#but i wanted to explore a more vulnerable side of dani here

[mumms-the-word]

(Im)possible Odds

Day 10 of the BG3 Fic February Challenge

So.....I have always sort of thought that Gale's little scene when he sees the Elder Brain in Moonrise was rushed as hell. Especially if you romance him. Man does a 180 so fast it's a wonder he doesn't start the fight Dazed or Off Balance.

So I thought I'd fix that a little.

For dramatic purposes you are welcome to either imagine companions in the background being like "GET A ROOM" or pretend they have slunk off to get a different vantage point for the fight, leaving Gale and Dani conveniently alone to be dramatic as they please

Check out my masterlist of BG3 fics!

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10. A tearful, hard kiss before battle. Bonus points if it’s a confessional kiss!

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Dani hid herself behind a structure of mixed stone and flesh, watching with growing horror as the elder brain rose slowly into the air, dripping brine from the green pool below. An elder brain, extremely powerful and dangerous, lashed to control by the three figures that stood below it. 

How could they possibly fight something like that? Maybe if they had weeks to plan, to prepare, maybe if she had twelve kingdoms worth of explosives, or an army of her own, maybe—but a handful of them? Even she couldn’t fool herself.

Dani was not a fighter, or at least, she wasn’t a good fighter. In the shadow of that thing, she felt small. Insignificant. She’d never felt so tiny in her life. Her heart started to race and her vision grew fuzzy. She reached out a hand to grip the stone next to her, not even noticing when her fingers gripped into fleshy illithid matter instead.

“Look at that crown,” Gale whispered. She turned her head to find him standing practically at her shoulder, his gaze fixed solidly on the brain. He looked…awed. Enthralled. “It radiates with power unlike anything I’ve ever seen. To have it…to hold…” He shook his head slightly. “If only I could…”

A new fear gripped her chest, warring with the panic that was threatening to choke her from the presence of the elder brain. There was a look in his eyes that she did not like. 

Hunger.

“Gale…?”

He didn’t seem to hear her. He stared at the brain for another several seconds before closing his eyes tightly. “No. I can’t. I…” 

He paused, his expression almost pained. Then he opened his eyes to meet her gaze. “This is it. The moment we’ve…I’ve…been waiting for. I must do as Mystra commands.”

There was no fighting the panic that welled up in Dani then. What he was suggesting—no. The orb? Here? It wouldn’t just kill the brain, it would kill him—and her, and everyone within a city-wide radius. Yes, defeating the brain right now felt insurmountable but to resort to the orb…

“You can’t,” she whispered hoarsely. She shook her head and took a step closer to him. “Gale, no, you can’t. You can’t condemn all of us like that. We’ll find another way, we’ll think of something else, we—“

“What other choice do we have?” Gale interrupted. He flung out a hand toward the brain and the figures controlling it. “Do you see the size of that thing? Do realize what’s controlling it, what is giving it that kind of power? More than just a goddess counts on my courage in this moment, Dani. Whole worlds hang in the balance.”

“We’ll find another way,” Dani said, but even she could hear the desperation in her voice. The clock was ticking. She could feel the waves of power emanating off the brain, a mix of illithid power that felt all too familiar and some sort of sick, twisted magic that threatened to buckle her knees if she let it. She couldn’t let him use the orb but she didn’t know what else to do either.

She reached out a trembling hand and gripped the front of his robe. “Gale. Please. Don’t do this. There has to be another way.”

“Another way to fight an elder brain? Dani.” He took her shoulders in her hands, gripping them tightly. “I don’t want to do this. But what choice do we have? It could be over. Just like that. If you get a head start—you have spells that can get you safety. I’ll stay here, and—“

“No!” She shook him using her hold on his robe. Gods, she wanted to slap him, hoping he’d see sense, but she knew that was just her panic fueling her head with terrible ideas. “Stop it. Please.”

Her voice broke on the last word, tears welling up into her eyes and spilling down her cheeks. She ignored them, tightening her hold on his robe and giving him another little shake.

“Please,” she whispered. “I don’t care what Mystra ordered. I don’t care that I’m terrified of that thing out there. You can’t do this.”

He stared at her, taken aback. It was the first time he’d seen her cry, she realized, the first time she’d admitted to being truly, genuinely frightened of something. She swallowed, reaching out to grip his robe with both of her hands. 

“Choose me instead,” she said, blinking away the next wave of tears. “The one who loves you. Choose me. We’ll find another way. We’ll figure something out.”

He swallowed hard, his hands still on her shoulders. “Dani…”

“Please, Gale. I love you.”

He looked from her to the brain behind her, eyes momentarily watching whatever the figures were doing in the distance. Then he nodded and looked back down at her. “I love you too. Much more than myself. More even than Mystra.”

He closed his eyes again, as if fighting briefly with his decision. But when he met her gaze again, there was determination in his dark eyes. His hold on her shoulders tightened.

“I choose you,” he said softly. “Whether I condemn this world or not. I choose you.”

His hands cradled her face and he bent his head, bringing his lips to hers in a crushing kiss that took her breath away and sent her reeling. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close, forcing him to shift his hold on her but never breaking the kiss. She parted his lips with her tongue, deepening the kiss, feeling him shiver when her sharp teeth briefly caught his bottom lip.

If this was the last kiss she would share with this man she would damn well make it worth it.

They parted for air, breathless, their gazes locked. As he reached up to brush the tears from her cheeks, she brushed her thumb against the magic-darkened veins that trailed from his left eye down toward his neck. 

“I hope you realize I don’t have a plan for fighting that thing out there,” she said, before she could think better of it. “We could both die anyway and make everything worse. Not that I want you to change your mind but—“

“But a chance with you is better than guaranteed death at Mystra’s command,” he said. He kissed her again and she suppressed the urge to hold him to her and kiss him for another five minutes straight. “I chose you. I love you. I’m not going to change my mind.”

“You’re with me, then?” she breathed. “Whatever happens down there, whatever we have to fight?”

He nodded. “I’m with you. All the way, Dani.”

“Good. I—good.” She hesitated, wanting to say more, but coming up with nothing. So she just kissed him one last time.

“For luck,” she said. “Call it bardic inspiration.”

A smile flickered on his lips, even as she pulled away, out of his embrace. “Consider me more than inspired…my love.”

Together they turned to set their eyes on the elder brain, and prepare for whatever would come next. Dani wound her fingers with his, squeezing tightly. Whatever happened, they would do this together. Not Mystra’s way.

Her way.

------------------------------------

BONUS: an endgame scene for you friendlies.

Dani paused at the base of the Netherbrain’s stem, clutching a stitch at her side, trying to catch her breath from their sprint up the crumbling ruins of High Hall. Gods. Did the brain have to be so stupidly high up?

Gale was at her side, barely out of breath having misty-stepped his way through. Together they craned their heads up to look at the brain.

“The brain,” he said. “It’s high above the city now—far away from any innocents.”

Dani straightened and looked at him, setting her hands on her hips as she caught her breath. They had fought their way through and still had a big fight ahead, but she was feeling confident. Perhaps over-confident. They had an army of allies at their call and a dozen boons and blessings to strengthen them in the battle. She didn’t want to say victory was assured, but it was looking damn near possible.

“I hope you realize that I don’t have a plan for fighting that thing up there,” she said.

He smiled slightly and looked skyward. “You always think best on your feet, my love.” He paused, his expression shifting, growing grave. “I…you know I can end this now. Stop the Absolute and spare the city.”

She looked sidelong at him and crossed her arms. “Gale.”

“I mean it, Dani. The stage is set for my final act.”

She tilted her head, a little exasperated. They had just talked about this. “Gale.”

“You’ve brought me right where I need to be—“

“Gale.” She reached out and took hold of his robe, pulling him into a deep, lingering kiss. Silencing all his words, all his logic, all his lingering doubts. When she pulled away, he looked a little dazed.

“I’m not letting you get away that easily,” she said softly. “Choose me, Gale. The one who loves you.”

“I…but…”

“We can do this.” She cupped his cheek in her hand. “Do you remember what you told me, when we first saw the elder brain in Moonrise? When you chose me then?”

He nodded slowly. “A chance with you is better than guaranteed death at Mystra’s command.” He looked back up at the brain, and then once more to her. “Dani, if you’re mistaken, this could be the end of everything. We will be failing, right as the last hurdle.”

“Fail? Us?” She grinned. “When have you ever known us to fail?”

“I shall avoid answering that with what I know to be an entire catalogue of anecdotes but…” He returned her grin with a soft smile of his own. “I know I have only made it this far thanks to you. So who am I to question such sterling guidance now?”

She tilted her head, smoothing the wrinkles she’d made in his robe. “Good. So. A kiss for luck?”

“Always, my love.” He leaned in and kissed her, soft and sweet and lingering. 

She ruined it with a smile, whispering against his lips, “A little bardic inspiration to get you through.” 

She pulled away and took a step back, indicting the brain stem with her head. “Now. Let’s go kick some massive cerebral ass.”

[loquaciousquark]

Talks Machina Highlights - Critical Role C2E113 (Oct. 27, 2020)

Good evening and good night, lovely people of the world! We’re on the internet and ready to go. Tonight’s guests are Travis Willingham and Sam Riegel. This will be calm, controlled, and sane, I can feel it. Brian points out it’s been seven months since either of them were on Talks. Oof. (Sam asks if it’s been going the whole time without him. Bigger oof.) Travis keeps sneaking bites out of an acai bowl or something and tries to look sneaky about it, and I laugh every time because he’s just...so big. He’s such a big person.

(Brian is wearing a lobstrosity shirt. He and Travis talk about Dark Tower for a bit; then Sam tries to get into the conversation: “Is that the thing from It?” Brian: “Is what the thing from It?” Sam: “Is that lobster the clown from It? I’m not very literate. Is that a Langolier? Is that a Shawshank?”)

Announcements: none! Maybe they just forgot. We’ve been talking about Sam’s spooky skeleton decorations for like five minutes. Brian suggests taking them to Travis’s house. Travis: “That’s the fastest way to get to the smell of burning plastic.” Brian: “Speaking of your girlfriend...”

On Avantika: Fjord wouldn’t call it a relationship as much as a casual sexual interaction. Not official! Super not official!!

The first sea voyage wasn’t great for Fjord, but he tried to be thoughtful about preparing for this one before they left: praying, kneeling at the bow of the ship, etc. He’s a little disappointed the Wildmother didn’t even throw him a “yo, fam” heads up.

They weren’t sure how to resolve the conflict at first, since Avantika went for Fjord rather than the crystal. No one expected it to get exposed in that way. Travis thought the necklace was a pocket dimension and was alarmed to learn it wasn’t. Travis wants it destroyed along with the third gateway, so until they are he won’t rest easy.

Everyone enjoyed watching them all fail on the battlefield again. (Sam: “You used [Counterspell] so effectively!”) Travis thought he’d said Thunder Step, which would imply Avantika was running, rather than Thunder Wave. Sam says it’s fine since none of them have that spell and he wouldn’t know it anyway.

It’s very difficult for Veth to find reasons to stay with the M9. She loves the adventures and making a difference, but she also wants to come home and have weekends and have a husband and life. “She’s a career girl!” He’s very excited about the possibilities of Caleb’s transportation effectively creating an easy commute for her. He also, as a player, doesn’t want to be the person who’s always leaving the party. “My characters wanna roam!”

Travis was fully tilted that Avantika might have gotten away right before the break. He doesn’t think he could have focused on Vess DeRogna’s task knowing Avantika had gotten away; he was seriously working out how Fjord would leave the party to go make a last stand at the third gate if she’d escaped.

Sam looooves how Matt plays Yeza, but it honestly makes him feel a little worse at how encouraging he is for Veth to chase her dreams. “He’s always like - go shine! Go blossom!” He wants to have the conversation about Yeza feeling a little ignored. It’s fun to share the tales of adventures with Luc & Yeza. 

Travis says there’s no way it’s Molly--it’s all Lucien. They don’t know if it was a resurrection, if he’s undead, possessed, etc. Everyone--everyone--rags on Taliesin’s accent work. Brian surreptitiously claims Ashly was brought on to relieve him of the burden of the accent. Poor Ashly, ha!

Initially, Travis landed on the Oath of the Ancients, but it had more nature & pacifism in it than he felt fit Fjord very well. Many of them also had a focus on good & lawfulness, which also didn’t feel quite right; he also wasn’t that vengeful for some of the others. He & Matt got together and discussed options. Matt asked what Travis liked about Fjord; Fjord’s love for the ocean was a huge part of it, since Travis himself also loves the ocean & scuba diving, and so Matt created a custom oath for him. Travis does not plan to post its details, but he thinks Matt will at some point.

