldier quietly before glancing to the side seeing Nines and Char had since approached, similarly reflected expressions of concern. 

“Haar'chak, I can’t get anything through,” Ram swore before shaking his head; meeting Razor’s eyes. “Wanna head out?”

In the past few days, they’d discovered how communications were difficult on the planet. If a party was out in the jungle, comms were always very sensitive. They knew it would complicate matters if the Separatists organized an attempt to retake the Temple. 

“... Yeah, let’s go.” Razor agreed before quickly going to grab his helmet. “You two hold down here,” Razor looked to both Nines and Char. 

“Let us know if you need any help.” Nines nodded before shrugging. “... Well I guess you won’t be able to so-... If it looks bad from here we’ll- consider coming to help.”

“Good to know,” Ram smirked before throwing his helmet on. 

Nodding to the other Corporal, they both began running for the hall. 

There had been a short rain shower earlier in the morning. The ground was soft and their armored boots sunk into the soil as they treaded through the jungle. 

Baxter was walking a few yards ahead with Jack at his side, and Mash followed closely behind with Hawk. 

The Trauma squad members were chatting lightly amongst themselves and Mash and Hawk chatted on and off.

They had fallen into a relatively simple routine over the past few days. They’d hit bumps now and again, but everyone usually did their best to stay out of each other’s way. 

The ease of the atmosphere around them came to a screeching halt however, when the crackling of sticks sounds off to their 9 o’clock. 

Baxter is the first to ready his rifle before anyone else had time to process the sound disruption. They may not have been a squad, but they knew how to make it work, and everyone worked off of each other in accordance with the developments around them.

All of them trained on an assortment of foliage several meters away, more rustling follows before small chirp-like noises emit from the bushes.

It was a familiar sound. One of the native fauna from the planet, a small reptilian species. However the familiarity didn’t stop Baxter from watching the position from which the sound radiated with a raised weapon. 

Jack had his weapon raised hesitantly as well, although Sergeant Mash’s lack of reaction caused him to second guess his own. They hadn’t seen any action in weeks. It was obvious Sergeant Baxter was getting an itchy trigger finger to shoot something. 

“S’nothing, brother.” Mash mumbled, rifle loosely held in front of him.

Baxter rolled his eyes from under his helmet and muttered under his breath before continuing on their patrol.

“Jedi are wasting Special Forces; as if Geonosis wasn’t enough of a wake up call for em,” Baxter said, his pace picking up. 

Mash tries not to roll his shoulders in an effort to ease the prickle of uneasiness he got from Baxter’s comment. How had this clone survived this long without getting himself terminated. 

“C’mon, vod,” Mash mumbled, knowing Baxter would understand his comment. 

In training, they were taught that Jedi leadership was invaluable. However at the Battle of Geonosis, the clone army was in for a somewhat rude awakening at just how unprepared the Jedi seemed to be in leading the army. Special Forces lost half of their numbers, and strategically, the Battle was a mess. Many clones came out of their first battle confused, even angered, but still unwaveringly loyal to the Jedi… well most of them did. Baxter made Mash rethink that part.  

“Maybe the next assignment will have us mopping floors in the Jedi Temple, who knows you gotta remain optimistic.” Baxter called over his shoulder. 

Mash just shook his head and exchanged a small glance with Hawk. 

Crackling over the comms caused Mash to slow his pace, a hand raising subconsciously towards his helmet. 

“Razor? That you?” Mash spoke up.

“We-.... ip comi… cra… yo-...”

“Damn it,” Mash muttered before using his knuckles to knock the side of his helmet a couple of times. “Are you getting anything clear Baxter?” 

“No,” The Trauma Sergeant grumbled, eyeline on the ground as he tried to listen to the gargled transmission. “Come on boys, spit it out.”

“Repe… shi… proj… crash…” 

Mash shook his head lightly as he tried to listen only to start hearing a roar of a ship in the background of the transmission.

“...You hear that?” Mash turned towards Hawk who nodded.

“Hey Max,” Baxter suddenly spoke up.

The Sergeant’s expression fell from under his helmet. “It’s Mash,” He grumbled before turning around to look at the Sergeant.

He was looking up through the vine canopy. 

Mash’s brow knit in response to seeing the Sergeant before he followed the man’s eyeline to the sky, eyes widening at the sight.

“Uh… That doesn’t look good.” Jack stated, also finding the ship that was hurtling down towards them in a ball of fire. 

“GO GO GO!” Mash yelled, waving the men off. They began running towards the ship and managed to avoid most of the debris coming off of the craft as it crashed through the vine canopy and barreled into the mud around forty yards away. 

Half of the men had dived for cover from broken pieces of the ship that had rained down.

“Everyone alright?” Mash called out, the question leaving his mouth before he could register his own state.

“Fine here sir,”

“All good.”

Mash quickly got to his feet, seeing Baxter had already done the same.

“Not what I was expecting when I hoped for some action but I won’t complain,” The Trauma Sergeant didn’t waste any time, and Mash wasn’t going to slow him down as they quickly began making their way towards the wreckage. “Wanna bet they were trying to warn us?” Baxter laughed, referring to the rest of their group at the Temple.

Mash nodded to the side in agreement, feeling Hawk come up on his right as they followed the canyoned trail the ship had left in its wake.

It was a fairly large craft, a freighter by the look of what was left. 

A small explosion off of one of the dislodged engines causes the team to jump back a step. 

Baxter suddenly patted Mash had on the back before going closer to the wreck.

“We’ll cover the cockpit area,” He practically threw the comment over his shoulder before jogging off with Jack close behind him.

“But- I- Erm,” Mash shook his head and quieted his objection before it could pass through his lips. 

“Let’s cover the back of the ship,” Mash responded, looking towards his comrade. “Looks like the ship’s main structure is still relatively intact. We might be able to enter through the cargo bay.”

Hawk acknowledged his Sergeant with a nod before going to follow the clone. Both keep a close eye on the wreckage as they approach. Parts of the hull were missing, revealing little hints of darkness within the craft. There could still be lifeforms on board. 

Hawk let his eyes run along the side of the crashed ship as they made their way closer. Most of the ship wasn’t ablaze, the engines had been, but they’d broken off the main craft when it struck the ground. 

Giving the side of the ship another once over, Hawk cleared his throat. “My HUD isn’t recognizing this freighter, sir.”

“It isn’t Republic, keep your eyes open.” Mash responded, rifle raised. 

They get to the back of the ship and the ramp is dislodged from the freighter. Giving the dark opening a quick once over, Mash nodded to Hawk and they began making their way inside. 

Cargo boxes and cages of supplies littered the space. Despite the wreckage everywhere, Mash was quick to spot an outlying object.

“10 o’clock,” Mash nodded to the corpse off to the left as they headed further into the ship. 

Hawk noted the body, as well as another farther away against the wall and followed the Sergeant. Their HUDs could pick up life signs and so far, there weren’t any.

“Hey Mack!” Baxter called out suddenly. “We’ve got some dead lizards up here!” Baxter appears from an elevated platform up the wall at the back of the cargo bay that they had been heading towards. There was most likely a door to the cockpit and a ladder somewhere. 

Mash shook his head and looked up, noting the ship was relatively small now, from what was remaining intact; the ship was now clear. 

“It’s Mash.” The Echo squad Sergeant responded under his breath, lowering his rifle in front of him 

“Trandoshans?” Hawk inquired, craning his neck to look up to where Baxter and Jack were.

“Lizards. Did I stutter, kid?” Baxter responded.

“Yeah Hawk, Trandoshans,” The remnants of a chuckle sounded through Jack’s helmet as he softened Baxter’s sarcastic response. 

Both jumped down into the cargo area and Baxter playfully knocked Hawk’s shoulder plating with his knuckles. 

A sudden shudder of cargo crates in the back right corner of the ship’s cargo bay causes the soldiers to jump into action. Mash and Hawk have their weapons trained on the origin of where the sound originated and Baxter and Jack did the same. The first sign of a potential hostile in a week. It was safe to say they were anticipating a threat.

Taking a couple steps closer, Baxter kept his rifle trained at the corner of the damaged ship’s bay before hand signaling to the others.

Mash, Hawk and Jack all gave nods in response before Baxter spoke up.

“Come out!” Voice alone, Baxter’s ranged on the lower end of what was common for clones; coupled with the helmet filtering his voice, he sounded even more menacing.

When nothing followed the demand, Baxter knocked the crates with a calculated kick of his armored leg, jostling them a good bit but not moving them enough to reveal the hostile.

“NOW!”

Changing the settings on his HUD, Mash changed his helmet display to thermal and after a couple seconds, his brow knit together at the readings coming from behind the crates.

“Bax-”

“Am I speaking Huttese? Get out here you di-”

“Take it easy, Baxter!” Mash finally snapped, jabbing the other Sergeant with his armored elbow before lowering his weapon.

“Er you crazy?” Baxter growled, helmeted gaze whipping around to the other Sergeant. 

“Alright you,” Mash took a couple of steps closer, “C’mon out,” Voice still significantly firm, but lower in volume to Baxter’s, Mash waited for some kind of response to the changed approach. 

The silence that followed doesn’t ease Baxter’s caution as he kept his rifle trained on the crates before eyes peek over one of the boxes.

“Yeah you- out.” Mash muttered pointing to the ground in front of his feet with his forefinger, rifle still held up in one hand trained ahead.

A small being made their way out from behind the crates and Hawk slowly lowered his rifle; Jack followed the action not far behind. 

Taking a moment to process the lifeform, Baxter felt his shoulders fall. “Too bad,” Baxter finally muttered. “Was looking for an excuse to unload on somethin,” Baxter’s eyes trail over the young girl now standing in front of him with slight disappointment. 

“Sir,” Jack breathed out a laugh.

“Told you Jay,” Baxter glanced back towards his slicer, “I got more of that sociopathic blood in my system than the others.” 

Mash looked over the being quietly. She was young, probably an early adolescent; dirty and emaciated. His HUD was picking up on an accelerated heart rate.

“Sir,”

Mash turned and looked over his shoulder to see his Corporal, Razor, along with Trauma Squad Corporal, Ram. 

“We went ahead and did an extra sweep of the crash site perimeter. Any life in he- Oh,” Razor caught sight of the small being that barely met the soldiers chest plates in height.

“Affirmative,” Hawk shrugged lightly, rifle at ease in front of him before he looked back down to the girl who had taken a few steps back towards the crates she’d been hiding behind.

“So we’ve got no other survivors,” Baxter stated, processing the fact before nodding. 

“The ship didn’t come up on my HU-”

“Didn’t on ours either,” Baxter cut Razor off as he looked over the torn up ship around them. 

“I’ll begin scanning the haul,” Ram offered before leaving the damaged cargo bay.

Mash looked around further before turning his eyes to Baxter as he moved out of his peripheral.

“A miracle she survived this,” The Sergeant of Trauma Squad grunted while evaluating the ship’s seemingly nonexistent roof before turning his eyes to the child. “You’re lucky, kid.”

Masterlist | Next Chapter | Chapter Art & Map | Echo & Trauma Squad

CHAPTER NOTE: If you’re reading this, well first off congratulations. I’m frankly quite surprised you haven’t fallen asleep yet or given up. Second of all, I hope you enjoyed!!! One note: Mando’a is littered throughout, I apologize if I made mistakes, I’m still learning! 

Support is appreciated if you had fun reading :) I hope to post the next chapter soon!

[troped-fanfic-challenge]

Who will be on the CHOPPING BLOCK!?

Fifteen fics were written following a Theme of [Angst], including the Tropes [Stranger to Lovers] and [Road Trip AU], and with a Character focus on [Harper McIntyre]! Voting determined the 8 who would continue in this competition…

We had fifteen (15) INCREDIBLE fics this round, but, unfortunately, not everyone can move on to the next round. In this round, eight (8) authors are on the CHOPPING BLOCK! Thank you so much to all the authors who participated, and, to the authors who were Chopped, we hope you’ll consider joining future Chopped events, and we are so happy you decided to be a part of Chopped Madness! 

Our reviews for these fics can be found under the cut!

The eight authors who have been Chopped are:

Author 1: @iexasheart​ : You can bloom again [Harper x Clarke] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: don’t be who you were

Author 2: @shen-gong-oops​ - Never Gonna Give You Up [Harper x Raven] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: The Sixth Bride

Author 3: @justwalkedaway​: Take back my life (Prove I'm alright) [Harper x Monty] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: Where is the path to Wonderland?

Author 4: @mobi-on-a-mission​ - The Hardest Thing [Harper x Emori] [Rated T]

Qualifying Round Fic: 2199 Nights

Author 5: @kuklash​: I Need You (Like I Need a Gaping Head Wound) [Harper x Echo] [Rated T] **graphic depictions of violence, major character death**

Qualifying Round Fic: There's Gonna Be a Party When the Wolf Comes Home

Author 6: @hopskipaway​ - i wanna shoot the whole day down [Harper x Monty] [Rated T] **major character death**

Qualifying Round Fic: i've got a heart in me (i swear)

Author 7: @vmreed​:  What the Hell is a Pulmonary Embolism? [Harper & Murphy/Clarke] [Rated T

Qualifying Round Fic: How to Kill a Two-Headed Turkey

Author 8: @pawprinterfanfic

Qualifying Round Fic: Simmer Simmer Simmer

—-

Now that you have been Chopped, all the fics you’ve written in Chopped Madness have been revealed and you can post about your fics! Don’t forget to tag us so we can share!

But don’t be discouraged if you were Chopped this round (or unable to participate)! We’ve created a non-anon collection, where you can submit your fics if you would like to write for other rounds, keep pace with the writing period, etc, in a non-competive way! That’s where you’ll find us!!!! We’d love to read your fics and will gladly share them on our tumblr! The non-anon collection can be found here! To submit your fic to the collection, simply enter ‘chopped_non_anonymous’ as the name of the collection when uploading your fic!!!

Non-Anon AO3 Collection Link: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Chopped_Non_Anonymous

To all the remaining Chopped Madness Authors, we hope you’re excited for ROUND 2, which starts TONIGHT, 12:00am (EST) March 26th!! Please be sure to check our google doc for theme and trope explanations! Good luck!

