#and i need to see everything related to dani of course

[charlessmiths-wife]

here - have some hcs about how the RE8 women would help you when you’re feeling a bit down! Bc we all know stress would be a lot easier to handle with some of our fave evil women by our side <3 ❤️💕💗💓

RE8 WOMEN COMFORTING YOU WHEN STRESSED/UPSET

ALCINA

-> In my mind Alcina sort of freaks out the first time she sees you get really stressed

-> she’s not been comforted much herself in her life, so she’s not entirely sure how to do it.

-> at first, she’s a tad maternal about the whole thing. she’s accustomed to comforting her daughters, however - she soon learns there’s a difference between the comfort of a mother and the comfort of a partner

-> and so with time, I reckon Alcina shifts and grows into an excellent partner to have around in instances of stress. she’s calm, she’s cool and collected. she’ll reason with you and rationally talk you down from your stress - before doing something with you to take your mind off it. maybe going for a walk or taking you on a date.

-> either way, your stress always dissipates with Alcina’s help.

BELA

-> Ugh. She can relate.

-> Bela is a stressed girlie herself, it’s something she’s accustomed to - therefore it’s something she’s used to dealing with.

-> She’d be very helpful. She’d talk it through with you, I reckon Bela is a great listener - and she’d hold you close whilst letting you talk about it for as long as you need.

-> picture this, your head on Bela’s chest, her fingers slowly stroking and combing through your hair whilst you tell her about all your worries, and she softly hums and nods along. being there for you every step of the way. who wouldn’t feel better?

CASSANDRA

-> lmao

-> Cassandra is the love of my life, so I can confidently admit that for a while babygirl would have NO IDEA what she’s doing

-> I think Cassandra is a very rational woman, and so seeing you upset immediately makes her think there’s some sort of immediate threat that needs sorting out.

-> so her initial reaction might be more… panicked than the calm and cool response you might see from the rest of her family members

-> however once you assure her you’re in no harm or danger, she’ll calm down, and then she can get to comforting you.

-> because she’s so rational, Cassie is EXCELLENT at providing advice for your situation.

-> she’ll sort whatever’s upsetting you out instantly. she’s just that good.

-> and, of course, she’ll do her best to comfort you along the way. Pressing a kiss to your forehead and reminding you how proud she is of you. I’m in love.

DANIELA

-> babygirl is like a KOALA BEAR

-> when Dani can tell your stressed/generally upset, she’ll cling to you. cuddling up with you as much as she can and not letting you go.

-> “oh my poor baby! come here, lie down with me.”

-> she’ll pepper your face with kisses. all whilst letting you complain all you need about whatever’s getting you down.

-> she’ll also join in on the complaining. which is just… so funny?

-> “ugh, I’m sorry about your boss my love…. she sounds like a total jerk!” “… you don’t know her, Dani.” “Still!”

-> it’s just very loving from her. as she is with everything. she’ll hold your hand and kiss you softly and tell you how loved you are, and remind you that you’ll always have her.

DONNA

-> the first time she sees you stressed or upset - DONNA. FREAKS. OUT.

-> somehow even more than Cassandra and Alcina combined.

-> however, as time passes and you guys get to know each other more and more… Donna becomes amazing?

-> she can instantly tell when somethings getting you down. and from there she acts as a silent but strong presence. she’ll guide you through whatever’s getting you down.

-> her go to plan is to run the pair of you a bath, and then cook you dinner. I head cannon Donna is an EXCELLENT cook and she knows how to cook up a comforting and hearty dish that’ll make you feel just better.

-> she’s very good at dealing with the emotional aspect of it all. she might not always know exactly what advice to give, but she is an EXCELLENT listener and she’ll always do her absolute best to calm you down. rubbing your back and holding you close, wiping your tears if needs be.

-> (can you tell im a massive Donna girlie?)

MIRANDA

-> surprisingly, she’s excellent.

-> Miranda’s well accustomed, in my mind, to dealing with you being upset/stressed about a situation.

-> she knows if you need comforting or advice.

-> if it’s comforting you need, she’ll pull out all the stops. running you a bath, rubbing your back, letting you talk it out.

-> if it’s advice you need, Miranda is excellent. she’ll help you sort your situation out as quick as possible.

-> no matter what, she’ll brew you a cup of tea and remind you not to let things get you down. she reminds you of the importance of only concerning yourself with what you can control.

-> she’ll tell you how well you’re doing, and how loved you are. kissing you softly and resting your forehead against hers. she makes the world calm down for you.

[matchalovertrait]

The day after Caruso posted his video, Dulce responded with one of her own to disprove his false claims about the "stolen" recipes. She brought up her extensive list of culinary experiences and screenshots of everything related to the cookbook when it was in progress. However, the damage had been done. Too many people turned their backs on Dulce. As everything came crashing down, she slowly stopped responding to her family and friends. Of course, everyone was alarmed. You can't just not respond like that out of the blue, especially when you're overseas! Now that Ángel and Esperanza have come to save the day, Dulce is looking to sue Caruso for defamation. I did say to never get into legal trouble with her! This marks the rebirth of Alegría v. Caruso!

Note: I am getting political here. As Election Day in the United States is around the corner, I urge people to fact-check everything. I'm seeing too many people on other social media platforms not doing the proper research. They see a video of one thing and take it as the sole truth. It seems like people have forgotten how to use Google, which is right at our fingertips. Make sure you're looking at reliable sources!

Start from the beginning (Gen 2)

Previous | Next

Transcript:

Dulce: I swear! That better not be him. A lot of people didn’t believe me or they didn’t bother to watch my explanation video. How am I supposed to recover from this?

Ángel: Dulce!

Dulce: Ángel and Esperanza?!

Ángel: Why haven’t you been answering anyone’s phone calls or texts??? It’s been 2 days.

Dulce: My career is over. My numbers are plummeting. People are crossing out my name on my cookbook and writing his name instead. Clients are canceling bookings with me. His crazy fans are giving me fake bad reviews. I’m through.

Esperanza: So what? It hasn’t been that long. Things can pick back up, Dulce. Why don’t you get your chef friends to vouch for you?

Dulce: I don’t want to rope anyone into my mess..

Esperanza: [Sighs] You know what? It’s sad to see you like this. Aren’t you going to plot something?

Dulce: I’ve done enough harm as it is! What do I do??? Sue him??? Oh wait, I already thought of that! I looked into it and no good lawyer wants to take the case. They’d rather represent actual stars like Judith Ward. I need to take this as a sign and finally grow up.

Ángel: C’mon, you know you want to do it.

Dulce: You’re encouraging it...? You don’t want to teach me a valuable life lesson like always?

Ángel: I think you learned your lesson. Make him learn his now.

Esperanza: My dad and Hilary both said they can help you pay for a REALLY good defamation lawyer. I think Hilary was freaking out the most about you not answering.

Ángel: Well, we all kinda were. You had Ama worried sick. But we didn’t file a missing person’s report because your friend came by and saw you well alive through your window.

Dulce: Oh, man. Dani probably got nervous and ran off. She never came to knock on the door.

Ángel: She’s a skittish one, isn’t she?

Dulce: Yeah, I have to apologize to her for not responding to her texts either. She knows about everything, but she might feel like she’s annoying me because I haven’t answered.

Esperanza: Wait, isn’t she a paralegal?

Dulce: Oh my gosh, you’re right! How’d I forget that? She might know someone who can help!

Ángel: Looks like we have a plan, then.

Esperanza: Um, I think part of this plan should be helping you clean up this place. Go put detergent in the washer, Ángel. I’ll get the clothes.

Dulce: My clothes??? Oh, no. They’ve been washed and dried. I just haven’t put them away. The only mess here is in my mind.

[reginarubie]

I'm awestruck by the first chapter of your new story. Did not expect to see Dany as the opening chapter and her conquering king's landing no less!! And some of the starks having already reunited, oh gosh how i do adore that mind of yours, please let me peak in side just a tad bit!!

Dany thinking she can burn her problems away, girl me too but they always find you specially when its about money. Although, oddly I get what she means. Why pay a debt she did not incur however it was inquired by the throne she sits. It's like taking a loan from your company and the CEO changes the loan is tied to the company not the person.

Absolutely adore you interweaving some of their original lines, it feels so authentic and in character too.  

No ruler on the Iron throne can hope to hold the North without the Starks, it’s to big, too wild, the northerners listen only to their own,” This line has me by the throat.

"Sansa does not know how he knows, when she’s starved for touch, when she needs his touch, but he does. And he always rises to the challenge" Sansa being touch starved is so real it made me so sad, Don't worry baby girl, jon will touch you all you want... brotherly of course....

And the ending was just the charry on top of everything wasn't. To see house Stark and house Martell unite. Two kingdoms from opposite ends of Westero. The land of winter and the land of summer. Side note I liked playing with the idea of sansa ending up with someone from Drone although Jon was born there haha.

This was a while ride thank you for taking us on it! Can't wait for more m'lady!!

-Mystic

Aw Mystic! Thank you so much!

First of all you want a peak in my mind? 😂😂 are you sure?

Imagine Patrick as my already ongoing WIPS and SpongeBob as my new ideas I cannot get out of my mind. Out of the window real life 😂

And yet I would not have it any other way!

Yes, it felt right to begin with Daenerys, for some reason, and with her taking the city. I think this is the Dany chapter amongst all of my stories in which I nailed something as similar to bookDany and I am very proud of how it came out. Making her relatable to our “not wanting to bow down our heads to things we don’t like” but also wearing her entitlement and feeling she’s unique and powerful and right on her sleeve. Yes, Dany, you have dragons but there’s a reason there are only three dragons in the world right now. Don’t be so cocky.

Yes, Sansa don’t worry you are touch starved but one of Jon love languages is touch, so you’re fine there. Of course brotherly, because he knows how to act brotherly okay? He just doesn’t want to.

Arianne reaching out to the Starks felt so right to me. Especially as this is a mix of show canon (Ellaria, baby I am so sorry for the way the show handed your character and I am sorry I am perpetrating that. Remember: Ellaria was against having more revenge because revenge doesn’t end injustice. It just perpetrates it) Arianne wants to fight against those who killed her father and brothers and the Starks want independence and would not like to bend the knee to a Targaryen who bases her right to rule on her mad father and equally cruel brother (yes I stand by Rhaegar being an idiot who abandoned wife and children to seduce and then sequester a little girl to father a child off her which would kill her).

They are natural allies.

More will come soon! As soon as I finish the edit I am working with. A hint… it’s gonna be with Formidable as song.

Hope you enjoy the coming chapters and have an amazing day! All the love ~G.