Cosplay of the Week! a lovely Scanlan by Air Bubbles Cosplay! Sam tells us the “canon” Scanlan cosplay was actually borrowed hodgepodge, and the boots were falling off all day.

It was really cool to see how Yeza & Luc have made a home in Nicodranas. Felderwin was okay, but kind of your basic D&D fishing village, and she likes the Nicodranas is much better. She’s confident & comfortable knowing her family is safe and sound.

Why is Fjord so interested in finding Sabian? To him, post-orphanage, his time with Vandren was the best of his life & the most love he’d ever received, because he mattered & had worth. It was taken by someone he’d known basically his whole life, so Fjord is not going to let that go. “That fuckin’ bill needs to be paid, my friend.”

Sam acknowledges that he should NOT have looked at his phone in re: the Vilya reveal, but it was pretty surprising! He can’t believe none of them recognized it! Travis points out the M9 had never met, heard of, or known anything about Vilya, so it’s not that surprising. Brian points out Matt has also done a really good job keeping the two campaigns separate, so any references were tasteful. Sam marvels that it was so well done: it was tasteful, had emotional and story impact... “That Matt. He’s getting better!”

Liam texted Sam back something like “oh SHIT.”

Knowing Veth had a chance to help someone else return to her child made Veth feel almost karmically forgiven for being away from her kid, but it also made Veth a little guilty--”this lady wants to desperately return home, shouldn’t I want to go home too?” Caleb’s teleportation spell couldn’t have come a better time.

Sam wants Caleb & Astrid to get back together (well, he says “hump each other”), and Dani’s eyebrows climb off her forehead. Veth/Nott really thinks Caleb needs to have a roll in ze hay, and feels like after meeting her that there is a kindness or vulnerability to her that could be worthwhile. Travis thinks she feels like someone tethered, that it feels like she has a bomb or something in her chest that’ll explode if she tries to leave. Sam thinks Eadwulf is super cool. None of these names are spelled like I think.

Travis found the dinner super frustrating, because he felt Caleb was trying to walk a diplomatic line and he just wanted to backhand Trent. 

Fjord is still coming to terms with his feelings for Jester, and the feelings are definitely real, but there’s a lot of timing that he’s considering and he also wants to figure out what the relationship is like outside of constant tension and battle. Fjord is also having trouble figuring out how to exercise the ability to display affection as well since he’s never received them, and is feeling out how to give and receive them. “It’s fine now, because he’s feeling it, but once you say it out loud, or once you come to a point where you make it known to the other side, then what happens? It might be ruined. It might be broken. Or it might not be!” The moment with the porcelain unicorn was too good not to try. Travis also sighs that he’s not a romance D&D guy, “but now I am! Fuckin’ Laura Bailey!” He’s definitely feeling it out and will see how it unfolds in the game.

If Jester hadn’t let go of the Traveler, Fjord would have either attacked the Traveler or the Moonweaver and tried to kick them both off.

Sam doesn’t think the Traveler’s realized yet what a dick he is. Brian thinks it may not happen in this campaign, but agrees the full weight of what he deserves hasn’t been felt yet. Travis: “Yeah, he came to the edge, but it didn’t cost him anything.” Brian: “Yeah, he’s a real edgelord.”

Fanart of the Week! a beautiful portrait of Molly in the snow by @claygryphon on twitter.

Veth acknowledges that they work for shady people with shady pasts, so Vess DeRogna isn’t her first rodeo, but this time it’s personal. It’s Jaws 2: Electric Boogaloo. Sam can’t commit to actual actions, since Vess is like level 20 or something, but “I will get some kinda revenge. Be it petty or significant, I will get revenge.”

How are they feeling about being in Eiselcross? They’ve only just landed, so not sure yet. The cold is intimidating. They’re excited to explore a new island that’s part of Wildemount, especially with the river of lava running through it. “It’s icy with lava? Sounds like a Dairy Queen.”

There’s still a ton of unknowns regarding the Tombtakers, Vess, the nature of their job, and who’s here on whose orders. They’re excited to see how it’s all going to play out. Travis laughs that he doesn’t take notes, he’s just here to fight things. It just washes over him when Matt starts talking about names and places. “It’ll reveal itself in time. [...] I don’t write those notes down. I don’t even know how to spell it off the bat.” I have never identified more with Travis. Sam actually does pay attention and take notes and was really impressed by Marisha’s dive.

Veth became interested in branding her own spellcraft as soon as she saw Caleb doing it. “That’s what the influencer agents are gonna be looking at. It would be nice to leave the world better than we found it, but also with some branded spells.”

What were Fjord’s thoughts on dropping so much money on the ring & the Ioun stone? It wasn’t about money for Fjord, it was about a cool thing to acquire. It’s why he saves money in his campaign. Caleb needs “as much of a flak jacket as he can get.” He also REJECTS the idea of buyer’s remorse on the ring and touts the effectiveness it’ll have on the lava river.

Travis talks about his old coins - a 340AD coin he bought at a ren faire and a 120BC coin that was a gift from a friend.

Sam marvels at the love and thought that Caleb put into the tower. Sam points out they forgot to go to the top two floors altogether. Travis: “Did the mansion get as much careful planning from Scanlan as the tower did from Caleb?” Sam: Absolutely not. But they were still thinking small in C1, figuring out how things went, and they didn’t have as much detail in their heads yet.

And that’s all the time we have for tonight! We end on everyone whispering way too close into their mics and tapping fingernails on mason jars. A fitting end to this crazy episode, I think.

Is it Thursday yet?

[novelconcepts]

Do you think you could write a ficlet were it is Dani who consoles Jamie and makes sure she feels safe. Maybe something stirred up from her past that makes her upset or something

Jamie likes to pretend she doesn’t have nightmares. She likes, too, to pretend she is a sound sleeper--like Dani doesn’t catch sight of her face in the night, the flutter of eyelashes that says she is awake and listening for Dani to come back to bed after a trip to the bathroom. Jamie likes to pretend an awful lot of things where vulnerability is concerned, and Dani doesn’t feel as though she’s in any position to judge.

Some nights, though, there is no denying fact. Some nights, the horrors of her own nighttime reveries are bumped out of place by the ones spilling over into Jamie’s. 

She is, each time, quiet. So quiet, Dani almost doesn’t notice the way she shifts along the mattress, pushing out of Dani’s loose grasp, edging toward the last measure of safety the bed has to offer before dumping her out onto the floor. She makes not a sound, save for short gasps, as though she’s been trying to hold her breath for too long. As though she’s been trying to make herself invisible to whatever monster might have crawled out from under the bed. 

The first night, Dani made the mistake of touching her--of tracing a hand up her back with well-intentioned gentleness, just to remind Jamie, I’m here. It’s me. It’s all right. It was a trick that had always worked on Flora, on kids she’d babysat for as a teenager: You aren’t alone; nothing is going to get you. 

Jamie, to her surprise, had jerked so violently away, she really had fallen out of bed. Landing in a sprawl on the hotel room floor, she’d curled herself into a ball, arms wrapped around her knees, and shivered there for almost two minutes before Dani could coax her back to waking. 

“Sorry,” she’d mumbled, so heartily humiliated, Dani hadn't had the stomach to ask. She’d only helped Jamie to her feet, eased her back into bed, assuming they’d talk about it in the morning.

They didn’t. Jamie, come sunrise, had been out of bed and dressed before Dani could wake. Her face had been all bright, all smile, all didn’t happen, Poppins, and I’ll deny it if you bring it up. Dani hadn’t dared.

Now, when it happens--maybe once every two or three weeks, when rain lashes the windows and the winds outside are high--she doesn't try to touch Jamie. She only waits, perfectly awake, perfectly separate from Jamie’s huddled frame in a small bed, for the shivers to level out. Waits for the moment, usually defined by Jamie rolling onto her back, when Jamie will come to her. Jamie’s hand groping across the blankets to grasp Dani’s shirt, or fingers, or the band of her underwear. This moment, silent and desperate, is the first sign Dani is allowed back in.

“Do you...” Her voice is too loud, even at a whisper. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Jamie winces, brow tightening, eyes stubbornly closed. Her grip tightens. 

“I think--think you should,” Dani presses softly. “Jamie. This happens--”

“S’all right,” Jamie mumbles. “S’nothing.”

It isn’t. Dani can tell nothing from a private violence, maybe better than anyone. It isn’t nothing, because this is the only time she ever sees Jamie like this. The only time Jamie ever hunches into herself and shakes like a child in a thunderstorm. 

“Can I do anything?” she asks, when it becomes clear Jamie isn’t going to open up. Not yet. Maybe she will, someday--when there are more than a couple of months, a handful of rented cars, the precious novelty of exploring something utterly fresh between them. Jamie will tell her, maybe, in the same way she’d told the rest of her story: at a moment unexpected, a moment designed by Jamie’s hand, when she’d been able to bear the strain. 

For now, Jamie simply stretches out on her back, eyes shut, fingers grinding the bones of Dani’s hand together. 

“Just--remind me,” she says at last, in a voice too sturdy to be sleep-addled. 

“Of what?”

“That I'm not--” Jamie stops, clenching her jaw in the dark. Dani rolls toward her, hesitant, laying a hand on her cheek only when Jamie leans toward her touch. “That I’m here. That no one else is.”

“No one,” Dani confirms. “C’ept me. I can--I can do a sweep, if you want--”

Jamie pulls at her with graceless fingers, pulls until Dani is holding her flush against her own body. Each shaky drift of Jamie’s breath is haggard, just this side of a sob. 

Later, Dani thinks, she’ll have stories--of foster parents, or unvarnished childhood monsters, or prison. Stories of girls who cut her open, of men who kicked at her ribs, of a life painted with too many bruises to count. Later, Dani thinks, she may hear them all, one by one or in a single dose, a reckless retelling of an old play whose lines Jamie can’t forget.

Now, in a hotel room, with Jamie’s skin under her lips, Jamie’s trembling soothed by her hands, she doesn’t think it matters. Nightmares don’t care to be explained away. Their only resolution is this: the reminder that the daylight can burn away even the darkest shadows. The reminder that a hand held tight can ward off the worst of the fear. 

They won’t talk about it, come morning. Jamie already believes she is meant to hold Dani up, to fend off Dani’s shadows. Jamie has not yet figured out what Dani has: that this battle will only work long-term if they stand united, back to back, equal in support of every kind. 

Jamie, for now, thinks she has to play hero. That she has to keep her demons to herself, her gaze fixed firmly on Dani’s. Jamie, for now, can believe that. 

And on nights like this, when she’s ready, Dani will be waiting--for her to move across a tiny mattress, her hand needy, her eyes shut tight. Dani doesn’t mind. There are all manner of ways to ward off the night. 

[moonflowerlesbians]

Or #22 for Dani & Jamie please !

Many apologies for this taking a hot minute. I started it to help with writers block and then it gave me more. Whoops. Also included here, prompt #35 from another anon. 

This probably isn’t what you had in mind, but not to worry, angst is coming in another prompt. 