@iexasheart​ Mods’ Review

The concept of this story, with Harper having Nightblood on the Ark and no one knowing or even understanding it, is so cool. It plays such a relevant part to really drive the whole story. Harper and Clarke are such a good ship, they’re a perfect match, like it's shown through the fic, they’re both survivors, they both can push through and make it through anything. This pairing added a nice layer to the story! Harper being kidnapped and held hostage for months was super dark, and very angsty! “She catches bits and pieces of conversations, when she can, and learns that they’re keeping her there just in case she is a Commander. Through her tears, she screams at them that she’s not, that she doesn’t know what this means, but they don’t ever listen.” This was such a good scene, we were genuinely terrified for Harper and so concerned about her. We loved this as a rationale, and that it makes it worse for Harper because she isn’t and doesn’t understand, it was a really nice touch to add an extra layer of angst! We also really loved the catharsis of the moment when Harper finally gets free. Harper getting to express her pure fury and rage was a nice character moment, a chance to let her feel her pain out loud. “She hasn’t moved from that spot, but for the first time in years, Harper takes a deep breath in and feels a fleeting sense of freedom” this quote really captured that moment so well! It was a nice touch to let Harper learn that being a nightblood kept her alive, giving her a chance to see that the thing that caused her so much pain and misery was also what kept her alive, letting her appreciate something unique and special about her! Them digging up Polis together was such a cool scene. It added an extra layer to the scene we saw in canon, and it also gave a little extra mystery (to Harper at least) when Clarke found Lexa’s throne! And the ending, such a nice way to relieve the angst of the story. Them being happy in Eden felt like a natural and easy conclusion to a story where the characters didn’t get much ‘easy’. 

@shen-gong-oops​ Mods’ Review

This fic was ANGSTY. Best friends who were never allowed to hug or touch? Who had to go on a roadtrip in seperate cars just to be able to share an adventure? So good! And Raven being introduced as the surrogate Monty chose was a great way to incorporate the strangers to lovers trope! Also, so cute, that it was so clearly a set up. The fact that they had been planning this trip since they were kids makes the angst hit even harder, the idea that they’ve spent years wanting to get to be normal kids and be together, but they never could. There were a lot of great character moments, but some of our favorites were Raven ironing, and Harper getting to express her anger. Raven ironing felt super in character, a way to maintain order and structure in the chaos, a nice way to show that she likes to be in control of her life, and a nice way to show how much its hurting her that she might not be in control after her accident. Harper getting to express her anger and frustration with the world and its unfairness was very sincere and felt very earned for her character, and it was a nice way to show how Harper was really feeling about the hand she’d been dealt! As soon as you mentioned Raven being an organ donor, we KNEW you were going to have her get hurt, and we were already upset about it, but the scene was so well done. It was angsty and sad, and scary, but by adding that cheesy rom-com joke about Harper having Raven’s heart, you were able to add a little levity and a breath of air to the scene in a way that was super natural and so well timed! 

@justwalkedaway​ Mods’ Review

First off, Monty and Harper feeling like strangers in their own marriage, and coming to realise they loved each other in a different way than they did 10 years ago was such an angsty and super creative way to incorporate the ‘strangers to lovers’ trope! This fic was so angsty, and painful to read! Little things like Monty forgetting their anniversary, and Harper being aware that Monty was attracted to Miller even though they were drifting apart were really great ways to establish where they stood in their relationship! We really enjoyed the ending, with them getting a chance to talk to one another and realise they were on the same page about their feelings, and then letting them start to forge a new path forward. We especially liked the line “They would never have to be strangers again, that their love as friends would help them grow together. Everything was going to be okay.” The paragraph at the end, where you really explained that the connection between them was so good, and allowed for a slight tint of hopefulness for their future while maintaining the angst at a 10! 

@mobi-on-a-mission​ Mods’ Review

This fic used the combination of the character, theme, and tropes so well! Emori x Harper is such a unique pairing, and it definitely works great! The set up of the Mountain Men killing all of Skaikru is really eerie and angsty, it adds a really unsettling air to the fic where you feel like both of them are unsafe at every turn! “I’m an invader too” the idea that Emori is an invader because she was left out to die, and they see her as a stain, an unwelcome piece of their community is so good, this was a really nice character moment! Harper copying Lincoln’s map, and wanting to carry on with their plan to go to the see was a great way to tie canon back in and set up the ‘road trip’ they were going to go on! Emori teaching Harper the same way she taught Murphy was also a really fun addition! Harper waking up screaming from her nightmares to marry an angst plot and a romance plot together, letting them be physically comforting and hold each other through it, this was a really nice detail to incorporate! The story kept you really invested the whole time, and having Harper be kidnapped towards the middle/end of the fic was a really great way to do that. It was an opportunity to add angst and danger, but also a way to show how Emori had grown during their relationship,  to not only love Harper, but to put Harper’s safety above her own. “She was always light, so light, so light… She was the sun” this quote is so lovely, and such a nice way to describe Harper!! And that final kiss? “Tears welled in her eyes and smeared against Harper’s skin as they kissed”? So angsty, so good!!

@kuklash​ Mods’ Review

To start off, 90’s political thriller? Corrupt government officials and spies on the run? Like…someone make this movie for us, but it has to be Chelsey Reist and Tasya Teles as the stars! On to the actual fic though, a kidnapping and being forced to hit the road is a great way to hit all the tropes! Maintaining the kidnapping for a while helped the story feel serious, and made the stakes higher, adding a little fear and letting us know Harper wasn’t going to be safe in the story, which was a great way to add more angst! This fic had a lot of great character moments that really showed who Echo and Harper are in really great ways. “..but she has to stay strong. If she wants to survive she has to be strong”, this line is a great way to show Harper’s characteristics! We loved that Echo was her false name, but Ashe was her real name, and we loved the reveal being a soft moment of peace. It was a nice way to involve a canon element, but in a way that fit the story, because of course a spy on the run wouldn’t give her real name. It was also a nice way to show Echo slowly warming up to Harper! Echo’s death scene was SO well executed, even though we knew they weren’t safe, we were still stunned when she died! And don’t even get us started on the ending, so eerie and creepy and a great way to tie off the story with a slightly ambiguous ending!

@hopskipaway​ Mods’ Review

The set up for the road trip was great, a nice way to tie the angst directly into that trope, and Harper and Monty never meeting until this point was a great addition. It added the strangers to lovers part, obviously, but there's also a nice amount of angst involved in bonding over the loss of a friend. There were so many nice character beats that really showed Jasper’s bond with all of them, like when Harper knew Monty’s favorite candy just because Jasper had talked about him so much, and how Jasper thought Harper would be cute for Monty. It worked really well to establish how much they all meant to him. We loved  the moment of all of them finally arriving at the bar together. It felt very much like a community of strangers who were really joining through loss. We really liked the dynamic of the entire bar scene. “I worked with him.” She wasn’t sure why when someone dies you trade around excuses and explanations of how you knew them, like it was some sort of grief currency.” This line was such a great way to express the uncomfortable feeling that situations like that can have, and it was a nice touch. The delinquents coming together after Jasper’s Death was PAINFUL, and a great way to establish a sort of Found Family dynamic in a way that definitely hit the angst mark! Definitely crying at that last bit. Also, great use of the song Jasper was singing in the Rover being on the Jukebox!! 

@vmreed​ Mods’ Review

Harper’s outsider POV on the Strangers to Lovers Story was such a unique twist on the trope, and the use of a bus crash within the ‘road trip’ was also a really great take on that trope! This fic was a great way to showcase how the tropes we give for Chopped can be used in unexpected ways! This fic had a lot of great character moments too, like Murphy being so obviously grumpy and sullen that Harper knows not to try with the cute Tour Guide move is so good. A nice touch of characterisation that was added in a very natural and interesting way. Harper losing Carl was also a great moment for characterisation! “Carl stopped breathing, and Harper died a little bit too” this was such a sweet touch of angst, and a nice way to show that Harper’s life exists beyond this story, and that she and Carl were friends. We loved the very real action drama of the bus crash, with Harper running back in over and over to save people, the chaos and the fire, the acknowledgement that people actually died. With all those deaths, it sounded like the Road Trip from Hell, but the trio really jumped into action and it was great to see their interactions. The whole scene was an exciting and fun read! 

@pawprinter​ Mods’ Review

The Qualifying Round was so great and your fic was a lot of fun to read! There are so many callbacks to early Bellarke and it was great to see their relationship bounce back on their journey. When Russell warns Bellamy that they can only trust each other...he can only trust Clarke, and then all he does to save her...well, let’s just say this fic gave us all the Bellarke feels!!! The idea of Sanctum beginning anew, and going back to harvest the land, is a very human thing to do on a foreign planet. “The sky glittered with stars, showing constellations he was unfamiliar with. He missed the stars from Earth more than he realized…” This line is so good. Can you imagine looking up and not recognizing any part of the night sky? This is such a cool thing to add, and we loved it! The vines are SO creepy! We loved how creepy and scary you made the Hansel & Gretel fairy tale with the vines scene. It really upped the stakes and had us on the edge of our seats. AND THE ENDING?! Bellamy frantically searching for a cure that likely doesn’t exist, only to stumble upon a mass grave from the cannibal lady in the woods?! INSANE, and SO well executed!

[anneapocalypse]

RWBY 7.01 - 7.02

There is so much to talk about here. Spoilers!

(Please note that I’m not currently a FIRST member, so please don’t spoil me, thanks!)

We’re in Altas now! I love the aesthetic of Mantle, and I like that they didn’t go for the kind of full-on steel-and-glass futuristic aesthetic you might expect for all of Atlas. Instead, it’s more of a Victorian-futuristic look, with brick buildings and cobblestones and narrow streets.

Qrow’s new voice actor is killing it. Jason Liebrecht delivers a performance that is virtually indistinguishable from old Qrow if you aren’t listening closely for it. akisawana pointed out to me that he’s emoting more, which I think tracks for his character growth, but his voice and inflection is spot-on Qrow.

Themes of distrust build immediately, with Qrow uncertain if they should take to Ironwood. Weiss is concerned about the increased military presence in Mantle. We see the face of Winter Schnee on a screen, apparently the public face of Atlas military, and perhaps despite Weiss’s confidence we wonder if our heroes can trust her.

There is a fair amount of talky exposition in these first two episodes and some of it is rather on the nose, as the story quickly tries to get us up to speed with the situation and the general atmosphere in Mantle. People don’t love the surveillance state—we see some children throw a rock at one of the camera bots. But people love Atlas, and they’re proud of their city, even if difficult times.

And we meet Giapetto—I meant Pietro! Something of a convenient character, as he’s both high up in Atlas security and living and working down among the common people; he knows Ironwood, and Maria Calavera, and of course, his daughter has told him all about Team RWBY.

And as many of us probably suspected as soon as we laid eyes on this man, our sweet Penny has returned! I loved it through and through. “I thought you were dead” is one of those tropes in fiction that just always gets me, so Ruby’s face when she realized her friend was a live, and Penny’s face when she saw Ruby and recognized her… I needed a minute. It was just a truly delightful moment, made even more so by Penny’s exuberant tackle-hug.

I’m curious how it is that flightless Grimm are getting into Atlas, since I would think part of the appeal of a floating city in the first place is to keep them out. It wouldn’t stop flying Grimm, of course, but these monsters weren’t flying. EDIT: They weren’t in the floating city, they were down in Mantle, that’s my bad. Anyway, it was a fun battle to watch, as Oscar has learned a few things, and Blake backing up Yang and giving her that little nod was very sweet.

I am still banking on Oscar becoming the official new leader of Team JNR, making them Team ORNJ. Oscar’s outfits even have orange in them, and for nothing directly to do with his name. It’s a sign, I tell you!

Sadly, Qrow’s optimism must never go unpunished! and our heroes are promptly taken captive by the Aesop’s—er, I mean, the Ace Ops. ;) This feels more for drama than anything else, and it’s kind of reminiscent of Wash, Donut, Sarge, and Lopez being taken captive by the Feds in season 12 of Red vs. Blue. But there’s a valid reason: the did steal a ship.

I love how Weiss says, “Ironwood’s Ace Operatives” like they’re a big deal, but as soon as someone else acts impressed by them, she’s like, “They’re not that big a deal.” Oh Weiss! Some things about her never change, and the way she throws shade is one of those things.

I also think it’s pretty obvious that Weiss is still influenced by her upbringing, both as an Atlesian and as a Schnee. “Tyranny” honestly isn’t that much of an reach from what Ironwood’s doing. It’s easy to sympathize with him, because he’s just so goshdarn likable and he make a sadface and we do kind of know his heart’s in the right place—but he’s misguided as hell and even the people close enough to give him the benefit of the doubt can see it. Ironwood puts his faith in technology, and when his tech failed him he only doubled down, trying to make it stronger. And now that we know who the leak is from Atlas security, we can pretty much assume it’s only going to backfire on him harder next time.

“Robyn Hill and her Happy Huntresses” sounds very intriguing, and I’m always excited to meet new female leader characters! I’m also thrilled to hear we have an old Winter Maiden, and I can’t wait to meet her. Really appreciating the introduction of cool old ladies in recent volumes.

I love Blake’s expression of trust in Ruby’s leadership, which seems representative of everyone present. Ruby really is the reason they’re all here—it was her journey to Haven with team JNR that brought them all to where they are. She is not just the leader of Team RWBY but the leader of this whole expedition, especially with Ozpin having lost the trust of so many of them, and now absent entirely. They all trust her.

Ruby, by contrast, is not sure if she can trust Ironwood. I really like this. I like Ruby learning to be cagey and not bestow her trust and optimism on everyone she meets. This feels more like character growth than frankly anything we’ve seen before, and I will take it!

Ironwood has brought Penny and Winter into the inner circle. That alone I don’t really question; they’re both loyal and responsible. What I do question is his decision to tell the Ace Ops, given that… well, I know they’re supposed to be the best, and they did capture our heroes, but it’s also been kind of hard to take them seriously thus far and I question that their discretion and judgment is up to the level required.

