#wren: knows nothing of your canon

[dutyworn]

                                          @alootus    /    cont. from ↷

Not one to make massive social blunders often, it’s  fairly clear  her casual humour is not... well-received. To be fair to Padmé, it’s a tired, niche joke someone who doesn’t know her history couldn’t understand.

❝ Sorry, ❞    Wren says, with a full body sigh,    ❝ you’re not wrong. I feel like I haven’t slept in years. ❞    Her situation would be hysterical if it weren’t so desperate. She doesn’t know where she is, and she has an inkling this is rapidly becoming clear for her host as well. Wren doesn’t even know how she’s supposed to address someone who calls her my lady. Shit, what is this, medieval space colonies? What the fuck are her duties, when she doesn’t even know if she’s in her own galaxy, anymore? Certainly not any part of it Citadel Space has mapped.

❝ I’ll take you up on that tea. ❞    She wants coffee, or a beer, but. Neither really promote good sleep, nor is she going to nitpick what’s offered to her.    ❝ Should I... sorry, should I address you some specific way? I’m really... very. Not from around here. I’m not trying to be... ❞    She is so out of her comfort zone. She tries to embody something friendlier than her exhausted sarcasm; she manages a wan smile.    ❝ I’m really very  far from home.  I’ll get out of your hair as soon as... ❞    She has no idea, to be honest.

[galaxywhump]

Prompt: Wren doing something that's blatantly stupid/suicidal (like going out into the jungle to pick fights with the wildlife) when he becomes apathetic about his own life, and Daniel's reaction to that?

[SV-240 masterlist]

Thank you for the prompt, anon! Sorry it's so late, it's been in the making for a while now and I finally got the motivation to finish it.

Warning: this is a rather heavy one; it's also not canon.

contents: slavery whump, forced relationship, creepy/intimate whumper, suicide attempt (nothing graphic), depression, restraints, comforted by whumper.

~~~

Wren leaves the house without Daniel’s knowledge.

He still has the tracker, of course, but when he left, Daniel was napping, so hopefully he won’t wake up for a few more hours. Wren just wants to go for a swim in the picturesque pond he remembers the path to. He’s unarmed, without so much as a kitchen knife, but he’s not scared. He’s not anything.

There is an emptiness inside of him that has had a grip on him for several weeks now. It’s the sort of hopelessness he’s been trying so hard to avoid, but instead of making him Daniel’s loving partner, it’s only making him… do this. Go for a walk in the jungle, looking straight ahead, not scanning his surroundings, barely flinching when he hears rustling and other sounds of the dense forest.

He’s had these thoughts a few times before, but now he’s decided to follow them. Not directly, even though he knows there are several options inside the house; instead, he lets fate decide, since it seems to control his life anyway. So he goes for a swim. If fate decides he should stay underwater, he won’t fight it, nor will he fight if it decides not to let him reach the pond at all.

He’s clothed, and yet feels so exposed, a puny human in a jungle full of animals he knows nothing about, having only met one, which tried to kill him. Maybe there are others like it. Maybe one is already stalking him.

Keep walking, not running, walking with calm emptiness. Get away from Daniel’s house, leave his life on the jungle’s mercy. He frowns when he feels a small pang of regret. He should turn back. He should live. But it’s too late now, isn’t it? He’s far enough that the way back would be anything but safe, and he doesn’t want Daniel to question him once he returns. He takes a deep breath, clenches his fists, and keeps walking.

There are noises all around him.

There’s a noise somewhere behind him.

Soft steps, a low growl. He’s being stalked.

He closes his eyes.

And then there’s a familiar man-made sound, cracking bolts of plasma piercing the air; one followed by the sound of the animal fleeing, one hitting a tree just a few centimeters left of Wren, making him jolt in place.

“Hi there,” he hears Daniel’s voice, almost playful. He swallows and slowly turns around to face his captor, who’s standing still with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed.

“You missed,” Wren says, lifting his chin, though there is nothing more to his defiance, no spark in his eyes.

“If I wanted to shoot you, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.” There is no affection in Daniel’s voice, and Wren prefers it this way. “Have you forgotten about your tracker?”

“No.”

Daniel raises his eyebrows.

“What was even your plan?”

“I went for a walk,” Wren explains, looking him straight in the eye; his expression remains empty.

“Good one,” Daniel scoffs. “You know you’d be dead before the day’s over, don’t you?”

“I do.”

The silence that follows is unbearably heavy. Daniel gets it, and for a split second he looks genuinely surprised before going back to his usual unbothered expression.

“Come here. Let’s go home.”

Wren doesn’t break eye contact.

“And if I run?” he asks. “Will you miss again?”

“I’ll shoot, but I won’t kill you. I’ll target your leg, maybe both, and I’ll drag you back. Now come here.”

He does, his head lowered, brow furrowed, mind blank. The jungle around them is bustling with life, never completely quiet, yet the silence between them feels suffocating enough that it could spread over the entire forest, forcing it into stupor. Neither of them says a single word on the way home.

Home. Wren sighs. Home. Daniel’s house is his home now, there’s no denying that. He’s too tired to deny anything anyway, not to mention worry about what Daniel’s going to do to him after his stunt.

They’re still silent when they reach the house and the door closes behind them. Wren follows Daniel to the living room, sits down on the couch, and watches him retrieve two pairs of leather cuffs.

“You’ll have to be restrained more after this, you know that?”

“Yeah.” Wren puts his arms in front, wrists close together, and does the same with his ankles. The cuffs close, a familiar sensation, and he stares down at them, barely feeling anything.

“It’s for your own safety.” Daniel doesn’t crouch down, doesn’t sit next to Wren, still standing in front of him, towering over him.

“Yeah,” Wren repeats, his voice monotone; he only wants this pointless conversation to end, and Daniel can sense it, which doesn’t mean he cares.

“Look at me.”

When he does, Daniel frowns seeing the weary emptiness in his eyes.

“Why did you do it?” he asks, and his accusatory tone makes Wren flinch, like he’s being scolded. It’s the last thing he wants to experience today.

“Take a guess,” he mutters, lowering his gaze, as if even looking up requires too much energy.

Daniel sighs and his frown deepens. He knows the truth, as much as he doesn’t want to accept it.

“I won’t let you do that, Wren.”

“I know. Cause I have nowhere to run, right?” For the first time today, there is something in Wren’s voice, the tiniest of sparks. “I can’t fucking escape you and this-this fucking nightmare, I’m stuck here and you won’t even- you won’t even let me-” He gets choked up, and to his frustration he tears up. “Fuck, just fucking hold me already and spew your bullshit, I know you’re going to do it anyway.”

Without a word, Daniel sits down next to Wren, who leans against him and exhales slowly when Daniel embraces him.

“I’m not going to spew any bullshit. I just…” Daniel trails off for a moment and gives Wren a light squeeze. “I wasn’t expecting this, and it hurts.”

“Oh, it hurts you?” Wren laughs in disbelief. “Poor you, the guy you’re keeping captive and torturing is a depressed loser. Cry me a river.”

“It hurts me because I love you, Wren.”

“You said you weren’t going to spew bullshit.”

“It’s not bullshit to me, and I hope that soon it won’t be bullshit to you, either.” Daniel sighs, a heavy sigh that makes Wren even angrier, which he knows is, at the very least, better than complete emptiness. Daniel doesn’t have the right to feel and react this way, not when he’s the cause of all of this. “And remember that you were depressed even before I bought you.” He feels Wren tense up at that. “You can’t pretend otherwise, it was right in your file. Depressed, isolated, drinking problem. You were lonely, and that made it possible for Berkeley to make you disappear without raising any eyebrows. Now you’re here, I’m here with you, I know about your problems, and I want to help. On my terms and at my pace, but I do.”

“You’re not helping,” Wren croaks, trying and failing to blink away tears, Daniel’s blunt words feeling like a dagger piercing his heart, over and over again. “I wasn’t- It was better than this, I wanted to get better, I just…”

He just couldn’t, and it was only getting worse, until he started spending entire hours - he was too busy to afford days - curled up in his bed, staring at the wall, questioning the point of it all, and he was alone, completely alone, and-

“On Earth, I wouldn’t have been there to stop you.”

Daniel’s words are like a punch to the face, strong enough that Wren would sway on his feet if he wasn’t sitting down. It’s true, he realizes in horror, and a painful sob reverberates through his body; he slumps in Daniel’s embrace, overwhelmed by the most terrifying what if he’s ever had to consider.

“Shh, sweetheart.” Daniel gently runs his hand up and down Wren’s arm and pulls him closer as he sobs, unable to stop, because Daniel is right, and he was so stupid, and in a twisted way he almost let Daniel win.

What could have been back on Earth doesn't matter anymore. Here, if he dies, Daniel wins. It’s a way to escape, but it comes at too great a cost, and now that he can think more or less clearly again, he can’t believe he even attempted that. So stupid, so stupid, and if it wasn’t for Daniel, the very same person he's fighting against, he wouldn’t be here right now.

He won’t thank Daniel, he can’t, but he leans into his touch ever so slightly, and he’s still crying, so overwhelmed by what he almost did and so relieved that he’s still here, still fighting.

“Cry it out, sweetheart. I’m right here.”

For the first time, though he would never admit it out loud, he’s grateful for that.

