#which means amina's is coming up next

[sablebay]

when she had a day off during the week, bea took a solo vacation to granite falls. she's been pretty determined to spend more time improving her herbalism skill... and she has! ✅max the herbalism skill ✅ complete the outdoor enthusiast aspiration yet... all she could think about was wondering what her husband and daughter were up to at home. maybe she should take a break from the outdoors every weekend and just cherish the smaller adventures that happen at home.

[heylittleriotact]

🎄 Merry Almost Christmas Have A Festive WIP 🎄

(It's not looking like I'll be able to finish this before the holiday chaos ensues and I won't have a moment to myself until at least the weekend, so Christmas came sort of early, Emmrook friends)

❄️ Yet Untitled First-Day Holiday Fluff Piece ❄️

She stares at the gold ring and twitches her finger slightly, capturing a beam of groggy winter sunshine in the impressive red jewel that adorns it. She raises and lowers the finger, mesmerized by the comforting silence of the wood paneled entryway, and the way the light catches so prettily on the stone, making it look like bright arterial blood: rich with oxygen and scarlet in colour. 

It’s no ruby though��� not even relatively inexpensive garnet. It’s coloured glass, and the band isn’t gold: judging on the way it leaves a dull green shadow of itself on her skin by the end of each day, it’s brass or maybe copper. 

If one was to look at it closely - which she has numerous times over the past few months - they would see where the cheap metal has been repetitively worn down, buckled, been repaired, and worn down some more over decades. There’s an almost imperceptible chip in the stone near the upper left edge of the setting, and in the right light you can see where small spiderweb cracks have been painstakingly filled in with a strong, clear substance, sanded and polished to match the shine of the rest of the stone. 

She dare not ask how much coin Emmrich has spent over the years to keep this ring in good repair. 

He rather insistently offered to buy her a ‘proper’ ring to mark their betrothal the morning after they returned to Nevarra: his Father’s ring was only meant to be temporary given the timing of his proposal, and what she really needed was a ring befitting the enormity and depth of his love for her; a ring that would at least compare to her beauty, though no bauble existed that could ever equal it. There were a number of other poetic and deeply romantic sentiments that she patiently waited for him to list off, nodding politely as he worked himself into a veritable tizzy, snuggled up alongside her in the warmth of the plush feather bed in the master suite of his house in the city.

“If you wish to spoil me with a second engagement ring, I daresay I’ll be the talk of Nevarra, and I won’t utter a single complaint,” she grinned, rotating the priceless ring on her finger. “But I hope you realize I’m going to keep wearing this one. This is the real one: this one is you. And you could drop a small kingdom worth of gold on the finest ring from King Caspar’s personal collection for all I care, but it would still look like cheap junk next to this, so if this is all just a clever ruse to get me to give it back, you’re out of luck, love: it’s mine– just like your heart… but don’t fret: I’ll take good care of them both.” And she planted a kiss on the top of his head, burying her nose in tousled hair that smelled of ripe cherries.

He made her come three times in a row that morning. 

She smiles at the memory and tugs on a pair of lined leather gloves, looking around the inviting entryway of the house as she does this. It’s a level of status and comfort that she’s still very much getting used to. It’s not a palatial manor by any means, but rather a high-end rowhouse in a quadrant of the city where nobles, high-ranking Mortalitasi, and retired political advisors live. Rowhouse or no, it’s still got four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and the nicest kitchen Amina has ever seen. Emmrich worked hard for the comfort he enjoys, and Amina was no pauper before her break from the Watch, but getting used to having staff has proven… challenging. Blessedly with the holiday coming up, Emmrich has sent the housekeeper, footman, and butler home - with full pay of course, and some extra - to be with their families. The house is empty and quiet but for the two of them, and it’s been a boon to just feel able to fully relax without the ever-present awareness of someone perceiving her, even if it was done benevolently by the curious staff of Professor Volkarin.

She couldn’t blame them for their interest: their employer went on sabbatical months earlier and returned home, a lauded hero of Thedas, with a relatively young woman on his arm and rumours of an imminent marriage trailing the pair. 

She runs a gloved finger down the dark chestnut door frame (not a speck of dust) and shifts, feeling a bit warm standing inside wearing her thick, gray wool coat. It always takes Emmrich forever to get ready to go anywhere— they’re going skating, not attending high tea with the Empress of Orlais…

“Rook!”

She glances over her shoulder to see Manfred shuffling down the hallway towards her, a pair of ice skates held aloft in front of him as he races towards her. 

“Knives!” He declares, eyes flaring gleefully. “Knives!”

“Sort of,” she remarks wryly, her lip curling in an amused smile that she can’t help whenever the enthusiastic construct is around. “Best not let your Father see you running with those: you remember the incident with the scalpel, hm?”

“Pressure!” Manfred recites proudly, “Put! Pressure!” He grips Amina’s forearm with surprising strength to demonstrate.

“Very good.”

“Hurray!” He relinquishes his grip and hops from foot to foot, unable to contain his excitement.

It had been difficult to convince Emmrich to bring Manfred skating, what with her beloved citing the obvious incompatibility of brittle bone, hard ice, and gravity. 

“What if he falls?” Emmrich had queried, his brow knitting in consternation, his lips pouting, fingers laced over his heart - hell, his moustache might have drooped a little. 

Emmrich still turns brick red when Manfred calls him ‘Father’ and tries to correct him, but when he’s not within earshot, Amina tells Manfred not to listen: just this time - because he is Manfred’s father, and he’ll get used to it eventually, but denying it isn’t going to do either of them favours.

“He won’t fall,” she had promised Emmrich, tracing the shape of his shadowed jaw. “Not when he’s got both of us by his side.”

He made love to her twice that night: long, passionate encounters that left her muscles a bit achy and her brain a bit foggy come the morning.

She’s still been taking her weekly tincture to prevent pregnancy, but sooner or later she knows they’re going to have to talk about the future of that… and all that might come of stopping it. She could have broached the topic by now - could have said something, but he hasn’t said anything either, and even if she did float the idea of a child by him and he said no, that would be fine, but she hasn’t felt ready for the permanence of that conversation yet… the fact that once its had, it can’t really be taken back: she’s thirty-seven, and running short on time to act on such things…

“Emmrich is Father. Rook is Mother!” 

“Oh. Um… not… not just yet, Manfred… wait— who told you that?” She feels her face redden, feels even warmer in her coat and scarf than she already does: where the hell is Emmrich? “Your ability to speak is certainly coming along, isn’t it?” She pretends to take a nose he doesn’t have, sticking the tip of her gloved thumb out from between her index and middle finger. She shakes it tauntingly and bites back the laugh threatening to break loose at the sound of Manfred’s scandalized hiss. “Give you a few years and I bet you’ll be running entire lectures by yourself.” She ducks Manfred’s grab for the ‘nose’ in her hand, bobs under his skeletal arm and straightens: they’ve played this game before - it rapidly became one of his favourites once Amina made sure he was crystal clear in his understanding that it was a game and he was not to actually remove anyone’s nose. 

“Oh good, you’re both ready!” 

Emmrich traipses down the stairs, hauling his own dark green wool coat up over his shoulders, a man in his element with his hair impeccably coiffed, his charcoal trousers perfectly pressed even in the absence of his butler. His earthy, herbal aftershave follows in his wake as he squeezes past Amina, his hand trailing over her waist to tug a soft woolen scarf from one of the hooks lining the wall.

“The ice on the river might have started melting had we waited any longer.” She snags Manfred’s wrist and gently deposits the ‘nose’ in his hand. After he jams it back on his face, clacking madly the entire time, she turns to Emmrich and beams at him, watching him weave the brown scarf into a complex but distinguished knot, tucking the ends down the front of his coat before buttoning it and lifting the collar to frame his angular face.

He’s flustered - at odds. Is it because he hasn’t skated in years, or is he still preoccupied with worry over Manfred?

“I loathe feeling rushed,” he half mumbles into the scarf, verging on a proper strop. 

“No one’s rushing you.”

He’s taking this very seriously. Too seriously: the tension in his frame gives it away. So she catches his eyes with hers along with his hands, and rises on her tiptoes to press a long, soft kiss to his lips. He tastes like life and embalming fluid and strong black tea.

“You’re the one that wanted to take me skating anyway,” she purrs against his lips, half tempted to tell Manfred that skating has been cancelled so she can take Emmrich upstairs and put a properly fucked out smile on his face instead of the dour pout he’s currently wearing. “We’ll have a lovely time, and if it helps put your mind at ease, why don’t we bundle Manfred in your thickest down-filled coat?” 

His mouth turns up slightly at the corners after a moment of consideration. “What an excellent idea, darling.” He kisses her again, holding her chin with his thumb and forefinger, his fingers so wonderfully warm and real. For a moment she wonders if he’s having thoughts about calling off their excursion as well, but he turns from her to rifle through the closet. He leans further and further in, going further and further back through decades of fashions - some timeless, others dated and eccentric - she’s well familiar by now with the state of his sprawling closet upstairs: it’s little wonder he has this many coats too. 

Eventually she hears a muffled ‘a-ha!’ and Emmrich resurfaces gripping a massive down-filled jacket that’s a virulent shade of yellow plaidweave. It’s got about forty pockets, twenty-odd buckles, and a dozen black toggle style closures running down the front all shaped like skulls. The hood and cuffs are trimmed with…with some sort of fur? …Why is it bright green?

It’s hideous.

Actually, ‘hideous’ is a polite assessment: in fact, it’s so, so far beyond hideous that Amina is unsure if there actually exists a word to accurately describe the severe affront to all things fashionable that this jacket is. 

Unable to help herself, Amina bursts out laughing at the sight of the thing, mostly due to the immediate mental image of the man holding it, wearing it. 

“What?” He frowns.

“It’s so…” she gasps between giggles. “It’s just so… hah! Did you actually wear that?” She collapses in a fit of amused titters again as the love of her life holds the jacket at arms length and studies it. 

“Well… yes.” He states, sounding nonplussed. “Granted, I was in my very early twenties when this style was popular with the more… avant garde circles I ran with in those days…” 

“It looks cozy, I’ll give it that.” She gently tugs it out of his hands even though he’s still frowning at it, nostalgia evident on his face. “And we certainly won’t lose Manfred in a crowd with this colour combination.” 

[mcrdvcks]

Down Bad - Chapter 9

Chapter Summary: After helping Phee with a mission of hers, she offers to take the squad to her home away from home.

Word Count: 5.3k+

Pairing: Hunter x fem!Jedi Original Character

Notes: and here we are! this one kinda of ends on a cliffhanger- or rather, ends the same way episode 14 does. i'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow so there isn't a long wait in between!

Series Masterlist - Chapter 8 → Chapter 10

AO3 Link For Chapter

Amina sat in the pilot’s seat as Tech sat in the back of the cockpit playing a game on Gonky’s head. The droid honked, “yes, I am playing against myself. It is the only time this game is a challenge.”

“Amina, Tech, we need a pickup.” Hunter spoke through comms.

Amina sat up straight as Tech moved to the co-pilot’s seat, “on our way.” Amina replied. She flew the Marauder to the cantina where Hunter, Wrecker, Phee, and Omega were. The group got onto the ship, with a few blasters firing at them as Amina took off.

“Now that was a fun mission.” Omega said, as they flew through hyperspace.

Wrecker sat down in the seat next to Omega, “you got that right.”

Phee stood in the cockpit while Amina, Tech, and Hunter were sitting. “You know, Omega was pretty impressive back there.”

Hunter turned around to Phee, “her training’s paying off.”

“Oh, I know she’s got the whole soldier-thing down. But don’t you think she should learn some other skills?”

Hunter turned to fully face Phee as Tech glanced over as well, “what other skills?”

“Omega spends all her time with you four. She needs friends. Ones her own age and who don’t share her genetic profile.”

“We never had such a thing.” Tech countered. “I do not see the issue.”

“No kidding.” Phee sarcastically replied, as the comms on the ship started to buzz.

Amina looked at it, “we’re receiving a transmission from Cid.”

“Let’s hear it.” Hunter said, before standing up.

Hunter and the guys told her about what happened when they had mined the ipsium, and the planet they were on when they encountered the Zillo Beast, which lead to them cutting their ties with Cid when Amina was on Tatooine.

Like she’s said before, she doesn’t trust Trandoshans.

Wrecker and Omega walked into the cockpit as Tech turned on the recorded transmission. “So, it’s been 20 rotations and no word. You better be dead because your absence has cost me a few scores. Remember our mutually beneficial arrangements, and how well we know one another, if you know what I mean. You’d do well to not assume I am just threatening you boys.”

The transmission turned off as Phee glanced over at Hunter, “you didn’t mention you cut ties with Cid.”

“Our mutually beneficial arrangement wasn’t so beneficial, mutually.”

“Figured that out, did you? I’ve known Cid a long time. She’s a useful ally, but not someone you want to cross. Do you have a plan?”

“You’re looking at it.” Hunter replied.

Phee took a short few seconds before responding, “in that case, you all are coming with me.” She got up and walked over to Tech in the co-pilot’s seat, “head to these coordinates, brown eyes.”

---

They landed the Marauder on top of a large mountain, as Phee walked out first, “welcome to Pabu, my home away from home. It’s a hidden sanctuary of sorts. That’s the Archium. It’s where the artifact will be stored. It holds treasures from all over the galaxy.”

Tech tapped on his datapad, “my analysis indicates that this so-called artifact you recovered is of very little to no monetary value.”

“Treasure can mean many things. Most of the villagers on Pabu are refugees. Many of the items I recover are remnants of their cultures, and that’s worth preserving. After all, I am a liberator- ”

Phee got cut off by a man walking towards them, followed by a young girl, “liberator of ancient wonders. About time you showed your face around here.”

Phee walked over to the man and gave him a quick hug, “miss me, Shep?”

Wrecker elbowed Tech, “you’ve got some competition,” he laughed. Amina held back her own laugh at Wrecker’s comment, also noting the confused look on Tech’s face.

“Auntie Phee!” The young girl called out, as she hugged Phee’s waist. “What’d you bring this time?” Phee knelt down and took out the green tree artifact from her satchel. “Looks like one of a kind.”

“Good eye.” Phee replied.

Shep looked over to the group, “that’s not all you brought, I see.”

Phee stood up and walked over to the group, “this is Shep Hazard, Mayor of Pabu, and his daughter, Lyana. Shep, Lyana, meet Omega, Amina, Hunter, Wrecker and Tech.”

Shep walked forward and shook each one of their hands, saying welcome to each of them. When he got to Wrecker, he gripped Shep’s hand firmly, “put her there!”

Lyana walked shyly over to Omega, “Phee’s never brought any friends here before.”

“Never? Not even Cid?”

Phee walked over to the two young girls, “nope.”

“So why bring us?” Hunter questioned.

“Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?”

“She must really like you,” Lyana muttered to Omega.

“All right. That’s enough out of you.” Phee scolded playfully.

“Then it’s settled. You’ll join us for dinner.” Shep announced.

“There’s no saying no to Shep’s famous feast. Lots of food, drink, and general merrymaking. You’ll probably hate it.” Phee gestured at Tech. “It’ll be great.” She turned back to Shep, “lead the way, Shep. I’ll catch up.”

They all made their way to follow Shep, as Omega and Lyana ran in front, with Lyana showing Omega a few things along the way.

Amina looked around the mountainside they were walking on, her arm threaded through Hunter’s. It was… quiet. Not just physically, but she hadn’t felt Vader poking around her head since they got here. It was like a weight lifted off her shoulders.

"Feels peaceful, doesn't it?" Hunter remarked, breaking the silence as they walked side by side. His voice was soft, almost a whisper, as if he didn't want to disturb the tranquility of the moment.

Amina nodded in agreement, a small smile playing on her lips as she glanced up at him. "Yeah, it does," she replied, her voice equally hushed as she savored the serenity of their surroundings.

They walked in comfortable silence for a few moments, the only sound being the gentle rustle of the wind and the occasional chirping of birds in the distance. Amina felt a sense of calm wash over her, a rare moment of peace in the midst of their turbulent lives.

Hunter tightened his grip on Amina's hand, his touch warm and reassuring as he leaned in closer to her. "I'm glad we're here together," he murmured, his voice filled with genuine affection as he looked into her eyes.

Amina's heart fluttered at his words, a warmth spreading through her chest as she returned his gaze. "Me too," she whispered, her voice barely above a whisper as she leaned in closer to him.

Their lips met in a tender kiss, a silent exchange of love and affection amidst the quiet beauty of their surroundings. Time seemed to stand still as they lost themselves in each other, the world fading away until there was only the two of them, together in this moment.

Eventually, they broke apart, their breath mingling in the crisp mountain air as they leaned their foreheads together, savoring the closeness of their embrace.

"We should probably catch up with the others," Hunter suggested, his voice soft as he reluctantly pulled away from Amina's embrace.

Amina nodded in agreement, a reluctant smile tugging at the corners of her lips as she reluctantly let go of Hunter's hand. "Yeah, we don't want to keep them waiting," she replied, her voice tinged with regret as they began to make their way back to the group.

They walked to the edge of the mountainside, looking over the concrete railing, “Upper Pabu is the oldest part of the island. As we’ve grown over the years, we’ve expanded below the wall into Lower Pabu.” Shep said to Wrecker and Tech, as Amina and Hunter caught up to them.

“Hi, Shep.” An old man said, stopping next to Shep.

“Hi, Mr. Eenta. How are Sari and Micha?”

“They’re doing good. Thanks for asking, Shep.” The old man started to walk away.

Wrecker scoffed, “well, uh- do you know everyone here?”

“Of course. We’re all like family.” They followed Shep to the outside of his house, where a large table and chairs stood, “make yourselves at home.” He spoke.

They all went to the ledge, looking out at the houses in the distance and the bright blue water. Amina gulped, looking at the water.

“I thought you weren’t afraid of water?” Hunter teased.

“I- I’m not. I just… that’s a lot of water all the way down there.”

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Hunter remarked, his voice breaking through Amina's thoughts as he stood beside her, his gaze fixed on the shimmering blue waters below.

Amina nodded slowly, her eyes still fixed on the horizon. "Yeah, it is," she replied softly, her voice tinged with a mixture of awe and apprehension. "But it's also... overwhelming."

