#i wouldn't say i ship it but i do think it's interesting to rotate the two of them in my mind

[beneathsilverstars]

i've been going through my entire spotify liked songs list one by one to pick out which songs are about siffrin and i'm SO MAD bc i keep finding SLOOP SONGS!!! this is not what i'm looking for here!!!!!!! i made a list for them ofc but why does it have more songs than the isafrin list. probably bc songs about fucked up disasters go harder than sweet lovey songs sorry isa

[sanguineterrain]

I am FERAL over your knight Jason thought. FERAL!!! Okay check this out: so Jason's ignoring reader because he feels guilty right? Maybe he tried to give them back but the king wouldn't allow it. But maybe the reader misunderstands and thinks they're not doing their "duties" so they make dinner and breakfast and wash his clothes and basically act like a perfect spouse. How would Jason react? 👀

Dear god... I feel another series coming on...

Idkidk, their dynamic is just really interesting to me! it's probably gonna be a bit of a slow burn here. Feel free to send more thoughts about them. I am rotating these two like a rotisserie chicken in my brain.

knight!jason todd x gn!reader. ambiguous time period but just assume it's olden times *gestures vaguely*. tw arranged marriage/forced relationship but it's complicated! jason is full of angst and self-loathing but he's a sweetie as per usual. original post for context.

****

The soldier—Jason—has said four words since you've arrived.

The first was "here," which he said whilst handing you a mug of milk. He didn't look at you as he said it, and that morning, he left for a five-day long station. You only know that because he said, after handing you the milk, "I've been stationed."

You realized it was five days when you heard his horse galloping towards the house... five days later.

You haven't initiated conversation because though you're a commoner, and no one ever had much hope for you to become anything but an old spinster, you know not to challenge knights.

But this is fucking ridiculous.

"Do you like veal?" you ask on your fourteenth day here.

Jason is about to leave, his boots half laced. He freezes at your question and looks up.

You stand tall, chin up. This is a normal question. A question a wife would ask her husband, except you're not a wife, and you're pretty sure this soldier isn't a husband either.

"I like veal," he says carefully, slowly. "Would you like me to fetch some from the market?"

Now, this is where it gets tricky. When the king summoned you, he made it clear that you were expected to care for Jason under his rules. You don't know how to navigate this world. You know what couples in your village do, but you don't know what's expected of you here.

"Actually, I..." Jason looks at you. His eyes are very green. He has a surprisingly sweet face under his helmet. "Actually, I was wondering if I could go. On my own."

"Oh."

You brace yourself for arguing or yelling. True, he hasn't raised his voice once, but he also hasn't said much at all. It's like living with a ghost.

"Yes, of course. Of course you can go." He fishes out a pouch of coins and gives them to you. You take it slowly, waiting for him to realize his mistake. He doesn't.

"Thank you," you say.

He nods and watches you walk.

"Wait."

You stop. Here it comes.

"There's a cargo ship in port today. The guards rotate at noon."

He leaves before you can form a thought. You hold the coins, watching blankly as the door shuts behind him. His horse whinnies, and then he's gone.

The market isn't far from the cottage. It's fantastic to be outside again. No one's noticed your absence, clearly, but that's alright. You've never expected more.

You buy a good cut of veal and potatoes and carrots and apples. Jason gave you more money than any cut of meat would cost, so surely he assumed you would buy other food. Why else would he give you so much?

A ship's horn drones in the distance. You're feeling some oranges when you remember his words. A cargo ship.

The sun is almost at its highest point.

"Oi! Either buy 'em or stop feelin' 'em!" the seller snaps.

You roll your eyes and move on from the orange stand. You can see the horizon of where the sky meets the sea from here. Any moment, the guards will change, and the ship will be...

You stop. Was Jason hinting at your escape?

No, he couldn't have been! That's preposterous. Why would he want you gone? The king took you for a reason.

And where would you go anyway? Once you leave, you'd be a criminal forever. You couldn't make a home on your own. And who knows what could happen in between? Pirates, enemy soldiers, anybody could snatch you up.

This must've been a test. A test to see if you would run. That's why he agreed to you going so easily.

No, your escape can't be planned now. Not when you're so obviously uncomfortable, and Jason knows it.

You ignore the ship and go home with your purchases. You spend the rest of the afternoon preparing veal stew. You warm leftover bread over the fire and set a pot of butter on the table.

Jason comes in louder than he has before, humming quietly. You perk up at the sound, happy for the lack of silence.

You set a bowl of stew at his chair and wait by the fire. As soon as he enters the kitchen, the humming stops.

"Welcome home," you say, wringing your hands. "I made supper."

Jason glances at the table, then back at you.

"You came back," he says.

"Why wouldn't I?" you ask, face neutral as you cut the bread into chunks.

"That—did the ship come?"

"Yes."

Jason sits. His face is dirty from training.

"I bought more than veal," you say, and hand him the pouch. "I hope that's alright. We—there were no more potatoes."

He takes the pouch, rubbing the string tied around the top. "You went to the marketplace... and came back."

It's not a question, but it sounds like there might be one behind it.

"Certainly," you say. "I'm loyal to you, Jason. I serve you."

He looks up, blinking rapidly. Then he looks back at his stew.

Oh, right. He's waiting for you to ask permission to sit.

"May I join you?" you ask.

Jason flinches. "You don't... you don't have to ask. I would never stop you from eating."

The words hang in the air. It's like neither one of you can speak right.

You watch him, and he watches you as you serve yourself and sit on the opposite side of the table. Jason takes the first bite, and you eat right after.

"Is the supper satisfactory? Have I done well?" you ask.

Jason stops chewing and sets his spoon down. You're struck by his shift in demeanor. You worry for a moment you've screwed up something as dim-wittingly simple as stew.

His eyes are sad as they fall on you. It's akin to grief, the pain he wears, but you don't know why he's grieving. You silently offer him more bread, pushing it toward him. He takes it.

"Yes," he says quietly and eats another spoonful. "You did. Thank you for supper."

Jason cleans his bowl three times. You have no stew leftover, which pleases you.

But as soon as Jason finishes eating, he gets up, rinses his bowl, and wordlessly leaves.

You don't see him for the rest of the night.

Somehow, you feel lonelier than when you weren't speaking.

[mycadences]

There are so many things I adore about Gwynriel, but right now I'm particularly loving how Azriel -- the stoic and stony Spymaster of the Night Court -- is repeatedly amused by Gwyn. And you know what they all say about how sharing a similar sense of humor is important for a thriving relationship...

Quotes:

"Az stared after her, brows high with amusement."

"Azriel's lips twitched."

"Azriel couldn't help his soft chuckle."

*Gwyn makes a joke about Nessian being too into each other to conduct training properly.* "Azriel laughed. 'I'll give you that.'"

And the last three were when he "wouldn't go so far as to call Gwyn a friend". Like imagine this: he was already so comfortable with her and found her company entertaining when he didn't consider them friends (since this bonus scene was earlier on in the book). Like -- just their potential!

And of course, the one that everyone knows:

"So he offered her a crooked smile."

AHHHHHHHHH!!! *this is the sound of me screaming until my soul has left this world, btw*

Are they in love right now? OF COURSE NOT! No one, NO ONE is claiming that they are head over heels in love with each other right now. But do I see their relationship developing into eventual love and acceptance of each other? Hell yes!

I find it interesting that Azriel was so self-conscious of his scarred hands around Elain, thinking himself sullied, but around Gwyn he was so completely relaxed that he didn't even think about his hands. He even had to fight back the urge to "open up her wrist and rotate the blade" (which he obviously didn't do out of respect for her personal boundaries). Like he was willing to make physical contact with her to demonstrate how to do the move correctly (and no, not in a skinship or sexual manner, but just pointing out how he could be around Gwyn without hiding himself).

Azriel doesn't need to be fixed.

Gwyn doesn't need to be fixed.

They need acceptance, and I believe they can find that in each other.

I still firmly maintain that Gwynriel is endgame but if the stars misalign and the sun rises from the west, I will still be a Gwynriel shipper. I have shipped non-canon couples in other media before. My love for them burns just as bright nonetheless.

But fear not, Gwynriels, we will get the story the world deserves to know 💖

[firelxdykatara]

I too ship Zutara and think they should have been canon. Although for me it's important to know how such a rewrite would go down. I tried to think, and I'm lost.

After Mai betrayed Azula for him, will he just go "sorry, not interested"? He isn't obligated to date her because of this, but her redemption hinges on Zuko and I don't see it being satisfying if he ends up rejecting her after this.

I thought the solution would be to rewrite her arc in boiling rock to make her have a moral realization, but then the problem with Maiko is practically solved. Their relationship wasn't salvaged by her redemption because last time they talked, Mai still didn't understand what's wrong with the Fire Nation and only changed because she loved Zuko. So how do you make it both satisfying & logical?

With Kataang the problem is the Chakras. The problem with the original (in my opinion) is that after he opened his chakra, letting go of his attachment to Katara, he's still attached (forcing a kiss on eip). Should TCoD get rewritten so that Azula shoots him before he opens it? Then why wouldn't he just open it later? Maybe the chakra would be locked so he feels as though he doesn't need to overcome his attachment just yet. In that situation, how would his chakra even unlock? The stone thing felt like nonsense, so how would I do it?

