#generally overrun to do any projects in at all

[septembersung]

The clean out and revamping of the studio continues. Today it was “hey this thing you’ve been using as an organizer on the back of the door doesn’t actually work; let’s put all this yarn etc in boxes”

I am torn between joy over a working door, unease because when things are in boxes I forget about them, and chagrin that I’ve rarely used these particular materials despite looking at them nearly every day.

[solarpunkani]

How much am I allowed to post/ramble about the solarpunk zombie apocalypse story I'm working on before it gets annoying.

Bonus points: I haven't actually gotten to the solarpunk part of it.

[punkshort]

In Another Life | Part II

Pairing: Marcus Acacius x f!reader (time travel au)

Chapter Summary: Danny unexpectedly drops Marcus off at your office, but it works to your advantage when you decide to use him as the subject for your next article, and your research brings the two of you much closer together.

Chapter Warnings: language, typical brother embarrassing his sister, threats of physical violence, a little fist fight, some blood from said fist fight, mention of drugs, jealousy, food consumption, fluff, flirting, sexual tension, smut (18+ MDNI), unprotected piv sex, fingering

WC: 8.4K

Series Masterlist

Your apartment had devolved into utter chaos the last two days. It seemed like every time you rounded a corner, you had to dodge some person or scrap of metal or power tool, and it was getting on your last nerve. New York wasn't exactly known for spacious living arrangements as it was, so to have what little space you did covet overrun with your brother's shit really sent you into overdrive.

"Lizard's mom has a house in Queens, why the hell is all this shit here and not in her basement?" you snapped at Danny early one morning after you stubbed your toe on a drill.

"He's worried about her finding out what we're up to," Danny explained, and you immediately scoffed into your coffee.

"She's deaf in one ear and hasn't stepped foot in her basement since his dad died."

Danny agreed to move his time traveling project to Queens later that day.

The scowl on your face smoothed out the moment Marcus entered your kitchen, rubbing sleep from his eyes and looking absolutely devastating in the pajama pants you had bought for him just a few days prior. It took all your willpower not to let your eyes drop below his waist, having already made that mistake the day before. The noticeable bulge hidden amongst the thin sleepwear had you spacing out the entire train ride to work and you couldn't afford any distractions that day. You had a big meeting at eleven where you had to present the next topic for your column and you were scrambling. The source you had for your long-distance relationship idea fell through last minute, so now you were tasked with brainstorming a spectacular backup plan in the next four hours.

"Morning, General. How did you sleep?" Danny asked as he scooped cereal into his mouth.

"Quite well, thank you," he replied, then his eyes met yours and he smiled. "Good morning, my lady."

You grinned like a school girl, your heart fluttering excitedly in your chest when you stammered, "G-good morning." Danny rolled his eyes but chose wisely to keep his mouth shut.

Marcus was able to find his way around by that point, however he still seemed hesitant to just start opening your drawers and cupboards when he needed something. Tired of reminding him to just help himself, you set down your coffee and picked up your loaf of bread from the corner of the counter.

"Same as yesterday?" you asked him as you popped two slices of bread in the toaster, anticipating his answer.

"Please," he said with a grateful nod, then dutifully clasped his hands at his waist.

When Danny watched you crack some eggs into a frying pan along with a few sausage links, his jaw dropped.

"You're making breakfast for him but not for me?" he whined.

You swiveled around and pointed your spatula in his face. "He is our guest, thanks to you," you reminded him, and Danny quickly shut up.

"I do not wish to be a burden," Marcus said. He hadn't moved but his broad frame felt like it took up the entire room.

"You're not a burden, Marcus," you told him softly, then gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"Yeah, no worries, man," Danny said, clapping him firmly on the shoulder before dumping his dirty dishes in the sink. "I'm just giving my sister a hard time because it's obvious she wants to jump your bones."

"Danny!" you shrieked while throwing an oven mitt at his head. He dodged it and ducked out of the kitchen, his laughter fading down the hall towards his bedroom.

Your cheeks felt like they were on fire as you turned your focus back to the frying pan. When Marcus cleared his throat, you closed your eyes in dread because you knew what was coming.

"What did that mean, jump your bones?"

"Nothing, just ignore him," you said, sliding the eggs and sausage onto a plate. A few seconds passed when Danny's voice shouted down the hall, "It's a euphemism for sex!"

"Goddamnit," you muttered through clenched teeth. You began to storm out of the kitchen, prepared to kick Danny's ass, but Marcus shot an arm out to stop you.

"You look lovely today."

You gazed up at him, mouth agape, while you tried to find your voice.

Say something. Anything.

"Thanks. Uh, thank you," you mumbled, smoothing down the pink and white floral dress you picked out. On days where you had your big monthly meeting, you tried to make an effort to look like you belonged at a fashion magazine.

"Do you have plans today?" he asked, his eyes swooping down your frame appreciatively, and for once it didn't make your stomach turn when a man looked at you that way. "Daniel tells me there is a beautiful park in the city. I desire to see it and would very much enjoy your company."

You knew you were reading too much into it, but you couldn't help but feel like he was asking you on a date.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Marcus," you said, "I have to work today. But I promise we will see it before you go home."

Home.

His face fell at the word and he quickly dropped his gaze to the floor, trying to hide his disappointment.

"Of course, I understand. Thank you for breakfast," he said, sliding past you so he could pick up the plate you made for him. You chewed your lip and glanced at the time. If it were any other day, you would just call in sick, but today was too important to miss.

"I promise, okay?" you told him as you gathered your bags. "We will see Central Park before you leave. And whatever else you want."

He nodded and took a bite of his food. Although he appeared to be unbothered, you still felt an enormous amount of guilt.

"Danny!" you called from the front door, "this shit better be gone by the time I get home!"

"Yes, Mom!" he shouted back sarcastically from the bathroom. You rolled your eyes and gave Marcus a quick wave before hurrying out the door.

You were fucked.

You had one hour until your meeting and you had absolutely nothing.

Already, you had done your usual brainstorming techniques five times over. You scrolled through social media, hoping to find some trend or topic that might be popular and garner attention, but you were coming up dry, so you kept circling back to your long distance relationship idea. You had sent out every feeler you could think of, asking any of your usual contacts if they had anyone you could use for a story about your chosen topic, but so far you weren't having any luck.

Suddenly, your phone rang and you lunged for it, hoping it was a lead, then groaned when you saw Danny's contact picture pop up on the screen.

"Hello?"

"Hey..." he began, and you could tell by the tone in his voice that you should brace yourself.

"What did you do?"

He laughed on the other end. "I didn't do anything. Actually, I did do something - I am getting all this stuff out of your place, but there's just one thing."

"Spit it out," you said, your eyes flickering to the time. 45 minutes to go.

"I can't take Marcus with us to Queens. There's no room in Lizard's car."

"So let him stay in the apartment."

"I'm not leaving him all alone in New York City!" he protested. You heard some familiar sounds in the background of the call and you frowned.

"Where are you?"

Danny paused and you instantly began to put your defenses up.

"I'm... in your lobby. With Marcus and Lizard."

"You're what?!" you exclaimed in a loud whisper, glancing around to make sure nobody overheard you in your cubical.

"I told to him to just stay in the lobby and read your crappy magazines and if anyone asks, to tell them he's here for meeting."

"Danny! You can't do this, I can't babysit a fucking Roman General right now!"

You heard Danny walk a few paces away, presumably to get some privacy so Marcus wouldn't overhear, before he answered.

"He'll stay downstairs, I promise. I told him what floor you're on in case of an emergency but maybe you can pop down and take him for lunch. You've been making heart eyes at this Roman General for the past three days, don't try and lie."

Anger coursed through your veins but you were running out of precious time, so you gave up.

"Fine," you seethed.

"Great!" Danny said cheerily. "But I might not be back til late. We're burning tons of time moving all this stuff, we got work to do."

"So I have to bring him home?"

"Yes, you'll have to bring him home. You're going there anyway, aren't you? What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is he's going to be bored and lonely all day down there!" you snapped.

"He's not going to be bored. He's in New York City. The elevators alone are blowing his mind right now."

Despite yourself, you smiled when you remembered how in awe he was the first time he rode in an elevator.

"Tell him I'll be down to take him to lunch in like, a little over an hour. I have a meeting at eleven."

"You're the best!" Danny said, then before you could respond, the line went dead.

You grumbled obscenities under your breath when you heard a familiar voice say your name from the opening of your cube.

"Hey, ready for the meeting?" Matt asked. You practically dropped your phone from his sudden appearance and he chuckled. "Did I scare you?"

"Yes," you hissed as you began to gather your things, trying to hide your annoyance. You looked over the top of your cubical wall, hoping and praying you would see someone - anyone - else to walk with to the conference room, but you were shit out of luck.

"Doing anything fun tonight?" he inevitably asked, like he always did, and you sighed. You made the mistake of hooking up with him after one particularly rowdy work happy hour and ever since then, Matt's been waiting for his next opportunity. "I know a guy who works at that new French restaurant, I can get us a reservation and then, who knows..."

"I have a friend in from out of town," was all you said. No matter how many times you turned him down, he remained persistent.

"That's cool. Girls night, then?"

"My friend's a guy," you quickly corrected him.

Matt stumbled over his feet as you reached the conference room. It was the biggest one on your floor, directly across from the elevator banks. The entire wall was made of glass, floor to ceiling, so you could see through the room to the opposite wall, where there was a fantastic view of the city.

"Oh, like a cousin, or..."

"Nope," you replied, voice clipped so he knew the topic was closed. With a frustrated huff, Matt plopped down next to you and flipped open his portfolio. You gave him a sideways glance, momentarily feeling bad for him. He was by all accounts a good looking guy. He wrote a column for the men's health section and based on his physique, you assumed he practiced what he preached, but sadly his looks is where his good qualities came to an end.

Charlotte, your editor, breezed into the room, her presence enough to make everyone sitting at the long table quiet right down. She ghosted her palm over her perfectly coiffed grey hair and sat her portfolio down in front of her chair at the head of the table. As you got yourself organized, your mind scrambling to come up with a lie about a long distance relationship source, Charlotte placed her phone down delicately next to her leather portfolio, then slowly uncapped the expensive looking pen someone once told you was gifted to her by Marc Jacobs. Everybody watched and waited until she was ready, which was signified by a dainty clearing of her throat and a quick, sweeping glance over the table followed by a curt nod. At that point, the usual routine began.

Without having to be asked, one by one everybody took their turn presenting their idea for the month. Each person's name was listed on the agenda in the order Charlotte wished, and mercifully yours was dead last.

Your anxiety began to spike when Sara, the girl who was before you in nutrition started to wrap up her brief speech about some gluten free lifestyle benefit bullshit.

Keep it short. Keep it vague, and you'll figure it out later. Everyone wants to leave, it's almost lunch.

Then some movement by the elevators caught your eye. Your breathing ceased and you broke out into a cold sweat when you saw Marcus had stepped out of the elevator and was fucking talking to the receptionist. Then you locked eyes when they both turned to look towards the conference room.

"Shit," you whispered.

Matt nudged your ribs and you startled, glancing around the room to see Sara had sat down and half the table was staring at you, waiting for you to begin. You shakily stood up and swallowed the lump in your throat when Marcus began to weave his way towards you through the maze of cubicles.

Call it a stroke of genius or divine inspiration, but an incredible idea hit you right as you opened your mouth to speak. You had about half a second to decide if you should wing it and trust your gut or talk out of your ass about your first idea.

Fuck it.

"This month, I have a very interesting idea that I'm super excited about exploring," you began, watching when Marcus came to a stop outside the glass door. He looked back and forth, his fingers twitching at his sides. "My topic will be Romance without Technology," you announced with a confident smile. "I'll be researching how adults navigate their love lives without the help of dating apps, social media, or even texting," you said, listing each item on your finger as you spoke.

"Who's that guy?" Sara asked, pointing towards the door. It was at that point you realized most of the table was gawking at the tall, broad, handsome looking Roman General waiting to get your attention.

You smiled and walked toward the door with your arm outstretched.

"This is Marcus," you said, holding the door open and ushering him inside. He murmured your name but you cut him off. "He's the subject I'll be interviewing for this month's article. He doesn't use technology of any kind. In fact, he doesn't even own a cell phone."

The entire room gasped and Marcus looked around, confused, but understood what you needed him to do. He raised one arm up to greet the room and said, "Good morning."

Most of the women began to whisper excitedly to one another, shooting him looks and giggling behind their hands until Charlotte cleared her throat and once again, the room fell into silence.