But Ironwood doesn’t just want to tell them. He wants to tell everyone. And this is where we’re reminded, not just of the constant threat of Grimm, but that they’re drawn by negative emotions. This is a world where fear brings literal monsters, and in a world like that… the rules are just different. It’s easier to understand Ironwood’s protective instincts, I think, in that context. Managing the emotions of the public is a question of national security. It doesn’t make him right, but… it’s important context.

And here we come back to Ironwood’s reliance on technology and military might. He believes the Atlas military can keep the Grimm at bay and keep people safe. I think he’s vastly underestimating how little anyone outside of Atlas trusts the Atlesian military anymore. They won’t feel safe under his protection, especially in Vale—they might even actively resist his aid. And the more afraid and angry they are, the more Grimm will come.

There is something comical about the fact that Ironwood’s grand plan is… to rebuild Amity Arena. Oh, with a comm tower. That latter part makes perfect sense! Why it needs to be attached to a colosseum, less so. Style points, I guess? Morale booster? Sure.

It’s also comical how much our heroes buried the lede on Oscar being the new Ozpin. And here, we get confirmation that Oz is still gone. Not present, not communicating with Oscar. I thought maybe they’d come to an understand, but… nope. He’s just gone. Which feels ominous, but also makes me wonder: what if Ozpin really is gone from Oscar? What if he’s in someone else? We’ve kind of assumed that couldn’t happen, but we don’t really know for sure. It’s a far out theory, and I don’t really think it’s true, but wouldn’t it be wild if he was now in Ruby—if Ozpin’s presence were at the heart of her reticence, her keeping Ozpin’s full story from Ironwood.

Of course, it’s probably better character development for Ruby if she just did that on her own.

But that leads me to another point, which is that it just kinda seems foreshadowed at this point that Ozpin will probably, somehow, be removed Oscar. Everyone’s been thinking of the aura transfer machine from volume 3, and at this point I’d say it’s likely that’s what the machine was always for in the first place: Ozpin, who after so many lives might be tired of having to inhabit the bodies of unwilling hosts. Ironwood, with Pietro’s help, was probably trying to find a way to free Oz from the cycle of death and rebirth, by transferring him permanently into a synthetic body. It seemed like a possible solution when Amber was attacked. But the machine had to have been in development before then.

When Ruby tells Ironwood that according to Ozpin, all the lamp’s questions were used up, Ironwood says “Right… right” in such a way that makes me think he either knows, or suspects, that this isn’t true. Probably suspects. He walks to the window and says thoughtfully, “Oz told us that too, a long time ago.”

So Ironwood no longer fully trusts Ozpin. And Ruby can’t fully trust Ironwood. Even Qrow is uncertain. I think Leo’s betrayal was a real blow to him.

But the moment that I think truly cements Ironwood’s character is that despite all that, he returns the relic to Ruby for safekeeping. It is a gesture of good faith that I think is pretty unlikely to be anything but genuine. I cannot imagine him parting with that relic if he truly only wanted power for himself.

The Ironwood and Qrow hug was beautiful. Whether friendship or romance, there is definitely some kind of deep connection between the two of them. Enough that Ironwood needed to tell Qrow, personally, that it was good to see him, and underscore his sincerity. And Qrow, when James hugs him… he smiles. He looks affectionate. It’s honestly really sweet.

Our heroes are about to get weapon upgrades! I do think it’s interesting the way Winter says this: “While assisting the military, we will provide you with the best equipment our scientists can devise.” And if they are no longer assisting the military…? Yeah, I do highly suspect our heroes will fall afoul of Atlas military again at some point.

This feels a strong opening to the new volume, and it’s laying out these themes of trust and distrust quite heavily, which I think will be very interesting to watch play out among all the characters involved. Most of all I’m looking forward to more of a character arc (read: any character arc) for Ruby, but there is a lot going on here in this new Atlas-centric part of the story. I’m excited to see more.

[star-killer89]

MY LITTLE PONY: FRIENDSHIP IS MAGIC: THE LAST PROBLEM *OPINIONS*

Daaaang, I can’t believe this is it.

After 9 years it came to an end...and so close to the actual Anniversary date too (from 10/10/2010 to 12/10/2019). If they wanted to do something special, they could have waited to conclude the series with a new season next year, since 10/10/2020 will be a Saturday, AND it will be the end on Season 10 on 10/10 after precisely 10 years! (10-ception!).

But, all in all, maybe it’s for the best, considering a lot of people, myself included, found that the last 2 to (someone even) 4 Seasons had started to fade both in quality and entertainment, so it might be better to stop here instead of keep beating a dead horse pony.

So, for the last time for this series, here’s my opinions:

I’ll start by saying I usually love time-skip final epiosdes/chapters, since I’m always pondering ‘Ok, but what happened to everyone once they defeated the final baddie(s) and went on with their lives?’

Which, unfortunately, it’s what many hate instead, since it sometimes limits the imagination of people who created their own stories set in the future for some characters or even makes canon things they might not like (especially when it comes to ships....more below).

To be honest, having Twilight transfer to Canterlot to rule over Equestria seemed really unecessary. I might understand if she still lived in the old Golden Oak Library (press F to pay your respect), but she already had a Castle she lived in Ponyville, with the seats for everyone of the other Mane6+Spike surrounding the Friendship Map from which they could rule as (almost) equals:

So why the hell did she need to move to Canterlot? Especially since we were proved time and again the Royal Guards are useful as much as the former Princesses of the Sun and Moon when it comes to protect anyone from threats!

Sad to say, unfortunately it was just a plot device to teach the lesson that ‘No matter if friends go on their separate ways, if they have a strong deep friendship, they will never grow apart’, which is good and all, but it still logically makes no sense.

One good thing though was seeing in both Canterlot and Ponyville different creatures starting to spread beyond their realms (Integration of different cultures for the win!) and that they could also apply for positions formerly given to just ponies, like Gallus having entered the Royal Guard or Yona and Sandbar taking care of Carousel Boutique, although I was a little disappointed to see that the Wonderbolts were still formed just by pegasi. How cool would have been to see Changelings, Hyppogriffs, Griffons and Dragons integrated in their ranks (damn elitist winged pony assholes)?

Speaking of Yona and Sandbar, as I said this is also the thing some people hate about time-skips: ships becoming canon or, more specifically, seeing their ship being canonically sunk.

Aside from Lyra and BonBon proposing in the last pre-ending episode and seeing them getting married on a newspaper in this episode (which I belive didn’t really upset anyone in the fandom), the other ships were really something else as for ‘dividing the fandom’.

From the episode alone, we might say that the official couples in the time-skip are:

Lyra and BonBon (as I said, made canon in the newspaper Twilight was reading while packing to move);

Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich (married and with AT LEAST 4 kids, considering Little Cheese had with her Boneless 6, since Cheese gave Boneless 1 to Pinkie which later turned into one of the keys to open the chest that contained the Tree of Harmony and he got Boneless 2);

Rainbow Dash and AppleJack (not confirmed, but very much implied with their whole discussion as they entered the room with Twilight and Spike);

Discord and Fluttershy (again, not really confirmed, but highly implied/possible);

Yona and Sandbar (once again, highly implied but never 100% confirmed, but I wouldn’t mind if they ended up together).

So, yeah.....loooooot’s of ships being sunk in the last 7 minutes of the show, with those from 3 to 5 being the most dividing ones (I myself also find odd the choice of having AJ possibly paired with RD, considered in the last few Seasons the show seemed to hint more towards a possible RariJack scenario, like the writers of Equestria Daily also seems to have embraced).

All in all, it is what it is and aside from the first two which are pretty much 100% canon, I still believe the fans may very well take those other pairings as not-couples and keep shipping the other Mane 6 with whoever they want.

As for Luster Dawn (BTW, what the hell is with Royalties and choosing to have their protégé having a name related to a portion of the day?), I found it quite clever to have her not wanting to spend time in making friends and Twilight deciding to send her to Ponyville to see the error in her reasoning:

And we also saw in the final song of the show the only indication that maybe, MAYBE the main show was connected to Equestria Gils (where so far we were only given proofs that the other way around was true, that the universe of Equestria Daily was connectied to the main show):

 Final Verdict: 8/10. A good way to say goodbye to the show.

Well, what can I say as my final thoughts? It was a wild ride in these last 8 years (since I caught up with Season 1 a few days before Season 2 started to air), with a lot of artists I discovered thanks to this show and even a small group of friends I made along the way. Some lost interest in the show or stopped to create new material for the fandom, but most of them I kept following and kept in touch with up to today, because this really is the Magic of Friendship, so I’d like to make some thanks. To Lauren Faust and the whole team of many MANY writers who created the show and kept going on even when Lauren decided to take a different way after Season 2. Thanks to Tara Strong, Andrea Libman, Ashleigh Ball, Tabitha St. Germain, Cathy Weseluck, Kelly Sheridan, John de Lancie and all the other voice actors/actresses and singers who gave their voice to our protagonists. Thanks to Hasbro, DHX Media, The Hub and Discovery Family for sharing this generation with us all. And a BIG thanks to the fandom. Whitout us, the show wouldn’t have reached this levels and wouldn’t have gone so far.

And, remember, as long as people will keep creating material with these characters, the fandom of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic will never really die!

Let’s see what Generation 5 will bring us, and as always: PONY UP!

[all-hail-the-witcher]

questionable government spies: chapter 12

well well well

here we meet again

its only been like huuuuuuu one two seven eleven months

jk 4 I think

anyway todayyy is the 1 year anniversary of this series that so many of you seem to enjoy for some reason

I would like to personally thank my physics teacher for not yelling at me for writing this every day last year in her class, twitch for keeping The Secret and especially fizz n mikey for doin the Encourage and also my sister for putting up with my planning sessions and editing my stuff

its gonna get Spicy kids

but not tonight ;)

HERE IS THE MASTERLIST or you can find it under #spy boys

_________

ship: blush, eventual spruce, the usual

words: 1979

warnings: lots of Bad sex jokes, alberts arm muscles, and black lace underwear

editing: yahhh

_________

quick recap: spot is working with al n race to take down The Gang. they just had their first Official Mission at a factory stealing fake snow and used oscars computer to email the person behind the gang. race has a sprained ankle and is very far gone for spot. Albert and Romeo work at medias coffee shop. blink and much are older than everyone by a few years and work as doctors at the fbi hospital.

________

Race pulled his blue scarf tighter around his neck as he hurried along 8th avenue. Curse Manhattan for being so cold and windy. He definitely hadn’t missed this part of living there.

Finally he stopped outside Medda’s coffee shop and dug around in his bag for the copy of Albert’s key that he had made. It was after 6 so Romeo and Albert were likely already beginning to clean up. Quietly, he unlocked the door and snuck inside.

There was whistling coming from the kitchen which Race immediately recognized as Albert and it was being accompanied by the most horrible off key singing that could only be coming from Romeo. Race smiled as he discarded his dance bag and scarf near the door, pulling his black trench coat around himself tightly as he inched in the direction of the kitchen.

He peeped around the corner and was greeted by the sight of Romeo pretending to be Cinderella as Albert acted out Prince Charming - or, at least that’s what it looked like to him - and had to bite his lip to keep from laughing. He backed up several feet to get a running start and launched himself into the kitchen, thrusting out his arms so his trench coat looked like wings and screamed menacingly before landing in a heap on the floor.

Romeo let out a yelp of surprise and there was the sound of a gun clicking.

“FBI. State your name, and get up slowly with your hands in front of you,” Albert spoke in a well-practiced tone.

Race dramatically flipped up off the floor. “GOTCHA!!” he screamed triumphantly, jumping in circles around his friends.

“Race?” Albert said disbelievingly, withdrawing his gun and putting it back in the holster. “What are you doing here? How did you even get in here? And why can’t you knock like a normal person?”

“I just wanted to see if you still remember the procedure for a 995,” Race smirked as he brushed himself off.

“A 995 is a self reported kidnapping,” Albert sighed. “Sudden entrance of a possible dangerous person is a 741.”

“Same thing,” Race said as he shrugged off his coat.

“It’s not the same thing!” Albert groaned. “They are two very different procedures which you would know if you stuck to- wait a second. Are you wearing dance clothes?”

Race looked down at himself as if noticing his clothes for the first times and Romeo stifled a laugh. “Oh, would you look at that,” he mused, “it would appear that I am.”

“Race,” Albert said, closing his eyes and pinching his nose. “You’ve got a sprained ankle, you shouldn’t be dancing. I told you not to dance today!”

“And I didn’t listen!” Race sang dramatically, doing 5 pirouettes for emphasis. “Really though, I’m fine. I’ll ice it when I get home. But I wasn’t about to pass up having a closing-up-shop dance party with Romeo again.”

“Oh!” Romeo said excitedly, jumping up and down and clapping his hands. “Can we?!”

“Why else am I here, broski?” Race winked, completely missing Albert’s look of complete and utter disapproval in the background.

“To annoy the hell out of us?”

Race considered. “Well, yes that too, but mostly to have a dance party,” he smirked. “Let’s just get out of the kitchen before Medda appears out of thin air and slaps me for being in here.”

“Oh shit, you right, you right,” Romeo said, chasing Race out of the kitchen with a spatula. Albert followed them out a few minutes later, shaking his head and smirking.

“Aright.” Race hopped up on the counter and opened his phone to Spotify, pulling up his and Romeo’s “Trash Pop Playlist” as Albert had so lovingly named it. “Let’s get this party started.”

“Aren’t you going to help us clean?” Albert called from the table he was wiping off.

“Nah man,” Race said, jumping off the counter as Party In The USA began blaring through the shitty bluetooth speaker. “I’m not an employee so therefore it’s not my job. Suck it.”

“Suck it?” Albert asked, his face screwing up in confusion. “What is there to suck?”

“DEEZ NUTS!” Race screamed, launching himself across the room in a single bound and tackling Albert to the floor, effectively using his elbow to pin him down as he stared deeply into his eyes. “You want some?”

Albert blushed furiously as his eyes looked everywhere but at Race. “Um, no….?”

“You sure babe?” Race winked, drawing out his words for extra emphasis. “Nobody can keep their hands off of this bod.”

Albert squirmed under Race’s hold. “I’m ace?”

Race rolled his eyes and crawled off of his friend, reaching down to help Albert up. “Ah yes, you have discovered the one loophole to my apparent charm.” He peeked over Albert’s shoulder and smirked. “Still got a nice ass though, babe.”