[rosiewolfplays]

And so, our foolish would-be explorers enter The Cave of Bad Things™ and Tamlen points out that the architecture of these ruins look to be more Human than Elven. As the duo explore the cave more, they find spiders which they kill plenty of (and Dany almost gets mauled by one) but no answers on why elven artifacts would be here until they find:

The Friend of the Dead: Falon'din. Tamlen explains that back in Ancient Arlathan, statues like this one were used to honor the creators. Unfortunately, this discovery only brings more questions with no answers in sight while Dany laments that so much of their lore and culture and history was lost to them thanks to centuries of enslavement by the Shems.

So human architecture and elven artifacts...it might be that these ruins were built by humans long ago and elves just settled in, taking the abandoned spaced for their own or some kind of Tevinter Imperium-related bullshit. The pair don't find an answer; there's no library or artifact to examine that could determine the nature of these ruins and who built them and why.

Tamlen is surprised...in awe?...at the thought of humans and elves living together, but Dany doesn't think it was anything so simple or close to that given the age of the ruins.

They two move on and of course, they are quick to learn that The Cave of Everything Can and Will Go Wrong has not only spiders but also undead. Yes. Undead. Dany unluckily triggers a trap that releases some kind of gas (poison?) and wakes up the dead in the process.

Tamlen is more unnerved now after that so Dany encourages him to talk, which leads to her revealing that she wanted to be with him when he asks why she's here with him and not working with Master Ilen.

And then they fight a bear. Not just any bear though. A bereskarn, a creature infected by the blight -- not that either of them knows that, of course. They probably think it's some kind of demon, which, honestly, very first time I ever played DA, I did too.

I try to get the chest that's at the back entrance of the chamber, but Tamlen is like "you're not gonna leave without examining the mirror are you" and I wish I could have made Dany say, "Yes. Because we've been here long enough, and something isn't right about this place. We need to leave now," (because yes. That is very much something Dany would to say) but again: the braincells are with Fenarel back at camp so unfortunately, Dany goes to examine the mirror with him instead of being the voice of reason that she should really be right now.

She does, however, inform Tamlen that she doesn't trust it and neither should he -- but he waves her off.

Me screaming at my screen like: BACK TF AWAY. BACK TF AWAY RIGHT NOW. TURN AROUND AND LEAVE MAKER-DAMMIT

Dany even tells him to get away from it after he sees something, but UNFORTUNATELY he doesn't listen to her...AGAIN. Which is made even worse because once he looks into the Eluvian, he cannot look away from whatever it is that sees him...

...to disastrous consequences.

Maker-dammit, you guys...

Poor Dany, though. Catching the darkspawn plague and her boyfriend unleashing it into the chamber was not on her 9:30 Dragon bingo card.

[batsplat]

hey hi i saw you mentioning jorge biography and was wondering if there is one in english? also i was looking for motogp related books and was wondering what your recs would be?

riveras tobias' 'jorge lorenzo: my story so far' - has been translated to english, yes! several editions have been released, so it's been updated to include the first couple of years of his motogp career but nothing beyond that. I've posted a bunch of excerpts on here, which you can find by searching 'riveras' on my blog, and also I make quite extensive use of it in the long post about jorge/valentino 2008-10. it's an odd book but one that I'd definitely recommend in that I've rarely been hit with such a high rate of insane sentences per page

in terms of what books I'd recommend... hm I might add to this at some point and properly provide a rec list, but just the first stuff that comes to mind:

'valentino rossi: all of his races', mat oxley - okay, this probably isn't a book you read cover to cover. it's essentially a reference book that describes... well, all of his races. but it just gives you such a good overview of valentino's career - and by extension, isn't a bad place to go to get a sense of the overarching stories in the sport from 1996 to 2021. the race descriptions themselves are punchy and informative, you've got loads of lovely photos - and the best bits are the columns you get between the years. there's interviews like with his long-time crew chief jb, there's write ups of how valentino changed his riding style over the course of his career, bike development, suzuka 8 hours, etc etc... it's really more than just a valentino book in that it tells you so much about the sport as a whole, I got it at a discount for like eighteen quid and it was extremely worth it

'pushing the limits', casey stoner - as a book, it's probably the strongest of the alien autobiography/autobiography-adjacent works out there. it's easy enough to read, straightforward - the writing style is a bit bland, but not more so than your average sports autobiography. it's a useful starting point to getting what casey's whole deal was about, especially the sections about his childhood, which are absolutely crucial context. also does a decent job at explaining what being a rider is about in layperson's terms. the book is at its funniest when casey is at his pettiest - obviously don't take any autobiography completely at face value, but it's definitely a book made better by casey's eagerness to fire shots at pretty much anyone

'ring of fire', rick broadbent - written by a journalist that covers the mid to late noughties with some reference to previous eras. it's very much a columnist's book in that it's snappy and readable and isn't necessarily giving you the full picture, but at the end of the day it's covering an excellent slice of motogp history in an engaging way and is good at what it's trying to do. by the time I read it, I didn't really need an introduction to any of this stuff anymore - but I still had a pretty good time with it, mainly because of the fun anecdotes it provides. some of my favourite bits are sete randomly calling his teammate melandri a 'fucking idiot' in 2005, valentino covering his face in horror when seeing all of melandri's blood after motegi 2005, casey throwing a tantrum after being beaten by dani at assen 2006, and valentino ruminating about ancient hatreds between anglo nations over tea. those excerpts should also give a sense of the tone of the writing

'jorge lorenzo: my story so far', riveras tobia - already gave it my prop here, but for my money it's still as honest and confessional as one of these aliens have gotten. there's an immediacy to this one that really makes it stand out... jorge just comes across as painfully, aggressively young in this book. everything in it is felt intensely - and some of it is very stupid, and some of it is very moving. jorge makes for a great interviewee in this... he's reflective to a painstaking degree and shares quite a few things you could not waterboard out of me (including some of the valentino bits lbr). it is an oddly structured book and the journalist's writing style is a bit take it or leave it, but still well worth it. I found it the toughest book to read on this list, actually quite a bit more so than casey's precisely because it felt so raw. you just want to travel back in time, give the kid a hug and tell him to calm down

'what if I had never tried it', valentino rossi - there's no escaping that this is a bit of an odd book. when you read casey and jorge's books, you feel like they really really really needed to get the contents of their chests. they had something to tell the world. valentino's feels a bit more like he thought he might as well publish an autobiography. you're left with something that's a little less focused, a little trickier to parse, something that can be enjoyed in the moment but also feels not entirely complete. it's not a bad read, and it's probably the one of those books that's going to make you laugh the most... but it's also the one that's least interested in giving you all that much genuine insight into its subject matter. there's insight to be found, but you might have to dig a little

'the valentino rossi files: everything I've ever written about VR', mat oxley - two volumes that kinda do what they say on the tin and give you all of oxley's columns up until 2014 in one bundle. it also includes the columns valentino dictated to oxley in his 250cc days. obviously this is an odd one to recommend as a book - I don't think I ever read it cover to cover and really just skipped around until eventually I'd read the whole thing. listen, you know what oxley's writing style is like. they're good columns, give a lot of insight into valentino and again the time period, plenty of fun details about all the feuds and intrigue and melodrama. good variety in subject matter and approach, all very informative

'valentino rossi: the definitive autobiography', stuart barker - right, I'm gonna be honest, I'm not a massive fan of this book. partly because one of the early chapters about valentino's childhood completely rubbed me the wrong way and made me preemptively annoyed at the writing style - partly because I just read it way too late in my journey as a fan, at a point where I kinda already knew almost all of this. it's a perfectly fine introduction to valentino, but for a definitive autobiography it does feel just a touch... well, shallow at times. it's fine! most people will probably get more out of reading it than I did, and I also found some bits pretty interesting. I just found myself arguing against the author a few times too many, but again. it's fine

'wayne rainey: his own story', michael scott - something from a little further back. I haven't delved into pre 21st century motorcycle racing history as much as I'd like, and it's still something I definitely feel like I do more of... but yeah, this should be pretty accessible even for people who have zero familiarity with the time period. it's been a while since I read it and I don't currently have it to hand, but from what I recall I found it a good read... it covers rainey's childhood, career, as well as the fallout from his career ending injury that left him in a wheelchair, a little bit on being a team boss and so on. very extensive interviews with rainey which make especially those latter sections well worth a read

anyway this list is quite valentino-focused - not really by design, more just that much of the better english language writing about the sport this century is about him. there's definitely some books about pre-valentino motogp I still want to check out at some point, as well as a few more technical-focused books that unfortunately tend to also be a bit pricier, but hopefully this isn't a bad starting point

[alexsfictionaddiction]

Review: Normal Women by Ainslie Hogarth

With a cover like that, you'll know that I was completely powerless in resisting giving it a read. I haven't actually read Hogarth's previous novel Motherthing, despite seeing it making the rounds on social media but it is on my TBR. This was my first 2024 release and I'm really excited to see what the rest of the year has in store!

Dani couldn't wait to be a stay at home mum to little Lotte but now she is worried that if her husband Clark should die, they would be destitute. But then Dani discovers The Temple, a yoga studio run by the alluring, mysterious Renata who tells Dani that it's not just yoga classes that The Temple offers. It also offers its visitors the chance to reach their true potential and allows them to take whatever steps they need to get there. Could this finally be the career path for Dani? Just as she is about to get started, Renata goes missing and Dani becomes determined to find out what's happened.

The book talks about traditional gender roles and how men and women wish to be perceived. Clark cares about being the voice of reason in the family and would never dream of going along with the hare-brained scheme that has his wife so captivated. However, Clark doesn't enforce this dynamic -it appears that he and Dani have naturally fallen into it whether that's due to societal expectations or not.

Dani also compares herself to her female friends, their experiences of childbirth and subsequent relationships with their husbands. This culture of constant competition and comparison between women is so recognisable and yet so unhealthy. Even though we know it's unhealthy to compare our lives, we still do it.

Hogarth writes about motherhood a lot and I can only imagine there is much of the same commentary in her other book Motherthing. Normal Women paints a largely positive picture of being a mother, despite admitting that it is all-consuming and potentially a huge identity sucker. However, Dani loves being a mother and the tone of the novel is very much that everything she works for is worth it.

The Temple is a unique place and I have no idea whether anything like it exists in real life. It's not clear whether the thought behind their mission is based on anything scientific or whether it is just observational but it is a really fascinating idea. There's not really any denying the truth in what they preach but whether it can be fixed via their methods of teaching them compassion and sensitivity is questionable. Again, it doesn't really become clear over the course of the novel but I'd like to think it goes some way to 'healing' these men.

The humour and voice is snarky and therefore probably isn't to everyone's taste. I laughed a few times and could definitely relate to various parts of Dani's narration but it was also tinged with a bit of sadness. It was the same melancholy that often descends when a marriage or long term relationship is depicted as a 'habit' rather than a choice but I understand that these relationships definitely exist.

There are some really profound parts that really resonated with me and the above exchange between Dani and Renata was one of those. These women actively reflect on their place in the world and how it affects their lives. I am certain that there are so many readers (not just female ones) who genuinely feel that they are 'not good at this world'.