Hunter turned to look at her, his expression softening with understanding as he took in the conflicted emotions written on her face. "Hey, it's okay," he said gently, reaching out to gently squeeze her hand. "Maybe… maybe I could teach you how to swim?”

Amina faced him, “you… would? Even if I might scream?”

Hunter met Amina's gaze, his eyes softening with a tender smile as he nodded. "Of course I would," he replied sincerely, his voice filled with warmth and reassurance. "I'll be right there with you every step of the way. And if you scream, well, I'll just have to scream louder to drown you out."

Amina couldn't help but laugh at his playful response, feeling a sense of comfort wash over her at his unwavering support. "You're ridiculous," she teased affectionately.

An animal climbed down a small pole in front of Omega and Lyana, before jumping on the ground with two more following.

Omega and Lyana walked over to them, but kept a little distance apart from them, “they’re called moon-yos.” Lyana said. “The elders say they’ve lived here since before Pabu was inhabited.” A moon-yo climbed onto Lyana’s shoulders, as Omega held an arm out and the moon-yo climbed on her.

“I have not heard her laugh like that in some time.” Tech observed.

Omega and Lyana followed the moon-yos to the gate by the wall as Amina and Hunter walked over to Shep, who brought out a platter for the table.

“Phee said the villagers here are refugees.” Hunter said.

“Many yes.” Shep placed some plates down on the table, “Pabu has been a safe haven for those forced to flee their homes during the war and others after.”

“And you’re not worried the Empire will show up?”

“Why would they? We’re a remote island with limited resources. But if they do, we’ll manage.” Hunter and Amina’s gaze traveled to Omega and Lyana, who were playing with one of the moon-yos. “Some come to Pabu looking for a clean slate. A chance to start over.” Shep continued, placing his hand on Hunter’s shoulder, “as a parent, you couldn’t ask for a better place to raise a child.”

Shep gave Amina a small nod as well before he made his way back inside. Phee came over to them, “something to think about, isn’t it?”

“You’re suggesting we all stay on Pabu permanently?” Hunter asked. The three of them turned to look at Omega and Lyana, the sounds of laughter filling the air as the moon-yos climbed on the two young girls.

The scene in front of her reminded Amina of the conversation she had with Obi-Wan just a few rotations ago. That it was okay if being a soldier, or a Jedi wasn’t something she had to do for the rest of her life.

“She seems to like it here. A little stability might do you all some good.” Phee said, cutting off Amina’s thoughts. Moments later, Shep came out with a few more platters as they all sat down to eat.

Hunter had placed his right hand on Amina’s thigh as Omega looked over the wall to the water, “you have your own boat?” she asked Lyana excitedly.

“Uh-huh. You wanna take it out and watch the sunset?”

Omega gasped, “really?”

“That sounds like a great idea, doesn’t it?” Phee asked, looking at Hunter and Amina.

“Can I go?” Omega asked eagerly.

He looked over at Amina who gave a small smile and looked back at Omega, “have fun.” Omega and Lyana walked out of the balcony to go down the mountain to the boat.

Wrecker groaned as Hunter looked over at him, “what’s with you?”

“I’m full. I am never full.”

“I will note the date and time to commemorate such a momentous occasion.” Tech said, pulling out his datapad.

Amina let out a small muffled laugh as Wrecker glanced at Tech partially confused. Shep walked out with another platter, “hope you saved room for dessert.” Shep said, as he lifted the lid from the platter.

Wrecker gasped, “I love this place!”

---

Tech and Phee stood by the railing, while Wrecker and Shep stood by the table, and Amina and Hunter stayed seated.

Hunter took a sip of his drink before turning his gaze to the moon-yos on the ground, who looked up and ran away chittering. He stood up, walking to where Tech and Phee stood looking at the water and buildings.

“What’s wrong?” Phee asked.

Hunter looked back at Wrecker and then back over the balcony. “Something’s coming. We need to- ” A loud rumble ran underneath them, causing buildings to shake and the ground to be unsteady beneath them.

Hunter grabbed his comm, “Omega, come in. Are you two okay?”

“We’re fine. We’re headed back to shore now.”

“Everyone all right?” Shep yelled out.

Wrecker stood up, “well, that was different.”

“Uh, a small tremor. It’s nothing to worry about. Part of island life.”

Hunter shook his head, “I don’t think it’s over yet.” Hunter said, as a more violent tremor occurred, causing screaming, cracks in buildings, and more things to fall down. “That was not a small tremor.”

“No, it was not.” Shep replied.

“Hunter, I believe this island is at risk for a significant sea surge.” Tech said, looking up from his datapad.

“How much risk?”

“Highly probable to imminent.”

“We haven’t had a sea surge in more than three decades. If we were at risk, the early warning system would’ve activated. And- ” A loud siren cut Shep off.

“I don’t like the sound of that.” Wrecker commented.

Shep grabbed the binoculars and handed them to Tech, “the water has already begun receding. We must evacuate all of Lower Pabu.”

“Lyana and Omega, they’re on the water.” Shep added warily.

“Amina can grab them, us five will move everyone in town to higher ground.” Hunter ordered.

---

Amina started her way up the mountain, following the rest of the crowd as she made her way to the Marauder.

“Hunter, Amina, we’re in trouble. There’s a giant wave coming, and we’re too far out. What do we do?”

Amina brought the comm up, “keep your locator on, and head to shore quickly. I’m on my way.” She ran through the crowd as fast as she could before reaching the top and getting onto the Marauder. “Omega, I’m on the ship. Hang on.”

Amina took off, blasting the engines going towards the shore, “I see you. Grab the line.” She pressed a button as the line on the ship descended, with Omega and Lyana grabbing onto it as Amina turned the ship away from the high tide and away from the shore.

---

Daylight came as everyone from Lower Pabu stayed gathered together on the top of the mountain. Omega, Lyana, and Wrecker fell asleep against the large tree in the center as Hunter and Amina stood by Shep. “We got everyone out in time. That’s what’s important.” Shep said, as Tech and Phee walked over.

“Based on my estimations, it will take several rotations to rebuild the damage sustained in Lower Pabu.”

“Yes.” Shep replied to Tech, “property was destroyed, but my people are resilient. We’ll band together and rebuild.”

“I was thinking.” Hunter began, turning to Shep, “we could stay and help out with things.” He finished, turning to Tech.

“I had the same idea.”

“Did you now?” Phee replied cheekily.

“That is, if you don’t mind us sticking around for a while.” Hunter asked Shep.

“You would be most welcome.” Shep said, as they walked into the crowd of people.

---

A few days had gone by as the group helped rebuild Lower Pabu. Shep had even kindly given all of them small houses, with her and Hunter getting their own, and Wrecker, Tech, and Omega theirs. But, more often than not, Omega found her way to their small house to sleep at.

And, for the past few days, Hunter had been helping Amina conquer the water. “Come on, just a little bit further in.”

Amina took a small step further in, the water going to the bottom of her calves. “This is farther than I went yesterday!”

He shook his head, “no, it’s not. This is how far you got yesterday.”

“Are you sure?” She asked crossing her arms across her chest, her breasts slightly pushed up against the fabric of her black bathing tog.

Hunter briefly glanced down at her chest, her black bathing suit accentuating her figure. He cleared his throat, momentarily distracted by the way the sunlight danced across her skin, before refocusing on the task at hand.

"Yes, I'm sure," he replied, trying to ignore the sudden flutter in his chest. "Come on, another step.”

Amina hesitated, her arms still crossed defensively over her chest. She glanced down at the water lapping at her calves, uncertainty clouding her features. "I don't know, Hunter," she admitted, her voice tinged with apprehension. "What if I can't do it?”

Hunter stepped closer to her, his gaze softening with understanding. He reached out, gently taking her hand in his, his touch warm and reassuring. "You can, cyar’ika," he said, his voice filled with quiet confidence. "I'll be right beside you every step of the way."

He let go of her hand as he stepped further into the water now a little above waist level. Amina took a small step forward before stopping.

“How about this, if you make it to me, I’ll give you a reward.” Hunter said.

Amina glanced at Hunter, a hint of curiosity lighting up her eyes despite her lingering uncertainty. "A reward, huh?" she echoed, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "What kind of reward are we talking about?"

Hunter grinned, the mischievous glint in his eyes belying his casual demeanor. "Ah, well, that's for me to know and for you to find out," he teased, his voice playful. "But I promise it'll be worth it."

Amina chuckled softly, her apprehension beginning to ebb away in the face of Hunter's infectious enthusiasm. She took a deep breath, steeling herself for the challenge ahead. "Alright, you're on," she declared, determination flashing in her eyes. "But you better make it good."

With a newfound resolve, Amina pushed herself forward, wading deeper into the water with each step. The cool liquid enveloped her body, sending ripples dancing across its surface. She could feel the weight of her doubts melting away, replaced by a sense of exhilaration.

Finally, Amina stood before him, the water swirling around her thighs as she met his gaze with a triumphant smile. "Well, look who made it," Hunter said, his voice laced with admiration. "I knew you could do it."

Amina grinned back at him, a sense of accomplishment washing over her. "Told you I could," she replied, her tone playful. "Now, about that reward- ”

Hunter cut her off with a kiss, one of his hands cupping her face while the other went around her waist in the water.

Amina melted into the kiss, her heart pounding in her chest as she wrapped her arms around Hunter, pulling him closer. The world seemed to fade away around them, leaving only the sensation of Hunter's lips against hers and the gentle embrace of the water.

Hunter deepened the kiss, his lips moving against hers with a passion that sent shivers down Amina's spine. She lost herself in the moment, her worries and doubts melting away in the heat of their shared desire.

As they finally broke apart, Amina found herself breathless, her chest heaving with exertion. She looked up at Hunter, her eyes sparkling with emotion. "Wow," she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "That was..."

"Amazing?" Hunter finished for her, a boyish grin spreading across his face. "I couldn't agree more."

Amina laughed softly, the sound light and carefree. "Yeah, amazing," she replied, her cheeks flushing with color. "But, I was going to ask if that was my reward.”

Hunter grinned, the warmth of Amina's laughter filling him with a sense of contentment. "Well, technically, that kiss was just a preview," he replied, his tone playful. "The real reward is still to come."

Amina arched an eyebrow, a playful smirk playing on her lips. "Oh, is that so?" she teased, her eyes dancing with mischief. "Well then, I can't wait to see what you have in store for me."

He put his other hand on her waist and lifted her up as she instinctively wrapped her legs around his waist.

Hunter held Amina close as she wrapped her legs around his waist, their bodies pressed together in the warm embrace of the water. He could feel her heart racing against his chest, matching the rapid rhythm of his own heartbeat.

Amina looked up at him, her eyes shining with a mixture of anticipation and desire. "So, what's the real reward?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Hunter grinned, a playful glint in his eyes. "Well you’ll find out soon enough," he teased, his voice husky with desire. "But I promise you won't be disappointed."

Amina chuckled softly, her fingers tracing patterns against the back of his neck. "I'll hold you to that," she replied, her lips curving into a seductive smile.

Hunter leaned in closer, his breath warm against her skin. "Count on it," he murmured, his lips brushing against hers in a tantalizing promise.

Their kiss deepened, passion igniting between them like wildfire. Hunter lost himself in the taste of her lips, the feel of her body pressed against his, the sweet scent of her skin mingling with the salty tang of the sea.

Time seemed to stand still as they surrendered to the moment, lost in the intoxicating dance of desire. Every touch, every caress, sent sparks of electricity coursing through their veins, binding them together in a whirlwind of sensation.

But as they finally broke apart, gasping for breath, Hunter knew that their journey was far from over. With Amina in his arms, he felt invincible, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.

"So, what do you say we continue this somewhere more... private?" he suggested, his voice husky with desire.

Amina nodded, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "Lead the way," she replied, her voice filled with anticipation.

---

Since being on Pabu, Amina changed her wardrobe. Not a big change, but inside of wearing a large tunic, she’s decided to wear something more simple and casual. Meaning, just a plain shirt with a leather jacket.

It felt good to not be constricted to the clothes she wore for over a decade of her life. Jedi attire wasn’t exactly flattering or comfortable with all the layers.

She walked to the top of the mountain where Echo just landed and where Omega was currently landing the Marauder.

“Echo!” Omega called out, as she ran to Echo and Tech stumbled out of the ship. Omega jumped into Echo’s arms, her arms wrapping around his neck. “We’ve missed you!”

He chuckled, “it hasn’t been that long.”

“Feels like it has.” Omega replied.

Amina walked over, “well, what do you think, Tech. Is she improving her flying skills?”

Tech sighed, “it seems as though she may have picked up some of your reckless flying skills.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” Amina said, putting her hand down as Omega high-fived her.

Tech shook his head, turning his attention to Echo, “you mentioned needing some assistance with data decryption.”

“This is what’s left of the files I recovered from an Imperial shuttle. It was transporting clone prisoners, and we need to know where and why.” Echo said, as Hunter nodded.

Tech walked back over to the Marauder as Omega looked up at Amina. “What’s on your neck?”

Amina patted her neck, “what?” she asked, feeling around for any lumps or bumps.

She kneeled down as Omega tapped a spot on her neck, “it’s like a bruise or something.”

Amina furrowed her brows before suddenly looking up at Hunter, who had his arms crossed as well as hiding his smile. A moment of realization dawned on her, as she turned back to Omega trying to think of a convincing lie.

Echo stepped forward, “you see Omega, when two people love each other- ”

Amina stood up, a playful glint in her eyes as she pushed Echo toward the Marauder, his laughter filling the air. She flashed Omega a sheepish grin, hoping to divert her attention from the awkward situation.

"Sorry about that," Amina said, her tone light and casual. "Echo's just being his usual self, you know?"

Omega raised an eyebrow, her gaze flickering between Amina and Hunter. "Uh-huh," she replied, her voice tinged with skepticism. "Sure he is."

Amina forced a laugh, her mind racing for a plausible explanation. "So, uh, what were we talking about again?" she asked, trying to steer the conversation in a different direction.

Omega's suspicion seemed to ease slightly, though she still eyed Amina with curiosity. "Your neck," she replied, her tone cautious. "What happened?"

Amina hesitated, her mind scrambling for an excuse. She glanced at Hunter, silently pleading for help, but he merely smirked in amusement, clearly enjoying her discomfort.

"It's, uh, nothing," Amina replied, her voice slightly strained. "Just a little... uh, mishap."

Omega frowned, her skepticism returning full force. "A mishap?" she echoed, her tone incredulous. "What kind of mishap?"

Amina bit her lip nervously, her mind racing for a convincing lie. "Well, you see," she began, her voice faltering slightly. "It's... um, it's a long story."

Omega arched an eyebrow, her expression unreadable. "I've got time," she replied, her tone insistent. "And I've got questions."

Amina cursed silently, wishing she could come up with a better excuse. She glanced at Hunter, hoping for some backup, but he merely shrugged in response, his smirk widening.

If only she was Padme right now. At least she had a team to do her hair and makeup, as well as extravagant outfits to hide the hickeys.

But sadly, Amina has never owned or wore any makeup.

And she doesn’t have fancy over the top dresses.

“Well… um… you know, I must say, you’ve gotten pretty good at interrogating.” Amina said, as Omega crossed her arms, “okay, okay. Me and Hunter were… training and I fell on the hilt of my lightsaber giving me a bruise.”

Omega raised an eyebrow, “but there are multiple.”

“Multiple?” Amina whisper-yelled, her voice tinged with panic as she felt the weight of Omega’s scrutiny bearing down on her.

Hunter tried to suppress a smirk, but it was no use. A small chuckle escaped his lips before he could stop it. He could see Amina’s discomfort, and while he didn’t want to make things worse for her, he couldn’t help but find the situation amusing.

Omega raised an eyebrow, her expression a mix of skepticism and curiosity. “So, you fell on your lightsaber multiple times?” she asked, her tone incredulous.

Amina winced, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. She shot Hunter another pleading look, silently begging him to come to her rescue. But he merely shrugged, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

“Well, you see, it’s a long story,” Amina began, her voice faltering slightly. “I, uh, I was... practicing some... new techniques, and, um... things got a little... out of hand.”

Omega’s skepticism deepened, her gaze narrowing as she studied Amina intently. “Out of hand?” she echoed, her tone flat. “What kind of techniques were you practicing?”

Amina bit her lip nervously, her mind racing for a plausible explanation. Techniques. What kind of techniques are there?

“Um, you know, just... some advanced combat maneuvers,” Amina replied, her voice strained. “Nothing too out of the ordinary.”

Omega’s eyes narrowed further, her suspicion evident in every line of her face. “Advanced combat maneuvers?” she repeated, her tone skeptical. “And that’s how you ended up with... multiple bruises on your neck?”

Amina shifted uncomfortably, her mind scrambling for a convincing lie. She could feel the weight of Omega’s scrutiny bearing down on her, and with each passing moment, the pressure seemed to mount.

“Well, you see, it’s, uh...” Amina began, her voice trailing off as she struggled to come up with a plausible explanation.

Before she could say anything else, however, Hunter stepped forward, coming to her rescue at last. “Look, Omega, it’s really not that big of a deal,” he said, his tone casual. “Amina was just... practicing some new moves, and things got a little... intense.”

Omega arched an eyebrow, her skepticism evident in every line of her face. “Intense?” she echoed, her tone dubious. “What kind of moves were you practicing?”

Hunter shrugged, a nonchalant expression on his face. “You know, the usual,” he replied, his tone casual.

“Yeah, new… force techniques.” Amina said, patting Omega’s shoulder. “Oh- did you hear that? I think Tech called for you.”

Omega looked at the Marauder, “I didn’t hear anything.”

“Nope, pretty sure he did. Might just want to check in, see what he wants.”

Amina's diversion seemed to work, albeit barely. Omega gave her one last skeptical look before turning her attention towards the Marauder. "Alright, I'll go check in with Tech," she said, her voice tinged with uncertainty. "But we're not done talking about this, okay?"

Amina nodded, relief flooding through her as Omega walked away. She let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, feeling the tension drain from her shoulders. Hunter watched Omega's retreating figure with a small smile, his eyes softening with amusement.

"That was close," he remarked, his tone light.