Albert slapped him lightly on the shoulder before returning to wiping the tables.

“Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?” Romeo asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Shut up and sing your Miley Cyrus crap,” Albert mumbled as he shot Romeo a look from across the room.

“ITS NOT CRAP!” Race and Romeo screamed at the same time.

Luckily for Albert though, the song changed before he could argue more.

Unluckily for Albert, the next song to play was Power by Justin Bieber.

Extra unluckily for Albert, Race and Romeo had an extremely shitty hip hop dance that went along with this song.

And most unluckily for Albert, the two of them had just jumped up on top of one of the - freshly clean, mind you - tables and begun to perform the nightmare choreography.

Race watched with a smirk as Albert rolled his eyes when he and Romeo reached the chorus. Just to annoy him, he kicked his leg extra hard so that his shoe flew off his foot and landed on the table Albert was cleaning.

“HEY!” Albert yelled, whirling around, his face hot with anger, but there was a hint of a smile tugging at his lips like he was fighting the urge not to laugh. The very look on his face caused Race and Romeo to stare at eachother and double over laughing.  “Keep your shoes on you dumbass.”

Against his better judgement, Race jumped down from the table and strode up to Albert, flexing as he could without laughing - which wasn't very hard. “What did you call me bro?” He asked in his best tough guy voice, sticking his chin up for good measure.

“You heard me,” Albert countered, also flexing, although his arm muscles were much more impressive than Race’s - curse his love for benching. “No shoes, no shirt, no service.”

Race flicked his eyes over to where Romeo was still standing on the table. He had pulled out his phone and was definitely recording. Race bit his lip, knowing that this next trick he was about to pull would be forever documented on snapchat and played on an endless repeat until the day he died. Oh well.

“Really now?” And with one aggressive yank he pulled his shirt over his head, causing it to rip a little, which he honestly wasn't even mad about, it just added to the overall effect. “Cause I’ve now got no shirt, no shoes, and I’d still get service.”

“You technically have one shoe still on,” Albert pointed out rather unhelpfully and Romeo scoffed behind the camera.

“Well then, if you're going to be so painfully literal,” Race turned around and did a glorious hitch kick, effectively wailing his other shoe off of his foot and behind the counter somewhere, ignoring the small crash that came with it. “There. No shirt. No shoes. And I’d still get service.”

“You're just quoting that Pitbull song,” Romeo whispered from his spot on the table.

Race flipped him off without taking his eyes off of Albert.

“That’s all you got?” Albert scoffed. Before Race could blink Albert’s shirt was on the floor and he was being thrown back and pinned on one of the table tops. “How’s that for service?” he winked.

“Is that all you got?” Race imitated Albert’s voice from earlier and raised his eyebrows.

Albert opened his mouth as soon as the door banged open and Mush’s booming voice filled their ears.

“Hello kiddos! The voices of reason have arrived and-” out of the corner of his eye Race could see Mush’s eyes flick over to where Albert had him pinned against the table. “-not a moment too soon apparently. Please, for the love of god, what the hell are you two doing? Are we shooting for the cover of Playboy and nobody told me? I would have brought my black lace underwear!”

“Hi Mush,” Romeo waved, still perched on the table.

“You have black lace underwear?” Blink asked, coming in the door behind Mush and shaking out his long dark hair like a dog would, effectively splattering snow and water all over his boyfriend. “Why haven’t I seen it yet?”

“Cause I’m saving it for after the wedding that's why,” Mush said, sticking his tongue out at Blink who rolled his eyes in annoyance as he pulled off his coat.

“YOU'RE ENGAGED?!” Race screeched, pushing Albert off of him as he ran forward to Blink and Mush, not caring that he was still shirtless and shoeless. “Who has the ring? Who proposed? When’s the wedding? Can I be the flower girl, I’ve always wanted to be a flower girl!”

“Whoa! Hold on bean stick!” Mush laughed. “Of course you can be our flower girl, first of all. I was going to ask you today actually.”

“He was,” Blink confirmed, putting his arm around Mush’s waist protectively as Albert and Romeo walked over. “And I proposed to him on our anniversary last month at the diner where we had our first date.”

“Awwwwww,” Race sighed and he saw Albert crack a smile.

“I cried,” Mush volunteered.

“Yes you did baby,” Blink said affectionately, leaning in to kiss his fiancee.

“Ew,” Albert groaned. “Take your pda elsewhere, some of us are trying to have a nice time here.”

“You're literally shirtless,” Blink pointed out and Albert looked down at his chest as if noticing it for the first time.

“Oh. Well…”

“Why don't you tell them what you were up to, hm?” Romeo raised his eyebrows.

“I was teaching Race a lesson in how to properly receive restaurant service,” Albert said confidently.

Blink looked confused at best and Mush looked intrigued. Romeo laughed and Race shook his head, suddenly remembering that he didn't have a shirt on either. Or shoes…

“Now, if you’ll excuse me,” Albert said. “I have to go get my shirt.”

“Hurry back,” Mush called. “I want to hear all about your field agent adventures. I feel like I haven’t seen you guys since I lectured you on the detriments of blowing up the weapons lab.”

•••

Albert had just finished recounting the time where they had accidentally released 100 five dollar bills into circulation when there was a knock on the window. Race looked up, surprised to see Spot standing on the other side, dressed haphazardly in adidas pants and a tank top despite the cold weather, a wild look in his eyes. He could almost ignore the butterflies swirling in his stomach as he noticed how toned Spot’s arms were. Almost.

Across the table, Albert made eye contact and the two of them rose while Romeo quietly explained to Blink and Mush what was going on.

Albert unlocked the door silently and Spot was on top of them in a second. Before Race or Albert could even get a word out, he was blurting out the reason for his unexpected visit.

“Thank god you guys are here,” he huffed, almost as if he had run there. “We got a response to our email.”

________

ooo a cliff hanger we Stan

DONT YOU GUYS LOVE BLUSH I DO THEYRE GREAT

also my sister said I used the word smirked too many times but I was too lazy to fix it

what do we think is gonna happen next yall

feedback is always appreciated hmu to be on the taglist

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@tea-and-theater

@thomasbeingthomas

@seasickdolphin

@auspicioustarantula

@newsies-of-ny

@mrs-higgins

@sunshine-e-cigarettes

@spot-me50-papes

@santafe-cafe

@papesdontsellthemselves

@king-of-new-yoirk

@deathcast-s

@the-poodles-of-pulitzer

@hopefully-not-the-ghostbusters

[shireness-says]

Playing the Part Epilogue: Superboy and the Invisible Girl (Reprise)

Summary: As a stage manager who’s clawed her way up from the bottom, Emma Swan can handle just about anything thrown her way. But does that include handsome lead actor Killian Jones? A CS Broadway AU.  Rated T. Also on AO3.  Prologue  Ch. 1  Ch. 2  Ch. 3Ch. 4  Ch. 5  Ch. 6  Ch. 7  Ch. 8  Ch. 9  Ch. 10  Ch. 11  Ch. 12 Ch. 13  Ch. 14  Ch. 15  Ch. 16  Ch. 17  Ch. 18

A/N: We made it, guys! Thanks for sticking with me through the slowest slow burn ever. I like to think it paid off.

Title taken from “Next to Normal”. Full disclosure, there is not a reprise of “Superboy and the Invisible Girl” in the musical. However, a reprise oftentimes takes the original song and builds upon it, adding extra verses to show development in plot. It seemed appropriate for this chapter, which has echoes of Chapter 13 (Also called Superboy and the Invisible Girl).

One last round of thanks to @snidgetsafan for her beta services, and an extra thank you to everyone who’s reblogged, liked, commented, or messaged me about this!

Tags: @kmomof4, @winterbaby89, @thejollyroger-writer, @mythologicalmango, @onceuponaprincessworld, @idristardis, @teamhook, @courtorderedcake, @aerica13, @revanmeetra87, @snowbellewells, @searchingwardrobes, @mystrangedarkson

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy this sappy conclusion!

Four years later

“Welcome back to Sign Off, everybody!”

Emma knows that Killian will do his ear scratch when he finds her watching his segment, but she wouldn’t miss this for the world. It’s like reliving a little bit of their history. Plus, it’s not every day that your spouse is on national television; skipping this would earn her “Bad Wife” points, or something.

He’s still bashful as he walks out, still kind of ducks his head when he waves and acts like he’s embarrassed to be there. You’d think after several years of magazine interviews and newspaper profiles and talk show appearances he’d lose some of that shyness and uncertainty, or at least get used to it, but some things never change. It’s a damn good thing she finds it cute.

Archie is as charming as ever, shaking Killian’s hand with an enthusiasm usually reserved for inside jokes. That’s just who the host is, though. “So, it’s been a while since we saw you last. I hear a few things have happened.”

“Oh, just a few.”

Hopper starts pulling out photos. “Pride and Prejudice was a hit.”

“Yes, a great group effort. They just closed a few months ago, congrats to everyone involved.”

The host shows a picture from his Tony speech. “You won a Tony for playing Mr. Darcy.”

“So they tell me. My brother kidnapped the statue.”

(That’s only halfway true. Yes, Liam had taken the statue for a while, setting up a popular Instagram account to display all the places he took the golden figure. One of those places had been Henry’s 6th grade English class, turning her son into a middle school celebrity for a couple of months. Though bringing Liam and Killian along with the award probably had something to do with that, too.)

Emma can just spot the Tony now from where she sits, bookending a cluster of novels on the top shelf of the bookshelf in her and Killian’s apartment. It had been a little bittersweet, leaving her old apartment where she and Henry had both grown and flourished, but she and Killian had both agreed that they would need more space. It’s worth it, anyways, to wake up next to Killian every day in a place that’s theirs. Emma misses living next door to Elsa some days, but now that Henry’s fifteen her supervision isn’t quite so needed anymore anyways. It would have come to an end regardless when Elsa had moved in with Liam in his fancy apartment. Emma instead contents herself with the knowledge that Elsa’s job at the Met - her dream job, really - means she and Liam will be based in New York for the foreseeable future, even if the latter occasionally does have to leave for filming in other locations. Killian likes to joke about his brother and Elsa “living in sin”, like they hadn’t done the same thing, but it does mean they still get to see Liam and Elsa fairly often.

Her real Killian walks back into the living room at that point. “Oh Christ, not this drivel. Emma, I’m embarrassed enough as it is, let’s find something else to watch.” He may gripe and groan, but he still collapses onto the couch beside her, letting out an appreciative and exhausted sigh.

“Oh, I’m watching this, babe,” she replies, smiling over at Killian before burrowing her head into his side. She knows by this point that he’s all bark; he’s a pushover, really, especially where his family is concerned.

She must have missed the introduction of his latest movie project – an interesting project portraying Pan as the villain of Neverland with Killian playing Captain Hook as a misunderstood rogue – because there’s publicity stills up on the screen when she redirects her attention back that way.

“My stepson’s a little upset, really, because he had the idea first,” the Killian on the screen explains. “Which, trust me, was not the reaction I was hoping for.”

“Hey, that was almost funny,” Emma comments, nudging him in the side as the audience laughs.

“It’s embarrassing, is what it is,” Killian grouses. It must be that thing where actors don’t like seeing their own work - Emma’s read about that before. It’s not going to stop her from affectionately picking at him, though, and it’s not going to keep her from watching the whole thing.

“And on a personal note, does everyone remember this moment from last time?” Archie asks, cutting to the clip of Killian talking about a certain prickly and dedicated stage manager. When the camera cuts back, she knows what’s coming, and smiles when she feels Killian press a kiss to her head as the host pulls out a copy of their wedding photo. “Well good news to all those shipping that on the internet, because you two tied the knot!” The audience cheers, and as Emma watches televised Killian grin widely, she thinks that’s the most comfortable she’s ever seen him in an interview. “Now, how long have you two been married now?”

“Coming up on two years, three months from now.”

He’d proposed one evening when Emma had least expected it. They’d talked about marriage before - considering that they were living together and in a committed relationship, having that conversation seemed like the responsible thing to do - but it had been a lovely surprise all the same. Killian had been waiting with the ring when she got home from work on a Wednesday, on bended knee and everything in their little foyer with Henry filming just around the corner. Killian had explained later, after the yes and the ring and an awful lot of kissing, that it had seemed important to make his proposal a family affair and include Henry. He loves her son, just as much as he loves her (albeit in a different way); Emma knows that, but it still means a lot that he’d included her son in their major life moment in that way. Henry had been a part of their love story, after all.

(Emma suspects that there may have been a conversation between Killian and Henry before the proposal as well where Killian had asked her son for her hand, but neither of them has ever fessed up to it, and she’s okay with leaving that as a man-to-man moment if they prefer it.)

The wedding had been a low-key affair, much to Mary Margaret’s dismay - just a little courthouse ceremony. Emma had never been the big white wedding type, though, had never had those dreams as a child. Now that she’s faced with the opportunity for all that, she finds that she doesn’t really want or need it. At the end of the day, they just want to be married; they love each other, almost to distraction, and waiting any longer than absolutely necessary feels like too great a burden.

Still, they’d done it up as much as the quick circumstances allowed. Emma had bought a clearance wedding dress that swished around her calves, and Killian had taken Henry to get a nice suit - his first, the sleeves and legs given extra length to be let out as the growth spurt from hell inevitably continued so they could get more than one use out of the damn thing. They had even arranged for a bouquet and boutonnières, even if Emma doesn’t know anything about flowers. As soon as Liam had arrived back in the city from filming in Atlanta, they had gathered all their friends and family on a dark Monday and made it official.

Henry stood as Best Man. Mary Margaret cried. Ruby wolf-whistled. And Emma had never been happier as Killian dipped her into a dramatic kiss.

“Are you happy, my love?” he’d whispered into her ear later at Granny’s. The older woman had gladly donated her diner for the reception, closing for the occasion so they could all eat cake and dance to jukebox hits.

“What do you think?” she’d quipped right back, before laughing and drawing him down into a kiss. It feels like they’ve come full circle; it feels like home.

(She may still be Emma Swan professionally, but there’s a certain thrill to hearing Mrs. Jones.)