~~~

taglist: @faewhump @inky-whump @whole-and-apart-and-between @whatwasmyprevioususername @procrastinatingsab @funky-little-glitter-bomb @goneuntil @redstainedsocks @luminouswhump @lonesome--hunter @as-a-matter-of-whump @renkocchi @whump-only @muddy-swamp-bitch @girlwithacoolcat @watermelons-dont-grow-on-trees @sophierose002 @whump-headspace @to-whump-or-not-to-whump @kixngiggles @ohwhumpydays @whumpsical @wibbly-wobbly-whump @stab-the-son-of-a @his-unspoken-words @pumpkin-spice-whump @onlyhappywhenitpains @suspicious-whumping-egg @morning-star-whump @burtlederp @there-will-always-be-blood @springwhump

[melanie-ohara]

In The Woods Somewhere - Chapter 2

Whumpuary2024, Day 06 - Prompt: Used as Bait

Sabine faces off against the bandit leader in a last ditch attempt to save her mortal enemy...

This one contains a lot of Making Stuff Up about those Peridean bandits, so one day it'll probably stop being canon compliant

AO3 here

Three hours earlier....

Shin's tent was cold, and she rubbed her balled fists against her chest to warm herself up as she crossed from her bunk to the wash basin. Behind her, she heard the flap open as Feldspar, the leader of the bandits, entered without asking. Shin ignored him for a moment and instead looked at her own face in the cracked mirror. She looked pale and tired, but that was no surprise. The last of her eyeliner was smudged and barely visible around her eyes. She considered using charcoal from the burnt-out fire but no matter how naked she felt without her warpaint, it made her skin itch after a few hours. 

"Sister," Feldspar prompted, and Shin forced herself not to grimace. These men were descendents of the original Nightbrothers, and they were nothing like the zabrak colony that still existed on Dathomir: Shin had spent long enough around Morgan Elsbeth to know they were more like the witches of old. When she had first come to them, they had mistaken her ashen skin and pale hair for a Nightsister's, and she had never tried to correct them. It suited her purposes, but pretending to be a witch sickened her.

"Feldspar," she greeted coldly, without looking around. 

The men had lost - or maybe never had - the ritual knowledge of their sisters, but they had an instinctive connection to the living Force Shin could barely comprehend, let alone match. Their ability to predict had led them to their quarry without fail, but their empathic telepathy was less helpful: Shin had to seal her mind from them to avoid giving herself away.

"Our enemies are near," Feldspar said. His voice slithered like rats over a corpse. "They threaten balance, and we must strike them down."

Shin had never been able to determine if that phrase meant that the Jedi and her pet Mandalorian threatened to destroy something the bandits protected, or threatened to bring balance to chaos. Peridea made no sense to her, not since Baylan had abandoned her to it and struck out on his own.

She shook her head. "My former Master is a greater threat now." Shin dipped her head and splashed cold water over her face. It washed off the last of her makeup, and she frowned at how young her reflection looked. How small. 

Feldspar moved closer, until Shin could see him in the mirror. He wasn't wearing his helmet, and his grey skin and lipless mouth full of rows of spiked teeth were off-putting so early in the morning. 

"We have the opportunity to end your Jedi now," he hissed insistently. 

Shin tilted her head forwards a little to examine the dark roots of her hair. Before she could stop herself, she wondered if the purple-haired Mandalorian had any bleach.

Feldspar stepped into her personal space and came close to her ear. "Perhaps you can take it from her once she's dead ," he said, and Shin winced. Feldspar would have felt the curiosity in the thought, and the distinct lack of malice she held for Sabine Wren. 

She turned to fix his sharp silver eyes with the hardest glare she could muster. "Fine," she said. "Prepare a war party." 

Feldspar nodded and left, and Shin was overwhelmed by a crushing sense of foreboding.

*

Shin walked at the head of the formation, a step behind Feldspar. The bandits travelled in a loose group that looked random and disorganised at first glance, but was carefully calculated to maximise sightlines. The forest closed in around them, and Shin couldn't see far into the darkness around them. The Nightbrothers eyes' were better adapted to the dark and she was forced to rely on them to navigate. The feeling that had struck her in the tent had only grown the further they'd gone, and now it was balled up in her chest like a secret she could barely keep. 

"Hold," Feldspar whispered. His voice was barely audible to Shin but the others all stopped, no matter how distant they were. Feldspar's eyes were closed against a vision - Shin could tell from the pale wisps of green smoke that flitted out from under his eyelids. "Here," he said, after a moment. "Scatter."

With a rustle of parting undergrowth, the bandits vanished into the darkness. 

"We've tried an ambush before," Shin pointed out. It was cold and dark and the anxiety was making her irritable. Baylan would have chided her for being unfocused. She wished she couldn't think like him.

"Not with bait," Feldspar said, and Shin's lightsaber was in her hand and ignited before she had even processed the thought screaming in her head. The Nightbrother was ready for her though, and grabbed her wrist in a crushing grip, forcing the blade out and away. "I am sorry, Sister," he said, and a white heat filled Shin's stomach as his blade forced its way inside. "But a bird will fly to a dying wolf."

Shin coughed. It didn't hurt, not yet. She knew it would, once the shock had passed and her brain caught up with her body, but she had a few seconds to bring up her free hand and hurl Feldspar into a tree hard enough to break his neck. Her arm refused to obey her. She glanced down and saw the cursed green tendrils of witch magic curled around the blade. She couldn't even spit in his face as he yanked the blade free and shoved her down to the ground. Pain battled with fury and hate as Feldspar reached down to pick her lightsaber up from where it had fallen.

Now....

Sabine grabbed her helmet from Shin's side and put it back on, turning as she got back to her feet to face the bandit leader stepping out of the shadows. The familiar sound of Shin's lightsaber igniting pierced the air and the orange light glittered in the rain as he advanced on her slowly.

"That doesn't belong to you," Sabine told him as she unhooked her only lightsaber and switched it on. She had barely found her guard position when the bandit surged forwards faster than Sabine thought possible and struck for her head. She twitched her hands up to block his strike and tried to use the pull of the blades to open his guard. The bandit yanked Shin's blade free of the lock and stabbed forwards, forcing Sabine to hop back a step and swing her lightsaber down and out in a weak block that opened up her left side. She struck out to get some breathing room, but it was wide and predictable and he easily countered. 

This was bad. 

The bandit was forcing her back, step by step, as each of his strikes forced her into a stance that gave him an opening to attack again. Before she could even hope to find an opening, the bandit leader forced her lightsaber out of the way and lined up a shot that would take her head. Sabine tried to lift her left hand to take the blade on her vambrace, but she knew before she moved it would be too late. 