So yeah I have no idea how to approach this. How would you? (Thanks)

I've been rotating this ask in the back of my head like a rotisserie chicken for a few days--it's interesting because I don't generally stop to think like, how would I write them out of these relationships, I either ignore the relationships completely (which isn't hard, they were barely footnotes in the cartoon) or play a little bit with jealous exes or something. Thinking about like, In A Perfect World where Bryke wasn't in charge of ATLA post-canon (because if zutara had been canon, you can be sure they would've made us regret it) is interesting, and I do have thoughts on how I'd handle their relationships in a rewrite.

(this got long, so the rest is beneath the cut)

Assuming you mostly want to keep canon intact, I think maiko would be the easiest to work around, given how little relevance their relationship has in canon. The problem with maiko as an endgame ship is that it was not set up that way--if it had been, it would not have begun entirely off-screen and their whole relationship would not have been a study in misery and utter inability to connect emotionally. His relationship with Mai was there to showcase just how much he had changed and how little he fit into the life he had been so sure he wanted more than anything since his banishment. It worked very well to highlight Zuko's growth--how that contrasted to Mai's lack of it and why she could not understand him even at his most open and vulnerable--and did not work nearly so well when she was shoved back with him in the epilogue, after he'd quite literally forgotten her existence (he never mentions her again after Boiling Rock, not even to say a word of mourning, considering he'd have every reason to believe she was killed for defying his sister).

I don't think you can fix this by giving Mai some moral realization, because there simply is no room for it. As @araeph says in the essay I linked:

As a character, Mai is very useful to the story during Zuko’s return, because she represents everything that Zuko gains by sticking by his father. A girl who cares about him; the ability to indulge her; the authority he has over others at the palace; we see it all in his interactions with Mai. But this makes Mai a tether to a life he has long outgrown. Her function is not to advance Zuko’s character development, but to obstruct it, which also unfortunately means that Mai gaining a full understanding of Zuko’s trials would be disadvantageous to the story. If she knew everything about him and still wanted him to stay, it would give Zuko more cause than he should have to remain in the Fire Nation, but if she knew and encouraged him to leave and join the Avatar, it would rob Zuko of the triumph of making this decision on his own. In other words, there are good narrative reasons for keeping Mai in the dark; it just doesn’t make their relationship any stronger.

The seeds of a genuine redemption arc (one that includes some sort of moral realization and change to her moral framework) for Mai would have to have been planted far earlier than five episodes from the end of the series, but doing so would have of necessity detracted from Zuko's own character arc and the realizations that he makes despite his attachment to Mai (or more specifically to their relationship, which I feel like he was clinging to more out of a sense of abject loneliness he couldn't shake rather than genuine feelings and emotional connection).

So, in my mind, since we're tackling this with an eye towards getting rid of maiko with the fewest ripples to the overall story anyway, the easiest way to do this would be make one slight change to the end of the Boiling Rock two-parter--have Ty Lee (who had always been the least gung-ho of the trio about bowing to Azula's whims and had to be textually threatened into joining her in the first place) save Zuko's life, and then have Mai (who showed the most genuine affection for Ty Lee anyway) save Ty Lee. I love Zuko more than I fear you always fell flat for me as some epic declaration of love, anyway, since a) Zuko is not around to hear it, and b) unlike Ty Lee, she never showed much fear of Azula to begin with, so it wasn't a very high bar to clear. It was a cool line that was entirely unearned, and I don't think it would be missed, there would be some cute mailee crumbs this way, and a throwaway line of getting them released from the prison after the war ended could wrap up their presence in the story pretty nicely.

Now, kataang is a little trickier, if only because the last leg of Aang's character arc is almost completely derailed by his refusal to let go of his possessive attachment to Katara, to the point where he never naturally reopens his chakras, he has to have the Rock of Destiny hit him in just the right place, and the deus ex lionturtle there to give him a way out of having to make a hard moral choice. (I've maintained for years that if you work the final act of your main character's overall arc in such a way that it could have been solved by one good session with a chiropractor, something got fucked along the way.)

The thing about Aang's chakras is that, narratively, his whole thing with Guru Pathik and leaving his training early to save his friends was basically his version of Luke running away from his training with Yoda on Degobah because of his Force vision, only to find out that his friends were in the process of rescuing themselves and then losing his hand because he hadn't completed the most crucial part of his training. What's missing, therefore, from the last act of Aang's character arc, is the return.

See, in Star Wars, Luke pretty explicitly makes the wrong choice when he chooses to prioritize saving his friends over attaining enlightenment and fully mastering the Force. It was the only choice he could have made, but it was still the wrong one--because, like Aang, his friends did not actually need him to save them, he actually almost makes it harder for them to get away by requiring them to save him because, like Aang, he loses a battle in a very critical way. This was a lesson he desperately needed to learn, and it is clear he has learned it by the time he makes it back to Degobah and witnesses the end of Yoda's life, his own enlightenment having already been reached.

But Aang never goes back to the Guru.

And the text refuses to allow us to sit with the fact that he made the wrong choice in prioritizing his attachment to Katara over his ability to master the Avatar State. He is actually narratively vindicated about it, because the plot bends itself into a pretzel so that he doesn't have to spend any time during the last book trying to reopen his chakras and regain access to the Avatar State, handed both in the final battle with no excess effort on his part, and handed the girl into the bargain. (The girl who never even wanted him, so far as we can tell from all the lack of cues she gave him that she actually returned his feelings.)

And I think this could have been solved with a few scattered scenes. Let Katara actually have some agency in her own romantic relationship (or lack thereof), insofar as noticing Aang's advances and clueing the audience in to how she actually feels. Let Aang struggle with the fact that he can't reach the Avatar State, that his mastery of the elements is in limbo because he can't access his full power, rather than ignoring all of this until the end of the show. If we're trying to keep the shape of the last season roughly the same, let Katara confront Aang about the invasion kiss.

This would have been the perfect time to establish that Katara actually does feel some type of way about Aang prior to the epilogue, and it could have saved us from the exceedingly cringey EIP kiss that Aang never apologized for. How it comes across now, of course, is that Katara basically pretends it never even happened, to the point where she doesn't even know what Aang is talking about during EIP until he reminds her--the death knell for any shot their relationship had at looking requited, because I can tell you, as someone who's been a teenage girl, if someone I had conflicted but burgeoning romantic feelings for had kissed me, I would not have completely forgotten about it only a few weeks later--and we never get any indication as to what she actually felt about the kiss (which was not mutual, despite what Aang's dialogue in the EIP scene implies) except for the fact that she looked away and frowned afterwards. (A change mandated by Bryke, who wanted to leave her feelings completely ambiguous; the original storyboards had her smiling to herself.)

So, with an eye towards wrapping up Aang's puppy love crush and establishing Katara's distinct lack of romantic feelings for him, have her talk to him about the kiss. A good frame of reference for this would be Meng's conversation with Aang in "The Fortuneteller", where she finally realizes that he doesn't like her in the same way she likes him. Katara and Aang's conversation about the invasion kiss could be a callback to this, with Aang having some important realizations--that just because Katara doesn't share his feelings doesn't mean she loves him any less, and just because he can't have her the way he wanted doesn't mean he has to love her any less, that she doesn't belong to him but that's ok, because she's still his family and they'll always have each other's backs. Which could have functioned well in helping him take another step towards unblocking his chakras. Going back to the Guru directly may not have worked, since by this point in the story we're hurtling towards the final confrontation and Sozin's Comet, but let Aang reflect on what the Guru told him with new understanding granted him by his experiences throughout the first half of the season.

To keep the stakes high and up the suspense, obviously, he shouldn't have fully unlocked his chakras and the AS before the final fight, but the seeds could be planted--little moments like a talk with Katara about the invasion kiss, maybe a little more empathy and understanding from him about why Katara needs closure in TSR, etc--and then, during the final fight, rather than hand him all the answers on a silver platter, have him almost lose. He still can't go full Avatar, he's out of time, he still doesn't know exactly what to do about Ozai given his own pacifism and desire to preserve that part of his culture--he tries to fight but he's pretty quickly overpowered. Idk how I would've animated this, and maybe it wouldn't have looked as cool for the final fight, but the true climax of the finale was the Zuko and Azula agni kai anyway, so it hardly matters--I'm picturing him doing the rock-shield thing and going into a brief meditative state, where he finally achieves the enlightenment necessary to unlock the AS on his own, no rock of chiropracty necessary. And at this point, I'd give Ozai a Disney Death, since leaving him alive causes more problems than it solves and it's not necessary for Aang to kill him for him to die--they're fighting on a mountain ffs--but if you don't want to change that part then him figuring out energy bending as part of becoming a fully realized Avatar would at least feel more earned than the lionturtle just handing it to him. (And that could've been foreshadowed better by seeding the idea for it earlier in the season.)

After all of that, particularly if you up the emotions during the agni kai and have Zuko and Katara kiss there (or something less explicitly romantic but still tender, like a brief forehead touch), it'd feel pretty natural to have a just friends ending for Aang and Katara. Maybe a brief, slightly awkward but ultimately amiable conversation if Zuko and Katara had a ~thing at their final fight, and then the final shot of the series could be the gaang all together, maybe zutara holding hands or Katara resting her head on his shoulder or something, but since they already kissed there wouldn't feel like a need to end the whole show on romance, something which I've always felt missed the point of the series.