You chewed your lower lip anxiously as you waited for Charlotte to silently appraise you both. Finally, you saw the corner of her mouth twitch and she gave you a barely perceptible nod.

"I look forward to reading it."

She stood abruptly and collected her things, signifying the end of the meeting, and relief flooded your veins.

"Are you okay?" you asked Marcus, pulling him to the side while the room stood and slowly filtered out. He nodded.

"Yes. There were many vehicles that passed by with bright lights and loud sirens. When I asked what it was for, I was told there was an emergency."

You giggled and shook your head. "So the fearsome General was scared?"

His brows knitted together for a moment before he answered.

"No. I grew concerned for your well being."

Your heart could have melted on the spot.

"Oh," you said softly, and just like that, the annoying little flutter in your chest was back. "I-I'm fine, but thank you. That was... that's really sweet, actually."

He grinned as his eyes swooped down your frame, causing butterflies to awaken in your stomach.

"Did you wanna get something to eat?" you asked as you stared up at him, his large frame making you feel so tiny in comparison. "It'll be on the company's dime since I kinda just signed you up to be the subject of my next article."

He cocked an eyebrow at you and shoved his hands into the pockets of his khakis, the action bringing up the memory of you measuring his inseam and you felt your face begin to heat up. God, you must have looked ridiculous, standing there in front of Marcus in the middle of your office, looking up at him with big doe eyes.

"Of course," he replied, "but what do you intend to write about me?"

You grinned and hurried back to your abandoned chair, scooping up your things before pointing to the door.

"Let me drop this stuff off at my desk and I'll explain everything."

"My marriage was arranged," he reminded you from across the table draped in white linen. You decided to take him to a nicer steakhouse not too far from your office, one that didn't enforce a dress code but still had good food that you rarely sprung for out of your own pocket.

"I know, but I'm sure you can still give me an idea of what romance was like," you replied. "For example, did you get her any gifts? Give flowers? Take her to places that were meaningful to you? Or to her?"

Marcus dropped his gaze to the table and shrugged. "We knew each other for such a short period of time, there was unfortunately not much in the way of romance."

You clocked the forlorn look in his eye and began to feel guilty for bringing it up. "I'm sorry. I'll just make something up, don't worry about it. No one'll know."

"No, no, I wish to help," he said quickly, his hand stretching across the table to loop two of his fingers around yours. "Just because I do not have many personal stories to share does not mean I cannot help with your research."

"I don't want to reopen any old wounds," you explained, your eyes fixed on the way his hand linked with yours so naturally on the tabletop.

He chuckled softly, his smile causing his deep brown eyes to sparkle and a dimple to appear on his cheek.

"It was a very long time ago."

When your salads arrived at your table, Marcus released your hand to pick up his fork, frowning down at the bowl before asking, "This is the salad named after Julius Caesar?"

You giggled and shook your head, the sound causing him to lift his chin with a warm smile.

"No," you said once you collected yourself, "No, it's named after another Caesar. The guy who created it, I think."

Marcus didn't seem to mind he was wrong or that you found his error so funny. In fact, he enjoyed it.

"You have a beautiful laugh."

Instantly, your cheeks flushed and you shyly looked down to focus on your salad. "Thank you," you said softly.

He watched you silently for another minute more, admiring the way your eyes fluttered shut when you tasted something good or tucked a stray piece of hair behind your ear, then took a hesitant bite of his salad.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise and you grinned from behind your napkin.

"Delicious."

You giggled again and nodded. "Yes, it is."

Once your salads were taken away and before your main course arrived, you pulled out a notebook and flipped to a blank page.

"Let's start from the beginning. You don't have to go into excruciating detail. Maybe just some things you know of that others did to... court women? Is that even the right word?" you mumbled the last part to yourself as you scribbled something at the top of your paper.

"It was seen as a sign of weakness for a man to become infatuated with a woman," he said, and you looked up at him in surprise.

"Why's that?"

"Marriages rarely were based on affection. They were viewed as a way to improve your social standing, but it was mutually beneficial," he explained, his finger tracing the design engrained in his fork. "Women were taken care of, looked after and tended to while the men were able to claim a high ranking senator or nobleman as their family. And, of course..." he trailed off, his cheeks staining pink when he dropped his gaze to the table and said, "received the traditional benefits of having a wife."

You smirked to yourself as you wrote notes on your pad of paper.

"Thought you were used to talking about sex openly," you teased. He cleared his throat and your pen paused over your paper to meet his eye.

"I admit, at times I feel nervous around you."

"Me?" you balked, but he just nodded and your brain scrambled for something to say that wouldn't entirely embarrass you. You landed on deflection.

"I thought it was a sign of weakness to grow infatuated?"

He grinned and leaned back in his chair. "I never said I agreed with that line of thought."

"No, I suppose you didn't," you said, shyly dropping your eyes to your paper. His gaze was too intense. Every time you looked at him it felt like he could see right through you. "So, tell me. Hypothetically. If we lived in Rome and I caught your eye, what would you do? How would you win me over?"

Marcus took a deep breath, his broad shoulders relaxing as he thought about your question for a moment, staring at your pen hovering over your paper.

"I would write you letters every day," he said softly, forcing your eyes back onto him. His voice was low and deep, smooth yet firm as he spoke. "I would write of your beauty. I would compare the color of your eyes to the flowers and fauna that grew in my garden, delicate and all encompassing. I would tell you how food tastes better on my tongue when you are around, and how I ache for you when you are not near. I would try to explain how difficult it is to breathe without you, and how I would gladly die a thousand deaths just to feel the softness of your lips against mine."

You stared at him, hand frozen where you left it resting on your notebook. He waited patiently until you finally blinked yourself out of your stupor and inhaled a shaky breath.

"Uh, s-so love letters, then," you stammered, shakily scribbling down something incoherent on your paper. Jesus fucking Christ, get it together.

"Yes. Love letters," he repeated. He sounded so cool and collected. How was he so relaxed? A moment ago, he was admitting you made him nervous. Maybe he was just better at hiding it than you.

Your server arrived and placed your food down in front of you, the heavenly scent wafting up and making your mouth water. Placing your pen down in favor of picking up your fork and knife, you asked, "Have you ever had steak?"

"I am not sure. What animal is it?" he asked, picking up his fork and testing the tenderness of his steak by giving it a little poke.

"It's cow. Try it, it's good."

"Cows were used for farming," he said before slicing a piece off and examining it closely. "We could not afford to slaughter them."

You watched as he popped a bite into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully before giving you a smile and nod.

"Good?" you asked, your heart skipping a beat at finding another food he liked.

"Very," he replied once he swallowed. "You are quite perceptive and have good taste."

"Thank you," you answered, taking another bite and trying not to preen too much from the praise.

"So tell me," he said after he finished up his filet and moved on to his potato, which he eyed wearily. "Do you not receive love letters as a form of courtship?"

"Uh, no," you replied with a laugh. "Closest thing to that nowadays would be a text and even those are... sub par."

"So what is it that you do?"

"What do you mean?"

He pointed to your notepad with his fork. "For romance. What activities do you take part in?"

"Oh," you said, wiping your mouth and pushing your empty plate to the side. "You mean dates. Uh, this actually. Get dinner together. Sometimes see a movie," you paused and rethought your word choice when you saw his face. "A show, or a play. Um, sometimes go to a bar. Stuff like that."

He nodded and let your answer roll around in his head for a moment before asking, "So, is this a date?"

Marcus smiled when he saw you become flustered. You thanked the server for clearing your plates and leaving the bill before responding.

"Uh, I don't know," you finally said shyly, making his smile grow even wider. "Do you want - I mean, well... I'm technically working, but, you know, if - if that was something you were interested in, then, I guess w-we could classify this, or, you know, it could be construed-"

"Yes or no," he said, interrupting your insane ramblings with a soft look and an outstretched hand. Your face was hot with embarrassment but you reached out for his hand, anyway.

"Yes."

"Yes," he repeated, squeezing your fingers. You grinned and nodded, your stomach doing cartwheels as you tried to steady your breath.

Once you paid with your corporate credit card, you walked back out to the street, Marcus holding the doors open for you before offering you his hand. You sheepishly accepted it and walked a few paces in the direction of your office before he stopped you.

"Must you return to work?"

You gave him a sad smile and took a step closer. "Yeah, I'm sorry. But maybe I can play hooky tomorrow."

Marcus raised a curious eyebrow at you while playing with the material of your dress with his free hand, gently pinching and feeling the fabric between his fingers. "What does-"

"It means I'll call in sick without actually being sick so I can have the day off," you explained without him needing to finish asking.

He grinned and dropped your dress in favor of cupping your cheek. "I would like that very much."

"Me, too," you said, gazing up at him while leaning into his touch. His strong, calloused hand felt rough against your skin, but you liked it. As if reading your mind, he stroked his thumb over your cheekbone and murmured, "You are so soft."

You hummed, not trusting yourself to speak when you watched him slowly lean down to your level, your eyes fluttering shut as you waited to feel his mouth against yours. But just when his shadow got close enough to block the sun behind your eyelids, you heard someone shout your name.

You swiveled around angrily, your hand still laced together with Marcus's as you looked for the person who interrupted one of the more romantic moments of your life.

And then you saw Matt stalking up to you from the direction of the restaurant.

"Is this why you've been ghosting me?"

You frowned and tilted your head. "What?"

Matt came to a stop in front of you both and jutted his chin towards Marcus. "Too busy sleeping with your profiles to hang out?"

"W-what?" you stammered again, too shocked to fight back with your usual vigor. You felt Marcus stiffen next to you. He wasn't sure what was going on, but he immediately sensed your discomfort. "I'm not - this isn't-"

"Oh, sure," he sneered, crossing his arms, his biceps bulging out of his thin dress shirt. "I saw you two in there. You were three seconds away from crawling into his lap."

Your mouth hung open in shock and humiliation. "Were you following me?"

Before Matt could answer, Marcus took a step forward.

"I am going to have to insist you stop yelling," he seethed, and even though Matt followed his own advice in his articles and worked out plenty, Marcus still towered over him.

Matt's eyes went wide for just a moment before his bravado returned. "C'mon, man. She's just using you, don't you see that?" Matt prodded, then he scoffed. "Unless you're good with it. Then by all means, have fun. She's a good fuck but I don't think she's got much else."

It all happened so fast, you couldn't remember Marcus dropping your hand and cocking his fist. You couldn't remember the first sickening crunch of his knuckles against Matt's nose, but you did remember hearing his pained howl.

Marcus only landed a few more blows before you came to your senses and tugged him by the shoulder. It was laughable to think you would be strong enough to move him, but you must have also said something because Marcus immediately stopped and turned back to you.

"Jesus Christ!" you cried shakily, hands trembling as they hovered in the air. You weren't sure what to do and people were staring as they walked by, driving up your anxiety. Marcus was fine except for his skinned knuckles, but Matt was much worse. He had a busted lip and already a bright blue shiner forming on his cheekbone, and when he stood to face you both, you noticed another cut on the other cheek.

"The fuck is wrong with you!" he spat, blood dripping down his chin.

"Mind how you speak to women and perhaps they will wish to spare you their time," Marcus snarled. Matt turned his attention to you, the pad of his thumb swiping against his lower lip.

"Who is this guy? What the fuck is his deal?"

You took a deep breath, your mind settling and your fortitude returning.

"If you had just backed off when I said no the first dozen times, maybe you didn't have to find out!"

"Oh, come off it. You like the chase. You get off on guys trailing after you-"

"You're the only fucking one, Matt!" you yelled, no longer caring who was looking. "We hooked up once, years ago, and you just can't take the hint! I'm not interested!"

His eyes clouded with disbelief as he propped his hands on his hips and shifted his weight to one foot, standing there as if he were somehow new to being shot down.

"I'm telling Charlotte about this. About your little..." he trailed off and gestured vaguely over your shoulder, "guard dog. I'm sure she will love to hear about one of your profiles assaulting an employee."

You crossed your arms defiantly and made a face. "Oh, yeah? Do that and I'll recommend to HR they give you a drug test."

His face paled for a moment but he tried to hide it. "Drugs? I'm not on drugs."

"Oh, so you're telling me your balls are just naturally that shriveled up and small? Because, shit," you laughed, "if it's not steroids, you might want to see a doctor about that. That's not normal."

Matt swallowed tightly and clamped his mouth shut. You smiled and turned around to Marcus, who had been listening to your entire argument and probably understanding less than half of it.