Or it would have been, if the bandit's lightsaber hadn't stuck in the air like it had hit a rayshield. 

Stunned, Sabine stared at Shin. The fight had pushed her back past her prone form until she was behind the bandit leader, only now she was sitting up and reaching out, clamping the Force tight around her own lightsaber blade and holding it in place. 

Her face was contorted with agony as her other hand gripped at her guts. "Kill him!" she screamed.

Rallying, Sabine swung her lightsaber down to slice through his wrist. Shin's hilt dropped from his severed hand and before he could even scream Sabine raised her foot and booted him hard enough in the chest to send him sprawling into the mud. Before she could move back to Shin, blaster fire erupted out of the trees around her. Sabine managed to catch a few bolts with her blade before they started to impact her beskar. Her visor glowed with red and orange cutting sizzling paths through the rain and within seconds she was overwhelmed. She dropped her lightsaber as she dropped to her knees, just managing to wrap her forearms around her abdomen below the protection of her chestplate. She knew it wouldn't be long before one of their shots found a gap - and even if they didn't, beskar wouldn't hold up forever. Eventually the steel would collapse, and she would die. She glanced over at Shin, and through the blur of colour she saw that she was out cold. 

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and closed her eyes.

She felt the rush of the Force moving around her before she saw what was happening. Ahsoka, resplendent in her bright white robes, landed between her and the blaster fire. Her saber erupted into life and whirled in a tightly controlled circle, deflecting bolts into the trees. Sabine's lightsaber shot off the ground by her knee and into Ahsoka's free hand.

"Go!" her Master shouted back at her. "Get her to Huyang!"

Sabine stared for a half-second as Ahsoka started advancing, a tornado made of light swirling around her and turning the rain to steam. She shook herself and grabbed a blaster in one hand as she ran, bent low, to Shin's side. She was still breathing, but barely, and Sabine scooped her into her arms as gently as she could with blaster bolts churning up the mud around them. She wrapped one arm around Shin's back and supported her knees with her other forearm, keeping her blaster gripped tightly as she stumbled back the way she had come. 

She couldn't protect Shin like this, and her heart was in her throat the entire desperate sprint towards the sunlight bleeding through the edge of the forest. She nearly fell twice, and forced herself to slow down a little. Behind her, she could still hear Ahsoka fighting the bandits back, and wished she could turn back and help her. Shin, her mortal enemy, needed her more than her ally now, though, so she pressed on. 

Relief almost made Sabine scream: Mirshko was waiting for them, already kneeling so they could clamber on. Ahsoka must have brought him when she followed her. Sabine lifted Shin onto Mirshko's back, dimly aware of how light she was compared to the last time they had tangled before she forced thoughts about how malnourished the other woman was out of her head. Gaping stomach wound first, she thought as she swung her leg over Mirshko's back and clicked her tongue. He rose to his feet under her as she wrapped her arms around Shin's waist to keep her close, and then kicked her heels into the Howler's flank. They left the battle behind, and sprinted towards the T6. 

*

Shin woke slowly and painfully. Her insides were on fire and her head throbbed at the over-bright ceiling lights. Panic set in when she didn't recognise the room she was in, and she tried to cry out through a parched and scratched throat. All she managed was a hoarse grunt, but it got the attention of whoever was in the room with her.

"Lady Hati," a blurry grey and white shape said, in a voice that Shin guessed was meant to be soothing. "Please relax."

Shin tried to reach out and crush it with the Force, but her arms were bound to the bed and no amount of straining would break their hold, not while she was so weak. She screamed again, and this time managed a cracked and broken howl. 

"The bindings are for your own safety, as well as mine," the droid explained. "Lady Wren extends her apologies. In fact, perhaps I should fetch her."

Shin barely heard the droid, and ignored the sound of the door opening and closing, focusing instead on blinking her eyes into focus. Once she could see, she could block out the pain, and once she could block out the pain, she could escape her bindings, and then she could slaughter her way out. 

She shook her head as her vision cleared, and a smudge of colour caught her eye. On the wall by the bed, someone had drawn a lothcat. She recognised it from the first time she had met Sabine Wren, underneath that transmission tower so long ago. So far away. The drawing was close to where her hands were bound, and she could just trace the edges of them with one of her fingers if she stretched it. It was the Mandalorian's handiwork, that was clear, and she realised with a strange spike of a feeling she had no name for that she was lying in her bed. She remembered Feldspar spearing her and leaving her for dead. She remembered Sabine. She had stared up into her warm brown eyes as rainwater ran down out of her hair and wondered how she had ever wanted to kill her. 

"Shin?" 

It was her. She didn't need to turn her head to know, though she had never heard her voice strain that way before. She didn't know what she could possibly say and kept her eyes fixed on the lothcat drawing on the wall rather than face those eyes again. 

Sabine looked down at her. Without a bacta tank, Huyang had assured her his surgery skills could save her life and banished her from her own room while he knitted her back together. Shin looked so weak it was hard to believe she could ever be dangerous. Sabine knew she was, even now, tied down and wracked by pain, but it didn't stop her. She pulled the desk chair over from the other side of the room and sat down at Shin's side.

"I'm going to stay here," she said softly, when Shin still refused to take her eyes off the little drawing of Murley on the wall. Cautiously, she rested her hand on Shin's wrist. It reminded her of the way Shin had led her around on Elsbeth's ship when she was a prisoner, and hoped Shin would be able to take something of the same strange comfort she had felt from her then. 

After a long moment, Shin nodded.

[wrenaspun]

hello wrenny wren 😍 may i humbly request a commentary on this part and if possible a little bts information about laurent’s reaction when he received the video? 👀

“You ordered it,” said Damen. “Didn’t you?” He hadn’t done anything, at that point. He’d been pulled out of the morning lineup seemingly at random, told only that this was a message for the rest of the prisoners.

“Yes.”

“Did you watch it?”

“Yes.” Almost a whisper. Laurent’s other hand came up to Damen’s ribs, moulding to the curve of the skin. “They sent me the video. I thought it would be —” His breathing had quickened; the words dried away.

😘if nobody has my back I know kybelles has my back!!! Everyone please ignore how long this took me to answer

Laurent's revenge was such a tricky element to the spy fic because (like most fics that incorporate some kind of canon-adjacent conflict) it had to strike that balance between the horror of canon without totally blocking out the eventual romance. We hear, if only obliquely, what happened to Damen's back right from the start of the fic, and I think we can guess that it was Laurent's doing, so what I really wanted from this moment was to show Laurent's regret. He orchestrated this full beautiful revenge and when it finally came to fruition it felt totally hollow because in the interim he'd gotten to know Damen 💕This is the moment that comes to light, and I think that regret had to be acknowledged openly before either of them could go any further together.

Also, a kind of funny side effect of this moment is the implication that Damen had a random bad thing happen to him and went "Ah yes, this is certainly the work of my toxic situationship who I've only recently discovered wants revenge on me." I do think he would be more upset to find out that Laurent had nothing to do with it and it really was just Vaskian brutality. Because he's insane <3

ANYWAY to answer the last part of your question I think when Laurent watched the video he dry heaved and then tried to tell himself it was a dry heave of pure joy and triumph, and then he did lie awake and think about Damen for weeks and weeks. This did not make it into the fic but I do headcanon that Laurent was planning to break Damen out of prison so that he could bait Damen into chasing him obsessively but Damen's hypercompetence struck before Laurent could.

(director's cut meme)

[g-h-0-s-t-3-d]

Silhouettes & Songbirds // a Modern Warfare Story - Chapter 1

Pairings (Eventual): Simon "Ghost" Riley x Wren "Hawk" Yarrow (Original Character)

Tags: Military Themes (Call of Duty), Canon-Typical Swearing, Implied Abuse (Past, by Graves)

A/N: I am so excited to FINALLY have this OUT!! Hope y'all love it <3 Looks like Tumblr also crushed my image quality so yay

Kate Laswell folded her hands neatly on the worn-out desk as she eyes the Captain. The scruffy man held his stance, blue eyes unwavering as he only nodded in encouragement. John Price was nothing if not persistent, and the CIA agent knew better than to question him.