Amina chuckled softly, her nerves still jittery from the close call. "Tell me about it," she replied, her voice tinged with relief. "Thanks for not stepping in back there." She walked over to Hunter, tapping his chest plate, “I’m going to get you back.”

“Oh really?” He asked.

She nodded and hummed, “yep.” Amina leaned up and kissed the underside of his jaw before making her way onto the Marauder, “you’ll never know when it’s coming!”

---

Tech tapped on the console in the ship, “the Imperial transport Echo hijacked was assigned to the Advanced Science Division.”

“Never heard of it.” Hunter said.

“That is because it is a clandestine operation. There are no records on its location or its purpose. All I could find on it was the chief scientist in charge, Dr. Royce Hemlock. An officer expelled from the Republic science corps due to his unauthorized and unorthodox experiments.”

“Why were they sending clone prisoners to him?” Omega asked.

“I do not know, but it gets worse. Previous transfer records recovered from the ship’s logs list other clone prisoners detained by the Advanced Science Division. And Crosshair is one of them.”

“You mean Crosshair turned on the Empire?” Wrecker asked hopefully.

“How sure are you about this?” Hunter questioned.

“Very. After discovering his clone number on the transfer register, I checked our old comm channels and found a recent distress message sent from Crosshair’s old code.”

“What did it say?” Omega inquired.

“Plan 88. The Seeker. We are being targeted. I believe he is warning us.”

“Or it’s a trap, like he’s set for us before.” Hunter added.

Wrecker grunted, “well, how do we find out?”

tags: @callsign-denmark

[aroaessidhe]

Mid-Year Book Freakout 2023

1. Best book you’ve read so far this year

The Art of Prophecy - this was so fun and made just for me I enjoyed it a lot The Misadventures of an Amateur Naturalist - really good and also quite unique for the space it’s sitting in I think! The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi - this is very good and fun I loved it

2. Best sequel you’ve read so far this year

The World We Make - love this duology!! NK Jemisin does it again etc etc A Day of Fallen Night - prequel technically, but I enjoyed it a lot and more than priory I think! Sailing By Carina’s Star - i am enjoying this trilogy a lot we love queer pirates The Shadow Cabinet - somehow even more wild than the first book

3. New release you haven’t read yet

I don’t keep lists of books I need to read, so of course when I try to think of something my mind goes blank, here’s a couple from my library holds/kindle To Shape A Dragon’s Breath Wander The Night also does Flight & Anchor count if I’ve read the original patreon version but not the published version yet

4. Most anticipated release for the second half of the year

(same situation lmao) I’m looking forward to He Who Drowned The World! that’s the first thing that comes to mind

5. Biggest disappointment

tbqh I’ve read a lot of disappointments but they’re mostly self published ones that I read soley because of aspec characters that didn’t hold up in the writing department and are not very well known anyway. (I’ve read tons of selfpubs that are amazing too of course!!) so I’ll just mention some traditionally published ones: Rosewater - I did go into this with the wrong expectations for one, but also the MC was so (intentionally) misogynistic it was hard to enjoy :/ The Wicked Remain - there were a few iffy things in the first book but also things I liked and the second book just...didn’t really add to the things I liked. idk Song of Silver, Flame Like Night - I knew this wasn’t gonna be entirely for me in the first place but man what was up with the only other female character (that’s not dead) having an absolute caricature of a mean girl rivalry with the MC in like. a calling each other slurs kind of way not a fun way

6. Biggest surprise

Beating Heart Baby - I enjoy reading YA contemporary but there’s usually a limit to how much I enjoy it compared to sff, but this went beyond what I expected and I really loved it The Meister of Decimen City - I didn’t have any expectations for this, someone just mentioned it on a discord and I got it from the library, but I loved it a lot!

7. Favorite new author (debut or new to you)

See generally I only call people favourite authors if I’ve read and loved like, at least 3 separate books from them, and I don’t really have any of those for this year.....you need to work to get my loyalty Here’s a few authors that I’ve read a second book/series from them this year and am like, ah yes, I will read the next one: Ceinwen Langley Rebecca Schaeffer Liselle Sambury

8. Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character

tbh I’m not one to separate an individual character from their book or like, the other characters surrounding them very often, so I just can’t think of anything specific... all the women in The Art of Prophecy are great

9. Book that made you cry

I’ve actually started recording this in my stats this year HAHA, with “fully crying” “teared up” and “cried from cute/happiness” and,, I did not expect that there are only 3 books that have made me fully cry????? Which are: In Other Lands and Lirael (nostalgia def has a part to play in both of those) and Beating Heart Baby. I can’t remember why I cried for that one but clearly it was a lot lmao

10. Book that made you happy

I mean it’s a reread but In Other Lands of course

World Running Down - only just read this and I really enjoyed it! a good mix of an interesting sci-fi future that isn’t super dark but also doesn’t shy away from various issues, and an interesting romance! (me enjoying a romance, shocker)

witch hat atelier! - how could it Not make you happy tbh

thanks @violaeade for tagging me!

I will tag @thereadingchallengechallenge @nycorix @speculatives @dkafterdark and anyone else who wants I guess

[fallstaticexit]

well i maybe have some theories/questions

you already know i came from tiktok😏

1. so i’m sensing that Edin is going to be Adie’s future love interest/friend/enemy/?… I MEANN they’re both toddlers currently and they’re both supernatural

2. I know you mentioned before that you wanted to do like a magic school type of story for Adie which I think is so fucking cool!! Maybe they’ll meet when they enroll whether that’s as children or teens.

3. And for miss Ellie she’s currently a human right? Will she become a werewolf like her siblings when she becomes old enough? And if she does will she be going to that school as well or is it just for spellcasters? And is that the same for Rhys who’s currently a child or is he going to just stay in normal school? I assume Amir is too old to go and he already has a story of his own.

4. This one may be a stretch but I love reading the Sims 4 lore. There’s a character with a similar name to Adelina— Avelina who was Greg’s late wife. We’ve seen Greg fight Amir in that one episode and we know that Greg is miserable because he’s all alone now (lore wise). If they are related we know that Greg and Avelina used to be mooncasters (idk if it’s the same as spellcasters) before they became werewolves. Is there any link here or am I tripping? I mean I know you read the lore too because Lux DeMarco appears in Amir’s story (😉)

5. off topic but I love Amir. Like that’s my son with his little boyfriends. 💙💙 You got 2 men obsessed with you I know he’s living life.

6. L. Faba is obviously up to no good.. I mean she is the sage of mischief magic. This ties into my first statement about the magic school story. We know there’s going to be more to the plot then Adie just going to school. She’s gotta fight someone and save the day right??!!!! So I wondering if Miss Faba is trying to cause something to happen— I assume to Tomax because she was deadset on trying to make the man practice Dark Magic.

What if something happens to him that makes him evil?? Or even do something to Simeon or Grace?? We know in the lore Grace and Tomax are roommates (and they were roommates..🤭) and in your story they’re very close.

ok this is it for now i feel like my brain is fried

SO glad you came over to Tumblr with me, your comments give me life everytime lmao 🥹🤌🏾✨

maaayybbeee 🤭

I did want to do a magic school type beat but that was a bit before I expanded the lore. Right now (In the next update, I'll touch on it a bit) Nora does NOT want Adie in the Magic realm or any of the sages to know about them. at all. She wants nothing to do with them, the past, her involvement in the war, all of it and honestly, her little magical trigger finger is itching to finish what she started tbh , more on that later.

1000% Ellie will be a werewolf. At this point it's kinda like a family business/rite of passage. Amir is grown grown now 🥹 but Sonny and his bunch will continue to hold down their ranch and keep vampires in check. But they actually play a pretty big part in what's to come and when my Briar legacy and Fallen Angel series meet, we will see ALOT of them.

No link. The only link werewolves has is that they are descendants of Mooncasters and once upon a time they lived in the Magic Realm with all the occult before the Spellcasters got all high and mighty. Now werewolves just do their own thing and fight vampires. But I really don't see them having much involvement with Spellcaster drama other than possibly whooping vamp ass when needed.

I love those boys. Other than my OGs Honey and Amina, def my favorite couple(s) 🥹

L. Faba really about to put Tomax in a world of hurt...which is crazy because he's really already emotionally and mentally in shambles. I suppose that's why she picked him. He's the weakest. This update should be out in a little bit

I saw that they were roommates which made me go hmmmmm 🤔 interesting 🧐 and exactly why we'll see them roll around in the hay from time to time. But from my most recent update, I expand on Grace's ability to heal a little and really she's all about making people feel better via touch...so maybe there’s romance involved maybe she’s trying to help out an old friend because therapy doesn’t exist in the Magic Realm ig lmao 😵‍💫

[samanthamarkle92]

Part four is here! Here are the links to the previous parts if you missed them! Shoutout to @cravingcoldoreocake123 @m0chac0ffee @nsharks @ladyelissarose

Part One

Part Two

Part Three

Trigger Warning: contains war-related violence, implied sexual assault, and attempted suicide.

**********

Farid came back from the village shortly after. He had a sack of food. He smiled at Ghost, digging through the bag and handing the tall soldier something orange and leathery; dried apricots. Ghost popped one into his mouth, tasting it’s sweetness.

Amina made some kind of vegetable stew for dinner, which she served to them herself. Ghost found it surprisingly tasty. The siblings went to bed when it got late, and Ghost too fell asleep. He had woken up when it was still dark out, needing a drink of water. He was ready to go back to sleep when he heard it; Amina crying, and Farid talking. He didn't think; he ran into the room. Amina heard him, and pulled a scarf over her face again.

“What’s wrong?” Ghost asked, concerned. Farid started talking rapidly, looking like he might cry.

“It’s nothing....go away...”

“Amina, you were screaming....” Amina took a shaky breath.

“Farid, go in the next room.” Farid nodded and left obediently.

Ghost sighed; he’d had his share of nightmares; the things he didn't want to remember.

“It was when our parents died....they....they...”

“They were killed, weren't they?” Ghost whispered.

Amina wiped tears off of her face.

“Yes. Some Taliban had come to our village....they wanted the boys....”

Ghost nodded; he knew what happened to boys; brainwashed into being child soldiers.

“One woman was a teacher....they shot her in the street...”

“And then?” Ghost asked, not sure if he really wanted to know.

“They came to our house....we hid Farid in a trap door under the storeroom. Then they said they wanted me....I was sixteen....my father tried to fight back; they shot him. They took turns....” Amina couldn't finish. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Ghost reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Is there anything I can do?"

Amina shook her head and pulled her legs to her chest.

“No....you can’t help us now.....the Taliban have taken everything....”

Ghost sat beside her.

“They made sure I’d never forget.” Amina said, uncovering her face. A scar ran from her eye to her chin. His stomach turned when he saw a scar on her neck, near her jugular vein.

“They hit me over the head with a gun....I blacked out...when I woke up, both of my parents were dead. I got Farid out of the storeroom; he wouldn't stop crying...we knew we were alone. After that, Farid got a neighbor to help us for awhile; we called her Auntie Maryam. She looked after me until I was strong enough. But I wasn’t…All I did was get up, make Farid some food, and go back to bed…l didn’t want to talk to anyone….I was afraid…”

Her eyes filled with tears again.

“One day, Farid went to play with his friends…. I took the butane container from the stove…. I couldn’t bring myself to light the match…. I knew I couldn’t leave Farid….”

“Amina...don’t do this...don’t blame yourself…You survived!”

Her eyes were closed and she buried her face back into her knees, sobbing.

Ghost rested his hand on her arm, listening to her cry. This was so unfair… He wished he knew what to say.

“Amina…”

She lifted her head, looking straight ahead blankly.

“If the Taliban come, they will kill us…and probably you too…” He paused to take a breath, hoping that she would understand. He continued, “Do you have any weapons? Do you have a rifle or a handgun? I mean…I don’t want you to be unprotected….you can escape with me….rape is grounds for asylum in some countries; there’s refugee aid...you’ll be safe.”

“You mean....we can leave?” Amina had been wanting to flee; to find freedom. And to live free, away from this place, where death seemed to follow her like a shadow. The thought of escaping terrified her at the same time.

“If we can, we will.” Amina said. Ghost could sense the determination in her voice; the same determination he felt.

She pulled away from him slightly, pulling her leg to her chest again.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up….”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Amina looked at Ghost; she knew the scars and dirt could not hide what haunted him. Her eyes searched the ground. She wiped her eyes with her hand.

“I'm fine. Thank you, Simon.”

Ghost stood and left the bedroom, seeing Farid sitting by the door.

“Go be with your sister, little man.” Ghost said, not knowing if the kid knew what he was saying.

The boy looked startled before nodding his head and running to Amina's bedside.

Ghost laid down on his mattress, replaying Amina's story in his mind. He had heard about the atrocities that women and girls here had to live through, the struggle to survive day to day. Amina was lucky just to be alive. He would not let anything happen to her. She had saved his life; he could at least do the same.

[merrock]

wednesday; hump day!

Morning, folks! We're at the halfway point of our Volunteer Week event, which means there is still plenty of time to get involved! I'm going to highlight the open starters we have seen so far (as of April 26th at 12PM). To my knowledge, all of these are still open for new replies from anyone!

Deacon Newman -- at the conservatory.

Amina Zaidi – at the state park.

Vitus Aydin – at the animal sanctuary.

Chloe Nwokobia – at the beach.

Ramsey Salazar – at harmony ranch.

Alice Zhao – at paradise garden.

Stelly Carter – open location.

All current open starters are writing-based, and you are welcome to make new ones! At this point if you do, please make sure you have replied to existing starters, though! (Also, please be sure if you haven't been replying to starters, period, you take the time to do so before our next check, which will be done very soon.) All starters can be replied to until the end of the OOC duration of the event (April 30th), and new starters can be made until then, too, closed or opened. All threads created before then can be continued as long as you would like, however!

Our thread/plotting call post is still pinned to the top of our OOC blog! If you have commented on the post, take the time to reach out to others who have, as well -- get something going, offer up a plot or thread! I promise you that it will make someone's day to feel included. Please, please, please get out of the mindset of only expecting people to come to you, we want this to be a two way street!

Lastly, if you have not heard from your assigned partner by now, reach out to us and let us know -- one of the admins will happily start a thread with you, or we can find someone who will. xx

[deatheless]

@memuntos sent: i think this is a crime in several states. / accepting.

❛ oh, come on! ❜ mina laughs, glancing down briefly at her fingers deftly twisting the bobby pin open, and then looks back up, grinning at noemi. her voice is teasing and light, a sharp contrast to her actual words : ❛ it's definitely a crime in most. maybe all. ❜

she worries her lip with her teeth as she glances at the door. once more, just for good measure — mina checks the side of the door with her hip, but just like all the other times before, it doesnt budge. yeah, it's definitely locked. which is super fucking shitty, first of all, considering all of their stuff is back there. but it also means ...

mina unceremoniously jabs the pin into the lock, suddenly thankful for the curiosity of childhood leading her down this particular google search rabbithole — and also thankful she'd worn some tonight in the first place. ❛ but hey, they also suck! it's not like we're doing this for fun! if they'd just let us take our time leaving instead of deciding we had to leave, like, the fucking second i got offstage, we'd be fine. no crimes needed. ❜

the backstage area was too small and they needed room for their next act, or some shit, which apparently meant they had to leave immediately. wouldn't they have more fucking room if her and noemi's bags weren't sitting back there still? you'd think that would be fucking obvious. mina glances down suddenly, pulled from her thoughts by the pins refusing to move, and she blinks, not having realized how hard she had been holding onto her second bobby pin. whoops. keep the anger until after you've got this thing open, amina. she continues in silence, attempting to keep her focus on the sounds of the streets and the soft clicks of the pins pressing into place rather than the frustration welling in her chest.

finally, it gives. mina sighs in relief as the door handle twists open, and she turns to noemi, mouth twisted into an unimpressed pout despite her success. ❛ come on. we should hurry so no one see us, even if i'd fucking loooove to talk to that asshole again, ❜ she says, and waits for her friend to step inside before following her in. as the door shuts behind them, under her breath, mina huffs. ❛ seriously, they did not even, like, pay nearly well enough for this. ❜

[wewerebornsextuplets]

it's time 😏 under the cut for brevitys sake and also no new pictures because im on the train. ill just be reposting their original refs

going left to right, that means we'll have to start with eo-chan!

her real name is a honoka watanabe, though in true chuuni fashion, she insists her real name is "Eos Dusk Symphonia". she claims to be an angel, sent to purge the world of all evil through her holy instrument (aka her trumpet). of course, this naturally means she had to join the school's jazz band. the stickers on the trumpet case are what she calls "seals" to protect the trumpet from dark energy and to keep humans from touching it, because she claims it burns mortal flesh.

eo-chans home life is very normal, her parents are quite loving and actually indulge her in the chuuni antics when they can (though they still call her honoka. the name think is a little over their heads). i think she's probably an only child. she met ippei through the jazz band and became friends with him that way!

next is ringo. she's a rather sporty girl, and her lack of adherence to uniform code + quiet demeanor often give others the impression that she's stern or rude. in truth, she's just had a hard time making friends, and it's made her quite shy. her and ippei share a homeroom class and became friends that way. they quickly realized they were the only queer kids in their homeroom class (ringo being a trans girl who is only just starting to figure stuff out, and ippei of course being a little gay boy) and decided they had to stick together

ringo's the second of four children, with a considerable age gap on either side. her older sister is 23, and has been away from home studying since she graduated high school, and her younger siblings are still in elementary school. since her parents are very busy with work, she usually has to take care of the little ones, which caused her to have to sacrifice her own social life in order to do so. it's also left her a bit confused in terms of her own self expression, which is something she works on as she comes out of her shell a little bit

third in the lineup we have amina! she's a transfer student from america, staying with her father who moved to japan for work. her dad is a very upstanding guy who really wants her to do well, which she recognizes, but she's quite anxious which has led to her accidentally overdoing things in order to prove herself. with school, this manifested as her accidentally signing up for too many extracurriculars and clubs, and stressing out so badly she gave up all of them except for one; the computer program that ippei is in!

though she's quite fluent in japanese, she's still very worried about saying the wrong thing on accident, and so carries around a speaking dictionary wherever she goes. unfortunately, she often second-guesses herself into failure, and references the book at inappropriate or incorrect times. her and ippei get along quite well since she relates to him in the sense that neither one of them is originally from akatsuka (albeit in very different senses) and his very lackadaisical attitude tends to bring her down from getting too anxious.

finally, we have yumie. she's a bit of a curveball in that she actually didn't befriend the rest of them properly at the start, but instead joined the group later. beforehand, she got sucked into the school's gossip culture in a bid to become popular in an attempt to distract from her home life being less than ideal. this led to her befriending the "popular" crowd and adopting their more callous and snarky attitude, even making fun of people who are just like how she used to be.

yumie first starts talking to the group after one of her friends makes her ask him out for a joke; obviously, being that ippei doesn't like girls like that, he turns her down, which leads to yumies old friend group developing a weird fascination with keeping tabs on him and his "weird friends". so, yumie starts spending more time with them under the guise of playing double agent, but eventually finds herself liking talking to them more than her old friends, whom she ends up ditching. in particular she gets a lot of joy out of (affectionately) teasing ringo, who usually doesn't pick up on her jokes and takes them at face value

and as a group, they do what every teenage friend group does best: terrorize local shopping districts

i thiiink tomorrow i will try to type out the little blurbs for ippeis friends so they have a bit more characterization to them 👍 since i would like to talk about them more....