“And one more thing…” Archie continues on the TV, drawing Emma’s attention back to the screen. If possible, televised Killian grins even wider: if what she thinks is about to happen is actually about to happen, she doesn’t blame him in the least. “… You two had a little girl.” The photo on the screen is a sweet one of her little fingers curled around Killian’s thumb. Emma knows it well; it hangs in the nursery, right next to the rocker where Emma’s lately been spending what feels like half her nights.

“We did. She just turned five months old last week.”

“And her name? If you guys are ok to announce it.”

“Hazel Elizabeth Jones.” The audience aws, which the tiny baby propped in her Papa’s arms here in their living room seems to find objectionable as she starts squirming and snuffling. “Emma and I thought it would be appropriate to pay homage to the show where we met.”

They’d had it in mind from the start, ever since they’d found out they were having a girl. There’d been a good bit of debate and waffling back and forth about the first name, but they’d always agreed on Elizabeth for the middle. Hazel hadn’t actually been on the shortlist, just something that’d they’d discussed and put aside, but then she’d arrived - six pounds four ounces, dark hair, loud cry, perfect, and it had just… fit. If there’s one thing Emma’s learned since Killian, it’s not to question a good thing.

Parenting now, 15 years after her first child, is both easier and harder. There’s an exhaustion that comes with age that’s only compounded by caring for an infant. It helps though, more than she can ever describe, to have a partner in this, not to mention a secure housing and financial situation. Killian’s a great dad - to both her children, really - and it’s a particular joy to watch him with their baby.

“You’re okay, lass, you’re okay,” he murmurs now, bouncing their daughter against his chest to attempt to calm her down. It works, thank God; Henry’s been great about all the changes in their lives and is lucky enough to sleep through almost everything, but Emma still doesn’t like taking that chance on a school night.

“Little drama queen,” Emma murmurs affectionately, tweaking a little sock-clad foot. She’d forgotten just how tiny everything about babies is somewhere in the decade and a half between Henry and Hazel, but has loved rediscovering it.

“Maybe she’ll be an actor like Papa one day,” Killian suggests, quirking a teasing eyebrow in Emma’s direction.

She snorts. “Not if Mom has any say in it.”

“What, you don’t think we need more actors in this family?” His tone conveys mock-insult, but Emma can see that twinkle in his eye that means he’s joking.

“Nah, she’s gonna be a techie. I can feel it.”

Emma can faintly hear Archie offerings his congratulations and asking about Killian’s upcoming turn as Harold Hill in a televised performance of The Music Man, but she’s not really paying attention anymore, too preoccupied with this moment with her little family. Maybe that was Killian’s devious plan all along - distract her from his talk show appearance with their very cute baby. She can’t really complain about that.

“Ah, well, I suppose I can’t argue that,” he concedes. “Not when her mother’s so brilliant at it.”

Even after all this time, a compliment from Killian can still make her blush. He knows it, too, which only makes him do it more. She loves that about him, though. Suddenly, it seems very important that she express that very fact.

“I love you, Killian.” She’s said it hundreds, thousands of times before, but it still strikes her with wonder every time, just how much she loves the man sitting next to her.

“I love you too, my Swan,” he replies, placing a careful kiss on her lips while trying not to jostle the baby.

Though Emma knew accepting that stage managing job almost five years ago now would change her life, she never imagined in a million years that she’d end up here, with a husband and baby and her son sleeping just down the hall in a life better than she ever could have fathomed.

She wouldn’t change a thing.

[aprilestrange]

Okay, Rant Time.

Alright, the amount of hate towards 2Nu in recent months is getting ridiculous. I know there’s always been 2Nu haters, but since Gorillaz is active again, the animosity is back and bigger than ever. It’s ridiculous. I can understand not liking shipping the bandmates with each other, but 2Nu really gets a lot of flack. And the detractors seriously love throwing terms around without caring, just so they can justify their hatred. It’s comedy fucking GOLD. One thing haters love to call 2Nu is “child grooming.” Do you even know what child grooming actually fucking is? Child grooming is defined as:

The constellation of psychological manipulations and actions taken by a predatory adult, meant to reduce a child’s fears and inhibitions, as a prelude to sexual abuse or exploitation by the predator or his/her associates. (thefreedictionary.com)

Oprah’s site elaborates on this more:

The grooming sex offender works to separate the victim from peers, typically by engendering in the child a sense that they are special to the child and giving a kind of love to the child that the child needs.

And during research, there are several steps to child grooming in order to get the sexual end result.

Targeting the victim (self explanatory. Most commonly look for children who feel isolated, emotionally needy, or have low self confidence)

Gaining the child’s trust (watching and gathering information on the child so they can know how to approach the child and lower their guard. The predator has to be slick and not act in a way to gain suspicion by the parents/guardians)

Filling a need (such as gifts, extra attention, etc.)

Isolating the child (constantly trying to create situations in which the predator can be alone with the victim. This in turn makes the connection stronger and the child trusts the abuser more. It can be even more reinforced when an offender cultivates a sense in thechildthat they are loved or appreciated in a way nobody else provides the child)

Sexualizing the relationship (going slowly by taking advantage of a child’s curiosity and then advance the sexual encounters the more time that passes. Through this, they make the child become a sexual being)

Maintaining control (the usual threats if the child tries to withdraw from the relationship. The child will by now be so afraid of losing their special relationship they’ll become docile in order to keep their abuser close to them.

Now, going over all of these points, does that really sound like something 2-D would do? Hell no! Child grooming is a drawn out process that not just anybody can pull off. It is INTENTIONALLY done. It requires quite a bit of planning and is a process that can take months to plan before execution. Now, no offense to 2-D, but he’s not exactly…smart enough to pull off something atrocious like this. 2-D is an adorkable goofball and he would never do something like this. Especially not to Noodle. Now, child grooming sounds more like something Murdoc would do if he were a pedophile. He seems the type to do something like that (and no, I’m not calling Nudoc pedophilia, either, I’m just saying. Out of the two of them, child grooming sounds more like something Murdoc would do rather than 2-D because he’s really despicable).

Another term 2Nu haters just love to throw around carelessly (and this applies to any fandom towards ships that have age gaps) is pedophilia. “Oh, you can’t ship 2Nu! It’s pedophilia!!!!!!1 1 ONE!!!!!” ….lolk. Do you people know what pedophilia ACTUALLY means? Hold that thought, it probably doesn’t mean what you think it means. Pedophilia is actually defined as:

An ongoing sexual attraction to pre-pubertal children…the fantasy or act of sexual activity with children who are generally age 13 or younger. (Psychology Today)

Now, again, does that sound like 2-D? Again: HELL NO. I don’t see how people continue to call 2Nu pedophilia to this very day when, in CANON, Noodle is almost THIRTY FUCKING YEARS OLD. I don’t think that a 39 year old being with a 26 (almost 27) year old is pedophilia. Now, if people ship 2Nu in Phase 1 and 2, when Noodle was 10-14 or so respectively, yes THAT can be considered pedophilia, but starting from Phase 3 and now, it’s NOT pedophilia. In Phase 3, Noodle was 20 years old. Phase 4, now, Noodle is about 26 years old. And in the UK, the age of adulthood is 18. So since in Phase 3, Noodle is 20, I don’t see how that can still be called pedophilia. And truth be told, I don’t see much fanart of Phase 1 or 2 2Nu. The few pieces that are around, it’s mostly just unrequited crushes Noodle has towards 2-D, nothing seriously romantic. But even so, quite a lot of Phase 2 2Nu art I’ve seen, the artist deliberately states that Noodle is of age in those pieces. Have you people never heard of aging up a character? I guess not. But I will agree, Pre-Phase 3 2Nu is very wrong. Besides, most 2Nu art that is around and is romantic depict them in Phase 3+. And don’t even get started with the stupid “B-but 2-D and Noodle have a 12 year age gap!!!!” because that shit’s annoying. Yeah, that’s quite a few years in between them, but it’s not that bad. Especially since, as I’ve said before, Noodle is of legal age. And it’s only 12 years between them. It’s not like Noodle is 26 and 2-D is 65 or whatever. Now with Murdoc, he’s many years older than Noodle. He’s literally old enough to be Noodle’s father. 2-D and Noodle’s age gap pales in comparison to the bigger age gap between Noodle and Murdoc. And I honestly don’t see Nudoc getting as much hate as 2Nu. *sighs and shakes head*

Also, “2Nu is abusive!!!” Ummm…LOL. No it isn’t. Never once has 2-D physically, mentally/emotionally, nor sexually abused Noodle and never will, so your argument right there is invalid.

And out of all the Gorillaz ships, 2Nu is the most plausible (in regards to the band members dating each other). It’s not hard to imagine Noodle always having a crush on 2-D. And yeah, you could argue that they’re like siblings, but there are plenty of pairings that are like brother and sister but end up together (aka main guy x main girl in almost every series). It’s honestly not as disturbing as Noodle and Russell. Russell is like a big brother to Noodle and like a father to her. He was the one who REALLY raised her like his own. Murdoc’s like that sleazy older uncle who is addicted to strippers but still cares for Noodle. 2-D is a bit like a brother, but again, it’s not hard to see Noodle having at least a one-sided crush on him after all these years. Also, they seem more like super BFFs than ONLY just like brother/sister.  Especially when she reunites with the band in “Rhinestone Eyes.” After being gone for about 5 years or so, I’m sure seeing him again would reawaken her feelings for him and make them even stronger. 2-D could start to view Noodle romantically after all these years, surprised by how well she aged and since she’s physically (and mentally perhaps) a lot different. And sure, 2-D would be freaking out and conflicted at first, but eventually he would get over it and love her back. Besides, even if he didn’t return her feelings, they’re best enough friends to not let something like that come in between them. Their zen bond is stronger than that.

And let’s not forget the official art that’s come out since Humanz came out. There’s one magazine cover that can be taken as romantic with how Noodle is posing with 2-D. Besides, there’s been a lot more art of 2-D and Noodle close to each other in this phase (there were a couple as well back in Plastic Beach, but not as many as there are now with Humanz). It’s nice to see how much closer 2-D and Noodle appear to be in Phase 4. And honestly, it isn’t hard to imagine someone not into Gorillaz mistaking these images implying the two are together.

It’s hilarious how haters are all “LOL friendship goals!!!” but if it’s Noodle next to Murdoc or something, it’s deemed “CANON LOLZ.” Seriously. Ah well, I’m also a victim of rose-tinted shipping goggles for other pairings myself, so I can’t judge too hard. *shrugs* Also, quit getting super peeved when someone likens “To Binge” or any song from Plastic Beach to 2Nu. Let people do whatever they want. If someone thinks “To Binge,” or “Broken,” is a 2Nu theme, then for crying out loud, let them think that! That also goes for “She’s My Collar,” too. Stop giving people shit because they’re “not understanding the song’s real meaning/message!” or whatever.

So, in short, those are my defenses to the two biggest anti 2Nu arguments that I see everywhere, and then some. Now, it’s fine to not ship 2Nu, but you really shouldn’t cross-tag into the pro 2Nu tag and start attacking anyone and everyone that ships it. It doesn’t make you look any better, really. And that goes for any other Gorillaz pairing. If you don’t like a pairing, that’s fine, just don’t go all ballistic when you see your NOTP. And seriously, stop cross tagging. It’s seriously irritating and makes you look like a huge asshat. Stop ruining the fun for shippers and everyone else. Stop causing fucking drama. This isn’t the SU (or insert other insanely dramatic, toxic fanbase here) fandom for crying out loud! Also, holy crap, Noodle is almost 27, let her get fucking romance already! Stop treating Noodle like she’s still that little 10-year-old girl.

TL;DR: Let people ship whatever the fuck they want in the Gorillaz fandom and stop giving them shit for liking said pairing. Especially 2Nu. Seriously, stop trying to start shit.

ALSO, stop calling 2Nu shippers pedophiles. None of us are. You motherfuckers literally made somebody suicidal because of the petty name calling. Fuck you.

[lotrewrite]

8/19 Chat Recap

Same as the previous recap - I'm mostly keeping the comments intact! Putting the more fun/general stuff above the cut:

SNEAK PEEK of the COLORED tarot cards: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/jq1lm3nd64sx9d3/AAC5qUDB6EvTK28tqE1zffExa?dl=0

Playlist: I think we really need an official playlist for this? There's no depression in new zealand, yo ho, come on eileen, istanbul not constantinople...POC crossed with AC Black Flag music...XD Backstreet boys in the 90s! ep. 13 playlist has to be mercedes sosa; argentinian singer who had to go into exile during the dictatorship. I’m Henry the Eight I Am for the Tudor episode, plus Pastime With Good Company someone should make a playlist for all the episodes maybe when we're posting the episodes I'll make a music suggestion post each day :) that way people can suggest songs based on the final version

INTROS:

We should try to split them up semi-evenly, but also depending on who the episode focuses on.

1 – Mick?

2 – [Ray] [proposed]

3 – [Nate] [proposed]

4 – Sara

5 – Jax

6 – Lisa

7 – [Stein] [proposed]

8 – Rip

9 – Mick

10 – Amaya

11 – Jax

12 – Gideon

13 – Len

14 – Sara

15 – Stein

16 – Hosts

17 – [Ray] [proposed]

18 – Amaya

19 – Mick

20 – [Legion] [proposed]

21 – [Legion OR Sara]

22 - Len

Thoughts? There's only one Ray one so far, despite him having several Ray-centric episodes. Not sure what we would switch, though!

General Points:

can O!Len change his clothes? He had a beer from somewhere in ep6 I think, so can he have objects? i think it'd make more sense if he's 'full ghost' so to speak; I think he can't change his clothes or interact with objects until later in the season. As much as I'd love for more dress-up for Len, I think he works best as a ghost

Interesting consistency note: Because Anne gave away the spear piece, her life went to hell. That is a terrifying but wonderful thought. we have something similar with Ching and her history, because she also suffers defeats after her spear piece is gone And technichally the ship in new zealand sinks after they take the piece, too They could have had a chance to change their fates but they lost/gave away the spear pieces and thus couldn't

Stephanie Fisher - we should at the very least give her a shout-out for all her wonderful comments. I vote we give Stephanie some kind of award, not just for the comments, but for ALWAYS catching Damien Darhk's name and correcting it!!!!!

just generally, I really love the snarky Gideon we have. And Jax. I love Jax so much this season. and I even like Stein again! I wasn't a big fan of Ray, but I think we've managed to redeem him as well and Sara is actually the badass captain we wanted her to be

Sara's journey is soooo good. Ray here is isolated, but not so terribly self centered like he was on the show. Like, as the season goes, he goes from being traumatized and lonely, to struggling with his identity, to accepting his identity and...I guess, growing more comfortable with himself and others??