“Fine, but I want Sergeant Yarrow on the team. And I’m not asking.” Her tone was low, but it pierced the room nonetheless with the compromise.

Price grunted softly. “You think she’s solid after being back in Urzikstan?”

“She will be if she has to be.” Laswell’s answer was resolute, and she held his gaze as she squared her shoulders. There was no room for negotiation here. Price was silent as he took a long drag from his cigar in contemplation.

“Thought that last assignment was a one-off for her. That PMC really fucked her up.”

Laswell sighed. “We need her, John. Are your men really any better?”

“…Everyone’s got their problems, Kate.” He didn’t elaborate, and she didn't ask. As much as she disliked the risk of a special operations endeavor with current international relations, she couldn’t deny that Price was right - Al Qatala needed handling. She sighed briefly and nodded in acknowledgment.

“What are you calling this task force?”

“141.”

—

A young woman sighed as she gazed out the window. It was a nice day in Rye, East Sussex… she wished she could enjoy it more than she did. For as long as she’d spent off the force, she never thought she’d get used to civilian life. Wren Yarrow was a creature of habit, of constant direction and purpose.

She was a creature of Shadow Company… of Phillip Graves.

There was no meaning in daily tasks that were surely obsolete. Sure, it was a routine, one she clung to at that, but it was nothing more. It was something she did mindlessly, day after day after fucking day.

She felt pathetic - it had been years since her discharge - she should’ve long been over this. And yet, it never seemed to settle for her.

There was always something perfectly boring about living.

More often than she’d like to admit, she found herself reminiscing about her time in Shadow Company… her time with Graves. She wondered if she’d ever stop missing it; missing him…

It was a slow day at the bakery that day. Normally, she found solace in the day to day workings of the store - she could expect the same people every day, she could expect to make the same things…

She thought she knew what she wanted - to come home and run her bakery like nothing had happened. Like she hadn’t been called on a whim to ship out to Urzikstan after years of being out of the military.

Life never goes the way you plan it. And she had once again become living proof when Laswell called her that morning just a few months after she had returned home.

“John wants a Task Force. I want you on it.” Short and to the point; Laswell was never much to sugar-coat. Wren could hear the subtle undertones in her voice, though - Kate knows her history, and she knows the weight of her request. Wren knows it damn well, too.

“What’s the situation?”

“Classified. You understand.” She knew that, of course, but it wouldn’t have stopped her from asking.

It was almost embarrassing how quickly Wren had accepted the request. Apparently, uprooting her life and business once more was not a concern as she hung a ‘closed indefinitely’ sign for the second time over the front door and rushed upstairs to pack her belongings. Surely, she was insane, grasping at any straw that presented her with some sort of purpose…

When she laid in bed that night, she wondered very briefly if this is what she really wanted, but the cold truth was that Wren didn’t know what she wanted. She thought a civilian life here would suit her, that she’d grow accustomed to the slow pace of lazy mornings and meaningless conversation, but it always left her feeling incomplete - there was no purpose to serve here, just existence.

So she agreed, and she shipped out the next morning.

—

She was grateful her last leave - though it was intended to be permanent - was only half a year, because owning a bakery didn’t exactly do wonders for one’s figure. She fell back into her training fairly easily and adhered to the strict regimen scarily well… she wondered if that deep-rooted need for a routine would ever change about her.

She wondered if she’d ever live normally, if she wasn’t condemned to this life of purgatory and violence. And yet, she craved it still.

She was put back in contact with Captain Price a few weeks into her training, and periodically he’d fly out to evaluate her progress. But, try as she might, no amount of prying would convince the Captain to tell her even the smallest detail of her upcoming mission…

“Need to make sure you’re solid, Sergeant,” he repeated himself for what must have been the dozenth time over the last few weeks. She huffed in moderate displeasement, but returned to her exercises. Price barked out a few more commands in that low, gruff voice she’d only just recently gotten used to once more before straightening up. She slowed from her jog, the difference in his gaze piquing her interest.

“0500 tomorrow. Nik will transport you to a covert location in Urzikstan. We’ll meet and brief there.” He didn’t elaborate, and she didn’t ask. If there was one thing she’d learned from her time  with the Captain, it was to keep the questions and the bullshit to a minimum.

Kate must have had sympathy for her, because that night she emailed her a heavily encrypted file containing dossiers of each of the Task Force members.

To: Wren Y. (Sgt., Special Forces)

From: Katherine L. (Chief, CIA)

Subject: Dossiers

Don’t tell John I sent you this. [encrypted file]

CIA Station Chief Katherine Laswell

George Bush Center for Intelligence

Langley, Virginia

She read through them without much thought. They were names on a paper, just like all of her Shadow Company comrades had been. She vividly remembered sitting with Philip and sifting through application after application… back when she felt like she could take on the world. When he made her believe she could.

She sighed. Even years later, she wondered if she’d ever quite get over it. Over him. It still nagged at her - she should’ve long been past it, but Wren was always a creature of habit.

She didn’t like change, and there sure had been a lot of it over the last few years. Maybe this time would finally mean something.

She liked the team well enough. Price, Gaz, Soap, and Ghost. She knew Price and Gaz already, of course. Soap seemed like an interesting guy, but she made a note to never get on his bad side. All of Ghost’s information was redacted - even his name. It sparked her curiosity, but she knew her place well enough to leave it alone.

She slept well enough that night… It was amazing what a good cup of tequila and a sleeping pill could do.

[x-reader-things]

Hi! Could I send in a request for Sabine wren (platonic) with the prompt “you shoot anyone who comes through that door who isn't me.” Where the reader is her younger sibling, but not much of a fighter; but during a rescue of Reader, Sabine and them are pinned down and she has to leave to try get the empire off of the reader. Rest can be up to you!

Thank you for requesting!

Don’t really have too much to say for this one. Took a while cause I got a few requests all at once, got overwhelmed as I usually do, and needed a bit to figure out what I was gonna write. But still, Tysm for your request!! <3333

I hope you enjoy- :DDD

Prompt lists can be reached here. Scroll down to the bottom and you’ll see them- :DDD added a new one recently too!!

“Understand, mir’osik?”

Sabine Wren x Gn!reader [platonic]

Summary ; in which you’re reluctant to use one of Sabine’s weapons to protect yourself.

Requested? ; Yes

Warnings ; small bits of typical canonical violence in Star Wars. Nothing too descriptive.

Definitions ; “Mir’osik” - Mando’a for “Dung for brains”

Word Count ; 643

——————————————————————

"You shoot anyone who comes through that door who isn't me."

You blinked, looking at the blaster usually kept in one of the holsters your older sister had strapped to her waist daily. You aren't a fighter by any means, despite being born and raised mandolorian. You knew damn well that you can not, in any way, trust yourself with a blaster. Let alone to protect yourself, too.

You weren’t a warrior. You were more so a writer, like your father an Artist. He liked to tell you that you were an ‘artist with words’, since that’s what writing was for you. It was your art. Your thoughts and imaginations scoured onto pages and pages of holographic words, hoping that at least a few people would enjoy them.

Which is… coincidentally what got you into this mess.

Writing a story that had anti-imperial themes.

Lovely.

"Sabine, no - i don't even know how to use this thing!”, you told her, staring at the troopers coming down the hallway from around her shoulder. You gulped down a lump in your throat, fear coming up your spine in waves.

Sabine swiftly turns away from you, holding her other blaster up in one hand and practically tearing down the few bucket heads that got too close for her liking. You flinched, staring up at your older sister. You’ve never seen her so angry before.

Fierce, too.

She’s always been protective of both you and Tristan, even as the middle child between yourself and your older brother. Force help those who hurt her family. You forgot what that even looked like, in all honesty.

With everything that happened when she left the Imperial Academy, and then your family being put on constant surveillance because she had the (honestly inspiring) gall to stand up against what the empire was doing with her designs all those years ago. Not to mention your own father being held in captivity.