And then, y'know, after that, the world's your oyster! This is how I'd do it if I were trying to keep the bulk of the final season intact. Of course, breaking it all down to its component pieces and rebuilding from the ground up is also an option, but that'd probably be a longer post lol.

[showmey0urfangs]

Do you think the show will actually include widespread polygamy? The vampires in this show seem jealous even if there are "deals" between them, in the books nobody is jealous of anyone, they just fight for ego, Lestat (at least in Louis' version) is extremely possessive, will Armand act the same way? Or Louis himself? Anyway, I don't think they will rotate between many lovers, it will be an eternal ping pong between Louis, Lestat and Armand, Daniel will be there just to say that he had a role...

Hi Anon! I don't know that polyamory the way it is in the books will ever be a thing on the show.

In season 1 they went to great lengths to set up that being with other people is considered infidelity by both Louis AND Lestat. It looks like it will be the same in season 2. We see that Armand is not vibing with the fact that even decades later, Louis is still (literally) haunted by the memory of his 'dead' ex.

Personally, I would have preferred for it to be handled differently. The soap opera-esque Antoinette melodrama kind of cheapens the story imo, especially after episode 6. It made zero for Lestat to keep seeing her even after Louis had welcomed him back into his literal and metaphorical coffin. But ig they needed to keep her around somehow in order to have the plot twist in the finale.

It will be hard to walk it all back in future seasons given how central to the plot they made it. It would be weird for example if Louis is suddenly indifferent to 'cheating' to the point of encouraging Armand to be with Daniel like a lot of DM fans like to speculate, or if he's A-okay with Lestat getting freaky with nuns and finger-blasting Rowan Mayfair on a grassy slope next to a cemetery 😂 (why Anne??)

From the marketing we've gotten for season 2 so far, it looks like Loustat will stay the main focus anyway (Loumand season my ass! Gee, thanks AMC 😒) so idk about all the other pairings and how much screentime they'll be given—if any at all. I've also heard rumours to this effect from people who've supposedly seen the first 6 episodes, but I wouldn't lend it too much credence since it's coming from a very unreliable and biased source.

Whatever the case may be, I'm curious to see how they'll adapt the rest of the books in regards to the characters (mostly Lestat) having a ton of other love interests. I don't mind either way because I love most of the VC ships and I'm excited for all of them, as long as it stays consistent with the narrative and characterization they've established before. Time will tell.

[ask-squidbeaks-agents]

Staring at Four and Kay and rotating them in my mind

Got any 4K bits you haven't had a good chance to share yet that I could ask for?

They are one of *the* ships of all time

// Oh I mean they may be my own characters that I'm obsessed with but I wouldn't call them that... they're just my silly idiots lol- But I do! Mainly stuff I haven't had the chance to draw or write yet- I still find it a little crazy how much some people like these two- Anyway here's a ship chart I've done for them- I've done it for 3/8 and my idol ships but- not important rn lol

// Everything under here is going to be rambles cause I'm a loser who's obsessed with their own characters lol

// I haven't shown much of their dynamic outside Four teasing Kay but generally Kay's pretty normal around Four, he just gets flustered from her teasing and what not. In fact Kay also likes to kinda tease Four- in a very friend like way for instance holding something she wants above her head till she says please.

Kay and Four met about- 4 years prior to this blog or 2 years prior to Splat3, I am attempting to write out this first meeting so once it's done it'll be posted here and maybe on AO3 (however I'm a slow writer- might take... some time lol)

Four has saved Kay's butt on multiple occasions however there was one specific time where she full on saved him from getting shot, it was during this case- Kay had been lured out for getting too close to solving it, Four had tailed him and from the shadows using a charger prevented the assailant from shooting Kay. While there are many reasons he loves Four this was the moment he realised.

The moment Four realised she loved Kay- he was helping her with a mission, and while Four jumped over the fence no problem, Kay's suspenders (that he doesn't wear properly) got caught on said fence causing him to fall and land himself upside down against the fence. Of course Four found it hilarious and it was just this kind of "Oh I love this idiot" moment.

The reason Four, who is much more confident in her feelings then Kay is, hasn't confessed is because 1. she finds him getting flustered cute. 2. she wants him to actually have the confidence in their relationship and 3. she won't admit it but she's actually scared of ruining their relationship- she worries that she isn't actually good enough (which is the same reason Kay won't confess, that and while he knows Four likes him as a friend he doesn't think her feelings are actually anymore than that)

The pair share a few interests, they have similar tastes in music- Four loves it when Kay shares his music, it might not always be her taste but it makes him happy so it makes her happy- they also both like video games- Four's more into RPG or action games akin to like Sonic or Persona whereas Kay is more into puzzles and horror like Resident Evil.

They understand and respect each others boundaries but ironically they are also the except to the rule like in Fours case- Four hates physical contact and others being in her personal space to which Kay then goes out of his way to not be too close to Four but Four actually likes being next to him but she also does very much appreciate the fact Kay understands that boundary.

OH- There's this one little story idea I had for them- something silly not really agent related- Four gets herself caught out in the rain, luckily she's slightly more water resistant but Kay runs into a very soaked Four. Obviously he's extremely worried for her despite her waving off his concerns but eventually he convinces her to at least get indoors and get dried. Four points out his place is closer and they should go there to which he reluctantly agrees. Once arriving Kay instructs Four to stay by the door while he grabs her a towel which he gently throws upon her head once returning. Four being Four then starts to a bit too roughly dry her head to which Kay promptly stops her- reminding her that she's still in very melty state and she'll hurt herself doing it like that. Kay points her to the bathroom where she can go dry herself and get changed (into one of his old t-shirt/shorts) Four complies and returns shortly after dried and with her soggy agent gear which she hands to Kay who throws it into the dryer. He says it wont take long but Four points out its really late, she might as well just- crash at his place for the night- she'll just sleep on his couch. Kay is- a bit taken a back at the suggestion but realises she's right by the time her gear will be dried it'll be super late. So he agrees, reluctantly, to which Four wastes no time in running to his living room and checking through all the games he has (cause she wants to play some) She finds that he's got a game she has been dying to play and begs him to let her try it, obviously he lets her (seeing her face when he agreed was- way too adorable for him) Kay sits and watches Four play for a bit before ending up asleep on the couch next to her, when Four realises this she turns off the game before just- leaning her head against his shoulder for a bit before falling sleep herself.

Kay definitely plays rank in his free time, he's tried to convince Four to join but every time she refuses- at first he thinks it's because she's too high a rank for him (He's like A-) but he learns it's actually because she too low a rank to join which major surprise considering the feats he's seen her do. When he finds out he actually offers to help teach her which she initially refuses, pointing out how her whole family are S/X rank and none of them have been able to teach her. Kay understands but does point out that he doesn't play like her family, they're strict and pro, taking rank very seriously where as he's just- a causal player and is much more loose about playing the games and that might be the approach she needs. Four is yet to actually agree to train with him (more out of embarrassment for herself) but she has started to consider taking up his offer.

[captain-of-the-gwynriel-ship]

SJM ask game

I saw this ask game started by @milswrites and I absolutely love it!

1) What’s your favourite SJM book?

It is a tie between ACOMAF, QOS, and CC1. Those are my top 3 and they rotate on a daily basis on which is my favorite.

2) Which is your favourite series (tog, acotar or cc)

TOG is def my favorite of the three. The story is so beautifully bookended, each book can stand by itself, the characters are amazing and they go through so much growth. I love ACOTAR because I love the relationships that are built there and the world building is so interesting. I also read ACOTAR at a very dark point in my life and reading about Feyre digging herself out of the darkness helped me do the same. I love Ruhn Dannan. Daynight is life. Enough said.

3) Who is your favourite character? (And why?)

I have to have a favorite character from each series. For ACOTAR, gwyn has whittled her way into my heart as my favorite character. Her bravery, her selflessness, her determination. We see her interact with characters who are previously shown to be extremely unaproachable and she treats them like normal people. She is healing and is in the process of building a life that is worth living. I cannot wait to read more of her journey in the next book. For TOG, my favorite characters are Aelin, Manon, and Lysandra. Aelin is forced to be so strong from such a young age, and the shit that she is put through just makes my heart ache. KOA broke my heart so many times because she felt so broken and I feel like we never got a true conclusion to it. Manon is such a prime example of Nature vs Nurture. She was Nurtured to be a heartless killer, but once she started seeing the world for what it was and seeing the injustices her people were committing, she and the 13 stood up for what was right and went up against their sister Ironteeth in battle in order to fight for a better world. Lysandra has been a favorite of mine since the first time I read her on the page. She was taken advantage of and was forced into a role outside of her command. The way she takes her own life in her hands, she puts the needs of others before her own, and was a friend to Aelin when she truly needed one will solidify her as one of my favorites. It is no surprise that Lydia is my favorite CC character. I loved her in CC2, but she CARRIED CC3. She is like the perfect mix of Rhys and Aelin and her ancestors would be proud of her and what she has done.

4) Do you have a favourite quote from one of the books?

I have a million favorite quotes. One of the ones I wouldn't mind getting a tattoo of is "Don't let the Hard days win" it is simple but so impactful and some days I need the reminder. I cannot stop crying when I read Lehabah's last conversation with Bryce. Also, I definately Bawl everytime Aelin hallucinates about her parents and her mom says, "Why do you cry, Fireheart?"