You can also read this and my other prompt-fills here.

~~~

Drunk Jamie is a sight to behold.

It’s a rare and beautiful thing that Dani is sure to treasure on the infrequent occasions Jamie allows herself to fall and trusts Dani enough to catch her. To see Jamie inebriated is sacred, or, at least, Dani thinks so. Because she is the only one who’s seen Jamie drunk, face flushed and carefree laughter spilling from her lips. She’s vulnerable here, alcohol having eroded the rings of fearsome walls she’s built around her life, trusting Dani to protect her from any threats. She’s softer, more relaxed.

It’s a good look on her, Dani thinks.

They’re in the back room of The Leafling, reclining, legs propped up, on the ratty sofa they found at the second-hand store not three weeks prior. The shop is quiet, the doors locked and the lights shut off. The plants sit in baskets and pots and displays placed perfectly to suit their needs. Empty drink trays decorate the countertop, a problem for tomorrow.

“You did it.” Dani stares at the ceiling, her heart warm. Jamie’s back is pressed comfortably against her front, and Dani twirls a strand of brown hair between her fingers as crickets chirp outside. The world is at peace.

“We did,” Jamie hums. “We bloody did it. Business owners, the both of us.” She barks a laugh and nuzzles her head into Dani’s collarbone.

They’d just concluded a soft opening party for the shop. Small business owners and potential clients had wandered racks of Jamie’s precious plantlings as the woman herself flitted nervously on the outskirts to avoid the shower of compliments. Dani had done most of the talking, offering up hors d’oeuvres and baked goods. As it turned out, despite her hot drink deficiency, she’s a rather decent baker.

“Oh, these are just lovely!” Mrs. Windham from the bookstore down the way, had said, gushing over a bouquet of hydrangeas.

“All Jamie,” Dani had proclaimed proudly.

“Well, she has quite the gift.”

“Doesn’t she?” Jamie had met her eye from across the room, sipping on her second -- or third -- glass of champagne, and offered a small smile.

Dani doesn’t begrudge her the drinks. Jamie has never been much of a people person, and who is Dani to judge if alcohol makes socialising just a bit less nerve-wracking? Besides, a buzzed Jamie is quite endearing, if Dani’s being honest.

This is the part where Dani shines, in any case. Making connections comes naturally to her, or, at least, more naturally than it does for Jamie. Being a teacher, she had to be good at it. She always had a knack for cracking the toughest students, much to the bewilderment of her colleagues.

Half the time, the kid was just lonely. Needed someone to talk to. Dani could relate.

It’s a skill that’s served her well in life and in her relationships.

Jamie stirs, and Dani wrinkles her nose, spluttering as brunette curls invade her mouth.

“Hey, easy there-” she finds herself silenced by a bruising kiss. “Um,” she blinks up at Jamie, who’s looking down at her with a dopey smile, “hello?”

“Why’re you dressed like that?” Jamie drawls.

Dani surveys her outfit, though her investigation lacks scope on account of her incredibly attractive girlfriend straddling her lap. “Um. Does that mean it looks good, or should I change?”

Jamie avoids the question. “I’m rather fond of you, you know.” Her breath smells of cheap champagne.

“It’d be kind of awkward if you weren’t. We’re in pretty deep, you know,” Dani mimics, and Jamie’s faces scrunches in disapproval.

“That was bad. That was bloody awful, Poppins.” Jamie rolls off her to lean against the opposite arm of the chair, and Dani finds herself missing the weight. It’s nice feeling safe enough to have someone so close that even inches of separation are a loss.  

“You never answered the question.”

Jamie hums. “You never answered mine.”

“You’re cocky when you’ve been drinking, you know that?”

“And you’re right beautiful all the time.”

Dani pauses mid-retort, her mouth open slightly. Jamie stares at her from across the couch, that damn cheeky smirk on her face.

“Quite alright there, Poppins?” Her voice is just above a whisper, sultry and mischievous. Leaning in, “Look a little flushed.”

“I...you…”

Jamie studies her fingernails. “Out with it, darling. Haven’t got all night.”

“I...I’m fond of you, too.” Dani manages. “Even when you’re lying.”

Jamie feigns outrage, hand coming up to clasp her chest. “Never lied a day in my life. ‘Specially not to my favorite person in the bleedin’ world, who also happens to be the most lovely woman I ever laid eyes on.” She runs her hands up Dani’s calves.

Dani scoffs, gently shoving her off. “‘Never lied’ my backside, but I’ll let it slide just this once, and only because you’re knackered.”

“Am not,” Jamie replies petulantly, then promptly yawns. She freezes. Dani raises an eyebrow. “Christ, betrayed by my own fucking body. Knew I never liked you,” she says to her stomach for no discernable reason. “Gone and ruined my whole plan.”

“Your plan?”

“Meant to woo you.”

“I’m sorry,” Dani laughs, “that was your attempt at being sexy?”

“Oi,” Jamie pouts, “thought I was doing a marvelous job, thank you very much. You’d’ve been properly smitten. Irresistible, I am.”

“Yes, right, of course,” Dani coughs, “consider me thoroughly wooed.”

“Aha! See that, ladies and gents? That’s how it’s done.” She gestures around the empty back room to her invisible audience, which Dani assumes is giving a standing ovation. She joins in, her solo bout of applause echoing too loudly in the space.

“Hey, Casanova. This plan of yours have an endgame?”

Jamie cuts her sweeping bow short. “‘Course. Can’t rile you up with nowhere to go. No fun in that.”

“And your goal was…” Dani prompts, sensing a trend. “To flirt me into bed with you?”

“Forgive me for wanting to romance my business partner to celebrate our smashing success.”

“Business partner, huh? Not sure how the laws work back in England, but here in the States, we have rules against sexual activity in the workplace.”

“Best get out of the workplace then, yeah?” Jamie’s eyes are dark.

“Yeah,” Dani breathes. She has half a mind to pin Jamie to the couch then and there. Not to go any further than, perhaps, a heated make out session. Not with Jamie in this state. But before the thought can fully evolve, Jamie’s face splits into another massive yawn.

Dani sighs affectionately and gets to her feet. “C’mon,” she says, holding out her hand for Jamie to take, “let’s go home.”

Jamie stands, a little shaky at first, but she’s stable as Dani gathers their things. Side by side, they walk the few blocks to their apartment. The night air is cool against Dani’s face, and the chill sobers Jamie enough that her promiscuity seems to settle. By the time they unlock the front door, she’s blinking sleepily at Dani, who guides her into the bathroom and starts the shower.

It’s odd to see Jamie like this, Dani thinks. She’s soft, pliant beneath Dani’s steady hands undressing her. The pensive silence is common enough, but this feels gentle, more open, somehow. The intimacy is of a kind Dani never imagined she would experience, and neither, she assumed, had Jamie. It speaks to the immense chasms they’ve breached on bridges of trust. That they are able to concede control of their bodies with a blanket confidence that they are safe. They are safe, and they are protected.

It’s a bond Dani treasures, and one she hopes will last a lifetime. Two, if she has anything to say about it.

Jamie steps into the shower with a washcloth, and Dani sets about laying a folded pair of flannel pants and an old t-shirt on the bed. When she returns, Jamie wears a towel and an adoring expression. Dani tilts her head, confused.

“Meant what I said earlier. About you being beautiful.” She is deliberately earnest.

It’s difficult to feel beautiful when your body doesn’t feel like your own. When you prepare to look in the mirror each morning and wonder if you’ll recognize yourself. When the face that’s stared back at you your whole life has changed, and a brown eye is a reminder that you aren’t in control. Dani is learning, though. Slowly.

And she knows Jamie wouldn’t lie, especially drunk Jamie. She lacks the capacity to be anything but adorably honest, despite her admirable attempts at seduction.

Unable to put her thoughts into words, Dani cups Jamie’s jaw, brushing away droplets that trickle from damp curls, and kisses her sweetly.

“To bed with you,” Dani says, shooing her into the next room. Jamie manages to steal three more kisses along the way. She tastes of the mint toothpaste she’d used in the shower. “Come on now, PJs are on the bed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” She thinks she hears Jamie murmur, and Dani can’t contain her eye roll. The situation isn’t unlike the bedtime antics of a child, and the mental picture of her grown partner in footie pajamas evokes a chuckle. She tucks that image away for later.  

Helping the shirt over Jamie’s head from behind, Dani presses a fleeting kiss to the scar on her shoulder, a silent observance of the vulnerability they’ve cultivated. Jamie had never hidden her burn, choosing instead to spin her tale of woe before the story came up organically. Much, much later, curled in darkness beneath motel sheets, she had whispered her insecurity and given voice to the resulting shame around feeling self-conscious at all.

Dani makes sure to pay special attention to the area during all subsequent explorations, noting each ridge and pockmark like a cartographer charting new terrain.

She peels back a corner of their duvet, allowing Jamie to climb in.

Jamie clings onto her arm, pulling her in as well. “Please don’t leave me,” she frowns.

“I don’t want to go, but, in case you haven’t noticed, I’m still wearing my party outfit.”

“Hard not to notice when you’ve been teasing me with it all evening,” Jamie sighs, a little sad, a little longing.

Dani swats her playfully. “Go to sleep. I’ll be right there.”

“Can’t properly get to sleep without you, now can I?” Jamie grumbles, but rolls over nonetheless.

Evidently, she can.

By the time Dani slips into sleep clothes and finishes brushing her teeth, Jamie’s breathing has evened out. Dani tucks herself in beside her and drapes an arm across Jamie’s hips.

They’ve built this life together, the two of them. They’ve got an apartment and a small business and more plants than they know what to do with. They’ve got postcards stuck to the fridge and a rickety heater and several throw pillows that Jamie claims to hate but cuddles with when Dani isn’t looking. And, sure, the back left stove burner only works half the time, and maybe the lock on the front door seems to hate Dani’s key in particular, but this is their home, and theirs alone.

Not a foster home, not the O’Mara’s, not the Wingraves’.

Theirs.

Dani revels in the thrill of it all. She’s still scared out of her wits, certainly, but, Dani has found, it’s infinitely more difficult to be scared when the person you love most in the world sleeps soundly beside you on sheets you chose together.

She takes in this feeling, savors this comfort for when the clouds next block the sun.

Whatever comes next, she is not alone.

[dcsidcrium]

FULL NAME: Nikki Eryl FAden

NICKNAME: Nik (she’s actually really fond of nicknames or pet names so like THROW THEM AT HER)

GENDER: female

HEIGHT: 5′1″

AGE: 25 

ZODIAC: Gemini

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: English (main verse), beast speak (can speak to animals), a few basic things in other languages for the sole purpose of being able to communicate in those verses

𝐩𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬!

HAIR COLOR:  Dark brown, teeny, tiniest bit of red in the right light

EYE COLOR: Dark blue

SKIN TONE: Tan.  This girl is always outside so she’s typically sun-kissed

BODY TYPE: Petite.  She’s got some curve thanks to her bone structure, but she’s mostly muscle and toned.  Can dip into being slightly underweight at times

VOICE: I don’t have a voice claim for her.  Fairly feminine in pitch but not soft at all with the slightest hint of an accent.  She’s loud and brash and it’s a slightly amusing contrast to the words that come out of her mouth.

DOMINANT HAND: Right

POSTURE: Surprisingly good.  Mostly from wanting to make herself look bigger/more intimidating.  She doesn’t want to look smaller than she already is

SCARS: Covered in them.  Prominent scars are listed here, and some are sketched out here for placement.  A fair amount of them can be seen most of the time.  Especially in the summer due to clothing choices.  The only one she actively tries to hide is the burn scar across her lower back.  The rest are free game and on full display

TATTOOS: A hawk in flight going across her upper back.  Wings follow the arch of her shoulder, head/beak are at the base of her neck.  Looks very similar to this.  “Men cry not for themselves, but for their comrades” on the right side of her rib cage.  “A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage” on the left side of her ribs.   It’s misaligned from a wound healing and being stitched improperly.  She has a black wolf and a snow leopard on the outer side of her right thigh. 

BIRTHMARKS: none

MOST NOTICEABLE FEATURE(S): pointed ears (think Hylian ears, but like in later games, where they aren’t quite as large.  Easily hidden beneath hair if wanted).  Fangs.  Her canines are larger than a human’s and the tooth immediately behind it on the top row is also pointed/enlarged.  Bottom canines are also enlarged.  Not so much that they stick out form her lips, but noticeable if she smiles widely enough to show teeth.

𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐝!

PLACE OF BIRTH: in the middle of the woods in Oklahoma

HOMETOWN: Secluded village out in the middle of nowhere.

SIBLINGS: Dani Faden (sister), Ry (a wolf she bonded with as a child, claimed as her brother.  died when she was 16)

PARENTS: Camira Faden (mother, murdered when Nikki was 15), Aaryan Faden (father, abandoned his family when Nikki was a toddler)

𝐚𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐟𝐞!

OCCUPATION: wildlife rehabilitation (main verse), petty crimes/theft, bartender, odd jobs (sub verses/aus)

CURRENT RESIDENCE: a few miles outside of a city (location dependent on verse/thread)

CLOSE FRIENDS: Not counting threads, and strictly her canon universe?  None.  She has two beta wolves (Ryker and Duke) that she considers her family.  Will make friends/acquaintances, but refrains from getting close so she can leave town if need be

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: Single (by default, blog is multiship)

FINANCIAL STATUS: Poor.  Does better in verses with a stable job, but she’s broke and lives mostly paycheck to paycheck.  Will steal people’s wallets if needed.

DRIVER’S LICENSE: No papers on Nikki are real.  She was born in a place where they were actively hiding from humans.  Her driver’s license is a very well done fake.

CRIMINAL RECORD: Breaking and entering, theft, assaulting an officer, escaping from jail (hasn’t been caught often.  she’s good at what she does)