There was a lot going on.

You honestly weren’t prepared in the slightest to see her like this.

She slipped her helmet on. “I’ll be back.”, she told you, sternly pointing at you. “Stay here, and remember what I said. Shoot anyone that isn’t me. Just aim the best you can and pull the trigger. Understand mir'osik?”

You let out a breath at the word, a strange sense of comfort found within the lines of the insult. With a nod from you, she nodded back at you and turned away fully, her mandalorian-style jetpack facing you.

“Spectre-5 to Spectres 6 and 4, I found them—“, she turned her head a little, glancing at you while raising her hand up. It was to push the button that opened and closed the door. “Bring the Phantom II around back. We’re a little… stuck. But I can handle it.”

She scoffed at a muffled voice, one that you couldn’t make out exactly. It sounded older, though. Gruff. Like a growl, almost. Probably that purple Lasat you saw with her in wanted portraits from a while ago. Part of her other family (that you’re very grateful for).

“Yes, I can, Zeb.” Another voice. A bit younger than her. If you could guess, around your age. Maybe. “Oh please.”

You knew that tone of voice.

Still as stubborn and sarcastic as ever.

“Like I’d ever let a single one of those bucket heads get close to them. Just watch me. I’ll show them what ‘disrespecting an empire’ really means—“

She pressed the button.

The door wooshed closed, a hiss and a small click notifying you that the door was closed shut.

You took a deep breath.

Waited for the blaster fire and Sabine’s footsteps to fall away.

Held up her blaster the best you could, trying to mirror the way she held hers both now and before you two were separated.

Breathed out slowly.

And took aim.

[kiawren]

hi wren it's nice to meet you!! I hope you don't mind the random ask, but I'd love to hear abt your ship with kiawe!! how did you meet him, and what first drew you into him? and whatever else you'd want to talk abt!! (also when I was reading your pinned I saw you like link click which is SO COOL and I had to say smth :] )

- @linkclick

HELLO Nice to meet you too Julian yes I love link click i have this merch it's like holographic so when you see it from a different angle the rainbow parts are really cool I think it's really dynamic and fun to look at

ALSO IT'S GREAT HOW YOUR USERNAME IS LITERALLY LINKCLICK AND THAT YOU HAVE LINK CLICK F/OS I don't but the media is amazing if you have lore about your selfship I would really like to know as well

Okay so kiawren lore! I think I've said it before somewhere but Im lazy to find it so I'll just say everything again

Idk if you've played the games (but anyway it's not important for you to know) but my s/i Wren doesn't follow the MC's story in the games. He's an aspiring conservationist who goes to alola on a study/research/outreach conservation programme for a few months. Becuz alola's inspiration is Hawaii irl and although I wouldn't go as a tourist irl it's nice to dream that I could go somewhere so uniquely biodiverse and help out in conservation which is also literally my ambition so when I selfship in that role it makes me happy...

Wren meets kiawe when they visit Wela volcano park one day to find a nice spot to view the sunset. Honestly the meeting lore is not fixed lol. Kiawe does his trial captain duties at the top of the volcano and he was done with his duties for the day and going to head down the volcano for his canon night job at the supermarket when he sees wren and is wondering who is up here when the sky is getting so dark plus some graveler (a pokemon) specifically happened to block some of the paths that day lol idk. So becuz he felt he has a duty to look after the people and pokemon he wanted to accompany wren down cuz the paths are rocky. And then wren is like but I want to see the sunset he's like ok fine I know the best places to see it follow me. Okay so that was the first meeting

Subsequently wren just meets Kiawe at the volcano increasingly often, from like twice a week to 5 times a week to every day. Also wren's conservation thing is mainly on akala island (out of the 4 total islands in alola) which is also where Kiawe is from, and one of their research tasks was on the volcano so they met and talked and usually kiawe isn't super fond of foreigners he thought wren was some tourist but finding out he's doing some conservation thing he found it nice.

Yeah so they just got to know each other more and wren develops a crush first. For what draws me into him...

He studies traditional dances from his culture and hopes to study abroad and fulfil this passion of his, which is why he has that night shift at the supermarket but he also got laid off from it in canon 😭 And when you find out about it he says "it seems like nothing ever goes right..." and asks to battle you and says this after like ARRRRGHHHH

Like I just want to be able to encourage him that he cna achieve his dreams becuz he's one of the most hardworking and passionate people ever like he deserves everything

Also this, it's directly implying Kiawe is a romanticist becuz you get this Reverent battle style after battling him

And like it's so heartwarming to know this guy who has like a stoic exterior has sentiments like this, I'm honestly similar in this way that we're both sorta idealists. So I would like to sit him with and talk about our ambitions together especially becuz even though my primary interest is the natural world, culture is also my second biggest interest and for him it's the other way round.

Also in another game he said that other people don't really like his intensity, but his two friends Mallow and Lana don't mind, and thanks the player for also not minding. And his dad also said he's always been quite lonely and it's nice to see the MC be friends with him like 😭😭😭���😭😭😭😭 kiawe's such a genuine person but not the best at social interactions but when you get to know him I think he can be so generous and caring and humble and a great person to share your dreams with and achieve them together.

Also since he's a fire type pokemon trainer I associate him with red, fire, heat and the sun cuz he's so central to my world and a huge motivation and a person I can admire so much, so when I listen to music and read poems and stuff it's fun to find themes like this and think of my love for him Yes 😁

Thank you for the ask and the interest in kiawren it's always fun to procrastinate by talking about us LOL

[blackkatmagic]

Hi, Kat! I saw your post earlier about the New Mandalorians, and wondered if you have the time or energy to expand on that at all? If not, or you don't feel like it, feel free to ignore this. I've been interested in writing a fic where Mandalorians play a major role, but have been avoiding it given how much contention there is around so much of it, and just how challenging it is to keep straight what's Disney canon, Legends, and fanon. I'm also mostly not a comics reader, so I know I'm missing a big chunk of info there. So any chance you could point me to where to look for some of this information? Like, Death Watch being deported to an "overcrowded and undersupplied" moon. Is that extrapolation from what we see of Concordia in TCW, or are there additional sources that get into more detail? I'm also curious where we see Death Watch/warrior Mandalorians being POC? Jango is, of course, but I've heard other people claim that, other than Jango and the KOTOR materials set several thousand years in the past, we don't really see onscreen Mando POC until Rebels, after TCW creators got backlash for making all the New Mandalorians and Death Watch white Vikings. Are there other sources that show the exiled warrior Mandos being POC? Any help you can give me figuring this out would be greatly appreciated! I know fanworks can go in whatever directions their creators want to, but I want to at least make sure I'm working from a clear understanding of what I'm starting from! Thanks you.

It's very definitely an extrapolation, but based on what we see pretty much solely in TCW, specifically "The Mandalore Plot" episodes.

First, if you look at shots of Sundari, the Mandalorian capital, everyone is white and blond and Human. Maybe it was the animators being lazy, maybe it was a conscious choice, but it's still jarring, especially in contrast to most background shots elsewhere in the galaxy. Take a screencap of anywhere else and it's pretty mixed as far as Humans and aliens go. Not in Sundari.

Second, re: Death Watch being deported. I'm not talking about Death Watch. I'm talking about the warriors, who Satine specifically says were "exiled" to Concordia. And she and Obi-Wan have a conversation about how, even though Concordia was once an agricultural settlement, it was strip-mined to the point that forests were just starting to grow back. Extrapolating, that means Concordia probably has to import everything. I can't remember if it's Satine specifically who says it, or one of the other NMs, but they also say they presume all the warriors have all died out. And like. yikes. There's a pretty big implication there.

As for the warrior Mandalorians being POC, at the very least there are more POC characters among them than among the NMs. Clan Wren, I'm thinking of, and then. Jango and his disavowal by the NMs is a whole other can of worms that has a lot of racist overtones, imo. This post has a good breakdown of the issues regarding the Fetts, if you'd like to read it. It dips into Legends, but it's mostly based on TCW and the movies in those sections, so. There are your sources.