[hellomynameisbisexual]

Since the very conception of the motion picture, the LGBT community have been represented on-screen in some form. An early example is Algie the Miner (1912), a short silent film which follows the effeminate Algie (Billy Quirk), who enjoys kissing cowboys. In order to marry someone’s daughter, he heads west to prove that he’s a man. While this is quite an outdated stereotype of being gay, the portrayals have varied greatly over time. Only recently is LGBT representation becoming more positive and common. However, when it comes to portraying bisexuality on-screen, it still seems to be a difficult task.

Many narrative tropes have been birthed through filmmakers trying to show sexuality on-screen and most of them contribute directly to the overall erasure of bisexuality in cinema – usually with ambiguous portrayals, negative stereotyping and characters needing to pick a side. Not all instances are problematic, but their prevalence isn’t helping to combat the stigma that bisexual people face. There are three main tropes when it comes to depicting bisexuality, which is infidelity, picking a side, and the horrible husband. They’re usually found together in a common narrative that erases bisexuality, whether intentional or not.

Infidelity

There’s a long-standing stereotype that bisexual people are more likely to cheat on their partners and are incapable of commitment. This is a trope that is heavily carried in some of the most well-known depictions of bisexuality. Typically, a female protagonist is engaged or married to a man, but she meets a lesbian woman and they become involved sexually and romantically, leaving the protagonist torn between two lovers. This happens in Imagine Me & You (2005) when Rachel (Piper Perabo) falls in love with lesbian flower shop owner Luce (Lena Headey), who provided the flowers for her wedding to Hector (Matthew Goode). It’s a fairly average film that could’ve been amazing had it acknowledged Rachel’s bisexuality, but it’s still one of the better ones considering Perabo and Headey have amazing chemistry.

For some reason, bisexual characters are often in serious relationships when they’re suddenly sexually awakened. This happened to Rachel right after her wedding because she happened to meet the right woman. While this type of experience does happen in real life, it’s always the go-to narrative for films about women realizing they’re not one-hundred-percent straight. In these instances, the same-sex love affair acts as the conflict within the narrative – this can create good drama when done right, but it gets boring and bisexual characters deserve better than constantly being portrayed as cheaters. People are not more promiscuous or likely to cheat on their partners because of their sexuality, but these tropes are constantly telling people otherwise.

We deserve to see bisexual characters whose sexuality isn’t the main narrative focus or who at least explore their sexuality outside of a relationship. Appropriate Behaviour (2014) is a good example of this as Shirin (Desiree Akhavan, who is also the film’s writer and director) is a bisexual Persian American woman who is keeping her sexuality a secret from her judgemental family, while also attempting to rebuild her life after breaking up with her girlfriend. Seeing bisexuality portrayed on-screen is another place where people pick up more stigma or acceptance, and with bisexuality it, unfortunately, seems to be the former. This is why bisexual filmmakers like Akhavan are better suited to portraying the experiences of bisexual men and women than others.

Picking A Side

When the protagonist is in conflict with her sexuality, the people around her usually wonder if she’s a lesbian now – despite them being engaged or married to a man. This can be seen in Below Her Mouth (2010) where Jasmine (Natalie Krill) begins having an affair with Dallas (Erika Linder). When her husband finds out, he tells her “You’re a lesbian” but she tells him that she loves him and nothing has changed between them. It seems impossible to grasp that a person could be attracted to both men and women. Bisexuality is erased.

Some films insinuate that the protagonist isn’t necessarily bisexual or even a lesbian, it’s just that they’re attracted to this one woman only and no others – they’re an exception! This is the kind of impression you get from Below Her Mouth, but also from other films such as Imagine Me & You and Elena Undone (2010), which isn’t particularly helpful for lesbian representation either. In Imagine Me & You, Rachel tells Hector “You are my best friend. That was enough before, and it will be enough again.” This implies that Rachel was never truly attracted to him in a romantic sense, thus implying that she’s a lesbian. While this could be a case of compulsory heteronormativity, it seems problematic as it’s never discussed or explained. Avoiding discussions about sexuality – as most of these films do – are what contribute to this trope massively and result in misinterpretation and erasure.

Films as new as Netflix’s Alex Strangelove (2018) also feed into the idea that bisexuality is a stepping stone to picking a side. Alex (Daniel Doheny) prepares to lose his virginity to his girlfriend but finds his plans derailed when he’s attracted to another boy. He spends most of the film questioning his sexuality and at one point thinks he’s bisexual. The film does highlight biphobia which brings attention to this problem, so it’s disheartening at the end when Alex realizes he is gay and not bisexual after all. The set up for Alex Strangelove was perfect for a bisexual love story and, while it’s still positive LGBT representation, it’s a shame it didn’t stick with that. It’s even rarer to see bisexual men portrayed on-screen, so it would’ve been really rewarding.

It’s important to acknowledge that bisexuality is a comfortable place for some people to be while they’re trying to accept that they are gay – and there’s nothing wrong with that. However, there still seems to be some widespread discomfort when it comes to sexuality being fluid. For bisexual people, there isn’t any side to pick – they’re not torn between polar opposites, nor are they confused. They aren’t on the fence, they’re on both sides of the fence. Nevertheless, films continue to portray bisexuality as a personal conflict that needs resolving, and it does this by putting bisexual characters in a situation where they’re having affairs. This makes their sexuality the narrative conflict, which is wholly problematic in itself.

The Horrible Husband

The protagonist’s fiancé or husband is usually abusive or passive in the relationship, and thus portrayed as the antagonist. She is then drawn to a lesbian woman who treats her so much better and gives her the attention she deserves. Sometimes it’s as though these films are saying that lesbianism is the cure for a dissatisfying heterosexual relationship. This contributes to bisexual erasure by suggesting that bisexual women can only be happy with women and never with a man because they’re horrible or not good enough. It also perpetuates the idea of picking a side – almost telling bisexuals that they should just be lesbians instead.

This trope is found in films like Elena Undone, where Elena (Necar Zadegan) meets Peyton (Traci Dinwiddie) who is a famous lesbian writer. Elena’s husband Barry (Gary Weeks), however, is a homophobic pastor. Elena Undone is actually loosely based on director Nicole Conn’s real-life romance with Marina Rice Bader, but the film itself isn’t great. It’s also shown in The World Unseen (2007) as Miriam (Lisa Ray) quietly follows the customs of 1950s South Africa, alongside dealing with her abusive husband Omar (Parvin Dabas). Miriam becomes empowered to change her circumstances when she meets and falls in love with free-spirited cafe owner Amina (Sheetal Sheth).

A much better film that deals with this trope is Bound (1996). Lesbian ex-con Corky (Gina Gershon) arrives at an apartment building to start work as a painter and plumber. She soon finds herself being seduced by Violet (Jennifer Tilly) who lives next door with her boyfriend Caesar (Joe Pantoliano). Violet explains that they’ve been together for five years and he’s a money launderer for the mafia. She wants to escape and make a new life for herself, so she and Corky plan to steal $2 million of Mafia money and blame it on Caesar. The horrible husband trope actually works well in this film because the women plan to screw Caesar over and it doesn’t use Violet’s infidelity as the main narrative conflict – it’s a lot more original, which isn’t surprising as the first directorial feature film from the Wachowski Sisters. Bound would’ve been much less effective if Caesar was just a regular guy who Violet hated, but she has a better motive with the drama surrounding his violent mafia connections.

These three tropes are collectively the entire plot of Imagine Me & You, Elena Undone, The World Unseen, I Can’t Think Straight (2008), Kiss Me (2011) and more. It’s a shame that there isn’t always a huge focus on the actual relationship between the two women in these films. It’s more about them hiding their relationship and because they officially get together at the end, we never get to see much of what their life is like as a couple. They all feature very similar themes, meaning that when it comes to telling the stories of bisexual characters, the narrative is rarely diverse. Romantic comedies in general always follow the same beats which is fine, but these tropes for bisexual characters either erase their sexuality and/or display it as a problem.

These tropes can still work well (like with Bound) depending on certain aspects of the narrative. Infidelity works well in Carol (2015) due to the 1950s setting. Carol (Cate Blanchett), who is in the process of divorcing her horrible husband, and Therese (Rooney Mara) have to hide their relationship due to homosexuality not being accepted during this time. This adds an extra layer to the narrative, giving actual depth to why things are happening the way that they are. There’s also Disobedience (2017) where it works well due to the Orthodox Jewish culture. Ronit (Rachel Weisz), who is considered bisexual, returns to the community for her father’s funeral to find her childhood friend Esti (Rachel McAdams) married to a man. Esti describes herself as a lesbian woman in a relationship with a man, which is disheartening but works in the film’s world. Disobedience also plays through the infidelity trope very differently to other films, allowing it to be more effective.

The Erasure

In films with bisexual characters, it’s rare that the word “bisexual” actually comes up. It’s mostly ambiguous, implied or erased completely by the protagonist seemingly picking a side. It’s constantly reinforced by narrative tropes that are set up for dramatic entertainment, with no real intention of representing sexuality with genuine care. Erasure also happens due to words like “gay” being used as an umbrella term when referring back to certain films. Brokeback Mountain (2005) and Call Me By Your Name (2017), for example, are often referred to as gay films on social media due to the gay relationships portrayed, However, the characters are portrayed to be sexually fluid/bisexual due to the nature of their relationships with women. It also happens with films like Blue Is the Warmest Colour (2014) which is always painted as a lesbian love story when Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) is clearly bisexual. It’s not necessarily bad to use gay and lesbian as umbrella terms, but it, unfortunately, does contribute to bisexual erasure. We should be bringing more attention to bisexuality on-screen and pointing it out specifically when we see it.

One of the biggest erasures is the portrayal of bisexual men. They appear much less frequently than bisexual women. The most recent example that comes to mind is Jake Gyllenhaal’s character in Velvet Buzzsaw (2019), but the word bisexual was never used and he was portrayed as being promiscuous, which fits into the negative stereotype (although the film is satire so perhaps it can be excused). Some better, or at least more interesting, depictions of bisexual men are still out there and can be found in films such as Velvet Goldmine (1998), Kaboom (2010), The Comedian (2012), The Lobster (2015) and Moonlight (2016).

If anything, bisexual characters are usually left out of the bury your gays/dead lesbian syndrome trope. It’s very common both in film and television for gay men and lesbian women to be killed off in some dramatic way, such as in Brokeback Mountain, The Fox (1967), Les Biches (1968), Lost and Delirious (2001) and A Single Man (2009). Bisexual women have been killed off quite a bit in television – like Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton) in The O.C. – but they’re relatively safe in film and hopefully, it’ll stay that way.

Acknowledging Bisexuality

It is disheartening that bisexual representation on-screen isn’t as good or as frequent as gay and lesbian representation. We’re also at a time where it could be massively improved, but now we face the barrier of “queer” as another umbrella term. It’s wholly unhelpful when not everyone identifies with it and when we want bisexual characters to say the word bisexual on-screen. We want to be acknowledged. Bisexual actress Stephanie Beatriz made sure her bisexual character in Brooklyn Nine-Nine got to say it earlier this year, because that word means something to certain people and the impact is great. Hopefully this will start to happen more in film going forward.

There are definitely films out there where the word bisexual is actually said, like in Appropriate Behaviour, Kiss Me, Velvet Goldmine and Margarita with a Straw (2014). It’s rare that we hear it so when we do it’s pretty exciting. In addition to these, other films that feature positive and/or complex portrayals of bisexual characters in general (and not the previously discussed tropes) are: Cabaret (1972), Chasing Amy (1997), Black Swan (2010), Atomic Blonde (2017) and Tully (2018).

There have been many positive and negative depictions of bisexuality, but the majority of them aren’t great or feed into the biphobia and the erasure of the identity. Filmmakers need to do better when it comes to portraying bisexual characters and their stories. It’s always helpful when bisexual people themselves get a voice, whether as writers, directors or actors. For some reason, although there are exceptions, most straight male and lesbian filmmakers have trouble portraying bisexuality both positively and accurately. They essentially give the message that bisexuality doesn’t exist or is an inner conflict that needs to be resolved. We must do better because one day someone will be watching a film where a character says “bisexual” and their life will suddenly fall into place.

[atlas-of-a-human-soul]

frENEMIES, pt.2 {Quarterback AU}

Summary: While her first prank may have backfired, Y/N isn’t ready to let Grayson off the hook just yet and her next plan may include collateral damage.

Warnings: naked Grayson, swearing, sexual innuendos

Part one   

She could hear him scream her name before running off, tossing his clothes in her car with a satisfied clap of her hands. To say she's been craving revenge would be an understatement, and giving him a taste of what she truly wishes to do has certainly been sweet.

That is until she hears a man clear his throat behind her in the halls, too aware of his presence even before she turns around. It’s impossible to ignore a man like Grayson who has an aura around him...sort of distinctive presence that overshadows everything and everyone.

But turning around was a mistake because Grayson had decided to wrap the mascot's scarf around his privates and offered a glowing view of his impeccable abs and damn it, she couldn't lie and say he isn't quite literally the most handsome man she's ever had the pleasure of seeing. She may consider herself a stone cold bitch, but she was definitely not a dead bitch and those abs would make anyone want to lick them.

"Missing something, quarterback?" Raising her eyebrow victoriously, her smirk had widened into a smile he found wicked, but all too beautiful. He could sense her stare and the sheer power of will it takes for her not to make it too obvious and while he'd usually make a move, the giggles around him are an undeniable reminder that it's neither the time nor place and that she caused his presumed walk of shame, except he had nothing to be ashamed of.

Looking around the gawking crowd with a cocky smirk, Grayson shrugs and leans in, only then noticing the light pink tinted cheeks of hers and the extremely intoxicating scent radiating off her. It felt like a dash of spring by the seashore and he nearly made a fool of himself as a desire to hold her almost overpowered him. 

Why is he suddenly attracted to Satan? Sure, he always thought she was beautiful and he always was a sucker for curves but her personality didn’t change over night, and Grayson may be a player but he certainly doesn’t sleep with girls that may kill him after an orgasm - black widows. He couldn’t wrap his mind around it nor understand anything at the moment, but he knew he wanted to see those pink cheeks redden.

"Just giving the people what they want."

Rolling her eyes at him, she takes a step back and shakes it off - the unquestionable need to have her hands on those abs, purely for scientific purposes, of course. 

Leaning into her further, he chuckles when her lips press together nervously and all too happy with himself, he states:"If you wanted me naked, all you had to do was ask."

Appalled, perhaps even horrified, she groans before leaning into him, close enough to use his shoulder as leverage to lift herself on her tiptoes up to his ear instead of his lips as he half expected, perhaps even hoped for, whispering.

"Right. Well, if I were you I'd skedaddle before the very bewildered principle gets here and he's about a few steps away."

Eyes wide, Grayson took off but as he passed by her, Y/N made sure to finish the job by pulling off his scarf as swiftly as possible, enjoying the follow up "Y/L/N" scream from a distancing Grayson and his exquisite ass.

Being wicked feels good and she had every intention of reminding Grayson exactly how wicked she can be.

"Did you really have to embarrass him like that?" Amina whisper shouts, receiving a raised eyebrow as a response as Y/N stops walking and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Seriously? You think he was embarrassed when everyone was gawking at his perfectly sculpted body?" Annoyance in her eyes and tone dripping with sarcasm, Y/N was already plotting her next move in this war she was waging with Grayson.

"Besides, you know he had it coming after what he did to me." Stating her reason wasn't enough for Amina, though. After years of tiptoeing around Ethan and the feelings they both had for each other, she had finally decided to give him a chance and if her best friend is hell bent on destroying his twin brother, that would certainly put a strain on her soon to be an official relationship.

"It's been years, Y/N. You need to learn to let things go. If not for you, then for me." Raising her voice ever so slightly, Amina frowns when she sees her best friend's eyes harden and her jaw clench as if she had just been deeply hurt and insulted. 

It wasn’t so long ago he had ruined her chances at dating a really great guy that had a little chat with him and then ghosted her after. It was the first guy she liked that liked her back, a chance for a lot of her firsts to come true, but she found herself at an age where most people would mock her for never even kissing a guy before. Her war with Grayson was started by him freshman year and it continued daily ever since...he started it, but she has every intention on finishing it. As Aristocats have taught her: “Ladies don’t start fights, but they can sure finish them.”

"Years? Amina, he called me a snake and a clumsy nerd and both nicknames have been haunting me since freshman year. He...that's the most insignificant thing he's done to me compared to other...despicable ways he had tormented me. Even before I knew who he was." Swallowing thickly, Y/N drew in a shuddered breath before speaking again.

"If you want to distance yourself from me to stay clean in front of Ethan, do it. But I can't let things go. Not when it’s him. You know that."

And without a word from Amina, not even a sound, Y/N nods, accepting that her best friend chose a side and it isn't hers.

***

A week flew by as Y/N plotted her next move against her worst enemy, aka the quarterback and most self absorbed prick she had ever had the displeasure knowing. 

It's baffling how someone so handsome can be such an asshole...almost tragic.