5) Favourite ship?

In no particular order: Gwynriel, Feysand, DayNight, Rowaelin, Lysaedion, Nestaq.

6) E/riel or Gwynriel? Or neither?

I think my username speaks for itself

7) Who’s the most underrated SJM character?

NESRYN MF EMPRESSES FALIQ. I love her. I know she isn't on my list of favorites but she is 100% a favorite. Her and Sartaq are just *Chef's Kiss*

8) Which character do you wish to learn more about?

Oooooh. Azriel, Gwyn, Jessiba, Lydia, VAUGHN, Lucien.

9) Are there any characters you don’t like?

Besides the bad guys? I don't care for Ithan but its not that I don't like him. He just reads like a washed up frat boy but I was impressed with his growth in CC3. It's not like I HATE him, he just isn't a favorite of mine.

10) Favourite bat boy?

It should come as ZERO surprise that Azriel is my favorite bat boy. However, if I had to choose ANY of the SJM Males to be my mate, it would be Dorian :) I would die fighting Manon for him but worth it lol

11) Favourite court?/ Which one would you most like to live in?

I most definately fit into the Night Court. Anyone who knows me knows I am a night owl and I would sleep all day and be awake at night if I could. If Eris was high lord, my second choice would be Autumn.

12) Favourite SJM villain?

I think we can all agree that Maeve is the most flushed out villian that SJM has written to date. I love to hate her.

13) If you could change one thing in any of the books what would it be?

I would get rid of all the "crumbs" for E/riel and I would make Mor more open about her sexuality with the IC from the beginning. I am fixing both in FM2M.

14) Favourite SJM theory?

Gwynriel are mates. There is way too much canonical evidence to prove otherwise.

15) Favourite Archeron sister?

Feyre.

16) A character you feel is over-hated/ underrated

Aedion. Leave my boy alone. Was he a dumbass? Yes. HOWEVER, think about his trauma and the BS Lysandra and Aelin pulled on him. He has had the weight of his kingdom on his shoulders for 10 years. He has been playing the game longer than he can remember, was taken advantage of by older men in the army as he worked his way up the ranks. His father's identity needed to be kept a secret to the detriment of his mother and he resents Gavriel for it. They were going to turn him into the same absentee father that he hated, and they threw his trauma in his face. He would have just been a breeding stud and would never be able to recognize his own children. It was a stab right to his heart and he was betrayed by the two people who meant the most to him in the world. Give the boy some grace.

17) Aelin, Bryce, or Feyre?

I think Aelin is the most fleshed out and goes through the most character growth. However, Bryce and Feyre have my heart. I will not choose.

18) If you wrote an acotar book what would you call it?

A Court of Scars and Shadows. Thanks @thebelladonnamoon for coming up with the perfect ACOTAR 6 title.

20) Who is your favourite acotar blogger?

Here on Tumblr, I love @acourtofthought @gwynrieldefenseatty but there are so many that I love :) And, as always, @yazthebookish

21)What fics would you recommend to people who love the series?

OH GOD. Off the top of my head for ACOTAR: ACoFD by @the-lonelybarricade (or ANYTHING by her and @separatist-apologist) ACOSAS by @thebelladonnamoon, Call Me Home by @propagandaprincess, There You Are by @sweethvilliandarlinggod

You can see my bookmarked favorite fics here: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_of_the_Gwynriel_Ship

TOG Favorite fics: High Infidelity by @heirofflowers, Bad Intentions by @starseternalnighttriumphant, Illicit Affairs is my ALL TIME FAVORITE by @rowanaelinn, remanents by @the_dormouse, and The Inclining of Stars by @Slytherindemigod18

CC Favorites: I havent read too many, but you can always count on Verzavar Haz by @hlizr50 to break down your soul.

Questions for writers

22) Easiest character to write for?

Probably Feyre or Gwyn. I just feel like I can get in their heads the easiest.

23) Hardest character to write for?

Rhys (so far). It is why he hasn't had a POV yet in FM2M but there will be one in a couple chapters.

24) What’s a character you’d like to write for but haven’t yet? Ooh. Some of the TOG characters. I haven't ventured outside of ACOTAR yet but one day maybe.

25) What’s a court you’d like to write about more?

Autumn wink wink. And Hybern (I know it isn't a court but still).

26) What’s a character you won’t write for and why?

I don't know if there is a character I won't write for. I think it just depends. Probably Elorcan as a couple because as much as I like them, I couldn't really write them.

27) If you could only write for one character ever again, who would you pick?

Gwyn. Easy.

28) Whats your favourite trope to write about when it comes to Azriel?

Oh gods where to start. Friends to lovers, priestess/sinner, trainer/trainee, Acceptance and Longing, Soulmates, Forced Proximity. I could go on.

29) What do you think is the best/favourite acotar fic you’ve written?

I mean definitely FM2M, but I loved writing Up Against the Wall and coming up with the idea for The Great Escape.

30) Who are your favourite friendships to write about?

Right now, the valkyrie and Mor and Feyre, Cassian and Feyre, and Lucien and Feyre.

31) For first time readers to your blog, which three fics would you recommend they read?

Obviously FM2M, you can read some of my other one shots or short fics or check out some of my favorite fics above!

This was super fun and a way to distract me from such a boring work day haha

[lemon-wedges]

Do you have any fic recs for any fandoms you’re currently obsessed with?

Hmmmm well the three main fandoms I kinda rotate thru currently are The Great Ace Attorney(brry), Metal Gear(otasune), and Dungeon Meshi (labru)

I put it under cut cause I kept getting side tracking talking lol

I can start with labru but I actually haven't read that many fanfic? Mostly cause when I first looked up the tags I was suprised there wasn't much fic at all. But also not suprised cause the anime hadn't even revealed kabrus 1 secret (and the anime wouldn't even touch his 2nd secret this last season 🥲) so I thought I'd just wait till fics start accumulating before diving back in (if anything I need recs lol)

Accurate Models of course. Its the first fic recc's to me and it even inspired some fanart lol modern au. Kabru becomes obessed with the youtuber that does monster dildo reviews

Let's see for otasune....well I'll warn u. Mgs is probably the least friendly diving in blind given that that the lore is just Insane. But also like some in game info reveals are just so so special....it flavors the lore....

Half Way Hungry which I thought was real cute. Post series. Laios finds out Kabru has feelings for him and starts?? Writing in a journal studying him like one of his monsters?????

Aaandddd

Currently waiting for Games People Play and Empyrean, From the Summit to update (cursed laios who needs to get married or else he DIES and painter who takes interest in kabru...)

Anyways.

Hello World series. A Lot of pre-slash build up. They grow together, they trust each other, they love each other and oouuuggggg

to me otasune really is about 2 dudes surrounded by insane people and situations find each other and??? Proceeding to have a normal, stable loving relationship....and I cry cause canonly they just stay together forever buhuhuh....sorry I got caught in my feelings where was I

And then Baroryuu. Which....probably has the least amount of fics between all these ships but the one I want to just dump onto u lol

Anything by bosstoaster honestly. In Other Words for something silly. Moving Forward Using All My Breath for developing relationships in snapshots. And fuck it Feel This Static for abo porn ahaha AND THEIR BEAUTY AND THE BEAST AU

(What can I say. Toaster never misses)

(Also I think any other recs after this might be just porny feeling one shots.....)

Theophany . THEEE FIC FOR BAROK BEING WEIRDLY RELIGIOUS ABOUT RYUu and ryuu being like.....cool 👍

Shizi also one of my favs. IT'S so sweet and moody and bite sized, established brry pretending they're newly weds hehehehe

Judicial Assistant Barok Van Zieks. Barok visiting ryuu in japan decides to help ryuu with his confidence by becoming his assistant

Chaper and Verse is one currently ongoing. It's baroryuu book club!!! (With ryuu torturing Barok with his book choices )

The Fanged and the faithful. WEREWOLF AU WEREWOLF AU WEREWOLF AU.

With Claret Conviction which is also ongoing (and im definatly biased because it's the exact phantom au spin on them I've been wanting)

Grinding my teeth cause I want to add more but also maybe this is getting too long so I'll just....leave it there OTL

Anyways I hope u find something nice to read in any of this :D

[dudeslut]

1, 16, 38! - 🎠🎠🎠

I got sooooo long-winded with these omg sorry! These were fun!

1. What’s your favorite place, other than a bed, to have sex?

Idk if this is surprisingly, but I sadly haven't had a lot of sex, let alone more "adventurous" sex 😂 I've only fucked in a bed. But if I had to choose somewhere that's on the top of my list to try? Up against a wall 😵‍💫

16. Do you have a favorite erotica/porn trope?

For porn I love it when all parties involved are really vocal, but especially verbal . Like 80% of the reason I enjoy porn is because is for the audio (I think this means I have a voice kink). As for erotica, I love a good erotic fanfic where the author just nails the characterization of the characters, especially while they're fucking. If it's about one of my favorite ships and some of my kinks are thrown in there, I'll be in for a good time 👌

(I originally misread the question as "favorite erotica/porn tape. As in it was asking if I had one piece of literature or a specific vid that was my fave. I was confused as to who the fuck was still referring to porn vids as "tapes" lol but anyway I had already written up a decently long answer and didn't want to lose the work so, here ya go, bonus!)