𝐬𝐞𝐱 & 𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞!

SEXUAL ORIENTATION:  Heterosexual, panromantic

PREFERRED EMOTIONAL ROLE:   submissive |  dominant  |  switch

PREFERRED SEXUAL ROLE:   submissive |  dominant | switch

LIBIDO: Definitely on the higher end of the spectrum.

TURN ONS:

sexual: Mostly anything that can be described as rough or aggressive.  Turned on by violence.  softer things, too, though.  she doesn’t let herself get in deep enough to see it bc feels

non-sexual: good with kids or animals, PHYSICAL AFFECTION/CONTACT, good sense of adventure/spontaneity 

TURN OFF’S: daddy kink, pet play, calling her ‘my’ anything, possessiveness

LOVE LANGUAGE: heavily physically affectionate.  shows her love through actions rather than words

RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES: Overly protective, can border on being codependent.  It’s hard for her to form healthy bonds, and even harder to get her to drop her guard enough to be in a relationship.  Incredibly affectionate and maybe just a little bit clingy.

𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐨𝐮𝐬!

CHARACTER’S THEME SONG: Weapon by Grant

HOBBIES TO PASS TIME: Fighting, drinking, running, hiking (basically anything outdoors), exploring

MENTAL ILLNESSES: Depression, PTSD

LEFT OR RIGHT BRAINED: Right brained

PHOBIAS: Fire, snakes, abandonment

SELF CONFIDENCE LEVELS: It’s a bit double edged here?  She’s very cocky.  Confident in her physical capabilities and her appearance.  Some of it, though, is fake.  Her view of herself personality wise and as a person is very, very low.  Nikki is her worst enemy, and hates herself.

VULNERABILITIES: Silver weapons.  Can touch silver, and wear silver jewelry as long as it doesn’t pierce her skin.

Tagged by: @samuraiofice

Tagging: do the thing and @ me im still half asleep and idk who’s done this lmao

[douxreviews]

Game of Thrones - ‘The Last of the Starks’ Review

"We may have defeated them, but there's still us to contend with."

Previously, I'd written reviews for a couple of different episodes centered around epic battles. In this case, I felt fortunate to be reviewing an episode that's all about the aftermath of an epic battle, as well as a prelude for the next one.

Because I really couldn't decide how I felt about the sudden end to the White Walkers, the Long Night and the Great War until I saw how they planned to go forward. I'm still not sure how I feel about it, but I do know that -- as rushed as The Last of the Starks was -- there is a lot here that I quite enjoyed. At the very least, taking the zombies and ice demons out at the midway point leaves plenty of room to further explore the joys and pains of these awesome characters as they face an uncertain future.

Celebration of Life

The episode's opening is very bittersweet. We start with the somber mass funeral of those who died defending Winterfell from the Army of the Dead, and neatly segue into a joyous victory feast in the castle's great hall. These people just overcame death incarnate, and quickly realize there is much to celebrate. This leads to some beautiful moments.

Dany surprises everyone by singling out Gendry, son of her lifelong nemesis, and legitimizing him as a full-fledged Baratheon. I especially loved that Davos began the cheers for him, it's a nice vindication of his undying loyalty to the family.

Tormund once again attempts to woo Brienne of Tarth, but this time gets soundly cock-blocked by Jaime Lannister. Watching Tormund tearfully relate this tragedy to the uncaring Hound before shacking up with some horny northern girl was hilarious. Which gives us the scene between Sansa and Sandor Clegane, a reunion I had been waiting for.

Although not quite as intimate as it is in the books, theirs is still a significant connection; he helped inspire her strength, and she helped inspire his chivalry. It was nice to see Sansa gain the Hound's respect, and it's always nice to see this hard man's softer, more vulnerable side.

And we finally see Jaime and Brienne become a thing. That love scene was so cleverly adorable in its execution, these two misfits struggling to approach the act of consummating their feelings toward each other. Brienne's awkward stiffness as she finds herself in a mutually romantic situation for the first time in her life, and Jaime's even more awkward attempt at flirting after a lifetime of ignoring all other women in favor of his twin sister. Very well handled.

Of course, there are still a couple of episodes left and they can't be full of nothing but our favorite characters happily prospering. As Littlefinger previously addressed, and as Tyrion reaffirms here, defeating the mythical White Walkers and saving the world means everyone must now deal with that world and each other.

Moments of Truth

Daenerys is quick to recognize this as well. The celebration only reminds her that she is still a stranger in her own homeland, that Jon Snow is the heroic leader people revere, and that his claim to the throne is stronger than hers regardless of whatever her destiny truly is. Emilia Clarke's performance shines here in a way I haven't seen for a couple of seasons now. This is because for the most part we only see her wearing Dany's queenly mask of superiority, mostly cool but occasionally smoldering. Whereas now we are seeing Dany in a state of palpable desperation.

The scene between her and Jon really brings their circumstances down to earth quite dramatically. They are in love and want to be together, but the truth of Jon's origin threatens to tear them apart and the realm along with them. Dany begs Jon not to reveal his secret identity to anyone else, but he feels compelled to tell Sansa and Arya because they are his family.

I'm disappointed that we don't see Sansa and Arya's immediate reactions to the truth, but their choices later on are just as telling.

Sansa chooses to betray Jon's trust by spilling the beans to Tyrion, hoping to erode Dany's power in favor of Jon. This would almost certainly guarantee an Iron Throne controlled by the Starks.

Arya chooses to join the Hound on a suicide mission to King's Landing, which is a bit more ambiguous. Is she questioning her own existence after learning Jon's secret and refusing Gendry's proposal, finally accepting that she wasn't born to be a subservient sister or wife but an instrument of death? Or is she risking her life in order to protect Jon, who she will always love as her brother, no matter where he came from?

Either way, it seems like a lot of carnage could have been avoided if Arya had just offered to go south and single-handedly assassinate Cersei for Jon and Dany.

The R+L=J revelation also leads to a few great scenes between Tyrion and Varys. Tyrion is clearly distressed, but Varys (rather hypocritically) begins suggesting that they should kick Dany to the curb and put Jon on the Iron Throne. It's been so long since we've seen the serious side to this duo. Now it seems Varys is poised to betray the queen he marked as a savior, in the name of the people. Meaning he's probably got dragonfire in his future. Or maybe not. The way their last conversation ends, you get the feeling that Tyrion's plea for Varys not to threaten Dany is more of a warning. Tyrion did start off his relationship with Varys by threatening to kill him for potentially endangering a woman he cared about.

For once, Tyrion is the character who's really hard to read. He seems to know Jon is a more ideal choice, but he can't bring himself to consider betraying Dany. He fears Dany's potential for madness and destruction, but he also genuinely believes in her potential for greatness.

I still think Tyrion's loyalty to Dany goes beyond just finding a ruler worth sticking with. Part of me thinks he's got some repressed romantic feelings toward her, and another part of me thinks he views her as the sister Cersei never was. Which likely makes the fact that they are at war with Cersei all the more complicated, since Tyrion just can't bring himself to give up on her.

Despite the whacky Stark kids, the legendary warriors and the various schemers and pretenders to the throne, the story really does seem to center around our three main outsiders, Jon, Daenerys and Tyrion. And I think Tyrion is drinking so much because he understands that he is caught in the middle and has the burden of deciding all of their fates and doesn't know the right choice. He is finally beginning to see the long shadow he is casting.

And despite Jon's stubborn optimism that everyone can get along, even he seems indecisive and adrift. He claims to not want the throne or the crown or even his "true" identity, but his departure from Winterfell shows us that he's still leaving behind everything that's been a core part of who he is: the North, the Free Folk, his friends and family, he even asks Tormund to bring his direwolf Ghost beyond the Wall. Whether he knows it or not, he is being drawn toward the Iron Throne, his supposed destiny. But his scenes in this episode drive the point home that he will always be Jon Snow at heart, not Aegon Targaryen VI. His connection to the Starks, the North, the First Men (hell, maybe even the Old Gods) is clearly much stronger than the blood of the dragon running through his veins.

Death of Dragons

And to drive this point home, immediately after Jon leaves Ghost behind, his dragon Rhaegal winds up dead.

Yes, "The Last War" quickly goes wrong for Dany as Euron Greyjoy lays an ambush at Dragonstone, destroying the rest of the Targaryen fleet and capturing Missandei in addition to killing one of her dragons with new souped up scorpions.

It's both frustrating and amazing that Cersei has been allowed to turn the tables like this, though forgivable in that it's largely a result of other people. Euron's unpredictable nature and talent for raising hell is key to her strength, Jaime's theft of the Tyrell wealth is the only reason she could afford the Golden Company, and she likely wouldn't have gotten this far if a crazy resourceful bastard like Qyburn hadn't been backing her up. Gold, cruelty and fool's luck have subsequently left her in a position where she is more dominant than a woman who had previously dominated almost half a continent.

Dealing with an enemy as maddeningly chaotic and power hungry as Cersei is doing the opposite of what Tyrion wants by provoking Dany to be just as bad or worse in her quest for victory. That Tyrion continues to delude himself into thinking Cersei is "not a monster" because she "loved her children" still annoys me. You could argue that he's trying to reason with her simply to avoid any more bloodshed, but Tyrion should be smart enough to know by now that appealing to Cersei's humanity and rationality is hopeless. Which Cersei proves by having the Mountain decapitate Missandei, spitting on Dany's last bit of mercy. Our dragon queen has never been closer to giving the order to "burn them all" than she is now.

Missandei's resolute final words -- "Dracarys", which calls back to the moment she went from enslaved translator to royal herald when Dany began her revolution in Slaver's Bay -- might give us some hope for sweet revenge and catharsis, but I imagine the end result will be more difficult to reconcile. King's Landing is a powderkeg just waiting to go off. I mean, we've got the combined Stark and Targaryen forces about to do battle with the combined Lannisters, Ironborn and Golden Company sellswords, Dany unleashing her wrath on dragonback while Cersei uses the populace of King's Landing as a shield, the Hound facing off against the Mountain, Arya coming to kill Cersei and Jaime possibly on his way to do the same (more on that below), there's a good chance Cersei will use wildfire again to give her more of an edge, all on top of Tyrion and Varys butting heads as they toy with Jon and Dany's lives in the game of thrones.

If The Long Night was any indication, we'll likely see most of this resolved in the next episode after much senseless violence. However, unless everyone ends up killing each other, that still leaves a bunch of other unanswered questions. Will our heroes Jon and Dany come to terms with who they are? How does Tyrion go on after the downfall of his dysfunctional family? Can the Stark children ever come back from the tragedies and horrors that have defined their lives? Is what's left of Westeros going to survive the long winter? How long will this winter be? Why are the seasons so long anyway? If the realm does survive, will it and its people learn from this devastation and evolve, or forget and doom themselves to repeat history over and over? What exactly is the Prince That Was Promised, or the Lord of Light? Where does any of this magic come from? Does Bronn get his fancy castle? Was the Three-Eyed Bran the bad guy all along? Will the gallant cat Ser Pounce ever return?

I guess I'll find out, one way or another. Hard to believe this show's almost over.

Schemes & Plots:

* The funeral scene got to me. Guess I just wasn't ready to see characters like Jorah, Theon or Dolorous Edd get laid to rest.

* I love how Podrick casually sets up a threesome in the background as Sansa talks to Sandor.

* Bronn gets a scene with Jaime and Tyrion that, while fun, is basically a retread of most other scenes between these characters. Which pretty much boils down to this: "You fuckers owe me a castle!" I know it's a cute way of illustrating that Bronn would rather not kill the Lannister bros, but realistically he should have cut his losses a long time ago.

* Varys mentions that the "new Prince of Dorne" has declared for Daenerys. Whoever this is, I doubt we'll ever see him. Guess the show chose to forget that Oberyn Martell had eight daughters, which would leave five still alive after the demise of the loathsome Sand Snakes.

* Gilly is pregnant with Sam's baby. Big surprise, they're gonna name it Jon if it's a boy.

* Not long after the Jaime/Brienne ship sets sail, it capsizes when Jaime learns that Cersei is gaining the advantage over Dany. He then apparently abandons his chance at honor, love and peace to go back to Cersei, breaking Brienne's heart. Or so it would seem. I think Jaime is really going back to put an end to Cersei himself, and simply played the villain to keep Brienne from following him to almost certain death. Jaime states the unforgivable things he's done for Cersei as if to affirm that he is just like her, but I think this is him owning up to the fact that loving Cersei made him into a monster, something he doesn't want to be. In this light, Jaime killing Cersei would be as poetic as Tyrion killing Tywin; their struggle to please these hateful tyrants enslaved them both, forcing them to compromise their principles and accept lives of humiliation and scorn. A missing sword hand isn't Jaime's greatest handicap no more than dwarfism was Tyrion's. It's Cersei. She's a chain he needs to break free from.

* Watching Jaime struggle to unbutton his tunic or ready his horse makes me think of all the other one-handed difficulties he must have dealt with during his solo journey north.