But it didn't take her long to figure out what he treasures most and what seems to have all the girls swooning - his hair. He’s been growing it for a year and while she couldn’t lie and say he didn’t look damn good with it, she hated every perfect lock of hair on his head. Every single curl, wavy little lock that frames his face and the way he runs his fingers through his hair. That actually made a girl fall of her bike and another to walk into a tree. 

She wondered if putting hair removal cream would be too extreme considering dye could easily be reversed, but then she remembers how he was the reason she didn't have eyebrows in sophomore year and her doubts quickly disappeared.

This time she decided to strike in the afternoon, sneaking into the locker room an hour after practice because Grayson always stays late and is always alone. If it were anyone else she'd have admired their work ethic, but this was Grayson fucking Dolan and she had no intention of admiring him. Ever. The abs have fucked with her brain once but that's solely because she was caught off guard but this time she was prepared for anything.

Hiding behind the lockers as she heard a man enter, she smirked. Everything is going according to plan and soon, she'd be there to hear his screams before running for her life.

The shower starts and the water splashing against the tiles is the most beautiful sound she’s ever heard. Her heart beats wildly in anticipation, her mind racing with all the probable outcomes and her eyes are wide open. Mouth a little dry, she realizes she's nervous too. A small pang of guilt hits, deep inside her chest and she's sweating, the doubts creeping back in.

If she goes through with this, wouldn't that make her just as bad as he is? Would she really be a snake as he referred her as?

Either way, it's too late to do anything about it. Right?

Sighing she slaps a hand over her forehead, wondering why she's feeling guilty when he deserved worse. It's not like he needs his hair to play...well, maybe he needs it to be a player outside the field but it certainly won't affect his game on the field.

Breathing fast, she bites her lower lip because she knows it's a matter of minutes if not seconds when she'll hear his reaction and she's hoping...praying that it gives her some satisfaction, at least.

But then she feels something is off...almost as if someone's watching her...almost as if someone is right next to her - an undeniable presence she’s too familiar with.

"Whatchu doing?"

The sudden voice makes her gasp, falling to her knees as her mind shuts down momentarily, her head whipping back to see what had scared her, though she knew. Deep inside, she knew that voice, that presence, that scent.

"Damn, didn't mean to scare you THAT much, sneaky princess." Folding his arms, Grayson raises an eyebrow as his lips form that killer smirk that makes every woman weak in their knees.

"Wait...are you here to see me naked again? Because I meant what I said, you only need to ask." Crouching down, watching her eyes dart from him to the running shower, Grayson shakes his head before leaning closer, stealing back the attention. If there's anything he likes, it's having all the attention on him. And whether he likes to admit it or not (which he never would say out loud), he loves her attention on him.

Slowly, confidently, he licks his lips and speaks with certainty. "And when you do ask...I will ruin you for other men. Promise."

But as much as his words created chaos inside her head, making it hard to breathe when he winks with that self satisfied smile and offers her a hand to help her stand, Y/N was only thinking one thing - WHO IS IN THE FUCKING SHOWER?!

And as she ignored Grayson's hand and help, standing on her own two feet, a throaty scream quickly followed and she found herself mortified.

"What did you do?" Grayson questions, his voice a bit higher, his eyes on the shower as a very naked man emerges without a single hair on his head and a horrified look on his face only to realize it's Ethan and she fucked with the wrong twin.

"I HAVE NO HAIR!"

Tags: @mendesficsxbombay​​ @beinscorpio​​ @peacedolantwins​​ @dolandolll​​

PART 3

[alia-turin]

@amina-celestial first of all my sincere apologies you asked for kinlky Avallac’h fic, but my writing went places. Like literary I have no idea what happened there. I started writing and things were not just happening the kinky way. 

But you will get a cute Avallac’h discovering Earth and trying pasta for first time. 

I fail, I’m sorry. 

Title: My Dream Pairing: Avallac’h/Reader Summary: Avallac’his on the run from the Wild Hunt and finds himself in modern day earth. He is saved and nursed by the reader.

Avallac’h opened multiple portals until he finally was sure no one could find him. He was bleeding, he was exhausted, he had no idea how much longer he could take it. Maybe Caranthir could not sniff him so far out.

Wherever he was, it was winter, as his brain was so foggy he was concerned that the White Frost was here but it seemed just as normal winter and he was obviously still alive. There were bright lights everywhere and he had no idea where he was going. He fell in the snow and the world went into darkness.

He woke up in a strange room that made even less sense to him but it won't be the first time he finds himself in a new and unknown place while travelling between worlds. The bed was a bed, walls, dresser...there was a weird thing that was omitting light, it was not a candle or if it was it was the strangest he had seen. He tried to get up but he felt dizzy and gave up. He could feel something around his leg and when he looked it was a tight bandage. So someone had taken care of him and judging by the fact that he was alive and not in chains it was not Aen Elle.

The door in front of him opened and a human woman walked in.

“You are awake!” she exclaimed. “I’m sorry I took the liberty of undressing you but you were almost frozen in the snow and bleeding. I thought hypothermia might have set in.”

Avallac’h just stared at the human, dressed in the weirdest clothes he had seen. Some sort of a top and blue pants that did not look like any fabric he had seen. Did he hit his head so hard that he was hallucinating or that was just some new curse Eredin and Caranthir had come up with.

“Where am I?” he finally decided to ask.

“In my house?” the human responded innocently.

“I mean what realm…” he tried to get up again but it was way too difficult, he must have hit his head somewhere.

“Earth? Solar System?” she looked very confused and neither of that really was helping him either. “Look, I have a million questions for you, but I need to go to work, so if I leave you here, please promise not to leave with the silverware.”

Avallac’h just blinked, not even having an answer. The human walked out of the room, then he heard another door being closed and from what he could tell, locked.

He relaxed again on the bed and fell asleep.

Avallac’h woke up later, it was still a day so he must have been out just a couple of hours.

This time he managed to get out of bed, the world around him was spinning but at least he could walk. The bedroom he was in was small but cozy, certainly not a castle so he was probably in a common house. He walked out of there, the next room was what he would describe as a common room, it had table chairs on one end and some sort of lower seats on the other, across them a table and some strange flat black thing on it. This was indeed a world he had never seen before. He went to the kitchen and started exploring, the thought of food made him sick, but he knew he needed to eat. He was trying to figure out where food was stored when he heard the lock and then the front door opened. The human walked in, carrying bags and kicked the door closed as her hands were busy.

“You look good!” she said as she placed the bags on the high counter surrounding the kitchen. Avallac’h felt enchanted. This human talked to him as if they had been old friends but she was also different from the other humans he had seen. Not just the way she dressed, just...different somehow. If his head did not hurt as much as it did he could probably figure it out.

“Did you bandage me?” he asked, tilting his head curiously.

“I found you in front of the building in the snow, you were unconscious and there was a lot of blood. I was about to call ambulance when…” she smiled shily and touched her ear. It took Avallac’h a moment to understand the jest. Right she noticed he was not human. “Then I wasn’t sure what to do so I just dragged you here.” she opened the bags and started emptying them in a tall cupboard that emitted coldness. Avallac’h just straed at in in fascination, that was interesting magical trick.

“You should probably sit.” she pointed at the table and chairs. “I will fix dinner.”

Avallac’h did as he was told, mostly because standing was becoming an issue. He watched the human with great curiosity as she prepared food. Everything was so...new and fascinating.

“So...do you want to tell me what happened to you?” she asked as she put some long brown sticks in a pot of boiling water.

“I guess the best way to describe is I was fighting someone whose abilities proved to be beyond mine, I tried to escape and opened a portal to another world, but that someone has someone else in his service who is very good at travelling between realms and they were able to chase me for very long time, when I managed to lose them I continued travelling from realm to realm, until I had no more strength.” he felt good that she looked at him as confused as he was about this world. It made him feel better that he was not the only one lacking understanding.

“What exactly are you?” she asked after a very long silence just looking at him, probably evaluating if he was crazy.

“Aen Elle.” she looked even more confused. “From my experience most other realms call us elves.”

“Like Legolas?” she pulled the pot of water away and placed a pan on the stove, pouring something red inside.

“I’m not sure who or what Legolas is…” Avallac’h gave her a friendly smile.

“He is a book character, he is an elf, and then they made a movie about the book…” she stopped as she saw his confused look, he understood the word book and that was about it. “He has pointy ears so I guess you are like Legolas.” She grabbed a couple of plates and started putting food on them, moments later she joined him at the table leaving a portion in front of him. The food was...strange. The long brown sticks have turned into long soft white sticks, he would say they looked like worms but he had never seen aperizing worms so that was a bad comparison. There was some red sauce on top with various things in it that he could identify as vegetables and meat.

“You don’t like pasta?” she asked, a bit concerned. “I can fix you something else?”

“I’m afraid I had never had pasta in my life.” he grabbed the fork and tried to poke at the dish the way you would poke a pork chop, but nothing really happened. “How do you…”

“Here watch.” She grabbed her fork and started spinning it, the long things curled around the fork and then she ate it. Avallac’h was impressed. He repeated the motion and although it wasn’t as easy as she made it look like he succeeded to deliver food to his mouth.

“It’s delicious!” he had never tasted anything like that before. It was strange but amazing.

“So...why is this guy and his minion chasing you?” Avallac’h almost choked when she called Caranthir minion. He was starting to like her more and more.

“He is the king where I come from. He killed the previous king and I discovered that. That and a few hundred years of generally not liking each other.” he tried to offer a charming smile although given how battered he was he doubted that had the effect he was hoping for.

“Can he come here?” she looked a bit concerned and that pained Avallac’h. Obviously he had just met her, but she was someone who helped him, a creature she barely understood.

“Theoretically he can.” he decided that lying won’t help anyone. “His minion can probably track me if he feels motivated. However that is a big if, chasing me is a bit of an..entertainment for both of them. They know I pose danger to them, but if I’m in some realm they cannot easily find it becomes too much effort for little reward and they have other issues on their hand.” he hoped that sounded reassuring, in fact he had no idea how much Eredin wanted him now. Surely the king had other things to worry about.

“Well I’m sure they will find it hard to find my apartment.” she said with a smile.

The rest of dinner moved to more pleasant topics. He learned that she worked in the local hospital, which explained why she was able to take such good care of him. She lived alone, which he had guessed by the size and items in this apartment. She cleaned up the table after dinner and even asked to help but she refused so he spent the time just observing her. He had learned a lot of things about humans through the years, he had met so many of them in so many different worlds and they still could surprise him and fascinate him.

Once she was done cleaning she invited him on the lower soft seats where he sat a bit stiff. She turned on the black box and pictures appeared. Avallac’h was fascinated. There were people in the box doing...all sorts of things.

“Wait, I can show you Legolas.” she said and used some weird device to change the images. Soon he could see a human dressed like an elf, he was certain that was human because it didn’t have the elf eyes, or face, but had slightly pointy ears. “That’s what we typically imagine as elves.”

He was educated that it was a movie, it was like a book but people acted it, so more like a play, but recorded in some way he didn’t truly understand so others can watch it. It was a good story, filled with creatures he understood and the bad guys certainly could be the Wild Hunt.

Two weeks had passed since you found the strange elf at the entrance of your building. He had been badly injured and bleeding, you honestly thought he won’t make it through the night. But he had and since then he had been in your home. You didn’t mind the company and you found it entertaining teaching him stuff about your world as he had called it.

But there was more to it...you had found him attractive. It was a really strange thing to give her technically different species, but...he was kind and once he started understanding this world he was great to just talk with about...anything really.

You arrived home from work to see him in the kitchen, cooking. That was something new.

“I’m trying to make pasta.” he announced as he heard you walk in. You saw the spaghetti already out of the water already. It’s not how you have done it, but you kept your thoughts to yourself.

You moved next to him and watched as he was stirring the sauce.

“Here try.” he pulled the wooden spoon out of the pan and pushed it close to your lips. You could feel it is hot, you blew some air on it, your eyes fixed on the elves and then you tasted the spoon. He didn’t move. You didn’t move. The spoon was there on the tip of your lips, he was just staring at you and well so did you.

“It’s really good.” days could have passed you wouldn’t have noticed. “Yeah. Good.” You had to step away as it was too hot in this kitchen. You grabbed some silverware and placed it on the table. You went back to the kitchen and grabbed plates, leaving it next to the pasta pot, trying to keep a bit of distance...what did just happen?

He joined you at the table where you were awfully quiet. Food was good, spaghetti probably needed another minute or two, but the sauce was really good and that was helping.

“You are very silent.” he noted. “That is not typical.”

You weren’t sure if that was a question or observation. Also, did you just imagine things? He just stared at you in that longing way that made your whole body just...relax and tense at the same time.

“Just a long day.” you smiled not sure how you would explain things. Like...I like you? Do you like me? The two of you continued dinner in silence, he gave you a couple of curious looks you pretended you didn’t see and you stared at him when you thought he did not see.

Once you were done with your plate you picked up and walked in the kitchen, your thoughts running back to that moment with the spoon. You were making up by now, you were putting too much in a moment when someone was asking you to taste food. A bit annoyed at yourself you placed the plate in the sink and turned around, bumping into Avallac’h who was standing there behind you, you never heard him follow you.

“What’s going on?” he asked and you did your best to avoid his eyes, which wasn’t difficult give he was much taller than you.

“Just a long day.” you had to get away from this situation, that was the logical thing to do, but you enjoyed being close to him, so close…

“Look at me.” he placed his finger under your chin and made you look him in the eyes. “I might not be familiar with humans here but I know a thing or two about your kind. What is going on?”

What was going on was that two weeks ago you helped a stranger and you felt very attracted to him. What was going on was that it all felt so wrong, but also so good.

“Okay then.” He said after no response followed as you were too busy fighting with your feelings. “I will take a wild guess here.” he leaned forward and his lips touched yours. Your heart sank, or it was about to fly away, you were not sure which but what you knew for sure was that you liked it. You wanted it and you needed it.

[lifeofresulullah]

The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): Before His Birth, His Birth and His Childhood

The Prophet is Given to a Foster Mother

The universe, which rejoined its master was joyful. The heart of the Arabia, which harbored the person that would provide the heart of the humanity with light and peace, was very excited.

Makkah, in which the unmatched event of the universe took place, was so excited and joyful that it was as if it wanted to fly to the lofty realms.

Hazrat Amina was peaceful and jubilant. It was as if the sweet smiles of her lovely child were helping her to forget a tinge of the intense pain that she felt over her husband’s death. Her child was her only consolation that secured her hope for the future.

The fortunate Amina could only suckle her glorious child for week. After this, Abu Lahab’s handmaiden, Lady Suwayba became the wet nurse of the Master of the Universe and suckled him for days. 

Before that, Lady Suwayba had nourished Hazrat Hamza. In this way, she had attained the fortune and honor of being the means in joining the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his esteemed uncle as foster brothers.

The Master of the Universe (PBUH), who possessed such virtue and feelings of faithfulness, never forgot the smallest favors that people did for him, nor did he leave them unrequited. Throughout his entire life, he never forgot Lady Suwayba who nourished him for a period of time. He would frequently visit her and would always show her kindness, respect, and pay her compliments.

Yes, faithfulness was the foundation of good manners that the Holy Prophet (PBUH) brought to the face of the Earth. The smallest trace of ingratitude cannot be found in the immaculate and upright life of   our Beloved Messenger (PBUH).

At one point in time, Hazrat Khadija, who had taken lessons from the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) virtue and gratitude, wanted to purchase Lady Suwayba, who would frequently visit Hazrat Khadija’s home, for the purpose of setting her free; however, Abu Lahab did not lend himself to this idea. It was not until after the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) migration to Medina that Abu Lahab freed Lady Suwayba on his own. 

Abu Lahab was our Holy Prophet ‘s (PBUH) own paternal uncle. Afterwards he did not testify and admit to the Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) Prophethood; he did not forsake being a pagan and did not refrain from his attempts in being our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) biggest enemy, either. For this reason, he incurred the wrath of Allah and did not earn a value that is equivalent to the nail of his slave, Lady Suwayba. In fact, it has been explained that because of Lady Suwayba, Abu Lahab has obtained a driblet of grace in the afterlife.

After his death, he was seen in a dream where he was found screaming in the severe punishment of hell. They asked him: “Why are you screaming? What is the matter?”

He answered: “What else could be the matter? The absence of water is making me burn! I never saw any good in my life, yet I did find one fortune: Because I set the woman, who nourished Muhammad, free, I have been spared the opportunity to absorb water and be watered” and as he said this, he showed his index finger (the finger that testifies faith). 

This incident is certainly a case in point. A ferocious enemy of Islam, like Abu Lahab, who did not refrain from oppressing, torturing, and insulting the Master of the Universe throughout his entire life, was the recipient of such beneficence and grace and a tinge of his punishment in hell was alleviated. This means that goodness done not only upon our Beloved Messenger PBUH, but also upon those who have served him, is also not left unrequited by God Almighty’s grace and beneficence.

In addition, one should think of the greatness in gifts, favors, and Divine endowments of the eternal realm that are awaiting those who have made the Master of the Universe (PBUH) their absolute imam and guide in every matter and the true believers who have felt honored to uphold his Sunnah on the Earth .

The Custom of Giving Babies to Wet Nurses

Mecca’s weather was hot and muggy. It did was not good for the children’s delicate nature and was not a favorable condition for a healthy upbringing. In the desert, the weather was nice, the water was sweet and clean, life was easy, and the climate was mild. Besides, some of the tribes that lived in the desert had a language and diction that was smooth and sharp. They maintained their nobility and practiced good conduct.

Based on this, the Qurayshi gentry and leading figures practiced the custom of handing their children over to the tribal women in the desert to be breastfed for a cost, so that their children could grow and be brought up under healthier conditions and to learn and speak a dialect of Arabic that was appropriate in its essential form. The child would remain with his/her wet nurse for 2-3 years, and sometimes even more.

For this reason, many tribes that lived in the uplands/prairies, Sa’d bin Bakr’s tribe in particular, would have a caravan of women go to Mecca a few times a year in which the women would take the newly-born infants with them to their homeland for the purpose of nourishment.

Among the tribes in the vicinity of Mecca, Sa’d bin Bakr’s tribe was the one that had acquired fame since it was distinguished for its honor, generosity, chivalry, humility, and speaking Arabic properly. For this reason, the leading figures of Quraysh mostly wanted to hand the custody of their children over to the women of this tribe.