I feel like it always changes lol. I like rotate through a handful at a time until I forget how to find them because my dumbass refuses to bookmark shit 😭 Though I haven't gotten off to porn in awhile because for like the past year I've been wanting to get better at being able to finish without it. Mainly because I was really reliant on it to finish and wanted to work on being able to finish with other/no visual stimulation to keep things fresh and just so I wouldn't have to rely on one method to finish. I went from porn to reading horny posts and erotic fanfic. That led to me getting better at visualizing stuff in my head and now, I am able to finish with just my imagination alone. This is coming from someone who originally found it impossible to cum without porn or a partner. So if you're like me, just know it is possible to train yourself!

38. What are some of your biggest turn-ons?

Explicit dirty talk and any kind of touching! When it comes to flirting or initiating any kind of sexual act, I do not pick up on subtly or hints at all. So not only will I pick up on your intentions, but it's really hot when someone tells you exactly what they're thinking/feeling. Like even whispering something tame like "good boy," or "you're so cute," in the right tone can get me going. And I loooove when people communicate they want me or want to work me up through touch. I have a lot of little erogenous zones that a light touch or grab can get me going. Other than that, I love touching on the arms, rubbing the upper back, guiding me by wrapping your arm around my waist, or touching the small of my back. Just little somewhat intimate touches are so good.

Other little things I find hot are guys talking passionately about their interests, similar sense of humor and goofy*, long-sleeve shirt that leaves the forearms exposed, and when guys get those gray streaks at their temples. And if a guy is/has any of these and they're significantly taller than me, I am QUAKING 🤤

*fr if you want to speedrun getting me to have the hots for you, make me laugh. It's true when they say, I let him hit it 'cause he goofy.

Send me a number!

[hellhound5925]

Alright so here is something a little different for you all! I hope you like it! Please let me know!

I’m writing a new Fic under the same name as my Captain Rex one but this time it’s a Bad Batch version. If it goes well I will keep writing it. Let me know what you think!

Cyare Verd *Beloved Warrior* Bad Batch edition

Chapter One

Honestly.....this is quite literally the last place I want to be. One time, and I mean one time Cid THOUGHT she was doing me a favor and I owed her. The only thing Cid did for me was get me a job. I happened to be one of the 'lucky' ones - if you can even call it that - when the Empire bombed Mandalore. Needing the money, I guess Cid thought a favor meant throwing my life on the line for her benefit, while paying me enough to put fuel in my ship and replenish SOME rations. Cid was never my favorite, but we do what we have to do. I have a skill set she wanted and she had something I wanted.

Out of the blue she calls saying she's got a job that needs my help. I said no naturally, but then she reminded me I 'owe' her. I know damn well I could storm in there and take her and her mercs out myself...however, she does pay and I wouldn't mind some dirty work. "Fine....I'll be there in 2 rotations", "You'd better be quicker than that, I haven't got all day", the woman makes my blood boil..... "Alright, alright, Udessi (Calm down), I'll be there by morning". I end the link before she can say anything else. I really have no interest in conversations further with her.

I ready my ship (a Kom'rk class fighter also known as the Gaunlet star fighter) or the jump to hyper space. The only reason why I told her 2 days was to get under her skin. We both know I could be there as soon as I want but honestly? I love butting heads with her. I swear if this mission doesn't pay well or pan out, I'll ruin her...

————

Having spent an unfortunate amount of time at CID's before I was used to the ships coming to and from Ord Mantell. However, this time there was one I did not recognize. It looked to be an Omicron-class attack shuttle but it was definitely modified. I land my ship next to it, and head over to admire it.

I take a walk around the hull of the modified Omicron, stopping at the front to use my HUD to scan it. Standing with my hands on my hips I let out an impressed hum. "Not bad. Looks like someone did all the work themselves. Quite impressive" I say flipping my range finder back up.

"That would be because I did it" Says a voice behind me. I spin around, drawing my dual Westar-35 blasters aiming them at the source. I'm met with an individual in black and red plastoid, datapad in hand, "I'm of no harm to you" he says putting up the visor to reveal goggles. His big bright brown eyes give me a once over, "Mandalorian. It's a wonder there are any left after-". I cut him off with a loud sigh and reholster my blasters before storming off toward Cid's. I immediately start to feel bad for the poor guy. My reaction was not really called for, but the loss of my home...of Mandalore, is still raw. The open wound, being pressed by a stranger who likely has no idea what's it's like was rather irritating to me.

————

Cid's Parlor is loud and crowded - as usual. I made my way to the bar where the blue Twi-lek bartender who I haven't seen in ages immediately recognized me. "Long time no see. I was starting to think you wised up" she joked. Poor girl always listened to me complain, but I'm probably the only person here who has ever shown her any sort of kindness. "Unfortunately I'm a little low on rations to be wise" I laugh. A rather large, obnoxious man comes over to me "Wow, that must be real Beskar.......Wonder what kind of price someone would pay for th-th-that...." He slurs a little at the end. I eject my vibro blade from my vambrace and press it to his neck "Try to take it from me and I'll find out how much someone will pay for your head" My words laces with venom. The bar tender laughs and slides a shot across the bar at me. I let go of the man who was rather caught off guard. Some of the other patrons at the bar are starting but I could careless. People usually stare when they see 'one of my kind'. "Don't mess with Mandalorians" someone says across the bar. I glance down and see another group of men in black and red plastoid - must be the poor guy from earlier is with them.

I slide my helmet off, letting my blonde hair fall. Placing my helmet on the bar top, I take the shot. The bartender nods over my shoulder and I sign knowing what's coming. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes" Cid says throwing an arm over me like we are old pals. I roll my eyes "I'm not here because I want to be. Lets get on with it" I grumble. "No 'Hi Cid, how are you?'" She asks. "Nar'sheb (shove it)" I say with a polite smile on my face. She has no idea what I said to her but there's a snicker from someone close by.

————

"You know some day that attitude of yours is going to get you in trouble" Cid scolds me. "I'm not here to discuss my 'attitude'. What's the mission?", Cid stands behind her desk and crosses her arms "Fine, I need you to help out a group of fine gentlemen." She starts to explain. At this point I'm losing my patience "I work alone". "Not this time, look I'm sorry about the last job alright? You needed the credits, I had a job, but this time will be different I swear. These guys could really use someone with your skills. Dooku's private stash is being relocated by the empire and I want you to help them get as much as possible". The fact that she said Empire had my attention and attitude immediately shifts. "I thought you might like getting back at them and I promise I'll give you 20%" she continues noticing my mood lighten. "35 and it's a deal" I counter back. "Hey! I gotta pay those other guys too. I feel I'm being quite generous", "Fine 20%, Now who are these guys?", "They call themselves the Bad Batch. Wait here I'll go get them" and with that she heads out the door.

I set my helmet on her desk and lean against one of the book cases lining the wall. I fiddle with my gloves and my vambrace until the door opens. Cid, followed by 4 men - one of which was the guy from the landing zone - and a kid? Each of the men remove their helmets to reveal their faces. Clones? I stand up straight and rest my hands on my blasters. “Take it easy there Mando these are the good guys” Cid rolls her eyes after seeing my body language. The kid strolls over to me - clearly not intimidated at all - and sticks out her hand “Hi, Im Omega”. I quirk a brow at her before offering my hand, “This is the part you tell me your name” whispers Omega. “Right, Ni ceta (sorry). I’m Raven” I finally tell her. Her boldness takes me by surprise. I like this kid. Omega looks at the others who are standing there in silence. She nods my direction, and the largest one of the 4 pushes past, “I’m Wrecker! I like to blow stuff up!” He says very loudly. I shake his hand which compared to my hand - even with gloves on - looks like it could crush mine. “Wrecker, I feel that last part was not necessary” says the one from earlier - still holding a datapad. “I’m Tech by the way. We met briefly earlier” he continues. “Look I’m sorry about-“ I start before he cuts me off. “No need, it was rather insensitive of me to speak to you that way”. This causes the other two - one with a skull tattoo on half his face and the other with a socket for an arm. “So that modified Omicron is yours then?” I ask causing the one with the tattoo to now look at me. “Actually it’s my ship, the Marauder. I’m their Sargent, well was their Sargent and this is Echo.” Echo waves at me with his socket arm and a soft smile. I nod, “Look, no offense but whatever this mission is I can promise it’s dangerous. I don’t really feel like bringing a kid along with us is going to be a great idea” I say gesturing to Omega. “Hey! I go on plenty missions!” She protests. “Look, Omega. I like your spirit I do, but your a kid. I’m not going to let something happen to a kid” I explain to her. “She goes with us” Hunter says in a gruff voice, putting his foot down. I can see a little of myself in the way Omega is looking at me. She seems like a smart kid but I’ve seen enough damage the Empire has done, I’d hate to see this kid caught in the middle. I choose to say nothing and shake my head. “Let’s get on with it, shall we?” I ask grabbing my buy’ce (helmet) and sliding it over my head. With that, we all head out to the ships.