"Let's go."

You tugged on his arm and he obediently followed, leaving Matt to lick his wounds.

"Your work - the building is the other way."

"I know," you said, raising your arm to hail a cab. "I'll figure something out. We're going home."

Marcus watched as you paced around your kitchen, phone pressed against your ear as you spoke to your boss and faked a sudden illness that included the word cramps. When you finished up, you looked over at him from across the room.

He looked so normal now. Sure, he spoke a little strangely but without his tunic, clad in khakis and a polo shirt, he looked like he fit right in. Like he always belonged right there.

"I don't think I even thanked you," you said. Marcus smiled and shrugged.

"No need."

He was so damn adorable, it was killing you. "I've never met anyone like you before," you confessed, leaning a hip against the edge of your counter.

"In a good way, I hope?" he asked, raising his eyebrows. You giggled and nodded, the sound making his heart soar.

"Yes, in a good way."

He brought his hand up to smooth over his mouth nervously and your stomach dropped.

"Oh, my god! Your hands!" you exclaimed, crossing the room to snatch one of his massive hands within both of yours.

"It is alright, there is no-"

"Come on, let me clean up your knuckles at least," you said, pulling him towards your tiny bathroom, which somehow felt even smaller when you were both crowding the space. "Sit here," you told him, pointing towards the closed toilet seat, "I have some stuff somewhere," you muttered under your breath as you rifled through the medicine cabinet behind your mirror, then tugged open the drawer in the vanity that always stuck. Marcus did as he was told and watched you with amusement dancing in his eyes.

"Ah ha!" you announced victoriously when you held up a bottle of clear liquid and a box of bandages. He smiled as you washed your hands before meticulously laying everything out you would need. Picking up a cotton ball, you doused it with the liquid and turned to him, having little choice but to stand between his knees and lifting one of his hands to look at it closer.

He splayed his hand out flat, palm pressing against your palm while you carefully dabbed at the dried blood.

"You have laid with that man before?" he asked out of the blue. Your cheeks felt warm when you nodded and avoided his eye.

"A long time ago. It was a mistake."

He didn't say anything else for a few minutes, just watched as you tenderly cared for his broken skin, your proximity and touch overwhelming his senses.

"Did he mistreat you?"

Quickly, you shook your head. "Oh god, no, nothing like that," you told him. "It just... wasn't a good fit."

Marcus couldn't stop staring at the soft slopes of your face and the bright sparkle in your irises, growing infatuated with the way your brow scrunched together in concentration while you worked.

"Did he not worship you?" he asked softly, watching as your breath hitched and you swallowed the lump in your throat.

"Uh, no," you finally said, setting down the cotton ball in favor of a tube with some salve. You squeezed a small dot onto your finger and began to apply it carefully to his knuckles. "Can't say there's been a lot of worshipping happening in my life," you added with a dry chuckle.

"No?"

You shook your head and wiped your finger with a tissue and tried not to let his injured hand that had fallen to your hip distract you.

"No," you whispered, your shaky voice betraying you.

He tsked and brought his other hand up to your hip, slowly splaying his fingers wide and crumpling the fabric of your dress. "Shameful. You deserve to be worshipped."

All of the air rushed from your lungs, your body thrumming with desire. Marcus noticed the fine hairs on your arms raise when goosebumps flashed across your skin and he delicately picked up your hand, flipping it over so he could press a kiss against the inside of your wrist.

His deep brown eyes met yours and with his lips still brushing against your skin, whispered, "Will you allow me to worship you?"

You found yourself nodding before your voice had a chance to catch up with you, then his hands gently cupped your face and pulled you down to his level. The moment your lips finally met, you forgot how to breathe, how to move, how to think. His lips were so unexpectedly soft and tender as they slowly massaged against your own that it sent you into a tailspin.

You pressed your mouth against his with a little more force, the fear that he may just stop at one kiss gripping your throat and driving you forward. He made a soft, surprised noise in the back of his throat when you began to kiss him with more intensity, but he didn't skip a beat. He tightened his hold on your face, fingers dimpling your cheeks and his nose bumping lightly against yours.

Your hands pressed against his chest, then your fingers curled to grip his shirt, wanting to tug him closer, wanting to feel him everywhere but you were still in your stupid fucking tiny bathroom and it was difficult to maneuver. Seemingly anticipating your next move, you felt Marcus stand. Your head tipped back, neck craned upwards at an impossible angle, refusing to break the kiss even for a moment so he began to carefully walk you backwards towards the door. Every step towards your bedroom felt like you were walking deeper and deeper into the sea, drowning in his overwhelming presence and touch.

Marcus's palm slid over your shoulder, down your arm and only stopping when he found your ribs. He wound his arm around you as you both stumbled through your doorway with as little grace as you would expect from two people growing more and more intertwined by the moment.

Once you felt your mattress pressing into the backs of your knees, you released your death grip on his shirt so you could reach behind you and unzip your dress. The cool air washed over your bare skin when it pooled around your feet and suddenly, you felt extremely exposed. What kinds of women was he used to being with? It felt like every day when you went into work you learned something new that men found desirable in women. How could you possibly be expected to keep up in the modern world, let alone with what Marcus might find appealing?

But when his palm reconnected with your middle and he felt your smooth skin under his hand, he grew desperate for more to the point where you could sense it, pushing your insecurities to the back of your mind. His injured hand left your cheek so he could glide both massive hands over the soft swell of your curves, his fingers twitching as he sought out more of your skin but when he came in contact with your bra, his hands stopped.

You could feel his hesitation by the way his lips stalled against yours so you took his hands and wrapped them around your back, wordlessly guiding him to the clasp as your tongue slid inside his mouth.

He figured out the hooks on your bra after only one or two fumbles and it dropped to the floor to join your dress.

"Fuck," he whispered when he finally managed to pull away to admire your nearly naked body. Your eyes widened with surprise.

"I don't think I've heard you curse before."

He inhaled a ragged breath, his eyes still drinking you in when he murmured, "I did not have a reason to before now."

He gently grazed over your breast, barely even touching you while he watched with fascination as your nipple tightened from the brief contact. "You have stirred something within me," he said softly, his eyes and hands continuing to roam. "Something I believed did not exist for a long time."

You leaned into his touch when he cupped your breast, enraptured with how soft you felt under his hand. Your fingers curled around the waistband of his khakis, sliding your nails across his lower stomach, across the coarse hair you very much wished to see while his mouth descended on your throat. His beard tickled the spot below your ear and it sent a shudder down your spine. His lips curved into a smile against your skin at the involuntary movement and he asked, "What else do you like?"

It was becoming difficult to breathe. The way he was so slow and careful yet sure of himself was unlike anything you had ever experienced before with a man. It was making your knees weak and your head swim.

When it took too long for you to answer his question, he lightly pinched your skin between your teeth, causing warmth to bloom just underneath the mark.

"T-touch me," you stammered, your eyes sliding closed and your head tipping back, surrendering yourself completely to his prowess.

His hand slipped down your body, over your stomach and underneath your panties. You gasped sharply when you felt one thick finger part your folds, sliding over your clit and dipping into your entrance, drenching him with your arousal.

"Lay down for me," he whispered in your ear while wrapping his free arm around your back, holding you steady so you didn't collapse from the torture of his singular finger working in and out.

He laid you down carefully in your bed, his hand never losing its rhythm and his mouth still ghosting over your neck and chest.

You whined and bucked your hips under him, fingers getting tangled in his thick curls while he whispered words of adoration into your skin, imprinting himself on you forever.

He could feel you growing rigid, your muscles tense and your exhale coming in short bursts. He brushed his lips over yours at the same time his thumb grazed over your clit, making your jaw drop and a sob erupt from your throat.

"Relax," he murmured, increasing the speed of his wrist while slowly sliding his tongue alongside yours. "Relax and let go for me, cor mea," he said against your mouth.

Your body convulsed beneath him when he brought you to your climax with just one finger. His mouth locked over yours, swallowing down your cries and allowing them to feed his ever growing desire. When you whimpered and lightly pushed his hand away, he withdrew from between your legs but continued to deepen the kiss. It was so sweet and loving that it sent you reeling, wondering how you would ever find satisfaction from another man again after Marcus.

"Take these off," you breathed, tugging on his belt loops. He reared back to sit on his heels while deftly undoing the button and zipper of his khakis, leaving them gaping open at his waist before yanking his polo shirt over his head and tossing it onto the floor. You bit your lip, admiring his bare chest for the first time while he pushed his pants down and kicked them off.

"Christ," you muttered, eyes trailing over his tanned and scarred skin. You reached out and traced a particularly jagged one on his shoulder but he was more focused on ridding you of your underwear. If you ever questioned the validity of his time traveling story, any doubt was erased from your mind when you saw his body.

"Did these hurt?"

He paused and followed your gaze to his marked up torso.

"Some, at the time, yes."

Your expression softened to one of pity as you continued to scan his body, losing count of the shiny, pale scars.

"W-what... how did these..." you trailed off, unable to keep the emotion from your voice. Marcus cupped your cheek and pressed a kiss against your lips.

"It is alright. I have been in many battles. It is my job, and just like yours, I must do it."

You laughed but you didn't really find it funny. "You risk your life every day while I write about best places to take a first date or what to do if you're faking orgasms with your boyfriend. You can't compare the two."

Marcus cocked an eyebrow as he hovered above you. "And do you have much experience faking orgasms?"

You felt your face flush. You knew he was just trying to distract you, but it was working. "Some."

He leaned down and kissed the tip of your nose, then each one of your eyelids before asking, "But not a moment ago?"

You shook your head and raked your fingers through his hair, making him growl at the sensation of your nails across his scalp. While he focused on positioning himself at your opening, you dragged your mouth over his shoulder, tongue dipping to trace over his scar. You couldn't do anything about them now except show them love, something you were realizing Marcus was desperately lacking in his life back home.

Home. The thought entered your brain right when he first pushed inside you, stealing the air from your lungs and bringing tears to your eyes. You did your best to brush it aside and focus on the present, like the way he stretched you open or the soft noise he made when he fully sheathed his heavy length deep within you.

"Fuck," you gasped, clawing at his shoulders while you tried to get your bearings.

He released a groan so guttural and deep it had you squeezing around him. Your mouth found a home on his neck as he slowly began to rock his hips, your lips and teeth leaving temporary marks over his skin to join the scars. Every kiss was slow, every touch was attentive and it was hard to stop yourself from giving into him.

"You - oh," he moaned, eyes sliding shut as he lost himself in the moment. It might have been the first time you'd seen him ever falter, and the thought sent a fresh wave of arousal through you. "You are so soft and beautiful," he mumbled before finding your mouth once again and plunging his tongue past your teeth. "I fear it is almost too much for me to bear," he confessed between kisses.

Marcus was unlike any man you had ever met in so many ways. His vulnerability staggered you. Most men you had known would consider it weak or embarrassing to speak the way he spoke, but Marcus managed to do it without sacrificing an ounce of his raw masculinity.

His broad shoulders and thick arms caged you in, giving you a feeling of safety and security you never felt before with another person. It was always you who had to be strong, who had to figure everything out and be responsible. And for once, with Marcus, it felt like you could let go and not have to worry.

Your body relaxed beneath him, legs spreading even wider to accommodate his powerful thrusts. He pulled an arm out from underneath you to press down on your thigh, pushing it into the mattress next to you in order to open your hips up even more. Then he leaned up just a fraction so he could grind his hips against you with his new found space, drawing a shaky moan from your throat when he came in contact with your clit.

Marcus paid attention. He took note of what you liked, what made you writhe and gasp and he teased you with it until you were begging him for more. He couldn't deny you, so he gave you what you asked. When you whined for him to go faster, he did. When you begged him to touch you, he did. He gave you everything you asked for until your legs trembled and your breath quickened and you were tossing your head back into your pillow, his name on your lips as you fell apart for him.

Then you gazed up at him, eyes smoldering, your lips swollen and parted and looking more beautiful and satisfied than he ever could imagine. Pulling him down to you by the back of his neck, you whispered his name in his ear and he shuddered, his hips faltering for a moment all because of one simple word from your lips.

"Marcus," you whispered again, mouth sucking a bruise into his neck. "Are you going to come for me?"

"Yes," he groaned, his eyes fluttering shut as he neared his peak. A lazy smile spread across your face, body still flooding with pleasure as he fucked you a little harder seeking his own.