Normal Women was a funny, honest look at female labour and how it's treated by capitalism. I was actually quite disappointed that the mystery wasn't a more prominent part of the book or that the resolution wasn't more dramatic, as I think that could have delivered further, darker messages about the treatment of women. However, I really enjoyed following Dani through the course of the book and reflecting on its themes.

Normal Women by Ainslie Hogarth will be published by Atlantic Books on 4th January 2024.

[ray935sworld]

🐢 Second ask because I still owe you my FREAKING OUT REACTION to your post from earlier this day. First of all, it made me so happy to read that you liked what I came up with. It's so comforting and yeah, just really nice to hear, so thank you, love ❤️

That scar exploration, it hit differently. Jorge being all gentle and caring and not wanting Dani to feel bad. And Dani wanting, needing to re-learn everything about Jorge's body, therefore his scars as well. And Dani finds himself strangely attracted more and more to him with every new piece of information. Of course, he doesn't like the thought of having caused some scars, but they mean, the two of them are connected and while Dani can't remember, Jorge's scars can. Maybe there's also been a situation when they wanted to put up a shelf and Dani couldn't hold the piece up because they missed a step and it was hanging loosely and he was too smal and then Jorge gained a small wound and later a scar on his bicep. Jorge tells him the story, laughing, and tells Dani that he had a bruise on his hip for weeks. And then, the mood shifts and Dani looks at Jorge's eyes and Jorge looks back and then, Dani wants him to show where exactly the bruise was. Initially, Jorge hesitates, but then he lifts his arm and brushes over Dani's hips with just his index finger. Dani closes his eyes at the sensation, just trying to figure out why the touch feels strangely familiar but is still so unknown to him. When he doesn't protest, Jorge places his whole hand on Dani's hips and then it's his thumb circling the by then obviously faded bruise but Dani feels like he will be able to feel the spot for weeks after this.

And the affection reassurance tattoo, you got me there. I think it would add up to the drama if Jorge had the tattoo right above where his shorts end. You can see it but to gain a perfect view, he has to push down his boxers a little. Again, it's nowhere near sexual but yet so intimate and both of their hearts are beating so fast and they're slightly out of breath when Dani touches the tattoo and then pulls up Jorge's pants and then presses on the spot as if to seal a pact of wanting to learn more about them.

To be honest, I don't view Dani as a person to get a tattoo like that, or at all (does he have any? Not that I know but i have no clue actually, never thought of it). But maybe he has something else. Maybe a photo of them in his wallet. And their initials imprinted in his house keys. And when Dani asks about a tattoo, Jorge laughs because they've had that discussion about two years ago when Jorge got his tattoo. He then gets up to get Dani's keys and maybe mentions some scars that Dani has from riding and a couple of them are probably related to Jorge. And maybe, Dani wants Jorge to feel his own scars as well, because he wants to know what it's like when Jorge is touching his skin like he just did the other way round.

YES YOU DO CAUSE YOUR REACTION ARE SO AMAZING. GIMME THEM!!!! It's so amazing that you take the time to share your thoughts and ideas and read mine and actually react that's - like - AMAZING!

Okay Jorge getting a scar from a domestic accident with Dani is actually the best thing ever. They have so many scars and have so many accidents and then something like putting up a shelf gives them a scar. Adorable. I love it. OH FUCK WHAT IF THAT'S THE SCAR DANI WAS INITIALLY TRACING?! like remember the scene I described where the scar tracing started? They're in bed and Dani remembered that Jorge had something on his arm and he went to trace it which started their scar conversation? What if that's the scar caused by Dani while falling and trying to grab Jorge? Okay his nails wouldn't be sharp enough to actually leave a scar. Not to be mean but maybe he had a nail or something in hand and accidentally scrabed Jorge with it and that's why he has a thin scar from it (Jorge loves the scar).

And not me biting my pillow at the Jorge showing where Dani had a bruise description. That is - wow. Like the hand on the hip left a burning sensation. Now with Dani having felt Jorge's touch on him (I'm assuming you meant skin on skin) I can't not imagine Danih wanting to know what Jorge's touch would feel like on his whole body. Can be in a sexual context or not.

Because honestly the sexual vibes have kind of caught me off guard right now and my mind is stuck on them. Not just the below boxers tattoo show but also the hand on the hip. It has both that incredible non sexual intimacy that I think would mostly felt by Jorge. Like he has seen Dani naked. He has seen Dani naked in not necessarily sexual contexts (a quick shower in the motorhome, changing, like normal domestic non sex stuff, (sauna???)) He knows what it's like.

But Dani isn't. And he hadn't been in a long time commited relationship where not everything also has to be about sex. So for him seeing Jorge pull his boxers down to expose the tattoo (plus a tattoo about himself!) and Jorge putting his hand on his hips has those sexual vibes. I think. Not to mention that he is in early 20s. So I think this moments would lead to Dani at least thinking about sex with Jorge if that hadn't started already. I don't think he would say anything. Especially not in a moment like that. But maybe on another evening when he had a little too much to drink and he is being taken to bed by Jorge and he just straight up asks if he wants to fuck (very romantic. Good job, Dani) and Jorge is genuinely taken aback but declines. And he's so sweet about it. Not just because Dani is drunk but it has that "You lost your memories. You're vulnerable and hurt. It's okay. Take your time." I honestly can't really put it into words right now, I'm sorry.

Okay back to the tattoo - I ABSOLUTELY agree that Dani is not the type to get a tattoo. He'd be asking Jorge if he has one and Jorge just stares at him and starts laughing because it's so absurd. But yeah instead he has a wallet picture and engraved keys. I'm here for it. That's adorable. And he'd mention the scars again as if there are enough reminds of Jorge on Dani's skin.

Oh I love them ❤️

[daecaerys]

what’s their love language?  

what do they consider their worst habit?

do they enjoy silence or find it too loud?

WHATS THEIR LOVE LANGUAGE?

honestly, dany is pretty touchy. she likes physical intimancy and everything that leads to it, but she likes it when she has care behind it, genuine confidency with someone and trust. this is speaking of romantic love, of course. because that's the only sort of love i see daaenerys letting her guard down, and not acting like the only one with power in the room or the in the relation (and even then, she has a tedency to go for people who challenge her in some way, or are different than what she's accostumed to, to take them into her hands and feel power herself, in the most blissfull and honest of ways) ; every other sphere in her life is held with power and responsability. this one, she rather prefers it to be subtle, where she can feel bare before another. it is in this bubble of passion that she shows gentle touches and kisses, and words of sweetness. that's her language. now, love for her people, for her children, is much different. daenerys holds her ground before them like a wall. it is the complete opposite. she bites anyone who dares come close to them in harm or ill intent. she's the biggest shadow in front of them, indeed like a mother. a nurturing, protective person.

2. WHAT DO THEY CONSIDER THEIR WORST HABIT?

her anger. dany knows she gets angry quickly and she hates herself for it. thus, she constantly apologizes whenever she sees that she bit too hard, that she lashed at someone. she names it 'the dragon's temper'. one of the reasons she despises such trait is that she usually does it to people she cares for, too. she tries to control it as best as she can.

3. DO THEY ENJOY SILENCE OR FIND IT TOO LOUD?

both. it depends on her mood. if dany spent hours listening to demands and request then a good two hour of silence is more than welcomed. if she's lonely, then she prefers the company of loud talk and music. she loves music. reading. anything to escape that lonely reality she found herself in ... but silence lets her mind wander, which sometimes can be good ; so, it goes dependent on her need for it. mostly, no.

[nicolinocolino]

Ok, I finished Prisma:

My first and main question: why twins, specifically? Why not simply brothers? In life, of course, twins are just another random act of nature. In media, though, everything is a choice, a symbol, and the decision to make these characters twins has to mean something. Two halves of the same whole, dualistic world views, a shadow of the self, codependency, etc… but I didn't see any of these themes? The twins were different, sure, but I wouldn't call them mirrors or even narrative foils. They had their own struggles that didn't relate at all, and their stories hardly entangled at the macro level. I guess I could see a sort of “we’re the same on the outside but not the inside” message underlaid, but it was weak, and even then that could have been reinforced better by, oh, I don’t know, the parents treating them the same even though they have their own problems or interests, or love interests treating them like one person. Literally anyone treating them like one person in two bodies — but actually all of the characters recognized that Andrea and Marco were very different. Am I just not getting it? I’d love to be enlightened.

Maybe an unpopular opinion but Ilo Dani and Vito were a very uninteresting and unlikeable trio (to me). Idk if they were supposed to be, but I thought they were annoying and their whole music video arc was honestly cringe fail embarrassing level 10 :/ not saying their behavior and personas were unrealistic, it’s just that these characters had a ton of screen time and they weren’t even funny or enjoyable. I had no reason to root for any of them. The scenes that revolved around these three dragged heavily. I thought the actor who played Dani was meh. Speaking of Dani, why is everyone after him? He was so boring. And not to keep being a downer but the "will he choose music or sports" storyline made laugh. What is this, High School Musical?

I’m sorry but you couldn’t pay me to care about Carola and Marco’s relationship :/ individually they were pretty okay characters and they actually had chemistry when they were close, but their arc was a snooze fest. Truly nothing original about their brand of boy meets girl.

The series might have benefitted from an "all is lost" moment — I was expecting it to happen to Andrea, and it almost happened but it didn't. Or maybe if the themes were more clear? Not that it needed to be spelled out but everything felt almost too subtle. I found myself thinking "I don't know what this character is thinking" or "I can't tell what's going on here" in scenes — not that I'm a media analysis genius (I'm 100% not) but like, I should be able to tell what's going on, what's being represented, connecting moments happening to past moments. Some stuff was just too subtle and I couldn't decide if it was important or not — it's almost like the writing itself didn't know if the scene was important or not.

Andrea and Nina's friendship (and relationship...?) were the best part of the series.

Maybe I've just flat-out memorized skam at this point, but... too many references?