————

When I start heading towards my ship, I hear someone call out to me “wouldn’t it just be easier if we all rode together?” Omega asks. I stop and turn around “How do I know you won’t leave me behind?” I ask. I don’t really trust these guys. I mean how could I? The clones - even though it was at Palpatines hand - were the reason the Republic fell and we are in this mess. These guys seem different but I don’t have a reason to trust them. Omega, almost like she is reading my thoughts says “you can trust us, we aren’t like the others”. The others. I scoff to myself. Without saying anything I head up the ramp to my ship, gather a few things, and come back out to see Omega standing where I left her. The rest of the group must have gone to their ship. “I knew you’d come around!” She about jumps for joy before leading me onto the Marauder.

Omega shows me to ‘her room’ and tells me I can leave my bag there. I’m a little hesitant at first but I don’t have any other options at the moment. The only things in this bag are a couple changes of regular cloths and some rations. I’ve not got much to lose that isn’t my beskar these days. She then gives me a brief tour of the ship, ending at the cockpit where Hunter and the rest are talking…about me. Well, I didn’t actually hear them say anything specific, but by their body language and the way Hunter stiffens before he even saw me told me everything I needed to know. I decide to speak up, “I know you don’t trust me and that’s fine. We don’t have a reason to trust each other but once this mission is over and I’m paid I’ll be gone. You won’t have to worry after that”. They all glance at one another except Hunter, he’s watching me. “That seems reasonable” Tech says very matter of factly.

Seeing that there are no more available seats, I sit on the floor leaning against the wall. “So what’s the plan?” I ask a sliding my buy’ce (helmet) off. “Get to Serenno and scout the area.” Hunter says without looking over at me. I sigh, “That’s not much of a plan but I can improvise.” I hear a clunk and look over to see a curious Omega with my buy’ce (helmet) - she almost dropped - in her hands. “Sorry” she says when she notices she’s been caught. The rest of the batch turns to see what she had done. Hunter frowns and looks as if he was about to scold her, I give him a look before turning to her. I smile “It’s alright, you can’t hurt it. It’s already got a lot of scratches on it”. This kid makes me soft and I don’t know why. I mean she is just a kid after all. She turns it over in her hands, “where did you get it?”. Before I can answer Tech is already explaining it, “Mandalorian armor is passed down through families. Sometimes it is even reforged for the wearer.” Omega looks to me to confirm the story and I nod. “Not many people know much about my people, how is it you know so much?” I asked Tech. Wrecker lets out a loud sigh “ughhh you had to ask…” Tech gives him a looks “You see, I spend much of my time doing research and as you may know we are clones of Jango Fetts.”, “Yeah but you guys don’t look like the others” I point out. “We are….well….different. Each of us had a unique genetic modification. Wrecker is brute strength, Hunter had enhances senses, I have high intelligence, and Crosshair-“, “He’s with the Empire now” barks Hunter, interrupting Tech. “What about you?” I asked Echo. He rubs the back of his neck awkwardly, “I was originally with the 501st under General Skywalker. There was an accident and I was blonde up, capture by the techno union and they made me mostly machine”. Hearing his story pulls at my softer side, “Ni ceta (I’m sorry)” I say to him. He gives me a soft smile.

“Woah” Omega interrupts the mood - thank Maker. She’s got my buy’ce (helmet) over her head, which quite honestly is kinda funny. It’s definitely too big for her. “This tech is outdated. You know, Tech could make some upgrades to this if you wanted” her voice sounds kind of funny through the modulator. I mull it over for a second, “We’ll see kid” I laugh at the image of her tiny frame with the giant buy’ce (helmet) on. I notice Hunter is watching the exchange between her and I out of the corner of my eye. I can tell by her silence she is playing with the HUD. “So how do you know Cid?” Omega asks. “You’re quite the curious one aren’t you?” I point out. She giggles and shrugs - still wearing my buy’ce. I sigh sadly, “After…..Let’s just say I was in a rough patch and needed some credits. Now I prefer to bounty hunt, but I refuse to work for the Empire”. Maker why am I spilling my guts to this girl? She’s a kid. This is probably the most I’ve ever talked about myself to anyone other than Cid. Which I know now was a mistake. Omega - reading the room - slides off my buy’ce and sadly looks at me, “Something bad happened didn’t it?”, I sigh again “I’d rather not get into it”. Hunter turns back around in his seat facing the front window. I glance over his direction this time. “What’s his deal?” I ask Omega. She looks fondly his way, “He’s really protective of me, of us really. He’s my family”. “Hold on to that kid. It’s special” I say to her. She looks at me with a smile.

I decide to lean my head back against the wall and close my eyes for a moment. I feel someone approach and a tiny head lay in my lap. I glance down to see Omega curling up to me, with my helmet still in her arms. She trusts too easily. Some day that might hurt her….like it did me….the only difference is, she’s got them and I had no one. Let’s just hope that’s enough.

Next Chapter

***A/N***

Thanks for reading! This is a little different than my last Fic but I thought I’d throw something else out there. I didn’t find a whole lot of Hunter Fics and definitely not one with a Mandalorian OC or reader so I figured I’d give it a shot. Let me know what you think!

[songofsaraneth]

ok i finally realized i FORGOT to actually post any update here about Kazul's tank upgrade whoops! It has been a whole Saga. Mostly because the guy I buy tanks from took (Boaphile) his website offline in 2021 just as I was ready to place an order... i thought maybe he was just updating it (since it looked like it was last revamped in perhaps 1995), but after 6 months, it was STILL offline.

So I did what any normal, hinged person would do and used the wayback machine to get to the archived version to track down his phone number and call him. Turns out he wasn't dead but he DID have to have rotator cuff surgery so said he wouldn't be able to make tanks again until summer 2022 at the earliest. I'd been hoping for earlier but Kazul was still under 6ft so I was like ok fine. Well September 2022 the website finally started coming back online in bits and pieces (while now more modern i would not actually say it is more Functional, and there are still now Lorem Ipsum text blocks here and there, but whatever). Spring 2023 the banner that things were under construction finally disappeared and I placed my order!!

At the time the advertised wait time was 12 weeks. I checked back in June, and there was another banner saying they were flooded with orders so had temporarily closed them to catch up. Ok, sure, running behind. August comes around and I'm like ok I should have an update by now at least and played phone tag for a few weeks... and eventually discovered that my order had gotten lost along the line somewhere (as in the printer paper with my tank details on it telling them what to build, not a whole tank lost in the mail). Sooooo i got put at the start of the queue for the next batch and FINALLY it shipped and arrived at the end of November. To compare the first order I placed took pretty much exactly 10 weeks back in 2017 so I do think this was just bad timing and fluke. However... they forgot to include the thermostat i also bought :| So I had to wait another 2 weeks for that to ship out to me too.

ANYWAY. I finally got it in mid December, but didn't want to throw a whole new section on the week before i left to visit family for the holidays. So I didn't set everything up til January. I'll put all those pics in another post because this one is already long and not that interesting but I shall keep the timeline on record here in case I need to reference it ever. Here's a pic of her though because why not :3

[borreloadsavagedragon]

Chris, Kaito and Shark

omfg I had to do this on my laptop bc mobile tumblr is literally unusable in terms of copy and pasting anything

I tried read more-ing this but it wouldn't let me I'm so sorry if it's giant gdjsaklgjg CHRIS

favorite thing about them: he's hot. jk, not just that, I love that he's loyal, man will go DOWN for the people he cares about, family, friends, he's committed to his bonds, the duel with Mizael when he partners with Michael is so good

least favorite thing about them: as much as I love Chris, not a huge fan of how everything sort of got fixed with one duel, I have the same gripe with Thomas and Ryouga-

favorite line: good question jdsaklg, not sure the way he says "my life points" in the dub is kind of funny-

brOTP: vkai, I call them divorcees without being married because they had so much post divorce energy during the WDC but now they're going to be coworkers and chris also had to just watch kaito go off to the moon to fight a guy who said his dragon was bigger and die so he's taking the keys to the rocket the next time he sees him

OTP: what do you mean Kousei isn't in Zexal canon, yes he is, he's right there genuinely can't think of another pair for him from canon though, there's some dynamics I think could be interesting and have wips for but nothing like romantic

nOTP: romantic vkai.............. see kaito's below for details, it's more to do with him and how I think about kaito-

random headcanon: GEEK. NERD. CLOSET FANBOY. WOULD WEAR GRAPHIC TEES IF HE DIDN'T HAVE AN AESTHETIC. Take this man to see Kozmo films right now!!!!!

unpopular opinion: I don't think I have one outside of the ship preference gjdakl

song i associate with them: none omg, unless I REALLY fixate on a character, I don't usually have songs for them gjdklggd

favorite picture of them: he's very pretty, it's hard to choose one fjdsklg, anytime you can see him wiping hair hair around

KAITO

favorite thing about them: how dare you make me pick one thing when I'm already working on an analysis essay- Kaito's one of those characters to me where you look at them and feel like you've been EXPOSED by this show you're watching so picking one detail is hard I like how accurate he feels to me when it comes to how he's someone who's just so used to being burned by so many people, love how fiercely protective he gets when someone matters to him, love how petty and dramatic he can be too but literally NEVER owning up to it I love that he's straight forward that he's not a good person also, that he sold himself to the devil to do what had to be done and he's tainted, I'm just- He's so god damn good really also lives up to being lonely but absolutely genius

least favorite thing about them: nothing, he's perfect............... but I will beat him up if he continues to hide his physical health from everyone else around him and if he goes to the moon again, it's ok, your dragon is good too

favorite line: this is hard because he has so many good ones because he doesn't know how to talk to people hdskjlaj the only one I can honest to god remember at this very moment is "you're quite the romanticist" because who tf says that to another person

brOTP: Chris and Yuma both come to mind, Chris I've gone over above but Yuma, I love that Kaito's always just in awe of him, just imagining Kaito always picking him up by the scruff constantly