His hand fell to your side, pulling you closer, rolling your hips in rhythm with his, and with his teeth bared and eyes flashing with hunger, he came with a broken groan that sent a shiver down your spine. You gasped at the feeling of him emptying himself inside you, eyes squeezing shut in ecstasy. His mouth crashed over yours with your eyes still closed. Your tongues danced together, first with lust, then once your heart rates slowed and your skin stopped tingling, with something more. Something like longing and desperation to hold onto the moment as long as you possibly could.

You both spent a little too long sharing tender kisses and gentle touches. For once, the world around you ceased to make noise and the only thing that mattered was what to order for dinner so you didn't have to leave your bed the rest of the night. You picked Mediterranean food and spent the hour after it was delivered discussing how it compared to the food he was used to, neither of you daring to mention the elephant in the room.

You curled up into his side, his arm draped around you, his back leaning against your headboard as you watched a romantic comedy together. Just as you were explaining the plot and how you had used the movie as inspiration for an article the year prior, a breakthrough was happening in Queens.

The volume on your phone was off and neither of you were paying attention to it lighting up on your nightstand, too busy ignoring the movie in favor of fusing your lips together again with your limbs slowly tangling together under the covers to notice the text come through.

Danny: staying in Queens for the night, we're on a roll. The mighty General shall be out of your hair b4 you know it.

[garbageday]

The best way to view what Elon Musk and his weird, sad friends are doing to Twitter right now is a sort of large-scale libertarian dismantling of it. They want to bring back once-banned accounts and remove any sort of guardrails or moderation in name of free speech. And, just like how this plays out irl, far-right extremists are taking this opportunity to target journalists and activists, hoping to kick them off the platform. Well-known antifascist Chad Loder was suspended already along with a handful of other antifascist accounts. And right-wing Telegram accounts have created a list of 5,000 other Twitter accounts targeted for a large-scale mass reporting campaign. Though, I don’t think this mass reporting project will work because 5,000 accounts is just way too many to try and focus on.

Like that town that elected a bunch of libertarians and was then overrun by bears, the foolish desire of having a completely unmoderated public space means that lots of average users will fall through the cracks. At this point, you should assume if you lose access to your account for whatever reason, that’s it. Game over. It’s not an accident that Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton is talking to Musk right now about enabling “freedom” by giving users the “tools” to moderate Twitter as they see fit. These guys want to turn Twitter into New Hampshire.

On Thanksgiving, Musk tweeted that users should tweet at him personally if they see exploitative content involving minors on the site. Which is an outrageously stupid idea and one that could only come from a man so desperate to dogwhistle right-wingers obsessed with anti-LGBTQ “groomer” rhetoric right now that he forgot that child sexual exploitation material is basically the number one issue for user generated content platforms and it is assuredly increasing on Twitter right now. And, making things worse, Twitter is really the only mainstream social app left on the iOS App Store that’s allowed to have NSFW content on it. So if Musk keeps going, I think the first thing to happen is they lose that privilege. But I think it’s just as possible Apple decides it’s not worth all the drama and pulls the plug on the app entirely. Which is basically how all large-scale libertarian experiments on the internet tend to end, with some other authority stepping in to shut it down because the whole thing is filling up with nazis and pedophiles.

[Read more at Garbage Day]

[growandrecover]

Heyyy, me again! First of all I'd like to thank you for all your replies so far.

Second of all, I'd like to ask if you know of any communities centered around ED recovery. I know of two subreddits, but of them are... really bad. One is not recovery focused and is mostly overrun by pro-ana teenagers who are looking for advice for continuing their self harming behaviour. The other is recovery focused but every post is manually approved by mods and the mods approve like...5 % of posts and you aren't allowed to talk about anything slightly upsetting, even though there's a whole trigger warning flair so idk what's up with that. I feel like there's strength in community and while most of the members of my DBT group have some sort of eating disorder as well, it isn't really the focus of the sessions and we are discouraged from talking about it because not everyone is stable in their recovery.

Third of all, is it normal for extreme hunger to come in waves? I've always heard about it as like...this thing you get for a week or two straight and then you're alright, but after a while of starting recovery, I got extreme hunger for like two days and then nothing. And after a few weeks it was like a day again. Last week I didn't feel hungry nearly at all and didn't eat much, and this week I've feeling super ravenous. Like since Monday I've been feeling like a starving beast of some sort dhdhhdhsb. It isn't even necessarily physical hunger, like, yeah, sure, that too, but sometimes I feel dizzy and hungry and like I'm starving even though there's no physical pain in the stomach area.

Hey!! My deepest apologies for taking so long to respond. Life has been kind of hectic around here 🥲

I did some googling and here's what I found as far as groups go:

(As far as I know, they're all free. I went through all the registries and looked for payment options, and there were none. I haven't used any of them myself, though. I believe most of these take place in the US, so if you're not American, just let me know *if you're comfortable doing so, of course* and I'll look for more!! I did find a few that were taking people from all over the world, and one just for those residing in the UK and one for Australians.)

Eating Recovery Center: This one has a lot of different groups, though you can only be registered for one at a time. They're virtual meetings. I'm not certain if it's limited to those who live in the states or not, but if you live there, you should be able to access it.

Center For Discovery: This one also has a lot of different groups. They're virtual as well.

National Association of Anorexia Nervosa and Associated Disorders: This one only has 2 groups, one for those with the disorder, and another for family members.

Project Heal: This one is a list of 30 different groups, separated by category (high-weight and larger bodies, body liberation, lgbtq+, neurodivergent, bipoc, clinicians in recovery, age specific, general support, Spanish speaking, male identifying, meal support, and support for family and friends)

National Alliance for Eating Disorders: Virtual meetings, but not as many categories. If you live in the states, there are a few in person meetings as well. Led by therapists.

The Eating Disorder Foundation: Virtual as well. Lots of different options as far as groups go. (Family and friends, people experiencing binge behaviors, trans and nonbinary, individuals 18+, individuals 50+, neurodivergent, both virtual and in person for lgbtq+ people 18 and older, individuals 30+, individuals 13-17, art journaling, health professionals in recovery, and several other in person groups.)

Beat Eating Disorders: Solely for people in the UK. These are chat rooms. (General support, bulimia support, BED support, anorexia support, ARFID support)

The Lotus Collaborative: Meets on Zoom every Friday 3:00 pm to 3:50 pm PST. Anyone who is working on their recovery journey is welcome to join.

Butterfly Foundation: I believe this is solely open to Australians. However, if you just so happen to live there, they have both virtual and web chat options.

Eating Disorders Anonymous: This one has both in person and Zoom meetings for people who live all over the world. They are location specific, but there are many options.

Eating Disorder (Ana, BED, Mia, & EDNOS) Recovery Support Group *through Facebook*: I'm not a member of this group, but it looks like it shouldn't be harmful. However, since it's private, I sent a request to join to make sure it won't be triggering. I'll delete it off this list if it is. The rules that lead me to believe that it won't be harmful are as follows: "1. No numbers: All numbers related to weight, food, exercise, measurements, etc must be replaced by x/xx/xxxx. 2. No bullying whatsoever. Bullies will be immediately banned without a warning. 3. All pictures must go in the comment section of your post! Selfies and body shots are not allowed! 5. This group is NOT a pro ed group or a pro self harm group. If you support those, this group is not for you." There are 33k members.

Project Heal: This one was already mentioned, but I just wanted to single it out because it's specifically for meal support.

Balance Eating Disorder Treatment Center: This group is titled "Virtual Contemplating Recovery Free Eating Disorder Support Group". They state that if you're asking yourself things like, "Am I sick enough? Do I even have an eating disorder? Can I fix this on my own? Will I ever know a life without the obsession?" you'd be a great fit for this meeting. They meet twice a month at no cost. There is an international option if you're not in America. I wasn't sure if you'd need this one or not, but I wanted you to have the option.

Ana, Mia, and EDNOS Recovery Support Group *through Facebook*: Again, I requested to join this group to be sure it wouldn't be triggering. I'll delete it off the list if it is. There are 27k members. This one has very similar rules to the first one.

(If these weren't what you were looking for, I got a lot of area specific ones in my search *not included in this list*. So if you were to search, you may find some for those who live near you. I searched "eating disorder recovery forum", "eating disorder support forum", "eating disorder support group online", and "anorexia recovery support groups")

Update: I just got into the first group (they seem to work very quickly) and scrolled through the posts a little bit. Everyone looks to be pretty mindful and helpful as well! If you have Facebook, I'd recommend this one!!

To answer the third part of your ask:

My extreme hunger was terrible. Oh my gosh, it was just absolutely wild. I know exactly what you mean when you say you feel like a starving beast. Mine went on for a few months, if I'm remembering correctly. I remember getting it around October, and it stayed until January -ish? It got so much worse around the holidays 😫. However, I think it's different for everyone.

I remember looking it up and found this (I found it again when I looked it up just now lol) : RecoveryWarriors.com

In case you don't feel like reading it, the author says, "It was the oddest feeling. My stomach might feel full, but I feel an innate calling to keep eating. And eating. And eating. I'd consume huge amounts of food at once and still scrounge for more." She goes on to say, "Extreme hunger is not something everyone recovering from a restrictive eating disorder will experience. However, most will. When you'll experience it and for how long differs, but it is usually a (scary) part of the recovery process."

She continues a little bit later,

"However, it may take quite a while for your hunger levels to go back to 'normal'. There's no way of knowing how long extreme hunger will last. For some people, they may only experience it for a few weeks. Other people may find themselves in a state of extreme hunger for months on end. Or, you may never experience extreme hunger." (Why Can't I stop Eating!: The Truth About Extreme Hunger, Savala)

This article by Registered Dietician, Shena Jaramillo, called Extreme Hunger in Eating Disorder Recovery explains what causes it, the signs, how to manage it, provides coping tools, and might help to answer your question a little bit further.

I hope this was at least somewhat helpful!! Let me know how the groups go (only if you want to, of course) and I'll be sure to check back in when I get into the 2 on Facebook :) 💗

[greatqueenanna]

Frozen 3 - What We Know So Far - 2023

(NOTE: Image above is not concept art for F3. It is from F2.)

I wanted to do an overview post of everything we've learned this year about F3. I want to keep track of all news related to this project so that we can avoid misunderstandings and fan theories overrunning the films' development, like with what happened with F1 and F2.

To note, from now on I'm pretty much combining F3 and F4 (or F3 part 2) as a single project until we learn more about them. They are pretty much confirmed to be the same story anyway, so it makes sense to just put them together. Thus, if you want to know about F4 on my blog, it will be under the #frozen 3 news tag that I feature on my page.

I want to give shout outs to @ericmicael, @frozen-snowflakesandsunflowers, @frozensnetwork, and @bigfrozenfan for actually being the ones to provide some the sources below. I don't want to take all the credit for finding this info.

If any more info drops in December, or I discover more news released in 2023 in general, I will update this post.

Overview of What We Know

The idea of Frozen 3 came from Marc Smith, the Story Director of Frozen 2, and the story is so large that it will be separated into two films. There is no official release date, or info regarding how the two films will be released.

Jennifer Lee is overseeing the project and keeping up with it, but is not writing or directing as of 2023. This may change later on, however as of now, Lee is not behind the creative process.

It is currently unknown if Chris Buck will return as director, and there is no news on who is directing or writing the films, other than Marc Smith coming up with the initial idea.

Idina Menzel and Josh Gad have officially announced their involvement. However, Kristen Bell and Jonathan Groff have not officially announced their returns. It is sort of obvious that they will return, especially with Bell saying that they are all ready to return, but just wanted to establish that they have not publicly stated this yet since the announcement. As for other cast members, no one has stated yet that they will return as of 2023.

Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Bobby Lopez are returning to write the songs, and have also confirmed that the story will be two films.

Jennifer Lee continued to push that no other entry other than the main films are canon to the newest project. Thus, the Frozen Podcast that was announced alongside F3 and misrepresented as a lead up to F3, is not considered canon.

There is very little known about the story, however, it may be about Elsa and Anna being very busy in their new roles. There is also some hints about Elsa's powers possibly growing.

More detailed news with sources below the read more.

---

As a quick shout out, in the year 2022, Kristen Bell had actually hinted at Frozen 3. At the time, this was considered a joke since Kristen Bell loves to push for more Frozen sequels (and honestly, it probably still is a very coincidental joke haha), however now that we know that F3 was possibly in development at this time, this may of been the first official hint at F3 that we ever received.