Anyway, I was pretty underwhelmed. The cinematography and directing were beautiful, as I expected. The story is okay but slow. Its major downfall is the characters. I really didn't care what happened to any of them :/

[leupagus]

Mardia & Me: A Mistake of a Friendship

We should probably stop doing this but lol:

leupagus: **slides into the chat on special ergonomic kneepads** The Good Place AU Ted wakes up to a sign saying "Hello! Everything is jim dandy, Miss Brandy"

mardia: Oh NO

leupagus: And an odd, long-haired man is smiling at him from across the desk, explaining to him that he's passed away but has ended up in The Good Place

mardia: AHHHHHHH

leupagus: "and thank goodness! for that!" the guy chirps And he leads Ted around on a tour of the Place, talking about how everything is sports-related here, because of course Ted loved sports so much! then he introduces Ted to his soulmate, who is of course Rebecca and Rebecca is the one who confesses that she doesn't belong here, all the while Ted's like "oh god but it's me" can't decide who's funniest to be the other pair, or maybe have two other pairs since the rules are made up Roy needs to be one of the demons who plays Janice tho

mardia: DANI Also petition to have Edwin in there He can be Tahani

leupagus: lollllllllllllllllllll yes

mardia: Also I think Ted would be the one to figure out this is the bad place Because he’s very good at people And it’s one thing when HE’S miserable but seeing everyone else be miserable is what might kick it over

leupagus: I'm just trying to figure out what would be funniest from a like, Ted/Trent angle like is it funnier if Ted gets suspicious or funnier if he's like GASP

mardia: Funnier if he’s suspicious Because Trent would be underestimating him

leupagus: TRUE

mardia: And be mad that of all the humans, it’s THIS ONE that’s the closest to figuring it out? REALLY?!

leupagus: omg and the realization could be like, a version of the darts scene also Rupert is definitely a fellow demon I really want Nate to be one of the humans too, and he kind of has a Tahani trajectory? Only he applies to be a demon

mardia: Ooooooh

leupagus: but in the way of like - the way the show eventually ends, with demons just being another job where you're prodding people into becoming better versions of themselves

mardia: Oh yes He’d be great at that

leupagus: because like Nate's gift for understanding people's weak spots would make him SO EXCELLENT honestly I want the himbos to be demons too but like, dissatisfied ones

mardia: That would delight me

leupagus: like they don't LIKE being mean! even though chasing people through the pits of hell is really good cardio

mardia: POOR DEMON HIMBOS

leupagus: OK so it's Ted and Rebecca and Edwin and Nate and Keeley - hmm if all the himbos are demons then Sam can't be one plus it'd be extra hilarious if all the hetero couples are like "actuallyyyyyyyyyy" because we could make this Rebecca/Keeley on the other hand lol there are like three women on this show I feel like Sharon would be the funniest

mardia: Sharon would be Over It!

leupagus: Because Sharon and Edwin like I M A G I N E

mardia: I AM and it’s hilarious

leupagus: also Nate and Keeley being "soulmates" would actually be fascinating because Keeley definitely has been through the ordeal of someone being into her and she has to humor him etc

mardia: Mmmhmmm

leupagus: and this would be like, "but he's your SOULMATE" I feel like it would be funniest if the only soulmates to actually work out is Sharon and Edwin because she's like WELP NO ETHICAL PROBLEMS IN HEAVEN WITH DATING YOUR PATIENT

mardia: THERE YOU GO

leupagus: because she definitely makes him get therapy

mardia: Oh 100%

leupagus: and they're both prickly and hateful about each other for a while and then oops it's love

mardia: Also petition for Sam to be a spy from the actual Good Place

leupagus: YES PRETENDING to be a demon

mardia: YES

leupagus: because WHAT is this all about

mardia: except he accidentally causes a rebellion among all the himbo demons

leupagus: YES accidentally which makes it money

mardia: He wasn’t even TRYING

leupagus: he was just being SINCERE about how this is an unjust exploitation of their labor

mardia: meanwhile Trent keeps having to reset everything And every time Ted figures it out Or Keeley

leupagus: YES also since Dani has to be a himbo demon, I now want Mae to be Janice

mardia: Ooooooooh yes

leupagus: because Trent and Mae = instacomedy IDK where Beard comes in - ooh what if he's still alive and Ted misses him so checks in on him on the regular leupagus: and he's not doing great

mardia: Oh poor Beard

leupagus: like he's still coaching in Wichita the team's won another season but he's just very sad and Trent is like, you know we could always kill him and then he could be happy up here! and Ted's like OK WELL THAT'S ANOTHER ONE ADDED TO MY LIST OF SUSPICIOUS AS HECKY-DARN IDEAS

mardia: And Ted just STARES at him

leupagus: Trent: what?

mardia: Trent giving himself away bc he keeps getting emotionally invested in Ted No matter how many times he hits the reset button! Oh god what if one time everyone has an orgy and Trent’s so jealous he gives the game away and resets it all

leupagus: HAHAHA he definitely sets it up for one time he's Ted's soulmate Ted figures out it's the Bad Place in the FIRST DAY Trent's so mad but he actually does get invested in all of them finally and gets on their side but is still pining like, he thinks maybe Ted and Beard were soulmates, if there's such a thing so when he lets them go back to the living world he like, sets them up very very carefully Also Trent still has a daughter in this her name changes with every reset she's actually a demon but like, a baby demon

mardia: Oh no, BABY DEMON

leupagus: you can tell there's a reset because she's got a new name Trent's got a battered old baby names book that he uses, because that image is funny as fuck one of the times Trent is trying to seduce Ted, Ted spies it on his bedside stand and is like "why are so many of these names checked off?" and Trent's like "NO REASON" and tries to distract Ted with his dick I'm thinking the first time Ted figures it out, Trent is just really annoyed and then like the second or third time, Ted confesses that the way he figured it out was that he kept thinking about Trent instead of about Rebecca

mardia: !!!!!!!!!

leupagus: and Trent is like "...REALLY" and snaps his fingers to reset because now he's got a PLAN to SEDUCE TED TO ETERNAL TORMENT and also get some dick

mardia: AHAHHAHA

leupagus: so like Trent seduces him a LOT of times before he's like "but I think... I like him" and so decides to try a variation where he's Ted's soulmate and then Ted figures it out in one day

mardia: The OUTRAGE

leupagus: and then - I don't actually remember how Ted Danson comes over to their side in the show

mardia: I believe it’s bc he’s about to get caught out by his bosses

leupagus: right so Rupert like, shows up which IDK how to finagle him being Rebecca's ex and being a head demon but that's a future problem lol what if Bex is also working for the good place and they're both trying to like convert the other anyway who are the hooligans maybe they're the gatekeepers and Trent keeps bribing them with random football memorabilia and Mae can be the judge anyway they all go back down to earth and Ted is like, married to Michelle - we'll figure out how he died/how Trent changes the timeline later and back with his bff beard but like he keeps feeling like he's missing something meanwhile Trent and Will and the himbos (who have all come over to his side by now) are like watching intently and worried sick about everyone and Trent is ike HEARTBROKEN because he violated the primary demon rule! never fall in love!!! and he's thrown it all away for this GUY with a MUSTACHE

mardia: BABY

leupagus: All I want is for it to end with Trent going down to live a human life - is it more chest-clutchy if Ted goes with him

mardia: Yes

leupagus: or if Ted is like "I'll be waiting for you when you come home"

mardia: OH OW FUCK I PLAYED MYSELF

leupagus: like Ted wants him to have this experience! like the one thing Ted has more knowledge than Trent about is being human

mardia: The second is more heartbreaking

leupagus: agreed

mardia: But I also feel like Trent would absolutely not go without Ted Like, after ALL THAT

leupagus: well what about THIS so like we put in shades of the show, where people decide to leave/die for real/etc

mardia: Sure sure

leupagus: like rebecca goes first then edwin, etc nate stays to do demon work keeley stays to do angel work etc etc so trent is like - watching ted, terrified, because eternity just works... differently for demons

mardia: Ooh ok

leupagus: so anyway Trent keeps watching all the humans eventually peace out and eventually talks to Ted about it (after like 17 jeremy bearimys) and ted is like, no, I'm still happy here, happy with you happy to have my son with me and all the people I've loved it's just that so much of my life-life was about looking forward to things so many tough times were made better by the idea that it would... get better and now things ARE better, and sometimes that's a little  bit...bad and trent is like... I don't understand do you want me to torture you or something

mardia: Lol

leupagus: we still have the racks and stuff and ted is like "...thanks but no" so they continue on, and trent thinks about what an actual life would be like like on earth, like how humans work - he's always been so curious about it but he stil doesnt' erally get them and one day he kind of brings up the idea and ted is like, "honey that's an AMAZING idea, let's do it for sure"

mardia: Awwww

leupagus: but ted's like "I'm not coming with you, though" like Ted is very firm that this is something Trent has to do on his own which Trent is like, UH NO NOT LEAVING YOU UNSUPERVISED??? but ted's just like you'll just have to trust me honey and eventually trent gets over his nerves and abandonment issues so he goes to the... gate? I don't remember how it worked on the show, however that happened and at the last minute trent is like "you have to be here when I get back, you have to promise me" and Ted just smiles and shakes his head and says, you couldn't get me to leave for anything in the world or the afterlife or all of existence, honey because now I've got something to look forward to THE END

mardia: YES okay I dig it

leupagus: lolol now I don't have to write it! thank you

mardia: Okay but you COULD THO

leupagus: I could! but I won't

[heisen-shrine]

The Tale of my Halloween Wedding...

Dragon Bride

A whole year.

It had been a whole year since Karl had proposed. Last Halloween...and we've come so far from that. We weren't even in the same place anymore. We had moved, changed, adapted.

It's had its ups and downs, but we'd made it. And now tonight was the night.

Astarion had helped me pick out the black dress I was wearing. He had meticulously worked my make up and hair, ever the most stylish of my F/Os. White dresses were overrated. I always imagined wearing blue for my wedding, but the occasion, the holiday he said, called for black. He did however concede on blue eyeshadow for my eyes, and blue lip liner. We settled for black lips, black as the wings I wore on my back. My gloves were ended in long claws. Around my waist, to my back, was a long tail that just barely hit the ground. A pair of black horns crowned my head.

A dragon.

I was getting married as a dragon.

Karl couldn't think of anything more fitting. The beasts were my life, an integral part of me. He promised to have something related to them on his person as well, nothing as showy as me though. Wolves were more his animal. I felt a twinge of irony, my mind immediately going to Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen from game of thrones...

The dragon and the wolf. So different and yet so fitting.

I was just about done as Otto came in. Harry, Larry, Flo, and Moe seemed calm, as if they were fully aware of the situation. He was in a black suit, his hair nicely combed. Otto looked at me with pride in his eyes. My oldest F/O, he was there to walk me down the "aisle", which was more of a pathway in the dimly lit park.

Astarion stood back, looking me over, admiring his work.

"I don't think I've ever seen a more stunning, beautiful bride" he grinned, "I can only imagine what ours will be like, if we get that far".

I smiled. "Someday I hope. But I think I'm happy with just the primary for now".

"You do look amazing. I take it dragons was the theme?" Otto asked, "should've gotten your white haired wig-"

"I was just thinking of that. I don't know if I wanted to look like dany today. I was already dany at work yesterday" I told him with a slight smile.

"Astarion...can you give us a minute?" Otto asked.

The vampire elf nodded. "Of course. I need to go make sure everything's all set anyway. The park should be ready, as should the groom" he looked at me, "You're going to be amazing. I promise".

I nodded. "Thank you, Astarion".

He bowed and left as my attention turned to Otto. I sighed and gave a smile.

"I'm barely holding everything in" I admitted.

"If I gave you a minute to freak out would you?".