Edit: To clarify on why I find the "we presume the warriors all died out" so yikes. It's been about 20 years since Satine took power at most. A lot of the people exiled were probably young, to say nothing of how long people live in the gffa. How exactly are that many people supposed to have died in 20 years max without some outside factor? Add that to the fact that Concordia is mostly barren and like. Hella yikes, imo.

[some-pers0n]

On a scale of 1-5, how would you rate the main protagonist’s wings of fire moms on how good their parenting is?

Not just on how good their parenting is towards the main protags, but for ALL of their children in general?

Also, if you need time to reply to this ask and/or elaborate or rant on your ratings of these WoF parents - if you want to do so - feel free to take all the time you need to do that! :)

Okey bet.

Cattail - 1/5. Doesn't even count. Basically was completely absent from Clay and the rest of his troop. Sold Clay's egg to her sister for a cow. I like thinking Asha would've been a better mother, and yeah MudWing culture is just like this, but still. Bad parenting.

Coral - 1/5. Terrible on all levels. She loves her daughters, but even then love isn't enough to be a good mother. She also completely neglects all of her sons. Awful. Do not pass go. Go directly to jail.

Farsight - ???/5. No idea what she was like or if she was even an okay mother.

Thorn - 3/5. Doesn't seem that bad. Solid C- parenting. She is supportive and loving to Sunny and Qibli from the looks of it.

Secretkeeper - 2/5. Really neglectful and traumatized Moonwatcher for life, but at the very least she didn't like. treat her like utter garbage.

Tundra - 1/5. No.

Kestrel - 1/5. Abused children.

Scarlet - 1/5. Abused children.

Coral - 1/5. Abused children.

Cobra - 1/5. Abused children.

Burnet/Silverspot - 4/5. They don't seem that bad and are pretty kind to Blue and Luna. That's good enough in my books.

Katydid - 3/5. What the fricking frack even was this plot line. She was okay-ish all things considered.

Belladonna - 1/5. Abused children.

Glaicer - 4/5. Seems okay enough. B parenting from how she's written in TDG.

Burnet/Silverspot - 4/5. Again, not bad.

Foeslayer - 3/5. She was an okay-ish parent to Whiteout and Darkstalker and did as much as she could. I think she's a lot better with Peacemaker now.

Swiftwings - ???/5. Who?????

Manta - ???/5. I've got headcanons that say she was a good mother, but in canon she's got literally nothing to her.

Wren and Leaf's parents - 1/5. Tried to sacrifice Wren. Go directly to jail.

Lark - 3/5. Who cares about her.

Farsight - ???/5. Again, don't really know what she was like.

Quickdeath - 3/5. As okay as an assassin mother can be, I guess.

Ostrich - ???/5. Taught her son well, but literally don't know anything else.

Diamond - 1/5. Abused children.

[penname-tbd]

omg i have SO MANY thv questions, please brace for impact:

3, 14, 15 for wren

14, 18, 19 for doctor professor AND vale

OH BOY!! Let's start with Wren's questions:

3. How did you choose their name? 

I picked Wren because I was picturing them with light brown hair, kind of the color of a wren - so a little bit arbitrary, lol. For their last name, Argent, I think I just picked it because it sounded cool.

14. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

Thing Number One: They're too confident for their own good, and this will always get them into trouble. Thing Number Two: They're too witty for their own good, and this also gets them into plenty of trouble.

15. What is something about your OC that can make you laugh? 

Oh, always their dialogue. Either in villain form or civilian form, Wren has been funny from the beginning. I was rereading an early draft today where they (as Phantom) said, in the middle of a fight, "I'm new at this whole villain thing, am I doing okay?" and I laughed out loud.

(I'll put the rest of the questions under a cut; this got long.)

Doctor Professor's questions:

14. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

First thing, Doctor Professor is dry and sarcastic as fuck; this is generally their default. Second thing, though: although they do this to Vale, too, they can never directly undermine him in front of other people. They just won't do it; they know it'll piss him off too much.

18. What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC? 

I discovered that Doctor Professor is a super fun first-person narrator! I wrote a short story from his POV for my fiction class and I had a great time with it. He's very good at balancing humor with seriousness, which is incredibly important in his profession as a villain-medic.

19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?

Doctor Professor was her drag name in college!! She only stopped doing drag because she just doesn't have enough energy for performing, lol (and probably because med school was eating up a lot of her time). She picked it as her villain name because she knew it would annoy Vale.

And last but not least, Axton Vale:

14. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

First thing: Vale handles himself with a surgical precision. Every action and word out of his mouth is incredibly deliberate - if it's not, then something has gone horribly wrong. Second thing: He must be in control of every situation at all times. He cannot, under any circumstances, show vulnerability, which includes any indication that he cares about anyone other than himself. (There are some universes where he's progressed beyond that a little bit, but not in canon, lmao.)

18. What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC? 

Axton Vale is queerer than I thought! He's actually demiromantic and demisexual, in addition to being bi - not that he would ever claim any of these labels for himself. He believes that he's an average heterosexual man, and nothing will convince him otherwise. But he feels genuine attraction much less often than he thinks he does. It would probably be useful for him to at least learn that there's a difference between romantic and sexual attraction, but I'm not sure that he ever will.

19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?

Oh, boy. It's hard to pick one that's unrelated to me laughing at him for being a repressed cishet man. I guess a fun one is that he has unexpectedly strong opinions about interior design. He prefers a certain modern minimalist aesthetic, but he doesn't like stark white HGTV hellscapes, either. He and DP used to watch home design shows just to make fun of them.

Thank you for the questions!! :)

[clericofshadows]

having regis shepard thoughts™ especially ones about some fluffy, hilarious, and early ME3 moments regarding the triad.

this all kind of started because Regis and Kaidan would not be subtle about their relationship before mars, but after mars...? not many people know about Zaeed...and when he's back on board and Kaidan isn't yet, and Regis is also a little affectionate with Zaeed (but not as overt)... idk if this will make it into canon but like, it's a fun little thing I was thinking of :) sometimes you just gotta think about fun little scenarios with your favorite characters even if it may not be part of their canon.

one of the things I'm struggling with is how I handle Mars because like, realistically, Kaidan and Regis would have blasted EVA to oblivion with their biotics (and Wren :)) but at the same time, angst is really good, bridal carries are really good, and very furious, violent, and angry regis is very good so...

something to think about at the very least.

of course, the crew that was around for ME2 know about Regis and Zaeed, and to some degree about the triad (like Joker, EDI, and Chakwas), but still most of the crew are so shocked when Regis brings Zaeed on the ship immediately post-mars (who was on the citadel gathering information and jumped at the chance to be on board after visiting Kaidan) and is holding hands with this old merc like??? who is this guy? we all saw and heard about his reunion with Alenko and his reaction to Alenko getting hurt so what is going on? gossip goes crazy with theories.

all Regis does is introduce Zaeed to the crew and never elaborates. because he's a bit of a troll and also not in the mood to get into the details about their triad with a new crew while kaidan is still injured. for once he lets scuttlebutt take over. zaeed's cool with it because like regis, he's not familiar with the new crew.

Ashley also joins the crew post-mars as she was also on the citadel, newly an N7 and about to coordinate efforts to evacuate the remaining soldiers on Rio. Regis's family OCs (his uncle Adrian who is a pilot and engineer and his uncle Vikram, an asari matriach who is partners with Adrian) also join whilst on the Citadel (yeah, I know real convenient but it's just more fun that way).

Steve finds out pretty quickly and same with Vega and they join in on the bet as Zaeed and Regis aren't subtle about battlefield flirting and post-mission rituals, so it's mostly the general ship crew that is trying to figure out what's going on with their commander and is the normandy always this weird (yes, it is).

she gets bombarded with questions about regis and zaeed. she's in on the bit and shrugs. some of the braver crew ask Vik and Adrian, who also feign ignorance. no one's really willing to ask Wren "totally not the Shadow Broker" Clarkson.