Oh, question: Does Gideon still call Rip Captain Hunter and Sara Ms Lance? Or Mr Hunter and Captain Lance now? I think I went with both of them being called Captain

MaryWisdom might just do a German translation; DaughterOfScotland can help

just checking, we're all having Queen Bee use the amulet for her powers, right? Yes

Episode 9 Turncoat was my favorite canon ep and I feel like it only got better Jax and Amaya were so much better here than canon's "cuddle for warmth pwp" I feel like the rat sequence in ep 9 is actually a really great lead-up to episode 10 btw since we're talking about Ray, I really hope somebody makes one of those little things that fly across your screen with Ray and his rocket boot, and maybe the poor rat too XD

Episode 10 Because ep 10 was /also/ AMAZING that intro sequence was gold from start to finish There was so much world-building, character-building, and humor I really liked the villain sequences too There's some great exchanges there! The interactions were really in character! Oh, and the Amaya sequences with the British? PERFECT I love how Amaya continues to question her own knowledge and keeps evolving it was just such a fun ride honestly I think the lead up to Ray using the cold gun worked too? Oculus!Len giving it the tacit OK was such a balm Len is SO BORED he just wants to see Ray totally fail and laugh and Ray screwing up just worked so well as symbolism for his identity struggles also, I am so sad this isn't actually visual/audio because now I want someone to put together a short clip with the Waverider flying away, then pan down to a ship and you hear the "yo ho" song

Episode 11 I'm a bit bummed we haven't been able to fit in Stein singing, but I'll look over it again and maybe we can find a spot Maybe we could get that into episode 11? I've had there's no depression in new zealand stuck in my head for almost two days now btw episode 11, any more comments, or should we go back to it next week once people have had a chance to look it over? prob the best to look at it again tbh

Episode 12 OH MY GOD 12!!! THE TERROR! it was so good KAKO YOU MADE ME SCREAM literally, my phone rang during the Mick scene and I legit screamed the way you worked in the movie references so organically was genius THE LEN REVEAL WAS PERFECT was the ending scene of 12 okay? the scene with Mick and Sara I liked it a lot that was beautiful I knew I was gonna love this episode the moment it was pitched, but you exceeded all my expectations <3 so well done it's perfect That episode is definitely going to turn heads. It is very different compared to the rest and will stand out! perfect for the mid-season finale Is there a way we can make it a real mid-season finale? aka not post for aday or two afterwards? Well, if we start posting on the 1st and it's 22 episodes, with a month of 30 days... if we started on Sept 4 and posted every day, I think we'd end up with it falling on a weekend Sept 4, posting every day, would make 12 fall on a Friday We could then restart the next Monday

Episode 13 I LOVE THE INTRO I like the "did you learn that in school?" mention. Because the history classes suck yes that is a GREAT cold open the episode was really powerful also, the umbrella scenes were hilarious it really was, the tension followed throughout and was quite perfectly cut through with the UTTERLY FLAWLESS umbrella scenes Also, bitching Legion. This is great, seeing as we want them to implode also: the Len and Gideon scene <3 basically everything was fantastic i know we need to add the rip intro scene, but is there anything else you think we should work on? there were a few suggestions, but those are already in the google doc - overall I think it was an incredible episode, and you guys should be proud - you dealt with a really heavy topic really well Quick question to eisode 13... the Spanish they all got the pill, but we kind of wanted to show the other side of it, like what it sounded like to the woman at the bakery Like the Legends go into the bakery - then we see the woman working inside and it's from HER perspective, and there's spanish dialogue and then it switches to english and we're back to the Legends POV If you wanted it from the woman's POV, maybe start the scene with the woman? as in, she's working inside the register, and then some guys come in and buy stuff and then stay with her a second as they walk out and she's kinda wondering what's up, then shrugs and goes back to work then we jump back to the Legends talking in English she picks up on Mick being distracted by something that's not there i keep craving churros every time I look at this episode I loved how you guys mixed in the light-hearted scenes in with all the heavy stuff yeah it was really well balanced RIP EXITS, PURSUED BY MICK!!!

Episode 14 Sara saves the timeline with a threesome XD nuff said LOVED the bit where Amaya realises that Sara is dancing with the King! So fitting, too, because of my episode following with all the Shakespeare :D I think... I think I didn't actually mentioned an abberation? Just the spear piece rip found there Alternatively Rip is using his Time Master skills to find a piece before it ever causes an abberation That was what I was going for. He finds it, or thinks he did ooh. i like that. but if it is that then i don't think you should mention the witchcraft rumors The rumors that she bewitched Henry had been around for a long time already. Thy say that tht's the reason he left his wife and Rip thinks it's related to the spear piece but it's just generally people being shit can I just say, I really loved all the scenes with Amaya and Jax? seconded My only thing to add is, and I think I mentioned that in the comments, that it would be great if you could fit the Legion in somewhere Yeah, I agree with you. I'll put it in that they arrive late and Len is like "I got this", I think Before I forget: can I suggest Sara to narrate the intro? the last one she did was ep4

Episode 15 basically Kendra's Old West incarnation and the New York Riots incarnaton exist at the same time OW!Kendra doesn't have a name, so she *could* be Josephine from the NYR 8 years prior and that would make that Carter Hannibal  but then her Carter should be named Hannibal, not Shay :( his name could be Hannibal and then he goes by Shay Or he could've changed his name when they moved out west due to being wanted under his old name Just... don't explain it. Leave it for the reader to figure out. And wonder :P (for what it's worth, I thought 15 was delightful and SO GOOD at actually USING history the way a time travel story should) More next week

Episode 19 I could knight Ystina! that would be AWESOME!

[delightfully-frazzled]

This is How Head Canons Die, Pt. 2: Rosa McClain

I posted this beautiful head canon a few days ago I’d had about Lance’s hotheaded little sister (which is sadly dead, thanks to sdcc2017). I was asked to expand on it more (hey thanks @cyan-not-blue​) and couldn’t say no because I love this girl. I don’t really have a fic (yet? who knows), but here’s some stuff I’ve fleshed out about her!

Her name is Rosa. Lance calls her Rosebud (or yema in Spanish). She calls him Lancelot (or caballero (knight) in Spanish). Lance loves her so much.

If Lance is the ocean then she’s a hurricane.

She’s shorter than Lance (somewhere between Keith and Pidge) and curvy. Same skin tone as Lance, same deep blue eyes, softer facial features. Slightly darker hair, pretty long, always messy.

She’s about 18 months younger than Lance. They’re the middle children in the family and were sometimes overlooked, but that was okay because they had each other.

Has a huge heart but is also feisty as hell– especially if you trash talk her family. Lance was constantly trying to calm her down and talk her out of fights (*cough* like a certain red paladin I could mention *cough*)

Was afraid of storms when she was little. 

She used to crawl into Lance’s bed whenever there was a storm at night and he would sing to her.

“La Vie en Rosa” was her favorite (for obvious reasons). He sang it to her whenever she was sad. She’s the reason Lance learned to play the ukulele. 

Took up kickboxing (at Lance’s suggestion) when she was 12 to channel her aggression. She can drop-kick literally anybody and 100% will fight you. And kick your ass.

The definition of “ride or die.”

Seriously don’t get on her bad side.

But she’d also literally do anything for her friends.

Swears solely in Spanish (and often).

A master at racing video games, and isn’t afraid to use her elbow for defensive maneuvers.

Strictly a Mac user.

Probably a Gryffindor. (Maaaaaybe Slytherin)

Loves indie movies. Watches Guillermo del Toro’s works religiously.

Hates tourists. Regularly gives them incorrect directions or pretends she doesn’t speak English. Also hangs out in cheesy tourist shops and talks up the value of crappy trinkets. The store owners give her free candy bars or drinks all the time.

Went through a hardcore emo stage for about a year. Her eyeliner game would have rivaled Space Dad Shiro’s. Still regularly wears her black combat boots.

Secretly obsessed with the current boy band craze but will kill anyone who finds out.

Pansexual but has never been in a serious, committed relationship.

Is the only person Lance trusts to cut his hair. 

Thinks human babies are kind of gross but would literally die for any smol, fluffy animal she sees. 

Wants a big house when she’s older so she can adopt all the animals.

Probably would have died from cuteness overload if she’d met Pidge’s Ghibli fluffball friends in s2e1.

Gets really hyper from too much caffeine.

Reaction to Lance’s disappearance and how she ends up in space under the cut, yo. Currently working on  The Reunion™ for later.

Grew up tinkering in their tio’s auto shop. She loves all things cars.

She was going to a well-renowned trade school to become a mechanic while Lance was at the Garrison.

She and Lance used to Skype (or the equivalent) at least once a week while they were away at school. Most of it was gossiping about their classmates and professors in Spanish. 

Lance always asked her if she was keeping up with her skincare. She always said of course she was. (She wasn’t.)

Lance wouldn’t shut up about his rivalry with this moody mullet kid? Rosa wasn’t sure who he was, but she was pretty sure she’d enjoy punching him in the face.

She liked talking shop with Hunk for a while if he was in the room. Hunk loved hearing more about Lance as a kid (much to Lance’s embarrassment). He thinks Rosa and Lance’s nicknames for each other are literally the best thing to happen to the world.

After Lance’s disappearance, the Garrison offered little to no information about what happened to him and his two other classmates. The official story was that the three of them died in a freak accident during a training exercise. Any request for more information was strictly “classified.”

Rosa used to love the stars– especially Lance’s stories about them. Now she blames them for taking her brother from her.

Rosa didn’t believe the Garrison’s flimsy story and decided to take matters into her own hands. She dropped out of her trade school and joined the Garrison as a mechanic instead. She pulled a Pidge and snooped around for information on Lance and the others as often as she could. 

After some less-than-legal information-gathering, Rosa found the surveillance footage of the night Shiro crash-landed– and saw the paladins racing away of Keith’s sand speeder thing.

Using the Garrison’s government version of Google Maps (and sheer stubbornness), Rosa found Keith’s shack in the desert. Studying the maps and notes eventually led her to the cave where the others found Blue.

The cave drawings illuminated at her touch and she fell into Blue’s chamber like the others had. However, instead of finding a cool giant sentient Lion robot ship, she stumbled across a platoon of Galra soldiers who had been send to find out what they could about the Lions and paladins. They didn’t find much but were more than okay with taking a feisty little captive on board instead.

Rosa was kept in a Galra prison for several weeks until she and the other prisoners were liberated by Rebel fighters.

She immediately joins the Rebel cause and spends every second she can tinkering with the alien ships. 

She “upgrades” their rides whenever she can. One ship has a flamethrower on the front, one can emit a nonlethal knockout gas, one can function as a flash bomb, and every ship she rides on suddenly has a souped up sound system.

She volunteers for any mission that takes her to a Galra prison, hoping desperately to find Lance in a cell or learn his whereabouts from other prisoners.

She obviously knows about Voltron. However, the paladins as described by other alien races are usually some fantastical, super menacing unknown race from a hellish planet millions of light years away. Every account is a little different. She doesn’t care much.

Like I said, I’m working on The Reunion™ and hopefully will post that tomorrow. Lmk other specifics you want to know!

[chromemuffin]

Shoukoku no Altair Liveblogging (Chapter 12)

Yeah, this took a while to get through for some reason.

It’s already the third volume! And yet Mahmut’s journey is just barely getting started...

Anyway, a lovely cover as always. The style is a little different here, definitely going for a much harsher look, though still elegant. (but how the hell do you draw such intricate patterns without getting dizzy). I like the crescent moons on his belt the most. Also, that’s an interesting sword. Can’t really tell if it’s his usual curved one. It doesn’t look like a straight blade though.

Aaanyways, looks like it’s back to the Balt-Rhein people. I am considerably less interested in them than others in the cast, but ok.

Chapter 12: The City by the Lighthouse

Ah yes, Louis. I haven’t really missed you. Interesting um, port town? Maybe. It’s well defended. Though there are some nasty whirlpool things in the upper right, and a little sea monster at the bottom.

OH, I see. The whole thing is supposed to look like a chess board, with the city surrounded. Haha that’s why the wall around the town looked a little weird.

Nice perspective here, it makes the ships look very tiny next to the imposing wall/barrier like structure with the heavy chains half submerged. Which makes sense, in context of the ocean, though we can’t see much of the water.

Helloooo Mahmut. Looking a lot better compared to last chapter. He has a much lighter expression here as he muses about the origin of the pyramis charm.

And once again, I like how the random townspeople all look different from each other. This time, the townspeople are clearly dressed differently from the other towns we’ve seen. Which makes sense, considering its real life counterpart.

rawr

It’s cute. In a weird way.

New character! I guess he’s a jewel merchant or something?

I wouldn’t really call this advice, but a little heads-up. That came a little too late. But, you live and you learn.

I wonder if Mahmut ever gets to travel without everyone finding out who he is the first day he steps into town. He’s not very good at staying low-profile (though a giant bird following him around doesn’t really help matters...).

When does Mahmut not get caught up in some kind of trouble? Helpful guy is not actually being very helpful.

It’s all part of the learning experience, I guess.

It’s clearly intentional, but I am nonetheless continually amazed by how tiny Mahmut looks next to, well, almost everyone he meets.

but lol “I see you are quite devoted to your worship. I have indeed heard of how faith in the water spirit is a national characteristic of Turkiye.”

The pyramis really is a clever way to contact fellow spies. But judging by this guy’s tone of voice and the cult people from the last chapter, I’m not sure it will hold up for that much longer.

He recovers his composure very quickly, for how easily he gets surprised in the first place, and I appreciate that.

Ohoho that play is going to haunt him for the rest of his life, probably. But lol at the intimidating “The Phoenician Magistros Constantinos wants to see you.” And then we get this smiley guy.