I shook my head. "No, I don't wanna ruin my make up. What if my family-"

"Ash, they're not important. This isn't a night for them or to worry about them. Are you happy?" Otto asked.

I nodded, a knot in my throat. Tears threatened but I wouldn't let them come. I was happy, but nervous and scared too.

"Just...don't let me fall over okay?" I said when I finally did find my voice.

"I would-" he started but Larry lurched up as if to correct him, "my apologies, WE would never let you fall".

I smiled as Otto offered one of his human arms. "Shall we? Your groom awaits".

I only hesitated a moment but I took it. We walked to the park like that, arm in arm, where everyone was waiting for us. Not a lot of people were there. Nanaue, Astarion, and Karl's adopted siblings and nieces were there. Os was too, but he was, quite ironically, officiating the ceremony. He stood in front of the large fountain in the center of the park. And in front of him, off to the side, was Karl.

My breath stopped in my throat. He was so handsome in his suit of scarlet and ebony. His silver hair was pulled back and neat, far from its normally all over the place, frazzled mess. His nieces had probably encouraged that. For a second I looked to see Bela and she winked at me. That was all the confirmation I needed. Despite the bad blood between their mother and him, the girls loved their uncle and wanted him to look and feel his best tonight. Better support couldn't be asked for.

His signature round glasses were nowhere in sight, but he knew he had them on his person somewhere. He was dumbstruck at the sight of me. I stopped and we looked at each other. We were doing this. We were actually doing this. The reality of the situation hit us both at the same time and his eyes softened. He was ready and so was I. With an encouraging nod, I looked at Otto. I was ready.

Everyone stood and we walked slowly together as an instrumental version of "In my Darkest Hours" by Mono Inc played. My heart hammered in my chest. The reality of the situation hit me with every step, questions rose in my mind. I almost felt like calling everything off.

But we had come so far. It was only fair...I looked at Karl, who seemed to sense my anxiety. He quietly mouthed: "its okay...we got this".

Os looked at Otto. "You're givin' her away?"

Otto nodded. "I am".

"Alright...if the bride and groom will join hands..."

Karl extended his hand as Otto moved to take his place next to Astarion and Elijah, who was the one in charge of music. He killed it for the moment as Os took charge. I looked at Karl's hand, and spotted the silver cufflinks he wore, engraved with a dragon. As Os went on, Karl noticed my looking at the cufflinks and smiled. He knew. He'd kept his promise to have something dragon on him.

"Now...Karl Heisenberg...do you take this lady to be your wife, in sickness, health, and all that?".

I almost laughed at that. Poor Os was trying, but of course he wasn't the most eloquent speaker. He never had been. We were lucky he even agreed to do this on short notice.

Karl smiled and I heard the chuckle. "I do".

"And Ash...same ta you?".

I looked at the man next to me and I knew. I never felt more sure of anything. "I do".

"Great. You're now Lord and Lady Heisenberg. Exchange rings, and kiss and all that".

Oh shit the rings! Where were-

A sudden cough and gag caught our attention. Nanaue! He at some point had eaten them, for some reason...Cassandra had elbowed him to get him to cough them up.

The rings didn't hit the ground. With a thought they rose from inches off the ground to Karl's hand. He gave them a quick cleaning, and a glare toward our adopted shark son. They'd talk later.

I was all but laughing as Karl turned back to me, rings floating above his hand.

"Ash...with this ring, I promise my life, love, and devotion to you. To put you first and above all others. I love you, with all I am, and with all I have. This i swear". he floated the ring gently to my finger.

I took a breath. "Karl Heisenberg, with this ring i promise my life, love, and devotion to you. I will put you above all others, from this day to my last. I love you, now and always" i slid his ring on to his finger.

It was done. We only shared a quick glance before he took me in his arms and kissed me passionately. My arms wrapped around his neck as our small party cheered. Elijah played joyous music as we shared our first kiss as husband and wife.

We walked down the path together, hand in hand. Karl kissed my hand. "Look at you...the lady of House Heisenberg. And we did it all without that wretched had Miranda, and without your family bitching at us. And we looked damn good doing it".

I smiled. "We sure did. I love you".

"I love you more darling" he kissed my hand, "my little dragon bride...".

Only time would tell what adventures would come ahead, but for now I was just happy I had him, and he had me. The perfect ending to a perfect holiday...

[lepusrufus]

So I'm not really sure if this has been asked yet but how does the actual plot of RE8 fit into your AU? Is it something you have plans for, like Miranda never kidnaps Rose, sommit like that or nah? Either way I still bloody love all your stuff!

That's a great question and it actually got me thinking on this.

For starters, the events in Double edged scalpel take place quite a bit before the events of the game, around 2010 or so, even earlier. Dani and Anita's "story" happen in a similar timeframe while Laura comes along a couple years later. (I'm not sure if I'll be writing full on fics for them but I will write oneshots and such to expand on their characters/relationships)

Now for the actual game events, the tldr is Miranda isn't an idiot playing stupid games.

In my AU, she has no intention of messing around. She kidnaps Mia, gets in the house (as Mia), waits for a moment when Ethan is distracted and takes Rose. Before anyone manages to catch on or anything. She then takes Rose with her and just keeps her under her careful watch until the time for the ceremony comes. No splitting her up, none of that redundant stuff.

Ethan manages to find his way into the village, but again Miranda is not being a fool and wants him captured and in a damn cell asap to be experimented on later. No Heisenberg's lil death obstacle course, none of that. Ethan just goes to the castle and does some damage thinking Rose is there. The gals, knowing when to pick their battles just tell him that he's wasting his goddamn time and to leave their home so they have time to regroup (nobody dies tho).

Then he makes his way to the Beneviento house and, since Donna deserves to go full fucked up villain, she captures him. She has the power to psychologically destroy someone and that's exactly what she does, rendering him pretty much brain dead, his mouldy body to be studied later.

Also should add in the fact that the cult has a less... "Miranda is purely using us and will get us killed with the first occasion" dynamic. She does want them around and alive. She basically wants to create her own mini empire (for lack of a better word) for her to rule over and the Lords are all part of that. And therefore, Heisenberg for example, is a lot less inclined to betray and kill her. Also also Miranda doesn't just.. straight up has everyone killed. Dunno I feel like it's at least a bit counterproductive killing all your worshippers instead of collecting people from the outside to work as biomass.

Now with Ethan out of the way, back to Miranda, Rose and Mia. Miranda doesn't actually want to use Rose herself as a vessel, but use a tissue sample to make a copy that then can serve as a vessel. It's not out of the goodness of her heart mind you, it's more of a guarantee the if anything goes wrong with the process, the "original" is still there to get more samples from. Mia doesn't want that but she doesn't exactly have a say in this. It does work though and Miranda gets her Eva back yay for her ig. Mia also gets Rose back and Miranda, in an odd act of kindness, promises that if they ever need anything, Mia knows where to find her.

Now, where things get a lil' weird. Should preface this by saying that I'm basing this detail of the AU on my favorite book, Annihilation (from the Southern Reach trilogy). The gist of it is: aliens create an anomalous area enclosed in something akin to a force field where everything alive gets modified on a biological level by the alien organism and it interferes with any technology within.

Now obviously, no aliens here. But we have the Megamycete at the center of it all and Miranda controlling the whole area in which the village (more akin to a small town in my AU) and its surroundings are enclosed. This is how she controls exactly what comes in from outside and what works inside.

And therefore, Chris can't do jack shit. He can't even enter the area let alone blow anything up. Ok moving on.

As stated before, Miranda's offer to Mia still stands, even as she gives her a bitter "fuck you" as she leaves the village with Rose in her arms. However it takes her little to realize that no matter where they go, Rose is basically gonna become a lab rat under supervision 24/7 so she swallows her pride and comes back to Miranda, asking her to let them stay in the village where nobody from te outside can touch them. She obliges, letting her choose any place she'd like to live in and that's how Mia and Rose settle there. (Also the town is a lot more functional here).

Aaand idk maybe Rose and Eva grow up to be friends or something idk I think that'd be cute. They have a whole ass cultish "family" too so that'd make for some interesting shenanigans.

Also, realizing you may want to know more about the maidens: they do partake in anything ceremony related as much as the sisters, complete with matching outfits. By this point in time they are also married and fully part of the Dimitrescu family. Also had gone through the mutation but no spoilers on that. Just going to say that Miranda comes to see them as at the very least good assets to keep around and therefore somewhat important members of the cult.

[nightwishesworld]

Hello! I love your writing and if you do take request, might I ask for a family night (including Heisenberg) playing Monopoly please? (OC is already in a loving relationship with Alcina and the girls love her)

Oh boy anon, this was by far the most difficult thing I’ve ever written. It’s not my best cause I know zero about the game so I had to try and work around it. Hope you enjoy anyway!

It's that time of the week again in the Dimitrescu castle. The most sacred and anticipated time of the week; not hunting, not harvesting, not even wine tasting... it's game night.

As soon as the sun sets the girls swarm in the drawing room to ready the space for the night's antics. Daniela digs out the game while Sorine opens all the curtains, letting the warm light of the moon shine through, and Victoria lights the fire and torches. It became a ritual not long after you moved into the castle. The girls often confided in you how they wished to spend more quality time with their mother on more than one occasion. Hunting maidens and harvesting their blood was fun, but they've been doing that forever! It was no longer as thrilling as it once was, not it felt more like a chore that needed to be done. And you can't count how many times Alcina admitted to feeling guilty about not giving her daughters more of her time. So when you pitched the idea of a routine game night, you got very little pushback.

The only one who hesitated was Daniela, and only because she insisted on inviting Uncle Heisenberg, which was totally fine. You get along rather well with the werewolf and enjoy his visits. Getting in touch with him was rather difficult though. Most of his visits were spontaneous reasons to see his favorite nieces, while the other few were strictly business-related held by Alcina. It took her some time to locate her brother, but it also gave you some time to make your way back down to your old home in the village to gather your collection of board games and puzzles. Some were missing a few pieces or cards, but they would have to do for now. Worst case scenario you just buy new ones.

When Alcina finally got ahold of Heisenberg he eagerly accepted and promised to start making his way back to the castle; the girls were thrilled. After all, it wouldn't be proper family bonding time without good ol' Uncle Heis.

In the beginning, it was decided that everyone took turns deciding what game they were going to play. The cycle started with you of course, since the whole thing was your idea, then went from oldest to youngest. Everyone had a blast playing against each other and laughing at one another. You can't remember a time you'd seen Alcina laugh so hard, she was almost brought to tears. Everything was just peachy until Victoria, ever the mischief-maker decided you should play Monopoly. The poor Dimitrescu's had no idea what brand of hellish gameplay awaited them. Only an hour and a half in and Daniela had successfully bankrupt her own mother. The proud look plastered on the girl's face would have been more amusing if it weren't for Alcina losing her temper. That was the one time you couldn't wait for the night to end, and hopefully, never play it again.