OTP: I have like four ships for Kaito that I rotate out in my brain a lot highkey, the only two I haven't written something for are Galaxymaster and Raven but coming soon, my google docs are INSANE right now I want everything with Mizael to be perfect because MizaKai's just... idk, I love it so god damn much, there is SO MUCH to the two of them, and Shun's just not a muse I'm suuuuper comfortable writing rn but we're trying, I love that Shun actually like... goes back for him, not a lot of people chase Kaito back but Shun immediately ponies up idk, Kaito's pension and insistence for being alone always makes me want to throw new people at him at all times though I LOVE going into depth on Challenge, not even romantically either, their rivalry is so good in that subtle way that they're two steps off from being the same person and it didn't get nearly enough time, shakes fist And the last one is EdoKai omg, Kaito speedrunning his enemies to lovers plot with Edo in Arc V is iconic, took one look at him in the safe house and was like "yeah, we could get married"

nOTP: sweats, vkai in romantic context So... I experience pretty strong RSD, which is rejection sensitivity dysphoria, and their entire friend/mentor breakup backstory sits super wrong with me because of that gdsjagilgdsa I don't want to go too far into details but it hits home Also not huge on Kaito and Vector at all-

random headcanon: I love writing him touch starved......... he's always fully clothed anytime he's near another person, probably from just being ditched or taken away from so many people, so letting someone close physically is a big step.

unpopular opinion: He solos. literally no rival matches him if you were to attempt to scale them in skill, I'm on this hill forever and you can't move me from it <3

song i associate with them: god I have a big playlist just for him gjdasklj, it's hard to pick just one so I gift just two - Hell's Comin' With Me / Poor Man's Poison - "I am the righteous hand of god and I am the devil that you forgot", perfect, glorious - I Don't Want To Be Here Anymore / Rise Against - just... chef's kiss

favorite picture of them: him jumping through the cockpit window of the blimp, it's my mobile banner and sometimes is my Twitter banner lmao

RYOUGA

favorite thing about them: ryouga is another character who just says and does shit with his whole chest and I honestly just love him for that, yes king, keep being stubborn, my cringefail bestie I love that he's just such a little edge lord and a wannabe bad boy but just fails at it gjdkaslj he can fight a whole gang by himself, but he'll do whatever his sister says, he's jumping off cliffs for someone who annoys him, god I love him

least favorite thing about them: ngl, I could complain for hours about how much I hate how him getting his memories of being Nasch was done, but it's also in character because Ryouga is SO UNBELIEVBABLY hot and cold about everything and everyone, love him but I also want to beat him UP

favorite line: god, Ryouga is such a tsundere so all I hear out of his mouth is "it's not like I don't like you or anything", I feel bad I haven't come up with any specific lines for any of them but they're all just dumb boys who can't talk

brOTP: Hellshark and whatever his pair with Durbe is called- Ryouga and Thomas being besties is so weird to me but also like, yeah bickering, kicking each other's asses to hell affectionately, good for them Durbe sweetie I'm so sorry but also you signed up for this

OTP: Sharkbait is up there, Challenge is proooobably my favorite though, like I said above, just love going over what could have been with their entire rivalry, the fact that Ryouga never got his grudge match with Kaito will haunt me forever, even though there's no universe where Ryouga wins jagklds

nOTP: deadass 99% of romantic pairs with Ryouga I'm not too huge on, I wouldn't say any of them are like NOTPs but idk, there's more I don't like or don't really think about than ones I actually do haha

random headcanon: ngl. I've got none I can think of right now gdjasg

unpopular opinion: he's not the rival. guy with a sister he'd do anything to help, former school bully who now practically throws his life away for the protagonist, temporary gang member, temporarily evilness Like his dueling is the first thing his sister saw when she came out of the hospital, just like someone else we know... list goes ON why he's the friend role I also,,, like his name more than his nickname, as you could tell I'm sure

song i associate with them: like what I said for Chris, unless I like FIXATE on a character, I have no songs for them, but I Am My Own Muse by Fall Out Boy comes to mind- Ryouga's playlist is inevitable

favorite picture of them: ANY WHERE HE'S JUST LIKE, FLAYING, he has so many shots of him just being blown over or on the ground, they're SO GOOD

[laufire]

what is your otp (and only one) in each dc canon you know?

there are elseworlds and alternate continuities and so on that I read so so long ago I barely remember any ~shippy feeling I had lol, but I'll try!

COMICS

main comics continuity: taking pre-crisis/post-crisis/new-52/rebirth/whatever as one canon, because it... technically is? although it makes zero sense lmao.

honestly... the more I think of it, the more I'd say I don't have an OTP for it. I can love a relationship in a run, and I certainly have soft spots for a few chosen ones. generally speaking, the legacy romances in DC have Good Shit TM to offer. but the very nature of comics -the inconsistencies, the retcons, the rotating writers with wildly different agendas (not to mention grudges against specific characters), make it so I can't really point at one (1) relationship and embrace it wholeheartedly LOL.

if I have an OTP it's Jason Todd/Good+Interesting Writing, and although I've definitely seen it around, it eludes me just as often xD

Batman - Wayne Family Adventures: lowkey Barbara/Jason which is. LOL. but. see #53, #95, #96, and #104. The plot in 95-96 in particular made me want to write a more grounded+complex version of it.

Dark Knights of Steel: an elseworld run I finished recently. not heavy on romance but Clark/Lois was cute in it (with bonus bondage xD).

DC Bombshells: it's been a really long time and I was up for anything that run threw at me, but I particularly liked Kate/Renee, from what I remember. Tragedy + exes... lovely.

Red Hood - Outlaws: (I know technically there's some overlap in the webtoons but considering them the same canon, especially this one, just... nope. impossible xD). Artemis/Jason FTW.

Zatanna & the Ripper: Constantine/Zatanna is quite good.

ANIMATED WORKS

Batman - The Brave and The Bold: what little I remember of this involves Bruce/Selina being delightfully flirty lol.

DCAU/Timmverse: Clark/Lois. I liked what I saw of others (with caveats regarding certain... choices lol), but STAS is the only one I watched in its entirety and they were delightful.

Harley Quinn: Harley/Ivy. that show has made some shitty choices but they are good lol.

My Adventures with Superman: Clark/Lois, although I wish they were given more room to develop with depth.

Young Justice: DICK/ZATANNA. ngl, I think Chalant is one of the best ships DC has put out which, taking into account how little time and room to breath it had? Remarkable.

LIVE-ACTION WORKS

Arrowverse: kind of a hard pick given the givens but I have the biggest soft spot for Angelique/Ryan from Batwoman.

Batman Returns: Bruce/Selina obviously. I haven't watched any of the other films in the series, but I know they wouldn't change my mind LOL.

Gotham: BEST BATCAT EVER.

Lois & Clark, The New Adventures of Superman: Clark/Lois, obviously.

Nolanverse: I got a lot of misgivings on this one, sure, but I do enjoy some self-indulgent Bruce/Selina here as well.

Preacher: man I really need to finish this one. Anyway. JESSE/TULIP.

Smallville: Clark/Lana has an edge. It just... does.

Snyderverse: Clark/Lois.

The Batman (2022): (obviously its own thing) Bruce/Selina.

The Boys: (wildstorm is dc right now so) I kind of left the show but Frenchie/Kimiko did have a hold on me lol.

ugh. I KNOW I'm forgetting stuff lol. also, if you asked me a couple months from now, the list would probably grow because I'm REALLY delving deep into this 'verse LOL.

[kieran-the-writer]

Statement of Salome Lukas

I. Statement Begins

I was born to Oliver and Judith Carter in 1988. I think they cared about me, but I can’t be sure. My earliest clear memory is from when I was four years old, watching my parents be taken by the Spiral after they put me to bed. There couldn’t have been a door there. There couldn’t have been, but they opened it anyway and never came out again…

The time between that and going into the foster system is a blur. The families did their best, but how do you accommodate a traumatized toddler with abandonment issues and an irrational fear of unfamiliar doors? I didn’t get a chance to process and grieve my parents’ deaths for a long time. How could I, with the way I was bounced between foster homes? I remember the workers talking about bringing me to a halfway house in Oxford, but I think those plans must have fallen through. Then again, thinking back on it, I wonder if my uncle had gotten involved…

It took two years following the incident with the Spiral for my uncle, Peter Lukas—my mum’s brother—to come round for me, and before I knew it, he’d officially adopted me as his daughter, and I had a single bedroom cabin aboard his cargo ship. I was wary, but even now, I can’t deny that small, hopeful part of me.

I want to say I eventually learned that my uncle–while chatty—wasn’t interested in getting close to me and that I gave up trying to get his attention, but even now, something inside me just wants his approval.

His approval. That’s where this hell all stems from, isn’t it? The desperate, human need for connection, shoved down and ignored along with years of trauma in favor of behaving in the vain hopes that Uncle Peter would just look at me.