Ash is also betting with EDI, Vik, Wren, Joker, Chakwas, and Adrian about when Regis and Zaeed will say fuck it and make out publicly or something.

finally, after menae and Kaidan is awake, a stray crewmember catches the three of them holding hands with Kaidan and hovering over them and is like, oh shit--and then Zaeed kisses Kaidan's forehead and Regis kisses his hand and it's a whole thing.

finally once Kaidan is back on board post-coup and is wondering why some of the crewmembers are giving him weird looks--is it the whole thing with EDI's body? is it the coup stuff where some people thought that he and Regis weren't in contact and working together?

no one believes that poor crewmember.

it all comes to a head while lounging in the observation area and having drinks together not long after he's back onboard, Regis and Zaeed sitting apart from each other and conversing with the crew. Kaidan sits between them, puts his arms around them both, kisses both of their cheeks, and takes a pull from his beer like nothing's wrong.

and Regis and Zaeed realize that they never let Kaidan in on the bit. they let everyone else in, even Wrex and Mordin, but not Kaidan.

Ashley wins the bet since she figured that they would be idiots and just forget to tell Kaidan about it.

and the crew goes crazy with the revelation. only a few correctly guessed what was going on and hope that shepard never finds out about the scuttlebutt. he knows and doesn't care and found the whole thing hilarious, actually. anything to help lighten up the ship, honestly, even if he's still mostly portraying the ruthless butcher for the majority of ME3.

[nightwingshero]

WIP Wednesday

I was tagged by @simonxriley @inafieldofdaisies @direwombat and @socially-awkward-skeleton! Thank you, lovelies!!!

Tagging: @detectivelokis @jinfromyarikawa @sstewyhosseini @baldurrs @marivenah @water-writings @oathofoaksart @playstationmademe @ri-a-rose @voidika @aceghosts @deputyash @shegetsburned @ghastlyrider @strafethesesinners @madparadoxum and anyone else who would like to share!!!

Just more RE stuff because why not? I need to work on prompts, but instead I’m trying to write a fic without planning and figuring out the details of my ocs and their canon. I like to get ahead of myself. This is also the first time I’ve ever written for Wren’s father, which is an experience all on its own, and I think one of the things I like about this is that we get to see it like this instead of just random flashbacks that I have planned for her fc5 fic. I’ll stop talking now. 

To say it was awkward was an understatement of the century, which was saying something considering the century was close to ending. Silence wasn’t something that made me uncomfortable, I enjoyed silence—my thoughts weren’t always too horrid to be alone with. Silence with him, however, was intolerable. The ambient noise of the typical hustle and bustle of the people around us seemed to only make it worse, as if it was purposefully pointing out the lack of conversation, as if it was mocking me and enjoying the fact that we had sat here for about fifteen minutes and barely uttered a word.

He glanced at me as he took a bit of his breakfast, watching as I moved my own meal around with my fork, watching the yolk spill and soak into the toast and hashbrowns on my plate. “You come all the way back here claiming you want to talk and get food, and you do none of those things. If you wanted to waste my damn time, you shoulda just said it.”

My fork stopped as I watched him shove another piece of steak and egg in his mouth, fighting to keep the cringe from my face. “You really shouldn’t be eating that.” Finally he leaned back, mouth still chewing, as his dark, cold blue eyes looked over me. I couldn’t help the way I wanted to squirm under his scrutiny. Every flaw became apparent under his judging gaze. Its good to see nothing changed.

“I’ll eat whatever the hell I want.” My dad replied before stabbing at his plate for more, the metal screaming against the plate, making me flinch. “Tired of bein’ told what to do. By you and by that damn chief. Force me into retirement, my fucking ass. They’re gonna replace me with some fuckin’ rookie. Believe that? What type of experience does some kid got over me?” His deep voice has gotten rougher over the years, just as much as he’s gotten more bitter. “Irons says it would be good for my health, we’ve been working together for years. He can shove it up his ass.”

Stephen Blake was a man to be reckoned with and that was how I knew him growing up. Not a doting father, not someone that would protect me and cherish me because I was his little girl—his only child—but a force of nature that I needed to weather until it was safe for me to run. And I had. He wasn’t a good man or a good father, but in the grand scheme of things, it could have been far worse. But that didn’t change the fact that neither of us had anyone else left, didn’t change the fact that I was the only one that could, or would, ever be able to take care of the things that were beginning to pop up. Like the current issue at hand.

“Marvin said—”

“So you think that because he said somethin’ to you, its true? You come all this way from your ivory tower because some fucking stranger says one thing. Maybe if you woulda stuck around, you’d fucking know better.”

He wasn’t over me running when I had the first chance. The fight had been roughly three years ago and he was still stewing in his rage over the fact that I chose a different life path. Sitting in front of him, I knew that there would be no forgiveness in the future, but that didn’t change what I had shown up for, it didn’t change what I had to do. “He said you’ve been coughing up blood for months. Sounds like they didn’t have a choice but to retire. It was that or what? Being let go due to not being able to do your job? I guess Chief Irons did you a favor.”

“Lying fucking prick, has his hands in too many fucking pockets. Piece of shit, loyalty is worth more than that.” Tossing his fork down he pointed at me and sneered, the wrinkles on his face deepening. “You fuckin’ remember that, you hear? Can’t tell how many times I’ve repeated myself, but you don’t fuckin’ listen.” He just shook his head in disappointment, the flickering lights on the bald part of his head reflecting there. “Some rookie cop is gonna take my place in this fuckin’ city and he’s gonna get a proper fuckin’ Raccoon City welcome while I get kicked out on my ass.”

“You need to go get the tests done we talked about.” I sighed, finally bringing us back to the reason I had traveled so far to meet him. “I have an appointment for you at the hospital.”

[smokedanced]

@lovepurposed sent a whole bunch of asksnks

asks for muns with a multimuse or more than one muse    /    ACCEPTING ↷

is there a muse that you wish gets more attention? :: Answered.

if you HAD to choose, who’s your favorite muse? :: Shepard. The answer to this question would vary between any primary muses and my focus of the time, but for the past year or so, Wren. If I had to name an overall favourite muse long-term I'd have to say the Doctor, though, seeing as I've written them in some regeneration or several since 2013 and had both Eleven and Thirteen (and briefly Ten but we don't talk about that) on their own blogs as well. Like the Doctor has shaped me as a person long-term... but.

which muse is the trickiest to get into character for? :: Generally test muses and/or tertiary muses. To name one right now, probably Tyrion, since I've only watched GOT once and it's been over two years meaning I remember nothing of it, and I'm just reading the second book in ASOIAF. If speaking in terms of unrelated to memory of canon, strangely Ella, despite her being an OC, I just feel sorta stuck with her personality.

is there a muse that not a lot of people roleplay with? :: Plenty; to name someone I've not gotten to write a single time, Hurley. Lost is not a popular fandom so not many people know him, and I'm due a rewatch so I haven't been pushing him for visibility much. I do write him outside of Lost also, wink wonk.

what is something everyone should know about your muses before interacting? :: Nothing more than what's in my rules in general, and for each individual muse? I have the notes section on their about pages (the ones who have the new page code, compare to Charlie's) for important stuff that people should read before writing with said muse.

which muse is the most problematic towards other muses? :: I think it's safe to say Hannibal, all things considered. Aside from being a serial killer and feeding people human flesh without their knowledge or consent, he's a master gaslighter. He's a psychiatrist who grooms people into committing murders.

[hinderr]

Listen, I've read the last chapter and I want to say so much… First of all, it's insanely emotional. I really read with bated breath. I have so many emotions and thoughts about the ending right now, it's not what I expected, but it's insanely logical for this job. Gideon, as people in my country say, "what he fought for, he ran into."