"I would like to officially announce, with zero authority, Frozen 3. I know Idina recently said she would do it. And I feel like if we're all in, what are we waiting for?" -- Kristen Bell, Voice of Anna

---

The first bit of information we received about F3 in 2023 was the announcement itself. In early February, Frozen 3 was announced to be in development along side Toy Story 5 and Zootopia 2.

“Today I’m so pleased to announce that we have sequels in the works from our animation studios to some of our most popular franchises, Toy Story, Frozen and Zootopia. We’ll have more to share about these productions soon, but this is a great example of how we’re leaning into our unrivaled brands and franchises.” -- Bob Iger, Disney CEO

---

At the same time, Kristen Anderson-Lopez further confirmed this, indirectly announcing that the Lopezes would return to write the songs for the new film.

---

On the same day, Josh Gad confirmed (inserting link in case video doesn't load) that he was ready to return to the film.

---

In June, we received new information about the film in regards to Jennifer Lee's involvement. As of 2023, Jennifer Lee is only overseeing the project, but not writing or directing it. In this announcement, (which is actually bit misleading since, as said, Jennifer Lee is still returning to the project, just not fully as writer/director) Lee hinted that someone else came up with the idea of Frozen 3, and it had become their project. This led to many fans assuming that this new person was the new director/writer.

“I can’t say where we are. All our stories are driven by the artists in the studio. Where we’re going with Frozen did not come from me, it came from an incredible person. That’s a new piece, I’ve told no one. And I’ve been blown away by it and I’m just having a blast with that team.” -- Jennifer Lee, Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer

---

In the same month, Idina Menzel confirmed her return as Elsa. However, she stated that she didn't know too much about the project itself and said that they only teased her about it.

“I don’t know a lot. To be completely honest, they teased it to us, and I have no idea. They don’t show you a script. They don’t show you anything. All I know is, yeah we are gonna make one, and that’s it. So, I’m like, ‘Cool! I will be able to pay my bills." --Idina Menzel, Voice of Elsa

---

A Month later, Idina continued to drop small tidbits of what she knows (barely anything apparently haha) about F3 in another interview with This Morning.

"Yes...it's happening I was told, I mean you know nothing's been signed but I'm very excited if it is happening- I swear to you I'm not being elusive...I haven't seen a script." --Idina Menzel, Voice of Elsa

---

Later in October, we got more info about the film's creative team and how involved Jennifer Lee actually is on the project. Lee announced that the incredible person who came up with the idea of F3 was Marc Smith, Director of story for F2. She also stated that she was blown away by the progress on the project.

“Every morning last week they carved out space for me to work with the creative team on it, and I am blown away and I am so excited. I don’t know what I’m doing on it yet — I’m not doing nothing — except doing what I do now, which is we work on every project as as team and I’m in there with creative. But with ‘Frozen,’ just a little bit more. Our philosophy is this, and it won’t change: If there is more story to tell, the filmmakers have to drive it. And I’ll say with ‘Frozen,’ Marc Smith, who was our director of story on ‘Frozen 2,’ came with an incredible idea for more ‘Frozen,’ and it’s worth it." -- Jennifer Lee, Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer

---

Jennifer Lee later confirmed this information again in another interview within the same month, and also pushed that the Frozen Podcast: Forces of Nature, is not canon the the newest project.

The idea for Frozen 3, she continues, came from Marc Smith, head of story on Frozen II. “Growing it out from there feels right because it’s coming with vision, it’s coming with purpose." Lee can't say much about what the sequel entails, but when asked if fans should be paying close attention to the current Frozen story being told on the Forces of Nature podcast series, she's hesitant to consider the audio offering canon. In my head, the films will always stay canon. Anything done outside of that, we give them permission to have their own identity. They may not be canon. I still encourage it because I think it’s fun to explore. But don’t hold us to anything except what we put in those features. That’s just me. I don’t want to disappoint anyone. But I also want to say I love that other artists get inspired, and I love the idea of the Frozen story.” -- Jennifer Lee, Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer

---

The biggest shock that shook the entire fandom and internet culture, was when Bob Iger dropped the reveal that a Frozen 4 was also in the works at the studio in November.

‘Frozen 3’ is in the works, and there might be a ‘Frozen 4’ in the works too. But I don’t have much to say about those films right now. Jenn Lee, who created the original ‘Frozen’ and ‘Frozen 2,’ is hard at work with her team at Disney animation on not one but actually two stories.” -- Bob Iger, Disney CEO

---

Along side the above announcement, Kristen Anderson-Lopez also confirmed the fourth film.

---

Later on in the same month, Jennifer Lee gave more back ground on the idea of two films, and indirectly confirmed that the films would be one story told across two installments.

"We're really excited about where they're going, and we just have a lot of story to tell with that direction we're going in. So, I think, in my head, there may be enough for two in that story. But I'm really, really loving working with the team and where they're going." --Jennifer Lee, Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer

---

In November as well, This tweet (linking here just in case the video below doesn't work) started to pick up steam and was posted by a verified account - however, it is still iffy on whether or not this info was for F3 or was just taken from an interview about F2 and repurposed to be about F3. If it is genuine, then Jennifer Lee hints here that the story will possibly involve Elsa's powers growing.

"I will tell you what I think philosophically, that isn't telling you what is in [Frozen 3]. I think Anna and Elsa's journey is only continuing. It was warned by the Trolls that that Elsa's powers would only grow. So, that's all I will say." --Jennifer Lee, Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer

---

In December, Jennifer Lee did another interview with Heart where she actually revealed a tiny bit more about Frozen 3's story. She goes on to say that Elsa and Anna will be very busy in the next project.

“Well they are coming back. Big Iger himself leaked it, that we got so much story that we’re working on now, it looks like it’s gonna be two films. Cause it’s so big where they’re going next. And Elsa’s got a lot to do, so, and I can’t give anything away to say what’s gonna happen but Anna as well. And Anna’s you know, I feel very connected to her, the ordinary hero, I don’t have any magic. But I’m really excited. The amazing thing to me is always how these two sisters as we start looking at their journey, they keep surprising us and telling us, showing us what they’re capable of. So I’m definitely excited about where we’re going.” So does Elsa find love? “I can’t give anything away, I can’t tell you anything. All I want to say is that anyone who thinks they’ve heard anything they are not true, there’s no leak, nothing has left our vaulted story room and the only leak is what Bob Iger leaked himself.” --Jennifer Lee, Disney Animation Studios Chief Creative Officer

---

[bunnidarling]

Gorgeous art of my beautiful slutty son by @theartloca who was an absolute joy to work with and I'm already planning my next project with her!

Excerpt from "The Bath":

Averyll didn’t feel the need to hide away in the forest any longer, starting to feel more at ease with his steadily growing party. Still, he would excuse himself each evening to “Perform his nightly ablutions.” He liked that word: ablutions. It sounded fancy. Like they were staying in a fine countryside manor and not camping near an abandoned village overrun with goblins. He generally used this time to bathe and enjoy a bit of solitude away from the eyes and ears of camp. 

Their fights that afternoon had been particularly brutal, and while all wounds were mostly healed, blood and gore still clung to his skin and hair.  He followed a well-worn path from camp to the river’s edge, setting his towel and fresh clothes next to his backpack on the shore, boots and gloves soon to follow. He let his battle-soiled jerkin and pants fall in a heap before wading waist-deep into the cold, rushing river. He cursed under his breath as he ducked down, staying under as long as he could while he scrubbed his fingertips through his scalp. 

A few moments later he popped up with a gasp, shaking his hair back from his face, eyes sharp for his effects on the riverbank. He wasn’t prepared to see Astarion casually reclining on that rock.

“Gods, Astarion!” he cried, breathless with the shock of surprise. 

Astarion crossed one leg over the other, clasping his hands together on his knee as he looked on, not the least bit fazed. His typical smirk turned into a grin and he chuckled, “You know I thought we’d be a little closer when you started making those kinds of exclamations.” 

Averyll felt heat spread out over his cheeks and chest, traveling further south still, his momentary embarrassment quickly transmuted into pure arousal. Gods damn you, Astarion. Two could play this game. He took the opportunity for all it was worth, standing to his full height allowing the tops of his hips to crest the water. He raised both arms up, shaking his head back as both hands raked through his auburn hair, soaked to a dark russet. He knew he made an attractive picture with rivulets of water sluicing down the smooth planes of his lithe but well toned body. 

Righting his head, eyes slowly slid open to light on his observer, lids at a sultry half mass. His voice took on a smoky tone as he spoke lowly, hands coming down to rest at his sides beneath the water, testing the surface tension. “Do you think of that often, Astarion?” 

The elf raised a silvery brow and pursed his lips and he cast his gaze heavenward as if carefully considering his next words. As if he didn’t already know his script before he walked onto this stage tonight. “Would you like that?” He responded, his own voice dropping into a low, velvety timbre that Averyll could feel pulse in his prick. 

I would love that.

“I might.” He offered noncommittally trying in earnest to mask his desire as he sunk back down into the water letting it slowly swallow him up to his neck, his companion robbed of their view. 

As if taking a cue, Astarion rose, wetting his lips with the tip of his tongue. He looked down his nose, making sure their gaze locked for a full two heartbeats. 

“Mmmm… Good to know.” He rumbled, strolling off into the forest without so much as a backward glance. 

Get the whole story here:

[beastren]

∞ Arisen & Pawn Character Introductions

original template by @arisenreborn :D

♛ THE ARISEN:

NAME: Nimh AGE: 23 RACE: Half-elf PRONOUNS: She/her PREFERRED VOCATION: Warfarer FAVORED GIFTS: Gems, things to make food with, particularly (princess) harspuds. FAMILY: Elf father, human mother.

POSITIVE TRAITS: Brave, hard-working, largely unconcerned with things she deems trivial, so it helps her have a good sense of drive/focus, but can also make her some across as uncaring. NEGATIVE TRAITS: Rash, reckless, impulsive, particularly in high-pressure moments, like if Lir gets downed. Easily frustrated. LIKES: Goats, books, small creeks. DISLIKES: The cold. Glyndwr. She doesn't have the best impression of elves in general, but also not the worst. Medusas.

1. What was their life like before becoming Arisen?

She lived on a small farm with her parents until she was about 16, when she decided to start traveling and doing odd jobs around Vermund, which is how she ended up as a sell-sword in Melve when the dragon attacked. Her family lived a decent bit away from any settlement, although they would go into the nearest towns to shop and trade every so often. She didn't have many friends because of this, so she took up reading from a young age, and it was her main hobby, aside from helping on the farm, which she did genuinely love.

2. How do they handle being Arisen, and the responsibilities that come with it?

She handles it pretty well, at the beginning, after she's gotten her memories back. The point where she didn't have them was quite rough though, and of course it gets rough later on when more things start feeling at stake. In the AU where she brings about the Unmoored World it's a bit horrifying, it's the absolute worst thing she could've ever imagined and the only things that get her through are the urge to set thing's right and Lir's determination.

3. What are their thoughts on Pawns in general?

Just fine! Not good or bad, and both before and after becoming an arisen she was inclined to see them as Just People, albeit with a bit more nuance later on.

4. What's their relationship like with their main Pawn?

Complicated and simple at the same time. Due to her love of books as a child, particularly tales of knights and princes, Lir was born from an idealized image of those figures. While he was made for her to fall in love with and be a crutch/wish fulfillment in a way, she also always struggled with attachment and attraction to men. It's not that she wasn't, but it happened very rarely. So between that, and also how convoluted, intense and unique the bond between arisen and main pawn can be, she spends a lot of time figuring out what might be projection or miss-attributed feelings. She does come to very much genuinely love him for him though, throughout their journey. More on this in Lir's paragraph on his feelings for Nimh and how he's changed.

5. Do they have any interest in being Sovran? What are their opinions on the politics of the world in general?

No interest in it at all smh.... She's definitely just handing the responsibility off to Sven lol. She was happy in her late teens/early 20's to be away from home and the farm, but as she goes through her journey as Arisen she finds herself longing for it again more than anything. So she really hopes Sven would also be willing to fund her getting a little farm of her own somewhere.... Maybe she could renovate those couple destroyed buildings overrun by saurians by the fields of Vernworth.... As she'd also hate to be too far from people again.

6. Who are their love interest(s) and/or closest friends?

Wilhelmina is her love interest, aside from Lir.... Wilhelmina kissing her to save her from the guards was her bi awakening lol. As for close friends, she gets along well with Menella and Brant. She likes to visit Waldhar too, as he becomes a great supply of books and is someone she can talk about them to. She likes hanging out with Ulrika and Fyoran when she visits Harve as well. Beren as well, and although she doesn't spend much time with him, he's one of the only people she truly feels she won't be judged for being quiet around.