Much later that night in bed with Alcina curled up on your chest you woke with a chill running down your spine. It's Daniela's turn to pick the game.

Which is how you ended up lounging on your favorite chair by the fire watching Daniela and Heisenberg setting up the board and organizing the money. Again.

Alcina is sat on the floor next to you leaning comfortably against your chair sipping her third glass of wine. "Why are we doing this again?"

You give her a sympathetic smile. "You know why, dearest, it's game night."

She only rolls her eyes at you. "You know what I mean, draga mea. Why monopoly?"

"It was Dani's turn to chose the game. It'll be fun, don't worry Al."

"Yeah Mother," Victoria giggles. "What's wrong with monopoly?"

"You mean other than how overly competitive and childish you all become?"

You were about to open your mouth when Heisenberg started to laugh. "You say 'you all' as if you aren't just as bad."

Alcina chose to ignore him in favor of her wine.

"Ah! Mother's just upset cause she knows I'm gonna make her go bankrupt again," Daniela smiled as her sisters snickered. "I forget, what did you say you were going to do to me, Mother?"

This caused the chorus of giggles to erupt into laughter. "She said she was going to disown you!" Sorine choked out.

"Forging an alliance against your mother is just plain rude! And you-" she points to Heisenberg, "you stole my companion!"

Laughter erupted in the drawing room. You leaned against Alcina's arm as you lost the ability to breathe. "I did not steal them," Heisenberg handed you both your starting $1500. "I was in a financial bind and y/n was willing to make a deal."

"And just like that our alliance was born." You lean forward and fist-bumped the werewolf. "Let's let Al join us tonight, Heis, now we'll be even against the girls."

He ponders for a moment before noticing his sister's golden eyes burning into him and hastily shakes her hand. "Welcome to the team, sis."

Alcina sighed and accepted his hand in a near bone-crushing grip. You tried not to notice the man wincing. "About damn time."

You shot Alcina finger guns with a wink and "pew pew" and she full-heartedly laughs. "What on Hell's earth was that?"

"A dumb human thing, don't worry about it."

"Horray!" Daniela grinned. "Now Mother has a fighting chance."

"Now girls," you chided. "Let's try to keep this friendly tonight, ok? As funny as it was, and it was," Alcina glares at you from behind her wine glass. "We're going to let it go now. No more ganging up on your mother."

The girls gave an innocent smile, "of course y/n."

"Wouldn't dream of it, y/n."

"Cross my heart hope to die!"

Wait, aren't they already dead?  You shook your head. Doesn't matter.

"Are we using the same pieces as last time?"

"Might as well," you saw before Daniela can get a word out. "We were all happy with our tokens last time, yes?"

Daniela huffed and crossed her arms. "I want to be the dog!"

"Aw come on, Dani," Sorine says. "I think it's only fair Uncle Heis gets to be the dog."

"Since, ya know, he is a dog," Victoria smirks.

To say the atmosphere of the room was intense would be an understatement. But, you couldn't be entirely unhappy with the course of events either since your alliance was winning. Victoria is bankrupt and Daniela has been sitting in jail for the past three turns. Alcina refuses to sell her Get out of Jail Free card. Oh, how the tables have turned. Daniela, much like her dearest mother, is far too stubborn for her own good. She refuses to pay Heisenberg the $50 to get out of jail and Alcina simply refuses to bail her out. Petty revenge, but entertaining nonetheless. It's after midnight now and you're finding it difficult not to doze off against the vampire's arm. Heisenberg is awake pacing around the room as he lost interest in the stalemate already. He was nice enough to take his heavy boots off so he wouldn't disturb Sorine and Victoria's slumber. His repetitive pace was starting to lull you to sleep. You allow yourself to close your eyes for a minute, listening to Alcina's breathing and Heisenberg's hushed stomping circling around you.

The fire was reduced to crackling embers and you were left shivering under Heisenberg's coat. Out of desperation, you kiss the top of Alcina's gloved hand. "Nu putem termina în dimineața? Hai să mergem la culcare." You know she loves it when you talk in Romanian to her. Hopefully, it will give you the advantage you need to end this ridiculousness.

"I've got her cornered, y/n. A little while longer and she'll crack."

Daniela only squinted her eyes and hissed.

You were about to give up and let yourself fall asleep on Alcina when Heisenberg came stomping over, pure anger painted on his face, and kicked the coffee table over. Sorine and Victoria were startled awake by the crashing sound and snowfall of cards. It was honestly the most magical thing that happened all night. He shouted something along the lines of "Go to bed!" but you couldn't make it out over Daniela and Alcina's screams. They pay you little mind as they chase Heisenberg out of the room and down the corridor, the sounds of vases and antique decor crashing following them as they go.

Sorine stands over you looking at you through bleary eyes, extending her hand to help you up. "Bed?"

A lion's yawn overcomes you and you smile. "Bed."

[dalekofchaos]

If Rhaegar won au aka King Rhaegar and Queen Lyanna

In an au where Rhaegar won the Battle Of The Trident and killed Robert Baratheon(reposting my old au after so long do to harassment)

Rhaegar gets the upper hand in the battle of the Trident and killed Robert Baratheon

Tywin would have chosen to back Rhaegar once hearing the news of Robert’s death. Instead of the sacking of King’s Landing, the Lannisters would have slaughtered the Rebel forces. He would have kept Ned, Jon, Hoster and Stannis alive cause Tywin saw the value of them to keep the peace and Rhaegar never wanted the war.

Stannis would not play along, he would have been sent to the wall. Renly would have became the lord of Storm’s End

Rhaegar would have sent the medical aid to Lyanna , Lyanna would have lived

Arthur Dayne, Elia Martell, Rhaenys and Aegon would have lived

Rhaegar and Tywin would have ousted Aerys the minute they entered the red keep. Aerys would act like the grateful father and the old friend praising his old friend Tywin. But Rhaegar forcibly removes his father from the crown and Tywin orders Gregor Clegane to deliver the crown’s swift justice. Jaime’s honor would not have been stained

Jaime would immediately tell Rhaegar and his father about the wildfire plot and that would have been dealt with in a heartbeat. Rhaegar praises Jaime’s heroism and tells him that he owes him a debt that he could never repay. 

Rhaella wouldn’t have to be forced to flee to Dragonstone and would have lived to raise Daenerys and Viserys would not have lost everything and be force to become the beggar king, Viserys would have lived a stable and happy life. Daenerys would have a home, she wouldn’t have had an awful childhood, she would have her family and she would be happy.

Lyanna would have lived. I believe Rhaegar and Lyanna were in love. As soon as Lyanna recovered, I believe she would have told Ned that she did not want to be in a loveless marriage with Robert, and chose to go with Rhaegar of her own free will and tell she fell in love with Rhaegar. Ned would have understood and knew that she couldn’t have possibly foresee what would happen, so there would be peace between the Targaryens. and the Starks.

A proper wedding. Rhaegar and Lyanna would be married under the Weirwood Tree and Lyanna would wear a crown of Winter Roses and a gown and cloak befitting a Northern Queen

Queen Lyanna is loved by the commonfolk, it took the high lords and ladies sometime to love her, but eventually the Wolf Queen wins them over

Rhaegar and Lyanna would be together and raise Jon and Rhaegar will also take care of Aegon and Rhaenys

Jon Snow would be Jaehaerys Targaryen.

Elia would return to Dorne in this case, since she already gave heirs to Rhaegar and they don’t live together as a couple any longer. As Rhaegar and Elia’s marriage was a political move, not based on love, it seemed it was a platonic love, not a romantic one. it was a mutual agreement that Elia would remain in Dorne, as Rhaegar feared for her health and safety and Aegon and Rhaenys would visit Elia every now and then in Dorne. Elia and Rhaegar kept correspondence often and remained friends. Elia living a happy life is more important.

Lyanna and Elia would become fast friends. There is no resentment from Elia nor jealousy from Lyanna. Elia is happy that Lyanna was someone Rhaegar could truly find happiness and Lyanna was fond of Elia. They would correspond frequently and even bring her son to meet auntie Elia.

Jaime would remain in the Kingsguard and Cersei would remain a lady in the court who would be betrothed to Viserys when he comes of age

Petyr Baelish would have never attained the power he had in the books and would have just fucked off in Braavos.

Gerold Hightower, Barristan Selmy, Arthur Dayne, Oswell Whent and Loras Tyrell would be Rhaegar’s Kingsguard. 

Rhaegar’s small council would consist of Tywin Lannister as Hand Of The King, Gerold Hightower as Lord Commander, Pycelle as Grand Maester, Doran Martell(of course Oberyn would go in Doran’s place) would be made as Master Of Laws in a way to mend relations with the Martells, Mace Tyrell as Master Of Coin, Paxter Redwyne as Master Of Ships, and Varys as Master Of Whispers.

With Rhaegar as king, there would be more effort into sending knights and soldiers to The Night’s Watch. Rhaegar knew The Others were coming so he would indeed take The Night’s Watch more seriously than his father or the crown ever did.

The Greyjoy Rebellion would still happen because Balon Greyjoy is a fucking moron. Balon believing Rhaegar was too soft to be king, rebels, and boy was he mistaken. The end result is the same. Balon’s sons are killed and Theon is taken as ward of the Starks.

Prior to the Greyjoy Rebellions, Rhaegar began to have dreams about the one eyed kraken blowing a horn to control dragons to burn the kingdom down. So Rhaegar took action and swiftly executed Euron Greyjoy in the Rebellion

Lyanna was a queen of action. She is there to lead the armies with her husband and king. Lyanna urged Ned to be more vigilant of The Boltons. And because of The Starks watching his every move, Roose Bolton dared not take FIrst Night with the Miller’s Wife, so Ramsay is never born.  

There would be no War of the Five Kings. Tywin is hand of the king, Cersei is content with  her marriage to Prince Viserys, Littlefinger never became as powerful as he is in canon. The realm is under the strong leadership of The Last Dragon. 

Rhaegar would have taken several visits to Essos to find the dragon eggs. Eventually the dragon eggs are found and Rhaegar would attempt to hatch them. Even though he was deeply traumatized by the events of his birth, he’d still want to make the prophecy of his grand-grand-uncle become true. Only Rhaegar would be much more careful in his attempt to hatch dragons, unlike Aegon V, who managed to burn down almost all of his family and himself included. when the eggs are indeed hatched, the dragons would be given to his children, Rhaenys, Aegon and Jaehaerys. But there would be one more. This dragon would be given to Dany

Something within Rhaegar is called to the ruins of Valyria. In this expedition. Rhaegar finds a Valyrian Steel Sword. Rhaegar names his personal Valyrian Steel Sword The Song For Dawn

Betrothals. Aegon is betrothed to Margaery, Viserys is betrothed to Cersei,  Robb is betrothed to Rhaenys and Jaehaerys is betrothed to Daenerys. 