My thoughts exactly.

BUT AT LEAST WE GET FURNITURE I CAN MAKE SENSE OF. Kinda hard to see, but the little feast laid out is neat. Though those cups with tentacles hanging out are a little...

I’m dying.

Welp, that’s the ancient world for you. Poor Mahmut, getting interrogated.

It sort of doubles as a really weird table decoration, so...

Ah, but we get back to business in the next panel. Apparently the Balt-Rhein peoples are in the area.

DON’T JINX YOURSELF DUDE. Look at what you did. The city’s probably going to get attacked now.

Oh, but you are sort of hoping the Empire attacks...? Interesting.

And an interesting stance here. “With power comes responsibility” I suppose. So what is the Empire currently doing to those it has taken over? You’d think that any empire’s methods of expanding/gaining control over other lands would be quite similar no matter the times, but this guy implies that the Balt-Rhein Empire isn’t doing right by its own people not to mention trying to conquer its neighbors.

Interesting.

I was going to skip this panel, but Mahmut’s tiny mouth, lack of face, and the fact that Iskander is a ball with a vague beak-like dot on him is too good to pass up.

Is this Mr. Glorious Hair whose actual name escapes me at the moment.

Also, I love how everyone saunters while walking down a random street in town late at night with almost no one to see them.

Y’know, maybe you’d be more welcome if you stopped trying to invade your neighbors. Just a suggestion.

Once again loving the designs of the background and secondary characters. I guess this is a gathering of officials in the city? In any case, Apollo is the only one pleased by this turn of events.

Iskander does in fact sleep with him. :3 which is why he takes him up to the rooftop with him alll those chapters back when Shara was staying over his place. Iskander is also getting more and more poofy and round like a turkey or something lol.

Aww not a morning person, I see. I also wonder what he’s wearing? I think that shirt is just the one he wears normally under the red vest....thing (it’s not a vest but I don’t know what it’s called). The little buttons and bindings are a cute touch. (I do think we’ve seen him wear this to sleep before, I just forgot which chapter...)

lol why is Mahmut needed to sit in on the debate. In fact, his position and status is sort of in limbo now. Everyone is used to calling him Mahmut Pasha though.

I don’t really have anything to add to this conversation other than that both sides have realistic arguments.

I’m glad the Empire has at least one weakness, naval warfare, I hope this stays true for a while. It’s gotta have something it’s not good at.

OH NO, watch out Mahmut! They’re gonna come for you now. He was just minding his own business, listening, getting slightly concerned, and now he got dragged into the argument as proof that the Empire can be defeated.

Which, if you think about it, was actually quite important in the grand scheme of things. It seemed like a tiny event and Mahmut himself seems startled/shocked that they’re blowing the event way out of proportion. Except, it probably wasn’t as insignificant as he (or I) was thinking.

Hisar was an important town, and several of the Empire’s people weaseled their way in and made the locals help them take over. But Mahmut, through some quick-thinking, actually managed to thwart it. Considering the Empire’s military might, I can see how this guy would use it as evidence that they aren’t as omnipotent as they seem.

lol he was not anticipating this.

Ooh, and now he gets to tell his side of the story! I like how he tries so hard to clear misconceptions up every time people blow the events out of proportion, though.

I also like how he can sometimes be a great orator, even during some odd moments (like when he was going to sacrifice himself because he felt guilty for getting Suleyman hurt), and other times he wavers a bit like here. You can tell by his speech bubbles that he’s not 100% confident here. It’s awkward for him, since people keep building him up to be this amazing hero in stories.

Tough spot here.

On one hand, he’s urging them not to start a WAR on the basis of false information and misconception. On the other hand, lol, he’s basically urging them to give into the Empire because it’s hopeless to win against them.

These boatsssss. (or ships). Very nice details. So pretty. But menacing.

lol no one is infallible. 

NO THAT IS A VERY BAD IDEA.

Are there like. No military leaders in this place or. This guy is a tradesman, so him supporting a compromise that doesn’t end in war and all that messy business entails is sort of understandable. I forget how these debates and assemblies worked in that area of the world back then so.

lol be a little more self-aware, kid.

OH. That’s not your real hair.

yippee?

Probably not, but. The alternative wasn’t too good either.

I’m rooting for you guys, but the issue is that Phoenica probably hasn’t waged war against anyone for quite some time. The Empire certainly has been militaristic for a while now, while Phoenica seems to have become a place of mainly trade and commerce. That could be an issue.

He’s not going anywhere, but yeah, it would be wise to get out of there while you can.

Determined Mahmut makes his (re)appearance.!

And that’s a wrap! Sorry this took so long to get out. This was a fairly long chapter, and I’ve been really busy lately.

← back・onward →

[medicatemedrmccoy]

Holy Survey Batman

I was tagged by @outside-the-government  (*shakes fist* haha j/k <333 )

Tagging: I haven’t kept up with who has and hasn’t been tagged. If anyone wants to, feel free and tag me :D

Keep reading tag because fuck, 85 questions, good lord.

1. Drink? Red diamond tea at work, homemade at home with a smattering of water here and there

2. Phone Call? My last phone call or who I call the most?  Hang on let me dust off my recent calls list. Oh, right, no one, because even my mother knows to send me a FB message at the least if she wants to get ahold of me. Phone calls are the devil.

3. Texting? Oh lord, I have a ton. The bff, my mom, my dad, handfuls of random friends at any given time, coworkers, boss, will include tumblr messaging - same thing, @imoutofmyvulcanmind @bkwrm523 @arrowsshootyouforwards all day everyday<33 . I like to chit chat, can you tell? xD

4. Last song you listened to? I’m weird, I had It Ain’t Me - Kygo & Selena Gomez playing on my phone and had Just Like Fire - P!nk on my laptop.

5. Last time you cried? About a month or so ago after some bad news

6. Dated someone twice? Oh yeah, I should have saw all the warning signs way back when.

7. Kissed someone and regretted it? Yes, god so much

8. Been cheated on? Yes, it fucking sucks. Do everyone a favor and end the relationship first if you’re even thinking about cheating.

9. Lost someone special? Yes

10. Been depressed? Quite frequently

11. Gotten drunk and thrown up? Hahahaha oh god yes, but that’s a story for another time kiddos

Favorite Colors

12. Blue

13. Purple

14. Grey

In the last year have you…

15. Made new friends? *gestures to all of Tumblr* All of you lovely people, and quite a few local ones.

16. Fallen out of love? Oh hell to the yes.

17. Laughed until you cried? Ahhh earlier today, but that’s also another story for a different time

18. Found out someone was talking about you? Uhhm, nope? Because I will talk shit about me right along with you haha

19. Met someone who changed you? I don’t think I’d use changed, as much as I would say someone who helped me get back to some semblance of the person who I used to be

20. Found out who your friends are? Hahahahaha oh yes. Let’s just say I had to make all new ones, from the ground up.

21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list? Yup.

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know irl? The majority of them but I have a few close internet friends that I have on there.

23. Do you have any pets? I wish :(

24. Do you want to change your name? Yes

25. What did you do for your last birthday? Sat in my house quietly and waited for it to pass.

26. What time did you wake up? 5:30am almost everyday I cry. My brain thinks I like to be up at that time most days. Sometimes earlier

27. What were you doing at midnight last night? Cruising reddit, or playing a game/reading most likely

28. Name something you can’t wait for: Summer to be over. Is 121F even sustainable for life? Someone send us some cool air.

29. When was the last time you saw your mom? Sunday

What happened to 30?

31. What are you listening to right now? The AC chugging along, trying to keep up with this heat and The Sun Will Rise - Kelly Clarkson

32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom? I probably have in all reality, but I can’t think of any off the top of my head so I’m going to say, no.

33. Something that is getting on your nerves? The fact that I bought this house brand new barely a year ago, and its fucking falling apart already it seems xD, the cost of buying a car tag/plate, this fucking heat, work, ect

34. Most visited website? Aside from Tumblr? Probablyyyyy Reddit

35. Hair color. Darkish brown

36. Long or short hair? Short, short, super short!

37. Do you have a crush on someone? Nah, ain’t got time for that nonsense.

38. What do you like about yourself? Uhhhh, fuck, can I phone a friend?

39. Piercings? Just one in each ear. I am not very exciting, Im sorry.

40. Blood type? AB+, iirc

41. Nickname? Kat, kitten, neko, gato and basically anything else anyone comes up with

42. Relationship status? siiinngglee but I’m taking applications

43. Zodiac? Virgo/Libra cusp

44: Pronouns: She/Her.

45. Favorite TV Show: Oh geez. Maybe Game of Thrones? Walking dead? Supernatural(although not so much as of late) Its really hard to choose :(

46. Tattoos? Nope, although I do want one

47. Right or left handed? Right.

48. Surgery? Oh lord, uh I fell through a window when I was like 4, so that was pretty extensive surgery on my hand and foot, still have the scars, drunk driving accident when I was around 15(wreckage inspiration), lasik on my eyes, which has failed already(hello glasses my old frienddd), TFCC tear on my wrist(fucking sucked) and I think thats it?

49. Piercing? See question 39…?

50. Sports? I used to play soccer up until high school, not much anymore unless you consider the occasional jog a sport? I like to go kayaking as much as possible, also not sure thats a sport?

51. Vacation? Vacations? What are those? I haven’t had a proper vacation since I went to Cancun in like 2002.

52. Pair of trainers? I am a woman who loves shoes, please don’t make me choose. I do dig my Roos and Nikes though

53. Eating? shelled peanuts

54. Drinking? Water and tea.

55. I’m about to? Get a hand cramp typing out all these answers

56. Waiting for? For my metaphorical ship to come in *grows beard*

57. Want? Someone to come and knock on my door and either hand me a big check, or say “Hi, I’d like to take care of you and pay your bills for the rest of your life.”

58. Get married? Hell no, never again. See #8

59. Career? Im a jack of all trades, master of none at the office. My title encompasses a lot and don’t have a specific title, but mostly Accounting.

60. Hugs or kisses? Hugs

70. Turned someone down? Yup, its becoming old hat at this point

71. Sex on the first date? No, hello demisexuality

72. Broken someones heart? Yes, it was pretty terrible. I still feel awful about it

73. Had your heart broken? That would require you to have a heart in the first place, right?

74. Been arrested? Not officially, but since my uncle is a sheriff, some of the guys think its hilarious to pull me over in town.

75. Cried when someone died? Yes.

76.. Fallen for a friend? Yeap

do you believe in…

77. Yourself? Hahahaha nah, I’m just wingin it

78. Miracles? Uhhhmmm, no, not really, just circumstances.

79. Love at first sight? Nah

80. Santa Claus? Nah, never did, my dad is a scrooge and never put up the charade

81. Kiss on the first date? Eh, it depends, usually its just awkward, or that could still be my demisexuality talking

82. Angels? Only the angels among us. In the medical field, saving lives, the people feeding the hungry, clothing the homeless. The people here trying to truly do good.

83. Current best friends name? I’ll go with two. Local - Tamara and here @imoutofmyvulcanmind aka loveable little nerd aka Luci

84. Eye color? Hazel. Brown inner ring with green on the outside

85. Favorite movie? Definitely Wonder Woman now. Sorry Star Trek :(

[taraparker]

OC Questions

so I was asked about three of my ocs by @lemememeringue

Phoenix questions 1, 11, 17

1. What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)? I was looking to add on to my collection of angels andI really wanted a fallen. So I was exploring a website that I used for the seasons that I took over and Zodiacs and found him. Appearance I thought long and hard about for a solid month(ish) before deciding on a look. Backstory just kind of happened on all it's own I suppose, I didn’t really try very hard. Deciding on whether or not Ornias should be his twin was actually brought up my by gf, she asked and I said sure.

11. Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation? *laughs* It was actually joked about this boy’s sexuality with the whole “Phoenix you’re flaming.” comments and then I kinda decided hey what if he was gay? So with the encouragement of my gf and friend I made him super hella gay. I regret nothing with making him that way, I love him no matter what.

17. Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?  …………...his asshole of a first boyfriend. I regret putting him through that, but I gave him Max to start out with so I like to think that makes up for the hell I put him through. He deserves good things, it’s a weird thing that I do to OCs. You’re not officially mine until I do something horrible to you. I still have yet to do that to Max but his turn will come in Stolen Goods eventually. Spoilers.

Tara questions 3, 4, 12

3. How did you choose their name? Tara was my very first OC but in a totally different universe and piece of writing that will never ever see the light of day again. I pulled her from that story and put her in a different one after watching Doctor Who. eventually she kind of developed her own life away from that but it’s still based in the dw universe if that makes sense.

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts? Probably having to spend quite a bit of time with a different family that she developed quite the bond and relationship with (she actually begged her adopted parents for a brother and sister because she felt lonely without one) she believed she was human for a long time until that reality was nearly ripped right out from her under her when she turned thirteen. For a while she rejected that reality and chose to stay with the one she knew, loved even, unwilling to go back with her biological father for about a year.

12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)? *lets out breath* Probably trying to take most of myself out of the picture and away from her so she could be her own person. Tara is someone I desperately wish to be in smarts, athleticism, agility, memory and bravery. She lives the life I so want to live 90% of the time. It’s actually been awhile since I’ve touched her rewrite story and updated it. I think what I find most difficult in her writing is changing her personality so that it’s not an exact match to mine.

Lizzy questions 8, 14, 15, 19

8. What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story? The fuck you I do what I want attitude. I love it so much it’s hard to deny it.

14. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be? 1. That she’s a super badass pirate captain that is not afraid to call you out on your bullshit and that she will not take anyone’s shit when she tells them that she’s the captain of her own ship. 2. She is not afraid to show you that she means business if you disrespect her and is more than happy to show you the consequences of either disrespecting her or disobeying orders.

15. What is something about your OC can make you laugh? “Don’t bother trying to swim back to shore, the sharks follow my ship wherever I go. I keep them well fed.” Grins and walks away to let that sink in for the newest, stolen, crew member.

19. What is your favorite fact about your OC? That despite her hardass attitude she genuinely does care about her crew. She feels horrible for losing any member of her ship, the new crew of the Bella Luna are just as important as the old crew. Everyone has an important part on the ship.