7. What drew them to their preferred vocation? Do they have history with it?

She hates being limited (read: not being able to reach areas), so always being able to pull out a staff and levitate, or to pull out a magick bow to shoot enemies out of the sky or hit multiple targets is something she quickly finds she can't go back from once she has it. Though she usually equips all 4 of her skill slots with skills from one vocation anyway, mainly mystic spearhand and occasionally thief.

8. Do they have any hobbies? Any way of relaxing between all that monster-slaying and traveling?

Reading!! But also she at least does very much enjoy camping and making good food for everyone, especially finding ways to go above and beyond the default slab of meat. Maybe THIS is her secret to getting Lir to be so strong.... She also likes petting and playing with farm animals. She will often wander out into the fields outside of Vernworth to do this....

♟︎ THE PAWN:

NAME: Lir AGE: 24 RACE: Beastren PRONOUNS: He/him PREFERRED VOCATION: Warrior FAVORED GIFTS: Berries, delicately but pleasantly fragranced soaps. Handmade things and kind gestures in general. INCLINATION: Kindhearted

POSITIVE TRAITS: Kind, strong, loyal and sweet. NEGATIVE TRAITS: Self-sacrificing, can be a bit clueless. Clumsy around deep water. LIKES: Shallow water and baths, hot springs.... He enjoys traveling and seeing interesting sights but there's nothing better than a warm comfortable bed. DISLIKES: Deep water and the brine.... Dragonsplague....

1. What was their life like prior to being summoned by their Arisen?

Nothing much to note here! Just a foggy consciousness in the rift.... Nimh is his first and only arisen!

2. What is their opinion on the Arisen? How do they view their relationship?

He looks up to her a lot, before anything else. At first he's quite compelled by Nimh's will and her projection of it, as his arisen, onto him, and sort of loves her blindly for a while. But even at the start, part of his awe and wonder towards her is certainly genuine. More on this in the "how have they changed" section below.

3. Is there anything about the Arisen they find troublesome? Be it a small quirk or bad habit? (Or are they obviously flawless?)

He holds her in too high of a regard to think of any of her traits as too much of a flaw, but if he had to say some things, it'd be her recklessness when worrying over him, but also her difficulty at times with communication. Although they work together very well in battle, and there is a certain amount Lir can kind of just Sense off of her, there was a period in the middle of their journey (about the time they reached Battahl) where the two grew rather distant. Largely because Nimh was having difficulties sorting through her feelings for both Lir and Wilhelmina, and also just struggling as enemies got harsher in Battahl. This lead her to neglecting him a bit and just not talking to him about anything she was going through, which Lir would've absolutely preferred and believes would've saved them a lot of trouble. They do eventually have a breaking point where they work things out and grow closer than ever before.

4. What is their specialization and is there any story behind how they cultivated that skill set?

Chirurgeon!! He was a Logistician at first, but Nimh wold get frustrated at him crafting salubrious draught all the time before she could wait for fruit to ripen and dry to make roborant.... She decided to channel his affinity for curatives and his kindhearted nature into a specialization where he could look out for their party more directly.

5. Do they have any thoughts on the politics of the world and their place in it as a Pawn - or how Pawns are treated?

Lir can be very sensitive to it, feeling lots of grief at the ways pawns get mistreated in Battahl. It's extra odd for him being a beastren pawn as well.... But part of him does understand why they feel that way considering dragonsplauge, but it hurts nonetheless. He wants to be hopeful since Nadinia seems open-minded, but he wonders how much of what Phaesus does she truly knows about.

6. Does their journey with the Arisen change them in any significant way and how?

During the rough patch between Nimh and Lir, he starts to gain his own will bit by bit. At first this and the general circumstances do draw them apart, but Lir takes the time to ponder and sort out his own genuine, developing feelings. It's hard to sort out and get rid of Nimh's will completely, so things continue to be complicated, but Nimh is very wary of this and that isn't lost on Lir. He doesn't ever bring his feelings up directly for quite a long time because of this, although he does keep up his sweet manner of speech full of admiration as it is kind of second nature by now, albeit with a bit more Meaning. To keep the rest of this short, in one AU Lir, Nimh and Wilhelmina all end up happily together, retired at their farm with Sven as sovran. In another, they decide to bitter-sweetly part ways after everything so Lir can travel and become truly his own self. And there's also the unmoored world AU ofc.

7. Is there a reason they chose their preferred vocation?

In game he comments on this a lot lol, he loves being a warrior. Sometimes he even asks to be a warrior WHILE he's a warrior. Initially he was a fighter, influenced by Nimh's vision of a princely knight. But he felt a little stagnant after reaching max rank so they had him try out warrior and he just instantly thrived, he felt a lot more helpful/capable/powerful too, so it just stuck!!

8. Do they have any hobbies or preferred past-times?

Hmmm, that's hard.... He's rather go with the flow so he can be happy chilling and doing whatever, like watching the clouds or the stars.... But I could see him having a journal/scrapbook or something!! I'm sure he gets into a lot of stuff in the AU where he sets out on his own but i'd have to ponder it more.... Kind of related, but he would help re-braid Nimh's hair often and got quite good at it, on top of it being quite relaxing to him.... Hairstylist....

[astranne]

FAKE DATE ME? !blue lock

mikage reo x gn!reader

notes // honestly, blame vera for this. i'm not a reo simp, rin thoughts only but here we are... with a reo work.... ugh. as always not edited because i'm lazy and i wrote it during lessons. this completely escalated so uh, have almost 1k of reo just being a simp

wc // 911 words

tagging // for all my reo simps <3 @stellumi , @lilikags , @keqism , @wanderersbell , @venexus

Listen- it was not his fault! He was desperate, the pressure of the public and his parents heavy on his shoulders, all while he only wanted to play football with Nagi. The only reason why his dreams weren't crushed, was because of Blue Lock, as insane this project was.

It saved his life, well, more like his life as a striker and opened so many possibilities. He wanted to play football, he wanted to be the best and he was. Part of the first Blue Lock Generation and survivor of the Neo-Egoist League, he really was one of the best.

And still his parents tried to persuade to take over business, to become the head of Mikage Corporation but he didn't want to! Why was that so hard to understand? He wanted to play football, he wanted to win the World Cup again, he wanted to play against the best because he was part of the best.

In the end, no matter how many times he argued with his parents, he always ended up in one of his many fancy suits, right besides his parents, hair slicked back and a polite, cold smile on his lips. The people around him, old men with too much money to spare and their wives at the age of their own, barely adult children tittered around him, hiding insults behind admiring words and compliments.

They mocked him for his choices, all while going purple because of their jealousy. Others showered him with compliments, trying to gain any kind of favor for their own, untalented sons, or trying to push their brain-dead daughters in his direction. All of this didn't interest him, not when he played in one of the best European clubs as a regular, not when he was the next head of a rich company, not matter how much he hated it.

But he got tired of it, women trying to hang on his arm, simply because he was famous and rich. Richer than most football players. Their interest was not in him, but his fame and money, of course it bothered him and of course he didn't want to do anything with them. He gently pried their arms off, dodging their sharp nails, ready to dig into his meat to leech off and feed their greed.

All this happening to him was the reason why he was here now.

Here, standing in front of you, blurting out his proposition and watching you blush, stammer words and fumble with your hands. That is until you fall silent and agree with a silent 'yes'. How could you not? You, who had a bleeding heart and saw how your friend suffered under the attention he got, the unwanted gazes and whispers following him, while all he wanted to do was playing soccer...

He didn't announce the 'relationship' right away, fearing you would be overrun by the press, his fans and other unwanted people. But coming to sense, he knew that if the paparazzi found out, it would be much worse.

And so he posted a picture on his social media accounts, your hand in his, with a cheesy caption.

Of course, his fans went crazy, trying to find out who your new darling love was, but Reo quickly made it known that he wanted to protect you from the vultures of being famous, just a tiny bit longer.

Instantly he was portrayed as the sweetheart boyfriend, oh so considerate of his partner's feelings, trying to keep his relationship as private as he could.

He hoped that this would be enough, enough to stop his noisy parents breathing down his neck, enough to stop the touchy women on galas, enough to stop everyone.

Mikage Reo was naive. Very naive and too hopeful. Not only did his fake date gather too much attention to just split off, oh no- he also gained feelings for them, like an idiot.

His heart was beating so fast, as if he was in the middle of an intense game, the tip of his ears constantly red, always when you were near him, laughing with him, smiling at him and be his, no matter how fake it was. He was desperate, trying to get closer, reasoning with himself that this has been just so no one would find out, trying to deny that he was in love, trying-

Why was he even trying? He knew he fell for you the second you agreed to help him out, completely selfish (or so he thought). He fell for you hard and fast, with no way backing out of this and he was in a relationship with you! It was almost perfect and so he started to pretend, pretend it was actually perfection and he could call you his official and true partner.

He was trying to hide it, to hide his affection, his crush, his love- and yet he clearly failed, when everyone around mentioned how good the two you were looking, finally stepping into the light of the public, together, two as one.

Whipped he was, some said. Others mentioned words such as 'being in love', 'completely besotted' or 'utterly infatued'.

It was true, how could he deny it? How could he still continue to pretend, while the whole world whispered about him being oh so in love?

He couldn't. And so he confessed, stumbling words and eyes on the floor, fearing your rejection.

But he had nothing to fear, you loved him as well.

ASTRANNE 2023

[advertingpizza]

What’s the lore behind Sykobe & Waves? I must know all there is to know about them :0

i had a whole draft i was working on throughout the day and lost it in the last 5 minutes of finishing a heated wii sports golf match 🤠

i've had a few asks for sykobe so i'll just use this as a single reply. you ask, i deliver. context, a lot of togruta society is a headcanon that i can explain in a later post.

also i love answering stuff like this!! i could talk about by boys all day long

cw for bad parenting and non graphic limb amputation

Sykobe Eyros is a 24 year old bounty hunter hailing from the Togruta clan Rivalke based on the abyssal planet Yxoha. Born to clan lead and force sensitive parents Sycante and Nalake, Sykobe and his older sister Neyti were both brought into the Jedi Order at a young age. Due to their unique background, both siblings had experience being involved in their cultural traditions, making them potential competitors for the throne. Sykobe's father, Sycante, constantly saw this as a threat to his leadership and actively sought to get both of his children dispelled from the Order by ensuring their training was ruthless and impractical.

While Sykobe survived far into his Padawan years , his sister succumbed to an unfortunate spinal injury after being ambushed by an alleged Sith. Sykobe always knew that his father ultimately played some role in what had happened with his sister, yet there was nothing he could do to prove involvement to the Order. Shortly after this time, Sykobe was left to complete his trials for knighthood, in which he was left in charge of the 307th Special Operations legion under the command of Alpaha-40, better known as Waves. With the aid of his newfound unit, he successfully completed his Jedi trials after running a successful rescue operation to save his master, Ezo Rizi. During this specific mission, Sykobe unknowingly tanked a blaster shot straight to his chest that penetrated his armor, leaving him with permanent damage to his heart. Thanks to the quick decision of Captain Waves to board another Jedi's Venator without permission, Sykobe was gotten into a bacta tank to heal a majority of his wounds.

Later into the Clone Wars, Sykobe was once again cleared for duty, relying on the use of a modified BD unit to administer a special medication that allowed him to remain in the field without risking death from his prior injury. He was quick to reunite with his legion, of which he began to treat like family. During this time, Sykobe's loyalty to the Republic began to falter as he uncovered a corrupt plot between his father and a Sith scientist, but no amount of hunting could get him the proof he needed. Instead of breaking his back to save a government that refused to protect him, Sykobe decided to expend his time by protecting each member of his legion. It was during this time that he unexpectedly began to foster a relationship with clone captain Waves after a shared recovery process following an orbital bombardment gone wrong. This was also around the time Sykobe and Waves decided to adopt two abandoned Togrutan children, Paka and Loha, as Sykobe was sworn to protected them under his clan's tradition.

Time was not in Sykobe's favor. Only a few months after settling into a position on the outer rim to avoid any run-ins with his father's fleet, Sykobe and the 307th were dispatched to locate 3 missing Destroyers. 2 of the 3 were presumed lost in deep space, whereas the 3rd orbited a small rocky planet far from charted space. In a freak accident where the group uncovered a very early prototype of the later Project I71A, Sykobe was overrun by infected reanimated corpses while evacuating his legion. He and his small squad were able to escape, although Sykobe sustained a mortal wound to his right leg. Not wanting to lose the only general that ever cared about them, Waves, as well as the other clones belonging to the small team, unanimously agreed to amputating Sykobe's leg to save his life. Trace amounts of the virus remained in his blood, yet it was not enough to severely inhibit his day to day life.