The Arrival of the Women from Bani Bakr’s Tribe to Mecca

The Holy Prophet (PBUH) was being nourished by Lady Suwayba.

At that time, a strong drought was prevalent in the homeland of Sad’s sons although such a strong drought had not occurred till then. The drought resulted in a famine that left the tribal community poor and miserable. It was so bad that they had difficulty finding something to eat. Their camels and sheep had weakened and their milk had ceased.

During this year of intense famine and drought, the tribeswomen of the Bani Bakr had gone to Mecca in a crowded procession with the intention of finding a child to nourish and of obtaining a portion of their livelihood.

All of the women, with the exception of one extraordinary lady, had chosen a child who was appropriate for them. Strangely enough, none of them chose nor approached our Beloved Messenger (PBUH) because they thought they would not be able to obtain much money and help since he was an orphan.

There was only one woman who arrived late in Mecca. She was distinguished among her tribe for her decency, cleanliness, gentleness, and modesty. Due to their old and frail donkey, Halima and her husband had fallen behind the rest of the procession. When they entered Mecca, all of the newly-born Qurayshi children, with the exception of one very extraordinary infant, had been chosen by the women of the Bani Bakr tribe that were in the forefront.  With the fate and wisdom of the Possessor of the Absolute Power, Halima could not find anyone in need of nourishment.

Her husband, Harith, was sad, too. All of their friends shared the children of the wealthy families among themselves. She was the only one who was left empty-handed and it was only because she arrived late.

This virtuous woman, who now had a pale and sad countenance and was unaware of the plan that Divine fate had drawn for her, wandered the streets of Mecca with despair and the distress of not being able to find an appropriate fitting child.

Incidentally, she encountered an old man with a friendly face and who, through his presence, summoned the respect of his surroundings. This individual was Abdulmuttalib, the grandfather of the Master of the Universe (PBUH). They looked each other as if they had been looking to become the relief for their troubles. Then they began to engage in conversation:

Abdulmuttalib asked, “Where are you from?”

Halima: “I am a woman from the Bani Sa’d Tribe” (Sons of Fortune/Luck)

Abdulmuttalib: “What is your name?”

She answered, “Halima”.

Abdulmuttalib: “How wonderful! How wonderful!  Fortune and gentleness are two traits that carry the beneficence of this world and the honor and glory of the afterlife” After he said this, Abdulmuttalib took a deep breath and followed with: "Oh, Halima! I have an orphaned child next to me. I offered him to the women of the Sons of Sa’d but they did not accept him. Come and be the wet nurse of this child. Maybe you will attain prosperity, wealth, and fortune for taking care of him”.

At first, Halima became hesitant upon hearing this unexpected offer. However, she did not want to return to her homeland empty-handed. For this reason, she overcame her hesitation and accepted the offer from within. Nevertheless, she did not want to disclose her answer without first asking and receiving permission from her husband. She immediately returned to her husband and after she explained everything to him she said, “I was unable to find a child to nourish. I do not favor going back empty-handed among my friends. By God, I am going to take that orphan”.

Her husband, Harith, supported her view and said, “There is no harm in taking him. Perhaps Allah will endow us with prosperity and blessings thanks to him”. 

Upon this, they returned to Abdulmuttalib.

Abdulmuttalib took Halima to Hazrat Amina’s modest home which the Beloved Prophet (PBUH) illuminated.

Halima went to our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) bedside. Our lovely Master (PBUH) was wrapped in a white fabric made from wool and was sleeping soundly on a blanket of green yarn. The surrounding smelled like musk!

Halima was in a state of amazement. She immediately warmed up to this child so much that she could not bear to wake him up!

The cloud of gloom and anguish had left Halima. She was so happy that it was as if she was walking on air. It was such a great bliss to have suddenly come across an infant of excessive beauty after squirming in the distress of not being able to find a child.

Halima could not resist anymore. She neared the Master of the Universe’s (PBUH) bedside very closely and slightly lifted the corner of his blanket. With a mother’s love and compassion, she kissed his forehead and hands that smelled like roses and that were softer than cotton and as white as snow.

At that moment, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) opened his eyes and replied to Halima’s kisses with a sweet smile. They got along with one another.

While one of them was in despair because of not being able to find a child, worn out, and downhearted, the other was a radiant orphan who had been rejected by the women. Fate had filled both of their worlds with happiness.

[luvreyn]

My Manhwa List (2020) Part 1

Another year, another set of stories! Start the year by reading these worthwhile manhwas uwu

Villainess in Love

Summary: 

So I’ve become Yunifer Magnolia, the villainess who’s crazed with jealousy that Duke Ishid Lucrenze, the devastatingly handsome hero, has eyes only for Raelle, Yunifer’s best friend. Yunifer torments Raelle so much that Yunifer’s killed off at the end. But... I’M Yunifer now. UGH! Good news is, I’ve reincarnated a year before her tragic end, so there’s time to make sure Ishid and Raelle have a fairy tale ending (and I stay alive). Bad news is, I got drunk and woke up with Ishid next to me. Crap.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ

- my new fav & you’ll understand why

- plot = 5/5

- artstyle= 4.5/5

- iseka-ish type

- mc is so so relatable hahaha

- fantasy w/ magic elements and stuff

- ugh ishid how can i even begin the words to describe why i love him so??

-  ml is endearing, considerate, handsome, strong, thoughtful w/ a mixture of sugar, spice and everything nice perfect ingredient to create the perfect little boy but author-nim accidentally mix another ingredient - the chemical x LMAO

- the love rival isnt expected lol

- mc is a so charming, knows and admits her flaws & just awesome ugh i wish i was ishid bcoz he’s so luckyyy

- redhaired boi is a jerk so :P (p.s: he’s the crown prince)

- overall, this is a gem & you’re missing out if you havent read this trust me the main characters are just so adorable and their chemistry is on point! THIS IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND A PERFECT START FOR 2020!!!!!!!!!!!! 

Harley Takes the House

Summary: 

Harley thought that marriage would be her ticket out of the Ernst household and away from the family’s three sons, aka her perpetual tormenters. But on the eve of her wedding, she’s transported back in time 20 years to a youth she’d hoped to forget. As long as she’s getting a second chance at childhood, Harley’s determined to stand up to her bullies. But what began as retaliation quickly turns into reconciliation as both Harley and the Ernst brothers come to understand each other’s pain.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ

- SAME UNIVERSE AS WHO MADE ME A PRINCESS

- PLUTUS IS ALSO THE AUTHOR (p.s: plutus is the author of wmmap)

- so this is beautiful

- plot = 5/5 poor hari got adopted to be a sub to a dead girl :(((

- art style = 3.5/5

- cabel (3rd ml in wmmap is a part of this story uwu)

- back in time type of story

- family themed??

- a new fav basically bcoz i’m crying over wmmap 

- mc is lovable and cute

- brothers are funny

- only alarming concern is that the parents has an unhealthy way of coping up w/ the death of their daughter bcoz they adopted mc (hari) for being a lookalike & it affects the whole fam :--(

- overall, a highly recommended gem by plutus ~ if you love wmmap then you’re going to love this too ~

Amina of the Lamp

Summary: 

What can you do with three wishes?Amina, one of the last wizards, loses her loved ones when her palace comes under attack. Trying to turn back time to save them, she gets stuck inside a lamp. 300 years later, Jakard, a military commander, wakes her up. He has three wishes before Amina returns to the lamp. What will he wish for?

WHY YOU SHOULD READ

- plot = 3/5 

- art = 3/5

- a interesting twist to aladdin/genie type of story

- nice concept

- mc is not annoying and so is the ml

- conclusion, an interesting read ~

Back to You

Summary: 

What if an unexpected accident suddenly transported you back to ten years ago? For Hayoung, suddenly traveling back in time to high school means the opportunity to save the life of Jaehyun, the one person she's always loved... Will she be able to change both of their fates?

WHY YOU SHOULD READ

- i cant even begin to say how much this hurts me 

- plot = 5/5

- art = 3.5/5

- from the same author as strange & beautiful

- unrequited love 

- one sided love about a girl who loves a guy then this guy dies in a questionable fashion & after all these yrs she cant move on bcoz she regrets everything even when she’s on a blind date then one day she met an accident which brought her back in the time when the guy was alive

- i’m crying

- they deserve to be happy

- m y s t e r y how did the guy die

- what’s the purpose of being back in time???

- this will squeeze your heart in a painful sorrow bcoz once upon a time we all love someone & sometimes it doesnt go the way we want to bcoz we were afraid to take the chance

- if it isnt obvious this is a personal favorite

- conclusion, please read the gem that is ‘just a girl he knows’ so we can fangrl together ~ this is so beautiful i cant even stressed how beautiful this is 

Howling: The City of Nightmare

Summary: 

A serial killer is on the loose and is targeting beautiful women. A joint investigation team has been formed to catch the criminal. While working on the case, they encounter a young man who claims to have extraordinary powers.

WHY YOU SHOULD READ

- the only horror in this list rn 

- well written i cant even

- plot = 5/5

- artstyle = 4/5

- more than a romance ok

- horror/thriller-ish

- ohmyghad i think i’m a good detective bcoz i figured who the serial killer is from the start so victory!

- super interesting and has a lot of potential

- great great story

- to conclude, an interesting story and a gem in its own right! it has a beautiful concept, and it’s more than a romance!

[orbitariums]

What, You Didn’t Miss me?

for venusbarnes 5k challenge!! i'm gonna be doing a bunch of these but i just decided i wanted to write something different than what i usually lean towards for this :)

i also wrote a loki imagine called idoru! very angsty but cute :)

#6:  “what, you didn’t miss me? i’m hurt.”

reader is thor's rival/fling thing. you've fought & battled each other hundreds of times, but nothing can compare to the energy you two have. but you've gone a while without seeing him, and he's honestly relieved he doesn't have to put up with it anymore - until he sees you again. *reader's bi cuz she's that bitch, and kind of like valkyrie*

warning: toxic! (but it's really not that deep, considering they do b fighting a lot), fight scene!

also: i would listen to THIS playlist while reading this!!! i was listening while writing, made it so enjoyable.

    You were what they called a "wild child." Graceless, rebellious, brave to the point of stupidity. You were full of rage, a warmonger with no remorse. In your kingdom you were admired for your bravery and physical ability and looked down upon for your "unwomanly" tendencies and your recklessness. You weren't alone in this though - you had a group of women with you who operated as a team, all of them ostracized because of their resistance to submitting. Together, you were unstoppable.

     There was also Thor. He admired you for your brutal honesty, your unabashedly flirty demeanor, and for your fighting abilities. To him, you were like the lady version of him, only not so lady like, and much less cautious, if that was even possible. You were chaotic and wild in combat, and he knew this first-hand. Thor had been at the mercy of your rage many times, and you had seen the force of Mjolnir much too close for comfort. Sometimes you fought for a reason, other times you fought just because you felt like it. For as long as you could remember, Thor had always been your otherworldly enemy... rival was a better word for it.

     But perhaps the best part of your rivalry, besides the satisfaction of beating down the god of Thunder on the times you did win your battles (because, really, you did beat him sometimes, and it felt good), was the flirtatious nature that lay within it. You couldn't doubt that sparks flew when you and the god were together, even when fighting you found yourselves closer to each other than necessary. And outside of a fight, your titillating banter was enough to make heads turn-- tongues soaked with whiskey, hot breath against the other's neck, narrowed eyes matched with rosy lipped smirks that said: "you really wanna do this right now?", sarcastic and degrading humor. It was all a part of the program. Thor rotated women on a weekly basis, as did you with the women and men back on your kingdom, but the relationship he had with you was different.

    No one challenged him like you did, no one was snarky like you were - women joked about Thor submitting to them, but none of them had the power to actually manifest that, other than yourself. He liked that he wasn't exactly intimidated by you, but that you made your worth and your ability rather clear. He knew you weren't "easy" in a fight, and you wouldn't back down. For a while, you steered clear of Thor while you got your own life together. And for that while, it was quiet... too quiet. You were glad to be given a reason to stir things up again. And boy, was Thor in for a surprise.

    You smeared black liner on your waterline (stolen from a Walgreens on Midgard - you liked their makeup more, it was low quality and gave you a cheap, uncouth look that you cherished - not like makeup on your planet, which made you look exactly like what you were... a warrior goddess), and looked in the mirror. Well, what remained of the mirror after you had smashed it. You held a piece of broken glass in your hands and leaned in towards it, your reflection wonky and distorted. You were sitting in your dim-lit, unfurnished (purposefully) bedroom with your friends - the warrior women who you considered your sisters.

    "Thor's in for a lovely surprise today," you sang in monotone, applying more dark pencil liner below your waterline. You quickly rubbed a dark purple lip on and puckered up, raising your eyebrows at yourself in the mirror.

     Mira shook her head playfully and sighed,

    "Honestly, YN, I've known you for years and it still strikes me how crazy you are."

    "Thor's a player, anyway. We know how he is with women... do you really need to fight him?" another one of your sisters, Amina questioned.

     You turned around, huffing defiantly and gripping your sword at your side,

    "Look, it isn't about that. I don't care if Thor wants to bang a fucking dwarf, and with his streak, he probably has. It's about respect. I don't go around flirting with Loki. How dare he invade our honor and try to pick up one of my sisters! It's nothing personal, Lydia, honestly. I think Odinson just forgotten the boundaries."

     Lydia, one of your sisters, the "victim" of Thor's heavy flirting, who had resisted because there was an unspoken but obviously clear rule that Thor was not to ever try to play with one of your sisters, for the purpose of respect. You didn't want him to see your sisters as easy targets or see them as the various women he went through every day of the week. You had all agreed on such a rule, so it wasn't like you were just bossing everyone around. And as for your flirtationship with Thor, that was different. Thor knew better - he knew you could handle him just as well as he could handle you. And for the most part, you were in control.

   Lydia shrugged, continuing her crotchet pattern - she helped make outfits for all of you. You all vowed to be self sufficient. She didn't seem to mind the situation much,

    "Listen. I say go for it. It's been a while. Shake things up again."

You smiled, glad someone understood you,

    "Thank you, Lydia. Right then, I'm off. See you after I ravage him."

| | |

    Back at Asgard, Thor was living his best life. He was breezing through the days, lounging on his throne with multiple women around him daily, feeding on grapes they hung above his lips, getting drunk every night, all while performing his kingly duties. He had let go of the tension you caused him- while he enjoyed his encounters with you, it gave him a lot of unconscious stress to be constantly thinking of when you might next attack. But it had been a while since you last arrived to stress him out, and so he relaxed, and he forgot about you, just a bit.

    But that was before you decided to pop back in again, stomping into the golden room where you saw Thor sitting with one leg up on the throne, women chattering to him and leaning on him, fawning over him. The sight would've made you sick if you weren't already so preoccupied with your rage. You paused in front of the stairway to the throne.

    "ODINSON!!!" you let out a roar that let him know you were here, because he was so distracted by the presence of the women. He almost jumped, and his heart sank when he saw you - weeks of tension returned to his body.

    "Oh shit," he said under his breath, and you smirked, folding your arms and cocking your head at him.

     "What, you didn't miss me? I'm hurt," you gave him a faux pout and then you were back to teasing, your eyes squinted and your lips turned up into a devious smile.

Thor groaned loudly, banging his fists on the arms of his throne. The women surrounding him began to scatter.

    "Why are you here!" he roared.

    "No," you raised your voice at him, "the question is, why are you trying to seduce my sisters? Hm?"

Thor's face went taut and you could see the guilt all over his face. He understood your agreement, and he knew there would be consequences for breaking this agreement. He just didn't think about it until now. You folded his arms, leaning forward,

    "You thought I wouldn't hear about that, did you?"

    "YN, I-" he began stuttering, and nothing coming out of his mouth was making any sense.

     "Yeah, go head and shut the fuck up for me," you cut him off, your tone final - you'd had enough of his bullshit. Thor's lips shut closed immediately. "Gods, you asshole. We had an agreement! Did we not?"

    Thor found this the perfect time to take a dig at you, a knowing smirk playing at his lips as he straightened up in the throne,

    "Sounds awful personal, YN, I mean, it really seems like you took this to heart." You folded your arms annoyedly, already anticipating what he was insinuating. He licked his lips and pulled his lips underneath his teeth. "Jealous much? Are you jealous, YN?"

You didn't answer, just gave him that death stare that told him you weren't here to chit chat right now. He sighed deeply and held his arm out, reaching his hand out into the air,

     "Yup, I got it."

Mjolnir came flashing by and into his hands, and immediately you lunged forth, jumping all the way to the top of the stairs and in front of him on the throne, the two of you clashing. You held your spear out, but Thor blocked it with his hand and knocked it down with his hammer. You scoffed, looking down at your damaged spear on the ground and laughing,

    "That the best you got, king?"

That lit a fire in Thor like no other - not only was it a major turn on for you to call him king, even if it was within an act of defiance, but the mockery was enough to make him black out. He swung his hammer at you and you ducked, bouncing back up just in time to kick him in the face and send him flying backwards, knocking his hammer out of his hand and on the floor away from him.

     "Oh, I do love this!" Loki quipped excitedly as he walked past, and you greeted him joyously - where you and Thor were rivals, you and Loki were twin flames. Thor found your relationship annoying. Every once in a while you'd come to Asgard just to hang out with Loki, scrapbooking and being unusually domestic. He almost wished for a fight when he saw you and Loki hanging out and wreaking havoc.

     "Hey, Loki!" you turned to wave at him, and then got right back to business, pouncing forward like a cat and landing on top of Thor - specifically on top of his lap. You chuckled viciously and held his chin in your hand, lifting it up and wrapping your hand gently around his throat. Neither of you could ignore the erotic nature of your violence. You licked your upper lip like a hungry wolf. "Where's your hammer now, casanova?"

    Thor reached out and Mjolnir was right at his service again.

    "Right here, darling."

A spark of lightning flew out and struck you, sending you flying and laying feet ahead of him on your back, coughing from the impact of the fall. Now Thor stood above you, his height both menacing and alluring, towering over you. Cockily, he blew the tip of his hammer.

    "Anything else?"