Aegon and Rhaenys would love Lyanna and treat her like their own mother and Lyanna views them as her own children

Aegon would be the heir to Dragonstone. The Crown Prince Aegon is loved by the high lords and ladies and the common folk

Princess Rhaenys inherited her musical skills from her father. She plays the high-harp and fills the halls of the Red Keep with her beautiful singing voice.  Little Baelarion always dances to Rhaenys songs. 

Summerhall would be rebuilt and Jahaerys would be lord of Summerhall. 

Rhaegar’s children would get along with Ned’s children. Jaehaerys and Robb would be best friends. Rhaenys adores Sansa and Arya. Aegon loves his cousins. 

It took some time, but Ned and Benjen forgave Rhaegar and Lyanna and grew to love them like family. The Targaryens and Starks have been close ever since

During one of Jaehaerys visits to Winterfell, Jon and his uncle Ned would spend time together and in that time, Jaehaerys would find a Direwolf. Jaehaerys would have Ghost in this au

Due to his prophecies, Rhaegar would see that all three of his children and his sister are needed to save the realm. They would be raised together and would be well prepared to defend the realm for the war of the dawn

With Rhaegar as king, the realm is safer, Lyanna lives, Elia lives, the Starks do not suffer any deaths and the realm is prepared to fight the War for the Dawn

Art by chillyravenart

Edits by thelastdragonsnet 

[five-rivers]

Stars Aligned Chapter 2

Here’s the thing.  Danny knew this was a dumb decision.  At least as dumb as stepping into the ghost portal (but at least he’d gotten some nifty powers out of that, hey?).  Whatever reason his bio-dad had for chucking him out the door within days of his birth couldn’t be good.  Putting himself within reach of the man…  Yeah.  Not his brightest thought.  

(Not to mention the wizards.  And witches.  That was so weird, how they had two different names for essentially the same thing. Then again… actor, actress…  Why were people so weird?)

On the other hand, twin brother.  Twin brother who had to live with aforementioned baby-abandoning bio-dad.  Twin brother who wasn’t allowed to visit America.  Or, Danny suspected, a family of squibs.  

Yeah.  

Yeah.  

So, here he was.  Getting everything in order for a wizard passport and wizard international travel, because bio-family refused to even look at an airport.  

Danny had a suspicion that, based on how they spelled the word and a few other comments in that particular letter, that they weren’t entirely clear on what an airport was.  

Fun.  

On the other hand, in comparison to the actual, normal, legal passport he’d gotten, just in case bio-family left him somewhere, wizard passports were much, much easier to get.  The wait times were practically nonexistent.  He could, in theory, get the passport on the same day he traveled.  All that was needed was proof he was a wizard and his adoption papers.  

Of course, ‘proof he was a wizard’ actually meant ‘wand.’  Wands being something they used as personal ID, despite the fact that they were a) sticks, and b) didn’t actually carry any personally identifiable information.  Sure, Jack said that they were somehow connected to their owners, but unless there were, like, giant books of details about everyone’s wands at every place that would, conceivably, need ID, and had people trained to identify all those tiny little characteristics…  Danny just couldn’t see how it would work.

Danny’s current theory was that all wizards were just insane, which meant that his twin would most likely fit right in with the rest of Danny’s family, right as soon as Danny figured out how to legally kidnap him.

(No, Danny didn’t have a ghostly Obsession, and it definitely wasn’t family related.  He was only half-ghost, after all.  Why do you ask?)

Anyway.  Wizard passport.  Wizard ID. Wizard sticks.  

Wands.  

Wands meant a nerve-wracking trip to the nearest wizarding town with Jack.  Evidently, he’d lived there a couple of years after his parents sent him away from Britain when he was around fourteen because of ‘the war.’

Abruptly, many of Jack’s stories about his childhood made more sense.

(It had always been something of a joke between Jazz and Danny to try and figure out what ‘the war’ was supposed to be, and if Jack’s parents had just… Conned him into thinking he’d eaten horse meat.  For some reason.  Even if the Fentons hadn’t seemed like that kind of people, no matter how eccentric.)

(Also, evidently Jazz and Danny had never met Jack’s biological parents, who were not named Fenton, although his adopted mother was also a witch.)

(Why was everything so complicated?)

 The “wizarding community” was a small town accessible only by a train line invisible to ‘no-majs.’  And also flying brooms.  Which wizards used.  Danny had seen the train before, not realizing that he wasn’t supposed to. Several times.  Usually while flying to Wisconsin to deal with whatever Vlad had done that week.  

If Danny was a wizard, was Vlad?  Was being half-ghost somehow tied up in being magical? What did that mean for Dani?

(Hey, maybe this whole affair could be used to bring Dani into the family safely.  Who was to say that he didn’t have a secret twin sister?)

Danny could admit that the town itself, which had almost a Ghost Zone vibe with how all the architecture seemed to be from fifty plus to a hundred years ago and also the physics breaking magic, was sort of cool. It was… cute, he guessed.  He didn’t really like how everyone was staring at Jack, their clothes were just as weird, but it wasn’t a new thing.  People always stared at Jack.  

That’s what happened when you wore hazard-orange jumpsuits twenty-four seven.  

The shops all had names out of a fantasy novel, and at one point they got turned around and wound up on a residential street where they had to ask for directions, but eventually they made it to ‘Willoughby’s Wand Emporium.’

The interior of Willoughby’s Wand Emporium reminded Danny strongly of a shoe store.  The shelves were all lined with boxes of approximately that size, and the employees all carried measuring tape.  It also smelled like a shoe store: musty and dry, with a hint of polish.  Or maybe it was wood varnish?  Or some kind of paint.  

A young woman bounced up.  “Hi, how can we help you today?  Replacement wand?”

“First time, actually,” said Jack.  

“Oh, I’m sorry,” said the woman.  “You’re just so tall for your age.”

“I’m fourteen,” said Danny.  

The woman began to turn red.

“He was missed,” said Jack.  “It happens.”  He smiled, but it looked far more strained than usual.  

“Oh,” said the woman.  “Ahem.  Well, if you’ll come right this way, I can start taking measurements, and start trying out wands.  The wand chooses the wizard, they say!”

“Okay,” said Danny, shrugging.  That was… interesting.  Were the wands sentient?  Did that somehow make them acceptable IDs?

Seemed really weird to keep sentient things stored in boxes.

… Said the kid who stored sentient beings in a soup thermos.

A really high-tech soup thermos.

Didn’t make it better.  

Except he didn’t keep them in the thermos indefinitely.  Except for Dan.  

Danny didn’t know if the wizards kept the wands in boxes indefinitely, either.  Maybe he should stop assuming things.  That had gotten him in trouble with ghosts more than once.

The woman took her measuring tape from where it hung around her shoulders, held it out in front of herself, and promptly dropped it. It did not fall.  

As basic as levitation was for ghosts, it was really weird to see a human do it.  (Especially when it always took so much concentration for him to levitate things other than himself—Hence why he never really used the ability in battle.)

The measuring tape flitted around Danny’s head, shoulders, arms, and body, taking measurements.  He had to sit on his reflexes hard to prevent himself from trying to catch it or knock it out of the air.  

He was so nervous.  Was it normal to be nervous?

The measuring tape snaked back through the air to the woman, who smiled.  “Alright,” she said, “we can start with that.  Uh, to explain the process, we usually start out with wands in the appropriate size range and try and zero in on the ones that respond best to you from there.”  She flicked her own wand, and several thin boxes slid themselves off the shelves.  “We use a wide variety of wand woods from a variety of wandmakers.  Just about any tree that grows in North America is probably represented here.” She paused.  “Except for palm trees.”

“That makes sense,” said Danny.  Palm trees were quite different from other trees.  

“Alright.  Let’s start with pine.  The core of this one is dragon heartstring—Harvested humanely, of course!”

“Core?” said Danny, latching on to the familiar word even as he regarded the wand itself dubiously.  

“Yes.  As with our woods, we also stock a wide range of wand cores.  Each wand has a core made of a small part of a magical creature.  Dragon heartstring, unicorn hair, and phoenix feather are the standard ones…  But that standardization is rather British.  We have a few others available.  Thunderbird tail feather—Only taken during molt.  Wampus cat hair.  Dittany. Rougarou hair.  Jackalope antler…  Those are the more common ones, though we do have others.  Even some kneazle whisker, although most people don’t want those.”

“Why not?”

“Ah, they tend not to be very strong.  But sheer power isn’t everything.  Some prefer control, need lower power output…  or are worried about accidents while they’re learning.  We do see some adult learners every now and then.”

That actually sounded sort of appealing to Danny, but he supposed he’d better go about this normally.  At least at first.  

He picked up the pine wand and immediately dropped it.  

“Ow,” he said.  

“Ow?” repeated the woman.  “Oh,” she said, catching sight of the burn on his hand.  “That’s… not supposed to happen.”

“Y’know,” said Danny, conversationally, “I’ve only held, like, two magical things in my life, and both of them have damaged my hands. Is this, like, a common thing, or am I just ridiculously unlucky.”

“Second one, I think,” said the woman.  “Cynthia’s good at minor healing charms.  I’m going to go get her.  Okay?  Okay.”

Shortly thereafter, phoenix feather wands were also eliminated as a possibility, not because they burned Danny, but because they seemed intent on burning everything else around him.  Pine wands were also a definite no-go (“Don’t worry about the lifespan thing,” said the woman, “that’s a myth.”).  As was everything but elder, apple, pear, hornbeam, thorn, and yew (this list got another mention of myths from the shop assistant).  

At this point, the shop owner, Mrs. Willoughby, was drawn out from the back room to observe the mess Danny was making.  

“My,” she said, “I haven’t seen anyone have this much trouble in a while.  Heather, why don’t you go get some of the specialty cores.”

“I thought the unicorn was working well,” protested the woman who’d been helping Danny so far.  She winced as Danny picked up a new wand and exploded a light.  “Comparatively.”

“Yes, we could probably eventually find a unicorn hair wand that would work for him, but all things considered…  I feel like we should explore other avenues.”  She sniffed.  “Nothing associated with fire.  Perhaps kelpie mane?”

“I’ll check,” said Heather.  

.

Kelpie mane, it turned out, did the same sort of thing as phoenix tail feather when it came to Danny.  Only with a lot more water involved.  

“I didn’t think that would work, anyway,” said Mrs. Willoughby.

“Then why,” said Danny, wringing water out of his shirt, “did you have me try it?”

“Oh, cases like you greatly improve our understanding of wandlore,” said Mrs. Willoughby.  “You’re not likely to have noticed this yet, but the population of wizards and witches is so small compared to the no-maj population that everyone who gets very far in a profession has to be a bit of an innovator.  I’m recording this for future reference, and I’ll be looking forward to seeing what you do in life.  If anything.  It would be very helpful to me if you became famous.”

“Hard pass on that,” said Danny.  

“Or at least come back at some point.”