The remainder of the Clone Wars was quick. A final encounter between Sykobe and his father Sycante resulted in a duel to the death. With Sykobe's loyalty to the Republic already faltering, as well as his horrible lived experiences at the hands of his father, he did not hold back as the two initially dueled for leadership of the clan. Unfortunately, Sykobe had been blindsided by a second lightsaber wielded by his father that slashed across his stomach. Standing before the entirely of his legion, Sykobe was pushed off a cliff into a bottomless ravine as his father stood tall, claiming the victory for killing his only son. Months later, Order 66 rolled around. Despite Waves and the other Alpha-class troopers in the 307th being completely resistant to the order, all 4 of them at the time very religiously ambushed Sycante, executing him in cold blood for what they considered to be the only acceptable revenge.

Alpha-class ARC Trooper A-40, known as Waves by his brothers, is a special operations captain within the 307th legion. Born in the very beginning round of clones far before the creation of his quicker aging Beta brothers, Waves had the luxury of being trained by Jango Fett and the Mandalorians as many of the Alphas had been. Being unaltered, he and the rest of his batch, consisting of Alphas 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45, appropriately dubbed the 40 squad, all specialized in performing high stakes operations as well as injecting in multiple combat scenarios in order to turn the tides of the war.

Like many of his Beta counterparts, his first significant battle was upon Geonosis, where he very quickly learned that no matter how good he and his brothers were trained, many of the normal clones were painfully inexperienced and unfortunately, even if he tried, he could not save them all. This very quickly led to his distain for the Jedi Order, as he happened to have striking amounts of independence and self awareness when it came to the overarching reality of his purpose.

After serving his purpose as a special operations leader for many months, he and the legion he had led were eventually appointed a Jedi General. At first, hearing about the news that there would be a Padawan, he and the rest of the 40 squad were all appalled, seeing as a literal child on the battlefield would be no better than his undertrained brothers. Though his concerns held very real truth, he found that as a means of keeping his small team of Alpha troopers and the normal troopers they had adopted along the way together, the only option was to accept being under a general or else they would all be effectively disbanded and reassigned. This led to Waves working as a captain under Pantoran Jedi General Ezo Rizi, alongside his wild and disobedient Togrutan Padawan Sykobe Eyros.

In his first mission alongside his new general to apprehend a shapeshifting criminal responsible for stealing a holocron, Waves ended up getting tackled off a hill and stuck in an underground Separatist bunker after Sykobe unknowingly took a blaster shot that would've otherwise taken his life. Even though the Padawan was injured, the two were able to escape the bunker through a cavern encasing it by relying on Sykobe's echolocation. The two shared a brotherly bonding moment on the field shortly after escaping once Sykobe quite literally saved Waves from being eaten alive by the shapeshifter. Later finding out about the grave injury the Padawan had sustained, Waves slowly began to form a protective bond with the Togruta that put everything on the line for him, a feature he had not once observed in any other Jedi.

By now, Waves and Sykobe had become a relatively formidable force, as the young Jedi ascended to knighthood and inherited control of the legion. Almost every day, Waves and Sykobe spent hours training drill after drill, as they both shared the same passion for protecting the clones that served alongside them. Many battles later, the 307th found their way onto Kavado in a large offshoot conflict as a direct result of the slaves from Shili being rescued by the Republic. Waves and the 40 squad, as well as their adopted members ARC troopers Loch and Boulder, as well as a squad medic dubbed Tide, were assigned to evacuating a base while Sykobe investigated a trail of explosives that was far too coherent to have been planned out by a droid.

Unfortunately, Waves lost one of his own, Alpha-45, better known as Mesa, after he self sacrificed to save the rest of the squad from getting stuck in a collapsing building. Alpha-43, nicknamed Click, took a shot to the thigh while the baby of the squad Tide dropped limp after taking a shot to his helmet. Suffering heavy losses, Waves called in a desperate request for Republic backup after realizing that they had been sent straight into an ambush. All the while, Sykobe uncovered a Sith masterminding the attack and engaged him in a duel, catching the attention of the incoming fleet commanded by Jedi Master Sycante Eyros, a feared and dangerous force when it came to clone standards.

Instead of receiving the backup they had requested, a nearly impossible evacuation notice came as the Jedi Master's fleet prepared for an orbital bombardment on the entire outpost, an act that would cost an unfathomable loss of life. Waves attempted to detest the decision, as not only were many clone lives at risk for the possibility of killing one Sith, but a Jedi was in the middle of it all. Yet, the Jedi Master from above refused to withdraw his order for the sake of exterminating the Sith, although it became increasingly obvious that his only real purpose was trying to make the death of his son seem like an accident.

Although he ended up caught in the middle of an intense cultural drama between leading father and challenging son, Waves was lucky to escape the ordeal with his life. After running into the field to help escort his wounded brothers to safety, he got caught in the heart of the bombardment. His armor saved his life long enough for Sykobe to find him after the battle, in which the young Jedi used what he could of the force to stabilize the captain. During this shared moment as the two of them sat alone in the battlefield, it seemed that a deeper passion than just friendship fueled Sykobe's motives as he restlessly tended to Waves' wounds. Though Waves hadn't ever really had the luxury of being in love, he knew almost instantly after rousing from his state of unconsciousness that something about the Jedi lingering over him was far too important to ignore.

The first kiss was extremely out of the blue as Waves and Sykobe thought they both lost each other. Time only began to fly after that. It took a few more weeks, but after a rescue mission to save more Togrutas that had been taken into slavery and rescuing to Clan Rivalke children, Waves and Sykobe both came to realize their feelings for each other. Behind closed doors, the two would fantasize about a life after the war, thinking about all of the possibilities when it came to raising their family far, far away. Sykobe always spoke about a planet deep in an abyss that he grew up on, yet the idea always seemed horribly farfetched. Alas, it was a fun thought that always kept the two entertained as they survived day by day in the corrupt Republic. It was an honor at one point, as Waves had been trusted enough by Sykobe to be made an honorary member of his clan, allowing the two to become a pair mated for life by Togrutan tradition.

Losing Sykobe to his vicious father was the turning point that left Waves' heart shattered. Left with the two children and his squad to protect, Waves was on a quest for blood the moment Order 66 hit. While he had the independence to resist it, he sought retribution for what had happened to his fallen lover. Being trained in just about any scenario possible, there was no escape for Sycante as Waves and the 40 squad passionately hunted him down, ending his life with a blaster shot to the back of his montrals. Within hours, Waves and his entire squad defected, leaving for the promised safe haven Sykobe had always gone on about years in the past.

Two years passed since the loss of Sykobe. Waves had settled down in a small village on Yxoha with his small squad of clones, as well as Pantoran Jedi Jaira Rizi, who had come to trust Waves following the loss of her husband Ezo, who had formerly commanded Waves' legion. The two had come to share a soft love for each other, as they had both lost a lifelong partner to the war. Being together was healing, yet it could not replace the pain of losing the Togruta he had quite literally paired to for life. Yet, through some strange combination of luck and hopefulness, in the middle of the night, Sykobe simply showed up. Nobody really ever knew how, or why, but he was there again, and that was all Waves needed.

[a-usernamelol]

The Unforgivables AU Syndicate Dynamics

The Syndicate is the group of villains In the Unforgivables AU universe run by me, @honeybadgerdontcare394 and @the-chaotic-scilla-aster. So WHAT is the Syndicate? The Syndicate is a revolutionary organization run by Allan Waite, a "Dark" wizard- or so labeled by the Ministry. He and the whole Syndicate's goal is to overrun and destroy the Ministry, essentially replacing it, with a better-run world. They claim that they are fighting for "Equality among all species", however, it is unclear if their basis to achieve it is truly any better than the Ministry it.

The Organization Of It's Leaders: -Despite the Organization is an organization of community and revolution, it does seem to have leaders who handle different aspects of the Syndicate, all of course, being labeled Dark Wizards by the Ministry since they are all under Allan's authority. These infamous individuals are called Generals, and in total, besides Allan himself, there are three.

Crow Kidd:

-Nefarious thief and foe, Crow is a surprisingly durable Squibb who is the best friend to, and advisor to, Allan Waite himself. He runs the 'militarian aspects' of the organization, most of the Wizard and Witches who are just grunts and sent to attack or protest in mass. “The soldiers” so to speak. How He Became A Part Of The Syndicate: -Crow was a member of a small league of rogues back when he was younger, serving more on a sailing boat then land. It's not his first rodeo as a criminal, but it's his first exclusively to the WIzarding World. He and Allan met not long after Allan finished his schooling at Hogwarts and they've been inseparable since- meaning that whatever heists Allan runs, Crow is usually not far to follow.

Lily Love: -Ministry Auror turned rogue, “Lady” Lily Love is the informant to the Syndicate, and runs the “investigation and incognito” operations of the Syndicate, namely, anything that has to do with manipulating the Ministry as needed. How She Became A Part Of The Syndicate: -Lily Love was an ex-Auror for the Ministry turned spy for the Syndicate. She originally went on a mission involving an innocent wizard who was so horrified of Azkaban he begged her to use the Killing Curse on him instead. Although she obliged, she, out of respect, made a promise to herself never to use Unforgivable curses again, and she took a step back from her trust in the Ministry, inevitably joining the Syndicate.

Garnuff:

-The Syndicate’s money man, so to speak. He handles things like funds from supporters to order supplies and needed assistance. He’s actually really sweet, and like Crow, a close friend to Allan. How He Became A Part Of The Syndicate: -As a young wizard, Allan found a fascination in the history of Goblins and discovered a distaste for the villainous image given to the littler fae folk by the Ministry. He soon made friends with garnuff, a goblin, after saving his pet mooncalf, Biscuit, from poachers. Garnuff, wanting to repay the debt years later, offered his services to the Syndicate to aid his wizard friend.

Allan Waite:

-The leader of the Syndicate. He’s been a thorn in the Ministry’s side long enough that they have a nickname for him, “The Grim”. He serves as the face of the underground organization, and is the organizer of plans and projects alike. He’s an Ancient Magic user, more specifically, the dark side of it, earning him the title of a “Dangerous Dark lord” even though he wants nothing to do with the Dark Arts. He’s convinced he’s doing the right thing. How He Started The Syndicate: -He started it with a simple idea: The idea that the ministry was unfair, and if the Ministry wasn't going to solve things, someone should. So, he and Crow set out to do the impossible: Stand against the Ministry. Yet, despite these odds, and perhaps aided by Crow's charisma and Allan's silver tongue, they gained a following, leading to the Syndicate as it is today, a Threat to the Ministry, which that's same Ministry wants Gone.

The Unforgivables -A storyline about two wizards who don't really like each other very much (or do they) fighting for a cause they really believe in (or do they) against an enemy they hate (or do they) Made by me, A-username-lol and @honeybadgerdontcare394 & @the-chaotic-scilla-aster (or did we)

(Are they gonna fight? Kiss? We don't know!)

[rainbowsky]

Welcome New Turtle Friends 👋🏻💛.

There have been a lot of turtles coming here from Twitter and other platforms, and since most of you will not really be familiar with me or my blog I thought I would give you some information that might be helpful and serve as a bit of an introduction.

I have been a turtle for a few years now. You can read a little bit about my turtle journey here.

I am autistic, so some of the ways I communicate might not be what you're used to. Please be patient with me. I'm human and doing my best to connect with everyone in a positive way.

I believe BJYXSZD, and like most turtles I enjoy some mixture of candy, fan works, and GG and DD's projects and endorsements. I'm also particularly interested in the political and 'queer issues' side of things, which some people are not comfortable with.

I tag absolutely everything that I post, to make it easy for people to filter out things they do not want to see. Here are a few tags that might be of interest to those who want to avoid certain topics:

'your political disengagement is a weapon against you' - political topics

'let's talk about sex' - mature sexual topics

'off topic' - posts that have nothing to do with GG and DD or with queer issues (the main topics of my blog)

'fandom reflections' - fandom issues and self-examination

'antis go home' - haters and antis

'solos belong to moling su sect' - solo topics

'i'll take homophobia for 800 alex!' - posts about homophobia

Please let me know if there is any particular kind of content that you would like to see more specific filtering around. I'm always happy to add in a new tag if it will enhance someone's experience of Tumblr and of my blog.