    "Yeah," you mumbled, a bit dazed from your fall. "Stop trying to slobber on my sisters!" you kicked your legs up directly at his crotch, and he stumbled back, falling onto the floor in a sitting position, his knees bent towards himself. 

       You grinned victoriously, and picked yourself right up, walking towards him and assuming the same position you had been in before, lowering yourself slowly down onto his lap, one leg on either side of him, the same narrowed, cheeky look in your eyes as before. Thor gazed up at you, in a daze only you could pull out of him, raised eyebrows and glazed over amazement in his eyes and all.      

    "Tap out," you demanded, folding your arms over your chest in such a way that diverted Thor's attention to your body.

    "You know I can't pay attention when you're on top of me like that," Thor sighed, his voice low and husky. You fought a grin off your face, but couldn't hide it completely, your voice steady and methodical,

    "I know."

Thor tapped the ground beside him to insinuate he was done, forfeiting - it happened often that you or Thor tapped out, considering your fights weren't all that serious and were sort of like a game you liked to play. You made a move to get off of him, but he pulled you down by your waist, making you stay.

     "No, stay here," he whined, and you laughed, throwing your head back.

     "You'll stop hitting on my sisters, then?" you inquired, raising a suspicious brow.

     "Not if it means this is what will happen," Thor shrugged. "Really though, you never answered my question." You raised your brow, waiting. "Are you jealous?"

You snorted, though you didn't feel the need to lie,

    "Perhaps a little bit of me wants you all to myself," you batted your lashes at him and ran your hand along his chest. He gripped your waist harder, a determined look settling on his face,

    "I as well."

You shook your head playfully.

     "Oh, Odinson." You leaned forward to place your lips upon his, and he craned his head up so your lips could meet. But you pulled away, just enough so your lips were barely brushing against each others, then gently pushed his chest down, making him lower his head onto the floor again, your lips still hovering above his. You granted him a teasing smile, a knowing look in your eyes as you stared him down. "One day," you said, and vanished, teleporting away from him and back to your own kingdom.

One day!

[joaquinwhorres]

The Fool (Ch. 2) {Fred Weasley x F!OC}

SUMMARY ››››› After getting tangled up with the Weasley Twins during the events of the Quidditch World Cup, Wren Collings’ life takes a turn for the chaotic. It threatens everything she has going for her, but she’s not convinced that’s entirely a bad thing.

PAIRING ››››› Fred Weasley x Female OC

WORD COUNT ››››› 7,000-ish

WARNINGS ››››› There is no depression or mental health issues in this story, but there are mentions of death, violence, abuse, some PTSD, etc. As most of the specific warnings revolve around major plot points or are found throughout most chapters, I’m just going to rate certain chapters on the movie scale. This is chapter PG-13.

A/N ››››› This chapter is dedicated to my lovely friend Emma. You KNOW why.

Series Masterlist | Read on ff.net

Wren wasn’t sure who was right, if it was Simon or the cards or her gut feeling about this year: all she knew for sure was that NEWT classes, and not the Triwizard Tournament, would be the death of her.

The last part was a bit of a disappointment, not so much that she wanted to die in a blaze of glory, but she would have at least liked the chance. Sadly, her June birthday saw to the fact that she would be a supporter and not a competitor.

Her small silver lining (more dull grey than a true silver) was that it was one less thing to worry about on top of her classes. McGonagall’s warning when passing over her time table that this year would have a “demanding workload” was apparently code for “grueling affair with death itself.”

Transfiguration, Charms, and Defense Against the Dark Arts seemed fixated on killing her through the traditional means of excessive school work, but the rest seemed to approach her death in a more “hands on” manner.

Herbology seemed intent on strangulation as Professor Sprout has decided to begin with snargaluffs and venomous tentacula. Dodging the slippery and spiky spines soon became second nature.

Hagrid has decided to introduce them to, if not venomous, exceedingly dangerous animals. Currently the class was in the process of telling jokes to Fwoopers as an alternative method to the silencing charm. Leave it to Hagrid to find out that they just click their beak when laughing. Of course, the untraditional method had already put Kenneth Towler and Amina Qureshi into the hospital wing to treat their minor insanity. But, all things considered it was a nice reprieve.

For its part, Potions had started off the year with poisons and their antidotes, which while extremely fascinating was somewhat nerve racking. Wren was fairly certain that at some point Snape would attempt to poison her as the lone Gryffindor in NEWT level potions. That minor fear, in addition to her particular love for the magic, drove her to devoting most of her studying hours to the class.

Which seemed to come in handy now as Snape began to pass out his unannounced quiz to the class. To Wren's surprise and mild relief, it was not a practical quiz but instead a written one. She assumed this was in an attempt to catch out students with trick questions which could otherwise be avoided as long as their potions worked.

In fact, as Wren reached question four, she was sure of it:

I am called in to the Hospital Wing once again because a careless Herbology student has failed to properly cork the juice of a Venomous Tentacula and has gotten some on their skin. What condition do I find him in, and how will I cure it?

She remembered this one as it had been a precaution Professor Sprout had failed to give them. She had simply instructed them not to let any get on their skin, and it was only in potions that Snape had revealed why. It had been more of a side comment in his lecture antidotes for the plant's other means of attack: bite, spike, and venom.

The student will be a bright shade of purple, and depending on how much juice he has come in contact with, complain of a faint burning sensation. The student should also feel quite embarrassed about their negligence. No antidote is truly needed except time which will hopefully make them more careful. Should you choose to cure them, however, the quickest effective cure would be a tincture of  muddled fluxweed, shredded boomslang skin, and leech juice. The student will be extremely pale instead for a few days, but it might be preferable to the purple colour.

Wren reread her answer and felt that all loopholes were closed before she moved on to the next question.

A student suddenly collapses in the middle of class during last hour and slowly turns to stone. She has come into contact with no plants or creatures and eaten and drank of nothing since lunch. What were they poisoned with and what is the antidote?

Wren twirled her quill in her hands. Come into contact with nothing but suddenly turned into stone. They could have seen a basilisk? No, that only petrified people, it didn't turn them into stone. Could they have a Gorgon run into their class? Unlikely unless the student was in the Grecian Isles. And that was a sudden turning. This student slowly turned into stone.

It hit her, thinking of islands. Naghinbato Brew.

The student was likely dosed with Naghinbato Brew during their lunch. This poison is undetectable aside from its slight tang and it takes approximately four hours to begin affecting the person poisoned. If the student was lucky enough to fall over with her mouth open, a Wiggenweld potion with some Mandrake roots brewed in after the salamander's blood would reverse the effects. If not, an Adarna must be brought in to sing the student awake.

The remainder of the questions proved to be more and more tricky so that by the end Wren hoped for nothing but essays and practical exams for the rest of the year. The wording of each question proved difficult to navigate and at the end as she packed up her bag to leave for Defense Against the Dark Arts, she found herself casting a look at Snape who had begun to grade the quizzes and looked very much like he had just smelled something unpleasant.

Wren turned and headed out the door, eager to put the past hour behind her.

"Hey, Wren." Quick footsteps caught up to her as Cedric appeared to her left. As the only Hufflepuff in Potions, the pair had taken to sitting together as the sole representatives of their respective houses. Wren had to admit, she hadn't expected to see him on the first day of class. Nora had always claimed he was brilliant, but it had never quite shown through in any of the classes they had together. "How do you think it went?" Cedric asked, adjusting his bag on his shoulder.

Wren shook her head. "I don't know. Has he even taught us any antidotes involving the dirt of a child's grave? Or was that just a veiled threat?"

Cedric chuckled. "They use it against Amnetias."

"Of course," Wren moaned.

"What combination of poisons did you list as the components for that last one. I got Angel's Trumpet Draught but what caused the vertigo?

"I said Syrup of Hellebore."

Cedric winced. "Missed that one."

"Your antidote could still work," Wren shrugged, making her way up the stairs as Cedric walked behind her. The two of them pressed close to the walls as a flood of nervous looking Hufflepuff first-years descended down the stairs. Poor kids.

"Not likely," Cedric said. "I used a creature-based remedy for the vertigo."

"Ah well," Wren sighed. "At least we'll all get D's together." Cedric laughed at this and they continued the rest of the way up. The two exited the stairwell, heading towards the classroom that had been the talk of the school recently.

Quite frankly, Dumbledore should have hired an ex-Auror much sooner. Professor Lupin had been good--loads better than Lockhart or Quirrell, or Merlin-forbid, the ghoulish woman Wren had her first year--but Moody, he had lived this. His very first lesson for all of the students 4th through 6th year had been showing the Unforgiveable Curses. Today they were supposed to be practicing resisting the Imperius Curse. This was real education.

Wren entered the classroom, peeling off from Cedric who walked over towards where Nora was sitting with their other Hufflepuff friends. Instead Wren sat at the desk across the aisle from her dorm mates-- Angelina and Alicia.

It was pitiful how quickly Wren had given into the Imperius Curse.

Unsurprisingly, Fred Weasley had been the longest hold out, beating George by a full twenty seconds. Wren suspected it had something to do with their natural inclination to ignore any given directive, but Lee Jordan hadn't done as well as Angelina, and she was by far the most rule-abiding in their friend group.

Wren spent a good portion of the rest of her week practising fortifying herself against being Imperiused so as not to embarrass herself the next lesson.

Her timing wasn't much better.

She largely chalked this up to mental exhaustion after the previous afternoon's brutal double Potions lesson. Snape had clearly been seeking retribution for the class's quiz scores. While Wren had managed to earn an E on hers, it seemed the rest of the class had not been so careful reading the questions if Snape's rant about their inattention to the finer details and nuances of potion making was any indication.

So, after that lesson on Wednesday, being Imperiused on Thursday, and failing to to transfigure her raccoon on Friday, Wren felt completely spent and ill prepared for the mountain of homework awaiting her this weekend.

"I'm not going to survive NEWT classes," Wren griped, laying her head down on her arm and giving her eyes a rest from her Charms textbook, instead gazing at a sideways Simon who looked up at her from across the table.

"You're not going to die," he shook his head, returning his eyes to his parchment. "Nora didn't read it in your cards."

Wren rolled her eyes at the sarcastic joke and propped her head back up on her palm. She might have been more annoyed at the lack of sympathy if it weren't for the fact that she brought up how busy and stressed she was each time he saw her. It was a miracle he put up with her, really. She doubted anyone else would.

"You're right," she agreed. "But, a study break couldn't hurt. We've got ten minutes 'til dinner. Plenty of time to pack up and go to our corner..." She dropped her hand and leaned towards him. Simon looked up from his work again, this time giving her a small smile as he came forward and kissed her gently and far, far too briefly. He sat back into his chair, leaving Wren hovering over the center of the table.

"I wish we could," he sighed, picking up his quill. "Truly." His eyes raked down her face to the opening of her blouse. Wren's face heated up, and she returned to her chair. "But I have to get this done. My weekend's packed as is, and they rescheduled Wizard's Chess Club to tonight so I already have less time than usual."

Wren pouted "I know," she said, pushing a lock of hair behind her ear. "I just miss you is all. I haven't seen you all week."

It hadn't been that either of them was avoiding the other--this year it just seemed like their time tables filled up too quickly with barely enough room to squeeze in each other. Each of their classes seemed to meet at opposite times so they never had a free period together. Time after dinner was largely devoted to clubs, homework, studying, and prefect duties with the weekends looking largely the same with the addition of Simon's commitments to his Ravenclaw friends and tutoring of younger students. The only small bit of time they had together during the week was the hour right before dinner on Fridays.

"Wren," Simon said, his voice taking on a slight edge. "I'm doing my best, ok?"

Wren's cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. She hadn't meant to insinuate that he wasn't. She wanted to whine about how Hogwarts seemed to be plotting against them, not whine about him.

"It's my seventh year. I sit NEWTs in June. If you think professors are giving you too much, just wait 'til next year. It's all I can do to keep my head above the water. Between that and my duties," he paused, running a hand through his hair and breaking off the sentence. "When we meet to study, all I can do is study. I want to spend time with you, but I can't afford to just muck about this year."

Wren nodded, sinking back into her chair. She needed to stop complaining. She needed to make the most of their time together. She needed to remember the lessons she had learned from her parents' own marriage dynamic of Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. That the Ravenclaw would always focus on the goals and achievements, but couldn't function without the Gryffindor by their side. He did need her. He did want her. She had to just get over this.

This wasn't last year.

For the remainder of their time together, the pair worked in silence. Or, at least, Simon worked. Wren re-read the same paragraph out of her textbook three different times. The silence continued even as they packed up to go to dinner and most of the way down the corridor.

Suddenly Simon tugged Wren by the arm to the side of the hall, the movement leading her to gasp in surprise. He stood before her for a second, looking down at his shoes. "I'm sorry," he apologized, dropping his hand from her arm to hold her hand. "I'm just stressed."

Wren nodded quietly, her eyes also on his navy blue and white wing tips.

"I already hate how little we get to see each other, and when you brought it up--it felt like you were trying to make me feel guilty. And it worked."

"I wasn't trying," Wren said, smally. "I was being honest."

Simon tucked a finger under her chin, tilting it up so he could press another kiss to her lips. This one was far harder than the one in the library, and soon his hands moved to her waist and behind her neck, pulling her against him. Wren's brain had just caught up with the moment, allowing her to tug at the front of his robes when he broke away and leaned his forehead against hers. Tingles still raced to her nerve endings as her body buzzed from the kiss. Simon's kisses always seemed to linger--or perhaps, echo was the right word. The sweetness of the library had lasted longer than the kiss, and the dizziness of this kiss…

"We'll figure it out, ok?" Simon asked. "It's the beginning of the year. Once things settle, we'll find more time."

Wren hummed in agreement, kissing him quickly and chastely before following him off towards dinner.

Weekends hardly felt like the weekend anymore. No time with Simon. No sightings of Nora. Even her dorm mates were out of the Gryffindor tower in various parts of the castle. Everything seemed to pass in a blur. One moment she was eating breakfast on Saturday morning, and the next it was Sunday evening and she was hunched over a stack of Transfigurations books in a corner of the common room. Wren sighed as a fifth year boy burst out laughing as an Exploding Snap tower blew up in his friend's face. The noise was getting too much for both her concentration and her nerves, so, gathering up her books, she retreated up to her dorm, spreading out the materials on her bed.

An hour later, she jolted awake to the door flying open. Wren's pulse raced as she extracted her cheek from the page of her textbook and blinked around to see what had happened. Alicia stood just inside, tears streaming down her face. She also seemed surprised to see Wren, half sitting up amongst her materials with her hair sticking to her face.

"Oh, hullo, Wren," she greeted, hastily wiping at her eyes while studiously avoiding Wren's gaze.

Wren lifted herself up to a seating position, her face creasing in worry. She wished she had Nora's natural instinct to know what to do in situations like this. Did she ask questions? Pretend like she didn't notice the tears? Leave?

"Hi," Wren said gently.

Alicia walked over to her bed, bending over to pull off her shoes. She succeeded in unlacing one and threw it to the floor with much more aggression than the shoe could possibly have deserved.

"Are you all right?" Wren asked dumbly, cringing the second the question came out of her mouth. It was exceedingly obvious, even to her, that Alicia was very much not all right.

"I'll be ok," Alicia brushed aside, fighting with the other shoe.

"Ok," Wren nodded, despite the fact that Alicia still refused to look at Wren.

"Is Angelina around?" Alicia's voice came out tight and high.

Wren winced. "I think she's in the library with Lee."

Alicia nodded, evidently not trusting her voice for a response.

"If you'd like, I'll fetch her," Wren offered. Because that was the decent thing to do right? That was the right solution? Before she could get a response, Wren hedged her bets. "But also if you want, I'm a decent listener."

"It's stupid," Alicia dismissed, despite the fact that her voice seemed to crack around the word.

"Given the fact that I haven't seen you cry more than twice over the past six years, I doubt that."

"It's just...boys are morons," Alicia sat down on her bed, and Wren got up from hers, humming in agreement with Alicia's statement as she crossed the room, sinking down into the bed next to her dorm mate. She lifted her arm to put it around Alicia's shoulders before moving to pull her hair back over her shoulder as if that's what she had always intended to do. She couldn't remember: was it Angelina or Alicia who didn't like to be touched? She had to be the world's worst dorm mate. It was a miracle they even tolerated her.

"And which boy in specific is the moron that made you cry?"

Wren had a sinking feeling she already knew the answer.

"Thom Spiro."

While she had expected it, she still had no idea what to say  hearing the name of the boy Alicia fancied fall from her lips. Guessing what he did hardly seemed appropriate, but given the wide range of idiocy common in the teenage boys of Hogwarts, asking seemed to be a dangerous option too. So instead, she sat next to Alicia and tentatively looped her arms around her in what she hoped was not the most awkward hug to ever be given. Whether or not it was, Alicia fell into Wren, her crying picking up.

"I caught him kissing Louisa Finch."

Wren's spine straightened, but she didn't say anything.

"Last night--we were fooling around, and he wanted--" Alicia sobbed, seemingly unable to continue as she buried herself into Wren's shoulder. "I said no. I shouldn't have--"

"No," Wren said, firmly. "Absolutely not. You're not finishing that thought."

Alicia sniffed. "But--maybe--"

"No," Wren repeated, shaking her head. "You're not for his use. Obviously he doesn't want a companion, he just wants something he can stick his knob into. You're more than that."

Alicia let out a watery laugh. "I can't believe you said knob."

"What else do you call it?" Wren asked, and Alicia laughed a bit harder. Spotting a bit of success, Wren smiled. "He's a wanker. A tosser. A prick. A dickhead. A pants thinker. A broomstick with no lift. A magicless wand. I'm just guessing on the last two."

Alicia wiped at her eyes, extracting herself from Wren's hug. "I wouldn't know."

"Because you're smart,"  Wren said, grabbing Alicia's hand and squeezing it. "If you're not ready, you're not ready. It's better to wait than dive in too soon."

A pause settled between them as Alicia silently nodded seeming to think over the statement. "You're right, but--" she swallowed, and Wren could see the tears begin to gather in her eyes again. "It still hurts."

Behind her Wren heard the door to the dorm open and she looked over her shoulder to see Angelina.

"What happened?" she asked, the tone of her voice hinting that she already suspected exactly the story she was going to hear. Alicia filled her in quickly, adding a few more details that had been lost to sobs when she told Wren. All the while, Angelina listened, her face growing stonier and stonier. "Well, you know what we have to do now," she said simply.