A lot of good that did me in the end. I played right into his hands…

He didn’t raise me, not really. He brought in a rotating cast of nannies and tutors whose names… I don’t remember their names, really. Or their faces. They swapped out whenever we made port. …Or maybe Peter just fed them to Forsaken when their time was up and brought in someone new. There was only one ‘tutor’ who I remember with any great clarity. It was an old man—who I think must have owed my uncle a favor—called Simon Fairchild. He was the one who gave me my first guitar, though now that I think about it, he might have originally stolen it from someone he threw into the Vast…

My entire childhood was spent completely alone. No family. No friends save for a boy my uncle had introduced me to when I was twelve or thirteen, but even that came with… expectations… I wouldn't be surprised if he features in some of your statements. Gerard Keay. His mother and my uncle had hoped that Gerard and I would… combine the Lukas and von Closen lines. Nothing ever happened between us, of course. Not even my uncle could manipulate that into existence, thank God.

That’s not to say I didn’t love Gerard; he was like a brother to me. We just weren’t each other’s types, plus we were just… We were too similar. We were both deep in the Fears. I suppose that was part of my uncle’s decision to try and pair us up.

I could have run away. I tried once or twice when we made port; but it always came down to my craving for my uncle’s approval and affection. I… I couldn’t have known what I was choosing by staying…

That was his goal, you know. To make me… I don’t know what you’d call it. Beholding has its archivists, and the Lightless Flame had its messiah, the Spiral has its Distortion. Whatever that is, my uncle wanted me to be it. I remember hearing him call me ‘the All-Alone’ – the perfect vessel for Forsaken’s power.

But he made a mistake. I was nineteen and well into my journey to my Becoming when Elias Bouchard suggested I begin handling the financial meetings twice a year, and my uncle took him up on it; I think they were sick of dealing with each other, and I… Even then, at nineteen years old and after thirteen years of empty futility, I went along with it to make him happy, to make him look at me. All I wanted was for him to look at me…

It took until my second meeting for me to meet him. Michael Shelley. He was filling in for Bouchard’s secretary that day, and I met him when I went up to his office.

He was unlike anyone I’d ever met before. All my uncle’s associates are either loud, arrogant, or both, and Michael didn’t seem to be either one. When he smiled, his eyes crinkled, like he was genuinely happy to see me. I’d never gotten that kind of look from anyone, not even Gerard.

And when he spoke, he had this little stutter. He was awkward, and sweet, and his laugh was weird, and he was... He was perfectly imperfect.

He fascinated me. And it turned out I fascinated him, as well. Over time, that mutual fascination turned into… love, I suppose. As clichéd as that is. I felt… happy. Truly, deeply happy. He made me happy. He was so sweet and caring. He saw me.

But then… But then… Gertrude Robinson decided Michael Shelley, my Michael Shelley, would be a perfect little disposable sacrificial lamb to disrupt the Spiral’s ritual.

And now, for the heart of the matter: why I tried to kill that old woman. Have you ever lost the one thing tethering you to your humanity? The grief is… unquantifiable. I couldn’t eat. I could barely open my eyes some days. I starved to death – both my body and the Lonely. And then I came back, traveled to Chelsea, and cast half the Institute into Forsaken before Gerard talked me down. He was the only reason I didn't kill Gertrude Robinson. I think he blamed himself for a lot of it; he had tried over and over to—to break me out of my uncle’s programming. He was even the one to get me to ask Michael out, hoping that would be enough to ground me – and it was. …Until it wasn’t.

Peter must have been thrilled. There I was, a newly realized, grieving incarnation of the Lonely and I already cast half of Elias’s place of power into the fog; and all it took was the death of the love of my life.

---

Masterlist

[boyfrillish]

I was tagged recently by @brainshock-alpha for twenty fic writers' questions — thanks! c: If anyone wants to answer them too, feel free to go ahead.

Alright, here we go!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

As of right now, 22. I had like, 80+ that I orphaned about a year and a half ago, but those shall be disregarded since they aren't linked to my account anymore and I did that for a reason, so...

2. What is your AO3 wordcount?

According to my statistics, it's 22,139. I never expect that high of a number with how short my fics tend to be, haha

3. What fandoms do you write for?

That would be Pokémon, and recenly also started writing for FE💍Engage, though I have yet to post the fic I wrote (as of sending this, it still sits only in the notepad I scribbled it in and I have yet to type it on the computer lol). It'll be interesting to see how the rotation will go, because I don't usually tend to be multifandom when it comes to writing.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Lost and Found (Red/Blue) — 309 kudos

Scale my Heart (Brendan/Wally) — 193

The hero's hero (Brendan/Wally) — 131

Candy Apple (Kieran/Florian) — 101

Apology (Kieran/Florian) — 97

Again I am only counting what's actually linked to my account. Since all of these are pkmn, I contextualised by ship lol the first three are from 2014/2015 so the kudos accumulated over time. I'm still amazed the latter two got so many in just a few months.

5. Do you respond to comments?

I always try to, but sometimes it may take time... Really wish sometimes there was a way for writer's to give a kudos or some other silent reaction on comments on our fics, just so I can silently express my appreciation even when I don't currently have the spoons to respond.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

I wrote some angst in the past but I wouldn't remember about a sad ending because I really prefer happy (or at least good enough) endings. I mostly write silly fluff, so lol If I'm Your Boy may count since there's a toneshift between the two POVs and it ends on the pining.

7. What is the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

My first instinct is to say "All of them" lmao when 99% of what I write is silly fluff, it's kind of tough to assign a "happiest"

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I know I've had at least some persons hate me/my fics, but that's in the past and I left that fandom behind so... in present times, not that I know of.

9. Do you write smut? If so, which kind?

I did before, but the last one was years ago. Dunno when I might give it a try again.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest crossover you’ve ever written?

If it's like a "AU set in the universe of x other fandom" then yes, I guess I've done it before? But not like. full-scale crossovers where the cast of two or more things meet. At least, I don't think I ever did that lol

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

I was asked about it, some years ago, but back then I was rather anxious and declined 🥲

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

Yup, though the last time that I can actively remember was many years ago. I used to do that with friends back in high school where either we'd pass around the paper every other sentence or we talk it out loud and then one of us wrote it down. That's the ones I remember haha. I'd be open to doing it again, now digitally.

14. What’s your all-time favourite ship?

I'm really not good at nailing down ONE singular all-time favourite in general because intense emotions/feelings are intense emotions/feelings, you know? And I can have them for multiple things all at once and in the same way (but different flavours). But for the sake of it, I'm going to say Hugh/Nate, considering they've been a major comfort OTP for a decade now and are also one of the ships I've written the most. Then there's HopVic which is the same tier of comfort OTP as Hugh/Nate for me and I wrote about as much of them. And as of recent, Alcryst/Alear♂ while I'm literally still in the middle of playing that game haha. Though the fact that I already started writing fic about them says a lot, because I never did for my favourite Awakening ships.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

Uhh... I'm drawing a blank here. Because while I have some WIPs since summer 2022 that I have yet to finish, I wouldn't say they aren't like, "impossible" for me to finish? At least I'm telling myself that I am going to finish them one day or another lol well, I guess there's some WIPs from 2014... I guess those aren't going to happen anymore, maybe in a totally revamped way, but will that happen? Not currently likely

16. What are your writing strengths?

One thing you have to know about me is that I am really not good at knowing my own strengths (like really), but if there's one thing that I know I'm good at, it's eliciting emotions & giving comfort. It's what my own fics do for me, and enough people have told me so after reading, to be more confident about it not just being A Me Thing (because I write for my own comfort & fun and all that)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

...Everything else? :'D Jokes aside, I'm going to say just descriptions because I am not very poetic... Then there's that sometimes I struggle because of the fact that I'm writing in a foreign language, but I don't know if that quite counts here?

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

This is a really nuanced topic with multiple angles and such, and I don't currently have the spoons to try to translate my thoughts into words 😅

19. First fandom you wrote for?

I'm pretty sure it was Pokémon back when I was a kid lol I didn't always write things down (and to this day too, a lot of visions stay in my head), but I've been imagining things in my head pretty much my whole life, and that's one of the first fandoms I can remember actually writing. And it became the one that I would always come back to writing through the years, even if not at every point of my life.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Again, I am not good at saying Just One Favourite lol it's all of them at any particular point of time and I still get excited even about stuff I wrote years back, so there's that. It's all of them (as long as I didn't leave the fandom behind me, that is).

[hypervoxel]

I made the "hate 🖤" one between Angel and Valentino before I realized I could simply add another color to this. The "not shipping" in that is a "no, I do think about their relationship so in that sense, I am shipping it. But I wouldn't say it in a 'love/like/meh/dislike' way." So. It compels me! It's interesting! I'm looking, I'm thinking, I'm rotating them in my mind. It could be something. That something could be platonic or romantic or sexual or rivalry or toxic obsession. I'm not defining things further. It just is Something.

I think constantly about how there's no way there's such a large supply of heavenly weaponry available in Hell unless it's given to Sinners on purpose for them to cull themselves in between Exterminations. Heaven had an embassy in Hell for more than just announcing the next Extermination date. Their deals with Camilla's weapons trading empire are away from public eye, but there's a reason she's got a monopoly on the trade of angelic steel.

The "not shipping" of The Vees is specifically in a "they are all dating each other" sense. I'm still obsessed tho! Velvette is not dating Val to me, but they used to. In my mind.