* I still really hate that there's no snow in King's Landing. After all the talk about how "Winter is Coming", winter has had far less representation than I imagined.

* Tyrion's parlay with Qyburn reminded me of the deleted scene from The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King where the heroes meet the Mouth of Sauron.

* We see the way this world's history repeats itself through Gendry. House Baratheon was originally founded by a man said to have been Aegon the Conqueror's bastard brother, and they are once again made rulers of the Stormlands by another Targaryen conqueror. It's taken even further when an overjoyed Gendry asks Arya to be his wife and gets rejected, just like his father Robert was rejected by Lyanna Stark. The Baratheons are typically very gifted individuals, but they are woefully unlucky when it comes to love and family.

* Speaking of history repeating, it turns out Cersei really is manipulating Euron the same way she manipulated King Robert, tricking him into believing that her Lannister incest baby is his Greyjoy heir to the throne.

* Rhaegal died at Dragonstone after being unceremoniously impaled by three javelins and sinking into the waters. This was similar to his namesake, Rhaegar Targaryen, the Prince of Dragonstone who was unceremoniously defeated and died in the waters of the Trident.

* Still not enough Ghost.

Quotes:

Sandor Clegane: Used to be you couldn't look at me. Sansa Stark: That was a long time ago. I've seen much worse than you since then. Sandor: Yes, I've heard. Heard you were broken in. Heard you were broken in rough. Sansa: And he got what he deserved. I gave it to him. Sandor: How? Sansa: Hounds. Sandor: (chuckles) ... You've changed, little bird.

Jaime Lannister: You know the first thing I learned about the North? I hate the fucking North. Brienne of Tarth: It grows on you. Jaime: I don't want things growing on me.

Daenerys Targaryen: (to Jon) I saw the way they looked at you. I know that look. So many people have looked at me that way, but never here. Never on this side of the sea.

Jon Snow: If you only trust the people you grow up with, you won't make many allies. Arya Stark: That's alright. I don't need many allies.

Tormund Giantsbane: (to Jon) You've got the north in you. The real north.

Sandor Clegane: (to Arya) Must've felt good, sticking your knife in that horned fucker.

Varys: How many others know? Tyrion: Including us? Eight. Varys: Then it's not a secret anymore. It's information.

Varys: You know our queen better than I do. Do you think she wants to share the throne? She doesn't like to have her authority questioned-- Tyrion: Something she has in common with every monarch who ever lived. Varys: I worry about her state of mind. Tyrion: We're advisors to the queen. Worrying about her state of mind is our job... We still have to take King's Landing. Maybe Cersei will win and kill us all. That would solve all our problems.

Euron Greyjoy: She's coming for you. Cersei Lannister: Of course, she is. Keep the gates open. If she wants to take the castle she'll have to murder thousands of innocent people first. So much for the Breaker of Chains.

Daenerys: They should know who to blame when the sky falls down upon them. Damn.

Varys: I have served tyrants most of my life. They all talk about destiny. Tyrion: She's a girl who walked into a fire with three stones and walked out with three dragons. How could she not believe in destiny?

Though I'm not crazy about the direction these last few seasons have gone in, it was an absolute pleasure to be able to write reviews for this show. Game of Thrones is truly phenomenal. It'll be a shame not to have it to look forward to anymore. Three and a half out of five Starbucks coffee cups.

Logan Cox

[blasphoeme]

First Lines Meme

RULES: List the openings of the last ten stories you published. Look to see if there are any patterns that you notice yourself, and see if anyone else notices any! Then tag some friends.

This is really interesting! Thanks for tagging me you wonderful peeps @callmedewitt @smoldany @thescarletgarden1990

Going to keep this solely Jonerys despite not all my last ten fics published were Jonerys hehe.

1) I Love You More Than Ice Cream

“Here you go!” Leaning over the counter, Dany handed a vanilla baby cone over to the outstretched hands of a little girl in a pink tutu.

“Thank you!” The child about three exclaimed, her cherubic face lit up in glee. Her green eyes darted all over her ice cream looking for a right place to attack. Her mother lifted her child up, perching her on her hip before taking a cup of cookies and cream from Dany. 

“Thank you so much.” The slightly frazzled mother said. Yet, despite being tired, she couldn’t help gush about her baby: “This rascal did so well for her first ballet class so we agreed she could get a treat.”

“That’s so wonderful! Well done, little one.” Dany said, tapping the girl on her nose which prompted a shy grin from a pair of vanilla ice cream stained lips.

Waving at the mother and child as they left through the front door, the little girl now spotting an ice cream moustache and a dollop of ice cream on the very tip of her nose, Dany smiled. She loved her job so very much.

2) Their First Time

The heavy wooden door swung shut with a resounding slam that went unnoticed to the ears of the two individuals enclosed within the cabin. The day he stepped into her throne room, she would have never envisioned this happening. This stubborn man irked her so much and frustrated her for days, refusing to do as she asked. Oh, how he perplexed her so. He was a man she just couldn’t figure out and that only made her want to know him more. The urge to uncover every mystery that shrouded this king from the north grew stronger with time. He was the first man who wanted to know the woman beneath the crown. He wanted to know Dany. He was the first man who gave her his loyalty for who she was, not because of her dragons or her titles and her armies. He pledged himself to her because he saw her heart. Jon Snow was different with that he intrigued her. When he took her hand that very day on this very same boat, a gesture of comfort that she didn’t know she desired, things started to change between them. They were growing closer to one another. The stolen glances from across the room that lingered and all those unspoken words of longing had been culminating to this moment.

No one knew who bridged the gap first, all they knew was they needed to get closer to the person in front of them, whose eyes reflected an image of themselves. In his eyes she saw absolute desire, a hunger that she was eager to appease and a softness that she yearned to drown in. In her eyes he saw a vulnerability that he wished to cherish and a longing that he craved so much to satiate.

3) Splish Splash

“Mama.” 

The child cocked her head to a side, curls as black as night bobbed gently by her cherubic cheeks as she moved. Her mama wasn’t acknowledging her, so busy absorbed in her documents. Demolishing her block tower and pushing aside her toys, one palm and a knee in front of the other, the determined little one started her expedition to reach her mother.

“Mama.”

A sweet insistent voice pulled Dany’s focus away from her work. She looked away from her parchment only to see that her baby girl had crawled over from her pile of toys and plopped her little bum onto the ground by her outstretched legs. Her baby’s chubby little hand lay splayed open on her knee.

“What is it, Ellie?” Dany cooed tapping the baby on her button nose.

“Play, mama.” Little chubby fingers reached towards her, stretching up in the air, flexing and curling, beckoning Dany to join her fun in her own childish, endearing manner.

4) Heroic Idiocy

Outside, the cicadas buzzed and chirped as the Queen of Westeros stood by one of the numerous open windows of her chamber, looking out at nothing in particular. She sighed again, losing count of how many times she had done it that day. Her emotions were a tangle, struggling between telling herself that she should just wait for him to come to her and throwing all restraint to the wind and running to him instead. To apologize, leap into his arms and never let go because she’d been missing him all day. There was also some precious news that she needed to share with him. But was today the right day to disclose it?

The doors to their bed chambers swung open and slammed shut, startling the queen from her thoughts, so hard she could almost feel the floor vibrating under her feet. Her husband had returned.

Great.

From her position by the window, she could hear him banging around behind her, letting out his frustration on the innocent furniture with every item of clothing that he shed, until all that was left were his simple under shirt and linen pants.

“How’s your wound?” Dany spoke up, her voice cutting through the tense atmosphere like a hot knife through lard.

“So now you decide to talk to me.” Jon said rolling his eyes with his back turned to her still. After the incident, Dany had all but refused to look at him, talk to him, giving him the silent treatment. Why couldn’t she understand that he had to do it?

5) Flowers For Papa

It was yet another peaceful day in Kings Landing. The sun was shining with nought a cloud in the sky. In the nursery of the Red Keep, the three Targaryen children were enjoying a quiet afternoon of play with their babysitter for the day while their mother took some time to plan a welcome home surprise for her husband’s return from his trip to the North. It was the first time he’s left his family since the twins were born and to be away for two whole weeks, his family missed him dearly.

“This is a lion.” Aedon’s chubby hands held up a wooden lion figurine, one of ten hand whittled wooden animals by their father’s advisor and friend, Ser Davos, for the twins’ second birthday. Grinning, Aedon offered it to their uncle who lounged upon the chaise by the window of the nursery, his usual goblet of wine in hand.

Patting the child on the cheek, the queen’s trusted hand nodded, his voice a bit slurry from his drink. “Yes. You are quite right. That is a lion.”

6) Paper Planes

Everyone said she was a romantic, ever since she was a small child, a romantic with her mind in the clouds, a dreamer. The very moment her soul mark manifested on her collarbone one morning, she had all but ran around her house shouting in glee, telling each member of her household that she had a soul mate and she was going to meet them one day, just like her mummy and daddy did. She was ecstatic. She couldn’t wait to meet whoever they were that bore a mark that was a pair with hers.  

“How will I know if I’ve met the right person? How will I know that they’re mine, mama?” The little girl asked, rubbing at her mark with a finger, her eyes bright with anticipation, with hope.

Her mother gave her button nose a playful pinch. “You’ll know when your mark starts to grow warm.” Giving the girl’s chest a tap, she continued, “That warmth will then spread to your heart.” Her finger moved down further, the woman then gave her daughter’s belly a poke. “And make you feel all fuzzy in here, like butterflies taking to the sky.” The little girl giggled and dove into her mother’s arms. “When you lay eyes on them, you just know.” She couldn’t wait for that day to come.

7) Love Thought Lost

Swimming through the layers of sleep towards the surface of consciousness, Dany couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept so well, so deep and dreamless. Lying on her side, she cracked open blurry eyes slightly and wooden panelled windows of her cabin came into view. The sky outside was still not too bright, the early dawn crepuscular sun rays cut through the dimness of the room providing a little bit of light. The candles that were lit from the night before and the fire in her hearth had long gone out but she didn’t feel cold. In fact she felt so very cosy and warm, combined with the rocking motions of the ship, could very well lull her back to sleep in this comfortable nest of sheets.

Stretching the stiffness out of her sleep idled limbs, her feet bumped into something firm. That something let out a groan from behind her, a very manly groan. That something proceeded to snake an arm around her waist and pulled her to it. Her back came in contact with a muscular bare chest.

There was someone in bed with her. Her eyes widened slightly as awareness flooded her mind once more, along with the memories of the night before. That someone was a very naked Jon Snow.

8) Fun in the Snow

Snowflakes fleeted down to join the collection on the ground as Dany stood by the gates waiting for Jon. The grounds of Winterfell were blanketed in white, fluffy snow after the storm that blustered through the night before. His words telling her to meet him by the castle gates once they were done with their duties came in quiet mutterings as they lay bundled up under the furs of her bed, watching the flurrying white snow fall down from above outside the window with the sun in the background creeping up upon the land. He told her that he wanted to bring her to a place only he knew about. Probably a guise to spend some time alone amongst the mess that was their lives. The time they got alone was finite these days. This tender intimacy was new territory to be explored and any chance they got together was precious. They didn’t know how long they could keep their romance under wraps, maybe everyone around them already had an inkling about what their rulers were up to, sneaking into each other’s chambers every night. But no one seemed to be aware; at least they didn’t seem to be. Dany dared to think they were all right for the moment. So there she was, waiting for him, feeling a little giddy, like a young lady waiting on her beau. Not that she was a lady she was a queen. Jon however, was most definitely beau material. Their nightly romantic dalliances were venturing outside the confines of their chambers. Would this be akin to the days on her ship, under the sun with the eyes of their friends on them, where they couldn’t be as free in their displays of affection?

9) Flowers for Mama

The echoes of his wife’s shrill screams reverberated through his skull. His ears were ringing; his hands were numb under the herculean grip of her smaller clammy ones. Her grip was so hard that they were beginning to cut off the circulation to his fingers, but he held on with his jaws clenched, keeping his fingers closed tightly around hers, giving her all the support he could. The pain appeared to be worsening, judging from the shorter increment of her screams and the tremors running through her petite frame. He wished futilely, willing the waves of pain wracking through her body, as she lay cradled between his arms against the front of his body to lessen even just a fraction. Alas, this was an endeavour that only his queen could overcome, only a woman could overcome. The endeavour of childbirth.

10) Flowers of Jealousy & Apology