There are some posts that might be of particular interest:

My masterlist post - links to some of my past posts, somewhat organized around various categories

GGDD fic recs

Wangxian fic recs

Fandom survival guide

There are also tags that might be of particular interest. That list can be found toward the bottom of my masterlist post. Note: most of my posts are not tagged with typical fandom tags (bjyx, yizhan, etc.). That's just to ensure that those tags aren't overrun by topics that aren't of general interest to all fans.

Please feel free to connect with me via comments/reblogs on my posts, via private message, or through my ask box if you have a question or if you prefer to remain anonymous.

New people can bring new challenges and change. Such things can sometimes require adjustment and adaptation, so I hope that people will be patient with me and speak openly (gently) with me if there's anything they have concerns or questions about.

Throughout this time, I hope we can get along and support each other. Let's try to be kind. We are all living in very difficult times, and many of us are at vulnerable and/or emotional places in our lives. Conflict, hate, and personal attacks are something nobody needs. Please yell into your pillow, throw some plastic bottles against a wall, or go for a jog rather than ever raise a hateful or angry word toward anyone, including me.

I hope that we can be friends, but if for some reason there is an incompatibility between us or you find me or my blog not to your taste, please feel free to unfollow me or even block me. We all must curate our own fandom experience.

I'm looking forward to getting to know some new people and hopefully see some new life injected into the fandom here! Thanks for your interest in my blog. 😊

[iviarellereads]

The Dragon Reborn, Chapter 2 - Saidin

(THIS PROJECT IS SPOILER FREE! No spoilers past the chapter you click on. Curious what I'm doing here? Read this post! For the link index and a primer on The Wheel of Time, read this one! Like what you see? Send me a Ko-Fi.)

(Dragon fang icon) In which someone's not doing so well.

PERSPECTIVE: Perrin guides Leya to Moiraine’s rough hut. She goes there immediately, and Perrin moves closer to the cookfires. Min says that Leya is going to die soon. She wishes she saw more happy things, but all happy futures seem to have gone away. There's some discussion, and she remarks that it's odd how Perrin cares so much about the Tuatha'an, they're utterly peaceful but she always sees violence around them.(1)

Loial finally hears them over his focus on his book and asks about the Tuatha'an. Min tells Loial about Leya's arrival, and what she sees. He gives another lecture about ta'veren and how they shape the Pattern around them, and they're privileged to get to stay with three ta'veren even if Mat's in Tar Valon by now. Min grumbles that it's not like she had a choice.

Rand exits Moiraine's hut, and the Shienarans all bow, but he disappears into the woods. Perrin says he'd better go talk to him. Perrin finds Rand in the same spot he's sulked for months, muttering the "twice and twice shall he be marked" part of the Dragon prophecies. Perrin just sits nearby until Rand asks if he thinks Mat's alright. Perrin says they must be in Tar Valon by now, and asks if Rand wishes he were still a sheepherder. Rand says he has a duty, and there's nobody else who can do it. People are declaring for the Dragon, and they're fighting, and searching, and dying, and praying for the man who should be leading them, but here he sits, safe in the mountains, all winter. Moiraine is right that if he joins any one small group, they'll be overrun by Whitecloaks or Domani or Taraboner armies in an instant, but he still feels guilty.(2)

Perrin asks why he argues with Moiraine if he knows she's right, and Rand says he has to do something or he'd explode. Do what? Perrin asks. Rand explains that Moiraine says he'll know what to do next, the Pattern will force him to it, but she never says how he'll know.

Rand gets so angry that the earth starts to quake beneath them, until Perrin snaps him out of it. Perrin's like, wtf, dude? And Rand says sometimes he can't help but to reach for saidin, even as sick as the taint makes him feel. But sometimes he reaches out and it's like catching air... what if that happens during the Last Battle?(3)

Perrin asks him what he did this time, then, and Rand says he didn't mean to do this, he just had to send the power somewhere before it burned him up. Perrin says there are enough people out there trying to kill him without him doing the job for them. Now, come on, it'll be dark soon.

Rand says he wants to be alone, but stops Perrin once more to ask if he dreams when he sleeps. Perrin says he doesn't remember much of what he dreams anymore. Rand says the dreams are always there, and wonders if they sometimes tell true things.(4) Then he falls silent, and Perrin goes back to camp.

=====

(1) I bet he'd say they invite it by being such eager victims, given the chance and the vocabulary to do so. Do you think the narrative agrees? Do YOU agree? (2) I think a certain sense of responsibility toward the people who would declare for you like that is healthy, but I also think overburdening yourself with guilt over other people's actions and choices hurts you both. (3) Is it just me, or does it seem like more is going on with Rand here? It's interesting, because whenever he's been conscious to this point, we've generally only seen him from inside his own head. Now, we can only see what Perrin sees. How much does that affect how we interpret his behaviour? (4) Egwene's dreams seemed to be telling truths. Why not Rand's? Whether or not he's being played by one of the Forsaken again.

[fyeahwebnovels]

hi, feel free to delete if this isnt appropriate! im an aspiring webnovel writer and i was wondering which platforms is best to post original works w lgbtq+ themes & how to get traction?

thanks so much for ur time and i hope this isnt too much trouble!!

opening this question up to followers as well--i'm not particularly good at the marketing side of things.

my personal experience is that there really are not good webnovel platforms; websites like royal road and scribblehub have content guidelines which i've found too restrictive to host my own writing, and the platforms themselves are built to encourage inhumanly fast update schedules. this is part of why they're overrun with power-level-up litrpg serials that update multiple times a week; their algorithms favor that kind of schedule.

as a result, i've defaulted to hosting my writing on my own website. i use neocities to host, which i generally recommend to anyone who doesn't mind learning a bit of html; their free tier is completely serviceable to host a simple text-based website, and their paid tier is leagues cheaper and less restrictive than any equivalent hosting you can buy off google or aws.

this means that my marketing is pretty much entirely done through social media, and again, i'm not particularly good at that. however, i will say, the absolute best thing you can do is network. i don't mean for financial gain, very genuinely, the absolute best thing for visibility in the creative world, in my experience, is to be in a social group of other creators who make similar things to you and constantly be hyping up each others' work. (this also means you get to look at your friends' cool indie art all the time and collaborate on projects, which is a bonus.)

i'm quite lucky in that i was already in a social circle of digital artists, videographers, and writers long before i started writing my own web serial, and finding that kind of social space isn't particularly easy. my main tips are: post your work in a way that welcomes social interaction (for example, respond to comments personally), comment on mutuals' work, and don't be afraid to send private messages to people you want to get to know better. if you don't have a private discord server already, making one is a great way to create closer connections with online friends you haven't spoken with privately much.

i'm also considering making a tumblr community in the future for webfiction authors to connect and network, so keep an eye out for that if that's something you'd benefit from.

and again: i don't have the best feedback for this, because my own stint doing web serial marketing has only been going on for four months, so if anyone else has more targeted & useful suggestions, sound off in the notes, please!

[historyherstory]

Chapter 25 Notes

For a chapter that's largely transitional, there was quite a bit of historical referencing. (If you ever wonder why it can sometimes take me so long to get through chapters, this is why - there are comments that seem like throw-away comments, but they reference politics or military situations or even just the general atmosphere of the time, and I do quite a bit of research to verify that I'm getting things right within that construct....anyway. Moving on.)

LST (Landing ship, tank) were a WWII special. They were designed to meet the need of transporting tanks (and other materiale). Specifically, these vessels were able to pull up to sandy beaches and disgorge their cargo onto the beach without need of a dock or pier for unloading. You can see where this is beneficial when it comes to tanks. Part of the design included a bow which could be opened, directly onto a beach for loading or unloading purposes. (In the modern day we see this with some ferries that cars drive onto and off of, but I can't think of any other situation I've ever known these to be in use.)

They did have some different specifications, and were in use in all theaters of the war that I'm able to find - but here's one photo of the bow opening to offload a tank.

Easy Co took a LST back to England when they departed from Normandy, after more than a month of fighting since the Allied landing (by air and sea) on D-Day. What is slightly confusing (and rather frustrating) is that depending on whose book you read, the trip from Normandy back to England takes different lengths of time. Easy Co (and 2nd battalion) were all on the same LST (this is mentioned in one of Dick's books) ((which is also where I get away with mentioning Ron on the same boat; as a member of Dog company he was in 2nd battalion along with E and F co's)) but they all seem to have varying memories on how long the journey actually took.

Research on this is difficult since the trip length would vary on several factors (type of vessel, where they were sailing to, weather) so I ended up going with Dick's take on it as he seems to be the most consistent timekeeper when it comes to dates. (this comes up more in chapter 26 but I'm putting it here just because.)

Less a historical note and more a story note: Ron, up to this point, has not been in the loop regarding Col. Sink's plans with Ellie. That's pretty much been an Easy Co. exclusive. He's presently still a Lieutenant with D co (this changes back in England, he gets promoted to 2nd battalion's HQ company, along with Ed Shames, another future E co officer) so isn't really on the list of people who are considered important enough to be in the know on this.

He clearly had some kind of speculation, but this is really the first time he has a sense of knowing. Although that said, this chapter addresses how he thought that might have happened (which required some correction, a task Ellie undertook for very particular reasons).

One thing that is important to keep in mind at this point in the story is that it takes place during a time which the allies are making headway, yes, but there's certainly no guarantee of success.

Caen was an objective to capture on D-Day and during this point of the story (early July) still has not been taken by the British. (It will not be completely liberated until the 19th of July.) The Allied breakout from Normandy doesn't happen until even later, at the end of July when Operation Cobra kicks off (which is Bradley's operation but it is Patton's men who largely keep overrunning their initial objectives in ways that defy initial expectations and projections).

At this point of the story, the allies have successfully captured and expanded the beachheads, they have liberated Normandy, but cities like Caen and Avranches still hem in their expansion and the prospect of actually liberating all of France is not guaranteed.

(the fact I crammed all of this into a relatively short chapter that's almost completely transitory is marginally impressive even to me.)

Anyway - happy reading, and please visit me again soon as I'll be posting chapter 26 within the next 24 hours, and 27 will go up either on late Christmas Eve or early Christmas, depending on your (US) timezone (it will be on christmas proper if you're in Europe/Asia/Australia).

[brella-boi]

2022 has really been a year of highs and lows for me. I did a lot of life achievement stuff and I really put my foot forward into the Adult World™. I got a car and got into an artist society where I met so many cool people, slowly trying to get out of this anxiety bubble and feel any scrap of freedom I can while living with family. I started a job where I wanted and I really pushed myself to expand my online shop. I've also met my favourite people in real life and travelled very long distances by myself while remaining as organised and painlessly as I could. I also got a couple really nice bug pets that give me a lot of joy. Even though my room is now very much overrun.

But. I've also been out of work half of the year. There has been a drought in contracts and it'll be another two months before my next gig is finalised. I never managed to move out. I also pushed myself a bit too much merch and project wise. I crunched the last 3 months of the year too much, and I immediately got back into crunch to finish off the last tidbits when the new year hit. I was left with very little time to myself or friends or things I could enjoy like games. I'm very tired. And I'm typing this after a very frustrating art day. I've also had quite a few mishaps with friends, and really realising what place in the world I take up in retrospect to their lives. A wake up call if you will. It really made me appreciate the few people who still stick by me and love me for who I am.

This year there's a couple things I want to do. 1- Stop pushing myself so much. Stop with the crunch of new merch and focus on 1 main update. Maybe for summer. Restocks and spare prints in between. If it's something new it must be small and doable. 2- Relax. Give myself time to play the large library of games I wanted to play this year but was too busy and anxious to. 3- Do stuff for myself and have enough time to get to commissions I've been booked for without crunch. 4- Try continue the current comic and finish a collab comic. It's all about that first step. 5- Table at some cons. A big goal to get out there at last.

Overall I think in general I want to take it easy career wise. I want to focus on what I really want to do instead of being highly all over the place but lol im not sure being in one place too long will work me. The least Id like to do is work on my animation skills a bit more. Maybe plan a new short film. Something small. Something quaint. But that's a maybe. I just want to continue bettering my skills.

As for online stuff, I want to thank everyone who have supported me and shop this year. Those who stuck around when I started shifting my focus in art and style. And those new mutuals and friends I made this year here too. Yall are amazing. And I really, really appreciate you all so so much. I hope you all have a wonderful 2023. We're gonna make it work together 🎉