Alicia nodded. "Can you?"

Wren looked between the two girls, her brow creased in confusion. "Sorry, I feel like I'm missing something."

Angelina turned her attention to Wren with an echo of amusement on her face. "We have to tell the twins."

It was impressive how much food Fred and George were able to knick in just a half hour. Crisps, popcorn, apple tarts, pumpkin pasties, oranges, treacle fudge, nut brittle, and butterbeer were all placed in the center of the floor of the boys' dorm. Wren and Katie had managed to scrape together a decent stash of other candies like Fizzing Whizzbees, Sugar Quills, Liquorice Wands, and Acid Pops while Lee had convinced the other sixth year boys to leave the dorm and done an impressive job cleaning. Either that, or the boys were a lot neater than Wren would have ever expected.

Wren reached forward, grabbing a new bottle of butter beer and tapping her wand to the top so the bottle cap flipped off.

"Alright are we going to keep avoiding it or should we get to the business of bashing Spiro?" Fred asked, rubbing his hands together. "I've got some excellent remarks on the spelling of his name."

"Come on Freddie, that’s too easy," George admonished, plucking up a handful of crisps. "Let’s get straight to the point that he's a disgrace to Ravenclaw House."

Wren choked on her butterbeer, and Katie reached over to pat her back some as she attempted to pull herself together. Angelina looked more amused at Wren's reaction than the comment, and Alicia turned rather glum as she twirled a sugar quill between her fingers.

"I'm sure there's plenty of boys in Ravenclaw who have done the same," Alicia sighed, lifting the tip of the quill so she could nibble on it.

"No doubt. Boys are horrid," George agreed. "But even amongst the ranks of Roger Davies and Hector Martín-Delgado,  Spiro has a particular brain. One might even liken it to a troll's."

Fred nodded. "He's got to be the dullest of the lot. Not quite sure how he got in, frankly."

"No bloke in their right mind would choose Louisa Finch over you," Lee added, nudging Alicia with his shoulder. The corner of her mouth ticked up.

"That's one thing for sure, but the larger issue is--why snog in a public corridor if you're attempting to run around with as many girls as possible?" George asked.

Even Alicia laughed this time, spitting bits of sugar quill out of her mouth before clamping a hand over it.

"A fair question, George," Fred acknowledged, toasting him with his butterbeer. "There are plenty of empty classrooms for that."

"Or any of the not-so-secret passages," Katie added.

"Behind a tapestry," Angelina shrugged.

"In the woods at night," George suggested.

"Anyone on the grounds, really." Wren put in quickly.

Alicia smiled. "He's not exactly the best at finding spots for...rendezvous. Last time I tried to meet him, I ended up with you and Norah Randolph." Alicia gestured at Wren. This thought seemed to deflate her a bit. "It must be nice to have a boyfriend. You don't have to worry about the running around together bit."

“I wouldn’t know,” George quipped, popping some Fizzing Whizzbees into his mouth.

Alicia reached over and smacked his arm. George flinched away with a chuckle, his body slowly lifting off the floor as he tossed the rest of the sweets in his hand into his mouth. “I was talking to Wren,” Alicia corrected.

“You have a boyfriend?” Fred’s eyebrows shot up as he looked over at her, locking eyes. Her stomach flipped and she paused mid lick of her Acid Pop.

“Where was he at the Cup?” George asked. She felt more than saw his eyes on her.

Wren swallowed, clearing her throat of all sugar. This was not a conversation she wanted to be having. Not ever really, but particularly not now. “He was on holiday.”

“You may very well be on holiday, but you come back for the Cup!” Fred said, indignantly. As if Simon’s absence from the Quidditch World Cup was a particular affront to Fred’s own honor as a fan of the sport.

Wren returned her focus to the acid pop at hand. With any luck it would burn a hole through her tongue in the next twenty seconds, and she’d have an excuse to end this conversation before it steered into unwanted territory. “Well, he’s not particularly a Quidditch fan.”

“What particularly is he then?” George asked.

“Simon Chambers,” Wren answered, sticking the lollipop back into her mouth and deciding that she would not take it out under any circumstances.

“Simon Chambers? Really? You and him?” Fred asked. The shock in his voice was a bit offensive.

Before Wren could break her own resolve–which might have had something to do with why she couldn’t manage to stay un-Imperiused-- Angelina stepped in. “They’ve been dating almost two years,” Angelina looked between the twins. “How did you not know?”

The twins shared a look, and shit, shit, shit.

“Well, I just never would have seen it. You, George?”

“No, never.” No one asked Lee, but he shook his head.

Despite the small wave of relief, her stomach still felt as if it was twisted in knots, and she wished very much that all of the attention was off of her. “Look this isn’t about my love life, this is about celebrating Alicia for narrowly avoiding dating a troll’s tit.”

“Collings! Your language!” George gasped, holding a hand to his chest.

“You should have heard her earlier tirade,” Alicia said, grabbing a licorice wand from Lee’s hand.

Wren once again took the acid pop out of her mouth to defend herself. “It was hardly a tirade. None of the words I said were that bad.”

Alicia crossed her arms. “Would you use them in front of your mother?”

Wren opened her mouth but before she could get a word in, Fred followed up the question.

“Would you use them in front of McGonagall.”

Wren’s mouth snapped shut and the boys laughed.

Katie shook her head. “Never would have expected that out of you, Wren.”

“I never would have expected it out of Simon Chambers’ girlfriend,” Fred remarked.

Wren cast him a sour look, and he laughed loudly, but the subject was dropped, and they returned to eating unhealthy amounts of junk, devising new insults for Thom Spiro, and escaping all of the things that truly sucked about being a 6th year.

Despite the fact that she had to spend two hours, first thing in the morning, avoiding plants attempting to kill her, Wren found Herbology to be a bit of a reprieve. Even today as Professor Sprout taught them to wrangle with a Venomous Tentacula in order to effectively and moderately safely collect the plant’s juice, Wren felt as if she was able to breathe in the Greenhouse.

Part of this she attributed to her mother. Having grown up with a Herbologist of some note, a good amount of Wren’s childhood was spent in the gardens and greenhouses her mother tended. Of course, her mother had never let her get near anything quite so interesting as the plants at Hogwarts, but she’d always quite enjoyed tending to the honking daffodils and umbrella flowers.

Her young training had certainly come in handy during the early years of Herbology, but even now as she collected vial after vial of the juice. Wren backed away from the plant, casting an eye around the greenhouse. Many students seemed to still be struggling getting near the plants, while others, like Fred Weasley, seemed to have no issue getting near the plant but couldn’t quite figure out how to draw out the juice. She continued looking around, her eyes landing on Thom Spiro who was currently standing far too close to Caroline Purvis. She giggled as she held the vial up to the plant, and he stepped even closer, almost forgetting his role as a distractor for the plant.

Wren’s jaw clenched. George was right. Boys were horrid, and Thom Spiro was a special sort. He deserved a serious bit of justice.

As she set the vials in their holder to be brought up to Professor Sprout when class ended, an awful idea struck Wren.

It made her smile.

With one eye on Professor Sprout who was busy helping Arlan Summers and Tom Dalgliesh with their plant, Wren corked a vial, wrapped it in cloth, and stuck it in her bag.

Herbology ended soon after, some pairs, like Wren, scoring as many as four while others had nothing but a few tears in their robes to show for their morning.

Quickly, Wren made her way up the hill towards the courtyard where she could study before lunch. She had just picked out a spot lawn when something in the corner of her eye caught her attention. She turned, staring harder as if that would make things make more sense.

Alicia and Nora were….hugging?

It was none of her business. She should really sit down and open up a textbook and focus on her studies and not be walking across the courtyard right now.

"Hi?" Wren cast a look between the two girls.

"Hullo Wren," Alicia said, the words coming out a bit muffled because of the sweet she was chewing. Wren turned her attention to Nora, squinting at her cousin as if that would explain why she was suddenly such close friends to Alicia. Alicia, Wren's dorm mate, whom Nora had had maybe three classes with in her entire Hogwarts career.

As both girls looked at Wren somewhat expectantly, it hit her that she probably should have come up with some excuse to be coming over to say hello. "Hi," Wren repeated again, this time more as a statement than a question. "I just wanted to catch Nora, for a second."

"Yes?" Nora asked, tilting her head slightly.

Shit.

"Mum said to ask if Aunt Kathleen had sent you my color changing ink. She thinks I must have left it at your house when we got back from shopping."

Nora shook her head. "No, mum hasn't sent anything yet...I thought I saw that in your trunk?"

Shit. Shit.  Wren was saved from having to attempt another lie by Alicia.

"Wait--are you two cousins? I always thought you were neighbors or met on the train."

Nora laughed heartily. "I know it's hard for me to believe this moody one is my blood," she teased, poking Wren.

"To be fair, we are practically neighbors. It's just the two houses between us," Wren said, batting Nora's hand away as the other girl continued to poke Wren in the arm.

"Blimey," Alicia shook her head. "I'm just as bad as Fred and George aren't I?"

Wren wanted to assure her that she wasn't. The fact that Alicia even knew Wren was dating Simon was purely because Wren  had asked her for advice to help get dressed for their first date. The only reason Wren had known that Alicia fancied Thom was more due to Lee announcing it to the common room one afternoon at the end of last year than because of any kind of closeness between the girls. But Wren didn't get the chance because Nora spun to face her.

"Oh?" she asked, her voice going up an octave. "How's that?"

"They didn't know she was dating Simon Chambers."

“Well can’t blame them for that one,” Nora's voice returned to normal as she once more turned to Alicia, ignoring Wren's glare. “You two are never around each other.”

“Our schedules don’t match," Wren defended flatly.

Even though she wasn't facing her, Wren could see the small twinkle in Nora's eyes. “Would you say it’s…'an unavoidable conflict'?”

Wren groaned, and Nora laughed again. "Told you Wren. Divination is serious magic. Anyway," Nora flipped her plait over her shoulder. "I'm supposed to meet Arlan and Cedric so we can do some Astronomy work before lunch. Keep me updated," she added to Alicia who nodded in agreement. With that, Nora was off leaving Wren and Alicia together.

"I can't believe I didn't know Nora Randolph was your cousin!" Alicia shook her head, moving out into the courtyard. Wren followed her.

"I didn't know you were friends."

"We're not really. Or at least, we weren't," Alicia said, selecting a shady spot under a tree and sitting down. Wren hesitated before putting her own bag down and sitting beside the other girl. "We have Ancient Runes together. With Thom."

Wren's eyes widened. "Oh."

"She saw me looking miserable yesterday and made her partner switch chairs with me. Next thing I know, she's passing me toffees and I'm telling her the whole story."

Wren shook her head with a small laugh. “That sounds like Nora.”

Alicia began unpacking some parchment and books from her own bag. "There's not anything in those toffees is there? Veritaserum or something of the sort?"

Wren shook her head again. “That’s just Nora. People'll tell her anything.”

“I think we might be best mates now.” Alicia commented and Wren laughed before taking out her own work, and settling into a studious silence next to Alicia.

She hadn't planned how to get the juice into Thom Spiro' drink.

That was the primary thought running through Wren's head as she sat at the Gryffindor table, picking at her food. She had waved Alicia on to lunch before her, claiming she was just going to finish the chapter before she went in and the other girl didn't have to wait. She'd waited fifteen minutes to enter the Great Hall, sitting far along the table so as not to be seen by professors or any of the prefects who tended to group together at the middle of the table whether consciously or not.

It was about then that the thought hit her for the first time, and she had eaten most of her food and was in the final quarter or so of lunch without the faintest clue as to how to get this vial in his drink.

She couldn't very well just walk up to the Ravenclaw table and slip some in his goblet. The most interaction she'd ever had with him was holding a door open to Charms. They'd never even so much as spoken. Wren half considered dropping a knut on the floor and picking it up and handing it to him. But, passing off a knut and simultaneously pouring something into his goblet seemed just short of impossible.

Wren took a bite out of her roll, watching as more Ravenclaws came in and filled the table. She caught sight of a familiar tall and lean boy with copper hair, and her eyes lit up. Simon. She would walk over under the perfectly reasonable guise of saying hello to her boyfriend, and swap her own goblet with Thom’.

This plan quickly crashed as Simon passed Thom, picking an empty spot, naturally towards the center of the table.

Of course, Wren had considered switching her plan to a simple Pepper Breath Hex, which certainly would have put an end to his romantic endeavors at least for the next couple of days or so. But compared to her initial plan, this idea seemed so inadequate. And how could she even be sure that Alicia got to enjoy the justice? There had to be some way, some excuse, for her to switch goblets--

Of course.

It was so simple, really.

It was unlikely the teachers would expect it. If anything, it'd be written off as an unhappy accident from Herbology. If only he had properly corked his vial or used gloves to pass it along like Professor Sprout had said. Quickly glancing around to see if anyone was looking at her, which of course they weren't, Wren pulled the Venomous Tentacula juice from her bag and poured it in her own cup.

Subtly, she took her wand out of her pocket and with another quick glance up at the professor's table, tapped her own goblet, muttering the spell.

She peered inside and noticed her cup was slightly emptier than it had been.

She'd switched them. A rush of victory swelled in Wren's chest and she almost wished that someone near her would give her a high five.

It took five minutes to determine that her plan worked. A small commotion rose at the Ravenclaw table which seemed like normal lunch nonsense before the group of boys around Thom parted. Wren watched as Thom’s skin slowly shifted from its beautiful shade of lilac to a darker lavender. Giggles began to echo through the Great Hall as Thom’s distress grew more and more apparent. Wren cast a quick look up at the professors' table. Professor Snape  looked particularly unamused, but Dumbledore had a small quirk of his lips.

Wren took this as permission for herself to smile as Thom’s friends rushed a now violet Thom Spiro out of the hall and towards, undoubtedly, the Hospital Wing. Sensing this was as good a time as any to dismiss from lunch, the food vanished from the table, and the students began to file out. Wren picked up her bag, ready to go to Transfiguration and feeling particularly pleased with herself as all around her students whispered about that purple Ravenclaw!

"Fine work, Collings." Wren nearly jumped out of her skin, fumbling her books.  She succeeded in catching them back onto her arms, but one slid out, bouncing against the ground in front of her. Before she could bend over to retrieve it, one of the twins scooped it up and placed it on top of his own, significantly shorter stack of books. If two books could be called a stack.

"What?" Wren asked, her head turning to each of the twins.

"I was wondering what you were up to in Herbology," Fred, the one who was not holding her book, remarked.

"Sorry, you've lost me." Wren shrugged and gave a jerky shake of her head.

Fred gave her a wolfish grin. "Have I?" He waved his wand, and the empty vial shot out of her bag and into his hand. Because of course he could do nonverbal spells already. He wiggled it in front of her, and Wren snatched at it, surprising herself by actually wrenching it from his hands.

Wren stuffed it back into her bag, glaring at him--although the fact that he was absolutely correct took all of the heat out of her look. "That's for potions."

"And apparently poisoning Ravenclaw dickheads,"  Fred remarked.

"I didn't poison him."

She did. Technically.

"I don't even understand why you think it was me." She succeeded in making her voice slightly more casual this time which did nothing but make the boys' smiles grow.

"It's not a suspicion," Fred dismissed. " I know it was you. Saw you in Herbology."

"There's a plant that does that?" George asked with widened eyes.

"Apparently the Venomous Tentacula,"  Fred said. "Sprout said it was a poisonous juice, but I never reckoned I'd actually see someone poisoned with it."

"Stop saying I poisoned him!" Wren hissed.

George's brow wrinkled. "Is there another word for it?"

"Empoisoned?" Fred suggested.

"Envenomed?"

"Would this count as drugging?"

Wren brushed past the twins, entering the Transfigurations classroom. They followed her in laughing.

Alicia looked up from where she and Angelina were gathered together giggling. "Wren!" she called, waving her over quickly. Wren approached, dropping her books off at her desk along the way and  trying very hard to keep the smile off of her face, seeing Alicia positively beaming.

"Tell me you didn't miss it."

"Thom Spiro turning bright purple? How could I?"

"Merlin, it was glorious," Alicia exclaimed looking happily up at the ceiling as if attempting to thank Merlin himself up in heaven. When she looked back down, her eyes fell on the Weasley twins who had followed Wren over. "You two, you did this, didn't you?"

"Us? No," George shook his head.

"We'd never dope a student," Fred added, pausing for a second. "That's the word we're going with, right?"

George shook his head. "Doesn't seem quite right. I still think poison's the best fit."

Alicia's face creased in confusion, and perhaps if Wren hadn't seen fit to cast a dark look at the two, the other girls might have assumed they were lying.

"Wren Collings, what did you do?" Angelina asked, and Wren's face went slack with surprise. It was just her luck that Angelina, the one observant enough to have taught Wren and Alicia how to tell the twins apart, would have caught the look.

"Me?" Wren asked, perhaps too defensively because now Alicia's eyes were on her.

"Wren," Alicia looked at her wide-eyed. "Did you....?"

Wren made a sound of disbelief. "You think I poisoned a Ravenclaw student? I'm dating a prefect! A Ravenclaw one."

"You did!" Alicia gasped, grabbing Wren into a tight hug. "You're bloody brilliant. Honestly, Wren. I could kiss you."

"Doubt she'd let you," Fred quipped.

Alicia released Wren who stepped back, taking her book from George and hitting Fred with it. "So violent, Collings," he flinched away laughing.  "They're going to lock you up in Azkaban. You maniac."

"So if he wasn't poisoned," Angelina said, "What exactly happened to him?"

All eyes fell on Wren. "He didn't wash his hands properly after handling the Venomous Tentacula juice in Herbology today. Or maybe the cork wasn't on right and some got on his skin," she shrugged. "Professor Snape said it happens every year."

Fred opened his mouth to remark but was cut off by Professor McGonagall walking in, signaling to the students to stop talking and find their seats. Her gaze fell on Fred.

“Mr. Weasley, as you are not taking this class, please find your way to the door.”

Fred gave McGonagall a salute, and turned to leave, making sure to gesture to Wren that he had his eyes on her before heading out of the room. Wren's cheeks tinged pink as she made her way to her desk.

The light poisoning might have been a mistake.