It is interesting to watch how Grogu releases his attachment to him over the years - and at the same time how much he looks like him in places, it's creepy. This manipulativeness and the ability to make a naive, unhappy look in order to get your own - this is not from Din and not from birth. I'm really interested now to wait for the Nurture someday to understand how all this will reflect even more time later. And I still find it valuable that in past charter everyone - Din and the others - accepted Grogu's right to LOVE Gideon. Regardless of whether would he continued to feel it all his life or not, it was extremely important at that moment and, I think, it is important now. Because Grogu can now understand that even if he is not on the "right" road and feels "strange" feelings, he is still loved. Whether the situation changes or not is a matter of less importance. This is very important knowledge regardless of the present point.

By the way, Gideon's reaction to the meeting is interesting. He throws mockery at the fact that Grogu still cares, but he too does not behave like a person who does not care. It would seem - you never loved this child, five years have passed, what difference does it make that he is happy with another person? But no, Gideon behaves like… painfully attached, when it seems like he doesn't really need it himself, but you can't give it to another either. It’s hard to explain, but I really didn’t get the impression that he didn’t give a damn about all this long history.

Also, I don't think that's what you meant, but at some point I had a thought… what if Gideon purposely ran into a gunshot? It is clear that at first he was angry and really perplexed, but at some point … I thought so because it must be extremely difficult for a person of this kind to live in a prison cell. He has no power, no purpose, no Empire, for which he fought, in general, quite sincerely, regardless of methods. He is nobody and nothing. And he's smart enough to be fully aware of it. What if at some point he saw that Grogu was sufficiently angry with him and he had a weapon with him - and decided to take advantage of the situation. But that's just my thoughts.

I do not know what to say. This is probably one of the first works not in my native language that so captivated me and that I read in the process, looking forward to each chapter. Because the languages we speak are different, but the theme is international. The whole work is very … reliable, and sometimes the emotions from reading were such that I morally departed from the new chapter couple of days. This is something unique and beautiful, although it tells about terrible and sad events. I love each of the characters. Wren is not a canon character, usually I don’t perceive OC at all, but with you he is so alive and real that he looks … native. He doesn't stand out from others in a bad way. His character, personality, motives and feelings are all so believable, he's beautifully written.

Thank you. It was cool)

This is so so undeniably sweet and so so thoughtful and god I am so, so happy you enjoyed the finale (I'll be honest, your reactions was one of those I was anticipating the most!) And I'm glad you were willing to look past the language barrier to read my silly story! It means the world to me, and I can't possibly express just how much I've appreciated your support - every ask and reply and interaction makes me so so happy!!

There's a bit of Gideon in Grogu, but there's a bit of Grogu in Gideon as well. You're absolutely right that Gideon got just a tiny bit attached, in the most messed up way possible. He hated the fact that his Asset saw another person as his father, and that 'he was a better buir than (he'll) ever be', even though he hated it when Grogu called him father too. What you said about not needing something but not letting anyone else have it is exactly on point, and I'm so so happy you got that

And I'm so happy you liked Wren Farvo too! He was a plot device at first, but I've grown to genuinely love and adore him. He means the world to me and I'm so happy you liked meeting him (I probably won't be able to resist slipping him into some of my other works as a side character. Just to carry him along as we go)

Again thank you so so much! I'm happy you've enjoyed it, and I'm happy to have made you happy <33

[dutyworn]

plotting (and also a meme) call! hit the heart for me to message you about plotting or if that’s too much right now, send the word “memes” as a reply to this post (along with whom for if you run a multimuse blog) and i will send you memes instead!

— you don’t need to have any idea what you want, but if you do, don’t be shy to share. just please have a muse in mind if you run a multi (or even several, i will gladly plot multiple things). we can simply think of a vague trope, a muse dynamic, a random single happening, to work towards, or get into the details, either works — i do have a wishlist tag for inspo if we're stuck but it’s not very many posts at the moment — all verses available; i have verses for all throughout the trilogy, pre-game, post-game, no reapers au, squadmate au, and a “wrong universe” kinda crossover verse for inserting shepard into other fandoms — i will gladly help you insert your muse into mass effect if you want. i will gladly have your muse tossed in mass effect in a “wrong universe they know nothing” kind of a crossover if you want. i will also gladly throw wren into your muse’s universe if you’re ok with her keeping her background and it being a “wrong universe” type of a thing, as i am not open to developing full au verses for her (she needs to at the very least keep her generic military history in the alliance for me to know how to write her but canon offers multiple plot points to potentially cause a tear in space-time for plopping her to your verses; be that the first prothean beacon for something relatively spoiler free or preferably the crucible at the end of the trilogy for if you don’t mind spoilers in my narrative) — i am open to plotting with any type of dynamic (friendly, hostile, eventually romantic, anything) in mind, if you want, please feel free to ask — we’ve never talked before? hit the heart anyway. we have 897987634 plots going on already? hit the heart anyway. — i can’t stress enough how much i don’t care if you know nothing about mass effect. i am happy to explain things, or play in a setting where your muse doesn’t need to know this stuff, either — as a general reminder, i can take my time responding to ooc messages and i rarely chat totally “real time” even if i am online. please don’t take this as a lack of interest. no need for you to make yourself not respond immediately if you prefer that, or ramble while i’m doing something else or offline, you are not overwhelming me; or, ofc, it's ok also if you take long times responding — i prefer discord and my handle is waywarded#6194 but if you prefer tumblr ims i can do that too

LONG POST IS LONG but i wanted to like. put guidelines to make it... less intimidating than just a simple “heart to plot”? but like also feel free to just not read any of the above and hit the heart to plot! i'm autistic and tend to forget most people don't need a whole guidebook on how to do a basic social interaction, sorry

[dinoswordsb]

wren 6, 28, 33. khio 35, 23. amadeus 1, 12. ben 20, 32, 50

Wren:

6. If they were badly injured, and for whatever reason couldn't go to a hospital, who would they go to for help?

I suppose this depends on the uni they're in but in their canon, without a doubt their roomie and best friend Clementine, who belongs to @snapplewapple. Clem is the only person they really, truly trust because they know each other better than anyone else does, until their eventual romance with Sebastian, but trust is not something that comes easy for them and when they're in any sort of critical state, that is what comes first

28. Are they a #gamer?

They play junimo kart and like thats it...maybe eventually but they were not given the luxury of video games growing up so like on one hand its new and exciting to them but on the other theyre kind of hard to understand its like showing your mom how to play a video game like they kind of get it but they still need practice. Arcade games are what they take to first though and they love them so i guess that counts

33. Do they play ttrpgs? If so what kind of characters do they play? Or are they more likely to GM?

They are way too shy to ever gm or play any ttrpg unless it was with very very close friends. I think for the most part they just like to sit in on Sebastian's sessions with sam and abigail and eventually get pulled into it once they learn the ropes, but i doubt they would play with anyone else. Its like a hobby they engage with bc they know seb likes it and its fun but not their first choice because improv is scary to them

Khio:

35. Do they believe in fate or do they believe they are in charge of their own destiny?

If you ask them they'll say the latter, but deep down they know it isn't true. They know they're put in the world for a reason and it bothers them deeply and is partially why theyre so invested in the lives of the residents of sleepy creek

23. How would they want to die?

Alone.

Amadeus:

Do they have any crafting hobbies?

He likes to make potions I think that counts. He really takes to this when his powers are taken because it's some semblance of magic he can still use; by the end of his arc he is actually very proficient with it.

12. Do they have any sense of style? Regardless of the answer do they believe they have a sense of style?

I don't have a sense of style so i cant answer this but he definitely thinks he does even if its gaudy and tacky he knows it is and he owns it

Ben:

20. Do they have a strong connection to their culture?

Depends on the day. Ben never truly comes to a peaceful resolution over his religion until the day he dies in which he decides that nothing matters because really its out of his hands anyways. So, sometimes.

32. If they could change one thing about themselves what would it be?

Depends when you asked him. Pre silent hill he would want to be a better man, not in the moral sense, but in the way that he could be happy filling his role as a godly man in society. Want to be cis straight and have no confliction about his religion without realizing thats what he was asking for, post he would just want to be happy

50. What is your favorite thing about them?

um i like being able to shove my own experiences and feelings on someone else idk ^_^