Dany and Jon have been married for about a month now, to be returning to Essos as a married woman was interesting to say the least and for her honeymoon no less. Since the war ended, they hadn’t had the time to just relax and be themselves. They were quickly caught up in the task of ruling all seven kingdoms of Westeros. So, they decided it was time for them to finally take a break from living in a stuffy castle to travel and enjoy their marriage, away from responsibilities for a while. It was also the perfect chance for Jon to experience the sight and smells of some of the places Dany grew up in, where she left her foot prints; where she first rose to power; where she did so much good.

Observations:

I like to use descriptions a lot hehe. Sometimes I might mix it up with dialogues :). 

I seem to write a lot of fics in Dany’s POV haha

My openings are sometimes long af cos idk how long to go on for lol.

These fics remind me of the good old days when I first started my journey into the world of fan fiction hehe~~ I think I've grown a bit? Although I feel like my writing can still evolve hmm... I have much, much more to learn. 

Tagging: @adecila @tomakeitbeautifultolive @ktwrites @lawonderlandwriter @xxthewolvenstormxx @fierypen37 @drakhus

[sylvansoldier-a]

Get  to  know  the  mun!    Repost,  don’t  reblog.

(PEN)NAME  :  Dani, Leafmun (a holdover from back when Tess was an Epic oc)

PRONOUNS  :  She/her

ZODIAC  SIGN  :  Pisces

TAKEN  OR  SINGLE  :  Seeing someone

———  THREE  FACTS  ! ♡

I love building computers! I learned by watching a lot of youtube videos, and to date, I’ve built two computers for myself, one for my parents, one for a friend, and co-built one with my younger sister on the other side of the country, and I’m building another for a friend next week. I love the control that assembling my own machine gives me, and I like researching upgrades and making improvements. It’s been difficult to get ahold of some parts because of the pandemic and the jump in demand for graphics cards, but with some patience and a few early mornings driving an hour and standing in line at the closest computer part store, I’ve snagged some great parts.

I’m a big fan of D&D, despite never having grown up with it. Like a lot of new players, my introduction to D&D and tabletop games in general was Critical Role. I recently completed a 3 year long campaign (made longer by the rona), and I’ve played a half-orc monk, a tiefling cleric, a halfling rogue, an aarakocra barbarian, a dragonborn ranger, a kobold wizard, an elf sorcerer, and a dwarf druid. Some of those were oneshots, but the majority are from ongoing games in various states of hiatus.

An extension of the last fact—I love to learn new things. In the last few years, I’ve taught myself how to stream; I’ve learned about audio and lighting equipment; I’ve studied HTML, CSS, and Javascript; and soon, I’m going to try my hand at mini painting. If something is simple enough that I can learn how to do something on my own, I’ll do it. I’ve replaced my own car filters and restrung a set of blinds for my window, rather than paying for convenience. I always like to try to do something on my own before asking someone else to do it for me.

———  EXPERIENCE  !  ♡

I’ve been roleplaying in some form or another since the days of the Neopets chat boards—back when you had to get a parent to sign a permission form to allow you to interact with other users if you were under 18, I believe. I’ve been writing here since 2013, and Tess is my one and only muse. I’ve dabbled with other characters, but they fizzled out before they even got off the ground.

Tess used to be an original character from the animated movie Epic. I really loved the movie, and when I found a few roleplayers here on tumblr, it kind of kicked the door open to the whole rpc. I’ve made truly incredible friends that have kept in touch daily for the last 8 years, and some of us have even met in person. While I still love the movie for all its quirks, the fandom was never particularly large and it only shrunk as time went on. Plus, I found the story a bit limiting in places, and I liked the idea of expanding Tess’ world and interactions with other muses and settings. She’s due for a massive blog overhaul and possibly a purge. Eight years is a lot of baggage and a lot of growth.

———  MUSE  PREFERENCE  !  ♡

Tess is the kind of character I liked to read about when I was younger. I prefer to write and play women, simply because I feel like I can draw from so many of my own experiences and feelings. I know what it’s like to be hungry to prove yourself and to be made to doubt yourself, despite knowing well your own capabilities. I know what it’s like to be frustrated with the indifference and casual cruelty in the world and to want better. I like writing characters who play a supporting role, rather than seeking out the limelight—I’ve always loved those stories.

———  FLUFF  /  ANGST  /  SMUT  !  ♡    

FLUFF  /  ANGST  :  I’m of the opinion that a good will have a bit of both. Too much of one or the other can get boring really quickly. Don’t get me wrong—I love writing softness and flirting as much as I love writing gut wrenching pain and despair. Nothing is better than setting up a few characters with differing goals and worldviews and letting them bounce off each other, complete with all the character exploration and conflict that brings. I think I tend to write more fluff than angst, but I’m open to both. Writing isn’t my strongest mode of expression, but I always want to be better than I was when I started.

SMUT  :  

For someone under the ace umbrella, I actually really enjoy writing smut. I definitely think my feelings on sex come through in Tess’ attitude—trust is paramount and relationships are work. While she’s more comfortable with physical relationships, she has difficulty really putting her faith in someone and making herself vulnerable. Not to say she’s impervious to being manipulated—it’s happened before and it’ll happen again. She’s just very wary of getting in too deep with anyone she thinks is unlikely to stick around, erring on the side of self-deprecation and cynicism when it comes to relationships.

PLOT  /  MEMES  :  

I am not historically great at plotting, but I genuinely want to get better. It’s just really difficult to do with a new partner right off the bat. I’m always really nervous about annoying anyone and tend to read too deep what I think someone’s responses might mean, especially when I really admire someone’s writing and I’m really excited to work with them. Memes are a fantastic icebreaker. When I first start to follow someone, I will take every opportunity to send in some memes to get a feel for their character and for the mun, themselves. It doesn’t always work out, as some muns don’t like replying to memes from new folks, and honestly? That’s a real bummer. I’m not the most confident person, and if I run into a mun with a lot of walls and barriers to entry, I tend to bounce off and give up.

My discord is open to mutuals, and I’m always open to IMs, even from non-mutuals or new followers who just want to ask questions. (I know that Tess’ blog is a bit of a mess, and it’s not really well laid out for anyone looking for a good, quick summary of her character.)

Tagged by: @ofdeathandfear​​

Tagging: Anyone! Seriously. I would tag folks, but I think everyone in my orbit has done some version of this. But if you haven’t—yes, I mean you—then steal this and go do it.

[nerdbendings]

THE She wolf and The dragon: rough draft

[genderbend trying it out before I really go to town on it with some fiction. Daeneys= daenerys Joanna=Jon ] Joanna "If we sail to white harbor together, I think it sends a better message... your grace" Joanna recalled the plan as she stared up at the ceiling of the cabin aboard the ship headed to home. She closed her eyes and inhaling a deep breath, surrendering to the memory... "We sail together" He stood tall and proud, finalizing the discussion of how exactly his grace should get to winterfell. Joanna nodded, lowering her eyes to the table only to dare to sneak a glance at him. He was looking at her as well, his violet eyes penetrating her, with his shoulder length silver hair tied back with two strands framing his face. He was beautiful, Joanna never thought that word could be used to describe a man before but yet here he was, Daenys Targaryen. The last dragon and the king she swore fealty to. He was more than mere looks to Joanna's surprise. He was strong, loyal, selfless... a true king deserving of the throne. She felt her heart pounding in her chest in an almost painful way. Hot, she suddenly felt very hot and abruptly sat on her bed. Quiet and labored breaths taking over her. She walked over to the mirror in her chambers and gave herself a once over. Her cheeks were slightly flushed and he bottom of her full lips was slightly bleeding due to her nawing on it. She looked at her oval face face and high cheekbones, she looked different then the last time she actually took the time to appraise herself. She shook her head at her silly thoughts, and her curls fell from the bun she had made earlier about her face and down to her mid back. Her gray eyes searched her reflection as if questioning her... she stood up and removed her gloves, her fur coat and her Stark armor. Her hands dropped to her side, balling into fists as she glanced toward the door. She knew. She opened her door and walked down the empty corridor of the ship. Her footsteps seemed so much louder right now as if they would wake the entire crew. Finally her feet stopped on their own as she felt her self start to slowly tremble with nerves. Staring back at her was the three heads of the dragon, the Targaryen sigil. She waited for what seemed an eternity taking a few more labored breaths. She knew exactly what she wanted. She raised her hand to the door stopping for a moment before knocking on it. She shook her head, 'there was no going back now' she thought. The time for thinking and pushing all this away was gone and she knew that. This is her surrender to what was inevitable, unavoidable, she was tired of fighting. She knew exactly what she wants.... and EXACTLY what he wants... The door creaked opened as her head jerked up, her gray eyes meeting violet ones. She loved him. Daeneys The events of the dragon pit and viserion weighed on Dany's neck and shoulders. His beautiful child was gone and the thoughts still haunted him aboard the ship. Dany walked over to the window peering out over the dark inky black waves of the night as his thoughts drifted.... "You're not like everyone else." Dany could STILL her voice, soft and and endearing with that northern accent of hers that had the effect of making him smirk in his head. The queen in the north, she was the one unlike everyone else. She was brooding, a bit brash, abrupt, stubborn, impulsive and damn honorable to a fault he still couldn't be upset over. So much from when she walked into his throne room to sailing together had changed between them. Dany expected some barbaric unwashed woman in dragonstone that day. He didn't actually get a good look at her until he met her at her level, she seemed to try to hide it but she was enchanting, a wild beauty he'd never seen before. Her wild and long onyx curls half pulled back, her full lips, her oval face and those eyes of a gray that haunt his thoughts still. Eyes like a wolf, large and penetrating. Dany shook his head when he felt his heart speed up at the thought of her. He should have listened to her, she was always right. He got up and removed his red cloak draping it over the desk in his cabin followed by his dragon chain, and top coat leaving his black shirt and breeches on. His silver hair still tired back as he resumed looking over the waves. He knew what he wanted . Dany slightly jumped when he heard the knock at his door. 'Must be Tyrion coming To bid me goodnight or review strategies' he thought absentmindedly. He crossed the room to open his door only to find the source of his thoughts staring at him with those same eyes, as if she knew he was thinking of her. He was going to speak until he met her eyes again and all his words left him completely. He saw her, lips slightly parted breathing it seemed with some effort. Her cheeks were slightly flushed which made her eyes even more enchanting. Her long curls out of her bun and perfectly framing her face past her shoulders. He knew exactly what he wanted and exactly what she wanted. Dany didn't need words to answer the silent question in her eyes. He opened the door wider for her. There was no other way to respond and he knew it. This was always supposed to happen and on some level he knew she felt the same. With in a heart beat she walked into his cabin, their eyes never breaking as she grabbed the door and shut it closed with a quiet thud. In The moment he couldn't push it away anymore, couldn't deny, he allowed the feeling to take hold,binding him... she loved him and what was more He loved her. Joanna Stepped closer to him as she tentatively placed her hands on his chest as Dany placed his on her waist pulling her to press against him. Their foreheads connected to one another as they both simply breathed in the other. She felt herself begin to slightly tremble. It was all too much, too overwhelming already and she was, for the first time in a long time, scared. Dany drifted his hands up her waist, over her arms, her shoulders to her neck while his thumb caressed her cheek slowly. She felt her head being tilted up to look at him, her focus and sight was getting hazy and her lips parted on their own as he looked into hers. Joanna closed her eyes as she felt Dany's lips press against hers in a chaste kiss. She felt incredibly dizzy now as she desperately clutched his shirt, pressing firmly to him like a life line. She crashed her lips to his and he eagerly met her kiss with his own. She felt utterly ignited and wrapped her arms about his shoulders her tongue meeting his as a soft desperate moan escaped her lips. Dany wrapped arms around her, binding him to her. Daeneys Dany was no green man but this was completely different then his other lovers. She was his and it made him desperate to be closer. They made quick work of their clothes as Dany and Joanna tumbled to the bed. Their breathless laughs eased him of some nerves as he explored her body. Her skin tasted of sea and sky which made him hungry and aggressive for more. He licked and bit her neck eliciting the silent whimpering that made him bite harder into her soft flesh. He needed to devour every inch of her. Dany began to move down until she stopped him slightly pushing him away to look him in the eye. She looked scared or worried to him but when he glanced down her beautiful form he knew why. The angry wounds and stab marks that stood out on her pale skin and over her heart took him aback for a moment as he touched them she turned her head, almost in shame. Anger flooded through him for the creatures that hurt her and took her from him. She was still beautiful, her full breasts and strong body both very feminine and strong made him need her even more. He took his hand and grabbed her chin to look at him, her eyes vulnerable and full of fear. He crashed his lips back to hers and begged her mouth for entrance as she obliged and grabbed on to him. Joanna She pushed him on his back as they continued to consumed each other, panting and grasping one another. His hands grabbed the sides of her face not allowing her any space to leave him. Her heart felt like it was going to burst as the ache between her legs was too much. She straddled one of his legs instinctively as her core thursted on his leg. The moment passed as he grabbed her head pressing his forehead to hers panting for much needed air. Before she could kiss him again, she felt him firmly but gently push her head and body back so he was on top of her. She felt him spread her legs wide as she felt his hardness against her. "Oh gods" she moaned out, she felt every inch on fire as she heard his deep voice seemingly responding to her , "yeah" He lifted himself on his elbows arching his back as thrusted himself inside her so deep and hard she felt herself moved up the bed. Nothing could compare as she adjusted to his size and the feeling of them being connected, it was like coming home or finding a missing piece. She kissed him hard and took her head back to look at him. 