“I’ll consider it,” said Danny.  “But, like, we were really hoping to do other things today, so maybe…”  He made a circular motion with his hand.  “Or at least, ugh, I don’t know.  I feel like everything you give me is trying to kill me.”

It was a very familiar feeling, and a very unwelcome one, nonetheless.  

“We really aren’t,” said Mrs. Willoughby.  “But perhaps… from now on, we’ll limit to the woods to the Rosaceaes.  The others tend to be called unlucky.  Well, except for the hornbeam.  Is there anything you’re singularly passionate about?”

Singularly passionate?  “Not really,” said Danny, who did not think about ghosts or helping people or space. He shifted, uncomfortable, and squelched.  

Screw it.  He was supposedly a wizard, now, right?

He phased the water off himself.  

“Oh my god!” shouted Heather.  “Did you do that on purpose?”

“Uh,” said Danny.  “No?”

“Calm down, Heather.  Don’t act like you’ve never seen accidental magic before.”

“Not with a teenager doing it!”

They were now attracting a crowd.  Yay.  

“He’s not trained, yet,” said Mrs. Willoughby, unconcerned.  “Don’t be rude.”

“Yeah, can we get back on track, here?”

After a few more tries, Mrs. Willoughby had determined that the wood that reacted the least badly to Danny was hawthorn.  Then she sent Heather into the storage room to fetch more.  

“I don’t know why we even have these,” said Heather, under her breath, carrying several boxes marked with stamps that read ‘THESTRAL.’

“Because some people have trauma, Heather.”

“He’s a teenager.  I seriously doubt he has deep personal experiences with death.”

“Wow, way to assume, Heather,” said another shop assistant, who was passing by with a far-too-curious customer.  

“Here,” said Mrs. Willoughby, handing Danny a box.  “Try this one.  It’s hawthorn.”

With some suspicion, Danny slid the cover off the box and gingerly picked up the wand inside.  

It didn’t do anything like what the other wands had. Instead, the slender length of wood gave him a faint echo of the feeling he got when he was on an emotional high and engaging in either extreme mischief or obsession-adjacent activities (because he did not have a real, ghostly, capital-O Obsession).

Danny declined to hold it with all five fingers, lest he be overcome with mania.

Yes, he was paranoid.  But when touching things can go as badly for you as they did for Danny, paranoia was justified.  

“Oh, it looks like you’ve found your match,” said Mrs. Willoughby, clapping.  

With the ease of practice, Danny did not let any trace of horror or unease show on his face.  He ignored the surge of glee from the wand, and carefully placed it back in the box.  

Yeah.  He needed a wand for passport purposes, but there was no way he was going to use that.  He’d just fake magic with ghost powers.  It had been working out okay so far.  

What was the worst that could happen?

A rather relieved Jack paid for the wand, and they made their way, slowly, to the government building.  

“So,” said Jack.  “You want to save getting those beginner magic manuals for another day?”

“Absolutely,” said Danny.  He wondered if his twin had gone through anything even remotely like this and if it was really worth all this trouble to meet a person he would have basically nothing in common with other than blood.  

Blood that likely meant less than usual, considering that his was diluted with ectoplasm.  A fact he would have to hide.  With no allies or back up.  In England.

(Again, this whole endeavor was not his greatest idea.)

.

Draco supervised the house-elves as they cleaned out the room next to his own, feeling rather blank.  He had campaigned vigorously for his twin to come, but now that he was…

The boy, for all that he was as much a Malfoy as Draco, was an American for all intents and purposes.  What did Americans even like?  What did they call their bastardized version of Quidditch?  Would Deneb even know about wizard games?  According to the woman from the agency, he’d been raised as a muggle by those squibs he’d been placed with.  

Slowly but surely, Draco’s heart sank.  He had no idea what his twin would be like.  Deneb, despite being his brother, would essentially be a stranger.  

He was beginning to understand why his mother was so angry at his father.  

[magalidragon]

Silent Shadows | Chapter 14: the journey | a teaser

"How are things with you and Arsehole?"

That was pretty not at all subtle. She rolled her eyes. "Arsehole?"

Arya shrugged. "He's been a total toolbox the last few days, I wanted your take on why." She wagged her tongue and eyebrows. "You not putting out or something?"

"Arya!"

"What? Maybe he just needs to get laid."

She rolled her eyes, her turn now to be irritated. She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the exam table, wrestling with telling Arya the full truth. It wasn't like she didn't know. By now, six months after she'd gone to Essos for her surgery, things had shifted, enough so that the ones closest to her and Jon were fully aware of them.

It had gone around town rather quickly, the vet moving in with the deaf wolf owner. It took a few months, her possessions slowly migrating from the apartment above the office to Jon's house-- their house-- until one morning Jon just asked her flat out if she wanted to move in. He had been very Jon about it all.

He was brushing his teeth, while she washed her face, side-by-side sinks, very domestic, and after he spit out the toothpaste, met her gaze in the mirror and signed: "Do you live here now? If not, you should." Then he turned around and walked out.

Dany raked her fingers through her hair, letting it fall out of the messy braid she'd tugged it into that morning, in a rush to get out and to the clinic in time for her first appointment. The distance between the house and the clinic had been the only thing she didn't much care for when it came to moving in with Jon. She began to rebraid her hair, quietly speaking to Arya. "It's jus tbeen hard, the last few months."

"I know," Arya murmured.

They were referring to Ghost's attack, the terrifying moment when they thought that all would be lost. She had been more scared than any moment in her life combined, focusing on every ounce of training in her bones, healing the animal that gave her loved one his voice. Without him, Jon could not speak, and with everything else in their life, losing Ghost was not an option.

Thank the gods that had not happened, he was recovering well, still weak and slow, but healing. So was Jon, his heart having been ripped from his body at the sight of his beloved companion bleeding in the snow, and lying in the operating room while she stitched him together. They had been through too much to let it get to them, but it had been exhausting.

Six months of constant upheaval, they were still there. She figured Jon was allowed a few days to be an arsehole, even if it pissed off Arya. "I told him I didn't want to do another round yet," she mumbled, digging her toe into a groove in the tile. It was aged, desperately needing replacing, just another thing on her 'to do' list.

Coat rustling, Arya moved back from the window, and went over to stand next to her, lightly touching her hand. "I'm sorry," she mumbled.

"It is what it is, you know?" The surgery had been successful, Mel said, removing scar tissue and other adhesions, and so with the first round they hoped it would take, but she was prepared for the worst. It hadn't, which had been devastating for them both.

She blamed herself for getting Jon's hopes up too. He was all in, from the moment he'd appeared in that hospital hallway to the way he'd 'artfully' proposed he'd be her donor. They didn't speak much about another round, until two months later, and that hadn't worked. This time she was saving up for another go, knowing Jon could afford it but not wanting his trust fund to be depleted because her stupid body couldn't do the one thing that it should do as a female.

Arya quirked her lip. "It just isn't time. Ghost's attack, moving in together...perhaps it's for the best right now."

"Yeah, I tell myself that too." They didn't bother to prevent it, didn't stop, but she was growing weary of 'scheduling' their lovemaking to when it was most conducive to pregnancy. She chewed her bottom lip, thinking of the box that was in her bag, waiting for when she went home, just in case. She was late. Maybe this time...

She didn't want to tell Arya just yet. She didn't even want to tell Jon. Sometimes she didn't even want to tell herself. It was a constant struggle. She chewed on her bottom lip a moment and then forced a smile, when Arya gave her a furrowed frown. "I'm fine," she lied.

"Uh-huh."

Of course Arya would not believe her. She was so protective. It was a blessing and a curse. She patted her hand, reassuring. "Seriously. Things will be fine. We're also getting used to things."

"Like what? Can I help? Gendry moving in with me was the weirdest thing ever. I thought I knew all his strange habits but then..." Ayra shuddered. "Men."

Dany laughed. She shrugged and knelt down to pet Lady, needing something to do with her hands. "Oh just all kinds of things. I had to get a sleep mask for his light alarm. Learning how to approach him so I don't scare him. Sometimes the silence can be a lot. I don't watch much TV but it's odd."

"He doesn't care about that, you know."

"I know, but I do." There were also the flashing lights on the microwave, the oven, and some other assistive devices she hadn't realized were even there until she moved in. Strobe lights in place of smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Red blinking light over the door if someone was there, motion detected. There was also a vibrating device in the bed, she'd discovered, that could be hooked up to alarms to wake him, but he didn't use it.

"Freaks me out sometimes," he signed, when she asked why not. He smiled lecherously. "But we can find an alternative use for it."

Jon, always the resourceful one.

She clipped Lady's leash to her harness, standing and passing it over to Arya. "Then there's just the weird habits. You're right, men are weird."

"Jon has to be the weirdest."

"I don't know about that, but he does have some quirks." He hated laundry, waited way too long to do it, and it drove her insane. There was also the way he sometimes 'pretended' not to hear when she knew damn well he'd seen her signing, feigning surprise when she asked why he wasn't 'listening.' Usually when it was related to chores. Otherwise they had settled into a routine.

Arya walked out of the room with her, allowing Lady to lead the way to the door. "Well if you ever need a drink, let me know. Tormund misses you."

"I know, I have to stop by and see him."

"Rickon also says he wrote a song about you, he wants to send it to you, but needs your email." Arya rolled her eyes. "I shudder to think what he says in it."

Dany laughed. She liked Rickon and it seemed Rhaegar did as well. He had connections to the music industry in Essos and was looking into getting RIckon's band a few gigs. "I'll let Rhae know."

"Your hottie brother is so weird."

"Ew! He is not a hottie!"

Arya shrugged. "Sansa has a crush on him, don't tell her I told you that."

Dany pretended to gag, opening the door for Arya and Lady. She gestured for her to leave, with a flourish. "And with that, I bid you farewell. I also need to burn out my eyes, because my brother is not hot." Annoying and melancholy, yes. Hot? No way.

"Whatever. I think he's hot."

"Arya!" She made a face, sticking out her tongue. "Well, then let me tell you that your cousin is super hot and kept me up all night long last night with his..."

"Ew! Shut up!" Arya slapped her hands over her ears, closing her eyes tight. "La, la, la, la!"

She smirked. "Two can play that game."

"Goodbye bitch."

"Later." She made another face and waved, Lady hopping off excitedly towards the truck. She leaned against the door frame a moment longer, watching Arya drive away. It was nice to have someone close. Someone to joke with when things got tough. Her friendship with Arya had been a constant for her to rely on during her time in the North, even during those hard times with Jon. Missandei was so far away. Even if Dany was still trying to convince her to move there, her best friend hadn't budged, citing the cold was too much for her.

After a few minutes, she closed the door and flicked the sign, closing up for the Friday afternoon. Gilly had already left, to go deal with some sort of school drama involving her sons. Dany finished up and did some paperwork, trying to distract herself from what lay ahead at home