[kilgamesh-blog]

(Hey I don't know if my first question sent or not so here's another one with more questions lmao) YOU DO ALL OF THE EVENS FOR THE GAY ASK MEME

Oh Jesus you just HAD to fuckin’ go all opposites on me you little shit

(Just kidding, ilysm)

2 (What’s your “type”?): The thing about pansexuality is that it’s hard to nail down specific types of people that attract me. Looks are one thing, personality is another. I like all types of physical traits on people. The harder part for me to answer is what type of personality I enjoy and gravitate to. I like excitable people, I like people who light up. I also like people who are a little of my opposite, people who brood and study and teach me things, people who challenge me to see things differently, people who let me see them for who they are rather than who they want to appear as4 (If you do [want kids], will you adopt or use some other form of child birth?): I don’t really want kids… certainly not right now, but if I did, I wouldn’t have a problem with adoption, but I’d also want to experience being pregnant if I wanted kids that badly, so I’d go with both6 (Describe your experience having sex for the first time [Were you nervous? Or was it easy peasy?]): HAHA NOT TODAY FUCKOS MY LUSCIOUS LIPS ARE SEALED 8 (Opinion on nap dates?): Never had a nap date but YES PLEASE THEY’RE GOOD AND PURE10 (Dog gay or cat gay?): DOGGOS ARE MY LIFE I SHOULD KNOW I HAVE TWELVE OF THEM12 (What’s a turn off you look for before you start officially dating someone?): Boundary-pushing is a huge thing for me, especially those being of the sexual nature. Another would be disinterest. If I’m talking to someone and making an effort to engage myself in someone else’s interests, and if they don’t reciprocate, it’s a big turn off. I’m sure I’ve got more, I just can’t think of them. All I know is that those are the main two XD14 has already been answered!16 (Who is an ex you regret?): A dude named Sean. I dated him for maybe two months in high school and he was just… eugh, not that great. He was a nice guy, not a mean bone in his body, but he was a boundary-pusher, and he told me he loved me after, like, our fourth date, and I just said ‘okay’, and I never spoke to him again. I actually forgot his name for the longest time, he meant that little to me. He was kind of creepy and weird and he had a superiority complex and that’s all I really have to say on the matter XD18 (Who is the one person you would “go straight” for?): I’m pansexual, so it’s hard to “go straight”, because even if I was in a relationship with a man, it wouldn’t take my sexuality away; I’d still be pansexual. It doesn’t matter though, because my attraction to men has significantly withered 20 (Favorite gay ship [canon or not]): Carol and Therese!22 (Have you ever unknowingly asked out a straight person?): Nope! 24 (Have you ever been heartbroken?): Everybody’s been heartbroken, pal26 (Favorite LGBT musician/band): Gonna have to say it’s a tie between Bowie and Mercury (I’m so predictable)28 has already been answered!30 (What is a piece of advice for people who may not be in a safe place to express their sexuality?): The one thing that matters in this case is your safety. If you can’t come out to those in your immediate circle, that’s okay, there’s no rush, but if you feel like you need to be able to connect to others in the LGBTQ+ community, you can always try to find internet-based groups. Once again, I can’t stress how important it is to keep yourself safe. Take this shit-hole of a website, for instance. Tumblr is a huge hub for LGBTQ+, and it’s not incredibly hard to find people who would be happy to talk, to make you feel less isolated. Hell, talk to me if you want, I’ll be your gay pseudo-mom 

THANKS, K’NIKKI YOU’RE MY BABE

[thisiskindagross]

Satan and Me Asks

1.)  for the questions thing - are you cool w sexuality headcanons for ur characters??

I’m assuming you mean if people in the fandom make sexuality headcanons? And of course. You guys can do whatever you want. I know I’ve only posted about a few sexualities, so there’s not much to go on anyway.

2.)  Is hell really gone out of Satan forever? How long does Nat's wish last?

Hell’s not gone from Satan. It’s still inside of him, but he doesn’t hear the constant voices in his head anymore because of Natalie’s wish. That was what she sold her soul for, so the wish will stay in effect the rest of his existence.

3.)  Will we be seeing Pax or Felix soon? What about that small little boy?

Pax and Felix looking for Zadkiel is kind of a side plot in the comic, so I can’t say for sure when they will intercept. My guess is anywhere in the next 15 updates?

4.)  Do satan's earings indicate his emotions as well?

When Satan is in “human” form, his earrings are like his horns. They will change between yellow and red based on his mood.

5.)  is gabriel ok?

At the moment, no. He’s in considerable distress, but he will be. You’ll see this arc.

6.)  So im a ask, how does satan really feel about nat being damned to hell and him not being able to figure out how to stop it? He seems to care if she does.

He doesn’t like it at all, but since they can’t change it atm he is choosing to not think about it.

7.)  Has Satan thought about sex with Nat?

He’s been too preoccupied with the Apocalypse and the recent Titus thing (and now Natalie being sick) to really think about anything like that, I’d think. That’s not to say he’s never thought about sex in general, but just the plot never called for him to so? He really hasn’t.

8.)  any ships you generally don't like?

I mean, my taste in ships change all the time and have no effect in canon. There are some ships that become/are already canon that I don’t care for, and there are some I really like that I know will never be canon. For example, I used to hate Ganthea, but now I like it. It really depends. I flip-flop around a lot. I’d feel bad though listing ships I don’t care for, just because I don’t want to make anyone feel bad for liking something. Just because I don’t shouldn’t mean that you guys can’t like them. 

So in the spirit of not making someone feel bad IDK if I can fully answer this question.

9.)  any insights into how angel society works/what it generally is like for the various background angels? what do they get up to? are they all the same ones who were created back at the Beginning? how do they view current comic events (if they generally know anything)? what do they think of their 'leaders' (the archangels)?

Loaded question lol Well, the angels canonically in the bible are ranked. There are a lot of classes of angels; the archangels are actually second from the bottom. They’re literally just protectors and foot soldiers, I guess that’s the closest I could equate them to. So the vast majority of angels are just the society in the comic, whereas the ones who follow the archangels actually enlist to be in the army.

Each archangel leads a squad (except Raphael, who only works with the medic angels in the hospital). Each squad has a certain duty (ex: Jophiel’s is trained in recovery and surveillance, Zadkiel’s was p much the ones who take on tough jobs that have a low mortality rate, Gabriel’s is trained in support and backup to other troops, etc). They’re sorted and placed under an archangel depending on their test results. I actually do plan to do a dumb little comic about angels enlisting at one point.

Angel society as a whole aren’t 100% up to current events, because the archangels and higher up angels dictate what information is allowed to be trickled down. They also don’t want to cause alarm so they bend the truth a little bit. Right now majority of the angels aren’t even aware what really happened with Titus (like they didn’t know that someone was trying to overthrow Satan).

Not all of them were created at the beginning. Some were, others are fairly new. It really depends. It also depends on their personality if they like the archangels or not, so it’s hard to lump them all in together. For the most part the angels not in the army are blissfully unaware of the things around them. They stay in Heaven and mind their own business.

10.)  Why is Angel Michael so upset about Human Michael? And what does Human Michael think about Angel Michael?

Angel Michael is upset not at Mike P, but the situation. He likes humans but he doesn’t want to be a human. So the idea of being put into his body upsets him a lot. Mike P. doesn’t know anything about Michael; he’s just trying to process the information. When he does, he will want to get to know him.

11.)  Have any of the angels actually crushed on a human before

Quite a few have, but virtually none act on it. They would be executed if they procreated with a human, as would the nephilim baby. It’s a “look but don’t touch” situation.

12.)  okay okay you wont tell us the end game ships & das okay, but can you tell us who you personally ship Natalie with?

Natalie’s the rare character that I can ship with 95% of the cast, if written a certain way. The list would be too long lol

13.)  Do we get anything about Luce's past in the comic? I know there are parts from where he's an angel but maybe how he grew up or him as smol babe? Perhaps some cute scenes where they interact with God as their father and cutesy things?

There will be comics like this, yes.

14.)  What are the places/businesses Ipos and Sheila set up in the past? 

Ipos spent a lot of time around various parts of the world. During the 1700-1800s he stayed in Ireland, where he met Sheila officially. She spent most of her time in the Southern Hemisphere, and stayed in Australia for a while. 

Ipos was in the military for a while, too, so he could see more places, learn more about humans, keep tabs on everything. The real Ipos he’s based off of is actually an information keeper, so I tried to keep that true to form in the comic as well. Under different guises, Ipos and Sheila have run restaurants, bars, brothels, a hardware store, gun shops, camping supply stores, construction companies, real estate businesses.

15.)  Are all demons fallen angels, or were some just always demons? Also, is it possible for angels to have kids, either with each other or with humans? 

95% of demons are Fallen Angels. The few that aren’t are either born from bad circumstance/human sorrow, or have been made in a pact with another higher level Fallen. (I actually have a series that explains the first contracts with demons but that won’t debut for another few years I’d surmise. It’s touched upon as well in future “Here it Comes” updates.)

Angels can have children with each other, though it’s rare, and they can reproduce with humans. Nephilim, human and angel children, are very strong and very unpredictable so they’re viewed as taboos. In the bible it’s a big reason why God flooded the earth with Noah and his ark. Angels had copulated and had children with humans so they drowned them and their parents. (I’ve heard speculation that Goliath from David and Goliath was a nephilim baby too, but IDK how accurate that is).

  16.)  What is Kristi's family like? 

Kristi has her parents, Norma and Ray Lange, and an older sister who is in college, Lily. Kristi’s mother is high maintenance, which is probably where Kristi got it from. Her father grew up in town with Alex McAllister, and he used to bully him a lot. He had a crush on Carla (but was stuck dating her cousin), so that’s another reason he doesn’t like Alex. He settled for Kristi’s mom when he met her later, so it’s not exactly a love built marriage. He’s not too interested in his home life. Kristi’s sister is easy going and nice. She has a good relationship with Kristi.

17.)  Does Raphael have any fears about like real physical stuff/like how people have fears of snakes, spiders etc

Raphael doesn’t have a lot of fears like that. His are more mental stuff. But he is scared of bats. Won’t go near them.

18.)  Are there things about the story that you wish you could change but can't 'cause it's too late? if so, what?

Yeah, there are a couple. I wish I did more with Jericho. I watered him down for the comic, which I’m regretting. He was going to be more problematic than that. I’d like to keep Ipos and Sheila around a little longer, but they died p quick. There are scrapped updates I wish I went through with, but I can’t do anything about that now.

19.)  will we see pestilence and famine interacting with natalie and satan?

Not sure about Famine, but Pestilence yes.

20.)  Would it be fair to ask about what kind of piercings each character has? I know that each has their own unique ones and since we don't always see all the piercings (as with Anthea, whose belly piercings aren't revealed until that one episode) and it would be cool to know all the piercings that each has.

That’s a lot to list, but I’ll just say what piercing someone has if it’s under clothing.

Zadkiel has lower back dermals, Pax has a Apadravya, Jophiel has hip dermals.

 21.)  So how come Lucifer only uses "Festus" and doesnt call Felix "Felix"? 

Lucifer’s more formal like that. I’m sure if Felix pushed the issue he would change, but it’s really force of habit cuz that name comes to mind first when he talks/thinks about him.  

22.) How do you make updates do you write out a script or do you just make it up as you go?

I make it up as I go. Aside from a few events I know that I want to take place, I have no idea how I’m getting there and just let what happens on each new page take me there. A lot of times I’m surprised how the story changed, but that’s what makes it fun

23.)  Are we going to find out what happened to Yup's parents? 

If anything it will be subtle if it’s mentioned in passing, but IDK if it will. His dad and mom weren’t married so his dad split. His mom was into recreational drugs and was evicted from their apartment because of insufficient funds when Yup was 6.  She left him at the freeway underpass when she couldn’t deal with her situation anymore. When Zadkiel found Yup he’d been on his own for a month or so.

24.)  Do any of the angels or demons have any Phobias or fears? Just random things they are afraid of for no reason or for a specific reason at all

They do, it just depends on the demon. Anthea was afraid of driving on the freeway. Felix is afraid of being ignored. Zoe is afraid of small spaces.

25.)  i've always been curious... what exactly were titus' spikes made of? were they some type of metal? and did it hurt him to use them?

It did hurt, but he had a high pain tolerance. They were a mixture of calcium and stone (like Cain with Abel).

26.)  Do any of the angels have tattoos besides Gabriel and Raguel?

Some do, just depends. They usually have a specific reason in mind if they do.

27.)  Do any of the angels look less than human?

Yes.

28.)  What was laila's brother's name?

Lyle. Laila’s name is actually Veronique and her middle name is Laila. After he died, she started going by Laila to feel closer to him, since they sounded similar.

29.)  Does Michael have an ex and does she have a name?

Michael does have an ex. They were together briefly before she fell, not enough time to really get attached but he was curious enough to try. They aren’t really touched upon in the comic so I never gave them a name.

30.)  So something I was wondering, bc I love Ipos and wish he was in the comic longer, does he have an Irish accent because he was in Ireland for so long and decided to adapt it? Also how tf is Ipos pronounced, bc i say it like eye-pos but idk if thts right.

He has a small accent, yes. And yeah, it’s eye-pos.

31.)  Have you ever imagined any Satan and Me babies? Not the characters themselves as children, but having children

32.) Since Raguel is only 55, Does that mean he actually has a birthday then?

The day he was created was April 2nd on the 20th century calendar, as opposed to the other archangels who were born at the beginning of earth’s creation.

33.)  I was wondering is Michael jealous of how close nat and satan are? like when satan flew off with nat after the scuffle. I noticed Michael didnt look too happy. By the way I love your blog its the best It puts a fun twist on bible stories/charecters.

Michael is very jealous of Natalie and Satan’s relationship. It drives him up a wall.

34.)  I actually thought of one, surprise surprise. We know a few of the "who knew who first" scenarios, but did felix know of Lucifer first, or meet Anthea first? I suppose the same question could go for Anthea over Felix and Gabriel.

Felix knew of Satan first and was already enamored with him by the time he met Anthea. Anthea met Felix before Gabriel, though. In that WIP Gabriel and Anthea comic pre-fall I think it’s addressed that they met later down the line.