'Are we really doing this?' Her eyes silently asked him. The question reflected back in his eyes to hers. Dany breathed out and once more crashed his lips to hers. She felt him thrust harder and deeper and she felt she was on a whole other plane of existence. She draped her arm over his shoulders... I am his, and he is mine. Epilogue Dany The sun woke him first as he groaned and turned over to see the beautiful sleeping face of Joanna almost nose to nose with his. Dany looked her over while she slept, her long eyelashes fanning over her her cheeks as her mouth was in a slight 'O' as her deep breathing was interrupted and she began stirring awake. Dany propped himself on his elbow, his hand cradling the side of his face. A smile was crept upon his face, recalling the night of endless love making and her moaning his name like a prayer. Joanna opened her eyes slowly looking up to meet his gaze the sweetest smile on her lips as well. "Good morning" he said his voice rough from sleep as he wrapped his other arms around her pulling her closer. "Mmmmh mornin'" she grumbled as she closed her eyes and nuzzled her head under his chin sighing contently breathing him in. He moved his head back and kissed her forehead before returning to her under his chin. In that morning nothing else mattered I am hers, and she is mine. .

[mykingjon]

Blood of my blood

*DISCLAIMER: A very fluffy Jonerys one-shot, 2314 words, Daenerys’ POV. I also take requests of all GoT ships, ‘cause I love everyone. Written for @joenerysiseverything, who is my princess.💖 A big thank you to: @blood-of-tha-dragon, @soiaf17, @sassydragonstudentblr, @wondergrayson, @nlrcissa  a.k.a the best reviewing stuff, love you girls to the moon and back.💖*

Daenerys Targaryen have never thought she would grow to enjoy the harsh, bleak, dreary North.

She was a daughter of an endless summer, after all. She spent her whole life in the summerlands of Essos. When she’s arrived in Westeros, setting her foot on the shore nearby Dragonstone, the place of her birth, she felt colder than she’s ever been before. Yet, she’s also sensed in her gut that after all these years of exile, she’s finally home. That very realization was sweeter to her than any of the warm days she’s spent as the Queen of Meereen. In the keep of her ancestors, Daenerys found a sense of belonging and purpose she didn’t know she was searching for her entire life. She found it not only in an ancient castle itself, or her quest for the Iron Throne, but also in an intriguing, but noble to a fault stranger, the King in the North, Jon Snow.

Now, he has taken her to his home, the place which shaped him into a man she happened to meet on Dragonstone. What a blessing it was, that he decided to come to me, against everyone’s suspicions. Had it not been for Jon, what would be left of the Seven Kingdoms after the dead arrived? Admittedly, at first she didn’t want to believe in the existence of the threat from beyond the Wall. However, the stronger her and the Northerner’s connection grew, the more she trusted him and his words, his terrifying story. And here I am now. I trust him with my life.

Although the Great War was the most atrocious danger she had faced so far, Daenerys would not have her life go any other way. This mortal danger brought Jon Snow to her, and she knew that it was fate indeed. The Dragon Queen could sense it whenever his hazelnut brown eyes were locked on hers. She could sense it in his gentle and fiercely demanding touch alike, when she was standing beside him, or when she was laying in his arms. She could sense it in his kisses – the soft brushes of the feather, and the passionate ones. He was everything she could ever want, and far more than that. Because of him, Winterfell has earned a special place in her heart, for it nourished and protected Jon from any harm when he was a child still. She never had her own safe harbour, constantly running for her life, yet he could feel safe within the walls of Winterfell, and for that, she was eternally grateful. However, the only thing in the whole wide world which had a resemblance of home for Daenerys Targaryen was the man himself.

For his and her sake, she’s spent quite a while exploring the castle and its surroundings. By doing that, she felt she could get to know him even better. Nonetheless, there was a specific part of Winterfell which she did not quite know what to make of, yet it intirigued her the most, and also stirred feelings she could not really describe with words. When she was there, she could sense a mix of fear and excitement overcoming her, yet the second heavily outweighed the first. The godswood. Whenever she went there, she felt as if she was breaking the sacred northern laws, merely by her presence. She felt like a stranger, but the beauty was drawing her in, enchanting her to the point that she wanted to come there more and more often. And so, she did; in the silent evenings, when Jon was spending time with his family, she would find an excuse to be alone for a while. Then, she would sneak out of the castle like a child, just to see the heart tree again, just to feel the tears of emotion dwelling in her eyes.

This evening, she did the very same. She reassured her Dothraki guards that she is perfectly capable of walking out the castle on her own; and then, she went to the exit, constantly increasing her pace in order not to get caught. When she finally reached her destination, she felt breath catch up in her lungs again. I don’t think it I will ever get used to this, she thought, sitting down nearby the white, weirwood root of the heart tree. Her attention was so fixated on the charm of the godswood that she did not hear the steps approaching.

“I thought I would find you here”, she heard a husky, but warm voice coming from behind her back. She jumped at the spot. Jon chuckled shortly at her reaction as she turned to face him.

“You scared me”, she replied accusingly, startled still. Yet, the corners of her mouth slid upwards against her will at the sight of him. He smiled softly at her in response.

“I’m sorry”, he answered, slightly amused. “I didn’t mean to, I swear, Your Grace”, he exclaimed playfully. Then, he extended his gloved hand in her direction. He meant to help her up, she knew; and although she didn’t need help with that, or anything else in that matter, she took it and raised from her seat. Then, she tried very hard to let go of him as a way of punishing him for making fun of her. However, some kind of force she could not quite control made her interlock her fingers with his instead.

She sighed softly, almost embarrassed with how vulnerable he made her feel. “How did you know where I was, anyway? I thought I was pretty good with hiding it, so far”, she complained, slightly annoyed with how there was nothing that could escape his notice.

Jon’s smile grew slightly wider for a couple of seconds, yet it was soon replaced by the usual solemnity of the Northern King. “I saw the way you looked when I brought you here for the first time. I knew that eventually, you would come back”, he declared, gazing at her affectionately. “Perhaps multiple times, even. Turns out I wasn’t wrong.” Daenerys shook her head in disbelief, trying to act irritated, while, in fact, she was touched by how well he knew her and how he payed close attention to everything she did.  Her companion looked at her as if he tried to surpass another smile. “I can leave you to it, if you want”, he added in a seemingly neutral voicetone.

Daenerys’ eyes widened right away. “No”, she replied quickly. She took a deep breath. “I’m glad you’re here”, she admitted. Jon looked very pleased about her remark and bent down slightly to press a soft kiss to the her hand. Suddenly, Daenerys was smiling from ear to ear. She let out a silent sigh. “It’s so beautiful here”, she whispered, looking around. “I feel like a stranger when I come here, as if I don’t belong here, but... it just pulls me in anyway.”

Jon tilted his head softly, watching her carefully. “Do you think I belong here?”, he asked. Daenerys thought he was joking at first, yet when she shifted her eyes to him, all she saw was seriousness in his gaze.

“Of course you do”, she answered, surprised. “The blood of the First Men, the blood of Starks, flows within your veins. There is no one who belongs here more than you and your family”, she said, certainty evident in her voice.

The King in the North smirked at her softly. “Then you belong here, too, Dany.”

Daenerys frowned softly, not quite sure of what he meant. “I don’t have the blood of First Men. I am the blood of old Valyria. I can’t belong here, not today, not even in a thousand years.”

Jon shook his head once. “You don’t understand. You are my family, too. You belong here with us. All of us. Don’t tell me you haven’t felt that ever since we’ve arrived in Winterfell. This is where you’re supposed to be. ”

Dany blinked a couple of times, overcome with emotions. Of course that she felt that, ever since she’s seen him for the first time, even if she tried to hide it, to fight it. Now, she felt she was finally home with Jon by her side, no matter what was coming for them.  She tried to ignore tears forming in her eyes as a reaction to his words. You are my family, too. The only family I’ve ever had except my dragons, she wanted to say. The only man I’ve ever chosen to love. However, she said something else entirely. “Do the old gods think the same?”, she mumbled and gulped softly.

“Aye, they do. They keep pulling you in to come here, don’t they?”, he responded silently.

Daenerys felt something rising in her chest then. She felt at peace with Jon for quite a while, but to finally understand that she was a part of his world as much as he was a part of hers... It made her feel weak in her knees. Suddenly, she felt a tear fall on her cheek. She tried to turn away from him while she wiped it off, but, as usual, he would not let her hide a single thing. “Dany, look at me”, she heard Jon say.

And so, she did, which caused even more tears to fall from her eyes at the sight of his worried gaze. He stroked her cheek softly, and she rested her hand on his, never wanting to let go. While she was trying to calm down, he just stood there patiently, giving her time to respond to him. Giving her exactly what she needed, as he always did. Daenerys didn’t think it was ever possible for someone to be so considerate of another’s wishes. Nonetheless, Jon read her like an open book, and responded perfectly each and every time. After a while, thanks to his relaxing touch, she reclaimed the control over her voice again.

“Jon...”, she began silently, not quite sure of what she’s supposed to say. Nothing seemed to fit, anyway. There were no words that could measure up how grateful she was to have him beside her, even if tomorrow was not certain.

“It’s alright. You don’t need to say anything”, he replied, pulling her into a comforting embrace. But it wasn’t alright. Daenerys needed him to know. And so, after hugging him back briefly, she pulled away to look at him.

“I do”, she broke the silence and smiled softly. “Jon, before I met you, I... I didn’t really know how it is. To care for someone in... that way”, she confessed and looked away, slightly ashamed. “My only family was my brother, and I feared him most of my life. My first husband... you know he didn’t treat me gently. The first weeks of our marriage were... a nightmare to me. I was raped every night”, she stared at the ground, her breath quickened. She felt his eyes on her, yet he was silent all the same, listening to her. “But somehow, I grew to care for him. Love him in a way, even. And I definitely loved the son in my womb Drogo gave me”, she took a deep breath before she continued, still overcome with grief, after all this time. “They both died because of the choices I’ve made.”, she whispered and finally, she shifted her eyes to look at him. “Only death can pay for life. For their death, I got my dragons. Yet, in a way... I was broken. I could not love any man after that. Even when I thought I cared for someone, I didn’t... not truly. I felt nothing”, she exclaimed. “Until you.”

She saw breath catch up in Jon’s throat. Nobody in her life have ever looked at her with such intensity as he was looking at her right now, his lips slightly parted. He was the most beautiful thing she’s ever seen. “You’re the only family I’ve ever had, and when the dead come for us, I want you to know that... that I love you”, she told him, her voice shaking with fear. Perhaps I have gone too far. Her heart threatened to beat out of her chest, and she almost wanted to run away from him, but then... she saw him smile. Jon Snow didn’t smile much, but when he did, and it actually reached his eyes, they were shining like a thousand stars. She’s never seen him as happy as he was right now, the light in his eyes almost unbearable to look at. She was so fixated on him that she didn’t actually process what was happening, but suddenly, his lips were pressed against hers. She wrapped her arms around his neck, while he wrapped his around her waist. He kissed her softly at first, but as seconds passed, the kiss grew more and more intense. She shut her eyes, lost in the sensations, feeling Jon’s lips only, along with how his body was pressing against hers so hard it almost hurt. Yet, Daenerys didn’t mind. All that mattered to her was that he was here, in the breathtakingly beautiful godswood of Winterfell, with her. She never wanted him to move away, but eventually, they both had to stop. They were breathless. Dany rested her forehead on his, trying to calm down. She felt intoxicated by him; now, even more, that she told him how he makes her feel, how much he matters to her, and how he changed her life.

“I love you”, he whispered, “And I will never let anyone hurt you again. I promise.”

Jon Snow was not a man of many words, yet, when he said something, Daenerys Targaryen always knew that he was telling the truth. He was telling the only truth she wanted to hear now. Qoy Qoyi, she thought, overcome with emotions. Blood of my blood.

[thesffcorner]

Terminator: Dark Fate

Terminator: Dark Fate is the 6th film in the franchise, directed by Tim Miller. It follows Grace (MacKenzie Davis) who travels back to the present day from the year 2024, to protect Dani (Natalia Reyes) from a terminator (Gabriel Luna), who’s come to kill her. As they rampage through the streets of Mexico City, they run into an old veteran of the terminator threat, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and together they must find a way to defeat an unkillable machine, or humanity is doomed. 

I have complicated feelings on the Terminator franchise; I saw Terminator 2: Judgement Day when I was a kid, and then every subsequent film as it came out. Outside of 2, I haven’t really liked any of them: I hated Rise of the Machines with a passion, thought Salvation had some interesting ideas, but a bland execution, and found Genisys fun, but infinately stupid, not helped by a truly awful trailer. I was excited for Dark Fate because it was the first time Linda Hamilton was reprising her role as Sarah Connor, and I always want to see MacKenzie Davis in more things. But I’m sad to say that this movie was not good, and I have a lot to say so strap in: there’s going to be SPOILERS. 

Let’s start with the positives. Tim Miller is a good director, but here his talents are stretched thin. He’s helming of the action is excellent; there are some truly impressive action set pieces in this film, especially the opening chase scene through the GM factory and then the highways of Mexico City. It’s fast, relentless and suspenseful, and opens the film on a high note, managing to be exciting while also introducing all the characters. The film has an R rating, so Miller is allowed to let loose and break some bones; as such Davis gets to shine in some rather gruesome and physically tasking action scenes. The stand out for me was a brawl at a Detention Center at the Mexican-American border, but her opening fight with Luna’s terminator was also really well choreographed and executed. 

The second positive are the actors: everyone is good in this film, and they are all trying with the limited material they are given. The standout by far was Davis as Grace, though Schwarzeneger steals every scene he’s in. 

That’s where the positives end. Like most things these days, this film fails where it’s most important: the story and the characters. 

Now, Miller is a good director, but he seems to be way out of his depth here. The film doesn’t really have a distinct style; there were bits that looked like Terminator 2, bits that looked like Deadpool, Logan and even the entire middle section could have been stolen from Siccario. While his action is good, the quiet, character parts are a letdown as none of the characters have any real motivation or personality outside of survival, and as such the action too feels underwhelming because after the 5th massive explosion it all starts looking the same. 

Miller is not helped by a truly god awful script, that takes itself too seriously. There is barely any humor or levity in this film: it’s two hours of  gloom, and even when we get little bits of levity, you still don’t understand what the characters are fighting for. 

In terms of plot, this is a mix of Terminator 1 and 2 with some Salvation mixed in. The filmmakers make a decision at the start of the film, that will make or break this film for you, and for me it broke it. I hate films who pull this kind of trick, because not only does it hurt the story here, it also retroactively makes the plot of 2 pointless because we know that it amounts to nothing. The decision is meant to cast Sarah and Schwarzeneger, who calls himself Carl in this film in a new light, but the story doesn’t do anything with this development. 

We find out that Sarah and John prevented Skynet from rising. How exactly that happened I’m not sure, but a new AI, this one developed for cybernetic warfare called Legion rose up. We know nothing about Legion; we don’t know if it’s sentient, if it’s self-actualizing, if it has a goal, nothing. We don’t know how it took over, how it managed to build the new terminator or even how the humans of the future have both the technology and the resources to augment themselves or send people into the past. 

What little we see of the future through Grace’s backstory looks exactly like the future in Salvation, but this isn’t the same timeline; in this universe Skynet never took over the world. There could have been a really interesting story here, with Sarah realizing that it doesn’t matter what she did or how many Terminators she destroys, mankind will always create a different version of an AI that will take over, and another version of John will always need to be saved. Unfortunately, not only does the film never explore this, but it has the gall to have the new character belittle Sarah for being crazy, or self-aggrandizing for saving the world! Excuse me? 

This film is too serious to not explain anything about it’s world or premise. If they didn’t want to bother, why not just use Skynet? It’s functionally the same thing! 

The script is so jam-packed full of action scenes that it doesn’t have time to develop a story or even it’s own characters, resorting to really bland and uninteresting exposition between set pieces. Why should I care about preventing this future from happening, when it doesn’t look different from the last one? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but at least in Genisys we got to spend time with Kyle and John in the future, get to know them and connect to them, so we know what’s at stake if John fails. Here, all we have to go on is Grace, and her one-sided relationship to Dani, but it doesn't matter because we know nothing about Grace. 

There are so many moments in this film where characters act and make decisions that are completely nonsensical or driven entirely by the plot. Why does Grace belittle and hate Sarah? I understand Sarah being suspicious of Grace; she has devoted her whole life to hunting terminators and this woman from the future not only appears to have the powers of one, but also claims there is an entirely new AI that’s after Dani, and refuses to say anything else. Why doesn’t Grace explain to Dani what’s happening and who sent her? And don’t give me that you won’t believe me bullshit; Grace is perfectly willing to be angry at Sarah for her naturally assuming that Dani is the same as her, but not explain why she’s wrong? They keep up this rivalry for the entire film, and there is ABSOLUTELY no reason why they would do this, when clearly all 3 are on the same side!

Grace makes a lot of decisions that can only be explained by ‘the script says so’. She is very quick to point out that she’s human, but she spends the entire film protecting Dani with an unrelenting devotion we have only seen from machines in this franchise, not to mention she can go toe to toe with an indestructible terminator and hold her own. She seems to entirely not understand how someone like Dani might want to protect her family or friends, or other people, even though SHE KNOWS DANI PERSONALLY, and acts no different than Arnold’s Terminator did in Judgement Day. 

There are also so many plot threads that go absolutely nowhere. In the 20+ years since the end of 2, Sarah has killed 2 other terminators and has become a wanted celebrity fugitive in 50 States; she also has connections strong enough to get a US Marshall to commit treason for her, and get her a jet, but not a contact that could smuggle her across the border? How did she get these connections? Why was she a criminal? Sounds like a more interesting plot than the one I’m watching. Moreover the whole Marshall plot point is just so we can get 2 EMPs that promptly get destroyed in a completely irrelevant actions scene. They acquire a chopper they never use. They teach Dani how to shoot an assault rifle and she never uses it again. 

The most infuriating subplot has to do with how they defeat the terminator. Like I said, Grace is augmented, and she is powered by some kind of energy source that’s apparently the only weapon that could destroy a terminator. If she had this all along, why didn’t she use it earlier, if she always thought the situation was hopeless? She was willing to lock Dani in a mining shaft, knowing full well that wouldn’t stop the terminator, but remembered she had a bomb in her chest, 10 mins before they needed to use it? 

The characters are likewise a mess. Arnold Schwartzeneger was the best part, and he was so underutilized. He is completely unnecessary here; he can’t defeat the new terminator, and they aren’t even made by the same people like they were in 2 or Genisys, so he could have knowledge the others didn’t. He has some funny lines (the only funny lines), and there was an interesting premise to his plotline: what happens to a terminator that has accomplished his mission, but stopped receiving orders? What does he do? The movie doesn’t really explore that. Like sure he has a family and he calls himself Carl, but what else? 

The new terminator was also underwhelming. Diego Luna is good in the part, but he has nothing to work with. He’s got the unsettling glare down, but he’s not sly or intimidting like the T-1000, nor is he funny like Arnold or conflicted like Marcus. He’s just a robot who occasionally tries to fool people into thinking he’s a person. He does get a mini arc in that he gets better at fooling people as the movie goes on, but nothing ever comes of it. 

He’s also extremely overpowered and has no limits to what he can do. He has a liquid metal skin that he can shed from his endoskeleton, and both can act independently. Neither seems to be vulnerable, and we don’t get any indication that they need to be fused for him to recharge or something similar. So why even have the skeleton? 

He can form weapons, but he only forms a gun once and then never again; and despite having so many powers and being so indestructible, Grace, who is still just a human manages to deal with him rather effectively, so either he’s terrible at his job, or his infinite powers aren’t as cool as it seemed to, at the start. 

Dani was infuriating. She is just John, but a Mexican girl, and if possible, even less agency than John did in Rise of the Machines! Her only motivation is wanting to live, and possibly her attachment to Grace which is never really explained, even though the actresses try. She spends the entire movie being shuffled from place to place, she never takes active part in her story and the only thing she does the whole film is get a way to get her group across the border, only to be immediately captured. There’s no arc to her character; she doesn’t become more capable or brave as the film goes on; she starts as a sweet, spunky girl and ends a sweet, spunky girl, with less family now. Even the end, which should be her moment of defeating the literary decomposing skeleton of the terminator she still can’t do it, and has to have Arnold help her. 

There is also no sense of her age; she looks to be about 20, but everyone treats her and acts like she’s a child, when she’s clearly an adult. However, the one scene we see of her in the future, she looks to be the same age so… I’ve got nothing. 

Then we have the two characters that are the most frustrating, because they both had so much potential. 

First we have Grace, who is this film’s Kyle Reese. Davis is the best part of this film, and manages to give this terribly written, shell of a character some much needed depth and pathos. She really sells how much she cares for Dani; every scene she’s on screen I wanted her to win, and she has lots of small mannerisms that give some humanity to her character. 

She was also amazing in the action scenes; not only did she bulk up, but she uses her height to her advantage, towering over the rest of the cast, even matching Arnold. She gets to do some impressive fighting, and I liked how she needed to recharge and cool down, which was probably the only real limit to her abilities. 

Unfortunately, her character was a complete waste of her talents. She volunteers to get augmented after she almost dies during  battle, but by this point, she has presumably known Dani for years, so this decision is in no way related to protecting her. Likewise, having grown up in a world fighting machines, she seems to have no qualms about essentially being part machine; no one tries to take over her electronic parts, mess with her sensors, and she herself never seems to question her decision to get augmented. I’m not saying she needed to be more like Marcus, but Marcus had actual concerns and had an arc where he had to decide what he was, human or machine. Grace just… is. 

Now look, I’m not a person who complains about romance, especially in action films. I don’t need Terminator to have a romance. But God Dammit, if I had to watch Jai Courtney and Emilia Clarke who had 0 chemistry make out, then why couldn’t Grace and Dani be a thing? The way Reyes and Davis play the rolls is clearly romantic, especially Davis; not once did I get a mother-daughter attachment from either and yet we get this limp attempt to make it such at the very end of the film. Let your character be gay, you cowards. 

Finally we have Sarah, who was the most frustrating part of this film. First, she’s a supporting character in her own franchise; she has no real reason to be a part of this plot and the film has to invent ways to get her involved. 

I don’t hate the decision to make her jaded and bitter in theory; she lost her son and spent 20 years of her life with no purpose other than revenge. But the film never does anything with this, other than have her be angry and antagonizing Grace. 

There could have been a real story here, Sarah connecting to Dani because she sees Dani as how she was once too, and mentoring her through Dani losing her entire life. We have attempts at that, but really it’s just 2 scenes that are really short, and didn’t really make me believe in their relationship. 

This film needed to chose if it was going to be Terminator with new characters, or a sendoff to the old, and it tried to do both. As a result, we have a Sarah who isn’t interesting, feels superfluous, and doesn’t even really do anything. I wanted her and Arnold to have more time together, to come to terms with what he’d done to her, and ask really if a machine can learn and change; instead we just got a limp attempt to remake Judgement Day, with none of the things that made that film good. 

I don’t recommend this film. It was joyless, relentless, and didn’t bring anything new to the franchise. It pains me to say this about a film that has 3 female leads, and 3 genuinely good actresses, but it’s the truth. It wasn’t fun and it wasn’t good, and I would rather watch Genisys or Salvation instead. 

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